Letter 218
To Theophilus the Cancellarius [a court secretary or chancery official].
Just as the Lord Jesus did not do all that he was able to do, but worked miracles only so far as he willed, so too he did not teach all that he knew, but dictated only so much as we were able to learn, measuring the word of his teaching to the weakness of our nature. For this reason he says to the disciples, who are as yet imperfect, that he does not know the day.
AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
Ὥσπερ οὐχ ὅσα ἠδύνατο ἐποίει ὁ Κύριος Ἰησοῦς,
ἀλλ’ ὅσα ἠβούλετο ἐθαυματούργει, οὕτως οὐχ ὅσα
ᾔδει ἐδίδασκεν, ἀλλ’ ὅσα μαθεῖν ἠδυνάμεθα ὑπηγό-
ρευσεν, τῇ ἀσθενείᾳ τῆς φύσεως συμμετρῶν τὸν λό-
γον τῆς διδασκαλίας. Διὰ τοῦτο ἀγνοεῖν τὴν
ἡμέραν λέγει τοῖς μαθηταῖς ἀτελέσιν ἔτι ὑπάρ-
χουσιν.
Revision history
- 2026-05-27v2.2.34-import
Initial corpus import from modern nilus ancyra workflow v1.
Fields: letter text, metadata, source links. Source: project source import
Related Letters
When the dispute arose between Jerome and Epiphanius on the one side and Rufinus and John of Jerusalem on the other (see Letter LI.), Theophilus bishop of Alexandria, being appealed to by the latter sent the presbyter Isidore to report to him on the matter. Isidore reported against Jerome and consequently Theophilus refused to answer several of ...
Most holy and wise prelate — may you enjoy a long and comfortable old age!
The man carrying this letter has been sent on a piece of business that piety does not allow me to describe.