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to olympias.
Do not be anxious on my
behalf, nor rack yourself with solicitude, on account of the
severity of the winter, and the weakness of my digestion, and the
incursions of the Isaurians. For the winter is only what it is wont
to be in Armenia; nothing more need be said about it; and it does
not very seriously injure me. For in anticipation of these things I
have devised many plans for averting the mischief which might arise
from them; keeping up a constant fire, setting screens about the
chamber in which I live, using a large number of rugs, and staying
always indoors. This indeed is irksome to me, if it were not for
the benefit to be derived; for as long as I remain indoors I am not
severely distressed by the cold; but if I am compelled to go out a
little, and come in contact with the outer air, I suffer no small
damage. Wherefore I beseech thee dear lady, and entreat thee as a
very great favour to pay great attention to the restoration of thy
bodily health. For dejection causes sickness; and when the body is
exhausted and enfeebled, and remains in a neglected condition,
deprived of the assistance of physicians, and of a wholesome
climate, and an abundant supply of the necessaries of life,
consider how great an aggravation of distress is occasioned
thereby. Wherefore I beseech you, dear lady, to employ various and
skilled physicians, and to take medicines which avail to correct
these conditions. For a few days ago when I suffered from a
tendency to vomiting, owing to the state of the atmosphere, I had
recourse amongst other remedies to the drug which was sent me by my
most discreet mistress Syncletion, and I found that no more than
three days’ application of it cured my infirmity. I beseech you
therefore to make use of this remedy also yourself and to arrange
that some more of it may be sent to me. For having again felt
somewhat upset, I again had recourse to it, and completely cured my
disorder; for it allays the deep internal inflammation, draws out
moisture on the skin, causes a moderate degree of warmth, infuses
no little vigor, and excites an appetite for food; and all these
effects I experienced in the course of a few days. Let then my most
honoured lord the Count Theophilus be exhorted to take means to
send some of this to me again. And do not be distressed at my
wintering here, for I am in a much more comfortable and sounder
state of health than I was last year; so that if you also would
take the requisite care of yourself, you would be in a far more
satisfactory condition. Now if you say that your ailments have been
produced by despondency how is it that you again ask for letters
from me, seeing that you have not derived any benefit from them in
the direction of cheerfulness, but have sunk so deeply under the
tyranny of despondency as even to desire to depart out of this
world. Are you ignorant how great a reward even of sickness awaits
one who has a thankful spirit? Have I not often, both in person,
and through letters, discoursed to you concerning this
theme? But since the pressure of business perhaps, or the peculiar
nature of your sickness, and the quick succession of changes in
your condition do not permit you to retain what I have said
constantly and clearly in your mind, listen once more whilst I try
to heal the wounds of thy despondency by repeating the same
incantations: “for to write the same things,” it is said, “to
me indeed is not grievous, and for you it is safe.”932
2. What is it then which I say and write?
Nothing, Olympias, redounds so much to the credit of any one as
patient endurance in suffering. For this is indeed the queen of
virtues, and the perfection of crowns; and as it excels all other
forms of righteousness, so this particular species of it is more
glorious than the rest. Perhaps what I have said seems obscure; I
will therefore try to make it clearer. What then is it that I
affirm? Not the spoliation of goods, even if one were to be
stripped bare of all one’s possessions, not the loss of honours,
nor expulsion from one’s country, and transportation to a distant
land, nor the strain of labour and toil, nor imprisonment, and
bondage, nor reproaches, and abuse, and scoffings (not indeed that
you are to think the courageous endurance of such things a slight
kind of fortitude, as Jeremiah that great and eminent prophet
proves who was not a little distressed by this kind of trial);933
yet not even
this, nor the loss of children, even should they be torn from us in
one fell swoop, nor the perpetual assaults of enemies, nor anything
else of that nature, no, nor even the head and crown of things
accounted painful, namely death, terrible and loathsome though it
be, is so oppressive as infirmity of body. And this is proved by
the greatest hero of endurance,934
who, when he was encompassed by
bodily sickness, thought death would be a release from the
calamities which were depressing him; and when he underwent all the
other sufferings, was not sensible of them, although he received
blow after blow, and at last a deadly one. For it was no slight
matter, but rather an evidence of the most malignant cruelty on the
part of his enemy in dealing with one who was no novice in
suffering, nor entering the lists for the first time, but already
exhausted with the frequent repetition of assaults, to inflict upon
him that deadly blow, the destruction of his children, so cruelly
inflicted moreover that all of either sex were destroyed at the
same moment in early youth and by a violent end, and so
instantaneous was their death that it involved their burial also.
For their father neither saw them laid upon abed, nor kissed their
hands, nor heard their last words, nor touched their hands and
knees, nor did he shut their mouths, or close their eyes when they
were about to die, acts which tend not a little to console parents
who are being parted from their children; neither did he follow
some of them to burial, and find others on his return home to
console him for those who had departed; but he heard that as they
were reclining on their couches at a banquet, a banquet full of
love, not of excess, a table of brotherly kindness, they were all
overwhelmed; and blood, and wine, the cups and the ceiling, the
table, and the dust, and the limbs of his children, were all
mingled together. Nevertheless when he heard these things, and
others before these which were also distressing; for they too had
perished in a distressing way; flocks and whole herds had been
destroyed, the latter having been consumed by fire sent down from
heaven, (so said the evil messenger of this tragedy,) and the
former having been all seized together by various enemies, and cut
to pieces as well as the shepherds themselves; nevertheless I say
when he saw this great storm stirred up in a brief moment of time
affecting his lands, his house, his cattle, and his children, when
he saw billow following billow, and long lines of rocks, and the
darkness was profound, and the surging waves unbearable, even then
he was not tortured by despondency, and scarcely seemed to feel the
things which had happened, save so far as he was a man and a
father. But when he was delivered over to sickness and sores, then
did he also long for death, then did he also bewail himself and
lament, so that you may understand how this kind of suffering is
more severe than all others, and this form of patience the highest
of all. Nor is the Devil himself unaware of this fact; for when
after having set in motion all these trials he perceived that the
hero remained untroubled and undismayed he rushed to this as the
greatest contest of all, saying that all the other calamities were
bearable, as loss of child, or property, or anything else (for this
is what is meant by the expression “skin for skin”935
) but the
deadly blow was when pain was inflicted on a man’s body. And
therefore when he had been worsted after this contest, he had no
longer a word to utter, although on former occasions he had made
the most strenuous and shameless resistance. In this instance
however he found that he could not invent any further shameless
device, but hid his face and retreated.
3. Think not however that it is an excuse to justify you in desiring
death, that Job desired it, not being able to bear his sufferings.
For consider the time when he desired it, and the disposition of
his circumstances—the law was not given, the prophets had not
appeared, grace had not been shed forth as it was afterwards, nor
had he the advantage of any other kind of philosophy. For as a
proof that more is demanded from us than from those who lived then,
and that harder tasks are assigned to us, listen to Christ, when He
says “Except your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the
Scribes and Pharisees ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of
Heaven.”936
Do not think
therefore that to pray for death now is exempt from blame, but
hearken to the voice of St. Paul when he says “To depart and to
be with Christ is far better, but to abide in the flesh is more
necessary for your sake.”937
For in proportion as the strain of
the affliction is increased are the garlands of victory multiplied;
in proportion as the gold is heated does it become purified, the
longer the merchant makes his voyage on the sea, the larger is the
freight which he collects. Do not then think that the labour now
allotted to you is a slight one, but rather that it is higher than
all which you have undergone, I mean that which consists in
infirmity of body. For in the case of Lazarus938
(and although I may have often said
this to you, it nowise hinders me from saying it now) this bodily
infirmity availed for his salvation; and he departed to the bosom
of the man who possessed a dwelling which he shared with all who
passed by,939
and was
continually shifting his home on account of God’s command, and
sacrificed his own son, his only begotten, who had been given him
in extreme old age; although Lazarus had done none of these things
yet he obtained this blessing inasmuch as he cheerfully endured
poverty, and infirmity, and friendlessness. For this is so great a
good to those who bear anything bravely that it releases any one
who may have committed the greatest sins from the heaviest burden
of them; or if any one is an upright and just man it becomes an
additional ground of the greatest confidence. For it is a bright
wreath of victory for the just, shining far above the brightness of
the sun, and it is the greatest means of purification for those who
have sinned. On this account Paul delivers the man who had made the
incestuous marriage to “destruction of the flesh,” purifying
him by this means. For as a proof that what was done did purify
even from so great a stain hear his words “that his spirit may be
saved in the day of the Lord.”940
And when he was accusing others of
another very awful sin, that of partaking unworthily of the holy
table and those secret mysteries, and had said that such a person
will be “guilty of the body and blood of the Lord,”941
observe how
he says that they also are purified from that grievous
stain—“therefore are many weak and sickly among you.”942
And then by
way of proving that they will not be confined to this condition of
punishment, but that some profit will be derived from it, namely
release from the penalties to which the sin is liable, he added:
“for if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But
now when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we
should not be condemned with the world.”943
Moreover that they who have lived
very righteously derive much benefit from such chastisement is
plain from the case of Job, who was more illustrious after it than
before, and from the case of Timothy, who although he was such a
good man, and entrusted with such an important ministry, and made
the circuit of the world with Paul passed not two or three days,
nor ten or twenty, or a hundred, but many in succession in ill
health, his body being very seriously enfeebled. Paul shows this
where he said “Use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake, and
thine often infirmities.”944
And he who raised the dead did not
cure this man’s infirmity, but left him in the furnace of his
sickness so that he might therefrom contract a very great abundance
of confidence. For the lessons which Paul himself had enjoyed from
his Master, and the training which he had received from Him, he
imparted to his disciple. For although he was not subjected to
bodily infirmity, yet he was buffeted by trials not less severe,
which inflicted much physical pain. “For there was given unto
me” he says “a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to
buffet me”945
meaning by
this the blows, the bonds, the chains, the imprisonments, the being
dragged about, and maltreated, and tortured by the scourges of
public executioners. Wherefore also being unable to bear the pain
occasioned to the body by these things “for this I besought the
Lord thrice (thrice here meaning many times) that I might be
delivered from this thorn.” And then when he did not obtain his
petition, having learned the benefit of the trial, he held his
peace, and rejoiced at the things which happened unto
him.
Therefore even if you remain at home, and are set
fast in bed, do not consider your life
an idle one; for you undergo more severe pains
than those who are dragged, and maltreated, and tortured by
executioners, inasmuch as in this excessive infirmity of yours you
have a perpetual executioner residing with you.
4. Do not then now desire death, nor neglect
the means of cure; for indeed this would not be safe. On this
account Paul also exhorts Timothy to take the greatest care of
himself. As regards infirmity then enough has now been said. But if
it is separation from me which causes your despondency expect
release from this. And I have not said this now merely to encourage
you, but I am sure that it really will be the case. For if it were
not destined to happen, I should long ago, so at least I think,
have departed from this world, considering the trials which have
been inflicted on me. For to pass over all that occurred in
Constantinople, after my departure thence, you may understand what
sufferings I endured on that long and cruel journey, most of which
were sufficient to produce death; what I endured after my arrival
here, after my removal from Cucusus, and after my sojourn in
Arabissus. Yet I have survived all these things, and now I am in
sound health, and great security, so that all Armenians are
astonished that with such a feeble and flimsy frame as mine I can
support such an intolerable amount of cold, or that I can breathe
at all, when those who are habituated to the winter are suffering
from it in no common degree. Nevertheless I have remained uninjured
up to the present day, having escaped the hands of robbers who have
repeatedly attacked us, and yet in daily want of the necessaries of
life, and deprived of the use of a bath; and although since my
sojourn here I have been constantly without this luxury I am now so
established in the habit that I do not even long for the comfort to
be derived from it, but am in sounder health than before. And
neither the inclemency of the climate, nor the desolation of the
region, nor the scarcity of provisions, nor the lack of attendants,
nor the unskillfulness of physicians, nor the deprivation of the
bath, nor perpetual confinement in one chamber as in a prison, and
the impossibility of moving about which I always used continually
to need, nor perpetual contact with fire and smoke, nor fear of
robbers, nor a constant state of siege, nor anything else of this
kind has got the better of me; on the contrary I am in a sounder
condition of health than I was elsewhere, although I then received
great care and attention. Taking all these things then into
consideration pray shake off the despondency which now oppresses
you, and do not exact inordinate and cruel penances from yourself.
I sent you the treatise which I have lately written, that “no one
can harm the man who does not injure himself,”946
| 946 Translated in this volume, see pages 270–284. | and the letter which I now send
your honour contends for the same position. I beg you therefore to
go over it constantly, and if your health permits you, recite it
aloud. For if you will, it may prove an effectual remedy for you.
But if you are contentious with me, and do not try to cure
yourself, and will not rouse yourself from these dismal swamps of
despondency in spite of the unlimited amount of advice and
exhortation which you enjoy I shall not on my part readily consent
to send you frequent and long letters, if you are not to derive any
benefit in the way of cheerfulness from them. How then shall I know
this? not by your merely saying so, but by a practical proof,
inasmuch as you lately affirmed that it was nothing but despondency
which caused this sickness of yours. Since then you have yourself
made this confession I shall not believe that you have got rid of
your despondency unless you have got rid of your bodily infirmity.
For if it is the former which causes your disorder, as you say in
your letter, it is obvious that when that has been dispersed the
other will be removed at the same time, and when the root has been
plucked up, the branches perish with it;—and if the branches
continue flowering and flourishing, and producing an unnatural
amount of fruit I cannot believe that you have been set free from
the root of your distress. Therefore do not show me words but
facts, and, if you get well, you will see letters sent to you again
exceeding the limits of former communications. Deem it then no
small consolation that I am alive, and in good health, and that in
the midst of such circumstances I have been set free from sickness
and infirmity, which, as I know, is a great annoyance and vexation
to my enemies. It follows therefore that you should deem this the
greatest encouragement, and the crown of your consolation. Do not
call your household desolate, which has now a higher place assigned
to it in Heaven by reason of the sufferings which it endures. I was
grievously distressed on account of Pelagius the monk.947
| 947 If Pelagius the heresiarch were the person here
alluded to, this would be the earliest historical notice of him.
But as Pelagius was in Rome from 401 to 409, during which period he
is mentioned with respect by his contemporaries, and this letter
must have been written not later than 405 or 406, the
identification is impossible. | Consider
therefore what great rewards they deserve who bravely hold their
ground, when men who pass their time in such a habit of discipline
and endurance are found susceptible of degradation.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
|
