Resultados25 letters/passages
synesius_cyrene · c. 400 · score 0.02
To Aurelian. If cities have souls — and they must, with their divine guardians and spirits — then you can be sure those spirits are grateful to you and remember the good you did for all nations during your great administration [as Praetorian Prefect]. Believe me, those powers stand beside you always, as advocates and a …
synesius_cyrene · c. 403 · score 0.02
To Heliodorus. Rumor says you have great influence with the present Prefect of Egypt — and in this case, rumor tells the truth. You deserve that influence because you use your power honorably. Here, then, is an excellent opportunity to display your kindness: help the man who carries this letter. He deserves it.
synesius_cyrene · c. 411 · score 0.02
… gn to have him excommunicated and removed. It is addressed to Anastasius at the imperial court in Constantinople, in hopes that the central government will finally intervene. The letter reveals the desperate situation of a provincial bishop in a collapsing frontier zone — caught between barbarian raiders from outside, …
synesius_cyrene · c. 400 · score 0.02
To the Bishops. Andronicus of Berenice — let no one call him a Christian, for he was born, raised, and grew up to be the evil destiny of Pentapolis, having seized the government of his country for his own profit — is accursed of God. Let him and his entire household be expelled from every church. The reason is not mere …
synesius_cyrene · c. 406 · score 0.02
… rom the bottom of my heart I rejoice to hear that those golden children have by imperial decree become legally your own. This is the most wonderful news. May you enjoy them for many years.
synesius_cyrene · c. 408 · score 0.02
To Pylaemenes. You are quite right to return to the capital. Even if good fortune had attended you in the mountains of Isauria, good fortune becomes unfortunate when it comes in the wrong place. Besides, I have a personal reason to want you prospering at court: as long as I have a friend near the throne, I have hope th …
synesius_cyrene · c. 399 · score 0.01
Against Andronicus [Letter 57]. [This is not a letter but a formal episcopal decree — the longest document in Synesius's correspondence. It is a devastating indictment of Andronicus, a corrupt governor of Pentapolis.] The malevolent forces in the universe fulfill the designs of Providence insofar as they punish the des …
synesius_cyrene · c. 411 · score 0.01
To Theophilus. I act on your instructions because it is my desire — and a divine necessity compels me — to treat as law whatever your sacred throne ordains. For that reason, I forced my sick body into action, traveled through hostile territory as though it were safe, and arrived at Palaebisca and Hydrax — two villages …
synesius_cyrene · c. 411 · score 0.01
To Anysius. Nothing could benefit Pentapolis more than honoring the Unnigardae [a barbarian military unit], who are excellent both as men and as soldiers, above all the other troops — not just the so-called native forces, but every auxiliary unit that has ever been stationed in our region. The proof of their quality is …
synesius_cyrene · c. 413 · score 0.01
To the Philosopher [Hypatia]. I have produced two books this year. One was inspired by God himself; the other was provoked by the slander of men. Some of those who wear the white or dark robes [perhaps monks or philosophers of different schools] have attacked my work, and I felt compelled to respond. I am sending both …
synesius_cyrene · c. 411 · score 0.01
To Theophilus. Since I am about to put a question to you, let me first explain the background. A man from Cyrene named Alexander, of senatorial rank, entered monastic life while still quite young. As his vocation matured, he received holy orders — first as deacon, then as priest. Then certain business called him to cou …
synesius_cyrene · c. 412 · score 0.01
To the Bishops. "It is better to trust in God than to trust in man" [Psalm 97:8]. Even so, I hear that the followers of the godless heresy of Eunomius [an extreme Arian theologian who denied any similarity between Father and Son] are putting forward a certain Quintianus and boasting about their influence at court, with …
synesius_cyrene · c. 407 · score 0.01
To Troilus. If you have heard of the late Maximinianus — he spent a great deal of time at court — you are certainly aware that he was an honorable man. His son is my second cousin, and he will deliver this letter to you. Many others might defer to you out of self-interest, but I trust you for a better reason: your char …
synesius_cyrene · c. 401 · score 0.01
… ian by birth, dark-skinned, hook-nosed, and of medium height. He lives near the imperial palace — not the official state palace, but the one behind it.
synesius_cyrene · c. 411 · score 0.01
To Theotimus. Consider Peter as well: the scourge of Pentapolis, a man who breaks its laws without method. God knows this, and so does Dioscurides. But Peter is far more shameless — he simply seizes whatever property he wants and makes it his own. Then when the case comes to court, he buys a favorable verdict by spendi …
synesius_cyrene · c. 402 · score 0.01
To Pylaemenes. Here at last is that Anastasius [one of my dearest friends and an important courtier in Constantinople, tutor to the children of Emperor Arcadius] about whom I have spoken so often. If I were introducing you to him, I would praise you exactly as I am now praising him. You are both neighbors in my heart a …
synesius_cyrene · c. 405 · score 0.01
To Nicander. Here is a famous epigram of mine — and how could it fail to be famous, when the great Nicander himself has praised it? "Image of golden Aphrodite or of Stratonice..." You know, of course, that I originally addressed it to my sister. Theodorus [Synesius's brother-in-law] of the Emperor's Guard is her husban …
synesius_cyrene · c. 402 · score 0.01
To Anastasius [one of Synesius's closest friends and an important courtier in Constantinople, tutor to the children of Emperor Arcadius]. Some god or argument or spirit has persuaded Sosenas that certain places attract or repel divine blessings. Since things have not gone well for him in our part of the world, he has c …
synesius_cyrene · c. 409 · score 0.01
To Constans. If you hold the virtue of philosophy in esteem, you will honor it not only in the living but also in the dead. The divine Amyntianus, once among us for a time, has passed on to a better lot — absent in appearance, but I think still present in spirit. A close relative of his, his own kinsman, now needs your …
synesius_cyrene · c. 405 · score 0.01
To my Brother. You must be joking when you say you want to stop us from manufacturing weapons — while the enemy holds our country, plunders everything, and slaughters entire populations every day, and we have no soldiers to be seen anywhere. Are we supposed to wait patiently to be killed? If a man may not forge a sword …
synesius_cyrene · c. 410 · score 0.01
To Athanasius. Odysseus tried to persuade Polyphemus to let him out of the cave. "I am a wizard," he said. "I can help you win the heart of the sea-nymph you have been courting without success. I know enchantments and love spells that not even Galatea can resist. Just move this door — or rather this boulder, which look …
synesius_cyrene · c. 408 · score 0.01
To Olympius. I have neglected my duty to pay tribute, but what could I do? Not one of the Greeks settled in Libya is willing to send merchant ships to your waters. At the same time, I release you from your contribution — we are even. [The letter continues with reflections on the good life, the exchange of goods between …
synesius_cyrene · c. 407 · score 0.01
To Trypho. Whatever you did for Diogenes — and I know you are capable of doing much — will be nothing new. You will simply be adding another good deed to the long list of those you have already accomplished. He is from Cyrene, and that city owes its continued existence to you. Help him now, as you have helped our homel …
synesius_cyrene · c. 412 · score 0.01
To Herculian. Phoebammon, who will give you this letter, is an honest man, a friend of mine, and a victim of injustice. For every reason, then, you are justified in helping him — for the sake of our friendship, for the sake of justice, and for the sake of a good man who deserves better than what he has received.
synesius_cyrene · c. 403 · score 0.01
To my Brother. You think I am inclined to yield to your wishes — at least that is what you write. You are right. How grateful I am to you, if an elder brother may admit owing gratitude to a younger one for obedience — something I can barely bring myself to believe. But it is enough for me that you recognize my situatio …