Our Venerable Father John, Abbot of Mount Sinai “The Ladder” and a word to the shepherd

The famous work of St. John Climacus “The Ladder” was written at the end of the 6th century. at the request of Rev. John of Raifa, abbot of the Raifa monastery. The image of the “Ladder” is borrowed from the Bible, which describes the vision of Jacob’s Ladder, along which angels ascend and descend (Gen. 28:12). The work belongs to the category of spiritual ascetic literature and consists of 30 chapters, representing the “steps” of virtues along which a Christian must ascend on the path to spiritual perfection. The number of steps has a symbolic meaning, which is revealed in the preface: 30 years is the age at which Jesus Christ began his public ministry. The 30 steps are believed to symbolize spiritual growth and maturity in faith, just as Christ achieved His calling at the age of 30. The image of a ladder in relation to spiritual life indicates, on the one hand, the need for spiritual improvement and elevation to God, on the other hand, gradualness in this elevation: - steps 1-4: struggle with worldly vanity (renunciation of worldly life, impartiality, wandering, obedience); - steps 5-7: sorrow on the path to true bliss (repentance, mortal memory, crying); - steps 8-26: fight against vices (silence, chastity, bodily vigil, etc.); - steps 27-29: spiritual peace (silence of soul and body, prayer, dispassion); - step 30: the top of the path is the union of the three main virtues (faith, hope and love). The ideal of a Christian is a monk (ascetic), whose life is based on kindness, fasting and chastity. Enslavement of man to the passions of St. John Climacus calls slavery and illness, as they are overcome, the corresponding virtues are acquired. He describes the process of the emergence of passion, consisting of 6 stages: preposition, combination, consent, captivity, struggle and passion. The teaching of St. Joanna reaches the top of Mount Sinai: silence and vision of God. “The Ladder” also includes the essay “A Word to the Shepherd” (15 chapters), dedicated to reflection on pastoral service and the role of the spiritual father in the life of a monk. The text contains specific advice and instructions for clergy. This publication presents the Russian translation made by Archimandrite. Agapit (Vvedensky). It coincides with the translation of Optina Hermitage in dividing the steps into chapters, but it conveys the Greek original much more accurately. Per. archim. Agapit (Vvedensky) See also another translation: Ladder or Tablets of the spiritual brethren of Optina Pustyn. 1850 The life of the holy father Abba John, briefly described by Daniel, the monk of Rappha, a venerable and virtuous husband Which city, of course, worthy of being known, accepted him at birth and raised him until his asceticism, I cannot say with certainty and certainty; and what kind of man this all-wonderful man now has as an inhabitant and feeds with imperishable food, I don’t know at all. For he too now dwells in the city about which the good-hearted singer affirms, crying thus: whose life is in heaven (Phil. 3:20). There he satiates the immaterial feeling with the fact that he never satiates, and the spiritual mind, namely the mind alone, pleasantly delights with indescribable beauty, having received a worthy reward for his exploits and a reward for his labors that did not tire him, having been awarded the lot there and becoming one of those with whom he will always be, and whose foot is already in the right (Ps. 25:12). And how else in a material body he coexisted there with immaterial ones - I will tell you about this with all clarity. This blessed one, when he was sixteen years of visible age, but in the perfection of his mind he was likened to a thousand years old, - as an immaculate and voluntary sacrifice, he devoted himself to the great Priest, offering his body on this Sinai, and his soul on the heavenly mountain, intending, as I think, in the most visible area to acquire for himself a guide to the invisible and the greatest benefit. And through a wandering life, this guide of our spiritual young women, 1 having cut off unseemly liberties, and having taken upon himself splendid humility, at the very entrance into this life, with a very beautiful goal, he drives out this deceiver - self-indulgence and self-confidence, bowing his neck and trusting to an excellent mentor, 2 with the good intention, under his leadership, to safely overcome the dangerous sea; and he brings himself into such a state, as if his soul had neither its own mind nor its own will, but was completely devoid of its natural properties. And what is most surprising is that despite his extensive learning, he taught this extraordinary and alien to humility arrogance of human wisdom to heavenly simplicity. Then, after the end of the nineteenth year, as if he were an intercessor and intercessor for himself, he sent his mentor to the Heavenly King, and with the prayers of this great one he took up arms as a mighty weapon to destroy the firmament (2 Cor. 10:4), and he himself goes out into the field of silence. Having chosen for his feat, five fields from the church of the Lord, a secluded place called Thola, he spends forty years there in labor, and is kindled by divine love, constantly inflamed by its fire. But who is able to tell the shame with a word and announce with a story how he went through his labors here? And can this be stated explicitly when all his labor increased in secret? However, from some of the beginnings of affairs we learn what the most sacred property of this Rev. was. He ate everything that is immaculately permitted according to the monastic vow, but he ate it in an extremely small measure. And by eating everything, I think, he wisely crushed the horn of arrogance; and with the smallness of what he tasted he humbled this lady, 3 who desired much, crying out to her with her very poverty: be silent, stop (Mark 4:35); by living in the desert and moving away from being with people, he extinguished the flame of this cave, so that, finally, it was already covered with ashes and was completely extinguished. This valiant ascetic courageously avoided idolatry ( Col. 3:5 ) through alms and lack of essentials. During the temporary deadness and inactivity of the soul, he restored it, awakening it with the sting of mortal memory. He resolved the shackles of addiction and attachment to everything sensual, tying himself with immaterial bonds of sadness. And the tormenting irritability was killed in advance in him by the sword of obedience. Keeping the body hopelessly in seclusion, and even less often allowing words to come out of the mouth, he killed this leech - vanity. What is the reward acquired by this excellent mystery for the victory won over the eighth of the beauties? 4 What is this highest degree of purification, which Bezaleel began with obedience, and which the Lord of the heavenly Jerusalem completed, visiting it with His presence; because without it the devil and his horde cannot be overthrown? But where, with the real intertwining of our crown, will I place this source of his tears, which we see not in many? And to this day the secret place where these tears flowed is known; this is a very narrow cave in a certain solitude and submountain, located at such a distance from his and from any other cell, which was enough to block the ears of vanity, and became close to the sky from screams and cries, the like of which can only be heard from those who are cut with knives, and whose limbs are burned and their eyes gouged. He enjoyed sleep only to such an extent that his vigilance did not upset the property of his mind. Before going to bed I prayed for a long time and composed books; and this served as his only curb on despondency. And his whole life was unceasing prayer and unparalleled love for God; for day and night contemplating Him, as in a mirror, in the purity of innocence, he did not want, or, more precisely, he could not get enough of this contemplation. One of those who accompanied the hermit's life, named Moses, encouraged by his jealousy, intensely desires to become his disciple and listen to him for the beginnings of true wisdom. And using intercessors for himself, with their requests he forces the great John to agree to accept him as a disciple. So, one day, the great mentor ordered Moses to apply soil from one place to fertilize and thicken the beds for vegetables. Moses, having arrived at the indicated place, did what he was ordered without laziness. When the excessive heat came, and it was just midday (and the month was then already in the last month), 5 - Moses, dodging under one huge stone and falling asleep under it, rested. But the Lord, Who does not want His servants to be subjected to sorrow in any way, usually protects them from sorrow. The Great John was in his cell, and delving deep into himself and into the thoughts of God, he became enveloped in some kind of subtle sleep, and saw that someone - the Holy One - was waking him up, reproaching him for being asleep, and saying to him: “How are you, John, sleeping carefree, and Moses is in danger? Rising immediately from sleep, John armed himself with prayer for his disciple. Then, when he returns around evening time, he asks: “Did anything unfavorable or unexpected happen to him?” The student says: “A very large stone would have crushed me when I was sleeping under it in the middle of the day, if I had not quickly jumped away from this place when it seemed to me that you were calling me.” And the truly humble John did not announce the vision to his disciple, but in secret cries and sighs of love he glorified the good God. Thus John was formed for everyone and a healer of invisible scabs. One day, someone named Isaac, greatly oppressed by the demon of carnality and already exhausted in spirit, hastened to resort to this great John, and revealed his abuse to him, accompanying the stories with sobs. This all-wonderful one, marveling at his faith, said: “Let’s stand, friend, both of us in prayer.” And as soon as the prayer words were finished, the suffering one still lay with his face down to the ground, God is already doing the will of His servant in order to show David’s infidelity (Ps. 144:19). The serpent, struck by the scourges of effective prayer, takes flight; and the sick one, seeing himself already healthy, comes into great amazement, and sends thanks to the One who glorified and together with the glorified. Some, stung by envy, called John talkative and idle talker. Having brought such men to their senses, he proved to everyone that all things are possible through Christ, who strengthens everyone (Phil. 4:12). He maintained silence for a whole year; why the condemners turned into petitioners, saying: “the source of ever-flowing benefit has been blocked - to the detriment of the common salvation of all.” And this lover of contradiction yielded to their requests, and again began to adhere to his former rule. Then everyone, marveling at all his success in all his successes, like a newly-minted certain Moses, by force elevated him to the position of ruling the brethren; and the good connoisseurs were not deceived when they placed this lamp on the official candlestick. He approaches the mountain, enters inaccessible darkness, ascending intellectual degrees, accepts God-ordained law and contemplation; He opened his mouth to the word of God, and drew the Spirit (Ps. 119:131), vomited out the good word (Ps. 44:2) from the good treasure of the heart (Matt. 12:35). And he reaches the limit of visible life, guiding these Israeli monks, only by becoming different from Moses, namely, by his entry into the heavenly Jerusalem, while Moses, I don’t know why, did not reach the lower Jerusalem. Very many testify to his spiritual instructions, namely, all those who were saved through him and are being saved to this day. An excellent witness to the wisdom of this wise man and the salvation he provides is the new David; 6 witness - and good John, our venerable shepherd, to whom on behalf of the flock, being implored, this new God-seer of Sinai, descending to us in thought from the mountain, announced to us his God-written tablets, containing outwardly active, and inwardly contemplative, guidance. In a few words I attempted to conclude a lot; because the conciseness of the narrative is also boasted of by the orbits. About the same Abba John, abbot of Mount Sinai, or Climacus One day, Abba Martyrius and Abba John came to Anastasius the Great, and he, seeing them, said to Abba Martyrius: “Tell me, Abba Martyrius, where is this boy from, and who tonsured him? Martyrius replies: “He is your servant, father, and I tonsured him.” And Anastasius says: “Wonderful thing, Abba Martyrius! Who could say that you tonsured the abbot of Sinai? And the holy man was not mistaken; because, after forty years, John became our abbot. At another time, taking this John with him, his mentor Abba Martyrius went to the great John Savvait, who then lived in the Gudda desert. As soon as the elder saw them, he stood up, poured water, washed Abba John’s feet, and kissed his hand; Abba Martyria did not wash his feet. When Savvaitov’s student Stefan asked: “Why did you do that? - the elder answered: “Believe me, child, I don’t know who this boy is; I received the abbot of Sinai, and washed the abbot’s feet.” Yes, and Abba Stratigius, on the day when, in his twentieth year, Abba John was tonsured, predicted about him that he would be a great luminary. And indeed, when John became our abbot, about six hundred strangers came to us. While they were sitting and eating food, John sees that one of the henchmen, wrapped in linen in Jewish style, goes around everyone and imperiously gives orders to the cooks, icons, housekeepers and other servants. When the people dispersed and the servants sat down to dinner, they began to look for the one who walked everywhere and gave orders; and were not found. Then the servant of God, our Venerable Father John, tells us: “Stop looking; It’s not strange what our lord Moses did when he served in this place that belonged to him.” There was once a time when there was no rain in the Palestinian countries. Abba John, at the request of the surrounding residents, prayed, and it began to rain heavily. And there is nothing incredible about this; because the Lord will do the will of those who fear Him, and He will hear their prayer (Ps. 145:19). You should know that John Climacus had a brother, the same venerable Abba George, whom he appointed abbot of Sinai during his lifetime, having himself loved silence, because from the very beginning this wise man had disdained it for himself. When our new Moses, the Most Reverend Abbot John, departed to the Lord; then his brother, Abba George, stood before him, shedding tears and saying: “Now you are leaving me and going away. And I prayed that you would send me; because without you, my lord, my strength will not be able to shepherd the brotherhood; and now, on the contrary, I am sending you.” And Abba John said to him: “Don’t be sad and don’t worry; If I gain boldness from the Lord, I will not allow you to die even a year after me.” This came true; for before ten months were completed, George also departed to the Lord. Epistle of Saint John, Abbot of Raifa, to the Venerable John, Abbot of Mount Sinai To the most excellent and equal-angelic father of fathers and incomparable teacher, the sinful abbot of Raifa wishes to rejoice in the Lord. Knowing your unquestioning obedience to the Lord in everything and adorned with all virtues, especially where you should increase the talent given to you by God, we, weak in a truly low and pity-worthy manner, write to you, keeping in mind what was said: ask your father, and your elders will tell you, and they will tell you (Deut. 32:7). Therefore, turning to you, as the common father of all, as the eldest before all, both by asceticism and strength of mind, and as an excellent teacher, with this message of ours we implore the height of your virtues - to describe for us ignoramuses that in the vision of God, like the ancient Moses, you matured on the same mountain, and, like the tablets written by God, to send what is stated in the venerable book sent to us, to for the edification of the new Israel, which had barely emerged from the mental Egyptians and from the sea of life. And how in this sea, instead of a rod, you worked miracles according to God with your God-speaking tongue; So now, as we pray, do not refuse, without laziness, to clearly outline for the Lord for our salvation what is necessary and proper for monastic life, as a truly great leader of all who have also chosen the angelic life, without considering what we have said as any servility or flattery. For you know, truly sacred head, that flattery is alien to us, and that we repeat only what is affirmed by everyone. Therefore, we assure