Letter 19: Evagrius asks that a sober virgin pray inwardly and restrain desire and anger.

The letters of Your Holiness have comforted us enough, and they have refreshed the multitude of my afflictions. May the Lord grant you to find mercy from the Lord on that day, because you remembered us, sinners and lowly people who have nothing worthy of your love. I very much wanted to give the sober virgin something useful for her life, but the urgency of those who were pressing us did not allow it. Still, what we had already sent on through the Lord we have entrusted to her with every eagerness: that she pray without ceasing in the mind, restrain desire through self-control, and calm anger through gentleness. By such thoughts the word of God is choked in us, though according to our power it is present and active within us. Through the hidden works of our virtue, that word wants to be seen in us and to reveal in us the hidden Father and maker.

Greek retroversion from Syriac transmission (Frankenberg 1912, TAN/TEI CC BY 4.0): ιχανως παρακεκληκεν ημας της οσιοτητος σου τα γραμμαατα και το πληθος των θλιψεων μου ανεψυξεν· αλλα δοιη σοι ο κυριος ευρειν ελεος παρα τωι κυριωι εχεινηι τηι ημεραι επει ημας τους αμαρτωλους και ταπεινους ουδεν δε της αγαπης σου αξιον εχοντας εμνημονευσας. εγω δε σφοδρως ηθελον τη σωφρονι παρθενωι τι εις την ζωην (σωτηριαν) αυτης συμφερον δουναι αλλα η των επειγομενων ταχυτης ουχ αφηκε· πλην α προειπομεν (προεπεμψαμεν etc.) δια κυριου πασηι προαιρεσει (προθυμιαι) αυτηι παρεδωκαμεν ινα εν τωι νοι προσευχηται αδιαλειπτως την τε επιθυμιαν δι’ εγκρατειας πιαζηι και τον θυμον δια πραυτητος γαλινωσηι· υπο γαρ τοιουτων λογισμων (Ε) πνιγεται ο θεου λογος ος εν ημιν υφεστως κατα την δυναμιν ημων επιτελειται, δια τε των κρυπτων της αρετης ημων εργων εν ημιν οφθηναι βουλεται και τον αποκρυπτον πατερα και ποιητην εν ημιν αποδειξαι Syriac transmission available in the linked TAN/TEI source. The complete corpus is Syriac-transmitted; Greek survives only fragmentarily, so this display text is a retroversion witness.