A professing pagan in an aggressively Christian empire, a friend of the emperor Julian and acquaintance of St. Basil, and a potent spokesman for private and political causes, Libanius has much to tell us about the tumultuous world of the 4th century. Born in Antioch to a wealthy family steeped in the traditions of Hellenism, Libanius rose to fame as a teacher of the classics. In his lifetime, he was an acknowledged master of the art of letter writing, and today his letters offer a vivid picture of the culture and political intrigues of the eastern empire. A. F. Norman selects an eighth of the 1, 550 extant letters. The letters are complemented by Libanius's <, I>