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What laws does Jesus give to his disciples when he sends them to preach? The essential thing in them, without going into details, is that the disciples should be such in virtue, so well-ordered and consistent with their calling, and, if I must express it briefly, so heavenly that the gospel would be spread no less through their lives than through the word (1). It is not easy to find the most excellent of the virtues and give it primacy and advantage, just as in a multi-colored and fragrant meadow it is not suddenly possible to choose the most beautiful and fragrant of flowers, when one or the other attracts the sense of smell and the eye and forces itself to be picked before everyone else. In my understanding, various virtues can be compared and considered like this. Beautiful are faith, hope and love, these three (1 Cor. 13:13). The witness of faith is Abraham, justified by faith; hope - Enos, who first began to call on the Lord (Gen. 4:26), and all the righteous who, inspired by hope, endured disasters. The witness of love is the Divine Apostle [Paul], who dared to pronounce judgment on himself for the salvation of Israel (see Rom. 9:4), and God himself, who is called love (see 1 John 4:16). Strangeness is wonderful. The witness of this among the righteous is Lot the Sodomite, but not a Sodomite in his morals (see 2 Pet. 2:7-8), and among sinners - Rahab the harlot, but not a harlot in the disposition of his heart, who was awarded praise and salvation for his love of homosexuality (see Heb. 11:31). Brotherly love is wonderful: the witness is Jesus, who was not ashamed not only to be called our brother (see Heb. 2:11), but also to suffer for us. Love for mankind is wonderful: the witness is He, Jesus, Who not only created man for good works (Eph. 2:10) and combined His image with the flesh, showing the way to all that is best and leading us - strangers - to heavenly blessings, but He Himself became man for our sake. Long-suffering is wonderful: Jesus himself is again a witness to this, Who not only did not want to call legions of Angels against the tormentors who rose up against Him, not only reproached Peter for drawing the knife, but also healed the wounded ear (see Matt. 26:52-53; Luke 22:51). This was later demonstrated by Stephen, a disciple of Christ, who prayed for those who stoned him. Meekness is beautiful: the witnesses are Moses and David, for this they are praised most of all (see Num. 12:3; 2 Sam. 16:11-12; Ps. 131:1), and their Teacher himself, who does not contradict, does not cry, does not let out a voice in the streets (see Matt. 12:19) and does not resist those who lead Him. Jealousy is beautiful: witnesses of this are Phinehas, who with one blow of his spear pierced the Midianite woman along with the Israelite in order to save the children of Israel from the reproach, and for his zeal received a glorious name for himself; and after him - those who said: I am zealous for the Lord (1 Kings 19:10), I am jealous for you with the zeal of God (2 Cor. 11:2), zeal for Your house consumes me (Ps. 69:10), and not only did they say this, but also felt it strongly. Abstinence is wonderful: the Apostle Paul will convince you of this, who never ceases to keep himself strict (see 1 Cor. 9:27) and by the example of the Israelis he frightens people who rely on themselves and give free rein to their body (see 1 Cor. 10:5-8), and Jesus himself, who, being tempted, fasts and defeats the tempter (see Luke 4: 2-13). Prayer and vigil are wonderful: God himself will convince you of this, Who before suffering spends the night without sleep in prayer (see Matthew 26, 39, 42, 44). Purity and virginity are beautiful: Paul will convince you of this, who prescribed laws for this and set a fair price for married and celibate life (see 1 Cor. 7, 1–11, 25–40), and Jesus himself, born of a virgin, in order to honor birth and give preference to virginity. Abstinence is wonderful: David will convince you of this, who, having taken possession of the well of Bethlehem, did not drink the water, but only poured it out in honor of the Lord, not wanting to quench the thirst of others with his blood (see 1 Chron. 11, 18-19). Desert living and silence are wonderful: this is shown to me by Elijah’s Carmel, the desert of John, the mountain of Jesus, to which the Lord often went to talk with Himself in silence (see Matt. 14:23; Luke 6:12; 9:28; 22:39). Moderation is wonderful: this is taught to me by Elijah, who lives with a widow, John, who covers himself with clothes made of camel's hair, and Peter, who eats vegetables that cost no more than an asses 58 . Humility is wonderful: its examples are numerous, but the best of all examples is the Savior and Master of all, Who not only humbled Himself to the form of a servant (see Phil. 2:7), not only exposed His face to the shame of being spat on (Isa. 50:6), but was also numbered among the evildoers (Is. 53:12). Cleansing the whole world from sin, He washed the feet of the disciples in the form of a servant. Non-covetousness and contempt for wealth are beautiful: Zacchaeus and Christ himself testify to this; Zacchaeus - when, having accepted Christ to himself, he offered almost all his property as a gift; Christ - when he pointed out this virtue to the rich young man as the limit of perfection (see Luke 19:5-9; Matthew 19:21). In short, contemplation is beautiful, and activity is also beautiful; the first because it ascends above the earthly, enters the Holy of Holies and raises our mind to that which is akin to it; the other - because, accepting Christ to herself and serving Him, she proves her love by her deeds. Each of these virtues is a special path to salvation and undoubtedly leads to one of the eternal and blissful abodes. For just as there are different kinds of life, so God has many mansions (see John 14:2), and they are divided and assigned to each according to his dignity. Therefore, let one perform this virtue, another another, another many, and someone else, if possible, and all; only let everyone walk unceasingly, strive forward and follow unswervingly in the footsteps of that good guide who directly directs his path and leads him along the narrow path, through the narrow gate (see Matt. 7:14), to the breadth of heavenly bliss (1). I love virtue, however, this did not teach me what virtue is and where it will come from to me, who loves it so much. And unsatisfied desire torments. If virtue is a pure stream, not mixed with the waters that flow from every place, both from snow and from rain, then I ask: who found it on earth? For everyone either had heart impurity in himself, or accepted it into himself, while he drags along a heavy body and is indignant at the enemy of our life, who darkens and denigrates us with the abyss. Yes, and it would be unusual for me, who myself am nothing more than a solidified current and am constantly drawn by the flow of life, to be something non-fluid. If virtue is not a completely silvery stream, but accepts the worst into itself and is a discordant mixture, then tell me: what kind of virtue is it? At least my quick mind works a lot on this. Snow is naturally cold and white, while fire is reddish and hot. And they are not connected with each other, and those connected by force are more likely to be destroyed than to be connected. How did the vile thing come to virtue, humiliating the image of God in me; How could the image of the great God be touched by malicious sin, if I really am God and it is not in vain that I boast that I am Your property, O God? I hear about the beautiful river Althea 59 that it flows through a bitter sea, and its sweet waters (to surprise!) do not suffer harm during this course. But just as for the air corruption is fog and for bodily members it is illness, so for virtue is our sinful night (2). Let the following truth be immutably known: The first, pure nature is the Trinity, and then the Angelic nature; thirdly, I am a person placed in balance between life and painful death, I am destined for a majestic goal, but achieved with difficulty, unless, at least somewhat, I open the door of a sinful life, for such a feat is intended by God for my mind. And that one of us is the most perfect, who, among many evils, carries within himself a few idols of sin, who, with the help of the great God, keeping in his heart a fiery love for virtue, hurries to the heights, and drives sin away from himself, just as the current of a river, flowing into another fast, muddy, and indomitable river, although it mixes with it, however, the superiority of its purity closes its dirty current. This is the virtue of a complex being, but greater perfection is reserved for celestial beings. And if someone else on earth saw God or, having taken heavy flesh from here to heaven, ascended to the King, then this is God’s gift. Let there be a measure for mortals! But now I’ll give you a thought and a word about how to rise to the heights of great virtue, which alone is pure sacrifice to the Pure. I don't think that's possible here. For here a multi-layered fog lies before our eyes. It is desirable if, along with this life, I leave behind many lamentable sins. Virtue is not only a gift from the great God, who honored His image, because your desire is also needed. She is not the product of your heart alone, because the most excellent strength is needed. Although my vision is very sharp, it nevertheless sees visible objects not by itself and not without the great luminary, which illuminates my eyes and is itself visible to the eyes. And for my success I need two shares from the great God, namely: the first and the last, and also one share from me. God created me receptive to goodness, God gives me strength, and in the middle I am a current in the field. I am not very light on my feet, but it is not without hope of reward that I strain my muscles in running, because Christ is my breath, my strength, my wonderful wealth. He makes me both vigilant and kind. And without Him we are all mortal playgrounds of vanity, the living dead, stinking of sins. You have never seen a bird fly where there is no air, or a dolphin swim where there is no water. Likewise, a person without Christ does not lift his feet up (2). All of them (virtues) fill the heavenly wine presses - these vaginas for the fruit of our souls, although each virtue leads to a special place; because there are many abodes for many kinds of life (2). The benefits of real life are very alien to man; human virtue is what alone makes up life (2). Be jealous of the virtuous and avert the vicious. It is equally bad to envy the good and to love the vicious (2). Try to recognize all the actions of the virtuous (2). Do not join those who have made a safe voyage with those who have been shipwrecked, and with those who have lived well, do not put them on the same level as those who have slipped in life. The good and the bad do not have the same limits. One thing I notice is that the fallen died. You, without mentioning at all about those who made the voyage successfully, call only the fallen. And I call them successful. You show off the most vicious, because you yourself are thin, but I show off the virtuous. Separately put the one who leads the life indecently and chastely. Because of one bad thing, do not consider everyone bad. It is better for you to respect the pure than to hate the wicked (2). Consider the habit of good as a virtue, and conversely, the habit of evil as a disease opposite to virtue. And recognize the former as a gift from God, and the latter as your invention (2). Ass is a copper coin weighing 4 spools. The Alpheus is a river in the Peloponnese that also flows into the Ionian Sea. – Approx. ed. You might be interested in: