Consoling A Widow

Εἰ μὲν μόνην τοῦ συμβεβηκότος ὑμῖν πάθους ἐλογιζόμην τὴν φύσιν, τῶν ψυχαγωγούτων ἄν ἐδεήθην κἀγὼ, οὐ μόνον τῷ τὰ ὑμέτερα οἰκεῖα κρίνειν, καὶ τὰ θυμήρη, καὶ τὰ ἄλλα ὁποῖά ποτ' ἂν ᾗ. Ἀλλὰ καὶ τῷ τὴν θαυμασίαν ἐκείνην καὶ ὅντως αξιέπαινον κεφαλήν διαφερόντως ἠγαπηκέναι. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ὅπος αὐτὸν θεῖος ἐνθένδε μετέστησε, καὶ εἰς τὴν ἀμείνω μετέθηκε βιοτὴν, καὶ ἐκ τῆς ἑμαυτοῦ ψυχῆς ἀποσκεδάννυμι τῆς ἀθυμίας τὸ νέφος, καὶ τὴν σὴν παρακαλῶ σεμνοπρέπειαν νικῆσαι τῆς ἀθυμίας τὸ πάθος τῷ λογισμῷ, καὶ εἰς καιρὸν προσενεγκεῖν τῇ ψυχῇ τῶν θείων λόγων τὴν ἐπῳδήν· τούτου γὰρ δὴ χάριν εὐθὺς ἐκ σπαργάνων οἶόν τινα θηλὴν ἔλκομεν τῆς ἱερᾶς Γραφῆς τὴν μελέτην, ἴν' ὅταν ἡμῖν προσπέσῃ πάθος, προσενέγκωμεν ἀλεξίκακον φάρμακον τὴν διδασκαλίαν τοῦ Πνεύματος. Οἴδαμεν δὲ ὡς παγχάλεπον, καὶ λίαν ἐστὶν ἀλγεινὸν, ἀξιεράστου τινὸς ἐν πείρᾳ γεγενημένον ἔρημον ἐξαπίνης τοῦ ποθουμένου γενέσθαι, καὶ ἐν εὐκληρίᾳ γενόμενον δυσκληρίᾳ περιπεσεῖν. Ἀλλὰ τοῖς γε νοῦν ἔχουσι, καὶ σώφρονι λογισῷ κεχρημένοις, οὐδὲν τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων ἀδόκητον· οὐδὲν γὰρ τούτων σταθερὸν, ούδε βέβαιον ού καλλος, οὐ πλοῦτος, οὐκ εὐεξία σώματος, οὐκ ἀξιώματος ὅγκος· οὐκ ἄλλο τι τῶν παρὰ τοῖς πλείστοις θαυμαζομένων. Οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἐξ ἄκρας εὐπορίας εἰς πενίαν ἐσχάτην μετέπεσον· οἱ δὲ τὴν ὑγίειαν ἀποβαλόντες, παντοδαποῖς παλαίουσι πάθεσιν· ἀλλοι περιφανείᾳ συμνυνόμενοι γένους, τὸν βαρύτατον ἔλκουσι τῆς δουλείας ζυγόν. Τῷ δὲ κάλλει τοῦ σώματος καὶ νόσος λωβᾶται, καὶ γῆρας λυμαίνεται. Μάλα δὲ σοφῶς τῶν ὅλων ὁ Πρύτανις οὐδὲν τούτων εασε διαρκὲς, οὐδὲ μόνιμον· ἵνα τὰς μεταβολὰς δεδιότες οἱ τούτων τετυχηκότες, καταστέλλωσι τὴν ὀφρὺν, καὶ τὸν τούτων εὔριπον ἐπιστάμενοι, μὴ τοῖς προσκαίροις θαῥῥῶσιν, ἀλλ' εἰς τὸν τῶν ἀγαθῶν χορηγὸν ἔγωσι τὰς ἐλπίδας. Ταῦτα τὴν σὴν εἰδῦαν θαυμασιότητα, τὴν ἀνθρωπείαν φύσιν καταμαθεῖν αξιῶ· εὐρήσεις γὰρ αὐτὴν θνητὴν οὔσαν, καὶ ἐξ ἀρχῆς δεξαμένην τοῦ θανάτου τὸν ὅρον. Πρὸς γὰρ τὸν Ἀδὰμ ὁ τῶν ὅλων ἔφη Θεος· 'Γη εἴ καὶ εἰς γῆν ἀπελεύσῃ.' Ἀψευδὴς δὲ ὁ τὴν ψῆφον ἐξενεγκὼν, καὶ μάρτυς ἡ πεῖρα. Μία γὰρ πάντων εἴσοδος εἰς τὸν βίον, κατὰ τὴν  θείαν Γραφὴν, ἔξοδός τε ἴση, καὶ πᾶς γεννώμενος προσμένει τὸν τάφον. Καὶ οὐδὲ ἴσον ἂπαντες βιοτεύουσι χρόνον· ἀλλ' οἱ μὲν πρόωροι τελευτῶσιν, οἱ δὲ εἰς ἄνδρας τελέσαντες, οἱ δὲ καὶ τῶν τοῦ γήρως ἀνιαρῶν πειραθέντες· οὕτω καὶ οἱ τοῦ γάμου δεξάμενοι τὸν ζυγὸν διαζεύγνυνται· ἀνάγκη γὰρ ἢ τὸν ἂνδρα προαπελθεῖν, ἢ τὴν γυναῖκα προτέραν δέξασθαι τοῦ βίου τὸ τέλος. Καὶ οἱ μὲν εὐθὺς μετὰ τὴν παστάδα τοὺς θρήνους ἐδέξαντο· οἱ δὲ ὀλιγον συμβιώσαντες χρόνον. Ἀπόχρη τοίνυν καὶ τὸ κοινὸν τοῦ πάθους ἀφορμὴν τῷ λογισμῳ παρασχεῖν εἰς τὸ νικῆσαι τὸ πάθος. Θεοδώρητος Ἐπίσκοπος Κύρρος, Ἐπιστολή ΙΔ', Ἀλεξάνδρᾳ Source: Migne PG 83.1185d-1188d

If I had only considered the character of your suffering, I also would have been in need of consolation, not only because I think that what concerns you, be it agreeable or otherwise, concerns me, but because I dearly loved that worthy and wonderful man. But since the Divine decree has taken him from here and translated him to the better life, I therefore scatter the cloud of sorrow from my soul, and call on you to vanquish grief's pain by the power of reason, and in this hour to bring your soul under the spell of God's word; for why from the very cradle do we suck the instruction of the Sacred Scriptures, like milk from the breast, but that when suffering falls on us we may be able to apply the teaching of the Spirit as a balm for our pain? I know how sad and how very grievous it is when one has experienced the worth of some loved object, suddenly to be deprived of it, and in a moment to fall from happiness to misery. But to them who have good good sense, and employ prudent reason, no human event is unexpected; for nothing human is stable, nothing lasting; neither beauty, nor wealth, nor health, nor high dignity; nor any of all those things that most consider wonderful. Some tumble from height of opulence to lowest poverty, and some lose their health and struggle with various forms of disease, and some proud of the splendour of their lineage come to drag the crushing yoke of slavery. Sickness mars the beauty of the body and old age destroys it, and very wisely has the supreme Ruler not allowed any of these things to continue nor be stable forever, so that their possessors, in fear of change, may restrain proud looks, and, knowing how all such things flow away, may cease to put their confidence in what is transient, and found their hopes upon the One who gives all that is good. These things knowing, most excellent lady, consider human nature; for you will find that it is mortal and from the beginning received the doom of death . It was to Adam the God of all said 'Dust you are and to dust you shall return.' 1 Truthful is He who gave the sentence, and experience is witness. 'All have one entrance into life and one is the exit,' 2 Divine Scripture tells us, and for every one born the grave waits. And all do not live an equal length of time; some men come to an end too soon; some in their manhood, and some after they have experienced the trials of old age; and likewise they who have taken on the marriage yoke are released from it, and it must be that either husband depart first or wife reach life's end before him. And some have just entered the bridal chamber when comes lamentation, and some live together a little while. Enough, then, to remember that the grief is common to give reason space to conquer grief. Theodoret of Cyrrhus, Letter 14, To Alexandra 1 Gen 3.19 2 Wis 7.6