Letter 135
To his Brother
Poemenius, who will give you this letter, was sent to us by Artabazaces, the man who was recently our Governor, to take charge of all the property which he had acquired in these parts. In the performance of this task Poemenius showed himself gentle and considerate. And yet would any other man have used such an opportunity? No one in Libya groaned under the power of Poemenius during that time, and the best proof of this is the general regret that his departure caused. You will oblige me by giving him a warn reception, and by showing him all the consideration that his rectitude deserves.
Letter 136
To his Brother
I hope that I may profit as much as you desire from my residence at
Athens. It seems to me that I have already grown more than a palm and a finger's length in
wisdom, and I can give you at once a proof of the progress I have made. Well, it is from
Anagyrus that I am writing to you; and I have visited Sphettus, Thria, Cephisia, and
Phalerum. But may the accursed ship-captain perish who brought me here! Athens has no
longer anything sublime except the country's famous names! Just as in the case of a victim
burnt in the sacrificial fire, there remains nothing but the skin to help us to
reconstruct a creature that was once alive-- so ever since philosophy left these precints,
there is nothing for the tourist to admit except the Academy, the Lyceum, and by Zeus, the
Decorated Porch which has given its name to the philosophy of Chrysippus. This is no
longer Decorated, for the proconsul has taken away the panels on which Polygnotus of
Thasos has displayed his skill.
To-day Egypt has received and cherishes the fruitful wisdom of Hypatia.
Athens was aforetime the dwelling-place of the wise: to-day the bee-keepers alone bring it
honour. Such is the case of that pair of sophists in Plutarch who draw the young people to
the lecture room-- not by the fame of their eloquence, but by the pots of honey from
Hymettus.