Letter 635: Herodianus has been granted a short leave by us, so that he may go and see the small piece of land he owns.

To Anatolius. (361 AD) Herodianus has been granted a short leave by us, so that he may go and see the small piece of land he owns. But he needs even the modest income from Phoenicia, since what he earns from his craft [rhetoric] is even smaller. For the rise of those who had no right to greatness has diminished the fortunes of those who might reasonably have been great. Let the Phoenicians understand that you care about this man and his affairs. For even from small things some profit might perhaps come, when the goodwill of a governor is evident.

Ἀνατολίῳ. (361) Ἡρωδιανῷ δέδοται παρ’ ἡμῶν χρόνος βραχύς, ὅπως ἣν ἔχει γῆν βραχεῖαν ἐλθὼν ἴδῃ. δεῖ δὲ αὐτῷ τῶν ἐν Φοινίκη μικρῶν, ἐπειδὴ τὰ ἀπὸ τῆς τέχνης ἔτ’ ἐκείνων μικρότερα. τὸ γὰρ οὓς οὐ προσῆκεν εἶναι μεγάλους ἐταπείνωσε τὰ τῶν εἰκό- τως ἂν ὄντων μεγάλων. γενέσθω δὴ τοῖς Φοίνιξιν αἴσθη- σις ὅτι σοὶ καὶ τούτου καὶ τῶν τούτου μέλει. καὶ γὰρ ἀπὸ τῶν μικρῶν γένοιτ’ ἂν ἴσως τι κέρδος, ὅταν εὔνοιαν ἄρχοντος