John Chrysostom, Letters

we always maintain the same disposition towards you, learning of your eagerness and zeal, which you have for the benefit of your soul, having been eager to give rest to those who live in piety, and pursuing this good business. Knowing these things, therefore, my most honored and most pious lord, write to us continually about your health, and that of your whole household. For thus, even though we are in the desert, we shall have great gladness, if we receive such letters from your honor. Νʹ. To Diogenes. The genuineness of your love for us we knew indeed even before, but we have come to know it much more now, when with so great a winter having set in, not only are you no more slothful, but having become much more zealous for us, you have shown greater affection. For these things we admire you, for these things we do not cease proclaiming you every day. For you will receive the unspeakable reward for these things from the man-loving God, who in His recompenses, by His great abundance, always surpasses those who do or say anything good. But we repay you with what we have: admiring you, praising you, we do not cease calling you blessed, loving, revering, honoring, carrying you everywhere in our thoughts, united to you and bound by the law of love. For that we have always been among your most ardent lovers, you yourself also know clearly, my most reverend and most admirable master. Wherefore I beseech you not to be at all vexed with us on account of what was sent. For having harvested and enjoyed the honor from them, we sent them back not out of contempt, nor from not trusting in your nobility, but because we were not in need. Which indeed we have done in the case of many others. For many others also, both worthy of your nobility and exceedingly inflamed for us, as it is possible for your admirableness to learn, have done this very same thing, and this defense sufficed for them, which we exhort you also to accept. For if we should fall into need, we will ask with great confidence, as if from our own things, with more boldness, and this you will see by experience itself. Having received them, therefore, keep them with care, so that if ever occasion should call, we may with confidence ask for them from your admirableness. ΝΑʹ. To the same. After writing the former letter, seeing the most honored and most pious Aphraates devoted to us, and not enduring to depart from here, and threatening not to receive letters from us unless I should take back what was sent, I have imposed a form on the matter very pleasing to your nobility, and giving rest to your attentiveness, which, having learned it from him, command him to be a minister of this good administration. For you know how great the gain of the matter will be, both through his presence in Phoenicia, and through the generosity of your magnificence. And of both these you yourself will receive the reward, seeing that you show so much liberality towards those in Phoenicia who are instructing the Greeks, and are zealous for the building of the churches, and having raised up such a man, and sent him for their encouragement, especially now when they are in so great a difficulty, and are warred against by many. Considering, therefore, the magnitude of the good work, do not allow him to delay even a little, but prepare him to undertake this journey without delay, laying up beforehand for yourself a great reward with the man-loving God through this good zeal, my most admirable master. ΝΒʹ. To Adolia. That you were ill, we have learned, and that you were grievously ill, and came to the very gates of death; but also that you have recovered from the illness, and being now delivered from the danger, you are on the way to health. But I learned none of these things from your letters, for which reason I was greatly pained; but from another source, and from others. Nevertheless, it is sufficient comfort for us that your piety has been delivered from the illness. Not, however, because it is sufficient, do we bear this long silence of yours with composure. For we wished, as you yourself also know, and

αὐτὴν ἀεὶ περὶ σὲ διάθεσιν τηροῦμεν, τὴν προθυμίαν σου καὶ τὴν σπουδὴν μανθάνοντες, ἣν ὑπὲρ τῆς ὠφελείας τῆς σῆς ἔχεις ψυχῆς, τούς τε ἐν εὐλαβείᾳ ζῶντας ἀναπαύειν ἐσπουδακὼς, καὶ τὴν καλὴν ταύτην πραγματευόμενος πραγματείαν. Ταῦτ' οὖν εἰδὼς, κύριέ μου τιμιώτατε καὶ εὐλαβέστατε, συνεχῶς ἡμῖν ἐπίστελλε τὰ περὶ τῆς σῆς ὑγιείας, καὶ τοῦ οἴκου σου παντός. Οὕτω γὰρ καὶ 52.636 ἐν ἐρημίᾳ ὄντες πολλὴν ἔξομεν τὴν εὐφροσύνην, εἰ τοιαῦτα παρὰ τῆς σῆς τιμιότητος δεχόμεθα γράμματα. Νʹ. ∆ιογένει. Τὸ γνήσιόν σου τῆς ἀγάπης τῆς περὶ ἡμᾶς ᾔδειμεν μὲν καὶ ἔμπροσθεν, πολλῷ δὲ πλέον ἔγνωμεν νῦν, ὅτε τοσοῦτον τοῦ χειμῶνος ἀρθέντος, οὐ μόνον οὐδὲν ῥᾳθυμότερος, ἀλλὰ καὶ πολλῷ σπουδαιότερος περὶ ἡμᾶς γεγονὼς, μείζω τὴν στοργὴν ἐνεδείξω. ∆ιὰ ταῦτά σε θαυμάζομεν, διὰ ταῦτα καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν ἀνακηρύττοντες οὐ παυόμεθα. Τὸν μὲν γὰρ ἄφατον τούτων μισθὸν λήψῃ παρὰ τοῦ φιλανθρώπου Θεοῦ, τοῦ ταῖς ἀντιδόσεσιν ἐκ πολλοῦ τοῦ περιόντος νικῶντος ἀεὶ τοὺς ἀγαθόν τι ποιοῦντας, ἢ λέγοντας. Ἡμεῖς δέ σε οἷς ἔχομεν ἀμειβόμεθα, θαυμάζοντές σε, ἐπαινοῦντες, μακαρίζοντες οὐ διαλιμπάνομεν, φιλοῦντες, αἰδούμενοι, τιμῶντες, ἐν διανοίᾳ πανταχοῦ περιφέροντες, ἡνωμένοι σοι καὶ συνδεδεμένοι τῷ τῆς ἀγάπης νόμῳ. Ὅτι γάρ σου τῶν σφοδροτάτων ἀεὶ γεγόναμεν ἐραστῶν, οἶσθα καὶ αὐτὸς σαφῶ, δέσποτά μου αἰδεσιμώτατε καὶ θαυμασιώτατε. ∆ιὸ παρακαλῶ τῶν ἀποσταλέντων ἕνεκα μηδὲν ἀλγῆσαι πρὸς ἡμᾶς. Τρυγήσαντες γὰρ καὶ καρπωσάμενοι τὴν ἐξ αὐτῶν τιμὴν, αὐτὰ ἀπεστάλκαμεν οὐκ ἐξ ὀλιγωρίας, οὐδὲ ἐκ τοῦ μὴ θαῤῥεῖν σου τῇ εὐγενείᾳ, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸ μὴ καθεστάναι ἐν χρείᾳ. Ὃ δὴ καὶ ἐφ' ἑτέρων πολλῶν πεποιήκαμεν. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἕτεροι πολλοὶ καὶ τῆς σῆς εὐγενείας ἄξιοι, καὶ σφόδρα ἡμῶν ἐκκαιόμενοι, ὡς ἔξεστί σου τῇ θαυμασιότητι μανθάνειν, τὸ αὐτὸ δὴ τοῦτο πεποιήκασι, καὶ ἤρκεσε πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἡμῖν αὕτη ἡ ἀπολογία, ἣν καὶ αὐτὸν προσέσθαι παρακαλοῦμεν. Εἰ γὰρ δὴ κατασταίημεν ἐν χρείᾳ, μετὰ πολλῆς ἀπαιτήσομεν, καθάπερ ἐξ ἰδίων, μετὰ πλείονος τῆς παῤῥησίας, καὶ τοῦτο ὄψει διὰ τῆς πείρας αὐτῆς. ∆εξάμενος τοίνυν αὐτὰ, φύλαττε μετὰ ἀκριβείας, ἵν' εἴποτε καιρὸς καλέσειεν, μετὰ τοῦ θαῤῥεῖν αὐτὰ ἀπαιτήσωμεν παρὰ τῆς σῆς θαυμασιότητος. ΝΑʹ. Τῷ αὐτῷ. Μετὰ τὸ γράψαι τὴν προτέραν ἐπιστολὴν, ἰδὼν τὸν τιμιώτατον καὶ εὐλαβέστατον Ἀφραάτην προσηλωμένον ἡμῖν, καὶ οὐκ ἀνεχόμενον οὔτε ἀπᾶραι ἐντεῦθεν, καὶ ἀπειλοῦντα μήτε γράμματα δέχεσθαι παρ' ἡμῶν, εἰ μὴ ἀπολάβοιμι τὰ ἀποσταλέντα, ἐπέθηκα τύπον τῷ πράγματι σφόδρα κεχαρισμένον τῇ εὐγενείᾳ σου, καὶ ἀναπαύοντά σου τὴν ἐμμέλειαν, ὃν παρ' αὐτοῦ μαθὼν, κέλευσον διάκονον γενέσθαι τῆς καλῆς ταύτης οἰκονομίας. Οἶσθα γὰρ ἡλίκον ἔσται τοῦ πράγματος τὸ κέρδος καὶ διὰ τῆς παρουσίας τούτου τῆς εἰς τὴν Φοινίκην, καὶ διὰ τῆς φιλοτιμίας τῆς σῆς μεγαλοπρεπείας. Καὶ ἀμφοτέρων τούτων αὐτὸς λήψῃ τὸν μισθὸν, ἅτε τοσαύτην δαψίλειαν ἐπιδεικνύμενος περὶ τοὺς ἐν Φοινίκῃ κατηχοῦντας τοὺς Ἕλληνας, καὶ περὶ τὴν οἰκοδομὴν τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν ἐσπουδακότας, καὶ ἄνδρα τοιοῦτον ἀναστήσας, καὶ πέμψας εἰς παράκλησιν αὐτῶν, καὶ μάλιστα νῦν ἐν τοσαύτῃ δυσκο52.637 λίᾳ καθεστηκότων, καὶ παρὰ πολλῶν πολεμουμένων. Ἐννοήσας τοίνυν τοῦ κατορθώματος τὸν ὄγκον, μὴ ἀφῇς μηδὲ μικρὸν αὐτὸν ἀναβάλλεσθαι, ἀλλ' ἀμελλητὶ τῆς ὁδοῦ ταύτης ἅψασθαι παρασκεύασον, πολλὴν σαυτῷ διὰ τῆς καλῆς ταύτης σπουδῆς, δέσποτά μου θαυμασιώτατε, προαποτιθέμενος παρὰ τῷ φιλανθρώπῳ Θεῷ τὴν ἀμοιβήν. ΝΒʹ. Ἀδολίᾳ. Ὅτι μὲν ἠῤῥώστησας, ἔγνωμεν, καὶ ὅτι χαλεπῶς ἠῤῥώστησας, καὶ πρὸς αὐτὰς ἦλθες τοῦ θανάτου τὰς πύλας· ἀλλὰ καὶ ὅτι ἀνήνεγκας ἐκ τῆς ἀῤῥωστίας, καὶ τοῦ κινδύνου λοιπὸν ἀπαλλαγεῖσα πρὸς ὑγείαν ὁδεύεις. Ἀλλ' οὐ παρὰ τῶν σῶν γραμμάτων ἔμαθόν τι τούτων, διὸ καὶ σφόδρα ἤλγησα· ἀλλ' ἑτέρωθεν, καὶ παρ' ἑτέρων. Πλὴν ἀρκεῖ εἰς παραμυθίαν ἡμῖν τὸ τῆς ἀῤῥωστίας ἀπηλλάχθαι σου τὴν εὐλάβειαν. Οὐ μὴν, ἐπειδὴ ἀρκεῖ, πράως φέρομεν τὴν μακράν σου ταύτην σιγήν. Ἐβουλόμεθα γὰρ, καθάπερ καὶ αὐτὴ οἶσθα, καὶ