Caesarius, man of God, this short work offers you these thoughts about perfection in the life of virtue. I have drawn the life of the great Moses as a model of beauty, so that each of us may imitate his way of life and reproduce that beauty in ourselves. What more reliable witness could we have that Moses reached the perfection possible for a human being than the divine voice itself, which says to him, “I have known you beyond all others”? God Himself also called Moses His friend. And when God was angry with Israel, Moses preferred to perish with the whole people unless God showed them mercy for their sins. God turned aside His own judgment against the Israelites so as not to grieve His friend. All these things clearly testify that Moses’ life rose to the highest limit of perfection.
Our question was what perfection in the life of virtue is, and what has been said has shown us the answer. It is now time for you, my good friend, to look to this example. Take what the higher interpretation has shown in the historical account and apply it to your own life, so that God may know you and you may become His friend. True perfection is not leaving a life of evil like a slave because you fear punishment. Nor is it doing what is good because you hope for payment, turning the life of virtue into a kind of business transaction. Instead, look beyond even the rewards laid up in the promises. Regard only one thing as fearful: falling away from friendship with God. And regard only one thing as precious and worth loving: becoming God’s friend. This, in my account, is the perfection of life.
Whatever you discover as your mind rises toward what is greater and more divine—and I know you will discover many things—will surely benefit us all, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and power forever. Amen.