Letter 124: (A little later on, when the weather was more settled, Gregory accepts the invitation and proposes to come at once, but declines to attend the Provincial Synod.) You call me? And I hasten, and that for a private visit. Synods and Conventions I salute from afar, since I have experienced that most of them (to speak moderately) are but sorry affairs.
Gregory to Theodore, accepting an invitation.
You call me, and I come gladly -- but for a private visit only. Synods and assemblies I decline. You know my opinion of these gatherings: I have never seen any good come from them. They begin with good intentions and end in faction. They are convened to resolve disputes and instead create new ones. The Spirit of God, I am convinced, is better found in a quiet room than in a noisy council chamber.
So expect me for dinner, but not for debate.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.
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