Instructive words to Egyptian monks

Contents Lecture 1 Lecture 2. An exhortation to godliness Lecture 3. To the novices Lecture 4 Lecture 5. To the novices Lecture 6 Lecture 7. To the novices Lecture 8 Lecture 9. On obedience Lecture 10 Lecture 11 Lecture 12. On innocence Lecture 13. About humility Lecture 14. About superiors Lecture 15 Lecture 16 Lecture 17. On pride and empty self-deception Lecture 18 Lecture 19 Lecture 20. On various slumbers Lecture 21 Lecture 22. On handicraft Lecture 23 Lecture 24. On despondency and the patience of the elders Lecture 25. On moving from place to place Lesson 26 Lesson 27. On lack of fear and negligence Lesson 28. On the words: to him who has everything will be given everywhere and he will have abundance Lesson 29 Lesson 30. On humility Lesson 31. On the fact that a Christian should be generous and unforgiving Lesson 32. On the passions Lecture 33. How one should comfort the faint-hearted Lecture 34. That a reading brother should delve into what he is reading and read with care, as if in the presence of God Lecture 35. On virginity and chastity Lecture 36. On purity Lecture 37. About the fact that one should not wander here and there with one’s eyes, but lower one’s gaze, and strive with one’s soul towards the Lord. Lesson 38. On meekness. Lesson 39. On the disobedient and on the resurrection, on the fear of God and on the future Judgment. Lesson 40. On reverence. Lesson 41. On those who fall away due to their own negligence and make excuses for their sins with any excuse. Lecture 42. To a fallen brother and about repentance Lecture 43. About the fact that one should not swear and speak blasphemy Lecture 44. The words are explained to the brother: it is better to marry than to become limp (1 Cor. 7:9) Lecture 45. On the fear of God Lecture 46. About love Lecture 47. To Eulogius Lecture 48. To a monk who has fallen into despondency and says: “I’ll go and return to the world.” Lesson 49. About evil behavior Lesson 50. About the difference between monastic and secular life Glory to Thee, God, glory to Thee! And I will also say: Glory to Thee, O honored and exalted God forever! Continually, beloved, we must thank God, Who has made us worthy to accept His good yoke and delivered us from what is temporary and perishable. I want to serve as information with which grace has enlightened my mind. But I do not intend to speak in clever words, since I myself am an unlearned and insignificant person. Moreover, what was said in a clever way is not intelligible to everyone, especially to those unfamiliar with worldly wisdom. Therefore, it is necessary to offer a clear word that those reading could understand, according to what the blessed apostle said: “If I do not understand the power of the voice, I will be a foreigner who speaks: and he who speaks is a foreigner to me” (1 Cor. 14:11). But the spiritual word can convince those who are obedient to the faith even without the aid of grammar and rhetoric. Blessed be God, Who gives everything to everyone and enlightens everyone to what is useful! That this is beyond the measure of my strength is not unknown to me. But it is written: “A time to be silent, and a time to speak” (Eccl. 3:7). Therefore, what excuse will we have on the Day of Judgment for not providing all possible assistance to those suffering from inexperience, especially at a time when they are overwhelmed by harmful teaching and lawless advice? The bloodthirsty lion and enemy of truth never ceases to deceive those who are not quite attentive; and does not want to devour human flesh, but longs to drag their souls into Gehenna. How many, do you think, in their hermitage did he again subjugate to dishonorable passions? How many, after incorporating them into the brotherhood, did he make apostates and alien to the monastic image? Therefore, one should not shy away from work. On the contrary, if a brother helps his brother, then they will not be caught in the snares of the devil. We will say in the words of the Apostle: we do not think that we are satisfied from ourselves, but from ourselves, but our contentment is from God. They also pleased us to serve Him, despite all our unworthiness (2 Cor. 3:5-6). And may the Lord grant you, as a good land, having received the word, to bear perfect and abundant fruit in righteousness to Christ our Savior. Glory to him forever! Amen. Teaching 2. Exhortation to Godliness 2 Are you a Christian, beloved, by the grace of God? Keep the commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. For it is written: Truly I understand that God does not pay attention to personalities, but fear Him in every nation, and do righteousness, He is acceptable (Acts 10:34-35). If you want to begin a strict monastic life in order to achieve great perfection, then until you put it in your mind that you have already passed away from this life, and you will not look at this world and its glory as at a ruined tabernacle, until then you will not be able to overcome earthly passions and worldly lusts, which plunge a person into the omnipresence of the flesh and destruction (1 Tim. 6:9). For He who said: If anyone wants to come after Me, is not deceitful, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and come after Me. Whoever wants to find his soul will destroy it: and whoever wants to destroy his soul for My sake will find it. What good is it to a man, if he gains the whole world, but loses his soul; or what will a man give in exchange for his soul (Matthew 16:24–26)? It is not difficult to lay a foundation, but it is difficult to complete a building. For the higher the building is erected, the more labor it presents to the builder until the very end of the work. Let us listen to the saving voice that says: Whoever is of you, even if he builds a pillar, will not first consider what he has and what he has to spend; Yes, when he lays the foundation and is unable to complete it, all who see it will begin to curse him. Verb: For this man was begun: and is not able to finish it” (Luke 14:28–30). For warriors, the battle is short-lived, but for a monk it lasts until he departs to the Lord. Therefore, it is necessary to get down to business with all care, sobriety and patience. If, beloved, you intend to kill a lion, then undertake it with firmness, so that he does not crush your bones like a meager vessel. If you are plunged into the sea, do not lose courage until you reach land, so that you do not sink into the depths like a stone. If you enter into a fight, brother, be sober, so that the enemy does not rejoice in defeating you, and so that instead of a crown you do not receive the opposite. So, anyone who wants to be a monk must be prepared for courageous patience, so that upon entering monasticism he does not say: “I did not know that this would happen to me.” Now, this became known to you in advance, so that you could put your thoughts in order, knowing that your art will show itself in this. Understand what has been said, beloved, so that not only today, when you stand at the door and they ask you, say: “I will endure everything,” and in the morning renounce it both in word and deed: for the Angels of God stand by and hear everything that comes from your mouth. Look, beloved, no one forces you, and if you truly enter into a covenant, be careful not to lie, because the Lord will destroy all those who speak lies (Ps. 5:7). So, this is what happens to someone who approaches God: first temptation, then sorrow, then labor, despondency, nakedness, passions, oppression, humiliation. For in this the patience and skill of the faithful are revealed. In all this, the one who with all his heart surrenders himself to the management of God and remains in the will of God is victorious. God demands from us only perfect determination, and He Himself gives us strength and grants victory, as it is written: The Protector of all those who trust in Him (Ps. 17:31). And he also says: The Lord is near to all who call on Him in truth. He will do the will of those who fear Him, and I will hear their prayer and save them” (Ps. 144:18). Pray, I ask, for us, so that the Lord will grant us to do without reproach what we say. For it is not as those who have reached this level that we give you advice, but as we approach the word, we call upon the Lord Jesus Christ, the Giver and Provider of words, so that together we may both receive and benefit. If the so-called greengrocers carefully searched for the roots and types of herbs and put this in writing - in which God’s great vision for the comfort of those sick in the flesh is clearly revealed, then aren’t we even more obliged to open the treasure of grace, for which it was given? The crafty slave, who through laziness hid his master’s talent, did not escape execution. Who wouldn’t sigh for me, pretending to bear the name of a monk? Who will not cry for me, who have lost my reverence and patience? And what will I do when my Lord Christ visits me? Therefore, I ask you, beloved, pray for me, an indecent servant, that I may be delivered from the present evil age, and that the grace of Christ may open my lips to the praise of the Holy and Consubstantial Trinity, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. We and our words are in the hand of God: God is the teacher of man’s understanding (Ps. 93:10). To him be glory forever. Amen. Lesson 3. To new ascetics 3 If, having renounced the world, you come, beloved, to the brothers, stay in the monastery of the brothers, want to live with them and work for our Lord Jesus Christ, and you see that some of the brothers are walking disorderly and saying things that are displeasing to God, then do not pay attention to them and their speech, leaving them to talk among themselves. He who says something displeasing to God does not fear the Lord, living in negligence. The lips of such people always speak heavy things at all times. But always keep God before your eyes, for it is written in the psalm: I will foresee the Lord before me, as he is at my right hand, so that I will not be moved (Ps. 15:8). And may the terrible serpent not teach you to say: “If the elders do evil, what should I, still young, do?” But listen to the Lord, who says: for many are called, but few are chosen (Matthew 20:16). Love your salvation so that you can be among the elect. Those who do evil, in a monastery or in any other place, are the sons of the evil one, like tares among the wheat. Therefore, be wheat that will be gathered into the Lord's barns, and not tares that will be burned in the unquenchable fire. Let us not condemn anyone, for we do not know how he behaves in his cell or how he works before God; Let us not condemn him if we see him laughing or talking, for we do not know what his position is in his cell or how he works before God. Therefore, each of us needs to be attentive to ourselves, because each of us will give an answer to God for ourselves. Listen with all your heart to the singing of psalmody and the reading of the Divine Scriptures, and drink in their fat with your soul, like a baby feeding from the nipples. From the Scriptures you will learn rewards for virtues, and there will be joy and gladness in your heart. Be meek, obedient and prudent. You are meek to the point that if the boy asks you to, follow him, do the work and silently return to your cell, silently with your lips, but praying with your heart. Be obedient, so that you may keep your body pure in the Lord, like a pearl of great price. Do not flaunt your clothes and do not boast about your rich parents, for let him boast in the Lord (1 Cor. 1:31). All flesh is hay, and all the glory of man is like the flower of grass. The grass is gone and the flower is fallen away, but the word of our God abides forever (Is. 40:6-8). Turn your gaze downward and your soul to grief. Don’t go so far as to treat a young man freely, and even talking to a woman is unnecessary. Do not have a conversation with the boy, do not enter into company with those who are drunk, or disobedient, or ridiculous; but abide all day in the fear of God, as the apostle says: walk in wisdom, redeeming the times, for the days are evil. For this reason, do not be foolish, but understand that there is the will of God. And do not get drunk with wine, for in it there is fornication (Eph. 5:15–18). And one more thing: let the enemy be put to shame, having nothing to say reproachfully about us (Titus 2:8). Behold, I entrust to you, beloved, another pledge in the Lord. If you keep it, He will reward you with joy later. If, having renounced the vain life, you enter the monastery of a large brotherhood, wanting to become a monk, then let the enemy not seduce you into leaving the monastery before you have accepted the holy monastic robe, otherwise you will greatly repent at the end, after you have made a good beginning with all humility. Do not be afraid of the temptations sent to you by the enemy, but endure in order to achieve bliss. For it is written: Blessed is the man who endures temptation; having been skilled beforehand, he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love Him (James 1:12). Do you want temptation not to overcome you? Cut off all your will. If a matter seems good to you, but the superior in the Lord does not recognize it as good, then submit to him in the Lord. Getting into arguments and following your own intentions is already a sign of seduction. A beginner, if he is disobedient, brings upon himself a reproachful name. For the psalm says: Work for the Lord with fear and rejoice in Him with trembling. Accept punishment, lest the Lord become angry and perish from the righteous path (Ps. 2:11-12). Therefore, whoever loves truth will not perish, but whoever hates punishment does harm to himself. Just as wine and vinegar cannot be mixed in a vessel, so the virtue of monastic life cannot live together with impunity. Let the Apostle convince you of this, who says: what agreement does Christ have with Belial? Or some communication between light and darkness (2 Cor. 6:14–15)? Love chastity to the utmost degree, so that the Spirit of God may dwell in you. But even when you are worthy of the robes of monastic life, do not agree with your thoughts if they want to separate you from the brotherhood, so that you do not learn wandering and inconstancy from your youth. Be careful not to lose the reverence you had upon entering the monastery, but maintain it until the end. But let not slander and cursing be called your mouth, as is fitting for saints (Eph. 5:3). But have humility and in every answer say: “forgive me,” in order to destroy in yourself the useless customs of the world and, having lived pleasingly to the Lord, have praise from Him. Having entered into monasticism, do not seek for yourself gold, silver, or clothing, but, having sent everything to heaven, according to the commandment of our Savior Jesus Christ, acquire for yourself the following: faith, abstinence, patience, humility, and so on, with which God, by His grace, will provide you. Glory to him forever and ever! Amen. Lesson 5. To new ascetics 5 If someone enters monasticism from among those who have enjoyed great respect in the world, then let him guard himself from the demon of arrogance, so as not to fall into the spirit of pride and disobedience and not cause harm to himself. There is no shame for you, beloved, if you remain in submission to the Lord and do good with your own hands. This little sorrow and sorrow that you endure for the sake of the Lord will give you eternal life. And what else can I say? Imagine that someone exchanges many thousands of talents of gold for a drachma; the same means every sorrow of monastic life in comparison with the future sorrow that will befall those who do evil. So, you give up small things, but great things are given to you. Therefore, be sober, beloved, like a good warrior. Do not neglect your gift that lives in you (1 Tim. 4:14), lest both of these befall you, namely, lest you grieve people, that is, your parents according to the flesh, and remain displeasing to God. But strive so that those who see you glorify God for your good life. For it is written: those who fear You will see Me and rejoice (Ps. 119:74); and again: there is much peace for those who love Your law, and there is no temptation for them (Ps. 119:165). Therefore, beware of arrogance and your part will be with the Lord! Glory to him forever! Amen. If you make a good start, beloved, then you will also spend your old age well, and you will be like a light that illuminates many on the path of the Lord. Therefore, lay a strong foundation so that your work can rise to heights. Above all, brother, fear God and glorify Him with all your heart, so that He may glorify you along with His saints. From your youth, take up the gentlest wisdom and do not leave it until your last breath. She will lead you on the paths of righteousness, and from your youth you will be a chosen vessel, and you will make your old age honorable, and you will receive praise from God, and people will magnify the Lord about you. So, if the abbot puts you under the leadership of your brother, do not think of saying in your mind: “I am the son of important and noble parents, and he is the son of not noble and poor people, or perhaps from a slave state. How can I submit to him? It would be a shame if I did this.” Don’t think like that, beloved, because it’s not reasonable to reason like that. He who reasons in this way has not yet put off the old man, which is corrupted by his delightful lusts (Eph. 4:22). And we, beloved, as God Himself gave into slavery to brothers who are like-minded with us, let us be patient, so that we may be considered worthy of the freedom of the righteous, imagining in our minds the Master of all, who is rich because of our poverty, so that through His poverty we may become rich (2 Cor. 8:9). Bend your neck, beloved, under His yoke in order to find rest for your soul, because it is written: “Everyone with a high heart is unclean before God” (Prov. 16:5). Glory to the Lord forever and ever! Amen. Lesson 7. To the beginners 7 Don't be lazy about needlework either. Often a thought inspires you, saying this: “you will not learn handicraft, because you are weak and not thorough, and are not able to fully endure the difficulty of this work. So your members began to suffer from exhaustion, because you were not used to working. It’s better to leave the monastery and go where you came from. And there, they say, you will be saved if you want to fear God.” But you, as a faithful one, do not weaken from such thoughts. Be patient with the Lord, who has called you into His Kingdom and joy. For He said: Amen, amen, I say to you: if you have faith like the grain of a mountain, you will say to this mountain, “Depart from here, and it will pass away: and nothing will be possible for you” (Matthew 17:20). And we, beloved, will endure, because we have placed our trust not in man, who cannot save, but in God, who saves those who trust in Him, as it is written: He who trusts in the Lord is like Mount Zion (Ps. 124:1). And the Holy Spirit pleases those who trust in the Lord, saying: Lord God of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in Thee (Ps. 83:13). So, be patient, beloved of the Lord. Wouldn't you be tired if you started learning to read and write? Wouldn’t you be exhausted if you began to study worldly art? Isn’t it all the more obligatory for us to endure everything for the sake of the Lord? For it is written: bear the labors of your fruits: blessed are you, and good will come to you (Ps. 127:2). And the Apostle commands, saying: do what is good with your own hands, so that not only you yourself can feed on your own work, but you can also give to those who have need from your labors (Eph. 4:28). Therefore, let it be our common effort to get rid of our sins, for we will get rid if we want, because the Lord Himself said: ask, and it will be given to you. For everyone who asks receives it, and everyone who seeks finds it, and it will be opened to the one who interprets (Matthew 7:7-8); and He Himself gave the world an inexhaustible treasure of repentance. Glory to him forever! Amen. We know about the temptations that happen, Who said: do not judge, and you will not be judged. By whom you judge, they will judge you: and you measure accordingly, it will be measured back to you (Matthew 7:1-2), and so on. But so that you have something to help your thoughts, consider that righteous Lot lived among the Sodomites, but was not carried away by their pride and lewdness, and therefore was saved, as it is written: by sight and hearing the righteous man lived in them, day by day he tormented the righteous soul with lawless deeds” (2 Pet. 2:8). What does the Apostle add? The message is that the pious Lord delivers from adversity, but the unrighteous are tormented on the day of judgment (2 Pet. 2:9) and so on. Therefore, let us not behave in such a way that today we have abstinence and meekness, and in the morning intemperance and pride; today - silence, vigil, humility, and in the morning - entertainment, insatiable sleep, disobedience and the like; Today we have renunciation of the world, renunciation of everything earthly, renunciation of the fatherland, friends, carnal parents through trust in the Lord, and in the morning we will begin to look for a country, fatherland and inheritance in order to plunge into a multitude of evils. And Lot's wife, turning back, became a pillar of salt. That is why the Lord teaches, saying: no one lays his hand on his head, and turns back and is ruled in the Kingdom of Heaven (Luke 9:62). So, always keep in mind that day on which, having stripped yourself of everything, you left the world for the Lord, when you were inflamed with the fear of God, burning in spirit towards the Lord. And hold on to this intention to the end, for the one who endures to the end will be saved (Matthew 10:22), hold on so that along with eternal life you may receive a reward for your work, because you have come to the true God and have neglected everything, so that you may gain Christ. Glory to him forever! Amen! Lesson 9. About obedience 9 Over time, do not indulge in negligence, because the enemy instills lust in others after a long time has passed since they accepted the monastic form, so that the brother, unable to resist the pleasantness of pleasure, flees from his field. And you, beloved, as one who tries to please God, be patient, for the apostle says: even if you can be free, servile yourself more (1 Cor. 7:21). Look at the ancient generations and you will see that all the saints achieved the promises through constant and long patience. Therefore, let us motivate ourselves every day so that we too may inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. Didn’t Patriarch Jacob work for fourteen years for Rachel Laban the Syrian in Mesopotamia, both in the heat of the day and in the filth of the night? Likewise, was not the beloved Joseph a slave for many years in a foreign land? For it is written: Joseph was seventy years old, tending sheep with his brothers” (Gen. 37:2). And it also says: Joseph was thirty years old when he appeared before Pharaoh (Gen. 41:46). Likewise, the servant of the Lord Moses lived for forty years in the land of Midian. And the children of Israel after forty years entered the land of promise. Likewise, the valiant man Daniel and the three youths, who with faith turned the “fire of the fire” into dew, endured slavery, sorrow and reproach in a foreign land, but by this they were saved. And we do not tolerate even the slightest suffering; Because of our unbelief, patience is removed from us. So you gave yourself up to sadness, as if, having lost someone else’s pledge, you were taken into captivity. Give yourself zeal for the Lord and take courage like a faithful one, so that you do not lose your spiritual strength due to great sadness and do not repent in the end. Imagine, beloved, those who are tortured in exile, in the mines and in bitter slavery, and submit to your superior in the Lord. Even if we humanly judge the slavery that you endure for the sake of the Lord, then the one who was subjected to dishonor for the king does not count the very insult as praise to you?! But perhaps you will say that this is a difficult matter? Alas for me, sinful and indecent slave! If you do not agree to endure labor for the sake of the Lord, then why did we leave the world? Who, beloved, is so worthy and blessed as to suffer for the One who suffered for his sake? You don’t give much of yourself, beloved, but you will receive a lot. We require patience, so that having done the will of God, we will achieve His promise (Heb. 10:36), for he who endures to the end will be saved (Matt. 10:22). Do not relax, brother, from the thoughts that come to you, for this is the beginning of the struggle. Take a lesson from the rain pond. Soon after the rain, when the rain blessing has just been collected in the reservoir, the water is initially cloudy, but the more time passes, the cleaner it becomes. Henceforth, beloved, do not relax, for it is written: the sweat of iniquity has crushed me (Ps. 17:5). And another psalm says: for my soul is filled with evil, and my belly is drawing near to hell (Ps. 87:4). This is why he also says: The Lord is my Helper, and I will not fear what man does to me (Ps. 117:6). So, when an evil thought comes to your mind, cry to the Lord with tears, saying: “Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner, and forgive me, Lover of mankind! Drive away the evil one from us, Lord!” God is the Knower of the Heart and knows the thoughts that come from evil; but he also knows the thoughts that arise in us due to the malice of demons. But know also that to what extent you strive and endure, working for the Lord, to such an extent both your mind and your thoughts will be purified. For our Lord Jesus Christ said: “I will cut off every rod that does not produce fruit in Me, that it may bear much fruit” (John 15:2). Just wish to be saved, for the Lord loves those who strive to receive salvation and helps them. But listen to the parable about bad thoughts. When the grape berries are collected from the vines, put into a winepress, squeezed out, they yield wine, and it is poured into vessels, then the wine first boils, as if heated by the most intense heat, so that excellent vessels, unable to bear the rapidity, burst from tension. This is what happens with human thoughts when they move from this vain world and its worries to the heavenly. Demons, not tolerating jealousy in a person, confuse his mind in various ways with the intention of mixing muddy corruption into it (Hab. 2:15). And if they find a vessel that is not without a defect, that is, an unfaithful and doubting soul, then they tear it apart, because demons are like ravenous wolves and walk through the cells of monks, looking for the door that is open for them, so that, bursting inside, they can corrupt the soul that is submissive to them. If they find the door locked (and by it I mean a soul established in faith), then they go back with a downcast face. So, do not be timid and do not be afraid of their anger, they cannot harm you, who has Christ for your helper. For the apostle says: God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind (2 Tim. 1:7). And the Lord Himself said to His disciples: I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I give you power to tread on the serpent and the scorpion, and on all the power of the enemy: and nothing will harm you (Luke 10:18-19). Therefore, beloved, take courage and be strong in your God, for His mercy endures forever. If our enemies bring us to remember our parents according to the flesh, then we will say to them: (Our Father God is inseparable from us. And if they bring earthly wealth to memory, then we will say) 11, it is written: He has treasures, and it is not known to whom I will gather (Ps. 39:7); and one more thing: together the foolish and foolish will perish and leave their wealth to strangers (Ps. 48:11), so that the guilt will be on me, the property will go to someone else, which is unattractive to me, this is great wickedness. Therefore, we did not learn to lay up treasures on earth, where worms and aphids decay, and thieves dig in and steal... where, as it is said, your treasure is, there will your heart be also (Matthew 6:19,21).” But blessed is God, who has given us strength against invisible enemies! Glory to him forever and ever! Amen. While you still have time, brother, strive as a good warrior of Christ, knowing that you are not striving for a perishable crown, but for the cleansing of sins and eternal life. Therefore, in all your affairs, acquire for yourself humility, which is the mother of obedience. Cast off your double-mindedness and clothe yourself with faith in everything, so that the Lord, seeing the zeal of your soul, will strengthen you in your work. Nurture in yourself a strong hatred of laziness, of rivalry, of all evil and envy, since for the Lord you have left your carnal parents, friends and property. For if your thoughts weaken you at first, you will suffer fatigue and damage. So, if it happens to us for the Lord that we become somewhat exhausted or even beyond our strength, let us not grumble. For whoever grumbles clearly makes it known that he is not working according to his own will. As a wise man, do not compete with your careless brothers and do not be jealous of those who lead their lives without fearing God, knowing for sure that he who falls is broken, but he who wins is crowned. At the very least, do not quarrel with your brother, for you do not know that perhaps some passion unknown to you is troubling him, and therefore he is weak. We need to have more compassion for such a person and console him, and not insult him as if he were uncompassionate. You fight the good fight, knowing why you came. Now is the opportune time for you to gather inexhaustible wealth by serving the brethren and bearing fruit. Therefore, beloved, if you do not allow impurities to accumulate in the yard, then do not allow carnal desires to intensify within yourself. But when you sweep away the ashes from the kitchen, do it with great humility, remembering what the Prophet says: I eat ashes like bread, and dissolve my drink with weeping (Ps. 101:10). Reflect, beloved, on the corruptible fire, and together raise your mind to the eternal flame, which will devour sinners, and weep for your sins, as well as for me, a sinner, so that the Lord will grant us remission of sins. Glory to him forever! Amen. Lesson 12. About innocence 13 If, having renounced the vain life, you, brother, entered the monastery of a large number of brethren and were handed over by the abbot to the hands of another monk who would teach you virtuous deeds, then do not think of speaking or doing contrary to your elder, thinking in yourself something indecent and saying: “I have left wealth, houses, fields, slaves and counted everything on my mind, so that I may gain Christ (Phil. 3:8) - but this one did not have any property and, what is most likely, came here out of need; Will I really humble myself before him and come to such humiliation? Am I here from hunger? Do not keep such thoughts in yourself, beloved, these words are filled with pride. On the contrary, imagine in your mind that our common Master Christ humbled Himself for us, becoming obedient even to the point of death, death on the cross (Phil. 2:8). Understand what I say: may the Lord give you understanding in everything (2 Tim. 2:7). Two wrestlers came together to fight, and one was dressed in light clothes, and the other in shabby clothes. And so will the fighter use light clothes during the feat, or will the opponent, in dealing with the enemy, use the aid of courage and art combined with strength? Or how can we dare to ask God for forgiveness of our previous sins, without forgetting our previous way of life? Or how can we put on the new man, created according to God, without putting off the old man, which is corrupted by delightful lusts (Eph. 4:22,24)? It is impossible to unite the old with the new, as our Savior said: no one puts an order on the robe that is not white; and one more thing: below they pour wine into old wineskins, but new wine must be poured into new wineskins, and both will be preserved (Matthew 9:17). Do not become wise according to the old man, for it is written that whoever wants to be wise in you in this world, let it happen, because let him be wise. For the wisdom of this world, the wisdom of God is (1 Cor. 3:18-19). So, take up humility, because it is written: what is high among men is an abomination to God (Luke 16:15), so that, having corrected everything well and skillfully, you may have praise from God and inherit the crown of life, which He promised to those who love Him. Glory to him forever and ever! Amen. Lesson 13. On humility 14 And those who move from a disastrous and difficult life to a monastic life should not become arrogant, not be arrogant, but show in themselves all meekness and humility, remembering and reasoning together about the good deeds of the Lord - about what difficulties the Lord brought them out of this age, otherwise, having scattered their minds, like the ungrateful, they will hear from the Benefactor what was said in the psalm: and man in honor without understanding, you are likened to foolish cattle and become like them (Ps. 48:13). So, beloved, all the days of our lives, with much humility, let us work for the Lord, who raises up the poor from the earth and lifts up the wretched from the pit (Ps. 112:7), so that even after our death He will make us worthy of glory with the meek and humble. For it is written: The Lord rewards those who are excessively proud (Ps. 30:24); and one more thing: The Lord resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). Glory to him forever! Amen. Lesson 14. About abbots 15 Is your soul entrusted to you, brother? Gird up your loins like a husband, because no small feat is being accomplished: you have taken upon yourself the work of perfect souls. Therefore, be very sober, the matter requires great attention, do not neglect it, on the contrary, let your mutual communication be in all holiness, so that through our carelessness the enemy does not sow anything of his own, taking advantage of the obedience of a subordinate. Whoever transgresses the limits of purity and chastity and demands obedience on a whim, does not remain without punishment: his grapes are from the grapes of Sodom, and his rod is from Gomorrah (Deut. 32:32). For the Apostle says: when he sweeps away, he sweeps away not man, but God, who gave His Holy Spirit in us (1 Thessalonians 4:8). But he who obeys in such a matter does not have praise from God, because he does not imitate Joseph, and did not compete with the blessed Susanna. Joseph, sold into slavery to an Egyptian woman, was not carried away by her caresses, and the threat of death did not frighten the lover of God. For sometimes, seducing the young man, she promised to give him many gifts; when he did not agree, she repeatedly threatened him with death and torture. But he did not prefer anything to chastity and, obedient in everything else, refused to fulfill this one thing, thereby laying a sign for our life. Likewise, blessed Susanna wished better to die than to sin before God. The one who slanderes the righteous prepares a great punishment for himself, which is why the Apostle says: work out your salvation with fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12). The enemy strongly opposes those who excel in virtue, but the faithful trample on him. And the elders should be for the younger ones an example of all virtue, so as not to give us guilt to those who want guilt (2 Cor. 11:12). For if we ourselves are disobedient, how can we teach the younger ones obedience? If we ourselves are gluttons, or given over to drunkenness, or lovers of money, then how can we teach our younger selves abstinence and patience? If we ourselves are not prudent, or talkative, or fickle, then how can we teach our younger selves to be steady and constancy? Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ said: “Whoever does and teaches, he will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:19). And he also says through the Apostle: Be the image faithful (1 Tim. 4:12). You will say to me: “If I don’t do it, then shouldn’t I say something useful to my brother?” I will answer this: what good is it, beloved, if, while admonishing others, we ourselves do the opposite? The Lord speaks through the prophet Ezekiel: “Whoever according to his way I will judge you... says Adonai the Lord (Ezek. 18:30). Haven't we done this before? Let’s not be too lazy to do it now. Have we been defeated before? Now let us not give in to victory over ourselves. We weren't caring before? Now let’s not be careless, let’s finally turn to the Lord. About the same thing, in order to teach and exhort one another, we have the commandment of the Holy Spirit, for it is said: turning a sinner from the error of his way, he will save the soul from death, and will cover a multitude of sins (James 5:20). Thus, beloved, we should not condemn our elders, for it is written: Judge not, lest ye be judged (Matthew 7:1). You, brothers, have an example of humility in the prophet Samuel. He did not lift up his heart before the priest Eli, although he heard about him from God. And the Apostle Peter commands, saying: obey not only the good and meek, but also the obstinate. This is what is pleasing before God, if for the sake of God’s conscience someone endures sorrow, suffering without righteousness. What kind of praise is there if you endure torment when you sin? But if you do good and endure suffering, this is acceptable in the sight of God. For this reason, because Christ died for us, He left us an image, so that we may follow His footsteps: He who committed no sin, lest deceit be found in His mouth; Whoever we reproach is not reproached, nor is suffering forgiven; but we hand it over to him who judges righteously” (1 Pet. 2:18-23). So, let us take care of our salvation, beloved, by being ready to repent according to every word that we hear especially from our superior about the Lord. For just as water quenches fire, so pure repentance quenches rage and turns away anger. May the Pentecostalist, who, by humbly appeasing the Prophet Elijah, convince you of this, was saved from wrath. So, beloved, have obedience in everything to the Lord, so that the Lord, seeing the lack of pride and humility of your heart, exalts you. Keep His word, let He who said be with us: Where two or three are gathered in My name, I am in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20). Glory to him forever! Amen. A city is built piece by piece, and there is conflict with the government (Proverbs 24:6). An inexperienced person cannot wield a bow like an experienced one, and it is impossible for a boy to run along with his husband. If you place a burden on a boy beyond his strength, you will harm him; and if you do not care about his teaching, then he will be good for nothing. Likewise, a beginner should be governed with reason, not burdening him through vanity and not neglecting his soul. But, as a wise man, judge: how did you submit to your elder self; and in the same way, little by little, give him lessons in asceticism. But do not force your brother to do something out of passion for money, because the Lord is the Knower of the Heart. As one who hopes to receive reward from God, teach him the deeds of virtue and a sedate life. If, after completing the vigil and the usual rule, you yourself intend to stay awake, and the subordinate would like to sleep a little, give him rest. For, according to what was said above, it is impossible for a youth to run along with an adult. If he is weak in body, do not reject him, but work with him, and be patient with him, like a smart farmer who planted a good plant in his field. Make every effort, “present” his body as a living sacrifice, acceptable to God (Rom. 12:1), so that we may not be condemned with those whom the Apostle accuses, saying: having the form of godliness, having denied its power (2 Tim. 3:5). So, teach the subject every good work, because it is written: if you bring out honorable things from unworthy things, you will become like My mouth (Jer. 15:19). The teachers of this age do not reject young souls for their stubbornness, and do not refuse to treat children for human reward; If we are more than perfect, we must endure the weak for the sake of the Lord. For it is written: This saith the Lord: Blessed is he that hath a tribe in Zion, and a tribe in Jerusalem (Isa. 31:9). And you yourself, beloved, do not refuse to accept the admonition of your father, who gave birth to you in the Lord, for the Apostle says: obey your guide and repent: for they watch over your souls, as if they were willing to reward the word: let them do this with joy, and not sighing: for it is not profitable for you (Heb. 13:17). That is why the Psalm says: the righteous will punish me with mercy and reprove me, but let not the oil of the sinner anoint my head (Ps. 140:5). For those who are sick in body do violence to their nature by doing everything that doctors prescribe to them; Shouldn’t we all the more have obedience to those who are entrusted with the healing of our souls? Let us also wish to study the commandments of the Holy Spirit. Interpreters of the non-existent wisdom of this world (for God has the wisdom of this world) diligently engage in reading; Shouldn’t we delve even more deeply into the Words of God and study them for the salvation of our souls? And the Holy Spirit blessed those who try His testimonies, saying: Blessed are they who try His testimonies, they will seek Him with all their hearts (Ps. 119:2). And in another Psalm he says: blessed are the people who shout (Ps. 89:16). Listen to the Apostle, who says: No punishment at the present time is thought to be joyful, but sorrow brings peace to those who have learned it to reward righteousness” (Heb. 12:11). Glory to the Lord forever! Amen. Have you been honored, brother, with the holy monastic robe? Do not be arrogant over those who await him next summer, for virtue does not lie in honoring someone first, but in enduring to the end. Having taken on the monastic image, do not think of saying to yourself: “Now I am freed from labor”; on the contrary, all the more work now in virtues so as not to cause harm to yourself. For hitherto, often and under compulsion from an elder, you were not negligent about your salvation; until now you were still in the outer church, but now you have entered the inner church. Therefore, now do not be careless about yourself, so as not to ruin your labors, but to receive a reward. From now on, your work, diligence, purity, and silence become visible; From now on, it becomes clear what kind of path you desire—whether wide and spacious, leading to destruction, or narrow and cramped, leading to eternal life. On the broad path there are the following: malice, entertainment, gluttony, drunkenness, extravagance, lasciviousness, discord, irritability, arrogance, inconstancy and the like, and they are followed by: unbelief, disobedience, disobedience; The last of all evils is despair. Whoever is devoted to this has lost his way from the path of truth, preparing for his own destruction. And on the narrow and narrow path there is the following: silence, abstinence, chastity, love, patience, joy, peace, humility and the like; Immortal life follows them. So, know, beloved, what is hidden on the wide and spacious path, and get off it in order to achieve eternal life. For if from your youth you walk in the path of righteousness, your departure will be in peace; If from now on you begin to walk the broad path, you will suffer bitterly in the end. But if you see that those who live without fear of God are fat and healthy in body, then do not compete with the works of Godlessness. Because which is better? Is it possible to live in luxury for a few days and fulfill the lusts of the flesh, but lose eternal life? Or should we not endure hardship for long, but avoid eternal condemnation and gnashing of teeth and achieve eternal life? Especially guard yourself against liberties, so that you do not become enslaved to verbosity and shamelessness, become the delight of demons, and finally part with brotherhood. It is not so much wild asses that devastate bread as liberty that ruins the labors of monks. So, in the endurance of truth, gird yourself with reverence, humility and patience. Exhort and console yourself, saying: “Although I have taken on the monastic image, I have not yet learned monastic morals.” Let your humility stop there. When you sit silently in your cell, gather your thoughts and say in your heart: “With the Lord’s assistance, have you, O man, not forsaken the world, and your parents according to the flesh, and your friends, and your city, and your fatherland, and your wealth? But if, having come here to be saved, you do the opposite and sin before the Lord, then what is the use of wearing one empty name, for which those who know you are pleased and say: blessed is such and such, because he hated this world, and its glory, and its charm and did not care about anything earthly, therefore he went into hermitage and became a monk. And now you don’t live here like a monk! What shame will befall us when those who please us now precede us into the Kingdom of Heaven? What fear and trembling will attack us, how bitterly will we cry if those who please us now bow to us and say: “Pray for us sinners, servants of Christ,” if these same ones will find peace, and we will be in distress for our sins? Therefore, I beg you, beloved, let us be sober before the Lord while there is still time, and let us not be carried away by the charms of this age, for this world is passing away, and its lust: but he who does the will of God abides forever (1 John 2:16). So, let us neglect everything worldly that distracts the mind from God, for strength and beauty are followed by old age and weakness; glory and wealth are scattered by death and corruption, but righteousness endures forever. Therefore, beloved, strive valiantly, for behold, the field is open to all, and the Master of Labor says through the Apostle: thus strive, that ye may comprehend, and: whoever strives, will abstain from all (1 Cor. 9:24-25). And he also says: no one who has been a warrior obliges himself to make purchases of life, so that the governor will be pleased. Even if someone strives, he will not be married, unless he strives lawfully (2 Tim. 2:4-5). May the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ give us the Spirit of strength, wisdom and patience to serve Him all the days of our lives. Glory to him forever! Amen. Lesson 17. About pride and empty self-delusion 18 Why are you, brother, taught by the devil to ascend to degrees from which you will gain no benefit for yourself, leading yourself into deception, appropriating honor for yourself? Listen to the Apostle, who says: Do not praise yourself, for this man is skilled, but God praises him” (2 Cor. 10:19). Listen to the Lord, who says: as much as you can believe, you accept glory from man, and do not seek the glory that is from God (John 5:44). So, go inside yourself, beloved, and judge: for what reason did you renounce the vain life, the devil and his pride, and stop thinking in a worldly way. Don’t you know that if you humiliate your neighbor, you will fall into the sin of self-love and empty deception? Imagine that you have already succeeded, taken precedence over your brother, risen above him in competition, because you do not want to humiliate yourself before your brother, and take care, brother, that, while desiring to have primacy over your brother, you do not end up last there, in the next century. And then you will hear the same thing that was said to the glory-loving rich man, who was scorched by an unquenchable fire: remember that you received your goodness in your belly (Luke 16:25). For it is written: What is high among men is an abomination to God (Luke 16:15). Or have you forgotten Who said: Whoever wants to be first in you must be your servant; and whoever wants to be in you, let him be your servant (Matthew 20:26-27)? Bring to yourself the thought that you have died to the world, and your life is hidden in Christ; When Christ appears, your life, then you also will appear with Him in glory (Col. 3:3-4). Therefore, do not love human glory, for it will not remain with you forever, according to the word of him who said: All flesh is like grass, and all the glory of man is like the flower of grass (1 Peter 1:24). Blessed most of all is he who is numbered among the perfect of men: what is visible is temporary, but what is invisible is eternal (2 Cor. 4:18). For if you are enslaved to earthly wisdom, then your work will turn into vanity. No one else can work for two masters (Matthew 6:24). So, beloved, throw off the yoke of the enemy and all his pride, and bow your neck under the yoke of the Sweetest Master, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, for He said: humble yourself, and He will be exalted (Luke 14:11); and one more thing: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (1 Pet. 5:5). Therefore, let us be afraid, beloved, lest he also say to us, “You loved the glory of men rather than the glory of God” (John 12:43). Glory to God forever! Amen. If a brother knocks on your door at night so that you can stand up to praise Christ, then get up, brother, with haste, so that the heedless one, seeing your haste, will arouse his soul to sobriety, according to the word of the one who said: Pretend my eyes to the morning, to learn by Your words (Ps. 119:148); and again: at midnight I rose to confess to You about the destinies of Your righteousness (Ps. 119:62). If you happen to fall into a deep sleep and demonic dreams hold you back, then, having awakened after this, do not be lazy in God’s service, knowing that just as those who behave badly on the Day of Judgment will give an account for every step and idle word, so the one who strives for good will receive a reward for one good word and for one step. Therefore, do not be lazy, but get up, and do not say to yourself: “The service is now over, where should I go?” - This is the reasoning of the lazy. But you better get up, throw the bed away from you, and immediately stretch out your hands to God, and, having bowed to the throne of grace, open your cell, and hurry to the service as if violence had been done to you, like a chamois that has escaped from the snares. Even if you only caught the last prayer, don’t be lazy, but get up, for after your vacation you can sing in your cell those psalms from which your demonic dreaming distracted you. Do not, beloved, imagine your last prayer as an excuse for laziness, but the next day you will be more ready for the work of the Lord. For if you leave it without need or illness, then you will hear what was said in the psalm: I fell asleep with my sleep, and found nothing (Ps. 75:6). Know also this, beloved, that to the extent that someone unfortunately warms his flesh, to that extent he multiplies passions in himself, and finally the soul, burdened with the bad habits of the body, becomes barren. Therefore the Savior says: Take heed lest your hearts be burdened with gluttony and drunkenness and the sorrows of this life” (Luke 21:34). That is why the Apostle says: I mortify my body and enslave it, so that if I preach to others, I myself will not be enslaved (1 Cor. 9:27). If someone forces himself to the work of the Lord, then to the same extent his body becomes strong and his soul is enlightened. Just as a wrestler constantly spends time in bodily exercises in order to adapt his body to the art of wrestling, so an ascetic of piety must exercise himself in every good deed, as the Apostle says: train yourself for piety. Bodily training is useful in a small way: but godliness is useful for everything, having promise for the present life and the future (1 Tim. 4: 7-8). May the Lord awaken our souls to fear Him. Glory to him forever! Amen. Let us imagine, beloved, those standing before the earthly king and serving the perishable throne: with what knowledge and fear do they stand before their king?! Shouldn’t we, as faithful ones, stand before the Heavenly King with fear, trembling, and all reverence! Therefore, beloved, I do not consider it good to look with a shameless eye at the presented Mysteries of the Body and Blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And may the Divine Scripture convince us of this, saying: Moses was trembling, not daring to look (Acts 7:32). For it is written: He who glorifies Me will glorify, and he who despises Me will be dishonored (1 Samuel 2:30). You look like a man, but He, like God, knows the depths of your heart and sees your thoughts. For there is no creature revealed before Him (Heb. 4:13). How dare others leave the service of God and go on vacation without any need? Do you really, when you are invited to supper with a rich man, dare to get up from among those reclining with you and go home? Will you wait patiently until everyone gets up together? So, let us fear, beloved, for it is written: Cursed is everyone who does the work of the Lord with negligence (Jer. 48:10). Let us try in this short and evil age to be pleasing to God in order to inherit the eternal Kingdom. For He is holy, He rests among the saints, and He gives long-suffering to the faint-hearted. Glory to him forever and ever! Amen. Lesson 20. About various dozes 21 As I reason, brethren, there are three kinds of slumbers that confuse a person at night. And the first time a brother experiences the influence of the evil one is when the brother begins to sing psalms. But if there is no laziness in the brother, it has no power. It is more disturbing if his brother’s belly is burdened with food and drink. The second comes to the brother in the midst of God's service, due to his own negligence, if he did not make an effort to reach the end of the rule, but in the middle of the service he wants to leave those singing psalms and go to his bed. The third happens to be tested by a brother at the request of nature, that is, at the end of the rule of normal service. Therefore, it is necessary to have long-suffering in the judgment (judgment) of the weaker brethren, so that the enemy’s plans are not fulfilled. And you, brother, do not be careless about being sober in everything. Have you not heard that the Prophet Samuel, who was called repeatedly, was never too lazy to get up, although he was still a youth? When you stand at the service of God among the brethren or alone to glorify our Savior Jesus Christ, and the first kind of dozing disturbs you, then, noticing this, resist, so that out of your laziness you do not return idle to your bed, but endure with firmness, at least once or twice your eyes will be closed by dozing; do not leave your place, and you will gain great benefit. The addiction to insatiable sleep is similar to the passion of gluttony. If someone is accustomed to eating a lot, then nature demands a lot, and if someone is accustomed to abstinence, then nature does not require a lot of eating. Apply this to the fishermen: they spend the whole night awake, never abandoning their work. If one of them, burdened with sleep, indulges in negligence, falls asleep, then when he gets up from sleep, he will see that he has not caught anything, and those who were awake and sober were left with a reserve. Then he begins to repent of himself and say: “Woe is me, a sinner, careless and lazy! I was lazy and fell asleep, otherwise I, like my comrades, would have caught and stored something for myself. But now, out of negligence, I will go to my home with nothing, completely empty-handed. She fell asleep, it is said, with her sleep, and found nothing (Ps. 75:6). Apply to yourself, beloved, potters and blacksmiths; and there you will find very great and exorbitant labor, as well as patience. But our body is not covered with smoke or ashes; we do not tolerate anything else like this, but we stand in a clean, consecrated place before the Lord in reverence and in great peace, in spiritual joy, in good hope; Why are we lazy, beloved? How long is our time on earth? Here the prophet cries: man is like vanity, his days pass away like shadow (Ps. 143:4). So, do not enter into competition with me, the careless one who has ruined patience, knowing firmly that whoever is sober will gain, and whoever is careless will lose. For each of us will give an account to God. I know about myself that I am irresponsible in my deeds. While I admonish others, I myself remain in the same negligence. Therefore, I ask you, faithful servants of the Savior, for me, a sinner, to beg our Savior Christ, the King of the High Powers, so that, through the multitude of His bounties, He will atone for the multitude of my sins and save me in His heavenly Kingdom. Do not consider sleep and bodily rest to be an acquisition for yourself; acquisition and peace for a person is to constantly force oneself to the work of the Lord. So, let us force ourselves, beloved, so that the Lord, when he comes, will find us awake and make us worthy of His blessedness, for He Himself said: blessed are these servants, whom the Lord will find watchful when He comes (Luke 12:37). Let us beg each other, beloved, to instill in each other the fear of God, to arouse in each other zeal for the praise of our Lord Jesus Christ, so that He will resurrect us with all those who have loved His appearing and place us at His right hand in His Kingdom. Glory to him forever! Amen. If a brother goes into monasticism for any reason, then if he does not stay sober, the devil will soon, and without any delay, devour him. For the evil one begins to put it into his thoughts and say: “Why do you want to work in virtues, exhaust yourself and be in poverty without any reward for it? Did you become a monk of your own free will? I believe that some circumstance met you, and out of necessity you became a monk; for did you ever think about being a monk? Therefore, do not decide to suffer in vain: the Lord does not favor you in this matter.” This is what the enemy suggests to his brother, wanting to plunge him into the depths of despair. Then the brother, without thinking about the Lord’s good deed to him, blinded by his mind, gives in to despair. Then the brother begins to live in negligence and fearlessness, contradict everything, big and small, and fall into an insatiable sleep. And if he has ever done something good, he repents, considering it a loss for himself, and from this he incessantly grumbles and complains about himself; in a word, he betrays himself to destruction. And when he should have worked harder in virtues, he does the opposite, without reflecting on the Lord’s benefits to him. He should have said within himself: “How many are there, soul, who through many fasts and alms have been deemed worthy to enter into this kind of life? But I spent the entire time of my life in negligence, and the Lord, without remembering my many sins, vouchsafed me such success - to enter into a respectable and unentertained life. Therefore, soul, we will try to do deeds worthy of repentance, so as not to otherwise incur double punishment; as having despised the grace of God and not remembering the good deeds of God.” Listen to this parable. In some direction there lived a rich man, and he bought himself an estate across the river, and, having called his slaves, immediately set off on the road, and divided the estate, giving to each as much as he wanted, and said to them: “Let each of you go to his own plot and work on it until I come to look at your work.” And some of them turned out to be grateful and devoted to their master, and they did not disobey the orders of the ruler, while others of them, being disobedient and stubborn, began to contradict their master, saying: “We will not obey your word, we will not go across the river and we will not work on your estate.” And despite all this, their master was not angry. But the rich man then prepares a drink for his slaves and, having drunk the disobedient slaves, gives orders to his other servants; and they, having carried them across the river, laid each of them in the plot which their lord had given them. And then one of them, having sobered up, sees that he is lying across the river on the plot that his master gave him. And this servant was horrified by this and said to himself: “If my master loved me so much that despite my disobedience he was not angry with me, but endured everything generously and, as in a dream, ferried me across this large and fast river and laid me on my plot, then I will therefore work diligently on the estate, remembering his good deeds.” And that servant began to work diligently, so that he became equal to those who had begun the work before him. Then the other slave woke up and found himself across the river in his master’s estate. But he was crafty and stubborn and said to himself: “The master, as if in a dream, ferried me across a large and fast river, and I will leave his field desolate and see what he does to me.” And this lazy slave lay down again and fell asleep; While he was sleeping, thorns and weeds grew and covered him. Much time then passed, the Master of those slaves came to look at the work of each and, seeing the work of those who had begun before, blessed them. Then he also goes to the slave whom he ferried across the river, as in a dream, and, seeing his good work, rejoiced at him and blessed him. Afterwards he goes to look at the lazy slave and his work; and, having arrived, finds that he is sleeping and covered with thorns and weeds. And the master, turning to him, said with a threat: “Why did you, wicked and lazy servant, leave the field desolate? Or did you not know how I transported you, sleepy, across the river and laid you in the area that I had set aside for you, did you not remember your previous disobedience? Shouldn’t you also have imitated your comrade, whom I transported across the river in the same way?” Then that servant did not find any excuse on the terrible day for him. And their master dealt with them as each one’s deeds deserved. By rich I mean the Lord Christ, by possessions I mean faith; under the intoxication of extreme circumstances; under the fast river - the charm and wealth of this age; under zealous slaves - the righteous; under the slave, who sobered up from intoxication and began to work - a sinful man who, in the extreme circumstances encountered by him, having recognized God's blessings, sobered up from many sins and turned to a righteous life, fulfilling the will of God. And a lazy slave is a person who has rejected God’s grace and has neglected his salvation. Apply Saul to all this. Taking letters from the bishops, He went to Damascus to bind those who believed in the Lord, but, having gone to destroy the faith, He himself turned out to be a preacher of the faith. For great are the tender mercies of the Lord to all who call upon Him in truth. Glory to the Lord forever! Amen. Lesson 22. About needlework 23 The enemy attacks monks who have recently entered the hostel in different ways. He inspires disgust in some of them with their handicrafts. How? With the assistance of grace, I tell you. When morning comes, the brother gets up to say prayer in his cell, then gets down to business; and then the demon, a hater of good, puts into him the thought of despondency. And if a brother, when despondency has come upon him, continues to work and exercise, then, with the assistance of grace, he will then drive away despondency from himself. But in this same case, the brother, when despondency sets in, is defeated. For, as soon as despondency comes, he does not reflect it from himself with patience, and therefore, defeated, he gives himself up into captivity. Having given free rein to his thoughts, the brother begins to speak to himself: “Today I feel kind of upset and unwell. What after this? What should I do? I’d rather not do anything today to give myself some rest, but in the morning I’ll force myself to do needlework and do it in two days.” Then the brother does nothing on the first day, and the work of one day remains undone. Likewise, in the morning, the demon, a hater of goodness, puts into his brother an even stronger despondency than yesterday, bringing to his memory the present and past days. Then the brother, already overcome by thoughts, gets up and leaves his work or begins to engage in it as something other than business. Or the enemy takes the monk out of his cell and brings him to this point, and for the most part begins to engage in business rather than business. Or the enemy takes the monk out of his cell and makes him indulge in idleness. And in this case, the evil one tempts the monk with the help of his own weakness. The enemy will attack another brother differently. Hear the reason for this and be wise, and give glory to the only wise God, and, having learned, beware, as one who has learned the tricks of the enemy, so as not to fall into his snare: our adversary the devil, like a lion, roars, walking around, looking for someone to devour: but resist him in the firmament with faith” (1 Pet. 5:8-9). The evil one gives another brother zeal for his work beyond what is proper. This is where the passion of love of money is born. Then the soul, wounded by the love of money, this root of everything bad, disposes the monk to sit at handicraft both in the morning earlier and in the evening later, so that, if possible, he does not care about prayer and the service of God, but out of the love of money is busy with only work. When they call for service, this brother comes after everyone else and looks for an excuse for everyone to leave the service first. So, knowing this, take care of yourself, beloved, so that you, driven to deviate into the unlawful, do not lose your support. But I won’t waste my words. The evil one, having weakened his brother’s strength with his love of money and deprived him of his strength, is already making his suggestions to him; and then the brother, not understanding the passion that confuses him, begins to say in censure of his work: “I have been doing this blessed work for how many years, but apart from immeasurable labor there is no proper reward for it.” And he continues: “It’s better to do nothing than to do something worthless. I’ll go and learn another art, for which I can receive sufficient payment and easily acquire what I need for my needs.” And this too is tempted by Satan with his own ignorance. And a person who is knowledgeable in all work engages in moderation and as he should, so that he has enough time for prayer and for the service of God. And the prayer of faith gives him strength and grace in every good deed. For if, under the guise of zeal for a task, an alien thought does not enter the soul, and a person is not carried away by the thought of either the love of money, or vanity, or self-love, addiction to material things, and envy, or unbelief and laziness, or gluttony, drunkenness and disobedience, and the like, if, I say, any of the passions listed above are not sown in the soul, and the person is not enslaved passions, then handicraft is not difficult for a monk who tries to do what he should and how much is enough. But if the soul falls in love with any of the passions, then what is written is then fulfilled on that person: if someone is overcome, then he will work (2 Pet. 2:19). For if you work hard beyond what you should and do not supply others, you will be defeated. On the contrary, when you have an abundance, give willingly to those who have nothing: God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor. 9:7); and one more thing: yes, even the excess of these will be for your deprivation, for let there be equality, as it is written: “There is not excess; what is too much; what is too little is no less acceptable” (2 Cor. 8:14-15). May the Lord guide your hearts in the fear of Him! Glory to the Lord forever and ever! Amen. There are different types of borims who are in obedience to their spiritual father. If the enemy notices a carnal way of thinking in someone, then he puts carnal thoughts into him, saying: “Leave the monastery and engage in fishing, and you will gather for yourself what you need.” But the evil one attacks the spiritual with the very desire for righteousness and, putting thoughts like these into him, says: “In the world you worked and ate like dumb animals. And what kind of righteousness is this - working and eating? For, behold, food stirs up in you the warfare of fornication. But if you don’t eat, you won’t endure the work. On the contrary, go better, go deeper into the inner desert and you will be saved: the earth is the Lord, and its fulfillment (Ps. 23: 1). However, take a small piece of iron with you, you will pull out herbs there and eat, just as the ancient monks did, who pleased God. And what need do you have to live here, where there are temptations, gossip and other things that should not be talked about? When you leave, you will have nothing like this, you will learn a different art and you will receive enough wages to give to the poor from your labors.” The evil one puts such thoughts into the brother’s mind. Then the brother answers the teacher, saying: “Behold, I will leave those who live here, but I don’t know where to settle, so that, having left here and not finding a place, I will not return here again.” The enemy replies: “Just leave here, there will be no shortage in the place.” For has the Lord forsaken anyone, and therefore will He also forsake you? And you swear an oath not to return here.” The brother answers saying: “let’s wait until such and such a time, now it’s inconvenient to leave here.” The enemy continues: “How can you endure the temptations that happen in this place?” And the brother, thinking that he is striving for greater prosperity, agrees to his thoughts, and this is the worst of all. Just as a ship at sea, if a small well is made on it and efforts are not made quickly, because of such smallness, with all its bulk, is flooded by waves, so it also happens with a soul that has allowed itself to be attacked by the enemy, if it does not rise to the One who created it. Therefore, beloved, sobriety and great humility are needed. All evil is brought into inaction by the acquisition of perfect love for God. And so the brother, agreeing with the thoughts and already more disturbed by them, comes to the abbot and says to him: “Do me a favor, Abba, let me go at last, I can’t live in the monastery anymore.” The elder, hearing this, begins to grieve and worry about his brother, seeing that he is deceived. And the elder begins to admonish him, saying: “I will not let you go, brother. And why do you listen to the demons who want to separate you from brotherhood and sweet brotherly love? Don’t you know that if a sheep does not leave the fence, it will not become the prey of wild animals? But tell me, child, who among the brothers did not insult you? Tell me, and I will heal you in the Lord. But if one of the brethren offended you, endure it, according to the word of him who said: Bear one another’s burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ (Gal. 6:2). Why do you pay attention to other people's failures? Keep yourself pure. If I have insulted you, then the Lord, the knower of the heart, is my witness, that he did not look after you out of hatred for you, but cared about the salvation of your soul.” The brother listens to this, but is carried away by his thoughts. Likewise, the brethren beg him, saying: “Don’t leave us, brother.” And if the brother, having obeyed, calms down, then in the Lord he is freed from many temptations and sorrows. And if he doesn’t listen, he says to the abbot: “That’s not why I’m going, but I intend to remain silent in private.” And I won’t waste my words. If a brother does not obey, he is separated from the brotherhood and, leaving the monastery in which he lived, looks to the right and to the left. If he seeks peace and, turning away from the desert, goes into the world, then, blinded by his mind, he says to himself: “I have freed myself from the painful monastic life.” And he considers his death to be wisdom. For such a one is like a man who took a bucket to draw water, and without filling the bucket with water, he overturned and broke the vessel. Similar to this is the one who rejects the grace of the Lord and returns again to worldly life. If the brother’s pious thoughts prevail, then he extends to the inner desert, and he happens to pass by some elders. The elders, adorned with the virtue of love of strangers, receive their brother with joy. Then they ask: “Where are you from, brother?” He answers: “from such and such a monastery, brothers; but in the monastery despondency fell upon me, and I left it, and now I am looking for somewhere to settle and mourn my sins.” Then the elders begin to advise the brother, saying: “You better go to your monastery, child, and calm down there. For, you see, in what need we live in these places. We heard from the fathers that the monasteries are good, especially for the young.” And if the brother, having obeyed, returns to his place and calms down, then he will avoid many sorrows and troubles. If the brother of the elders does not listen and goes further into the inner desert, then hunger comprehends and begins to torment him. Then the brother begins to repent, and besides, the demons lead him into extraordinary confusion with fear and say: “Was it good for you to live with your brothers, who confused you and led you into this desert? And what righteousness is there in this if you die an evil death in this desert? Then the demons bring him into great timidity and mentally show him fear and torment. And the brother, repenting, then begins to say to himself: “It was good for me to live with my brothers. Who misled me? What demon seduced me into going into this terrible desert, where many fierce beasts live? What should I, the unfortunate one, do if I fall into the hands of barbarians? If only I wouldn’t get caught by robbers, I wouldn’t meet an evil beast! And there are many demons in these places, because the place, he says, is deserted. How will it be possible for me to live alone in this desert, where unclean spirits dwell without escape, especially to live alone after I am accustomed to seeing many brothers around me?” And indeed, if someone lives alone in the desert, if he does not stay sober, he will soon lose his mind, as many have suffered. Then, after these thoughts, the brother begins to say to himself: “I’ll go and settle near the brothers who are silent in solitude.” And he comes to the hermits. The brothers receive him in peace, give him a cell among them and help him in the Lord, bringing whatever their hands can give. Then the brother lives in his cell and says to himself: “I need to work a little to find something to feed myself.” And he also adds: “What am I going to do? I have not yet learned the handicrafts of this place.” And after several days, having learned needlework, he begins to entertain himself with thoughts, like someone living alone. For just as to one accustomed to solitude, living together seems restless, so to one accustomed to living together, loneliness seems difficult. Every tree is known by its fruit, and a hardworking person is visible from his youth. Finally, the brother, having repeatedly struggled with his thoughts, begins to repent and say: “Well, everything amuses me, I don’t find time to perform even a small service to God, every day I am in a struggle with my thoughts. And when I lived in the monastery, I was free from all this. All I cared about was the service of God and small handicrafts. Now what should I do, poor thing? Because of my sins, this happened to me; I did not listen to the admonitions of my fathers and many sorrows befell me. Disobedience is extremely bad: it expelled Adam from paradise, and me from the monastery.” And after these words, sometimes two thoughts come to the brother’s mind: one is good, the other is evil. He instills an evil thought in him, saying the following: “Behold, you have experienced the commonwealth, you have also experienced the desert. And if you return to the hostel, you will feel shame and disgrace, and, in addition, there are sorrows in the hostels, and many temptations. Again, in this desert both fear and labor are immeasurable. Better get away from here and go into the world, and there, they say, if you want to fear God, you will be saved. Or do you think that only those who live in the desert are saved?” If the brother is wise, he will answer the thought like this: “If in the desert, where there is great silence and silence, you do not allow me to be in peace, what will happen if I go into the world? Won’t you cause trouble for me there?” This is what the enemy suggests, wanting him to return like a dog to his vomit. For if a brother agrees to a thought, then the enemy immediately drives him into the world. If a brother’s soul desires the salvation of the Lord, then God gives him the good intention to step on the path of righteousness. These are the strongholds of good thoughts: “Behold,” he says, “you have experienced hostels, you have also experienced the desert. So, test your thoughts; and where, as you see, your soul is being built up for good, there you will remain. If in these places you want to remain silent, like other brothers who live for the Lord, then the Lord Jesus Christ will not despise you, but will Himself take care of you; live only in the fear of God. If you want to return to the monastery, then that’s even better.” And do not say in your mind this: “I am ashamed to return to my brothers, for if I return to them, they will consider me unskillful and unable to endure desert labor, but who turned to flight, like a timid warrior who left the military formation.” No! Not this, this is not what they will think, my brother, but rather that you, as an ascetic, have fulfilled what the Apostle said, for he says: “Take hold of all that is tempting” (1 Thess. 5:20). And so, you have tempted both and found that it is good and good, but the brethren must live together (Ps. 133:1), as it is written: brother from brother we help, like a city is strong and high, and like a kingdom that is founded is strengthened (Proverbs 18:19). And the brother, overwhelmed by this, returns to the monastery. The abbot of the monastery and the brothers receive him with joy, for the sake of him who said: intercede for the weak (1 Thess. 5:14), and give him a cell. And after a few days, which the brother spent silently in his cell, the evil one begins to bother him with his suggestions and say the following: “Have you come to the old place again? Wasn’t just deserted freedom enough for you, where you didn’t see anything harmful, weren’t tempted by anything, didn’t talk to anyone?” And again the demons began to bother him so much that, if it were possible, he would have broken through the monastery wall and fled. The crafty devil confuses him so much and with his thoughts he makes him despondent at small handicrafts, wanting to remove him from his cell again. But if the brother is prudent, as it is written: Be wise as a serpent and purposeful as doves (Matthew 10:16), then he objects to the demons, saying: “Do not mock me, you workers of iniquity, because I do not accept your advice, since your advice is filled with deadly poison. And at the beginning, having listened to you, I left the monastery, thinking of doing better, but I left the cell and did not receive the slightest benefit; but at least I learned that all your paths are darkness, and whoever walks on them walks in darkness. From that time on, with God’s assistance, I became the slave of another, and my Master, having come, gave me to the abbot of the monastery in which I live, so I have no power in myself. Why do you confuse me about small handicrafts? Am I not better than worldly people who work not only during the day, but also at night and take care of their wife, children, storeroom and home? Christ freed me from all this: for His yoke is easy, and His burden is light (Matthew 11:30). Therefore, turn away from Me, you evildoers, and I will test the commandments of my God (Ps. 119:115). Glory to him forever! Amen. Lesson 24. About despondency and patience of the elders 25 The enemy inspires his brother: “You spend so many years in this holy place, working for the Lord Christ, and now you have grown old and are no longer able to bear the rules of this place. Your flesh has become weak, and you no longer have the strength to do anything, and finally both small and large will humiliate you, and even in your old age you have a need for repose. Therefore, leave here, settle in some place and remain silent; “from whom, out of love, from whom, for some other reason, God will send you food. For what is the need, while in poverty for one’s food, to endure reproaches? And what do you have in your food, when every day you are in such misery as a worthless slave, and suffer subordination to your younger ones?” This and similar things are suggested by the evil one to the old man, wanting after so many years to separate him from the brotherhood and from the place where he grew old, and to show that in old age he has become impatient. And if the elder is frivolous, the thought immediately and immediately seduces him and drives him away like a dry branch carried away by the wind. If the elder is firm in his mind, then his thoughts will not carry him away from the place of silence and will not overcome him, as if he were bound in chains, because they will not prevail over a pious thought; and the elder objects to them, saying: “You should not laugh at my old age, you crafty demons, because your crafty intentions are not unknown to us! If in my youth I patiently endured labors, then much more will I endure now that the time of my departure has come (2 Tim. 4:6) to be with Christ (Phil. 1:23). I have grown old, as you have testified, and my flesh has become weak; so where should I go? The old man expects nothing other than separation from life. And you also convince me to become a model of laziness, and not a model of patience. If the pious elder Eleazar, tormented by fiery torture, did not change his thoughts, and the young, looking at his patience, neglected visible torment, and seven pious youths defeated the tormentor; What can I do? And by this he overthrows demonic thoughts if, with the assistance of grace, he remains firm in his determination, and ends his life in the place where he grew old, receiving the crown of life and hearing from the Lord: Well done, good and faithful servant, you have been faithful for a little, I will make you over many: enter into the joy of your Lord (Matthew 25:21). Glory to the Lord forever and ever! Amen. Lesson 25. About moving from place to place 26 Faith is the mother of holy good deeds, and through it a person achieves the fulfillment of the promises of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, according to what is written: without faith it is impossible to please (Heb. 11:6). But the devil’s greatest gain is unbelief, which is the mother of every evil deed. From it comes double-mindedness, which is disorder. The man is double-minded, it is said, unsettled in all his ways (James 1:8). If we go out into the desert, our feet will find no rest in the desert. And if we go to inhabited places, we will please those who seek the desert. If we do not sow, brothers, how will we reap? Without bearing fruit to the Fruit-Giver, how can he gather fruit? Without enduring grief, how will we find peace for ourselves? Without the patience to live in the desert, how will we receive a reward for our journey? Without enduring poverty and hardship, how can we find true wealth? Without willingly accepting insults, sorrows and humiliation, how can we follow in the footsteps of the Lord Christ, without agreeing to be subordinate to the elders in the Lord, moving from one place to another? First of all, a person must find out in his own thoughts why and for what reason he wants to leave his place in which he lives: is it not with the intention of avoiding labor that he strives for the desert, thinking that it will be easier in the desert; whether the hater of goodness, the demon, also hurt him with envy or hatred, because the other brother apparently succeeded, but he did not receive leadership, and therefore wants to leave the place; whether avoiding warfare in deeds of virtue, or not being able to endure being in the subordination of Christ, he seeks solitude; not pursuing an earthly inheritance, he wants to leave his place. All this is revealed by thoughts. So, if we test and explore, then, having learned what passion outrages us, we will not follow it, so that in desert and waterless places we do not fall into the hands of crafty demons. Therefore, test yourself firmly: is everything really being done truly according to God, and not for some corrupt purpose? Whoever does something without consulting is like a man who chases birds on his own feet, without thinking ahead whether he will have the strength to catch up. And with good advice, the commandments of Christ are kept. And what should be said beyond that? Sobriety is needed, beloved. The enemy sometimes uses against the brothers their very desire for righteousness, and if the brother agrees to part with the place, then the enemy manages to lay a snare for him somewhere. But if people persecute us out of bitter jealousy, or if they force us to take part in deeds that are alien to us, that are not pleasing to God, then let us flee to another place and put our trust in God, because our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ said to His disciples: when you are persecuted in this city, flee to another (Matthew 10:23). And the Savior also said that one should not wander: do not wander from house to house (Luke 10:7); and one more thing: if you enter the city, it will remain there” (Matthew 10:11). If we want to do our will, then what virtue is there in that? If the superiors excommunicate us, we will yield; Above all, let us resist the devil. This is what David did; fighting with foreigners, he moved away from the face of Saul. So, if you are well silent in the desert, and the thought of moving to populated areas begins to confuse you, show him in response to worldly warfare and what happens to some in the villages. If you are well silent in the hostel, and the thought of going into the desert begins to confuse you, show him in response to the battles and difficulties of the desert. If you remain silent well in solitude, and the thought of joining a gathering of numerous brothers begins to confuse you, show him in response to your social exploits, and at the same time the reward for them. Let us not be recklessly carried away by our thoughts, for we do not know what is more beneficial for us, as Wisdom says: Do not exalt your soul with advice, lest your soul be plundered like a youth: girdle down your leaves, and destroy your fruit, and keep it for yourself like a dry tree (Sir. 6:2-3). Salvation comes from much counsel (Proverbs 11:14). But it often happens in your thoughts to say that due to temptations and gossip you want to run away from here. So, be patient, and I will give you advice. Do you want to avoid temptations and gossip? Put the door to your mouth about the Lord and turn away your eyes so as not to see vanity, and you will avoid both: gossip - by silence, temptations - by guarding your eyes. And if we do not overcome this within ourselves, then wherever we go, we will carry our enemies within ourselves. Conquer them, beloved, and you will have peace wherever you live. But it often occurs to you to say: “All my brothers have become aware of my absent-mindedness and my negligence, therefore I can no longer live in this place, for even if I love virtue, the people with whom I live are the same.” Listen, beloved, do good and you will see that the Lord will heal your conscience and change the thoughts of your brethren about you. If you persist and leave the place where your brothers were tempted by your life, you will avoid human reproach; you will go to another place where you will have a good reputation, and you will no longer remember your previous shortcomings. But the Prophet says: my soul and passion are reproached (Ps. 68:21), because reproach and humiliation from people for the sake of the Lord greatly contributes to the cleansing of sins. And may the Prophet convince you of this, saying: for in our humility the Lord will remember us: and he delivered us from our enemies (Ps. 135:23,24). Where your enemy overthrew you, there, rise up, fight the enemy, so that your correction will also be revealed to those who recognize your shortcomings. By this you will gain great glory from the Lord, because our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ said: the first will be last, and the last will be first (Matthew 19:30). As soon as soiled clothes are washed, they are no longer placed with unclean clothes. If someone, out of envy or crafty jealousy, calls what is clean unclean, they will not believe him, because the very appearance of his clothing will expose him. For it is said: wash me, and I will be whiter than snow (Ps. 50:9). And the Scripture says to your opponents and those who want to turn your thoughts back to your previous evil deeds: woe to him who has drunk his girlfriend with muddy corruption (Hab. 2:15). Oh, you who have abandoned the right path and walk in the paths of darkness! O thou who rejoiceth over the wicked! whose paths are obstinate and their courses are crooked, making you far from the right path, and alien from a righteous mind (Prov. 2:13-16). Therefore, he continues: never reach the years of life. If you had walked in good paths, you would have found right and smooth paths. Blaze will be the inhabitants of the earth, but gentleness will remain on it. The path of the wicked will perish from the earth, but the wicked will be cast out from it. Son, do not forget my laws, but let your heart keep my words (Prov. 2:19–20,22. 3:1). Glory to God forever and ever! Amen. If it happens that a brother leaves the hostel under any pretext, and then falls ill or, repenting, returns, then one should not despise the brother, but accept him in the Lord as one’s own member. Although he has sinned, you are doing this not for man, but for the Lord, who said: If you have made the least of these, you have made others with Me (Matthew 25:40). For it is forbidden to take care of yourself alone, as our Savior said: do not worry about your souls about what you eat. .. – and so on (Matthew 6:25). That’s why He adds, saying: For all these the pagans are looking for. Therefore, through the Apostle he commands: not each one’s own, but also those who are friends (Phil. 2:4). The same Apostle also says: and even after excellence I will show you the way. Even if the tongues of men and angels are spoken, but love is not imam, they are like ringing brass, or a clanging cymbal. And the Imam also has prophecy, and I know all the secrets and the whole mind, and even if the Imam has all the faith, as if he had given up the mountains, I am not an Imam of love, I am nothing. And if I give away all my possessions, and if I give up my body, it will be burned, but love will not be of any use to me. He is patient with love, he is merciful: he does not envy love, does not act outrageously, does not seek his own, is not irritated, does not think evil, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the truth: he covers everything, has faith in everything, trusts in everything, endures everything, love falls away in no way (1 Cor. 12:31, 13:1-8). So, prayer and fasting are beautiful, but they are strengthened by alms, for it is said: I want mercy, not sacrifice (Hos. 6:6). Look how the prophet denounced the unmerciful: I do not remember to show mercy, and the pursuit of man is poor and wretched, and the heart is touched to kill, so that their memory will be consumed from the earth (Ps. 109:16,15). And one more thing: Thou didst smite him before, and thou hast driven them away, and added ulcers to my sickness (Ps. 68:27). Therefore, the Savior pleases the merciful, saying: blessed are the mercy: for they will receive mercy (Matthew 5:7). What does the angel say to Cornelius? Speech: not only your prayers, but also your alms, you have lifted up as a memorial before God (Acts 10:4). So, accept the one who has erred and repents, who has risen from the dead, from the depths of lack of fear and negligence. Listen to what the Apostle says: strengthen your love for him, lest he be lost to much sorrow (2 Cor. 2:7,8). And one more thing: we pray, brothers, admonish the disorderly, comfort the faint-hearted, intercede for the weak, be patient with everyone. Take heed that no one repays evil for evil; but always pursue good things, both to one another and to everyone (1 Thess. 5:14-15). For the Lord of glory did not reject the prodigal son, but accepted him as one risen from the dead, and clothed him in the first garment, and gave him boots and a ring, and slaughtered a well-fed calf, in order to rejoice at the discovery of his lost son; when the other son was offended by this, he healed him with admonition, saying: child, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. Be glad and be glad as you should, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again: and he was lost and found again” (Luke 15:31-32). The superiors of the brotherhood must be merciful. But you, brother, having received mercy, do not neglect this, but imitate the repentant and returned son. Having found his father, he did not consign sin to oblivion, but fell to his father, truly, unfeignedly confessed to him: Father, I have sinned in heaven and before you, and your son is no longer worthy to be called: make me as one of your hired servants” (Luke 15:18-19). Do you see what contrition he acquired, what sorrow, what humility? So we too, beloved, will henceforth be sober, in order to restore for us the pillar destroyed by negligence. For whoever neglects the fact that he himself is negligent will, without a doubt, refrain from causing another to fall. The Prophet speaks to him: woe to him who has drunk his girlfriend with muddy corruption (Hab. 2:15). So, let us serve the Lord in fear and humility. Understand what is said to you wisely. Don’t make it so that you have humility and silence for a short time, and then soon thereafter – murmur. Do not neglect church services under the pretext of some kind of charity. Just as rain nurtures a seed, so church service strengthens souls in virtue. Don’t do it in such a way as to thank us today for what was offered at the meal, and in the morning grumble about the one who cooked the food and baked the bread. Is the bread stale? Let us remember the prophet who says: Ashes are behind us, like bread is eaten (Ps. 101:10). Is the wine spoiled? Let us remember that our common Master, Lord and Savior, for our sake ate ocet with gall. Do not make it so that today we have abstinence, and in the morning lead us into temptation from superiors to please the belly, and therefore hear about yourself: to whom is God the belly and the glory (Phil. 3:19). Don’t do it in such a way that today you remain in silence and meditation, and in the morning go from cell to cell, not to mention - from village to village, and even spend time in the city, and under the pretext of serving the elders, indulge in carelessness. To the extent that someone remains silent, to that extent his thoughts become pure. And to the extent that someone moves away from silence, the extent to which his mind coarsens. Are you assigned to do art and is it useful for the dorm? Don't be proud of it. For if you worked for a person, you would have the right to speak. And if you work for God, then do not be arrogant over a slave like yourself, but leave your work to God. He will reward everyone according to his deeds. Therefore, let us humble our souls before the Lord, so that He may exalt us. As those who have just begun, let us put our thoughts in order every day. For in this way we will become more powerful. Let us not get carried away by carnal pleasures and lead our lives outside the fear of God. But let us flee from all youthful lust, so that this lust does not lead us to our former way of life, and so that we do not fall into the same troubles, preparing for ourselves the gravest condemnation of wrath, and not be cut off, becoming like a rotten member and being cut off is beneficial for the other members of the body. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ said: Behold, you are healthy: let no one sin, lest anything worse befall him (John 5:14). May the Lord Himself give us the strength to show our conversion and do deeds worthy of repentance, so that, having put on the wedding garment, we may meet Him in glory. Glory to him forever and ever! Amen. Lesson 27. About negligence and negligence 28 One brother told me the following. I had an uncle who was an artist, a goldsmith, and, having renounced worldly life, he became a monk. When he is old, a layman comes to him, originally from Alexandria, an artistic sculptor, and he also wants to be a monk. The elder accepts him into his monastery. After some time, the elder allowed his brother to take upon himself the holy schema, and after that he ceased to be a novice to the elder. The elder gave him two cells in his monastery. The brother passionately busied himself day and night with his work, making stone sculptures, because they diverged in place, and he, being obsessed with the love of money, did not care about anything else except his work: neither about prayer, nor about church services. The pious elder admonished his brother, saying: “Brother Palladius, let’s go and cultivate the garden.” He answered: “Go, I will come,” and did not come, neglecting the elder’s word. Another time the elder told him: “Brother Palladius, let’s go and perform God’s service.” He again answered: “Go, I’ll come,” and did not move from his place, neglecting the service. The elder had three brothers with him; two of them were blind, the third was a simpleton. So, when the elder was preparing a little jam, Palladius, bringing bread with him, ate with them, and then went back to his work. The holy elder admonished his brother, advising him not to neglect his salvation. But he did not listen to the good advice of the holy elder; leaving him, he went away and began to live separately, not having the fear of God in himself. When, in this way, he was careless about his life, did not tolerate being in subjection and, living separately, did not care about his salvation, but completely removed his mind from the thought of God’s help and the expectation of the saints; The demon finally prevailed over him, and he lost his mind. He was no longer able to raise his hand to his mouth, but others fed him like a baby; didn’t recognize people; phlegm and saliva ran down his beard. As soon as his sisters found out about what had happened to him, they took him in. They were virgins and, taking him, they locked him in the monastery chapel. And he moved on his chair throughout the chapel. When the presbyter came to serve with them, the sisters asked him to pray for their brother, so that the Lord would show mercy to him. And after suffering this punishment for some time, in this state he dies. This is what lack of fear has in store for us! This is what disobedience and negligence gain! This is the end of disobedience! Therefore, let us not neglect the fear of the Lord, but let us humble ourselves under the sovereign hand of the Lord, serving one another in the fear of God: and the Lord will be our wall and protector in the face of the enemy, as it is written: The Angel of the Lord will encamp around those who fear Him, and will deliver them (Ps. 33:8). Glory to the Lord forever and ever! Amen. Lesson 28. In response to the words: to him who has everything, more will be given everywhere and he will have abundance 29 It is written: to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have more; but from the one who has not, even though he thinks he has, it will be taken from him (Matthew 25:29). What are we talking about? Is food not right with God? Let it not be (Rom.9:14). Listen to this parable. In some direction there was the owner of a house who had two slaves and three pairs of oxen. And he gave one slave two pairs of oxen, and another one, and said to them: “Go and work until I come to you.” The one who received two pairs went and worked on the oxen, and he himself became very rich, and he fattened the oxen surprisingly. And the one who received one pair went, tied the oxen to a manger, and did not use them for anything at all, but he himself lay down and fell asleep. Then the master of those slaves comes to see their work. And, seeing the work and profit of the one who received two pairs, he blessed him. After that he comes to another slave and finds him sleeping, and the oxen tied to a manger and exhausted from hunger and thirst. And when the master of this servant saw that he was doing nothing, and the oxen were exhausted, then he said to himself: “If I leave my oxen with this lazy servant, he will destroy them; Therefore, I will take away my oxen from him and give them to him who worked well and cared about his work”: to the one who has, there will be given everywhere and there will be an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even if he thinks he has, it will be taken from him. And the Lord also says: Out of goodness I called him, I gave him the opportunity, doing good, so that he might acquire eternal life; but he humiliated Me, and for this he himself will be deprived of honor.” And a man who is ignorant of honor is likened to foolish cattle and becomes like them (Ps. 48:13). And he does not desire the blessing, and will withdraw from it (Ps. 109:17). For what exactly? Because you don’t want to please the hedgehog. Think iniquity in your bed: I present myself to every path that is not good, but I am not indignant about wickedness (Ps. 35:4-5). Is food not right with God? no it won't. Therefore, brothers, let us try to please God with all His saints. Glory to him forever and ever! Amen. If one of the reverent brothers, standing during God's service or walking, suddenly falls to the ground because of the darkness that has befallen him, brothers, he should not be surprised and therefore be amazed; We must, with all our thoughts, pray to God to cover us in everything. For if we serve Him with a sincere heart, He will not allow us to be tempted beyond our ability, and He will deliver those who are tempted. This is what it is written in the psalm: You have made the Most High your refuge. Evil will not come to you, and wound will not approach your body, as His Angel commanded you to keep you in all your ways. They will take you in their arms, but not when you dash your foot on a stone: you step on an asp and a basilisk, and cross a lion and a serpent. For I have trusted in Me, and I will deliver, and I will cover, and because I have known My name. He will call to Me, and I will hear him: I am with him in tribulation, I will destroy him, and I will glorify him; I will fill him with long days, and I will show him My salvation” (Ps. 90:9-16). And again: he who trusts in the Lord is like Mount Zion: he will not move in the living age in Jerusalem (Ps. 124:1). And again: the youngest was, for he was old, and did not see the righteous, forsaken, lower than his seed asking for bread” (Ps. 36:25). Darkness occurs from the boiling of the most acute bile and from the increase of juices, and for some from bodily exhaustion and relaxation. Sometimes it happens that the devil, if he is unable to overcome his brother in deed or word, does something similar in order to, although in this way shame him, remove him from the field. However, the Lord will not allow him to be tempted beyond his strength, but will soon strengthen his heart. And this does not happen to a brother simply or by chance, but when his thoughts give way to outbursts of anger. Another, by God's permission, surrenders into the hands of the enemy for exaltation when he entrusts himself to the deceptive enemy thoughts and says the following words: “Behold, you have become more skillful than all people, and there is no one like you on earth,” or other, even more exalted, or better yet, indecent words, and at the same time ascribes merit to himself, and does not give honor to God, although he acted only with His help. In this way, he surrenders into the hands of the tempter, so that, having been admonished, he would recognize his weakness and not forget how much he needs the help of Him who said: “When you have done all things, say, ‘For we are servants without power’” (Luke 17:10); For if anyone exalts himself, he will humble himself (Luke 18:14). For it is impossible for the devil to prevail over those who truly fear the Lord. He tries to shake them, but is unable to eradicate them. So it was with Job. He was delivered into the hands of the tempter; but, since he was under God’s protection, the tempter did not dare to touch him, although he received from God the power to strike Job as he wanted, without touching only the soul of the righteous. The righteous man defeated his opponent with one true love that he had for God. And the evil angel Satan was given to the Apostle (2 Cor. 12:7); but he prevailed over him because of his Beloved (Rom. 8:37), the Lord Jesus Christ, whom he had in his soul with perfect love. To be still weak in the flesh does not mean to be overcome, but he is overcome who is unskillful in temptation. For we see that without God’s permission the enemy has no power over pigs (Mark 5:12). I saw a man who stood on a pillar for the sake of virtue. If the enemy had the power to take possession of anyone he wanted, would he not immediately be dragged along with the pillar? From this we know that the fortress of the enemy has been crushed by the power of the Honorable Cross of our Savior Jesus Christ. Therefore, do not be afraid, servant of Christ, do not let your thoughts disturb you, do not retreat from the place where you excel in the Lord. For we believe Him who said: To you also are the chief powers of the world (Matthew 10:30); and again: Behold, I have given you power to tread on the serpent, and on the scorpion, and on all the power of the enemy: and nothing will harm you (Luke 10:19). For the arrows of the child were their wounds, and their tongues were crushed upon them (Ps. 63: 8-9). When you fall into various sorrows, do not lose heart. For the prophet says: Lord, in sorrow I remembered You (Is. 26:16). And one more thing: the tribulations of the righteous are many, and the Lord will deliver them from all of them (Ps. 33:20). Therefore, in another place he says: Look at the ancient generations, and see: who is the faith of the Lord, and is ashamed? Or who remained in His fear and remained? Or who called Him and looked at Him? The Lord is generous and merciful, and forgives sins and saves in times of trouble” (Sir.2:10-11). So, the fear of God is a strong pillar in the face of the enemy. Do not destroy this pillar, and you will not be taken captive. Cling to the Lover of Mankind, with the Prophet we cry out for His goodness: In Thee, O Lord, have I trusted, that I may never be ashamed: by Thy righteousness deliver me and redeem me. Incline Your ear to me, hasten to take me away: make me a protector in God, and a house of refuge to save me. For Thou art my power and my refuge: and for Thy name’s sake Thou shalt instruct me and nourish me. Deliver me from this net that is hidden by me, for You are my Protector, Lord. I will offer my spirit in Your hands: You have delivered me, O Lord God of truth (Ps. 30: 1-6). Then He will tell us according to what is written: I will be with you, and I will not leave you; I will even despise you. Be strong and take courage (Joshua 1:5–6); and as he also says: Do not be afraid from their presence, but be afraid before them, for I am with you, says the Lord, who will deliver you (Jer. 1:17). So, thanking His love for mankind, fall to Him, saying: I have been rejected from His mouth, and the Lord has accepted me. The Lord is my strength and my song, and He will be my salvation” (Ps. 117:13-14). Glory to the Lord forever and ever! Amen. Lesson 30. On humility 31 If you, beloved brother, succeed so much that you rise to a high degree; then do not forget humility, so that if you happen to step away from this level, you will find the path and not fall into a disastrous fall. For this happens to some due to their own ingratitude, because they are not grateful to Him who gave them grace. And if they had known the Benefactor, they would not have been disobedient to His commands; and if we had not been disobedient, we would not have fallen, as it is written: “He who is exalted, he will humble himself; and he who humbles himself, he will be exalted” (Luke 18:14). Why does he say in the Psalm: I saw the wicked standing tall and exalted like the cedars of Lebanon, and I passed by, and behold, I was not there, and I sought him, and his place was not found. Maintain kindness and see righteousness, for there is a remnant for a man of peace (Ps. 36:35-37). And he also says: The Lord resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (Proverbs 3:34). And through the Apostle the Lord exhorts, saying: the wise is not high, but the humble is led (Rom. 12:16). And in another place he says: Do not rise up, lest you fall, and bring dishonor to your soul, and the Lord will reveal your secret, and in the midst of the assembly will bring you down: for you have not come to the fear of the Lord, and your heart is filled with wickedness (Sir. 1:30). Therefore, brothers, let us try to humble our souls before the Lord, so that He may exalt us during the visit. For He is the one who cries out from the earth and lifts up the needy from the pit (Ps. 113:7). He who does not want to voluntarily humble himself out of piety will be humble involuntarily. Therefore, it is written in the righteous Job: with Him is power and strength, with Him is knowledge and understanding. Conduct the advisers into captivity, and the judges of the earth are terrors: place the kings on the throne, and tie a belt around their loins. Release the captives of the priests, and bring down the mighty of the earth. Change the lips of the faithful, and the understanding of the elders. Pour out dishonor on princes, but heal the humble (Job 12:16-21). So, let us love humility, beloved, because the Lord Himself said: take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light (Matthew 11:29-30). Hey, Blessed One, hey, Glorified One, hey, Merciful One, hey, Humane-loving and Good One, Your yoke is very good and Your burden is light for all who come to serve You with a sincere heart! Glory and power are due to you forever and ever! Amen. Teaching 31. That a Christian should be generous and unforgiving 32 If grief happens to you, then to endure it is not an extreme evil; It is difficult and dangerous to remain upset. If in your absence, brother, someone slandered you, and another one comes and tells you that such and such a brother slandered you, then, like a wise man, figure out whose obsession it is, and do not be upset with your brother. And to the one who informed you, say this: “Although he insulted me, he is my brother, and I myself deserved the insult; however, he did not offend on his own, but the enemy arranged this in order to sow enmity between us. May the Lord destroy the plans of the evil one, and may he have mercy on his brother, and may he not forsake us.” If you are again offended in person, do not be annoyed by this and do not move your mind. If we happen to suffer an insult for a bad deed, then let us not be hard-hearted, but rather correct our mistake. And if this happens due to the enemy’s delusion, you, who know the matter, do not be annoyed with your brother. For if you, being offended, repay with an insult, you will inflict a double insult on yourself: firstly, by the fact that, being offended, you did not bear it generously, and, secondly, by the fact that you responded to an act that was shameless for you with slander. Therefore, when someone slanders you, do not become inflamed with anger, but immediately, with a modest grin, showing a smile on your face, change your irritation to the world. But there is also a kind of laughter that kindles anger in another, for it is said: with laughter a fool does evil (Proverbs 10:23). I’m not talking about such a grin, brothers; on the contrary, how a skillful and experienced physician dissolves the healing of love in the union of peace. Fire is not extinguished by fire. Therefore, you should not laugh, but with love, sedateness and generosity, quench the anger of the irritable demon. For it is written: For a man’s wrath does not accomplish the righteousness of God (James 1:20). And another says: the aspiration of his rage will fall to him (Sir.1:22). And if your brother is not brought to his senses with a smile, then we will try by all means to heal his brother so that irritation does not prevail over him. Our Lord and Savior Jesus said: if you bring your gift to the altar, remember that one, because your brother has something against you: leave your gift before the altar, and go first to humble yourself with your brother, and then come and bring your gift (Matthew 5:23-24). And through the Apostle he commands, saying: Have peace and holiness with everyone, and no one else will see the Lord (Heb. 12:14). And let not the evil one teach you to say: “I am not offended by insult, but by the fact that I was offended in the presence of my brothers.” Does this bother you, servant of the Lord? Where did you, warrior of Christ, leave your weapon, I mean the cross? And the cross is humility, as it is written: He humbled himself, becoming obedient even to the point of death, death on the cross (Phil. 2:8). Do you want, brother, to prove to you that we should endure everything with gratitude if it was done to us for Christ? Christ is our life and the salvation of our souls. Therefore, whoever suffers for Christ suffers for his own salvation and for his life. I will prove to you by the example of people servile to us (similar to us in passions) that through humility they pleased God; First, I will present to you as an example those who walk in the flesh, and then we will move on to those who are spiritual. Are you offended? Use fighters on yourself. But let us leave those who walk in the flesh and move on to those who are spiritual. When David fled from the face of Absalom his son, Shimei, coming out to meet him, did not he slander King David before all those accompanying him? Not in private, Shimei slandered the king, so that someone else would not say that this was why he suffered the insult generously. He not only slandered, but cursed and threw stones at the king; That’s why one of his close friends said to the king: Why does this dead dog curse my lord the king? I'll go and take away his head. And the king said to him: What are the sons of Zerui to me and you? leave him to curse me like this, because the Lord told him to curse David: and who says to him: why did you do this (2 Samuel 16:9-10)? And he also said: The Lord will look upon my humility and will return me good, instead of his curse to this day (2 Samuel 16:12). Do you see, beloved, that the righteous served the Lord in humility? And if David, being a king and a Prophet, showed so much zeal and humility, then what should we be like, poor and sinners? Take also into account David’s forbearance against Saul. Therefore, we, brothers, will be generous, bearing each other’s burdens (Gal.6:2). What warrior, seeing that his comrade has been taken prisoner by his opponents, does not enter into battle and fight with his opponents in order to kidnap his comrade from the hands of those who took him prisoner? When he is unable to save him, then he cries and is sad, remembering his friend. Shouldn't we lay down our lives for each other much more? For our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ said: Greater love has no one than this, but whoever lays down his life for his friends (John 15:13). Glory to him forever and ever! Amen. Lesson 32. About passions 33 A person who spends his days in negligence deceives himself, not at all thinking about the blessings that the Lord has prepared for the righteous, and about the punishment prepared for sinners, indulging in amusements without any fear. In such, the evil one brings into action all kinds of carnal lusts; but he is not able to notice this, just as a gate does not notice those entering and exiting through it, because lust, having settled in the mind, has darkened his eyes. The enemy fights the ascetics in a different way; and before lawlessness is committed, the enemy greatly diminishes it in their eyes; It especially belittles the lust of voluptuousness, as if fulfilling it is the same as pouring a cup of cold water on the floor. Thus the evil one diminishes sin in the eyes of his brother before committing it; after committing a sin, the evil one increases lawlessness to the extreme in the eyes of the one who fell into it. At the same time, he raises waves of despair against him, and often armed himself with parables, instilling thoughts such as: “What have you done, you vain toiler? Now I will explain to you what your work was like. Someone planted grapevines, guarded and protected them until they produced fruit, then, having collected the grapes, he filled the barrels with grape wine, and then suddenly, getting up, took an ax and broke the barrels; the wine spilled out and died. This is what your work is like.” The evil one suggests this to his brother with the intention of throwing him into the depths of despair. Therefore, beloved, knowing in advance these machinations of the enemy, flee from sin. If you have fallen into some kind of sin, do not become stubborn in sin, but get up and turn to the Lord your God with all your heart, so that your soul may be saved. Say to the evil thought: “Although I broke the barrels and destroyed the wine, my vineyard is intact, and the Lord is long-suffering, abounding in mercy, merciful and righteous. And I hope that, with the assistance of His grace, I will again cultivate and preserve my grapes, and fill my barrels, as before. For through the prophet Isaiah He says: Though your sins be as scarlet, I will make them as white as snow; and if they are as scarlet, I will make them white as wool. And if you will, and you will listen to Me, you will destroy the good earth; if you will not, then you will listen to Me; you will girdle the sword: for the mouth of the Lord speaks this (Is. 1:18-20). Glory to the Lord forever and ever! Amen. Lesson 33. How one should comfort the faint-hearted 34 The brother looked for his brother and, having found him, said to him: “Where have you been, brother? He answered, saying: “such and such a brother was in sorrow, he went to console him.” The brother answers him: “If you have walked for the Lord, you will not be without reward... And there are those who apparently console and show compassion, but do not know that they are causing great sorrow and harm.” The brother said: “Who is it that comforts his brother to his detriment?” The brother answered him: “If the person who consoles is spiritual, then he does not come to harm, but to great benefit. But whoever has a carnal mindset will not bring the least benefit.” The brother says: “I would like to know the speeches of both, so that, wanting to benefit my brother, I would not harm him.” And the brother said to him: Let us both ask the Lord for generosity, so that He may send His grace into our hearts, because without His grace man is powerless to excel in virtues. So, listen: he who has a carnal way of thinking, having come to comfort his brothers, conducts the following conversation: what is the matter with you, my brother? - he will say. He answers: I asked the steward for the necessary thing, and he did not give it to me; or names another brother who allegedly unfairly insulted him. And the one who came for consolation, having heard this, exclaims like this: why does this one dishonor others? and on one occasion he did the same to me and dishonored me; we honor him, but he does not understand this, and does not want to know his limits; The abbots here think that here is the only way to be saved. If only here; then it is impossible for a person to be saved. I too will leave here and be freed from these people.” And with such words he does his brother more harm. And if there are others who are enslaved to the same thought, then they upset the brother’s thoughts even more. It often happens that they also have wine; and until they get drunk, they do not stop drinking and arguing with each other in words, sometimes laying hands on one another, and some, from drinking too much, fall asleep on the spot. The brother says: “I would like to know the speeches of spiritual people in order to choose the best for myself.” He answered: “A spiritual person, when he thinks of going to console his brother, first of all, and without yet leaving his cell, will begin to pray so that the Lord will direct his path. And, having come to the door of the brothers, knocking, he bows to the ground, and with permission, he goes up and stands in prayer. After this they will sit in silence. Then the owner of the cell says to his brother: you did well to come to bless me. The brother answers: May your reverence bless me! Therefore, I beg you, blessed of the Lord, to tell me what is the matter with you?” He reveals to him his thoughts or the name of the brother who upset him. - The brother, having listened, says: help, Lord! And the enemy doesn’t want anyone to remain silent. - And again, continuing his speech, he says: however, beloved, where are there no sorrows? where is there no labor? Don't the laity work? Aren't sailors in poverty when traveling the seas? Are warriors in battle not exposed to danger? Why are we faint-hearted, as if we alone have sorrows? The laity work for worldly things, but the spiritual ones mourn in spiritual matters. But the sorrow of the world makes death, and sorrow, like God’s, brings repentance to eternal life (2 Cor. 7:10). Why, while we are in sorrow, will not be faint-hearted. For it is written: Your sorrow will be turned into joy (John 16:20). And will you really, having endured so much labor, now die in the flesh (Gal.3:3)? Consider that you have renounced the world and your will; How can you not endure even a word? And for this you want to leave the monastery? Has the enemy really robbed us of the thought of humility, and that is why passions are strongly rising in us? Do not be angry with me, who am telling you the truth, for with compassion for you, I am saying this. Where does the reason for this come from? Of course, is it either the food or the drink, or the fact that you couldn’t bear the words and are suffering so much harm? Have you put this into your mind so that you may gain Christ, and again you allow your mind to get bogged down in old passions? Until we love abstinence and cut off our own will, we do not dare to say: behold, we have left everything and are dead in Your wake (Matthew 19:27). Think about what you were like when you came to the monastery gates, burning in spirit in the fear of the Lord. But perhaps you want to say that these people have corrupted your thoughts? Do you want me to prove to you, beloved, that the reason is our laziness? Lot lived in Sodom, and did not die with the Sodomites. Gehazi served the prophet Elisha and sinned. Likewise, Samuel stayed with Eli and lived with his children, but they fell, and he was saved, because he truly loved the Lord. And Judas Iscariot, along with the other disciples, followed the Lord, but betrayed the Teacher and Lord of glory into the hands of the lawless. So, let us not bend to the will of the enemy, who instills, of course, plausible pretexts for the overthrow of our souls. For we have examples in the Divine Scriptures according to which everyone should be attentive to himself: whether he lives with the righteous or with the sinners. Living with the righteous, we ourselves will live righteously and reverently. And if we live with sinners, then we will try not to imitate their deeds, but, with the assistance of grace, to draw them along with us onto the path of salvation. If you decide to say about yourself: I am weak and have no strength of spirit; then we will listen to the Divine Scriptures and be jealous of the lives of the holy fathers, so that our souls may be healed, and not only while we listen, we will begin to come into contrition, and soon then we will do the worst. Those who receive the Word in this way will never bear fruit, for such people have no root in themselves. Every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire (Matthew 3:10). Like the weak, let us listen to the instructions of men who fear the Lord, who show the soul the path to health, and let us not become like those who want to obey only their own will, so that we do not suffer, clinging to an evil thought. One of the saints said: if you see that a young person ascends to heaven of his own free will, then restrain him, because it will be useful for him. Think the same about a person who is old in years, but young in mind. For the Wise One speaks in parables: The ways of fools are right in their sight, but a wise man will accept counsel (Prov. 12:15). Let us also listen to the one who says: “Young men, submit to your elders; if you are to acquire humility toward one another, God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5). For some consider themselves wise, but do not want to submit to those who are truly wise and have the knowledge of God. The Apostle calls such people vain and deceived in mind, saying: for many are unsubdued, talkers of vain, and deceived in mind (Titus 1:10). It often inspires another thought and says: what then? You are still young, in your old age you will repent.” And if he reaches old age, he again presents the thought to him: now you are old and need peace. “Therefore, beloved, it is necessary to work for the Lord every day with fear and trembling, for who told us that we would live to old age? And if we live, will we have a good thought if from now on we no longer care about our salvation? Let us listen to the Lord, who says: watch and pray: for you do not know the hour of the day (Matthew 25:13.26,41). Out of our laziness, we consider the good yoke of Christ to be heavy. How many people in the world do you think, beloved, complain about this or that: that their children are given as collateral, that the children of strong people are taken into captivity, sold into slavery, or on the other side serve those who are incomparably worse than them, that others are poor, lying in city markets and streets, uncovered by nothing, suffering from cold and heat? But we do not consider it a great thing that we have this shelter given to us by the Lord, and that we have no concern for worldly things. Let us bring this into memory and not despise God’s grace and God’s benefits, because God has vouchsafed us His good yoke. But we asked, and it was not given to us? And who knows that this turned out to be unfavorable for us? – Let’s also say this: who among us does not recognize himself as having disobeyed the Lord, and the Lord, seeing this, is patient? As for the superiors, let us leave this to the Lord: For we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ (Rom. 14:10); God does not accept the face of man (Gal.2:6). So, arise, gird yourself, and do not fall from your thoughts. Listen to the one who says: Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Rom. 12:21). Alas for me, a sinner, beloved! The Lord of glory has endured so much for us! What can we bring to Him that is equivalent to the suffering that He endured for us? Let us fall to Him with all our thoughts, asking ourselves for patience from His goodness. Through many tribulations we must enter into the Kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). For the Savior said to the disciples: you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman gives birth, she has sorrow, because her year has come: but when the child gives birth, no one remembers that hour for the joy when a man was born into the world. And you will have sorrow: but I will see you, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you (John 16:20-22).” And thus, by the gift of grace, having strengthened the brother with the word of truth, both will thank the Lord. And if they happen to eat food together, they eat and drink with all decorum, so as to exhaust the flesh and not get drunk with wine, in which there is fornication (Eph. 5:18). And having completed the Lord’s work, he returns to his cell, glorifying God for his brother’s conversion. Glory to God forever! Amen. Teaching 34. That a brother reading must delve into what he is reading and read with care, as if in the presence of God 35 If you, beloved, are ordered to read aloud brotherhoods, note exactly where the one who started ended, and, without interrupting the order of speech, begin reading, so that your reading is like a ligature woven from gold. For whoever neglects one word or skips a verse, he himself does not want to learn as he should and teach those who listen; he only wants to see where the end of the words is and when the book will be taken away from him. But you, beloved, be sober, so that by reading you can benefit both yourself and those listening to you. If you are suddenly ordered to read, then start reading on the left side of the book. And if the word is at the beginning, say the inscription, for in this way what is being read will become clear. If you have purchased a book, then keep it in good order so that there is no stumbling block in it for anyone reading or copying. Lesson 35. On virginity and chastity 36 The evil one puts a thought into a brother or sister, saying: “Behold, a lustful thought troubles you every hour; How long will you bear this anxiety and endure this?” The brother answers: “Until the Lord looks upon my humility and my labor and forgives all my sins.” The evil one continues: “in order not to be in struggle, satisfy your lust once, and then you will repent; this is not an important matter.” The brother says: “I don’t need to learn repentance from you, for I know that repentance is possible for a person even until his last breath, due to God’s great love for mankind. And if you say that this matter is unimportant, then if before my God even in this small matter I turn out to be unskillful, how unskillful will I be when a greater temptation comes to me?” The evil one also says: “But even this is not important, because again we must only repent.” The brother answers: “Who will tell me that if I corrupt my flesh, I will find time to repent and will not be dragged along with those who practice iniquity? For our life is the shadow of the earth” (Job 8:9). And wouldn’t that be the same as taking a sword and killing yourself?” The evil one continues: “the satisfaction of lust means nothing, it is a matter of one hour, which immediately passed.” The brother replies: “Listen, enemy of life and adversary of souls, what honor has God prepared for those who through piety have overcome this, as you call unimportant, and what punishment, what dishonor has God prepared for those who have overcome this unimportant thing? How tall is the chaste Joseph! He conquered this passion, and is he not praised from generation to generation in heaven and on earth? And the shame of the Egyptian woman is always ridiculed. Likewise, blessed Susanna, who conquered lust, is glorified from generation to generation and forever, because she did not agree to her own fall and did not betray chastity, not being afraid of the threat of death; and the elders and judges of the people, who apparently ruled the people, being overcome by this passion, were stoned, died and at the same time left a bad name for all generations. Don’t you know, devil, that a beast, if it is accustomed to carnivory, more often satisfies this passion? And you want to assure me, saying: if you satisfy lust once, it will no longer bother you. The Lord God, who gave His Holy Spirit to men, will forbid you, because you are plotting against me, intending through sin, like a lion, to devour my soul. But our Savior Christ will not give you an opportunity for this, because He is philanthropic, strong and merciful.” The evil one continues to inspire: this matter means nothing at all; What are you grieving about now? The brother says: “I grieve that you deceive people, for your sweets are bitter, your teaching is the depth of evil, your gifts are full of death and destruction, because you inspire me to despise the grace of the Lord and to offend the Holy Spirit, by whom I am marked on the day of deliverance (Eph. 4:30); You tell me: this is not an important matter, and you encourage me to despise sanctification, without which no one will see the Lord. All this doesn't mean anything to you? You are inciting me to anger the Lord, so that on that terrible day, before the terrible Throne of God, I will hear from the righteous Judge: you are an evil servant and more voluptuous than God-loving, you have defiled My land with your uncleanness and your sins. And this, you say, is an unimportant matter? As it is written: God did not show mercy to the angels who sinned, but bound them captives of darkness before the judgment of the great day of torment to watch over them: and the first world was not spared, but preserved the honor of Noah the righteousness of the preacher, he brought a flood to the world of those who dishonored: and he burned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, condemned them with destruction, placing an image of those who would dishonor ( 2Pet.2:4-6). And you tell me that this is not an important matter? But who, having become obedient to you and enslaved to sin, spent his days safely, inheriting the never-ending Kingdom? He who follows the path of Christ always rejoices and is glad in the Holy Spirit, awaiting the blessed hope of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ. But I know that if you win, I will not escape sadness; and you will go with the message to your father, Satan, rejoicing at my fall, and I will be ashamed in heaven as soon as I do this. So, it is better for me that you do not give me rest like a dog, as long as you do not laugh at me with such laughter. I marvel at you, devil, that you manage to make people prefer small pleasures to eternal life. The Lord is our Fortress and our Helper, the Lord is our Refuge and Intercessor, the Lord is our Defender, and we will not fear you.” So, struggle, beloved, and against the enemy’s suggestions, imagine the fear of Gehenna and the cruelty of torment, so that the enemy does not deceive you with his all-cunning. But perhaps someone else will say: “How can I know the fear of Gehenna?” I'll say something human. When you entered the bathhouse, did you see people there who, exhausted from the heat, rush into the water? But with that flame that will once take sinners into itself, there is no reservoir; there are no doors, no exit, no flickering light, no moistening wind. And if anyone, burning in the flame, cries out with a loud voice, there will be no helper or comforter for him, because he is condemned for his own deeds. For it is written: Judgment is without mercy to him who has shown no mercy (James 2:13), and the wicked shall not rejoice (Isaiah 48:22). Have you seen the stove heating the bath? And in that fire, instead of wood, leaves and straw, the wicked and sinners will be burned by God’s fire; their sins will arise against them and produce a great fire. For it is written: wrath and wrath, sorrow and distress upon every soul of man who does evil, but first of Judea and of Greece. Glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, but to the Jews first and to the Greeks, for there is no sight of God” (Rom. 2:8-11). Therefore, beloved, let us be sober before the Lord in prayers and alms, with all humility, while there is still time for us to get rid of the evils mentioned above. For the Lord, in His great goodness, wants everyone to be saved. Glory to him forever! Amen. Lesson 36. About purity 37 Liken purity, beloved brother, to a palm tree. For the core of the palm is white, and the outside is covered with spines, which surround the whiteness of the palm. So, it is necessary to acquire love from a pure heart for all people, especially for those who belong to the faith, and coldness towards opponents and people who are voluptuous, and with this coldness have knowledge, chastity and peace, because the Apostle says: it is not fitting for the servant of the Lord to become arrogant, but to be quiet towards everyone, teachable, gentle, punishing with meekness those who are contrary: food as God will give them in repentance into the mind of truth: and they shall arise from the snare of the devil, and live ensnared from him, according to his own will” (2 Tim. 2:24-26). Oh, purity, which abhors luxury, bliss, bodily grace, and the decoration of clothes! Oh, purity, hater of expensive dishes, fleeing drunkenness! Oh, purity, a bridle for the eyes, bringing the whole body out of darkness into light! Oh, purity that oppresses and enslaves the flesh, and penetrates with its gaze into the heavenly! Oh, purity, the ancestor of love and the life of Angels! O purity, whose heart is pure, whose throat is sweet and whose face is bright! Oh, purity that exalted the lover of God in a foreign land, since he redeemed those who bought him! Oh, purity, the gift of God, full of kindness, edification and knowledge! Oh, purity, undisturbed pier, full of peace and structure! Oh, purity that delights the heart of the one who acquires it and inspires the soul to the heavenly! Oh, purity that engenders spiritual joy and mortifies sadness! Oh, purity that averts wickedness and clings to goodness! O purity that diminishes passions and produces dispassion! Oh, purity that enlightens the righteous, darkens the devil and quickly flows to the honor of the high calling in Christ! Oh, purity that drives away despondency and inspires patience! Oh, purity, a light burden that does not drown in the waters, and eternal wealth hidden in the soul of a Christ-loving person, which the one who owns it will find in time of need! Oh, purity, a beautiful estate, which is not devastated by animals and fire does not burn! Oh, purity, which has immutable wealth in its hands and drives away negligence! Oh, purity, the spiritual chariot that lifts its owner to heights! Oh, purity that rests in the souls of the meek and humble and produces people of God! Oh, purity that blooms like a rose among soul and body and fills the whole house with fragrance! O purity, predecessor and co-inhabitant of the Holy Spirit! Oh, purity that propitiates God, reaches His promises and finds grace for itself among all people! The saints loved her. Saint John the Evangelist loved her and, having loved her, he was worthy to recline on the chest of the Lord of glory. Oh, purity, you gain honor not only for those who are ever virgins, but also for those living in marriage. We, the blessed servants of the Savior, will love her with all our hearts, in order to delight the Spirit of God living in us. Glory to him forever! Amen. Teaching 37. About the fact that one should not wander here and there with one’s eyes, but lower one’s gaze downwards, and strive with one’s soul towards the Lord 38 /Question/. What causes the demon of fornication to become inactive? / Answer /. Not only by abstinence from food, but also by abstinence of the eyes, so as not to see vanity (Ps. 119:37). In the distracted eye, there is already fornication, to which the Lord has testified: Amen, amen, I say to you, that everyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matthew 5:28). Such adultery is eradicated by those who turn their eyes downwards and their souls to the Lord, and those who have gained control over their gaze. Our terrible traitor is the absent-minded eye. Other passions are affected by the recent tempting ignition; and warfare, excited by the gaze, both in the presence and absence of the visible, torments the soul, inflaming the mind with lust. Let me give you, beloved, something as an example. Someone heard the sweet voice of musical instruments and walked away; then he hears a mournful voice, and the crying suppressed in him the sweet voice of the musical instruments. Likewise, someone has tasted honey, and then tastes something very bitter, and the bitterness suppressed the sweetness of the honey in the larynx. The same is true in the sense of smell: someone smells something most pleasant, and then smells a stench, and the stench extinguishes the pleasantness of smell. Someone else touched cold water, and then touched boiling water, and the heat of the hot water weakened the cold. But warfare, excited by a distracted eye, both in the presence and absence of the object, inflames the mind with lust. Even in a dream, he presents an object to the heart, because demons picture a tempting thing in thought and occupy the mind, drawing the image of a tempting object in the eyes of a person. The Prophet prays about this, saying: turn away my eyes, so as not to see vanity (Ps. 119:37). The soaring of lust changes the mind to a gentle mind (Wis. 4:12). In the conquest of the eyes there is a demonic ambush, unless the one conquered by the gaze bleeds out his own eyes. So, when the demon begins to draw a tempting object in you and writes in your mind the beauty of a woman you have ever seen, or something similar to that, bring the fear of God within yourself and remember those sleeping in the tombs; think about the day of your departure, when your soul will be separated from your body; imagine that terrible and trembling voice that will be heard by those who are not at all concerned about the truth and who have not kept the commandments of Christ: depart from Me, cursed into eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angel (Matthew 25:41), where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth, into utter darkness (Matthew 25:30). Imagine both a never-ending worm and endless torment. Think and remember this, and the lust for pleasure will dissipate in your thoughts, like wax melts before the fire, for demons will not hasten to resist the fear of God. And whoever does not resist lust, but allows his eyes to wander freely, he, of course, has already bowed his mind to the passions and, if not for human shame, would have repeatedly corrupted the body. Why, if he does not stay sober and constantly have the fear of God before his eyes, he will not hesitate to corrupt his body. For this demon, who teaches the eyes to be distracted, is followed by another demon, who materially commits sin in the flesh. If the second sees that the first has managed to entertain the soul and make it distracted, he immediately begins to advise that carnal sin should also be committed. And to the conquered by his eye he begins to inspire and say something similar to this: “Behold, in intention you have sinned and committed adultery in your heart, you have already broken the commandment, and the sin of transgressing the commandment has already been imputed to you. So satisfy your lusts now. For both to do and to desire are the same thing. At least enjoy your lust." But do not believe his inventions, according to the word of the apostle: for we do not fail to understand his thoughts (2 Cor. 2:11). For the enemy himself wants to capture your soul. Listen to the parable about this. In a certain country there was a young man. He became engaged to three girls and departed for a faraway place. Since he delayed there, one girl got married, another fell into fornication and became pregnant, and the third said to herself: “If I weren’t ashamed of people, then I would have gotten married.” And the girl began to indulge in such thoughts, but then she remembered the estranged young man, from whom she received the ring along with other girls, and, repenting, began to cry, because a bad thought had suddenly entered her heart. So, when did the young man return, which of the three girls became pleasing to him? Is it not the last one, who thought and did not act, but repented of a bad thought? Likewise, to the demon who advises him to commit an unlawful sin, one must say: “although I fell with my eye and committed adultery with my heart, I crush this adulterous heart with unutterable sighs, and I wash my fallen eye with tears. For God will not despise a broken and humble heart (Ps. 50:19).” Glory to God forever and ever! Amen. Lesson 38. About meekness 39 You made such a promise to please Christ, monk, and you cannot endure with courage the temptations and sorrows that come to you from your opponents? Do you not accept admonitions and advice from the abbot? But the Apostle says: If you are without punishment, all are partakers of him: for you are naturally adulterers (Heb. 12:8). Are you hurt by words? Rejoice that you are wounded, but also correct your fall. Are you hurt in vain? The greater your reward. And the Apostles, who proclaimed salvation to the world, were beaten like evildoers in the midst of the city and were not angry, did not become indignant, but rejoiced, for they were deemed worthy to accept dishonor for His name” (Acts 5:41). Rejoice, too, that you were deemed worthy to accept dishonor for His name. But some of the more careless ones may say: “It’s unfortunate for me that this happened to me after so much work.” Is this sad for you, servant of the Lord? From this, at least find out for yourself: have you really conquered passions after so many years? Did you rejoice when dishonor befell you? And was he not exalted when he was in glory? If anyone imagines that he is worthless, he flatters himself with his mind (Gal. 6:3). The art of the helmsman is revealed during a storm. He who boasts and says: “I have been in monastic life for so many years,” but has not demonstrated in practice the fulfillment of his vow and has not accepted the morals of a strict life, carries with him the tools of an art that he has not yet learned. Have you grown old as a monk? As an experienced person in this life, be a model for the young and inexperienced. And if you are a beginner, submit to the elders. And the soldiers of the earthly king obey their commanders and leaders; shouldn’t we all the more obey not only because of anger, but also because of conscience (Rom. 13:5)? If they, warriors according to the flesh, make every effort to serve those placed over them, then how can you, who have renounced life itself, allow yourself to be carried away by such passions, remaining unbridled, rebellious, and unable to tolerate admonition about Christ? We demand the praise and glory of perfect hermits for ourselves, but run away from the labors for which we receive honor. Why allow such silence and so much labor to perish in one day and hour? If you kill yourself, who will feel sorry for you? Is this your praise? Is this what your art is like? Have you encountered a small sorrow, and are you renouncing the monastic image and the monastic life? And with your own laziness you arm the enemy against yourself? No, brother, do not turn your back to your enemies, but stand firm, fight, and your enemies will flee from you. For I reason that he who has assumed authority over you does not rejoice at your shame, as he is obliged to give an account to the Lord for you, but it is his joy if he presents you perfect to the Lord. So, come into yourself, beloved, and return to your rest. Put on the armor of faith, put on the helmet of salvation, receive the sword of the Holy Spirit, which is the word of God (Eph. 6:17). Be a model of meek character for your brothers of one accord. And let the higher ones marvel at your patience. May the Holy Spirit living in you rejoice over your valor. If you cannot bear a small temptation, how will you endure a great one? If you don’t overcome a boy, how can you overcome a perfect man? If you can’t stand words, how can you bear a blow? If you do not endure being strangled and struck, how will you bear your cross? If you do not bear the cross, then how will you inherit glory in heaven along with those who say: This has all come to us, and is not forgotten by You (Ps. 43:18); and again: For Your sake we are killed all day long, counted as sheep of the slaughter (Ps. 43:23)? I would like to remain silent, beloved, for the sake of the shame of my face, but the sorrow of my heart compels me to speak. Yes, beloved brother, have we forgotten what our common Master endured for us? He was insulted and humiliated. They said to Him: demon imashi, - and He was not angry! He was called a flatterer, strangled, beaten, nailed to the Cross; He ate the ocet with bile, and was pierced with a spear in the ribs. He endured all this for our salvation. Alas, alas for me, poor one! Alas for the accursed and sinner! Because I'm irresponsible. What will I say or utter before You, who knows the secrets of my heart? Have mercy, O God, on me, unworthy, who does not want to hear any insult or even a word for You, who has endured so much for us. Who will not cry for me if I turn reverence into a cover for vice? In words I am a monk, but in deeds I anger the Lord. Truly, love has cooled in many souls. Let us be sober before the Lord, I beg you! The Lord does not reject those who want to be saved, but helps them. The prophet and I will also say: Turn my soul to your rest, for the Lord has done good to you. To take my soul away from death, my eyes from tears, and my nose from crawling. I will be well-pleasing before the Lord in the land of the living (Ps. 114:6-8), so that we too may be worthy to hear what is said: This son of mine was dead, and is alive: and he was bent, and is found (Luke 15:24). Glory to our God forever! Amen. Lesson 39. About the disobedient and about the resurrection, about the fear of God and about the future Judgment 40 If, beloved, a brother comes to you and begs you, saying: Come with us, share blood (Proverbs 1:11), in our council we will form a unanimous brotherhood among ourselves, and whoever tells us the opposite, we will alienate them from ourselves, we will go against the elders and we will not be ashamed of our gray hairs, we will say rude things to the guards of the house, we will laugh at the silent, we will mock the reverent, everyone let us subjugate ourselves, make a name for ourselves, those who are exposed will not remain silent, let us raise our voices in unison so that our lies will not be revealed when they turn to us with admonitions, we will support our pride when they beg us, we will be exalted, so that the law of righteousness may be strong for us: what is not strong is not gained without profit (Wis. 2:11); then do not walk the same path with these people, but turn away from them and change: for they will not sleep unless they do evil (Proverbs 4:16). And to the one who says this, answer: “It’s none of my business. And you ran away from this, but again you want to work? What is the benefit of cutting your hair? How will people benefit from this? We firmly keep in mind that we left the world to become monks; How do you want to disturb the souls of your brothers? But when you hear the truth, do not be angry, for this is for the common good. Don't you understand what we're going to eat? Isn’t this what we sing: Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, and does not stand in the ways of sinners, and does not sit in the seats of the destroyers, but his will is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he learns day and night (Ps. 1:1-2)? And he also says: For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, and the way of the wicked will perish (Ps. 1:6). And in another psalm he says: For those who separate themselves from You will perish: You have consumed every fornicator from You. It is good for me to cleave to God (Ps. 72:27-28). And he also says: Defeat the Lord, they will be glorified and exalted, vanishing like smoke (Ps. 36:20); The meek ones will inherit the earth and enjoy the abundance of the world (Ps. 37:11). And he also says in another psalm it is sung: Why do you boast in great anger all day long” (Ps. 51:1). And in another: Do not live in the midst of My house, create pride, speak unrighteously, and do not correct before My eyes (Ps. 100:7). Many have been seduced by the thought of arrogance, puffed up by vain things. It is written: one does not think highly, but walks in humble ways (Rom. 12:16). So, I beg you, live in silence, otherwise, having used your will for a while, you will not die in the torment of your last days. Or would you rather attempt to attack this holy place, according to the word of Him who said: O poisonous bread of mine, magnify my stumbling (Ps. 40:10)? So, let us go to our cells and weep over our sins, in order to appease God for us, for whose sake we have left the vain world, lest he snatch away, and never deliver (Ps. 49:22). Let us clearly imagine that although there are now thousands of us, on the day of death we will leave here one by one; and everyone will be accompanied only by his deeds, what he has done, bad and good. Think about this, take care about this, how you can avoid anger, for it is impossible for us to escape the hands of the One who created us, according to the word who said: Where will I go from Your Spirit? And do I flee from Your presence (Ps. 139:7)? So, let no one deceive himself: we must appear before the judgment seat of Christ (Rom. 14:10), where all are naked and declared before His eyes (Heb. 4:13), where thousands upon thousands and ten thousand times ten thousand holy Angels will appear, and all the Powers of Heaven will be moved. And where will the arrogance and arrogance be then? Where then is the rapture and irritability? Where then is the extravagance, threats and vain arrogance? Who will stand before the terrible rebuke of the Angels of God? Let us imagine that those who have given themselves to Christ and have pleased Him in this age will judge us, as it is written: Know ye not that the holy things of the world have to judge (1 Cor. 6:2). For they, being subservient people in the world to us, pleased God, but we, by doing evil, anger God. But perhaps some double-minded person will object and say: “The Lord knows what happens because of my weakness, and He is compassionate towards my weakness.” Alas, alas! Who wouldn't cry for these people? In the work of the Lord we apologize for our weakness, but are we strong for quarrels, for creating crowds, for evil deeds? Why do you deceive yourself, thinking to laugh at God? Do not do evil, and you will not reap evil. Listen to the one who says: Whoever was cruel against Him, will he remain? The mountains of promise are not even known if I turn them into anger (Job 9:4–5). Or have our hearts become so coarse from overeating, drunkenness and the sorrows of life that we cannot recognize our rank? Each of us should think and say in our souls: “I don’t know where to turn; I'm tossed around by every wind. And why should I stir up the souls of others to my own condemnation? Shouldn’t, on the contrary, those who are attempting to do this also be stopped with advice and requests, so as not to be removed from my sonhood? For it is written: Blessed are the peacemakers: for these shall be called the sons of God (Matthew 5:9). Now what should I, the careless one, do? What on the day of Judgment should I answer before the terrible Judgment Seat for my soul and for those whom I have seduced and led astray from the path of truth? One left his father and mother, another left his wife, children, friends, property, trusting in Christ, and chose silence, but I never ceased to embarrass and insult them.” But you do the opposite of this, and do not remain silent in your cell, but go around the cells of other monks, corrupting the souls of the brethren, slandering brother against brother, leading them to evil suspicions, arousing a storm of thoughts in them, and causing rebellion in the brotherhood. Since you have enslaved yourself to evil lust, you have become accustomed to such foolish deeds. Why are you so ruthlessly abusing your life? Why do you consider what is harmful to your soul to be useful? Why do you bring other people's troubles upon yourself? If you do not finally become chaste and remain silent, those who praise you will also condemn you. When you completely fall into the depths of evil, then you yourself will reproach the enemies of the truth. For the council of the wicked will not stand, according to the word of him who said: The Lord destroys the councils of tongues, and so on. The counsel of the Lord endures forever (Ps. 32:10,11). Or else, due to our hardness of heart, we will begin to exalt ourselves in bodily strength, not knowing what has been said: the giant will not be saved by the multitude of his strength (Ps. 33:16), and soon afterwards: Behold, the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, He will deliver their souls from death, and will feed them into famine (Ps. 33:18-19). Why do you refuse to listen to admonition? I see your movements that breathe lust. Do not marvel at the glory, but look at the danger that follows: For the mighty will be tormented more severely (Wis.6:6). If we do not take care of one soul, which the Lord entrusted to us, and allowed it to fall into desolation, like a fenced vineyard, but left without cultivation, then will God entrust us with the care of the whole garden? He who is faithful in little and in many is faithful, but he who is unfaithful in little and in many is unfaithful (Luke 16:10). So, let us pray for the soul entrusted to us, so that we can give an account for it when the Lord examines the entire universe. There will be considerable danger for the person assigned to take care of the flock if, against the will of the Chief Shepherd, he uses the management of the flock for evil. For, as it is said: the torments will be stronger than ever. So, let us be sober before we go where there is no Comforter. There we will see that the meek and lowly in heart are in great glory, and we, the disobedient, are in disaster. For we do nothing for God, out of love for Him, with humility; we do everything in pride, out of man-pleasing and destructive vanity. We are all proud, we are all angry and irritable; We envy each other, we bite each other. May Your compassions soon precede us, O Lord, as we are so poor. Help us, O God, our Savior (Ps. 79:8–9). Listen to the One who says: What is not with Me is in Me: and what does not gather with Me scatters (Matthew 12:30). Or have you forgotten about that millstone, which is appointed as a punishment for those who commit temptations? Do not deceive yourself, man: it is impossible to succeed without the fear of God and without great humility. Without this, successes made lead to loss, for it is written: no one accepts honor to himself, but he who is called of God (Heb. 5:4). Therefore: Avoid evil and do good. Seek peace, and get married, and to achieve; because the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and the face of the Lord is on those who do evil, to consume their remembrance from the earth” (Ps. 33:15-17). Let us not be carried away by the dreams and opinions of this age; they are no different from a shadow. Many, having fallen asleep rich, woke up poor; today he is a prince, and in the morning he will die. Blessed are those who endure for the Lord and are disgusted by the charms of this age, for, indeed, they will inherit constant glory. This rich man dressed himself in purple and fine linen, rejoicing brightly all the days - and the sons of this age pleased him, but not the Angels of God. And poor Lazarus lay festering before the gates of the rich man, and wanted to be satisfied with the grains falling from the rich man’s meal: but even when it came, I licked his pus (Luke 16:19-21). So, Lazarus did not want anything from the rich man himself, neither the dishes from his table, nor what the rich man ate, but he wanted the little things that the dogs ate. And the sons of this age, as much as they marveled at the rich man and magnified him because of his glory, so they humiliated the poor man and disdained him. But the Angels of God marveled at the patience of the latter. When death befell both of them, the poor one was carried to the bosom of Abraham by the angels, and the rich one was thrown into torment. And in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham from afar, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried out, saying: Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue: for I have suffered in this flame. Abraham said: “Child, remember that you have received good things in your belly, and Lazarus is also evil: now here you are comforted, but you are suffering.” And over all of these, between you and us, a great abyss has established itself, for those who want to pass from here to you will not be able to, nor will those from there pass to us. I say: I pray to you, father, that you send him to my father’s house: the imam for five brethren: let him testify to them, so that they will not come into this flame. The speaker Abraham: Moses and the prophets have: let them listen to them. He said to him: neither, but if anyone comes from the dead to them, they will repent. He said: If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, and if anyone rises from the dead, they will not believe (Luke 16:25-31). What benefit did the wealth that he had and the joy that filled him with light bring to this rich man at that hour? So, let us try, beloved brothers, to avoid the torment that is prepared for despisers and sinners before we are given to the place of torment. Then we will cry bitterly, having neither a comforter nor an adviser, and, worst of all, hearing from our tormentors: “You deserve punishment, because you brought yourself to this. In the short time of the passing world, you could have avoided this Judgment by repentance, but you did not take pleasure in the fatness of your hearts, like on the day of slaughter (James 5:5). Where are the pleasures of the past time? Where is his charm and laughter? Behold, has not everything passed away like a shadow, like a thin vapor dispersed by a storm, like smoke scattered by the wind? So, now enjoy yourself as you wished, although you were dissatisfied with this too. But not only did they plunge themselves into the abyss of evil, but they also carried others along with them. And they were not content with the fact that they did not take care of their own souls, but also corrupted the souls of others. What virtue, what commandment will appease God for you? Your souls were full of bitter jealousy, rivalry, envy and all kinds of vice; You loved the fury of untamed beasts, and now you are surrounded by all the bad deeds you committed in the past. You neglected God, who spoke to you in the Holy Scriptures, you laughed, you were arrogant. And as much as the Good God was patient with us, your sins multiplied. The Lord said: Do not love the world, nor anyone else in the world (1 John 2:15), but you competed for glory and for the love of money. The Lord said: blessed are those who weep now: for they will be comforted. Blessed are the poor in spirit: for to them is the Kingdom of Heaven. (Matthew 5:3-4), and you became proud and arrogant, giving yourself over to laughter and deception. The Lord said: Blessed are the meek: for they will inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5), but you have become fierce and indomitable. The Lord said: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness: for they shall be satisfied (Matthew 5:16), but you hated righteousness and persecuted those who acted truthfully. The Lord said: Blessed are the mercy: for these will be mercy (Matthew 5:7), but you treated people subservient to you without mercy and compassion. The Lord said: Blessed are you who are pure in heart: for they will see God (Matthew 5:8), but your hearts have thought about covetousness and evil desires. The Lord said: It is blessed to drive away righteousness for the sake of them: for these are the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:10), - but you oppressed the righteous and did not keep the truth. Why are you crying now? The time for repentance has passed; there is retribution here. Now the righteous are crowned, and you sinners are delivered into fiery Gehenna. Now the righteous have shone like light in the Kingdom of Heaven, and you sinners cry in agony and gnash your teeth, regretting that you lost the time of repentance in negligence. Have you not separated yourselves from the righteous by being jealous of the deeds of sinners? And now they and you are given over to be tortured. Therefore, it remains for you to mourn the torment and executions that befell both.” Then we too, with deep sighs, will cry out with bitter weeping, saying: Thou art righteous, O Lord, and Thy judges rule (Ps. 119:137). For when we were in the passing age, You revealed all this to us in the Holy Scriptures, but we did not believe, and our heart doubted; Now we see everything clearly with our own eyes. Woe to us that we have wasted our days in great negligence! Knowing all this in advance, beloved brothers, let us try to avoid that shame and eternal punishment, so that we may be worthy of the joy of the righteous. How long will we carry around the lusts of the old man? How long will we surrender our minds to the vain pleasures of this age? Let us finally perk up, let us sober up, as if from wine, from the remembrance of the vanity of life. With grief we delight the mind and heart, where, indeed, there is life and true light. Let us hate the world and what is in the world, we will neglect the corruptible for the sake of the imperishable, the earthly for the sake of the heavenly. Let us love with all our might the Lord who created us, the Good and Humane Master, let us love each other for the sake of the Lord. Look how much love the Lord has for humanity. He said to His disciples: Of this everyone understands that you are My disciples, if you love one another. He did not say: if you bring Me bulls and goats; but he says: if you have love among yourself (John 13:35). So, brothers, let us observe love, purity, silence, humility and everything that is fitting for saints; Let us hate shamelessness and verbosity. For it is written: A heathen man will not be corrected on earth; the unrighteous and evil husband will be caught in destruction. I knew that the Lord would bring judgment to the poor and vengeance to the needy. Both the righteous will confess to Your name, and the righteous will dwell with Your face (Ps. 139:12-14). And again the Lord says: To whom will I look; only against the meek and silent, and trembling at My words (Is. 66:2). May the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, who has the power of life and death, enlighten your intelligent eyes, so that you may serve Him faithfully all your days, and find mercy before His face on that day. I ask you to remember me, a sinner, in your prayers, so that the Lord of all will have mercy on me, an unworthy one. Glory to him forever! Amen. Lesson 40. About reverence 41 Be very careful, beloved, so that you do not lose the straight path and do not walk in the paths of darkness, otherwise at your death you will find yourself obstinate before God and before people. For it is said: Woe to you, who have abandoned the right path and walked in the ways of darkness! Oh, you who rejoice over the evil ones, and who rejoice over the corruption of evil! Their paths are snarling, and their course is crooked, so as to make you far from the right path. And alien to a righteous mind (Prov. 2:13,16). Why is it added: Neither will reach the years of life. If you had walked in good paths, you would have found right and smooth paths. Blaze will be the inhabitants of the earth, and gentlemen will stand on it. The ways of the wicked will perish from the earth, but iniquity will be driven away from it (Prov. 2:19,20,22). So, it is necessary to follow the straight path, according to the word of the one who said: Do not turn aside, either on the right hand or on the skin; turn away your foot from the path of evil: for the Lord knows the ways of the right hand, but corruption is like that which is found” (Prov. 4:27,28). Fear God, and the fear of God will keep you: keep His commandments, and His commandments will lead you on the straight path. Let not stubbornness, destructiveness, envy, pride and the like nest in your bosom, as well as gluttony, foul language, and bad language or blasphemy, even inappropriate (Eph. 5:4). For anyone devoted to this will go astray from the path of truth, exhausting his strength in impassable places. And whoever follows the straight path, he will lead him into the monastery. So, do not lose your unfeigned reverence, beloved brother. And reverence consists in raking away from every form of evil (1 Thess. 