Theodoret of Cyrrhus→Eugraphia|c. 440 AD|theodoret cyrrhus
grief deathimperial politicswomen
To Eugraphia.
There is no need for me to call on the spells of the spirit to treat your grief once more. The mere remembrance of the sufferings that won our salvation is enough to quench distress, even at its worst. Those sufferings were endured for all of us. Our Lord did not defeat death in order to grant victory to a single body, but to raise all of us together through that one body, and to make our hope of resurrection certain and sure.
And if even now, when the holy celebrations are bringing you so much refreshment of soul, you find you cannot overcome your sorrow — then I ask you, my honored friend, to read the very words of the marriage contract at the point where, after the mention of the dowry, it speaks of the end of the union. Marriage enters the world preceded by the acknowledgment of death. Because we know that human beings are mortal, and caring for the peace of those who survive, it is our custom to lay down provisions for what comes after, and no one hesitates at the mention of death before the joining together in life. We knew this before the wedding; we have lived with this expectation every day since. Why, then, take it as something unbearable? The union must be broken either by the husband's death or by the wife's departure. This is the course of life.
You know, my excellent friend, both God's will and human nature. Shake off your grief, then, and wait for the fulfillment of the hope we all share.
Letter 8
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To Eugraphia.
It is needless for me to bring once more to bear upon your grief the spells of the spirit. The mere mention of the sufferings that wrought our salvation is enough to quench distress, even at its worst. Those sufferings were all undergone for humanity. Our Lord did not destroy death to make one body victorious over death, but through that one body to effect our common resurrection, and make our hope of it a sure and certain hope. And if even while our holy celebrations are bringing you manifold refreshment of soul, you cannot overcome your sense of sorrow, let me beg you, my honoured friend, to read the very words of the marriage contract which follow on the mention of the dowry, and to see how the wedding is preceded by the reminder of death. Knowing as we do that men are mortal, and bethinking us of the peace of survivors, it is customary to lay down what are called conditions, and for no hesitation to be shown at the mention of death before the joining together in marriage. These are the plain words If the husband should die first it is agreed that so and so be done; if this lot should first fall to the wife, so and so. We knew all this before the wedding; we are waiting for it so to say everyday. Why then take it amiss? The union must needs be broken either by the death of the husband or the departure of the wife. Such is the course of life. You know, my excellent friend, alike God's will and human nature; dispel then your despondency and wait for the fulfilment of the common hope of the just.
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To Eugraphia.
There is no need for me to call on the spells of the spirit to treat your grief once more. The mere remembrance of the sufferings that won our salvation is enough to quench distress, even at its worst. Those sufferings were endured for all of us. Our Lord did not defeat death in order to grant victory to a single body, but to raise all of us together through that one body, and to make our hope of resurrection certain and sure.
And if even now, when the holy celebrations are bringing you so much refreshment of soul, you find you cannot overcome your sorrow — then I ask you, my honored friend, to read the very words of the marriage contract at the point where, after the mention of the dowry, it speaks of the end of the union. Marriage enters the world preceded by the acknowledgment of death. Because we know that human beings are mortal, and caring for the peace of those who survive, it is our custom to lay down provisions for what comes after, and no one hesitates at the mention of death before the joining together in life. We knew this before the wedding; we have lived with this expectation every day since. Why, then, take it as something unbearable? The union must be broken either by the husband's death or by the wife's departure. This is the course of life.
You know, my excellent friend, both God's will and human nature. Shake off your grief, then, and wait for the fulfillment of the hope we all share.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.