Letter 167: It is good of you to consider me a friend and to write, even though we have never met in person.
Libanius→Zeno|c. 329 AD|Libanius|AI-assisted
diplomaticeducation booksfriendship
To Zeno. (359/60)
You do well in considering me a friend and in writing to me, even though we have not yet met in person, since I too have long loved you, having been preserved through your pupils, and I was stricken by your misfortune, seeing what manner of man you are and what you have suffered; and I have many times entreated Fortune to make peace with you and to restore you again to your accustomed state. And she, as it seems, is being persuaded and is becoming reconciled: such a report has come about the whole intrigue, that it is at once receiving its resolution. Lighten yourself, then, with hope, and await the outcome.
The man who delivered the letters to us admitted that he had come slowly, and he blamed the winds; so do you yourself blame the winds in turn rather than [...].
**To Zenon** (359/60)
You do well to consider me a friend and to write to me, even though we have never yet met in person — for I too have long held you in affection, having come to know you through your students, and I was struck by your misfortune: what a man you are, and what things you have suffered! Many times I have beseeched Fortune to make peace with you and restore you to your former station.
And it seems she is listening and is being reconciled: word has come that the whole affair contrived against you will shortly be resolved. Take heart, then, in this hope, and await the outcome.
As for the man who delivered your letters to us, he was slow to admit he had arrived, and he blamed the — but blame the winds yourself instead of those who blame the winds.
You do well in considering me a friend and in writing to me, even though we have not yet met in person, since I too have long loved you, having been preserved through your pupils, and I was stricken by your misfortune, seeing what manner of man you are and what you have suffered; and I have many times entreated Fortune to make peace with you and to restore you again to your accustomed state. And she, as it seems, is being persuaded and is becoming reconciled: such a report has come about the whole intrigue, that it is at once receiving its resolution. Lighten yourself, then, with hope, and await the outcome.
The man who delivered the letters to us admitted that he had come slowly, and he blamed the winds; so do you yourself blame the winds in turn rather than [...].
AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.
Latin / Greek Original
Ζήνωνι. (359/60)
Καλῶς ποιεῖς φίλον τέ με νομίζων καὶ ἐπιστέλλων, εἰ καὶ μήπω συνεμίξαμεν, ἐπεὶ καὶ αὐτὸς πάλαι τέ σε φιλῶ διὰ