Letter 232: Every day that brings me a letter from you is a feast day, the very greatest of feast days. And when symbols of the feast are brought, what can I call it but a feast of feasts, as the old law used to speak of Sabbath of Sabbaths? I thank the Lord that you are quite well, and that you have celebrated the commemoration of the economy of salvation ...
Every day that brings me a letter from you is a feast day -- the greatest of feast days. And when you send gifts along with the letter, what can I call it but a feast of feasts, as the old law spoke of a Sabbath of Sabbaths?
I thank the Lord that you are well and that you celebrated the commemoration of our salvation [Christmas or Epiphany] in a church at peace. I have had troubles of my own, and I have been weighed down by the fact that my beloved brother remains in exile. Pray for him, that God may one day grant him to see his church healed from the wounds inflicted by heresy.
Do come to see me while I am still on this earth. Come, in accordance with your wishes and my most earnest prayers.
I must confess I am a little puzzled by your gifts. By your lamps you seem to be rousing me to work through the night; by your sweets you seem to be guaranteeing that my body is in fine shape. But there is no munching for me at my age -- my teeth have long since been worn away by time and bad health.
As for the questions you raised, I have included my answers in the enclosed document, written as best I could and as time allowed.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.
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