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the care, he will add workers to the harvest. If, then, we find such a one, I confess that the one is worth many and it is more beneficial for the Churches and safer for us to so administer the care of souls. But if this is not easy, let our endeavor be first to give leaders to the small towns, or rather mother-villages, which from ancient times have had an episcopal throne, and then let us set up the one for the city, lest the one put forward become an obstacle to us for the subsequent administration, and we begin immediately to fight with our own people for wishing to rule over more, and he not accept the ordinations of the bishops. But if this is burdensome and time does not permit, let your intelligence make this its care, to have the Isaurian define his own circuit, because he ordained some neighbors. What follows will remain stored up for us, to give at the proper time to all the rest bishops whom we ourselves may judge to be more authoritative, having tested them through much examination. 190.2 We asked George, as your God-fearingness commanded, and he said what your Reverence also reported, on which matters it is necessary for us to keep quiet, having cast the care of the house upon the Lord. For I trust in the holy God that He will give understanding to deliver us from our straits in another way and procure for us a life without grief. If, then, this does not seem good, do you yourself deign to send me a memorandum about what office we should put our effort into, so that we may begin to ask each of our powerful friends for this favor, whether as a gift or for a moderate price, as the Lord may prosper us. I have written to our brother Valerius, as you commanded. The affairs of Nyssa are similar to those left by your God-fearingness and are progressing for the better by the cooperation of your prayers. However, those who then broke away from us, some have gone to the army camp, and others remain, awaiting the rumor from there. But the Lord is able to frustrate the hopes of these men as well and to make their return fruitless. 190.3 Philo, interpreting the manna, said, as if taught from some Jewish tradition, that its quality was such that it was transformed according to the imagination of the one eating, and that while it was in itself like millet boiled in honey, it provided now bread, now meat, and meat of this kind, either of fowl or of land animal, now a vegetable, and a vegetable according to the desire of each, and of fish, so that the property of the quality of each kind was preserved exactly in the taste of the one eating. Scripture knows of chariots having three riders, because the riders of the other chariots are two, the charioteer and the soldier; but those of Pharaoh had two who were fighting, and one who held the reins of the horses. Sympius sent us a conciliatory and communion-seeking letter, to which we wrote a reply and sent the letters to your Reverence, so that having strongly approved it, you might command it to be sent to him, clearly with the addition also of your own letter. May you be granted to me and to the Church of God, healthy, cheerful in the Lord, praying exceedingly for me, by the loving-kindness of the Holy One.

191. To Amphilochius Bishop of Iconium

191.1 Having read the letters of your Reverence, we had much to God

thanks, because we found traces of ancient love in the words of your letter; for you did not suffer the fate of the many nor were you contentiously disposed toward not being the one to begin the loving correspondence, but as one educated in the greatness that comes from humility to the saints, you thus chose through the second place to appear before us. For this is the law of victory among Christians, and the one who has less

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τὴν φροντίδα, προσλήψεται ἐργάτας εἰς τὸν θερισμόν. Ἐὰν οὖν εὕρωμεν τοιοῦτον, ὁμολογῶ πολλῶν ἀντάξιον εἶναι τὸν ἕνα καὶ ταῖς Ἐκκλησίαις λυσιτελέστερον καὶ ἡμῖν δὲ ἀκινδυνότερον οὕτως οἰκονομῆσαι τῶν ψυχῶν τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν. Ἐὰν δὲ τοῦτο μὴ ῥᾴδιον ᾖ, σπουδὴ γενέσθω ἡμῖν πρότερον ταῖς μικροπολιτείαις ἤτοι μητροκωμίαις ταῖς ἐκ παλαιοῦ ἐπισκόπων θρόνον ἐχούσαις δοῦναι τοὺς προϊσταμένους, καὶ τότε τὸν τῆς πόλεως ἀναστήσωμεν, μήποτε ἐμπόδιον ἡμῖν πρὸς τὴν μετὰ ταῦτα οἰκονομίαν γένηται ὁ προβαλλόμενος, καὶ εὐθὺς ἀρξώμεθα ἡμεῖς τοῖς οἴκοι πολεμεῖν διὰ τὸ πλειόνων βούλεσθαι ἄρχειν, καὶ μὴ καταδέχηται τὰς χειροτονίας τῶν ἐπισκόπων. Ἐὰν δὲ τοῦτο βαρὺ ᾖ καὶ ὁ χρόνος μὴ ἐπιτρέπῃ, ἐκεῖνο σπουδα σάτω ἡ σὴ σύνεσις, τοῦ ποιῆσαι περιγράψαι τῷ Ἰσαύρῳ τὸν ἴδιον κύκλον διὰ τὸ χειροτονῆσαι αὐτὸν προσοίκους τινάς. Τὸ δὲ ἐφεξῆς ἡμῖν ὑπάρξει τεταμιευμένον, εἰς τὸ κατὰ τὸν προσήκοντα καιρὸν δοῦναι πᾶσι τοῖς λοιποῖς ἐπισκόπους οὓς ἂν κυριωτέρους εἶναι κρίνωμεν αὐτοὶ διὰ πολλῆς ἐξετάσεως δοκιμάσαντες. 190.2 Ἠρωτήσαμεν Γεώργιον, ὡς ἐκέλευσεν ἡ θεοσέβειά σου, καὶ εἶπεν ἃ καὶ ἡ σὴ εὐλάβεια ἀνήνεγκεν, ἐφ' οἷς ἀνάγκη ἡμᾶς τὴν ἡσυχίαν ἄγειν ἐπιρρίψαντας ἐπὶ Κύριον τὴν μέριμναν τοῦ οἴκου. Πιστεύω γὰρ τῷ ἁγίῳ Θεῷ ὅτι δώσει σύνεσιν πρὸς τὸ ἑτέρῳ τρόπῳ ἐξελέσθαι τῶν ἀναγκῶν καὶ ἡμῖν ἄλυπον τὴν ζωὴν προξενῆσαι. Ἐὰν οὖν οὐ δοκῇ τοῦτο, αὐτὸς καταξίωσον ὑπομνηστικόν μοι ἀποστεῖλαι περὶ τίνος χρὴ ἀξιώματος σπουδὴν εἰσενέγκασθαι, ἵνα ἀρξώμεθα αἰτεῖν ἕκαστον τῶν ἐν δυνάμει φίλων τὴν χάριν ταύτην εἴτε προῖκα εἴτε καὶ μετρίου τιμήματος, ὡς ἂν ἡμᾶς ὁ Κύριος εὐοδώσῃ. Ἐπέστειλα τῷ ἀδελφῷ Οὐαλερίῳ, ὡς προσέταξας. Τὰ Νύσσης πράγματα ὅμοιά ἐστι τοῖς παρὰ τῆς σῆς θεοσεβείας καταλειφθεῖσι καὶ προκόπτει ἐπὶ τὸ βέλτιον τῇ συνεργίᾳ τῶν σῶν προσευχῶν. Οἱ μέντοι τότε ἀπορραγέντες ἡμῶν οἱ μὲν ἀπῆλθον ἐπὶ τὸ στρατόπεδον, οἱ δὲ μένουσι τὴν ἐκεῖθεν ἀναμένοντες φήμην. ∆υνατὸς δὲ ὁ Κύριος καὶ τούτων ματαιῶσαι τὰς ἐλπίδας κἀκείνοις ἄπρακτον τὴν ἐπάνοδον ποιῆσαι 190.3 Τὸ μάννα ὁ Φίλων ἑρμηνεύων ἔφη, ὥσπερ ἐκ παρα δόσεώς τινος Ἰουδαϊκῆς δεδιδαγμένος, τοιαύτην αὐτοῦ εἶναι τὴν ποιότητα ὥστε κατὰ τὴν φαντασίαν τοῦ ἐσθίον τος μετακίρνασθαι, καὶ εἶναι μὲν καθ' ἑαυτὸ οἱονεὶ κέγχρον ἑψημένον ἐν μέλιτι, παρέχειν δὲ νῦν μὲν ἄρτου, νῦν δὲ κρέως καὶ κρέως τοιοῦδε ἢ πετεινοῦ ἢ χερσαίου, νῦν δὲ λαχάνου καὶ λαχάνου τοῦ κατὰ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν ἑκάστου, καὶ ἰχθύος, ὡς τὸ ἰδίωμα τῆς καθ' ἕκαστον γένος ποιότητος ἀκριβῶς ἐν τῇ γεύσει τοῦ ἐσθίοντος διασώζεσθαι. Ἅρματα ἀναβάτας τριστάτας ἔχοντα οἶδεν ἡ Γραφή, διὰ τὸ τῶν λοιπῶν ἁρμάτων δύο εἶναι τοὺς ἐπιβάτας, τόν τε ἡνίοχον καὶ τὸν ὁπλίτην· τὰ δὲ τοῦ Φαραῶ δύο μὲν εἶχε τοὺς πολεμοῦντας, ἕνα δὲ τὸν τὰς ἡνίας τῶν ἵππων ἔχοντα. Σύμπιος ἡμῖν ἐπέστειλε θεραπευτικὴν ἐπιστολὴν καὶ κοινωνικήν, ᾧ ἡμεῖς ἀντιγράψαντες ἐπέμψαμεν τῇ εὐλα βείᾳ σου τὰ γράμματα, ἵνα ἄγαν ἐγκρίνας κελεύσῃς αὐτῷ ἀποσταλῆναι δηλονότι μετὰ προσθήκης καὶ σῶν γραμμά των. Ἐρρωμένος, εὔθυμος ἐν Κυρίῳ ὑπερευχόμενός μου χαρισθείης μοι καὶ τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ Ἐκκλησίᾳ τῇ τοῦ Ἁγίου φιλανθρωπίᾳ.

191.τ ΑΜΦΙΛΟΧΙΩ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΩ ΙΚΟΝΙΟΥ

191.1 Ἐντυχόντες τοῖς γράμμασι τῆς εὐλαβείας σου πολλὴν τῷ Θεῷ τὴν

χάριν ἔσχομεν, ὅτι ἀρχαίας ἀγάπης ἴχνη εὕρομεν ἐν τοῖς ῥήμασι τῆς ἐπιστολῆς· ὅς γε οὐκ ἔπαθες τὸ τῶν πολλῶν οὐδὲ φιλονείκως ἔσχες πρὸς τὸ μὴ καὶ αὐτὸς κατάρξαι τῆς ἀγαπητικῆς ὁμιλίας, ἀλλ' ὡς πεπαι δευμένος τὸ ἐκ ταπεινοφροσύνης μεγαλεῖον περιγινόμενον τοῖς ἁγίοις, οὕτως εἵλου διὰ τῶν δευτερείων ἔμπροσθεν ἡμῶν ἀποφανθῆναι. Καὶ γὰρ οὗτος νόμος τῆς ἐν χριστια νοῖς νίκης καὶ ὁ ἔλαττον ἔχειν