Letter 644
To Cyriacus the Presbyter.
Do not be surprised when you see your kinsman Pisimius, that most God-fearing man, adorned with great virtue, yet greatly afflicted and tempted by the devil and by the men who serve his designs. For just as robbers keep watch most constantly, and break in, not where there is hay and chaff and straw, but where there is gold and silver, so too the enemies of truth and righteousness fall upon and plot most of all against those men who pursue virtue and are eager to shine forth in God.
AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
Μὴ ξενίζου βλέπων τὸν συγγενῆ σου Πισίμιον τὸν θεοσεβέστατον, καὶ πολλῇ ἀρετῇ κεκοσμημένον, πλεῖστα θλιβόμενον, καὶ πειραζόμενον παρὰ τοῦ διαβόλου, καὶ τῶν ἐξυπηρετουμένων τοῖς ἐκείνου βουλήμασιν ἀνθρώπων. Ὥσπερ γὰρ λῃσταί, οὐκ ἔνθα χόρτος, καὶ ἄχυρα, καὶ καλάμη, ἀλλ’ ἔνθα χρυσίον, καὶ ἀργύριον, ἐκεῖ συνεχέστερον ἀγρυπνοῦσι, καὶ ἐκεῖ διορύττουσιν· οὕτως καὶ οἱ ἐχθροὶ τῆς ἀληθείας καὶ τῆς δικαιοσύνης, τούτοις μάλιστα ἐπιτίθενται καὶ ἐπιβουλεύουσιν, οἳ τοὺς τὴν ἀρετὴν μετερχομένους, καὶ διαλάμπειν ἐν Θεῷ σπουδάζουσιν ἀνθρώπους.
Revision history
- 2026-05-27v2.2.34-import
Initial corpus import from modern nilus ancyra workflow v1.
Fields: letter text, metadata, source links. Source: project source import
Related Letters
Gregory to Cyriacus, Bishop of Constantinople. We have received with becoming charity our common sons, George the presbyter and Theodore your deacon; and we rejoice that you have passed from the care of ecclesiastical business to the government of souls, since, according to the voice of the Truth, He that is faithful in a little will be faithful...
Observing diligently, most dear brother, how great is the virtue of peace from the Lord's voice, which says, My peace I give unto you John 14:27, it becomes us so to abide in the love thereof as in no wise to give place to discord. But, since we cannot otherwise live in its root except by retaining in mind and in deed the humility which the very...
Gregory to Cyriacus, Bishop of Constantinople. When in time past I represented the Apostolic See in the royal city, I became acquainted with the good qualities of your Holiness. And I greatly rejoice that the care of souls has been committed to you.