To Nestorius, on the Egyptian Writings

To my most reverend and religious lord and most holy father Nestorius, Bishop Theodoret sends greetings in the Lord. Your holiness is well aware, I think, that I take no pleasure in refined society, or in the concerns of this life, or in reputation, and that I am not drawn to other sees. Even if I had learned this lesson from no other source, the very loneliness of the city over which I am called to preside would be enough to teach me this philosophy. Yet it is remarkable not only for its loneliness but also for its very many disturbances, which may check the energy even of those who most delight in such things. [a]

So let no one persuade your holiness that I accepted the Egyptian writings as orthodox with my eyes shut, because I covet some see. To tell the truth, after reading them often and examining them carefully, I found them free of every heretical taint. Even so, I have hesitated to lay any weight on them, though I certainly have no love for their author, who started the disturbances that have shaken the world. For this I hope to escape punishment on the day of judgment, since the just Judge examines motives. But to what has been done unjustly and unlawfully against your holiness I would never consent, not even if someone were to cut off both my hands, with God’s grace helping me and supporting my weakness. I have said this in writing to those who demand it. I have sent your holiness my reply to what you wrote to me, so that you may know that, by God’s grace, no length of time has changed me, as centipedes and chameleons change, taking on the color of the stones and leaves among which they live. I and all who are with me greet all the brotherhood that is with you in the Lord. [d]