Resultados25 letters/passages
synesius_cyrene · c. 411 · score 0.02
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. 411 · score 0.02
To Anastasius. I have not been able to do anything for the presbyter Evagrius — nor for anyone else who came to me for help during the rule of Andronicus. That man turned our province into a tyranny and made the bishop's office powerless. [This long, detailed letter describes the full extent of Andronicus's crimes and …
synesius_cyrene · c. 400 · score 0.02
To Troilus. You are both a philosopher and a compassionate man. So I can lament with you the misfortunes of my homeland. You will honor Cyrene because of her citizen the philosopher, and you will pity her because your nature is gentle. You have a double reason to lift her up from her ruin — and you have the power to do …
synesius_cyrene · c. 396 · score 0.02
To my Brother. The blessed Castricius died on the sixteenth of Athyr [October 16, 402], having experienced a terrible vision of which he gave a full account.
synesius_cyrene · c. 394 · score 0.02
The rest were equally qualified. [Synesius goes on to describe a terrifying storm at sea, with the Jewish captain refusing to steer on the Sabbath even as the ship was being swamped, passengers praying and writing hasty wills, soldiers drawing their swords to die fighting the waves rather than drowning passively, and t …
synesius_cyrene · c. 399 · score 0.02
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. 412 · score 0.01
To Anastasius [one of Synesius's dearest friends, tutor to Emperor Arcadius's children]. It was not generous of Amasis to steel his heart against tears over the misfortunes of Polycrates — misfortunes he had foreseen. He sent a herald to break off their friendship, rather than share in the suffering. I find this hard t …
synesius_cyrene · c. 394 · score 0.01
To my Brother. We set out from Bendideum [near Alexandria] at dawn but had barely passed the Pharian Shoals by noon — our ship ran aground two or three times still inside the harbor. A bad omen from the very start, and it would have been wiser to abandon a vessel that was already unlucky. But we were too ashamed to hav …
synesius_cyrene · c. 401 · score 0.01
To Pylaemenes. I had a large Egyptian rug — not the kind you put under a bedspread, but one fine enough to use as a bedspread itself. Asterius, the shorthand writer, saw it and asked me for it, back when I was forced to sleep in front of the Record Office. I promised to leave it for him as a gift when I departed, but n …
synesius_cyrene · c. 395 · score 0.01
To the Philosopher [Hypatia]. I am dictating this letter from my bed. May you receive it in good health — mother, sister, teacher, and benefactress, and everything else that is honored in name and deed. Bodily weakness has followed in the wake of my mental suffering. The memory of my dead children is consuming what rem …
synesius_cyrene · c. 395 · score 0.01
To Theodorus and his Sister. How do you think I felt when a rumor swept through town that you were battling a dangerous — possibly catastrophic — case of ophthalmia, and that you were on the verge of losing your sight? Fortunately, the story turned out to be false. Some scoundrel seized on the word "ophthalmia" and inf …
synesius_cyrene · c. 411 · score 0.01
To Theophilus. The Olbiates — a village community — were required to elect a bishop to replace the blessed father Athamas, who died after a long life in the priesthood. They called me in to take part in their deliberations. I complimented the people on having so many worthy candidates to choose from — a sign of a healt …
synesius_cyrene · c. 394 · score 0.01
To my Brother. Aeschines had already been in his tomb for three days when his niece finally came to visit it. Custom forbids engaged girls from attending funerals, so this was her first appearance. Even then, she arrived dressed in purple with a sheer veil over her hair, decked out in gold and gemstones — apparently so …
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. 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. 400 · score 0.01
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. 404 · score 0.01
To Joannes. I have come to your assistance many times before. I have softened the blows of fate for you whenever I could, in word and deed. Today, regarding your present situation, I can only offer advice — I am powerless to act. But it would not be right for Synesius, while he lives and has the ability, to hold back f …
synesius_cyrene · c. 406 · score 0.01
To Pylaemenes. I received your letter in which you again accuse Fortune of mistreating you. You are wrong, dearest friend — it is not fitting to blame Fortune, but rather to console yourself. In your difficulties, you can always come to me. You will be in a brother's house. We are not rich, my good friend, but all we h …
synesius_cyrene · c. 412 · score 0.01
To Herculian. You have not kept your promise, my dear friend — the promise that you would not reveal things that should remain hidden. I have just spoken with people who came from you. They told me things I shared with you in confidence, which you were not supposed to repeat. This is not the conduct of a philosopher. G …
synesius_cyrene · c. 402 · score 0.01
To Pylaemenes. I have just sent you my treatise [A Eulogy of Baldness], written in Attic style and finished with care. If it wins the approval of Pylaemenes — the most demanding critic in my audience — that alone will be enough to recommend it to posterity. But if the book strikes you as frivolous, remember that it is …
synesius_cyrene · c. 398 · score 0.01
To my Brother. They say Joannes [the addressee of Letter 44] killed Aemilius. Others say this is a slander circulated by his political enemies. Only justice knows the truth, and time will reveal it. But even while the case remains unclear, I think all these people deserve contempt — the murderer, if he did it, for the …
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 …
synesius_cyrene · c. 402 · score 0.01
To Nicander. I have fathered children in my books — some by the noble Philosophy, some by her temple-companion Poetry, and others by Rhetoric, who works in the public square. But anyone can see they all come from the same father, one who turns now to the serious, now to the playful side. This book will show for itself …
synesius_cyrene · c. 411 · score 0.01
To the Bishops. Let Andronicus [a notoriously corrupt local official], who has made a mockery of the Church, now experience her justice. Just yesterday he sinned against God and insulted humanity. For this we closed the church against him and drafted a letter to your brotherhood announcing the sentence. He anticipated …
synesius_cyrene · c. 411 · score 0.01
To Herculian. There are loves with earthly, human origins — detestable and ephemeral, measured only by the presence of their object, and even then barely sustained. But there are other loves over which a Divinity presides, and according to the ancient teachings, these are measured not by physical closeness but by the k …