Word 2. About those who think to be justified by works

Essay by Rev. Mark of the Ascetic “Word 2. About those who think to be justified by works" is a collection of short moral sayings (211 chapters), which speak about the importance of good works in salvation and the need to rise above the sensory in order to achieve true knowledge, i.e. knowledge of God (chap. 135, 146). According to the teachings of St. Mark, good deeds are an obligation similar to the obligation of a slave: “The slave does not demand freedom as a reward, but is pleased as a debtor, and expects it by grace” (chapter 3). The Kingdom of Heaven is given not for works, but as “the grace of the Master prepared for faithful servants” (chapter 2). The essay raises the topic of collaboration between Divine grace and man in the matter of salvation, and also reveals the doctrine of Divine Providence. Sorrow, on the one hand, is the generation of evil deeds and thoughts of those to whom they happen (chap. 9, 60, 96, 119, 141), and on the other hand, a manifestation of God’s mercy (chap. 8, 61, 130, 190). In Baptism, a person is mysteriously given grace, the effect of which becomes clear as the commandments are fulfilled (chap. 56, 85). Everything that happens to a person is generated by him: “It is impossible from the heart to forgive someone’s misdeeds without true knowledge, for it shows everyone that what befalls [him] is his own” (chapter 46). Wisdom consists in bearing the evil of those who offend you as if it were your own, thereby acquiring humility (chapter 193). St. Mark speaks of original sin and its effect on the Christian, pointing out that the sign of the universality of original sin is death. When evil thoughts act, a person must blame himself, and not the ancestral sin: “When we are subject to the action of evil thoughts, we must blame ourselves, and not the ancestral sin” (chapter 112). When observing the commandments, the grace of God acts in a person, which he received in the Sacrament of Baptism. She helps a Christian in his spiritual deed, feeding him like rain on the earth (chapter 109). *The title of the work in Greek is Περὶ τῶν οἰομένων ἐξ ἔργων δικαιοῦσθαι. *The title of the works in Latin is De his qui putant se ex operibus justificari. In the following scripture, the evil faith of those outside is exposed by those who firmly believe and know the truth. 1 2. The Lord, wanting to show that fulfilling every commandment is our duty and that He granted adoption to people with His blood, says: “When you have done all that is commanded you, say, as you are unworthy servants: as you ought to have done, to have done.”2. Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven is not retribution for deeds, but the grace of the Master prepared for faithful slaves. 3. The slave does not demand freedom as a reward (μισθόν), but pleases like a debtor and expects it by grace. 4. Christ died for our sins, according to Scripture 3. And He grants freedom to those who serve Him faithfully. For he says: “Well done, good and faithful servant, you have been faithful for a few, and I will make you over many: enter into the joy of your Lord.”4 5. He is not yet a faithful slave who is established on simple knowledge alone; but whoever expresses his faith by obedience to Christ, who gave the commandments. 6. He who honors his Lord fulfills His command. He who has sinned or disobeyed Him suffers what he finds as what he deserves. 7. Be inquisitive and hardworking. For simple knowledge alone (γνῶσις) puffs up a person 5 . 8. Temptations that unexpectedly happen to you, according to God’s vision, teach us to be hardworking and involuntarily draw us to repentance. 9 . The sorrows that befall people are the product of their own bad deeds. If we endure them in prayer, we will again find an increase in our good deeds. 10. Some, being praised for their virtue, took pleasure in this and took the sweetness of their vanity as a consolation. And others, being convicted of sin, became sad and considered this useful sadness to be an act of malice. 11. Those who, under the pretext of exploits, exalt themselves before the careless, think to be justified by bodily works; But we, who, establishing ourselves on knowledge alone, humiliate those who do not know, are much more insane than them. 12. Knowledge without deeds corresponding to it is still unstable, even if it is true, for every thing is confirmed by deed. 13. Often, from negligence about doing, the mind becomes darkened. For what they completely stop doing is gradually eradicated from memory. Scripture advises us to know God wisely (κατὰ γνῶσιν) so that we may faithfully serve Him in deeds. 14. When we clearly fulfill the commandments, then in accordance with this we receive what is proper from the Lord; We gain benefit from this, depending on the purpose of our intention. 15. Whoever wants to do something, but cannot, is [imputed] as having done it before God, the Knower of the Heart. This should mean both good and evil deeds. 16. The mind does a lot of good and bad even without the body; a body without a mind cannot do anything like that, for the law of freedom is known before action. 17. Some, not fulfilling the commandments, consider themselves true believers, and some, fulfilling them, expect the Kingdom as due retribution, but both of them sin against the truth. 18. The reward from the Master is not given to slaves for granted 6 (οὐ κεχρεώστητaι). But even those who do not serve Him faithfully (ὀρθῶς) do not receive freedom. 19. If Christ died for us, according to Scripture 7, and we live not for ourselves, but for Him who died for us and rose again 8, then it is clear that we must serve Him until death. How can we take adoption for granted? 20. Christ is the Master in essence and the Master in discretion, since He created those who did not exist, and redeemed those who died in sin with His blood, and thus bestowed grace on the believers. 21. When you hear the words of Scripture “he will reward everyone according to his deed” 9, then it does not understand deeds that in themselves are worthy of Gehenna or the Kingdom, but deeds of one’s own unbelief or faith, for which Christ will reward everyone not as the One who measures things, but as God our Creator and Redeemer. 22. We, who have been awarded the bath of rebirth 10, do good deeds not for the sake of reward, but to preserve the purity given to us. 23. Every good deed that we do with our natural strength removes us from the vice that is contrary to it, but without grace it cannot add sanctification to us. 24. The abstinent one avoids gluttony, the non-covetous one avoids greed, the silent one avoids verbosity, the pure one avoids voluptuousness, the chaste one avoids fornication, the moderate one avoids the love of money, the meek one avoids embarrassment, the humble one avoids vanity, the obedient one avoids contentiousness, the accusatory one avoids hypocrisy; In the same way, the one who prays is removed from hopelessness, the [voluntarily] beggar from avarice, the confessor from renunciation, the martyr from idolatry. You see how any virtue performed before death is nothing more than removal from sin, but removal from sin is a matter of nature, and not the price of the Kingdom 11. A person barely preserves what is natural to him; Christ, through the Cross, bestows adoption. 25. One commandment is private, and the other is general, for in one place it is commanded to give privately to the poor 12, and in another the commandment is given to renounce all possessions 13. 26. The other is an action of grace, incomprehensible to a baby [due to spiritual age], and the other is an action of malice [the enemy], similar to the truth. But it is good not to pay attention to such actions, so as not to fall into deception, and not to curse them, so as not to curse the truth; but [it is better] to commit everything to God with hope, for He knows the benefit of both. 27. He who wants to cross the mental sea is long-suffering, humble, watchful, and abstains. Without these four, if he forces himself to enter it, he will only disturb his heart, but he will not be able to swim across. 28. Silence is the cutting off of evil. If you add these four virtues to prayer, then there is no better aid to dispassion. 29. It is impossible to remain silent with the mind without the body, nor to destroy their mediastinum without silence and prayer. 30. The flesh lusts after the spirit, the spirit against the flesh 14; But he who walks in the Spirit does not commit the lusts of the flesh. 31. Prayer is incomplete without mental invocation. The Lord will hear the undistractedly crying thought. 32. A mind that prays without distraction oppresses the heart. But God will not despise a contrite and humble heart 15 . 33. And prayer is called virtue, although it is the mother of virtues, for it gives birth to them from its union with Christ. 34. Whatever we do without prayer and good hope is harmful and imperfect. 35. When you hear that the last will be first and the last will be first, 16 then understand this about those who have virtue and those who have love. For love is the last of the virtues in order, 17 but the first of all in dignity, and it makes those who preceded it last. 36. If, while praying or being insulted in many ways by malice, you fall into despondency, then remember the end of life and fierce torment. 37. But it is better to cling to God with prayer and hope than to remember external things, even if they turn out to be useful. 38. No virtue alone will open our natural door, unless they all consistently depend on one another. 39. He is an intemperate person who feeds on thoughts, even if they are useful, for they cannot be more useful than hope. 40. Every sin left without repentance is a sin leading to death, 18 for which even a saint prays for another, will not be heard. 41. A truly repentant person does not believe that his work serves as a replacement for previous sins, but he propitiates God with it. 42. Everything that our nature has in itself that is good, we must fulfill daily. What shall we render to God for the evil done before? 43. No matter how much we increase the virtue of this day, this only serves as a denunciation of our previous negligence, and not as a means of receiving reward. 44. He who is oppressed by thought, but rests in his body, is like one who suffers physically and rejoices mentally. The voluntary grief of both mutually contributes to each other: mental - bodily, and bodily - mental. Their combination is more regrettable. 45. Great virtue is to endure what befalls us and, according to the word of the Lord, to love those who hate [us] 19 . A sign of unfeigned love is forgiveness of offenses 20. 46. It is impossible to forgive someone's wrongdoings from the heart without true knowledge, for it shows everyone that what befalls [him] is his own. 47. You will not lose anything that you have left for the Lord, for in due time it will return in abundance 21 . 48. When the mind forgets the purpose of piety, then the obvious practice of virtue becomes useless. 49. If bad advice is harmful to every person, then even more so to those who have chosen a strict life. 50. Philosophize with action about human advice and God’s reward, for a word is not wiser than a deed. 51. Works on piety will be followed by intercession [of God]. This must be learned from the law of God and conscience. 52. One, having adopted a certain way of thinking, adopted it without consideration, while the other accepted and compared it with the truth; we must consider which of them acted more piously? 53. True knowledge consists in enduring afflictions and not blaming people for one’s misfortunes. 