Letter 588
Libanius→Ἰαμβλίχῳ|libanius
To Iamblichus. (357 AD)
You described the famine and the cold so vividly in your letter that I shivered and felt hungry just reading it. But you must bear these things and worse still, coming as you do from a household devoted to philosophy. And the prizes for which you endure these hardships are greater than the hardships themselves — so keep your eyes on those and do not be distressed by your present troubles.
As for Hierocles' advice, it was never right to disregard it, and now obedience is a necessity. Go then with good fortune, and when you have received whatever the gods may give, return to us rejoicing.
Ἰαμβλίχῳ. (357)
Οὕτως ἐξῆρας τῷ λόγῳ τόν τε λιμὸν καὶ τὸ ψῦχος, Μ’
ἀναγινώσκων ἐρρίγωσά τε καὶ ἐπείνησα. σὲ δὲ καὶ ταῦτα κοὶ
ἔτι χαλεπώτερα δεῖ φέρειν ἀπὸ τῆς φιλοσοφούσης οἰκίας γε-
γονότα. καὶ τὰ ἆθλα δέ, ὑπὲρ ὧν τὰ δυσχερῆ, μείζω τῶν
δυσχερῶν· ὥστ’ εἰς ἐκεῖνα βλέπων μὴ τοῖς παροῦσιν ἀνιῶ.
τοῖς δὲ Ἱεροκλέους λόγοις οὐδὲ πρότερον μὲν ἀπειθεῖν
ἴδει, νῦν δὲ καὶ ἀνάγκη πείθεσθαι. τύχῃ τ’ οὖν ἀγαθῇ χώρει
καὶ δεξάμενος ὅ τι ἂν διδῶσιν οἱ θεοί, χαίρων ἐπάνιθι.
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To Iamblichus. (357 AD)
You described the famine and the cold so vividly in your letter that I shivered and felt hungry just reading it. But you must bear these things and worse still, coming as you do from a household devoted to philosophy. And the prizes for which you endure these hardships are greater than the hardships themselves — so keep your eyes on those and do not be distressed by your present troubles.
As for Hierocles' advice, it was never right to disregard it, and now obedience is a necessity. Go then with good fortune, and when you have received whatever the gods may give, return to us rejoicing.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.