¹ By divine favour, we have been placed in a setting appropriate to the mystery of religion, in peaceful and tranquil silence. Here, the Lord has applied the salutary file of His correction to the rust that had formed through prolonged security.

² In this, I say, we have been granted a great repose—if only we recognize it—a true freedom. As we gain new citizens through the commerce of charity and rejoice in the salvation of those acquired, we come to understand that, in the midst of these blessings, we do not lament our present exile. Rather, we recognize that we have not lost our homeland but merely exchanged it.

³ For as God’s faithful servants show the goodness of their devotion by assisting us in our needs, we find ourselves without a fixed dwelling yet possessors of all things, without material wealth yet truly rich. Indeed, we even enrich those who partake in our consolation. In a wondrous way, our benefactors profit from the poor, and from the needy they reap eternal gain.

⁴ However, through the generosity of the Lord, I have received this first great gift: that my most beloved Ruricius, after enduring the tempests of this life, has turned the prow of his salvation toward the harbor of faith, guided by the mighty hand of the Most High. Having passed beyond the shadows of misleading alliances and the illusions of fleeting dreams, he has come to long for what is enduring and firm. At last, he has despised the world, rejecting its great misery, and has instead gained true happiness and profit by forsaking a world that is perishing. With equal faithfulness, he has renounced the fleeting things of this life, counting them as nothing; through his scorn of wealth, he has surrendered what could no longer serve him.

⁵ Thus, with the same zeal with which we once devoted ourselves to worldly pursuits, let us now serve the Lord with unwavering devotion. And since your kindness compels me to speak to him more sternly for the healing of his sins, and since he does not shrink from the truth of that saying—The righteous man is his own accuser at the beginning—let us first of all be watchful against the failings of both speech and heart.

⁶ Indeed, if you take care to guard your heart, you will not struggle to discipline your tongue. The one who is cautious in his thoughts will easily place a door of restraint upon his lips. For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. What is spoken aloud is first shaped in the workshop of the conscience. The mouth only gives voice to what the inner self dictates. The mind rules, the tongue serves, and so we are taught by divine instruction that whatever arises in speech is first conceived in thought. Thus, let the soul command what is just, so that the mouth may not utter what is unworthy.

⁷ And because there are two kinds of fasting—one is to restrain the appetite for self-indulgence from the seductive pleasures of delicacies, so that the outer and earthly man, tamed by the yoke of the cross, may wither away in a beneficial weakness. The other kind of fasting, however, is far more exalted and far more precious, one to which no infirmity can offer resistance: namely, to govern the movements of the soul, to restrain irrational disturbances or the tumult of conflicting thoughts through inner judgment, and to engage in a kind of struggle with hidden assaults or with the enemies within one’s own household by the authority of a faith that fights back. Through goodwill, gentleness, patience, and tranquility, one cultivates the image of God upon the face of the inner man, whose beauty the skill of the Creator has impressed not upon the bodily appearance but upon the form of the soul.

⁸ A man who meditates on spiritual and divine matters should not be broken by sorrow nor loosened by joy. Rather, a heart firmly established in the fear of God should display the greatness of steadfastness, so that the noble opening of that little book may be applied to us as well—where the magnificent Elkanah, whose name means “possession of God,” is described in mystical language as “a certain man”. That is, he was always the same, because nothing in him was uncertain, nothing was duplicitous, nothing was changeable or inconsistent. He remained steadfast in the order of virtues, unmoved by circumstances that would lead others astray. Changing times did not change him, nor did the light breezes of fortune toss him back and forth like the waves of the sea.

⁹ In the same way, a faithful servant of God, firmly rooted in the vast foundation of faith, should only be changed by Christ working within him—such that he is constantly clothed in new graces, fruitful virtues are planted in the field of his heart, and harmful things are cut away. And since the divine word commands His soldiers: “When you go out to war and take a captive woman, you shall cut off her hair and trim her nails before taking her as your wife”, so too must we, girded with the fear of Christ, subjugate worldly wisdom—capturing it under spiritual wisdom—because it was originally made by God as simple, incorrupt, and pure. We must cut away its excesses by removing its vices and unite it to our hearts in chaste union.

¹⁰ Before all else, as far as God’s help allows, let us strive to conquer within ourselves the passions of the five senses. For whatever is pleasing to the sight, whatever entices through smell, whatever seduces by touch, whatever delights the taste, and whatever corrupts through hearing—all these, if misused, will turn the mind’s focus away from spiritual things and toward earthly ones.

¹¹ Therefore, just as the father of faith [Abraham] defeated those five kings with the mysterious number 318 hidden within the letter, so too, with the Lord’s aid and through His cross, let us strive to overcome the allurements of these five principal vices. For among the Greeks, both the sign of the cross and the sacred name of Jesus bear the numerical value of that same mystery.

¹² By these weapons, those who overcome the pleasures of the flesh will be found worthy to hear: “To the one who conquers, I will give the crown of life”, and “The one who conquers will not be harmed by the second death”.

¹³ Thus, you easily despise earthly things or distribute them like a lender, because you keep in mind that time when sinners will burn like dry grass, when they will be consumed by the unending fury of Gehenna, whose smoke rises forever and ever. Those who have neglected the gifts offered to them will suffer such a death that they will not even be allowed to die in their torment—dying yet never perishing, living in both death and life without end.

¹⁴ When, I say, you fix your prudent mind on that future time, as we read: “I will enter your house with burnt offerings”, that is, when you enter the gate of life in triumph, bearing the fruit of good works and adorned with the marks of righteousness, having conquered the flesh. Of this it is also written: “The daughters of Tyre will seek your favour with gifts”, meaning that the souls gathered to Christ from the nations will offer gifts to their Lord with thanksgiving, saying: “See, I have multiplied the talent you gave me. Receive what is yours with interest, Lord”.

¹⁵ For then there will be a certain exchange between humanity and God—man will offer what he has laboured for, and God will restore what He has promised. In that time, together with your “Sarah”—rewarded for one another’s sake—you will be crowned doubly for your mutual salvation. You will then be worthy to hear: “Well done, good and faithful servant! Because you were faithful over a little, I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your Lord”.

¹⁶ Then you will marvel at how the use of present things has been transformed into the possession of eternal ones, and you will rejoice in the wondrous change of fortune, as you—glorified by those who once betrayed you—find yourself happily made their debtor.

¹⁷ We lovingly entrust our dear son Leontius and his entire household, both young and old, to God’s protection through our devoted care. May the Lord our God multiply His blessings upon you with a long life that is prosperous and pleasing to Him. Most honoured lord, bound to us in deepest affection and uniquely distinguished by every virtue of piety, we salute you as a cherished brother.