Letter 145: On the text: "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called...

To Neilos. The virtues of speech are truth, brevity, clarity, and timeliness; its vices are falsehood, long-windedness, obscurity, and being untimely. For what use is it if speech is true but not brief, and annoys the listeners? Or brief but not clear? Or clear but not timely? But if it possesses all the virtues, then it will be effective, vigorous, and lively — by its truth winning over the listeners, by its brevity conquering them, by its clarity striking home, and by its timeliness being crowned with success.

ΠΜΕ΄. – ΝΕΙΛΩ. Λόγου ἀρεταὶ μὲν, ἀλήθεια, συντομία, σαφήνεια, εὐκαιρία· κακίαι δὲ, ψεῦδος, μακρηγορία, ἀσάφεια, τὸ ἔξω τῶν καιρῶν φέρεσθαι. Τι γὰρ ὄφελος, εἰ ἀληθὴς μὲν εἴη, μὴ σύντομος δὲ, ἀλλ᾽ ἐνοχλεῖ τοὺς ἀκούοντας; ἢ σύντομος μὲν, μὴ σαφὴς δὲ; ἢ σαφής μὲν, μὴ καίριος δὲ; εἰ δὲ πάσας ἔχοι τὰς ἀρετὰς, τότε δραστήριος ἔσται, καὶ γοργὸς καὶ ἔμψυχος, τῇ μὲν ἀληθείᾳ τοὺς ἀκούοντας χειρούμενος, τῇ δὲ συντομίᾳ καταγωνιζόμενος· καὶ τῇ μὲν σαφηνεί καθαπτόμενος, τῇ δὲ εὐκαιρίᾳ στεφανούμενος. ΡΟΒ΄. – ΕΥΑΓΡΙΩ Τοὺς πλουσιωτέρους αἰσχύνεσθαι δεῖ τῶν δεομένων.