ourselves in the Lord that we will soon receive and kiss the venerable inscriptions we have been waiting for on the tablets, as a true guide for those who follow unswervingly, and as if a ladder has been established (Gen. 28:12), which leads those who wish to the heavenly gates safe and sound, so that without restraint they pass by the spirits of evil, and the rulers of the world of darkness, and the princes of the air. For if Jacob, the shepherd of the dumb sheep, saw such a terrible vision in the ladder; Isn’t it all the more likely that the leader of the verbal sheep will show everyone not only a vision, but also in reality and in the truth itself an infallible ascent to God? Help in the Lord, most honorable father! Answer. John to John wishes to rejoice I received, to me, poor and poor in virtues, sent by you, befitting your splendid and dispassionate life, pure and humble heart, your venerable writing, or better yet, an instruction and command that exceeds my strength. Yours, truly yours, this is the task inherent in your sacred soul - to demand words of instruction and admonition from me, unlearned, ignorant both in word and in deed; because it is always customary for you to show us an example in your humility. However, I will now say that if there were no fear and great danger of throwing off the yoke of holy obedience, this mother of all virtues; then I would not have foolishly ventured into a task that exceeded my strength. You, wonderful father, should have asked about this and learned this from those who know the matter well; and I am still in the rank of students. But since our God-bearing fathers and the mysteries of true knowledge set obedience in order to undoubtedly obey those who command in matters that exceed our strength; then, piously forgetting that in proportion to my strength, I humbly decide on something that is above me, not with the thought of doing you any benefit, or explaining something that you yourself, the sacred head, know no less than I do; for I am not alone, but, as I think, every right-thinking person is confident that the eye of your mind is pure from all earthly and dark admixtures of everything darkened, and unhinderedly turns to the divine light, and is illuminated by it; on the contrary, frightened by death for disobedience, and by it, as if involuntarily led into obedience, with fear and zeal I begin to fulfill your holy command, like a grateful novice and an unfit student of an excellent painter, with my meager and weak knowledge and with poor pronunciation, imposing with ink alone the colorless outline of living words, but to you, the chief leader and official of the teachers, provides to understand this outline, and how to fill in what is insufficient as a performer of the tablets of the spiritual law. But I am not sending this work of mine to you (Let it not happen! For this would serve as a sign of extreme feeblemindedness; because you have enough strength - not only others, but also myself, to instruct about the Lord in divine morals and rules), but to the God-called council of brethren, who together with me study from you, the best of the best teachers. By them and by your prayers, as if by some kind of mental hopes, encouraged in my ignorance, having stretched out the sails of the cane, and having given the helm of my word into the hands of your excellent co-pilot, with an earnest request to them, for your sake I begin this work, begging all readers, if anyone sees anything useful in my work, to gratefully impute the fruit of this to our excellent Chief, and to me ask God for reward for one performance of work, not paying attention to what was said; because it is, indeed, weak and full of all ignorance, - having respected for the Lord the intended intention of the one offering his work; because God rewards not for many gifts of labor, but for much diligence. To those who strive to have their names written in the book of life in heaven, this book shows the best way for them to flow. For, walking along this path, we will find that this book infallibly leads those who follow it by the hand, and undoubtedly presents an established ladder from the earthly to the holy, and shows at the top of it the established God. This ladder, I think, was also seen by the passion-seeking Jacob, resting on his ascetic bed (Gen. 28:11). But with zeal and faith, I beg you, we too will ascend, with this intelligent and heavenly ascent, which the first degree of this ladder very clearly teaches. Truly, he who arranged for us an ascension equal to the Lord's age in the flesh judged very excellently; for, in the image of the Lord’s thirty years of coming of age, he significantly built a ladder of thirty degrees, along which, having reached the Lord’s age, we will find ourselves righteous and safe from falling. And whoever has not reached this age is still a baby, and according to internal testimony, will not deserve approval. We considered it necessary, first of all, to place here the life of this all-wise man, so that, seeing his works, we could look at his works without disbelief. Our Reverend Father John, Abbot of Mount Sinai, Ladder Preface to the word entitled: Spiritual Tablets. The ascetic word of Abba John, abbot of the monks of Mount Sinai, sent by him to Abba John, abbot of Raifa, according to whose conviction it was written. Word 1. On renunciation of the world 1) Good, all-good and all-good is our God and King (it is best to begin the word from God to God’s servants). Of the creatures He created, rational and distinguished by the advantage of freedom, some are close to God, others are His faithful servants, others are indecent, others are completely alienated from God, and others, although powerless, are nevertheless opponents of God. We simple people, O sacred head, recognize as beings of God those intelligent and incorporeal entities that are around God. We call faithful servants of God all those who do and have done the will of God without laziness and unforgivingness. We call indecent slaves those who think of themselves only that they have been worthy of baptism, but do not faithfully keep their vows to God. We consider those who are unfaithful or evil believers to be strangers to God and His enemies. Finally, the opponents of God are those who not only themselves violated and rejected the Lord’s commandment, but also strongly arm themselves against those who fulfill it. 2) Each of the listed genera requires a special, appropriate word. But it would not be useful for us, unscientific people, to enter into such extensive research at the present time. So, for the faithful servants of God, who have piously seized power over us, and by faith forced us with their commands, for the sake of obedience that does not reason about anything, let us now stretch out our unworthy hand, and from their knowledge we have received the verbal reed, we will dip it into something that has a dark appearance, and at the same time emits light from itself, humility, then we will lay it on their smooth and whitened hearts, as if on what charters, or, better to say, spiritual tablets, and let us begin to inscribe divine words on them, or rather, to lay seeds, and begin the word like this: 3) God, the Creator of all free beings, is the life of all, and the salvation of all faithful, infidel, righteous, unrighteous, pious, wicked, dispassionate, enslaved to passions, monks, laymen, wise, uneducated, healthy, infirm, young, aged; likewise for everyone - the spilling of light, the sight of the sun and air changes; and there is no difference between people in this; there is no sight with God (Rom. 2:11) 4) The wicked is a rational, mortal being, arbitrarily deviating from life and his own Creator, who always exists, imputing as if into something that does not exist. A lawbreaker is one who subordinates the law of God to his own evil, and imagines believing in God, choosing what is contrary to Him. A Christian is one who, as far as humanly possible, imitates Christ in words, in deeds and in thoughts, rightly and irreproachably believing in the Holy Trinity. A God-loving person is one who makes use of everything that is natural and sinless, and, to the best of his ability, does not fail to do good. A temperate person is one who, amidst temptations, snares and rumors, tries with all his might to imitate the morals of a person who is free from all this. Monasticism is an order and state of the disembodied, achieved in a material body and involved in impurity. A monk is a person who alone adheres to God’s statutes and God’s word, at all times, in every place, in every matter. Monasticism is a constant compulsion to nature and an unflagging guarding of the senses. A monk is a body preserved in purity, lips pure, and an enlightened mind. A monk is a sick soul, both during sleep and during wakefulness, occupied with incessant remembrance of death. Hermitage from the world is an arbitrary hatred of the substance praised by the world, and a renunciation of nature in order to excel in that which is above nature. 