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That the first cause of Adam’s fall was unreason and complete ignorance of oneself 1. Many believe there are many and different reasons for Adam’s fall: some are unbelief, others are disobedience, others are pride and love of glory, and others are various other reasons. We do not recognize any of them as primary, except for unreason and failure to consider all things. 2. The first commandment for Adam in paradise was to do and keep, that is, to do with the mind in order to understand well, and to keep the commandment so as not to break it. But since he did not do it with his mind, he did not keep the commandments, for from not doing it intelligently, first of all, unbelief arose in Adam - unbelief to God, who spoke and commanded; then disobedience and crime were born from unbelief; from crime came a falling away from the Lord’s grace and alienation from His Divine love. 3. If Adam had understood the Benefactor and reasoned about the commandment, he would not have disbelieved the commandment, and if he had believed, he would not have disobeyed, would not have eaten from the commanded tree, would not have been expelled from paradise, would not have fallen into death and corruption, and God would not have worked so many miracles for us until he brought us to reason and knowledge of all things. 4. Just as Adam fell away from God and His grace not for any other reason, but because of foolishness, so we can join Him in no other way, but only through reason and knowledge of all things. For whoever truly knew himself, he knew God, and whoever knew God, he knew himself - he united with God and, having rested from all his deeds and labors, entered the sanctuary of God and always brings mental service to God. 5. But no one can know God until he first knows himself; He does not know himself as he should, if he does not first come to the knowledge of creation and to the consideration of all things visible and intelligible in the world. And when he comes to the knowledge of creatures, then he can come to the knowledge of himself and God. And thus he will come into perfect union of love with God. 6. So, if anyone truly wants to know the Lord, to know himself and to unite with Him in love, he must first know all creation, visible and intelligible, in order to have an examination of all things and all creation: from whom and for what purpose is all this - so that not a single thing is hidden from him and does not cause bewilderment; then to know yourself and everything about yourself is a mystery; then to know God and all His ineffable benefits. Thus a person comes to perfect knowledge of everything. For it is appropriate to first understand everything below, then to understand what is above: we must not descend from the highest to the lower, but from the lower we must ascend to the highest. Therefore, God placed before our eyes all creation and the entire structure of the world as a kind of school or mirror, so that, learning, we would ascend from what is below to what is above. But if we do not understand the things below, then how can we understand the things above? 7. From reason and knowledge is born faith, from faith - keeping the commandments of God, from keeping the commandments of God - trust in God, and from trust in God - Divine love, which, increasing gradually, leads to gradual union with God and - the fulfillment of the law and the prophets. 8. As reason flourishes, so does faith increase; as faith grows, virtues multiply, and trust in God intensifies; and as much as someone trusts, he loves God, and as much as anyone loves God, he unites with him, enjoying His Divine glory. 9 . Unbelief is born from unreason, from unbelief - disobedience, and from disobedience - every sin and crime. How can anyone believe without understanding anything? How can an unbeliever and one who does not understand anything keep the commandments of the Lord? How can one who does not keep the commandments of the Lord have trust in God and love for Him? No way. 10. So, first of all, it is appropriate to learn not only external labor, but also intelligent work: reason and knowledge. He who has learned reason and knowledge of all things conveniently believes everything - keeps all the commandments of the Lord, trusts in God, loves Him with all his heart and - unites with Him as one: everything happens in God and God abides in him. Such a one, before the resurrection, accepts the resurrection of the soul and before the end of his life inherits eternal life, because with him - the life of reason and knowledge - the death of wordlessness is sacrificed: “For this,” it is said, “is eternal life, that we may know the Lord” (John 17:3); and not to understand Him is death. About what is appropriate to do with reason and keep the commandments of the Lord 1. We said that the primary cause and beginning of Adam's fall was foolishness; The reason for a good undertaking and doing is reason, but reason, I say, is true and right, for true reason is pleasant, and wrong reason is rejected. But the right mind grows and multiplies from intelligent doing and from keeping the commandments of the Lord, just as in paradise Adam was commanded to do and keep, but since he did not do it with his mind, he did not keep the commandments. 2. And demons are considered reasonable and wise, but they do not abide in the truth and do not want to abide in it, and therefore they are rejected. Just as mercy without truth is unpleasant, so unrighteous wisdom is also unpleasant, but both must be equal, as the prophet says: “I will sing to You of mercy and judgment, O Lord; So one should have reason and immaculately glorify it on a par with truth. 3. God loves and does not demand anything more than the truth and right reason, therefore, all our feats, all labors and all concerns must be directed towards acquiring right reason, containing the truth and remaining in it until death: “Be faithful to Me ... until death, and I will give you the crown of life,” says the Lord (Apoc. 2:10). Yet all those who philosophize depravedly and speak against the truth, although they are wise and much They make intrigues and preach lies instead of the truth, but a lie can never be truth pleasing to the Lord. 4. Heretics and all evil-doers also seem wise and reasonable, but they do not abide and do not want to abide in the truth, for they have darkened their minds and are blinded by their lies. Therefore, their wisdom is rejected and trampled upon: wisdom with lies and philosophy with untruth cannot be accepted. For example: how can Western philosophers of wisdom, who think contrary to the Church, who contain truth in untruth, be accepted by God? No way. 5. A mind that deviates from the truth is wrong and unpleasant to God. One who is in such a mind falls into evil actions, falls under the power of the father of lies - the demon, and deviates into various heresies. And whoever seeks true and right reason seeks the Lord and finds Him, for no one can find Him anywhere except in true and right reason. 6. Just as those who shoot incorrectly never hit the target, so those who think incorrectly are far from the mind of God. Many want to get closer to him, many fight, many are anxious about this; However, not everyone achieves the goal directly, therefore, while the goal is far away, they remain unknown. 7. “What is born of the flesh is flesh, but what is born of the Spirit is spirit,” says the Lord (John 3:6). Just as flesh, combining with flesh, gives birth to flesh, so the right and true mind, uniting in the knowledge of all things with the mind of God, conceives the fruit of the spirit and, always being in certain deeds, after a while gives birth to the spirit. “For Thy fear...,” says the prophet, “we received in the womb and was sick, and gave birth to the spirit of salvation” (Is. 26:18) - the Lord’s grace and His Divine love. Those who do not have the right mind will never receive this. 8. But for one who wants to have a right mind, constant mental activity is required, for one who does not enlighten the mind with reason and does not care about this, even if he has a natural mind and trained by external wisdom, does not receive any benefit from it. Just as gold that is in the ground, not processed and not burnt, is of little value, or like a tree that is not cleaned, not grafted, not replanted, bears little fruit, and even that is not sweet, so the mind, not enlightened by the mind of God, either remains barren, or bears bitter fruits that are worthless. To the extent that someone takes care of cultivating his mind, he will receive fruit from it and see its breadth. 9 . The mental activity by which we can draw closer and completely unite with the Lord is the following: first of all, to know all creation, visible and intelligible - from whom and for what was it created, where is it being led and directed? - to be sure of this truly. Then get to know yourself and everything about yourself, the sacrament with all its benefits. This is what right and true reason consists of: to know all this in detail, so that not a single thing is hidden from it and does not leave any bewilderment - to know and deepen it in oneself for a long time so that the reason with this knowledge grows together and is united into one. He who has not achieved this and dares to think highly of himself and theologize, even if he has assimilated all the wisdom of this world, is unreasonable, blind in everything and will not escape the snares of the evil one. 10. Anyone who wants to more conveniently come to the knowledge of creation, to the knowledge of himself and to the knowledge of the Lord, let him read as often as possible a booklet called “sedmodnevnik”, in which this is written in more detail. But all this cannot be done without labor, great feat, and constant mental activity over a long period of time. Just as a grain of wheat, being thrown into the ground, does not immediately grow into an ear, or leaven, being placed in three sacks of flour, does not immediately leaven, according to the Gospel parable, so the knowledge of the creature, oneself and God is not immediately given to man. Having received the leaven from the word of God, the wife (soul) puts it in three measures of flour, that is, in the three main powers of the soul (mind, feeling and will), warms it in herself for a long time, as if she ferments her soul with the word of God, until it is completely sour in the knowledge and enlightenment of her mind and in the knowledge of all the sacraments about herself. About the fact that whoever does not cultivate his mind - does not purify it - cannot have a right and true mind 1. A mind that has not been cultivated and purified over a long period of time is an unreasonable mind—a wrong and untrue mind. There is difference in the mind, as in all external things. There is a perfect mind - spiritual, there is a mediocre mind - spiritual, and there is also a very crude mind - carnal. Just as in external training, or in teaching any craft, no one can become proficient if he does not always study and take care of it, so no one will learn perfect - spiritual - intelligence and purification of the mind if he does not always have diligence in this. 2. Whoever does not take care to personally follow the narrow path of the Gospel and neglects to cleanse his mind is blind in soul, even if he has studied all external wisdom: he clings only to the letter that kills, but does not accept the quickening spirit, and not only others, but also cannot completely correct himself. For the mind of this world is another thing, and the spiritual mind is another. All the saints from the Most Holy Spirit learned spiritual reason and were enlightened like the sun in the world, and now they learn reason not from the Holy Spirit, but from Aristotle, Cicero, Plato and other pagan sages, therefore, having deviated from the path of right reason, they suffer extreme blindness and lies. The saints learned the commandments of Christ and smart work, but these learn only the art of speaking eloquently: all their wisdom is on the tongue, but inside the soul there is darkness and darkness. 3. Right and true reason cannot be comfortably deepened into the soul without great and long-term labor and achievement. Carnal lusts are mortified to the extent of labor and achievement, and to the extent that lusts are mortified, true reason grows and flourishes. But everyone must have a thorough feat, consisting of external labor and smart work: one cannot be accomplished without the other. 4. He who studies external wisdom but neglects spiritual wisdom is like having one eye or one leg. The external wisdom of this world and bodily labor without intelligent work are like dry teats or a barren tree, as someone said. Therefore, the saints did not stop at external work and teaching alone, but took care to become accustomed to internal work, that is, mental purification. If they studied only external teaching, and did not study spiritual teaching, they would not be holy, and the grace of the Most Holy Spirit would not abide in their souls. 5. All those who learned external instruction about internal spiritual work - enlightenment and purification of the mind - became careless, became completely mad, were corrupted by various passions or fell into destructive heresies, such as: Arius, Sabellius, Eutyches and many others who “without temptation, have God in their minds; For this reason God gave them over to an unskilled mind, to do things that are not like them,” says the apostle (Rom. 1:28). 6. If someone assimilates all the wisdom of this world, but does not purify his mind, does not enlighten his soul, he cannot unite with God. But he who is not united with the Lord in the mind and spirit walks along unknown paths. The mind, as we said, is cleansed and enlightened by extreme feat: keeping the Lord’s commandments and constant mental activity, especially constant warm tears. Otherwise, no one can achieve intelligent enlightenment. 7. Every mind, being not cultivated, not enlightened, not salted with the grace of the Most Holy Spirit, will become mad and stink with various passionate thoughts and deeds. Reason is naturally given to everyone from God, but if not exercised, it becomes darkened and becomes dark, but if exercised, it becomes clear and comes to perfect enlightenment. 8. Just as the smallest child does not require training in how to see the light with his bodily eyes (if it does not hurt his eyes), so no one requires external training in spiritual wisdom and union of the mind with the Lord, except for purification and mental enlightenment. For many, being very simple and unskilled in external teaching, nevertheless learned spiritual wisdom - by intelligently doing and keeping the commandments of the Lord and were partakers of great gifts, such as Anthony, Pachomius, Paul the simple and others. 9 . The mind exists before all external learning and literacy. For the mind did not appear as a result of literacy and did not grow from external training, but all this was born and grew from the mind. God naturally gave everyone a mind, and the mind of external learning originated from people, so we should be most concerned about purifying the mind. The mind, being purified and enlightened, can understand everything external and internal, for it is spiritual, and judge everything, but no one can judge it itself, said the apostle (1 Cor. 2:15). 10. “Every sacrifice will be salted with salt,” said the Lord (Mark 9:49), but not being salted, it will stink. Likewise, the soul is an inherent sacrifice to God, according to what is said: “The sacrifice to God is a broken spirit” (Ps. 50:19), but, not being salted with the salt of grace of the Most Holy Spirit, it stinks of madness in every possible way and is filled with various passions. If someone comprehends all the wisdom of this world, but is not salted with the salt of the Holy Spirit and does not participate in the grace of the Lord, he will remain very indecent and, as not having an inscribed royal image, will be cast out of the palace of Christ. “If anyone does not have the spirit of Christ, he does not carry Him,” said the apostle (Rom. 8:9). About the fact that in spiritual work one must work and strive until someone comes to the enlightenment of the mind 1. The external human mind of this world requires external human teaching, and the spiritual - internal (mind) - must seek not human, but Divine teaching from the Lord Himself. Human science is different, and God’s science is different. Just as a person learns human teaching from people, so it is fitting for Divine teaching to be learned from God. Just as a person who has not learned from people cannot understand human teaching as it should, so a soul that has not been taught from God through mental activity, through prayer and heartfelt - tearful - tenderness, cannot learn the Divine mind and everything of God. But he who has learned from God the Divine can understand everything human, without having learned any human teaching. But one who has not been taught from God the Divine cannot at all understand the Divine in itself, except for the human - carnal. The Holy Spirit is the source of all wisdom and intelligence: only those who receive Him can know and understand everything internal and external. 2. The apostles did not learn from people to speak in other tongues, but through the invasion of the Most Holy Spirit they suddenly began to speak in various tongues, “as He had given them the Spirit” (Acts 2:4). And the Lord did not open a book to teach His disciples; but “open their minds to understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:45). Therefore, all that is required of us is diligence and diligent feat in order to accept and receive grace: we will conveniently find and have everything we need, if only we have diligent care. For every teaching and every thing is given to diligence and diligent application. The one who cares, in any case, will learn both external and everything spiritual, but the one who does not care and has no care cannot learn or learn anything. That is why the Lord, teaching and encouraging us, says: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; ask, and it will be opened to you; For everyone who asks receives it, and everyone who seeks finds it, and it will be opened to the one who asks” (Matthew 7:7-8). 3. Just as in external teaching there are various advances and degrees, so in spiritual learning there are spiritual advances and degrees. As you strive carefully and succeed, the enlightenment of the mind is given, and as the mind is enlightened, the grace of the Lord is given. To the extent that one strives especially, to the extent one succeeds, to the extent one is enlightened, and to the extent one is united with the Lord. He who has succeeded, who has been enlightened in his soul and united with the Lord in his mind, is confident in his salvation; before the resurrection of the flesh, he was resurrected in soul and always lives for the Lord. 4. To the extent that one practices rational activity, to the extent one recognizes one’s weakness, and to the extent one recognizes one’s weakness, to the extent one becomes enlightened in the mind, to the extent one succeeds in humility and tenderness. No one recognizes his weakness except through a long time and much art, until he understands his weakness completely and from all sides and actually knows that he has nothing of his own. 5. But no one recognizes his weakness until he is curbed and crushed by various temptations, and until then he is completely unable to come to the knowledge of himself and his weakness and be humble until he experiences all this (temptations) on himself. Therefore, God usually first tests His servants with various temptations - yes, having recognized their weakness, they will always remain humble, not relying on themselves at all, for gold and silver are not perfect without testing through kindling with fire. 6. Just as a plant called flax or hemp, if it is not broken and crushed in wooden tools designed for this purpose, then no one can make anything from it - neither rope, nor thread, nor linen, nor anything else needed for use in business, so a soul, not curbed and not softened by various temptations, will not be able to come to a perfect knowledge of its weakness and humility. All this requires a lot of work, and feat, and constant mental activity until one recognizes himself and his weakness and remains always humble. 7. “This work is before me, until I enter into the sanctuary of God” (Ps. 73:16-17), says the prophet. Until then, a person must have labor and struggle, until he sees, until he comes to perfect knowledge of himself, until he unites himself with God with love. When he knows himself, when he is completely united with love, then he will not have any achievement or labor, then he will see himself in peace, joy and always fun. 8. Until then it is difficult for the blind until he receives his sight; until the sick person is ill until he recovers; Until then, the student’s need, until he learns, but when he learns well, has no difficulty. What kind of work is it for someone who can see well to see the light? What kind of work is it for one who knows himself, who knows God, to know everything that exists? What kind of work and what kind of feat is it for someone who loves to love his beloved? There is no work. On the contrary, everything is joyful and desirable for such a person. He who was blind and regains his sight already abhors blindness and has no difficulty in seeing, but joyfully enjoys the light. He who knows everything and is enlightened in his mind abhors madness. He who has acquired wealth no longer wants to be poor. 9 . He who has exchanged ignorance for knowledge and enlightenment of the mind, who has transformed rage and anger into meekness, carnal sweetness and bestial lust into Divine desire and love, will be in peace and quiet, will find himself in everlasting joy and silence. Then, having seen all three parts of the soul (mind, heart and will) immersed in the depths of dispassion and enlightenment of the mind, a person in a mortified body, as in a tympanum, rejoicing in spirit, will sing a victorious song to the Lord. 10. Until you completely know yourself, until all three powers of the soul are imbued with knowledge, the enlightenment of the mind, and the purification of the passions, until you are reconciled with God, until you unite with Him into one spirit - until then you cannot be without sorrow, you cannot be without fear and dread. And when you unite with God and when you love Him with all your heart, then you will always be without fear and sorrow: you will always rejoice and be glad in spirit in the One God, forever and ever. About the fact that in everything one should follow reason and reasoning, and not dumb flesh 1. Before all things and in all matters (things), let the right mind and reasoning always precede and precede you - and you will never be deceived in anything, you will be above all delusions. Just as all external things cannot be seen without eyes, so internal spiritual objects can only be understood by reason and mental consideration. 2. Don’t start and never do anything until, uniting in prayer with God, you have reasoned. For nothing makes a person so unstumbling and untroubled - in all things - as right reason and reasoning. “Yes, understand about everyone, even if you do” (Joshua 1:7), the Lord said to Joshua. 3. Just as a blind man walks unsafely, so a madman does nothing good. Therefore, do not obey carnal lust and desire, but always follow only reason and reasoning in every thing. 4. The primary cause of Adam's fall, as has been said, is foolishness. If he had reasoned about the commandment given to him from God, if he had followed reason, he would not have disobeyed - he would not have been seduced by eating from the commanded tree. 5. Following reason and reasoning, no one can fall, and he who does not have right reason cannot do anything good. Just as the beginning and root of all sin are madness and wordless ignorance of oneself, so the beginning and root of all good are right reason and reasoning. 6. The blind man with outer eyes stumbles in all his ways in many ways; so he who lacks right reason, without following reasoning, always walks in the darkness of foolishness and sin. And he who knows himself and sees the mental light always and in everything happens without stumbling. 7. What is sin? The action of carnal lust. And what is the action of carnal lust? Nothing short of madness. No one sins except one who is in madness and lack of judgment: all good is done in reason, and all evil is done in foolishness. 8. Every sin is always preceded by madness, and virtues and good deeds are preceded by reason. Unreason will never give a person peace and complete consolation if reason itself, with its enlightenment, does not calm and console the soul. Just as a blind man cannot have peace until he sees the light, so a madman cannot have peace until he comes to his senses. 9 . Moreover, reason and reasoning should be preferred to all virtues, because in reason and reasoning lies the beginning and reason for all good; so that virtue cannot be, as it should be, virtue, if reason and reasoning do not help and guide it. 10. Just as of all natural senses, sight of the visible is the most excellent and most joyful, so in everything mental and intelligible, the most excellent and most comforting are reason and knowledge of all things. This is what eternal life is all about! This is where both the falling away and the acceptance of languor lie! About the need to prefer fasting and have abstinence in everything 1. If you want to have a right mind and conveniently overcome all your passions, always keep fasting and abstinence, do not be enslaved by carnal sensuality, so as not to exhaust your whole life in the darkness of wordlessness and unrest and not receive a reward for this, having lost your heavenly reward. 2. Beware of overeating and drunkenness in every possible way, for in them is the beginning and root of all sin, in them is the incentive to fornication and uncleanness, in them is the preparation for eternal languor. Intemperance gives birth to everything evil; Because of this, our great-grandfather Adam sadly lost paradise and fell into death. From overeating and drunkenness come: burden of the soul, darkness of the mind, rebellion of carnal lust, constant struggle, easy access for the demon and alienation from Divine love. 3. From overeating and drunkenness comes not only harm to the soul, but also illness to the body; from abstinence and sobriety not only benefits the soul, but also health and ease of life for the body; overeating and drunkenness deprive not only eternal life, but also temporary life - they destroy both soul and body together; in general, they make a person obscene to God and people. Temporary sweetness prepares a person for eternal sorrow if someone madly clings to it. A temperate and sober life is heaven on earth, but a corrupt and sinful life is hell on earth and great torment. 4. Conquer the sweets and possess them, so that they do not defeat you and do not possess you, if you want to freely achieve an eternally blissful life. “To him who overcomes,” said the Lord, “I will give food from the tree of the animal that is in the midst of paradise” (Apoc. 2:7). And again: “Do not do that which perishes in vain, but that which abides in eternal life, for the flesh profiteth nothing” (John 6:27, 63). Therefore, do not rely too much on your consolation, which is given to you for a very short time, but seek true consolation in God, which will remain with you forever. 5. Beware of immensity and diminishment in everything; keep the right and reasonable faith in everything. If you want to conveniently find peace of mind, always have abstinence in everything. On the contrary, you will never find peace and quiet in intemperance. Know that if the sweetest food were dissolved with poison, you would not eat it if you did not want to taste death with it, if you did not even want to touch it. 6. Despise the satiation of the belly - lest you be taken and bound by the bonds of passions. Endure greed and thirst for carnal pleasure - you will be freed from mental heaviness and filled with Divine food, for he who does not endure small greed has to suffer from great passionate disasters. If you compare bodily sweetness with vanity, the pleasure of the flesh with heaviness, temporary consolation with spiritual sorrow, then know that you will no longer want to be seduced by this, for corruptible sweetness is not sweetness, but bitterness of the soul, pleasing the flesh is not pleasure, but irritation and burden, temporary consolation is not consolation, but sorrow and sadness are not the kingdom of heaven, but the deprivation of it: “For the kingdom of heaven is not food and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,” says the apostle (Rom. 14:17). 7. Do not attach your heart to earthly pleasures, for they are temporary and perishable. Do not place your consolation in drink and earthly food; but seek the best in God—the heavenly ones. Even if you now abundantly enjoyed all the food and drinks and drank abundantly, it is not appropriate for you to attach your heart to them, because there they will not remain with you forever, for everything earthly is temporary, only the heavenly is eternal and immutable. 8. Go through your whole life from a young age with your mind and remember how much you have already eaten and drunk for a long time, and it will seem to you that you have never eaten or drunk enough: everything has been destroyed, as if it never existed, and now there is no benefit from it, or even remembrance. And both then and now, if you enjoy all the food and drinks, you will receive nothing more than harm, and after each time you are filled with sweets you will have a heaviness of soul and a renewal of passions. Therefore, do not want to receive bribes from them here, but place all your hope in heavenly rewards. 9 . Reject temporary, bodily pleasures - so that you do not lose eternal pleasure and do not lose eternal life. Pleasing carnal pleasure is nothing more than mental burden and strong languor of conscience; this is not so much consolation as sorrow, not so much sweetness as then burden. The consolation that is immediately followed by grief and sadness is vain. 10. Those who enslaved themselves to overeating and drunkenness did nothing good and worthy of memory in the world, but, carried away by real life, they made themselves unworthy of eternal life and destroyed the memory of themselves among the good. So, if you eat, eat without partiality; if you drink, drink without the lust of your heart, for your perfection is not here: all this will pass and will soon change. About not being enslaved by carnal sensuality, but always seeking spiritual consolation in the Lord 1. “The wealth” of all earthly delights “if it flows, do not apply your heart,” says the prophet (Ps. 61:11). Why will you put your heart into this when it is not given forever and brings you harm rather than benefit? For more than once you have experienced and known that every temporary pleasure brings heaviness, every carnal pleasure binds the soul and produces in it constant confusion - restlessness. 2. Do not feast on what you have already had pleasure and satiety more than once; you have already burdened your heart and soul with it more than once. In vigil and drinking, in sleep and in all other things, let remembrance and reasoning always precede and precede you, so that in constant forgetfulness you do not often stumble and fall into all evil: abstain from carnal lust - so that with them you will abstain all evil. 3. Seek consolation not in temporary pleasures, but seek eternal and everlasting pleasure in the Lord, who created everything. Do not submit to guttural, wordless voluptuousness, but prudently accept only what is needed. For if you submit to carnal voluptuousness, then it, having bound you with its bonds, will never give you peace and tranquility, but will miserably plunge you into all the passionate depths. Remember what sweetness and carnal lust usually lead to, and no longer wish to be seduced by them. 4. I think that you have experienced carnal pleasures not once, but many times. You know what every carnal sweetness brings heaviness, what every earthly consolation brings sadness, but you are always seduced by oblivion and then you only repent when you feel heaviness and sorrow, and when this passes, then again you turn to the same thing, “like a dog to his own vomit” (2 Peter 2:22), senselessly turning. Such is the effect of your insensibility and blindness! 5. If you do not live heavenly, do not think of delighting (receiving) heaven for nothing. If you do not reign over lusts and foolishness, you will not inherit the kingdom of heaven. “Do not flatter yourself,” it is said, “neither harlots, nor thieves, nor drunkards will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:9-10). For whoever gains something here will also have it there; whatever intention and action someone had here, such a mark will be imagined in his soul there. So, drive away from yourself the strong desire to indulge in senseless voluptuousness - so that you do not accept your reward in it and do not hear what is said: “Thou hast received thy good in thy belly” (Luke 16:25). This is not new for you - not new: more than once you have already caused yourself grief and embarrassment by this. 6. Endure a little greed and thirst for frantic gluttony - so that you do not accept greater harm and burden, and so that you do not later fall into great sorrow and sadness. Know that you have already been deceived more than once, and therefore do not want to be deceived again - so that you do not become your own warrior and a ruthless killer. 7. Do not obey carnal sweetness and lust. But turn carnal lust - food and drink - into Divine desire - so that the Divine desire characteristic of you will drive away unusual carnal sweetness and lust far from your soul and give your soul its characteristic consolation. It is said: “man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). 8. Carnal sweetness, which is not characteristic of the human soul, cannot serve as its consolation. She entered our race from Adam's crime; and, of necessity, this carnal, corruptible sweetness was allowed in for a time, because we have not yet learned to eat spiritual food and often have no desire to learn, but we senselessly refuse it and do not deign to eat it wisely. 9 . In the future endless age we will feed not on this food and drink, but on the Divine, ever-present grace of the Most Holy Spirit. Let us take care of this reasonable Divine food, which we will eat forever. For in carnal pleasure there is no proper consolation and peace: in it, on the contrary, there is constant languor and confusion of the soul - in it there is not so much consolation as hardship and sorrow, for the unusual, perishable nourishment that comes from crime cannot give the soul the typical consolation and peace, but always usually gives burden and confusion. 10. In carnal pleasures - gluttony and drinking - there is no peace and rest for the soul, but constant struggle and indignation - darkness and darkness. And that same food and drink is always associated with great care and rumors; again, in sleepy sleep there is no peace and silence, but dark dreams and lovely confusion. Divine, spiritual and immortal food is peace of the soul, silence of life, freedom of spirit, space of conscience - sweetness and everlasting joy: “For they will be drunk,” it is said, “of the fatness of Thy house, and I will give Thy stream of sweetness to drink” (Ps. 35:9). About the fact that one should always and in everything follow reason and not senseless carnal lusts 1. God gave man intelligence and placed him as a kind of king over lusts and desires, so that he would always take care and learn how to possess them wisely and beneficially. Therefore, follow reason in everything, and not senseless lust, for if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit (Luke 6:39). Let reason rule over lusts and desires, and not lust over reason. It is bad if lusts possess you, and not you possess them. Where slaves have a master, nothing good can happen in that house except constant confusion, grief and sadness, disorder and confusion. God created you intelligent; Don’t be mad: don’t arbitrarily give yourself up – in your mind – to the power and slavery of carnal lusts and pleasures. 2. In every thing, understand and know your time, and do not be led by senseless lusts: do not do anything untimely, but in due time have self-control in everything. Learn to restrain senseless lusts with your mind, so as not to fall into all sorts of sins and into everlasting sorrows and sorrows. It is very fearful and scary to ride an untrained stallion, and it is also uncomfortable for your soul to act in the flesh, unbridled by reason and self-restraint. 3. If you want to have a peaceful and serene life and be confident in your salvation, manage your life with your mind, and not with meaningless lusts and pleasures. If not, then you will fall into all the evil and destructive sins, followed by grief and confusion, and, finally, along with your real life, you will bitterly lose your eternally blessed life. 4. The constant, senseless gratification of carnal lust is nothing more than illness and illness, illness and relaxation, sorrow and sorrow. The more you please the flesh, the more you will relax and become very indecent: how great is the pleasure, so great are the ailments and illnesses, and no one has ever seen a glutton and a drunkard completely healthy. Constant carnal pleasure and sinful intemperance are nothing more than burden, sorrow, grief to the soul and the unknown of salvation. Remember the end of pleasure, let its burden and sorrow always remain in your soul, and I think that you will never want to be seduced by this again. 5. Therefore, take as much carnal food as you need to strengthen yourself in order to be strong for the work of God, and reject the rest as unnecessary and superfluous. Concern primarily about the work of God, about spiritual correction, which will remain with you forever, for the flesh will decay and its lusts will soon perish - one soul will live forever. It is said: “Whoever sows to the flesh... from the flesh will reap corruption, but whoever sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life” (Gal. 6:8). 6. Don’t be greedy for fleeting sweets; Do not be like those people who, having been chosen by Gideon, who saw the watered fleece, to fight at the command of God, were first tested by drinking. They, like dumb animals, carelessly bowed down, drank, and therefore God ordered them to be excommunicated as dainty and unskilled in military courage, and ordered those who drank skillfully and restrainedly to remain with them in handfuls and with them gave victory over the enemies. 7. In eating and drinking, be like a bird. For every time the bird pecks here and there, it carefully looks around to see if there are any catchers somewhere, and, as soon as it notices them, it immediately flies up, and it is inconvenient for the catcher to catch it. Be like that: always and everywhere look around in all directions and never be careless in your entire life, for you have catchers on all sides, nets from everywhere, snares from everywhere. Be careful not to fall into them, lest you be caught by anything, for, once caught, it is difficult to free yourself, and you cannot escape their heaviness and sorrow. 8. Do not be like a fly or an ant, who, for the sake of a little honeyed sweetness, ruin all their free movement. Or don’t be like pigs, who, despite the fact that they are often driven away from the garden potion and hurt in various ways, do not remember anything and return there again. Don’t be so crazy, don’t be enslaved by any of the sweets of this world. Remember that this was given for a very short time, and be free from all this. It is better to be free than to be enslaved, autocracy is better than to be bound. Be enslaved to God alone, and not to wordless, corruptible lust - so that you will be confident in your salvation. 9 . In every undertaking and deed, every thing is enhanced by right measure and consideration, and every thing produced without measure and right reason can be very harmful to a person. And this is not only in external action, but also in spiritual correction and doing: everything done without reason and consideration greatly confuses the soul. Therefore, in all things and deeds, always prefer reason and reasoning - and you will never be seduced by anything, you will not be carried away by carnal lust. 10. Remember that if you allow your carnal lusts to act without fear and consideration - in oblivion, then you will never be left without great sorrow and sorrow, because things done without reason and consideration cannot be without sorrow, sadness and strong repentance of the soul. So, never be careless in anything, but always be careful in everything, for you are not in peace, but in a struggle with this world, with the flesh and demons - you are not sitting in the house, but in the wanderings of this rebellious age, you are in temporary life, and not in eternal life, in a deplorable vale, and not in joy and carelessness. Always remember the coming time and the coming hour, and every day do not be careless and careless. About not being wounded by faces and not being enslaved by carnal lust 1. Do not be wounded in your heart by the beauty of the face of corruptible flesh, for it is grass, shadow and pus: “The grass is gone, and its flower is fallen away” (1 Peter 1:24). Divine love alone endures forever. Touch your heart with invisible beauties, but also raise your mind and soul to the Creator of the visible and invisible. 2. Like deadly poison, avoid looking at someone else's beauty with lust, avoid shameless touching, kissing and touching - so that you do not fall into the sinful depths of destruction and do not get stuck in the devil's net. Having stumbled in this, you will never be left without sorrow and hardship. 3. Do not commit fornication in your heart with the creature, lest you anger the Lord who created it. Creature and carnal pleasures bring very little consolation and immediately make one feel their abomination and the burden of the soul: a small gain and a great deprivation - a little joy and great sorrow. There is not so much consolation in this as there is later hardship and sorrow. 4. Do not be seduced by the decoration, and the figure, and the beautiful face, for all this soon disintegrates and disappears. Remember that this beauty turns into pus and stench, and after being overcome by lust there is sorrow and burden - and you will never be seduced by any beauty of the flesh and you will not be caught by sinful lust. 5. Know that sin is sweet for a short time, but bitter for a long time, little comforted, sorrowful for a long time, little joyful, but deplorable for a long time, and when the soul is separated from the body, it is very heavy and much sad for the soul. 6. If you have not yet experienced sin, do not want to test it with deeds - lest you swallow its mortal bite in sorrow. And, having not experienced it, you know how disgusting it is and what a bitter illness it causes, and, having tasted it, you can no longer avoid grief and sadness. 7. Do not accept temporary sweetness with sweetness, for all temporary sweetness that does not last forever is vanity: all carnal consolation quickly disappears, all temporary pleasure is an obvious charm and burden of the soul. Carnal lust is the death of the soul; Divine desire and love are life and everlasting joy. 8. Remember that temporary sweetness and carnal beauty are pus that turns into decay - and you will never be foolishly attached to them. Do not get carried away by carnal love and do not place your consolation in it, for although it is seductive, it is false - false and hypocritical, never worthwhile in one measure - fickle and impermanent. 9 . Do not cleave to what is eternal, and do not seek consolation in the perverse, for many, madly wounded by the beauty of their faces and seduced by carnal lust, caused much temptation and caused many to stumble, and ended their lives horribly - they became obedient servants of the demon and, for the sake of short-lived sweetness, lost an eternally blissful life. 10. Be enslaved to God alone: ​​wound your heart with His kindness and Divine love - and you will not be deceived forever, but you will be above all charms, you will find yourself in everlasting peace and tranquility and you will deserve and receive “the good part... which will not be taken away from...” you forever (Luke 10:42). About not being enslaved by lustful thoughts and evil lusts 1. Do not be overwhelmed by lustful thoughts and nasty lusts and deeds - so that you do not fall away from God. Do not compete with those who do this, lest you be the craziest of the craziest. This was allowed to people for a short time, so that they, having experienced vanity, would choose the best for themselves. But love purity and chastity with all your heart - so that you may cleave purely to the Pure One, who showed in Himself the image of purity and chastity, with Whom you will remain in inseparable love forever and ever, enjoying the Divine glory. 2. Do not repent of your intention and Christian (monastic) promise, but bring thanks to God that He freed you from the bonds of carnal work and brought you into this honest promise, into the fence of His verbal sheep, and gave you the power to be His child and move unhindered to the heavenly everlasting pleasure. If it is a great honor for people to work for an earthly king and have his blessing, then isn’t it a greater honor to please the heavenly King and always be in His love?! 3. Oh, how much better and more honest is it to live a pure angelic life according to God and to be above carnal confusion (entanglement)?! There is no surprise or praise to live according to the flesh, for not only Christians live this way, but also pagans, animals and cattle. And to live purely - angelically, in the One God - is a glorious thing, for this is how the saints lived - and united with God, and did glorious deeds on earth, and were enlightened in the world like the sun, and now rest forever in unceasing joy. There is nothing great - to live according to the flesh: to those from the outside it seems wonderful - loved, but to those who look deeper inside it seems and is very disgusting: there is a burden of conscience, darkness of the mind, a meaningless connection, bewilderment, enslavement, and at death there is great sorrow and aggravation for the soul. 4. The best worldly life according to the flesh cannot be compared with a pure angelic, chaste life. Will a good and harmonious life according to the flesh in marriage, and even more so a discordant life - meaningless enslavement, being tied hand and foot - is the worst torment of all: no children will be born? Sadness. Will they be born? Pure care. Good children are feared and cared for. Evil children produce the strongest yearning of the soul - extreme grief and sadness both about the temporary, evil life here and about the unknown of receiving it there. He who is alone (monastic) and lives in God is pure, peaceful and carefree in everything. It is more convenient for him to receive salvation, for he is not bound by anything, not enslaved by carnal passion, he always learns about God, and is always ready to die: after spending the day, he thanks the Lord, reaching evening and night, he prays. Nothing hinders him, nothing forbids him: managing his life according to the right measure, he lives as in paradise. 5. Notice what consolation carnal love and sweetness brings: short-term sweetness, and then heaviness, short-term lust, and then abomination, short-term beauty, and then pus, short-term fun, and then sorrow - and so the soul is always constantly confused and worried. He who has rejected all this and cleaves to the Lord with true love does not grieve or get sick about anything. Carnal, bestial lust and love are insane and blind in everything. Often a person is captivated and bound, but does not know why he is bound by carnal lust: it does not give eternal life, nor does it bring honor and glory, but, on the contrary, it deprives; whether she is captivated madly for the sake of beauty, but God created it, or for the sake of splendor and good qualities, but God created all this. So, it is most fitting to cleave to God, who created everything, because everything is from Him, and not from corruptible creation. 6. Why do you cleave to the creature, and not to the Creator of the creature? Do you honor the creation more than the One who created it? Who praises any work more than the one who did it? When we see any work done artistically, don’t we all say: oh, how good and wise is the artist who did this work! Are we not all surprised and praise the artist more than the work he has done, but we are less surprised at the work (not badly), because the work has not done itself and can never do it? So in the works of God we must marvel at God, and glorify Him, and cleave to Him with all our souls, and not to corruptible creatures. If you praise the creation, then praise the one who created it more, for the creation will decay and turn to dust and ashes - but the Lord is One, eternal, abiding forever and ever. So, you should not love the creature very much, because the creature did not create itself. If the creature is beautiful, it did not adorn itself so; If she is beautiful, she did not create herself that way. Therefore, cleave with all your heart to the Creator and Creator of all creation, on Whom you depend entirely. You will not find eternal peace and quiet refuge anywhere else, except in the Lord God and His most holy grace. For attachment to a creature is death, and clinging to the Creator of a creature is life and everlasting joy. 7. Many were fulfilling the lusts of the flesh and they were corrupted, and now those who fulfill them will all decay. Carnal love and lust will not continue forever, and temporary beauty will not remain so as not to turn into corruption; wealth will not remain forever, and glory will pass away, for death will come and destroy it all, as someone said: “This world and everything present is soon changing, and carnal lust, and every earthly pleasure, like a shadow, passes away. There is no carnal lust or love that does not turn into burden; there is no temporary beauty that would not change in decay; there is no carnal sweetness that does not turn into abomination; There is no lasting peace anywhere except the One True God, as the prophet Elijah was told on Mount Horeb: “The Lord was not in the storm of passions, He was not in the fire and the outbreak of fornication, He was not in the whirlwind of all sinful sensuality; but in the breath of subtle light, dispassion and purity; “There is the Lord and His grace, there is eternal peace.” 8. There were so many beautiful faces in the world, and they all decayed; there were so many beautiful creatures, and they all passed; how many pleasing and beloved creatures there were, and they all turned into stench and pus: they passed away as if they had never been. But in the future life they will not marry or be given in marriage and will no longer be able to love each other with carnal love, but will, like the angels of God, forever rejoice and be glad in the Lord God alone. They will not be comforted either by love or by carnal lust, but by the Lord alone and His grace. 9 . Truly this carnal lust and love, followed by burden, are cursed. Truly this sweetness is vain, which entails sorrow. This beauty is vain, which turns into stench and pus, which gives neither peace nor eternal life, but, on the contrary, takes them away. It is in vain that a person thinks to console himself with what is soon passing; in vain does the soul cling to that which will not remain with him forever; It will be in vain to apply your heart to that which passes by like a shadow. 10. Oh, how good it is to live purely, like an angel, serenely and carefree, together with the angelic and reverend faces! Thus, the Lord promised the living soul eternal life and will give her eternal repose, granting her everlasting joy and unceasing joy, saying to her: come, “all good is my neighbor, and there is no vice in you” (Song. 4:7). And there she will have food, drink and ever-present pleasure, the grace of the Most Holy Spirit. Such will sing before the throne of God a “new song,” which no one else can sing except those “who have not defiled themselves with women and are virgins,” says the Seer of Mysteries (Rev. 14:3–4). About the fact that carnal lust is not characteristic of man, but entered into our race from the crime of Adam 1. Having been born from corruption and sin, do not turn again to corruption and sin, but try diligently to ascend from corruption to incorruption, so that before the general resurrection you can resurrect your soul, which died from sin and passions, and bring it from death to immortality - through sinlessness and dispassion. Follow the life not of the ancient Adam, who transgressed the commandment of God, but the life of the second Adam - the sinless Christ. For those who live according to the flesh have to die, like Adam who sinned, and those who follow Christ, who died in this age for carnal wisdom, will no longer see a sorrowful death - they will only meet a joyful transmigration from the flesh to the Lord. 2. Adam would not have fallen into death and corruption if he had remained in his characteristic dispensation from the Lord - if he had remained with God, without being separated in love from the One by whom he was created. But since he left the Creator and clung to the creature - abandoned what was characteristic of the beginning of his existence and clung to the unusual, carnal, unreasonable driving, then of necessity he fell into decay and death. For, having been separated from incorruptibility and life, he necessarily fell into such an unreasonable, carnal combination and by his crime from perfect reason and age he reduced our nature to childhood and to “dumb youth,” so that we are all born into this world as small, dumb children of sin. But, being so small, do not fall into foolishness again, but prosper and grow into a mind that is perfect as you age. And having grown up yourself, try to give birth to others with your gospel, not into childish dumbness, but into perfect age and intelligence - so that you will lead everyone from the darkness of unreason to the light of reason and knowledge. 3. Do not cling to the carnal life that is unusual for you, which arose from crime, but be a prudent imitator of the sinless structure given from the Lord before the crime. For the present life according to the flesh came into existence after the transgression, but according to the spirit the dispensation was given from the Lord Himself before the transgression. So, follow the spiritual life in the Lord that existed before the crime, and not the one that appeared after the crime, so that you may be freed from death and sinful corruption before death. For it is better now - in temporary life - to voluntarily rise in spirit and always live for the Lord, than after a bitter death to hopelessly wait for resurrection and life; It is better now to leave temporary, carnal voluptuousness with justification and praise, than to later lose it with condemnation and reproach. So, do not obey carnal, unreasonable lust, but curb carnal lusts with reason - so that you do not appear as a foolish child worthy of ridicule. 4. Just as Adam and Eve in the beginning were not created from copulation and carnal, wordless lust, in the same way we all had to be born into the world: like Adam, we would all suddenly be brought from non-existence. But since Adam transgressed the commandment and willingly subjected himself to foolishness and carnal lusts, then we are destined, by necessity, to happen in this way and be born into the world. That is why our life is filled with such sorrow and sadness, crying and sobbing, and finally, we end it with bitter death. The Lord, wanting to remove the honorable from the unworthy (Jer. 15:19), determined to end our carnal life with death, so that evil would not last forever and so that all of us believers would be returned to the best, the first wealth and “original image.” For if our existence were good and perfect, then God would not seek the best from us, would not end our life with death. 5. We fell into death and corruption because we crawled from our natural state into unusual carnal lust. From the beginning we were created by the Lord not for death and not for carnal, wordless lust and combination, but for Divine desire and love. For in paradise before the crime there was no lust and carnal desire, which appeared after the crime and after expulsion from paradise, and then death entered the world. Therefore, carnal lust ends with death; being abolished by death, again - in the future eternal life - it will no longer appear. There, for all eternity, all those who please God will enjoy Divine desire and love. 6. Just as salt is born from water and, touching the water again, dissolves in it and disappears, similarly a man is born into life carnally from a wife and, when again wordlessly united with her, his soul dies for God. Therefore, having been born from a carnal, sinful union, do not again fall into sinful, carnal confusion - lest you disappear like salt. You were not created by God so that you could again turn to the same carnal, sinful actions and die, but so that, seeking the best and most blessed, you would ascend into the first wealth - the sinless dispensation of God and succeed in this. The present, legal marriage according to the flesh is pleasant, but purity and chastity are incomparably better and more glorious: Adam was originally appointed to this (that is, to purity and chastity). But marriage is now permitted - for a short time - only for those who do not want to remain pure and understand the best or cannot; purity remains forever. 7. Having been baptized into Christ and born of the second - spiritual - birth, by water and His Spirit, you were washed from original sin. Do not again be captivated by the sin of carnal lust and its actions - lest you become like a dog returning to its vomit. You have turned away from darkness and dumbness; do not turn again to darkness and dumbness, but strive for the light of reason and knowledge of all things: cleave to God, who created you, and unite with Him. You were created by God - and unite with Him in love; You have your being from Him - and cleave to Him with all your soul. From carnal, sinful lust came death and ultimate alienation from God, and through the preservation of purity - life and perfect appropriation to God. 8. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6). You were born by the spiritual birth of baptism and were born again a second time, by the spiritual birth of the promise (monasticism), therefore do not be jealous and do not envy the carnal, sinful birth and bodily confusion. But ascend to something better and more glorious: as you promised to God, so grow spiritually and prosper. Having yourself been reborn spiritually, try to revive others spiritually, and do not be captivated by carnal lust. Carnal combination is reserved only for those who are unable or unwilling to abstain: for those who do not want the best, the worst is left. When Divine love is despised, then carnal, insane captivity sets in. 9 . So, stop voluntarily desiring youthful carnal leaps, so that later you don’t have to leave it, and involuntarily - with great burden. Let not the kindness and beauty of the face of corruptible flesh deceive you, for it changes, and decays, and soon disappears: no one has seen the splendid old man; There is no incorruptible beauty in the tomb, and it does not last long. All carnal beauty is fire; all splendor is the morning dew; all flesh is grass; all human glory is like the flower of the field: “the grass came out, and its flower fell away” (1 Peter 1:24)! Only the word of God and Divine love endure forever. 10. Does the flesh that has decayed in the tomb attract you, who are accustomed to look at what is visible with partiality, to be wounded by the beauty of its face? But look now at those in the grave before you; and you will learn from here what you will also learn after you, as someone said. And after you, nothing else will happen except what happened before you with others: what happened with others will certainly happen with you. Therefore, do not attach your heart to creation, but raise all your desire and love to the Creator of everything, from whom you also have your being. It’s natural and natural for you to be there. For nowhere and in nothing will you find eternally blissful life and unchanging silence for your soul, except in the Lord God, His most holy love and the grace of the Most Holy and Life-giving Spirit. About not attaching your heart to real things and not seeking peace and consolation in earthly sweets, but seeking them in the Lord God alone 1. More humane! Be free from earthly addictions, so that, having enslaved yourself to meaningless pleasures, you are not bound by eternal deplorable bonds. Do not apply your heart to real things, lest you be seduced by them, as if in a sleepy dream. Do not seek peace in earthly pleasures or consolation in carnal lusts, but seek this in the Lord, who created all things. Be, having something on earth, as if not having, accepting something, as if not accepting, eating something, as if not eating, drinking something, as if not drinking: be free from everything earthly, so that you can cleave with all your heart to the One Lord. Everything earthly exists for a short time, but the grace of God is eternal. Earthly sweetness gives no rest, and carnal lust does not bring lasting consolation to the soul, but creates constant confusion and constant indignation. Even if you lived in carnal pleasures for thousands of thousands of years, you would never find peace and quiet in them. 2. How can creation and carnal lust give perfect peace and lasting consolation to the soul, if the Creator of creation Himself does not calm the soul - does not console it with His consolation, does not grant it eternal and everlasting pleasure?! Just as a rod does not grow without a root and does not prosper, so the soul can have perfect consolation only in the grace of the Lord and in His Most Holy Comforting Spirit - where the root of its being is. 3. Often, during times of grief and sadness, the soul, wanting to be consoled, turns and cleaves to earthly sweetness, seeking peace and consolation in it. But, having enjoyed a little wordless pleasure in it, he then receives extreme languor and sorrow. For creation cannot give the soul true consolation, except false, charming, short-lived consolation, combined with sorrow and sadness. When a person has lived for many years in carnal pleasures, then, having come to the end, he thinks that it never happened - it seems to him that it all happened in a sleepy dream. 4. This age has no peace and quiet in it. Human anger and passions can never give peace and tranquility to the soul, but always bring confusion and embarrassment. One evil has passed, another has come; one disappeared, the other appeared, as in the excitement of the sea and in the changes of the air. The soul always and incessantly struggles and is tormented not only by various external yearnings, but even more by its internal passions: it experiences everlasting troubles, an everlasting struggle, both external and internal. Carnal sweetness, and temporary beauty, and every temporary pleasure seems to the inattentive to be something great, but when someone looks closely, he will find it very bitter and very rebellious for the soul. Therefore, the Lord, who has seen the best about us, not without reason commands us to despise these imaginary pleasures, so that we can freely strive to enjoy this eternal, peaceful, ever-present pleasure and peace. 5. Love and carnal lust never grow weary or rest. Collect beauties from all countries and lusts from all over the world - will your soul be at peace? Never, for one has such beauty, and the other has another; This one has such beauty, and that one has another. If you want to commit adultery with all these in your heart, how will you have peace and quiet in your heart? No way. For now you will desire this, and then another; Today you will love this, and tomorrow you will hate (disgusted) this; Now you will fight with one thing, and at another time with another. Thus the soul continually works and never rests. He who truly loves God and cleaves to the Lord with all his heart is always in peace and tranquility. 6. Who has found peace in the world of carnal pleasures since time immemorial? Who in the world has received perfect consolation throughout the ages? Nobody. Haven't we all exhausted ourselves through life of grief and sadness? Didn't everyone die in confusion and confusion? Finally, everyone is unknown and reaped by the sickle of death! There is no peace or true consolation in carnal pleasures, but constant warfare and struggle for the soul. Again, the more you love something, the more you grieve later; The more you apply your heart to carnal pleasure, the more sorrow and languor you will receive later. 7. God, wanting to raise us, like some small children, from the lowest to the highest until time, offered this carnal dispensation before our eyes as a kind of milk, so that from this we would ascend to the best and highest understanding and knowledge. The careless and lazy, not caring to ascend to the best and sweetest, Divine desire and understanding, stops, like a foolish child, on this carnal sweetness of milk. 8. Every carnal pleasure is a spiritual burden, but spiritual pleasure, Divine in the Lord, is peace of the soul, contentment of conscience, freedom of spirit, joy, carelessness and unfeigned love for everyone. Pleasure is temporary, carnal lust is nothing more than burden and embarrassment. What peace comes from overeating and drinking? What peace is there from carnal lust and fornication? Just deepen your mind in this, bind yourself to carnal lust, and what will you get? What saving thing will you gain? Nothing but darkness, darkness, a meaningless union, bewilderment, grief and sadness - the unknown of salvation. 9 . Oh, how rebellious and troublesome is the life of this vain world! There is no consolation or peace in it: only burden and great anguish of the soul, for every day brings with it rumors and confusion and unexpected troubles. From the very birth of a person until death there is no peace, but always confusion and confusion. For a person is born into the world with illness and crying, grows and lives in sorrows and sorrows, and his death is full of tears and mourning. After death, the body goes to be devoured by worms, and the soul to judgment and the unknown consequences of judgment. Therefore, do not apply your heart to the present age, do not commit fornication in carnal pleasures, lest you find yourself naked and empty of all good. Always seek the Lord in order to be worthy of eternal blessings: “being rich in carnal pleasures, you are poor and hungry; but those who seek the Lord will not be deprived of any good” (Ps. 33:11). 10. So, day and night seek the Lord, day and night seek the Benefactor, until you find Him and gain Him. Seek Him in all the ends of the earth; seek Him throughout the world; seek Him in glory, in wealth, in carnal beauty, in earthly pleasures; look for Him in all creation, but you will not find Him anywhere. For He holds all of you, and you do not know Him; He is all in you, but you do not know Him; the kingdom of heaven is within you, and you are looking for it elsewhere; the everlasting pleasure is within you, but you do not understand it. But seek the Lord within yourself day and night - so that you will find Him and, having found Him, you will receive eternal peace and cry out with joy: “Come and see how you have found what you desire and are united to Him with all glory, honor and power with His beginningless Father, and with His Most Holy and good and life-giving Spirit, always, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages, Amen." This book was first published (anonymously, according to historians) presumably at the beginning of the 18th century, with the title “The Spiritual Alphabet” and was subsequently reprinted many more times. This title comes from short teachings on each letter of the alphabet at the beginning of the book, which precede the main text. And this name has stuck to this day. However, it was originally called differently. The first title of this book has been preserved: “The spiritual ladder according to the God of monastic life, containing in itself thirty and three chapters in the image of the Lord in the flesh on the earth of life, there are thirty and three degrees, laboriously compiled for the benefit of the spiritually zealous and attentive to the monastic life, written by the Venerable Isaiah of Kopinsky, who lived in postnicity and silence, walking the path near the cave of our venerable father Anthony, also in Kyiv, after the former metropolitan of the same God-saved city of Kyiv.” Then, as historians suggest, the manuscript of St. Isaiah (Kopinsky), by mistake of the publishers, ended up in the collected works of St. Demetrius of Rostov; this happened because it was among the saint’s manuscripts, but with a note indicating that it belonged to Isaiah (Kopinsky). This error has not been corrected to this day: “The Spiritual Alphabet” continues to be published under the name of Demetrius of Rostov. It is necessary to pay tribute to Metropolitan Isaiah (Kopinsky) and restore justice by recalling this again. “Works that did not belong to him were attributed to Dmitry of Rostov. In particular, in the Life of the saint it is stated that he wrote the “Spiritual Alphabet”, but the author of this work was Metropolitan. Isaiah (Kopinsky),” notes D. Shlyapkin in the list of individual works incorrectly attributed to Demetrius of Rostov. It is known that after the death of St. Seraphim of Sarov, the “Spiritual Ladder” - the book in the hands of which the holy elder began and ended his ascetic life - was found in his personal belongings. These things were distributed as a blessing, and the book went to N.A. Motovilov, as he testifies in his “Notes.” It is possible that young Daniel Tuptalo, the future Saint Demetrius of Rostov, learned spiritual laws from this manuscript. In the second chapter of “The Spiritual Ladder,” the author refers those who want to more conveniently come to the knowledge of nature, themselves and God to a book called “The Weekly Diary,” which, unfortunately, has not survived. Thus, indirectly, we learn about another work of Saint Isaiah. It can be argued that Saint Isaiah (Kopinsky) was one of the few followers of the hesychast tradition in southwestern Rus' in the 17th century. Since at this time “in spiritual life, the break with Byzantium causes a weakening of the patristic tradition, “internal work” is forgotten in asceticism, the feat takes on a more severe and external character, and the general spiritual level of monasticism decreases significantly,” writes I. Kontsevich. M. Grushevsky characterizes Isaiah (Kopinsky) as “a meaningful, interesting person - a person who clearly reflected the ideological current, although outdated and condemned to oblivion, but still alive and popular among the broad masses” of that time. This movement, as defined by J. Stratius, is “Athos mysticism, the concept of the Gospel life in truth,” which was the path to deification. In this work, the bishop sets out his understanding of the ways of “knowledge of the world, man and God.” This knowledge is accomplished, according to the author, “through self-deepening, internal self-contemplation. The concept of self-knowledge goes into the theory of smart doing, which provides for self-improvement, purification, enlightenment of the mind and ascetic self-contemplation up to the acquisition of the Grace of God, to knowledge and mystical union with God (hesychia).” Therefore, we can say with confidence that “The Spiritual Ladder” is a strictly ascetic, monastic work, and is a true storehouse of spiritual wisdom and ascetic experience. It is not known what kind of spiritual literature Saint Isaiah was familiar with; not much was available at that time (the Bible was a rarity then), but what he wrote is completely consistent with the spirit of the patristic works of the first centuries of monasticism. From the first lines of his little book, as the Bishop calls it, he calls on the reader to rejoice only in the one Lord. “If you want to rejoice, rejoice in nothing else, only in the Lord alone, for all joy that is not in the Lord is a lie and deception.” You might be interested in: