Letter 95: By now, Olympius's business should have been settled through you, with letters coming to us from there announcing it...

LibaniusThemistius, philosopher in Constantinople|c. 323 AD|Libanius
education booksfriendshipimperial politicsproperty economics

**To Themistius** (359/60)

By now the favor for Olympius should have been accomplished through you, and letters should have been arriving to us from there announcing that the deed was done, while from us to you there should have come letters praising your eagerness. But, as you see, here again are letters on the same matters.

How has this come about? For you are certainly not idle when friends are in need, nor do you lack the power to help. And you would say there is no cause to fear the proverb that declares it foolish to do good for cowards — for Olympius is not one of that sort. Rather, if anyone is, he is a man well suited to remember a kindness, to watch for the right moment to repay it, and to hasten to return it more generously than he received it. So let the thing be done now, even if it was not done before.

You have two guides to the matter: that earlier letter of mine, in which I explained who the man belongs to and how you came to acquire him, and in which I also set out how he is being wronged and what you must do to prevent it. But if you no longer have the letter, nor any memory of what was in it, you have Olympius's brother, from whom you may learn every detail and then make justice prevail.

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