Letter 82

You know — whether by reputation or firsthand — how long I've championed your achievements. So I won't stand by while anything threatens the goodwill you've earned. My friend Priscianus, who ranks among the foremost philosophers for both learning and character, receives a salary by authority of the Senate. I'm told a dispute has arisen over his stipend. Even if the Senate had never granted him such an allowance before, your own commitment to learning ought to ensure he receives it. You know the old principle: the liberal arts are nourished by honor, and it's the mark of a flourishing republic that generous rewards are paid to teachers and scholars. I ask you, therefore, not to let this uncertainty diminish his benefit or undercut the august body's authority to confirm it. Your own reputation and glory are at stake: let it appear that you questioned the philosopher's salary in order to confirm it — not to deny it.

Praesamptum ant conpertnm tenes, quanta mihi sit tnae landis antiqnitas. ea- propter nihil fieri patior, qnod actnnm tnomm gratiam devennstet. Priscianns frater mens cnm primis philosophornm litteratnra et honestate censendns senatn anctore sa- & larii emolnmenta conseqnitnr. snper eins annonis dicitnr orta dnbitatio, cni si nihil talis conpendii optiniatinm volnntas ante tribnisset, emditio tna frnctnm ferre deberet. scis enim bonas artes honore nntriri atqne hoc specimen florentis esse reip. , nt disci- plinamm professoribns praemia opnlenta pendantnr. qnaeso igitnr, ne hac inqnietu- dine ant illins minnatnr ntilitas aut amplissimo ordini censendi anctoritas derogetnr. lo interest famae et gloriae tnae, ut confirmandi magis qnam negandi commocU cansa de philosophi salario dnbitasse videaris. LXXX (LXXmi) .