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used; but we are battered by storms and mighty waves, and against those rowing the boat we cry out with him: 'Those who regard vain and false things have forsaken their own mercy.' But perhaps the Master, both ours and his, will grant that we too may surface, and be delivered from the sea monster. But even if the surging surf should persist, we hope even so to enjoy divine providence, and to learn by experience that his power is made perfect in weakness; for he has measured the very dangers to our weakness. For all his fellow sailors cast that divine prophet into the sea; but to me he has provided the consolation of your holiness, and indeed that of other God-loving men; for whom I pray, along with your love of God, that they may receive the blessing of the marvelous Onesiphorus, because you were not ashamed of our chain, but have shared in our afflictions for the faith. Know this well, however, my lord, that when other most God-beloved bishops sent me blessings, I did not accept them; not as insulting those who sent them, may it not be so, but as for the time being providing for my necessary food from him who also provides this abundantly to the ravens. But in the case of your love of God, I have done no such thing. For in truth the warmth of your love has overcome the purpose I had for a time. For let your God-beloved soul be persuaded that from the time our familiarity has increased, our affection has been more ardently kindled. 124 TO MARANAS THE SCHOLASTICUS. I too lament the calamities of the church, and I grieve for the threatening surge. However, I rejoice for myself, being delivered from disturbances and enjoying a peace that is lovely to me. But those whom your learning has said are still doing wrong will not for long escape paying the penalty for what they now lawlessly dare to do. For the Lord of all governs everything by weight and measure; and when some fall into an excess of lawlessness, he is no longer patient, but henceforth judicially inflicts the punishment. Foreseeing these things, we pray that they may cease from their excess, so that we may not be forced to lament them again when we see them being punished. And we continually remember your marvelousness, and we beseech the common Master to fill your house with blessing. 125 TO JOHN, BISHOP OF GERMANICIA. Having received the former letters of your holiness, I immediately wrote back. But concerning the present matters, there is nothing good to hope for. For I suppose these things to be the prelude to the complete apostasy. For that those who lament the things that happened by violence, as they say, in Ephesus, do not repent, but persist in the lawless deeds dared by them, and build upon them at the same time both injustice and impiety; and that the others neither advise them, so that their daring deeds might be renounced, nor, when they persist in what they have done unlawfully, flee their communion, what good does this permit one to hope for? For if they were praising what had happened as being good and well, they would reasonably persist in what was praised by them. But if they lament, as they say, and declare they have done these things by necessity and violence, why on earth do they not renounce what they have done unlawfully, but the present, which is extremely short-lived, has been preferred to the future? And why on earth do they also lie openly and say that no innovation concerning the dogma has occurred? For what murders and sorceries was I driven out? What adulteries did so-and-so dare to commit? What tombs did so-and-so dig up? It is clear even to the barbarians that for the sake of dogmas both I and the

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ἐχρήσατο· ἡμεῖς δὲ ταῖς καταιγίσι καὶ τρικυμίαις βαλλόμεθα, καὶ κατὰ τῶν τὸ σκάφος ἐρεττόντων μετ' ἐκείνου βοῶμεν· Φυλασσόμενοι μάταια καὶ ψευδῆ, ἔλεον αὐτῶν ἐγκατέλιπον . Παρέξει δὲ ἴσως ὁ καὶ ἡμῶν κἀκείνου ∆εσπότης, καὶ ἡμᾶς ἀναδῦναι, καὶ τοῦ κήτους ἀπαλ λαγῆναι. Εἰ δὲ καὶ ζέον ἐπιμείνῃ τὸ ῥόθιον, ἐλπίζομεν καὶ οὕτως τῆς θείας ἀπολαύσεσθαι προμηθείας, καὶ τῇ πείρᾳ μαθεῖν, ὡς ἡ δύναμις αὐτοῦ ἐν ἀσθενείᾳ τελειοῦται· καὶ γὰρ αὐτοὺς τοὺς κινδύνους τῇ ἀσθενείᾳ ἡμῶν ἐμέτρησε. Τὸν μὲν γὰρ θεῖον ἐκεῖνον προφήτην ἅπαντες καθῆκαν εἰς τὸ πέλαγος οἱ συμπλέοντες· ἐμοὶ δὲ καὶ τὴν τῆς σῆς ὁσιότητος παρέσχεν παραψυχήν, καὶ μέντοι καὶ ἄλλων θεοφιλῶν ἀνδρῶν· οὓς τῆς Ὀνησιφόρου τοῦ θαυμασίου τυχεῖν εὐλογίας μετὰ τῆς σῆς φιλοθεΐας προσεύχομαι, ὅτι τὴν ἄλυσιν ἡμῶν οὐκ ἐπῃσχύνθητε· ἀλλὰ τῶν ὑπὲρ τῆς πίστεως ἡμῖν κεκοινωνήκατε θλίψεων. Τοῦτο μέντοι εὖ ἴσθι, δέσποτα, ὡς καὶ ἑτέρων μοι πεμψάντων θεοφιλεστάτων ἐπισκόπων εὐλογίας οὐκ ἐδεξάμην· οὐχ ὡς ὑβρίζων τοὺς πεπομφότας, μὴ γένοιτο· ἀλλ' ὡς τὴν ἀναγκαίαν τροφὴν τέως ποριζόμενος παρὰ τοῦ καὶ τοῖς κόραξι ταύτην ἀφθόνως παρέχοντος. Ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς σῆς φιλοθεΐας οὐδὲν τοιοῦτο πεποίηκα. Τῷ ὄντι γὰρ ἐνίκησεν ἡ τῆς ἀγάπης θερμότης τὸν ἐγγενόμενόν μοι τέως σκοπόν. Ὅτι γὰρ ἐξ οὗ τὰ τῆς συνη θείας ἡμῖν ηὐξήθη, καὶ τὸ φίλτρον σφοδρότερον ἐξήφθη, πειθέσθω ἡ θεοφιλής σου ψυχή. 124 ΜΑΡΑΝΑ ΣΧΟΛΑΣΤΙΚΩ. Τὰς μὲν ἐκκλησιαστικὰς ὀλοφύρομαι κἀγὼ συμφοράς, καὶ τὸν ἐπικείμενον ὀδύρομαι κλύδωνα. Ἐμαυτῷ μέντοι συνήδομαι θορύβων ἀπηλλαγμένῳ, καὶ γαλήνης ἀπολαύοντι τῆς ἐρασμίας μοι. Οὓς δὲ καὶ νῦν ἀδικεῖν ἡ σὴ παίδευσις εἴρηκεν, οὐκ εἰς μακρὸν τίσουσι δίκας ὧν νῦν παρανόμως τολμῶσι. Σταθμῷ γὰρ ἅπαντα καὶ μέτρῳ πρυτανεύει τῶν ὅλων ὁ Κύριος· καὶ ὅταν τινὲς εἰς ἀμετρίαν παρανομίας ἐκπέσωσι, μακροθυμεῖ μὲν οὐκέτι, δικαστικῶς δὲ λοιπὸν ἐπιφέρει τὴν τιμωρίαν. Ταῦτα προορῶντες ἡμεῖς παύσασθαι αὐτοὺς τῆς ἀμετρίας εὐχόμεθα, ἵνα μὴ κολαζομένους ὁρῶντες πάλιν αὐτοὺς θρηνεῖν βιαζώ μεθα. Τῆς δὲ ὑμετέρας θαυμασιότητος διηνεκῶς μνημονεύο μεν, καὶ τὸν κοινὸν ∆εσπότην ἀντιβολοῦμεν τὴν ὑμετέραν οἰκίαν εὐλογίας ἐμπλῆσαι. 125 ΙΩΑΝΝΗ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΩ ΓΕΡΜΑΝΙΚΕΙΑΣ. Τὰ μὲν πρότερα γράμματα τῆς σῆς ὁσιότητος εὐθὺς δεξά μενος ἀντιγέγραφα. Περὶ δὲ τῶν προκειμένων οὐδέν ἐστιν ἐλπίσαι χρηστόν. Τῆς γὰρ παντελοῦς ἀποστασίας ὑπολαμβάνω ταῦτα εἶναι προοίμια. Τὸ γὰρ τοὺς θρηνοῦντας τὰ κατὰ βίαν, ὥς φασιν, ἐν Ἐφέσῳ γεγενημένα μὴ μεταμέλεσθαι, ἀλλ' ἐπι μένειν τοῖς παρανόμως παρ' αὐτῶν τολμηθεῖσιν, καὶ ἐποικο δομεῖν κατὰ ταὐτὸν τήν τε ἀδικίαν καὶ τὴν ἀσέβειαν, καὶ τὸ τοὺς ἄλλους μήτε συμβουλεύειν, ἵνα αὐτοῖς ἐξαρνηθῇ τὰ τολμηθέντα, μήτε ἐπιμενόντων οἷς παρανόμως ἔδρασαν φεύ γειν τὴν κοινωνίαν, τί τῶν χρηστῶν ἐλπίζειν ἐᾷ; Εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἐπῄνουν τὰ γεγενημένα ὡς εὖ καὶ καλῶς ἔχοντα, εἰκότως τοῖς παρὰ σφῶν ἐπαινουμένοις ἐπέμενον. Εἰ δὲ θρηνοῦσιν, ὡς λέγουσιν, καὶ ἀνάγκῃ καὶ βίᾳ ταῦτα πεπραχέναι φασί, τί δήποτε μὴ ἐξαρνοῦνται ἃ παρανόμως δεδράκασιν, ἀλλὰ τὸ παρόν, καὶ σφόδρα ὂν ὀλιγοχρόνιον, τοῦ μέλλοντος προτετίμη ται; Τί δήποτε δὲ καὶ προφανῶς ψεύδονται καί φασι μηδεμίαν γεγενῆσθαι περὶ τὸ δόγμα καινοτομίαν; ∆ιὰ ποίους φόνους καὶ γοητείας ἐξηλάθην ἐγώ; Ὁ δεῖνα τίνας μοιχείας ἐτόλμη σεν; Ποίους ὁ δεῖνα διώρυξεν τάφους; ∆ῆλόν ἐστι καὶ τοῖς βαρβάροις, ὡς δογμάτων χάριν κἀμὲ καὶ τοὺς