35 Letters edited by J. Lamy

-- ^A y many ways to satisfy my longing and to run to my only help after God. But the accursed south wind drove us back again, as if it had conspired with the north wind to do this very thing, so that each of them in turn might afflict me with measureless blasts. Then what? When permission to depart was granted to us by Him who takes care in preserving and directing our affairs—the Sebastus and praetor of Dyrrachium—my desires fell apart in this way; and this was reasonable. For, it is said, "The desire of the wicked shall perish." ^B But the enemy, who is always envious of the good, accomplished all that he willed against me. Yet neither were his counsels useless, since he is a leader of sinners, or rather, I should say, both their maker and instructor. For your majesty will, just as I had hoped, receive my present letter with appropriate veneration and adoration, and will pardon the unworthiness of your servant, as one who suffers from, rather than causes, the omission of a personal gathering. But I will be more sweetly disposed once I have obtained what I was striving for, when my shortcomings have been filled. Truly, however, since they have undone the thread of my instruction for me, and since you listen with a gentle and mild spirit to this mute speech, in which the tongue uses the hand, and you intercede for me with your goodness and aid—ask ^C as for me before God, in whose sight you appear daily through your actions that lead the hand to Him, that my trial be moderate in the future; for it would be too much to speak of a cessation of tribulations. And keep that which is proper to you: do not turn your mercy away from me, but show your innate and, towards me, customary clemency in other matters as well, and fulfill the promise which your mouth, the guardian of truth, made some time ago regarding my fellow servant and brother, Demetrius.

I have something urbane to write to a woman who is truly full of graces. While I have been moving about in this city (for such is the time that has passed), all my belongings have smelled bad and putrefied, things that elsewhere would have been pleasant and sweet-smelling. I am descending, therefore, to the ^D Bulgarians, a Constantino-politan in fact, but a Bulgarian in hospitality, smelling of rot and mold just as they do of the stench of hides. And the most terrible thing is that those people there will suspect that I have become an object of horror and nausea even to you. But would this stench smell sweet to me, and indeed quite elegantly and urbanely? You know, therefore, what you will do so that what I have said does not happen to me: you will fumigate the foulness and condemn it to eternal exile, cutting into the back with the very woods of our land—which the earth produces while enjoying the first and pure rays of the sun—so that, among other things, I may have these also to sing to you sincerely, and not with the grace of a flatterer, things that Solomon applied to the Bride of the Song, although he referred them to something greater and more mystical: "Your cheeks are like rows of perfume made of..."

as bowls of aromatic perfumes. But the word of the commandment shall certainly be brought to you through the jaws. These things, then, we have asked in a more elder-like manner for your holy empire. May God, whose you are, and who is yours, Himself freeing you from every evil and malice, deem you worthy of His perfect graces, and may He raise up the fragrance of the sweetness of Christ to the supernal altar, and make you a spiritual censer, so that you may offer whatever your hand and deed have supplied in abundance, and may you burn the pleasant and acceptable incense composed of virtues. ^A

EPISTLE II.

My holy one, you have forgotten my humility, and neither to understand... and truly they who waged war against the entire heaven placed Ossa upon Pelion; or if you prefer, the giants placed the crown upon the tower of Chalanne. But if you hold us in your memory and look upon our affairs, grant me your ears for a little while, and understand these few things, and consign what is past to silence. The myths make Hercules, a glory to Jupiter himself and the Fates, a servant to Omphale. Now Omphale was queen of the Lydians, a woman luxurious and flowing with gold, who also desired to be seen as most beautiful, and felt it an injury if she were compared to a rose. Doing nothing, moreover, she wanted to be in all things a single image of Venus, ^B equal to the arms of Juno, the hair of Latona, the ankles of Hebe, and the feet of Thetis. The hero renowned for his victories, serving her, would card purple while sitting aloft among the Lydian women, and was kept in the storehouse if he ever scattered the dried figs. Sometimes he would also serve the cup, which he carried with his large and noble fingers, then trembling slightly because of his inexperience in serving drink, on account of which he was branded with a golden ring, and delivered to a presiding eunuch, a slave of the Lydian woman, ^C he had trouble being taught the office of cupbearer. For his fingers yearned for the club; but the eunuch would even pluck the beard of his pupil; for being a eunuch, he was hostile to hair. Hence there was sadness for Hercules, collaborating toward the successful outcome of the work. For by this, his fingers became soft, and the very administration of the cup made them more slender. Nor did he employ his efforts only in these things for that Trivesperus, but also with the miller-women toward the making of flour, and he would sing along with those who were singing, and to those who harmonized in a sharp and plaintive tone, he would sing in response with a harsh and rigid ^D pitch. But they burst into laughter and clapped their hands together, and ceasing from their work, they left him alone turning the mill like a discordant ass. These things the son of Jupiter suffered, and he endured that insult, until the times decreed by the Fates released him from servitude. But he undertook labors again,

yet labors worthy of Jupiter ^A and of the time of the journey; for they were purging cleansings for the disorder of the world. I have written to you of the conditions in which I find myself: that I am not serving a wealthy queen, pure and beautiful, and altogether a golden Aphrodite, but barbarian slaves, unclean, reeking of the hides of goats, and destitute in life—or rather, they are wealthy in malice; or indeed, they hold sway over all alike in the poverty of their life and in their malice. Deliver me from this shameful servitude, if you are able, or else I shall be angry with you before the time—a son who has done nothing worthy of his father, through Christ. This would be inglorious for me, and perhaps disgraceful for those who have endured it. ^B But man does not easily change his nature; thus I arrived at Achrida, and I, a miserable wretch, desired the city that contains you. For from afar a certain deadly stench assailed me, such as the Charonian regions truly exhale. Now, upon Empedocles, contention produced a head without a neck; but here, the governance of ignorance has produced ten thousand, and ten thousand more, necks without heads. For what Achridian is not a neck without a head, knowing neither how to venerate God nor man? I am condemned to live with such monsters, and what is most grievous, there is no hope that these necks can ever be brought to have heads through some better virtues, just as the friendship of the wise man of Agrigentum brought imperfect heads to perfection. But for me... all hope has utterly fallen away; and the scepter-bearing eagle of Jove walks upon the ground, alas! and rolls in the filth, and endures the clamor among the frogs, who, deeming it a terrible thing, and unworthy of their own fortune, if the bird of Jove does not wallow in every luxury among them, climb upon his shoulders, full of mud and foul odor; and when they have climbed up, they croak discordantly and without harmony. For what else is worthy of a muddy soul? ^C They seem to be singing a song of victory. Yet his beak and the edges of his talons have not yet become dull; he still has cadavers to tear and rend, but considering it a greater injury to turn and avenge himself for such an insult, he looks upon the rays of the sun alone with fixed and intent eyes, just as he is able; for so it is ordained by nature. It is fair indeed that he, if this sun is indeed the one, should become the witness of his suffering, and for him to do this—to prick with shame, and to show that such a one is to be censured for playing with such creatures—is what has seemed best to him. Then, O you most wise and pleasant of men, by the pure rays of this sun with which you yourself are illuminated daily, and with which you illuminate the eaglets you beget, the eagle insulted by such things desires in vain to live with you in the blessed places, where the air is greatly serene and spreads out, without clouds, and is not bespattered with mud and filth. Would you not, I suppose, say

509 EPISTOLÆ XXXV A J. LAMIO EDITÆ. 510

^A I suppose you would condemn the swamp of evils here and the frogs, its offspring; for I have nothing else to wish upon you, except that you live in the habitual delights of the gout. You think I am jesting in this way, surely; and by the Word, my heart is so full of graces, and [the memory of you] so dilates me, even when I am remembering you, that I signify this very thing in the letters to you; and I am freed from all sadness at that moment, and carried toward your graces with ease, by other graces as it were. But may God, the true giver of graces, grant at some time both to me a complete release or consolation from the evils here, and to you a complete deliverance or respite from the pitiless beast; for we have not gone astray from his way alone, nor did he offer the unmixed cup of the draught to us alone.

