Letter 717
Libanius→Julian, friend|libanius
To Julian, friend. (362)
Even if you do not write to me, I still feast on your letters. Whenever I learn that someone has received one, I am immediately at their side, and whether by persuasion or by force over their objections, I read it.
The profit, then, is no less than theirs. But the honor belongs to them alone. I too desire honor, since I desire your affection. For clearly, if you honor me at all, you would not do so without loving me.
Ἰουλιανῷ. (362)
Ἀλλ’ εἰ καὶ μὴ πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἐπιστέλλεις, ἡμεῖς γε τοῖς
σοῖς ἑστιώμεθα γράμμασιν. ὅταν γὰρ ὅτι τις ἔλαβε μάθοvεν,
εὐθὺς ἡμεῖς πλησίον καὶ ἢ πείσαντες ἢ κρατήσαντερ ἀκόντων
ἀνέγνωμεν.
τὸ μὲν οὖν κέρδος οὐχ ἧττον ἢ ᾿ κείνων,
τὸ τετιμῆσθαι δὲ παρ’ ἐκείνοις μόνοις ἐρῶμεν δὲ καὶ αὐτοὶ
τιμῆς, ἐπειδὴ καὶ φίλτρου τοῦ παρὰ σοί. δῆλον γὰρ ὡς, εἴ τι
τιμήσεις, οὐκ ἄνευ γε τοῦ φιλεῖν τοῦτο ποιήσεις.
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To Julian, friend. (362)
Even if you do not write to me, I still feast on your letters. Whenever I learn that someone has received one, I am immediately at their side, and whether by persuasion or by force over their objections, I read it.
The profit, then, is no less than theirs. But the honor belongs to them alone. I too desire honor, since I desire your affection. For clearly, if you honor me at all, you would not do so without loving me.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.