Synesius of Cyrene

To my Brother.

To the Philosopher [Hypatia].

How do you think I felt when a rumor swept through town that you were battling a dangerous — possibly catastrophic —...

To the Philosopher [Hypatia].

If Homer had told us that Odysseus benefited from his wanderings by seeing many towns and learning the minds of...

If there is such a sting of persuasion in your letters — if even without your living presence and charm, the images...

To my Brother.

To my Brother.

To my Brother.

Providence has not yet turned its attention to the Romans — but it will, someday.

To my Brother.

To my Brother.

If cities have souls — and they must, with their divine guardians and spirits — then you can be sure those spirits...

To my Brother.

I had a large Egyptian rug — not the kind you put under a bedspread, but one fine enough to use as a bedspread itself.

I am not recommending the charming Gerontius to your friendship merely because he is related to my children —...

Some letters dated last spring have just arrived from Thrace.

To my Brother.

To the Philosopher [Hypatia].

To Anastasius [one of Synesius's closest friends and an important courtier in Constantinople, tutor to the children...

To my Brother.

To my Brother.

A man from Phycus — a harbor of the Cyrenaeans — brought me a letter written in your name.

No, my dear Pylaemenes — I call the god who presides over our friendship to witness — I never dreamed of ridiculing...

The power of love's spell only grows stronger in me as I age.

I am worried about two people: about you, that you may not commit an injustice; and about this man, that he may not...

To my Brother.

How do you think I received your welcome letters — I who was thirsting to hear from you?

In Plato, we see Socrates, already advanced in years, still pursuing his intellectual passions.

In writing a single letter to both of you, I am not at fault.

To the Governor.

When I read the letter where you described your illness, I was alarmed at first.

To my Brother.

Here is a famous epigram of mine — and how could it fail to be famous, when the great Nicander himself has praised it?

To my Brother.

Just the other day — during the recent consulship of Aristaenetus [404 AD] and, I forget the name of his colleague —...

I have two letters in circulation addressed to you: I am writing to both Thrace and Isauria at the same time, hoping...

To my Brother.

Know that the definitions of geometry are infallibly true.

If you want to live without fear, you should fear the law.

One should use the friendship of the powerful, but not abuse it.

To the Doctor Theodorus.

Whatever you did for Diogenes — and I know you are capable of doing much — will be nothing new.

Tell me: do you still stand firm in philosophy — the Pylaemenes I left behind, the newly initiated soul, the divine...

A man's feelings should not rise and fall with the turns of fortune, and the memory of old friends should never seem...

To my Brother.

I have neglected my duty to pay tribute, but what could I do?

If you hold the virtue of philosophy in esteem, you will honor it not only in the living but also in the dead.

You ask how many lines Dioscorus declaims every day?

To my Brother.

A letter arrives from you once a year, as though the seasons themselves deliver it.

Righteous causes always need allies, and those who come to their rescue may count themselves fortunate — since they...

To Auxentius [a childhood friend with whom Synesius was trying to mend a quarrel].

To Auxentius [a childhood friend with whom Synesius was ending a quarrel].

To my Brother.

To my Brother.

Even if neither the people of Cyrene nor the neighboring towns give you the gratitude you deserve for the fact that...

One of my relatives is suffering an injustice.

Since I am about to put a question to you, let me first explain the background.

The man carrying this letter has been sent on a piece of business that piety does not allow me to describe.

The Olbiates — a village community — were required to elect a bishop to replace the blessed father Athamas, who died...

Nothing could benefit Pentapolis more than honoring the Unnigardae [a barbarian military unit], who are excellent...

Justice has departed from humanity.

The Athenians praised Themistocles because, although he loved political power as much as any man of his time, he...

There are loves with earthly, human origins — detestable and ephemeral, measured only by the presence of their...

Reading your letter, I recognize Odysseus at once.

This Carnas is taking his time.

So this is how sons defend their fathers!

Evil men from outside are troubling our Church.

The man carrying this letter is a philosopher at heart but a lawyer by profession.

I was prepared to place my hand and my judgment at the service of your fatherly command.

Phoebammon, who will give you this letter, is an honest man, a friend of mine, and a victim of injustice.

To Joannes [a mutual friend who, after illness left him unfit for military service, entered a monastery].

Odysseus, after receiving from Aeolus the stored-up winds, was approaching rocky Ithaca and could already hear the...

Go, brother Cyril, to your mother Church — from which you were not excommunicated, only separated for a period...

For the past year, no letter has come from your sacred hand, and I count that among the many calamities that have...

The cry of grief comes naturally, but — why grieve?

To the Philosopher [Hypatia].