Teaching And Vice

Qui desperantes semetipsos tradiderunt impudicitiae, in opertionem omnis immunditae et avartiae... De gentibus loquitur, quibus caecatum cor est, et nihil sperant, id est mortales se et fatentur et probant; neque de aeternitate sua aliquid credunt: ac propterea vitam mundi, quasi ea frui volentes, et rapiunt, et libidinose vivunt, et cum impudicitia exercentes, ut credunt, voluptatem habendi cupidi, et in usu vivendi ducti omnibus turpissimis voluptatibus. Vos autem non ita didicistis Christum; si tamen audistis illum et in illo credidistis. Contra Ephesios docet non ita vivere ut gentes: quippe qui didicerint Christum: quia Christus ut immortales nos faceret, egit mysterium, praesto in carne fuit, docui ut cognosceremus patrem, et in ipsum fidem haberemus, et est aeternitas nobis viventibus secundum ejus mandata. Vos igitur non ita didicistis, ut gentes: quippe quia vos Christum audistis, si tamen audistis illum, id est intellexistis et credidistis. Hoc est enim quod adjunxit, qui in illum credidistis: quia, ut diximus et dicimus semper, credere in Christum, immortalitem consequi est, et vitam aeternam mereri; ipse enim est vita, ipse lux, ipse aeternitas, ipse qui mortem vincit et vicit, et nobis vicit, per mysterium quod implevit. Victorinus Afrus, In Epistolam Pauli ad Ephesios, Liber Secundus, Caput IV Source: Migne PL 8.1277b-c

Who despairing of themselves have given themselves over to shamelessness, to the doing of every vile thing, and avarice... 1 He speaks of the Gentiles, whose hearts are blind, and who hope for nothing, for they confess themselves to be mortal and act on it, believing nothing of eternal things, and thus they seize on the world's life as something to be enjoyed, and they live lustfully and exert themselves in shamelessness, so that, as they think, they will have the joy of their desires, and by such a way of life they have been led away into every sort of vile pleasure. You did not learn this from Christ, if indeed you have listened to Him and believed in Him... Opposing the Ephesians, he teaches that they should not live like the Gentiles, certainly if they have learnt from Christ, because Christ, so that He might make us immortal, worked a mystery, coming forth in the flesh and teaching so that we might come to know the Father and have faith in Him, and it is eternity for us to live according to His commands. You, therefore, did not have the learning of the Gentiles, but certainly you listened to Christ, if indeed 'you listened to Him,' that is, if you understood and believed. For this is what he adds, you who 'believed in Him,' so that as we have said, and as we shall always say, to believe in Christ achieves immortality, and it merits eternal life, for He is the life and the light and eternity, He is the one who conquers death and conquered it, and conquered for us, through the mystery which He fulfilled. Victorinus Afrus, On the Letter of Saint Paul to the Ephesians, Book Two, Chapter Four 1 Ephes 4.19

Help And Fear

Kύριος ἐμοὶ βοηθός οὐ φοβηθήσομαι τί ποιήσει μοι ἄνθρωπος... Ἔτι διδάσκεται ὁ Χρσιτοῠ λαὸς προσδοκᾷν μὲν ἐπιβουλὰς ἀνθρώπων, μὴ πτήσσειν δὲ αὐτὰς, μηδ' ἀγωνιᾷν, ἀλλὰ λέγειν· Κύριος ἐμοὶ βοηθὸς, καὶ τὰ ἐξῆς. Τοὺς δι' οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἐχθροὺς γενομένους τῷ λαῷ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἤ διὰ τὴν εὐσεβῆ γνῶσιν, καὶ τὴν κατὰ Θεὸν πολιτείαν. Ἐχροὺς δὲ λεκτέον ἀνθρώπους αἰσθητούς τε καὶ νοητοὺς, ἀσεβεῖς τε καὶ δαίμονας πονηρούς. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμος ΡΙΖ´ Source: Migne PG 39.1157a

The Lord is my helper, I shall not fear what a man may do to me. 1 The people of Christ are taught to expect the plots of men, and that they should not be frightened of them, or incline to despair, but say, 'The Lord is my helper,' and the rest. For no other reason is there hostility to the people of God but because of their pious knowledge and fellowship with God. And one should call men enemies who in their senses and in their thoughts are impious and wicked demons. Didymus the Blind, Commentary on The Psalms, from Psalm 117 1 Ps 117.6

