Letter 535: It would have been fine if you had been here in person to follow the custom, and it is also not bad that even in...
To Arsenius.
It would have been fine if you had been here in person to follow the custom, and it is also not bad that even in your absence you have not abandoned it.
I was pleased both that the gold came with a letter and that you are doing the opposite of what most young men do. They run from their supervisors; you are inviting one to oversee you, showing that even now you spend your time working, with your father standing in for me. May you become like him -- though surpassing him is beyond anyone's reach.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
Ἀρσενίῳ. (356/57)
Κἀκεῖνο ἂν εἶχε καλῶς, εἰ παρὼν ἐχρῶ τῷ νόμῳ, καὶ τὸ
νῦν οὐ κακῶς, τὸ μηδὲ ἀπόντα τὸν νόμον ἐκλιπεῖν.
ἥσθην
δὲ τῷ τε μετ’ ἐπιστολῆς ἴν τὸ χρυσίον καὶ ὅτι τἀναντία
τοῖς πολλοῖς τῶν νέων ποιεῖς. οἱ μὲν γὰρ φεύγουσι τοὺς
ἐφεστηκότας, σὺ δὲ καλεῖς τὸν ἐπιστησόμενον δηλῶν ὡς καἰ
νῦν ἐν τῷ πονεῖν διάγεις ἀντ’ ἐμοῦ τὸν πατέρα τιθέμενος· ᾧ
γένοιο παραπλήσιος· ὡς τό γε νικῆσαι τῶν ἀμηχάνων.
Related Letters
I admired Gerontius's character and made him my friend, and now I do whatever I can for him in return.
My physical health is reasonably good, and my state of mind is no less satisfactory.
1. Truly unexpected tidings make both ears tingle. This is my case.
1. Blessed be God Who from age to age chooses them that please Him, distinguishes vessels of election, and uses them for the ministry of the Saints. Though you were trying to flee, as you confess, not from me, but from the calling you expected through me, He has netted you in the sure meshes of grace, and has brought you into the midst of Pisidi...
I feel my boldness in pressing my suit by letter upon a man in your position; still the honour that you have paid me in the past has banished all my scruples. Accordingly I write with confidence. My plea is for a relative of mine, a man worthy of respect for his integrity.