Прение схоластика с аввой Марком

One of the eloquent lawyers (δικανικός) asked the elder [St. Mark] the ascetic, saying: “I ask you, enlighten me, who wants to know on what you, monks, are based, arguing that criminals 105 should not be brought to justice, and what are you doing, moving away from sensory things and affairs? I very much blame you for this as people who illegally eliminate the court and unnaturally [prefer] idleness. If I find out that you are doing this out of wisdom, then it is necessary for me to abandon such censure, jealous of your virtue.” The ascetic, having first prayed in his mind, answered him like this: “If you, a learned man, want to be convinced of this, then you should learn this from people who know this well, for we are still among the students. But since you, the sage 106, of your own free will came to the ignorant, wanting to verify what [you] said 107, then listen. The monks do not adhere to wisdom that is contrary to the Church, but try to follow the wisdom of Christ, in the words of the Apostle: “Let this be wisdom in you, even in Christ Jesus, who is in the form of God, not by the admiration of being equal to God, but by making Himself a little less, having received the form of a servant” (Phil. 2:6,7). Know that this way of thinking and life is given by God and gives rise to a great virtue - humility. The Lord commanded this work to be done in the Church, saying: “Do not do the things that perish, but abid in eternal life” (John 6:27). The lawyer said: “I ask [you, tell us], so that we too may know: what is this matter?” The ascetic answered: “To seek through prayer the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, which is within us, as the Lord said (see: Luke 17:21), who promised to supply those who seek Him with everything necessary for the body (see: Matt. 6:33). How then do you call us, who heard this from the Lord, believed [His word] and carried it out to the best of our ability, not acting according to nature? If you see this as unnatural, then know who you are blaming - God commanded this. Likewise, not to bring those who offend [us] to justice is a commandment of God. How then do those who fulfill it act unlawfully, when God said through the prophet: “Vengeance is mine, I will repay” (Deut. 32:35), says the Lord and Christ in the Gospel: “Judge not, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, lest you be condemned; forgive, and it will be forgiven to you” (Luke 6:37), and the apostle says: “Before the time, judge nothing” ( 1 Cor.4:5); and again: “Not taking vengeance on yourself,” and in another place: “Who are you to judge a stranger’s servant” (Rom. 12:19; 14:4)? Who, after all this, established more righteous laws? Who, considering himself sinless, wants to judge those who offend ahead of time, and accuses those who try to fulfill the law of God of breaking the law and calls gentleness malice?” 2. Hearing this, the scholastic said: “Do rulers sin when they punish those who offend and give those who are offended their due in justice?” The elder answered: “It is not the judges who sin, but those who betray those who have offended them to them, without leaving them to God; and, firstly, they sin because everything that befalls them is tolerated for their own evil deeds and draws them to repentance, and not to revenge on others; secondly, because even if they unjustly suffered the misfortune that happened, they still had to forgive the one who offended them, hearing the words of the Lord: “Let go, and it will be forgiven you,” and not take revenge through people, thus leaving their evil deeds without forgiveness. Princes, according to the word of the Apostle, are not afraid of good deeds, but of evil (Rom. 13:3). For they do not force pious people to accuse those who offend them, they do not reproach those who are not vindictive, which is why they, being offended, do not resort to courts, but [only] satisfy those who want revenge; those who endure [insults] for God’s sake are revered and praised as the most reasonable. Just as judges do not involve those who do not want [to sue], so in avenging the offended, they do not sin. So, you should, O wise one, after external laws and knowledge, learn the spiritual law, accept the works of piety and endure all the sorrowful things that befall you as your own. For without this no one can become truly wise.” 3. When the scholastic wanted to know what kind of works on piety these were, the elder told him: “The commandments of Christ, of which the first and greatest is love, for it does not think evil, but loves everything, has faith in everything, trusts everything, endures everything (1 Cor. 13: 5, 7), according to the word of Scripture; By doing all this, she cannot judge those who think to offend her. By this love we are distinguished from one another, but none of us achieves [the fullness of] its dignity, but expects that the grace of Christ will fill our shortcomings, unless we neglect to do according to our strength; for God knows how much we cannot do due to weakness and how much we fail to do deeds of love due to negligence. But since love is strengthened not only by arbitrary labors, but also by occasional sorrows, therefore we need a lot of patience and meekness, with the assistance of God’s help. The Divine Apostle says: “Though he be wise in this world, let him be so, that he may be wise” (1 Cor. 3:18). Such a superior does not condemn himself for lacking perfect love, 108 but, on the contrary, he himself strives to achieve what they surpass him in, and when he becomes equal to them, he again looks for others greater than him, and, having found them, competes with them, and never stops in his quest until he finds some who surpass him in love. If someone does not liken himself to the highest, and condemns those who have not yet reached the degree of complete love as imperfect, he condemns himself, for it is said: “Do not condemn, lest you be condemned” (Luke 6:37). Hence it happens that those who are wise in words only consider those who offend guilty, but those who are wise in the Spirit, even when they are offended by others, blame themselves if they do not arbitrarily suffer insults with joy, and not only for this they blame themselves, but also for the fact that sorrows arise from their own previous guilt, although one sin is easier than another. He who takes revenge for himself, as it were, condemns God for the lack of justice, and whoever endures the sorrow that has come upon him as his own, he confesses the evil he has previously done, for which he suffers, enduring something heavy.” 4. Indignant at the reproof, the layman said [to this]: “If the spiritual law commands you this way, according to the institution of God, as you said, then why do some monks, adhering to this law, fall?” The elder answered: “It is not those who fall who cling to it who fall, but those who abandon it and, being robbed by vanity and care for the things of life, neglect the most important thing in it—prayer, I say, and humility. That is why the devil does not prevent us from thinking and doing everything worldly, just to remove us from prayer and humility, for he knows that what is done without these two [virtues], although it is good, he will later someday take away. I mean prayer not only performed with the body, but also offered to God with an undistracted thought. For if one of these two 110 is untimely separated, then both, remaining alone, are subject not to God, but to their own will.” The scholastic asked: “Does the body have will without thought?” The ascetic answered: “He has, as the apostle says: “For sometimes we too are disobedient, doing the will of the flesh” (Tit.3:3; Eph.2:3) and also: “The flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh” (Gal.5:17). This means that the flesh has both lust and will, which we do not know 111, for we do not listen to our thoughts and agree with them. Therefore, not only those who do not care about prayer, but also those who do not pay attention to their minds in it, are disturbed [by thoughts]. We said this not to condemn others, but recognizing our own shortcomings, for the former is a sign of pride, and the latter of humility; but God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (1 Peter 5:5), through which He leads us not only to knowledge, but also to the skill of sacred virtue, that is, undistracted prayer. And Blessed Paul, wanting us not to be at all negligent about it, says: “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17) and, at the same time, pointing out the lack of entertainment of the mind, said: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so as to test you, what is the will of God, good, and acceptable, and perfect” ( Rom.12:2). Since God, due to our lack of faith and weakness, gave various commandments so that everyone, according to his efforts, would avoid torment and receive salvation, the apostle instructs us to the perfect will of God, wanting us not to be judged at all; knowing that prayer contributes to the fulfillment of all commandments, he does not cease to command it repeatedly and in various ways and says: “Praying at all times in the Spirit, and continually vigilant with all patience and prayer” (Eph. 6:18). 5. From this we see that there are different types of prayer, for one thing is to pray to God with an undistracted thought, and another thing is to stand in prayer with the body and be entertained by thought; also another thing is to choose the time and, having finished worldly conversations and activities, to pray, and another thing is to prefer and present prayer as much as possible to all worldly concerns, according to the word of the same apostle: “The Lord is near, do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication let your requests be made known to God” (Phil. 4:5,6). Just as Blessed Peter says: “Be wise and sober in your prayers, casting all your care upon Nan, for He cares for you (1 Peter 4:7; 5:7). First of all, the Lord Himself, knowing that everything is confirmed by prayer, said: “Do not worry about what you eat, or what you drink, or what you wear: seek the Kingdom.” God and his righteousness, and all this will be added to you” (Matthew 6:31,33). But perhaps the Lord is calling us through this to greater faith, for who, leaving concern for the temporary and not tolerating poverty in it, will not believe God regarding eternal blessings? Having discovered this, the Lord said: “He who is faithful in little is also faithful in much” (Luke 16:10). But in this too He condescended to us philanthropically, for, knowing that daily care for the body is inevitable for us, He did not cut off daily care, but, allowing us to take care of the present day very decently, Godly and philanthropically commands us not to worry about tomorrow; for it is impossible for people clothed with a body not to be at all concerned about what pertains to the life of the body; through prayer and abstinence one can reduce a lot into a little, but it is impossible to completely despise everything [pertaining to the body]. 6. So, whoever, according to Scripture, desires to reach the age of a perfect husband, according to the age of the fulfillment of Christ (Eph. 4:13), should not prefer various services to prayer and, as it happens, take them upon himself unnecessarily; but those who meet for some reason and according to God’s will should not shy away from and reject them from themselves under the pretext of prayer; but he [needs] to recognize the difference 112 and serve God’s guidance without testing. Whoever thinks differently does not believe that one commandment is, according to Scripture, higher and more important than another, and does not want, according to the word of the prophet, to be guided by all the commandments (Ps. 119:128) that meet him according to God's vision. But although the necessary and prudent tasks that we face are inevitable, we must reject untimely activities, preferring prayer to them, and especially reject those that involve us in large expenses and accumulation of unnecessary possessions. For as much as someone limits them about the Lord and cuts off their superfluous substance, so much does the thought keep from entertainment, and as much as the thought restrains, so much gives place to pure prayer and shows sincere faith in Christ. If someone, due to lack of faith or some other