Letter 957: Libanius explains his silence during Sapor's period of disgrace and congratulates him on his restoration to favor and property.
The reconciliation of the most divine Emperor with you has restored your property and gladdened everyone no less than the man who received it back. These are the rewards for your kindness: even while holding such great power, you were often called 'father,' proving that a commander of soldiers can be anything but harsh. These imperial actions have happened now, but I saw them long ago, and I told my companions that what has happened would happen. The Emperor's character made me a prophet—slow to judge, but swift to grant favor, dissolving blame with benevolence and healing griefs. As for your complaint that no word or letter came from us on your behalf, it was more than I could do given what I received from him, and fearing to seem bold, I was prevented from doing either. I was equally cautious in my own affairs; I would have answered the same to those accusing me. Moreover, sending you a letter of consolation would have invited criticism; and the malicious would have done more. Having suffered much from them in many places, I know how evil a malicious man is, and how such a person can easily light a fire from a single syllable. Caring for both of us, I thought silence better while there was hope that you would talk to yourself and take away your grief with the medicines of your own wisdom—through which, while winning victories in arms, you added another good no less great: gentleness toward the saved. I think this will suffice; but if you would gladly hear more, that will be for when you arrive.
AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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. Αἱ τοῦ θειοτάτου βασιλέως πρὸς σὲ καταλλαγαὶ σοὶ μὲν ἀποδεδώκασι τὴν οὐσίαν, ἅπαντας δὲ ἀνθρώπους εὔφραναν οὐχ ἧττον ἢ τὸν ἀπειληφότα τὴν οὐσίαν. ἀμοιβαὶ δὲ αὗταί σοι τῆς χρηστότητος, ᾗ χρώμενος ἐν τηλικαύτῃ δυνάμει πατὴρ ἐκλήθης πολλάκις δείξας ὡς ἔστι καὶ στρατιωτῶν ἡγούμενον μὴ χαλεπὸν εἶναι. 2. ταυτὶ δὲ τὰ παρὰ τοῦ βασιλέως πέπρακται μὲν νῦν, ἑώρατο δέ μοι πάλαι, καὶ πρὸς τοὺς ἑταίρους προὔλεγον ὡς ἃ γέγονε γενήσεται. μάντιν δὲ ἐποίει με τοῦ βασιλέως ὁ τρόπος ὁ βραδὺς μὲν εἰς δίκην, ταχὺς δὲ εἰς χάριν καὶ μέμψεις φιλανθρωπίᾳ λύων καὶ λύπας ἰώμενος. 3. ὃ δὲ ἐγκαλεῖς, τὸ μηδὲ λόγον ὑπὲρ τῶν τοιούτων ἐλθεῖν αὐτῷ παρ' ἡμῶν ἢ, εἰ μὴ λόγον, ἐπιστολήν, μεῖζον ἦν ἢ κατὰ τὰ δοθέντα μοι παρ' αὐτοῦ, καὶ τὸ δόξαι θρασὺς εἶναι δεδιὼς ἐκωλυόμην ἢ τοῦτο ποιεῖν ἢ 'κεῖνο. τουτὶ δὲ κἀπὶ τῶν ἐμαυτοῦ πραγμάτων ἐφυλαξάμην· πρὸς ἃ καὶ αὐτὰ κατηγοροῦντά μου ταὐτὸν ἂν ἀπεκρινάμην. 4. καὶ μὴν τό γε σοὶ πέμψαι παραμυθίαν ἐν γράμμασιν εἶχεν ἂν τὸν ἐπιτιμῶντα· καὶ πλέον δ' ἂν οἱ κακοήθεις ἐποίουν. ὑφ' ὧν ἐγὼ πολλὰ πολλαχοῦ παθὼν οἶδα ὅσον ἐστὶ κακὸν ἄνθρωπος κακοήθης καὶ ὡς ἀπὸ συλλαβῆς ὅ γε τοιοῦτος ῥᾳδίως ἀνάψειεν ἂν πυράν. 5. ἀμφοτέρων οὖν κηδόμενος, καὶ σοῦ καὶ ἐμοῦ, κάλλιον ἡγησάμην τὴν σιγὴν ὑπούσης τινὸς καὶ τοιαύτης ἐλπίδος σεαυτοῦ διαλέξεσθαι καὶ τῆς λύπης ἀφαιρήσειν τοῖς παρὰ τῆς σῆς φρονήσεως φαρμάκοις, δι' ἣν τὰς ἐν τοῖς ὅπλοις νίκας ἀναιρούμενος προσετίθεις ἕτερον ἀγαθὸν οὐκ ἔλαττον, τὴν πρὸς τὸ σεσωσμένον πραότητα. 6. οἶμαι μὲν οὖν σοι ταῦτα ἀρκέσειν· εἰ δ' ἡδέως ἂν καὶ μακροτέρων ἀκούσαις, πρὸς ἥκοντά σε τοῦτο ἔσται.
Revision history
- 2026-05-27v2.2.34-import
Initial corpus import from modern libanius foerster vol11 batch6 gemini flash ocr reviewed 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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