Letter 78: Without inscription, on behalf of Elpidius. I have not failed to observe the interest you have shown in our venerable friend Elpidius; and how with your usual intelligence you have given the prefect an opportunity of showing his kindness. What I am now writing to ask you is to make this favour complete and suggest to the prefect that he should b...
I've noticed how you've been looking out for our friend Elpidius, and how cleverly you've given the prefect [the provincial governor] an opening to do something generous. Now I'm asking you to finish what you started: suggest to the prefect that he issue a specific order appointing Elpidius to oversee our city [Caesarea, capital of Cappadocia, in modern central Turkey]. The man cares deeply about public welfare, and we need him here.
You'll have no shortage of good arguments to make the case for keeping Elpidius in Caesarea. And frankly, you don't need me to spell them out — you know the situation better than anyone, and you know how capable he is.
Human translation - New Advent (NPNF / ANF series)
Latin / Greek Original
[Πρός: Ἀνεπίγραφος ὑπὲρ Ἐλπιδίου]
Οὐκ ἔλαθεν ἡμᾶς ἡ ἀγαθή σου σπουδὴ περὶ τὸν αἰδεσιμώτατον ἑταῖρον ἡμῶν Ἐλπίδιον, ὅπως τῇ συνήθει σεαυτοῦ συνέσει ἔδωκας καιρὸν φιλανθρωπίας τῷ ἄρχοντι. ταύτην οὖν τὴν χάριν νῦν σε τελειῶσαι παρακαλοῦμεν διὰ τοῦ γράμματος, καὶ ὑπομνῆσαι τὸν ἄρχοντα οἰκείῳ προστάγματι ἐπὶ τῆς πατρίδος ἡμῶν καταστῆναι τὸν ἄνδρα πᾶσαν σχεδὸν τὴν φροντίδα τῶν δημοσίων ἐξηρτημένον. ὥστε πολλὰς ἕξεις καὶ εὐπροσώπους ὑποβάλλειν προφάσεις τῷ ἄρχοντι, ἐξ ὧν ἀναγκαίως ἐπιμένειν αὐτὸν τῇ πατρίδι ἡμῶν προστάξει. οἷα δὲ τὰ ἐνταῦθα, καὶ ὅσου ἄξιος τοῖς πράγμασιν ὁ ἀνήρ, πάντως οὐδὲν δεήσῃ παρʼ ἡμῶν διδαχθῆναι, αὐτὸς τῇ ἑαυτοῦ συνέσει ἀκριβῶς ἐπιστάμενος.
Revision history
- 2026-05-27v2.2.34-import
Initial corpus import from New Advent / NPNF.
Fields: letter text, metadata, source links. Source: https://github.com/PerseusDL/canonical-greekLit/blob/master/data/tlg2040/tlg004/tlg2040.tlg004.perseus-grc2.xml
Related Letters
I took the earliest opportunity of writing to the most admirable Count Terentius, thinking it better to write to him on the subject in hand by means of strangers, and being anxious that our very dear brother Acacius shall not be inconvenienced by any delay. I have therefore given my letter to the government treasurer, who is travelling by the im...
Much distressed as I was by the flouts of what is called fortune, who always seems to be hindering my meeting you, I was wonderfully cheered and comforted by your letter, for I had already been turning over in my mind whether what so many people say is really true, that there is a certain Necessity or Fate which rules all the events of our lives...
Both my long silence and my writing now have their reasons.
A certain convention kept me from being the first to write — old custom requires that travelers initiate the...
How far will your mad folly go? How long will you counsel mischief against yourself? How long will you go on rousing me to wrath, and bringing shame on the common order of solitaries?