Letter 163: The richness of divine teaching is such that a single passage of Scripture often contains answers to questions we...

To Oathianos. Of piety, most learned sir, there is a twofold manner. The one, the most holy and most divine, is in the soul. For this is the most beautiful sacrificial offering, and the most pleasing to God: to keep one's mind grounded, and to picture the divine presence to oneself, and to hold it established and firm within the sanctuaries of the soul. The second is in the purity of the body. For whoever is destitute of these two manners, not even if he should bring forward all the precious treasures of land and sea, nor even if he should slaughter all the animals that were of old appointed by law to be offered in sacrifice, will he find favor with God.

Εὐσεβείας, ὦ ἐλλογιμώτατε, διττὸς ὁ τρόπος (7). Ὁ μὲν ἀγιώτατος καὶ θειότατος ἐν ψυχῇ. Ἱερεῖον γὰρ τοῦτο κάλλιστον, καὶ Θεῷ προσφιλέστατον, τὸ τὴν γνώμην ἔχειν ἐδαφῆ, καὶ τὴν θείαν παρουσίαν φαντάζεσθαι, ἱδρυμένην τε καὶ βεβαίαν ἔχειν ἐν τοῖς τῆς ψυχῆς τεμένεσιν. Ὁ δὲ δεύτερος ἐν τῇ ἁγνείᾳ τοῦ σώματος. Ὁ γὰρ τούτων τῶν δύο τρόπων χρηρεύων, οὐδὲ εἴ τὰ τῆς γῆς τε καὶ θαλάττης ἠλμάφεστά τα προσάγοι κειμήλια, οὔτε εἴ πάντα τὰ ἱερουργεῖσθαι πρώην γενομοθετημένα ζῶα καταβάλλοι, χαριεῖται Θεῷ.