Letter 29: The celebrated vision of the divine Daniel represents the succession of empires that would rule the world: the...

To Loucios the Archdeacon of Pelusium. Against those sick with love of money. If the deacons of the venerable altar are the eyes of the bishop, and you by God's permission rule over them, you ought to be entirely an eye, like the many-eyed living creatures — since you imitate their closeness to God, not in your life, as I learn, but only in your liturgical function — and not to darken by your wicked practices that honored company and choir, and the bishop who obeys you without discernment, and not to defile the divine sanctuary with greed, and not to amass revenues for yourself from the fees of ordinations. For the Lord drove out with a whip those who sold doves from the temple. Therefore, lest you be thrust out together with them, cease enriching yourself in this way and preparing fuel for the coming fire. To Herminos the Count. You have written asking to be told the reason why a certain man who came to do good to the poor endured a grievous danger, and his good intention did not rescue him from the disasters. Because, I say, God does not rejoice in sacrifices that come from injustice, and does not accept counterfeit gifts. For not everyone who wishes does good, but only the one who has acquired and offered the sacrifice in a manner worthy of God. To the same. Those who neither fear judgment nor love the kingdom, but anoint themselves for cruelty and inhumanity — and some rank you as the chief of these, casting this vote from the things you openly do — they would be right to consider the following, which is both reasonable and consistent, as I persuade myself. Let it also be judged by the vote of those who encounter this: that if they do not choose to suffer something for God's sake, they must endure it anyway on other grounds. If they die for God's sake, they will be immortal and incorruptible. Nor, if they do not give their wealth for his sake to those in need, will they keep it forever. To the same. To priests. When someone unworthy and illegitimate forces his way into the priesthood, then the adornment of that office is transformed into disorder. For the governed naturally takes on the likeness of the governor. And this, as you have written, is what happened in the case of Eusebios. For so great a love of vice was kindled both in the priests under him and in the laity, that those who came from elsewhere had in the spectacle of so many evils a subject for unceasing tears. To Hermogenes the Bishop. If the conduct of one's associates is a clear indication of each person's character, do not marvel that Eusebios holds Martinianus, Zosimos, Maron, and the others of similar character in honor. For just as, if he were a lover of virtue, he would not have preferred others over those who love virtue — so, since he holds wickedness as a companion and friend, he associates with those of similar character. To Martinianus and Maron. Even though the form of intoxication differs between those who rage over wine and those over money — for the one comes from wine, and the other from wealth — the passion itself is similar. For both are equally enslaved by an improper desire. The wine-lover, the more cups he drinks, the more he craves; the money-lover, the more he accumulates, the more he kindles the furnace of desire. In this they are alike; but in another way the miser has the advantage. For the drunkard, though deserving of all condemnation, suffers something natural — for wine, being hot and burning and intensifying the innate dryness, makes drunkards thirsty. But why the miser always craves more, I cannot say from what source. For when he becomes wealthier, then most of all he is in poverty. For this disease is intractable, and resembles a riddle. Therefore, if the treatment only aggravates the condition, and the devised remedy makes it worse, let us cease providing fuel for such a fire, and remove what already exists, either all at once or little by little, lest the fire, having become unquenchable, reduce us to ashes here and consign us there to the unquenchable fire.

ΚΘ. – ΛΟΥΚΙΟ ΑΡΧΙΔΙΑΚΟΝΟ ΠΗΛΟΥΣΙΟΥ. Πρὸς φιλαργυρίαν νοσοῦντας. Εἰ ὀφθαλμοὶ ἐπισκόπου τυγχάνουσιν οἱ τοῦ σεπτοῦ θυσιαστηρίου διάκονοι, σὺ δὲ τούτων κατὰ συγχώρη σιν Θεοῦ ἄρχεις, ὅλος ὀφθαλμὸς ὀφείλεις ὑπάρχειν, ὡς τὰ ζῶα πολυόμματα (ἐπειδὴ καὶ τῇ πρὸς [τὸν] Θεὸν ἐκεῖνα μιμῇ (29) ἐγγύτητι, οὐχὶ βίῳ, ὡς μαν- θάνω, ἀλλὰ μόνῃ τῇ λειτουργία), καὶ μὴ σκοτίζειν τοῖς φαύλοις ἐπιτηδεύμασι, καὶ τὸν τίμιον ἐκεῖνον θίασον καὶ χορὸν, καὶ τὸν πειθόμενόν σοι ἀκρίτως ἐπίσκοπον, καὶ χραίνειν τὸ θεῖον βῆμα πλεονεξίᾳ, καὶ πόρους σεαυτῷ ἀπὸ τιμῆς χειροτονιῶν ἀθροίζειν. Τοὺς γὰρ πωλοῦντας τὰς περιστερὰς ἐξέβαλεν ἀπὸ τοῦ ναοῦ μαστίξας ὁ Κύριος. Ἵνα τοίνυν μὴ σὺν ἐκείνοις ὠσθῇς, παῦσαι οὕτω πλουτῶν, καὶ ὅλην τῷ μέλλοντι ἑτοιμάζων πυρί. ΣΚΘ. – ΕΡΜΙΝΟ ΚΟΜΗΤΙ. Γέγραφας δηλωθῆναί σοι δι᾽ ἣν αἰτίαν ὁ δεῖνα παραγινόμενος τοὺς πτωχοὺς (15) εὖ ποιῆσαι, κίν- δυνον ἀργαλέον ὑπέμεινε, καὶ οὐκ ἐξείλετο αὐτὸν τῶν συμπτωμάτων ἡ πρόθεσις. Ἐπειδή, φημὶ, οὐ χαίρει Θεὸς ἐξ ἀδικίας θυσίαις, καὶ οὐ προσίεται κίβδηλα δῶρα. Οὐ γὰρ πᾶς ὁ βουλόμενος εὖ ποιεῖ, ἀλλ᾽ ὁ ἀξίως Θεοῦ καὶ κτησάμενος, καὶ ἐπαγγειλά- μενος τὴν θυσίαν. Κθ'. - ΤΟΙΣ ΑΥΤΟΙΣ. Οἱ μήτε κρίσιν δεδιότες, μήτε βασιλείας ἐρῶντες, ἀλλ᾽ εἰς ὠμότητα καὶ ἀπανθρωπίαν ἑαυτοὺς ἀλεί φοντες (ὧν κορυφαίους ὑμᾶς τινες κατατάττουσιν, ἐξ ὧν διαῤῥήδην δρᾶτε ταύτην φέροντες τὴν ψῆφον), ἐκεῖνα λογίσασθαι δίκαιοι ἂν εἶεν, ἅπερ καὶ εὔλογα καὶ ἀκόλουθὰ ἐστιν, ὥσγε ἐμαυτὸν πείθω. Κρινέσθω δὲ καὶ τῇ τῶν ἐντυγχανόντων ψήφῳ, ὅτι ἂν μὴ διὰ τὸν Θεὸν ἕλωνταί τι παθεῖν, ἀνάγκη αὐτὸν (15) καὶ ἄλλως ὑπομεῖναι. "Αν διὰ τὸν Θεὸν μὲν τελευτήσω σιν, ἀθάνατοι καὶ ἀκήρατοι ἔσονται. Οὔτε ἂν τὰ χρήματα δι' αὐτὸν μὴ δοῖεν τοῖς δεομένοις, ἔχοντις ΙΕ΄. – ΠΕΤΡΩ Ἔδει τὴν ἀπόλαυσιν τῶν πολλῶν ἀπὸ τῶν ἀκροατῶν μετατιθέντας ταῖς ἀθύμως συγγινομ ΣΘ΄. – ΤΟ ΑΥΤΩ. Πρὸς ἱερεῖς. Ὅταν νόθος τῆς καί τις ἱερωσύνης· ἀνάξιος εἰς τὴν ἀρχὴν εἰσβιάσηται, τότε δὴ ὁ τῆς ἀρχῆς κόσμος εἰς ἀκοσμίαν μεθίσταται. Τῷ γὰρ ἄρχοντι ἐξομοιοῦσθαι πέφυκε καὶ τὸ ἀρχόμενον (8). "Ο δὴ καὶ ἐπὶ Εὐσε- δίου, ὡς γέγραφας, συνέβη. Τοσοῦτος γὰρ καὶ τοῖς ὑπ᾿ αὐτὸν ἱερεῦσι, καὶ τοῖς ὑπηκόοις ἐξήφθη κακίας ἔρως, ὡς τοὺς ἀλλαχόθεν ἥκοντας, δακρύων ὑπόθεσιν ἀεινάων ἔχειν, τὴν τῶν τοσούτων κακῶν θέαν. ΚΘ. – ΕΡΜΟΓΕΝΕΙ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΟ. Εἰ δείγμα σαφὲς τῶν ἑκάστου τρόπων ἡ τῶν συνὄντων ἐστὶ πολιτεία, μὴ θαύμαζε εἰ Εὐσέδιος τοὺς περὶ Μαρτινιανὸν καὶ Ζώσιμον καὶ Μάρωνα, καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους τοὺς ὁμοτρόπους αὐτοῖς, διὰ τιμῆς ἔχει. Ὥσπερ γὰρ εἰ ἀρετῆς ἦν ἐραστὴς, οὐκ ἂν τῶν φιλαρέτων ἑτέρους προετίμησεν· οὕτως ἐπειδὴ σύντροφον καὶ φίλην τὴν κακίαν ἔχει, τοῖς ὁμοτρόποις χρῆται. ΥΙΒ΄. – ΜΑΡΤΙΝΙΑΝΩ ΚΑΙ ΜΑΡΟΝΙ (29). Εἰ καὶ τὸ εἶδος τῆς μέθης τῶν ἐπὶ οἴνῳ καὶ χρήμασι λυττώντων ἐστὶ διάφορον (τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἐξ οἶνου, τὸ δὲ ἀπὸ χρημάτων γίνεται), ἀλλὰ γε τὸ πάθος ὅμοιον. Καὶ γὰρ ἀμφότεροι ὁμοίως ἐπιθυμίᾳ ἀτόπῳ κεχείρωνται. "Ο τε γὰρ φίλοινος ὅσῳ ἂν πλείους ἐκπίῃ κύλικας, τοσούτῳ πλειόνων ὀρέγεται· ὅ τε έρασιχρήματος, ὅσῳπερ ἂν πλείω συνάγη, τοσούτῳ μᾶλλον ἀνάπτει τῆς ἐπιθυμίας τὴν κάμινον. Τούτῳ μὲν οὖν ἔοικεν · ἑτέρῳ δὲ πάλιν ὁ φιλάργυρος πλεονεκτεῖ. Ἐκεῖνος μὲν γὰρ, εἰ καὶ πάσης ἐστὶ καταγνώσεως ἄξιος, ἀλλ᾽ οὖν γε πρᾶγμα πάσχει κατὰ φύσιν (ὁ γὰρ οἶνος θερμὸς ὧν καὶ διακαὴς, καὶ τὴν ἔμφυτον ἐπιτείνων ξηρότητα, τοὺς μεθύοντας ποιεῖ ειψῆν)· οὗτος δὲ πόθεν ἀεὶ πλειόνων ὀρέγεται, οὐκ ἔχω λέγειν πόθεν. Ἐπειδὰν γὰρ μειζόνως πλουτήσῃ, τότε μάλιστά ἐστιν ἐν πενίᾳ. "Απορον γὰρ τοῦτο τὸ νόσημα, καὶ αἰνίγματι μᾶλλον ἐοικός. Οὐκοῦν εἰ θεραπευόμενον ἐπιτρίβεται, καὶ τῷ ἐπινενοημένῳ φαρμάκῳ χαλεπώτερον γίνεται, παυσώμεθα ὕλην παρέχοντες τῷ τοιούτῳ πυρὶ, καὶ τὴν προϋπάρχουσαν ἢ ἀθρόως, ἢ κατὰ μικρὸν ὑπεξέλωμεν· ἵνα μὴ ἄσβεστον γενόμενον κάνταῦθα ἡμᾶς τεφρώσῃ, κἀ- κεῖσε τῷ ἀσβέστῳ παραπέμψῃ πυρί. ΚΘ΄. – ΤΩ ΑΥΤΩ Δέον παρακαλεῖν ὡς δεῖ ἀεὶ τούτους διακονεῖν τοῖς ἐνδεεστέροις, καὶ τῶν ἑαυτῶν μὴ ἀπαρκεῖν, ἵνα εἰσιν καὶ αὐτοὶ μᾶλλον φωτιζόμενοι, ὡς οὐ χρὴ ἀγνοεῖν τὸν ἑαυτῶν βίον, καὶ ἀποθρώσκειν τῆς τοιαύτης σπουδῆς, ἵνα εὖ ἐνταῦθα διαπονήσωσιν. Δέδοται τοῖς λαβεῖν ἐθέλουσι. ΚΘ. – ΖΩΣΙΜΟ, ΜΑΡΩΝΙ, ΕΥΣΤΑΘΙΩ • Η πολλὴ καὶ ἀκατάπαυστος τρυφὴ καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν (55) παρὰ φύσιν παιδοτριβεῖ ἔρωτα, καὶ πᾶσαν τοῦ μὲν σώματος τὴν ὑγείαν· τῆς δὲ ψυχῆς λυμαίνεται τὴν εὐγένειαν. Παύσασθε τοιγαροῦν ταύτης· καὶ μὴ νη- στείαις, ἀλλὰ γε τῇ αὐταρκείᾳ τῇ ὄντως σώφρονι τρυφῇ, χρῆσθαι ἑαυτοὺς παιδεύσατε· καὶ οἰχήσεται ἡ νῦν καθ᾽ ὑμῶν παρὰ πάντων ᾠδομένη κωμῳδία. Εἰ δὲ ἑαυτοὺς εἰς τὴν ἄβυσσον τῆς λαγνείας ἐμβάλ- λετε, μὴ τοῖς κωμῳδοῦσι χαλεπαίνετε, ἀλλὰ τῆς, οἰκείας τρυφῆς καταψηφίζεσθε, τῆς, ὡς φασιν, οὐκ οἴκοθεν παρασκευαζομένης (περίψηφοι γάρ έστε), ἀλλ' ἐκ τοῦ ἀλλοτρίαις ἐπιῤῥίπτειν τραπέζαις. Ἐὰν γὰρ διασκεδάσητε τὴν ἀχλὺν, τότε ὄψεσθε τῆς σωφρο- σύνης τὸ κάλλος, ὁ νῦν ἐστιν ὑμῖν ἀθέατον, του ΡΜϚ΄. – ΙΣΙΔΩΡΩ ΚΟΜΙΤΙ Οἱ κακοὶ πάντας ἀδίκους ὑποπτεύουσι.