Letter 836

To the same person. Remember that the Lord has said, "Come into a desert, a place free of temptations, and there rest a little" [cf. Mark 6:31] - a little, not much. For in any case, after this you will be pressed hard, not into a desert, but into a way of life full of temptations and afflictions, and you will be worn down as you are trained and tested.

Μέμνησο, ὅτι εἴρηκεν ὁ Κύριος, « Δεῦτε εἰς ἔρη- μον τῶν πειρασμῶν τόπον, κἀκεῖ ἀναπαύεσθε ὀλί- γον, » οὐχὶ πολύ. Πάντως γὰρ μετὰ ταῦτα, οὐκ εἰς ἔρημον, ἀλλ’ εἰς πλήρη πειρασμῶν καὶ θλίψεων δια- αγωγὴν ἐκθλίβεσθε, καὶ ἐκτρυχωθήσεσθε γυμναζόμενοι καὶ δοκιμαζόμενοι.