Letter 455: When I heard that you had written to Zosimus the Presbyter in those terms, I was troubled — not because your...

Against the Macedonians, that is, the Pneumatomachoi: The divine and worshipped Spirit descended upon the holy disciples on the tenth day after the Ascension, the fiftieth day after the Resurrection, as the Lord had promised, pledging at the time of his ascent to heaven that he would do this not many days hence. And the inspired Luke recorded it as fulfilled -- that very thing which, many years later, the impious Montanus falsely denied had taken place, both slandering the Lord as untruthful and claiming the disciples were deceived in the promise, and that others instead of them unjustly received what was pledged. For if others toiled in the dangers while different persons enjoyed the prizes -- by what Spirit, then, did the apostles work miracles or teach the nations piety? To Agathodaimon the Grammarian: Often what a person devises for his own security turns out to be the cause of the most grievous misfortunes. And to pass over other examples, I shall mention one through which I may indicate all. Mithridates, as they say -- who ruled over the Parthians and many other nations, who advanced to great power, who was lavish in wealth and alliances, and who reached the very limit of human prosperity -- fearing he might be destroyed by poison, prepared an antidote for himself. When his fortune reversed, he came to such extremity that he turned to drinking poison. But it accomplished nothing, for, as I said, he had already taken an antidote against every lethal drug, so that the poisons could not harm him -- the antidote's preemptive power not allowing the venom of the poison to prevail. What then followed? He summoned one of his own bodyguards and scepter-bearers, and ordered him to strike a mortal blow to his breast with the scimitar. And having struck, the guard killed him. So little did that precaution avail him.

*. – ΤΟ ΑΥΤΟ. Κατὰ Μακεδονιανῶν, ἤτοι Πνευματομάχων. Τὸ θεῖον καὶ προσκυνούμενον Πνεῦμα δεκάτῃ τῆς ἀναλήψεως, πεντηκοστῇ δὲ τῆς ἀναστάσεως ἡμέρᾳ ἐπὶ τοὺς ἱεροὺς μαθητὰς κατεφοίτησεν, ὡς ὁ Κύριος ἐπηγγείλατο, οὐ μετὰ πολλὰς ἡμέρας τοῦτο ποιήσειν τῷ καιρῷ τῆς εἰς οὐρανοὺς ἀνόδου ὑποσχόμενος. Καὶ Λουκᾶς ἔγραψε πληρωθὲν ὁ θεσπέσιος, ὅπερ πολλοῖς ὕστερον χρόνοις ὁ δυσσεβής [μή] (83) γεγενῆσθαι Μοντανὸς διεψεύσατο, καὶ τὸν Κύριον διαβάλλων οὐκ ἀληθεύοντα, καὶ τοὺς μαθητὰς ψευσθέντας τῆς ὑπο- σχέσεως, ἄλλους δὲ τινας ἀντ᾿ ἐκείνων τὴν ἐπαγγε- λίαν κομισαμένους ἀδίκως, εἴπερ ἄλλων ἐν τοῖς κιν- δύνοις ἀθλησάντων, ἔτεροι τῶν ἐπάθλων ἀπέλαυσαν. Ποίῳ δὲ πνεύματι ἐνήργουν τὰ θαύματα, ἢ τὰ ἔθνη ἐπαίδευον τὴν εὐσέβειαν; ``` ΥΝΔ'. – ΑΓΑΘΟΔΑΙΜΟΝΙ ΓΡΑΜΜΑΤΙΚΟ. Πολλάκις ὁ ἐπινοεῖ τις εἰς ἀσφάλειαν ἑαυτοῦ, τοῦτο εὑρίσκεται χαλεπωτάτων αἴτιον συμφορῶν. Καὶ ἵνα τὰ ἄλλα παρῶ, ἓν, δι' οὗ πάντα μηνύσω, λέξω. Μιθριδάτης, ὡς φασιν, ὁ Παρθυέων καὶ ἄλλων πολ- λῶν ἐθνῶν βασιλεύσας, ἐπὶ μέγα δυνάμεως προελ- θὼν, καὶ πλούτῳ κομῶν καὶ συμμαχίᾳ, καὶ εἰς αὐτὸν ἑλάσας τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης εὐημερίας τὸν ὅρον, φοβηθεὶς μὴ δηλητηρίῳ ἀναιρεθείη, ἀλεξιφάρμακον ἑαυτῷ κατεσκεύασεν. Μεταβαλούσης οὖν αὐτῷ τῆς εὐημερίας, εἰς τοσαύτην ἦλθεν ἀνάγκην, ὡς εἰς φαρμακοποσίαν τραπῆναι. Ὡς δὲ οὐδὲν ἤνυεν (ἔτυχε γὰρ, ὡς ἔφην, πρόπομα πρὸς πᾶν φάρμακον ἀνδροφόνον ἀλεξιφάρμακον προπιών, ὥστε μὴ τὰ δηλητήρια αὐτὸν βλάψαι), οὗ προκατειληφυία ἡ δύναμις, τὸν ἐκ τοῦ δηλητηρίου ἰὸν οὐκ εἴασε κρὰ- τῆσαι. Τἱ οὖν τοὐντεῦθεν; Τινὰ τῶν δορυφόρων ἑαυτοῦ καὶ σκηπτούχων ἐφελκυσάμενος, κελεύει πατάξαι (42) καιρίαν εἰς τὸ στέρνον τῷ ἀκινάκη. Ὡς δὲ πατάξας ἀνεῖλεν· οὕτως οὐδὲν ἐκεῖνον ὠφέ- ```