Книга 22 [глава 31, стихи 25–31]

All the verses that remain in chapter thirty-one are explained from the point of view of submission of mind, moderation, patience, mercy, and separately from the point of view of those who are subject to us. 1. What is important, what has already been often said by me, is not difficult for me to repeat many times, for the great preacher also says: writing to you about the same is not burdensome for me, but for you it is necessary (Phil. 3:1) 1803. Blessed Job refers to the virtues achieved because, being simultaneously caught between words of reproach and the wounds of scourging, he sees his mind weakening and begins to lose confidence in hope. For he has heard from his friends that they scold him, that he has done countless evil things, and lest his soul, persecuted at once by hard words and calamities, should not break in despair, by the memories of his virtuous achievements he restores himself in hope, and lest perhaps he should drown in grief, he remembers in these difficult times that he has done such high deeds. And since we have given the reason for his words, it remains only for us to weigh with precision the virtues of which we hear. 2. And the main impression we must get first is that a man is supposed to be strong in any particular virtue only when he is not subject to evil habits in other things. For if he is under the influence of evil habits in other things, he is not at all firm and strong, even if he seems to stand firm. For each individual virtue is the less strong the less the others are lacking. For very often it happens to us that we see some as humble, but those who seem to be humble turn out to be not compassionate, some who seem to be compassionate are not just, some who appear to be just, but they trust in themselves and not in the Lord. And it is certain that there is no true chastity in the heart of one who does not have humility, since, through his pride, he is corrupted and commits adultery, if from love for himself he leaves the love of God. And this is not yet true humility if mercy is not joined to it, because he who refuses to bend himself in compassion for the troubles of his neighbor has no right to be called humble. Also, this is not mercy, which, even if just, but strictly condemns the stranger, and thereby defiles with injustice, because, of course, it does not even know how to show compassion for oneself. And this is not true justice, which does not base its faith on the Creator of all things, but on itself, or on created things; for he who does not build hope in the Creator himself overturns in himself the entire order of supreme justice. So, one virtue without another is either completely absent or imperfect. Therefore (for it seemed better for some persons), I can speak of the first four virtues, namely, prudence, moderation, courage and justice, for they are ideally strong as long as and to the extent that they are mutually connected with each other. But separated from each other they can never be perfect. For that which does not have justice, moderation and courage will never be true prudence; moderation that does not have courage, justice and prudence cannot be ideal; courage cannot be fully if it is not prudent, moderate or fair; true moderation cannot be without prudence, courage, and justice. 3. And blessed Job, because in him the virtues were not one without the other, but united in him, talking about them, their solidarity makes known. For, talking about the virtue of chastity, he says: if my heart was deceived by a woman (Job.31:9) 1804, and so that he could show that in this chastity the virtue of humility was not lost, he adds a little later: if I despised coming to court with my servant or maidservant (Job.31:13) 1805, and so that he could show that to his humility and mercy are added, he says a little later: if I denied the poor what they desired (Job.31:16) 1806, and so that he could show that his mercy came from the root of justice, he said a little higher: if I walked in vanity, and if my foot hurried in wickedness (Job.31:5) 1807. And so that this may be shown how carefully he treated all things, how carefully he guarded them, he declares below, saying: I have always feared the Lord, like a wave that rushes over me (Job 31:23) 1808. But he who, in prosperous conditions, awash in an abundance of good things, places his hope either in his own works or in the good things in himself, will undoubtedly not be just. But this holy man revives hope in himself, who says in their hearts: behold, there is no help for me within myself? (Job 6:13) 1809. And so he says: Did I put gold in my strength, or did I say to the bullion: You are my hope (Job 31:24) 1810. 4. We call gold in raw rock ingots (obryzum). So, the holy man did not believe that “gold” was “his strength,” nor that for him “ingots,” that is, a mass of raw gold, was “his hope,” because, placing his hope and strength only in the grace of his Creator, he sinned neither in the amount of gold nor in its types. For he who places his hopes in creation leaves hope in the Creator. But the rich man placed his hope in changeable objects, who said: soul, you have saved a lot of goods for yourself for many years; rest, eat, drink, be merry. But the Voice from Above reproaches this man, saying: you fool, this night they will take your soul from you; who will get what you have prepared (Luke 12:19–20) 1811. And that same night he was taken, who seemed to be provided for a long time with an abundance of good things, for in this case the one who was storing up everything for himself, looking forward to the long journey, did not even see the next day. For, in this way, it is like laying a foundation in running water - laying hope in temporary things. For for God, who is unchangeable forever and ever, everything is transitory. What does it mean to detach yourself from the One who stands immutably in order to attach yourself to a passing thing? For who has ever been caught in the torrents of whirlwinds of flowing water, can himself remain unchanged when the waters drag him along? Someone strives not to disappear, but he actually brings himself closer to becoming nothing, and because of what he loves, he will be driven to come to what he avoids. For he who gives himself over to things that escape, certainly comes where he is led by what makes him the path he follows. And therefore, it is necessary to watch very carefully so that a person does not love everything temporary, and these very temporary things that he leaves behind should be received not for satisfaction, but for use, and not place hope in them; for, being combined with things that lead the soul away from the eternal, it loses its stability. For the wave of real life carries away the man whom it raises; and he completely loses correct perception, one who is left to his own devices in the water, and yet tries to put his foot on something solid. But there are very many who, while they do not place all their hope in transitory things, but when they receive them in abundance for necessary purposes, are filled with joy in a secret feeling. And there is also no doubt that each of them is the less sad that he lacks eternal things, the more he rejoices that temporary things are given to him; and he who grieves less that temporal things are lacking looks more truly upon the fact that the Eternal must be his. Accordingly, blessed Job testifies that he did not have this joy, which comes from earthly things, adding: Verse 25. If I rejoiced in my great wealth and that my hand had found much (Job 31:25) 1812. 5. For holy people are unhappy in this pilgrimage of earthly life, because the contemplation of their Creator, which they thirst after, and consider all present life to be poverty, because nothing but God will satisfy the one who truly seeks God; and it very often happens that such a person, even in very rich abundance, considers himself to be carrying a burden, because even this they carry as a heavy burden, although on their way to their true country they have many earthly things. Therefore it happens that these things they faithfully share with their neighbors who are in need, so that while one receives what he does not have, another can put aside what he had too much, so that neither a fellow traveler goes empty, nor another person who might have been delayed on the way is delayed, weighed down by a burden. And thus the elect do not rejoice in their abundance, and out of love for their heavenly inheritance they either bestow a temporary one in order to remove it from their hands, or disdainfully abandon it. And then follows: Verse 26–28. If I looked at the sun when it shines, or at the moon as it walks in brightness, and my heart secretly rejoiced, and if I kissed my hand with my lips; that there would be great lawlessness and denial of the Most High God (Job 31:26–28) 1813. 6. There is no doubt that both of these luminaries, which are supposed to serve man, are called “masters of the sky.” And in the worship of which, we know, many fell, as the Scripture testifies: and where it is written, and they worshiped all the host of heaven (2 Kings 17:16) 1814, and because the sun and moon are visible and in order to bring benefit in one way, but in another way serve as an object of worship, and because their adherents actually worship them, blessed Job says that never “looking at the sun and moon,” his heart I wasn't happy. He also did not kiss his hand with his mouth. In the action of “kissing,” what else is shown if not gratitude and adoration? And which, if he ever did it, he calls “a great iniquity and denial of the Most High God.” But after he had shown himself to be worthy of such great heights of virtuous qualities, why does he now speak so strangely, specially showing that he did not “adore the sun and the moon?” Therefore it deserves special attention that after he testifies that he did not rely on gold, and did not rejoice in great riches, he still moves on to higher things, so that he can teach us the more, the more accurately he says things concerning himself. Therefore he says: If I looked at the sun when it shines, or at the moon as it walks in brightness, and my heart secretly rejoiced. What does the word “looked” mean in this passage, if not “look with desire”? Therefore, the psalmist says: if I saw iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not hear (Ps. 65:18) 1815, this same iniquity, of course, could never have come into the mouth if it had not been first “considered in the heart.” But it is one thing to see in the sense of a decision, and another thing to see in the sense of a desire. Thus, blessed Job, telling us that he never looked at the sun when it shines, or at the moon as it walks, shows us that he did not strive for the external light of his present life. As if after contempt for his earthly abundance, he clearly told us: “I must say that not only have I never rejoiced at gold at all, but I have never rejoiced in bodily light in itself.” For the saints, after they have nullified all the pleasures of this life, from the sweetness of the inner light, tear the mind away from the outer light, as if from darkness; and they strive within themselves, so as not to be carried away by the charms of this light that shines externally. For if the visible light is carelessly praised, the heart will become blind to the invisible light, because to the extent that the soul is poured out looking externally, the more it departs from internal relations. Therefore, all those who are wise at heart, so that their bodily senses cannot fall too heavily on external things, by constant efforts gather themselves into the internal with the secret discipline of their own protection, so that they can be all the more inside, the less they pour themselves out on the external. Thus, by such a strong discipline he bound himself in the depths of his heart, which shunned the desires of outer life, and said: I have not desired the day of man, You know (Jer. 17:16) 1816. The same thing that the prophet expressed in the words: I did not desire the day of man, You know, blessed Job declares regarding himself, in other words, saying: If I looked at the sun when it shines, or at the moon as it walks in brightness, and that his heart did not “rejoice in secret,” certainly because he could not “rejoice” in those things that he “saw” without desiring joy. Allegorical interpretation 7. But if we also consider this information, which we have considered in accordance with history, in relation to the secrets of allegory, what else in this place will we understand by gold, except the mind illuminated by the brightness of understanding? What is “pure gold” if not a mind that is clearly illuminated by the fire of love, and retains within itself the brightness of beauty by the daily renewal of zeal? For the mind does not know the decay of inertia, which is inclined in the desire to be renewed. Thus, this means the same thing that Paul said: be renewed in the spirit of your mind (Eph. 4:23) 1817. Thus the psalmist, who had already reached the height of perfection, said: and I said, now I begin (Ps. 77:11) 1818, in this case, because we must consider ourselves daily renewed. And this does not contradict the cause-and-effect order when we say that “gold” denotes the illuminated mind of a person; for gold lies underground in such an order that many precious stones can be placed above, so the bright talents of the saints are humbly laid down under the help of God, and they receive the gifts of grace laid out in a special order upon them. And if gold were not associated with wisdom, then a wise man would never say: Wisdom is hidden from view, and treasures that are not seen, of what use are they? (Sir.20:30) 1819 Now, the saints do not consider “gold” their “strength” because, receiving the brightness of very great strength, they also accept the idea that their own strength is nothing. And although they are strong in that they can see all things, they want first to understand themselves, for the light of their keen mind, like the sun, must first illuminate the place where it arises, and then all the other things that it makes visible; for if you apply yourself to recognize others while they do not know themselves, the ray of the sun will be darkened where it rises. Accordingly, they apply the goodness they receive to acquaintance with their own weakness, and, having become aware of their own weakness, they become effectually more empowered. And gold is not taken for its “power”, since there is no confidence in maintaining the brightness of mind with which they are endowed. And Solomon rightly says: Put your trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding (Prov. 3:5) 1820. So, let him say: Did I put gold in my strength, or did I say in bullion: You are my hope. It is as if he were saying directly: “I do not attribute what I really understood to my own achievements, nor do I consider what I did even the slightest iota of good to be my merit.” Who else, in particular, tells us about the humility of his heart, and adds to this, saying: Verse 25. If I rejoiced in my great wealth and that my hand had found much (Job 31:25) 1821. 8. What do we mean by “great wealth” in the allegorical sense, if not the abundant subtleties of knowledge to which the “hand” strives after thoughts arise. For it is precisely these “riches” of wisdom that Solomon describes, seeing them before his eyes and saying: The crown of the wise is their wealth (Proverbs 14:24) 1822, and the same man, because it is not the metals of the earth that he calls “wealth,” after this adds the contrast: But the foolishness of the ignorant is their imprudence. For if he had called earthly wealth “the crown of the wise,” of course, he would have called the stupidity of the ignorant their poverty, and not their imprudence. But while he added, the foolishness of the ignorant is not their prudence, he made it clear that he called prudence “the wealth of the wise.” Paul saw these “riches” of wisdom in himself, and, lowering his eyes in thought, like a weak man, he said: But we carry this treasure in earthen vessels (2 Cor. 4:7) 1823. Accordingly, we find much richness in ourselves when, in searching the texts of sacred oracles, we receive gifts of abundant understanding, and in this we see a number of things that do not contradict each other. But it is not safe to celebrate too much when things are learned on the pages of God, either too strong or numerous, but rather it is better to keep secret what we learn. For he who understands the truth sees what he has understood as a duty of fulfillment. Because the more he expands in perception, the more his soul is attached and connected with the execution of the task. Therefore, the Truth says in the Gospel: For to whom much has been given, much will be needed; and to whom much is entrusted, much will be required of him (Luke 12:48) 1824. 9 . Therefore, let us consider and understand this as borrowed money because the more that is entrusted to us in grace, the more we owe in our practice; and it very often happens that when this money of understanding is received, when it is given to the hearers as a loan, it is lost unless it is received with caution of spirit. For it was discussed in the book of Kings that while the sons of the prophet were cultivating the forest on the Jordan, the head of one of them slipped from the handle of an ax into deep water, and disappeared from sight. For iron on the handle is the gift of understanding in the heart: but to cut down trees, therefore, is to rebuke a person who does evil. For sometimes, while we cannot avoid falling into vanity from the knowledge which we have been vouchsafed to, iron is lost in the water, because understanding becomes stupidity through the abolition of practice, for this understanding, undoubtedly, we know, is given to us in order that, before the eyes of the Giver, we may return to good behavior. Therefore it happened justly that the one who lost the iron exclaimed: alas, alas, my lord, it was borrowed (2 Kings 6:5) 1825. For it is common to the elect, that if at any time the sin of vanity stealthily enters into them because of their knowledge, they quickly return to their hearts, and whatever they find in themselves worthy of condemnation before the eyes of the strict judge, they wash away with tears. Whoever, while weeping, not only scrutinizes the evil of which he was guilty, but also the good that was given, which he should have repaid with benefit, since he was worthy of these gifts, because, of course, he feels himself the more a sinner, the more he owes for the gifts of the good that he should have done. Rightly then he, who had lost the iron, cried out: alas, alas, my lord, it was borrowed. It was as if he said: “It was to my death through negligence that I lost that thing for which I must pay in full with good deeds, which I received by the grace of the Lender.” But God never leaves a soul in sin that is on the right path. Therefore Elisha immediately lowers the tree down and raises the iron to the surface, because, of course, our Redeemer, with pity for us, humbles the heart of the sinner, and restores to him the understanding that he has lost. He plunges wood, and lifts up iron, because He punishes the heart, and restores knowledge. Therefore it is well said in another translation that he “broke the wood into pieces” and threw it, and so picked up the iron. For “to break a tree into pieces” is to break self-exaltation in the heart; to throw the wood down is to pacify, raising the heart through acquaintance with its own weakness, as we have already said. And after this, the iron returns to the beginning, because understanding returns to service, as it was before. 10. Therefore, since the gift of understanding what is obtained is connected with such countless difficulties and with difficulty is preserved intact (for there must be the highest care that the gift is not drowned out by inaction, there must be support for it through the implementation of works, it must not come out as the evil of self-delight), holy people do not rejoice when they learn the things that they should do, but only when they have already done what they have learned. And even if in understanding they congratulate themselves on receiving a benefit from the Giver, yet with great sorrow they accept the idea of ​​​​the duty of practice, that is, that they must perform in behavior what they received in knowledge. For the debtor is stupid who takes joy in borrowing money and does not direct his mind to the time when he must pay the debt back. But the joy of receiving subsides when, with prudent foresight, the time is appointed for the repayment of the debt. Therefore, righteous people receive gifts with careful attention, and do not rise from them in joy, and therefore let it be said: If I rejoiced in my great wealth and that my hand found much. As if it were said in simple words: “Never have I thought myself rich in righteousness because I knew the right things that I should do, even very many; and did not allow understanding to lift my heart, because the thought of the practice I owed held me back.” But it should be borne in mind that it very often happens that when a high step of understanding is obtained, the mind, full of anxiety about itself, is kept from falling into self-exaltation. But when the wonderful things that he understands, he also begins to put into practice, sometimes by the mere circumstance that it is done, he slips, and the glory that is present in the very fact of doing things obscures everything else in the world. And since blessed Job did not rise with the “gold” of understanding, he also did not allow the light of practice to raise him to heights. Therefore he also rightly adds: If I looked at the sun when it shines. 11. So “the sun when it shines” is a good practice that manifests itself. For it is written: Your light shines before men, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in Heaven (Matthew 5:16) 1826. And again: Let your loins be girded and your lamps burning (Luke 12:35) 1827. For what is signified in this passage by the “sun that shines” is signified in the Gospel by a “burning lamp.” For when good practice shines among ungodly people, the “lamp burns” in the night, but when it shines in the Church, “the sun shines” during the day. For good practice is something that bad people are only surprised at, and this is undoubtedly a “lamp” in the night; but if something is done of a more perfect kind that causes admiration, then it is the sun that shines in the daytime. For when good practice shines out of the life of the body, it is just as a candle shines out of an earthen vessel. But when the mind rises to perfection in contemplation, it is just as the sunlight is seen coming from the sky. Therefore, blessed Job said a lot of good things about himself, regarding hospitality and mercy, which, undoubtedly, he knew to be very small simply because they were done by the body; but referring to the eye of the mind in the highest heights of spiritual virtues, he remembered his own perfection, and the light of examples which he had given to others in himself, and he calls them "the sun." But there are people who, when they do any good things, directly forget their weaknesses. And they fix the eyes of the mind on the contemplation of the good practices that they exhibit, and henceforth consider themselves holy to the extent that they are surrounded by the good things that they do, and they avoid the memory of their evil deeds in which they may still be entangled. Such people, if they note with lively attention the severity of the judge, will fear more their evil things than rejoice in imperfect virtues, and they need to look more at what things remain to be done, for they are still debtors, than to rejoice in the practice of some things by which they already pay part of the debt. For it is not the debtor who has paid much that has completed payment, but only the one who has returned everything; and it is not the one who receives the prize for victory, who ran a long distance at high speed; if, having approached, but not yet reaching the goal, he leaves. Likewise, people going to any distant places, even if they have endured a long journey, they have not yet arrived if at the same time they are not able to overcome it all. And we who seek eternal life, what else do we do if we do not undertake a kind of journey whereby we rush forward to our country. But what does it matter that we overcome so much if we neglect the rest that remains for our arrival? 12. Thus, following the example of travelers, we should never look at how much we have already experienced, but must look at how much remains for us to accomplish, and evaluate as small what has already become the past, and note with constant fear what is still to come. Therefore, we should study more those good things that we have not yet done, than those good things that we are glad that we have already done. But it is a property of human weakness that it is more attractive for him to look at what pleases him in himself than at what causes him dissatisfaction in himself. For the painful eye of the heart, while it is afraid of receiving pain in contemplation, seems to ask for a kind of bed of joy in the mind where it can lie in peace. And for this reason, he emphasizes for himself the benefits of good things that have already been done, but for those losses that are incurred from what he left undone, the eye is blind. For it very often happens that even the elect are tested by this evil, and very often it is placed in their hearts that some good deeds that they have done, they remind their minds, and now rejoice in the joy of security. But if they are truly the chosen ones, from what is pleasant for them in themselves, they turn away the eyes of the mind, and lower all the joy for the good things that they have done, and for those things that they have never done, they seek repentance, they consider themselves unworthy people, and they are probably the only ones who at the same time do not see the good things in themselves, and allow these good things in themselves to be seen by others as an example. Therefore Paul, when he had left behind the good things completed in him, and was thinking about those that still remained, and that still needed to be completed, said: I do not count myself to have attained (Phil. 3:13) 1828. And in order that he might humiliate himself in the good things that he had done, he forced himself to remember in his mind the evil things that had happened in the past, saying: who was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and an offender (1 Tim. 1:13) 1829. 13. And even if he once said: I have won a good fight, I have finished my journey, I have kept the faith (2 Tim. 4:7) 1830, we must first of all turn our eyes to the fact that in fact, he said this at a time when he knew that he was already about to depart from the body. For these words he bases on the previous ones, where he says: For I am ready to become a sacrifice, and the time of my departure has come (2 Tim. 4:6) 1831, and he returned in his memories to the perfection of his practice, when he foresaw the time when his practice would end, and that there would be no more place for it. For, while we live, we are obliged to remove from our memory our good deeds, so that they cannot serve for our self-exaltation, and also for our approaching departure, we very often renew them again in our memory, for they can give us confidence, and restrain desperate fear. And he, to sum it up, told the Corinthians about his good qualities in order to support them, and not to show off himself. For he pays no attention to the same good things in himself, he teaches the calamity of his own temptation, which becomes open, and to state this he added: Therefore I am content with my weaknesses (2 Cor. 12:10) 1832. So, so that he could teach his disciples, he told them what was highest in him, and at the same time, so that he could keep himself in humility, he fixes the eyes of his observation not on his virtues, but on his weaknesses. Accordingly, holy people have this characteristic that the good things they do they actually see, but when they have done them, they turn the eyes of their understanding away from those things. Hence the blessed Job rightly said: If I looked at the sun when it shines. It was as if he had said in simple words: “My practice, even if it gave the light of examples for others, I did not accept as certainty; because while I was afraid of self-exaltation on her account, I averted my eyes from her.” And then follows: or to the moon, as she walks. 14. After the sun was mentioned, he rightly also added: “the moon walks” in its brightness, because after good practice comes praise, which receives a famous name on this night of the season of real life. But if it is true, as some think, that the moon receives its illumination from the rays of the sun, so that it may be able to display light at night, this supposition is also not at variance with the order of our conception. For glory derives its means from good practice, and it spreads appreciative applause like the brightness of light. There is also another thing about the moon that is consistent with the likeness of the glory of spreading good. For her light, even in the season of darkness, shows the way for travelers because, shining with the reflection of the light of the Sun, that is, the glory from another life, she makes it easier for others to carry out good practice; and when the merits of one man are clearly visible to others who are going on their journey, they receive the light of example in the journey. But sometimes it happens that a practice that comes from the merits of another person is formed with the wrong purpose and is not pure enough in mind. For weak minds, when they hear good things about others, sometimes kindle themselves in right practice, not out of love of virtue, but in the desire of applause. And in fact, it is obvious that this is the nature of the Sun, that any thing that finds itself under its rays dries out in the light, and it is also a property of the light of the Moon that everything that turns out to be in its light is illuminated, of course, but turns out to be wet. Thus, in a good life: one influences good practice for the love of God and flares up in the light, while others love only praise. But when we burned in love for right practice, we were dried up by the fire of the sun from the moisture of evil habits. While those whom the love of praise motivates to good practice, as if under the light of the moon, because in the glory of the desired applause, his mind immediately becomes luminous and weakens. That is, this incites him to carry out the practice, but he is immediately weakened by the desire for applause. However, very often in order to carry out good deeds, the examples of others influence us, producing a very good effect. And when we take advantage of others' practices in humility, we either advance our own good things for the better, or change the bad for the good; and, when the brightness of the glory of our neighbor's life sheds its rays upon us, our mind, as we before said, sets itself on the path of the victory of virtue, but sets the steps, as it were, in the light of the moon. But when we make our way after the example of the virtues of another, it very often happens that if we fix our attention on the praise of our own glory, we lose strength, because when the mind takes pleasure in what it sees outwardly, it loses sight of what it breathed inwardly. 15. Therefore, so that the understanding of knowledge would not harm the holy man, he restrained the joy of receiving such great wealth. Now, because the greatness of his practice did not inflate him into self-exaltation, he “did not look at the sun when it was shining,” and because he did not practice to receive applause, he never “looked at the moon that walks in brightness.” For there are some people who are self-exalted from their high understanding, but even the good things that they learn, they do not do. And they, of course, “rejoice in great riches” when they manage to discover some of the highest things, and they delight in self-exaltation with these same discoveries. But there are people who are elevated not by understanding itself, but by practice, who, while they consider their own actions in their own hearts, treat others with contempt, and set the rest of the world in their understanding below themselves. They, although they do not rejoice in great wealth, they “look at the sun when it shines,” because from the greatness of this very good practice, they seem to swell within themselves with contempt for others. And there are some whom it is not even their own practice that exalts, but when they see the appreciation of their neighbors for the same good practice, they strive to follow the path of human applause, and they already see themselves as great in their own imagination, and lose the safety of their hearts. They, of course, seemed to refuse to “see the sun when it shines” while they themselves “beheld the moon walking in brightness,” because in the midst of the darkness of this age, while they are trying to strengthen the mind from the brightness of their practice, as it was in the light of the night, they lose the grace of humility, and while they see the moon, they do not see for themselves that they are beginning to be blind to themselves, while they fix the eyes of the mind on passing applause. 16. Now, we observe the growth of a person in the same way as the growth of trees. For the essence of the future tree is first laid in the seed, then manifests itself in the trunk, and finally it sprouts in the branches. In the same way, the goodness of good deeds certainly increases. For it is sown in understanding, germinates in practice, and finally expands into the breadth of great progress. But when his understanding does not rise, the tree that might have arisen rots in the seed. And when, after good practice, a person is poisoned by the poison of self-exaltation, it is as if a tree that has already sprouted has dried up. But when neither understanding nor practice is damaged, and the greatness of a person grows, but the praiseworthy applause of people follows and his mind is turned over, the one who did right, the tree, as it were, collides with the winds of tongues, and everything that has grown strong before is uprooted by the storm of fame. For in the same measure in which a tree has grown above a certain level, in the same measure its sensitivity to the force of the winds increases; because the more a man rises to the heights of good practice, the more he is oppressed by the lips of those who praise him. Therefore, if the tree is still in the seed, one must be careful that it does not become rotten due to the fact that the knowledge simply remains recognized; if it is now grown up, we must be on guard lest the hand of self-exaltation touch it, and choke the greenness of its deeds; but if it has already raised itself to a height of great strength, one must be very careful lest the stronger winds of praise that surround it uproot it. 17. But this must be borne in mind that in order for us not to be uprooted in the end by the wind of immoderate praise, very often, according to the wonderful management of our Ruler, we sometimes even throw ourselves to the mercy of slander, so that when the voice of one praising lifts the heart, the tongue of another defaming can humiliate. And for a tree, too, often, and this is so conditioned that a gust of one wind seems to be able to uproot it from its place, but the tree is suddenly established again by a gust of another wind from the opposite direction; and a tree which has been bent by one wind on one side is brought back to its stable position by another wind. And therefore the tree, which is deeply rooted, seems to stand firm among the contending winds, of which it is said: in honor and dishonor, blame and praise (2 Cor. 6:8) 1833. It often happens that praise, even unsolicited, enters the ears of the doer of righteousness, and even while it is not outwardly manifested, it creates in the consciousness, a kind of storm in silence, and it happens that the soul is delighted with human applause, and does not reflect it outwardly, but still it feels the power of corruption to no small extent internally. And there are some who are so inflated by praise that it even compels them to speak words of self-exaltation. But some, as we said before, are ashamed of open exaltation, but by the praises that are heard by them they are exalted, but this does not come out in their own words of exaltation, and they never reveal that they admire such things. And because blessed Job knew that he was not arrogant, not only in words, but in the secret thoughts of his heart also, after he said: If I looked at the sun as it shines, or at the moon as it walks in brightness, he immediately added: Verse 27. and my heart rejoiced in secret (Job 31:27) 1834. 18. By the same record, what else is conveyed to us, if not that we need more fear and caution, so that our mind does not rejoice at any moment, even in secret, on the basis of the praise we hear about ourselves. For this man who looks upon the greatness of his glory as “the brightness of the moon,” and creates delight in himself in the secret of the heart, to whom, if not the Creator, does such a man prefer himself, by Whose gift he has received what he should practice rightly, and yet, instead of turning it to his advantage, turns it to his praise? For, neglecting the glory of his Creator, he is condemned to love himself more, and in the proclamation of this he rejoices so much. Although sometimes even saints rejoice in their good practice, but then when they know that through this good practice others, those who heard them, move on to better things, and now they no longer rejoice in their own practice, but in the benefit that their neighbors have received; because it is one thing to seek the benefit of others, and another thing to rejoice in earthly prosperity. From this it follows that when it does not contribute to the benefit of the hearers, the glory for what is received should not elevate, but should depress our minds. For when we are assessed in the testimony of human language, we ask with our secret contrition what we think of ourselves. For an elevated soul, even if a good lie is told about it, rejoices, because in thought it does not live with God, but tries to become known among people. For, despising the judgment of Almighty God against itself, it seeks the glory of men, and lifted up among the praises that it hears, the soul rejoices as if it had received a reward for its deeds. And vice versa, if the heart is really humble, the good things that it hears about itself, it either does not recognize at all, and is afraid that these are false things said, or otherwise, if it knows that they really are in it, it is afraid that they will not be lost for eternal compensation from God; and it fears very much lest the hope of future reward be exchanged for the reward of temporary applause. 19. Because of these circumstances, it happens that the soul of the elect is tormented as if by great fire when it receives praise, and only contrite thoughts are born in it, which are far from the rust of inertia. For with vigilant thoughts the soul is filled with fear that either because of those things for which it is praised, and they do not exist, it will answer before the strict judgment of God, or for those things for which it is praised, and they exist, it will lose the true reward. Therefore, what most often happens is that an unrighteous person is defiled by praise addressed to himself, and a righteous person is cleansed by the praise that reaches his ear. For when the good things he has done are glorified by people, he fears, as has already been said, the Last Judgment of himself, and, full of fear, runs to his conscience, and everything that is worthy of guilt in him, he corrects. For when he fears that good things about him have become known, largely fearing the precision of the Severe Judgment that will follow if there are any hidden evil things in him, he cuts them. For he is alarmed that before the eyes of God he will appear not at all as men have rated him, and he is not satisfied that he can continue to remain in the state in which he may have been justly rated by men. Therefore Solomon said well: As silver is tested in the smelter and gold in the crucible, so a person is tested by the mouth of one who praises (Proverbs 27:21) 1835. For for silver and gold, all impurities and wastes are consumed in fire, but what is pure metal is released by fire. So, of course, similar things happen with the mind. What kind of person he really is becomes clear through the test of praise; for if, when his praises reach the ears and he is exalted, what else is he but the waste of gold or silver, which the furnace of the tongue certainly consumes? But if the praise he hears does him good, and he returns to the consideration of the judgment above, and kindles a secret fear in himself that he must pay these things to a great extent before the secret arbiter, as it was, in the fire of purification, that is, from the same source from which he can grow to greatness and splendor, he can also burn in fear, and because of this, he shines brighter. And blessed Job, because he never praised himself on the basis of practice, says with confidence: If I looked at the sun when it shines. And because the man's fame never distracted him from the Inner Judge, he adds: And If I looked at the sun when it shines. And because he never allowed, even in secret thought, for his mind to be elevated because of the good of his practice, he adds directly: and if my heart rejoiced in secret. And because it very often happens that an inattentive mind, when it does not resist temporary applause, sometimes comes to the point of praising itself, and is established in such a state, rightly joining: and if I kissed my hand with my lips (Job 31:27) 1836. 20. For “hands” denotes deeds, and “mouths” words; as when Solomon said: The sluggard puts his hand into the cup, and it is labor for him to bring it to his mouth (Prov. 19:24) 1837. For it is labor for the lazy to bring his hand to his mouth, because the lazy preacher has not the mind to practice even the very thing he says in words. So, bringing your hand to your mouth means harmonizing your words spoken with your voice and the deeds that are done in practice. And so he “kisses his hand with his lips,” he who praises the very thing he does, and by the testimony of his own speech rewards himself for the merit of the practice. In this case, who is despised if not He, the One who bestows these very gifts for good practice to them? Therefore the great preacher said well: And what you have, what have you not received? Now, if you have received this, why do you boast as if you had not received it (1 Cor. 4:7) 1838? Now holy people know that their nature is somewhat cracked after the fall of our first parent into corruption, and that it is not by their own virtue, but by the grace from Above that protects them, that they are changed to better desires and deeds. And all the evil that they find in themselves, they feel received for a mortal condition, but all that good they see in themselves, they consider as a gift of immortal grace, and therefore, they are His debtors for the good that they have been honored with. Debtors both because they were worthy to receive the desire to do well, and debtors further because they were worthy to do the good that they wanted. Therefore, John said well: And they worshiped Him who lives forever and ever, and laid down their crowns before the throne of the Lord (Rev. 4:10) 1839. For “to lay down their crowns before the throne of the Lord” does not mean to appropriate for themselves, but to give to the Creator victory in their struggle in order to convey the glory of praise to Him, from whom, they know, they received strength for the struggle. And so blessed Job speaks of the good things which he practiced, and yet he never ascribes them to his own work, but goes back to the praise of his Creator, and denies that he "kissed the hand with his mouth." It was as if he had said in simple words: “I do not show my actions as mine; because he renounces the grace of his Creator, who takes credit for what he does in practice.” And hence he adds directly further: Verse 28. that there would be great iniquity and denial of the Most High God (Job 31:28) 1840. 21. For it is clear that he has renounced Him, put His grace into nothing, he who claims to be strong in good practice. Which are also rightly called “the firstfruits of iniquity” because every act of sin, which is from weakness, does not destroy hope if the guilty one asks for forgiveness from the Judge Above. But by assuming our own goodness, the worse we fall into despair, the further we move away from humility. And when he attributes the power of practice to himself, he does not resort to the help of the Creator, and it so happens that the sinner perishes all the more hopelessly because of the situation itself, for he does not know that he is a sinner. And then follows: Verse 29. If I rejoiced at the destruction of my enemy, or rejoiced when evil befell him (Job 31:29) 1841. 22. Maintaining love is the only proof that we are disciples of Almighty God. For this means that the Truth speaks itself: Therefore all will know that you are My disciples if you have love one another (John 13:35) 1842, this same love, if it really fills our soul, tends to be manifested in two directions; namely, if we at once love our friends in God, and our enemies for God's sake. But it must be known that love for our enemy is actually preserved when we do not suffer from his progress towards good, and do not rejoice in his destruction. For very often, in the semblance of love for the enemy, the mind is deceived, and such a person believes that he loves the enemy, although he has not proven this in life; but the reality of love, either in the prosperity or fall of the enemy, does show proof. For even in this matter the mind of man does not fully know itself, and when it sees the one whom it considers its enemy in prosperity or decline, this gives it the opportunity to measure the measure of its attitude. For if he suffers from the prosperity of the enemy, and rejoices in his misfortunes, then he hates him, this is clear, and he does not love him, for whom he does not wish the best. 23. But this, too, must be known, that it very often happens that without the loss of love, the destruction of the enemy makes us happy, and again, without the sin of envy, his glory saddens us; This happens when the enemy, falling, destroys himself, but at the same time we see that thanks to this many have justly risen, or when, because of his prosperity, we are afraid that many will unjustly fall down. In this case, neither his fall pleases our mind, nor his prosperity makes us suffer, if the right thought of our heart concerns not what happens to a particular person, but what is done by this person in relation to others. But to preserve these things, a careful examination of our attitude is absolutely necessary, lest we be deceived by the appearance of apparent usefulness, and create a cover for our own hatred. For, if it were impossible to experience any joy at all from the death of an enemy, the psalmist would never have said: The righteous will rejoice when he sees vengeance on the wicked (Ps. 57:11) 1843. For it is one thing to tolerate a godless person, and another thing to tolerate an enemy. For there are very many enemies who are not wicked, and there are some wicked men who do not seem to be in any special way enemies to us. But the mind of man considers everyone whom he tolerates as an enemy to be wicked and evil also because that person's shortcomings, even minor ones, are stuck in the thinking of his accuser. But at the same time, no matter what wickedness he engages in, someone whom a person does not feel as a personal enemy, he seems less wicked. And here we must also distinguish that it is one thing when our enemy harms us, and a completely different thing when he harms himself and the rest of the world. For if he is good to others, perhaps, perhaps, it is not without our guilt that he is bad to us; and we should not rejoice at his fall, if only we suffered from it. But when an enemy destroys himself, one who has harmed so many people, our hearts should rejoice that our neighbors escaped his oppression, but not the destruction of our enemy as a current one. 24. For it is necessary that when the enemy perishes, we must consider in detail both the destruction of the sinner and the justice of the executioner. For when Almighty God strikes any bad man, we must feel both sorrow in unison with destruction, and joy in unison with the justice of the Judge, so that the punishment of death should be woe to us, and again the justice shown by God in His judgment should be a cause of joy, and so we can not turn a person into an enemy in his destruction, and not become ungrateful to God in His judgment. And because he perfectly trampled all feelings of hatred towards his opponents, let blessed Job say: If I rejoiced at the destruction of my enemy, or rejoiced when evil befell him. Who, loving even his enemy, while he sympathized with the enemy, continued to grow in loving kindness, thanks to the same evil that his enemy deservedly received. But, because there are often people who, because they cannot do this with power, attack with curses those whom they consider their enemies. And then in such people it is clearly visible what evil things they would do if they could, in those people who never stop cursing those to whom they cannot do anything. And blessed Job shows himself free from the sin of the curse, also adding the following: Verse 30. I did not sin with my lips, desiring the damnation of his soul (Job.31:30) 1844. 25. For he will sin, the one who wants God to do something that he himself either cannot and is not able to do, or if he can, it will not be wise and just in any case. For they who attack the enemy with curses, what do they do, if not what they want God to do in this case for them what they cannot or are ashamed to do themselves? For they desire the death of their enemy, and even if they have power, they are afraid to bring it upon him, for then they will either be bound by the guilt of committing murder, or show themselves to be wicked, even if they are. What then does it mean to say to God: “Kill the man whom I hate,” if not to cry out to Him with a voice: “Do to my enemy what is unacceptable for me, even as a sinner.” But now, was this man taught the words, did he read them: love your enemies? (Luke 6:27) 1845, did he read: Bless and do not curse? (Rom.12:14) 1846 and again: Do not repay evil for evil, nor insult for insult? (1 Peter 3:9) 1847. But according to the commandments of grace from Above, although he did not hear them with outer ears, he still knew them, because the inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote them in the heart of this man. For whom, however, it was not enough that he loved his opponents outwardly, he had to endure them also in his inner life, and daily communicate with them, even with those of his family who were his opponents. Therefore he adds: Verse 31. If the people of my tent had not spoken, we would have had of his flesh, and we would have been satisfied! (Job 31:31) 1848 26. The same proposal may be accepted in the secret voice of our Redeemer. For the “people of the tent” who want to be satisfied with the flesh are either Jews in persecution or Gentiles in faith. For both of them, as it were, wanted to consume His Body, and in this desire to satisfy their soul's thirst for His Flesh by the daily sacrifice of His sacrifice. But now let's just think about the essence of the story, how intense the mind is in a holy man who is full of worry about all things, and how it is divided within and without; If he had not tolerated those who act unjustly in silence, or had not endured them in a righteous life, undoubtedly, he would never have called them enemies. Now what kind of goodness is it that manifests itself during a person's inner conflict to see without evil, and to see the best, and not mind that he may have to bear it and endure it. And this is the praise of perfect greatness, to respond to hostility without harshness, but mercifully. For there are indeed some things in families that cannot be corrected without sin penetrating into the corrector himself. And therefore, when they either defile the one who corrects them, or do not hang with great weight on the one who makes them, they require very great skill in correction, and they may need to be looked at through half-closed eyes, and looked into attentively. And the more quickly discontent will disappear from our hearts, the faster we recognize our own offenses against our neighbors. Therefore Solomon said very well: Pay no attention to all the words that are spoken; lest you hear your servant speak evil of you: for often your heart knows that you yourself have also cursed others (Eccl. 7:21-22) 1849. For the better we understand how we have been towards others, we are less concerned that others show the same attitude towards us, because the injustice of others towards us is the more easily tolerated, the better our consciousness rightly blames itself. And then follows: Verse 32. The stranger did not spend the night on the street; and my door was opened to the passerby (Job 31:32) 1850. 27. While Paul testifies, love is described as patience and kindness, with patience he bears cold-blooded evil from others, with kindness he treats good others with mercy. That is why blessed Job patiently bore the attitude of his household, who cursed him, and greeted travelers and strangers with kindness, in order to learn moral lessons from the first example, and to help those outside from the second. For the holy man saw by the Spirit of prophecy the Savior of mankind, who also kept in practice the words of pardon, whereby He warns us, saying: Let go, and it will be forgiven you, give, and it will be given to you (Luke 6:37) 1851. For what is given to us refers to things that we have externally, but our “letting go” refers to the release from grief that we internally received by offending another. But this requires it to be known that the one who “let go” but does not “give”, although he did not do what was needed to the fullest extent, still showed a large part of mercy. But the one who “gives” but never “let go” does not perform mercy at all, because the gift is not accepted by Almighty God from the hand led by a heart bound and mired in evil. 28. For this is necessary for the soul that gives alms to first of all be purified, because every thing that is given is valued by God in accordance with the feeling of the one who gives. Therefore every stain of evil must be cleansed and destroyed in our inner man by a change of thought, because what is proposed will not appease the wrath of the Judge unless done in the purity of the one who proposes. Therefore it is written: And the Lord looked upon Abel and his offered gift; but he did not respect Cain and his gift (Gen. 4:4–5) 1852. For the sacred Revelation does not say that “He respected the offerings of Abel, but He did not respect the offerings of Cain,” but it first says that He looked upon Abel, and then He partakes of his gifts. And it again says that He did not respect Cain, and then it adds his gifts. For according to the heart of the giver, the gift that is given is obtained. Therefore, not Abel because of his gifts, but because of Abel, the gifts offered were acceptable. For we read that the Lord looked first on the man who gave, and only then on the things that he gave. Consequently, blessed Job communicates to us his abundant good mercy, showing at first his patience and kindness towards his enemies, for he did not “rejoice in the destruction of his enemy”; that he did not attack his pursuers with words of “curses,” and that those who rebelled against him within the house he bore with equanimity; and then, finally, he brought forward the abundance of his hospitality, so that by hearing precisely the order of his attitude, we might learn that outward gifts must be accompanied by an inward purity of heart, that the combination of his virtues might teach the reader what a man ought to be within himself when he shows outward goodness to others. 29. But who would not consider himself a holy man among such heights of his virtues? Who would not be to some extent seduced by the very presence of so many virtues, so much so that if suddenly, being a man, he did something wrong, he would not try to make his crime unknown to people? and would not allow himself to be considered insignificant if he did anything wrong in small things? and would you not prefer to cover your offense with silence, instead of revealing it in the voice of confession? For it often happens that the mind may become proud of virtuous achievements, when it knows that many good things are known about it and command the respect of its neighbors, and does not wish for this to become known if there is any thing that it does that deserves blame. The mind is exposed to the same darkness of error, because the high swelling of pride clogs the eyes of the heart. Therefore blessed Job, in the midst of so many eminent achievements in virtues, which had become so high in practice, in order to show how meek in mind he was, adds directly: If I hid my crimes as a man, and made my iniquity secret in my breast (Job 31:33) 1853. 30. For the evidence of true humility, as a person, is to recognize one’s wickedness and reveal it through the voice of confession; and, on the contrary, it is the habitual evil practice of the human race, to commit a sin and keep it hidden from view, and, when it is committed, to hide it by denying it, and having become accustomed to it, increase it and strengthen itself in it. For from the fall of the first man we accept these admixtures of unrighteousness along with original sin. For he too, when he touched the forbidden tree, hid from the face of the Lord among the trees of Paradise. And this attempt to hide, because he certainly could not escape the eyes of God, was not an exercise of self-concealment, but a foreshadowing of harm to himself. Who, when he was rebuked by the Lord for touching the forbidden tree, then answered: The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate (Gen. 3:12) 1854. The woman also, when asked, answers by saying: The serpent deceived me, and I ate (Gen. 3:13) 1855. For they were asked so that the sin of which they were guilty could be removed by confession. Therefore the serpent himself, this instigator, since he could not be returned to forgiveness, did not receive the question of sin. Therefore, man was asked the question: “Where are you,” so that he could consider the crime that he had committed, and, confessing it, accept the knowledge of how far he had gone from the face of his Creator. But he chose to take upon himself self-defense rather than confession. And while man intended to mitigate sin through the woman, and woman through the serpent, they added to the sin which they sought to justify; Adam indirectly pointed to the Lord as the Author of his sin, for it was He who created woman; and Eve transferred the sin to the Lord, who placed the serpent in paradise. For they, who heard from the mouth of the devil their deception: you will be like gods (Gen. 3:5) 1856, because they were not able to be like Gods in Divinity, increasing their error, tried to make God as if equal to themselves in crime. Thus, those who set themselves up to justify their guilt, they further add to sin, and the sin becomes much more severe. 31. Therefore, at the present time, also, the shoots of the human race receive bitterness even from this root, when a person, accused of evil in it, hides under words of self-defense, as under the leaves of trees, and, as it was, throws into the face of his Creator a kind of dark digression of self-justification, while he does not have the mind to make known what he was guilty of. And therefore he did not hide from the Lord, but hid the Lord from himself. For he made it so that he could not see the One who sees all things, and not so that he himself became invisible. For every sinner now the first step towards enlightenment is the humility of confession, it is the refusal to spare himself for one who is not afraid to admit the evil he has done, and he who, in defending himself, would perhaps lay open the door for accusation, in fact accusing himself defends himself most quickly. And, therefore, to the dead Lazarus, who was kept under a heavy stone, He did not say: “be brought back to life,” but: come out (John 11:43) 1857. And with the help of the resurrection of this person, it is shown how we ourselves will be resurrected in the heart, i.e. when it is said to the dead man: come out; that is, a person, being dead in his sin, and already buried under the weight of bad habits, because he is hiding from the eyes of his conscience in malice, must go outside of himself to confession. For the dead man is told, “Come out,” so that, having been freed from the concealment of sin, he may come forward and go accusing himself with his own mouth. Therefore, David the prophet, returning to life from this death of his great guilt, as it was, followed the voice of the Lord when the accuser Nathan announced the accusation of what he had done. 32. Because this sin of concealment has grown to terrifying proportions in the human race, blessed Job, when he said: If I have hidden my crimes, rightly added the words: like a man, because he sees that this is characteristic of man who falls after the example of our ancient parent. Therefore he justly adds: and made my iniquity secret in my breast. For in Holy Scripture the word "chest" is very often used to signify the mind; as, for example, when in the voice of the Holy Church the psalmist said about our persecutors, who are similar to us, in fact, in nature, but different in life: and repay our neighbors seven times in their bosom (Ps. 79:12) 1858. It is as if he had said in simple words: “Let them receive what is in their minds that rage against us, what they do to our bodies, so that while they punish us outwardly in part, they themselves may be punished inwardly to the fullest extent.” And this is because the “chest” also denotes the hiddenness of the mind, which is why it is said to “hide iniquity in the chest,” that is, to hide it in the recesses of conscience, neither to reveal it through confession, but to veil it with protection. On the contrary, James says: Confess your faults to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be saved (James 5:16) 1859. Solomon says: He who hides his crimes will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will receive mercy (Proverbs 28:13) 1860. 33. But it should also be known that people very often confess their sins, and, at the same time, are not humble. For we know many who, when no one accuses them, themselves admit that they are sinners, but when, perhaps, they are convicted of their sins, they seek the support of defense so that they do not appear to be sinners; those people with true humility see themselves as sinners who, when they admit of their own free will, any thing that they have done, when they are convicted by others, also never deny that they are such as they recognized themselves. In this case, the sign of true confession is that when a person calls himself a sinner, and another reproaches him, he does not contradict the other, but confirms it. Therefore it is written: a righteous man is first a slanderer of himself (Prov. 18:17) 1861, for he wants to appear not as a sinner, but as righteous, the one who recognizes himself as a sinner when he is not convicted. But when another cries out against the evil we have done, he shows the truth of the confession. In the same way, if we defend ourselves in a proud spirit, then it is clear that it was feigned when we called ourselves sinners. Therefore, above every thing, take care that those evil things that we have done, at the same time admit of our own will, and not deny them when others denounce us. For the evil of pride is a thing in which a person, of his own free will, considers it satisfying to confess about himself, but disdains the same when others tell him. 34. Thus blessed Job showed how humble he was, and he knew that he lived among adversaries, and yet was not afraid to reveal his crimes in the voice of confession. But note that above he speaks of his virtuous qualities, and below he confesses his sin. For by this he clearly proves that this is the truth, what he says about the good in himself, for he is not silent regarding evil. At one time he points out his virtues, at another time his crimes; and the fact that he will sin, and the fact that he will not hide it in silence, he makes known. From here it was revealed, without a doubt, that he was unusually pure in the eyes of Almighty God, the one who avoided evil, which he should not do, and at the same time, if he had the opportunity to commit evil, he did not hide it from people; so that he was at once highly righteous, avoiding sin, and exhibiting a safe guardianship of righteousness, declaring what he was unable to avoid. Although this man may seem great to anyone in his virtues, to me, without a doubt, he seems even greater in his sins. Let those who are so disposed admire his self-control of chastity, let them admire the fidelity to justice, let them admire the depths of mercy. I admire his such humble confession of sins more than such royal power in virtues. For I know well that it is much more difficult sometimes, through the shame of infirmity, to sincerely shed light on the sins that we have committed, than to avoid them without committing them, and every kind of evil, although it can be avoided with great strength, must be brought to view with even greater modesty. Thus blessed Job, who was supported by many great works, was not ashamed to confess his sin, surrounded by his virtues, showed what humility he possessed. But since from true humility comes safe strength, and the soul does not fear anything as much as it craves improvement, and does not independently strive for the highest heights of affairs, after the confession of sin has been stated, this is rightly added: Verse 34. Was I afraid of a large meeting, or was the contempt of my neighbors frightening me, and I was silent and did not go out of the door? (Job 31:34) 1862 35. It is a great confidence of the heart to have nothing of worldly lust. For if the heart follows the attainment of earthly things, it can never be in safety and tranquility, because either it does not possess the things that it desires to possess, or the things that it receives it is afraid of losing; and, being in unfavorable circumstances, it longs for prosperity, and also in favorable circumstances it is afraid of being in unfavorable ones, and it is tossed hither and thither, so to speak, on a kind of waves, and it hurries for various things in different directions of the variability of shifting affairs. But the more the mind is fixed with strong firmness in the pursuit of the desires of the country above, the less it is distressed by dissatisfaction with earthly things. For from all external disturbances he strives towards his most secret inner goal, and attaches himself to the unchangeable. And being established above all changeable things, through the simple tranquility of the natural state, being in the world, it is, as it were, outside the world. It goes beyond all things lower by its desire for things higher, and due to the fact that it does not pursue all these changeable objects, it feels itself raised higher in a certain freedom, and internally it is not subject to temporary things, and looks at all earthly things as if externally, which, if it internally desired them, could crush down the mind. Therefore, it is well said by the prophet: show the way for yourself (Jer. 31:21) 1863, because a person, when he considers things above, can rise high above the things that are below him. Consequently, Habakkuk also says: I will stand guard (Hab.2:1) 1864. For he stands on guard, which by wise discipline does not bow under earthly desires, but rises above them, and being directed towards Eternity, which is always firm, he must place below his feet every thing that passes by. 36. Nevertheless, no matter what goodness a holy man may put forward, the infirmity of the flesh still outwardly bears him down while he is in this life, as it is written: Though he that walketh in the name of God is troubled in vain: (Ps. 39:6) 1865, for it very often happens that he is at once both troubled outwardly, and kept untroubled within, and he bears the burden of his “vain anxiety,” which comes from weaknesses of the flesh, although he walks in the name of God according to the sublimity of his mind, because he must be internally strengthened by Divine help, and yet still be externally under the weight of human burdens. Therefore, Habakkuk again well said a single statement that demonstrates both particulars at the same time. For he says: and trembling entered my bones, and my strength (virtue) gave rise to anxiety under me (Hab. 3:16) 1866. It was as if he had said, “It is not my own strength by which I am exalted above and by which I am still free from anxiety, but it is my own strength by which I am anxious about lower things.” And so, he is free from anxiety above himself, and at the same time exposed to anxiety below him; for he is set above himself, inasmuch as he was caught up to high things; and it is established beneath itself in so far as it still remains in those things below. Due to the fact that he is established above himself, he is freed from the responsibility of anxiety, because he walks in the contemplation of God. And at the bottom he is prone to worry because he is still a weak human being. The Prophet David, in accordance with this statement, also says: I said in the abundance of my mind - every man is a liar (Ps. 116:2) 1867. But to this we can answer the following: “If you say, every person is a liar, then so are you; and from now on the statements that you made in lies will be false.” But let us note what precedes this: I spoke in the abundance of my understanding. So, in terms of “excess of intelligence,” he surpassed himself, if we talk about him as a person. It was as if he said in simple words: “I said a true statement regarding the falsity of all people, because at that moment I myself was, as it were, above people, including myself.” At the present time he was still himself a “liar”, since he was a man himself, but at that moment he was “not a liar”, since “in the abundance of intelligence” he was superior to a man. 37. Thus, even being in an ideal state, they are still subject to something disturbing from the weakness of the flesh, yet they already enjoy contemplation of the mind in the calmest solitude, so that everything that happens externally does not lead them to tremble within. Therefore, the blessed Job, showing the security of a holy mind, after he had shown so many strong virtues in himself, added what we said earlier: Was I afraid of a large meeting, or was the contempt of my neighbors frightening me, and I was silent and did not go out of the door? It was as if he had said in simple words: “While others were worried about me outwardly, I myself remained within myself free from that uneasiness that was outwardly.” For what should we understand in this place by the word “door” if not the mouth? For we come out, as it were, when, with the fact that we utter the words that we are capable of, we reveal the secrets of our hearts; and by talking about what is inside us, we seem to “go” with the help of our language. 38. But there are some people who are generally afraid of being despised, and so that others do not have the slightest opportunity to evaluate them with disrespect, they deliberately aim to appear wise. They are forced to "go out the door" because when they are attacked with insults, how great they are in themselves, and what was out of sight, they give away by saying it. And when, succumbing to impatience, they reveal things about themselves that were unknown, they seem to “come out through the door of the mouth.” So, blessed Job, when he says that he never “went beyond the door of the mouth,” rightly prefixed it with the phrase “I was silent”; for if he had succumbed to the excitement of impatience, he would have left the house of conscience if he had not known how to remain silent. For the saints, when they are under trial, being indignant, avoid expressing themselves entirely, and when they cannot be useful to those who hear them, they are ready to remain silent, lest they be still despised, lest they become proud by exposing their own wisdom. And when they speak any thing with deep understanding, they do not seek to increase their own glory, but seek to help the lives of their hearers. But when they see that they cannot add anything to the lives of their listeners with their words, they remain silent and hide their knowledge. For we hide ourselves by imitating the example of the Lord's life, as a kind of sign set before us. For He Himself, because He saw that Herod was not looking for improvement, but simply wished to be amazed at His miracles or His knowledge, and when Herod asked Him, He held back His tongue, and because He was silent with constancy, He went away ridiculed by him. For it is written: When Herod saw Jesus, he rejoiced greatly; for he had long desired to see Him, because he had heard much about him; and he hoped to see some miracles done by him: (Luke 23:8) 1868, where he also added: Then he asked Him many questions, but He answered him nothing (Luke 23:9) 1869. But how much the Lord, while maintaining His peace, was despised, is shown to us when the following words are given to us directly: Herod and his people considered Him to be nothing, and mocked Him (Luke 23:11) 1870. By this same example we must hear and learn that as often as our hearers desire to be acquainted with our achievements from the point of view of things worthy of praise, and not from the point of view of changing what is wrong in themselves, we must guard our peace entirely; for if we speak the Word of God to show off, and the guilt of the hearers is added, which might not have been there, and our own guilt, which was not there, comes upon us. 39. Someone may ask: “How can we know with what feelings of heart a person is listening to us?” But there are a number of things which illuminate the mind of the one who hears; First of all, if our listeners both always praise what they hear and do not follow the things they praise, this leads to vanity. How to avoid this vanity was revealed by the great preacher when he said: For we do not corrupt the word of God, as many do: but we preach sincerely, as from God, before God, in Christ (2 Cor. 2:17) 1871. For “to damage the Word of God” is to think of Him differently than He is, or to seek from Him not spiritual fruits, but a harmful increase in human praise. But “preaching sincerely” means not looking for anything in Revelation beyond what is proper. Now he says: “as from God,” one who knows that he himself has nothing from himself, but that he has received from God everything that he says. And he says, "before God," he who, in all that he says, seeks not the desires of men, but the presence of Almighty God, and he who seeks not his own glory, but the glory of his Creator. But he who really knows well that he has received from God the thing that he says, and yet, in speaking, seeks his own glory, speaks “as from God,” but not “before God,” because for him God is, as it were, absent, whom he has not set before his heart when he preaches Him. But the saints at the same time speak “as from God” and “before God” in that they simultaneously know that they have from Him the thing that they say, and they see that He Himself is present in their reasoning, and their decisions, and their listeners. Therefore it is that while they know that their neighbors despise them, and that their words will add nothing to the lives of the people who hear them, they hide from the eyes what great grace they have, for if the speech of the mouth reveals the secret of the heart in vain, this leads to vanity. 40. Therefore, blessed Job, among stubborn hearts, does not strive to shine with the revelation of his strength and says: Was I afraid of a large meeting, or did the contempt of my neighbors frighten me, and I was silent and did not go out the door? For the one who is strong through humility is never afraid of being despised, never gives in to impatience, and his tongue does not drive him out of the door. And he rightfully said first: Was I afraid of a large meeting; so that by this it could be shown and made known what great inner constancy he possessed, because no number of angry people outwardly terrifies one who is not internally under the influence of bad habits. For in this life, he who does not seek anything that has to do with prosperity certainly does not fear anything that has to do with adversity. 41. In these same words, if we turn to the mystical meaning, we directly find in them the example of the Redeemer. For He was not “afraid of the great assembly,” Who smote by one word only his pursuers, who came with swords and staves, saying, “It is I” (John 18:6) 1872. He “was not frightened by the contempt of his neighbors”, who, in freeing us from eternal punishment, received blows in the face with an imperturbable look. He “kept silent and did not go out of the door,” Who, going through His Passion, experiencing the weak traits of human nature, refused to use the power of the Divine. For the Mediator between God and man would "go out of the door" if, when He was carried through as Man, He would show the power of His Majesty, and in the power of His Divinity would overcome the weak traits of the flesh taken upon Himself. For in order for Him to die for the salvation of mankind, He had to remain hidden in His Divinity. For if they had known this, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory (1 Cor. 2:8) 1873, and therefore He did not “go out of the door,” Who, even under the interrogation of Pilate, remained silent; and in the hands of the persecutors He offered His Body to suffer, which He took upon Himself in the name of the elect, and did not reveal to those who were against Him exactly who He was. Therefore it is said by the psalmist: they made Me abominable to them, and I ceased, and I did not go forward (Ps. 87:9) 1874. For, when He was despised because He appeared as a man, He would have “went forward” if He had revealed His hidden Majesty to all. But since He made the weakness visible, and hid the strength from sight, here, He remained unknown to the persecutors, because to the persecutors He did not “go forward.” Who, however, “goes forward” for the elect, because to those who seek Him He reveals the sweetness of His Divine nature. Therefore the prophet said: You come forward for the salvation of Your people, so that You will preserve Your anointed (Hab. 3:13) 1875. And then follows: Verse 35. Who will give me a helper, that the Almighty may hear my desire (Job 31:35) 1876. 42. A holy man, even after he has shown so many high virtues in him, knows well that he cannot achieve high things by his own merits, seeks a helper. And on whom truly does he fix his eyes, if not on the Only Begotten Son of God, Who, when He took upon Himself human nature, being born in this mortal state, became the One who gives help? For He helps man by becoming Man; for there was no way for a simple man to discover the return to God, and therefore a way of return had to be created through the God-man. For we were far from the Righteous and Immortal, being mortal and unrighteous. But between the Immortal and the Righteous and us, mortals and unrighteous, a mediator appeared between God and man, mortal and righteous, Who could simultaneously demonstrate his own death with mortals and righteousness with God; for while, immersed in our things below, we were far from the things above, He could Himself separately unite the things below with the things above, that in this there might arise a way for us to return to God, in so far as He had united our lower features to His high ones. And so, blessed Job, on his own behalf and on behalf of the entire Church, asks for a Mediator when he says: Who will give me an assistant, and rightly adds: so that the Most High can hear my desire. For he knew that for Eternal deliverance, man's prayers could never be heard except through the Advocate. Regarding which the Apostle John said: If there be any one sin, then we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He is the propitiation for our sins, and not only for ours, but for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:1-2) 1877, in relation to whom Paul says: This is Jesus Christ, who died for us, yea, and was raised again, who is also at the right hand of God, he also makes intercession for us (Rom. 8:34) 1878. For for the Only Begotten Son to “be a mediator” for man is to show Himself as Man in the presence of the Eternal Father, and for Him to intercede for human nature is to take upon Himself that same nature in the sublimity of the Divine nature. So the Lord does not intercede for us by voice, but on the basis of compassion; because what He must condemn in the elect, He frees by taking upon Himself. So, a helper is sought so that “the desire may be heard,” because unless the intercession of the Mediator is on our behalf, surely our prayers will not be heard by the ear of God. 43. Moreover, it must be specifically noted that he did not say “my prayers,” but “my desire,” that the Almighty might hear. For true prayers do not lie in the words of the mouth, but in the thoughts of the heart. For the loudest accents that enter deep into the ears of God are not our spoken words, but our desires. For if we seek eternal life with our lips, but do not yet desire it with our hearts, we remain silent. But if we desire in our hearts, even when we are silent with our lips, we cry out in silence. For therefore in the desert the people shouted with their voices, and they demanded words from Moses, and yet, while he remained silent, he was heard by the ear of Divine Grace when it was said: Why do you cry out to me? (Exodus 14:15) 1879. It is in desire a secret cry that does not reach the ears of men, and yet fills the ears of the Creator. Therefore, when Anna is going to the church, she is truly silent with her lips, and yet pronounces her desires loudly. That is why the Lord says in the Gospel: enter into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly (Matthew 6:6) 1880. For “the door is closed in the room” of the one who, while his mouth is silent, pours out the affection of his heart in the eyes of Mercy from Above. And the voice is “heard in secret” when it shouts out in the silence of holy desires. Therefore the psalmist rightly said: The Lord heard the desire of the poor; His ear will hear how their hearts are prepared (Ps. 9:19) 1881. Now blessed Job introduces, in words revealing, whom he is looking for as an assistant, so that his “wishes may be heard,” saying: And so that he himself, who judges, would write a book! (Job 31:35) 1882. 44. For because for a people who are in fear, the Law was given through the hands of a Servant, but for loving children the grace of the Gospel was given by the Lord, who, having come for our redemption, gave the New Testament for us, but in considering this Book, it is prescribed by it that one day He will come as a Judge also, therefore it does not require much explanation, and from this it clearly follows that He who is the Judge is the same and writes the book. For the Truth Itself speaks of Itself: The Father judges no one, but came to give all judgment to the Son (John 5:22) 1883, and therefore He will then be the Creator of Judgment, Who is now Creating the “Book”; and He must then demand in severity what He now gives in gentleness. For so we see every day that teachers give children the basics in their letters, being gentle with them, but then they are strict in dealing with them further; and what they give with softness, they demand back with hardness. Now the instructions of Divine Revelation sound soft, but they are severe when they are required to be fulfilled. Now, there is a gentle warning, but then the strict justice of the Judge will come, because the fulfillment of even the smallest commandment will not pass without careful judgment. It is also evident that He who judges is the same who writes the book, and that this “book” is the New Testament; and that the Redeemer Himself will come in His Own Person on the last day, the prophet Ezekiel rightly says further: And behold, six men are coming from the upper gate facing the north, and each has in his hand a destructive instrument, and among them is one dressed in linen, who has a scribe’s instrument at his belt (Ezek.9:2) 1884. For what else is meant by “six men walking” if not six ages of humanity? (The division of the ages of humanity by St. Gregory: from Adam to Noah, from Noah to Abraham, from Abraham to Moses, from Moses to Our Lord, and then to the end, does not fit this place. He is probably referring to the division of St. Isidore of Seville from his work "Discretione temporum", where two more divisions are given, David and Slavery. He compares these ages with the Days of Creation. The division is given at the beginning of it Chronikon). Who came from the upper gate, “because from Paradise, as from the beginning of the world, they come from the upper generations. And “the gate is turned to the North,” because the mind of man lies open to evil, and if he had not abandoned the warmth of mercy and cultivated numbness internally, he would never have come out to this mortality. And each person has a destructive weapon in his hand, because each specific generation, having developed from previous corresponding ages, until the coming of the Redeemer, had in its practice something that entailed the punishment of condemnation. And one man among them was dressed in linen. For our Redeemer had ancestors from the priestly tribe (“tribe” is perhaps a nation,” but Elizabeth, one of the daughters of Aaron, was a relative of the Most Holy Theotokos. Luke 1:5 1885 and Luke 1:36 1886) and according to the flesh, he is described as “clothed in linen.” Or, certainly, because flax is from the earth, as opposed to wool obtained from corruptible flesh, and He received the garments of His Body from the Virgin mother, and not from the corruption of copulation, so He came to us “clothed in linen.” And with his belt was a set of scribes, for the belt separates the lower part of the body. And because after this He Himself died for us, and rose again, and ascended into heaven, the Lord, Who wrote the New Testament through the apostles, this man had a “scribe’s set on his belt.” For the One who, after Himself departed, created the writing of the New Testament, carried, as it were, a “scribe’s set” behind Him. Thus, this scribe’s set, he sees, is held tightly by a man “dressed in linen,” and another says: whoever judges would write a book. But why, blessed Job, do you want the book to be written by Him Who is Himself and Judge? It continues: Verse 36. So that I may carry her on my shoulders and place her around me like a crown (Job 31:36) 1887. 45. For “carrying a book on your shoulders” means practicing the preaching of the Holy Scriptures. And let us consider carefully how it is first described to be “carried on the shoulders,” and then “placed around like a crown”; because the commandments of the Sacred Revelation, if they are now carried out in practice, will subsequently form for us a crown of victory in eternal restitution. But why does blessed Job ask for a “book” that “will be written by the Judge”, asking for one who could not reach the times of the New Testament? But, as has often been said, he uses his words to speak in the name of the elect, and, personifying them, asks that what he has foreseen will benefit them all in every way. For He had this book with Him by the Spirit, which He received by the grace of Inspiration, so that through His life He could study it and, foreseeing it, declare it. But here it is also necessary to make it known that when we take into thought the precepts of the Sacred Revelation, and when we turn our minds away from the love of perishable life, we seem to accelerate a kind of footsteps of the heart towards internal things. But at the same time, no one, having abandoned the lower things, immediately finds himself in the higher things; because in order to deserve perfection, it is necessary that the soul every day, aimed at heights, should move towards it, as if by a kind of steps of growth. Therefore, in this place he also rightly adds: By my few steps I will reveal it (Job 31:37) 1888. 46. ​​​With regard to these “steps” the psalmist rightly said: they go from virtue to virtue (Ps. 83:8) 1889. Concerning them, again, the Holy Church he says: God distinguishes by her steps at what time he should receive her (Ps. 49:3) 1890. For the higher things are not achieved suddenly, but as has already been said, the aspiring soul comes to the highest field of virtuous achievements step by step. For, therefore, the same prophet says again: I did, and my spirit sank little by little (Ps. 76:4) 1891. What does he mean when he says, my spirit, if not the spirit of man, i.e. spirit of exaltation? And because by secret grace we come to the love of God, to the extent that we are controlled from above, to the extent that virtue is daily increased in us by the Spirit of God, and our own spirit is quenched to the same extent. This same spirit of error, because it does not immediately go away and leaves us clean, is rightly called “falling little by little.” But we then take a full step forward towards God when we have completely and completely fallen away from ourselves. Thus, these measures of increasing merits are called “steps” in the words of the holy man. For every chosen person begins first from the weakness of his embryonic state, and then reaches the solidity of strong and mighty achievements. The Truth clearly shows us this in the Gospel, saying: The Kingdom of Heaven is as if a man casts a seed into the ground, and sleeps and rises night and day, and how the seed sprouts and grows he does not know (Mark 4:26-27) 1892. And describing the growth of the same seed it is added: For the earth itself bears fruit; first the greens, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear (Mark 4:28) 1893. And the end of this same growth is made known when it is said: But when she bore fruit, immediately the sickle was sent in, because the harvest had come (Mark 4:29) 1894. Let us note that the increase in achievements is indicated by the voice of Truth under the guise of fruits. For He says: first the green, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. Wasn’t Peter still “green” when, having heard one word from the mouth of a maid, he was instantly frightened and bent over? He was already truly “green” through devotion, but was still in weakness. But he was already “a full grain in the ear” when he endured the persecution of the rulers, saying: We must obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29) 1895. For he was already "a full grain in the ear" when in persecution he suffered such countless wounds, and yet he never became like the tares, but continued to remain a whole grain. For, little by little, in every soul, so to speak, the moisture of inner grace abounds, and the greenery can grow into fruit. So let no one, when he sees one of his neighbors still in green, be disappointed because there is no full grain in the ear. Because from the green leaves that hang softly and flap back and forth in the wind, the rising grains of the fruit will come to hardness. 47. Now the prophet Daniel, while the Lord spoke to him, took the trouble to tell us the changes in the position of his body, which also rightfully represent stages of our existence. Thus he says: And I heard the voice of his words, and when I heard the voice of his words, I fell on my face, and laid my face on the ground. And behold, a hand touched me and brought me to my knees and to the joints of my hands. And he said, O Daniel, desired man, take heed of the words that I will tell you, and stand upright; for unto Thee am I sent this day: and when he spake this word unto me, I stood up trembling; and he said to me, Fear not (Dan. 10:9–12) 1896. These poses of his body, which he assumed while listening to the voice within, he would never have outlined to us with such precision if he believed that they really did not reveal the secret. For in the Holy Scriptures not only what holy men say is prophetic, but very often what they do is so too. Thus, a holy person, being full of inner secrets, also reinforces the power of his voice by the posture of his body. And the fact that he first lay prostrate on the ground, and the fact that he subsequently placed himself on the joints of his hands and knees, and the fact that, finally, he quickly stood upright while trembling, he makes the whole order of our development known to us in his face. For we hear the word of God “lying on the earth” when we repent of our sins, but while still in earthly pollution, we are acquainted with spiritual instructions from the voice of the saints. With this injunction, we, as if on our knees and knuckles, lift ourselves from earthly defilement, and we also seem to lift our mind from things below. For just as he who lies on the ground lies troubled in his thoughts, but for him who stands on his knees and the joints of his hands, his progress has already begun, and he is already to a large extent in the air above the earth. But at the last stage, by the voice of the Lord, he really stands upright, and trembles, for the more perfectly we have risen from earthly objects of desire, the more fully we recognize the words of God, the more we fear. For he still lies prostrate on the earth who still follows earthly desires and has not yet begun to care to be raised to the heavenly. But it is as if he is “on his hands and knees”, which already leaves some impurities, but does not yet sustain everything in the necessary practice. But now he stands truly upright on the words of God, who completely raises the mind to things higher, and despises bending down to impure earthly desires. 48. Now he rightly shows that he “rose with trembling,” because the knowledge of the inner is all the more frightening the more progress is made. And therefore it is rightly communicated by the voice of God: do not be afraid; because the more we ourselves learn that we must have reason to fear, the more inner grace is given to us from God, which can call upon love. So our contempt can little by little turn into fear, and fear into grace; for God, when He seeks us, lifts us up with our contempt for ourselves and makes us run away from ourselves with fear; and also contempt and fear will one day be put aside, that we may be united to Him only by love. And little by little we learn to fear Him and then become attached to Him only through love. (In other copies that have survived to this day (Merton and Trin. Coll, MSS, Oxford library) this phrase sounds like “we forget how to fear Him, and are attached to Him by the power of love alone - approx. Translation into English). And thus, as it is, the sort of steps of our progress are really established, the foot of the mind being first set down by fear, and then lifting it up to the heights of love, so that by fear a man may be tested, and by being afraid he may be lifted up to have courage. Now these steps of virtuous achievements are easier to overcome, since there is a gradual progression from one to the other. 49. But the topic requires separate reflection, when the mind strives to evaluate in each specific case the strength with which it rises upward in each virtue. For, speaking of the first elements of virtue, i.e. about faith and wisdom, they cannot be obtained separately, except that we rise to them by marked and ordered methods, as a kind of steps. For the faith itself, which fills us so that we take perfect practice into our hands, very often in its inception is both tottering and standing firmly, and at the present time, although standing really firmly, yet touches our confidence with a trembling of doubt or fear. For a part of it, received at the beginning, can later be perfectly completed in us. For, if there had not been such a thing in the faithful steps of the mind of one who believes, the father of the child who needed treatment would not have said in response to the question in the Gospel: Lord, I believe, help my unbelief (Mark 9:24) 1897. So, he grew upward, he who, through the faith that he had already received, at the same time cried out that he already believed and yet needed help from unbelief. Therefore, it was also said to our Redeemer by His disciples: increase faith in us, so that what was already received in the beginning could, by successive addition of steps, come to perfection. 50. In addition, Wisdom itself, which is often called the mistress of righteous deeds, comes to the growing soul, also gradually increasing, so that, of course, the ascendant must go through the steps by miraculous control. Which, for example, the prophet Ezekiel well describes in a figurative sense, talking about a man whom he saw on a high mountain, and directly, saying: and he measured out a thousand cubits, and led me on the water; the water was ankle-deep. And he measured out another thousand, and led me on the water; the water was knee-deep. And he measured out another thousand, and led me away; the water was up to the waist. And he measured out another thousand, and there was already a stream through which I could not go, because the water was so high that it was necessary to swim, but it was impossible to cross this stream (Ezek. 47: 3–5) 1898. For what is signified by the number “a thousand” if not the fullness of good with which he was vouchsafed? Thus the man who appeared "measures out a thousand cubits" and the prophet walks through the water "up to his ankles" because our Redeemer, when he turns us to Him, He bestows the fullness of a good beginning, according to our first stage of progress in our practice, with the gift of spiritual reasoning. For the water reaches the ankle when we henceforth keep moving towards the long-awaited righteousness according to the wisdom which we have been vouchsafed. Again, he “measures a thousand cubits,” and the prophet walks through the water “to the knees,” because when the fullness of good practice is given, our wisdom increases to such an extent that henceforth there is no bending for us in bad deeds. Therefore, the words of Paul were spoken: Therefore lift up your hands that hang down, and your weakened knees, and walk with straight steps with your feet (Heb. 12:12-13) 1899. Thus, “water comes to the knees” when the wisdom that is obtained pulls us towards righteous practice. And again, he “measures out a thousand,” and the prophet passes through the water, which reaches the small of the back, in this case, because the fullness of good practice grows to such a height in us that wisdom has already been vouchsafed to kill in us, as far as possible, all the satisfactions of our flesh. If the satisfactions of the flesh were not located in the region of the waist, the psalmist would never have said: burn my loins and my heart (Ps. 2:26) 1900. Thus, the water reaches above the "waist" when the sweetness of wisdom destroys the very incitement of the flesh, so that the heat of the flesh, which would have scorched the soul, is cooled. And he also “measured out a thousand,” and this was a stream that the prophet could not pass, about which he also says: through which I could not go, because the water was so high that it was necessary to swim, but it was impossible to cross this stream. For through the perfection of practice which we have received, we come to contemplation; by the same contemplation, while the mind rises to a height, and being raised, it sees in God that which it cannot comprehend, and it is as if it touches the water of a stream which it cannot pass, and looking at which it understands that it is beautiful to contemplate, and yet it is not able to grasp this most beautiful thing, which is so pleasing in contemplation. So, sooner or later, the prophet comes to the stream "which he cannot cross" because, when we are finally brought to the contemplation of wisdom, the very grandeur of what in itself raises a person to itself denies to the human mind the fullness of comprehension, so that it must at the same time be imbued with love for this wisdom, and yet can never fully comprehend it. 51. Thus, blessed Job called these increases in virtues the word “steps,” because he saw how these stages of increase, which are given as a gift from above, are separated from each other; and I saw that only through them do we rise to achieve the heavenly. And therefore, mentioning the Holy Book, i.e. Divine Revelation, he says: In my few steps I will reveal it, thus, certainly, because it really goes back to the teaching of God, who divided its achievements into stages of sacred practice. And he, as it were, “opens this book with a few steps,” proving that he has gained knowledge about it not only in words, but also in deeds. Therefore he further adds: And as a prince I will offer this (Job 31:37) 1901. For every thing we offer, we hold in our hands. So, to the “prince” who comes to the Court to “offer a book” is to adhere to the words of His commandments in our behavior. And then it continues: Verse 38–40. If my land cries out against me, or its furrows complain: If I ate its fruits without payment, or made the souls of the farmers suffer; Let the thistle grow for me instead of wheat, and the thorn instead of barley (Job 31:38–40) 1902. 52. For what does it mean “the earth cries out,” or “the furrows complain,” and what does it mean to “buy your own fruits with money”? Who needs to buy what is already his own? who has heard “the earth cry,” or who has seen “the furrows complain”? And if the furrows of the earth are the earth, why then, by means of a separate statement, is it said that both the earth cries out and its furrows complain? For, while the furrow on the earth is nothing other than the earth, this does not need a separate clause and it does not make much difference that he adds: or its furrows complain. At this point, as the order of history falls to the ground, the mystical meaning is shown before us, as if through doors wide open. He seemed to exclaim in simple words: “Considering that you know that the direct text is meaningless, it undoubtedly remains for you to follow me in other senses without fear.” For if anyone, by private right, governs his own household, or for the common benefit is established over a faithful people, because he has the rights of a ruler over the faithful who are committed to him, what else does he do if he does not hold the land to cultivate it? So for this purpose, each person, promoted above the rest, according to the Divine dispensation, like the earth, must sow the minds of those under him with the fruitful seed of his preaching. But “the earth cries out against” its owner if any just murmur is uttered against the one who is installed at the head, either of a private family or of the Holy Church. So “the earth cries out” against its owner, if minds cry against the injustice of the one who rules them; where he rightfully joins: and her furrows complain. For the earth, even when it is not cultivated by any work, still produces something for the sustenance of man, but when it is ploughed, it bears fruit in abundance. And there are some persons who, even when not “cultivated” by any “instrument” of reading or exhortation, of themselves produce some good things, although in a small degree, like earth that has not yet been plowed. But there are those who, always listening and learning, applying holy sermons and prayers to themselves, are, as it were, split by a kind of plowshare of the tongue, and in a previously solid heart they receive the seeds of instruction, and in the very furrow of voluntary admonition the fruits of good practice appear. But it very often happens that those who are put in charge do things unfairly, and it comes true that these people themselves traumatize those under them, who were obliged to do them good and not harm. When unenlightened people see such a ruler, being furious, they murmur against him, and yet do not sympathize with the grief of their neighbors. But when those who have already gone through the plough of reading, and have been sown with the fruit of practice, see the innocent who bend under the weight of an unjust ruler even in the smallest things, they immediately respond with sympathy to tears of sadness, because they can cry when they see that their neighbors are suffering unjustly. And the perfect, while they are already touched by what is spiritual, learn to mourn the bodily pain of others, to the extent that they now know how to no longer mourn their own. And so everyone who is in power, if he does what is wrong towards those under him, “the earth cries against him and the furrows complain,” because against his injustice the unenlightened man actually breaks out in a loud voice of murmur, while all perfect men punish themselves in tears for his lawless practice, and for what the unenlightened murmurs, those under power the enlightened one mourns in silence. So, the earth cries out against me, or its furrows complain, means that while the majority complain justly against the ruler, people who have already come to a more fruitful life are brought to tears of sadness. Thus, furrows and earth are still different from the word "earth", because those in the Holy Church who cultivate their minds with the labor of holy contemplation are much more fruitful than the rest of the believers, and to the extent that they have received the seeds, they exhibit more abundant fruits of deeds. But there are those who are placed over holy people, and receive benefits for their livelihood from the generosity of the Church, but do not pay for it with the tutelage of instruction to others. In contrast to the example of the holy man, the correctness is added even further when he adds directly about them: If I ate its fruits without payment. 53. For “eating the fruits of the earth without payment” really means receiving fees from the Church, but not giving tribute to the same Church for preaching. About the same sermon it is said in the voice of the Creator: you should have given what is mine to the merchants, and then I, having come, would have received what is mine with a profit (Matthew 25:27) 1903. And therefore he “eats the fruits of the earth without payment,” he who receives the benefit of the church for the service of his body, but does not turn to the people the ministry of preaching. What can we pastors say to this if, preceding the coming of the Strict Judge, we took on the function of a herald, but we devour what the Church gives with stupid mouths? We claim all that is due to our own body, but we do not repay what we are obliged to give to the souls of those under us. See how a holy man, bound by so many responsibilities in this world, in the midst of countless occupations, was free to preach. And he never “ate the fruits of the ground without wages,” because, of course, he repaid with the word of righteous instruction those under his control, from whom he received the fruit of bodily alms. For everyone who is above people is indebted to Almighty God. And he who is over many, and he who is over a lesser number, must alike, in his own way, reward the service of those who are subject to it, so that his mind is always vigilantly connected with them for the warning and exhortation which he is at all times obliged to provide to his subjects. For we are all, according to the dispensation appointed by our Creator, united among ourselves in subjection to government, and obedience to our true Lord, and who else are we then, if not servants to each other? And, taking into account that the one who submits serves in bowing, it remains certain that the one who is above him must serve with the word. While the one who is in submission bears the fruit of the harvest of obedience, it is necessary that the one who is in charge gives care and concern in compassion and mercy. And so it is, that as long as we diligently seek to serve one another now, we can one day be together with the true Lord in common joy. But there are some who here abandon the duty of preaching and spare others the good they have, and therefore no longer have it in the true sense of the word. To whom is this rightly said by James: But if you have bitter envy among yourself, and contentiousness in your hearts, ... this is not wisdom coming down from above, but earthly, spiritual, demonic (James 3:14–15) 1904. Consequently, here too, when it is said: if I ate its fruits without payment, he rightfully adds: or made the souls of farmers suffer. 54. Because they are "cultivators of the soil"—cultivators of the soil who, being placed in the lower stages, with all the earnestness of which they are capable, in the best practice they can show, they co-labor in the grace of preaching the doctrine of the Holy Church. And not making the “farmers” of this land suffer means not envying their labors; for the rulers of the Church, while they confirm in themselves the right of preaching, should not, in gnawing envy, deny others who also preach in the right direction. For the religious consciousness of the pastor, because he does not seek his own glory, but the glory of the Creator, wants to do everything possible to help all others. For the faithful preacher desires, if possible, that the truth which he alone is unable to speak should be heard from the lips of others. Therefore, Jesus wanted to rebuke the two who remained in the camp and prophesied, but Moses correctly said to him: Aren’t you jealous for me? If all of the Lord's people were prophets, then the Lord would send His Spirit upon them! (Num. 11:29) 1905. For he was ready for everyone to prophesy, for he did not envy others for the good things he had. Thus, since blessed Job revealed all these things, and if he did not do them, he binds himself with the sentence of damnation, continuing: Verse 40. Let thistle grow for me instead of wheat, and a thorn instead of barley (Job 31:40) 1906. 