Letter 93: Silence, rightly practiced, is not the absence of speech but the fullness of restraint.

One must use one's own power as though it were to last forever, yet exercise it as though it were about to end tomorrow. All insults are not endured for Christ's sake; sometimes they come upon us for our own misdeeds, whether we are acting unjustly or doing something else wrong. But when reproach comes solely because of the truth, then the beatitude applies: "Blessed are you when they revile you for my sake."

ΜΓ΄. – ΓΕΡΟΝΤΙΩ ΚΟΜΙΤΙ ΕΥΣΕΒΕΙΩ Οὕτω χρηστέον τῇ ἑαυτοῦ δυνάμει, ὡς εἰς ἀεὶ ΛΓ΄. – ΔΑΝΙΗΛ ΠΡΕΣΒΥΤΕΡΩ. Εἰς τὸ, «Μακάριοί ἐστε, ὅταν ὀνειδίσωσιν ὑμᾶς καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς: Μάλιστα μὲν πᾶσαι αἱ ὕβρεις οὐ διὰ τὸν Χριστὸν γίνονται, ἀλλ᾽ ἔστιν ὅτε καὶ δι᾽ ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς, ἢ ἀδικοῦντας ἢ ἄλλο τι δρῶντας. Εστι δὲ ὅτε καὶ δι᾽ αὐτὸν μὲν γίνονται· ἀληθεῖς δὲ εἰσι, καὶ οὐ πεπλασμέναι. Δύο τοίνυν ζητεῖ ὁ ἀκρότατος τῆς εὐδοκιμήσεως ὅρος, καὶ τὸ ψευδεῖς εἶναι τὰς ὕβρεις, καὶ τὸ δι' αὐτὸν γίνεσθαι. Εἰ δὲ θάτερον ἀπολειφθείη, θάτερον οὐκ ἀναιρεθήσεται μὲν, οὐδ᾽ ἀργήσει· ἄτοπον γὰρ τοῦτο· εἰς δὲ τὴν ἀκροτάτην μακαριότητα οὐ καταλήξει. Εἰ μὲν γὰρ διὰ τὸν Χριστὸν λοιδορούμεθα, ἀληθεῖς δὲ εἰσιν αἱ ὕβρεις, ὑποτέμνεται ὁ μισθός. Εἰ δὲ μὴ διὰ Χριστὸν μὲν, ψευδεῖς δ᾽ εἰσὶ, πάλιν ὁ μιαθὸς οὐ κορυφαιότατος. Ἔχει μὲν γὰρ ἑκάτερον μισθὸν, ἀλλ' οὐ τοσοῦτον, ὅσον εἰ συναφθείη ἀμφότερον. Τὸ δὲ, Ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ, λέγων, οὐ ταπεινὰ περὶ ἑαυτοῦ παρίστησι, νοεῖν, В Г. - ΠΑΛΛΑΔΙΟ ΔΙΑΚΟΝΟ. Μετέσχες μὲν τοῦ τῶν μαθητῶν χοροῦ, καὶ κορυ- φαῖος ἐδόκεις, σφοδρότερον τῶν ἄλλων μεταδιώκων τὴν τῶν θείων λόγων θήραν· ἀλλὰ νῦν ἀμελήσας οὐ μόνον ἀποφοιτῆσαι διέγνως, ἀλλὰ καὶ τρυφαῖς, ὡς ἐπυθόμην, ἐκδέδωκας σαυτὸν, ταῖς τικτούσαις τὰ μετὰ γαστέρα πάθη. Γιγνώσκων τοίνυν, ὅτι ἀργα- λεώτερον γίγνεται ἀμελούμενον τὸ κακὸν, εἰς τὴν ἐξ ἀρχῆς κοσμιότητα τὴν ταχίστην σαυτὸν μεταῤῥύ- θμισον. ΡΞ΄. – ΚΟΜΙΤΙ Χαλεπώτερον τῶν ἐχθρῶν τῶν θωπευόντων ἐπάγεται τραύματα.