Letter 843

To Agathius the Deacon. It is not right to let the powers of the soul slacken at the very height of the assaults, but rather to take fresh courage when we hear from God: "Be strong, you slackened hands and feeble knees. Be strong, do not fear. For I am with you until the consummation of the age; I will not leave you orphans, I will come to you in your struggle." [a chain of scriptural promises drawn from Isaiah 35:3-4, Matthew 28:20, and John 14:18]

Οὐ δίκαιον τὰς δυνάμεις τῆς ψυχῆς παραλύειν κατὰ τὴν ἀκμὴν τῶν προσβολῶν, παραθαρσύνεσθαι δὲ μᾶλλον ἐν τῷ ἀκούειν θεόθεν· « Ἰσχύσατε, χεῖρες ἀνειμέναι, καὶ γόνατα παραλελυμένα. Ἰσχύσατε, μὴ φοβεῖσθε. Ἐγὼ γάρ εἰμι μεθ’ ὑμῶν ἕως τῆς συντελείας τοῦ αἰῶνος, οὐκ ἐάσω ὑμᾶς ὀρφανούς, ἐλεύσομαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἀγωνιῶντας. »