Letter 967

To Eutropius. To grow faint-hearted, beloved, and to be unwilling to endure great and manifold misfortunes for Christ's sake, is the mark of folly. But concerning the one who forces himself to be saved the Hymnographer [the Psalmist David] says: "When he falls, he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord upholds his hand" [Psalm 36(37):24, Septuagint numbering]. That is, even if it should somewhere befall the good man to stumble, he will suffer no harm, having God as his protector and defender.

Τὸ ὀλιγωρεῖν, ἀγαπητέ, καὶ θέλειν ὑπομένειν ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ συμφορὰς μεγάλας καὶ ποικίλας, ἀφροσύνης ἴδιον. Περὶ δὲ τοῦ βιαζομένου σωθῆναι λέγει ὁ Ὑμνογράφος· «Ὅταν πέσῃ, οὐ καταρραχθήσεται, ὅτι Κύριος ἀντιστηρίζει χεῖρα αὐτοῦ.» Τουτέστι κἂν συμ-βῇ που σφαλῆναι τὸν ἀγαθὸν ἄνθρωπον, οὐκ ἀδικηθήσεται θεὸν ἔχων προστάτην καὶ ἀντιλήπτορα.