Letter 337

To the Same [Agathon the Decemvir]. Many of the wicked, wishing to hide from people the joyless darkness that is in their heart, guffaw loudly and seem to put their cheerfulness on display as on a stage. But one must recognize that inwardly they are filled with every kind of gloom, since righteous joy has turned away from them.

Πολλοὶ τῶν φαύλων τὸ ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτῶν ἄμειδες σκότος λανθάνειν τοὺς ἀνθρώπους βουλόμενοι, καγχάζουσι μεγάλα, καὶ τὴν ἱλαρότητα θεατρίζειν δοκοῦσιν. Ἀλλ’ ἀναγκαῖον εἰδέναι, ὡς πάσης στυγνότητος πλήρεις ὑπάρχουσιν ἔνδοθεν, τῆς δικαίας τούτους ἀποστραφείσης χαρᾶς.