To Modestus. (363 AD)
This Theodorus was born among us but is enrolled among you, having inherited his father's citizenship. He became my student when I was just beginning my career, and he imitated my labors in rhetoric and my brothers' devotion to me.
His studies gave us hope that he would be a great force in the courts and earn wealth from his voice. But as he advanced, he came to value gold over bronze [i.e., philosophy over advocacy] and grew too noble to think that kind of power important — excelling in temperance, practicing justice, avoiding crowds, and loving quiet.
Now he has come to you under compulsion — and even the gods, they say, yield to necessity. Receive the man kindly, as befits my fellow citizen and student, grant him swift resolution of his affairs, and if anyone tries to wrong him, meet them with the full force of the law. For it would be the height of absurdity if neither his father nor I could be of any help to him — when we have both long been honored by you.
This Theodorus was born among us but is enrolled among you, having inherited his father's citizenship. He became my student when I was just beginning my career, and he imitated my labors in rhetoric and my brothers' devotion to me.
His studies gave us hope that he would be a great force in the courts and earn wealth from his voice. But as he advanced, he came to value gold over bronze [i.e., philosophy over advocacy] and grew too noble to think that kind of power important — excelling in temperance, practicing justice, avoiding crowds, and loving quiet.
Now he has come to you under compulsion — and even the gods, they say, yield to necessity. Receive the man kindly, as befits my fellow citizen and student, grant him swift resolution of his affairs, and if anyone tries to wrong him, meet them with the full force of the law. For it would be the height of absurdity if neither his father nor I could be of any help to him — when we have both long been honored by you.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.