To Neoptolemus, on the Death of His Wife

Whenever I turn my eyes to the divine law, which calls those joined in marriage “one flesh,” I am at a loss how to comfort the limb that has been torn away, because I take into account how great the pain is. But then I consider the course of nature, and the law the Creator laid down in the words, “Dust you are, and to dust you will return,” and all that happens every day throughout the world, on land and sea, where either the husbands come first to the end of life or this lot falls first to the wives. And in these thoughts I find many grounds for comfort. Above all I find it in the hopes our Lord and Savior has given us. The reason the mystery of the incarnation was carried out was this: that we, taught that death has been defeated, should no longer grieve beyond measure when death takes those we love, but should wait for the longed-for fulfillment of the hope of the resurrection. I entreat Your Excellency to reflect on these things and to overcome the pain of your grief, all the more because the children of your shared love are with you and give you every reason for comfort. So let us praise him who governs our lives wisely, and not provoke his anger by excessive mourning. In his wisdom he knows what is good for us, and in his mercy he gives it. [a]