Nilus of Ancyra→Alcibiades|c. 415 AD|nilus ancyra|From Ancyra|AI-assisted
To Alcibiades the Scholasticus [advocate].
You write to me that you greatly love humility, and that you wish to learn the manner by which you may attain the grace of such honor from God. If, then, you wish to flee the vain and God-hated swelling of pride, and to become master of that blessed gift, neglect none of the things that contribute to it. Rather, be willing to practice all the things that conduce to its perfecting. For the soul is wont to be made like to its pursuits, and toward whatever it does continually, it is molded and shaped. Let there be, then, a bearing, and a garment, and a gait, and a manner of sitting, and food, and bedding, and all things, to put it simply, practiced toward frugality; and indeed also speech, and movement of the body, and the encounter with one's neighbor; and let these too look toward moderation rather, and not toward pomp. Be kind and gentle toward your brother, long-suffering toward those who oppose you, loving toward others and compassionate toward the humbled, comforting and consoling those who are sick, visiting every person beset by pains, and toils, and afflictions; overlooking no one at all, sweet in address, cheerful in your answers, good through all things, and approachable to all.
You write to me that you greatly love humility, and that you wish to learn the manner by which you may attain the grace of such honor from God. If, then, you wish to flee the vain and God-hated swelling of pride, and to become master of that blessed gift, neglect none of the things that contribute to it. Rather, be willing to practice all the things that conduce to its perfecting. For the soul is wont to be made like to its pursuits, and toward whatever it does continually, it is molded and shaped. Let there be, then, a bearing, and a garment, and a gait, and a manner of sitting, and food, and bedding, and all things, to put it simply, practiced toward frugality; and indeed also speech, and movement of the body, and the encounter with one's neighbor; and let these too look toward moderation rather, and not toward pomp. Be kind and gentle toward your brother, long-suffering toward those who oppose you, loving toward others and compassionate toward the humbled, comforting and consoling those who are sick, visiting every person beset by pains, and toils, and afflictions; overlooking no one at all, sweet in address, cheerful in your answers, good through all things, and approachable to all.
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.