To Italicianus. (355)
I know a letter from me delights you. You were the one who used to fly to hear me speak and then fly again with excitement during the lectures, rushing to every session and doing everything to take it all in.
It was obvious, then, that you would not dishonor a letter from someone whose speeches you honor. And I repay you with pride -- pride that you are well regarded by the wise Olympius, a man who visits the sick and restores them to health, and who is so true a friend that he would march against the Gorgons themselves for a friend's sake.
You will see him doing remarkable things in the struggles he undertakes on our behalf -- struggles in which you will surely join, even if no one urges you to.
I know a letter from me delights you. You were the one who used to fly to hear me speak and then fly again with excitement during the lectures, rushing to every session and doing everything to take it all in.
It was obvious, then, that you would not dishonor a letter from someone whose speeches you honor. And I repay you with pride -- pride that you are well regarded by the wise Olympius, a man who visits the sick and restores them to health, and who is so true a friend that he would march against the Gorgons themselves for a friend's sake.
You will see him doing remarkable things in the struggles he undertakes on our behalf -- struggles in which you will surely join, even if no one urges you to.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.