Letter to His Daughter Abra

Hilarius is away in order to obtain a garment and a precious pearl for his daughter.—It was reported to me, therefore, that there is a certain young man possessing a pearl and a garment of inestimable price: which, if anyone could merit it from him, he would become both rich and saved, beyond all human riches and health. Upon hearing this I set out to find him: and when I had come to him by many long and difficult roads, upon seeing him I immediately fell prostrate. For so beautiful a young man is present that no one dares to stand before his sight. When he saw that I had fallen prostrate, he commanded that I be asked what I wished and what I sought: and I answered that I had heard of his garment and his pearl, and had come on that account; and that if he should deign to bestow it upon me, I had a daughter whom I loved most ardently, for whom I was seeking this garment and pearl.

And meanwhile, lying prostrate on my face, I weep greatly, and groaning night and day, I beg that he might deign to hear my prayer.

How greatly this garment and pearl are to be esteemed.—After these things, because the young man is good and nothing is better than he, he said to me, Do you know this garment and this pearl, which with tears you beg me to grant to your daughter? And I answered him, Lord, I have come to know of them by hearing, and I have believed by faith: and I know that they are most excellent, and that it is true salvation to wear this garment and to be adorned with this pearl. And immediately he commanded his servants to show me both this garment and the pearl: and straightway it was done. And first I saw the garment: I saw, daughter, I saw what I cannot express in words. Was not silk, compared to its fineness, mere rope? Were not snows, compared to its whiteness, turned black? Was not gold, compared to its brightness, made livid? For it is itself of many colours, and nothing whatsoever placed beside it could be equal to it.

After this I saw the pearl: upon seeing which I immediately fell down. For my eyes could not endure so great a brilliance of colour. For neither the appearance of the sky, nor of light, nor of the sea, nor of the earth could be compared to its beauty.

The benefits and endowments of each.—And while I lay prostrate, one of those standing by said to me, I see that you are a solicitous and good father, and that you desire this garment and this pearl for your daughter: but that you may desire them more, I will show you what further good this garment and this pearl possess. This garment is never eaten by moths, is not worn away by use, is not stained by filth, is not torn by force, is not lost by misfortune: but it remains always such as it is. The virtue of the pearl, moreover, is this: that if anyone shall have put it on, he shall not fall sick, shall not grow old, shall not die. It has in itself absolutely nothing that is harmful to the body: but to one who uses it nothing happens that either brings death, or changes one's age, or hinders one's health.

When I heard this, daughter, I began to be more than ever undone with longing for that pearl and garment: and as I lay prostrate, I began to beseech the young man with unceasing weeping and earnest prayer, saying: Holy Lord, have mercy on my prayer, and have mercy on my anxiety and my life. For if you do not grant me this garment and pearl, I shall be wretched, and shall lose my daughter while she yet lives: I am willing to go on pilgrimage for the sake of this garment and pearl. You know, Lord, that I do not lie to you.

These things are promised to Hilarius's daughter, provided she cast aside vain ornaments.—After he heard my voice, he bids me rise; and says to me, Your prayers and tears have moved me, and it is well that you have believed this. And because you have said that you are willing to spend your very life for this pearl, I cannot deny it to you: but you must know my purpose and my will. The garment which I shall give is of such a nature that if anyone should wish to wear another garment, coloured and silken and gilded, she cannot receive my garment. But I will give it to her who is content to be clothed not in a silken habit, but in natural colours and inexpensive weaving: so that by way of custom the garment may have a very narrow border of purple: nor even shall that purple be spread broadly over the garment.

The pearl, moreover, which you seek from me, is of such a nature that no one can possess it who has possessed another pearl: because other pearls are either from the earth or from the sea; but mine, as you yourself see, is beautiful and precious, incomparable and heavenly, and does not deign to be where others are. For my things are not compatible with the things of man: because whoever wears my garment and pearl is healthy for eternity; is not inflamed by fever, is not exposed to wounds, is not changed by years, is not dissolved by death; for he is always equal and eternal. I will, however, give this garment and this pearl of mine to you who seek it, so that you may bring it to your daughter. But first you must know what your daughter wishes.

If she make herself worthy of this garment and pearl of mine, that is, if she shall have been unwilling to possess silken and gilded and dyed garments, if she shall have hated every other pearl; then I will bestow upon you what you ask of me.

He exhorts his daughter to use modest garments.—After these words, daughter, I rise up joyful, and holding this secret, I have composed this letter to you: beseeching you through my many tears that you reserve yourself for this garment and pearl, and that you do not make a wretched old man suffer such loss through you if you shall not have had this garment and this pearl. I call to witness before you, daughter, the God of heaven and earth, that nothing is more precious than this garment and this pearl; and it is within your power to have them. Only, whenever another garment is brought to you, whether silken, or dyed, or gilded, say to the one who offers it to you: I await another garment, for the sake of which my father has been away from me on pilgrimage so long, which he seeks for me, which I cannot have if I have had this one.

The wool of my own sheep suffices me, the colour which nature has brought suffices me, inexpensive weaving suffices me: for the rest, I desire that garment which is said never to be consumed, never to be worn away, never to be torn. But if truly a pearl be offered to you, either to be hung about the neck or fitted to the finger, you will say thus: Let not these useless and base pearls be a hindrance to me: but I await that most precious, most beautiful, and most useful one. I believe my father, because he too believed him who pledged it to him, for whose sake he signified to me that he is willing even to die: this one I await, this one I desire, which will bestow upon me health and eternity.

He awaits a reply from his daughter. A morning and evening hymn. The mother of Abra.—Therefore, daughter, relieve my anxiety, and read this letter of mine always, and reserve yourself for this garment and pearl. And you yourself, asking no one, write back to me by whatever letters you can, whether you reserve yourself for this garment and pearl, so that I may know what to answer that young man: and so that if you desire it, if you await it, I may be able to think joyfully of returning to you. But when you have written back to me, then I too will tell you who this young man is, and what he is like, and what he wishes, and what he promises, and what he is able to do. In the meantime I have sent you a morning and evening hymn, so that you may always be mindful of me.

But if by reason of your age you have understood the hymn and the letter less fully, ask your mother, who desires that she had borne you for God by her own ways of life. May God who begot you, may he also guard you for eternity, I pray, most beloved daughter.