Letter 62: To the Presbyter John,

To the Presbyter John, One of the men formerly called wise said, "Live unseen." I applaud the sentiment and have resolved to put it into practice. I see nothing wrong with gathering what is good from any source -- just as bees, they say, draw their sweet nectar from bitter herbs as well as wholesome ones, and I have seen them myself settling on a bare rock to suck up its meager moisture. It is far more reasonable for those of us credited with reason to harvest what is good wherever we find it. So, as I said, I try to live unseen. Above all men I love peace and quiet. But the very devout presbyter Eusebius, on his recent return from your region, reported that you had held a meeting at which my name came up, and that your piety spoke well of my insignificant self. I thought it ungrateful -- unfair, really -- that someone who had spoken so kindly of me should receive nothing in return. We may have done nothing worthy of praise, but we admire the intention behind such words, for praise of this kind is the offspring of affection. So I greet your reverence, using as my messenger the same man who brought me your unwritten words. You were first in speech; I am first in writing -- I answer your spoken word with a letter. It remains for you now to answer letter with letter.

Letter 62