Letter 27

LibaniusUnknown|libanius

[Fragment] (362?)

...since during your governorship you were a Rhadamanthys [legendary judge of the underworld, proverbial for strict justice] to the Galatians, and even after leaving office you still care for them. That is why those who travel here stay with you, and you do good for them in every way you can. If it were otherwise, there would be nothing but hatred on both sides.

As for the fact that you send other men's sons but hold back your own -- or rather, as it is better to put it, you have not yet been able to send them -- I attribute this to inability, since your desire is clearly strong.

And the young men themselves seem eager to come to me. Their letters prove it, as does their habit of encouraging others to sail our way. For whatever they recommend to others, they have surely already persuaded themselves of...

Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.