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215. TO DOROTHEUS THE PRESBYTER
215.1 As soon as I found an opportunity, I wrote to the most admirable man, Count Terentius, reasoning that it would be less suspicious to write to him through strangers about the matters at hand and at the same time wishing that no delay should arise in the matter for our most desired brother Acacius. Therefore I gave the letter to the auditor of the prefects' department, who was traveling by the public post, and I instructed him to show the letter to you first. But as for the road to Rome, I do not know how no one has reported to your intelligence that in the winter it is completely impassable, since the country between Constantinople and our borders is filled with enemies. But if we must use the sea, there will be an opportunity; if only the most God-beloved bishop Gregory, our brother, will undertake both the voyage and the embassy on behalf of such matters. For I neither see those who would go with him, and I know that he himself is completely inexperienced in the affairs of the Churches, and while to a man of good judgment an encounter with him is venerable and of great worth, yet to one who is lofty and exalted, sitting somewhere on high and for this reason unable to hear those who speak the truth to him from below, what benefit could there be for the common good from the conversation of such a man, whose character is alien to ignoble flattery?
216. TO MELETIUS, BISHOP OF ANTIOCH
216.1 Many other journeys have taken us away from our homeland. For we travelled as far as Pisidia, in order to regulate with the bishops there the affairs of the brethren in Isauria. And from there a journey to Pontus followed for us, since Eustathius had greatly disturbed Dazimon and persuaded many there to separate from our Church. We also went as far as the small estate of our brother, which, because it is near the regions of Neocaesarea, gave cause for much disturbance to those there, and furnished a pretext for much insolence towards us. For they fled when no one was pursuing, while we were thought to be pushing our way in uninvited, out of a desire for their praise. But when we returned, having contracted a great illness from the rains and from our despondencies, immediately letters from the East reached us, indicating that certain letters had been brought from the West to the party of Paulinus, like tokens of some authority, and that the schismatics of that party are proud and exult in the letters, and then that a creed is being proposed and that on this basis they are ready to be united with our Church. In addition to these things, this also was reported to us, that they had won over to their cause that most excellent man, Terentius, to whom I wrote quickly as much as was in my power, restraining him from his impulse and teaching him the deceit concerning them.
217. TO AMPHILOCHIUS, CONCERNING CANONS
Having returned from a long journey (for I went as far as Pontus for the sake of ecclesiastical needs, and to visit friends) and having brought back my body shattered and my soul moderately afflicted, when I took the letter of your reverence in my hands, I forgot everything at once, having received the tokens of the voice sweetest to me of all and of the dearest hand. Therefore, since I became so much happier from the letters, you ought to imagine how much worth
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215.τ ∆ΩΡΟΘΕΩ ΠΡΕΣΒΥΤΕΡΩ
215.1 Εὐθὺς ἐπιτυχὼν ἀφορμῆς ἐπέστειλα τῷ θαυμασιωτάτῳ ἀνδρὶ Τερεντίῳ
τῷ κόμητι, λογισάμενος ἀνυποπτότερον εἶναι τὸ διὰ ξένων αὐτῷ γράφειν περὶ τῶν προκειμένων καὶ ἅμα βουλόμενος μηδεμίαν ἐγγενέσθαι διατριβὴν τῷ πράγματι τὸν ποθεινότατον ἀδελφὸν Ἀκάκιον. Τῷ διαψη φιστῇ τῆς τάξεως τῶν ἐπάρχων ἔδωκα οὖν τὴν ἐπιστολὴν δημοσίῳ δρόμῳ ὁδεύοντι ᾧ καὶ ἐνετειλάμην πρώτοις ὑμῖν ἐμφανίσαι τὸ γράμμα. Τὴν δὲ ἐπὶ Ῥώμην ὁδὸν οὐκ οἶδα ὅπως οὐδεὶς ἀνήγγειλε τῇ συνέσει ὑμῶν ὅτι ἐν τῷ χειμῶνι παντελῶς ἐστιν ἄπορος, τῆς μεταξὺ χώρας ἀπὸ Κωνσταντι νουπόλεως μέχρι τῶν καθ' ἡμᾶς ὅρων πολεμίων πεπληρω μένης. Εἰ δὲ δεῖ θαλάσσῃ χρήσασθαι, ἔσται καιρός· μόνον ἐὰν καταδέξηται καὶ τὸν πλοῦν καὶ τὴν ὑπὲρ τῶν τοιούτων πραγμάτων πρεσβείαν ὁ θεοφιλέστατος ἐπίσκοπος Γρηγόριος ὁ ἀδελφός. Ἐγὼ μὲν γὰρ οὔτε τοὺς συναπερχομένους αὐτῷ ὁρῶ καὶ αὐτὸν γινώσκω παντελῶς ἄπειρον ὄντα τῶν κατὰ τὰς Ἐκκλησίας, καὶ εὐγνώμονι μὲν ἀνδρὶ αἰδέσιμον αὐτοῦ καὶ πολλοῦ ἀξίαν τὴν συντυχίαν, ὑψηλῷ δὲ καὶ μετεώρῳ, ἄνω που καθημένῳ καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἀκούειν τῶν χαμόθεν αὐτῷ τὴν ἀλήθειαν φθεγγομένων μὴ δυναμένῳ, τί ἂν γένοιτο ὄφελος τοῖς κοινοῖς παρὰ τῆς τοῦ τοιούτου ἀνδρὸς ὁμιλίας, ὃς ἀλλότριον ἔχει θωπείας ἀνελευθέρου τὸ ἦθος;
216.τ ΜΕΛΕΤΙΩ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΩ ΑΝΤΙΟΧΕΙΑΣ
216.1 Πολλαὶ μὲν ἡμᾶς καὶ ἄλλαι ἀποδημίαι τῆς πατρίδος ἀπήγαγον. Καὶ γὰρ
μέχρι τῆς Πισιδίας διέβημεν, ὥστε μετὰ τῶν ἐκεῖ ἐπισκόπων τὰ κατὰ τοὺς ἐν τῇ Ἰσαυρίᾳ ἀδελφοὺς τυπῶσαι. Κἀκεῖθεν ἡ ἐπὶ τὸν Πόντον ἡμᾶς διεδέξατο ἀποδημία, ἱκανῶς τὸν ∆αζιμῶνα ταράξαντος τοῦ Εὐσταθίου καὶ πολλοὺς ἀναπείσαντος τῶν ἐκεῖ ἀποσχισθῆναι τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ἡμῶν. Ἐγενόμεθα δὲ καὶ μέχρι τοῦ οἰκιδίου τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ ἡμῶν, ὃ διὰ τὸ προσεγ γίζειν τοῖς κατὰ Νεοκαισάρειαν τόποις πολλῆς μὲν τοῖς ἐκεῖ ταραχῆς παρέσχεν αἰτίαν, πολλῆς δὲ ὕβρεως ἡμῖν ὑπόθεσιν προεξένησεν. Οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἔφευγον οὐδενὸς διώκοντος, ἡμεῖς δὲ ἐνομιζόμεθα ἐπιθυμίᾳ τῶν παρ' αὐτοῖς ἐπαίνων καὶ ἄκλητοι εἰσωθίζεσθαι. Ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐπανήλθομεν ἐκ τῶν ὄμβρων καὶ τῶν ἀθυμιῶν πολλὴν ἀρρωστίαν συνα γαγόντες, εὐθὺς ἡμᾶς ἐκ τῆς Ἀνατολῆς κατέλαβε γράμ ματα σημαίνοντα τοῖς περὶ Παυλῖνον ἀπὸ τῆς ∆ύσεως ἐπιστολάς τινας ὥσπερ τινὸς ἀρχῆς συνθήματα κεκομίσθαι, καὶ μέγα φρονεῖν τοὺς στασιαστὰς τοῦ μέρους ἐκείνου καὶ ἐπαγάλλεσθαι τοῖς γράμμασιν, εἶτα καὶ πίστιν προτεί νεσθαι καὶ ἐπὶ ταύτῃ ἑτοίμως ἔχειν συνάπτεσθαι τῇ καθ' ἡμᾶς Ἐκκλησίᾳ. Πρὸς δὲ τούτοις κἀκεῖνο ἡμῖν ἀπηγγέλη ὅτι ὑπηγάγοντο πρὸς τὴν ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν σπουδὴν τὸν πάντα ἄριστον ἄνδρα Τερέντιον, ᾧ ταχέως ἐπέστειλα καθ' ὅσον ἦν μοι δυνατόν, ἐπέχων αὐτὸν τῆς ὁρμῆς καὶ διδάσκων τὴν κατ' αὐτοὺς ἀπάτην.
217.τ ΑΜΦΙΛΟΧΙΩ ΠΕΡΙ ΚΑΝΟΝΩΝ
Ἀπὸ ὁδοῦ μακρᾶς ἐπανελθὼν (ἐγενόμην γὰρ μέχρι τοῦ Πόντου
ἐκκλησιαστικῶν ἕνεκεν χρειῶν, καὶ κατ' ἐπίσκεψιν τῶν ἐπιτηδείων) καὶ τὸ σῶμά μου συντετριμμένον ἐπα ναγαγὼν καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν μετρίως κεκακωμένος, ἐπειδὴ τὸ γράμμα τῆς εὐλαβείας σου ἐπὶ χεῖρας ἔλαβον, πάντων ἀθρόως ἐπελαθόμην, καὶ τῆς φωνῆς τῆς πασῶν ἐμοὶ ἡδίστης καὶ χειρὸς τῆς φιλτάτης ὑποδεξάμενος σύμβολα. Ὃς οὖν ἐκ τῶν γραμμάτων οὕτως ἐγενόμην ἡδίων, εἰκάζειν ὀφείλεις πόσου ἀξίαν