Letter 353: I have read your speech, and have immensely admired it. O muses; O learning; O Athens; what do you not give to those who love you! What fruits do not they gather who spend even a short time with you!
I've read your speech and admired it enormously. O Muses! O learning! O Athens — what gifts you give to those who love you! What harvests are reaped by those who spend even a little time in your company! Oh, to drink from that abundantly flowing fountain of yours! What remarkable men it produces in all who taste it! In your speech I seemed to see the man himself [likely a comic character], together with his chattering little wife. Libanius alone has written a living story — one that breathes — and in doing so has given his words the gift of life itself.
Human translation - New Advent (NPNF / ANF series)
Latin / Greek Original
[Πρός: Βασίλειος Λιβανίῳ]
Ἀνέγνων τὸν λόγον, σοφώτατε, καὶ ὑπερτεθαύμακα. ὦ Μοῦσαι, καὶ λόγοι, καὶ Ἀθῆναι, οἷα τοῖς ἐρασταῖς δωρεῖσθεϲ οἵους κομίζονται τοὺς καρπούς, οἱ βραχύν τινα χρόνον ὑμῖν συγγινόμενοιϲ ὦ πηγῆς πολυχεύμονος, οἵους ἔδειξε τοὺς ἀρυομένουσϲ αὐτὸν γὰρ ἐδόκουν ὁρᾷν ἐν τῷ λόγῳ λάλῳ συνόντα γυναίῳ. ἔμπνουν γὰρ λόγον ἐπὶ χθονὸς Λιβάνιος ἔγραψεν, ὃς μόνος τοῖς λόγοις ψυχὴν ἐχαρίσατο.
Revision history
- 2026-03-20v2.1.0-import
Initial corpus import from New Advent / NPNF.
Fields: letter text, metadata, source links. Source: https://github.com/PerseusDL/canonical-greekLit/blob/master/data/tlg2040/tlg004/tlg2040.tlg004.perseus-grc2.xml
Related Letters
To Libanius [the greatest living Greek rhetorician, based in Antioch].
You, who have included all the art of the ancients in your own mind, are so silent, that you do not even let me get any gain in a letter. I, if the art of Dædalus had only been safe, would have made me Icarus' wings and come to you. But wax cannot be entrusted to the sun, and so, instead of Icarus' wings, I send you words to prove my affection.
What could not a sophist say? And such a sophist! One whose peculiar art is, whenever he likes, to make great things small, and to give greatness to small things!
Your annoyance is over. Let this be the beginning of my letter. Go on mocking and abusing me and mine, whether laughing or in earnest.
I am really ashamed of sending you the Cappadocians one by one. I should prefer to induce all our youths to devote themselves to letters and learning, and to avail themselves of your instruction in their training. But it is impracticable to get hold of them all at once, while they choose what suits themselves.