Psellos replied to a letter of Pentaktenos on the workings of providence, adding that, though the time of God's gifts was set, the manner depended on men. Pentaktenos' fortunes varied, and one day relations with emperor and patriarch would improve. In another letter, he praised his retreat to a monastery and devotion to the good. He should cling to the calm which prepared men for God, and pray that Psellos might be freed from the world's confusion to join him