To Anthios. (355 AD)
Whenever I write to Hierocles — and I have done so many times — I never fail to add: "Please do our friend Anthios a good turn." Perhaps he has already helped you in some way. But even if he paid no attention, I have now found you an ally who would walk through fire for my sake.
If some benefit needs to come your way, he will be eager. If some trouble needs lifting, he will not shrink from it. If another magistrate must be persuaded to deal justly with you, he will not dodge that either.
Best of all, he is delighted that my letters reach you through him. So take heart, approach him, attend to your affairs, and consider that you have seized an opportunity.
Whenever I write to Hierocles — and I have done so many times — I never fail to add: "Please do our friend Anthios a good turn." Perhaps he has already helped you in some way. But even if he paid no attention, I have now found you an ally who would walk through fire for my sake.
If some benefit needs to come your way, he will be eager. If some trouble needs lifting, he will not shrink from it. If another magistrate must be persuaded to deal justly with you, he will not dodge that either.
Best of all, he is delighted that my letters reach you through him. So take heart, approach him, attend to your affairs, and consider that you have seized an opportunity.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.