Theodoret of Cyrrhus→Damianus, of Sidon|c. 440 AD|theodoret cyrrhus
From: Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrrhus
To: Damianus, Bishop of Sidon
Date: ~440 AD
Context: A graceful, self-deprecating reply to Damianus's flattering letter.
To Damianus, Bishop of Sidon,
It is the nature of mirrors to reflect the faces of those who look into them -- anyone who gazes at one sees his own features. The same is true of the pupils of our eyes: they show us other people's likenesses.
Your holiness furnishes a perfect example of this. You have not actually seen my ugliness -- you have simply gazed with admiration at your own beauty. I truly possess none of the qualities you ascribed to me. Still, it is my prayer that your words may yet be vindicated by reality, and I beg your piety to bring it about by your prayers that your praises do not fall to the ground for want of anything real to support them.
Letter 49
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To Damianus, Bishop of Sidon.
It is the nature of mirrors to reflect the faces of them that gaze into them, and so whoever looks at them sees his own form. This is the same too with the pupils of the eyes, for they show in them the likeness of other people's features. Of this your holiness furnishes an instance, for you have not seen my ugliness, but have beheld with admiration your own beauty. I really have none of the qualities which you have mentioned. It is nevertheless my prayer that your words may be vindicated by actual fact, and I beseech your piety by your prayers to cause it to come to pass that your praises may not fall to the ground through having no reality to correspond with them.
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From:Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrrhus
To:Damianus, Bishop of Sidon
Date:~440 AD
Context:A graceful, self-deprecating reply to Damianus's flattering letter.
To Damianus, Bishop of Sidon,
It is the nature of mirrors to reflect the faces of those who look into them -- anyone who gazes at one sees his own features. The same is true of the pupils of our eyes: they show us other people's likenesses.
Your holiness furnishes a perfect example of this. You have not actually seen my ugliness -- you have simply gazed with admiration at your own beauty. I truly possess none of the qualities you ascribed to me. Still, it is my prayer that your words may yet be vindicated by reality, and I beg your piety to bring it about by your prayers that your praises do not fall to the ground for want of anything real to support them.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.