Epistulae

For even from the very construction of our body the Lord has taught us the necessity of community. For when I look at these very members of ours, that no one of them is sufficient by itself for its function, how shall I consider myself self-sufficient for the affairs of life? For neither could a foot walk securely without the other supporting it, nor could an eye see soundly without having the other as a partner and attacking the visible objects in harmony with it. Hearing is more accurate when it receives sound through both passages, and the grip is stronger through the partnership of the fingers. And in a word, I see nothing, neither of the things accomplished by nature nor of those achieved by choice, being completed without the common breath of those of the same kind, since even prayer itself, lacking those who are in agreement, is much weaker than itself, and the Lord promised to be present in the midst of two or three who call upon him in concord. And the Lord himself undertook the economy, in order to make peace through the blood of his cross, both among things on earth and among things in the heavens. So for all these reasons we pray that the remaining days of our lives may be spent in peace, and we ask that our falling asleep be in peace. For the sake of this peace I have determined to leave no labor undone, to utter or do nothing base, to count no length of journey, to shrink from no annoyance, so as to obtain the rewards of peacemaking. And if someone follows us as we lead in these matters, this is the best and the goal of prayer; but if he should drag us toward the opposite, I will not even so depart from my own judgment.

Each person will recognize the fruits of his own labor on the day of recompense. To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata Having been very eager to reach Nicopolis, after receiving your Grace's letter containing a refusal of your arrival, I was overcome by despondency and was reminded of all my weakness. It also occurred to me the lack of devotion of those who had summoned me, because, having made the invitation to us in passing through the most reverend brother Hellenius, who was returning from Nazianzus, they did not deign to send a second reminder or guide concerning the same matters. Since, therefore, we are suspect to them on account of our sins, we feared lest we might cloud the brightness of their festival by our presence. For with your magnanimity we do not shrink from contending even against great trials, but without you we are not sufficiently able to withstand even ordinary afflictions. Since our meeting with them was to be for ecclesiastical reasons, we passed over the time of the festival and postponed the meeting to a time of quiet and undisturbed conduct, and we chose, upon reaching Nicopolis, to discuss with the most God-beloved bishop Meletius the matters necessary for the Churches, if he intends to decline the journey to Samosata; but if not, we will join him there, if this becomes clear to us from both sides—both from him replying to us about these matters (for we wrote to him) and from your piety. We were also to meet with the bishops from the second Cappadocia.

who, because other provinces were named, thought that suddenly both foreigners and aliens had come to us; they were as ignorant of us as those who have never had any experience nor ever entered into conversation. Another meeting was also expected with the most reverend Bishop Eustathius, which indeed took place with us. For because he was being loudly accused by many of tampering with the faith, we entered into discussion with him and found him, with God's help, following with good will toward complete orthodoxy. The letters of the bishops were not brought to your Honor for the reason of those very persons who ought to have sent our communications, but they also escaped my memory, crowded out by the press of concerns. As for brother Gregory, I too wished him to administer a church commensurate with his nature. But that would be the whole world gathered into one under the sun. Since this is impossible, let him be a bishop, not taking pride from the place, but making the place proud by himself. For it is truly the mark of a great man not only to suffice for great things, but also to make small things great by his own power. But what is one to do with Palmatius, who after so many entreaties from the brothers still serves Maximus in the persecutions? Yet even now they do not hesitate to write; for they are prevented from coming both by bodily weakness and by domestic preoccupations. Know, however, most God-beloved Father, that our affairs greatly need your presence, and it is necessary for you to stir your honored old age once more, in order to set upright Cappadocia, which is now reeling and near collapse.

To Terentius the Count. Having exerted very great zeal to obey, at least in part, both the imperial decree and the friendly letter of your honor—which I have believed to be full of right intention and good thought in every word and every knowledge—I was not permitted to bring my eagerness into effect. The cause is, first and most truly, my own sins, which everywhere meet me and trip up my steps, and then also the estrangement from us of the bishop given to us for cooperation. For I do not know what came over the most reverend brother Theodotus, who from the beginning promised to cooperate with us in everything and eagerly brought us down from Getasae to Nicopolis, but when he saw us in the city, he so abhorred and so feared our sins that he could not bear to receive us either at morning prayer or at evening prayer, acting justly toward us and in a manner befitting my life, but not consulting what is beneficial for the common state of the Churches. He gave us as the reason for this that we had tolerated receiving the most reverend bishop Eustathius into communion. Now what happened on our part is this. We were summoned to a synod being held by brother Theodotus, and setting out out of love to obey the summons, so that we might not seem to make the meeting fruitless and idle, we hastened to enter into conversation with the aforementioned brother Eustathius.

And we laid before him the charges concerning the faith, all those which the party of brother Theodotus bring against him, and we demanded that, if he adheres to the right faith, he make it clear to us, so that we might be in communion with him; but if he is otherwise disposed, we should know precisely that we also will be otherwise disposed toward him. Many words were then exchanged between us, and that whole day was spent in the examination of these matters; when evening finally came, we parted from one another without having brought the discussion to any agreed conclusion. On the next day, again, having sat down together from early morning, we discussed the same subjects, brother Pomenius, the presbyter of Sebasteia, having now also arrived and vigorously arguing the contrary position on our behalf. Gradually, then, we both cleared ourselves of the charges we thought to bring and brought them to agreement on the points we were seeking, so that, by the grace of the Lord, we were found to differ from one another not even in the slightest. Thus, then, about the ninth hour we rose for prayers, giving thanks to the Lord, who granted us to think the same and to say the same. After this, it was necessary for me also to obtain some written confession from the man, so that both his agreement might be made manifest to those opposing him and, for the rest, the man's intention might be sufficiently clear.

have proof. But I myself wished, with great precision, having met with the brothers around Theodotus, to receive from them a written statement of faith and to present it to the aforementioned man, so that both might happen: that the right faith be confessed by him and that they themselves be fully assured, having no ground for dispute from the acceptance of their proposals. But before learning for what reason we had met and what had been accomplished by us from the conversation, the party around bishop Theodotus no longer deemed us worthy to invite us to the synod. But we withdrew from the middle of the journey, disheartened that they render our labors for the peace of the Churches incomplete. After this, then, when the necessity of the journey to Armenia overtook us, knowing the man's peculiar character and wishing both to defend myself concerning what had been done before a trustworthy witness and to fully assure him, I came to Gethasa, the estate of the most God-beloved bishop Meletius, the aforementioned Theodotus also being present with me; and there, when we were accused by him concerning the connection with Eustathius, I stated the accomplishment from the meeting, that I had received him as agreeing with us in everything.

But when he insisted that he had denied it after his departure from us and that he affirmed to his own disciples that he had agreed with us on nothing concerning the faith, I replied to these things (and consider, most admirable one, whether I did not make the most just and irrefutable responses to this) that I am convinced, judging from the rest of the man’s stability, that he does not so lightly turn to the contrary, nor does he now confess and now deny what he said, being a man who avoids even a lie about ordinary matters as something terrible, let alone ever choosing to oppose the truth concerning such great and universally renowned matters. But if indeed what is rumored by you should happen to be true, it is fitting to present to him a document containing the full demonstration of the right faith. If then I find him agreeing in writing, I will remain in communion; if I find him drawing back, I will separate myself from his association. When Bishop Meletius and brother Diodorus the fellow presbyter (for he was present at the proceedings) accepted this reasoning, the most reverend brother Theodotus there agreed and urged us to go down to Nicopolis, so that we might both visit his church and take him as a companion for the journey as far as Satala. But after leaving us in Getasa, when he reached Nicopolis, forgetting what he had heard from me and what he had agreed with us, he sent us away, disgracing us with those insults and dishonors which I related a little earlier.

How then was it possible for me, most honored head, to do any of the things commanded and to appoint bishops for Armenia, when the partner in my care was so disposed toward me? From him I expected to find suitable men, because in his diocese there are both pious and prudent men, experienced in the language and acquainted with the other peculiarities of the nation; knowing their names, I will willingly keep silent, so that no obstacle may arise to Armenia's being of service at some other time. And now, having come as far as Satala in such a bodily condition, I thought it right, by the grace of God, to set the rest in order, having reconciled the bishops of Armenia and discoursed with them on what was fitting, so that they might lay aside their habitual discord and take up the genuine zeal of the Lord for the Churches, giving them also patterns concerning the things that are indifferently transgressed in Armenia, how they ought to attend to them. I also received petitions from the Church of Satala, containing a request that a bishop be given them by us. And I took care to investigate the blasphemy that had been spread concerning our brother Cyril, the bishop of Armenia, and

Through the grace of God we found that it had been falsely stirred up by the slander of those who hate him; and they openly confessed this in our presence. And we thought it moderately calming to reconcile with him the people in Satala, so that they no longer shun his communion. But if these things are small and of no account, yet nothing more was possible on our part because of the discord among ourselves arising from the meddlesomeness of the devil. These things I ought to have kept silent, lest I seem to publicize my own disgraces, but since it was not otherwise possible to defend myself to your magnanimity, I was compelled to relate the whole truth of what happened. To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata. Thus I saw your letter of love in the neighboring region of Armenia as seafarers see a beacon kindled far off at sea, especially if the sea happens to be raging from winds. For the letter of your reverence is naturally sweet and full of comfort, and then the grace from it was increased by the circumstances, which I would not describe—how it was and how it grieved me—having once decided to forget painful things. But our fellow minister will relate it to your piety. My body has completely failed me, so that I cannot bear even the slightest movements without pain. Nevertheless, I pray that I may now at last fulfill my long-standing desire through the help of your prayers, even if this absence has caused me great difficulty, since the affairs of our Church have been neglected for so long a time.

If, however, God, while we are still upon the earth, should deem us worthy to see your piety in our church, we shall have good hopes also for the future, as not being entirely cast off from the gifts of God. This, then, if it be possible, we entreat to take place at the synod which we hold annually on the memory of the most blessed martyr Eupsychius, which is now approaching on the seventh day of the month of September. For there are matters of concern to us that require your cooperation, both for the settlement of bishops and for counsel and consideration of the plots against us by the kindness of Gregory of Nyssa, who convenes synods in Ancyra and leaves no means untried in plotting against us. The Consolatory Letter. It would have been worthy of prayer that the first letter we send should have a more cheerful subject for its writing. For thus things would have been according to our wish, since we desire for all who choose to live in piety that their whole life should prosper for good. But since the Lord who governs our life, according to his ineffable wisdom, has ordained all this for the benefit of our souls, through which he has made your life grievous and has brought us, who are united in love according to God, into sympathy, having learned from our brethren in whose company you have been, it seemed necessary to us to offer you whatever consolation is possible. If, then, it were possible to go as far as the place where your nobility happens to be staying, I would have done everything for this.

Since both the infirmity of the body and the multitude of affairs that press upon us have compelled even this journey which we undertook, to the great detriment of the churches under our care, to be conducted through letters, we have been eager to remind your reverence that these afflictions do not come idly to the servants of God from the Lord who oversees us, but for the testing of true love toward the God who created us. For just as the labors of contests bring athletes to their crowns, so too does testing in trials lead Christians to perfection, if we accept with fitting patience and gratitude everything ordained by the Lord. All things are governed by the goodness of the Master. None of the events that befall us should be received as grievous, even if for the present they touch our weakness. For even if we do not know the reasons according to which each thing that happens is brought upon us as good by our Master, we ought to be convinced that what happens is altogether beneficial, either to us through the reward of patience, or to the soul that has been taken up, so that, by lingering longer in this life, it may not become filled with the evil that dwells in the world. For if the hope of Christians were confined to this life, it would reasonably be considered grievous to be separated from the body more quickly; but if the beginning of the true life for those who live according to God is the release of the soul from these bodily bonds, why do we grieve, "as those who have no hope"? Therefore, be comforted, and do not succumb to the passions, but show that you are above them and have risen above.

To the Citizens of Satala. Moved by your own entreaties and those of the entire people, I both accepted the care of the Church among you and promised you before the Lord that I would omit nothing that lies within my power. Therefore I was compelled, as it is written, to touch as it were the apple of my eye. So great was the excess of the honor I hold for you that it allowed me to remember nothing—neither kinship, nor the familiarity from childhood that I had with the man, before the requests made by you; but forgetting all that pertained to me privately with him in terms of intimacy, and taking no account even of the multitude of groans that my people, who have lost his protection, will groan, nor the tears of all his family, nor the grief of his aged mother, who is shaken by relying solely on his care—taking none of these to heart, though they are all such and so many, I became single-minded in this: to adorn your Church with the protection of such a man, and to aid it, which from long lack of protection has now sunk to its knees and needs much and strong guidance to rise again. Such then are our circumstances. But from you we now demand that you appear not inferior to our hope and to the promises we have made to the man—that we have sent him forth to his own people and friends, each of you striving to outdo the other in zeal and love toward the man.

So then, show this noble ambition and by the excess of your care soften his heart, so that he may forget his homeland, forget his relatives, forget the people who depend on his protection as a newborn child depends on its mother's breast. We have sent Nicias ahead to make known to your honor what has happened, so that you may celebrate beforehand and give thanks to the Lord, who through us has deemed your prayer fulfilled. To the Citizens of Satala The Lord has brought to fulfillment the requests of his people, and through our lowliness has given them a shepherd worthy of the name, not like the many who traffic in the word, but one who can please even us, who love the orthodoxy of the proclamation and have accepted life according to the Lord's commandments, exceedingly so in the name of the Lord who has filled him with his spiritual gifts. To Modestus the Prefect The very act of writing to so great a man, even if no other occasion were added, is the greatest of honors for those who perceive it, because communications with those who far surpass the rest bring the greatest distinction to those deemed worthy of them. But for me, anxious on behalf of my entire homeland, this address to your magnanimity is necessary, through which I beseech you to bear with me gently and in your own manner, and to extend a hand to my homeland, which is already on its knees. The matter for which we entreat you is this: the old tax left those consecrated to our God, presbyters and deacons, exempt.

Those who have now been enrolled, as not having received an order from your extraordinary authority, have enrolled themselves, except where some, by reason of age, had exemption. We therefore beg that this memorial of your beneficence be left to us for all future time, preserving a good memory of you, and that, according to the ancient law of the census, those who are priests be granted exemption, and that the exemption not be made in respect of the persons now included (for thus the grace will pass to their successors, who are not necessarily worthy of the priesthood), but that, according to the form of the free enrollment, a general concession for clerics be made, so that the exemption may be given by those who administer the Churches to those who serve at each time. This will preserve for your magnanimity an immortal fame for good deeds, will provide many intercessors for the imperial house, and will bring great benefit to the public treasury itself, since we are not providing the consolation of exemption to all clerics without distinction, but to those who are always oppressed, which indeed we do also in the case of freedom, as anyone who wishes may ascertain. To the Deacons, Daughters of Count Terentius. When I was in Samosata, I expected to meet with your modesty, and since I missed the meeting, I bore the loss not moderately, considering when it might be possible for me again to approach your districts, or for you to choose to come to our region. But those matters lie in the will of the Lord.

As for the present matter, since I found that the son Sophronius was setting out to you, I gladly placed this letter upon him, bringing you a greeting and making clear our opinion, that we do not cease, by the grace of God, to remember you and to give thanks to the Lord on your behalf, because you are good shoots of a good root, fruitful in good works and truly like lilies among thorns. For being surrounded by such a perversion of those who corrupt the word of truth, not to yield to their deceptions, nor to abandon the apostolic proclamation of faith and be transferred to the innovation now prevailing, how is this not worthy of great thanksgiving to God, and how does it not most justly procure great praises for you? You have believed in Father and Son and Holy Spirit; do not betray this deposit. Father, the beginning of all things; Son, Only-begotten, born from him, true God, perfect from perfect, living image, showing forth the whole Father in himself; Holy Spirit, existing from God, the source of holiness, life-giving power, perfecting grace, through whom man is adopted and the mortal is made immortal, united to Father and Son in all things, in glory and in eternity, in power and kingdom, in lordship and divinity, as also the tradition of the saving baptism witnesses. But those who say that either the Son or the Spirit is a creature, or who altogether reduce it to the ministerial and servile order, are far from the truth; it is fitting to flee their communions and to shun their words as poisons of souls.

If ever the Lord grants us to be together, we will set forth to you more fully the discourses concerning the faith, so that with scriptural proofs you may recognize both the strength of the truth and the weakness of the heresy. To the Soldier Stratiotes: Having many reasons to give thanks to the Lord, of which we were deemed worthy during our sojourn, we judged the knowledge of your honor, granted to us by the good Master, to be the greatest good. For we recognized a man showing that even in the military life it is possible to preserve the perfection of love for God, and that the Christian ought to be characterized not by the garment he wears, but by the disposition of his soul. And so then we met with you with all eagerness, and now, whenever we call you to mind, we enjoy the greatest delight. Therefore, be strong and steadfast, and always strive to nourish and multiply your love for God, so that the supply of good things from Him may advance to a greater degree for you. And that you remember us, we need no other proof, having the testimony of deeds.

To Ioulitta Eleuthera. I was greatly distressed when I read the letter of your nobility, because the same constraints again surround you. And what is one to do with men who display such a fickle character, saying one thing at one time and another at another, and not abiding by their own agreements? For if, after the promises made by me and the former prefect, he now, as if nothing had been said, so constrains the deadline, the man seems to have become utterly shameless toward us. Nevertheless, I have written to him, rebuking him and reminding him of his own promises. I have also written to Helladios, the relative of the prefect, so that through him the prefect may be informed of your situation. For I did not think it appropriate for me to presume so far as to approach so great a judge, since I have never yet written to him about a private matter, and I fear, as you know, some censure, great men being easily irritated by such things. If, however, any benefit results, it will be through Helladios, a man who is both good and well-disposed toward us, God-fearing, and possessing extraordinary freedom of speech with the ruler. The Holy One is able to deliver you from all distress, only if we place our hope in him with a true and genuine heart.

To the guardian of Ioulitta's heirs I was astonished to hear that, having forgotten those good promises befitting your nobility, you are now pressing this sister with a most vehement and inexorable demand, and I cannot imagine what to make of what is said. For I am well aware of the liberality widely attested to you by those who have experienced it, and I remember the promises you made in my presence and that of this man, saying you would write a shorter term but grant a longer one, because you wished to accommodate the necessity of the matter and to grant indulgence to a free woman compelled to put forth so large a sum all at once from her household. What then is the reason for such a change, I cannot conceive. But whatever it may be, I entreat you, remembering your own liberality and looking to the Lord who rewards good intentions, to grant the period of respite which you originally promised, so that they may be able, by selling their possessions together, to discharge the debt. It is clear that I also remember that you promised, if you received the agreed gold, to deliver all the agreed documents—both those executed before the magistrates and those made privately—to the aforementioned woman. I therefore beseech you, honor us as well and acquire for yourself a great blessing before the Lord by recalling your own promises, knowing that you too are human and must await the times when you will need the help of God.

which you should not close off to yourself through your present harshness, but rather prepare the mercies of God for yourself by displaying all kindness and gentleness to those who are oppressed. To Helladios the Count I have been very reluctant to be burdensome to your kindness because of the magnitude of the authority surrounding you, so that I may not seem to be immoderately glutting myself on your friendship; nevertheless, I am not permitted to keep quiet by the circumstances. This sister, then, who is both related to us by birth and oppressed by widowhood and caring for the affairs of an orphan child, since I saw her finally being constrained by unbearable necessities beyond her strength, I took pity and, being moved in my soul, hastened to entreat you, so that, if there is any power, you might deign to assist the man sent by her, to the end that she, having already paid what she promised while she was still solvent, may be freed from further harassment. For she promised to pay the principal and be released from the interest. Now, however, those who care for the heirs are attempting to exact both the principal and the interest. Therefore, knowing that the Lord is the one who appropriates the property of widows and orphans, so apply yourself with zeal on behalf of this matter, in hope of the reward from our God himself. For I think that even the gentleness of the most admirable prefect, having learned that the principal has been paid, will show compassion to this pitiable and wretched household, which has been brought to its knees and can no longer withstand the injuries brought upon it from outside.

I therefore both entreat you—forgive the necessity by which I have troubled you—and cooperate in the matter, according to the power which Christ has given you, who are kind and good in character and have used what you received for good. To Modestus the Prefect Inasmuch as you bestow upon us so much honor and freedom of speech, condescending to us by the gentleness of your manner, we pray that such and even greater increase of your distinction may be yours throughout your whole life from our good Master. I, for my part, have long desired to write and enjoy the honor from you, but reverence for your high station restrained me, as I feared I might be thought to be indulging immoderately in freedom of speech. But now, both the receipt of the authority to write from your incomparable greatness and the need of those who are oppressed have compelled me to take courage. If, then, there is any power in petitions from the humble on the greatest matters, be entreated, most admirable one, by a humane nod to grant salvation to a pitiable rustic settlement, and to order that the iron-bearing Taurus be made bearable for those who dwell there by the completion of the ironwork, so that they may not be utterly worn out at once, but that their service to the public may be continuous; for we are persuaded that this especially concerns your most admirable philanthropy. To Modestus the Prefect Otherwise I would not have dared to trouble your greatness, knowing both how to measure myself and to recognize authorities. But since I saw a friend in distress over being summoned, I ventured to give him this letter, so that, presenting it as a supplication, he might obtain some kindness.

In any case, even if we ourselves are of no account, yet the very moderation of the matter is sufficient to move the most philanthropic of prefects to grant us pardon, so that, if the man has committed no offense, he may be saved for the truth's own sake, but if he has erred, he may be forgiven for our sake who have interceded. For what the state of affairs here is like, who knows better than you, who both observe the unsoundness in each case and sustain everything with your wonderful foresight? To the Governor Andronicus. If I were so physically constituted as to be able easily to endure traveling and to bear the hardships of winter, I would not have written, but would have come myself to your magnanimity for two reasons: both to discharge an old promise (for I know I agreed to be present in the Sebasteia and to enjoy your perfection, which I did, but missed the meeting, having arrived a little after your excellence), and to fulfill in person the embassy which I have for a time hesitated to send, judging myself too insignificant to obtain such a favor, and at the same time considering that neither a magistrate nor a private person could persuade anyone by letter on any matter as effectively as being present oneself, both refuting some charges, making supplication in others, and seeking pardon for others—none of which could easily be accomplished by letter. To all these considerations, then, I oppose one thing: you, the divine head, and that it will suffice to indicate to you the opinion we hold about the matter; the rest you will add from yourself, and I have not hesitated to undertake the task.

But you see how I am going around in a circle, hesitating and shrinking from revealing the reason for which I am making these words. This Domitianus is connected to us from our parents upward, so that he differs not at all from a brother. For why would one not speak the truth? Then, having learned the reason for which he has suffered these things, we said that it was fitting for him to suffer thus. For let there be no one who, having been negligent, whether little or more, toward your virtue, would escape punishment. But seeing this man living in fear and dishonor, and his safety resting on your judgment, we judged that the penalty he has is sufficient, and we beseech you to consider him with both magnanimity and philanthropy. For to subdue those who resist is the mark of a brave and truly ruling man, but to be kind and gentle to those who have submitted is the mark of one who excels all in magnanimity and mildness. So it will be possible for you, if you wish, to display in the same matter both the magnanimity of punishing and that of saving, as you desire. This measure is sufficient for Domitianus: the fear of what he expects and what he knows he deserves to suffer. We beseech you to add nothing to this for his punishment. For consider this also: many before now have become masters of those who have wronged them, of whom no account has been transmitted to later times; but those who have surpassed the many in philosophy have dismissed their anger, and their memory has been handed down immortal to all of life. Let this also be added to the stories about you. Grant to us, who choose to praise your deeds, the ability to surpass the philanthropies sung in earlier times.

Thus Croesus is said to have let go his anger against the child-murderer who surrendered himself for punishment, and Cyrus the Great became a friend to this same Croesus after the victory. We shall count you among these and, to the best of our ability, proclaim these things, unless we should be considered utterly insignificant heralds of so great a man. But it is necessary to say this above all: that we do not punish those who have done any wrong for the sake of what has already happened (for what device could make what has been done not have happened?), but so that either they themselves might become better for the future, or that examples of self-restraint might be provided for others. Now, one would say that neither of these is lacking in the present case; for he himself will be remembered even after death, and I think the rest are already dead with fear, looking to him. Therefore, whatever we add to the punishment, we will seem to be satisfying our own anger; which I for my part would affirm to be far from true in your case, and I would not have been led to say any of these words, had I not seen that the grace is greater for the giver than for the recipients. For the magnanimity of his character will be evident to not a few. All Cappadocians look to the future, and I would pray that, along with the other good qualities that belong to you, this one also be counted among them. But I hesitate to stop writing, thinking that I will suffer loss by leaving something out. Yet I will add this much: that, having many letters from those who beg for him, he judged ours to be more honorable than all, having learned somehow that we have some influence with your perfection.

So that you may not be disappointed in the hopes you placed in us, and that we may be able to boast among those here, be persuaded, O unsurpassed Master, to grant our request. Surely you have examined human affairs no worse than any of those who have ever philosophized, and you know that a good treasure lies ready to serve all who are in need. TO THE PRESBYTERS IN TARSUS. Meeting this man, I felt great gratitude to the holy God, because through his presence he both comforted me from many afflictions and clearly showed your love through him. For I almost learned the zeal of all of you for the truth in the choice of this one man. What we discussed privately with each other he will report to you; but what it was fitting for me to make known to your love is this. The time has great weight toward the destruction of the Churches, and this we have been observing for a long time now. But there is no building up of the Church, no correction of errors, no sympathy toward the weak, no defense of the healthy brethren. Nor is there any remedy or cure for the disease that has already taken hold, or any preventive for the one expected. And in short, the state of the Church seems (to use a clear

worse than the example (even if it seems more trivial) of an old garment that is easily torn by any chance pretext, which cannot return again to its original strength. So in such a time, there is great need of zeal and much care for the Churches to be benefited. And the benefit is that what has been divided be united. Unity would come about if we were willing, in matters where we do no harm to souls, to accommodate the weaker. Since many mouths have been opened against the Holy Spirit and many tongues have been sharpened for blasphemy against him, we ask you, as far as it lies with you, to reduce the blasphemers to a small number and to admit to communion those who do not call the Holy Spirit a creature, so that only the blasphemers may be left, and either they, shamed, return to the truth, or, persisting in the sin, they be discredited by their fewness. Let us seek nothing more, but let us propose to the brothers who wish to join us the faith of Nicaea, and if they agree to that, let us also ask that the Holy Spirit must not be called a creature and that those who say so are not to be in communion with us. Beyond these things, I ask that nothing more be sought by us. For I am persuaded that by longer association and by peaceful interaction, and if anything more needs to be added for clarity, the Lord, who works all things for good for those who love him, will provide.

