John Chrysostom, Letters

for what reason? For what is a golden crown placed on the head, like a chain entwined on the right hand for God's sake? and what are conspicuous and great houses, like a prison full of gloom and filth, and much unpleasantness, and affliction for the same cause? For these things leap, rejoice, be crowned, dance, because the sorrowful things that have happened are an occasion for much commerce for you. This is a sowing proclaiming an unspeakable harvest, this is a wrestling match having victory and prizes, this is a voyage producing much commerce. Therefore, considering all these things, my most honored and most reverent lords, rejoice and be glad, do not cease glorifying God for all things, and dealing timely blows to the devil, and laying up for yourselves a great reward beforehand in the heavens. For the sufferings of the present time are not worthy of the glory that is to be revealed to you. And write to us continually. For we greatly desire to receive letters from men bound for God's sake, announcing your sufferings, and from this, though we are living in a foreign land, we will reap much comfort. 119. To Theophilus the presbyter. Therefore, since I have opened a door for you to write, show 52.674 that it was not sloth that caused your previous silence, but that you were waiting to receive from us the freedom to write, and send us snowflakes of letters, announcing to us your good reputation; for you know how we hold to it. And do not let the tyranny of despondency cast you into silence, but tearing it apart more easily than any spider's web, appear brilliant in the line of battle, and by your great boldness and freedom, confound your adversaries. For now is the time of good reputation and of much commerce. For neither could a merchant sitting in the harbor gather cargoes, but by crossing vast seas, and daring the waves, and fighting with hunger and the beasts in the sea, and enduring many other hardships. Therefore, considering these things yourself, that this time of terrible things is a time of commerce, and of great approbation, and of unspeakable rewards, raise up the wing of your mind, and shaking off the dust of despondency with great ease, run through the whole phalanx, assembling, anointing, rousing all, strengthening, making them more earnest. And make these things known to us through your letters, suspecting nothing, even if you are about to report your own achievements, but as fulfilling our command, grant us this joy, so that even though we are far away, we may reap much pleasure, hearing from your reverence these things, which we desire to learn. 120. To Theodora. We were consumed, we were spent, we died a thousand deaths; and those who are delivering the letters know how to report these things more accurately, and this though they were with us for a brief moment; with whom we were not even able to converse a little, being cast down by continuous fevers, with which I was compelled to travel both by night and by day, and being besieged by heat, and being destroyed by sleeplessness, and perishing from the lack of necessaries, and the want of people to care for me. For we have suffered and are suffering things more grievous than those who work the mines and who dwell in the prisons. And late and with difficulty I reached Caesarea, as if coming from a storm into a calm and into a harbor. But not even this harbor was able to restore me from the evils of the tempest; so completely has the previous time worn us out. But nevertheless, having come to Caesarea, I recovered a little, because I drank clean water, because I partook of bread that was not stinking nor hardened, because I no longer washed myself in the fragments of jars, but found a bath of some sort, because for the time being I am allowed to be confined to my bed. It was possible to say more than these things, but so that I may not confuse your understanding, I stop my account here, adding this, that you should not cease reproaching those who love us, that having so many 52.675

ἕνεκεν; Τί γὰρ τοιοῦτον στέφανος χρυσοῦς κεφαλῇ περικείμενος, οἷον ἅλυσις δεξιᾷ περιπλεκομένη διὰ τὸν Θεόν; τί δὲ τοιοῦτον οἰκίαι περιφανεῖς καὶ μεγάλαι, οἷον δεσμωτήριον ζόφου καὶ ῥύπου γέμον, καὶ πολλῆς τῆς ἀηδίας, καὶ τῆς θλίψεως διὰ τὴν αὐτὴν ὑπόθεσιν; ∆ιὰ ταῦτα σκιρτᾶτε, ἀγάλλεσθε, στεφανοῦσθε, χορεύετε, ὅτι πολλῆς ἐμπορίας ὑμῖν ὑπόθεσις τὰ συμβάντα λυπηρά. Τοῦτο σπόρος ἄμητον προαναφωνῶν ἄφατον, τοῦτο παλαίσματα νίκην ἔχοντα καὶ βραβεῖα, τοῦτο πλοῦς ἐμπορίαν πολλὴν προξενῶν. Ταῦτ' οὖν ἅπαντα ἀναλογισάμενοι, κύριοί μου τιμιώτατοι καὶ εὐλαβέστατοι, χαίρετε καὶ εὐφραίνεσθε, μὴ διαλίπητε τὸν Θεὸν ἐπὶ πᾶσι δοξάζοντες, καὶ καιρίας τῷ διαβόλῳ διδόντες πληγὰς, καὶ πολλὴν ἑαυτοῖς ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς προαποτιθέμενοι τὴν ἀμοιβήν. Οὐ γὰρ ἄξια τὰ παθήματα τοῦ νῦν καιροῦ πρὸς τὴν μέλλουσαν δόξαν ἀποκαλύπτεσθαι εἰς ὑμᾶς. Γράφετε δὲ καὶ ἡμῖν συνεχῶς. Σφόδρα γὰρ ἐπιθυμοῦμεν γράμματα δέχεσθαι παρ' ἀνθρώπων διὰ τὸν Θεὸν δεδεμένων, τὰ παθήματα ὑμῶν ἀπαγγέλλοντα, καὶ πολλὴν ἐντεῦθεν, καὶ ἐν ἀλλοτρίᾳ διατρίβοντες, καρπωσόμεθα τὴν παράκλησιν. ΡΙΘʹ. Θεοφίλῳ πρεσβυτέρῳ. Οὐκοῦν ἐπειδή σοι θύραν ἀνέῳξα τοῦ γράφειν, δεῖ52.674 ξον ὡς οὐχ ὁ ὄκνος ἐποίει τὴν ἔμπροσθεν σιγὴν, ἀλλὰ τὸ παρ' ἡμῶν ἀναμένειν λαβεῖν τοῦ γράφειν τὴν παῤῥησίαν, καὶ πέμπε νιφάδας ἡμῖν γραμμάτων, τὴν σὴν ἀπαγγελλόντων ἡμῖν εὐδοκίμησιν· οἶσθα γὰρ ὅπως αὐτῆς ἀντεχόμεθα· μηδὲ ἀφῇς τῆς ἀθυμίας τὴν τυραννίδα εἰς σιγήν σε ἐμβαλεῖν, ἀλλὰ πάσης ἀράχνης εὐκολώτερον αὐτὴν διασπάσας, φαίνου λαμπρὸς ἐπὶ τῆς παρατάξεως, καὶ τῇ πολλῇ παῤῥησίᾳ καὶ ἐλευθερίᾳ συγχέων τοὺς ἐναντίους. Νῦν γάρ ἐστι καιρὸς εὐδοκιμήσεως καὶ ἐμπορίας πολλῆς. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἔμπορος ἐν λιμένι καθήμενος, τὰ φορτία συνάγειν δύναιτ' ἂν, ἀλλὰ μακρὰ διαπερῶν πελάγη, καὶ κυμάτων κατατολμῶν, καὶ λιμῷ καὶ θηρίοις τοῖς ἐν πελάγει πυκτεύων, καὶ πολλὰς ἑτέρας ὑπομένων δυσκολίας. Ταῦτ' οὖν καὶ αὐτὸς λογισάμενος, ὡς ὁ τῶν δεινῶν καιρὸς οὗτος τῆς ἐμπορίας ἐστὶ καιρὸς, καὶ πολλῆς εὐδοκιμήσεως, καὶ μισθῶν ἀφάτων, διανάστησόν σου τὸ πτερὸν τῆς διανοίας, καὶ τὴν κόνιν τῆς ἀθυμίας ἀποτιναξάμενος μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς εὐκολίας πᾶσαν περίτρεχε τὴν φάλαγγα, συγκροτῶν, ἀλείφων, ἅπαντας διεγείρων, νευρῶν, σπουδαιοτέρους ποιῶν. Καὶ ταῦτα ἡμῖν δήλου διὰ γραμμάτων τῶν σῶν, μηδὲν ὑφορώμενος, εἰ κατορθώματα μέλλοις αὐτὸς ἀπαγγέλλειν τὰ σὰ, ἀλλ' ὡς ὑπόταγμα ἡμέτερον ἀνύων, χαρίζου ταύτην ἡμῖν τὴν εὐφροσύνην, ἵνα καὶ πόῤῥωθεν ὄντες, πολλὴν καρπωσώμεθα τὴν ἡδονὴν, ταῦτα ἀκούοντες παρὰ τῆς σῆς εὐλαβείας, ἅπερ ἐπιθυμοῦμεν μανθάνειν. ΡΚʹ. Θεοδώρᾳ. Ἀνηλώθημεν, ἐδαπανήθημεν, μυρίους ἀπεθάνομεν θανάτους· καὶ ταῦτα ἴσασιν ἀκριβέστερον ἀπαγγεῖλαι οἱ τὰ γράμματα ἐγχειρίζοντες, καὶ ταῦτα βραχεῖαν ῥοπὴν ἡμῖν συγγενόμενοι· πρὸς οὓς οὐδὲ διαλεχθῆναί τι μικρὸν ἠδυνήθημεν, ὑπὸ τῶν συνεχῶν πυρετῶν καταβεβλημένοι, οὓς ἔχων καὶ ἐν νυκτὶ καὶ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ὁδοιπορεῖν ἠναγκαζόμην, καὶ θάλπει πολιορκούμενος, καὶ ὑπὸ ἀγρυπνίας διαφθειρόμενος, καὶ ὑπὸ τῆς τῶν ἐπιτηδείων ἐρημίας ἀπολλύμενος, καὶ τῆς τῶν προστησομένων ἀπορίας. Καὶ γὰρ τῶν τὰ μέταλλα ἐργαζομένων, καὶ τὰ δεσμωτήρια οἰκούντων χαλεπώτερα καὶ πεπόνθαμεν καὶ πάσχομεν. Ὀψὲ δέ ποτε καὶ μόλις ἐπέτυχον τῆς Καισαρείας, ὡς ἀπὸ χειμῶνος εἰς γαλήνην καὶ εἰς λιμένα ἐλθών. Ἀλλ' οὐδὲ ὁ λιμὴν οὗτος ἴσχυσεν ἀνακτήσασθαι τὰ ἀπὸ τοῦ κλυδωνίου κακά· οὕτω καθάπαξ ἡμᾶς ὁ ἔμπροσθεν χρόνος κατειργάσατο. Ἀλλ' ὅμως ἐλθὼν εἰς τὴν Καισάρειαν, μικρὸν ἀνέψυξα, ὅτι ὕδατος ἔπιον καθαροῦ, ὅτι ἄρτου οὐκ ὀδωδότος οὐδὲ κατεσκληκότος μετέλαβον, ὅτι οὐκ ἔτι ἐν τοῖς κλάσμασι τῶν πίθων ἐλουόμην, ἀλλ' εὗρον βαλανεῖον οἷον δήποτε, ὅτι συγκεχώρημαι τέως τῇ κλίνῃ προσηλῶσθαι. Ἐνῆν καὶ πλείονα τούτων εἰπεῖν, ἀλλ' ἵνα μὴ συγχέω σου τὴν μάθησιν, μέχρι τούτου ἵστημι τὸν λόγον, ἐκεῖνο προστιθεὶς, ὅτι μὴ παύσῃ ὀνειδίζουσα τοῖς ἀγαπῶσιν ἡμᾶς, ὅτι τοσούτους ἔχον52.675 τες