Letter 459
Libanius→Φωτίῳ|libanius
To Φωτίῳ. (355/56)
I commend to you the bearer of this letter, a person of genuine merit who deserves your favorable attention. In our world, talent without patronage too often goes to waste, while mediocrity with powerful friends flourishes. I write to correct that imbalance in one small case. Please receive this person with the generosity that has always characterized your dealings with those I send your way. You will find that the trust I place in them is well founded.
Φωτίῳ. (355/56)
Ἥδιστον μέν σε Ἄι ἄρχοντα ὁρᾶν, οὐ πολλῷ δὲ ἦττον
τὸ 'τὴν. ἀρετὴν μεθ’ ἧς ἄρχεις ἀκούειν. καὶ θαυμαστόν γε
οὐδὲν μαθητὴν ὄντα τοῦ καλοῦ Στρατηγίου καλὸν ἐν ἀρχαῖς
εἶναι
εἰ μὲν οὖν ἦν παρ’ ὑμῖν, ᾠκοδόμησα ἄν μοι, νῦν
δέ, οὗ πολὺν χρόνον ἀπεστέρημαι χρυσίου, τοῦτο εἰσπράξας
ἀπόστελλε. νομιοῦμεν δὲ οὐκ ὄφλημα κεκομίσθαι μᾶλλον ἡ
δωρεὰν εἰληφέναι.
◆
To Φωτίῳ. (355/56)
I commend to you the bearer of this letter, a person of genuine merit who deserves your favorable attention. In our world, talent without patronage too often goes to waste, while mediocrity with powerful friends flourishes. I write to correct that imbalance in one small case. Please receive this person with the generosity that has always characterized your dealings with those I send your way. You will find that the trust I place in them is well founded.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.