Letter 10: Brothers visit the desert, but Evagrius can offer only dry bread and hope for true knowledge.

We rejoiced greatly at the sight of our brothers in the desert, where such reliable encounters are not easily found. What should we have done when we saw them? We did not slaughter a calf for them, because even now we are yoked under vice. Nor did we bake for them the unleavened loaves of the soul's good condition and of the righteousness of love, because even now we have not acquired the state of the pure. Instead, we set before them dry bread, a sign of the dryness of our mind, which has not yet put forth either the grass of simplicity, the fig tree of sweetness, or the fattening olive. As for a vineyard or a vine, we cannot even dare to think of one, because we are so far from the condition of true contemplation. We believe only in Christ, with your fatherhood helping me in prayer, so that from now on we may sow the seed of righteousness in hope of harvesting ears of true knowledge.

Greek retroversion from Syriac transmission (Frankenberg 1912, TAN/TEI CC BY 4.0): σφοδρως εχαρημεν επ' οψει των αδελφων ημων τηι εν ερημωι ου τοιαυται συντυχιαι ου ταχεως ευρισκονται· και τι εδει ποιειν ημας ιδοντας αυτους; ουκ εθυσαμεν αυτοις μοσχον ως εως αρτι εν ζυγωι της πονηριας εζευγμενοι, ουδε της τε ευεξιας της ψυχης και της δικαιοσυνης της αγαπης αζυμα αυτοις επεψαμεν οτι εως αρτι την των καθαρων καταστασιν ου κεκτημεθα· προεθεμεν δε αυτοις αρτον ξηρον σημειον της του νοος ημων ξηροτητος ουδεπωποτε βλαστησαντος ου χορτον απλοτητος ουδε συκην ηδυτητος ουδε ελαιον πιαινοντα. επι γαρ αμπελωνι η επ' αμπελωι ουδε εν φρονημαατι θαρρειν εχομεν οτι ουτως μακραν εσμεν απο της του ορατικου καταστασεως· μονον πιστευομεν εν Χ. της πατροτητος σου εν προσευχηι μου αντιλωμβανουσης οτι απο τουδε σπερμα της δικαιοσυνης σπερουμεν επ' ελπιδι του της αληθινης γνωσεως σταχυας θερισειν 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.