Слово 24. О кротости, простоте и незлобии, которые не от природы происходят, но приобретаются тщанием и трудами, и о лукавстве

1. The sun is preceded by the morning light, and the forerunner of all humility is meekness; Therefore, let us listen to the true Light, Christ, Who so arranges these virtues in their gradualness. “Learn from Me,” He says, “for I am meek and lowly in heart” (Matthew 11:29). So before the sun we must be illuminated with light, and then we will look more clearly at the sun itself; for it is impossible, impossible, I say, for someone to see the sun who is not first enlightened by that light, as the very nature of these virtues shows. 2. Meekness is an unchangeable disposition of the mind, which remains the same in honor and dishonor. 3. Meekness consists in, when insulted by a neighbor, without embarrassment and sincerely praying for him. 4. Meekness is a rock rising above the sea of ​​irritability, against which all the waves that rush against it break; but it itself does not waver. 5. Meekness is the affirmation of patience, the door, or, better said, the mother of love, the beginning of spiritual reasoning; for Scripture says: “The Lord will teach the meek in His way” (Ps. 24:9). She is an intercessor for the remission of sins, boldness in prayer, the receptacle of the Holy Spirit. “On whom will I look,” says the Lord, “only to the meek and silent” (Is. 66:2). 6. Meekness is an accomplice of obedience, a guide of brotherhood, a bridle to fury, a suppression of anger, a giver of joy, an imitation of Christ, an angelic quality, a bond against demons and a shield against grief. 7. In meek hearts the Lord rests, but a rebellious soul is the seat of the devil. 8. The meek ones will inherit the earth, or better yet, they will dominate the earth; and the frantic will consume their land in anger. 9. A meek soul is the throne of simplicity, and an angry mind is the worker of deceit. 10. A quiet soul will accommodate words of wisdom; for it is said: “The Lord will guide the meek into judgment” (Ps. 24:9), especially into reasoning. 11. The right soul is the cohabitant of humility; the evil one is a slave to pride. 12. The souls of the meek will be filled with understanding; and an angry mind is the cohabitant of darkness and unreason. 13. The angry man and the hypocrite met each other; and it was impossible to find the right word in their conversation. If you open the heart of the first, you will find fury; and having tested the soul of the second, you will see the wickedness. 14. Simplicity is an established habit of the soul, which has become alien to any distinction and incapable of deceit 69. 15. Evilness is an art, or, better said, a demonic ugliness that has lost the truth and thinks to hide it from many. 16. Hypocrisy is the opposite of the body and soul, intertwined with all sorts of fictions. 17. Gentleness is a quiet disposition of the soul, free from any trickery. 18. Rightness is an invisible thought, a sincere disposition, an unfeigned and unprepared word. 19. The non-evil one is the one who is in the natural purity of the soul, as it was created, and who deals with everyone sincerely. 20. Evilness is a perversion of righteousness, a deceived mind, a false justification of oneself with good intentions, oaths guilty of torment, ambiguous words, secretiveness of the heart, an abyss of flattery, the skill of lying, conceit turned into nature, the enemy of humility, the mask of repentance, the removal of tears, hostility against confession, persistence in one’s opinion, the cause of falls, an obstacle to uprising from a fall, an insidious smile at denunciations, reckless lamentation, feigned reverence; in a word, it is demonic life. 21. The evil one is the devil’s confederate and accomplice; That’s why the Lord taught us to call the devil evil when we say: “Deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:13). 22. Let us flee from the rapids of hypocrisy and from the ditch of secret deceit, hearing what is said: “the wicked will be consumed” (Ps. 36:9), “like a potion of grain... they will fall away” (Ps. 36:2); for such are the pastures of demons. 23. God is called both love and righteousness. Therefore, the Wise One in the Song of Songs says to a pure heart: “Love thee righteousness” (Song. 1:3). And his father said: “The Lord is good and right” (Ps. 24:8); and about those who are of the same name to Him, he says that they are saved: “the one who saves is upright in heart” (Ps. 7:11); and in another psalm: “He saw the righteousness of souls and visited His face” (Ps. 10:7). 24. The first quality of childhood is indifferent simplicity; and as long as Adam had it, he did not see the nakedness of his soul, and nothing shameful in the nakedness of his flesh. Laudable and blessed is the simplicity that occurs in some by nature, but not in the same way as that which is transformed out of wickedness through much sweat and labor; for the first covers us from diversity and passions, and the second is the cause of the highest humility and meekness; why the reward of the first is not great, but the reward of the last is glorious. 25. All who want to attract the Lord to themselves, let us approach Him, like disciples to the Teacher, with simplicity, without pretense, without double-mindedness and guile, without inquisitiveness. He, being simple and kind, wants the souls who come to Him to be simple and kind; for he who does not have simplicity cannot ever see humility. 26. The evil one is a lying seer who thinks that he can understand the thoughts of others from words, and the disposition of the heart from external actions. 27. I have seen people who were once just-minded, and then learned to be cunning from the evil ones. I was surprised how they could so quickly lose their natural properties and advantages. But as convenient as it is for right-hearted people to change into the wicked, it is so difficult for the wicked to be reborn into the simple-hearted. 28. True withdrawal from the world, obedience and guarding the mouth often had great power, and beyond hope they healed incurable passions. 29. If reason puffs up many, on the contrary, ignorance and lack of learning moderately humble them in some way. 30. Blessed Paul, nicknamed the Most Simple, showed us a clear example, rule and example of blessed simplicity; for no one has seen or heard anywhere, and can never see such success in such a short time. 31. A simple-hearted monk, like a dumb person endowed with reason, is always obedient, completely placing his burden on his leader; and just as an animal does not contradict the one who knits it, so the right soul does not resist the mentor, but will follow the leader wherever he wants; even if he led him to slaughter, he doesn’t know how to contradict. 32. The inconvenience of the rich will enter the kingdom of heaven; it is inconvenient and the foolish sages of this world will enter into simplicity. 33. Often the fall corrected the evil ones, involuntarily granting them salvation and gentleness. 34. Fight and try to laugh at your wisdom 70. By doing this, you will find salvation and righteousness in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen. Whoever has achieved victory at this level, let him dare: for, having become an imitator of Christ, he has found salvation. In the Slavic translation: “immovable to evil thoughts.” Be forced to confront your wisdom and do nothing according to your own understanding, without the will of your mentor. (Modern Greek translation of “The Ladder” by Athanasius of Crete, p. 308.) You might be interested in: