Letter 542

To Aristocrates the Eunuch. The Lord's baptism is in the Holy Spirit and in fire; through the appellation of fire learn the warmth, the rousing power of grace, and that which consumes sins. Being a foolish and irrational sort of man, even though you seem to be most prudent, you render to God a grudging worship, being in no way willing to grant him an attentive ear; but to the enemy [the devil] you gladly lend your ear, to your own destruction, and loving fervently the master who is against nature, you continually carry out his commands. Rightly, therefore, does the law among the Hebrews command symbolically, in the case of the slave who has hated freedom, that his ear be bored through with an awl, so that he may not, hearing through the natural opening, ever receive a word of freedom [Exodus 21:5-6, the slave who refuses manumission has his ear pierced]. And this is seen to have been done by you; for you have shown yourself an everlasting slave of Satan, cherishing both him and the present life, and never being willing even once to hear divine Scripture, nor to take any thought of the age to come.

Ἐν Πνεύματι ἁγίῳ καὶ πυρὶ τὸ δεσποτικὸν βά- πτισμα, διὰ τῆς τοῦ πυρὸς προσηγορίας τὸ θερμὸν, τὸ διεγηγερμένον τῆς χάριτος, καὶ τὸ δαπανητικὸν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν μάνθανε. Βληγματωδής τις, καὶ ἄλογος ὑπάρχων, κἂν δο- κεῖς φρονιμώτατος εἶναι, τοῦ μὲν Θεοῦ ἀπηνῆ τὴν λατρείαν, μηδέλωως θέλων παρασχεῖν τούτῳ εὐήκοον ἀκοήν, τῷ δ᾽ ἐχθρῷ ἡδέως τὸ ὠτίον ὑπέχεις πρὸς τὸν σαυτοῦ ὄλεθρον, καὶ ἀγαπῶν ἐκθύμως τὸν παρὰ φύ- σιν Δεσπότην, διηνεκῶς ἐκτελεῖς τὰ προστάγματα αὐτοῦ. Καλῶς τοιγάρτοι ὁ παρ᾽ Ἑβραίοις νόμος συμ- βολικῶς τοῦ δούλου τὴν ἐλευθερίαν μισήσαντος, μετατρύπασθαι τὴν ὀπηνλήν κελεύει τὸ ὠτίον, ὅπως μὴ ὀπῇ τῇ κατὰ φύσιν ἀκούων, δέξηταί ποτε λόγον ἐλευθερίας· ὅπερ βλεπόμενον γενόμενον ὑπὸ σοῦ δού- λός γὰρ τοῦ Σατανᾶ αἰώνιος πέφηνας, στέργων μὲν αὐτόν τε καὶ τὸν παρόντα βίον, μηδέποτε δὲ βουλό- μενος κἂν ἅπαξ θείας Γραφῆς ἀκοῦσαι, μὴ δ᾽ ἔννοιαν λαβεῖν τοῦ μέλλοντος αἰῶνος.