253

I say this not as if your eloquence would not grant some special favor to your old companions, but because your helpfulness is offered ungrudgingly to all. It would be sufficient for the young man, before the experience that comes with time, to be ranked among your own circle; may you send him back to us worthy both of our prayers and of your own reputation which you have in rhetoric. He brings with him also a youth of his own age who has an equal zeal for rhetoric, a man of noble birth himself and related to us, who we believe will be held in no less esteem, even if he should fall far short of the others in wealth.

338. LIBANIUS TO BASIL

338.1 I know that you will write this many times: "Behold, another Cappadocian has come to you." For you will send many, I think, always and everywhere using encomiums of me for this very purpose, and stirring up both fathers and sons. But what happened concerning your fine letter it is not right to pass over in silence. There were sitting with me not a few others of those who had held office, and the most excellent Alypius, the cousin of the famous Hierocles. So when the bearers delivered the letter, having gone through it all in silence, "We have been conquered," I said, smiling and rejoicing at the same time. "And what victory have you won?" they asked, "and how is it that you do not grieve at being conquered?" "In beauty of letters," I said, "I have been conquered, and Basil has prevailed. But the man is a friend, and for this reason I rejoice." When I said this, they wished to learn of the victory from the letter itself. And Alypius read, and those present listened, and a vote was passed that I had in no way been mistaken. And the one who had read it went out, holding the letter, to show it, I suppose, to others too, and with difficulty gave it back. Write, therefore, in a similar fashion and conquer. For this is for me to be victorious. And you are right in supposing that matters with us are not conducted for money, but for one who cannot give, it is sufficient to wish to receive. For if I perceive someone in poverty who loves rhetoric, he is before the wealthy. And yet we have not experienced such teachers, but nothing prevents us from being better in this respect. Let no poor man, therefore, hesitate to come here, if he possesses that one thing alone: to know how to work hard.

339. BASIL TO LIBANIUS

339.1 What would a sophist not say, and such a sophist at that, whose special art it is acknowledged to be both to make great things small, whenever he wishes, and to bestow greatness upon small things? Such a thing you have also shown in my case. For that squalid letter, as you who live luxuriously in rhetoric might say, being in no way more tolerable than this one now in your hands, you have so exalted with your words as to pretend to be defeated by it and to yield to us the first place in writing, acting like fathers in their games, when they allow their children to exult in victories won by themselves, neither injuring themselves at all and nurturing the ambition of their children. And in truth, your words had an unspeakable pleasure in their game with me, as if some Polydamas or Milo were declining a contest in the pancratium or wrestling against me myself; for having considered many things, I found no example of robustness, so that those who seek for hyperbole in words would admire you more here for the power by which you were able to descend to games with us, than if you were leading the barbarian sailing over Athos. But we, admirable sir, associate with Moses and Elijah and such blessed men, who converse with us about their own affairs in a barbarous tongue, and we utter what comes from them, true in thought, but unlearned in diction, as these very words show. For if we were ever taught anything by you, by time

253

δὲ λέγω οὐχ ὡς οὐκ ἂν τῆς σῆς λογιότητος πλέον τι τοῖς παλαιοῖς τῶν ἑταίρων χαριζο μένης, ἀλλ' ὡς ἀφθόνου πᾶσι τῆς ὠφελείας σου προκει μένης. Ἀρκοῦν δ' ἂν εἴη τῷ νεανίσκῳ πρὸ τῆς ἐκ τοῦ χρόνου πείρας ἐν τοῖς οἰκείοις τετάχθαι· ὃν ἀποπέμψαιο ἡμῖν ἄξιον τῶν τε ἡμετέρων εὐχῶν καὶ τῆς σαυτοῦ δόξης ἣν ἔχεις ἐν τοῖς λόγοις. Ἐπάγεται δὲ καὶ ἡλικιώτην τὴν ἴσην ἔχοντα περὶ τοὺς λόγους σπουδήν, εὐπατρίδην καὶ αὐτὸν καὶ ἡμῖν οἰκεῖον, ὃν μηδὲν ἔλαττον ἕξειν πιστεύομεν, κἂν πλεῖστον τῶν ἄλλων τοῖς χρήμασιν ἀπολείποιτο.

338.τ ΛΙΒΑΝΙΟΣ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΙΩ

338.1 Οἶδα ὅτι τοῦτο πολλάκις γράψεις, τὸ «ἰδού σοι καὶ ἕτερος ἥκει

Καππαδόκης». Πολλοὺς γάρ, οἶμαι, πέμψεις ἀεὶ μὲν καὶ πανταχοῦ τοῖς κατ' ἐμοῦ χρώμενος ἐγκωμίοις τούτῳ τε αὐτῷ καὶ πατέρας κινῶν καὶ παῖδας. Ἀλλ' ὅγε ἐγένετο περὶ τὴν ἐπιστολήν σου τὴν καλὴν οὐ καλὸν σιωπῆσαι. Παρεκά θηντό μοι τῶν ἐν ἀρχῇ γεγενημένων ἄλλοι τε οὐκ ὀλίγοι καὶ ὁ πάντα ἄριστος Ἀλύπιος, Ἱεροκλέους ἀνεψιὸς ἐκείνου. Ὡς οὖν ἔδοσαν οἱ φέροντες τὴν ἐπιστολήν, σιγῇ διὰ πάσης ἐλθών, νενικήμεθα, ἔφην μειδιῶν ἅμα καὶ χαίρων. Καὶ τίνα σὺ νενίκησαι νίκην, ἤροντο, καὶ πῶς οὐκ ἀλγεῖς νενικημέ νος; Ἐν κάλλει μέν, ἔφην, ἐπιστολῶν, νενίκημαι, Βασίλειος δὲ κεκράτηκε. Φίλος δὲ ὁ ἀνὴρ καὶ διὰ τοῦτο εὐφραίνομαι. Ταῦτα εἰπόντος ἐμοῦ παρ' αὐτῶν μαθεῖν ἠβουλήθησαν τῶν γραμμάτων τὴν νίκην. Καὶ ἀνεγίνωσκε μὲν ὁ Ἀλύπιος, ἤκουον δὲ οἱ παρόντες, ψῆφος δὲ ἠνέχθη μηδέν με ἐψεῦσθαι. Καὶ τὰ γράμματα ἔχων ὁ ἀναγνοὺς ἐξῄει δείξων, οἶμαι, καὶ ἄλλοις καὶ μόλις ἀπέδωκε. Γράφε τοίνυν παραπλήσια καὶ νίκα. Τουτὶ γάρ ἐστιν ἐμὲ νικᾶν. Καλῶς δὲ κἀκεῖνο εἰκάζεις ὡς οὐ χρήμασι πράττεται τὰ παρ' ἡμῶν, ἀλλ' ἀρκεῖ τῷ μὴ δυναμένῳ δοῦναι τὸ βουληθῆναι λαβεῖν. Κἂν γὰρ αἴσθωμαί τινα ἐν πενίᾳ Λόγων ἐρῶντα, πρὸ τῶν πλουτούντων οὗτος. Καίτοι οὐ τοιούτων πεπειράμεθα διδασκάλων, ἀλλ' οὐδὲν κωλύει ταύτῃ γε εἶναι βελτίονας. Μηδεὶς οὖν πένης ὀκνείτω δεῦρο βαδίζειν, εἰ ἓν ἐκεῖνο κέκτηται μόνον τὸ ἐπίστασθαι πονεῖν.

339.τ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΙΟΣ ΛΙΒΑΝΙΩ

339.1 Τί οὐκ ἂν εἴποι σοφιστὴς ἀνήρ, καὶ σοφιστὴς τοιοῦτος, ᾧ γε ἴδιον εἶναι

τῆς τέχνης ὁμολογεῖται καὶ τὰ μεγάλα μικρὰ ποιεῖν, ὁπότε βούλεται, καὶ τοῖς μικροῖς περιτιθέναι μέγε θος; Ὁποῖον δή τι καὶ περὶ ἡμᾶς ἐπεδείξω. Τὴν γὰρ ἐπισ τολὴν ἐκείνην τὴν ῥυπῶσαν, ὡς ἂν ὑμεῖς οἱ τὰ περὶ τοὺς λόγους τρυφῶντες εἴποιτε, οὐδὲν οὖσαν τῆς ἐν ταῖς χερσί σου ταύτης ἀνεκτοτέραν, τοσοῦτον ἦρας τῷ λόγῳ ὡς ἡττη θῆναι δῆθεν αὐτῆς καὶ ἡμῖν τῶν πρωτείων τοῦ γράφειν παραχωρεῖν, ὅμοιον ποιῶν ταῖς τῶν πατέρων παιδιαῖς, ὅταν ταῖς παρ' ἑαυτῶν νίκαις παρέχωσι τοῖς παισὶν ἐναβρύνεσ θαι, οὔτε ἑαυτούς τι ζημιοῦντες καὶ τῶν παίδων τρέφοντες τὸ φιλότιμον. Τῷ ὄντι δὲ καὶ ἀμύθητον ὅσην ἡδονὴν εἶχεν ὁ λόγος ἐν τῇ πρὸς ἡμᾶς παιδιᾷ, οἷον Πολυδάμαντός τινος ἢ Μίλωνος παγκρατίου ἢ πάλης ἀγωνίαν παραιτουμένου τὴν πρὸς ἐμὲ αὐτόν· πολλὰ γὰρ περισκεψάμενος οὐδὲν εὗρον εὐσθενείας ὑπόδειγμα, ὥστε τοὺς τὰς ὑπερβολὰς τῶν λόγων ἐπιζητοῦντας ἐνταῦθά σε μᾶλλον ἄγασθαι τῆς δυνάμεως οὕτω δυνηθέντα ταῖς παιδιαῖς πρὸς ἡμᾶς καταβῆναι, ἢ εἰ τὸν βάρβαρον ἦγες ὑπὲρ τὸν Ἄθω πλέοντα. Ἀλλ' ἡμεῖς μέν, ὦ θαυμάσιε, Μωσεῖ καὶ Ἠλίᾳ καὶ τοῖς οὕτω μακαρίοις ἀνδράσι σύνεσμεν ἐκ τῆς βαρβάρου φωνῆς διαλεγομένοις ἡμῖν τὰ ἑαυτῶν, καὶ τὰ παρ' ἐκείνων φθεγγόμεθα νοῦν μὲν ἀληθῆ, λέξιν δὲ ἀμαθῆ, ὡς αὐτὰ ταῦτα δηλοῖ. Εἰ γάρ τι καὶ ἦμεν παρ' ὑμῶν διδαχθέντες, ὑπὸ τοῦ χρόνου