Nilus of Ancyra→Elpidius (correspondent of Nilus of Ancyra)|c. 415 AD|nilus ancyra|From Ancyra|AI-assisted
To Elpidius the Monk.
"All things," he says, "are pure to the pure" [Titus 1:15]; but to the faithless, and to those enslaved to the passions, and to lovers of sin, and to the defiled, all things appear impure and evil, and everything drags them toward sin. Whether it be food, or drink, or clothing, or a season, or a face, or a deed, or a glance, or a touch, or a smell, or a sound, or a taste—to speak comprehensively, every thing, or shape, or movement—pushes such people toward sin and summons them toward lawlessness. Just as, on the contrary, the faithful, and the chaste, and the reverent, and the sound in mind—all things rouse them toward thanksgiving to God and toward unceasing confession, and lead them by the hand toward all righteousness, and dispose their minds toward perfect piety.
The spirit of cowardice sought you often and did not find you, because you had not yet been delivered up to be trained by it; but now it has found you, and it throws you into confusion, all night long and all day long. But do not lose heart; rather, wait upon the Lord in prayers, expecting that he will deliver you, while you continually keep yourself, drenched in tears, before his eyes.
"All things," he says, "are pure to the pure" [Titus 1:15]; but to the faithless, and to those enslaved to the passions, and to lovers of sin, and to the defiled, all things appear impure and evil, and everything drags them toward sin. Whether it be food, or drink, or clothing, or a season, or a face, or a deed, or a glance, or a touch, or a smell, or a sound, or a taste—to speak comprehensively, every thing, or shape, or movement—pushes such people toward sin and summons them toward lawlessness. Just as, on the contrary, the faithful, and the chaste, and the reverent, and the sound in mind—all things rouse them toward thanksgiving to God and toward unceasing confession, and lead them by the hand toward all righteousness, and dispose their minds toward perfect piety.
The spirit of cowardice sought you often and did not find you, because you had not yet been delivered up to be trained by it; but now it has found you, and it throws you into confusion, all night long and all day long. But do not lose heart; rather, wait upon the Lord in prayers, expecting that he will deliver you, while you continually keep yourself, drenched in tears, before his eyes.
AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.