Letter 60: (Gregory was not able, owing to the serious illness of his Mother, to carry out the promise at the end of Ep. LIX.; so he writes to explain and excuse himself.) The Carrying Out of your bidding depends partly on me; but partly, and I venture to think principally, on your Reverence. What depends on me is the good will and eagerness, for I never y...
Gregory to Basil.
Carrying out your wishes depends partly on me, but partly -- and I would say mainly -- on you. What depends on me is the goodwill and the eagerness. I have never avoided meeting you. I have always sought your company as the greatest blessing of my life.
But my mother is gravely ill, and I cannot leave her. This is not an excuse -- it is the plainest and most painful of facts. She who bore me and raised me and gave me to God lies suffering, and I cannot abandon her bedside even to come to you.
Pray for her, and pray for me. And when God either heals her or takes her to Himself, I will come to you without delay. Until then, bear with my absence, and know that only the most sacred of duties keeps me from your side.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.
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