A summary of sacred sobriety. Book 2. Twenty-four words full of spiritual knowledge

Word 1 1 – About spiritual wisdom The beginning of all writing, in every language, is a, although some do not know this. And the beginning of all virtues is spiritual wisdom, although it is also the end of them: for if it does not come close to the mind, then a person cannot do anything good without ever hearing about it, and if he hears at all, this is already wisdom. But just as the alphabet is the subject of teaching children, without which, however, it is impossible to acquire wisdom and learn subsequent teachings, so the beginning of knowledge, although very small, but without it it is in no way possible to acquire virtue. That is why I am afraid to write anything about wisdom, being completely unwise; for, as I believe, four different things bring the mind into a state of speaking: either supernatural grace from above and bliss, or purity, which comes from deeds according to God and can bring the soul to its original beauty, or the assimilation of earthly learning, acquired through human training and diligence for external wisdom, or, again, the damned and satanic seduction 2, which comes from pride and demonic wickedness and constitutes perversion nature. And I, who am not involved in anything said, how can I write? – I’m perplexed; unless your faith, forcing me to this according to God, will attract grace to the pen 3; for my mind and my hand are unworthy and unclean. I know firmly from experience how often it happened to me and always happens that how many times, believe me, fathers, I wanted to write something, I could not bring it to my mind until I took up the pen, but only a small thought came to me, borrowed from Scripture or born from hearing or from looking at the sensual things of the world, and from this the mind often took the occasion; and as soon as I took up the pen and began to write, I immediately found the thing that I intended to write about and which someone forced me to describe. And so I write without hindrance and calmly after as much strength as my hand has, not at all slow; but whatever God puts into my darkened heart, I write without a doubt. I believe (that this happens) so that I do not “pretend” to have what I received through the prayer of another, according to the word of Climacus, citing the saying of the Apostle, who said: “Why did you receive it?” Have you even accepted that you boasted as if it were not accepted?” (1 Cor. 4:7), but by doing it himself. For thoughts that spontaneously come to the minds of those who are silent in God must be accepted without a doubt, says Saint Isaac, and if someone considers them, this is their own understanding. And Saint Anthony says: every deed and word must have evidence from the Divine Scriptures. Therefore, like Balaam’s donkey who once spoke (Num. 22:28), I begin to write, not teaching - far from it - but to expose my poor soul, so that, although ashamed of words, as the Climacus says, I begin to do the work, having not yet acquired the deed, but only the word. Who knows if I will be alive and have time to write? And again, will you have time to complete the tasks? But let's start with both and (let's see) what one of us will achieve; for our death is unknown, and when the end will come we do not know; but the foreseeing God knows everything that concerns us. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen. Our venerable father Isaac, wishing to show that faith, which the Apostle calls the basis of works about God (1 Cor. 3:10) and which we received from Divine baptism, by the grace of Christ, and not from works, and - that it gives rise to fear that comes from faith, through which there is observance of the commandments and patience with temptations, as St. Maximus says, and that after doing the great faith of knowledge is born in us, about which the Lord said: “If only we had faith like grain of a mountain” and so on. (Luke 17:6), says (St. Isaac) that there is another common faith of the Orthodox, that is, the right dogmas about God and His mental and sensory creations, as, by the grace of God, the Holy Catholic Church accepted, and another - knowledge, that is, knowledge, which does not at all oppose what gave birth to it, but usually confirms it even more. For we learned the first, having inherited it through hearing, from pious parents and teachers of the Orthodox faith, and the second is born in us because we rightly believe and fear the Lord in whom we have believed. Out of fear, we chose to keep the commandments and through this we wanted to cultivate bodily virtues, that is, silence, fasting, moderate vigil, psalm singing, prayer, reading and questioning experienced people about every thought, word and undertaking, so that by such actions the body could be cleansed from shameful passions, that is: gluttony, fornication and excessive possessions, “being content with what you have”, according to the word of the apostle (1 Tim. 6:8), from which a person receives the strength to abide in God, without vain worries. From the Scriptures and from experienced people he learns Divine dogmas and commandments and through this he begins to despise the eight most important passions, and, reflecting on threats, he fears God, not just, but as God, according to the word of St. Nilus, and from this fear he begins to wisely keep the commandments, and insofar as he suffers death for each commandment, at will, so much so he comes to greater knowledge and contemplates what is happening in him by the grace of Christ (change). Through this, he believes that the faith of the Orthodox is truly great, and begins to desire to please God, and no longer doubts, as before, God’s help, but “casts” all his care on Him, according to the word of the prophet (Ps. 54:23). Anyone who wants to have great faith in himself, as the Great Basil says, should not at all have concerns about his life and death; but if he sees a beast or the rise of demons or evil people, he is not at all afraid, knowing that they are creatures of the one Creator, slaves like him, and have no power over him unless God allows it. For He alone must be feared as having power, according to the word of the Lord Himself: “I will tell you whom you will fear,” and continues: “Fear him who has power,” and cast your soul and body into Gehenna; and, in order to confirm the word, he says: “Here I say to you, Fear Him” (Luke 12:5). And truly so. If there were another who had power other than God, then we should fear him, but since He is the only Creator and Ruler of both the highest and the lowest, who can do anything without Him? If anyone says that there are creatures that have autocracy, I will also say that intelligent powers and people, as well as demons, have it. But the ranks of heavenly bodiless and good people do not at all tolerate harming any of their own kind of slaves, and even though he was very vicious, they regret him more and pray to God for him, as the Great Athanasius says. Evil people and their teachers of wickedness - demons - want, but are by no means able to harm anyone, unless the person himself gives a reason for God to abandon him for evil deeds; and the all-good God does this for his teaching and salvation; if the person himself wants to correct his bad deeds with patience and thanksgiving; if not so, then it is for the benefit of another, for the all-good God wants everyone to be saved. Temptations of righteous and holy people occur according to the favor of God, for the improvement of their souls and the shame of their enemies - demons. Recognizing this, the doer of Christ’s Divine commandments no longer simply believes that Christ is God and has power; The demons saw this in practice and trembled, but - that everything is possible for Him, and all His will is good, and without Him no good can happen. And therefore such a person does not want to do anything against the Divine will, even if it were life. However, it is impossible to find the latter, but the will of God is eternal life and completely good, although it seems to some that it is regrettable to cultivate such a life. That is why I, poor man, am worse than an infidel, because I do not want to work in order to find great faith and through it come into the fear of God and the beginning of the wisdom of the Spirit; but sometimes I arbitrarily close the eyes of my soul and break the law, and sometimes I am darkened by oblivion and fall into complete ignorance, and from here, not understanding what is beneficial to my soul and having acquired a bad habit, I am in the habit of evil. So even if I want to return to where I fell from, I cannot, because my will becomes a barrier separating me from God, as the fathers say, and I do not want to work to destroy this barrier. If I had faith, which comes from works of repentance, then I could say: “By my God I will cross the wall” (Ps. 17:30), and I would not be afraid, out of doubt, saying to myself: what will meet me when I rush to cross the height of the wall? is there an abyss there? How can I, if I don’t have time to go up, not fall and return down again after labors, and much more like that. But he who has faith that God is close and not far away never thinks like that, but immediately resorts to God, who has all the power and authority, and all the goodness and love for mankind, “not like the rushing air” (1 Cor. 9:26), but as one who floats seeks to receive the highest good. And leaving all his will behind, he strives for the Divine will until he also hears new languages ​​or speaks the same way himself, learning the sacraments. And from the power of the deed he accomplishes, or rather receives, his ascension into the power of knowledge, grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom belongs all glory, honor and power forever. Amen. Word 3 5 – About the fear (of the Lord), introductory and perfect Gluttony is the first of the eight main passions. Divine fear and the first commandment overthrows them all; he who does not have it cannot have any other good. For how can one who is not afraid keep the commandment? unless he achieved such love. However, this one also began with fear, although perhaps he does not know how the initial fear left him. If someone says that he came to love in a different way, then he was captivated either by spiritual joy or by insensibility, like those transported across a river in a dream, according to the word of Saint Ephraim 6; for such a one, horrified by the many blessings of God, which he has received through grace, loves the Benefactor. If someone, living insensitively in voluptuousness and glory, like that (evangelical) rich man, thinks that those who are oppressed by fear and spend their lives amidst temptations endure this for sins, and rises above them, out of pride, considering himself worthy of such peace of mind, which he received, being unworthy of it, then he, making himself unworthy of the future life, is darkened by reckless love for the temporal. Perhaps he thinks that he has achieved love and therefore receives more benefits, not understanding God’s condescension towards him; but such an one will be even more unresponsible at the trial and will rightly hear: “Thou hast received thy goodness in thy belly” (Luke 16:25). This is obvious, because many of the unbelievers, thus, receive benefits undeservedly; but none of the sensible people considers them blessed and does not say that they are worthy of being loved by God and love God and, perhaps, because they prosper in life. And so it is. The fear of the Lord is twofold, like faith - introductory, and perfect, coming from introductory. For he who fears torment fears like a slave, and turns away from evil, (according to what has been said): “By the fear of the Lord everyone turns away from evil,” and: “I will teach you the fear of the Lord” (Prov. 15:27; Ps. 33:12). So, this and similar things are said about introductory fear, according to the word of Saint Dorotheus, so that out of fear of threats we, sinners, would come to repentance, seeking how we might receive forgiveness of our sins. And again, constantly abiding in us, fear teaches us the way to life, according to what was said: “turn away from evil and do good” (Ps. 33:15). And as much as a person strives for good, fear grows in him, so that even his slightest sins are pointed out to him, which he (before), being in the darkness of ignorance, considered as nothing. When fear is perfected, a person also comes to perfection, through crying, and no longer wants to sin, but, fearing the return of passions, remains unharmed in pure fear. “The fear of the Lord,” it is said, “is pure, and endures forever” (Ps. 18:10). Because the first fear is not pure, but comes more from sins; now, without sins, he who has been purified fears, not as a sinner, but as a person subject to change and prone to evil. And to the extent that he rises by acquiring virtues, he fears like a humble man. And fair enough. For everyone who has wealth greatly fears loss, torment and dishonor, and - after exaltation - fall. But the poor man for the most part remains without fear and is afraid only so as not to be beaten. This is said about those who are very perfect and pure in soul and body; If anyone still sins, even the smallest and most insignificant sins, then let him not be deceived. Such people have been deceived, says Climacus, for such fear is not pure and is not humility, but slavish prudence and fear of threats. Such a person needs to correct his thoughts in order to know in what fear he is, and we cry a lot, in the patience of sorrows, to cleanse his sins; In this way, by the grace of Christ, he will have time to come into complete fear. The sign of the first fear is that a person hates sin and is angry at it, as if wounded by a beast, and the perfect one is love for virtue and fear of change, for there is no person who is not subject to change. That is why, in every matter in this life, we must always fear a fall, seeing that the great prophet and king mourned two sins and Solomon deviated into such evil; and as the apostle says: “Be careful to stand, lest you fall” (1 Cor. 10:12). If anyone says that love “casts out fear,” according to the saying of the Theologian (1 John 4:18), then he speaks rightly, but fear is first and introductory. David says about perfect fear: “Blessed is the man, fear the Lord; he will greatly delight in His commandments” (Ps. 111:1), that is, he will “zealously” love virtue. Such a one is in the rank of a son, for he does this not out of fear of torment, but out of love, which casts out fear. That is why he “rejoices greatly,” not as a slave, out of necessity, fulfilling the commandments, for fear of torment, from which may we also be delivered by the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ. To him is due all glory, honor and worship forever. Amen. Word 4 7 – About piety It is clear that piety is the name of the many-sided and diverse, just like external wisdom. For just as we call the combined study of ten sciences philosophy, and not one or two sciences we appropriate this name, based on the totality of ten sciences, so piety (ευσέβεια) is not the name of one virtue, but the name of all the commandments, from (the word) “to be pious” (ευσεβεῖν), that is, to serve well. If anyone says that the word “piety” refers to faith, being derived from “good” and “honor” (σέβεσφαι), then let him tell us how a person first fears the Lord, and then already believes, and not, rather, first believes the Lord, and then fears Him. For from faith comes fear and from fear piety, according to the word of the prophet, who first spoke about wisdom, and then, descending, says: “the spirit of knowledge and godliness, the spirit of the fear of God” (Is. 11: 2,3). And the Lord, who began with fear, leads to tears. But now is not the time to talk in order about all piety, that is, all spiritual work. And therefore, leaving aside bodily acts performed before great faith and pure fear, as known to everyone, briefly, with the assistance of grace, let’s talk about the growths of mental paradise, that is, spiritual virtues. These include comprehensive abstinence, that is, removal, I say, from all passions; for there is another private abstinence in bodily activities. But this latter teaches the use of food and drink, otherwise it restrains every thought and every movement of the members that is displeasing to God, which is called abstinence of the passions. It does not at all tolerate a thought, or a word, or a movement of an arm, or a leg, or any other member of the body, except for the necessary use of them, that is, in order to live the body and save the soul. From here the temptations of demons multiply, who see an angel in the flesh, according to zeal and doing good. And this is (said) “to do and to keep” (Gen. 2:15), for it is a perfect work and requires constant preservation, so that any of the extraneous passions do not creep in or enter. Two abstinences and two chastities are not the same, but one restrains fornication and shameful passions, and the other gathers the subtlest, sinless thought to itself and leads it to God. Therefore, it is impossible to express it exactly in words, or to know it only by hearing, but through experience a person comes to do and know each of these, which are very terrifying to the mind. And how can the simple name (of virtues) alone exalt the dust and make the material immaterial? The names of other things are also comprehended by external learning, based on the production of words, and the experimental knowledge of virtues and their acquisition require the help of God and are gained through much labor and time; especially in spiritual virtues, because they are the most hidden and are the essence of virtues. Corporal virtues, or more precisely, the instruments of virtues, are easier, although they require physical labor, and spiritual ones, although they require only mental attention, are not easily acquired. That is why the law, firstly, says: “take heed to yourself” (Deut. 15:9). The Great Basil wrote a wonderful word about this saying. And we, who are completely inattentive to ourselves, what can we say? We become like the Pharisees; Some of us may have fasts, vigils and the like, and often with some knowledge, but we do not have reasoning, because we do not want to be attentive to ourselves and know what we are looking for. No one (of us) wants to remain attentive to thoughts in order to gain experience from many battles and temptations and become, perhaps, for others a skilled navigator, if not a helmsman. But as you can see, being blind, following the example of the Pharisees, we say that we see. “For this reason,” it is said, “the excess will receive condemnation” (Matthew 23:14). If we were blind, we would not have condemnation (John 9:41), but prudence and confession of our weakness and foolishness would be enough for us. But alas for me! For this reason, we will fall under greater condemnation, like the Greeks, according to the word of Solomon, that having imagined so much, they lost what they were looking for. So, shall we remain silent as if we have nothing to do? But it will be even worse. For it is said: “Better reprove. The one who happens to be otai” ... “it is shameful to eat and speak” (Eph. 5:11–12). Therefore, I will keep silent about the latter, but I will begin to talk about the most wonderful virtues; for my darkened heart delights in the memory of them and their sweetness; That’s why I forget my measure and neglect the condemnation that awaits me for what I say but do not do. So, abstinence and chastity have the same power and are of two kinds, as has been said, but now we will talk about the most perfect. Whoever, by the grace of God, has great faith in knowledge and pure Divine fear and wishes through them to acquire abstinence and chastity, must completely control himself internally and externally and be as if dead in body and soul, in relation to this world and people; always saying to your thoughts: who am I? and what is my composition, if not an abomination? Initially 8 is earth, later is corruption, and in the middle is every shame. And again 9. What is my life and how long will it last? One hour and death! Why should I care about this or that? I could die now. Life and death are in the power of Christ, and what am I worrying about and arguing about in vain. A little bread is needed, but what is the excess for? If I have what is necessary, let all worry cease; if not, then I will take care of this alone, due to the imperfection, perhaps, of my knowledge, although there is a providential God. And so a person must take every possible care to preserve his feelings and thoughts, so as not to affirm or do anything that he considers displeasing to God. And let him prepare himself for the patience of what befalls him from demons or from people - sweet and sorrowful, so as not to be afraid of either one or the other, and not to come into unreasonable joy and conceit or into sadness and despair, and not have at all boldness in his thoughts until the Lord comes, to whom be glory forever. Amen. The Lord said: “He who endures to the end will be saved” (Matthew 10:22). Patience strengthens all virtues. And not a single one of the virtues can stand without it, for everyone who turns back “is not ruled in the Kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). If someone thinks that he is involved in all the virtues, but does not “endure to the end,” then he will not escape the snares of the devil and will not be “guided” to achieve the Kingdom of Heaven. For even those who have already received betrothal (eternal life) here need patience in order to receive the perfect reward for their feat in the future. In all art and in all knowledge, patience is necessary. And fair enough; because without it even the most external affairs are not accomplished; but even if any of them happened, then patience is needed in order for what happened to be preserved. And it’s simple to say: every deed, before it is accomplished, is accomplished with patience, and what is perfect is preserved through patience, and without it cannot stand, and does not receive an end. For if this deed is good, patience is its giver and preserver; if it is bad, patience gives (in him) peace and generosity and does not allow the tempted one to languish with cowardice, betrothal to Gehenna. He tends to kill the despair that kills the soul. It teaches the soul to console itself and not to lose heart from many battles and sorrows. Judas, who evaded him, as inexperienced in battle, found himself a double death. The Apostle Peter, who adopted it for himself, being experienced in battle, defeated the devil who overthrew him in his very fall. Having mastered patience, that monk, who had once fallen into fornication, defeated the one who defeated him, because he did not listen to the thoughts of despair that forced him to leave his cell and the desert, but with patience he said to his thoughts: I have not sinned, and again I say to you: I have not sinned. O divine prudence and patience of a valiant man! Patience perfected blessed Job and his first good deeds. For if the righteous had deviated a little from it, he would have lost everything he had before; but He who knew his patience allowed the disaster to improve him and benefit many. He who knows the benefits of patience first of all tries to acquire it, according to the words of the Great Basil, who says: do not suddenly arm yourself for all passions; perhaps you will not succeed and will turn back “and will not be ruled in the Kingdom of God” (cf. Luke 9:62); but fight each passion separately, starting with patience with what befalls you. And truly so. For if someone does not have patience, then he can never withstand a visible war, and not only himself, but also others cause flight and destruction by his evasion. According to the word that God said to Moses: “let not the fearful go out to battle,” and so on. (cf. Deut.20:8). But during a visible war, another may remain inside the house and, perhaps, does not go out to war; although through this he will lose his gifts and crowns, and may remain in poverty and dishonor. In mental warfare it is impossible to find places where it does not exist; Even if someone has traversed all of creation, wherever he goes, he will always encounter warfare. In the desert there are animals and demons and other misfortunes and monsters. In silence are demons and temptations. Among people there are demons and people who tempt. And nowhere is there a place without trials 11, therefore without patience it is impossible to find peace. Patience comes from fear and faith and begins with prudence. A prudent person examines matters according to his mind, and, finding them difficult, as Susanna said, chooses the best, just as she did. For this blessed woman cried out to God: “I am crowded from everywhere”; if I fulfill the desire of the lawless elders, my soul will perish for adultery, but if I disobey them, they will slander me for adultery and, as judges of the people, they will condemn me to death; but it is better for me to resort to the Almighty, although death awaits (Dan. 13:22–23). Oh, what was the prudence of this blessed one! Reasoning this way, she was not mistaken in her hope. But as soon as the people gathered, and the lawless judges sat down to slander her and condemn the innocent woman to death as an adulterer, immediately twelve-year-old Daniel appeared as a prophet from God and delivered her from death, turning death on the elders who wanted to condemn her lawlessly. By the example of Susanna, God showed that He is close to those who are willing to endure temptation for His sake and do not want to abandon virtue out of negligence because of sorrow, but prefer the law of God, and in the patience of what befalls them, they rejoice in the hope of salvation. And fair enough. If two disasters lie ahead: one temporary and the other eternal, then isn’t it better to choose the first? That is why Saint Isaac says: it is better to endure disasters out of love for God and to resort to Him, in the hope of eternal life, than, through fear of temptation, for someone to fall away from God, fall into the hands of the devil and go with him into torment (James 1:2; 2 Cor.8:2). Therefore, it would be good if someone, like the saints, rejoiced in temptation, as a lover of God; if we are not like that, then we will choose at least the easy one, for the sake of the present necessity. For we need to either suffer here physically and reign mentally with Christ, in the present age, for the sake of dispassion, and then in the future; or fall away through fear of temptation, as was said, and go into eternal torment, from which may God deliver us through enduring disasters here. Patience is like a stone, standing motionless against the winds and waves of life, and whoever reaches it does not faint during the flood and does not return back; but, finding peace and joy, he is not carried away by conceit, but always remains the same, both in prosperity and in misfortune; That’s why he remains unharmed from the enemy’s snares. When he encounters a storm, he endures it with joy, awaiting the end; when the weather is calm, he awaits temptation until his last breath, according to the word of the Great Anthony. Such a person learns that in this life nothing is permanent, but everything passes, and therefore he does not care at all about anything earthly, but leaves everything to God, for He cares about us. To him belongs all glory, honor and power forever. Amen. Word 6 12 – About hope (of the future) Hope, alien to care, is life and wealth, invisible by feeling, but confirmed by prudence and the essence of deeds. For farmers also work, sowing and planting; and sailors also suffer many disasters, and children learn reading and other sciences; but they all have hope in mind, and therefore they work with joy, and apparently they lose ready-made things, but mentally they endure in order to gain more. Often they also have the disadvantage of what they intend to sow. But perhaps someone will say: from experience they learn that they receive an acquisition, but in the mind (not so); no one rose from the dead to teach us. This comes from inexperience in spiritual gifts and knowledge; and not a miracle; for those who are inexperienced even in the previously mentioned are afraid until they experience it. And children, not understanding the benefits of learning to read and write and other sciences, run away from them, but parents, feeling this benefit, like children who love them, forcibly force them, and over time, when the children gain experience, they begin not only to love science and those who force them, but they themselves joyfully endure everything for the knowledge that they have achieved. Therefore, we must first walk with faith and patience and not weaken in sorrow; then, over time, we will learn the benefits of what we do. And so, with joy and cheerfulness, let us do what is due without difficulty. “We walk by faith,” says the apostle, “and not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7). But just as it is impossible for anyone involved in this trade to immediately make a profit, so it is impossible for anyone to acquire knowledge and peace before he has worked in virtue in deed and word. And just as those (traders) are always afraid of loss and hope for profit, so here it must be until the last breath. And just as the first not only do their job when they receive a profit, but also do it again after loss and disaster, so the second should do, knowing that the idle does not eat from his labors, which is why he is poor, and often owes, perhaps, many talents. That is why the prophet says: “You have given me hope” (Ps. 4:9), and the apostle said: “Through hope we have received perfection” (cf. Heb. 6:11,18). We have said this briefly, based on the nature of things and Divine Scripture; if anyone wants to find out by experience, let him, according to his strength, go through seven bodily activities 13 without having fun, just like in school, and try to do moral, that is, spiritual activity; Having achieved hope through this and remaining in it, he will receive exact knowledge of what was said and that at the beginning of repentance, when he began seven works from the first, that is, silence, there was already a reward of hope and a ready acquisition before he worked in the other six, that is, fasting, vigil, etc.; but as soon as he began to strive in the first purification of the soul - silence, an acquisition was immediately prepared, but being an inexperienced student, he did not then know the grace of the Master, just as a child did not know the benefit from his parents, although before birth, by choice, they were already his benefactors, wanting him not only to be born and alive, but also to inherit after them what they had prepared for him and would still acquire with difficulty. But the child, not understanding this, does not care about anything at all, considers it a burden to obey his parents, and if there were no need for food and nature did not force him, then he would not behave prudently. The one who wants to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven and does not tolerate the tribulations that befall him turns out to be even more unreasonable. For he was created by grace, received everything that exists and hopes for the future, eternal co-reign with Christ, who has honored him, meaning nothing, with so many and such gifts, sensory and mental, so that Christ deigned to shed His most precious blood for him, and does not require anything from him, except that he have the will to accept His blessings, and nothing more. This is His only requirement. Anyone who has learned this is horrified. What does God require of you, he says? Oh madness! How can we, seeing, not see His terrible mysteries? And the very fact that God reveals Himself to seek from us (this desire) is the greatest gift for us. How do we not understand that the best of all is the one who strives for virtue and stands above all and rises above all, even if he is poor and rootless. Don’t we see prophets, apostles, and martyrs in this century and doubt about the future? Let us consider their biographies, what they did, and where, as they say, they received grace and strength, and not only (during life), but also after death they perform miracles. We see that kings and the rich worship their holy icons. We see that the virtuous even in this century live with complete gratitude in spiritual joy and virtue, and the rich are indignant 14 and are subject to temptations more than the ascetics and the non-covetous. Therefore, we hope that virtue truly is the best of all. If this is not so, then let us consider why infidels, perhaps even those who do not know God, praise virtue, although to them a virtuous person seems to be a virtuous person; but virtue also shames the enemy. If we believe that virtue is good, then God, who created virtue and gave it to people, is also good in every way; and if he is good, then he is righteous in every way, for righteousness is a virtue, and therefore good. If God is good and righteous, then everything that He has created and is still creating, He does out of goodness, although this is not clear to the evil ones; for nothing usually darkens a thought 15 more than deceit. God appears in simplicity and humility, not in labor 16. He appears not as some people think due to their inexperience, but by knowledge (contemplation) of what exists, that is, of His creations and the revelation of the sacraments in the Divine Scriptures. Such is the retribution of silence and other deeds in the present age, and in the future - “which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has the heart of man sighed, what God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Cor. 2:9) and those who reject their wishes with patience and hope for future benefits, for which we also pray - to receive them by the grace and love of mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ. To him belongs all glory, honor and power forever. Amen. Word 7 17 – About impartiality Dispassion comes from hope, for he who hopes to receive eternal wealth in another place easily despises what is at hand, even if temporary life represents all peace, and if this life is still regrettable and painful, then who will force a reasonable person to prefer it to the love of God, Who gives both this life and that to those who love Him; unless that person is blind and cannot see at all, due to unbelief, bad will and habit of evil. If he had believed, he would have been enlightened; and, having received through firm faith a small light of knowledge, he would strive to free himself from his worst habit. And if he had put it this way in his soul, then grace would have assisted him and labored with him. But that is why the Lord says: “there are few who are saved” (Luke 13:23), because what is visible seems sweet to us, although it is bitter. And a dog, when licking its wound 18, does not feel sick from the sweetness, that it is drinking its own blood. And a glutton, when he eats something that is harmful to his soul and body, does not feel the harm he is doing to himself. And all those who are servile to passions also suffer, out of insensibility, and if sometimes they rebel, then they are again carried away by habit (to passions); That’s why the Lord says: “The Kingdom of Heaven is in need” (Matthew 11:12), not according to the order of nature, but according to our skill in the passions. If it were like this by nature, then no one would enter it; but to those who have the will, the “yoke” of the Lord is “good and the burden is light” (Matthew 11:30), and to those who do not will, “the gate is hard and the way is hard, and the kingdom is in need” (cf. Luke 13:24). For the first, it “is inside” and near them, because they desire it, and soon achieve dispassion. For the will helps us or prevents us from being saved, and nothing else. If you wish for something good, fulfill it; if you can’t, desire it, and now you already have it, although you don’t have it. So little by little a habit forms and in itself does either good or bad. If it were not so, then not a single robber would have been saved; and not only one, but many of the robbers beamed. Look how great the distance is between the robber and the saint, but habit did not overcome it, but will won. And who, by the grace of Christ, is reverent or a monk, what prevents him from becoming like them? Those are far away, but this one is close, and has already passed most of the journey, by grace, or naturally, or by inheriting piety and reverence from his parents. Isn’t it strange when robbers and those who dig up coffins are saints, and monks are condemned! But alas for me, poor one! “The coldness of my face covered me” (Ps. 43:16). Kings indulge in poverty, like Joasaph and others, and a beggar cannot adhere to his former custom and easily enter the Kingdom of Heaven with impartiality to things that he did not receive and inherited from his parents. But when he said: “I renounce” even that which I did not have (for the world and what is in the world, another holds in his power, and this one only wanted power), when he renounced this too, then he becomes covetous and says: I cannot be non-covetous and endure what befalls me. But what to endure, tell me? Are they the prisons and fetters that you had before? If you were a boss, then both bosses and the rich tolerate this. So what? lack of necessities, nakedness and other burdens that you had (and before). But so that, speaking in detail, I do not continue the words and disgrace those full of shame (I will only say: it is enough for us that we have an addiction to any of the visible things, the desire of which we have renounced, and this is for shame and reproof in the future, like Gehazi and Judah. One of them desired what he did not have, and for this, along with the fall, he received leprosy from God, and the other, having renounced what he had, again desired it, through which he received as an inheritance death along with strangulation. What is the advantage of a monk if not maintaining virginity and non-covetousness? Other commandments, as consistent with nature, must be fulfilled by all people. For each of us must love God and our neighbor, endure what befalls us, use things according to nature and avoid evil deeds, even if we do not want to; and without preserving this, peace cannot be found in the present age. Because the laws punish those who sin, and the rulers force them to practice virtue, according to the words of the apostle: “not in vain,” he says, “he bears the sword.” And again: “Do you want not to be afraid of power? Do good, and you will have praise from him” (Rom. 13:4,3). And this is all natural, not only does everyone do it, and everyone desires it, but they also protect it with justice. And the lot of a monk is that which is above nature. He is a warrior of Christ, therefore he must taste His suffering in order to receive His glory. And this is also a natural law, confirmed by sensory deeds. Aren't the king's soldiers glorified because they suffer with the king? Is it not that in proportion as each one suffers, he also receives praise here? and to the extent that it turns out to be indecent, the extent to which it is subject to dishonor. Is it not that to the extent that someone wears clothes similar to the king’s, he is closest to him, and to the extent that he wears dissimilar clothes, he turns out to be alien to the king? This is how we should look at those around our King. To the extent that anyone sympathizes and imitates Christ in His poverty, tasting His sufferings and reproaches, which He endured for our sakes, before crucifixion and burial, to that extent one becomes close to Him and a partaker of His glory, according to the word of the Apostle, who says: “If we suffer with Him, we will also be glorified with Him” (Rom. 8:17). Alas! How we do not understand how much soldiers and robbers endure and how they work for bread alone; how much travelers and seafarers wander, and how much labor all people endure without hope for the Kingdom of Heaven, and often without achieving the goal for which they work. For the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven and eternal blessings, we do not want to suffer even a little. Perhaps this would not be so difficult for us if our will inclined towards this and did not consider the acquisition of virtues painful and unbearable, but rather joy and tranquility, for the sake of hope, carelessness and honor, involuntarily following virtue. (For the enemy is ashamed of her and is surprised by her.) The end of her joy and joy, and not only this, but impartiality in itself has a joy connected with it, just as material life, in shameful passions, contains sadness, from which (carnal life) may we be delivered and may we achieve immaterial and eternal life through impartiality, which gives rise to the mortification of the body in Christ Jesus our Lord. To him is due all glory, honor and worship forever. Amen. Word 8 19 – On the mortification of passions He who is impartial always listens to God with knowledge. For impartiality towards the sensory stimulates the knowledge of the mental. By knowledge (I mean) here not (contemplation) of what exists 20 , but of the terrible thing that happens at death and after death, about which an impartial person is taught by grace, we cry for the mortification of passions, so that over time he comes to meekness of thoughts. For from faith comes fear, and from fear piety, that is, abstinence, patience, weeping, meekness, hunger and thirst for righteousness, that is, all virtues, almsgiving, according to the beatitudes of the Lord, impartiality, and from it the mortification of the body, from many groans and bitter tears of repentance and sorrow, through which the soul rejects the joy of the world and the very food of contrition; because he begins to see his sins like the sand of the sea, and this is the beginning of the enlightenment of the soul and a sign of its health. What may happen before this, perhaps, are tears and supposedly divine thoughts, tenderness and the like, the essence of mockery and the secret cunning of demons, especially for those living among people or in care (about vain things), even if it was very small. For it is impossible for one devoted to anything sensual to overcome passions. If anyone points out to the ancient (holy) men that they had both, then let him know that they had, but did not use anything out of passion. This is evident from the fact that they took wives and married them after many years, as stated in the Old Testament about the genealogy of people (Gen. 5); so that “those who have” (wives) “were as if they had not” (1 Cor. 7:29). This can also be seen from (the example of) Job and other righteous people; and not only this, but David was a king and a prophet, and Solomon also until some time 21, and he said: “God has given evil care to the sons of men, so that they may practice vain things” (Eccl. 1:13), lest they stray into worse things. The nature of things teaches us this; for if, even with many worries, some find a convenient time to do illegal things, then how many times more would this be if our life were free from worries. That is why such a person needs to be concerned; for it is better for him to have “evil care” and be idle from Divine works and understandings, than to do other “evil things”, much worse than this. And whoever, by the grace of God, has achieved (at least) partial knowledge and can understand the terrible things that happen before death and after death, which disobedience has inflicted on us, should not abandon these thoughts and the deeds that bring them, complete silence and a carefree life, and worry about vain things. “For vanity is vanity and all kinds of vanity” (Eccl. 1:2). Taking this as an excuse, Damascus said: “Truly all is vanity, and life is only a shadow and a dream, for every man is troubled in vain, as the Scripture says (Ps. 39:7).” And indeed: what is more vain than the end of which is decay and dust? Therefore, impartiality is mortification, not of the mind, but of the body, that is, its first movements towards intemperance and peace. For the desire for peace, even if very small, is the will of the flesh. But the soul is more likely to grieve about this if it only sees in itself any spiritual activity or knowledge; if she is flesh, then “the Spirit of God cannot abide” in her (Gen. 6:3). That is why she does not try for any good deed, but strives to fulfill the wishes of the body and the passions living in her and, becoming more and more darkened, always voluntarily stagnates in complete ignorance. He who is enlightened, in order to see his sins, does not cease to weep for himself and for all people, seeing such patience of God and such sins that we, pitiful ones, have done from the beginning and before 22 and always do; and through this he becomes prudent and does not at all dare to condemn anyone, being ashamed of the many blessings of God and his sins. Hence, he joyfully leaves such a desire of his, displeasing to God, and takes care of his feelings so that they do not do anything beyond the necessary needs, according to the word of the prophet: “Lord, my heart is not lifted up, my eyes are lifted up lower” (Ps. 130:1). But one must be careful so that, having reached such a height, a person somehow, from negligence or pride, does not suffer the same thing that he (David) suffered; for perhaps he will not have time to repent, as he (David) repented. Because sin is close and very righteous, but repentance is not convenient for everyone, given the proximity of death and despair before it. So, it is good not to fall, or to fall and rise; if you happen to fall, it is good not to despair and not to alienate yourself from the Lord’s love for mankind. For He who wants (to be saved for all) can show mercy to our weakness, but let us not move away from Him, let us not be burdened by the compulsion to fulfill His commandments, and, not being able to reach (the heights of) them, let us not give in to exhaustion, but let us know that before the Lord “one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like one day” (2 Pet. 3:8). Let us not be too zealous, let us not weaken, but always make a beginning. If you have fallen, rise. And you fell again - rise up; just do not leave the Doctor, so that through despair you do not fall into condemnation, the worst - suicide. But stay with Him, and He will show you mercy either by conversion, or by temptations, or by other actions of Providence, without your knowledge. For the devil has the custom of placing on the soul what he finds it ready for: either joy and conceit, or sadness and despair, or excessive work or complete laziness, or untimely and unnecessary deeds and thoughts, or darkness and reckless hatred of everything that exists. And it’s simple: whatever substance he finds in each soul, he places it on it, so that it does not become useful to it. Although this may be good and pleasing to God (a deed), but if it is directed by people who can judge things and comprehend the intention of God hidden among the six passions surrounding him: that which is above and below him, on his right and left sides, outside and inside him. For whether it be a deed according to God or knowledge, his good intention is always surrounded by six nasty passions. Therefore, in every matter, a person must ask (for advice), according to the word of Saint Anthony; but ask not everyone, but those who have the gift of reasoning, so as not to both fall into a pit due to inexperience, according to the Gospel parable (Luke 6:39). Because without reasoning, nothing is good, although it seems very good to those who do not know, or because it is not in a timely manner, or beyond the need, or beyond the measure of a thing, or the strength of a person’s strength, or his knowledge, and much more. He who has the gift of reasoning received it through humility and therefore knows everything by grace and comes into consideration over time 23. And so from crying and patience are born hope and impartiality, from which comes self-mortification to the world. And if a person remains patient, not despairing because he sees oppression and death everywhere, but recognizing that this is a test for him and (a source of) enlightenment, and is not daring, as if he has already reached the measure of (spiritual age), then, through many tears and sorrows, he comes into the state of clearly seeing the holy sufferings of the Lord and is greatly consoled by them and considers himself truly lower than everyone, seeing that so many good things are being poured out upon him from the grace of God. To God be glory and power forever and ever. Amen. Word 9 24 – About the honest sufferings 25 of Christ So that anyone, because of his exploits and many groans and tears, does not think that he is doing a great deed, he is given the knowledge of the sufferings of Christ and all the saints. Looking at them, he is amazed with surprise and, together, crushes himself in his exploits. For he recognizes his weakness from seeing so many temptations, which are countless, and how the saints endured so much with joy and how much the Lord suffered for our sake. At the same time, he receives enlightenment to the knowledge of what the Lord has done and said. And, considering everything that is said in the Gospel, sometimes he begins to weep bitterly from sorrow, sometimes he rejoices spiritually from thanksgiving, not because he thinks of having good deeds, that would be conceit, but because, being very sinful, he was worthy of such knowledge; and is more humble in deed and word, the seven works mentioned 26 and moral, that is, spiritual work and keeping the five senses and commandments of the Lord. And he does not consider this to be good deeds worthy of reward, but, on the contrary, a duty, and in no way hopes to get rid of the debt, due to the greatness of the knowledge given to him. And he becomes, as it were, captivated by the understanding of the words that he reads and sings, and from their sweetness he often, involuntarily, forgets his sins and begins to joyfully shed tears, sweet as honey. And again, fearing seduction, lest it be untimely, he restrains himself and, remembering his former life, again weeps bitterly, and so he goes (forward) in the midst of these and other tears. (But all this happens) if he listens to himself, and in everything consults with someone experienced, and prostrates himself before God with pure prayer, befitting one going through an active life, distracting his mind from everything that he has heard and seen, and collecting it in the remembrance of God, and seeking only that the will of God be accomplished in all his undertakings and understandings. If not, then he will be deceived, thinking 27 that he will see the appearance of one of the holy Angels or Christ, not understanding that whoever wants to see Christ should not look for Him outside, but within himself, by imitation of His life in the world, and in order to become sinless in body and soul, like Christ, and always have a mind that thinks according to Christ 28 . And imagining any image, sight or thought to yourself during prayer is not only not good, but, on the contrary, very harmful. The mind must be in the place of God, as St. Neil explains, citing the saying of the psalm: “and it was,” he says, “His place is in the world” (Ps. 75:3). Peace consists in not having any good or bad thoughts. Because, says Saint Nile, if the mind feels itself, then it is no longer in God alone, but also in itself. And truly so. For the Divinity is indescribable, infinite, without image or form, and he who says that his mind is with one God must also have a mind that is formless, without outline, unformable and unentertainable. And what is outside of this is demonic seduction. Therefore, we must be attentive and not affirm any thoughts, either good or bad, without asking experienced ones, for we do not know either one or the other. Demons transform themselves into whatever they want and that is how they appear to us; just as the human mind itself is transformed into what it wants and is outlined according to the type of object it perceives; but the demons do this in order to seduce us, and our mind wanders unreasonably, striving to achieve perfection. However, as far as anyone can, he should enclose his mind in some kind of teaching about God. For just as there are seven bodily activities, so there are eight knowledges of the mind, that is, knowledge. Three of them precede the knowledge of the pure sufferings of the Lord, in which we must always learn within ourselves in order to cry for our souls and for those like ourselves, that is, to reflect on the disasters that have befallen us from the beginning of crime, and how our nature fell into such passions; reflect on your sins and temptations that may lead to correction. Then - about death and the horrors that await sinners after death, so that the soul is crushed and given over to crying, to its consolation and humility; so that she does not despair from these many and terrible thoughts, and again, so that a person does not think that he has managed to achieve spiritual things, but so that he remains in fear and hope, which is called meekness of thoughts, that is, accepting everything equally. Meekness leads the mind to knowledge and reasoning, according to the word of the prophet: “He will instruct the meek in judgment” (Ps. 24:9), more precisely, to reasoning, than the prophet means knowledge with piety. But just as piety is one name, but contains many actions, so knowledge is one name, but contains many (degrees) of knowledge and knowledge. For the beginning of bodily work is knowledge, and without knowledge no one begins to do good, and until the very end, that is, the adoption and rapture of the mind into heaven, knowledge and vision abide in Christ. But one is before labor, so that the work can be accomplished through it, like buildings are done with tools, and the other after faith, so that the work is protected by fear, like a wall. And again, the knowledge and practice of spiritual virtues are needed in order for the growth of paradise to be prepared and increased. After this, knowledge of the mind and spiritual work are again needed, that is, attention of the mind and the structure of the spiritual disposition, so that the worker skillfully works and keeps the commandments, from which there is care for the growth and the assistance of God: like the sun, rain, wind and increase (of fruits), without which all the work of the farmer is in vain, although, perhaps, it is done intelligently, for without an inclination from above, nothing good can be accomplished; but neither inclinations from above nor (help from) grace come to those without will, says the divine Chrysostom. But everything in this life is dual: doing and doing; will and grace; fear and hope; exploits and rewards. But the second does not happen until the first is completed, and if it perhaps seems like it, then this is deception. Just as if an inexperienced farmer, seeing a flower and considering it to be a fruit, would hasten to gather it, not knowing that he is destroying the real fruit by collecting an imaginary one, so it is here. Opinion does not allow things to be imaginary, says St. Neil. Therefore, everyone must remain with God and do everything with reasoning, and this comes from asking (experienced) people with humility and reproaching yourself and what you do and understand yourself. For “Satan is transformed into an angel of light” (2 Cor. 11:14). Therefore, it is not a miracle if the thoughts he puts in for the inexperienced seem to be understandings of truth. Humility, says Climacus, is the door of dispassion, and its foundation is meekness, according to the word of the Great Basil. For meekness means that a person always remains the same, both in unfortunate and prosperous deeds and thoughts, and does not care about honor or dishonor; but she accepts both pleasant and sorrowful things with joy and is not embarrassed, like that virgin about whom Saint Anthony spoke. “When I was sitting with an Abba, a certain virgin came and said to the elder: “Abba, I spend six days of six weeks in fasting and study the Old and New Testaments every day.” The elder answered her: “Has poverty become the same as abundance for you?” She said, "No." - “Dishonor – how is praise?” - She said: “No, Abba.” - “Enemies are like friends?” - She answered: “No.” Then that wise old man said to her: “Go and work, you have nothing.” And indeed. If she fasted so much that she ate once a week, and then only something from the simplest food, shouldn’t she have had poverty as abundance? And again, she studied the Old and New Testaments every day, but did not learn to humble herself? And having nothing at all in life, shouldn’t she have considered everyone friends? And with so much work she could not learn to have enemies as friends? And the elder told her so well: “You have nothing.” And I also add that such a person will be subject to greater condemnation, as Chrysostom says about the five holy fools, that in the most difficult they could strive, that is, in maintaining virginity, which is above nature, but in the easiest they could not, that is, in alms, which even the Greeks and infidels do to this day, as natural. But not knowing what she was looking for, (that virgin) worked in vain. “This is fitting,” says the Lord, “to do, and not to forsake them” (Matthew 23:23). Asceticism is good, but with the right intention. And we should consider it not a deed, but a preparation for a deed; and not by fruit, but by soil, which, with time, labor and the help of God, can produce plants from which fruit comes. This fruit is the purification of the mind and union with God, to whom be glory forever. Amen. Word 10 29 – On humility 30 A truly humble person never ceases to reproach himself, even if the whole world attacks him and dishonors him; in order not only to be saved involuntarily, as those who have patience, but also to voluntarily hasten to the sufferings of Christ; for such a one has learned from them the greatest of all virtues, in which the Holy Spirit dwells. She is the door of the kingdom, that is, dispassion. He who enters with it goes to God, and without her the work is in vain and the path is much sorrowful. It gives all peace to those who have it in their hearts; for Christ dwells in her. For her sake grace abides, and through her gifts are preserved. It is born from very many virtues, that is, from obedience, patience, non-covetousness, poverty, fear of God, knowledge and others, but the most important of them is reasoning, which enlightens the actions of the mind. However, let no one think that it is easy and how easy it is to become humble. This work is above nature, and no matter how great this gift is, it requires almost as much work, and prudence, and patience against the temptations and demons that rise up against it, for it will bypass all their snares. Humility is born from knowledge, and knowledge is born from temptations. He who knows himself is given knowledge of everything; and to him who obeys God all things are obeyed, when humility reigns in his members. And truly so. For through many temptations and their patience a person becomes experienced and from this he learns his weakness and the power of God. And through the knowledge of his weakness and ignorance, knowing that he previously did not know much that he has now learned, he believes that, indeed, just as he did not know this and did not know that he does not know, so there are many other things that he will learn, perhaps later, according to the word of the Great Basil, who says: if someone does not experience a thing, he does not know what he is deprived of. He who has tasted knowledge partially knows that he does not know, and knowledge becomes to him an intercessor for humility. And again: he who knows himself that he is a creature prone to change does not at all exalt himself in anything; for if he has, perhaps, anything, then it belongs to the One who created him. No one praises any vessel because it has made itself well, but they praise the artist who made it, and when the vessel breaks, then they blame the culprit, not the artist. If the vessel is verbal, then by necessity it is autocratic. And so the Giver of all good things is the Creator as the Author of creation, and the cause of fall and change is the will of the autocratic. Just as the one who remains unchanged, by grace, receives both praise and reproach, he who accepts the serpent’s malice. For praise is not due to him who receives gifts, but to Him is praise and thanksgiving who gives them. By grace, perhaps, the one who receives gifts will be praised for his intention to receive what he did not have, but more so for his prudence in relation to the Benefactor; if not so, then he will not only be deprived of praise, but will also be condemned for his folly. No one dares to say so shamelessly that he did not receive the gift, but with cunning, stealing praise and boasting silently, he judges those who are not supposedly like him, as if 31 the wealth that he thinks he has, he acquired for himself, and did not receive by grace. If, perhaps, such a one thanks the Giver, but: like that Pharisee, he dreams and says to himself, “I thank Thee,” that I am such and such. Well said the Evangelist, or rather the Knower of the Heart, God is “in himself,” and not to God, he spoke. Although he thought that he was speaking to God with his lips, He who knew his arrogant soul did not say: “To God,” but: “Becoming,” he says, “the Pharisee spoke within himself” (Luke 18:11). And the fact that Scripture repeatedly repeats the same or similar sayings is not, says Chrysostom, identical words or verbosity, but this is so that the word is impressed in the hearts of those who hear. But the Psalmist, out of strong love, did not want to leave the words, like those who, having not tasted its sweetness, out of negligence trample on the very saying in order to get rid of its heaviness. When will such a person receive useful fruit from the Divine Scriptures? On the contrary, is it not only condemnation and darkness of mind when he himself opens the door to the demons attacking him, according to the word of the Lord: “If they do this in a harsh tree, what will happen to it?” (Luke 23:31). And: “Even if the righteous are barely saved, where will the wicked and sinful appear?” ( Proverbs 11:31 ). And if those whose whole mind is concentrated in the memory of God - immaterial and formless - are attacked by demons, and if God did not protect them for their humility, then their prayer could not ascend, but would return without success; What will we do, pathetic ones, who don’t even speak to the air with our lips, so that God would ever be merciful and condescend to our ignorance and our weakness, for the sake of our prudence? 32 Concerning the fact that even the perfect are attacked by demons, let us listen to what Saint Macarius says: no one is perfect here in the present age; for (otherwise) what is given here would not be a betrothal. And in confirmation of this he brings one brother who, praying with others, was suddenly caught up into heaven in his mind and saw the heavenly Jerusalem and the tabernacles of the saints, but having descended from there, he fell from virtue and reached complete destruction, because he imagined himself to have succeeded, and did not consider that he had an even greater debt, since he was worthy of such heights, being unworthy of it and dust by nature. And again the same Saint Macarius says: I know many, and from experience, and I have been in such a state (of perfection), but I know for sure that no one here is perfect; but even if he became completely immaterial and was almost united with God, sin still follows him and is never completely destroyed before death. And Saint Nile says about a certain old man that when he prayed, then, with God’s permission, for the benefit of himself and many others, the demons grabbed him by the arms and legs and threw him up, and so that his body would not be damaged, falling to the ground, they picked him up on the matting, and doing this for a long time, they could not take his mind out of heaven 33 . When would such a person taste food? or when will he need psalmody and reading? But we need them, due to the weakness of our mind, although in this way we do not want to be attentive. Alas! he who achieved such holiness was fought, but we do not care about the fight. The saints are protected from the snares of the devil by humility, but we are exalted out of foolishness. And truly, it is great folly to exalt someone with what he does not have. “What is it that you have received,” it is said, “what you did not receive” (1 Cor. 4:7), but as if you were doing it yourself. Abba Cassian said: humility is born from knowledge, but it itself gives rise to reasoning, from which consideration is born. The prophet calls this last “counsel” (Is. 11:2). It sees things according to their nature and, having achieved this, the mind, through the knowledge of God’s creatures, is mortified to the world. Glory to God forever. Amen. Word 11 34 – About reasoning It is very good to ask questions about everything, but it is dangerous for the experienced, and it is dangerous for the inexperienced, because they do not have reasoning. Reasoning knows the time, need, structure of man, his property, strength, knowledge of the questioner, his will, God's intention, the meaning of each saying of Divine Scripture and much more. He who lacks judgment may work hard, but does not achieve his goal. If there is a person who has reasoning, then he is a guide for the blind and a light for those in darkness, and we must turn to him in everything and accept everything from him, although, perhaps, due to our inexperience, we do not find what we want. However, the one who has reasoning is most likely to know that he can win over those who are unwilling and unwilling to accept what he says. For through him the Spirit acts, testing everything and performing Divine works, so that even an unwilling mind can be forced to believe, like Jonah 35, Zechariah and David, who was one of the thieves, whom the Angel forbade to speak, with the exception of only prayerful hymns. If, perhaps, now in this generation there are no reasoning, due to the impoverishment of the humility that gives birth to it, then we must pray for each undertaking with difficulty, 36 according to the word of the Apostle (Col. 4:2). Even if we do not have “venerable hands,” that is, purity of soul and body, then at least we will try not to have rancor and thoughts; for this is what the words of the Apostle mean: “lifting up holy hands without anger or reflection” (1 Tim. 2:8). And when we know something for a deed pleasing to God, we will do it dispassionately, and even if it were not entirely good, then, out of our bewilderment and for the intention of God, what we have done will be imputed to us as good from grace; if, however, this is not a passion, but in accordance with the will of God, as was said; and then out of necessity, for the sake of God’s goodness alone. And where there is one’s own will, and not God’s, there is exaltation, and God does not favor it and does not reveal His will there, so that a person, knowing it and not fulfilling it, would not fall under greater condemnation. Everything that God gives to us and withholds from us, He does everything for our benefit, although we, like children, do not understand this. Likewise, on a person who has not cleansed himself of passions through bodily and moral deeds, He does not send down His Holy Spirit, so that such a person, out of habit, does not again deviate towards passions and become guilty for the invasion of the Holy Spirit. But when someone spends a long time in ascetic endeavors and first cleanses the body from major and minor sins through action, and then the soul from every desire and every type of irritability and, through the habit of goodness, arranges his character so that he does nothing at all with his five senses, without the will of the mind, and according to the inner man does not indulge in anything like that, and the person will be submissive to himself, then God for the sake of dispassion He will subdue everything to him by the grace of the Holy Spirit. First, he must submit to the law of God and thus, as a reasonable person, he will subdue to himself what is in his power, so that the mind will reign, just as it was created in the beginning, as a wise, chaste, courageous and righteous kingdom. And sometimes he tames irritability with the softness of lust, and sometimes he restrains lust with the harshness of irritability, and the mind recognizes that it is an autocrat and acts with all members of the body, according to the commandment of God (Deut. 6:5), and is no longer robbed by oblivion and ignorance, as before. Then, from the “abolition” according to God, the mind becomes prudent and begins to envisage the networks prepared by the devil, hidden and secretly cunning; but he does not foresee the future, like the prophets, for it is above nature and is given (from God) for the common good. Consideration is natural, and when the mind is cleared, it appears from under the power of passions, as if from under the darkness in which it was previously hidden, but for the sake of humility, grace comes and opens the spiritual eye, which was blinded by the devil, and a person immediately begins to see things by nature and is no longer deceived by the external appearance of things, as before: for he looks impartially at gold, silver and precious stones and is not he is deceived, does not judge them biasedly, but like the holy fathers he knows that all this is from the earth, like other things of the world. He sees a person and knows that he will return from the earth and to the earth; and he doesn’t just think about it, because all people know the same thing from experience, but, being possessed of passions, they are partial to things. If someone, through exaltation, thinks that without the first labors and virtues he has achieved the ability to see things by nature, this is not surprising, because exaltation makes the blind consider themselves to be seeing and the foolish to boast in vain. If it were so easy to see things by nature, from mere reflection, then crying and the purification that results from it would be unnecessary, and not only this, but also various exploits, and humility, and grace from above, and dispassion. But this is not so; not like that! This is often more convenient for people who are simpler (at heart), whose mind is clear from the affairs of this world and from its evils; if it happens to be in obedience to an experienced and spiritual father; or, like the ancients, according to the dispensation of grace, before anyone understands “right hand or toil” (Prov. 4:27), as Solomon said. But for us, who from a young age have been working on our passions and have diligently learned almost every kind of evil and deceit, without God’s help, labor and time, it is impossible to get rid of so much evil and see things this way; but even then, in this case only if we love the acquisition of virtues, as we loved evil before, and we strive diligently for them. Although even at the same time, our efforts often do not bring any benefit, either because we do not endure temptations to the end, or because we do not know the path or intention, or because of laziness, or because of unbelief, and for many other reasons that are countless. If this is so, and we are still very far from the goal, then how dare we say that we have achieved ancient (original) beauty, unless we are deceived by self-indulgence and hidden destruction? For just as self-reproach is invisible success, because a person follows his path well and does not notice it, so conceit and self-indulgence are hidden destruction, because we go back with them and do not notice it. And truly so. In a vain soul, purified by grace, passions return. And the Lord says: “Whenever the unclean spirit goes out,” and so on. (Matthew 12:43). Why? Because the place from which he came has neither spiritual activity nor humility; that is why he comes with the addition of many other evils and lives there. Let him who understands understand. The Word (of God) does not want to convey everything to us clearly, and again, does not want to leave everything unclear, but (speaks) in a way that is useful to us. This is a great and good deed of God, says Chrysostom, that some places of Divine Scripture are very clear, and some are unclear; so that by some we are confirmed in faith and love and from much misunderstanding do not fall into unbelief and despondency, and by others we are stimulated to research and work, get rid of pride and acquire humility through what we cannot comprehend. And thus, from both, we received the fruit of humility and love for God, if we feel His gifts pouring out on us. So, the fifth knowledge, which we are now talking about and about which we affirm, is that a person can, as a result of (the gift of) reasoning, truly see sensory creations and thoughts, and not due to any deception not understand them (as he should), and do something inconsistent with the Divine intention, partiality or condescension to the thought; but even if death were imminent, one should not deviate from God’s intention either in word or in deed. This is said about the end of knowledge, because at the beginning of it (the aspirant) as a disciple, out of need, does not yet achieve the goal, and perhaps even in practice (sins), being overcome by habit. And sometimes, by God’s permission, he errs somewhat, but immediately returns with much humility; sometimes, out of conceit, it takes on the appearance of exaltation 38 . When this happens to him, he should know that grace, admonishing him, teaches him to humble himself and to know where he receives strength and knowledge, “let us not put our trust in ourselves,” it is said, “but in him who has built up,” and so on. (2 Cor. 1:9; 1 Pet. 4:11), which also happens here. For if the ascetic remains in patience, without becoming arrogant or turning away from virtue, then he is also raised from the mortification of the body and things to the knowledge of what exists, for, according to the word of the Apostle, by bodily works he is “crucified” (to Christ) bodily, and by spiritual works spiritually (Gal. 5:24); then he is buried by Him through the mortification of the senses and the knowledge of (everything) by nature and is resurrected mentally, for the sake of dispassion, in Christ Jesus our Lord. To him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen. Word 12 39 – On the management of sensory creations It is not useful for a mind that has not yet acquired mortification from passions to move on to the contemplation of sensory creations; if he strives for this and does not practice teaching the Divine Scriptures, knowledge and silence, then the person becomes more darkened by oblivion and little by little comes into ignorance; although, perhaps, he has already achieved mental knowledge, especially if he did not receive knowledge from grace, without noticing it himself, but from reading and experienced mentors about such sacraments. For just as land, if the farmer does not cultivate it, becomes overgrown with thorns, and especially if it is of good quality; Likewise, if the mind does not exercise in prayer and reading and does not have this as its (continuous) work, it becomes dull and does not notice it. And just as the earth, although it rains and the sun shines on it, does not benefit the farmer if he does not sow it and protect it, so the mind without moral action cannot have knowledge, although it may have received it from grace. But as soon as he, out of laziness, deviates a little towards passions, he is immediately deceived. If he turns his attention to self-conceit in any way, then grace leaves him. That is why the fathers, although due to old age and infirmity, often reduced physical activities, but never spiritual ones; for instead of bodily exploits they had bodily weakness, which can keep the damned flesh in order, but it is impossible to keep the soul sinless, so that the mind is enlightened, without moral activity. And the farmer often changes his tools, perhaps puts them aside, but he never leaves the land uncultivated, unsown and unplanted; Likewise, the fruit never leaves unguarded if it wants to use it. If someone “is a thief and a robber” and wants to enter through the wrong door, “but by turning elsewhere,” as the Lord says (John 10:1), the sheep, that is, the divine thoughts, will not listen to him, according to the word of the divine Maxim. “For the thief does not come unless he steals” by hearing “and kills” by allegory and, unable to comprehend the highest meaning of Scripture, “destroys” himself and his thoughts with his false knowledge, through conceit. And the shepherd “suffers ill” with his thoughts, according to the words of the apostle, “like a good soldier of Christ” (2 Tim. 2:3), through keeping the Divine commandments, and “enters through the narrow gate,” that is, with humility and the door of dispassion. Before he is rewarded with grace from above, he exercises himself and, through hearing, learns everything. And no matter how many times the wolf comes in the form of a sheep, he drives him away with self-reproach, saying: I don’t know who you are; God knows. If, perhaps, a thought comes shamelessly and wants to be accepted, saying: if you do not form concepts for yourself and do not reason about things, then you are unfaithful and ignorant. He answers her: but also a holy fool, if you want, according to the word of the divine Chrysostom, knowing that the holy fool in this world is wise, as the apostle said (1 Cor. 3:18), and as the Lord says, that “the sons of this age are wiser than the sons of light in their generation” (Luke 16:8). And truly so. For they want to defeat others and get rich, to be wise and glorified, to rule and other similar things, and although they may not achieve this, and their work is useless, they nevertheless try beyond their strength to achieve this. And those (“sons of light”) desire to have the opposite of what is calculated, for which here they often receive the betrothal of the bliss there, and they try, although just as diligently as those, so that the mind receives freedom, by grace, for the sake of which it could have a vigilant memory and thoughts, confirmed by the Divine Scriptures and experienced in spiritual knowledge, or know in much knowledge that it does not know, due to lack of knowledge, recognizing that the thoughts that came before this were temptations to test his autocracy, so that he, in humility, would turn away from his own thoughts and intentions and, rather, fear them; He questioned (experienced), with many tears he resorted to humility and self-reproach and considered knowledge and talents as a great loss. The proud one hastens to affirm his thoughts, not hearing the Climacus, who says: do not seek before the time (that which comes in due time), and so on. And Saint Isaac, who teaches: do not enter shamelessly, but give thanks in silence. Also Chrysostom, who said “I don’t know” and learned this from the Apostle. And Damascene, speaking about Adam, that it was not the time to engage in contemplation of the sensory 40. For the senses of children cannot bear solid food, but have need of milk, as the apostle says (Heb. 5:13). Therefore, let us not seek knowledge outside of the time of knowledge, but first let us acquire in ourselves the mothers of virtues, and knowledge will come by itself, by the grace of Christ. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen. Word 13 41 – About keeping the mind Knowledge of the mental comes after skill in contemplating the sensory. But the one who receives this knowledge will not see the Angel. For how can a person who does not see his own soul see an immaterial being known to the only Creator? For the common good, according to the action of God's providence, Angels appeared to our fathers many times. But this does not happen between us, because we want this out of conceit and do not care about the common good, but we also do not tolerate anything for the sake of God. Therefore, whoever wants to see such a (phenomenon) rather wants to see a demon, for, says the apostle, “Satan is transformed into an angel of light” (2 Cor. 11:14). If such a phenomenon does happen, then, on the contrary, the one who doesn’t think about it at all and, although it may happen, doesn’t believe it; then it happens if it is accepted for the benefit of the common. And the true phenomenon is known from when we do not want to accept anything like that even in a dream; and, if it happened, we do not attach any significance to it, but remain as if we had not seen anything. For a real Angel has from God the power, even if the mind does not want, to pacify it and encourage it to accept itself, but a demon cannot do this; but when he sees that the mind is ready to accept it, then it is God’s permission; if not, then he leaves, persecuted by the Angel who protects a person from holy baptism, because the mind does not betray its autocracy. And so it is. Now it will be said about one (only) knowledge of the heavenly ranks, of which there are nine, according to the word of the great Dionysius, and as we find this in all the Scriptures. These nine orders have names consistent with their nature and activity, and are called incorporeal because they are immaterial; intelligent, for they are minds, and armies, since they are “ministers of souls” (Heb. 1:14) of the King of all. And again, they have other names, general and special, that is, they are called Forces and Angels: the first is actually the name of one rank, but, according to their activity, all nine ranks are called Forces; for everyone can carry out the Divine will. Angels are also the proper name of one of the ranks, the first from us and the ninth from the terrible throne, but according to their activities, they are all called Angels (messengers) as those who announce Divine commands to people. For “a messenger came to Job” (Job 1:18), says Solomon; but it was not the holy messenger (άγγελοθ), because, says Chrysostom, he remained alone and came to announce. But the Divine Scripture also calls the Lord an Angel in various places. Abraham, it is said, received the angels (Gen. 18); but it was the disembodied Lord, as Damascene says to the Theotokos: “Abraham in the canopy saw the sacrament accomplished in You, Mother of God, for He received Your disembodied Son,” and so on. And again: in the cave (Babylon) He Himself was with the youths (Dan. 3:92), and by His action He is called an Angel, just as the prophet Isaiah said: “An angel of great counsel” (Is. 9:6), and the Lord Himself says: “Even as I heard My Father speak” (αναγγελῶ) “to you” (John 15:15). To him be glory forever. Amen. Word 14 42 – About true dispassion An extraordinary and glorious thing is dispassion, for it can, after a person gets used to conquering passions, make him an imitator of God, to the best of human ability. An impassive person, suffering or being attacked by demons and evil people, endures it as if not he, but someone else suffered, like the holy apostles and martyrs; and when he is glorified, he is not exalted; when they reproach him, he does not grieve, having in mind that joyful things are the grace of God and condescension, above his dignity, and difficult things are trials; and one is given here, by grace, for consolation, and the other for humility and good hope in the future; and as one who does not feel, despite having many feelings, he remains in the midst of the unfortunate as a result of reasoning. Dispassion is not just one virtue, but the name of all virtues. For just as one member is not a man, but many members of the body together make up a man, and not alone, but together with the soul, so dispassion is the sum of many virtues, in which the Holy Spirit dwells instead of the soul, because all so-called spiritual deeds are soulless if they do not have the Holy Spirit, from Whom the so-called spiritual received its name. If the soul does not reject passions, then the Holy Spirit will not descend on it. But without this, again, this all-encompassing 43 virtue cannot be called dispassion; and if, perhaps, it happens to someone to be like this, then it is more due to insensibility. That is why the Greeks, who do not know this, say: do not be impassive, like a soulless one, and passionate, like a dumb one. Their words “passionless, like a soulless one” were spoken in accordance with their understanding; for they did not know about the Holy Spirit, but what was said about a passionate person is that he is like a dumb person, and we also say, but not because we have learned this from them, but simply say; for this is not knowledge, nor is it experience, but, having experienced the torment of passions, we learned what we suffered from. And again: from the holy fathers, who were awarded dispassion, having learned to acquire virtues, we write (about this). They say that, like a very passionate person, he is captivated and insensitive from love for passions, and sometimes, as a result of some kind of lust, rushes recklessly, like a dumb (animal), and sometimes from irritability, taking revenge for lust, like a beast gnashing its teeth at its own kind. Likewise, an impassive person becomes insensitive from perfect love for God. And sometimes he has unceasing teaching in God; sometimes (practices) in the knowledge of one of His miracles and in some saying of the Divine Scriptures, according to the word of Saint Nile. And even if he is among many, even if he is at a bargain, his mind remains as if alone. This dispensation comes from keeping the Divine commandments of Christ, to whom be glory and dominion forever. Amen. Anyone who wants to say something about love dares to talk about God, according to the word of John the Theologian, who says: “The God of love is and abides in love, abiding in God” (1 John 4:8,16). Oh miracle! This most important of all virtues is natural. Why did the law, firstly, say about her: “thou shalt love the Lord thy God... with all thy soul,” and so on. (Deut.6:5). Hearing: “with all my heart,” I was amazed, and I didn’t need the rest of the words. For (the saying): “with all my soul,” embraces both the rational, and the irritable, and the lustful (parts); for the soul consists of these three (forces). And her mind (the rational part) always thinks about the Divine; the concupiscible power of the Divine alone incessantly desires and nothing else at all, for the law said: “with all my soul,” and irritability naturally acts against those who interfere with such a desire, and not otherwise. And it is so well said that “God is loving” (1 John 4:8); and if He sees that these three powers of the soul strive for Him alone, as He commanded, in every possible way, and He Himself, as good, will not only love, but also “dwell and walk” in such a soul, as He said (2 Cor. 6:16), by the influx of the Spirit 45. And the body willy-nilly and reluctantly, as if it were dumb, will submit to the mind; and the flesh will no longer “lust after the spirit,” as the apostle says (Gal. 5:17). But just as the sun and moon, guided by the command of God, illuminate the world, although they are soulless, so the body, according to the will of the soul, will perform works of light. And just as the sun, moving daily from east to west, completes one day, and without it there is night, so every virtue that a person performs enlightens his soul, and without it there is passion and darkness until he again acquires virtues, and so light comes. And just as the sun, starting from the edge of the east to its other edge, gradually changing its rays, completes a year, so a person, beginning virtues and gradually succeeding in them, becomes dispassionate. And just as the moon becomes full and decreases every month, so a person daily improves or weakens in each virtue until he comes to the skill of the underlying virtue. And sometimes he grieves for God, sometimes he rejoices, thanking God and considering himself unworthy of acquiring virtues. And again, sometimes it brightens, sometimes it darkens, until the path ends; and one happens for exaltation, the other for protection from despair, according to the action of God’s providence. Just as in the present age the sun has changes and the moon waxes and wanes, but in the future there is always light for the righteous and darkness - alas! - for sinners like me; so now, before perfect love and Divine knowledge, there are various alternating changes in the soul, and darkness in the mind along with virtues and knowledge, until a person is worthy of doing the future (age) for the sake of perfect love, for the acquisition of which all the work is undertaken. For for the sake of love, he who is in obedience submits to the commandments, and for her sake the rich and free becomes uncovetous and a slave, in order to allow those who wish to have what belongs to him and himself. In the same way, the fasting person fasts so that others can eat from his property that he would use for himself. And it’s simple: every activity is done out of love for God or neighbor. What we have mentioned and the like happens for the sake of love for one’s neighbor, and vigils, psalmody and such (doings) are done out of love for God, to Whom be glory, honor and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Word 16 46 – About the knowledge of God Everything created by God has a beginning, but if He pleases, then there is an end; for all this came from nothingness. God has neither beginning nor end, as well as His perfection, for He was never without them, but always was and is most good and righteous, all-wise, omnipotent, invincible, passionless, indescribable, limitless, unsearchable, incomprehensible, endless, ever-present, uncreated, unchanging, immutable, true, uncomplicated, invisible, intangible, immense, perfect, superior to everything that exists, inexplicable, incomprehensible, much-merciful, all-generous, many-hearted, Almighty, all-seeing. And, as the great Dionysius says, He, having virtues, does not force Himself to perform each, like virtuous people, but produces good, desiring it, and uses virtues as tools spontaneously. Angels and virtuous people received from Him, by grace, along with being, virtues, with which, imitating Him, they became righteous, good and wise. And they, as creatures, need the help and condescension of the Almighty, without which they can have neither virtue nor wisdom; because creations are prone to change, and, as combined from various things, are called complex, and God is incorporeal, simple, without beginning, One God in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, worshiped and glorified by all creation. And man, worthy to be in His likeness, has one will, and not a multi-complex one, and a simple mind; always exercises himself in the formless, as far as it depends on him; by the action of Providence, he involuntarily descends from the formless to the contemplation of some (saying) of Scripture or creation. In order not to be condemned, he also takes care of the body, not because he loves the body and wants to nourish it, but so as not to make it completely indecent and not be condemned for it, as was said. Just as the mind does not reject its inherent passions, but uses them according to nature, so the soul does not reject the body, but uses it for every good deed. And just as the mind, holding back the reckless aspirations of the passions, directs each of them according to the Divine will, so, holding the members of the body, a person fulfills one will, and not many, for he does not allow either the four elements that make up the body or its many members to do what they want, nor the three spiritual powers to think recklessly and unbridledly or to excite the body to action, but, acting according to the inspiration of spiritual wisdom, the will makes three forces (soul) one, inseparable. There are four types of this wisdom: wisdom, chastity, courage and truth. The Theologian wrote very highly about them, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. It is easier for everyone who wants to learn about the four main virtues to learn this from the Theologian, however, here too a little will be said about each of them; for every virtue needs these four, and every undertaking needs the first of them, that is, wisdom, and without it cannot be realized. For how can any work be accomplished without wisdom? It is born from the rational part of the soul and is located between guile, that is, excessive philosophizing 48, and unreason. One of them leads wisdom to act evilly and harm the soul that has it, and others who may. The other makes the mind insensitive and vain and does not allow it to care either about Divine things or about anything useful for the soul of itself or a neighbor. And one is likened to the highest mountain, and the other to an abyss; but the one who walks on the plain between them is wise. And whoever turns aside (from the middle path), he either falls down into the abyss, or he tries to go up a lot and, not finding the way, involuntarily falls down, and, against his will, again falls into the abyss, and cannot resist, because he does not want to return to wisdom from the heights of the mountain through repentance. The one who has fallen into the abyss humbly begs the One who is able to lead him onto the royal path of virtue. But the wise man does not rise up in arrogance and does not want to harm anyone; but he does not descend unreasonably and does not receive harm from anyone, but collects for himself the best and preserves it in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and dominion forever. Amen. Word 18 49 – About chastity Chastity is a healthy (whole) way of thinking, that is, not having (any) shortcoming and not allowing the one who has it to deviate into intemperance or petrification; but he who preserves the good things gathered by wisdom and rejects all the bad things; collecting a thought to himself and raising it to God. Like a good shepherd, it (chastity) gathers its sheep, that is, Divine thoughts, around and inside itself, and intemperance, like a mad dog, kills by moving away from what is harmful; petrification drives away like a predatory wolf and does not allow him to eat sheep in solitude, but constantly sees him and clearly indicates him to the rational part of the soul, so that it does not hide in the darkness and does not remain with his thoughts. Chastity is born from the lustful part of the soul. Without it, nothing good can survive, even if it may have happened. For if chastity is not present, then the tripartite soul tends either upward or downward, that is, either to petrification or to incontinence. I mean intemperance not only that which relates to gluttony and fornication, but the abstinence of every passion and every thought, not according to God, arbitrarily conceived. Chastity tames all this; it restrains the unreasonable desires of soul and body and directs them to God, to whom be glory forever. Amen. The property of courage does not consist in winning and overcoming one’s neighbor, this is audacity that is above courage, and it is not in shying away from doing things about God and virtues out of fear of temptation, this is, on the contrary, fear that is below it; but to remain in every good work and to overcome the passions of the soul and body, because “our struggle is not against blood and flesh,” that is, against people, as in ancient times it was with the Jews, when he who conquered foreigners accomplished the work of God, “but against the principalities and against the authorities” (Eph. 6:12), that is, against the invisible demons. And the one who overcomes mentally wins or is overcome by passions. That war was a prototype of our battle. The two passions mentioned above, although they seem contrary to each other, confuse us due to (our) weakness; and insolence attracts upward and frightens, striking with amazement, like a powerless bear, and fear runs away like a driven dog; for no one who has one of these two passions trusts in the Lord, and therefore cannot stand in battle, even if he is brave, even if he is afraid; “The righteous trust like a lion” (Prov. 28:1) in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and dominion forever. Amen. God is glorified for the sake of His righteousness, says the Great Dionysius. And truly so. For in the absence of truth, everything is unrighteous and without it cannot stand. It is called reasoning and in every undertaking it assigns what is due, so that there is no lack of anything due to poverty, or exaggeration due to excess. For although (these things) seem to be opposite to one another, because one stands above and the other below the truth, both are partly inclined towards injustice. Just like a line, if it has a convexity or concavity, it deviates from the straight direction, and the scales, also on which side they tilt, exceed the other. The one who can maintain righteousness does not fall down through foolishness, intemperance, fear and excess and does not crawl on his belly like a serpent, eating the earth and serving shameful passions, but also does not ascend upward through exaggeration, insolence, petrification and insufficiency, “wisdom” excessively and acting wickedly, beyond his dignity (Rom. 12:3), but “he is wise with chastity" and endures with humility, knowing that by grace he received what he has, according to the word of the Apostle, and does not deny it. For he acts unfairly towards himself and his neighbor, especially God, if he ascribes good deeds to himself. But if he thinks that he has something good from himself, then “whatever he thinks he has, he will take away from it,” as the Lord says (Luke 8:18). To him be glory and power forever. Amen. Word 21 52 – About the perfect peace of thoughts The Lord, having said to the apostles: “My peace I give to you,” added: “not as peace gives” (John 14:27), that is, not simply as people living in that country, when they greet each other, say: peace to you. Just as the Somanite woman said: “Peace be with you,” so did Elisha to Gehazi: “And say peace to you,” that is, to herself, “Is there peace with your husband? Will I give birth to peace? (2 Kings 4:23,26), but the peace “that surpasses all understanding,” which God gives to those who love Him with all their souls, because of the battles and disasters that formerly happened. Therefore, the Lord again said: “Have peace in Me,” and added: “You will be in a world of sorrow, but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world” (John 16:33); that is, if a person endured many sorrows and endured many disasters from demons and from people, but, having the peace of the Lord, he considers them all as nothing. And the Lord also said: “Have peace” within yourself (Mark 9:50). He predicted all this to the apostles, because they had to go to battle and endure sorrow for His sake. In a general sense, each of us believers is attacked by passions and seduced; if he has peace with God and with his neighbors, then he conquers everything. This is the world that John the Theologian commands not to love (1 John 2:15) - not creatures, but worldly lusts. The soul has peace with God when it has peace within itself and everything is as God pleases, and it is such when it has peace with all people, even if it endures hard things from them; but, out of kindness, he is not at all embarrassed, but endures everything, wishes the best for everyone, loves everyone for the sake of God and for the sake of nature. For the unfaithful, as if they were perishing, he weeps, as the Lord and the apostles did, but for the faithful he prays and sympathizes with them (Luke 23:34; Acts 7:60), and thus receives peace of thoughts and mentally abides with God through knowledge and pure prayer. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen. Word 22 53 – About spiritual joy “Rejoice in the Lord,” says the apostle (Phil. 3:1); and he said well: “in the Lord,” for if there is joy not “in the Lord,” then not only does a person not rejoice, but he will also (never) have joy. For Job, considering the life of man, found that it was full of all sorrow (Job.14:1); also the Great Basil and Gregory of Nyssa say that birds and other animals, due to their insensibility, (typically) rejoice, but a reasonable person has no freedom from crying; therefore he says that we are not even worthy to know those blessings from which we have fallen. And nature itself teaches us to cry more, for this life is much painful and difficult and, like an exile, full of sins. But if someone constantly remembers God, he rejoices, according to the words of the Psalmist: “they remembered God and rejoiced” (Ps. 77:4). The mind, amused by the memory of God, forgets the sorrows of the world, and from this remembrance it trusts in God and becomes careless. Carelessness brings joy and encourages thanksgiving; and through thanksgiving combined with prudence, gifts and talents increase. As benefits multiply, thanksgiving and pure prayer with tears of joy increase, and soon a person is freed from tears of sadness and passion; comes out of (the power of) passions and thus comes to spiritual joy, on every occasion. Through pleasant things he humbles himself and gives thanks, and through temptations his hope for the future is strengthened; He rejoices in both, and loves God and everyone naturally, as benefactors, and does not encounter anything in all creation that could harm him. But he who is enlightened by the knowledge of God rejoices “in the Lord” over all creation, marveling at His providence for His creatures. For one who has achieved spiritual knowledge is surprised not only by what is obvious (to everyone) and worthy of praise, but also by what is not obvious to the inexperienced is forced to be amazed at the strength of feeling. And he is surprised not only by the day, for the sake of light, but also by the night, for the night is useful to everyone. To those who lead an active life, the night brings silence and freedom; it leads those who cry to the remembrance of death and hell, and those undergoing moral work disposes to the most perfect teaching, consideration of good deeds and the organization of (their) character, as the Psalmist says: “Even as you speak in your hearts, on your beds you will be moved” (Ps. 4:5), that is, in the silence of the night, “be moved,” remembering the stumbling blocks that were in the confusion of the day and “teach yourself in singing and spiritual songs” (cf.: Col. 3:16), that is, train yourself to remain in prayers and psalmody, through meditation and attention when reading. For this is how moral work is accomplished: (the ascetic) reflects on what he has done during the day, so that, in the silence of the night, he can come to his senses and cry about what he has sinned. And when grace leads him to prosperity, and he truly, and not dreamily, finds something moral, regarding the soul or body, accomplished by deeds or words, according to the commandment of Christ, then he gives thanks with fear and humility and strives in prayer and many tears before God in order to preserve that good disposition 54, teaching himself to remember it, so as not to lose it again in oblivion. Because a good disposition is formed in us by a lot of time and labor, and what is acquired by a lot of labor and time can be lost in one minute. This (was said) regarding those who are passing through an active life, but for those who have passed on to knowledge, the night contains many contemplations, as the Great Basil says, for it daily reminds us of the creation of the world and is conducive to knowledge. (During the night) darkness covers the entire creation, as it once was (before creation). Just as the sky was once alone, without stars, just as it is now, when they are hidden by clouds. And entering the cell, and seeing only darkness, (the ascetic) remembers that darkness over the abyss (Gen. 1:2); and again, suddenly seeing a clear sky and standing outside his cell, he suddenly comes into amazement, contemplating the heavenly world 55, and praises God, as Job said about the Angels when they saw the stars (Job 38:7). He contemplates the invisible and unsettled earth, as once upon a time, and people immersed in sleep, as if non-existent, and is alone in feeling, as Adam once was, and rationally, together with the Angels, sings of the Creator and Maker of creation. When thunder and lightning occur, he remembers the day of judgment; from the voice of the birds he seems to feel the sound of the then trumpet, and from the rising of the star and the appearance of the rays he reflects on the appearance of the honest and life-giving cross; through the excitement of people's sleep he knows the resurrection and from the appearance of the sun - the coming of the Lord. And how some greet (the sun) with song, like the saints who will then be caught up in the clouds, and some sleep in negligence, as if they are to be condemned then. And others spend the whole day in praise, knowledge and prayer and other virtues, having fun, and remain in the light of knowledge, as then the righteous; some remain in passions and foolishness, as sinners were then. And it’s simple to say: he who has knowledge in every thing finds assistance for the salvation of the soul and the glorification of God, for which purpose everything was created from “the God of understanding and the Lord,” as the mother of the prophet Samuel says, therefore “let not the wise man boast in his wisdom,” etc., “but let him boast in this, even if he understands and knows the Lord” (1 Samuel 2:3,10), that is, in order to know, “in many ways,” the Lord from His creations, and to imitate Him, in strength, by keeping His Divine commandments, through which He knows Him, and, like Him, will be able to “do justice and righteousness in the midst of the earth”; for she spoke this while prophesying the crucifixion and resurrection of the Lord. And let him (such) sympathize with Him through the acquisition of virtues, and be glorified with Him in dispassion and knowledge, and have within himself the praise that he was worthy to be a slave of such a Master and an imitator of His humility, being unworthy; and then the praise will be from the Lord, according to the word of the apostle (Rom. 2:29; 1 Cor. 4:5). When is “then”? When “he says to those on the right hand, Come, blessed ones, inherit the Kingdom” (cf. Matt. 25:34), which may we all be worthy of by His grace and love for mankind. To him be glory and power forever. Amen. Word 23 56 – About the Divine Scriptures, that there is no disagreement in them “Sing wisely,” says the prophet (Ps. 46:8), and “test the Scriptures,” says the Lord (John 5:39). Whoever obeys this is enlightened, and whoever disobeys is darkened. For if someone is inattentive to what he says, he does not receive so much fruit from the Divine Scriptures, although he may often sing and read. “Be abolished,” it is said, “and understand” (Ps. 45:11), for “abolition” gathers the mind, and if anyone wants to be somewhat attentive, then “he will know in part,” according to the word of the Apostle (1 Cor. 13:12), and especially the one who has “in part” moral activity; for it gives the mind greater experience in the struggle with passions. However, he does not know so much how many mysteries each saying of Scripture contains, but how much the purity of his mind can receive from grace. This is clear from the fact that we often come to know through knowledge any saying of Scripture and achieve one or two of the intentions with which this saying was written, and after a while, when the mind perhaps becomes purer, it is granted a different understanding, higher than that first one. So from bewilderment and surprise at the grace of God and His ineffable wisdom (the mind) comes into fear and trembling before the “God of minds,” as the prophetess Anna said, that “the God of minds is the Lord” (1 Samuel 2:3). I’m not talking about that, when someone hears - through any Scripture or person, this is not purity of mind or revelation; but if anyone knew and did not believe himself until he found that the Divine Scripture or one of the saints confirms the knowledge that he received spontaneously about the saying of Scripture or a sensory or mental matter. And if, perhaps, instead of one intention, he would encounter many or hear about them from the Divine Scripture or from the Holy Fathers, then let him not disbelieve this and do not consider this a disagreement. For it happens that a thing is one, but its goals are many. So about clothes, if one said that they warm, another that they decorate, and a third that they cover, all three say the truth that clothes are needed for warmth, cover and decoration, and these three have comprehended the Divine intentions regarding clothing and have the Divine Scripture and the nature of things as witnesses. If someone, being a “thief and a robber”, regarding understanding, would say that clothing is needed for robbery and theft, he is lying in every possible way. For neither Scripture nor the nature of things confirms that clothing was for this purpose, since even the laws punish for such deeds. The same thing happens with every thing, sensory or mental, or the word of Divine Scripture. For even the saints do not understand every purpose of God regarding every thing or written word; but not everyone suddenly writes that they have learned 57. Partly because God is incomprehensible and His wisdom has no limit 58 so that an Angel or a person could contain everything; as Chrysostom speaks of some knowledge, what we said about this, how much should have been said now, but God, along with what was mentioned, also knows other incomprehensible things; partly also because it will be unhelpful if the saints themselves say everything they know, for the sake of human weakness, and so that the word does not last and does not become hateful or incomprehensible, due to confusion, but so that what is said is in moderation, according to the saying of the Theologian. That is why it happens that today the same (saint) says one thing about the same matter, and tomorrow another; and this is not a disagreement if only the listener has knowledge or experience. And again: one says one thing, and the other says something else about the same saying of Divine Scripture, for often both were inspired by Divine grace, in accordance with the time and condition of people. This is only what is sought, so that what is done is done according to the Divine intention, or what is said is said, and that it is confirmed by the Divine Scripture, so that it does not hear from the Apostle: “Let him be anathema” (Gal. 1:8), if otherwise he preaches to you, outside of the Divine intention or the nature of things, even if it were an Angel, as they say: the Great Dionysius, Anthony and Maximus the Confessor. Therefore, Chrysostom says: it was not the children of the Hellenes who conveyed this to us, but the Holy Scripture. So, there is no disagreement that the Scripture says about a certain (husband) that he did not see Babylon during the captivity (Ezek. 12:13), and again, in another place, that he was transported to Babylon, along with others. The reader who reads carefully will find in another place in Scripture that that man was blinded and thus taken captive, and so he went up to Babylon (Jer. 39:7,9), as one said about him, but did not see him, as another said. And again, some, out of ignorance, say that the Epistle to the Hebrews was not written by Paul the Apostle, and also one of the words of Saint Dionysius was not written by him; but if anyone looks carefully, he will be convinced of the truth from the very words. For the saints, if they speak about a natural thing, then - by consideration, that is, by natural knowledge, from the knowledge of what exists, that is, creations that occur as a result of purity of mind, they speak with complete accuracy about the intention of God and test the Scriptures (John 5:39), as Chrysostom said about those who look for gold in earthly mines, that they even search for the finest veins so that not a single iota or the line has not disappeared, as the Lord says (Matthew 5:18). Iota is the tenth letter, and the so-called line is a sign without which it is impossible to write correctly 59. And this is said about things by nature. When a sensual or mental thing or a written saying appears above nature, the saints recognize it by insight, or by revelation, if knowledge of this is given to them by the Holy Spirit. If it is not given, but for their benefit it remains undiscovered to them, then they are not ashamed to tell the truth and admit to human weakness, saying: I don’t know, God knows; according to the word of the apostle (2 Cor. 12:3). And as Solomon says: “I do not understand three and I do not know the fourth” (cf. Proverbs 30:18). And again Chrysostom: I don’t know, even if the heretics call me unfaithful, let them call me stupid. And simply: those who had twofold wisdom preferred wisdom from above, but wisely used external teaching, in moderation, in accordance with the apostolic rule, so as not to boast beyond measure, like those Egyptians who mocked the simplicity of the speech of the Apostle Barnabas, not knowing that his preaching contained the verbs of eternal life, as Clement’s Scripture says. Many of us suffer from the same thing, and when they hear that someone speaks in another language, they laugh, although perhaps the speaker is wise in his language and speaks of terrible sacraments; this, of course, comes from ignorance. The fathers wrote simply with intention, taking into account the time and the people to whom they wrote. As Saint Gregory of Nyssa says, praising Saint Ephraim for the fact that he, being wise, wrote simply, and being very skilled in the knowledge of dogmas, I am surprised, he says, how skillfully he glued together the sheets of the wicked books of that weak-minded heretic, and how he, out of pride, was unable to bear the shame and took his own life. Holy humility is above nature, and an infidel cannot have it and considers it unnatural, as the Great Dionysius speaks of such in his writing to St. Timothy, that to the ancients the resurrection of the dead seemed unnatural, but to me, and to you, and the truth it does not seem unnatural, but above nature. And this is in relation to us only, but in relation to God it is not supernatural, but natural, for the command of God is the action of His nature. The fathers most kiss humility in deed and word, as the one who wrote the legends about old age, although he was a bishop and suffered exile for Christ, said about the rags of one virgin: I took it to receive a blessing. Both the holy fathers Dorotheus and Cassian were wise, but they wrote simply. We said this so that no one would think that some wrote highly out of pride, or, again, others wrote simply out of ignorance; but the power 60 in both is the same and was given by the same Holy Spirit, and the intention was for the benefit of all. For if everyone wrote simply, then none of the high (scientists) would benefit and would consider what is written as nothing due to the simplicity of the word; but also, none of the common people would benefit if everyone wrote highly, because they would not understand the power of what was said. He who has really tasted the knowledge of the Scriptures knows that the power of both the simplest sayings of Scripture and the most wise is the same and is aimed at saving a person, and those who are not involved in this knowledge are often tempted, not knowing that the training of earthly wisdom helps a lot if it becomes a chariot for wisdom from above. For one gives bright thoughts, and the other power to the word, if she has with her firm prudence and chastity 61, through which she fears foolishness and “not to be wise beyond what is proper,” but “to be wise in chastity,” according to the word of the Apostle (Rom. 12:3). Just as the word “amen”, instead of which in the Gospel of Luke it is said “truly” (Luke 9:27; 12:44; 21:3), is a firm word that confirms what was said before, so wisdom is a firm understanding that can preserve the truth. “Amen” makes clear the presence of new grace, which is why we do not find it anywhere in the Old Testament, for that was a prototype, but in new grace “Amen” is said everywhere, for it will endure forever and ever. Word 24 62 – About how a person comes to his senses and learns something useful Oh, how many tears I would like to have when I partially see myself! For if I do not sin, then through pride I am proud; If I sin and manage to notice it, then, out of bewilderment 63, I lose heart and come to despair. If I resort to hope, pride comes again. If I cry, it creates conceit in me, and if I don’t cry, passions come again. My life is death, and death is worse, for fear of torment. My prayer is a temptation for me and inattention is my destruction. “He who applies understanding will apply disease,” says Solomon (Eccl. 1:18). I am perplexed and amazed, and I don’t know what to do. If I know, perhaps I don’t do it, knowledge leads me to condemnation. Alas for me! What should I choose? Everything, due to unreason, seems disgusting to me, and I cannot choose any of it. I do not find virtue and wisdom hidden in temptations, because I do not have patience. But, moving away from silence for the sake of thoughts, outside of it I find passions, in temptations through feelings. If I want to fast and stay awake, I find an obstacle in conceit and exhaustion (bodily). If I eat and drink excessively, I involuntarily come to sin. I move away from everyone and run away, out of fear of sin, but despondency again weakens me, although I see that many receive crowns for such battles and temptations, because they have firm faith, through which they received the Divine fear, and through fear they achieved the practice of other virtues. If I had faith like them, I would also achieve fear, through which I would receive, according to the word of the prophet, piety and knowledge, from which are born: strength, conscience, reason and wisdom of the Spirit (Is. 11: 2) abiding in God, with carelessness and practice in the Divine Scriptures, with patience, through which everything high and low becomes the same for them. When any passion takes the form of virtue, time and experience usually reveal this, and when virtue again deviates towards passion, time and experience usually distinguish this through patience; for if the latter is not born in the soul from faith, then (it) cannot have virtue at all. “By your patience you will gain your souls,” says the Lord (Luke 21:19). “He who makes the private hearts” of men, as the Psalmist said (Ps. 33:15). And from this it is clear that the heart, that is, the mind, is created in private by the patience of what befalls us. For the one who believes that he has another who invisibly cares 64 about his life, when he listens to his thought, which says: I want this, but I don’t want that; is this good and this is bad? If he has someone as a sensory leader, then he must question him about every matter and, receiving the answer by ear, carry out what is said to him in practice. If he has no one, then, according to the word of Euchaite, he has Christ. And he must, asking Him with prayer from the heart, by faith hope for an answer in deed and word, so that Satan, who cannot fulfill anything in deed, does not answer in word, transforming himself, as it were, into a leader, and does not draw those who have no patience to destruction. For they, out of foolishness, hasten to accept what is never given to them, for “one day before the Lord is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Pet. 3:8). He who through patience has gained experience in the machinations of the enemy, according to the word of the Apostle (Rom. 5:4), works, struggles and “flows” in patience “that he may comprehend” and be able to say, “for we do not know his plans” (cf. 2 Cor. 2:11), that is, his hidden machinations, unknown to many. For, he says, “Satan is transformed into an angel of light” (2 Cor. 11:14), and this is not a miracle. since the thoughts that come from him in the heart seem to the inexperienced to be thoughts of truth. That’s why it’s good – “I don’t know,” so as not to reject what the Angel says, and not to believe what is being done from the enemy, according to his craftiness, but with patience to avoid both rapids and expect that the answer will be received in practice, after many years, involuntarily, without our knowledge. As someone said about the knowledge of what exists, that is, of God’s creatures: when you reach some refuge, that is, active knowledge, and when you see that it remains (with you) for many years, then know that you have really been heard and have invisibly received an answer. For example: a person prays for the victory of the passions fighting him and does not hear the words, does not see any image of seduction, but even if this ever happened, in a dream or in reality, he does not believe it at all, and after several years he sees that that battle is overcome by grace, and thoughts come to him that draw the mind into humility and into the knowledge of his weakness; however, he doesn’t believe it anyway, but waits for many years, fearing that this too might not be a secret trick. As Chrysostom says about the apostles, that for this reason the Lord told them about sorrows and added: “he who endures to the end will be saved” (Matthew 10:22), so that they would never be careless, but would strive out of fear. For no one will benefit from other virtues, even if he lives in heaven, if he has pride, through which the devil, Adam and many others fell. Therefore, no one should reject fear until it reaches the haven of perfect love and is outside the world and the body. Such a person does not voluntarily abandon fear, but from great faith, which makes the mind careless about the life or death of the body, he comes into the pure fear of love, about which the Great Athanasius speaks to perfect people: fear God not as a tormentor, but fear Him out of love. It is not for the sake of sins that a person should fear God, but because God loves him, but he does not love God, and, being unworthy, receives benefits; so that, fearing such benefits, he would attract his soul to love and become worthy of the benefits shown and those about to be shown to him by his prudence in relation to the Benefactor, and from pure fear of love would come to humility that exceeds nature. since no matter how much good he does, no matter how much he endures hard things, he does not at all think that from his strength or from his reason he has the strength to endure or to be unharmed in soul or body, but from humility of mind he received reasoning, through which he knows that he is a creation of God and that by himself he cannot do good, nor preserve the good that grace accomplishes, nor defeat temptation, nor remain in patience, according to his courage or prudence. From reasoning, he comes into the private knowledge of things and begins to contemplate with his mind everything that exists, but, not knowing how to explain it to himself, he looks for a teacher, and not finding him, for He is invisible, does not again accept any image or unconfirmed thought, for he learned this from reasoning and remains in bewilderment. As a result of this, he considers everything that comes from himself and everything that he himself comprehends to be nothing, seeing before him such a multitude of people who have fallen after much labor and knowledge, starting from Adam and others. And so, hearing and not understanding anything said in the Divine Scriptures, he begins to shed tears from this knowledge, that is, from the knowledge of what he really does not know as he should. And it is truly a miracle, how “he thinks he has something, but has no understanding” (1 Cor. 8:2), and “he who thinks he has will be taken away from him,” says the Lord (cf. Matt. 13:12), that is, for what he “thought he had,” but did not have. And this one thinks of himself that he is unwise and unreasonable, weak and ignorant, and therefore he cries and sobs, “me” that he has acquired for himself what he does not have, out of prudence. Humility is born from many virtues, and it itself gives birth to the most perfect ones: so do knowledge, thanksgiving, prayer, and love, for these virtues always increase. For example, a person humbles himself as a sinner and cries, and from this he abstains and endures voluntary and involuntary sorrows - from demons, for the sake of achievement, and from people to test his faith, so that it will be revealed whether he has hope in God, or hopes in man, or in his own strength and wisdom. Having been tested in patience and in leaving everything to God, he receives great faith, about which the Lord says: “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith?” (Luke 18:8). And through this faith he receives victory over his opponents, and having received it, he recognizes his weakness and foolishness, from God’s power and wisdom manifested in him. And he begins to give thanks in humility of soul and trembles, fearing that somehow, like before, he will fall into disobedience to God. And from pure fear, which occurs without sin, and from thanksgiving, patience and humility, which one has received from knowledge, one begins to hope to receive, by grace, mercy. From the experience of the good deeds performed on him, he expects and fears, so as not to be somehow unworthy of such gifts of God, and from here he grows in humility and prayer from the heart, and as this grows in him, with thanksgiving, he receives greater knowledge. And so from knowledge one comes into fear, and from fear into thanksgiving and into higher knowledge. And hence, he naturally loves the Benefactor and joyfully desires to please Him, as a result of knowledge, as a debtor. And immediately knowledge increases in him, and he contemplates, together with special blessings (of God), and general ones, not being able to give thanks for which, he cries, and again, marveling at the grace of God, he is consoled. And sometimes he has regrettable tears, but sometimes again, out of love, he sheds tears sweeter than honey, with spiritual joy that comes from inexpressible humility. When he truly desires all the will of God, and hates all honor and peace, and considers himself lower than everyone, so that he does not at all think that any of the people is such a debtor in everything to God and people as he is. And therefore he considers temptations and sorrows to be a great benefit, and joy and peace to be a great loss. And he loves the former with all his heart, no matter where they come from, but he fears the latter, even if they were from God, to the test. When he remains in these tears, the mind begins to receive purity and returns to its original state, that is, to natural knowledge, which it lost through love for the passions. Some call this knowledge wisdom, because the mind sees (with it) things in accordance with their nature. And again, some call it consideration, because whoever achieves it knows a certain part of the hidden mysteries, that is, the intention of God contained in the Divine Scriptures and in every creature. Consideration is born from reasoning and can comprehend the essence of sensory and mental (creatures), and therefore is called knowledge of existing things, that is, creations; but it is natural and comes from purity of mind. If someone is worthy, for the common benefit, to receive insight, then this is above nature. For God alone foresees everything in everyone, and (knows) why He created every thing or word of Divine Scripture, and, by grace, bestows knowledge on those who are worthy. So the knowledge of His sensory and mental creations, called wisdom, is consideration and natural knowledge, which was formerly in nature, but passions darkened the mind; and if God, through active virtue, does not take away the passions, then (the mind) cannot see. But insight is not like that; it is grace and is above nature. However, consideration does not exist without God, although it is natural. since the Greeks also invented a lot, but did not find the intention of God (hidden) in creation, as the Great Basil says, they did not find God Himself, because they did not have the humility and faith of Abraham. For then a person is called a believer when he believes in the invisible from what is visible, and if he believes only what he sees, then he does not believe the one who teaches or preaches. For this reason, to test faith, temptations are obvious, but intercessions are hidden; so that the believer, through patience, after passing temptation, finds knowledge and through it knows what he did not know (before), and that he benefits (God), and brings forth humility and love for God as a Benefactor, and for his neighbor, to please God, and so that he considers this natural and his duty, as a result of which he would like to keep the commandments. He hates passions as enemies, and he despises the body, considering it an obstacle to dispassion and knowledge of God, that is, His hidden wisdom. And truly it is hidden. For with worldly wisdom, whoever conquers (others), feeds himself, has peace in this world and glory, he becomes her friend, and with God’s wisdom, her friend strives in the opposite of this, that is, he works hard, and abstains, and endures all sorrow and all dishonor for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. For one wants visible blessings, earthly sciences and kings to be close to him, and for this he often suffers, while the other sympathizes with Christ’s suffering. The first hopes for what is here, if only he manages to receive it, because it is temporary and inaccessible, and the other is hidden here from “the eyes of the foolish,” says the Divine Scripture (Wis. 3:2), and will become clear in the next century, when the secret will be revealed; however, not only (there), but, to the consolation of those who cry, and here, according to the word of Chrysostom, knowledge of the unseen is given, that is, knowledge of the Divine Scriptures and creations. For from faith comes fear, from which comes weeping, from weeping comes humility, and from humility comes reasoning; from this latter comes consideration and, by grace, insight. He who has knowledge should by no means assert his own understanding, but always desire to have confirmation in the Divine Scripture or in the nature of a thing. If this is not the case, then knowledge is not true, but wickedness and deception, as the Great Basil says about the stars, that the Divine Scripture names a few (of them), and the Greeks, in error, give them many names, for the intention of the Divine Scripture is to (offer) what can save the soul and reveal to some the secrets of the Divine Scriptures and the meaning of existing things, that is, the purpose for which each thing received existence, to enlighten mind and excite it to love God and the knowledge of His greatness, His ineffable wisdom and providence - from His care for His creations. So that from this knowledge a person would be afraid to transgress the commandments of God and would recognize his own weakness and foolishness, and through this he would become humble, love God and not despise His commandments, as those who do not have active knowledge do. And again, God hides some of the mysteries from man, so that he would desire (to know them) and would not be proud, like Adam, and so that the enemy, finding him outside of what he should, would not drag him into his evil. This is what happens to the virtuous; but he frightens the foolish with temptations, so that they avoid committing sin, and strengthens them with bodily blessings, so that they do not despair. And this is how God always does this, out of His infinite goodness, in order to save everyone and deliver them from the snares of the devil, either by giving us or not by sending us good deeds and knowledge, and by bestowing gifts and understanding in order to make everyone prudent. He also made the Divine Scripture hidden and understandable for the benefit of some, depending on the will of the reader. This was not the intention of the outer sages; but each of them tried to defeat the other and seem wiser; That is why they did not find the Lord, and neither will those who follow their example, although they may work hard, will find Him. For it is not through labor, says Climacus, but through humility and simplicity that God appears, through faith, that is, knowledge of the Scriptures and creations - faith about which the Lord says: “As much as you can believe, you receive glory from one another,” and so on. (John 5:44). This is that great faith that can entrust all care to God, which the Apostle calls the foundation (1 Cor. 3:11), and the Climacus the mother of silence and Saint Isaac the faith of knowledge and the door of the sacraments. He who has this faith is careless in everything, like all the saints, whose very names were corresponding to their disposition, like the righteous in ancient times; Thus, Peter means firmness, Paul means peace, Jacob means a fighter, as having overcome Belial, and Stephen is named so from the unfading crown, Athanasius - from immortality and Basil - from the kingdom, Gregory - from wakefulness (εγρηγόρσεωθ) in wisdom, that is, in theology; Chrysostom - from a valuable thing and much-desired grace, Isaac - from abandonment. And just to say, both in the Old Testament and in the New the names are corresponding. For Adam is named after the four cardinal points. A (Ανατολή) – east, d (Δύσιθ) – west, a (A ρκτοθ) – north and m (Μεσημβρία) – south. And again, man in the language of that time, that is, Syriac, is called fire, similar to nature. For the whole world came from one person, just as from one candle you can light as many others as you like, and the first one will not become scarce from this. By mixing languages, another (language) produces the word “man” from oblivion, which is characteristic of man; the other - from its other properties, and the Hellenic one - derives the word “man” from looking up (άνω αθρεῖν). But its nature is actually the word, which is why it is called verbal, for only man possesses this property; by its other names it has co-names among other creations. Therefore, we must leave everything and, as verbal, prefer the word, and words 65 (understanding) wisely bring 66 God's Word, so that from Him, instead of words, we may be worthy to receive the words (understanding) of the Holy Spirit, in the present age, according to what is said: “Give prayer to the one who prays” (1 Samuel 2:9), that is: to the one who prays well with bodily prayer, God gives mental prayer, and to the one who diligently abides in it - formless and unformed, from the pure fear of God. And again, to the one who does this well - knowledge of creation and from it - admiration of the mind for theology and good action of the future, God grants to the one who “abolishes” everything (Ps. 45:11) and learns in this by deed and word, and not by hearing only. So knowledge is only good when the one who has received it involuntarily leads to humility, out of shame that he does not have it according to its worth, and, according to the word of the Climacus, with the hand of humility he turns it away from himself as harmful, although it may have been given by God; if (to have knowledge) - like someone who was once struck by the Ethiopians with a trident (at the exodus of the soul), then - oh, disaster! How he was so glorified, so loved by people that everyone wept over his death and considered his deprivation as a great loss, but for the pride that he had hidden within himself, he heard a voice from on high who saw this: “Give him no rest, because he did not give Me rest, not even for one hour.” Alas! everyone called him a saint and through his prayers many hoped to get rid of all temptations, and this is the end he received for his ascension! And that the reason for this was indeed exaltation is clear to everyone (from the following). If it were another sin, then he could not hide it from everyone and do it every hour. If this were a heresy, then although the heretic hourly angers God with his blasphemy in his mind, the heresy cannot be completely hidden, but, according to the action of God’s providence, it opens up to the correction of the one who has it, if he wishes to correct himself; if not, then to the approval of other people. And so one arrogance can, out of self-indulgence, be hidden from almost everyone and from the very one who has it, if he is not allowed to fall into temptation, by which the soul is convicted and recognizes its weakness and foolishness. That is why the Holy Spirit did not find peace for a single hour in that pitiful soul, because it always had this thought and rejoiced over it as if it were some good deed, and that is why it became darkened like the demons. Not seeing himself as sinning, perhaps that person nourished in himself one passion, instead of others, and this one was enough for the demons, as it could fill the place of other vices, as Climacus says. I did not myself compose such a reasoning and explanation of this case, but I heard it from the holy elder and wrote it. He also said about Saint Paul the Simple that because the demon did not immediately, when he heard (Paul’s words), come out of the man, that when the Great Anthony said: “Abba Paul, cast the demon out of this girl,” Paul did not immediately bow, but in some way made an objection, saying: “What are you doing?” And when I heard: “I am not free,” then I obeyed. That is why, said the blessed elder, the demon did not come out immediately, but after much labor. And fair enough. For not only does this certify that this elder was a God-bearing man, but it is confirmed by the washing of feet (John 13:8), and the contradiction of Moses (Exodus 3:11), and the example of that prophet who sought to be beaten, and since this story has a deep meaning (θεωρίαν) and has not yet been given by us, we will tell it here. Holy Scripture 67 mentions one king who ruled his kingdom torturously, so that the Lover of Mankind, not tolerating his torment, commanded the prophet to go and expose this king. The prophet, knowing his cruelty, did not want to go simply so that the king would not somehow see him from afar, and knowing the reason why he was going, he did not order to drive him away, and the prophet would not have time to expose him; or again, if he began to say: “My God sent me to you because of your cruelty,” the king would not listen to such words, therefore the prophet used cunning - he wished to be wounded by someone in order to come to the king bloodied, as if with a complaint, in order to thus skillfully persuade the king to himself and force him to listen to the reproof. Going out (with this thought), he found a man standing on the path with an ax, and said to him: “Thus says the Lord: take your ax and hit me on the head.” He, being God-fearing, said: “No way, my lord, and I am God’s, and I will not lay my hand on the Lord’s anointed.” And the prophet said to him: “Thus says the Lord: “Behold, you have not listened to the voice of the Lord, and you will depart from me, and a lion will smite you”” (1 Kings 20:36). It wasn't anger, not at all; but this happened for the benefit of many, and because that good man was worthy not only to die like other people, but, according to the word of the Lord, to be torn to pieces by a beast and through bitter death to receive a crown. As in eldership it is said about four fathers who agreed with each other. Those who died in Christ prayed that the brother who served them would be torn to pieces by a lion for the fornication he had committed, but the Lord did not hear them, but was pleased to hear the silent one who prayed that the lion would retreat from his brother. Then the prophet found another man and said to him: “Thus says the Lord: take your ax and hit me on the head.” This one, hearing: “Thus says the Lord,” without reasoning, hit the prophet on the head with his ax (1 Kings 20:37), and the prophet, like Moses once, said to him: “The blessing of the Lord is on you, because you listened to the voice of the Lord.” So one, because he was very virtuous, was ashamed of the prophet and did not listen to him, like the Apostle Peter at the wash; the other, without reasoning, fulfilled obedience, just as the people obeyed Moses when they were commanded to kill each other (Ex. 32:27). The fact is that whoever clearly obeys the command of God does better, because he considers the command of the Lord of nature to be superior to nature wiser and more just than natural knowledge, and the disobedient one does less, because he considers what seems good to him to be more righteous than God’s. In the hidden, this is not the case, but depending on the intention of obedience or disobedience, so that the one who has the intention to please God does better. And in the obvious, God appears to be angry with the disobedient and to bless the one who obeyed; but in the hidden things it is not so, but, as has been said, according to the natural view both were just 68 and good, for the intention of both was according to God. And so it is. The prophet, who came to the king and stood in front of him, said: “Protect me, king, when I was walking, one man met me and wounded my head.” The king, seeing the blood and wound, became angry, according to his custom, but not at the one who complained, but, thinking that he needed to judge someone else, and not himself, pronounced a strict condemnation on the one who committed this lawlessness. The Prophet, having achieved what he hoped for, says: “You spoke well, king; therefore thus says the Lord: By taking it away, I will take the kingdom away from your hand and from your seed, for you did it.” So the prophet fulfilled the prophecy, according to his desire, and skillfully forced the king to listen carefully to himself and walked away, glorifying God. Such were the souls of the prophets who loved God and sought to suffer for the fulfillment of His commandments, as a result of their knowledge of God. And fair enough. For he who is completely knowledgeable about any path or any art goes through it with all diligence and convenience, and infallibly points out to others the direction of the path or the secrets and understanding of art, although he himself may be young in age, and often completely simple, while those are old and wise in other sciences. For the prophets, apostles and martyrs did not learn the knowledge of God and wisdom by hearing, as we do, but gave blood and received spirit. According to what was said in the eldership: “Give blood and receive spirit.” That is why the fathers, instead of sensual torment, endured torment, obeying their conscience, and instead of bodily death, they had death by choice, so that the mind could conquer carnal desires and reign in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and dominion, honor and worship, now and always, forever. Amen. The end of the labors of Peter Damascene The second book of the works of St. Peter of Damascus is divided into twenty-four words, according to the number of letters of the Greek alphabet, which makes up the acrostic of the entire book. Each word, starting with a well-known letter of the alphabet, has in the original, instead of a title, verses and after them the words: “Now bless the beginning, Father.” We have placed the translation of these verses in footnotes, and the titles of the words are placed at the beginning of each of them according to the table of contents of the original. Thus, in the original, the title of the first word consists of the following verses: “This preface corresponds to the letter α (alpha) and contains spiritual wisdom: for as it serves as the beginning of writing. in every language, so this too constitutes the beginning of all virtues, although, again, the end of all. But just as the alphabet is a child’s education, without which it is impossible to learn subsequent subjects of (earthly) learning, so the beginning of knowledge, although very small, without it it is by no means possible to acquire virtue.” Πλάνη, in glory. "lovely." In the original, instead of the title, there are verses: “The preface was written beyond hope; here again is the second letter, β (vita), I say, and the second word. It will be briefly said here that faith gives birth to another and greater faith, as the holy fathers say, the foundation of virtues, as the Lord’s apostle who laid it said. One is without the works of the law, while the other receives perfection from works. This is found in silence and is accomplished through many battles.” In the original, this word is titled as follows: “The third letter is γ (gamma), and here is the third word about fear. There are two fears of the Lord: introductory, removing from evil, and perfect, diligently cultivated.” Works of Saint Ephraim the Syrian. Part 2. P. 231. In the original it is entitled with the following verses: “Here is the fourth real word about piety and the letter δ (delta), for the order (of the alphabet) is so laid out; it has (in itself) abstinence, because together with chastity it constitutes the beginning of eight confrontations with eight passions. These are the works of piety." The title of the original is composed of verses: “The fifth word about patience and the letter ε. It is first and greatest in virtues and in all art.” The title of the original: “Here again the gospel word has been written about the hope of the future. Zita is the sixth of the letters. The mind also seeks ζ (ζητει) to become careless.” Supplemented by slav. translation, and in Greek. "thought" no. See: Ladder. Word 26, §52. The inscription of the original: “The seventh is in the letters η (ita), and the real word is about impartiality. It is born from hope and is an escape from the whole world.” The inscription of the original: “The eighth word, the eighth and the letter Θ (fita). Impartiality gives rise to the mortification of passions. Whoever does not hold it (within himself) with difficulty will not free himself from passions.” See: Book 1, about the sixth knowledge. P. 101. See: Ladder. Word 4, §105. The inscription of the original: “Here is ι (iota) and the ninth word about the honest suffering of Christ. From remembering death and one’s sins, many tears are born in the worker; and from them he receives the strength to contain in his mind the sufferings of Christ and His saints.” In glory “about the tears and honest sufferings of Christ.” Διά Χριστόν νοουντα, in glory: “having a mind about Christ” (cf.: 1 Cor. 2:16). The inscription of the original: “Here is the tenth letter κ (kappa) and again the word about Christ’s humility, which comes from the fact that the soul does not care about anything, but cultivates itself in every possible way, always in every task.” In glory "about the humility of Christ." In glory “he judges as if it were not from the Creator, as if he himself thought he had the wealth he had acquired.” That is, our awareness of our weakness. See: Works of St. Nile of Sinai. Part 1. P. 194. The inscription of the original: “The eleventh word and the letter λ (lambda). Humility gives rise to the reasoning of sensory creatures according to nature.” See: Cheti-Minei. May. Life of St. Pachomius the Great. Ἐπιτυγχάνει, and on the field in Greek. the book is given a note and written ίθ αποτυγχάνει. Σχηματιζεται πρόθ έπαρσιν. The inscription of the original: “The letter μ (mi) and the twelfth word; it explains the experiential contemplation of sensible creations. And let no one seek him at an unseasonable time.” In Greek added: ΐσωθ των νοητων, perhaps mental. The inscription of the original: “The letter ν (ni) and the thirteenth word about the knowledge here of the mental, that is, the intelligent forces of the disembodied. The one who contemplates knows this from the sensory.” The inscription of the original: “The real word, corresponding to the letter ξ (xi), is about true dispassion in general. Now fourteen chapters, by the grace of Christ, have been summarized.” Περιεκτική, in glory. "obsessive". The inscription of this word in the original: “Keeping the Divine commandments is proof of love for God and neighbor. Therefore, the real word speaks of love. It corresponds to the letter o (omicron) and is the fifteenth in number, and the beginning and end of the law is love.” The inscription of the original: “The letter π (pi) and the sixteenth word, about the knowledge of God in brief (speaking). For many have spoken about theology, in many canons and words.” The inscription of the original: “Now here is the seventeenth word about one of the main (virtues), since we have reached the letter ρ (ro). Wisdom is the first of the four." The inscription of the original: “Sigma (σ) is the eighteenth of the letters; the real word is about chastity.” The inscription of the original: “The letter τ (tav) and the nineteenth word about courage. It is born from the irritable (part of the soul) and is found in the midst of insolence and timidity.” The inscription of the original: “The twentieth word, in which the letter υ (upsilon), is about the truth of all virtues. It gives everyone equal and is born again from the mind.” The inscription of the original: “The letter φ (phi) and the twenty-first word about the perfect world of thoughts; as the disciples received from the Lord, for such (peace) was given from God.” The inscription of the original: “The twenty-second word and the letter χ (hi) - how joy is born from the world. Little will be said about her; because there is spiritual joy, there is also another.” The inscription of the original: “The twenty-third word about the Scriptures is that they have no differences in any way, (for) those who want to test them, but must understand everything written as it should.” Επί νοήμασι. Comparison: Book 2. Word 12. P. 267. In the Greek book, a remark is made on the margin: εν αλλ. ταπεινοφροσύνην, that is, in a friend. humility. The inscription of the original: “Omega (ω) is now the twenty-fourth real word that gives the heart a feeling so that a person knows what is useful.” Ἐξ αποριαθ, in glory. "from lack of art." Προσφέρειν, in glory. "approve".