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Epistulae ad Familiares, V. xii.

he thought that their art would reflect as much glory upon themselves as it would upon himself. Now those artists certainly made familiar to strangers the likenesses of the person; but even if there were no such likenesses in existence, illustrious men would be none the less renowned. The great Agesilaus[1] of Sparta, who never submitted himself to either painter or sculptor, is no less a man to be talked about than those who have taken particular pains to be so represented; for a single monograph of Xenophon in praise of that king has had a far greater vogue than any painting or statue of them all. Again, it will more effectually conduce both to my happiness of mind and the dignity of my memory to have won a place in your history than in that of others, for this reason, that not only shall I have enjoyed the advantage of your literary talent, as Timoleon enjoyed that of Timaeus, and Themistocles that of Herodotus, but also the moral authority of a man highly distinguished and of established reputation, one, moreover, recognized and approved as a leader of men in the greatest and gravest issues of public life; so that it will appear that I have had vouchsafed me not only the celebrity which Alexander, when he visited Sigaeum, declared that Homer had bestowed upon Achilles, but also the weighty testimony of a great and distinguished man. I have a liking for Naevius's well-known Hector, who is not only delighted "to be praised" but all the more, he adds, "by one who has himself been praised."[2]

8 But if I fail to induce you to grant me this request, by which I mean if anything prevents your doing so (for it is inconceivable to me that any specific request of mine should be refused by you), I shall

  1. ↑ King of Sparta, who defeated the allied forces of Thebes, Corinth, and Argos at Coronea in 394, but was defeated by the Thebans at Leuctra in 371. He was short and lame.
  2. ↑ The whole line in Naevius's Hector Proficiscens is "laetus sum laudari me abs te, pater, a laudata viro."
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