Letter 59: Place separates bodies, but virtue unites those who live in God.

Do not be distressed at all, brother Cecropius, because we sit far away from you. If you live in righteousness and the fear of God, you can be with our holy fathers. The knowledge of God is not cut off by places, but by passionate thoughts. As blessed Paul says, we who are many are one in Christ; and of the multitude who believed in the Lord, there was one heart and one soul in freedom from passion and in faith. Just as place belongs to bodies, so virtue belongs to bodiless beings. The saints are said to be together when their virtue is one. You called those who live with me blessed. Yes, blessed are the meek. But those who live with me are shameless dogs, licking my blood all day. Understand what I mean. You also mentioned Lazarus and the rich man: Lazarus rejoiced in knowledge, while the rich man was tormented in the flame of ignorance. From this we know that there was a time when evil did not exist, and there will be a time when it will not exist; but there was no time when virtue did not exist, and there will be no time when virtue will not exist. The seeds of virtue are indelible. The rich man himself will persuade you about his evil, since he is tormented and pities his brothers; and pity is a good seed of virtue. The finger and the gulf are spoken of allegorically: they mean knowledge and evil, as a man well tested in spiritual matters has accurately handed down to us.

Greek retroversion from Syriac transmission (Frankenberg 1912, TAN/TEI CC BY 4.0): μη καταλυπεισθω τι, αδελφε Κεκροπιε, οτι μακραν απο σου καθιζομεν· δυνασαι γαρ κατα δικαιοσυνην τε και φοβον θεου ζων μετα των αγιων ημων πατερων ειναι την γε θεου γνωσιν ου τοπων αλλ' εμπαθων νοηματων καταργουντων, επει ως και ο μακαριος παυλος λεγει οι πολλοι εν εσμεν εν Χ. και του πληθους των πιστευσαντων εν κυριωι ην καρδια και ψυχη μια εν απαθειαι τε και πιστει. ωοπερ γαρ ο τοπος των σωματων εστιν ουτως και η αρετη των ασωματων· ουτοι γαρ των αγιων λεγονται ειναι εις εν ων μια εστιν η αρετη (= η εναρετος καταστασις). εμακαρισας δε τους μετ' εμου κατοιχουντας· ναι μακαριοι οι πραεις! οι γαρ μετ' εμου κατοικουντες κυνες αναιδεις λειχοντες το αιμα μου πασαν την ημεραν· εννοει οτι λεγω. και οτι εμνημονευσας τον τε λαζαρον και τον πλουσιον οτι ο μεν λαζαρος ηυφρανθη εν γνωσει ο δε πλουσιος εβασανισθη εν φλογι της αγνωσιας — απο τουτου γιγνωσκομεν οτι ην οτε ουκ ην η κακια και εσται οτε ουκ εσται, ου δε ην οτε ουκ ην αρετη ουδε εσται οτε ουκ εσται· ανεξαλειπτα γαρ τα σπερματα της αρετης· πεισει δε σε ο πλουσιος περι της αυτου κακιας βασανιζομενος και οικτειρων τους αδελφους αυτου, το δε ελεειν σπερμα καλον της αρετης. δακτυλος δε και χασμα αλληγορικως λεγονται η τε γνωσις και η κακια ως παρεδωκεν ημιν τις ανηρ εν τοις πνευματικοις δεδοκιμασμενος ακριβως Syriac transmission available in the linked TAN/TEI source. The complete corpus is Syriac-transmitted; Greek survives only fragmentarily, so this display text is a retroversion witness.