demanding an account for the reasons for which we crown and proclaim you. That you have written is something we welcome; but that you have done so late and slowly—are we to complain about this? So if you think it acts as a great piece of audacity to have written to us, set that aside and consider A a defense for the crime of tardiness. For the more you say that you sincerely loved us both when present and absent, the more you increase the accusation. For if you were among those whose love for us was common, it would not have been strange to me that you were silent for so long; but since you assert that you bore such sincere and fervent charity toward us that you would not have refused to take even so difficult a journey, beset by the fear of so many robbers, had not sickness stood in the way, only one form of defense remains for you: to send us a flurry of letters that can compensate for the long silence. Do this, and we shall forgive everything. Since this letter, too, arrived quite late, because it breathed a burning charity, it has paid the debt of the past time. However, see to it that the remaining ones do not imitate the tardiness of this one. For in this way, this too will be able to show that it came late not out of laziness, but because of the futile fear—as you yourself said—if the rest arrive quickly and with great persistence for us.
XLVIII. To Arabius.
I know your charity, I know your warm, genuine, sincere, and constant love; and I know well that neither the difficulty of affairs, nor the throng of cares, nor the multitude of circumstances, nor the length of time, nor the distance of the journey can make it grow dim. For this reason I am very eager to receive letters continuously from your nobility, bringing us the news we desire about your health. And if we complain, we do not complain because you are negligent, but because we long for more letters of this kind. Knowing these things, my most honorable and noble lord, grant us this favor, which is both light and easy for you, and brings us great comfort, even while we sit in this solitude.
XLIX. To Alphius.
I, for my part, wished to write more frequently, but the scarcity of couriers does not allow me to fulfill this desire; for neither the solitude of this place, nor the fear of the Isaurians, nor the severity of the winter allows anyone to visit us frequently. Nevertheless, whether we write or remain silent, we maintain the same disposition toward you always, recognizing the zeal and care with which you provide for the needs of your soul, while you endeavor to refresh those who live in piety and occupy yourself in this noble task. Knowing this, most reverend and religious lord, do not cease to inform us of your health and that of your whole house. For B in this way, even while we are in solitude, we shall draw great comfort if we receive such letters from your honor.
L. To Diogenes.
Although we knew of the sincerity of your charity toward us beforehand, we have recognized it much more now, when, at the onset of such a great storm, you have shown yourself to be not only none the less lethargic, but actually a much more zealous friend to us. For this reason we admire you, and we do not cease to proclaim it daily. For you indeed are about to receive from the philanthropic God, who always far surpasses with His rewards those who perform or speak of something good, a reward exceeding every word. We, however, repay you with gratitude for what we have, and we do not cease to admire you, praise you, call you blessed, love you, revere you, honor you, and carry you everywhere in our thoughts, bound and attached to you by the law of charity. For you know clearly yourself, my most venerable and admirable lord, that we have always been among those who love you dearly. Therefore, do not complain to us for the sake of the gifts you sent us. For after we had pressed out and received the honor flowing from them, as if it were a bunch of grapes from a harvest, we returned the gifts themselves—not because we despised you, nor because we did not trust in the nobility of your soul, but because we were not in need of them. This is what we have also done with many others. For many others, your equals in nobility and most ardent lovers of us, as your greatness will be able to learn, have done the same thing; and among them, this same excuse of ours sufficed—which I would like you also to accept. For if we should happen to be in need, we will ask with greater confidence, just as if they were our own; and this you will see in reality. Wherefore, accept them and guard them diligently, so that if the time should ever call for it, we may ask for them from you with a confident and free spirit.
LI. To the Same.
After I had written the former letter, and saw that the most reverend and religious Aphraates was so attached to us that he would neither depart from here, nor would he threaten to receive letters from us unless I accepted the gifts you had sent, I placed upon this matter 621 a form most pleasing to your nobility, and one that will refresh your soul; which, when you have learned of it from him, command him to become the minister of this fine arrangement. For it escapes you not how great the usefulness of this matter will be, both on account of his arrival in Phoenicia and on account of your liberality and munificence. And you yourself will receive the reward for both of these, in that you have given a demonstration of your liberality toward those who instruct the Greeks in Phoenicia in the rudiments of the Christian faith and labor for the construction of churches, and furthermore have stirred up such a man and sent him to console them—especially now, when they are in such difficulty and are being troubled by many.