weakness, cannot do this, then at least let him know the truth and, according to his strength, let him stretch forward, blaming himself for infancy. For it is better to be held accountable for a lack of [deeds], and not for seduction and exaltation; May the Lord’s parable about the publican and the Pharisee confirm you of this. So, let us also try, through hope and prayer, to distance all worldly cares from ourselves; If we cannot fulfill this perfectly, then we will bring God confession of our shortcomings, but we will not abandon diligence in prayer, for it is better to be reproached for a private omission than for complete abandonment. In everything that we have said about prayer and inevitable service, we need a lot of admonition from God to reason in order to know when and what activity we should prefer to prayer. For everyone, practicing in his favorite occupation, thinks that he is performing a proper service, not knowing that all [our] deeds must be directed to please God, and not to please ourselves. It is even more difficult to judge that these necessary and inevitable commandments are not always the same for fulfillment, but one of them in due time should be preferred to the other, for each of the services is not always, but in its own time, performed, and the service of prayer is legitimized by unceasing; Therefore, we should prefer it to activities for which there is no real need. And all the apostles, teaching about this difference to the people who wanted to attract them to the service, said: “It is not good for us, who have left the word of God, to serve meals. See, brethren, there are seven men who have testified for you; And this word was pleasing before all the people" (Acts 6:2-5). What do we learn from this? That it is good for people who cannot continue in prayer to be in service, so that we do not lose both, and for those who can, it is better not to neglect what is better." 7. The scholastic, hearing this, said: “How is it that worldly sages, neglecting prayer, do not fall, but protect themselves with wisdom?” The elder, sighing, answered: “You said rightly that they do not fall; for, having once fallen in a terrible and twofold fall - exaltation, I say, and negligence, they cannot get up without prayer, and they no longer have why to fall. And what need does the devil have to fight with those who always lie on the ground and never get up? Some sometimes win, sometimes they are defeated, they fall and get up, they insult and are insulted, they attack and are attacked; and others, due to their great ignorance, are in their first fall and do not even know that they have fallen. To them the prophet says with regret: “The food that falls does not rise, and the one who turns away will not return?” (Jer. 8:4) And again: “Arise, sleep, and rise from the dead, and Christ will sanctify you” (Eph. 5:14). To those who do not want to endure the labor of rebellion, to remain in prayer and endure oppression [tribulation] for the sake of godliness, for the future Kingdom, the prophet says: “In your destruction, O Israel, who will help you? There is no scab, no sore, no burning wound” (Hos. 13:9; Is. 1:6). This is not one of those unwitting evils; no, this is an arbitrary wound and a sin leading to death, which cannot be healed even by the prayers of others. For it is said: “The physicians of Babylon, and they were not healed” (Jer. 51:9), because this is an arbitrary ailment, and there is no band-aid to apply, lower than oil, lower than duty (Is. 1:6), i.e. help from others. This and similar things are said by the Divine Scripture to those who despise prayer and, without need and weakness, limit it to hours and times, while the Lord ordained that it should always be brought to the omnipotent God, night and day, and the apostles (cf. Luke 18:1,7; 1 Thess. 5:17). 8. This is how the Old Testament admonishes the one who trusts in himself and exalts himself in his wisdom: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, but do not be proud of your wisdom (Prov. 3:5). And these are not just words, as it seemed to some, and therefore they acquired books, learned the power of what is written in them, and, having not fulfilled any of this, they are puffed up with one thing - and only thoughts, and, boasting in words and research, they receive great praise from those inexperienced in wisdom. Without touching on hard work and not remembering the work, they are much blamed by God and by hardworking and pious men, for they, having used the original understanding (εἰσαγωγικῇ γνῶσει) of the Scriptures not for work, but having abused it for testimony, they have lost the effective grace of the Holy Spirit. They are those who boast in the face, and not in the heart (2 Cor. 5:12). Therefore, those who are inexperienced in doing must touch it, for what is said in Scripture is not said only so that we may know it, but so that we may do it in practice. So, let us begin the work and, gradually succeeding, we will find that not only hope in God, but also firm faith, and unfeigned love, and unforgivingness, and love for the brethren, and self-control, and patience, and inner knowledge (γνῶσις ἐσωτέρα), and deliverance from temptations, grace-filled gifts, heartfelt confession and zealous tears through prayer are given to the faithful, and not only this [the above], but also patience in the sorrows that befall them, and sincere forgiveness to one’s neighbor, 113 and knowledge of the spiritual law, and the acquisition of the truth of God, and the influx of the Holy Spirit, and the giving of spiritual treasures, and everything that God promised to give to the faithful here and in the next century [they receive all this through prayer]. And, in a word, it is impossible to restore the image of God in oneself in any other way except through the grace of God and faith, if a person with great humility remains mentally in undistracted prayer. How can those who, for ignorance and carelessness about prayer, have lost such and such benefits, say: “We have not fallen,” and attribute wisdom to themselves, not even understanding their own fall; pathetic because they have fallen, and even more pathetic because of their inexperience in the matter, they gain only one thing - they force us to believe more in the Scripture, which says that the wisdom of this world is violence with God (1 Cor. 3:19), and that which comes down from God on high is from the Father of lights (see: James 1:17), and its sign is humility. Thus, those who wish to please people, instead of Divine wisdom, have adopted human wisdom for themselves and, arrogant and boasting of it inwardly, have deceived many of the simplest, convincing them not to continue in the works of piety and prayer, but to philosophize about the pretentious human wisdom of the words of all (see: 1 Cor. 2:4). The Apostle often condemns this human wisdom and calls it the abolition of the Cross, saying in his letter to the Corinthians: “Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in the wisdom of speech, lest the Cross of Christ be vain,” and again: “God chose the world, that he might put to shame the wise; that which is not, let him abolish that which is, lest all flesh should boast before God” (1 Cor. 1:17,27-29). So, if, as indicated, God does not favor the sayings of Hellenic wisdom, but the works of prayer and humility, then are not those who practice them truly foolish and, leaving the first form of piety as inconvenient to fulfill, do not want to be saved by either the second or even the third, but remain outside the sacred fence and deceive the simplest? 9. When the scholastic wanted to know what these three types of piety were, the ascetic answered: “The first 114 is so as not to sin, the second is, having sinned, to endure the sorrows that occur; the third type is to cry about the lack of patience if we cannot bear sorrows. For what is not corrected here by decent means of reconciliation [with God] necessarily brings upon us the judgment there. Unless God, seeing us crying and humbled, as He Himself knows, will blot out our sins with His omnipotent grace. If, in addition to negligence about the above, abandoning crying and humility, we justify ourselves with the words of worldly wisdom and for their sake we put ourselves above the pious, then how will we receive mercy, doing the opposite of mercy? Oh, how insinuating and how invisible is the passion of man-pleasing; it also possesses the wise! For the actions of other passions are easily visible to those who fulfill them and therefore lead those possessed by them to weeping and humility, and man-pleasing is covered with words and forms of piety, so that it is difficult for people whom it deceives to see its modifications.” 10. Layman 115 asked: “What are these modifications of man-pleasing? Moreover, and first of all, I want to know what human-pleasing is? I see that you do not give answers in a natural way, but look at things like an unscientist and condemn the useful with inappropriate arguments - so tell me the properties of this name; then I will believe you that you have comprehended its greatest harm.” The ascetic answered: “People-pleasing consists, I think, in pleasing people. These are the properties of this name that I know.” The scholastic, surprised by these words as if it were something great, said: “You expressed yourself very fairly. Why do you, O most pious one, unjustly condemn what is just? Or does it seem unfair to you that everyone should not evaluate his own deeds himself, but should leave the assessment and judgment of their goodness to others more than to himself? I say that a thing that is not pleasing to people and does not deserve praise from one’s neighbor cannot in any way constitute a virtue or be called it, for I have heard that the Divine Scripture says: “Let the sincere praise you, and not your own lips; a stranger, and not your lips” (Prov. 27:2); and again: “Let every one of you please his neighbor for good to build up” (Rom. 15:2); and again: “Be without offense, Jew and Greek and the Church of God” (1 Cor. 10:32). Who can, without pleasing people, be without offense? Why did you go so deep, condemning man-pleasing? If, in your opinion, you should praise those who do not please people more than those who please them, then now it is appropriate for you to praise robbers, murderers, thieves, treacherous people, and adulterers, for they do not please any people. Although we were silent to everything you said hitherto, do not be surprised at this: we did this not out of ignorance of Scripture and not because we did not know what was more just, but wanted to listen to your words first. We also know how to forgive those who err in words, if they do this not arbitrarily, but because of their lack of training and attribute evil to the names of good, which also happened to you, most pious, involuntarily, for you, wanting, as it seems to me, to reveal self-indulgence and its evil properties, you called it man-pleasing. But since this [happened to you] not from your negligence, but from ignorance, it would be fair, after explaining the name [man-pleasing], to remain silent about its modifications, as false, which you called so evil and incomprehensible that they also have wise people.” 11. The ascetic, seeing that [the scientist] was clearly indignant at the accusations and rejected what still needed to be said, fell silent for some time, so that it seemed to everyone listening that he, having been amazed by [his] conclusions, abandoned the compilation of evidence. Having opened his mouth, he said: “Since we came to these words not in order to win, but to receive benefit, you have hitherto remained silent, not because, as you said, that you did not know what was more just, but wanting to first listen to us, therefore we ask your honesty to fulfill your promise and teach us how the Divine Scripture condemns man-pleasing not under its own name, but under another. Knowing all the Scripture, you did a bad thing by remaining silent until now, for when you speak like this from the Scripture, we will not only be convinced of what was said before, but also in many other legends we will listen to you, who speaks more justly, although we, in simplicity, as you said, by mixing up the names, instead of passion, accused virtue.” Hearing this, the scholastic replied: “I did not say that I know all of Scripture, but partly. And you do not challenge me to a conversation, but, having started it, if you are perplexed about how to support the provisions with evidence, remain silent, and you will receive forgiveness from us; if you can show that [the Holy Scripture] condemns precisely man-pleasing, then speak, and we, of necessity, although we do not want it, will recognize the truth.” The ascetic said: “Let it be so; but where will we place the reproaches you unjustly inflicted on us?” The lawyer answered: “In the law of long-suffering, which you mentioned to us before.” “I praise your wisdom, not to say deceit,” said the elder, “you started talking about mercy for ignorance, promising to give us what you yourself intended to receive for yourself, but let’s leave it and turn to what is presented. 12. Listen to how Scripture condemns man-pleasing. Firstly, the prophet David says: “God scatters the bones of people-pleasers: I am ashamed, because God has humiliated them” (Ps. 52:6); and the apostle says: “Not before the eyes of those who work as people-pleasers”; and again: “Or do I seek to please man? If he pleased man, he would not be a servant of Christ” (Eph.6:6; Gal.1:10). And you will find much of this in the Divine Scripture if you read it.” Layman 116 said [to this]: “However, what I said is written there. So what does it mean that Scripture does not agree with itself? The ascetic answered: “It is not the Scripture that does not agree with itself, but our vision is dull to discern the truth. Not all people are wicked, and we are not all pious, therefore we should not please everyone, but only the good; In the same way, one does not displease everyone, but only the wicked. Therefore, the Lord, pointing to this, in the Gospel says: “Woe, if men tell you good things” (Luke 6:26) - and not only in this, but also in what seems good, He forbids us to please people when we reveal good things to them, not for the sake of reproaching them and imitation, but for the sake of praise and some reward. And rightly so: for if anyone wants to please people for the sake of bodily reward, he will not receive a single spiritual gift from God, nor will he inherit the rewards there, for he already receives his reward here; as the Lord said in the Gospel not once, but many times, and, commanding about prayer, fasting and almsgiving, he commanded that we hide them from people.” 13. When the elder was still pronouncing these words, the scholastic said in a loud voice: “Enough, I am convinced of this; Now all that remains for you is not to make guesses, not to make comparisons, but to clearly say what the modifications of man-pleasing are, so that we can reliably know whether, as you said, they are really so dark and incomprehensible that they can control even the wise?” The ascetic answered: “Listen wisely, and I will announce them to you by name, and you be attentive [and notice] if you find that everyone adopts them out of passion. The mother of these modifications and the first of them is unbelief, and behind it, as its offspring, are envy, hatred, flattery, jealousy, quarrels, hypocrisy, partiality, service only before the eyes, slander, lies, the appearance of false reverence, not true, and similar hard-to-notice and dark passions. But the worst thing is that some praise all this with skillful words as good and cover up the harm contained in them. If you want, then I will partially reveal their cunning: an insidious people-pleaser, advising one, plots intrigues to another; praising one, he blames the other; teaching his neighbor, he praises himself; takes part in court not to judge fairly, but to take revenge on the enemy; denounces with caressing until, reproaching his enemy, he is accepted by him; slander without giving a name in order to cover up his slander; persuades the non-covetous to say what they need, as if wanting to give it to them, and when they say, he publicizes them as asking; he boasts before the inexperienced, and speaks humbly before the experienced, catching praise from both; when the virtuous are praised, he becomes indignant and, starting another story, removes the praise; criticizes rulers when they are absent, and when they are present, praises them to their faces; mocks the humble and spies on teachers in order to reproach them; degrades simplicity in order to show himself wise; the virtues of all his neighbors are ignored, and their misdeeds are kept in memory. And to put it briefly: he seizes time in every possible way and subserviently to persons, [unwittingly] revealing the diverse passion of man-pleasing; tries to hide his evil deeds by asking about strangers. True monks do not act this way, but on the contrary: out of a sense of mercy, they ignore the evil deeds of others, and clearly show their own before God; That’s why people who don’t know their intentions insult them, because they don’t try so much to please people as they do to please God. So, sometimes pleasing Him, sometimes humiliating oneself, and for both, they expect reward from the Lord, Who said: “He who is exalted will humble himself; but he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 18:14). 14. The scholastic, offended by the accusations, said: “I was surprised, ascetic, both at your thoughts and at the deceit of which you accuse others, but you yourself secretly have it. Being deprived of general education, you took up a rampage for God, calling it the greatest and most pleasing wisdom to God, and offered us prayer and works for piety in order to cover up your obvious lack of education with implicit piety. If you are truly the doer of what you say, then tomorrow we will find out by presenting you again with some provisions.” Having said this, [the scientist] stood up and left. The elder saw him off and, returning, prayed with tears. When the brethren asked to tell them the reason for his groaning, he replied: “I see that some of you were confused, and I conclude from this that you accepted the words of the lawyer not to benefit, but to your detriment, and believe that what was said brought you no benefit, but an insult. This is the reason for my complaint that, while telling others about the spiritual law, we ourselves do not observe it. If I did not follow, as I should have, the will of people with a sad face, but they know the law of God and believe that, according to Scripture, everything sorrowful does not befall us unjustly, then forgive me, an old man, in my feeble-mindedness; Let us only believe that we ourselves are to blame for the sorrows that befall us, if not by what we now said or did, then because of old debts.” Then one of the brethren, hoping for [his] abstinence and therefore not knowing the truth, trying to endure everything sorrowful, [but with the wrong opinion,] believing that he was suffering as a martyr, objected to the elder with insolence: “Where does the Scripture say that disasters befall people through the fault of each and according to the righteous judgment of God?” At these words, great joy was expressed on the elder’s face, and he said: “When you look, beloved, you will find this in many chapters of both the Old and New Testaments. And if you wish, then we will show you a little; But you, having recognized this, reject arrogance, or, more precisely, evil-wisdom, and acquire the humility of God, who said: “Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29).” 15. The novice, dwell on this word, said: “If, as you say, each of us imitates the humility of Christ in that he considers the sorrows that befall him to be his due reward, then it means that Christ, having suffered, fulfilled His duty, but I consider the one who says this a blasphemer.” Hearing this, the abbot said: “I tried first to resolve your previous question, but since you added another one in order to cover up the decisions by mixing up questions, we will explain this too about the Lord, proposing in contrast to this a decent question: tell me, beloved, are those only considered debtors who borrow money, or those who guarantee for them?” The novice answered: “Obviously, so are those who vouch for them.” The elder objected: “So, know for sure that Christ, having accepted us, made Himself a debtor, according to the word of the divine Scripture: “Lamb of God, take away the sins of the world.” (John 1:29. Gal. 3:13), who suffered death for all and died for us all, did He not accept you, tell us this clearly, and we admit ourselves defeated.” The brother, falling [at the feet of the elder], said: “Although I have sinned out of ignorance, like a baby, I do not renounce the Receiver and Redeemer of our souls, for I know that people have no other hope of salvation, as the apostle says: “All who have sinned and come short of the glory of God will be justified by His grace” (Rom. 3:23,24). 16. Everyone benefited from the fact that the brother repented and knew the truth, and the elder continued: “Now it remains for us to show from Scripture that of the sad things that happen to us, nothing befalls us unjustly, but everything happens according to the righteous judgment of God. Some suffer for their own evil deeds, and others for the sake of their neighbors: all the unrighteous go into the depths, but all the righteous comes from the Lord (Proverbs 16:33). That is why it is said: “Or there will be evil in the city, which the Lord does not do” (Am.3:6); and again: “All the works of the Lord are in righteousness” (Proverbs 16:9); and: “Whoever sows will also reap” (Gal.6:7); and: "If our unrighteousness constitutes God's righteousness, what shall we say? Is God unjust and inflicts wrath? Let it not be" (Rom. 3:5,6). So the three youths, being cast into the cave, teach us this way of thinking, saying that they were cast through their own fault (see: Dan. 3:28,31) and at the command of 117 God, although they took upon themselves [at that time] the face of others. And Saint David, being insulted by Shimei, confessed that through his own fault and at the command of God he was insulted (see: 2 Samuel 16:11). Isaiah and Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and other prophets foretold to the people [Israel] and the tribes [pagans] that they would befall them in future times of tribulation, in proportion to the sins of each, declaring to them both their guilt and disasters, for they are expressed this way: because they said this and did this and that, such and such befell them. And blessed David, explaining this, says in the psalm: “I understood, O Lord, for the truth of Thy destiny and thou hast truly humbled me” (Ps. 119:75), and again: “Thou hast given me reproach to the fool. So, we must, because we heard from the lawyer, speak to God the words of Saint David: “I was speechless and did not open my mouth, as You have created.” And thank that God sent him [as] an exposer of the evil thoughts hidden in us, so that we, having accurately examined our thoughts, correct ourselves and do not doubt [the above], although we do not know much of the evil hidden in us; for only a perfect husband can remember all his shortcomings. If [our] obvious shortcomings are not so easily noticed by us, then even more so are our thoughts; and we, not knowing most of the evil hidden within us, are embarrassed by the sorrows that befall us. Let us understand, as wise men, that for our benefit the Lord allows sorrows to befall us and through this does us much good: firstly, through this the [evil] thoughts that secretly possess us are revealed; upon discovering them, the Lord gives us true and unfeigned humility; then he grants us deliverance from vain exaltation, and the complete revelation of every evil hidden in us, according to what is written: “... these have penetrated and those who practice iniquity, so that they may be consumed forever” (Ps. 92:8). Know for sure, brothers, that if we do not endure the sorrows that befall us with faith and gratitude, then we cannot recognize the evil hidden in us; If we clearly do not recognize it, then we cannot reject real evil thoughts, nor seek cleansing from past evils, nor can we obtain firm confidence regarding the future.” 17. Question. “If the words of the scholastic are an exposure of our deeds, then why do we not find ourselves guilty of what was said?” Answer . “The tribulations and convictions that befall us are apparently not like our wines, but spiritually they preserve all the truth. We can also know this from the Holy Scriptures. Did those who died under the collapsed tower of Siloam (see: Luke 13:4) bring down the tower on others? Or did the captives, who were taken to Babylon for seventy years for repentance, 118 take others captive for repentance? These are not punitive cases, but like warriors, if they are convicted of any crime, they are subject to the punishment of beating, but they do not suffer the same evil that they did; Likewise, we are all punished by the sorrows that befall us in a timely manner and in a manner appropriate to repentance, but not in the same way, neither at the same time and nor with the same things. This is what leads many to disbelief in the truth of God, that is, the delay of time and the dissimilarity of the sorrows that befall us with our guilt.” 18. Question. “Since many sorrowful incidents befall us or from people who envy [us], slander [us], slander [us], make false denunciations, flatter, mislead, seduce, undermine, steal, deprive [of property], seduce, enmity [against us], despise, hate, attack, beat, persecute, and everything that comprehends people through people or from one’s own body, which riots, fights [us], desires peace, is exposed to various diseases and ulcers, suffers from various infirmities; or, in addition to this, the occasional bites of dogs, poisonous and carnivorous animals, also infections, famine, earthquakes, floods, frosts, heat, old age, poverty, loneliness and the like, partly from the spirits of malice with which we, as the Apostle showed 119, have a war (cf. Eph. 6:12) and who observe our words and deeds, and through them consistently conclude that and our thoughts are like them. And fair enough; for if our autocratic mind, due to unbelief, does not converse with the tempting attacks of the enemy, and does not abandon hope in God in everything, and does not indulge in thoughts, then neither words are spoken nor deeds are accomplished; and you said that all kinds of disasters befall everyone through [his own] fault and in proportion to it, leading us to the knowledge of the truth of God; then show us the guilt, so that we believe that we are guilty of what is happening to us and must endure the sorrow that befalls us, so that we do not undergo the most severe torment at the trial, not only as sinners, but also as those who have not accepted healing.” Answer . “The guilt of every sorrowful incident [that encounters us] is the thoughts of each of us; I could say that both words and deeds, but since they do not occur before thoughts, that’s why I attribute everything to thoughts. Thought precedes, and then through words and deeds communication is formed between us. Communication is of two kinds: one comes from malice, and the other from love. Through communication we perceive each other, even those whom we do not know, and taking upon ourselves [our neighbor] is necessarily followed by sorrow, as the Divine Scripture says: “Be sure for your friend; he betrays his hand to the enemy” (cf. Proverbs 6:1). Thus, everyone endures what befalls him not only for himself, but also for his neighbor - in that in which he took it upon himself.” 19. Question. “Please explain to us one type of taking on oneself [of one’s neighbor], namely, that which comes from malice.” Answer . “Taking on one's neighbor, which comes from malice, happens involuntarily. And it happens like this: he who deprives [his neighbor] of something, although he does not want it, takes upon himself the temptations of the deprived; also, the slanderer is the temptation of the one slandered by him, the extortioner is the one who is being extorted, the one who tires is the one who is tired of him, the slanderer is the one who is being slandered, the one who despises is the one despised, the liar takes upon himself the temptation of the one whom he slandered, and in order not to list everything separately, I will say briefly: everyone who offends his neighbor in proportion [to the offense] takes upon himself the temptation of the one he offends. Divine Scripture also testifies to this, saying: “The righteous flees from the catch, but the wicked surrenders into it.” and again: “He who digs a hole for his sincere self will fall into grief, and he will roll the stone down on himself”; also: “All the unrighteous enter into the bosom, but all the righteous come from the Lord” (Prov. 11:8; 26:27; 16:33). If, according to the word of the Apostle, our untruth constitutes God’s truth in relation to one another, then what are we talking about? If God is unjust, inflict wrath (Rom. 3:5) not only on those who are admonished by tribulations, but also on those who foolishly rebel against these tribulations.” 20. Question. “Having heard this in sequence (διʼ ἀκολουθίας), we believe that it really [happens]. Now tell us to take upon oneself one’s neighbor, which happens out of love, so that we will not be unaware of this.” Answer . “Taking upon oneself our neighbor out of love is what the Lord Jesus gave us in every possible way, first healing our spiritual infirmities, then healing every ailment and every illness; taking away the sin of the world (Matthew 9:35; John 1:29), renewing those who firmly believe in Him and making their nature pure; granting them deliverance from death; having bequeathed the worship of God, teaching piety, showing that for the sake of love we must suffer to the point of death; Moreover, he has given us patience through the communion of the Spirit, and future blessings, which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor entered into the heart of man (1 Cor. 2:9). Therefore, he accepts temptations for us, endures reproaches, insults, binding, is betrayed, beaten on the cheeks, given milk and gall to drink, nailed with nails, crucified, pierced with a spear. Thus, having united with us both in flesh and spirit and having suffered for us, He then handed over this law to the holy apostles and disciples, prophets, fathers, patriarchs, first teaching some by the Holy Spirit, and showing others this with His most pure body. Revealing this acceptance upon Himself, He said: “Do not be afraid, I am victorious in the world”; also: “I will sanctify myself for them, so that they too will be sacred indeed”; and again: “Greater love has no one to sow, but whoever lays down his life for his friends” (John 16:33; 17:19; 15:13). That is why Saint Paul, imitating the Lord, said: “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, for I am fulfilling the privation of the sorrows of Christ in my flesh for the sake of His body, which is the Church” (Col. 1:24), speculatively pointing to acceptance out of love. Do you want to know more clearly how all the apostles, in thought, word, and deed, entered into communication with us and through this communication suffered temptations for us? By thought - offering us the Scriptures, citing prophecies, exhorting us to believe in Christ as the Savior, assuring us [that we should] serve Him as the Son of God by nature, praying for us, shedding tears and doing everything that can be done by true thought. In words - asking us, threatening us, teaching, denouncing us, reproaching us for our lack of faith, reproaching our ignorance, explaining the Scriptures, revealing the times, confessing Christ and preaching that He was crucified for us, affirming that the Word made man is one, and not two, although we understand Him to consist of two natures, united inseparably and unmerged; in every time, place and deed, cutting off evil, not agreeing with lies, not conversing with those who boast in the flesh, not being with the vain, not fearing the proud, disdaining the evil one, accepting the humble, appropriating the godly and teaching us to do the same. By works - being persecuted, mocked, deprived, insulted, embittered, thrown into prison, killed and the like, having suffered for us. Thus, having entered into fellowship with us, they also accepted our temptations, for they say: “If we grieve, it is for your salvation; if we are comforted, for your consolation” (2 Cor. 1:6,7) - having accepted the law from the Lord, Who said: “Greater love has no one to have, but one who would lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). And they delivered [the same] to us, saying: “If the Lord lay down His life for us, we ought to lay down our souls for our brethren” (1 John 3:16); and again: “Bear one another’s burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal.6:2). So, if we have recognized two types of communication with each other, that is, acceptance, which occurs out of need and stems from love, then, in accordance with them, we will not be curious about the temptations that occur, how, or when, or through whom they comprehend us, for the correspondence of each of them [with the reasons, the time] of their inevitable follow-up and the contribution to this of all creation is known by God alone. But we must only believe in the truth of God and know that everything that befalls us involuntarily happens to us either for the sake of love or for malice; and therefore we must endure it, and not reject it, so as not to add more sin to our sins. 21. First of all, I ask you, brethren, to be very attentive to what is said, so that we do not in vain suffer temptations for our words, and you, out of despondency, do not consign what was said to oblivion; for oblivion is the daughter of despondency, and both are the offspring of unbelief.” The brethren answered this: “Be trustworthy, father, regarding this conversation. We know what we have heard, being convinced from the words of Scripture that without the truth of God none of the involuntary [sorrows] happen to people, although we, as people, do not comprehend the secret confluence of events and the decent purpose of time, as you yourself said before. So, do not worry about what has been said and explain to us what is the will of the flesh and how can it be outside the mind? The scholastic only asked whether it exists, but how and what it consists of, he did not ask.” The ascetic answered this: “The will of the flesh is the natural movement of the body followed by kindling without thoughts, which are strengthened by sleep and rest of the body; Blessed Peter also says about them: “Marvel not at the temptations that may come to you, as if they were strange to you” (1 Peter 4:12). And blessed Paul said about them: “The flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh,” - that’s why he commands, saying: “Walk in the Spirit and do not commit carnal lusts” (Gal. 5:16,17). The [apostles] said this, wanting us to disagree with such movements. About Christ Jesus our Lord, with whom be glory to the Father with the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen". Lit.: “those who act unfairly”, “those who cause harm” (άδιχοΰντας). In the pre-revolutionary edition of Optina Pustyn, the translation is given - “those who offend us”; the word “us” was added by the translator. However, this addition focuses attention on personal grievances, while the lawyer (lawyer) is interested in the social side of the problem: if the monks say that unjust people should not take revenge, then what about social justice? The lawyer emphasizes precisely this idea, further saying that the monks “illegally eliminate the court.” However, answering the lawyer’s questions, Rev. Mark the Ascetic draws attention first of all to the internal state of a person suffering an insult. – Note. ed. In some manuscripts: “But since you, as you said...” - Note. ed. In some manuscripts: “But since you, a sage, came to the ignorant, wanting to be convinced of what was said...” - Note. ed. In one of the manuscripts and some publications: “for the desire for perfect love.” – Note. ed. In some manuscripts: “scholastic”. – Note. ed. Body or thought. – Note. lane In some manuscripts: “what many do not know.” – Note. ed. Between prayer and other activities. – Note. lane In one of the manuscripts: “pure love for one’s neighbor.” – Note. ed. In some manuscripts: “... what type of piety is this, the ascetic answered: “There are three types of piety: the first...” - Note. ed. The readings “scholastic” and “legislator” are found in the manuscripts. – Note. ed. In some manuscripts and publications: “admonition.” Note ed. See: 2 Kings. 24, 14–16. 2 Par. 36, 20. Dan. 9, 2. In the manuscript containing the Syriac translation of the works of St. Mark: “blessed Paul.” – Note. ed. You might be interested in: