Слово 9. О чине и уставе новоначальных и о том, что прилично им

This is a chaste and kind rite to God - not to turn your eyes here and there, but always look forward; do not idle talk, but speak only what is necessary; to be content with wretched clothes to satisfy bodily needs; use foods that support the body, and not for gluttony: eat a little of everything, do not despise one, and choose another, and willingly fill the belly with this one, and discard the rest 91. Above all virtue is prudence. Do not drink wine when you have no friends with you or do not have illness or loss of strength. Do not interrupt your speech when another is speaking; and do not answer like an ignoramus, but be firm 92 like a wise man. And wherever you are, consider yourself the least of all and a servant of your brethren. Do not expose any of your members to anyone; do not approach anyone's body without necessary reason. Do not allow anyone to approach your body without an important, as stated, reason. Avoid insolence in speech as if it were death. And acquire a chaste rite for your sleep, so that the power that protects you does not depart from you 93. Wherever you sleep, let no one, if possible, see you. Don't drool in front of anyone. If, while you are sitting at dinner, a cough comes over you, turn your face back and cough. Eat and drink chastely, as becomes the children of God. Do not stretch out your hand to shamelessly take anything that is offered to your friends. And if a stranger is sitting with you, invite him to eat once or twice, and offer the meal in an orderly manner, and not in a disorderly manner. Sit decorously and modestly, without exposing any of your members. When you yawn, close your mouth so that others do not see; for if you hold your breath, the yawning will pass. If you enter the cell of a superior, or a friend, or a student, guard your eyes so that they do not see what is there. If a thought compels you to do so, be attentive to yourself, do not listen to it, and do not do it. For whoever is shameless in this is a stranger to the monastic image and to Christ himself, who gave us this image. Do not look at the places where the utensils are hidden in your friend’s cell. Quietly open and close the door for yourself and your friend. Do not enter anyone suddenly, but knock on the outside and ask permission, then enter reverently. Do not be hasty in your gait without a necessary need forcing you to hurry. Be obedient to everyone in every good deed, just do not follow the covetous, or lovers of money, or lovers of peace, lest your obedience turn out to be the work of the devil. Talk to everyone meekly, look at everyone chastely, do not satiate your eyes with anyone’s face. When walking along the road, do not get ahead of your elders. And if your friend falls behind, move a little forward, wait for him. Whoever does not do this is foolish and is like a pig who has no law. If your friend starts talking to someone you meet, wait for him and don’t rush him. Let the healthy person tell the sick person in advance: we will do what is needed. Do not convict anyone of any wrongdoing, but consider yourself responsible in everything and guilty of sins. Do not refuse or shirk any low deed with humility. If you are forced to laugh, do not show your teeth. If you are forced to talk to women, turn your face away from their sight and talk to them like that. And from nuns, from meeting and talking with them and from seeing them, move away as from fire and as from the snare of the devil, so as not to cool your love for God in your heart and not to defile your heart with the mud of passions. If they are your sisters according to the flesh, beware of them as if you were strangers. Beware of getting close to your own, so that your heart does not grow cold in the love of God. Flee free treatment and interviews with young people, like friendship with the devil. Have one interlocutor and companion - the one who fears God and is always attentive to himself, poor in his church, but rich in the mysteries of God. Conceal your secrets, deeds and battles from everyone. Do not sit with your head open in front of anyone, except in extreme need. With chastity, proceed to fulfill the necessary need, as if ashamed of the Angel protecting you, and do the work with the fear of God, and force yourself until death, even if it is unpleasant to your heart. It is better for you to take deadly poison than to eat with a woman, even if it is your mother or sister. It is better for you to live with the serpent than to sleep and lie under the same cover with the young one, although it will be your brother in the flesh. If you are walking along the road and one of the elders tells you: “Go, we will sing,” listen to him. And if he does not say this, be silent with your tongue, but glorify God with your heart. Do not resist anyone in anything, do not quarrel with anyone, do not lie, do not swear in the name of the Lord your God. If you are neglected, do not neglect yourself. If you are offended, do not offend yourself. It is better to let the physical perish along with the body, as long as nothing spiritual suffers harm. Do not go into court with anyone, but be patient with someone who has been unjustly convicted. Do not love with your soul anything worldly, but submit to the abbots and rulers; and refrain from close relations with them, because it is a snare that ensnares the careless to destruction. It is better for you, glutton, trying to please your belly, to cast a fiery coal into your womb than the baked goods of rulers and rulers. Shower mercy to everyone and be humbled by everyone. Keep yourself from talking too much, for it quenches in the heart the mental movements that come from God. Like a lion rushing at everyone, avoid discussions about dogmas: for this purpose, do not meet with either the pets of the Church or with strangers. Do not pass through the crowds of angry or quarrelsome people, lest your heart be filled with irritability and the darkness of delusion prevail over your soul. Do not live with someone who is proud, lest the effectiveness of the Holy Spirit be taken away from your soul, and lest it become the dwelling place of every evil passion. If you, man, observe these precautions and always engage in the thought of God, then your soul will truly see the light of Christ in itself and will not be darkened forever. Glory and power to Christ forever! Amen. The words “to sweep aside the rest” are added from the ancient Slavic translation. You might be interested in: