ABSTRACT
A n d so for Theophylact the text could be affected by the world. We have seen how he promoted active reader-response;1 his view of letters is also profoundly referential and instrumental. 'Blessed be G o d who among other examples of H i s outpouring goodness has given us letters by which friends greet their friends and slaves may address their masters from afar.'2 There is a wor ld outside the text and the text is instrumental in articulating it. In this chapter I want to look at the collection as evidence for network, 'the social relations i n which every individual is embedded'.3
