Слово 26. О рассуждении помыслов и страстей, и добродетелей

1. Reasoning in beginners is true knowledge of one’s spiritual structure; in the average, it is an intelligent feeling that infallibly distinguishes what is truly good from what is natural, and from what is contrary to good; in the perfect, reasoning is the spiritual mind found in them, bestowed by Divine enlightenment, which with its lamp can enlighten what is dark in the souls of others. 2. Or, reasoning in the general sense consists and is known in order to accurately and truly comprehend the divine will at every time, in every place and in every thing. It is found only in those who are pure in heart, body and lips. 3. He who piously overthrew the first three of the main passions 81 also overthrew the last five 82 together; but whoever neglects to overthrow the first will not defeat either one. 4. Reasoning is an undefiled conscience and a pure feeling 83. 5. Let no one, through his own foolishness, fall into unbelief, seeing or hearing in monastic life what happens above nature; for where God, who is superior to nature, reveals His presence, there is much that is supernatural. 6. All demonic warfare comes from three main reasons: either from our negligence, or from pride, or from the envy of the devil. The first one is damned; the second one is all-condemned; the third is blessed. 7. As a goal and rule in all cases, let us guide our conscience according to God, and having learned where the winds blow from, let us spread out the sails according to its instructions. 8. In all the deeds with which we try to please God, demons dig three holes for us. Firstly, they fight to hinder our good deed. Secondly, when they are defeated in this first attempt, they try to ensure that what is done is not according to the will of God. And if these thieves do not succeed in this plan, then, having quietly approached our soul, they please us, as if we live in everything pleasing to God. The first temptation is resisted by care and concern for death; to the second – obedience and humiliation; and for the third - constant self-reproach. This work is before us, “until the fire of God enters into our sanctuary” (Ps. 72:17). Then the violence of evil habits will no longer be in us; “For our God is a consuming fire” (Heb. 12:29) every kindling and movement of lust, every evil habit, bitterness and darkness, internal and external, visible and thought. 9. Demons, for their part, usually do the opposite of what we have just said. When they overcome the soul and darken the light of the mind, then in us, the damned, there will no longer be sober attention, no reasoning, no consciousness, no shame, but their place will be taken by carelessness, insensibility, lack of judgment and blindness of mind. 10. What has now been said is very clear for those who have been sobered up from fornication, curbed their boldness, and moved from shamelessness to modesty: how they, after the sobering of the mind, after delivering it from blindness, or, better to say, damage, are ashamed internally of themselves, and of what they said and did while blinded. 11. If first the day in our soul does not darken and darken, then the invisible thieves will not steal, kill or destroy. Theft of the soul occurs when we regard as good what is not good; stealing is an inconspicuous deprivation of spiritual wealth; stealing is the unknown captivity of the soul. The killing of the soul is the killing of the verbal mind by falling into obscene deeds, and the death of the soul is falling into despair after committing lawlessness. 12. No one should apologize for failing to fulfill the Gospel commandments due to their weakness; for there are souls who have done more than the commandments command. May he who loved his neighbor more than himself and gave up his soul for him, although he did not receive the Lord’s commandment for this, 84 (John 15:13), assure you of the justice of what has been said. It was then that we understood what his words meant: “I will reign.” For truly he reigned, having laid down his life for his friends... 13. Let the passionate and humble be in good spirits. For if they fell into all the pits and got bogged down in all the nets and were afflicted with every disease; but after recovery they become luminaries and doctors, guides and mentors for everyone, announcing the properties and types of each ailment, and with their experience saving those close to the fall. 14. If some, tormented by previously acquired habits, can teach others even with a simple word, let them teach, but let them not rule; maybe someday, although ashamed of their own words, they will begin active virtue. Thus, what I saw happen to some of those mired in the mud will come true for them: having experienced its uncleanness, they told those passing by how they got into the mud; and they did this to protect them, so that they would not get bogged down, walking the same path; and for the salvation of others, the Almighty delivered them from the mire of sin. If those suffering from passions arbitrarily indulge in sweets, then let them show their teaching by silence. For Scripture says: “Jesus began to do and teach” (Acts 1:1). 15. Fierce indeed and indomitable, we, humble monks, cross the sea, full of many winds and rocks, whirlpools, robbers, whirlwinds and shoals, monsters and fierce waves. The rock in the soul is a fierce and sudden temper. A whirlpool of hopelessness that envelops the mind and drags it into the depths of despair. The shallows are ignorance, containing evil under the guise of good. Monsters are the passions of this rough and ferocious body. Robbers are the cruelest servants of vanity 85 who steal our cargo and the works of virtues. The wave is an arrogant belly, pompous with satiety, which with its desire betrays us to these beasts; and a tornado is pride cast down from heaven, which lifts us (to the heavens) and brings us down to the abyss. 16. Those who study science know what teaching is appropriate for beginners, what for intermediate students, and what for teachers themselves. Let us consider carefully whether we still remain with the initial rules, although we have been studying for a long time. Everyone considers it a shame to see an old man going to a children's school. An excellent alphabet for everyone is the following: obedience, fasting, sackcloth, ashes, tears, confession, silence, humility, vigil, courage, cold, labor, suffering, humiliation, contrition, unforgettable malice, brotherly love, meekness, simple and incurious faith, care for the world, blameless hatred of parents, impartiality, simplicity with kindness, arbitrary thinness. 17. The indications and signs of those who are successful are: absence of vanity, lack of anger, trustworthiness, silence, reasoning, firm memory of judgment, mercy, love of hospitable people, decent admonition, dispassionate prayer, love of money. 18. The limit, indication and law of souls and bodies that are in the flesh perfect in piety are as follows: an uncaptivated heart, perfect love, a source of humility, admiration of the mind, Christ’s indwelling, not stealing light and prayer, the abundance of God’s radiance, the desire for death, hatred (of mortal) life, alienation from the body, a prayer book for peace, as if forcibly bending God to mercy, colleague of the Angels, abyss of reason, house of sacraments, repository of ineffable revelations, savior of men, god of demons, master of passions, master of the body, master of nature, alien to sin, house of dispassion, imitator of the Master with the help of the Master. 19. We need no little attention at a time when the body is weak. For the demons, seeing us lying on the ground, and no longer able from exhaustion to arm ourselves with bodily feats, attempt to attack us with particular cruelty. 20. Those living in the world, during illness, are attacked by the demon of wrath, and sometimes by the spirit of blasphemy. Those living outside the world are tormented by demons of gluttony and fornication if they have an abundance of everything they need; if they stay in places far from all consolation and in asceticism, then they are tempted by the demons of despondency and ingratitude. 21. I noticed that sometimes the fornicating wolf intensifies the illnesses of those who are ill, and in the very illnesses it produces movements and discharges. It was terrible to see that the flesh, in the midst of severe suffering, was rampaging and raging. And I turned and saw those lying on the bed, who in their very suffering were consoled by the action of Divine grace or a feeling of tenderness; and with this consolation they reflected the painful sensations, and were in such a state of mind that they never wanted to get rid of the illness. And he turned again and saw those who were seriously suffering, who, through bodily illness, as if through some kind of penance 86, had gotten rid of spiritual passion; and I glorified God, who healed the clay with the clay. 22. A mind that has achieved spiritual intelligence is certainly clothed in spiritual feeling 87 . Whether it is in us or not in us, we must constantly take care of it and look for it in ourselves; for when it appears, then external feelings in every way will cease to have a seductive effect on the soul; and knowing this, one of the wise said: you will also find the Divine feeling (Prov. 2:5) 88. 23. Monastic life, in relation to deeds and words, thoughts and movements, must be lived in the feeling of the heart. If not, then she will not be monastic, let alone angelic. 24. Otherwise is God’s providence; another - God's help; other – storage; another is the mercy of God; and another - consolation. God's providence extends to every creature. God's help is given only to the faithful. The protection of God is upon those who are truly faithful and who are truly faithful. Those who work with God are honored with the mercy of God; and consolations are to those who love Him 89 . 25. What is sometimes medicine for one is poison for another; and sometimes the same thing is a cure for the same thing when taught at the right time, but at the wrong time it becomes a poison. 26. I saw an inexperienced doctor who dishonored a sorrowful patient, and especially did nothing for him, as soon as he plunged him into despair. I also saw a skilled doctor who cut into an arrogant heart with humiliation and extracted all the stinking pus from it. 27. I saw that the same sick person sometimes drank the medicine of obedience to cleanse his uncleanness, and then was in motion, walked and did not sleep; and at other times, having fallen ill with the spiritual eye, he remained motionless, in silence and silence. Have ears to hear, let him hear 90. 28. Some, I don’t know why (for I have not learned with my own opinion to be curious and test about the gifts of God), so to speak, are by nature inclined towards continence, or to silence, or to purity, or to modesty, or to meekness, or to tenderness. For others, their very nature resists these good qualities, but they force themselves to them; and although sometimes they are defeated, I praise them more than the former as enforcers of nature. 29. Do not boast too much, O man, of the wealth that you received without difficulty; but know that the Distributor of gifts, foreseeing your great damage, weakness and destruction, wanted to somehow save you with these excellent gifts, undeserved by you. 30. The instructions that we received from infancy, our upbringing and our activities, when we come of age, help us or hinder us in acquiring virtue and in monastic life. 31. The light of monks is Angels, and the light for all people is monastic life; and therefore let the monks strive to be a good example in everything; “He causes no one to stumble in anything,” neither in deeds nor in words (2 Cor. 6:3). If this light becomes darkness, then this darkness, that is, those who are in the world, becomes darkened even more. 32. So, if you submit to me, those who submit, or, better said, those who want to submit: then know that it is more useful for us not to be changeable in life, and not to dismember our poor soul in this way, entering into battle with thousands of thousands and with countless darknesses of invisible enemies; for we cannot comprehend or even discern all their deceits. 33. With the help of the Holy Trinity, let us arm ourselves against the three main passions with three virtues 91. If not, then we will incur a lot of trouble on ourselves. 34. In truth, if in us there is the One who “turns the sea into dry land” (Ps. 65:6), then without a doubt our Israel, or the mind that sees God, will cross the sea of ​​passions without worry, and will see the drowning of these mental Egyptians in the water of their tears. And if there is no His coming in us, then against the “sound of the waves” of this sea, that is, this flesh, “who can stand” (Ps. 64:8)? 35. If God is resurrected in us by action, then His enemies will be scattered, and if we draw closer to Him by vision, then those who hate Him and us will flee from the presence of Him and ours. 36. Then, above all, and not with naked words, we strive to learn the knowledge of Divine truths; for we will have to show not words, but deeds at the time of the exodus. 37. Those who have heard that a treasure is hidden in a certain place look for it, and having searched a lot and found it with difficulty, they carefully preserve what they have found; those who become rich are easily wasteful. 38. It is impossible to overcome former sinful habits and addictions without difficulty; and whoever does not stop adding new ones to them has either despaired of his salvation, or has not benefited at all from the monastic life. However, I know that God can do everything, “but nothing is impossible for Him” (Job 42:2). 39. Some, in bewilderment, proposed to me for consideration an incomprehensible question, which surpasses the understanding of all those like me, and about which I have not found any discussion in any of the books that have reached me. What kind of offspring, they said, are born from the eight main passionate thoughts, and which of the three most important is the parent of each of the other five? I, in response to this bewilderment, offered laudable ignorance; and then from these most reverend men I received the following admonition: “The mother of fornication is gluttony; the mother of despondency is vanity; sadness and anger are born from the three main passions 92; and the mother of pride is vanity.” 40. To this word of these memorable men I responded with a request to teach me what sins arise from the eight main passions? And which one exactly, and from which of them is born? These dispassionate fathers said favorably to this that in insane passions there is no order or reason, but all disorder and disorder. The blessed fathers confirmed this with very convincing evidence, presenting many reliable examples, some of which we place in this word in order to receive instruction from them for correct judgment and other things. 41. Untimely laughter, for example, is sometimes born from the demon of fornication; and sometimes from vanity, when a person internally shamelessly praises himself; sometimes laughter is born from pleasure (of food). 42. Much sleep sometimes occurs from saturation; sometimes from fasting, when those who fast are lifted up; sometimes out of despondency, and sometimes just out of nature. 43. Verbosity sometimes comes from gluttony, and sometimes from vanity. 44. Dejection sometimes comes from pleasure; and sometimes because there is no fear of God in a person. 45. Hula is actually the daughter of pride; and often it is born from the fact that we have condemned our neighbor for the same thing; or from the untimely envy of demons. 46. ​​Hard-heartedness is sometimes born from satiety; sometimes from insensibility; and sometimes from addiction. Addiction again sometimes comes from fornication, sometimes from love of money, sometimes from gluttony, sometimes from vanity, and from many other reasons. 47. Deceit comes from arrogance and anger. 48. Hypocrisy comes from self-indulgence and self-indulgence. 49. Virtues that are contrary to this are born from opposite parents. But as I would not have enough time, if I wanted to talk about each of them in particular, then in general and briefly I will say that the mortification of all the above passions is humility; and whoever acquired this virtue conquered everything. 50. Voluptuousness and wickedness are the parents of all evils; he who is possessed by them will not see the Lord; but even moving away from the first without moving away from the second will not bring us any benefit. 51. Let the fear that we feel towards rulers and wild animals be an example for us of the fear of the Lord; and let love for bodily beauty be for you an image of love for God; for nothing prevents us from taking examples of virtues and from actions contrary to them. 52. The present century has become very corrupted, and has become completely filled with haughtiness and hypocrisy: it may show bodily labors, following the example of our ancient fathers, but it is not worthy of their talents; although, I think, human nature has never demanded talents as much as it does now. And rightly we endure this, because God reveals himself not through labor, but through simplicity and humility. Although the power of the Lord is made perfect in weakness, the Lord will reject the unhumble worker. 53. When we see one of our soldiers in Christ in bodily suffering and illness, we will not slyly explain to ourselves the cause of his illness, but rather we will accept him with simple and unthinking love of evil and we will try to heal him, like our own member, and like a warrior wounded in battle. 54. Illness is sometimes sent to cleanse sins, and sometimes to humble the ascension. 55. Our good and all-good Master and Lord, seeing that someone is very lazy in deeds, humbles his flesh with illness, as the most gratifying asceticism, and sometimes cleanses the soul from evil passions and thoughts. 56. Everything that happens to us, visible or invisible, can be accepted in three ways: as it should, partially and in an average way. I saw three brothers who suffered futility: one of them was indignant, the other remained without sorrow, and the third accepted it with great joy. 57. I saw that farmers threw the same seed into the ground, but each of them had his own intention. One was thinking about how to pay off his debts; another wanted to get rich; another wanted to honor the Lord with gifts; Another’s goal was to receive praise for his good deed from those passing through this life; another thought to annoy an enemy who was jealous of him; and another worked so that people would not revile him as idle. And these are the names of the seeds of these farmers: fasting, vigil, almsgiving, services and the like; and let the brethren themselves carefully consider the different intentions of sowing in the Lord. 58. Just as, when drawing water from springs, we sometimes unnoticedly scoop up a toad along with the water, so often, while performing deeds of virtue, we secretly fulfill the passions intertwined with them. For example, gluttony is intertwined with love of strangeness, fornication with love, deceit with reasoning, cunning with wisdom, subtle guile, slowness and laziness, bickering, self-indulgence and disobedience with meekness; the arrogance of teaching is intertwined with silence; with joy - exaltation, with hope - weakening, with love - again condemnation of your neighbor, with silence - despondency and laziness, with purity - a feeling of grief, with humility - insolence. Vanity clings to all these virtues, like a kind of general collurium, 94 or, more accurately, poison. 59. Let us not grieve when our petitions to the Lord are not heard until the right time; for the Lord would like all men to become dispassionate in an instant. 60. Everyone who asks something from God and does not receive it, without a doubt, does not receive it for any of these reasons: either because they ask ahead of time; or because they ask not according to dignity, and out of vanity; or because, having received what they asked, they would become proud, or fall into negligence. 61. I think no one doubts that demons and passions leave the soul, sometimes for a while, and sometimes forever; but not many people know for what reasons they leave us. 62. From some, not only the faithful, but also the unfaithful, all passions have departed, except one. This alone they leave as the primary evil that fills the place of all other passions; for it is so harmful that it can overthrow from heaven itself. 63. The substance of passions, being exhausted by Divine fire, is destroyed; and as matter is eradicated and the soul is purified, passions also depart, unless the person himself attracts them again through material-loving living and laziness. 64. Sometimes demons retreat on their own in order to lead us into carelessness, and then suddenly attack the poor soul, plunder it, and accustom it to vices to such an extent that after that it slanderes and fights against itself. 65. I also know another retreat of these animals: it happens when the soul is completely established in sinful habits. We see an example of this in infants who, when they are not given their mother's breasts, out of long-term habit, suck their fingers. 66. I also know the fifth dispassion, which occurs in the soul from much simplicity and praiseworthy gentleness. In justice, such people are sent “help from God, who saves the upright in heart” (Ps. 7:11), and who delivers them from passions unnoticed, just as babies, when their clothes are taken off, almost do not notice their nakedness. 67. Evil and passions do not exist in man by nature, for God is not the creator of passions. He gave many virtues to our nature, of which the following are known: alms, for even the pagans are merciful; love, for dumb animals often shed tears when they are separated; faith, for we all generate it from ourselves; hope, because we take in return, and give in return, and sow, and swim, hoping to become rich. So, if, as we have shown here, love is a virtue natural to us, and it is union and fulfillment of the law, then it means that virtues are not far from our nature. Let those be ashamed who present their weakness to their fulfillment. 68. But as for purity, lack of anger, humility, prayer, vigil, fasting, and constant tenderness: then these virtues are above nature. Some of them were taught to us by humans; to others Angels; and of others the teacher and giver is God the Word Himself 95. 69. When comparing evils, one should choose the easiest. For example, it often happens that when we stand in prayer, the brethren come to us; We sometimes need to decide on one of two things: either leave the prayer, or let our brother go without an answer and make him sad. But love is greater than prayer, because prayer is a private virtue, and love is a comprehensive virtue. 70. Once, when I was still young, I came to a city or village, and there, during dinner, thoughts of gluttony and vanity suddenly attacked me. But fearing the devil of gluttony, I decided it would be better to be overcome by vanity, knowing that in young people the demon of gluttony very often defeats the demon of vanity. And this is not surprising: in the worldly, the root of all evil is the love of money, and in monks it is gluttony. 71. Often God, according to His special providence, leaves in spiritual people some of the lightest passions so that for the sake of these slight and almost sinless infirmities they would reproach themselves a lot, and thereby acquire the inestimable wealth of humility. 72. Whoever did not live in obedience at the beginning cannot acquire humility; for everyone who has learned art by himself is arrogant. 73. The Fathers affirm that all active life consists of two most important virtues: fasting and obedience. And fair enough; for the former is the destroyer of voluptuousness, and the latter confirms the destruction of the former by humility. That is why crying has a double power: it destroys sin and gives birth to humility. 74. It is the nature of the pious to give to everyone who asks; the more pious - to give to those who do not ask, and not to demand back from those who took, especially when there is an opportunity, is characteristic only of the dispassionate. 75. Let us continually examine ourselves, in relation to all passions and virtues, in order to find out where we are: whether at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end. 76. All demonic warfare against us comes from these three reasons: from lust, from pride, or from the envy of demons. Blessed are the last, the most damned are the middle ones, and the first are completely obscene. 77. There is a certain feeling, or, better to say, a skill of tireless patience. He who is embraced by it will never be afraid of suffering, nor will he turn away from it. The souls of the martyrs, filled with this praiseworthy feeling, conveniently despised torment. 78. There is another way of keeping thoughts, and another way of keeping the mind; and as far as the east is from the west, so much is the last work higher than the first, although it is incomparably more difficult. 79. It is another thing to pray against thoughts; another is to contradict them; and others to humiliate and despise them. The first image is evidenced by the one who said: “God, come to my help” (Ps. 69:2), and other similar things. About the second image - the one who said: “And I answer the word of those who reproach me” (Ps. 119:42), that is, the word of contradiction; 96 and again: “You have made us our neighbors in contention” (Ps. 79:7). The third one testifies to the one who sang in the psalms: “I was dumb and did not open my mouth” (Ps. 39:10); and: “I have kept with my mouth that the sinner should never arise before me” (Ps. 39:2), and again: “I am proud and transgressing the law, but I have not turned away from Your vision” (Ps. 119:51). The middle one often resorts to the first method, due to his unpreparedness; but the first cannot yet reject these enemies in the second way; and the one who has reached the third dispensation completely despises demons. 80. By nature it is impossible for the incorporeal to be limited to the body; but for God the Creator all things are possible. 81. Just as those who have a healthy sense of smell can perceive aromas, although someone secretly has them with them, so a pure soul recognizes in others both the fragrance that it itself has received from God, and the stench from which it is completely freed, although others do not feel it. 82. Although not everyone can be dispassionate, it is not impossible for everyone to be saved and reconciled with God. 83. Do not let foreigners take possession of you - these are the thoughts that encourage you to experience the ineffable destinies of God’s providence and the visions that happen to people, and secretly instill the reckless opinion that the Lord has partiality. These thoughts are signs and obvious manifestations of exaltation. 84. There is a demon of love of money, which often takes on the hypocritical image of humility; and there is a demon of vanity, which encourages the giving of alms; The demon of voluptuousness does the same. If we are pure from the last two passions, then we will not stop doing works of mercy in every place. 85. Some said that some demons resist others; and I made sure that they were all looking for our destruction. 86. Every spiritual activity, visible or mental, is preceded by one’s own intention and the most zealous desire, with God’s assistance in them; for if the first do not exist, then the second will not follow. 87. “There is a time for every thing under heaven,” says Ecclesiastes (Eccl. 3:1). This saying also covers those things and activities that happen in our sacred life. So, if you wish, let us consider what is proper and characteristic of each time. For it is known that for those who strive there is a time of dispassion, and there is a time of being overcome by passions, due to the infancy of those who struggle. There is a time of tears, and a time of hardening of the heart; there is a time of obedience, and a time of command; There is a time of fasting and a time of eating. There is a time of battle from the enemy - the body, and a time of extinguishing the kindling; a time of spiritual storm, and a time of mental silence; a time of heartfelt sadness, and a time of spiritual joy; time to teach and time to learn; a time of defilement, perhaps for exaltation, and a time of purification for humility; a time of struggle and a time of firm peace; a time of silence, and a time of silent activity; a time of unceasing prayer, and a time of unfeigned service. So, let us not be deceived by proud zeal, urging us to seek ahead of time what will come in due time: let us not look in winter for that which is characteristic of summer; nor at the time of sowing - that which belongs to the harvest. For there is a time to sow labors, and there is a time to reap the ineffable gifts of grace. Otherwise, in due time we will not receive what is appropriate and characteristic of that time. 88. Some, by God’s incomprehensible providence, received spiritual gifts 97 before labor; others in the midst of labor, others after labor, and some already at death. Worthy of testing, which of them is more humble than the others? 89. There is despair that comes from a multitude of sins and aggravation of conscience and unbearable sadness, when the soul, due to the multitude of these ulcers, plunges, and from their severity drowns in the depths of hopelessness. But there is another kind of despair, which comes from pride and exaltation, when the fallen think that they did not deserve this fall. If anyone looks into this, he will find that there is such a difference between the two: the first indulge in negligence; and the latter, despite hopelessness, hold on to achievement, which is one opposite to the other. But the former is cured by abstinence and trustworthiness; and from the latter humility, and not judging anyone. 90. We should not be surprised at anything extraordinary when we see that some do evil deeds and speak good words; for pride, having lifted up the serpent that was soaring in paradise, destroyed it 98. 91. In all your endeavors and in every way of life, whether you are in submission or disobedience, whether your work is visible or spiritual, let this be your law and rule: test whether they are truly being done for God’s sake? For example, if we, being beginners, do something with diligence, but this work does not increase the previously acquired humility in our soul, then I do not think that our work is according to God, whether it is small or great. For in us, infants, there is a sign that our doing is in accordance with the will of God, there is success in humility; in the middle ones - the cessation of internal battles; and in the perfect - the multiplication and abundance of divine light. 92. The great may have little and not little; and what is great in small things is undoubtedly imperfect. 93. When the air is cleared of clouds, then the sun appears in all its radiance; so the soul, which has been granted the forgiveness of sins and previous skills, without a doubt sees the Divine light. 94. One is sin, another is idleness, another is negligence, another is passion, and another is a fall. Whoever can know this about the Lord, let him recognize it 99 . 95. Some delight most of all in working miracles and other visible spiritual gifts, not knowing that there are many most excellent gifts that are hidden and therefore safe from falling. 96. He who is completely cleansed of passions even sees the soul of his neighbor, although not its very essence, but in what state it is, and what its dispositions and feelings are; and the successful one still judges the soul by bodily actions. 97. A small fire often destroys all the substance that has occurred; and a small well wastes all our labor. 98. Sometimes the repose of a body hostile to us awakens the power of the mind, without causing carnal kindling; sometimes, on the contrary, the exhaustion of the body produces indecent movements in it, so that we do not trust in ourselves, but in God, who in an unknown way mortifies the lust that lives in us. 99. If we see that some love us in the Lord, then we must most of all maintain modesty before them; for nothing destroys love so quickly, and nothing produces hatred so quickly, as freedom in circulation. 100. The eye of the soul is penetrating and beautiful, 100 so that after incorporeal creatures it (in insight) surpasses every kind of creature. Therefore, often those who are overcome by passions can recognize the thoughts in the souls of others, out of great love for them, especially when they do not wallow in carnal defilements. If nothing is so contrary to the immaterial nature as the material, then let the one who honors it understand. 101. Superstitious signs in worldly people resist faith in God's providence; and in us monks - to the spiritual mind. 102. Those who are weak in soul must recognize the visitation of the Lord and His mercy towards them from bodily illnesses, troubles and external temptations. Those who are perfect will know the visitation of God from the coming of the Spirit and from the multiplication of gifts. 