Letter 619

To Martinus the Cancellarius [a court official / clerk of the chancery]. The phrase "behind me" signifies the time to come, as when Scripture says, "Who shall tell a man what shall be after him?" [Ecclesiastes 6:12] - that is, afterward. And Saul says to David, "Swear to me that you will not [...]" [the text here is damaged; the citation is of 1 Samuel 24:21, where Saul makes David swear not to cut off his seed after him] [...] provoking the Lord to anger. Therefore you too will not escape the judgment, but will fall beneath it, even if you have supposed you could slip away, even if you suspect that God does not look upon your unholy deeds, and treat them as of no account. For even if you think you have conquered the Overseer of all things, you will nonetheless be utterly defeated, and at your departure [your death] you will meet with an incurable fall.

Τὸ ὀπίσω μου, τὸν μέλλοντα χρόνον δηλοῖ, ὡς ὅταν φησὶν ἡ Γραφή· « Τὶς ἀπαγγελεῖ τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ, τί ἄρα ἔσται ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ; » τουτέστι μετέπειτα. Καὶ ὁ Σαοὺλ λέγει τῷ Δαυΐδ· « Ὁμοσόν μοι, ὅτι οὐ σεσθαι, παροργίζων Κύριον. Οὐκοῦν καὶ αὐτὸς οὐκ ἐκφεύξῃ τὴν δίκην, ἀλλὰ πέσῃ ὑπ᾽ αὐτήν, κἂν ἠγ- νενόμηκας διαδιδράσκειν, κἂν ὑπονοήσῃς μὴ ἐφορᾷν τὸν Θεὸν τὰς σὰς ἀνοσιουργίας, καὶ ἀθέτας. Κἂν γὰρ νομίζῃς νικῆσαι τὸν ἔφορον τῶν ὅλων, ἀλλ᾽ ἡττήθη- σῃ πάντως, καὶ πτώσει προσομιλήσεις ἀνιάτῃ περὶ τὴν ἔξοδόν σου.