Letter 491: Command without example is only half of leadership, Paul — and the less important half.
On reviling the dead.
Even the living make their peace with the dead, and enemies pour out their libations of reconciliation toward them. Why, then, do you overstep both the ordinances of nature and the very bounds of enmity, by slandering a dead man? For you think it fitting to whet your tongue against dust and ashes; yet, first of all, you outrage that holy reverence itself which all men claim as their due. And then, you have an immortal soul, of which the sleepless eye [of God] is the avenger.
AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
Οἱ μὲν ζῶντες, καὶ βάλλωνται τοῖς τεθνεῶσι, καὶ οἱ πολέμιοι σπένδονται. Τί τοίνυν καὶ τοὺς τῆς φύσεως θεσμούς, καὶ τοὺς τῆς ἔχθρας ὑπερβαίνεις ὅρους, τὸν τεθνεῶτα κακηγορῶν; Σὺ γὰρ πρὸς κόνιν καὶ τέφραν ἀκονᾷν τὴν γλῶτταν ἦγῇ· ἀλλὰ πρῶτον μὲν τὴν ὁσίαν αὐτὴν ὑβρίζεις, ἧς πάντες ἄνθρωποι ἀντιποιοῦνται. Ἔπειτα ψυχὴν ἀθάνατον ἔχεις, ἧς ἔκδικος ἐστιν ὁ ἀκοίμητος ὀφθαλμός.
Revision history
- 2026-05-27v2.2.34-import
Initial corpus import from modern isidore pelusium workflow v1.
Fields: letter text, metadata, source links. Source: https://archive.org/details/PatrologiaGraeca
Related Letters
The most just judge of disputed matters, in my opinion, is the one who is not overawed by the highest rank but...
The Carthage council asks Innocent I to condemn Pelagian teaching on grace, free choice, and infant baptism.
Victory over temptation brings relief — but relief can breed complacency, and complacency invites the next attack...
You have filled our heart with a joy singularly pleasant, because of the love we bear to you, and singularly acceptable, because of the promptitude with which the tidings came to us. For while the consecration of the daughter of your house to a life of virginity is being published by most busy fame in all places where you are known, and that is ...
To Joannes [a mutual friend who, after illness left him unfit for military service, entered a monastery].