54. He who does good and seeks reward serves not God, but his own will. One who has sinned cannot avoid retribution except by repentance corresponding to the sin. 55. Some say: “We cannot do good unless we clearly (ἐναργῶς) receive the grace of the Holy Spirit.” Those who are always voluntarily in pleasures abandon what they can do, as if helpless. 56. Those who are baptized into Christ are mysteriously given grace; it acts as the commandments are fulfilled and does not cease to help us secretly. But it is in our power to do or not to do good according to our strength. Firstly, [grace] wonderfully awakens the conscience, from which those who did evil repented and pleased God. It also hides [sometimes] in the teaching of a neighbor, and sometimes during reading it will follow [any] thought and naturally teach the mind its truth. So, if we do not hide this talent [received] in a particular case, then we will truly enter into the joy of the Lord 23. 57. He who seeks the action (τὰς ἐνεργείας) of the [Holy] Spirit before fulfilling the commandments is like a slave bought with money, who, at the very time he was bought, is looking for a release note to be written along with the bill of sale. 58. Whoever understood that external misfortunes happen according to the truth of God, he, seeking the Lord, found knowledge with the truth. 59. If you understand, according to Scripture, that throughout the whole earth the destinies of the Lord are 24, then every case will be for you a teacher of the knowledge of God. 60. According to everyone's thoughts, what is due is found. Only God knows the difference between decent retribution. 61. When you suffer any dishonor from people, understand that it was sent from God for your glory; and thus in dishonor you will be without sorrow or confusion, and in glory, when it comes, you will be faithful and avoid condemnation. 62. Being, by the grace of God, praised by many, do not mix anything self-praising into the Lord’s providence for you, so that you do not fall into the opposite again due to change. 63. What is sown will not grow without soil and water, and a person will not receive benefit without voluntary labor and Divine help. 64. It is impossible for rain to fall without a cloud, and without a good conscience it is impossible to please God. 65. Do not refuse to learn, even if you are very wise. For God's providence is more useful than our wisdom. 66. When the heart is moved by some kind of sweetness from the place of hard work, then it, like a heavy stone rolling down, becomes uncontrollable. 67. Just as an inexperienced calf, rushing for grass, finds itself in a place surrounded by rapids, so it happens with the soul, little by little seduced by thoughts. 68. When the mind, strengthened in the Lord, distracts the soul from a long-term bad habit, then the heart is tormented, as if by executioners, by the mind and passions, dragging it here and there. 69. Just as those who swim in the sea, in the hope of profit, willingly endure the heat of the sun, so those who hate evil love reproof, for it counteracts the winds, and this counteracts the passions. 70. Just as flight in winter or on Saturday 25 causes illness to the body and defilement to the soul, so the rebellion of passions [causes illness] to the obsolete body and [defilement] to the sanctified soul. 71. No one is as good and merciful as the Lord, but He does not forgive the unrepentant. 72. Many of us grieve over sins, and we willingly accept the reasons for them. 73. A mole crawling underground, being blind, cannot see the stars; and he who does not believe [God] in relation to the temporal cannot believe in relation to the eternal. 74. True knowledge is given from God to people as grace before grace and teaches those who have it first of all to believe in the One who gave it. 75. When a sinful soul does not accept the sorrows that befall it, then the angels say about it: “By the physicians of Babylon, and was not healed” 26 . 76. A mind that forgets true knowledge fights with people for what is harmful to it, as if for what is useful. 77. Just as fire cannot stay long in water, so a bad thought cannot stay in a God-loving heart. Since everyone who loves God is also hardworking, arbitrary labor is by nature the enemy of sweetness. 78. Passion, which was arbitrarily brought into action and fed, then, even against the will of the one who possesses it, strongly rebels against him. 79. We love the causes of involuntary thoughts, that’s why they come; We obviously love the arbitrary ones and the actions themselves. 80. Conceit and pride are the causes of blasphemy; love of money and vanity are unmerciful and hypocrisy. 81. When the devil sees that the mind has prayed from the heart, then he inflicts great and intricate temptations, wanting to destroy small virtues with great attacks. 82. Obscurity of thought exposes a person’s partiality; its rapid destruction means warfare and resistance. 83. There are three mental states into which the mind enters from change: natural, supernatural and unnatural. When he enters the natural state, then he finds himself guilty of evil thoughts and confesses his sins to God, recognizing the causes of passions. When he is in an unnatural state, he forgets the truth of God and rebels against people as those who offend him. When he is brought into a supernatural state, then he feels in himself the fruits of the Holy Spirit, which, according to the Apostle, are love, joy, peace, and so on, 27 and knows that if he prefers bodily care, he cannot remain there and, having emerged from this state, falls into sin and the misadventures that follow, if not soon, then in due time, as the truth of God knows. 84. Everyone’s knowledge is true to the extent that it is confirmed by meekness, humility and love. 85. Anyone who has been baptized in the Orthodox faith has mysteriously received all grace. He is convinced of this as he fulfills the commandments. 86. The commandment of Christ, fulfilled according to conscience, provides consolation for many heart diseases; however, each of them comes in its own time. 87. Pray constantly (ἔχε παράμονον δέησιν) in every matter, so that you do nothing without God’s help. 88. There is nothing more effective than prayer; and there is nothing more useful than it for pleasing God. 89. Every fulfillment of the commandments is contained in it. For there is nothing higher than the love of God. 90. Undistracted prayer is a sign of love for God who abides in it; carelessness about it and entertainment is a sign of voluptuousness. 91. He who endures painlessly in vigil, endures long-suffering and prays, is obviously a partaker of the Holy Spirit. And if someone is burdened by this, but endures it of his own free will, then he too will soon receive help from above. 92. One commandment is higher than another; so faith is stronger than faith. There is faith by hearing 28, according to the apostle, and there is faith by telling those who hope 29. 93. It is good to benefit those who ask with words, but it is better to help them with prayer and virtue. For he who offers himself to God, helping himself, helps his neighbor 30. 94. If you want to benefit someone who is inquisitive with gentle words, point him to prayer, right faith and patience in those who find [sorrows]. For all other good things are found through these things. 95. If anyone has placed his trust in God, he no longer quarrels with his neighbor about it. 96. If everything involuntary comes from the voluntary, according to Scripture, then there is no such enemy for a person as he is to himself. 97. Every evil is preceded by ignorance, and the second after it is unbelief. 98. Avoid temptation with patience and prayer. If you resist it without this, it will attack more strongly. 99. He who is meek according to God is wiser than the wise, and he who is humble in heart is stronger than the mighty, for they wisely bear the yoke of Christ 31 . 100. What we say or do without prayer later becomes either sinful or harmful and exposes us through deeds in a way unknown to us. 101. Only One is righteous by deeds, words and thoughts, but many are righteous by faith, grace and repentance 32 . 102. Just as it is unusual for a repentant person to be arrogant, so it is impossible for someone who sins arbitrarily to be humble. 103. Humility is not condemnation (κατά-γνωσις) of conscience, but knowledge (ἐπίγνωσις) of the grace of God and His mercy. 104. What a sensual house is for the air scattered everywhere (τῷ κοινῷ), so is the spiritual mind (λογικός) 33 for Divine grace. 105. To the extent that you free [the mind] from matter, so much will [grace] infuse; and as much substance as you add to it, so much will be removed. 106. Household substances – vessels and foodstuffs; and the substance of the mind is vanity and sweetness. 107. The space of the heart is trust in God, and its tightness is care for the body. 108. The grace of the Spirit is one and unchangeable, but it acts in everyone specifically as it pleases 34. 109. Just as rain poured onto the earth gives plants their characteristic quality: sweet ones - sweetness, hard ones - hardness, so the grace that enters the hearts of the faithful, without changing, bestows powers corresponding to virtues (ἐνεργείας). To the hungry for Christ's sake it is food, to the thirsty - the sweetest drink, to the chilly - clothing, to the laboring - peace, to the praying - confirmation, and to the weeping - consolation. 110. So, when you hear the words of Scripture about the Holy Spirit, that He descended on each of the apostles 35, or that He ascended on the prophet 36, or that He acts, is offended, quenched, irritated, and also that some have the firstfruits of the Spirit, others are filled with the Holy Spirit, then do not understand in the Spirit any fragmentation, or transformation, or change, but believe as we said before, that He is immutable, unchangeable and omnipotent. Therefore, He remains in His actions what He is, and He bestows on everyone what is proper to God. For He, like the sun, poured out completely upon those who were baptized; but each of us is enlightened to the extent that, having hated the darkening passions, he rejects them; and to the extent that he loves them and thinks about them, he becomes darkened. 111. He who hates passions also cuts off their causes; and whoever remains with the causes that produce them, even though he does not want to, is overcome by passions. 112. When we are subject to the action of evil thoughts, we must blame ourselves, and not the ancestral sin. 113. The roots of thoughts are obvious vices, which we always defend with our hands, feet, and lips. 114. It is impossible for one to bow down to passion in thought who does not love its causes. For who, despising shame, indulges in vanity? Or who, loving humiliation, is embarrassed by dishonor? Who, having a contrite and humble heart 37, will accept carnal pleasure? Or who, believing Christ completely 38, cares about temporary things or quarrels about them? 115. He who, being despised by someone, does not quarrel either in word or thought with the one who despises him, has acquired true knowledge and shows firm faith in the Lord. 116. Lie, sons of humanity, in the measure of untruth, 39 while God prepares for everyone what he should do in truth. 117. If neither the one who offends has any gain, nor the one who is offended has any deprivation, then a person walks like this, but he is restless in vain 40 . 118. If you see that someone, being in a variety of dishonor, grieves about this, then know that he, having been filled with thoughts of vanity, is unpleasantly reaping sheaves of heart seeds. 119. He who enjoys bodily pleasures more than appropriate will reward their excess with sorrows a hundredfold. 120. The boss is obliged to tell the novice what he deserves; and when he disobeys him, then foretell to him the sorrows that are sent for this. 121. Anyone who is offended by someone and does not exact this from the one who offends him believes in Christ and will receive a hundredfold for this in this age and will inherit eternal life 41 . 122. The memory of God is the pain of the heart for piety; Anyone who forgets God is voluptuous and insensitive. 123. Do not say that the dispassionate cannot grieve. For if not about himself, then he must do this about his neighbor. 124. When the enemy collects many records of sins committed in oblivion, then he forces the debtor not even in oblivion to make them, as if by right, using the law of sin. 125. If you want to constantly remember God, then do not reject misfortunes as being unfair, but endure them as justly befalling [you]. For their patience on every occasion awakens memory, and their rejection weakens mental reasoning and, through relaxation [of the body], produces oblivion. 126. Если хочешь, чтобы Господь покрыл грехи твои, то не выказывай людям добродетель, если какую имеешь. Ибо как мы поступаем в отношении наших добродетелей, так Бог делает с нашими грехами. 127. Having hidden virtue, do not exalt yourself as if you were doing righteousness. Ибо правда не в том только состоит, чтобы скрывать добрые дела, но и в том, чтобы не мыслить ни о чем запрещенном. 128. Не радуйся, когда сделаешь кому-либо добро (εὖ), но когда без злопамятства перенесешь последующее за тем сопротивление. For as nights follow days, so vices follow virtues. 129. Тщеславие, сребролюбие и сластолюбие не оставят неоскверненным доброе дело, если они прежде не будут истреблены страхом Божиим. 130. В невольных скорбях сокрыта милость Божия, которая влечет переносящего оные к покаянию и избавляет от вечной муки. 131. Некоторые, исполняя заповеди, ожидают, что они на весах будут противопоставлены их грехам, а другие умилостивляют ими Умершего за грехи. It is necessary to test: which of them has a fair way of thinking? 132. The fear of Gehenna and the love of the Kingdom give patience in sorrows. And this is not from ourselves, but from Him who knows our thoughts. 133. The believer in the future withdraws from the pleasures here without prohibition; but the unbeliever indulges in pleasures and is insensitive. 134. Do not say: “How can a poor person indulge in luxury without having the means to do so?” For others may even more miserably live in luxury with thoughts alone. 135. One is knowledge of things, and another is knowledge of truth. As different as the sun is from the moon, the second is more useful than the first. Knowledge of things is obtained in proportion to the fulfillment of the commandments, while knowledge of the truth is obtained in proportion to hope in Christ. If you want to be saved and come into the mind (ἐπίγνωσιν) of truth 42, then try to always rise above the sensory and cling to God with hope alone. Thus, by forcing yourself away [from the sensual], you will meet principles and powers that fight with you with the battles of thoughts; but, defeating them through prayer and remaining trustworthy, you will have the grace of God, which will deliver you from future wrath 43 . 136. Whoever understands the mysterious saying of St. Paul that we fight against spiritual malice 44 will also understand the parable of the Lord, in which He said that we must always pray and not lose heart 45 . 137. The Law of Transformation (τυπικῶς) commands to work for six days, and to celebrate on the seventh 46 . Since the work of the soul consists in doing good with property, that is, with deeds, its abolition and peace is to sell everything and give to the poor, 47, according to the word of the Lord, and, having calmed down through such non-covetousness, to remain in mental hope. It is into this rest that Paul encourages us to enter with diligence, saying: “Let us strive to enter into that rest” 48 . Having said this, we do not conclude the future and do not assert that there will be universal reward here, but that we must first have in the heart the active grace of the Holy Spirit and thus, as it acts in us, enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Revealing this, the Lord said: “The Kingdom of Heaven is within you” 49 . The apostle said the same thing: “Faith is the message of hope” 50 ; and again: “This way you will comprehend” 51; and again: “Test yourself, if you are in faith, or if you do not know that Jesus Christ lives in you, unless you are unskilled” 52. 138. He who knows the truth does not resist sorrowful adventures. For he knows that they lead a person to the fear of God. 139. Previous sins, being remembered in appearance, harm the trustworthy. For if they bring sadness with them, they remove them from hope, and when they present themselves without sadness, they bring back the old defilement. 140. When the mind, through renunciation of vices, acquires mental hope, then the enemy, under the pretext of confession, depicts previously former vices, so that passions, consigned to oblivion by the grace of God, may ignite and secretly harm a person. For then both the bright 53 and the passion-hating [mind] will of necessity become darkened, embarrassed by the [sins] committed. And if he is still gloomy and voluptuous, then he will delay in every possible way and will biasedly talk with the attacks of thoughts (προσβολαῖς), so that this memory will not be a confession of sins, but a representation of previous sinful impressions (πρόληψιν). If you want to bring an uncondemned confession to God, then do not remember sinful changes (παρατροπάς) by their appearance, but courageously endure the sorrows that come for them. 141. Sorrows are found for former sins, bringing with them something akin to each sin. 142. A person who is reasonable (γνωστικός) and has known the truth confesses to God not by recollection of what he has done, but by the patience of the [misadventures] that befall him. 143. Having rejected heartache (about sins) and dishonor, do not promise to bring repentance through other virtues, for vanity and insensibility know how to serve sin through just deeds. 144. Just as virtue is usually born from sorrows and dishonor, so vice is born from pleasures and vanity. 145. Every bodily sweetness comes from the previous repose [of the body], and repose is born from unbelief. 146. He who is under sin cannot alone overcome the carnal will, 54 for he has an incessant kindling contained in his members. 147. Passionate ones must remain in prayer and obedience, for even with the help of [a mentor] it is hardly possible to fight with the former sinful habits. 148. He who voluntarily strives with obedience and prayer is a skilled ascetic, clearly demonstrating the mental struggle by withdrawing from the sensory. 149. He who does not agree his will with the will of God encounters obstacles in his undertakings and is subject to enemies. 150. When you see two vicious people who have love for each other, then know that they are helping each other to fulfill [their] will. 151. The high-wise and the vain willingly deal with each other, for the one praises the vain, who slavishly humiliates himself before him, and the other magnifies the high-wise, who constantly praises. 152. The truth-loving listener finds the truth on both sides 55. If [people] testify to his good [deeds], then he becomes more zealous for them, and if they expose him to evil deeds, then he is forced to repent. 153. We must lead our lives in accordance with [spiritual] success and, depending on our life, we must offer prayers to God. 154. It is good to adhere to the main commandment and not to worry about anything in particular, not to pray for anything in particular, but only to seek the Kingdom 56, according to the word of the Lord. And if we still take care of every need, then we must pray for each one, for whoever does something or cares about something without prayer does not receive success in completing his work. About this the Lord said: “You cannot do anything without Me” 57. 155. Whoever neglects the commandment to pray suffers the gravest crimes (παρακοαί) 58, which send him like a prisoner from one to another. 156. He who endures present sorrows with the hope of obtaining future blessings has gained knowledge of the truth and will conveniently be freed from anger and sorrow. 157. He who suffers insult and dishonor for the truth follows the apostolic path, carrying a cross and wearing chains 59 . And whoever, without this, tries to listen to the heart, goes astray with his mind and falls into temptations and the snares of the devil. 158. Neither evil thoughts separately from their causes, nor their causes separately from thoughts can be defeated by those who fight with them. For if we reject one thing separately, then a little later through the other we will possess both. 159. Whoever, out of fear of suffering and reproach, fights with people, either here suffers greatly from the misfortunes that befall him, or in the next century he suffers without mercy. 160. Whoever wants to ward off any misfortune from himself must, through prayer, reconcile [his] affairs with God and mentally have hope in Him, and neglect the care of the sensory as much as possible. 161. When the devil finds a person unnecessarily engaged in bodily affairs, he first steals his knowledge as prey, and then, as his head, cuts off his hope in God. 162. When you reach the stronghold of pure prayer, do not accept the understanding of things brought at that time from the enemy, so as not to lose more to you. For it is better to wound him with the arrows of prayer, imprisoned somewhere below, than to talk with him when he brings us harmful [thoughts] and manages to distract us from the prayer [performed] against him. 163. Understanding things during temptation can be useful for a person, but during pure 60 prayer it usually harms. 164. If your lot has fallen to teach about the Lord 61 and you are disobeyed, then grieve about this mentally and do not be openly embarrassed. For, while grieving, you will not be condemned with the disobedient, but when you are embarrassed, you will be subject to temptation in the same matter. 165. When presenting the doctrine (ἐξηγήσεως), do not hide from those present what is proper for them; what is decent, state it more clearly, but what they cannot contain (τὰ σκληρά), then offer it mysteriously. 166. Do not accuse someone who is not subordinate to you of wrongdoing, for this is more a matter of power than of advice. 167. What is said [in general] in the plural is useful to everyone, for each one’s conscience will indicate his own 62 . 168. He who speaks the truth (ὀρθῶς) must himself, as it were, receive words from God. For truth (ἀλήθεια) does not belong to the speaking man, but to the acting God. 169. Do not have an argument with those who oppose the truth, who do not submit to you voluntarily, so as not to arouse in them hatred [towards you], according to Scripture 63. 170. Whoever allows a novice to contradict himself where he should not, deceives him in this matter and allows him to reject the vows of obedience. 171. Whoever, with the fear of God, admonishes and instructs someone who sins [in something], acquires for himself a virtue that is opposite to [this] sin. And the one who is vindictive and unkindly reproaches him falls, according to the spiritual law, into the same passion as him. 172. He who has learned the law well fears the Lawgiver and, trusting in Him 64, avoids all evil. 173. Don't be bilingual, i.e. differently disposed in words and differently in conscience. For such, according to Scripture, is subject to damnation 65. 174. Some speak the truth and are hated for this by madmen, according to the word of the Apostle; Some people are hypocrites and are loved for it, but none of these rewards last long. Because the Lord will give everyone their due in due time. 175. He who wishes to ward off future disasters must bear the present ones with joy. For in this way, mentally changing one thing for another, through small sorrows he will avoid great torment. 176. Protect the mind (λόγον) from self-praise and the thought (λογισμόν) from a high opinion of yourself, so as not to be allowed to do the opposite, for good is not accomplished by one person, but with the help of the all-seeing God. 177. The All-Seeing God determines a worthy reward for our deeds, as well as for our thoughts and arbitrary understandings. 178. Involuntary thoughts are born from preliminary sin, and voluntary thoughts from autocratic will. Therefore the latter are the cause of the former. 179. Evil thoughts that occur against [our] intention will be followed by sadness, which is why they soon disappear; but to those who happen by choice, joy will follow, which is why it is difficult to get rid of them. 180. The lover of pleasure grieves because of reproaches and suffering, and the lover of God grieves because of praise and excess. 181. He who does not know the destinies of God follows with his mind the path that runs between the rapids, and is conveniently overthrown by every wind: being praised, he is proud; being reproached, he becomes upset; enjoying food, he is carried away by bodily passion; cries in misery; knowing something, he exposes himself and, not understanding, pretends to understand; getting rich, boasting; being in poverty, he is a hypocrite; having had enough, he becomes bold and, while fasting, becomes vain; He loves to argue with those who accuse him and looks at those who offer him forgiveness as unreasonable. So, if anyone, by the grace of Christ, does not acquire the knowledge of truth and the fear of God, he will be severely wounded not only by passions, but also by external circumstances. 182. If you want to resolve an incomprehensible matter, then seek what pleases God about it, and then you will find a useful solution about it. 183. In matters in which God favors, the whole creation also cooperates with [man]; in the same way, those things from which He turns away, the whole creation also resists. 184. Whoever resists the sorrows that befall him, without knowing it himself, resists the command of God. And whoever accepts them with true knowledge, according to Scripture, endures the Lord 66. 185. When a [sorrowful] temptation befalls you, do not seek out why and why it came; but [try] to bear it somehow with gratitude, without sadness and rancor. 186. Someone else's evil does not add to sin unless we perceive it with evil thoughts. 187. If it is difficult to find [a person] who has pleased God without temptation, then we must thank God for every case [that we encounter]. 188. If Peter had not abandoned night fishing, he would not have achieved success in the daytime 67. And if Paul had not been blinded sensually, he would not have received his sight spiritually (πνευματικῶς) 68 . If Stephen had not been slandered as a blasphemer, he would not have seen God in the opened heavens 69. 189. Just as doing according to God is called virtue, so unexpected sorrow is called temptation. 190. God tempted Abraham 70, that is, sent him sorrows for his own benefit, not in order to find out what he was like, for he who knew everything before being knew him, but to give him a reason for perfect faith. 191. Every sorrow reveals where our will bends, to the good or bad side. Therefore, random sorrow is called temptation, because it serves as a test for the person subjected to it to test his innermost desires. 192. The fear of God compels us to fight vice, and when we fight, the Lord destroys it. 193. Wisdom consists not only in learning the truth naturally, but also in enduring evil from those who offend us as if it were our own. For those who remain in the first fall into pride, and those who achieve the second acquire humility. 194. If you want not to be bothered by evil thoughts, then accept humiliation of the soul and bodily sorrow, and not in part, but at all times, in all places and in all matters. 195. Whoever is voluntarily (ἑκουσίως) punished with sorrows will not have involuntary (ἀκουσίων) thoughts. And whoever does not accept the former becomes a prisoner of the latter, even without wanting to. 196. When your insides and heart are irritated by resentment, then do not be sad about the fact that what was previously lying inside carefully began to move, but joyfully cast down the thoughts that have arisen, knowing that if you destroy them at the first attack, then the evil movement will be destroyed along with them; and from the multiplication of thoughts, evil usually receives an increase. 197. Without contrition of the heart it is impossible to completely get rid of evil, and the heart is contrite from threefold abstinence: from sleep, I say, food and bodily rest. For the excess of these produces voluptuousness, and voluptuousness receives evil thoughts and opposes prayer and decent service. 198. Having received the lot to command the brethren, maintain the dignity of your [title] and because of those who disagree, do not keep silent about what is due. In whatever they are obedient, you will receive a reward for their virtue; If they do not listen, then forgive them completely, and you will receive the same from Him who said: “Let them go, and it will be forgiven you.” 71 199. Every case is like trade: he who knows how to do it gains a lot, but he who does not know how suffers a loss. 200. If someone does not obey because of one word, do not force him by argument, but take advantage of the acquisition that he rejected. For gentleness will bring you more benefit than correcting it. 201. When the harm of one spreads to many, then one should not be long-suffering and seek not one’s own benefit, but the salvation of many. Because general virtue is more useful than private virtue. 202. If anyone falls into any sin and does not grieve according to it, he will easily fall into the same snare again. 203. Just as a lioness does not meet friendly with a calf, so shamelessness does not accept sorrow for God with love. 204. Just as a sheep and a wolf do not come together to give birth, so heart disease does not combine with satiety to conceive virtues. 205. No one can have illness and sorrow for God if he does not first love the reasons for them. 206. The fear of God and inner self-reproof give rise to sadness, and abstinence and vigilance are combined with illness. 207. He who does not correct himself from the commandments and teachings of Scripture will be persecuted with the whip of a horse and the goad of a donkey. And if he rejects this, then his jaws will be tied with reins and bridles. 208. He who is easily overcome by small temptations will inevitably be enslaved by great ones; and he who despises the small will oppose the great in the Lord. 209. Do not try to use reproaches to benefit someone who boasts of virtues, for whoever loves to show off himself cannot be a lover of the truth. 210. Every word of Christ reveals the mercy, truth and wisdom of God and willingly imparts their power through the ear to those who listen. Therefore, the unmerciful and unrighteous, reluctantly listening to him, could not understand the wisdom of God, and even the One who taught it was crucified. So, we must see whether we willingly listen to Him. For He said: “He who loves Me will keep My commandments, and will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and show myself to him” 72 . Do you see how He hid His appearance in the commandments? 211. All commandments are contained in love for God and neighbor, which is achieved by withdrawal from material things and silence of thoughts. Knowing this, the Lord commands us, saying: “Do not worry about morning” 73 . Yes, and fair enough. For one who has not freed himself from material things and from caring about them, how can he free himself from evil thoughts? But how can one who is possessed by thoughts see the essential (ἐνυπόστατον) sin hiding underneath them, which is darkness and darkness of the soul and receives its origin from evil thoughts and deeds, so that the devil tempts [a person] without coercion with one attack, showing only the beginning [of evil], and a person, out of voluptuousness and vanity, willingly combines with him? For although according to his reasoning he did not want this, he enjoyed it and accepted it. If he does not recognize this common (περιεκτικήν) 74 sin, then when will he pray for it in order to be cleansed from it? And without purification, how will one find the place of pure nature? If he does not find it, how will he see the inner house of Christ 75? For we are the house of God, according to the prophetic, evangelical and apostolic word 76. So, we must search in the order shown above in order to find this house and, being in prayer, knock 77 so that either here or at death the Master will open it to us and so that he does not say to those who are careless: “We do not know where you come from.” 78 But we must not only ask and receive, but also preserve what is given to us, for some have lost it even after receiving it. Therefore, both those who started studying late and those who were young may have simple knowledge of the above-mentioned subjects and occasional experience in them; and even the pious and experienced elders hardly have long-term work with patience, who often lost it through inattention and again sought and found it through voluntary labor. And so let us not cease to do this until we acquire it [doing] inalienably. These are the justifications of the spiritual law. We have learned a few of the many, to whom the great psalmist constantly advises to learn and practice them, often singing (ψάλλοντας) about the Lord 79, to whom belongs glory and power and worship now and forever. Amen. That is, non-believers. – Note. ed. Matthew 16:27. Wed: Ps.61:13. That is, it is not the merit by which we acquire the Kingdom. – Note. ed. Wed: Matthew 19:21, Mark 10:21, Luke 12:33; 18:22, Matthew 13:44–46. Some manuscripts add: “For even so the Lord loved this world” (cf. John 3:16). – Ed. note. Wed: Matthew 19:29, Mark 10:29–30. In some manuscripts: “not more useful” or “not wiser or more useful.” – Note. ed. In some manuscripts: “he also helps his neighbor through his [good] will.” – Note. ed. This refers to the thought of the apostle. Paul on the impossibility of man being justified by works and the necessity of justification by faith. In some manuscripts: “prudent, prudent, wise [according to Bose] (λογιστικός)).” – Ed. note. In one of the manuscripts: “strong”. – Note. ed. In some manuscripts: “carnal wisdom.” – Note. ed. Due to the similar spelling and pronunciation of the words άλτ βεια. (“truth”) and ωφέλει α (“benefit”), φιλ αλήθης (“truth-loving”) and φιλόθεος (“God-loving”) this phrase received several variants in the manuscripts: “a truth-loving listener brings the truth,” “a truth-loving listener receives benefit,” “God-loving the listener benefits,” “a truth-loving listener benefits.” – Ed. note. Lit.: “disobedience.” -Editor's note In some manuscripts the word "pure" is omitted. - We'll accept it. ed. Lit.: “in the Lord,” i.e. with God's help. - Let's accept, ed. Apparently, we are talking about the Gospel commandments, not addressed to a specific person and not tied to a specific situation, but said in the second person plural: “Love your enemies,” etc. - Note. ed. In some manuscripts: “fearing Him.” – Ed. note. Wed: Acts 9:8. In some manuscripts: “mentally” (νοητώς). – Note. ed. Compare: Gen.22:1, Heb.11:17. Lit.: “containing”, “collective”, glor.: “containing”, i.e. such a sin that contains other sins and serves as their beginning. – Note. ed. See: Ezek.37:27, Zech.2:10, John 14:23, 1 Cor.3:16. Compare: Ps.46:8, 91:2. In some manuscripts: “singing praises to the Lord Jesus.” – Ed. note.