Letter 2: Evagrius calls himself a barren spiritual field and praises Olympas's consoling conversation.

You keep writing to me as though I were a farmer, someone able to work a spiritual field. But you have not yet seen my little plot, full of thorns and brambles. You have not seen my vineyard, dried up, fruitless, and stripped of spiritual clusters. Even so, we have dared, without grace, to cook and save fleshly souls from the hardness of a life of vice. For lack of the water of knowledge, we have made the pot burn over and over again. I am ashamed to speak about my axe. How many times, while cutting wood, has it thrown off sparks because it struck stone, or a heart of stone, or whatever I should call it? And after all this, you have now sent us pure silver. We, trying to be useful, have turned it around and sent it back. The people here do not know how to make the cups or bowls you requested. Blessed are we if we do not fall short in our reckoning. Have we somehow offended the deacon Olympas? In any case, we glorify our Lord, who judged us worthy to celebrate holy Pascha with a man whose conversation has calmed the animal wildness of our soul.

Greek retroversion from Syriac transmission (Frankenberg 1912, TAN/TEI CC BY 4.0): ως προς γεωργον γεγραφας μοι αδιαλειπτως και ως γην πνευματικην εργαζεσθαι δυνατωι, συ δε εως του νυν ουχ εωρακας το αγριδιον μου ακανθων και τριβολων μεστον ουδε την αμπελωνα μου εξηραμμενην και ακαρπον ουσαν και πνευματικων βοτρυων εστερημενην. αλλα μετα τουτων και τετολμηκαμεν ανευ της χαριτος ψυχας σαρκικας (? ομφακας) εψεσθαι και σωζειν απο σκληροτητος ζωης της κακιας και δι' ενδειαν υδατος της γνωσεως μυριακις καυσιν της χυτρας εποιησαμεν. αισχυνομαι δε περι της αξινης ημων ειπειν ποσακις ξυλα κοπτουσα πυρ προιει οτι λιθον επληξεν η καρδιαν λιθινην η ουκ οιδα πως αυτο ονομασω. και μετα παντων τουτων και συ νυν καθαρον αργυριον ημιν επεμψας ημεις δε ως ευποιησοντες μεταστρεψαντες ανεπεμψαμεν· κυλικας γαρ η φιαλας ως ενετειλας οι ενθαδε ποιειν ουχ ισασι (oder ισμεν) μακαριοι δε εαν μη εκλειπωμεν του λογισμου. μη ποτε τι παρωξυναμεν τον διακονον Ολυμπα; πλην δοξαζομεν τον κυριον ημων καταξιωσαντα ημας το αγιον πασχα ποιειν μετα ανδρος το κτηνωδες της ψυχης ημων δια της ομιλιας αυτου καταστειλαντος 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.