ДУША

Let us finally remember our dignity and think about our salvation, let us make every effort so that not only our body is healthy, but so that our soul is healed from its various ailments. And it is even more convenient for us to heal the illnesses of the soul than the illnesses of the body, if only we want to be abstinent and watchful. So, if we are outraged by some passion, but with a pious mind we imagine the future day of the Last Judgment and we have in mind not real pleasures, but the torments that follow them, then the passion will immediately retreat from our soul and leave it. Let us not be careless, but knowing that we have a feat and struggle ahead of us and that we need to be ready for battle, let us constantly keep our spirit strong and vigorous, so that, using help from above, we can erase the head of the evil beast, that is, I mean, the accuser against our salvation. The Lord himself promised us this, saying: “Behold, I give you power to tread on snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy” (Luke 10:19). (1) Let us acquire righteousness for ourselves through alms, so that it can be worthily said about us: they lavished, they gave to the poor - and their righteousness endures forever and ever. since it is said: “he squandered, he distributed,” so that you would not think that what was squandered perishes, it is immediately added: “his righteousness abides forever” (Ps. 111:9), that is, after the squandering of temporary treasures, there remains an unsquandered righteousness, extending to all eternity and never ending. And together with mercy, let us apply diligent care for other virtues - we will tame the passions of the flesh, we will drive out from our souls every indecent desire, every evil thought, anger, rage, envy and we will decorate with everything the beauty of the soul, so that, having acquired a bright and shining spiritual beauty, we will attract the Lord of Heaven to ourselves, and He will deign to create an abode for Himself in us: and He, where only When he sees a beautiful soul, he immediately comes there (1). Not all of the creature is destroyed; the noblest and most essential part of him - the soul - remains forever immortal, not being subjected to any of these disasters, while corruption concerns only the lower part of him. This circumstance serves us to our great honor; After all, we are not simply and not without any reason exposed to old age and illness, but justly for our benefit: justly because we fell into sin; for our benefit - so that through these needs and suffering we can eradicate the pride that comes from carelessness. Consequently, God did not allow this to humiliate us: if He wanted to humiliate us, He would not have left our soul immortal. But it was not out of powerlessness that He created our body like this: if He were powerless, then He could not have maintained the sky, the stars and the composition of the earth for such a long time. And in order to make us better, and more prudent, and more submissive to Him, on which all our salvation depends. Therefore, He did not create heaven subject to old age and any other similar weaknesses, because, deprived of free will and soul, it can neither sin nor correct itself; why there is no need for correction. And you, gifted with mind and soul, needed the modesty and humility produced by these sufferings, since in the beginning the first man first of all fell into pride. Otherwise, if the sky was created like our bodies and aged in the same way, many would see in this the great powerlessness of the Creator as unable to preserve one being for many centuries; meanwhile, now that His creatures have been staying for so long, take away from them the very reason [for this] (1). When the soul chooses virtue, despite difficulties and not yet receiving a reward, it shows favor and great zeal for it; and when she runs away from vice, despite its pleasures and without yet being punished, she learns to hate and turn away from it. Thus, she acquires the skill of turning away from vice and loving virtue (2). Such is the soul infected with pride. Once she leaves the care of her salvation, she never stops going crazy, but, having handed over the reins of her salvation to crazy wishes, she rushes everywhere. Just as an unbridled horse, throwing off the bridle from its lips and throwing its rider from its ridge, rushes faster than any wind and becomes unapproachable to those it meets, when everyone runs away and no one dares to hold it, so the soul, rejecting the fear of God that bridles it and throwing away the reason that controls it, runs through the countries of wickedness until, rushing into the abyss of destruction, it overthrows its own salvation into the abyss. Therefore, you need to constantly restrain her and, as if with some kind of bridle, pious thoughts, curb her insane desire (4). Most of our sins are generated by the feelings of the soul. Our soul, like a maiden in some palace, calmly resides in the center of the heart, and like maids, the five senses look after it. What feelings? Sight, taste, smell, hearing and touch. And so, if no feeling is spoiled or erred, then the soul retains its purity and innocence; if it happens that the sight, left without a helmsman, is wounded by the sight of youthful beauty and a strong impulse of passion penetrates the heart through the eyes, immediately the soul, enveloped in a storm of lust, drowns in sin, its chastity is destroyed with all its consequences (5). When the soul is in a state of insensibility and corruption and is possessed by the disease of envy, then it is not convinced by any miracle. On the contrary, when the soul is grateful, then it accepts everything with faith, and even has no special need for miracles (6). It is not so much then that a courageous and strong soul is revealed when someone runs the path without falling (because he has as his companion a good hope that excites, encourages, strengthens and makes him the most zealous), but rather when someone, after countless crowns, many trophies and victories, suffering extreme loss, can again take his former path (6). It is no longer possible for the soul, separated from the body, to wander here, because “the souls of the righteous are in the hand” of God (Wis. 3:1). If the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, then so are the souls of children, since they have not yet become evil. And the souls of sinners are immediately removed from here. This is clear from the parable of Lazarus and the rich man. And in another place Christ says: “This night your soul will be taken from you” (Luke 12:20). And it cannot be that the soul, having left the body, wanders here. And this is completely in accordance with reason. Indeed, if we, walking on a land familiar and known to us and being clothed with a body, when we make a journey in foreign countries, do not know without a guide which way to go, then how can a soul separated from the body and having renounced all earthly connections, can know without a guide where it should go? Also, from many other proofs, anyone can easily see that the soul, having left the body, can no longer remain here. So, Stephen said: “Receive my spirit” (Acts 7:59); Scripture also says about the patriarch: “and he was gathered to his people... and died in a good old age” (Gen. 25:8). And that the souls of sinners cannot remain here after death, listen to the rich man who asked for a lot and did not receive what he wanted. If this had been possible, he himself would have come and announced what was happening there. From this it is clear that after leaving here the souls are taken to a certain country and, no longer able to return from there, await that terrible day (6). Everything beautiful depends on the soul. If the soul rejoices, then it scatters roses on its cheeks; if he is sad, then, taking away all the beauty from the body, he clothes everything in black clothes. And if you are constantly in a joyful state, then the body is in a painless state; if it is in sadness, then the body becomes weaker and more powerless than the web. If he gets angry, he gives the body a disgusting and ugly appearance; if he shows a clear gaze, then he gives a pleasant appearance to the body. If she is overwhelmed by envy, then her body becomes pale and languid. If it is filled with love, then it imparts a special beauty to the body. In this way, many wives, without being attractive in appearance, receive special pleasantness from the soul; on the contrary, others, shining with external beauty, spoil it all by not having spiritual attractiveness. Imagine how a white face blushes and how pleasant the variety of color produces when the blush of modesty spreads over it. That is why, in whom the soul is shameless, his very appearance is more disgusting than the appearance of any beast; on the contrary, a bashful soul makes the very appearance meek and amiable. Truly, there is nothing more beautiful and kind than a kind soul. The love of bodily beauty is mixed with grief; on the contrary, love for spiritual beauty is combined with pure, undisturbed pleasure. So, why do you, passing the king, marvel at the herald? Why, leaving the sage himself, do you look with amazement at his interpreter? If you see an attractive external gaze, try to recognize the internal one; and, if the latter is ugly, despise the outer one. If you see an ugly woman in a beautiful mask, of course you will not be captivated by her; on the contrary, you will not want the plausible and beautiful one to cover herself with a mask, but you will want the mask to be removed so that you can see her in her natural beauty. Do the same in relation to the soul: try to recognize it in advance. The body covers it like a mask, and as it is, it always remains so; and the soul, even if it was ugly, can soon become beautiful; even if she had an ugly, fierce, stern eye, it can become beautiful, pretty, clear, affectionate, attractive (6). What, in your opinion, is the state of an irritable person and a gentle and meek person? Isn’t it true that the soul of the latter is like some secluded place where great silence reigns, and the soul of the first is like a noisy square, where there is a terrible cry, where camel, mule and donkey drivers shout with all their might at those passing by so as not to run them over? Or again, isn’t the soul of the latter like the middle of cities, where there is a strong noise from the silversmiths on one side, and from the coppersmiths on the other, and where some offend, while others suffer offense? And the soul of the first is like a certain mountain top, where a light wind blows and where a pure ray [of the sun] falls, from where transparent streams flow and where you meet many lovely flowers, as in spring meadows and gardens, flaunting plants, flowers and flowing streams. If there is any sound here, it is a pleasant sound, giving great pleasure to those who hear it. Here, either songbirds sit above on the branches of trees, and grasshoppers, nightingales and swallows harmoniously sing some one concert; or a quiet wind, lightly touching the branches of trees, often produces sounds similar to the sound of a flute or the cry of a swan; or a meadow covered with roses and lilies, which lean towards each other and cast blue, represents, as it were, a blue sea in a moment of slight excitement. In a word, here you can find many similarities to everyone: when you look at roses, you will think that you see a rainbow; and if you look at the violets, you will think that you see a rough sea; If you look at the lilies, you will think that you see the sky. And it is not only the sight that you enjoy here at the sight of such a spectacle, but also the body itself. Here a person primarily finds joy and rest for himself, so that he rather considers himself in heaven than on earth (10). It is impossible, truly impossible, to see the body weaken over time in the same way that the soul deteriorates and weakens from many sins. She falls into extreme talkativeness, speaks indistinctly, like old people or madmen, suffers from dullness of external senses, damage to the members of the body, forgetfulness and suppuration from the eyes, becomes disgusting to people and quite suitable for the devil. Such are the souls of sinners. But the souls of the righteous are not like this, but young and vigorous, always in the full bloom of age, always ready for any struggle and warfare; the souls of sinners, when subjected to even a weak attack, usually immediately fall and perish. The prophet expressed this when he said that “they are like dust swept away by the wind” (Ps. 1:4), so they are fickle and subject to any attack, living in sins. They do not see well, do not hear correctly, speak indistinctly, constantly stutter, their mouth is always full of saliva and it would be good if only saliva, it would not be so disgusting, but they emit speeches that are more stinking than any dirt, and the worst thing is that they are unable to spit out the saliva of such speeches, but with great shamelessness they pull it out with their hands and rub it again, since it has become thick and difficult to separate. You probably feel disgusted hearing my description, the more disgusting the object itself. If it is unpleasant to see it in the body, then it is much more unpleasant in the soul (11). You might be interested in: