Letter 96: Well, this particular labor has ended well -- the helmsman's skill proved stronger than the wild winds.
Well, this particular labor has ended well -- the helmsman's skill proved stronger than the wild winds.
Now then, set right the city of Alexander [Alexandria] for us too, as it rushes toward ruin. Save its people, and give those of us with the ability to speak something grand to say about you.
If only you had the power to bring the dead back to the light -- you would surely have raised my uncle first of all.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
Μοδέστῳ. (359/60)
Οὗτος μὲν δὴ ἄεθλος εἰς καλὸν ἐτελεύτησε τῆς τοῦ
κυβερνήτου τέχνης κρείττονος γενομένης τῶν ἀγρίων πνευ-
μάτων.
ἄγε δὴ καὶ τὴν Ἀλεξάνδρου πόλιν ὄρθωσον ἡμῖν
ἐπειγομένην εἰς ὄλεθρον, ὅπως οἱ μὲν σώζωνται, περὶ σοῦ
δὲ ὑπάρχῃ τοῖς δυναμένοις λέγειν ὑψηλὰ λέγειν.
ὡς ἴδει
σε δύνασθαι καὶ τοὺς οἰχομένους εἰς φῶς ἄγειν· πάντως γὰρ
ἂν ἡμῖν πρῶτον τὸν θεῖον ἀνέστησας.
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