Letter 141
Libanius→Unknown|libanius
To the same person. (359/60)
My student Macarius has a father named Macarius -- one of the troops under your command. Every governor has given this man a gift, and the gift is the same each time: permission to see his son, a son who is dear to Memory [i.e., devoted to learning].
Grant him this gift after so many others. You would have been the first to give it, had the opportunity arisen sooner.
**To the Same** (359/60)
Our pupil Macarius has a father named Macarius, and this man is one of the phalanx surrounding you. To him each of the magistrates has given a gift — the gift being time that allows him to see his son, a son dear to the Muses.
Grant him this gift along with the many others, a gift you would have been the first to give.
Τῷ αὐτῷ. (359/60)
Ἡμετέρῳ μαθητῇ Μακαρίῳ Μακάριός ἐστιν ὁ πατὴρ,
εἷς δὲ οὑτοσὶ τῆς ἀμφὶ σὲ φάλαγγος. τούτῳ τῶν ἀρχόντων
ἕκαστος ἔδωκε δῶρον, τὸ δὲ δῶρον χρόνος παρέχων αὐτῷ τὸν
υἱὸν ἰδεῖν, υἱὸν τῇ Μνημοσύνῃ φίλον.
δὸς δὴ τὸ δῶρον
ἐπὶ πολλοῖς, ὃ καὶ πρῶτος ἔδωκας ἄν.
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To the same person. (359/60)
My student Macarius has a father named Macarius -- one of the troops under your command. Every governor has given this man a gift, and the gift is the same each time: permission to see his son, a son who is dear to Memory [i.e., devoted to learning].
Grant him this gift after so many others. You would have been the first to give it, had the opportunity arisen sooner.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.