Letter 877: Virtue must be practiced with all one's strength — not merely admired from a distance.

To Zenon the Presbyter: It is fitting either to speak while practicing what one preaches, or else, if one does not practice it, to keep silence and to restrain the tongue with the reins of good judgment — the reins that also give birth to repentance. To Zenon the Presbyter: Repentance after sin, when it is sincere, restores the soul to its former beauty more surely than any other remedy. But repentance that is merely verbal, a performance of sorrow without the substance of change, is worse than useless — it is an insult to the God who sees the heart. The one who repents truly does not merely confess his sin; he abandons it. He does not merely shed tears; he changes his life. He does not merely beat his breast; he opens his purse. For repentance is not an emotion but an action, not a feeling but a decision, not a momentary impulse but a permanent transformation. The publican who cried, "God be merciful to me, a sinner," went home justified not because of the eloquence of his prayer but because of the sincerity of his heart. The prodigal who returned to his father was received not because of the beauty of his speech but because of the genuineness of his conversion. Therefore, O presbyter, if you would teach others to repent, first show them what repentance looks like by your own example. For the congregation will learn more from your life than from your sermons, and more from your practice than from your preaching.

ΠΙ΄. – ΖΗΝΩΝΙ ΠΡΕΣΒΥΤΕΡΩ. οὖν ἡ πράττοντα λέγειν, ἢ μὴ πράττοντα ἡσυχίαν ἄγειν, καὶ τὴν γλῶτταν ταῖς τῆς εὐγνωμοσύνης ἡνίαις ἄγχειν, ταῖς καὶ μετάγνωσιν ὠδινούσαις. ΡΛΣ΄. - ΖΗΝΩΝΙ ΠΡΕΣΒΥΤΕΡΟ. * Τὸ μετὰ φρονήσεως ἠρεμαϊόν τε καὶ γαληνὸν τοῦ τρόπου, βεβηκυίας καὶ σταθερᾶς γνώμης μέγιστόν ἐστι παρ᾿ ἐμοὶ κριτῇ τεκμήριον. ΡΛΑ΄. – ΠΑΥΛΩ. Κατὰ τῶν λεγόντων, εἶναι γένεσιν, ήτοι είμαρ- τήρΙο Ιεμένην, ἢ τὴν λεγομένην τύχην Οἱ πάντα ὁμοῦ χρήματα μιγνύντες, καὶ πανο- σπρίαν, τὸ τοῦ λόγου, ποιοῦντες (21), οῦ μοι δοκοῦ- σιν ὑγιαίνειν τὸν νοῦν. Εἰ γὰρ Θεὸς, οὐ γένεσις. Εἰ δὲ γένεσις, οὗ φημι τὸ ἐναντίον. Τραπείη γὰρ τὸ βλά- σφημον εἰς τὰς τῶν τοῦτο παρασκευαζόντων λέγεσθαι κορυφάς. Εἰ δὲ οὐδεὶς τοῦτο φαίη, ἀναμφισβήτητός ἐστι τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ὁ στέφανος· ἦρκει μὲν οὖν αὐτὴ ἡ νίκη, ὡς οἶμαι, εἰ καὶ μόνη ἐτύγχανε. Νυνί δὲ καὶ ἄλλαις πολλαῖς ἐπερειδόμεθα. Εἰ γένεσις, οὐ νόμος· εἰ δὲ νόμος, οὐ γένεσις (22). Εἰ γένεσις, οὐ παραί- νεσις· εἰ δὲ παραίνεσις, οὐ γένεσις. Εἰ γένεσις, οὐ κρίσις· εἰ δὲ κρίσις, οὐ γένεσις. Εἰ γένεσις, οὐκ εὐχὴ· εἰ δὲ εὐχὴ, οὐ γένεσις. Εἰ γένεσις, οὐ μελέ- ται· εἰ δὲ μελέται, οὐ γένεσις. Εἰ γένεσις, οὐ φιλο- σοφία · εἰ δὲ φιλοσοφία, οὐ γένεσις. Εἰ γένεσις, οὐκ Ιατρική· εἰ δὲ ἰατρικὴ, οὐ γένεσις. Εἰ γένεσις, οὐ γεωργία· εἰ δὲ γεωργία, οὐ γένεσις. Καὶ πολλὰ ἔχων εἰπεῖν, νυνὶ παραλείψω · αὖθις δὲ συλλογίσομαι. Εἰ μὲν οὖν ἑνὸς ἦν τοῦ πράγματος πρὸς ἐν ὁ ἀγὼν, ἴσως ἀμφισβητήσιμος ἂν ἦν ὁ στέφανος. Εἰ δ᾽ ἑνὸς πρὸς πολλὰ καὶ ποικίλα ἡ μάχη, ἀναμφισβήτητος, ὡς οἶμαι, ἡ νίκη (23). Κἂν γὰρ ἐν δόξῃ νενικηκέναι, ὑπὸ τῶν ἄλλων ἡττηθήσεται. Δόξῃ δὲ εἶπον, ἐπειδήπερ οὐ πᾶσι τὸ κρίνειν τὰ πράγματα ἐλικρινῶς πρόσεστιν, ἢ διὰ βραχυτῆτα γνώμης, ἢ διὰ ῥαθυμίαν, ἢ διὰ σκαιότητα τρόπων, ἢ διὰ πρόληψιν, θανάτου γείτονα. Ἐπεὶ τοῖς γε νοῦν ἔχουσι, καὶ ἀπρόληπτον κεκτημένοις τῶν πραγμάτων τὸ κριτήριον, σαφές ἐστι τὸ ἀλη- θές (24). ΡΛΒ. – ΤΟ ΑΥΤΟ Ἡ τρυφή, ω βέλτιστε, οὐ μόνον ἐξοστρακίζει την · πολυήρατον, καὶ ἀρχῆς καὶ πλούτου προτιμοτέραν ὑγείαν (ταύτης γὰρ ἀπούσης, ἐκεῖνα οὐδὲν), ἀλλὰ καὶ ποικίλα καὶ ἀνήκεστα καινουργεῖ νοσήματα. Εἰ ```