Letter to Themistius the Philosopher

On the strength of his Aristotelian "Paraphrases" Themistius may be called a scholar, though hardly a philosopher as he himself claimed. Technically he was a Sophist: that is to say he gave public lectures (ἐπιδείξεις), wrote exercises after the Sophistic pattern and went on embassies, which were entrusted to him solely on account of his persuasive charm. But he insisted that he was no Sophist, because he took no fees1 and styled himself a practical philosopher.2 He was indifferent to the N...