Letters 1-43

In the West, letters from the blessed. Jerome of Stridon was no less popular than his translations of the Bible. 117 letters were translated into Russian. Many of them are treatises of considerable volume, devoted to various exegetical, dogmatic or moral-ascetic issues. This publication presents the first 43 letters, compiled in 370-380. (letters 1-18) and in 382-385. (letters 19-43). The letters discuss selected passages from the New and Old Testaments. For example: - seraphim from the vision of the prophet Isaiah (Is.6:1-9) (letter 18); - the word “hosanna” (letter 19); - parable of the prodigal son (letter 20); - Old Testament names of God (letter 24); - the words “halleluia”, “amen”, “maran-afa”, “diapsalma”, etc. (letter 25); - Hebrew alphabet Psalm 118 (letter 29); - answers to questions from Pope Damasus on the Book of Genesis (letter 34), etc. Blzh. Jerome raises such moral and ascetic issues as monasticism and renunciation of the world (letter 14), maintaining virginity (letter 21), etc. A number of letters represent epitaphs to different persons (letters 1, 22, 23, 32, 36, 37). Letters devoted to dogmatic-polemical issues include: letters 15, 17 (use of Trinitarian terminology), letter 39 (against the Montanists), letter 40 (against the Novatians, about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit), etc. Contents Section One, containing letters written mainly from the Chalcid desert from 370 to 380. 1. Letter to Innocent - about a woman struck by the sword seven times 2. Letter to Theodosius and other hermits 3. Letter to Rufinus the monk 4. Letter to Florence 5. Letter to Florence 6. Letter to Julian, deacon of Aquileia 7. Letter to Chromatius, Jovinian and Eusebius 8. Letter to Niceas, upodeacon of Aquileia 9. Letter to Chrysogon, monk of Aquileia 10. Letter to Paul, Elder of Concordia 11. Letter to the Virgins of Emon 12. Letter to Anthony the monk 13. Letter to his maternal aunt - Castorina 14. Letter to the monk Iliodorus 15. Letter to Pope Damasus 16. Letter to Pope Damasus 17. Letter to Mark the Presbyter 18. Letter to Pope Damasus. About the Seraphim and the coal Section two, the contents of the letter written by Jerome over almost three years, from the end of 382 to more than half of 385 19. Letter to Pope Damasus: about what the word hosanna means. 20. Letter to Damasus about two sons 21. Letter to Eustochia about maintaining virginity 22. Letter to Marcella about the death of Leia. 23. Letter to the same Marcella, in praise of Azella 24. Letter to the same Marcella. About the ten names of God 25. Letter to the same Marcella. About some Jewish names 26. Letter to the same Marcella 27. Letter to the same Marcella. About interpsalmy Excerpt from a letter of Origen. 28. Letter to the same Marcella. About the words: Ehud and Feraphin 29. Letter to Paul. About the Hebrew alphabet 119 Psalm 30. Letter to Eustochia. About gifts 31. Letter to Marcella 32. Letter to Paul, an excerpt from a letter about Origen 33. Letter to Marcella. About several places of Psalm 126 34. Letter to Pope Damasus 35. Letter to Marcella 36. Letter to Marcella about the illness of Blesilla 37. Letter to Paul about the death of her daughter Blesilla 38. Letter to Marcella about Onaz 39. Letter to Marcella 40. Letter to Marcella against the Novatians 41. Letter to Marcella 42. Letter to Marcella 43. Letter to Azella Section one, containing letters written mainly from the Chalcid desert from 370 to 380. 1. Letter to Innocent - about a woman struck by the sword seven times Often you asked me, dear Innocent, not to keep silent about the miraculous event that happened in our time. For my part, modestly and, as I see now, not without reason, I refused your proposal and considered it impossible for myself, partly because all human speech is insignificant compared to heavenly glory, partly because idleness, which is for the mind what rust is for iron, weakened in me the previously weak ability of eloquence; On the contrary, you insisted on your own, arguing that when discussing the affairs of God you need to pay attention not to whether you can or cannot, but to your spiritual disposition, and you assured that a person who is convinced of the truth of what he says cannot be short of words. So what should I do? I cannot fulfill your request properly, but I do not dare refuse. And so I, an inexperienced swimmer, board a heavily loaded ship and, having never once steered a shuttle on the lake, set off straight into the stormy Euxine Sea. Now that the earth has disappeared from my eyes, the sky and sea are all around me, the abyss is terrifying with its darkness, and in the stormy darkness only the foamy water shafts are white. “Hang wind-blown sails to the mast,” you shout to me, “loosen the ropes, steer the rudder!” I obey you and since love can do anything (1 Cor. 13:7), I entrust my voyage to the favorable wind of the Holy Spirit. Spirit, hoping to find consolation for myself, whatever the success of my voyage. If the waves bring me to the desired pier, then I will be considered a skillful helmsman; if unskillful speech runs aground, then you may be dissatisfied with my inability, but you cannot blame me for lack of zeal. And so I begin the story. At the foot of the Alps lies the Ligurian city of Verzella, once glorious, but now sparsely populated and therefore dilapidated. When, according to custom, the consul arrived in this city, and a woman was presented to him for trial, accused by her husband of adultery, he betrayed her, along with the imaginary participant in her crime, to all the horrors of imprisonment. A little later, after bloody and painful torture with iron claws and planing of the sides, the unfortunate young man, wanting to get rid of long torment with a quick death, lied on his own, and at the same time on someone else’s head, and was condemned, poor thing, to be beheaded; and to the point, since he did not leave the innocent woman the opportunity to justify herself. But the woman, weaker in body, was stronger in courage. When her body was stretched out on a wooden horse and her hands, stained in the prison mud, were shackled behind her back, she, raising her eyes to the sky, which only the executioner could not shackle, said so that tears could be heard in the words: “You, Lord Jesus, tester of hearts and wombs, before whom nothing is hidden, you are a witness that it is not out of fear of death that I do not admit myself guilty, but I do not want to lie, so as not to sin. And you, unfortunate one, why, wanting a quick death, do you kill two innocents? I myself wish to die, I wish to throw off this hateful body, but not as guilty of adultery. My neck is ready, I am not afraid of the shining sword, but my innocence remains with me. Death does not exist for those who are killed with the hope of life.” Then the consul, amused by the bloody spectacle, and like a beast who, having once tasted blood, always thirsts for it, orders the torment to be doubled and, gnashing his teeth, threatens the executioner with a similar cruel punishment, if the woman’s weakness does not confess to what the man’s fortress could not keep silent about. Help, Lord Jesus: how many plagues have been invented for one of Your people! The hair is tied to a post, the body is pulled tighter to the wooden horse, a fire is laid at the feet, the executioner whittles away both sides, no mercy is given to the nipples: the woman remains motionless, and, rising in spirit above bodily pain, consoled by the approval of her conscience, she triumphs over the cruelty of torment. The cruel judge rises from his seat as if defeated; a woman prays to God: her limbs twist out of their joints, she turns her gaze to the sky; the other defendant allegedly admits to a common crime with her; she denies his confession, and herself, being in danger, protects another who is in danger. The same words are heard from her: “Beat, torment, burn, torment; It's not my fault. If you believe the word of God, the day will come when my case will be thoroughly examined: I have a Judge.” The already tired executioner was breathing with difficulty, and there was no room for a new wound. It was already hard for vanquished anger to see the body tormented by it. Immediately the angry consul said: “Why should you marvel, those present, if a woman would rather be tortured than die? Adultery, of course, cannot be committed without two accomplices, and, in my opinion, it is more likely to assume that a malicious criminal is locked up than that an innocent young man commits an unprecedented crime." Then, after pronouncing the same sentence on both defendants, the executioner leads the condemned to death; all the people flock to the spectacle, so that it seems as if all the inhabitants of the city are being evicted; the crowd is pressing in, breaking through the city gates. The head of the unfortunate young man is immediately cut off with the first blow of the sword, and the headless corpse floats in its blood. When it came to the woman’s turn, she bent her knees, a shining sword rose above her trembling neck, and the executioner strained his hand, experienced in murder, with all his might - but at the first touch to the body, the deadly blade stopped, and having slightly cut the skin, it marked its mark with only a few drops of blood. The executioner, surprised and frightened by the weakness of his hand and its inability to wield the sword, begins new efforts. Again the powerless blade falls over the woman and freezes over the innocent neck, as if the iron was afraid to touch the condemned woman. Then the lictor, enraged and out of breath, threw his cloak around his neck, strained all his strength and raised his sword over the wound, not noticing that at that time the buckle fastening the edges of the mantle broke off and fell to the ground. “Here,” said the woman, “something golden fell off your shoulder; lift it up so that what you have acquired with much labor will not be lost.” Please tell me what this calmness means. The condemned woman is not afraid of the threat of death, she rejoices when she is struck by the sword; the executioner turns pale; his eyes, not seeing the sword, see only the buckle, while his victim, indifferent to death, still shows favorable attention to his tormentor. Already the third blow rendered the Sacrament of the Holy Trinity in vain. The already frightened executioner, not relying on the edge, turned the sword flat, in order to at least press it into the body with the pressure of his hand. O deed, unheard of in all ages! The sword bends at the hilt, and as if turning to its owner, it confesses that it is no longer capable of bloodshed. Present to me the examples of three youths who, among the cool fiery whirlwinds, instead of weeping, sang hymns, while a harmless flame curled playfully around their vestments (Saraballa) 1 and sacred hair. Let the story of blessed Daniel be added here, near whom the lions, frightened of their prey, affectionately waved their tails. Let everyone now remember Susanna, glorious by her faith, who, having been condemned by an unrighteous court, was saved by the Holy Spirit, who filled the youth. We see another similar example of the Lord's mercy. Susanna, freed by the judge, did not go under the sword; our defendant, accused by the judge, was saved by the sword itself. Meanwhile, the people are arming themselves to protect women. People of all ages and both sexes put the executioner to flight, and, having gathered in a circle, they almost cannot believe their eyes. The news of this alarm reaches the nearest city, and from there a whole detachment (turma) of 2 lictors gallops in a crowd. One of them, whose responsibility lay in taking care of the execution of sentences over the condemned, broke away from the midst of his comrades and disgraced his gray hair, covered with dust, exclaimed: “Why are you, citizens, destroying my head? Why are you putting me to death instead of this woman? If you are merciful, if you are kind-hearted, then of course, wanting to save the condemned woman, you should not destroy me, the innocent one.” The people were amazed by this cry, a kind of sad numbness seized everyone, and an amazing change took place in the view of the matter, so that before it seemed like a demand of justice to save the condemned woman, but now it seemed like a demand of justice to allow murder. And so a new sword appears, a new executioner. There is a sacrifice, strengthened only by the protection of Christ. Shocked by the first and second blows, the woman with the third blow of the sword falls to the ground, wounded. O wonderful greatness of Divine power! She who had previously been struck by a sword four times and remained unhurt, now, a little later, seemed to have died, so that an innocent would not die for her. The clerics, as part of their duty, wrap a linen around the bloody corpse, and, having lined a hole dug in the ground with stones, build a grave according to custom. The sun quickly flows to the west, and God's mercy precedes the onset of night 3. Suddenly the woman’s chest begins to tremble, her eyes seek light, her body becomes animated for life; now she is already breathing, already sitting, already getting up and speaking. She is already able to utter the words: The Lord is my helper, I will not fear what man will do to me (Ps. 118:6). Meanwhile, one old woman, supported at the expense of the church, gave her soul to God, and the body of the new deceased is buried in a pre-prepared grave, as if events followed one another in a deliberate order. As soon as it began to dawn, Satan entered the lictor; he is looking for the corpse of the murdered woman, orders to show himself her grave; thinks that the one who, to his surprise, could hardly die, is still alive. The clerics show the lictor a fresh mound, lead him to the freshly scattered earth with these words: “Well? dig up the bones already buried. Declare a new war on the grave, and, if that’s not enough, throw out your limbs to be torn apart by beasts and birds. "Whoever is struck by the sword seven times must suffer something worse than death." While the executioner is embarrassed by the general indignation, measures are secretly taken to restore the woman’s health. And so that the doctor’s frequent visits to the church do not arouse suspicion, a woman with cropped hair, accompanied by several virgins, is transported to a village located in the outback. There she remains, having changed her clothes, in the form of a man; The wound heals little by little and only a scar remains behind it. But in truth: the highest legality is the highest untruth! (jus summum – summa malitia! - literally: “the highest right is the highest evil” - lat.) after so many miracles, laws are still rampant. However, this is where the course of events has taken me. I have already reached the name of our Evagrius, about whose labors for Christ I cannot hope to speak properly - I cannot even remain completely silent, because enthusiastic speeches break out by themselves. Who is able to sing with a worthy song how, thanks to the vigilant supervision of Evagrius, Auxentius of Milan was almost buried alive 4 and how the Roman bishop, already almost entangled in the networks of conspiracy, defeated his enemies and did no harm to the vanquished? “Limited by the narrow limits of time, I skip these events and leave them to be remembered by others after me” 5 I am only satisfied with the conclusion of this case. Evagrius goes to the Emperor, burdens him with requests, persuades him with merits, convinces him with his persistence, so that he returns the one returned for life and for freedom. 2. Letter to Theodosius 6 and other hermits How I would like now to be in your company and with delight to embrace your amazing host, even if my eyes were not worthy to see it. I would look at the desert, more pleasant than any city. I would look at secluded places, like paradise, containing hosts of saints. But since, due to my sins, my head, burdened with all sorts of crimes, cannot have participation in the society of the blessed, I ask you, with your prayers, free me from the darkness of this age. And as before in person, so now in writing, I never cease to express my sincere desire, the fulfillment of which my mind strives with all its might. It is up to you to ensure that your desire is followed by fulfillment. My business is to wish; The point of your prayers is to give both desire and strength for fulfillment. I am like a sick sheep that has wandered away from the whole flock. And if the good shepherd, laying me on his shoulders, does not bring me to his pastures, then my feet will weaken and give way during the very effort to climb. I am that prodigal son who, having squandered all the property entrusted to me by my father, has not yet fallen at the feet of my parent; had not yet begun to renounce the pleasures of his former luxury. And since I am not much - I won’t say behind the vices, but began to want to lag behind, the devil now binds me with new nets, places new obstacles, surrounds me “everywhere with seas, everywhere with pontoons” (Aeneid. Book V), now, finding myself in the middle, I do not want to go back, and I cannot go forward. May God grant that through your prayers the spirit of St. The spirit moved me forward and carried me to the pier of the desired shore. 3. Letter to Rufinus the monk As a result of studying the sacred books, I knew before, most dear Rufinus, that God gives more than what is asked of him, and often communicates such benefits without the eye seeing them, or the ear not hearing them, and not reaching the heart of man (1 Cor. 2:9), but now I only learned this from my own experience. I, for whom the hope of maintaining a weak semblance of personal co-presence with you through mutual correspondence seemed rather bold, I hear that you are in Egypt, penetrating Egyptian secrets, visiting hosts of monks, walking around the heavenly family on earth. Oh, if the Lord Jesus Christ would give me the opportunity to suddenly be transported to you, just as Philip was once transported to the Eunuch or Habakkuk to Daniel 7, how tightly I would hug you, how I would kiss those lips that once reasoned with me, sometimes erroneously, sometimes wisely. But since, more for my reason than for your unworthiness, we cannot suddenly be transferred to each other, and since my weak body, even in a state of health, was crushed by frequent illnesses; then, instead of myself, I am sending this letter to meet you, so that it will bring you to me, bound to me by a union of friendship. The first news of unexpected joy was conveyed to me by Brother Iliodor. I was afraid to believe what I wanted to believe, especially since Iliodor said that he did not receive the news of your arrival in the East first-hand, and the very unexpectedness of the event took away the credibility of the news. Soon a new messenger disposed my hesitant and perplexed mind in favor of the reliability of the news: it was an Alexandrian monk, who, according to pious folk custom, had long ago gone to serve the Egyptian confessors and arbitrary martyrs (voluntate iam martyres) 8 and saw you in person. I admit, I didn’t quite believe it then. Since the monk did not know either your name or country, his news was significant only in the sense that he confirmed what was reported to others. Finally, it was no longer possible to doubt any longer. “Rufinus is already in Nitria; he has already reached Blessed Macarius,” this is what numerous and private news brought from Egypt reported. Then I gave full rein to my gullibility, and then most of all I regretted that I was sick: and if the powerlessness of a weakened body had not tied me hand and foot, then neither the summer heat nor the sea, which is always dangerous for swimmers, would have prevented me from going to meet you with cordial haste. Believe me, brother: the swimmer, exhausted by storms, does not look into the distance towards the desired pier, the parched fields do not thirst for rain, the sad mother sitting on a rocky shore waits for her son (as I am waiting for you). When a sudden whirlwind tore me from your embrace and a merciless separation cut short our close friendship, “then heavy rain poured over my head, all around me I saw only the sky and the sea” 9. Finally, after Thrace, Pontus, Bithynia, all the way through Galatia and Cappadocia and the land of Cilicia, exhausted me with heat, Syria appeared to me, wandering on an uncertain journey, as the most reliable haven for a shipwrecked man. Here I suffered all sorts of illnesses and lost one of my two eyes. I mean Innocent, a part of my soul, who was stolen from me by a sudden fever (ardor-Febris). Now I am left with the one and only light that is dearest to me, Evagrius, for whom I, as a person constantly incapable of work, am, of course, superfluous. Gilas, a member of the St.’s household, was also with us. Melania, whose purity of morals earned him freedom from slavery; with his death he opened a still fresh wound for me 10. But since the Apostle does not command us to grieve for the departed, and, moreover, the excessive strength of grief is tempered by the subsequent joyful news, then we, wanting to notify you and share joy with you, tell you this: my, and together yours - or better said - our Bonoz is already ascending the ladder depicted in Jacob’s dream; - carries his cross and does not care about tomorrow and does not look back, sows with tears in order to reap in joy, and, in accordance with the mystery of Moses, lifts up the serpent in the desert. Let the false miracles depicted in Greek and Roman style stand aside before this true event. Here is a young man, who, together with us, was formed by the noble arts of this century, very rich, especially worthy in comparison with his peers, leaving his mother, sisters and his dearest brother, retired to a deserted island, surrounded by a roaring sea, terrible for sailors with its sharp cliffs and bare rocks, and settled there, as if some kind of paradise resident. There are no farmers there, no monks, and even the boy Onesimus, whom you know, whom Bonoz caressed like a brother, 11 does not share his solitude in such a desert. Bonosus is alone there - not alone, however, but with Christ - contemplating the glory of God, which the Apostles saw no other way than in the desert 12. He does not see cities surrounded by towers, but he entered his name in the census of the new citizenship. His limbs, covered with ugly sackcloth, tremble; but for this reason it will be all the easier for him to be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord. The shores of the sea do not delight his eyes, 13 but for this reason he will drink the water of life at the right hand of the Lord. Visualize, my dear friend, the position of Bonoz, and transport yourself into his life with all your soul. Then only you can praise the victory when you learn the feats of the fighter. All around the island the restless sea roars and the sea waves splash loudly, crashing against the radiating mountain cliffs. There is no greenery on the island, no flowering field shaded by dense trees. The steep cliffs seem to close off some kind of terrible dungeon. Bonoz, calm, fearless and fully armed according to the commandment of the Apostle, now hears God, reading divine books, talks with God, praying to the Lord, and perhaps, while staying on the island, contemplates something like John. “What kind of nets do you think the devil can weave for him now?” what kind of kovy to prepare? Perhaps, remembering the ancient deception, the devil will decide to influence him with hunger? but Bonoz has a ready answer: man will not live on bread alone (Matthew 4:4). Perhaps it will offer wealth and fame? but in response it will be said: those who want to get rich fall into adversity and into a snare (1 Tim. 6:9) and: all my praise is in Christ (Gal. 6:14). Will a serious illness strike the members exhausted by fasting? but it will be reflected by the saying of the Apostle: when I am weak, then I am strong, and: power is made perfect in weakness (2 Cor. 12:10, 9). Will there be a death threat? but he will hear the answer: I desire to be resolved and to be with Christ (Phil. 1:23). Will he shake you with flaming arrows? but they will be quenched by the shield of faith (Eph. 6:16). To put it briefly: Satan will attack, but Christ will protect. I thank you, Lord Jesus, that I have an advocate for me before you on the day of your judgment. You yourself are a judge of the heart, testing the advice of the heart, having seen the prophet imprisoned in the belly of a whale. You yourself know that Bonoz and I grew up together from tender childhood to blossoming age, that we were nourished and warmed in the arms of the same nurses and educators. And when, after the time of education in Rome, we wandered together along the semi-wild banks of the Rhine, I was the first to desire to honor you, Lord! Remember that this ascetic of yours was once my comrade. You have promised, Great Lord: whoever teaches and does not do it will be called in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does and teaches will be called great in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:19). Let Bonoz receive the crown of valor, and as a reward for his daily martyrdom, let him follow the lamb in a long robe. The Father has many mansions. And star differs from star in glory (1 Cor. 15:41). Let me bow my head at the feet of the saints; and since I desired to turn to You, and Bonoz fulfilled this, forgive me who could not fulfill it, and give him the reward he deserves. I may have expanded more than the brevity of the letter allowed, but this usually happens to me when I need to say something in praise of our Bonoz. Returning to the main subject of my letter, I ask you, do not forget the friend who has disappeared from your eyes, who “is sought for a long time, is found with difficulty, and is preserved with even greater difficulty” 14. Let whoever wants shine with gold, let expensive metals shine from under the covers on magnificent stretchers 15 . Love is incomparable to anything. Sincere affection is above any price. A friendship that can end has never been true 16 . Be healthy in Christ. You can understand from the fact that I am beginning to love you before meeting you personally. You can understand what rumors about your shrine the people’s lips are full of. For, as the Apostle says, the sins of certain people are presented as a precursor to judgment (1 Tim. 5:24); so, on the contrary, the fame of your love spreads in such a way that the one who loves you is not so much considered worthy of praise as the one who does not love you is considered criminal. I'm not talking about the countless number of people in whose person you supported, clothed, honored, and visited Christ. The help you gave to brother Iliodor can open the mouths of even the dumb; with such gratitude, with such praise, he told how the hardships of his journey were eased by you, that even I, that lazy person who is consumed by unbearable weakness, with winged legs, as they say, 17 - of course, inspired by the power of love and affection - greeted and mentally hugged you. So, I show my respect to you and pray to the Lord that He will be pleased to confirm the beginning friendship. And since brother Rufinus, who, as is heard, came from Egypt to Jerusalem with St. Melania, is connected with me by an inextricable friendship, then please take the trouble to convey to him my letter attached to this letter to you. Don't judge me by his virtues; in him you will notice obvious signs of holiness, but I am ashes and the most insignificant dust, or fuel turning to ash: for me it is enough if the weakness of my eyes is able to endure the brilliance of his morals. He was just washed and clean, and white as snow; and I am stained with all sinful defilements, day and night I prepare with fear to pay the last tribute. But just as the Lord resolves the chained (Ps. 146:8) and rests on His humble and trembling words (Is. 66:2), then perhaps He will also say to me, lying in the tomb of iniquities: Jerome, come out! Holy Presbyter Evagrius greets you a lot; We also respectfully greet Brother Martinian, whom I wished to see, but was bound by the bonds of weakness. Be healthy in Christ. When I was in that part of the desert adjacent to Syria and the Saracens, I received the scripture of your love. After reading it, a strong desire was kindled in me to go to Jerusalem, so that this disposition of spirit, favorable to friendship, almost harmed my feat. Now, instead of myself, I am sending you a letter about how I live; and although I am absent in body, I nevertheless go with love and spirit, fervently praying, so that the distance of time or place will not interrupt the emerging friendship, sealed by the union of Christ; It’s better to confirm it by mutual letters. They fly between us, meet each other, talk with us. Friendship will not lose much if it is maintained by such a conversation. Brother Rufinus, as you write, has not come yet, and if he does come, there will be little consolation for me if I don’t see him. But he is also separated from me by a great distance so that he cannot come here; and I, having taken upon myself the feat of solitude, can no longer act as I want. Therefore, I beg, and you, do the favor, ask that Rufinus lend you for copying the commentaries of Blessed Retitius, Bishop of Augusto-Dunna, in which he sublimely expounded the Song of Songs. A certain Paul the Elder also wrote to me from the fatherland of the aforementioned brother Rufinus that Rufinus has a codex of Tertullian belonging to Paul, the owner of which earnestly asks for its return. Therefore, please ask the copyist to write down those books that, as you will see from the attached register, I do not have. Please also send me an interpretation of the Psalms of David and a very lengthy book of St. Hilaria on the councils, which I myself copied for him in Trevira 18. You know that this is food for the Christian soul - to study in the law of the Lord day and night. You accept other people with your hospitality, console them with affection, support them with money; - for me, if you fulfill my requests, you have already done everything. And since, by the grace of God, I have a rather large library of sacred books, order me to send to you one by one whatever you please. Do not think that your order will be burdensome for me. I have pets who study antiquities. Likewise, I promise to send you books not as a reward for the service expected of you. Brother Iliodor told me that you are looking for many works, but do not find them; and even if you have everything, you want to seek and acquire even more. As for that teacher, your boy, about whom you deigned to write (and about whom there is no doubt that he is smart with someone else’s mind) 19, the presbyter Evagrius often scolded him in front of me, when I was still in Antioch. The teacher said: I am not afraid of anything. Evagrius replied that he had been abandoned by God. If you like, this teacher is here, send him wherever you wish. It seems that I am not committing a sin if I do not allow a fickle person to wander any longer from place to place. Since I, being hopelessly in the desert, could not fulfill your instructions, I asked my dear Evagrius for your sake and for my sake to pay attention to this matter. I wish you to be healthy in Christ. 6. Letter to Julian, Deacon of Aquileia There is an old proverb: liars are not believed in the truth. It seems that this very thing happened to me, whom you scold for my long silence. If I say: I wrote often, but I couldn’t take care of sending letters, you will answer: this is a long-standing excuse of all non-writers. If I say: there was no one to deliver the letters with, you will say that there are too many such people here. I will claim that I have already given them the letters to give to you: but since they did not deliver, they will deny it, and it will be difficult to find out who is right and who is wrong when dealing with absent people. So what should I do? I will ask for forgiveness without guilt, considering it better to concede and make peace than to quarrel in the knowledge that I am right. I will also say that constant physical illnesses and mental ailments crushed me so much that, in view of the threatening death, I almost did not remember myself. So that you do not consider this false, I, according to the oratorical method, after the arguments, will present witnesses. My brother, St., who was with me, can be a witness. Iliodor, who wanted to live with me in the desert, but withdrew, frightened by my crimes. But all the guilt of the previous silence will be redeemed by the present verbosity. For, as Flaccus says in his satire: “the common vice of all singers towards their friends is that when they are asked, they never sing, and when they are not asked, they never stop”; so I will finally fall upon you with bundles of letters, so that you will begin to ask me not to write. I rejoice that my sister, your daughter in Christ, is established in the way of life that she began, as you first informed me about it. Here, where I live now, I don’t know, not only what is happening in the fatherland, but I don’t even know whether the fatherland itself is still standing. Let the Spanish hydra 20 torment me with an evil mouth, I will not be afraid of human judgment, preparing to have the judge of God, - applying to the poet’s saying: “even if the world falls into ruin, he (the hero portrayed by the poet) will fearlessly fall under the ruins.” I ask you to remember the testament of the Apostle that our work will endure, and prepare for yourself a reward from the Lord in saving her (my sister) and delight me with frequent conversations about the common glory in Christ. 7. Letter to Chromatius, Jovinian and Eusebius Paper should not separate those who are united by mutual love; I should not write letters to you one by one, when you love each other so much that the three of you are connected by mutual love as much as the two of you were united by nature: therefore, it is better, as long as circumstances allow, that your names be inseparably placed by me under one title, especially since your Letter encourages me to see in the person of one of you three and in three one. When your letter through St. Eugarius, it came to me in that part of the desert that occupies a vast space between the Syrians and Saracens, then I rejoiced more than the Romans on that prosperous day for Rome, when for the first time after the defeat of the Romans at Cannae, the hordes of Hannibal were defeated by Marcellus at Hol. The aforementioned brother (Evagrius), who often visits me and calms me like his womb about Christ (Phil. 20), this time, leaving me at a long distance, left me as much interesting in his departure as he brought joy with his arrival. Now I’m busy with your letter, I’m taking it in, it speaks to me, it’s the only thing I know here in Latin. Here you need to speak either in barbaric half-speech or remain silent. Every time a familiar handwriting takes me to the presentation of your kindest faces, then either I am not here, or you are present here. Believe the love that speaks the truth; when I wrote this letter, I saw you. First of all, I complain why you sent such a small letter from such a distance, separated by land and seas; perhaps as a punishment for the fact that, as you write, I was not the first to write to you. Thanks to Egyptian commerce, I think there was no shortage of paper. Yes, if for any of you King Ptolemy blocked the supply from the sea, but King Attalus sent leather from Pergamum, so that the lack of paper can be rewarded with leather. Hence the name glassine, through the mutual tradition of posterity, has been preserved even to this day. What else? Perhaps the letter carrier was in a hurry? But for a long letter one night is enough. Or were you distracted by another activity? But there is no necessary thing more important than friendship. Two cases remain possible: either you were lazy, or I didn’t deserve it. I would rather accuse you of laziness than admit myself unworthy (of love); because negligence can be corrected more easily than love can be reborn. Bonoz remains, as your letter puts it, like the son of ἰχθύος (fish - Greek), like a fish accustomed to living in water, and we, suffering from a previous ulcer, like basilisks and scorpions, live in dry places 21. He is already trampling on the head of the serpent, and we still serve as food for the serpent, who is devouring the earth by divine decree; he can already sing the highest psalm of the degrees, but we, who are in the first ascent, I don’t know if we have to say: I have lifted up my eyes to the mountains, from here my help will come (Ps. 121:1). He is among the formidable streams of this century, sitting in the safe depths of his island, i.e. the church, of course, following the example of John, is already devouring the book; I, lying in the tomb of my iniquities and bound by the shackles of sin, await the Lord’s gospel voice: Jerome, come out! Bonoz, I say (because according to the prophetic word (Job. 40:11), all the strength of the devil in his loins), carried his loins beyond the Euphrates 22, hid it there in a cleft of a stone, and then, finding it rotten, he sang: Lord, You have gained my womb (Ps. 139:13), you have torn my bonds to pieces, I will devour the sacrifice of praise to You (Ps. 116:7-8). And Nebuchadnezzar took me bound to Babylon, that is, into the confusion of my mind: there he put the yoke of captivity on me; there, having thrust an iron ring into my nostrils, he ordered me to sing the songs of Zion. I said to him: The Lord will decide the chained, the Lord will enlighten the blind. Briefly concluding the above contrast, I will say: I pray for pardon, Bonoz awaits the crown. My sister is a fruit in St. Christ. Juliana. It is planted, you water it, the Lord will increase it. For the wound inflicted by the devil, Jesus rewarded me by returning my sister to me alive instead of dead. But for her, as the pagan poet puts it, I am afraid of everything, even the safe 23. You yourself know the slippery path of youth, on which I also fell, and you did not pass without fear. My sister, now primarily entering the path of youth, must be strengthened by general instructions, supported by general sympathy, confirmed by frequent letters from your shrine. And since love reinforces everything, I beg you to obtain a letter from Pope Balerian to confirm it. You know that the girlish spirit is mainly strengthened in good behavior under the influence of noticeable solicitude on the part of elders. In my fatherland, a haven of rudeness, the womb serves as a god, lives from day to day, and the one who is richer is holier. “This vessel - according to the popular proverb - had a suitable cover” - the clergyman Lucipinus, by virtue of the law that, according to the testimony of Lucilius, was once mockingly expressed by Crassus like this: “for tender lips there is salad, but a donkey eats thorns.” This is how the weak helmsman had to steer a ship with a leak, and the blind man had to lead the blind into the pit, and the ruler had to be the same as the steered. We greet your common mother, united with you in holiness, but surpassing you in that she gave birth to such sons, whose womb can truly be called golden, with the respect you know; likewise, the dear sisters, who have risen above both their time and their sex, have prepared an abundance of oil for the lamps and are awaiting the arrival of the groom. O blessed house, in which Anna the widow, the daughters of the prophetess, and the great Samuel, raised in the church, live! O happy roofs, on which we see the crowned martyr, the mother of the martyrs - the Maccabees! For you confess Christ daily, fulfilling His commandments, but the glory of public and open confession has been added to your private glory, because, thanks to you, your city was once delivered from the poison of the Arian dogma. You may be surprised that at the end of the letter I return to the beginning again. What to do? I cannot restrain the voice rushing from my chest: the brevity of the letter encourages me to remain silent, my disposition towards you makes me speak; during a hasty conversation, embarrassed speech is confused; love knows no order. 8. Letter to Nikeas, Subdeacon of Aquileia Turpilius the comedian, speaking about the exchange of letters, said: this is the only thing that makes absent people present. He gave the correct judgment, although not in a serious matter. For what (so to speak) is so characteristic of those who are absent than not to converse through letters with those you love and to hear them? Even those rude inhabitants of Italy, called Cascas by Ennius, who (according to the testimony of Cicero in rhetoric) earned their food like animals, even these people, without using paper or leather, wrote letters to each other on hollowed-out wooden planks, or on tree bark. Therefore, the carriers of letters were called tabellarii, and the writers from tree bark (liber) - librarii. Moreover, we, when the world is formed by the arts, should not abandon what was used by rude savages, who to some extent did not know humanity. Here's the bl. Chromatius from St. Eusebius, his brother not only by nature, but also by similarity of morals, summoned me to correspondence. And you, having just moved away from us, not only sever, but even break off a new friendship. Laelius in Cicero wisely forbids this. Are you really so disgusted with the East that you don’t even want to send your letter here? Wake up, wake up, get up from your sleep, dedicate one piece of paper to friendship. Someday breathe the air that we breathed during the days of the joys of the fatherland and our common wanderings. If you love me, write to satisfy my request; if you are angry, write at least in your hearts. It will be a great joy for me if I receive a letter from a friend, albeit an indignant one. 9. Letter to Chrysogonus, monk of Aquileia How ardently I love you, Iliodor, dear to both of us, who loves you as much as I, can truly convey this to you: he will say that your name always sounds on my lips, that at the first conversation I remember your dear companionship, I am amazed at humility, I praise virtue, I extol love. And you, like lynxes who, turning back, forget about what is ahead, and lose from their thoughts what they lose from their eyes, 24 you completely forgot our sincere friendship and not only slightly crossed out, but also completely erased (imis ceris eraseris) the message that, according to the testimony of the Apostle, is written on the hearts of Christians. The animals we mentioned above (lynxes), hiding under a broad-leaved tree, catch fleet-footed chamois or - a timid animal - fallow deer: the prey runs in vain, dragging the enemy behind it; the lynxes torment her with their predatory mouth, but remember the prey only as long as the empty belly irritates the larynx, dry from hunger. But as soon as the blood-quenched ferocity fills the dilated stomach, then along with satiety comes oblivion again, not caring about catching, until hunger again awakens the memory. If you haven’t gotten tired of me yet, then why do you put an end to the beginning of rapprochement? Why do you lose (friendship) without having received it yet? Perhaps you will always give the excuse that is characteristic of laziness, that you have nothing to write: in that case, then write that you have nothing to write. 10. Letter to Paul, Elder of Concordia The brevity of human life is a consequence of condemnation for sins: death, which befalls a person born at his first entry into the light, serves as evidence of the daily falls and vices of this age. When the first inhabitant of paradise, entangled in the serpent's net, was brought to earth by the tempter, eternity gave way to mortality; but the death sentence over the damned man was weakened by a kind of second immortality, for life lasted 900 years or more. Then, when little by little sin increased again, the wickedness of the giants was the cause of the collapse of the whole world: after this, so to speak, the cleansing baptism of the world, human life shortened. But we have almost lost this period with our crimes, which are always hostile to the divine. Are there many of us who live more than a hundred years, and even those who have lived to that age, do not they regret that they have lived, according to what the scripture testifies in the book of psalms: the days of our years are seventy years, but if we are able to live eighty years, we multiply their labor and illness? (Ps. 89:10). But why, you say, repeat such ancient stories and start so far away, so that someone else can, perhaps, apply the ironic verse of Horace: “and the story of the Trojan War is told, beginning with the eggs of Leda”? In order to praise with a worthy voice your old age and your head, whitened in the likeness of Christ? 25 The hundred-year circle of your life is already turning, and you, always keeping the commandments of the Lord, contemplate the bliss of the future life in the guarantees of the present life. The eyes sparkle with pure light, the legs leave faithful traces, the hearing is penetrating, the teeth are white, the voice is sonorous, the body is firm and full of juices: gray hair provides a contrast with the blush, strength with age: extreme old age does not weaken, as with many, the firmness of memory, cold blood does not dull the sharpness of a penetrating mind, a pitted forehead does not make a wrinkled face coarse, and a trembling hand does not draw anything unsteady. style on wax of curved lines. The Lord showed us in you the green offspring of the future resurrection, so that we would recognize as a consequence of sin that some, while still alive, die in advance in the body; and the consequence of righteousness is that you live someone else’s age with youthful vigor. And although we see that many sinners enjoy bodily health, this happens to them because of the devil’s haste so that they sin; and God will give you health so that you may rejoice. Some of the most learned Greeks, about whom Tullius, in a speech for Flaccus, strongly expressed himself this way: “they have innate frivolity and studied vanity,” praised their kings and superiors, receiving rewards for it; Having now praised you, I ask for a reward for your praise. Don't think I'm asking for little; I ask for the beads of the Gospel, the words of the Lord, pure words, the silver of the earth, the temptation of the earth, purified by the sevenfold (Ps. 11:5), i.e. Fortunatian's commentary 26 and Aurelius Victor's history of persecution 27, as well as Novatian's letters, so that, having known the schismatic's poison 28, it would be more convenient for us to drink the antidote of St. Martyr Cyprian 29. I am sending you to you, i.e. Pavel the Elder - Pavel the Elder. In this work, for the benefit of the simplest, we have tried a lot to destroy verbal embellishments. But I don’t know why a vessel, even filled with water, still emits the same smell that it was saturated with before it was used. If you like this gift, then we have others already ready that will sail to you along with many oriental goods, if the Holy Spirit gives a fair wind. 11. Letter to the Emonian virgins The lack of paper is a sign of solitude; Therefore, I decided to condense a long speech into short words, since I wanted to talk to you more, and the space of the leaf encouraged me to remain silent. Now thought triumphs over poverty. The letter is short, but the interview is long. And in this act of necessity, notice love, because even the scarcity of written materials could not keep me from writing. Please, do me a favor and forgive my complaint. I write with sorrow, I write with tears because you did not devote a single line to me, the person who has provided you with services so many times. I know that there is no communication between light and darkness, there is no rapprochement between the servants of God and the sinner. But the harlot also washed the Lord’s feet with her tears, and the dogs eat from the grains of the Lord, and the Savior Himself came to call not the righteous, but sinners. They do not require a doctor's health. The Lord desires the sinner’s repentance more than his death. And he carries the lost sheep back on his shoulders. And the father welcomes the returning prodigal son with joy. The Apostle also says: judge nothing before its time (1 Cor. 4:5). Who are you to judge a foreign slave? His Lord stands or falls (Rom. 14:4). And: be determined to stand, and be careful that you do not fall (1 Cor. 10:12). And: bear one another’s burdens (Gal. 6:2). Otherwise, dear sister, human wickedness judges, otherwise Christ. The verdict is not the same at the judgment seat of Christ and in the gossip corner. Many paths seem right to people, but the consequences turn out to be evil. And treasure is often hidden in scanty vessels. Peter, who had denied three times, was returned to his former dignity by bitter tears. Whoever lets go more loves more. The whole flock is kept silent, but the angels in heaven rejoice over the salvation of one sick sheep. If this seems unlawful to anyone, he will hear from the Lord: Friend, although thine eye is evil, for I am good (Matthew 20:15). 12. Letter to Anthony the monk Our Lord, the Teacher of humility, when the disciples were arguing among themselves about dignity, took one boy and said: whoever among you is not converted like a child cannot enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:3). In order to appear not only as a teacher, but also as a doer, Christ confirmed this (the rule of humility) by his example, when he washed the feet of the disciples, when he accepted the kiss of the traitor, when he talked with the Samaritan woman, when he spoke about the kingdom of heaven to Mary, who sat at his feet, when, having risen from the underworld, he first of all appeared to women. And Satan fell from the dignity of the Archangel for nothing other than pride, the opposite of humility. And the Jewish people, who formerly loved to sit and greet in the marketplaces, were rejected and replaced by a pagan people, who were previously considered as nothing. Peter and James, fishermen, are sent against the sophists of this age and the wise men of the world. Scripture explains the reason for this: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6; 1 Pet.5:5). Look, brother, how great is the evil that God opposes. That is why in the Gospel the arrogant Pharisee is rejected, and the humble Publican is listened to. I have already sent ten (if I am not mistaken) letters filled with affection and requests to you, but you do not deign to give me answers, and while the Lord talks with slaves, you, brother, do not want to talk to brother. “Too angrily,” you say. Believe me, if modesty did not restrain style, I would say such things in anger that you would begin to answer, although as a result of irritation. But since it is human nature to be angry, and to refrain from inflicting offense on a Christian, then returning to the previous relationship, I again ask you to love the one who loves you and, being a servant (of Christ), converse with your fellow servant. Be healthy in the Lord. 13. Letter to my maternal aunt – Kastorina John the Apostle and Evangelist in his epistle says: everyone who hates his brother is a murderer (1 John 3:15). And rightly so, because since murder comes from hatred, then everyone who hates, although he has not yet struck with a sword, is already a murderer in his soul. Why, you say, such a rule? In order to put aside old malice, we prepared a clean dwelling for God in our breasts. Be angry, says David, and do not sin! (Ps. 4:5). Wanting to instill this rule, the Apostle explains it more fully this way: let not the sun go down on your anger (Eph. 4:26). What will we do on the day of judgment, who have witnessed the wrath of whose wrath the sun has set not just for one day, but for so many years? The Lord says in the Gospel that if you bring your gift to the altar, and remember that one, because your brother has something for you, leave that gift before the altar and go first, reconcile yourself with your brother, and then, when you come, bring your gift (Matthew 5:23). Woe to me, poor man, and woe to you too! How long have we either not brought gifts to the altar, or brought them illegally, being in anger! How could we say in daily prayer: forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors (Matthew 6:12), while our soul did not sympathize with what was being said and the words were at odds with the deeds? And so I ask you the same thing that I asked for a year ago in my previous letter: we will have the peace left to us by the Lord, and may the Lord look upon your desire and my thought! Soon, at the Judgment of Christ, the broken or restored agreement will receive punishment or reward. If, God forbid, you do not want to reconcile, I, for my part, will be justified: my present letter will justify me when it is read (at the judgment seat of Christ). 14. Letter to the monk Iliodor With what ardent zeal I tried to arrange a stay with you in the desert - a heart accustomed to mutual tenderness knows this. With what sobs, with what sorrow, with what sorrowful cry I saw you off when you left - even this letter will testify to you, which, as you see, bears traces of tears. But you, like a tender child, softened your refusal to fulfill the request with caresses, and I, unreasonable, did not know what to do then. Silence? But I couldn't hide my strong desire (to hold you). Insist on your own more strongly? But you didn’t want to listen because you didn’t love me as much as I loved you. Rejected love did what it could. Whom she could not keep, she is now seeking to return. Since you, leaving, asked me, having moved to the desert, to send you an invitation letter, and I did; then I'm calling you, hurry up. Don't remember old affections, the desert loves the naked. Let the inconveniences of your previous journey not frighten you. You who believe in Christ, believe His words: seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all things will be added to you (Matthew 6:33). You don't need to take either a bag or a staff. He is rich enough who is poor with Christ. But what am I doing? Am I asking you foolishly again? Let the requests be silent, let the caresses stop. Offended love must be angry. You, who despised my requests, perhaps will listen to my reproaches. What are you doing in your father's house, pampered warrior? Where is the trench? where are the ditches, where is the winter camp under the skins? Behold, a trumpet sounds from heaven; here an armed commander is walking on the clouds, destined to conquer the world; behold, the sword that comes from the mouth of the king (Apoc. 1:16) reaps everything it meets; And how will you get out of bed and into the ranks, from the darkness into the sun? The body, accustomed to the tunic, does not bear the burden of the armor; the head, covered with linen, refuses the helmet: for the hand pampered by peace, the hilt of the sword is hard. Hear the word of your king: whoever is not with me eats upon me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters (Luke 11:23; Matt. 12:30). Remember the day of your recruitment, when you were buried in Christ in baptism and with the words of the sacrament you swore to leave your father and mother for the sake of the name of Christ. Now the enemy in your chest is trying to kill Christ. Here is a hostile camp being plundered by armed forces and the gifts that you received while going to war. Let the little grandson (parvulus nepos) 30 hang on your neck, let your mother, having loosened her hair and torn her clothes, show the breasts with which she fed you, let the father lie on the threshold, you step over the gray-haired father and soar with dry eyes to the banner of the cross. The only way to show kindred love is to be cruel in this case. The day will come, will come later, when you will return victoriously to your fatherland, when you will enter the heavenly Jerusalem, crowned for courage. Then you will receive fellow citizenship with Paul. Then you will ask your parents for the right to the same citizenship. Then you will pray for me, who called you to victory. I am not unaware of what obstacles you say are holding you back now. We do not have an iron chest, we do not have solid atria. We were not born from stone, and it was not the Hyrcanian tigresses that nourished us. I myself have gone through these obstacles. Either the helpless 31 sisters will embrace you with tender arms, or the household with whom you grew up will say: who will we serve? Then the former nanny, already an old woman, and the uncle, the second father, out of natural respect, will exclaim: wait a little until we die and bury us. Maybe your mother with withered nipples and wrinkled brow will moan for you, remembering how she rocked you to sleep at her breast. The grammarians will say, if you like: “the whole house leans on you” 32. Love for God and fear of Gehenna easily resolve these bonds. Scripture commands obedience to parents; but whoever loves them more than Christ destroys his soul. The enemy holds a sword to smite me; Will I think about my mother's tears? Will I leave the army of Christ for my father, while for the sake of Christ I am not even obliged to bury him, although I am obliged to bury everyone for the sake of Christ? For the Lord, who was coming to suffer, Peter, timidly advising, was a temptation (Matthew 16:22–23). Paul, when his brothers restrained him so that he would not go to Jerusalem, said: What are you doing, weeping and breaking your heart? For I am not only bound to be, but also ready to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus (Acts 21:13). Attachment to loved ones is a battering weapon that shakes faith and must be reflected by the wall of the Gospel. “My mother and my brothers are those who do the will of my Father in heaven” (Luke 8:21; Matt. 12:49–50). If they believe in Christ, they will look favorably on my intentions to strive in His name. If they do not believe, then let the dead bury their dead (Matthew 8:22). But this, you say, has meaning in relation to martyrdom. You are mistaken, brother, you are mistaken, if you think that a Christian ever does not suffer persecution; That’s when you are especially under siege, when you don’t know that you are under siege. Our enemy, like a lion, walks roaring, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8), and you expect peace? “He hunts with the rich, and kills the innocent in secret; his eyes look upon the poor (Ps. 9:29). He deceives in secret, like a lion in his cave; he deceives in order to seize the beggar” (Ps. 9:30); and you, future prey, are enjoying a sweet dream under the shade of a branchy tree? Either luxury pursues me, then avarice tries to seize me, then my womb wants to be my god instead of Christ; then unclean wishes prompt me to expel the saint who dwells within me. Spirit, to desecrate His church. I am being pursued, I say, by an enemy who has “a thousand names, a thousand ways to harm” (En. book 7); Am I unfortunate, if I get captured, will I consider myself a winner? I wish, dear brother, that, having weighed the weight of temptations, you consider the attractions we have listed to be no less criminal than idolatry. Heed the saying of the Apostle, who says: Know wisely, that every fornicator, or unclean, or covetous, or deceiver, even if he is an idolater, is not qualified to enter the kingdom of Christ and God (Eph. 5:5). And although in general God is disgusted by everything that has to do with the devil; and idolatry is related to the devil, for all idols are dedicated to him: however, the Apostle in another place makes a detailed and name-by-name calculation of this kind; put to death your evils that are on the earth, putting off fornication, uncleanness... evil lust and covetousness (cupiditatem - greed, Latin), which is idolatry, for the sake of which the wrath of God is coming (Col. 3:5-6). Serving an idol does not consist only in throwing incense onto a sacrificial fire with two fingers, or pouring a libation by drawing a glass of whole wine from a cup. Let him say that there is no idolatry in covetousness who calls the tradition of Christ for 30 pieces of silver just. Let him say that there is no trampling of the holy in lust, the one who, by unclean mixing with the victims of public intemperance, desecrated the members of Christ and the living sacrifice pleasing to God. Let him admit that there is no idolatry in deception, a man like those who, according to the Acts of the Apostles, having hidden part of the price of their estate, were struck by sudden vengeance (Acts 5). Accept, brother, that you should not leave behind what belongs to you. Anyone, said the Lord, who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple (Luke 14:33). Why are you such a cowardly Christian? Look at Peter, who left the nets; look at the publican, who rose from the tollhouse and immediately became an apostle. Son of man has no place to lay his head; will you walk along the vast porticos, along the vast expanses of roofs? While you are waiting for the inheritance of this age, you cannot be a joint heir with Christ. Explain what the word monk means, i.e. your name? What are you doing in a crowd when you are alone? 33 I say this not as a shipbuilder who has kept his ship and goods intact and is unfamiliar with storms, but as someone who has just been thrown ashore by a shipwreck, in a trembling voice I tell those who are preparing to sail. In that whirlpool, Charybdis of luxury absorbs health. There, through the mouths of the maidens, the attractive surface of Scylla leads to the final shipwreck of modesty. Here is the barbaric coast, here is the sea robber devil preparing shackles for future captives. Don't be gullible, don't be careless. Let the water plain be smooth, like a pond; let the wind barely shake the surface of the motionless element; this clearing is abundant with mountains. There is danger hidden within; the enemy is within. Prepare the ropes, hang the sails, let the yard of the cross be established on your forehead. But maybe you will say: “What? Are all those who are in the cities not Christians?” You are not on the same terms as others. Listen to what the Lord says: if you want to be perfect, go and sell everything that is yours; and come after me (Matthew 19:21). And you promised to be perfect, for when, having left military service, you doomed yourself to virginity (castrastite) for the sake of the kingdom of heaven, what else did you follow if not a perfect life? But the perfect servant of Christ has nothing but Christ. If he has anything other than Christ, he is no longer perfect. And if he is not perfect when he promised God to be perfect, then he first lied. A lying mouth kills the soul (Wis. 1:11). So what should I conclude? If you are perfect, then why do you desire your father's property? If you are not perfect, then you have deceived the Lord. The Gospel speaks with a divine voice: you cannot work for two masters (Luke 16:13), and will anyone dare to make Christ a liar, working for the Lord and mammon? Let such a person often say to himself: it is said: if anyone wants to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and come after me (Luke 9:23). Will I, burdened with gold, consider myself a follower of Christ? Say that he who believes in Christ must eat, just as He went out to eat, and let this one also walk in the same way (1 John 2:6). If you, (as I am sure), have nothing against my arguments, then why don’t you, being so well prepared for war, not advocate? Do you really hope to struggle in your own country, when the Lord did not perform any signs in his own? Why? Listen with due reverence to the reason. No prophet has honor in his own country (Matthew 13:57; Mark 6:4; Luke 4:24). But, you say, I am not looking for honor. The testimony of my conscience is sufficient for me. And the Lord did not seek honor, He, who had withdrawn from the crowd of people who wanted to make Him king. But where there is no honor, there is contempt. – Where there is contempt, there is pure resentment, where there is resentment, there is indignation; where there is indignation, there is no peace; where there is no peace, the mind is often distracted from the intended goal. And where, as a result of worries, some of your zeal is reduced, there it becomes less, and what is reduced cannot be called perfect. From these arguments the conclusion follows that a monk cannot be perfect in his own country. And not wanting to be perfect means sinning. Confused from that point, you point to the clerics. Dare I say anything against them, although they, of course, remain in their cities? God forbid that I say anything against them, because, being the successors of the apostles, they complete the body of Christ with sacred lips: thanks to them we are Christians. Having the keys of the kingdom of heaven, they judge in some way before the day of judgment. They keep the bride of Christ in sober chastity. But, as I briefly said above, it is a different matter for monks and another for clergy. The clerics tend the sheep; I graze myself. They live from the altar; I, like a barren tree, am entitled to an ax at the root if I do not bring the gift to the altar. I cannot use poverty as an excuse when the Lord in the Gospel praised an elderly widow who invested two coins in gasophilia, which were the only ones left with her (Luke 21:4). I must not sit down before the elder; If I sin, he can hand me over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that the spirit will be saved (1 Cor. 5:5). And in the old law, anyone who disobeyed the priests was either stoned by the people outside the camp, or paid with his blood for neglect of the priesthood, being beheaded with the sword (Deut. 17:12). And now the one who disobeys is cut off by the sword of the spirit; or, being thrown out of the church, is torn apart by the ravenous jaws of demons. Therefore, if the tender caresses of the brothers convince you to enter the rank of clergy, I will rejoice at your exaltation, but I will be afraid of your fall. If anyone wants a bishopric, he desires good deeds. We know this, but do not forget what is said further: it is fitting for a bishop to be blameless, of one husband, sober, chaste, reverent, honest, hospitable, a teacher, not a drunkard, not a murderer... but meek (1 Tim. 3:1-9). Having outlined further requirements from the episcopal rank, Apostle. Paul did not ignore the third degree of the priesthood, saying: a deacon (one should be) is also pure, not double-tongued, not one who listens to much guilt, not one who is filthy, having the sacrament of faith in a clear conscience: let these also be tempted first, but then let them serve without blame (1 Tim. 3:8-10). Woe to the man who comes to supper without a wedding garment. He will immediately have to hear: friend, how did you come in? and when he is silent, it will be said to the servants: having tied his hand and feet, take him and throw him into utter darkness: there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 22:12-13). Woe to the one who, having received talent, tied it up, and, while others were making profitable turns, kept only what he received. He will be struck by the voice of the indignant Lord: wicked servant, why didn’t you give my money to the trader, and when I came, I took what was mine with interest (Matthew 25:27). That is, you would have to lay down at the altar what you cannot bear. Because while you, a lazy trader, keep a denarius with you, you are taking the place of another who could double this amount. Therefore, as a good minister prepares for himself a place of honor; So he who approaches the cup of the Lord unworthily will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord (1 Cor. 11:27). Not all bishops are true bishops. You pay attention to Peter, but don’t forget Judas; You mean Stephen, but look also at Nicholas, whom the Lord condemned with his saying in the Apocalypse, as the culprit of shameful inventions and the founder of the Nicolaitan heresy. Let everyone tempt himself and then proceed to the clergy. Church rank does not make you a Christian. Cornelius the centurion, while still a pagan, was granted the gift of the Holy Spirit. Young Daniel judges the elders. Amos, picking berries, suddenly becomes a prophet. Shepherd David is elected king. Jesus loves the younger disciple more. Brother, sit lower, so that when someone younger than you comes, you will be invited to sit higher (Luke 14:10). On whom does the Lord rest, if not on the meek and humble and trembling at His words (Isa. 66:2)? To whom more is entrusted, more is required. The strong will be greatly tormented. Let no one be proud of the purity of the virgin body alone, while for every idle word that people say, they will give an account on the day of judgment (Matthew 12:5); when even one who is angry with his brother is guilty of murder. It is not easy to take the place of Paul, to accept the rank of Peter, already reigning with Christ; It is dangerous, lest an angel come and tear the veil of your church and remove your lamp from its place (Apoc. 2:5). If you intend to build a tower, set aside the costs of future construction (Luke 14:28). Weathered salt is good for nothing but to be thrown out to be trampled upon by pigs. If a monk falls, the priest will plead for him. But who will pray for the fallen priest? Since my speech has sailed through difficult places and the fragile boat, making its way among the cliffs, knocked out by foamy shafts, has finally emerged into the open, it is now possible to spread the sails and, leaving behind the pitfalls of controversial subjects, like rejoicing sailors, sing a solemn song in conclusion. O desert, adorned with the flowers of Christ! O desert, in which are those stones from which the apocalyptic city of the great king will be built (Apoc. 21:18)! O desert, rejoicing in the presence of God! What are you doing in this world, my brother, you who are dearer than the world? How long will the shadow of the roofs weigh you down? How long will you be imprisoned in the dungeons of smoky cities? Believe me, I don't know if I see anything but light. I would like, putting aside the burden of the body, to soar to the pure shine of the ether. Are you afraid of poverty? But Christ calls the poor blessed. Are you afraid of work? But no wrestler is crowned without being covered in sweat. Do you care about food? But faith is not afraid of hunger. Is it unpleasant for you to lay your limbs, exhausted by fasting, on the bare ground? But Christ will lie down with you. Don't you like having unkempt hair on an unwashed head? But your head is Christ. Does the immeasurable vastness of the desert terrify you? But you are mentally transported to heaven. While you are mentally in paradise, at that time you will not be in the desert. Without using the bathhouse, your skin, you say, will become covered with scabs? But he who has once been washed in Christ has no need of a second washing. Briefly, to all objections you will hear the Apostle answer: the passions of the present time are unworthy of the glory that desires to appear in us (Rom. 8:18). You are too tender, brother, if here too you want to rejoice in peace and subsequently reign with Christ. The day will come, the day will come when this corruptible and deathly thing will be clothed with incorruptibility and immortality. Then blessed is that servant whom the Lord finds awake (Luke 12:43). Then at the sound of the trumpet the earth and the nations will tremble, and you will rejoice. The world will cry out piteously when the Lord comes to judgment; and hosts of earthly creatures will strike the chest. The most powerful kings of the past will tremble naked. Venus will appear in court with her offspring. Then the unknown Jupiter and the stupid Plato with his disciples will be brought. Aristotelian arguments will be useless. Then you, uneducated (rusticanus) and poor man, will rejoice and laugh and say: here is my crucified, here is the Judge, who, being wrapped in swaddling clothes, wept in a manger. Here he is, the son of a worker and a working woman; he, who, being carried in his mother's arms, fled to Egypt - God - from man; He, clothed in purple, crowned with thorns; He is a magician with a demon and a Samaritan. Look, O Jew, at the hands which you have pierced: look, O Roman, at the side which you have pierced. See if this is the body that, as you said, was stolen by the disciples at night. Your love, brother, prompted me to tell you this; so that you, who are currently burdened with work, will be carried away by the ideas I have expressed. 15. Letter to Pope Damasus 34 Because the East, embarrassed by ancient international hatred, is tearing into small pieces the unsewn, over-woven robe of Christ; foxes are destroying the vineyard of Christ, and among the broken deposits that have no water (Jer. 2:13) it is difficult to discern where the garden is enclosed and the spring is sealed (Song. 4:12); then I decided to turn for admonition to the chair of Peter and the doctrine praised by the lips of the apostles, now asking for food for my soul from where I once received the robe of Christ. The vast expanse of land and sea separating me from Rome could not prevent me from searching for valuable beads. “Where the body is, there the eagles will gather” (Matthew 24:28). While the bad descendants have lost their father's property, you alone preserve the heritage of your fathers intact. On your fertile black soil, the pure word of the Lord bears fruit a hundredfold; here the furrowed field of wheat degenerates into dolls and oats. Now the sun of righteousness rises in the west, and in the east the fallen Lucifer has set his throne above the stars 35. You are the light of the world, you are the salt of the earth; you are vessels of gold and silver; - and here meager and wooden vessels await the iron rod and the eternal flame. So, although your greatness makes me tremble, yet your condescension encourages me. I ask the clergyman for the salvation of the victim, and the shepherd for the intercession of the sheep. Let ill will be silent; let the height of the Roman throne remain aside; I speak to the successor of the fisherman and the disciple of Christ. I, following first of all only Christ, am united in communion with your blessedness, that is, with the Chair of Peter. I know that a church was built on this stone. Whoever eats the lamb outside this house is a stranger to the sacred host. Whoever is not in Noah's ark will perish in the flood. And since, due to my sins, I settled in that desert that lies on the borders of Syria and barbarian countries, and because of the enormous distance I cannot always receive the shrine of the Lord from your Holiness, then I follow your brothers - the Egyptian confessors; and like a small boat I hide behind heavily laden ships. I did not know Vitaly, I reject Meletius, I do not recognize Peacock. He who does not gather with you, scatters, i.e. He who is not Christ is Antichrist. Now, oh the trouble! After the Nike symbol, after the Alexandrian definition, approved in conjunction with the West, the “campens,” the branch of the Arians require a new name from me: three hypostases. Which apostles, I ask, betrayed this way? What new Paul, teacher of languages, taught this? I ask: how, in their opinion, can hypostases be understood? They answer: three coexisting persons. I say in response that we believe so: but for them unity in the meaning is not enough, they require unity in the name itself: I don’t know what kind of poison can be contained in sounds (in syllabis). We declare: whoever does not believe in three hypostases, as tria enhypostata, i.e. three coexisting persons, let him be anathema. But since we are not accustomed to using these terms, we are condemned as heretics. But if anyone, by the word hypostasis, meaning essence (usian), does not recognize one hypostasis in the three persons, he is excommunicated from Christ: in this case, you and I will be marked with the mark of Sabellianism (unionis) 35 Make, I beg you, if you consider it necessary, a definition, and then I will not be afraid to name the three hypostases. If you order, let a new creed be formed after the Nicene one; Let us, the Orthodox, pronounce the same confession as the Arians. The school of secular sciences does not know any other meaning of the word: “hypostasis” than “essence” (usian). Who, I ask, will speak with sacrilegious lips about three “substances”? In God there is one and only nature, precisely the one that really exists. For God has His coexistent things not out of need, but from Himself. All created objects do not exist, although they appear to exist. They never existed, and subsequently what did not exist can again come into oblivion. To the only eternal God, i.e. to the one who has no beginning, the name of essence (essentiae) is justly acquired. Therefore, from the bush God says to Moses: I am seven, and again: He sent me (Ex. 3:14). There were then angels everywhere, the sea, the sky, the earth; Why does God appropriate the common name of essence (essentiae) for himself? But, since one Divine nature is perfect, and since three persons coexist with one Divinity, which exists truly and is one nature, then everyone under the guise of piety calls three, i.e. three hypostases, like three essences, attempts to introduce three natures. If this is so, then why are we separated by walls from Arius, being bound by our own infidelity? Let Ursinus unite with your bliss 37 let Auxentius enter into communion with Ambrose 38 . Let this not happen to the Roman doctrine; Let not the pious hearts of the nations be filled with such sacrilege. It is enough for us to name one substance and three persons, coexistent, perfect, equal, eternal. Let him, if you like, remain silent about the three hypostases and keep one. It is a bad sign if, despite unity in thoughts, there is diversity in words. Let the above-mentioned belief be sufficient for us. If you consider it correct for us to name the three hypostases with our own interpretation, then we do not refuse. But believe me, there is poison hidden under the honey; Satan's angel is transformed into an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14). The Campens interpret the word hypostasis well, but when I say that I contain a dogma in accordance with their explanation, they condemn me as a heretic. Why do they hold on to one word so painfully? What are they hiding under ambiguous speech? If they believe as they interpret, then I do not blame them. If I believe as they (perhaps feignedly) profess to be wise, then let them allow me to express my thoughts in my own words. Therefore, by the crucified salvation of the world, by the Trinity of one essence, I conjure your blessedness to give me a significant written answer according to your authority about whether one should remain silent about the hypostases or name them. And so that the little-known place in which I live does not make it difficult for the carriers of letters, deign to send your letter to Presbyter Evagrius, whom you know very well. At the same time, designate with whom I should have communication in Antioch, because the Campensians, together with the Tarsian heretics, do not achieve anything more than, based on the authority of your unity, to preach the three hypostases in the ancient sense 39. The persistent evangelical wife is honored to finally be heard (Matthew 15:28); and the friend received the loaves from the other at midnight, when the doors were already locked by the slaves (Luke 11:8). God Himself, invincible by any forces, is defeated by the prayers of the publican. The city of Nineveh, which perished as a result of sin, survived as a result of prayers (Jonah 3:10). Why such a long repetition of well-known stories at the very beginning? So that you, the great one, pay attention to the little one, so that you, the divinely enlightened (dives) shepherd, do not despise the sick sheep. Christ led the thief into heaven from the cross; and - so that no one considers conversion too late - he turned the punishment for murder into martyrdom. Christ, I say, joyfully embraces the returning prodigal son (Luke 15:20), and leaving the ninety-nine sheep, the good shepherd brings one lost sheep on his shoulders (Luke 15:5). Paul, from a persecutor, becomes a preacher, suffers blindness with his bodily eyes in order to see more with his mind, and the one who previously led the bound servants of Christ to the Council of the Jews himself later boasts in the bonds of Christ (Acts 9). I, as I wrote before, having taken on the garment of Christ in Rome, now live on the barbaric borders of Syria. Don’t think that I live there by someone else’s verdict: I myself considered myself worthy of it. But, as the pagan poet says: “whoever crosses the sea changes the sky, but not the soul” (Horat. lib. 1. epist. 11); the relentless enemy is so hot on my heels that now in the desert I suffer great attacks. Here, supported by worldly intercession, Arian fury rages. Here the church, torn into three parts, is in a hurry to attract me to itself. The ancient authority of the monks living in the circle rebels against me. Meanwhile, I cry out: whoever unites with the Chair of Peter is mine (a like-minded person). Meletius, Vitaly and Peacock say that they share the same wisdom with you: I could believe this if only one person spoke. Now either two people are lying, or everyone is lying. So I conjure your blessedness by the cross of the Lord, and by the necessary splendor of our faith, by the suffering of Christ, so that you are the successor of the apostles in honor, their successor in dignity, sitting on the throne and having to judge with guilt, like Peter, belted in old age by another, receiving heavenly citizenship along with Paul, so that you notify me in writing with whom I should have fellowship in the faith. Do not despise the soul for which Christ died. 17. Letter to Mark the Presbyter In my course of action, I decided to agree with the words of the Psalmist: when the sinner stood up before me, I became dumb, and humbled myself, and kept silent from good things (Ps. 39:2-3). And again: because I am deaf and do not hear, and because I am dumb, I do not open my mouth; and it was as if man did not hear (Ps. 37:14–15). But since love is higher than everything, and a previously accepted intention is overcome by heartfelt attraction, then I want not so much to repay those who offend, but to answer your request. For as someone said, among Christians it is not the one who suffers who is pitiful, but the one who inflicts dishonor. But before I begin to talk to you about my faith, which you know very well, I must exclaim in a walking verse against the barbarity of this country: “What kind of people are these? And what kind of barbaric homeland allows such morals? There is no shelter even on the sands. Discord is rampant and does not allow stopping at the nearest piece of land,” and np. 40 We took this passage from a pagan poet, so that those who do not keep the peace of Christ would at least learn the love of peace from a pagan. They call me a heretic; whereas I preach the consubstantial Trinity; I am accused of Sabellian wickedness, while with an incessant voice I proclaim three coexistent, true, complete, perfect persons. If the Arians reprove me, then this is how it should be; if they are Orthodox, then, condemning the above-stated doctrine, they have ceased to be Orthodox, or, if they wish, let them condemn me for heresy, together with the West, together with Egypt, i.e. along with Damasus and Peter. Why blame one person besides his accomplices? If the stream is poor in water, then it is not the fault of the riverbed, but of the source. It’s a shame to say: from the depths of our cells we judge the world. Cast down in sackcloth and ashes, we pronounce judgment on the bishops. Why is there a power-hungry spirit under the clothes of a repentant? Chains, uncleanliness, hair in disarray - these are signs not of a tiara, but of a deplorable life. I ask that they allow me not to say anything. Why do they offend someone who doesn't deserve to be hated? I am a heretic - what does that matter to you? I told you, calm down. Of course, you are afraid that I, being able to speak eloquently in Syriac or Greek, will begin to go around the churches, deceive the people, and cause a schism. But I gave no one any reason to think so; I do nothing, remaining inactive. Every day, with our own hands, by the sweat of our brow, we earn our own food, remembering the apostolic saying: if anyone does not want to work, let him eat (2 Thess. 3:10). With what lamentation, with what sorrow I wrote this, venerable and holy father, Jesus is my witness. I kept silent; Will I always be silent, says the Lord. “They don’t give me a single corner of the desert: every day they ask me about faith, as if I were baptized without faith.” I announce my confession at their request - they don’t like it: I sign - they don’t believe me. They only want me to leave here. I'm already giving in to them. They stole part of my soul from me, my dear brothers, who want to leave, and even completely leave, saying that it is better to live among animals than with such Christians. I myself would have fled from here if the weakness of my body and the severity of winter had not delayed me. But when spring comes, I beg, let them give me shelter in the desert for a few months; if it seems long-term, I leave. The Lord's earth and its fulfillment (Ps. 23:1). Let them alone look at heaven, for whom only Christ died. Let them have, own, boast; Let me not boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom peace was crucified to me and from the world (Gal. 6:14). About the faith that I was honored to set forth in the scriptures, I gave to St. Written confession to Kirill. Whoever does not believe this way is alien from Christ: however, as witnesses of my faith, I have your ears and the blessed brother Zinovy, whom, like you, we all who are here earnestly welcome. 18. Letter to Pope Damasus. About Seraphim and coal And in the summer, when King Uzziah died, he saw the Lord sitting on the throne, high and exalted, and so on. (Isa. 6:1). Before we talk about the vision, it seems that we should consider who Uzziah was, how many years he reigned, who were his contemporaries among other nations. As for his personality, as we read in the books of Kings and Chronicles (2 Kings 15 and 2 Chronicles 26:18), he was a righteous man and did what was right in the eyes of the Lord: he erected a church, arranged aqueducts, collected vessels, as a reward for this he defeated his enemies, and, which serves as a special sign of his piety, had many prophets in his kingdom. While the priest Zechariah, called the Reasonable, lived, Uzziah pleased God and approached his altar with complete reverence. But after the death of Zechariah, having wished to make sacrifices himself, he not so much feared God as impudently assumed the priestly rank; and since he did not want to listen to the cries of the Levites and other priests: are you not a king, Uzziah, and not a priest? - then leprosy immediately struck his forehead, according to the word of the prophet, saying: fulfill, O Lord, the faces of their dishonor (Ps. 82:17). The priest covered this part of the body with a golden shield, the Lord commanded Ezekiel to mark it with the imprint of the letter “tav” (the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, called “sign”) (Ezek. 9), the enthusiastic David speaks about it: the light of Your countenance is marked upon us, O Lord (Ps. 4:7); struck by a sling stone, the daring Philistine died. “Osiah reigned for fifty-two years at the time when Amulius ruled among the Latins and Agamestor the Eleventh ruled over the Athenians. After the death of Uzziah, the prophet Isaiah saw the vision that we will try to explain now, i.e. in the year in which Romulus, the founder of the Roman Empire, was born - which may be known to those who wanted to read the Book of Times (Chronicles), which we translated from Greek into Latin. And it came to pass in the summer, before King Uzziah died, that he saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and exalted (Isa. 6:1). Since history is presupposed, a spiritual meaning follows, for which history itself is revealed. During the life of the leper king, and overthrowing the priesthood to the best of his ability, Isaiah could not see the vision. While Uzziah held the kingdom in Judea, the prophet did not raise his eyes to heaven: the heavens were not opened to him, the Lord of Hosts did not appear, and the name of the Trisagion was not heard in the sacrament of faith. But when Uzziah died, everything that the following speech will show appeared in the open light. Something similar is written in Exodus (Ex. 2); While Pharaoh lived, the people of Israel, oppressed by clay, brick and field work, did not sigh to the Lord, while he reigned, no one sought the God of the fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But when he died, the children of Israel sighed, as the Scripture says, and their cry went up to the Lord (Ex. 2:23): although, in accordance with historical circumstances, the Israelites should have rejoiced more then, and before, while Pharaoh lived, sighed. Also in the days of the prophecy of Ezekiel, Phaltiah, the son of Benai, died, and after the death of this worthless elder, he fell, says the prophet, on his face, and cried out with a great voice, saying: Woe is me, woe is me, Adonai Lord, are you making the remains of Israel to the end? (Ezek. 11:13). Consequently, if you understand in the person of Uzziah, Pharaoh, Phaltia and other similar hostile forces, then you will understand why, during their lifetime, none of us has visions, does not sigh, does not lament in repentance. Let not sin, says the Apostle, reign in your dead body (Rom. 6:12). While sin reigns, we build cities for the Egyptians; We live in dust and dirt, instead of bread we look for chaff, instead of hard stone we look for plinths. Next: I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and exalted. Daniel also saw the Lord (Dan. 7), but not sitting on a high and exalted throne. And in another place the divine voice promises, saying: I will come and sit and judge the people in the valley of Jehoshaphat, which is explained as “the judgment of the Lord” (Joel 3:12). He who is a sinner and like me sees the Lord sitting in the Valley of Jehoshaphat; not on a hill, not on a mountain, but in the valley, and in the valley of judgment. And whoever is righteous and like Isaiah sees him sitting on a high and exalted throne. Another explanation can be offered: when I mentally contemplate the Lord reigning over Thrones, Dominions, Angels and other powers, I see His throne high; but when I imagine how He rules the human race and, for our salvation, as Scripture repeatedly expresses, descends to the earth, I see His throne not high and especially close to the earth. Further: I saw the Lord sitting on the throne, high and exalted, and the house of His glory was filled, and the Seraphim stood around it (Isa. 6:1, according to LXX). Some who before me explained this passage, both Greeks and Latins, understood God the Father as the Lord sitting on the throne, and our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit as the two Seraphim, who are represented standing on either side. Although these interpreters are distinguished by remarkable scholarship, I do not agree with their opinion. It is much better to explain simply, but truly, than eloquently, but falsely, especially when the Evangelist John writes that in this vision it was not God the Father, but Christ. For, speaking about the unbelief of the Jews, the Evangelist immediately explains the reasons for unbelief this way: and therefore they could not believe in him, because, as Isaiah said, you will hear by hearing, but will not understand: and seeing you will look, and will not see. And he said this when he saw the glory of the Only Begotten and testified about him (Isa. 6:9–10; John 12:40–41) 41. Therefore, in the present place to say: you will hear by hearing, but will not understand, He who sits on the throne commands Isaiah. And the one who commands this, as the Evangelist understands, is Christ: from here it is now clear that it is impossible to understand the seraphim as Christ, when Christ is Himself sitting. Although in the Acts of the Apostles against the Jews arguing among themselves, Paul says: the Holy Spirit spoke kindly to Isaiah the Prophet to our fathers, saying: Go to this people, and say: you will hear by hearing, and will not understand: and by sight you will see, and you will not see. For the hearts of these people are clouded, and their ears are hard to hear, and their eyes are closed: let their eyes see and hear, and understand in their hearts and turn to Me, and I will heal them. (Acts 28:25ff.); however, the difference in face does not puzzle me, since I know that both Christ and the Holy Spirit are one essence; and that the words of the Spirit are no other than those of the Son, and that the Son commanded no other than the Spirit. Further: and fill the house of His glory. The house of God which is above is seen full of glory; and the one below, I don’t know if it’s full of glory, unless it can be according to the concept of the Psalmist, who says: The earth is the Lord’s and its fulfillment (Ps. 23:1). We will also say that those on earth are full of glory who could say: from His fulfillment we have all received (John 1:16). Wise women build this house, but fools destroy it with their hands (Proverbs 14:1). Isaiah also speaks about him: And in the last days the mountain of the house of the Lord will be revealed on the top of the mountains, and will be exalted above the hills (Isaiah 2:2). This is the house about which in another place the aforementioned Apostle Paul testifies with a sacred voice: And Moses was faithful in all His house, as a servant, as a testimony to those who have it; Christ is like a son in His house, and we are His house, even if the beginning of His essence is known even to the end (Heb. 3:5-6). The Apostle Paul speaks about the same house to Timothy: I am writing this to you, so that you may know how to live in the house of God, which is the church (1 Tim. 3:14–15). Further: and Seraphim stood around Him; six kril to one, and six kril to another; and there were two coverings for the face, and two coverings for the feet, and two coverings for flying, and calling out to each other, and saying: Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God of hosts, the whole earth is filled with His glory (Isa. 6:2-3). We want to know what kind of Seraphim they are, standing around God, why each has six wings, and both together have twelve; how they cover their faces with two and fly with two legs, when it is said above that they stand around God, or how they stand around when there are two of them and, moreover, they fly; what does it mean that they shout to one another and repeat the name of the Trisagion; how above the house is called full of glory, and now the earth (full of glory). Since these questions raise many difficulties and at first glance do not seem easy to resolve, let us pray together to the Lord that coal will be sent to me from the altar, so that, after the destruction of all sinful impurity, I can first contemplate the mysteries of God, then proclaim what I see. “Seraphim,” as we find in the explanation of the names of the Jews, means “heat,” or “flame,” or “the origin of their (Hebrew) language.” We ask, what does this flame mean? The Savior says: I have come to bring down fire on the earth, and how I would have it burn (Luke 12:49). The two disciples, to whom the Lord explained the Scriptures on the road, starting from Moses and all the prophets, recognizing Him when their eyes were opened, said to each other: “Is it not my heart that burns in me, when I spoke to us on the way and as if I had spoken the scriptures to us (Luke 24:32)? And in Deuteronomy it is written about God himself that he is a consuming fire (Deut. 4:24); and to Ezekiel (Ezekiel 8:2) he also appears as fiery from the feet to the waist: and the words of the Lord are pure words, silver refined, purified from the earth, purified by the sevenfold (Ps. 11:7), - and much more that it would take too long to collect from all the scriptures, if one wanted to. So we ask, where is this saving flame? There is no doubt that in the sacred books, through the reading of which all human vices are cleansed. In proceeding now to explain the further meaning of the word "Seraphim" and intending to reveal how the "origin of the Hebrew language" may relate to the Scriptures, I am afraid not to appear not so much as explaining, but as violating the Scriptures. All antiquity recognizes the Jewish language, in which the Old Testament was written, as the beginning of language and common speech, and every word that we pronounce. And later, when, during the construction of the tower for insulting God, a confusion of languages ​​occurred, the difference in speech spread to all nations. And so, both the flame and the beginning of the tongue are noted in the two testaments, and it is not surprising that they stand around God, when the Lord himself is known through them. Six wings to one, and six wings to another. Our Victorinus understands the twelve Apostles. We can accept the twelve stones of the altar, which were not touched by iron, and the twelve precious stones from which the insignia of the priest was made (Ex. 28), which Ezekiel speaks of (Ezekiel 28) and the Apocalypse mentions (Rev. 21). Which of all this is true - God knows; and what we will present plausibly later. Further: there were two coverings for the face, and two coverings for the feet, and two coverings for the legs (Isa. 6:2). They covered not their own face, but God's 42. For who can know His beginning, which, before He founded this world, was in the eternity of things, when He created Thrones, Dominions, Powers, Angels and all the heavenly ranks? Next: And two coverings for my feet, not my own, but God's 43. for who can know His future? What will happen after a century, what will happen after the judgment of the human race, what kind of life will follow? Will there again be another earth, and again different elements, after death, or will another world and sun be created? “Tell me the former and the last things that will be, and I will say that you are gods,” says Isaiah (Isaiah 41:23), meaning that no one can tell what was before the world, and what is to come after the world. We know only the average, which is revealed to us through reading the Scriptures, when the world was created, when man was formed, when the flood was, when the law was given; that from one man all the spaces of the earth were filled, and that in recent times the Son of God took flesh for our salvation. And the rest of what they said, two seraphim cover the face and legs. And calling out to each other. Beautifully delivered: to each other. For what we read in the Old Testament, we find the same thing in the Gospel: and what will be read in the Gospel is deduced from the testimony of the Old Testament: there is nothing discordant in them, nothing different. And the verb: Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God of hosts (Isa. 6:3). Both testaments speak of the Trinity. And that our Savior is also called Hosts, you will find an example of this in the twenty-third psalm. The forces serving the Lord cry out to the other heavenly powers to open the gates to the returning Lord: take the gates, princes, yours, or as Aquila interprets, “lift up your gates,” and the king of glory will enter. Those, for their part, see him, clothed in flesh, and, amazed at the new sacrament, they ask: Who is this King of glory? - and they receive the answer: The Lord of this hosts is the King of glory (Ps. 23:9-10), which in Hebrew is written: “The Lord of hosts.” You should know that where the Seventy Interpreters express themselves: “Lord of hosts” and “Lord Almighty,” in Hebrew it is stated: “Lord of hosts,” according to Aquila’s translation, “Lord of hosts.” And the very word “Lord” here consists of four letters, i.e. of the two ia, - since it is actually in God that “iod ge, iod ge” is supplied - which, when repeated, give this ineffable and most glorious name of God 44. “Fill the whole earth with His glory.” And these Seraphim speak about the coming of the Lord Savior, how his preaching will spread throughout the entire earth, and the voice of the apostles will penetrate to the ends of the world. Further: and taking hold of the door from the voice, I cried out to it (Is. 6:4). In the Old Testament we read that the Lord always spoke to Moses and Aaron at the door of the Tabernacle (Lev. 1:1, 4:1; Num. 10), as if before the Gospel, and did not introduce them into the Holy of Holies, as the Church of God was entered after, according to the words: “The king will bring me into his bed” (Song. 1:3). And so, when our Lord descended to earth, this is the doorway, i.e. as if some obstacle to those wishing to enter, arose: and this whole world was filled with smoke, i.e. the glory of God. Where elevatum is read in Latin, there is ἐπήρθη (sublatum) in Greek. But since this last word (sublatum), due to its reciprocity, can be interpreted in one way or another, ours translated elevatum (ascended) in the sense of ablatum (taken away). And the house was filled with smoke. God, as we said above, is fire: when he came down to Moses on Mount Sinai, during His procession running lamps appeared and the whole mountain was full of smoke. Therefore, the psalms say: touch the mountains, and they smoke (Ps. 103:32). So, how can we not understand the very essence of this fire, i.e. Deity, then from him a certain lightest and (so to speak) subtlest element of smoke spreads to the whole world, perceiving which we say: we partly understand and partly prophesy (1 Cor. 13:9). And: we see now like a mirror in fortune-telling (Ibid., v. 12). And the Seraphim stood around; six wings to one and six wings to another (Isa. 6:2). One of the Greeks, very knowledgeable in the Scriptures 45, explains that the Seraphim are some kind of powers in heaven who glorify God, standing before his throne, and are sent to various services, especially to those who need cleansing and deserve to be justified through some kind of punishment for previous sins. And that, he says, the door rose, this is an indication of the destruction of the Jewish church, and the burning of all Jerusalem, which we see now destroyed. But some who agree about the former disagree about the latter. For they say that the door rose at the time when the curtain in the church was torn, and the whole house of Israel was darkened by a cloud of error, when, according to Joseph, the priests heard from the Holy of Holies in the church the voice of the heavenly powers: let us come out of this place. There is one man from whom, I rejoice, that I learned a lot, and who studied the language of the Jews so much that among their writers he was considered a Chaldean. He went a far different way; for he says that none of the prophets, except Isaiah, saw the Seraphim standing around God, and that even the Seraphim themselves are not mentioned in any other place of Scripture. From here he suggests an indication of the destruction and captivity of Jerusalem that happened under Nebuchadnezzar. Since from Uzziah, under whom (Isaiah) began to prophesy, and to Zedekiah, who reigned last, and who was led blind to Babylon, there were eleven kings, and Gedaliah the twelfth, whom the king of Babylon set over the country, and whom Ishmael, the son of Haphaniah, the destroyer of the last in the fatherland, killed in the midst of the feast (2 Kings 25; and 2 Chron. ch. seq.; and Jer. 41); then these are those twelve wings, of which with four (Seraphim) they cover their faces, as we find in some copies, with four they fly, and with four they cover their legs. since of these twelve kings only four were righteous: Uzziah, Jotham, Hezekiah and Josiah, then they, majestic in all captivities, dare to glorify God: Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God of hosts. And the rest, because of their sins, cover their faces; some, taken captive, cover the soles of their feet. And by the door raised and the house full of smoke, he means, as we said above, the destruction of Jerusalem and the burning of the church. Since I have already begun to cite his opinion, let’s also touch on what I have not touched upon. He claims that the tongs with which the coal was taken from the altar and the lips were cleansed signify the suffering of Isaiah himself, which he endured under King Manasseh, and then with truly pure lips he said to the Lord: Behold, I am, send me, and he said: Oh, wretched I, how moved I am! (Isa. 6:8, 5; according to LXX). As long as Uzziah lives, you do not understand, Isaiah, that you are unhappy, you do not mourn, you are not touched: but when he died, then you notice that you have unclean lips, then you learn that you are unworthy to see God. Oh, that I might also be contrite, and through contrition become worthy to see God, since I am a man, and have unclean lips, and live among a people who also have unclean lips. Isaiah, as a righteous man, sinned only with his speech: therefore he only had unclean lips, and not a mind. But I, since with my eyes I look for passionate desire, and with my hands and feet I fall into temptation, and I sin with all my members, I have everything unclean: and once baptized in the spirit, I have again stained my tunic, and I need cleansing by another baptism, that is, by fire (Matthew 3:11). No, as some people think, in the Scriptures there are simple words (simplicia, that is, having only a literal meaning) there is a lot of hidden stuff in them. The letter means one thing, the mysterious meaning means the other. Here, for example. in the Gospel, the Lord girds himself with a towel, prepares a basin to wash the disciples’ feet, performs the duty of a servant (John 13:4–5): let us assume that he teaches humility so that we serve each other mutually; I don’t deny, I don’t object. What does it mean that in response to Peter’s objection he said: If I do not wash your feet, you will not have part with me? And he answered; Lord, not only my nose, but also my hand and head (ibid., v. 8-9). This means that, intending to ascend to heaven, the Lord (since the Apostles, as people committed to the earth, hitherto had their feet soiled in the dust of sins) wants to free them from sins completely, so that the prophetic word can be applied to them: since the feet of those who bring good news of peace are red (Is. 52:7); and that they may have the strength to imitate the words of the church, which says: Wash my noses; How can I defile them? ( Song 5:3 ). So, even if subsequently, after the resurrection (of Christ), some dust sticks to them, they must shake it off on the wicked city as evidence of the feat, according to which they stretched out their zeal for the salvation of all to such an extent that, becoming Jews for the Jews, pagans for the pagans, they even stained their feet in some way. And so let us return to the subject of our discussion: how the Apostles needed to cleanse their feet; so Isaiah, who sinned only in speech, had unclean lips; and, as I think, he had unclean lips because he did not tame Uzziah, who rushed into the church, and, following the example of Elijah, did not call him wicked in a free voice. In the midst of people who have unclean lips, I live (Isa. 6:5). Isaiah, who lamented and confessed himself worthless, becomes worthy of purification; and a people who not only do not repent, but also do not know that they have unclean lips, do not deserve cleansing medicine. And so, following this example, we must take care not only to be righteous ourselves, but also not to live with sinners, because the prophet considers this to be sin and damnation. Next: I saw the king of the Lord of hosts (Isa. 6:5). The Jews say that Isaiah was killed by his elders because he writes that he saw the Lord of hosts with his bodily eyes, while Moses saw the back of God, and God himself says regarding this: “no one will see My face and live” (Exodus 33:20). If we ask them how it is that God says in the Law that he appeared to other prophets in dreams and visions, and spoke to Moses face to face; and how firm is the thought that “no one will see my face and live,” when God Himself says that He talked face to face with Moses: then they will certainly answer that, to the extent of human acceptability, God was visible, not as he was, but as he wanted to show himself. And we tell them that Isaiah saw in the same way; the essence is whether Moses saw God or did not see. If he saw, then Isaiah also saw, who, saying that he saw, was killed by you wickedly, since God can be visible. If you have not seen it, then kill Moses along with Isaiah, since the latter is guilty of the same deception, saying that he saw someone who cannot be seen. Whatever thought they had in explaining this passage concerning Moses, we will apply it to the vision of Isaiah. Further: and one was sent to me from the Seraphim, and in his hand he had the name of a burning coal, which was taken from the altar with pincers: and I touched my lips, and said: Behold, I will touch your lips, and he will take away your iniquities, and will cleanse your sins (Is. 6:6-7). If, in accordance with the above interpretations, you want to understand by Seraphim either two covenants, or some ministerial powers in heaven, or some kind of future event, foreshadowed as an indication of the future captivity, then explain the present place in accordance with the interpretation of the word “Seraphim” that you have once accepted. since we follow the first interpretation, we affirm that the gospel covenant was sent to the prophet, which, containing both commands, i.e. both his own and the Old Testament, he embraces the fiery speech of God with the double edge of the commandments - and touching his lips, with the truth of his purity he drives out all ignorance, which, by the way, but to our explanation, consisted of the impurity of the lips. Jacob saw these tongs in the ladder (Gen. 28); it is a two-edged sword; these are two mites that a poor widow sends as a gift to God (Mk. 12:42); this is a statir containing two denarii found in the mouth of a fish, and given for the Lord and for Peter (Matthew 17:27). Taken by these double tongs, which are held by the power of unity, the coal is sent to the prophet, and we learn that it was given to the prophet, in the one hundred and nineteenth psalm, when the prophet asked God, saying: “Lord, free my soul from wicked lips and a flattering tongue,” and when asked by the Holy Spirit: “What shall I give you, or what shall I offer you against a flattering tongue?”, he said: “Sharp arrows.” strong, with devastating coals” (Ps. 119:2 et seq.). Because the devastating coal, which makes the tongue clean from sin, is a truly divine word, about which Isaiah says: if you place coals of fire, you will sit on them, and they will help you (Is. 47: 14–15, according to LXX). Further: and I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: Whom will I send, and who will go to this people? And he said: Behold, I am, send me. And he said: Go and speak to this people: you will hear with your ears, but will not understand (Isa. 6:8-9). Who should be sent, and who will go to the people - these are the words of the Lord, not commanding, but asking, to whom the prophet willingly answers: “Here I am, send me,” and after this promise he receives the command to say: “Go and tell this people: by hearing you will hear, but will not understand, and by seeing, you will see, and will not see”; and so on, which contains the text of the prophecy itself. I have heard quite a few opinions about this place from my Jew, of which I will outline a few so that you can understand the way of thinking of this man. Let us examine, he said, regarding Moses and Isaiah, who did better. Is it Moses, who, when God sent him to the people, said: “I beseech you, Lord, I am not worthy”; and then, “choose another one to send” (Ex. 4:13), or Isaiah, who, when he was not chosen, offered himself, saying: “Here am I, send me.” I know, said the Jew, that it is dangerous to speculate on the merits of the Saints, and to attempt to measure the comparative worth of those whom the Lord has crowned; but since He Himself said: seek, and you will find, seek, and it will be opened to you (Matthew 7:7 and Luke 11:9), then we are even obliged to investigate what a question may arise, not in order to humiliate anyone, but so that, knowing the meaning of Scripture, we can guide ourselves by its examples. The defender of Moses, the Jew continued, points to his humility and meekness, as a result of which he, considering himself unworthy to serve God, thereby became greater: and Isaiah, who himself volunteered to prophesy, at the very beginning of his ministry began to utter reproaches: “by hearing you will hear, but will not understand; and by seeing, you will look and will not see,” etc. Having subsequently suffered many disasters for this, and was considered by all the people to be a madman, when the divine voice again said to him: shout, he, remembering what he had to endure for his previous readiness to prophesy, no longer says: “Here I am, send me”; but asks what it is that he should proclaim, and says: “What shall I proclaim?” (Isa. 40:6). We read something similar in Jeremiah: take a cup of undissolved wine from my hand, and let all tongues drink, to whom I will send you, and they will drink, and vomit, and wear the sword, and fall from the presence of the sword which I will send among them (Jer. 25:15-16). When the prophet heard this, he did not refuse, did not say, following the example of Moses: “I beg, Lord, I am not worthy, choose someone else to send” (Ex. 4:13); but the lover of his people, and thinking that by drinking from the cup hostile nations will be killed and perished, willingly takes the cup of wine, not realizing that Jerusalem is included among all nations. Finally, he said, he took the cup from the hand of the Lord, and gave drink to all the tongues, to whom the Lord sent me, and among the other nations, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and its kings, and its princes, so that I would put it into desolation, and into failure, and into destruction (Jer. 25:17-18). Listen to what he says elsewhere following this prophecy (although in most of the Bible codes the order is perverted): You have deceived me, O Lord, and I am deceived: you restrained me and prevailed, and I laughed all day long; everyone curses me (Jer. 20:7). On the contrary, the defender of Isaiah (continued the Jew) points out that the prophet, relying not so much on his own dignity as on the mercy of God, after hearing from the seraphim: “Behold, I have touched your mouth, and you will take away your iniquities, and will cleanse your sins,” did not want to wallow in idleness, but willingly offered himself, as free from sins, to serve God out of zeal for the faith. And Moses, since he studied secular sciences, and since after the killing of the Egyptian his consciousness was in some way unclean, why did a voice come to him from the bush saying: do not approach this; take the boots from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground (Ex. 3:5); and since he knew that he would have to argue with the wise men and with the evil king Pharaoh, he apologized, saying: “I beg you, Lord, I am not worthy”; instead of which in Hebrew it reads: I have uncircumcised lips; whereas seventy interpreters translate more according to the meaning (of the speech) than from word to word. From this it can be clearly understood that Isaiah, having had his lips circumcised, rightly offered himself to serve God, and Moses, since his lips had not been circumcised until then, refused such a great service. By hearing you will hear, but will not understand; by seeing, you will see, but will not see (Isa. 6:9). This whole passage, as the Savior says in the Gospel, refers to the time when He Himself deigned to descend to earth and performed signs on the foolish Jews. But since until the end of the chapter there is a variety of interpretation, and we have already explained some part of the chapter, then what has been said so far is enough. Speech, unfinished by our own style and unprocessed in itself, becomes even more intolerable if it aggravates boredom by its length. Having troubled our eyes, let us at least take care of our tongue and ears 46 . Seventy: and one was sent to me from the seraphim; Aquila and Theodotion: “and one (unum) of the seraphim flew to me”; Symmachus: “and one (unus) of the seraphim flew to me” (Is. 6:6). Every day a seraphim is sent to us, every day the lips of those who sigh and say: Oh, accursed one, I am touched, are cleansed, and when they are freed from sins, they prepare to serve God. And what other interpreters say instead of: sent, they say: “flew”, then understand the rapid arrival of the divine word to those who are considered worthy of communicating with him. There is also a difference in gender. Seventy, Aquila and Theodotion translate the word "seraphim" in the neuter gender; and Symmachus is masculine. It should not be thought that the Powers of God have a gender; because even the Holy Spirit himself, according to the properties of the language, is placed in the feminine gender in Hebrew: “Ruga”, in Greek in the neuter: τό πνεῦμα, in Latin in the masculine: spiritus. From which it should be understood that when a masculine or feminine ending is given in relation to the seraphim, this does not mean gender, but a sound feature of the language. Only God himself, invisible and unchanging, is expressed in the masculine gender in almost all languages, since gender is not characteristic of him. - Also, no matter how innocent, the mistake of those who in their prayers and petitions dare to say: “sitting on cherubim and seraphim” must be condemned. For it is written that God sits on cherubim; like, for example sit on the cherubim, appear (Ps. 79:2). But that God sits on the seraphim is not mentioned in all of Scripture, and we do not even find the seraphim themselves standing around God in all of Holy Scripture, excluding the present place. Seventy: and in his hand there is a burning coal, and with his tongs he is taken from the altar; and I will touch my lips. Aquila and Theodotion: “and in his hand in tongs was a pebble, which he took from the altar and touched my lips”; Symmachus: “and in his hand, in tongs, was a pebble, which he took from the altar and brought to my mouth” (Isa. 6:6). If we explain it in relation to history, then God appears sitting in the Jerusalem temple, and from the altar in front of Him, seventy coals are taken to Isaiah - from the flaming altar, or the altar of burnt offerings. – If we explain it in relation to the mysterious meaning, then fire is sent, which Jeremiah could not endure, which, when it penetrates into the recesses of our soul, so transforms us, so transforms us from the old man into the new, that we can exclaim in these words: “It is no longer I who live, but the grace of God that is in me” (Gal. 2:20). Also, by tongs, although, according to some interpreters, they have always been among the priestly accessories, we must understand the various powers with which God spoke in many parts and in various ways to our fathers through the prophets. since in Hebrew instead of: coal (caibo) it is read: “pebble” (calculus), it seems to me, with which others agree, that the name pebble signifies the divine word. For just as this pebble (calculus) is a kind of the hardest, roundest, and most brilliant stone in all its purity, the word of God, which cannot fall through the contradictions of heretics and all opponents, is called a pebble. Zipporah circumcised her son with this stone; Jesus cleanses the people from vices, and in the Apocalypse the Lord promises those who overcome that they will receive a pebble and a new name will be written on it. It seems to me that the seventy by what they translated: ἄνθραξ meant the same as the others. since ἄνθραξ, which we explain: carbunculus (precious stone, carbuncle) is a kind of shiny, shining stone, which we find among the twelve stones. So, whether we take the calculus or the carlunculus as a stone, the truth and firmness of the divine word will be indicated first, the shining teaching and commandments will be indicated by the second. “For the words of the Lord are pure words, silver purified by fire from the earth, purified seven times” (Ps. 11:7). And in another place: “the commandment of the Lord is bright, enlightening the eyes” (Ps. 18:10). And what he says: “he had coal in his hand,” then we will understand the meaning of hands in the same way as in another place: death and life are in the hand of the tongue (Prov. 18:21) and in the Psalm: they will be given into the hands of weapons (Ps. 62:11); or the hand actually appeared, so that, due to the resemblance to the human image, when the hand of the giver is visible, the prophet would not be afraid: why we see that both God Himself and the angels are transformed into human forms in order to drive away fear from those who see. Seventy: and he said: Behold, I will touch this with your mouth, and it will take away your iniquities, and will cleanse your sins (Isa. 6:7). Aquila: “Behold, this has touched your lips, and your iniquity will depart, and there will be propitiation for your sin.” Other commentators agree with Aquila's words. First it is necessary that there be a touch on our lips; then, when there is a touch, so that iniquity will be driven away; and when iniquity is driven away, so that the Lord may be propitiated: since with Him is propitiation, and according to the Apostle: He is the propitiation for our sins (1 John 2:2). And after we are cleansed from sins, we will hear the voice of the Lord saying: whom will I send? And we will answer: here I am, send me. Seventy: and I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: Whom will I send, and who will go to this people? (Isa. 6:8). Aquila, Theodotion and Symmachus: “And I heard the voice of the Lord saying: Whom should I send? And who will go for Us? Regarding the comparison of Isaiah with Moses, how one refused to serve, and the other willingly volunteered and subsequently endured torture for this, we discussed elsewhere. But in order not to seem to shy away from what the Jews call δευτέρωσις and in which they provide all knowledge, let us briefly touch upon why it is written in Hebrew: and who will go for us? Just as the book of Genesis says: Let Us make man in Our image and likeness (Gen. 1:26), I think it is said here: “And who will go for Us?” “For Us,” who else should be understood by this if not the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, for Whom everyone who follows Their will comes? In the fact that one person appears to speak, lies the unity of the Godhead; and in what is said: “for Us,” the difference of persons is indicated. – In the Song of Songs we read the words of the groom saying to the bride: “Get up, I have come, my dear, my beauty (in other words, bride), my dove: because the winter has already passed, the rains have passed with her” (Song. 5:2). For when the soul feels calm in meditation, when it is founded on stone, and its faith is established on a deep root, then all the streams of temptation pass by it; but they do not pass by the one who succumbs to temptation (tentatur). It should be noted that to the words of the Lord: “whom should we send, and who will go for Us,” the prophet answered half: here I am, send me, - and remained silent regarding the second half of the question, realizing that there is not a single worthy person who would go for God, and who would act throughout his entire path in accordance with the dignity of the one who sent. Noticing this humility, due to which the prophet considered himself unworthy to undertake the second half of the invitation, the Lord commanded him the following, saying: go. Seventy: and he said: Behold, I am, send me. Aquila and Theodotion: “here I stand, send me”; Symmachus: “Here send me.” God, Who calls the things that do not exist as though they exist, and who said: I am the One who exists, and in another place: The One who has sent me (Ex. 3:14), whoever he calls, immediately makes him stand up: this is quite clear from the examples of the living evangelist Matthew and Lazarus, who had already died four days ago: as soon as the Lord called them, immediately one left the grave of avarice, the other the grave of death ( Mark 2; Luke 5; John 11) since there is nothing that would exist without Him: therefore the prophet, cleansed of sins, dared to say: “Behold, I am,” although in the Latin codes, due to differences among the interpreters, it was not stated. Some people think that it should be observed that if some prophets have the speech of the sender or the sent one, then this is what “apostle” means in Greek - and they want to establish this distinction: prophets and apostles are sent equally: but those who do not have the speech of the sender are only prophets. I think this is unnecessary. But since we once had to interpret this title (i.e., “apostle”), we should know that Paul’s companion, Silas, is called “apostle” in Hebrew, while he did not write any epistles. "Silouan" instead of Strength is misread; because Silvanus is not mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. Section two, containing letters written by Jerome over a period of almost three years, from the end of 382 to more than half of 385 19. Letter to Pope Damasus 47: about what the word hosanna means. Many people thought differently about this word; between them, our Gilarius, in the explanation of Matthew (Matthew 21:9), believes that Hosanna in Hebrew means “redemption of the house of David.” But first, “redemption” in Hebrew is pheduth, then house is beth. And that the word “David” is not placed in this place is clear to everyone. Others think that hosanna means "glory." But "glory" in Hebrew is called chabod; some are “grace”; "grace" in Hebrew is called thoda, or anna. It remains, therefore, to leave the streams of opinions and return to the very source from which the evangelists drew. For just as we cannot understand the following passages either in the Greek or in the Latin codes: that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, for he shall be called a Nazarite (Matthew 2:23), and also: out of Egypt I cried my Son (ibid., v. 15), so now, according to the Jewish codes, we must examine the true meaning of the word hosanna and decide why the people and especially the consonant choir of infants cried out with this word, when, according to Matthew's legend: The nations came before Him and followed the call, saying: Hosanna to the son of David; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest (Matthew 21:9). Mark puts it this way: Crying, saying: Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the coming kingdom in the name of the Lord our father David; Hosanna in the highest (Mark 11:9–10). John expresses himself in the same words: and I call, saying: Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel (John 12:13). Luke alone does not put the word hosanna, being in agreement with the rest of the speech: Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord, peace in heaven and glory in the highest (Luke 19:38). So, as we said, the most Jewish words must be presented and the opinion of all interpreters given, so that through consideration of all this the reader himself can easily understand what he should agree on about this. In the one hundred and seventeenth psalm, where we read: O Lord, save, O Lord, hasten; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord (Ps. 117:25–26), in Hebrew it reads: anna Adonai, osianna, anna adonai oslianna; baruch abba basem Adonai. Aquila, Symmachus, Theodotion and the "Fifth Edition" (QnintaEditio) translate it like this: δωσον δὴ , Εὐλογημένος ὁ Ἐρχ ό μενος ἐν ὀν ό ματι Κυρ ί ου – we do not translate so that in Latin nothing has changed. Only the sixth edition agrees with seventy interpreters; so it has ὦ put in it, where others have put ὦ δὴ. But since osianna, which we mispronounce out of ignorance: hosanna, according to the general understanding means “save,” and is expressed by the words: salvum fac, now we are concerned about what the word anna means, without adding the concept of salvation. It should be noted that in this place anna is said three times; in the first and second cases it is written with the same letters: aleph, nun, he, and in the third - lie, nun, he. Symmachus, who agrees with the general translation regarding the one hundred and seventeenth psalm, in the one hundred and fourteenth psalm, where it says: O Lord, deliver my soul (Ps. 114:4), in order to express the thought more clearly to us, translates it as follows: “I pray, Lord, deliver my soul.” And where he translates: “I pray”, Seventy: ὦ, Aquila and other publications put: ὦ δὴ, - there the word anna is written in Hebrew, only with the letter aleph at the beginning, and not he. From which we notice that if anna is written with aleph, it means: “I pray”; and if with he, then it is a conjunction or interjection, which in Greek is expressed through δὴ, as in the word: σῶσον δὴ, and the meaning of which the Latin language does not express. But since these trifles and the incomprehensibility of such reasoning, due to ignorance of the language and even writing, bore the reader, then, for the sake of brevity of explanation, I will say that the said verses are taken from the one hundred and seventeenth psalm, which clearly prophesies about Christ, very often read in the Jewish synagogues, and therefore very well known to the people: since the promised one from the line of David came to save Israel, according to David: The stone, his careless builders, this will be at the forefront; This came from the Lord, and is marvelous in our heads. This is the day the Lord has made: let us rejoice and be glad on it. Oh, Lord, save me; Oh, Lord, hurry up. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; blessed are you from the house of the Lord. God is the Lord, and appear to us (Ps. 118:22, etc.). That is why the Gospel scriptures mention that when the Pharisees and scribes saw that the people recognized the prophecy of the psalm as being fulfilled in Christ, and that the children shouted Hosanna to the son of David, then, driven by indignation, they said to Him: Do you hear what these are saying? And Jesus answered them, “Have you not praised anyone, because out of the mouth of a child and those who piss, you have uttered praise?” (Matt. 21:15–16; Luke 19:38–40; John 12:13), confirming the one hundred and seventeenth psalm with the testimony of the eighth psalm. Regarding what could easily be translated: “blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,” the writings of all the evangelists agree. As for the word osianna, since they could not translate it into Greek, they put it in Hebrew, namely osianna, exactly the same, as we see, done regarding Alleluia, Amen and much more. Only Luke, the most knowledgeable of all the evangelists in the Greek language, as a doctor, and who wrote the gospel for the Greeks, seeing that he could not convey the peculiarities of Jewish speech, considered it better to remain silent than to put something that would make it difficult for the reader. In general, just as we have well-known interjections in the Latin language, for example, mockingly we say vah, surprised by rara, saddened by heu; and wanting to instill silence, clenching our teeth, squeezing our breath and producing only a hissing sound sith: so the Jews have an interjection between other features of their language, for example, when they want to pray to the Lord, they use the word of prayerful disposition, and say: “anna-Lord,” which the Seventy translated: “Oh, Lord.” Thus "osi" means "save"; “anna” is an interjection of prayer. If you want to make a compound word from these two words, say: “osianna,” or, as we say, “hosanna,” releasing a vowel in the middle, just as we usually do in Virgil’s poems, when instead of: mene incoepto desistere victam, we read: men incoepto. For aleph, the first letter of the next word excludes when added the last letter of the previous word. So let's go back to the beginning of the question; where we read in Latin: “O Lord, save me; O Lord, prosper; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,” - there, in accordance with the meaning of the Hebrew, we can read: “I pray, Lord, save; I pray, Lord, make haste, I pray: blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” It is said: “save,” so that we mean: “your people Israel,” or in general: “Peace.” Finally, Matthew, who wrote the Gospel in Hebrew, put it: osanna barrama, that is, hosanna in the highest, since with the birth of the Savior salvation spread even to heaven, i.e. to the highest, and there was peace not only on earth, but also in heaven, so that what was once said was abolished: my sword was written in heaven (Isa. 34:5). I expressed all this briefly and concisely to the best of my understanding. However, let your blessedness know that boredom should not creep into reading such discussions; because, although we could easily come up with something that would solve the issue in one word, as we have shown and others have done, it is more decent to work a little for the truth and listen to foreign speech than to accept a ready-made opinion from someone else’s voice. 20. Letter to Damasus about two sons The question of your bliss was also a study; and to seek the road in this way means to point it out to those who seek it. True wisdom will be attributed to the one who asks wisely. You say: who is this father in the Gospel who divided his property between his two sons (Luke 15)? Who are these two sons? Who's the eldest? and who is the youngest? What does it mean that the youngest squanders the received property with harlots and then, when famine occurs, is assigned by the head of the country to pigs, eats acorns, returns to his father, receives a ring and the best clothes, and a fattened calf is slaughtered for him? Who is this elder brother, and why, having come from the field, is he jealous of his brother’s reception? and so on, which is more fully described in the Gospel. Moreover, you add: I know that many people say different things about this; and the Jewish people regard them as the elder brother, and the pagan people as the younger brother. But I ask how he can relate to the Jewish people: Behold, I have worked for you for so many years, and I have transgressed no more of your commandments, and you have given me no more kids of goats, so that I may rejoice with my friends (Lk. 15:29), - and also, child, you are always with me, and my whole essence is yours (Luke 15:31). If, as you say, we would like to apply a parable to a righteous man and a sinner, then it is not in accordance with the characteristics of a righteous man that he should be saddened by the salvation of another, and especially of his brother. For if death entered the world through the envy of the devil, and those who imitate him belong to his side, then can such evil envy befit the face of a righteous man, so that he remains behind the doors, stubbornly resists his most merciful father, and, burdened with malice, alone does not want to participate in home joy? Therefore, just as with regard to those parables that are not explained by the Savior, we usually examine on what occasion they were spoken, so we must do the same with regard to this parable, and pay attention to why the Lord expressed it and to what question this response likening was proposed. The scribes and Pharisees grumbled, saying: How can this one accept sinners and eat with them? (Luke 15:2). The preceding words actually say: “But all the tax collectors and sinners approached him, desiring to listen to him” (Luke 15:1). So, the reason for the Pharisees' envy is why the Lord did not avoid conversations and feasts with people condemned by the law. This is what Luke says. Matthew says the following: and it came to pass that He reclined in the house, and behold, many tax collectors and sinners came to recline with Jesus and His disciples (Matthew 9:10). Seeing this, the Pharisees said to His disciples: Why did publicans and sinners eat your Teacher? Jesus heard him say to them, “They do not require a doctor to be healthy, but those who are sick.” As you go, learn what it is: I want mercy, not sacrifice; For the righteous did not come to call, but sinners (Matthew 9:11–13). Mark also agrees with these words. And so, as we said, the whole issue arose from the side of the law. since the law, strict in justice, had no mercy: but every adulterer, murderer, deceiver, and in short, everyone who fell into mortal sin was not freed from sin by any pardon for repentance; it was commanded to give an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a soul for a soul (Ex. 21:23–24). And thus everything was evaded, together with the keys; do not do goodness, not even one (Ps. 13:3). Where sin abounded, grace abounded (Rom. 5:20), God sent His Son, begotten of woman (Gal. 4:4), who, having destroyed the mediastinum, made them both one (Eph. 2:13), and tempered the severity of the law with the grace of the Gospel. For this reason, Paul, in his letters to the churches, says: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 1:7): ​​grace is not that which is rewarded according to merit, but that which is given as a gift. And the peace by which we are reconciled to God, having as our intercessor our Lord Jesus Christ, who forgave us our sins, destroyed the handwriting of death that was against us, nailing it to the cross, and consigned it to the ridicule of the rulers and authorities, triumphing over them on the tree. What greater mercy could there be than that the Son of God is born the son of man? Does ten months endure humiliation? Waiting for the birth to come? Wrapped in swaddling clothes? Submit to parents? Increases across all ages? And after cursing, strangling and scourging, he even endures the curse of the cross for our sake, in order to free us from the curse of the law, being obedient to the Father even to death: and he actually does what he previously prayed for as a mediator, saying: “Father, I want that, just as You and I are one, so they also may be one in Us” (John 17:22). Consequently, since Christ came to conquer with ineffable mercy what was impossible for the law, since no one was justified by it, he called publicans and sinners to repentance, even participating in feasts with them, so that even among the feasts they would learn the truth. Anyone who has read the Gospel with careful attention knows how food, drink, walking, and everything that the Lord did in the flesh related to human salvation. Seeing this, the scribes and Pharisees said that he was acting against the law: behold, a poisonous man and a wine drinker, a friend of tax collectors and sinners (Matthew 11:19); since before they accused Him of working on the Sabbath. Therefore, in order to condescendingly refute such an accusation, the Lord offered three parables: one of them is about ninety-nine sheep abandoned in the mountains, and about one lost one, carried by the shepherd on his shoulders; another about the drachma, which a woman was looking for with a lighted lamp, and which, having found, called her neighbors to rejoice, saying: Rejoice with me, for I have found the lost drachma (Luke 15:9); and the third is about two sons, which you ordered me to make the subject of a brief discussion. Although the parables of the sheep and the drachma are aimed at one general idea, there is no need to talk about them at the present time; it is enough just to say that these parables are proposed in order to teach everyone for whom there is no need for repentance to rejoice when publicans and sinners repent; just as when the sheep and the drachma were found, there was joy among the angels and the neighbors living nearby. Therefore, I am extremely surprised that Tertullian, in the book on Chastity, which he wrote against repentance and tried to pervert the ancient truth with a newly invented opinion, wanted to think that the tax collectors and sinners who supped with the Lord were pagans, since Scripture says: “Let there be no one who collects tribute from the Israelites” (Deut. 23:18 according to LXX) 48, as as if Matthew was not a publican from the circumcision, and he who, while praying with the Pharisee in the church, did not dare to lift his eyes to heaven, was not a publican from the Israelites; Luke does not seem to mention: and all the people who heard, and the publican, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John (Lk. 7:29); as if it might seem probable to anyone that a pagan entered the temple, or that the Lord had feasts with the pagans, while He was especially careful not to appear to be a lawbreaker; and he came first to the lost sheep of the house of Israel; and to the Canaanite woman’s request for her daughter to be healed, he answered: It is not good to take away a child’s bread and harm it with a dog (Matthew 15:26). And in another place he commanded the disciples: do not go into the way of the tongue, and do not enter into the city of Samaritan (Matthew 10:5). From all this it is clear that the name of publicans in Scripture means not so much pagan persons, but all kinds of sinners in general, i.e. both from the pagans and from the Jews. And the one who, next to his insane and evil-tongued wives, asserted as a dogma that repentants should not be accepted back into Christians, in vain argued that the tax collectors were not Jews, that in their person one can understand only a pagan people. And so, without further reasoning, I will offer the very words of the Gospel, and to each of them I will add in the form of a commentary what I think. A certain man had two sons (Luke 15:11). That God is called a man is confirmed by many testimonies, such as: the testimony of two people is true. I am the one who testifies about Me, and the Father who sent Me testifies about Me (John 8:17–18). In one parable God is called a shepherd, in another a master of the house, in one he plants grapes, in another he calls for marriage; in various comparisons the same thing is expressed in order to condemn the pride of the Jews and justify the repentance of all sinners in general, whether pagans or Israelis. As for the words two sons, almost all Scriptures are full of guarantees for the calling of two peoples. “And the younger said to him: Father, give me the next portion of the estate” (Luke 15:12). The property of God consists of everything that we live by, that we feel, that we think about, and that we express in words. God gave all this to everyone equally, according to the evangelist: this is the true light, which enlightens every person coming into the world (John 1:9). This is the right eye, which must be guarded from temptations; this is the lamp of the body; This is a talent that should not be tied up in ubrus, i.e. preserve it carefully, but without using it, and should not bury it in the ground, i.e. to be darkened by earthly thoughts. "He divided the estate." In Greek it reads more expressively: διειλευ αυτοις του βιου, that is, he gave them free will, gave them freedom of their own mind, so that everyone would live not by the power of God, but by virtue of their own obedience, that is, not out of necessity, but by will; so that virtue takes place, so that we differ from other animals, we are allowed, in the image of God, to do whatever we want. This is why it is rewarded: sinners receive righteous condemnation, and saints and righteous people receive a just reward. And not many days later my son gathered everything and departed for a far country (Luke 15:13). If God holds the sky by an inch and the earth by a handful; and Jeremiah says: God draw near, and not God afar off (Jer. 23:23); and David also says that without Him there is no place: then how does a son leave his land and move away from his father? This means that we must understand that we exist together with God and move away from Him not by local distances, but by our state of mind. For in what sense does the Savior say to the disciples: Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20): in this sense He also says to those who are magnified by their vanity and do not deserve to be with the Lord: “Depart from Me; I did not know you workers of iniquity” (Matthew 7:23). Thus the youngest son left his father with all his property and left his side. And Cain, having departed from the presence of the Lord, settled in the land of Naid, which means “unrest.” And everyone who moves away from God is immediately shaken by the waves of the age, and his feet slip. For after people moved away from the east and retreated from the true light, they erected a tower of their wickedness against God, invented arrogant teachings, wanting to penetrate with inappropriate curiosity into the heights of heaven itself. And that place was called Babylon, that is, “confusion.” And squander your wealth, you who live luxuriously (Luke 15:13). Luxury hostile to God, hostile to virtue, wastes all the father's property; and tying you to the present with pleasures, does not allow you to think about future poverty. I have outlived everything for him, and the famine may be strong in that country (Luke 15:14). He received from his father the ability to know the invisible through the visible, and to understand the Creator from the beauty of creatures. But by containing the truth in untruth, and by worshiping idols instead of God, he squandered all the gifts of nature; and having spent everything, he began to need virtues, while he left the very source of virtues. There will be great peace in that country (ibid.). Every place in which we live without a father is a place of hunger, poverty and need. But primarily the land of famine is the one about which the prophet said: you who live in the land of the shadow of death, light will shine on you (Is. 9:2). On the contrary, there is another country, which we will inherit, living with a clear and pure heart, and which Saint David desired, saying: I believe to see the good things of the Lord in the lands of the living (Ps. 27:13). “And he began to be in need, and went and joined one of the rulers of that country” (Luke 15:15). Having been deprived of the food of the one who, at the first word, gave him all the blessings, he joined the ruler of this world, i.e. the devil, the ruler of darkness, whom Scripture calls sometimes the enemy man, sometimes the unjust judge, sometimes the dragon, sometimes Satan, sometimes the hammer, sometimes the partridge, sometimes the beliar, sometimes the roaring lion, sometimes the leviathan, sometimes the vaninim, sometimes the hippopotamus, and many other names. And the expression: “to one of the leaders” makes it clear that there are many of them flying in this air, and through the machinations of various vices, subjugating the human race into slavery. “He sent him into his field to feed pigs” (ibid.). The pig is an unclean animal, loving dirt and uncleanness. Such is the crowd of demons, which through man-made idols feeds on animal blood and sacrifices; and lately, due to some brutal greed, he has become fed up with the death of the man himself. So, he sent him into his possession, that is, he made him his servant so that he would tend the pigs, sacrificing his soul to him. And he desired to fill his belly with the flesh of a swine, and no one gave it to him (Luke 15:16). What Ezekiel says with such indignation regarding Jerusalem: And there was in you, contrary to the custom of a woman in your fornication, and with you committed fornication, instead of giving you a lease, and the rent was not given to you (Ezek. 16:34), - then we see fulfilled on the youngest son. He lost his estate in the chief's country; and having lost his property, he was sent to the pigs and was overcome by need. The food of demons is drunkenness, luxury, fornication and all vices in general. They are pleasant and seductive, and flatter the senses with pleasure: as soon as they appear, they immediately demand satisfaction for themselves. The wasteful young man could not get enough of them because a desire always has its hunger, and what is fulfilled is not satisfied: and Satan, when he captivates someone in his fetters and puts his yoke on him, does not bother about satisfying him with vices, knowing that he is already dead, an example of which we see in many idolaters, depressed by the lack of bread and need. These are the ones on whom the prophetic word is fulfilled: “Gifts are given to all harlots; and you yourself gave gifts to all your lovers, but received no gifts” (Ezek. 16:33). We can explain the word differently: faces. The food of demons is the poetry of poets, secular wisdom, and the eloquence of oratorical words. All this delights everyone with pleasantness, and captivating the ear with a sweet regularity of running verses, penetrates the soul and embraces the inside of the heart. But in truth, re-read with special diligence and labor, all this gives its readers nothing but empty sound and chattering words: here you will not find satisfaction for the sense of truth, nor reassurance for the sense of justice. Devotees of secular wisdom suffer from the hunger of truth and the poverty of virtue. An example of such wisdom was described in Deuteronomy under the guise of a captive woman: the divine word says about her that if an Israelite wanted to have her as a wife, he must expose her, cut off her nails and cut her hair: and when she becomes clean, then let him go into the arms of the winner. Isn't this funny if you take it literally? But we usually do the same when we read philosophers, when books of secular wisdom fall into our hands: if we find anything useful in them, we add them to our teaching; if there is anything unnecessary, about idols, about love, about engaging in secular affairs, then we clean off, expose, cut off, like nails with a sharp iron. That is why the Apostle forbids anyone to recline in the church, saying: If anyone with understanding sees you reclining in the tavern, will not his weak conscience create food sacrificed to idols? And the weak brother in your mind will perish, for his sake Christ died (1 Cor. 8:10–11). Do you not see that it is said here in other words, so that you do not read philosophers, orators, poets, and so that you do not rest on what you read from them? Not only that, if we do not believe what is written; the conscience of others is nevertheless wounded by our reading: it seems to them that we, without condemning what we read, sympathize with it. If we do not accept such an interpretation, then what should we think of the Apostle, that he approves of the way of thinking of one who eats in the church, and calls the one perfect, whom he knew to be eating something sacrificed to idols? Let not the words sound in the mouth of a Christian: “almighty Jupiter, O my Hercules, O Castor,” and the names of other monsters more than deities. And now we see that even the priests of God, having abandoned the gospel and the prophets, read comedies, sing the love words of bucolic verses, have Virgil: and what is allowed for children out of necessity, they make for themselves an object of criminal pleasure. So, we must be careful not to lie in the church if we want to have a captive wife; or if we are already very passionate about love for her, then we must cleanse her and free her from all sinful delusions, so that our brother, for whom Christ died, will not be tempted by hearing in the mouth of a Christian the sounds of verses composed in praise of idols. “When he came to his senses, he said, “How many hired servants in my father’s house are satisfied with bread, but here I am perishing from hunger” (Luke 15:17). Some, as we know, think that mercenaries are those of the Jews who keep the commandments of the law only for the sake of real benefits. They are fair and merciful not for the sake of justice itself and virtue itself - mercy, but in order to receive earthly happiness and long life as a reward from God. And whoever desires these benefits is actually encouraged to obey the commandments so that through violation of the commanded he does not lose what he wants. But where there is fear, there is no love. for perfect love casts out fear. A lover observes what is commanded not because he is prompted by the fear of punishment or the desire for reward, but because what God commands is in itself the highest good for him. So, the meaning is this: how many Jews do not deviate from obedience to God only for the sake of real benefits, but I perish in need. I rise up and go to my father (Luke 15:18). He says it perfectly: standing up, because in the absence of his father he did not stand. Sinners tend to lie down, and righteous people tend to stand. Moses is told: stand here with Me (Deut. 5:31). And in the one hundred and thirty-third psalm, the prophet calls on those standing in the house of the Lord to praise the Lord: Behold, now bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, who stand in the church of the Lord. And I say to him: Father, I have sinned in heaven and before you, and your son is no longer worthy to be called (Luke 15:18–19). He sinned against heaven who abandoned his mother, heavenly Jerusalem. He sinned before his father, who, leaving the Creator, revered the trees. He who wished to be a slave of idols did not become worthy to be called the son of God. “For whoever commits sin has the devil as his father” (1 John 3:8). Make me as one of your hired servants (Luke 15:19). Make me, he says, as if one of the Jews who honor You only for the sake of the promise of real blessings. Receive your repentant son, O You, Who has so often forgiven Your hired servants who have sinned. “And he went to his father” (Luke 15:20). We go to our father when we leave the pig pasture, according to the saying of the prophet: “When you sigh and turn, you will be saved” (Ezek. 18). While I was still far away from him, his father saw him and was pleased with him (Luke 15:20). Before he returned to his dear father with worthy deeds and true repentance, God, for whom the whole future has already been completed, and who knows the whole future in advance, comes to meet him, and through his Word, who took flesh from the Virgin, anticipates the return of his youngest son. And the flow attacked his neck (ibid.). He came to earth before he entered the house of recognition. He fell on his neck, that is, he took on a human body. And as John reclined on the chest of Jesus (John 13), having been made a participant in His mysteries: so, more by grace than by merit, the Lord laid His light yoke on his youngest son, that is, the light commandments of his commandments. And kissed him (ibid.), in accordance with how the church prays in the Song of Songs for the coming of the bridegroom: let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth (Song 1:1), as if to say: I do not want him to speak to me through Moses, through the prophets; let him accept my body, let him kiss me in the flesh. Let us also relate to this thought what is written in Isaiah: If you seek, seek, and dwell in my oak grove (Is. 21:12–13, according to LXX). In this place St. The Scriptures command the weeping church to cry out from Seir: since “Seir” is translated “shaggy” and “bristled,” and denotes the ancient horror of the pagans, and the church, for its part, responds with a similar analogy: I am black and good, daughter of Jerusalem (Song. 1:4). The son said to him: Father, I have sinned in heaven and before you, and your son is no longer worthy to be called (Luke 15:21). He says that he is not worthy to be called a son, and yet, according to the voice of nature, according to the essence that his father once gave him, he tremblingly pronounces the true name, saying: Father, those who have sinned into heaven. So, in vain, some argue that calling God father is appropriate only for saints; since even this one, who recognizes himself as unworthy of the name of a son, calls God father: although, perhaps, he dared to call God father because he was converted with all his soul. The father said to his servant: quickly wear out the untidy garment and clothe him (Luke 15:22); clothing lost through sin by Adam, clothing, in another parable called the wedding garment (Matthew 22:11, 12), that is, the clothing of the Holy Spirit, without which one cannot participate in the king’s feast. And give a ring to his hand, a sign of likeness to Christ, according to this saying: those who believe in him have been marked with the Holy Spirit of promise (Eph. 1:13). And to the prince of Tyre, who had lost the likeness of the Creator, it is said: you are the seal of likeness... and the crown of kindness: you were in the sweetness of God's paradise (Ezek. 28:12–13). Isaiah also speaks about this sign: “then those who are sign will be seen.” This sign is given to the hand when Scripture points to deeds of goodness, such as, for example, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet (Hag. 1:1, 2:1), the word of the Lord saying to Jerusalem: I have adorned you with utensils, and I have placed a wrist on your hand (Ezek. 16:11). Next, another part of the body for sealing is indicated to the one dressed in the podir: go through the city of Jerusalem and give signs on the faces of the men who groan and are sick because of all the iniquities that happen among them (Ezek. 9:4). For what? so that after this they could say: The light of Your countenance shines upon us, O Lord (Ps. 4:7). And the boots were on his nose, because he had lost the dignity of a groom and could not celebrate Easter with bare feet. These are the boots about which the Lord says: And he shod you with scarlet (Ezek. 16:10). And boots on his nose, so that an insidious snake would never attack the heel of his walker; so that he can safely step on the serpent and scorpions; so that he may be prepared for the gospel of peace, no longer walking in the flesh, but in the Spirit; and so that the prophetic saying would be applicable to it: since the feet of those who bring good tidings of peace are red, so are those who bring good news (Isa. 52:7). And having brought the fat calf, kill it, and we rejoice with joy: for this my son was dead and is alive again; I bent and was found (Luke 15:23–24). The well-fed calf, slain for the salvation of the repentant, is the Savior himself, whose flesh we feed on every day, whose blood we drink. You understand with me, faithful reader, with what fat, well-fed, we regurgitate praise to Him, saying: My heart will regurgitate a good word, I say my deeds to the princess (Ps. 44:1); although some are more speculative than they truly think, not realizing the text of the psalm, that this (i.e. Ps. 44:1) is spoken on behalf of the Father. And the saying: let us rejoice, for this son of mine was dead, and is alive, bent and found, - has a connection with the same thought of the previous parable, which says: so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God for one sinner who repents (Luke 15:10). And we began to rejoice (Luke 15:24). This feast is celebrated every day; Every day the father receives his son; Christ is always slain as a believer. His son was an elder in the village (Luke 15:25). Hitherto there has been discussion about the person of the youngest son, by which we should mean tax collectors and sinners called by the Lord to repentance; in a mysterious sense, the future calling of the pagans is prophesied here. Now the speech turns to the eldest son; many attribute it to the person of any saint in general, others actually to the Jews. In relation to the saints, the interpretation is not difficult if we take into account the words: I have never transgressed your commandments (Luke 15:29), but it is not in accordance with the properties of the saint that he is jealous of his brother’s conversion. As for the Jews, although envy about the salvation of their brother is completely in their spirit, what speaks of always observing the commandments of their fathers is not applicable to them. We will try to express our own opinion about this in its place. His son grew old in the village, sweating from labor in earthly concerns, far removed from the grace of the Holy Spirit and his father’s advice. This is the one who says: I bought the village and the imam came out of the need and saw it; pray, have me renounced (Luke 14:18). This is the one who bought five spouses of oxen, and under the weight of the law enjoys earthly sensual pleasures. This is the one who, having taken a wife, cannot come to the wedding, and having become flesh, cannot in any way unite with the spirit. In another parable, the eldest son corresponds to the workers who are sent to the vineyard at the first, third, sixth, and ninth hours, that is, according to calls at different times, and who are indignant because the workers of the eleventh hour are compared with them in pay. And like one who is coming, he draws near to the house, hearing singing and faces (symplioniam et сhorum) (Luke 15:25). This expression corresponds in some psalms to the inscription: meleth. The word meleth is a choir that merges into one. – It is in vain that some of the Latins think that a symphony is a kind of musical instrument; whereas this name means consonant singing, praising God, moreover, συμφωνία is also denoted in Latin by the word consonantia. And calling one of the youths, they asked what this was (Luke 15:26). And now Israel asks why God rejoices when he accepts the pagans: but he who is burdened with envy cannot recognize the fatherly will. He said to him, “Your brother is perfect, and your father killed a fat calf, because he received him in health” (Luke 15:27). The reason for the joy is the salvation of the pagans, the salvation of sinners, proclaimed on this earth to the glory of God: the angels rejoice, and all creation is ready for joy; about Israel alone it is said: They became angry and did not want to hear (Luke 15:28). He is angry that his brother was received in his absence; he is angry that the one whom he considered dead is alive: and now Israel stands outside the doors, and now, when the disciples listen to the Gospel in the church, his mother and brothers stand outside the doors, looking for him (Matthew 12). His father went out and prayed for him (Luke 15:28). As a good and merciful father, he asks his son to take part in home joy: the father asks through the apostles; asks through preachers of the Gospel. Paul speaks about this: we pray, according to Christ, be reconciled to God (2 Cor. 5:20). And in another place: it is not right for you to speak the word of God first: but having rejected it, and creating for yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turned into tongues (Acts 13:46). He answered the speech to his father: Behold, I have worked for you for so many years (Luke 15:29). The father graciously prays for consent: but he, following the legal truth, does not submit to the truth of God. But what truth is greater than the truth of God, which forgives those who repent and accepts the returned son? I have worked for you for so many years, and I have transgressed none of your commandments; as if it were not a violation of the commandment that he was jealous of the salvation of another, that he boasted of righteousness before God, when no one was pure before him. For who can joyfully recognize himself as the owner of a pure heart, even if he lived only one day on earth? David confesses: I was conceived in iniquity, and my mother gave birth to me in sins (Ps. 50:7). And in another place: if you see iniquity, Lord, who will stand? (Ps. 129:3). And the eldest son mentioned in the parable says that he never violated the commandments, while so many times he was given over to captivity for idolatry! I have worked for you for so many years, and I have transgressed none of your commandments. Regarding this, the Apostle Paul says: what then are we saying? for the pagans, who do not persecute the truth, have comprehended the truth, even the truth that comes from faith. Israel, while persecuting the law of righteousness, does not comprehend the law of righteousness: for what reason? not from faith, but from the works of the law (Rom. 9:30–32). Thus, it can be said about the eldest son that, according to the expression of the Apostle, he was converted without stumbling in the area of righteousness, even from the law: although it seems to me that the Jew is more vainglorious than speaking the truth, like that Pharisee who said: God I give you praise, for I am not like other men, predators, unrighteous, adulterers, or like this publican ( Luke 18:11). I ask you, don’t you see that the same thing that the Pharisee said about the publican, the older brother said about the younger: this one has taken away your property with the fornicators? (Luke 15:30). - To the son’s words: “I have transgressed none of your commandments,” the father does not answer anything; does not confirm whether what is said by the son is true, but tames his anger in another way: child, you are always with me (Luke 15:31). He did not say: you are telling the truth, you did everything that I commanded; but he says, you are always with me - with me through the law to which you are subject, with me when you recognize me in captivity; with me not because you keep my commandments, but because I did not allow you to go far away; with me, finally, because I said to David: if his sons forsake My law, and do not walk in My destinies; If they defile My justifications, and do not keep My commandments, I will visit them with the rod of iniquity, and with the wounds of their unrighteousness: but My mercy I will not destroy from them (Ps. 89:31 et seq.). According to this testimony, what the eldest son boasts about turns out to be false: because he did not walk in the destinies of God, and did not fulfill His commandments. How, then, without keeping the commandments, was he, according to the parable, always with his father? because after his sins, he was visited with a rod, and the one visited was not denied mercy. It should also not be surprising that one who could envy his brother dared to lie before his father; On the day of judgment, some will lie even more shamelessly, saying: “Did we not eat and drink in Your name, and do many miracles, and cast out demons?” (Matthew 7:22). What does it mean: my whole essence is yours, will be explained in detail in its place. And you gave me no more kids of goats, so that I might rejoice with my friends (Luke 15:29). So much blood, says Israel, has been shed, so many thousands of people have been killed, and not one of them has become a redeemer for our salvation. Josiah himself, who pleased you before you (2 Kings 23): and in recent times the Maccabees, who fought for your inheritance, were wickedly killed by the swords of their enemies, and no one’s blood restored us to freedom. So to this day we are subject to Roman power: neither a prophet, nor a priest, nor any righteous man was sacrificed for us. And for the prodigal son, that is, for the pagans, for sinners, more glorious blood than all creation was shed. And while You did not give even a little to those who deserved it, You gave much more to those who did not deserve it. You never gave me any kids of goats, but I rejoiced with my friends. It is in vain that you say this, O Israel: say rather: “so that I may rejoice with You.” Can there be any other pleasure for you if your father does not celebrate a feast with you? Learn from at least a real example. When the youngest son returned, both the father and the boys rejoiced. Let's eat, says the father, and have fun; and it does not say: “eat and be merry.” But you, due to that spiritual inclination by which you envy your brother, by which you move away from the sight of your father and are always on the field, you even now want to feast without him. You gave Nikolizhe to the kids. A father never gives a worse gift: a calf is slaughtered, come in and eat with your brother. Why are you asking for a kid for whom a lamb is ready? And so that you do not pretend that you do not know that the lamb is ready, John pointed it out to you in the wilderness: Behold, Lamb of God, take away the sins of the world (John 1:29). And the father, being merciful and accepting of repentance, asks you to eat the calf without killing the goat, which stands on its left side. But at the end of the century you yourself will kill a goat for yourself, the Antichrist, and with your friends, unclean spirits, you will feed on his flesh, in fulfillment of the prophecy: you have crushed the head of the serpent; You gave this evil to the people of Ethiopia (Ps. 73:14). When this son of yours, who had devoured your property with fornicators, came, you sacrificed for him the bullock (Luke 15:30). Even now Israel realizes that the bullock was slain: they know that Christ has come, but they are tormented by envy and do not want salvation without the death of their brother. He said: child, you are always with me, and my whole essence is yours (Luke 15:31). He calls him son, although he does not want to enter. But how does everything belong to the Jews? Are there really angels, thrones, dominions and other powers? It is obvious that by everything we must mean the law, the prophets, and divine speeches. God gave all this to the Jews so that they could learn his law day and night. According to hermeneutical rules, the word “everything” should be understood in relation not to the whole, but to the greater part, as for example in the following saying: “all things turned aside, but together they were not the keys” (Ps. 13:3). And in another place: as many as they came before Me, they are also thieves (John 10:8). And Paul in his letter to the Corinthians: I have become all things, that I may save some (1 Cor. 9:22); and to the Philippians: for they all seek their own, and not other than Christ Jesus (Phil. 2:21). However, one must believe that the one who is invited to eat the calf has never been refused anything. Rejoice and rejoice as you should, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive: he was lost and is found (Luke 15:32). And so, let us hope that we, having become dead through sins, can come to life through repentance. In the present parable the son himself is found, just as in the previous parables the lost sheep is brought back and the lost drachma is found. All three parables have the same ending: I bent and found myself; so that through various comparisons we understand the same idea about the acceptance of sinners. What has been said so far reveals the meaning of the parable as it applies to the pagan and the Jew. But let's see how this parable can be understood as applied to the saint and the sinner in general. It is clear that the image of the eldest son in the parable does not correspond to the dignity of the righteous man. The reader is perplexed: why does a righteous man envy the salvation of a sinner and be filled with such anger that was not tamed either by sympathy for his brother, or by the pleas of his father, or by the joy of the whole house. Let us answer this briefly: all the righteousness of this world in comparison with God’s righteousness is not righteousness. For just as Sodom is considered righteous in comparison with the sins of Jerusalem, not because in itself it was right, but because in comparison with its greater sins its sins became lesser: so all the righteousness of all people is not comparable with the righteousness of God. And Paul, who said: as if they were perfect, let us be wise (Phil. 3:15); in another place he confesses and exclaims: O the depth of the wealth and wisdom and mind of God! for his judgment was not tested, and his ways were not explored (Rom. 11:33). And in another place: we understand in part and prophesy in part; and we see now as with a mirror in fortune-telling (1 Cor. 13:9, 12). And to the Romans: I am a damned man; who will deliver me from the body of this death? (Rom. 7:24). From all this we learn that perfect righteousness belongs to God alone. He makes His sun shine on the just and the unjust, He sends the early and late rain for those who deserve and for those who do not deserve; He convenes the villages for the marriage; hundred and streets, but some who are already at the wedding supper, as if in safety, he drives out; He searches and finds the sheep, which could not or did not want to return on its own, like a repentant son, and, having found it, brings it back on his shoulders (Luke 15:5). For she was very tired during her wandering. To make sure that saints can fall into envy, and that perfect goodness can belong only to God, let us pay attention, for example, to the sons of Zebedee: when their mother, in a fit of parental tenderness, asked for too much for them, the other ten disciples were indignant. And Jesus called them and said, “You know that the princes of the tongue rule over them, and the great ones rule over them.” It shall not be like this in you: but if he will be in you, let him be your servant: and if he will be first in you, he shall be your servant: just as the Son of man came, not that he should be served, but that he should serve, and give his soul of deliverance for many (Matthew 20:25–28). Let our words not seem tempting and blasphemous to anyone that the disease of envy could have crept into the apostles: let us remember that something similar is said about the angels: “the stars are unclean before Him, and He saw something wrong in His angels” (Job 4:18, 15:15). And in the psalms it is said: no one living will be justified before you (Ps. 142:2). It is not said: “every person will not be justified,” but everyone living, that is, neither an evangelist, nor an apostle, nor a prophet. I will say more - neither angels, nor thrones, nor dominions, nor powers, nor other powers. God alone is sinless: other beings who have free will, including man, as created in the image and likeness of God, can incline their will in one direction or the other. If you are not convinced by what is said, then perhaps the Gospel parable will convince you, in which laborers are sent to the heliport for a whole day (Matthew 20:1-16); in the first hour Adam, Abel, Seth are called; in the third Noah, in the sixth Abraham; in the ninth - Moses; in the eleventh - the pagan people, to whom it is said: why are you standing here idle all day? And they answer: no one hired us. And that the coming of our Savior took place in recent times is witnessed by the Apostle John, who says: brothers, the last hour is: and as you heard that the Antichrist was coming, and now there were many Antichrists; From this we understand that the last hour is (1 John 2:18). If you don’t like this interpretation, choose another one, whatever you like; I agree with everyone, as long as you admit that those called first are righteous. If so, then I will pay attention to how the righteous grumbled at the master’s house, saying: these last came and in one hour you created and created them equal to us, who bore the burden of the day and age (Matthew 20:12). It seems that they say rightly that the reward should not be the same for the one who worked in the sweat of his brow from the first hour until night and for the one who worked for one hour. But this justice is not impeccable, because it envies the happiness of others. Subsequently, the Lord exposed the envious eye in these people, saying: friend, even if your eye is evil, for I am good? (Matthew 20:15). Therefore, the apostle calls God the only righteous, the only immortal, not because the angels were not righteous and mortal, but because He Himself is immortal and righteous; in Him all truth and sinlessness are found entirely. So that you understand what is the lie of the mercenaries in the above parable, listen a little. He who is hired at the first hour deserves more than he who is sent into the vineyard at the third hour; further, the worker of the third hour has an advantage over the worker of the sixth hour; the sixth hour worker is higher than the ninth hour worker. Why do they all envy the latter and do not care about the same justice in rewarding their merits? You, a hireling of the ninth hour, why are you jealous of him who was sent into the vineyard at the eleventh hour? Whatever you answer, no matter how you show the difference in labor, and your right in the difference of labor to a greater reward, the mercenary of the sixth hour can say the same thing in application to you. And you, a hireling of the sixth hour, envy the last one who received a denarius with you, i.e. equal salvation - arguing that the glory of salvation should be different according to the amount of work, but the same can be said about you by a mercenary of 3 hours, and about him by a mercenary of 1 hour. But the early mercenaries, despite the different labor and different times of calling, willingly receive the same reward; they are not happy with just rewarding the last employee, i.e. salvation of the pagans: they reproach the Lord and in all parables they are convicted of envy. There is no doubt that the speech of our poverty will seem to you unpolished, but I often apologized and warned that I could polish my speech only by straightening the manuscript with my own hand. Therefore, forgive the weakness of my vision; I'm sorry that I dictated this letter. Take into account that in spiritual matters it is not the words that are important, but the meaning, that to sustain life you need bread, not husks. 21. Letter to Eustochia - about maintaining virginity Hear, O daughter, and see, and incline your ear, and forget your people and your father’s house, and the king will desire your kindness (Ps. 44:11-12). In Psalm 44, the Lord tells the human soul that, following the example of Abraham, having come out of its land and from its kindred, it should leave the Chaldeans, i.e., as one can interpret, demons, and dwell in the lands of the living, about which the prophet sighs nowhere, saying: I believe to see the good of the Lord in the lands of the living (Ps. 26:13). But it is not enough for you to leave your land if you do not forget your people and your father’s house, so that, despising the flesh, you throw yourself into the arms of the Bridegroom. “Do not look around,” it is said, “and do not stop in all the surrounding country, but save yourself on the mountain, so as not to be captured” (Gen. 19:17). You should not, having taken up the plow, look back, nor return home from the field, nor, having Christ’s tunic, go down from the roof to take other clothes. Great miracle: The father exhorts his daughter to forget her father. You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the lusts of your father (John 8:44) said to the Jews. When you commit sin, it is of the devil (1 John 3:8), it is said elsewhere. Having been born from such a father, we are black, and, while we have not yet ascended to the heights of virtue, we say: I am black and good, daughters of Jerusalem (Song. 1:4). I left the house where I spent my childhood, forgot my father, and am reborn in Christ. What do I get as a reward? This is what: the king will desire your kindness (Ps. 44:12). This is a great sacrament. For his sake a man will leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife, and both will no longer be one flesh (Gen. 2:24), but one spirit. Your bridegroom is not arrogant, he is not proud; he takes an Ethiopian wife as his wife: as soon as you wish to hear the wisdom of the true Solomon and come to him, he will reveal to you everything that he knows, and the king will lead you into his bed, and your color will miraculously change, so that it can be said about you: who is this ascendant who is made white? ( Song 8:5 ) I am writing this, my mistress Eustochia (I must call the bride of my Lord mistress), so that from the very beginning of reading you will know that I will not praise virginity, which you recognized as the best and which you followed, I will not count the hardships of marriage, I will not talk about how the womb becomes full, the child cries, the homewrecker crushes, household worries disturb, and finally death puts an end to everything that seemed good. Married women also have their dignity, an honest marriage and an undefiled bed (Heb. 13:4), but you must understand that you, coming from Sodom, should fear the example of Lot’s wife. There is no endearment in my writing. A caresser is a flattering enemy. You will not find here rhetorical hyperboles that would place you in the ranks of angels and throw the world at your feet. I don't want to make you proud of your virginity, but rather fearful. You are coming with a load of gold, you should avoid robbers. Life here is a field of exploits for mortals; here we struggle in order to be crowned there. No one walks safe among snakes and scorpions. My sword is written in heaven (Isa. 34:5) says the Lord; Do you expect peace in a land that produces thorns and thistles and is devoured by a serpent? Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, and against the powers, and against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in high places (Eph. 6:12). We are surrounded by great hordes of enemies; the whole world is full of enemies. Mortal flesh, which will soon be dust, alone fights with many. When it is resolved and the prince of this world comes and does not find sin in it, then you will hear the soothing voice of the prophet: do not fear from the fear of the night, from the arrow flying in the days, from the thing that passes in darkness, from the attack and the demon of the midday. Thousands will fall from your country, and darkness will be at your right hand, but it will not come close to you (Ps. 90:5-7). If you are confused by a multitude of sins and you begin to worry about some sinful desires, and your thought says to you: what to do? - then Elisha will answer you: Do not be afraid, for there are more who are with us than with them, and he will pray and say: Lord, open now the eyes of your maiden, that they may see (2 Kings. 6:16–17), and with open eyes you will see a fiery chariot that will lift you, like Elijah, to the stars; and then you will sing in delight: our soul, like a bird, get rid of the snare of those who catch; the net is broken, and we are delivered by the flood (Ps. 123:7). As long as we live in this corruptible body, while we have treasure in meager vessels (2 Cor. 4:7), and the flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh (Gal. 5:17), until then there is no certain victory. Our adversary the devil, like a roaring lion, walks around looking for someone to devour (1 Pet. 5:8). “Thou hast laid down the darkness,” says David, “and it became a burden, and in it all the wild beasts of the oak trees will pass through, and the roaring ones will snatch away and seek food for themselves from God (Ps. 103:20–21). The devil does not seek as prey people who do not believe and those who are outside the church, and whose bodies the king of Assyria lit in lamps; on the contrary, he is attempting to rob the Church of Christ. Eat him, according to the expression of Pr. Habakkuk, the chosen ones (Hab. 1:16). He wants to overthrow Job, and, having devoured Judas, he attempts to scatter the other apostles. The Savior did not come to bring the world to earth, but a sword. Lucifer, rising in the morning, fell, and he who ate sweets in paradise had to listen to the words: “If you ascend like an eagle, from there I will overthrow you,” says the Lord (Hab. 1:4). For Lucifer said in his heart: I will set my throne above the stars of heaven; I will be like the Most High (Isa. 14:13–14). That is why every day God says to those who descend the ladder seen in Jacob’s dream: I said, “You are gods by nature and sons of the Most High.” But you, like men, die, and like one you fall from princes (Ps. 82:6-7). First of all, the devil fell, and when God becomes in the assembly of gods, and judges among the gods, then the Apostle will say to those who will cease to be gods: where there is zeal and strife among you, are you not men by nature and walk after men? (1 Cor. 3:3). If the Apostle, a vessel chosen and prepared for the gospel of Christ, because of the sting of the flesh and sinful desires, exhausts his body and enslaves him, and preaching to no one else, he himself will be incapacitated; and yet he sees another law in his members, warring against the law of his mind and captivating him with the law of sin; If, after suffering nakedness, fasting, hunger, prison, scourging, and torment, the Apostle, turning to himself, exclaims: I am a damned man: who will deliver me from the body of this death? (Rom. 7:24): Do you then consider yourself safe? Please beware that one day God will not say about you: the maiden of Israel is cast down, there is no one who raises her up (Amos 5:2). I boldly say: God can do everything, but He cannot raise up a maiden after her fall. He can spare her from punishment, but he will not want to crown her deprived of purity. Let us be afraid that this prophecy will not be fulfilled for us either: the good virgins will become poor (Am. 8:13). Notice what the prophet says; good virgins will become scarce, because there are also evil virgins. It is said: everyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matthew 5:28). So virginity also perishes as a result of thoughts. This is why there are wicked virgins, virgins in body but not in spirit, foolish virgins who do not have oil, for whom the bridal chamber will be closed. If these virgins are not saved by bodily virginity from punishment for their guilt; then what will happen to those who corrupted the members of Christ and turned the temple of the Holy Spirit into a fornication? It will be said to them: come down, sit on the earth, O virgin, daughter of Babylon, sit on the earth, there is no throne for the daughter of the Chaldeans; Don’t try to call yourself soft and young. Take the millstones, grind the flour, open your veil, lift up your shins, cross the rivers; Your grief will be revealed, your reproaches will appear (Isa. 47:1-3). So, after the marriage of the Son of God, after the kisses of the brother and the groom, the one about whom it was once sung in a prophetic song: the queen appeared at your right hand in robes of gilded clothing (Ps. 44:10), will be naked: her past will be laid before her face; she will sit by the desert waters, lay down the vessel, spread out her feet to everyone who passes by, and even to the top of her head she will be defiled. It would be better for a person to enter into marriage and walk on an even path than, having begun to climb to heights, to fall into the depths of hell. I beg you, may faithful Zion not be a city of harlots, may demons not cry, may sirens not nest in the place of the dwelling of the Holy Trinity. May the union of the heart not be broken; but as soon as the desire touches the feeling or the fire of voluptuousness showers us with a pleasant warmth, we will cry out loudly: The Lord is my helper, I will not fear what the flesh will do to me (Ps. 55:5). When the inner man even begins to waver somewhat between virtues and vices, say: why are you sad, my soul, and why are you troubling me? Trust in God, for we will confess to Him, the salvation of my face and my God (Ps. 41:12). Don't let your thoughts grow. Let nothing Babylonian, nothing embarrassing 49 reach your youth. Kill the enemy while he is small; let negligence be destroyed in the seed, so that the tares do not grow up. Listen to the psalmist who says: Accursed daughter of Babylon, blessed is she who will reward you with your reward, even as you have rewarded us. Blessed is the one who has and will dash your babies against the stone (Ps. 137:8-9). Since it is impossible for the innate heartfelt attraction not to burst into a person’s feelings, the one who, at the first onset of passionate thoughts, strikes them and smashes them against a stone is praised and called blessed. The stone is Christ (1 Cor. 10:4). Oh how many times, when already a hermit and being in a vast desert, scorched by the rays of the sun and serving as a gloomy dwelling for monks, I imagined myself among the pleasures of Rome. I was in solitude because I was filled with grief. The emaciated members were covered with sackcloth and the dirty skin resembled the skin of the Ethiopians. Every day there were tears, every day there were groans, and when sleep threatened to overtake me during my struggle, I laid my bones, barely holding together, on the bare ground. I am silent about food and drink, because even sick monks drink cold water, and having something boiled would be a luxury. And yet I, the same one who, for the fear of Gehenna, condemned himself to such imprisonment in a community of only animals and scorpions, I was often mentally in a round dance of maidens. The face became pale from fasting, and the thought seethed with passionate desires in the chilled body, and the fire of lust burned in a man who had previously died in his flesh. Deprived of all help, I fell at the feet of Jesus, watered them with tears, wiped them with my hair and tamed the hostile flesh by not eating for whole weeks. I am not ashamed to tell the story of my plight; on the contrary, I lament the fact that I am no longer like that. I remember that I often cried out to God day and night and no sooner had I stopped beating my chest than silence fell at the voice of the Lord. I was afraid even of my cell, as an accomplice of my thoughts. In anger and frustration with myself, I wandered alone through the deserts. Where I saw mountain caves, inaccessible cliffs, cliffs - there was a place for my prayer, there was a prison for my most damned flesh; and the Lord is my witness - after many tears, after lifting my eyes to heaven, I sometimes saw myself among the hosts of angels, and sang in joyful delight: following You into the stench of Your world we flow (Song. 1:3). If such temptations are endured by those who, having exhausted the body, are overwhelmed by thoughts alone, then what can we say about the girl who enjoys pleasures? It remains to repeat the saying of the Apostle: she died alive (1 Tim. 5:6). Therefore, if I can advise at all, if my experience is trustworthy, then I first of all exhort and beg that the bride of Christ avoid wine as poison. This is the demons' first weapon against youth. Young people are not to the same extent crushed by stinginess, puffed up by pride, and flattered by ambition. We easily shun other vices; but the enemy we speak of is within ourselves. Wherever we go, he is with us. Wine and youth are a double ignition for sensuality. Why add fuel to the fire? Why bring tinder to a burning body? Paul says to Timothy: if you have not drunk water, but have taken a little wine, let him drink for your sake and for your frequent illnesses (1 Tim. 5:23). Notice for what reasons drinking wine is allowed, in order to heal through this the pain of ostomy and frequent ailments. And so that we would not abuse the pretext of illness, Paul commanded us not to drink much wine, giving this advice more as a doctor than as an Apostle (for as an Apostle, he is a spiritual physician), fearing that Timothy, weakened by infirmity, would not be able to carry out the work of gospel preaching, remembering at the same time that in another place he said: wine, in it there is luxury (Eph. 5:18), and: good man cannot eat meat, nor drink wine (Rom. 14:21). Noah drank wine and became drunk (Gen. 9:21). After the flood, in the age of simplicity, Noah, perhaps, did not yet know the intoxicating power of wine. And (so that you understand that Holy Scripture is full of secrets and the word of God is a precious stone found everywhere) intoxication was followed by exposure of the loins, lust combined with licentiousness. First the belly is filled, then the other members are excited. The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose to play (Ex. 32:6). Lot, the friend of God, who was saved on the mountain, who turned out to be the only righteous man out of so many thousands of people, is driven into a state of intoxication by his daughters; and although they thought that the human race was ending, and did this more out of desire for childbearing than for the sake of lust, they knew that a righteous man would not have done this if he had not been intoxicated. Finally, he no longer knew what he was doing; and although the crime was committed involuntarily, the criminal act is not alien to sin. This is where the Moabites and Ammonites come from, who until the 4th and 10th generation, and even forever, do not enter the church of God. When Elijah fled from Jezebel and lay tired under an oak tree in the desert, an angel of the Lord came to him, aroused him and said to him: Arise, eat and drink. And Elijah looked: and behold, at the head of it was unleavened barley bread and a splash of water (1 Kings 19:5-6). Couldn't God have sent the prophet good wine and excellent food and beaten meat? Elisha invites the sons of the prophets to dinner and, treating them with field herbs, hears the unanimous cry of those dining: death in the horse (2 Kings 4:40). The man of God was not angry with those who prepared the food, because he was not accustomed to a more luxurious table, but pouring flour into the pot, he sweetened the bitterness with the same spiritual power with which Moses sweetened Marah. And when Elisha brought those sent to capture him, blinded in both eyes and mind, unconsciously into Samaria, then listen to what dishes he ordered to treat them with. Offer them, said the Prophet, bread and water, that they may eat and drink, and that they may go to their master (2 Kings 6:22). Daniel could have received a more luxurious table from the royal dishes: but Habakkuk brought him the reapers’ dinner, I think, a rustic one. That is why Daniel is called the man of desires, because he did not eat the bread of desire and did not drink the water of desire. There are countless sayings in Holy Scripture condemning excess and approving simplicity in food. But since we do not intend to talk about fasting and to consider this subject in full would be the work of a special treatise and a separate book, then what has been said is enough. In addition to the above examples, you yourself can remember how the first man, serving the womb more than God, was cast out of paradise into this deplorable vale. And Satan tempted the Lord himself with hunger in the desert. And the Apostle says: meat for the belly, and meat for the belly: God will bring to naught both this and this (1 Cor. 6:13). He also says about gluttons that for them God is the belly (Phil. 3:19). For whoever loves something honors it. Therefore, we must carefully take care that we, expelled from paradise by intemperance, are returned there by fasting. If you begin to object that you, who came from a noble family, have always lived in pleasures and bliss, 50 cannot give up wine and delicious dishes, and obey the harsh laws of abstinence, then I will tell you: live according to your own law, if you do not want to live according to the law of God. For God, the Creator and Ruler of the universe, there is no need for grumbling in the insides and an empty stomach and an inflamed state of the lungs; but without this your chastity cannot be safe. Listen to what Job, dear to God and according to his own testimony, blameless and righteous, says about the devil: his strength is in the loins, and his strength is in the navel of the belly (Job 40:11) 51. The decently fertile members of a man and a woman are called by indirect names. Thus: the Lord promises to place what comes from the loins of David on His throne (2 Sam. 7:12). 75 souls descended from the loins of Jacob entered Egypt. – After, as a result of the struggle with the Lord, the breadth of Jacob’s whip was endured (Gen. 32:25), Jacob stopped bearing children. Anyone who intends to celebrate the Passover must celebrate it with girded and mortified loins (Ex. 12:11). God says to Job: Gird up your waist like a man (Job 40:2). John girds himself with a leather belt, the apostles are commanded to hold the lamps of the gospel with their loins girded. To Jerusalem, spattered with blood and on the path of error, Ezekiel says: and did not cut off your navel (Ezekiel 16:4). So all the power of the devil against men lies in the loins; His entire strength against women is in the navel. Do you want to be convinced of the truth of my words? Pay attention to the examples. Sampson, who was braver than a lion and harder than a stone, who alone unarmed pursued thousands of armed men, lost his strength in the arms of Delilah. David, the chosen one after the Lord's heart, who often sang of the coming holy Christ, after he, walking on the roof of his house, was captivated by the naked Bathsheba, then, following adultery, he committed murder. Note, by the way, that no one, even sitting at home, is safe from being seduced by sight. Therefore, David, repenting, says to the Lord: you alone have sinned, and I have done evil in your sight (Ps. 50:5). For he was a king and feared no one else. Solomon, through whose lips wisdom itself spoke, who discussed everything from the cedar of Lebanon to the corduroy coming out of the wall, departed from the Lord because he was a womanizer. And so that no one relies on himself when dealing with blood relatives, let him remember Ammon, who was inflamed with a criminal passion for his sister Tamar. It is bitter to say how many maidens fall every day, how many the mother church loses from her womb, above how many stars the proud enemy sets his throne; how many stones he hollows out and nests like a snake in their hollows. You will even see many widows before marriage, covering with false clothing the unhappy consciousness of their crime. And if the fullness of the womb and the cry of the child do not give them away, then they walk with their heads raised and with playful steps. Some of them take some drink for sterility, and commit murder of a person even before receiving him as a seed. Others, when they feel themselves conceived from a crime, take medicine to eradicate the fetus, and often die themselves and go to hell, guilty of three crimes: suicide, adultery from Christ, and infanticide of an unborn child. These are the ones who like to say: “everything is pure – pure.” My own consciousness is enough for me. God wants a pure heart. “Why should I abstain from the food that God created for consumption?” When they want to have fun and celebrate, then having drunk with whole wine and combining the desecration of the shrine with drunkenness, they say: “Let it not be that I move away from the communion of the blood of Christ.” And when they see a woman pale and sad, they call her accursed and Manichaean, rightly reasoning that fasting for Manichaean reasons is heresy 52 . These are the ones who pass through the square in full view of everyone and, secretly waving their eyes, draw crowds of young men with them; These are the ones to whom the prophetic word is always addressed: you have seen the face of a harlot; you did not want to be ashamed (Jer. 3:3). - Only the purple on the clothes is thin and the head is slightly bandaged so that the hair falls out, a light shoe and a hyacinth-colored fur coat (lacna) flowing behind the shoulders, garter sleeves attached to the shoulders, and a trained gait with the knees turned out - this is what their whole virginity consists of. Let them have their own praisers who will help them, under the name of maidens, to perish for a higher price. For my part, I would very much like to dislike them. It is a shame to point out indecent, sad, but true facts: where did the plague of Aganet 53 enter the church? Where does the naming of wives without marriage come from? Where does the new breed of concubines come from? I will say more: where do the fornicators of one husband come from? A man and a woman stay in the same house, in the same bedroom, often on the same bed, and call us suspicious if we think anything. A brother leaves his sister, a girl, a girl removes an unmarried relative from her, calls a stranger brother, and pretending to be both for the same purpose, they seek spiritual consolation on the side so that they can have physical communication at home. Solomon exposes such people in parables, saying: If someone binds fire into the bowels, will you not burn your garments? or if anyone walks on fiery coals, will his feet not be burned? (Prov. 6:27–28.) Now, having finished speaking about those who want to appear, but not to be virgins, I will turn exclusively to you, the first of the noble virgins of Rome, who for this reason must especially try not to be deprived of both present and future benefits. You learned the difficult side of marriage and the uncertainty of fate in marriage from an example at home, because your sister Blesilla, the eldest in age, but the youngest by choice, got married and became widowed in the seventh month. O miserable human fate with an unknown future! Your sister has lost both the crown of virginity and the pleasures of marriage. And although widowhood stands on the second degree of chastity, however, what kind of crosses do you think, at times does she bear crosses, seeing every day in her sister what she herself has lost, and intending to receive a smaller reward for abstinence, while, having experienced the pleasures of marriage, she endures their deprivation with greater burden. But may she also be calm and joyful. Fruit a hundredfold and fruit 60 times grow from the same seed of integrity. I don’t want you to get acquainted with society ladies, to go to the houses of nobles, to often look at what you despised, desiring to be a virgin. Women love to be honored for the sake of their husbands, who are in judicial or some other dignity. If a crowd of congratulators flocks to the emperor’s wife, then why don’t you appreciate your husband? Why are you, the bride of God, rushing to the human wife? In this case, learn holy pride: know that you are higher than this nobility. I wish you to avoid acquaintance not only with those women who are inflated with the honors of their husbands, surrounded by crowds of eunuchs, dressed in gold-woven clothes, but also avoid those who have become widows out of necessity, and not out of desire: I do not say this in the sense that wives should wish for the death of their husbands, but in the sense that they should willingly take advantage of the opportunity presented to them for chastity. But among the widows, from whom I warn you, the change of clothing did not change their former way of life. In front of the stretcher (basternas) is a row of eunuchs: the widows' cheeks are flushed, their wrinkles are smoothed out so that it is easy to understand that they have not lost, but are looking for husbands. The whole house is full of caresses, full of feasts. The clergy themselves, who should be teachers of the law and the fear of God, kiss the heads of the matrons, and, holding out their hands as if for a blessing, accept gifts for their friendliness. And the matrons, noticing that the priests need their assistance, are filled with pride; Having already experienced the dominion of men, they prefer the freedom of widowhood, are called immaculate and nonna, 54 and after a dubious supper they see the apostles in a dream. Let women be your friends, exhausted by fasting, pale in complexion, wise with age and life, singing daily in their hearts: where are the herds? where do you rest at noon? (Song. 1:6.) - and those who say from the heart: “I desire to be separated and be with Christ” (Phil. 1:23). Be obedient to your parents: imitate your groom. Don't go out into society often. Remember the martyrs on your bed. You will never lack excuses to go out into society if you always wish to go out when necessary. Let your food be moderate and your stomach never full. Many, abstaining from wine, become intoxicated by the abundance of food. When you get up for night prayer, may you feel sick not from indigestion, but from emaciation. Read more often, study as much as possible. Let sleep take over you as you hold the book and let your face lean towards the holy page. May you have daily fasting and self-indulgence, free from satiety. There is no benefit in fasting for two or three days and filling your empty belly, at the same time stopping the fast and rewarding yourself for it with excessive satiety. This causes the burdened mind to become dull and the watered soil to give birth to thorns of lust. When you feel that the outer man comes to life in the bloom of youth, when, after eating, the pleasant luxury of wishes embraces you on your bed, take the shield of faith, with which the kindled arrows of the devil will be extinguished. All who commit adultery are like the cavern of their hearts (Hos. 7:4). And you, who followed in the footsteps of Christ, who heeded his words, say: “Didn’t our heart burn along the way when Jesus opened the scriptures to us” (Luke 24:32). And again: Thy word is kindled with heat, and Thy servant loveth it (Ps. 119:140). It is difficult for the human soul not to love anything; it is necessary that our mind be attracted to some kind of attachments. Carnal love is overcome by spiritual love. One desire is extinguished by others. As much as it decreases here, it increases there. Therefore, always sigh all the more and say on your bed: in the night’s troubles, my soul loves him (Song. 3:1). For this reason, says the Apostle, put to death your souls that are on the earth (Col. 3:5), which is why he himself later openly said: no one lives, but Christ lives in me (Gal. 2:20). He who mortifies his members, and lives in this world only in appearance, is not afraid to say: he is like fur on the side (Ps. 119:83). All the phlegm of lust that was in me evaporated. My knees are exhausted from fasting. And: I forgot to eat my bread, because of the voice of my groaning my bone came close to my flesh (Ps. 101:6, 109:24). Be a night dragonfly. Having washed your bed every night, water your bed with your tears. Stay awake and be like a bird (passer) in the desert. Sing in your spirit, sing in your mind: bless the Lord, my soul, and do not forget all His rewards, who is forgiving of all your iniquities, who heals all your ailments, who delivers your belly from corruption (Ps. 102:2 et seq.). And which of us can say from the heart: “Ashes are like poisonous bread, and my drink is dissolved with weeping” (Ps. 101:10). Shouldn't I cry, shouldn't I groan when the serpent again draws me to forbidden foods? when does he want to clothe those expelled from the paradise of virginity with leather garments, which Elijah, returning to paradise, threw to the earth? What do I have in common with sensual pleasure, which soon disappears? What do I care about the sweet and deadly song of the sirens? I do not want the sentence pronounced on a convicted person to be carried out on you. “In sickness and sorrow, give birth to a child.” But this is (say) a woman’s law, not mine. “And your address is to your husband.” Let her be submissive to her husband who does not have Christ for her husband. And finally, you will die by death. This is the end of marriage: and my goal is where they neither marry nor encroach. Let those who are married have their own time and name. And let me be granted virginity in Mary and Christ. Perhaps someone will say: “And you dare to speak against a marriage blessed by God?” But preferring virginity to marriage does not mean condemning marriage. No one compares bad with good. Let those who marry husbands also be venerable, although they yield primacy to virgins. It is said: grow and multiply, and fill the earth (Gen. 1:28). Let him who wishes to fill the earth grow and multiply. And your army is in heaven. Grow and multiply - this commandment is carried out after paradise and nakedness and fig leaves, signifying marital lust. Let those who in the sweat of their brow eat their bread marry and encroach, whose earth gives birth to thorns and thistles, and whose grass is choked by thorny bushes. And my seed bears fruit a hundredfold. Not everyone can receive the word of God, but to them it is given to eat (Matthew 19:11). Others are made celibate by necessity, but by desire. A time to embrace, and a time to move away from the embrace. A time to scatter the stones, and a time to gather the stones (Eccl. 3:5). After the children of Abraham were born from among the rude nations, “holy stones began to roll on the earth” (Zech. 9:16). They bypass the whirlwind of this world, and in the chariot of God they rotate with the speed of wheels. Let the tunics be sewn by those who have lost the unsewn tunic from above, who enjoy the cry of babies who, at the very beginning of life, cry bitterly that they were born. Eve was a virgin in paradise: after wearing leather vestments, her marriage began. Your country is paradise. Keep what you were born with and say: return, my soul, to your rest (Ps. 115:7). Here is proof for you that virginity is characteristic of nature, and marriage took place after the Fall: as a result of marriage, a virgin body is born, in the fruit what was lost at the root is reacquired. A branch will come out of the root of Jesus, and a flower will spring up from its root (Is. 11:1). The branch is the Mother of the Lord, simple, pure, immaculate, alien to any seed from outside and, like God, fruitful in solitude (foecunda unione) 55. The color of this branch is Christ, who says: I am a full color, and a full grain (Song. 2:1). In another place he is called a stone cut out of the mountain without hands (Dan. 2:45), which is what the prophet denotes his virgin birth from a virgin. For hands are accepted as something that has meaning in relation to marriage, as it is said: his hand is under my head, and his right hand will embrace me (Song. 2:6). For our purpose it is not superfluous to note that the animals introduced into Noah’s ark in pairs are unclean; and the number of clean animals is odd. Moses and Joshua were commanded to enter the holy land with bare feet. The disciples were destined to preach the new gospel without being burdened with sandals and leathers. And the soldiers who divided Jesus’ garments did not have to carry away His boots. For the master could not have what he had forbidden to the servants. I praise marriage, I praise matrimony, but because from marriage virgin people are born: I will separate the rose from the thorns, the gold from the earth, the pearl from the shell. Will the one who plows always plow? Will he not enjoy the fruit of his labors? Marriage is more revered when what is born from it is more loved. Why are you, mother, jealous of your daughter? She was raised by your milk, she was born from your womb, she grew up in your womb. You kept her in virginity with your pious diligence. Are you really indignant that she wanted to be the wife not of a warrior, but of a king? She did you a great favor. You have become God's mother-in-law 56. About virgins, says the Apostle, the commandments of the Lord are not imam (Cor. 7:25). Why is this so? because the Apostle himself remained in virginity not by command, but by his own free will. One should not listen to those who say that he had a wife, while arguing about abstinence and exhorting constant purity, he said: I want all men to be as I am. And below: I say to the unmarried and to widows, it is good for them, if they remain, as I did (Cor. 7:7-8). And in another place: food is not the power of imams to lead their sisters and wives, like the other apostles (1 Cor. 9:5). So why does the apostle not have the commandment of the Lord about virginity? Because what is brought without coercion deserves a great reward. If virginity were commanded, then marriage would seem to be rejected, and it would be too harsh to force contrary to nature, to demand from people an angelic life and in some way to condemn what is created. Well-being was different in the Old Testament. It says: blessed is he who has a tribe in Zion and a tribe in Jerusalem (Isa. 31:9), and also: “Cursed is the barren woman who has not given birth,” and again: your sons are like new olive trees around your table (Ps. 127:4). There are promises of riches and that there will be no sick person in the tribes of Israel. And now it is said: “Do not consider yourself a dry tree. Instead of sons and daughters, you have an eternal home in heaven.” Now the poor are blessed, and Lazarus is preferred to the rich man dressed in purple. Now the weak is stronger. The world was then empty, and, with the exception of the types, all the blessing was in children. Therefore, Abraham, already in old age, enters into marriage with Heturah: and Jacob pays off with mandrakes, and the beautiful Rachel, representing the church, mourns her barrenness. But little by little, as the harvest increases, the harvester is sent. Elijah is virgin, Elisha is virgin, many sons of the prophets are virgins. Jeremiah says: and do not understand the wife (Jer. 16:1); he who is sanctified in the womb at the approach of captivity is forbidden to marry. The apostle says the same thing in other words: I consider this good to be a real need, as it is good for a man to be so (1 Cor. 7:26) what kind of need is this that takes away the pleasures of marriage? Time has ceased to exist: it remains, and even those who have have wives will be as if they have not (1 Cor. 7:29). Near Nebuchadnezzar. The lion moved from his den. What good will marriage serve me with the arrival of the proud king? Why are the children whom the prophet mourns, saying: The tongue of the dead cleaves to his throat in thirst: infants ask for bread, and there is nothing for them to break (Pl. 4:4)? But, as we have shown, only in men was the treasure of continence found, and Eve constantly gave birth in illness. When the Virgin conceived in her womb and gave birth to us a Child, whose rulership is on His frame (Is. 9:6), the mighty God, the Father of the age to come, then the curse (on women) was resolved. Death - through Eve; life is through Mary. Therefore, the gift of virginity is poured out more abundantly on women, because it received its beginning from a woman. As soon as the Son of God descended to earth, He gathered a new family for Himself, so that, having received worship from angels in heaven, He would have angels on earth. Then Judith courageously cut off the head of Holofernes. Then Haman, whose name means “untruth,” was burned by his own fire. Then James and John, leaving their father, their nets, their ship, followed the Savior, abandoning their blood ties, the bonds of the century, and the care of their home. Then for the first time it was heard: whoever wants to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and come after Me (Mark 8:34). No warrior goes to battle with his wife. A student who wants to go to bury his father is not allowed to do so. The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests where they can rest, but the Son of man has no place to lay his head. Do not be distressed if you find yourself in difficult circumstances. He who is not married cares about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord, but he who is married cares about the things of the world, how to please his wife. The wife and maiden were separated. The one who has not encroached is concerned about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit, and the one who has encroached is concerned about the things of the world, how to please her husband (1 Cor. 7:32–34). How painful marriage is, what inconveniences it is associated with, this seems to be briefly stated in the book that we published against Helvidius on the ever-virginity of Blessed Mary. Repeating the same thing would take too long; anyone can draw from that stream. But in order not to completely omit this subject, I will now say one thing: the Apostle commands us to pray without ceasing, but one who has entered into marriage cannot pray (so); Consequently, one of two things remains: either always pray and remain in virginity, or stop praying and enslave yourself to marriage. Even if the virgin encroaches, she has not sinned; says the apostle, but the flesh will have tribulation like this (1 Cor. 7:28). And at the beginning of this essay I prefaced that I would either not talk at all about the painful aspects of marriage, or I would talk very little; and now I advise: if you want to know how many inconveniences a virgin is free from, and how many a spouse is subject to, read Tertullian’s essay to his friend the philosopher and other books on virginity, and a fair amount of work by Blessed Cyprian, and Pope Damasus’ essay on this subject in prose and verse; Likewise, the essay of our Ambrose, recently written by him to his sister, in which he expanded so much that everything related to the praise of virgins was examined, clarified, and presented in order. But we should go a different way. Our task is not so much praise as preserving virginity. It is not enough to know what is good unless what is chosen is carefully guarded; for to evaluate what is good is a matter of judgment, and to preserve it is a matter of labor; The first is characteristic of many, and the second - not many. He who endures to the end, it is said, will be saved (Matthew 24:13) and: many are called, but few are chosen (Matthew 22:14). Therefore, I adjure you by God, by Christ Jesus and his chosen angels, keep what you have begun, do not frivolously display the vessels of the church of the Lord, which only the priests are allowed to see, so that no stranger may see the sanctuary of God. Uzzah, having touched the ark, which should not have been touched, was struck with sudden death. But a gold or silver vessel was not as dear to God as the church of a virgin body. The shadow has passed, now the truth has come. You speak simply, you don’t turn away strangers with a gentle look, but shameless eyes look differently. They do not know how to contemplate spiritual beauty, but physical beauty. Hezekiah shows the Assyrians the treasure of God: but the Assyrians should not have seen what they desired. Finally, when Judea was shaken by frequent wars, the vessels of the Lord were for the first time taken and carried away by enemies. Belshazzar drinks from sacred cups amid feasts and a crowd of concubines (since the highest triumph of vice is venerable dishonor). Incline not your ear to words of malice. Often saying something indecent, people test your way of thinking, whether you, virgin, willingly listen to what they say, whether you allow something funny: whatever you say, they praise you; what you deny, they deny; They call you courteous and holy and simple-minded. “Behold,” they say, “truly the servant of God; This is complete simplicity. Not like so-and-so, disgusting, shameful, uneducated, repulsive, who, perhaps, didn’t get married because she couldn’t find a groom.” We are carried away by natural evil. We willingly take the side of our flatterers, and although we say that we are unworthy, and a hot blush appears on our face, our inner soul rejoices at the praise. The Bride of Christ is the ark of the covenant, gilded inside and out, containing the law of the Lord. Just as there was nothing in the ark except the tablets of the covenant, so there should be no external thought in you. The Lord wants to sit on this purification like on cherubim. He sends his disciples to sit on you as on a donkey's foal, he releases you from temporary worries, so that, leaving the Egyptian chaff and bricks, you follow Moses in the wilderness and enter the land of promise. Let no one stop you, not your mother, not your sister, not your relative, not your relative: the Lord demands you. If they want to prevent you, let them remember the executions of Pharaoh, who, not wanting to let the people of God go to worship, suffered everything that is written about. Jesus, entering the church, cast out what did not belong to the church. For God is a jealous man and does not want his father’s house to be turned into a den of thieves. Otherwise, as soon as coins are counted, cages with doves appear and simplicity is killed, as soon as concern for temporary affairs burns in the virgin breast, the veil of the church is immediately torn, the bridegroom stands up in anger and says: behold, your house is left to you empty (Matthew 23:38). Read the Gospel and see how Mary, sitting at the feet of the Lord, is preferred to the zealous Martha. Of course, Martha, through her diligent service of hospitality, prepared food for the Lord and his disciples; but Jesus said to her: Martha, Martha, worry and speak about the multitude; but few things are necessary as one; Mary has chosen the good part, lest it be taken away from her (Luke 10:41–42). Be you too Maria; Prefer learning to food. Let your sisters fuss and seek how they can receive the guest of Christ. And you, having once laid aside the burden of this world, sit at the feet of the Lord and say: I have found what my soul sought; hold him and will not leave him (Song. 3:4). And he will answer: my dove is one, my perfect one: one is its mother; she who gave birth is chosen (Song 6:9), i.e. heavenly Jerusalem. May the secrets of your bed always guard you; May the groom always rejoice with you internally. When you pray, you talk to the groom; when you read, he talks to you, and when sleep inclines you, he will come behind the wall and stretch out his hand through the window and touch your womb; and when you awaken, you will stand up and say: I am wounded by love (Song. 2:5); and you will hear in turn from him: The Vertograd is enclosed, my sister is the bride, the Vertograd is enclosed, the source is sealed (Song. 4:12). Beware, do not leave the house, do not want to see the daughters of another country, having the patriarchs as brothers and Israel as the father: Dinah, having left the house, is subject to corruption. I don’t want you to look for the groom along the haystacks and go around the corners of the city; If you say: I will rise up and walk in the city and in the market places and in the haystacks, and I will seek him, but my soul has loved him (Song. 3:2), and you will ask: hast thou seen him that my soul has loved? - then no one will be worthy to answer you. The groom cannot be found on the streets. Narrow and cramped path, enter into the stomach (Matthew 8:14). It follows: I sought him, and did not find him; I called him and did not listen to me (Song.5:6). And if only I hadn’t found everything! You will be beaten, you will be naked, you will say deplorable things: the guards who surrounded the city found me, they beat me, they wounded me, they took my robe from me (Song. 5:7). If, having left the house, she endures so much, who said: I sleep, but my heart watches (Song. 5:2) and: My brother’s bundle of myrrh is in the midst of my breast (Song. 1:12); what will happen to us who have not yet reached the age of perfection and, when the bride and groom enter inside, we remain outside? Jesus is a zealot; he does not want others to see your face. Although you will begin to apologize and make excuses: having covered my face with a veil, I asked you there and said: make known to me what my soul loves, where you pasture, where you sleep at noon, but not when I am, as one who is taxed over the flocks of your friends (Song. 1:6, according to LXX); he will still be indignant, angry and will say: if you do not hang yourself, you who are good among women, go out at the heels of your flocks, and feed your goats at the shepherd’s tabernacles (Song. 1:7). That is: although you are beautiful and your image is dear to the groom more than all women, but if you do not know yourself and do not guard your heart with all care, and do not avoid the eyes of the young men, then get out of my bridal chamber and feed the goats that will be placed on the left. So, my Eustochia, daughter, mistress, co-servant, relative (the first name is by age, the second by dignity, the third by faith, the fourth by love), listen to the word of the prophet Isaiah: my people, enter into your church, shut your doors, hide yourself a little, until the wrath of the Lord has passed by (Is. 26:20 ) Foolish virgins wander outside; you be inside with the groom; because if you close the doors and, according to the commandment of the Gospel, pray to your father in secret, then he will come and knock, and say, behold, I stand at the door and say: if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me (Apoc. 3:20), and you will immediately answer carefully: the voice of my brother knocking on the door: open me, my sister, my neighbor, my dove, my perfect (Song. 5:2). Do not say: I have taken off my robe, why should I put on nudes? Wash my noses, how can I defile them? ( Song 5:3 ). Get up immediately and open the door, so that during your delay the groom does not leave, and so that you do not have to look later and say: I opened it to my brother, my brother has passed away (ibid. 5:6). For what good is it if the doors of your heart are shut against the bridegroom? Let them be open to Christ and closed to the devil, according to the following saying: if the spirit of the possessor comes upon you, do not leave your place (Eccl. 10:4). Daniel was in the uppermost upper room (for he could not stay in the lower one), and had windows open to Jerusalem. And you have windows open to where the light comes from, from where you see the city of the Lord. Do not open those windows about which it is said: death is coming through your windows (Jer. 9:21). Most of all, you should avoid the fire of vanity. How, said Jesus, can you believe that glory is acceptable from men? (John 5:44). Look how great is the evil, the possessor of which cannot believe? We say: you are my glory (Ps. 3:4), and: boast, O Lord, let him boast (2 Cor. 10:17). And: even if he had pleased others, he would not have been a servant of Christ (Gal. 1:10) and: let me not boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom I have been crucified and peace (Gal. 6:14). And again: “We will boast about you all day long; in the Lord my soul will glory (Ps. 33:3). When you give alms, let only God see; When you fast, let your face be joyful. Your clothes should not be very clean, and not dirty, and not stand out in anything special, so that a crowd of passers-by does not stop in front of you and point a finger at you. Your brother is dead; the sister's body must weaken; (deducendun est); Be careful that by doing this often, you yourself do not die 57. Do not try to appear too pious and humble more than necessary; so that, avoiding fame, you do not gain it. Many, moving away from witnesses of their poverty, compassion and fasting, thereby want to become famous because they despise glory; and amazingly avoiding fame, they covet it. I find that many are alien to other worries, from which the human mind rejoices and saddens, hopes and fears. But there are too few who are free from the vice of vanity: and the best is the one who occasionally stains his beauty with the dirt of his transgressions. I do not convince you not to boast of wealth, not to brag about the nobility of your family, not to be proud of others. I know your humility; I know that you sincerely say: Lord, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are lifted up lower (Ps. 130:1). I know that with you and your mother, pride, through which the devil fell, has no place at all. Therefore, writing to you about this would be unnecessary. It would be extremely stupid to teach what the person you teach knows. But beware lest the fact that you despise the glory of this world leads you to vanity; so that a secret thought does not creep in, abandoning the intention to please in gold-woven clothes, try to please in gloomy ones; When you come to a meeting of brothers or sisters, sit lower, recognizing that you are not worthy of even a footstool. Do not speak in a deliberately low voice, as if exhausted by fasting; do not lean on the shoulders of another, imitating the gait of a person exhausted in strength. There are others who darken their faces and may appear to men who fast; Seeing someone, they immediately sigh, frown and lower their heads, seeming to barely look with one eye. A mourning dress, a belt made of coarse fabric, hands and feet not washed, one belly, since it cannot be seen, is filled with food. The psalm about these women is sung daily: “The Lord will scatter the bones of people who please himself” (Ps. 52:6). Others with a masculine appearance, having changed their clothes, are ashamed of the fact that they were born women, cut off their hair, and shamelessly raise their faces up, like the faces of eunuchs. There are also those who are dressed in hair shirts and, having made headpieces, in order to return to childhood, are like owls and eagle owls. But so that it does not seem that I am talking only about women, I will add: run away also the men whom you see in chains with hair grown like women’s, contrary to the apostolic command, with a goat’s beard, in a black cloak, with their legs exposed to the sacrifice of the cold. These are all the tools of the devil (argumenta diaboli). Such, unfortunately, was once Anthimus in Rome, and such was Sophronius recently. Having penetrated into the houses of nobles and deceived women, burdened with sins, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth, they take on the guise of holiness: and, as it were, labor in long fasts, meanwhile devoting the nights to secret feasts. It is a shame to talk about them anymore, so as not to seem like a mentor, but seduced. There are others (I’m talking about people of their own class) who seek presbytery and deaconship in order to see women with greater freedom. All they care about is clothing, so that it smells fragrant, so that the leg is smoothly covered with soft skin. Hair is curled with curling irons; The rings shine on their fingers: they step slightly so as not to get their soles wet on the wet road. When you see such people, consider them grooms rather than clerics. – Others devoted all their efforts and their whole lives to learning the names, houses and rights of noble women. I will briefly describe one of them who is especially skilled in this, so that, knowing the teacher, you will recognize the students more easily. At sunrise, he hurriedly gets up, draws up a plan for congratulatory visits, chooses the shortest roads, and the insolent old man even sneaks into the bedrooms and the beds of those sleeping. She sees a headboard, an elegant towel, or something else from household junk - she feels it, is surprised, praises it, and complaining that she needs it, she does not beg, but simply extorts it: because every woman is afraid of offending the city postman. Purity is an enemy for him, and so is fasting: he loves a sumptuous lunch of delicious cranes, popularly called pipizo 58 . His tongue is rude and impudent, and is always ready for slander. Wherever you turn, he is the first one in front of your eyes. Whatever new thing happens, he is either the culprit or the spreader of the rumor. His horses change every minute, now calm, now mad: you would think that he is the brother of the Thracian king 59 . A cunning enemy uses various techniques. The serpent was the wisest of all the beasts that are on earth, which the Lord created (Gen. 3:1). That is why the Apostle says: let us not understand his plans (2 Cor. 2:11). Neither deliberate cynicism nor refined neatness is inappropriate for a Christian. If you don’t know something, if you doubt something in Scripture, ask someone whose life is righteous, whose years are honorable, who is not condemned by rumor, who could say: for I have betrothed you to one man, to present a pure virgin to Christ (2 Cor. 11:2). Or, if there is no reliable mentor, then it is better to remain in safe ignorance than to search and be afraid. Remember that you are walking among snares: many and venerable maidens, with undoubted purity, let go of the crown from their hands at the very edge of the coffin. If there are maids among the accomplices of your vow, do not be proud before them, do not puff yourself up because you are a mistress: you began to have one groom, together you sing psalms, together you receive the body of Christ: why the difference in relationships? Let others be invited to the feat. Let the crown of virginity be a call for others. If you notice any unsteadiness in faith, accept it, console it, caress it, and make its integrity an acquisition for yourself. If any of the maids feignedly expresses her zeal for virginity, wanting to get rid of slavery, read directly from the Apostle: it is better to get married than to become thin (1 Cor. 7:9). And those girls and widows who idly but diligently wander around the houses of the matrons, and having lost all shame, surpass jesters in parasitism, remove them like an infection. Good customs are corrupted by evil conversations (1 Cor. 15:33). They have no more concern than for the belly, and for that which is closest to the belly. They advise and say things like this: my little one, take advantage of your fortune and live while you live: are you really saving everything for your heirs? Devoted to voluptuousness and drunkenness, they are ready to inspire any evil; They soften even hard souls to sensuality. When they become furious about Christ (against Christ), they want to encroach, having sin, as if they had rejected the first faith (1 Tim. 5:11-12). Don’t try to seem particularly eloquent to yourself; do not find pleasure in poetic lyrical songs. Out of delicacy, do not follow the pampered taste of matrons, who sometimes through clenched teeth, sometimes with widened lips, pronounce words halfway with a lisp, considering everything that is natural to be rude. To such an extent they like fornication even in language: but what communication is there between light and darkness? What kind of agreement does Christ have with Belial? (2 Cor. 6:14–15). How will Horace agree with the Psalter, Maro with the Gospel, Cicero with the Apostle? Will your brother also be tempted when he sees you reclining in the treasury? And although everything is pure for the sake of the pure and nothing should be blasphemed, which is received with thanksgiving, nevertheless we should not drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of the demon together. I'll tell you my unfortunate adventure. Many years ago, when for the sake of the kingdom of heaven I wanted to move away from home, parents, sister, acquaintances, and, what is even more difficult, from the habit of a luxurious life, and go to Jerusalem, I could not completely leave the library that I had compiled with such care and labor in Rome. And so I, the accursed one, fasted and intended to read Tullius. After frequent sleepless nights, after tears wrenched from the very depths of my soul by the memory of past sins, I still held Plautus in my hands. A little sometimes I came to my senses and began to read the prophets - I was horrified by the rawness of the speech; With blind eyes not seeing the light, I thought that it was not the eyes that were to blame, but the sun. When the ancient serpent played with me in this way, almost in the middle of Pentecost, a fever attacked my exhausted body, spreading through my insides: and without giving rest, (which is even incredible to say), it so devoured the unfortunate members that I barely had any bones left. It was not far before the funeral; the vital force of the soul, with a completely cooled body, beat in only one barely warm chest: when suddenly, raptured in spirit, I was presented to the throne of the Judge; where there was so much light, so much sparkle from the lordship of those around me that, falling to the ground, I did not dare to look up. When asked who I am, I called myself a Christian. But the One Enthroned said: You are lying, you are a Ciceronian, not a Christian; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also (Matthew 6:21). I fell silent and under the whips (for he ordered me to be beaten), even more tormented by the fire of conscience, I mentally repeated the verse: In hell, who will confess to You? (Ps. 6:6). Then he began to cry out and sob to say: have mercy on me, Lord, have mercy on me. These sounds were heard among the blows of the whips. Meanwhile, those present, falling to the knees of the one seated, begged him to forgive the sin of his youth, and instead of error, give room for repentance, in order to punish me later if I ever began to read the works of pagan literature. Put only under this condition, I, who was ready to promise much more, began to swear, and calling on the name of God, saying: Lord, if I ever have secular books, if I read them, then through this very thing I have renounced You. Released after these vowed words, I return to earth, to the surprise of everyone, I open my eyes, so abundantly filled with tears that even incredulous people, seeing my sadness, had to believe my story. It was not a faint, not an empty dream, like those that we often laugh at. The witness is the throne before which I lay, the witness is the Last Judgment, which I was afraid of: may it never happen to me to be subjected to such a test again. I admit, I even had blue shoulders, I felt pain from blows after sleep - and from then on I began to read the divine with such zeal as I had never read the secular (mortalia) before. Avoid also the vice of covetousness, and not only do not appropriate someone else’s property (for this is punishable by social laws), but do not even take care of your own as if it were someone else’s to you. If it’s someone else’s, it’s said, don’t give it back quickly; who will give it to you? (Luke 16:12). Piles of gold and silver are foreign to us; our property is spiritual; it is said about him: the deliverance of a man's soul is wealth to him (Prov. 13:8). No one can work as two masters: love one and hate the other; or he sticks to one, but begins to be careless about his friends: you cannot work for God and mammon (Matthew 6:24), that is, for wealth. For in its native Syrian language, mammon means wealth. Concerns about food are obstacles to faith. The basis of covetousness is pagan care. But you will say: “I am a gentle girl, and I cannot work with my own hands. When I reach old age and become sick, who will take pity on me?” Listen to what Jesus says to the apostles: Do not worry about your soul, what you eat, or what you drink, nor about your body, what you put on: is not the soul more than food, and the body of clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns, and your heavenly Father feeds them (Matthew 6:25-26). If you run out of clothes, look at the lilies. If you are hungry, listen to the One who pleases the poor and the hungry. If any other sorrow burdens you, then read: with the same I am pleased with my weaknesses (2 Cor. 12:10). And: let me be a dirty tricker of the flesh, the angel of Satan, let me do dirty tricks, let me not be arrogant (Ibid., v. 7). Rejoice at all the decrees of God. The daughter of Judah rejoiced, O Lord, for Thy destinies (Ps. 97:8). Let it always be heard from your lips: naked I came out of my mother’s womb, naked I will depart there (Job 1:21). And: we brought nothing into this world, so as to bring out what we can (1 Tim. 6:7). But now you will see many people filling their closets with dresses, changing their tunics every day, and yet not being able to get rid of moths. Others, in order to appear more pious, wear only a dress, and keep all sorts of fabrics in full chests. The parchment is painted purple, the letters glitter in gold, the binding is trimmed with precious stones, and behind the doors a naked Christ dies. When they extend a hand to someone in need, they blow a trumpet. They invite you to a love supper, and they send heralds. I recently saw how one of the noblest Roman women (I’m keeping silent about the name so that you don’t think that I’m writing a libel), in order to be considered more pious, preceded by the eunuchs, in St. Peter’s Basilica distributed to the poor, with her own hand, a coin to each. Meanwhile (as often happens with beggars), some old woman, covered with gray hair and rags, ran ahead to get another coin. When she reached her in order, she gave her a fist instead of a denarius, so that the poor old woman began to bleed. Covetousness is the root of all evil, and that is why the Apostle calls it idolatry. Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added to you. The Lord will not kill a righteous soul with hunger. I was young, and I became old, and I did not see the righteous forsaken, below his seed asking for bread (Ps. 36:25). Elijah carried food to the corvids. The Sarepta widow, herself and her children preparing to die of hunger the next night, fed the prophet; and the one who came to her to feed fed her from a miraculously inexhaustible vessel. The Apostle Peter said: I do not have silver and gold, but as an imam, this I give to you: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, arise and walk (Acts 3:6). But now many, without saying a word, say with deeds: I have no faith and mercy: but what I have, silver and gold, I will not give to you. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these (1 Tim. 6:8). Listen to what Jacob asks in his prayer: if the Lord God be with me, and keep me on this path that I go, and give me bread to eat and garments to wear (Gen. 28:20). He prayed only for what was necessary: ​​and twenty years later he returned to the land of Canaan as a rich master, and an even richer father. There are countless examples in the scriptures teaching that covetousness should be avoided. However, since we have now touched on this subject (hoping, if Christ helps, to reveal it in a special essay), we will also tell you what happened several years ago in Nitria. One of the brethren, more thrifty than covetous, not knowing that the Lord was sold for thirty pieces of silver, dying left one hundred solidi, which he acquired with flax yarn. The monks (up to five thousand of them lived in that place in separate cells) came together for advice on what needed to be done. Some said: give it to the poor, others - give it to the church, some - send it to your relatives. But Macarius, Pamva, Isidore, and others, who were called fathers, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, decided to bury them along with their owner, saying: let your money perish with you (Acts 8:20). Let no one think that such an act was cruel: such fear was found on everyone in the whole of Egypt that it was considered a crime to protect even one solid one. Since I mentioned monks, and I know that you willingly listen to things related to holiness, stop your attention for a moment. There are three kinds of monks in Egypt. The first is the Kinovites, called “Sauza” by the natives; we can call them: “dormitory”. The second is Anchorites, living alone in the desert, and so called because they go far from people. The third - the so-called Remobots - are gloomy, unkempt; they are exclusively or predominantly located in our country. They live in twos, threes together, no more, and they live according to their own will and their own means: only from what they earn - they contribute a portion in order to have a common table. They live for the most part in cities and castles: and as if their craft, and not life, should be sacred, whatever they sell is always more expensive. There are often quarrels between them: because, living on their own, they do not tolerate being subordinate to anyone. Namely, they most often argue over posts, and make household matters the subject of litigation. Everything they have is made up: wide sleeves, like fur boots, the roughest clothes, frequent sighs; see girls, vilify clergymen; and when the holiday comes, they are fed up to the point of vomiting. And so, having passed by them, as if by some kind of infection, let us go to those who live in large communities in large numbers, that is, to those who are called, as we said, Cenobites. Their first condition is to obey their elders and do whatever they order. They are divided into tens and hundreds, so that for nine people the tenth is the boss; and the hundredth has under him ten heads of ten. They live separately, but in cells connected to each other. Until nine o'clock, as it should be, no one goes to anyone else, only to the ten-leaders mentioned; so if anyone is overwhelmed by thoughts, he takes advice from them. After nine o'clock they come together, sing psalms, read scriptures as usual. At the end of the prayers, when everyone sits down, the one whom they call father, standing in the middle, begins a conversation. During his speech there is such silence that no one dares to look at the other, no one dares to cough: the praise of the speaker is expressed in the tears of the listeners. Tears roll quietly down your cheeks, and grief doesn’t break out even with a groan. And when he begins to proclaim the future, about the kingdom of Christ, about future bliss and glory, you will see everyone with a restrained sigh and eyes raised to heaven, saying within themselves: who will give me wings like a dove, and fly and rest? (Ps. 54:7). Then the meeting ends, and each ten with their eldest goes to the table, where they take turns serving every week. There is no noise during the table; no one is talking. They eat bread and vegetables, which are seasoned with just salt. Only old people drink wine, for whom they often have dinner with their youth, in order to support the old age of some, and not delay the beginning age of others. Then they get up at once, and after singing a hymn, they go to their homes: here until the evening everyone talks with his own people, and says: have you seen such and such? how much grace is there in it? how much quiet? what humble step? When they see a weak person, they console him; he who is burning with love for God is encouraged to perform heroic deeds. And since at night, in addition to the general prayers, everyone is still awake in his bedchamber, they go around all the cells, and, with their ears attached, carefully find out what is happening. When they notice someone is lazy, they don’t reprimand them; but pretending not to know, they visit him more often, and at first they ask more than they force him to pray. Everyday chores are arranged like this: what is done by the ten-manager is reported to the steward, who himself reports to the common father every month with great trepidation. He also tastes the food as it is prepared; and since it is not permissible for anyone to say: I have neither an undercoat, nor an outer garment, nor a bed woven from reeds; then he arranges everything so that no one is deprived of what he needs. If someone falls ill, he is transferred to a spacious chamber, and the elders serve him with such zeal that he does not even think about the city amenities and the care of his mother. Sundays are devoted only to prayer and reading; however, the Cenobites do the same at any time after completing their work. Something from Scripture is read every day. The fast is the same throughout the year, except for Pentecost, on which one is supposed to live more strictly. From Pentecost, suppers change to lunches, in order to preserve church tradition and not burden the stomach with eating twice a day. Such are Philo, a follower of the Platonic school, and Josephus, that Greek Livy, in the second part of the history of the Jewish captivity, representing the Essenes. Although, in the letter about virgins, I now spoke almost needlessly about monks, but I will also begin to talk about the third kind of them, called anchorites. Coming out of the cinnamonium, they take nothing else with them into the desert except bread and salt. The founder of this way of life is Paul, the founder is Anthony, and if you go up, the first culprit was John the Baptist. Even the prophet Jeremiah describes a husband in the same way, saying: it is good for a man who, when he takes a yoke in his youth, sits on one, and is silent, as if he had been lifted up by a yoke. He gives his cheek to the beating one, and is filled with reproaches. For the Lord will not forever reject (Pl. 3:27 et seq.). Their exploits and way of life are not carnal in the flesh, I will describe, if you want, at another time. Now I will return to my subject, since from discussions about covetousness I moved on to the monks. Having presented them to you as an example, I say: despise not only gold, silver and other riches, but even the earth and heaven itself, and in unity only with Christ you will sing: my portion is the Lord. For this reason, since the Apostle commands us to always pray, and among the saints even the very sleep is a prayer, we must distribute the hours for prayer in such a way that if we happen to be busy with some work, the very time calls us to worship. Everyone knows the third hour, the sixth, the ninth, dawn and evening. Let them not eat food without praying before it; do not leave the table without giving thanks to the Creator. We must get up at night twice and thrice and repeat what we firmly remember from the Scriptures. Let prayer protect us when we leave guests; when we return from the square, let us be greeted by prayer before we sit down: may the body not rest until the soul is nourished. In every action, at every step, let the cross of the Lord be depicted with your hand. Do not condemn anyone, do not lay offense against your mother’s son. Who are you, judging a foreign slave? His Lord stands or falls; it will become: for God is able to establish it (Rom. 14:4). If you fast for two or three days, do not think that you are better than those who do not fast. You don’t eat and are angry, but he eats and his brow is bright. When you get angry, you express mental anxiety and bodily hunger; he eats in moderation and thanks God. That is why Isaiah cries out every day: “I have not chosen such a fast,” says the Lord (Isaiah 58:6). And again: in the days of your fastings you find your wills, and languish all your helpers... In judgments and conflicts you fast, and you beat the humble with the palms (Is. 58: 3-4). Why are you fasting for me? What kind of fast can one have whose anger continues not only beyond one day, but even for a whole month? When thinking about yourself, build your own praise not on the weakness of another, but on your own achievement. Do not imitate those who, caring for the flesh, count all the income from their estates and daily household expenses. The eleven apostles were not put to shame by the betrayal of Judas, and through the apostasy of Figellus and Alexander, others were not stopped in the course of their faith. Don’t say: “So-and-so is enjoying her wealth; people respect her; her brothers and sisters gather together. Is it really because of this that she ceases to be a virgin?” Yes, it is doubtful, first of all, whether she is a virgin: for man does not see as God sees: as man sees on the face, but God sees on the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). Therefore, even if she is a virgin in the flesh, I don’t know whether she is a virgin in spirit. And the Apostle defines a virgin this way: let her be holy in body and spirit (1 Cor. 7:34). Finally, let her get her own glory. Let him reject the thought of the Apostle, live and enjoy pleasures. We will follow the best examples. Imagine blessed Mary, who was so blameless that she was worthy to be the Mother of the Lord. When the angel Gabriel came down to her in the form of a husband, saying: Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with you (Lk. 1:28), in fear and horror she could not answer; because she never accepted greetings from her husband. Then she recognizes the messenger and speaks. And the one who was afraid of man fearlessly talks with the angel. You too can be the mother of the Lord. Take yourself a new scroll and write in it with human writing; You will soon create the captivity of self-interest; and when you come to the prophetess, and conceive in your womb, and give birth to a son (Isa. 8:1 et seq.), then say: for Thy fear, O Lord, I received in the womb, and was sick, and gave birth to the spirit of your salvation, and I created it on the earth (Is. 26:18). Then your son will answer you and say: Behold, my mother and my brothers (Mark 3:34). And the one whom you shortly before write on a sheet of your chest, draw with a scribble in a new book of your heart, he, having taken away the self-interest of his enemies, disgraced the principalities and authorities, and nailed them to the cross, the conceived one will grow up and, having become of age, will miraculously make you from his mother into his bride. Great is the feat, but great is the reward, to be what the martyrs are, what the apostles are, to be what Christ is. However, all this is beneficial when it happens in church; when we celebrate Easter in one common house; if we enter the ark with Noah; if during the destruction of Jericho we are kept by the justified harlot Rahab. But those who are revered as virgins by various heretics, for example, by the wicked Manichaeans, should be revered as harlots, and not virgins. For if the creator of their body is the devil, then how can they keep the work of their enemy in honor? But since they know that a girl’s name is respectable, they hide the wolf under sheep’s skin. Antichrist pretends to be Christ; and they falsely cover up a shameful life with an honorable title. Rejoice, sister, rejoice, daughter, rejoice, dear virgin; because you have actually begun to be what others only pretend to be. All our reasoning will seem burdensome to one who does not love Christ. But whoever considers all the pomp of the world to be dust, everything under the sun to be vanity, who died with his Lord and was resurrected again, who crucified his flesh with passions and lusts, will willingly exclaim: who will separate us from the love of God? Is it tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or trouble, or a sword? And then: it was known that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principles, nor the lower power, nor the present, nor the future, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8:35 et seq.). For the sake of our salvation, the Son of God is made the son of man. Nine months in the womb he awaits birth, endures such humiliation, comes out bloody, is wrapped in swaddling clothes, receives playful caresses, and embraces the world with an inch, is placed in a cramped manger. I’m not talking about the fact that until the age of thirty, in obscurity, he shares the misery of his parents; he who is struck by blows is silent; he who is crucified prays for his tormentors. What shall I repay to the Lord for all that I have repaid? I will take the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. The death of His saints is honorable before the Lord (Ps. 115:3–5). There is only one worthy reward when blood is paid for with blood, and when, redeemed by the blood of Christ, we willingly die for the Redeemer. Which of the righteous received the crown without suffering? Righteous Abel is killed; Abraham is tested by losing his wife. But in order not to stretch out my letters beyond measure, search and you will find that they all suffered misfortunes. Solomon alone lived among pleasures, which is why, perhaps, he fell. For the Lord loves him, punishes him, and beats every son he accepts (Proverbs 3:12). Isn’t it better to fight for a short time, dig in with a rampart, arm yourself, languish under armor, and then rejoice with the winner, than for the impatience of one hour to fall into slavery forever? Nothing is hard for those who love. No work is difficult for the well-disposed. Look what conditions Jacob accepted because of his wife Rachel: and labor, says Scripture, Jacob for Rachel seven years: and the days were as short before him as he loved her (Gen. 29:20). He himself later mentions this: there was scorching heat in the days, and cold in the nights (Gen. 31:40). Let us also begin to love Christ, we will begin to constantly seek His embrace, and everything difficult will seem easy to us, we will consider everything long to be short; and wounded by His copy, we will say every minute: woe is me, for my coming continues (Ps. 119:5). We are not worthy of the passion of this present time for the glory that desires to appear in us (Rom. 8:18), because tribulation makes patience a work, but patience is an art, and art is hope; but hope does not put one to shame (Rom. 5:3:5). When the feat you have undertaken seems difficult to you, read Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians: in labor you are abundant, in wounds you are sore, in prisons you are overflowing, in death you are abundant. From the Jews five times fourty were received; we beat them with clubs; I was covered with stones alone; three times the ship has contradicted me; I created night and day in the depths. In the traveling processions there are many: troubles in the rivers, troubles from robbers, troubles from relatives, troubles from the tongue, troubles in cities, troubles in the desert, troubles in the sea, troubles in false brethren. In labor and struggle, in vigils in abundance, in hunger and thirst, in fastings in abundance, in winter and nakedness (2 Cor. 11:23–28). Which of us can take credit for even a small share of these feats? Therefore, he rightly said later: I have passed away, I have kept the faith: and so the crown of righteousness is kept for me, which the Lord will reward me in the day, he, the righteous judge (2 Tim. 4:7-8). We get angry if food is under-salted; and we think that we are doing some kind of good deed to God when we drink wine mixed with water. The bowl breaks, the table overturns, blows are heard, and the cold water is avenged with bloodshed. The kingdom of heaven is in need, and the needy women delight it (Matthew 11:12). If you do not do violence to yourself, you will not delight in the kingdom of heaven. If you don't knock relentlessly, you won't receive the mysterious bread. What do you think, is it not violence when the flesh wants to be what God is, and to ascend to judge the angels where the angels fell? I ask you, come out of prison for a while, and imagine before your eyes those rewards for a real feat, which no eye has seen, and no ear has heard, and no one has ever sighed in the heart (1 Cor. 2:9). What will the day be like when Mary, the mother of the Lord, meets you with the faces of the virgins? When will Mary, Aaron's sister, as after crossing the Red Sea and after the drowning of Pharaoh and his army, holding a tympanum in her hand, sing, and the choir will answer her: Let us drink to the Lord, gloriously we have been glorified: horse and rider have been thrown into the sea (Exodus 15:1)? Then Thekla will joyfully throw herself into your arms. Here the Bridegroom Himself will come out to meet you and say: Arise, come, my neighbor, my good dove, for behold, winter has passed, the rain has gone, gone away (Song. 2:10-11). Then the angels will be surprised and say: Who is this piercing one, like the morning, good like the moon, chosen like the sun (Song. 6:9). Daughters will look at you, queens will praise you, married women will praise you. Then other chaste faces will meet you; Sarah will go out with their wives; Anna, daughter of Fanuilov, with widows. Your mothers in flesh and spirit will appear in different faces: she who gave birth will rejoice; She who taught will rejoice. Then the Lord will really sit on the lot and enter the heavenly Jerusalem. And the youths, about whom the Savior speaks in Isaiah: Behold, I and the children whom God hath given unto me (Isa. 8:18), presenting victorious branches, will sing with harmonious lips: Hosanna in the highest: blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord, Hosanna in the highest (John 12:13). Then a hundred and forty and four thousand will stand before the throne and the elders will take harps and sing a new song. And no one will be able to learn a song, only this designated number of people. These are the ones who have not defiled themselves with their wives: they are virgins; these will follow the Lamb, and even more will come (Apoc. 14:4). Every time you are seduced by worldly vanity, no matter how much something glorious in the world seems to you, transport your mind to heaven: begin to be what you intend to be in the future, and you will hear from your fiancé: put me like a seal on your heart, like a seal on your arm (Song. 8:6), - and protected both physically and spiritually, you will exclaim and say: water cannot quench much love, and rivers will not drown it (Ibid., v. 7). 22. Letter to Marcella about the death of Leia 60. Today, almost at the third hour, when we began to read the seventy-second psalm, that is, the beginning of the third book of psalms 61, and tried to show that part of the inscription of this psalm refers to the end of the second, and part to the beginning of the third book, namely, that the words: the end of the song of David, the son of Jezeob, constitute the end of the former, and the psalm to Asaph the beginning of the next book; and when we reached the place where the righteous one says: if in verbs, we say this: behold, I have transgressed the generation of your sons (Ps. 72:15), which is read differently in the Latin codes, suddenly we were informed that the most blessed Leia had lost her life. At the same time, I noticed that you turned very pale; and indeed, there is hardly a soul that would remain carefree when the waterpot at the source is broken (Eccl. 12:6). However, you grieved not because you did not foresee this loss, but because you did not pay the sad funeral debt to the deceased. Subsequently, during the conversation, we learned that Leia’s remains had already been taken to Ostia. You ask, what is this memory leading to and what does this memory mean? I will answer you in the words of the Apostle: many according to every image (Rom. 3:2). Firstly, I want to show that we should greet with universal joy the one who, having trampled the devil, has already received the crown of repose. Secondly, I wish to briefly depict her life. Thirdly, I intend to show that the named consul 62, who has ended his life, is in hell. – But who can adequately praise the life of our Leia? She was so completely devoted to the Lord that, being the head of the monastery, she was the mother of girls; she, who previously wore soft clothes, burdened her limbs with hair shirt; She spent sleepless nights in prayer, and taught her accomplices more by example than by words. She was so humble and so submissive that, being in some way the mistress of many, she seemed to be the servant of all; perhaps because, not being considered the mistress of people, much less be a servant of Christ. Her clothes were unrefined, her food was simple, her head was without decoration; for all that, she avoided anyone’s praise, so as not to receive her reward in the present century. Therefore now, for a short labor, he enjoys eternal bliss, is received by the faces of the angels, rests in the bosom of Abraham, and with poor Lazarus sees how the purple-bearing rich man, and the consul, dressed only in mourning, and not in a toga with embroidered palm trees, beg for drops from his little finger. What a change of position! The one who a few days ago touched the pinnacle of all dignity, who, as if triumphant in victory over the enemies, entered the capitol, who was received by the Roman people with applause and stamping, whose death shocked the entire city - that same one now naked and helpless is not in the milky palace of heaven, as the unfortunate wife imagines 63, but in the midst of darkness and stench. And she who was surrounded by the mystery of a lonely bed, who seemed poor and ignorant, whose life was considered madness, she follows Christ and says: as we heard, so we saw in the city of our God (Ps. 47:9), and so on. Therefore, I exhort you, and with tears and lamentations I beg you: we will not, walking along the path of this world, put on two tunics, that is, double faith, we will not be burdened with leather shoes, that is, worries about a mortal; Let not the burden of riches press us to the ground; Let us not rely on reeds, that is, on worldly power; we do not wish to honor both Christ and the world equally; but let the eternal take the place of the fleeting and perishable; and dying every day (I speak in relation to the body), let us not consider ourselves eternal in relation to external objects, so that we can be truly eternal. 23. Letter to the same Marcella, in praise of Azella 64 Let it not seem reprehensible to anyone that our letters contain either praise or blame; because the denunciation of evil serves to correct, and the praise of the good arouses zeal for doing good. The day before yesterday we talked about the blessed memory of Leah; Now an alarming thought occurs to me that, having praised chastity of the lowest degree in the person of Leia (i.e. widowhood), we should not remain silent about the virgin. And so let’s briefly consider the life of our Azella; I just ask you not to read this letter to her; because the praise attributed to her can be painful for her; It is better to deign to read this letter to young maidens, so that they, imitating Azella, will honor her behavior as a model of a perfect life. I will not say that Azella received the blessing in the womb before birth; - I mean the vision that her father had in a dream that he was given a girl in a vessel of shiny glass, purer than any mirror. I will also not talk about the fact that, still wrapped in childish swaddling clothes, barely crossing the age of ten, she is dedicated 65 to the honor of future bliss. Everything that happened before the feat must be attributed to grace: thus God, foretelling the future, sanctified Jeremiah in the womb; made John leap in his mother's womb, and before the creation of the world he appointed Paul to the gospel of His Son. I will begin to say that from the age of twelve, Azella, through her own efforts, chose, accepted, maintained, began and fulfilled. Confined to one cramped cell, she enjoyed the heavenly space. The same earthen approach was the place of her prayer and rest. She considered fasting fun, non-eating - rest. And since she was attracted to food not by the desire for satiety, but by the necessary requirement of the body, then with bread, salt and cold water she irritated her more than she quenched her hunger. But I almost forgot what I should have said at the beginning: when she had just decided to lead an ascetic life, she, without the knowledge of her parents, sold a gold necklace (the so-called bindweed (murenula) among the people, because being made of metal attached to a wire, it represents some kind of bending chain), and putting on a dark tunic, which she could not beg from her mother, she unexpectedly dedicated herself to the Lord, so that all her relatives They realized that it was impossible to force the one who condemned the world with her very clothes to do anything. I continue my interrupted speech. Azella always behaved so modestly, so preserved herself in the mystery of her home, that she never set foot in society, never had a conversation with a man. And what is especially surprising is that she loved her sister more than she saw her. She worked with her own hands, knowing what is written: If anyone does not want to work, let him eat (2 Thess. 3:10). She talked with the groom in prayer, or while singing psalms. Almost unnoticed by anyone, she hurried to the homes of the martyrs. Enthusiastic about her aspirations, she was especially glad that no one knew her. She spent a whole year in continuous fasting, not eating for two or three days at a time, and at Lent, she strained all the sails of her ship, fasting with a joyful look for entire weeks. And - a fact incredible for people, but possible with the help of God - she reached the age of forty without having a stomach ache or suffering from damage to her insides; the members lying on the dry ground were not broken; the skin wiped with hair shirt was not covered with stinking scabs; but with a healthy body, even healthier in spirit, she considered solitude a consolation, and in the noisy city she found a monastic desert. But you yourself know this better; We learned something from you, and you with your own eyes saw on her holy body, as a result of frequent prayer, the hardness that had formed, like the knees of camels. Let's say what we ourselves could find out. There is nothing more tender than her severity, there is nothing more severe than her tenderness, there is nothing sadder than joy, there is nothing more joyful than sadness. There is such pallor in her face that while showing abstinence, it does not at all serve as an expression of vanity. Silent speech and eloquent silence. Neither fast nor slow pace. The appearance is always the same. Careless cleanliness, and with coarse clothing, the most neatness without caring about it. Actually, by the purity of her life, she achieved the fact that in Rome, the city of pleasures, bliss and pomp, in which it is a misfortune to be modest, the good people praise her, and the evil ones do not dare to blame her. Widows and girls should imitate her, married women should honor her, criminals should fear her, priests should respect her. 24. Letter to the same Marcella 66. About the ten names of God Reading the ninetieth psalm, regarding the place where it is written: He who lives in the help of the Most High will dwell in the shelter of the God of heaven, I said that among the Jews, instead of the God of heaven, saddai is placed, which Aquila translates ι καυος and by which we can mean “the mighty one, who is able to produce all things,” I also said that this is one of the ten names by which God is called among the Jews. You then earnestly asked me to list you all the names with their meaning. I fulfill the request. The first name of God is el, which seventy translate God, Aquila, according to its etymological meaning - ἰσχυρος, that is, “strong”. Then eloim and eloe, which exactly means “God”. The fourth is sabaoth, which seventy translates as “powers,” and Aquila translates as “armies.” The fifth elion, which we express is “Highest”. The sixth eser ieje, which in Exodus reads: He sent me (Exodus 3:14). The seventh adouai, which for us generally means “Lord.” Eighth ia; it belongs only to God; but also constitutes the last syllable in alleluia. The ninth τετραγραμμον (consisting of four letters), which was revered as ἀνεκφώνητον, that is, as “ineffable”, and which is represented by the letters: iod, he, vav, he. Not understanding this name and meeting it in Greek books, some usually read πιπι due to the similarity of the letters. The tenth, which has already been mentioned above, and which is left untranslated in the book of Ezekiel, is saddai. But it should be noted that eloim is the name of both numbers, that both one God and many are called by it, just as heaven and the heavens are called the same, that is, sanaim. As a result, translators often disagree. We can find an example (of similar use of numbers) in our language: Athenae (Athens), Thebae (Thebes), Salenae (Salens). 25. Letter to the same Marcella. About some Jewish names 67 Recently, when we were together, you, no longer in writing, as you usually did before, but personally asked yourself what those words mean in the Hebrews that are not translated from Hebrew into Latin - and why they are left without translation, for example, alleluia, amen, maran atha, ephod, and others found in the scriptures, and mentioned by you. To this, within the narrow confines of the letter, we will answer briefly that the seventy interpreters and apostles, since the primary church consisted of Jews, took care not to confuse the believers with anything unheard of, but to teach them in those words to which they were accustomed from childhood. And after the word of the gospel had spread among all nations, it was no longer possible to change what had once been accepted. However, Origen, in his books called εξηγητικα, proves that due to the properties and characteristics of each language, some words cannot retain their original meaning in translation, and that it is much better to leave them without translation than to weaken their power by translation. Thus alleluia means “praise the Lord,” since ia is one of the ten names of God. So, in the psalm where we read: praise the Lord, for the psalm is good (Ps. 147:1), - among the Jews it reads: alleluia chi tob zammer. Amen Aquila translates πεπιστωμεως, which we can express with the word: “true,” having derived an adverb from the word: “faith.” Amen among the Seventy γενοιτο, that is: “let it be.” Therefore, at the end of the books (the Psalter is divided into five parts among the Jews) LXX is translated: wake, wake, which reads Amen, Amen in Hebrew - and what exactly confirms that all of the above is true. Therefore, Paul says that no one can answer amen, that is, confirm what is said without understanding what was said (1 Cor. 14:16). Maran atha is more Syriac than the Hebrew word, although, due to the similarity of both languages, it sounds somewhat Hebrew; it means the Lord has come to us; so if after the words: if anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be damned (1 Cor. 16:22), in conclusion he adds: the Lord has come to us, then the meaning will be that it would be in vain to want to arm yourself with stubborn hatred against someone about whom it is known that he has already come. I would like to write you something about the inter-psalm, which is written among the Jews: sela about erod and about what is in the inscription of some psalms: Pro aieleth and other things like that; only in this case would I step outside the confines of the letter, and should arouse in you a passion for broader issues. There is a well-known proverb: unsolicited gifts smell bad. Therefore, we will refrain from speaking, so that you will want to hear more about what is silent. 26. Letter to the same Marcella After the previous letter, in which I said something about Hebrew words, a rumor accidentally reached me that some insignificant people strongly blame me for why, contrary to the authority of the ancients and general opinion, I dared to correct something in the Gospel. Although I could quite rightly despise them (because the donkey does not need the sounds of the lyre), however, so as not to reproach me for pride, as is usually done, let them accept this answer: I am not so coarse in heart and ignorant (I will note that my opponents already consider ignorance in itself to be holiness, recognizing themselves as disciples of fishermen, as if the reason for the holiness of the apostles was the lack of knowledge), I am not so coarse in heart and ignorant as to consider anything in the Lord's words either in need of correction or not divinely inspired; but I wanted to correct the corruption of the Latin codes, which was obvious from many options, according to the Greek original from which the original translation was made, which my opponents themselves do not reject. If they do not like the water of a clean spring, let them drink from dirty streams; Let them, when reading Scripture, abandon the effort with which they recognize flocks of birds and the depth of bowls; Let them be so naive in this regard as to consider the words of Christ simple, on which so many centuries and so many minds have worked so that the meaning of each word was much more thought than expressed. Let them assume ignorance in the apostle, of whom it is said that many of his books turn him into fury (Acts 26:24). I know that reading this, you frown, and are afraid that my freedom of speech will again be the beginning of controversy; I know that you want, if it were possible, to cover my mouth with your hand so that I do not dare to say what others are not ashamed to do. But I ask, what did I say that was reprehensible? Have I described the idols carved on the bowls? Did I imagine the embrace of Bacchus and Satyrs for the virginity of my eyes at Christian festivals, or have I ever offended anyone with harsh speech? Was it sad that from poor people they became rich? Did you condemn ancestral tombs? Having only said, unfortunate thing, that girls should be with women more often than with men, I pricked the eyes of the whole world; Everyone is pointing fingers at me. They that hated me multiplied more than the power of my head, and became a proverb to them (Ps. 68:5, 12); and do you really think that after this I will say anything else? However, so that Flaccus does not laugh at us when he says that “The amphora, rolling like a wheel, began to ponder why the jug moves” (Horace de Arte Poetic.), we return to our two-legged donkeys, and not on a harp, but on a horn we will blow into their ears. Let them read: “rejoicing in hope, working for the time,” and we will read: rejoicing in hope, working for the Lord (Rom. 12:12, 11) 68. Let them think that the accusation against the presbyter should not be accepted at all; and we will read: blasphemy against the presbyter was not accepted, except in the presence of two or three witnesses. Reprove those who sin before everyone (1 Tim. 5:19). Let them say better: “the word of man is worthy of all acceptance,” but we with the Greeks, that is, with the apostle who spoke Greek, will be mistaken: the word is true and worthy of all acceptance (Tim. 4:9). Finally, let them enjoy the Gallic stallions, and we will be comforted by that colt, yoked and prepared for the service of the Savior, which, having given its backbone for the Lord, began to correspond to the prophecy of Isaiah: blessed are those who sow by all water, where the ox and donkey trample (Is. 32:20). 27. Letter to the same Marcella. About interpsalmy Every debt must be repaid with interest, and a long delay increases the interest. You demanded my opinion about the inter-psalm (diapsalma), - I made an excuse by the narrow confines of the letter, and stated that the subject that provides the content for the book cannot be put in letters. But what about my εργοδιωκτη (motivator to work)? Silence makes you even more curious. So let there be a little instead of a lot, so as not to torment you any longer. According to some, the psalm means a change in the wind; according to others a respite; according to others, it is the beginning of another speech. Others think that the psalm between psalms signifies a division of rhythm - and silence due to some change in music, since in ancient times the psalms were sung with organs. We do not think any of this, because Aquila, the most careful translator of Hebrew words, translates the word sela, i.e. interpsalm, which is written from the letters samech, lamed, he, with the word “always”. In this exact sense, the inter-psalm is delivered at the end of the psalms, as for example, at the end of the 3rd psalm you crushed the teeth of sinners; The Lord's salvation is, and your blessing is upon your people, sat, that is, “always,” and at the end of 23: who is this king of glory? The Lord of those powers is the king of glory, always. If the interpsalm (i.e. the word sela) had a different meaning, then it would not be found in the psalms among many verses, namely in the 36th, 77th and 118th. Also: the 9th psalm is divided into a song between psalms; but if, as some think, inter-psalmy means the beginning of silence, then how can there be a song of silence? From this it is clear that this word connects the previous and the subsequent, or at least shows that what is said is immutable, as, for example, in Psalm 3 many say to my soul, there is no salvation for him in his God, always. And again: with my voice I cried to the Lord, and He heard me from His holy mountain always. And fourthly: why do you love vanity and seek lies? Always. And further: whatever you say in your hearts, be moved on your beds, always. And in Habakkuk: God will come from the south and the Holy One from Mount Paran 69, always. (Hab. 3:3) and below: “the oaths sworn to the tribes, which you have always spoken” (Hab. 3:9). You should know that the Jews usually put one of three things at the end of their books: either they wrote amen, or sela, or salom, which means “peace.” Hence Salomon means “peace-loving.” Consequently, just as we, having finished some work, when moving on to another, usually say: explicit (finished), or feliciter (happily), or something like that: so the Jews, in order to confirm what is written, usually say: “Amen”, or in order to forever notice what is written, they put “sela”, or to declare a happy ending to the matter, they notice at the end of the “world”. We actually drew what was said from a Jewish source, not sampling the streams of opinions, and not being afraid of the diversity of errors that fill the world, but wanting to know and show the truth. If it is not a burden to you, I will translate word for word Origen’s opinion on the interpsalm, so that, disdaining new wines, you will at least be seduced by the dignity of old wine. Excerpt from Origen's letter. Often searching for the reasons why in some psalms there is an inter-psalm, I carefully looked through the Hebrew text, compared it with the Greek, and found that where in Hebrew there is “sela”, and in Greek “always”, or something like that, there Seventy, Theodotion and Symmachus translated “inter-psalmy”. It is not superfluous to confirm what has been said with examples. In Psalm 74, which begins like this: I confess to you, O God, I confess to you, and I will call on your name, after: I have established its pillars, in the Seventy, Theodotion, and Symmachus there is “between psalms” (diapsalma), instead of in Aquila: “I have hung up its pillars, always.” In the fifth translation (editione): “I am the one who built its pillars, always.” In the sixth: “I established its pillars continuously” (jugiter). But in Hebrew after amuda, that is, its pillars, there is: sela. And one more thing: in Psalm 75, which begins: God is known in Judea, after: “shield, and spear, and battle” in the Seventy and Theodotion we find “between psalms.” In Symmachus, after: “shield, and sword, and warfare,” there is also “between psalms.” Instead, Aquila has “always” after “shield, and sword, and battle.” In the fifth translation (editione), after: “shield, and weapons, and warfare, always.” And in the sixth: “shield, and sword, and battle, to the end.” But in Hebrew after umalama, that is, and abuse; is "sela". In this same psalm after: save all the meek earth, - between psalms; Symmachus also has inter-psalms; in Aquila “always”; also in the fifth translation. In the sixth: “to the end.” But in Hebrew after: anie ares, that is, the meek of the earth, it is put sela. And we always noticed this when we looked at the said expression in all translations. What those who translated between psalms understood, whether there was a change in music, singing or meter, or they thought something else, I leave this to your own judgment. And only in Origen; In this reasoning, we wanted to follow his ignorance rather than adhere to the stupid opinion of the ignorant. 28. Letter to the same Marcella. About the words: Ehud and Feraphin The purpose of letters is to notify about household matters, or about daily needs and affairs of those who are absent, as if present, through mutual notification of each other about their desires or affairs: although sometimes such mutual entertainment of conversation is seasoned with the salt of science. However, you, completely occupied with serious research, do not write to me anything except what bothers me and forces me to read the Scriptures. Finally, having proposed such an important question yesterday, you demanded that I immediately write to you what I think. It’s as if I occupy the Pharisee’s pulpit, that as soon as there is talk of Jewish words, I am demanded as a witness and mediator of the dispute. Unpleasant are letters that do not smell like pies, that Apicius did not season, that do not raise the steam of the stew of the teachers of this century. However, since the mediator of our conversation is in a hurry to leave, I will talk about the important issue at hand as quickly as possible: for someone discussing the Holy Scriptures, not so much words as thoughts should be necessary. Therefore, if we are looking for eloquence, we should read Demosthenes, or Tullius; if divine secrets, then we must revise our sacred books, which in the Latin translation do not fully correspond to the Hebrew text. At the beginning of your letter, you wrote: what does it mean that is written in the first book of Samuel: “And the child Samuel served before the face of the Lord, girded with Ephod bad, and wearing the robe that his mother had made for him; and the offerings were made to him from day to day, when he went up with his husband to devour the sacrifice of days (1 Samuel 2:18–19).” And so you ask what is the Ephod bad with which the future prophet is girded - is it a belt, or a censer, as some think, or some kind of garment? And if it’s a robe, then how is Samuel wearing it? and after Ephod, why is bad added to it? You write down what you read further: when the man of God came to Eli, and said: This says the Lord: He was revealed in the house of your father, to them who were in the land of Egypt as a servant in the house of Pharaoh: and I chose the house of your father, out of all the houses of Israel, to serve me, to go up to my altar, and to burn incense with censer, and to bear Ephud (Ibid., v. 27 and 28); and having traced the whole book in a row, you took an example even from the place in which Doik the Edomite, by order of the king, kills the priests: and turning, says the Scripture, Doik the Syrian himself killed the priests of the Lord, and killed on that day three hundred and five men, or (as it is read in Hebrew) eighty-five, all who wore Ephud. And Nob destroyed the city of the Jews with the edge of the weapon, from male to female, from child to living, calf and donkey and sheep. And one son of Abimelech, the son of Ahit, was taken away, and his name was Abiathar, and he ran after David (1 Sam. 22:18–20). I can’t resist answering a number of questions; where now we read: all those who wear Efud, - in Hebrew it is: “who wear Efud bad.” Why I said this, you will find out later. Then you added the following: and it came to pass, when Abiathar the son of Abimelech fled to David, that he and David went down to Keilah, having Ehud in their hands: and it was told to Saul, that David had come to Keilah (1 Sam. 23:6-7). Fearing the coming of the king and the siege of the city, David said to Abiathar: bring the Ephed of the Lord (ibid., v. 9). Having offered these extracts from the book of Kings, you moved on to the book of Judges, in which it is written that Micah, who came from Mount Ephraim, gave his mother one thousand and one hundred pieces of silver, which she promised to God, and that she made from them something carved and fused together. You add that this sculptured and merged, after a little, is called Ehud and Ferafin and that, of course, if it were a belt or some kind of clothing, it could not be sculptured and merged. I recognize an almost universal mistake among the Latins, who think that the Ehud and Feraphin mentioned below were cast from the silver that Micah gave to his mother; Meanwhile, the scripture tells this way: and his mother, without a doubt Micah, took the silver, and gave it to the silversmith, and made it sculpted and merged. And there came to be in the house of Micah: and the house of Micah was unto him the house of God, and thou shalt create Ehud and Teraphin: and thou shalt fill the hand of one of thy sons, and he became a priest (Judg. 17:4-5). If you think that the same thing above is called sculptured and merged, and after that it is called: Ehud and Ferafin, then know that they are not the same thing. Because Micah made Ehud and Ferafin after the idol of his mother, which is called carved and merged, as can be seen from the following: and the five men answered, went to spy out the land, and came to their brethren. Do you understand that in this house there are Ehud and Teraphin, both carved and fused (Judges 18:14 et seq.); and further from the many things that you missed: and they rose up, it is said, five men, and they entered there and took the graven image, and Ehud and Feraphin and the merged one. And six hundred men, girded with military weapons... went down into the house of Michin, and took Ehud and Teraphin, and they merged and carved (Judg. 18:16-18). And so the opinion of those who, recognizing Efud as silver, made the question insoluble, must be rejected. Note briefly that Ehud is mentioned only as belonging to the priesthood. For Samuel, who was girded with it, as it is said, was a Levite, and the priests of Nob also wore it, as a sign of their dignity. And (which is not in the Latin codes) when David, fleeing from Saul, came to Abimelech and demanded a sword, saying: “See, if you have a spear or a sword here, like my sword, you have not taken my weapon with you; and the priest said: Behold, the sword of Goliath the foreigner, you slew him in the vale of Terebinth, and he was wrapped in a robe behind Ehud in the sacristy” (1 Sam. 21:8–9); Of course, Ehud was also preserved there. Ephud, in the form in which we have now presented it, is, of course, also where it speaks of things carved and merged; although this last was an idol; but since this idol, due to error, served as an object of worship, the signs Ehud and Ferafin were built to serve it, as well as to serve God. What is Ferafin, we will say later, if there is space left. Now let us explain about Ehud. In the book of Exodus, where Moses is commanded to order the priestly vestments to be made, it is said among other things: and these are the vestments, and these they will make: a breastplate, and an outer robe, and a long robe, and a headpiece, and a belt (Ex. 28:4). Where we placed the outer robe, seventy interpreters translated into Greek επωμιδα, meaning that clothing of this kind was placed on top. Then it follows: let these also take gold, and blue, and scarlet, and scarlet, and fine linen, and let them make an outer robe of fine linen, the work of woven fabric (Ex. 28:5-6). What more? The entire book of Exodus is filled with images of this type of clothing. For at the end of this book it is written: And every wise man shall make in them that make the garments holy things, which were unto Aaron the priest, as the Lord commanded Moses. And he made a robe of gold, and blue, and scarlet, and scarlet, and fine linen (Ex. 36:8 et seq.). But in Exodus the commandment is only to prepare these vestments; then they are made and brought: however, Aaron does not yet put on them; already in the book of Leviticus it is explained how he was clothed in priestly robes: and Moses brought Aaron and his sons, and I washed him with water: and he clothed him in the sap, and girded him with a girdle, and clothed him in υποδυτηυ, which can be translated: “in the undergarment,” or the robe that is put on from the underside. And put on the upper robe, it is said, and his girdles according to the arrangement of the upper robe, and squeezed it with it (Lev. 8:6-7). You see, Aaron is also girded with this outer robe, like Samuel with the designated one, I don’t know just which one, Ehud bad. But in order not to languish you any longer, listen to the following: where in the seventy interpreters, it means in our codes, it reads επωμις, that is, “upper robe,” there in Hebrew it is written “Ephud.” And why this word was translated in one place and left untranslated in another is not my business to judge, since the same thing was done with regard to many other words: since they were translated sometimes this way, sometimes differently; then later, finding it difficult to distinguish between translations, they began to use the original Hebrew words. Aquila is what other translators called υποδυτηυ and επωμιδα called ευδυμα and επευδυμα, that is, clothing and outer clothing. since ευδυμα, in Hebrew mail, means precisely underwear; and επευδυμα, i.e. επωμις - in Hebrew ephod - the outer mantle with which the entire host of priests was clothed. Perhaps you will ask - if Ephud is a priestly robe, then why is bar added to it in some places? When I hear bar, I can’t resist cxxa. The Jews say bad, and the seventy interpreters themselves, as you know, translated in exactly the same way; because when they write bar instead of bad, they are mistaken: the word bad in Hebrew is called flax, although flax is more accurately expressed by the word phesta. Therefore, where we read: And thou shalt make for them to wear flax to cover the shame of their flesh, from the hips, even to the flanks (Ex. 28:42), - there in Hebrew, instead of linen, “bad” is put. The husband who appeared to Daniel was dressed in the same way. And my eyes lifted up, and I saw, and behold, one man was clothed in baddim (Dan. 10:5), - plural and means: a linen robe. But beyond this it is said that Samuel and the eighty-five priests wore an Ephud of linen; since only one high priest had permission to put on the Ephud, not linen, but woven (as the Scripture says) of gold, blue, scarlet and scarlet and fine linen; others wore an Efud, not so colorful, and not decorated with twelve stones placed on both shoulders, but simple, linen, only pure to dazzling whiteness. However, since I promised above to say, albeit briefly, if there is space, about the word ferafin; then, while no one has yet come to interfere, listen: Aquila’s ferafin is translated μορφώματα, which we can express with the word “images” or “images.” For when Saul sends messengers to take David, and after their answer that David is sick, he sends them again, saying: bring him on the bed to me, so that I may kill him: and the servants came and behold, a vain burial on a bed (1 Sam. 19:15): here, instead of a vain burial, in Hebrew it is put theraphim, i.e. μορφώματα: not goat liver, as in our codes, but a headboard made of goat skin, which, since the hair was cut, looked like the head of a person covered in bed. To understand the meaning of both words at once, I will point to the place in Hosea, where God threatens to take away all grace from the adulterous people, saying that the children of Israel will sit for many days, neither the king, nor the prince, nor the sacrifice, nor the altar, nor the priesthood, below the manifestations (Hos. 3: 4): instead of the priesthood, the manifestations, in Hebrew it is stated: “neither Ehuda nor Ferafina,” as Theodotion and Symmachus translated. From this it is clear that among the seventy who held on to more meaning than the letters “Ephud” is translated by the word priesthood, and under Ferafin, i.e. figures, signs, of course various products bearing the name Ferafin. For both in Exodus and in other places where clothes embroidered on fabrics are described, the product is described as cherubim, that is, variegated and multi-colored: however, in this meaning the word cherubim does not have the letter uau; because when it is written with this letter, it means a living being, not a product. Thus, after what has been said above, it becomes clear that Micah, along with the priestly clothing, also made something else related to priestly decorations, that is, Ferafin. Although I would like to now explain to you all the priestly accessories, and in each type of vestment show the divine-mysterious sign; but since even without this you have gone beyond the limits of the letter, and since Joseph and Philo, the most learned men of the Jews, and many of ours have extensively researched this, and in my voice, as they say, you would have listened to them: then regarding other things, if you wish, you will hear from me personally, so that if, perhaps, we do not know something, then without witnesses, without judges, it will be buried in faithful hearing. I rejoice if our common mother is healthy, and I pray to the Lord, long live. Busy, as you know, reading Jewish books, I allowed my Latin language to become corrupted so that even when pronouncing it, I can hear some kind of lisp that is not at all Latin. Therefore, excuse the dryness of our speech. The Apostle said: even if one is ignorant in word, but not in understanding (2 Cor. 11:6); but he lacked neither one nor the other, and only out of humility did he deny one in himself. But we have neither one nor the other, since we have lost the sweet naivety of infancy, and we have not achieved the knowledge that we desired, and like the dog in Aesop’s fable, having chased after more, we have lost less. 29. Letter to Pavel. About the Hebrew alphabet of Psalm 119 The day before yesterday I tried to explain Psalm 119 to you and say that it embraces every moral state; I also said that just as philosophers usually divide their treatises into physics, ethics and logic, so the divine word either talks about nature, as in the books of Genesis and Ecclesiastes, or about morality, as in parables and in places in all books, or about logic, which the sacred writers replaced by theorics J), as in the song of songs and in the gospels (although the apostle often makes provisions, analyzes, proves and draws conclusions, which actually belongs to dialectical science). During this conversation, you asked with particular curiosity: what do the Hebrew letters mean, arranged, as you saw, in the psalm we read. I answered that the psalm was composed in order of letters, i.e. that eight verses begin with the first letter, which they call Aleph, then the same number of verses begin with the next letter, Beth, and then the same number of verses begin with Gimel, and that the psalm is written in this way up to the letter Tav, the last among the Jews; and that, according to the meaning of each of these letters, it must also infer the meaning of what follows it. You then asked me to explain to you the meaning of each letter; but since I directly said that if you don’t know the language, everything we say will fly out of your memory, you wanted to have this explanation on the note so that if you mixed up something, then reading could correct the error of forgetting. But before I start talking about each letter, you should know that four psalms begin in order of Hebrew letters: 110, 111, the one we are writing about and 144. You should also know that in the first two psalms, with each letter in order, each verse begins in order, consisting of iambic trimeter, and the two subsequent ones consist of iambic tetrameter, in which the song in the second one is written. Deuteronomy. In Psalm 119, each letter comes after eight verses. In Psalm 144, each letter marks every two verses. Some think that the other psalms are arranged in the same order, but their opinion is false. In the lamentations of Jeremiah you will find four alphabets, of which the first two are written as if in Sapphic meter, because three verses connected to each other and beginning with only one heroic letter are concluded by a comma. The third alphabet is written in trimeter, and every three verses begin with three, but the same letters. The fourth alphabet is similar to the first two. Likewise, Solomon’s parables end with the alphabet arranged in iambic tetrameter from the place where it is said: “Whoever finds a wife will get a wife” (Proverbs 31:10). Just as in our writings no one can move on to reading and combining words without first starting with the alphabet, so in the divine writings we will not receive the power to know much if we do not begin from the very beginning of moral teaching in accordance with the saying of the prophet: I have understood from your commandments (Ps. 119:104); those. after deeds he began to have knowledge of secrets. But it’s time to do what you asked - to show the meaning of each letter. Aleph means teaching, Beth means house, Gimel means completeness. Dalet - table, Ge - onaya, Vav - and, Zain - siya, Chet - life, Tet - good, Yod - beginning, Kaf - hand, Lamed - teachings, or hearts, Mem - from them, Nun - forever, Samekh - help, Ain - source, or eye, Pe - mouth, Tsade - truth, Kuf - calling, Resh - heads, Shin - teeth, Tav - signs. After explaining the meaning of the letters, one should pay attention to their order Aleph, Bet, Gimel, Dalet - this is the first combination - teaching, houses, completeness, tables; those. the teaching of the church, which is the house of God, is revealed in the fullness of the divine books. The second combination is Ge, Vav, Zain, Het - this, and this, life. For can there be any life without knowledge of the scriptures, through which Christ Himself is known - the life of believers? The third combination - Tet, Iodine - a good beginning; since even though we now knew everything that is written, we understand in part and prophesy in part, for now we see as with a mirror in fortune-telling (1 Cor. 13:9, 12). And when we are worthy to be with Christ and become like the angels, then the teaching of the books will be abolished, and then we will see face to face the good beginning; as it is. The fourth combination is Kaf, Lamed - hand, teachings or hearts. The hand is of course relative to deeds, the heart and teaching are relative to understanding, because we can do nothing before we know what we must do. The fifth combination - Mem, Nun, Samekh - of these, will help forever. This doesn't need explanation; It is clearer than any light that the Scriptures provide eternal help. The sixth combination - Ain, Pe, Tsade - the source, or eye, mouth, truth: this should be judged by what we said regarding the third combination. The seventh and last combination (and this sevenfold number itself contains a mysterious meaning) - Kuf, Resh, Shin, Tav - calling, chapters, teeth, signs. A clear voice emerges through the teeth and, enclosed in articulate sounds, rushes to the head of all - Christ, through whom the eternal kingdom is achieved. I ask you, what is more holy than this sacrament, what is more pleasant than this pleasure? what dishes, what honey is sweeter than the knowledge of the wisdom of God, penetration into His secrets, understanding the thoughts of the Creator and the words of the Lord your God, at which the wise of this world laugh, but from which the perfect learn spiritual wisdom. Let others own their wealth as they wish - swallow precious stones, shine with silk, enjoy the applause of the people, and let them, with all possible luxury, not be able to exhaust their wealth. Our riches are to study the law of the Lord day and night, to knock on the door that is not open, to receive the bread of the Trinity and, in the presence of the Lord, to walk on the waves of the century. Greet Blesilla and Eustochia, our students. Greet Feliciana, truly happy in virginity, physical and spiritual. Greet the rest of the society of virgins and your home church, for which I fear everything, even that which is not dangerous; During the sleep of the owner, the enemy man would not have sowed thorns - in spite of even bold assurances: I am a strong city, a city that cannot be conquered (Isa. 27:3). No one is safe during a siege from an enemy army; no one, as Blessed Cyprian says, is careful enough, being very close to trouble. Give a copy of the letter to our φιλοπουοτατη (i.e., most industrious) Marcella, if she pleases; and remember me in your prayers, that our Lord Jesus Christ may soon wipe Satan away from under our feet. 30. Letter to Eustochia. About gifts Small in appearance, but many kind gifts, I received from a virgin; necklace, letter and doves. But since copper is not sacrificed to God, the excessive sweetness is deliberately changed in taste; it is, so to speak, seasoned with the sharp bitterness of pepper. For God has nothing that flatters pleasure; He loves nothing exclusively pleasant, unless it contains something bitterly true. Easter is eaten with bitter spices. The day is a holiday, in memory of St. Peter, and should be spent more cheerfully than usual, however, so that the cheerful conversation does not move away from the essence of the Scriptures, and so that we do not deviate far from the goal of our mission. Ezekiel's necklace adorns Jerusalem. Baruch receives a letter from Jeremiah. The Holy Spirit descends in the form of a dove. So, in order to treat you with something as bitter as pepper, and to remind you once again of the previous letter (the letter about preserving virginity), I will say: beware of losing the beauty of deeds, which are the true necklace; Beware of tearing the letter of your heart, just as the ignorant king cut the letter given by Baruch with a razor; beware of hearing from Hosea what was said to Ephraim; Ephraim is like a foolish dove (Hos. 7:11). You will notice that it is too caustic and does not suit the holiday. But you yourself caused this with your gifts: you mixed bitter with sweet - receive the same from us: let bitterness come with praise. But it would not seem that I was diminishing the gifts: we also received a basket filled with cherries, and such, and shining with such a virgin blush, that one wondered if they had been brought from Lucullus. After the conquest of Pontus and Armenia, he was the first to bring these fruits to Rome from Tserazung (Plin. book 15, chapter 25). From here, the tree got its name from the name of the homeland (cerasus - cherry, lat.). And since in Scripture we read about a basket filled with figs, but we do not find cherries among the offerings, and we attribute them to what was not offered; then I would like you to be among those fruits that are in front of the church of God and about which God says that they are good, very good. The Savior does not like anything indecisive (nihil medium). Not avoiding the cold, He loves the fiery, and about the warm he says in the Apocalypse that he will vomit them (Rev. 3:16). As a result, we must carefully take care to mark the holiday not so much with an abundance of food, but with joy of spirit. Because it is extremely absurd to want to honor a martyr with special satiety when you know that he pleased God by fasting. So, you should always eat in such a way that eating is followed by prayer and reading. If someone doesn’t like this, say in the words of the Apostle: even if she had pleased man, she would not have been Christ’s servant (Gal. 1:10). There were two reasons for writing such a short letter: the postman was in a hurry, and I, busy with other work, did not want to do this, as if it were παρεργφ (an unrelated matter). You will ask what kind of important and necessary business I have that excludes the obligation of a written interview. For a long time now I have been comparing the translation of Aquila with the Jewish codes: perhaps the synagogue has changed something in its hatred of Christ; and I confess to you, as a friend of my thought, that I find even more related to the affirmation of our faith. Having checked the books of the Prophets, Solomon, the Psalter and the books of Kings in order, I now hold in my hands Exodus, called by their name ellesmoth, and am thinking of moving on to the book of Leviticus. You see that no duty can be preferred to this task. However, so that our ambassador does not go in vain, with this note I enclose two letters: to your sister Pavla and - entrusted to her care - Eustochia: therefore, if, after reading them, you find something instructive and good in them, then consider that what was written to them was also written to you. I wish our common mother Albina good health: I’m talking about the body, knowing that she is healthy in spirit; I ask you to bow to her and take care of her out of a double duty of love, because she must love both a Christian and a mother at the same time. 32. Letter to Paul - excerpt from a letter about Origen Antiquity marveled at Marcus Terence Varro among the Latins because he wrote such countless books. The Greeks extolled with enthusiastic praise Halkenter, who wrote more books than any of us can copy from others with our own hands. But since now the Latins do not have the desire to compile indexes of Greek books, I will at least remind you of something about the one who wrote in Latin, in order to make it clear that we are sleeping the sleep of Epimenides, and that the labor that was previously used to study secular literature has been turned to collecting wealth. So Varro wrote forty-five books of antiquities, four - about the life of the Roman people........ Ask: why is this reminder of Varro and Chalkenter? To turn to Adamant, to our Hulkenter, who worked with such diligence on the Holy Scriptures that he was rightly called Adamant. Do you want to know what monuments of his genius he left? This will show the following table of contents: He wrote thirteen books about the book of Genesis, - two books of mystical conversations, - notes on the book of Exodus, - notes on the book of Leviticus, - then the Monobible, - four books of περι Αρκώυ, - two books about the resurrection, and two more conversations about the resurrection. Do you see that the works of one are not superior to the works of both the Greek and Latin writers combined? Who could ever read as much as he wrote? And what a reward he received for his hard work! Not to mention the priests of Palestine, Arabia, Phenicia, and Achaia, Bishop Demetrius also condemned him! Roman citizenship also agreed to condemn him: it also incited the Senate against him - not for dogmatic news, not for heresy, as mad dogs now slander him, but because they could not bear the glory of his eloquence and knowledge, because when he spoke, everyone seemed dumb. Why I wrote this, and told it so briefly, so hastily in a careless speech, you will understand immediately if you think about Epicurus and Aristippus. 33. Letter to Marcella. About several passages of Psalm 126 The blessed martyr Pamphilus, whose life was described in three books by the Bishop of Caesarea Eusebius, wishing to compare with Demetrius of Phalerea and Nizistratus in the compilation of the sacred library, and in all countries looking for the works of geniuses, these true and eternal monuments of theirs, with particular care collected the books of Origen, and dedicated them to the Caesarian church: the damaged part of them was subsequently Acacius and Evzoi, priests of the same church, tried to restore it on parchment. Although bl. Pamphilus found a lot and left us an index of what he found, but by the very fact that he did not write it in the index, he admitted that he had not found a commentary on the one hundred and twenty-sixth psalm and a treatise on the letter n. This is not because such a great man (whom we call adamant) missed anything, but because not everything has reached our memory due to the negligence of posterity. I say this for this reason: since you asked me about the mentioned psalm a question: what is the bread of sickness in the words: you will eat in vain, having eaten the bread of sickness (Ps. 127:2), then you will rise gray - then I want to show that I don’t know from Origen’s comments what he thought about it. Therefore, turning to the Hebrew, I found, instead of the bread of sickness, leem aasabim, that Aquila translated: αρτον των διαπονηματων, that is, “bread of labors,” Symmachus αρτον κακοπαδουμενον, which means “bread of sorrow” - the fifth translation and Theodotion, who otherwise agrees with the seventy interpreters, - “bread of idols”; the sixth translation is “bread πλάνς”, that is, “delusions”. It should not be surprising if Aquila put διαπονηματα instead of “idols,” because they are the work of human hands, and the people are prophetically convicted for gathering in vain to the church with debauchery, and having rested rushing to the sanctuary, they are convicted because he revered idols as God, judging by the testimony of Ezekiel, that in In the church itself, the priests made sacrifices to idols. To make you more fully convinced, I will say that the word “idols” put in place of illness in Hebrew, the same word, that is, asabim, is also in the one hundred and thirteenth psalm, and is translated by the seventy in the same way – “idols.” For in the place where we read: idols are a tongue of silver and gold, the works of human hands (Ps. 113:12), - in Hebrew there is asarreem, which Aquila translates - “their labors.” If this is so, then it means that it is not in vain that some understand by bread illnesses or heretical sacraments, or the labors of this poor and sorrowful life, during which we eat our bread in the sweat of our brow, and for the short-term maintenance of which food will be born between thorns and thistles. You honored me with another question regarding the same psalm: who are the sons of the shaken? (Ps. 126:4). I am surprised that although you did not read in the interpretations of Hilary that the sons of the shaken ones mean people of faith, since he thinks that this name is used to name the apostles, who were commanded in the Gospel that if they came to some city and were not received, they would shake off the dust from their feet as a witness against the unbelievers: however, you wittily suggest that by the name shaken one cannot be understood the apostles, since those who shake and those who are shaken are not the same thing, those who shake are those who shake themselves, and those who are shaken are those who are shaken by others - and that it would be incongruous to understand by shaken the apostles, who should be called shakers in everything. So what should I do? I do not dare to condemn such a man, the most eloquent in his time, who is known for the dignity of his confession and the severity of his life, and the glory of eloquence wherever there is a Roman name: should we attribute the error not to him, as not to an expert in the Hebrew language, and in Greek literature who had easy information, but to the presbyter Iliodorus, whom he trustingly used, and from whom he learned about the opinions of Origen regarding what he himself could not understand. And since Ilidor could not find Origen’s commentary on the said psalm and decided to give his opinion instead of admitting ignorance; then, having accepted this opinion, Hilary developed it in his own clear language, and eloquently outlined someone else’s mistake. So all that remains is to turn again to the Jewish source and see how it is written there. Where we have: like the sons of the shaken, it reads: chen bne annaurim, which Aquila translates: “like the sons of maturity,” - Symmachus and Theodotion “like the sons of youth,” - the sixth translation of ηκονεος ν θ, which means: (sons of) “a sophisticated mind.” From here it is clear that by the people of youth we mean Christians, judging by the idea that God appears as one who strains his saints like a bow and arrow, as in the prophet Zechariah: Judas has already strained thee, like a bow (Zech. 9:13), and as the Savior speaks of himself: lay me down like a chosen arrow, and hide me in his bosom (Is. 49:2). - Finally, in the next verse, both in the Hebrew and in all the codes, excluding the seventy, which were translated differently, I found: “Blessed is the man who filled his quiver with them,” so that once the metaphor taken from the arrows extends further to the quiver. The ordinary language calls the vigorous, strong, and skillful the shaken, the invigorated (excussi). And the seventy interpreters themselves translated the word of the young men with the word shaken, inflicted (excussi), - in the book of Ezra, where it reads like this: and from that day half of them were inflicted (excussorum) on the work, and half of them were prepared for battle with swords and shields, and bows and armor, and captains behind all the house of Judah who built the wall (Neh. 4:16). From this it is clear that in the given place the commissioned ones are placed instead of young men and mature ones - and not what the indicated writer thought, instead of the apostles, who are said to be shaken from shaking their feet. – I read someone else’s book and found in it an excellent idea that the Jews are called shaken from the church, the law and the grace of the Lord, (instead of saying “rejected”), and that their sons are the apostles who came from their seed, and like arrows are contained in the hands of the Lord. In the same way, in the next psalm, Iliodorus was more mistaken than our Hilary, because, thinking one way and another regarding the place in which it is written: bear the labors of your fruits; admitted that it would be a more meaningful idea if you write: bear the fruits of your labors, and not the labors of the fruits, and look for the spiritual meaning behind this. Going into long explanations on this occasion, to verify what he wants to prove, he uses such efforts as a lie always needs in order to seem true. Meanwhile, in this place, not seventy interpreters, but the Latins, deceived by the dual meaning of the Greek word - καρπονς, translated it with the word fruit (fructus), and not hands, while καρποι also means hands, as in Hebrew it should be: chaphach. Symmachus and the fifth translation, in order to avoid the inaccuracy of the previous expression, translated: “your hands.” When the quick hand of my scribe wrote this under my dictation, after midnight, as they say, in thieves’ time, I thought of saying a lot more. It was already almost four o'clock in the morning, when suddenly I felt colic in my insides and exclaimed: let the pain subside when at least the remaining hours of the night are given over to sleep. 34. Letter to Pope Damasus 70 To His Beatitude Pope Damasus Jerome. Having received the letter from your shrine, I immediately called the scribe and ordered him to write for me: while he was preparing for the matter, I was thinking in my mind what I wanted to express in words. But as soon as I set my tongue in motion, and he moved his pen, a Jew suddenly entered with several books taken from the synagogue, as if for reading, and said: “Here you will find what you asked for.” When I hesitated and did not know what to do, the Jew decisively told me to leave everything and start copying the books he had brought, which is what I have been doing to this day. But since you informed me through the deacon sent to me yesterday that you expect, in your opinion, a letter, and, as it seems to me, a commentary, since you want short answers to such questions, each of which in its breadth requires a large book, then ταυτα σοι εσχεδιασα (I hastily prepared this for you), leaving only two questions unresolved, - not because he could not answer them, but because the most eloquent men wrote about them in Latin, such as our Tertullian and Novatian; and if I wanted to write something new, it would require a lot of thought. Indeed, I want to know what you would like: will you want the opinions of Tertullian and Novatian to be presented to you in a short letter, or will you demand the very works of both authors. Origen excellently examined the issue of circumcision in the fourth volume of εξηγησεων (interpretations) on Paul's letter to the Romans - and said a lot about clean and unclean animals in his explanation of the book of Leviticus; so if I couldn’t come up with anything myself, I would borrow from these sources. And to tell you even more truth, I have in my hands the book of Didymus on the Holy Spirit, which, after translation, I want to present to you, so that, considering reading without your own writing to be sleeping, you will not think that all I do is sleep. And so, turning to the tasks proposed in your letter, I state what I think, asking for forgiveness both for haste and at the same time for slowness - for haste because in one night 71 I decided to finish the work of many days, and for slowness because, being busy with other work, I did not immediately answer questions. 1. What does it mean that it is written in the book of Genesis: whoever kills Cain will complete seven vengeances? (septem vindictas exsolvet) (Gen. 4:15). Before we begin to talk about this issue, it is recognized that it is necessary to compare all the translations with the Hebrew text itself, so that the thought of the scripture can be more easily understood. Vaiomer lo Adonai lochen chol orec cain sobathaim joccamo. Aquila: “And the Lord said to him: Therefore whoever kills Cain will take revenge seven times.” Symmachus: “And the Lord said to him: Not so, but whoever kills Cain will receive vengeance in the seventh or seventh.” Seventy and Theodotion: “and the Lord said to him: not so, but whoever kills Cain will complete seven vengeances.” According to the brother, to the question of the Lord: where is Abel, your brother? Cain answered boldly: we don’t know; food am I the guardian of my brother? (Gen.4:9). Condemned for this insolence to live on earth groaning and trembling, Cain does not want to ask for mercy: but adding lawlessness to lawlessness, he considers his sin to be one that cannot be forgiven by the Lord. And finally he answers the Lord: my greatest guilt will remain with me (Gen. 4:13); that is: I have sinned so much that I cannot deserve forgiveness. If you drive me out this day from the face of the earth, I will hide from your presence and I will groan and tremble on the earth, and everyone who finds me will kill me (Gen. 4:14). You are persecuting me, says Cain on his own behalf, and I, who am unable to look into the world due to the consciousness of my crime, will hide in order to avoid judgment. And it will happen: everyone who finds me will kill me (ibid.) - when he notices from the trembling of his body and from the agitation of an alarming thought that I am the one who is worthy of death. But God, not wanting Cain to end his torment with a near death, and not subjecting him to this punishment to which he condemned himself, says: Not so, that is, do not think that you will die, and accept death as a cure: no; You will live even until the seventh generation, and you will be tormented by the fire of your conscience, so that if someone kills you, then either - the meaning is twofold - already in the seventh generation - or he will deliver you from the sevenfold torment. The point is not that he who killed Cain himself will have to undergo sevenfold vengeance; but that the murderer will stop the seven revenges that weighed on Cain for so long, since he will kill the one whose life was left as punishment. To make this clear, let us take an example from daily experience. Suppose a servant, under blows, says to his master: since I burned your house and ruined all your property, then kill me. But the master answers: you will not die according to your desire, and you will not stop the punishment by death: but you will live for a long time, and you will be so unhappy in the world that anyone who kills you will do you a favor by killing you: since he will save you from so much torment. It seems to me that this is indeed the meaning of the translation of seventy. Regarding what Aquila said: “seven times,” and Symmachus: “in sevenths,” or “the seventh will take revenge,” the opinion of our predecessors is this: they think that Cain was killed already in the seventh generation by Lamech. For Adam begat Cain, Cain begat Enoch, Enoch begat Gaidad, Gaidad begat Maleleel, Maleleel begat Methuselah, Methuselah begat Lamech, the seventh from Adam, who accidentally (as it is written in one Jewish book) killed Cain, which he himself later confesses: for he killed a man for my plague, and a young man for my sore: for he will be avenged by the week. from Cain, and from Lamech seventy weeks (Gen. 4:23–24). Indeed, it seems to me that there is nothing doubtful about the fact that Cain was killed or, according to another translation, received execution for his crime, already in the seventh generation from Lamech, and that for so many generations he lived on earth groaning and shaking. Now the conversation is getting to something you didn’t ask about, since the matter was about something else. What were the seventy-seven vengeances that were to be fulfilled on Lamech? They say that from Adam to Christ there are seventy-seven generations. Read the Evangelist Luke, and you will find that it really is as we say. This means, just as the sin of Cain was forgiven in the seventh generation, for God does not take revenge twice for the same thing, and once he has accepted evil in his belly, he will not endure after death the torments suffered during life: so the sin of Lamech, that is, the whole world, as well as the sin of shedding blood, was forgiven with the coming of Christ, who bore the sins of the world, who himself trampled the winepress, who dipped his vestments in the blood of thunder, and ascending scarlet from Edom into heaven (Isa. 63:1-3), he showed a miracle to the angels, who cried out: take the gates, O princes, yours, and the king of glory will come in (Ps. 23:7) and so on. One Jew told me that in the apocryphal books there is a legend that the flood destroyed seventy-seven souls from the tribe of Lamech, and that, therefore, on this date the execution of Lamech took place, since his family continued until the flood. Others think differently about the seven revenges of Cain. They say that his first sin was unfair division; the second, that he was jealous of his brother; the third, that he acted deceitfully, saying: Let us go into the field (Gen. 4:8); fourth - murder; the fifth, who with impudence locked himself, saying: I don’t know, I am the guardian of food for my brother? (Ibid., v. 9) Sixth, that he condemned himself, saying: “My greatest guilt is that it remains with me” (Ibid., v. 13); the seventh - that after being condemned he did not repent, like Nineveh and Hezekiah, the king of Judah, who with tears rejected the threatened destruction, and having already been condemned to it, did not perish, but having repented, they gained the mercy of God. They say that this is why the All-Good God left Cain until the seventh generation, so that he, prompted at least by both the misfortunes themselves and the duration of the torment, would repent and earn forgiveness. Some, summing up evidence from various places of scripture, interpret the septenary number in the sense of complete, perfect; the thought we mentioned above comes out, i.e., that whoever kills Cain will save him from burning torment and execution, surpassing all kinds of punishments. And there are those who cite Peter’s question from the Gospel: Lord! If my brother sins against me, I will forgive him up to seven times: Jesus said to him: I do not tell you: up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven (Matthew 18:21-22), and they think that death and sin rested on the seventh generation, when Enoch was caught up and was not found, because God had changed him ( Gen. 5:24). Regarding the number: “seventy weeks” they follow the opinion that the sting of sin and death was crushed already by the coming of Christ. I’ll give you one more opinion so that it doesn’t seem like I’m leaving anything out. Some in various ways point to the seventh year of redemption, then to the fiftieth year of jubilee, then to the forty-ninth, to which they want to add the number seventy weeks: they also recall for this purpose the gospel debtors, whose debt is indicated by the mysterious numbers: fifty and five hundred (denarius. Luke 7:41); - pay attention to the 50th penitential psalm, which comprises seven sevens of psalms and stands at the beginning of the eighth. But it’s time to end the discussion on this subject; Enough of what has been said so far, since in what we have said you can find for yourself many subjects for reflection, taking into account that Origen devoted the twelfth and thirteenth books (explanations) on the book of Genesis exclusively to this question. 2. Why does God tell Abraham that the children of Israel will return from Egypt in the fourth generation, and Moses later writes: “the children of Israel came out of the land of Egypt of the fifth generation” (Ex. 13:18, according to LXX): this seems a contradiction, of course, until it is explained. After reading this problem, I became inwardly worried and, following step by step the books of Genesis and Exodus, I found places in which there seemed to be contradictions. At first, comparing the spiritual with the spiritual, I thought that these contradictions were insoluble, like many others. For it is written that Methuselah lived another fourteen years after the flood, and yet he did not enter the ark with Noah. And while God said to Abraham: Thou knowest, hang thy seed in a land that is not mine, and enslave me, and embitter me, and humble me for four hundred years (Gen. 15:13), - Moses then writes: and it came to pass by four hundred and thirty years, that all the power of the Lord came out from the land of Egypt (Ex. 12:41). Likewise, Hagar carries Ishmael on her shoulders, like a nursing and weak baby, and then it is revealed that he was almost eighteen years old, and it would be funny if such a big young man hung on his mother’s neck. Rehoboam the son of Solomon began to reign in the forty-first year of his life and reigned in Jerusalem for sixteen years; Meanwhile, his father, who made him king in the twelfth year, reigned for forty years - and, of course, could not have a son even in the eleventh year. When I was thinking with anxiety about this and about many things of the same kind, then he who had the key of David opened the doors for me, led me into his lodge and placed me in a cave of the rock; so that after a cruel whirlwind, after an earthquake, after the flame of ignorance that burned me, the voice of thin coldness began to reach me 72, and I said: I have found it, my soul will love it; I will hold him and not leave him (Song 3:4). For when contradictory passages appear in Scripture, they are equally true, despite their contradiction. The children of Israel came out of Egypt in the fourth generation. Look at the genealogy of Levi: Levi begat Kohath, Kohath begat Amram, Amram begat Aaron, Aaron begat Eleazar, Eleazar begat Phinehas. Kohath and his father Levi entered Egypt. On the other hand, Eleazar and his father Aaron left Egypt. From Kohath to Eleazar there are four generations; although others want to begin from Amram and conclude the account by Phinehas, while we by Eleazar. If you want to explain another number, how, according to the book of Exodus, the children of Israel came out of the land of Egypt in the fifth generation, then you need to number the tribe of Judah in order. Judah begat Perez, Perez begat Hezrom, Hezrom begat Aram, Aram begat Aminadab, Aminadab begat Nahshon, Nahshon begat Salmon. Perez and his father Judah entered Egypt. Nahshon is the leader of the tribe of Judah in the wilderness; his son Salmon entered the promised land. Count from Perez to Nahshon, and you will find five generations; although others (similar to what we showed above regarding the tribe of Levi) begin the count from Hezrom and lead to Salmon. The problem, I think, is solved. But if this does not seem satisfactory, then I will turn to a comparison of the texts and say that in Hebrew there is no difference. For Aquila, since he did not translate arbitrarily, as some think, but carefully, from word to word, in the place where the Seventy put: the fifth generation of the sons of Israel came out of the land of Egypt (Ex. 13:18), translated like this: κ αι ενοπλισαμενοι ανεβησαν οι νιοι Ισραηλ απο της γης Αιγνπτον, i.e. “And the children of Israel came out of the land of Egypt armed.” However, instead of the expression “armed” that we used, due to the vagueness of the Greek word, one can understand: “arranged” or “equipped,” that is, with belongings collected by them from the Egyptians. Since I desire the complete satisfaction of curiosity, the heat of research flares up in me more and more, and, like Jeremiah, I am weakened everywhere and cannot carry (Jer. 20:9): why the Seventy translated: “the fifth generation,” and Aquila: “armed.” I open the Hebrew book, which Paul, according to the testimony of some, calls Φενολην and, delving into each letter separately, I find that it is written: Vamusim alubne Israel mearez mesraim. The translations agree with each other in the rest of the sentence; the whole difference is due to the word amusim, which is represented by the letters: heth, mem, sin, iod, mem, and means either “five” or “armed.” Although we cannot deny that this word means “five” - and precisely “five” in the plural, and not “fifth” in the singular, as the Seventy translated: however, we do not find an additional one: “genus”, which in Hebrew is expressed by the word dor; so if there was a “fifth kind”, then in Hebrew it would read amesa dor. Now it is written only amusim, that is, “five,” even if it is the fifth, so the meaning seems to be this: on the fifth day did the children of Israel come up from the land of Egypt; but this is obviously not clear, which is why LXX was added: kind . - That Aquila translated accurately in this particular place, as in others, will be confirmed by all of Judea: all synagogues agree that they have the same thing, even a word written in the same letters, has a different pronunciation and meaning. We present one such example to confirm this; the words: “shepherds” and “lovers” are written with the same letters: res, ain, iod, mem: but the word “shepherds” is read roim, and “lovers” reim. Hence it turned out that where the prophets condemn Jerusalem for its fornication with its lovers, there in our codes “lovers” turned into “shepherds.” I know that all this is boring for the reader; but it is not proper for someone who is discussing Hebrew letters to invent an Aristotelian argument, to draw streams from the river of Tully’s eloquence, and to delight the ear with the figures of Quintillian and classical declamation: he needs a simple language, similar to everyday life, not echoing any sophistication - a language that would reveal the subject, express the thought, clarify what is not clear, and not shine with choice words. Let others be eloquent, let them be as famous as they like, and from pompous lips let out words like soap bubbles: it is enough for me to speak in such a way as to be understood, so that in speaking about scriptures I can approach the simplicity of scripture. 3. Why did Isaac, a righteous man pleasing to God, mistakenly bless not the one he wanted, but the one he did not want? (Gen. 17). I am moving away from my examples for a while and keeping silent about what was said regarding this place by our predecessors, not because I am not satisfied with their opinion, but because you only ask: why did the righteous man not know everything and act against his desire? The answer corresponding to this question is this: no man, except he who was pleased to put on flesh for our salvation, has complete knowledge and infallible justice. Even Paul understands in part and prophesies in part (1 Cor. 13:9, 12), sees now like a mirror in fortune-telling; Let us pray for this as we should, he says, but we do not know (Rom. 8:26): for when that which is perfect has come, then it will be done away in part (1 Cor. 13:10). The prophet Samuel, placed in the psalter along with Moses 73, having been sent to anoint the king, when he saw Eliab, the eldest son of Jesse, said: Is this his anointed before the Lord? (1 Samuel 16:6). And the Lord said to Samuel: Do not look on his face, lower than the age of his majesty, for they have humbled him. Man does not see as God sees; For man sees on the outward appearance, but God sees on the heart (1 Sam. 16:7). It is even said that, having examined all the sons of Jesse one by one, Samuel remained in the dark about the true anointed one until he saw David. In the same way, Elisha, glorified purely by spirit, whose bones returned life to a soulless corpse (2 Kings, chapters 1 and 13), when the Samanitish woman came to him on the mountain and fell at his feet, said to Gehazi, who forbade her to do this: leave me, for her soul is painful in her; and the Lord is hidden from me, and he cannot tell me (2 Kings 4:27). There are many similar examples that make us understand that holy men and pleasing to God know only what is revealed to them by God, and do not know what is not revealed. At each vision, 3axarias and Daniel ask the angel and beg him to explain to them what what they saw means. Therefore, it is not surprising that Isaac, during the period of his greatest delusion, when he wanted to prefer his son, devoted to a bloodthirsty hunt, who was ready to subsequently kill his brother, to the one who innocently lived in the house, when he wanted to fulfill his own will more than God's - at this very time, to his own well-being, he himself did not know what he was doing. I consider it a matter of divine vision that he became blind, and although he said: the voice of God, the voice of Jacob; His hand, the hand of Esau (Gen. 27:22), however, did not recognize that the youngest son was standing before him with the intention of anticipating his brother’s blessing. But since we promised to say something about the mysterious significance of the event under consideration, we will cite the words of the martyr Hippolytus (from whom our Victorinus differs very little), not because he fully considered everything, but because he can arouse the reader himself to broader considerations. Isaac bears the image of God the Father, Rebekah bears the image of the Holy Spirit; Esau - ancient humanity and the devil; Jacob - the church, or Christ. Isaac grew old - this indicates the decay of the world; Isaac’s eyes are dulled, which means that faith has perished in the world, that the light of religion has been darkened in it. The eldest son is called, this means the acceptance of the law by the Jews. The Father loved food and fish, this means that people are saved from sin, which every righteous person catches through teaching. The word of divine blessing is the promise and hope of a future kingdom in which the saints will reign with Christ and celebrate the true Sabbath. Rebecca, filled with the Holy Spirit, knew, as she had heard before she gave birth, that the older would do the work of the younger (Gen. 25:23), and even more like the Holy Spirit, knowing the future about Christ, cares first of all about Jacob; she says to the youngest son: going into the sheep, fetch me two goats from there (Gen. 27:9), prefiguring the carnal coming of the Savior, through which He will save those, or especially those, who are held in the bonds of sin; and in all scriptures goats are taken precisely in the sense of sinners. Rebekah commands to take two (goats), this means the adoption of two peoples - to take the soft and kind means meek and innocent souls. The covering, or clothing of Esau, is the faith and scriptures of the Jews, with which the pagan people were (later) clothed. The skin with which Jacob's hands were covered is the sins of both nations, which Christ, with the outstretching of his hands, nailed with since when the fulfillment of the tongues comes, then all Israel will be saved (Rom. 11:25, 26). Recently I read on the book of the Song of Songs, called by the Jews sik assirim, the interpretation of Retitius, Bishop of Augustodunsky, whom Emperor Constantine 74 under Bishop Sylvester 75 once sent to Rome on the occasion of the heresy of the Montentians; “I was extremely surprised that this eloquent man, not to mention the strangeness of his other opinions, considers Tarshish to be the city of Tarsus, in which the Apostle Paul was born, and the gold of Ophaz to be Peter, because Peter is named in the Gospel of Cephas. Of course, Retitius found the first of these words both in Ezekiel, where it is said about the four animals: “And the appearance of the wheels is like the appearance of Tarshish” (Ezek. 10:9), and in Daniel in the words about the Lord: His body is like Tarshish (Dan. 10:6), according to the translation of Aquila “peridot”, Symmachus “hyacinth”. And in the psalm: With a stormy spirit you will crush the ships of Tarshish (Ps. 47:8). The name of the same stone is also found between the stones on which the names of the tribes were carved, and which formed the decoration of the high priest; and this word appears in almost every Scripture. And what can we say about the word “Ophas” when the aforementioned prophet Daniel says: in the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia, after three weeks of fasting and mourning, my eyes lifted up, and I saw, and behold, one man, clothed in a robe of linen, and his loins girded with gold, Ophaz (Dan. 10:5). Since the Jews had several types of gold; then for clarity, “Ophaz” is put here, so that no one would think that we are talking about zaab, which is also mentioned in the book of Genesis along with the carbuncle stone (Gen. 2:12). You will ask if Tarshish, according to various translators, is a chrysolite stone, or hyacinth, the color of which is similar to the appearance of God; then how is it said that the prophet Jonah wanted to go to Tarshish (Jonah 1:3), and according to the book of Kings, Solomon and Jehoshaphat had ships that at the appointed time came from Tarshish with goods (1 Kings 10:22)? The answer to this is not difficult; the names are the same, because the Indian country is also called Tarshish, and the sea itself received the same name because of its color, like azure, as it takes on the color of the above-mentioned stones in the rays of the sun. However, Joseph thinks that the Greeks call Tarshish Tarsus, due to the change of the letter φ to τ. There are countless things in the interpretations of Retitius that, in my opinion, are extremely bad. Let us assume that the speech is harmonious, moves sublimely and majestically; but what is the use of it for a commentator, whose task is not to appear eloquent himself, but to give the reader a correct idea of ​​​​the author’s thoughts. I ask, did Reticius not have at hand ten books of Origen, or other interpreters, or some necessary interpreters of the Jews, in order to either ask or read about the meaning of what he did not understand? But it seems to me that he thought badly about his descendants, as if no one would be able to judge his mistakes. And so, you ask me in vain for an interpretation of this author; there is much more in them that I don't like than there is that I like. If you object to why I gave them to others, then listen, not everyone should eat the same food. Jesus feeds a much larger number of people in the desert with barley bread and a smaller number with wheat bread. The Corianthians, among whom fornication was more common than among other pagans, were given milk to drink because they could not take solid food, and the Ephesians, who were not convicted of any crime, eat heavenly bread from the Lord himself and learn the secret hidden for centuries. Do not pay attention to the age and authority of those who received from me copies (of Retitius’s interpretations), since young Daniel judges the elders, and Amos, the shepherd of goats, denounces the priestly rulers. 36. Letter to Marcella about Blesilla's illness Abraham is tempted through his son and proves faithful. Joseph is sold to Egypt to feed his father and brothers, Hezekiah is afraid of imminent death, so that with streams of tears he can beg for another fifteen years of life. Peter the Apostle is tempted during the suffering of the Lord, so that after bitter tears he hears: feed my sheep (John 21:17). Paul the ravenous wolf and Benjamin the youngest in horror (Ps. 67:28) undergoes blindness in order to receive his sight, and struck by the sudden horror of darkness, he calls on the Lord, who has long been persecuted as a man. So now we, dear Marcella, have seen that our Blesilla has been burning for 30 days in constant feverish heat, so that she learns that she must renounce the pleasures of the body, which will soon be the prey of worms. The Lord Jesus also came to her and touched her hand, and now, having risen, she serves Him. She decayed in carelessness and, bound by the bonds of wealth, already lay in the tomb of this century. But Jesus made a noise and, being troubled in spirit, cried out, saying: Blesillah, come out (John 11:43). At the call of Christ, she rose up and went out to eat with the Lord. The Jews will threaten and make noise, they will try to kill the resurrected one; only the apostles will speak praise. And she knows that she owes her life to the One who returned her. She knows that she embraces the feet of the One whose judgment she feared shortly before. The body lay almost soulless, and imminent death struck the barely breathing limbs. What was the use of relatives' help then? Why words that are more useless than any smoke? She who died for the world and came to life for Christ owes you nothing, ungrateful kin. He who is a Christian, let him rejoice; he who is angry, thereby declares that he is not a Christian. For a widow to be dispensed from marriage, she only needs to remain firmly in her position. Perhaps someone will be tempted by mourning clothes. But such a person will also be seduced by John, the greatest among those born of women, who was called an angel and who baptized the Lord himself - John, who was clothed in clothes made of camel's hair and girded with a leather belt. Does anyone not like cheap food? But what could be cheaper than locusts? - Those women who tint their eyes and lips with purple and other rubbish serve more as a temptation to the eyes of Christians; whose faces, whitened (gipseae) and disfigured by excessive whiteness, resemble idols; in whom an unexpected tear accidentally rolls out of their eyes and draws a furrow across their face. The sheer number of years cannot convince such women that they are already old women; They make a wig out of someone else’s hair, smoothing out the wrinkles of age, they think of returning their lost youth, and with trembling feet, walking ahead of the crowd of grandchildren, they imagine themselves as girls. Let a Christian woman be ashamed if she counterfeits the beauty of nature, if for the sake of sensual desires she takes care of the flesh, which, according to the word of the Apostle, cannot please Christ (Rom. 8:8). Our widow used to tidy up rather whimsically and look in the mirror all day, something she still lacks. And now we can say openly: we all behold the glory of the Lord with revealed face, and we are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord (2 Cor. 3:18). Previously, the maids removed the head, and a useless wig (vertex) was attached with wavy bands, but now the head is left without attention, for it it is enough that it is covered. In the past, the soft fluff seemed something hard to her, and she could barely lie on the carpets that had been sent out, but now she hastily gets up to pray and with a ringing voice, anticipating the hallelujah of others, she is the first to begin praising her Lord. Her knees bend on the bare ground and her face, previously stained with whitewash, is washed with frequent tears. After the prayer, psalms are heard, and a tired back, shaking knees and eyes closing from sleep can hardly achieve peace in an overly excited state of mind. Blesilla's tunic is covered with dirt due to her long periods of lying on the ground. Her shoe is cheap, and the price of the gold-woven shoe is distributed to the needy. The belt does not glitter with gold and expensive stones; it is woolen and, despite its simplicity, is very clean; it is adapted to tighten clothes rather than tear them. If the serpent envies this feat and with flattering speech persuades him to eat again from the forbidden tree, then he will be struck not with a heel, but with anathema, and when he dies in the dust, it will be said to him: go behind Satan (Mark 8:33), which means “enemy.” since the enemy of Christ and the Antichrist is the one to whom the commandments of Christ are unpleasant. Tell me, please, whether there have ever been actions more tempting than the actions of the apostles. They leave their old father with the ship and nets. The publican gets up from the tollhouse and follows the Savior; a student who wants to return home and say goodbye first to his family is forbidden by the teacher’s voice. The last duty (burial) is not given to the father: and it is recognized as a matter of piety - to be wicked for the sake of the Lord. “And we, since we do not dress in silk, are considered monks.” Since we do not get drunk and laugh at the top of our lungs, we are called fasting and gloomy. If our tunic does not sparkle with cleanliness, immediately they shout from the crossroads: “Here is a false teacher and a Greek.” Let them mock, let them extol people who have been fattened with a fat belly, our Blesilla will laugh and will not pay attention to the slander of the chattering frogs, when her Lord himself was called Beelzebub. 37. Letter to Pavel about the death of her daughter Blesilla Who will give water to my head and comb the source of tears for me and weep (Jer. 9:1) not for the wounded of my people, as Jeremiah says, not for the disaster of Jerusalem like Jesus; No; I will mourn holiness, mercy, innocence, purity, I will mourn all the virtues united in one person and defeated by death. I will cry not because there was anything deplorable in the fate of the deceased, but because separation from her is difficult and regrettable for us. Who, without tears, will remember with what ardor a twenty-year-old woman took upon herself the banner of the cross? It seemed that she regretted not so much the death of her husband as the loss of her virginity. Who, without weeping, can imagine the persuasiveness of her speech, the elegance of her language, the firmness of her memory, the sharpness of her mind? When you hear her talking Greek, you think she doesn't know Latin; when she speaks Latin, you will never recognize her as a foreigner. And even - like Origen himself, to whom all of Greece marvels for this, in a few - I will not say months, but days - she so successfully overcame the difficulties of the Hebrew language that she did not lag behind her mother in reading and singing psalms. The modest clothes of her (the deceased Blesilla) did not reveal, as often happens, a proud spirit: no, with deep humility she dressed in the same way as the servant girls, and it was in no way possible to recognize her as a mistress: she was distinguished only by greater carelessness in her clothes. Her feet wavered from illness, her thin neck barely supported her pale and trembling face, and yet at all times she had either the prophets or the gospel in her hands. Her eyes are full of tears, sobbing takes over her voice, and her withered tongue does not water her irritated insides. When the holy body was overcome by fever, and a crowd of loved ones surrounded the dying bed, her last words were: “Pray to the Lord Jesus to forgive me that I could not do what I wanted.” Be calm, dear Blesilla, you, whose clothes were white at all times. The whiteness of clothes is the purity of eternal virginity. We believe that our words are true: it is never too late to apply. First of all, the thief is told: Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise (Luke 23:43). When the burden of the body was laid down, the soul took off to its creator and, having wandered for a long time, returned to its former fatherland. Then a funeral is held according to custom, a procession of noble persons stretches ahead, a golden canopy is stretched over the funeral bier. It seemed to me that Blesilla spoke then from heaven: “I don’t recognize the clothes: this cover is not mine; this decoration is alien to me.” But what am I doing? I want to hold back my mother’s tears, but instead I groan. I confess my weakness: this entire letter is written in tears. Jesus also wept for Lazarus because he loved him. “The comforter is bad who cannot suppress his sobs, whose heart is softened, who can barely utter words that are drowned out by sobs.” Witness Jesus, whom Blesilla now follows; witnesses - the holy angels, whose company she now enjoys - that I endure the same painful sorrows as you, dear Paula; Being her father in spirit and educator in love, I sometimes say: let the day perish in which we were born (Jer. 20:14). And one more thing: woe to me, mother, you have given birth to me a man who is at enmity with all the earth (Jer. 15:10). And again: You are righteous, O Lord, otherwise I will pronounce judgments on you: what if the way of the wicked is sung (Jer. 12:1)? And one more thing: for a moment my feet did not move, and for a moment my feet did not shed (Ps. 72:2). And I said: what will God lead? and is there reason in the Most High? Behold, these sinners and gobblers have retained wealth forever (Ps. 73:11–12). But on the other hand, it also says: if we proclaim this, behold, I have transgressed the generation of your sons (v. 15). And isn’t my mind often filled with a stream of similar thoughts? Why do wicked old men enjoy the riches of this age for so long? Why is undeveloped youth and sinless childhood struck in the days of its early bloom? Why do two-year-olds, three-year-olds and those who suck their mother's breasts often fall into the power of a demon, are stricken with leprosy, suffer from jaundice, and, conversely, wicked people, adulterers, murderers, blasphemers, blaspheme, enjoying the health and strength of their bodily strength? Meanwhile, it is said that the unrighteousness of the father will not be imputed to the son and the soul that has sinned will itself die. If the ancient position remains in force that the sins of the fathers are brought upon the children (Ex. 34:7), then it would be unfair to take revenge on the countless sins of a father with many children on innocent infancy. And they said: for they have justified my heart in vain, and washed my innocent hands, and were plagued all day long (Ps. 73:13-14). But at this thought, I, together with the prophet, internally decided in myself: and the Nepshchevah understand: this is work before me, until I enter into the sanctuary of God and I mean their last (vv. 16-17). For the judgments of the Lord are many and many! And it is also said: oh, the depth of the wealth and wisdom and mind of God! For you have not tried his judgment, nor examined his ways (Rom. 11:33). God is good, and everything that a good one does must necessarily be for good. Lost spouse; I'm sad that this happened. But since it pleases God, I will bear the misfortune complacently. His only son was gone; it is sad, but not joyless, because He who gave took it. If I am blind, I will be comforted by a friend's reading. If deaf ears refuse to hear, then I will be free from vices; I will think about nothing else but the Lord. In addition, severe poverty, cold, illness and nakedness will threaten; I will wait for death to end everything, I will consider the evil to be short-lived, followed by a better outcome. Let us reason in accordance with the saying of the moralizing psalm: Thou art righteous, O Lord, thy rulers and judges (Ps. 119:137). This can only be said by one who glorifies God in all his sufferings and, considering them deserved, boasts of His mercy in the midst of the most misfortunes. For the daughters of the Jews rejoiced in all the destinies of the Lord. If the word Judas means “recognition,” and every believing soul is grateful, then one who calls himself a believer in Christ must necessarily rejoice in all the destinies of Christ. I'm healthy; I thank the Creator. I am sick, and for this I praise the will of God. For when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Cor. 12:10); spiritual strength is made perfect in bodily weakness. And the apostle suffers something that he does not want, from which he prays to the Lord three times for deliverance. But he receives this answer: My grace is sufficient for you; For My power is made perfect in weakness (2 Cor. 12:9). So that the apostle would not become proud due to many revelations, he was given some reminder of human weakness, just as during the celebration of a triumph the solemn chariot was accompanied by a companion, after each enthusiastic cry of the citizens, who said to the triumphant: “Remember that you are a man”! Why is it difficult for us to endure suffering? Why do we mourn for the dead? We were not born to live here forever. Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, Peter, James, John, Paul, the chosen vessel, and even the Son of God Himself dies; and we complain when some person leaves the body, who, perhaps, was caught up quickly for this reason, so that it is not malice that changes his mind. For his soul is pleasing to the Lord. For this reason, God hastened to lead her out of the midst of wickedness (Wis. 4:11, 14), so that on the long journey of life she would not get lost in the winding paths. Let them cry for the dead, but for the one whom Gehenna receives, who is devoured by Tartarus, for whose execution the eternal fire burns. And we, at the end of life, accompanied by a host of angels, greeted by Christ himself, on the contrary, we should be burdened if we live too long in this mortal church. For while we live in the body, we depart from the Lord (2 Cor. 5:6). May we be embraced by the love expressed in the words of the psalmist: woe is me, for my coming continues, and I dwell with the inhabitants of Kidar; My soul is much a stranger (Ps. 119:5-6). If the word Kidar means “darkness,” and this world is darkness, since the light is holy in darkness, and its darkness is not accepted (John 1:5), then let us rejoice for our Blesilla, who passed from darkness into light and, blazing with a living faith, accepted the crown for a accomplished deed. In truth, if early death had found her in the midst of thoughts about temporary attachments and earthly pleasures that were not pleasing to God, then she should have lamented about it, she should have shed a stream of tears. And now, when almost four months before her death, she was cleansed, so to speak, by the second baptism of a deliberate feat, and finally lived in such a way that, having corrected the world, she constantly thought about the monastery, now be afraid, lest the Savior tell you: why are you angry, Paul, that your daughter has become my daughter. Why are you annoyed at My verdict and express dislike towards Me with your disobedient tears? After all, you know that I think about you and your loved ones. You deny yourself food not for the sake of fasting, but because of sadness. I don't like this kind of abstinence. Such posts are disgusting to Me. I receive to Myself the soul that separates from the body before I call it. Let stupid philosophy have such martyrs: Zeno, Cleurotus, or Cato. My spirit rests only on my meek, and silent, and trembling words (Isa. 66:2). What's the point that you promised to go to a monastery, as if in order to appear more pious by differing in clothes from other noble women? Your persistent lamentation thought is worth silken robes. You kill yourself and ruin your health, and run away from the harsh judge, as if you would not fall into My hands. The brave prophet Jonah once ran away from Me, but even in the depths of the sea he remained Mine. If you believed that your daughter was alive, then you would never lament the fact that she has moved on to a better world. Through my apostle, I commanded: let us not grieve for the dead, like the pagans. Be ashamed, the pagan 76 exceeds you in patience. The devil turned out to have a better servant than Me. She imagines that her unfaithful husband is transported to heaven; but you don’t believe, or don’t want to believe, that your daughter is with Me. You will say: “Why do you forbid me to cry, while Jacob, clothed in sackcloth, mourned Joseph and, when all his relatives gathered to him, did not want to accept consolation, saying: I will go down to my son, lamenting to hell (Gen. 37:35). And David, lamenting over Absalom, covered his head and sobbed, repeating: my son, Absalom, my son, Absalom, who will give death to me instead of you, my son, Absalom? (2 Samuel 18:33). Isn't there a reference to lamentation over Moses, Aaron and other annually celebrated saints? The answer to this is not very difficult. Jacob mourned his son, whom he considered killed and to whom he himself was about to descend into the underworld, saying: I will go down to my son, lamenting to hell, because Christ had not yet opened the door of heaven; His blood has not yet extinguished the fiery and circulating flame of the cherubim standing at the entrance to paradise. It is also known about Abraham that he and Lazarus were in the underworld, although in a cool place. And David, not without reason, wept for his parricide son, while, unable to ask for the continuation of life for his other infant son, he did not weep for him, because he knew that he was sinless. It is also not surprising that, in accordance with ancient custom, weeping for Moses and Aaron was commanded, while from the Acts of the Apostles it is clear that already in the light of the Gospel the brothers in Jerusalem performed great weeping over Stephen (Acts 8:2). And in all places of scripture, great lamentation does not mean the cowardice of those who lament, as you think, but the splendor of the funeral and the multitude of those who bury. Finally, the scripture says this about the burial of Jacob: And Joseph went up to bury his father; and all the servants of Pharaoh, and the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, and all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, came together with him. And a little lower: and chariots and cavalry came up with him, and the regiment became very great. And then: and he wept with a great and strong cry (Gen. 50:7 et seq.). This solemn lament does not mean that the Egyptians lamented for Jacob for a long time, but only expresses the pomp of the burial. Of course, Aaron and Moses were mourned in the same way. I cannot sufficiently praise the mysteries of Scripture and marvel at the divine meaning contained in simple words: why is the lamentation over Moses mentioned, but in the story of the burial of Joshua, the holy man, it is not said that he was mourned? Because in Moses, that is, in the old law, all people were subject to condemnation and therefore tears were the lot of those descending to the underworld, in accordance with the words of the apostle: and royal death from Adam even to Moses and on those who have not sinned (Rom. 5:14). In Jesus, that is, in the gospel, when the doors of heaven are opened, joy follows death. The Jews to this day mourn the dead and lie on the ashes with bare legs, clothed in sackcloth. And to complete their superstition, the Jews, according to the most empty custom of the Pharisees, first eat food made from lentils, thereby showing by what food they lost their birthright. Truly, not believing in the resurrection of the Lord, the Jews are preparing for the coming of the Antichrist. But we who have put on Christ and are made according to the words of the apostle (1 Pet. 2:9) a royal and holy people, should not grieve for the dead. And it is said that Moses spoke to Aaron and Eleazar and Ithamar, his remaining sons: Do not cover your heads and do not tear your garments, lest you die and there will be wrath on the whole assembly (Lev. 10:6). Do not rend your clothes, it is said, and do not perform pagan weeping, lest you die. Our death is a consequence of sin. In the same book of Leviticus a decree is recorded, perhaps harsh in some eyes, but necessary for faith, namely: the high priest is forbidden to approach the dead father, mother, brothers and children, of course, so that the soul, dedicated to God's sacrifices, and completely immersed in divine mysteries, is not carried away by some passionate excitement. Isn’t the same thing only in other words prescribed in the Gospel when it is said that the disciple (of Christ) should not say goodbye to his family and should not return to bury his dead father? And from the saints, it is said, let him not go out and profane the name of his holy God, for the holy anointing oil of his God is upon him (Lev. 21:12). Of course, having believed in Christ, having accepted the anointing oil of Christ and carrying Him within us, we must not leave the temple, that is, move away from the Christian deed, nor go outside, that is, take part in pagan unbelief, but must always be inside, that is, serve the will of God. We said this so that, due to ignorance of the scriptures, you would not consider your crying legitimate, so that you would not be mistaken in thinking that you are acting wisely. Until now I spoke as if I were reasoning with an ordinary Christian woman, of which there are many everywhere. But now, when I know that you have renounced the whole world and, having rejected and trampled on the joys of this age, devoted yourself to daily prayers, fasting, and reading; when you, following the example of Abraham, want to leave your land and your relatives, so that, leaving the Chaldeans and Mesopotamia, you enter the promised land; when you either gave away all your possessions to the poor or died alive for the world, before your death you denied your children, then I am surprised that you are doing something that deserves reproach even in ordinary women. Blesilla’s conversation, her caresses, conversations and participation come to your memory, and it’s hard for you that you have lost all this. We excuse the mother’s tears, but there must be a measure of grief. If I look at you as Blesilla’s parent, then I cannot condemn your lamentation, but if I look at you as a Christian and a nun, then these names already exclude maternal feelings. Your wound is fresh, and every touch, no matter how carefully, does not so much heal as irritate it. But why not try, through the suggestions of reason, to suppress grief, which should be softened by time? For Noemmia, fleeing from hunger into the land of Moab, lost both her husband and children, and when her relatives left her without help, Ruth the stranger did not retreat from her. Look at the merit for which Ruth was credited for helping the woman abandoned by everyone. Christ is born from the offspring of Ruth. Look at Job, how much he endured, and you will see that you are too impatient, while he, turning his eyes to heaven among the ruins of his house, covered with wounds, pursued by countless disasters and, finally, tempted by the crafty words of his wife, retained invincible patience. I know what you will say: “These disasters were sent to him, as a righteous person, to test him.” Choose one of two things you want: either be holy and withstand trials, or be a sinner and complain when disasters befall you, even if you deserve even greater ones. But why draw examples from antiquity? Follow modern models. Saint Melania, a true celebrity among Christians of our time (may the Lord grant both you and me one day to have a part with her!), when the body of her husband had not yet cooled down and was not buried, she lost two sons at once. I want to tell you something incredible, but, Christ is my witness, not false. Who didn’t think then that she, half-crazed, with disheveled hair, in torn clothes, would torment her chest? But she did not shed a drop of tears, she stood motionless, and, falling at the feet of Christ and, as if holding on to Him, rejoiced. “It is more convenient,” she said, “I will serve You, Lord, when You have freed me from such a burden.” But perhaps other attachments overcame her firmness. - No; how much higher she had become than them, she subsequently proved by her relationship with her only remaining son; Having given him all her property, already at the onset of winter, she sailed to Jerusalem. Please spare yourself, spare your daughter, who is already reigning with Christ, spare at least your Eustochia, whose young and inexperienced age needs your guidance. The devil is now raging, seeing the triumph of one of your daughters, with sorrow he recognizes himself as defeated, and tries to win over your surviving daughter the victory that he lost in the fight with the deceased. Excessive love for one's relatives is dislike towards God. I can’t say what I want to say without groaning. When you were carried out from the middle of the funeral procession, having fainted, the people whispered among themselves: “Didn’t we say the truth? The mother regrets her daughter, driven to death by fasting, and regrets that she did not have grandchildren, at least from her second marriage. How long until these nasty monks are driven out of the city, stoned, and drowned in rivers? They deceived the unfortunate matron. That she does not want to be a nun is evident from the fact that no pagan woman has ever mourned her children like that.” How deplorable do you think these speeches are for Christ! How Satan rejoices, who is now in a hurry to tear out your soul, and, presenting you with a plausible reason for crying, when the image of your daughter constantly rotates before your eyes, he wants to kill the mother of the victor and will enter into the solitude of her surviving sister (i.e. Eustochia). I'm not saying this to scare you; no, the Lord is my witness, as if standing before His judgment seat, this is what I am instilling in you. It is necessary to leave these tears, full of insult to the sacred, full of unbelief, without measure, which can bring one closer to death. You sob and lament, and, as if set on fire by some kind of flame, you constantly kill yourself with all your might. But the merciful Jesus comes to a woman like you and says: “Why are you crying? The maiden is not dead, but is sleeping” (Mark 5:39). Let those around you laugh; such unbelief is characteristic of the Jews. And if you begin to fall at the tomb of your daughter, then the angel will say with reproach: “Why are you looking for the living with the dead” (Luke 24:5)? For this very reason, Mary Magdalene, when she recognized the voice of the Lord calling her and fell at His feet, she heard the following: do not touch Me, for I will not sigh to My Father (John 20:17), that is: “you who consider Me dead, lying in the tomb, are not worthy to touch Me, risen.” What kind of crosses do you think, what kind of torment does our Blesilla suffer now, seeing that Christ is angry with you? In response to your lamentations, she now calls out to you: “if you, mother, ever loved me, if I sucked your breasts, if I was raised by your instructions, then let my glory not be a reason for displeasure for you; Don’t make us have to be separated forever. You might think that I'm lonely. No, instead of you I have Mary, Mother of God. I see a lot of women here that I didn't know before. Oh, how wonderful this society is! The Gospel prophetess Anna is here, and, rejoice, I acquired in three months what she acquired through many years of labor. We received the same palm of purity. Do you regret that I left the world? And I regret your fate, I regret you, hitherto imprisoned in the prison of the century - about you, daily fighting and being carried away to destruction either by anger, or by stinginess, or by impure desires, or by other vicious excitements. If you want to be my mother, try to please Christ. I do not recognize a mother who is displeasing to my Lord.” There's a lot more Blazilla says that I'm not talking about. She prays to God for you, and to me, who is calm for her, she asks for forgiveness of her sins, because for the sake of her salvation, I exhorted, begged and suffered the dislike of her loved ones. Therefore, I solemnly and decisively promise: while my spirit animates these members, while I am in this life, until then will Blesilla be proclaimed by my tongue, my labors will be dedicated to her, my mind will work for her. Every page will ring in Blesilla's honor. Wherever the monuments of my speech go, along with my works, she will also march. Virgins, widows, monks, and priests will read about her, as a constant subject of my thought. The time of her life is short, but her memory will be eternal. She who lives with Christ in heaven must also live in the mouths of men. The present century will pass, and subsequent centuries will come, which will judge without love and without hatred. Between the names of Pavla and Eustochia, the name of Blesilla will appear in the middle. She will never die in my books. She will always hear my conversations with her sister and mother. 38. Letter to Marcella about Onaz Doctors called surgeons are considered cruel and unhappy. Isn’t it a misfortune not to sympathize with the wounds of others, to cut dead limbs without mercy, to perform an operation that horrifies the sufferer without a shudder, and for this to be considered an enemy? Such is human nature; For her, the truth is bitter, and vices seem pleasant to her. Isaiah was not ashamed to walk naked as a type of future captivity (Isaiah 20:2). Jeremiah is sent from the environment of Jerusalem to the Mesopotamian river Euphrates, so that among the hostile nations, where the Assyrian lives and the Chaldean hordes are located, he will lay down his thigh (περιξωα) to decay (Jer. 13). Ezekiel is ordered to eat bread made from various vegetables and sprinkled with human and then cow dung (Ezek. 4), and sees the death of his wife without tears (chap. 24). Amos is expelled from Samaria (Amos 7). For what? Of course, for the very fact that spiritual doctors, cutting out the ulcers of sins, call for repentance. The Apostle Paul says: He became an enemy to you, telling you the truth (Gal. 4:16). And since the Savior’s speeches seemed cruel, many of His disciples went back. It is also not surprising that when we rebel against vice, we insult people. I intend to find infected and stinking noses, so let those who have an infected nose be afraid. I rebel against the empty caw of a crow, so let the crow realize that she is an empty talker. As if there is only one person in all of Rome with a nose spoiled by the wounds of debauchery? As if Onaz Segestan alone, puffing out his cheeks, throws out words from them, pompous and empty, like a bubble? I say that through crime, perjury, and lies, some people bought themselves dignity, I don’t know what. What need is there for you who feels innocent? I ridicule the lawyer, who himself needs a defender, I laugh at eloquence, which costs two pennies - what need do you need, who is so eloquent? I rebel against bribe-taking presbyters - you, a rich man, why get embittered? I like to laugh at masks, night owls, Nile monsters; so whatever I say, you think it’s against you? Don't you think that you are good because you have a happy name (Onasus - from οναω, “to help, to bring benefit”)? But they also give the name bright (lucus) to the grove, although it does not shine at all; the name of the garden is park (ragsae), although it spares nothing; to the furies - Eumenides, despite the fact that he is not at all favorable; and the people call the Ethiopians silver. If you get angry when bad things are described, then I will sing to you with Persius: Let the king and queen look for you as a son-in-law, Let the young maidens entice you, Let everything you want become a rose. – However, I would give you advice to hide something in order to appear even better. If the nose on your face were not visible and the sound of your voice was not heard, then you could seem both handsome and eloquent. The texts that some follower of Montanus brought you, and in which our Savior promises that He will go to the Father and send the Comforter - these texts were selected from the Gospel of John. The Acts of the Apostles testify to the fulfillment of the Savior's promises at a certain time. On the tenth day, it is said, after the Ascension, that is, on the fiftieth after the resurrection of the Lord, the Holy Spirit descended and the speech of the believers became unequal: so that everyone began to speak in the languages of all nations, and when some still of little faith at first considered those filled with the Holy Spirit to be drunk, then Peter stood in the midst of the apostles and the whole assembly and said: men of Judaism and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be reasonable to you, and instill in the verbs mine. It’s not like you don’t feel drunk, these are the essence of drunkenness: it’s almost three o’clock in the afternoon. But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel, and it will come to pass in the last days, says the Lord, that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy, “And your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall see dreams; for on my servants and on my handmaids in those days will I pour out My Spirit” (Acts 2:14 et seq.). So, if the Apostle Peter, on whom the Lord founded the church, mentioned that at this time the prophecies and promises of the Lord were fulfilled, then how can we assign another time for this? If it is objected that the four daughters of Philip subsequently prophesied and the prophet Agabus existed, and that during the division of the Spirit, in addition to the apostles and teachers, as the apostle writes, prophets were also formed, and the apostle Paul himself prophesied many things about future heresies and the end of the world, then let our objectors know that we do not so much deny the prophecies sealed by the blood of Christ as we do not accept (false prophets) who do not agree with the authority of the Old Scriptures and new Testaments. We differ from the Montanists in our confession of faith. We recognize the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit as separate persons and unite them in essence; they, following the dogma of Sabellius, squeeze the Trinity within the confines of one person. We do not so much approve as we allow second marriage, according to Paul's command, for young widows to marry; They consider a second marriage such a crime that every second marriage, in their opinion, is an adulterer. We, together with the entire Christian world, according to the tradition of the apostles, fast for one day; they fast three days a year, as if three Saviors had suffered. We do not say that one should not fast even for a whole year, with the exception of Pentecost; But it is another thing to bring a gift out of necessity, and another thing out of one’s will. With us bishops take the place of apostles; and among them bishops are in third place. For the primacy among them is occupied by the patriarchs from Pepusa of Phrygia, in second place are the so-called cenons, already in third place, that is, almost in last place, are the bishops overthrown; It’s as if their religion becomes more famous because they consider the last thing that we recognize first. They excommunicate for almost every offense; we read every day: “I would rather have a sinner repent than die” (Ezek. 18:32). Food that falls does not rise, says the Lord (Jer. 8:4) and: return, you returning sons, and I will heal your afflictions (Jer. 3:22). They are strict not because they sinned less than we do, but the difference between us and them is that they are ashamed to admit their sins, as if they were righteous; and by resorting to repentance, we more easily earn forgiveness. I am silent about the vile mysteries that are connected with the sacrifice of the infant of a martyr who should still live. For my part, I would rather not believe this: let everything that is said about bloodshed be false. It must be obvious to us the godlessness of those who say that God first wanted to save the world in the Old Testament through Moses and the prophets, but since he could not fulfill this, he Himself took flesh from the Virgin and in the person of Christ, who spoke in the guise of a son, raised death for us. But since both these times he could not save the world, he finally descended in the form of the Holy Spirit on Montana and the crazy women Iriska and Maximila. Thus, it turns out that the outcast and effeminate Montanus had that abundance of spiritual gifts that Paul did not have, saying: we understand in part and prophesy in part (1 Cor. 13:9); and: we see now as with a mirror in fortune-telling (1 Cor. 13:12). These are those aspects of the Montanist teaching that do not deserve refutation; to present their fanaticism means to refute it. There is no need to briefly refute every absurdity expressed by them in a special letter, especially since you, holding most tightly to the Scriptures, are not so much interested in their questions as you want to know what I think about them. 40. Letter to Marcella against the Novatians To the short question you sent, a short and direct answer. If, on the basis of the words of the Gospel: whoever speaks against the Son of Man will be forgiven him, and whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven him, neither in this world nor in the future (Matthew 12:32; Mark 3:29) - if, on the basis of these words, Novatian claims that only a Christian who has rejected Christ can sin against the Holy Spirit; then it is obvious that the Jews, who at that time 77 blasphemed, are not subject to the sin of blasphemy, whereas they, like the wicked helithiers, having killed the prophets, plotted the murder of the Lord and were so burdened with sins that the Son of God came to save them. The very course of the speech should convince Novatian that the blasphemy is considered unforgivable not of those people who rejected Christ, having been forced to do so by torture and various torments, but of those who, contemplating the works of God, slander and proclaim in them the action of the power of demons and attribute all the signs performed before their eyes not to Divine greatness, but to the devil (Matthew 12; Mark 3; Luke 11). That is why our Savior directs all the strength of His answer to show that Satan cannot cast out Satan and that his kingdom has not undergone internal division. If the devil tries to torment God’s creation, then how, without becoming a contradiction with himself, can he impart health to the sick and escape from the bodies of people possessed by demons? Let Novatian point out some Christian from among those who were forced to make a (pagan) sacrifice, who would say before the tribunal that everything written in the Gospel was committed not by the Son of God, but by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, and then he can claim that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven to this person. Let us propose a more subtle question: let Novatian answer, what does it mean to speak a word against the Son of Man and what does it mean to blaspheme the Holy Spirit? As for me, I agree with the meaning of the saying that those who rejected Christ as a result of persecution spoke a word against the Son of Man, but did not blaspheme the Holy Spirit. Because if someone, when asked whether he is a Christian, answers that he is not a Christian, then by thus denying Christ, i.e. The Son of Man, he does not offend the Holy Spirit. If, according to the teachings of the heretic, by denying Christ, a person thereby denies himself from the Holy Spirit, then how can he who spoke a word against the Son of Man not sin at the same time against the Holy Spirit. And if, according to Novatian, in this place the Holy Spirit must be understood as the Father, then it must be said that he who apostates from Christ does not mention the Father during his denial. When the Apostle Peter, frightened by the question of a slave, denied the Lord, what do you think - did he sin against the Son of Man, or against the Holy Spirit? If he had wanted to interpret his words: “I don’t know man,” in a funny way, that he had denied not Christ, but man, then he would have made a liar of the Savior, Who directly predicted to him that he would deny Him, the Son of God. If Peter denied the Son of God, as a result of which he wept bitterly and made amends for his threefold denial with a threefold confession: then it is obvious that the sin against the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven, because it contains blasphemy: you see the power of God, but attribute the deeds to Beelzebub. Let Novatian prove that some apostate from Christ called Him Beelzebub; I agree that such a person cannot receive pardon after apostasy. It is another thing to reject Christ, yielding to torture, and another thing to call Him the devil, as upon careful reading the very words of Scripture can be presented to you as the text of a speech. It would be possible to talk more at length about this subject, but since we cannot refuse our friends and guests our presence, and we do not want to delay your answer, which, apparently, you strongly desire, we condense the extensive discussion into a short note, dictating not so much the message as the interpretation. Goodbye. Ambrose 78 thanks to the paper, scribes and costs of which our truly Adamant and Chalkenter (i.e. Origen) wrote what a countless number of books - this same Ambrose, in one letter written to Origen from Athens, tells about himself that he never, in the presence of Origen, took food without reading, never went to bed until one of the brethren read something from the Holy Scriptures. He did this day and night, so that reading replaced prayer, and prayer replaced reading. Do we gastric animals ever do anything like this? If only the second hour finds us reading, we are already yawning - rubbing our faces with our hands, we can barely contain our annoyance and, as if after long labors, we again take up worldly pursuits. I’m not talking about dinners that suppress a burdened mind. It’s a shame to talk about those frequent congratulations for which either we ourselves go to others every day, or we expect strangers to come to us. Then conversations begin, vulgar speech continues, those who are absent are condemned, other people's lives are assessed, biting each other, we devour each other. This is our daily meal. And when our friends leave, we begin to settle accounts, and then fury brings the image of a lion to us, then our concern is directed towards the surplus that has been lying around for many years. And at the same time the words of the Gospel will not be remembered: foolish! This night they will take your soul from you, and what you have prepared, to whom will it be? (Luke 12:20). Clothes are sought not only for consumption, but for pleasure. Where cost reduction is imagined, the leg is faster, the speech is more lively and the ear is more attentive. If we hear about a loss (as often happens in households), then our face becomes covered with sadness. We are happy about the money, and we regret one obol. That is why the prophet, seeing in one person such variability of physiognomy due to emotional disturbances, prays to the Lord: Lord! in Thy city they have made their countenance low (Ps. 72:20). Created in the image and likeness of God, due to our vices we take on many faces. Just as on a theater stage the same actor now represents the mighty Hercules, now turns into a tender Venus or a trembling Zibella: so we (who were not of the world, the world would hate us) have as many images of likenesses as we have sins. Since we have already flown through a large living space in the midst of unrest and our ship was sometimes carried by stormy whirlwinds, sometimes crashed into underwater rocks - therefore, let us hasten, as soon as possible, to enter rural solitude, as if into some kind of marina. There, rye bread, vegetables irrigated with one's own hands, milk, and rural amusements will provide cheap and innocent food. With this way of life, neither sleep will distract you from prayer, nor satiety will distract you from reading. In the summer, tree shade can provide a secluded refuge. In autumn, the very goodness of the air and the falling leaves indicate a resting place. In spring, the fields are adorned with flowers and psalms will be sung more sweetly to the plaintive melodies of the birds. If the cold and winter snows come, then I will not buy firewood, I will either stay awake or sleep through the cold time. One thing I know for sure is that I won’t freeze in vain. Let's leave Rome to its vanity, let the arena be rampant, the circus go crazy, the theaters luxurious and, to say to ourselves, let the daily visits continue in the Senate of the Roman matrons. It is good for us to cleave to God - it is good to place our trust in the Lord (Ps. 72:28) - so that when this misery is replaced by the kingdom of heaven, we may exclaim: what have we in heaven and what have we desired from you on earth! (Ps. 72:25). Those. Should we lament, searching for small and perishable things on earth, when we have found so much in heaven? Goodbye. Usually, physical absence is compensated for by spiritual communication, and in this respect everyone acts in accordance with his prevailing inclinations. You send gifts, we respond with a message of gratitude. But at the same time, since the gifts belong to the hidden virgins, we want to show that these very gifts contain some mysterious meaning. Sackcloth is a symbol of prayer and fasting. Armchairs mean that the virgin should not take a single step out of the house. Wax candles remind us that we should await the coming of the Bridegroom with the lamps lit. Cups mean mortification of the flesh and the spirit is always ready for martyrdom, for the cup of the Lord makes me drunken, like a mighty one (Ps. 22:5). For unveiled women, a small fan for driving away small insects has the sublime meaning that soon it will be necessary to abandon luxury, because the flies that are killed destroy the smell of the incense. Here are the symbols for the maiden and the matron. But for us, your gifts have the opposite meaning, namely: those who are idle tend to sit, those who repent - to lie in sackcloth, those who drink - need to have cups. Because of fear at night and due to the fact that the spirit is always outraged by an evil conscience, it is allowed to light wax candles. I would be foolish to think that I am in a position to thank you. God alone can give your holy soul what it deserves. I, being unworthy, could never think or desire that you would show me such love for Christ. However, even though some consider me a villain, covered in all sorts of crimes, and although due to my sins even this is not enough, yet you do well that you consider even the bad in your soul to be good. It is dangerous to judge another man's servant (Rom. 14:4), and it is even more impermissible to speak evil of a righteous person. Yes, the day will come when you, together with me, will mourn the fact that not many burned with such love. I am a vicious person, fickle and fickle, deceitful and deceived by the cunning of Satan. What is safer: to believe in blame, or to assume innocence, or to be completely unwilling to believe even guilt? Some kissed my hands and at the same time condemned me with serpentine lips: they revealed sorrow on their lips, but rejoiced in their hearts. The Lord saw and laughed at them and kept me, his servant, with them until the future judgment. This one condemned my gait and smile, this one mocked my face, this one saw something else in my simplicity. I almost lived with them for three years. I was surrounded by a dense crowd of virgins, and I, as often as I could, talked with them from divine books. Frequent repetition of such lessons created brevity, brevity established trust. Let them say what other feelings they had in my presence, besides the feelings befitting a Christian? Did I take money from anyone, or refuse large or small gifts? Did anyone's brass sound in my hand? Have you ever allowed yourself to make ambiguous speech or an insolent look? They only pay attention to the fact that I am a man and this has been since Paul went to Jerusalem. But let them believe the liar; Why don’t they believe his denial? After all, the accuser and then the defender are one and the same person, and of course, he speaks the truth more likely under the influence of torment than in a cheerful time. Apparently, fiction is easier to believe, people listen to it willingly and are even encouraged to invent it, even when it does not yet exist. While I did not know the home of St. Paul, until then the love of the whole city thundered towards me. An almost general court recognized me as worthy of the highest priesthood. They spoke about me to Pope Damasus of blessed memory. I was considered a saint, recognized as humble and eloquent. Have I really entered the house of some libertine? Am I really carried away by silk clothes, shiny stones, painted faces, greed for gold? No, the Roman matron could conquer my soul only with tears and fasting - only she could attract my attention, whom I saw in a sad robe, blind from tears, whom the sun often found for whole nights imploring the mercy of God - only she whose song was a psalm, the subject of conversation was the Gospel, whose joys consisted of abstinence, and whose life was fasting. The only one that made me happy was the one I had never seen eating. But as soon as I began to respect and honor her and marvel at her for her purity, all my virtues immediately abandoned me. O envy, the first plague! O satanic cunning that always persecutes the saints! It was not any other Roman women who became the subject of a city fable, namely Paul and Melania, who, despising their property, abandoning everything dear, raised the cross of the Lord as some kind of banner of piety. If they had enjoyed themselves in the baths 79 and used fragrant ointments, then in their wealth and widowhood they would have found justification for luxury and freedom, and could have been known as mistresses and saints. But they want to appear beautiful in sackcloth and ashes and descend into fiery Gehenna with fasting and filth: it is obvious that it is not like that to die noisily with the applause of the crowd. And even if pagans or Jews ridiculed such a life, then Paul and Melania could find consolation in the fact that Christ does not like them. But, alas! Christian people, having abandoned concern for their own economy, and not noticing the beams in their own eyes, look for knots in the eyes of others. They insult holy deeds and, to justify their own guilt, think: there are no saints, everyone is worthy of reproach - there are a multitude of perishing people, countless sinners. You like to wash yourself every day: others consider such neatness to be dirt. You vomit hazel grouse and praise sturgeon: I fill my stomach with beans. You are amused by a crowd of buffoons: those who cry for me are Pavel and Melania. You are greedy for other people's things, they neglect theirs. You take comfort in sweet wines: they drink cold water even more pleasantly. You consider yourself lost if at the present moment you have nothing, do not eat, do not swallow: they desire the future and are confident that everything said in Scripture is the truth. Let it be vain and stupid to believe in the Sunday of bodies: what is that to you? On the contrary, we don’t like your life. You consider such people unhappy, but we consider you the most unfortunate. We pay each other with the same coin, and therefore we seem to each other to be mad. I quickly wrote this, my lady Azella, having already boarded the ship, choked by grief and tears, I thank my God that He has deigned me to be one of those whom the world hates. Pray that I return from Babylon to Jerusalem, and that it is not Nebuchadnezzar who rules over me, but Jesus, the son of Josedek: let Ezra come, which is interpreted as “helper,” and take me to my homeland. I was foolish when I wanted to sing the song of the Lord in a foreign land and, leaving Mount Zion, I turned to Egypt for help. I forgot the Gospel warning that he who leaves Jerusalem immediately falls into the hands of robbers, he is naked, wounded and killed. If the priest and the Levite passed with contempt, there is, however, that merciful Samaritan who, in response to the reproach of the Jews: you are a Samaritan and have a demon (John 8:48), denied the demon in himself, did not deny that he was a Samaritan, because the Jews called the one whom we call a guard (custos) a Samaritan. Let some consider me a villain; I will gladly send them a slave as evidence of fidelity. And the Jews called my Lord a sorcerer; The apostle was also considered a rebel. I am not exempt from human temptations (1 Cor. 10). What kind of hardship did I endure while fighting for the cross? They charged me with the dishonor of a false crime. But I know whether the kingdom of heaven is achieved with good or bad glory. Greet Paul and Eustochius, mine in Christ, whether the world likes it or not. Greet Mother Albina and Sister Marcellina and Saint Felicity and tell them: we will stand together before the judgment seat of Christ, and there it will be revealed who lived how. Remember me, you, an example of purity and an adornment of virginity, and tame the waves of the sea with your prayers. Saraballum - in Parthian language means the role of the long robe of Blessed. Jerome uses this word in his commentary on chapter 3. books of St. Daniel. Turma - a detachment of Roman cavalry of 30 people. According to other options: and by the grace of God, night comes sooner than it should (celeriore cursu naturae). that is, he is deprived of any opportunity to spread his false teaching. We are talking about the Arian Auxentius, Bishop of Milan, predecessor of St. Ambrose. Jerome uses here verses from Virgil's Georgic: Verum haec ipse equidem spatiis exclusus iniquis, Praetereo, atque aliis post me memoranda relinquo. In all likelihood, this is the Theodosius, whose story was described by Theodoret in the biographies of the saints, chapters. 10. He founded a monastery at Posce in Cilicia on the seashore. Cheat. Acts Ap. Chapter 8; Dan. Chapter 14 Voluntate iam martyres - who in the depths of their souls decided to be martyrs for Christ, although they did not have to prove this in practice. Jerome uses verses from Virgil's Aeneid: Tunc mibi caeruleus supra caput astitit imber; Tunc maria undique et undique coelum. J. Of course: – sadness about the death of Innocent. Оnesmus, quo, volut tratie, in osculo fruebatur. Untranslatable play on words. The expression fruebatur was used by Jeremiah in correspondence with the Greek verb ἐνύομαι - enjoy, - from which the name Onesimus came. Jesus Christ showed His glory to the Apostles on the day of transfiguration, leading them to a high mountain, one person Mark, ch. 9, 2 et seq. Mf. 17, 1 et seq. According to another option, nulla Euriporum (instead of riporum) moenitate perfruitur - he does not enjoy pleasant fountains. Euripi was the name given to the fountains and water cannons built by the rich in their gardens. Proverb – amicus fidus diu quaeritur, vix invenitur, difficile servatur. The custom of public exhibition of statues and other valuables is indicated. With these words, Hieron expresses, as it were, a premonition of the subsequent discord with Rufinus. Pennatis, ut ajunt, pedibus. A metaphor borrowed from the mythological idea of ​​Mercurius, who had winged legs. Treviri - present-day Trier. Treveri were a people who lived in Germany or, according to the ancient geographical division, in Belgian Gaul and gave their name to the city of Trier. Plagiatorem esse – actually: that he selects from other people’s works Jerome calls the Spanish hydra (Hibera exeetra) one of his ill-wisher and detractors, recalling, of course, the mythological story about the hydra struck by Hercules. It should be remembered that Bonosus lived on an island surrounded by the sea, and Jerome remained in the dry Syrian deserts Virgil's verse in 4 books. Aeneids, omnia tuta timens. Pliny says about the forgetfulness of lynxes that if they suddenly turn back while feeding, then forgetting about the prepared food, they look for another. See Chapter 1. Apocalypse page 14. His head and His hair are white, like white yarini, like snow. Fortunatian, originally from Afer. Bishop of Aquileia, wrote an interpretation of the Gospels in a short and simple style. Sextus Aurelius Victor wrote a history of the emperors from Augustus to Theodosius. Fragments of this story have survived to this day. Novatian was a Roman heretic presbyter. Jerome calls him a schismatic because he attempted to rebel against the episcopal see of Cornelius. Of course, the work of St. Cyprian (against the heresy of Novatus) that those who have fallen into sin after baptism should be accepted to repentance. Parvulus nepos, instead of Nepotianus (to which Jerome also wrote), is a play on words. Vidua, a widow, unmarried, abandoned by her husband, is a generally defenseless woman. In te omnis domus inclinata recumbit. Aen. 12. Proper comments regarding this letter, which contains excessive praise for the Roman throne and unjust reproach for Eastern Christians, can be read in 6ig. Jerome pp. LIV-LV. Haegesis unionis - so with St. Ilaria lib. de Synodis num. 26. The heresy of Sabellius is indicated, since Sabellius recognized the one. Ursinus or Ursitsin was a contemporary Arian to Pope Damasus, a seeker for the Roman throne. Auxentius was an evil Arian, against whom the speech of St. Ambrose of Milan: de non tratendis Basilicis. That is, in Arian, as can be seen in the course of the letter Blazh. Jerome, apparently, cited the text from Ev. John from memory and therefore not entirely accurate. Regarding this passage, all commentators of Jerome are in difficulty. Perhaps: St. Gregory of Nazianzus. That is: we will have pity on the reader and listeners. In some editions of Jerome, the explanation of the 6th chapter. Isaiah in this letter to Pope Damasus ends with this; in others, the subsequent explanation of vv. 6–9 is added here. It is written in response to the following letter from Damasus to Jerome. “To his beloved son, Jerome, Bishop Damasus wishes health in the Lord. When I read the commentaries written long ago and recently in Greek and Latin by our, that is, Orthodox men to explain what it means: Hosanna to the son of David (Matthew 21:9), these comments seemed not only different, but even contradictory to each other. It is the work of your love to write with a fresh thought about what hosanna means among the Jews, analyzing opinions, rejecting ambiguities with your ardent, energetic mind - and for this work, as well as for many other things, may our care bring you grace in Christ Jesus. The Slavic translation reads instead "Let there be no fornicator among the children of Israel." Nihil Babylonium, nihil contusionis. It must be remembered that Babylon means confusion. in plumis – actually: in down jackets These words were spoken not by Job, but by Jehovah, and not about the devil, but about Leviathan. Bl. Jerome was led into error either by forgetfulness or as a result of being carried away by the train of his thoughts. The Manichaeans did not eat meat, saying that they should not eat a dead body, since the divine substance came out of it, and they did not drink wine, calling it the bile of the prince of darkness. Pestis agapetarum. ’ Αγαπητη – beloved; this respectable name was often abused to denote purely sensual relationships. Nonnas were the name given to Virgins who were dedicated to God and led an immaculate life. Fulbertus in poenitentiis laicorum: si quis nonnam corruperit, septem annis poeniteat. “Whoever corrupts nonna, let him grieve for 7 years.” The meaning of this expression is this: just as God the father alone without a mother gives birth to the word, so St. The Virgin Mary gave birth to Christ alone without a husband For this expression he severely reproached Bl. Hieronymus Rufinus (lib. 2. invectiv). “You said that God has a mother-in-law; such an ungodly, such a sinful thought could hardly have been expressed by any pagan poet,” etc. Eustochia's only brother, Tokotius, was alive when Jerome wrote this letter, and lived for a long time: sister Blesilla, a widow, was also alive. Obviously bl. Jerome speaks allegorically here. Geranopepa, quae vulgo pipizo nominatur. It is very likely that the word geranopepa was the name of a crane chick, from the Greek γερανός - crane and πιπος (in Latin pipio, and according to the incorrect common pronunciation rera) - chick. Pliny, the Roman naturalist, says (lib 10, cap. 49): erant in mensarum honore vipiones (otherwise pipiones) sie vocant minores grues. That is, King Diomedes, about whose horses Lucretius (lib. 5) says: Et Diomedis equi spirantes naribus ignem. That is, Diomedes' horses have flames emanating from their nostrils. Written in the same year as the previous letter. Blazh. Jerome adheres to the Jewish division of the psalms. In accordance with the opinion of the Jews, he says in a letter to Cyprian that the psalms are divided into five books. The named consul in question is called Vetius Agorius Praetextatus, as the ancient inscription says. Under the consuls Valentinian II and Valens II, he was prefect of Rome, as Marcellinus writes. He died as praetorian prefect under Theodosius, having been appointed consul the following year. The wife of Praetextatus was Paulina, the great priestess of Ceres, as can be seen from the ancient inscription cited by Smetius. She imagined that her husband’s soul lived in the milky palace of the sky, since, according to the pagans, on the Milky Way was the homeland of immortality, and the houses of those who were included in the number of gods. Written two days after the previous one. It must be understood as a private, but not solemn dedication; because according to Rule 4 of the 3rd Council of Carthage it was not allowed to initiate girls under 25 years of age. Subsequently, Leo was the first in his ancient official (pantificali) to postpone this period to the age of forty. Written in the same year 384. Written shortly after the previous one This option (tempori servientes, Domino servientes) also occurs in the Greek ancient codes of the new testament; of which in others it is read τφ καιρφ, in others τφ κυριφ. Both readings were known to the church fathers, who preferred the latter as the correct one. In the Slavic translation, instead of Paran, shaded thickets This letter contains a response to the following letter from Pope Damasus to Jerome: “To my beloved son Jerome Damasus. Since you have dozed off and for a long time you have been reading more than you are writing, then, having sent you several questions, I decided to wake you up, not because you should not read, for reading, like daily bread, feeds and saturates thought, but because reading bears fruit only when you write. However, through the postman who arrived to me yesterday, you inform me that you now have no works, except for those that you once wrote in the desert, and which I read and copied with such greed; and for the future you promise, if I wish, to write something during the waking hours of the night: I willingly accept the offer of what I myself wanted to ask for, even if you refused. I don’t think that there could be any other conversation more worthy of our attention than a mutual conversation about the scriptures, that is, if I ask and you answer. In this world, I don’t find anything more pleasant than this kind of passing of life, when i.e. a spiritual meal is sweeter for us than any honey. How sweet, says the prophet, your words are sweeter to my throat than honey to my mouth (Ps. 119:103). “If, according to the famous orator, we are people, we differ from animals in that we can speak; then how much praise is worthy of the one who excels other people precisely in that in which people are superior to animals? And so, be kind, discuss the questions proposed below, satisfying the double requirement so that the questions do not remain unanswered and the letter does not lose its brevity. Because, I confess to you, I read the works of Lactaptius long ago given to me reluctantly; since most of his letters are stretched to a thousand lines, and rarely discuss our dogma, when reading, they bore me with their length; and if any of them are short, then they are more suitable for scholastics than for us, since they treat meters, the state of countries and philosophers. 1. What does it mean that it is written in the book of Genesis: everyone who killed Cain will take revenge seven times (Gen. 4:15). 2. If God created all good and evil, then why did Noah take from clean and unclean animals? Can anything unclean be good? And in the new testament, to the words of Peter, with the vision shown to him: no way, Lord, because no one has eaten anything that is bad or unclean, - a voice from heaven answered: even if God has cleansed it, do not defile it (Acts 10:14-15). 3. Why did God tell Abraham that the sons of Israel would return from Egypt in the fourth generation, and Moses later writes: the sons of Israel came out of the land of Egypt in the fifth generation (Exod. 13, 18 according to LXX). This appears to be a contradiction, of course, until it is explained. 4. Why did Abraham accept circumcision as a sign of his faith? 5. Why did Isaac, a righteous man and pleasing to God, bless not the one he wanted, but by mistake the one he didn’t want? Una lucubrationc, prop. in one nightly sitting by candlelight. See Ps. 98, 6. Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among them that call upon his name. See letter from the imp. Constantine to Milziad of Rome and Mark or Merocles of Milan in the church. history of Eusebius, book. X.5. Here blzh. Jerome made a mistake. The Donatist cause was inherited in the name of the Emperor not under Sylvester, but under Milziades. See bl. Augustine book 1 against Julian. Of course, Pavlina, the wife of the appointed consul Praetextatus; pagan priestess. See above the letter from Blessed. Jerome 22, p. 146. That is, while pronouncing the above words of the Savior. Ambrose, first a follower of Marcion, then, due to the influence of Origen, turned to the church - a deacon and confessor of Christ - is mentioned in the catalog of church writers; Chapter 36. Since, thanks to his zeal, expense and perseverance, Origen dictated many books Balneas poterent. 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