Letter 8029: An address from a learned man is always profitable, because the hearer either learns what he had known himself to be ignorant of, or, what is more, comes to know what he did not know he had been ignorant of. A hearer of the latter kind I have now become, your most holy Blessedness having been minded to write to me, asking me to send you the acts...

Gregory to Eulogius, Bishop of Alexandria. A message from a learned person is always profitable. The listener either learns what he already knew he did not know, or -- what is more valuable -- discovers what he did not even realize he was ignorant of. That second kind of learner is what I have become, thanks to your most holy Blessedness. You wrote asking me to send you the acts of all the martyrs, collected in the time of Constantine of pious memory by Eusebius of Caesarea. But before receiving your letter, I did not even know whether such a collection existed. So I thank you -- your holy teaching has made me aware of my own ignorance. Here is what I can tell you: apart from what Eusebius himself records in his books, I know of no such collection in the archives of our Church or in the libraries of Rome. What we do have is a single volume containing the names of nearly all the martyrs, with their feast days and the dates of their suffering assigned to particular days. We celebrate Mass on those days in their memory. But the volume gives only each martyr's name, place, and date of death -- not who they were or how they suffered. So many saints across many provinces are known to have been crowned with martyrdom, recorded day by day. I expect you already have this much. As for the collection you actually want, I have searched for it and have not found it. But I will keep searching, and if it turns up, I will send it. Regarding the timber you say was too short -- the problem was the size of the ship. A larger vessel would have allowed us to send longer pieces.

Book VIII, Letter 29 To Eulogius, Bishop of Alexandria. Gregory to Eulogius, etc. An address from a learned man is always profitable, because the hearer either learns what he had known himself to be ignorant of, or, what is more, comes to know what he did not know he had been ignorant of. A hearer of the latter kind I have now become, your most holy Blessedness having been minded to write to me, asking me to send you the acts of all the martyrs, which were collected in the times of Constantine, of pious memory, by Eusebius of Cæsarea. But before receiving the letter of your Blessedness I did not know of these acts, whether they had been collected, or whether not. I therefore give thanks that, instructed by your most holy teaching, I have begun to know what I was ignorant of. For beside what is contained about the acts of the holy martyrs in the books of the same Eusebius, I am not aware of any collections in the archives of this our Church, or in the libraries of the city of Rome, unless it be some few things collected in one single volume. We have indeed the names of almost all the martyrs, with their passions assigned to particular days, collected in one volume; and we celebrate the solemnities of mass on such days in commemoration of them. Yet it is not indicated in this volume who each was, and how he suffered; but only his name, the place, and day, of his passion are put down. Hence it results that many of various countries and provinces are known to have been crowned with martyrdom, as I have said, through their several days. But these we believe you have. That, however, which you wish to have sent to you we have sought for, but have not found; but, though we have not found it, we will still search, and, if it can be found, will send it. With regard to what you write about the timber being short in length, the cause was in the kind of ship by which it was sent; for, if a larger ship had come, we could have sent larger pieces of timber. But as to your saying that, if we send larger pieces, you will pay for them, we thank you indeed for your liberality, but we are precluded from accepting a price, since the Gospel forbids it. For we do not buy the timber which we send; and how can we accept a price, when it is written, Freely you have received, freely give Matthew 10:8? We have therefore sent now through the shipmaster timber of short length in accordance with the size of the ship, whereof a notice is subjoined. Next year, however, should it please Almighty God, we will prepare larger pieces. We have received with the kindliness wherewith it was sent the blessing of Saint Mark the Evangelist, nay, it may be said more truly, of Saint Peter the Apostle ; and, greeting you well, we beg your Blessedness to deign to pray for us, that so we may be counted worthy to be soon delivered from present evils, and not to be excluded from future joys. About this page Source. Translated by James Barmby. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 12. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1895.) Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. <https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/360208029.htm>. Contact information. The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address is feedback732 at newadvent.org. (To help fight spam, this address might change occasionally.) Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback — especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads.