Letter 100: Chrysostom explains that his silence is only outward and asks for health news.
The same thing that explains your long silence explains ours too: not silence of the mind, but only of the tongue. In thought we write to you and speak with you constantly. We have engraved your noble and harmonious souls in our conscience and carry you everywhere, because that is what genuine love does.
Knowing this, my longed-for and honored friends, write whenever possible and tell us about your health. But be assured that even when you are silent, we hold the same judgment about your love as when you write, because we know your disposition.
AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
Ρʹ. Μαρκιανῷ καὶ Μαρκελλίνῳ.
Τοῦτο καὶ ἡμῖν τῆς μακρᾶς σιγῆς αἴτιον γίνεται, ὃ καὶ τῇ εὐγενείᾳ τῇ ὑμετέρᾳ· ἀλλὰ σιγῆς οὐ τῆς κατὰ τὴν γνώμην, ἀλλὰ τῆς κατὰ τὴν γλῶτταν. Ὡς τῇ διανοίᾳ καὶ ἐπιστέλλομεν, καὶ προσφθεγγόμεθα συνεχῶς, μᾶλλον δὲ διηνεκῶς, τὴν εὐγενεστάτην καὶ ἐμμελεστάτην ὑμῶν ψυχὴν, καὶ ἐγκολάψαντες ὑμᾶς τῷ συνειδότι, πανταχοῦ περιφέρομεν· τοιοῦτον γὰρ τὸ φιλεῖν γνησίως. Ταῦτ' οὖν εἰδότες, κύριοί μου ποθεινότατοι καὶ τιμιώτατοι, ἐπιστέλλετε μὲν, ἡνίκα ἂν ἐξῇ, τὰ περὶ τῆς ὑγιείας τῆς ὑμετέρας δηλοῦντες. Θαῤῥεῖτε δὲ, ὅτι καὶ σιγώντων ὑμῶν τὴν αὐτὴν περὶ τῆς ἀγάπης ὑμῶν ψῆφον οἴσομεν, ἣν καὶ γραφόντων, ἀπὸ τῆς γνώμης ταῦτα ψηφιζόμενοι τῆς ὑμετέρας.
Revision history
- 2026-05-27v2.2.34-import
Initial corpus import from modern chrysostom pg52 epistulae batch3 v1.
Fields: letter text, metadata, source links. Source: https://catholiclibrary.org/library/view?docId=/Fathers-Synchronized-OR/John_Chrysostom__Epistulae.gr.html
Related Letters
Chrysostom consoles Marcianus and Marcellinus by praising steadfastness under trial.
Chrysostom praises Marcianus and Marcellinus for finally writing first.
Chrysostom presses Marcianus and Marcellinus to end their silence with health news.
Chrysostom praises Marcianus and Marcellinus as a beloved pair joined by love.