Letter 657

To Philumenius. A soul that was formerly laid waste and made barren through negligence can now, by changing for the good, be brought into cultivation, be made beautiful, be well tended, and be transformed into a better condition. For it is written that "He turned the desert into pools of water and channels of waters, and he settled the hungry there, and they founded cities for habitation, and they sowed fields and planted vineyards" and reaped a fruitful harvest [Psalm 107 (LXX 106):35-37]. For that he is not speaking of soulless land in saying these things, but of rational souls, he makes clear when he brings the psalm to its close: "Who is wise and will keep these things, and will understand the mercies of God?" [Psalm 107 (LXX 106):43]. Do not, then, despair of yourself, since you have within your reach a windfall of all righteousness, if only you should be willing to change your way of life. For the very fact that Moses constructed the tabernacle of God in the wilderness shows symbolically that it is possible for a soul made desolate to become receptive to the tabernacle of the Lord. For the faithful shall rejoice forever, and the Lord will dwell among them, and those who love your name, O Christ, will boast in them.

Δύναται πρώην διὰ τῆς ἀμελείας ἐρημωθεῖσα καὶ χερσωθεῖσα ψυχή, νῦν μεταβαλλομένη καλῶς, ἐξημερωθῆναι, καὶ φιλοκαληθῆναι, καλιεργηθῆναί τε καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ βέλτιον μεταμορφῶσθαι σχῆμα. Γέγραπται γάρ, ὅτι « Ἔθετο ἔρημον εἰς λίμνας καὶ διεξ- δους ὑδάτων, καὶ κατώκισεν ἐκεῖ πεινῶντες, καὶ συνεστήσαντο πόλεις κατοικείας, καὶ ἔσπειραν ἀγροὺς, καὶ ἐφύτευσαν ἀμπελῶνας, καὶ ἠλοίγησαν. Ὅτι γὰρ οὐ περὶ χώρας ἀψύχου ταῦτά φησιν, ἀλλὰ περὶ λογικῶν ψυχῶν, λέγει καταπαύων τὸν ψαλμόν· Τίς σοφὸς, καὶ φυλάξει ταῦτα, καὶ συνήσει τὰ ἐλέη τοῦ Θεοῦ; Μὴ οὖν σαυτὸν ἀπογνῷς, ἕρμαιον τυγχάνοντα πάσης δικαιοσύνης, μόνον εἰ βουληθείης μεταθεῖναι τὸν τρόπον. Καὶ γὰρ τὸ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ τῆς σκηνῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ κατασκευάσαι τὸν Μωϋσέα, συμβολικῶς δείκνυται, δυνατὸν εἶναι ψυχὴν ἐρημοθεῖσαν δεκτικὴν γενέσθαι τῆς σκηνῆς τοῦ Κυρίου. Αἱ αἰῶνά γὰρ ἀγαλλιάσονται οἱ πιστοὶ, καὶ κατασκηνώσουσιν ἐν αὐτοῖς ὁ Κύριος, καὶ καυχήσονται, φησὶν, ἐν αὐτοῖς οἱ ἀγαπῶντες τὸ ὄνομά σου, Χριστέ.