Procopius of Gaza
Procopius Gazaeus
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All letters (166)
A playful literary complaint that friends should answer letters rather than remain silent.
Procopius praises Hieronymus's eloquence while teasing him over Egypt, home, and longing.
Procopius says a requested book has not yet arrived, but promises to share it when it does.
Procopius turns a brief acquaintance into a complaint about absence and longing.
Procopius defends silence as compatible with real friendship, but still asks John to write.
Procopius urges Zacharias to match his zeal to a serious case of family abuse and injustice.
Procopius chides Philip for silence through a seasonal sequence from winter to summer.
Procopius recommends Orion to Diodorus and praises Diodorus's legal courage.
Procopius jokes that Hieronymus can smell celebration from Elusa and thanks him for gifts.
Procopius renews his complaint that Philip's silence makes every season feel like winter.
Procopius tells Zacharias that his voice is better than spring itself.
Procopius asks Zacharias to intervene in a Rhodian commercial injustice.
Procopius longs for learned friends now enjoying Daphne's mythic scenery.
Procopius appeals to Palladius's power and justice on behalf of a vulnerable household.
Procopius accepts the letter but says providence prevented the requested action.
Procopius delights in Gessius's letter and recommends two companions.
Procopius tells Philip that good men must not make neglect look acceptable.
Procopius enjoys Zacharias's teasing but declines to write a flowery spring set-piece.
Procopius welcomes Epiphanius's return to speech as the arrival of spring.
Procopius turns a gift of fish into a witty praise of generous fields and sea.
Procopius recommends Diodorus to Sosianus as a friendship gift.
Procopius makes Diodorus the messenger who should restart letters with John.
Procopius jokes that Diodorus's new official circle has made him look down on old friends.
Procopius sentences his brothers to repay silence with a flood of letters.
Procopius sends Theon to Philip, expecting Theon's character to make the letter unnecessary.
Procopius calls Eusebius's letters medicine and asks that both fathers not miss their hope for Megas.
Procopius enjoys Elias's letter as a near-visit and wishes he could return Megas already complete.
Procopius turns thanks for Victor's book into a meditation on memory and gratitude.
Procopius jokes that Diodorus saw Caesarea and began walking above ordinary friends.
Procopius urges philosophical endurance after a girl's bridal hopes become a funeral.
Procopius asks Diodorus to write often and favor a cousin who carries the letter.
Procopius tells Diodorus that his modesty hides his own virtue.
Procopius sends a literary answer to Dorotheus through another Dorotheus, son of Pelagius.
Procopius jokes that the Loves shot Philip into sympathy before revenge could begin.
Procopius asks Ilasius to help Peter quickly, with justice as ally.
Procopius says small offerings can still show gratitude for great benefactions.
Procopius says hearing both brothers together doubles his pleasure.
Procopius prosecutes Zacharias in imagination for disparaging the rhetoric by which he wins.
Procopius praises the rumor of Zacharias's success and hopes it proves true.
Procopius praises Zacharias for becoming more moderate as his success grows.
Procopius personifies a delayed letter and asks Zacharias not to disappoint it.
Procopius celebrates Thomas's just decisions, eloquence, and care for friendship.
Procopius asks Zacharias to honor Aeneas's just character with action.
Procopius says Zacharias's letter makes Aeneas confident before the favor is even granted.
Procopius asks his brothers to stand in for him with Julian and not grow arrogant in office.
Procopius jokes that public applause has made him act like a sophist.
Procopius says Philip is nearby and still does not write, making him worse than Demophon.
Procopius says Constantius's letter produced a lover's illusion of presence.
Procopius asks Ulpius to honor Strategius, whose case restarted their exchange.
Procopius says he already seeks words of thanks before Strategius's case is finished.
Procopius kisses Ulpius's delayed letter and withdraws his accusation.
Procopius says Silanus gave him two bright days of hope before disappointment.
Procopius distinguishes judgment from fortune while accusing Philip of arrogance.
Procopius swears that friendship remains, even if his letters have gone astray.
Procopius threatens a tragic cry if Epiphanius keeps silent.
Procopius defends inward friendship during the pressures of teaching.
Procopius scans the sea for Hieronymus and jokes about Demophon forgetting Phyllis.