To those in Tarsus concerning Cyriacus. How great the good of peace is, what need is there to say to men who are sons of peace? Since, then, this great and wonderful thing, earnestly desired by all who love the Lord, is in danger of being reduced to a mere name, because lawlessness has increased and love has grown cold for the many, I think that this one zeal should be proper for those who genuinely and truly serve the Lord: to lead back to unity the Churches which have been divided from one another in many ways and in many manners. And in undertaking to do this myself, I would not justly incur the charge of meddling. For nothing is so proper to a Christian as to make peace; wherefore the Lord has promised us the greatest reward for it. Having met, then, with the brethren and observed their great brotherly love and affection for you, and even more their love for Christ and their precise and vigorous adherence to the faith, and that they make great effort in both respects—not to be separated from your love and not to betray the sound faith—I, approving their good intention, write to your reverence, exhorting you to hold them united in all love genuinely and as partners in every ecclesiastical concern, having assured them of your orthodoxy, that you too, by the grace of God, are arrayed with zeal for the truth in all things that may need to be suffered for the sake of the word of truth.

It is, as I persuade myself, that which is neither contrary to you nor to the aforementioned brethren, sufficient for assurance: that you confess the faith set forth by our Fathers who once assembled at Nicaea, and that you reject none of the expressions there, but know that the three hundred and eighteen, coming together without contention, did not speak without the energy of the Holy Spirit; and that you add to that faith also that one ought not to call the Holy Spirit a creature, nor indeed to commune with those who say so, so that the Church of God may be pure, having no tares mixed with it. When this assurance is set before them by your compassion, they themselves are ready to offer you the obedience that is fitting. For I myself guarantee the part of the brethren, that they will not contradict in anything, but will show you every excess of good order, once this one thing sought by them is readily granted by your perfection. To Simplicia, a Heretic. Men are foolish and both hate the better and love the worse. Therefore I too hold my tongue, stifling the reproach of my insults in silence. But I await the Judge from above, who knows how to avenge every evil in the end. For even if one pours out money beyond the sand, he harms his soul by trampling on justice. For God always seeks sacrifice, not, I think, as needing it, but receiving a costly sacrifice: a pious and just mind. But when someone, transgressing, tramples on himself, he considers the prayers common. Remind yourself of the last day, but do not teach us, if you will.

we know you more fully, and we are not so much choked by the internal thorns, nor do we mix tenfold evil with a small amount of good. You have roused against us lizards and toads, springtime creatures indeed, but nevertheless unclean. But a wing will come from above that devours these. For my account is not as you suppose, but as God knows how to judge. And if there is need of witnesses, neither slaves will stand nor the race of eunuchs, dishonored and utterly destroyed, this very thing: unmanly, woman-crazy and envious, ill-rewarded, fickle, uncommunicative, all-receiving, insatiable, tearful at supper, quick-tempered, gold-mad, harsh, effeminate, belly-slave, and what more should I say? Condemned to iron from birth itself. For how can there be right judgment among those whose feet are crooked? These are chaste without reward through iron, but they rage fruitlessly through their own shamefulness. Not these will stand as witnesses of the judgment, but the eyes of the righteous and the visions of perfect men, as many as then see, perceiving understanding.

To Firminus. Your letters are both rare and brief, either because of reluctance to write or because you are managing to avoid surfeit from abundance in some other way, or perhaps even accustoming yourself to brevity. For us, however, nothing suffices; even if they exceeded in number, they would fall short of our desire, because we wish to learn everything about you: how your body is, how your ascetic practice is, and whether you persist in the decisions made from the beginning or have changed your mind and adopted a different opinion in response to circumstances. If, then, you had remained the same as yourself, we would not seek a multitude of letters, but this much would suffice for us: "So-and-so to so-and-so: Know that we are well, and farewell." But since we hear things we are ashamed even to mention—that you have abandoned the rank of your blessed ancestors, deserted to your paternal grandfather, and are eager to become a Brettanius instead of a Firminus—we seek to hear these very things and to learn the reasoning by which you were led to take this path in life. But since you yourself have fallen silent out of shame for your plan, we urge you neither to plan things worthy of shame, and, if anything has crept into your mind, to expel it from your thought, become yourself again, bid a long farewell to military service, arms, and the hardships of camp, and take possession of your homeland, considering it sufficient for security of life and for all distinction to hold the city equally with your ancestors—which we believe will come to you without effort, looking both to your natural aptitude and to the scarcity of

they are pressing. So, if the decision either never came into being from the start, or having been made has been rescinded, inform us quickly; but if, which may not happen, the same plans remain, let the calamity come to us self-announced, and we have no need of letters. An Untitled Letter on Asceticism. I consider myself indebted to your honor in any case, and this present concern in which we are engaged necessarily renders us liable to the services of such matters, even if those who give the orders are ordinary people, not to mention you who are connected to us by many other just claims. Now, it is not necessary to bring the past to examination, since it could be said that we ourselves were the cause of our own disturbances, having been ambitious to depart from that good and only ascetic practice that leads to salvation; for this reason, perhaps, we were also handed over to this disturbance as a trial. But those things have happened and have been deemed worthy of mention, so that we may not fall into similar circumstances a second time. As for what follows, I very much wish to assure your reverence that, with God's permission, it will come to us quite easily, since the matter is lawful and has nothing burdensome, and many of our friends in the camp are readily obliging. Therefore, a petition will be drafted by us, similar to the libellus that was presented to the vicarius, in which, if there is no delay, we will immediately send it, providing the authorization from the document.

I am persuaded that in such matters our own resolve is stronger than imperial decrees, and if we show it to be unshaken and unwavering from the time of our life's prime, then, with God's help, the guarding of our virginity would be unassailable and inviolable. The brother entrusted to us by you we have gladly received and hold among our acquaintances, praying that he may be worthy of God and of your testimony. To Jobinus, Bishop of Perrhe: I hold you as a debtor for a good obligation. For I lent you a debt of love, which I must recover with interest, since our Lord does not refuse this kind of interest. So repay, dear friend, by coming to our homeland. This itself is the principal. And what is the addition? That you, the one arriving, are as much superior to us as fathers are better than children. To Eustathius, Bishop of Sebasteia: Through the most reverend and pious brother Peter I greet your love, begging you, as on every occasion, now also to pray for me, that I may change from this detestable and harmful manner and become at last worthy of the name of Christ. In any case, even if I do not speak, you will converse with one another about our affairs, and he will make known to you the exact truth of what has been done, so that the wicked suspicions against us, which those who have insulted us contrary to both fear of God and human reputation are likely to fabricate, may not be accepted without scrutiny.

What things that noble Basil, whom I received from your reverence as a safeguard for my life, displayed to me, I am ashamed even to say, but you will learn each detail from our brother. And I say this not to defend myself against him (for I pray that he not be called to account by the Lord), but to secure for myself the continuance of your love, which I fear may be shaken by the excess of slanders which they are likely to fabricate in defense of their fault. Whatever they may accuse us of, let that be examined by your sagacity: whether they ever charged us with or sought correction of the error which they now bring against us, or whether they ever made their grievance against us manifest at all. But now, with a cheerful face and words of honored affection, concealing an unspeakable depth of deceit and bitterness in their soul, they have revealed it through their ignoble silence. In this matter, how much we provoke laughter among those who always abhor the pious life in this wretched city and insist that the guise of humility is a craft for gaining trust and a pretense for deception—this, even if we do not recount it, is surely known to your intelligence: that no pursuit is now so suspect of wickedness here as the profession of the ascetic life. How this should be remedied would be a matter for your wisdom to consider. For the accusations stitched together by Sophronius are not a good omen for us, but a beginning of division and separation, and an effort to extinguish even the love among us.

We entreat that he be restrained by your compassion from this harmful impulse and that he attempt, by his own love, to bind together what is divided rather than to join with those who are eager for division in intensifying the separation. To Meletius, Bishop of Antioch. I received letters from the most God-beloved bishop Eusebius, commanding that I write again to the Westerners concerning certain ecclesiastical matters. And he wished the letter to be drafted by us and subscribed by all those in communion. Since, then, I found no way to write concerning what he enjoined, I have forwarded the memorandum to your reverence, so that, having perused it and attended to the reports of our most beloved brother Syncletius the fellow presbyter, you yourself may deign, as seems best to you, to give form to these matters, we being ready both to agree with him and quickly to have it conveyed to those in communion, so that, bearing the subscriptions of all, the one who is to set out to the bishops in the West may depart. Command that what seems best to your holiness be made known to us quickly, so that we may not be ignorant of your decision. Concerning the schemes being concocted or already contrived against us in Antioch, the same brother will report to your honor, unless the rumor of what has happened should anticipate and make known the deeds. For the hope of the outcome of these threats is near.

I wish your reverence to know that brother Anthimus has ordained Faustus, the companion of Papas, as bishop, having received no votes and having performed the ordination for the place of the most venerable brother Cyril, so as to fill Armenia with factions. So that they may not slander us, nor we ourselves bear the blame for the disorder of what has happened, I have made these things known to your gravity. It is clear that you yourself will deign to make them known to the rest. For I think this disorder will grieve many. To Theodotus, Bishop of Nicopolis The winter is severe and has been prolonged to the utmost, so that not even the consolations of letters come easily to us. Hence I know I have rarely written to your reverence or received letters. But since our most beloved brother Sangctesimus, the fellow presbyter, has undertaken the journey to you, through him I greet your decorum and ask you to pray for me and to lend your ear to the aforementioned, so that from him you may learn the state of the Churches and bring the necessary zeal to the matters at hand. Know also that Faustus came to us with letters from Papas, requesting that he be made bishop. But when we asked for testimony from your reverence and the other bishops, he disregarded us and went to Anthimus, and having received ordination from him without our mention, he returned. To Poemenius, Bishop of Satala Surely you sought letters from the Armenians when they returned through you, and you learned the reason why I did not give them the letter.

If, then, I spoke truthfully, you granted us forgiveness from the start; but if they concealed it, which I rather suspect, then hear it from me. The altogether noble Anthimus, who after a long time had made peace with us, since he found an opportunity both to satisfy his own vainglory and to cause us some distress, ordained Faustus by his own authority and his own hand, awaiting no vote from any of you and mocking us who are precise about such matters. Since, therefore, he confounded ancient good order, and also despised you, from whom I was awaiting to receive testimony, and did a thing I know not whether it is pleasing to God, for this reason, being grieved toward them, I gave no letter to any of the Armenians nor to your reverence. But I did not even receive Faustus into communion, openly protesting that, unless he brought me letters from you, I will for all time be myself alienated and will dispose those of like mind with me to be so toward him. If, then, what has been done is curable, be zealous yourself to write, bearing witness to him, if you see the man's life to be good, and to urge the others. But if it is incurable, make this clear to me as well, so that I no longer pay any attention to them at all, even if, as they have shown, they are now inclined to transfer their communion to Anthimus, having scorned us and this Church as stale in friendship.

To Urbicius the Monk You were about to be with us (and the good was near), at least to cool us with the tip of your finger as we burned in our trials. Then what? Our sins stood in the way and hindered your impulse, so that we might suffer incurably. For just as among the waves one subsides, another rises, and another already darkens with a shiver, so also among our evils some have ceased, some are present, some are expected, and for us, for the most part, there is one release from evils: to yield to the occasion and to withdraw from our persecutors. But even to us you came, whether to console, or to give counsel, or to escort us, but in any case to make us easier by your very appearance. And the greatest thing: pray and pray earnestly that our reasonings not be drowned by the evil surge, but that in all things we preserve gratitude to God, so that we not be numbered among the bad servants who confess Him when He is good but do not adhere to Him when He disciplines through adversities, but rather that even through these hardships we may be benefited, trusting Him all the more when we are in greater need.

To Theodore Some say that those who are seized by the passion of love, when by some more violent necessity they are separated from the objects of their desire, if they should look upon the image of the beloved form, relieve the intensity of the passion through the enjoyment in their eyes. Now whether these things are true or not, I cannot say; but what has happened to me with respect to your goodness is not far from what has been said. For since a certain disposition has arisen in me toward your holy and guileless soul, a loving one, so to speak, but to enjoy the objects of desire, as nothing else among good things, is difficult for us because of the opposition from our sins, I thought I had seen a most vivid image of your goodness in the presence of our most reverend brothers. For even if without these I had happened to meet with your genuineness, I would have considered that I had seen them in you, because the measure of love in each of you is so great that the rivalry concerning the greater is equally apparent in each. For these things I gave thanks to the holy God and I pray, if any time of life still remains, that through you life may become sweet for me, since, as it is now, I consider living a wretched thing and to be shunned when separated from the company of dearest ones. For there is nothing, in my judgment, on which one who is truly loving could be cheerful when separated.

