Letter 705
Libanius→Leontius, rhetorician|libanius
To Leontius, governor. (362)
When the good Menander arrived from your region and wanted to tell me everything that had happened from sky to earth, I redirected him to the subject of you, and we were both delighted. The reports were splendid -- entirely worthy of your family, your education, and the hopes placed in you.
I could not possibly urge you to do better, then. Just stay the same and that will be enough. Your excellence in this first post should carry you through many governorships -- and among those many, perhaps one day ours will be included.
Λεοντίῳ. (362)
Μένανδρον τὸν χρηστὸν ἥκοντα παρ’ ὑμῶν καὶ βουλό-
μενον λέγειν, ὅσα ἐξ ἀέρος εἰς τὴν γῆν ἐπράχθη, πρὸς τὸν
περὶ σοῦ μετέστησα λόγον καὶ ἡδόμεθα ἀμφότεροι· καλὰ γὰρ
ἦν τὰ λεγόμενα καὶ μάλα ἄξια τοῦ γένους καὶ τῆς παιδείας
καὶ τῶν ἐλπίδων.
οὔκουν ἐπ’ ἀμείνω σε παπακαλεῖν ἔχοιμ᾿
ἄν, ἀλλ’, ἂν μείνῃς ὅμοιος, ἀρκέσει δεῖ δέ σε τῇ περὶ τὰ
πρῶτα ἀρετῇ διὰ πολλῶν ἀφικέσθαι τῶν ἀρχῶν, ἐν δὲ ταῖς
πολλαῖς ἴσως καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐσόμεθα.
◆
To Leontius, governor. (362)
When the good Menander arrived from your region and wanted to tell me everything that had happened from sky to earth, I redirected him to the subject of you, and we were both delighted. The reports were splendid -- entirely worthy of your family, your education, and the hopes placed in you.
I could not possibly urge you to do better, then. Just stay the same and that will be enough. Your excellence in this first post should carry you through many governorships -- and among those many, perhaps one day ours will be included.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.