Letter 296

296. To Eleuthera

Reckoning your disposition toward us, and recognizing the zeal you have for the work of the Lord, we took courage as with a daughter the other day, and used the mules at greater length; and though we used them sparingly, as being our own, we yet prolonged their service. These things, then, had to be written to your dignity, that you may know that what was done is a proof of our trust.

At the same time we also remind your good order through this letter to remember the Lord, and, keeping ever before your eyes the departure from this world, to order your life with a view to your defence before the Judge who cannot be deceived, that you may have boldness in your good works before Him who is to reveal the hidden things of our hearts on the day of His visitation.

Your most noble daughter we greet through you; and I urge that she pass her time in the study of the oracles of the Lord, so that her soul may be nourished by good teaching, and her mind may advance toward growth and greatness even more than her body does by nature.