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considering the reward for what we have suffered, and expecting that matters will take a very swift change for the better, as the very preludes show. Therefore, considering these things yourself, do not be softened at all towards the toils of patience, but take care of your other children—for your reward is greater now—and be diligent to raise the fair Epiphanius in a manner pleasing to God. For you know how great is the reward for child-rearing. Thus Abraham was well-pleasing among others, and from this Job was crowned; and the blessed Paul continually enjoins this on parents, saying: "Bring up your children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." You have sufficient leisure to lead you away from superfluous and untimely cares and from unprofitable grief, a leisure bringing much gain, able to abound with the great fruit of virtue, if you would be willing to make this your work. For concerning my lady, my mother, I think I need not even write, since I am conscious of this right action of yours among others, and the unspeakable fruit from it, and that you have surpassed every handmaid in your care for her. But nevertheless, since it is fitting for me to speak of this also, hear the blessed Paul who says to honor parents, and adds: "Which is the first commandment with a promise." If you conduct yourself thus, you will lay up for yourself many crowns, and you will work great pleasure for us, and we will consider that we have not even suffered any of these things which we have suffered, and because of this, but being winged by the magnitude of the gladness of your 52.745 good deeds, we will consider that we are at home, and are living with you, and that all things are carried along for us with the current. 339. Of the same to Valerius and Diophantus, presbyters. Most certainly, one ought to have written even to one who has not written; for such is the law of love: it does not endure to be diminished, but always strives to conquer those who are loved by the abundance of its affection; but though I have written both once, and twice, not even so have you deemed me worthy of your letters, but you have kept such a long silence toward a man who desires to receive snowstorms of letters. And I say these things not to accuse; I am not so ignorant of my own measure; but in despondency and pain. For by as much as I desire your letters with great excess, by so much more pain do I endure being deprived of them. Do you think we need little consolation, separated from mother and sister, cast out from our fatherland, not able to see a choir of so many genuine friends, inhabiting a wilderness harsher than any wilderness, besieged by the fear of the Isaurians? Along with my own troubles, I also hear every day of the common evils, sprouting up everywhere in the world, and growing with addition each day, and giving birth to some difficult shipwrecks. If only it were possible for me to represent in words the tyranny of my despondency; then, even without us speaking, you yourselves would have repented of your silence. And what grieves me in addition to these things is that you have not done this by taking refuge in a scarcity of letter-carriers. Which is a sign ... but I would say nothing harsh, but I leave it for you to know, if these things are not of great negligence, and of contempt for us. But this matters nothing to me, even if you despise, even if you look down upon our littleness; one thing only I seek, however you may be disposed: the letters of your piety, which have great consolation. For indeed both a first and a second have often come to us, and now my lord, the most honorable brother Libanius, and you have not deemed us worthy of your letters. Do not then add, I beseech you, another despondency to my despondency. For if even after this letter you are not willing to write to us, yielding either to hesitation or to sloth, we will not cease both writing, and with our writing also lamenting and mourning on account of your silence. For of this we have authority. And this is no small thing for our consolation, or rather, even apart from this, our greatest comfort is that even to the wilderness itself and the ends of the earth—for we are now almost at the very ends—the fame of you

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τε μισθὸν ἐννοοῦντες ὧν ἐπάθομεν, καὶ ταχίστην ἐπὶ τὸ βέλτιον μεταβολὴν τὰ πράγματα προσδοκῶντες λήψεσθαι, ὡς καὶ αὐτὰ τὰ προοίμια δείκνυσι. Ταῦτ' οὖν καὶ αὐτὴ λογιζομένη, μηδὲν καταμαλακισθῇς πρὸς τοὺς τῆς ὑπομονῆς ἱδρῶτας, ἀλλὰ τῶν τε ἄλλων σου παιδίων ἐπιμελοῦ πλείων γάρ σοι νῦν ὁ μισθὸς, καὶ τὴν καλὴν Ἐπιφάνιον κατὰ τῷ Θεῷ δοκοῦν ἀνατρέφειν σπούδαζε. Οἶσθα γὰρ ὅσος παιδοτροφίας μισθός. Οὕτως ὁ Ἀβραὰμ ηὐδοκίμησε μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων, καὶ ἐντεῦθεν ὁ Ἰὼβ ἐστεφανοῦτο· καὶ τοῖς γονεῦσι τοῦτο συνεχῶς ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος ἐπιτάττει λέγων· Ἐκτρέφετε τὰ τέκνα ὑμῶν ἐν παιδείᾳ καὶ νουθεσίᾳ Κυρίου. Ἔχεις σχολὴν ἱκανὴν ἀπαγαγεῖν σε τῶν περιττῶν καὶ ἀκαίρων φροντίδων καὶ τῆς ἀνονήτου λύπης, σχολὴν πολὺ φέρουσαν κέρδος, μεγάλῳ τῷ τῆς ἀρετῆς δυναμένην βρύειν καρπῷ, εἴγε βουληθείης ἔργον τοῦτο ποιήσασθαι. Περὶ γὰρ τῆς δεσποίνης μου τῆς μητρὸς οὐδὲν οἶμαι δεῖν οὐδὲ ἐπιστέλλειν, ἐπειδήπερ σοι σύνοιδα μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων καὶ τοῦτο τὸ κατόρθωμα, καὶ τὸν ἄφατον ἐντεῦθεν καρπὸν, καὶ ὅτι παιδίσκην ἅπασαν ὑπερηκόντισας ἐν τῇ περὶ αὐτὴν θεραπείᾳ. Ἀλλ' ὅμως ἐπειδὴ πρέπον ἐμοὶ καὶ περὶ τούτου διαλεχθῆναι, ἄκουσον τοῦ μακαρίου Παύλου λέγοντος τιμᾷν τοὺς γονέας, καὶ προστιθέντος· Ἥτις ἐστὶν ἐντολὴ πρώτη ἐν ἐπαγγελίαις. Ἂν οὕτω σαυτὴν ἄγῃς, πολλοὺς μὲν σαυτῇ προαποθήσῃ τοὺς στεφάνους, πολλὴν δὲ ἡμῖν ἐργάσῃ τὴν ἡδονὴν, καὶ οὐδὲ πεπονθέναι τι τούτων ἡγησόμεθα ὧν πεπόνθαμεν, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο, ἀλλὰ τῷ ὄγκῳ τῆς εὐφροσύνης τῶν σῶν 52.745 ἀγαθῶν πτερούμενοι, καὶ εἰς τὰ οἰκεῖα εἶναι, καὶ μεθ' ὑμῶν διάγειν, καὶ κατὰ ῥοῦν ἡμῖν ἅπαντα φέρεσθαι ἡγησόμεθα. ΣΛΘʹ. Τοῦ αὐτοῦ πρὸς Οὐαλέριον καὶ ∆ιόφαντον πρεσβυτέρους. Μάλιστα μὲν καὶ μὴ γράψαντι γράψαι ἐχρῆν· τοιοῦτος γὰρ τῆς ἀγάπης ὁ νόμος· οὐκ ἀνέχεται ἐλαττοῦσθαι, ἀλλ' ἀεὶ φιλονεικεῖ νικᾷν τοὺς ἀγαπωμένους τῇ περιουσίᾳ τοῦ φιλεῖν· καὶ γράψαντα δὲ καὶ ἅπαξ, καὶ δὶς, οὐδὲ οὕτως ἠξιώσατε τῶν ὑμετέρων γραμμάτων, ἀλλ' ἐσιγήσατε σιγὴν οὕτω μακρὰν πρὸς ἄνθρωπον ἐπιθυμοῦντα δέχεσθαι νιφάδας γραμμάτων. Καὶ ταῦτα οὐκ ἐγκαλῶν λέγω· οὐχ οὕτως ἀγνοῶ μου τὰ μέτρα· ἀλλ' ἀθυμῶν καὶ ὀδυνώμενος. Ὅσῳ γὰρ μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς ὑπερβολῆς ἐπιθυμῶ τῶν γραμμάτων, τοσούτῳ καὶ πλείονα τὴν ὀδύνην ἀποστερούμενος αὐτῶν ὑπομένω. Μικρᾶς οἴεσθε παρακλήσεως ἡμᾶς δεῖσθαι, μητρὸς καὶ ἀδελφῆς κεχωρισμένους, πατρίδος ἐκπεπτωκότας, χορὸν τοσούτων γνησίων οὐ δυναμένους βλέπειν, ἐρημίαν οἰκοῦντας πάσης ἐρημίας χαλεπωτέραν, Ἰσαύρων φόβῳ πολιορκουμένους; Μετὰ τῶν ἐμῶν καὶ τὰ κοινὰ καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν ἀκούω τὰ κακὰ, καὶ πανταχοῦ τῆς οἰκουμένης βλαστάνοντα, καὶ καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν μετὰ προσθήκης αὐξανόμενα, καὶ χαλεπά τινα ὠδίνοντα ναυάγια. Εἴθε μοι δυνατὸν ἦν παραστῆσαι τῷ λόγῳ τῆς ἀθυμίας τὴν τυραννίδα· τότε ἂν, καὶ μὴ λεγόντων ἡμῶν, αὐτοὶ ἂν μετέγνωτε ἐπὶ τῇ σιγῇ. Λυπεῖ δέ με πρὸς τούτοις τὸ μήτε εἰς γραμματηφόρων σπάνιν ἔχοντας καταφυγεῖν τοῦτο ποιῆσαι. Ὅπερ σημεῖόν ἐστιν ... ἀλλ' ἐγὼ μὲν οὐδὲν ἂν εἴποιμι δυσχερὲς, ὑμῖν δὲ καταλιμπάνω εἰδέναι, εἰ μὴ πολλῆς ταῦτα ὀλιγωρίας, καὶ τῆς καθ' ἡμῶν ὑπεροψίας. Ἀλλ' οὐδέν μοι τοῦτο μέλει, κἂν καταφρονῆτε, κἂν ὑπερορᾶτε τῆς ἡμετέρας σμικρότητος· ἓν ἐπιζητῶ μόνον, ὅπως ἂν διακέησθε, τὰ γράμματα τῆς θεοσεβείας ὑμῶν, τὰ πολλὴν ἔχοντα παράκλησιν. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ εἷς καὶ δεύτερος πολλάκις ἀφίκοντο πρὸς ἡμᾶς, καὶ νῦν ὁ κύριός μου ὁ τιμιώτατος ἀδελφὸς Λιβάνιος, καὶ οὐκ ἠξιώσατε ἡμᾶς τῶν ὑμετέρων γραμμάτων. Μὴ δὴ προσθῆτε, παρακαλῶ, τῇ ἀθυμίᾳ μου ἀθυμίαν ἑτέραν. Εἰ γὰρ μηδὲ μετὰ τὴν ἐπιστολὴν ταύτην βουληθείητε ἡμῖν ἐπιστεῖλαι, ἢ ὄκνῳ, ἢ ῥᾳθυμίᾳ ἐνδόντες, ἡμεῖς οὐ παυσόμεθα καὶ γράφοντες, καὶ μετὰ τοῦ γράφειν καὶ ὀλοφυρόμενοι καὶ θρηνοῦντες διὰ τὴν σιγὴν τὴν ὑμετέραν. Τούτου γάρ ἐσμεν κύριοι. Οὐ μικρὸν δὲ καὶ τοῦτο ἡμῖν εἰς παράκλησιν, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ τούτου χωρὶς ἡ μεγίστη ἡμῶν παραμυθία, τὸ μέχρι τῆς ἐρημίας αὐτῆς καὶ τῶν περάτων τῆς γῆς πρὸς γὰρ αὐτὰ τὰ πέρατα σχεδόν ἐσμεν νῦν φήμην ὑμῶν