Letter 347
Late Antiquity Basil of Caesarea Greek- Libanius to Basil Every bishop is a thing hard to angle for; but you, by as much as you have surpassed the rest in eloquence, by so much also cause me fear, that you may somehow stand refusing my request. And since it is roof-beams that I need—"poles" or "stakes" another sophist would have said, not because he needed them, but pluming himself on the little words, or for the sake of his case—I, for my part, if you do not provide them, shall pass the winter under the open sky.