Letter 516: Dulcitius belongs to the powerful faction, as you well know, but he would rather earn your esteem through decency...
To Cataphronius. (356)
Dulcitius belongs, as you know, to that influential association; but he would prefer to be thought worthy of honor from you on account of his fairness rather than because of his power. Let this be a sign to you: that he has trusted more in the letters that come from us than in all the credentials he brings from the magistracy. This same thing is both a source of strength for him and a measure of praise for you, if you should appear to respect the sophists more than you fear the magistrates. I, then, am grateful to him for this, that he gave me the occasion to address you; and you, if you have it in you to receive the favor, show it by your deed. In any case, it will suffice for Dulcitius that the Egyptians learn that you in fact know him.
AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
Καταφρονίῳ. (356)
Δουλκίτιός ἐστι μὲν ἀπὸ τῆς ἰσχυούσης ὅσον οἶσθα
συμμορίας, βούλοιτο δ’ ἂν ἐπιεικείᾳ μᾶλλον ἢ τῷ δύνασθαι
δόξαι τῆς παρὰ σοῦ τιμῆς τυγχάνειν.
γινέσθω δέ σοι ση-
μεῖον τὸ τοῖς παρ’ ἡμῶν αὐτὸν μᾶλλον πιστεῦσαι γράμμασιν
ἢ ὅσα τῆς ἀρχῆς ἔρχεται φέρων. τὸ δὲ αὐτὸ τούτῳ τε ἰσχυρὸν
καὶ σοί τις ἔπαινος, εἰ φαίνοιο τοὺς σοφιστὰς μᾶλλον αἰδού-
μένος ἢ τοὺς ἄρχοντας φοβούμενος.
ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν οἶδα
τούτῳ χάριν, ὅτι μοι προσειπεῖν ἔδωκέ σε· σὺ δ’ εἰ τοῦ λαβεῖν
ἔχεις, δεῖξον ἔργῳ. πάντως δὲ ἀρκέσει Δουλκιτίῳ γνῶναι
τοὺς Αἰγυπτίους ὡς ἄρα αὐτὸν ἐπίστασαι.
Revision history
- 2026-05-27v2.2.34-import
Initial corpus import from modern libanius retranslated v1.
Fields: letter text, metadata, source links. Source: https://github.com/OpenGreekAndLatin/First1KGreek/blob/master/volume_xml/libanius_10.xml
Related Letters
(The comprovincial Bishops had notified the elder Gregory of their Synod, but without mentioning its date or purpose or inviting him to take part in it — probably because they knew how strongly he would support the election of Basil, to which they were unfavourable. S. Gregory therefore wrote the following letter in his father's name.) How sweet...
Up to this time I used to think Homer a fable, when I read the second part of his poem, in which he narrates the adventures of Ulysses. But the calamity which has befallen the most excellent Maximus has led me to look on what I used to think fabulous and incredible, as exceedingly probable. Maximus was governor of no insignificant people, just a...
1. Did but my health allow of my being able to undertake a journey without difficulty, and of putting up with the inclemency of the winter, I should, instead of writing, have travelled to your excellency in person, and this for two reasons. First to pay my old debt, for I know that I promised to come to Sebastia and to have the pleasure of seein...
Are you then forgetful of us?
...I'm waiting impatiently for your arrival.