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do they eat and drink intellectually and sensibly? What delight, what joy, what glory, tell me, is greater on earth, than to see me alone, to behold me alone as in a riddle, to see the radiance of my glory and it alone and through it to be taught these things and more than these with precision, that I, God, am the creator of all things, to know and to understand, that a man sitting in the lowest pit has been reconciled to me, and he speaks immediately as a friend to a friend (304) having surpassed the rank of a hireling and the fear of slavery, serving me tirelessly, ministering with love, making himself my own through obedience to the commandments. I do not speak of those who serve me as hirelings, nor of those again who approach me as slaves, but the deeds of my friends and acquaintances and sons; which are indeed these by nature, write briefly. To consider oneself of less value than all who are in the world, not only of fellow ascetics and worldly people, but even truly worse than the gentiles; to count one small transgression of the least commandment as a fall from eternal life; to see and to venerate little children as if they were perfect men, just like the glorious; likewise to give honor to the blind, as I see from above the deeds of all men and to do these things for my sake, which again you are to write. To have absolutely nothing against anyone in the heart, not even a slight stirring or a small suspicion; to pray from the soul with pain of heart out of compassion for all who sin against you, and likewise for those who dare such things against me, with tears begging for their conversion; at the same time to bless those who curse you and to praise those who always revile you out of envy and to consider those who treat you despitefully as benefactors, but for those who do not submit to or obey you, as completely denying me their own ∆espot, to lament and weep continually; whom you should not cease admonishing. For he who receives you receives me, I said, and he who hears you, certainly hears me; (305) but he who does not with fear your words and exhortations

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ἐσθίουσι καί πίνουσι νοερῶς αἰσθητῶς τε; Ποία τρυφή, ποία χαρά, ποία δόξα, εἰπέ μοι, μείζων ὑπάρχει ἐπί γῆς, ὡς ἐμέ μόνον βλέπειν, ἐμέ ὡς ἐν αἰνίγματι ἐνοπτρίζεσθαι μόνον, ἐμοῦ τῆς δόξης καθορᾶν τήν ἀπαυγήν καί μόνην καί δι᾿ αὐτῆς διδάσκεσθαι ταῦτα καί πλείω τούτων ἀκριβῶς, ὅτι Θεός κτίστης ἐγώ τῶν πάντων, εἰδέναι καί κατανοεῖν, ὅτι μοι κατηλλάγη ἄνθρωπος καθεζόμενος ἐν λάκκῳ κατωτάτῳ, ἀμέσως τε προσομιλεῖ φίλος ὥσπερ πρός φίλον (304) μισθίου τάξιν ὑπερβάς καί δουλείας τόν φόβον, ἀκαματί δουλεύων μοι, ἀγάπῃ θεραπεύων, ὑπακοῇ τῶν ἐντολῶν προσοικειούμενός μοι. Οὐ λέγω τῶν μισθωτικῶς ἐμοί ἐκδουλευόντων οὐδέ τῶν πάλιν δουλικῶς ἐμοί προσερχομένων, ἀλλά τῶν φίλων καί γνωστῶν καί υἱῶν μου τάς πράξεις˙ αἵτινες καί πεφύκασιν αὗται, γράφε συντόμως. Τό πάντων εὐτελέστερον ἡγεῖσθαι τῶν ἐν κόσμῳ οὐ μόνον τῶν συνασκητῶν καί κοσμικῶν ἀνθρώπων, ἀλλά γε καί τῶν ἐθνικῶν ἑαυτόν ὄντως χείρω˙ τό ἔκπτωσιν λογίζεσθαι ζωῆς τῆς αἰωνίου μιᾶς παράβασιν μικράν ἐντολῆς ἐλαχίστης˙ τό τά παιδία τά μικρά ὥσπερ τελείους ἄνδρας καθορᾶν τε καί προσκυνεῖν καθάπερ τούς ἐνδόξους˙ τό τοῖς τυφλοῖς ὡσαύτως δέ τήν τιμήν ἀπονέμειν ὡς ἀνωθεν ὁρῶντός μου πάντων ἀνθρώπων πράξεις καί ταῦτα δι᾿ἐμέ ποιεῖν, ἅπερ καί πάλιν γράφε. Τό μή ἔχειν κατά τινος ὅλως ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ μέχρι ψιλῆς κινήσεως ἤ μικρᾶς ὑπονοίας˙ τό εὔχεσθαι ἀπό ψυχῆς μετά πόνου καρδίας ἐκ συμπαθείας τούς εἰς σέ ἁμαρτάνοντας πάντας, ὡσαύτως καί τούς εἰς ἐμέ τά τοιαῦτα τολμῶντας, μετά δακρύων ἐξαιτῶν ἐπιστροφήν τήν τούτων˙ τό εὐλογεῖν μεθ᾿ ἅμα δέ τούς σέ καταρωμένους καί ἐπαινεῖν τούς φθόνῳ σέ ἀεί λοιδορουμένους καί τούς ἐπηρεάζοντας ὡς εὐεργέτας ἔχειν, τούς δέ μή καθυπείκοντας μήθ᾿ ὑπακούοντάς σου, ὡς ὅλως ἀρνουμένους με τόν ἑαυτῶν ∆εσπότην, θρηνεῖν καί κλαίειν συνεχῶς˙ οὕς νουθετῶν μή παύσῃ. Ὁ γάρ ὑμᾶς δεχόμενος ἐμέ δέχεται, εἶπον, καί ὁ ἀκούων δέ ὑμῶν πάντως ἐμοῦ ἀκούει˙ (305) ὁ δέ μή τρόμῳ τούς ὑμῶν λόγους καί παραινέσεις