Letter 417

To Eumathius the Monk. Whenever some of the brethren, before the complete cleansing away of their defilements and before the more perfect settled condition, undertake to teach, then the demons, laughing, nod to one another, conversing in this way and saying: This man, at the fitting moment, will become our plunder, since he dares to admonish contrary to the judgment of the Lord. Therefore let us not be willing, while we are still unripe and have not yet obtained the ripe cluster, to admonish and to teach others, so that we may not become the demons' plaything.

Ὅτ’ ἄν τινες τῶν ἀδελφῶν πρὸ τῆς τῶν μολυ- σμάτων παντελοῦς καθάρσεως, καὶ τῆς τελειωτέρας ἕξεως διδάσκειν ἐπιχειρῶσιν, τηνικαῦτα οἱ δαίμονες γελῶντες πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς διανεύουσι τοιαῦτα ὁμιλοῦν- τες, καὶ λέγοντες· Οὗτος τῷ προσήκοντι καιρῷ ἡμέτερον γενήσεται λάφυρον, νουθετεῖν τολμῶν παρὰ γνώμην Κυρίου. Διόπερ μὴ θελήσωμεν ὀμφαλίζοντες ἔτι, καὶ μήποτε πέπειρον τὸν βότρυον κτησάμενοι νουθετεῖν, καὶ διδάσκειν ἑτέρους, ἵνα μὴ τῶν δαι- μόνων γενώμεθα παίγνιον.