To Modestus. (363 AD)
This Elpidius is the son of the famous Xiphidius, and no less skilled than his father in his craft. He is the gentlest of all men, and having practiced modesty from youth he has preserved it into old age, winning many friends thereby — of whom I am one.
That you would be glad to see him arrive as a helper to the city was only natural, since you would even honor the man publicly with a statue if Poseidon granted him the power to make your city flow with water. But he hoped to gain something more from the fact that my friendship with you is not unknown. And perhaps reasonably so — for it has been proclaimed that whoever is dear to me is honored by you.
Come then, confirm his hopes and hold the man in high regard, honoring him partly for the work he has come to do, and partly as a companion of mine.
This Elpidius is the son of the famous Xiphidius, and no less skilled than his father in his craft. He is the gentlest of all men, and having practiced modesty from youth he has preserved it into old age, winning many friends thereby — of whom I am one.
That you would be glad to see him arrive as a helper to the city was only natural, since you would even honor the man publicly with a statue if Poseidon granted him the power to make your city flow with water. But he hoped to gain something more from the fact that my friendship with you is not unknown. And perhaps reasonably so — for it has been proclaimed that whoever is dear to me is honored by you.
Come then, confirm his hopes and hold the man in high regard, honoring him partly for the work he has come to do, and partly as a companion of mine.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.