Letter 75: I do not write to you often -- for what would I say?
To Meterius and Alcimus. (359)
I do not write to you often -- for what would I say? The latest of my misfortunes? It is enough if you can bear your own. That one must endure? I do not have words equal to that task. That you should come visit us? No invitation of mine could persuade you.
For people in our condition, it is better not to write at all than to write.
AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
Μητερίῳ καὶ Ἀλκίμῳ. (359)
Οὐ γράφω πολλάκις ὑμῖν· τί γὰρ ἂν καὶ γράφειν ἔχοιμι;
τὰ νεώτερα τῶν ἐμῶν κακῶν; ἀλλ’ ἐάν τὰ ὑμέτερα φέρητε,
κέρδος. ἀλλ’ ὡς χρὴ καρτερεῖν; οὐκ ἔμοιγε τοσοῦτος ὑπάρχει
λόγος. ἀλλ’ ὡς χρὴ παρ’ ἡμᾶς ἐλθεῖν; οὐκ ἔστι πεῖσαι κα-
λοῦντα.
κρεῖττον οὖν τοῦ γράφειν τοῖς ὧδε ἔχουσι τὸ μὴ
γράφειν.
Revision history
- 2026-03-20v2.1.0-import
Initial corpus import from AI-assisted translation from original text.
Fields: letter text, metadata, source links. Source: https://github.com/OpenGreekAndLatin/First1KGreek/blob/master/volume_xml/libanius_10.xml
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