Letter 280: I feel my boldness in pressing my suit by letter upon a man in your position; still the honour that you have paid me in the past has banished all my scruples. Accordingly I write with confidence. My plea is for a relative of mine, a man worthy of respect for his integrity.

I feel my boldness in pressing my case by letter upon a man in your position. Yet the honor you have paid me in the past has banished all my hesitation, and I write with confidence. My request concerns a relative of mine, a man worthy of respect for his integrity. He is the bearer of this letter and stands in the place of a son to me. All he needs to fulfill his wishes is your favor. I beg you to receive my letter through him and to give him an opportunity to explain his affairs in an interview with those who can help him. By your direction he will quickly obtain what he seeks, while I will have cause for gratitude that, by God's favor, I have found a protector who treats the requests of my friends as claims upon his own generosity.

ST. BASIL OF CAESAREA To Modestus the Prefect. I feel my boldness in pressing my suit by letter upon a man in your position; still the honour that you have paid me in the past has banished all my scruples. Accordingly I write with confidence. My plea is for a relative of mine, a man worthy of respect for his integrity. He is the bearer of this letter, and he stands to me in the place of a son. Your favour is all that he requires for the fulfilment of his wishes. Deign therefore to receive, at the hands of the aforesaid bearer, my letter in furtherance of his plea. I pray you to give him an opportunity of explaining his affairs at an interview with those in a position to help him. So by your direction shall he quickly obtain his desires; while I shall have occasion for boasting that by God's favour I have found a champion who regards the entreaties of my friends as personal claims to his protection. About this page Source. Translated by Blomfield Jackson. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 8. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1895.) Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. <https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3202280.htm>. Contact information. The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address is feedback732 at newadvent.org. (To help fight spam, this address mi ght change occasionally.) Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback — especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads.