Gregory of Nyssa, Letters

It was a custom with the Romans65 The custom of New Year’s gifts (strenarum commercium) had been discontinued by Tiberius, because of the trouble it involved to himself, and abolished by Claudius: but in these times it had been revived. We find mention of it in the reigns of Theodosius, and of Arcadius; Auson. Ep. xviii. 4; Symmach. Ep. x. 28. to celebrate a feast in winter-time, after the custom of their fathers, when the length of the days begins to draw out, as the sun climbs to the upper regions of the sky. Now the beginning of the month is esteemed holy, and by this day auguring the character of the whole year, they devote themselves to forecasting lucky accidents, gladness, and wealth66 Or, not improbably, “they contrive lucky meetings, festivities, and contributions.”. What is my object in beginning my letter in this way? Why, I do so because I too kept this feast, having got my present of gold as well as any of them; for then there came into my hands as well as theirs gold, not like that vulgar gold, which potentates treasure and which those that have it give,—that heavy, vile, and soulless possession,—but that which is loftier than all wealth, as Pindar says67 Pindar, Ol. i. 1: ὁ δὲ χρυσὸς, αἰθόμενον πῦρ ἅτε διαπρέπει νυκτὸς, μεγαλάνορος ἔξοχα πλούτου., in the eyes of those that have sense, being the fairest presentation, I mean your letter, and the vast wealth which it contained. For thus it happened; that on that day, as I was going to the metropolis of the Cappadocians, I met an acquaintance, who handed me this present, your letter, as a new year’s gift. And I, being overjoyed at the occurrence, threw open my treasure to all who were present; and all shared in it, each getting the whole of it, without any rivalry, and I was none the worse off. For the letter by passing through the hands of all, like a ticket for a feast, is the private wealth of each, some by steady continuous reading engraving the words upon their memory, and others taking an impression68 ἐναπομορξαμένων of them upon tablets; and it was again in my hands, giving me more pleasure than the hard69 ἀπόκροτον metal does to the eyes of the rich. Since, then, even to husbandmen—to use a homely comparison—approbation of the labours which they have already accomplished is a strong stimulus to those which follow, bear with us if we treat what you have yourself given as so much seed, and if we write that we may provoke you to write back. But I beg of you a public and general boon for our life; that you will no longer entertain the purpose which you expressed to us in a dark hint at the end of your letter. For I do not think that it is at all a fair decision to come to, that,—because there are some who disgrace themselves by deserting from the Greek language to the barbarian, becoming mercenary soldiers and choosing a soldier’s rations instead of the renown of eloquence,—you should therefore condemn oratory altogether, and sentence human life to be as voiceless as that of beasts. For who is he who will open his lips, if you carry into effect this severe sentence against oratory? But perhaps it will be well to remind you of a passage in our Scriptures. For our Word bids those that can to do good, not looking at the tempers of those who receive the benefit, so as to be eager to benefit only those who are sensible of kindness, while we close our beneficence to the unthankful, but rather to imitate the Disposer of all, Who distributes the good things of His creation alike to all, to the good and to the evil. Having regard to this, admirable Sir, show yourself in your way of life such an one as the time past has displayed you. For those who do not see the sun do not thereby hinder the sun’s existence. Even so neither is it right that the beams of your eloquence should be dimmed, because of those who are purblind as to the perceptions of the soul. But as for Cynegius, I pray that he may be as far as possible from the common malady, which now has seized upon young men; and that he will devote himself of his own accord to the study of rhetoric. But if he is otherwise disposed, it is only right, even if he be unwilling, he should be forced to it; so as to avoid the unhappy and discreditable plight in which they now are, who have previously abandoned the pursuit of oratory.