Procopius envies Perseus and Abaris but accepts letters as the only available consolation.
Procopius says the fatherland itself calls Philip to repay what he owes.
Procopius says Epiphanius's letter preserved the sound of his beloved voice.
Procopius retracts a recommendation after the man robbed his host in Gaza.
Procopius says the season demands letters from his brothers and invokes Love's arrows.
Procopius repays a book loan by securing a possible purchase for Athenodorus.
Procopius says Alpheus's report confirmed exactly what he expected of Sosianus.
Procopius receives Zacharias's letter with joy but asks not to be hurt by silence again.
Procopius tells Nestorius that disappointed hope must be borne under necessity.
Procopius recommends poor Stephen, who has turned to diaconal dress for survival.
Procopius prays Fortune will reunite separated friends.
Procopius turns Palladius's grief into a lesson in virtue, providence, and parental duty.
Procopius says he is happy to be defeated if Nestorius really wrote.
Procopius asks Stephanus not to delay returning a book for another ship or another letter.
Procopius expects Diodorus to open the treasuries of law for the bearer.
Procopius tells Castor his small words can become great with Castor's help.
Procopius hopes Ilasius will enjoy the place's fruits without surrendering bodily health.
Procopius says wealth has made Nestorius rustic and too fond of the fields.
Procopius says he will stay only if real promises advance; otherwise God's vote sends him to his brothers.
Procopius says Diodorus's anger outlasts Achilles' anger at the Achaeans.
Procopius says the young men's own character confirmed Irenaeus's recommendation.
Procopius says the student was like his own child while present and now goes to them with his prayers.
Procopius says Phaedrus's letter reads like a father's letter and will not make him despise home.
Procopius tells Hieronymus to write even if he mocks Gaza and Elusa from the Nile.
Procopius asks his brothers to help John and jokes that Theodore has again postponed sailing.
An unnamed bearer trusts Procopius's name enough to seek help from Zacharias and Philip.
Procopius turns another request to Zacharias and Philip into a high-stakes civic petition.
The brothers not only met the request but surpassed it.
Procopius lists everything Hieronymus should have reported from Alexandria and the Nile.
Procopius says Agapetus left Alexandria, hid his presence, and then appeared as an accuser.
Procopius admires Dorotheus's zeal and hopes he wins the Muses while escaping slander.
Procopius says the search for good books has cost him his dearest friend.
Procopius imagines becoming Perseus so he could fly to Sabinus.
Procopius answers Hieronymus's charge that placing his own name first was arrogant.
Procopius compares Orion's self-control to an athlete training for Olympia and Odysseus passing the Sirens.
Martyrius confidently expects Apollonius to help if Procopius writes.
Procopius says he may need Delphi to interpret Diodorus's handwriting.
Nephalius's cheerful invitation lets Procopius expose rumors against him as false.
Macarius brings Silanus's letter, which makes Procopius feel Silanus present again.
Procopius praises Macarius's sweet token of goodwill and his study of law.
Procopius parades Diodorus's shoes so publicly that the gift can hardly be missed.
Strategius has turned Procopius's house into a courtroom over horses, dice, and a missing garment.
Procopius wants no visitor to come without letters from his brothers.
Zacharias's praise makes Procopius imagine himself as Laconic, Doric, and almost Egyptian if praised that way.
Dorotheus praises Gessius so lavishly that Procopius says he is bringing an owl to Athens.
A generous letter from Stephanus makes Procopius feel seen and then gently redirects the praise back to its writer.
Antiochus lingers in Alexandria like a Lotus-Eater while Procopius calls him toward true Ithaca.
Procopius forgets how late the book was once it finally arrives.
Stephanus hears gold everywhere, even when Procopius is talking about time and letters.
A prophecy of great fortune becomes a joke about reeds, trade, and moving from horses to donkeys.
Nephalius's failure to come or explain himself leaves Procopius vulnerable to rumor.
Procopius asks Silanus to restore a daughter to her mother and show that law can defeat vice.
Diodorus waits for an embassy to summon him, but Procopius says no one is coming.
Timotheus's family risks losing an overvalued house to a creditor harsher than Fortune.
