Письма, вошедшие в собрание Ф. Комбефиса Письмо I. Слово увещевательное в виде письма. Рабу Божиему господину Георгию, преблагословенному наместнику Африки

No one, I think, having been deprived in some way of light, desires to enjoy the rays of the sun as passionately as we all, the poor, richly drunk with your virtue, long to see you again and enjoy your beauty, marked by innate divine virtues, which showed us even more clearly that virtue is an aspiration of the will, and not a property of rank, and godlikeness is a quality of character, and not honor. After all, whoever, blessed, has the power of love for God rooted in the depths of his soul, will undoubtedly also have immutability in goodness - just as, of course, those who are overwhelmed by the love of material things are susceptible to many passions and absent-mindedness. And quite rightly: after all, he who consciously strives for the Divinity, one, whole and impassive, in Which from eternity no essential change has been seen (for nothing that has come from Him reaches Him), is himself one and whole, and impassive, and unchangeable thanks to an uncontrollable zeal for the one. For since he desires [202] the one and whole, which is completely unchangeable, since in its essence it is motionless due to natural infinity (after all, the motionless infinite has nowhere to move), then such a person, who has loved the one, will, of course, make his consciousness completely unwavering from the one and will become one, and whole, and unchangeable. And the one who, out of ignorance of the best and following his own will, becomes attached with spiritual love to material things, which by nature are unstable and changeable and incapable of complete constancy, is himself, of necessity, unstable, and indulgent, and changeable, because his spiritual disposition is carried away by objects that are by nature movable and subject to external influences. That is why, my blessed master, nothing existing can shake your beautiful, God-loving disposition, which has as a companion a will directed towards God: not the passage of time, which changes everything material along with it, will disturb the stability of the will; no human threat, acting through fear, will move the foundation of a wonderful dispensation; neither the arguments of flatterers who delight the ear with their speeches will weaken the tension of the will; neither the thirst for revenge, perhaps fueled by power, will spoil the meekness of disposition; neither the desire for the glory of dominion will diminish the desire of love for the Divine. After all, the absence of power over people is not a decrease in glory before God and people, but rather an addition to glory, since the soul becomes free from anxiety and care for external things, according to my reasoning - and everyone who piously considers the proper thing will agree with this, for any truly virtuous and God-loving person has everything necessary for complete bliss, without needing any external additions to achieve it. And the one who in his life set himself as an example of the properties of the Divine, acquired the fullness of all blessings, thanks to which an exact likeness to God arises in people, with which nothing except God Himself can be compared. Simply put, neither illness, nor health, nor wealth, drawn to the earth, nor lack of perishable goods, nor blasphemy, nor praise, nor death, nor life, nor the present, nor the future, nor anything else that exists can harm the wisdom that has nurtured and so glorified you before God and people. When will we achieve this? When we entrust everything we have to God (2) and do not strive for anything that is not commanded to strive for from God, but for what is commanded, we will strive for it with all zeal; and that which, according to the word of God, is subject to our will and our strength, we will desire in every possible way and will try to carry out by deeds, and that which, in general opinion, does not depend on our will, with gratitude and faith we will leave it to God to do as he wishes and judges, without any disagreement with the judgment of His providence and government, according to which everything, in ignorance and in accordance with secret wisdom, is drawn towards the end foreseen by God, and even when our hopes are deceived, His judgment is carried out. For our guardian and ruler is wise, because he did not acquire wisdom from outside, but He Himself is, and is called Wisdom. Let us sincerely desire to observe only one thing - to love Him, as He commanded, with all our hearts, with all the strength of our soul, and our neighbor as ourselves, striving as soon as possible to fulfill this Divine command; and let us, as far as possible, fully carry out this most extensive divine task (3), whatever our position, rank, way of life - whether we are in charge, whether we are under authority, whether we live [204] in wealth or in poverty, whether we are healthy, sick or in some other bodily state; and we will not worry at all about the rest, which is completely beyond the control of our will. What is truly ours - that which by nature is not necessary, or that which we have acquired by conscious will? Probably, wanting to make us think about this, the word [of God] did not give us instructions about this in the Divine commandment, so that we would not unworthily abuse our willpower, unnaturally achieving what is not in our power, and would not show its weakness, since it has not achieved what it cannot achieve in any way. It is violence against the Divine will to consider as our own the power of Providence, which wisely uses what is not subject to our power to punish our vices, which are under our control, and to encourage and ease the path of virtues, which are under our control. So, distinguishing what is in our power from what is taken from it, we will believe that the accomplishment of the second completely depends on God’s providence, and the first, in addition to God’s providence, also depends on our will. So, what is subject to us (4) - I will cover as if by definition - this is everything that, according to our thought, obeys the will, whether it consists in the reasoning of virtue, or, on the contrary, in the path of vice. What is not subject to us (5) is everything that is not created by our will, and in general everything that is by nature free from virtue and vice, which arise - or, more precisely, are - from the use that those who own them give to these things. Let us fervently desire only those blessings that, with God’s help, are accomplished by our free will and depend on our judgment, and we will greatly value them - so we will be obedient and meek donkeys (Matthew 21:2), carrying the Word on ourselves and regularly running along the path of virtues. Those that are not in our power, since in themselves they are by nature neither a vice nor a virtue, but instruments [205] of will, revealing the hidden aspiration of our mind, we will not desire at all, so as not to abuse the natural power of will, which intends to master the impossible and for it unfulfillable, but we will leave these things to God and accept with gratitude any change of times and affairs, happening to us for our benefit according to the saving will of God, in order to thus fulfill the beauty of virtue not only through the unchangeable, but also through the changeable, and through the wrong - in the right way. After all, no one, submitting to God and entrusting Him with the care of what he himself has no control over, is deprived of hope for a good outcome. And the Wise One spoke the truth somewhere in his speeches: “Look at the ancient generations and see: who believed the Lord and was ashamed? or who cried out to Him and He despised him?” (Sir.2:10). Since this is so, as shown by reason, the companion of truth, which has wisely established the properties of what is desirable and what is undesirable and has demarcated incompatible things from each other, then even when we are removed from power, we will not seek it, enduring this as a deprivation of some good; after all, power is not at all subject to our desires and is far removed from our reason, like wealth, and health, and everything that is morally indifferent, and we transform it into virtue or vice; but, on the other hand, let us not unconditionally reject power when it is given to us, because it can become an instrument of virtue for those who love God and with all zeal offer to God, in addition to everything that depends on them, also that which is beyond their control, that which is allowed to them by Providence. After all, that which by nature is neither good nor evil, of course, should neither be loved nor avoided, because for the appearance and preservation of any virtue or vice there is absolutely no need for either possession, [206] or non-possession of that without which we can become, and be, and remain virtuous, or, on the contrary, bad and devoid of all virtue - since we are alone, deprived of both power and wealth, and health, have acquired many treasures of eternal blessings, while others, on the contrary, possessing power, wealth, and health, by their own will fall away from all Divine blessings. And the beggar Lazarus and the rich man testify to this: one, deprived of all earthly power, health and abundance, received blissful rest in Abraham’s bosom, while the other, abundantly showered with all earthly blessings, was separated by an abyss from the saints and condemned to fiery punishment. Yes, and David and Job, great zealots of the truth, so far apart from each other and completely opposite in their way of life, preserved and increased their virtue, having been tested. Virtue, after all, arises not from wealth and health, and not from the opposite fate, otherwise it would turn into vice, changing with circumstances, but from a pious disposition of the soul and from a zealous aspiration for good will, invariably attached to God and without violating self-identity in opposites. So let us be glad when we are given power, and let us accept it as an auxiliary instrument of virtue sent to us by God. And when we are deprived of it, let us not covet it, as if laying aside a terrible burden that hides from us the plan of Providence, Which humanely arranges everything for everyone’s benefit - after all, the Wise One says: “Do not strive to become a judge, lest you be powerless to crush untruth, lest you ever fear the face of a strong man and put a shadow on your righteousness; do not sin against urban society, and do not disgrace yourself before the people; do not add sin to sin” (Sir.7:6-8). Unless you want to be vain in these matters, my dear, then you will not find yourself in a worse position than the people around you, because “the eyes of the Lord,” as the Wise One himself said, “looked upon you for your good, and He raised you up from your humiliation and lifted up your head, and many were amazed, looking at you” (Sir. 11:12-13), and tell the peoples and tribes [207] about your virtues. And - as the Holy Spirit prophesied about the apostles through the great David - “the sound” (Ps. 19:5) of your good deeds spread throughout the whole earth, “and the fragrance of your virtues penetrated to the ends of the universe” (Ps. 18:5). After all, you did not eat your bread alone, but generously gave it to the orphans, and from their youth you raised them as a father, and from their mother’s womb you led them to righteousness (Job 31:17). You did not despise those who were perishing without clothing, and you covered them; all the weak blessed you, for you warmed their shoulders with the wool of your sheep (Job 31:19–20). You did not place your gold in the ground (Job 31:24), that is, to please your flesh, but with your wealth you acquired heavenly blessings for your soul. You were not tempted by perishable wealth and did not put your heart into its flow. You did not sit with scoffers (Job 31:5), whose lives are shameful and full of dishonor. Your foot did not rush into wickedness (Job 31:5), and you did not rejoice at the fall of your enemies, and your heart did not say: “Good!” ( Job 31:29 ). The earth did not cry out against you - after all, you did not eat its fruit without payment and did not oppress the soul of its owners (Job.31:38-39). You withheld your hands from the gifts of the wicked, and saved the sufferer from the hand of the mighty (Job.29:12), and wept for everyone unfortunate, and groaned when you saw a person in trouble (Job.30:25). You helped orphans who were deprived of a helper, and the lips of widows blessed you (Job.29:12-13). You have clothed yourself in righteousness and put on righteous judgment as in a cloak (Job.29:14). You have become the eyes of the blind, the feet of the lame, and the father of the weak (Job 29:15–16). You have broken the jaws of the wicked and snatched away the spoil from their teeth (Job 29:17). And, generally speaking, you feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, shelter the strangers, clothe the naked, look after the sick, help the imprisoned (Matthew 25:35-36); The main thing is that with all this you please God, judging that the most glorious thing is to diligently take care of all these unfortunate people for His sake. Therefore, God has justly preserved you, and His lamp shines over your head (Job.29:3), that is, in you, through the implementation of virtues, the law of commandments shines brightly for everyone, and in its light you walk in darkness (Job.29:3), that is, thanks to the knowledge gained by reverent contemplation of things, you harmlessly bypass the deception of this age and ignorance, hastening to the all-bright light. Truly, it fell to you alone, beloved, [208] of all people to preserve virtue under the burden of power and not even in the slightest to subordinate the law of Christ to gold - on the contrary, you have so enslaved your power of virtue that it is recognized only by it and by reason and is known to everyone and glorified everywhere by justice. If, as is natural, avoiding the suffering of the flesh, we hope to ensure its well-being through power, then we must know that the well-being of the flesh was brought into life by the violation of the Divine commandment, and by man who preferred the temporary to the eternal; and the suffering of the flesh is the observance of the Divine commandment, and God, having become man for this sake, showed it in Himself and legitimized it; and that the first is the reason for a person’s alienation from Paradise and the blessings there, and the second is the restoration in Paradise and ascension to heaven; and, most surprisingly, it helps us get closer to God. And therefore, let us always hold on to bodily suffering, as an instrument of Divine grace, not following the changes of times and circumstances, and completely neglect the well-being of the flesh, as a despicable thing, inevitably doomed to complete disappearance, which, as Christ said through the divine lips of Gregory, “does not exceed its own limits” 159 and is guilty of all the ulcers of the soul - so that in all movements of the soul and body we radiate the Divine radiance, completely belonging to to one God. Simply put, by grace we will become, by grace, the receptacle of all of God, and we ourselves will be completely and in everything deified - so much so that in everything we seem to be a second God, with the exception of identity with Him in essence: this is perfection for us, who do not carry within ourselves the slightest sign of this age, so that through it we do not somehow lose our divine character and suffer bitterly due to the desecration of true purity, without finding the means for correction. When this age of action has passed for us, nothing that exists will remain in its present form [209] either in appearance or in position. There is neither reliability nor stability in any of the visible things for their owners. Nothing that subjugates people retains its immutability: neither fame, nor wealth, nor power, nor health, nor dishonor, nor poverty, nor slavery, nor illness, nor beauty, nor youth, nor fame, nor ugliness, nor old age, nor low birth - everything passes, everything disappears, everything human melts away like a shadow, and the greatness of all human power disappears easier than a bubble of water. “Every man,” it is said, “is grass, and all the glory of man is like the flower of the field: the grass is dried up, and the flower is withered” (Is. 40:6). For truly, in everything human, the possibility of destruction is connected with birth, and often in some things destruction even precedes birth, so that the mean (6) between them can, due to the mutual convergence of extremes into one, be hidden, although it is seen in both; Moreover, this is wisely arranged by Providence so that the logos of changeable phenomena fosters confidence in eternal things. Everything changes into something else, and one turns into another, mutually finding in each other destruction rather than birth. Let us not bind the indestructible soul with temporary things; Let us not burden the mind, which by nature is free from matter, and let us not drag it down to the ground with worries about material things. But let us, in accordance with their nature, use reason to separate from each other things that are in no way consistent in essence; then it will not be difficult for us to tear the soul, whole and in no way able to endure the disintegration of its nature, from addiction to perishable things. Let us leave Sodom, that is, the delusion and confusion of the senses regarding the sensory perceived, in order to avoid fire - I mean the punishment of fire, their inevitable consequence. Let us be saved on the mountain (Matthew 24:16), understand - at the height of a godly life, so as not to be taken (Matthew 24:40-41), without yet completely renouncing the sensual, even if we seem not to be involved in vice, like blessed Lot, who did not do what the inhabitants of Sodom did; that is, let us even free ourselves from that sensuality that only inclines us to passions (7). As long as we have enough strength, [210] we will flee from the transitory, which in no way can be subject to us and by its very nature flows and disappears; it does not allow us to have any other disposition of soul than that which bears its mark, for which condemnation and severe torment await us. Let us zealously reject everything that we will certainly lose by nature, and let us ask God for what is necessary. Let us consciously and willingly reject that which by nature will certainly be given and taken away. Let us not allow the soul, which by nature carries within itself the image of its Creator, due to an unreasonable dispensation to become subject to what arises and perishes - after all, by birth it has no limit to its existence, and it is predetermined to always seek God and strive for Him. Let us not desire what we cannot possess; Let us not become attached to the completely transitory as to the eternal. After all, “the image of this age is passing away” (1 Cor. 7:3), as the saint said, and “heaven and earth will pass away” (Matthew 24:35), said the God of the saint; Let us accept the Divine dictum unfailingly, and by faith anticipate the fulfillment of the word, and believe in the immutable proof of the predicted outcome. For if the parts of something are subject to destruction and change, as one of our sages said, then it is clear that the totality of them is also 160, even if the period in which the totality will undergo this has not yet been established by an overt action, just as every person, from what he endures daily, learns that by nature he is destined to die, even if death has not yet actually arrived. So, let us begin to belong to ourselves and to God, better – only to God, and not completely to the flesh and the world. Let us prepare to call on our God, according to what is written: “Get ready to call on your God, O Israel” (Am. 4:12), which means: let us cleanse ourselves from the stains of vice and filthiness, rejecting even those dreams that, as far as possible, are not combined with passions. This is how everyone prepares who wants to prepare perfectly - so that thanks to the virtues, as if thanks to some divine coloring, he can perceive exact likeness to God. It is in this way that one who knows how to call upon God calls properly; after all, preparation, in my opinion, consists in alienation from passions, [211] and calling - in true likeness to God through virtues. Or in other words: preparation is the radiance that arises in the worthy through virtues, and calling is the perception of deifying grace through true knowledge. After all, in this way we can, according to what is written, always have white clothes (Eccl. 9:8), which means a disposition that is joyful thanks to virtues, bright, without any sign of darkness. And our soul will rejoice in God our Savior (Ps. 12:7, 34:9), rejoicing in putting off the old man, doomed to destruction through false desires, and putting on the new man, created according to God in the Spirit (1 Pet. 4:6). After all, our God will clothe us with the robe of salvation and the robe of joy (Is. 61:10), that is, he will give us the usual and morally wise action through virtues and unstumbling mental contemplation in the Spirit, so that we will enjoy the future royal benefits of divine immaculate marriage 161. Moreover, let us carefully watch how we walk (Eph. 5:15) and what we plan, knowing that to our actions and thoughts there are many invisible witnesses who not only look at what is obvious, but look into our very souls and test the secrets of the heart. Indeed, we are truly surrounded on all sides by many choirs of angelic powers, who carefully record in heaven our actions, speeches, and thoughts, down to the slightest intention 162, for the sake of exposure on the terrible day of judgment, when every visible creation with inexpressible speed will rush to its final completion, and heaven and earth will perish with a roar, and the elements between them will be destroyed in fire (2 Pet. 3:10), and there will be a new heaven and a new earth, and what is in them (Is.65:17); when thrones will be erected, and the Ancient of Days will sit, and the books will be opened, in which our deeds, speeches and thoughts are written with impeccable accuracy, and thousands of thousands of angels will serve Him, and darkness will stand before Him (Dan. 7: 9-10); and the menacing flames of fire will run everywhere, engulfing everything around and melting the mountains like wax. [212] “A river of fire,” says the prophet, “flowed before Him” (Dan. 7:10). Then Tartarus will appear, and the bottomless yawning abyss, and outer darkness (Matthew 25:30), and the vigilant worm (Mark 9:48), and even horror will ascend over the perishing world, and the angels of wrath, sparkling with punitive fire, spewing fire with their gaze and breath, will stand ready to punish in every possible way all iniquity. Every creature, earthly and heavenly, will appear before them with trembling - both from the angelic forces, and from those above the angelic, and from people - in order to perceive the terrible expression of the Divine will; at the same time, our deeds will be read, and secrets will be revealed, so that the sins of everyone will be known to everyone, as if they were their own, revealed in the infallible book of their own conscience. It is said: “I will expose you and bring your sins before your eyes” (Ps. 49:21). And again: “Their plans will surround them” (Hos. 7:2). And here is a man, and here are his works; and now the incorruptible Judge, next to Whom stands the terrible and great army of heavenly powers, sits on high, radiating the radiance of truth, and according to fair and unfalse judgment, rewards everyone according to their dignity: to those who are placed at the right hand for good deeds, he mercifully bestows the Kingdom of Heaven prepared from the creation of the world (Matthew 25:34); on the left, he angrily drives into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41). Who can bear the fury of this fire? Who would not be horrified by the unprecedented sight of this worm? Who can endure the suddenness and weight of this outer darkness? Who can withstand the roaring tartare and the boiling abyss from the bottom? Who will not shudder from the piercing, menacing gaze of the angels assigned to executions and their gloomy faces? Who will not be afraid of this most terrible of evils - the fact that the meek, humane, and merciful God will turn His face away from him? And with Him, all creation will turn away [213] and be crushed by those who, out of evil will, torment themselves so terribly, and they will rightly be angry that they forced God, the only man-loving by nature, to appear in such a way. Who can bear the eternal shame that will follow the revelation of all that is secret? Who can measure the incessant sobbing, and bitter and unimaginable tears, and the gnashing of teeth, and the cries of the tormented, or the heartache of regret, burning the depths of the soul with a slow fire? Who is able to express the melancholy of 163 sinners who have no hope either for a change in the term of punishment, or for the end of the punishment they are undergoing, or for a change in life for the better? 164 After all, that judgment is truly final and unique, terrible and righteous, and more righteous than terrible, and it becomes even more terrible because it is also righteous; and, by God’s just verdict, embraces all eternity. Who can refrain from tears, thinking about the complaints and lamentations that burst from the very heart of the condemned, and penetrate to the very marrow of their bones, and cruelly gnaw at their wombs? Who will endure, without pain and the despondency it causes, the pitiful cries and cries of regret addressed by each punished person to himself and by everyone to everyone? and in what words they are expressed! For then everyone will become a true connoisseur of their sins, then their deeds will be exposed and appear as they are, without the covering of guile! Righteous is Thy judgment, O God (Ps. 119:137); You called us, but we did not obey You; You spoke to us, but we did not heed, and we treated Your advice as nothing, but we did not heed Your words. Because of this, destruction, destruction, storm, sorrow, and oppression justly came upon us; Now we call on You, but You do not hear; We seek mercy from You, and do not find it - after all, we did not hear Your speech and did not show mercy to our neighbor. After all, we, who hated wisdom, and did not choose the fear of the Lord, and did not want to listen to the advice of God, reap what we sow and are satisfied with our own madness. [214] Life blinded us with its deception 165, and we did not know the mysteries of God, and had no hope of the reward of holiness. Therefore, we “were filled with works of iniquity and walked through deserts without roads,” that is, without the sight of God, “but we did not know the way of the Lord” (Wis. 5:7). Now “what benefit has arrogance brought us, and what has wealth and vanity brought us? All this passed away like a shadow and like a fleeting rumor, and like a ship sailing on choppy water; he passed, and no trace or path of his bottom could be found in the waves; or like a bird flying through the air, no sign of its path remains” (Wis. 5:8-10). All this has passed, leaving us the fire of Gehenna as an eternal and unchanging destiny. Just is Your judgment, O God; we will never stop repeating this. You called us, but we did not listen; He admonished us, but we did not heed. We heard teachings about these horrors every day, but we despised such words. Then speeches about this did not upset us at all; If only reality would not torment us so cruelly now! It seemed nonsense to us what our life consists of now - but then they constantly sang to us about it. Oh, carelessness! oh, deception! oh, evil thoughts! O community of vicious people! Oh, God’s wondrous and righteous judgment on our sins! How He gave each of our sins the corresponding torment! For the pitiful and despicable pleasure of the flesh, we are rightly condemned to terrible Gehenna. We were sentenced to remain in terrible darkness and darkness because we loved everything shameful: sights, sounds, and words, and preferred horse competitions, theatrical performances and hound hunts to Divine blessings, in which crowds of demons danced, and God’s protection and supervision through angels were completely absent; there the dignity of purity was trampled upon in various ways, and the evil of debauchery and abomination were openly exalted. We are now rightly deprived of light because during our temporary life we ​​did not see the glory of God the Creator in creation, but desecrated our eyes, and ears, and tongue; or, rather, through them they destroyed [215] the soul created in the image of God, with sights and sounds and speeches that were hated by God, and with mutual malice. We are plunged into tartarus, and we are terribly tormented at the same time by a fall into the depths and by constraint - because we preferred arrogance to sublime humility, which promotes the sublime and the Divine, and rejected the strength and power of virtue for the sake of immense relaxation and effeminacy of the flesh. Where is our arrogance now, and our arrogant attitude towards everyone, and the lethargy and effeminacy of the flesh? Oh, recklessness! Instead of unbridled laughter and unbridled chatter - this unbearable gnashing of teeth. We did not want to exercise in the study of the Divine and saving word and preferred immeasurable drunkenness to verbal praise of God - we are now subjected to terrible punishment, and our tongue burns with terrible thirst. Hatred of brothers, envy and deception, and hypocrisy, from which and because of which murder itself arises, blame and flattery, rancor, lies and false oaths, we accept the worthy fruit - this vigilant worm, constantly gnawing at the depths of our souls. Since we have distorted the directness of love, corrupted the heart, destroyed the dispassion of truth, and distorted the truth itself, then, by will, committing the evil of hatred, against will, we have created a worm for ourselves, and with lies we have dug an even worse ditch of wickedness, separating us from unity with the direct and right God. After all, He said through the mouth of the holy prophet David: “An evil heart will not cleave to Me” (Ps. 100:3). Consequently, we are rewarded according to our actions; or rather, we accept a worthy reward for the spiritual disposition that arose in us according to our intention: for burning pleasures - the fire of Gehenna, for the darkness of ignorance and seduction of the transient - eternal darkness, for the vigilant punishing worm - for the worm of hatred and lies that has eaten away and corrupted our heart, for unbridled chatter and laughter - the loud gnashing of teeth, for proud exaltation and joy - fall, and the yawning abyss, and the melancholy of horror. Simply put, for each [216] of our voluntary vices, we will fairly accept the corresponding punishment against our will. Oh, how pathetic we are! Why didn’t we, unfortunate ones, extinguish the heat of the flesh with fasts, and vigils, and the study of Divine words - these are, after all, wonderful and powerful extinguishers of fire - so that now we would not fry on this fire? Why didn’t we train our eyes, ears and tongue to look, hear and speak in accordance with nature, so as not to endure darkness and oppressive silence now, but, having become contemplators, listeners and singers of the Divine glory, with the saints we too enjoy the light, word and wisdom of God? If we had killed the worm of voluntary hatred with love and destroyed lies with truth, we would now be free from this burning worm and all the other horrors in which our life consists. God's judgment is fair. What we did not seek, we did not find. The gates of the Kingdom of Heaven do not open to us, since we have not knocked on the gates of virtues with deeds; We do not taste the pleasure of eternal blessings, since we did not ask for the grace of knowledge in prayer. They did not have the slightest love for the Divine, but, having chained their minds to earthly things, they spoiled their whole life with their corruption. Everything earthly has passed and disappeared like smoke, but our guilt remains inescapable forever. This is what, in general terms, these unfortunates, who know the power of divine truth in the torment they endure, probably say to each other; But what will happen to me, poor thing? On the basis of what deeds can I hope to be exempted from a terrible sentence, having no virtue or knowledge? I am afraid that, bound hand and foot, I will be thrown into a dark and gloomy land, into a land of eternal darkness, where there is no light, where you will not see a living person - after all, of my own free will, I bound the active forces of my soul with passions and prevented its progress along the divine path of the gospel life. Oh, the terrible endless shame that awaits me if I do not change and free myself from many of my vices! Oh, what kind of crying, what kind of bitter tears and gnashing of teeth awaits me, if [217] I don’t sober up at least late, shake off the deep sleep of negligence and take off the dirty robe of sin! Instead of light - darkness, instead of joy - suffering, instead of rest - punishment and embarrassment will take possession of me. And what’s more pitiful—or rather, more difficult—is that it’s even painful to say (how much more painful to endure! have mercy, Christ, and save us from this pain!): separation from God and His holy armies and eternal communication with the devil and his nasty demons; Moreover, there is no need to expect deliverance from these horrors. After all, with whom we have consciously and willingly chosen to communicate through our evil customs in this century, with those we will justly and against our will be condemned to remain in the century to come. And more painful and terrible than any torment is the eternal community of those who hate and are hated, even without torment - and even with them! – and distance from the Lover and the Beloved. After all, even when God, who by nature is and is called Love, judges with truth, those who are condemned do not feel hatred towards Him, and He does not hate those who are condemned, for by nature he is completely free from passion. It is not false to believe, beloved, that all this will come true in the future, let us not ourselves be careless, but with all zeal and with all our strength, while at least how much time remains for us, we flee from the seduction of the world and from the ruler of the world. The world is passing away, and everything in it perishes. The time will come, truly the time will come, when some terrible trumpet will sound (1 Cor. 15:52) with an unheard voice, and everything earthly will disintegrate, losing its now visible beauty. And the visible world will pass away, having accepted its completion, and the now hidden spiritual world will appear, presenting completely unknown mysteries to the eyes, ears and minds. And the trumpet, suddenly sounding at God’s command, will cause countless myriads of human bodies to rise up at once, as if from some kind of sleep, calling them to a review; God, for what everyone has done through the body - whether good or bad - will fairly reward a worthy reward (2 Cor. 5:10), giving all existences a great and terrible final [218] completion. May the saving fear of Gehenna and the glorious desire of the Heavenly Kingdom (which actually means fear and desire for the same thing, that is, God, who is made and called everything for everyone, depending on the depravity or virtue of each); fear will completely keep us from evil, and desire will encourage us to joyfully do good deeds in abundance. Let this letter, blessed one, be to you from me, poor and orphaned, a sign of love, in observance and protection of your inherent virtues; After all, it seems to me that even someone who, like you, is richly adorned with them, has to guard and preserve virtues. I cannot adequately thank you for your many good deeds in any other way than through these admonitions. Together with me, all the honest fathers who live in this region thanks to you, sincerely greet you, day and night, with tears, praying to God that our George, whom it is truly sweet to see and name, will return to us in good health, so that we will live a harmless present life with him and enjoy the future grace of a humane and gracious God, intercession for us and with God through the intercession of the Most Holy and Our Most Glorious Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary with all the saints. Amen. 1. It talks about human power. 2. What to seek and desire, and what to leave to the will of God. 3. Whether to be in charge, whether to be under the leadership, whether to be rich or poor - depends not on nature and not on the will, but on the Providence that arranges everything. 4. The definition of what is in our power, that is, free will. 5. Definition of what is not under our control, that is, what is not subject to free will. 6. He calls birth and destruction “extremes,” and the mean between birth and destruction is the thing being born, in which destruction often precedes birth, arising in the thing being born simultaneously with birth and destroying its composition even before it is born. 7. Those, he says, who have tied their soul to the sensual, even if they were free from the passions that delight the senses, are not saved unless they completely tear their soul away from the sensual - like Lot, if he had not left Sodom, then, although he had not committed the sins of the Sodomites, he would not have escaped the fire that rained down from heaven [219]. In Minya's edition, the Word of the XIV St. is indicated here. Gregory the Theologian - “On Love for the Poor” (De pauperum amore). However, the exact place corresponding to the words cited by St. Maxim (τοὺς ἰδίους ὅρους οὐχ ὑπερβαινούσης), neither in this Word nor in others we were able to find. – Approx. resp. ed. See: Basil the Great. Shestodayev, I, 3, 30–32 (Giet): “If parts are subject to destruction and change, then the whole must one day endure the same with its own parts” (ὅτι οὗ τὰ μέρη φθοραῖς καὶ ἀλλοιώσεσιν ὑπόκειται, τούτου καὶ τὸ ὅλον ἀνάγκη ποτὲ τὰ αὐτὰ παθήματα τοῖς οἰκείοις μέρεσιν ὑποστῆναι ). – Editor's note That is, combinations of Christ the Bridegroom. – Approx. lane ψιλῆς ἐνθυμήσεως - that is, an action devoid of expression. – Approx. lane %στενοχωρίαν] – βυκβαλьνο: “cτεcνενηε.” - Πρημ. περ. πρὸς τὸ εὖ ζῇν πάλιν μεταβολή - can, it seems to me, be understood in two ways: either as an improvement in the conditions of the afterlife (easing of torment, etc.), or as a return to virtue. This ambiguity is preserved in the translation. – Approx. lane ἀπετύφλωσε γὰρ ἡμᾶς ἡ ἀπάτη τοῦ βίου. It's interesting that St. Maxim speaks specifically about “life”, and not about “the world”, “vanity”, etc. Cf. Turgenev has a similar motive (“Polesie”). – Approx. lane The scholia belong to an anonymous medieval commentator. They are given in Min's edition along with the letters of St. Maxima. – Approx. resp. ed. You might be interested in: