Letter 599

To Falco the Curator. [kourator = curator, a Roman administrative officer] If the devil transforms himself into an angel of light [cf. 2 Corinthians 11:14] for the deception and destruction of those who are deceived, you are not surprised to hear that these [demons] have often clothed themselves in the shapes of wild beasts, and of cattle, and of birds.

Εἰ εἰς ἄγγελον φωτὸς ὁ διάβολος μετασχηματίζεται πρὸς ἀπάτην, καὶ ὄλεθρον τῶν ἐξαπατωμένων, οὐ θαυμάζεις ἀκούσας τούτων πολλάκις θηρίων, καὶ κτηνῶν, καὶ ὀρνέων μορφὰς ἡμφιεσμένων.