Nonnus's beautiful hair may keep him circling between marriage and ordination.
Hieronymus and Theodorus inherit law and eloquence, but Procopius chooses his own city like Odysseus chose Ithaca.
Hermeias's example makes Procopius more committed to adorning his own city.
Orion's longing for bride and home may make him sail back without saying goodbye.
Anatolius's piety, the young man's father, and professional duty all commend the youth.
Dorotheus's praise sends Procopius flying through fame until friendship's exaggeration becomes clear.
An ascetic has been blamed for others' wrongs, and Procopius asks Diodorus to model humane advocacy.
Pancratius lives in the mother-city of letters and should send poems home to Procopius.
A taste of Pancratius's Muse makes Procopius imagine himself living in Alexandria with him.
Nephalius's gifts matter less than the friendly intention behind them.
A young man short of means looks to Gessius's teaching as the start of an honorable life.
Philip, once devoted to philosophy, is now teased as a bridegroom captured by love.
Hieronymus claims Egypt's blessings, but Procopius says the Nile merely hurries past him.
Repeated bereavement must be met by tragedy's lessons, Anaxagoras, and the counsel to know oneself.
John's friendly praise lets Procopius endure jokes against rhetoric, but the threat is saved for later.
Letters become the human remedy for Fortune's habit of joining and separating friends.
Diodorus's favor is honored in silence, but calling Procopius poor insults philosophical freedom.
Goodwill is enough for friendship, but Procopius does not want favors to become financial harm.
A man newly arrived from Egypt refuses to let winter, sea, or distance keep him from his promises.
Sabinus should leave courtly display, money dreams, and bodily appetites for the goddess Poverty.
Dorotheus's absence makes Procopius count the sailing days and mistake others for him.
Attic figs and fine shoes lose to raisins, salt sparrows, and Procopius's comic appetite.
Stephanus's envoy nearly makes Procopius leave at once, but justice toward homeland and guests restrains him.
Epiphanius's study habits are enough defense against an old rumor.
Timotheus blushes easily and needs painless support from Procopius's brothers in Constantinople.
Nilus faces a neighbor's obstructive windows and a fabricated sale in Nestorius's name.
For lovers, spring is the beloved's voice after silence, not flowers or swallows.
Orion's friendly praise has made his uncle expect Procopius to teach what he does not possess.
Diodorus's gifts do not taste of Hymettian honey or look like Marathon and Salamis.
Cyriacus is teased as a man ruled by appetite who swallowed the seasonal cake.
Only experience or reason can show how much gratitude children owe their parents.
A former student goes to the emperor's city for legal study and rhetorical advancement.
Absence proves friendship when purpose and zeal still move toward one point.
Hierius, a learned teacher of the Italian tongue, is sent to a patron of justice.
Those who think well leave earth to earth and swim beyond matter and the senses.
A book handled by Musaeus becomes almost musical and sharpens understanding.
A lover may lie under pressure of longing, but letters can offer the beloved's outline.
Muselius's excellence makes silence itself seem enough praise.
Fortune has denied the sight of Nestorius, but Nestorius has denied even syllables.
A good witness praises Sozomen's self-control and zeal for words.
Longing makes Procopius dream while awake and ask for even a small sign.
Reports from Babylas confirm that legal study has not made them abandon self-control.
Unknown admirers praise Zacharias so warmly that Procopius treats the praise as his own crown.
Orion should have written about Berytus, the Hellespont, the Propontis, and the Bosporus.
A letter from Alexandria makes John present despite bodily distance.
A pious poor man needs legal allies, lower court expenses, and swift judgment.
A man impoverished by his brother's injustice seeks help from law at Caesarea.
Only the rational soul is truly ours; everything else belongs to Fortune's current.
Philip is asked for one reply after five years of Pythagorean silence.
Evagrius makes Procopius defeat Demosthenes, Thucydides, and Herodotus by love's distortion.
Nilus's exaggerated praise shows how well his tongue can move over falsehood.
Cledonius praises so well that Procopius worries about meeting the standard in teaching his child.
Human life is crowded with evils so that we may not cling to earthly things.
A letter from Musaeus is worth more to Procopius than Croesus's talents.
The funeral oration filled the theater with applause and is requested for absent listeners.