Letter 1129: The spiritual life is a journey with a beginning, a middle, and an end.
On the passage, "I will take away from them the heart of stone, and I will give them a heart of flesh." That saying, "I will take away from them" — meaning from those who oppose divine instruction and resist stubbornly — "the heart of stone," that is, the disposition devoid of all sense of pain, altogether dull and resistant to the divine laws. And what follows, "I will give them a heart of flesh," signifies a tractable disposition and obedient soul, receptive to spiritual admonitions and exhortations, from which even the choir of virtues springs forth in the soul. If you wish to learn this through examples, listen. Just as trainers and gymnasts receive youths who are dirty and unrefined into their discipline and send them back clean — not by causing their flesh to grow young again (for that is impossible through the nature of things), but by teaching them skills, not imitating their character but driving out ignorance and sluggishness of body and condemning excess, they introduce knowledge and skill into their souls.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.
Latin / Greek Original
Β Οείώ εἰς ἡ μ4 : « Εἰ αὐζόταπι αὐ ἱρεὶς σοΥ ἰαρίάεμπηι, εἰ ἀαϑο ἱρεὶδ οοΥ σαγπέμηι . » Ὀιοίαπ Πυἀ : « Αυΐογδηη δὺ ἰρ5815 (νυ ἀε]166ί, 4αυἹ ἀἰνίης ἰηδιἸ τὐ 0η] δΡροπί ΟὐΒοαυυηιΓ, - ἑουμμοάδη!) Ο0Γ ἰαρί ἀδαπι, » ἰπ οι ἢδυΐ ΠΏ Δἴ Π8) 86η8.. ἀο]ογὶβ οπιηΐϑ Ἔσρογίδπ), Ρ]λ βιυρ)- ἄυπι, οἱ ἀϊνίηἷθ ἰεσίθυδ τοριιρηδηίοπι. . Θυοά δυΐεπὶ δοαυΐϊυν : « Εἰ ἀλῦο ἰρ58 ΘοΥ οδγηδυπ), ν» β'βηϊβ- οἱ ἰδ ΛΠ ἃηΐπιὶ ἔδο ᾽ οδὐθηίθηι ΟὈΒ661161- ἰ6 πὶ, οἱ ϑρὶ γἰ Βα ποι! οηἾ θ08 δυθπι ἰοηίοην : ὑη66 οἰἴδη σα τὶ. νἱγῖπι οθοτυϑ αἰ πηὶ δοῖεὶ. Ουοά 5ἱ Ρὲγ δχοιηρία γυοὺδ πος ἀἴϑεογο οιρίδϑ, δυξου! ἃ. Οιδπιδἀϊιηοάυπι ψνϑανπϑιοὶ οἱ βορ δι: ΡΊΘΓΟΒ, βογἀϊάοβ δοορρογυηὶ ἴῃ ἀἰβοΙ ρ ηΔΠ , πιυηάδιο8 γοπιϊ τυ πὶ, ποη ᾳυϊάδιη ἰπϑυδδ ΘοΓυπι ἰ1Φ- Τὰ ἰυνοηθβο γα [δοΐθη!θ8 (ηθ4ιὸ Θηἰπὶ ά οὶ ρ0» Ρ6Γ ΓΟΡΓΌΠῚ παῖ! Γ812), ἃγίοε ἰρ818 πο ῦθη- : ΠΟΩ4 Δηΐπ) ΘΟΡΙΠῚ ᾿πιυϊδΔηί68, 5οἀ ἱψπη8- βαρί ἐμ εἶα ἰργΟ δίοιη ἱηοτγδηιδιηᾳυθ οσρο! θη8 οἱ γοῖσὶ ΘΣ8 Π ἀδιῃηδηβ, ἰη16 Π η1ἰλτη οἱ βοϊθηϊίδηι ἰη δηΐηιο8 ἰπγοσυοῖ!,
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