Letter 926: Libanius explains Thalassius' blocked council bid to Eusebius and asks for his influential support.

You know Thalassius, in whom my greatest interests are bound up. What, for me, equals the study and practice of rhetoric? His life, if one examines the facts rightly, is blameless. Some envy him for that very reason, and because they cannot infect him with the same sickness that afflicts them. Men like that win the confidence of officials by flattery. Over dinner they have slandered others, and this good man too; and those who were drawn in threatened him. Someone here advised Thalassius to become a member of the august council, since then no one would easily threaten him. The advice seemed sound to me, and I approved it. But when the matter was introduced, one of the powerful men in the council, though he had suffered no wrong from me, imagined he had been tricked, as many people do, and opposed it. He said what one would expect from a man who thinks I owe him satisfaction, and by shouting he prevailed. While I was distressed by this and had decided not to trouble anyone further, letters came from there that ended my grief. They said that the men who had then stood as enemies would join us in seeking this. Since the writers were friends, I could not disbelieve them. Still, everywhere your influence carries great weight in bringing a thing to success.