Letter 801: The priesthood is a sacred trust, not a career.
If you have no regard for either Gehenna or the Kingdom, at the very least you would be right to turn away from the comedies of the present life.
To Maron: You who are not obscure but illustrious and well-known, and acknowledged by all the wise and by the sacred Scriptures — you would be right to hold within your breast the doctrine of judgment, which is true and will certainly come to pass, and to cease from the things you do while thinking there is no judgment, so that you may deliver yourself from punishment, those who see you from scandal, us from grief, and the negligent from despair.
To Ammonius — On the text, "He who is not against us is for us": In time of war, not only the one who shoots alongside you, but also the one who appears to be stationed with the enemy yet does not shoot at you, must in a certain way be regarded as a friend. Therefore the divine oracle proclaims: "He who is not against you is for you."
To Eutomius the Deacon — On the text, "And it fell to the earth from the stars and from the power": Since this passage has escaped even those who attend most carefully to the reading, I would not blame you for not having read it; rather, I shall explain briefly. Just as the Apostle calls "stars" those who illuminate the beholders through their excellent way of life, writing, "Among whom you shine as luminaries in the world," so too Daniel calls "stars" those who are brilliant through their piety and excellent through their conduct. For he says, "And it fell to the earth from the stars and from the power" — not meaning that the actual heavenly bodies fell, as some have supposed (God forbid!), but that Antiochus Epiphanes (for it was about him that the angel was speaking) was brilliantly defeated by the Maccabees and cast out from the Jewish domain. For the text does not say, "The stars fell," but rather that he fell, having been conquered by the stars who fought brilliantly — that is, he was defeated. And if someone should take "fell" to mean "struck" (for it is often used this way, as "struck" in place of "smote," and "his hands were healing," with the second syllable written with a diphthong), one could say that he struck the seven brothers and their mother, and Eleazar the priest, who displayed a brilliant and radiant way of life, and appeared like stars upon the earth. For "Maccabee" is interpreted as meaning, in the Persian fashion, "chieftain," that is, "lord." In those times, therefore, when the tragedy was perpetrated by Antiochus against those most illustrious men, the Maccabees rose up together and drove him from the land. Hence the name prevailed even among those who were tortured. For they were called Maccabees — both those who in the Maccabean times endured unspeakable sufferings and those who did not renounce the ancestral laws.
To the Same — On the saying of the Savior about the Church, that "the gates of Hades shall not prevail": Not as though no one would wage war against the Church or attempt to extinguish it — for many have tried — but Christ declared that the Church would never be overcome. For the gates of Hades signify the powers of death and corruption, which assail but cannot conquer.
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
Εἰ οὔτε γεέννης, οὔτε βασιλείας σοι λόγος οὐδεὶς, ἀλλά γε χἂν τὰς παρούσας δίχαιος ἂν εἴης ἀποτρέ- ψασθαι χωμῳδίας. Β΄, --Ὁ ΜΑΡΩΝΙ. Οὐχ ἀμρίδοξον, ἀλλ᾽ ἔνδοξον ὄντα, χαὶ γνώριμον, ΥΑΆΙΑΣ ΓΕΟΤΙΟΝΕῈΒ ΕΤ ΝΟΤΑ, ) Βα. Ῥαγὶβ., ἀμειοόμενον δὲ τοὺς πον. ΟΟΓΓ. ΟΣ οὐδ. Υλι. οἱ ΑΙι. Ενιτ. Ρατα. () ἀοεἴεν 6ρ. [τὶ γ11. δὲ ορ. . ΠΠΠ τἰ τν, οἱ εἰόφαιΣ ἀϊοῖυπη Αμδοῖοιὶ ορ. : « Βίειι δγιίθην ἰὴ δὺ0 Ορογα ἱπνθηϊΡ πηϑίοΡ ἱπϑίδιἷα, [ πονόγοὰ δύ οιὶς οδὲ πομἰροπιὶδ. ν Ποίογιυνγ ἰῃ ο8η. θ, Νιμὶ, ἀϊδιίηςι. . ἈιγΥτ. δϑρὡ ὦ" ἘΡΙΘΤΟΙΑΆΙΜ ΚΒ ΠῚ. -- ἘΡΙΘΤ. Υ. χαὶ ἀληθῆ, χαὶ παρὰ πάντων τῶν σοφῶν καὶ τῶν Α γόγιι, δὺ οπιηίδυδαυθ νυἱγῖὶ δγυϑ ἷβ, οἱ βδοῦῖβ ἱερῶν Γραφῶν ὁμολογούμενον, χαὶ πάντως ἐσόμενον τῆς χρίσεως λόγον, ἐν στέρνοις δίχαιος ἂν εἕης ἔχειν, χαὶ παύσασθαι ὧν χρίσιν μὴ εἶναι νομίζων πράττεις, ἵνα χαὶ σαυτὸν χολάσεως, χαὶ τοὺς ὁρῶντας σχανδά- λου, χαὶ ἡμᾶς λύπης, χαὶ τοὺς ῥᾳθύμους ἀπογνώσεως ἀπαλλάξῃς. Τ᾽, - ΑΜΜΩΝΙΩ. Εἰς τὸ, «Ὁ μὴ ὧν καθ᾽ ἡμῶν, ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἐστιν.» Ἐν χαιρῷ πολέμου οὐ μόνον τὸν συντοξεύοντα, ἀδλὰ χαὶ τὸν ἐν τοῖς ἐναντίοις μὲν τετάχθαι δο- χοῦντα, μὴ κχατατοξεύοντα δὲ, φίλον τρόπον τινὰ ἡγητέον. Διὸ χαὶ ὁ θεῖος χρησμὸς βοᾷ᾽ « Ὁ μὴ ὧν χαθ᾽ ὑμῶν, ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν ἐστιν.» Δ΄. -- ΕΥ̓ΤΟΝΙῺ ΔΙΑΆΚΟΝΏΩ. Καὶ ἔπεσε ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ἀπὸ τῶν ἀστε απὸ τῆς δυνάμεως, ἘΠΕΙΟ ΤΩ Ἐπειδὴ χαὶ τοὺς χομιδῇ προσέχοντας τῇ ἀνα- γνώσει τὸν νοῦν τοῦτο διέλαθεν, οὐχ ἄν σε αἰτια- σαίμην, ὡς μὴ ἀναγινώσχοντα" ἀλλὰ συντόμως φράσαιμι Ὥσπερ ὁ ᾿Απόστολος ἀστέρας χαλεΐ τοὺς διὰ τῆς ἀρίστης πολιτείας τοὺς θεωμένους φωτί- ζοντας, γράφων" ε Ἐν οἷς ἐστε ὡς φωστῆρες ἐν κό- σμῳ᾽ » οὕτω χαὶ ὁ Δανιὴλ ἀστέρας χαλεῖ τοὺς λαυ- προὺς μὲν δι᾽ εὐσέδειαν, ἀρίστουης δὲ διὰ πολιτείαν. Φησὶ γάρ" ε Καὶ ἔπεσεν ἐπὶ εἣν γῆν ἀπὸ τῶν ἀστέρων χαὶ ἀπὸ τῆς δυνάμεως" » οὐχ ὡς τῶν ἄστρων πεπτωχότων, ὡς ᾧήθησάν τινές " ἄπαγε" ἀλλ᾽ ὡς ᾿Αντιόχου τοῦ ᾿Επιφανοῦς (περὶ γὰρ αὐτοῦ τν τῷ ἀγγέλῳ ὁ λόγος) ὑπὸ τῶν Μαχχαδαίων λαμ- πρῶς ἡττηθέντος, καὶ τῆς Ἰουδαϊχῃς ἀρχῆς ἐχπε- πτωχότος. Οὐ γὰρ εἵπεν᾽ Οἱ ἀστέρες ἔπεσαν" ἀλλ᾽ ἐχεῖνος ὑπὸ τῶν ἀστέρων λαμπρῶς ἀγωνισαμένων πέπτωχε, τουτέστιν ἡττήθη. Εἰ δέ τις τὸ ἔπεσεν, ἐπάταξεν ἐχλάθδοι" (καὶ οὕτως γὰρ πολλάχις λέγεται, ὡς τὸ ε«ἕπαισεν,» ἀντὶ τοῦ ἐπάταξε, ε χαὶ αἱ χεῖρες αὐτοῦ ἰάταντο,»τῆς δευτέρας συλλαδῆς [διὰ] διφθόγγου γραφομένης, δύναται λέγειν, ὅτι ἐπάταξε τοὺς ἑπτὰ ἀδελφοὺς καὶ τὴν μητέρα, Ἐλεάζαρόν τε τὸν ἱερέα, λαμπρὰν χαὶ ἀστράπτουσαν πολιτείαν ἐπι- δειξαμένους, καὶ χαθάπερ ἀστέρας ἐν γῇ φανέντας. Μαχχαῦαῖος γὰρ ἑρμηνεύεται, οἱονεὶ παρὰ Πέρσαις, χοίραγος, τουτέστι δεσπότης. Ἔν τοῖς χαιροῖς τοιγα- ροῦν ἐχείνοις, ἐν οἷς ἡ κατὰ τῶν εὐδοχιμωτάτων ἐχείνων ἀνδρῶν ἐτολμήθη τῷ ᾿Ανττόχῳ τραγῳδία, υἱ λιχχχαδαῖοι σνστάντες, ἐξήλασαν ἐχεῖνον τῆς χώρας. Διὸ χαὶ τοῖς βασανισθεῖσι τοὔνομα ἐξενίχησε. Μαχ- χαδαῖοι γὰρ ἐχλήθησαν χαὶ οἱ ἐν τοῖς Μαχχαθαϊ- χοῖς χρόνοις τὰ ἀνήχεστα ὑπομεμενηχότες, καὶ μὴ ἐξομοσάμενοι τοὺς πατρῴους νόμους. Ε΄. -- Τῇ ΑΥ̓ΤΩ. Εἰς τὸ εἰρημένον παρὰ τοῦ Σωτῆρος περὶ τῆς ᾿ΕκχιἸησίας, ὅτι «Πύ.λαι ᾷδου.»ν Οὐχ ὡς μηδενὸς πολεμήσοντος, χαὶ σδέσαι ἐπι- Μώ (ἢ. σι, ὅ0, ὕδη. γι, . ῬΒΠΙΡΡ τι, . ϑογίριυγὶθ σοη(δϑϑυπι, δίχυδ οπιΐηο Πιϊυγυ πη ὀχίγθ- "ΐ ἰυύίοἰ! ὀοζπία ροοίυτα οοπάϊίαπι μαῦθγο 58Π6 ὁοθοθὰ5, ἃ ἰΐδᾳυο δὐβιΐβογε, αι., ἀυη ]υὐϊ- οἰπὶ πιὶπἰπ) [ογο οχὶβϑιΐπηδ5, δοιηπίτι , υἱ ἢ λὺ ΓΔΙΙοΙ6, οἱ ἰοἰρδυπὶ ρόρη8, οἱ , ] ( ἰηιυδοηίυγ, οἰδιηϑίοιθ ; δἰ Π08 πιῶγογο, οἱ ἰδησυδηίθ8 ἃς τογρί- ἀρὰ ἀοδρογαιίοηθ ἰΐθαγθβ. ΠῚ. -- ΑΜΜΟΝΙ͂Ο. ἴπ ἐἱμα ; « (μὲ πον ὁδὶ ὕτὸ ποὐὶς, δεῖ εομίγα πος". » Β6 κΓ83581:, Π0Π πιο ουπὶ, 4υΐ 5ἰτνὺ 58ᾳ11- ε , οἰἰδ ουπλ, 4υἱ φυδηνὶδ Ὠυδιϊιη ΡΑΓΕθι18 δίδγο υἱύθϑίυνγ, (πιο βοφί( σοηίΓἃ τηἰ- πἰπιθ πιεἰϊ, ἰῃ διη οτυ πὶ πυπη ΓΟ αυούῤδιηπιοάο )- θετὸ ορογίθὶ. ()υοοίγεα οἰϊὰπὶ οἰνίπιιπη οτασουΐυαι εἰδιπαῖς « ( ενῖΐ ποι! σομιγα νῸ8 ΓΟ νου ἱβ 65ὶ. » ΙΥ͂. --- ΕΌΤΟΝΙΟ: ΒΙΑΘΟΝΟ. Επ οεεϊάϊά ἐπ ἰεγγαηε ἃ εἰείἰὴς, εἰ α υἱγίμίς , Ουδηδοφυϊάθιη εἰΐδ 4υΐ ϑονίριυγάγιι [ εἰἰοιὶ ϑηΐ παι γ4] διἰὐϊείυπι πα νθιὶ ᾿ς [δ] , Παυά δοουβα , .] ἰ δαγι αι ἰδαοϊΐοηθ χἰεΐ6 νογ- δΟΓΪΒ : ΥΟΥΌΠ) ὈΓΟΥΠΟΓ ἢος ἀϊχογίιη,, 4φυοά αισιπδά- "οάυπὶ ΑροβίοΙ δ ἀρρο αι, φυὶΐ ρον ογιϊ- ᾿λπ υἱνοιΐ γϑ
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