Letter 5: A good letter refreshes Evagrius, who asks for Peter and John as figures of virtue and knowledge.

The letter you sent us is remarkable for its goodness. It is filled with good fruit, and I have rightly gathered and harvested from it. Its sweet fragrance refreshed my sense of smell and delighted me, and I became entirely full of joy and gladness. If only someone would give such fathers to console my soul, which sits in darkness and in the shadows of repentance. We should remember the written proverb: as cold water is to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country. What can we prepare in return? We have nothing, because we are poor and needy, in need of God's grace and very unable to receive our guests richly with the food of spiritual words. I admit, and do not deny, that there was a time when I too had a little field and a vineyard. But locusts devoured the field, and a boar from the wood ruined my vineyard, and wild donkeys grazed it bare. Now I sit at the door of virtue, my hand stretched out, if only it were stretched out well, asking righteousness from those who enter the sanctuary. Help me by your prayer. Plead on my behalf, so that Peter and John may be sent to me: Peter to strengthen the foundations of virtue by his virtues, and John to fasten the hinges of knowledge by his divine words. Then I too, leaping through allegorical knowledge, may enter the sanctuary of knowledge and astonish the Judeans.

Greek retroversion from Syriac transmission (Frankenberg 1912, TAN/TEI CC BY 4.0): πανυ διαφερει τηι αυτης αγαθοτητι η επιστολη ην ημιν επεστειλας και αγαθων γεμει καρπων ους δεδικαιωμαι τρυγων τε και θεριζων απ' αυτης και δια της ηδειας οσμης αυτων την οσφρησιν μου ανεψυξαν και ηυφραινον και γεγονα ολος εν τε χαραι και ευφροσυνηι· ειθε γαρ τις δοιη τοιουτους πατερας παρακαλεσαι την ψυχην μου εν σχοτωι καθημενην και εν σχιαις της μετανοιας! και προσηκει ημας μνημονευειν την παροιμιαν την γεγραμμενην ωσπερ υδωρ ψυχρον ψυχηι διψωσηι ουτως αγγελια αγαθη εκ γης μακροθεν . ημεις δε τι ετοιμαζωμεν αντι τουτων ουκ εχομεν οτι πτωχοι και πενητες εσμεν, κρηιζοντες της θεου χαριτος και πολυ αδυναμουμενοι δεχεσθαι πλουσιως τους ξενους ημων τροφηι λογων πνευματικων· οτι δε και εγω ην οτε ειχον αγριδιον και αμπελωνα ομολογω τε και ουχ αρνουμαι· κατησθιον δε το αγριδιον ακριδες και τον αμπελωνα μου διεφθειρε συς εκ δρυμου και ονοι αγριοι κατενεμησαντο αυτον. και ιδου καθημαι προς την της αρετης θυραι και η κειρ μου εκτεινομενη — ωφελε δε καλως εκτεινομενη ην — του αιτησαι δικαιοσυνην παρα των το ιερον εισιοντων. αντιλαβου μου δη τηι προσευχηι και αντ' εμου ικετευε ινα μοι πετρος και ιωαννης πεμφθωσι και πετρος μεν δια των αρετων αυτου ιωαννης δε δια των θειων αυτου λογων στερεωσιν τας της αρετης βασεις και τα σφυδρα της γνωσεως ωστε καμε εξαλλομενον δια γνωσεως αλληγορικης εισιεναι τε εις το ιερον της γνωσεως και τους ιουδαιους εκκαταπληξαι 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.