Letter 253: That one ought not to do anything licentious or boyish, but to keep a temperate and disciplined manner of life in...
Do not judge your neighbor, for you do not know his heart. The outward appearance reveals little of the inward reality, and the man you condemn today may be fighting battles you cannot see. God alone knows the full story, and God alone has the right to pronounce the final verdict. Reserve your judgment for yourself, where you have both the knowledge and the authority to judge.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
ΤΩ ΑΥΤΩ.
Διὰ τὶ ἐν τῷ πάθει τοῦ Δεσπότου τὰ ἄψυχα
ἐμαστίζετο.
Δριμέως ζητεῖς τὰ νοήματα. Καὶ τίς σοι ἀρκέσει
ἀμέλγοντι, εἰ μὴ Θεὸς παράσχοι (33) λόγον [καὶ
τόνον] τῷ σκοπῷ σου συντρέχοντα; Αἱ πέτραι ἐν
τῷ πάθει τῷ Κυριακῷ διεθρύβησαν, καὶ τὰ μνήματα
πρὸς μεθοδείαν σωμάτων ἑτρόμαζον, τῶν ἐπιγείων
καὶ ὑπογείων Δεσπότην σημαίνοντα τὸν ἡλούμενον.
ΣΜΓ. – ΤΟ ΑΥΤΟ.
Οἱ λίαν ῥᾴθυμὸὶ καὶ πρὸς τὰ ῥάδια δυσκόλως
ἔχουσιν· οἱ δὲ γενναῖοι καὶ ἀνδρεῖοι, οὐδὲ τὰ σφόδρα
δυσχερή φρίττουσιν, ἀλλὰ πρὸς ταῦτα μάλιστα ἀπο-
δύονται. Επιφανεστέραν γὰρ καὶ λαμπροτέραν τὴν
νίκην ἔσεσθαι προσδοκῶσι, καὶ τὸ κλέος ἐνδοξότερον.
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Do not entrust the verdict of victory to the weak power of human beings.
I will not render judgment based on hearsay alone, and I will not take sides before hearing both parties.
Wretched Zosimus, it is the last hour.