Hope And Salvation

Ἀνάξιος ὤν, πίστευσον σωθῆναι· ἀναίσθητος ὤν, μὴ προσδοκήσῃς σωθῆναι. Ἀναξίους εὐγνωμονοῦντας, καὶ ἐπὶ πάσῃ θλίψει εὐχαριστοῦντας ἐλεεῖ, καὶ σώζει ὁ φιλάνθρωπος Θεὸς, κἂν μέχρι βαθείας τῶν καλῶν φθάσωσιν ἀπογνώσεως· τοὺς δ' ἀναισθήτους οὐκ ἐλεεῖ. Τίς δέ ἐστιν ὁ ἀναίσθητος, εἰ μὴ ὁ μὴ θέλων ὁμολογῆσαι εὐγνωμόνως μυρία εὐεργετεῖσθαι, καὶ ὠφελεῖσθαι τὸν κόσμον διὰ τῆς τοῦ Δεσπότου Χριστοῦ ὁμολογίας; Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΚΒ´ Μαρκιανῳ Source: Migne PG 79.89c

Being unworthy, have faith in salvation; being senseless do not hope for it. Those unworthy, if they have right minds and give thanks in every difficulty, the man loving God shall have mercy on and save, even one who declares himself utterly despairing of better things. However, He has no mercy on the senseless. And who is senseless if not the one who is thankless and unmindful of innumerable blessings, he who does not admit that he has received good things here by the concession of the Lord Christ? Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 22 to Marcianus

Mercy And Justice

Debet ergo et a bonis et a malis tam misericordia diligi quam iustitia formidari: ne vel boni diligentes misericordiam Dei, iustitiam non timeant, et laqueos diaboli seducentis incurrant; vel mali solam iustitiae severitatem considerantes, non quaerant, cum invenire possunt per conversionem, misericordiae beneficium, ac sic obdurati non solum remissionem peccatorum denegent, quin etiam peccata multiplicare non cessent. Hoc enim bicipiti laqueo frequenter diabolus captivat incautos; ut aut spe vana futurae remissionis obtusi, nolint iustitiae timore converti; aut remissionem omnimodis desperantes, conversionem negligant, et habenas iniquitatibus relaxantes, dum desperant indulgentiam, currant praecipites in gehennam. Ac sic ille callidus humani generis inimicus, alios desperationis temeritate praecipitat, alios autem fallacis spei deceptione supplantat. Sanctus Fulgentius Ruspensis, De Remissione Peccatorum, Lib I, Cap IX Source: Migne PL 65.533d-534a

Therefore God's mercy should be loved by the good and the wicked as much as His justice is feared, lest either good men who love the mercy of God fear not His justice and run into the snares of the seductions of the devil, or the wicked, considering only the severity of His justice, seek not the blessing of his mercy, which they are able to find in their conversion, and so hardened, not only refuse the forgiveness of sins, but even do not cease to increase them. The devil frequently catches the incautious in this twofold trap, so that either dulled by vain hope of future forgiveness they are unwilling to be converted by the fear of justice, or despairing in every way of forgiveness they care not for their way of living, and loosening the reins of iniquity, while they are in despair of forgiveness, they plunge headlong into hell. And so the clever enemy of the human race casts down some by the recklessness of despair, while he trips up others by the deception of false hope. Saint Fulgentius of Ruspe, On the Forgiveness of Sins, Book 1, Chap 9

Hope Of Better

Χριστὸς ὁ Θεὸς καὶ Δεσπότης τῶν ὅλων, σαφῶς καὶ διαῥῥήδην ἐν τοϊς Εὐαγγελίοις ἀνακαλεῖ τοὺς ἀπὸ παντοίας κακίας βεβαρημένους· Δεῦτε πρός με, κραυγάζων, κὰψὼ ἀναπαύσω ὑμᾶς. Τοῦτο γὰρ αὐτῷ καὶ τῆς ἐξ οὐρανοῦ καθόδου τὸ αἴτιον γεγενῆσθαι διεβεβαιώσατο· Οὐ γαρ ἦλθον δικαίους καλέσαι, φησὶν ἀλλὰ ἁμαρτωλοὺς πρὸς τὸ μετανοῆσαι. Καὶ Οἱ ἰσχύοντες οὐ χρῄζουσιν ἰατροῦ, ἀλλ' οἱ κακῶς ἔχοντες. Εἰ τοίνυν ταῦθ' οὕτως ἔχει, μηδαμῶς ἀπογίνωσκε, μᾶλλον δὲ ῥώννυσο ταῖς χρηστοτέραις ἐλπίσιν.  Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΤϚ', Καλοκυρῳ Source: Migne PG 79.193a-b

Christ who is God and Lord of all clearly and openly in the Gospels called all those who were weighed down with every sort of evil. 'Come to me,' He cried out, 'and I shall give you rest.' 1 For this He asserted was why He descended from heaven: 'For I did not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.' 2 And, 'He who is well does not need a physician but rather he who is sick.' 3 If, then, you understand this things, you should never despair but rather be confirmed in hope of better. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 306, to Calocyrus 1 Mt 11.27 2 Mt 9.13 3. Mt 9.12

Blessings And Chastisement

Μακάριος δὲ ἄνθρωπος ὄν ἢλεγξεν ὁ Κύριος· νουθέτημα δὲ Παντοκράτορος μὴ ἀπαναίνου. Αὐτὸς γὰρ ἀλγεῖν ποιεῖ, καὶ πάλιν ἀποκαθίστησιν· ἔπαισε, καὶ αἱ χεῖρες αὐτοῦ ἰάσαντο. Ἐλέγχει Θεὸς, καὶ τὴν τῆς μάστιγος ἐπάγει νουθεσίαν, οὐχ ἵνα ἀπολέσῃ, ἀλλ' ἵνα σώσῃ τὸν παιδευόμενον· καὶ σὺ τοίνυν μὴ καθυφεὶς τοῦ φρονήματος, μετ' εὐχαριστίας δέχου τὸν ἔλεγχον Δυδύμος του Ἀλεξανδρέως, Ἐκλογαι Εἰς Τον Ιὠβ, Κεφ Δ' Source: Migne PG 39.1133b

Blessed the man whom the Lord reproves; an admonishment of the Lord is not rejection. For He causes pain and again He restores, He strikes and His hands heal. 1 God refutes and applies the whip of admonishment, not that He might destroy, but that He might improve the one whom He corrects. And so do not lose heart, but with thanks accept your refutation. Didymus the Blind, On Job, Chapter 4 1 Job 4.17

Confidence And Despair

Οὔτε θαῥῥεῖν ἀναγκαῖον ἐπὶ τῳ πλήθει τῶν ἀνδραγαθημάτων, οὔτ' ἀπογινώσκειν ἐπὶ τοῖς ἐπταισμένοις. Καὶ γὰρ ὁ Φαρισαϊος θαῥῥήσας ἐπ' ἐργασίᾳ χρηστῇ, ἐξ αὐτοῦ τῆς ἀρετῆς κατηνέχθη τοῦ ὕψους, καὶ ὁ τελώνης μὴ ἀπογνοὺς τοσοῦτον ἀνωρθώθη, ὡς καὶ τὸν ἐνάρετον Φαρισαϊον ὑπερνῆναι τῇ ψήφω τοῦ κρείττονος Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΣΛ' Ζεφψριανῳ Source: Migne PG 79.168b

Do not be confident in the abundance of your good deeds among men, nor let the soul despair because of errors. For the Pharisee who was confident in his good works fell from the height of virtue, and the tax collector who did not despair in so much was raised up, even to be lifted above the virtuous Pharisee in the judgement of who was better. 1 Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 230, To Zephyrianus 1 Lk 18. 9-14

Sin And Healing

Χριστὸς ὁ Θεὸς καὶ Δεσπότης των ὅλων, σαφῶς καὶ διαῥῥήδην ἐν τοῖς Εὐαγγελίοις ἀνακαλεῖ τοὺς ἀπὸ παντοίας κακίας βεβαρημένους· Δεῦτε πρός με, κραυγάζων, κὰγὼ ἀναπαύσω ὑμᾶς. Τοῦτο γὰρ αὐτῷ καὶ τῆς ἐξ οὐρανοῦ καθόδου τὸ αἴτιον γεγενῆσθαι διεβεβαιώσατο· Οὐ γὰρ ἦλθον δικαίους καλέσαι, φησὶν, ἀλλὰ ἁμαρτωλοὺς πρὸς τὸ μετανοῆσαι. Καὶ, Οἱ ἰσχύοντες οὐ χρῄζουσιν ἰατροῦ, ἀλλ' οἱ κακῶς ἔχοντες. Εἰ τοίνυν ταῦθ' οὕτως ἔχει, μηδαμῶς ἀπογίνωσκε, μᾶλλον δὲ ῥώννυτο ταῖς χρηστοτέριας ἐλπίσιν. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΤϚ, Καλοχυρῳ

The Divine Christ, and Lord of all, clearly and openly in the Gospels calls all those who are burdened by every sort of evil, saying, 'Come to me, crying out, and I shall restore you.' 1 For He announces that this is the reason why He descended from heaven. 'For I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to penitence.' And 'He who is well does not need a physician, but he who is sick.' 2 If then these things are so, we should certainly not despair, but rather by hope of better be strengthened. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 306 To Kalochyros 1 Mt 11.28 2 Mt 9. 13, 12

Sin And Enemies

Μή ποτε εἴπε ὁ ἐχθρος μου· Ἴσχυσα πρὸς αὐτον.   Ὁσάκις ἁμαρτάνομεν, τοσαυτάκις λέγει τοῦτον ὁ ἐχθρος· Ἴσχυσα πρὸς αὐτον. Οἱ θλίβοντές με ἀγαλλιάσονται, ἐὰν σαλευθῶ. Οἱ ἄγγελοι χαίρουσαν ἐπὶ τοῖς μετανοῦσιν, οἱ δαίμονες ἐπὶ τοῖς ἁμαρτάνουσιν ἀγάλλονται. Οἱ μὲν γάρ τέ εἰσιν ἀρετῆς, οἱ δὲ κακίας ἐρασταί. Ἐν ἀγαλλιάσει ἔσονται καὶ εὐφροσύνῃ, ἐὰν μόνον ἴδωσί με τῆς εἰς σὲ ἐλπίδος ἐκπεπτωκοτα καὶ ἀπελπίσαντα. Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Ψαλμους, Ψαλμος ΙΒ'

Lest my enemy say, 'I have prevailed over him.' 1 As many times as we sin, as many times the enemy says, 'I have prevailed over him.'  For 'They who trouble me exult if I am shaken.' 1 Angels rejoice over those who are penitent, demons exult over those who sin. For the former are lovers of virtue, the latter of wickedness. In exultation and joy the latter shall be, if ever they see me falling from hope in you and despairing. Origen, On the Psalms, from Psalm 12 1 Ps12.5

Salvation and Prayer

Τινὲς τῷ θέρει ἐκ λιμένων ἀναχθένες ἐναυάγησαν, τινὲς δὲ ἐν χειμῶνι πλεύσαντες ἀκινδύνως ἐσώθησαν. Πόσοι δ' ἀθληταὶ ἀνενδοίαστον νίκην προσδοκήσαντες ἡττήθηαν; οἱ δε καὶ δευτερείων ἀπεγνωκότες τὰ πρωτεῖα ἐστεφανηφόρησαν; Μήτε οὖν καταφρονῶμεν, μήτε ἀπελπίζωμεν, ἀλλ' ἐφ' ἄπασι πράγμασι τῇ εὐχῇ κολληθῶμεν. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ Ι', Πτολεμαιῳ

Some relaxing in summer heat suffer shipwreck, some blown by winter's blasts are saved from danger. How many athletes promising to themselves undoubted victory have failed? How many despairing even of the lesser prizes have been crowned with the first? Therefore let us not be negligent, let us not be weak in mind, let us in all things cleave to prayer. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 10, To Ptolemaius

Prayer and Wealth

Augustinus Episcopis Servus Christi Servorumque Christi, Religosae Famulae Dei Probae, in Domino Dominorum Salutem. Et petisse te et promisisse me recolens, ut de orando Deo ad te aliquid scriberem, ubi tribuente ipso quem oramus, tempus facultasque concessa est, oportuit ut debitum meum iam iamque persolverem, et pio studio tuo in Christi caritate servirem. Quam me autem laetificaverit ipsa petitio tua, in qua cognovi quantam rei tantae curam geris, verbis explicare non possum. Quod enim maius oportuit esse negotium viduitatis tuae, quam persistere in oratione nocte ac die, secundum Apostoli admonitionem? ille quippe ait: Quae autem vere vidua est et desolata speravit in Domino, et persistit in oratione nocte ac die. Unde mirum videri potest, cum sis secundum hoc saeculum nobilis, dives, tantaeque familiae mater, et in eo licet vidua, non tamen desolata, quomodo occupaverit cor tuum praecipueque sibi vindicaverit orandi cura; nisi quia prudenter intellegis quod in hoc mundo et in hac vita nulla anima possit esse secura. Proinde qui tibi eam cogitationem dedit, profecto facit quod Discipulis suis, non pro seipsis, sed pro humano genere contristatis, et desperantibus quemquam posse salvari, posteaquam ab illo audierunt facilius esse camelum intrare per foramen acus, quam divitem in regnum coelorum; mirifica et misericordissima pollicitatione respondit: Deo esse facile quod hominibus impossibile est. Cui ergo facile est ut etiam dives intret in regnum coelorum, inspiravit tibi piam sollicitudinem, de qua me consulendum putasti quonam modo esset tibi orandum. Ille namque cum etiam hic adhuc esset in carne, Zachaeum divitem in regnum coelorum misit, et resurrectione atque ascensione glorificatus, multos postea divites impartito Spiritu sancto fecit huius saeculi contemptores, et finita divitiarum cupiditate ditiores. Quomodo enim tu sic studeres orare Deum, nisi sperares in eo? quomodo autem sperares in eo, si sperares in incerto divitiarum, et contemneres praeceptum saluberrimum, quo Apostolus ait: 'Praecipe divitibus huius mundi non superbe sapere, neque sperare in incerto divitiarum, sed in Deo vivo qui praestat nobis omnia abundanter ad fruendum; ut divites sint in operibus bonis, facile tribuant, communicent, thesaurizent sibi fundamentum bonum in futurum, ut apprehendant veram vitam? Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensis, ex Epistula CXXX, Probae

The Bishop Augustine, servant of Christ, and of the servants of Christ, to Proba, a pious handmaid of God, in the Lord of Lords, greetings.  Recalling your request and my promise, that I should write to you something about praying to God when the time and ability should be given by Him to whom we pray, now indeed is the time that I should discharge my debt and be of service to your pious desire in the love of Christ. How indeed I rejoiced because of your request, in which I marked how great is the care that you have for this matter, I have not the words to express. For what better business could your widowhood have than to persist in prayer night and day, according to the Apostle's admonition, who says, 'She that is truly a widow and desolate trusts in God, and persists in prayer night and day' ? 1 Whence it is possible to appear wonderful that while you are according to the world noble, and rich, and a mother of such a family, and so, though a widow, not desolate, care about prayer should occupy your heart and persist there, were it not that you wisely understand that in this world and in this life no soul can be secure. Whence He who gave you to this thought is surely doing what He did to His disciples when not for themselves, but for the whole human family, they sorrowed and were despairing that anyone be saved, after they heard from Him that it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven. And with a wondrous and merciful promise he replied: 'That which is impossible for men is easy for God.' 2 So He to whom it is easy to make even the rich enter into the kingdom of heaven, inspired you with that pious anxiety by which you think you must have my counsel on how you should pray. He while He was in the flesh sent the rich Zaccheus into the kingdom of heaven, 3 and after He was glorified in His resurrection and ascension He made by the gift of the Holy spirit many who were rich despise this present world and by extinguishing the desire for wealth enriched them. For how could you desire so much to pray to God if you did not hope in Him? And how could you hope in Him if your hope was fixed on uncertain riches, disdaining the most wholesome exhortation of the Apostle, who said: 'Exhort the rich of this world that they know not to be proud, nor have hope in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who gives us in abundance all things to enjoy, that they be rich in good works, happy to distribute, and communicate, and to provide for themselves a good foundation in the future, that they may lay hold of eternal life? 4 Saint Augustine of Hippo, from Letter 130, To Proba 1 1 Tim 5:5 2 Mt 19:21-26 3 Lk 19:9  4 1 Tim 6:17-19

Enduring Troubles

Ἐν παντὶ θλιβόμενοι, ἀλλ' οὐ στενοχωρούμενοι.  Ὅσον ἐπὶ τῇ πικρότητι τῶν περιεστηκόντων ἀπηυδήσαμεν ἂν καὶ ἀπωλόμεθα· ὅσον δὲ ἐπὶ τῷ παρακαλοῦντι Θεῷ, πάντα ἡμῖν πρὸς σωτηρίαν εὐμαρῆ. Κᾶν ἐν παντὶ οὖν πράγματι θλιβώμεθα, γενναιάζοντες οὐ στενοχωρούμεθα· κἂν ὡς ἀπόρους ἡμᾶς τινες ὑπολαμβάνωσι, διώκοντες καὶ ἀνατρέποντες, ἀλλ' οὖν ἡμευῖς ἐν ἄπασιν εὐποροῦντες οὐκ εξαπορούμεθα, οὐκ ἀπολλύμεθα, οὐ καταβαλλόμεθα. Ἀνατρεπόντων γὰρ τῶν πονηρῶν, στήκομεν ἁκλόνητοι· διωκόμενοι γενναιάζομεν, πορίμων ἡμῖν πάντων ὄντων πρὸς σωτηρίαν. Ἰστέον, ὅτι τὸ στενοχωρεῖσθαι ὁτε μὲν ταυτόν ἐστι θλίβεσθαι, ὁτὲ δὲ ἕτερον. Ὅταν γὰρ ἀμφότερα λέγηται, δηλοῖ τὸ μὲν θλίβεσθαι τὴν ἔξωθεν περίστασιν· τὸ στενοχωρεῖσθαι, τὸ ὀκλάζειν τῇ προαιρέσει καὶ λογισμῳ. Ὅταν δὲ μὴ ἀμφότερα λαμβάνηται, ἐκ παραλλήλου δηλοῦσι τὸ αὐτό. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Εἰς Την Δευτεραν Ἐπιστολήν Παυλου Αποσλολου Προς Κορινθίους

In every tribulation, but we do not anguish. 1 That is, in bitter circumstances we do not in despair wish to perish, but, on account of the consolation of God, everything tends to salvation for us. Even if, then, in everything we are troubled, yet resisting we do not anguish. And when as if destitute of all resource they think us, and they persecute and threaten us, we however in everything rich and not at a loss, are not overrun, nor are we cast down. For while the wicked try to overturn us, we stand unmoved, bravely resisting our persecutors, all we have supporting us to salvation. And let it be known that the word anguish has a different meaning to tribulation. When both words are placed together, tribulation signifies external aggression whereas anguish concerns hesitation in the deliberations of the mind. But when they are not used together they signify similar things. Didymus the Blind, Commentary on Second Corinthians, Fragment 1 2 Cor 4. 8

Thought for the Future

Εἰ οὐρανὸς ὡς βιβλιον ἐλίσσεται, καὶ τὰ ἄστρα πίπτει, καὶ Ὠριον καὶ γῆ, καὶ τὰ ἐν αὐτῇ κατακαίεται, καὶ πάντα γυμνὰ καὶ τετραχηλισμένα τῇ μεγάλη ἡμέρᾳ τῆς τοῦ Κυρίου παρουσίας ἐτοιμὰζεται· τοῦ χάριν αὐτὸς ἀμελεῖς, καὶ οὐχ ὡς εὐθύνας ὑφέξων εὐτρεπίζῃ, ἀλλ' ὡς ἀνέγκλητος λησόμενος, ἀναβάλλῃ τὴν μεταμέλειαν; Ὅρα οὐν μὴ τότε σοι ἐπέλθῃ ἡ μετάγνωσις, ὅτε μόνη πάρεστιν ἡ ἀπογνωσις.  Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΡΠΗ', Ἀσκληπιῳ

If the heavens are rolled up like a scroll and the stars fall, and Orion and the earth, all things burning up in it, stripped and laid open, on that great day prepared for the coming of the Lord, will you be careless for favour, not having prepared yourself for the promised investigation, like one blameless to be passed over, having no thought of penitence? Look to it, then, lest penance come to your mind when there shall be only a place of despair. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 188, To Asclepius