103. There is a demon who, as soon as we lie down on our bed, comes to us and shoots at us with evil and unclean thoughts, so that we, being too lazy to arm ourselves against them with prayer, and having fallen asleep with bad thoughts, are overcome with sweat and bad dreams. 104. There is a demon among evil spirits, called the precursor, who immediately upon awakening appears to tempt us and defiles our first thoughts. Dedicate the firstfruits of your day to the Lord; for to whomever you give them first, the same will be given to him. One most skillful worker told me this noteworthy word: “At the beginning of the morning,” he says, “I foreknow the whole course of my day.” 105. There are many paths of piety, and many paths of destruction; and it often happens that the path that is inconvenient for one is successful for another; and meanwhile, the intention of those walking both paths is pleasing to the Lord. 106. In the temptations that happen to us, demons fight us so that we say or do something reckless; if they cannot overcome us, then, quietly approaching, they secretly offer us proud thanksgiving to God. 107. Those who are wise on the top ascend to the mountain after death, and those who are wise on the ground go down to the bottom; for for souls separated from bodies there is no third, middle place. Of all God's creatures, one soul has its existence in another (in the body), and not in itself; and it is worthy of wonder, how can it exist without that in which it received life? 108. Pious daughters are born from pious mothers, and mothers from the Lord; In accordance with this example, one can rightly conclude the opposite. Let not the fearful go into battle, commands Moses, and especially God; so that this last deception of the soul would not be worse than the first fall of the body; and fair. The light of all bodily members is the sensual eyes; The mental light of the Divine virtues is reasoning. About prudent reasoning. 109. Just as a deer, parched with thirst, desires water, so monks desire to comprehend the good will of God; and not only this, but also to know when our own is mixed in with it, and when the opposite one acts. A lengthy and difficult word is presented to us about this: that is, which of our works should we perform without any delay, according to this saying: woe to him who puts off “day by day” and from time to time (Sir. 5:8); and who, on the contrary, with patience and prudence, according to the advice of the wise, who said: “With management comes warfare” (Prov. 24:6); and also: “Let everything be done in an orderly manner” (1 Cor. 14:40). For not everyone, I repeat, can quickly and prudently reason about these intractable cases; and the God-bearing Prophet, who had within himself the Holy Spirit speaking through his lips, often prayed for his gift, sometimes crying out: “teach me to do Thy will, for Thou art my God” (Ps. 142:10); another time: “tell me, O Lord, the way, so that I may go to You, having renounced all passions and cares of this life, take and lift up my soul” (Ps. 143:8). 110. All who want to know the will of the Lord must first mortify their own will within themselves; and having prayed to God, with faith and uncunning simplicity, question the fathers and brothers, in humility of heart and without any doubt in thought, and accept their advice as from the mouth of God, even if it were contrary to their own reason, and even if those asked were not very spiritual. For God is not unrighteous, and will not allow those souls to be deceived who, with faith and kindness, have humbly submitted themselves to the advice and judgment of their neighbor; therefore, even if those asked do not have spiritual intelligence, there is an Immaterial and Invisible One who speaks through them. Those who are undoubtedly guided by this rule are filled with much humility; for if someone in the psalter revealed his fortune-telling (i.e., the mysterious meaning of parables): then how much, do you think, the enlightenment of the verbal mind and rational soul is superior to the enlightenment of soulless sounds. 111. Many, out of self-indulgence, have not achieved the easy and perfect good we have described, but have attempted on their own and in themselves to comprehend what is pleasing to the Lord, and have told us very many and different opinions about this subject. 112. Some of those who tested the will of God renounced their thoughts from any attachment to this or that advice of their soul, that is, both to that which urges them to do something, and to that which suggests the opposite; and their mind, naked of their own will, with fervent prayer during the appointed days was presented to the Lord; and they achieved knowledge of His will either by the fact that the disembodied Mind mysteriously communicated something to their mind, or by the fact that one of these thoughts completely disappeared in the soul. 113. Others, due to the sorrow and difficulties that followed their undertaking, concluded that their work was in accordance with the Divine will, according to the word of the Apostle: “I will come to you... both once and twice, but Satan forbid us” (1 Thessalonians 2:18). 114. Others, on the contrary, by the unexpected success that they received in their work, recognized that it was favorable to God, remembering this word that God helps everyone who wants to do good. 115. Whoever, through enlightenment from above, has acquired God in himself, is confident in the will of God, both in matters requiring speed and in unhurried matters, in the second way, only without a specific period of time 101. 116. To doubt judgments and not decide for a long time to choose one of the two is a sign of an unenlightened and vain soul. 117. God is not unrighteous, and He will not close the door of His mercy to those who knock humbly. 118. The Lord in all our affairs, both those requiring speed and those postponed for a while, always looks at our goal; and therefore, everything that is alien to partiality and all impurity, and is done solely for God, and not for the sake of something else, will be imputed to us as good, even if it is not entirely good. 119. The test of what is higher than us does not have a comfortable end; for God's judgment on us is incomprehensible; and the Lord often providentially hides His will from us, knowing that even if we knew it, we would disobey and thereby deserve greater punishment. 120. The right heart is free from the differences of things, and sails safely in the ship of kindness 102. 121. There are courageous souls who, out of strong love for God and humility of heart, attempt to do things that exceed their strength; but there are also proud hearts that dare to undertake the same undertakings. And our enemies often deliberately encourage us to do things that are beyond our strength, so that if we do not achieve success in them, we would fall into despondency and abandon even those things that are commensurate with our strength, and thus become the laughing stock of our enemies. 122. I saw those who were weak in soul and body, who, for the sake of their many sins, attempted feats that exceeded their strength, but could not endure them. I told them that God judges repentance not by the measure of work, but by the measure of humility. 123. Sometimes education is the cause of extreme evils, and sometimes bad society; but often the soul’s own corruption is enough to destroy it; the one who got rid of the first two evils got rid, perhaps, of the third; and in whom the third dominates, he is indecent in every place. For there is no place so safe as heaven; however, the devil could not resist there either. 124. We must leave the infidels or heretics who willingly argue with us in order to defend their wickedness after the first and second admonition; On the contrary, for those who want to learn the truth, let us not be lazy in doing good in this until the end of our lives. However, in both cases we will act to strengthen our own hearts. 125. He is very foolish who, hearing about the supernatural virtues of holy men, despairs. On the contrary, they teach you one of two useful instructions: either through holy courage they arouse you to jealousy, or through all-holy humility they lead you to a deep knowledge of your weakness and to insight into yourself. 126. Among the unclean spirits there are those who are more crafty than others: they are not content to lead some of us into sin, but advise us to have others as accomplices of evil in order to bring the most severe torments upon us. I saw one person who passed on his sinful habit to another, and then, having come to his senses, began to repent and abandoned sin; but since the one taught by him did not stop sinning, there really was no repentance. 127. The wickedness of unclean spirits is manifold, truly manifold and incomprehensible, and visible to few; I think that even these few do not fully see it. For example: why does it happen that sometimes, while enjoying and being satiated, we watch soberly, but while in fasting and suffering, we are greatly burdened by sleep? Why is it that in silence we feel dryness of heart, but when we are with others we are filled with tenderness? Why, when we are hungry, do we endure temptations in our sleep, but when we are full, we are free from these temptations? Why, in poverty and abstinence, are we gloomy and without tenderness; when, on the contrary, we drink wine, then we are joyful and easily moved to emotion? Let him who is able in the Lord teach this to the unenlightened; for we do not know this. However, we can say that these changes do not always come from demons, but sometimes from this, given to me and I don’t know how it was associated with me, voluptuous, nasty and lusty flesh. 128. Let us earnestly and humbly pray to the Lord about all these incomprehensible changes that happen to us. If, after prayer, and over a long period of time, we feel the same actions in ourselves, then we will know that this is not from demons, but from nature. And often Divine Providence wants to benefit us through the opposite, by using all means to humble our exaltation. 129. It is disastrous to be curious about the depth of God’s destinies; for the curious sail on the ship of pride. However, for the sake of the weakness of many, something needs to be said. 130. Someone asked one of those who had the gift of consideration: “Why did God, foreseeing the fall of some, adorn them with gifts and the power of miracles?” He answered: “Firstly, in order to confirm (warn) other spiritual ones by their example; secondly, in order to show the freedom of human will; and finally, so that those who fall, having received such gifts, are rendered irresponsible at the Last Judgment.” 131. The old law, as still imperfect, said: “take heed to yourself” (Deut. 15:9). The Lord, as the All-Perfect One, commands us to strive to correct our brother, saying: “If your brother sins,” and so on. (Matthew 18:15). So, if your reproof, or even more so your reminder, is pure and humble, then do not refuse to fulfill this commandment of the Lord, especially in relation to those who accept your words. If you have not yet achieved this, then at least fulfill the Old Law commandment. 132. Do not be surprised when you see that those you love are hostile to you because of your reproaches. For frivolous people are tools of demons, and especially against their enemies (that is, the servants of God). 133. I am much surprised at one strange action in us: why do we, having the omnipotent God, and Angels, and holy men as helpers for virtue, and only the evil demon for sin, do we more conveniently and quickly bow to passions and vices than to virtue? I cannot and do not want to talk about this in detail. 134. If everything created remains as it was created: then how am I, says Gregory the Great, the image of God, and merged with this clay? If any of the creatures have become different from what they were created, then they uncontrollably desire what is akin to themselves. Therefore, each of us must use all possible means to, having cleansed and elevated this earthly body, so to speak, to seat it on the throne of God. And let no one deny this ascent; for the way to it is open and the door is open. 135. Hearing stories about the exploits and virtues of spiritual fathers excites the mind and soul to jealousy; and listening to their teachings instructs and guides zealots to imitate. 136. Reasoning is a lamp in the darkness, returning the lost to the right path, enlightening the blind. A prudent husband is a destroyer of disease and a restorer of health. 137. Those who are surprised at unimportant things do so for two reasons: either out of extreme ignorance, or with the thought of humility 103, magnifying and exalting the actions of their neighbor. 138. Let us try not only to repel demons, but also to attack them. For whoever only reflects them sometimes defeats the enemy, and sometimes he himself is defeated; but those who fight offensively always drive out their enemy. 139. He who has conquered the passions hurts the demons: by pretending that he is still subject to the same passions, he deceives his enemies and does not suffer attacks from them. A certain brother, having once been dishonored, without moving his heart at all, prayed in his mind; and then he began to cry that he had been dishonored, and with feigned passion he hid his dispassion. The other brother, who did not at all want to preside, pretended to really want to do so. How can I depict to you the purity of that man who went into a fornication, as if for sin, and led the harlot who was there to a pure and ascetic life? Also, a bunch of grapes was brought to one of the silent ones very early in the morning; He, after the departure of the one who brought it, immediately rushed to the grapes and ate them, but without any pleasure, only to show himself to the demons as a glutton. Another, having lost a few branches, pretended to be grieving all day. But such workers need great caution so that, having attempted to laugh at the demons, they themselves are not ridiculed by them. These people are truly those about whom the Apostle said: “as deceitful and true” (2 Cor. 6:8). 140. Whoever wishes to present to the Lord a clean body and a pure heart must maintain freedom from anger and self-control; because without these two virtues all our work will be useless. 141. Just as the light for the bodily eyes is different, so the illumination of the mental sun in the soul is different and diverse. Some of them come from physical tears, others from mental ones; some from what is contemplated by the bodily eyes, and others by the mental; Some joy comes from hearing, others move by themselves; one from silence, another from obedience. In addition to all this, there is also a special state in which the raptured appears to Christ in an indescribable, incomprehensible light. 142. There are virtues, and there are mothers of virtues. The wise man strives most to acquire mothers. The teacher of the mothers of virtues is God Himself through His own action; and there are many mentors for teaching daughters. 143. We must also be careful not to fill the meager enjoyment of food with excess of sleep, and vice versa: for to do so is the work of the foolish. 144. I saw courageous workers who, due to some need, having given the belly a small indulgence in food, then tired this accursed body with all-night standing, and thereby taught it to joyfully turn away from satiety. 145. The demon of the love of money fights with the non-covetous, and when he cannot overcome them, then presenting them with the poor, under the guise of mercy he exhorts them so that from immaterial they again become material. 146. In sorrow over sins, drawn to despair, let us not cease to remember that the Lord commanded Peter to forgive the sinner “seventy times sevenfold” (Matthew 18:22); and Whoever gave such a commandment to another, He Himself, without a doubt, will do incomparably more. On the contrary, when exaltation overcomes us, then we strive to remember the saying of St. Apostle James: “Whoever keeps the whole spiritual law, yet sins through one passion—arrogance—is guilty of everything” (James 2:10). 147. Among the wicked and envious spirits, some are of such a kind that they deliberately retreat from the saints in order not to give crowns to those in battle for victories in battles. 148. “Blessed are the peacemakers” (Matthew 5:9), and no one can contradict this; however, I also saw the blessed enemy-makers. Two people had unclean love with each other; someone, the most skillful of the prudent, wanting to stop this evil, quarreled them among themselves, telling both of them specifically that his friend was speaking badly about him among people. Thus, this wise man managed to repel the malice of demons with human cunning and produce hatred, which destroyed reprehensible love. 149. Sometimes a commandment is destroyed for the sake of another commandment. For example, I saw young people bound by a union of love according to God; but in order not to tempt others and not to hurt their conscience, they agreed among themselves and withdrew from each other for a while. 150. How marriage and death are opposite to each other; so pride and despair do not agree with each other; but due to the cunning of demons, both of these passions can be seen in one person. 151. Among the unclean spirits there are also those who, at the beginning of our spiritual life, interpret the Divine Scriptures to us. They usually do this in the hearts of the vain, and even more so in those trained in external sciences, in order to deceive them little by little and finally plunge them into heresies and blasphemies. We can recognize this demonic theology, or, better said, fighting against God, by the confusion, by the discordant and unclean joy that occurs in the soul during these interpretations. 152. All created beings received from the Creator the order of being and the beginning, and for some the end is intended; but virtue has no end. “I have seen the end of every end,” says the Psalmist, “but your commandment is very broad” and endless (Ps. 119:96). And truly, if some good workers go from the power of action to the power of vision; if love never ceases, and if “the Lord guards the entry of your fear, and the departure” of your love (Ps. 121:8): then it is clear that the end of this love is endless; and we will never cease to succeed in it, neither in the present century nor in the future, always accepting with light the new light of understanding. And although it will seem strange to many, what we are now saying, however, based on the evidence offered, I will say, O blessed Father, that the Angels, these incorporeal beings, do not remain without success, but always accept glory to glory, and mind to mind. 153. Do not be surprised that demons secretly often implant good thoughts in us, and then contradict them with other thoughts. These enemies of ours only intend to convince us with this trick that they also know the thoughts of our hearts. 154. Do not be a strict judge of those who teach in words about great virtues, when you see that they themselves are lazy in doing good; for the lack of action is often made up for by the benefit of this teaching. We have not all acquired everything equally: some have superiority more in word than in deed; and in others, on the contrary, deeds are stronger than words. 155. God is neither the author nor the creator of evil. Therefore, those who say that some of the passions are natural to the soul are mistaken; They do not understand that we ourselves have turned our natural qualities for good into passions. By nature, for example, we have seed for childbearing; and we use it for lawless voluptuousness. By nature, we also have anger at that ancient serpent; and we use it against our neighbor. Jealousy was given to us so that we would be jealous of virtues; and we are jealous of vices. By nature there is a desire in the soul for glory, but only for heavenly glory. It’s natural to be proud, but over only demons. In the same way, it is natural for the soul to rejoice, but about the Lord and about the good deeds of one’s neighbor. We also received remembrance of malice, but only against the enemies of our soul. By nature we desire food, but in order to support life, and not for voluptuousness. 156. An unlazy soul raises demons to fight against itself; with the increase in battles, the crowns also increase; he who is not wounded by adversaries will not receive any crown; and whoever does not lose heart from the occasional falls will be praised by the Angels as a brave warrior. 157. Christ, having spent three nights in the earth, rose again, never to die again. The one who remains victorious in three different hours will not die 104. 158. If, according to the arrangement of God’s providence punishing us, the spiritual “sun”, after its rising in us, “knows its west” (Ps. 103:19); then, of course, cover your darkness; and it was night, in which the wild skimnians, who had previously departed, and all the beasts of the oak forest of thorny passions will come to us, roaring to snatch away the hope that exists in us for salvation, and seeking from God the food of their passions, either in thought or in deed. But when from the dark depths of humility this sun again shines for us, and these animals gather to themselves and lie down in their beds, that is, in the hearts of the voluptuous, and not in us; then the demons say to each other: “The Lord has exalted that He will show mercy” upon them (Ps. 125:3). We will say to them: the Lord has magnified to do (mercy) with us, while we are rejoicing; you are driven away. “Behold, the Lord sits on a light cloud,” i.e., on a soul exalted above all earthly desires, “and will come to Egypt,” i.e. in the heart that was previously darkened, “and the idols made with hands will be shaken,” i.e. vain thoughts of the mind (Isaiah 19:1). 159. If Christ, although Almighty, fled bodily into Egypt from Herod; then let the daring learn not to fall recklessly into temptation. For it is said: “Do not let your feet become troubled, and the Angel will not slumber thee” (Ps. 121:3). 160. Puffiness is intertwined with courage, like a plant called smilax 105 with cypress. 161. Our constant task should be not simply to believe a thought when it seems to us that we have acquired some good; but carefully examining the properties of this good, consider whether it is in us? Having accomplished this, we realize that we are completely insufficient. 162. Constantly also test the signs of passions, and you will see that there are many passions in you, which, being in spiritual ailments, we cannot recognize, either because of our weakness, or because of deeply rooted sinful habits. 163. It is true that God looks at our intention in everything; but in what is commensurate with our strength, He humanely requires activity from us. Great is the one who does not abandon any good deed commensurate with his strength; and even more so the one who, with humility, attempts to do things that exceed his strength. 164. Demons often forbid us to do the easiest and most useful things, but at the same time encourage us to do the most difficult things. 165. I find that Joseph is blessed for his aversion from sin, and not because he already had dispassion, but we must test: from what and how many sins does the crown deserve aversion. For it is another thing to turn away and evade the darkness of sin; and others, and moreover, the most excellent ones, flow to the Sun of purity. 166. Darkness is the cause of stumbling; stumbling is a fall; fall means spiritual death. 167. Those who are darkened by wine are often sobered up by water; and those darkened by passions are sobered with tears. 168. Another is indignation, another is darkness, and another is blindness. The first is cured by abstinence, the second by silence; and the third heals obedience, and God, who for our sake “was obedient” (Phil. 2:8) 106. 169. Two places in which earthly things are purified can serve as a model for those who philosophize on heavenly things. 170. Community life, organized according to God, is a spiritual laundry, washing away all filth and rudeness and all the ugliness of the soul. Hermitage can be called more beautiful for those who have cleansed themselves of lust, memory and irritability, and then retreated into silence. 171. Some say that falling into the same sins occurs from a lack of repentance, appropriate and equal to previous iniquities. But it must be tested: has everyone who does not fall into the same type of sin truly repented? Some fall into the same sins, or because they have consigned their previous falls to deep oblivion; or because, out of voluptuousness, they foolishly imagine God to be too philanthropic; or that they despaired of their salvation. I don’t know whether they won’t blame me when I say that some of them can no longer bind their enemy, who by force of habit has asserted his tormenting power over them. 172. It is also worthy of testing that the soul, an incorporeal being, cannot see spirits coming to it of the same essence as they are by nature, is it not because it is associated with a body? The One Who Bound them knows this. 173. One of the sensible men, as if wanting to learn from me, asked me one day, saying: “Tell me, which of the spirits humble our mind through sins, and which puff up it?” But since I did not know how to answer this question, and assured him of my ignorance with an oath, he who wanted to learn taught me himself and said: “In a few words I will give you the leaven of reasoning, and I will leave you to the trouble of trying out the rest. The demon of fornication and the demon of anger, the demon of gluttony, the demon of despondency and the demon of drowsiness do not have the ability to raise the horn of our mind; The demons of love of money, covetousness, verbosity and many others usually add the evil of exaltation to the evil of sin; and the demon of condemnation is like them in this.” 174. If a monk, having visited worldly people or received them into his cell, an hour or a day after being separated from them, was stung by the arrow of sadness, instead of rejoicing over his deliverance from the entangling net, then such a reproach occurs either from vanity or from lustful passion. 175. First of all, let us examine where the wind is blowing from, so as not to spread our sails in the opposite direction. 176. Comfort with love the active elders who have exhausted their bodies with spiritual exploits, and give them some peace. Convince young people who have depressed their souls with sins to abstinence, bringing to their memory eternal torment. 177. It is impossible, as I have already said, to be completely clean from gluttony and vanity at the beginning of monasticism. But we should not arm ourselves with pleasure against vanity; for the defeat (of vanity) by gluttony gives birth to new vanity in beginners. It is better to defeat this passion with fasting and prayer. The hour is coming, and even now it is for those who will, when the Lord will put vanity under our feet. 178. Young and old, when they begin to work for the Lord, are not driven by passions alone; but often they have completely nasty ailments. Therefore, blessed and blessed is holy humility; for it gives both young and old firmness and strength in repentance. 179. Do not let the word that I want to say now confuse you. Rare, but there are souls who are right and unkind, free from all evil, hypocrisy and deceit, for whom being in community with people is not at all useful; but they can, with a mentor, from silence, as from a quiet refuge, ascend to heaven, without having to experience the rumors and temptations that happen in hostels. 180. The prodigal can be corrected by people, the wicked by Angels, and the proud by God Himself. A form of love can often consist in giving our neighbor, when he comes to us, freedom to do whatever he pleases, and at the same time showing him a joyful face. One must test how and how long, when and whether repentance for good deeds destroys them in the same way as repentance for evil ones destroys these latter? 181. We must consider with much consideration: when, in what cases and for how long we should stand against the objects of the passions and fight them, and when to retreat. For sometimes, due to weakness, one can choose to flee, so as not to die mentally. 182. Let us consider and notice (perhaps in due time we will be able to destroy gall and bitterness) which demons make us proud, which humble us, which embitter us, which console us, which bring darkness, which deceive us with hypocritical enlightenment, which make us slow, which are insidious, which are joyful, and which are sad. 183. Let us not be horrified when we see that at the beginning of our monastic endeavor we are more overwhelmed by passions than when we lived in the world; because first it is necessary for all the causes of illness to arise, and then health to follow. Perhaps these animals were hiding somewhere in us before, but we did not notice them in ourselves. 184. When those approaching perfection for some reason are defeated by demons in something even the smallest, then they must immediately use all measures to snatch this away from their enemies a hundredfold. 185. Just as the winds in calm weather shake only the surface of the sea, but at other times they set the very depths in motion: the same must be concluded about the winds of darkness. For in passionate people they shake the very feeling of the heart, 107 but in successful people it is only the surface of the mind; Therefore, these latter are more likely to feel their usual silence, for their insides remained undefiled. 186. Some perfect people can always recognize which thoughts arise in the soul from its own conscience, which come from God, and which from demons. For at first the demons do not secretly instill in us everything that is contrary to us. That is why this subject is very dark. The body is illuminated by two sensual eyes; and through mental and visible reasoning the eyes of the heart are enlightened. A summary of the previous words. 187. Firm faith is the mother of renunciation of the world; the action that is contrary to it is itself obvious. 188. Unshakable hope is the door of impartiality; the effect of the opposite is self-evident. 189. Love for God is the reason for withdrawing from the world; the effect of the opposite is self-evident. 190. Obedience is born from self-awareness and from the desire for mental health. 191. Temperance is the mother of health; and the mother of abstinence is the thought of death and the firm remembrance of the bile and ocet that our Lord and God tasted. 192. The companion and the beginning of chastity is silence; quenching the kindling of the flesh - fasting; and the enemy of bad and unclean thoughts is contrition of the heart. 193. Faith and withdrawal from the world is the death of the love of money; mercy and love are betrayed for the neighbor and the body itself. 194. Diligent prayer is the death of despondency; and the memory of the last judgment gives rise to zeal. 195. The desire for dishonor is the healing of irritability; Psalmody, mercy and non-covetousness are the killers of sadness. 196. Impartiality towards sensory things leads to vision of mental ones. 197. Silence and silence are the enemies of vanity; but if you are in a hostel, then endure dishonor. 198. Visible pride is healed by sorrowful circumstances; and the invisible - the Eternal and the Invisible. 199. The destroyer of sensual snakes is a deer, and the destroyer of mental snakes is humility (e). 200. From what we see in nature, we can take clear instructions for spiritual life. 201. Just as a snake cannot peel off its old skin unless it crawls through a narrow hole; so we cannot reject the former evil habits and the oldness of the soul and the robe of the old man, if we do not go through the narrow and cramped path of fasting and dishonor. 202. Just as fat birds cannot fly high, so it is impossible for one who pleases his flesh to ascend to heaven. 203. Dried mud does not attract pigs: and flesh, withered from exploits, no longer gives rest to demons. 204. Just as too much wood often suppresses and quenches the flame, and produces a lot of smoke: so often excessive sadness makes the soul seem smoky and dark, and dries up the water of tears. 205. Just as a blind man is an unskilled shooter, so a disobedient student perishes. 206. Just as a hardened iron can sharpen an unhardened one, so a diligent brother often saves a lazy one. 207. Just as eggs warmed under the wings are revived, so thoughts that are not communicated to the spiritual father turn into deeds. 208. Just as horses rush to get ahead of each other when running, so in a good brotherhood one excites the other. 209. Just as clouds cover the sun, so sinful thoughts darken and destroy the mind. 210. Just as someone who has received a death sentence and is going to execution does not talk about popular spectacles, so one who sincerely mourns his sins will not please his belly. 211. Just as the poor, seeing the royal treasures, recognize their poverty even more: so the soul, reading the stories about the great virtues of St. fathers, becomes more humble in her thoughts. 212. Just as iron involuntarily obeys a magnet, so those who are entrenched in evil habits are involuntarily carried away by them. 213. Just as the sea is involuntarily tamed by oil, so fasting also quenches involuntary fires of the flesh. 214. Just as oppressed water rises up, so a soul, oppressed by troubles, ascends to God through repentance and is saved. 215. Just as one who wears aromas is detected by a fragrant odor even against his will, so one who has the Spirit of the Lord in him is recognized by his words and by humility. 216. Just as the winds disturb the abyss, so rage, more than all passions, disturbs the mind. 217. What the eyes have not seen, the larynx, according to hearing alone, is not very willing to taste: so those who are pure in body receive great relief from their ignorance in spiritual warfare. 218. Just as thieves do not so freely come to steal in those places where the royal weapons lie, so mental robbers cannot easily rob one who has combined prayer with the heart. 219. Just as fire does not give birth to snow; so the one who seeks earthly glory will not receive heavenly glory. 220. Just as one spark often burns up a multitude of substances, so there is one goodness that blots out many great sins. 221. Just as it is impossible to kill animals without weapons, so it is impossible to acquire freedom from anger without humility. 222. Just as it is impossible by nature to live without food, so for the rest of your life it is impossible to indulge in negligence for even a minute. 223. A ray of sunlight, penetrating through a well into a house, illuminates everything in it, so that the finest dust floating in the air can be seen: similarly, when the fear of the Lord comes into the heart, it shows it all its sins. 224. Just as crayfish are easily caught because they crawl first forward and then backward: so a soul that sometimes cries, sometimes laughs, sometimes enjoys, cannot receive any benefit. 225. Just as those who sleep are easily robbed, so are those who practice virtue near the world. 226. Like someone fighting a lion, if he turns his gaze away from him, he immediately dies 108; so is he who struggles with his flesh, if he gives rest to it. 227. As those who ascend a rotten ladder are exposed to danger; so all honor, glory and power resist humility. 228. Just as it is impossible for a hungry person not to remember bread, so it is impossible for someone to be saved who does not remember death and the final judgment. 229. Just as water washes away letters, so a tear can cleanse sins. 230. Just as, in the absence of water, letters are blotted out in other ways: so souls, deprived of tears, cleanse and atone for their sins with sadness and sighing and much lamentation. 231. Just as many worms are born from many unclean things, so from many foods come many falls, evil thoughts and dreams. 232. Just as those who have shackles on their feet cannot walk comfortably, so those who collect money cannot ascend to heaven. 233. Just as a fresh wound can be easily healed, so the opposite happens with long-term mental ulcers, which are difficult to heal even though they are healed. 234. Just as it is impossible for a dying person to walk, so it is impossible for a despairing person to be saved. 235. He who says that he has the right faith, and yet sins, is like a person without eyes. And whoever, without true faith, does some good deeds is like someone who draws water and pours it into a bad vessel. 236. Just as a ship that has a good helmsman, with the help of God, comfortably enters the pier: so the soul, having a good shepherd, comfortably ascends to heaven, although it once committed many sins. 237. Just as someone who does not have a guide conveniently errs on his path, even if he is very smart, so someone who goes arbitrarily along the path of monasticism easily perishes, even if he knew all the wisdom of this world. 238. If someone is weak in body and has committed many grave iniquities, then let him walk the path of humility and his characteristic virtues; for he will not find any other means of salvation. 239. Just as it is impossible for someone overcome by a long-term illness to gain health in an instant, so it is impossible to overcome passions, or even one of them, in a short time. 240. Consider how strongly every passion and every virtue operates in you; and you will know your success. 241. Just as those who exchange gold for clay make a great loss for themselves, so do those who, in order to acquire bodily benefits, declare and express spiritual things. 242. Many soon received forgiveness of sins; but no one soon acquired dispassion; for to acquire it requires a long time, great diligence, much labor of love and the help of God. 243. Let us test which animals or birds harm us during sowing, which during the growth of greenery, and which during harvest, in order to use, according to the properties of the animals, and means to catch them. 244. Just as someone suffering from a fever has no just reason to kill himself, so no one should, under any circumstances, despair until his last breath. 245. Just as it is a shame for someone who has buried his father to go to a wedding immediately upon returning from the funeral, so it is indecent for those who cry about their sins to seek peace or honor and glory from people in the present century. 246. Just as the homes of citizens are different from the homes of convicted criminals, so the way of life of those who cry over their sins must be completely different from the way of life of the innocent. 247. The king not only does not order a warrior who received severe wounds on his face during a battle to be excommunicated from the army, but, on the contrary, with a reward excites him to even greater jealousy: so the King of Heaven crowns a monk who is suffering many troubles from demons. 248. The feeling of the soul is its natural property; sin is the deafening of feelings. Consciousness produces either the cessation of evil or its reduction. Consciousness is a product of conscience; and conscience is the word and conviction of the Guardian Angel given to us at baptism. That is why we notice that those who are not enlightened by baptism are not so much tormented in their souls for their evil deeds as those who are faithful, but somehow it is unclear 109. 249. From the reduction of evil comes removal from it; and moving away from evil is the beginning of repentance. The beginning of repentance is the beginning of salvation; and the beginning of salvation is good will. Good will gives birth to work; and the beginning of labors are virtues. The beginning of virtues is the color of virtues; the beginning of this color is doing; and the fruit of doing is permanence 110; constant learning fetus and birth is a skill; from habit comes rooting in goodness, and from this rooting the fear of God is born; out of fear - keeping the commandments, heavenly and earthly. Keeping the commandments is a sign of love; and the beginning of love is a lot of humility. Much humility is the mother of dispassion; and the acquisition of dispassion is perfect love, that is, the perfect indwelling of God in those who, through dispassion, have become “pure in heart, so that they will see God” (Matthew 5:8). To him be glory forever and ever. Amen. Gluttony, love of money and vanity. That is, the passions of fornication, anger, sadness, despondency and pride. The word “pure feeling” means the storage of all external feelings. Therefore, then a person reasons as he should, when he keeps his conscience undefiled, keeping external feelings from harm, that is, he looks at everything with a chaste eye, listens only to what is harmless, says only what is proper and beneficial. Abba John of Raifa and Elijah of Crete claim that St. John Climacus speaks of Abba Leo, about whom John Moschus (in Chapter 3 of “The Spiritual Meadow”) says the following: “During the reign of Emperor Tiberius (about 586) we came to the Oasis, where we saw a great pious desert dweller, a Cappadocian by birth, named Leo. Many people told us many amazing things about him. From our conversation with him, we saw that he was truly a holy man, and we received much benefit from his humility, silence, non-covetousness and love for all people. This venerable elder told us: “Believe me, children, I will reign.” And we told him: “Believe me, Abba Leo, no one has ever reigned from Cappadocia; Therefore, it is in vain that you harbor such thoughts.” He again said: “Truly, children, I will reign.” And no one could convince him to give up this idea. He said again: “I will reign.” After some time, the barbarians (Maziks) came, devastated this entire country, invaded the Oasis and killed many desert dwellers, and took others into captivity; among these captives were: Abba John (from the readers of the great Church of Constantinople), Abba Eustathius from Rome, and Abba Theodore, who were weak. When they were captured, Abba John said to the barbarians: “Lead me to the city: I will ask the bishop to give you 24 gold coins for us.” One of the barbarians led him to the city, where Abba John went to the bishop. Abba Leo and some other fathers were also found in the city, because they had not been detained. So, Abba John came to the bishop and began to ask him to give gold coins to the barbarian for them. But the bishop did not have more than eight gold coins. They gave them to the barbarian, but he did not take them, saying: give me either 24 gold coins or a monk. They were forced to hand over Abba John, weeping and sobbing, to the barbarian. The barbarian took him to his tents. Three days later, Abba Leo, taking eight gold women, went into the desert to the barbarians and begged them like this: “Take me and the eight gold women, and let them go, because they are weak and cannot serve you; You will kill them, and I will be healthy and will serve you.” The barbarians took him and eight goldsmiths and released three captives. Abba Leo walked with the barbarians to a certain place, and when he was exhausted, they cut off his head.” Thus, this holy man fulfilled the word of the Lord: “Greater love can no one have than he who lays down his life for his friends.” Demons and people praising us. In the Slavic translation: “as if by some prohibition.” In the translation of Elder Paisius: “clothed and with an understanding feeling.” Spiritual feeling is in us, as connected with the mind in every person; and it is not in us, as covered by passions in the passionate, and inactive and unknowable (PG 88, p. 1040). The mind itself, being the mental eye of the soul, has great enlightenment and natural understanding and good reasoning in relation to all objects, and can experience them with wonderful wisdom, and know what is good and what is evil. And this ability of understanding is always in us, since it is connected with the human mind and inseparable from it; often, through our own fault, it does not act in us, because it is buried and covered by our passions and sins, like some kind of covered light that burns, but does not shine, because it is closed and remains without action; if you open it, it glows again. So is the spiritual mind in us. Therefore, let us never stop searching for and letting it act; because when it remains open, it shines and drives away all our bad desires and carnal actions, and just as darkness is driven away by light, so carnal movements are easily defeated and destroyed by it, and no longer tempt us; and then God gives us some zealous aspiration and Divine desire, so that we have it within ourselves and so that it always attracts us to all that is good, as St. Nile the Wise, who experienced and knew this, said. (Modern Greek translation of “The Ladder” by Athanasius of Crete, p. 346.) God's providence extends to every creature, that is, to all creation. God's help is given to the faithful, that is, to Christians who contain the true, or Orthodox, faith, but are insufficient in good deeds. The Lord gives His help to such people, so that with true faith they may also reach out to good deeds. The preservation of God is over those faithful who are truly faithful, that is, over those who, containing true faith, are diligent in doing good deeds as much as possible. Those who work for God, that is, those who devote themselves to serving Him and diligently serve Him day and night, are honored with the mercy of God. Those who love Him are granted consolation from God, that is, those who have reached the perfect measure of God’s love and the measure of sonship. For, as Basil the Great and the Venerable Abba Dorotheos say, we can please God in three ways: either by pleasing Him, fearing torment, and then we are in the state of a slave; or, seeking reward, we fulfill God’s commands for our own benefit, and therefore become like mercenaries, or we do good for the sake of good itself, and then we are in the state of a son. Rev. Abba Dorotheus's soul-helping teachings. Lesson 4, About the fear of God. 3rd edition, p. 66. According to the explanation of Elijah of Crete, the thought of St. John is this: “If the temptation of lust for fornication is internal, having its source in the heart of the tempted one, then bodily labor is a useful medicine for this; Solitude and the desert can be harmful, because there the devil arouses the imagination more strongly, and the one who is in temptation of this kind is weaker in confrontation. If the temptation is external, that is, it has its beginning in the vision of faces, and in conversations and external relations, then withdrawing into solitude and silence with attention provides very beneficial benefits and help.” That is, against voluptuousness with abstinence, against the love of money with non-covetousness, against vanity with humility. From voluptuousness, love of fame and love of money. In the translation of Elder Paisius: “he was deceived.” In Greek, eye ointment, and ointment in general. Elijah of Crete says: “Masters in chastity are the prophet Elijah, St. John the Baptist and St. John the Theologian; mentors in meekness - Moses and David; mentors in prayer - the Son of God and the Angel who appeared to Saints Anthony and Pachomius; mentors in fasting - Moses and the Savior Himself; The vigil was taught by many hermits, who through it received contrition and spiritual enlightenment. But humility is taught only by God the Word Himself, the Savior of all people, who became human and became poor for our sake. How great is the virtue of humility when He, Whose greatness has no measure, descended to extreme humiliation - death on the cross; just to teach people humility! But just as the pride of the devil was the beginning of our sin, it was necessary that the humility of God Himself be the instrument of our redemption.” The Venerable Presbyter Hesychius says: “It is fitting for one who strives within to have these four things at every moment of time: humility, extreme attention, contradiction and prayer. Humility, because he fights against proud and opposing demons, so that he can have the help of Christ in the hand of his heart, because the Lord hates the proud. Pay attention, let your heart always create not a single thought, even if it were good. The contradiction, and when he soon understands the one who has come, Abiye angrily counters the evil one with the psalm word: Shall not my soul obey God? (Ps. 61:2). The prayer in contradiction is abiye, let him cry out to Christ with silent groaning. And then the aspirant himself will see the enemy destroyed or driven away by the worshiped name of Jesus, like dust from the wind, or like smoke disappearing with his dreams.” (Church Slavonic “Philokalia”, part 2, chapter 20. See also: Philokalia T. 2. Holy Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, 1993, p. 161.) According to the Slavic translation: “venerable retribution.” We should not be surprised, and it should not seem strange to us if some crafty people do the works of the devil, but out of their vanity they speak good words; because these proud and unreasonable people, if they remain unrepentant, will be cast out of heaven, just like the evil serpent who was in paradise, who through pride ascended and died, and from an angel became a demon, and was cast down into the underworld. The one who, out of his pride, teaches others what he himself has neither experienced in his desire nor fulfilled in practice, will also suffer, and from a vain teacher he will become a crafty demon. For the false teacher the devil does the same, who many times appeared to the saints in the form of an angel and spoke to them divine words with insidious intent in order to mock them and plunge them into pride; he appeared to them as good, according to words, full of deception, being evil inside and outside, according to the devil’s intent and in his deeds. He has always done the same and continues to do this to this day with us in order to draw us into his networks. (Modern Greek translation of “The Ladder” by Athanasius of Crete, p. 371.) Sin is a crime of the law, small or great, whether in deed, or word, or thought. Idleness is when a person is inactive and does not fulfill the works of God that he is obliged to do. Negligence when fulfilling them, but carelessly, without love and zeal. Passion is an evil and intractable composition of thought and desire of the heart, striving for harmful desires and sinful deeds. The fall is when the soul falls into unbelief, or the body into carnal sin. (Modern Greek translation of “The Ladder” by Athanasius of Crete, p. 372.) Translated by Athanasius of Crete: “light.” He who has acquired God and His enlightenment in his heart usually knows the will of God in the work he wants to do, whether it is difficult and is done slowly, or easy and is done quickly; because he does not look at the difficulties and the length of time that hinder him and slow down the work, and for this reason he does not abandon it, but looks at the help and assistance that, as he sees, God gives him, and at his zeal to complete the task. For the holy Apostles, with many difficulties and great temptations, taught people the Holy Gospel and led them to the true faith; but they looked not at the obstacles and the length of time, but at the Divine power and the great help sent down to them, with which they defeated all the obstacles that opposed them; so their cause succeeded for the better and became more established. And from this the will of God was clearly known; for if there were only temptations and obstacles, and there was no God’s assistance, then it would seem that there was no God’s will for this. Therefore, the one who has God within himself does not look at obstacles and delays, but at God’s help, strengthening him to strive with great zeal and complete the work, and because of the length of time and difficulties, he does not doubt and is not burdened, and does not leave the work undone. (Modern Greek translation of “The Ladder” by Athanasius of Crete, p. 382.) The heart is pure, right and unguileful, which strives only to please God and preserve His commandments, is free and alien to any other concern and does not want to experience multi-braided affairs that exceed its strength, and thus sails without embarrassment and without danger and without fear in the ship of gentleness and silence until it safely reaches the heavenly haven. (Modern Greek translation of “The Ladder” by Athanasius of Crete, p. 384.) In Slavic translation: “the mind of humility.” By three hours, according to the explanation of Elijah of Crete, the monk calls three kinds, three periods of temptation: firstly, from the love of glory, secondly, from the love of voluptuousness, and thirdly, from the love of money. The plant is similar to hops: they say that with its poisonousness it dries up the cypress, twining around it. Another thing is indignation and darkening of the mind when a person does not have proper guarding of the eyes, and the necessary abstinence in food and drink, and from excessive sleep, and unclean thoughts: this is cured by fasting. And there is something else when a person’s mind is entertained by earthly objects: this is overcome by a solitary and silent life, because then a person can forget what he was carried away by. And another blindness of the mind, when a person without fear and without restraint wants to fulfill his evil desires: this is corrected by obedience and the God-man Jesus Christ, Who for our sake was obedient and crucified. (Modern Greek translation of “The Ladder” by Athanasius of Crete, p. 402.) They say that a lion, even when in ambush, usually moves away at the sight of a person; for this sight seems to make him timid; but he retreats slowly and, after calmly observing all the movements of his opponent, comes very close to him in order to calmly examine him. Sometimes he tries to go around him and approach him from behind, as if wanting to avoid his gaze, in order to accidentally rush at him. If in this case a person decides to resist or flee, then he exposes himself to the greatest danger; but if he has enough presence of mind to look intently at the lion without showing fear or attacking him, then it happens that after a few minutes he moves away. It is natural for the soul to reflect and recognize its sin, and, having recognized it, to come to its senses, to repent properly, to correct all that is due, and to try to reduce and completely stop evil, and to practice virtues with good reasoning, and to accept the enlightenment that comes from the Angel whom it received at baptism and who protects, instructs and enlightens it in what is pleasing to God and convicts it so that it moves away from deeds that are hateful to God. The unbaptized soul has not received such an Angel, and therefore it is blind and does not feel the greatest sins it has committed, but persists and unreasonably rejoices over its evil deeds, and does not think about them at all, does not lament, is not moved to wash itself with tears, and is not admonished by great suffering, as happens with a baptized soul. Modern Greek translation of “The Ladder” by Athanasius of Crete, p. 419. In the translation of Elder Paisius: “frequency.” You might be interested in: