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You are my boast, my wealth, my glory. You, O Word, willed out of compassion to receive me from the world, the stranger, the unworthy one, the lowly one and worse than any man, than any irrational animal, and for this reason, taking courage in Your mercy, I both ask You and speak and fall down before You: give a straight word, give strength, give me power to speak to all those who are dedicated to You (410) and worship You, O King of all, to speak to initiates, both rulers and servants, to those who seem to see You and attend and serve You as Master genuinely. All men, kings and potentates, priests, bishops, monastics and laity, do not disdain to hear the voice and words of me, the lowly man, but open to me the ears of your hearts and hear and understand what the God of all and before all ages says, the unapproachable one, the only Almighty, in whose hand is the breath of all existing things: Kings! You do well to war against the nations, unless you yourselves, by doing the works and customs and counsels and opinions of the nations, and through many of your works and words, deny me, your king. It would be better for you to keep my words and to rightly perform all my commandments, and in that poverty which is called blessed to pursue the quiet life. For what is the profit in vindicating the world from death and temporary slavery, if you yourselves by your works become slaves both of passions and of demons every day, and heirs of the unquenchable fire? For all things are good, whatever other works one does for my sake and for compassion and mercy toward one's neighbor, but first of all, if one pities himself (411) and guards my words with all diligence and shows genuine repentance for what has perhaps been formerly done, then no longer turns back to these things, but abides in the words, the commands, and laws of truth of me, the Master, and so does all things unswervingly until death, and not one bare word, not even a single tittle of what is written

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σύ τό καύχημα, ὁ πλοῦτός μου, ἡ δόξα. Σύ ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου ἠθέλησάς με, Λόγε, κατ᾿ εὐσπλαγχνίαν προσλαβέσθαι τόν ξένον, τόν ἀνάξιον, τόν εὐτελῆ καί χείρω παντός ἀνθρώπου, παντός ἀλόγου ζῴου, καί διά τοῦτο θαρρῶν σου τῷ ἐλέει καί αἰτοῦμαί σε καί λαλῶ καί προσπίπτω˙ δός λόγον εὐθῆ, δός ἰσχύν, δός μοι κράτος εἰπεῖν πρός πάντας τούς σοί ἀνακειμένους (410) καί λατρεύοντάς σοι, βασιλεῦ τῶν πάντων, λαλῆσαι μύσταις, ἄρχουσί τε καί λάτραις, τοῖς δοκοῦσί σε βλέπειν καί θεραπεύειν καί δουλεύειν σοι ὡς ∆εσπότῃ γνησίως. Ἄνθρωποι πάντες, βασιλεῖς καί δυνάσται, ἱερεῖς, ἐπίσκοποι, μονασταί καί μιγάδες, μή ἀπαξιώσητε φωνῆς ἀκοῦσαι καί λόγων ἐμοῦ τοῦ εὐτελοῦς ἀνθρώπου, ἀλλά καρδίας ἀνοίξατέ μοι ὦτα καί ἀκούσατε καί σύνετε, τί λέγει ὁ πάντων Θεός καί πρό πάντων αἰώνων, ὁ ἀπρόσιτος, ὁ μόνος παντοκράτωρ, οὗ ἐν τῇ χειρί πνοή πάντων τῶν ὄντων˙ Βασιλεῖς! Καλῶς ποιεῖτε πολεμοῦντες τά ἔθνη, ἐάν μή αὐτοί τά τῶν ἐθνῶν ποιοῦντες ἔργα καί ἔθη καί βουλάς τε καί γνώμας καί διά πολλῶν ἔργων ὑμῶν καί λόγων ἀπαρνῆσθε μέ, τόν ὑμῶν βασιλέα. Κρεῖσσον ἦν ὑμῖν λόγους ἐμούς φυλάσσειν ὀρθῶς τε ποιεῖν τάς ἐντολάς μου πάσας, καί ἐν πτωχείᾳ τῇ μακαριζομένῃ τόν ἀπράγμονα μεταδιώκειν βίον. Τί γάρ ὄφελος διεκδικεῖν τόν κόσμον ἀπό θανάτου καί προσκαίρου δουλείας, αὐτούς δέ δούλους καί παθῶν καί δαιμόνων τοῖς ἔργοις ὑμᾶς γίνεσθαι καθ᾿ ἑκάστην καί κληρονόμους τοῦ πυρός τοῦ ἀσβέστου; Πάντα γάρ καλά, ὅσα τις ἄλλα πράσσει ἔργα δι᾿ ἐμέ καί τήν πρός τόν πλησίον συμπάθειάν τε καί ἐλεημοσύνην, πρῶτον δέ πάντων, εἰ ἑαυτόν οἰκτείρῃ (411) καί τούς λόγους μου πάσῃ σπουδῇ φυλάξῃ καί μετάνοιαν ἐνδείξηται γνησίαν ὑπέρ τῶν πρῴην ἴσως ἐξειργασμένων, ἔπειτ᾿ ἐν τούτοις μηκέτι ἐπιστρέψῃ, ἀλλ᾿ ἐμμένῃ μου τοῦ ∆εσπότου τοῖς λόγοις, τοῖς προστάγμασι καί νόμοις ἀληθείας, καί οὕτως ποιῇ ἀπαραβάτως πάντα μέχρι θανάτου καί μηδέν ψιλόν λόγον, μηδέ κεραίαν μίαν τῶν γεγραμμένων