Диадох Фотикийский

Brief information about Diadochos of Photikie Our holy father Diadochos, called Bishop of Photiki, in Ancient Epirus Illyrian, lived before the 7th century. This can be inferred from the writings of St. Maximus, in which he mentions the chapters of Diadochos. About the fact that St. Our father Diadochos was a wise man in action (πράξη) and bright in contemplation (θεωρία), this can be learned by anyone who wishes to learn from this word that has come down to us intact, which he beautifully compiled, drawing spiritual wisdom from his long-term experience and from the divine ascents of his heart. Dividing it into one hundred chapters, he carefully reveals in them the deepest secrets of the desired virtue, filling them, moreover, with frequent testimonies of Divine Scripture and contemplations of a mind enlightened by faith. We can say that in this word he left for all the teetotalers and God-bearing fathers who followed him an exemplary teaching about sacred sobriety together with all the virtues. Why will you find that many of them turn to these chapters as the most faithful pointers to the truth, and cite verbatim evidence from them in their writings about sobriety. Saint Photius also mentions them, speaking about them this way (in reading 201, p. 263): “after the ten limits there are 100 chapters, and this word is very useful to those who strive and for those who through long exercise have acquired skill in deeds leading to perfection, it does not represent anything unclear... This was done after the Council of Andronicus Palaeologus by Gregory and Simeon of Thessalonica, Gregory of Sinaite, His Holiness Callistus and many others, testifying to the impeccability of his teaching. The hundredth chapter, as Photius says, although it seems worthy of blame (επιλήψιμο), yet the divine Maximus relieves us of doubts (αμφιβολία), interpreting (ερμηνεύοντας) its meaning (έννοια) according to the correct purpose (σκοπό) piety, as shown [here] at the end of the chapters. Blessed Diadochos, Bishop of Photiki, indicating the final limits or height of perfection of the most important virtues The first limit (the height of perfection) is faith: dispassionate thought about God. 2nd limit - hopes: the outpouring of the mind [in love] for the hoped-for (expected) [goods]. The 3rd limit is patience: invisible as if seen in vain with intelligent eyes, steadfastly stand in patience. The 4th limit is non-covetousness: to desire not to have as another person desires to have. The 5th limit is understanding: not to be in a frenzy (or complete aspiration) towards God. The 6th limit is humility: decisive forgetting of one’s good deeds (deeds). The 7th limit is freedom from anger: a great desire not to be angry. The 8th limit is purity: a feeling constantly attached to God. The 9th limit is love: increasing friendly disposition towards those who insult and revile. The 10th limit is perfect change: in the sweet taste of God, counting the sorrow of death as joy. Blessed Diadochos, Bishop of Photiki, in ancient Epirus of Illyria, the ascetic word, divided into one hundred active chapters, filled with knowledge and spiritual reasoning, with which knowledge it is necessary for us, according to the guidance of the Lord, to achieve the perfection presented, so that each of us bears fruit in the seed of the word in the image indicated in the Gospel parable (Matthew 13:8; Mark 4:8; Luke 8:5–15) 1. Spiritual contemplation, brethren, may faith, hope and love lead – and most of all love; for those (two - faith and hope) teach only to despise visible goods, but love unites the very soul through virtues with God, comprehending the Invisible with an intelligent feeling. 2. By nature, God alone is good. But a person also becomes good through zealous care for good morals, being changed into something that is not by nature by Him who is essentially good, when the soul, through zealous care for good, becomes as much existing in God as it desires and actively seeks it by its strength; for it is said: be good and merciful, as is your Father who is in heaven (Luke 6:36; Matt. 5:48). 3. There is no evil in nature, and no one is evil by nature, for God did not create anything evil. But when someone, with the lust of the heart, brings into himself the image of evil, then it, despite the fact that it does not exist in nature, begins to be in such a form as the one who does so desired it. Why should one, with all diligence, constantly remembering God, not listen to ordinary impulses for evil; for the good that exists in nature is more powerful than the evil that comes into nature from the outside through habit - since this is, but this is not, unless it happens. 4. We are all people in the image of God [by intelligent soul movement]; to be in the likeness of God belongs only to those who, out of great love, have enslaved their freedom to God. For when we are not our own, we deny ourselves, then we become like the One who, out of His love, reconciled us to Himself; - which no one can achieve unless he convinces his soul not to get carried away by the delights of a self-satisfied and self-indulgent life. 5. Autocracy is the will of the rational soul, readily striving for whatever it wants. We will have such a will, ready for only good, if we always destroy every evil thought with good thoughts. 6. The light of true knowledge is to infallibly distinguish good from evil. And then (when, that is, there is such a distinction and life itself is organized according to it), the right path, raising the mind to the Sun of truth, God, introduces it into that boundless mental enlightenment - as with boldness (faith and hope) one who finally sought one love. What is righteous must be snatched from the hands of those who reproach and trample upon it, with non-wrathful enthusiasm; because zeal for godliness triumphs not through hatred [wrathful], but through reproof and persuasion [loving]. 7. The spiritual word brings satisfactory conviction to the mental feeling, because it (the word) comes from God through the action of love. Why then does our mind, without difficulty and heaviness, move in the waves of theology, not tolerating the regrettable and troubling poverty of bright thoughts? In this state, he freely floats around in vast contemplations, as much as the action of love desires. It is a good thing to always wait with faith for intellectual enlightenment influenced by love to talk about God; for there is nothing more impoverished than the mind when, without God, it undertakes to philosophize about God. 8. Just as one who is not enlightened in spirit should not touch spiritual contemplations, so one who is richly illuminated by the grace of the Holy Spirit should not begin to talk about them: for there the poverty of bright thoughts envelops the mind in the darkness of ignorance, but here their abundance does not allow one to speak, since at this time the soul, reveling in the love of God, desires to silently enjoy the glory of the Lord. So, one should begin to speak the words of God (to talk about God) when one notices the average regularity in spiritual excitement; for such a measure provides the soul with a certain image of glorious words [accurately and clearly depicting invisible spiritual objects], while, at the same time, the longed-for spiritual illumination nourishes the faith of the speaker in faith, so that the one who teaches will be the first to partake of the fruit of knowledge, exuding love: the laboring farmer must be the first to partake of the fruit (2 Tim. 2:6) 9 . The one Holy Spirit is the gift of wisdom and knowledge, like all divine gifts; but each of these gifts, like all others, has its own special effect (energy). This is why the Apostle testifies that to one is given wisdom, and to another knowledge (1 Cor. 12:8). Knowledge experimentally (tangibly) combines the soul with God, but does not move the soul to talk about this and other spiritual things; why some of those who wisely live a solitary life, although they are enlightened in their senses by knowledge, do not begin to talk about divine things. Wisdom, if it is given to someone along with the knowledge of fear for the sake of God (which rarely happens), lovingly reveals the innermost influences (energy) of knowledge; since that (knowledge) usually enlightens by internal influence, and this (wisdom) by the word. They are achieved this way: knowledge is brought by prayer and great silence with complete carelessness; and wisdom is the unvain study of the words of the Spirit, and most of all, the grace of the all-giving God. 10. When the soul moves with anger against the passions, you should know that then it is time to remain silent, for that is the hour of battle. When someone sees that this indignation, whether through prayer or almsgiving, has subsided, then let him yield to the attraction of love for the utterance of divine words, however, restraining the wings of the mind with the bonds of humility; for unless someone humbles himself with extreme self-abasement, he cannot worthily talk about the greatness of God. 11. The spiritual word keeps the soul unconceited; for, filling all its parts with a feeling of the richness of spiritual light, it means that the soul has no need for human honor. Why does it always keep the mind dreamless, changing (immersing) it entirely in the love of God. The word of worldly wisdom always calls a person to love of glory; because it does not have the opportunity to allow the senses to experience the good from itself (which would saturate the heart) and instead gives its pets the love of human praise, being itself the invention of vain people. We ourselves will infallibly recognize this property of the spiritual Word of God if we spend the hours during which we have no need to speak in the warm memory of God in careless silence. 12. He who loves himself cannot love God, and he who does not love himself because of the abundant riches of God’s love, only truly loves God. Such a one never seeks his own glory, but always the glory of God alone. For just as the lover of self naturally seeks his own glory, so the lover of God naturally seeks and loves the glory of his Creator. It is natural for a God-loving soul, filled with the feeling of God, to seek the one glory of God in fulfilling all the commandments it makes, and to enjoy humility in relation to itself. For God, for the sake of His greatness, deserves glory, and man, humility, so that through him we may become our own to God: what if we also want to do, then, following the example of St. John the Baptist, rejoicing in the glory of the Lord, let us continually say: He must increase, but we must decrease (John 3:30). 13. I saw someone who was still sad and crying because he did not love God as much as he wanted, while he loved Him so much that he constantly carried in his soul a fiery desire for God alone to be glorified in him, while he himself was like nothing. Such a person does not know what he is, and does not enjoy the very praises uttered to him. For in the great desire for humility, he does not understand his dignity, but serving God, as the law commands the priests, with a strong certain disposition towards love of God, he robs the memory of his dignity, somewhere in the depths of love for God, hiding the inherent praise in the spirit of humility, so that in his thoughts he always appears before himself as some kind of inextricable slave, as completely alien to the dignity required of him, according to his strong desire for humility. Acting in this way, we must also run away from all honor and glory for the sake of the abundant riches of love for the Lord, who loved us so much. 14. He who loves God in the feeling of his heart is known from Him. For, insofar as anyone receives love for God in the feeling of his heart, to that extent he himself abides in the love of God. Why does one not cease to desire enlightenment in the mind with some kind of strong zeal and strives for it with such tension that sometimes he feels a complete exhaustion of the very strength of his bones, becoming ignorant of himself, but completely changed and absorbed in the love of God. He who is like this both is in this belly and is not; since while still wandering in his body, with a spiritual movement, through the power of love, he incessantly goes to God - and is strangely accepted by Him. For, constantly burning in his heart with the inexhaustible fire of love, he, of necessity, remains heartily attached to God, completely renouncing self-love by the power of this love for God. For if, he says, we lose our temper, it is for God; if you are modest, then for you (2 Cor. 5:13). 15. When someone begins to richly feel the love of God, then in a spiritual feeling he begins to love his neighbor, and once he has begun, he does not cease: such is the love about which all the Holy Scriptures speak. Carnal love, not being bound by spiritual feeling, as soon as even an insignificant reason presents itself, it very easily evaporates. Spiritual love is not like that: but, although it happens to suffer some grief, in the God-loving soul, which is under the influence of God, the union of love is not interrupted: for having warmed itself with the warmth of love for God, it immediately returns to a good mood and with great joy accepts love for its neighbor, even if no small insult has been received from him or great harm has been suffered; because then the bitterness of discord is completely absorbed by the sweetness of God. 16. No one can love God with all his heart without first warming the fear of God in his heart; for the soul comes into active love after it has already been cleansed and softened by the action of the fear of God. No one can come into the fear of God, with the said fruit from it, unless he stands outside all worldly cares; for only then, as the mind calms down in complete silence and carelessness, does the fear of God begin to have a salutary effect on it, in a strong feeling cleansing it from all earthly debility, in order to thus elevate it into complete love for the all-good God. So fear is the property of the righteous, who are still being purified, in whom there is an average measure of love, and perfect love is the property of the already purified, in whom there is no fear, since perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18). The same and different things happen only to the righteous, who through the action of the Holy Spirit undergo virtues. Why is the Scripture, where it says: fear the Lord, all His saints (Ps. 33:10), and where: love the Lord, all His saints (Ps. 30:24), giving us a clear understanding that the fear of God is characteristic only of the righteous who are still being cleansed with an average, as it is said, measure of love, while the righteous who have been cleansed are characterized by perfect love and there is no longer any fearful thought in them, but there remains only one unceasing burning and the cleaving of the soul to God, through the action of the Holy Spirit, as the prophet says: my soul clung to You, and Your right hand took hold of me (Ps. 62:9). 