Roman Letters

Letter 882: Libanius asks Africanus to help Peter recover property stolen from him in both Syria and Egypt.

Libanius→Africanus, correspondent of Libanius|c. 388 AD|Libanius|From Antioch|AI-assisted
property rightsjusticeinter-provincial lawrecommendation
The request for a letter to Egypt shows how administrative influence in late antiquity often crossed provincial boundaries through personal and professional networks.
◆

I hope that our excellent friend Peter is finally reaching the end of his wanderings, his troubles, and his long travels. He has been deprived of his property for a long time now, but the obstacles that previously stood in his way have been removed. You will quickly see the justice in his case; I know you loathe shamelessness and feel genuine compassion for those who have been wronged. I trust you will bring this matter to a conclusion and show Peter what a true judge looks like. Since he is being wronged both here and in Egypt, we ask for your help in both places - resolve the first matter with your own ruling, and the second with a letter. If such a letter reaches the excellent Alexander, it will go well for Peter there as well. We will be sure to praise you for your help in both instances.

AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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

1. Νῦν ἐλπίζω παύσεσθαι καὶ πλάνης καὶ πραγμάτων καὶ δρόμων τὸν χρηστὸν τουτονὶ Πέτρον πολὺν ἤδη χρόνον ἀποστερούμενον τῶν αὑτοῦ. ἃ γὰρ ἦν αὐτῷ πρότερον βλάβη, ταῦτα ἀνήρηται νῦν. 2. καὶ γὰρ ὄψει τὸ δίκαιον ὀξέως καὶ τὸν ἀναισχυντοῦντα μισήσεις καὶ τῷ παθόντι κακῶς συναχθεσθήσῃ καὶ τὰ γνωσθέντα πρὸς τέλος ἄξεις καὶ τὸν ὡς ἀληθῶς δείξεις Πέτρῳ δικαστήν. 3. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἀδικεῖται μὲν παρ' ἡμῖν, ἀδικεῖται δὲ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ, δεόμεθά σου καὶ περὶ τῶν δευτέρων, ἵνα τὰ μὲν ἰάσῃ ψήφῳ, τὰ δὲ δι' ἐπιστολῆς· ἧς ἐλθούσης πως πρὸς τὸν ἄριστον Ἀλέξανδρον ἔσται τι τῷ Πέτρῳ κἀκεῖ καλόν, ἡμεῖς δέ σε ἐπ' ἀμφοῖν ἐπαινεσόμεθα.

Text source →View original manuscript →

Revision history

  1. 2026-05-27v2.2.34-import

    Initial corpus import from modern libanius foerster vol11 batch3 gemini flash v1.

    Fields: letter text, metadata, source links. Source: https://archive.org/download/foerster-libanii-opera/Foerster%20%281922%29%2C%20Libanii%20opera%2011_djvu.xml

Related Letters

Libanius→Africanus, correspondent of Libaniusc. 390 AD · libanius #931

Libanius recommends Boethus to Africanus and praises the recipient as equal to himself in Boethus' eyes.

Quintus Aurelius Symmachus→Atticusc. 381 AD · symmachus #7031

You always claim you put my interests above your own.

Ambrose of Milan→Emperor Theodosius Ic. 385 AD · ambrose milan #50011

Ambrose, Bishop, to the most clement Emperor Theodosius.

Libanius→Celsus, governor of Ciliciac. 382 AD · libanius #715

The law requires of doctors only one public service: the practice of their art.

Libanius→Siburius, correspondent of Libaniusc. 390 AD · libanius #982

Libanius urges Siburius to act against wrongdoers who harmed Iamblichus.