Глава 18. К соблюдающим подвижническое правило в общежитии

In what was said before, we reasoned, as much as possible, about an ascetic taken separately and who loved a solitary life: how can he, by teaching his soul to what is good and directing his body to what is right, imprint in himself for us an example of perfect wisdom. But since the majority of ascetics live in communities, cultivating in each other thoughts about improving themselves in virtue and through mutual comparison of what everyone does for this, stimulating themselves to excel in goodness, we considered it fair to offer them a verbal admonition. And first of all, having realized the greatness and importance of the good that they are acquiring for themselves, they must accept this admonition in such a way as to show in themselves the zeal and thoroughness worthy of the virtue in which they practice. So, firstly, having loved communication and corporate life, they return to what is good by nature. For I call that communion of life the most perfect, from which the ownership of property is excluded, the opposition of dispositions is expelled, in which all confusion, disputes and quarrels are rooted out, everything common, both souls, and dispositions, and bodily strength, and what is needed to nourish the body and to serve it, in which there is one common God, one common purchase of piety, common salvation, common exploits, common labors, common crowns, in which many are one and each is not one, but among many. What is this life like? But what is more blessed than this? What is more perfect than such closeness and such unity? What is more pleasant than this fusion of morals and souls? People who have advanced from different tribes and countries have brought themselves into such perfect identity that in many bodies one soul is seen, and many bodies turn out to be instruments of one will. He who is weak in body has many who are sympathetic to him; the sick and the fallen in soul have many who heal and restore him. They are equally slaves and masters of each other, and with irresistible freedom they mutually show perfect slavery to each other - not that which is forcibly introduced by the necessity of circumstances, plunging those captured into slavery into great despondency, but that which is joyfully produced by freedom of will, when love subordinates the free to each other and protects freedom by self-will. God wanted us to be like this in the beginning, and for this purpose He created us. And it is they who, blotting out the sin of the forefather Adam, restore primitive kindness, because people would have no division, no strife, no war if sin had not cut their natures. They are exact imitators of the Savior and His life in the flesh. For just as the Savior, having formed the ranks of the disciples, even made Himself common to the Apostles, so these, who obey their leader, perfectly observing the rule of life, exactly imitate the life of the Apostles and the Lord. They compete with the lives of the Angels, like them, strictly observing sociability. The Angels have no quarrel, no strife, no misunderstanding; everyone enjoys the property of everyone, and everyone contains complete perfections, because angelic wealth is not some limited substance that needs to be cut when many want to share it, but immaterial acquisition and wealth of understanding. And therefore, their perfections, being complete in everyone, make everyone equally rich, making their own possession undoubted and indisputable. For the contemplation of the highest perfection and the clearest comprehension of the virtues is an angelic treasure, which everyone is allowed to look at, since everyone acquires complete knowledge of this and complete possession of it. Such are the true ascetics, who do not appropriate earthly things for themselves, but covet heavenly things and, in inseparable participation, wholly preserve within themselves everything, and each one and the same thing, because the acquisition of virtue and enrichment by good deeds is praiseworthy covetousness, theft that does not lead to tears, gluttony worthy of a crown; and the one who does not commit such violence is guilty. Everyone is plundered, and not a single one is offended, and therefore the world disposes of the wealth. They anticipate the blessings of the promised Kingdom, in their praiseworthy life and communication, presenting an exact imitation of their residence and condition there. They actually maintain complete non-covetousness, having nothing of their own, but everything in common. They clearly showed human life how many benefits the Savior’s incarnation brought us, because human nature, torn apart and cut into thousands of parts, is brought back into unity, to the best of its ability, with itself and with God. For this is the main thing in the Savior’s economy in the flesh - to bring human nature into unity with itself and with the Savior and, having destroyed the evil section, restore the primitive unity, just as the best doctor uses healing medicines to reunite a body that has been dismembered into many parts. And I depicted this not in order to boast myself in any way and extol with my words the good deeds of communal ascetics (for the power of my word is not such that it could decorate the great, but on the contrary, it can further darken it with the weakness of the image), but in order to, if possible, describe and show the height and greatness of this good deed. For what, when compared, can become equal to this good? Here there is one father, and he imitates the Heavenly Father, and there are many children, and everyone tries to surpass each other in favor towards the abbot, everyone is of the same mind, delighting the father with good deeds, not recognizing natural bonds as the reason for this rapprochement, but making the Word, which is stronger than nature, the leader and guardian of unity, and bound by the union of the Holy Spirit. Is it possible to find in anything earthly any resemblance to the image of the perfection of this virtuous life? But in earthly things there is no similarity, only one similarity remains - the heavenly one. The Heavenly Father is impassive, without passion, and this Father brings everyone into unity with his word. The children of the Heavenly Father keep themselves uncorrupted, and these are brought together by the observance of uncorruption. Love binds those above, love has brought these into harmony with each other. Truly, the devil himself comes to despair in front of this squad, not finding the strength in himself against such a number of fighters who cheerfully and unitedly take up arms against him, so cover each other with love, are so protected by the Spirit that there is not even the slightest place open for his blows. Imagine the unanimous feat of the seven Maccabees and you will find that the agreement of the ascetics is even more fervent. It is about them that the prophet David exclaims in song, saying: “Behold, what is good, or what is good, but let the brethren live together” (Ps. 133:1), with the word good depicting the praiseworthiness of life, and with the word red - the joy produced by unanimity and agreement. He who goes through this life with all accuracy is, in my opinion, a zealot of the highest virtue. You might be interested in: