Слово 26. О добродетели и пороке.

Among those here there are some zealots of virtue who prefer to leave the city and retire to the mountains, and if anyone asks about the reason for leaving, it turns out there is a reason that does not deserve justification: I am leaving, they say, so as not to perish, so as not to weaken in virtue. And how much better would it be for you to weaken yourself and gain others, than, being on a (mountain) height, to see your brothers perish? If some neglect virtue, and others, zealous for it, go far out of line, then how will we overcome our enemies? After all, even if signs existed now, who from the outside would come up, who would stick to us when vice is exposed so openly? In fact, our righteous life seems more convincing to many. Signs among shameless and bad people allow suspicion in the wrong direction, but a pure life is able to stop the lips of the devil himself with great power. If, therefore, it depends on disposition and good will to remain or not to remain on earth, and if, following the example of Paul, who wishes to be permitted not to remain on earth, then let us uproot ourselves from earth and go to Heaven. There is no obstacle for all of us to cross if we want. If many achieve excellence in the arts, then much more will we achieve the same in that which does not require such labor. What, tell me, is more difficult than walking along a tightrope as if on level ground and, pacing at the top, dressing and undressing as if sitting on a bed? What also, tell me, is more difficult than taking a pole on the forehead, then placing a child on top of it and performing countless actions for the amusement of the spectators? Doesn’t this thing seem so terrible to us that we don’t even want to look, at one glance we tremble and tremble? But virtue is easier than all this, even if we wanted to ascend even to Heaven itself. And don’t tell me: I want to, but I can’t. After all, if in order to master any subject, it is not enough for us to want, but we also need to apply activity, then even more so in order to ascend to Heaven, we need active virtue. If you want to know how virtue is not difficult and how easy it is to do, then remember those who live in silence on the mountains: they leave their homes, wives, children, every position of power, withdraw from the world, dress in rags, sprinkle themselves with ashes, hang a chain around their neck and imprison themselves in a small cell; not content with this, they strive in fasting and continuous non-eating. And don't tell me they had the power to do it. Many are much weaker than you, wealthier and more pampered, and yet have chosen this harsh and strict life. But this field is great, the goal is high, the end is close to Heaven: you cannot achieve such greatness? Then, if you have less, at least achieve the lower. Can't waste your property? At least don't kidnap someone else's. Can't fast? At least don't indulge in luxury. If Christ suffered so much for us, who were enemies, then what can we refer to if we do not suffer anything for Him? Where will we get boldness on that day? Don’t you know that a warrior can only become famous with the king when he shows wounds and injury, and if he is not able to refer to the feat, then, even if he has not been guilty of anything, he is included in the last ranks? But, you say, now is not the time for war. And if there was time, then tell me, who would fight, who would attack the enemy, who would break through his line? In all likelihood, no one. Indeed, when I see that you cannot neglect property for the sake of Christ, how can I believe that you will neglect wounds? He said: endure those who slander with courage and bless. You don’t do that either, you don’t obey. If you do not do something that does not involve any danger, then tell me, will you endure blows associated with great pain and suffering? Do not deceive yourself by saying: let us enjoy the pleasures of life for now, and later, having worked for a short time, we will receive a reward for the whole time. If another, having endured many dangers and ended many wars, can hardly look with boldness at an earthly king, then how can anyone look at the Heavenly (King) after having lived all the time for another and fought for another? You received nobility from God: why are you betraying your natural valor? What are you doing, tell me? Others have the art, to the extent possible, of remaking dumb creatures in the manner of human nobility, of teaching parrots and forty to pronounce human words: with art they gain the upper hand over nature; they tame lions and lead them around the square. Do you make the lion tame, and make yourself more ferocious than wolves? What is even more pity is that each of the dumb animals has one defect, but this is not the case with a vicious person: a person often not only acquires a defect, but collects the vices of many dumb animals in his soul. Don’t point out to me that you have a human soul; rather, show me whether you are a human being in terms of reason. Are you a ruler over irrational animals, and yet you have become a slave to irrational passions? How can I call you a man if you do not have royal accessories? Remember in whose image you were created, and you will not stoop to the insignificance of the dumb. After all, just as at the spectacles those who exercise on a rope stretched from below rise and descend, but if they do not look carefully enough and make a mistake, they fall down and die, so those walking along the spiritual path, if they indulge even a little in negligence, fall headlong. This is because this path is narrower than that rope, straighter and steeper, and much higher - after all, at the top it ends at Heaven itself - and its steps will be shaky for us even when we reach the very top. Those standing at the top are overwhelmed by great awe, and for stability there is only one thing left to do - do not turn your gaze downwards and do not look at the ground - otherwise this will result in great and severe dizziness. And just as on a zither, just one string is not enough to produce a melody, but all (the strings) must be struck with the appropriate rhythm, so in spiritual virtue, one law is not enough for us to be saved, but we must observe all (the laws) with precision. What, tell me, is the benefit when someone prays at length, but does not give alms generously? Or when he gives generous alms, but indulges in covetousness and violence? Or when he is alien to covetousness and violence, but does this for show to people, out of ambition? Or when he shows mercy with all diligence and in accordance with the will of God, but resists Himself (God) and thinks a lot about himself? Or when he is modest and committed to fasting, but is a lover of money, a huckster, clings to the earth and introduces into his soul the mother of all vices - the love of money? It is impossible, it is said, “to serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24). Therefore, the Lover of Mankind, God arranged it in such a way that all people are brought together, the evil are mixed with the good, so that the vice of the evil is cut off, and the virtue of the good is manifested more brilliantly, so that the careless, if they wish, would gain a lot from treating the zealous. After all, just as the good and pious are worthy of a double reward, precisely because they remained pure and were not in the least damaged by contact with the vicious, so the wicked are worthy of a double punishment, precisely because they remained vicious, having the opportunity to become good, and because they gained nothing from contact with the virtuous. And just as the virtuous are surprised not only by the virtuous, but also by the vicious, so the wicked are hated not only by the good, but also by the wicked. It is true that many are surprised at the vicious because they are capable of committing injustice and harming others; They do not understand that they should be considered the most unfortunate, since, thinking of harming others, they turn the sword on themselves; and this is extreme madness - to injure yourself and not realize it, to believe that you are inflicting an offense on another, but to kill yourself. Evil does not lie in tolerating injustice, but in inflicting injustice and not being aware of the injustice being committed. How many injustices did David endure? How many of them did Saul inflict? And which of them is more miserable and pitiful? Who is at the same time more brilliant and blessed? Wasn’t the latter tormented by despondency and an evil demon, and didn’t the former shine brighter than the sun with exploits and love for God? Wasn’t the latter suffocated with envy, and the first, enduring everything in silence, took possession of everyone and tied them to himself, since the latter often tried to destroy, and this one, being persecuted, took the enemy into his hands and, having taken it, spared it? Who turned out to be weaker, who was weaker? Isn't it the one who attacked unjustly? And very natural. One had armed warriors as allies and assistants, and the other had truth, superior in strength to myriad hordes. And when he himself, who was subjected to injustice, overcame and subsequently committed injustice, then see how he became weaker. He acted unfairly with Uriah - and so the system changed, powerlessness went to the side of the offender, and strength to the side of the offended; the latter, even being dead, overthrew the house of the first, the king himself, and being alive, could not do anything, but he, even after being stabbed, continued to remain a warrior and turned everything upside down for him. Therefore, if you see that someone lives righteously and constantly turns his attention to piety, then even if he was bound by countless bonds, constantly lived in prison, was in slavery to the unworthy, even if his eyes were gouged out or burned, even if his body was brought to complete exhaustion, and in general, no matter what horrors he suffered, still consider him blessed and worthy of imitation. And if you see that another lives in debauchery, wickedness and extreme vices, then at least he enjoyed great honor, even ascended to the royal throne, put on a diadem and purple and took possession of the entire universe, so mourn him yourself and consider him unfortunate. Indeed, there is nothing more miserable than a soul thus disposed, even if the whole universe were subject to it. What, indeed, is the use of abundant wealth to one who is the poorest in virtue? What is the benefit of having so much for someone who is not able to control himself and his passions? After all, if our own virtue is not enough for our salvation, but it is necessary for others to leave, having it, then what will happen to us, where will we finally get hope for salvation, if we do not serve either our own salvation or the salvation of others? If to please God means to be a man, then what else, if not a beast, is the one who does not even want to hear about doing this? Think about what wickedness this is when, while Christ wants to make us humans equal to the angels, we ourselves degrade ourselves from human dignity to bestial dignity. But indeed, to servile the belly, to be enslaved by the passion for money, to be enraged with anger, to bite, to kick - this is not a human thing, but an animal one. Just as, with a tendency towards frivolity, we suffer harm from any accident, so exactly, if we wish to be sober, nothing will be able to harm our diligence, even if thousands of objects attract us to vice. If you want to know that God put laws into nature to distinguish between what is good and what is evil, then turn your question to life experience: why do all those who do evil avoid the name of evil? An adulterer commits adultery, but he is ashamed to hear that he is an adulterer. Say to a known adulterer, “adulterer,” and he will be ashamed to hear what he willingly does. Say to an oathbreaker: “Oathbreaker,” - he takes the name of his own actions as an insult. So, if you consider sin to be good, then why do you avoid the name (sin)? But say to a modest person: “modest,” he is not ashamed of the name of what he actually likes. Call a righteous person righteous, and he is crowned by his deed and receives honor from the name, and although out of caution he withdraws from the name, he receives praise in his soul. And again, you will not find anyone revealing vice with an open face, without borrowing the guise of virtue - but how, listen. A liar does not tell a lie openly, but deceives by pretending to speak the truth; the insidious one does not reveal deceit, but creates nasty things, showing an appearance of friendliness; the slanderer who comes to the court does not come to confess what he should, but outwardly presents himself as a witness of the truth, and through lies reveals himself as a witness of wickedness. However, our soul, although filled with vices, loves a good name. Often rulers, breathing covetousness, thinking of nothing else but robbery and untruth, are flattered by some that they either delivered the poor from extreme need, or forgave some debt, or did not take revenge on their offenders or those who intended to insult. And when someone comes as a good ambassador to a powerful and evil person, he does not immediately begin with the truth and does not tell him what follows, but puts before him the name of virtue: you are a good man, he says, your name is glorified, everyone sings of your good deeds - and adds a lot of the like, in order to soften it with praise and eliminate malice. This is how vice is overcome by the praise of virtue; no bad person wants to hear bad things; nature prefers what is characteristic of it, even if free will chooses the opposite. Therefore, we will not say: so-and-so is good by nature, and so-and-so is bad by nature, because if he is good by nature, he will never be able to become bad, and if he is bad by nature, he will never become good. If it did not depend on our free will to be evil or good, and the Lover of Mankind (God) would not have created our nature as autocratic, then those who have a common nature and are subject to the same passions should be either all vicious or all virtuous; when we see that people similar to us by origin, overwhelmed by the same passions, do not endure the same things as us, but, having curbed nature with a sound mind, overcome obscene impulses, laugh at all the delights of real life and soar to true glory, then isn’t it clear that they can do all this with their own zeal with the help of grace from above, and we, through our own negligence, have lost that the highest favor, are we losing our salvation? So, let no one blame another, as if he served as an obstacle to his work in virtue, but let him attribute everything to his own negligence. And what am I saying – something else? Let no one consider the devil himself to have the opportunity to hinder the path leading to virtue: it is true that he seduces and trips up those who are more careless, but he does not hinder or force. Experience itself confirms this: when we want to live soberly, we find such tension that even if many are inclined to the path of evil, we refrain from their advice, we are firmer than any adamant and close our ears to those who suggest shameful things; and when we are careless, then, even in the absence of any adviser or seducer, of our own impulse we rush towards evil. So, virtue in itself deserves surprise, but if someone, having found himself among people who hinder virtue, nevertheless achieves it, then it will appear to him worthy of all the more surprise. After all, it is not the place that colors virtue, but the place that is beautiful by virtue of its very nature. The virtue of one person is used by many, even vicious people, and by the vices of many, even if only one labors among a huge crowd, and he will not be tempted. One person living righteously will be able to deliver the entire nation from the wrath of God; on the contrary, an entire vicious city will not be able to captivate and involve a well-living person in its own punishment and torment. This is clear from the example of Noah: when everyone was perishing, he alone was saved; It is also clear from the example of Moses: he alone had the power to beg for mercy for such a people. But I will also point out another example of God’s love for mankind. When among His living people there are no people who can boldly intercede for sinners, He turns to the dead: through them, He says, sins will be forgiven. So, He says to Hezekiah: “I will guard this city to save it for Myself and for the sake of David My servant,” who has already died (2 Kings 19:34). Do you see what is the virtue of the saints? And not only their words, but also their clothing itself is always revered by every creature. The mantle of Elijah divided the Jordan, the shoes of the three youths quenched the fire; the tree of Elisha changed the nature of the water and caused it to carry iron on the surface; Moses' rod divided the Red Sea and broke through the rock; Paul's clothes drove away demons; Peter's shadow put death to flight; the ashes of the holy martyrs drove out evil demons. And they did everything with authority, like Elijah, for example. He looked not only at the diadem and the external splendor of the king, but also at the soul, dressed in rags, skinny, dirty, looking more pitiful than any condemned (criminal), and seeing that he was a captive, enslaved by passions, he neglected his royal dignity, since it seemed to him that he saw the king as if presented on stage, and not real. What is the use of external wealth when there is such poverty within? What harm is there again from external poverty when such treasure is hidden inside? Blessed Paul also showed himself to be such a lion: having entered the prison, with just his voice he shook the foundations and crushed the bonds, using not his teeth, but his words. Therefore, they should not even be called lions, but something else, even more significant. After all, a lion is often caught in a net, and saints, when they are bound, then become stronger; the lion roars, and all the animals take flight, and the saint makes a sound, and demons run away from everywhere. But what word is sufficient for Paul's exploits, what language can rise to praise him? Whether the prophets, or the patriarchs, or the righteous, or the apostles, or the martyrs showed anything valiant, he, having put it all together, owned it in such perfection, in which none of the named possessed separately from what each one had of valor. So, if one soul possesses the totality of all that is good in people, moreover, in perfection, and not only in people, but also in Angels, then how can we overcome this greatness with praise? What kind of censure do we not deserve if, seeing how one person concentrated everything good in himself, we ourselves do not try to imitate him even in the slightest part? Among many other feats, Patriarch Abraham is especially admired for the fact that he sacrificed his son; Isaac - for his lack of rancor, for the fact that, having been expelled from his own borders, he did not resist, but ceded his possessions everywhere until the wicked passion of his offenders was quenched; Jacob - for perseverance and patience; David - for meekness; Elijah - for zeal for (the glory of) the Lord. But what could compare with Paul, who put all this together to the highest degree? He did not sacrifice his son, but sacrificed himself an infinite number of times; He was not only expelled from his borders, but as if on wings he went around the earth and the sea, Hellas and the barbarian country, in general every land under the sun, and he was dragged, beaten, stoned and subjected to death every day; He served more than twice for seven years, exhausted by the heat of the day and the cold of the night, but spent his entire life in hunger, nakedness, in chains, prisons, intrigues and dangers. And in humility and meekness, who is superior, who even accomplished something equal to Paul in regard to both of these qualities of the soul? If you pay attention to his zeal, you will find that he is as superior to Elijah as the latter was superior to the other prophets. True, John ate locusts and wild honey; but he (Paul) lived in the middle of the universe, as if he were in the desert, not eating locusts and wild honey, but using a much more modest meal, not even having the necessary food due to zeal for preaching. All that remains is to finally equate him with the Angels. And let no one reproach him for the boldness of such a