Letter 177: Chrysostom commends Antiochus to Artemidorus and asks Artemidorus for health news.
My lord Antiochus expected to receive much goodwill from your Courtesy if he appeared with letters from us. Show, then, my master, the kindness fitting to you, and receive him with the affection that belongs to your noble character.
By honoring him you will also honor us, for we count the good done to those commended by us as done to ourselves. I know your generous mind, and so I ask this with confidence.
Give us another favor as well: write to us about your health. We are far away and cannot learn easily how things are with those we love. Your letter will give us both joy and consolation.
AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
ΡΟΖʹ. Ἀρτεμιδώρῳ.
Πολλῆς ἐνόμισεν ἀπολαύσεσθαι εὐνοίας ὁ κύριός μου Ἀντίοχος, εἰ μετὰ γραμμάτων ἡμετέρων φανείη τῇ ἐμμελείᾳ τῇ σῇ. ∆εῖξον τοίνυν, δέσποτά μου τιμιώτατε, ὡς οὐ τηνάλλως ταῦτα ἐνόμισε, καὶ δεξάμενος αὐτὸν μετὰ τῆς σοι προσηκούσης εὐνοίας, ἄν τι δίκαιον νομίζῃ, καὶ λόγον ἔχον, ἕτοιμον σεαυτὸν αὐτῷ παρασχεῖν παρακλήθητι, καὶ δεῖξον διὰ τῶν ἔργων αὐτῷ ὡς οὐ μάτην οὐδὲ εἰκῆ ταύτην ἦλθε φέρων παρ' ἡμῶν τὴν ἐπιστολὴν, ἀλλὰ γέγονέ τι πλέον αὐτῷ εἰς εὐνοίας καὶ συμμαχίας δικαίας λόγον ἀπὸ τῶν γραμμάτων τῶν ἡμετέρων. Οὕτω γὰρ ἀπολαύσεται μὲν τῆς εὐεργεσίας οὗτος, καρπώσομαι δὲ ἐγὼ τιμὴν δι' ὧν καὶ οὗτος τῆς εὐεργεσίας ἀπήλαυσε.
Revision history
- 2026-05-27v2.2.34-import
Initial corpus import from modern chrysostom pg52 epistulae batch5 v1.
Fields: letter text, metadata, source links. Source: https://catholiclibrary.org/library/view?docId=/Fathers-Synchronized-OR/John_Chrysostom__Epistulae.gr.html
Related Letters
Chrysostom says he loves Rufinus continually even when roads and season prevent frequent writing.
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.
Do not blame those who fled headlong from that merciless threat — the danger lurking in what was happening.
They stood firm against the passions — the very passions they had previously acknowledged defeat against.