Letters 13–14

Translated by Claude from M. Kmosko's Latin translation (1915) of the Syriac; neither is shown

I greet you in a humble spirit, which is of peace and which gives a sweet fragrance in souls whose substance is wholly pure from all passions; for … 2. The Lord did not give him to his Apostles until they had cleansed themselves. Therefore he said to them: “If I go away, I will send you the Paraclete, the Spirit of truth, and he will show you all things.” For this Spirit he gives, from Abel and Enoch down to the present day, to souls whose substance is perfectly pure. For the one who descends upon those other souls is not he himself, but [the Spirit] of repentance; for upon other souls the Spirit of repentance descends. And when they have been called and washed from all their uncleannesses, after he has fully purified them, then … and sweetness, as it is written: “Who has known the sweetness of the Spirit, except those on whom he descends?” Yet not many have been counted worthy … the Spirit of repentance dwells in certain souls in [every] generation. 3. For just as a pearl is not found in every house, but scarcely in the houses of kings, in the same way the Spirit is not found except in souls … had given thanks to God, saying thus: “We praise you, O God, who have given us the Spirit whom you gave to all your servants who pleased you.” And all the righteous to whom he was sent gave great thanks to God. For he is the pearl spoken of in the Gospel, which he bought who sold all he had and bought it; he is the treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and rejoiced greatly. To the souls, then, in which he dwells he reveals the greatest mysteries, and day and night become the same to them. And he fills their spirit while they are still in this tabernacle. See, I have shown you the benefit of this Spirit. 4. But I want you to know that from the day I went away from you God prospered me in everything until I reached my place. And when I am in my solitude, he prospers my way still more and helps me, whether secretly or openly. And I would have wished you to be near me because of the revelations revealed to me; for every day there is variety beyond the day before. 5. But I want you to know what temptation is. You know that temptation comes upon no one unless he has received the Spirit. And when he has received the Spirit he is handed over to Satan to be tempted. And who hands him over, if not the Spirit of God? For it cannot be … For when the Lord had become incarnate and had become an example to us in everything, teaching righteousness itself, he was baptized and the Spirit came upon him in the form of a dove. Then the Spirit led him into the desert and handed him over to Satan to be tempted. And Satan could not prevail against him. And the power of the Spirit, after the temptations, strengthens them still more and adds another greatness to them … to which my temptation too was [like]. For just as the Lord, when he had come down from heaven, found another, dark air, and again, when about to go down into Hades, saw an air denser than the former and said: “Now, see, my soul is troubled,” in the same way at this time temptation has afflicted me in every way and troubled me. Yet I praise God, whom I have served from my youth with all my heart and whom I obey in all things, in dishonour and in honour, because he brought me out of that dark air and set me at that first height. And I think this temptation is the last. 7. Blessed Joseph, when he reached his last temptation in prison, was troubled above all his temptations. But after the prison, which is an image of Hades, perfect honour was given him; for he reigned. From that time on temptation no longer troubled him. See … 8. After I had written the letter, I remembered a word written in Ezekiel, which presents an example of the perfect: he saw a living creature by the river Chebar, having four faces and four feet and four wings; one face of a cherub, one of a man, one of an ox and one of an eagle. The face of the cherub is when the Spirit of God rests in the soul and disposes it to praise with a sweet and comely voice. But when he wishes to ascend and seek man, he takes the face of a man. And what is the ox? It is when the faithful soul stands in the contest, the Spirit [makes] it like an ox … The eagle flies on high, higher than all birds. When the soul ascends on high, the Spirit enters into it in the likeness of an eagle and makes it remain on high and come near to God. … I will come to you, and you will enter into Bethel, and there we will fulfil our vows and offer our peace offerings, which our lips promised. And then … 10. For Bethel is interpreted “House of God”. God therefore fights for the house over which his name is called. And it is Ezekiel who saw that living creature … Greet all who have become partners in the labour and sweat of their parents in temptation, as John too said somewhere: “By the sweat of the soul God is glorified.” By the seed of sweat, then, which the soul sweats out, it is joined to the Lord. And they become partners also in his harvest. For it is written: “If we suffer with him, we shall also live with him,” and the rest that is written after it. The Lord too said to his disciples: “You who have continued with me in my temptations, I appoint to you a kingdom, as my Father promised me, that you shall sit at my table,” and the rest that was said. 11. You see that those who become partners in the labours become partners also in the rest, and the one who becomes a sharer in dishonour becomes a sharer also in honour. So too it is written among the fathers: “A good son will inherit the birthright and the blessings of his parents.” So it stands with what we have sown. The harvest is God’s, and the good sons inherit the birthright and our blessings. And when I am outside in my place, as my harvests come in God, I remember this harvest. But you, as a good teacher, admonish them diligently. Perhaps it will please God to bring you out of this tabernacle, and you will leave behind a good harvest. For we know that you are a good father and an excellent educator. Yet I remind you that God has left you in this tabernacle for the sake of this harvest. Farewell in the Lord, in the humble spirit of peace, which dwells in souls … [Colophon:] Here end the letters of Ammonius. May his prayer be with us. Amen.

Translated by Claude from M. Kmosko's Latin translation (1915) of the Syriac; neither is shown

See, this paper which your father has written to you is the inheritance of righteous parents, which they leave to their sons in righteousness. Parents according to the flesh leave their sons an inheritance of gold and silver; but the righteous give this as an inheritance to their sons: righteousness. The patriarchs were very rich in gold and silver, and when they were near death they laid down a command for them about nothing else but righteousness. For this remains for ever and ever … Gold and silver are corruptible, and the tabernacle of this short time is worthless. But righteousness belongs to that dwelling and remains to a man for ever and ever. For the inheritance your fathers give you is righteousness.