word: if Scripture called John an angel, then what is surprising when we compare man, all the best, with these powers? Paul, more than all people, showed what man is, what the nobility of our nature is, what kind of virtue this living being is capable of, where it came from, thus loudly justifying the Master against all those who accused our creation and making it clear that there is a small distance between Angels and people, if only we want to pay close attention to ourselves. After all, he did not have another nature, he did not belong to another soul, he did not live in another world, but in the same land and country, under the same laws and morals, he grew up, and yet he surpassed all the people who appeared anywhere; and just as a corpse next to a corpse would remain motionless, so he, having carefully tamed natural impulses, never tolerated anything near anything human. Just as it happens in relation to money that someone who has acquired two gold coins receives a great desire to increase them and bring them to ten and twenty, so in relation to virtue: whoever has valiantly done some good deed receives some kind of incentive and encouragement to activity, so that in the same way he can begin to perform many other deeds. Let no one refer to me that many act valiantly; This is not the question, but that everyone should do this. Don’t you see that this also happens to the body: if we bruise and damage even just a nail, the whole body hurts along with this member. Therefore, do not say that there are a few left who do not act valiantly, but pay attention to the fact that these few, without correcting themselves, harm many others. There was one fornicator in Corinth, and yet Paul was as distressed as if the whole city was perishing. And quite rightly: he knew that if he did not become chaste, the disease would soon follow a further path and strike all the others. If between the members of the body we cut off the rotten and unhealthy, out of fear that the same destruction would not spread to the rest of the body, and we do this not out of disdain for it, but out of a desire to preserve the rest, then how much more necessary is it to act in the same way in relation to those who live with us in vices? If we can correct them and not become corrupted ourselves, then we need to do everything for this; if they too are to remain uncorrected and we suffer, then it is necessary to cut them off and discard them. If we, having spoiled sons, drive them away, not being embarrassed by natural connections, then how much more should we avoid relatives and friends if they are vicious? What does this mean? And the fact that you respect yourself, and no one can offend you; if you don’t respect yourself, then even if everyone respects you, you will never be held in high esteem. If someone is considered vicious, while in reality he is good, then this does not cause him any harm, because he continues to be as he is - moreover, the one who suspected unfairly and in vain is subject to the most severe punishment; if the vicious person is suspected of the opposite (of what he really is), then from this he gains nothing, he will even suffer greater harm and fall into greater negligence. Whoever admits himself as he is will perhaps humble himself and come to the consciousness of his sins; and whoever hides himself falls into insensibility. After all, if sinning people are hardly brought to the point of contrition, even when everyone blames them, then how can they come to their senses when not only are they not blamed, but some even praise them? So, it is impossible for people devoted to virtue to hear good things about themselves from everyone; It is also impossible for a person who cares about virtue not to have many enemies: a good reputation among everyone would serve as the greatest proof that virtue is not given greater importance. And how can such a person be praised by everyone if he tries to deliver those who suffer injustice from those who do injustice? Again, if he wants to correct those who sin and praise those who do right, then should the former be praised and the latter blamed? So, whoever diligently follows virtue and receives praise only from God, it is impossible for him to be praised and enjoy good fame from all people. Vice shows great rage against virtue, but not only does it not harm it at all, but also makes it stronger for the fight. The power of virtue is precisely such that when it suffers an insult, it gains an advantage over the offenders, and when it is overcome, it becomes higher than its opponents. Remember Abel. Wasn't he killed by Cain? But even though he killed him, he is still proclaimed and glorified, and for a long time his memory could not be eclipsed, and the one who killed, although he won, at one time led a life harder than death, and after that he bears the stigma and receives reproaches from everyone. And this is in this life, but what will happen in the next century - what word, what mind can imagine? Listen to what Christ says: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour” (Luke 13:21). Thus, the righteous have the power of leaven to convert the wicked according to their ability. But there are few righteous people, because the leaven is small, but this smallness, by its inherent power, adapts the whole dough to itself. Likewise, the power of the righteous receives its power not in numerical quantity, but in the grace of the Spirit. And how - listen. There were twelve apostles. Do you see how small the leaven is? The entire universe was in disbelief. See how big the dough is? But those twelve turned the whole universe to themselves, because both leaven and dough are of the same nature, but not of the same quality. If, from another example, you want to know how much the boldness of a righteous man prevails over the power of a tyrant, then listen to what John says to Herod: “You must not have your brother’s wife” (Mark 6:18). Herod was a king who had bodyguards, was surrounded by wealth, and ruled with royal authority; John was a poor man who had no home, no city, no property, no food, living on grass locusts and wild honey. But this poor man, wandering through the deserts, autocratically commands the ruler of the crowded cities: “It is not due to you.” Do you see how virtue by nature rules over vice? But the righteous is thrown into prison for this; That sad feast takes place, a dancing maiden enters in the middle of the feast and Herod and the feast like him, so Herod swears: “Ask me whatever you want, and I will give you... up to half of my kingdom” (Mark 6:22–23). Do you see how he renounced the kingdom? “Whatever you ask of me, I will give it to you, even up to half of my kingdom” (Mark 6:23). Poor and unfortunate, how quickly the eyes of your mind are blinded! This is how you value the kingdom! Once a girl danced and you gave half; And if he dances another time, what will you do? Pray that she won’t dance again and, having danced, won’t like her, otherwise you’ll be left begging. Truly, those who covet real blessings, even if they were immensely enriched, even if they were invested with great power, stand among people devoted to virtue in the ranks of slaves and captives. Let one of the wicked be a king, and one of the pious a private man: let us see who will be master over whom, on whose side the accessories of power will shine, who will be the ruler and who will be ruled. How do we know this? The king commands a private person to commit some bad, wicked deed: what about this pious private person and subject? Not only will he not give in and not obey, but he will also try to deviate the ruler from his intention, even if he has to die for it. So, who is free - the one who does what he wants, without fear even of the king, or who is neglected by his subject? After all, just as a captive, even if he possessed immeasurable wealth, is therefore especially susceptible to captivity among everyone, so the one who is caught by passions, even if he was tied with a diadem, is more insignificant than any web. What could be more pitiful than those who indulge in vice, when they are deprived of their very name, the right to be called people, and are punished for the fact that, having received many abilities by nature, they sold them, voluntarily allowed themselves to be kidnapped and went over to the side of vice? If the evil one (the slave) returns what was given to him because he did not double it, then what will he have to hear who has also squandered it? If he is led away in chains to a place where there is gnashing of teeth, what will we endure, who, being carried away by many to virtue, dodge and hesitate? Don't you see how insignificant life is, how unreliable it is, and what kind of work is connected with the affairs of real life? Surely it is impossible for virtue to proceed with difficulty, and vice without difficulty? If there is labor here and there, then why do you not prefer that (virtue) that has great benefit? When you see an unworthy priest, do not blame the priesthood itself, because it is not the object itself that needs to be condemned, but the one who ill-used the good (object); So Judas became a traitor, but this served as a reproach not to the apostleship, but to his memory; so many doctors became executioners, giving poison instead of medicine, but I blame for this not art, but the one who made bad use of art; Likewise, other swimmers sank ships, but for this their bad memory (lies) and not on the art of swimming. “Temptations must come,” it is said, “but woe to the man through whom the temptation comes” (Matthew 18:7). What then? Does His prediction entail temptation? No, not His prediction; It didn’t happen because it was predicted, but because it was predicted because it certainly had to happen; so, if those who bring temptations did not want to act seductively, then the temptations themselves would not come; and if they had not come, it would not have been predicted; but since they acted seductively, they were ill incurably, then (temptations) came, and He predicts what is about to happen. And if, they say, they corrected themselves and there were no one bringing temptations, then wouldn’t this word be used as false? In no way, otherwise it would not have been said; if everyone had to be corrected, He would not have said: “you must come”; but since He foresaw that on their own they would be incorrigible, that is why he said that they would certainly come. And why, they will say, (temptations) did not destroy them? Because those who have suffered harm die not from this, but from their negligence; if destruction came from temptations, then everyone would have to perish. Thus, when we were sober, we would derive no small benefit from this, being encouraged to constantly stay awake. After all, if even in the presence of enemies, being threatened by so many temptations, we sleep, then what kind of person would we be if we lived in safety? Pay attention, if you like, to the first person. If he, having lived a short time, perhaps not even a whole day, in Paradise and tasted pleasure, reached such evil that he imagined himself equal to God, considered the deceiver a benefactor and did not keep any commandment, then when he would have spent the rest of his life, what would he not have done? If someone, once delivered from evil, does not come to his senses, he will suffer an evil more severe than before. And he should have learned from many things: from what he previously suffered, and from what he got rid of, and from the fact that he will suffer worse if he does not change; if none of this made him better, then how could he not suffer a more severe evil than the previous one? And Pharaoh, if he had corrected himself after the first execution, would not have suffered subsequent ones and would not have finally drowned in the sea with his entire army. He who is good under the threat of shackles will never be good; freed from coercion, he will return to his former self. Therefore, when examining this, we will not say: what place will he take who has done no evil or good? After all, not doing good means the same thing as doing evil. If you have any servant who does not steal, and does not upset, and does not contradict, abstains even from drunkenness and everything else, but if he constantly sits idle and does nothing that a servant should do for the master, then tell me, will you not subject him to scourging and torment? And yet he did not commit any evil. This means that it is already evil that you have not done anything good. Or let us have some farmer who does not harm our (property) in the least, does not plot, does not steal, but only sits at home with folded hands, does not sow, does not plow the field, does not cultivate the vineyard, and does not work in any other way around the land: will we not punish such a person? Meanwhile, he did not cause any offense; we cannot accuse him of anything. This means that he caused offense by doing so (as listed). Also, in relation to our body, let there be a hand that does not strike the head, does not cut off the tongue, does not pluck out the eyes, and does not do any other similar evil, but only remains inactive and does not perform its inherent service to the whole body: does it not deserve to be cut off, and not to be worn, idle and harmful to the whole body? But what if the mouth does not eat hands and does not gnaw breasts, but ignores what concerns it - wouldn’t it be much better to close it? So, if in these things not only the non-doing of evil, but also the omission of good constitutes great wickedness, then even more so in spiritual things. Oh, if it were possible for me to strive for you, and for you to receive rewards for your exploits, I would never be offended by this! Like a mother, seeing a child in a fever, stands next to him - suffering and burning, cries and often says: “Oh, child, if only it were possible for me to take your fever upon myself, to pull this heat onto myself!” - so I say: “Oh, if only I could work for you and do everything!” But you can’t do this, you can’t. Therefore, whoever can correct others, let him join those who take on this service and make people better; and whoever is weaker, let him avoid the wicked, so as not to borrow destruction from them. In this way, you will live your present life in safety, and will achieve future blessings, which may we all be worthy of, by the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom glory to the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen. Ἐκλογαί άπό διαφόρων λόγων . Under this name are known collections of conversations compiled by various persons after the death of Chrysostom on certain topics, from those related to the topics and especially liked by the compilers of the works of the saint. The passages are given partly in a literal presentation, partly in a free retelling and are borrowed both from the original works of Chrysostom, and from works only attributed to Chrysostom, which have not only survived to this day, but have also been lost. These Eclogues (selections) were widespread and were used by both private individuals and kings. Known, for example, is the luxurious collection of Eclogues, owned by the Byzantine emperor Nikephoros Botaniatus (1078–1081), registered among the codices of the Koalene Library under No. LXXIX. The paragraphs in the text were arranged by us. – Editorial staff of “ABC of Faith” You might be interested in: