Miscellaneous chapters or thoughts

The work “Different Chapters, or Thoughts” (119 chapters) is a collection of short sayings on a moral and ascetic topic. According to most patrolologists, the authorship of this work belongs to Evagrius of Pontus. However, in the manuscript tradition, this work was published among the works of St. Nile of Sinai (TSORP series (Works of the Holy Fathers in Russian translation) and Philokalia). 115 maxims of this work correspond to the 1st half of the “Punishment of Hesychius” from the Collection of 1076. *The title of the work in Greek is Κεφάλαια ἢ παραίνεσις. *The title of the essay in Latin is Capita paraenetica. Have the fear of God and the love of God and act towards everyone according to the clear testimony of your conscience. Believe that God Himself is present in every action you take. Give praise, but be ashamed and reproachful. Rejoice in virtue when you act virtuously, but do not become proud of it, lest you be wrecked in the harbor. As much as you succeed in the law, recognize yourself as far from perfection. Examine the end of every action before its beginning. Night and day, look to the last day. And let no love for real life attract you to earth 2 . Do not enter into communication with someone whom you see the good ones abhor. Whether you do anything, or say something, or philosophize, try not to harm anyone. Do not be amused by the flowers of life; This is a grassy color that fades as soon as you touch it. Give thanks in tribulations, and the yoke of sin will be lightened. Be careful in temptations, because they have convicted many who were higher than you. Do not blame God's long-suffering, for it is general medicine. Hate everyday incongruities, but do not slander God in this. Let us be attentive to ourselves and not ridicule others, for there is much in ourselves for which we laugh at others. Let the prayer psalm be in your mouth, for the utterance of God’s name puts demons to flight. Let our prayer be with sobriety, so that we do not ask God for what is not pleasing to Him. Always remember God, and your mind will become Heaven. Curb your eye, because you yourself don’t know where it wanders. Spare your tongue; he often says things that would be better kept hidden. Cultivate your mind by teaching the Law, because the one who studies constantly eradicates evil thoughts in himself. Hide your virtues, but try to have many witnesses to your life. Hate carnal pleasures, because along with the body they make the soul unclean. Give the flesh what it needs, not what it wants. Do not love luxury, because it inspires commitment to real life, and both of these generate enmity against God. Turn away from worldly joys, for they lead to inclinations and stumblings on the path of life. If you have wealth, squander it, and if you don’t have it, don’t collect it. Consider fasting as a weapon, prayers as a wall, tears as a bath. Whatever you sin, remember it all with sighing: this causes contrition in the soul. Provide for the poor; they will appease the Judge towards us. Take part in the needs of the saints, because through them you will come into communion with God. Go to church as if you were going to Heaven, and in it do not talk or think about anything earthly. Recognize that it is necessary to have the contents necessary for life, and leave the care of this to God. Exhaust the flesh with good labors, but take care not to bring it into complete decline. Drink as little wine as possible; as much as its measure decreases, so much is it beneficial to those who drink. Restrain your irritability, because when it goes beyond moderation, it becomes the mother of fury. In illnesses, use prayer before doctors and medicines. Honor all the priests, and resort to the good ones. Love God’s house, but also make yourself a house of God. Go to church often because it saves us from turmoil and external storms. What is temporary on earth, when separated from you, do not grieve you now. When the thought of voluptuousness arises in you, contrast it with shame from people and an insult to God. Protect your ears and eyes, because through them all the arrows of evil enter. When you pray, raise your thoughts to God; and if, having had fun, it does not stay at this height, build it again. The mind never ceases to generate thoughts, 4 and you must eradicate the bad ones and cultivate the good ones. Love humility: from it comes great height that cannot fall. Strive as much as necessary to weaken carnal rebellions; and if you are exhausted, heal your body for health, and not for a luxurious life. Dispel evil thoughts with other thoughts. Think about the splendor of Heavenly blessings, and no love 5 for the earth and for earthly pleasures will enter into you. When you have to think about something about God, 6 if it is low, elevate it, and if it is sublime, moderate, not God, but yourself, because everything that exceeds the measure that we can accommodate is unsafe. Believe that evil thoughts are the devil’s sowing; Thus they cease, and the sower is put to shame. Beware of excessive laughter: it relaxes the soul, and the soul, having relaxed, easily throws off the bridle of the Law. Mental strength should be devoted to deeds and prayers; then the devil will not find many entrances to us. Recognize the reading of the Law as a matter when the mind, wanting to reap something useful, works with the tongue on books. If you stretch out your hand to work, then let your tongue sing and your mind pray, because God requires of us that we always remember Him. Seal with prayer every thing you do, and especially those in which you see your thoughts wavering. If you want the works of your hands to be Divine and not earthly, then let what they acquire be common to you with the needy. Rejoice in meeting the saints, because God appears through them. Distinguish the truly saints by their works, for every tree is known by its fruits. Always try to take advantage of something from seeing the saints; observe their gaze and appearance, because both are very useful. Practice kindness in your heart, and purity in your body; both make you a church of God. So preserve your church 7 as the church of Him who created, who has to judge and who organizes, so that you, His image, may be pure. Conversations with worldly people separate your thoughts from God, so don’t talk to them and avoid those who talk. When they slander you, see if you have done anything worthy of slander. And if it is not done, then consider slander as flying away as smoke. Without a contrite heart it is impossible to free oneself from vice, and the heart is brought into contrition by threefold abstinence; I mean abstinence from sleep, from food and from bodily rest 8. If you are offended in any way, resort to patience, and the harm will pass on to those who offended you. When you see wealth, or fame, or worldly dominion, think about what is corruptible in them, and you will avoid the bait. Endure sorrows, because in them, like roses in thorns, virtues grow and are nurtured. Do not consider anything equal in dignity to virtue, because it is the image of God, like God Himself, immutable. Weep for the sinner when he succeeds, because the sword of justice reaches out to him. Recognize laziness as the mother of vices, because it steals the blessings you have, and does not allow you to acquire what you don’t have. When someone who does something bad is not ashamed of it, then the plague becomes severe and the fall reaches despair. As soon as you lose heart, think about how many good things are in store for the faithful, and you will conveniently acquire spiritual fruit. The faithful must humble himself before everyone, for to humble himself only before some means to have false humility 9 . Do not prefer anything to love for your neighbor, except in the case when, as a result of it, love for God is despised. Do not cleave to anything and do not become addicted to anything contrary to God’s Law, for this makes anyone who prefers Him unworthy of God. Do not be a defender of bad people, because you encourage them to do bad things, and you yourself are defiled by communication in business. Give reason to the one who sins, but do not condemn the one who falls, for the latter is the work of the slanderer, and the former is the work of those who want to correct. Try to always hear and talk about what is characteristic of saints, because this excites the soul to good competition. If the mind of each of us has a home church, then we are obliged to carry out church regulations in it. If a service is being celebrated in church, be present, and if it is not being celebrated, read the apostolic gospel and go home. Consider the glory of virtues in the saints, because their glory remains immortal even after death. Then you will hate vice when you judge that it is a demonic sword shining over us. If you admonish the fallen, then temper your words with compassion, then his hearing will soften and his heart will be enlightened. When you speak with saints, ask about spiritual things, and when not with saints, do not talk about it. Always hasten in good deeds, so that, for some reason, you leave them unfinished and you yourself do not leave here unfinished. “Try this way, that you may comprehend” (1 Cor. 9:24), that is, go without rest, because we must follow virtue until we leave the field of life. Do not be careless in doing the commandments, because those who are careless add another useless labor to one work. Practice patience even before need, so that in need you will find all your armor ready. Confront evil thoughts and tell them what the Law says. With great diligence, take your eyes away from this life, because the harmful smoke rising from it makes the soul cloudy. If some bad habit has taken hold of you, cut it off little by little, and without much difficulty you will remove this thorn from your soul. Love God purely as pure; and since He is above all, consider everyone inferior to Him. If you want to be the church of God, then offer to God an unceasing sacrifice - continuous prayer. Do not take someone who lives carelessly as an adviser, because, while loving the bad, he cannot both hate the good and advise it. Abstain from all corruption and partake of the Mystical Supper every day: in this way our body becomes the Body of Christ. When you suffer punishment from God, do not complain, because although He punishes, He is like a Father and worthy of thanksgiving, like a Benefactor. When they dishonor you, rejoice, for if it is unfair, then your reward will be great, and if it is fair, then as soon as you become chaste, you will be freed from punishment. Liken the sorrows and joys of life to a shadow and a wheel, because they are fickle, like a shadow, and turn like a wheel. Try always to prosper according to God, for he who adds little to little in a short time accumulates wonderful wealth, which everyone covets. If you want to avoid the severity of torment, never slander, for this angers God. If you want to avert all punishment from your home, do not speak ill of a fellow man, for the One who created him is rightly angry at this. If you want to be above all sin, then do not try to inquire into the affairs of others; and there are many of the same things in you that you suspect others of. Flee pride, man, even though you are rich, so that in time you will not have God as your adversary. Love humility, although you are great, so that you may be exalted on the day of judgment. Don't make fun of a person, and you won't tolerate ridicule for the rest of your life. When you are in church, do not wander with your mind, for those who stand before the King do not laugh or indulge in distraction. Do not neglect your life and do not act, no matter what, contrary to the Law, so as not to perish lawlessly. Remember with all certainty what has been said, so that this will make you glorious in life. Be zealous for an honorable life, so that you have the boldness to correct those who sin. Protect yourself from arrogance, do not get into a quarrel with anyone, so as not to be condemned for arrogance. Do not laugh at the fall of another, lest you be ridiculed. Keep these tips so that they may bring you a crown of glory. Be the fulfiller of these commandments, so that they will make you glorious before people and pleasing to God, for this is pleasing to God and with such successes His service is accomplished. Always try to succeed in good deeds 10. And a warrior, unless he is first trained through long-term exercise and tested in labor and in battle, having demonstrated through experience that he wins victory over his enemies, is not glorified. Moreover, from the Heavenly and true King, no one is worthy to receive the Heavenly gifts of the Holy Spirit unless he first exercises himself in studying the holy commandments, and thus does not accept the Heavenly weapon of grace itself and does not enter into the fight against the spirits of evil. To the extent that he succeeds in spiritual achievement, to the extent he ascends to the heights of the mysteries of the Spirit and the hidden treasures of Wisdom. And to the extent that he is enriched by grace, to the extent he succeeds in understanding the intentions of evil, with the help of the Lord. To him be glory and power forever! Amen. According to the manuscript it reads: τοσουτον νόμιζε. The last thought has been supplemented from the manuscript. Instead of: λοιδορούμενον according to the manuscript it reads: βδελυσσόμενον. The word “thoughts” has been added according to the manuscript. Instead of: πάθος according to the manuscript it reads: πόθος. The words “if it is low” and so on were added according to the manuscript. Instead of: ουν according to the manuscript it reads: σου. This idea has been supplemented in the manuscript. The following thoughts cannot be read from the manuscript. The following thoughts have been supplemented according to the manuscript. You might be interested in: