Letter 413

To the Same. Let the Lord's word frighten you, the word that commands you not to ascend to the altar by steps of vice and with an exalted, haughty mind [an allusion to Exodus 20:26, the command not to go up to the altar by steps, lest one's nakedness be exposed], so that your shame may not be uncovered through abandonment [that is, through being forsaken by God]. And then, it says, they shall know where their substance is.

Φοβείτω σε τὸ Δεσποτικὸν γράμμα, παρακελευόμενον μὴ ἀναβαίνειν διὰ βαθμίδων κακίας, καὶ ἐπηρμένου φρονήματος εἰς τὸ θυσιαστήριον, ἵνα μὴ ἀποκαλυφθῇ ἡ ἀσχημοσύνη σου δι’ ἐγκαταλή- ψεως· καὶ τότε γνώσονται, φησί, ποῦ ἐστιν αὐτῶν ἡ ὕλη.