Слово о добродетелях и пороках

I delight your life, lovers of Christ, because it is filled with good boldness, but my own life is cursed, because it needs nothing. I bless you, beloved, because by your right life you have become dear to God and the Angels. But who will mourn for me, who has irritated God with my vain deeds? Blessed are you, who will inherit paradise for your chaste behavior and immeasurable love. I marvel at you, who are not too lazy to make such a long journey for the benefit of your soul. What’s even more surprising to me is that you came to a man worthless and condemned for sins, and you demand a word from him for your benefit. A truly amazing thing: the rich came to the one who was fading from hunger; moistened with the dew of the Spirit, they came to be parched with thirst; those who have the sweetness of virtues - to those filled with sinful bitterness; rich to poor; the wise - to the ignorant; clean - to the defiled; those who are sound - to those who are weak in conscience; those who please God - to those who irritate Him; free - to the captive; the diligent - to the careless! You are worthy of admiration for your virtues; and I, foolish, am poor in them. By adorning yourself with abstinence, you please God; and I, careless, am subject to condemnation. You, through your good deeds and commendable chastity, have become “the aroma of Christ” (2 Cor. 2:15); and I, due to my effeminacy and laziness, became all stinking. So, it is truly surprising that, having so many advantages, you came to me, who cannot be useful to himself. And you, lovers of Christ, acted wisely, intending to become the support of my effeminacy, to make my lazy soul zealous (accommodating), to serve as a support and reinforcement for my negligence, because you yourself, being perfect, lack nothing. Since, driven by humility (humility), you demand a word for the benefit of me, a worthless person, and, wanting to expose my life, you order me to do this myself, then in order to bear the fruit of obedience, I will say a word, but I will say it with shame. Because if I start giving you advice, I will condemn myself. And if I start to denounce others, then I will blame myself. Then the word of the Savior will rightfully be spoken to me: “to the doctor, heal yourself” (Luke 4:23). But since the same Lord and Savior of all said: “Everything that you are commanded to do, do it: “Do not do them by deeds” (Matthew 23:3), then, although I am unclean, I still know how to give right advice, therefore, turning my gaze to this angelic life, I pleased every advantage of it. And whoever lives rightly and pleasingly and behaves will not please chastely because of the endless and immeasurable blessings prepared for him? And who will not cry for a person who lives carelessly, is outside the Heavenly Kingdom for his miserable deeds, and is cast out from the bridal chamber for his carelessness (Matthew 25:11). Blessed is the man who has the fear of God in himself. He is clearly blessed by the Holy Spirit. “Blessed is the man who fears the Lord” (Ps. 3:1). He who fears the Lord is truly beyond all enemy tricks and has escaped all the enemy’s snares. Whoever has the fear of God is conveniently saved from the plans of the evil enemy. The enemy does not catch him in anything, because out of fear he does not allow carnal pleasures to reach him. He who is afraid does not soar with his mind here and there, because he is waiting for his Master, lest he come “suddenly and find” him lazy, “and crush him to pieces” (Mk. 13:36. Matt. 24:51). He who has the fear of God is never careless, because he is always sober. He who is afraid does not sleep without measure, because he is awake and awaits the coming of his Lord. He who is afraid does not remain indifferent, so as not to irritate his Master. He who is afraid is not lazy, because he always takes care of his property, fearing to fall into condemnation. He who is afraid always prefers what is pleasing to his Lord and prepares it, so that the Lord, when he comes, will praise him for many things. Thus, the fear of the Lord, for those who acquire it, becomes the cause of many blessings! He who does not have the fear of God in himself is open to the attacks of the devil. He who does not have the fear of God floats in his mind and is indifferent to goodness, sleeps without measure and is careless about his affairs; he is the receptacle of voluptuousness, delights in everything that pleases him, because he is not afraid of the coming of the Lord; he boasts of passions, loves peace, avoids suffering, abhors humility, kisses pride. Finally, his Lord comes and finds him in activities that are not pleasing to Him, “and he will scatter him to pieces” and betray him to eternal darkness. Who wouldn’t recognize such a person as damned? Blessed is the man in whom there is the love of God, because he carries God within himself. “God is loving, and he who abides in love abides in God” (1 John 4:16). In whom love is, together with God, above all else. If there is love in him, he is not afraid, because “love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18). In whom there is love, he never disdains anyone, small and great, glorious and inglorious, poor and rich; on the contrary, he himself is trash (garbage) for everyone; “he covers all things... he endures all things” (1 Cor. 13:7). In whom there is love, he does not exalt himself before anyone, does not become arrogant, does not slander anyone, and turns away his ears from those who slander. In whom there is love, he does not walk with flattery, he himself does not stumble and does not trip up his brother’s feet. In whom there is love, he does not compete, does not envy, does not look with a hateful eye, does not rejoice at the fall of others, does not denigrate the fallen, but sympathizes with him and takes part in him, does not despise a brother in need, but intercedes and is ready to die for him. In whom there is love, he fulfills the will of God, he is a disciple of God. For our good Master Himself said: “This is what everyone understands, as My disciples are by nature... that you love one another” (John 13:35, 34). In whom there is love, he never appropriates anything to himself, does not say about anything: “This is mine,” but everything that he has, he offers to everyone for common use. In whom there is love, he does not consider anyone a stranger to himself, but everyone is his own. In whom there is love, he “is not irritated... is not proud,” is not inflamed with anger, does not rejoice over untruth, does not fall into lies, and does not consider anyone his enemy except the devil. In whom love is, he “endures all things... is kind... long-suffering” (1 Cor. 13:4-7). Therefore, blessed is he who acquired love and with it moved to God, because God knows his own and will accept him into His bosom. The worker of love will be a cohabitant with the Angels and will reign with Christ. Out of love, God the Word descended to earth. Through love, heaven has been opened for us, and everyone is shown the entrance to heaven. Through love we are reconciled with God, who were His enemies. Therefore, we rightly say that “God is loving, and he who abides in love abides in God.” About those who have no love in them The one who is far from love is unfortunate and pitiful. He spends his days in sleepy delirium. And who will not cry for that person who is far from God, deprived of light and lives in darkness? For I tell you, brothers, whoever does not have the love of Christ is an enemy of Christ. He is not lying when he says that “he who hates his brother is a murderer” (1 John 3:15), “and walks in darkness” (1 John 2:11), and is conveniently caught in every sin. He who has no love soon becomes irritated, soon becomes angry, and soon becomes inflamed with hatred. He who does not have love rejoices over the injustice of others, does not sympathize with the falling, does not stretch out his hand to the lying, does not give advice to the overthrown, does not support the wavering. He who has no love is blinded by his mind, he is a friend of the devil, he is the inventor of all wickedness, he is the creator of quarrels, he is the friend of slanderers, the interlocutor of earphones, the adviser of offenders, the mentor of the envious, the worker of pride, the vessel of arrogance. In a word, he who has not acquired love is a tool of the enemy, wandering along every path and not knowing that he is walking in darkness. Truly blessed is the man who has acquired long-suffering, because the Holy Scripture also praises him, saying: “A man who is long-suffering is wise in understanding” (Prov. 14:29). And what is more advantageous than this? He who is long-suffering is always in joy, in gladness, in admiration, because he trusts in the Lord. He who is long-suffering is far from angry, because he endures everything. A long-suffering person is not quickly inflamed with anger, does not resort to insults, and is not easily moved by empty speeches; if offended, he is not upset; those who resist do not resist; is firm in every matter; does not quickly fall into deception, is not prone to irritation, rejoices in sorrows, gets used to every good deed; people who are dissatisfied with everyone, pleases them in everything; when commanded, he does not contradict; when reprimanded, does not frown; in any case, he finds healing for himself in long-suffering. About the one who does not have long-suffering in himself He who does not have long-suffering is far from being patient, because he who is impatient easily goes astray, is ready to be irritated, and soon becomes heated and starts a quarrel; if he is insulted, he insults himself; if he is offended, he repays the offense; argues about things that serve no purpose; his deeds and his works blow like leaves in the wind; he is unsteady in words, quickly jumps from one to another. He who does not have long-suffering is far from steadfast, because he soon changes. He has not acquired prudence, he is friends with the vicious, spends time with the evil-tongued, helps the offender, does not hide secrets, he is ready to take every word out. And what is more unfortunate than this? Blessed is he, brethren, who has acquired patience, because in patience there is hope; “But hope does not put to shame” (Rom. 5:5). Truly blessed and thrice blessed is he who has patience. “He who endures to the end will be saved” (Matthew 10:22). And what is better than this promise? “The Lord is good to those who endure Him” (Nahum.1:7). What is the value of patience, do you know this, brethren? Or do I need to find a word about this for your identification? There is no such thing as patience alone, but it is required in many virtues. He who is patient attains every virtue. In sorrows he rejoices, in needs he proves skillful, in temptations he delights. He is ready to obey, adorned with long-suffering, filled with love. He blesses for insults, keeps peace in quarrels, is courageous in silence, is not lazy in psalmody, is ready for fasting, is patient in prayer, blameless in deeds, upright in answers, submissive in correcting assignments, diligent in life, courteous in rendering services, attractive in his manners, pleasant in community with brotherhood, sweet in meetings, in vigils not gloomy, diligent in caring for the strange, helpful in caring for the weak; the first assistant in a difficult situation, sober in thought, kind in every matter. He who has acquired patience has acquired hope. For he is adorned with every good work. Therefore, he will boldly cry out to the Lord, saying: “I have endured the Lord, and he listened to me” (Ps. 39:2). About the one who has no patience The one who has not acquired patience is ill-fated and pitiful. The Divine Scripture threatens such with grief. “Woe,” he says, “to those who destroy patience” (Sir.2:14). And indeed, truly, woe to him who has no patience. He is tossed up like a leaf by the wind, cannot bear insult, and in sorrow falls into carelessness. He is easily drawn into quarrels. Where it is necessary to endure, there he grumbles. Where obedience is required, he will contradict. Lazy in prayers, relaxed in vigils, gloomy in fasting, negligent in abstinence, slow in answers, faulty in deeds, irresistible in guile, self-willed in activities, courageous in disputes, powerless in silence. He is an adversary to those who are worthy of praise, and a rival to those who are successful. He who lacks patience suffers many losses and is unable to become virtuous. For “let us strive with patience for the fight that is set before us,” says the apostle (Heb. 12:1). He who has no patience is alien to all hope. Therefore, I beg anyone who, like me, is impatient, to acquire patience in order to be saved. Blessed is the man who does not easily become angry or irritated. He is always in the world. Driving away the spirit of irritability and anger, he is far from war and rebellion, always calm in spirit and cheerful in face. He who does not quickly become angry and is not moved by empty words is a worker of righteousness and truth. He easily restrains the afflicted with his talkativeness and treats them patiently. He does not give offense; infirmities do not meet with him; he does not rejoice in quarrels, because he expresses love for everyone. A person who is not angry does not like arguments, but he is always sound in mind, loves peace, and is imbued with long-suffering. He who does not easily accept the spirit of irascibility becomes the abode of the Holy Spirit. He who does not have a temper does not grieve (grief) the Holy Spirit. He can be meek, he can have love, patience, and humility. He who is not angry is adorned with every good deed and is loved by Christ. Therefore, he is truly threefold blessed who constantly drives away the spirit of anger and irritability, because his body, soul, and mind are always healthy. And whoever is always possessed by a temper, often and quickly brought to anger even by an unimportant thing, let him hear what the apostle says: “For the wrath of a man does not work the righteousness of God” (James 1:20). And indeed, the one who is overcome by these passions is ill-fated and pitiful. For he who is angry, as they say, kills his soul. And indeed, an angry person kills and destroys his soul, because he spends his whole life in turmoil and is far from calm. He is alien to peace, far from health, because his body is constantly melting away, and his soul is grieving, and his flesh is withering, and his face is covered with pallor, and his thoughts change, and his mind is exhausted, and his thoughts flow like a river, and everyone hates him. Such a person is far from patience and love; he is easily thrown into confusion by empty speeches, and starts quarrels out of trifles; where there is no need for him, he interferes in the matter and incurs more and more hatred. Such a person loves verbosity and boasts about what is useless. He enjoys slander; for meekness he is weak, but in wickedness he is courageous. And who wouldn't cry for him? He is an abomination before God and before people. For a hot-tempered person is intolerable in everything. Therefore, beware of temper. Truly blessed and thrice blessed is the man in whom there is meekness. About him, the holy Savior and Lord, confirming this, says: “Blessed are the meek: for these will inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5). And what is more blessed than this satisfaction, what is higher than this promise, what is brighter than this joy - to inherit the earth of paradise? Therefore, brethren, hearing of the exceeding riches of the promise, be jealous for the gain. Hasten to enter into the lordship of this virtue; be touched in your heart when you hear this, and try as much as you can so that none of you are excluded from the inheritance of this land and then cry bitterly in unreasonable repentance. Hasten to meekness, hearing how it is pleased, hearing what the undeceitful Isaiah speaks about it through the Holy Spirit. “And to whom will I look,” says the Lord, “but to him who is meek and silent and trembles at My words” (Is. 66:2). Can you help but marvel at this promise? For what is more glorious than such an honor? So, take care, brethren, that no one loses this bliss, this immeasurable joy and this joy. Therefore, hurry, hurry, I beg you; acquire meekness, for the meek is adorned with every good work. The meek, even if offended, rejoices; even if he is sorrowful, he gives thanks; he pacifies the angry with love; taking blows, remains firm; during a quarrel he is calm, in submission he is cheerful, he is not hurt by pride, he rejoices in humiliation, he is not proud of his merits, he does not boast, he lives in silence with everyone; He is submissive to any authority, ready for any task, deserves approval in everything, everyone praises him. He is alien to guile, far from hypocrisy. He does not serve cunning, does not submit to envy, abhors slander, does not tolerate earphones, hates scolders, and averts earphones. O blessed wealth - meekness! She is glorified by everyone. So, brothers, we must weep and shed tears for those who do not have meekness in themselves, but have entered into an alliance with wickedness, because they are subject to a heavy sentence. “Those who are wicked,” as it is said, “will be consumed” (Ps. 36:9). Our Holy God humiliates the wicked, saying: “The wicked man wears out the wicked treasure... of his heart... the wicked one” (Matthew 12:35; Luke 6:45). And the prophet also says: “Those who rebel against Me will hear My ear” (Ps. 91:12). For the demon of wickedness is terrible, brethren; Therefore, beware lest any of you, having fallen into it, reproach himself. For the evil one is never at peace, but always in turmoil, always filled with irritability, deceit and anger, always spying on his neighbor, always gossiping, always envious, always competing, always becoming bitter; when receiving an order, contradicts it; having heard the command, he distorts it; after good advice he does something bad; having concluded a condition, violates it; whoever loves him mocks him; those who deserve approval are disdained; those who show success are dissatisfied with them; He puts admonition at nothing, he corrupts the brethren; oppresses the simple-minded, alienates the meek, ridicules the magnanimous, is a hypocrite in front of strangers, slanders one another, goes against everyone, takes part in quarrels, drives a person to irritation, helps in revenge, is ready for slander, happily speaks ill of others, is quick to insult, is strong in verbosity, is zealous in inflicting blows on others, the first assistant to the cause of rebellion, in while singing psalmody, he is weak, weakened in fasting, has neither the strength nor understanding for any good deed, and is incapable of spiritual conversations; because “all iniquity will stop his lips” (Ps. 106:42). So, this man is worthy of many tears; and therefore I beseech you, brethren, beware of wickedness! Blessed is the one who coordinates his life with the truth, and is not caught up in any lie. Blessed and thrice blessed is he who has become a worker of truth, because “God is true” (John 3:33), and there is no lie in Him. And who will not please one who observes the truth because he imitates God? He who abides in the truth is truly always pleasing to God, useful to all people, excellent in brotherhood, and correct in every matter. A true man does not please people, does not judge unjustly, does not arrogate dignity and honor to himself, does not despise the poor and the needy, is not flattering in his answers, is correct in judgment, is diligent in business, is respected in the general composition of the brotherhood, does not know deceit, does not like hypocrisy, is adorned with every good deed, and is guided only by virtue. So, blessed is he who always serves the truth! But ill-fated and pitiful is the one who remains stuck in any lie, because the devil “from time immemorial... is a lie” (John 8:44). He who remains stuck in a lie has no boldness, because he is hated by both God and people. And who would not cry for a man who spends his life in a lie? Such a person does not deserve approval in any matter and is suspicious in every answer. In the monastery he stirs up anger and quarrels, and in fraternal society he is the same as rust in iron. He has a bold heart and he doesn't close it down; he willingly listens to secrets and easily reveals them; he knows how to overthrow with his tongue even those who stand firmly in goodness. He starts a business and shows that he is not the cause of the matter. He says nothing without an oath and thinks to convince with a lot of verbiage. A liar is resourceful and resourceful. There is no ulcer deeper than this, no shame worse than this. A liar is vile to everyone and funny to everyone. Therefore, be attentive to yourselves, brothers, do not remain stuck in lies! Blessed is the one who has acquired true and unfeigned obedience, because such a person is an imitator of our good Teacher, Who was “obedient” “even to death” (Phil. 2:8). So, truly blessed is he in whom there is obedience, because, being an imitator of the Lord, he becomes a joint heir with Him. He who has obedience is united with everyone by love. Whoever has obedience has acquired great wealth, great wealth. He who is obedient is pleasing to all, praised by all, glorified by all. The obedient one soon rises, soon shows success. The obedient is commanded and does not contradict; they give a command, and he does not pervert it; reprimanded, and he is not angry. He is ready for any good deed. He is not easily overcome by temper. If he hears a reproach, he is not embarrassed; does not become incensed from insults, rejoices in sorrows, gives thanks in sorrows. He does not move from place to place, does not move from monastery to monastery. Exhortations do not frighten him; he remains in the place where he is called, and does not give in to despondency. He does not humiliate his father and does not dishonor his brother; does not shy away from staying in the monastery. He does not like to indulge in peace, is not captivated by locations, does not enjoy the air, but, according to the word of the holy Apostle, he remains in the place where he is “called to be” (1 Cor. 7:20). So, the fruits of obedience are truly many; and therefore blessed is he who has acquired it. But the one who has not acquired obedience but indulges in murmuring is worthy of damnation and pitiful. For murmuring in a monastery is a great plague, a temptation for society, the ruin of love, the destruction of unanimity, a violation of peace. A murmurer (a murmurer "(c.-sl.)" - one who grumbles against someone in absentia), when given an order, contradicts, is unfit for business; Such a person does not even have a good disposition, because he is lazy, and laziness is inseparable from grumbling. Therefore, everyone who is lazy “will fall into evil,” says the Holy Scripture (Proverbs 17:16). The lazy one, as it is said, sent on a journey “speaks... a lion is in the paths, but robbers are in the way” (Proverbs 22:14). The complainer always has an excuse ready. If he is ordered to get down to business, he grumbles, and soon corrupts others. “And why is this,” he says, “and what else is it for? And there is no benefit in this matter.” If sent on a journey, it represents that there will be great harm from the journey. If they wake him up to sing psalms, he gets irritated. If they wake you up for a vigil, they excuse it with stomach and head illnesses. If you admonish him, he answers: “Teach yourself, and reason with me, as God pleases.” If you teach him something, he says: “It would be nice for you to know it the way I know it.” He will never do a job alone unless he involves someone else in the same job. Every deed of a murmurer is not worthy of approval, and is worthless, and alien to all virtue. The murmurer is glad to have peace, but he does not like anxiety. The murmurer loves to eat and abhors fasting. Grumbler and lazy; he knows how to talk, knows how to weave a speech; he is resourceful and resourceful, and no one surpasses him in verbosity; he is always slandering one another. The murmurer is gloomy in charitable matters, incapable of accepting strangers, hypocritical in love, and courageous in hatred. Therefore, brothers, let us not murmur at the orders that are given to us, let us not make objections, or assert our rights as those who are more knowledgeable. About not having envy and rivalry Blessed is he who is not subject to envy and rivalry, for rivalry and envy hold each other together, and whoever has one of these vices has both of them. Therefore, truly blessed is he who has not fallen into these vices and is not hurt by any of them. For whoever competes with his brother unfairly is condemned along with the devil. He who competes is defeated; There is also enmity in him, he is tormented by the success of others. And he who does not have envy and rivalry is not saddened by the success of others. When another is honored, he is not embarrassed. When another is exalted, he is not worried, because he gives preference to everyone, prefers everyone to himself; He considers himself alone to be unworthy and the last of all, but he recognizes everyone else as the most excellent, all of them as his best. He who is not envious does not seek honor, rejoices with those who rejoice, does not attribute glorious deeds to himself, helps those who succeed, looks with pleasure at those who follow the good path, praises those who live as they should. If he sees that a brother is doing his job well, he does not hinder him, but encourages him with his advice. If he sees another who has given himself up to peace, he does not blame him for this, but supports him. If he sees a brother’s misdeed, he does not denigrate him, but gives him proper advice. If he sees an angry person, he does not outrage him, but calms him with love, inclining him to peace. If he sees someone sad, he does not neglect him, but sympathizes with him and consoles him with soul-helping words. If he sees an unlearned and ignorant person, he rushes to teach him and instruct him in useful things. If he sees someone who doesn’t know, he shows him the path to better things without envy. If he sees that another is sleeping during psalmody, he diligently wakes him up. In short, he who is not envious and has no rivalry in himself in any matter does not mock his neighbor; on the contrary, he who is not envious rejoices at every success and every valiant deed of his friend. About envy and rivalry And whoever is wounded by envy and rivalry is pitiful, because he is an accomplice of the devil, through whom “death is gone into the world” (Wis. 2:24). Whoever has envy and rivalry is the enemy of everyone, because he does not want anyone else to be preferred to him. He humiliates those who deserve approval; whoever walks the good path places temptations along the way; those who live as they should condemn; he abhors the reverent; he calls the one who fasts vain, the one who is diligent in psalmody - one who loves to show off; quick service - greedy; efficient in business - fame-loving; diligently studying books - an idle lover; skillful in answering - a glutton. An envious person never rejoices in the success of another. If he sees someone who is careless about a matter, he will not encourage him to do good, but rather instruct him to do evil. When he sees that another is sleeping during prayer, he will not wake him up, but rather will take care of maintaining silence. If he sees a brother who has given himself up to peace, he will blame him for this. If he sees a brother who once suffered a fall, he denigrates him in front of everyone. Woe to the envious, because his heart is always exhausted from sadness, his body is consumed by pallor, and his strength is exhausted. He is intolerable to everyone, he is the enemy of everyone, he hates everyone, he is a hypocrite in front of everyone, he plots intrigues in front of everyone, he wears a guise in front of everyone, today he is friends with one, and tomorrow with another, and in his disposition towards everyone he changes, he conforms to the desires of everyone, and after a while he condemns everyone, denigrates one before another, and confuses everyone with everyone. So, a terrible poison is envy and rivalry; from them will be born slander, hatred and murder. Therefore, you, warriors of heavenly citizenship, run as far as possible from envy, keep rivalry and envy as far as possible from yourself, so as not to fall into condemnation along with the devil! About not being slanderous Blessed and thrice blessed is the one who has not damaged his tongue by the slander of others, who has not desecrated his heart with his tongue, but understands that we are all under punishment, and does not delight in the slander of others, but is irritated against this passion. For whoever does not slander another has kept himself blameless. There was no stumbling block for him, and his conscience was undefiled. He who runs from a slandering spirit has kept himself from getting close to evil people and has defeated hordes of demons. He who has not acquired a slanderous tongue has acquired an incorruptible (imperishable) treasure. He who is not inclined to slander others has avoided fratricide, and others will not slander him. He who is not caught in the spirit of slander has truly recognized that he himself is a man of the flesh, and has kept himself spotless. He who is not in company with those who speak evil will be with the Angels. He who has not poisoned his ears and tongue with slander is filled with the medicine of love. He who does not defile his lips with slander, his lips are fragrant with the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, truly blessed, and I will also say, blessed is he who has kept himself from slander. He who delights in slandering others clearly shows that he himself is caught in the very thing for which he slanders others. For whoever curses another condemns himself. He is a carnal man, entangled in the snares of the world. The slanderer has everything - slander, hatred, and slander, therefore he is recognized as a fratricide, merciless, unmerciful. And whoever always has the fear of God in himself, and who has a pure heart, does not like to slander others, does not delight in other people’s secrets, does not seek joy in the fall of others. Therefore, the one who has accustomed himself to slander is truly worthy of tears and crying. And what is more hateful than this? Therefore, the holy Apostle, forbidding evil deeds, includes among those who do them the slanderer: “neither the evildoer” (Λοισοροι - slanderers) nor the predators will inherit the Kingdom of God" (1 Cor. 6:10). Truly blessed and thrice blessed is he who has observed abstinence, because abstinence is truly a great virtue. But listen, to what extent does abstinence extend, what is valued and what is required? There is abstinence in food - to control oneself and not look for food in the abundance of food, or expensive dishes, not to eat at the wrong time, or except at a certain hour, not to indulge in the spirit of gluttony, not to be aroused to greed by the goodness of food and not to desire one thing or another. There is abstinence in drinking - to control oneself and not go to feasts, not to enjoy the pleasant taste of wines, not to drink wine unnecessarily, not to seek out different drinks, not to pursue pleasure, that is, to drink skillfully prepared mixtures, not to drink excessively not only wine, but, if possible, also water. There is abstinence in the desire of vicious voluptuousness - to control the feeling, not to indulge accidentally aroused desires, not to be inclined to thoughts that inspire voluptuousness, not to delight in what subsequently arouses hatred towards oneself, not to fulfill the will of the flesh, but to curb passions with the fear of God. For he is truly abstinent, who desires (strongly desires) these immortal blessings and, rushing towards them with the mind, turns away from carnal lust, abhors carnality, as something plunging into the shadows; does not like to look at women's faces, is not captivated by physical appearance, is not attracted by beauty, does not enjoy what is pleasant to smell, is not caught by words of flattery, does not stay with women, and especially immodest ones, does not prolong conversations with wives. He who is truly courageous and self-controlled, and watches himself for this immeasurable peace, abstains in every thought, and overcomes every desire with the lust for a better thing and the fear of the future age. He who is intemperate, and in whom there is no self-control, is easily caught in every kind of indecency. Intemperate and voluptuous. The intemperate finds pleasure in verbosity and idle talk. He likes idle talk and wit; he enjoys the sweetness of the food; he shows his courage in eating and drinking a lot, becomes inflamed at the sight of vain pleasure, and is inclined to have unclean thoughts; out of love for pleasure he indulges in extravagance; chasing fame; dreams of honors as something that is already in his hands; when meeting women he becomes cheerful and is attracted by beauty; bodily beauty drives him crazy, he admires the beauty of his face, and enchants the stateliness of his body; in conversations with women and laughers, he melts with pleasure; dreams when remembering what he saw; memories predominate in his mind, he vividly imagines in his mind women's faces, touching hands, hugging bodies, bringing limbs together, passionate expressions, charming smiles, winking eyes, elegant clothes, good-colored bodies, flattering speeches, pursing lips, bodily pleasantness, expressiveness of movements, time and place of dates and everything that serves for pleasure. This is what the sensualist and intemperate vividly imagines in his mind, inclining to thoughts! Such a person, if he sees that they are reading a book about chastity, frowns; if he sees that the fathers, having gathered, are discussing useful things, he evades and does not approve of this; if he sees the strict life of his fathers, he is indignant; If he hears talk about fasting, he becomes indignant. He doesn’t like gatherings of the brethren, and if he sees women, he becomes enlightened, runs back and forth to provide his services; then he has a voice for singing, he has the ability to say a witty word and laugh, in order to please himself and the women who are here, and to show himself as entertaining and pleasant. In silence he is bored and unwell. Therefore, the one who does not have all types of abstinence, and abstinence in everything, is ill-fated and pitiful. Therefore, brethren, hearing what the fruits of abstinence are, and what the harvest of intemperance is, let us run last and cleave to abstinence. For the reward for abstinence is great, and there is no limit to its greatness. Therefore, truly blessed is he who has truly acquired abstinence. Blessed is he who is established in every virtue and tries to shine through righteous deeds. Blessed is the one who did not secretly do anything displeasing to God, but served Him in all righteousness, so that all his deeds were in the light; Blessed is the one who is not inclined to any thought that inspires anything vain. What should I do, who have now praised every virtue and have not practiced any of them, but have spent my years in all sorts of bad deeds? And on me is fulfilled what is written: “You load men with burdens that cannot be easily borne, and with one finger... you do not touch” (Luke 11:46). Therefore, I beg your common love, blessed (glorified) by Christ, participants in paradise, all of you strive to please Christ, who included you in His army, so that none of you is rejected for negligence or negligence. All of you, who by the grace of Christ have entered under the yoke, beware of fulfilling the desires of the flesh, so as not to find us unrequited at that terrible “judgment”, at which there will be reward for everyone, whether someone has “done” good or bad (2 Cor. 5:10). But then woe to me, because I will have to appear without boldness. And what should I do in this hour of inevitable need? Blessed are those who will then boldly appear before the Judge, who will receive the holy reward from the hands of the Lord. But woe then to those who are ashamed of something despicable and worthless. For example, what is the justification for someone accused of love of glory, or arrogance, or disobedience, or insubordination, or gluttony, or rashness, or verbosity, or pride, or arbitrariness, or arrogance, or envy, or enmity, or irascibility, or slander, or slander? What excuse is there for one who is accused of these despicable vices? What benefit or pleasure do we get from this? But what a burden it is to renounce this! Therefore I urge you, brethren, be careful that none of you is convicted of any such thing. For in the judgment of grave sins (I know this well) you have power over yourself. And everyone neglects these sins as unimportant, thinking that they will not be asked about them. But it is with these that the devil catches us, for he makes it so that each of us neglects them as meaning nothing. Try so that these sins do not serve to ensnare you, but, on the contrary, watch yourself with all caution in order to be glorified with Christ. Glory to him forever and ever! 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