In AD 361 the sophist Libanius, teacher of rhetoric in Antioch (modern Antakya, in southern Turkey), wrote to the eminent philosopher Themistius to introduce one of his students, who was eager to study philosophy in Constantinople. Libanius assured the philosopher that his student, Julianus, had received a well-rounded education: ‘‘If you give a rhetorical display, he will applaud; if it is Plato and philosophy, he will be stimulated; if you lecture about the stars, he will show no idleness; and if you examine the poets, he will be serious about this lovely subject’’ (Ep. 667, ed. Foerster; all such references are henceforth numbered according to this edition). In a later letter regarding Julianus, Libanius insisted upon his vast culture, and introduced one more intellectual attainment, his knowledge of Latin (Ep. 1296). In ad 364 Libanius referred again to this former student in a long and eloquent letter (Ep. 1261). At that point, Julianus had attained the eminent position of comes orientis (‘‘Count of the East’’), and his young son was studying in Antioch. The sophist was triumphant on both accounts and celebrated Julianus’ merits as a governor with a few lapidary phrases: ‘‘He believes that his duty is to render the cities happy; he is pleased if the sword lies idle; he embellishes the cities with buildings, worships the Muses, and in a trial never lets the guilty go unpunished.’’
This small dossier, a tiny fraction of the surviving 1,500 letters of Libanius, raises a number of questions that I will attempt to answer in what follows. Were all the students of this prominent sophist as accomplished as Julianus in their learning and careers? Did education show any sign of change in the fourth century? And was there a direct connection between rhetoric and power that made the possession of an advanced education an indispensable prerequisite for social and political advancement? The literary evidence from sophists such as Libanius and Himerius heavily emphasizes the connection between eloquence and success, but it is one-sided and needs to be counterbalanced by other sources when possible.
World History
