Theodoret of Cyrrhus→learned Maximus|c. 440 AD|theodoret cyrrhus
education booksproperty economics
To the Learned Elias.
Legislators have framed laws to protect the oppressed. Advocates have practiced the orator's art to defend those who need a fair hearing. You, my friend, have mastered both eloquence and the law. Now put your skill to use — bear down the oppressors, lift up those they have crushed, and shield the wronged with the law itself. Let no guilty client benefit from your advocacy, even if he is your friend.
One such guilty man is that scoundrel Abraham. After living for a considerable time on property belonging to the church, he gathered accomplices in his villainy and has since had no scruple in boasting openly of what he's done. I am sending him to you along with an account of his crimes, the names of those he has wronged, and the reverend sub-deacon Gerontius. I am not asking you to hand the criminal over to the authorities — only that when his victims have told you everything they have suffered, and you feel the just weight of their case, you will be moved to compel this wicked man to restore what he has stolen.
Letter 10
Please help support the mission of New Advent and get the full contents of this website as an instant download. Includes the Catholic Encyclopedia, Church Fathers, Summa, Bible and more — all for only $19.99...
To the Learned Elias.
Legislators have made laws in aid of the oppressed, and advocates have practised the orator's arts to help them that stand in need of fair defense. You, my friend, have studied eloquence and the law. Now put your art in practice, and by it put down the oppressors, help them that are put down by them, and defend them with the law as with a shield. Let no guilty client enjoy the benefit of your advocacy, even though he be your friend.
Now one of these guilty men is that villain Abraham. After being settled for a considerable time on an estate belonging to the church, he then took several partners in his rascality, and has had no hesitation in owning his proceedings. I have sent him to you with an account of his doings, the parties he has wronged, and the reverend subdeacon Gerontius. I do not want you to deliver the guilty man to the authorities, but in the hope that when his victims have told you all they have had to put up with, and have made you, my learned friend, feel sympathy for their case, you may be induced to compel the wicked fellow to restore what he has stolen.
◆
To the Learned Elias.
Legislators have framed laws to protect the oppressed. Advocates have practiced the orator's art to defend those who need a fair hearing. You, my friend, have mastered both eloquence and the law. Now put your skill to use — bear down the oppressors, lift up those they have crushed, and shield the wronged with the law itself. Let no guilty client benefit from your advocacy, even if he is your friend.
One such guilty man is that scoundrel Abraham. After living for a considerable time on property belonging to the church, he gathered accomplices in his villainy and has since had no scruple in boasting openly of what he's done. I am sending him to you along with an account of his crimes, the names of those he has wronged, and the reverend sub-deacon Gerontius. I am not asking you to hand the criminal over to the authorities — only that when his victims have told you everything they have suffered, and you feel the just weight of their case, you will be moved to compel this wicked man to restore what he has stolen.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.