Письмо 288

In your letter, you preached to have peace in your abode, and not like others... (Luke 18:11). Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty boast in his strength, and let not the rich man boast in his wealth (Jer. 9:23), as St. Scripture; and in whatever he boasts, he will also suffer temptation, as happened to you, and the whole cell was subjected to confusion. Whatever the guilt, rage was the guarantee of your dispensation; then you should not blame yourself, but yourself; after that, resentment also possessed your heart; but, thank God, that he punished and had mercy; and this should serve as a lesson to you in the future, not to be irritated by any fault, neither blessed nor unblessed, and even more so, dare to beat with your hands. The commandment of God does not command this, and the teaching of St. fathers; and from your confessor there were many prohibitions against you; I’m not even saying about myself that I offered you this. From now on, I took even more care about cutting off this passion; It’s better not to let the matter be successful than to darken your soul; remember the words of Scripture: they were troubled and speechless (Ps. 77:5); although you are embarrassed, keep silent, reproaching yourself; and when the anger subsides, then you can speak more clearly. May the Lord forgive you for this crime of yours and give you true humility, abolishing the pride from which you have suffered so much. Mnogohreshny I.M. January 24, 1848. You might be interested in: