123

But when I reflect again that the only comfort for one who has failed in the greatest and first things is to address such a great man and to make the customary request that he not forget us in his prayers, it occurs to me that letters are of no small importance. Therefore I neither wish to cast from my soul the hope of your presence, nor to despair of your piety. For I am ashamed if I should not appear to have so much confidence in your prayers as to become young from old, if there should be need of this, let alone a little stronger from being weak and altogether feeble, such as I am now. But the reasons for my not being there already are not easy to state in words, not only because I am hindered by my present weakness, but also because I have never possessed such power of speech as to describe clearly so manifold and varied a disease. Except that from the day of Pascha until now, fevers and diarrheas and internal upheavals, like waves submerging me, do not allow me to get above them. And what my present condition is, brother Barachus could also tell you, even if not in a manner worthy of the truth, yet enough to bear witness to the reason for the excuse. But I am quite persuaded that if you would genuinely pray with us, all our difficulties will easily be resolved.

163. TO JOVINUS THE COUNT

163.1 I have seen your soul in your letter. For in truth no artist can capture the features of a body as accurately as words can portray the secrets of the soul. For then the words in your letter sufficiently characterized for us the stability of your character, the truth of your honor, and the timeliness of your judgment in all things; whence it also afforded us great consolation for your absence. Do not, therefore, cease using whatever occasion arises to write and to grant us this conversation from afar, since the weakness of my body now makes me despair of conversation face to face. How great this is, the most God-beloved bishop Amphilochius will tell you, who both knows from having spent much time with us and is able to express in words what he has seen. And I wish my difficulties to be known for no other reason than to ask for your future indulgence, so as not to incur a charge of laziness, if we should happen to neglect visiting you. And yet, there is need not so much of an apology as of consolation for this loss. For if it were possible to be with your excellency, I would have considered this far more precious to me than the things pursued by others.

164. TO ASCHOLIUS, BISHOP OF THESSALONICA

164.1 With how much joy the letter of your holiness filled us, we could not easily show, as our words are weak for the task, but you yourself ought to surmise it in your own mind, judging by the beauty of what was written. For what did the letter not contain? Did it not contain love for the Lord? Did it not contain wonder for the martyrs, so vividly sketching the manner of their nature as to bring the events before our eyes? Did it not contain honor and affection for ourselves? Did it not contain whatever one might say of the most beautiful things? So that, when we received the letter into our hands and read it many times and perceived the grace of the Spirit abounding in it, we thought that we were living in ancient times, when the Churches of God flourished, rooted in faith, united in love as in one body with one accord among the different members; when the persecutors were manifest, but the peoples who were warred against became more numerous, and the blood

123

Ὅταν δὲ πάλιν λογίσωμαι ὅτι μόνη παραμυθία ἐστὶ τῶν μεγίστων καὶ πρώτων διαμαρ τόντα προσειπεῖν ἄνδρα τοσοῦτον καὶ ἱκετεῦσαι τὰ συνήθη ὥστε μὴ ἐπιλανθάνεσθαι ἡμῶν ἐπὶ τῶν προσευχῶν, οὐ μικρόν τί μοι κρίνειν τὸ τῶν ἐπιστολῶν ἔπεισι. Τὴν μὲν οὖν ἐλπίδα τῆς παρουσίας οὔτε αὐτὸς ῥῖψαι τῆς ψυχῆς βούλομαι οὔτε τὴν σὴν θεοσέβειαν ἀπογνῶναι. Αἰσχύνομαι γὰρ εἰ μὴ ταῖς σαῖς εὐχαῖς τοσοῦτον φανείην θαρσῶν ὡς καὶ νέος ἐκ γέροντος ἔσεσθαι, εἰ τούτου γένοιτο χρεία, οὐχ ὅπως ἐρρωμενέστερος μικρὸν ἐξ ἀσθενοῦς καὶ ἐξιτήλου παντάπασιν, ὁποῖος δὴ νῦν εἰμι. Τοῦ δὲ μὴ ἤδη παρεῖναι τὰ αἴτια λόγῳ μὲν εἰπεῖν οὐ ῥᾴδιον, οὐ μόνον ὑπὸ τῆς παρούσης ἀσθενείας ἐξειργομένῳ, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ σχόντι ποτὲ τοσαύτην τοῦ λόγου δύναμιν ὥστε παντοδαπὴν οὕτω καὶ ποικίλην νόσον ἐναργῶς ἐξαγγεῖλαι. Πλὴν ὅτι ἀπὸ τῆς ἡμέρας τοῦ Πάσχα μέχρι τοῦ νῦν πυρετοὶ καὶ διάρροιαι καὶ σπλάγχνων ἐπαναστάσεις, ὥσπερ κύματά με ἐπιβα πτίζοντα, ὑπερσχεῖν οὐκ ἐᾷ. Τὰ δὲ παρόντα οἷα καὶ τίνα ἦν εἴποι ἂν καὶ ὁ ἀδελφὸς Βάραχος, εἰ καὶ μὴ τῆς ἀληθείας ἀξίως, ἀλλ' ὅσον μαρτυρῆσαι τῇ αἰτίᾳ τῆς ὑποθέσεως. Πάνυ δὲ πέπεισμαι, εἰ γνησίως ἡμῖν συνεύξαιο, πάνθ' ἡμῖν λυθήσεσθαι ῥᾳδίως τὰ δυσχερῆ.

163.τ ΙΟΒΙΝΩ ΚΟΜΗΤΙ

163.1 Εἶδόν σου τὴν ψυχὴν ἐν τοῖς γράμμασι. Καὶ γὰρ τῷ ὄντι οὐδὲ εἷς

γραφεὺς χαρακτῆρα σώματος οὕτως ἀκριβῶς ἐκλαβεῖν ὡς λόγος ἐξεικονίσαι τῆς ψυχῆς τὰ ἀπόρρητα δύναται. Τότε γὰρ τὸ τοῦ ἤθους εὐσταθὲς καὶ τὸ τῆς τιμῆς ἀληθὲς καὶ τὸ τῆς γνώμης ἐν πᾶσιν καίριον ἱκανῶς ἡμῖν ὁ ἐν τοῖς γράμμασι λόγος ἐχαρακτήρισεν· ὅθεν καὶ μεγάλην ἡμῖν παραμυθίαν τῆς ἀπολείψεώς σου παρέσχετο. Μὴ τοίνυν διαλείπῃς τῇ ἀεὶ παραπιπτούσῃ προφάσει χρώμενος πρὸς τὸ ἐπιστέλλειν καὶ τὴν διὰ μακροῦ ταύτην ὁμιλίαν χαρίζεσθαι, ἐπειδὴ τῆς κατ' ὀφθαλμοὺς ὁμιλίας ἀπόγνωσιν ἡμῖν λοιπὸν ἡ ἀσθένεια τοῦ σώματος ἐμποιεῖ. Ἣν ὁπόση ἐστὶν ἐρεῖ σοι ὁ θεοφιλέστατος ἐπίσκοπος Ἀμφιλόχιος, ὁ καὶ γνωρίσας τῷ ἐπὶ πλεῖον συγγεγενῆσθαι ἡμῖν καὶ δυνατὸς ὢν λόγῳ παραστῆσαι τὰ θεαθέντα. Γνωρίζεσθαι δὲ βούλομαι τὰ ἐμαυτοῦ δυσχερῆ, οὐκ ἄλλου τινὸς ἕνεκεν ἢ τῆς πρὸς τὸ ἐφεξῆς συγγνώμης, ὡς μὴ ῥᾳθυμίας ἔχειν κατάγνωσιν, ἐὰν ἄρα ἐλλείπωμεν τὴν ἐπίσκεψιν ὑμῶν. Καίτοιγε οὐκ ἀπολογίας μᾶλλον ἢ παρα μυθίας δεῖ πρὸς τὴν ζημίαν ταύτην. Εἰ γὰρ ἦν δυνατὸν συνεῖναί σου τῇ σεμνότητι, πολλῷ ἂν ἐγὼ τῶν παρ' ἄλλοις σπουδαζομένων ταύτην ἐμαυτῷ προτιμοτέραν ἐθέμην.

164.τ ΑΣΧΟΛΙΩ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΩ ΘΕΣΣΑΛΟΝΙΚΗΣ

164.1 Ὅσης ἡμᾶς εὐφροσύνης ἐνέπλησε τὰ γράμματα τῆς ὁσιότητός σου ἡμεῖς

μὲν οὐκ ἂν ῥᾳδίως ἐνδείξασθαι δυνηθείημεν ἀσθενοῦντος τοῦ λόγου πρὸς τὴν ἐνέργειαν, αὐτὸς δὲ καὶ παρὰ σεαυτῷ εἰκάζειν ὀφείλεις τεκμαιρόμενος τῷ κάλλει τῶν ἐπεσταλμένων. Τί γὰρ οὐκ εἶχε τὰ γράμ ματα; Οὐ τὴν πρὸς τὸν Κύριον ἀγάπην; Οὐ τὸ περὶ τοὺς μάρτυρας θαῦμα, οὕτως ἐναργῶς τὸν τρόπον τῆς φύσεως ὑπογράφοντα ὥστε ὑπ' ὄψιν ἡμῶν ἀγαγεῖν τὰ πράγματα; Οὐ τὴν καθ' ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς τιμὴν καὶ διάθεσιν; Οὐχ ὅτι ἂν εἴποι τις τῶν καλλίστων; Ὥστε, ὅτε εἰς χεῖρας τὴν ἐπιστολὴν ἐδεξάμεθα καὶ ἀνέγνωμεν αὐτὴν πολλάκις καὶ τὴν βρύουσαν ἐν αὐτῇ χάριν τοῦ Πνεύματος κατεμάθομεν, νομίσαι ἡμᾶς ἐπὶ τῶν ἀρχαίων καιρῶν γεγενῆσθαι, ἡνίκα ἤνθουν αἱ Ἐκκλησίαι τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐρριζωμέναι τῇ πίστει, ἡνωμέναι τῇ ἀγάπῃ ὥσπερ ἐν ἑνὶ σώματι μιᾶς συμπνοίας διαφόρων μελῶν ὑπαρχούσης· ὅτε φανεροὶ μὲν οἱ διώ κοντες, πολεμούμενοι δὲ οἱ λαοὶ πλείους ἐγίνοντο καὶ τὸ αἷμα