Letter 780
Libanius→Τῷ αὐτῷ|libanius
To the same. (362)
A decent man asked me to make a request of you — a favor not beyond what is fitting: that you look kindly on a certain Papirianus, a treasurer of public funds. I have not met the man myself, but if his character resembles that of his friend, and the similarity of their ways produced the friendship, he must be a good man.
If the treasurer is not a scoundrel — which is my guess — let him receive some benefit.
Τῷ αὐτῷ. (362)
Ἀνήρ τις τῶν ἐπιεικῶν ἐδεήθη μου δεηθῆναί σου καὶ
χάριν αἰτῆσαι τοῦ πρέποντος οὐκ ἔξω, ταμίαν τινὰ κοινῶν
χρημάτων, Παπιριανὸν ὅπως βλέποις ἡδέως· ἐγὼ δὲ ἐκεῖνον
μὲν οὐκ εἶδον· εἰ δ’ ἔοικε τούτῳ καὶ ἡ τῶν τρόπων ὁμοιότης
εἴργασται τὴν φιλίαν, χρηστὸς ἂν εἴη.
εἰ οὖν μὴ φαῦλος
ὁ ταμίας, ὅπερ εἰκάζω, τυγχανέτω τινὸς ἀγαθοῦ.
◆
To the same. (362)
A decent man asked me to make a request of you — a favor not beyond what is fitting: that you look kindly on a certain Papirianus, a treasurer of public funds. I have not met the man myself, but if his character resembles that of his friend, and the similarity of their ways produced the friendship, he must be a good man.
If the treasurer is not a scoundrel — which is my guess — let him receive some benefit.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.