To Themistius. (~361 AD)
I would not say that Julian was equally distressed at leaving us and delighted at going to you — rather, his pleasure exceeded his pain.
For just as a merchant sailing from port to port, from one less profitable in trade to another more favorable to his commerce, does not disparage the first but fixes his gaze from afar on the second, so Julian, without dishonoring us, is drawn by the harbor he finds in you. For you are among those who know everything, and he has left no branch of learning untouched.
If you display rhetoric, he will cheer; if Plato and philosophy come up, he will be stirred; if you discuss the stars, you will not find him idle; and if you examine the poets, he will devote himself to what he loves best in them.
Trusting that your time together will lead to still more fine things, I claim a share in the pleasure. For you will remember me — of this I am certain. You will say, "That fellow really should have been here," and he will add, "Indeed, he absolutely should have been."
I would not say that Julian was equally distressed at leaving us and delighted at going to you — rather, his pleasure exceeded his pain.
For just as a merchant sailing from port to port, from one less profitable in trade to another more favorable to his commerce, does not disparage the first but fixes his gaze from afar on the second, so Julian, without dishonoring us, is drawn by the harbor he finds in you. For you are among those who know everything, and he has left no branch of learning untouched.
If you display rhetoric, he will cheer; if Plato and philosophy come up, he will be stirred; if you discuss the stars, you will not find him idle; and if you examine the poets, he will devote himself to what he loves best in them.
Trusting that your time together will lead to still more fine things, I claim a share in the pleasure. For you will remember me — of this I am certain. You will say, "That fellow really should have been here," and he will add, "Indeed, he absolutely should have been."
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.