The copy of the faith dictated by the most holy Basil, which Eustathius, bishop of Sebasteia, subscribed. Those who have been previously anticipated by another confession of faith and wish to transfer to the conjunction of the orthodox, or those who now for the first time desire to be instructed in the catechesis of the word of truth, must be taught the faith written by the blessed Fathers in the synod once assembled at Nicaea. This same thing would also be useful for those suspected of being opposed to sound teaching and of obscuring their own opinion of heterodoxy with plausible evasions. For even for these, the faith herein contained is sufficient. For either they will correct their own hidden disease, or, concealing it in the depth, they themselves will bear the judgment of deceit, while they will prepare for us a light defense on the day of judgment, when the Lord will reveal the hidden things of darkness and make manifest the counsels of hearts. Therefore it is fitting to receive them confessing that they believe according to the words set forth by our Fathers at Nicaea and according to the sound meaning manifested by these words. For there are some who even in this faith corrupt the word of truth and draw the sense of the words in it to their own will. Indeed, Marcellus dared to impiety against the hypostasis of our Lord Jesus Christ, explaining him as a mere word, and from there he pretended to have taken the beginnings of the meaning of homoousios, interpreting it badly.

And some of those from the impiety of Sabellius the Libyan, supposing that hypostasis and ousia are the same, draw from that their starting points for the construction of their own blasphemy, from the fact that it is written in the Creed: "If anyone says that the Son is from another ousia or hypostasis, the Catholic and Apostolic Church anathematizes him." For they did not say that ousia and hypostasis are the same there. For if the terms indicated one and the same meaning, what need was there of both? But it is clear that, just as some denied that the Son is from the ousia of the Father, while others said that he is not from the ousia but from some other hypostasis, so they forbade both as alien to the ecclesiastical understanding. For where they expressed their own understanding, they said that the Son is from the ousia of the Father, no longer adding also "from the hypostasis." So that the former is set for the rejection of the evil understanding, while the latter has the manifestation of the saving doctrine. Therefore it is necessary to confess that the Son is homoousios with the Father, as it is written. And to confess that the Father is in his own hypostasis, the Son in his own, and the Holy Spirit in his own, as they themselves have clearly set forth. For they sufficiently and clearly indicated this by saying "Light from Light," that the light which begot is one, and the light which was begotten is another, yet Light and Light, so that the account of the ousia is one and the same. And let the Creed composed at Nicaea be set before us: "We believe in one God, Father Almighty, maker of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, only-begotten, born of the Father, that is, from the essence of the Father; God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made; consubstantial with the Father, through whom all things came to be, both those in heaven and those on earth. Who for us men and for our salvation came down and was incarnate, became man, suffered and rose on the third day, ascended into the heavens, and is coming to judge the living and the dead. And in the Holy Spirit. But those who say—

...there was a time when he was not, and before he was begotten he was not, and that he came into being from non-existence or from another hypostasis or essence, or that the Son of God is changeable or alterable—such persons the Catholic and Apostolic Church anathematizes. Since, then, in that passage the other matters have been sufficiently and precisely defined, some for the correction of what had been damaged, others for the prevention of what was expected to arise, but the discourse concerning the Spirit is set forth cursorily, having been deemed worthy of no elaboration because at that time this question had not yet been stirred up, but the understanding concerning it remained unassailed in the souls of the faithful; and since, little by little, the evil seeds of impiety, which were first sown by Arius, the leader of the heresy, and later nurtured by those who wickedly succeeded him to the ruin of the churches, have advanced, and the sequence of impiety has culminated in blasphemy against the Spirit—it is necessary, for those who do not spare themselves nor foresee the inescapable threat which our Lord held out against those who blaspheme the Holy Spirit, to set forth that they must anathematize those who say that the Holy Spirit is a creature, and those who think thus, and those who do not confess that it is holy by nature, as the Father is holy by nature and the Son is holy by nature, but who alienate it from the divine and blessed nature.

Proof of right belief is not to separate it from Father and Son (for we must be baptized as we received, believe as we are baptized, and glorify as we have believed, Father and Son and Holy Spirit), and to withdraw from communion with those who call it a creature as manifest blasphemers, it being agreed (for the clarification is necessary because of the slanderers) that we neither call the Holy Spirit unbegotten—for we know one unbegotten and one principle of beings, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ—nor begotten, for we have been taught one Only-begotten in the tradition of the faith; but having been taught that the Spirit of truth proceeds from the Father, we confess it to be from God uncreatedly. And to anathematize also those who call the Holy Spirit a ministering spirit, as by this term reducing it to the order of a creature. For the ministering spirits the Scripture has handed down to us as creatures, saying, "All are ministering spirits sent for service." And because of those who confuse everything and do not preserve the teaching in the Gospels, it is necessary also to distinguish this, that one must flee even those who alter the order which the Lord handed down to us, as manifestly fighting against piety, placing Son before Father, and setting the Holy Spirit before the Son. For it is fitting to keep inviolate and unchanged the order which we received from the Lord's own voice, when he said:

Go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Subscription of Eustathius the bishop. Eustathius the bishop, having read to you, Basil, I made known and assented to what was written above. I subscribed in the presence of my brethren, our Fronto and the chorepiscopus Severus and certain other clerics. To Atarbius. Having arrived as far as Nicopolis in the hope both of correcting the disturbances that had been stirred up and of bringing the possible consolation to those who had acted disorderly and contrary to the ecclesiastical canon, we were greatly disheartened not to have met with your kindness, but to have learned that you had set out in all haste, and this when the synod being held by you was almost at its midpoint. Hence we necessarily resorted to the letter by which we remind you to come to us, so that you yourself might console our grief, with which we have been grieved unto death, having heard that deeds have been dared in the midst of the Church such as have not until this day come to our ears. And these things, though grievous and heavy, are still bearable because they have happened to a man who, having entrusted to God the vengeance for what he has suffered, is wholly for peace and for nothing harmful to the people of God to occur through his own fault.

Since some of the honorable and entirely trustworthy brothers have reported to us that certain innovations concerning the faith are being made and that things are being said by you contrary to sound teaching, we have been further stirred up by these matters and have been greatly anxious lest, in addition to the countless wounds which the Church has suffered from those who have sinned against the truth of the Gospel, yet another evil should spring up, with the renewal of the old heresy of Sabellius, the enemy of the Church (for the brothers reported to us that what has been said is akin to these things). For this reason we have written, so that you may not hesitate to take a short journey and come to us, and by providing us with full assurance on these matters, both soothe our distress and comfort the Churches of God, which are now grievously and heavily distressed both by what has been done and by what is rumored to have been said by you. To Eusebius, bishop of Samosata. The benevolent God, who joins consolations proportionate to afflictions and comforts the humble, lest they be swallowed up unnoticed by excessive grief, has brought to us a consolation equal to the disturbances that befell us at Nicopolis, by sending the most God-beloved bishop Iuveninus at the opportune moment. How timely he appeared to us, let him relate himself. For we, sparing the length of the letter, will be silent, and lest we seem to

those who have become dear to us as if to brand them by the reminder of the error. But may the holy God grant that you come to our regions, so that I may embrace your reverence and relate each matter in detail. For somehow, things that have caused pain through experience have a soothing effect when narrated. Nevertheless, concerning the matters for which the most God-beloved bishop was moved—both completely with regard to his love for us and primarily and firmly with regard to the precision of the canons—praise him, and thank the Lord that your flock everywhere displays the character of your reverence. To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata. I have not yet been able to demonstrate in deed, as is fitting, my zeal for the peace of the Lord's Churches, but I declare that I have such a desire in my heart that I would gladly give up my own life to extinguish the flame of hatred kindled by the Evil One. And if not for the sake of my desire for peace, I would not have endured approaching the places near Koloneia; may my life not be at peace otherwise. Yet I seek the true peace, the one bequeathed to us by the Lord Himself, and what I have asked to be granted to me for assurance is nothing other than the desire for true peace, even if some distort the truth and interpret it otherwise. Let them, then, use their tongues as they wish; for surely they will one day regret these words.

I implore your reverence to remember the original propositions and not to be led astray by accepting other answers in place of other questions, nor to give effect to the sophistries of those who, without any power of speech, by mere opinion are most skilled of all at corrupting the truth. For I set forth simple, clear, and memorable words: whether we reject from communion those who do not accept the faith of Nicaea, and whether we refuse to have fellowship with those who dare to call the Holy Spirit a creature. But he, instead of answering the questions point by point, has declaimed to us those things which you sent, and this not from simplicity of mind, as one might suppose, nor from inability to see the logical consequence. But he calculates that by denying our proposition he will make himself evident to the people, while by agreeing with us he will abandon the middle ground, which has been more precious to him than anything else up to now. Therefore let him not outwit us, nor deceive your wisdom along with the rest, but let him send us a concise reply to the question, either confessing communion with the enemies of the faith or denying it. If you persuade him of these things and send me answers that are correct and such as I pray for, then I am the one who has erred in all that follows; I take that entire blame upon myself; then demand of me a display of humility. But until any of this happens, forgive me, most God-beloved Father, for I cannot stand before the altar of God with hypocrisy.

If I did not fear this, why would I have separated myself from Euippius, a man so accomplished in letters, so advanced in age, and possessing so many claims to friendship with us? But if we acted rightly and fittingly in those matters for the sake of truth, it would surely be ridiculous to appear to be joining with those who say the same things as he does, through the mediation of these clever and charming persons. Nor does it seem to me at all that we should completely alienate ourselves from those who do not accept the faith, but rather to exercise some care for these men according to the ancient canons of love, and to write to them with one mind, offering every exhortation with compassion, and setting before them the faith of the Fathers to invite them into union. And if we persuade them, to be united with them in common; but if we fail, to be content with one another, and to banish this ambiguity from our character by resuming the evangelical and guileless polity in which those who first approached the word lived together. "For," it says, "the heart and soul of the believers were one." If, then, they are persuaded by you, these things are best. But if not, identify those who make war and cease henceforth to write to us about reconciliations.

To Meletius, Bishop of Antioch. I knew that the charge now brought against the ever-ready speaker Apollinarius would astonish the hearing of your Perfection. For I myself was not aware that he held such views before this time, but now the Sebastenes, having investigated these things from somewhere, have brought them into the open and circulate a treatise from which they especially condemn us as holding the same opinions, containing such statements as these: "Thus it is necessary to think of the first identity, and calling it second and third the same, as conjoined everywhere, or rather united, with the otherness. For what the Father is primarily, the Son is secondarily and the Spirit thirdly. And again, what the Spirit is primarily, the Son is secondarily, inasmuch as the Lord is the Spirit; and thirdly the Father, inasmuch as God is Spirit. And, to signify the ineffable more forcibly, the Father is paternally Son, and the Son is filially Father. And likewise in the case of the Spirit, inasmuch as the Trinity is one God." These are the things being noised about, which I can never believe are fabrications of those who circulate them, even though I consider nothing too audacious for them from their slander against us. For writing to some of their own people and adding the calumny against us, they adduced these things, calling them the words of heretics, but concealing the author of the composition, so that we might be thought by the many to be the writers. But still, their contrivance would not have gone so far as to compose such phrases, at least as I persuade myself.

Therefore, in order both to repel the blasphemy prevailing against us and to show everyone that we have nothing in common with those who say that, we were compelled to mention the man as approaching the impiety of Sabellius. And so much for that. But someone has come from the camp announcing that, upon the first move of the ruler, which was instigated by those pouring out slanders against us, a second opinion also arose, so that we were not handed over to the accusers nor delivered up to their will, which was the original decision, but that some delay was granted for the time being. If, then, either these things stand or something more humane than these is decided, we will inform your Piety. But if the former prevails, this too will not escape you. Brother Sanctissimus, however, is certainly with you long since, and what he seeks has become clear to your Perfection. If, then, the letter to the Westerners seems to have some necessity, deign to draft it and send it to us, so that we may have it signed by those of like mind, and have the signature ready on a separate sheet, which we can attach to the one being brought by our brother the fellow presbyter. For I, finding nothing substantial in the memorandum, had no reason to write to those in the West. For the necessary matters have already been taken up, while writing superfluous things is entirely vain. And to keep troubling them about the same things—would that not be ridiculous?

That matter seemed to me to be, as it were, unexercised and to afford room for writing, to urge them not to accept indiscriminately the communions of those arriving from the East, but, having once chosen one party, to admit the rest on the testimony of those in communion, and not to attach themselves to everyone who writes a profession of faith on the pretext of orthodoxy. For in this way they will be found to be in communion with those who are at variance, who often put forward the same phrases but are as far apart from each other as possible. Therefore, in order that the heresy may not be further inflamed, with those who are at odds with each other opposing the letters from their side, it was necessary to urge them to make both the communions of those who approach them and those made in writing according to the form of the Church with discrimination. To Theodotus, Bishop of Nicopolis. You have justly and fittingly reproached me, most honorable and truly beloved brother, because, from the time we then departed from your reverence bearing those proposals concerning the faith to Eustathius, we have reported to you nothing, either small or great, about him. But I did not disregard what was done by him against us as being of no account, but because the report has already been spread abroad to all men and no one needs our teaching to learn the man's intention. For he himself contrived this, as if fearing that he might have few witnesses of his own opinion, by sending out to every corner the letters which he composed against us.

He himself broke off from our communion, neither deigning to convene with us at the appointed place nor bringing his own disciples, as he had promised, but even publicly denouncing us in general synods together with Theophilus of Cilicia, with naked and unveiled blasphemy, as having sown doctrines alien to his teaching into the souls of the people. These things alone were sufficient to dissolve all our connection with him. But when he went to Cilicia and met with a certain Gelasius, and set forth to him a creed which only Arius could have composed, and only a genuine disciple of his, then we were even more confirmed in the separation, reasoning that neither will an Ethiopian ever change his skin, nor a leopard its spots, nor can one reared in perverse doctrines wash away the evil of heresy. He also acted insolently by writing against us, or rather composing lengthy discourses full of every abuse and calumny, to which we have not yet replied at all, because we were taught by the Apostle not to avenge ourselves, but to give place to wrath, and at the same time, considering the depth of the hypocrisy with which he had conducted himself toward us all along, we were struck with a kind of speechlessness from astonishment. But even if none of those things had occurred, this recent audacity of his—who would not be filled with horror and complete aversion for the man? For, as I hear (if indeed the report is true and not a fabrication composed for slander), he even dared to reordain some, a thing which no heretic appears to have done until today.

How then is it possible for us to bear such things calmly and to consider the man's errors curable? Do not, therefore, be led astray by false words, nor be persuaded by the suspicions of men who readily interpret everything in a bad sense, as if we regard such matters as indifferent. For know, most beloved and honored to us, that I have never before admitted such grief into my soul as now, when I heard of the confusion of the ecclesiastical canons. But only pray that the Lord may grant us to do nothing in anger, but to have that love which is not unseemly, which does not puff up. For see how those who do not have this love have been raised up beyond human measures, and commit unseemly acts in life, daring deeds for which past time has no examples. To Olympius. Truly, the hearing of unexpected things is sufficient to make both ears of a man ring. This has now happened to me. Even though my ears are by now quite accustomed to these treatises circulated against us, because I myself had previously received a letter befitting my sins, yet never expected to be written by those who sent it, nevertheless the second ones appeared to us to have such an excess of bitterness in themselves as to overshadow the former. For how could I not have been beside myself, when I read the letter to the most reverend brother Dazinas, full of countless insults and unbearable accusations against us, and of uprisings, as if we were found among the most grievous of our designs against the Church?

Immediately, proofs that the blasphemies against us were true were adduced from a treatise written by someone I do not know. For I recognized parts, I confess, as having been written about Apollinarius of Laodicea, and these I never read from study, but heard from others reporting them. But I found other things inscribed which I never read nor heard from anyone speaking, and for these the witness in heaven is trustworthy. How then do those who turn away from falsehood, who have been taught that love is the fulfillment of the law, who profess to bear the weaknesses of the powerless, consent to bring these slanders against us and to condemn us from the writings of others? Having considered much within myself, I cannot conceive the reason, unless, as I said from the beginning, I judge it to be part of the punishments owed to me for my sins, and the grief over these matters. For first I grieved in my soul that truths have become scarce among the sons of men; then I also feared for myself, lest I add to my other sins the suffering of misanthropy, considering nothing trustworthy in anyone, if those who were entrusted by me with the greatest things proved to be such toward me and such toward the truth itself. Know then, brother, and everyone who is a friend of the truth, that these compositions are neither mine nor written in accordance with my opinion. But if I ever wrote to Apollinarius or to someone else many years ago, I ought not to be accused.

For I do not myself accuse anyone if someone from the company of a certain person has broken away into heresy (you know the men well enough, even if I do not name them), because each will die by his own sin. These things I have now answered in response to the tome that was sent, but so that you yourself might know the truth and make it manifest to those who wish not to hold the truth in injustice. But if it is necessary to make a fuller defense concerning each of the charges brought against us, we will do this as well, with God’s help. We, brother Olympius, neither speak of three gods nor have fellowship with Apollinarius. To Abramius, Bishop of Batnae. For the whole time since autumn I have been ignorant of where your reverence is spending your time. For I found the reports to be confused, some announcing that your reverence is staying in Samosata, others in the countryside, and still others affirming that you have been seen around Batnae itself; for this reason I did not write continuously. But now, having learned that you are staying in Antioch in the house of the most venerable Count Saturninus, I have given the letter eagerly to the most beloved and most reverend brother Sanctissimus, the fellow presbyter, through whom I greet your love, beseeching that wherever you may be, you remember especially God, and then also us, whom you chose to love from the beginning and to count among your closest. To Peter, Archbishop of Alexandria. Physical friendship is brought about by the eyes, and the habit that arises over a long time confirms it.

True love is established by the gift of the Spirit, which unites those separated by a great distance in place and makes the beloved known to one another, not through physical features, but through the characteristics of virtue. This indeed the grace of the Lord has done in our case, granting us to see you with the eyes of the soul, to embrace you with true love, and, as it were, to grow together with you and to come into a single union through the communion of faith. For we are persuaded that you, being the nursling of so great a man and having had your long-standing association with him, walk in the same spirit and adhere to the same doctrines of piety. Therefore we address your honor and exhort you, along with other things, to succeed to the disposition of the great man toward us, to write to us as usual about your affairs, and to care for the brotherhood everywhere with the same compassion and the same solicitude with which that most blessed man treated all who truly love God. To Paeonius the Presbyter. How much you delighted us with your letter you perhaps infer from the very things you wrote, for the purity of the heart from which those words proceeded was precisely revealed by the writing. For a stream of water shows its own source, and the nature of speech characterizes the heart that produced it. So I confess that I have experienced something absurd and far removed from what is likely.

Since I am always eager to encounter the writings of your perfection, when I took the letter in my hands and read it, I was not so much pleased by what was written as I was distressed, reckoning the great loss that has befallen us during the time of silence. But since you have begun to write, do not cease doing so. For you will give more joy than those who send much money to lovers of wealth. As for scribes, none was with me, neither those who write beautifully nor those who write quickly. For those whom I happened to train, some have returned to their former way of life, while others have given up on labors, worn down by chronic illnesses. To Diodorus, Presbyter of Antioch. I have encountered the books sent by your reverence. And I was exceedingly pleased with the second, not only because of its brevity, as might be expected of one who is now sluggish and weak in all things, but because it is at once dense in thought and clearly arranged in its antitheses of opposites and the responses to them, and the simplicity and unadorned quality of its diction seemed to me fitting for the purpose of a Christian writing not for display but for common benefit. The first, however, while having the same power in its content, is embellished with more elaborate diction, varied figures, and dialogic graces, and seems to me much

It appeared to require both time to approach and mental effort to both gather the thoughts and retain them in memory. For the slanders and conspiracies of opponents inserted in the interim, even if they seem to introduce some dialectical sweetnesses into the composition, yet by creating leisure and delay they disrupt the continuity of thought and slacken the tension of the earnest argument. For your shrewdness has certainly perceived that even among the external philosophers who wrote dialogues, Aristotle and Theophrastus immediately touched upon the matters themselves, because they were aware of their own lack of Platonic graces. But Plato, with the authority of his speech, simultaneously fights against doctrines and also parodies the characters, attacking Thrasymachus for his boldness and impudence, Hippias for the lightness and vanity of his mind, and Protagoras for his boastfulness and pomposity. But where he introduces indefinite characters into the dialogues, for the sake of clarity of the matters he uses the interlocutors, but introduces nothing else from the characters into the subjects, which he did in the Laws. Therefore we too, who come to writing not out of ambition but having chosen to leave behind deposits of beneficial discourses for the brotherhood, if we introduce a character universally proclaimed for arrogance of manner, it is necessary to weave into the discourse some things contrived from the character, if indeed it is at all incumbent upon us to slander men who have abandoned the matters.

If the subject of discussion is indefinite, the distances between persons break the continuity and lead to no useful conclusion. I have said this to show that you have not sent your labors into the hands of a flatterer, but have shared your toils with a most genuine brother. I have said it, not for the correction of what has been written, but for the safeguarding of what is to come. For surely one who has employed such habit and zeal in writing will not shrink from writing, since those who provide the subjects do not cease. For us, it will suffice to read your works, but we are as far from being able to write anything of such quality as, I might almost say, from being healthy or having even moderate leisure from affairs. I have now sent through the reader the larger work, which I went through earlier as best I could. The second I have kept back, wishing to have it copied and not yet having anyone who writes quickly. For such is the poverty of the envied Cappadocians. TO EUSEBIUS, BISHOP OF SAMOSATA In what state the good Isaces found us, he himself will better relate to you, even if his tongue is not adequate to tragically declare the excess of our sufferings, so great was the magnitude of the illness. And the likelihood is evident to anyone who knows me even slightly. For if even in the seeming good health of those despaired of living I was weaker, it is easy to know what I would have been in illness.

And yet it was necessary (for grant the fever the indulgence of its rambling), since it was natural for me to be ill, that in the change of this condition health should now be the best part for me. But since the scourge of the Lord intensifies the pain with additions according to our worth, I have acquired weakness upon weakness, so that from this it is evident even to a child that, of necessity, this covering will depart from us, unless perhaps the philanthropy of God, in His forbearance granting us time for repentance, should now also, as often before, provide some release and resource from the hopeless evils. So these matters will be as is pleasing to Him and beneficial to us. But as for the state of the Churches, how they are ruined and utterly lost, while we, for the sake of our own security, overlook the affairs of our neighbors and are unable even to see that with the common misfortune each individual is also destroyed, what need is there to say, especially to a man who from afar foresaw each thing and testified beforehand and proclaimed, and yourself rose up and roused the rest, writing letters, coming in person, doing what, uttering what voice? We remember these things at each outcome, but we no longer benefit from them. And now, if my sins had not opposed me (and first of all, our most reverend and beloved brother Eustathius the fellow deacon, having fallen into a severe illness, kept me waiting for two whole months, day after day, for his recovery;

Then all those with me fell ill, the remnants of which our brother Isakes will enumerate; and finally I myself was seized by this illness, since I would long ago have been in the presence of your honor, not offering any benefit to the common affairs, but acquiring great gain for myself from your company. For I had resolved to be outside the range of ecclesiastical missiles, because of our lack of vigilance against the machinations of our opponents. May the great hand of God preserve you in all your life, noble guardian of the faith and vigilant protector of the churches, and may it grant us before our departure the benefit of your company for the welfare of our souls. To Antipater the Governor. Now I think I especially perceive the loss I suffer from being ill, when, with such a man governing our fatherland, I am compelled to be absent because of care for my body. For I have already been staying for a whole month at the treatment from the natural hot waters, as if I will have some benefit from this. But I seem to be laboring in vain in the wilderness, or even to appear worthy of laughter to many, not heeding the proverb that says there is no benefit from hot waters for the dead. Therefore, even in this state, I wish to set aside everything and reach your dignity, so as to enjoy the good things in you and to arrange the affairs of my own house properly through your rectitude. For the house of our most revered mother Palladia is my own, whom not only the kinship of family binds to us, but also the kindness of her character has made her a mother to us.

Since, then, some disturbance has arisen concerning her household, we ask your magnanimity to postpone the investigation a little and to await our presence—not that justice may be corrupted (for I would choose to die a thousand times rather than ask such a favor from a judge who is a friend to the laws and to justice), but so that what it is not proper for me to write, you may learn from my oral report. For in this way you will not fail of the truth, nor will we suffer anything untoward. I therefore beg that, with the person being in safety and held by the authorities, you may grant us this favor, which is neither burdensome nor invidious. To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata. What sort of soul do you think I had when I received the letter of your reverence? For if I looked to the disposition expressed in the letter, I was immediately eager to fly straight to Syria; but if I looked to the illness of my body, by which I was fettered and lying prostrate, I perceived that I lacked not only the ability to fly, but even the strength to turn on my bed. For I was completing the fiftieth day in this

...illness, during which our beloved and most zealous brother and fellow deacon Elpidius attended us, much wasted by fever, which, for lack of nourishing matter, coiled around this dry flesh like a burnt wick, bringing on a wasting and chronic illness. Then my old affliction, this liver, taking over, shut me off from food, drove sleep from my eyes, and held me on the border between life and death, allowing me to live only enough to feel the distress it caused. So I resorted to naturally warm waters and submitted to some treatments from physicians. But all this was confounded by this youthful evil, which, if it were a matter of habit, another might endure, but when it strikes without practice, no one is so adamant as to withstand it. Troubled by it for a long time, I was never so distressed as now, hindered by it from meeting with your true love. For what joy I have been deprived of, I know myself, even if I tasted only with the tip of a finger the sweetest honey of the Church among you last year. And I also needed to be with your reverence for other necessary matters, to communicate about many things and to learn many things. For here there is no one to meet with true love. And even if one finds someone who loves greatly, there is no one able, like your perfect wisdom and the experience you have gathered from many labors concerning the Churches, to give us counsel on the matters at hand. The other things, then, could not be written, but what it is safe to disclose are these.

The presbyter Evagrius, the son of Pompeianus of Antioch, who once traveled to the West with the blessed man Eusebius, has now returned from Rome, demanding from us a letter containing the very words written by those men verbatim (he brought back to us our own writings, as not pleasing the more precise among them), and that some embassy through worthy men is already pressing, so that the men may have a plausible pretext for visiting us. Those in Sebasteia who share our views, having laid bare the hidden ulcer of Eustathius’s evil doctrine, demand from us some ecclesiastical care for them. Iconium is a city of Pisidia, formerly after the greatest the first, and now itself first presides over a region which, gathered from various districts, has received the administration of its own province. This city summons us for a visit, so that we may give it a bishop. For Faustinus had died. If, therefore, we must not shrink from ordinations beyond the borders, and what sort of answer we should give to the Sebastenes, and how to be disposed toward the opinions of Evagrius, I wished to be taught by meeting with your honor in person, of all which I have been deprived due to the present illness. If, then, it is possible to meet with someone quickly arriving to us, deign to send me the answers concerning all these things; but if not, pray that it come to my mind what is pleasing to the Lord.

