Letter 451
Libanius→Caecilius|libanius
To Caecilius. (355/356)
You found an excellent guardian for your son in the good Tatianus -- a man skillful at spurring on teachers, praising diligence in the young, and both spotting and correcting laziness. So I tell you to take heart: Alexander will not waste a moment of his time, with Tatianus keeping his eye and his mind fixed on the boy.
But I am puzzled that you found the boy such a fine overseer yet keep the boy himself tied up with your flocks.
Καικιλίῳ. (355/56)
Καλόν γε ἐξεῦρες τῷ παιδὶ κηδεμόνα τὸν χρηστὸν Τα-
τιανὸν δεινόν γε ·διδασκάλους τε ἐπεγεῖραι καὶ νέων σπουδὴν
μὲν ἐπαινέσαι, ῥᾳθυμίαν δὲ καὶ ἰδεῖν καὶ παῦσαι. καὶ δή σε
κελεύω θαρρεῖν, ὡς οὐδὲ μικρὸν Ἀλέξανδρος παραναλώσει τοῦ
χρόνου τούτου τείνοντος εἰς ἐκεῖνον τό τε ὄμμα καὶ τὴν γνώ-
μην.
θαυμάζω δὲ ὅτι τὸν μὲν ἐπιμελητὴν ἐπορίσω τῷ νέῳ
γενναῖον, αὐτὸν δὲ τὸν νέον πρὸς τοῖς ὄις δήσας ἔχεις.
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To Caecilius. (355/356)
You found an excellent guardian for your son in the good Tatianus -- a man skillful at spurring on teachers, praising diligence in the young, and both spotting and correcting laziness. So I tell you to take heart: Alexander will not waste a moment of his time, with Tatianus keeping his eye and his mind fixed on the boy.
But I am puzzled that you found the boy such a fine overseer yet keep the boy himself tied up with your flocks.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.