Letter 743
Libanius→Demetrius, friend|libanius
To Demetrius, sophist and friend. (362)
You have gotten back the man you were seeking, and I am looking for the man I had. Even when Eucarpion was away from you, he consoled you because he was yours -- he gave you reason to hope. But once he has sailed, no one will persuade me to feel confident.
Still, I do not lose everything by our separation. Whatever harm I suffer in my own body, I gain that much in yours.
Δημητρίῳ (362)
Ἀπείληφας ὃν ἐζήτεις, ζητῶ δὲ ὃν εἶχον ἐγώ. σὲ μὶν
οὖν καὶ μὴ παρὼν Εὐκαρπίων σὸς ὢν παρεμυθεῖτο, παρεῖχε
γὰρ ἐλπίζειν· ἐμὲ δὲ ἀπάραντος οὐκ ἔστιν ὃς πείσει θαρρεῖν.
ἀλλ’ οὐ πάντα γε ζημιοῦμαι διεστηκότος, ἀλλ’ ὅσον εἰς τοὐ-
μὸν σῶμα βλάπτομαι, τοσοῦτον ἐν τῷ σῷ κερδαίνω.
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To Demetrius, sophist and friend. (362)
You have gotten back the man you were seeking, and I am looking for the man I had. Even when Eucarpion was away from you, he consoled you because he was yours -- he gave you reason to hope. But once he has sailed, no one will persuade me to feel confident.
Still, I do not lose everything by our separation. Whatever harm I suffer in my own body, I gain that much in yours.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.