Letter 853: Virtue must be practiced with all one's strength — not merely admired from a distance.
How grievous is false doctrine, and how fruitless the labors of those enslaved by it. Since those who teach false doctrine have stored up a punishment worse than death for those who believed without discernment, let the well-disposed take heed. For the false teacher does not merely err himself; he leads others into error, multiplying his sin with every soul he corrupts. And the one who follows a false teacher without examining his teaching bears a share of the guilt, for God gave us reason precisely so that we might distinguish truth from falsehood. Do not say, "I was deceived," for you had the Scriptures to guide you. Do not say, "I trusted my teacher," for you were commanded to test all things and hold fast to what is good. The Bereans were called more noble than the Thessalonians because they examined the Scriptures daily to see whether what Paul himself — an apostle! — taught them was true. If even an apostle's teaching was to be tested against Scripture, how much more the teaching of ordinary men? Therefore I charge you: read, examine, discern. Accept nothing on mere authority; verify everything by the standard of the divine word. For the one who builds upon sand will see his house collapse, but the one who builds upon the rock of truth will stand firm through every storm.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
Ὅτι χαλεχῶς ([. χαλεπὸν τοὶ χαοπωτάτη κακοδοξία, καὶ ἀγόνητοι τῶν ταύτῃ ΤΠ ἢ μόνων οἱ πόνοι. Ἐπειδὴ οἱ καχῶς δογματίσαντες θανάτου μείξονα τιμωρίαν τοῖς ἀπερισχέπτως πιστεύσασιν ἕτεχον, ἔστω τοῖς βεδλημένοις ἄριστον φάρμακον ἡ μετά- γνωσις. ΣΟ’. -- ΛΑΜΙΕΤΙΩ ἘΠΙΣΚΟΠΏ. ᾿Αποδέχομαι μέν σε τῆς περὶ τὴν πόλιν εὐνοίας, ἐχεῖνο δὲ παραινέσαι δίκαιον ῳφήθην, μὴ θρήνοις, ἀλλ᾽ εὐχαῖς αὐτὴν ἀναχτήσασθαι (). Εἰ γὰρ καὶ, ὡς γέγραφας, ᾿Αμμωνίῳ θανόντι συντέθνηχεν ἡ πό- λις, ἀλλ’ ἐλπίς ἐστι, τῆς θείας προηγουμένως βοηθού- σης ῥοπῆς, πάλιν αὐτὴν ἀναστῆναι. ἴὔντως γὰρ, ἔφης, εὐανδρίᾳ πρώην χαὶ χρήμασι χομῶσα χαὶ ἀρετῇ κεχοσμημένη, διὰ τὰς ἐχείνου τοῦ ἀοιδίμου εὐχὰς, νῦν εἰς τοσαύτην χατηνέχθη πενίαν, χαὶ σω- μάτων, καὶ χρημάτων, χαὶ οἰχοδομημάτων, ὡς τῶν ὑπολειφθέντων τοὺς μὲν ἀποπτῆναι () τῆς πατρί- δος, τοὺς δὲ τυπτομένους ἐν δεσμωτηρίοις ἀποθα- νεῖν τοῦ δοχοῦντος ἡγεῖσθαι, μηδεμίαν ποιουμένον πρόνοιαν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐντρυφῶντος μὲν ἀφ᾽ ὧν οὐ θέμις, τὰς ἀναγχαίας τῶν πενήτων τροφὰς εἰς ἰδίας φιλοτι- μἱας ἀναλίσχοντος " πραγματενομένου δὲ τὰς ἀλλο- «“οἷας συμφορὰς, χαὶ μὴτε δάχρυον αἰδουμένου ἐν τοσαύτῃ χαχῶν ἀνάγχῃ, μήτε χεῖρα ὀρέγοντος. Ἐπεὶ τοίνυν τοιαῦτα χαταθρηνῶν γέγραφας (), χαὶ πα. ὑαχέχληχας ὥστε ἡμᾶς αὑτῷ γράψαι, ἴσθι ὅτι πᾶσα ἑατριχὴ τέχνη ἥττηται τῷ νοσήματι τἀνδρός. Πολλὰ γὰρ καὶ προσηνῆ χαὶ δραστήρια γράμματα δεξάμε- γος, ἀπώνατο οὐδέν. Διὸ χαὶ τὴν σιγὴν λοιπὸν τὴν πρὸς αὐτοὺς τετιμήχαμεν. Εἰ τοίνυν δύναιο δι᾽ εὐχῶν χκατορθῶσναΐ τι σχυτῷ τε χαὶ τῇ πόλει, ἀφέμενος τὸν θρῆνον, ἔχου () τάχα πως ὁ χαὶ τὰ ἀνήχεστα ἰώμε- νος πάθη, ποιήσει χαὶ αὐτὸν ἐχ τῆς τοσαύτης μανίας ἀνενεγχεῖν, καὶ τὴν πόλιν ἐπὶ γόνν χειμένην, μᾶλ- λον δὲ, ὡς ἔφης, τεθνηχνῖαν ἀναστῆναι. ἘΡΙΘΤΟΙΠΑΒῸΜ [. ]. --- ΕΡΙΘΤ. ΟΟἸΧΧΙ. σΟΙΧΙΧ. --- ΡΑΌΠ0. Μαίαπι οριπίοπεπι τέπι πιοίθείανι :, δΟΥη 4ι6 φαμὶ ἑρεα εοτγεριίὲ εἰπὲ ἰαϑοτεῖ ἐεε6 ἐπεὶ . Ουδηάοφυϊάοπι ἰΐ, ᾳυΐ πι ᾶ] ἀοβπιδίδ βϑνϑγυηί, τροτίο ξγανϊογοη) ογαοίδίυπι, ἢἷ8, 4υ1] ἕιίδιη ἱρπ5ὶβ ᾿δΔὲδυογυηι, ρορεγογιηί, βα] υθθγγίων! τπδἀϊςαπιδηιΐ Ιοοο δἷϊ ἰΐϊ8, αυὶ βδυοίδιὶ δυηὶ, ροηϊοηι8 οἱ Γοβὶ- Οἰδοθι) .
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