Letters

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

Before all things I pour out prayer for your health in [things] invisible, dearly beloved brothers. For the visible things are temporal, but the invisible are eternal. I see now that your body has been lifted upward and is wholly alive. For if a man’s body is alive, God will give it an inheritance, and it will be counted in the inheritance of God, and God will repay it the reward of all its labour; for he takes care to keep its living form, so that it may be counted in the inheritance of God. Now I rejoice over you and over your living body. For the one whose body is dead is not reckoned by God to be his; rather God condemns him, who spoke through the prophet to show that their body was dead, saying thus: “Cry out with strength and do not cease; lift up your voice like a trumpet! Declare to my people their sins and to the house of Jacob their iniquity! Day by day they seek me and desire to draw near to God, saying: ‘Why have we fasted and you did not notice; humbled our soul and you did not see?’” Answering, he says to them: “This is not the fast that I have chosen, says the Lord, not even if you bend your neck like … and spread sackcloth and ashes under you. And do not call this an acceptable fast.” And whatever is written after these words. … But you, dearly beloved brothers, have nothing dead in this body; your body is alive. And I pray God for you, that he may keep you, so that your living body may not be changed, but may rather grow with you and increase in joy, kindness, love of the poor, good conduct and all the fruits of holiness, until you go out from here and God receives each one into [that] dwelling where no grief is given, no evil thought, no sickness, no tribulation, but joy and delight and the glory of the promises, which we cannot now recount. 3. These things I have written to you out of the love we have for you, that your heart may be strengthened. And there are many things I want to write to you. Yet “give a wise man an occasion, and he will become wiser.” May the Lord keep you from this evil world, that you may be sound in body, spirit and soul, and may he give you understanding in everything, to free you from the error of the times. Farewell, my dearest ones and my brothers. But any dead body that befalls a man …

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

To those dearly beloved in God. If anyone loves God with all his soul and with all his heart and with all his strength, he acquires fear. And fear begets weeping, and weeping begets joy. Joy begets strength, and through all these the soul bears fruit. And God, seeing its fruits so delightful, accepts it like a sweet fragrance, and in all things God rejoices over it with his angels and gives it a guardian to keep it in all its ways, until he has prepared it for the dwelling of life, where Satan does not prevail over it. For when the Evil One sees this guardian surrounding the soul, he flees with his wicked power. For he is afraid to approach that man and recoils from the power that possesses him. Nevertheless, my dearest ones in the Lord, whom my soul loves, I know that you are friends of God. Acquire that power for yourselves, so that Satan may fear you and you may prosper in all your works. In this way the sweetness of God, as far as it can, will produce power in you. For the divine sweetness is sweeter than honey and the honeycomb, and not many of the hermits and virgins have come to know this great sweetness of the Godhead, because they have not acquired the divine power, except a few here and there; for they have not given effort to cultivating that power. Therefore God has not given it to them. But to all who give effort to cultivating it, God grants it. For God is not a respecter of persons, but [gives it] to those who devote themselves to its exercise in every generation and generation … 2. Now, dearly beloved, I know that you are friends of God and that from the moment you came to this work you have loved God with all your heart. For that reason, see, I too love you with all my heart. And because of the sincerity of your heart you are able to acquire this divine power, so that at all times you may work with ease and joy, and every work of God may be easy for you. For this power, when it is granted to a man here, prepares him to enter into rest, until he has passed beyond the activity of the air. For there is a certain activity in the air that holds men back from reaching God. But if they are endowed with divine power, nothing can hold them back. Accordingly, the divine labour (while it dwells in a man) brings it about that he despises all the dishonours and glories of men, hates all the demands of this world, hates all the pleasures of the body, cleanses his heart from all impure thoughts and from all the vain wisdom of this world, and prays with fasting and tears day and night. God, who is good, will not disdain to give [it] to you; and when you have obtained it, you will spend the whole time of your life in quiet and ease and relief, and you will be found in great freedom; and he will give it to you. And there are many things I want to write to you. But I have written these few things because of the great love I have for you. Farewell in the Lord … in heart, in all your works …

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

1. I have written you this letter as to those who love God and seek him with all their heart. For those who are of this kind God hears when they have prayed; he blesses them in all things and grants them all the petitions of their soul, if they entreat him. But those who come to him, yet not with their whole heart, and do their works to be praised by men: such are not heard by God, not even in a single petition they ask of him; rather he is angry at their works. For it says: “God will scatter the bones of those who please men.” You see, then, how greatly God is angry at their works; he does not grant them a single one of the petitions they ask of him, but rather rejects them, because they do not do their works in good faith but do them for the favour of men. For that reason the divine power does not dwell in them, but they are weak in all the works they do. Therefore they do not know the divine power, nor do they ask for its care and ease and grace; but their soul is weighed down with distress in all their works, being double-minded. Very many of our generation are of this kind. Therefore they have not received the divine power that fattens the soul and disposes it to joy and gives it every day the sweetness that makes their heart fervent in God. For the work they do, they do as though for men; therefore it does not come to them. For a man who performs his work as though for men’s sake is an abomination to this power. 3. But you, dearest ones, whom my soul loves, whose fruits are reckoned before God: in all your works strive against the pursuit of vainglory, so that you may overcome it in all things, and your whole body may become acceptable and firm, living before its Maker, and you may receive the divine power, which is more excellent than all these. As for you, I am persuaded, dearly beloved, that you resist the spirit of the love of vainglory as far as you can and wrestle with it constantly. That is why your body is alive. For this evil spirit approaches a man when it sees him ready to do righteousness, wishing to make his fruits void and to corrupt them, and it does not allow a man, as far as it can, to do righteousness. For this evil spirit joins battle with those who wish to be faithful. If, then, some are celebrated by men as faithful, or as humble and despised, or as merciful, this evil spirit at once joins battle with them, overcomes some of them, scatters their bodies and extinguishes them. And how does it extinguish them and bring them to transgress their way of life and their excellence? When it mixes into them the desire to please men; in this way it destroys the body … while men think they are something. Therefore it does not impart power to them but leaves them empty, because it does not find their bodies … 5. But you, dearest ones, wrestle against the spirit of vainglory at all times, so as to defeat it in all things, that the divine power may cling to you at all times. And I will pray to God for you, that this joy may be granted you at all times; for nothing is … than this. But if you see that the fervour has deserted you and withdrawn from you, seek it, and it will return to you again. For fervour is like fire, which turns cold into its own nature. And if you ever see that your heart is weighed down, summon your soul to you and question it, until it grows fervent and is kindled in God. For David too, when he once saw his soul weighed down [with grief], spoke thus: “I poured out my soul upon me; I remembered the days of old and meditated on all your works, and I lifted up my hands to you. My soul thirsted for you like land.” So David did when he saw that his soul was cold, until he had made it fervent; and he received the divine sweetness … and God will reveal to you the greatest mysteries. May God keep you in health of spirit and soul and body, until he brings you into the kingdom with your fathers, who [ended their life] well, for ever and ever. Amen.

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

I know that I am writing to you as to most beloved sons, sons of the promise and sons of the kingdom. Therefore night and day I remember you, that God may keep you from all evil, and that you may be constantly careful that God may continually grant you enlightenment of the eyes and discernment, so that in all things you may learn to discern between good and evil. For it is written: “Solid food belongs to the perfect, who because of their conscience have their senses trained to discern between good and evil.” These are the ones who have become sons of the kingdom and are counted in the measure of the adoption of sons, to whom God gives enlightenment of the eyes in all their works, so that no one can lead them astray, whether man or demon. For the faithful man is ensnared by the appearance of good; and many go astray, for they have not yet received this enlightenment of the eyes from God. Therefore blessed Paul, knowing that these are the greatest riches of the faithful, said: “I bow my knees day and night for them before the Lord Jesus Christ, that he may give them revelation to know him, the eyes of their hearts being enlightened, to know what is the breadth … of the saints.” Since, then, he loved them with all his heart, Paul himself wished these great riches of knowledge, which are the enlightenment of the eyes, to be given to his sons whom he loved, knowing that when these were granted to them they would give attention to nothing else at all, nor be in fear of anything, but the joy of God would be in them night and day; and this would bring it about that God would be sweet to them in everything, above honey and the honeycomb, and that God would be with them continually and grant them revelations and reveal the greatest mysteries, which I cannot speak to you with my tongue. 2. Now, therefore, dearly beloved, since you have been enrolled in the number of my sons, pray day and night that this discernment may always go before you, which has not yet come to you since you embraced this way of life. And I, your father, will pray for you, that you may reach this stature, which not many of the hermits have reached, but only a few souls, and certain individuals in some places. And now, if indeed to this measure … For they will not let you advance; rather they will even extinguish your fervour … by talk of this kind they will extinguish your fervour. That is why it is written: “Do not quench the Spirit.” For he is quenched by such conversations and occupations. When you see any of them, send them away, and do not mingle with them. For in these times such people do not let men gain spiritual growth. Farewell in the Lord, dearly beloved, in a humble spirit.

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

To those dearly beloved in the Lord. It is known to me that the love of God in a man is always mindful of his neighbour. And the neighbour is the one who is counted in the perfect heavenly calling, praying for us night and day as for himself. Since I hold you as friends, I remember you night and day in my prayers, that your faith and excellence may advance and you may receive a power greater than the one you possess. These things I do for you because in God you have been enrolled in the number of my sons. For Paul, writing to Timothy, who had been enrolled in the number of his disciples, wrote thus: “I remember …” … Now therefore, dearly beloved, as Paul did for Timothy, so I too have done for you, remembering also the sighs and the labour of your hearts. For I know that you too long to see me. And that is very fitting. For Paul said: “I long to come to you, that I may impart some spiritual gift” … of the same Spirit, and that I may make known to you other things which I cannot write to you in a letter. Farewell in the Lord in a humble spirit.

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

Night and day I pray that the divine power may advance in you and reveal to you the greatest mysteries of the Godhead, which it is not easy for me to speak with the tongue, since they are great and are not of this world; nor are they revealed except to those who have purged their heart of all uncleanness and of all the vanity of this world, and to those who have been obedient. In these the Godhead dwells, adorning the soul. For just as trees do not grow unless the power of water has access to them, so likewise the soul cannot ascend on high unless it receives heavenly joy. And even if they receive it, there are only a few individuals to whom God reveals heavenly mysteries and shows them their places while they are still in the body, and grants all their petitions. … And these are the ones who receive those great promises from the Son himself, as gifts … 2. My prayer, then, night and day is this: that you may reach this measure and come to know the unsearchable riches of Christ. For few there are who have become perfect in this way. And those to whom the great promises of the Son belong receive gifts and are of benefit to men. For every generation and generation needs men of this kind who have reached this measure, so that each of them may be an example to his contemporaries, just as the one who is reckoned perfect is an example to men. For this reason I pray without ceasing for your sake, because of the love I have for you. For blessed Paul too spoke thus of those he loved: “I wish to give you not only the gospel but also our own souls, because you have become very dear to us.” I have arranged for my son to come to you, until God grants me also to come to you in body and bestow on you greater progress than that in which you now are. For when fathers receive sons, God is there on both sides. Nevertheless, farewell in the Lord.

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

To those dearly beloved in the Lord, who are counted in the lot of the kingdom of heaven. Truly you have sought God in this way, imitating your fathers in faith, that you too might receive the promises; for you have been enrolled in the number of their sons. … their zeal. For this reason blessed Jacob too, because he imitated in every way the fear of God of his fathers, had the blessings of his fathers come upon him; and having received their blessing he at once saw the ladder and the angels ascending and descending. Now, therefore, when some had received a blessing from their fathers and had seen the heavenly hosts, nothing could move them. For blessed Paul, having seen these hosts, became free of passion and cried out, saying: “Who shall separate me from the love of Christ? Sword, or famine, or nakedness? … Not even angels, nor principalities and powers, nor height …” 2. Now, therefore, dearly beloved, pour out prayer constantly night and day, that the blessings of my fathers may come upon you, so that in this way the hosts of angels may rejoice over you in all things and you may fill the rest of your days with all joy of heart. For if anyone reaches this measure, the joy of God remains continually with him. From then on he has leisure for nothing else. For it is written: “The light of the righteous is never extinguished.” And I pray that you too may reach the dwelling of life. This I do because of your obedience. For when the Lord saw that his disciples were obedient to him, he prayed to the Father for them, saying: “Where I am, there may these also be,” because they had obeyed his word. And he prayed further that they might be kept from the Evil One, until they reached the dwelling of rest. This I pray and ask of the Lord himself: that you may be kept from the Evil One and reach the dwelling of God’s rest and obtain the blessing. For Jacob, after the ladder, saw face to face the camps of the angels, so that he wrestled with an angel and overcame him. And God did this in order to bless him. May God, whom I have served from my youth, bless you.

