Letter 225: Chrysostom praises Constantius as a harbor for people in need and asks for letters.

I am amazed that you, who love us so strongly and are ready to do, say, and suffer everything for us, have not written to us even once. Your love has not escaped us; a genuine lover cannot be hidden. I say this not as an accusation but from pain, especially since you have come near us and my honored and glorious brother Libanius has arrived here. I care deeply for your Reverence because you attend to your soul with all seriousness. You are a common harbor for those in distress: relieving poverty, caring for widows, supporting orphans, and being a father to all. Because I love you so greatly for this, I long to receive letters from your Reverence. Give us this favor and satisfy our desire. A letter from your longed-for soul and hand, reporting your health and that of your whole household, will give us no ordinary comfort while we live in the wilderness.

ΣΚΕʹ. Κωνσταντίῳ πρεσβυτέρῳ. Ἐθαύμασα πῶς οὕτω σφοδρὸς ἡμῶν ὢν ἐραστὴς, καὶ πάντα ποιεῖν καὶ λέγειν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν καὶ πάσχειν παρεσκευασμένος οὐδὲ γὰρ ἡμᾶς ἔλαθεν· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἔνι γνησίως φιλοῦντα λαθεῖν, οὐδὲ ἅπαξ ἡμῖν ἐπέστειλας, καὶ ταῦτα πλησίον ἐλθοῦσιν ὑμῶν, καὶ τοῦ τιμίου μοι καὶ ἐνδοξοτάτου ἀδελφοῦ Λιβανίου ἐνταῦθα ἀφιγμένου. Καὶ ταῦτα οὐκ ἐγκαλῶν, ἀλλ' ἀλγῶν λέγω. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ σφόδρα διάκειμαι περὶ τὴν εὐλάβειαν ὑμῶν, δι' ἕτερον μὲν οὐδὲν, ὅτι δέ σου τῆς ψυχῆς φροντίδα ποιεῖς μετὰ πάσης τῆς σπουδῆς, καὶ λιμὴν εἶ κοινὸς τῶν ἐν ἀνάγκαις ὄντων, πενίαν λύων, χηρείαν διορθούμενος, ὀρφανίαν ἀνέχων, κοινὸς πατὴρ ἁπάντων ὢν, τούτου χάριν σφόδρα σου ἐρῶν, καὶ γράμματα παρὰ τῆς σῆς εὐλαβείας δέχεσθαι ἐπιθυμῶ. ∆ίδου δὴ ταύτην ἡμῖν τὴν χάριν, καὶ ἔμπλησον ἡμῶν τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν. Οὐ γὰρ τὴν τυχοῦσαν καρπωσόμεθα παράκλησιν, καὶ ταῦτα ἐν ἐρημίᾳ διατρίβοντες, ἂν τῆς ποθεινῆς σου καὶ ψυχῆς καὶ χειρὸς δεξώμεθα γράμματα, περὶ τῆς σῆς ἀπαγγέλλοντα ὑγείας, καὶ τοῦ οἴκου σου παντός.