Letter 402
Libanius→Θεμιστοκλεῖ|libanius
To Themistocles. (355 AD)
Once again the wise Olympios is among you — once again those gatherings, dialogues, and banquets worthy of a written account: a sophist holding forth on rhetoric, a grammarian on the poets, you and Themistios drawing from philosophy, and Olympios copious on every subject, flowing abundantly and pure, drawing the diners from their feast with the beauty of his words and making the listening sweeter than the table.
You will perhaps remember me too — and perhaps to my advantage. For you will praise me in my absence without annoying those who are present.
Θεμιστοκλεῖ (355)
Πάλιν ὁ σοφὸς παρ’ ὑμῖν Ὀλύμπιος, πάλιν ἐκεῖνοι σύλ-
λογοι καὶ διάλογοι καὶ συμπόσια συγγραφῆς ἄξια, σοφιστὴς
ὑπὲρ ῥητορικῆς τι λέγων, γραμματιστὴς ὑπὲρ τῶν ποιητῶν,
σὺ καὶ Θεμίστιος ἐκ φιλοσοφίας, Ὀλύμπιος περὶ πάντων πο-
λύς τε ῥέων καὶ καθαρὸς καὶ τῷ κάλλει τῶν ὀνομάτων ἀφέλ—
κῶν τοὺς δαιτυμόνας τῆς θοίνης καὶ ποιῶν ἡδίω τῆς τρα-
πέζης τὴν ἀκρόασιν.
ἐμοῦ δὲ ἴσως μεμνήσεσθε καὶ τάχ
ἴσως ἐπ’ ἀμείνοσιν. ἀπόντα γὰρ ἐπαινέσεσθε καὶ τοὺς παρόν-
τας ουκ ἀνιάσετε.
◆
To Themistocles. (355 AD)
Once again the wise Olympios is among you — once again those gatherings, dialogues, and banquets worthy of a written account: a sophist holding forth on rhetoric, a grammarian on the poets, you and Themistios drawing from philosophy, and Olympios copious on every subject, flowing abundantly and pure, drawing the diners from their feast with the beauty of his words and making the listening sweeter than the table.
You will perhaps remember me too — and perhaps to my advantage. For you will praise me in my absence without annoying those who are present.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.