At the synod, order that mention be made of us, and pray yourself for us, and include the people, so that we may be deemed worthy to serve out the remaining days or hours of our sojourn in a manner pleasing to the Lord. As for Alexandria, the report of the persecutions that have occurred in Alexandria and the rest of Egypt long ago reached us and affected our souls as was natural. For we reflected on the cunning of the devil's war, how, when he saw the Church multiplying and flourishing all the more under the persecutions from the pagans, he changed his plan and no longer fights openly, but sets hidden snares for us, concealing his plot through the name they bear, so that we might suffer the same as our fathers and yet not seem to suffer for Christ, because both the persecutors and the persecuted bear the name of Christians. Pondering these things, we sat for a long time, stunned at the news of what had happened. For indeed both our ears rang when we learned of the shameless and misanthropic heresy of those who persecuted you, that they respected neither age, nor the labors of your way of life, nor the love of the people, but they tortured bodies, dishonored, consigned to exile, and plundered the possessions of those they could find, not shamed by the condemnation of men nor foreseeing the terrible retribution of the righteous Judge. These things astounded us and nearly drove us out of our minds. And along with these reflections came also this thought: has the Lord utterly abandoned his Churches?

Is it not the final hour, and is apostasy not entering through these means, so that the lawless one, the son of perdition, the adversary who exalts himself above every so-called God or object of veneration, may at last be revealed? Yet, whether the trial is temporary, bear it, you noble athletes of Christ; or whether things are delivered over to utter destruction, let us not be disheartened by present circumstances, but await the revelation from the heavens and the epiphany of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. For if the whole creation will be dissolved and the form of this world transformed, what wonder is it that we, being part of creation, should suffer the common afflictions and be handed over to tribulations which the righteous Judge brings upon us according to the measure of our strength, not allowing us to be tried beyond what we can endure, but granting together with the trial also the outcome, so that we may be able to bear it? The crowns of the martyrs await you, brothers; the choirs of confessors are ready to extend their hands to you and receive you into their own number. Remember the saints of old: that no one who lived in luxury or was flattered was deemed worthy of the crowns of endurance, but all, through great tribulations, were refined and displayed their worth. For some experienced mockery and scourging, others were sawn asunder, and others died by the sword. These are the glorious deeds of the saints. Blessed is the one deemed worthy of sufferings for Christ. More blessed is the one who abounds in sufferings, because the sufferings of the present time are not worthy compared to the future glory that will be revealed to us.

If then it were possible for him to come to me, I would have preferred nothing to meeting with you, so as both to see the athletes of Christ and to embrace them and to share in the prayers and spiritual gifts among you. But since my body has been consumed by a long illness, so that I cannot even move from my bed, and since many are lying in wait for us, like ravenous wolves, watching for the time when they might be able to snatch away the sheep of Christ, I have necessarily resorted to visiting you through this letter, first of all urging you to make earnest prayers on my behalf, that I may be deemed worthy to serve the Lord according to the Gospel of the Kingdom for at least the remaining days or hours, and then also to have forgiveness for my absence and for this slowness of my letters. For we have barely found a man capable of serving our desire. I speak of our son Eugenius the monk, through whom I ask you to pray for us and for the whole Church, and to write back to us about your affairs, so that knowing them we may be more cheerful. To the Church of Antioch.

Who will give me wings like a dove? And I will fly” to you and put an end to the longing I have for the meeting with your love. But now I lack not only wings, but also the body itself, which has long been afflicted by protracted illness, and now is utterly shattered by continuous distresses. For who is so adamantine in soul, who so utterly unsympathetic and savage, that hearing the groan assailing us from every side, like a mournful common dirge and harmonious lament resounding from some chorus, would not suffer in soul and be bowed down to the earth and be completely consumed by these perplexing cares? But the Saint is able to grant some resolution of the perplexities and bestow upon us a respite from our long labors. So I also exhort you to have the same encouragement and, rejoicing in the hope of that encouragement, to endure the present pain of the distresses. For if we are paying penalties for sins, the scourges are sufficient henceforth to avert the wrath of God upon us; or if we are called through these trials to the contests for piety, the Umpire is just, not to allow us to be tried beyond what we can bear, but to give us, for our previous labors, the crown of patience and of hope in him. Therefore let us not grow weary in contending in the contests for piety, nor through despair betray what we have labored for.

For it is not a single act of courage nor a brief labor that reveals the endurance of the soul, but he who tests our hearts through a long and protracted trial wishes us to be proclaimed victors in the contest of righteousness. Only let our resolve be kept unyielding, let the foundation of our faith in Christ be preserved unshaken, and he who will come to our aid will come quickly; he will come and not delay. "For expect affliction upon affliction, hope upon hope, yet a little while, yet a little while." Thus the Holy Spirit knows how to lead on his own charges by the promise of the future. For after the afflictions comes hope, and the things hoped for are near at hand. For even if one were to speak of the whole of human life, it is an utterly tiny interval compared to that boundless age which lies in store in our hopes. As for faith, we neither accept from others a newer one written for us, nor do we ourselves dare to hand over the products of our own mind, lest we make the words of piety human, but we declare to those who ask us what we have been taught by the holy Fathers. There is, then, a faith written by the holy Fathers who assembled at Nicaea, which has been established in our Church from the Fathers; we consider it to be on your lips as well, but we do not decline, so as not to incur a charge of negligence, to set down even the very words in the letter. And these are: "We believe in one God, Father Almighty, maker of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, only-begotten, born of the Father, that is, from the substance of the Father; Light from Light, true God from true God; begotten not made, consubstantial with the Father, through whom all things came into being, both those in heaven and those on earth. Who for us men and for our salvation came down, was incarnate, became man, suffered, and rose on the third day, ascended into the heavens, and is coming to judge the living and the dead. And in the Holy Spirit. But those who say: there was a time when he was not, and before he was born he was not, and that he came into being from non-existence, or from another hypostasis or substance, or that the Son of God is changeable or alterable—these the catholic and apostolic Church anathematizes. Let us believe these things. Since the discourse concerning the Holy Spirit was undefined, the pneumatomachi not yet having appeared at that time, they were silent about the necessity of anathematizing those who say that the Holy Spirit is of a created and servile nature. For nothing of the divine and blessed Trinity is created.

To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata. I have already received two letters from your inspired and most perfect wisdom. One of them clearly indicated to us how we were expected by the people under the hand of your holiness, and how much we grieved them by being absent from the most holy synod. The other, which is older, as I judge from the handwriting, but was delivered to us later, contained teaching fitting for you and necessary for us: not to be negligent of the Churches of God, nor to yield even a little to the adversaries in matters, whereby their affairs will increase and ours will diminish. And I think I have replied to each, but nevertheless now, since it is uncertain whether those entrusted with the delivery preserved our responses, I make my defense concerning the same matters. Regarding my absence, I write the truest excuse, which I think the report of has reached even your holiness: that I was seized by an illness that brought me even to the very gates of death. And even now, when I was writing about these things, I was writing while bearing the remnants of the illness. These are such as to be sufficient to be grievous illnesses for another. Regarding the fact that the affairs of the Churches have not been betrayed to the adversaries by our negligence, I wish your reverence to know that the bishops who are ostensibly in communion with us, either through reluctance, or through still being suspicious of us and not clearly, or through the opposition to good actions that arises from the devil, do not consent to assist us.

But in appearance, most of us are together, with the addition of the good Bosporius, but in truth they contribute nothing to us in the most necessary matters, so that I am for the most part hindered in my recovery by this despondency, as my ailments continually return from the intensity of grief. What could I do alone, when the canons, as you yourself know, do not permit such arrangements to a single person? And yet, what remedy have I not applied? What judgment have I not reminded them of, partly through letters, partly through personal meeting? For I even went as far as the city upon hearing of my own death. But since it seemed good to God that I be found alive by them, I spoke with them as was fitting. And while present, they show respect and promise everything fitting, but when left alone, they revert again to their own opinion. We too experience this from the general state of affairs, with the Lord clearly abandoning us who, because lawlessness has multiplied, have cooled in love. But for all this, let your great and most powerful supplication to God suffice for us. For perhaps we may either become of some use to the cause, or, failing in our endeavors, escape condemnation.

To the Numerarius of the Prefects. I gathered together all our brother chorepiscopi at the synod of the blessed martyr Eupsychius, so as to make them known to your honor. But since you were absent, it is necessary to present them to your perfection by letter. Know, then, this brother, who is worthy of being trusted by your prudence on account of the fear of the Lord. And whatever he may report to your good will on behalf of the poor, deign to trust him as one who speaks the truth and to provide the possible assistance to those who are oppressed. You will deign, of course, also to inspect the poorhouse of the district under him and to remit it entirely from the tax. For this has already pleased your colleague, to render the small property of the poor untaxed. To Another Numerarius. If it were possible for me to be present myself with your honor, I would have reported in person concerning the matters I wished and would have taken the lead for those who are oppressed. But since bodily illness and preoccupations with affairs draw me away, I present to you in my place this brother, the chorepiscopus, so that you, attending to him genuinely, may use him as a counselor, as one able to counsel truthfully and prudently concerning matters. For the poorhouse administered by him, when you deign to see it (you will see it, I know well, and will not pass it by, since you are not inexperienced in this work, but, as so-and-so reported to me, you support one of the poorhouses in Amaseia from what the Lord has given you), when, then, you see this too, you will provide him with everything he seeks.

Already your companion promised me some kindness concerning the poorhouses. I say this not so that you may imitate another (for it is fitting that you be a leader to others in good works), but so that you may know that concerning these very matters others also have importuned us. To the Tractator of the Prefects. You certainly know this man from the encounter in the city; nevertheless, we also present him to you through this letter, commending him that he will be useful to you in many of your pursuits because he is able to advise wisely and reverently on what is to be done. And what you spoke to me in private, now is the time to show it, when the aforementioned brother points out the matters of the poor. To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata. I know your countless labors, which you have undergone for the Churches of God, and I am not ignorant of the multitude of your occupations, which you have, managing the economy not casually but according to the will of the Lord, and the neighbor sitting in wait against you, on account of which we must, like birds cowering, not each run far from shelter. None of these things has escaped me. But desire is a violent thing, and to hope for what is not possible and to attempt the impossible—or rather, hope in the Lord is the strongest of all. For I do not expect by irrational desire, but by the strength of faith, that a resource will appear even in difficulties and that you will easily overcome all obstacles to see the most beloved of Churches and also to be seen by her—which is the most precious of all goods to her, to look upon your face and to hear your voice. Do not, therefore, leave her hopes unfulfilled.

And indeed, when I returned from Syria last year, having conveyed that promise which I received, how do you think I made it hang in suspense with hopes? Do not, then, put off your visitation of her to another time, O admirable one. Even if it is possible to see her at some time, yet not also with us, whom illness urges to depart at last from this painful life. To Antiochus: I cannot reproach you for idleness or indolence, because you fell silent in letters when the occasion arose. For the greeting which you sent through the hand precious to me I consider more valuable than many letters. Therefore, in return for this, I greet you and exhort you earnestly to cling to the salvation of your soul, disciplining all the passions of the flesh by reason, and continually keeping the thought of God, as if in some most holy temple, established in your own soul; and in every action and every word to take before your eyes the tribunal of Christ, so that your individual energies, gathered together, may bring glory at that precise and fearful examination, on the day of recompense, before all creation, you being deemed worthy of praises. But if the great one should deign to make the journey to us, it would be no small gain to see you with him in our land. To Aburgius: I used to consider the tales of Homer a myth, when I went through the other part of his poem, in which he recounts the sufferings of Odysseus. But those mythical and utterly incredible things have taught us to consider them plausible, because of the reversal of fortune concerning the altogether excellent Maximus. For he too became a ruler of a not insignificant nation, just as that general of the Cephallenians.

And that man, after bringing much wealth, returned naked, and the disaster so affected him that he was in danger of being seen by his own people in borrowed rags. And he suffered these things, having perhaps provoked Laestrygonians against himself and fallen in with a Scylla in female form, possessing canine inhumanity and savagery. Since, therefore, he has with difficulty navigated this inescapable surge, he beseeches you through us, deeming it worthy that you respect the common nature and, grieving at his undeserved misfortunes, not conceal his situation in silence, but report it to those in power, so that, best of all, some assistance might be given him against the contrived outrage, or if not, that at least the intention of the one who has abused him be made public. For sufficient consolation for the wronged man is the revelation of the wickedness of those who plotted against him. Trajan brings much consolation to the oppressed even in being able to lament their own misfortunes, and especially when they meet men who, through the nobility of their character, are able to sympathize with their pains. Hence also the most reverend brother Maximus, who has governed our fatherland, having suffered such things as no other man ever has, stripped of all his possessions, both those that were his patrimony and those gathered from earlier labors, and having endured countless hardships in body through wanderings up and down, and not even preserving his honor unimpaired, for the sake of which free men are accustomed to endure everything, has lamented to us at length concerning what has befallen him, and has deemed it worthy that through us, as in summary, the Iliad of evils that has surrounded him be made known to you.

