Letter 636
Libanius→Τῷ αὐτῶ|libanius
To the same. (361)
This Flavianus is Bithynian by birth — and you know how I feel about Bithynians — but he studied at the schools in Athens. Sharp in mind, he is good in character. After spending only a short time with me, he was enrolled among my friends — so much did he accomplish in so little time.
He comes to see both you and Phoenicia: the province flourishing, and you laboring on its behalf. Send him back to us, then, having experienced both your gentleness and your justice.
Τῷ αὐτῶ. (361)
Φλαβιανὸς οὑτοσὶ τὸ μὲν γένος ἐστὶ Βιθυνός,
δὲ ὅπως ἔχω πρὸς Βιθυνούς, μουσείων δὲ τῶν Ἀθήνησι
μετέσχε. τὸν νοῦν δὲ ὢν ὀξὺς χρηστός ἐστι τὸν τρόπον. μικρὰ
δέ μοι συγγενόμενος εἰς τοὺς φίλους ἐγγέγραπται· τοσοῦτον
ἴσχυσε τοῖς μικροῖς.
ἔρχεται δή σέ τε ὀψόμενος καὶ Φοι-
νίκην, τὴν μὲν εὖ πράττουσαν, σὲ δὲ ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς πονοῦντα.
πέμπε οὖν αὐτὸν αὗθις ὡς ἡμᾶς γνόντα σου καὶ τὴν ἡμε-
ρότητα καὶ τὴν δικαιότητα.
◆
To the same. (361)
This Flavianus is Bithynian by birth — and you know how I feel about Bithynians — but he studied at the schools in Athens. Sharp in mind, he is good in character. After spending only a short time with me, he was enrolled among my friends — so much did he accomplish in so little time.
He comes to see both you and Phoenicia: the province flourishing, and you laboring on its behalf. Send him back to us, then, having experienced both your gentleness and your justice.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.