Letter 49
To Theotimus.
Hiero [tyrant of Syracuse] gained more from his relationship with the poet Simonides than Simonides gained from Hiero [Simonides composed poems that made Hiero famous, though court life corrupted the poet]. I swear by the divinity who presides over our friendship: when I praise you, it is not flattery but truth. Your own merits outrun anything my words can add to them.
May you continue to deserve the praise of the wise — and may the wise continue to have the courage to give it.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.
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