And I, since I was otherwise unable to relieve him of his troubles in any way, readily granted this favor, to report a few of the many things I heard from him to your decorum, since he himself seemed to me to blush at narrating his own misfortunes clearly. For even if the events show the wrongdoer to be wicked, yet they show the sufferer to be of the pitiable class, since falling victim to god-sent evils seems in some way to be proof of being given over to passions. But it is enough for him as consolation for what has happened that you look upon him with a kindly eye and that the abundant grace which all enjoy and cannot exhaust (I mean your gentleness) be released upon him. And that in the courts, too, a great advantage for his victory is the influence from you, we are all fully convinced. And most just of all is this very man himself, who requested our letter as something that would be of benefit to him; whom, along with the others, may we see praising your reverence with as loud a voice as possible.

To Trajan. You yourself have perceived with your own eye the suffering of Maximus, formerly a man of good repute, but now the most pitiable of all, who ruled our fatherland as he ought not to have done. For I think that the rule of the nations would be an object of aversion to many, if their commands are to end in such a conclusion. So why need we report to you in detail each of the things we have seen and heard, to a man who, by reason of the great sharpness of his mind, is able from a few of the things that have been done to infer the rest? But if I say this one thing, perhaps I shall not seem superfluous to you: that although many terrible things were dared against him before your arrival, yet what happened afterwards were such as to make what had gone before seem to be regarded as kindness. So great was the excess of insolence, of loss, and of suffering inflicted on his very body, which were later devised for him by the one in power. And now he has come under guard, to complete the remainder of his evils here, unless you are willing to stretch out your great hand over the one who is oppressed. I know that I am doing something superfluous in exhorting your goodness to philanthropy. But since I wish to be of use to the man, I beseech your august dignity to add something to your natural zeal for the good, on our account, so that the benefit of our intercession on his behalf may become evident to the man.

To Amphilochius, from Heracleides. I remember both the conversations we once had with each other and have not forgotten what I myself said and what I heard from your nobility. And now public life does not detain me. For even if I am the same at heart and have not yet put off the old man, yet in appearance and by having removed myself far from the affairs of life, I have seemed at last to have set foot on the threshold of the polity according to Christ. I sit by myself, like those who are about to set out to sea, looking ahead to the future. For those who sail need winds for a fair voyage, but we need someone to guide us and to escort us safely through the salty waves of life. For I consider that I need first a bridle for my youth, then goads for the race of piety. And the agent of these is evidently reason, now disciplining our disorder, now rousing the sluggishness of the soul. Again I need other drugs to wash away the filth from habit. For you know that we, who have been long accustomed to the marketplace, are unsparing in our words and unguarded against the fantasies that arise in the mind from the Evil One. We are also overcome by honor and do not easily lay aside thinking highly of ourselves. For these things I need a great and experienced

I consider it the work of a teacher. Then, moreover, to have the eye of the soul cleansed, so that, having removed all the obscurity from ignorance like some sort of rheum, one is able to gaze intently upon the beauty of the glory of God, I judge to be no small task nor to bring benefit for a short time. I know precisely that your learning both sees this and desires that someone exist for this assistance; and, if ever God grants that I come together with your decorum, I will evidently learn more about what I must take care of. For now, due to great ignorance, I cannot even know of how many things I am in need, except that I have never regretted my initial impulse nor does my soul falter toward the goal of the life according to God, which you anxiously and fittingly for yourself did regarding me, lest I turn back and become a pillar of salt, which some woman suffered, as I hear. But still, external authorities constrain me, as if some deserter whom the magistrates are seeking. And my own heart especially restrains me, bearing witness to itself of those things which I have said. Since you mentioned agreements and threatened to accuse, you made me laugh in this dejection of mine, because you are still a rhetor and do not abandon your cleverness. For I think, unless I am completely mistaken about the truth as an ignorant man, that there is one road leading to the Lord, and that all who travel toward him journey together with one another, and proceed according to one covenant of life. So where can I go to be separated from you, and not live with you and serve with you the God to whom we have together fled?

Our bodies will be separated by places, but the eye of God manifestly watches over both of us, if indeed my life is worthy of being observed by the eyes of God. For I have read somewhere in the Psalms that "The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous." I myself pray to be together with you and with everyone who chooses similarly to you, both in body and to bend my knees every night and day before our Father in the heavens, and if anyone else worthily invokes God. For I know that communion in prayers brings great profit. But if, whenever it befalls me to groan in some obscure corner, falsehood inevitably follows me, I have no argument against the statement, but I already condemn myself as a liar if I uttered anything of that sort in my old indifference, which renders me liable to the charge of falsehood. Having come near Caesarea so as to learn the facts, and not having endured to approach the city itself, I took refuge in the nearby poorhouse, so as to learn there what I wished. Then, when the most God-beloved bishop arrived according to custom, I reported to him what your learnedness had commanded us. And what he answered could neither be preserved by us in memory nor does it exceed the measure of a letter. But in summary, concerning poverty, he said that the measure is this: that each person should confine his possession to his last garment. And he provided us with proofs from the Gospel, one being that John the Baptist said:

Let him who has two coats give to him who has none," and another saying, that the Lord forbade his disciples to have two coats. He added to these also: "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor." He also said that the parable of the pearl was brought to bear on this, that the merchant who found the precious pearl went and sold all his possessions and bought it. He added to these that one ought not to entrust the distribution of money even to oneself, but to him who is entrusted with administering the affairs of the poor. And this he confirmed from the Acts, that those who sold what belonged to them brought and placed it at the feet of the Apostles, and it was distributed by them to each according to need. For he said that experience is needed for discerning the one who is truly in need from the one who asks out of greed. And he who gives to the afflicted gives to the Lord and will receive his reward from him, but he who gives to the vagrant throws it to a troublesome dog, burdensome because of its shamelessness, not pitiable because of its need. Concerning how we ought to live day by day, he had said a few things, though brief relative to the magnitude of the subject; nevertheless, I wished you to learn from him himself. For it is not reasonable for me to obscure the precision of the teachings. I wished that sometime I might come with you to him, so that, having accurately preserved in memory what was said, you might with your own understanding supply what is lacking. For I remember from the many things I heard him say, that the teaching about how a Christian ought to live requires not so much discourse as daily example.

And I know that, if the bond of caring for your father in his old age did not detain you, you would neither have preferred anything else to meeting with the bishop yourself, nor would you have advised me to abandon him and wander into the deserts. For the caves and the rocks await us, but the benefits from men do not always remain with us. Therefore, if you heed my advice, you will persuade your father to allow you to withdraw from him a little and to meet with a man who, both from the experience of others and from his own understanding, knows much and is able to provide it to those who approach him. To Eustathius the Chief Physician. If there is any benefit from our letters, do not let any time pass without writing to us and rousing us to write. For we ourselves are manifestly more delighted when we encounter letters from intelligent men who love the Lord. But whether you yourselves find anything worthy of effort on our part, it is for you, the readers, to know. If, then, we were not carried away by the multitude of our occupations, we would not abstain from the joy that comes from writing continuously. But you, whose cares are fewer, whenever it is possible, stir us with your letters. For they say that wells become better when they are drawn from. And your medical exhortations seem to go to waste, not because we apply the iron, but because the useless things fall out of themselves. Now the saying of the Stoic is: "Since things do not happen as we wish, let us wish them as they happen." But I do not accept that one should change one's opinion to match circumstances, though I do not reject doing something necessary unwillingly.

For neither do you physicians desire to burn the sick or otherwise cause pain, yet you often submit to it, following the harshness of the affliction. Nor do sailors willingly jettison their cargo, but in order to escape shipwreck, they undergo the jettison, preferring a life of poverty to death. So also consider that we, though painfully and with countless lamentations, bear the separation of those who withdraw, yet bear it nonetheless, since for lovers of truth nothing is more honorable than God and the hope placed in him. To Victor the General. To someone else, if I were not writing, I might justly incur a charge of negligence or forgetfulness. But how could I forget you, whose name is spoken among all men? And how could I be negligent toward you, who have risen above almost all men in the world by the height of your offices? But the cause of our silence is clear. We hesitate to become a burden to so great a man. If, in addition to your other virtue, you have also deigned not only to receive letters sent by us, but also

to seek what has been omitted, behold, we now write with confidence, and we shall write in the future as well, praying to the holy God that the recompense for the honor you have shown us be given to you. As for the Church, you have anticipated our entreaties, having done everything that we would have sought. But you do this not to gratify men, but to gratify God, who has honored you, who has given the good things in this present life, and will give others in the age to come, in return for your having walked his path with truth, having preserved your heart unwavering in the uprightness of the faith from beginning to end. To Victor from the former consuls: Whenever it may be granted to us to encounter a letter from your decorum, so many times do we give thanks to God that you continue both to remember us and to diminish your love by no slander, which love you once deigned to take up by the most correct judgment or by good custom. We pray, therefore, to the holy God that you may continue in the same disposition toward us, and that we may be worthy of the honor with which you honor us through your letter.

To Ascolius, Monk and Presbyter. You have done well, and in accordance with the law of spiritual love, by taking the lead in writing to us and by your good example summoning us to a like zeal. For worldly friendship requires eyes and personal encounter, so that from these the beginning of intimacy arises; but those who know how to love spiritually do not use the flesh as a mediator of friendship, but are led to spiritual union by the communion of faith. Thanks, therefore, to the Lord, who has comforted our hearts by showing that love is not frozen in all, but that there are somewhere in the world those who display the character of Christ's discipleship. And so it seemed to me that your situation resembles stars shining in different parts of the sky during a cloudy night, whose brightness is graceful, but their unexpectedness is even more graceful. Such are you, the luminaries of the Churches, altogether few and easily counted in this gloomy state, like lights shining in the darkness, possessing, besides the grace that comes from virtue, the desirability that comes from the rarity of finding such. Your letter has sufficiently made known to us your disposition. For even if it was small in the number of syllables, yet by the correctness of its thought it gave us sufficient proof of your intention. For having been zealous concerning the most blessed Athanasius is a most clear indication of being sound in the most important matters.

Instead of the joy from your letter, we acknowledge great gratitude to our most honored son Euphemius, for whom I myself pray that every assistance from the Holy One may be at hand, and I ask you to join us in prayer that we may receive him back quickly with his most modest wife, our daughter in the Lord. Be exhorted yourself not to stop the joy at its beginning, but through every occasion that presents itself to write and to increase your disposition toward us by the frequency of communication, and to indicate how matters stand concerning your Churches according to the agreement, and to pray concerning affairs here, so that great calm may come to us as well, when our Lord has rebuked the wind and the sea. Untitled, on a deficiency. To the many accusations inscribed in the letter which your nobility deigned to send us, the first and only one, I am at a loss to reply, not from lack of justice, but because in the multitude of charges it is difficult to give preference to the more pressing ones and to know where we must first begin the remedy; or perhaps by using the order of what was written as a path to address each point. Those departing from here for Scythia we have not known up to today; nor did those from the household remind us, so that we might greet them through them, although we place great zeal on every occasion to address your honor. To forget you in prayers is impossible, unless we first forget the work to which the Lord has appointed us.

For you surely remember the ecclesiastical proclamations, being faithful by the grace of God, that we pray both for brothers in exile, and for those examined in military service, and for those speaking boldly for the name of the Lord, and for those displaying spiritual fruits, making prayers in the holy Church; among these we certainly consider your honor to be included in the times or in all things. But how could we forget you individually, having so many things that move us to memory: such a niece, such nephews, such kind and loving relatives, a household, servants, friends, from which, even if we did not wish it, we are necessarily reminded of your good intention? Concerning this matter, the brother so-and-so brought nothing burdensome to us, nor has any judgment harmful to him been issued by us. Therefore, turn your grief upon those who related the falsehoods, absolving both the chorepiscopus and me of all blame. And if a certain scholasticus is pursuing some lawsuit, he has public courts and laws. So I ask you to have no blame in these matters. But whatever good you do, you store up for yourself, and the rest you provide to those persecuted for the name of the Lord, you prepare for yourself on the day of recompense. And you will do well if you also send relics of martyrs to your homeland, if, as you wrote to us, the persecution there is even now making martyrs for the Lord.

