Letter 74: When I told the philosopher I would write to him, Andronicus said, "And will you not write to the doctor?
Libanius→Hygieinus|c. 321 AD|Libanius|AI-assisted
friendshipillness
To Hygienus. (359)
When I said to the philosopher that I would write, Andronicus said, "And to the physician will you not write?"--and he added, "so that you might show your affection for me," speaking to one who knows the love-charm exactly; for just as parents love their children because they begot them, so too those who have saved love those whom they have saved because they saved them.
The memory of you remains with us as long as there are sick people among us; for that there should be no one falling ill in so great a city is impossible, and, when the physicians come in, your name too comes in along with each of them, both when those men are sufficient to give aid and when they are not. For in the one case it is said that the matter would have been settled more quickly had you laid your hands upon it, and in the other that it would not have happened at all had you been the one giving care.
And now indeed this was very much the case with my uncle, who escaped a violent fever but was not able to recover the ability to use his body.
And I, knowing the cases in which you have often raised me up again, now contend with the physicians here among us.
**To Hygienus** (359)
When I told Andronicus that I would write to the philosopher, he said, "And will you not write to the physician?" He added, too, how fond you are of me — though he was telling this to one who knows that affection perfectly well. For just as parents love their children because they brought them into the world, so too do those who have saved a life love the one they have saved, because they restored him to health.
Your memory lives on among us for as long as there are sick people in our midst — and in a city as great as this, there is never a shortage of the ailing. Whenever physicians come to attend us, your name enters with them on both counts: whether those doctors prove equal to the task or not. For in the one case it is said, "This would have been resolved sooner had Hygienus been the one treating it," and in the other, "This would never have happened had Hygienus been in charge of the care."
And this refrain has been especially loud just now on account of my uncle, who escaped a violent fever but has been unable to recover the full use of his body.
As for me, having learned well from the many times you restored me to my feet, I now presume to argue with our local physicians.
When I said to the philosopher that I would write, Andronicus said, "And to the physician will you not write?"--and he added, "so that you might show your affection for me," speaking to one who knows the love-charm exactly; for just as parents love their children because they begot them, so too those who have saved love those whom they have saved because they saved them.
The memory of you remains with us as long as there are sick people among us; for that there should be no one falling ill in so great a city is impossible, and, when the physicians come in, your name too comes in along with each of them, both when those men are sufficient to give aid and when they are not. For in the one case it is said that the matter would have been settled more quickly had you laid your hands upon it, and in the other that it would not have happened at all had you been the one giving care.
And now indeed this was very much the case with my uncle, who escaped a violent fever but was not able to recover the ability to use his body.
And I, knowing the cases in which you have often raised me up again, now contend with the physicians here among us.
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.