Letter 922: Libanius asks Proclus to defend Thalassius against renewed slanders and support his admission to the council.
The proverb says that insult cures love, but that has not happened to me. Even driven off, struck at, and made to hear every kind of abuse, I remain devoted; I still want the same things. If anyone will receive me, I come gladly and treat what was said as though it had never been said. Many can testify that Thalassius is a good man and would rightly share in that council, but Proclus is worth a great many witnesses. No speech can match your deeds. When you governed us, you told the men slandering him to stop, because you at least would not be deceived. Since you said that then, may you use the same words now against his accusers, and persuade the council to admit a man who, down to this very day, has done no wrong in anything, great or small.
AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
Ἡμεῖς δὲ οὐ πεπόνθαμεν τὸ τῆς παροιμίας, ἣ φησιν ἔρωτα ὕβρει λύεσθαι, ἀλλ᾽ ἐλαυνόμενοι καὶ παιόμενοι καὶ τί κακὸν οὐκ ἀκούσαντες ὅμως ἐσμὲν ἐρασταὶ καὶ τῶν αὐτῶν ἐπιθυμοῦμεν κἂν δέχηταί τις, ἐρχόμεθα μεθ᾽ ἡδονῆς οὐδὲν εἰρῆσθαι τῶν εἰρημένων νομίζοντες. τοῦ δὲ ἄνδρα ἀγαθὸν εἶναι τὸν Θαλάσσιον καὶ τῆς βουλῆς ἐκείνης εἰκότως ἂν μετασχεῖν πολλοὶ μὲν οἵ μάρτυρες, ὁ δ᾽ ἀντάξιος πάνυ πολλῶν Πρόκλος. οὗ τοῖς ἔργοις οὐδὲ εἷς λόγος ἴσος. ὃς ἡνίκ᾽ ἦρχεν ἡμῶν, τοῖς τὸν ἄνδρα συκοφαντοῦσιν εἶπεν ὅτι δεῖ πεπαῦσθαι τοῦτο ποιοῦντας ὡς αὑτοῦ γε οὐκ ἀπατησομένου. τοῦ δὴ τότε ταῦτα εἰπόντος εἴη ἂν καὶ πρὸς τοὺς νῦν διαβάλλοντας τοῖς αὐτοῖς χρήσασθαι ῥήμασι καὶ μεταδοῦναι πεῖσαι τοῦ συνεδρίου τῷ μήτε μικρὸν μήτε μεῖζον ἐν μηδενὶ μηδὲν εἰς ταύτην ἡμαρτηκότι τὴν ἡμέραν.
Revision history
- 2026-05-27v2.2.34-import
Initial corpus import from modern libanius foerster vol11 batch4 managed agents 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
Related Letters
Libanius asks Proclus to help Philip, whose education has not saved him from poverty.
Libanius says Proclus is effectively a fourth envoy because his buildings and family influence bind him to Antioch.
A brief request for more letters from Proclus because they heal and impress the city.
Praise for Proclus and his father Erethius.
A tactful but embarrassed complaint about Proclus' silence.