[14] Λιβανίῳ σοφιστῇ Ἑορτὴν ἄγειν σύνηθες τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις περὶ τὴν χειμέριον τροπὴν κατά τι πάτριον, ὅτε τοῦ ἡλίου πρὸς τὴν ἄνω χώραν ἀναποδίζοντος, πλεονάζειν ἄρχεται τὸ ἡμερήσιον μέτρον: ἱερὰ δὲ νενόμισται τοῦ μηνὸς ἡ ἀρχή, καὶ διὰ ταύτης τῆς ἡμέρας τὸ πᾶν ἔτος οἰωνιζόμενοι δεξιάς τινας συντυχίας καὶ εὐφροσύνας καὶ πότους ἐπιτηδεύουσι. τί βουλόμενος ἐντεῦθεν τοῦ γράμματος ἄρχομαι; ὅτι καὶ αὐτὸς διήγαγον τὴν ἑορτὴν ταύτην παραπλησίως ἐκείνοις χρυσοφορήσας: ἦλθε γὰρ τότε καὶ εἰς τὰς ἐμὰς χεῖρας χρυσός, οὔ τοι κατὰ τὸν πάνδημον τοῦτον χρυσόν, ὃ ἀγαπῶσιν οἱ ἄρχοντες καὶ δωροφοροῦσιν οἱ ἔχοντες, τὸ βαρὺ καὶ αἰσχρὸν καὶ ἄψυχον κτῆμα, ἀλλ' ὃ παντὸς πλούτου τοῖς γε νοῦν ἔχουσιν ὑψηλότερόν ἐστι, τὸ κάλλιστον ὄντως δεξίωμα κατὰ Πίνδαρον, τὰ σὰ φημὶ γράμματα καὶ ὁ πολὺς ἐν ἐκείνοις πλοῦτος. οὕτω γὰρ συνέβη κατὰ τὴν ἡμέραν ἐκείνην ἐπιφοιτήσαντά με τῇ μητροπόλει τῶν Καππαδοκῶν ἐντυχεῖν τινι τῶν ἐπιτηδείων, ὅς μοι τὸ δῶρον τοῦτο, τὴν ἐπιστολήν, οἷόν τι σύμβολον ἑορτῆς προετείνατο. ἐγὼ δὲ περιχαρὴς τῇ συντυχίᾳ γενόμενος κοινὸν προὔθηκα τοῖς παροῦσι τὸ κέρδος, καὶ πάντες μετεῖχον τὸ ὅλον ἕκαστος ἔχειν φιλονεικοῦντες, καὶ οὐκ ἠλαττούμην ἐγώ: διεξιοῦσα γὰρ τὰς πάντων χεῖρας ἡ ἐπιστολὴ ἴδιος ἑκάστου πλοῦτος ἐγίνετο, τῶν μὲν τῇ μνήμῃ διὰ τῆς συνεχοῦς ἀναγνώσεως τῶν δὲ δέλτοις ἐναπομαξαμένων τὰ ῥήματα, καὶ πάλιν ἐν ταῖς ἐμαῖς ἦν χερσί, πλέον εὐφραίνουσα ἢ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τῶν πολυχρύσων ἡ ὕλη. ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν καὶ τοῖς γεωργοῖς (χρήσομαι γὰρ ἐκ τῶν οἰκείων τῷ ὑποδείγματι) πολλὴν δίδωσι πρὸς τοὺς δευτέρους τῶν πόνων τὴν προθυμίαν τὸ τῶν πονηθέντων ἀπόνασθαι, σύγγνωθι καὶ ἡμῖν ἅπερ αὐτὸς δέδωκας καταβαλλομένοις καὶ διὰ τοῦτο γράφουσιν, ἵνα σε πάλιν πρὸς τὸ γράφειν ἐκκαλεσώμεθα.
Αἰτοῦμαι δὲ χάριν ὑπὲρ τοῦ βίου κοινήν, ὅσα δι' αἰνίγματος ἡμῖν τὰ τελευταῖα τῆς ἐπιστολῆς ὑπηπείλησας, μηκέτι διανοεῖσθαι: οὐδὲ γὰρ καλῶς ἔχειν φημὶ κρίσεως, εἴ τινες ἁμαρτάνουσι πρὸς τὴν βάρβαρον γλῶσσαν ἀπὸ τῆς Ἑλληνίδος αὐτομολοῦντες καὶ μισθοφόροι στρατιῶται γινόμενοι καὶ τὸ στρατιωτικὸν σιτηρέσιον ἀντὶ τῆς ἐν τῷ λέγειν δόξης αἱρούμενοι, διὰ τοῦτό σε καταδικάζειν τῶν λόγων καὶ ἀφωνίαν τοῦ βίου καταψηφίζεσθαι: τίς γὰρ ὁ φθεγγόμενος, εἰ σὺ τὴν βαρεῖαν ταύτην ἀπειλὴν κατὰ τῶν λόγων κυρώσειας; ἀλλὰ καλῶς ἔχει τάχα μνημονεῦσαί τινος τῶν ἐκ τῆς ἡμετέρας Γραφῆς: κελεύει γὰρ ὁ ἡμέτερος λόγος τοὺς δυναμένους εὖ τι ποιεῖν μὴ πρὸς τὰς γνώμας τῶν εὐεργετουμένων βλέπειν, ὡς φιλοτιμεῖσθαι μὲν τοῖς εὐαισθήτοις, ἀποκλείειν δὲ τοῖς ἀχαρίστοις τὴν εὐποιΐαν, ἀλλὰ μιμεῖσθαι τὸν τοῦ παντὸς οἰκονόμον, ὃς κοινὴν προτίθησι τῶν ἐν τῇ κτίσει καλῶν τὴν μετουσίαν ἀγαθοῖς τε καὶ μὴ τοιούτοις. πρὸς ταῦτα βλέπων, ὦ θαυμάσιε, δὸς ἀεὶ τοιοῦτον τῷ βίῳ σαυτόν, οἷος ὁ παρελθὼν ἔδειξε χρόνος: οὐ γὰρ τὸν ἥλιον οἱ μὴ βλέποντες κωλύουσιν ἥλιον εἶναι: οὐκοῦν οὐδὲ τὴν ἀκτῖνα τῶν σῶν λόγων ἀμαυροῦσθαι καλῶς ἔχει διὰ τοὺς μεμυκότας τὰ τῆς ψυχῆς αἰσθητήρια.
Τὸν δὲ Κυνήγιον εὔχομαι μὲν ὡς μάλιστα μὲν πόρρω τῆς κοινῆς εἶναι νόσου, ἣ νῦν τοὺς νέους κατείληφε, προσέχειν δὲ κατὰ τὸ ἑκούσιον τῇ περὶ τοὺς λόγους σπουδῇ: εἰ δὲ ἄλλως ἔχοι, δίκαιόν ἐστι καὶ μὴ βουλόμενον αὐτὸν ἐκβιάζεσθαι, * ἐν ᾧ νῦν ὄντες οἱ πρὸ τούτου τῶν λόγων ἀποστατήσαντες ἐλεεινοί τινές εἰσιν ὑπ' αἰσχύνης καταδυόμενοι.