From: Libanius, rhetorician in Antioch
To: Marcellinus
Date: ~359 AD
Context: A brief note asking a father to enlist his son's help with Mocimus's business.
I asked the others to assist Mocimus with the sale he's come for. But your son, as is natural, will make the request on our behalf -- that nothing be left undone, so that once the boy joins my school, he'll find me well-disposed through gratitude for the favor.
Show your son this letter and watch his eagerness.
**To Marcellinus** (359/60)
The others I had to ask myself to assist Mocimus with the sale for which he has come, but on my behalf the boy will naturally entreat you to spare no effort, so that when he becomes one of my chorus, he may find me gentle—mindful of the favor.
Show the letter to your son, and observe his eagerness.
Context:A brief note asking a father to enlist his son's help with Mocimus's business.
I asked the others to assist Mocimus with the sale he's come for. But your son, as is natural, will make the request on our behalf -- that nothing be left undone, so that once the boy joins my school, he'll find me well-disposed through gratitude for the favor.
Show your son this letter and watch his eagerness.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.