To Areion, father of students. (362)
I was pleased to see your sons -- one come for oratory, the other leading his brother to it. This pursuit is noble for anyone, I think, but for your family it is now a necessity, since the reputation you gained through Agathius's learning is something you must uphold -- to let it decay would be a kind of sacrilege.
For the sake of Ancyra, to which I owe many debts of gratitude, and for your sake, and for the young man's uncle, I will bring every ounce of effort and every form of encouragement to bear. But your son too must be one of those who spur me on rather than one of those who need to be spurred.
I am confident he will be eager. The season that forbade the admiration of oratory has passed, and the boy's very name is stronger than any motivational speech.
I was pleased to see your sons -- one come for oratory, the other leading his brother to it. This pursuit is noble for anyone, I think, but for your family it is now a necessity, since the reputation you gained through Agathius's learning is something you must uphold -- to let it decay would be a kind of sacrilege.
For the sake of Ancyra, to which I owe many debts of gratitude, and for your sake, and for the young man's uncle, I will bring every ounce of effort and every form of encouragement to bear. But your son too must be one of those who spur me on rather than one of those who need to be spurred.
I am confident he will be eager. The season that forbade the admiration of oratory has passed, and the boy's very name is stronger than any motivational speech.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.