Letter 872: Libanius recommends the philosopher Macedonius to Tatianus, praising the Prefect as a 'savior of cities.'
Odysseus endured his famous wanderings and hardships with one goal: to return home. This philosopher, Macedonius, has similarly exhausted himself with labor, travel, and speeches in his effort to save his own home and help his city. He hasn't achieved everything he wanted, but he has been useful in many ways. It isn't as if he has estates, land, livestock, or apartments to motivate him - he owns nothing of the sort, much like Socrates. Rather, he is driven by a sense of duty toward the city that raised him. If he can heal even a small part of his struggling hometown, he is happier than an Olympic victor. What should we think of a man who serves his city so selflessly, even though many of his fellow citizens have treated his efforts with such poor thanks? In the past, he would approach other prefects with fear, wondering if his embassy would bear fruit or if he could win them over. But now he comes to you without fear, already rejoicing as if his goals were accomplished. The reason for his confidence is you, Tatianus - a man born and raised to be the savior of cities and nations. I am saying this in a letter, but if the gods gave a voice to the earth and sea, they would shout your praises to every person and place. You find the right men, write the right decrees, and give the best advice. Your orders arrive like messengers from the gods, stopping harm and bringing relief. How should we - young and old - repay a man who stays awake worrying for the oppressed? With our prayers, asking that your life and your time in office endure for as long as possible.
AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.
Latin / Greek Original
1. Ὁ μὲν οὖν Ὀδυσσεὺς τὴν πολλὴν ἐκείνην ἔφερε πλάνην καὶ τὰ ἐν αὐτῇ κακὰ πρὸς ἐκεῖνο βλέπων, ὅπως κομιεῖται τὴν αὑτοῦ· τῷ φιλοσόφῳ δὲ τούτῳ πολλοὶ μὲν ἀνάλωνται πόνοι, πολλοὶ δὲ δρόμοι, πολλοὶ δὲ λόγοι σώζειν τε τὴν αὑτοῦ πειρωμένῳ καὶ πατρίδι βοηθεῖν. 2. καὶ οὐχ ὅσα μὲν ἐβούλετο βεβοήθηκεν, ἐν οὐκ ὀλίγοις δὲ αὐτῷ γεγένηται χρήσιμος οὐκ ἀγρῶν αὐτὸν οὐδὲ γῆς οὐδὲ βοσκημάτων οὐδὲ συνοικίας παρακαλούντων, οὐδὲ γάρ ἐστιν οὐδὲν Μακεδονίῳ τοιοῦτον, ὥσπερ οὐδὲ τῷ Σωκράτει, ἀλλ', οἶμαι, τὰ πρὸς τὴν ἐνεγκοῦσαν αἰδεῖται δίκαια, κἂν τι καμούσης ἐκείνης τῆς μικρᾶς ἰᾶσθαι δυνηθῇ, μᾶλλον ἥδεται τῶν Ὀλυμπίασι νενικηκότων. 3. καίτοι ποῖόν τινα χρὴ τὸν τοιοῦτον νομίζειν, ὃς τοιοῦτον αὑτὸν περὶ τὴν αὑτοῦ παρέχεται καὶ ταῦτα ἔχων οὐκ ὀλίγοις οὐκ ὀλίγα τῶν πολιτῶν ἐγκαλεῖν ὡς οὐ καλῶς αὑτοῦ τὰς σπουδὰς ἀμειβομένων; 4. ἐπὶ μὲν οὖν τῶν ἄλλων ὑπάρχων πολὺ τοῦτο λέγων πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐπρέσβευεν· ἆρά τις ἔσται καρπός; ἆρα πείσομεν; ἆρά τι ποιήσομεν; ἆρά του τευξόμεθα; νῦν δὲ οὐ φοβούμενος ἔρχεται τοῖς οὔπω πεπραγμένοις ὡς δὴ γεγενημένοις εὐφραίνων αὑτόν. ἡ δὲ αἰτία τούτου Τατιανὸς καὶ τεχθεὶς καὶ τραφεὶς καὶ παιδευθεὶς ἐπὶ σωτηρίᾳ πόλεών τε καὶ ἐθνῶν. 5. καὶ ταῦτα λέγω μὲν αὐτὸς ἐν ἐπιστολῇ· φωνὴν δὲ εἴ τις ἔδωκε γῇ τε καὶ θαλάττῃ θεῶν, ἀντὶ κηρύκων ἂν τοῖς παρὰ σοῦ δοθεῖσι πᾶσι μὲν ἀνθρώποις, πᾶσι δὲ τόποις ἐγένοντο. τοιαῦτα μὲν εὑρίσκεις, τοιαῦτα δὲ γράφεις, τοιαῦτα δὲ παραινεῖς. 6. καὶ καταλαμβάνει δὴ τὰ γράμματα γράμματα καὶ ἱππεῖς ἱππέας τὰ μὲν παύοντες, τὰ δὲ ἀντεισάγοντες θεῶν, οἶμαι, τινὸς ἐπὶ ταῦτα κινοῦντος, ὥσπερ ἡ Ἥρα τὸν τοῦ Πηλέως παῦσαι βουλομένη τὴν τῶν Ἀχαιῶν φθοράν. 7. τὸν οὖν ὑπὲρ τοιούτων ἀγρυπνοῦντά τε καὶ κακουμένους ἐξ ὧν δὴ καὶ ἐκακώθησαν, οὐκ ἐῶντα ἀπειπεῖν τίσιν ἀμειβόμεθα καὶ νέοι καὶ γέροντες; εὐχαῖς ἐν αἷς αἰτοῦμεν ἄλλα τε οἷα εἰκὸς τοὺς τῶν τοιούτων τυγχάνοντας καὶ τετυχηκότας καὶ προελθεῖν τόν τε βίον καὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐπὶ μήκιστον.
Revision history
- 2026-05-27v2.2.34-import
Initial corpus import from modern libanius foerster vol11 batch3 gemini flash v1.
Fields: letter text, metadata, source links. Source: https://archive.org/download/foerster-libanii-opera/Foerster%20%281922%29%2C%20Libanii%20opera%2011_djvu.xml
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