Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
7
Letter 17, lines 66-95.
8
See Hero, "Irene-Eulogia," 139-40.
9
Letter 12, lines 1-3.
IO
Letter 8, lines 31-36.
II
Letter 17, line 34.
12Por the varied use of the term "hesychast," see my article "Hesychasme: problmes de
semantique," Melanges d' histoire des religions oJJerts a H -Ch. Pech (aris, 1974), 543-47.
General Introduction 19
1341, and we knw t
h
at Ignatios did not.
Whatever the,later options of Eulogia and her director in the
cultural and religious crisis which shook Byzantine society in the
middle of the fourteenth century, it is interesting to note that
by 1335-the approximate date of the correspondence-both of
them refer with great respect to spiritual authorities which will
also be highly praised by te Palamites. Indeed, for Eulogia there
never was a greater spiritual father than the Metropolitan
Theoleptos of Philadelphia, who tonsured her and remained her
director until his death in 1322. On the other hand, her new direc
tor and corresponde
n
t is the author of writings in honor of
Patriarch Athanasi
o
s I (1289-1293-1303-1310),13 whom he
could not have known personally, but whose prestige as an ascetic;
a social reformer, and a spiritual leader, he greatly admired. Fur
thermore, copies of his works on Athanasios were being kept at
the Monastery of Xerolophos, founded by the great ascetic
patriarch.
1
4
The director was, therefore, in close touch with one
of the hesychastic centers of the capital, where in 1341 the anti
Palamite theologian, Akindynos, will be forced to agree (tem
porarily) with the positions of Gregory Palamas.15 Both
Theoleptos and Athanasios are considered by Palamas himself
to be among the most eminent models of hesychasm.
16
Another
well-known Palamite, Joseph Kalothetos, also enhances the
prestige of Patriarch Athanasios by writing his vita.17
The personal correspondence between Eulogia and the anony
mous young monk, whom she convinces after so much insistence
to become her spiritual director, provides us with a very rare op
portunity to learn more about a Byzantine milieu rather foreign
to theological debates, sincerely pious, but seeing no contradic
tion between the preservation of ancient Greek culture and the
monastic austerity exemplified by Athanasios 1. It appears that
the high echelons of Byzantine society enjoyed this intellectual
13
Letter 1, lines 28-29; Letter 2, lines 18-19.
1
4
Letter 4, line 6.
15
See my Introduction, 86.
16
See Palamas, Trias 2, 2, 3, ed. J. Meyendorff, Gregoire Palomas, Defense des saints
hesychastes, 2nd. ed. (Louvain, 1974), 99, 323.
17
See commentary on Letter 1, lines 28-29.
20 Princess Irene-Eulogia
peace during much of the reign of Andronikos II (1282-1328).
It is that society which was responsible not only for much of the
literature of this period, but also for financing artistic
achievements of the so-called "Palaiologan Renaissance.
"18
It is easy to see how the aspirations, the mentality, and the
interests of Eulogia Choumnaina and that of her correspondent
are far from a real "Renaissance." But the subjectivism, the
aspirations to literary perfection-so very imperfect still in the
case of Eulogia-the aristocratic freedom from the strictures of
normal monastic discipline, can perhaps be seen as the signs of
a pre-Renaissance.
The second half of the fourteenth century will be much more
dramatic and divisive intellectually, religiously, socially, and
politically. The "pre-Renaissance" did not evolve into a "true
Renaissance." The activities and writings of Barlaam of Calabria
broke the peace between monks and humanists, whereas Eulogia
used her money and influence against Palamas and his disciples.
It is doubtful that she was ever moved by distinct personal
theological convictions. She was rather more sympathetic per
sonally to the humanistic circles where anti-Palamism was the
strongest. Her party lost the battle, but she did not suffer per
sonal or financial harm. In 1355, after the total triumph of the
Palamites, she was still in a position to donate a Macedonian
estate to the Monastery of Saint John Prodromos on Mount
Menoikion.19 The monastic zealots who took over the patriar
chate after the victory of Kantakouzenos in the civil war of
1341-1347, and had'the theology of Palamas solemnly confirmed
by the Church, did not suppress the close-knit aristocratic and
conservative society to which Eulogia belonged. This society, in
creasingly threatened by the military and political catastrophies
befalling Byzantium, survived in Constantinople or in Mis!ra as
a lingering pre-Renaissance until the very fall.
John Meyendorff
1 8
See my article "Spiritual Trends in Byzantium in the Late Thirteenth and Early Four
teenth Centuries," in P. Underwood, The Kariye Djami (Princeton, 1975), 4, 93-106.
1 9
See commentary on Letter 7, lines 42-44.
Critical Introduction
The correspondence edited below consists of twenty-two let
ters, eight of which are by the princess (Letters 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11,
13 and 15), and fourteen by her spiritual director (Letters 2, 4,
6, 8, 10, 12, 14 and 16-22).
20
The entire dossier was written
within the period of one year, 21 sometime after the death of An
dronikos II in 1332 and before the death of Eulogia's brother
John Choumnos, in 1338. These chronological indications are
provided by Letter 5, in which Eulogia assures her correspon
dent that if her father-in-law had been alive he would not have
failed to be his patron, 2 2 and by Letter 21, in which the director
20
The letters appear anonymously in the manuscript, bearing only the following super
scriptions: 'AnoAoyrr tKi npo< Tiv npoHllv, EmoToAi oWTEpa, wTEpa unoAoYlTtKi
npo< Tiv oWTEpav, TpiTll, n:TupTll unoAoYllTtKi npo< Tiv y
llV
, nEllnTll, EKTll uno
AOYllTtKi npo< Tiv nEllnTllv, E86llll, 6y86ll (sic) unoAoYllTtKi npo< Tiv E06IlllV,
EVVUTll (sic), OEKUTll unoAoYllTtKi npo< Tiv EVVUTllV (s, ic), EVOEKUTll (sic), OCOEKUTn
unQAoYllTJKi n, po< T, iv E\OEKUT, llV, TptoKmoEKuTll, tO
ll
unoAoYllTtKT npo< Tiv ty
l
l
V
,
lE
ll
, tOT
ll
, t1
ll
,1
1
1
1
1 , K
ll
, Ka
ll
. The terms unoAoYll TtKi (answer) and EmoToAi (let
ter) refer to the letters of Eulogia and to those of her director respectively. Starting with
the director's third letter, the letters of both the correspondents are numbered consecutive
ly, but there is no number 19. Either the scribe made a mistake in numbering the letters
or he left one out deliberately. He also failed to number the last letter in the collection
(Letter 22). It is obvious that the correspondence is incomplete. It begins with Eulogia's
answer to the director's first letter and ends with a brief note giving her permission to
attend the funeral of an aunt. Missing are both the director's first letter and Eulogia's
answers to his last six letters. Either the originals of these letters had been lost, or-as
suggested by Laurent ("La direction spirituelle," p. 50)-the letters in this collection
were copied from the princess' personal file by someone who selected them arbitrarily.
2l
Nos. 1-16 are an exchange in chronological order and, although Eulogia's letters stop
at this point, the remaining six letters by her director are sequential. Since Letter 9 was
written shortly before the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Savior on 6 August (cf.
commentary on Letter 9, lines 84-85), and Letter 21 shortly after the requiem on the
anniversary of Nikephoros Choumnos' death-16 January (cf. commentary on Letter
20, line 5)-the entire series does not exceed the chronological limits of one year.
22
See Letter 5, lines 39-50. We may even raise the terminus post quem to 1334 because,
as Laurent noted ("La direction spirituelle," p. 82, note 1), the mention of Dexios as
a friend of the patriarch indicates that the prelate in question was John XIV Kalekas. A
21
22 Princess Irene-Eulogia
refers to a meeting between the abbess and a "man of the
p
ara
koimomenos," most probably Eulogia's brother John, the
p
a
rakoimomenos of the Great Seal.
23
But even if the palatine of
ficial in question is not John Choumnos, we can safely say that
the letters were written before 1341 because they contain no allu
sion to the hesychast controversy in which the abbess was an ac
tive participant.
The correspondence has been preserved on the last folios
(235r-254v; three folios marked 237) of the codex Scorialensis
Gr. <. III-II (=S), a fourteenth century miscellany, which as
indicated by some of its other contents-four letters of Gregory
Akindynos (fols. 230r-234v) and one letter of a close friend of
John Kyparissiotes (fols. 213r-214v)-was either the property of
the princess or of one of her anti-Palamite protegeS.24
The entire text is by a practced hand, similar to Marcianus
Gr. 183 (1359-A. TuryDated Greek Manuscri
p
ts of the Thir
teenth and Fourteenth Centuries in the Libraries of Italy [Ur
bana, 1972], plate f82). Nevertheless, the copyist was no scholar.
He did not correct even the most noticeable spelling errors of
Eulogia who, by her own admission, was not proficient in gram
mar. 25 It would be tempting to ascribe the copying to the
princess herself, but we know from their mutual complaints that
neither she nor her correspondent had neat handwriting.26
In 1956 Father Laurent was the first to study Eulogia's cor
respondence and to publish short excerpts from it.
27
He dis
cussed the letters in detail, noting their prosopographical interest
and their importance for the study of the institution of spiritual
later anti-Palamite, Dexios is known to have been a member of Kalekas' entourage. See
Letter 18, line 10, and commentary.
23
See Letter 21, lines 3-6 and commentary on lines 3-4 of the same letter.
2
4
For a description of this MS, see G. De Andres, Catdlogo de los Codices Griegos
de la Real Biblioteca de el Escorial (Madrid, 1965), 2, pp. 60-64; Hero, The Letters of
Gregory Akindynos, pp. xxxvii-xl. I have studied the relevant part of this MS by means
of photographic reproductions.
25
See Letter 1, lines 5-6.
26
See Letter 10, lines 37-39 and Letter 13, lines 48-50.
27
See Laurent, "La direction spirituelle," 55, notes 4 and 6; 57, note 3; 58 note 1; 59,
notes 1-4, 6; 61, note 3; 62 notes 2 and 3; 63, note 2; 66; 69, notes 1-3; 70, note 5.
Critical Introduction 23
guidance in Byzantium. He also announced his intention to edit
the letters, but unfortunately his plans did not materialize. In
1957
T. D. Mosconas, the curator of the Library of the Orthodox
Patriarchate of Alexandria, studied Choumnaina's corre
spondence while on a visit to the EscoriaI and published a list
of the inci
p
its of the letters as well as photocopies of the folia
containing the first five letters. 28 However he relinquished his
interest in preparing a edition of this correspondence after learn
ing that Laurent was already considering the same project.
29
More recently, St. Kourouses, in his monograph on the Metro
politan Matthew of Ephesos, published a brief excerpt from one
of the letters (Letter
16
) .
30
Several excerpts have also appeared
in my article "Irene-Eulogia.
"31
In the present edition, the critical text diverges from S in spell
ing only. To avoid ambiguities, I have corrected Eulogia's er
rors and noted the original spelling in the apparatus. The or
thography of her director's letters is excellent, requiring only the
correction of occasional itacisms and the tacit changes in the ac
centuation of enclitics, in the addition of the iota subscript which
is found inconsistenly in S, and in punctuation. Finally, the
numbering of the letters is, of course, my own.
71-, notes 1 and 5; 72 notes 1-6; 73 notes 1, 5, and 6; 75 notes 2 and 4; 79 notes 3-4;
80, note 1; 83 note 2; 85, notes 1 and 5. For a French translation of select passages,
see ibid., 52, note 6; 54-55; 58; 63; 70-72; 74-79; 81-85.
28
See T. D. Mosconas, i1tu'ov EAA:VtKmV aVEK86twv 'EtPOYPUcwv, 'AVUAEKta,
'EK&OOW tOU 'IvOttTOUTOU tmv 'AVatOAtKmV L1ou8mv n< I1atptap'tKi< Bt1Ato8itKT<
'AAEav8pEia< (Alexandria, 1957), 6, pp. 95-111.
29
Mosconas, "La correspondance de Theoiepte de Philadelphie avec Ir
e
ne
Paieologue," 'AVUAEKta, 7 (1958), 32-33.
30
Kourouses, Manuel Gabalas, p_ 334, note 1.
31
Hero, "Irene-Eulogia," notes 1, 15, 24, 34-44, 47-57, 59-60, 73-76, 78.
24
* * *
t t t
< >
[ ]
s
Princess Irene-Eulogia
List of Signs
lacunae codicis
crucibus amplectuntur corruptelae
addenda
delenda
Codex Scorialensis Gr. <. ///-11
Angela C. Hero
THE CORRESPONDENCE
t, , Khi
KOV
5 ' ,
,
'
10
,
.
.
15 ,
, '
' ,
,
, -
20
. * * *
, 6
,
25 6 .
' , ,
' .
S 235r
10 ] S 11 20 S 11 21 post spat. cav. 1-21itt. (ut vid.) S 11 23
S 11 26 ' (ut vid.) S 11 28 S
26
Answer to the First Letter
I
was glad to receive your most eloquent and wise letter,
holy Father. Its beauty delighted me and moved me
to write to you so that you may understand two things about
me: from my mistakes in accents and itacisms < you will under
stand ) my ignorance and want of training in the art of gram
mar. But < you will also understand ) my capacity for think
ing, small as it is; lowe it to the great gift and benevolence and
grace of my Maker and Savior Jesus Christ and not to human
education or explanation. They would have taught me grammar
too, if they cared for me so much < as to gve me an education).
I am grateful for the letter of Your Holiness and I commend
and admire it. I am grateful for your praise, even though I am
nothing and a total stranger to such compliments. Nevertheless,
< I am grateful) for your kind feelings and your good opinion
of me. On the other hand, I praise and admire < your letter)
because the < letter ) in itself shows great philosophical abili
ty. I mean that it is ability and great evidence of philosophy to
present in a few and brief words a very significant and impor
tant matter. So, Your Holiness, you made your letter deliberately
brief out of humility and in the hope of escaping my detection,
but you achieved the opposite of your intention. For when I saw
such ability in so few words, I praised you even more and felt
impelled to disturb you.
I request Your Holiness, therefore, to let me see your other
works also. Furthermore it is my request, and ardent request,
that you do not deprive me of the work of Your Holiness in honor
of the most holy Patriarch Kyr-Athanasios.
27
28
< )
, '
,
,
5 .
[Fol. 235v]
, ,
, 1
.
10 -
i 1
,
1
, . ' , ,
15
,
-
-
20 , .
' ,
,
. .
S 235r-235v
1 smg 11 5 S 11 12 SSV
29
< Letter 2 )
Not only did I give something good but I also received < the
same ) in return. Rather, without giving anything good I re
ceived something marvelous: from the mouth of a woman came
a voice fit for a wise and noble man; it was the natural product
of a naturally wise soul. Previously, I wondered at the princess'
love of learning, but now I wonder whether there is anything more
useful that she can ingenuously discover and take from elsewhere
than she can offer to others from her own counsel.
It seems to me that my works will appear useless when of
fered to such a creature. So by the very means by which you
earnestly tried to urge me to give you my works, you deter me
from giving them to you. However, it is rude to disobey your
command. Just as I said, though, it is not easy to give them out.
Some of them are still on the paper on which they were first writ
ten. They are in the form of drafts and difficult to make out,
while those which have been finished-as I am wont to finish
them, that is-remain in Thessalonike. Among the latter are those
which I happened to write in honor of the noble and holy Atha
nasi os. Having said none of these things < to you ) at the time,
I failed to tell the truth. I wrote to have these < works ) sent
to me soon, and when they are brought here you may have those
you wish. Neither will I refuse to give you those < that are here)
as soon as they are edited. It is a fact that no one begrudges
anyone anything that is not good.
30
< )
, ,
'
.
5 ,
.
, ,
, ,
1 ,
10 .
i q q
1 i,
,
-
15 ,
va[Fol. 236r] 1 , ,
.
,
. -
20
, '
, ',
' ,
25 .
,
,
18 Greg. Naz., Or. 2, 40 (ed. Bernardi, 142, 16)
S 235v-236r
1 Smgll 6 S 11 8
S 11 12 S 11 (littera ex correcta) S / (litteris
ex correctis) S / 13 S 11 13-14 S 11 16 ]
(littera 2 partim erasa) S 11 post unum verbum eras. et
scr
.
S
svlI 17 S1/ 19 S 1/ 20 ,c 1/ 22
S 11 25 ante scripsit et deinde delevit S
31
< Letter 3 )
If they asked the sun what part of the creation it would rather
have prevail on the rest, it would answer thus (if it could utter
a word): that it would like the Universe to be eyes in order to
apprehend the sun's own beauty. And if someone asked a most
wise and learned man what he, too, would like more than anything
else, he would ask for an understanding audience. This is why
I was compelled to write to you in a rash and thoughtless man
ner, considering neither your wisdom nor my ignorance, but con
sidering this alone: to let you know that you are not talking to
an audience that is utterly lacking in understanding, even if I
cannot approach your wisdom.
You lead a life of poverty, simplicity, self-effacement and
obscurity in Christ, hiding and covering up your wisdom like a
budding rose. Thus you have left your most wise writings ne
glected and cast aside and you keep them only in drafts. I suspect
that you did not even edit those you sent to Thessalonike, nor
did your friends force you to do so. But you must know that
just as "the iron strikes the firestone," I shall not cease striking
until I light up the torch of your writings. So, if it is possible
to copy from the draft those of your works which are more
necessary < for me to read) and whatever Your Holiness ap
proves and considers me worthy of seeing, I shall not hesitate
to send paper and < pay for) the expenses. If this is not possi
ble, < send me ) at least your writings on the Patriarch Kyr
Athanasios, if there is a copy. And if you do not wish these to
circulate, I guarantee that also, because of the antipathy of cer
tain people. But if even this is not convenient, let the living spring
come-let Your Holiness visit me-and I shall bear the loss of
the river that flows with writings.
I would like' , however, to mention the following: in your first
32
.
' 1
30
,
, ,
,
.
35 , ,
1 ,
,
' -
40 .
30 S 11 32 S 11 32-33 forsitan corrige : ..
S 11 33 S 11 39
S 11 40 S
< )
"Q ,
, ,
.
5 [Fol. 236v]
' ,
1, ' , '
, ' ' -
10
. , 1,
. -
'
, , ,
15 ( .
S 236r-236v
1 Smg 11 7Qv S 11 8 S
33
letter, Your Holiness, you said to me that you sent me that let
ter as a taste of the wine-cask; if I did not find it distasteful, I
could drain the cask. Yet, although I found it delicious, I did
not even partake of a pitcher. I fear, therefore, that my ignorance
and obtuseness sealed the cask. Because you do not wish to be
praised yourself, you praised me excessively to make me realize
how much < praise ) is due to a wise and learned man, if even
an illiterate and ignorant woman is given so much praise. You
wished me to understand the enormity of the debt and feeling
dizzy at the thought to refrain from praising you. Things turned
out as you intended.
< Letter 4 )
I thought that what I wrote would quell your eagerness. But
since I see that it rather kindled and increased it extraordinarily,
I sent to you some discourses which are not good although they
appear to you to be good. These discourses of mine, for which
you particularly asked, were found in the monasteries of the
renowned Athanasios and they are not as I set them down later
and left them in Thessalonike, but they were taken directly from
birth, so to speak, and therefore they are not as carefully worked
out. Still they are more polished than the rest of my discourses
that are here. Read these, and if you require the rest, I shall hand
them over to you after they have been copied, in accordance with
your orders. I do not believe that these discourses should be kept
from those for whom I wrote them. For even if I am not too
anxious to display them, they were written so that these individuals
might hear them, not that they might not.
34
< >
, ,
. '
. KOV
5 ' ;
,
-
, , -
10 ,
, ,
,
, --
15
, ,
,
[Fol. 237r] -
20 '
-
; ,
, -
25 .
,
, ,
.
(\,t,\ 1, t;i ,u,,, "\",,,1'3,
1-2 Ps, 117 (118). 162-16 11 6
m
: 8 11 8-9 Oreg.
N
az., Or. 42,
13 ( 36.472D) 1110-11 Oreg.
N
az., Or 42,13 ( 36. 472D-73A) 1116-17
cf. Jn. 14.27
S 236v-237v
1
' s
m
g 11 S 11 2
S 11 3 S 11 14 S 11 23 S 11 26 S
35
< Letter 5 >
"I exulted because of thy words," holy Father, "as one that
finds much spoil." I was caught between two emotions. I felt
both great joy and much sorrow. I rejoiced at the beauty of your
writing. For what is not admirable about it? The fire-breathing
rhetoric or the saintly and most pious and proficient instruction?
For you "instruct in an instructive way," and the instruction is
such that no important argument is omitted and the' 'dispute is
between the arguments not the speakers." In such an impeccable
manner you deal a vital blow to the enemy of truth! Or is not
the benefit of your teaching < to be admired >? Not only < the
benefit > of those for whom it was written, but of us also who
read it. For we are certainly taught about gentleness of spirit and
the meaning of forbearance and the laws of double peace-I mean
both the divine and human-and what was the peace that Christ
bequeathed to His disciples and what is human peace, and how
he who is to have the Holy Spirit dwell in him needs the divine
peace. The discourse explains this admirably and reconciles the
Prophet's saying with that of the Gospel. Or, again, < should
one not admire > the great facility of mind and breadth of percep
tion and the marvelous and unaffected language? The breadth
of your perception reduces me to straits, Father, and your great
ease, makes me uneasy. I was so charmed by your writing that
I neglected all my duties, although they were most pressing, and
did not let go of your discourse until I had finished all of it.
36
, -
30
.
, , , ,
-
35 , ,
' ' , '
.
" ,
40
, ,
; ;
!
! ,
45 , , !"
'' , ,
."
[Fol. 237v]
, -
50 ! ,
, ,
.
-
' -
55 , .
,
.
.
30 S 11 31
S 11 33
(supra 1 littera [?] quae legi
potest) S 11 35 S 11 43 S 11 43 S 11 44
S 141 45 S 11 56 S 11 57 S
37
These were, then, the reasons for my rejoicing, but even more
so it was your virtue which shines through your writings for those
who are not altogether blind. As for the causes of my sorrow,
they were the following: the fact that a man was born filled with
blessings-wisdom, knowledge, eloquence, and what is more im
portant, virtue-and he races through time and time hurries him
off, stealing away the glory which is his due. All this because
of his virtue and because he does not care to show off, there be
ing no one who desires and seeks out the good. As I was turning
these thoughts around in my mind, I said to myself with many
tears: "Where is your spirit, my lord and father-in-law, the mighty
and holy emperor? You were a born philosopher and loved vir
tue and learning and goodness and the monks! And you, my most
wise father, who gave me life? Here is the friend you were seek
ing! Here is the kind of monk in whose company you delighted!
o what a loss you suffered, both you, my father, and you, Your
Holiness, the author of this work, holy Father!" For I shall turn
back to you. "You do not have, as I see, a worthy and genial
judge and listener." I almost blame public opinion for being
rather insensitive to such greatness. If my father and father-in
law were alive, even though you run away from fame with a most
swift foot, they would have chased you with honor's swifter feet,
moved by the love of honor, and they would have caught you
as they were wont to do.
As truth is my witness, I do not say this to flatter you. I am
just telling you what I noticed and learned from my reading. You
should know and write to assure me whether I grasped and
understood all the meaning of your work. I am providing paper
for < copies> of the rest of your works.
38
< ' >
1 , '
, ;
, 1 1 -
5 ' . ' ,
, ,
1 q
,
.
10 -
,
1
, ","
, " ,
."
15 ,
[Fol. 237ar]
,
.
, , 1 -
20 , .
,
'
:: , .
25 .
S 237v-237ar
1 smg
1
1 13-14 Cf. Joannes Colobus, Apophthegmata, 32 (Apoph
thegmata patrum, 65. 213-16)
6
1
1 13 S 11 18 S
39
< Letter 6 >
Will you not stop seducing my wretched and vain soul from
its established way of life with your praises? Because I already
foresaw this and was well aware of my own weakness, I did not
dare to give such a pretext against me to a mind so fond of learn
ing. With respect to me, you seem to be the only one who has
retained an absolute sense of the good, since you keenly perceive
even the smallest good and admire it as much as no one admires
even the greatest and most worthwhile.
I have not attained a greater degree of perfection than that
marvelous father who was weaving baskets and who said, when
someone sitting nearby praised him and repeatedly told him how
well he was weaving: "Keep quiet, my good man, for ever since
you came here you led me away from God." Inasmuch as I am
inferior to that man and less accomplished in the pursuit of
virtue-and I must add to this the superiority of the praise and
of the admirer-I am led further away from God by being praised.
Let the burden stop here, then, lest like a small boat, having taken
a heavier load than I can carry, I go under.
That renowned emperor and your wise father should have
been born immortal because of all they had and gave to others.
I am well aware of being too lowly for their love.
40
< )
,
;
5 '
,
,
, -
10 .
,
,
'
.
15 -
- q -
,
, ' 1
[Fol. 237
a
] -
20
,
,
, '
, .
25 , ,
.
,
-
'1-2 I
s
. 10. 15 11 7-10 2 Cor. 6. 7-8 11 27-28 Ps. 76 (77). 3
S 237
a
r-237
b
r
1 smg 11 5 S 11 7 S 11
10 S 1116 S
s
v 11 ] S 1117 S 11 S 1118 S 11
S 11 19 S 11 24 S 11 S 11 25-26 6
S 11 27-28 S
41
< Letter 7 >
"Shall the axe glorify itself without him that hews with it"
or will iron be tempered without fire and water? Thus neither
will a wisdom-loving mind be glorified and thrive without an ad
mirer and a critic. For even praise becomes a weapon of virtue
to a champion, in the words of the Apostle saying: "with the
weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; in
honor and dishonor, in ill-repute and good repute." Accept, then,
the words of praise as a weapon of righteousness sent to you from
God, since this is how He saw fit to dispose of the lives of His
servants (if indeed what I say to you is truly praise and I am not
insulting you by my praise).
I sent to you the discourses of the marvelous man-if love
does not blind me-and I wish you to look first at what I have
checked because it has a double value: literary and spiritual.
Besides, you must see the double bereavement and loss I suf
fered-wretched me-when I lost both my fathers; the one who
gave me birth in fesh and the other who regenerated me by the
monastic habit and to whose direction I submitted as best as I
could. If time permits, you shall hear what he taught me by way
of initiation. Unable to bear their loss, and more so that of my
spiritual father, I live in grief. Because I could not find company
< which offered > both spiritual and literary < benefits > so as
to be complete and perfect, "my soul refused to be comforted
42
' , -
30
. , ,
,
-
- -
35 '
,
. '
. ,
' -
40 ' ,
.
,
,
45 , * * *
[Fo1.237br]
,
.
28-29 Ps. 60 (61). 2 11 35 cf. Mt. 25. 15-28
28-29 S 11 32 S 11 33 S 11 34 S 11
S 11 35 S 11 38 ' S 11 40 S 11 43 post
vocabulum quod legi potest expunxit S 11 44 S 11
S " 45 post vocabulum quod legi potest - S
43
and my spirit was in trouble." This is why my heart moved me
from within to seek your company. If it is no trouble, therefore,
just as I said before, do visit me once a month and become a
muzzle of my depression, so to speak, since even a bow string
cannot bear tension and must be loosened for a while from the
notches. Do this for the sake of Him Who enjoined us not to
hide the talent. Since you are entrusted with both a literary and
spiritual talent, give to those who ask eagerly. Perhaps you will
say, because of your excessive modesty, that you are not suffi
ciently endowed in either respect. Please do not say that, for it
is a complaint muttered against the Lord Who granted you these
talents. I also tell you that I am satisfied with what I saw and
understood and I need no more.
Since the Lord made me also a trustee and manager of < ma
terial ) goods and they were managed as He sees fit and since
a fraction < of them > still remains and I a managing it, please
let me know how much you need for your comfort from the goods
of our common Master and may I not fail < to provide it > as
best as I can.
44
< )
' ' ,
, ,
< -
5 ,
.
, ,
, '
10 - ,
, ,
- '
,
, ,
15 , ,
.
'
, '
, -
20 i .
.
,
' ,
25
[!. 237bv]
, i
, , .
,
30 ,
, '
7-11 Cf. 2 Cor. 6. 7-8 1114-16 Ro
m
. 8. 35 11 27-28 Cf. Pind., O/ymp. 2.86
S 237br-238r
1 s
m
g 11 4 S 11 12-13 S 11 15 S 11 19
S 11 30-31 S
45
< Letter 8 )
Praise is a weapon of virtue not by itself but by accident, and
not for those who acquire virtue intelligently but for those who
have the mentality of a child. For just as their guardians lead
the children to the teacher by the use of fattery and soothing
words, in the same way praise incites people of childish mental
ity to virtue when offered for that purpose. This is not, however,
what the Apostle means when he speaks of "the weapons of
righteousness for the right hand and for the left, honor and
dishonor. " He means instead that none of these can turn him
away from his proposed task-"neither honor nor dishonor nor
ill-repute nor good repute" nor any other such thing-but through
everything he remains the same and unchangeable servant and
apostle of Christ, just as he says elsewhere that nothing can
separate him' 'from the love of Christ, neither tribulation nor
distress" nor all that he enumerates in this passage also. But
whoever is intelligent and pursues the good intelligently, he will
not adhere to the good because of any of all the other reasons
but because of the very nature of the good alone and foremost,
even if there should be no one to know his frame of mind.
This is what I have to say about these matters. As for the book
of your most wise father, I admire it very much and no longer
on account of your testimony but on account of the very wisdom
of your father, for I observed in his discourses admirable think
ing, gracefu language, and moderation coupled with magnificence.
I admired especially the topics of the discourses, so noble are they
and so beftting a man "born wise," as Pindar said. Such are the
works of your natural father! I saw them and will see them and
the more I see them the more I will admire them, for such are the
46
, a
35 ,
.
,
.
, -
40
,
1
, ,
45 ' .
, ,
, -
50 [Fol. 238r] .
6 ,
6 '
,
.
55 ,
.
' ,
60 1 ' , , ,
.
.
39 S 11 45 ' S 11 60 ssv
47
good and unusual things. Now it remains for me to see the works
of your other father, which must be great and marvelous since
you admire and honor them. For I have well and sufficiently con
cluded that whatever you may consider good and acceptable can
not possibly be otherwise.
As for my visits, if I were not speaking to an expert on the
monastic and, as much as possible, the ascetic life, I would have
explained why they are difficult if not impossible. But since your
own God-loving disposition happens to prefer solitude to soci
ety, I do not suspect that I shall cause you any distress even if
I were never to leave my solitude. Besides, if we could not com
municate by letters-just as we do now-such visits would have
probably been necessary. But since you can write as well as others
can talk, and with such learning and grace, you must not set so
much value on these visits. I may also hesitate to walk through
the center of the City so often, but I shall not hesitate to write
from my solitude. Still if it is not impossible for me, < I shall
come > when I decide to upon reflection.
I say the same about my physical needs for which you pro
vide so generously, not only by words but also by deeds. If you
did not lavish such gifts on me continually and abundantly and
devoutly, it would be up to me to ask for what I need. But since
you seem to be doing what you do for me as if it were an obliga
tion, it is superfluous for me to say anything. Perhaps even this
matter will be properly discussed at the proper time.
48
< >
Q , ,
,
;
,
5 ,
q
,
, , , ,
-
10 .
' , ,
,
[Fol. 238v] ,
,
15 ,
,
' ,
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, -
20 , .
,
,
. ,
25 ' , ,
'
1 ;
.
7-9 Cf. 2 Cor. 6. 9-10 11 9-10 Rom. 8. 35
S 238r-240r
1
(sic) s
m
g
11 3 ] S 11
4 S 11 5 S 11 13 S 11 16 S
11 17 S 11 18 S 11 20 S 11 20-21 S 11 21-22
(litteris s.v. scriptis) S 11 25 (litteris s.V.
scriptis) S 11 post vocabulum quod le
g
i potest expunxit S
49
< Letter 9 )
Does Your Holiness see, holy Father, the weakness and inex
perience of my writing, how it does not have the power to ex
press the intent of my mind? God forbid that I should have been
so obtuse as to call my praise for you a weapon of virtue, mean
ing that it incites you to virtue, even if this happens with some
small and indolent man. Instead, I rather intended < to say ),
just as the Apostle did, that "neither honor nor dishonor" nor
exaltation nor humiliation nor ill-repute nor praise can "separate
you from the love of Christ." Since, then, according to < the
Apostle ), all these amount to training exercises, < testing ) our
love for Christ so that he who was not defeated by them may
shine even brighter, because none of these temptations had the
power to separate him from the object of his desire, just as a
son who loves his father, even if he happens to have innumerable
friends who give him many gifts, he does not change his feelings
for his father nor his attachment to him, but while he loves his
friends and accepts their gifts, he uses everything for the honor
and glory of his own father-this is what the Apostles did and
this is what the servants of God like you do-for this reason I
called praise a weapon of virtue. I was forced to say this because
although you said that I drove God away from you by my praise,
no one can take God away from such a wisdom-loving and God
loving soul. < Sure as I see it ), first that holy father, and then
you, prove that God dwells in both of you by saying that God
has been driven away from you. What can be more blessed or
praiseworthy than this? But I did not wish to say that at the time
from fear of being reprimanded.
50
. -
30 , ,
, , '
'
'
35 .
,
,
, [l. 239r]
40
. ,
, ' "
; 1 -
45 ,
;
, ,
, ,
,
50 ,
,
.
.
."
55 ,
- -
,
, ' -
60 . -
50 cf. Sir. 6.191152-53 1 Jn. 3.17 1153-54 Gen. 4.7
30-31 S 11 35 S 11 36 S 11 39 S 11
40 S 11 41 post scripsit et deinde delevit S 11 42
S 11 58 S 11 59 ' smg
51
So much for that. As for failing to obtain my request, it
distresses me very much -I like to say the truth -and more so
because I understand your reasons: you avoid me because of your
love of solitude. Yet, in the lover of solitude is found what I desire
and seek, and because of many signs I think that the treasure
I seek is concealed in you. The more I am assured of this, the
more I wish to cultivate and enjoy your most beneficial company.
And the more I desire this to no avail, the more I grieve having
missed so great a blessing and lost the treasure for which I yearned
and searched of old. And I would have drowned in sorrow, had
I not rebuked myself severely and recovered from grief, saying
the following: "Why do you refuse to enter < God's abode)
yourself, while preventing those who hasten after God < from
entering it )? Are you not aware that this is God's dispensation
because of your unworthiness so that this < failure ), too, may
not be judged against you? For just as you did not observe < the
precepts ) of your other < spiritual ) fathers-and above all
those of your ( spiritual father) and master, the great bishop,
but proved that the great and immeasurable pains he took to
plough and sow the soil of your heart were in vain and you re
mained barren-you will do the same with the precepts of others.
This is why God 'closed the hearts' of His servants. 'You sinned,
so keep quiet.' "
I am distressed on account of my sins but not at all on ac
count of Your Holiness, as truth is my witness. Instead, I am
grateful and I accept and admire your good intention, because
you attend to what many people desire but few zealously pursue
and achieve. May the love, illumination and sweetness, and the
52
,
, ,
,
[Fol.
65 239v] ,
, ,
'
.
70 6
. ,
75 ,
6 "
, .
,
80 . ,
, .
,
85 .
, .
.
[Fol. 240r] -
90 , .
68-69 Phil. 4
.
7 11 70-71 Greg. Naz., Or. 21, 1 (ed. Mossay-Lafontaine, 112,
25) 11 72-73 Greg. Naz., Or. 21,2 (ed. Mossay-Lafontaine, 114,5) 11 76-77
cf. 1 Cor. 10.24-25
64 S
s
v
11 69 S 11 73 S 11 76 f S 11 78
S 11 S 11 80 S 11 84 S 11 86 ante scripsit et deinde
dele
v
it S 11 87 S 11 S 11 89 S 11 90
S
53
pure delight of Christ be forever within you together with peace
of mind, as the two passionate parts of the soul become peaceful
and submit to reason, and the four senses of the soul submit to
the mind, and the mind, in turn, submits to Christ so that it does
not act, but is acted upon, nor does it operate but is operated
upon by the divine grace and the divine light. And thus "the peace
which passes all understanding will keep your heart." "This is
the loftiest of aspirations and when it happens all contemplation
rests." May you never tire of "ascent and deification!" As for
me, I shall lament for my sins which separate me from God and
His servants. I am left with no way out. It is better to grieve and
suffer than to become an obstacle to you, for we must not seek
our own good but that of others. As for writing, the living voice
differs from the message on paper and ink as much as the living
and speaking man differs from a lifeless image in a painting. I
beg you, do not give up your visits altogether.
I shall talk to you about my two fathers in another letter, for
this is too long and beyond the proper limits. But I fear that my in
experience and the distraction of the celebration of the Feast of
< the Transfiguration ) of the Savior will prevent me from writ
ing. Besides, I do not wish to talk but rather listen to others teach
and talk. I sent papers and writing < fee). For the time being,
therefore, let those discourses Your Holiness chooses be copied
from their drafts, and when your books arrive I shall then delight
54
, , :
, '
95 ,
' ,
, ,
' ,
100 ,
.
92-94 Cf. Greg. Naz., Or. 2,3 (ed. Mossay-Lafontaine, 44, 7-10):
, ' ,
11 95-96 Greg. Naz., Or. 4, 100 (ed.
Bernardi, 248, 10) 11 100-10 1 1 Tim. 1.9
92 S
s
v 11 S 11 94 S 11 99 S 11 100 S
55
in all < your works> also. For I do not dare say with the great
and most accomplished theologian, my favorite master, the Great
Gregory, that" I have shaken off all fear since I attached myself
to Christ, and nothing can overpower me," and all the other
< temptations> he recounts, but "I am fond of learning and
cling to it." Surely this is what I, too, would say and for this
reason I seek your company, because not only is it to my spiritual
benefit and training-the training which I received but did not
accomplish successfully-but it is also most erudite. I repeat,
however, < only > if it is not burdensome < to you > and when
ever you decide. "The law is not laid down for the just!"
56
< )
OC 1 '
'
, ' -
5 , ' ,
. a '
, -
10
,
' [!. 240v]
.
q
15 1, ,
.
'
, 1 -
20 ,
, , q 1,
' ,
'
25
, '
'
, 1, '
{ '
-
30 ,
13-15 Cf. Ps. 21 (22).25 11 20-21 Herodotus st'J 1.178; 7.117
S 240r-241r
1 (sic) smg 11 8 ' S 11 15 ] S 11 18
S 11 28
S
57
< Letter 10 >
I thought it unnecessary to express my gratitude to your
Christ-loving disposition for the attention you saw fit to bestow
on me and my insignificance. For you do not do this in order.
to receive your reward in this world, but you are looking to the
divine glory. Even if you were overcome by worldly ambition,
it would have been impossible for me to praise adequately your
kind sentiments and to repay them with the proper gratitude, as
would be fair. < Your generosity > is most remarkable in itself,
but the fact that it is expressed with such eagerness, and flows
constantly with increasing impetus like water running downhill
with nothing to stop it, is no less remarkable than < your generos
ity > itself, and it is beyond the power of my words. This is why
I leave it to the divine "praises" which the Prophet David re
quests from God' 'in a great congregration," for it is worthy of
them and fit for them.
As for what you wrote to me about your inability to express
your thoughts clearly in writing and about my company, the
former does not happen to you alone-who surpass all contempo
rary women in education by a "royal cubit," as they say-but
it seems also to happen occasionally even to men who have
reached the peak of Hellenic learning and rhetorical skill, and
probably no one can escape this < difficulty \ > all the time. But
it is a sign of wise thinking and judgment to correct one's
mistakes, especially if one is under the guidance of others and
accepts the correction kindly, and if the error is in words alone,
not in intention, as was precisely your case. For this is what hap
pened to you. As for my worthless company, which you seek out
of your excessive love of learning as if it were something of worth
and beneficial to those who converse with me, it may be up to
me to offer it, but offering it well and profitably is up to God
58
, ,
.
,
, ' 1
35 ,
[1.241], .
,
.
40 ,
, '
, ,
, . '
45 ,
,
, , .
, -
50 , .
43 ' S
59
Who helps and makes perfect and does good to all. Since living
as ascetics is better and loftier than living well, we must meet
whenever God wills it and we must not complain if this happens
at some intervals, for this is what God decrees. If you have trouble
reading this letter because of my bad hand writing, think of yours
and you shall have less trouble.
I believe that you have in store a large number of books, both
profane and sacred, which were accumulated because of your
father's erudition and your own love of learning. I lack both and
am fond of both, although, just as with everything else, I am
too weak to read. So that Your Piety may provide me with this
also, let a copy of the list of both < the profane and sacred )
books be made and sent to me, so that I may choose what I con
sider more necessary and useful and ask to have it with your per
mission. For the time being, if you have the five books of Moses
and the four books of Kings, let them be sent to me.
60
< < )
'
, '
,
,
5 .
,
1 q
. [!. 241 ] , '
10 . ' ' , '
,
q 1 q q .
7 Cf. Hebr. 11.71112 ... : 1 Jn. 5. 20-21; Joannes Chrysosto
m
us,
Liturgia, (ed. Bri
g
ht
m
an), 361, 13 11 12-13 Ps. 21 (22). 25
S 241r-241v
1 (sic) s
m
g
11 4 S 11 5 s
m
g
61
< Letter 11 )
I do not know whether the paper I sent to Your Holiness has
arrived because I did not receive any copies. I wait < to hear )
your talk like the thirsty earth awaits the rain, because I can sense
its benefit. Inasmuch as your writings made me cry so much in
contrition and I benefited so much, may God, "Who gives the
rewards," give you an infinitely greater reward on the Day of
Judgment. You do not tolerate praise nor can I praise you pro
perly. But neither will you receive from men in this life the praise
you deserve but from "Christ the true God" "in a great con
gregation" during His second coming.
62
< >
,
.
,
5
, ,
.
' ,
, '
10 .
,
,
oC .
, , .
15 '' '
,
,
, '
' , [Fol.
20 242r] ,
, '
.
,
25 .
C , ,
, , ,
. ' ' ,
-
30 .
S 241v-242r
1 (sic) s
m
g
11 4 S 11 6 S 11 10
S 11 15 S 11 21 ' s
m
g
11 26 s 11 27
S 11 S
63
( Letter 12 )
This book contains my discourses in defense of ( Hellenic )
learning against those who do not consider such learning a benefit.
It also contains some iambics and hexameters. I wrote the
discourses while still a layman and for this reason they have been
neglected, but the verses ( I wrote) after I became a monk.
Some verses are easy to understand, as you will find out im
mediately when you read them, while others have a meaning
somewhat deeper than the obvious. Such are those which have
been arranged alphabetically. They have a spiritual significance
and bear the fruit of contemplation picked from the labors of
the Fathers, not mine. Since you are always piously anxious to
talk with me and I am not quite able to do so, I cannot all the
time refuse to share my possessions with your scholary mind. Take
this book and, if you like it, read it.
As for the book of the great and marvelous father, the
metropolitan of Philadelphia, which, as you say, is instructive
on contemplation and contains a useful discourse on the matter
we are discussing, send it to me with the holy and marvelous father
from whom you will learn all my news; having seen him and en
joyed his company, believe that you saw me, for we dwell in each
other and by each other by the grace of Christ the All-benevolent.
I am grateful to you also for the sagacity and learning of the
noble Aaron, who gave me additional reason to praise your judg
ment. For the object of a person's esteem, whatever its qualities
may be, allows us to assume that the person showing esteem is
possessed of the same qualities: if they be good, of good; if they
be bad, of bad. Since, then, Aaron is preeminently good, he shows
by being held in esteem that the person who decided to hold him
in esteem and to befriend him is good.
64
< - >
,
,
;
1 ,
5 ,
,
;
,
,
10 ,
[Fl. 242v] .
0-
,
; 0-
15 ,
. , , 0-
,
.
20
; ; Q K
. ;
;
;
25 * * * ;
; ;
;
, , ;
1 1 Tim. 6.11 1116-17 Mt. 18. 26,291120-21 1 Tim. 6. 11
S 242r-243v
1 (sic) s
m
g
11 s 11 3
S 11 4 S 11 S 11
5
S 11 6 S 11 7
S 11 8 S 11 10 ssv 11 11 ] folio sequenti ineunte
iteravit S
11 21 S 1
1
25 post lacunam indicavi, aliquid excidisse suspiciens
11
27-28 S
65
< Letter 13 >
What is this you are saying, 0 most marvelous' 'man of God,"
most genuine servant of Christ and my most revered and holy
father? Will he who has become acquainted with your discourses
give up his desire to meet you, or rather will he become even more
excited, and with fervor and ardor seek out the author, the finest
intellect and the most beautiful tongue which charms both ear
and mind? If you were not among the living and some intelligent
man came upon your discourses, he would be sitting on your grave
and crying wholeheartedly, hoping to hear a word from < a man
of > such an extraordinarily beautiful soul and tongue. How
can I, then, who was deemed by God worthy of finding you
among the living, give up my good and profitable request? So,
by the very means by which you were anxious to make me shun
your company, you made me even more eager and determined.
Please bear with me and' 'have patience" for I shall not hesitate
to proclaim boldly before your God-inspired soul all the prais' es
I can possibly muster.
Is there anything about your discourses, 0 "man of God,"
which does not excite admiration? Is there < a virtue > they do
not exhibit? Not the wisdom of an old man at an early age? Not
the strictest observance of monastic discipline and life ahead of ap
pointed time? Not a profound study and understanding of profane
and sacred writings? Not < an inkling > (?) of the later move
ments of virtue which were of the highest < order> from the
start? Not a wide compass of thought? Not a copious vocabulary?
Not a flowing and lofty style? Will your Alphabetos-which I
66
,
30
,
,
[. 243r]
, -
35 , ; '
,
. '
", ,
-
40 ."
. ,
, ,
,
45
; ' ,
,
, '
-
50 ,
,
,
.
[!.
55 243v] ,
o. ,
, 1
1 K 1 . ' -
60
.
30-32 Arsenius, Apophthegmata, 6 (Apophthegmata Patrum, 65. 89
) 11
36-37 Ps. 138 (139). 6 11 51-52 Ps. 149 (150).8
33 S 11 1 11 38
S
11 44 S 11 47 S
"
48 S
"
S
Sv
"
51 S
"
52 S
"
54
S
"
57 S
"
S " 58 S
"
58-59 S
67
have not learned yet-fail to amae anyone? For if Saint Arsenios
said about some ignorant peasant: "1 have been educated in Greek
and Latin, but 1 have yet to learn the alphabet of this ignorant
peasant," what must 1 say when the Alphabetos is heavenly and
its author a great philosopher, whereas 1 who received it am most
ignorant? 1 shall say, however, what the divine David said to God:
"1 magnify thy knowledge!" Thus 1 shall say about you also:
"0 my God, the disposition and nature and loftiness of spirit
of this man of yours magnify Your powers of creation and
wisdom and knowledge!"
So much for that. Now, why did you do this, 0 most holy
Father? Why did you first praise learning as much as it deserves,
and then left your discourses looking naked and dark and sad as if
mourJing their obscurity and nakedness and neglect and rejection
and bewailing the injustice done to them? But 1 suspect that you
did this on purpose, to test the love of the lovers of learning who
would stick to the reading. This is what happened to me too.
The handwriting and its confusion made me turn away from
reading, but the beauty of what you wrote held me bound by
force with' 'manacles of iron." 1 was under the sway of a sweet
tyrant and did not min the difficulty of the handwriting.
1 am only teasing, of course. You worked carefully and hard
to acquire the wisdom of the world and have now brought and
delivered it to the supreme wisdom to be its ministrant. For this
reason you humble and crush it-because it met with a superior
character < like yours >-that it may obey and work eagerly for
its mistress and lady. As for the message you sent me with Aaron
about your coming here, 1 am grateful and 1 wait and look for
ward to < your visit - .
68
< )
,
5 , ,
,
1
,
' , ,
10 , '
, '
.
, -
15 , [!. 244] '
.
,
,
20 , , ,
.
, ' ,
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25 -
,
- ,
1 1
' , -
30 .
-
- ,
S 243v-245r
1 smg
5-6 S 11 ] S 11 14 iteravit et deinde delevit S 11 31
S 11
S
69
< Letter 14 )
I sat in my cell and collected myself before the only God, He
Who watches over all ad knows all, and examined conscientious
ly my knowledge and ability. I also considered as carefully as
possible how I must live, and I discovered that if I am to control
myself at all and draw near to God I must not follow any other
path in life but remain in my cell all the time, having nothing
to do with the world of the senses-except when absolutely nec
essary-and living in obscurity as a man needed by no one and
needing nothing; the first, on account of my contributing-nothing
to human affairs; the second, on account of my living as spar
ingly as possible. I thought that by pursuing such a course I might
acquire some wisdom and ability, small in comparison to that
possessed by men of quality, but still of some magnitude, for
it seems that I am the least capable and wise of men when it comes
to directing others or to living in the outside world. I do not know
whether God Himself, the source of every blessing and ability
and wisdom, might give me one day a share of such < a gift ),
but in my present condition I dwell far from such merit and grace.
But since it will be perhaps impossible for me to concentrate all
the time on myself and God-this on account of another kind
of insufficiency-and since I shall have to leave my cell and speak
to some people, I thought that I must leave my meetings with
others to chance, thinking nothing of it even if I should happen
to meet no one, but to see to it, on your account, that I visit
your cell no more than three or at the most four times a year.
To do more than this is beyond my power. I mean it, upon the
happiness of my conscience. But if God should give me more
strength and show me-even though I am unworthy of such
signs-that He wishes me to do this more often, I shall not resist
70
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,
.
35 [. 244v] 1 -
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38-40 Cf. Mt. 7.12 11 44-45 cf. Meletius, De natura hominis, 30 (.
64. 1276D).
53-54 ' (sic) S
71
nor will I disobey God. Now, however, I have to force myself
to do even this, fulfilling the manifest commandment of the
Savior.
Just as you take care of yourself and are quite right in never
leaving your holy convent, you must also consider my salvation
and show your spiritual concern for me. For, as the Gospel says:
"Whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them."
And if I recently said something else to Your Highness-O you
who gave up and rejected the worldly kingdom, and are seeking
and pursuing the kingdom of God!-this is nothing to be mar
veled at. "Man is a thinking animal," and after much thinking
he modifies what he had earlier accepted with no or little delibera
tion. If you think back to the earlier time, this was exactly what
I said then and my mind, which became at a later point divided,
has now come back to its original < resolve >. If you, too, will
accept this decision and be satisfied with my way of thinking,
you shall certainly come to the conclusion that I did not reason
and think badly. Accept this in place of other useful counsel and
you shall not regret it. Otherwise, let God watch over what is
true and profitable for everyone, as He certainly does. Since He
is good and is the indispensable and unfailing provider for all,
and especially for those who seek Him truly, may He look after
you and me and all who have placed their hopes in Him.
72
< >
,
.
i i
5 q
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15
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25
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3-4 Ps. 44 (45). 4 11 5-6 Cf. 1 Jn. 5.21; Joan. Chrysost., Liturgia (ed.
Bri
g
htman), 361, 13 116-7 2 Tim. 4. 7
-
8 11 11-12 Cf. Mt. 25. 15-28
S 245r-247r
1
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S
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11 6 S 11 10 S 11 S 11
12 ' 11 14 ] S 11 18 S 11 20-21 S 11 21
S 11 26 S
73
< Letter 15 >
I admire your deifying pursuit and the admirable goal you
set for yourself, most reverend and holy Father, and I a grateful.
"Bend thy bow," then, "and prosper," guarded by the almighty
right hand of "Christ our true God," from which you will receive
the "crown of righteousness, having finished the race." Yet nei
ther is your presence here without reward and fruitless, most honor
able Father. God knows in the first place, and then myself, how
great is the fruit and how great the profit from < that presence >.
Your Holiness will know it, too, when God comes to give out the
rewards for the talents. Since I have nothing of my own which
is good or worthy of your ears and < of your > saintly soul with
which to welcome you when you come for a visit, for this reason
I bring forth and recount in your presence the lives of my saint
ly fathers. With these stories I welcome your God-loving and
saintly soul. I dare say, therefore, that for my part I have not
done anything by my talk to cause your saintly soul to stumble.
Now, do not take away from me, on account of my innumera
ble sins and of my being abandoned by God, the freedom and com
fort and peace and restoration of what lay destroyed for so many
years, which I have found through you. Anything else that has
happened to me up to now I might think of as an obstacle to
my spiritual labor set up by the enemy and I might bear it. But I
cannot bear < being rejected > by you: I find it to mean that
God has openly abandoned me as unworthy of His work and
salvation. This is why I have come to feel desperate and absolutely
74
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30 '
, .
,
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55 l,
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,
29 S 11 30 S 11 32 S 11 36 S 11 37
S 11 39 S 1142 ] (sic) S 1146-47 ... S 1149
S 11 50 ], S 11 54 S 11 55 S
75
dazed. For such is the property of our mind: when it is aware
of submission, it is restrained by it as if by a bridle, but when
it is released from the yoke and set free, it is immediately suscep
tible to capture by wild beasts. Thus ever since my mind has been
released from the yoke of spiritual submission to the bishop, it
has been caught by the wild beasts and become a prisoner and
gone under. But now, stirred by God, my soul found full
assurance in you. I breathed again: I found peace and recovered.
I beg you, therefore, for the sake of Christ, for the sake of His
utterly pure Mother, for the sake of your labors in Christ, do
not let me go under again: A human being is not less valuable
than cattle which the law enjoins < us > to help, especially when
< that human being > is asking for help for < her > spiritual
soul from you who alone have the power to < help > me. It is
for this reason that God became man, and it is He who asks you
through me, and it is from Him that you expect the best.
I even give up asking for monthly visits. Let it be six times
a year. For in this way I shall be able to achieve a measure of
my goal and benefit, sometimes by writing, sometimes by con
versation. Add two to the four < times > as an offering to Christ,
and if you are to lose six days a year for the sake of an entire
human life, the latter's benefit will affect many other souls-I
mean those of people in my charge. Yes, I beg you, allow me
to breathe, for I am already drowning in unbearable sorrow. My
relaxation and happiness should not last only for a month and
a half. It will cause me more sorrow and bitterness than glad
ness, for just as I tasted of relaxation, I have been thrown back
to sink deeper into the sea. This was written with tears rather
than with ink.
You think that by not going out and by asking for something
that I do not do, I am being contentious, and, therefore, my
spiritual disposition is not pure but abounds more in self-interest
76
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65 ,
Q, [ 246v] ,
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77
than in the interest of your God-inspired soul. Yet this is not so,
as conscience is my witness. The reason for my not leaving the
convent is different. Since I am closely related to the emperor,
as you are well aware, if I ever went out, it would be absolutely
necessary to attend imperial weddings and funerals and royal
gatherings whether I wished it or not. This would require quite
a number of attendants as well as a corresponding number of
horses, and how would my fortune < suffice ) for a royal retinue
and household? Because of these extraordinary circumstances I
kept to myself, having done away with all pretexts, as I just men
tioned. But it is not so in your case. When you leave your cell,
you go to another monastic cell: from benefit to greater benefit,
I dare say, which returns to you again. I demand that which I
do and my fathers did as well. For I stay here slaving for the
benefit of others, and I did not at all consider material concerns
and < the concern for ) others to be an obstacle to spiritual
labor, nor do I stay at this place-as conscience is my witness
either for the sake of glory or power or the company of my
relatives, but for the salvation of the nuns alone, helping them
to that effect as much as I can. My master, the bishop, became
even more enlightened at the age of thirty-three (eight years after
he retired from the world) through the help of those who benefited
from him.
If you are also concerned about the good and saintly Kyr Me
nas-for I learned from Aaron that your holiness is annoyed be
cause we do not converse when he, too, is present-I shall attend
to this matter also, as I can, and let you know through Aaron, or
I shall write to you how I propose to deal with this. This letter
is already too long. As for your having full assurance that God
approves of my being directed by you, the following is sufficient
assurance that I benefit through His might: in my heart God sees
78
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79
all your teaching, no one else's, from the time of the metropolitan
of Philadelphia until now. It is up to you then to water this
teaching, and up to God to make it grow; that is, to approve it.
< Letter 16 >
If I wished to defend what I said and thought, it would be
easy to do so from the lives and sayings and opinions of the
Fathers. Consider those holy women who were shut up by the
holy fathers in some caves and cells. Some of them, after hearing
from their spiritual fathers once for all what they ought to do in
these places, did not see their < directors > until the blessed end
of their lives, although they lived for many years in their hermit
ages. Others saw the holy men at three-year intervals, and others,
at any rate, once a year. And they lived out the marvelous life in
God's way < following > perfectly the few instructions of their
holy fathers and remaining in absolute peace, even though they
had just retired from the world for the first time and had no
previous training, so to speak.
In fact, you will attest to this yourself, seeing that you did
not enjoy the presence of the late holy bishop continuously, but
I believe that you were deprived of him for one or two, or perhaps
even for more years, when he went away to be at his own church
and he edified you by correspondence alone. And even if he
assumed the episcopal office eight years after he retired from the
world, and thirty-three years after he was born, and rushed to
help many people, bear in mind and consider the power which
is bestowed by divine grace upon those who have been called to
this task and have well obeyed the call. Remember also that before
he was called, that God-loving man did not devote himself to such
80
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[!. 248]
.
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45-46 Ps. 15 (16). 8
33 S 11 34 S 11 35 S 11 57 S
sv
11 58 post
scripsit et deinde delevit
S 11
S
Sv
81
a task nor did he dare to do so, but he lived in deserted places,
free of crowds, until he was given the word through the holy
ordination.
Whatever reasons you may have for not leaving the convent,
you do what is right and necessary. Even if the reasons you ad
duce were not those that kept you at the convent and did not
allow you to go out, if you cared for your salvation-as no doubt
you do-you would not have gone out. So I shall say to you the
exact same thing I said before, that you consider more how you
will be saved than I will, and that the spiritual concern you claim
to have for me is unequal < to that which you have for yourself>.
But so as not to annoy you too much, seeing that you are ex
ceedingly deceived about my mediocrity, I shall grant you what
you asked for. With the help of God the number < of visits >
will be as you requested. For the time being be at peace, and
during the period of meditation that you have started, remain
seated in your cell with fear and love of the Holy Trinity,
"foreseeing the Lord always before your face," in the words
of the holy Psalmist. And sanctify your soul and illuminate
your mind with the pure and continuous thought of His holy
name which purifies those who keep it in their thoughts, doing
your best to accomplish successfully all His commandments,
and being in body with Him as much as possible. And if
sometimes you fall short of your goal, renew your effort, just
as you were wont to do and, upon hearing of it, I used to
admire your intelligence and love of the good and wisdom in
the face of temptations which tear and lead away from the
good. With this wisdom you render impotent the master of evil
and return to Christ with more devotion. This is the sharpest
sword against the enemy and the greatest < source of > gratifica
tion to the Holy Trinity. Be assured, 0 you who bear the name
of blessing, that the more time you allow me for living in seclu
sion, turning to myself and God, and the more you listen to what
82
1 ,
,
65 1 '
, .
,
,
70 .
, , [l.
249], ,
75 .
62 S 11 64 S 11 69 S 11 71 S 11 72 S
83
I say without questions and suffer with patience the distressing
thoughts, living quietly, the more you will see in you a greater
divine presence. Thus you will attain your desire better than if
I saw you every day and you will allow me not to fail in my
objective.
I wish to know how you will attend to the matter about which
you wrote to me regarding the holy and saintly Kyr Menas, my
most loyal and true friend. I intended to send this to you as soon
as I received your letter so that you may not be worried, but I
had no one to carry my letter because of the disturbance of which
you heard. For this reason it was delayed until now.
84
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85
< Letter 17 )
Since you were granted your request, it was unnecessary to
persuade me further from the < examples ) of the holy bishop
and the pious women. But since you still attempt to persuade
me by these, you must know, in reply to your argument regard
ing that man's youth and great confidence, that the same things
are not good or acceptable or easy for all people, and for this
reason you will find in the writings and sayings of the Fathers
that different men liked different pursuits, but that being dead
to the world and withdrawing from it and keeping silent and lov
ing solitude to the extreme were generally respected, whereas tak
ing a different path was the rarest of exceptions. In fact, even
you attest that what I asked was not impossible when you say
that the holy bishop was absent for one or two years and that
he edified your soul by letters alone. Three months are indeed
one fourth of the whole year, during which I agreed to visit you
once personally and to converse with you by correspondence as
often as you wished, so that the four seasons of the yearly cycle
would be honored in like fashion by four personal visits on my
part, assignng one visit to each season and a letter to each month.
To the extent, therefore, that a whole year is longer than its
quarter and writing twelve times is more than < writing) four
times, it should have been easier for you to do < what I pro
posed ) rather than < what you did under the direction of the
holy bishop ). And you would have submitted < to my direc
tion ) -although the task < of directing you) exceeds my
powers (?) -while I would have remained in solitude, two good
things instead of one and to us more beneficial and without cause
for scandal.
What do you think, indeed, about those men who have
reached ripe old age pursuing many virtues? Don't you think that
this will annoy them and stir up their jealousy, since they, too,
are human even if they have attained a full measure of virtue? And
86
; '
, ;
,
35 ' ,
,
, 1 .
' ,
[Fol. 250r] , -
40
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;
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50 i
,
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" ,
55 i ,
' .
,
. ,
, [Fol. 25O] -
60 , .
,
41-42 Cf. Mt. 18. 7-10; Luc. 17. 1-3
31 ' S 11 42 S 11 46 S 11 48 S
87
what about the other women to whom I did not give spiritual
advice at all, for all their many entreaties? Will they not think
that I am a slave to gorge and belly and the glory of this world .
when they see me visiting you so often? Not to mention my other
friends and the bishops and even the patriarch himself, who ask
me to give them a little < of my time >, but I do not do so ex
cept under duress, adducing this very reason that I am an
anchorite.
Since it is possible, then, for you to receive from me whatever
you may think good and useful and not unprofitable to you, and
for me to remain by myself, and for others to have no cause for
scandal-for according to the divine laws we must not give cause
of scandal to others-would it not have been wiser to choose < my
proposal > and to accept it rather than the system of frequent
< visits >, to believe that my judgment on this matter was a lit
tle better than yours and to be satisfied with this, as if it were
God's decision, if indeed your disposition towards me is one of
pure obedience? Bear in mind that those pious women, too, were
annoyed at the beginning because their spiritual fathers did not
communicate < with them > at all nor did they visit < them >
in person, and that they were asking for a closer association, but
once they received their instructions from their directors and
devoted themselves to that way of life, they proved to be truly
obedient and gave up completely their own wishes and submitted
obediently to the decisions of their < spiritual> fathers. With a
little patience they found ease in difficulty and comfort in discom
fort and joy in sorrow. In this joy they spent the rest of their
lives and were blessed. This, then, is my response to your objec
tions which smack of rhetoric but not of obedience. Nevertheless,
have the six < visits > that you requested from me and write
and note down what you wish, as you have tried to do.
I do not think that you understand the whole matter regarding
Kyr Menas, and for this reason you fear the burden of a second
88
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aut aliquid simile excidisse coniciens 11 94 ' S
89
tutelage by a second tutor. I would have been guilty of a great
deal of bad judgment and ignorance of proper conduct if, know
ing this, I had asked from you what I asked about my friend.
Kyr Menas demands neither honor from me nor any other grateful
acknowledgement, but behaves towards me as someone who owes
me obedience; and he always listens to me as if to a teacher but
questions < me > very little, although the man is superior to me
in virtue. I considered it right, therefore, to honor him properly
seeing that he needed nothing else. For this reason, I thought
that it was necessary to have him accompany me everywhere by
the right of friendship and that it was unseemly and disgraceful
during some conversations to send him out to sit somewhere, as
if I did not fully trust him and considered him unworthy of as
much as listening to spiritual discussion, since he questions
nothing nor does he display any airs of a teacher, but he follows
me and my decisions as if we were one man and did not differ
at all. He respects me even when I reprimand him many times,
and loves me when I instruct him, and follows me in all respects.
And before your generous assistance he offered me all he had,
and even though now he has all that he needs, more than any of
his fellow monks, and lacks nothing, the fact remains that he gave
me things that were necessary to him just as if he were giving them
to himself, without keeping anything for himself or setting it aside.
I did not think, therefore, that there was any offense to having
him there as an auditor of our conversation- not as a second
teacher nor dividing your single predilection for one < teacher >
- such a man who was in want of nothing and so obedient to
me and not unworthy of sitting at such a conference and listen
ing. Besides, his presence was not harmful to you, as I said.
Whether you adduce imperial protocol as a reason or lack of con
fidence or anything else whatsoever, * * * < you ought > to give
this up and follow the orders of your adviser and have no other
90
, .
,
, . ,
, -
100 .
96-97 ... : satis perspicio 11 97 ] S " 99
S
< >
, ',
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[Fol. 251v]
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91
wish-even if < what you wish> seems to be most sensible
stronger than that of your adviser. But since you are extremely
contentious about this matter also, I agree with what you saw
fit to say. May the Lord Jesus, the source of every blessing, pro
vide for this, too, according to His will.
< Letter 18 >
As Kyr Aaron knows, I went to the patriarch and presented
my letter < of complaint> against the monks, so that after they
have been summoned on this account and received the letter, the
inquiry may be opened and conducted for us by the patriarch.
I do not know, however, what happened yet. Nevertheless, I think
that you ought to appease the patriarch, for he seemed to me
to dislike you, and you ought to behave towards him with con
siderable humility and the language of obedience. The marvelous
Dexios will skillfully contrive to accomplish this without embar
rassment to you and to prepare the patriarch for reconciliation.
You must summon Dexios and carefully assign this task to him
because he is your friend, as I exactly perceived. Let this be done
in earnest, for I do not think that it is right, especially when speak
ing to you about humility, not to advise you to consider humili
ty towards the patriarch above all. For whatever you may say,
he is the father of all Christians and he must have the love of
all, and especially of those who care for what is perfectly good
in every way. And when you deal with him on a legal matter,
mollify him with words of humility and deference, and I believe
that in this manner you will fare better.
In fact, I do not think that you should be petty in disputes
not only with the patriarch but with anyone whomsoever. For
this is what stirs up and arms the wild passions in us. I do not
92
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, ' '
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30 - ,
,
. ,
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, ,
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, , , , .
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S 11 34 scripsi: ' S 11 36 S 11 38
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s
v 11 40 S 11 47 ' S 11 52 S
93
mean, of course, that you ought to neglect the monastery and
thereby all that you have dedicated to God, but since you are
fortunate to have the marvelous Ralaina, who is so sensible and
efficient both in these matters and in everything else, as I hear,
let her attend to matters of dispute, unless there is something that
requires absolutely your own supervision. If you must divert your
attention to the affairs of the monastery, divert it to the care of
the souls, and do this gently, as I have said to you before, and
very carefully. And when it comes to necessary inquiries, fight
unto death against < your > irascible and arrogant disposition,
but, as I said, conduct < yourself ) in an orderly and sensible
manner.
I heard that you suffered a paroxysm, that is an attack of
chills, and I prayed to Him Who lifted our ailments by His In
carnation to cure you also. Know that just the night before I,
too, suffered not anything simple as I often do nor any other
moderate indisposition, but a mortal < illness >, the kind that
immediately kills whomsoever it grips firmly. I almost died and
I fear that it was the same < illness >, from which Synkletike
died, the attendant of the queen < of Serbia>. For while I was
asleep, some vapor drawn from my stomach, or I know not from
where inside my body, came up to my chest and drawing a thick
mucus, threw it over my lung, stopping my breathing and near
ly choking me. Then, just a bit of the mucus came up to my
mouth; I spat it out and breathed a little. But another vapor came
up from the stomach, or the liver, and oppressed me. And none
of my companions were there, so that I might have died without
anyone being aware of it. After suffering for a whole hour, I
barely felt some relief as my body got rid of a great deal of thick
mucus. This had happened to me many times before, but never
like this time, and I fear that I shall die from this illness, for it
94
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60 , , ,
' ,
. .
< ' - ' )
q,
"
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5
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,
,
,
10 .
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smg 11 S 11 5 s
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95
is already progressing and conquering < my body >. Let it be
so, if that be the will of God. I do not find it difficult to accept
if only I may be granted the time for true repentance. Otherwise,
I would be distressed. You also should pray for my salvation.
< Letter 19 >
You know the origin of your other feelings of indifference
and listlessness; it is your intimate association with your relatives.
As for telling Martha' 'this and that," if it had been said calmly
for the purpose of educating and guiding her, as human beings
are wont to do, it would have been blameless and done for a good
cause. Now, however, because it is anger that shoots and hurls
these < words > like javelins, it is beyond the limits of the good
and, therefore, you must first take care of the irascible part of
the soul and then feel free to educate others.
I agree with the * * * inspired by the holy hymns and con
templation according to them and the * * * according to the in
tent of the saying of Basil the Great. I received the pastries of
Dexios. Manuel told me personally what Aaron had said to me
the day before yesterday. As for the pious Ralaina, I admit that
lowe her much gratitude for her troubles on my behalf, but I
do not think that I ought to repay my debt in this manner but
with my prayers and grateful thanks. I find it difficult to appear
for the purpose for which I have been invited. I shall not come,
of course. You must persuade Ralaina's pious and perfect good
sense to accept this, my absence that is, without complaining.
96
< )
, '
, , '
,
. " 1
5 1 ;
, '
.
, , , ,
,
10 . , [.
253v] , 1
. '
.
2-4 Cf. Basil. Caes., Epist. 210, 1 (ed. Courtonne, 2, 189-190):
.
S 253r-253v
1 ' smg 11 S
97
< Letter 20 )
It seems that you have not yet understood what I meant. For
I dare say, with Basil the Great, that "I avoid public appearances
as zealously as those who like public appearances seek these very
appearances." What does such an inclination have in common
with glittering gatherings? If it is for the memorial service of your
father that you command my appearance, I shall celebrate his
memory better by myself. As for your nieces, I do not think that
it is absolutely necessary for me to come because I saw them just
the other day. If there is an urgent reason, surely you did not
write to me about it. However, if there is a very urgent reason,
it is better that I come after, not now, during the gathering. I
sent Kyr Nephon in my place and you must bear with this.
98
< - )
1 i
.
-
5 , , , .
, .
,
1 -
10 ,
, 1.
, ,
15
.
, 1
[Fol. 254r] .
20 ,
,
'
,
.
25 ' . -
, , '
, ,
.
20-21 Cf. Matt. 11. 12-3; Macarius, Apophthegmata, 1 ( 34. 233); Sy
m
eon Junior, Capita moralia, 138 ( 120. 676)
S 253v-254r
1
:
s
m
g
11 . S 11 2 S 11 3 S
sv
11 6 S
11 9 S 11 12 S
sv
99
< Letter 21 )
I thought that < your ) loud weeping at the memorial ser
vice was unnecessary and unbecoming to a soul who is at peace
near God. What happened with the man of the parakoimomenos
happened in inverse order. When you should have seen him, you
did not see him; and when you should not have, then you saw
him. But there is no cure for the past, therefore let us forget it.
I have no time for a systematic analysis of the vice of coward
ice and an examination of its causes. But you must earnestly see to
it that the only conqueror and redeemer of evils free you of your
passions. Love Him insatiably and fear Him and cling to His com
mandments unto death and no evil will gain possession of your
soul. God alone is the truly "watchful" master builder. For He is
the eye that watches everything and does not go to sleep, and sleep
lessly edifies the souls that belong to Him and are attached to Him
and makes them His temples. Seek Him with zeal and longing,
and with works that are invariably good and with pure thoughts,
and you shall build of yourself an indestructible temple to Him.
Wish the same for me also. I, too, know that salvation-that
is the kingdom of Heaven-requires strenuous effort and great
pains and a different way of life from that which most of us are
wont to lead. May we succeed in attaining this < salvation ),
having thrust away most carefully every human habit and way
of life.
I agree about the matter of Aaron. Expect me to come, if
I am still alive, near the end of the season of the Apokreo. At
that time your nieces will talk to me, if they so wish, together
with you.
100
< - )
.
, i ,
,
5
. i,
OK, '
OK,
. [F1.254v]
10
. , , .
S 254r-254v
1 S
101
( Letter 22 >
May God forgive you! Go to the funeral of your aunt and
derive a vital lesson from the death of the body. Let all fear go
away from your soul, for this passion is the work of the enemy
who wrests the soul away from meditation and the full assurance
that it has in God. Neither should you fear the death of the body,
for a pious person does not die but passes from death to life,
and life without end at that. It is unnecessary, indeed, to say these
things to you who have firm ( convictions > acquired through
long experience of God. As for me, I will come to you if possible.
Commentary
Letter 1
2-3 'TV AOytW'U'lV ... ypa<1v oou: The director' s
first letter which has not survived.
5-6 ua8tav ... ypaa'tKi<: This is not a banal ex
pression of modesty. Both the orthography and the
syntax of Eulogia' s letters confirm her complaint
that she had no literary training. For her mistakes
in spelling, see the apparatus to the text; for the
peculiarities of her syntax, see the commentary
below. For some general remarks on her style, which
is a mixture of different lexical and stylistic levels ,
see my article, "Irene-Eulogia, " note 48 .
6-7 EK 'rv uv'to'OtXwv: Eulogia refers here to instances
of itacism which account for most of her mistakes
in spelling.
On the term uV'to'otxa (corresponding) as used by
Byzantine grammarians to denote vowels , diph
thongs or words which are identical in sound but
differ orthographically, see for example, Theodore
Ptochoprodromos , Kavcv 1Epi uv'to'OtXWV, ed.
A. Pappadopoulos, "Notice et collation d' un
manuscrit grec de la bibliotheque de Smyrne, con
tenant des lexiques grecs, " Annuaire de [' Associa
tion pour [' encouragement des etudes grecques en
France, 1 0 (1867) , 13 1 -34; and the short spelling ex
ercise by Maximos Planoudes , ed. M. Treu, "An
tistoichien, " BZ 5 ( 1 896) , 337-38 .
1 03
1 04
21 - 23
24-25
26
26- 27
28- 29
Princess Irene-Eulogia
8ux 'unlvc(tV KUt 8ux ' * * * EK(YOt< Yla< . . .
(UV'E'lll IEVOV: Although the meaning of this
passage is clear (you made your letter deliberately
brief out of humility and in order " to give me the
slip' ' ), the text appears suspect . ux 'o with infinitive
was common in biblical and Byzantine Greek (see
Jannaris , Grammar, 1 5 22) , and Eulogia uses this
final construction in Letter 3, lines 3-4 (o<8uAIOU<
8EAEtV ElVUt 'o nav 8tu 'o 'o ulnoD KUAAO<
KU'UVOEv). It is, therefore, difficult to explain here
the substitution of the optative for the infinitive.
E80u(uIEV (Ot . . . 0XAEV (Ot: The substitution
of the dative for the accusative reflects the author' s
underlying uncertainty about the use of the dative
which had disappeared from colloquial speech since
the early Middle Ages . See Browning, Medieval and
Modern Greek, 37 . For another example, see Let
ter 1 5 , lines 14 and 16, where the verb 8EtOD(8ut
has first the dative and then the correct accusative.
atW tvu 18c: tvu with the subjunctive had ap
propriated the function of the prospective infinitive
since biblical Greek; see Jannaris , Grammar, 1 762.
"UAAU (UYYPUIIU'U (ou: For the director' s other
writings, see commentary on Letter 1 2.
unEp . e . ' A8uvu(iou (UYYPUIIU: On Patriarch
Athanasios I of Constantinople, see Talbot , ed. The
Correspondence of Athanasius, xv-xxxi; eadem,
"The Patriarch Athanasius ( 1 289- 1 293 ; 1 303- 1 309)
and the Church. " DOP, 27 (1973), 1 1 -28; and J. Boo
j amra, Church Reform in the Late Byzantine Em
pire (Thessalonike, 1 982) . For the known encomiasts
of Athanasios-the fourteenth century monks Theo
ktistos the Studite, Joseph Kalothetos and Ignatios,
as well as the otherwise unknown Basil-and for the
reason that, with the exception of Ignatios, they can
not possibly be identified with Eulogia' s director,
Commentary 105
see my " Irene-Eulogia, " note 62, and my Additional
Note below. See also A. -M. Talbot, Faith Healing,
24- 25 and 1 48- 52, where the author discusses the
hagiographers of Athanasios and gives a complete
listing of Theoktistos' works . As for the director' s
writings on Athanasios, all that we can say is that
they must have been rather extensive, consisting of
more than an encomium, since he refers to them as
AOYOL See Letter 2, lines 1 8- 1 9; and Letter 4, line 5 .
Letter 2
3-7 uVDpi <o<Q . . . pU<tAiDO< \uxf<: See Letter 10,
lines 20- 21 , where the director calls Eulogia the most
educated of contemporary women.
1 4 c< E<81V Etnwv: The reference i s t o the director' s
first letter to Eulogia which has been lost.
1 7 "EAEt(8EV"U< . . . "EAEC8EV"U<: Note the use of
both forms of the verb: "EAEtOC - "EAEOC.
1 8 EXEt 0E<<uAoviKl: The Letters contain no other in
formation about the director' s background, except that
he had come to the capital from Thessalonike, where
he had left the finished copies of his works on
Athanasios. However, the fact that these works were
found in their original version at the double monastery
of that patriarch in Constantinople, taken from the
author " at birth," a he puts it, suggests that the direc
tor had lived in the capital before going to Thessalon
ke (cf. Letter 4, lines 5-7) . It is even possible that he
was a monk at the monastery of Athanasios when he
was first inspired to write in his honor. For Laurent' s
view that Eulogia' s correspondent was a student of
Theoleptos and, therefore, another Philadelphian, see
commentary on Letter 9, lines 43-54.
20 OUDEV . . . E\EU<ullV: Another reference to the frst
letter where the director must have mentioned his
works without adding any specific details about them.
106
1 -4
1 5- 1 6
1 5- 1 6
1 9-20
25
Princess Irene-Eulogia
Letter 3
E1 TPor81 6 fAtO< . . . KU'UVOftv: An alternative
interpretation of this passage would be to construe
'ou'o with 'o 1aV and translate, " If they asked the
sun what part of the creation it would rather have
prevail on the rest , it would answer (if it could ut
ter a word) that it would like < our ) universe . . . "
ou8t 'u U1EO'UAIVU EV 0EOOUAOviK1: In Letter 2,
line 1 8, the director wrote that the edited copies of
his works were in Thessalonike. Eulogia-who was
apparently unacquainted with his background
inferred from this statement that he had sent them
to Thessalonike, but he explains in the following let
ter (Letter 4, lines 6-8) that he had left them in that
city: KUt dol oux Otou< EYW 'oou< IE'U 'uu'u
KU'0'10U KUt uqrKu EV 'i 0EOOUAOviK1.
I do not believe that Uqtllt is used in this passage
as a synonym for the usual1I1w or U1OO'AAW,
a usage which I have not found in the dictionaries
or any other author. Furthermore, neither the con
struction of UQtllt with a locative dative by the
learned director nor his use of the verbs UQ)tllt and
1I1W warrant the translation, "I sent to
Thessalonike. " In Letter 1 4, line 24, the director
again uses UQ)tllt in the sense of "to leave behind"
(uqfVUt TV KAAUV) , whereas in Letter 4, line 3 ,
he writes: E1EI\c OOt nov ou KUA<V AOyWV.
'u U1EO'UAIVU EV 0EOOUAOviK1: For the confu
sion of EV with d< in biblical and medieval Greek,
see J annaris , Grammar, 1 565 .
EVt 8uvu'ov: On the replacement of EO't by EVt (there
exists) since the early Middle Ages , see Browning,
Medieval and Modern Greek, 66.
8tu 'rV nvwv u18tuv: A high-minded but austere as
cetic who took a firm line with the Church as he
sought to reform the morals of contemporay society,
Athanasios made many enemies and was forced to
3 2-33
34-35
36
37
Commentary 107
resign twice; see Talbot , ed. , The Correspondence
of Athanasius, xvii-xxv. Eulogia' s father was among
the officials whose extravagance or abuse of author
ity had aroused the wrath of the patriarch. In a let
ter to Andronikos II, Athanasios lashed out at Nike
phoros Choumnos for seeking advantageous mat
ches for his children instead of seeking ' 'to be recon
ciled with God, for all that he has used his author
ity harmfully. " See The Correspondence of
Athanasius, no. 37, lines 3 3 -36.
'El< 8E Kat Aiav ,8uo8tv"E<: Note t he breach of
concord i n gender . Such confusion was not unusual
in Byzantine subliterary texts ; see Browning,
Medieval and Modern Greek, 64. For other ex
amples, see Letter 9, lines 1 2 and 65 ; Letter 1 1 line
6. Even the learned Theoleptos was occasionally
careless about congruence when writing to Eulogia.
See, for example, hi s Address to Eulogia and the
nun Agathonike, Ottobonianus 405 , fol 21 0v:
'UAACV, onxoAoyrv Kat avaytVo 0 KCV, Btuou
OEau"TV Kat 1Ept "TV nov fV"OArV "TtPlotV Kat "TV
"CV apE"CV 1oilOtV . . . tva ouvQ8cv "( Euay
YEAtO"i AtY1< . . . Note also the incorrect form
,8uo8tv"E< for '8uv8tv"E<.
ou 8E 8uI "o T BouAEo8ai Of fYKCtUE08at: OE
is superfuous here, but such construction was not
uncommon in biblical and Byzantine Greek; See Jan
naris, Grammar, 2067-68 .
yuvi: For the inflection of YUVT as a first declen
sion noun in medieval Greek, see J annaris, Gram
mar, 433 , 4b
i8tc"iOO1: This demotic form of i8trn< i s not
found in the dictionaries, but such forms are attested
in Modern Greek for a number of feminines in -t<.
For example, see Demetrakos, s.v. fPyu"t< (fpyuno
oa), aKapht< (aKapinooa) , 1EAU"l< (1EAU"t<-
1 08 Princess Irene-Eulogia
Letter 4
3-5 E1EI\ OOt 'rv ou KUArV AOYOV . . . oG IUAtO'U
Er'Et: This is a covering letter accompanying the
writer' s works on Athanasios which Eulogia had
specifically requested; See Letter 3 , line 23 .