55. It is as if he had said in simple words: “If I have done something unjust to those under me, if I have collected debts on my own account and have not paid what I owe myself, if I have been jealous of others who do good practice, or good things that are renewed again and again, let the evil things that sting come upon me in Judgment.” Since “the thistle grows instead of wheat, and the thorn instead of barley,” when in the final Retribution, when compensation for our labor is expected, injections of pain come. And note that, just as barley differs from wheat, although both are edible, so the thorn differs from the thistle, although both are what pricks, because the thistle is softer, and the thorn is always harder when pricked. And so he says: thistles grow instead of wheat, and thorns instead of barley. It was as if he had said directly and openly: “I really know that I have done great and small good deeds; and if this is not so, let a lesser evil come upon me for my greater good deeds, a greater evil come upon me for my lesser good deeds.” Although this can also be understood in another sense. For “wheat” denotes the spiritual activities that nourish the mind, but “barley” denotes the disposal of earthly things. For while we are often forced to serve the weak and carnal, we are, as it were, preparing food for cattle, and the very practice of our affairs in this case, in the image of barley, has some admixture of tares. And it very often happens that a ruler who is installed at the head, while he strengthens what is unjust in relation to those under his power, while he welcomes the bad, while, what is even more difficult, he grieves all persons who act rightly out of envy, yet he sometimes does some good things, and sows grains, being mixed with earthly things, and sometimes not in the passion of the love of money, but to support the flesh of others, the fruit his labor looks like a barley harvest. But several people under his control, considering that they can hardly bear his injustice in the main things, cannot feel joy in the lesser things which he still does well. Although a practice is not acceptable before God, which is defiled by the injustice of another practice, and the desire for earthly things no longer looks like concern for the good of those under his rule, when it seems to them that the ruler is puffing in greed. Hence it is that even in response to a few good things which they see done in the midst of many bad ones, they respond not with praise, but with groans, and those who go weakly complain, and accept the idea that what they see cannot be a thing of pure practice. And therefore he says: If my land cries out against me, or its furrows complain: If I ate its fruits without payment or made the souls of farmers suffer; let the thistle grow for me instead of wheat, and the thorn instead of barley. It was as if he had said clearly: “If the great things that I owe have not been done properly, I am willing to receive stings of murmuring from those under me, even though I have done good. If I have not stated what can raise, let their tongue go forward in just complaint to pierce me.” 56. What requires the ever vigilant attention of the mind is that they who are installed at the head and offer examples of bad practice to those under them, and kill their lives with the sword of their evil deeds, and those who are under the government undertake to judge the acts of their rulers, and murmur against those who are above them, go not against the human appointment, but against the Divine appointment that orders everything. For them it is said: But My sheep must eat what is trampled under your feet: they drink what is polluted by your feet (Ezek. 34:19) 1907. For “sheep drink what is polluted by the feet of others,” when those under authority, following the example of life, seek out the things that the man above them has spoiled with his bad practice. But, on the other hand, these individuals should also hear the following: What about us? Your murmuring is not against us, but against the Lord (Ex. 16:8) 1908. For, murmuring against the power established over them clearly exposes the One who gave this power to man. Finally, God vouchsafed us, and we studied the statements of the blessed Job, full of mystical power, with which he responded to the words of his friends. Now it remains for us to move on to the words of Elihu, which must be weighed with the more serious caution, the more they are spoken with the audacity of youth and the fervor of the spirit. However, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. Writing to you about the same is not burdensome for me, but edifying for you. If my heart was seduced by a woman and I built forts at my neighbor’s door. If I neglected the rights of my servant and maidservant when they had a dispute with me. Have I refused the needy their request and made the widow's eyes weary? If I walked in vanity, and if my foot hastened to deceit. for the punishment from God is terrible for me: I could not resist His greatness. Is there help for me within me, and is there any support for me? Did I place my support in gold and say to the treasure: You are my hope? and I will say to my soul: soul! you have a lot of good things lying around for many years: rest, eat, drink, be merry. But God said to him: crazy! this night your soul will be taken from you; who will get what you have prepared? Did I rejoice that my wealth was great, and that my hand had gained much? Looking at the sun, how it shines, and the moon, how it moves majestically, was I deceived in the secret of my heart, and did my lips kiss my hand? This would also be a crime subject to trial, because I would then have renounced God Most High. and they forsook all the commandments of the Lord their God, and made themselves cast images of two bulls, and built an oak grove, and worshiped all the host of heaven, and served Baal, If I had seen iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have heard me. I was in no hurry to be Your shepherd and did not desire a day of trouble, You know this; what has come out of my mouth is open before You. but be renewed in the spirit of your mind. And I said: “This is my grief - the change of the right hand of the Most High.” Hidden wisdom and hidden treasure - what's the use of both? Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. The crown of the wise is their wealth, but the stupidity of the ignorant is stupidity. But we carry this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the superabundant power may be attributed to God, and not to us. but whoever did not know and did something worthy of punishment will receive less punishment. And from everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required, and to whom much has been entrusted, from him will be required more. And when one felled a log, his ax fell into the water. And he shouted and said: Ah, my lord! and he was taken into custody! So let your light shine before people, so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven Let your loins be girded and your lamps burning. Brethren, I do not consider myself to have attained; but only by forgetting what is behind and reaching forward. me, who was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and an offender, but received mercy because I acted this way out of ignorance, in unbelief. I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. For I am already becoming a victim, and the time of my departure has come. Therefore, I am content in weaknesses, in insults, in needs, in persecutions, in oppressions for Christ’s sake, for when I am weak, then I am strong. in honor and dishonor, with blame and praise: we are considered deceivers, but we are faithful. Have I been deceived in the secret of my heart, and have my lips kissed my hand? As a smelter is for silver, and a furnace is for gold, so are the lips that praise a man (The heart of the wicked seeks evil, but the heart of the right seeks knowledge). ... and have my lips kissed my hand? The lazy person puts his hand into the cup and does not want to bring it to his mouth. For who makes you different? What do you have that you wouldn't get? And if you received it, why do you boast as if you didn’t receive it? Then the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and lay down their crowns before the throne, saying. This would also be a crime subject to trial, because I would then have renounced God Most High. Did I rejoice at the death of my enemy and triumph when misfortune befell him? By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. The righteous will rejoice when he sees vengeance; He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. I did not allow my lips to sin by cursing his soul. But to you who hear, I say: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you. Bless your persecutors; bless, not curse. Do not repay evil for evil or insult for insult; on the contrary, bless, knowing that you are called to this in order to inherit the blessing. Did not the men of my tent say, O that we were not filled with his meat? therefore, do not pay attention to every word that is spoken, lest you hear your servant when he curses you; for your heart knows many cases when you yourself have slandered others. The wanderer did not spend the night on the street; I opened my doors to passers-by. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven. and Abel also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord looked upon Abel and his gift, but did not look upon Cain and his gift. Cain became very upset and his face fell. If only I hid my transgressions, like a man, hiding my vices in my chest. Adam said: The wife whom You gave me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate. And the Lord God said to the woman: Why have you done this? The woman said: The serpent deceived me, and I ate. but God knows that on the day you eat of them, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil. Having said this, He cried out with a loud voice: Lazarus! get out. Return to our neighbors seven times the reproach with which they, O Lord, reproached You, into their bosom. Confess your faults to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed: the fervent prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. He who hides his crimes will not succeed; and whoever confesses and leaves them will have mercy. A gift from a person gives him space and will bring him to the nobles. then I would be afraid of large society, and the contempt of my fellow tribesmen would frighten me, and I would remain silent and would not go out the door. Set up road signs for yourself, set up pillars for yourself, turn your heart to the road, to the path along which you walked; return, O virgin of Israel, return to these thy cities. I stood on my watch and, standing on the tower, watched to find out what He would say in me, and what should I answer to my complaint? You have done much, O Lord my God: about Your miracles and Your thoughts about us - whoever will be like You! – I would like to preach and speak, but they exceed the number. I heard, and my insides trembled; at the news of this my lips trembled, pain penetrated into my bones, and the place beneath me trembled; but I must be calm in the day of disaster, when the plunderer comes against my people. I said in my rashness: every man is a liar. Herod, seeing Jesus, was very happy, for he had long wanted to see Him, because he had heard a lot about Him, and hoped to see some miracle from Him, and asked Him many questions, but He answered him nothing. But Herod and his soldiers, having humiliated Him and mocked Him, dressed Him in light clothes and sent Him back to Pilate. For we do not corrupt the word of God, as many do, but we preach sincerely, as from God, before God, in Christ. And when he said to them, “It is I,” they stepped back and fell to the ground. which none of the authorities of this century has known; for if they had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. You have removed my acquaintances from me, you have made me disgusting to them; I am imprisoned and cannot leave. You come forward for the salvation of Your people, for the salvation of Your anointed. You crush the head of the wicked house, stripping it bare from the foundation to the top. Oh, if only someone would listen to me! This is my desire, that the Almighty will answer me, and that my protector will make a record. My children! I write this to you so that you will not sin; and if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; He is the propitiation for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for the sins of the whole world. Who is judging? Christ Jesus died, but also rose again: He is also at the right hand of God, and He intercedes for us. And the Lord said to Moses: Why do you cry to Me? tell the children of Israel to go. But you, when you pray, go into your room and, having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly. For the poor will not be forever forgotten, and the hope of the poor will not be completely lost. ... and for my defender to make a note. For the Father does not judge anyone, but has given all judgment to the Son. And behold, six people are coming from the upper gate, facing the north, and each has his destructive weapon in his hand, and among them is one dressed in linen, who has a scribe's instrument at his belt. And they came and stood near the bronze altar. In the days of Herod, king of Judah, there was a priest from the order of Abius, whose name was Zechariah, and his wife from the family of Aaron, her name was Elizabeth. Here is Elizabeth, your relative, who is called barren, and she conceived a son in her old age, and she is already in her sixth month, I would carry it on my shoulders and lay it on like a crown. I would tell him the number of my steps, I would become close to him as to a prince. they come from strength to strength, they appear before God in Zion. Maybe this quote: I remember God and tremble; I think, and my spirit faints. (Ps. 76:4) And he said: The Kingdom of God is like if a man casts seed into the ground, and sleeps and rises night and day; and how the seed sprouts and grows, he does not know, for the earth itself produces first greenery, then an ear, then a full grain in the ear. When the fruit is ripe, he immediately sends in the sickle, because the harvest has come. Peter and the Apostles answered and said: We must obey God rather than men. And I heard the voice of his words; and as soon as I heard the voice of his words, I fell on my face in a daze and lay with my face to the ground. But behold, a hand touched me and made me on my knees and in the palm of my hands. And he said to me: “Daniel, man of desires! take heed of the words that I will say to you, and stand upright on your feet; for to you I have been sent today.” When he spoke these words to me, I stood up in trepidation. But he said to me: “Do not be afraid, Daniel; from the first day that you set your heart to gain understanding and humble you before your God, your words were heard, and I would come according to your words.” And immediately the boy’s father exclaimed with tears: I believe, Lord! help my unbelief. When that man went east, he held a cord in his hand, and measured out a thousand cubits, and led me on the water; the water was ankle-deep. And he measured out another thousand, and led me on the water; the water was knee-deep. And he measured out another thousand, and led me away; the water was up to the waist. And I measured another thousand, and there was already a stream here that I could not go through, because the water was so high that I had to swim, but it was impossible to cross this stream. Therefore, strengthen your drooping hands and weakened knees, and walk straight with your feet, so that what is lame may not be turned aside, but rather be made straight. ...would become close to him as to a prince. If my land cried out against me and its furrows complained against me; If I ate its fruits without payment and burdened the lives of farmers, then let thistle grow instead of wheat and cockle instead of barley. Job's words ended. Therefore, you should have given my silver to the merchants, and when I came, I would have received mine with profit. But if you have bitter envy and contentiousness in your heart, do not boast or lie about the truth. This is not wisdom descending from above, but earthly, spiritual, demonic, But Moses said to him, “Are you not jealous for me?” Oh, that all the Lord's people would be prophets, that the Lord would send His Spirit upon them! then let thistle grow instead of wheat and cockle instead of barley. Job's words ended. so shall My sheep eat what is trampled under your feet, and drink what is disturbed by your feet? And Moses said: You will know when the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening, and bread to fill in the morning, for the Lord has heard your murmuring that you raised against Him: what about us? Your murmur is not against us, but against the Lord.