Letter 47: It was good of you to acquit me of blame in the very act of accusing me.
To Olympius. (359)
It was good of you to acquit me of blame in the very act of accusing me. For by saying you would not be surprised if a man so disloyal to his friends failed to write to them, you gave yourself grounds to attack my character, but you can no longer complain about not receiving letters. After all, being wicked is Eurybatus's specialty [a proverbially treacherous man], thieving is Autolycus's, foolishness is Melitides', and being disloyal to friends is apparently mine.
So when you have cured me of my wickedness -- for you have a craft that works on souls no less than on bodies -- then you may blame me for my silence. It would truly be outrageous if I were a good man and behaved this way. But as long as you tolerate me wallowing in wickedness, put up with its consequences too.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
Ὀλυμπίῳ. (359)
Καλῶς ἐποίησας ἀπολύσας ἡμᾶς ἐν αὐτοῖς τοῖς ἐγκλή-
μασι τῆς αἰτίας. εἰπὼν γάρ, ὡς οὐ θαυμάζοις, εἰ κακὸς ὢν
περὶ τοὺς φίλους μὴ γράφοιμι τοῖς φίλοις, ὡς μὲν πονηρὸν
ἔχεις διώκειν, μέμφεσθαι δὲ τῷ μὴ γράμματα λαβεῖν οὐκέτ
ἂν ἔχοις. τοῦ τε γὰρ Εὐρυβάτου τὸ πονηρεύεσθαι τοῦ τε
Αὐτολύκου τὸ κλέπτειν Μελιτίδου τε τὸ μωραίνειν ἐμόν τε,
εἰ κακὸς ἐγώ, τὸ τοὺς φίλους ἀδικεῖν.
ὅταν οὖν με καθή-
ρῃς τῆς πονηρίας, ἔστι γάρ σοι καὶ περὶ ψυχὴν οὐχ ἧττον ἢ
τὰ σώματα τέχνη, τότε μου τὴν σιγὴν αἰτιῶ· δεινὸν γὰρ ὡς
ἀληθῶς ἀγαθὸν ὄντα με τοιαῦτα ποιεῖν. ἕως δέ με περιορᾷς
γέμοντα πονηρίας, ἀνέχου τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς πονηρίας
Related Letters
Even hoar hairs have something to learn; and old age, it would seem, cannot in all respects be trusted for wisdom. I at any rate, knowing better than anyone, as I did, the thoughts and the heresy of the Apollinarians, and seeing that their folly was intolerable; yet thinking that I could tame them by patience and soften them by degrees, I let my...
Evil men from outside are troubling our Church.
Truly when I read your excellency's letter I felt unwonted pleasure and cheerfulness; and when I met your well-beloved sons, I seemed to behold yourself. They found me in the deepest affliction, but they so behaved as to make me forget the hemlock, which your dreamers and dream mongers are carrying about to my hurt, to please the people who have...
I owe my homeland to you, and I may soon add that I owe my health to you as well.
1. Truly unexpected tidings make both ears tingle. This is my case.