Psellos wrote to Leon Paraspondylos, promising that it was now time to help him. Leon still suffered from the storm, his mind, marked by it, struggling to escape the body. Psellos had postponed help, by good medical practice, to ensure Leon was ready, but would now apply a cure, paying the large debt he owed. Leon had responded well to his previous letter, accepting sufferings philosophically, rising heavenwards, but thinking of the descent. Psellos, widely suspected of flattery in Leon's case, now opened his heart to show no trace of insincerity. In another letter Psellos said that he was now convinced of Leon's great asceticism and philosophical superiority, with total contempt for this world reflected in his soul, allowing Psellos to believe in the great ascetics of the past.