Letter 9: Evagrius cannot shepherd his own soul and asks to be rescued by Christ the shepherd.

I know that you are shepherd of many sheep and that you have found a godly pasture to tend in Bethlehem, guiding a few with the rod but most with the pipe. I, miserable as I am, cannot tend even one sheep, and I am unwilling to snatch it from the mouths of wolves. So now it has been bitterly wounded all over by anger or sorrow; at one time pride, at another vainglory, tears it apart. I urge Your Holiness, therefore, to intercede for me with Jesus the shepherd, so that he may rescue us from the wild beasts, bring me into the number of his own flock, give us the pasture of virtue, and water us with the water of his knowledge.

Greek retroversion from Syriac transmission (Frankenberg 1912, TAN/TEI CC BY 4.0): γιγνωσκω σε οτι πολλων προβατων ει ποιμην και ευρηκας βοσκημα θεοσεβες ποιμαινειν εν βηθλεεμ ολιγον αυτων δια ραβδου το δε πολυ δια συριγμου. εγω δε ο αθλιος εν προβατον ποιμαινειν αδυνατω και απο στοματος λυκων αρπαξειν ου θελω. δια τουτο ιδου πεπληκται ολον πικρως υπο θυμον η υπο λυπης και τοτε μεν υπερηφανια (E) τοτε δε κενοδοξια αυτο διασπαι (?)· αναπειθω τοινυν την οσιοτητα οου εντυγχανε υπερ εμου τωι ποιμενι Ι. ινα λυτρωσηι ημας απο των αγριων θηριων και με εις αριθμον της αυτου ποιμνης εισαγηι και ημιν νομην αρετης δωι τε και υδωρ της γνωσεως αυτου ημας ποτισηι 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.