Letter 853: Libanius thanks Mardonius for goodwill toward him and commends Antioch's envoys to his just support.

Even if none of the charges made about me had any force, and something appeared that produced a different judgment, I still owe you thanks for being distressed by what followed. I also owe you thanks for your whole disposition toward me. The envoys, when they told me to write, urged me above all to say that I am especially loved by you. I was glad to hear it, not because of the power you possess, though we know many men who have held power, but because in good judgment, justice, and eagerness to make yourself available to people in need, you have far surpassed the rest. That has made the journey sweeter for our envoys, since they know that through you everything will be theirs, even if they themselves grow slack. Since your reputation is such, anyone who prays must necessarily pray that your life be long, long enough for your own hands to carry even the children of divine Arcadius.

1. Εἰ καὶ μηδὲν ἴσχυσε τῶν περὶ ἐμοῦ δοξάντων, ἀλλ’ ἐφάνη τι τὸ ποιοῦν ἑτέραν κρίσιν, σοί γε καὶ τοῦ τοῖς δευτέροις ἀχθεσθῆναι χάρις, χάρις δέ σοι καὶ τῆς ὅλης γνώμης ἣν ἔχεις περὶ ἡμᾶς. 2. οἱ μέντοι πρέσβεις κελεύοντές μοι γράφειν τούτῳ με μάλιστα παρεκάλουν τῷ μάλιστά με λέγειν ὑπὸ σοῦ φιλεῖσθαι. καὶ τοῦτο ἀκούων ἡδόμην, οὐ διὰ τὴν δύναμιν ἣν ἔχεις, ἐν ᾗ πολλοὺς ἴσμεν γεγενημένους, ἀλλ’ ὅτι καὶ φρονήσει καὶ δικαιοσύνῃ καὶ τῷ σαυτὸν πρόθυμον τοῖς ἐν χρείᾳ παρέχειν πολὺ τοὺς ἄλλους νενίκηκας· ὃ καὶ τοῖς πρέσβεσιν ἡμῶν ἡδίω πεποίηκε τὴν ὁδὸν εἰδόσιν ὡς διὰ σοῦ πάντα αὐτοῖς, εἰ καὶ ῥᾳθυμοῖεν, ἔσται. 3. οὔσης δὲ τοιαύτης σοι τῆς δόξης ἀνάγκη πολλὴ καὶ τὸ εὐχόμενον εἶναι μακρόν τέ σοι γενέσθαι τὸν βίον καὶ τοσοῦτον, ὅσος σοι παρέξει καὶ παῖδας Ἀρκαδίου τοῦ θείου ταῖς σαῖς χερσὶ περιενεγκεῖν.