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heaven; and dismiss the many cares concerning the body, being confident in your hopes toward God, that he will provide you with sufficient necessities, both food for life and a covering for the body and protection from the winter's cold; for the whole earth and whatever grows from the earth belongs to your king; and he cares exceedingly for his own servants and attends to them as if they were his own sanctuaries and temples. For this reason, do not be exceedingly afraid of diseases, nor of the approach of old age expected in time; for disease will also cease as it seems good to your king and whenever this is good for your soul, and he will cover your old age as if with wings, enveloping it with divine power. Knowing these things, also prepare your soul to be strong against diseases, being of good courage, just as some excellent athlete in the stadium endures the labors with unwavering strength. Nor let your soul be greatly oppressed by grief, whether an impending disease weighs it down or some other difficulty befalls it, but oppose the labors with a noble mind, offering thanks to God even in the midst of toilsome affairs, since he is indeed wiser than men and thinks things which are not possible nor easy for men to discover. And have pity on those who are ill-treated and ask for help from God upon men; for he will grant the favor to the friend who asks and will provide aid to those who are ill-treated, wishing to make his own power known to men, so that having come to full knowledge they might ascend to God and enjoy eternal blessedness, whenever the son of God arrives restoring good things to his own.

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οὐρανόν· καὶ τὰς πολλὰς περὶ σώματος ἀνίει μερίμνας τε θαρρηκὼς ἐλπίσι ταῖς πρὸς θεόν, ὅτι σοι τά γε ἀναγκαῖα παρέξει διαρκῆ, τροφήν τε τὴν εἰς ζωὴν καὶ κάλυμμα σώματος καὶ χειμερινοῦ ψύχους ἀλεξητήρια· τοῦ γὰρ δὴ σοῦ βασιλέως γῆ τε ἅπασα καὶ ὅσα ἐκφύεται γῆς· μέλει δὲ αὐτῷ τῶν αὑτοῦ θεραπόντων ὑπερβαλλόντως καὶ περιέπει καθάπερ ἱερὰ καὶ ναοὺς αὑτοῦ. ∆ιὰ δὴ τοῦτο μηδὲ νόσους ὑπερβαλλόντως δέδιθι μηδὲ γήρως ἔφοδον χρόνῳ προσδοκωμένου· παύσεται γὰρ καὶ νόσος ὡς τῷ σῷ δοκεῖ βασιλεῖ καὶ ὅταν ᾖ σοι πρὸς τὴν ψυχὴν τοῦτο καλόν, τὸ δὲ σὸν γῆρας ὡσπερεὶ πτέρυξι τῇ θείᾳ σκεπάσει δυνάμει περιβαλών. Ταῦτα εἰδὼς καὶ πρὸς νόσους ἰσχυρὰν κατασκεύαζε τὴν ψυχήν, εὐθαρσὴς ὢν ὥσπερ τις ἀνὴρ ἐν σταδίοις ἀγωνιστὴς ἄριστος ἀτρέπτῳ τῇ δυνάμει τοὺς πόνους ὑφίσταται. Μηδὲ ὑπὸ λύπης πάνυ πιέζου τὴν ψυχήν, εἴτε νόσος ἐπικειμένη βαρύνει εἴτε ἄλλο τι συμπίπτει δυσχερές, ἀλλὰ γενναῖον ἀνθίστη τοῖς πόνοις τὸ νόημα, χάριτας ἀνάγων θεῷ καὶ ἐν μέσοις τοῖς ἐπιπόνοις πράγμασιν ἅτε δὴ σοφώτερά τε ἀνθρώπων φρονοῦντι καὶ ἅπερ οὐ δυνατὸν οὐδὲ ῥάδιον ἀνθρώποις εὑρεῖν. Ἐλέει δὲ κακουμένους καὶ τὴν παρὰ θεοῦ βοήθειαν ἐπ' ἀνθρώποις αἰτοῦ· ἐπινεύσει γὰρ αἰτοῦντι τῷ φίλῳ τὴν χάριν καὶ τοῖς κακουμένοις ἐπικουρίαν παρέξει, τὴν αὑτοῦ δύναμιν γνώριμον ἀνθρώποις καθιστάναι βουλόμενος, ὡς ἂν εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν ἐλθόντες ἐπὶ θεὸν ἀνίωσι καὶ τῆς αἰωνίου μακαριότητος ἀπολαύσωσιν, ἐπειδὰν ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ υἱὸς παραγένηται τὰ ἀγαθὰ τοῖς ἰδίοις ἀποκαθιστῶν.