Letter 266

To You. "If anyone," Scripture says, "is a man fearful in heart, let him turn back to his own house and not go out to war, lest he make the heart of his brother fearful" [Deuteronomy 20:8]. For one who is a coward in the face of temptations and the warfare of demons is able to dissolve the eager resolve of the well-girded man bent on deeds of valor.

Εἴ τις, φησίν, « ἄνθρωπος δειλός ἐστι τῇ καρδίᾳ, ἀποστραφήτω εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν αὐτοῦ, καὶ μὴ ἐξέλθῃ εἰς πόλεμον, ἵνα μὴ δειλιάνῃ τὴν καρδίαν τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ. » Δύναται γάρ τις δειλὸς ὑπάρχων πρὸς πειρασμούς, καὶ πόλεμον δαιμόνων παραλῦσαι τὴν προθυμίαν τοῦ εὐζώνου πρὸς ἀριστείαν.