Letter 91: That I wasn't able to meet you and make your acquaintance while you were here in Antioch -- for that I blame my...
Libanius→Pannychius, newly appointed provincial governor|c. 322 AD|Libanius|AI-assisted
education booksimperial politics
To Pannychius. (359)
That I was not able, while present here, to become known to you through meeting you, I blame on the lack of leisure caused by my students. And for you too it would perhaps not have been unwelcome to see me and to converse with me before you took up your office; but what prevented it, I suppose, was the multitude of cares which, before you set foot in the cities, you had about the prefect on the office's account.
It makes sense, therefore, that those grieved at not having met should resort to the second voyage, and that those who have failed should take to the oars and write. And I so hope to have you as a friend, and that you yourself will both take pleasure in my letters and at once imitate them in kind, that, as though long acquainted, I do not hesitate even in my first letter to ask a favor; for the things I would not be ashamed to say to you in person, I would be doing wrong not to write.
That Pelagius, in birth and in his other distinction, ranks among the foremost of those about the Euphrates, I think even the Euphrates itself would say, were it to be granted a voice; and he was my fellow-student, and we delighted in one another. But the man's character was praised still more, for I will not deny it, considering this too to be a credit to myself, if I showed myself by nature rejoicing in such a man.
And indeed there grew up together with him his quality of fairness, which all men, no less than the Syrians, came to know through all the offices he passed; and he passed through very many, when he served as envoy and by his own conduct secured a better reputation for his family. So that it seems to me he would altogether, even in democracies, have been crowned for having done this well.
And the greatest thing: for I do not know shrewdness and gentleness, both in such measure, having come together in any other man, and yet how is the calm man not slow to reckon, while the quicker man is fairly turbulent too? But this man at least blended both and persuaded them to dwell together, possessing calm of judgment along with good counsel; hence in finding what is needful he is second to none, and in the other quality altogether the best, having recognized, if anyone has, the proper moment for speech and for silence, knowing how to praise a good magistrate but to spare one who is not such, guarding his ancestral possessions while not cutting away those of his neighbors.
You yourself could say these things and more to another, for the helmsman surely knows his sailor, and the chorus-leader his chorus-members. This chorus-member, then, of such a kind, I know that you will make the object of your care, both granting favor to good men, for he is a concern to all of them, and teaching your subjects that whoever pursues virtue stands higher in your regard than those who do not love her.
As for me, I will not requite your favor in deed, for my concerns at least do not lie in deeds, but in saying what is fitting about your deeds I will never cease. And I will declare that fortune is worthy of those labors and those discourses: coming from the schools of the Muses to the council you prevailed and showed yourself the orator, and from the council you have come to ruling, with Justice as your assessor.
We, then, both remember you and join in prayers for you; and you, for our sake, remember your ancestor Minos - or rather, you continue to remember him - whence the affairs of the times have been set right, and it is in our power to say of you something such as we desired.
**To Pannychius** (359)
That I was unable to meet you and make your acquaintance when you were here, I blame on my preoccupation with my students. And for your part, too, it would perhaps not have been unpleasant to see me and converse before taking up your office — but you were prevented, I think, by the multitude of cares you had concerning the prefect, cares imposed by your appointment before you even set foot in the provinces.
It is reasonable, then, that we who are pained at not having met should resort to the "second sailing," and that, having missed the wind, we should take to the oars and write letters.
I am so confident that I shall have you as a friend, that you will take pleasure in my letters and will immediately return the favor in kind, that as though we were old acquaintances I do not hesitate even in this first letter to ask a favor. For what I would not have been ashamed to say to you in person, I would do wrong not to write.
Pelagius — that he ranks among the foremost in birth and in every other distinction among the people of the Euphrates region, I think even the Euphrates itself would declare, were it given a voice. He was my student, and we delighted in one another. His character, moreover, was especially admired — for I shall not deny it, since I consider it a credit to myself that I was seen to take pleasure in a man of such a nature.
And indeed his fairness of spirit has grown with him, a quality recognized no less by all the Syrians through whose lands he has traveled — and he has traveled through a great many — when he served as ambassador and by his own character won a reputation finer than his birth alone conferred. So much so that I believe in a democracy he would surely have been crowned with honors for this service.
But the greatest thing is this: such quickness of mind and such gentleness — I do not know when I have seen the two united in any other man. And yet, how can a tranquil disposition be keen in judgment? And how can a sharper temperament not be turbulent? But this man has blended both and persuaded them to dwell together, possessing a calm of mind joined with sound counsel. In finding what is needed, he is second to none; in the other quality, he is altogether the best. He knows the right moment for speaking and for silence, if anyone does. He knows how to praise a good governor and how to spare one who is not. He preserves his ancestral property while not encroaching on that of his neighbors.
You yourself could say all this and more to another man, for surely the helmsman knows the sailor, and the chorus-leader knows the dancers. This dancer, then, such as he is, I know you will take under your care — granting a favor to good men, for everyone is concerned for him, and teaching your subjects that whoever pursues virtue stands higher in your esteem than those who do not love it.
As for me, I shall not repay your kindness with deeds — for deeds are not my domain — but in speaking as one ought about your deeds, I shall never cease. And I shall say that your fortune is worthy of those labors and those speeches: from the schools of rhetoric you came to the council chamber, where you prevailed and showed yourself the orator; from the council chamber you have come to governing, and Justice sits beside you.
We, for our part, both remember you and join in prayers for you. And you — remember your ancestor Minos. Or rather, you continue to remember him, which is why affairs of state have been set right, and why we are able to say of you the very thing we longed to say.
That I was not able, while present here, to become known to you through meeting you, I blame on the lack of leisure caused by my students. And for you too it would perhaps not have been unwelcome to see me and to converse with me before you took up your office; but what prevented it, I suppose, was the multitude of cares which, before you set foot in the cities, you had about the prefect on the office's account.
It makes sense, therefore, that those grieved at not having met should resort to the second voyage, and that those who have failed should take to the oars and write. And I so hope to have you as a friend, and that you yourself will both take pleasure in my letters and at once imitate them in kind, that, as though long acquainted, I do not hesitate even in my first letter to ask a favor; for the things I would not be ashamed to say to you in person, I would be doing wrong not to write.
That Pelagius, in birth and in his other distinction, ranks among the foremost of those about the Euphrates, I think even the Euphrates itself would say, were it to be granted a voice; and he was my fellow-student, and we delighted in one another. But the man's character was praised still more, for I will not deny it, considering this too to be a credit to myself, if I showed myself by nature rejoicing in such a man.
And indeed there grew up together with him his quality of fairness, which all men, no less than the Syrians, came to know through all the offices he passed; and he passed through very many, when he served as envoy and by his own conduct secured a better reputation for his family. So that it seems to me he would altogether, even in democracies, have been crowned for having done this well.
And the greatest thing: for I do not know shrewdness and gentleness, both in such measure, having come together in any other man, and yet how is the calm man not slow to reckon, while the quicker man is fairly turbulent too? But this man at least blended both and persuaded them to dwell together, possessing calm of judgment along with good counsel; hence in finding what is needful he is second to none, and in the other quality altogether the best, having recognized, if anyone has, the proper moment for speech and for silence, knowing how to praise a good magistrate but to spare one who is not such, guarding his ancestral possessions while not cutting away those of his neighbors.
You yourself could say these things and more to another, for the helmsman surely knows his sailor, and the chorus-leader his chorus-members. This chorus-member, then, of such a kind, I know that you will make the object of your care, both granting favor to good men, for he is a concern to all of them, and teaching your subjects that whoever pursues virtue stands higher in your regard than those who do not love her.
As for me, I will not requite your favor in deed, for my concerns at least do not lie in deeds, but in saying what is fitting about your deeds I will never cease. And I will declare that fortune is worthy of those labors and those discourses: coming from the schools of the Muses to the council you prevailed and showed yourself the orator, and from the council you have come to ruling, with Justice as your assessor.
We, then, both remember you and join in prayers for you; and you, for our sake, remember your ancestor Minos - or rather, you continue to remember him - whence the affairs of the times have been set right, and it is in our power to say of you something such as we desired.
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.