Letter 971: Libanius again asks Photius for a favor, this time for Argyrius.
I am taking advantage of your kindness again, because I am about to ask for something again, and of course you will grant it. I know that perfectly well. Both parts of this give you pleasure, and for that reason I pray that many people will need you through me, so that I may receive many benefits from you. Come then, imitate yourself. With only a few words, make the public duty now in Argyrius' hands much less heavy. You owe him thanks, perhaps for your own sake, and certainly for mine, since he has honored me all along in word and deed.
AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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. Πάλιν σοι χαρίζομαι· μέλλω γὰρ αἰτεῖν τι πάλιν, καὶ σὺ δήπου δώσεις. ἀκριβῶς οἶδα τοῦτο ἐγώ. φέρει δέ σοι ταῦτα ἡδονὴν ἀμφότερα, διόπερ ἐν εὐχῇ σοι πολλοὺς εἶναι τοὺς δι᾿ ἐμοῦ σου δεομένους, ὅπως ἂν εἴην πολλὰ εὖ πεπονθὼς ὑπὸ σοῦ. 2. ἴθι τοίνυν, μιμοῦ τὰ σαυτοῦ καὶ ῥήμασιν οὐ πολλοῖς Ἀργυρίῳ τὴν ἐν χερσὶ λειτουργίαν τὴν πάνυ βαρεῖαν ποίει μὴ πάνυ βαρεῖαν. ὀφείλεις δὲ αὐτῷ χάριτας ἴσως μὲν καὶ ὑπὲρ σοῦ, πάντως μὴν ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ τοῦ παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ πάντα δὴ τὸν χρόνον καὶ λόγοις καὶ ἔργοις τετιμημένου.
Revision history
- 2026-05-27v2.2.34-import
Initial corpus import from modern libanius foerster vol11 batch7 t257 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
Related Letters
Libanius asks Photius to send a more lenient letter to Romulus.
Libanius asks Photius to continue helping the sophist Eusebius and promises public praise in return.
Libanius writes to Photius about Eusebius's visit, praising Photius's character.
To the Emperor Gratian — Ambrose, Bishop.
For fear of presumption, a terrible ill from which one can escape with difficulty, lest we remain on earth and be...