Letter 939: Libanius asks Priscianus to persuade Proclus to support Thalassius' admission to the council.
When I heard that you had received office, I praised the gods. I rejoiced for you and for myself, and I began to hope for letters from you. When none came, I started looking for the reason. Many explanations were offered, including this one from a man who thought he saw sharply: that Priscianus was afraid his own letters might stir mine into asking for help for people who needed him, and then he himself would have trouble. I could not drive this explanation away, but I still ask a favor, knowing that even if you shout against my letters, you will not escape the work. The work is this: persuade noble Proclus to say in the council of the ruling city that excellent Thalassius should now be brought into the council, even if he was not before. Justice required it long ago, for he is a just man; and if it happens now, I will say that I have been honored.
AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
Ἡμεῖς ὅτε σε ἠκούσαμεν ἀρχὴν λαβεῖν, τοὺς μὲν θεοὺς ἐπῃνέσαμεν, συνησθέντες δὲ καὶ σοὶ καὶ ἡμῖν αὐτοῖς ἐν ἐλπίδι ἐγενόμεθα τῶν παρὰ σοῦ γραμμάτων· οὐκ ἐλθόντων δὲ ἡμῖν ἐπὶ τὸ τὴν αἰτίαν ζητεῖν ἤλθομεν. πολλῶν δὲ τῶν λεγομένων ὄντων εἴρηταί τι καὶ τοιοῦτο παρ᾽ ἀνδρὸς ὀξὺ βλέπειν δοκοῦντος, ὅτι Πρισκιανὸς ἐκεῖνος ἔδεισε μὴ τοῖς παρ᾽ ἑαυτοῦ γράμμασιν ἡμέτερα κινήσῃ βοηθείας αἰτοῦντα τοῖς τούτου δεομένοις, εἶτ᾽ ἔχῃ πόνους αὐτός. ἐγὼ δὲ ἐκβάλλειν μὲν οὐκ ἔσχον αὐτοῦ τοῦτο, αἰτῶ δ᾽ ὅμως χάριν εἰδὼς ὅτι, κἂν τῶν γραμμάτων καταβοήσῃς, ἀλλ᾽ οὐ φεύξῃ τὸ ἔργον. ἔστι δὲ τὸ ἔργον πεῖσαι τὸν γενναῖον Πρόκλον ἐν τῇ βουλῇ τῆς ἀρχούσης πόλεως εἰπεῖν ὡς εἰσακτέον εἰς τὴν βουλὴν τὸν χρηστὸν Θαλάσσιον νῦν, εἰ καὶ μὴ πρότερον. τὸ μὲν γὰρ δίκαιον ἦν καὶ πάλαι, δίκαιος γὰρ ἀνήρ, καὶ νῦν δέ, εἰ γένοιτο, τετιμῆσθαι φήσομεν.
Revision history
- 2026-05-27v2.2.34-import
Initial corpus import from modern libanius foerster vol11 batch5 gemini flash ocr reviewed v1.
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