623coming to us, lest winter again injure the weakness of our stomach; for we have been in great security regarding the Isaurians.
XVIII. To Carteria.
Whether you write often or seldom, we nevertheless maintain unchanged the judgment which we formed from the beginning regarding your charity. For we are assured that, whether you write or are silent, you are always of the same mind and affection toward us. May God grant you the swiftest health, and deliver you from every sickness. For we were not affected by a light solicitude when we heard of your sickness. Therefore we entreat you, whenever it is possible, to inform us of your health, and whether your body has received any improvement. You know how we grieve when we hear that you are affected by sickness, and how we rejoice and are, as it were, winged with pleasure when we hear that you are in good health. Since you know these things, O my most decorous and noble lady, do not refuse, as often as you are able, to write to us and indicate the state of your health. For you will not be bestowing a common favor upon us by sending such letters.XIX. To Marcianus and Marcellinus.
We would have wished to see you, being as you are so strongly attached to us, as present in person. But since that is not possible (for the length of the road, the winter, and the fear of brigands are enough to prevent travel), we at least desire to encounter more frequently those who bring letters from you to us, so that we may be able to satisfy our longing more abundantly. But since, both because of the solitude of this place and because it is situated far from the public road, this has been denied to us, I beseech you not to hold it against us if we do not do this frequently, but when we write or when we are silent, to have the same judgment regarding our benevolence toward you, reflecting that the cause of our rather long silence is for the most part the solitude of the place, not negligence.XX. To Agapetus.
I know your sincere, warm, guileless, and pure love, which cannot be weakened by the throng of business, by the length of time, or by the distance of the journey; I also know how you desire to see us with your eyes and to enjoy our presence. But since this can hardly happen now, both because of the distance of the journey, the season of the year, and the fear of the Isaurians, exert yourself to provide us with the joy that letters are wont to bring, informing us from time to time of your health and that of your whole house. For if we receive such letters from you frequently, we will derive no common comfort, even though we are dwelling in solitude. For you do not ignore, my greatly venerable and admirable master, how much your health is a matter of study and concern to us.XXI. To Alphius.
You are blessed and thrice blessed, and often so, A you who accomplish such things and devote yourself to such affairs, which store up for you a great treasure in heaven. For you have not buoyed up our spirit in a common way, when you explained to us about my lord John the presbyter, that you exerted much effort to encourage him and to send him into Phoenicia. And that you also gave him gold—even if, according to your habitual piety, you were silent about this—it was by no means hidden from us; for we have also learned of this, and the generosity you have shown. And for this reason we do not cease to admire you and praise you to the heavens, because you are rich in those things in which it is proper to be rich, and we entreat you to send letters to us frequently. For if it were possible to see you with our eyes, we would indeed purchase it at a great price. But since that is not yet possible, do, I pray, write to us from time to time, and inform us of the health of yourself and your whole house. For we will derive no light comfort from hearing these things. Since, therefore, you are not at all ignorant of how welcome a thing you will do for us, do not bring it about that we should be deprived of such great joy.XXII. To Castus, Valerius, Diophantus, and Cyriacus, Presbyters of Antioch.
That you have called our long letter short, I do not at all wonder. For such is the nature of those who love: they know no satiety, nor can they ever be filled; indeed, the more they receive from those they love, the more they desire. For this reason, even if a letter ten times longer than the former had come to you, it would not have escaped the word "short"; indeed, it would have been called small, and not only called small, but deemed small. Which even happens to me: for whatever degree of love toward us you attain, we are not content with that; but we always seek the increments of love, and the debt of charity, which even if it is always being paid, is yet always owed (Owe no man anything, he says, except to love one another [Rom. 13:8]), we daily demand of you, always indeed receiving it in abundance, yet never deeming that we have received it in every respect. Do not, I pray, cease to pay us this noble debt, which carries a double pleasure. For both those who pay and those who receive attain an equal pleasure, since both are equally enriched by such payment. Which indeed cannot happen with money; for he who pays becomes poorer therefrom, while he who receives becomes richer. But in the contract of charity this is by no means wont to happen. For it does not leave him who pays empty and void, as money does when it moves to the receiver; but rather it renders him more wealthy then, when he pays it. Knowing these things, therefore, my most excellent and pious masters, never cease to exhibit your flourishing benevolence toward me. For even if you have no need of our exhortation to do this, yet because we love you exceedingly, for that reason we advise you, even if there is no necessity, to write to us often, and to signify in what state your health is. For although you have no need of a monitor for that matter, yet we, because we vehemently desire to hear, do not cease B C D