Letter 202: I will not pass judgment, and I will not condemn, a man whom I have never heard speak and never met in person.

To Makarios the Bishop. You lead the young ministers of the Church well, I am convinced; but you praise them badly. Be careful lest they recline upon your praises and be robbed of the sweetness of their labors, having suffered loss of their intensity through conceit. For praise, when given prematurely or excessively, is like too much water on a young plant — instead of nourishing growth, it drowns the roots and kills the very thing it was meant to cultivate. The young minister who is constantly told how excellent he is soon comes to believe it, and once he believes it, he ceases to strive for improvement. To the same. Concerning the release of Barabbas. It is no wonder that the city of blood and the children of murderers released their own fellow daredevil Barabbas the murderer, and let him go free while condemning the innocent Lord to death. For wickedness always recognizes and embraces its own, and the crowd that chose Barabbas revealed by that choice the true character of their hearts — hearts that preferred violence to peace, rebellion to obedience, and a murderer to the Author of life.

ΜΑΚΑΡΙΟ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΟ. Καλῶς μὲν (95) ἄγεις τοὺς νέους τῆς Ἐκκλησίας λειτουργούς, πέπεισμαι · κακῶς δὲ τούτους ἐπαινεῖς. Πρόσεχε μὴ τοῖς ἐγκωμίοις ἀνακλιθῶσι, καὶ τῶν τόνων τὸ ἡδὺ συληθῶσιν, οἰήσει τὴν συντονίαν ζη- μιωθέντες. ΣΒ΄. – ΤΩ ΑΥΤΩ. Περὶ τῆς ἀπολύσεως τοῦ Βαραβά. Οὐδὲν θαυμαστὸν, εἰ τῶν αἱμάτων ἡ πόλις καὶ τῶν φονέων οἱ παῖδες ἔλυσαν τὸν οἰκεῖον συντολμητὴν Βαραββᾶν τὸν φονέα, καὶ ἀφῆκαν ἀνέγκλητον. Μικρά οὖν τῶν φόνων φροντίζοντες, ὡς ἐν ἔθει φόνων ὑπάρ- χοντες, ποτὲ μὲν τοῖς αἰτίοις τῶν φόνων ἀφέσεις έχα- ρίζοντο, ποτὲ δὲ τῷ τῆς ζωῆς καὶ ἀφθαρσίας ταμείῳ σταυρὸν καὶ τάφον ἐπήγαγον. Ὧν ἀμφοτέρων ὑφ' ·ἐνὶ (62) χρόνῳ παρέσχον τὴν κόλασιν. ΣΟΔ'. – ΓΟΤΤΟ (66). Περὶ τῆς τῶν δύο πατριαρχῶν πολυγαμίας, Ἀβραάμ τε καὶ Ἰακώβ. Ἡ πολυγαμία τοῖν δυεῖν πατριάρχοιν (ὁ γὰρ Ἰσαὰκ μιᾷ ὠμίλησε γυναικὶ) οὐκ ἀπὸ ῥᾳθυμίας ἢ φιλοπαθίας ἐγένετο, ἀλλ᾽ ἐκ τῆς τῶν πραγμάτων ἐπλάκη, ὡς ἄν Γ τις εἴποι, ἀνάγκης. Διὸ καὶ συνεγνώσθησαν. Θέα γὰρ, τῇ Γραφῇ ἀκολουθῶν, ὅπως ἐγένετο. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ Ἀβραὰμ, εἰ μὴ παρεκλήθη ὑπὸ τῆς γυναικὸς, τῆς καὶ ζηλοτυπεῖν ὀφειλούσης, πλησιάσαι τῇ παιδίσκῃ, οὐκ ἂν ἐπλησίασεν· οὐ γὰρ ἡδυπαθῶν (καὶ δείκνυσιν ὁ παρεληλυθὼς χρόνος μακρὸς ὧν), ἀλλὰ παίδων ἐπιθυμῶν τὴν εὐμορφοτάτην καὶ εὐειδεστάτην, καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν Αἴγυπτον τῷ κάλλει ἀναπτερώσασαν ἀφεῖς, ἄλλην ἄλλην [καὶ] δύσμορφον καὶ δυσγενῆ ἡναγκά ζετο σπείρειν ἄρουραν (67). Οὕτω γοῦν καθαρὸς ὢν πάθους παντὸς, ὅτι καὶ μετὰ τὸ κυῆσαι τὴν παῖδα, καὶ βασιλίζουσαν ἴσως ἀτιμάσαι τὴν δέσποιναν, ὡς τῆς ἡγεμονίας εἰς τὸν ἐξ αὐτῆς τεχθησόμενον περι στησομένης, ἐξῆλασε τῆς οἰκίας, ὅτε καὶ ἀπῆλθεν η ἐκείνη εἰς τὴν ἔρημον ὁδηγῷ τῇ ἀνάγκῃ χρησαμένη. "Εἰ δὲ καὶ τὴν Χεττούραν ἔσχεν, ἀλλὰ μετὰ [την] τῆς ᾿Αγαρ καὶ τῆς Σάρας τελευτήν. Ὁ δ' Ἰακώβ, εἰ ἧς ἦρα [ἐξ ἀρχῆς] ἔτυχεν, ἴσως οὐδ᾽ [ἂν] ἄλλης ήψατο γυναικός. Καὶ ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι στοχασμὸς τὸ λε- γόμενον, ἐκ τούτου δῆλον. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ κηδεστὴς τὴν πρεσβυτέραν ἅμορφον οὖσαν, ἀντὶ τῆς νεωτέρας τῆς ἀμήχανον κάλλος ἐχούσης αὐτῷ παρακατέκλινεν. ῾Ο