Letter 574

To Ganymede the Exceptor [exceptor, a shorthand secretary or clerk]. Since Peter was wounded by three utterances of denial, for this reason, after the resurrection of the Savior, he was healed by three utterances of confession and assent. "Do you love me, Peter?" he says. "Yes, Lord." So you too: from those you instruct, demand only love toward me. For the one who loves genuinely, even if he should at some point stumble, swiftly returns to the one he loves.

Ἐπειδὴ τρισὶ φωναῖς ἀρνήσεως ὁ Πέτρος ἐτραυματίσθη, διὰ τοῦτο μετὰ τὴν ἀνάστασιν τοῦ Σωτῆρος, τρισὶ φωναῖς, ὁμολογίας, καὶ συγκαταθέσεως τεθεράπευται. ἣ Φιλεῖς με, φησί, Πέτρε; Ναί, Κύριε. ἣ Οὐκοῦν καὶ σὺ παρὰ τῶν παιδούντων τὸ περὶ ἐμὲ φίλτρον μόνον ἀπαιτεῖ. Ὁ γὰρ φιλῶν γνήσιος, κἄν ποτὲ πταίσῃ, πρὸς τὸν φιλούμενον ταχέως ἐπανέρχεται.