Letter 577

To Theodore the Presbyter. Do not fail to recognize the giver of chastity, and of the boldness of speech that is praised, and of fearlessness. For as long as the Lord is at work, you are guarded and kept secure, beyond the reach of plots, untroubled by storms, and to all you appear formidable and held in honor, shining, fenced about with the grace of God; and fearing no one, you will strike terror into all the demons and into wicked men. But if you take to vainglory and to acting arrogantly, the Lord will withdraw from you, unwilling to help you, and then you will learn your own lowliness, cowering and trembling, unable to bear even your own shadow, falling prey to the passions of the flesh, and struck with dismay by night and by day. For you have made his strongholds into cowardice, as David says [Psalm 88(89):41], so that he no longer dares to employ his teaching with boldness, because of his abandonment.

Μὴ ἀγνοήσῃς τὸν δοτῆρα τῆς ἁγνείας, καὶ τῆς ἐπαινουμένης παρρησίας, καὶ τῆς ἀπτοησίας. Μέχρι γὰρ ἂν ὁ Κύριος ἐνεργεῖ, πεφύλαξαι, καὶ διατετήρησαι ἀνεπιβούλευτος, ἀχείμαστος, καὶ πᾶσι φαίνῃ φοβερός, καὶ ἐπίδοξος, μαρμαίρων, καὶ πεφραγμένος τῇ χάριτι τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ μηδένα φοβούμενος, πτοήσεις πάντας δαίμονάς τε, καὶ πονηροὺς ἀνθρώπους. Ἐὰν δὲ ἄρῃ κενόδοξεν, καὶ ὑπερηφανεύεσθαι, ἀναχωρήσει ὁ Κύριος ἀπὸ σοῦ, μὴ θέλων βοηθεῖν σοι, καὶ τότε μαθήσῃ τὴν σαυτοῦ ταπεινότητα, δειλιῶν τε καὶ τρέμων, καὶ τὴν ἰδίαν σιὰν οὐκ ἀνεχόμενος, καὶ τοῖς τῆς σαρκὸς πάθεσιν ὑποπίπτων, καὶ ἐκτεθαμβημένος νύκτωρ, καὶ μεθ' ἡμέραν. Ἔθου γάρ, φησὶν ὁ Δαυΐδ, τὰ ὀχυρώματα αὐτοῦ δειλίαν, μηκέτι λοιπὸν τολμῶντος τῇ διδαχῇ σὺν παρρησίᾳ χρήσασθαι διὰ τὴν ἐγκατάλειψιν.