Letter 199: Do not confuse the apostolic life with a comfortable domestic arrangement.
I marvel how certain of those who have now assumed the teaching throne admire Paul yet do not inquire through what means he became admirable. He became admirable not through eloquence or philosophy but through sufferings, labors, watchings, fastings, and above all through the love that consumed him for the sake of those entrusted to him. Imitate these, and you will truly be his successor.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.
Latin / Greek Original
ΕΡΜΗΝΩ ΚΟΜΗΤΙ
Quinam veri apostolorum successores.
Θαυμάζω, πῶς τὸν Παῦλον θαυμάζοντές τινες τῶν
νῦν τὸν διδασκαλικὸν θρόνον ἐπανῃρημένων, δι᾽ ὧν
θαυμαστὸς ἐγένετο ἐκεῖνος οὐκ ἐξετάσουσιν. Ἐκεῖνος
γὰρ (ἵνα τὰ σημεῖα παρῶ, καὶ τὰς νηστείας, καὶ τὰς
ἀγρυπνίας καὶ φροντίδας, καὶ τὸν πεπυρωμένον ζῆ·
λον· ὅτι τε τοῖς ἀσθενέσι συνησθένει, καὶ ἄλλων
Β σκανδαλιζομένων αὐτὸς ἐπυροῦτο), ἀφ᾿ ἧς πεποίηται
δημηγορίας πρὸς τοὺς φοιτητὰς, λαμπρὸς εἰκότως
καὶ περίβλεπτος ἀπεφάνθη. Ἔφη γὰρ, « Αργυρίου,
ἢ χρυσίου, ἢ ἱματισμοῦ, οὐδενὸς ὑμῶν ἐπεθύμησα·
αὐτοὶ γινώσκετε, ὅτι ταῖς χρείαις μου, καὶ τοῖς οὖσι
μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ ὑπηρέτησαν αἱ χεῖρες αὗται. » Οὗτοι δὲ
( ἀλλ᾽ οὐδὲν βούλομαι δυσχερὲς εἰπεῖν) οὐκ ἐρυθριῶ-
σιν ἑαυτοὺς τοιούτῳ παραβάλλοντες ἀνδρὶ, καὶ φά-
σκοντες ἐκείνου εἶναι διάδοχοι. ᾿Αλλ' οὐ λανθάνουσι,
διὰ τοῦτο ἐκεῖνον θαυμάζοντες, οὐχ ἵνα μιμήσωνται,
ἀλλ᾽ ἵνα θείου ἀνδρὸς διάδοχοι νομισθέντες τιμηθῶσιν,
οὐκ ἀφ᾽ ὧν αὐτοὶ πράττουσιν, ἀλλ᾽ ἀφ᾽ ὧν ἐκεῖνος
πράξας θαυμάζεται.
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