Ten chapters about fishing

“Ten Chapters on Providence” were spoken by Bl. Theodoret of Cyrus, probably in Antioch in 433-437. At that time, the attacks of pagans and heretics against the Providence of God caused hesitation among the members of the Church. Blzh. Theodoret provides evidence of Divine Providence about His creation based on consideration of the cosmos, the visible world and man (Words 1-5), as well as on the basis of the structure of human society and morality (Words 6-10). The existence of the world, which has a changeable and perishable essence, is impossible without the support of the Word that created it. The incarnation of God the Word is the highest point and focus of God’s Providence: “So the Lord Christ, having crushed death and arranged our salvation, ascended to heaven and left the hope of this ascension to the disciples of piety. For he says: “When I am exalted, I will draw everyone to Me.” Such is the care of all God for people. The Creator of the ungrateful creature provided such care. Such is the concern of the Prototype for His own image” (Word 10). *The title of the work in Latin is De Providentia orationes X. Contents Word 1. Proof of Providence, borrowed from the consideration of the sky, the moon and the host of stars Word 2. Proof, borrowed from consideration of the air, earth, sea, rivers and springs Word 3. Proof of Providence, borrowed from the structure of the human body Word 4. Proof of Providence, borrowed from the structure of human hands and the arts invented by man Word 5. Proof of Providence, borrowed from the subjection of dumb animals to man Word 6. That wealth and poverty are useful for this life Word 7. That slavery and dominion are useful for this life Word 8. That there is no harm in serving evil masters Word 9. That the work of righteousness is not fruitless, although it is not visible in this life, and about the resurrection, proven by the conclusions of natural reason Word 10. That God from ancient times was the Trustee not only of the Jews, but also of all people, and about the incarnation of the Savior Word 1. Proof of Providence, borrowed from consideration of the sky, moon and host of stars By nature itself, the law is embedded in people, so that children stand up for offended fathers and servants for masters, and citizens also expose themselves to danger for cities overcome by enemies, in a word, so that those who have benefited, to the best of their ability, repay their debt to their benefactors. We see that the king, who governs his subjects, rules straightforwardly and fairly, and dissolves power with meekness, and his shield-bearers and spear-bearers diligently defend him in war. And let no one make an unfounded objection to me, let no one convict my words of lies, presenting them as parricides, worthless people, traitors, tormentors. We are talking about those who keep the law; we are accustomed to calling those ungrateful and criminals; and they will receive a fitting punishment for their misdeeds. If nature itself legitimizes the exposure of children to danger for fathers, servants for masters, citizens for cities, armour-bearers for kings; all the more holy and just for us, who were created and saved by God, not only to fight for God in words, but even to accept the most painful death; because God and the fathers are closer to us (by His mercy they are also called fathers); and dominion belongs to Him in a sense more personal than to the masters (His dominion over slaves is by nature, and not by some unfortunate accident); and He is more reliable than any wall (a wall, be it adamantine, is the work of human hands, and if it resists battering guns, it will not escape the hands of time, but God is endless and eternal, all-sufficient for all protection and fencing); and He is so much more royal than kings, inasmuch as the eternally existing, compared with the created and corruptible, shows in itself immeasurable superiority (God always exists, and His power is inseparable from being itself, and the king borrows from Him both being and power; and His power is not for long, and over a few, and not over all who partake of the same nature). So, since God is closer to us than the fathers, and more lordly than the lords, and more providential than any benefactor, and more reliable than any wall, and immeasurably more royal than all the kings, then justice demands that we, who have received existence from Him and partaken of goodness, should take up arms against the lips that dare to blaspheme Him, and with the word of piety strike the word of wickedness; not with the thought that we will thereby provide our help to those who need it (the Creator of all does not need anything, does not require help from meager lips, but praises His lips that sing songs, rewards lips that strive for Him, crowns lips that denounce lies); but with the thought that we will thereby express our devotion to Him, and if we are able, we will overthrow the insolence of slaves like us, and if we are not able, then at least we will expose it and make it obvious to those who do not know. The hordes of those who indulge in wickedness are numerous and varied, and the arrows of blasphemy are varied; because lies are many-fold and varied, but the beauty of truth is simple. So the crowd of Piites, dividing the Divine in concept into many, dissolving the lie with pleasant fables and, as if preparing a certain solution, intoxicated people with the charm of polytheism. The other crowd, limiting wisdom to a white cloak, a long beard and uncut hair on the head, and seeing how ridiculous the theology of the Piites was, invented other paths of error leading into the same abyss as the Piites; because some of the shameful legends of the Piites about the gods were covered with elegance of words and subtlety of thoughts, while others gave divine names to passions: pleasure was called Aphrodite, irritability - Ares, intoxication - Dionysus, crime - Hermes, prudence - Athena, and all this, conveying all this with an arrogant brow and with Attic sweetness, many people were brought into another kind of deception. Those who promised to be philosophical, who by their appearance acquired common respect for themselves among all, who demanded dominion over the passions, forced and convinced people to worship the passions, so that the curber of passions, the autocratic mind, began to make senseless sacrifices to lust, irritability, theft, drunkenness and other passions. And still others, being unable to imagine in thought anything other than what is visible, but confining their minds in only the sensory, called gods what is subject to the sight of the eyes; and the venerable name, which awes those who hear it, was given by some to the elements, and by others to their parts. Some argued that the world happened spontaneously, while others imagined many worlds instead of one world. Some said that there is no Deity at all, others that, although it exists, it has no care for anything that exists, others that, although it has care, it is very small, and providence is limited to the moon, while the rest of the world is drawn by unknown things, forced to submit to a necessary fate. Even among those who bear the name of Christians, others directly rebel against the dogmas of truth. For some cut the unborn into three parts, and call one good, the other evil, the third righteousness; others depict in words two unborn principles, directly opposite to one another; others give their word to resist these evil teachings and invent a new path of evil. For the Only Begotten Word of God, confessing to be the Son, is numbered among the creatures as a creature, and the Creator is placed along with the creation, and the Holy Spirit is excluded from the nature of God by their evil words. And others, having lost the straight path and not wanting to follow in the footsteps of their predecessors, moved away from the truth in a different way. Some completely denied the dispensation that had been accomplished for us; others confess that God the Word, although He became man, took upon Himself one body. Others call the perceived flesh animate, but deny that there is a verbal and rational soul in it, perhaps accepting their own unreason as proof of this; whereas we do not know any other soul in man except the rational and immortal one. But this time we leave everyone else; because the word, as happens during battle, cannot suddenly throw arrows of reproof at everyone. Therefore, let all other hordes of the wicked remain in peace; Having brought out on Wednesday one regiment of those attacking the Providence of God, we will strike it with accusations, we will try to bring it into disorder, break through its dense ranks, lead away captives from it “and take captive every mind into the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5). Let the rest of the congregation of the wicked remain among the spectators and watch this struggle. For, probably, each of these rows will not require special competition with it; but having seen the defeat of some and realizing the power of truth, others will go over to the side of truth. Or maybe this word, moving at a slow pace, will touch those who are now listening and who will subsequently read. Therefore, having put on the whole armor of the Spirit, “the breastplate of righteousness, and having put on the boots for the preparation of the gospel of peace, I have taken on the shield of faith over all... and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Eph. 6:14-17), let us enter into the struggle, and let the divine trumpet sound to strengthen our weakness. We, standing at the very fence, will ask our opponents why they will contradict the teaching about Providence, and moreover, when they themselves say that they have a Creator, because now our word will come to them. For what reason are you plunging into this wickedness? What do you see that seems unsightly? What created things do you see as disordered? What part of creation lacks harmony? What lacks beauty or greatness? What part of the creation, by its disproportionate movement, gave rise to this wickedness in you? Now, at least, if you didn’t want to before, consider nature, position, order, condition, movement, proportionality, harmony, grace, beauty, size, benefit, pleasantness, variety, change, then return to its previous form and every kind of constancy that is possible only in the perishable. See how God's Providence from every part of creation itself comes to you, makes itself visible, broadcasts and almost cries out to you with reality itself, and stops your impudent lips, and bridles your unbridled tongue. Look, it is visible in the sky and in the celestial bodies, i.e. in the sun, moon and stars; visible in the air, in the clouds and on land and sea - in everything on earth; visible in plants, grains and seeds; visible in verbal and nonverbal animals, walking, flying and swimming, reptiles, aquatic animals, meek and fierce, tame and indomitable. Judge with yourself: who supports the vaults of heaven? How the sky remained unchanged for so many thousands of years and time did not make any changes in it, although by nature the sky is adaptable, as blessed David teaches. “They will perish,” he says about the heavens, “but you remain: and all the garments they wear, and all the garments they wear, will be changed. You are the same, and Your years will not fail” (Ps. 101:27-28). However, having a changeable and perishable essence, it remained in the same state, supported by the word of the Creator; because the Word that created it preserves and supports it and, as long as this Word pleases, gives it constancy and strength. That is why fire rushes across the sky (I mean the sun, the moon and other luminaries), but during so many annual rotations it does not melt, does not dry out, does not burn, although the fiery nature has received from the Creator the power to produce all this, because gold, silver, copper, lead, tin, wax, resin and all this like fire melts and destroys, transforms into nature flowing, and the mud and water-filled swamps, having depleted their moisture, dries, boils the stones, takes away their hardness, and turns the densest nature into dust; finally, it instantly burns trees, grass, and straw. But the sky does not undergo anything like this, because all this abundance of fire does not melt its crystalline composition, does not spoil its smoothness, does not make depressions on the spherical surface; On the contrary, the state it is brought into at the beginning remains the same until the end. “He who made the sky like a tent, He who stretched it out like a tabernacle to dwell in” (Is. 40:22), brought opposing natures into fellowship. And the fiery nature is not extinguished by a multitude of waters, the crystalline, or airy, or cloudy composition of the sky does not melt and is not damaged by an excessive abundance of fire, but fire and water, remaining in proximity to each other, hide hostile forces and, having submitted to the Word of the Creator, have forever concluded friendship with each other; and although they are not animated, do not have a ruler of the mind, they nevertheless invariably retain the original charter. For the Creator rules the creation; being Himself both a shipbuilder and a producer of matter, He does not leave the boat He built without control; at the same time, He created the substance and built the boat, and does not cease to rule the helm. This is evidenced by the circle of so many years and the longest time, which did not damage the boat, but presented it intact and inviolable not only to the first, but also to the later generations. And now, when you have seen, friend, God’s Providence manifested in the sky, we will lead you to an overview of the other parts of creation and, like children just beginning to walk, taking you by the hand, we will make you gradually walk around the entire creation. Therefore, descend from the sky, as if on the first certain step - to the sun; Do not be afraid of being caught, but go up and inspect; it will not burn you, filled with gratitude to the Creator, but will show you the Creator, who commands him to use the power of nature for the opposite effect. Fire, by nature, usually tends upward, just as water flows downhill. It is impossible, just as it is possible to bring water from under a mountain to the top of a mountain, so it is impossible to force fire to turn its flame down; but if someone, holding a candle or torch, makes an effort to turn his hand down a thousand times, the flame will again rise up and rush to the hand holding the candle, and will not change the desire that he received at the beginning, but will remain faithful to the rules of nature. Everything is not difficult for the Creator. What is not obedient to your hand is obedient to the beckons of the Creator. And we can see that the sun, the moon and the host of stars turn their ridges towards the sky, and emit their rays downward, because they serve the Creator and the statute of the Creator is nature for them. The nature of fire does not submit to you and does not abandon its characteristic activities, because it serves you; obeying the becks of the Creator, it changes, and the nature that strives upward becomes directed downward. Likewise, the watery nature, fluid and without density, is raised and lifted up by the Creator and, drawing from below, places it in the midst of heaven and earth, not propped up, but lifted and supported by a single word. But for now, refrain from the desire to hear anything about the clouds and from the desire to go forward without having yet learned to walk: gradually, bypassing the creation, study the path of piety. But here too, see God’s Providence, which watches over the sun, moon and other luminaries and, as if with a voice, commands them to illuminate people, and not just illuminate, but together serve to divide time; because the sun, rising, produces day, and setting and, as it were, hiding, gives way to night, the darkness of which the Creator dissolves with the light of the moon and stars. And you can see that, as if brother and sister (I mean day and night), for the needs of people, they borrow time from each other and return it back with gratitude. With the passing of winter and the first rays of spring, when people have more work to do in industry, travel, absences, departures from the piers, when the sea becomes calm and free from the harshness of winter, the earth, decorated with harvests, calls the farmer to diligent work, and the plants invite the gardener to pruning, irrigating and digging with a spade, then the day borrows from the night, increasing time for people activity, but takes it little by little, so that a sudden increase does not cause harm to those using it; because suddenly increased labor is extremely harmful to bodies that have remained inactive for a long time. That is why the day gradually increases. When summer reaches the middle, the loan stops and payment immediately begins; and it is not produced in one day, but also little by little, as was taken, and what was taken is returned. Then in the fall, when the day becomes equal to the night, he is not ashamed to diminish, he does not agree to keep anything that belongs to his sister, who works with him under the same yoke, but until he pays off the entire debt, he does not stop decreasing and providing long-term service to people, because when, due to cold, rain, dirt, they are forced to stay at home, the night is more pleasant for them than the day, and there are those who, when the night becomes so long, do not know full in rest, but indignant when they see the dawn of the morning. So the night, having taken on a debt, does not refuse to lend again. This is how our whole life passes in days and nights, and the night brings people no less benefit than the day. And, firstly, the difference between darkness and light makes light more pleasant and delightful for us. Therefore, morning is more desirable for us than noon. Having been fed up with light during the day, we need the rest of the night. Then, while the night lasts, our satiety passes, and the light again becomes kind to us. So, having been satisfied with labors throughout the day, we calm the tired body at night and, having healed it well with bed, sleep, silence, at dawn, as if renewed, we again devote it to work. The night brings us so many great benefits. As it continues, the mercenary calms down and the servant has rest from his labors. Night and its darkness forces even extremely hardworking people to stop working. She was often respected by those who were fighting: those who were victorious and pursuing their opponents, seeing the approach of night, stopped the pursuit and allowed those fleeing to flee at a lower speed. Night, just as it gathers people into their homes and brings them sweet sleep, so it brings animals out to hunt for prey and gives them the courage to look for food. For this reason, the great David, singing songs to the God of all, cries out: “He created the moon in time: the sun knew its west. Thou hast laid down the darkness, and the night has come, in which all the beasts of the oak forest will pass, roaring and seizing them and seeking food for themselves from God. The sun has risen, and they have gathered together and lie down in their beds. A man will go out to his work and to his work until the evening” (Ps. 103:19-23). Therefore, the night also brings the benefit that it gives rest to people and allows animals to fearlessly obtain food for themselves. But perhaps one of those who deny Providence will say: “Why were animals created? What benefit do they provide to people? But what can be said in this reasoning as proof of Providence will find its place in the word about animals; Until then, let our word take its course. Therefore, I think that what has been said is enough to understand that the need of the night is necessary and extremely useful to people. However, this word will add something else to confirm what was said before. Since we have a mortal nature and the time of our life is limited, we need to study the measures of time. Therefore, night, occupying the middle between two days, serves to measure time. If the light were continuous, then we could not know the annual rotations and study the number of months, but the measure of the entire present age would seem to us to be one day, which, as we believe, will be the expected age for us, because, as we have been taught, this day will be non-evening and completely continuous. And such an age is fitting for those who will be immortal. In the present century, due to the nature of mortal and temporary, those who need in multitudes must know the measures of time, so that, seeing the passage of it, take care of themselves and be ready for migration. Therefore, the night, following the day in succession, becomes the measure of time and, having done this seven times, constitutes a week. We borrow the measure of the month from the moon, because it received its name from it, for the moon is also called the month. The moon, waxing and waning, becoming crescent-shaped, half-humped, double-humped, full and again taking the form of double-humped, and then half-humped and crescent-shaped, fulfills the number of thirty days without several hours. And we know the annual cycle not only by months, but also by days. For at the beginning of spring, the sun, making its way through the very middle of the sky, produces equality between day and night. From here, moving to the more northern parts of the east and rising there, it diminishes the nights and increases the days; imparting more and more warmth to the earth, it brings its fruits to maturity; and having reached the usual limits, it returns from north to south. And again in the fall he establishes the equality of day and night, becomes more southern, returns to the nights what, having borrowed from them, gave to the days; allows the air to thicken, fill with clouds and moisten all solid ground; returning from here to the equinoctial turn, it completes the annual circle. So, since you know the need of the sun and the moon, the equal succession of night and day and the benefit that this brings to people, then pay attention to this most pleasant and useful transition of the annual times. The Creator did not divide the annual circle into two equal parts, he did not only give us summer and winter, and we do not move directly from one extreme to the other; On the contrary, spring and autumn, having taken into account the average dissolution of air, constitute the middle ground between cold and heat. An excessively wet and cold winter is followed not by an excessively dry and hot summer, but by spring, which, having part of the summer warmth and winter cold, produces a wonderful mixture of two extremes and, as if with hands, taking two opposites: the cold of winter and the heat of summer, these completely hostile qualities bring into rapprochement and friendship. Therefore, when passing from winter to summer, we walk without sorrow, because, gradually moving away from the winter cold and approaching the warmth of summer, we do not suffer any harm from the sudden change. This is how we move from summer to winter - through autumn, which does not allow two excessive opposites to suddenly touch us, but dissolves extreme warmth with extreme cold, produces a new mixture and gradually leads us to this extreme. Such is the care of the Creator for us! Thus, through the changes of the annual seasons, we not only do not endure sorrow, but also feel pleasantness. But perhaps some ungrateful person, condemning what is done so well and arranged so wisely and usefully, will say: “Why are there changes of the year? What benefit do these transitions of annual times bring us?” But tell me, wise and strong accuser of Providence, what benefits do we receive not through them? At the beginning of winter, we plunge the seeds into the ground; and He who taught us this art feeds them, watering them from the clouds, for which with one word He lifts up the water of the sea, raises it high, turns its saltiness into sweetness, divides it into drops, and sends it down to the earth, sometimes small, sometimes large, like a downpour, falling drops, as if sifting through these creations of the clouds with a sieve. So the winter season serves to saturate you, the ungrateful one, so that you, the ungrateful one, can prepare the most necessary things for your needs. When spring begins again, farmers: some form old grape vines, others plant new ones and, nurtured by the warmth of the air, they hurry to become fruitful. And when the middle of summer comes and the sun strongly heats the air, the wheat calls the farmer to harvest, the grapes turn black, the olives bend from the weight of the filling fruits, and different kinds of vegetables ripen. The autumn that comes later passes all this completely ripe to the planters, who, having finished collecting the fruits, begin sowing again. Therefore, stop showing your ingratitude, trying to turn the gifts of Providence into blasphemy of Providence and to offend their Giver with these benefits. In everything we have said, recognize God’s Providence, Who disposes and rules you, and prepares for you an abundance of all good things. Pay attention to the nature, position, order of the stars, their diversity, pleasantness, benefit, rotation, rising and setting. The Creator of all things created them not only to illuminate the darkness of the night and, on a moonless night, to provide people with the necessary light, but also to guide the traveler, to show the way to sailors, because, looking at them, sailors walk the untrodden path and, observing their position, guide the boat and reach the desired piers. Since the aquatic nature does not accept any traces from horses, donkeys, mules (mules - Ed.) and pedestrians, nor ruts from chariots, looking at which travelers could undoubtedly make their way, then the Lord of all, as if by some traces on the sea paths, gave the position of the stars to those crossing the vast seas. What indescribable humanity! What unspeakable wisdom! Who will worthily marvel at the goodness, the power of God's Providence, His success in difficulties, the ease of fulfillment of what seems impossible, the greatness and ease of His works? Truly, “Thy mind is amazed at me, strengthened, I will not be able to do it” (Ps. 139:6), I will also exclaim. And if you listen to me, you will proclaim the same thing, glorify the Benefactor to the best of your ability, and, seeing thousands of His benefits, you will not cease to express your gratitude to Him. But so that you, who have just begun to walk, are not brought to fatigue by forcing you to make a long journey, we will stop there for now and leave you to consider God’s Providence, which is revealed in the sky and celestial bodies. For, probably, according to this guide, you yourself will continue to consider and what the word did not touch upon for the sake of brevity, you will find from what has been said and exclaim with the Prophet: “How magnified are Your works, O Lord: with wisdom You have created all things!” (Ps. 103:24). Glory and honor and worship to you forever! Amen. Word 2. Evidence taken from the consideration of air, earth, sea, rivers and sources Those who do not believe that there are reins of Providence, and who extremely recklessly claim that this world - heaven and earth - moves with such harmony and in such order without a Reind Holder, it seems to me, are like a man who sits on a ship and sails across the sea. He sees how the helmsman, holding the helm, turns the rudder where necessary: ​​either tilts it to the right, then turns it to the left - and directs the boat to the pier he desires. But, asserting an obvious lie and openly arguing against the truth, he will deny that there is a helmsman on the ship, that the boat has a rudder, that it is guided by the movement of the helm. It does not rush by itself, overcomes the impulse of the waves, overcomes the attack of the winds, having no need either for the help of sailors or for a helmsman who would give orders to the rowers for the common benefit of all. For they, too, clearly and with all evidence, see that the common Master of all rules the creation He has created, leads and moves everything in order and in order, they see proper harmony in everything that happens, together beauty and benefit in each creation, and the combined manifestation of both in each part of the creation, and they arbitrarily become blind, or better yet, looking at this, they indulge in shamelessness, accepting the gifts of Providence, They scoff at what they accept and use, and for this very reason they rebel against the Trustee. Therefore, if they wished to listen with gratitude to what we said yesterday about the sky, the sun, the moon and other luminaries, then this would be enough to convince them to be chaste and glorify the Benefactor. But so that any of those who consider the moon to be the limit of Providence, who claim that Providence only extends to it, and who consider it to be very insignificant, do not turn the brevity of the word into a reason for blasphemy, we will again bring you down, my dear, from the sky through the air to the earth and, as on the previous day, leading you again step by step, we will show that even in the smallest parts of creation, for those who want to be attentive, this Providence is visible and open and, in a word, everyone who has accepted created nature, both in general and in particular, always testifies to it. Therefore, going in order, let us examine the nature of air, how subtle and elusive it is, how easily it scatters and needs something to restrain it. Why did the Creator of all things, having created heaven and earth, pour out the air in the middle between them, and with these two bodies built an unshakable wall for it, and made it a contributor to life for the animate bodies that reside between heaven and earth. For we, people, live by breathing it, and among the dumb animals: birds, reptiles, amphibians, they have it as a contributor to life. And the air set in motion gives us the breeze of the winds, while the condensed air sends water from the clouds to the earth. And light, using it instead of a chariot, delights the eyes of those who look. Air, as a mediator between the sun and the earth, moderates the strong effect of the sun's ray and, with its humidity and coldness, weakening its dryness and heat, makes the enjoyment of light painless for us. But lest you regard the air as the culprit of these blessings, know how its immensity is reduced by the warmth of the sun. For no one could bear the coldness of the air not moderated by this warmth; and the winter season is a witness to this, because at this time of year the sun, moving away to the south pole and leaving the northern and middle countries, allows the air to freely use the power of its nature. Why is it no longer depleted by the warmth of the sun, but, condensing, reaches an excess, produces torrential rain, foaming it with the strong attack of the winds, condenses it into snow and hail, and from the clear sky the dripping dew, condensed with a light breeze, turns it into frost with its coldness and throws it to the ground; and it does this, although from afar, but warmed by the sun. But from this one can accurately discern God’s providence. since there are many great benefits from the elements, and beyond the benefits, their beauty and grace are unspeakably great, the All-Wise arranged it in such a way that from them even what appears to us to be sorrowful occurs, to assure us that they are not gods, but creatures of God, so directed and guided as it pleases God. For this reason, air is the companion of our life, by inhaling which we all live, this common treasure of the poor and those puffed up by wealth, servants and masters, commoners and kings, which those who adorn themselves with scarlet inhale no more than the poor, and which is equally given to all human nature, in accordance with the need for it, - this air not only delights us by inhaling it, the blowing of the wind and the supply of rain, but also bothers us with the cold, teaching us that it alone is not enough to revive and serve living beings. Likewise, the sun not only amuses us with its rays and teaches us the difference between visible bodies, their sizes and colors, but also disturbs us with the sultry attack of the same rays. And if the Reinforcer of the universe had not sent us cool breezes, setting the air in motion, this sun, which the foolish worshiped, would have completely burned everything and taken away the life of those who worshiped. Therefore, not one of the elements by itself gives life, and all of them, dissolved together, without a force governing them, are not the cause of any good. And it happens to see that sometimes the air was well-dissolved, rains were sent to the earth on time, the sun did not disturb with its rays, the winds did not disturb the order of the winds, the farmers carefully cultivated the land, putting seeds into it as usual; but the earth did not reward the fruits with gratitude, and the human race did not remain without disease. The Ruler of all things does this, urging us not to place our trust in creation and consider it not the cause of good things, but to believe in the Creator. So, since you have seen that the air uses the providence of God and through it remains sufficient for so many thousands of years, is not consumed by breathing living beings and does not spread outside the bodies that embrace it, let us now lead you to the earth - this common nurse, mother and grave - to the earth from which your body is meager and your lips, according to the vision of Daniel, “speak great words” to the Creator ( Dan.7:8). Therefore, first of all, consider her position and varied appearance. It is not flat and steep everywhere, but it is divided into mountains, hills and valleys. Another sees hills piled high among great valleys, and between the mountains there are sloping and level places, like some kind of sea bays. And the Creator arranged the mountains themselves in accordance with human needs, separating one from the other by deep chasms, opened a passage for winter waters, and created convenient paths for people in places apparently impassable. And just as the mountains provide materials for the art of construction, so the valleys repay the inhabitants of the mountains for this with an abundance of grain. The diversity of the situation not only nourishes people, but also delights their eyes. For monotony, as a rule, soon leads to satiety. Tell me, who decorated all this like this? Who put such strength into all this that the treasure was not exhausted during so many annual cycles? Who keeps everything that exists unshakable? Who speeds up the flow of rivers? Who causes the springs to generate waters? Look how here they gush out on the tops of the mountains and pour their currents from top to bottom, and there, not at the foot of the mountains, they appear, but deliver water to people from deep wells. And lest you think that the watery nature naturally strives upward, the Creator teaches you by reality itself that water, obedient to God’s word and conveniently occupying the tops of the mountains when your art compels it, does not ascend to the surface of the valleys; On the contrary, you dig and deepen wells, and use the water drawn from the depths, because you are the same as the elements, God’s servant, and not their creator. But it is convenient for the Creator to lift the watery nature not only to the top of the mountain, but also into the air. It is convenient for him to sweeten the bitter water, to bind the allowed, to allow the bound, to separate the continuously pouring water, to stop the flowing water, to make it flow upward, usually tending downward, and to warm the cold water without fire. And He does this for you, ungrateful one, so that you can use these warm waters not made by hands and heal bodily ailments with them. And He again diversified this for you in order to adapt to opposing needs, because some waters weaken tense veins, while others tighten and strengthen weakened ones, some counteract phlegm, others – black bile, while others dry up purulent scabs. He who cares for you offers you so much benefit in the warm waters. But nothing convinces you to refrain from blasphemy; On the contrary, you remain ungrateful, slander, suffer from the same illness as the Manichaean, who, eating food and drink, slander, reproaches those who bring it to him - both the reapers and the bakers, curses those who cut the bread in half, does not agree to cut it himself, but eats what is cut. So you, enjoying so many thousands of benefits that the Creator offers you every day in creation, do not thank the Offerer, you slander, blaspheme, claiming that He does not provide for the creatures He created. Look at the injustice of which you accuse Him, erecting such slander. Why did He create if He did not want to take care of what was created? And why doesn’t he have care? Is it because, although he can, he doesn’t want to? Or because, although he wants to, he cannot? But what can be done, all created things testify to this. For how could he produce this greatness, this beauty and harmony of the visible, without having a power commensurate with his will? How would you bring into communication and mutual union things that do not converge: water and fire, day and night - and make one harmonious and harmonious whole out of everything, if you could not provide for a living? For to bring into being from nothing is much more important than to provide for what exists. So, what He can do, the creature is witness to it; and what she wants, she again testifies to. For he who was forced by someone else did not begin to create, and it was not because he had a need for the creature that he produced it. But as a good one, since His goodness surpasses all measure, He wanted to grant existence to non-existents. Will he who has shown so much kindness to the non-existent be neglectful of the created? For it is impossible to say that He envied what was created, because His nature is free from envy and from all passion. But in order to further reveal the powerlessness of this wickedness, we will ask them several questions. Tell me, why would He envy the creature that received existence from Him? Is it because of the greatness of the creature? But He Himself is uncreated, limitless, has no beginning and will never have an end, He embraces everything and cannot be described by anything. In His hand are the ends of the earth and He measured “water in a handful, and the sky in a span, and all the earth in a handful” (Is. 40:12). Or was he envious because of the beauty of the creature? But He Himself produced this beauty. And not one, even the most envious people, having built a splendid and majestic house, has ever envied it, but is proud of it, boasts of it, admires it himself, and shows it to those who have not seen it. And how much lower is the beauty of creation than the mental light of the Creator Himself, can any word measure it! Therefore, do you see how far wickedness has reached? When the most vicious people not only do not envy the houses they have built, but are extremely proud of them; Is there still any higher degree of wickedness left for someone who claims that the source of goodness, not disturbed by any passion, indulges in envy? So, if he can control the helm of the creature, and wants the creature to enjoy all the benefits, then it is obvious that he cares about it, and is awake, and, having taken the reins, rules over every created nature, and leaves nothing neglected. And having been convinced of this, go further to the sea, examine its bed, its vastness, the division into smaller seas, the shores, the piers, the islands lying in the middle of the sea, the kinds of fish living in it, their types, their bodily structure, diversity, the friendship of the sea with the solid land, the splashing of the waves and the bridle of Providence imposed on them, which does not give them the opportunity to flood the land and makes the waves, rushing to the sandy shore, they are afraid of these limits, seeing God’s law inscribed there, like that proud horse, which, held by the rider’s bridle, bends its neck and steps back, and they seem to repent that they entered into business with the sand. One can also see that the sea brings into friendly communication separate and distant parts of the land from one another, because the Creator, wishing by nature itself to put like-mindedness in people, connected them among themselves with different needs. We make long journeys by sea, collect from others what we need and give them what they need in return. The Provider did not allow each portion of the earth to produce everything that people needed, so that contentment in everything would not harm friendship, because satiety is arrogant and gives rise to disorder. That is why the middle of the inhabited earth is covered by the sea and, divided into thousands of bays, like a marketplace in some large city, offers us every abundance of necessary things, receives many sellers and buyers, sends them from one place to another and from there again to the same place. Since it is difficult to travel on solid ground, and beyond the difficulty it is even impossible to satisfy every need through them, the sea extends its ridge, accepts both small and large boats onto it and carries a huge and necessary load to whomever needs it. For we see that the load of one ship is carried by many thousands of beasts of burden. But so that those making their journey by sea would not be upset by the length of time, the Creator, like some kind of hotels, placed islands on it, where travelers land, rest, buy what they need and set off again where their path lies. So, “be humbled, O Sidon,” for the multitude of good deeds, “speak the sea” (Is. 23:4). These prophetic words are more fitting for you than for Sidon; because Sidon, not knowing the Creator, divided the Divinity into many gods and, dividing a single worship into parts, gave it to non-existent gods, not denying Providence, but attributing it to those who do not exist. Sidon would not have made sacrifices to those he called gods if he were not completely sure that they both brought benefit and warded off harm. And you, having freed yourself from the charm of polytheism, recognizing that all visible beings are God’s creatures and worshiping their Creator, you drive Him away from what He created, place Him somewhere far from creation and affirm that this vast world is not controlled by anyone and, like an unequipped boat, rushes along, no one knows how or where. Therefore, “be ashamed” of the benefits shown to you by the sea, the earth, the air, the sun, “be ashamed” of this roof spread over you - the sky, “be ashamed” of the tribute that you take from the creature, because everything that has now been counted brings you tribute and, like a kind of tax, pays with what you need: the sun shines, warms, bringing the earthly fruits to maturity; the moon serves as your lamp at night; the stars, when you are on land, show you the time of night and foretell the changes of the annual seasons, and when you are at sea, they become guides to solid land. The air, when you inhale it, cools your innate warmth, and when it gives rain, it nourishes the fruits of agriculture; when it produces a cold, it stops the upward growth of plants and seeds, it sends the plant force to the roots, and the cold, like some kind of scourge, drives down what is striving upward, kills reptiles that are harmful to plants and seeds, and supplies you with breeds of poultry. What should be said about the fruits delivered by the earth, springs, rivers, and seas? When using them, don’t you bring to mind the Giver? Gathering what the creature brings, you become furious, go mad, rage against the Creator, you do not feel the gifts, having them in your hands, but you are sick with contradiction. I know your objections, but I will not place them and will not give a solution to them in this word. Having used another word to help me, I intend, by considering these objections, to prove the Providence that you dispute. Therefore, leaving you here, advising you to enjoy considering what has been said and benefit from it, I will sing praises to the Ruler of the universe. To Him be glory forever and ever! Amen. Word 3. Proof of Providence, borrowed from the structure of the human body Those who have a good body do not require services from doctors, because intact health does not need the benefits of medicine. Those overcome by illness tend to call on doctors for help, and use the weapon of art to assist them against illnesses. They try to expel them from the body as enemies, because the art of medicine gives help to the body, but acts hostilely against diseases. Likewise, one whose soul does not faint, but is distinguished by the health of piety, does not need mentoring medicine. Those who are possessed by evil prejudices, who have accepted the disease of vile teachings and have turned their bad disposition into a habit over time, have a need for many cleansing agents that could drive out this harmful substance and make their souls clean, and also need many medicines that would strongly close and block the outflow of the substance to themselves and stop the diseases of this evil generation. And since the illness of those who are trying to deprive the creature of Providence is the most difficult and persistent, we have already offered them two medicines, dissolving them from all parts of the creature, but in order to completely destroy this disease and completely free them from this grave illness, we will try to prepare and give them a third medicine. Let us borrow what is part of this healing not from the sky, earth and sea, not from the sun, moon and other luminaries, not from the air, clouds and winds, not from rivers, springs and wells, but from those who are about to spew out blasphemy. For having received from the Creator a mouth to offer hymns to the Giver for the benefits they enjoy, not only do they not want to glorify Him, but they even defile their tongue with blasphemies and dishonor their verbal organ. And this one instrument is enough to prove not only the wisdom, but also the immeasurable love of mankind of the Creator, because this instrument is like an organ that is made of copper pipes, inflated with bellows, set in motion by the artist’s fingers and produces harmonious sounds. However, it is not nature from art, but art from nature that has learned how to produce these pleasant sounds, because the model for art is nature, and art is a snapshot from nature. Therefore, you, who have accepted the gift of speech, but dishonor Him who honored you with this honor, consider how, like bellows, the lungs are placed below, but it is not the legs of a person that lift them up, but the muscles surrounding them in the chest, which compress and unclench them. They use the windpipe to sublimate the exhaled air, which, being compressed, opens the tongue and rushes through the larynx to the lips. The human word, like a right hand, acts with the tongue: as if it were copper pipes in an organ, it applies it to the teeth and easily, with great convenience, makes it move and slide up and down. This convenient movement of the tongue is facilitated by the gland lying underneath it, like some kind of source, emitting moisture from itself. Since intense movement dries out the tongue, it needs moderate humidity, which would moisturize and soften it, and make movement easier. Thus, when the word, through the tongue, comes into collision with the teeth, the exhaled air, as has been said, rushes out, the lips are compressed, the outer air is brought into a harmonious shaking by the desire of the exhaled air, then an articulate voice is formed, and the air exhaled from within, already darkened, which nature drives out as superfluous, becomes the chariot of the word. since the Creator made the heart a source of natural warmth, so that the whole body borrows warmth from this part; but, containing a lot of warmth, the heart needs a little cooling, then the Creator of nature arranged that it cools through the lungs. The lungs, through the windpipe, inhale clean air into themselves from the outside and, through a smooth vein, transmit it to the left hollow of the heart, because, as those who accurately described it say, it originates there. Having transferred clean air, the same lungs take in return the one that has become darkened and, as superfluous, they drive it out again through the windpipe. And this unnecessary and completely useless thing, by the will of the mind, which brings the tongue into a proportionate and harmonious movement, becomes the chariot of the word; and what is worn out from the heart as harmful and expelled by the lungs contributes to the formation of an articulate voice. Truly, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and understanding of God” (Rom. 11:33)! Really, “whoever proclaims the mighty powers of the Lord, all His praises will be heard” (Ps. 106:2)? Truly, “Thy works are great, O Lord: with wisdom thou hast done all things” (Ps. 103:24)! What word is sufficient for the Creator's hymn? What word satisfactorily describes the creation of ourselves? What word is able to explain the tools of the word? Who has achieved such a measure of wisdom as to accurately perceive the wisdom of the Creator? And you, seeing this and taking advantage of it, do not want to glorify the One who is the culprit of all this, but you also accuse Him of negligence in taking every care of what He has created. Of course, this one member is enough to prove the Creator’s care for this living being, because, having made it verbal, He also created the tools necessary for speech. Imitating this in part, art created pipes, composed lyres and harps. Instead of teeth, it pulled strings, instead of lips, it used copper, and the tongue made the rattle for the strings. The transition of the hand from the string that produces a thin sound to the string that produces a thick sound imitates the word, which causes the tongue to move up and down. However, with all the precision visible in art, listeners, although surprised by the proportionality and harmony in the game, do not hear articulate words, because art is an imitation of nature, and nature alone forms an articulate sound, since it is the creation of God, the Creator of all things. Just as art imitates a living being and transforms copper or stone into a human form: it gives this image eyes, nose, mouth, ears, neck, arms, chest, belly, thighs, legs and legs, but is unable to give it feelings, reason, voluntary movement. Thus, the lyre, the harp, and the organ with copper pipes, when inflated and struck, produce a harmonious and folding sound, but only the organ produces an articulate voice. For this organ is the creation of the Creator Himself, and all those instruments are products of the Creator’s image; because man, as the image of the Creator, intensifies to become like the Creator, and his works are like shadows competing with reality: they have an image, but are deprived of independence. Therefore, seeing so much Providence in the tools constructed by the Creator, stop accusing Him of negligence. And in order to learn from the structure of other members that the Creator cares for us, we will also lead you to the very heart. since the heart is the most essential part of the body, it is entrusted with dominion over the entire body, then God, like a kind of king, protects it from everywhere and surrounds it with a strong wall - the chest, so that nothing attacking from the outside can conveniently harm it. And since it is in constant movement, like a source of blood veins, from below he laid a kind of soft bed under it - a checkered, spongy, spongy body of the lungs woven from veins, and on top, making its cone-shaped top solid, he placed a membranous, impenetrable and hard shell. The nutrient is supplied to it not only by inhaled air, but also by blood. And the blood, like some kind of water pipe, is drawn into the heart from parts of the liver by a tubular vein. The liver draws this substance from the womb. And the belly, through the stomach, draws into itself food, cut by the teeth, thinned and softened by the lips; and having attracted it into itself, first of all it holds it, turns it into juice, modifies, transforms, remakes it into something similar to itself; then, well digested and modified, it correctly separates and, what turns out to be clean, is given to the liver, filtered and drawn into itself, and the excess is rejected and transferred to the intestines, using the power of self-purification to assist. Thus, the liver, having accepted what is pure in food, is not content with the purification and separation that has already been carried out, but, as if through some sort of strainer, again separates and purifies and, like some sludge, and the thickest one at that, attracting it into itself for some special reason, the spleen collects and turns it into food for itself. And what has been overdigested, has taken on a bilious property and has turned into a yellowish composition, is taken into the bile-receiving vessel, and the liquid, extremely thinned, not containing any nutritional value, enters the receiver of wet excesses. Thus, this food, which has become completely pure, resembled the liver and turned into the nature of blood, having taken into itself, the blood tubular vein delivers what the heart needs, but it itself goes up and, dividing into many blood veins, nourishes the chest, nourishes the shoulders and arms, reaches the very nails, goes around the neck, envelops the head, descends into the lower rear parts of the body, into the hips, knees, legs, legs and, in a word, it goes around every part of the body and not a single living member deprives it of irrigation, because the blood veins are like some kind of pipes and water pipes and are designed to irrigate the body, which is why they have a thin transparent shell so that the adjacent parts can conveniently receive food from them; and the beating veins have shells that are not only dense, but double, because they serve as receivers not of blood, but of breath, and the breath is subtle and flows out conveniently. Therefore, here too, see the providence of the Creator. He made the blood veins, as if they were delivering blood to all parts of the body, from thin membranes and placed a sort of lattice-like cover on the very opening, because the blood is thick and needs large passages to separate it. Therefore, so that not everything would be poured out, but only provide some moisture to the adjacent parts, he arranged vessels for it of such quality. The beating veins, spreading breath everywhere (since it is conveniently dispersed and easily flows out through the smallest parts), the Creator wove them in a different way and arranged them not from just one shell, but from two dense and very frequent ones. He brought the beating veins closer to the blood vessels so that the blood, stimulated by the warm breath, would run everywhere. For he knew that its stagnation produces cooling. Therefore, in some parts, he connected both veins with each other with very small holes, so that the blood, to a small extent, would take in the breath, which would involuntarily give it a push and force it to move, and also the breath would use the phlegm of the blood, which would irrigate, moisturize it and would not allow it to become completely dry. What rich man, who loves splendor, when building his house, ever took so much care about water pipes, invented so many watercourses, arranged so many water cannons and reservoirs for entertainment, as the Creator of all things, creating this verbal house, walled it with so many different vessels that supply everything needed? What architect, contriving to make houses refreshed by the whiff of zephyr, widens the entrances for the air, just as the best artist God designed so that the darkened and stinking air leaves the body, and the clean air flows in and passes through all the beating veins? What kind of gardener conducts the watery nature in such a way and delivers irrigation to the roots of plants, just as He who planted this living plant and created all creation in an inexplicable way through blood veins distributes irrigation to all members of the body? In terms of nutrition, we humans are no different from inanimate trees, because, like trees, we also need it. An unfed tree withers and dries up, and a man, tormented by hunger, also loses all strength and is given over to death. Therefore, just as trees, receiving either rain from the clouds, or streams from rivers and springs, absorb moisture through their roots, and it nourishes the branches, bark, core, gives birth to leaves, produces flowers, and makes the fruits ripen, so this living creature receives food with its mouth, and the mouth becomes a source, and the food-receiving conductor, usually called the stomach, is likened to a water pipe. The womb, like some kind of root, having received this food, transfers it to the liver, like a kind of support of branches. The liver not only uses it for its own needs, but distributes this irrigation to all members of the body through the blood veins. Thus, the nourished body in infants grows, lengthens, expands and little by little takes on the proper volume, and when it soon reaches a certain extent, it stops growing, but only nourishes. Thus, the Creator of all things takes care of our nature, and not only creates, but does not cease to nourish, and does not only nourish, but also takes all other care for us. I am truly perplexed as to how I can praise the Creator! The diversity of His providence for us overcomes my mind; every word yields victory to the wisdom of creation; no one is able to understand the structure of bodies. And this alone is enough for you to sing the Creator’s songs! You do not look at the ground, like the dumb, nor do you gaze at the belly, like pigs. Just lift your gaze and see Providence. God created you, one of all animals, walking in an upright position - on two legs, and made each of them not from one member, but composed of three and connected with three joints; and he attached one to the thigh, tied the other at the knees, and entrusted another to the heels. And he tightened the joints with strong sinews, put voluntary movements into the muscles and made the connections not too weak, and also not completely tense. In the latter case, all movement would be completely taken away, and in the first, the closed members would begin to diverge and slide one over the other. According to this providence of God for you, you walk and run whenever you want, and you have the opportunity to stand and sit down. Look, there is also new care for you! In order not to feel trouble and not have pain when you sit on earth and stone, you have been given, as it were, a natural pillow. And you are still ungrateful; you do not feel the gifts, you rebel with fury and madness against the Wisdom that provides so much for you! And the dog knows the one who feeds him: he will not leave when he is at home, he will look for him when he is not there, and as soon as he returns, he will show pleasure by lowering his ears, twirling his tail, expressing humility, recognizing slavery, proclaiming a good deed. And he does all this, being enslaved to speechlessness, deprived of all reason, learning only through time, habit and frequent good deeds to distinguish between the familiar and the unfamiliar, friend and accuser. And you are a partaker of the gift of speech; you have been given a leader - a mind that is inspired and fleeter than anything visible. The sun in one day runs through the double field of the universe, and in an instant he passes through the universe and in his imagination touches the heavens, goes further, as far as he can, as he sees God in a mirror, contemplates the countless darkness of Angels and thousands of Archangels, inquisitively learns about what is under the earth, tries to stretch beyond all this, but cannot; because the limit of the mind’s imagination is that which the existence of which is known to it. And having him as a leader, a ruler, a leader, you do not feel God’s gifts, you do not count the many blessings, but you remain ungrateful. And when you have so many teachers, you do not want to study the beginnings of Providence. Be careful that you are not left without any care for you and do not learn from experience what the difference is between Providence, care and deprivation of this. Now, my dear, let us take you to another part of the human body. Consider the spinal bone, which originates from the wide bone at the back of the body, extends to the neck, like a solid column made up of many vertebrae, and supports the belly, shoulders, arms, neck, head. Since the Creator did not line the belly with any bone from the outside, so that, when receiving food, it would expand comfortably and provide sufficient capacity for what was eaten, then the spinal bone supports it from behind. The Creator put it together from many bones so that it would bend comfortably when a person wants to bend over, and would not break when bent. It is nourished by the spinal cerebellum, which has its source in the brain. What should be said about the hands, the benefits of which are proclaimed by various arts? But we will make mention of them in the next word. Therefore, let us also observe for him the story about the benefits of the hands. So, go up to the neck and examine its structure. Bring to mind the pillars, drilled from bottom to top, in which there are many longitudinal wells and in the middle - the largest one, through which water pipelines lift up a large amount of water and, distributing it, force it to flow down into other wells; and one part of the water is conveyed to the southern part of the city, another to the eastern, a third to the western, and a fourth to the northern. The neck provides the same benefits to the human body. For, as I have already said, art imitates nature and in its inventions is likened to her works. Therefore, the neck has the mouth of the stomach and conveys food and drink to the belly; also has a windpipe extending from the lungs to the larynx; has both blood veins and beating veins, through which the brain takes in blood and air; feeding and growing itself, through the bones connected to it, it transmits the spinal cerebellum to the spinal bone, from which the entire bone structure is nourished, and also the strongest, thickest and thinnest, flat and round nerves, which serve to connect the joints and muscles receive driving force. Since we come to the head itself, then look how it, like some kind of fortress, stands in plain sight in the city of the body and. like a kind of wealth and treasure, the brain is kept behind the strongest fence, because the skull, like a fence and a helmet (among the Greeks, both the skull and the helmet are similar, as constructed in the likeness of a skull), surrounding the brain, prevents, if possible, harm that threatens it from the outside. But so that the brain, being extremely delicate and very soft, does not suffer any damage when struck by the bones, which are hard and stubborn, the Creator covered it with two covers, which doctors call the meninges. And he fused the thinnest one, called the dark-colored one, with the brain, and made it, very close to the brain, able to form it. restrain, but, due to its extreme subtlety, does not have the power to hit, and made the other dense and hard, and it occupies the middle between the brain and the skull, so as not to cause pain to the brain, having a tougher essence, and not to endure pain from the bones, being softer than them. Therefore, the brain, as I said, like some kind of wealth, is preserved in the head, as in a fortress. Since the head of the guard - the mind - needed spies who would anticipate both hostile and friendly movements, the Creator gave them too, and did not entrust this observation to one, but appointed two guards and legitimized one to observe and look out for what was happening on the right side, and to the other what was happening on the left. And just as they needed guards, battlements, fences and palisades, the Creator of this city did not neglect this either, but to the eyes, to which he entrusted the sense of vision, like some kind of battlements and fences, he gave eyebrows for protection, hiding under which they can safely examine what is in the distance. To these jagged walls, like a kind of roof protecting from rain falling from above, he attached several thin hairs, which, bending towards the outside of the eye, receive the sweat flowing from the forehead, transfer it to each other, merge into drops on the churches and relieve the eyes from the harmful effects of sweat. But since the guards needed to be fully armed, the Creator clothed them with covers - eyelids - and instead of spears and arrows, he added eyelashes, which are not inclined like eyebrows (so that defenders do not become intruders) and do not extend forward in a straight line (so that when the eyelids are adjacent there is no friction between them), but are inclined slightly outward to prevent harm from the smallest bodies. For when the wind blows strongly, not only small dust, but also large dust, as well as straws and other similar things, move. Mosquitoes and other similar small animals attack and, seeing the eyelashes that look like a picket fence, they flee. So the common Creator of all armed the ears of wheat; for, having lined the sheaths of the grains with skeletons, it does not allow the birds that feed on the seeds to do too much harm to the fruit, but, as if with some sharp points, it frightens and puts them to flight. But perhaps, suffering from the disease of ingratitude, you will say: “What was given to me above the ear of wheat?” But the ear of grain was created for your benefit, fool. Why do you remain ungrateful when God, for your sake, armed what belongs to you with your own weapons? You, most ungrateful one, sow wheat seeds, and He waters, warms, nourishes, protects, stores them and offers them to you already ripe. But you, having squeezed it, brought it to the threshing floor, skillfully separated it from the straw, cleaned it from the chaff, resin on the millstone, separated the bran, kneaded it with your hands, transferred it to the hearth or oven, you enjoy the loaves and do not know the Giver! But let's return to the eye. Pay attention to it, look at how many shells it has, look at its external beauty, look at the thinness of the pupil, the surrounding rainbow, which we call the crown, the horn-shaped circle, the gluteal hymen, the crystal-shaped ball lying under it and looking through the middle of it, the glassy liquid spread around it, the reticular hymen, the glandular base on which the entire eye rests, this, through the smallest vessel, from the brain communicated food, and this is from the eye cuticles the outflow of excesses. Look how many flowers, one after another, take on the blood. At first it was food, crushed with teeth, passed on to the belly. The womb gave her its own color and made her white; and this, having taken it into itself, the liver turned into its own color. Thus, having become real blood and entering the brain, it again becomes white, thickens into bones, and forms veins, although thick, but flexible. But in trying to explore the providence of the Creator, which is revealed in the human body, I act, perhaps, like those who undertake to count the sand. Therefore, alone, take a look at the order of all the senses: taste, smell, hearing, how one of them distinguishes odors, and allows pleasant things to come to itself, and turns away from foul things (which is why this sense is given the separation of cerebral excesses). since this feeling, being at the top of the body, receives all the vapors rising from below, and their influx would cause great harm to the most important part, (meaning the brain), the Creator of all things did not leave this in negligence, but created certain passages in them, like in a sponge or a pipe, and showed both liquid and thick excesses the way to the palate in the mouth and to the nostrils; and he appointed two members for these departments, so that the harmful would come out as quickly as possible, and for the vaporous and smoky excesses he arranged for them to come out and erupt into the seams of the skull. Pay attention to the effectiveness of hearing. See how, receiving thousands of sounds into itself, it does not become satiated, is not filled, and does not accept everything equally, but is able to distinguish between thin and thick sounds, enjoys euphony, and averts discord. With the help of hearing we listen to the words of God, with the help of hearing our nature learns every human science: grammar, rhetoric, sophistry, arithmetic, medical art, mechanics and everything else that the human race has invented. Having bowed this ear to our words, receive medicine that cleanses the soul and delivers it from evil blasphemy. Build doors for hearing - reason - and install a doorkeeper - fear of God. Be a judge of the words offered to you, and let the doorkeeper open the doors for pious words, and send away blasphemous, vile, ungodly words, close the doors for them and, like some kind of indestructible lock, place the firmness of faith on these doors. Thus, it will be possible to get rid of enemies and keep the soul healthy, when, listening to friendly and beneficial words, without being “scratched with ears,” according to the word of the divine Paul (2 Tim. 4:3), not bending the ear to words that are pleasant, but damaging to the mind, but, on the contrary, becoming direct and truthful judges of what is said, choosing from this what is beneficial, and, according to the word Prophet, day and night, walking and sitting, no matter what we do or endure, let us take it upon ourselves to see God before us (Ps. 15:8). To him be glory and honor and worship forever! Amen. Word 4. Proof of Providence, borrowed from the structure of human hands and the arts invented by man I hear a prophetic voice sing and cry: “The heavens will tell the glory of God, but the firmament will declare His handiwork” (Ps. 18:2). But for such a voice to come from there, such as is produced by the breath expelled through the windpipe into the mouth, and by the word, measuredly bringing the tongue closer to the teeth, compressed lips, air, struck and producing reflection - this has never been heard of people like us. On the contrary, being visible and showing either its greatness or its beauty and serving as a cover for people, the sky silently preaches the Creator and excites everyone’s tongue to chant. But, looking at a house that is built very skillfully, placed on a strong foundation, whose corners are straight, its width, length and height are proportionate, the windows are located correctly and in order, everything else that gives splendor to such houses is observed, we are immediately surprised at the artist, although he is not in front of us; We imagine him in our minds and attribute all the beauty seen in the house to his art; So, looking at the sky and at this useful movement of the heavenly bodies for many things, we do not worship them, but we honor their Creator with songs that are possible for us, and “from the majesty of the beauty of creatures, their Creator is comparatively known” (Wis. 13:5). For we correctly and justly conclude: if such is the greatness of creatures, then what is the Creator like? If such is the beauty of creation, then what is the beauty of the best Artist and Creator of all things? Thus, “the heavens will tell the glory of God, but the firmament will proclaim His handiwork. So the day vomits forth the day, and the mind proclaims the night of the night” (Ps. 19:2-3). They do not utter voices, do not utter with their lips, but continuously follow each other and serve in front of each other for the benefit of people, and cry out so loudly that the entire human race hears their voice. It is said: “speech is not meaningless, lower than words, and their voices are not heard” (18:4); Every nation, every language hears what he preaches day and night. Although there is a difference in languages, the same nature derives from them the same benefit. Thus, the one who said this, glorifying the Creator in another psalm, also said: “Thy mind was amazed at me, strengthened, I will not be able to do it” (138:6). Turning my gaze to myself,” says the Prophet, “and stopping at myself, freed from all external rebellions, I set out to study my nature, to accurately know the rational power of the soul, the knowledge that is acceptable to it, the arts with which it has filled life, with the help of which it leads a pleasant and contented life, the multitude of concepts that it generates from itself, the immensity of them that it contains; How do you stack it all and keep it separate? How convenient is it to take whatever she wants from what’s laid out? As she disposes of the body, and instructs the eyes to distinguish volumes and colors, she entrusted the tongue to judge tastes and set it to serve with her own creations, and made the nostrils a judgment seat of smells, and opened her ears for words brought from outside; Has she given tactile power to the other members of the body, and imparts the power of sensation to them, while she herself receives both sorrow and joy from them? Considering in my mind this and everything like that, seeing the confluence of these opposites for the structure of one living being, the union and combination of the mortal and the immortal,” says the Prophet, “I am overcome by this miracle and, without continuing my consideration, I confess that I have overcome, and, declaring the victory of the wisdom of the Creator, glorifying the Creator, I cry: “Your mind was amazed at me, If I establish myself, I won’t be able to approach him.” In the present case, these words are also suitable for us; those who wished to experience the wisdom revealed in the structure of the parts of the human body, and who learned from experience their powerlessness. However, we have also gained considerable benefit from insufficient consideration. Because even in the smallest part of the body they saw God’s providence brilliantly manifesting itself. For what is less valuable than hair? What part of the body is so devoid of sensation? However, our word showed the necessary need for hair. This is evidenced by eyebrows and eyelashes, and by the hair that adorns and covers the head. For the need and these last ones make us aware of those who do not have them on our heads. At first they are ashamed as being deprived of decoration, and then they come up with some other coverings that replenish the need for hair. And, probably, the Creator allowed some heads to be bare of hair so that we would know that the Creator, when creating a living being, also provided for hair. Thus, for those who have finally achieved courage and have crossed the age of adolescence, He adorns with a beard both the chin and some part of the cheeks. - First, fluff appears on them, then they cover their small hair, so that by its very addition it shows the difference in age and appearance to convince that it is time to leave childish games and get down to important things. And since illnesses at birth are sufficient for wives to receive such training, the Creator crowned the cheeks of some husbands in this way. If someone, having learned to contradict the truth, presents to us the growth of hair on other parts of the body as an objection, then let him know that he is in vain and is not grateful for them. Nature has placed a native veil on those parts of the body on which we try to apply man-made veils. Therefore, for those whose reason does not yet know how to distinguish between virtues and vices, nature has not imposed this hairline. And those who had already begun to know and learned the needs of each member, very opportunely and with an excellent purpose, she decorated with this girdle, covering them as if they were ashamed, which the ancestor Adam was not ashamed of in paradise. It is said: “Both are naked, Adam and his wife, and are not ashamed” (Gen. 2:25). But after breaking the law, when they came to the consciousness of the crime and heard the voice of God, then “they sewed together the fig leaves and made girdles for themselves” (3:7). Therefore, strict accuser of creation and together with Providence, consider the Creator’s care for these members as well. What you are ashamed to hear about, the Creator creates and approves. For it is said: “And God saw everything that was created; and behold, every good thing” (1:31), and “let us make him a helper according to him” (2:18). This is also God’s first blessing: “grow and multiply, and fill the earth, and rule over it” (1:28). Since our word, I don’t know how, is forced to touch those members of the body, “whom,” in the words of the divine Paul, “were thought to be the most dishonest” (1 Cor. 12:23); then look how unspeakably humane the Creator is. The mouth, which is entrusted to serve the word, receive food and convey it to the belly, He placed near the eyes. And the outcome of the eruptions, since it can offend the eye, turn away from food, and create disgust, not only gave it a place away from the eyes, but even made it completely invisible to them. Therefore, “be humbled” by the immensity of God’s love for mankind, be horrified by God’s unspeakable care, seeing how God creates, which you are ashamed to name, seeing how He provides, which you remember with shame. since what is visible in a living being is mortal and, like a mortal, has a need for food; then, out of necessity, he gave him both mouth and outlets for eruptions, and bent his insides in many circles, which is why, when they take in the necessary part of food, they do not suddenly spew it out, so that we are not often disturbed by the need for food to constantly replenish what is empty. And should I list all the wonders of nature? But it’s time for us to finally move on to the hands, having mentioned them on the previous day, we promised today to explain their benefits. So look; they are stretched no more than is necessary so as not to become an unnecessary burden for the rest of the body, but also their length is not less than it should have been; on the contrary, they received a measure corresponding to the tasks for which they were given. At this end, the Creator divided the hand into three parts. He placed the first joint in the shoulders, and in the elbow he joined the forearm and the hand beam, and attached the other end of this beam to the hand and, attaching the forearm to it, established five fingers in it. Each of them made three joints and their extremities, making some hollow and others spherical, putting spherical ones into the sunken extremities, tying them with thick veins and, allowing the muscles to move freely, covering them with thin skin, so that rigidity would not be an obstacle to bending the joints. Having made the tips of the fingers on the inside soft, the Creator took care of their safety from the outside, because he placed thin and wide nails on them with round protuberances on the outside. He made them thin, so that they would not burden the tender flesh of the extremities, becoming an unnecessary burden, and at the same time wide, so that they would have sufficient hardness in difficult work, supporting the softness of the flesh underneath them, and made their protuberances rounded, thus protecting them from the rapid sensation of pain. For in thin bodies that have the shape of a triangle and a quadrangle, the angles are very fragile. The Creator gave lions, bears, leopards and other animals sharp, thick, long and very strong claws and equipped them with these natural weapons, because dumbness prevents them from using artificial aids. Having created man with words and endowed him with intelligence, the inventor of many sciences and arts, he created man without natural weapons. He did not give him animal claws, did not cover his feet with hooves. Otherwise, how could he climb the stairs? How could he stand on thin walls when he interweaves stones and bricks and builds a house for himself? How to stay on top of the house with your hooves? Now the softness and elongation of the feet and the flexibility of the fingers make movement comfortable for him and standing safe; With bare legs he walks very easily through trees, boldly climbs thin steps and carries out many other tasks with great convenience. But a person finds something to replace his hooves with. Taking the skin of an animal obedient to him, using the art of leather and shoemaking, he makes something similar in position, volume, length and width to the legs, and dresses them in this, and thus, during walking, the harmful effects of hard bodies are prevented and the piercing of cold bodies is weakened. Therefore, the Creator gave this one living creature hands as tools suitable for a rational being. For with the help of their hands people plow the earth, cut furrows, plant seeds in them, using a shovel or spade, dig holes, plant trees; Having sharpened a crooked knife, they prune the grape branches, seeing that they will soon sprout, and free them from excess, then they cut the ears of corn in the field, reap the fruits of their labors with their hands, tie them into sheaves, carry the fagots to the threshing floor, separate the grains from the straw, and again with the assistance of their hands, the straw is piled into stacks, and the grains are collected in bins. They pick grapes with their hands, pick olives, squeeze wine, grow all kinds of vegetables, artificially diversifying countless types of fruits, collect them and offer them to those who want to use them. With the help of hands, the human mind not only decorates the land with flowering meadows, waving harvests, shady groves, but also the sea is dotted with many paths and managed to make it so that, impassable for everyone, it was covered with many travelers, because, according to God-given wisdom, it invented the art of shipbuilding, and from the art of blacksmith, invented before, borrowing an axe, a saw, a plane and others tools of construction art, having dressed with these tools barren trees taken from his elder sister - agriculture, and laying the underwater part as if in a kind of foundation, then on it in the form of walls he laid rows of beams, tightly closed with spikes and coated with resin, and through this, blocking the water from flowing in, he built a sea chariot - a boat. But just as horses and horses were needed for the harness, and the fluid essence could not carry them, the helmsman on the ship wisely arranges this too, again using his hands to assist. Instead of a shaft, having built a mast, attaching sails to it like a harness, instead of horses and horses, he uses the blowing winds and subordinates them, like fast horses, to his harness. And just as a boat must also have reins, the helm is likened to them, and holding on to it, the helmsman, like a charioteer, as if having the stern at the edge of a chariot, easily turns the boat back and forth and knows how to not only skillfully steer it when a fair wind blows, but also make powerless and disorderly gusts of winds and, like some untamed and unbridled horses, restrain them with a bridle. And all this the human mind manages to do, using hands as servants. With their help, the swimmer operates the oar, and the helmsman steers the rudder, and the merchant stacks the purchased cargo, and the fisherman carries out his fishing and catches invisible prey with skillfully woven nets. But now let us move from sea to land, because there is not enough time to accurately depict each art. Therefore, look how all the arts borrow useful things from one another: construction borrows tools from the blacksmith, housing from the blacksmith, and both from agriculture - food, and agriculture, again from the first two - the structure of dwellings and everything that contributes to the cultivation of the land. It’s better to say, consider how at the beginning the Creator indicated to this living being what it needed. For how did man know how to mine iron, copper, lead, and tin? Who showed him the silver veins? Who taught you to dig gold-bearing soil and told you to collect small sparkles of gold? How did he know the composition of the glass? Who taught him the difference between sands? Who taught him what kind of sand, how and for how long to expose it to fire? And divide what has formed into a dense composition, and transform the divided one into a dense, inseparable composition? How did you learn, using fire and a breath of air for assistance, to make from sand various types of glasses, vials, bowls, bombils, amphorae, all kinds of dishes and vessels suitable for all needs when consuming food and drink? Therefore, it is clear that man received knowledge of all this from the Creator, that the One who created him put into his nature both the power to invent and the ability to invent arts. Therefore, talking with the great Job, he said: “Who gave wisdom to the women of cloth, or cunning to eat” (Job 38:36)? For this, too, is truly the God-given color of art. Although over time this became neglected and knowledge of the matter took away the glory of the inventors, however, if anyone wants to look at everything in detail, he will be very amazed at this art. For the wool that is cut and washed with water is first combed and divided into thin fibers, with which the broken wool becomes a ball. After this, the spinner takes it and separates the clean, as if consisting of straight fibers, from the rest, and from the rest, putting it together, prepares the weft at the warp; then women’s hands get down to business; they spin thin threads and, first, like some kind of strings, stretch them in order in a loom, pass the wefts through them, separating the threads at the warp with a shuttle, lowering some of the intermediate threads, and raising others up, and then using tools designed for this purpose, as if pushing and pressing the wefts, thus producing fabric. Who will worthily marvel at the wisdom given to this living being? How, from wool or silk threads of the same color, images of all kinds of animals are woven, likenesses of people, sometimes hunting, sometimes praying, as well as types of trees, and very much more. Truly, let all nations who have been granted such wisdom and enjoy so many blessings praise the Lord! Who made sea fish produce dye for wool? Who again was the inventor of this art, so as to clothe the natural appearance of wool in thousands of colored species? But perhaps, sick of ingratitude, you will say: worms spin threads that are even thinner than people? But this is also a matter of God’s care. So that you do not think highly of the wisdom with which you excel in arts of all kinds, and do not boast of the abundance of wealth, the Benefactor, through worms, admonishes you that this does not depend on your strength, but is a gift of God’s love for mankind. But, giving you this lesson, he also consoles you, so that you do not grieve, yielding victory over yourself to the worms, because he provides these threads to you and subordinates their worker to your yoke. You alone, of all living beings, built beautiful cities, fortified them with towers and fences, built beautiful hotels and dwellings, and connected the sea with the land with piers. But since the Creator created you mortal in this life, he knew that you would fall into illness (the lot of mortal suffering), he taught you the art of medicine and armed you with this knowledge against suffering. He taught you to know the difference between ailments invisible in appearance and by the movement of beating veins, to recognize the intensification and weakening of feverish heat, to recognize the time of the onset of an attack, its highest degree and approach to the end, to provide for signs of death, to recognize the type of substance that produces the disease, and to use against it what is in enmity with it, to dry out wet things, to cool hot things, to kindle cold things, and to warm things that have accumulated until drive out excesses with emetics and laxatives or by cutting blood veins. And what word covers either a multitude of illnesses or a multitude of healings? For many things are hostile to bodily nature, but the means to counteract this are numerous; Art has discovered many things that combat every disease. Therefore, the Creator commanded the earth to grow many herbs, not only suitable, but also unsuitable for food, because we humans have a need not only for food, but also for healing. Thus, we prepare some of the herbs as food for ourselves, others are eaten by herbivores, others are collected by doctors and prepared from them as healing medicines, and what is harmful in food is turned into healing medicine. Therefore, let this not prompt you to accuse Providence; on the contrary, all these grateful lips call for praise. But I, having dared to venture into the sea of ​​the wisdom of the arts, become like those who sail on the sea, are overwhelmed by waves from everywhere and want to reach dry land. So I try to avoid, like the attack of some waves, the thoughts that accumulate in me, to rush to the end, as if to touch the seashore. Therefore, leaving all other arts, I turn speech to the art of grammar, which is closer than others to reason and befits the animal verbal. It invented letters, determined their number, combined them one with another and produced a combination of syllables. Then, combining two and three syllables together, he taught how to read words; having added and connected the words, it produced a single harmony of speech. Thus, thousands of books were filled with the sayings of the ancients, some with sacred, divine, mysterious sayings, and others relating to external education. The art of grammar, with its varied rhythm of speech, the beauty of words, the harmony of composition, covering up the fabulous, delights the ear, and serves as a weapon for the pious against the creatures of wickedness. With the help of this science, we, even when absent, talk with each other, being at a distance of many days, when a great number of day's marches are a barrier between us, with the assistance of our hands we send each other the creations of thoughts. The tongue - the first instrument of the word - remains inactive, but the right hand serves the word and, leading the cane, inscribes a conversation with a friend on the charter, and the chariot of the word is no longer the tongue in the mouth, but the hand, which over time has become skilled in the art and has learned the exact combination of letters. For this purpose, the Creator gave such a device to our hands: he divided them into five fingers, and contrasted the four with a large finger. And if all the fingers were located equally, then it would not be possible to do any kind of work. Now, when the thumb is opposite to the others, we comfortably hold a brush, a shovel, a spade, a saw, an ax, a hammer, pincers, and any other instrument of art. So, having seen from this word what kind of industry you were honored with at your creation, how much the Creator of arts and knowledge gave you, necessary, not just for life, but for a happy life, what great generosity he showed in caring for you, what abundance of benefits he showered you with, so that with the help of the arts he would make life pleasant for you, so that they would not only provide what you need, but even what is beyond your needs would flow to you from everywhere, - put aside the ingratitude of your tongue, learn to glorify Providence, “obey the Lord and entreat Him” (Ps. 37:7). Learn to cry out with the Prophet: “Thy mind was amazed at me, strengthened, I will not be able to reach it.” Glory to Him now and always, forever! Amen. Word 5. Proof of Providence, borrowed from the subordination of dumb animals to man Such is the care of the Creator of all things for our race, you clearly know, friends and participants in the feast. You have no need for verbal instruction, because, constantly receiving streams of benefits from her, to the best of your ability, offer up a song to the Giver. Because others, afflicted with great insensibility, do not recognize the gifts of God, while enjoying God-given blessings, they spew ungrateful speeches at the Creator. Of necessity, our word, with great speed, went around the creation, bringing out human nature into the environment, in every part, both of the whole creation, and of our nature, it indicated the very clearly revealed Divine Providence. This also brought to prominence both wisdom and, at the same time, the benefits of not only many arts, the inventor of which was the human mind; but voluntarily our word has passed over the arts invented for splendor and pleasure, I mean the arts: painting, molding, sculpting, foundry, cooking, the invention of various cookies, and beyond this the arts that satisfy exorbitant curiosity, I mean: astronomy, geometry, arithmetic, music, the whole work of which is to captivate and irritate the ear, to bring the soul into any mood: to dissolve the dull joy, and make the scattered one collected and courageous. These and similar arts were voluntarily omitted by the word, avoiding lengthiness, taking care of brevity and leaving the listeners’ own minds to consider each art, because in what was said it is not difficult to find grounds for understanding what was silent. Those who do not know how to sing songs about the Benefactor, but those who know how to slander Him, will say, perhaps, that the Creator gave the invention of the arts not only to human nature. For we see that the smallest genus of winged creatures - bees - love civil and social life, armed with a sting due to weakness, one after another and in order, they get out of the hives, rush through the air, fly around groves, meadows, fields, sit on flowers, leaves and fruits, collect something similar to fluff and useful for them, burden themselves with burdens, put these burdens on themselves bends the legs and onto the neck and so returns to the hives. Then they build the honeycombs, without needing either a ruler or a square; more accurately than any drawing art, they make corners that are equal to one another, and they build very thin walls and partitions for honey, as if made of thread and fiber; however, these thin and frequent barriers prevent the wet honey from spreading in the least, and these containers are filled with sweet moisture. They say that the human race, which is divided into students and mentors, improves in art with great difficulty and for a long time, has it produced anything similar; whereas this kind of bees, hardworking and kind, without dividing into mentors and students, without learning the art under whips and rods, according to their innate ability, self-taught, performs this difficult work; builds honeycombs, fills containers, without asking about measures, or centers, or angles? And it fills the containers without squeezing out the grapes or harming any other fruit, but by drawing a small part of the dew and from this producing honey. So, from this very accusation we will form an excuse, because the difficulty is easily resolved by itself. Bees bring this great and wonderful labor, as well as the excellent and sweetest fruit of labor, as a gift to the human race; like servants, forced by the law of dominion, they leave their homes, collect what they need, constantly carry burdens on themselves, carefully do housekeeping, add honey, as if they were applying stamps and seals to a treasure, and, as a tribute and tax, they constantly give it to people, like kings. So why are you slandering, you pathetic one? When accepting tribute, do you blaspheme the tribute collector? And taking advantage of the labors of others, do you insult the one who gives you what he has earned through these labors with an ungrateful word? But you don’t just reap the fruits of their hard work, you get other benefits from it. For, firstly, you will know how many benefits unanimity brings and what fruits it produces. A swarm of bees is likened to civil society. They have nothing of their own, but common wealth and shared property; they have no lawsuits or trials, because they do not offend each other, do not desire more, and are constantly busy with one job. Why are the drones, who do not tolerate work, but in idleness destroy what they have earned by the labor of others, driven out. They hate plurality of command and government: they have one leader, it is pleasant for them to obey him; yet they do this and endure it, without hearing orders, without reading laws, without going to mentors, because among them one bee does not surpass another in wisdom and the older one does not know more than the younger one, but all, one like the other, carry out everything said above, not according to rational knowledge, but by nature having received from the Creator of all things this diligence and love of kindness in work. And all this serves as a useful lesson for you. As a reasonable person, you learn from the unreasonable to abhor an idle life as harmful, to strive diligently in the labors of virtue and to borrow from everywhere that which serves to acquire it, not to seek authority that does not belong to you, but when you have it, to dispose of what you have in a straightforward and fair manner, to consider it common and to use it for the benefit of those who need it. To study those who judge sensibly and preserve the distinctive feature of their nature intact, innate reason is enough, and those who damaged it and loved the brutal, predatory and bloodthirsty life, for those the well-ordered way of life of dumb animals serves as a true conviction. Therefore, with your benefit in mind, the Creator also adorned the dumb breeds with certain natural advantages, so that you could benefit from this too. Witness to this is Solomon, who gives you advice and says: “Go to wickedness, O lazy one, and be jealous, having seen his ways... go to the bee and see, since there is a worker, and since she does honest work: kings and simpletons use her labors for health” (Prov. 6:6,8). The God of all things Himself testifies, speaking through the mouth of the Prophet: “the turtle dove, the grasshopper, and the little gusset of the village” knew “the times of their entrances: but these My people did not know the judgments of the Lord” (Jer. 8:7); and also through the mouth of Isaiah: “The ox and the ass knew his master’s crib; but Israel knew me not, neither did my people understand” (Is. 1:3). Therefore, the natural advantages of the dumb serve as an accusation against those gifted with words. The Prophet, lamenting about this and imagining the deplorable state of people who have fallen to the point of becoming like the dumb, cries out: “a man who is ignorant of honor, has become like a foolish beast and has become like them” (Ps. 48:13). That is why the Prophets call some wolves (Ezek. 22:27), some lions, catching “in secret” (Ps. 9:30), some dogs, barking at him who feeds them, some youths, “struck by a goad” (Hos. 4:16), some serpents and brood of vipers, some asps, stopping their ears and not hearing. “the voice of those who are wondrous” (Ps. 57:5–6). But just as they gave the names of animals to evil morals, so to simple and not evil souls they gave the names of praised animals. You can find that the soul, adorned with the simplicity of faith, is called by the Prophets a dove and a turtledove. With this name in the mysterious book of Songs the Bridegroom greets the Church, and calls the souls who are submissive and love the Shepherd sheep. For he says: “My sheep hear My voice” (John 10:27) and “I know My, and they know Me” (10:14) and again: “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (10:11); and in another place: “He will set the sheep at His right hand, and the goats at His left” (Matthew 25:33). And also, in the Holy Gospel, he called eagles those who soar on high, have renounced earthly things, acquired a pure spiritual eye and desired to belong to the mysterious body. For speaking of the saints who are caught up into heaven after their resurrection, he added: “Where there is a corpse, there the eagles will be gathered” (24:28). Therefore, from what has been said, it is clear that the Creator gave and allocated certain advantages to bees and all other dumb ones for our sake, so that we would benefit from everything. So, for example, we get other benefits from bees. From them we learn not to boast about the invention of sciences and arts, not to think highly of ourselves and not to forget our nature, but to know the Creator and trace the causes of good things to Him. And so as not to be embarrassed and upset by the fact that the dumb are our accomplices in art and are no different from them, the Creator gave us the fruit of hard work in honey making, so that together with communication in art we could humble our proud will and, having consoled us with the enslavement of these accomplices, eliminate what upsets us. Therefore, what are you grieving about, man, when you see bees as lovers of art? The labor is theirs, and the fruit is yours; they work, and you enjoy what their labor produces. And the Creator gave the spider this innate art of spinning thin and invisible threads in order to teach you how to catch different kinds of birds. The spider weaves webs, not being taught art by reason, but having nature as a teacher, and you, since you have reason and see the pattern presented, have invented thousands of kinds of networks. And this smallest animal, by the fact that, having no reason, has shown you the benefit of the model it presents, forbids you to indulge in arrogance and arrogance, and the variety of your nets again consoles you, for there is only one model, but there are thousands of imitations. For the birds you have arranged something similar to a cloud and the air and, having established it in shady places, by resembling the nets to the air you deceive the feelings of the birds; As an accomplice in the capture, you take fear, aroused by persecution. The birds being caught, when they are frightened and driven from all sides to the nets, fearing those pursuing them, are not able to clearly see what is ahead of them, then, having flown into the invisibly stretched nets, they become entangled in their loops. Hanging such nets in the air, you catch birds with them. But for the same catching of these animals, you have also invented other, more solid nets, which you spread over the ground, dig a hole, fill it with water, plant tame birds near the nets, so that by sight and voice you can lure those similar to them, then, when others, seeing the water and hearing the voice of the bird they see, flock to it, with the help of a special art you make sure that they remain under the nets. Again, you have invented another device for catching four-legged animals: snares, fetters and traps catch deer, and snares catch wild boars, chamois and hares; pits and similar devices are used to catch the wildest animals. But it was not enough for you to prey on birds and livestock, you have already ventured to catch sea animals, having arranged tops, loops, nets, seines and all the like, you pursue the families of those who swim and, with your art, you bring out what is hidden under the water into the air, you catch the pets of the waters, and you yourself, living on land, attract to yourself those whose place of residence is the watery depths; Thousands of species of fish are ready for your pleasure, and you take advantage of them using the art of fishing. Therefore, do not be upset when you look at a spider spinning thin threads: you also receive benefit from it, you learn not to think highly of yourself, but to praise the common Creator. But you are also consoled by seeing that the spider’s prey is mosquitoes, flies and similar animals, and with your wisdom you overcome fast-flying birds, with your tools you force animals that swim and live under water to yield to you, and the breeds of creatures living on land obey your laws. Therefore, do not be upset that you are deprived of wings, for you have received wisdom as your inheritance, which makes the birds your helpers; you have a mind that is fleeter than any bird, or better yet, the wind itself: wherever you turn your wave, it is immediately there; although enclosed in the body, tied to the earth, it nevertheless flows around the sky, extends beyond the heavenly beauties and the sky itself, imagines what is above it, goes around the universe, visits thousands of nations, talks with friends living far away. Why does the deprivation of visible wings crush and sadden you, who owns such mental wings with which you can easily defeat birds? Your body is unwinged, but with wisdom you catch the birds flying through the air. With her assistance, you lead an ox, armed with strong strength and horns, under a yoke, force you to work, subject you to incessant labor, force you to plow a field, drag a cart, carry weights that other pack animals cannot bear, and transport substances needed to build houses. You order - and he goes under the yoke, patiently bears this yoke, forgets about the benefits of horns, is afraid of your voice, does not know the difference in strength of strength, but tolerates enslavement to a much weaker creature. The mind is so much better than the strength of the body. He commands the donkey, the dog, and the camel to bear the burden, and each of the named animals bows to the ground according to this order, the one burdened with burdens gets up as soon as ordered, the one tired from long journeys endures those who bring him to suffering, submits to those who burden him, accepts the food given to him, but the one tormented by hunger does not cry out against those who own it; because the law of slavery was learned from nature itself, therefore the strongest animals are feared by the mere voice of one who cares about them. But you despise the Lord of all creation and, in the form of animals, finding an incentive for yourself to serve for your benefit, you do not want to obey the Lord and beg Him, and you do not decently bear the burdens of virtue when the Lord placed them on you. But you gallop, you behave arbitrarily, you avoid this yoke, like a calf that has not experienced the yoke, you do not tolerate the reins, but break them, you run and rush along the rapids, you overthrow the rein holder given to you by nature. On the contrary, those who loved this good slavery, wounded by a fiery and undaunted love for the Master, derived great benefit for themselves from the example of the dumb. Therefore, in the psalms, all of them, through the mouth of one, cry out: “You have cattle, and I will take you out with You” (Ps. 72:22-23); those. I follow You, like led cattle, not asking which path You are leading, not wondering whether it is short, long, or difficult; I am not upset by its tightness, nor by its steepness, nor by its danger, because I have assured myself that You are good and are guiding me towards good. Therefore, in everything else, I am a lover and reasonable, I know how to judge what I should, and I clearly see how to avoid the sorrowful, and when You lead, I abandon reason, imitate the obedience of cattle, reasonable before others, I am “cattle” with You. Therefore, I do not separate myself from Your presence, but “I will go out with You.” Since I follow in Your footsteps, I submit to the reins, I allow myself to be led wherever You lead me: whether You force me to walk a smooth or rough path, narrow or wide, because I rely on Your wisdom, I believe in Your goodness, I know that what You please is truly beautiful and good. Those who know how to acquire such benefit receive it from wordless nature. Therefore, you, seeing that the dumb generations are submissive to you, submit to Him who made them your slaves. He subjugated herds of horses to you and, having taken a proud horse that does not know how to carry a rider, you transform it with your art, wean it from insolence, humble it to the point that it stops beating with its hind legs; you bend the raised neck into a ring, force you to lower your face to the ground, teach you to walk at a measured pace, rearrange your hooves decorously and run quickly when necessary; You make a wild man tame, bring him to such obedience that he obeys your voice and your hand, suffers blows from you with a whip, although he is much superior to you in both strength and agility, endures your threats, fears you - and by what he does, he acknowledges his slavery. When you are hunting, he hunts with you; and when you fight, he struggles with you, quickly attacks his opponents; and if you want to run, your courage changes into timidity, turns back, runs, rushing with speed, delivers you from those pursuing you; does not disobey when you order him to go straight into the face of the enemy squad, does not contradict when you order him to flee; He knows one law of salvation - this is the order of the horseman. And what am I talking about a horse, a donkey, a camel? The greatest of all earthly animals, the elephant, which can uproot even the greatest trees with its trunk, wants to obey you. He who is like other hills in size does not think about strength, does not think about strength, does not look at the enormity of his body, but endures your dominion; and you (I mean your whole family), sitting, give an order, and he does what he is told. If he receives payment from the audience for the spectacle, he gives it to you by the trunk, like a handful. You go to war, and he fights with you, and when you enter into battle, he takes many archers onto his ridge: from him, like from a tower, they throw arrows at the opponents and, advancing on the enemy’s squad, he brings fear, easily breaks their ranks, scatters the warriors. Therefore, do not be upset that you have a small body, but look how many animals agree to serve him, and with diligence sing the songs of Him who subordinated them to you, and for this very confession of gratitude to the Creator. For, thinking about your spiritual salvation, I did not surround you with too great a body, so that, having the advantage of both: both soul and body, you would not fall into devilish arrogance. If even with your small body you rage and rage against the Creator, then what would you not do if you received bodily greatness? Now, just as the smallness of the body teaches you to be chaste and to know the Creator, so the gift of reason rewards the smallness of the body. Through reason you rule the nature of the dumb, you use them in business, you lead herds of sheep, goats, pigs, herds of horses grazing in the steppes and carrying camels, mixed breeds of birds and birds. Some of these dumb ones serve you as food, make your meal valuable, give you all kinds of pleasures, go into various foods for you, others bring you bread and firewood, carry what you need for other needs. Dogs sometimes go with you to catch, sometimes shepherd herds together, sometimes they serve as guards at home. The shepherds, relying on their vigilance, enjoy sleep; with their assistance, a few can herd many sheep, because the dogs are ready to plunge into danger not only for the masters, but also for the sheep; They protect the shepherds, diligently fight with the wolves and, wounded, do not indulge in shameful flight, but by barking call the shepherds for help. And the dog does this without having reason as a teacher, but distinguished by some natural advantage. By order of the hunter, he follows the prey, distinguishes smells, and following them, as if following some kind of traces, walking steadily, does not stop until he finds the prey. Having found it and holding it with teeth and claws, he does not eat the prey himself, but keeps it intact for the one who sent it, and although he is enslaved to unreason, he nevertheless recognizes dominance and does not dare to enter into a division of the catch with the master. If he finds an animal that is larger than him and exceeds his own strength, for example, a wild boar or a bear, or something similar, then he protects himself from being hit by fangs, but fights courageously and, making frequent attacks from behind, tries to detain the prey with safety for himself and with intense struggle does not allow it to escape, because with frequent attacks forcing the animal to often turn back, it does so that it remains in one place until it approaches catcher And he, as soon as he comes, with the assistance of artificial weapons, very easily and without difficulty takes possession of the prey. And it is in vain that anyone who is quick to object to me will present me here with the appearance of mad dogs kicking donkeys with their hind legs, biting camels, butting oxen. Of the large number, only a few have these shortcomings - and this is extremely necessary: ​​from this you know that the nature of the dumb does not submit to you by itself, but by submitting to the becks of the Creator: this is confirmed by the animals that rebelliously rebel against your dominion - the biting camel and the goring ox and all the like, because everything in the same way would have come out from under your dominion if the divine law had not forbidden; so that the lawlessness of the wordless becomes for you a lesson in decorum, their galloping stops your unbridled movements, being exposed to their willfulness, you learn not to be self-willed, but to recognize the Lord. For this reason, the Creator created both wild animals and kinds of reptiles, so that your rashness and insolence could be taught to virtue and the fear of animals would lead you to the need to seek God’s help, because the fear of animals imposed on you, constantly striking and wounding you, excites you to prayer and forces you to call on the Helper for protection. And since need commands you to ask for help, you try to please the One who can help you, and you are forced to constantly beg Him to avoid harm from those who are malicious; you raise your eyes to heaven, looking for a Trustee, wanting to free yourself from offenders. And this fear becomes your guide to God. But so that, constantly being exposed to this fear, you would not lead a miserable life, God settled the animals far from you. And he hid a breed of poisonous animals in some holes, made dungeons their place of residence, not allowing them to fearlessly approach a person, but commanded them to always hide, and in rare cases to show themselves, having given the law and showing themselves, to avoid the gaze of people, as if they were some kind of rulers, not to harm many and very rarely, however, not to start battles with them, but only to defend themselves, for otherwise we would not have become afraid of them if our family experienced no harm from them. And the Guardian of the universe ordered the families of four-legged animals to live in impenetrable forests, on cliffs, in places filled with caves, and where there are absolutely no people, and he appointed night for them to obtain food. For it is said: “Thou hast laid down the darkness, and the night has come, in which all the beasts of the oak forest will pass, roaring and devouring them and seeking food for themselves from God. The sun rises, and they gather together and lie down in their beds. A man will go out to his work and to his work until the evening” (Ps. 103:20-23). Then, amazed at God’s economy, the Prophet cries out: “For Thy works are great, O Lord: by wisdom Thou hast done all things” (103:24). And that after the invasion of sin, the dumb also refused to recognize the dominion of man over themselves, but first they submitted to him and recognized their slavery, this is evidenced by the ancestor Adam, who gave names to all of them, was not afraid, did not run away from them and did not suffer any harm from them. The second ancestor of people, the spark of the entire race, blessed Noah, who in the ark was the shepherd not only of the meek, but also of the most ferocious animals, testifies to this, and for a whole year shepherded both of them together and forced the carnivores to eat grass: the number of clean animals that were preserved in the ark intact and inviolable also testifies. The great Daniel also testifies, given as food to lions, but striking them with the lightning of virtue and making them extremely frightened by the features of God’s image. since they saw that the similarity to the Prototype was preserved in a very clear image, they recognized their slavery, put aside the atrocity and seemed to assume that they were seeing the Adam who, before sin, gave them names. So, when Blessed Paul, in order to maintain the fire in the fire, brought a bundle of wood and with the help of fire moderated the cold of the air, the viper hiding in the wood fled from the fire, as if it were harmful to it, and touched the Apostle’s hand, as if avenging what she could suffer in the fire. But having found not the weakness and pliability of sin, but the firm and indestructible weapon of virtue, she jumped back immediately, like some arrow shot at a solid body and turning back to the one who fired it, and retreated under the burning fire, as if exposing herself to punishment for the insolence that she had acted angrily with the hand of her master. Therefore, the kinds of animals are similar to the whips, rods and punishments of a mentor: for those who have already reached perfection and have left childhood, they are not at all terrible, but for infants, in terms of their way of thinking, they are very necessary and useful. And just as, in the words of the divine Apostle, “the law does not lie with the righteous, but with the wicked and disobedient, with the ungodly and sinners, the unrighteous and abominable” (1 Tim. 1:9), with parricides and the like, so animals serve for people as a kind of punishment, terrifying and frightening those who are willing to sin, and the pets of virtue are neglected, like something childish. Therefore, finding God’s care in this and having recognized all of God’s providence, stop, friend, slandering and reward the Benefactor with hymns. For isn’t it an obvious incongruity to praise a grammar teacher who, at the right time, punishes children with a rod, drives out laziness with a scourge, instills firm memorization of letters, and also to testify gratitude to a doctor not only when he offers food and drink to the sick, but also when he cuts, cauterizes, fights the disease, does not allow it to advance, - to blaspheme God, Who is with the highest wisdom and great care provides for souls and, by giving goods and fear of punishment, teaches the rudiments of virtue, uproots the disease of vice and brings the soul to full health. Therefore, “keep your tongue from evil and your lips from uttering flattery. Turn away from evil and do good” (Ps. 33:14-15). Take note of the care for you and sing to the Provider, so that, seeing you grateful for the mercies, he will now shower you with blessings and make you worthy of the promised blessings, which may we also receive in Christ Jesus our Lord. Glory to him forever and ever! Amen. Word 6. That wealth and poverty are useful for this life Repeatedly I spoke to the Prophet: “To the wicked, do not do wrong; and to those who sin, do not lift up your horns, do not lift up your horns on high, and do not speak unrighteousness against God” (Ps. 74:5-6), claiming that He left the creation He created without control. But those who are extremely unappreciative are not convinced either by the “heavens,” according to the word of the Prophet, which tell “the glory of God” (Ps. 19:1), or by the sun, “like a bridegroom,” emanating “from his palace” (18:6) and reaching to the ends of the universe with both light and warmth, nor by the changing moon, which arranges the measures of time, nor by the rising and setting stars, showing the way to sailors, stimulating farmers to harvest and sow, nor the succession of annual times, nor the turns of the sun, nor the opportune and proportionate generation of clouds, nor the harmony of land and sea, nor the flow of rivers, nor the outpouring of springs, nor the abundance of fruits, nor the variety and benefits of animals, nor the structure of the body befitting a rational being, nor the immortality of the soul and the wisdom that governs the body, nor the multitude of all kinds of arts that provide not only what is necessary, but even what beyond need, nor everything else that the Greatly Gifted One bestows on human nature every day. But even taking advantage of all this, they indulge in frenzy and go mad, call great care about everything negligence, put wealth and poverty in the middle for us, and complain about the lack of monotony in life. Therefore, having accepted the One who wisely rules the boat of the universe as an assistant to the word, let us resist these attacks, resolve the objection and show that the complaint they weave is the same as the fabric of a spider. They say: why do the most vicious people get rich, thousands of blessings flow to them from everywhere, carried by a favorable wind, they walk the path of life and, as parting words of unrighteousness, accept streams of wealth, because abundance feeds in them the flame of covetousness, and vice, having accepted wealth as an accomplice, ignites the greatest fire, and the added force to desire makes evil unbearable. And the practitioners of virtue live in poverty, suppressed by disasters, lacking the most necessary things, exhausted, not washed, with their eyes cast down on the ground, mocked, ridiculed, enduring thousands of all sorts of sorrows? Therefore, first of all, let us ask them: in what way do they place the highest level of well-being. And if they say: in wealth, we will immediately expose their lies. For how can one be the creator of well-being for one who, according to them, serves as an accomplice to untruth? If those who live viciously because of wealth raise their eyebrows, become arrogant, rushing around on horses and chariots, stir up the marketplace, despising others as much as they themselves are worthy of contempt, cause offense, are given over to covetousness, appropriate what belongs to others, covet what does not belong to them, take away property from their neighbor, enjoy other people's goods, profit from the misfortunes of the poor - and they do all this with the help of power of wealth, then will wealth be the height of well-being, the basis of happiness? If they call virtue the most excellent of goods and say that an ardent lover of virtue and a diligent doer of it is at the very top of goods, then why do they look at wealth and call those who become rich worthy of competition? The abundance of money and the excess of success in virtue are directly opposite to each other. Taking the light of truth as an assistant and having carried out a general investigation, let us examine how many types of virtues there are and how convenient it is for a person to acquire them. We count among virtues, of course, prudence, chastity, courage, justice and all parts of wisdom that come from them and are contained in them. Therefore, let us examine what each of the said names means, what is its meaning or interpretation, or power. Prudence, of course, is the wakefulness of the rational force in us, just as madness and unreason, without a doubt, are the intoxication of this force produced by the passions, and it, like a certain cloud, finds, condenses, darkens and does not allow reason to see what it should; why the sound state of rational power is called prudence. But we also call chastity freedom from passions. When the rational force has acquired a sound and correct way of thinking, then the passions weaken, fall, dissipate, their ignition ceases, and the reins holder - the mind - gallops decorously on horses. Why do we call the orderliness of the passions and the health of the reindeer chastity? We call a just movement of irritable force courage, just as we call an unjust and disorderly movement audacity. And we call justice the truthful dominion of the soul and the proportionality of the passions subject to it; because bringing the forces of desire and irritability into harmony with rational strength and their mutual dissolution helps us to acquire justice. So, since we have found out how many parts of virtue are and what the knowledge and powers of each are, let us also consider how one who wishes can succeed in them: by using wealth as an assistant or by accepting poverty as an aid to acquisition? But wealth, with many rebellions, with worries of all kinds, with thousands of different anxieties, serves as a slanderer and not as an assistant to virtue. For how can one succeed in chastity who constantly serves the belly, is devoted to feasts, prepares treats, is concerned with the arrangement of beds and tables, who does not lose sight of the bakers, cooks, cake makers, incense of wines, glasses, bowls, all kinds of vessels and various supplies. Whoever drinks undissolved wine greedily, overburdens the belly, extinguishes the last spark of rational strength in himself, always gives new food to the flame of passions, kindles in himself as much as possible indecent voluptuousness, arouses his irritability to the highest degree in those who serve him - he makes the ruler of passions their slave, turns the ruler into a servant of the belly, who has received from the Creator the right of dominion over life, reduces to slaves of lust, the prince gives captivity to his subjects, makes the reindeer's horses drag him along the ground, that the helmsman no longer holds on to the helm, does not rule the whole boat, but gives it over to the disturbances of passions that flood and drown the boat? Such a person, of course, is not only devoid of prudence, but even given over to all lewdness; not only does he lack courage, but has already become a slave to hostile passions. Should it be said about justice that when the opponents themselves agree that those who want more and more acquisitions do not want to know the difference between truth and untruth, but on the contrary, with such people everything is disorderly, indefinitely indifferent? Therefore, for those who are extremely fond of arguing, it is not difficult to understand from what has been said that it is not easy for those who use wealth as an assistant to succeed in virtue. And that poverty promotes wisdom and without it it is impossible for a person to succeed in the most perfect virtue, we recognize this immediately. Firstly, the lack of what is necessary forces the passions to submit to rational force, does not allow them to ignite and break the reins, as happens with luxurious and gluttonous people. And then the soul, freed from unnecessary burdens, free from external rebellions, enjoying all silence and silence, deepened into itself. sees her own dignity, recognizes the slavery of the passions subject to her and, using the right of dominion, subject to her, prescribes deanery, and punishes the disorder of one or another of them through them themselves: either she opposes the fiery irritability of lust and the compliance of the latter, weakening the impetuosity of the first, then she turns this same orderliness in punishment to lust and the scourge of irritability reduces his further desire. Work also contributes to rational strength in bringing the passions into order. For the need of poverty stimulates hard work and the lack of what is necessary leads to work, and the burden of work, weakening passions, does not allow them to ignite, depleting what feeds them. Why do you become stagnant in ingratitude, seeing the combination of poverty with the righteous, and degrade this instrument of virtue, acting like one who praises the seats, benches, beds, doors and beauty of buildings in the house, but laughs at the tools of the housebuilder and carpenter, condemns the axe, the drill and everything else that is used to make every thing in the house? And the children of wickedness themselves testify to the fact that it is much more convenient to succeed in virtue in poverty than in wealth; The Hellenes also testify that they were lovers of wisdom and had the natural law as their only mentor. For all of them, in poverty, succeeded in moral virtue, and, moreover, without yet hearing the words of God, clearly crying: “Whoever does not renounce all his possessions cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:33). However, nature was enough for them to learn, because God’s word does not teach new lessons, but recalls natural laws, and the very writings of nature, which through the negligence of people time has spoiled, the Creator of nature inscribes again through His preachers. Therefore, if Socrates, and Diogenes, and Anaxarchus, and others like them, having loved the acquisition of moral virtue, rejected the acquisition of wealth, and accepted poverty as an assistant to good acquisition; - and they did this, being blind to discern the truth of the teachings, not expecting the Kingdom of Heaven, not knowing exactly the real good, then why do you, beloved, blame poverty, in which the field of virtue flows comfortably, the rough and difficult path for those who perform it becomes smooth and easy? And we say this, not condemning wealth, not healing evil with evil. For if wealth is bad, then blasphemy falls on the One who gave it. On the contrary, we say that wealth and poverty are offered to people by the Creator Himself as certain substances or tools, and people, having them, like artists, can either sculpt an image of virtue or mold an idol of vice. But with wealth, hardly anyone can sculpt even a few members of virtue in all their beauty, and with poverty, many can produce a whole image. Therefore, let us not ridicule poverty, this mother of virtue, and condemn wealth, but let us accuse those who do not use it as they should. And iron was given to people to be an assistant in building a house, in agriculture, in navigation, and as an assistant in other arts necessary for life. But those who furiously attack each other do not allow the iron to be used only for necessary needs, but use it to kill each other. However, we do not blame iron for this, but we condemn the wickedness of those who use it for evil. Likewise, the use of wine is given to people for fun, and not for madness of the heart, but those who love immoderation and indulge in drunkenness make this the parent of joy the father of madness. And we, pronouncing a fair sentence, call those who use God’s gift for evil wine drinkers, drunkards, bad people, but in wine we see a God-given gift. This is how we will judge both wealth and those who use wealth: we will free the former from blame, and the latter, if they are fair stewards of it, we will crown with great praise, and if, having transformed the order, they turn out to be slaves of wealth, fulfilling every command of wealth and serving in every bad deed, then we will draw up a sentence against them, accusing them of bad behavior, because those appointed as rulers violated the right of dominion and exchanged dominion for slavery. But perhaps one of those who knows how to make objections to what has been said well will ask: why did the Creator not grant the acquisition of wealth to every person, but determined for some to live in wealth, and for others he gave poverty as an inheritance, and made life full of great heterogeneity? But we will also gladly ask the objector: why did He who created the bodily members not give them all the same activity, but gave the eyes the ability to distinguish between colors and shapes, gave the hearing the ability to know the difference between voices and sounds, the nostrils - to receive evaporation and distinguish the foul from the pleasant, the tongue - to judge the quality of tastes, to know the difference between sweet, sour, spicy, bitter, fatty, gave the legs the power to walk, gave the hands the power to produce all kinds of work, made the womb a receptacle for food, the liver a place of purification, the brain a treasury of the cerebellums, the heart a source of warmth, contained breath in the beating veins, and made the blood veins conductors of blood - gave each member a special activity? All named members and those that are not mentioned serve to the perfection of the one body; however, each is entrusted with something special, although he also serves the common cause. The eye serves as a guide to the feet, shows where it is smooth, and turns away from rough places, but it itself is carried by the feet. The ear, receiving sounds, stimulates the eye to see and through sight discovers the cause that produces the sound. And let what we have said be confirmed by the apostolic testimony: “The eye cannot say to the hand, “You do not require me,” or again the head of the foot, “You do not require me.” But much more than that, those who consider themselves to be weaker than the body are the most necessary: ​​and we consider them to be more dishonorable than the being of the body, and hereby we attach great honor” (1 Cor. 12:21-23). And no one, if not completely upset in mind, has ever been upset by seeing different activities in the members. On the contrary, everyone loves the Creator and is amazed at Him that He so wisely distinguished each member, gave each a decent need, made private benefits common, because not one eye enjoys the visible, not one ear enjoys the heard, not one mouth enjoys the taste, not one nose enjoys the sense of smell, not only the legs use walking, not just the hands work, not just the belly enjoys food, not just the heart enjoys warmth, not just the brain enjoys feeling, but each a member has its own special activity and brings benefit to the whole. One member warms the whole body, another nourishes the whole body, another brings some kind of tribute to the whole living being, and the variety of activities is divided into all members of the body, yet they use each other - and a common benefit is achieved. The ear is not angry at what it does not see, the eye is not indignant at what it does not hear, but each member loves the limits of nature and gives the tax that it was originally commanded to bring. But you are extremely angry that not every person receives streams of wealth from everywhere, not everyone lives in magnificent houses, not everyone adorns their bodies with the distinction of official and military clothing, not everyone rides horses and horses, not everyone has a multitude of people coming and going and a swarm of servants ready for all kinds of services, not everyone has gilded boxes, a soft and gentle bed, skilled cooks, invented pleasures, amusements flowing from everywhere, igniting voluptuousness. And how can a person acquire chastity, stirring up so many enemies against him, expelling him from all parts of the soul and body? How can he learn prudence, having piled so many burdens on rational strength? And what can we talk about chastity, justice, courage, prudence when they cannot even stand to hear their names? And how can wealth be acquired by everyone, when everyone is of equal dignity? How will you get what you need when everyone has equal rights and everyone has the same abundant income? Who will agree to serve, having the same abundance in everything? Who would want to stand at the hearth and cook food if poverty does not force him? Who will bake bread or grind wheat with a millstone, separate the bran with a sieve, knead the dough, put it in the oven, endure the blazing fire? Who will lead working oxen under a yoke, begin to cultivate the land and, having harvested what has grown and ripened, transfer it to the threshing floor, separate it from the straw, if poverty does not force them to work? Who will cut stones, take them to build houses and, skillfully fitting one to another, will build houses if poverty does not force him and does not motivate him to work? Who will take up the art of shipbuilding, be a helmsman, and engage in trade and navigation? Who will be the weaver, the tanner, the potter, the coppersmith? If everyone acquired equal fortunes, this would not allow them to serve each other, but one of two things would be necessary: ​​either each person should diligently practice every art according to need, or they would all perish together from a lack of necessary things. And that it is impossible for one person to practice all the arts, there is no need to talk about this, because experience testifies to this. If someone suddenly wanted to study two arts, he would destroy both, because one would harm the other. His mind, dividing between both and not being able to embrace one and the other, although it grasps some parts of both, does not receive accurate and perfect information about either one. Why would everyone suffer final destruction, due to the equally abundant wealth of everyone, and the same thing would happen to everyone that happens to those who destroy the pleasure of eating food through satiety. The latter, by frequent consumption of tasty dishes, weaken the urge to eat, while the former, out of attachment to their possessions, want to become meager in the most necessary things and prefer death with wealth to life with poverty. But let us leave them in their madness, and from this we ourselves will prove God’s care and let us see that this so-called lack of uniformity serves as a means to a pleasant life and the basis of the best way of life. For it turns out that the Ruler of all had equality in mind. Firstly, He gave everyone the earth, as a common platform, a common dwelling, a common nursery and mother and a common tomb, He gave everyone a single source of origin, this foremother - dust; above all spread a common roof - the sky; He gave everyone the sun, the moon and other luminaries, as common light-bearers; He poured air in the middle, and offered it to everyone as a kind of common wealth, because the rich inhale it no more than the poor, on the contrary, poverty here receives an equal, or better to say, larger share: its pets are more numerous and their feelings are stronger and free from unnecessary burdens. Rivers and springs also pour out common currents for everyone. And again God created the bodies of the rich and the poor the same, or better yet, the poor have an advantage in this, because their bodies are healthier. Poverty, according to the wisest of doctors, is the mother of health; labor and physical exercise, according to the same teacher, are the promoters of health. And the souls of the rich and the poor are of the same nature. For both, there is one image of conception, one basis of origin - marriage and an equal number of months of pregnancy. Time does not respect the abundance of property and does not agree, being ashamed of wealth, to bring a baby into the world before the established limits or to keep him longer in the mother’s womb - but the same for both the rich and the poor a baby comes into the world; the birth of both happens in illnesses, it is better to say, if you believe experience, the birth of a poor woman is easier and she has fewer birth illnesses, because the habit of work makes these illnesses easier for her, which is why doctors prescribe necessary labor to those living in luxury during the days of pregnancy. Therefore, rich and poor, although they bear the same in the womb, yet give birth unequally, but where there is the consolation of wealth, there is great difficulty, and where there is a scarcity of necessary things, there nature helps, consoling with ease; It’s better to say that the Creator of nature Himself equalizes these inequalities, and during the difficulty of childbirth, which comes from contentment in everything, He gives consolation in doctors and healing, and for those deprived of this benefit, due to poverty, He makes nature a helper. See what the scales of the truthful Judge are, and move your lips to sing His praises. Look, those who are born alike come into the world naked. And the baby of the rich is not clothed in scarlet, and the baby of the poor is not born in rags, but both are born naked, by which the Creator proclaims their equality. They inhale the air in the same way, they fall to the nipples in the same way, the poor baby is fed with no other milk, the rich baby is offered no other milk, but both of them feed equally on the same food. Not only is the entry into life the same for all of us, but also the exit is the same. The same death awaits us all. She is not afraid of wealth, does not fear spearmen, does not tremble in scarlet, does not value walls and towers and royal palaces, penetrates into the bridal chamber, does not have mercy on the weeping, does not show pity to the suppliant, is not bribed with gifts, is not restrained by the art of medicine, renders healing powers invalid, often does not allow orders to be made, to announce a successor to the inheritance, but kidnaps, carries away, separates the soul from the body. Therefore, both those who are puffed up by wealth and those living in poverty have a common end, and the same is true for them both after their death and after their departure from here. Rottenness equally follows, pus spreads, worms are born, the majestic eye fades and decays, the insatiable mouth and frantic tongue become the food of worms, the proud neck not only bows, but also collapses, the arrogant cheeks not only fall off, but also turn into a small amount of dust, the complexion fades and disappears, the fingers that write wickedness lie scattered, without any articulation. So all this, as something common, is presented to both rich and poor. Therefore, it remains to be said that both poverty and wealth, which you consider to be property, as our word will show with the help of God, are common property, because the excess of the rich is equally enjoyed by those living in poverty. since the Creator of both of them enriched poverty with arts of all kinds, then for the sake of these the rich come to the doors of the poor, give them money, borrow from them what they need for their needs, and because of wealth, having more needs, they suffer a lack of every need. They buy bread from some, supplies from others; others, having measured the feet, sew shoes, others prepare women's outerwear and men's honorary clothing, and others prepare carpets, headbands, bedspreads; who builds houses, who makes lodges and seats, who delivers different kinds of vegetables, different types of fruits, and who delivers wheat, barley and other agricultural goods, without which it is impossible to live, even if someone had Croesus and Midas gold. But for the poor, millet and black bread is enough, and some kind of food is enough. Who, judging directly and fairly, would you call meager, poor, lacking what you need: the one who needs a little, or the one who needs a lot? Is it the one who has all the means of life in his hands, or the one who believes in unfaithful gold, which is not kept by seals and brands and which, leaving doors and locks intact, escapes with the hands of those who undermine the wall? No robber can take away art from the poor, but wealth is not only taken away by a robber, but also by a sneaky person who owns it. The poor man sits in the marketplace, doing leather work, or minting gold and silver, or preparing clothing and other necessities. And the one proud of wealth, trying to rise above his head and spreading his arms, accompanied by many bodyguards, comes to the poor. And one, as naturally, sits, either cutting leather, or chopping silver, or doing something else according to the craft in which he is engaged, and the other stands, talking to him, and with his presence makes his need visible. So, why are you angry and blame poverty when you see that wealth also has a great need for it, and those who have wealth cannot live without it? Marvel at the One who so wisely manages this: he gives money to some, art to others, and through need brings them into agreement and affection. Some give money, while others deliver works of art in return. Poverty enters into competition with wealth - and defeats it with gifts. What wealth recognizes as useless, poverty, transforming with the help of art, turns into something necessary, suitable for every need. And if anyone wants to find out exactly, then the very basis of wealth is collected by poverty. She extracts from the mines gold, silver, copper and iron, from which wealth is made. And from every art some wealth is borrowed; art is the property of poverty. She, even taking the metals themselves that do not yet have a form, gives them the proper form and image, prepares from them rings, earrings, necklaces, various utensils: dishes, glasses - and everything else that puffs up the cheeks of the rich. Therefore, if wealth is created with the help of poverty, and poverty has wealth as an assistant in the arts, then why do you accuse this equation of inequality? Why do you call something friendly hostile? Why do you condemn such an order of things in which life is pleasant for both the poor and the rich, because both, borrowing from each other what they need, satisfy their needs? But you may say: why do most wealthy people live in untruth? Why doesn't everyone respect justice? But here too you take away freedom, and deprive a living being of the honor that it received from the Creator. Moreover, if the Judge in this life allocated wealth to only the righteous, then the workers of sin would be given a greater opportunity for justification. They would say what their mentor said against Job: “Thou hast protected the outer part of his house, and the inner part of their house; thou hast multiplied the wheat and wine for them. But send Your hand and touch everyone who will bless them except at Your presence (Job 1:10–11). Those who live viciously would say this if only the admirers of virtue accepted the gift of wealth. But since the Creator offered poverty and wealth for the environment, and some use them to acquire virtue, and others as an excuse for sin, then neither the rich nor the poor, who live viciously, have any excuse for apology. Some, using wealth well and kindly and making the needy participants in their abundance, serve as sufficient reproof for those who use wealth unjustly and selfishly. Others, having merged poverty with wisdom, patiently and courageously endure its attacks, and become true accusers of those who in poverty learned evil deeds. Consider also the other dispensation of the World Ruler in order to offer up hymns to Him with greater fervor. Since the Creator saw that the rich had many servants, he gave health as an inheritance for poverty. One is carried in the arms, and the other walks without needing someone else's legs. One would like to have the health of the poor, while the other looks with regret at the infirmities of the rich. And in illness, as you see, the rich man has thousands of servants, and he complains bitterly, unable to endure an attack of illness, and during winter he lies in a hot house, spread out on a soft bed, wrapped in many warm clothes, having around him several braziers to overcome the cold, and thousands of medical aids to overcome the disease, listens to the comforting promises of doctors and upcoming friends, with his conversations dulling the sting of suffering. If it is summer time, the patient is placed in another house, open to the outside air, and into which the winds pass freely, and if they stop, the servants manage to produce wind with their fans. Tree branches are placed everywhere like a garden, turning the house into a grove. Water cannons are installed in the upper dwellings so that with their murmur they induce sleep in the patient’s eyelids. And with so many services provided from everywhere, he nevertheless suffers, throwing off his clothes, rushing here and there, letting him know with the movements of his hands what kind of heat is hidden inside him. But the poor man has one small hut, and that one is often rented; Others are unable to pay rent, and the marketplace serves as their home, the earth as their bed, and a pile of rubbish as their bed. There is no doctor with him, no person who would carry out the doctor’s orders, no servant, no maid, and sometimes even an assistant wife. But everything is replaced by God’s Providence for him. It eases the torment of suffering, softens pain, calms the heat of fever without medicine, prevents harm from cold, heat, and dampness. No one teaches him which foods nourish the disease and which contribute to recovery; indiscriminately and discriminately, he eats whatever happens, and what is harmful becomes useful, a sip of cold water turns out to be a cure, dry bread quenches the heat. He has no need for laxatives given internally one way or another. Nature makes up for the deficiency and itself provides the patient with the help that a doctor would provide. And we see that this one prostrate on the ground endures the disease more easily than the rich who use the servants described above. Therefore, in everything that happens, seeing God’s care, do not be curious about how it is done. And if you want to do this, then accept piety as an accomplice to your curiosity. Let it guide your progress, let it guide you in exploring what you are looking for. Submitting to Him, take advantage of every occasion to sing the songs of the Creator. Imitate these three youths, who, having been thrown into the cave, called upon an inanimate creature to participate in the praise, and attracted the tormentor, who mercilessly threw them into the cave, to the sight of a miracle, and by this miracle-working forced him to worship God, against whom he rebelled. And the furnace did not force them to raise their tongues of blasphemy, but, devoted to the flames, they honored the Benefactor with chants. But neither the cave nor the lions force you to blaspheme; on the contrary, while enjoying God-given blessings, you do not feel the gifts. But if you listen to me and decorate your tongue with piety, then you will praise the creature, and you will glorify the Creator, and you will worship His inherent Providence everywhere, because to Him be glory and power, now and always, and forever! Amen. Word 7. That slavery and domination are useful for real life The Creator of all things has no need for human language to sing songs of thanks to Him. And He accepts the angelic song not because He needs it, but seeing the zeal, He approves of gratitude. And those who brought the legal sacrifices, when they offered them, of course, did not satisfy any needs with this offering, but tried to repay with all possible thanksgiving the thousands of benefits they received. Therefore, we immediately see that not everyone made the same sacrifice. Some slaughtered a calf, some a lamb, some a goat. One brought more, and the other less, sacrifices. Those who did not have this and lived in poverty brought a pair of turtle doves or pigeon chicks. Whoever lacked this also brought some wheat flour and some small amount of incense. And from this we, of course, know that the righteous Judge looks at the quality of the disposition, and not at the quantity of gifts. And we offer these meager words of ours as a gift, not in order to add even the slightest drop of something to the abyss of wisdom, but trying to show the zeal that befits servants and having in mind to expose the insolence of slaves like us, and even lay a greater yoke on them. For it is very sad for us to see that they slander God’s wisdom, which rules over everything. That is why we have taken upon ourselves the labor of the real word and will try to stop the blasphemy with denunciations. That they complain extremely unreasonably about the apparent lack of uniformity in life and in their error do not see what they should have seen - this was sufficiently revealed by the previous word, showing the benefits of poverty and the insufficiency of wealth. But since they do not only complain about poverty, but also mourn slavery, complain about tributes paid to kings, and about many other things, which are very consistent with real life, let’s talk a little about this. In this, let us imitate the best doctors who, seeing that the sick do not eat anything and feel disgust from any food offered to them, overcome this disgust in them with some kind of medical aid. Mixing dry and spicy things with sweets that seemed disgusting to the patient makes them pleasant. And those who rebel against God’s Providence, like the sick, condemn everything that is visible and happening in the world. But some suffer from illness against their will, they abstain from food because of extreme suffering and would like to eat, but the disease prevents it, while others are overcome by voluntary suffering, dependent on themselves, and they have an aversion not from bread and food supplies, but from everything that is wisely and truthfully arranged by God's providence. If they sow, they wish for rain, and if they set out on a journey, they complain about the rain. They need the sun's rays to become hotter and the fruits of what was sown to mature, and at the same time they are indignant and complain about the heat. For the sake of the belly, they take on all kinds of labor: agriculture, shipping, and long journeys - and again they become strict accusers of the belly, as if it were legalized not to serve the beckons of the soul, but to dominate. They complain about thunder, hail and similar punishments, and also blame God's forbearance. Both justice and patience are not respected by them. On the contrary, even though they themselves have sinned greatly, they wish to use long-suffering, and whoever has offended them, they pray that justice will strike him severely. They will see a beggar and will immediately set their tongues against Providence and shower poverty with a multitude of ridicule. They will see a rich man who protrudes from the ends of his nails, looks around like a lion, moves his shoulders, rides in chariots, is surrounded by many servants and staff-bearers - and they turn their blasphemy on rich estates. They look at life with indignation as full of inequalities, and they hate death, which puts an end to all inequalities and makes our bodies equal. Meanwhile, those who condemn death should marvel at life, or those who blame life should praise death, because death and life are directly opposite to each other. They blaspheme everyone indiscriminately, and they blame everyone equally. While they are children, they envy their husbands, and when they become husbands, they call their children worthy of envy. And should we retell all the slander of those possessed by this evil disease? There is nothing in the world that is not touched by the arrow of slander shot by their tongue. Therefore, by using medical methods, we will prove to them that what has offended them until now is very pleasant. And just as in the previous word we talked enough about wealth and poverty, about the apparent lack of uniformity in their reasoning, proving the benefits of both poverty and wealth, so now let us explain about slavery and domination that it was not the Creator Himself who first established this division in our nature. So, turn to this original creation of ours and see: one man was created from the earth, but a wife similar to him was not created like him and not from the earth, because the Creator, taking the rib of the husband, created the female sex from it, so that the wife, due to her different appearance, would not be considered to belong to a different nature. Therefore, from the earth was created the man, from the husband the wife, and from both the whole human race. For the Creator did not at first give slavery to some and dominion to others, but created one race of all. And he commanded Noah to build an ark and, as a reward for his righteousness, having arranged for his salvation, he commanded him and his wife with their sons and their wives to enter the ark he had prepared, and no one entered there as a slave, because this division had not yet existed in the human race, but the only slaves, in the true sense, were the dumb generations, which for this very reason the Creator of all things brought into this life. But since he subsequently saw that great disorder arises from lack of leadership and people fearlessly dare to commit any kind of lawlessness, he divided the human race into superiors and subordinates, so that the fear instilled by the superiors would reduce the multitude of sins, because fear is able to curb the aspirations of irrational passions and weaken the inclination in the soul to the worse; and often, in what reason did not help, fear succeeded. Since our race has deviated into the worse, overwhelmed by passions and a mind mired in them, it has left the body in order, like a boat without a load, to rush about in disorder, then laws have necessarily become necessary for us, like some kind of anchor that stops the boat, prevents it from rushing forward and allows the helmsman to emerge from the depths and take hold of the helm. But it would be impossible to establish these laws if everyone had equal power and enjoyed equal rights. For even in cities that had popular government, where the people were the sovereign administrators of affairs, they did not all participate in everything, but some were law makers, others were legislators, others were military leaders, and others were among the subordinates; the ruler of the people had power over officials and bosses. And in cities governed by a small government, many were on the list of subjects, but not many, surpassing others in prudence and distinguished by virtue, received public service and government as their inheritance. And some were people's caretakers, others were captains of ships, others were guardians of order and controlled the crowd, as it seemed best to them. Thus, sin introduced the need for laws, and laws needed the power of those who made laws, and not only those who issued them, but also those who could punish criminals. And although sin introduced disorder, the Ruler of all things also put order into disorder, and stopped the desire of sin, as if with some kind of bridle, by laws, and handed over the reins of this bridle, as to the rein-holders, to the rulers. Cities, villages, and armies are ruled by them. For who could endure the arbitrariness of the offenders if this flame of their covetousness were not restrained from striving forward by the fear of laws? Like fish, the larger ones would devour the smaller ones, if the law did not show a sophisticated sword and a blazing fire, and everything else that was invented by those in power to punish evildoers. For if, when laws threaten and leaders punish, there are people who, in their disposition towards their neighbors, are more ferocious than any beast: they terrify like scorpions, bite like snakes, rage like dogs and roar at their fellow tribesmen like lions at animals of a different kind from them, then what would they not do if there were no laws and punishing leaders? Now, although others commit iniquities, those who dare to commit them, fearing the laws, try to conceal them and try to cover up the untruth with the art of speech. And the offended one fearlessly comes to the judges, files a complaint in insult, is not afraid of the power of the offender, does not tremble at the nobility of the rich, but as if on a harbour, he runs to the court, describes the grievances inflicted on him, asks to propose laws for Wednesday and begs the judge to judge by them. And the judge pronounces a sentence, orders to return to the offended person what was taken from him - a house or a field, or a vessel, and often punishes the one who dared to offend with a monetary penalty. Because of this fear, those who break down walls and roadside predators do not show themselves, but secretly carry out robbery and, by the very attempt to hide, proclaim their fear. For otherwise, having taken a knife, they would have killed everyone they met and robbed their property. But out of fear, many do not indulge in evil deeds, and even those who dare to do evil deeds lie in wait on paths less traveled or in cities they commit crimes at night, using darkness, night and general silence to help them commit robbery. And if two or three of them are caught and punished according to the laws, they become quite a useful example for others, who, looking at the execution of people like them by morals, begin to hate vice as the cause of a shameful death. But I don’t know how, intending to explain the cause of slavery, I entered into these discussions. Therefore, it is time to return to where we started. That at the beginning the Creator of all things made the nature of all people one: from one husband and from one wife he filled the entire universe with the human race, the witness of this is the Divine Scripture. And nature also bears witness to the Divine Scripture. The countries that have received their inheritance, lying in the east and in the sunny west, as well as the southern and northern ones, and those living in the middle countries, have the same type of structure, the same number of feelings, differing only in morals and color. But morals are formed by customs and spiritual freedom. This same difference can be found among ourselves. And the difference in color produces the position of the country. Those who live far from the rays of the sun have a whiter body surface, but those who inhabit the eastern and western countries towards the south pole have a blackened body, like firewood, which, from long exposure to fire, becomes charred and takes on a black color. Therefore, there is one human nature in both superiors and subordinates, and in subjects and in kings, and in slaves and masters. But even being one, it preaches the justice of the Creator, and having been divided over time into slavery and domination, but in slaves and masters retaining the same distinctive property, just as it accuses sin, which created the need for this division, and in this very thing it shows the justice of the Creator, because He preserved the identity of essence to the end, and averted the disorderliness of sin by the order of the supreme power and subordinated its possessiveness to the rule of law, just like the builder The ship aligns the boards along the thread and trims off the excess. Therefore, when you see slavery, do not blame the Creator, but flee from sin and blasphemy, for which the human race is divided into slaves and masters. When you see that the boat is being carried by a fair wind, the swimmers are sitting calmly, the rowers are either using oars, or pulling the longitudinal rope, or fulfilling some other order, the leader is looking out for underwater rocks, sandy and rocky shoals and points them out to the helmsman, and the helmsman is in charge of everyone and rules the boat by means of the helm, then you are amazed at the order, you do not order everyone to be helmsmen, You entrust full power to everyone on the ship and, seeing that one remains in peace, another does what is ordered, one says what he sees, and the other gives orders to everyone together, you do not get angry and do not blame for disorder, but on the contrary, you do not cease to marvel at the order. But you do not want houses to be governed like ships; you are indignant when you see that in the house there is one boss, and the others are subordinates. Both the house and the ship, as far as management is concerned, are very similar to each other. The owner of the house, like a helmsman, takes hold of the helm of the house and becomes greater than everyone else. And the leader among the servants, who is entrusted with the care of all the others, like the leader on a boat, admonishes the owner, which, in his opinion, is useful. Of the other servants, some, like oarsmen, carrying the private work entrusted to them, do what they are ordered, while others, like swimmers, remaining among them, depend on their orders and through them receive what they need. So, why do you praise a boat, when it is managed in this way, but laugh at a house in which the same management has been introduced? I think you can also praise the army, which is led by a military leader, small squads are guarded by the leaders of the squads, regiments are led out by colonels, while centurions and thousands carry out the orders of the military commander and the army is placed, sometimes in detachments, sometimes in one closed squad, sometimes separated in a semicircle, and in other cases, each wing stretched out over a large space, surrounds the enemies and does not allow they have the opportunity to escape, being equally hit by arrows from all sides and killing every one of them. But all this would not have happened if the army had not been divided into commanders and subordinates, because in the army the most harmful thing is multi-command, which, cutting it into many parts, preventing unanimity and attempting to dispose of it for many purposes, harms it more than controls it. Therefore, is it not strange for you, who marvel at the leadership of one on a ship and praise the order in the army produced by the orders of the military leader, to blame a house governed in the same way? But you say: it is hard to be in slavery, to use what is necessary, to depend on the power of masters and to exhaust oneself with incessant labor. If, with a sincere desire to know the truth, you delve into everything that is said to you, then, leaving behind your objections, you will find that although there is a lot of unpleasantness in this, there is also a lot of great benefit. The owner of the house is embarrassed by many concerns, considering how to deliver the necessities of his household, how to pay the established tax to the kings, how to sell and buy excess profits from his profits, and what the real need is. If the earth was ungrateful to the farmers, imitating in this somewhat the human ingratitude of the Creator, he becomes worried, goes over creditors in his mind, writes obligations and incurs spontaneous slavery upon himself. And if the earth has borne fruit, is burdened with its offspring, covered with harvests, and the tree branches are forced to bend towards it from the weight of many fruits, again he has a different kind of grief: he looks over in his mind the buyers for the fruits and does not find, the abundance of fruit bearing becomes no less burdensome for himself, as for the trees. These worries do not only attack them during the day, they stiffen (i.e. sting. - "Ed." ) and torment the soul, but at night they disturb it even more hostilely, because the soul, silent and freed from external affairs, more fully feels its own state - both good and bad. And the servant who works with the body has a soul that is free and removed from all this. He does not complain about the barrenness of the land, does not mourn the non-sale of food supplies, does not grieve when he sees a creditor, is not afraid of a crowd of collectors, is not forced to go to judicial places, is not afraid of the call of a herald and a judge who turns with a menacing gaze. He receives food in measure, but is free from care. He sleeps on the floor, but no amount of care drives sleep away from him; a sweet dream, pouring onto his eyelids, does not allow him to feel the hard bed. And having learned this from natural science, the wise one said: “Sweet sleep is to the one who works” (Eccl. 5:11). He covers his body with only clothes, but his body is stronger than that of the master. He eats bran bread, without using any minor seasoning, but takes his food with more pleasure than the master. He, constantly pleasing the belly and transgressing the limits of satiety, pushes food away from himself and with compulsion transfers it to the belly, and he, measuring the eating by need and breaking down the given share frugally, takes food with lust and easily digests it, accepting labor as an assistant. But you look at slavery, but do not look at health, you see service, but do not see contentment, you complain about work, and do not enjoy a carefree life, you despise the duty of being in service, and do not look at a pleasant dream. And here you should have seen God’s Providence, seen the uniformity of God’s vision. Since sinful need divided human nature into dominion and slavery, God’s vision combined worries with dominion, appointed vigilance as his lot and gave him many illnesses, and gave slavery more health, pleasant enjoyment of food, sweet and long sleep, which can calm the body after fatigue and make it stronger for the work of the next day. Therefore, do not look only at the labors, but pay attention to the consolations after the labors and praise the Ruler of all for everything. And why do you, who so easily slander everything, denigrate the work? Which of the human blessings is deserved without labor? What prosperity does the human race acquire without labor? Through labor we acquire the benefits of agriculture, the fruits of trade, through labor we create cities, with the help of previous labor we take advantage of the fact that we live in houses, cover our bodies with clothing, have shoes on our feet, and eat all kinds of food. And should we list everything that satisfies human needs and is produced by labor? But you seem to be some kind of drone, brought up in idleness, reaping the fruits of other people’s labors, and you yourself bring nothing into life except one tongue, which has been charged with the duty of ridiculing everything. And this idle talk has given rise to idleness in you. He who is diligent in his work says little, but does very much. Therefore, if each of the benefits is deserved by work, then, friend, do not blame slavery due to work. Pay attention to the fact that many of the masters work no less than the servants, or rather, much more of them, if you count worries as business. But you yourself consider the zealous ones of the present time, and I will show you the ancient servants who worked more. See how blessed Noah chops down trees, clears them with an ax, hews them at right angles, builds an ark, as was commanded, “from rotten square trees” (Gen. 6:14), closes the joints with wedges and thus brings everything into one composition, coats it with mountain and tree resin and blocks the flow of water. And the great patriarch Abraham, lord of three hundred and eighty household members, himself works, serves strangers, goes to the herd, leads the calf; and he encourages his wife to immediately make bread, and she also kneads flour, bakes “needs” (Gen. 18:6), and does not allow slaves to serve, and this wonderful old man himself stands before the wanderers, does not share meals with them, but performs the office of a minister. Look, like Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel, the grandson of Nakhor, at the age when they enter into marriage, distinguished by her beauty, she does not want to sit in the mansion, but she works, carries water, goes to the spring outside the city and not only carries water home, but she herself works for those who come; he draws and pours water for both them and the camels; keeps intact the beautiful property of chastity, keeps virginity inviolable and with all zeal takes on labors, with them he is adorned more than he shines with beauty. And her son, the great Jacob, like the son of such a mother, spent twenty years in labor, tending herds, fighting with beasts, enduring the heat of the sun and at night could not feel satisfied with sleep; and his wife, for whom he endured these labors, as we find in history, tended the flocks. And the sons of Jacob were “cattle feeders” (Gen. 46:34), they themselves worked, tended flocks and often bore the labors of servants. And the divine Moses led the same way of life for forty years, and his wife, the daughter of a priest, tended sheep and, with his help, freed from the insult of the shepherds, was asked by him to be his wife. But it is unnecessary to prolong the word and bring to light all those who, according to the Divine Scripture, have spent their lives in labor. And if it is common for not only servants, but also masters to work, why do you complain about slavery because of work? In their labors, slaves have masters as partners, but they do not participate in the master’s concerns. If work is the common work of slaves and masters, and care is the exclusive work of masters, then why do we not recognize those freed from worries as blessed, but do we rank them among the poor? So, since in this the Providence of the Guardian of all is clearly indicated, then, having put together what has been said separately, let us present it in an abbreviated form and clarify it for better understanding. We have shown that at first the Creator created a single nature and honored it with a free mind, and that then this nature, using the arbitrariness of the will in an inappropriate way, fell into the worst, was seduced into thousands of types of sins. Therefore, the rapidity of sin had to be stopped by laws, and laws required legislators. Therefore, the human race was necessarily divided into two parts. Some are appointed to be in charge, others are obliged to obey their superiors, so that the fear of laws and fear of superiors stops the strong desire for vice. Therefore, city governors rule over cities, trustees rule over villages, military commanders rule over armies, and kings rule over both. On the ship the helmsman is in charge, the wrestlers are in charge of physical exercises, the grammar teacher is in charge of the youths, the tanner is in charge of his students, and the coppersmith is in charge of those who want to learn his craft. Therefore, the master is in charge of the house, because without the master it is impossible to run the house well. And this is confirmed by the houses that lost their master and fell into complete desolation. The hosts of Angels also have this authority, for we learn from Divine Scripture that the sky that is above our heads is inhabited not only by Angels, but also by Archangels; and some are put in charge, while others obey. But if this region, free from lawlessness, and this nature, which is higher than bodies and passions, have not renounced this order, but some dutifully obey, while others rule measuredly, then why are you indignant, O man, when you see superiors and subordinates among people, where there is a great tendency towards the worst? As a kind of medicine that heals the scabs of iniquity, the Creator used this supervision of the rulers. And the father rules over the children, punishes the self-willed children and praises the chaste, the teacher rules over the children, and the husband over his wife, and the master over the servants, approving the most diligent and rewarding them with honor, pleasure, and often freedom, while punishing the lazy and accustomed to evil deeds and teaching them the love of philanthropy. God gave this order to all priests. He awarded some the priesthood, entrusted others with leadership over them, and under them he created other types of ranks. If, seeing that some of the masters are very cruel and extremely self-willed and some of the leaders sell justice for gifts, you find this a stumbling block for yourself and suffer from contradiction, then I warn you; This is an evil creation of the mind, and I say that it was not God who entrusted power to such people, but their superiors were brought in by the vices of their subordinates, because they did not want to derive any benefit for themselves from their good bosses, but with their bad morals they insulted the rules instilled by them and thereby deprived themselves of God’s care for them; and then, left without God’s care for them, they received such rulers that, having learned from experience the worst, they brought the best into memory and remembered their honest and good rule. We find that the God of all, due to the excess of human malice, often loosens the reins and allows the human race to wallow as it pleases. And Himself teaching us this through the mouth of the Prophet, He said to Israel: “And he said: “I am not to shepherd you: let the dying die, and the disappearing, let each one take away the flesh of his neighbor” (Zech. 11:9). Therefore, when bad rulers rule and cruel and evil gentlemen rule the house, one must pray to the Ruler of all things and change the way of life, correct morals, bow to His mercy, arouse Him to help and fervently beg to change difficult times to better ones. And that He willingly listens to those who ask Him sincerely, because it is Good and the custom to show mercy, or better yet, is the source of mercy, He Himself testifies to this when He makes a promise to those praying like this, and says: “Thou shalt call,” and I “will hear thee, and again I say unto thee,” the river: “Behold, I have come” (Is. 58:9). And that even the extremely lawless, who are trying to outshine everyone with their wickedness, cannot do harm to those who have a sound mind and lovers of piety, this, with the help of God, we will explain in the following word. In the present, let us glorify the One who sends down both general and private Gifts to people, who rewards our race with many thousands of benefits. Glory to him forever! Amen. Word 8. That there is no harm in serving evil masters for sane people A great gift of speech and intelligence (I know this very clearly) are required for those who attempt to talk about such an important subject, because the glory of the deeds themselves usually has some dependence on the word. Those who want to take into account not the quality of the deeds, but the art of the word, like to judge deeds by the weakness and power of the word. But I, relying on the importance of the subject, did not commensurate the creations of my mind with it, did not reflect on the fact that these creations were small and meager, I only meant that for those who want to see, the light of truth is clear, just as the sun is clear for those who have healthy eyesight. And if no one recognized the Truth, then the very Providence of our Creator and Savior would cry out about it. Therefore, I thought that I would not do anything indecent and worthy of reproach, giving my mouth to the service of this voice heard everywhere and making known to it the blocked ears of the ungrateful. That poverty and wealth are necessary and useful for real life, that slavery and dominion were given to us by the Physician of souls as a kind of medicine for sinful scabs - this, with the assistance of the grace of God, we have sufficiently shown. And that slavery does not harm those who are in it, but is even very beneficial if someone wants to use it - we will prove this (let’s say so with God) now, for we promised to talk about this yesterday. Anyone, even without ancient examples, can test those who are now in slavery and see that among them there are many zealots of virtue who make slavery easier for themselves by good will, without requiring incentives, do what is due of their own free will and love to please their masters - and for this they receive freedom, become owners of large estates and receive a reward for their good slavery. But, perhaps, it would not be superfluous to present as an example a certain number of those who were in slavery in ancient times and open the treasure of piety they collected to expose those who attempt to condemn slavery and turn it into a reason for the greatest blasphemy, and on this basis dare to throw arrows against God’s Providence. Therefore, let the first servant of the Patriarch Abraham appear first of all. When the aged patriarch, knowing the limit of nature, foreseeing the end of life (because old age is the precursor to death), gave this slave a commandment about a son, commanded him to take a wife from his own tribe, believing the ancient oaths and blessings, strictly ordered him to avoid kinship with the Canaanites, then this wonderful servant, first of all, strictly weighs all the words of the master, fearing the uttered oath and, horrified by the Eye that watches over everything, asks first whether the son should be returned to the paternal house of Abraham when the wife refuses to move. since Abraham forbade this and said that he should not return, but should place his trust in the one who called God, trust in His guidance, the slave goes from his master’s house and, having completed many day’s marches, reaches Harran in the evening. And he places the camels, giving them rest for healing after work, and he himself, putting aside the gifts he brought and all the nobility of wealth, raising his hands to the sky, prays to God to become the bridegroom of his pet and betroth to him a maiden who corresponds to the master’s morals. His pious sayings are worth listening to. For he says: “Lord, God of my master Abraham... behold, I am at the well of water, and the daughters of those who live in the city are going out to draw water: and the maiden who is the river will be: bow your waterpot, that I may drink, and say to me: drink thou, and let thy camels drink until they have drunk: this hast thou prepared for thy servant To Isaac: And therefore I know that thou hast done kindness to my lord Abraham” (Gen. 24:12-15). Who will not please this man for his piety? Better to say, who will worthily praise every word he utters? For one can see that his prayer is adorned with faith, wisdom and piety. Putting everything else aside, making the purpose of the journey dependent on God's Providence - isn't this a sign of the highest piety and the highest wisdom? To rely on the righteousness of his master, and the common God of all, to call him God, and to hope that his prayer will certainly be fulfilled, and to see the fulfillment of his request - after this, is there still any higher degree of faith? But even in the fact that he received what he asked, he turned out to be a lover of God, for he would not have received it so easily if he had not been completely devoted to the Giver. This devotion was produced by spiritual virtue. But what he received, and received immediately, this is revealed by history, because at the end of the prayer Rebekah came and showed a sign of love of strangers. As soon as she heard that they were asking her for water, she hurries to give water to all the camels and, with difficulty scooping up water, quenches the thirst of both the verbal and the silent, showing both courage and love for mankind, showing in herself an example of the bride depicted in the prayer word, proving that she is worthy of Abraham’s house and follows the same rules with her hospitable father-in-law. For this was what that faithful servant asked for in his prayer: not a beautiful and stately appearance, not the color of the cheeks, not the beauty of the eyes, not the correct shape of the eyebrows, not the nobility of the family, not great wealth, but a strange-loving heart, quiet behavior, meek and modest speech, an indulgent and humane disposition, worthy of the house of his master, which is open to all strangers, receives all kinds of people and offers to everyone that required. This is what he asked for, and this is what he received. And he did not immediately, without thinking, accept this, but put everything that was happening to him to the test; he wanted, as he says, to see whether “God would make his way good, or not” (24:21). When he saw all the signs that he had asked for, even then, before the hymn, he did not give the betrothal pledge and did not forget the Giver from the fullness of pleasure. But, looking at the gift, he believed that he also saw the Giver of the gift, and first glorified Him to the best of his ability, and then accepted the gift. For having asked the maiden who she was and by whom she was born, and having learned that she was the daughter of Bethuel, that they had shelter and enough food for the camels, Abraham’s servant, as it is written, hastened to “worship the Lord and said: Blessed is the Lord God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His righteousness and truth from my master: and the Lord has made me prosperous in the house of my master’s brother.” (24:26–27). since he received more than he asked for: the girl not only gave him water, but also offered to give him shelter, promised to provide food for both him and the camels, and he saw that the kinship, which he did not mention in forgiveness, was shown to him along with what he asked for - then with whatever hymns he could, he rewarded the One who had shown this mercy and testified to the falsity of God’s promises. For he says: “Blessed is the Lord God of my master Abraham, Who forsaken not His righteousness and the truth from my master Abraham.” You are righteous,” he says, “because You take great care of the pious and You honor Your devoted servant, my merciful master, with all attention. But deeds proclaim the truth of Your words. With your children you confirm your fidelity to the promises you made to my lord. Having thus glorified the Greatly Gifted One, he offers the maiden betrothal pledges, decorates her ears with gold, as they willingly and quickly heed the requests of strangers, and also decorates her hands, which have wonderfully served the generosity of her heart. And when he entered the house, saw her parents, discovered his master’s commandment, recognized God’s help and experienced the great helpfulness with which he was received as an acquaintance, then did he forget about the master, with many worries, did he lose sight of him and did he prefer his own relaxation to his services? Not at all. But when both the parent and mother of the girl, and her half-brother began to ask to stay with them and they could enjoy the stay of the girl setting off on her journey for a few days, the slave said: “Do not hold me back, for the Lord has ordered my way in me: let me go, that I may go to my master” (24:56). Thus, everywhere he decorates his speech with the name of God, he gives blessings from God and attributes what happens to himself to God’s providence. What, tell me, did slavery harm him? Which of those brought up in freedom and proud of their free ancestors showed so much virtue in themselves? Has he left any measure of high piety unattained? But perhaps one of those who know how to weave slander and have learned to denigrate what is good will say that the master’s wisdom served as an edification to the slave and, looking at him as a kind of mirror, he extracted these traits of virtue for himself. And those who have bad masters also imprint in themselves the likeness of their model and, borrowing from their masters the beginnings of bad character, become workers of vice, showing in themselves their teachers. So, let us expose their lies and show that the acquisition of virtue and vice is an arbitrary matter and that no bad master will force a slave who does not want to live viciously. Let the divine Joseph, the grandson of Rebecca, the great-grandson of the patriarch Abraham, be brought forth on Wednesday, in the spring of his days, in his youth, in all his beauty (because spring is the most blooming time of the year). He was in the spring of his days, his years were blossoming, but, distinguished by his physical beauty, he had a soul and a body that was superior in beauty, he was loved by his father, enjoyed his most tender affection, not only as one born after birth, but also as similar to him in morals, as an exact imprint of his father’s virtue. When he saw his dreams and recounted them to his father in the presence of his brothers who heard, envy immediately took up arms against him, and he suffered reproaches generated by envy. And after a short time, those who did not tolerate the happiness heralded by dreams, seeing the youth coming towards them, rush like animals towards a lamb separated from the flock and left without a shepherd to care for it, not respecting the gray hair of the father, not taking pity on old age, which, like a kind of rod, served as a support for the young man, forgetting the law of nature, and the right of kinship, and the unity of origin, and youth of age, and ignorance of vice, and this involuntary (because it was in a dream) power and superiors, still the most insignificant of any shadow, immediately set out to put him to death and defile his hands with kindred blood. Then, when Reuben forbade the murder and gave advice to avoid this desecration by hiding it in a ditch for a short time, soon after this Joseph was sold to the Ishmaelite merchants and the murder was replaced by a sale, unable to bear to see, even in a dream, the one who had power over them. Having suffered such punishment for his dreams, Joseph was brought to Egypt and again sold to Pentephry, who was the king’s archmagir. But even here, remaining, he preserved his fatherly freedom, preserved the purity of the nobility of his ancestors: he did not change his good feelings, taking into account the times - his misfortunes were not accompanied by a change in morals and the determination of his will did not change in him like color. On the contrary, having entered into a different way of life, having passed from freedom into slavery, he remained firm in his former good feeling, and whether he spoke or did anything, modesty was always clearly visible on his forehead. Therefore, he is immediately awarded all honors and is entrusted with the rule of the master’s house. And he constantly shows devotion to his masters, and justice to other servants. He who is grateful to those who have honored him takes due care of those subordinate to his management, for which he became loved by both, because he enjoyed mercy from above commensurate with virtue, or better yet, reaped many times the abundant fruits of his labors. Therefore, whatever he did, God made everything right in his hands. But here again another disaster opened up for him: the disturbances of slavery were followed by a more severe storm. One wave passed - another overtook him; and while making his way among so many waves and storms, he kept the boat from sinking in the waters. He was, as they say, young, adorned with the freshness of age, like a flower that had barely emerged from a cup, down was spread on his chin and surrounded his cheeks like a wreath, the rays of his beauty merged with modesty, dissolved into freedom, modesty sat on his forehead, and persuasiveness took place on his lips. The lady constantly saw this and, when she should have drawn benefit from it, she fell into the ditch of indecency. And just as vision, serving as food for the fire of lust, kindled a high flame inside her, rational power, not extinguishing the spark at the very beginning, was no longer able to extinguish it later, when the spark caused a larger fire. And then, taking shamelessness as her champion, she tried to catch the young man in the net with words. But as the prey did not succumb to the nets, easily jumped over the pegs driven into the ground, the lewd speeches of the begging mistress, varnished with voluptuousness, remained without action and did not lead to anything, having left the words, she decided to tempt with the very deed: taking advantage of the fact that there was no one in the bedchamber, she seizes the young man, thinking that he is a slave, and not the master of passions. But Joseph did not hope for the absence of people, but saw the Eye present everywhere, did not bring to mind his slavery, was not afraid of its domination, reasoning about the greatness of the disaster that he suffered, did not want to loosen the reins of passions as if no one was overseeing human affairs, and did not demand an account from those who decided to do injustice, but resisted with reason slavery, domination, changes in lifestyle, the desire for lust, easily flammable age, convincing, seductive speeches with which the mistress addressed the slave, the absence of accusers, expected slander, thousands of disasters that could have occurred from this. And first of all, having deviated from the laws of slavery and assumed the position of adviser and teacher, he becomes a defender of chastity and an accuser of obscenity. And the young man - the oldest in years, the slave - the mistress, who has not yet worn the marital yoke and is subject to strong attacks of lust - living with her husband, having the opportunity to legally satisfy lust, gives a lesson in chastity. And the most sacred words of a chaste youth are worth listening to. “If my lord,” he says, “if I knew nothing in his house, and all things were in my hand, and nothing was above me in this house, anything was taken away from me except you, since you are his wife: and how can I create this evil word and sin before God” (Gen. 39:8-9)? “You don’t see the One,” says the young man, “Whom I see.” You become intoxicated with passion, but I did not accept this intoxication; on the contrary, I see the Ruler of this universe, Who sees every event. This Eye, if it pleases Him to see anything, is not hindered by either a roof, a wall, or a locked door, and the darkness of the night does not serve as an obstacle to His vision. It clearly sees the emerging thoughts, and accurately perceives the words barely conceived in the mind before birth. Looking at this Eye, I am afraid and horrified, I cannot scold the marriage bed, this source of nature, this door leading into life, which is the reason that the human race does not become impoverished, and which does not allow death to extinguish our nature, but tires the cutting hand with a new planting, and the reaping sickle overcomes with new growth - which is likened to the spring that appears after robberies winter and dressing again what was naked by her. You have taken on the yoke, wife, love this yoke. Do not break the yoke and do not look at what is outside, but turn your gaze to your spouse. With him you are commanded to pull the agricultural plow. Do not dishonor the laws of marriage and the statutes of nature, do not dishonor the bed, which has been honored by God. You are appointed to rule over others, do not be a slave of voluptuousness, do not offend domination with this evil slavery, do not make slavish lusts the mistresses of the soul, do not pervert order, do not take away power from reason, do not hand over the reins to passions. I would like you to become free from passions. But if you don’t listen, if you don’t want to free yourself from intoxication, then I will not agree to be a criminal of the law. I am a slave in body, not in soul. And for another reason I hate unjust deeds. Borrowed by your many benefits, my owner, I do not agree to repay the opposite master. Having been bought for money, I was preferred to those born in the house, yesterday or a day ago I entered your house, took the reins of power over everything, the master made me trustee over everyone in the house and ordered the newly bought one to be the ruler of all. Respecting the laws of marriage, I left you alone outside the limits of my dominance. Therefore, with what eyes will I look at the one who honored me so much if I repay him with such an act? It is disgusting, my owner, extremely disgusting, forgetfulness of mercies, failure to remember good deeds. But even this is worse, an insult is extremely worse, and, moreover, such an insult done to a benefactor. I am assigned to preserve, and not to plunder, the master's property. I will not become a robber instead of a reliable guard. I will not touch what is placed outside my power, I will not imitate the progenitor Adam, who, having taken over all the plants, stretched out his hand to what remained outside his power. Having wished for one thing, he lost everything. - This is how this slave explained himself to this evil mistress; neither slavery nor the mistress’s cunning harmed him, or rather, they showed him in great splendor, like gold or a precious stone. But since he did not convince with words and, forced, had to flee, then, throwing away his clothes, he left naked, under one cover of chastity, because he was not ashamed, like Adam after his crime; but whatever concept he had of bodily nudity before the crime, he left the mistress with the same. Then she resorts to slander, assuring her husband of it: she calls the defender of chastity an attacker against chastity. And he, silently, accepts the master’s verdict and does not want to discover the mistress’s guile; he decides it is better to confirm the slander by silence than to reveal evil intent and expose the mistress in obvious lewdness. He gave her the advice that he should have given, but did not utter the complaint that he could have made, but as someone convicted in absentia, without appearing before the judge, without hearing the accusation, he accepted the imposed punishment, moved to prison, and was imprisoned in bonds with the villains; and endured all the misfortunes courageously. But the multitude of successive disasters did not rob him of his spiritual strength, and did not turn his courage into fear. And in misfortunes he had so much cheerfulness and complacency that he encouraged other prisoners, and if he saw someone despondent, he consoled him. A sign of emotional disposition is often the position of the face; not only the color in the face is consistent with the movements of thought, but also the movement of the eyes, the raising and lowering of the eyebrows. The arousal of anger shows a menacing look in the eyes, and the quiet state of non-anger shows the folding of the eyelids, producing a smile; the compression of the eyebrows to the middle of the brow conveys the idea of ​​worries, and the arched raising of the same eyebrows upward - of arrogance. Therefore, since most of the spiritual movements are expressed on faces, this wonderful ascetic, taking faces as if they were messengers of the soul, encourages the despondent. And one day, seeing that two of the king’s servants were despondent: one, the chief butler, and the other, the chief baker, imprisoned for some misdeeds, he approached both of them, asked, and inquired about the reasons for despondency. A man burdened with so many disasters, the great-grandson of Abraham, the grandson of Isaac, the son of Jacob, whom his father loved most of all, whom he looked at as the light in his eyes, in which he found his joy, fell into slavery, suffering this disaster not from any ferocious barbarians who took him captive, but from brothers enslaved by envy, and not in any injustice who convicted him, but as a pretext for hostility of those who received dreams, does not bring this to mind, as well as what happened to him after falling into slavery: feats of chastity, and condemnation after the victory, and punishment instead of a crown, and prison instead of laudatory proclamations, but he comes with consolation to others who have fallen into despondency, and asks prisoners like him, saying: “Why is your countenance sad today” ( Gen.40:7)? When they said that they had seen dreams and that ignorance of how to interpret them troubled their thoughts, this divine man did not cry when he heard about the dreams, did not indulge in lamentation, remembering his misfortunes, did not shed a cowardly tear, did not sob, did not expose the sad story of his suffering; It’s better to say, he didn’t laugh loudly when he heard about dreams, the falsity of which he had clearly seen before, and he didn’t say to these prisoners: apparently you don’t know, friends, the falsity of dreams and, having probably not experienced their deceitfulness, you want to know their interpretation. Having experience as a teacher, I command you to laugh at these dreams, because they do not show anything true, but predict everything that is contrary to the truth. I also hoped to become the ruler of the brothers, to rule in my father’s house, having once believed in dreams; and not only did he not receive this power, but, having been deprived of his freedom, he became the most pitiful slave, and even in slavery I was not carried by a fair wind, but here, having been subjected to thousands of worries, I was forced to live in prison. Therefore, do not let the night ghosts bother you. Dreams are far from the truth. - But this courageous prisoner did not say or think anything like that, but he said to them: “food is not God’s expression of them, it is; command me” (Gen. 40:8). Everywhere he has God’s name, with it he adorns both his soul and his speech. And saying that the interpretation is from God, he dares to do so, as if he had prepared himself for God’s church. Therefore, dreams were told to him, and he interpreted and revealed what was mysterious and hidden. At the end of the interpretation, he says to the chief cupbearer: “But remember me with you, whenever good comes to you... as if a thief stole from the land of the Jews, and here I did nothing evil, but cast me into this ditch” (40:14-15). When the need called for it, he did not reveal the cunning of his brothers, but covered the matter with the mask of theft, and did not want to dishonor those who in fact made him a slave with a word, out of respect for nature he hid the insult; and not only does he not complain about his brothers, but he also does not make the mistress’s wickedness known to those who do not know it; having known that there was so much lust, lewdness, lies, slander, and maliciousness in her, he did not bring any of this out, but presented one simple excuse for himself: “as if a thief stole from the land of the Jews, and did nothing evil here, but cast me into the ditch” of the sowing fence. Look at the wisdom in his words! Look, what generosity in thoughts! Look, what a non-slavish and fearless way of thinking! Look what a soul! She is always the same: she is not exalted in prosperity, not humbled in misfortune, but laughs at everything - both the sorrowful and the pleasant in life, she is surprised at one virtue and tries to succeed in it. What harm did his mistress’s vileness cause him? How did her wickedness harm her? Therefore, do not assert that the depravity of masters serves to the detriment of slaves, for those who serve wicked masters can avoid imitating wickedness with all their might. And that it is not dominion that is the teacher of wickedness, nor wealth the creator of vice, then look, this same Joseph, having freed himself from slavery and taken second place in the kingdom, does not exalt himself with high power, but dissolves the authorities with meekness, proves his power with trusteeship, sees brothers plotting murder and does not kill, remembers dreams and forgets about the envy aroused by dreams. For hunger drew the brothers to Egypt, and need forced them to bow, when they did not know to whom they were bowing. The dreams against which they rebelled were carried out by those who planned to make them impossible to fulfill; for the sake of dreams, those who sold their brother, so as not to bow down, as the dreams predicted, by selling their brother they prepared worship, because the sold one became a slave, having become a slave, he hated the indecency of his mistress, having hated, suffered slander, the slandered one settled in prison, the prisoner interpreted the dreams to the king’s servants and through this he becomes known to the king, calms him, alarmed by the dreams, and, having clearly interpreted and having advised what should be done, he has already been appointed manager of what he himself has advised. With an abundance of fruits it moderates the expected barrenness of the land, it saves abundant harvests of grain as a cure for hunger, and becomes a nourisher not only for the Egyptians, but also for the brothers who gave it for consumption. Thus, in reality, those who were envious of worship in dreams bow to him and, who did not accept worship in a dream, actually bowed to him. And although he accepts worship, he does not repay his brothers with what they have done, but feeds them, serves them, and supplies them with bread freely. Finally, having seen his half-brother, having arranged imaginary evidence of evil intent, when he noticed that they firmly stand for the young man and prefer the care of the old father to their own freedom, putting aside his formidable disguise and commanding everyone to leave the court, he says: “I am Joseph, your brother, whom you will sell into Egypt” (45:4). And so that such a blow would not become disastrous for those struck by sudden fear, he immediately added, saying: “Now do not grieve, let it be cruel to you... for life, for God has sent me before you” (45:5). since he saw that they had no justification, that their tongue was bound by sin, then he himself, having endured thousands of disasters, puts aside the accusation and replaces it with justification. For the life of “God sent me before you... to nourish” a large people (45:7). This is not your business,” he says, “but God’s: do not be upset by my slavery, it was according to God’s will. Put aside fear, nothing bad came of it: through slavery I gained power over all of Egypt, through slavery I became second in command and I was entrusted with ruling the reins of a great people. - Such was Joseph, both as a slave and as a king; such - both in prosperity and in misfortune, such - both in poverty and in great prosperity. Therefore, it is not wealth, not domination, not poverty, not slavery that gives rise to vice, but everywhere it overcomes the will of the spirit. And that the wickedness of masters does not harm the virtue of servants is easy to understand from other examples. Who among those who have studied the Divine does not know Achaab’s wickedness and Jezebel’s wickedness and rage against God? However, Obadiah, while serving them and being entrusted with overseeing the house, not only did not follow in the footsteps of his masters, but even took the opposite path. They, raging against the Prophets of God, hastened to put everyone to death and, for fun, charged themselves with the destruction of God's servants, trying to completely extinguish every spark of piety. But Obadiah opposed the wicked actions of his masters and tried to keep intact the lamp of piety, and hid a hundred Prophets in caves, nourishing them when the whole universe was gripped by a cruel famine, which the great Elijah sent on people as punishment for wickedness. Obadiah was not frightened by the brutal determination of the masters, did not fear the beating of the pious, painful hunger and poverty of necessities did not make him stingy in serving the holy Prophets. On the contrary, he abhorred the cruelty of his masters, and gave the Prophets what they needed in abundance, preferring their salvation to his own safety and recognizing life without them as death for himself. And in what did not show the slightest enmity against God, in that he performed proper service to the masters. The laws issued against the Creator, recognizing them as worthy of laughter, hated those who issued them and regretted those forced to fulfill what was commanded. But considering such service to be death, he saved those whom he was ordered to kill, recognizing that death in piety is more honorable than life in wickedness. Therefore, the corruption of the rulers did not harm him; on the contrary, the wickedness of his masters made him glorious and famous. For the strongest is the decisive intention of the one who prefers piety, the strongest is the soul that does not want to serve vice. But I don’t know what to do, because the virtue of valiant people forces me to speak and makes me prolong it beyond measure. Therefore, continuing this, let's move on to another example. The last king of the Jews was a certain Zedekiah, who was sick with great wickedness and could not even bear to hear Divine prophecies. It was he who imprisoned the divine Jeremiah, who then prophesied and conveyed God’s commands to people, in a ditch with fetid mud, because Jeremiah predicted extremely sad and sorrowful events to the king. But one servant, an Ethiopian, the eunuch Ebedmelech, not imagining in his mind either the greatness of the Royal power, or the reigning wickedness, or strong anger at the Prophet, or the disasters of slavery, denounces the unrighteous verdict of the king, accuses him of the lawless act with the Prophet, points to the One who oversees everything and frightens the king with truthful punishment. Thus a servant to the king becomes an adviser, a eunuch to his husband, a foreigner to the native, an Ethiopian to the Israeli, a descendant of the Hams to the descendant of Shem; and he convinces the king with pious words, and brings the Prophet out of that bitter, dark and fetid imprisonment and supplies him with the necessary food throughout the siege of the city. As a reward for piety, he receives a blessing from God. When the city is taken and everyone living in the royal palace is killed, according to the promise of God (Jer. 39:15-17), he receives salvation. Therefore, it is clear from what has been said that not only are good servants not harmed by wicked masters, but, on the contrary, the former receive great benefit from the latter. The same thing can be found out in another way. When the city of Jerusalem was devastated for great lawlessness, many were exterminated by famine, many were put to death in war, the Chaldean king took the rest as captives to Babylon, and then, separating those who had a noble origin, were distinguished by the beauty of their bodies and were blooming in their youth, he ordered them to live in the royal palaces and correct the royal service; then, first of all, he gave the order with good contents, dishes and supplies brought from the royal table, to reward in them what was suffered during the siege and the long journey. See from this the nobility of these divine youths. Neither the capture of the city, nor the burning of the church of God, nor the desolation of the impregnable and inviolable sanctuary, nor the fact that the divine vessels became the prey of barbarians, nor the extermination of kings, nor the beating of priests, nor settlement far from the shrine, nor staying in a foreign land, nor the lack of teachers, nor the wickedness of those in power, nor the needs of slavery, nor the heavy yoke of the king, nor the immaturity of age, nor addiction to life, neither fear of death, nor anything else like that convinced them, albeit in a small way, to transgress and violate the provisions of the law. But they begged the one who had become their trustee to give them food from seeds, because they abhorred the royal food, and considered these various dishes vile, seeing that they were desecrating them by invoking idols. So many had hope in the God of the fathers, love for Him and faith in Him that they promised the trustee of the seeds to turn out to be the kindest of those who eat the royal food. And they were not deceived in their hope, but reaped the fruits of faith: as they promised, so they did - everyone in general who enjoyed luxurious dishes, they were more tender and well-fed, distinguished by greater beauty, adorned with bodily strength. When time, following its own course, made them perfect men and they showed the experience of their virtue, these captives were given authority over the natural inhabitants of the country, and then another field opened up for them. This arrogant King, imitating his father in insane arrogance, erects this huge idol, made of wood and gold, and commands everyone to worship this idol as God, and assigns punishment to those who do not want to worship - this furnace, kindled to the extreme by the constant, without measure, addition of firewood. Then many, to please the king, carried out the order; many did this according to custom and, like one of the idols, gave honor to this idol; but there were also those who, out of fear of being burned, destroyed souls and, wounded by their conscience, paid divine honor to the idol. But Ananias, Azariah and Misail, these courageous disciples of the law, heirs of the Abrahamic faith, ascetics of piety, forerunners of grace, defenders of the faith, slaves in body, free in thought, captives, but in soul exceeding the kings, not only did not worship the idol voluntarily, but, accused as not having fulfilled the order, do not bring any justification, but clearly refuse worship and loudly cry: “there is more.” Our God in heaven, whom we serve, is able to take us out of the burning furnace and deliver us from your hand, O king; otherwise, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your God, and we do not bow down to the golden body that you have set up” (Dan. 3:17-18). We do not serve the Creator for rewards, and piety does not serve us to buy salvation; we have no desire, in any way, just to receive life. On the contrary, we love the will of the Lord. If He delivers us from troubles, we confess thanksgiving to Him. And if he allows us to fall into disaster, we worship Him. That He can strengthen us even in the punishments that threaten us, we know and have no doubt about it. But we don’t know whether this pleases Him, because the depth of God’s Providence is unfathomable. Therefore, do not delay, but deliver us over to the prepared punishments. It is more pleasant for us to die in piety than to live in wickedness. “That’s what the youths said, and the king did not hesitate, throwing them, bound, into the cave.” But fire loosened the iron bonds and preserved the combustible nature of the hair; did not want to touch the food offered to him, but fled, showed his rear and rushed at his fans, and kept God’s servants intact. A new and extraordinary miracle happened. Those who were in the midst of the fire and walked on the coals did not experience the effects of the flame, but those who stood outside the oven and delivered food to the fire themselves became food for the fire. And the latter groaned, burning, and the first rejoiced in the cave and called upon all creation to communicate in song, even the elements, which were worshiped by the foolish, were commanded to sing the praises of the Benefactor. And such was the power of this miracle that this arrogant and frantic tormentor himself came and bowed to those who refused to bow to the idol and commanded all his subjects to honor their God. So the great Daniel, who fell into the same misfortune with these youths, became a captive and forced to live with the barbarians, exactly preserved the fatherly law and, living according to it, kept his soul pure and sincere and shone with such rays of virtue that he amazed even the bestial tormentor with its lightning-fast brilliance; and first made unknown dreams known to him, then explained what required explanation, pointed out and advised what could be beneficial. And should I retell everything that was brilliantly accomplished by them: how the king forbade praying and asking anything from God, and how Daniel, who prayed according to the law and previously did it in secret, when the evil law was issued, continued to pray to God openly, laughing at the law and despising the legislator; how he was given over to the lions, how he struck them with the rays of piety, and how he blocked their frantic lips with the features of God’s image, as if with some kind of bit, how he attracted the evil king to the spectacle of this miracle, how he taught him that the God of the Jews is the Creator and Ruler of all, how he exposed the idolatry’s deception? All this can be learned from history and one can acquire clear information that those who serve evil masters can not imprint any wickedness in themselves, but reach the very top of virtue and free masters from error, lead them to the truth and serve as an example of salvation for many others. Therefore, let no one blame slavery or think that evil dominion overcomes the virtue of slaves, but let God’s providence be seen everywhere. But perhaps someone will say: why did God deliver all those who lived lawlessly to the king of Babylon, and allow the righteous to become captives? What kind of craft is visible in this matter? What truth is there in such a definition? Isn’t disorder, disorder and unity visible in this? But those who do not know the abyss of God’s economy dare to say this. And those who have been granted secrecy and have tasted the Divine Mysteries know both the reason and the root of this. A lover of humanity cares about those who sin and admonishes them, and does not want to leave one person without care for him. Therefore, when he sends the lawless into captivity, he sends along with them, as if some kind of mentors and mentors, virtuous people, so that through their life and words they, as if illuminated by some kind of lamp, could somewhat follow an infallible path. And that their captivity was not only the cause of salvation for their fellow tribesmen, but also illuminated foreigners with the light of God, history is a witness to this. Therefore, if they were distinguished by their exploits and became glorious and famous, left a useful example for later generations, were the cause of salvation for those captured along with them, brought benefit to the barbarians, maintaining their piety intact and through it performing great miracles, then why do you blame Providence, which arranged all this? Why don’t you praise more than the Master of souls, the Ruler of creation, who guides everything so wisely and for good? Thus, from the words of God, I showed that it is possible for one who serves an evil master to avoid vice, to succeed in virtue, and to provide his masters with many reasons for benefit; and you turn your gaze to those who are now in slavery with you, and you will see that many, being in slavery to the incontinent, abhor intemperance, but honor chastity and do not imprint in themselves a single vice of their masters, but imitate the life of the men we recently described. And both from what has been said and from what has been seen, having understood the freedom of our nature and having recognized the wisdom of God’s Providence, proclaim renunciation, and the blasphemy you are now proclaiming for the change in hymns, and the utterances of your lips, which until now have been against God, may they be for the glory of God, and may they glorify the Providence of the Creator, Christ our God! Glory to him forever! Amen. Word 9. About the fact that the work of righteousness is not fruitless, although it is not visible in real life, and about the resurrection, proven by the conclusions of natural reason If everyone would be willing to heed this good advice, which clearly calls out: “Do not seek those who are superior to you, and do not test those who are stronger for yourself. Even if you are commanded, understand this” (Sir. 3:21-22), then one who intends to prove God’s providence in everything would not need many words. For those who have freed themselves from excessive and vain inquisitiveness are not at all difficult and very easy to see that It firmly holds on to the helm of the universe and wisely rules everything. But since there are many people who do not want to see this voluntarily, but close their eyes, stop their ears, do not want to listen to the voice rushing from everywhere, at everything that God has done so well and beautifully, they laugh, blaspheme, condemn it, collect thousands of all sorts of little things, weaving a false accusation, then I think that we have rightly taken upon ourselves the trouble of speaking against this accusation with the intention of showing that it is slander, and not direct evidence. And having called for help the very Providence that they dispute, submitting it to this defensive word, we have already expounded eight words, denouncing the blasphemy of the ungrateful, accusers, and together with witnesses, their ingratitude brought into the environment the sky, earth, sea, air and all the bodies on them, animate and inanimate, verbal and wordless, flying and walking on the earth, floating in the waters and amphibians. Moreover, they represented the structure of the human body, in each of its members the clearly revealed Divine Wisdom and Divine Providence, the God-given gift of reason, with the help of which human nature invented agriculture, navigation, medical science, grammar, and all other arts and knowledge that contribute to making human life pleasant. With the help of God, they also showed the need for animals, meek and fierce, the benefits of wealth and poverty, the need for slavery and domination. Then, in addition to this, they proved that slaves, if they wish to remain in chastity, do not incur any harm to themselves from masters who live viciously, and they presented evidence for this from Divine Scripture. The search for those living in slavery has now been left to the cruel accusers of Providence themselves, because even now one can see thousands of slaves among the evil masters, who not only do not imitate the master’s vices, but also greatly abhor them, loving honesty and following the path opposite to the path of the masters. But perhaps they will extract from this another pretext for blaming God’s Providence and will say that the disciples of virtue work in vain, sow, as they say, on a stone, draw water with a sieve and do a lot of similar things, without receiving good fruits at all. Some, they will tell us, live in poverty, go through life doomed to great suffering, others are subject to the heavy yoke of slavery, endure incessant labor, and what is much worse than this, many, abhorring vice, are forced to serve vicious masters. What, they may ask, is their reward? What is the reward for virtue? What is the reward for labor? What is the fruit of their sweat? What is the reward for exploits? For it is not visible that everyone who was destined to be slaves received freedom; it is not noticeable that those who received poverty as their lot and became practitioners of virtue eventually became among the rich; on the contrary, most of them remained in their former misery. But you, a pitiful and earth-growing man, measure well-being by the belly, cheeks and eyebrows and consider it the limit of success to have an exalted chariot, spearmen, beautiful outerwear, well-ridden horses with shiny decorations on the forehead and chest, a vociferous herald, a high-perched house, living rooms, colored with Jewish and Thessalian stones, speckled picturesque art, beds strewn with flowers, plates, cutlery, cups, fragrant wines, Sicelian and sybaritic dinners and everything else that only serves to lead a life of freedom, pampering, luxury. But every right-thinking person usually not only does not call all this prosperity, but even recognizes it as extreme misfortune and disaster, because the Ruler of all things gave wealth to people not to squander it on lewdness and turn it into a farewell to vice, but so that, having disposed of it well and wisely, and as they themselves have enough wealth, which they should, by lending it in excess to those in need, make it a means to chastity and justice. And not only God Himself established this in this way, and not only holy men, following the Lord, love these established limits, but even you, who are sick with extreme ingratitude, have the custom of blaming those who use wealth so poorly, or better yet, you honor them with an apology, and blaspheme the Ruler of all, who gave wealth to such vicious people. Therefore, it seems to you yourself that such a luxurious life should not be called happiness, but that a righteous and chaste life is worthy of approval and the highest praise, and whether it be in poverty or in abundance, it deserves the same crowns. I think that those who, in poverty, take care of virtue, as showing greater patience, you will even be honored with special crowns. But this is not the reward that those who zealously serve God have in mind, and this is not the reward in mind for those who are zealous for the Divine laws. It is known that human praise often spoils many, weakens their zeal and delays their progress. Another, thinking that he has already reached the end of the flow (this thought is inspired by praise), ceases to stretch forward and loses the victory. God also allows everyone to see this, saying through the mouth of the Prophet: “My people, your blessed ones flatter you and trouble the paths of your feet” (Is. 3:12), because with praise they weaken the zeal of zeal and do not allow you to achieve your goal. This is how blessed Paul completed his course, not heeding either praise or blasphemy, but “forgetting what is behind, but reaching forward to what is ahead and with zeal” pursuing “for the honor of the highest calling” (Phil. 3:13-14). Therefore, the keepers of Divine laws do not provide rewards for labors in human praise, but expect the fulfillment of God’s promises, in trust in the Giver of deeds, they expect unfading crowns, they look forward to God-given rewards, they await the verdict of the righteous Judge, the resurrection of the body, the ascension to heaven, standing with the Angels, and above all this, the unceasing contemplation of the One they most love, for whose sake they swim the sea of life, they fought against the waves of vice and, drowned by many labors, did not want to sink, but, combining the desire to reach the pier with labor, they strengthened their weakness. And the haven of this, striving for the heights of virtue, is not life, not resurrection, not any other of the desired goods, but the One Himself longed for, for whose sake they counted suffering as pleasure, and hard work as a sweet dream, a stay in the desert was considered more pleasant than a stay in the cities, a life in poverty - the most preferable life in wealth, bitter slavery - the most pleasant of all. arbitrariness. This is the reward that the doers of virtue expect. For there is an inheritance for those who serve the Lord, as the Prophet Isaiah calls (Is. 65:9). Blessed David also testifies, composing a song of thanksgiving to the Giver of good things and saying: “Thou hast given a sign to those who fear Thee” (Ps. 60:6). And the Lord Christ Himself depicts equally great blessings in the Holy Gospel, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for to them is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are the meek: for these shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:3.5); and everything else that follows, anyone can easily find out for themselves by opening the Divine Books. For the same will be found in the distribution of talents, and in the parable of the ten virgins, and in the allegorical separation of sheep from the goats, and in the sown field, which received tares, and in the mud, which those who threw into the sea and caught all sorts of fish indiscriminately, and then made a strict analysis of them. Much of this can be found in the apostolic instructive writings. Since searching for all this would make the word excessively long, then, leaving this to the inquisitive, I move on to what follows in the order of speech. And for another reason, presenting evidence from Divine Scripture about rewards for virtue would be in vain and extremely unnecessary. Those who believe that God provides for all kinds of people have no need for our convictions, but recognize the eye of faith and the teaching of inspired words as sufficient for them, and those who have not yet believed, possessed by the darkness of unbelief and sick with ingratitude towards the Creator, do not tolerate hearing the words of the Divine Scripture. Why, this time leaving evidence from Scripture, let us expose them with the conclusions of natural reason. Therefore, let us ask them: do they consider chastity, justice and other parts of virtue to be good and to be guilty of good, or do they classify them as evil? But the father of sin himself will not tolerate saying this. For is it possible to say this to someone who daily wages war with the practitioners of these virtues, as if they were opponents, and always contrasts chastity with intemperance and justice with untruth? Therefore, it is necessary for them to admit this together with their teacher and not attempt to surpass in vice the very author of the sin; for, according to the word of the Lord, “there is no disciple over the teacher” (Matthew 10:24). Therefore, let us ask them again: if these virtues are beautiful, and the most beautiful of the beautiful, if they are good, and the best of good, and no one, unless extremely reckless and devoid of common sense, will argue that this is really so, then, of course, those who love them should be called beautiful and good and have a fruit not only equal to their labors, but also many times greater. Because isn't it strange? A farmer who puts seeds into the ground, as a reward for his labors, reaps many times more than what was sown, and also a gardener who plants a tree has consolation in the fruits that are born, and among those who care about virtue, they became the guardians of this Divine garden, and in the care of these plantings they shed a lot of sweat, exhausted a lot of labor, and the labor is fruitless, and the sweat is not rewarded? Those who exercise their bodies and voices receive crowns, receive rewards, are applauded by spectators, and is virtue less valued than the art of a wrestler and pugilist? And for this greatest feat there is no audience, no rewarder, no honor, no reward, no crown? And those who imagine tragedies and comedies have something in mind, for which they practice art, in the hope of crowns they endure labor; and those driving chariots venture into danger in anticipation of victory, in anticipation of the praise of spectators - and, moreover, they take payment from those whose horses are studded; and the helmsman, having a pier as his goal, dares to fight the waves and, encouraged by the desire to make a profit, endures the battles of the storms; the tanner, the coppersmith, and anyone engaged in any craft awaits the end of their work and, combining the aspiration of profit with the tedium of the craft, finds pleasure mixed with the work; and only, as can be seen, the exercise of virtue, would anyone want to call it the art or science of warfare and asceticism, or cultivation and planting, does not have a good goal that could console during labor? But in vain do the chaste succeed in chastity and, struggling with many and varied passions, strive to extinguish their flame? In vain do the workers of justice wage war against unrighteousness, abstaining from the property of others and wasting their own property? Is it useless to acquire courage for those who succeed in it, because, generously enduring the grief they encounter, they do not have a Rewarder? But this is not true, completely untrue. For the acquisition of virtue is worthy of wonder and acquisition. You too will say this, involuntarily compelled by your conscience. For this knowledge is innate to man, and none of those who possess it needs an additional word, whether communicated from God or transmitted by people, because an innate word is sufficient to teach them. The doers of sin also testify, who commit it secretly and, if they are open, invent an excuse for themselves, because those who blow themselves up under walls, grave diggers, kidnappers, adulterers, murderers and everyone who dares to do anything akin to it, try to do this, using darkness as an accomplice, and if someone attempts to do something like this even during the day, then he takes the absence of people to help him. Therefore, by the very fact that they try to hide, they show what kind of understanding they have about their action, for they would not hide if they assumed that they were doing well, but by trying to conceal and fearing to be open, they admit that what they are doing is bad. Therefore, you, extremely ungrateful ones, know what a blessing the acquisition of virtue is and with what very great labors it is associated. Therefore, it is necessary that it, praised so much by all its own and its opponents and achieved with great effort, should have a worthy reward. Meanwhile, we see that in real life many strive for this acquisition and for the sake of it undergo great labors, but not everyone enjoys praise and honor for this; some are glorified by the lips of everyone as lovers of virtue, become famous and after their death have an ever-memorable glory, while others are completely unknown and hidden from everyone, and are likened to a pearl hidden in the depths of the sea and enclosed in a shell. Therefore, noticing this, let us think with ourselves: why some of those who prefer the Divine to everything are very famous, while others are completely unknown; Then we will consider that the Creator and Judge of all, as a truthful one, will make a fair reward to His ascetics, and the scales of justice will not tolerate truth being violated. And after this, seeing that both of them died, but some in great glory, and others in extreme humiliation, like the most ordinary people, we also conclude that God has prepared another kind of life, in which He rewards those who lived well according to their dignity. For by the fact that He honored some with fame, He allowed us to see what the crowns of virtue are, and by the fact that not everyone becomes famous and eminent in this life, He reveals to us the expected life. And the honor given to some serves as a sign of the Truth of God; and the fact that not all workers of virtue receive equal reward here points to the future life and confirms the expected benefits in hope. Therefore, the Ruler of all in this life does not proclaim everyone who lived well, and also does not punish all those who lived viciously, but he does punish others, both by showing the justice of His determination, and by the same frightening and calling others to repentance; but does not destroy all the workers of wickedness, and thereby again foretells our future life. For, if there were no other life after moving from here, then those punished here would suffer obvious injustice, since others avoid punishment; Those who extremely loved wisdom, but did not receive the slightest attention and honor for it, would have endured obvious injustice, while others, like them, prospered in life, went through it in great glory. But to call the Source of truth unjust is beyond any blasphemy, and leaves no greater measure of madness. And if He is truthful (as indeed He is truly truthful) over everything, and sees everything that is done, judges truthfully and holds the scales of justice evenly, and if at any time He wants to tilt them, then He applies on them the sentence of humanity, and not the sentence of untruth, that is, another life in which those who escaped punishment here will suffer a worthy execution, and those who did not benefit from any honor in this life for the labors raised for the sake of virtue, will receive reward for the sweat they shed. But perhaps you yourself will admit this. For the Greeks, to whom neither the Prophet, nor the Apostle, nor the Evangelist preached, guided by nature alone, assumed that this was really so, although they were subject to many errors, mixing fabulous things with true opinions; for both the Piites and the philosophers believed and taught, and left in writing the memory of such a teaching, that after moving from here there would be punishments for wicked people and mercy for righteous men. Therefore, probably, you, convinced and taught by nature and forced by what we have recently said, will agree and admit that this is really so, but assume that there will be either repose or punishment of souls alone, while the body, as completely useless and unreasonable, will be abandoned and given over to rot. What reason is there for the soul, which labored and conquered together with the body, to be crowned alone, or, after being separated from the body, to be tormented alone? Then the punished soul would rightly say to the Judgment: I was not the only one who transgressed Your laws, Lord, but together with my body I wandered along the rapids of vice. If I must tell the truth, it was this that carried me into the abyss of sin. Caught by his eyes, I stole other people's beds and gazed at the beauty that belonged to another, forced by them to turn my gaze, I desired wealth and property. And then I fell into the depths of untruth, because the passions of the body enslaved me and deprived me of the freedom You had given me. I was forced to serve the needs of the body, as if I were his peer and shared his slavery. The stomach forced me to gluttony, and gluttony produced gluttony, and gluttony gave rise to thoughts of committing lies. Often with indignation I obeyed the needs of the flesh, with restlessness and extreme sorrow I was forced to serve its lusts; I often resisted and courageously repulsed their attacks, but the continuity of the battle often overcame me, and I, unhappy, surrendered to this sister, and in exhaustion grieved for it. For she was again subjected to torment, feeding the flesh, suffered from her intrigues, again experienced her disorderly movements and did not know what to do. And her exhaustion caused me great sorrow, and caring for her made the struggle more stubborn and kindled a new battle. Therefore, Vladyka, do not punish me alone, but either free me from suffering along with the body, or subject it to torture along with me. But the body, which has served well the wishes of the soul (if any voice is given to it), will say in a similar way to the righteous Judge: how quickly You created me, Lord, immediately breathed the soul into me. But, if we conclude about every path of nature from the beginning, then first I was granted creation, then You already invested the life force of the soul into me. I also enjoyed life in paradise with her; We spent the same time during pregnancy in the mother’s womb; together, after the end of the pangs of birth, they entered this life, enjoyed this light and began to breathe the air; together we made the journey of life. The soul itself never did anything good, but, using me, its flesh, as an accomplice, it collected the wealth of virtue. I, enduring exhaustion from fasting, vigil, reclining on bare ground and all other suffering, through this accumulated wealth for her. I lent her, praying, with tears, to her, brought to sighs, I gave my heart to serve the spirit. With my tongue she glorified You; Using my lips as an instrument, she brought You a prayer. Raising my hands to heaven, I reaped the fruits of Your love for mankind. Carried by my feet, she came to Your holy churches. I used my ears to receive Your words. With my eyes, looking at the sun, the moon, the host of stars, the sky, the earth, the sea and all visible creation, I was led to the contemplation of You, and by the grandeur and beauty of the visible I imagined the Creator; with the help of My eyes she stole the treasure hidden in the writings. Using my fingers as an instrument, I inscribed Your Divine teachings in writing, and left an immortal memory of them. With these hands of mine I erected houses of prayer throughout the entire universe. Using my assistance, she fulfilled the laws of love, with my hands she washed the feet of the saints, with my hands she satisfied the needs of the oppressed, and provided services to weary bodies. Therefore, Lord, do not separate me from my spouse, who was united with me from the beginning, and do not dissolve the marriage, which was not simply and not by chance perfect, but was determined from the very beginning by Your very creation: reward those who have completed one career with one crown. For this is characteristic of Your truthfulness, this is befitting of Your righteous Judgment. “The body, which has labored well with the soul, will say this, if only it is given a voice.” But neither the body will say this, nor the soul that lived lawlessly, because the Judge has no need for such a petition, but as he rules wisely, so he judges truthfully; and returning the body to the souls, gives dignity to everyone. For isn’t it strange for a valiant warrior who has won a victory in battle when his compatriots want to honor him with an image, or paint, or cast, or sculpt (depending on what they use for the image: stone or copper, or a board) with the weapon with which, acting, he put the enemies to flight; and if he won a victory by shooting from a bow, should he be depicted with a bow, and if he won with a spear, wearing a helmet, with a shield, then should he be represented in this armor - but the soul, which labored together with the body, defeated invisible enemies and was deemed worthy to have the Creator of all as a painter, remains naked and deprived of weapons? You can see that such an honor is given not only to a military leader, but also to a wrestler, a fist fighter, a walker, a tragedies presenter, and a chariot driver. For each of them, in what form he won, is retained in the image. One stands in high-heeled shoes, in military clothing, with the face of some Other Man or Creon, and almost says to everyone: with this I acted and with this I won; another runs naked, showing what kind of feat he is doing; another introduces himself as a wrestler or holds a crown and lets those who don’t know know what feat he fought; another enters into a fist fight and hits the enemy; a different appearance and a whip shows in what art, having practiced, he won. Therefore, do not make the nature that succeeds in all this more dishonest than all of them, and do not think that God, the source of truth, is more unjust than people, do not suspect that He, like people, will not even honor His victors. For if people who do not observe justice in many ways, but are also extremely careless about it, are in the habit of so often giving honor for these unimportant and useless deeds, then even more so the glorious and great ascetics of virtue will be honored, crowned, and justice itself will be surpassed by the greatness of gifts. But I know why you have come to such blasphemy: because of your weakness you conclude about the Divine, you consider your weakness to be the limit of Divine power, and what is extremely impossible for you, you consider impossible for God as well. But this is not true, completely untrue. The clay does not have the same strength as the weakling, although both are of the same nature; and clay and waste are from the earth. A witness to this is the one who, talking with Job, told him: “You were made of clay, just as I was” (Job 33:6). However, although both clay and clay are of the same nature, you will not find equal strength in both. One sets in motion - the other moves, one sculpts - the other is molded, one kneads - the other is mixed, one gives a form - the other accepts this form and is transformed, as the poor man desires. But if here, where the nature is one, the power is not equal; even more so, where the nature is different, the power is also different. But what is incomparable cannot be compared always? For how can that which is from non-existent be always applied to the Creator of heaven and earth? Therefore, do not think that what is extremely impossible for you is also impossible for God, because by His nature everything is possible and extremely convenient. Therefore, God and the physical nature, which once spread into pus, then turned into dust and scattered everywhere: in rivers, seas, birds of prey, animals, fire, water (I expose to the environment all the products of your unbelief) - can, having desired, be collected again, bring you to your former greatness and to your former beauty. For he only wanted - and the sky came into being and took on as much concavity as He pleased. He wanted - and the earth stretched out and hangs, having as its foundation one single limit of God. He said, “and there was light” (Gen. 1:3). He commanded - and the water nature came into being; commanded - and it separated from the earth; at His behest the earth was adorned with meadows, groves and all kinds of harvests. He said - and thousands of species of animals of the earth, water and air came into being. And He who created this with a word will also resurrect this bodily nature much more conveniently: for it is much more convenient to renew what has become dilapidated than to create out of nothing what does not exist. If you don’t believe, then the great teacher of the universe, Paul, will tell you: “You are foolish, for if you sow, you will not live unless you die; and if you sow, you will not have the body to come, but a naked grain, if it happens, of wheat, or something else from the rest: but God gives it a body as He pleases” (1 Cor. 15:36-38). If you regard his teaching as some empty word and fable, then turn to nature, which teaches you and preaches the resurrection. The farmer first cuts furrows and, as it were, digs some graves, then puts seeds in them and, as if burying the bodies, covers them with earth. And he can’t do anything more than that, unless he can bring it if he has a lot of water. But God either rains from the sky, or gives the seeds water from springs and rivers, then, irrigating them, giving them water and, as if like human bodies, putting them to rotting, makes them, although no longer suitable for food for people, yet very useful for them in the bodies born from these seeds, because the seeds, taking in moisture, bote [1 But in order for you to have a firm faith in the resurrection, come again with me to the history of plants, see how the branches of the vine and other trees, or the so-called shoots or shoots from the roots, by cutting them off, seem to die, and by burying them in the ground, they seem to be buried; Look how those buried and rotten, then, by the will of God, send down roots, sprout upward, come into strength, rise in height, bear fruit, and the branches that emerge become more beautiful than those buried in the ground. And what am I saying about branches, trees, seeds? Follow me to where your own nature is being developed. Look how insignificantly small and no different from mucus the original substance from which you were formed is. However, this insignificant, small, inanimate, non-breathing and completely insensitive, by God’s wave, is made by man and, having one form, is transformed into thousands of different types of compounds: sometimes hard and stubborn, sometimes compliant and tender, sometimes through and spongy, sometimes solid and dense, sometimes plump and smooth, sometimes thin, having the appearance of threads, and membranous, sometimes tubular and empty, then without holes and emptiness. And one can see that from this small amount of substance came pipes for the flow of blood, and conductors for breathing, and strong ligaments, and the softness of the flesh, and the hardness of the bones, and the brightness of the eyes, and the purity of the apple, and the smoothness of the cheeks, and the fineness of the hair, and a multitude of everything else that only exists in the human body and the need and effectiveness of which many of those knowledgeable in this tried to describe, but, overcome by the wisdom of the Creator, they ended their words chants; and, moreover, it was not only our own courtyard that did this, but also the wandering sheep outside. However, they too, grazing in good pasture, moved and guided by nature alone, as much as they could, glorified the Shepherd, Trustee and Creator of the universe. But you, besides nature, having as a teacher the law and the Prophets instructing in the Divine, and the face of the Apostles teaching the present and preaching the future, gather from everywhere what is offered to you for your benefit. And the nature of embryos and the first formation of people alone is enough to prove to you the resurrection of dead bodies. Believe that the earth is the mother’s womb, the coffin is false, and this smallest, down-like remains of the body is the seed of nature. This remains, being completely invisible to all people, is visible to God, and no one escapes this Eye; because “in His hand are all the ends of the earth” (Ps. 94:4), He measured “water in a handful, and the sky in a span, and all the earth in a handful” (Is. 40:12), It is not difficult for Him to see what is in His hand, because it is very convenient for you, and if you want to mix millet and lentils, wheat and barley, then you can easily sort them out again as soon as you want. Therefore, if the ends of the earth are in God’s hand, then it is very convenient for Him to bring the completely mixed things into proper order. So, believe that the coffin is the mother’s womb, and the remains lying in it are the seed. The Creator is always the Creator, and the last day of life, and the terrible voice of the Archangel, are the diseases of birth: “the trumpet will sound,” it is said, “and the dead will rise incorruptible” (1 Cor. 15:52). Then we will be required to give an account of how we lived, then we will give an answer for everything that we have done, good or bad, then the innermost thoughts of the mind will become clear to everyone. Then we will all appear “before the judgment seat of Christ, so that everyone may receive what he has done with his body, either good or evil” (2 Cor. 5:10). Having feared this, man, put aside hostility to Providence, flee from this crafty hostility, stop unpardonable blasphemy, enter into friendship with the Creator, so that He, too, will rule us as friends, and not cast us out of the boat as enemies. Glorify the helm of Providence, so that we, governed by it, may escape the worries of this life and enter that untroubled haven, in Christ Jesus our Lord; for to Him belongs all glory forever! Amen. Notes 1. Boteti - get fat, get fat. "Ed." Word 10. About the fact that God from ancient times was the Trustee not only of the Jews, but also of all people, and about the incarnation of the Savior I know well that the sea of God’s wisdom and Divine Providence cannot swim, and I remember that the divine Prophet calls out: “Your destinies are many in the deep” (Ps. 35:7). I remember that the great preacher of truth, the godly wise Paul, also uttered a similar word: “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and mind of God! For His judgment has not been tried, and His ways have not been tried” (Rom. 11:33). Therefore, we do not foolishly venture into what is not available, but, to the best of our ability, we marvel at the Divine and, as much as we can, praise God. For we know that those who strive to look at the sun more than properly do not achieve what they wanted, but spoil their vision, and not only do not attract sunlight, but even bring darkness upon themselves. The human mind is also subject to this very thing, as can be seen. For if, with one’s limitations, one becomes increasingly aware of what supports the earth, what kind of foundation this support has, on what it rests, or what is higher than the heavens, what is outside the whole world; then not only does he not find what he is looking for, but he retreats back, filled with deep darkness and bewilderment. Knowing this weakness of the mind, Blessed Paul confirms it by saying: “If anyone thinks he knows anything, he has no understanding as he ought to understand” (1 Cor. 8:2); and again: “we understand in part, and prophesy in part: when that which is perfect has come, then what is in part will be done away with” (1 Cor. 13:9-10); and in another place: “Now I see as with a mirror in fortune-telling, but then face to face: now I understand in part, then I know, even as I was known” (13:12): and again: “When a child was born, like a child, you said, like a child you thought, like a child you thought: when the man was, he rejected the child.” (13:11). This divine man spread about all this, wanting to convince everyone and curb the insatiability of the mind, so that he would not dare to do the impossible and would expect accurate knowledge of things in the future life. Therefore, he calls the knowledge that is given to us now infantile and, comparing it with the teaching under the law, calls it perfect, and comparing it with a passionless and immortal life, calls it childish. And this serves as proof of God's Providence. For He who rules wisely over all, knowing the arrogance of our arrogance, did not even give accurate knowledge of the Divine to the saints, because, as Blessed Paul and the truth think, “the mind is puffed up” (1 Cor. 8:1); but he intended it as a reward for virtue, so that, having labored well in this life, having completely stripped ourselves of passions and put on a body free from corruption and infirmities, then we would already receive perfect knowledge, no longer suffering any harm as those freed from passions and driven out of the struggle. Therefore, let us not dare to understand the incomprehensible, but let us love what is given to us; As much as we can, let us sing praises to our good Master and glorify the Benefactor for what we have. Do we see that men, doers of virtue, enjoy glory, honor, attention in life - let us bow to the Lawgiver and Rewarder of virtue, who rightfully and truthfully proclaims it. Do we see that others, although they preferred the same life, do not enjoy the same things among people? Let us not be indignant at this, friend, but let us be convinced that as they fight the good fight of patience, they will be proclaimed winners in the future life, as we discussed about this in the previous word. Let us not spew blasphemous words against Providence, for isn’t it strange, isn’t it filled with great unreason or, better said, extreme madness, that those very ones who, caught by anxiety, overcome storms and make the path of life in great disaster, praise the Helmsman, and those who, as they say, sit outside the arrows, are more spectators than ascetics, throw themselves into the Ascetic, if they cannot by deed itself, then, by at least with blasphemous words. But that the fosterlings of piety, not only carried by a fair wind, but also struggling with waves and storms, sing the praises of the God of all, about this you can hear blessed David, who, having spent his whole life in battle and struggling with thousands of disasters, cries out: “What will I render to the Lord for all whom I have repaid” (Ps. 116:3)? You can hear both from the God-wise Daniel and from these holy youths who, at the very battle of troubles, praise God, bring to memory sins that they did not commit, confess that they are being punished for sins, but do not say about themselves that they are worthy of crowns, and do not express indignation at the scales of Justice. The great patriarch Abraham, who received these promises from God, languishing with hunger, courageously endured the struggle with hunger. Having lost his wife twice and seeing her among barbarian people, he did not cease to give thanks to the Caller and, awaiting the fulfillment of the promise, joyfully swam across the waves. And what word can describe the greatness of his soul? Who can worthily marvel at his lofty wisdom? Therefore, having left it to lovers from reading history to accurately determine his and his son’s courage, patience, chastity, justice, diligence, love of God and, in a word, the whole height of virtue, I turn my speech to the men of the New Testament. Therefore, look how Peter and John, these strongholds of piety, the pillars of truth supporting the building of the Church, were beaten by the Jews, but they rejoiced and admired, “because for the name of the Lord Jesus they were counted worthy to receive dishonor” (Acts 5:41). For the one who wrote this, having said that the beats were rods, says not simply that they endured the blows patiently and courageously, but that “I walked rejoicing” and in joy. But there is a great difference in this: to endure and to rejoice. Others often endure the attacks of grief, but while being sick and grieving. And the one who rejoices expresses spiritual pleasure. So blessed Paul, this loud trumpet of preaching, cried out: “I am pleased in weaknesses, in annoyances, in troubles, in exiles, in troubles, according to Christ” (2 Cor. 12:10); I did not say: I endure or endure, but “I am pleased,” which means a great increase in pleasure. And in another place he says: “Now I rejoice in my sufferings... for I have fulfilled the privation of Christ’s sorrows in my flesh for His Body’s sake” (Col. 1:24); and again: “the passions of this present time are unworthy of the glory that desires to be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:18); and also: “Who will separate us from the love of God; whether tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or trouble, or sword” (8:35). And in a few words: “We have learned that neither death nor life... neither the present nor the future, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (8:38-39). But a day is not enough for me to collect such sayings of the great mentor of ascetics of piety. Therefore, if those who have combined in themselves all types of virtue, having reached its most extreme heights, not only are not upset by the disturbance of the worldly sea, but when it boils with noise, the winds and storms and whirlwinds fight among themselves, causing confusion in the waters, they, as if carried by a fair wind, did not cease to have fun - and their occupation was not to be curious about what was happening, but to praise Helmsman, why do you, being outside the waves, and more precisely, on land, and not at sea, ridicule what is being done, and although you praise the ascetics, do you blame the Ascetic? And those who are amazed at the virtue of the ascetics should also love their sentence: they accepted, as the greatest blessing, disasters, killings, stoning, burning, wounds, slander, bonds, dangers on land, at sea, in cities, in villages, suffered for preaching from their own and from strangers. Since we have touched them in words, we will say something about the incarnation of our Savior, which is the most important thing in God’s care for people. For heaven, earth, sea, air, sun, moon, stars, all visible and invisible creation, created by a single word, or better to say, brought into being by the will of the Word, do not so much prove the immeasurable goodness of God as the fact that the Only Begotten Son of God Himself, “in the form of God” (Phil. 2:6), “the radiance of glory and the image of the hypostasis” (Heb. 1:3), Who “in the beginning he was... to God, and God was” (John 1:1), by whom “all things were” (1:3), “we took on the form of a servant, becoming in the likeness of mankind, and was found in the likeness of a man” (Phil. 2:7), “appeared on earth and lived among men” (Bar.3:38), received our infirmities, bore our sicknesses. And blessed Paul sees in this the greatest proof of God’s love for people and cries out, saying: “God shows His love for us, because while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8); and again: “Who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all: why then does He not also give us all things with Him” (8:32)? And that this is really so, the God-wise John also confesses, for he says: “For God so loved the world, as He gave His only begotten Son to eat” for it, “that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Therefore, God not only cares about people, but cares by loving them. Yes, and the excess of this love is such that the Only Begotten Son, Consubstantial, born from the womb before the star, whom creation used as a Helper, made creation our Physician and Savior, and through Him gave us the gift of sonship. Since the Creator saw that our nature was given over to a cruel tormentor, fell into the very abyss of sin, fearlessly tramples the laws of nature, and that the visible creation, proclaiming and preaching the Creator, cannot convince those who have reached extreme insensibility, then wisely and justly arranges our salvation. He did not want to grant us freedom with one power, nor to arm one with mercy against the human race that had enslaved himself, so that he would not call this mercy unjust; but he paves the way, both filled with love for mankind and adorned with righteousness. For, having united this defeated nature with Itself, it introduces it into the struggle and arranges it in such a way that it rewards for the loss of victory, overcomes the ancient, unfortunately victorious one, destroys the torment of the cruel enslaver and takes back the former freedom. And for this, the Lord Christ is born of a woman, like us, although the birth had something more: namely virginity, because both the one who conceived and gave birth to the Lord Christ was a Virgin. When you hear this name: Christ, understand before the ages, begotten of the Father, the Only Begotten Son, the Word, clothed with human nature, and do not consider this preached dispensation humiliating for God, because nothing can desecrate the purest nature. For if the sun, being a body (since it is visible and subject to destruction) and passing where there are dead bodies, fetid mud and many other substances that emit a stench, cannot be defiled, then how much more the Creator of the sun and the Creator of the universe, incorporeal, invisible, unchangeable, always equal to Himself, cannot be defiled by anything like that. And we understand that this is really so from the following: we both say and believe that His nature is limitless. For I hear the One who says: “I will not fill the heavens and the earth with food, says the Lord” (Jer. 23:24); and again: “Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool” (Is. 66:1) and: “Who measured water in a handful, and heaven in a span, and all the earth in a handful” (40:12)? I hear other places testifying to similar things. Blessed David also calls out: “all the ends of the earth are in His hand” (Ps. 94:4); and the godly Paul: “In Him we live and move and we are” (Acts 17:28). So, if, according to the words of the Apostle, “in Him we live and move and are,” then not a single part of creation is devoid of God; although in creation, some are holy, some are vile, some are full of fragrance, others are stenchful; and among people, some are adorned with piety, others are mired in wickedness. He who fills the universe with Himself favors those who fear Him, but hates “all workers of iniquity”, destroys “all who speak lies: the Lord abhors the man of blood and flattery” and “the deceitful one will not abide” to Him (Ps. 5:5-7). Therefore nothing harms the purest. If those who practice the art of medicine, treating ulcers, do not themselves receive ulcers, but bring health to the sick, and do not themselves suffer any harm from them, then how much more the best artist - God, whose nature is impassive, above vicissitudes and does not allow change, did not accept any filth upon Himself during our healing. Therefore, let us marvel that He did not entrust our healing to Angels, but He Himself took upon Himself the healing of men. Thus, the Lord Christ, having been born, accepts, like us, his mother’s breasts, and rests in a manger - at this wordless meal, thereby exposing the foolishness of people, and allowing them to see their own love for mankind, because, being a Nourisher, like God, and according to humanity, he becomes food for people who suffer from great foolishness. And now, when human nature has put aside this foolishness and accepted rational strength, this mystical meal admits it to Itself, and has itself become the image of a manger and teaches people that when man was “in honor without understanding, he was likened to foolish cattle and became like them” (Ps. 48:13). At first the manger received this divine and spiritual food, but when our nature came to itself and clearly recognized the image of God in itself, then this food passed on to the verbal meal. Christ accepted circumcision and made sacrifices, because He was a man and by preserving the law he was supposed to restore freedom to nature. As a human being, he escapes into Egypt, like God, who exists everywhere and appears to everyone, as Divine Scripture says. He also comes to John the Baptist and, not accepting the filth of sin, receives baptism in order to fulfill all righteousness, and is proclaimed from above by the Father and indicated by the Spirit, for the Father cried from heaven: “This is My beloved Son in Him who is well pleased” (Matthew 3:17); and the Holy Spirit, appearing in the form of a dove, continued this voice and taught those present who had received the testimony from the Father. After this, the Lord begins to fight with the tormentor, and the desert becomes the field of struggle, the audience is a host of Angels, the opponent is the opponent of truth, who, having first heard the voice and brought to mind the prophetic predictions, was afraid of the fight and was not able to bear the lightning of His virtue; however, he hastened to enter into confrontation, although, remembering the voice, he was afraid of the fight. The Creator, Companion, Distributor of crowns and Champion of our nature does not fear the opponent, does not drive the beast away, but approves and challenges him to fight in order to steal his previous victory, deigns that the body fasting for fourty days should become hungry, but does not allow him to exceed the measure of those who fasted before, in order to confirm His humanity. The enemy saw hungering, hoped for victory, boldly decided to fight, seeing the weakness of hungering, thought that he was seeing the first Adam. He approached Him as to Adam, but found the Creator of Adam, clothed in the nature of Adam, and said to Him: “If you are the Son of God, the Lord, let these stone loaves be” (Matthew 4:3), represents the need to confirm the voice heard from heaven and requires confirmation by the miraculous production of the loaves. From this we can know for sure that the enemy borrows from us the reasons for deception, for, seeing hunger, this is where the attack begins. But our Savior, although the body is hungry and has a need for food, does not want to perform miracles, but strikes the tormentor with the word of Scripture and says: “Man will not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (4:4). Gives an answer for humanity, hiding the Divinity for the time being and giving people the opportunity to similarly achieve victory. It is not bread alone, He says, that contributes to human life, but every word proclaimed from God is sufficient to give life to hungry people. We believe that it is possible for human nature to live without bread, God willing. Thus, he turned the opponent’s tricks into nothing, invalidating his second and third attacks, using evidence like a man, in order to return to people the victory they had lost, He puts the wicked to flight, stops the torment of the common destroyer of people, and the victory is proclaimed by the angels who saw it, for it is said: “The angels came and served Him” (4:11). After this, having performed many miracles: from water, without vines and without earth, creating wine, feeding many thousands of people with five loaves, making the lame jump with one word, cleansing lepers from leprosy, restoring the strength to act to the paralytic, eyes deprived of sight, bestowing common sense, opening coffins and making the bound and stinking dead begin to walk, escapes from the hands of death, not restrained neither through the gates nor through the bonds of death, he hurries to the calling Creator - having performed these and thousands of other miracles, the Lord incurs the hatred of the Jews and voluntarily surrenders to their machinations, foreseeing the future salvation of people from this. And He foretold this from ancient times through the mouth of the Prophet, for He says: “I do not resist, nor contradict the verb. I put My cloaks on wounds and My cheeks on blows, but I did not turn My face away from the cold of spitting” (Is. 50:5-6). Having predicted and endured this, he is nailed to the cross, not as punishment for sins, for “thou shalt not commit sin, lest deceit be found in His mouth” (1 Pet. 2:22), but repaying the debt of our nature, because it owed it by transgressing the laws of the Creator. And just as, having fallen into debt, he was unable to pay the debt, the Lord Himself wisely conceives the payment of the debt and, having taken upon himself the members of this nature, as if some kind of property, in a wise and truthful economy, he pays the debt, and frees the nature with them. And the witnesses to this are Isaiah and Paul: the one who foretold this before the suffering, and the other who interpreted the prophecy after its fulfillment; but the same Spirit spoke in both. And Isaiah cries out from afar: “a man who is plagued and knows to endure pain” (Is. 53:3). He calls Him a man by visible nature, because He suffered in a visible nature. “This one,” declares Isaiah, “bears our sins and suffers for us, and we are imputed to Him for being in labor and in wounds from God and in bitterness” (53:4). For seeing Him nailed to the tree, they thought that He was being punished for many sins and was being punished for His own sins; That’s why the Jews nailed Him in the middle of two villains, with the intention of creating a bad opinion about Him among the people. But the Holy Spirit teaches through the Prophet that “He was also wounded for our sins and tormented for our iniquities.” And he explains this even more in subsequent words, for he says: “The chastisement of our peace is upon Him; by His wound we are healed” (53:5). Having become enemies of God as those who offended Him, we had to bear retribution and punishment, but we did not experience this, but our Savior Himself endured it and, having endured it, gave us peace with God. These subsequent words show this more clearly. “Everyone,” it is said, “is like sheep that have gone astray; man has gone astray from his way.” Why “is led like a sheep to the slaughter, and like a lamb before its shearers is silent” (53:6-7). For it was fitting for Him to heal like like and to bring back lost sheep as sheep. But He becomes a sheep, without turning into a sheep, without undergoing a change, without departing from His own essence, but having clearly put on the sheep nature, and like the leader of the flock - a ram, becoming the leader of the flock and making all the sheep follow Him. Therefore He became like a sheep and a sacrificial animal, and the sacrifice was made for the whole generation. It was not without intention that the Prophet mentioned slaughter and shearing together; but since He was God and man, and at the slaughter of the body the nature of God remained passionless, then the godly Isaiah, of necessity, showed us together both the slaughter of the sheep and the shearing of the lamb. Not only, says the Prophet, He was slain, but He was also shorn; because as a human being he suffered death, but as God, being alive and passionless, he gave the fleece of his body to the shearers. Thus, blessed Isaiah depicted saving suffering for us and showed us the causes of suffering. And the divine Paul clearly cries out: “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse against us: for it is written: Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” (Gal. 3:13). Having said: “for us,” he showed that, being innocent and free from all sin, he repaid our debt and made us worthy of freedom, burdened with many debts and therefore forced to slave, by redeeming us and offering us His own Blood as a price for us. Therefore, in another place the same Apostle cries out, saying: “we purchased” with “price” (1 Cor. 6:20); and he also says: “The weak brother in your mind will perish, for whose sake Christ died” (8:11). And he accepted death on the cross, because this kind of death was cursed by the law, and our nature was also cursed, as having broken the law, for it is said: “Cursed is everyone who does not abide in all those who are written in the book of the law, whatever I have done” (Gal. 3:10). Therefore, he accepts the general oath and absolves himself from the oath by accepting an unrighteous slaughter. Not being subject to an oath (for “do not commit sin, lest flattery be found in His mouth”), he suffered the death of sinners and, having become the defender and intercessor of our nature, goes to court with the destroyer, hostile to all nature, and rightly says to our cruel tormentor: you are captured, the all-evil one, and caught in your own nets; your sword has entered your heart and your arrows are broken; having dug a hole, he himself fell into it; Your hands are tied by the fences you have spread out. For tell me: why did you nail My Body to the cross and put it to death? What type of sin did you notice in Me? What crime of the law did you see? Now examine with all accuracy, seeing My Body naked on the tree. Look, the tongue is clean from filth, and the hearing is free from everything harmful, and the eyes have not received anything harmful from outside, and the hands are far from unrighteousness, but adorned with all righteousness, the feet, in the prophetic word, did not run “to evil” (Is. 59: 7), but have completed the course of virtue. Examine in all precision all members of the body, examine the movements of the soul. If even a small sin is found, then it is lawful and very fair for you to withhold Me, because death is the punishment for those who have sinned. And if you do not find anything prohibited by God’s law, or better yet, you find everything commanded by the law, then I do not allow you to hold on to what you have no right to hold on to. It’s better to say: I will open the prison of death for others, and I will imprison you alone in it as someone who has violated God’s decree, because God’s decree ordained that those who sinned should be put to death, and you put even the one who knew no sin into the bonds of death; gluttony has become in you the cause of extreme cruelty and, having taken one unjustly, you rightfully deprive yourself of all those under your control: having tasted food that is not poisonous, you will vomit up everything previously consumed, and you will teach everyone to be content with what they have and to abstain from what is improper. Remember why the ancestor Adam was put to death. Having received all the plants of paradise into power, he was not satisfied with the data and it was not enough for him to enjoy the abundance of all the plants, but encroached on the tree of knowledge, the Creator forbade him to eat the fruits. And, infuriated by gluttony, desiring what was inappropriate, he lost the whole paradise. I will subject you to this punishment, because it is unfair for the deceived to endure this punishment, but for the deceived not to be subjected to the same punishment. So, since you, having assumed power over those who have sinned, touched a body that had not committed a single sin, then be deprived of power, put an end to your torment. I will free everyone from death, and I will do this not by mercy alone, but by just mercy, not by the power of domination, but by the power of justice, because I paid the debt for the whole race: I did not owe death - and suffered death, was not subject to death - and accepted death, was innocent - and included myself among the guilty, was free from debt - and imputed with the debtors. Therefore I have paid the debt of nature and, having suffered an unjust death, I put an end to a just death. Having been imprisoned illegally, I also release those legally imprisoned from prison to freedom. Look, cruel punisher of sin, the handwriting of nature has been destroyed. Look, it is nailed to the cross and there is no sign of sin on it. Look, it did not retain the signature of wickedness. The eyes of My Body repaid the debt for the eyes that looked evil upon themselves, the ears for the ears that received defilement, and also the tongue for the tongue that committed iniquity, and the hands for the hands that committed unrighteousness, and the other members for the members that committed any sin. And since the debt has been paid, it is necessary for those imprisoned for it to get rid of imprisonment, receive their former freedom and return to their native country. Saying this, the Lord resurrected His Body and sowed the hope of resurrection in human nature, giving everyone the resurrection of His own Body as a guarantee of it. Let no one think that this is our wisdom: we have been taught by both the Holy Gospel and the Apostolic instructions that this is really so. For we have heard that the Lord Himself says: “For the prince of this world is coming, and in Me I will have nothing” (John 14:30), because there are no signs of sin in Me, My Body is free from all iniquity; however, having found nothing in Me, he puts me to death as having countless debts. And I tolerate this, wanting, in all fairness, to deprive him of the right to torture. That is why in another place the Lord says: “Today is judgment for this world: now the prince of this world will be cast out” (John 12:31). According to the trial and investigation, he will be condemned and deprived of the right to torture, as having pronounced an unjust sentence on Me. Then, teaching that he would free not only His own Body, but together the entire human nature from the dominion of death, the Lord immediately added to this, saying: “And if I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all things to Me” (12:32). I will not agree to resurrect the Body that I have received alone, but I will arrange the resurrection of all people. For for this purpose I came, took on the form of a servant, for this purpose I was led to the slaughter and “like a lamb before its shearers” I was “silent.” Blessed Paul also says this, writing to the Colossians, and through them to all people. For it is said: “And you, who were dead in transgressions and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, He brought to life with Him, having given us all our sins, having destroyed the handwriting of the teachings against us that was contrary to us, and that was taken out of the way, having nailed it to the cross; Col.2:13–15 ). So, from this we learned that the Lord repaid the debt for us, blotted out the handwriting that was against us and nailed it to the cross, and brought it to shame the principalities and authorities, i.e. opposing forces, boldly exposing them in Himself, i.e. showing them His sinless body and sinless soul and exposing them to the unrighteous judgment made against Him and, having done this, He brought to life with Him all human nature. In the Divine Scriptures one can find thousands of other evidences showing that this is indeed the case. But if I wanted to collect all this evidence and make a proper interpretation of each, then our discussion would become excessively long. Therefore, having left the collection of these to inquisitive people, I will proceed to the continuous continuation of the word. Thus, the Lord Christ, having crushed death and arranged our salvation, ascended to heaven and left the hope of this ascension to the disciples of piety. For he says: “When I am exalted, I will draw everyone to Me.” Such is the care of all God for people. The Creator of the ungrateful creature provided such care. Such is the caring of the prototype for His own image. He created man at the beginning, honoring him with his likeness, but he became ungrateful before the Creator and, having corrupted the image of God, took on animal features, and from being god-like he became beast-like. But the Creator did not despise him, clothed in animal images, but renewed him, brought him to his former splendor, gave him his primitive beauty and made him sons of those unworthy of being slaves. But there are people, in the words of Blessed Paul, “doing nothing, but walking around craftily” (2 Thess. 3:11), who are curious about what is not allowed, are intensified by their own thoughts to measure the depth of God’s wisdom and say: why did God not at the beginning, but after many thousands of years, plan the salvation of people? That being curious about something like this is extremely impudent, arrogant and beyond any madness, those who have gone into such research will say this themselves. But to prove that God did not build the economy according to a newly adopted discretion, but established it this way from ancient times, at the very beginning, let us present the Divine Scripture for Wednesday and, first of all, listen to what the Lord Christ Himself says in the Gospel: “Come, blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34). If, before the foundation of the world, He prepared the Kingdom for the Apostles and those who believed through them, then it is clear that this pleased Him from ancient times, from the beginning, and He does not want anything - first one thing, then another. He builds the economy at all times, which is appropriate for the time, and measures the teachings by the abilities of people. Therefore, Adam, like a newborn baby, is given the commandment about the tree, for for him every positive law was unnecessary: ​​about adultery, about murder, about false witness, about injustice. For with whom was it committed adultery? The wife was alone at the time. Who was to be killed? Nobody annoyed him. Who was to commit false witness against or who was to offend? Therefore, Adam accepts only the law of the tree, the law of children and suitable for newborn babies. After a great number of years, when the race had multiplied, he gave the law to Noah about food and commanded him to eat all kinds of meat, of course, clean animals (because he taught Noah this difference), and only forbids him to eat blood. When a lot of time had passed since Noah, God called Abraham, commanded him to leave his father’s house, led him to the country that was anciently called Canaanite, present-day Palestine, and gave him the commandment of circumcision, so that the line descended from him would have the removal of excess as a sign of piety. Reduced to extreme need by hunger, he leads this preacher of piety everywhere, and makes His servant known to the Egyptians and the inhabitants of Palestine; allows the barbarians to kidnap his wife, but protects the kidnapped one and punishes the kidnappers; He does not allow those who have become fishers of his wife to enjoy the prey and, having what they caught in their nets, they did not take advantage of it; they themselves were caught by invisible traps and learned through experience the wanderer’s love for God; and those who reigned among those nations called to themselves and begged this wanderer, stranger and guest, and on this occasion he taught the ignorant lessons of piety, and untruth opened the way to piety, the lawless passion of appropriating someone else’s property served to acquire knowledge of God. This was also God’s view of Isaac and Jacob. The first showed a benefit to Abimelech, the other showed Laban the true God and exposed the powerlessness of not true, but imaginary gods. This was God’s view of Joseph: first allowing him to become a slave, through slavery, slander and bonds, God handed him the reins of Egypt, and first he preaches the true God to the cupbearer, and then he expounds the same teaching to the king, after which, taking the helm, he wisely rules the whole boat. So God, wanting to deliver the multiplied Israelites from Egyptian slavery, delivers them with many great miracles, and through this makes them famous as a people, because this people provides them with a teacher of God for all nations. And just as for the care of this people he chooses first Moses, then Jesus, and also Samuel, and at other times one of the other prophets, and through one man, practicing wisdom, he benefits all his fellow tribesmen, so through one people of Israel he calls all nations into the communion of faith, because they are of the same nature with Israel. And that this is really so is testified by the harlot Rahab, for whom, although she was a foreigner and a harlot, one rumor was enough and for the sake of it she accepted piety, neglected her own and gave herself into the hands of strangers, for she says: we have heard what the Lord God did to the Egyptians, and “for your fear will attack us” (Joshua 2:9). Therefore, he makes conditions with the spies and confirms them with an oath. Foreigners also testify to the same thing, who were afraid of the presence of the ark and said to each other: this is the God who defeated Egypt, woe to us foreigners (1 Samuel 4:8). For this reason, although God hands over the ark to the foreigners, denouncing the iniquity of His people (the law should not have become the protector of obvious lawbreakers), he nevertheless protects the venerability of the ark handed over to them, teaching the foreigners that they have won a victory not over God, but over the iniquity of people. Therefore, it is arranged that Dagon - this silent and emotionless idol, but whom the foreigners worshiped as God - falls in front of the ark and takes on the appearance of the worshiper, so that the foreigners will know the difference between him and the ark. They foolishly again raise Dagon, and again see him fallen and worshiped. Then, remaining in their great feeble-mindedness and not wanting to see the difference, they were taught by experience to be chaste and, having suffered punishment, came to their senses, sobered up from the intoxication of ignorance and send the ark, as it should be, to its own servants and, having honored it with offerings, announce the punishments they have suffered, and inform those who must accept it how it will be returned. This is what God did with Belshazzar. Since the people of Israel have crawled towards great wickedness, God sends them captive to Babylon, and the sacred vessels become the spoils of war for the enemies. But Nebuchadnezzar removed them as Divine from general use and brought them into the church, revered by them as gods; his son, i.e. Belshazzar, not being enlightened by his father’s misfortunes, not paying attention to what punishments he suffered for his arrogance, even having honored, as he believed, these Divine vessels, wears out on Wednesday, which was forever dedicated to God, drinks, the wicked, from these vessels and offers this immunity to those who feast with him. And at this very time the sentence is pronounced on the wicked: someone’s invisible hand writes God’s definition on the wall. The king remains at a loss for now, unable to read and recognize the power of what is written; His mother harasses him on Wednesday to Daniel, who has repeatedly resolved such perplexities with his father. And Daniel read, interpreted and indicated the reason for the punishment, saying: when we became captives as a punishment for sins, then He gave these vessels, which we had dedicated to God, to him who enslaved us, teaching that, having no need for them, he endured our sacrifices, but while we were pious, he accepted what we offered, wanting to show us mercy; when we crawled into wickedness, he rejected the gifts we brought. And your father, having some understanding of this, honored, as he believed, these vessels, removing them from human use and dedicating them to his imaginary gods. And you, without thinking about the honor bestowed by your father, fell into the abyss of arrogance and scolded the sacred bowls. Therefore, their Lord, not taking care of inanimate things, but providing for people, informs what is the end of arrogance, and with your punishment gives many people a lesson in decorum. So Daniel said, and Belshazzar suffered execution that same night. This is how the Creator of all things always provided for all people, not only those descended from Abraham, but for all the descendants of Adam, and through one people brought all nations to the knowledge of God. And through him he offered teaching to all people, not only when he was pious, but also when he was punished for his iniquities. And it was this Nebuchadnezzar, the arrogant tormentor, who erected a golden idol, commanded that everyone worship him, and said: “I will set my throne above the stars of heaven... I will ascend above the clouds, I will be like the Most High” (Is. 14:13-14), “I will embrace the whole world in my hand like a nest, and I will pick up eggs that are abandoned.” (10:14), God did not teach chastity to everyone through Angels, but through those whom He himself took captive. For when I saw that the three youths, having not fulfilled the royal law, neglected this terrible cave like a toy, walked on coals as if on roses, and those devoted to such flames hymned God, how he marveled at the miracle, how he marveled at the Creator of the miracle, commanded everyone to worship the God of the youths, called Him Most High, called Him God and King of all. So also this Assyrian, who raged against God and uttered these crazy words: “The Lord God will not save you from my hand, and where are the gods of the nations?” - brought to the knowledge of his own powerlessness, forced one to flee, and those many thousands with whom he boasted, in a short moment of time, through a single Angel, put to death. So he sent Jonah to the Ninevites as a preacher of repentance; and the one who did not want to fulfill the command, but unreasonably decided to escape, is tied up by the waves and, like in some kind of prison, is delivered into the belly of a whale; and the foolish fish leads the wise one to where he is commanded to preach. When the time has come for the great mystery of the economy to be accomplished, and after the Divine incarnation of sermons to be scattered throughout the entire universe, then this people, who by special good deed were at first chosen from all nations, also scatters throughout the entire universe, so that all, possessed by the delusion of polytheism, learn to hear that there is One God. Creator of heaven and earth, and through this, preaching to the divine Apostles became more convenient. But perhaps someone else will say that the Jews not only did not contribute to the teaching of Christ, but even extremely opposed and served as an obstacle to the pagans who wanted to believe. On the contrary, if anyone wishes to examine this precisely, he will find that the very opposition of the Jews contributed to the faith of the pagans, because the conversation with the Jews and the evidence brought from the Law and the Prophets, as they served as a clear exposure of the foolishness of the Jews, also showed the pagans that the Christian way of life had been preached since ancient times. And the testimony borrowed from enemies made the preached doctrine credible. The preachers of this teaching brought forward the Patriarch Abraham, who accepted these promises, and Isaac - this fruit of the promise, and Jacob, who received this blessing from his father, and Judas, who successively inherited the same fatherly blessing, and Moses, who predicted this, and King David, who foretold the same, and Isaiah, and Jeremiah, who prophesied the same, and Ezekiel and Daniel, who proclaimed this by the Spirit, and the whole host of Prophets, who clearly foretold what had happened to us. And those who heard, seeing that the Jews themselves recognized these broadcasts as Divine, and also seeing the good deeds performed in the name of Christ, and accepting these signs as a guarantee of the teaching being taught, easily accepted the preaching, believed in the God being preached, and abhorred the false Jewish rumors. Therefore, the disobedience of the Jews not only did not serve as an obstacle to the Divine preaching, but by the very fact that they undertook to resist, it gave credibility to the teaching, because the contradiction forced the Lord’s testimonies to be exposed, and these testimonies exposed lies and revealed the light of truth. Therefore, from ancient times, the God of all things continued the economy of the salvation of people and took care of this, befitting each time. Teaching this, Blessed Paul said: “At times there is a young heir, a servant who is better than no one, who is Lord of all: but he is under lords and guardians even before the father’s commission. Likewise, we, when we were in our youth, under the elements of the world of enslavement: when the end of the year had come, God sent His only begotten Son, begotten of a Woman, and were under the law, that He might redeem those under the law, that we might receive sonship” (Gal. 4:1-5). And that God began this economy, not according to His new discretion, but so He decreed from the beginning, let the same witness teach us, who in the Epistle to the Corinthians writes: “But we speak wisdom to those who are perfect, not the wisdom of this age, nor of the princes of this age who are passing away, but we speak the wisdom of God in the hidden mystery, which God first presented to the world for glory.” ours, than no one of the princes of this age understood: if they had understood, they had not crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Cor. 2:6-8). For it was not out of envy of the prosperity of people that they were given the opportunity to acquire this highest bliss, but without knowing the purpose of this mystery, they rebelled against the Savior of our souls and unwittingly became for us the providers of the highest blessings. Therefore, although the secret was hidden, it was predetermined before the ages. And therefore, having recognized this, having recognized God’s all-extending Providence, seeing immeasurable love for mankind, seeing immeasurable mercy, stop raging against the Creator, learn to sing songs about the Benefactor, and repay great blessings with a grateful word. Devour the “sacrifice of praise to Him” (Ps. 106:22), do not corrupt your tongue with blasphemy, make it an instrument of song, as it was designed for. Worship those things of God that are visible, and do not be curious about those that are hidden, but wait for the inquiry that will come in due time. When we are stripped of passions, then perfect knowledge will be acquired. Do not imitate Adam, who dared to taste forbidden fruits, do not touch the hidden, but leave the knowledge of this to the proper time. Listen to the wise one who says: “Say not, what is this; what is this for? everything was created for their needs” (Sir.39:27). Therefore, collecting reasons for hymns from everywhere and merging them into one hymn, lift it up with us to the Creator, and Benefactor, and Savior Christ, our True God. To Him be glory and worship and splendor forever and ever! Amen. You might be interested in: