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he is devout and an unwavering and zealous man—, I urged him to go and return quickly. Therefore, see to it that the letter is given to him quickly and safely and not cast aside; for with much desire and eagerness he demanded the letter from us, and his presence is very helpful. Therefore, take great care of the letters; if Helladius the presbyter is not there, have it given to our friends by some intelligent man, one with a brain.

10.t LETTER X

10.1 And bodies that have wrestled with severe fevers, and seas that have battled with wild winds, do not at once lay aside—the former the damage from the fevers, the latter the tossing from the waves—but quietly and little by little. For bodies need more time so that after being freed from the fevers they may return to pure health and wash away the weakness remaining in them from the illness; and the waters, even when the winds have ceased, for a long time remain tossed and moved, being carried along and again driven with much momentum, and they too need time to return to a pure calm. These preambles have been said by me to your reverence not simply, but so that you may learn that we are also sending this letter to you of necessity. For even if we have destroyed the tyranny of despondency and torn down its acropolis through the previous letters, yet there is still much need for the word's attendance, so that it may work a deep peace in you and, having wiped out the memory of all the disturbances that arose from it, may show you a bright and stable calm, and establish you in much good cheer. For this is our concern, not only to free you from despondency, but also to fill you with much and continuous gladness. For it is possible if you are willing. For the sources of good cheer do not lie in the immovable laws of nature which it is impossible for us to leverage and change, but in the free reasonings of choice which are easy for us to handle. And you know, if you remember from before—for not much time has passed in between—that many long arguments were spent by me on these matters, when I continually recounted the histories which I brought forward. For the sources of good cheer are not naturally established so much in the nature of things as in the mind of men. Since, therefore, this is the case, and many surrounded by wealth have considered life unlivable, while others living in extreme poverty have continued more cheerful than all, and some enjoying bodyguards and glory and honor have often cursed their own lives, while others who are obscure and from obscure families and known to no one have considered themselves more blessed than many—for the sources of good cheer are not in the nature of things as they are in the mind of men; for I will not cease constantly repeating this—, do not fall back, but rise up and extend a hand to my reasoning and provide us this good alliance, so that we may completely snatch you from the bitter captivity of your thoughts. For if you yourself are not willing to make as much effort as we are, our cure will be of no benefit. And what wonder is it if this happens in our case? For even God, who is all-powerful, when he exhorts and advises, if the one who hears is not persuaded by what is said, nothing more ever comes of it, but this will even be a provision for greater punishment for the one who was not persuaded. And making this clear Christ said: 'If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.' For this reason also, lamenting Jerusalem, of this

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εὐλαβής ἐστι καὶ ἀνὴρ ἀπερίτρεπτος καὶ ζέων-, παρεκάλεσα αὐτὸν ἀπελθόντα ταχέως ἐπανελθεῖν. Ποίησον τοίνυν τὴν ἐπιστολὴν ταχέως καὶ ἀσφαλῶς αὐτῷ ἀποδοθῆναι καὶ μὴ παραρριφῆναι· καὶ γὰρ μετὰ πολλῆς ἐπιθυμίας καὶ σφοδρότητος ἀπῄτησε τὰ παρ' ἡμῶν γράμματα καὶ πολὺ ὠφελεῖ ἡ παρουσία αὐτοῦ. Πάνυ οὖν φρόντισον τὰς ἐπιστολάς· εἰ μὴ παρείη αὐτόθι Ἑλλάδιος ὁ πρεσβύτερος, διά τινος ἀνθρώπου συνετοῦ, ἐγκέφαλον ἔχοντος, ποίησον ἀποδοθῆναι τοῖς φίλοις.

10.t ΕΠΙΣΤΟΛΗ Ιʹ

10.1 Καὶ τὰ σώματα τὰ σφοδροῖς παλαίσαντα πυρετοῖς, καὶ τὰ πελάγη τὰ ἀγρίοις πυκτεύσαντα πνεύμασιν οὐκ ἀθρόον οὔτε ἐκεῖνα τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν πυρετῶν βλάβην, οὔτε ταῦτα τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν κυμάτων ἀποτίθενται ζάλην, ἀλλ' ἠρέμα καὶ κατὰ μικρόν. Καὶ γὰρ τὰ σώματα πλείονος δεῖται χρόνου ὥστε μετὰ τὴν τῶν πυρετῶν ἀπαλλαγὴν εἰς καθαρὰν ἐπανελθεῖν ὑγίειαν καὶ ἀπονίψασθαι τὸν ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρρωστίας ἐναπομείναντα αὐτοῖς μαλακισμόν· τὰ δὲ ὕδατα, καὶ τῶν πνευμάτων παυσαμένων, ἐπιπολὺ σαλευόμενα καὶ κινούμενα μένει φερόμενά τε καὶ πολλῇ πάλιν ἐπαγόμενα τῇ ῥύμῃ καὶ δεῖται καὶ αὐτὰ χρόνου ὥστε εἰς καθαρὰν ἐπανελθεῖν γαλήνην. Ταῦτα δέ μοι εἴρηται τὰ προοίμια πρὸς τὴν σὴν εὐλάβειαν οὐχ ἁπλῶς, ἀλλ' ἵνα μάθῃς ὅτι καὶ ταύτην ἀναγκαίως σοι πέμπομεν τὴν ἐπιστολήν. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ τὴν τυραννίδα κατελύσαμεν τῆς ἀθυμίας καὶ τὴν ἀκρόπολιν ταύτης κατεσκάψαμεν διὰ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν γραμμάτων, ἀλλ' ὅμως πολλῆς ἔτι χρεία τῷ λόγῳ τῆς προσεδρίας, ἵνα σοι καὶ βαθεῖαν ἐργάσηται τὴν εἰρήνην καὶ τὴν μνήμην πάντων τῶν ἐξ ἐκείνης γενομένων ἐξαλείψασα θορύβων λευκήν σοι καὶ παγίαν δείξῃ γαλήνην, καὶ ἐν πολλῇ σε καταστήσῃ τῇ εὐθυμίᾳ. Τοῦτο γὰρ ἡμῖν τὸ σπουδαζόμενον οὐκ ἀθυμίας σε ἀπαλλάξαι μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ εὐφροσύνης ἐμπλῆσαι πολλῆς καὶ διηνεκοῦς. ∆υνατὸν γὰρ ἂν ἐθέλῃς. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐν τοῖς ἀκινή τοις τῆς φύσεως νόμοις οὓς ἀναμοχλεῦσαι ἡμῖν ἀδύνατον καὶ μεταθεῖναι, ἀλλ' ἐν ἐλευθέροις τοῖς τῆς προαιρέσεως λογισμοῖς οὓς μεταχειρίζειν ἡμῖν ῥᾴδιον τὰ τῆς εὐθυμίας ἀπόκειται. Καὶ οἶσθα, εἴ γε μέμνησαι καὶ πρώην-οὐ γὰρ πολὺς ὁ μεταξὺ χρόνος-, πολλούς μοι καὶ μακροὺς ὑπὲρ τούτων ἀναλωθέντας λόγους, ὅτε δὴ συνεχῶς ἐπέλεγον τὰς ἱστορίας ἃς εἰς μέσον ἦγον. Οὐ γὰρ ἐν τῇ φύσει τῶν πραγμάτων οὕτως ὡς ἐν τῇ γνώμῃ τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὰ τῆς εὐθυμίας ἵστασθαι πέφυκεν. Ἐπεὶ οὖν τοῦτο τοῦτον ἔχει τὸν τρόπον, καὶ πολλοὶ τῷ πλούτῳ περιρρεόμενοι τὸν βίον ἀβίωτον ἐνόμισαν εἶναι, ἕτεροι δὲ πενίᾳ συζῶντες ἐσχάτῃ πάντων εὐθυμότεροι διετέλεσαν, καὶ οἱ μὲν δορυφορίας ἀπολαύοντες καὶ δόξης καὶ τιμῆς πολλάκις αὐτῶν ἐπηράσαντο τὴν ζωήν, οἱ δὲ ἄσημοι καὶ ἐξ ἀσήμων καὶ οὐδενὶ γνώριμοι πολλῶν ἑαυτοὺς μακαριωτέρους εἶναι ἐνόμισαν-οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐν τῇ φύσει τῶν πραγμάτων ὡς ἐν τῇ γνώμῃ ἀνθρώπων τὰ τῆς εὐθυμίας· οὐ γὰρ παύσομαι συνεχῶς τοῦτο ἐπᾴδων-, μὴ ἀναπέσῃς, ἀλλὰ διανάστηθι καὶ χεῖρα ὄρεξον τῷ λόγῳ καὶ τὴν καλὴν ταύτην παράσχου συμμαχίαν ἡμῖν, ἵνα σε ὁλοσχερῶς ἐξαρπάσωμεν τῆς πικρᾶς τῶν λογισμῶν αἰχμαλωσίας. Εἰ γὰρ μὴ βουληθείης καὶ αὐτὴ τοσαύτην σπουδὴν ποιήσασθαι ὅσην καὶ ἡμεῖς, οὐδὲν ἡμῖν ὄφελος ἔσται τῆς ἰατρείας. Καὶ τί θαυμαστὸν εἰ ἐφ' ἡμῖν τοῦτο συμβαίνει; Καὶ γὰρ ὁ πάντα δυνάμενος Θεός, ὅταν παραινῇ καὶ συμβουλεύῃ, ὁ δὲ ἀκούων μὴ πείθηται τοῖς λεγομένοις, οὐδέποτε γίνεταί τι πλέον, ἀλλὰ καὶ μείζονος ἔσται κολάσεως ἐφόδιον τοῦτο τῷ μὴ πεισθέντι. Καὶ τοῦτο δηλῶν ὁ Χριστὸς ἔλεγεν· «Εἰ μὴ ἦλθον καὶ ἐλάλησα αὐτοῖς, ἁμαρτίαν οὐκ εἶχον· νῦν δὲ πρόφασιν οὐκ ἔχουσι περὶ τῆς ἁμαρτίας αὐτῶν.» ∆ιὰ δὴ τοῦτο καὶ τὴν Ἱερουσαλὴμ θρηνῶν τούτου