EPISTLE III

I wished indeed to write to your holiness at greater length and in a more timely manner, and to display to your sympathetic eyes a wider scene of my tragedies. But since we are wretched even in this, learn from the letter which I gave to our common friend, the great domesticus, how great and of what sort are the things we suffer; and it will be enough for your intelligence to hear this from that source. ^B Be also a teacher of our affairs to others. But if there is need for more copious words, look for our letter given to the official in charge of petitions, which Pantas, my holy disciple and brother, will deliver to you; perhaps you will learn something greater and more candid. But in whatever way you come to know in what state I am, take care by all means to change these things with your prayers, you who preach long sermons in church. You will do something more humane than just for a servant having labored for so long. And your brief words he will hear.

EPISTLE IV

Who would give me leisure to speak, my most venerable protector, as much as I have the will, that I might adapt my tongue to the glory of the affair successfully accomplished? Who would have gathered for me a chorus of rhetoricians, that as their leader, providing to them the theme I was just speaking of to be sung, I might simultaneously fill the eloquent choir? For you ^D have been shown to be a helper in the afflictions that have greatly found us, sent from Him who sends help to you from the sanctuary and protects you; you crushed the heads of the dragons upon the water; you shattered the head of the dragon, and though it now quivers with its tail and seems to live, yet those who judge rightly do not so judge it, as we indeed [do] from you, who have received the power to tread upon all the power of the enemy.

to trample upon all the power of the enemy, receiving life, let us deride him who boasts beyond measure, and says: "By my hand I shall seize the whole world, and I shall wipe out the sea, and take away all men as if they were abandoned eggs." ^A But Truly, You have not forsaken those who seek You, O Lord. You looked down from heaven and saw the sons of those who were slain, and You had compassion on us; and upon the son of man whom You strengthened for Yourself, and upon the man of Your right hand, You sent forth Your light and Your truth; You multiplied Your magnificence upon the sebastos, and taught his hands for battle and his fingers for war; You crushed the arms of the sinner and broke the iron bars; You led out the prisoners, and said to those doing iniquity: "Do not do iniquity," and to those offending: "Do not exalt the horn." ^B But you see, O most reverent one, how I have praised the gifts of God toward you with divine words, as far as I was able, since it is not right that human speech should belittle things that are above men. Therefore, guard for me the imitation of God in goodness, and never desire evil for anyone; and showing goodness to all, especially to those who were recipients of your mercy from the beginning, such as we are, to whom you would most likely grant even the greatest things, if you deem our kinsmen in Euripus worthy of mercy, and show those in Greece that before you, the most reverent protector of all, the archbishop is worthy of great regard. Therefore, grant me your aid, so that my joy may be full in all my concerns, and may God exalt you, glorifying Him who daily glorifies Him through your own goodness. And your enemies shall lick the dust. ^C

EPISTLE V.

To the Caesar.

My holy Lord. Often have I weighed my speech against the former benefits toward me from your imperial majesty, and attempting to find a speech equal to the deeds, after the trial, I have recognized my own great insignificance. For those things were great and exceeding in weight, while my tongue is small and possesses no weight at all. But since the command concerning the canon has now been added to these things, that very marvel which is fabled to have come into the minds of the giants, "I have placed Ossa upon Pelion," unless perhaps it is more familiar to us to say, "You who have multiplied upon me Your magnificence," so that I may not hide it? What kind of speech shall I use to respond in some way to such benefits? Do you see how you overcome me, once a sharp rhetorician, O most munificent and kind emperor? Do you see how you rule and master us in all things? And with good reason. For if every king is an image of God, and you have become a participant in this most divine work and name, just as the archetype excels all others completely, so the image will certainly surpass all others. ^D Therefore, proceed thus with purpose and prosper, and reign in the outpouring of good things. But I seem to hear—

and [you] extend, and prosper, and reign in goodness. But I think I hear in turn your sweet ^A voice. What would you say, Archbishop, if we were to order that the remaining estates, that is, the lordly properties, should also contribute what is legally established by the canon? What [could you say] other than that my master strives to surpass not only my tongue, but the goodness of everyone who hears it speaking, as if the sun were always shining upon us at midday, warmer and more brightly? What is better than this, holy master, to overcome not only our tongue, but also everything that rings with rhetoric—what, I ask, is greater? For I have found that God will hold the highest regard for the dedication of ecclesiastical matters, and for the subjection of oneself to all, so as to pay the mandated didrachma, and exhibiting in the same time retribution for goodness—whom you will not be able to overcome, even if you machinate everything; but as much as you overcome us, so much will you be overcome by Him, or rather, infinitely [more so] in liberal works.

EP. VI.

To the son of the Sebastocrator.

EP. VII.

To the sebastos, Lord John, son of the Sebastocrator.

and avert this evil fate from them. For a certain monk of mine and a priest from among those who are evil, scorning God and having become shameless even towards human reproach—and this according to that prophetic word, having fashioned for himself the face of a harlot—has cast off the holy habit, and the glutton in place of the abstinent man, and the incontinent in place of the continent, or rather, having become an incontinent man, he lives in company with a woman and triumphs in lasciviousness with all shame laid aside. This is worthy indeed of many tears. But yet it is more endurable than what remains to be said. That thing, therefore, which most provokes God to wrath and brings us grief—listen, you who alone are able to set this right. For since he has shaken off ^B the fear of God and has said to God: "I do not desire to know Your ways," he desires and strives to be powerful in iniquity, and becomes the author of iniquitous and unjust proposals for the men of Iasepus. And they honor him; and what is it that they will not do? They carry him upon their heads. But the poor are cast down headlong and perish by treacherous counsels. Since, therefore, there is no one to redeem and save, I sent for him, and they brought the accursed man to me, and he gave me security until the Lord's days of the Carnival that no one of his faction would be found, nor would he bring charges against anyone. I dismissed him, and the Christians, the men of Iasepus, treat him with deference and consider him a hunter; for thus he names himself, bestowing upon them pleasant spoils. Arise at these things, my master, and speak with a word, and the demon that harasses the people of God shall be cast out. But let no one deceive you with officious speeches, persuading you that the thief will repent; for how many remedies of repentance have I offered him—last year, and this year, and by letter, and dealing with him face to face? But I spoke words to deaf waters, and the leopard *returned* for his spots. Have mercy, therefore, on the poor, and first on his soul, which is corrupted by malice before he himself perishes with his damages; and let this plague and epidemic disease be removed from these members. And if I am able to lay hands on him myself, he shall die in the tower as a common and public evil. May God be He who keeps you, my master, safe from all malice and evil. ^C

EPISTLE VIII. To the same.

The gifts of divine men, my most venerable master and protector, ought to be without repentance, just as are the gifts of God. Since, therefore, your care has bestowed upon us the divinely favored authority—which previously had been granted to the Church by the king crowned by God and strong, and a god, so to speak, in the world; I refer to the power of the priests dwelling near the city, a power which in dignity so greatly exceeds his who has the subject peoples, while all other ministries are subject to it—why are you changing such a grace, my holy master and protector? For if we have disturbed ^D anything regarding your glory, and this...

we have polluted out of ignorance, nor is it right to overturn the grace bestowed upon the house of God; for the Church is called and believed to be the house of God. But if we designate [the Comnenus] master and benefactor, it is not because we are so insane as to show anything contrary to your kindness with an ungrateful and rustic [disposition]. ^B You see how easily the seal of the all-venerable Comnenus has been overturned by the Comnenus himself; there is in this something of insult and audacity. But wait, for the time is not yet to apply a soothing balm to the wound. It is still all too easy, even for the one who struck, [to apply] the heavenly balm, for the one who signed the subscript, defined by your august hand to the one standing before you, [to release] from all oppression and servitude belonging to the praetorium, ^C that you may dismiss the priests from the laity, and convert them conversely if he also [took] clerics or others from the priests. For I must suffer a beautiful reciprocity—or rather, [a command] issued in [his] person on account of the great support of my master—so that if any of those called "mediators" are priests who abuse this for their own services, they may no longer exercise this tyranny against the subject archbishops. For these men have also provoked the common people to summon my master to court on account of the priests, so desiring ^D themselves to reap the benefit of them, and shattering the privilege of the Church for the sake of their own gains. May our first High Priest, Jesus Christ, preserve my all-venerable master in all well-being, both of body and of spirit, whose small token—the same, perfect in number—do not disdain to accept: one hundred salt-cured fish.

EPISTLE IX.

To Caesar Melissenus.

two hundred, being for the poor [a substitute] for the fish [which they lost] due to the lack of sparrows ^A, but for the rich a help, of which your empire is always deemed worthy. But consider also the very number as a sign of divine admonition and instruction for me. For it teaches that the perfect sense, the quinternion [five], combined with the quaternion [four] of virtues, in many ways united to the Queen of all, is to be offered as food and drink by an unworthy servant.

EPISTLE X. To Diabologyra

Well done that an addition has been made to Christ's flock; well done that the divine boundaries are being widened for you, and the people created for you praise the Lord. My spirit has also rejoiced not a little at the conversion of the Armenians. For it is not fitting to close their churches, but rather to hand them over to orthodox priests to perform the service which we celebrate at the dedication of a temple, anointing the walls with the ointment of the cross in the shape of a cross, and so to make all [those] who have turned from the Armenians [participants] in this. But if their priests also come to the orthodox faith, it is better, I think, to enroll them among the laity; but if they adhere to their priesthood and are otherwise blameless, ordain them yourself. However, it is necessary to examine their liturgy most diligently; and if it is indeed that of Chrysostom, unchanged and undistorted, it must be kept entirely; but if it is corrupted, it should be changed, and another ^C psalmody should be considered. Furthermore, we know that my arrival is desired by you. But my lord the sebastos, I suspect, will come to us after Pascha, as spring approaches. We ourselves have grown accustomed to this, and there is no need for my arrival there at present. Write to us, therefore, regarding this very matter. We praise your plan to come to us in every respect, and we make it known to all, and we shall praise it even more at this time, since you have been taken captive by those who are supposedly friends. Moreover, you sent to the Church the one horse you had left, a suitable one. For although it is not entirely suitable for use, we use it nonetheless; your benevolence toward the Church is great, and I pray for you, because you know how to give to it what you possess, for many are a detriment to it. Take care ^D that I understand whether you have the entire service which we perform for those who are converted from the Armenians. If you do not have it, we shall transcribe it and will either bring it to you or send it. Do not cease to care, brother, for the psalmody of the Church and especially for the beauty of the house of God; and may God protect you from every enemy.

EPISTLE XI. To Tarchaniotes

Truly the word is the image of the mind, and according to what the Lord says, the good man brings forth the good coin out of the good treasure of his heart, such as you also

greatest of all recipients, in that you honored my letters, enduring to receive a warning by letter, and speaking simply from the abundance of your heart. Yet who am I to warn one who understands more than all teachers, and who has been made wise beyond his elders in the searching out of the commandments? What will our speech teach you, when your own great nature has grasped it, having also taken to itself the experience of life’s vicissitudes as an auxiliary? For you have surely seen the pronouncement of him who was tested by the goods of this life more than all others—I speak of the great Ecclesiastes. God, who determined that all things are vanity of vanities, ^B thereby demonstrated the excellence of that which is above this worldly nothingness. Therefore, because of the vanity of vanities, let us be attached to Him who truly is, and let us stand against the sun instead of in the darkness. Look, he says, at the ancient generations: who has hoped in the Lord and was put to shame? And indeed, I have not seen a righteous man forsaken, and the remnants of the ungodly shall be destroyed. But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord. Who is so easily deceived and grown fat and brutish at the present time, such that he hopes in iniquity and covets plunder, especially when he has heard of Job, than whom no one was ever richer, yet nor more sincere? Wealth gathered unjustly shall be vomited forth. Therefore, since you know these things, most noble man, what more can our speech do to warn you—no less than we have heard and believe? Nothing at all, unless we wish to carry a burden in vain. Nevertheless, ^C since all things are possible to him who believes, pay no heed to my words, just as you have believed. Furthermore, I have seen that for those who run, the voices of friends become wings. But may God, who helps us in all things—for He made all things very good—grant that you may be helped, . . . as the great Apostle commanded.

EPIS. XII. To the brother of the Augusta, the Lord John.

^D Now I know indeed what a sun we had, and we were fruitful; now the graces of spring are sweet to us. For you turned away your face, and we were all troubled. We long for your gentleness; we seek your moderate and, toward all, affable and bland companionship. Papae! With what magnificent praises we celebrate you again and again! Know that both small and great proclaim much concerning these things: the beneficence and munificence of your hand, the honor and humanity, and the deference and veneration with which you pursue men who are devoted to God. But because you were granted to us by God for your own virtues, and then departed because of our sins, you are preserved by God for the benefit of others as a savior and a dispenser of every utility. For in great works, God, like an architect to a gifted pupil, holding a torch before you and giving you these things as raw material, that you might display your skill in them—and I trust in you, not only for the work, but also for the exhortation, as the great Apostle commanded.

in that you might show your dexterity in these matters. For I trust that, because your virtues strive to surpass your age, you will rightfully be proclaimed by all as most clever and most distinguished in all things, and that you will again manage the affairs of Bulgaria by beneficent, divine administrations, by which your own affairs are conducted. ^A And yet, you have not abandoned us entirely. For even if the sun from the northern regions becomes more southerly, nevertheless, by some means, it warms and quickens all things, even those it does not approach; just as, indeed, we, too, in the region of Pelagonia, enjoy your rays. And we would enjoy them more if the small estate of Hemongila, where our ancient court is situated, were given to your guardian Theotokos through your sigillum, which I revere and venerate; and if Romanus Ostracorhomus, who, having been fattened by the goods of the Church, kicks against it, were checked by the threats of my master, with an order having been given to the army concerning him and the other madmen, so that he might give no place against us, who daily pour forth prayers for your success—we who always proclaim your deeds and have a tongue for thanksgiving no worse than anyone else’s, let alone—should I say—better than that of Romanus and many others? But, ^B O you who gather within yourself all the fair qualities of the blessed line of the Doukai, remain in your goodness toward me, or rather, make ascents and advancements in it, if there is any measure to the things you have excellently achieved. And do not depart from the God-given place, by which I mean the beneficent and kind disposition, and the modesty in all things, which both raised you and will raise you, ^C indeed, by your great hand, helping us, the wretched, even if we petition on behalf of our kin...

EPISTLE XIII

To Tornosopoulos, Bishop of the Dociscopians

If you have heard, my all-holy master, that the archbishop has become foolish and is suffering from an incurable madness, it ^D ought to have persuaded you that he did not wish to hear what you had written; nor, alas—how can I say it?—did he deem it worthy to write back to you. But if we are truly demented, and have become as beasts through our passions, and are corrupt, and abhor the study of divine imitation, in this we still have understanding: in knowing the lofty position upon which you stand, and for which you are preferred above all. Do not so easily lend your ears to those who babble against us. But let the lips of those who slander us before your goodness be silenced. Let them show to whom they gave the missive that treated of the bishopric, and who brought it to us; and then they will confirm what they say—namely, that we despised it and wrote nothing in reply. Certainly, by the prayers of your holy mother, inquire as to whom the missive was given. And if it is discovered that I indeed received it, but wrote nothing in reply, I shall be accused as a despiser. But since I have already defended myself on the ground that the missive of my master concerning the bishop was not received, behold, I also write concerning that very bishopric. For it is not fitting, my master, that you should involve yourself in such matters; for it is a great and formidable...

should be introduced to such things (for they are great and terrible), nor should we bestow divine things so simply. For of those who have been brought forward for bishoprics by us, some, having served in this Church and being attested by their piety and dignity, have attained the bishopric, such as [the bishop] of Morobos, [the bishop] of Prisdiana; others, who have shone in Constantinople in discourse and teaching, such as [the bishop] of Castoria, [the bishop] of Belgradia; and others who have excelled in the monastic life in a monastery, such as [the bishop] of Triaditza, have attained the episcopal dignity. ^B If, then, the one recommended by my master is of such a sort, you will not have us to thank, but we you; but if he is neither known to our Church, nor manifest to those in Constantinople who are attested by their speech or life, do not wish to provoke God to wrath in vain and rashly, nor command us to do so, for we are ordained to obey God rather than men. Furthermore, we say this also, that a bishopric is not lacking to us now, unless someone were to speak of Vydina, for which we desire, but cannot find, a worthy man. For there is need of a man prepared for it, who understands both spiritual and worldly things. But how did I neglect to listen to my master, and in sending my cleric gave no letter to Proximus? I did not send him even before, though, having been deceived by the Egyptian, he was forced to turn back; but the second time I sent him with the apparitors. Who is he who constructs such a clever argument against us? A deceitful man, as it seems, and indeed a calumniator. But may the Lord overthrow him, whoever he may be, crushing his wickedness; ^C but may He preserve for us yourself, curing him, as a stream—to speak most sweetly—clear and guileless. But the priests in the little town have had no relief or rest, even though you, my master, having written to us through your venerable rescript addressed to the one who was in charge, gave them relief. For they are dragged into holding themselves ready and into bread-taxes; and these things [happen] even though the Golden Bull has ordered them to be superior to, and exempt from, sordid ministrations and bread-taxes. I, indeed, have offered to my master what I held and hold to be just; but if there are some who impede your goodness, know that these are enemies of the good, preventing your pure soul from rendering to God the things that are God’s. Having Him as an ally in all things, do not allow those who are consecrated to Him to be subject to the common people; but may He himself protect you in times of war and in times of peace, so that you may enjoy peace toward Him.

EPISTLE XIV

And who among us, most blessed and most illustrious master, if we were to benefit such a soul, would not [rejoice]? For if, whenever we have done [good] even to the least, we have believed we were doing it to God, as our great God and Savior has taught, when onto a greatest soul—such as yours is, in every way—we bestow a useful treasure, how much ought we to exult, and to put on the garment of spiritual joy, ^D as those 723 who not only have in their hands great and massive [virtues] regarding this...

but also receive [wages] from Him who gives the word to those who evangelize, and renders to each his reward according to his own labor, and appoints over many cities those who multiply the minas. For you certainly know the parable of the Gospel ^B that portrays for me the grateful servants who were made blessed and rich, and the servant of iniquity who received reproach and was exposed as a liar, because he had bound up his mina in the napkin of mortification and sloth, and had not deposited it with the bankers. Now every man is a banker who receives the gift of the word, like the stamp of a royal image. We therefore, who have been assumed into the ministry of the word, ought to offer to every man at the table the precious word, the Lord’s coin, silver tried in the fire, the pure oracles of God, so that what is ours may be without condemnation, while the entire weight of the rest may accumulate for the abundance of the bankers. I therefore entrust to you a small coin; but do you multiply this for me, and you shall obtain treasure in heaven from Him who promises to give hidden and invisible treasures, according to what the holy Isaiah said: *What is that small gain to me? Do not be emulous of those who do evil.* Do this and you shall live, and the grace of the Lord Jesus be with your spirit.

Epistle XV. To the Bishop of Pelagonia.

I have heard, most honorable brother, that a certain sting has recently been added to our affairs, and that the one formerly acting as governor has been removed, and the master Eumallus dismissed, who was the writer of these actions, and that on the contrary Michael, the son of the lord Polyeuctus, ^C has been announced as the commander of the army, noble both in spirit and in paternal glory. Since, therefore, these things have happened in this way, and they are my judges, I write to your priesthood so that you may guide them with as much power as you have; and especially Demetrius, who has many enemies, since he worked in the midst and could not please everyone, against whom one of the outside wise men expressed an opinion—not to say against the Lord Himself, which is better than if it were for us: *Woe to you,* He says, *when all men speak well of you.* Provide aid, therefore, if any adversity befalls them. For all things that are of the most illustrious lord Eumathius are yours, and yours are his, if indeed that love is preserved. And let your inspectors also be ^D guided by you in all things. For you know, even apart from this, the ebb and flow of this life, or rather, to speak as the Scripture does, its vanity, and as one of our own wise men says: *Do not disturb a soul that is already troubled.* May God give you understanding in all things, and may He cause that His fear and desire take root in your soul, so that finding you a true vine bearing all fruit in the Lord, as Jeremiah says, He may plant you in His paradise, and may always protect your episcopate from the holy one.

EPISTLE XVI: To the son of the Sebastocrator.

My most great lord and protector, you have wrought many good things in the midst of our land, and have refreshed both Prepan and Diabolis alike ^A with the spirit of integrity and righteous judgment, which you have indeed shown against those who did them injury. But your great right hand shall perform nothing less, or perhaps even greater, if you have pity upon the bishopric, which, because of calumnies, is in extreme peril, and which, by a small guiding touch, is able to escape ^B the danger. What is this danger? It has almost come to pass that it is without psalmody and without light, because it is also without a bishop. For it lies like that vineyard described by David, which once put forth its branches and was being plundered by all who passed along the way, and it has no bishop remaining; for the body does not endure to offer its back to scourges and its cheeks to buffetings, ^C nor, while the bishop is fleeing because of the terrible men who inflict such detriments, is it natural for anyone else to remain in the Church. For the rest of the body is joined to the head; therefore, those who were entrusted to it by the chrysobull of our powerful and holy lord the emperor, and who previously sat around the Church, have for this very reason departed from their ancestral homes, ^D and, trusting in the thickness of the woods, have hidden themselves, and there they lie concealed. Wherefore, neither deacon nor presbyter (alas for our evils!) remains in the most beautiful of the Bulgarian churches. I went out, therefore, to visit it, and seeing it, I wept; and having wept, I asked for the cause; and having asked, I learned; and having learned, I inform [you], by this my humble writing, reporting it to my most powerful lord. But such is the danger; and what is the guiding touch? It is light and painless; and it is simply this: the extending of one hand alone. For if you will deign—you, our great lord and protector—to grant your sigillum to those who were entrusted to the bishop by our powerful and holy lord the emperor, and who previously resided in the Church, [but] who later fled because of the threats—a sigillum in which they might take confidence and come forth from the thicket; then the Church will bloom again, and will be illuminated, and will be chanted in. Do you see the danger, that it is great? Do you see the guiding touch, that it is easy and accomplished with only three fingers? I therefore beseech you and prostrate myself through this present letter, which acts in my stead, that you might at last have pity upon that most blessed of churches, which that most Christian king of the Bulgarians, Boris, built as one of the seven Catholic [churches]. He founded it; but do you renew it, so that a right spirit may also be renewed within your vitals by God, who raised up and renewed our fallen tabernacle and nature. May He also grant to your right hand strength in all works, both military and political, and [may He grant] to the powerful and holy Father and our lord the

...norum operum amantis perfectum te faciat imitatorem. ^A

LETTER XVII

To the same.

A litigious man is a trial from which we can scarcely be delivered. Such a one, my greatest patron and protector, is Nicolaus, the son of Butas, who, having attached himself to Michael Lampenos of Besa, was the cause of countless damages to him before the proper time, especially since he found the hands of Macrombolites most apt for seizing the property of others. Such, therefore, is Nicolaus, having no sense of what belongs to others, and in that which is needed for action, he was unwilling to abide by the matter adjudged even by the sebastos, Lord John Doukas himself; nay, he even disturbed the great and just judgment of my excellent master, and, attacking the aforementioned Michael, drew him into disputes and courts ^B during the very season of rustic labors, which is called life-giving. Nevertheless, by the direction of my master, let him be taught not to render invalid in the future the just judgments of the sebastoi. For the whole army, if questioned, will make manifest the truth of the affair. And that very document written by the sebastos—what language could be clearer or more truthful than that? Let the informers and barrators, therefore, pass their days in darkness during the times of my most powerful master; and since Nicolaus is found to be the first in malice, let him be the first to suffer the penalties of his malice through your justice, against which no one can contend. By it, we are all kept safe who have been committed to you by God, who guards you and, as I hope, shall always guard you, while you perform His every will. ^C

LETTER XVIII

To the same.

As much as I may appear turbulent to those who do not rightly manage matters with the sword of discourse... yet not so to him who is endowed with a greater mind before my master. For an archbishop who has no cause in the grievances of the people, [if he were to intercede] on behalf of the afflicted among the people, is far removed ^D from the mind and language of the court. Indeed... I shall write on behalf of those who are committed to my care, and who, with their whole heart, as they say, beseech Him who is able to show mercy. For the theme of Achris, my most venerable patron, unless it is preserved by your powerful hand, will depart from the midst of Bulgaria sooner than you expect. It is small, and entirely destitute, and suffering from a dearth of men, the most wretched of all themes. Therefore, let your merciful and economical authority take pity on it regarding the departure of the foot soldiers, and let the number be reduced. For how would those who have gone out from here not declare a manifest diminution for the entire theme? And how would those who have been deprived of the soil of their sweet fatherland not love the bosom of a foreign region, loathing their own as hostile and full of calamities? Therefore I ask, not only I, but bringing forward two ambassadors: both justice itself, which the scantiness of the theme pleads, and the fact of its location by the road, and to all...

salutary to all travelers. If it is not for another reason, at least that it might preserve safe those passing by, it is worthy of pity, and most especially from my master. ^A Sufficient, therefore, were the foot-soldiers sent out to crush us; and that the incursion might not proceed further, through the very great aid of your lordship, who concerns yourself for our salvation for the sake of our common master who has arrived. For the ones sent out, as I said, were sufficient to effect the diminution of this small theme. Neither, indeed, is Pelagonia our location, but rather the proverbial tiny Myconos. May the Mother of God, whose we are, who gives all things whatsoever you perform for us, grant you to proceed to God with an unhindered foot, and not to be overcome by enemies, so that you may surpass all in both divine and human matters.

EP. XIX. To Mermuntopulo.

^B To send letters to you is a feast for me, for you are most illustrious in all those gifts that characterize a human being; but to receive letters from you—this is already for us a feast of feasts and a true crown of graces. ^C But I pray that your hand may not grow numb toward me, but rather that you may welcome me with the things I desire, and lead me by the hand to the hearth of the Calliope who is in you. For, having been enslaved by the rusticity that plays the tyrant here—as is to be expected—I stand in need of someone to lead me back to my own affairs, at least through the means of a reminder. Be, therefore, this to me: and just as when present I used to be charmed by your words (I speak the truth in Christ, I do not lie, and if you have spit out—even a trifle—of long-winded vociferations, over which many form higher opinions, it is a loftier sanctuary), so even when absent I would be worthy to enjoy that grace which your tongue has obtained. But if Hymettus will not deem us worthy of honey, for the sake of which it labors for the production of flowers at every time, at least promise to drench me with honey more abundantly than I wish in the future. I would not be able to return equal thanks to you for these things; but if it becomes more elegant and sweeter, then it will already be [the] juice from your honey. May the Lord who has graced you with all good things keep you above the wickedness that lies hidden in human life, leading you with His good Spirit.

EP. XX. To the Sebastos, son of the Sebastokrator.

^D I was indeed wishing, having been nourished by a new hope, to intercede with others before the all-venerable highness of our common master; but necessity, having thus abducted me, laughed at me. For I was to be so attached to my own affairs, and so ardently, that the evil would be to me greater than any help. For I discovered, my master, that the field which the Church had held from ancient times, and which was not subject to any exaction, had been seized by the Emperor and torn away from the goods of the Church; just as, indeed, were also the properties of all the lords. Then, having found a small consolation through the tax-collector of the day, I held it just as many others did. But being deprived of this by our lord, who wishes to grant it to whomever he desires, I do not contend. Although it was just not to be, by the act of the

from the pious generation of the Ducae, that the Church is considered more worthy, especially since it has possessed the field from the beginning. But about the field itself I say nothing: for it would have been occupied by all others equally. However, I do not believe that our master gave any such order regarding the guest-house and the court of the Church. Yet our man, who is present, has been sent, and since your nobility is well-disposed, let this proposal be read, regarding the grounds upon which we, the servants of the Emperor, are being driven from the land which, until now, we have cultivated, believing it to be ours. But since it does not appear to be ours, we shall submit completely to the judgment of your Eminence, who knows this well, so that you may take care of it for everyone. For you know both about the speck that is seen and the gnat that is strained, and it is not fitting for those who act carefully that the beam should remain unseen and the camel be swallowed. You have the power, therefore, to do with the court what you command. Let it be set on fire; let it be burned; let a great flame be raised up, so that by the light of these, things that have long been unseen might come to light. And may the Mother of God, to whom both the land and the court belong, which are now suffering harm, protect you from all harm from above; for this, as you know, is our concern. ^B

EPISODE XXI. To the Smyrnaean.

Certainly, even the tongue of the wise prelate is currently bound by the present times, alas!—times which even permit the gout to bind tongues, so much do they exacerbate everything for the worse. But this is neither a new thing brought about by the times, nor have you yourself suffered it; for you sanctify our conversations with those [words] with which you address our brother, having become the leader and companion to him on this path through which he progresses toward philosophy. I indeed accept this, and I accept it more sweetly than all our meeting. Therefore, converse with the young man continuously, if you care at all about gladdening us more often. Let him, then, enjoy the common bowls of your wisdom, and let him partake of the sacrifices together with the other foolish ones who are well-disposed. But I want him to obtain something privately from you as well, and to have one gain which may be granted to him secretly; just as mothers also, having often received one of their own domestic children, set aside some sweetmeats for him in private. Do you wish that I give you a rule for what is said? As much as Theophylact excels your other friends in friendship, so many private thanks do you owe my brother. But in order that I may repay this to you, as much as my own half and concern has contributed thanks in speech, I shall show you that Theophylact is more loving than to all others. I shall also show you another thing. Such as I would wish your Paul to be, who is performing for me a certain mystery of wisdom, such be to my Demetrius, who is celebrating the rites of philosophy under you. Live healthy and tranquil, most pleasant of men to me.

EPIST. XXII. To Lord Nicephorus the Chartulary.

As I was returning from a laborious journey of many days, most venerable lord (for even now...

I have measured the ^A total Charybdis and wandered the camp, for he who from the beginning gave the cause of labor to our nature compels us to act very wickedly. When I returned, however, letters from your holiness fell into my hands, which seemed to me so sweet, as not even the wind from the stern seems to sailors after they have labored a long time with smooth oars, nor to a thirsty stag, if you will, is the fountain of waters. But yet, may you never deprive me of this beautiful speech of yours; and may you always and always feed me with your voice, which is the same as saying, with your exultation. For in such desolate places, or rather in workshops of all malice, if you yourself did not feed us with these sweet chapters—which, ^B being as it were from a divine hand and a good teacher, what else remains for us but to fall away into Hades and to flow away into all wickedness? Cease not, therefore, thus to cast away both grief and malice, the two hands of the evil one, with which he is always hastening to seize us, contriving something against us. But you attend to these things on our behalf, unworthy though we be, and may God grant [as we have hoped]. As for the holy Serrhites, I am not unaware of the causes and how they are agitated by a spirit of anarchy, yet I do not have the means to quiet that spirit. For neither does anyone in the monastery seem to me worthy of such an oversight, nor is anyone from outside readily available. I judge it best, therefore, to choose the better of the evil, since the good is not present. But I write this while looking on from afar. If, however, I should be ^C compelled to go up, then, standing closer to the matters, I will manage for the monastery, God willing, through your prayers. Cast, cast out the accursed enemy of our salvation through the weapons of your holiness, snatching our weakness from his hands.

LETTER XXIII. To Camaterus.

As soon, therefore, as what encounters me in the field of the Churches ^A occurs, what billow of these successive waves does it not exceed? We have not yet escaped the former reef—I mean the eunuch; though you might yourself call it Scylla or Charybdis, if you are familiar with the poets—when a more recent, typhoon-like wind, what my poet Luke calls a "tempestuous wind," has blown upon us. But I have Him who says to the sea, "Peace, be still," ^B to whom even the winds are obedient, who also walks upon the waters, and who both commands and grants to others to do the same. Thus, by reaching out a hand to me—to you, who are ready for everything and have nothing perverse or sinister—He will save the skiff, which will not only be unable to be overturned or submerged, but, wonder of wonders, will not even be lashed by the spray. For it brought no small grief to us to have learned of the measurement of the field; for the Church always tastes the poison first, ^C and judgment, according to Scripture, begins at the house of the Lord. Yet they object that, since these things are placed in your hands, the pain might be made lighter, and we might become more agreeable. But why should I not be comforted, while hope regarding the matter is placed in your goodness toward us, through which we remember having received former things? Thus in both ways. But I have something I might complain to you about; I shall signify it by letter, but it would be longer than is proper. When, therefore, I meet you, I will set forth both that and this complaint with love face to face. For I shall be with you, God leading, after the synod ^D is celebrated here at the holy Father Achilleus, and I shall see and enjoy your most illustrious nobility. For before that synod is completed, although we desire it vehemently, it is by no means possible for us to come there. But may God, who bestows on you the means to provide us aid, as much as we need, grant also that it is possible for you to do better and more, as you dispose "ascensions in your heart" and always desire good things, and may He protect you from all malice and evil from above.

EPISTLE XXIV.

An enchantment of friendly discourse, an aid in sickness, how sweetly and opportunely you have come to me! These things are Orestes'—as you well know, you who are the dearest person to me—which I proclaim about you by way of parody. Do you wish me to submit also the words of the comedian, that I am delighted and gladdened, and wish to dance? But why do I grease your letter with "the oil of the sinner," when it is possible to make it splendid with the gifts of a fruit-bearing olive tree? "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God," because he has "clothed me with a garment of gladness and a robe of glory" instead of a "spirit of heaviness." He "has rent my sackcloth" and "girded me with gladness," because he has given me the back of my enemies, and "those who hated me he has destroyed," and "he has sent a man before us" who heals the brokenhearted, and visits the infirm, being "all things to all men" for salvation. Well done, indeed! You have seemed to ward off evils from our body, as you have already disapproved of these things, and as Lysias would say, you have cast them off, preferring

the wickedness of the rulers. Even now, the one who builds the fortress takes away the things that belong to the merciful, while the one who stifles and has laid waste to the rampart does the same. There was a third thing for them as well; who can approach Phthoros? I do not know if anyone can endure him more than the aforementioned. Truly, I wish that they might receive a visitation from on high, and that the Word might preside over them. If I have not yet forgotten my own most sweet Nicolaos in everything, they will exult for those days in which they were humbled during the years in which we saw evils. This, therefore, will happen to them; for I am a happy herald of future things. But the aforementioned Constantine Choerosphactes will seek from you that you might provide assistance to the hospice for the poor of the Church. You, however, take care that your aid is forthcoming. For since he is far too simple and soft, unless he obtains much assistance from you, he will not appear worthy of approval. May the Lord preserve you from all malice and evil from above. ^B

Epistle XXV

Indeed, you, most excellent man—who know the wisdom of all men—send letters that are sweetly smiling and composed with greater grace than before; for your tongue pours forth grace precisely so that, even if we are overwhelmed by abundant business, you nonetheless make us cheerful and bring us the spring of the year and the music of the Olympians. But if in some difficult matter it is necessary for the priests of this time to take action, no less than to moisten one who is swimming, why do you take away from us the consolation that we obtain from your letters of this kind? It is just as if you were taking away medicines from a sick man, or aid from one who is struggling in war. You understand, therefore, alas, that it is difficult in either case, and there is a need somehow to write, whether things turn out successfully or end badly. Such, therefore, is the power of the golden wand of your speech, by which you soothe the eyes of men and awaken those who are sleeping. I wish I could obtain longer letters from you; for then I would hold the very citadel of the graces. But since you, being such, do not linger on these temporary affairs, begin, and I shall have the entire song. ^C

Epistle XXVI

You tell me my own dream, most desired of all men, while you say that you yourself are becoming a barbarian among the Bulgarians. Observe, however, how much I have drunk from the cup of rusticity, having forsaken the places of wisdom for so many years, and how I am drunk with ignorance. But who would grant us to be made drunk with the opposite drunkenness from the cup of wisdom, which she herself mixes according to Solomon, making those who were hitherto foolish into wise men? How often have I said to her: "Show me your face, and let me hear your voice!" But she flees from me and lies hidden, and rather increases my longings. ^D

amores. As for me, unhappy and incurable in love, I dwell in such danger that I become a legend among the people, just like the lover of Echo, whether he be a demon or a god—or like the babbler, always thirsting, yet always deceived by his drink. Once again, Solomon’s saying occurs to me: "I said: I will be wise; and it was removed far from me, deeper than it was" ^A and in saying these things, there is nothing else to do but to lament what is like unto my own passions. Indeed, some remedy must be devised at great cost. For us, who have been here in Bulgaria for such a long time, this rustic life is now habitual and our companion. But do not be so delicate toward those who know you well, nor use irony; for yesterday, I think, you let the books slip from your hands, even though the teachings of the wise still ring in your ears. Nevertheless, we have sent you now a book of Chrysostom. But the source of wisdom is Christ, the Wisdom of God; may He grant you understanding and instruct you in this way in which you walk, teaching you knowledge along with practice.

LETTER XXVII

To Chrysoberges, Metropolitan of Naupactus.

We have passed through fire and water, and Thou hast brought us out into a place of refreshment, Thou who leadest forth those who were bound in strength, and turnest the shadow of death into the morning, ^B most venerable master. For if the Lord had not been with us, perhaps the water would have swallowed us up, and the fire would have consumed us as sinners. Yet He did not deign any longer to bring the rod of sinners upon His clergy. In our humility, He was mindful of us, and in being mindful, He blessed us, and made this year one of goodness. But I wish for you to rejoice with me and give glory to Him who brings these things about in a wonderful manner, and that you yourself may obtain at the proper time some consolation from those who are of this age, and from the younger ones. For a man loves to receive exhortation more from those of his own age than from the ancients. Therefore, take care that this goodness of God ^C remains stable for us; and this will come to pass if we make ourselves worthy of it—since He gives what we ask for abundantly—and so that we may not use it to our own condemnation, having grown fat in relaxation, then kicking out in shameful surfeit, and rising up against ourselves in mockery. I know indeed that, according to the law of love which you owe us, you will do enough. As for the Chaonian regions, if God should ever grant us a time of departure, we will devote our efforts to ensuring that your priesthood hears of it, if it be the will of God; and then, seeing one another, we shall heal the longing that each of us has felt for the other. ^D Yet, when I wished to write to you concerning your brother, Master Nicholas, so that you might cherish him with greater benevolence, I was ashamed, as one who was about to write from brother to brother—especially to you, who know well that Paul, of whose Church you are in charge, makes those subject to a terrible judgment who do not attend to their own as is fitting. Not to mention the things of the ancients, I have said nothing for that reason, being persuaded that you will receive him as one who is closer.

[Translation of preceding text] ...take hold of him, and count him worthy of every care, while both nature and reason bring stimuli to you. As for me, I would that I were worthy of obtaining prayers that provide aid against evil days! For indeed, I barely possess these, and with greater shame, I have all too often avoided the snares of wicked men or of the Evil One. This, then, is your part: do not be slothful in bestowing these upon us as guides, in as much as you are able. May the Lord be with you, to deliver you.

EPIS. XXVIII. To the Bishop of Pelagonia.

The Word of God, among the other benefits He has conferred upon us, most honorable brother and fellow-minister, has also granted us this: to be present where we are not present; and, though we have been allotted a nature circumscribed by place—in so far as that which is seen is concerned—to be almost uncircumscribed by the power of this grace. Thus, he who is in Egypt is present in Scythia; and he who has never departed from his homeland is present in a new way among foreign nations. These marvels are wrought by letters. I therefore, who am at present far away from you, am present with you through the body of this letter, most holy brother; and I speak, and I greet you, and I exhort you toward the work that pertains to us. ^A This work, indeed, is the discourse and meditation of divine commandments and histories, from which the fire of love toward virtue is kindled—if David is a trustworthy witness of this matter, saying: *In my meditation a fire shall be kindled* (Ps. XXXVIII, 4). This fire, which devours all wooden and dry matter, will brighten and cleanse whatever golden and divine essence is in you (for we believe the mind to be such in every way), and will render it free from every leaden admixture. *Was not our heart, they say, burning within us, while He spoke to us on the way and opened to us the Scriptures?* (Luc. XXIV, 32). The Lord walks with you now, too, on the way of life and is present with you in your archiepiscopal dignity. And, if you wish to listen, He speaks in the prophets, in the apostles, in the evangelists, in ancient histories. ^B When you receive Him as He speaks to you, your heart will burn, and coals will be kindled from Him—the remnants and memory of those things which are spoken and read to you. But you will say, "Because there is dark water in the clouds of the air" (Ps. XVII, 12)—this means that there is obscurity and darkness in the clouds of the Scriptures. But look also at what follows: that by reason of the radiance in His presence, the clouds pass away (Ps. XVII, 13). For when He shines upon our mind, those dark clouds do not remain, but they pass by or are dissolved. He spoke parables to the disciples and to the crowds, like clouds containing dark water; ^C but the disciples, by asking questions, received His radiance, and the clouds were dissolved for them by the solar rays of the Lord’s voice. The crowds, however, because they did not wish to act diligently and seek the solutions, truly found the parables to be clouds. Therefore, even seeing, they did not see, and hearing, they did not understand. Furthermore, since the commandment is also clear, and

and it is a light enlightening the eyes, and the law is a lamp and a light, do not be sluggish in opening your eyes, and you will certainly see the light, if not entirely, at least as much as you are able; for we do not see the sun in its entirety, yet it is more pleasant to us than all things, to the extent that we see it. And consider the words to be spoken to you by David: *I have prepared a lamp for my Christ.* [Ps. CXXXI, 17] He has set his law before you, ready for you, as much as exists in the letter and as much as exists in the spirit, for you are a christ (an anointed one) on account of the anointing of the priesthood, which is fragrant and very precious. Do not, therefore, despise a lamp prepared for you in such a way, that, shining before your feet, it may direct your steps, and make you a perfect child of perfect light, keeping you above all malice of darkness.

LETTER XXIX.

And how, most holy Father, could I pass by the present letter-carrier and speak of another minister of our letters, whom I know to be most joined to me by the indissoluble bonds of the Spirit? With what great joy I beheld him! For this very desert, in which we have been condemned to dwell—inasmuch as we have turned our desires toward Egypt—is a good nurse for serpents and scorpions, but not at all for humans, for whom malice has been accustomed to be as some good thing. And even if it receives any good, it changes the introduced good into its own nature. Because of this, it was very pleasant for me to see the brother, for I was thirsting for such sights, and he was a witness of all things among you, of which he reported to us—matters we were vehemently desiring to understand. And as the divine David says, we were failing in that desire, ^C and most of all we were thirsting to hear something about our most holy and thrice-blessed Father. For it did not move us slightly—what we received—that you wish to be enclosed again, and that you urge it with excessive force and alacrity; this is a desire clearly stirred up by you against a holy soul, and you attempted to submerge a ship, already full and laden with very many good wares, in the very harbor, mingling the sea of brotherhood as if with egg white. But in truth, the spirit of rectitude and goodness blew against you from the opposite direction, and the waves stood against you, and the sacred anchor having been cast, and the flesh involved, the danger turned back upon your own head. But now, it is from where you have fallen; yet all things are full of serenity, and the Lord’s tunic cannot be torn. Therefore, having learned of the Father’s rest, we exulted exceedingly and rejoiced, and that we have become a mockery and a derision to those who are around us, ^D because we did not kindle many into scandal by helping, from the bruises of the monks, those attending to their own affairs. But indeed, I have forgotten my own matters, to the extent that I almost forgot, being so vehemently gladdened by yours. Thus I was affected abundantly by fraternal joy, and I was carried off a prisoner without a tyrant. And this alone I have, which to you…

I have only this much of the matters in which we are involved to say: that if the Lord had not been for us, perhaps deep-living sinners, who build the works of the evil structure upon our backs and who do not see judgment and mercy at all, as Solomon says, would have swallowed us alive. Let us not, therefore, have the Lord removed from us—He who fights against them through your prayers—but may He remain with us always, until the works of this evil age have been brought to completion, according to the great promise; and neither shall He slumber nor sleep, the Holy One of Israel who keeps our things. For if He does not keep watch, we watch in vain; because the days are evil, and every brother will supplant his neighbor, and our domestics are enemies, and the exactors are always plucking at us. And in truth, contempt has been poured out upon the princes, and the holy man has perished from the earth, and all take the skin from our flesh and each one builds his own Zion in acts of plunder and iniquities, and ten thousand daughters of the leech have appeared instead of three. It has become so fruitful of children in our regard, always conceiving pains and bringing forth iniquities; and because of these things I have become like a terebinth stripping off its leaves, and like a paradise having no water. And I spend my time with books, but only once a year, while I meditate on the cares brought upon me by those who commit injuries, and how I might soothe them with softer blandishments. For fear rules over them, as if they were those who, as they say, keep themselves far from God. We have need, therefore, of your prayers; for you have long known our infirmity. I greet all your sons, my brothers, whom you have presented as sons of light to the Father of lights, rendering them fit to stand in the portion of the lot of the saints in light.

LETTER XXX

I have seen Ethiopian fathers looking upon their children as if they were offspring of the sun, they say, and bearing their deformity most pleasantly, though it is alien to what they were of old. I have likewise seen judges strongly clinging to their own votes—even if they are not entirely adjusted to the laws—as if they were drawn from the tablets of Zeus, and standing firmly by what has been decided. But if they should pass truly just votes, and the scales of judgment were in their hands—were they Minos or Rhadamanthus, and were they to render justice to the dead after death—do these things not seem, to your own sagacity and greatness of mind, beyond measure splendid? I, for my part, think so, unless you wish to injure your own truth. Since, therefore, these things have been set down and agreed upon for me, neither let the snares and machinations of our adversaries be redoubled against us, nor because they strain their bow against you—a bitter thing—let your hands be slack, or your heart poured out—these things are prophetic—but rather let your heart act manfully and be strengthened; for the Lord is just and loves righteous deeds.

And perhaps their bows shall be broken, and the plague shall not come nigh thy dwelling; or if they do strike, their wounds shall be counted as the arrows of babes. ^B And do thou stand upon the rock, and confidently help those to whom I have justly given my decision, having held up before thee the shield of the Word, whose material by nature God has provided, but your labor has brought to form. And as for the fact that it is a labor that these things concerning the estate be offered to the Emperor, we do not agree with those of you who seek to dissolve it; nor does your nobility urge it more than the sun does its rising, unless you call the seeking to have the transaction recorded in a memorandum a hindrance to the offering. For we have sought this also, as it excites a thirst for it. And once that is done, we shall most gladly receive the memorandum into our bosom, so that, unless you yourself yield to the author of the disturbances incited against you—as they said—after we have done this, we might turn away from these things that are agreeable. But if not, gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O mighty one, and close up against those who pursue me; and may God gird thee with power at all times, and in every manner of strength and circumstance. Concerning that which you wrote to me on the Ides, it would have been better had you written of it before this time. May the Lord be your refuge and strength.

EPISTLE XXXI.

To the most skilled Lord Michael.

^C Woe is me! For the righteous man has perished from the earth, and our luminary has set. The image of humility has departed, the likeness of meekness has departed, and the tree of goodness and of the rectitude that makes one godlike has shed its flowers. Where is that circumspection of character, and that constancy in things hidden? Where is the affability of voice? Where is the singular friendship for friends? Where is that peace toward enemies, that easy forgiveness, and that lack of deviation like the magnet stone? But oh, what things I have suffered! I find myself weeping for the blessed one, and following the king with lamentations, and, foolish man, do you refuse to celebrate on a feast day? ^D Yet if you were to see that great John standing joyfully and joyfully before the desired Jesus, you would be stirred by the sight, and would declare the man worthy and blessed. To you, indeed, that beneficent luminary seemed to have departed from the earth and far from earthly things, but with God, who is the Sun by nature, he rises—a sun himself by participation. You recount his excellent qualities, and you have this in your mind, that heaven is worthy of them. Why, then, do you weep for those who are returning to their own home? Would you also blame the fire because it tends upward? But there is nothing that can resist its own nature. You would also weep, seeing an eagle flying on high and near the clouds, or gold, or pearls, and would rend your hair, seeing the one formed from vile dust trampled by the feet, and the others from hard and worthless things established in their treasures. But these are things of great folly; therefore...

and calculate this too as his lot. But be comforted ^A in his painful sojourn. For if he had set his heart on living, and all things were well with him, even so it would not be fitting to display such mourning and tears; but if he considered life to be truly bitter, as death is, and desired to depart from the prison and to have his bonds broken, would we not be doing the work of enemies if, when the cord of his pains has been broken, we should weep and mourn without consolation? But is it because it was good for us to have such a one with us that we take it so ill? But in truth, this is a sign of self-love, if we prefer our own good to his duty. For it is better for him to be dissolved and to be with Christ. Since, therefore, everything is adverse at this time, we shall be instructed by an even greater help through him, in that he has drawn nearer to Him who alone is our Helper, and can therefore speak to Him directly.

These things I have written to you, my child, whom I have travailed for in the Lord, and brought forth, and nursed with milk, this discourse flowing forth against a grieving soul. I thought it therefore fitting to make you also a participant in the goods which are derived from discourse, just as I was indeed accustomed to do at another time. But do you show that blessed one ^B and this one—often living—in yourself. And since God has entrusted the authority to you, consider his gentleness toward his subjects, his affability, his prudence in all things, and good counsel, and doing nothing without meditation. And above all and before all, his piety toward God and fear of evil, and his modesty and decorum toward men, and all the other things that I observed in him, and you have sprung from him. For you have sprung from God, who creates and prepares all good things to grow, and in that you bring forth branches from that root, you show them running straight upward and bearing fruit, and gladdening God and men; only hold fast to the root, and do not be torn away from the fatness thereof. ^C

EPISODE XXXII. To the lord Nicetas the Polite.

From home to home there has come to you from us, brother honored of God, the bishop Glabenitzes (for this man too we have persuaded), and otherwise the man is downcast, as he has taken up the burden of the episcopate unwillingly, and he shrinks from the immense weight of the task as much as others seize upon it. But we, with other charms of words, have prepared for him a shield against this despondency, and by encouraging him with the hopes placed in you, we have accomplished everything. That you may therefore be to him, most honorable man, such as he hoped, and that the treasure may not turn out to be, as they say, coals, ^D nor he himself be accused either of folly or of malice; the former, inasmuch as he has been deceived, and, never having known him, I strove to know him better than I knew myself, and the latter, because he deceived him who is most loving toward bishops. But let these things go to the mountain or into the billows of the loud-resounding sea. But as for you, the things in the dung-heap to the brother...

as are in the midden, and whatever is wretched for a brother, cleanse them like a ^A Herculean virtue, and make those things which are at your knees more pleasant. May he for your sake lead golden days, and may he not suffer from any adverse poverty. Now indeed we ask this favor of you, but tomorrow you yourself will promise it to us; for we stir you up to do good to a good man. But the first and great Archbishop, Christ, may He by His goodness keep you from above from all malice and evil.

LETTER XXXIII

To Anemo

A true friend is truly affected by pain when he lacks a friend (and these things befall him who longs for those nearby) and believes that he can never embrace him again, and he is torn in his heart. ^B However, if the soul sees and hears, as says the Pythagorean Epicharmus, but you yourself see us in this way, you who are most friendly and therefore most longed for by me, I do not at all blame the absence or the separation of what is desired. Have and love the greater, even if the lesser is not present with you; all the more so, to see us with the mind, which the corporeal gaze also requires. But it was necessary that the lesser also be present; for thus you would say, "we would be, friends, more wealthy, and I would wish, and it would be a much great gain." But God accomplishes many things beyond expectation, and those things which seemed to us entirely perfect were not. A Greek ^C indeed would say that it is necessary to bear the necessity of fate; but our Isaiah would sing with greater piety: "What God the Holy One has decreed, who among men can invalidate?" As therefore it seemed good to Him, so also it has come to pass; through whom may you be restored safe and sound to your sweet fatherland, and restored to those who are most affectionate to you, a most longed-for sojourner, with whom also may you be kept from above from all evil and malice.

LETTER XXXIV

To Romanus Theophylact

I indeed, not once, most honorable sir, have said to you, that if you truly follow the philosophy of Pythagoras, it behooves you to keep ancestral matters in silence, nor are we just in attributing this as a fault to you. But if you apply yourself to the Peripatetics, and proclaim the blessed Aristotle, why do you hold your tongue and make your ancestral customs foreign to you? For ^D not only were Theophrastus and Demetrius the coryphaei of that school; of whom the one, because he spoke more divinely, gained his name, the other indeed, the Phalerian, also published a most diligent work on the interpretation of language. But you hold these in low esteem, especially since we have welcomed you from rhetoric, as is our custom, with hospitality and a banquet. You feel this peripatetic sentiment, if the contempt of Aristotle for Plato ought to be deemed worthy of belief. But it is by no means to be believed that that blessed man of old took it ill against the divine Plato, and lacerated him in various ways because of reverence for higher things, and so that to you

the heavenly things in such an humble and contemptible manner. Understanding these things, then, concerning the distinction between the two men, do not imitate the paternal contempt at times toward those disciples. You are therefore captured by us, you who draw many chains of syllogisms. But behold, you even escape me, breaking ^B the bonds with the sword of the authority which you once bore. For you complain in a certain way of the tumult of affairs, which does not grant you stable leisure for better things. But with these letters which you send to us, you are harmonious, and you add something also, as you speak with us, pouring out your own heart to the upright and truly good John, so that we accuse you in vain and without cause. I gladly accept this, however, as your defense. For that good man, John, writing to us, extolled your kindness toward him with infinite praises, and it is right for a soul not unmindful of a benefit to consign it to writing, so that he speaks out as one smoothing your arrows with honey, and we, not demanding writings from you, should not write anything beyond what is fair against friendship or against your words. We receive the debts which you pay to the honest man John. It is manifest ^C that those who live near us, and the universal Church, simply lead bright days, as that sweetness which flows with much force comes to us. May God, the Father of wisdom, keep you above all malice and evil.

EPISTLE XXXV. To the same.

You always stir up desire in me, most illustrious master, always showing yourself greater in kindness. For by arranging ascents in your heart, you show us the ladder of Jacob, placing the present as a foundation for the future; whence I also pray for you that such an ascent be completed, in which, as we believe, God rests. For such is the end of every ascent, upon the completion of which there is a perfect station of movements. For you shall be placed, He says even to Moses, upon the rock. Strive therefore by your resolve, as if using certain goads ^D and, from God, your steps shall be directed; you shall not stumble with your foot against the stone, whether we understand the stone as sensible difficulty and hardness and heaviness, or the intelligible enemy, weighted down by pride and fallen from the order above. For the good God, who is always believed to give good things to the good, will not pass over your kindness. By whom may you be kept above all malice and evil!