Letter 1507: The spiritual life is a journey with a beginning, a middle, and an end.
He who twice falls into the same sin does not deserve forgiveness. Your recent transgression has lost the excuse that it was committed in defense of a brother. This second fall is even worse than the first, for it strips away the pretext of the earlier one. If your brother's situation first drew your compassion, that might mitigate your initial lapse. But now, having fallen into the same sin a second time, you have shown that the first offense was not a momentary weakness but a settled disposition. The person who sins once may plead ignorance or surprise; the person who sins twice proves deliberate choice. And deliberate choice removes the ground of mercy. I say this not to drive you to despair but to awaken you to the gravity of your situation. For there is still time for repentance, but repentance requires honesty, and honesty requires that you recognize the pattern of your behavior for what it is — not isolated incidents but a habit that must be broken by a radical change of heart and conduct.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
Θεὶ δὶς ἱπ δμπιάσηι ἱπιρὶποὶ! ἰαρίάδηξ, ποπ πιετοίμτ υεπΐαπι. ἀοη[εν. ορὶδί. . Νυρόογαπὶ ἰυυπὶ ἀεἰ οι πὶ οοοαϑῖο Θσχουβανυ!, ηυοιὶ [γαϊγοπὶ γἱβυϑ ἀδίδηογο. Ησο νοτὸ [ἐς β με ναγίοδιϊο ἢ ] πὸ ἰΔηηθη ργρίογι ρῥγωιαχίιπ) : ἧιο οἱ ργίυγα γεηΐβ δχοίἀϊϑιϊ. δὲ δηΐῃ ἰιρδὶ ἔγδιγ κυ αγαιῖα ργυ8 ἀθ δυπιρδίϑι! υἱη ἱοῖϊαπι, 4υ8 Γᾶ- ἐἰυ. ἰρϑι) ἐς. 6Ππ ἃ ( ργορυξηδίυϊη ὙἾ8, βοόγα ἰίογυτ ἃς Ρ6Γ Οὐ ΐαᾷ ΘΧαζ ΓΘ "ἢ Π δΓυ- βοδείβ ἢ Μαηϊοϑίυμ μἷης ἀναδίι οἱ ᾿ος ἀδιλ Δ0) ἴ6 ορόγὰῶ σοι ΐβδυπ).. Ουἱΐ δηΐπὶ [ταἰγὶ ἤθη ράγοὶ!, δἰϊοειιπι ἰηΐυνα ᾳυοπιούο .] ἰθιρογαυοῦίι. ΧΧΥ, --- ΠΙΕΒΑΟΘΟΙΟΝῚ (Ε. ππξκλοὶ Ριλοονο μὲ ἱπίτα). Τὸ μὲν πρότερόν σου παρανόμημα, πρόφασις εὐπρεπὴς ἐδόχει ποιεῖν συγγνωστὸν ὁ ἀδελφός σου ἐχ- δεδιχήσθαι νομιζόμενος " τοῦ δὲ νῦν παρανομήματος οὐδὲν τοιοῦτον ἔχεις παραπέτασμα , ἀλλὰ χαὶ τῆς προτέρας συγγνώμης ἐξέπεσες " εἰ γὰρ διὰ τὸν ἀδι- χηθέντα σον ἀδελφὸν πρώην ἡμύνου, πῶς αὑτὸν νυνὶ τὸν ὑπὲρ οὗ τότε, ὡς φὴς, ἡμύνου ἀδικῶν χαὶ ἐλαύ-- νων πάντοθεν οὐχ αἰσχύνῃ; Δῆλος τοίνυν γέγο- νας () ὲχ τούτου χἀχεῖνο ἐχ προαιρέσεως ποιήσας “" ὁ γὰρ ἀδελφοῦ μὴ φειδόμενος, πῶς ἂν ἀλλοτρίου ἐφεί, ( σατο;
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