Nilus of Ancyra→Eleutherius|c. 415 AD|nilus ancyra|From Ancyra|AI-assisted
To Eleutherius the Monk.
The more a person is engaged in many good works, the more he is afflicted by many, since many spirits, both wicked spirits and unjust men, rise up against him. But God will permit many to afflict the righteous man, furnishing him thereby with the occasions of an eternal and celebrated glory, which arises out of the surpassing afflictions. Whenever, then, the righteous man, perplexed before God, declares, "Why, O my Master, do all who grieve me prevail against me?" - why, O my Master, do you stand far off, and overlook me when I am afflicted ten thousand times and worn down? Why have I become one scourged the whole day long of my wretched life? - while the righteous man is still saying these things and such things, there answers him the God who spoke in the prophet, that "While you are still speaking, behold, I am present" [Isaiah 58:9]; he answers the faithful servant who genuinely weeps aloud to him, and says: For this reason I permitted you to be afflicted at great length, and to be subdued by misfortunes, that I might work out for you a weight of eternal glory. For this reason many afflictions of the righteous have been spoken of, and come to pass.
The more a person is engaged in many good works, the more he is afflicted by many, since many spirits, both wicked spirits and unjust men, rise up against him. But God will permit many to afflict the righteous man, furnishing him thereby with the occasions of an eternal and celebrated glory, which arises out of the surpassing afflictions. Whenever, then, the righteous man, perplexed before God, declares, "Why, O my Master, do all who grieve me prevail against me?" - why, O my Master, do you stand far off, and overlook me when I am afflicted ten thousand times and worn down? Why have I become one scourged the whole day long of my wretched life? - while the righteous man is still saying these things and such things, there answers him the God who spoke in the prophet, that "While you are still speaking, behold, I am present" [Isaiah 58:9]; he answers the faithful servant who genuinely weeps aloud to him, and says: For this reason I permitted you to be afflicted at great length, and to be subdued by misfortunes, that I might work out for you a weight of eternal glory. For this reason many afflictions of the righteous have been spoken of, and come to pass.
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.