Letter 218: Chrysostom encourages Euthymius after expulsion from the school and asks for letters.
Do not let it grieve you that you have been driven out of the school. Think instead how much reward you have received even from this, and how your crowns are increased. Rejoice and be glad over these sufferings and plots, because they gather up great wealth for you in heaven, make you brighter, and make the prizes greater.
The road that leads to life is narrow and hard-pressed. Do not hesitate to write to us continually about your health. You know how closely we are bound to you in love. Wherever I am, I carry you in my thoughts, always a warm friend to you, and now warmer still because your sufferings have made you more radiant.
AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
ΣΙΗʹ. Εὐθυμίῳ πρεσβυτέρῳ.
Μηδὲν ὑμᾶς λυπείτω τὸ τῆς σχολῆς ἐξεῶσθαι, ἀλλ' ἐννοοῦντες, ὅσον καὶ ἐντεῦθεν ἐδέξασθε τὸν μισθὸν, καὶ πῶς αὔξεται τὰ τῶν στεφάνων ὑμῖν, χαίρετε καὶ εὐφραίνεσθε ὑπὲρ τῶν παθημάτων τούτων καὶ τῶν ἐπιβουλῶν. Πολλὴν γὰρ ὑμῖν συνάγει ταῦτα τὴν ἐν οὐρανοῖς ἐμπορίαν, καὶ λαμπροτέρους ποιεῖ, καὶ μείζονα καθίστησι τὰ βραβεῖα. Στενὴ γὰρ καὶ τεθλιμμένη ἡ ὁδὸς ἡ ἀπάγουσα εἰς τὴν ζωήν. Καὶ ἡμῖν δὲ συνεχῶς ἐπιστέλλειν τὰ περὶ τῆς ὑγείας τῆς σῆς μὴ κατόκνει. Οἶσθα γὰρ ὅπως συνδεδέμεθά σου τῇ ἀγάπῃ, καὶ πῶς, ὅπουπερ ἂν ὦμεν, ἐπὶ διανοίας σε περιφέρω, ἀεί σου θερμὸς γενόμενος ἐραστής· νῦν δὲ πολλῷ θερμότερος, ὅσῳ καὶ λαμπρότερος ἀπὸ τῶν παθημάτων γέγονας.
Revision history
- 2026-05-27v2.2.34-import
Initial corpus import from modern chrysostom pg52 epistulae batch7 v1.
Fields: letter text, metadata, source links. Source: https://catholiclibrary.org/library/view?docId=/Fathers-Synchronized-OR/John_Chrysostom__Epistulae.gr.html
Related Letters
Augustine tells Martianus that friendship becomes whole only when shared in Christ.
Chrysostom reports his safe arrival at Cucusus and asks Faustinus for letters.
That flattering companion, that dry and lifeless inflation, that empty and earthly glory — let it be banished from us.
Augustine asks the church at Hippo to repay money borrowed to save Fascius from harsh creditors.