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

To those dearly beloved in the Lord. I write to you as to most beloved sons. For fathers according to the flesh also love their sons more when they are like them. So I too, that you may be brought up in my zeal, pray God that what he granted to our blessed fathers he may grant to you also. And I pour out prayer that I may come to you, so that I may hand on to you also high mysteries, which I cannot write to you on paper. Keep yourselves sound for the Father of mercies in tranquillity, that you may … the gift, [if] you give your souls to labour of the body and labour of the heart. And stretch your thoughts toward heaven night and day, asking with all your heart for the Holy Spirit, and he will be given to you. For he was in Elijah the Tishbite and in Elisha and in all the other prophets. But take care that thoughts of doubt do not perhaps enter your heart, saying to you: “Who will be able to receive him?” Do not give place to such thoughts so that they gain entry to you, but ask with a right intention and you will receive. And I, your father, will pray for you, that you may receive him. For I know that you have denied your souls in order to receive this same Spirit. For he dwells in the upright of heart. And I bear witness to you that you seek God with an upright heart. But when … For his revelations are many, which I cannot [commit] to you on paper … the heavenly … will take hold of you; and in this way you will be as though you had already moved into the kingdom while you are still in the body. And from then on you will have no need to pray for yourselves, but only for your neighbours. For Moses, having received the Spirit, prayed for the people, saying to God: “If you blot these out, blot me out of your book of life.” You see that this was their concern: to pray for one another, once they had reached this measure. But they are individuals out of many who have reached it … I cannot write to you (but you are wise and understand everything); yet when I come to you, I will tell you about the Spirit of joy and the riches which I cannot commit to paper. Farewell in this Spirit of life, advancing and growing strong from day to day.

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

I know that you have fallen into labour of heart and great temptation; nevertheless, if you endure bravely, joy too will come to you. For unless temptation comes, whether openly or secretly, you will make no further progress beyond the measure in which you are. For all the saints, when they prayed that faith might be added to them, fell into temptations. When anyone has received a blessing from God, temptation from the side of the enemies is at once added to him, as they try to rob him of the blessing with which God has blessed him. For the demons, seeing that soul blessed and grown great, join battle with it, whether secretly or openly. For when Jacob had received a blessing from his parents, the temptation of Esau at once took hold of him, because the Evil One stirred up Esau’s heart against Jacob, thinking to make his blessings void. Yet he cannot prevail against the righteous. For it is written: “For the rod of the wicked shall not rest on the lot of the righteous.” Accordingly Jacob did not lose the blessing he had received, but advanced with it from day to day. So strive, you too, to overcome your temptations. For those who have received blessings must also endure temptations. I too, your father, have endured great temptations, whether openly or secretly, and I showed myself strong, waiting and praying, and my Lord … temptations also, until you pass beyond them; and then you will receive a great measure, and it will be added to your excellence, and joy will be given to you … And what is their remedy? This: that you never grow weary, but that with all your heart you entreat God, confessing and having patience in everything; and then it will depart from you. For so Abraham was tempted and proved a victorious athlete. And for this reason it is written: “Many are the tribulations of the righteous, and the Lord delivers them out of them all.” And again James in his Epistle says thus: “If any of you is sad, let him pray.” You see how all the righteous … Again it is written: “God is faithful, who does not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear.” And now, because of the sincerity of your heart, God is at work in you. For unless he loved you, he would not bring temptations upon you. For it is written: “Whom God loves he chastens, and he scourges the son whom he receives.” Therefore the faithful need temptations. For all who are without experience of temptations are not chosen; they have put on the habit, but deny its power. Indeed Father Antony used to say to us: “A man cannot enter the kingdom of heaven without temptations.” And likewise blessed Peter too wrote in his Epistle: “… in which you now rejoice …, that gold, which passes through fire, is tested … and is found …” It is likewise reported also … You know, then, that in this way, through spiritual work, the beginning of the Holy Spirit grants joy when he sees their heart pure. Then, when he has given them joy and sweetness, he withdraws from them and leaves them. And the sign of this is: he does this with every soul that seeks him and fears God; he withdraws and departs and leaves all men, until he knows whether they will seek him or not. But there are men who, after he has left them and withdrawn, sit oppressed by distress and remain motionless in this distress. For they do not pray God to remove the distress from them and that the joy and sweetness they had known may return to them; but through negligence and their own will they become strangers to the sweetness of God. For this reason they become carnal and have put on only the outward form, but deny its power. They are blinded in their eyes and do not know the works of God. But if they perceive an unaccustomed distress, (foreign) to their former joy, let them pray God with tears and fasting; then God in his grace, seeing the sincerity of their heart, and that they entreat him with all their heart and deny all their own will, gives them a joy greater than the former one and strengthens them still more. This is the sign that God gives with every soul …

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

After I had written the letter, I remembered a certain word, which roused me to write to you about the temptation of an excellent human soul which comes down from the order of spiritual perfection to lowest Hades. For this reason the prophet cries out, saying: “You have rescued my soul from the lowest hell.” Everyone who clings to the Spirit of God — and temptations are joined to him likewise — will receive another dignity and honour. So when the prophet was to be taken up, when he had reached the first order he marvelled at its light. But when he reached the second, he was so astonished that he said: “I thought,” he says, “that the light of the former order was darkness in comparison with this one.” And likewise, up to the perfect measure of the perfect order, the souls of the perfect righteous walk and advance, until they reach the order of fulfilment. If you get there, you have passed beyond all temptations; and there are men on earth now who have reached this measure. 2. These things I write to you, dearly beloved, so that, being strengthened, you may learn that temptations come upon the faithful, and not to their harm but to their benefit; and that unless temptation comes upon a soul, it cannot ascend to the dwelling of life, to the place of its Maker. “The Spirit blows where he wills”; and he blows in souls that are chaste and holy and upright and good. If these obey the Spirit himself, he gives them the fear of God and fervour at the beginning. And when he has sown his seed in them, he makes them hate the whole world: whether gold, or silver, or cast [ornaments], or father, or mother, or wife, or children; and in this way he brings it about that the work of God becomes sweet to them above honey and the honeycomb, whether it is labour, or fasting, or vigils, or silence, or a work of mercy. And whatever is done for God’s sake — then it is granted to the man to be tempted, and then all the things that were sweet to him before become irksome to him. For this reason many, when they have been tempted, remain in distress and become carnal. These are the ones of whom Paul said: “You began,” he says, “in the Spirit, and now you have ended in the flesh”; “all these things you suffered in vain” … For the first fervour is agitated and irrational, but the second is more excellent. It is this that causes a man to see spiritual things while … the contest … with a fair wind both rudders of the ship are driven forward the more, and in this way it covers a great distance, and so the sailors too rejoice and enjoy rest: in the same way the second fervour is calmer in every way. Now, dearest sons, acquire the second fervour for yourselves, so that … standing before the glory of God, where the soul, despising itself, says … you may be made firm in all things. For the fervour that is for God’s sake makes all the passions of enticement cease, wipes away and extinguishes the oldness of the old man, and makes the man become a temple for God, as it is written: “I will dwell in them and walk among them.” And if you desire that the fervour which has gone far from you should return to you again, this is the work a man must do: if anyone … “the covenant … which I broke through my negligence, and I will no longer be disobedient”; and let him not walk any longer as though under the rule of his soul’s will, to satisfy his soul’s will, whether in body or in spirit; but let there be thoughts … “How you have despised [it] until this very day, and how insolent you have been, made barren all your days!” And remember at all times all the torments and the eternal kingdom, rebuking your soul and saying to it: “See how much honour God has given you, and you have neglected and despised it!” And when anyone says these things to his soul night and day, rebuking it at all times, at once … For David, when he saw that distress had come upon him, said: “I remembered the years that are from of old and meditated, and I was mindful of the days that are from of old, and I meditated on all your works, and pondered the works of your hands, and I lifted up my hands to you. My soul [thirsts] for you like land.” And again Isaiah says: “When you turn and groan, then you will be saved and will know” how …

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

I hear that temptation is troubling you, and I fear that it may have arisen from your own side. For I have heard that you want to leave your place, and I was saddened, though for a long time I had not been seized by sadness. For I know in truth that if you withdraw now, you will not make even a little progress. For it is not the will of God; and if you do it by your own counsel and go out, he will not be your helper, nor will he go out with you any more. And I am disturbed lest perhaps we fall into very many evils; for if we follow our own judgment, God will henceforth not send his power, which makes all the ways of men prosper and orders them. If anyone does [something] thinking it is from God, while his own choice is mixed into it, God does not help him; and you will find the heart of that man bitter and weak in everything to which he stretches out his hand to do; for as … the fault of the faithful, so desolation too arises in them from eagerness for greatness. For Eve was deceived in the beginning by nothing else than the pretext of good and of greatness. For when she heard: “You will be like gods,” and did not under[stand] … she not only received nothing good but even fell into the curse. 2. And Solomon said in his Proverbs: “There are ways that are thought good, and their end leads down to the depth of hell.” This he said of those who do not understand the will of God but cling to their own pleasure. Those who cling to their own will and do not understand the will of God receive from Satan at the beginning a fervour like joy, though it is not joy; but afterwards he gives them sadness and disgrace. But the one who clings to the will of God endures great labour at the beginning, and at the end finds rest and joy. So do nothing in the joy of the moment until I come to you, so that with you … 3. There are three things which always cling to a man everywhere, and not many … “Solid food belongs to the perfect, who because of their conscience have their senses trained to distinguish good from evil.” But what are these three? One is what is suggested by the Enemy. Another is what arises from the heart of man, as from his own (free) choice. And there is what is planted in man by God. Yet of these three, God accepts what is God’s. 4. So examine your soul, which of these three is urging you to leave your place. Do not withdraw until God himself permits you. For I know God’s will concerning you. For it is difficult for you to know the will of God. For unless a man has denied his soul and his will and has obeyed his spiritual elders, he cannot understand the will of God. And even granting that he understands it, he needs power to help him until he has done it. 5. You see that it is a great thing to have understood the will of God, and a greater still to accomplish it. For those companies were with Jacob because he obeyed his elders. For when they said to him: “Go into Mesopotamia to Laban,” he obeyed them carefully, though he did not gladly leave his own people. But because he had obeyed, he inherited the blessings of his elders. And I too, who am your father, had I not obeyed my spiritual parents at the beginning, God would not have revealed his will to me. For it is written: “The blessing of the father establishes the house of the sons.” And if I have endured many labours in the desert and in the mountains, entreating God day and night until God revealed his will to me, now you too listen to your father in this matter, which will be for your rest and greatness. 6. I have heard that you said: “Our father does not know our distress,” and “just as Jacob fled from the face of Esau.” But we know that he did not flee, but was sent by his elders. So imitate Jacob, and wait until your father sends you and blesses you as you go; for God will make you prosper.

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

To those dearly beloved in the Lord. You know that since the transgression of the commandment the soul cannot know God unless it withdraws itself from men and from all occupations. For then it sees its adversary, how greatly he resists it. And when it has seen its adversary wrestling with it and has overcome him … then God dwells in it, and [turns its] sadness into joy … and sadness and sluggishness, with many other things, and distress of various kinds … 2. For this reason the fathers lived in solitary fashion in the desert, both Elijah the Tishbite and John. Do not suppose that they were righteous among men because they were found among men doing righteousness itself; rather, they were first in great silence and in this way received the power of God to dwell in them, and only then did God send them among men, after they had attained all the virtues, to be God’s stewards and to heal men’s infirmities. … for this reason, called out of silence, they are indeed sent to men, but they are sent only when all their own infirmities have been healed. For it cannot be that a soul is sent to men for their edification while it is itself in some respect imperfect … they come by their own choice, not by the will of God. And God, rebuking such people, says: “I did not send them,” he says, “and they ran.” Therefore they cannot keep even their own soul, much less can they build up the souls of others … that they acquired the divine power in silence. Yet let them not be such as … imitating: as the Father sent his true Son from heaven to heal all the diseases and infirmities of men. For it is written: “He bore our griefs and carried our infirmities.” Therefore all the saints who come to men to heal them imitate the Creator in all things, so that, where the Son is, they too may be for ever and ever. 3. See, dearly beloved, I have shown you the power of silence, how it heals in every respect and how it is acceptable to God. That is why I have written to you, so that [you may be] strong … all the saints, and that for this reason the divine power dwelt in them, and for this reason they knew mysteries. And the one who has written these things to you reached this measure by its help. 5. But there are many anchorites in this age who cannot persevere in silence, because they could not conquer their own will. And therefore they live constantly among men, because they cannot despise themselves and flee the ways of mankind and wrestle in the fight. Therefore, having left silence, they remain all their life consoling themselves with their relatives. And therefore they are not … deemed worthy of the divine sweetness, nor that the divine power should dwell in them. For when the power appears to them, it finds them consoling themselves with the world of this tabernacle and with the passions of soul and body, and so it cannot descend upon them; indeed, love of money and the vainglory of men and all the infirmities and occupations of the soul do not let the divine power descend upon them. 6. But you, show yourselves strong in that thing to which you give your effort. For those who withdraw from silence cannot overcome their passions, nor can they fight against their adversary, since they are subject to their passions; but you are overcoming the passions, and the divine power is with you.

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.