17. Like wounds that occur in the body, if they are not cleaned and prepared as they should, they do not feel the medicines applied to them by doctors; and when they are cleansed, they feel the effect of medicines and through this they come to complete healing: so the soul, while it remains careless and is covered with the leprosy of voluptuousness, cannot feel the fear of God, even if someone constantly talks to it about the terrible and unwashed judgment seat of God; and when she begins to purify herself through the action of complete attention to herself, then she begins to feel how a certain kind of life-giving medicine, the fear of God, burns through her, as if in some kind of fire, through the action of reproof, and thus, little by little, being purified, she finally achieves perfect purification. At the same time, as much love is added to it as fear is diminished, until it comes to perfect love, in which, as has been said, there is no fear, but perfect dispassion, produced by the action of the glory of God. Let us be in constant praise of praise, first, the fear of God, and finally, love, the fullness of the law of perfection in Christ. 18. The soul, not freed from worldly worries, will neither sincerely love God, nor will it hate the devil, as it is worthy. Caring for this life lies on her like a heavy blanket, and her mind cannot establish its own judgment about this in itself, so that it can tangibly hear the unmistakable verdicts of the court [of conscience]. Why is it necessary to withdraw from the world in every possible way? 19. A pure soul is characterized by an unenvious word, a kindly zeal, and an unceasing zeal for the glory of the Lord. Then (when the soul is pure) the mind correctly sets its cups (as weighing cups are set on scales), and remains sober in its judgment of everything, as if at the purest and incorruptible judgment seat. 20. Faith without works and works without faith equally cannot be approved. A believer, in order to prove his faith, must bring works to the Lord. And faith would not have been credited to our father Abraham as righteousness if he had not brought its fruit - his son as a sacrifice to God. 21. He who loves God believes sincerely and performs the works of faith reverently. He who only believes, and does not abid in love, does not have the very faith that he seems to have. He believes with a certain lightness of mind, without carrying within himself the effective (establishing him on one) plumb line of glorious love. But faith, which works through love (Gal. 5:6), is the great principle of virtues. 22. He who explores the depth of faith is overwhelmed by waves of thoughts, and he who contemplates it in a simple-hearted disposition enjoys a sweet inner silence. The depth of faith, being the water of oblivion, does not tolerate being looked into or seen with curious thoughts. Let us sail on these waters in simplicity of mind, so that we may thus arrive at the harbor of God’s will. 23. No one can sincerely love or believe otherwise than if he does not have himself as his own condemner. For when our conscience is disturbed by its denunciations, then the mind is not allowed to feel the fragrance of premium blessings, but it is immediately divided into doubts: due to previous experiences of faith, it longingly rushes towards them with a warm movement, but can no longer lovingly perceive them in the feeling of the heart due to, as I said, frequent remorse of a convicting conscience. However, if we purify ourselves with the warmest prayer and attention, then we will again receive this longed-for good, with even greater experience in God of tasting it. 24. Just as our bodily feelings involuntarily draw us towards the blessings we see, so the mental-spiritual feeling usually guides us towards invisible blessings, when we taste divine goodness. Everything desires what is akin to itself: the soul, like incorporeal, of heavenly blessings, and the body, like dust from the earth, of earthly sweets. So, we will reach the state of experiencing the immaterial without getting lost if we refine our callous body through labor. 25. That there is only one natural feeling, this is taught to us by the very action (energy) of holy knowledge (mind enlightened by grace). By Adam's crime it was divided into two actions (energies); but by the Holy Spirit it is again made one and simple. This, however, no one can see in themselves, except for those alone who, in anticipation of future blessings, willingly renounce the blessings of this life and through abstinence dry up all lust of the bodily senses. For only in such a mind, due to complete carelessness, making its movements healthy and cheerfully, can inexpressibly taste divine goodness with a feeling, and at the same time, as it prospers, communicate its joys to the body, expressing its joy in confession with an immeasurable word of love, saying: My heart trusted in Him, and He helped me, and my flesh flourished, and I willingly confess Him ( Ps.27:7). Such joy, which occurs in this case in the soul and body, is an unflattering reminder of an eternally incorruptible life. 26. Those who strive must always keep their thoughts undisturbed, so that the mind can correctly discern the oncoming thoughts, and, distinguishing, put the good and God-sent ones into the treasury of memory, and throw out the indecent and demonic ones from the vagina of nature. And the sea, when it is calm, is visible to fishermen to its very last depths, so that then almost none of the living creatures moving there can hide from them; when it is agitated by the winds, then it hides in its impenetrable turbidity that which, during the pleasant silence, generously allowed one to see; why at that time the art of fishing tricks of those who organized it remained idle. The contemplative mind also experiences this, especially when the depths of the soul are outraged by unrighteous anger. 27. There are very few who know exactly all their failures and whose mind never turns away from the remembrance of God. Just as our bodily eyes, when healthy, can see everything clearly, even to the smallest mosquitoes and flies flying in the air; and when they are dusted or covered with something wet, then what is great and always meets them, they see, even if weakly, and what is small, they do not feel at all with the sense of sight: so the soul, when with attention to itself, drives away the darkness that happens to it from love of peace, then considering its small falls to be very great, it adds tears to tears with great thanksgiving, lamenting that - as it is said: the righteous will confess the name Yours (Ps. 139:14); and when she is possessed by a peaceful disposition, then if she commits murder or something else worthy of punishment, she feels a little more, but cannot even notice any other downfalls; she even often regards them as virtues and is not ashamed to defend them with fervor, the unfortunate one. 28. It is the work of the Holy Spirit alone to purify the mind. For if this Mighty One does not come and catch and bind his predator (Luke 11:22), then what he stole cannot be released in any way. It is appropriate, then, to repose the Holy Spirit within oneself through all sorts of virtues, and especially with spiritual peace, so that the lamp of reason is always shining within oneself; because when it constantly shines in the innermost parts of the soul, then not only are even small dark demonic excuses obvious in the mind, but they are also inactive and unstable, being exposed by that Holy and Glorious Light. This is why the Apostle says: Do not quench the Spirit (1 Thess. 5:19), that is, do not offend (Eph. 4:30) the goodness of the Holy Spirit with evil deeds or thoughts, so as not to lose that all-conquering lamp. For it is not the ever-present and life-giving Spirit that quenches at this point, but His sadness, or, better yet, disgust, leaves our mind hardened and alien to the light of knowledge. 29. There is only one, as I said, a natural feeling in the soul (for the well-known five bodily senses are a special matter, they serve the needs of the body, as the all-holy and humane Spirit of God teaches us); but now, in the manifestations of the movements of the soul, it is divided into two due to the creeping towards evil, which has entered the mind through disobedience. Why, then it is attracted by the passionate part of the soul, from which we sweetly sympathize with the blessings of everyday life, then it co-enjoys its rational mental movement, since our mind, when we are chaste, lustfully strives to flow towards heavenly beauties. If therefore we come to the habit of despising the blessings of this world, then we will be able, finally, to bring the earthly lust of the soul into harmony with its rational mood, by virtue of the communication of the Holy Spirit, which builds the house within us. For if His Divinity does not effectively illuminate the secrets of our heart, then we will not be able to taste Heavenly good with an indivisible feeling, that is, with a complete disposition of the soul. 30. The sense of the mind is its taste, which correctly discerns spiritual things. Just as our bodily sense of taste in a healthy state accurately distinguishes the good from the bad, we desire the pleasant (we turn away from the unpleasant), so our mind, when it begins to act in a good mood and in complete concern for the transitory, can richly feel divine consolation and not be in the least carried away by anything contrary to it. For just as the body, having tasted earthly sweets, acquires unmistakable experience in this feeling, so the mind, when it rises above carnal wisdom, can unflatteringly taste and discern the consolation of the Holy Spirit, as they say: taste and see how good the Lord is (Ps. 33:9), and having the memory of this tasting through the action of unforgettable love, it is infallible to discern the best, according to the word of the Holy Spirit. Apostle: And I pray that your love may increase even more and more in knowledge and in every feeling, so that you may know what is best (Phil. 1:9). 31. When the mind begins to feel the gracious consolation of the Holy Spirit, then Satan also puts his consolation into the soul in a seemingly sweet feeling, during the night’s tranquility, at the moment of the most subtle kind of sleep (or falling asleep). If at this time the mind turns out to be holding in the warmest memory the holy name of the Lord Jesus, and uses this most holy and glorious name as a sure weapon against delusion, then this evil deceiver immediately leaves, but for this reason it finally flares up in battle against the soul with its face (and not with its thoughts). Thus, the mind, accurately recognizing the deceptive charms of the evil one, succeeds more and more in discerning spiritual things. 32. Good consolation occurs either in the waking state of the body, or when it is immersed in sleep, when someone, in warm remembrance of God, is, as it were, clinging to love for Him; and deceptive, seductive consolation, as I said, always happens when the ascetic comes into a kind of subtle slumber, or oblivion, while remembering the mediocre God. That, coming from God, clearly attracts the souls of ascetics of piety in the love of God in a strong outpouring of spiritual feelings; and this usually blows around the soul with a certain wind of deceptive charm and, during bodily sleep, attempts to steal the feeling by tasting something pleasant, despite the fact that the mind is to a certain extent healthy in relation to the remembrance of God. So, if, as I said, the mind turns out to be soberly mindful of the Lord Jesus at such a time, then it immediately dispels this deceptively seemingly pleasant breath of the enemy, and joyfully comes out to fight against him, having a weapon ready against him, by grace, in the most praiseworthy spiritual experience. 33. If the soul, with an unwavering and unimaginative movement, is inflamed to the love of God, somehow drawing the body itself into the depths of this ineffable love - either in wakefulness, or, as I said, when an ascetic is immersed in sleep, influenced by the holy grace, while the soul does not think about anything else at all, except for the one thing to which it is excited, then one must know that this is the action of the Holy Spirit. Being completely filled with pleasant feelings from the indescribable divine sweetness, she cannot at that time think about anything else, but only feels overjoyed by some kind of inexhaustible joy. If, with such excitement, the mind perceives hesitation of some doubtful or unclean thought, and if at the same time the Holy Name of the Lord is used to ward off evil, and not more so out of love for God, then one must know that this consolation is from a seducer, and is only a ghost of joy. Such joy is inspired from the outside and does not appear as a quality and constant disposition of the soul; Apparently, here the enemy wants to commit adultery on the soul. Seeing that the mind begins to show true experience of its feelings, it, with its certain consolations, seemingly good, comes to console the soul, in the expectation that it, being entertained by this blissful macrotic sweetness, will not recognize its confusion with the seducer. By these signs we can recognize the spirit of truth and the spirit of deception {error} (1 John 4:6). However, it is impossible for anyone to taste either divine goodness by feeling or tangibly experience demonic sorrow; unless someone makes sure of himself that grace has created an abode for itself in the depths of his mind, and that evil spirits nest somewhere around the members of the heart. The demons do not at all want people to somehow be convinced of this, so that the mind, knowing this correctly, does not arm itself against them with the unceasing memory of God. 34. There is natural love in the soul, and there is love poured into it from the Holy Spirit. That, if we want, comes into proportionate movement from our will, which is why it is conveniently plundered by evil spirits, as soon as we stop holding our will in increased tension. And this one so ignites the soul with love for God that all parts of the soul cleave to the indescribable sweetness of divine love in a certain immeasurable simplicity of disposition; for then the mind, as if pregnant (capable of generating) being from a spiritual (grace-filled) action (energy), exudes an abundant flow of love and joy. 35. Just as a troubled sea, when oil (oil) is poured on it, usually calms down, because the fatness (density) of the oil overcomes the power of the rising wave of the storm, so our soul, anointed with the grace of the Holy Spirit, is filled with sweet silence; because, according to the word of the prophet: only obey God, my soul (Ps. 61:6), then to her joy all anxiety in her is stopped, yielding to the goodness of the Spirit that overshadows her and the dispassion generated by it. Why, no matter what shocks the demons tried to create in the soul at that time, it remains peaceful within itself and full of all joy. But no one can come to such a state, nor remain in it, unless he constantly sobers and delights his soul with the fear of God, for the fear of the Lord brings to those who strive a certain kind of immaculateness and purity. The fear of the Lord is pure, says the prophet, and endures forever (Ps. 18:10). 36. Let no one, hearing about the sense of the mind, imagine that the glory of God appears to him sensually. We say that the soul, when it is pure, feels divine consolation through some indescribable taste, but not in such a way that at the same time anything invisible appears to it sensually; for now we walk by faith and not by sight, as blessed Paul says (2 Cor. 5:7). Why, when a light appears to one of the ascetics, or a fiery vision, or a voice, let him under no circumstances accept such a phenomenon as true. For this is clearly the charm of the enemy, and many to whom this happened, out of ignorance, strayed from the true path. We know that while we live as pilgrims in this corruptible body, we are moving away from God (2 Cor. 5:6), that is, we are not able to visibly see either Him or His wondrous things in heaven. 37. Dreams that appear to the soul out of God’s love are undeceiving indicators of mental health. They do not change from one image to another, do not instill fear, do not arouse laughter or sudden sadness, but approach the soul with all calmness and fill it with spiritual joy, which is why the soul, upon awakening of the body, with all lust seeks this joy experienced in a dream. In demonic dreams, everything is contrary to this, they do not remain in the same image, and they do not show their appearance for a long time without being confused; because they cannot be content for long with what is not in their will, but which they borrow from their own deceit. At the same time, they talk a lot and promise great things, and intimidate even more with threats, often taking on the appearance of warriors; sometimes they sing something flattering to the soul with a noisy cry. The mind, when it is clear, quickly recognizes them, and sometimes with mental tension awakens the body, and sometimes it more willingly remains in the same position, rejoicing that it was able to recognize their deceit, and in the same dream denouncing them and thereby inciting them to great anger against themselves. It happens, however, that good dreams do not bring joy to the soul, but a certain sweet sadness and a non-painful tear. This happens to those who have already succeeded in great humility. 38. We have outlined how to distinguish between good and bad dreams, based on what we ourselves heard from experienced elders. Let us, however, moreover, as a great virtue, have the rule not to believe in any sleepy dream. For dreams, for the most part, are nothing more than idols of thoughts, a play of the imagination, or, as I already said, demonic abuse and fun of us. If, adhering to this rule, we sometimes do not accept such a dream that will be sent to us from God, then the loving Lord Jesus will not be angry with us for this, knowing that we dare to do this out of fear of demonic machinations. For although the predicted method of distinguishing dreams is correct, it nevertheless happens that the soul, due to some admiration of the enemy insensitively and involuntarily being defiled, which, as I think, no one can do without, loses the trace of correct discrimination and believes bad dreams as good. 39. Let the following incident serve us as proof of what has been said: a master, after a long absence, returning home, stands at the gate at night and calls a slave to open it; the slave, not recognizing exactly whether it is the master, resolutely refuses him this, fearing that, being deceived by the similarity of the voice, he will not let the villain in and become a traitor to the property entrusted to him by the master; and the master, when the day came, not only did not become angry with him for this, but on the contrary exalted him with great praises, which his voice considered a deception, not wanting to lose any of his property. 40. That our mind, when the divine light begins to tangibly act in it, becomes completely bright, so that it itself richly sees this light existing in it, there should be no doubt about it. This always happens, as long as the soul strongly dominates the passions. But it happens that something similar appears in the mind ghostly and from the enemy’s malice, sometimes like light, sometimes like fire, as the divine Paul teaches, saying that Satan sometimes takes the form of an Angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14). Why shouldn’t it be in such hope, [i.e. that is, in the hope of seeing the light in oneself], begin to go through the ascetic life, so that Satan does not therefore find a soul prepared for its rapture into delusion and does not actually delight it. But one thing must be kept in mind in order to achieve love for God with all the feeling and with full assurance of the heart, which is to love God with all the soul, with all the heart and with all the mind (Luke 10:27). In whom this works by the grace of God, he, living in the world, is alien to the world. 41. Obedience, as is reliably known, is the first good among the introductory (novice) virtues, for it cuts off arrogance and gives rise to humility in us. Why is it the entrance door of love for Christ God for those who hold on to it with heartfelt affection? Putting it aside, Adam fell into the depths of hell. The Lord, having loved him, by virtue of the economy of our salvation, was obedient to His Father even to the cross and death (Phil. 2:8), and this then, as in no way less than His Majesty, so that, by His obedience, having made amends for the guilt of human disobedience, he would lead those who would live in obedience to a blessed and eternal life. So, those who accept the fight against the pride of the devil must first of all be zealous for this virtue and it, preceding it, will then unforgetfully show them all the paths of virtues. 42. Temperance is an accessory of all virtues, which is why an ascetic must abstain from everything (1 Cor. 9:25). Just as when any smallest member of the human body is taken away, the whole appearance of a person becomes ugly, no matter how small that which is lacking in him is, so when someone neglects just one virtue, he destroys all the splendor of abstinence, although he does not see it. Why should not only bodily virtues be laboriously undergone, but also those that have the power of our inner being to purify a person. For what is the use of keeping the body virgin, when the soul commits fornication with the demon of disobedience? Or how will he be crowned who guards himself from gluttony and all other bodily lusts, but neglects arrogance and love of glory, not tolerating even the slightest insult, while he knows that the light of truth has to balance the cup [of retribution] with the deeds of righteousness only of those who have done them in the spirit of humility? 43. Those who strive in this way must hate all dumb lusts, so that this hatred of them turns into a habit. Abstinence in food must be observed in such a way that no one ever comes to the point of considering any of the dishes disgusting. This is a demonic matter and there are oaths nearby. For we do not abstain from certain foods because they are evil by nature - so be it! - but in order to, by abstaining from them, proportionately tame the flaming members of the flesh; also so that the food left over from consumption is turned into satisfying the urgent needs of the poor, which is a sign of sincere love. 44. Of all that is offered for food and drink, eating and drinking with thanksgiving to God is not in the least contrary to the law of knowledge, for everything in God’s creatures is very good (Gen. 1:31). But it is very prudent and wise to self-willingly abstain from overeating and sweet eating. But we cannot so willingly refuse the sweets that are presented to us if we do not taste the divine sweetness with all our senses through deed and experience. 45. Just as being burdened with many foods, our body makes our mind somehow careless and motionless, so being exhausted by excessive abstinence, it makes the contemplative part of the soul dull and wordless {not willing to reason}. It is appropriate to proportion the way of bodily nutrition to the state of strength and strength of the body: when it is healthy, oppress it as much as necessary, and when it is weak, relax it a little. The ascetic should not relax his body, but be as strong as is required for the feat, so that even though physical labors the soul is properly cleansed. 46. When, upon the arrival of some brethren or some stranger, vanity, taking advantage of this opportunity, comes into motion and, infusing us with its poison, begins to incite us not to violate our food regulations, then it is most appropriate to slightly relax the measure of ordinary food intake. For in this way we will send the demon away from us, mourning the failure of our attempt, and we will judiciously fulfill the law of love, and we will keep the secret of our abstinence, through its relaxation, unexpressed. 47. Fasting, although, as a tool that improves those who want chastity, has a price, but not before God. Why should ascetics of piety not think highly about it, but expect to achieve their goal from a single faith in God? And masters of any art do not certify the perfection of their skill by the quality of their tools, but by patiently finishing any product, and this already serves as an indicator of how skilled they are in their craft. 48. Just as the earth, which is moderately watered, produces with great abundance the pure seed swept into it, and when intoxicated by too much rain brings only thorns and thistles, so the earth of the heart, when we drink wine in moderation, reveals its natural seeds as pure, and those sown into it by the Holy Spirit bears out with good leaves and many fruits, but when we water it in moderation with a lot of drinking, it wears out only thorns and thistles with all their thoughts. 49. When our mind floats in the waves of heavy drinking, then not only does it look passionately at the images presented to it by demons in dreams, but also, drawing within itself some beautiful faces, it delights in such dreams as what living creatures it is, and delights in joy. For when the lustful parts of the body are warmed up by the warmth of the wine, then a certain need comes upon the mind to voluptuously imagine such shadows of passion within itself. Why should we, observing moderation, avoid harm from excess. Then the mind, not having the sweetness that motivates it to describe sin, remains entirely dreamless and, even better, sweetless. 50. Those who wish to tame the heaving members of the body should not touch artificially prepared drinks, which are called pre-drinks by the cunning of such an invention for the reason that they usually pave the way for a multitude of dishes into the belly. For not only their quality is to the detriment of the ascetic bodies, but also the most thoughtless mixture of the substances included in their composition greatly affects the God-fearing conscience. For what is it that is lacking in the nature of wine that it is necessary to soften its strength by mixing various sweets? 51. Our Lord, and the Teacher of this sacred (ascetic) life, Jesus Christ was given water during His suffering from those who served the commands of the devil, in order to leave us, as it seems to me, a clear example with what disposition we should undergo sacred deeds. By this he seemed to say: those who struggle against sin should not consume sweet foods or drinks, but even more so should patiently endure the bitterness of battle. You can also apply the meaning of hyssop to a sponge, so that through both of them you can more perfectly imagine the image of our purification. That one, as a hard thing, represents the property of feats, and this one, as a thing used during ablutions, recalls the complete perfection of purification. 52. No one will consider going to the bathhouse sinful or unreasonable, but for the sake of abstinence, avoiding this is what I call the most courageous and chaste thing to do. For in this case, neither our body is relaxed by this sweet bath, nor is the memory of the inglorious exposure of Adam awakened in our soul, so that, like him, we take care of the leaves to cover the second shame of exposure. This is especially necessary for us, who, having recently freed ourselves from the destructive corruption of this life, must try in every possible way to remain in inseparable unity with the beauty of chastity and the immaculate purity of our body. 53. Nothing prevents you from inviting a doctor during illnesses. God foresaw that there would be a need for healing art and deigned that it would finally be developed on the basis of human experience, for this purpose he gave existence in advance to healing arts in the series of creations. However, the hope of healing should not rest on them, but on our true Doctor and Savior, Jesus Christ. This, however, I say to those who spend their ascetic life in cinnovia or in cities, for the reason that, judging by the course of the circumstances that befall them, they cannot always have an unceasing act of faith, being surrounded by love, and even so that they do not fall into vanity and into the temptation of the devil, for which some of them declare in front of many that they have no need for doctors. If someone spends a hermit’s life in desert places with two or three like-minded brothers, then no matter what ailments he is exposed to, let him surrender himself to the One Lord, the Healer of all our illnesses and infirmities. According to the Lord, in the desert itself, he has sufficient consolation in illness, moreover, just as the action of faith may never fail him, so he has no opportunity to flaunt his virtue of patience, being covered by the good veil of the desert. For this reason, the Lord brings people of like mind [with Him] into the house (Ps. 67:7). 54. When we are extremely burdened by the disorders of bodily health that befall us, we must know that the naked soul is still enslaved to body love. Why, just as she desires material pleasures, she does not want to renounce worldly blessings, and considers it a great burden not to have the opportunity, due to illness, to enjoy things pleasant for the carnal life. If she gratefully endures the sorrows of illness, then this is a sign that she is not far from the limits of dispassion. Why does she then joyfully await death itself, as the culprit of entry into true life? 55. The soul will not desire to be separated from the body unless it becomes completely indifferent to this air (that is, to everything earthly and worldly). All bodily feelings resist faith, since the senses of taste seek only the present, the inherent, and faith promises a wealth of future benefits. Why should the ascetic never think about branchy and shady trees, nor about good springs, nor about good-flowered meadows, nor about beautiful houses, nor about pleasant conversations with relatives, as well as to remember about rich offerings, if he happened to be honored by them. But he must use what is necessary with gratitude, and honor this life in a certain way of pilgrimage, alien to any carnal consolation. For only in this way, having constrained our thought, will we be able to turn it all towards the path leading to the eternal belly. 56. That sight, taste and other senses dissipate the memory of the heart when we use them without measure, Eve is the first to tell us about this. For until she looked lustfully at the commanded tree, she carefully remembered the commandment of God: for which reason, as if covered with the wings of God’s love, she did not even know her nakedness. When she gazed at that tree with lust, touched it with great lust, and finally tasted its fruit with uncontrollable lust, she immediately perceived a tendency toward carnal self-pleasure and, as if nakedly combined with this passion, she devoted all her lust to the pursuit of tasting real pleasures, having mixed, by the effect of the visible attractiveness of the fruit, the fall of Adam into her own fall; as a result of which it became difficult for the human mind to remember God or His commandments. But we, always looking into the depths of our hearts with unceasing memory of God, will lead this life, greedy for charms, like blind eyes, for it is characteristic of truly spiritual wisdom to always preserve [in us] lust (έρωτα) with an unwinged spirit. The most experienced Job teaches us this, saying: if my heart followed my eye... (Job 31:7). Such action is a sure sign of extreme abstinence. 57. He who always remains in his heart is far from all the red things of this life, and walking in the spirit, cannot pursue the lusts of the flesh. since, thus, such a person makes his procession surrounded by virtues, having these very virtues as the gatekeepers of his city of purity, then all the machinations of demons against him remain unsuccessful, although sometimes the arrows of this common lust reach even the windows of nature. 58. When the soul begins to no longer desire red earthly things, then, for the most part, a certain despondent spirit creeps into it, which neither willingly allows it to work in the service of the word, nor leaves a strong desire for future blessings in it, and also represents this temporary life as extremely indecent, as having no worthy deeds of virtue, and disparages knowledge itself, as given to many others or as not announcing anything special to us. We will avoid this lukewarm and disintegrating passion if we set our thoughts within extremely narrow limits, keeping in our attention only the memory of God; for only in this way can the spirit, having ascended into its characteristic burning, drive away from itself this unreasonable corruption. 59. Our mind, when with the memory of God we close all its outcomes, has the need to be given some task that is obligatory for it, in order to satisfy its ever-moving nature. He should be given only the sacred Name of the Lord Jesus, by which he may completely satisfy his zeal in achieving the intended goal. But you should know that, as the Apostle says, no one can call Jesus Lord except by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:3). On our part, it is required that the spoken saying (Lord Jesus Christ, etc.) be constantly expressed in the innermost mind by the oppressed mind so that at the same time it does not deviate into any extraneous dreams. Those who constantly hold this holy and glorious Name in their thoughts in the depths of their hearts can also see the light of their mind (clarity of thought, or a certain consciousness of all internal movements). And one more thing: this wondrous Name, being contained with intense care in thought, very tangibly burns away any filth that appears in the soul. For our God is a fire that consumes all evil, as the Apostle says (Heb. 12:29). From here, finally, the Lord leads the soul into the great love of His glory; for that glorious and much-desired Name, hardening the mind through the remembrance of it in a warm heart, gives rise in us to the habit of loving His goodness without hindrance, because there is nothing to put an obstacle to that. And this is this valuable bead, which one acquires by selling all one’s possessions with indescribable joy at finding It. 60. Another is the beginning joy, and the other is the final joy: that one is not immune to dreams [about oneself], but this one is strong in humility; in their midst is God-loving sadness and painless crying. Because in much wisdom there is much sorrow; and whoever increases knowledge increases sorrow (Eccl. 1:18). For this reason, it is necessary first of all to call the soul to exploits with joy; then submit it to conviction and temptation by the truth of the Holy Spirit, both about previously committed sins and about the attempts to self-forgetfulness that are still being committed. With reproofs for iniquity You taught man and crushed his soul like a web (Ps. 39:12). So that after God’s rebuke tempts her, as in a crucible, she receives the effect of non-dreamy joy in warm remembrance of God. 61. When the soul is indignant with anger, or aggravated by overeating, or darkened by intense sadness, then the mind cannot maintain remembrance of God, even if it is somehow forced to do so. For being completely darkened by the ferocity of these passions, he is then completely alien to his own feelings; why does desire not have where to put its stamp, so that through this the mind can bear an unforgettable and unchanging form of thought of God, since then its memory becomes coarsened due to the severity of passions. - When it is free from such disturbances, then, even if sometimes oblivion for a moment manages to steal the thought of the beloved Lord, the mind, having perceived its energy and liveliness, immediately again eagerly seizes on that much-desired and saving catch; for then grace itself both thinks of God to the soul and calls out: Lord Jesus Christ! Just as a mother, when teaching her child, repeats the name “father” with him many times, until he gets the hang of saying “father” clearly, instead of any other word the child can do, even in his sleep. Therefore, the Apostle says that the Spirit Himself helps in our weaknesses: for we do not know what we should pray for as we should; but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings that cannot be uttered (Rom. 8:26). For, since we are infants before the perfection of this prayerful virtue, we certainly have a need for His help; so that when His inexpressible sweetness embraces and sweetens all our thoughts, we will be moved with all our disposition to remember our God and Father and love Him. Why, as the same wondrous Paul says, to whom we cry: “Abba, Father!” (Rom.8:15), when we are well disposed by Him, we call on God the Father. 62. Anger, more than any other passion, usually disturbs and leads the soul into confusion, but there are cases when it is extremely useful for it. So, when we are unabashedly angry at those who are ungodly, or otherwise shameless, so that they will be saved or at least ashamed, then we deliver to our soul the same thing as meekness; because in this case we will promote in every possible way the goals of God’s truth and goodness. Also, when sexist movements arise in the soul, then, becoming more angry at this sin, we often sober up the soul and give it the courage to resist it. And that, being in extreme disorder of the spirit, we can, having angrily forbidden the destroyer spirit itself, to rise in wisdom even above the horrors that death boasts of suppressing us, there should be no doubt about this: that, wanting to show us, the Lord, at the resurrection of Lazarus, first forbade hell in the spirit and encouraged himself and then, with an untroubled will, as he always did in everything he did, he returned Lazarus’s soul to the body. So, it seems to me, chaste anger was given to our nature by the God who created us more as an instrument of truth; and if Eve had used it against the serpent, she would not have fallen under the harmful effects of his passionate lust. Why do I believe that the one who uses anger chastely out of zeal for piety will be more approving on the scales of righteous reward than the one who, due to the immobility of his mind, never moves towards anger; since in this case, his ruler of human thoughts and feelings remains untrained, and he, riding on the horses of virtue, is always in the struggle and rushes among the hordes of demons, constantly teaching in the fear of God the four-horse of abstinence, which Holy Scripture called the chariot of Israel, as we find in the description of the taking of the divine Elijah to Heaven (2 Kings 2:12). God taught the first Jews the four virtues in many different ways, which is why such a great disciple of wisdom (courage, truth and self-control) was taken to Heaven, having, as it seems to me, these virtues with horses, when the spirit took him in the breath of fire. 63. One who has been honored with holy knowledge and who has tasted the sweetness of God should never compete (when someone files a complaint against him), nor should he himself raise a lawsuit against anyone, even if someone pulls off the clothes he is wearing; for the truth of the authorities of this age is lower than the truth of God, or, better, it is nothing before the truth of God, and what is the difference between the children of God and the people of this age, if not that the truth of these latter cannot be compared with the truth of those first; which is why this one is called human truth, and this one God’s truth. So our Lord neither slandered each other while he was slandered, nor did he threaten while he suffered (1 Pet. 2:23); but, on the contrary, he not only endured the removal of his clothes in silence, but, what is incomparably higher, he prayed to the Father for the salvation of those who had maliciously acted against Him. The people of the world will not stop competing until they receive more than what they want from those with whom they compete, especially when they are looking for growth on a debt: so that their truth is often the beginning of a great untruth. 64. I have heard some pious people say that we should not allow everyone to plunder what we have for our own maintenance and for the repose of the poor; so that, by condescending to such evil, we do not become guilty of the sin of those who offend us, and especially when we tolerate it from Christians. But to do this is nothing else than to want to save your own more than yourself. For if I, leaving prayer and attention to my heart, begin to seek judgment against those who have offended me and pore (study diligently) in the vestibule of the judgment courts, then it is obvious that for me what I seek is much more valuable than my own salvation, not to say even the saving commandment itself. And how can I be a follower of the Gospel commandment, which commands me: and from him who has taken what is yours, do not demand it back (Luke 6:30), if, according to the word of the Apostle, I do not joyfully accept the plunder of my property (Heb. 10:34), when it (the commandment) does not free the one who receives back what he has been raped by the court from the sin of extortion? Perishable (temporary, or perishable judgments carried out on perishable things) cannot abolish the imperishable Court of God, and the guilty person must satisfy those laws to which his case is subject and according to which he should defend himself. It is a good thing to endure violence from those who want to wrong us, and to pray for them, so that for the sake of their repentance, and not for the sake of them returning to us what they stole from us, the sin of extortion may be forgiven them. For the truth of God wants us to accept the covetous man himself, and not what he has taken, as free from sin through repentance. 65. It is very suitable and, most of all, beneficial to the soul, having learned the true path of piety, to immediately sell off everything you have and distribute what you received from it to the poor, according to the commandment of the Lord, and not disobey the saving commandment, under the pretext of a constant desire to perform the commandments (alms). From this, firstly, we will have good carelessness, and from here, then, a poverty that is not subject to slander, which itself is heavenly in wisdom, and does not give others a reason for unfair claims against us, when we no longer have anything that could ignite the fire of covetousness among the covetous. Then, more than all other virtues, humility will warm us and rest us in its depths as if we were naked; just as a mother, taking her child in her arms, calms and warms him in her arms, when, in her infantile simplicity, she has thrown off her robe and throws it far away from herself, out of her great kindness, finding nakedness more pleasant for herself than the colorful beauty of her attire. For it is said: The Lord protects the infants, I humbled myself, and He saved me (Ps. 114:6). 66. The Lord will require us to account for our almsgiving according to who has what, and not according to what we do not have (2 Cor. 8:12). Therefore, if I, in the fear of God with ardent goodwill, obeying the command of the Lord, distribute everything that I would have had to give away for many years in a short time, what else will I be reproached for when I no longer have anything? – But who will say: [if we give everything away], where will the poor, who are now fed from our feasible alms, receive alms? “Here’s a lesson befitting such a person: don’t dare to invent something reproachful to God to cover up your covetousness.” God will not lack ways to carefully improve his creation, as he did from the beginning. And before this or that was excited to give alms, were the poor left without food or clothing? Be sure that it is much better, immediately after knowing the truth, to graciously spend everything on serving the poor, rejecting the foolish wisdom and arrogance inspired by the addiction to wealth and hating our lusts, which means hating our soul, so that later, no longer having reasons to rejoice in self-praise at the constant distribution of property, we humiliate ourselves as doing nothing good. For while we abound in wealth, we greatly delight in distributing it when there is a desire for it, as joyfully fulfilling the divine command; when we have distributed everything, we are filled with humble and contrite feelings, as if we had not done anything righteous. As a result of this, the soul returns to itself in great humility, so that what we can no longer acquire through daily giving of alms, we can achieve through diligent prayer, patience and humility; for it is said: the poor and needy will praise Your name (Ps. 73:21). Moreover, the gift of theology is not prepared for anyone by God, except for those who in advance dispose themselves to renounce everything they own for the sake of the glory of the Gospel of God, so that in God-loving poverty they can preach the good news about the riches of the Kingdom of God. This is meant by the one who said: You, O God, in Your goodness, have prepared [the necessities] for the poor, and added to this: The Lord will give the word to the one who brings good news with great power (Ps. 67:11, 12). 67. All the gifts of our God are great and gracious, but not one of them inflames and moves the heart to love His goodness as much as theology. For it, being the first generation of the goodness of God, gives the first gifts to the soul: firstly, it disposes us to joyfully despise all the pleasant joys of life, since in it we have, instead of transitory joys, the ineffable wealth of the words of God; and then it illuminates our mind with some fiery change and through this makes it a companion of the ministering spirits. Having been adequately prepared, beloved, let us flow towards this virtue, magnificent, all-seeing, cutting through every earthly concern, in the illumination of the ineffable light, nourishing the mind with the words of God, and, not to say too much, the verbal, rational soul into inseparable communion with God the Word through the Holy Spirit. prophets Yes, and in the souls there is a person - oh, a wondrous miracle! - Having arranged godly songs, this divine bride-to-be sings loudly the greatness of God. 68. Our mind, for the most part, is little inclined to prayer because it is oppressed and limited by the virtue of prayer; He is more willing to delve into theology because of the scope and unlimited scope of divine contemplations. So, in order not to give way to his free ranting within himself and not to indulge his desire to endlessly indulge in lofty soarings, let us exercise ourselves most in prayer, psalmody and reading the Scriptures, without despising the interpretation of wise men, whose words are filled with the true knowledge of faith. By acting in this way, we will not only prevent him from mixing his speeches with gracious words and will not allow him, carried away by vanity, to dissipate in soaring under the influence of complacency and talkativeness; but we will also learn to keep it dreamless during contemplation and make almost all of its thoughts tear-like. Resting within himself in hours of silence, and especially indulging in the sweets of prayer, he not only becomes free from the passionate movements indicated above, but also, moreover, being renewed, he receives the strength to easily and without difficulty remain in divine contemplation, succeeding, at the same time, in sighted reasoning (practical wisdom) with great humility. It is fitting to know, however, that prayer is higher than any breadth of contemplation; it itself is characteristic only of those who, in every feeling and notification, are filled with holy grace. 69. Grace at first, as a rule, illuminates the soul with its light with a strong sensation, and when successes in the spiritual Christian life move forward, then, for the most part, unknown to the God-loving soul, it performs its sacraments in it: so that, after that (after the pacification of the soul), it leads us in joy to the path of divine contemplation, as if we had just been called from ignorance to knowledge, in the midst of deeds (about pacification of the soul from passions) keep our thoughts not vain. It is appropriate for us to be plunged into sadness in moderation, as if we were abandoned by grace, but rather let us humble ourselves and learn to submit to the Lord’s decrees about us, and then enter into joy in good time, inspired by good hope: for just as immeasurable sadness leads the soul into despair and hopelessness, so too does excessive joy lead it to conceit and arrogance. I’m talking about those who are still infants in life and mind. Between the enlightenment of grace and abandonment, the middle is temptation, and between sadness and joy, the middle is hope. For it is said: I patiently trusted in the Lord, and He listened to me (Ps. 39:2), and also: when my sufferings multiplied, Your consolations made my soul glad (Ps. 93:19). 70. Just as the doors in a bathhouse, which are often opened, soon release inner warmth to the outside, so the soul, when a lot of people talk, even if they said everything good, releases its memory (conscious standing in the order of spiritual things) through the verbal door. As a result, the mind is finally deprived of the purest thoughts and, due to the disordered influx of thoughts, it leads a confused speech to those who have arrived. In this case, he no longer has the Holy Spirit, who guards our thoughts in dreamlessness: for this good Spirit, as alien to all rebellion and daydreaming, avoids verbosity. Silence, on the contrary, is beneficial, being the mother of wise thoughts. 71. The word of knowledge itself teaches us that at first a God-loving soul [that has entered the path of pleasing God] is attacked by many passions in a crowd, especially anger and hatred. She is exposed to this not so much due to the action of evil spirits, but rather according to the order of her success in spiritual life. For while the soul is led by worldly wisdom, even though it sees the truth somehow trampled upon by others, it remains indifferent to it: for being completely occupied with its own lusts, it has no concern for the truth of God. When she begins to rise above her passions and lusts, then, both by detachment from real things and by love for God, she can no longer indifferently see the truth of God forsaken even in a dream, but becomes angry and indignant at the evil-doers until she sees these very offenders of the truth defending her dignity through the action of a pious thought (having come to the fear of God and repented). Thus, it naturally hates the unrighteous, but deeply loves the righteous, because the eye of the soul is not robbed (led to an unjust view) when its veil, the body, is thinned by extreme abstinence. However, it is much better to mourn the insensibility of the unrighteous than to hate them: for although they are worthy of hatred, the word of truth does not approve of a God-loving soul being outraged by hatred, because when there is hatred in the soul, true knowledge is ineffective. 72. The theological mind, delighted in the soul and scorched by the very words of God, reaches its measures of dispassion in sufficient breadth. For the words of the Lord, as they say, are pure words, like molten silver, tried in the earth (Ps. 11:7). And a knowledgeable mind, strengthened by experiencing the influences of grace, is above passions. The theologian also tastes the experience of knowledge, if the humblest dispositions are established in himself, the knower also partakes of a certain measure of contemplative virtue, if he has a reasonable part of the soul that is not sinful. For it is not possible for everyone to acquire both of these gifts to perfection, so that each of those who have one of them, marveling at what the other surpasses him, succeeds in humility with the zeal of a justified life. This is why the Apostle says: to one is given the word of wisdom by the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit (1 Cor. 12:8). 73. When the soul abounds in its natural fruits, then it performs its psalmody most loudly, and is disposed to pray especially with the voice. When she is influenced by the Holy Spirit, then with all joy and sweetness she sings and prays in one heart. The first mood is followed by dreamy joy (from self-satisfaction), and after the second - a spiritual tear, and then a kind of silent-loving joy: for memory, while holding the voice, remaining warm, tunes the heart to produce certain tear-generating and deepening thoughts. In this one can truly see the seeds of prayer, with tears, joyfully, however, sown on the earth of the heart in the sure hope of a bountiful harvest (Ps. 125:5). However, when we are overwhelmed by greater sadness, then we need to sing our psalmody a little louder, suppressing the sorrowful cries of the soul with the joy of hope, until this heavy cloud of sadness is dissipated by the wind of the psalm melody. 74. When the soul comes to know itself, then it wears out of itself a certain warmth and God-loving shame: for, not being disturbed by the worries of life, it generates (produces) a certain love [for God] from itself in the world (to the world), proportionately seeking the God of the world; but this remembrance (of God sought) soon dissipates, either because the impressions of the senses rob this memory, or because nature, due to its poverty, soon runs out of its own good. Why did the Hellenic sages not have what they wanted to achieve through abstinence as they should - because their minds were not influenced by eternal and all-true wisdom. The God-loving warmth given to the heart by the Holy Spirit is, firstly, all peaceful and unceasing; then it calls all parts of the soul to love God and does not break out of the heart, but by itself rejoices the whole person with some immeasurable love and joy. Those who have known it should try to achieve it. For natural love is a sign that the nature is somehow healthy through abstinence, but it cannot raise the mind to dispassion, as spiritual (grace-filled) love does. 75. Just as the air around us, when the north wind blows, is clear due to a certain subtlety and the refreshing effect of this wind, and when the south wind blows, then it seems to thicken due to some kind of heaviness from this wind, which carries it from its countries and brings a certain dry fog to the entire universe: so the soul, when it receives the influence of the currents of the true and Holy Spirit, then everything is outside the demonic darkness, and when it is strongly surrounded by the spirit of delusion, then everything is covered with clouds of sin. So, we must always turn our desire with all our might to the cleansing and life-giving breath of the Holy Spirit, that is, to that Spirit, Whom the prophet Ezekiel, in the light of knowledge, saw coming from the North (Ezekiel 1:4), so that the most contemplative part of our soul always remains pure, and we are vouchsafed to unflatteringly enter into divine visions, in the air of light what is in the light is in vain. This is the light of true knowledge. 76. Some have come up with the idea that grace and sin, that is, the Spirit of truth and the spirit of delusion, take refuge together in the mind of those being baptized, which is why, they say, one person calls the mind to good, and the other to the opposite. From the Divine Scriptures and from the very feeling of the mind, I understood that before baptism, grace from without directs the soul to good, and Satan nests in its very depths, trying to block the mind from all right outcomes; from the very hour we are reborn in baptism, the demon is outside, and grace is inside. That is why we find that just as delusion ruled over the soul in ancient times, so after baptism truth rules over it. After this, Satan acts on the soul as before, and often even more bitterly than that, but not as co-inherent in grace - let it not be! - and smoking, as it were, before the mind through the wetness of the body, with the pleasantness of wordless sweets. This happens by God’s permission, so that a person achieves the enjoyment of goodness only by going through storm, fire and temptation. For it is said: we have passed through fire and water, and You brought us out to rest (Ps. 65:12). 77. Grace, as I said, from the very moment that baptism is accepted, secretly begins to dwell in the very depths of the mind (spirit), hiding its presence from the very feeling of it. When someone begins to love God with all the will of his heart, then she speaks to the soul through a feeling of the mind with an ineffable word, communicating some of her blessings to her. As a result of this, whoever wants to firmly hold this acquisition within himself forever, comes to the desire to renounce with great joy all present blessings in order to completely acquire the field in which he found the treasure of life hidden (Matthew 13:44). For when someone renounces all worldly wealth, then he finds within himself the place in which the grace of God has taken refuge. Then, as the soul progresses, the divine gift [of grace] reveals its goodness (beneficence) in the mind, but then the Lord allows the demons to disturb the soul more, in order to teach it a judicious distinction between good and evil, and to make it humble, for the reason that when it is exposed to such temptations, then it is covered with great shame from the shame of demonic thoughts. 78. We are in the image of God, by the mental (spiritual) movement of the soul; the body is like her house. But since by Adam’s crime not only the characteristic features of the soul were defiled, but also our body fell into corruption, then the All-Holy God the Word became incarnate and, like God, through His own Baptism, gave us the water of salvation for rebirth: for we are reborn in water by the action of the Holy and Life-giving Spirit, as a result of which we are immediately cleansed both in soul and in body if we approach God with full disposition. At the same time, the Holy Spirit dwells in us, and sin [or the father of sin] is driven out by Him, since it is impossible that with unity and simplicity - the characteristic properties of the soul - these two persons could coexist in it, as some thought. Moreover, when divine grace through Holy Baptism combines itself in some immeasurable love with the features of the image of God as a guarantee of likeness, where can the face of the evil one be placed, since there is no communion between light and darkness? (2 Cor. 6:14). So, we, who follow the path of sacred deeds, believe that through the wash of rebirth (font of rebirth) (Titus 3:5) the foul-looking serpent is cast out from the depths of the mind; For all this, we are not surprised that even after baptism we again experience bad thoughts with good thoughts. For the bath of sanctification, although it takes away the filth of sin, does not destroy the duality of our desires, and does not prevent demons from fighting against us and speaking seductive words to us, so that what we did not preserve, in our natural state, we preserved by the power of God, having accepted the weapons of righteousness. 79. Satan, as I said, is ejected from the soul by Holy Baptism, but for the reasons stated above, he is allowed to act on it through the body. The grace of God dwells in the very depths of the soul, that is, in the mind. For, as they say, all the glory of the King’s Daughter is within, invisible to demons (Ps. 44:14). Why, when we warmly remember God, we feel that Divine love, as if in a stream, is pouring out from the very depths of our hearts; Evil spirits attack bodily feelings and nest in them, conveniently acting through the flesh at their disposal, on those whose souls are still infancy. Thus, according to the divine Apostle, our mind always delights in the law of the Spirit; carnal feelings are readily carried away by voluptuous inclinations (Rom. 7:18). Therefore, in those who zealously succeed in knowledge, grace through the feelings of the mind and the body itself rejoices with inexpressible joy; when we carelessly and carelessly follow the path of piety, then the demons, finding us like this, captivate our soul through bodily feelings, forcibly calling it, a murderer, to what it does not want. 80. Those who say that two persons, that is, the spirit of grace and the spirit of sin, coexist in the hearts of believers, confirm this opinion from the words of the Evangelist: the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it (John 1:5), conclude that the divine light is not in the least defiled by being with the evil one, even if the divine light somehow approaches the demonic darkness. But the same Gospel word denounces those who think differently from the Holy Scriptures. For since God the Word, this true Light, deigned to appear to creation in His flesh, out of His immeasurable love for man kindled in us the light of His holy knowledge, but the wisdom of the world did not comprehend (that is, did not know) this Council of God, since the wisdom of the flesh is enmity against God (Rom. 8:7): then for this reason the Theologian used such a word, and then, saying A few more words, this wonderful man suggests: - there was a true light that enlightens every person who comes into the world, - instead of: guides and gives life. He was in the world, and the world came into being through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to his own, and his own did not receive Him. And to those who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave power to become children of God (John 1:9-12). And the wise Paul, in explanation of this same saying: having not received (γ 2 κατέλαβον did not know), says: not because I have already achieved or perfected; but I strive, lest I also attain, as Christ Jesus hath attained me (Phil. 3:12). So, the Evangelist does not say about Satan that he did not know the true light, because he was alien to it from the beginning, but with this word he worthily condemns people who, hearing about the powers and miracles of God, do not want, however, to approach the light of His knowledge, because of the darkening of their hearts. 81. The Word of Knowledge teaches us that there are two kinds of evil spirits: some are more subtle, others are more gross. The subtlest ones fight against the soul, and the coarsest ones usually captivate the flesh through some shameful, sweet movements; why spirits attacking the soul and spirits attacking the body always oppose each other, although they have equal zeal to harm people. When grace does not dwell in a person, evil spirits, like snakes, nest in the depths of the heart, preventing the soul from seeing the desire for good. When grace secretly abounds in the mind, then they, like some dark clouds, flash through parts of the heart, transforming into sinful passions and various illusory dreams, so that through recollection, entertaining the mind with dreams, tearing it away from the conversation with grace. So, when we are inflamed by spirits attacking the soul, to spiritual passions, especially to conceit and pride, this mother of all evils, then, bringing to mind the decay of our body, we will be ashamed of this arrogance of glory-loving self-exaltation. The same should be done when demons, warring on the body, prepare our hearts to be inflamed with shameful lusts: for this one memory will greatly upset all attempts of evil spirits in connection with the memory of God. In the event that, in connection with such a memory, spiritual demons begin to implant the thought of the immeasurable insignificance of human nature, as having no dignity due to the corruption of the flesh (for this is how they love to act when someone begins to torment them with such thoughts), let us bring to mind the honor and glory of the Heavenly Kingdom, not forgetting to keep in mind the menacingness of the unfeigned Judgment of God; in order to thereby prevent complacent despair, and to give our light and quick hearts of lust firmness and strength to resist. 82. The Lord teaches us in St. His Gospel that when Satan, returning, finds his house swept out and empty, that is, finds his heart barren, then he takes the other seven spirits that are more evil than him, enters him and nests there, making the last state of that person worse than the first (Luke 11:25). From this we must understand that as long as the Holy Spirit dwells in us, Satan cannot enter the depths of the soul and dwell there. But the divine Paul also teaches the same understanding of this view of this matter - when, from ascetic (experienced) knowledge, having seen the essence of this matter (what it is and how it truly is), he says this: for according to the inner man I find delight in the law of God; but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that is in my members (Rom. 7:22, 23). About those who have succeeded in life according to the spirit, he further says: there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not live according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death (Rom. 8:1, 2). And in another place again, to show that Satan is fighting from the body against the soul that has become a partaker of the Holy Spirit, he says: Stand therefore, having your loins girded with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of preaching peace; and above all, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery arrows of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (Eph. 6:14–17). But captivity is another thing, and struggle is another; since this means some kind of violent taking into one’s power, and this indicates an equivalent confrontation. This is why the Apostle says that the devil attacks with fiery arrows the souls who bear Christ the Lord within them. For it usually happens that someone who cannot reach his opponent with his hands uses arrows against him in order to hurt the enemy fighting with him from afar with a flight of arrows, and so Satan, since he cannot, as before, nest in the mind of those who strive because of the presence of grace in him, then, like one who nests in the body, he swoops down on lustful phlegm in order to deceive the soul with its attraction. Why is it necessary to dry out the body so that the mind, attracted by lustful phlegm, does not slip on the bait of voluptuousness and fall? From the very words of the apostle it is easy to be convinced that the mind of those who strive is under the influence of the Divine Light, which is why it is slave to the Law of God and co-enjoys it, and the flesh, due to its susceptibility to evil, is subject to evil spirits, which is why it is drawn to servile their evil suggestions. From this it is self-evident that the mind is not some kind of common abode for God and the devil: otherwise, how would I work with my mind according to the Law of God, and with my flesh against the law of sin, if my mind with all freedom did not resist the demons, willingly submitting to the good effect of grace on it, while the body at the same time is carried away by the pleasant stench of wordless sweets, due, as I said, to allowing them to nest in it struggling with evil spirits? The Apostle says: I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh (Rom. 7:18). Thus, among those who resist sin through exploits (for the Apostle does not say this about himself), demons fight with the mind, and with softening, pleasant movements they try to relax the flesh and entice it to lust; for they, by righteous judgment, are allowed to hide in the depths of the body and among those who strive strongly against sin, because the will of human wisdom is always under temptation. If someone is still able to die in this life through ascetic labors, then all of him finally becomes the house of the Holy Spirit; for such a one had already risen before death, as blessed Paul himself was, and as all were and are all who have struggled and are struggling against sin with perfect feat. 83. The heart also wears out good and bad thoughts from itself: however, it does not grow bad thoughts out of its nature, but it has some of them because the memory of bad things has turned into a habit in it due to previous temptations, while most of them, and moreover, the most evil ones, it conceives from the villainy of demons. We all feel them coming as if from the heart; why did some think that both grace and sin dwell together in our minds, citing the words of the Lord to confirm this: and what comes from the mouth comes from the heart, and this defiles a person. For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, etc. (Matthew 15:18–20). They do not know that our mind, through the action of some subtle feeling and those evil thoughts that are implanted in it by evil spirits, becomes an owner, since, through the action of the flesh, the body, greedy for pleasing itself, and moreover, we don’t know how, carries away the soul due to its dissolution with it; for the flesh immensely loves the caresses of charm. For this reason, the thoughts planted in the soul by demons seem to come from the heart, but we assimilate them to ourselves when we desire to co-enjoy them: that, reproaching, the Lord, as the divine itself, reveals the word, and spoke the above verbs. For when someone enjoys the thoughts that the evil Satan plants in him, and the memory of them seems to be written in his heart, isn’t it obvious that he then grows their thoughts from his own? 84. The Lord says in the Gospel that a strong man cannot be thrown out of his house unless the strongest man binds him, plunders everything he has, and throws him out (Matthew 12:29). How can, after such disgrace, this ejected one again enter inside and remain there together with the true master of the house, resting in his house, as he pleases? And what kind of king, having defeated the tyrant who rebelled against him, would want him to move with him in his royal chambers? Wouldn’t it be better to immediately stab him to death, or tie him up and hand him over to his soldiers for long torment and the most pitiful death? 85. If anyone, on the basis that we think together about both bad and good, concludes that the Holy Spirit and the devil dwell together in the mind, let him know that this happens to us because we have not yet tasted or seen how good the Lord is (Ps. 33:9). For at first, as I said above, grace hides its presence among those who are baptized, awaiting the will of the soul; when a person turns completely to God, then with some indescribable feeling she reveals her presence to the heart; and again awaits the movement of the soul, meanwhile allowing the demonic arrows to reach the very depths of her feelings, so that she would seek God with the warmest will and humble disposition. If, as a result of this, a person finally begins with firm determination to move forward in keeping the commandments and unceasingly call on the Lord Jesus, then the fire of holy grace extends to the external feelings of the heart, palpably eating the thorns of the human earth, from which demonic advice and suggestions stop far from that place (where the heart is with grace), only slightly touching the passionate part of the soul. When a person, through his exploits, is clothed in everything with virtue, and especially with complete non-covetousness, then grace illuminates his entire nature in the deepest feeling, kindling in him the warmest love for God; then the demonic arrows fade away even outside the bodily sense, since the breath of the Holy Spirit fills the heart with deep peace, and extinguishes the fiery arrows of demons while they are rushing through the air. However, even to this extent, God sometimes allows the one who has reached this level to be subjected to the evil action of demons, then leaving his mind unilluminated, so that our autocracy is not completely bound by the bonds of grace, not only for the sake of the fact that sin must be overcome by exploits, but also because a person must also continue to excel in spiritual experience: for what is considered perfect in the one being taught is imperfect in comparison with the wealth of the teaching God in the zealous soul. success of love, even if someone, working on this success, ascended to the very top of the ladder shown to Jacob. 86. The Lord Himself says that Satan slept from heaven (Luke 10:18), so that the ugly one would not see this abode of the holy Angels: how can he, not worthy of communication with the good servants of God, have the human mind in common with God? If they say that this happens by permission, then they will not provide anything conclusive. For the teaching allowance in no way deprives the soul of the Divine Light, but what happens is that grace, as I have already said, hides its presence from the mind in order to move the soul with all fear and great humility through demonic bitterness to seek help from God, experiencing the evil action of the enemy within itself. So the mother lets her child go wild out of reluctance to obey the rules of mammals for a short time from her embrace, so that, being afraid of the ugly strangers or some animals surrounding him, in great fear and tears the mother again reaches out to return the embrace. Permission, which happens out of disgust, betrays the soul that does not want to have God, as if bound, to the demons. But we are not invisible children, but as we believe, we are the true offspring of God’s grace, mammals raised by rare permissions and frequent consolations of it, so that under the influence of such goodness we will have time to come to a perfect man, to the measure of the full stature of Christ (Eph. 4:13). 87. The educational allowance first strikes the soul with great sorrow, a feeling of humiliation and a certain measure of hopelessness, in order to suppress vanity and the desire to amaze oneself and bring it into appropriate humility. But then it immediately brings into the heart a tender fear of God and a tearful confession, and a great desire for the kindest silence. But abandonment, which occurs through God’s disgust, leaves the soul to itself, and it is filled with despair and unbelief, arrogance and anger. We must therefore, knowing this and that permission and abandonment, during them approach God in accordance with the properties of each of them: there we must bring thanksgiving and vows to Him, as if He mercifully punishes the unbridledness of our character by deprivation of consolation, in order to fatherly teach us to sensibly distinguish between good and bad; and here there is unceasing confession of sins, continuous tears and greater solitude, yes, although with such an application of labor, we can beg and bow God to look, as before, on our hearts. It must be known, however, that when, with a training allowance, a soul has a face-to-face struggle with Satan, then grace, although it hides itself, assists the soul with unknown help in order to show its enemies that victory over them is the work of one soul. 88. Just as when someone in winter, standing in an open place somewhere, turns his face to the east at the beginning of the day, his front parts are all warmed by the sun, and his back parts all remain unaffected by the sun’s warmth, because the sun is then not above his head: so it happens with those who are still at the beginning of spiritual activity, namely: their heart is sometimes partially warmed by holy grace, why their mind then begins to bear fruit in spiritual wisdom, but the outer parts of their heart still remain philosophic according to the flesh, because not all parts of the heart in deep feeling are illuminated by the holy light of grace, which some, not understanding, have come up with, as if in the minds of those who strive there are two persons mutually opposing each other. This is why it happens that the soul at the same time thinks both good and bad, just as in the example proposed above, a person at the same moment feels the touch of both cold and warmth. For our mind, ever since it slipped into the duality of knowledge, has a certain need, even if it does not want, to think good and bad at the same moment, especially for those who achieve subtlety of reasoning. Why, no matter how hard he always tries to think good, bad things are immediately remembered to him, because human memory from Adam’s crime was somehow divided into two thoughts. But if we begin to fulfill God’s commandments with ardent zeal, then grace, illuminating all our feelings in a certain deep feeling, will burn away all our sinful memories, while delighting our heart with a certain peace of unceasing love, will accustom us to think spiritual, and not carnal. This very often happens to those approaching perfection, who have an unceasing memory of the Lord in their hearts. 89. Holy grace gives us two blessings through baptism that regenerates us, one of which is immeasurably superior to the other. But it gives one thing immediately; namely, in the water itself it renews, and enlightens all the features of the soul that make up the image of God, washing away from us all sinful filth; and something else is waiting to be produced in us with us: this is what constitutes the likeness of God. – So, when the mind begins to taste with great feeling the blessings of the All-Holy Spirit, then we must know that grace begins, as it were, to paint on the features of the image of God the features of God-likeness. For just as painters first draw the image of a person with one paint, and then little by little, applying paint after paint, they present an image of the person they are painting, similar to him even down to the hair; so the holy grace of God first, through baptism, restores in man the features of the image of God, placing him in the state in which he was when he was created; and when he sees that we, with all our will, desire the beauty of God’s likeness and stand naked and unafraid in its work (workshop), then blossoming virtue after virtue in the soul, and raising its face from glory to glory, gives it the features of God’s likeness: moreover, the feeling shows how the features of God’s likeness are reflected in us, and we learn the perfection of God’s likeness from grace-filled enlightenment. The mind, succeeding in a certain measure and inexpressible harmony, perceives all virtues with feeling; but no one can acquire spiritual love unless he is tangibly enlightened by the Holy Spirit in all its fullness. For if the mind does not accept perfect likeness to God from the Divine Light, then although it can acquire all other virtues, it still remains unparticipated in perfect love; because only when a person becomes completely like God’s virtue (I’m talking about the likeness to God that is possible for a person), does he bear the likeness of Divine love. Just as when a portrait is painted of someone, the most pleasant of colors, the paint and the most necessary of traits, when applied to the painted face, make him, even to a smile, completely similar to the one who is being painted: so when divine grace paints God-likeness in someone, the bright trait of love, being applied, shows that the features of the image of God are completely elevated to the splendor of God-likeness. And no virtue can bring dispassion (purification and freedom from passions) to the soul except love alone: ​​for the fulfillment of the law is love (Rom. 13:10); so that although our inner man is renewed every day by tasting love, he comes to the fullness of age only with the complete perfection of love. 90. The Holy Spirit, at the very beginning of prosperity, if one ardently loves the virtue of God, gives the soul a full feeling and authentic taste of the sweetness of God, so that the mind accurately and definitely knows how great the fruit of God-loving labors is; but then for a long time he hides the wealth of this life-giving gift, so that, although we succeed in all virtues, we think of ourselves that we are nothing, because we do not see in ourselves that holy love has turned into a constant disposition. For at that time it happens that the demon of unlove sometimes comes upon the souls of those who strive with such force that they are hostile even to those who love them, and even during greetings and kisses they maintain this pernicious act of hostility. Because of this, the soul greatly grieves and is sick, because, while it carries spiritual love in memory (conscious of the obligation of love), it cannot have it in feeling due, as it seems to it, to the insufficiency of the most perfect labors. Why is it necessary for us, for the time being, to force ourselves through forced need to do deeds of love, in order to thus achieve the taste of it and with full feeling with authentic satisfaction; in perfection, none of those who exist in this flesh can acquire it, except for those saints who have reached martyrdom and perfect confession - which the one who has achieved completely changes and even reluctantly begins to eat; for in one who is nourished by divine love, what other desire can there be for the goods of the world? For this reason, the wise Paul, this great receptacle of knowledge, preaching to us about the future consolations of the righteous, according to his own assurance, says: The kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness (δικαιοσύνη), peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17), which are the fruit of perfect love. Thus, those who are successful in spiritual life can often experience the effect of love here, but no one can acquire it in full perfection unless his mortal life is first completely absorbed in life (2 Cor. 5:4). 91. One of those who insatiably love God told me: when I wanted to tangibly experience the love of God, the good Lord granted it to me in full feeling and satisfaction; and I felt this effect with such strength that my soul then wanted, with some kind of indescribable joy and swiftness, to leave the body and go to the Lord and completely forget the order of this temporary life. And everyone who has experienced the effect of such love, even if he has suffered thousands of insults and deprivations from someone, is not angry with Hero, but remains mentally attached to the one who insults and offends him; he is kindled with jealousy only against those who attack the poor or speak untruths against God, as Scripture says (Ps. 74:6), or otherwise live unkindly. For he who loves God much more than himself, or who does not love himself at all, but only God, no longer stands up for his own honor, but only wants that the truth of Him who honored him with eternal honor be honored. And he does not want this with some light and fleeting desire, but has such a disposition as an unchangeable disposition due to the complete taste of love for God. In addition, one must know that one who is aroused by God to such love is higher than faith itself during such an action of love in him, just as in the feeling of the heart he holds the One Honored by faith with complete love. This is clearly indicated to us by St. Paul, when he says: now these three remain: faith, hope, love; but the greatest of these is love (1 Cor. 13:13). For whoever, as I said, holds God in the richness of love, at that time is much greater than his faith, as if he were completely in love. 92. The action of holy knowledge, by its nature, makes us grieve a lot when, out of some irritation, having annoyed someone, we make him our enemy. For this reason, it never ceases to offend our conscience until, through explanations and apologies, we manage to restore the offended person to his former goodwill towards us. Such contrition manifests itself with particular force when one of the people of this world becomes angry with us, even if unrighteously. This extremely burdens and worries us, since in every way we have served as a temptation and stumbling block for him. Because of this, our mind then turns out to be incapable of theology; because knowledge, in its essence being entirely love, does not allow our thoughts to expand in the generation of divine contemplations, unless we first accept in love those who are unjustly angry with us. If he does not want this, or has moved away from our places, we must, having accepted the mark of his face in our favor with an unrestrained outpouring of the soul, fulfill the law of love in the depths of our hearts. For those who wish to have knowledge of God must also imagine the faces of those who are wrongfully angry in their minds with a non-angry thought. When this happens, then the mind will not only begin to revolve infallibly in the field of theology, but also in the matter of love will rise with complete boldness, as if ascending from the second degree to the first. 93. The path of virtue for those who begin to love piety seems cruel and terrible, not because it is such in itself, but because human nature, from the very moment it leaves the mother’s womb, gets used to living extensively in pleasures; and for those who have already managed to reach the middle of it, it is all good and joyful: for when our bad aspirations are suppressed by good habits, then along with this the very memory of wordless pleasures disappears; as a result of which the soul already walks with all pleasure along all the paths of virtues. Therefore, the Lord, leading us onto the path of salvation, says that the path that leads to the stomach is narrow and sorrowful, and there are few who follow it (Matthew 7:14); To those who with all zeal desire to begin keeping His holy commandments, He says: My yoke is easy and My burden is light (Matthew 11:30). Therefore, at the beginning of our feat, we are forced by a certain will to fulfill the holy Commandments of God, so that the good Lord, seeing our good intention and work, will grant us the readiness and free will with pleasure to submit to His glorious wills: for the desire is prepared from the Lord (Proverbs 8:35). After which we will begin with great joy to continually do good, and then we will truly feel that God works in us both to will and to act according to His good pleasure (Phil. 2:13). 94. Just as unheated and unsoftened wax cannot properly imprint the seal placed on it, so a person, unless he is tempted by labors and weaknesses, cannot bear the seal of God’s virtue. Therefore, the Lord says to the divine Paul: My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness (2 Cor. 12:9). The Apostle himself boasts in this way, saying: I will boast much more gladly about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest in me (2 Cor. 12:9). Likewise in Proverbs it is written: whom the Lord loves, he punishes, and beats every son whom he receives (Proverbs 3:12). The Apostle calls infirmities the uprisings of the enemies of the Cross, which often happened to him and to all the saints, so that they would not be exalted, as he says, by the abundance of revelations (2 Cor. 12:7); but most of all, through humility, they remained in the image of perfection, reverently preserving the divine gift through frequent humiliation. We call evil thoughts and bodily disorders “weaknesses.” For then the bodies of the saints who labored against sin, being given over to deadly wounds and various other sorrows, were much higher than the passions that came into human nature through sin; Now, since the world of churches is multiplying for the sake of the Lord, it is necessary that the body of ascetics be tested by incessant disorders, and the souls by evil thoughts, especially those of them whose knowledge is strong with every feeling and assurance, so that they do not fall into vanity with arrogance, and can, for the sake of great humility, contain, as I said, in their hearts the seal of divine beauty, according to the word of the holy prophet: imprinted on us the light of Your countenance, O Lord (Ps. 4:7). It is fitting, therefore, to endure the Lord’s advice concerning us with gratitude, and then both illness and the struggle with demonic thoughts will be counted towards us as a second martyrdom. For he who spoke in those days through the mouths of lawless leaders to the holy martyrs: deny Christ and love the glory of this age, now he himself says the same to the servants of God; who then tormented the bodies of the righteous and extremely reviled honest teachers through those who served the devil’s wisdom, he also now brings various sufferings on the confessors of piety with great reproaches and humiliations, especially when they, for the glory of the Lord, with great power help the oppressed poor. For this reason, we must, with all danger and patience, create in ourselves such a testimony of conscience before the face of God: I patiently trusted in the Lord, and He listened to me (Ps. 39:2). 95. Humility is not something that is easily acquired: for the higher it is, the more work it requires to acquire. It comes to those who participate in holy knowledge in two ways: when an ascetic of piety is in the midst of spiritual success, then he maintains the most humble wisdom about himself either for the sake of bodily weakness, or for the sake of troubles from those who are hostile to zealots for a righteous life, or for the sake of evil thoughts; when the mind is in full feeling and is positively illuminated by holy grace, then the soul begins to have humility as if it were its natural disposition. For, being drunk and saturated with divine grace by the goodness of God, she can no longer become inflated and puffed up with love of glory, even if she constantly fulfills the commandments of God, but considers herself to be the most insignificant above all others, in the feeling of communion with divine goodness [i.e. that is, that she is such by the grace of God]. Sometimes humility is accompanied for the most part by sadness and loss of spirit, but this is joy with all-wise shame; that, as I said, comes to those who are in the middle of exploits, and this is sent down to those who are already approaching perfection. For some reason, he is often (in some way) suppressed by the successes of life, but even if someone offers him all the kingdoms of the world, he does not hesitate and is not only not afraid of the most terrible arrows of sin, but does not even feel it at all; because, being all-spiritual, it no longer has feelings for external glory. However, the ascetic reaches this last point only by going through the first in every way: for grace will not give us the wealth of the second if it does not first soften our will with trials, through the educational allowance of the fight against the passions, during the period of the first. 96. Lovers of the pleasures of the present age turn from thoughts to falls. Carried about by reckless soaring, they lustfully express almost all their passionate plans either in inappropriate words or in lawless deeds. And those who decide to regularly lead an ascetic life from falls move on to evil thoughts, or to evil and harmful speeches (they have fallen behind from bad deeds, but still remain in the area of ​​​​unkind thoughts and speeches). And the demons, if they see them either giving into gossip and reproach, or conducting empty and inappropriate conversations, or laughing as they should not, or being angry beyond measure, or lusting after vain and empty glory, immediately attack them in a crowd. Taking vanity as a reason for their villainy, and through it, like through some dark door, they jump up and plunder their souls. It is fitting, then, for those who devote themselves to the acquisition of virtues, not to desire fame, not to seek interviews with many, not to take frequent trips and walks, not to revile anyone, even if someone was worthy of reproach, nor to talk too much, even if they could only say one good thing; for verbosity immeasurably scatters the mind and not only makes it incapable of spiritual work, but also delivers it into the hands of the demon of despondency, which, little by little weakening it, then transfers it to the demon of immeasurable sadness, and finally to the demon of anger. Why should one always exercise the mind in keeping the holy commandments and in deep remembrance of the glory of the Lord. For he who keeps the commandments, says Scripture, will not recognize an evil word (λόγο) (Eccl. 8:5), that is, he will not turn aside to indecent thoughts or words. 97. When the heart, with a kind of burning pain, receives demonic shooting, so that the one being fought thinks that he is carrying the very arrows, this is a sign that the soul has begun to zealously hate passions. And this is the beginning of her purification. For if she does not endure great pain from the shamelessness of sin, then she will not be able to rejoice richly about the beneficialness of the truth. After this, whoever wants to cleanse his heart, let him constantly warm it with the memory of the Lord Jesus, having this alone as the subject of thought on God and unceasing spiritual activity. For those who want to throw off their rottenness should not behave in such a way that sometimes they pray and sometimes not, but they should always practice prayer with guarded mind, even if they live nowhere near houses of prayer. For just as someone who undertakes to purify gold, if he leaves the furnace without fire even for a short time, the ore being purified hardens again: so he who sometimes remembers God and sometimes does not, what seems to be gained by prayer, is lost by stopping it. But it is common for a husband, a lover of virtue, to consume the earthiness of the heart with the constant memory of God, so that in this way, with the gradual evaporation of evil under the influence of the fire of good remembrance, the soul with full glory will completely rise to its natural brightness. 98. Dispassion does not mean not being overcome by demons, for in that case we would have to, according to the Apostle, come out of the world (1 Cor. 5:10); but so that when they fight us, we remain unfightable; just as warriors dressed in armor are exposed to enemy fire, and hear the sound of flying arrows, and even see the very arrows fired at them; they are invulnerable, however, because of the hardness of their military clothing. But these, being protected with iron, are not exposed to wounds during battle; We, by doing good deeds, having put on the full armor of the holy light and the helmet of salvation, will scatter the dark demonic phalanxes: for not only does this bring purity, so as not to do more evil, but even more so, so that through all-powerful zeal for good we will completely consume the evil in ourselves. 99. When a man of God has almost conquered all the passions within himself, two demons still remain warring against him, one of which torments his soul, exciting him through his great love of God to exorbitant jealousy, so that he does not want to allow another who pleases God more than him, and the other his body, exciting him with some kind of fiery movement towards carnal lust. This happens to the body, firstly, because such lustful sweetness is inherent in our nature, like childbirth put into it for the sake of childbirth, which is why it can be overcome; and then by God’s permission. For when the Lord sees one of the ascetics rising too high in the increase of virtues; then sometimes he allows him to be outraged by this nasty demon, so that he considers himself the worst of all living people. Such an attack of this passion sometimes occurs after the completion of good deeds, and sometimes before, so that the movement of this passion, whether it precedes the deeds or follows, makes the soul seem most indecent in front of itself, no matter how great the deeds performed. – But we will fight against the first [the demon that excites excessive jealousy] by deepening humility and love, and against the second [the demon of carnal lust] by abstinence, lack of anger and deepened memory of death, so that through this, constantly feeling within ourselves the action of the Holy Spirit, we may become higher in the Lord than these passions. 100. Those of us who have become partakers of holy knowledge will, of course, have to give an account of all involuntary wanderings of the mind, as Job says: You noted what I involuntarily transgressed (Job 14:17), and rightly so. For if someone is always busy remembering God and does not neglect His holy commandments, he will not fall into either involuntary or voluntary sin. Therefore, we must immediately bring a contrite confession to the Lord about involuntary falls, adding it to our usual prayer rule. Since a person cannot help but fall into human sins (then one should always bring confession about them to the Lord), until the conscience in tears of love is convinced of their forgiveness: for, as St. John: if we confess our sins, then He, being faithful and righteous, will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Why is it necessary to constantly listen to the feeling of contrite confession (nourish this feeling), so that our conscience does not somehow deceive itself, thinking that it has already been sufficiently contrite and confessed to God. For the Judgment of God is much stricter than the judgment of our conscience, even if someone does not know anything bad about himself with full assurance, as our wise Paul teaches, saying: but I do not judge myself; for although I do not know anything about myself, I am not justified by this; But the Lord is my judge (1 Cor. 4:3–4). If we do not properly confess about these [involuntary and unknown] sins, then during our exodus we will find some vague fear in ourselves. And we, who love the Lord, should wish and pray that at that time we may be free from any fear: for whoever is then in fear will not freely pass by the princes of hell, because they consider this timidity of the soul as a sign of its complicity in their evil, as it is in them. The soul, rejoiced by the love of God, at the hour of release from the body with the Angels of the world, rushes above all the dark hordes, because such a soul is in some way inspired by spiritual love, having in this love complete, without any lack, fulfillment of the law. Why are those who depart from this life with such boldness and at the second coming of the Lord will be caught up with all the saints? Those who, at the time of death, are at least slightly affected by fear, will then be left in the crowd of all other people, as being under judgment, so that, having been tested by the fire of judgment, they will receive the inheritance due to them for their deeds from our good God and King Jesus Christ. For He is the God of righteousness, and His is upon us who love Him the riches of the blessings of His Kingdom, forever and ever. Amen. St. Maximus’s interpretation, on the issue of certain things, of the following words of this hundredth chapter: “so that they have been tested by the fire of judgment...” and so on: “Those who have acquired perfect love for God and the wings of the soul through virtue have made it easy to soar, are admired, according to the Apostle, in the clouds, and do not come to judgment; those who have not achieved such perfection, and in good deeds are not alien to sins, these come to the judgment seat, and there, through the study of their good and bad deeds, they are, as it were, tested by fire; if the cup of good deeds is too high, they are freed from punishment.” The text is provided only in Russian, see the source for the original. – Editorial of the ABC of Faith So in the publication. Probably what was meant was “οὐ” (as a ligature ȣ). – Editorial of the ABC of Faith.