5:21). If we happen to fall into reproach for a good deed, we will not be ashamed of the reproaches unjustly made to us by people, and we will not do what we should not do. For it is written: My people, who have My name in your hearts, do not fear the reproach of man, and do not repent of their blasphemy. For as the robe shall be consumed by time, and as the cloth shall be cut off by the moths, your righteousness shall endure forever, and your salvation throughout all generations” (Isaiah 51:7,8). And he also says: I do not resist, nor oppose the verb. I gave my cloaks for wounds, and my cheeks for blows, but I did not turn my face away from the cold of spitting, and the Lord was my helper. For this reason we were not ashamed, but set my face like a hard stone, and knew that I would not be ashamed” (Is. 50:5-7). Therefore, even if unrighteousness visibly pronounces condemnation on us and triumphs, we will not fear, we will not abandon the straight path, according to the word of him who said: “If an army gathers against me, my heart will not fear” (Ps. 27:3). And he also says: take courage, and let your heart be strong, all you who trust in the Lord” (Ps. 30:25). And one more thing: do not be jealous of the sinner’s glory: do not consider what his transformation will be (Sir.9:14). It is better to do everything according to God and earn praise in the Lord, than to live badly and have a bad reputation about yourself. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ said: “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). So, do not deviate from the straight path into impassable places, otherwise many wild animals and troubled waters will surround you, and then, tormented by grief, you will repent. For who is tormented by grief? Isn't he the one who is surrounded by evil? God, who loves mankind and is good, does not want harm to His creation, according to the words of He who said: He does not rejoice over the destruction of the living. The truth is immortal (Wis. 1:13,15). And in another place he says: let no one be tempted, saying that we are tempted from God: God is not the tempter of the evil, but He does not tempt anyone. Everyone is tempted, because of his own lust he is attracted and deceived. The same lust, when conceived, gives birth to sin: but the sin committed gives birth to death" (James 1:13-15). Lust is the mother of sin. She cast Eve out of paradise. She made Cain a fratricide. She aroused in the Egyptian woman a frantic love for the chaste Joseph; the God-fearing youth held her back. She overthrew God's people in the wilderness. She destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan; with it they angered the One who created them and for this they were subjected to destruction. She turned the hearts of the sons of Israel away from the Most High, as it is written: The horses of misogyny were made, each one neighing at his sincere wife (Jer. 5:8). She deceived the judges of the people in Babylon. Lust is the evil mother of sin. She stirred up wars and rebellions on earth. She taught Herodias to ask for the head of the Baptist. Having loved her, Judas betrayed the Lord of glory into the hands of the wicked and, desiring gold, destroyed his life. Therefore, let us flee from all evil lust, beloved brothers, let us drive it away from our hearts, and give it no mercy, because it bears no fruit, but the devil’s vegetation. This is neither a scab, nor an ulcer, nor a scorching wound: there is no plaster to apply, lower than oil, lower than duty (Is. 1:6). This is a mental scab and a heart wound. Lust blocks us from entering the assembly of the saints. It distracts us from the heavenly and binds us to the earthly. This is a tree that has leaves, but no fruit at all; There are leaves, and even thick ones, but in the density of these leaves are the generation of vipers. Cut down the tree of sin, and in its place, in your soul, plant the tree of life, the honest Cross, hope in the Savior and His mortal suffering. Let His love be in your heart like a rock jutting out into the sea and calling ships overwhelmed by the sea to the harbor of life. Strive like a good warrior to receive crowns. Listen to Him who says: Make the children of Israel reverent (Lev.15:31). When you strive lawfully, then, undoubtedly, you will also recognize the gifts of the king; then you will know that it is wonderful, useful and beneficial to know and wait for the Lord and to keep His commandments; then, when rewarded, you will feel that your labors have passed as if in a dream. Like a diadem on the head of a King who sits in his kingdom, so will your joy and your joy be for you, and no one will take your joy from you. May the Lord grant us to find mercy before His goodness both in the present and in the future age. Glory to the Lord forever! Amen. Lecture 41. About those who fall away due to their own negligence and use some excuse to apologize for their sins 42 Have you, brother, desired a solitary life? You strive for good deeds if you maintain this until the end. Therefore, be sober and be attentive to yourself as a wise man, and not as an unwise one, as a monk, and not as a non-monk. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, and against the powers, and against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against the spiritual wickedness in high places (Eph. 6:12). So be sober to the end, so that, through your own negligence and inattention, having suffered defeat, you do not say in foolishness: “I became a monk, but even there I did not find the way of salvation.” So, what, brother, if we despise the grace of the Lord? Why do you denigrate monastic life when you yourself did not want to use it and work for your soul? Are you more carried away by your lusts and the pleasures of your thoughts and still blame your monastic life? If you had kept the commandments of the Lord, you would not have fallen; If you had loved the fear of God, you would have guarded your soul. Firstly, you did not preserve the rules of monastic life, you did not care about God’s service, you loved to walk on crooked paths and loved arrogance more than anything else; humiliated his elders; He did not like abstinence, but he loved overeating more than anything else; did not like vigil, loved insatiable sleep; did not love purity, but loved defilement more; He did not like meekness and humbleness of mind, but he loved pride more than anything else; He did not like obedience, but he loved disobedience more than anything else; I did not hate irritability and anger, but rather loved intrigue and maliciousness; He did not like silence and prayer, but loved screams and swearing more than anything else; He did not maintain sedateness and reverence, but rather loved idle talk with laughers; He did not like silence and directness, but rather loved verbosity and gossip; He did not like to stand in prayer with contrition, but rather loved the soaring of the mind; He did not like non-covetousness, but he loved more the love of money; He did not like asceticism and toil, but rather loved luxury and fun; He didn’t like to do things with his own hands, but he loved wandering more than anything else; He did not love brotherly love, but he loved even more to rejoice, seducing him into evil; did not like compassion for the oppressed, but rather loved to be cruel and uncompassionate; He did not like to endure death and reproach for the sake of the Lord, but he loved more the primacy and empty praise; He did not retain the fear of God and the love of God, but rather loved lack of fear and brotherly hatred. What more can I say? You hated the heavenly, loved the earthly, and you yourself blame the monastic life? Don’t you know that it is written: The Lord will destroy all who speak lies (Ps. 5:7); and one more thing: and do not speak untruths against God: for God is the judge” (Ps. 75:6,8). Do you see, brother, that the fault lies with us, and not with others? Come into yourself and turn to the Lord with all your heart: He does not want the sinner to die, but to turn to him and live for him (Ezek. 18:32). The Lord wants everyone to be saved, because He is good. Are you hurt? - But you can be healed. Have you fallen? But just rise up and don’t go into destruction until the end. Our Savior Himself said: those who are sick do not require health, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners (Luke 5:31,32). Therefore, be patient, beloved brother, and I will give you advice. Live in silence and have the fear of God before your eyes; Having collected your thoughts, sort them out like a judge; delve into how you behaved in the past, since you entered monastic life, so that, having learned what was the cause of such a state in you, you can replace in your heart both the harm, and the cause of the harm, and where the cause of such harm came from. If a merchant falls into the hands of sea robbers, or his ship sinks and loses all his cargo, he will not forget the place where he lost the cargo. And if, after a long time, he happens to pass by the same place, he passes by with great suspicion. Let us be imitators of these people and even more intelligent. Having lost perishable wealth, they do not forget the place of loss, but we are destroying imperishable wealth. So, remain in silence, as said above, gather your thoughts, day and night delve deeper into your spirit in order to find out for you the reason for such damage and decline: did you not gain freedom at the beginning, and did this freedom seduce your modest thought, corrupt your morals, make you arrogant and shameless; Was it not from too much talking that harm began, or was it gluttony that was the cause? Was it not from disobedience that the harm occurred; Is it not from the desire to see different places; Was it not under the pretext of providing a service or having fun that your liberty produced the greatest evil? And, having learned this, suppress freedom and impudence with the help of reverence. Do not be ashamed when those who break the Lord's commandments call you a hypocrite. For it is clear that they mention hypocrisy not to correct their brother, but so that he, being ashamed, becomes arrogant, shameless, alien to right thoughts. For those who are reverent are called hypocrites, to whom the Master speaks: O hypocrite, first remove the plank from your hair, and then see clearly and take away the speck from your brother’s hair (Luke 6:42). So, do not be embarrassed by reproach, beloved brother, do not get used to impunity, for those who are not punished suffer death, says the Holy Scripture (Proverbs 24:8). As in another place he says: lest our heart be blinded, the Imam’s boldness towards God (1 John 3:21). And in another place he says: If you are reproached in the name of Christ, you are blessed: for glory and God’s Spirit rests upon you. Let no one suffer from you as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an alien visitor. If you are a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but glorify God in this name. And even if the righteous are barely saved, where will the wicked and sinful appear (1 Pet. 4:14,16,18)? Avoid freedom and laughter, for this is indecent to your soul. Which portion will I return with the unbeliever (2 Cor. 6:15)? In the same way, curb gluttony with abstinence, love of money with exploits and non-covetousness, excessive talking with silence, impatience to sit still with staying in a cell, laziness with remembering future benefits, disobedience with humility. If, under the guise of hatred of vice, the enemy does evil to you, then subsequently keep yourself clean, do not take part in the sins of others. But according to my own understanding, I reason that the beginning of evil was freedom, and that it made you shameless. Therefore it is said: blessed is the man who fears everyone because of reverence (Proverbs 28:14). What benefits does the world have? Or what good does he bring to those who love him? Did anyone drink his wife? - the beginning of sadness. Gave birth to a son? - another concern. Has another son been born? - new sadness. One son died? – left my parents in tears. And if he is alive, but has become evil, then there is more sorrow for him than for the deceased. And when the hour of his death comes to the husband, then more than about death, he grieves that he leaves his wife a widow and his children orphans. From all this, monk, the yoke of Christ freed you; Why do you want to return to the same place again? Do not despair of yourself and do not say: “I can no longer be saved.” On the contrary, you can still be saved. Love the fear of God with all your soul, and it will heal your wounds and will henceforth keep you invulnerable. As long as your soul loves the fear of the Lord, you will not fall into the devil’s snare, but you will be like an eagle soaring on high. If the soul after this, being careless, neglecting the fear of God, falling from a height, becomes the playground of the underworld powers, then they, having closed its eyes, invade it into the passions of dishonor, like an ox yoked to a yoke. Therefore, beloved brother, let us take care of the truth, let us take care of our salvation, let us take care of the hour of death. We will hate the affairs of the world, all this will remain here and will not deliver us in times of need, when, even though we repent, we will not receive any benefit from it, when we pray for the remission of sins, but there is no one who resolves them. Alas, alas, how terrible is the hour of death, when the soul is separated from the body! Then it will not be father to son, not mother to daughter, not wife to husband, not brother to brother, but only the deeds of each person, and what he has done good or bad. Therefore, let us send good deeds before us, so that when we ourselves go, they will receive us into the city of saints. If you want to succeed, then gain the friendship of the Tsar himself here. What kind of glory do you think you will gain there, beloved brother, if here you still gain the friendship of the King of Glory? To the degree you feel Him here, to that degree He will raise you; As much as you serve Him here, He will honor you there. For it is written: Only those who glorify Me will I glorify, and those who humiliate Me will be dishonored (1 Samuel 2:30). So, honor Him with all your soul, so that He may make you worthy of the honor of the saints. By what means should His favor be obtained? Bring Him gold and silver; If you see a naked person, clothe him. And if you don’t have anything like that, then bring Him other gifts, more honorable than gold and silver - faith, love, self-control, patience, generosity, humility. Refrain from gossip; Watch your eyes so as not to see vanity, and your hands so as not to commit iniquity; turn your feet away from the evil path. Comfort the faint-hearted, be compassionate to the weak, give a cup of ice water to the thirsty, give a piece of bread to the hungry. Whatever you have and what He has given you, bring it to Him, for Christ did not reject even two widow’s mites. What did Elijah ask the widow? Isn't there a little water in the vessel and some bread? And Elijah arose, went to Zarepet of Sidon, and came to the gates of the city: and behold, a widow woman was gathering wood. And Elijah cried out after her, and said: Bring me now a little water in a vessel and a drink. And she went and took it, and Elijah cried out after her, and said to her: Take this for me, and crush the bread in your hand (1 Kings 17:10,11). Do you see, beloved, what served as food for the holy Prophets? There was little water and some bread, and even then with need, for all their concern was about the blessings prepared for them in heaven. And we, beloved brothers, will love the way of the saints. While we still have time, let us create for Him the wonderful fruits of repentance. Let us not lose time convenient for repentance. Let us not get carried away by the dreams of this world, let us not enter into relationships with people who do their deeds without fear of God, and let us not be jealous of the deeds of those who neglect their salvation. According to the saying of the Apostle, good customs are corrupted by evil conversations (1 Cor. 15:33). And another says: If you have suffered my punishment, do not leave it, but keep it in yourself for your life. Do not follow the path of the wicked, but instead despise the lawless path: if they gather a howl in that place, do not go there: turn away from them and change. For they will not sleep unless they do evil; sleep will be taken away from them, and they will not sleep, for they feed on the food of wickedness: but they get drunk with lawless wine. The path of the righteous shines like a light: they go ahead and enlighten until the day is corrected (Proverbs 4:13-18). And he also says: do not be a friend to an angry husband, and do not consort with a hard-hearted friend: lest you learn his way, and receive the snare of your soul (Prov. 22:24,25). And yet another says: These are the springs of the abyss, the darkness carried by the wind, to whom the dark darkness is preserved forever. By being proud of the things that prophesy, they seduce into the filthiness of carnal lust those who run away from the words of the right and live in lies. Promising them freedom, they themselves are slaves of corruption: for whoever is overcome is the one who works for him. Even if the filthiness of this world has fled into the mind of our Lord Jesus Christ, these same ones, intertwined, are overcome, and for them the last bitterness of the first (2 Pet. 2:17-20). And another says: I pray you, beware of those who create strife and strife except for the teaching that you have learned, and turn away from them. Such people do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly: those who with good words and good speech deceive the hearts of the gentle” (Rom. 16:17,18). So, let us flee the broad path that leads to destruction; Let us choose the narrow path that leads to the eternal Kingdom. Let us work here voluntarily before we are forced to work involuntarily. Let us hate the passionate world and passionate life. Let us make straight paths for ourselves. Let us love diligence, burning in spirit before the Lord. Here we will voluntarily cry in order to appease God, and He will deliver us from eternal fire and gnashing of teeth. Let us love mourning, because it is commanded by Christ, for He Himself said: Blessed are those who mourn now: for they will be comforted (Matthew 5:4). Let us imagine, beloved brothers, sailing on the sea: what troubles do they suffer, fighting the sea, passing through vast depths of water? When the time for hiring him is completed, he does not remember the disasters that he endured while fighting the sea, because of the joy that he received his full reward; better to say, he eagerly embarks on a new voyage. They hardly finish before they begin again; and for us, beloved brothers, if we manage to complete the feat set before us well, there is no need to begin the same course again; this is impossible. The feat is short, brothers, and the reward is unspeakable. Let us set about the work of the Lord, beloved, with all our hearts and with all our strength, while there is still time. Just as the gifts of God and the calling of saints are unrepentant (Rom. 11:29), so those who resist from the beginning are destined for the opposite. Therefore, blessed is the man who fears the Lord; he will first receive a crown from Him, and this is his preparedness for those who love Him (James 1:12). Glory to the Lord forever and ever! Amen. Lesson 42. To a fallen brother and about repentance 43 To those living in subordination to their spiritual father, the enemy inspires the following: “Get away from him, live on your own, and you will have more peace.” And a brother, if he obeys such thoughts, is separated from the brotherhood. If the enemy sees that his brother’s thoughts are somewhat sober, he instills in him the thought: “Go deep into the desert.” Then, when the brother lives for some time in the desert, the demon, a hater of good, puts in him the thought of despondency, presents to him the length of time, and the scarcity of necessities, and the infirmity of old age, and the difficulty of desert life. And if the enemy is able to shake his brother, then he drives him out of the desert and draws him closer to a village or city, and then puts lustful thoughts into him. The brother still holds back and does not go into the city, does not approach the villages. And the enemy, seeing such an intention of his brother, invents his own cunning ways to outrage and overthrow his brother. And one of these methods is the following: on some day, when the brother is silent in his cell, the enemy incites the woman to knock on his door under the pretext that she has lost her way and was afraid, or has come for alms; or a woman pretends to be looking for a monk she knows. The brother, opening his door, sees a woman standing at his cell; and she says: “Mr. Abba, where does such and such a monk live? And as the day has already bowed, do me a favor and let me into your door this night, so that the animals do not eat me, wandering.” It often happens that a woman brings another friend with her. They also bring with them money and something useful for use in order to deceive their brother. Then the brother struggles with thoughts on both sides: he is afraid so as not to break the commandment by not showing mercy, and so that his soul will not be caught after doing a good deed. But I won’t continue my words; the monk is overcome by lust. And after committing iniquity, if he intends to send a woman away from himself, she answers him, saying: “Having dishonored me, are you sending me away from you? Where will I go, how will I show myself to my parents? The matter cannot be hidden. So, know without a doubt, monk, that I will not leave you, but will sit by your cell; take it from wherever you want and feed me.” Then the monk begins to mourn himself for having opened the door of his cell wide. So, knowing this, monk, take care of yourself. If you fall into a woman's snare, it will be difficult for you to extricate yourself from them. For it is said: draw him with the snares of the lips (Proverbs 7:21). Therefore, knowing in advance what the consequences of sin will be, and what dishonor sin brings into this treasury for those who commit it, avoid sensuality, for its fruits are the fruits of shame. Pleasure is preceded by lust, and pleasure is followed by sadness. So, consider that with pleasure comes sorrow. And run away from sin, imagining in your thoughts shame from people, and even more so, the fear of the Lord. Drive away the demon who wants to seduce you and plunder your labors, so that later you can live as if carefree. The Lord, the Knower of the Heart, knows that it is not out of malice or misanthropy that you drive a woman away from you, but so that your good deed does not cause you harm. And if someone says that love of hobbies is wonderful, then I agree with him too... But a person who loves hobbies is obliged to imitate the man who tastes silver in the smelter, and takes the pure for himself and throws away the bad. That is, keep the commandment, but avoid sin like the mouth of a serpent. For he who said, “I am strange, and knew Me” (Matthew 25:35), also said: “Do not commit fornication” (Ex. 20:13). Be sober in your youth. Be sober so as not to become careless, from youth to old age you do not become a slave to passions. He who was shipwrecked in the middle of the sea may have been awake and struggling, but strong emotion overcame him. And whoever was shipwrecked in the harbour, is like a man who, through his own negligence, led his master’s ship into the abyss and destroyed it. So you, monk, if you are attentive to yourself, then you are in the pier. Therefore, there is no benefit for us in spending time in villages. If the need comes to reach the village, then do not entertain yourself by talking with women. Otherwise, your soul will be carried away, like someone who has swallowed oud. So, be sober, because the fall is not far from you. Fight temptation in reverence and fear of God. Shamelessness is the mother of fornication. Women, if they see that you are treating them freely and talking about empty things, then, inciting you to do even worse, they will bring you to a fall. Even with all your reverence, do not rely on yourself. But be sober, so that under the guise of contrition and reverence they do not weaken your mind with their speeches. One of the saints said: they are speaking for a long time, trying to bend you to passion. But as the Savior said: Behold, I send you like sheep in the midst of wolves: be wise as a serpent, and aim like a dove (Matthew 10:16). And through the Apostle He commands, saying: Do not be foolish, but understand what the will of God is. And do not get drunk with wine, for in it there is fornication” (Eph. 5:17,18). So, know without a doubt, beloved, that even though you were like pure gold in the world, if you become a monk and neglect yourself, you will not hesitate to become like lead. And also, if, having become a monk, you truly love the Lord, then you will not hesitate to become like a pearl, without filth or blemish, or anything similar, and you will be blameless in everything. It would also be desirable for me to make it known to you that he who indulges in sin endures stronger warfare than he who abstains from sin. Just as someone who pours dirt anywhere increases the stench, so someone who does not abstain increases the passion in himself. Know that if you neglect yourself, you will ultimately repent. The Apostle says: He who is not married cares for the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord: but he who is married cares for the things of the world, how to please his wife, and is separated (1 Cor. 7:32,33). But you, monk, chose to care not about the world, but about how to please the Lord, which is why you distorted yourself for the sake of the heavenly kingdom (Matthew 19:12). I also repeat that if you do not abstain, then in the end you will have many different sorrows, according to the words of the Apostle: you will have the following sorrows of the flesh (1 Cor. 7:28), because a married man is poor in virtue, amusing himself with worries about the house, about his wife, about feeding his children. But he who is not married cares for the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord. You have distorted yourself for the sake of the heavenly kingdom, not by cutting off the ouds with iron (there is no virtue in this), but by overcoming voluptuousness with a pious thought. Therefore, adhere to the same rules, as it is written: It is better for you not to make a promise than not to pay back what you promised (Eccl. 5:4). So, force yourself to abstain and you will find both your thoughts and your mind pure, like a quiet pier, full of silence. And the hope of future blessings will fatten your spiritual strength, as if filled with fat and ointment (Ps. 62:2), which may the Lord, the righteous Judge, vouchsafe us! Amen. I beg you: do not corrupt or in any other way the church of God, and do not offend the Spirit of God who lives in us, and the holy angels, who are commanded to protect us day and night, and who put to flight the invisible demons gnashing their teeth at us, so that they do not become our accusers on the day of Judgment, and so that we are not subjected to the extermination of Sodom. Let the walls be around us, let the roof hide us, and let the door be barred, and the darkness spread, and let us keep in mind that nothing that concerns us is hidden from Him who separated the darkness from the light. And may the Prophet convince you, who says: Understand the madness in people and you will never be wise. Empty your ears, won't you hear? When he creates the eye, does he not look? Punish tongues, will you not reprove, teach a person to reason? The Lord knows the thoughts of men, for they are vanity (Ps. 93:8-11). Beloved brother! The Lord sees not only human deeds, but also thoughts! If the enemy inspires you with the following thought: “There is repentance, so use your will,” then tell him: “What is the need, devil, to destroy a built house and build it again?” The Apostle says: work out your salvation with fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12). And where there is fear and trembling, there is obviously no pleasure. So, beloved brother, take care of your salvation and, remaining in silence, gather your thoughts and say to yourself: “For so long have you, O man, fulfilled the lusts of your flesh and your thoughts! What benefit did you receive and what did you gain for yourself by doing this? Have you added one elbow to your age? But you have become fat! This means that you have collected nothing in yourself except food for the worms. But what did you buy? Have you really filled the heavenly treasury with blessings when you live so fearlessly? What is the benefit of leaving the world?" Alas, my soul, you have reached such a state, such a transformation! Behold, my brothers are adorned with virtues, they truly fear God, but I walk in darkness, from early morning I repent of what I do, and subsequently I act even worse. And since the Lord has given me strength and health, relying on this, I anger my Creator. Why are you careless, my soul?! Why are you careless?! He who created you from nothing and brought you into existence will not leave you here. He will send His Angel, and your soul will have to go from here. Know your weakness, my soul. How long will you contradict Him who created you and His commandments? You made me a disgrace to Angels and men, O devil, when I listened to evil advice! You inspired me with the thought: “Once satisfy your lust, and then you will not satisfy it anymore, and your sin will not be known.” Behold, this unimportant matter has become a great abyss for me: I cannot resist your crafty and varied lusts! The water found a small well and made a large hole out of it, visible to everyone. The habit of sins really leads the fallen to the worse. You have darkened my mind with unclean thoughts and plunged me into the ditch of sin. Who should I ask to cry for me? Due to my laziness, the enemy exposed me, but turning to God with hope, I do not completely despair of my salvation. What should I do with the seducer? He destroyed self-control in me through the infirmities of my womb, made me alien to prayerful vigil, instilled in me the love of money, under the pretext of prolonged old age, dried up my tears, made my heart rough, distracted me from subordination to Christ, and increased my entertainment. The enemy made me rebellious, brought me to the point where I did not work, but was busy with vanities; taught me envy and slander; He did not allow me to see the logs in his eye; he showed to my eyes the bough in my brother’s eye. He advises me to hide what is in my heart, and if my brother falls into sin, he advises me to speak mockingly of him; it made me arrogant, irritable and angry; taught me gluttony, drunkenness and voluptuousness; prepared for my soul the loss as if it were some gain; taught me to become absent-minded during reading and psalmody. I pray, and I don’t know about what; I surrender myself into captivity, and I don’t understand it; repeatedly admonished by people who fear the Lord, I did not obey their good instruction; He took their words for arrows, and the admonished one became angry. Enough is enough for you, devil. Finally, ascend into yourself, my soul! What are you hoping for that will anger your Creator? How long will it take you to return to the same evil deeds? Do not reject the grace of your Patron, lest He withdraw from you and you be delivered into the hands of your enemies. Flee the devil and his works, my soul; he is a misanthrope, a murderer from time immemorial (John 8:44). If you approach him, he will not spare you and will destroy you. Leave the evil one and cleave to God, who loves mankind. Finally, be ashamed, soul, and take the path of salvation. Are you hurt? Don't despair of yourself. It often happened that an ascetic fell and was later crowned. Have you fallen? Arise, take courage and say: now I have begun (Ps. 76:11). Do not remain in your fall, so that you, like a corpse, do not turn into food for birds and beasts, about which the prophet cries: do not betray to beasts the soul that confesses to You, do not forget the souls of Your poor to the end (Ps. 73:19). Come and fall before the King of glory, confessing your sins; He has many bounties. Those who want to reach the earthly king are stopped by guards at the gates, driven away by warriors and servants, and then they bring gifts to the princes in order to succeed in their intention. And you, approaching the King of all things, do not be afraid of anything like that. He doesn’t need gifts, there’s no one to take them and stop you, you go straight to the King himself, and He accepts you, because you have no memory of malice, love mankind and repent of the evils of men (Joel 2:13). When approaching Him, approach not with hypocrisy, not with double-mindedness, but with a clear conscience. Before you say anything unimportant or important, He foresees what you will say. And before you open your mouth, he knows in advance what is in your heart. Do not hesitate and do not hide your illness. The doctor is not cruel, but compassionate, he heals with words. He spoke and came (Ps. 33:9), which he confirms with his very deeds; said to the paralytic: I say to you: Arise, and take up your bed, and go to your house (Mark 2:11); and the man immediately became healthy, and carrying the bed that he had previously carried, he went healthy. And he said to the leper: I want you to be cleansed: and if you be cleansed, his leprosy (Matthew 8:3). And the Lord raised Lazarus four days old from the dead. Let us not prolong our words by speaking about each of His deeds, which are countless; with a word He resolved the sins of her who wet his feet with tears and wiped them with her hair, saying to her: Be of good cheer, daughter, your faith will save you (Luke 7:38); because He is an inexhaustible Source, flowing healing to people. So, don't doubt it; if you want to be saved, He will not reject you who said, “Even though you are wicked, you know how to give good things to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him” (Matthew 7:11). So, approach the Father of generosity, confessing your sins, saying with tears: I have sinned to heaven and before You, Lord God Almighty, and am no longer worthy to be called Your son (Luke 15:21), look below and see the height of heaven from the multitude of my iniquities (2 Chron. 36. Mol. Manas.), below call Your glorious name with my sinful lips, because I have made myself unworthy of heaven and earth, angering You, the Good Lord! I beg You, Lord, I beg you, do not cast me away from Your presence and do not depart from me, lest I perish! If Thy hand had not covered me, then I would have perished already, and would have been like dust in the face of the wind, and would have become as if I had never appeared in this world. For since I left Your path, I have not met with a good day; A day spent in sins, although it seems good, is the most bitter of the most bitter. And from now on I hope, strengthened by Your grace, to take care of my salvation. Now I fall to You, begging, help me, who have strayed from the path of righteousness! Pour on me the multitude of Your bounties, as on the prodigal son, because I have disgraced my life by squandering the wealth of Your grace! Have mercy on me, do not be angry because of my worthless life; have mercy on me as a sinner, as a publican, have mercy on me as a thief. He was rejected by everyone on earth, but You accepted him and made him a resident of the paradise of sweetness. Accept repentance from me, Your inexorable servant, because I too have been rejected by everyone. You, Lord, did not come to save the righteous, but to call sinners to repentance. Pray, confess; Let prayer and confession be supported by deeds: let your prayer be corrected, like incense before God (Ps. 140:2); and you will hear from the Lord: great is your faith: do it as you wish (Matthew 15:28). May God, who guides the erring and restores the deposed, allow us to end our lives without condemnation, so that on that day the righteous Judge may place us at His right hand. For to Him, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, be due glory, honor and worship throughout all generations of the age! Amen. Lesson 43. About the fact that one should not swear and speak blasphemy 44 Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ said: Again you have heard, as it was said to the ancients: Do not swear to a lie, but swear your oaths to the Lord. But I say to you, do not swear in any way: neither by heaven, for the throne is God; nor by earth, for His footstool is; nor by Jerusalem, for the city of the great King. Bow down with your head, for you cannot create a single hair, white or black. Let your word be, to her, to her: neither, nor: but what I sow in excess is of the devil” (Matthew 5:33–37). How dare we transgress the commandments of Him who created us, according to the word of He who said: He set his mouth in heaven, and let his tongue pass over the earth (Ps. 73:9)? And do you dare to fearlessly open your lips and let your words fly into heaven, uttering oaths and blasphemies? Or are you not afraid that the fiery sickle, seen by the Prophet, will dwell in your house (Zechariah 5:4), until it consumes you in the heavenly places because you dare to look at God Almighty, at whom Angels, Archangels, Cherubim and Seraphim do not dare to look, but stand before him with fear and trembling, hymning His terrible, glorious and venerable name you open your mouth, as it is written: those who are daring, those who please themselves, do not tremble at glory blasphemously: even though the Angels, with the strength and power of the greater being, do not pronounce reproachful judgment against her. But these, like beasts, were by nature destined for destruction and decay, and do not mean blasphemy in them; they perish in their corruption, accepting the wages of unrighteousness (2 Pet. 2:10-13)? Do you really, being a man, not know yourself? Or do you think that this matter will turn into valor for you? No, I'm telling you; but it will serve to your destruction and destruction, because you defile the souls of others, becoming an accomplice of Satan. The Apostle says: teaching and admonishing yourselves, in psalms and songs and spiritual songs, singing in grace to your hearts to the Lord (Col. 3:16), and instead you teach the opposite: blasphemies and oaths; and you make both yourself and those who imitate your foolishness into sons of hell; because you have filled with bitterness those lips which God created to praise Him. Finally, stop, man, so that this very word, which you despise, does not become a flame in your mouth and burn your tongue. If a man was in a quarrel with another man and, after making peace, is ashamed to appear before his eyes, then how can you, who are in the world today and tomorrow will appear before His judgment seat, dare to utter such words and are not afraid that fire may come down from heaven and devour you for opening your mouth against the Almighty? And don’t you even think that the ground might suddenly open up underneath you and swallow you up? Do not be deceived, man, for it is impossible to escape from the hands of the One who created us. Listen to the one who says: blasphemy: whoever gives the word to God, who has to judge the living and the dead (1 Peter 4:4-5). How long will we anger the One who has given us so many blessings? Who, taking dust from the earth, created man and breathed into him the breath of life? Who has put everything under his feet, who protects those who sleep, covers those who rise from sleep, feeds the hungry, clothes the naked, comforts the faint-hearted, admonishes and has mercy? Who gave up His only begotten Son for the life of all, while for His benefits we offer thorns and thistles, fit only for burning? Finally, approach the humane-loving and unforgettable God, asking Him to guard your mouth and to guard your lips (Ps. 140:3). Look with what fear and trembling the Prophet, talking with God, cries out in pure prayer, saying: Lord, I heard Your hearing and was afraid: I understood Your works, and I was horrified (Hab. 3: 1, 2). And again: I was preserved and my heart was afraid because of the voice of the prayer of my lips, and there was a trembling in my bones, and my strength was shaken within me (Hab. 3:16). If we continue not to think about the righteous Judge, then let us listen to the Apostle, who says: Or are you careless about the riches of His goodness and meekness and long-suffering, ignorant, as the goodness of God leads you to repentance? Because of your cruelty and unrepentant heart, storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous Judgment of God, Who will reward anyone according to his deeds (Rom. 2:4-6)? Why is it said in another place: if a man sins, men will pray for him to the Lord; if he sins against the Lord, who will pray for him (1 Samuel 2:25)? So let us repent, brothers. How long will it take us to grieve the One who created us? If we lose our pier, where can we escape during storm and turmoil? If we anger the Lord, to whom will we turn in times of sorrow and need? I wrote this to you, beloved, not as one who confirmed the truth with my deeds, but as a brother giving advice. If the Lord had not helped me, my soul would have entered hell (Ps. 93:17). Why do I beg you, the most unfortunate of people, to pray for me to the Lord, so that before my death the multitude of my sins will be blotted out and so that I will not be ashamed of my aspirations. And at the hour of death may the Lord look upon me according to the multitude of His mercies. Through faithful and luminous Angels, my sinful soul, together with our souls, is on the path to the peace of the righteous! For in what fear and trembling do you think the soul will be at this hour? If someone who has come to a distant place stands and marvels, seeing strangers, a foreign land that he has never seen before, then what kind of fear do you think the soul will be in when it moves from this world to the future world and sees what it has never seen? Therefore, beloved, let us take care of things there with all our souls and with all our hearts. Let us serve the Lord with all our strength. Let us keep His commandments with all our might. Let us love His terrible and most honorable name, let us love our neighbor as ourselves, so that we may be worthy to hear the blessed voice: Come, blessed by My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world (Matthew 25:34). Blessed is God, who fills us with His blessing, for His mercy endures forever! Amen. Lecture 44. The words are explained to the brother: it is better to get married than to become thin (1 Cor. 7:9) 45 Listen to the Apostle, who says: I will, that all men may be as I am: but each one may have his own gift from God, both in this and in this (1 Cor. 7:7). The Apostle obviously makes a distinction between worldly people and those who have renounced the world, saying: each one receives his own gift from God, both in this way and in the same way. And he did not forbid the worldly from entering into marriage legally, and he did not restrain those who had renounced the world from abstinence, when he said: “Each one has his own gift from God, both in wretchedness and in this.” He gives permission to the worldly, saying: Let every man take his own wife for the sake of fornication (1 Cor. 7:2); and one more thing: marriage is honorable in everyone: but God judges the fornicator and the adulterer (Heb. 13:4). And he suggested abstinence to those who had renounced the world, saying: everyone who strives will abstain from everyone (1 Cor. 9:25). Thus, the apostolic word, according to what was said above, depicts two fields. Therefore, you too, monk, know and delve into what rank you have been appointed to, what the sign in which you are clothed means, why those vows and the covenant that you have made with God, and according to which He will demand an account from you, as the Savior said: from your mouth will I judge (Luke 19:22). So, according to what was said above, the Apostle allowed those of the world to legally marry, and those who renounced the world to abstain. And if these words had been given permission to everyone: “It is better to get married than to get married,” then no one would have strived for virtue: neither Elijah the Thesbite, nor Elisha, nor John, nor all those who have distorted the Kingdom for themselves for the sake of the Heavenly One, and who have kept their flesh pure before God. The Apostle himself would not have abstained if he had not looked at the reward. We cannot think of saying what others present as a pretext; they say: “those were righteous, but I am a sinner.” For they became righteous because they spent their real lives righteously and holy. So what shall we say? Is it that the righteous were disembodied and were not clothed with a body? Listen to what the Apostle says: for we walk in the flesh, but do not make war according to the flesh: for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but are mighty through God to destroy the firmament (2 Cor. 10:3,4). From this it is clear that they too were fought as those who bore flesh, but they resisted. Why does the Apostle also say: I mortify my body and enslave it, so that if I preach to others, I myself will not be enslaved (1 Cor. 9:27). Guiding us to virtue, he says: be imitators of me, as I am of Christ (1 Cor. 11:1). So, beloved brothers, let us be careful, and when we ourselves want to satisfy our lusts, let us not impute this to the apostolic commandment, not understanding the power of the word. That is why it is written: flattering souls go astray in sins (Prov. 13:9), and also: to a man who sins there will be a net: but the righteous will have joy and gladness (Prov. 29:6). You have heard that it is better to get married than to become depleted, but you have not heard what the Apostle adds, saying: the time has ceased, and so on, and those who have wives, as if they had not, and those who weep, as if they did not weep, and those who rejoice, as if they did not rejoice: and those who buy, as if they did not contain: and those who demand peace. this, as it does not require: for the image of this world passes away (1 Cor. 7:29-31). Therefore, monk, do not disdain Him who gave you this grace. Do not be disobedient in what He tells you through the Apostle: do not neglect your gift that dwells in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the priesthood (1 Tim. 4:14), so as not to present yourself as a criminal, building again what you yourself destroyed (Gal. 2:18). Fulfill your vows before the Lord, because it is written: You have not yet been promised a good thing, rather than keep your promise (Eccl. 5:4). So, strive to complete your course legally, so that you may have the boldness to say with the Apostle: I have fought the good fight, I have ended my course, I have kept the faith. Otherwise the crown of righteousness will be kept for me, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will reward me with in the day: not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing (2 Tim. 4:7,8). Amen. Lesson 45. About the fear of God 46 Be attentive to yourself, beloved, so as not to waste your time in negligence and absent-mindedness. Let us be attentive to what the Lord says. You planted a vineyard for yourself and surrounded it with a fence. You have acquired a garden for yourself, guard its fruits so that you may rejoice in the end, and do not let your pigs go to the land cultivated by your labors, lest they devastate it. What is the benefit, brothers, if today we remain silent in our cells, and in the morning we begin to spend time in the city or in villages, doing what is displeasing to God? What good is it, brothers, if we build one day and destroy it in two days? With this course of action, how will things come to an end? What do we have in common with the world? What do we, who are dead to the world, have to do with the worries of life? Are you talking about food? With the Lord's assistance, our own hands are sufficient for us to serve the flesh. For it is said: no one who has been a warrior obliges himself with the purchases of life, so that he may be acceptable to the commander (2 Tim. 2:4). And one more thing: let us labor night and day, so that we may not burden even one (1 Thess. 2:9). Why should we, monk, go to villages? If, sitting and silent in a cell, we are not able to courageously resist passionate thoughts and one shadow of reality, then won’t we be much more likely to be taken prisoner if we ourselves rush into prey to foreigners? But often, you want to say, we approach villages with the permission of the abbots and out of necessity. If you do this with permission and out of obedience, then there is no guilt in it, as long as you fulfill what is commanded to you with the fear of God. But there are also those who, under the pretext of obedience, want to satisfy their own lust for the old man. Therefore, as a wise man, be careful not to bring you shards and dirt instead of gold and silver, and instead of obedience, do not commit disobedience. What profit did they gain for themselves when they went with Joshua the son of Nun and with Caleb to spy out the land? Under the guise of obedience, they committed disobedience, not preserving the truth, retreating from the Lord and turning the hearts of the children of Israel away from Him. So, when you are sent to serve, do your work with the fear of God, remembering that God always looks at your deeds. If you go to serve the saints and neglect that, doing the opposite, then you show disdain for God, you behave wastefully, fulfilling your desires; and in this case you did not do obedience, but disobedience. But it is desirable for me to make it known to you that just as those who see you in the monastery, silent and working for the Lord Christ, glorify God about you, so those who see you in the city and in the village doing what is displeasing to God will be offended by you. And what will be your reward for striking a man’s conscience? If you adhere to my advice, fear the Lord and remain silent, then the Lord will be glorified in you, and you will have strength for every virtue. But the enemy often inspires you with the following thought: “While you are still young, satisfy your wishes. How many people do you think there were who enjoyed the world and were not deprived of heavenly things? And you are still young, eat, drink, enjoy worldly pleasures, and in your old age you will repent. And why do you want to exhaust your body from such an age? Be careful not to become exhausted." So tell the one who inspires this to you: “And if death befalls me in my youth, and I do not live to see old age, then how will I justify myself before the judgment seat of Christ? We see that many young people die, and old people live long. The works of the Lord are unsearchable. And why do you deceive me, saying: in your old age you will repent? Can I then say to the Judge: death befell me in my youth, let me go now so that I can repent? Without a doubt, He will tell me: For so many years I left you, repeatedly showed patience to you, who had sinned, and did not kill you immediately, giving you time, opportunity and place where to sow the seeds of repentance. You, even this time given to you for repentance, lived in sins and pleasures.” So, know without a doubt, brother, that if you begin to neglect the fear of God and indulge in sin, you will be condemned. He who gives over his limbs to voluptuousness will grieve not only in the future, but also in the present century, if he does not repent soon, for he will become like abandoned rags, which at first everyone carries around, but in the end they abhor it and trample under their feet. But if you cleanse yourself of all this and wish to please Christ, maintaining the integrity of your body in the love of God, which is the pillar of all virtues, then you will become like royal purple and you will shine among your brothers, like a luminary, and the Lord will turn away from you those who rise up against you. The fear of God, which you have loved, will be a wall for you, and you will find grace before God and before people. So, be sober and be attentive to yourself, knowing that the enemy, even behind locks and bars, knows how to ensnare souls living in negligence. But perhaps some unreasonable person will say: “I am not able to resist anything else, but I am immediately carried away by passion.” Do not boast about this; This is not a sign of reverence, but of weakness and foolishness. Wisdom says: do not take credit for your soul, and do not be ashamed of your fall (Sir.4:26). Can't you feel the robber breaking through the wall of your house? Will you really lie quietly and allow yourself to be plundered, and not get up to drive away the robber? How come you do not care about the integrity of your body and hand over the church of God to corruption? We see how the Lord glorifies those who serve Him from youth to old age. He said to the prophet Jeremiah: I have remembered the mercy of your youth, and the love of your perfection, when you followed the Holy One of Israel (Jer. 2:2). And whoever, from youth to old age, followed the thought of error, was rebuked by the prophet, saying: “Thou hast worn out the evil days, now hastening thy sins, which thou didst before (Dan. 13:52). Therefore, the Holy Spirit pleases those who take upon themselves the yoke of Christ, saying: It is good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth” (Lam. 3:27). So, let us rise up, beloved, so that God’s great patience does not turn into condemnation for us if we do not desire to repent, but every day we add sins to sins. Who thinks about the day of judgment and does not tremble? Let us take into account, beloved, what we usually say. When the harvest and heat come, we say: “Two more months will pass, and the heat will pass.” What will we do, beloved, if we are condemned to eternal fire? And when winter comes again, we say: “Another two or three months will pass, and the terrible cold will pass.” What will we do, brothers, if after death we are condemned to the underworld? If someone falls ill and does not have sleep at night, then he often looks out the windows of the house, wanting to see the light. What will we do, brothers, if we are condemned to pitch darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 22:13), where there is no hope of seeing the light for endless centuries? Likewise, the exile counts days, nights and years, waiting for the end of his term, and in the next century, the condemned should not count days, not nights, not months, not years, because these are boundless and endless centuries in which those who cry and shed tears now will be consoled. But the one who feeds generously dies alive, as the Apostle says (1 Tim. 5:6). And the Savior also says: woe to those who laugh now: for they will mourn (Luke 6:25). So, beloved, let us sober up from this life, and let us weep now, so that we may be consoled there. Let us remain silent in our cells with humility, so that the Lord will see our humility and work and forgive us all our sins. For it is written: For in our humility the Lord will remember us (Ps. 135:23). And again: As a father gives generously to his sons, the Lord will provide generously to those who fear Him (Ps. 102:13). May the Lord grant us to end our lives without condemnation! Glory to him forever! Amen. If, beloved, you are worthy of the gift of knowledge and discernment, or healing, then take care that, relying on the gift, you do not end your life fruitlessly, and when the King separates the righteous from the sinners, do not say: “Have mercy,” and do not hear with those standing on your side: we do not know you (Matthew 25:12). For it is written: Not everyone who says to Me: Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven: but do the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many people will say to Me on this day: Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, and in Your name we have cast out demons, and in Your name we have done many mighty powers? And then we will confess to them, as if I knew you no better. Depart from me you who practice iniquity (Matthew 7:21–23). Why? Because they did not keep love, as it is written: Do not love your brother, who is in his sight, God, who is not in his sight, as he can love (1 John 4:20). It is also written: The same servant knows the will of his Master, and having not done it, he will be beaten many times. But the ignorant, having created something worthy of wounds, will suffer few blows (Luke 12:47,48). And the Apostle says: And yet again in excellence I show you the way. Even if the tongues of men and angels are spoken, but love is not an imam, but the brass is ringing, or the cymbal is clanging. And even if an imam has prophecy, and has all the secrets and all the mind, and even if an imam has all the faith, even if he has given up mountains, but I am not an imam for love, I am nothing. And if I give away all my possessions, and if I give up my body to be burned, I have no love, I have no mercy. He is patient with love, he is merciful; he does not envy love; he is not exalted in love, is not proud, does not seek his own, does not think evil, does not rejoice in untruth, but rejoices in the truth, covers everything, trusts everything, endures everything. Any love disappears (1 Cor. 12:31; 13:1–8). You have heard, beloved, what the power of love is. Acquire it for yourself in all your deeds, since grace guides you, so that you may receive praise from God. I beg you, my beloved brothers, remember me, an indecent servant, in your prayers, so that my words do not turn against me at the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ: For I am worthless in myself (1 Cor. 4:4), but a certain hope of judgment is terrible, and the fire of zeal to destroy the one who resists (Heb. 10:27) terrifies me. But may the Lord grant to me, unworthy, by His bounty, together with you, His chosen ones, to enter His Kingdom! May the Lord grant His love in our hearts to all of us! Glory to him forever and ever! Amen. Teaching 47. To Eulogius 48 Looking at the fruit of obedience, I took the trouble to write to you, brother, what you ordered. A good beginning is to fear the Lord; old age is honorable in a Christ-loving soul. He who is attentive to himself will be saved in every place. He who loves the gathering places of the world has not yet hated the world. Just as fanning a fire kindles the flame, so worldly conversations awaken passions in the heart of a monk. It rarely happens, brother, that those who come together do not harm themselves. He who loves to talk with women stirs up the demon of fornication against himself. Those who gave birth to you, having heard good news about you, will rejoice more than wine and feasting. He who loves to get drunk will lose a lot: for he says and does what he should not, he plunders his wealth as if it were someone else’s and gives it to his enemies, because intoxication has darkened his mind. Be reverent, brother, because reverence produces a peaceful state, and a peaceful state produces dispassion. Let your reverence be coupled with humility, so that you may become a true monk and inherit love and chastity. Too many words, brother, darkens the mind; a darkened mind leads to shamelessness, and shamelessness is the mother of fornication. He who loves to remain silent himself remains serene and does not upset his neighbor. Laughter and free speech, like poison, are harmful to a novice and useless to a monk. For the Lord has called those blessed who shed tears and weep now (Matthew 5:4). Amuse yourself by hearing defeat for a monk. There should be silence at meals. Love silence, beloved, so that reverence may remain in you. Keep reverence so that it will keep you from fornication. Whoever contradicts and does not obey the abbot will not hesitate to fall into evil. And whoever listens to the admonitions of an elder will rejoice with the righteous. He who boasts of his strength reflects God’s help from himself. Let him boast in the Lord (2 Cor. 10:17). He who loves entertainment and hates silence will endure much tribulation, but he who is silent in humility will rejoice in the Lord. Whoever does not want to stand patiently in God's service will lose a lot, but whoever stands with reverence and patience will be heard. Whoever talks idlely during the Divine service is subject to severe censure for distracting from prayer and psalmody both the one with whom he is speaking and, together, those who stand near him. He who loves asceticism will strengthen his strength, but he who loves drunkenness will have no patience for anything. He who hates work will be an unfit person. Idleness teaches many vices. And whoever loves work lives carefree. Whoever boasts about the differences of his parents will not acquire differences for himself, because his parents’ differences will not bring him any benefit in the military ranks in battle. Honor, brother, both small and great, so that the Lord may exalt you; for if you humble yourself, you will be exalted (Matthew 23:12). Humble your head under the abbot, submit to the superiors of the brotherhood in the Lord, for the fruit of the fear of the Lord is humility. Humility is revealed not only in humiliation before elders, but also in assigning honor to younger ones. It is written: Only those who glorify Me will I glorify, and those who disparage Me will be dishonored (1 Samuel 2:30). So, let us glorify God, so that He may glorify us with all His saints. But how shall we glorify Him? Keeping the commandments. For it is written: For the kingdom of God is not in words, but in power (1 Cor. 4:20) And again: not everyone who says to Me: Lord, Lord, will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven: but do the will of My Father who is in heaven (Matt. 7:21). Above all, brother, fear the Lord in truth, and His fear will enlighten your intelligent eyes. Love humility. For humility according to God is an insurmountable wall in the face of the enemy, a rock against which the guns and kindled arrows of the evil one strike and are crushed. If you put in your mind to endure insult, damage and humiliation for the sake of the Lord, then you will be like a brave warrior, always armed against enemies; then your enemies, seeing such tirelessness of yours, will not be able to resist your face. If you intend to compete in a race, but do not want to put in any effort, what is the use? Keep your body clean. Love is the mother of virtues, and purity is a lamp and support. The lamp is also silence for them; and the fear of the Lord is a wall unto them. Let us, brothers, maintain the purity of our bodies in the love of God, so that the Lord may number us among His holy Angels. The Holy Spirit rejoices in the one who loves purity and gives him patience. And purity is achieved through abstinence, meekness and silence in love. Therefore, it is necessary for us to separate ourselves from every brother who walks disorderly (2 Thess. 3:6), so as not to give suspicion to those who see us. The Apostle says: providentially kind to all men (Rom. 12:17); If anyone is contentious, we are not imams of such a custom, lower than the Church of God (1 Cor. 11:16). Listen also to what he says: you give thanks for good, but another is not created (1 Cor. 14:17). Therefore, he continues, my freedom is judged by another conscience (1 Cor. 10:29). Therefore, it is necessary to accept instruction from people who fear the Lord, and not to please ourselves, according to the word of him who said: Let everyone please your neighbor for good to build up (Rom. 15:2). And one more thing: let the one who is contrary be put to shame, having no cause for reproach” (Titus 2:8). For the Lord of glory said: Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven (Matthew 5:16). Under the pretext of sociability, we will not lose the sacred! For it is the enemy’s habit to do evil through good. Whoever sins and thinks to hide it is deceived: for nothing is hidden, and it will not appear (Mark 4:22). If the enemy arouses carnal lust in you, tell him: “Let me not offend the Holy Spirit of God, by Whom I am marked on the day of deliverance (Eph. 4:30). I’ve had enough of the time that has passed.” For it is written: Every sin that man commits is besides the body: but the fornicator sins in his own body (1 Cor. 6:18). I am partially taught about mental warfare. One brother was asked by another brother, who said: “I am troubled by unclean thoughts.” And he answered: “The holy elders allowed some to allow their thoughts to enter into them, and then fought with them, and they ordered the weak not to dwell on their thoughts at all, so that long-term remembering would not make passion incurable.” Then the brother said: “What does it mean: to allow a thought to enter inside and fight with it?” “Listen,” says another, “when an enemy brings shameful thoughts and unclean thoughts to a person, he immediately imagines in his mind a beautiful woman or something similar seductive and corrupting. The one who is mentally struggling, seeing this, is not embarrassed by such thoughts, but courageously resists them, waging a strong battle with them. Then he opens the entrance for them and encloses them within himself. And when they go inside with the object with which they want to overcome, then he says to them: behold, in front of you is the very object for which you trouble me every day, which you dreamily imagine in my mind, and thereby confuse my soul. So, I want to find out exactly what the need is for it.” And he commands that a mental sword be brought to him, and, taking it, he mentally opens the insides of the object, saying: I want to know what I will find in it: beauty or rottenness? And, having opened the insides, he finds there what everyone knows, and this reveals the vileness of lust. The opponents, seeing that victory has been won over them, become agitated out of fear and strive to overthrow their brother’s thoughts, so that, having disturbed his mind with other thoughts, they turn the real feat into nothing, fearing that their shame may not be completely revealed. The opposing brother says to them: why do you want to give another instead of one? I will not allow you to leave until I have thoroughly examined everything related to the subject - whether what you praised is really worthy of love. Then the brother locks the imaginary corpse in the inner church for three or four days. And after this time, he opens the church with the intention of looking at the corpse. And before it enters the interior, it is met with an unbearable stench; holding his mouth and nose with his hands, with a wave of his eyes he points to hostile thoughts, accomplices of sin, to the end of the matter. Then he says to them: what do you say to this? They dissipate in shame like smoke in the air. And thus the brother, with the assistance of grace, becomes above passions. And, confessing to the Lord, he says: I thank You, Lord my God, that you did not deliver me into the hands of my enemies, but saved me from the snare of fishers. And Your grace, O Lord, enlightened me to understand this, for it was not through my wisdom that I got rid of their snares.” So, brothers, let us constantly have the fear of God before our eyes, so that God himself will protect us. For without God's protection man is nothing. The insidiousness of our enemies is great, but the help of God, which protects man, is more important. Only we don’t let our eyes see this. So, let us love God with all our might, who helps us and saves us, and let us love our neighbor as ourselves. Keep in mind the day of your death, beloved brother, when, growing cold, you will lie on your bed. Alas, alas for me! Beloved brother, what fear and trembling will seize the soul at that hour! If she did something good in this life while she came in it, if she endured sorrow and reproach for the sake of the Lord and did what was pleasing before Him, then with great joy the soul is elevated to heaven, guided by the holy Angels. Like a tired worker, who has worked all day, waits for the twelfth hour, so that after work he can receive his pay and rest. So the souls of the righteous await this day. And the souls of sinners at that hour are filled with fear and trembling. Like a condemned man who is taken by the servants of justice and led to the judgment seat, the souls of the unrighteous will tremble at that hour, looking at endless torment in eternal darkness. Even if someone said: “Let me go into the next world to finally repent; then there will be no one who lets go. Such a one will hear: “When you had time, you did not repent, and now you are going to repent? When the field was open to everyone, you did not strive, and now you want to struggle after the doors have already been closed and the time for asceticism has passed? Didn’t you hear Who said: Watch ye, for you don’t know the hour of the day (Matthew 25:13)? Knowing this in advance, beloved brother, let us repent while there is time, so that God will deliver us from the wrath coming on the sons of disobedience ( Col. 3:6 ) and make us worthy of a portion of the saints. Pray for me too, a sinner who says and does not do. For it is written: Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that ye may be healed (James 5:16) in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Glory to him forever! Amen. Lesson 48. To a monk who has fallen into despondency and says: “I’ll go and return to the world” 49 The God of glory said: Enter through the narrow gate: for the wide gate and the broad way lead into destruction, and many are those who enter through it. What a narrow and cramped path you lead into the eternal belly, and there are few of them who find it (Matthew 7:13,14)! Who has found eternal life and proclaims its path to us? - All saints. The chosen vessel Paul walked this way and, having completed his course, received a crown. That is why he proclaims to us the path of life, saying: In everything we imagine ourselves as God’s servants, in patience, in sorrow, in troubles, in distress, in wounds, in prisons, in disorder, in labor, in vigils, in fasting, in purification, in reason, in long-suffering, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in unfeigned love, in speech of truth, in the power of God, weapons of righteousness with the right and the right, with glory and dishonor, with curses and praise: as they are flatterers, and as truths: as we are unknown, and as we know them: as we are dying, and behold, we live: as we are punished, and not put to death: as we mourn, but we rejoice ever: as we are poor, and rich with many things: for having nothing, but containing all things (2 Cor. 6:4-10). And our hope is known about you: knowing that we share our passion with you, so also is our consolation (2 Cor. 1:7). Therefore, we, brothers, are obliged to adhere to this path to the end, for which we began to fight. Are you silent? Imagine prisoners in dungeons who are not only imprisoned, but also wear iron on their necks, or are hammered into a block. Are you a desert dweller? Imagine the dangers those who herd sheep in deserts and mountains endure, how they become numb from the cold in winter and scorched by the sun's rays in summer. Do you live in a dormitory? Consider with your mind what is written: but the people who believed had one soul and one heart: and not one thing came from their possessions, but they had all things in common (Acts 4:32). Do you work ligature? Imagine those sailing on the sea, for, while fighting the sea, they are engaged in the same handicraft. Do you work small baskets called soft ones? Imagine those preparing the bed from the branches. Have you become a painter? Imagine carpenters and carvers, but do not distort God’s words, written in faith and truth. For what sin is greater than this—to turn sweet things into bitter, and bitter things into sweet, light into darkness, and darkness into light, for those who read it to become corrupt? Woe to the one who does this, because he sets snares for souls. Do you draw patterns? Imagine carving something out of marble. Do you work with colored paper? Imagine people making leather belts. Do you process palm bark? Imagine those doing cotton. Do you make hemp fabric? Imagine worldly people practicing the same craft. Are you working with ropes or ropes? Imagine making headbands. Do you spin threads? Imagine weaving cloth. Are you working on canvas? Imagine making silk fabrics. Did they assign you to the bread shop? Imagine containing the people's baths. Have you been assigned to the garden? Keep in mind the felters who spend summer and winter at their work in the water. They assigned you to the cook? Imagine dyers or blacksmiths who spend day and night fighting fire, are subject to the authority of others, suffer oppression, often suffer violence from city governors, and are not careless about their work! They made you a doorman? Imagine servants of earthly princes. Did they put you in the service, made you either a housekeeper or an abbot? Imagining the one who said: I pray to the elders who are among you, as one who is an elder and a witness of Christ’s passion, who is a fellow member of the one who wants glory to appear, shepherd the flock of God in you, visiting not in need, but by will, and according to God: lower than the unrighteous, but diligently: neither as having the honor, but be an example to the flock. And when you appear to Christ the Chief Shepherd, you will receive an unfading crown of glory" (1 Pet. 5:1-4). But let’s not waste our time talking about everything separately. Whatever you do, if the enemy makes you despondent during a task, point out some similar craft as an objection to your opponent. And whatever you do in deed or word, have your conscience as a witness that what you do is done according to God, and you will be saved. Tell me, you yourself, I ask you: if, having renounced the grace of Him who called you into His eternal Kingdom and glory, you go into the world, what will you do, according to the assumption of your thoughts? It’s better to say: what did the enemy of our souls inspire you with? Will you reign if you reject the grace given to you? But even if you reign, will not death befall you? If you receive a great inheritance and collect countless wealth, will you not leave it to others and will you not go away from here without all this, according to the saying of the Apostle: For we have brought nothing into the world, but what we can endure (1 Tim. 6:7). But whoever sows to the spirit, from the spirit he will reap eternal life (Gal.6:7). I'll tell you by human calculations. If you renounce the grace of the Lord, you will not return the previous opinion of yourself that was held about you before you began monastic life; on the contrary, in the opinion of your neighbors, and friends at home, and relatives, you will be a traitor, for who forced you to begin a task that he could not complete? Doesn't the law say this? For it is written in the law: if anyone is fearful and weak in heart, let him not go to war and return to his home, so that he does not make his brother’s heart afraid (Deut. 20:8). Therefore, now complete what you started. If you have fallen into any sin, do not remain in your fall, but turn to the Lord in truth. There is in heaven He who blots out the sins of those who turn to Him. Do not agree only to the thought of evil. Neither lions, nor snakes, nor barbarians will be able to do as much harm as evil wisdom does to those who indulge in it. For many, having overthrown it from themselves at the very beginning and not having joined its morals, were respected by the barbarians, lions and snakes were afraid of them, the fiery flame could not singe the hair on their heads; There was no food for vice in them, but only goodness that nourished them. Evil-wisdom mercilessly strikes its lovers; There is no vice for which evil wisdom is not the mother. Of course, the root of all evil is the love of money, according to the saying of the Apostle, who says: The love of money is the root of all evil (1 Tim. 6:10). But this root is planted by evil wisdom; for it feeds and grows the branches of vice. What is more hostile than him in the world? It betrays its lovers who are devoted to it and drives them to the point where they take flight. For the wicked flees, but persecutes not a single one: but the righteous trusteth like a lion (Prov. 28:1) in great boldness. He who is possessed by evil will not receive punishment at the hands of barbarians, not on a foreign land, but where he was born, where he was brought up, and there he is tormented by his fellow tribesmen; and no one asks for him, no matter how much they subject him to torture, not secretly, but openly, not for good deeds, but for wickedness, because everyone condemns those who have fallen from wickedness, everyone brings complaints against them. There is no helper for them, no savior for them. If we follow evil wisdom, it will bring us down to the recesses of hell. It overthrew the mighty, threw houses into desolation, shook kings and brought them to decline. Run away from it, beloved brother, lest it put its bonds on you, for its bonds are iron, and its shackles are copper. It has overthrown those who trustingly love it; in this life their fall was immeasurable, and in death it is destruction. And what name will you give him, other than evil-wisdom? It hates the truth, loves lies, does not accept instruction, admires ignorance, does not accept reproof, rejects admonition, nourishes voluptuousness, neglects God, and is not ashamed of people. Its beginning is lack of fear, and its end is destruction and the legacy of destruction. Lord, Lord, who opened the eyes of the blind from birth, open the eyes of our minds, so that we do not fall into his snare! So, beloved, let us not reject the grace of God. Or do you not know that there is joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, rather than over ninety and nine who are not lost, who do not demand repentance (Luke 15:7)? And what is the sorrow of this age, as well as the joy of this age, beloved? Why is it better to endure the sorrows that come your way than to be deceived? For the glory and deception of this world are like a flame of fire, which consumed the wood that was put into it, and then soon went out, so that all that remained of this flame was ash and ashes. But whoever endures tribulation for the Lord is like one who builds his house on the rock. Therefore, I ask you, brother, rise up to the Lord. Let us remember about God's inexorable judgment seat, about eternal judgment and about our weak nature. What's smaller than a mosquito? And we cannot tolerate his threats! What are we going to do with the poisonous and never-ending worm? When evening comes they say: light a lamp, because it is dark. What are we going to do with that gloomy and impenetrable darkness? If someone is scorched by the sun's rays, he runs under the shadow. What are we going to do with the unquenchable fiery Gehenna? From what is visible in this age, beloved, let us take a sample of the future Judgment. If someone does something bad, and it is found out, and the prince of this age sends him to prison, then in what shame, in what sorrow will his soul be in him? Although his family often waits on him, and his relatives look after him, and his friends console him, and his acquaintances constantly visit him, nevertheless, despite all this, sadness does not leave him. The end of the word is that, perhaps, he still has hope, either with help, searching and asking friends, or with the help of money, to eventually be freed from prison. And there, condemned by his own deeds, he has no comforters for himself. Neither his father bothers about him, nor his mother sits with him and consoles him; there is no compassion of a wife and friends, no good news, no hearing of peace, no light, no sweet singing of birds, no change of circumstances, no change in the annual seasons, no musical sounds, no joy. For all this has been taken away from the wicked, and part of them is contrary to what is written: He will rain upon sinners a net, a fire, a bogey, and a stormy spirit, part of their cup. For the Lord is righteous, and love righteousness, seeing His face righteous (Ps. 10:6,7). So, let us pray to the Lord with all our hearts to cover us. For He rejoices over those who are being saved, for which reason He has prepared for them: eyes have not seen, and ears have not heard, and the heart has not sighed (1 Cor. 2:9). Bring this to mind and turn to the Lord. Do not be, as it were, the ax of the devil, cutting down fruitful trees, or some sultry wind, destructive of good fruits. Don’t you know, beloved, that during a battle, if someone falls wounded in the ranks, he brings fear to those fighting next to him? - Understand what was said. But he who courageously takes up arms against his opponents, with his zeal excites even the careless and fearful at heart. Don’t you remember, beloved, in what contrition you were before when you began monastic life? Where is this contrition, so abundant in tears? Where is the heavenly desire, the unfeigned reverence? Where is the humility that rises to heaven? Where is the silence internally filled with prayers? Where is the love that appeases God? What did you gain by hating and throwing off all this? Anger, irritability, crying, blasphemy, intemperance, shamelessness, unbridled lips. Alas, how the fruitful land has turned into weakness because of the malice of those who live on it (Ps. 107:34)! Are these the words in which you promised to serve God and hope for His salvation? Are these the prayers that you offered to God in your sorrow? Be careful, beloved, that the very one who confuses you and hastens to tear you away from brotherhood does not prepare for you a bitter and shameful death. I tell you the truth, because I knew one, two and three brothers who left the monastery and returned to worldly life, but did not live long, and ended their lives with a bitter and shameful death. Therefore, I beg you, brother, resist these opponents, overcome lust, do not come into agreement with those who want to make you a captive. On the contrary, let us have a mind, beloved brother, let us raise our hands like Moses, and the Lord will invisibly fight with them for us. Therefore do not be afraid of their faces. Often they make you think of the weakness of the body, the loss of the urge to eat, the suspicion of an older brother, the fear of the abbot, the length of time, the previous way of life, the memory of carnal parents; and they set all this in motion to oppress your soul. And you don’t reason that if someone’s son is a villain, he is punished by law before the eyes of his parents, and no one can deliver him from the hands of the executioners; To what extent do you think the future judgment seat is more terrible, where kings and oppressors, rich and poor will appear in terrible trepidation? Therefore, come to your senses, beloved brother, and do not despise the truthful and infallible Judge, and the flame that will never be extinguished. And if you neglect, then here you can also test yourself: can you endure the cruelty of fire and torment? Light a lamp and touch the tip of your finger, if you are able to endure this pain, then perhaps you will be able to help yourself there too. If, when your whole body is outside the fire, you cannot bear the pain of one small member, what will you do when your whole body, together with your soul, is thrown into fiery hell? But maybe some madman will say: “I would like to endure, but what can I do? I am weak and lacking in understanding. If God had wished for me to be saved, He would have given me patience.” Come, brothers, to see a soul captivated not by barbarians and the sword, but by evil wisdom, how it blames the good God, Who wants every person to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth, Who endured the Cross for us! He calls, saying: Come, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you will find rest for your souls; For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light (Matthew 11:28–30). And he also says: Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; press, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives it, and everyone who seeks finds it, and it will be opened to the one who asks (Matthew 7:7,8). Therefore, how do you say: if God wanted me to be saved, would He give me patience? Why does the enemy deceive you so much, and do you accept his advice? Why such a loss - to take off the garments of glory, to separate oneself from cohabitation with the Angels and to plunge into the passions of dishonor? Why do you need this shame, why do you need this reproach - to be called a refugee from monasticism and hear about yourself: behold, he who rejects the grace of the Lord and his God? What is this death for you - to see yourself cast into utter darkness, having received the fruit of shame, and the brothers who hoped for the salvation of the Lord, crowned and led into the joy of their Lord? Where should you run? Or what place will receive you when you flee from the presence of the Lord, Whom you want to deny? Therefore, I beg you, be patient, lest what is written on you be fulfilled: It is better for them not to know the path of righteousness, than for those who have known to turn back from the holy commandments handed down to them. When a true parable happened to them: a dog returned to his vomit, and a pig washed himself in the pot (2 Pet. 2:21,22). And in another place he says: but our belly has counted the play of being, and all our life has been spent on gaining (Wis. 15:12). Let us consider, beloved brother, that we are strangers and strangers in this life, for many, waking up in the morning, did not live to see the evening, others, falling asleep in the evening, did not reach the morning. Listen to the one who says: man is like vanity: his days pass away like shadows (Ps. 143:4). I beg you, beloved brother, be patient a little longer, for he who endures to the end will be saved” (Matthew 10:22). No one knows whether the time for our resolution has already come, and therefore temptations for us multiply. Let us not be faint-hearted, let us not turn back, but rather, forgetting what is behind, let us stretch ourselves to what is before (Phil. 3:13), so that we may enter together with the Bridegroom before the door is still closed. For He says: Watch and pray, for you do not know the hour of the day (Matthew 25:13). And the Savior also says: As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. As it was in the days of the flood: I ate, I ate, I married, I encroached, until that day Noah went into the ark: and the flood came and destroyed everything. Just as it was in the days of Lot: yadyahu, piyahu, kupovahu, sellahu, sazhdahu, zdahu: on the same day Lot went out from Sodom, rained fire from heaven, and destroyed everything: therefore it will be the same on the day on which the Son of Man will come (Luke 17:26-30). So, let us not be careless about our salvation, beloved. For the Divine Scriptures proclaim this day to us, so that by repentance we may be saved from wrath and inherit eternal life by doing what is pleasing to the Lord. If you remain in your former disobedience and maintain a fearless thought, then know that you will be flogged without delay. For he who said is not lying: for the ax lies already at the root of the tree: every tree that does not produce the fruit of good is cut down and thrown into the fire (Luke 3:9). Listen to the parable of the fig tree. It is said: A certain fig tree was named among its vines, and you sought fruit from it, but you did not find it. He said to the vineyard: Behold, the third summer, I come from here, seeking fruit and do not find it: does he exercise the seedlings of the earth and the earth? He answered and said to him: Lord, leave her this summer too, and let me dig around her and sprinkle her with pus. And if it does not produce fruit, then in the future you will cut it off” (Luke 13:6-9). Therefore, take care, beloved, that the time of the deadline does not come to pass and then we will not find another time. So, come, let us worship Him, let us mourn before the Lord who created us (Ps. 94:6). Raise your hands to him along with your heart, and approach Him with tears, crying out with the Prophet: Save me from the burden of the mire, so that I will not drown; deliver me from those who hate me and from deep waters. May no storm of water drown me, may the depth below devour me, may the peer of his mouth bring me down upon me. Hear me, Lord, for Thy mercy is good: according to the multitude of Thy mercies, look upon me. Do not turn Your face away from Your servant: as I grieve, hear me soon. Take in my soul, and deliver me: for the sake of my enemy, deliver me (Ps. 69:15-19), so that He may also tell you what is written: take courage and let your heart be strong, and be patient with the Lord (Ps. 26:14). And you, having given thanks to His goodness, will say: Having endured, you have endured the Lord, and listened to me, and heard my prayer: and you have raised me from the pit of passions, and from the clay of the mud, and set my feet on stones, and straightened my steps: and put in my mouth a new song, a song to our God. Many people will see and fear, and trust in the Lord. Blessed is the man who has the name of the Lord as his hope, and does not despise false vanity and confusion (Ps. 39:1-5). Blessed is the Lord, who gives strength and power to his people, and blessed is our God forever and ever! Amen. Cleanse, O God, our sins, for to You be glory forever and ever! Amen. Lesson 49. About evil behavior 50 Just as a sword cuts the veins of a horse and overthrows the rider, so an evil thought tires the spiritual strength and betrays the soul to sadness; sadness upsets those who fall into it. Anyone who, intending to go to a city that is thirty furlongs distant, walked twenty-nine and did not reach one furlong, left the house, but did not enter the city. Just as he who came at the eleventh hour received full payment along with others who bore the burden of the day, so he who worked until the eleventh hour, if at the twelfth hour he begins to break and uproot what he planted, he will not receive payment, because our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ said: he who endures to the end will be saved (Matthew 10:22); and one more thing: no one lays his hand on the forehead, and in vain turns back, he is ruled in the kingdom of heaven (Luke 9:62). Lotov's wife, turning back, became a pillar of dirt. Therefore the Apostle, forgetting the things that were behind, stretched himself to those that were before (Phil. 3:13). So be patient also, beloved, for this world is passing away, and so is its lust: but he who does the will of God abides forever (1 John 2:17). We are wanderers and strangers in this world. But if, while there is still time, we do in it what is pleasing to the Lord, we will receive our reward. So, acquire patience, beloved brother, for it is written: “In your patience you will gain your souls” (Luke 21:19). Enoch pleased God for two hundred years after he gave birth to Methuselah. And in our short time, do we indulge in negligence? Resist, beloved, harmful thoughts and say along with those who said: I have been crucified with Christ: but I live not for anyone, but Christ lives in me (Gal. 2:19). Why should a man crawl if he gains the whole world and loses his soul (Matthew 16:26)? Turn away from Me, you evildoers, and I will test the commandments of my God (Ps. 119:115). Ecclesiastes cries: vanity of vanities, all vanity (Ecc.1:2). After such wealth and glory, I will no longer devote my labors to vanity, so that after my departure others will inherit them, and I would suffer punishment; on the contrary, I will bring my fruits as a gift to the good and merciful God, who gives life even after death and has prepared for those who love Him, without whom eye has seen, and ear who has not heard, and who has not breathed into the heart of man (1 Cor. 2:9). To her, beloved, take courage and let your heart be strong, and be patient with the Lord (Ps. 26:14); and your departure will be in peace. There you will see the righteous rejoicing over your salvation. There, together with Lazarus, you will settle in Abraham’s bosom, because you chose poverty, endured sorrow, endured reproaches, and did not hate humiliation. Therefore, with joy they will accept you into eternal shelters, from where illness, sadness and sighing fled. There you will see life and true light, the hope of all creation, the Savior of our souls, Jesus Christ, the King of glory: and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take joy from you. May the Lord our God Himself keep us blameless! Glory to him forever! Amen. Lesson 50. On the difference between monastic and secular life 51 If you, beloved brother, having renounced worldly life and become a monk, then be sober, because the enemy has many intrigues, and, having found an opportunity, he will inspire you with the following: “Behold, you have renounced the world and property, but do not even animals find peace in their holes?” You forbid the enemy, saying: “May the Lord crush you, devil, because you have likened man, whom He created in His image and likeness, to a dumb beast. Won't you stop turning the right paths? Listen to the difference between this and that life. He who wishes to become a monk, firstly, renounces the world, renounces his will, takes up his cross and follows our Savior Christ; he does not compete, does not slander, does not swear, does not dishonor, does not occupy his mind with false concepts of long-winded and vain philosophy, observes abstinence and does not indulge in luxury; all the Angels of God are his friends, and the devil is his enemy. He does not oppress the farmer, does not offend the widow, does not rob the beggar, does not attack the orphan, and does not go crazy seeking wealth. Content with the present, he does not care about sending his sons to the regiment or marrying off his daughters, he is not attached to entertainment, but is busy with the work of his salvation, he is not arrogant, but is humble, he is kind and modest; sings psalms, and not worldly songs, prays and does not indulge in distraction, is not overwhelmed by the affairs of life, does not care about acquiring earthly glory for himself; instead of pipes, timbrels, musical instruments, he sings to the Lord and prays; cries and sheds tears in the inner churches of his home and soul, asking for forgiveness of sins; praying, he prays for the whole world; he does not go to vain shows, but to holy men, instead of the royal court - to the desert; evades oaths and the people who delight in them; stretches out his hands to useful things, to work, to reading the Divine Scriptures; the provision of parents and oneself in earthly things is considered nothing; thinks about the Savior's promises and his spirit is renewed in him, and drives away sorrow from himself. Is bodily illness coming? rejoices that the crown is near. Is despondency coming? receives patience from the Lord. Is earthly loss coming? He brings to mind the day of his death, because everything will remain here. Does his voluptuousness bother him? He thinks about bitter torment. Has he been affected by slander? He endures generously, because He who justifies him draws near. Exposure to resentment and torment? Thinks about the suffering of the Savior. Arrogance coming? He thinks that he needs to go through the fire. Rightfully those who serve the Lord are given these gifts of grace, and all that is due to saints. And may the Lord lead you, devil, to inaction!” Hey, beloved, listen to the one who says: Resist the devil, and he flees from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you (James 4:7,8). Pray together for me, pitiful, for my iniquities have exceeded my head (Ps. 37:5), so that the Good and Merciful Lord, the hope of the desperate, will protect and save us in His Kingdom and in His glory. To him be glory, dominion and strength and the Kingdom of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit forever and ever! Amen. According to glory. lane Part I Sl. 4. According to glory. lane Part I. Sl. 5. According to glory. lane Part I. cont. Sl. 5. According to glory. lane Part I. Sl. 6. According to glory. lane Part I. Sl. 7. According to glory. lane Part I. Sl. 8. According to glory. lane Part I. Sl. 9. According to glory. lane Part I. Sl. 10. Words marked with brackets have been added from the Slavic translation; in the Greek edition they are not readable. According to glory. lane Part I. Sl. 11. According to glory. lane Part I. Sl. 12. According to glory. lane Part I, end of the Word of the 12th. According to glory. lane Part I. Sl.13. According to glory. lane Part I. Sl. 14. 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