To the same person. (359/360)
A mother brought her young son Letoius from Armenia and entrusted him to me, her only child. I was pleased with the boy, who has the capacity to absorb learning -- for the colt is sharp -- and I admired his mother: she had not looked toward a second marriage, though she had only one child, and she had traveled such a great distance in the belief that everything would go better for him if she oversaw the beginning of his education in person.
Making him a proper Greek in learning will be the concern of God and of me. Safeguarding his household will be the concern of his mother and of Eusebius, who lives nearby -- a man whose devotion to the divine has led him to take on these worries as well, believing it is the duty of a just man to help an orphan and not allow would-be plunderers to have their way.
His intentions are admirable. But something may actually come of them if he enjoys the weight of your support -- and he will, I know...
A mother brought her young son Letoius from Armenia and entrusted him to me, her only child. I was pleased with the boy, who has the capacity to absorb learning -- for the colt is sharp -- and I admired his mother: she had not looked toward a second marriage, though she had only one child, and she had traveled such a great distance in the belief that everything would go better for him if she oversaw the beginning of his education in person.
Making him a proper Greek in learning will be the concern of God and of me. Safeguarding his household will be the concern of his mother and of Eusebius, who lives nearby -- a man whose devotion to the divine has led him to take on these worries as well, believing it is the duty of a just man to help an orphan and not allow would-be plunderers to have their way.
His intentions are admirable. But something may actually come of them if he enjoys the weight of your support -- and he will, I know...
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.