5-6 EV 'Ot IlOVUO'llPiot , A9uvuoiou: The double
monastery of Athanasios on the hill of Xerolophos
in Constantinople. Laurent refers to five monasteries
built by Athanasios in the capital ( "La direction
spirituelle, " 62, note 3), but Dr. Alice-Mary Talbot
has kindly informed me that it would be more precise
to state that he built one double monastery at Xe
rolophos (which included the Church of Christ the
Savior where the relics of the patriarch were pre
served) and at least three other churches . The key
passage is to be found in Theoktistos' B{or Kat nOAl
Te{a TOr tv aY{OIr naTpOr r,/WV eavaa{ov, IaTpl
apxov KwvaTavTlvovnOAewr, ed. A. Papadopou
los-Kerameus , c c
Z
itija dvuh Vselenskih patriarhov
XIV v. , svv. Afanasija I i Isidora I, " Zapiski istori
ko- filologiceskago fakul' teta Imperatorskago S. -Pe
terburgskago Universiteta, 76 ( 1 905), 48: . . E1d
8E KUt IvllllOOUVOV 'f EKElVOU IlEYUAO\uXiu E8Et
'e JiQ KU'UAEt<9fvut , 'i IfAAOV E8Et f 'ou
vuou 'o\hou, oG 0Ee 'E iYEtPE KUt TltV, EPYU
Ili oto1i (tU, \IUXrv <pov'to'rptU, AtIlEVU yu
AlVO'U'ou, 1UpOOU EV 'l VUK't 'oG Jiou; rv 6
IlEV uivE'ut 'l SOO1Ote Tptu8t, 6 8E 'e EVt 'f
Tptu80 LO'fPt Xpto'e, tVU KUt 'o tEPOV uU'oG
KU'UKEt'Ut AEl\lUVOV' 'l 8E 1UVUXPuv'Q 'oG LO
'fpo Ill'pt 6 E'EPO, 'Ot 8uot TUtupXUt 'rv
(vo 8uvuIlEOV 6 AOt1O' Ot KUt 'o IlEoUi'U'ov 'f
JuOtAEUOUOl EKAll PWOUV'o KUt KU'EXOUOt.
Talbot believes that Laurent must have been mis
led by Theoktistos' allusion to phrontisteria and she
Commentary
1 09
agrees with J anin that the references are all to chur
ches . For the Church of the Trinity see, J anin, La
geographie ecc/esiastique, 487; for the Church of
Christ the Savior, part of the monastic complex of
Xerolophos , see ibid. , 504; for the Church of the
Virgin, see ibid. , 21 5 ; and for the Church of the Tax
iarchs , see ibid. , 48 1 . Athanasios also established
a double monastery on the mountain of Ganos in
Thrace before he became a patriarch; see Theokti
stos, BioC, ed. cit. , 1 7. The director' s works in honor
of Athanasios were undoubtedly kept at Xerolophos
because that double monastery was the center of the
posthumous cult of the patriarch in Constantino
ple; see Talbot , Faith Healing, 29.
6-8 Kai dCHY oux OtOUe EYc TOlOUe !ETa TaUTa Ka
TECl<a Kat uqiKa EY Ti 0E<<aAoviK1: See com
mentary on Letter 3 , lines 1 5- 1 6.
Letter 5
5- 14 Ti yap . . . EYTuyxaYOVTWY: Eulogia was fond of rhe
torical questions, a device she probably copied from
her favorite ecclesiastical orator, Gregory of Nazian
zos . For some other examples, see Letter 7, lines 1 -3
and Letter 1 3 lines 1 -7; 1 1 - 1 4; 20-28; 33-35; 41 -46;
7 -8 1E1at8EU!EYOY Tie 1at8EU<EWe: Note the punning
assonance. Other examples occur on line 8 (u1at-
8EUTWe 1at8EUEte) -although in this instance
Eulogia copies Gregory of Nazianzos-and on lines
24- 25 (1 1OAAit <ou EU1opia U10PEtV !E
1E1oilKEV) .
1 4- 21 8t8a<KO!E8a . . . <uvEjija<Ev: The reference is not
to a treatise on peace, as assumed by Laurent ( "La
direction spirituelle, " 63-64) but to the director' s en
comium of Patriarch Athanasios which was written
against that prelate' s detractors (Letter 4, line 1 3) .
This is the work which Eulogia had demanded and
1 1 0
1 7
27-28
39-42
Princess Irene-Eulogia
received (Letter 3 , lines 23-24; Letter 4, lines 3-6) ,
and her remark regarding the benefit of those against
whom the discourse was written, further indicates
that she had read the encomium. I believe, therefore,
that she is here commenting on certain passages from
this work which she must have found particularly
interesting, such as the author' s explication of the
meaning of forbearance and of divine and human
peace. It must be noted that a disquisition on divine
and human peace is not found in any of the surviv
ing works on Athanasios, and this is further evidence
that Eulogia' s director cannot be identified with
either Theoktistos or Joseph Kalothetos . See Theo
ktistos , Bloe, ed. A. Papadopoulos Kerameus as in
commentary on Letter 4, lines 5-6), 1 -5 1 ; idem, 'y
KW/lIOV de rov aYlov ' 8avaalov, cod. Const.
Chalco mon. 64 (Istanbul, Patriarchate Library, col
lection Qf the monastery of the Holy Trinity on
Chalke, nunc 57, olim 64) , fols . 1 07r- 1 33r; idem,
Aoyoe de rrv aVaKO/ll(rV rou 8V aYlOle narpoe
r/j v '8avaalOV narplapxov KwvaravTlvovno
AeWe, ed. A-M. Talbot , Faith Healing, 44- 1 22;
Joseph Kalothetos , Bloe Kai nOAlrela rou 8V aYlOle
narpoe r/lWV apX1eniaKonov KwvaravTlvovno
AeWe '8avaalov, ed. D. Tsames , Syngrammata,
453-502.
fy aqlKE 'ou< ael'<<: For the replacement of the
dative proper by the accusative in Byzantine popular
compositions, see Jannaris, Grammar, 1 349 and
Browning, Medieval and Modern Greek, 37. For other
exaples, see line 43 of this letter; Letter 7, lnes 23-24;
Letter 1 3 , lines 4 and 8; Letter 1 5, lines 1 8- 1 9.
aEA:(a(ay . . . OUK avKa: Note the anacoluthon.
Another such example in Letter 1 5, lines 55-57.
<U(IKE <lAO(O<E . . . 1EyeEpE: Andronikos II is
described by his encomiasts as a born philosopher,
41
42
44
Commentary 1 11
the ideal ruler as envisaged by Plato. See the address
which Gregoras dedicated to the emperor' s love of
and conformity with the tenets of Platonism, ed. P.
A. Leone, " Nicephori Gregorae ad imperatorem An
dronicum II Palaeologum orationes , " Byzantion, 41
(1971) , 503-10. See also Nikephoros Choumnos ,
Enkomion, ed. Boissonade, Anecdota Graeca, 2, 4
and 36-37; Gregory of Cyprus , Enkomion, ed.
Boissonade, Anecdota Graeca, 1, 386; 387-88; and
Gregoras' funeral oration of Andronikos II, in which
the learning and piety of the deceased are extolled
(Hist. 10, 1: 1, 471) .
auSEVT: Eulogia uses the vocative common in col
loquial speech, instead of the purist aUSEVa.
(o<c'an: nu'Ep: On Nikephoros Choumnos as a
man of letters, see Verpeaux, Nicephore Choumnos,
63-192.
ETltcST'E: Eulogia' s correspondent obviously ar
rived in the capital after the death of both her father
and father-in-law. Choumnos died as the monk
Nathaniel on 16 January 1327, according to a note
on fo1 . Iv of cod. Ambrosianus C 71, published by
A. Martini D. Bassi in Catalogus codicum
graecorun Bibliothecae Ambrosianae (Milan, 1906) ,
1 , 201. See Verpeaux, Nicephore Choumnos, 62, note
10. For Laurent' s persuasive argument that Choum
nos died in the men' s section of Eulogia' s double
monastery, and not at the monastery which he had
founded, see Laurent , "Une fondation monasti
que, " 42-44. Andronikos II also ended his life as
a monk, taking the name Anthony. He died at the
convent of Lips in Constantinople, in February 1332.
See P. Schreiner, Die byzantinischen Kleinchro
niken, I-III [ = Corpus Fontium Historiae Byzan
tinae, XII, 1-3] (Vienna, 1975-79) , Chronicle 8, 26a,
v. 1, p. 79.
1 12 Princess Irene-Eulogia
Letter 6
10-14 OUK dill 'OU 1a'po EKElVOO . . . U1iyaYE: The
reference is not to Theoleptos of Philadelphia, as
Laurent thought ("La direction spirituelle, " 72-73),
but to John Kolobos, one of the Desert Fathers. See
'noc8iY/ara ayfwv ycp6vrwv, PO 65. 213D-16A.
2-3
15-16
17-18
1 7
21-22
Letter 7
i o'0Iw8ioE'al oi81po lVEO 1OpO Kat u8a'0:
See Theoleptos ' second letter t o Eulogia i n Ottobo
nianus Gr. 405, fol . 236r: OU'E Iuxalpa 8ixa 1OpO
Kat u8a'0 o'ollou'al, OU'E lv8pa 1E1OPWIlVO
AaP180 EK'O oovXE'al .
'OU 8aollao'ou uv8pc1oo: The reference is to
Nikephoros Choumnos ; See Letter 8, lines 26-29,
where her correspondent tells Eulogia that he read
and admired her father ' s discourses .
811A1V 'lv cqAElav: Eulogia does not fail to men
tion the literary value of her father' s works. An ad
vocate of clarity and simplicity in writing, Choum
nos was the author of two essays on style. See IEpt
AOYWV KpioEW Kat Epyaoia, 'iVl 'ou'wv E8El Kat
01W 1POOEK'OV Kat 'ivo UqEK'OV, ed.
Boissonade, Anecdota Graeca, 3, 356-64; and Ipo
'ou 8ooXEpaivov'a E1t 'ol EAYX01 'rv
uoaqr Kat KaKo'xvW Pll'OPEOOV'WV Kat
'uvav'ia IAU'WVl Kat 'Ol alQ 80KOU01V uo'po
VOlouv'a, ed. Boissonade, ed. cit . 365-91 . On
Choumnos' literary feud with the polymath Theo
dore Metochites, which prompted him to write these
essays, see I.
S
evcenko,
E
tudes sur fa po tmique en
tre Theodore Metochite et Nicephore Choumnos. La
vie intellectuelle et politique a Byzance sous fes
premiers Pateofogues (Brussels, 1962) .
EOll1lU8Eooa: A demotic word meaning "to mark. "
810 'OU llovaX1Kou uvaYEvviJ oav'o IE oxiJla'o:
22-23
24-26
Commentary 113
Theoleptos the Metropolitan of Philadelphia (ca.
1 283-ca. 1 322) . See the superscription of his first let
ter to Eulogia, which states that he tonsured the
princess with his own hands (ed. Salaville, "Une let
tre et un discours inedits , " 1 05) . On Theoleptos , in
general , see the biographical sketch in PLP (Vien
na, 1 980) , fasc. 4, no. 7509. On his association with
the Choumnos family, see V. Laurent , "Une prin
cesse byzantine au cloitre, " 45-58 and I .
S
evcenko,
"Le sens et la date du traite ' Anepigraphos ' de
Nicephore Choumnos , " Bulletin de la Classe des
Lettres et des Science Morales et Politiques, Acade
mie Royale de Belgique, 5th ser. , 35 (1 949) , 473-78 .
On his role as Eulogia' s spiritual adviser, see the
following articles by S. Salaville, " Formes ou
methodes de pri
e
re" ; " La vie monastique grecque
au debut du XIVe siecle d' apres un discours inedit
de Theolepte de Philadelphie, " REB, 2 (1 944) ,
1 1 9-25; "Une lettre et un discours inedits " ; "Un
directeur spirituel a Byzance au debut du XIVe si
e
8. 57
21. 7; 22. 3
() 18. 10; 19.
13-14
(God) 7. 40, 42, 47;
(Theoleptos of Philadelphia) 9.
48; 15. 83
1. 16; 7. 37; 13. 7; 14. 38;
15. 61; 16. 39;