Letter 135: If you call your one letter "many," well, I haven't received only this one.
Libanius→Achillius|c. 326 AD|Libanius|AI-assisted
education books
To Achillius. (359/60)
Well, if you claim that the single letter was many, at any rate I did not receive this one alone; and you are good even in your lying, for you acknowledge what you ought to have done.
As for us, we now take greater care of the boy, believing that we must contribute your share to him as well. And he is the best of the band [of fellow students], perhaps indeed on account of his natural ability; but no small part is played also by his tutor, who threatens, encourages, rouses him, and toils alongside him -- a man enduring a rank lower than befits him for your sake.
What you disclose concerning Albanius is both most pleasing to me and beyond my hopes; for I myself was afraid that he might choose to keep silent, whereas I could be confident if he were willing to speak.
**To Achillius** (359/60)
Even if you claim that your one letter counts as many, I did not receive only that one — though you are gracious in your lie, for you are acknowledging what you ought to have done.
As for us, we are now taking even greater care of your boy, believing we must contribute your share on his behalf as well. He is the best in his class — perhaps owing to his natural ability, but no small credit belongs to his tutor, who threatens, encourages, rouses, and shares in the boy's toils: a man who endures a rank beneath his station for your sake.
As for the news you send about Albanius, it is most welcome to me and beyond what I had hoped. I had feared he would choose silence, but I could take heart so long as he was willing to speak.
Well, if you claim that the single letter was many, at any rate I did not receive this one alone; and you are good even in your lying, for you acknowledge what you ought to have done.
As for us, we now take greater care of the boy, believing that we must contribute your share to him as well. And he is the best of the band [of fellow students], perhaps indeed on account of his natural ability; but no small part is played also by his tutor, who threatens, encourages, rouses him, and toils alongside him -- a man enduring a rank lower than befits him for your sake.
What you disclose concerning Albanius is both most pleasing to me and beyond my hopes; for I myself was afraid that he might choose to keep silent, whereas I could be confident if he were willing to speak.
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.