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He who condemns must be above all censure. He who condemns others needs not to be condemned by his own deeds. Whoever gives instructions to someone who does not observe the truth must behave in such a way that he himself is not rejected by the truth. Whoever wants to serve as a mirror for others must first consider himself. If I allow myself these accusations, it is not because I consider myself pure: my own members are burdened with sins before the eyes of the Judge. I know that it is best for the guilty to remain silent; but I don’t do this, although I know that silence is an adornment for sinners. Behold, my sins from all sides turn to me with reproaches and tell me to remain silent, but my boldness, brethren, has in mind the common good. It is very saving both to do and to accept admonitions. It is useful to heal and be healed. Therefore, let everyone bring their own medicine, so that anyone who needs it may be healed. Let the healthy man not be upset by this; the medicine is not offered for him. Let the sick person not complain about this; he is not being treated out of malice. Let the healer not become weary, but let him look to God, who never ceases to heal. Let him who binds wounds not fear; his work is not sin. But whoever gives instruction, let him not offend the one being instructed, but let him admonish him, both by teaching and by begging. If a mentor inflicts wounds, then he punishes himself in his members. He who both cuts and heals accepts participation in the suffering of those he loves. The doctor uses the same benefits to treat his own illnesses. So is the strict accuser: by what he strikes others, he must heal his own soul. A sick doctor is not ashamed to be treated with his own medicine; Let the mentor not be ashamed to accept saving admonition. Who reproaches others; Let him not blush with shame, enduring reproach himself. Whoever reprimands, let him, without shame, allow himself to be admonished. Doctors treat each other; if one of them becomes sick, he receives healing from his fellow men. If you are healthy, heal, and if you are sick, heal. If you heal and heal, you bring benefit to both yourself and your neighbor. The sinner harms both himself and his neighbor, and thereby commits greater evil, inflicts greater loss, because he leaves both sides in harm’s way. Help yourself and your neighbor. Then he will receive a bribe from his efforts, and you will benefit. If you help both your neighbor and yourself, you both gain. So let us, brethren, heal and be healed, so that we may be healthy in our affairs. Now is the time for repentance; Let us work zealously in prayer. Let us stop serving the earthly things that make us earthly people. The land is cultivated in times of peace, repentance - in times of God's wrath. Let's pay attention to what time it is now; and this will teach us what to do. If we must bring repentance in times of peace, is it not even more appropriate to do this at the time designated for repentance? Learn this by looking at your work; take heed, looking at your fields; Each work is inextricably linked with a certain time and continues with it. Behold, the wrath of God spreads uncontrollably across the earth; clear your path, repentant, let us cultivate fasting - this seed will bear fruit a hundredfold. Let us work in prayer; This is the vine, its wine is consolation. Let us build our souls into a church worthy of God. If the great of the earth stays in your house, then your doors are clothed with honor. How much more will your door be adorned with splendor when God dwells in you? Be both a church and a priest of God; serve God in your church, as He became priest, sacrifice, and slaughter for you. Therefore, you too be for Him a church, a priest, and a sacrifice. Since your spirit is a church, do not allow any uncleanness into it. Do not allow into the house of God anything that is hateful to God, but, on the contrary, decorate the house of God with everything that befits God. If there is anger in your spirit, if lust lives, if irritability instills (dwells), then stinking smoke smokes there. Drive out enmity and hatred from him: their stench (smell) is disgusting; Introduce love into it and establish love; it is incense, full of fragrance. Collect and throw out all the rubbish from him, that is, vile inclinations and habits; Like flowers, strew your church with good deeds; instead of roses and lilies, decorate it with prayer. Let us pronounce judgment on our vile deeds, so that we may condemn the evil one. It will be a very useful thing if we all put sin to shame. Until wickedness is presented in its vile form, those who have hitherto indulged in wickedness will not cease to indulge in it. Until the deception is exposed, the one who invented it will not be afraid. Until the medicine that drives out the disease is adopted, the disease will not stop. It is necessary to use a section so that no root of harm remains in the members. The farmer tears up the earth with a plow, tearing out the tares from it. He who gives admonition tears apart the heart and eradicates vices in it. If the elders had not reproached, then youth would not have remained within the boundaries of deanery. If terrible justice had not been threatened, the wicked would not have been horrified. Therefore, let us begin to condemn vice: whether it be in ourselves or in others. If he is condemned in us, it is useful for our soul. If he is condemned in others, it will benefit our members. And he will be depressed both here and there. If no one pursues vice, then its insolence grows and it is already at the gates of everyone. The impudence of Satan surpasses the impudence of a dog like him. If even a good dog, in whom there is still fear, can be driven away only by threats, will the first of the insolent ones retreat if He who is stronger than him does not reproach him? If you do not know all the shamelessness of Satan, then infer it from the shamelessness of his servants. Look how they conjure the evil spirit every day with the names of the Mighty One, using prayer, incantatory words, the sign of the cross, and blowing. All this cruelly torments the shameless, daily constrains his power; however, he resists, because, having settled in a person, he has taken possession of him. If the servants of Satan are so shameless, then how shameless must he himself be, the teacher of shamelessness? If his arrogance is so great, then only his strongest will defeat him. And whoever does not drive him away because he is too weak for him will serve him as a slave. A man cannot see how he is trampled and put to shame, but he is ashamed in his deeds and put to shame in his works. He who admonishes us does not fight with us, but comes to our aid. If we take advantage of his admonition, he will not clothe us with shame, but, on the contrary, with his saving advice he will distract us and remove all shame from us. Therefore, let the sinful uncleanness of sinners be put to shame. When members are cut off, then the doctor begins to fight the disease; when a sinner is ashamed, then truth enters into battle with untruth. The evil one puts into us the idea that we are put to shame, so that, by removing us from shame, he can avoid shame, and when we hate admonition, he himself can get rid of shame. He makes doctors hateful to us, so that we can harbor illness in our limbs longer, for as long as we turn away from saving medicine, the illness remains in us through our own fault. The evil one provokes us against the one who admonishes us in order to deprive us of benefit. It arouses in us dislike for well-intentioned advisers, so that we do not find support for ourselves in them. He advises to repay them with evil in order to increase our shame at the Judgment. He secretly encourages us to sin in order to hide his vileness from us. Teaches us deceit to cover up our filth. Teaches us pride, so as not to diminish our glory. But at the same time it gives us a certain kind of humility in order to mix a little sweetness with our poison. He combines his lies with the truth so that his deception remains hidden. He takes the form of a lamb so that the sheep do not run away from him. Repentance is a mirror, so the evil one does not leave it in us, lest we see ourselves in it and wash away our impurities. He arms himself against reproof so that vile deeds will not be discovered, because reproof serves as a mirror revealing the vileness of the enemy. He hardens our hearts, so that through this all that is bad may become our gain. He instills laziness in us so that we patiently let him finish his work in us. He puts insolence in us, so that by continuing to sin without shame, we will suffer more harm. It instills shamelessness in us so that we don’t blush when they reprimand us. He teaches us deceit, so that a person sins by contriving to sin. Draws us into cunning, so that a person justifies himself when he is guilty, excuses himself for sin and iniquity, and aggravates his misfortune with an apology and guilt. He teaches us resourcefulness in speech, so that when interrogated, we do not express our guilt, and so that, having committed a sin, we turn around and justify ourselves. He instills insolence in youth, and timidity in old age, so that both do not worry about admonition. The impudent sinner is taught to reproach others, and the accuser is taught to be afraid, lest, through his timidity, the wicked be healed. Look, the evil one makes us vile on the inside, but on the outside he gives us a beautiful appearance, so that we become a disgusting tomb full of unclean things. He gives us beautiful names, while burdening us with shameful deeds. By name we belong to the part of the gums, and by deeds we belong to the part of the shuii. Whoever looks at the high title we wear will find that it is only a cover of our internal impurities. It shines like gold on the outside, but this is just the embellishment of inner deceit. Under the glorious seal, under the majestic image, under the royal inscription, the insidious devil places and hides copper instead of gold; Instead of the truth that the name expresses, it clothes a person in deception. There are few truly virtuous people who are as they appear on the outside. There are much more of them who just bear a wonderful name. Another judge bears this name, and underneath it is a hidden secret; the other is called a tax collector, and under this name he commits robbery. Everyone has as many sins as they have names. The most heinous crimes are committed under honorary names. The evil one has made those holy names that we bear patrons and guardians of the sins we commit. For the sake of these names, no one comes to reason with us. Who will dare to expose the judge and the boss? Who dares to reproach the leader and shepherd? Who will prescribe laws to the legislator? What kind of student would take it upon himself to teach his teacher? What student would have the audacity to show his wisdom to his mentor? There is no one to admonish us, because we are sinners placed at high levels. And since there is no one to denounce us, we fearlessly indulge in our arbitrariness. Honest names, which should have protected us from wrongdoing, have been made by the evil one for us as a wall behind which we hide our wickedness. Vice is now in a hurry to find protection for itself under beautiful titles. At the judges' doors there are nets for tagging. Truth has been expelled from its abode and is served not by it, but by deception. The law is forcibly violated by those who are supposed to enforce it. Crimes in our age have come into force because the rod of the judges has become weak. If he had more power, then through this the laws would maintain their effectiveness. But now crime after crime is committed outside the city and in the city; sin is common. And the land is defiled by sins, and the waters are filled with shameless lewdness. Mammon has put to sleep the unsleeping laws, brothers. Who opens his mouth and dares to breathe? Everyone has them closed. If the judge is angry, gold knows how to persuade him. If the investigator is alarmed, the silver will make him silent. He who should be condemned does not condemn, because the gift he has taken puts him to shame. Everyone is looking for a special way to free himself from the hands of the Supreme; and the superior himself provides the means for this, as soon as the subordinate gives him his mouth as a pledge. The boss cannot rebuke him because he himself does not dare look him in the face. The kidnapper raises his head high because the accuser's eyes are downcast. Wolves prefer that their shepherds sleep. When the shepherds sleep, then the wolves have a great feast. When the guards of the flock are immersed in deep sleep, then there is a great robbery of the lambs. The lion torments as much as he wants; The wolf destroys as much as greed demands; he does not strangle according to the measure of his hunger. The lion devours one sheep, and many are torn to pieces and scattered by him; The wolf eats even less, and strangles much more than he devours. So the judge takes and robs more than is necessary, and the tax collector unjustly demands from the oppressed more than is necessary. They revel in gold like they drink in blood. They are already completely saturated, but they are still hungry. Untruth rises higher than smoke; everything is filled with her child. Smoke causes pain in the eyes, and untruth blinds the mind. There is verbosity in buying and selling. Every seller throws words, wanting to deceive the buyer, and asks for what he buys at the highest price. A thing costs one month, but rises in price to a hundred. Multiplicity serves as degrees, and it is through them that one of us is raised to a hundred. The Creator provided the grapes with wine and gives it to the people; and the innkeeper, without any shame, spoiling it with water in bowls and more than once mixing water with water, serves it as a drink for an expensive price. Deception - in the sale of wine; deception - in the sale of oil when the measure is not topped up; and the measure filled with moisture is wrapped and poured out of it so that some liquid remains in it. And with these two losses, the widow’s heart is torn apart. The harm from this unjust loss and gain is twofold: with the damage the untruth increases, and as the unjust gain increases, the truth decreases. By decreasing the measure, the measure of untruth increases, and by remaining in measure, the measure of truth is diminished. For this, condemnation awaits at the Court; on it everyone will be measured, as he himself measured. At the Judgment there are all sorts of measures, just as there are all kinds of measures for untruth. Our measure is not hidden from Him who measures the great sea; Our scales are not hidden from the Almighty, Who bears mountains by His power. The Creator set the sea in measure, and His measure has been the same from eternity; and judges cannot establish insignificant measures. The Wise One measured and balanced heat and cold; and the judges, through their robbery, rendered statutes and laws powerless; those who buy and sell do not submit to the laws of their iniquities. The Creator created people so that they would look up to Him and become like Him, and so that just as He Himself keeps His creation in order, so they too would subordinate their affairs to order. But we resist the great Teacher of improvement; His creatures are in great order, but our affairs are in great disorder. In nature everything goes orderly, but in our country the laws are executed incorrectly; Contrary to the great order of God's creatures, disorder reigns in our affairs. The creatures of God condemn a person placed above them. Days and nights teach us, foolish ones. Although in their alternating course they apparently suffer mutual loss, they do not violate the truth in this either. And the heavenly bodies also, apparently, mutually inflict each other and suffer damage from each other, but do not violate the truth in this and act as they should - their movements are completed to a certain extent. Night follows day without really doing him any harm. The truth is completely preserved in this change. When one side is diminished, the other does not lose sight of the humiliated one and imparts its riches to him: what he has, he enriches. Fair and enriching; he is not stingy with his gifts. He borrows little, but repays much. In the luminaries we are shown an example of goodness; justice is imprinted on them. How kind they are when they suffer harm, and how true when they reward them! When one thing is diminished, another makes up for it; the exalted - at the very height of greatness does not forget the diminished. They do not oppress like us; They don’t act predatory, they don’t do lies, they don’t disrupt the order like we do. With us, whoever exalts himself forgets his poor brother. The Creator placed a mirror in front of us so that we could look and become like. Nature is given to us for contemplation; Free will has also been given to us, so that we can look at nature acting correctly and, of our own free will, become like it. In one thing we become like unreasonable creatures; if we see that they are doing harm to each other, we like it, but their justice is unpleasant to us. Even if they cause damage, they reward it; and we, having caused damage, try to increase it. In them there is truth and goodness, but in us there is wickedness and insatiability. They constantly accuse us of our daily untruths; they reward each other, and we oppress each other. He who has something for himself does not lend to another; whoever borrows does not repay; the debtor is unjust, the lender is deceitful. He who lends demands growth, but the debtor keeps what he borrows. The first one does something bad, but the last one is even more evil. The rich man is cruel in his abundance, the poor man is deceitful in his need: he does not even want to return what he borrowed. That’s why there are always nets placed everywhere so that no matter how you eat, something can be acquired. Everyone knows how to come up with all sorts of means to enrich themselves. Bribery serves as a bridge for us to reach high ranks; not to judge justly, but to plunder greedily. We study all the ways and means to find an opportunity to satisfy your passion for pleasure. Truth has established measures so that untruth cannot steal; introduced scales to put a barrier to greed. She set up a crucible in which every deception and every lie would be revealed; established courts and tribunals where it would be possible to bring a complaint against untruth; founded the Church, in which the purest truth should dwell. But untruth has clothed itself with the very instruments of truth. And lies find their place in measures, and greed finds a place in scales; and at this crucible, which must hate all deception, those assigned to it act not without lies; and in the judgment which is to prosecute unrighteousness, the judges take gifts; Even in the Church, a lover of purity, destructive carelessness has settled. In a small wooden measure, nets are placed for the buyer. The measure is large in appearance, but its interior is compressed and cramped. Her appearance makes me think that her insides are the full measure. But when the measure became empty, the buyer comes to great amazement, seeing that this measure is a net for catching silver, for stealing wealth. The shameless ones divide the wool from the sheep in two, although the wolves did not dare to tear the robe of the true Lamb. The sheep in the pasture does not feel that these talkative ones are wolves for it. Her robe, which is not damaged by the wolves, is torn apart by these long-winded ones. People have distorted everything; and the clean waters did not get rid of this, and with them we drink untruth into ourselves. Springs contain purification, and streams of water contain ablution. God sanctified the waters so that in them we would receive remission of sins, but Satan, seeing this, desecrated the waters, so that in them we would put on the same wickedness that we put off (from which we got rid of) in the waters, so that our debts would be handwritten in the same waters with which our debts are atoned. Our cunning and insidious murderer defeats us with the same weapons with which we arm ourselves against him. The devil hiding in the waters instills darkness in us through the same source that serves for washing. We are called to the light in order to dispel the darkness with water. The waters cleanse our body, but the devil lurks in them too. Near consecrated waters, the waters lose their purifying power. By what other baptism can the lost be saved? One Baptism by which a lost person can be saved. If someone perishes after being saved, who else can claim it? Soothsayers openly prophesy, magicians openly conjure. There is no more truth on earth. We drove her away from us and forced her to return to heaven. Alas, where did we make her go! So she brings a complaint to the Almighty. The books are open in front of her, in them she wants to read to God, which she accuses us of; and begins, and reads, and does not stop reading, there is no end to what is written in books. She reads about the vices of an old man who stands at the tomb and does not repent; reads about the corruption of a youth whose number of shameful deeds increases with the years. He reads about the shamelessness of a young man who, even before marriage, indulges in voluptuousness; reads further how he commits adultery in a married state, how having a wife, he also has a harlot, and keeps a concubine with his wife. He reads about the indecencies of both old and young women, how some, although they have stopped giving birth to children, still conceive and give birth to crimes. Babies are born after a certain number of months, but there is no specific period for the defect. Here she reads about the wickedness of the barren and those living in marriage; reads how they resort to fortune-telling and sorcery so that their children and husbands will live, and so that he himself can enjoy their love. Fortune tellers deceive them, their astrologers trap them in their nets; They ruin their lives with sins, the treasuries of their husbands are emptied. Sickness is added to sickness because with sins comes poverty. And with the prayer of tuna (free gift) they could save the lives of both children and husbands. Prayer made Esther the most beautiful of all the wives in the eyes of the king. Fasting gave her modesty more beauty than fragrant ointments; the ashes enhanced her beauty (beauty) in the royal eyes more than any precious ointment. After her Lord, she was not attached to anyone, so she tied her husband to her. Her heart was not unfaithful to the Lord, therefore her husband remained faithful to her. And Rebekah, through her good behavior, attracted the love of the sensible Isaac. The ancient righteous valued a good name above beauty, honest behavior above vain attire, bashfulness and modesty of look above tinted eyebrows. For them, a modest gait was better than smart shoes, good morals and honesty were better than childbearing. Abraham loved Sarah, although she did not give birth until she was ninety years old. His soul turned away from Hagar, because she carried untruth in her womb along with the baby. And Sarah, although she was barren, carried the truth in her womb. The righteous loved their wives as blameless and chaste; however, their love was not so blind as not to see their wife’s shortcomings. Their love became an eye that noticed and tested everything, because it was united with understanding and prudence. Love for the Almighty, which was higher for them than any other love, taught them how and to what extent they should love and be loved. It happened, of course, that others themselves loved more than they should have, and in others they aroused love for themselves beyond due measure. Such love was criminal because it prevailed over the love of God. So Solomon loved more than he should. Thus Joseph was loved in an illicit way. God has set such people, both those who love and those who are loved, as a mirror for you. In them you will find a model for both the one who loves you and the one who is loved by you. And your love for another should not be crazy, and the other should not love you recklessly. If you have love for him, judge to what extent your love should extend. Mix with both loves the leaven of love for your Lord. Pure love is able to expose the shortcomings of its loved ones, but impure love does not test anyone, does not blame anything, does not see anything. Job loved his wife, but with all his love he saw her shortcomings; despite the cruelty of the temptation, he did not fail to give her useful instruction. Jacob loved Rachel, but her recklessness was not hidden from him. There was a lot of prudence hidden in his love. Jacob knew how he was supposed to love. Rachel came to show him her love, and he showed her his righteousness. By her desire to bear children, she proved how ardently she desired his love, and in this too he showed her how much he loved God. She came to show him how much she loved him, and he showed her how holy his love was (Gen. 30:1-2). With anger, he proved to her his love for the Giver of children, so that we, whether God gives us children or does not give us, would not be faint-hearted. In His love for us, God especially has our benefit in mind. If He did not punish us, it would mean that He hates us. God loves the righteous when He punishes their wrongdoings. Moses was very pleasing to God, but with all His love for Moses, God turned his attention to his transgression; he praised the virtue that he found in Moses, but also condemned (condemned) the defect that he noticed in him. God loved David as a man after His own heart, but He looked upon his crime without partiality. And true worshipers of God are like God in that their love is far-sighted. He who, while loving, is indifferent to the shortcomings of his beloved, hates without realizing it. And can one be considered a lover who does harm? Can one be called loving who does not save from trouble? True love is the one that both exhorts and admonishes. The wise Jacob knew that Rachel should not be blamed for her infertility, and condemned her for giving in to despondency, while Jacob considered her to be a firm believer in God. Prudent marital love consists in both the lover and the beloved mutually admonishing each other. A wife should not love her husband with such love that something unclean is hidden under the cover of love. Such love will not be love, but a treasury of sin. If her love for her husband is pure, but she turns to sorcery, then, although she pleases her husband, in the eyes of the Creator she is a harlot. Our souls are completely betrothed to God, just as Abraham betrothed his son and took his beloved. The crime of a wife who violates fidelity to her husband is very serious; Her crime is also grave if she turns out to be unfaithful to her Lord and God. Who is she changing her husband to? On the tatya (thief) and the adulterer. Who does he change God to? For a wizard and a sorcerer. Do not be a harlot before your God, do not commit adultery before your husband. May you have only one husband and only one hope. The evil one sees the marital bed clean - and sows sorcery and sorcery on it, so that the clean bed is defiled. When he cannot introduce infidelity to the bed, he introduces another vice. Seeing that the marital bed is inaccessible to adultery, he introduces sorcery there. If the adulterer does not enter upon him, the sorcerer has access to him; if the fornicator does not take possession of him, there is a place with him for the sorcerer. The pure marital bed is defiled by abominations; deceivers bring all kinds of impurity into marriage. On the minds of the spouses there is sorcery, and on the members there are magical signs, the ears are filled with the words of astrologers; everywhere there are bandages and pendants. The evil one corrupts and corrupts even those who are established in goodness. And he rebels those who renounce and put themselves above marriage against the truth; and those who are lower than marriage he turns to sorcery. And he makes those dedicated to God guilty, and scolds pure marriage. The damned one stands in the middle, gnaws, overthrows and tramples on everyone who is close to him - in fact, and who is far from him - in thought. Our damned opponent is using all possible weapons to defeat us, no matter what; whoever has something is conquered by greed, and whoever has nothing is conquered by pride. He conquers the eater (who loves to eat) with excess in food, the fasting person with despondency, the voluptuous person with sin, the chaste person with envy. He kills a murderer with his own sword, and a talkative man with his own tongue; he kills the careless with sinful deeds, and the ascetic with sinful thoughts; he defiles the unclean with his own uncleanness, and the pure with jealousy itself. The crafty Satan saw that God was wasting His treasures, therefore he opened his “treasury” and also scattered his destructive “gifts”. One is given by arrogance of spirit, another by hardness of heart; makes one inclined to insulting ridicule, the other to abusive words. One teaches gossip, the other – excessive curiosity. If anyone is established in holiness, he puts at least a little of his leaven into them. He who has cultivated and purified his heart sows the seeds of thorns in him. He who stays chastely in one place is tempted to change places. He who stands firmly in goodness tries to draw him into evil. But with others all his efforts remain in vain; and his intrigues turn to shame for him. He overthrows and defeats strong giants, and he himself is overthrown by the weak. He is strong against the intemperate, and the fasting ones overthrow him. He sets his nets everywhere and waits with great patience for his prey. He doesn’t get bored, doesn’t get tired, constantly replacing some networks with others. Sets thousands of nets to catch even one soul. Alas, what an enemy we are fighting! But blessed are the winners! In the fight against the enemy, their crowns become more glorious. The enemy’s whole zeal is to set up nets, while ours is to acquire property. He is focused on how to spread the net, while we are focused on how to erect a building. He is entirely occupied with his nets; our minds are entirely occupied with planting gardens. The soul is preoccupied with gardens, and sin tries to be caught in a net. The enemy's heart is occupied with networks, but ours is occupied with wealth. Therefore, it is not at all difficult for him to catch us in his net; He easily catches us: we ourselves and unwillingly go into his net. When a person acquires dignity for himself through gifts, then he himself decomposes (unfolds) the net - and falls into it. At first, Satan works, sowing the seeds of evil deeds in us, and then he easily catches us, because skill itself leads us into his net. Woe to us for being so lazy! Woe to us that we are so careless! Woe to us that our enemy is so tireless! But blessed are we that he is so weak! How great is his cunning with which he ensnares us, so small is his strength. If he had strength, he would not have had to resort to tricks. His very cunning serves as proof that he cannot use violence against us. Who would not call himself blessed while waging such warfare! It depends on a person’s free will to either win or be defeated in this battle. When wrestlers embark on a feat, they are in danger of losing their victorious crowns. Often a fighter would like to win, but he is defeated because his opponent is strong. And our enemy wins by our sole will. The power of our free will is likened to Moses' arms raised in battle. While Moses prayed for strength and strength, he defeated Amalek, and as soon as his hands weakened, victory leaned towards Amalek. This visible warfare serves as an image of the invisible force in our free will, because the strength of our enemy depends on our free will. Our own will both gives him strength and renders him powerless. When we are lazy, he is strong; when we pray earnestly, he is weak. Who, therefore, will excuse the one who is overcome by the evil one? He himself gives strength to his enemy, so that the enemy will overthrow him with this power. The evil one kills us with the help of ourselves; through ourselves this powerless one conquers us. Our free will prepares fetters for us; our property becomes bonds for us. It is our free will that binds us; our property imposes bonds on us. Entangles people with shackles that they themselves give to him. Our free will is bound by the bonds that were forged by its own hands. The evil one sees a pure marriage - he seduces and defiles it. He sees high-standing holiness - he deceives and brings her down. He puts all sorts of obstacles in front of humanity in order to hinder it here and there. But the ship of good traders cuts through the waves and emerges comfortably from them: among the restless waves it gains victory, and from the deadly storm it wears out life. God built a great ladder, along which those clothed with flesh would ascend and become like the spirits on high. The good one leads to heights in every way, but the evil one tries to bring him down to the ground by every means. Virgins are elevated to heaven by the degree of virginity, holy ascetics are elevated by the degree of asceticism, spouses are elevated by the degree of pure marriage. The evil one, seeing that those clothed with flesh in all degrees ascend to heaven, imposes on them all kinds of burdens, in order to bring them down from on high, in order to lead them astray, and places many obstacles for them. He prepares the fall at the very degree of ascension: he shows what is desired on earth, so that our heart turns from above and directs its gaze down to the earth. It draws our mind from above and brings it down to the ground below, and our gaze is directed to the construction of buildings, to the acquisition of property. Our heart is occupied with pleasures and temporary benefits; and what is far from us and what is close to us - everything gives rise to and increases our attachment to them. The evil one leads us astray on land and hinders our progress on sea. Traders (money changers) are looking for profits both in marinas and in hotels; and in the valleys and in the mountains everyone looks for gold; the increase of wealth increases only the desire for prey not yet acquired. Although gold runs away from us, our mind runs after it. The truth itself pursues us, but everyone drives it away from himself. All inclinations are not sown in one person, but they are shared among all humanity. The Creator sowed wishes in the creature, but did not sow them all in one person, so as not to destroy him. He did not place him far from all wishes, so that he would not remain inactive: wishes test the strength of the winners. The inclination to which we are enslaved is our enemy in battle. Wishes lead to scolding, and scolding gives a victorious crown. All kinds of pleasures are shared among humanity as a whole, so that each person has something to fight with his mind 3 . One finds pleasure in satiety and drunkenness, but does not tolerate fornication; another indulges in arrogance, but abhors thievery. Another allows the love of money to dominate him, but despises carnal lust. Some are delighted by human praise, and others by all kinds of fun. Some thirst for wine, others for the satisfaction of their pride. Some people are far from lewd, but in their soul there is a tendency towards ridicule. One delights in slander, another in gifts; some are busy with disputes, others with gossip. Some are above one sin, but completely mired in another; free from one uncleanness, but completely covered with another filth; escaped the net, but fell into a ditch. Thus, the number of sins is excessively large; Little by little and in parts people take for themselves from this immense multitude - but in a little they taste a lot. If the evil one binds a person with lusts, then he binds precisely with the very thing that a person delights in, so that his bonds would be pleasant to him and, enjoying the bonds, he would not cast them off himself. He who is bound by his inclination to pleasure remains forever in these bonds. And He who binds us knows very well how and with what to bind us. He knows that if you impose on us bonds that are unpleasant to us, the human spirit will immediately dissolve and throw off such bonds. Therefore, everyone is bound by the lust that delights him. However, our free will can always free itself from these bonds. We are entangled in bonds and shackles from everywhere, but even when we are bound we delight in them; when we are imprisoned in bonds we are proud of them. He who is bound by envy, but does not bear the bonds of fornication, out of his recklessness, considers himself free from everything. He who is bound by a tendency to ridicule, but is not inclined to steal, thinks of himself that he is not bound by anything. Everyone forgets about their bonds, does not feel the shackles on themselves. Everyone is like a drunkard who, even if he is bound, does not feel that he is bound. He forgets about the bonds in ecstasy, does not feel that he is in chains. Ask yourself, or let me ask you, about your bonds and shackles. If the ties are strong, can you neglect them? And if you are weak, then where is your powerful strength? You are very ashamed in front of the witnesses of the struggle if your strong strength is exhausted in weak bonds. He who has firm shackles on him, although it is bitter for him, can still apologize somewhat by the fact that it is difficult for him to free himself from the shackles. And whoever is bound, as it were, by a web - and does not have the strength to break his bonds - is most ashamed of him that such weak bonds hold him in captivity. And this powerless one still laughs at the one who bears heavy bonds; and meanwhile, he himself completely perishes from such a vice, which in his own eyes seems insignificant. If he wears strong shackles, he should not laugh at other prisoners. And if, on the contrary, his chains are weak, then he himself deserves ridicule from everyone. We all laugh (mocker) at each other, and the evil one laughs (mockers) at us all. He places shackles on us and makes us laugh, thereby wanting to assure us that His shackles are not on us. He entangles us in bonds and leads us into rapture, wanting to leave us in the false confidence that he did not bind us. Anyone imprisoned in chains knows that he is a prisoner, and everyone who is chained feels the chains on him; but the fettered spirit does not feel the fetters on itself. Oh, how cunning he entangles us with his bonds! We don't feel entangled by them. Oh, how skillful is He who binds us! We don't even notice that we are in chains. His arrows are pleasant to us when he kills the soul with them; the bound and shackled sinner is silent and remains calm. What subtle cunning is our enemy’s in placing bonds on us! Together we are connected – and we are free. Far from the truth, our spirit is kept in bonds, but as if it is not bound by anything, it freely strives for vice. He is bound for love, but not bound for hate. He is bound and encounters obstacles to do good, but does evil without hindrance. These bonds that we carry on ourselves are just as cunning and crafty as the one who imposed them on us: they give us freedom to go towards lies, but prevent us from approaching the truth; They allow you to rush to the neck part, but do not allow you to go to the gum part. Blessed is he who keeps his soul from being part of the soul, who in small and great things turns away from it with his spirit! The Lord of the right side will call him to the right side with all those who belong to it. The right and left side, brothers, have a many-mysterious meaning for us. Whoever belongs to the right side does not go over to the side of the neck, as soon as he became to the right hand of the Lord. And you move away and run from the iniquities that lead to the Shuya side. If you deviate to their side, then it can easily happen that at the Judgment you will be on the side of them. Satan is never on the side of the gum, therefore every crime, even if it was unimportant in your eyes, leads you to the side of the neck. On the other side there are both large and small sins; If you allow one sin to transfer you there, then all of you are already there. Those who belong to the side of the gums are prudent: they are wary of the side of the shuiya in everything, for in any case a simple heart is easily carried away there. The evil one does not take the trouble to entangle us with various vices; he is glad if he connects us with anything. But just as he seeks every way to impose his yoke on everyone, so God imposes his yoke on every person in every possible way. God weighs and divides the burdens, measures and distributes the length of the journey, so that everyone carries what he can and walks with that burden as long as he can. When the tabernacles had to be built, God commanded both the rich and the poor to make contributions for this, which served to their own salvation. Everyone was obliged to bring a gift to the best of their ability. Some brought gold, some brought silver, some brought precious stones, some brought pearls. The poor brought some hair and some tanned leather. Rich wives gave fine linen, and widows gave dyed yarn. So both rich and poor adorned the holy tabernacle: all contributed to its decoration, and all were adorned with it. The gifts offered to God while the tabernacle was being erected were similar to the gifts that were offered after its establishment. This is how God accepted the vows of rich and poor, sinners and righteous, in order to show that just as from their treasuries He accepted all kinds of decorations and jewels, so from their spiritual treasuries He accepts from them fasts, like riches, and prayers, like their gifts. In earthly gifts he showed the image of spiritual offerings, so that simple people could be led to the invisible through the visible. The rich brought a calf, and the poor brought a dove chick; and God weighed and compared both gifts in such a way that even the most significant gift was valued less than the least important one, if the first was brought by a person who was inferior in holiness to the one who brought the poor gift. Therefore, donors themselves communicate the price of their gifts; The less virtuous the person who brings the gift, the less valued is his sacrifice, even if it is precious in itself. Christ valued the widow’s contribution at the cost of her heart: the rich man’s talent, due to his vicious life, lost its value, and the widow’s contribution, due to her virtuous life, became valuable. Just as God leads us to life by every possible means, so Satan uses every means to kill us. Just as two mites could grant salvation to a soul, so two evil words can destroy a soul. Just as a robber gained life for one word of confession, so a slanderer can lose his life for one word. With one evil word, Mariam became leper like snow. Mariam was a prophetess and was stricken with leprosy; and if another had uttered such a slanderous word, then Gehenna would have been too little for her. Miriam spoke boldly because God spoke through her; however, she lost her right because she expressed herself slanderously. If someone rightfully slanderes, then his truth will be untruth. Reprimand openly, but do not strike secretly. Your truth will be rejected if malicious intent is mixed with it. Virginity becomes unseemly if impurity is mixed with it; Purity becomes unseemly if lust creeps in. Faith becomes unprofitable if it turns to sorcery; Unanimity becomes undesirable if discord creeps in. Generosity becomes unseemly if pride is mixed with it; Prayer becomes inappropriate if arrogance is associated with it. Fasting is also inappropriate if it conceals hatred in the heart; Pure love is also inappropriate if it is outraged by jealousy. Delve into what you see in natural things, and from here learn to understand what Scripture teaches. Truth is beautiful, but it also becomes ugly if it covers up deception. Food becomes deadly if it contains deadly poison; Clean meat becomes unclean for us as soon as it is defiled by the evil spirit (that is, by sacrificing to the evil spirit). From these visible things we must understand the invisible. If the visible is made inappropriate, then this is a sign that the invisible and implied will also be unfavorable. God set an example for Mariam (Num. 12:10) so that she would know the truth on her own and by herself. She was all visibly stricken with leprosy, because she was all invisibly filled with sin. From the visible harm she understood the hidden inner harm; from bodily impurity she came to know the hidden spiritual impurity. The vile illness made her understand how much more vile slander is; disgusting leprosy showed her how much more disgusting blasphemy is. The flesh served for her as a mirror of the invisible soul. In the change of flesh she recognized the change of her spirit; from the outer man I understood the inner man; The outer man was corrupted by leprosy, and the inner man by slander. The external ulcer served as an indicator of the internal ulcer. As she separated from her fellow tribesmen, so her own body was separated from her. So Mariam had to learn love from herself and by herself; and from her example we should learn unanimity. Just as it was unpleasant for her to see that her own flesh was separated from her, so it is unpleasant for God to see that a person is hostile to his neighbor. The flesh is at enmity against a person in diseases of all kinds; his members are at enmity against him, because he himself is at war with his friends; the opposition of his own members to him teaches him to be of one mind and at peace with his neighbors. Look at the paralytic, whose members were weakened by sins. The Lord first forgave him the sins that brought upon him righteous punishment. His members became relaxed, because he abandoned those saving means by which the body is strengthened; His members relaxed because he had violated the Divine commandments. He dissolved the love of God - this strong connection of the spirit, and therefore the bodily strength that binds the members weakened. The union of his flesh was broken visibly, because his heart was divided invisibly; the bond of his members was broken, because his thoughts were divided. They began to talk about Mariam in the Israeli camp when she was covered with leprosy because she sharpened her tongue against a meek man who was praying for her. She dared to slander someone close to her and high in holiness, and for this she was stricken with leprosy. The Saint punished her so that leprosy would teach her to know herself; pardon showed her her ulcer; the deliverance granted to the saints showed how glorious he was; purification made it clear how high he was; the gift received from him made him realize what a treasure there was in him. When Moses prayed for her, she learned how God spoke to him; When he delivered her from the leprosy that had afflicted her, she realized that he was more pleasing to God than she. Mariam thought about herself that she too was close to God, but she found out how far she was; I thought that I had already received a lot, but I found out that what she received was nothing but smoke. The Righteous Avenger exacted punishment from the prophetess for slander, because he does not leave unpunished slander, in which foolish people spend their time. Moses did great things, but he too spread his tongue. It was not his tongue-tiedness that harmed him so much as the error of his lips. A small sin deprived him of the land of promise. The great and terrible sea did not block his path, but a small error in a word became a wall in front of him. If Moses, whom the Lord made God to Pharaoh (Ex. 7:1), was deprived of the land of promise by one small word, much more will we be deprived of the Kingdom by a tongue sharpened daily like a sword. Holy fire burned two hundred consecrated priests. They were holy in their deeds, but they were defiled by their words. And if such men are burned by fire, can you speak boldly? The earth swallowed up the blasphemers who sharpened their tongues; She did not touch the unclean and fornicators, but she swallowed up the evil-tongued. The sea swallowed up the Egyptians, and the land swallowed up the rebels. An idle word spoken by a military leader during a famine was punished as blasphemy, and he was trampled by the people at the gate (2 Kings 7:2–17). May this instant judgment teach us to heed the word of our Lord, Who said that for every idle word a man will give an answer (Matthew 12:36). The ordinary course of affairs shows us that often a person dies for another; he himself owes nothing - and gets bogged down with the debtor. The same thing happens to sinners and the righteous. A righteous man is innocent in his own deeds, but becomes guilty in the deeds of others, just as an innocent guarantor becomes mired together with the debtor. If a liar, in the presence of truthful people, tells something to reproach, ridicule, insult and condemn others, and a righteous person willingly listens to slanderous and blasphemous words, then his silence becomes a guarantee that slander and blasphemy deserve approval, and testifies that what is said by the slanderer is good. May the nobles of the just and powerful kings assure you of this. If someone begins to reproach the king for some offense in front of them, even justly, not one of the nobles will remain calm and will not listen to how the king is reviled. And if he stays and listens, then the same judgment is for both: one is put to death because he spoke, and the other because he listened. If a liar speaks to you, and you incline your ear to him, then death flows from his mouth and pours into the depths of your ear; the deadly poison of the speaker is communicated to the listener. The leaven that the listener borrows from the speaker becomes more and more leavened in the former. How did death pass from the serpent who spoke to Eve? Through hearing; They also include murderous slander. The evil one can destroy the silent one through another speaker. He who does not cause death to himself by deeds, kills him by thoughts. The demons spoke the truth, but our Savior did not listen to them. The True One did not want people to believe in Him based on the testimony of liars, but that the true sermon should be preached by true preachers. Why did the apostles not want to listen to the demon who praised them? Because the voice of the bitter was bitter for their sweet ears. If flattering praise is so bitter, is there not much more bitterness in reproach? If the devil's praise is deadly, then isn't the devil's work - slander - even more deadly? If Satan's sweetness is a deadly poison, who will taste his bitterness? He deceives you even when he apparently tells the truth. The demons spoke the truth when Christ was confessed as Christ. Why did He not accept their testimony? The following example will explain this to you. The same rain feeds both beneficial and harmful plants. In harmful plants, rain becomes harmful, although by nature it is beneficial. The snake, eating sweet food, turns it into bitterness. And when it vomits up, woe to the one who takes it into himself. And the truth comes out of the mouth of a liar as deadly poison; His sweet words hide bitterness. May the serpent, whose tongue was so sweet for the innocent, assure you of this. May this serpent (Judas the traitor), who spoke so sweetly to the Omniscient, also confirm. With friendly words, this evil enemy kissed the Life-Giver. And if the serpent deceived the Omniscient, how much more will he deceive you, short-sighted. And on another basis let you be convinced that this is vile and terrible. If someone gives you drink in a vile and vile vessel, then the drink itself will become disgusting to you, because the vessel is vile; even though the drink itself was pleasant, the vessel makes it vile. Who is more vile than a liar? Is he the only one who listens to him? Who is more disgusting than a deceiver? Is he the only one who listens to him? He who loves vile speech is already defiled in his soul. That is why the pure and the Lord of purity Himself did not listen to them. Our Lord gave Himself up to death, but did not give His ear to the liar; His mouth tasted otsta (wine vinegar), but His ears tasted no lies. He gave His mouth to kiss Iscariot, but He did not give His ears to the deceiver. Give him your lips to kiss him, but do not give him your hearing. If you give him your mouth, the breath of your mouth will make him understand, but if you give him your hearing, eating his words will kill you. Avoid smelling, much less tasting, deadly poison. You run away from the smoke in haste, but you listen to a liar. You avoid the stench, but you sit with the deceiver. Smoke harms the eyes, and ridicule of one's neighbor harms the listener. If ridicule is so harmful, then slander is even more harmful. You need to protect your feelings from what is harmful to each of them. If you keep your members clean from fornication, then guard your lips from slander. The mouth cannot commit adultery, but it can lie and slander. If one member of yours is clean from sin, and the other is mortified by sin, then this member mortified by sin will cause you death. Incline your ear to me, and I will present you with examples for your study. Look at the warrior whose whole body is covered with armor; and it happens to him that he is unexpectedly struck in the holes of the shell. So Ahab was wounded by an arrow through the hole in his shell. If death enters through small holes in the shell, then it is much easier for it to enter through the open door of hearing. The door of hearing is wide, and that is why death entered into it. The stream rushing through this door carries with it all the feelings. Everything is encompassed by the word, but the door of hearing is quite large for him too. Therefore, block your hearing with a double door, so that slander does not find access to it. Do not think that the deadly poison, due to its small quantity, will not kill you. Do not think that slander, no matter how small and unimportant it may be, will not destroy you. When looking at catching birds, learn not to neglect even a little. It happens that the bird is completely outside the net, but is detained by one claw, and the edge of the weak claw renders all the strength of the wings useless; although the bird is completely outside the net, it is still completely caught in the net. Is anyone able to explain how a serious and painful illness occurs from such an illness, to which no attention is paid? What we see in nature is what Scripture teaches. Both nature and Scripture, if we understand correctly, show the same thing. The blessed apostle places murderers and slanderers, lovers of money and adulterers next to each other, saying that they “will not inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:9-10). The apostle gave equal weight to all of them on the scales of righteousness. And in the prophets we will find that unimportant offenses, to which we do not pay even attention, are compared by them with great crimes. Why was Canaan cursed? For laughing at the righteous. He is cursed not for any bad deed, not for murder. For apparently a small mockery he was subjected to heavy condemnation, and for the insolence of his tongue he suffered bitter disaster. His thoughts were pure, but they were outraged by their mockery; their members were pure, but their tongue killed them. Now you actually see confirmation of what the blessed apostle said, and from what has happened through experience, learn to believe what is said in Scripture. If Canaan suffered such a severe punishment for his laughter, who would not be afraid to utter impudent speeches that would attract curses? God removed all blessings from Canaan and subjected it to curses. Thus He showed the transformation of the Judgment that will befall the scolder. The Kingdom will be concluded for him, and his inheritance will be Gehenna. If the evil one inspires you to laugh under the guise of love, then think that Ham, having fun, laughed, and received a curse as his inheritance. Listen to Solomon, who warns against mockery, knowing that its stench is harmful and its taste is destructive to you. Whoever laughs (mocks) at a work is laughing at the artist himself. “Cursing” a person “irritates Him who made him” (Proverbs 17:5). Whoever laughs at the creation of the Omniscient, without realizing it, laughs at the Creator, for ridicule of the creature passes from the creature to the Creator. You, in your simplicity, see only the external in mockery, but do not know what charm (temptation) lurks in it. Righteous Noah, as a leader, taught the foolish one: he deprived him of blessings, so that you, having become wise, would know how slander extends to the Lord of blessings. Noah uttered curses in order to show you with these curses how a cursed enemy invisibly lurks in mockery, which you consider to be unimportant. The Apostle excludes the slanderers from the Kingdom and says that they will not receive salvation. But we will also find in ancient chronicles, from which you can find out what the slanderers received as an inheritance. What offense did Shimei the son of Jemini commit? He committed neither adultery nor theft; His fault was that he uttered curses in which slander was visible. Where there is discord, there is slander, and just as it reveals what was, it also reveals what did not happen. When irritability is overcome by birth diseases, then it conceives and gives birth to all kinds of speech; and her birth, like an arrow, stings the innocent without cause. It was in this irritability that Shimei slandered the meek king and brought the accusation of Saul’s death against the one who had repeatedly saved Saul from death. Since he testified contrary to the truth, the truthful Judge justly condemned him. Solomon set a limit for him, which he should not have crossed; and he promised not to transgress, but he transgressed, breaking his promise (1 Kings 2:36–46). When it was discovered that he was a liar, the slander was destroyed. And since he accused falsely, his crime was punished. He sharpened his tongue, and with it, as if with a sword, he struck the innocent, therefore a sharp sword came out against the one who sharpened his tongue, and because he sharpened his tongue, death befell him in this century, and torment was reserved for him in the future. Who will then speak evil and suffer double death for it? The apostle places the insatiable and slanderous on a par with fornicators and murderers. Look, gluttony deprived the firstborn Esau of his birthright. And you have the right to birthright - spiritual righteousness. Do not sell her out of gluttony, she is your birthright; do not sell her like Esau. A person is above everything - and humiliates himself for the sake of what is not worthy of respect, sells himself with the word of his mouth. If you lose your rightness in your youth, then you are like Esau. Listen to the miracle that took place, how words prevailed over deeds, and faith overcame the rights of nature and birth - the inconspicuous birthright was stolen by the incoming word. What did not happen in reality, faith received. What was impossible to receive in the flesh by deed itself, faith was able to receive spiritually. Was it possible for Esau and Jacob to be in the womb again, so that the latter could become the firstborn and receive all blessings? They were not in the visible belly, but were in the invisible belly. Oath and faith replaced carnal birth, so that the carnal birthright was stolen spiritually. What the oath took away and gave, faith accepted. Whoever gave it has vows, and whoever accepted it has faith. What a miracle happened between the seller and the buyer! He who loses the blessings of the birthright did not feel that he was losing, and he who receives did not feel that he was received. And who lost and who gained, both were young and made purchases of what they acquired. How did Esau sell his unshakable birthright? How did Jacob buy clothing that was not allowed for him? How did Esau lose what he really had? How did what was inseparable from Esau come to Jacob? If it is impossible to explain the purchase of these young men, how can one dare to enter into the study of the birth of a Saint? How could Jacob take the birthright from Manasseh and give it to Ephraim so that the birthright would become a robe of glory for him? Primogeniture typifies many things; it contains countless secrets. Baptism was depicted in it, faith was imprinted in it, chastity and glorious virginity were marked in it. Jacob himself bought it for a price, and gave it to Ephraim freely. And it was not taken from Manasseh for crimes, and it was not given to Ephraim for holiness. The birthright was given freely, and no one can blame the one who gave it. Jacob showed by this his power, according to which no one could interfere with his will. Nor can the Jewish people complain that God gave the birthright to the pagans. If they complain about this, let them complain that the birthright of Manasseh was taken away. But he who took it away from Manasseh did not sin in order to show them his power. The Lord took away their birthright because they sinned, and thereby showed how righteous He was. If it is impossible to blame Jacob for taking away the birthright from someone who did not sin, then can God be blamed for taking away the birthright from murderers? If the oath is so strong that it deprived Esau of his birthright, then who, having sworn, would dare to lie when Esau also did not lie? If Esau is rejected without breaking his oath, then what punishment is there for the one who lies daily? Look: an agreement was concluded between the lying and the truthful, and the lying one stood firm; Do not break the vows that you made to God in your need. If Esau, while suffering an insult, did not violate the agreement he had made, then how dare you violate the agreement that serves to your salvation? If Herod kept the promise that destroyed his soul, then do not break the promise you made for the sake of the future life. Therefore, brothers, let us flee from every shameful practice. But be afraid of sinful words, because even words are imputed to deeds. The word that came actually deprived him of his birthright and transferred it to another. It was a word in itself, but it was worth the birthright. Backbiting can take the place of murder - the tongue will serve instead of a sword. An unclean thought can have the power of adultery; hidden cunning is the same as a network. Evil advice can become deadly poison for those who receive it. If Esau could lose his birthright through a word, then anyone can easily be deceived and lose their chastity through one hateful word. In a lie, a person denies all his truthfulness. Just as he who renounces faith denies it with one word, so he who professes faith puts on it with the same word. The word that mediates the deed replaces the deed, and therefore a vicious thought can have the same power as a vicious deed. An unclean look can mean the same thing as an unclean deed, secret anger - to serve instead of a sword. Silent envy can become an arrow, slander can become a ditch. Let us be afraid of evil thoughts, because thoughts are deeds. Love good thoughts, because they will receive their reward, just like deeds. For the One who experiences the will of everyone and the will is a matter, because in the will there is the basis of our freedom, and, strictly speaking, the will produces everything. Just as God’s will is already a deed, so God accepts our will from us as a deed. We have all sorts of weapons to victoriously protect ourselves from everything harmful. Against darkness we have light, against sweet – bitter, against sleep – wakefulness, against hunger – satiety. This is how the Lord of all arranged it. He placed all things in such a correct relationship with each other, and nothing harmful was left without a means to counteract it. And mortal man knows how to arrange everything skillfully: he has medicines against illnesses, consolation in times of sorrow, peace for pleasure, food to satisfy hunger. Man knows well what is suitable for him both at sea and on land; he weighs and calculates what can serve his pleasure and what can satisfy his needs; knows what is needed for each time, what medicines are suitable for what diseases. How much more does the Creator know this, Who measured and weighed everything, arranged everything in great order, created in moderation what is now harmful to us, but to a greater extent also created what is counteracting it; and brought all this into mutual struggle. Because, man, you have a weapon against everything. If you lack nothing, then you lack one thing, namely: you have no justification in the Judgment if you sin. In this case, you cannot provide anything to justify yourself, because all the weapons are in your hands. If the evil one shoots his arrows at us, let prayer be our shield. If he attacks us with carnal lusts, let fasting be our refuge. If he begins to inspire us with hatred, let love be the medicine of life for us. If he intends to captivate you with untruth, your great stronghold is truth. If he hurts you with his malice, you have a high stronghold in your love for mankind. If pride fights you, humility is a glorious weapon against it. If he attacks you with carnal lust, you have armor against it - chastity. If he throws sharp arrows at you, your helmet will protect you. The sad consequences of wealth are contrasted with the satisfaction of poverty. If the enemy attacks us with gluttony, let us make wings for ourselves - fasting. If envy invades, love will build a wall against it. Our weakness has a weapon against all the enemy's arrows. If the enemy comes to take us prisoner, then we have a strong city. If he becomes hardened like Pharaoh, then we have the strength that will resist him. If he pursues us like the Egyptians, then we have a sea that will drown him. If he hides his snares in the earth, then there is bounty for us in heaven. If he rushes at us like Goliath, then instead of David we have the Son of David. If he boasts like Sisera, he will be struck by the Holy Church. If he wages war like Sennacherib, he will be destroyed with sackcloth and ashes. If he imitates the Babylonians, then there will be saints like Daniel. If he exalts himself like Haman, then there are fasting people who can defeat him. If the fire of lust is kindled, then there are chaste imitators of Joseph. What does our enemy have that we cannot resist? He has no bonds that we cannot break. It cannot bring upon us such a disease for which we do not have healing medicine; cannot arrange for us such a intrigue that we do not have the crucible to expose. There is nothing so harmful about him that we could not find a counteract against. There is no such secret network that we do not have information about. He doesn’t have a plan that even simple people wouldn’t turn into nothing. He cannot build such a stronghold that even his wives cannot destroy it. He cannot light such a furnace that the glorious youths would not despise. He cannot prepare such a ditch that the likes of Daniel will not despise it. What kind of lust is kindled that the imitators of Joseph would not overcome? What food will he prepare that the likes of Ananias will not despise? The evil one sowed pride, and Moses’ humility trampled it under foot; Naaman tempted with gold, but Elisha despised him. Simon the Magus brought silver, but Simon Peter pronounced condemnation on him; Christ dwelt in His apostle, the evil one in his disciple. The next part of this poem is in many ways similar to Homily 41, printed in Volume I and translated from the Greek. The curious reader is left to compare the two for himself in order to see the differences and similarities. You might be interested in: