Letter 898: Libanius thanks Elebichus for his support and urges him to return to Antioch.
It is a great thing for us to have the excellent Annianus back, crowned with honors by Thrace for his service there, but it is even greater that he arrived with a letter from you. It seems you intended to honor me not only when I was present, but now in my absence as well. You praise me in all your circles, and you favor those who praise me, while anyone who criticizes me - for such people do exist - leaves your presence in regret. Now you honor me again by taking pleasure in my letters, and in turn, I honor you with mine. But I beg you - and the city [Antioch] begs with me - to remember the promise you made when you left us. You promised that after enjoying the 'Great City' [Constantinople], you would give yourself back to the city that is smaller than that one, yet larger and more beautiful than many others. You have given us a reason to speak of beauty by giving us such a house, and by adding a bath to it that sits in the center of the city and draws people from every gate, both young and old.
AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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. Μέγα μὲν ἡμῖν τὸ τὸν ἄριστον Ἀννιανὸν αὖθις ἔχειν ἐστεφανωμένον ὑπὸ τῆς Θρᾴκης διὰ τὰ περὶ τὴν Θρᾴκην· πολλῷ δὲ μεῖζον τὸ καὶ μετὰ σῶν ἥκειν αὐτὸν γραμμάτων. 2. καὶ οὐκ ἄρα παρόντας ἡμᾶς ἔμελλες τιμήσειν μόνον, ἀλλ᾽ ἤδη καὶ ἀπόντας. ἔπαινοί τε γὰρ ἡμῖν ἐν πᾶσι παρὰ σοὶ συλλόγοις καὶ τῶν ἄλλων τοὺς ἐπαινοῦντας ἡμᾶς φιλεῖς ὅ τε ψέγων, εἰσὶ γὰρ δὴ καὶ οὗτοι, λυπήσας ἀπέρχεται. 3. πάλιν τοίνυν τῷ χαίρειν τοῖς παρ᾽ ἡμῶν γράμμασι τιμῶν καὶ τοῖς παρὰ σοῦ τιμᾷς. ἀλλά σου δέομαι, δεῖται δὲ μετ᾽ ἐμοῦ καὶ ἡ πόλις, ἀναμνῆσαι σεαυτὸν ὧν ὅτε ἐξῄεις παρ᾽ ἡμῶν ἐπηγγέλλου. ἐπηγγέλλου δὲ τῆς Μεγάλης ἀπολαύσας πόλεως δώσειν πάλιν σεαυτὸν τῇ λειπομένῃ μὲν ἐκείνης, οὐκ ὀλίγων μέντοι μείζονι, προσθείην δ᾽ ἂν καὶ καλλίονι. 4. σὺ γὰρ ἡμῖν δέδωκας καὶ περὶ κάλλους τι λέγειν δοὺς μὲν οἰκίαν τοιαύτην, προσθεὶς δὲ αὐτῇ λουτρόν, ὃ κεῖται μὲν ἐν μέσῃ τῇ πόλει, ἄγει δὲ τοὺς ἀφ᾽ ἑκάστης πύλης ἐφ᾽ ἑαυτό, νεότητά τε καὶ γῆρας.
Revision history
- 2026-05-27v2.2.34-import
Initial corpus import from modern libanius foerster vol11 batch3 gemini flash v1.
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Related Letters
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Basil to Urbicius the monk, concerning continency You do well in making exact definitions for us, so that we may recognise not only continency, but its fruit. Now its fruit is the companionship of God. For not to be corrupted, is to have part with God; just as to be corrupted is the companionship of the world.
To the same. (362)