To Euagrius the Presbyter. So far was I from being displeased at the length of your letter, that it even seemed to me short, because of the pleasure I took in reading it. For what sweeter sound is there than the name of peace, or what more sacred and more pleasing to the Lord than to deliberate on such matters? May the Lord therefore give you the reward for peacemaking, since you so nobly choose and zealously apply yourself to this blessed work. As for me, consider, honored head, that by reason of my choice and my prayer to see one day the day on which all who are not divided in mind from one another fill the same assembly, I yield to no one the primacy in this zeal. For we would truly be the most absurd of all men if we took pleasure in schisms and divisions of Churches and did not regard the union of the members of the body of Christ as the greatest of goods. However, as much as desire abides in us, know that power falls short. For your perfect wisdom is not ignorant that passions strengthened by time first require time for correction, and then a strong and more vigorous regimen, if one is to reach their depth so as to root out the sicknesses of the afflicted. You know what I mean, and, if I must speak more plainly, there is no fear. Self-love, by long habit in the souls

friend; but a single man cannot uproot what has been planted, nor can a single letter or a short time. For it is impossible for suspicions and the frictions arising from contradictions to be completely removed unless some trustworthy person mediates for peace. And if we were endowed with grace and were able, both in word and deed, and by spiritual gifts, to persuade those who are opposed, we would have dared to undertake such a great matter. But perhaps even then you would not have advised us to come alone to set things right, since the bishop, by the grace of God, exists, to whom the care of the Church primarily belongs; he cannot come to us, and for us to travel at present is not easy because of the winter, or rather it is completely impossible, not only because my body has given out from long illness, but also because the passes of the Armenian mountains become impassable a little later even for those who are very vigorous in age. However, I will not refuse to indicate these things to him by letter. But I do not expect anything noteworthy to result from letters, judging from the man's precision and from the very nature of letters, because a message sent in writing is not naturally able to persuade clearly. For much must be said, much must be heard in reply, and one must resolve objections and counter with what arises, none of which the word in letters can do, being idle and lifeless, scattered on the page. Nevertheless, as I said, I will not shrink from writing. But know this, most reverend and much-desired brother, that by the grace of God I have no private quarrel with anyone.

Nor have I inquired to know the charges for which each person is either liable or named. Therefore it is fitting that you attend to our intention in such a way that we are able to do nothing at a summons, nor are we prejudiced toward slander against anyone. Only if the Lord's approval occurs that everything be done in an ecclesiastical and orderly manner. The most beloved son Dorotheus the fellow deacon grieved us when he reported concerning your reverence that you hesitated to participate in their synaxis. Yet such were not our conversations, if I remember anything. To send someone to the West is utterly impossible for me, as I have no one suitable for this service. But if any of the brothers there chooses to undertake the labor for the Churches, he evidently knows toward whom to set out and with what purpose and by whom he will be furnished with letters and of what kind these are. For I, looking around in a circle, see no one with me. And I pray to be numbered among the seven thousand who did not bend the knee to Baal. Yet they seek even our soul, those who lay their hands on all. Nevertheless, on this account we will not fail in any of the owed zeal for the Churches of God. To Antiochus: How heavily do you think I bore missing your company in the summer? Yet even the company of others was not such as to proceed to satiety for us, but still to see in a dream what is desired brings some consolation to those who love.

But you do not even write, so idle are you, that you reckon your absence to no other cause more than your being idle with respect to journeys for the sake of love. But let this cease for us. Pray for us and beseech the Lord not to abandon us, but, as he led us out of the trials that have come upon us, so also to deliver us from those that are expected, to the glory of his name, in which we have placed our hope. To Antioch Since my sins have opposed me, preventing me from bringing to completion the desire I long had for your company, I at least console my absence with letters; and we entreat you not to cease remembering us in your prayers, so that, if we live, we may be deemed worthy to enjoy you, but if not, through the help of your prayers we may depart from this world with good hope. We commend to you the brother who is with the camels. To Eupaterius and his Daughter How much joy the letter of your decorum gave me, you yourself surely infer from what has been written. For what could be more pleasant to a person who makes it his prayer always to converse with those who fear God and to share in their profit, than such letters, through which knowledge of God is sought? For if Christ is our life, accordingly our speech must be about Christ, and our thought and every action must be dependent on his commandments, and our soul must be formed according to him. I therefore rejoice when asked about such matters, and I rejoice with those who ask.

To us, then, in a single word, the faith of the Fathers who assembled at Nicaea has been preferred over all those later devised, in which the Son is confessed as consubstantial with the Father and as being of the same nature as the one who begot him. For light from light, and God from God, and Good from Good, and all such things were confessed by those holy men and are now attested by us, who pray to walk in their footsteps. But since the question now raised by those who always attempt to innovate, which was passed over by the ancients because it was uncontested, was left unarticulated (I mean the one concerning the Holy Spirit), we add the account concerning this, in accordance with the sense of Scripture, that as we are baptized, so we believe, and as we believe, so we doxologize. Since, then, baptism has been given to us by the Savior in the name of Father and Son and Holy Spirit, we present the confession of faith in accordance with the baptism, and the doxology in accordance with the faith, glorifying together with Father and Son the Holy Spirit, being persuaded that it is not alien to the divine nature. For that which is separated in nature would not share the same honors. But those who say the Holy Spirit is a creature we pity, as they fall into the unforgivable abyss of blasphemy against it through such a statement. For that creature is distinct from divinity needs no argument for those even slightly trained in the Scriptures. For creature serves, but the Spirit frees; creature is in need of life, but the Spirit is what gives life; creature needs teaching, but the Spirit is what teaches.

ture. For creation is sanctified, but it is the Spirit that sanctifies. Whether you speak of angels, archangels, or all the supramundane powers, they receive their sanctity through the Spirit. But the Spirit itself possesses sanctity by nature, not having received it as a grace, but having it connatural to itself; hence it has also obtained the title of Holy in a special sense. Therefore, that which is holy by nature, as the Father is holy by nature and the Son is holy by nature, we neither endure to separate and cut off from the divine and blessed Trinity, nor do we accept those who readily number it among creation. Let these things, as in summary, be sufficiently said to your reverence. For from small seeds you will cultivate the greater part of piety, with the Holy Spirit cooperating with you. "For give a wise man a starting point, and he will become wiser." But we will defer the more perfect teaching to our meeting face to face, through which it will be possible both to resolve the objections and to provide more extensive testimonies from the Scriptures, and to confirm every sound type of faith. For now, grant indulgence to the brevity. For

Nor would I have written at all in the first place, if I did not consider the harm of refusing the request entirely to be greater than that of providing it deficiently. To Diodorus. A letter reached us bearing the inscription of Diodorus, but the contents seemed to belong to someone else rather than to Diodorus. For it appears to me that some crafty person, having assumed your persona, wished in this way to make himself credible to his hearers. For when asked by someone whether it was lawful for him to marry the sister of his deceased wife, he did not shudder at the question, but bore the hearing calmly and very nobly and competitively cooperated with the licentious desire. Now if the letter were at hand, I would have sent it, and you would have been sufficient to defend both yourself and the truth. But since the one who showed it took it back again and carried it around as a kind of trophy against us—since we had forbidden it from the beginning, claiming to have written authority—I have now written to you so that we may come with both hands against that spurious discourse and leave it no strength, so that it may not easily harm those who encounter it. First, then, what is most important in such matters, is our custom, which we have to put forward as having the force of law, because the ordinances were handed down to us by holy men. And this custom is as follows: if anyone, once overcome by a passion of impurity, falls into an unlawful union with two sisters, this is not to be considered a marriage, nor are they to be admitted to the fullness of the Church at all until they are separated from each other. So that, even if nothing else could be said, the custom would suffice for the prevention of this evil.

Since the one who wrote the letter attempted to introduce such a great evil into life by a counterfeit argument, it is necessary that we too not shrink from the assistance of reasoning; although, in matters that are exceedingly clear, the preconception in each person is greater than the argument. It is written, he says, in Leviticus: "You shall not take a woman as a rival to her sister, to uncover her shame upon her, while she is still alive." It is clear, then, he says, from this that it is permitted to take her after her death. In response to this, I will first say this: that whatever the Law says, it says to those within the Law, since otherwise we would also be subject to circumcision, the Sabbath, and abstinence from foods. For we will not, if we find something that coincides with our pleasures, place ourselves under the yoke of servitude to the Law; but if something of the legal requirements appears burdensome, then we will flee to the freedom in Christ. We were asked whether it is written to take a woman after her sister. We said, what is safe and true for us, that it is not written. To infer the omitted part from the inference of what follows is the act of a legislator, not of one stating the law, since otherwise it would be permissible for anyone who wishes to dare to take the sister even while the wife is still alive. For this same sophism applies also in that case. For it is written, he says: "You shall not take a rival," as if it did not forbid taking one who is outside of rivalry. The one advocating for the passion will define the character of the sisters as free from jealousy. Therefore, with the cause for which he forbade the cohabitation of both removed, what will prevent taking the sisters? But these things are not written, we will say. But neither are those things defined.

The meaning of what follows gives equal license to both. But one should have gone back a little in the legislation and been done with the matter. For the lawgiver does not seem to include every kind of sin, but specifically forbids those of the Egyptians, from whom Israel departed, and those of the Canaanites, to whom they were moving. For the text reads thus: "According to the practices of the land of Egypt, in which you sojourned, you shall not do; and according to the practices of the land of Canaan, into which I will lead you there, you shall not do, and you shall not walk in their laws." So it is likely that this kind of sin was not then practiced among the nations; hence the lawgiver had no need of a warning against it, but was content with unwritten custom to denounce the abomination. How then, having forbidden the greater, did he pass over the lesser in silence? Because the example of the patriarch seemed to harm many of the flesh-loving, who cohabited with living sisters. What then must we do? Speak of what is written, or work out what was passed over in silence? For instance, that a father and son should not use the same courtesan is not written in these laws, but by the Prophet it was deemed worthy of the greatest reproach. "For a son and a father," he says, "went in to the same slave girl." How many other kinds of unclean passions did the teaching of demons invent, while divine Scripture passed them over in silence, not choosing to defile its own dignity with the names of shameful things, but denouncing impurities with general terms? As the apostle Paul also says:

Let fornication and every impurity not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints," including by the term "impurity" both the unspeakable acts of males and those of females. So silence does not altogether grant license to pleasure-lovers. But I say that this part has not been passed over in silence, but that the lawgiver has forbidden it very vehemently. For the statement, "You shall not approach any relative of your flesh to uncover their nakedness," is inclusive also of this kind of kinship. For what could be more akin to a man than his own wife, or rather his own flesh? For they are no longer two, but one flesh. So through the wife, the sister passes into the kinship of the husband. For just as one shall not take the mother of his wife nor the daughter of his wife, because neither his own mother nor his own daughter, so also not the sister of his wife, because not his own sister. And conversely, it will not be permitted for the wife to cohabit with the relatives of her husband. For the rights of kinship are common to both. But I testify to everyone deliberating about marriage that the form of this world is passing away and the time is compressed, "so that even those who have wives may be as if they do not have them." And if someone reads to me, "Increase and multiply," I laugh at one who does not distinguish the times of the legislations. Second marriage is a consolation for fornication, not a provision for licentiousness. If they are not continent, let them marry, it says; but let them not, even while marrying, transgress the law.

They do not even look to nature, those whose soul is clouded by the passion of dishonor, which long ago distinguished the appellations of kinship. By what relationship will they address those who are born? Will they call them brothers or cousins? For both will fit them because of the confusion. Do not, O man, make the divine a stepmother to infants, nor arm the one who ought to cherish in the place of a mother with implacable jealousies. For the hatred of stepmothers alone pursues enmity even after death. Rather, other enemies make peace with the dead, but stepmothers begin their hatred after death. The sum of what has been said is this: if he is moved toward marriage by law, the whole world is open to him; but if his zeal is passionate, for this reason let him be even more excluded, "so that he may learn to possess his own vessel in sanctification, not in the passion of desire." I am impelled to say more, but the length of the letter restrains me. And I pray either that our exhortation be shown stronger than the passion, or that this abomination not visit our land, but remain in the places where it has been dared. To Amphilochius, ordained bishop of Iconium.

Blessed is God, who in every generation chooses those who are pleasing to him and makes known the vessels of his election, and uses them for the service of the saints; who now also has caught you, as you yourself say, fleeing not us but the calling expected through us, in the inescapable nets of grace, and brought you into the midst of Pisidia, so that you might take men alive for the Lord and draw from the deep into the light those who have been taken alive by the devil for his own will. Say then also what the blessed David says: "Where shall I go from your Spirit? And from your face, where shall I flee?" For such wonders does our humane Master work. Donkeys perish, that a king of Israel may come to be. But that man, being an Israelite, was given to Israel; you, however, the land that nurtured you and raised you to such a height of virtue does not possess, but sees its neighbor adorned with its own glory. But since all who have hoped in Christ are one people, and the Church of Christ is now one, even if it is called by different places, the fatherland rejoices and delights in the Lord's economies, and does not consider that it has lost one man, but that through one man it has gained whole Churches. Only may the Lord grant that we see you present and hear of your progress when absent, your progress in the Gospel and the good order of the Churches. Be a man, then, and be strong, and go before the people whom the Most High has entrusted to your right hand.

And, like a skilled pilot, you have steered your course, rising above every storm stirred up by the heretical winds, preserving your ship unbaptized by the salty and bitter waves of false doctrine, awaiting the calm that the Lord will bring when a voice worthy of rousing him to rebuke the winds and the sea is found. But if you wish to visit us, who are now pressed by long illness toward the necessary departure, wait neither for a season nor for a signal from us, knowing that with paternal affection every opportunity is an occasion to embrace a beloved child, and that the disposition of the soul is beyond any words. Do not grieve over a burden that exceeds your strength. For if you yourself were to bear this load, it would not be heavy, but entirely bearable. But if the Lord shares the burden, "Cast your care upon the Lord, and he will provide." Only be exhorted to guard this in all things: do not yourself conform to corrupt customs, but transform what has been wrongly assumed through the wisdom given you by God into what is useful. For Christ sent you not to follow others, but to lead the saved yourself. And we ask you to pray for us, that if we are still in this life, we may be deemed worthy to see you with the Church.