Letter 142: Though my desire to meet you is warm, and the need of your petitioners is great, yet my illness is invincible. Therefore I am bold to commit my intercession to writing. Have respect to our gray hair, which you have already often reverenced by good actions.
Gregory to Olympius.
Though my desire to meet you is warm, and the need of those I represent is great, my illness is unrelenting. I am therefore bold to commit my plea to writing.
Have respect for our gray hairs, which you have already shown reverence to on many occasions. I ask on behalf of those who suffer and those who fear. Show them the mercy that your position makes possible and that your character has always made natural.
A letter is a poor substitute for a face-to-face appeal, but when the body cannot travel, the heart must go by post.
Human translation - New Advent (NPNF / ANF series)
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- 2026-03-20v2.1.0-import
Initial corpus import from New Advent / NPNF.
Fields: letter text, metadata, source links. Source: https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3103c.htm
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1. Whatever your rank may be in connection with the course of this world, I have the greatest confidence in addressing you as my much-loved, true-hearted Christian fellow-servant Olympius. For I know that this name, in your esteem, excels all other glorious and lofty titles.
When I read the letter where you described your illness, I was alarmed at first.
(The people of Nazianzus had in some way incurred the loss of civic rights; and the Order for the forfeiture of the title of City had been signed by Olympius. This led to something like a revolt on the part of a certain number of the younger citizens: and this Olympius determined to punish by the total destruction of the place. S.
How do you think I received your welcome letters — I who was thirsting to hear from you?
Even hoar hairs have something to learn; and old age, it would seem, cannot in all respects be trusted for wisdom. I at any rate, knowing better than anyone, as I did, the thoughts and the heresy of the Apollinarians, and seeing that their folly was intolerable; yet thinking that I could tame them by patience and soften them by degrees, I let my...