Letter 144: Chrysostom says Diogenes's love makes dangerous Cucusus feel like paradise.
Cucusus is a desolate place, dangerous to inhabit, besieged by constant fear of robbers. Yet you, even while absent, have made it a paradise for us. Whenever we hear of your great zeal and your genuine, warm love for us, nothing escapes us even from so far away, we hold your disposition like a great treasure and unspeakable wealth. We feel as if we are living in the safest city, lifted by such joy and drawing great comfort from it.
So that another addition may be made to our joy, I ask you to grant us letters telling us about your health. This is difficult because of the length of the road and because this place lies far from the public route. But for one who loves as you know how to love, even difficult things become easy.
Consider how great a favor you will grant us by the frequency of such letters, and give us this joy. We are deeply pained that, though we have already written a second time, we have not received even one letter from your good order.
AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.
Latin / Greek Original
ΡΜ∆ʹ. ∆ιογένει.
Ἔρημον μὲν ἡ Κουκουσὸς χωρίον, καὶ ἄλλως εἰς οἴκησιν σφαλερὸν, διηνεκεῖ φόβῳ τῶν λῃστῶν πολιορκούμενον· σὺ δὲ αὐτὴν καὶ ἀπὼν παράδεισον εἶναι πεποίηκας. Ὅταν γάρ σου τὸν ζῆλον ἀκούσωμεν τὸν πολὺν, τὴν ἀγάπην τὴν περὶ ἡμᾶς, τὴν γνησίαν καὶ θερμὴν οὐδὲν γὰρ ἡμᾶς λανθάνει καὶ ἐκ τοσούτου καθημένους διαστήματος, ὡς θησαυρὸν μέγιστον ἔχοντες, καὶ πλοῦτον ἄφατον, τὴν διάθεσίν σου τῆς ἐμμελείας, καὶ ἐν ἀσφαλεστάτῃ πόλει διατρίβειν ἡγούμεθα, ὑπὸ τῆς τοσαύτης εὐφροσύνης πτερούμενοι, καὶ μεγίστην παράκλησιν ἐντεῦθεν καρπούμενοι. Ἵν' οὖν καὶ ἑτέρα προσθήκη γένηται ἡμῖν ἡδονῆς, παρακαλῶ, καὶ γράμματα ἡμῖν χαρίζου, τὰ περὶ τῆς ὑγιείας δηλοῦντα τῆς σῆς. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ ἐργῶδες τοῦτο, διὰ τὸ τῆς ὁδοῦ μῆκος, καὶ τὸ σφόδρα ἀπῳκίσθαι τῆς δημοσίας τουτὶ τὸ χωρίον ὁδοῦ, ἀλλὰ τῷ οὕτως φιλοῦντι, ὡς αὐτὸς οἶσθα φιλεῖν, καὶ τὰ δύσκολα εὔκολα γίνονται. Ἐννοήσας τοίνυν ἡλίκην ἡμῖν χαριῇ χάριν τῇ πυκνότητι τῶν τοιούτων γραμμάτων, πάρεχε καὶ ταύτην ἡμῖν τὴν εὐφροσύνην· καὶ γὰρ σφόδρα ἀλγοῦμεν, ὅτι δεύτερον ἐπεσταλκότες ἤδη, οὐδὲ ἅπαξ ἐδεξάμεθα γράμματα τῆς σῆς ἐμμελείας.
Revision history
- 2026-05-27v2.2.34-import
Initial corpus import from modern chrysostom pg52 epistulae batch4 v1.
Fields: letter text, metadata, source links. Source: https://catholiclibrary.org/library/view?docId=/Fathers-Synchronized-OR/John_Chrysostom__Epistulae.gr.html
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