5) Everyone who willingly left worldly life, without a doubt, did this, either for the sake of the future kingdom, or because of the multitude of their sins, or out of love for God. If none of the indicated goals preceded them; then their hermitage is not reasonable. However, our good Hero is waiting to see what the end of the course will be. 6) Whoever has withdrawn from the world in order to shake off the burden of his sins, let him imitate those sitting outside the city at the tombs, and do not stop the warm and fiery outpourings of tears and silent heartfelt sobs until he sees that Jesus came to him, and the stone of bitterness was rolled away from his heart, and the mind, this our Lazarus, freed from sinful bonds, and commanded His servants the angels: allow, Him from the passions, and leave him, go (John 11:44) to the blessed dispassion. Otherwise, there is no benefit to him. 7) If we want to leave Egypt, flee from Pharaoh; then we, without a doubt, need a certain Moses, an intercessor before God and for God, who, exercising both in the active and contemplative life, would raise his hands to God for us, so that those guided by him would cross the sea of ​​sin and put the passionate Amalek to flight. Therefore, all those who, surrendering themselves to God, thought that they did not need any leader were deceived. Those who came out of Egypt had Moses as their leader, and those who fled from Sodom had an angel. And some are like those being cured of spiritual passions by the care of doctors: these are those coming out of Egypt; others - those who want to be stripped of the uncleanness of a weak body; that’s why they need an angel as an assistant, or at least, I’ll say this, an equal angel. Depending on the festering state of our ulcers, a very skilled doctor is also needed. 8) Those who intend to ascend to heaven with their body truly need effort and incessant sorrows, especially at the very beginning of renunciation, until our voluptuous disposition and insensitive heart are not yet brought by incessant tears to love of God and chastity. Great, truly great, it is worth labor and many invisible sorrows, especially for us who live carelessly, until we make our mind, this carnivorous dog accustomed to barking in vain, with simplicity, deep non-anger and diligence, a lover of purity and caution. However, we, given over to passions and weak, with undoubted faith, complacently present our gums with our hand and confess to Christ both our weakness and spiritual impotence; and we will certainly be worthy of His help, even beyond our dignity; if only we continually descend into the depths of humility. 9) Let everyone who is embarking on this good feat, a difficult, difficult, and at the same time easy feat, know that they are deciding to rush into the fire if they want the immaterial fire to take possession of them. Let everyone tempt himself, and so with bitter herbs and eat from the bread of humility, and let him drink from the cup with tears, so that he may not fight as a condemnation to himself. If not everyone who is baptized is saved, then I will keep silent about what follows from this. 10) Those who begin this feat, in order to lay a good foundation, must renounce everything, neglect everything, laugh at everything, reject everything. The throne and three-pillar foundation are good: gentleness, fasting and chastity. Let all who are infants in Christ begin with this, taking natural infants as an example; for you will never find in them either malice or pretense. They have neither insatiable greed, nor a belly that is not satisfied with anything, nor a body inflamed by lust; Perhaps when they increase with the increase in nutrition, then they too begin to feel this dilution. 11) It is hateful and dangerous for a true fighter to relax at the very beginning of the struggle, and thereby let everyone know about his future defeat. A solid beginning, without a doubt, will be useful to us even with the subsequent weakening. The soul, courageous and then weakened, is wounded by the memory of former zeal, as if by butts. And others were often inspired by this. 12) When the soul, having betrayed itself, loses its blissful and longed-for fervor; then let her diligently find out why she lost it, and arm herself against this reason with all her desire and zeal; because ardor can be returned not through another gate, but through the same one through which it left. 13) He who subjugates himself out of fear is like burning incense, which at first emitted a fragrance, and later dissolved into smoke. He who submits out of reward is like a millstone that always moves the same way. And whoever became a hermit out of love for God, at the very beginning already acquired fire, and, like fire thrown into wood, soon a very strong fire will ignite. 14) Others build plinths on top of the stones; others place pillars on top of the ground; others, having walked a short distance and having heated up the veins and trains, went faster. Whoever can understand, let him understand this allegorical word. 15) As those called by God and the King, let us diligently complete our course, so that, due to the shortness of life, we do not find ourselves barren on the day of death, and do not die from hunger. Let us please the Lord as soldiers please the king; for upon entering military service, we are required to serve properly in everything. Let us fear the Lord no less than we fear beasts; for I saw that those who went to theft, although they did not fear God, nevertheless, hearing the barking of dogs on the spot, immediately returned back; and what the fear of God did not do, the fear of beasts did. Let us love the Lord as we honor friends out of love. For I have often seen that others have offended God, and have not the slightest sorrow about it. And I also saw that the same people, having upset their loved ones with some small thing, both personally and through friends, sparing no gifts, used all methods and means, expressed all the sorrow, all the repentance, just to return to their former love. 16) At the very beginning of renunciation of the world, we practice virtues, of course, with difficulty and grief; but, having succeeded in them, we no longer feel sadness, or we feel little sadness. And as soon as our deathly wisdom is consumed and dominated by jealousy, we practice them with all joy and diligence, with love and with divine ardor. 17) How worthy of praise are those who from the very beginning and soon fulfill the commandments with all joy and zeal; so pitiful are those who have long been engaged in asceticism, and although they follow the commandments, they still do so with difficulty. 18) Let us not disdain renunciation or condemn it when a person is forced to renounce by circumstances. It happened to see that others ran away from the king, and involuntarily came to him; They met the arriving king, and then, unwittingly following him, entered his palace, and dined with him there. It happened to see that a seed accidentally fell to the ground and brought forth a lot of color and abundant fruit; as it also happened to see that someone, for some other need, came to the doctor’s clinic, but the doctor’s courtesy prevailed and took over his will, and he was freed from the darkness that lay before his eyes. And in some cases the involuntary was stronger and more reliable than the voluntary. 19) Let no one, referring to the severity and multitude of sins, say about himself that he is not worthy of the monastic vow, and let him not think of humiliating himself for lust, not feeling guilty about sins (Ps. 141:4). Where decay is great, strong healing is needed to draw out all the impurity. Healthy people don't go to the doctor. 20) If the earthly king calls and expresses his will for us to serve before him, we do not wait for another order, we do not make excuses, but leaving everything, we readily go to him. Let us be attentive to ourselves, so that when the King of kings and the Lord of lords and the God of gods calls us to this heavenly rank, we do not refuse out of laziness and negligence, and do not become unresponsive at the great judgment. And he who is bound by everyday affairs and iron worries has the opportunity to walk, although with difficulty; for even those whose feet are shackled with iron often walk, but they often stumble and therefore receive wounds. An unmarried person, bound in the world only by everyday affairs, is like a person who has only shackles on his hands; and therefore, when he wishes to begin the monastic life, he has no obstacles. But he who gets married is like a man who has bonds on both his hands and his feet. 21) I happened to hear that others, living carelessly in the world, said to me: “having a wife and being obliged to social concerns, is it possible to go through the monastic life”? And I answered them: “Whatever good you can do, do it; do not slander anyone; Don’t steal from anyone; Do not lie to anyone, do not be proud of anyone; have no hatred towards anyone; do not shy away from church meetings; be compassionate to those in need; do not tempt anyone; Do not approach someone else's lot, and be content with the dues of your wives. If you start doing this; then you will not be far from the kingdom of heaven.” 22) Let us begin a good deed with joy and fear, without fear of our enemies. They look in the face of our soul, although they themselves are invisible; and if they notice that it has changed out of fear, they will arm themselves against us with great bitterness; for the cunning understand that we are afraid. Therefore, we will complacently arm ourselves against them. Those who enter into the struggle with all readiness, no one dares to fight with them. 23) The Lord economically eases the battles for newcomers, so that at the very beginning they do not immediately return in peace. So, always rejoice in the Lord, all servants of God, recognizing this in yourself as the first sign of the Master’s love for you, and as a sign that the Lord himself has called you. But, as you know, the Lord often does this: if he sees courageous souls; then at the very beginning he allows them to be attacked in order to quickly crown them. From those living in the world, the Lord hid the difficulty, or better yet, the convenience of this field. And if they knew this, then no flesh would renounce the world. 24) Diligently offer the labors of your youth to Christ, and in old age you will rejoice in the wealth of good deeds. What is collected in youth nourishes and comforts those who are exhausted in old age. In our youth we will work ardently and carry out our work soberly, because the time of death is unknown, and our enemies are truly crafty, cruel, insidious, cunning, holding fire in their hands, and trying to burn the church of God with the very flame that is in it; These enemies are strong, vigilant, immaterial, invisible. Let no young person listen to his enemies, the demons, when they tell him: “Do not wear out your flesh, lest you fall into illness and disease; for there is hardly anyone, especially in the present generation, who decides to mortify his flesh, even if he deprives himself of many pleasant dishes.” The goal of this demon is to make both our very entry into the field weak and careless, and the end consistent with the beginning. 25) Those who intend to faithfully serve Christ first of all seek and make efforts to, with the help of spiritual fathers and their own information, choose a suitable place, way of life, premises, and exercises. For not everyone needs community life, due to greed, and not everyone needs silent solitude, due to irritability; but everyone must look at what is more characteristic of him. 26) The entire circle of monastic life is limited to the three most important types of asceticism: or ascetic hermitage and solitude; or silence in the community of one, many two; or by patiently staying in a hostel. Do not turn away, says Ecclesiastes, neither on the right hand nor on the skin (Proverbs 4:27); but follow the royal path. The average kind of life listed above is decent for many. For it is said: woe to one who ever falls into despondency, or drowsiness, or laziness, or despair: there is no man to raise him up (Eccl. 4:10); And where two or three are gathered in My name, I am in the midst of them, said the Lord (Matthew 18:20). Therefore, who is the faithful and prudent monk? Who kept his ardor unquenched, and until his end did not cease every day to add fire to fire, ardor to ardor, jealousy to jealousy, love to love. Whoever has ascended to this level, do not go back. Word 2. About impartiality and a carefree life 1) Who truly loved the Lord, who truly made an effort to improve the future kingdom, who truly experienced grief over his sins, who truly acquired the remembrance of eternal torment and judgment, who truly fears his departure from this life; he will not love the world, and will no longer care or worry about money, or property, or parents, or worldly fame, or a friend, or brothers, or anything earthly in general; but, having severed all ties with earthly things, having laid aside all care for that, and, moreover, having hated his own flesh, having put off everything, he will follow Christ carelessly and unlaxly, always raising his gaze to heaven, and from there expecting help for himself, according to the word of the saint: my soul is drawn to you (Ps. 62:9), and according to the saying of another of all times: I have not troubled you. follow, and do not desire day or rest for man, O Lord (Jer. 17:16). 2) It is a very great shame for those who have abandoned all of the above, after our calling, with which the Lord, and not man, called us, to take care of something that cannot provide us with a benefit in the hour of our need, i.e. at our passing. For this is what the Lord said, turning back and not being ruled in the kingdom of heaven (Luke 9:62). Our Lord, knowing our complacency when entering the field, and knowing how easy it is, from living together or dealing with worldly people, we return again to the world, who said: let me go to bury my father, answered: leave the dead to bury your own dead (Matthew 8:22). 3) After our renunciation of the world, demons instill in us the idea of ​​pleasing the merciful and compassionate among the laity, and considering ourselves deprived of this. The intention of our enemies is to use this false humility either to return us to the world, or, if we remain monks, to plunge us into despair. It is possible to humiliate those who live in the world out of self-conceit; or you can also humiliate them in absentia in order to avoid despair, and to gain greater hope for yourself. 4) Let us listen to what the Lord said to the young man, who fulfilled almost all the commandments: you have not finished one thing: sell your possessions and give to the poor (Mark 10:21), become a beggar yourself, accepting alms from others. 5) Intending to run the race with zeal and ardor, let us understand wisely how the Lord gave the verdict about everyone in the world, even about the living, that they are dead, saying to someone: leave the dead, that is, the laity, to bury the dead with the body (Matthew 8:22). And wealth did not in the least hinder this young man from proceeding to baptism. Why is it in vain that some say that for the sake of baptism the Lord commanded him to sell what he had. Such a certificate will be enough for us to be completely confident that the glory of our vow is very great. 6) It is worth investigating why those who live in the world and spend their lives in vigils, in fasting, in labors, in suffering, when they become hermits, in monastic life, as if in an apprenticeship and in the ascetic field, no longer continue their previous feat, as false and feigned. It happened to see that they planted very many and various plants of virtues in the world; but they, as if from a dirty pit, became drunk with vanity, were encouraged to grow by boastfulness, and instead of pus they were rewarded with praise, but transplanted onto desert land, inaccessible to the laity, not moistened by the fetid water of vanity, they immediately dried up; because these abundant plants no longer bear fruit in the harsh and waterless schools of asceticism. 7) He who has hated the world has escaped sorrow. And whoever has an addiction to anything visible has not yet gotten rid of sadness. For how could he not be saddened by the loss of his beloved? In everything we need a lot of sobriety, especially, and more than anything else, we need to be reasonably attentive to the following. We saw that many in the world, amid cares, worries, occupations and bodily vigils, avoided violent movements in their bodies; but, having entered into monastic life, and living without any worldly worries, they were pitifully defiled by such movements in the body. 8) Let us be attentive to ourselves, so that, claiming that we are following a narrow and cramped path, we do not deceive ourselves, in fact, we are adhering to a wide and spacious path. They will show you the narrow path: exhaustion of the belly, all-night standing, water in moderation, bread in poverty, the cleansing drink of dishonor, ridicule, abuse, cutting off one’s will, patience with attacks, meekly enduring neglect, imputing insults to nothing, and the habit of generously enduring when offended; when they slander, do not get angry; when humiliated, do not get angry; when condemned, humble yourself. Blessed are those who follow one of the numbered paths: for of these is the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:3-12). 9) No one will enter the heavenly bridal chamber as a crown bearer unless he renounces the first, second and third renunciation. I mean renunciation of every thing, from people, even from parents, cutting off one’s will, and thirdly, renunciation of vanity by one’s obedience. Come out from among them and separate yourself, and do not touch the uncleanness of the world, says the Lord (2 Cor. 6:17). For who has ever performed miracles among them? Who raised the dead? Who cast out demons? Nobody. All these are victorious rewards for the monks - rewards that the world cannot accept; and if he could, then what is the point of asceticism or hermitage? 10) After our renunciation, when demons, with the memory of our parents and brothers, inflame our hearts towards them; Then let us arm ourselves against them with prayer, and let us ignite ourselves with the remembrance of the eternal fire, so that, holding it in memory, we can extinguish the untimely fire in our hearts. 11) If someone considers himself impartial to any thing, his heart grieves over the loss of it; then he completely deceives himself. 12) Young people who feel a strong attraction to carnal love and lust, if they intend to enter the monastic life, let them practice all sobriety and prayer, and convince themselves to abstain from all luxury and wickedness, so that the last pot of the first will not be for them (Matthew 12:45). This harbor both gives salvation and plunges us into danger; Those who swim in the mental sea know this. But it is a pitiful sight when those who survived at sea are wrecked in the pier. Here's the second degree. Let the current one run, imitating Lot, and not his wife. Word 3. About the wandering life 1) Wandering is the irrevocable abandonment of everything that in the fatherland opposes us to achieve the goal of piety. Wandering is an insolent disposition, an unknown wisdom, an undisguised prudence, a hidden life, an invisible goal, an invisible thought, a desire for humiliation, a desire for embarrassment, the beginning of divine love, an abundance of love, renunciation of vanity, the depth of silence. 2) Those who loved the Lord, at first, constantly and strongly, as if kindled by a descending fire from above, are also disturbed by this thought, that is, the removal from their own, accepted by lovers of such perfection for the purpose of a humiliated and sorrowful life. But as great and praiseworthy as this is, it also requires great prudence; for not all wandering, taken to the extreme, is good. 3) If every prophet has no honor in his own country, as the Lord says (John 4:44); then let us be careful that wandering does not become the beginning of vanity for us. For wandering is separating oneself from everything, with the goal of making one’s thoughts inseparable from God. Wandering loves and produces insatiable crying. The wanderer avoids all connection with his own and with strangers. 4) When hastening towards a solitary or wandering life, do not wait for the peace-loving people; because the thief comes suddenly. Many, having attempted with themselves to save the careless and lazy, died with them because the fire died out over time. As soon as the flame ignites in you, run with it; for you do not know when it will fade away and leave you in darkness. Not all of us are required to save others: the divine apostle says: therefore each of us, brethren, will give a word about himself to God (Rom. 14:12). And he also says: when you teach others, do you not teach yourself (Rom. 2:21)? He seemed to say this: whether we should teach others, I don’t know; and themselves - all without fail. 5) Leading a wandering life, beware of the whirling and voluptuous demon; because wandering gives him a reason. 6) Impartiality is wonderful; his mother is the wandering life. Let him who has become a wanderer, for the sake of the Lord, no longer have any connections, so that it does not turn out that he is wandering to please his passions. 7) Have you become a wanderer in the world? touch the world no more; because passions love to return. 8) Eve unwittingly goes into exile from paradise; and the monk voluntarily comes from his fatherland; the first would again wish for the tree of disobedience; and the latter would certainly be in danger from relatives in the flesh. 9) Like a whip, run away from those places where you fell into sin. If there is no fruit before our eyes, then we do not always want it. 10) Let this trick and cunning of thieves not be hidden from you: they inspire us not to be separated from the worldly, saying that we will receive a great reward if, even when we see the female sex, we abstain. One should not believe such suggestions, but rather do the opposite. 11) When, having lived a year, or several years, separated from our household, we acquire some reverence, or contrition, or abstinence; then vain thoughts rise up in us, and incline us to go again to our fatherland, for the edification, as they say, of many, in order to become an example and bring benefit to those who saw our previous disorderly deeds. And if we have both the gift of speech and dear knowledge; then they put in us the idea to be saviors of souls and teachers in the world itself, so that what is beautifully collected in the pier will be squandered into the sea. Let us try to imitate not Lot’s wife, but Lot himself. The soul, turning back to where it left like salt, will lose its strength and become motionless. Flee from Egypt without looking back; because the hearts that turned to him did not see the land of dispassion - Jerusalem. Those who at first, out of infantile simplicity, left their own and were completely purified, can return to their former place, not without benefit, even, perhaps, with the intention, after their salvation, to save others; although Moses himself, the Seer of God, sent by God to save his fellow tribe, had many dangers in Egypt, that is, darkness in the world. 12) It is better to upset your parents than the Lord; because the Lord created us and saved us; and the parents of those they loved often destroyed and handed over to torture. 13) A wanderer is one who, like a foreign speaker among a foreign language people, lives, going deeper into himself. 14) It is not out of hatred that we part with our people or with a place (let that not happen), but to avoid the harm that comes to us from them. As in everything else, so in this, the teacher of good for us is Christ; for it is clear that He also often abandoned His parents according to the flesh; and hearing from others: Your mother and Your brothers are looking for You (Mark 3:32), our good Lord and Teacher immediately showed an example of dispassionate hatred, saying: My mother and My brothers are doing the will of My Father who is in heaven (Matthew 12:49). 15) let someone be your father who can and wants to work with you over the burden of sins; and by mother - contrition, which can wash you from defilement; and brother - a co-worker and associate in the pursuit of heavenly things. Acquire an inseparable cohabitant - a mortal memory; Let your heartfelt sighs be your beloved children; acquire your body as a slave; and as friends - the holy Powers, which during your exodus can benefit you if they are your friends. This is the generation of those who seek the Lord (Ps. 23:6). 16) Love for God extinguishes love for parents. And whoever says that he has one and the other deceives himself, hearing the One who says: no one can work for two masters (Matthew 6:24), and so on. I did not come, says the Lord, to bring peace to the earth (between parents and children and brothers who decided to serve Me), but warfare and sword (Matthew 10:34), to divide the lovers of God from the lovers of peace, the material from the immaterial, the glory-loving from the humble; for the Lord delights in disagreement and separation when it happens out of love for Him. 17) Take care, beware, lest, when everything you have is immersed in waters, out of passion for your loved ones, you too are exposed to the flood of competition. Do not be moved by the tears of your parents and friends; otherwise, you will cry forever. When your own people surround you like bees, or better yet, like wasps, shedding tears for you: then, without hesitation in the least, unswervingly fix your spiritual eye on death and your deeds, so that sorrow can be reflected back to you by sorrow. Their own, or more justly, not their own for us, flatteringly promise to do whatever they want; and their goal is to hinder our beautiful flow, and then to attract us through this to their goal. 18) For our hermitage, we need to choose places where there are fewer opportunities for consolation and vanity, and more for humility; otherwise, we take our passions with us into hermitage. 19) Hide your nobility and do not show off your nobility, lest you be found to be different in body and different in deeds. 20) No one gave himself up to wandering as much as this great Patriarch, to whom it was said: get thee out of thy land, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house (Gen. 12:1); and, moreover, he was ordered to go to a foreign and foreign land. 21) If the Lord would greatly glorify anyone leading a wandering life following the example of this great patriarch; then although this glory is God-given, it is nevertheless wonderful to reject it from oneself with the shield of humility. 22) When demons or people praise our pilgrimage as a great merit; Then let us think about Him who for our sake made the journey from heaven to earth, and we will find that in the age of the century we are not able to repay for it. 23) Predilection for any of your own or strangers is harmful. It can little by little attract us to the world and completely quench the fire of contrition in us. How uncomfortable it is to look at the sky with one eye and the earth with the other; So it is not possible to avoid dangers for the soul for someone who has not completely removed himself, both in thought and body, from all those at home and strangers. 24) Through many labors and efforts, a good and well-ordered disposition is improved in us; but even what has been accomplished through many efforts can be lost in an instant. For good customs are corrupted by evil, worldly and indecent conversations (1 Cor. 15:33). Whoever, after renouncing the world, has contact with worldly people, or draws close to them, will certainly either fall into their snares, or defile his heart by thinking about them, or, not defile himself, but condemning those who defile himself, through this alone he will defile himself with them. About the dreams that new arrivals have 25) That our mind is very imperfect in knowledge, and is filled with all kinds of ignorance, this is impossible to hide. The larynx distinguishes food; hearing recognizes thoughts; the sun reveals the weakness of the eyes, and words reveal the ignorance of the soul: but the law of love compels one to encroach on what is beyond one’s strength. So, I think (however, I do not claim) that after the word about wandering, it is better to say, in this word itself, something should be said about dreams, so as not to leave us in the dark about this cunning trick. 26) A dream is a movement of the mind while the body is still. Dreaming is a deception of the eyes when thoughts are put to sleep. Dreaming is a frenzy of the mind while the body is awake. A dream is a vision of something that is not in reality. 27) The reason why we decided to talk about dreams in this manner is obvious. When, having left our home and household for the Lord, out of love for God we give ourselves up to wandering; then the demons try to disturb us with dreams, imagining to us that our family is either grieving, or dying, or is being imprisoned for our sake and suffering harm. Therefore, he who believes in dreams is like one who chases after his shadow and tries to grab it. 28) Demons of vanity prophesy during sleep, using their cunning to predict the future and foretell it to us, so that, upon the fulfillment of the visions, we will be surprised and lifted up in thought as if we are already close to the gift of foreknowledge. For those who believe in a demon, he is often a prophet; and for those who humiliate him, he always lies. Like a spirit, he sees what is happening in this air, and noticing that a person is dying, he prophesies about this in a frivolous dream: but demons know nothing of the future by foreknowledge. And our doctors can predict death. 29) Demons often transform into a bright angel, and take the form of martyrs, and in dreams they show us that we are in communication with them; upon our awakening, they immerse us in joy and conceit. Let this be a sign of deception for you: the angels show torment, judgment and separation; upon awakening, they make us tremble and make us sad. As soon as we begin to believe demons in our dreams, they will abuse us even in our waking state. He who believes in dreams is not at all skilled; and he who does not believe in any dream is wise. Believe only in dreams that foretell torment and judgment for you. And if despair confuses you; Even such dreams are from demons. This is the third degree, equivalent to the Holy Trinity. Let him who enters upon it look neither to his right hand nor to his left (Deut. 5:32). Sermon 4. On blessed and ever-memorable obedience 1) Our word, moving in its own order, finally meets the fighters and ascetics of Christ. Every fruit is preceded by color, and every obedience is preceded by a wandering life, in relation to either the body or the will. For with the help of these two virtues, as on golden wings, the holy soul inviolably ascends to heaven; and perhaps one spirit-bearing man sang about her: who will give me a krill like a dove, and let me fly with activity, and rest in contemplation and humility (Ps. 55:7)? 2) But let us not fail, if you wish, to clearly depict in words the outward appearance of these courageous warriors: how they hold the shield of faith in God and trust in their mentor in asceticism, reflecting to them, so to speak, every thought of unbelief and betrayal; how they continually stretch out the spiritual sword, and with it they put to death everything that approaches them according to their will; how, having put on the iron armor of meekness and patience, they reflect from themselves every insult, injury and every blow. They also have a helmet of salvation - the abbot’s prayer cover; and their legs are not completely closed, but one is stretched out in service, and the other is motionless in prayer. 3) Obedience is a complete renunciation of one’s own soul, clearly manifested in bodily actions; or in other words: obedience is the mortification of members while the mind is alive. Obedience is a movement that is not previously experienced, voluntary death, a life not preoccupied with anything extraneous, carefree distress, an uncontrived justification before God, fearlessness of death, a comfortable voyage, the journey of a sleeper. Obedience is the grave of will and the resurrection of humility; it does not contradict, does not argue, as if it is dead both in what is good and in what is apparently bad. For the one who piously put the soul of the novice to death will be responsible for everything. Obedience is the suspension of prudence, despite the wealth of prudence. 4) The beginning of the mortification of both the spiritual will and bodily members is sorrow; the middle is sometimes sorrow, and sometimes a non-sorrowful state; finally - complete insensibility and inability to excite grief. Only then does this blessed living dead appear sorrowful and sick when he sees himself fulfilling his will, and fears the judgment that he must bear on himself. 5) You, who have decided to enter the field of this spiritual confession, you, who wish to take the yoke of Christ upon your neck, you, who from this moment are trying to place your yoke on the shoulders of another, you, who hasten to give a handwriting that you are voluntarily giving yourself up to slavery, and want instead of this to be written to you the right to freedom, you, who, while sailing, lifted by the hands of others, are swimming across this great sea, - know that you have decided to follow a harsh but short path, from which there is only one deviation, and it is called self-indulgence. And whoever once forever renounced it, even in what seems beautiful, spiritual and godly, has achieved the goal before entering the path. For obedience is distrust of oneself, in the consideration of every good deed, even until the end of life. 6) Intending to bow our neck in the Lord out of the views and motives of humility, and resolutely entrust our salvation in the Lord to another - before entering this field, if we have any cunning and prudence, we subject our helmsman to judgment, examination and, I will say, testing, so that, having entrusted ourselves, instead of a helmsman who can barely wield an oar, instead of a doctor to a sick person, instead of a dispassionate slave passions, and instead of a pier for the sea, your soul cannot find ready ruin. Upon entering the field of piety and submission, we will no longer judge our good leader in asceticism for anything, although, perhaps, we will see in him, as in a person, some slight errors. Otherwise, having become judges, we will not receive any benefit from submission. 7) Whoever wants to forever retain undoubted trust in a mentor, it is absolutely necessary for him to keep his good deeds indelible and ever-memorable in his heart, so that when the demons begin to instill in us distrust of him, we can stop their mouths with what is preserved in our memory. For to the extent that trust blossoms in the heart, to the same extent does the body hasten to humility. And whoever stumbles over lack of trust has already fallen; for without any doubt, sin does not come from faith (Rom. 14:23). As soon as a thought inspires you to judge or condemn the abbot, run from him as from fornication. Do not give this serpent any will, no place, no entrance, no power; but say to this serpent: “Listen, seducer, it is not I who have overruled the boss, but he who has undertaken to carry out judgment on me; It is not I who have appointed him, but he who has been appointed my judge.” 8) The Fathers determine that psalmody is a weapon, prayer is a wall, and non-reproachful tears are a bathhouse; and blessed obedience, according to their reasoning, is confession, and without it none of those subject to passions will see the Lord. 9) He who subjugates himself pronounces a sentence on himself. If he is perfectly obedient for the Lord's sake; then, although he does not consider himself completely obedient, he will escape his judgment. If he fulfills his will in anything; then, although he considers himself obedient, he will bear the burden on himself. It’s good if the abbot does not stop reproaching him; and if he’s silent, I don’t know what to say. In simplicity, those who submit to the Lord carry out a good course, without arousing the malice of demons against themselves with their inquisitiveness. 10) First of all, let us confess to our good judge, and to him alone; if he commands, then to everyone. Scabs shown to others will not make them any more painful, but they will heal. 11) Having been in a certain cenobitic monastery, I saw the Last Judgment of the good judge and shepherd. During my stay there, it happened that one of the robbers began the monastic life, and that most excellent shepherd and doctor ordered him to remain in perfect peace for seven days, and to notice only the order established in the monastery. After a week, the shepherd, calling him, asked him privately: “Does he like living with them?” When he saw that, according to this word, he readily brought confession of everything, still tempting him, he said: “I want you to reveal this to all the brotherhood.” He, having truly hated his sin, and despising all shame, without hesitation at all, promised to do this; I even added: “If you like, I’ll say it among Alexandria.” After this, the shepherd gathers all the sheep, three hundred and thirty in number, into the Lord’s church, and during the Divine service (for it was a Sunday), after reading the Gospel, he finally brings in this uncondemned defendant. Several brothers pulled him in and lightly struck him. His hands were tied behind him; he was dressed in sackcloth, with ashes sprinkled on his head; why, everyone was amazed by this very spectacle. And suddenly a mournful cry was heard; because no one knew what was being done. Then, when he approached the church doors, the sacred head, the humane shepherd, loudly proclaimed to him: “Stop, you are not worthy to enter here.” Struck by the voice of the shepherd coming to him from the sanctuary (for he thought, as he later assured us with oaths, that he heard not a human voice, but thunder), he instantly fell on his face in awe, and all agitated with fear. So he lay on the ground and wet the floor with his tears; This wonderful doctor, using all means to save him, and wanting to present to everyone an example of saving and effective humility, again exhorts him to tell everyone in detail what he has done; and he confesses with horror, one after another, all the sins that outrage every ear, not only the natural and unnatural of the flesh, verbal and non-verbal, but even poisoning, murder and much more, which is indecent to hear about, or to commit to writing. When he finished confession, the shepherd ordered that they immediately tonsure him and number him among the brethren. 12) Surprised by the wisdom of this monk, I asked him privately: why did he perform such an extraordinary spectacle? This true doctor answered: “For two reasons: firstly, to save the one who confessed the present shame from the shame of the future; that indeed it was so, brother John. For he did not get up from the floor until he was worthy of the remission of all sins. And don't doubt it; one brother who was there assured me, saying: I saw that someone terrible was holding a written charter and a cane; and when there was a sin lying down, he blotted out this sin with a cane. And rightly so; for it is said: Reh, let me confess my iniquity to the Lord: and thou hast forsaken the wickedness of my heart (Ps. 31:5). Secondly, since there are those in the brotherhood whose sins remain secret, I wanted to encourage them too to confession, without which no one will be worthy of remission of sins.” 13) I saw many other wonderful and memorable things with this ever-memorable shepherd and in his flock; and I will try to bring most of this to your attention. For I lived with him for quite some time, following their way of life, and was brought into great surprise, seeing how these earthly creatures imitated the celestials. 14) In this flock there is an insoluble union of love, and, what is even more surprising, it is free from any freedom in speech and from idle talk. The brethren try most of all so as not to offend their brother's conscience in any way. If someone turns out to be a hater of another; then the shepherd removes him to a separate monastery as a condemned person. One day, one of the brethren spoke badly to the shepherd about his neighbor; The monk immediately ordered to expel him, saying: “I will not allow both the visible and invisible devil to be in the monastery.” 15) I saw among these reverend fathers deeds that were truly useful and worthy of surprise; I saw a brotherhood that came together and united in the Lord, and acquired for itself wonderful work and contemplation. For they are so engaged in the thought of God and practice good deeds that for this they have almost no need to remind the abbot, but of their own free will they awaken each other to divine wakefulness; for among them certain holy and divine exercises are defined, studied and established. If it turned out that one of them, in the absence of the abbot, began to slander, or condemn, or even talk idlely; then some other brother, secretly reminding him of this, quietly stops this. If the brother, by chance, does not guess; then the one who reminded, bowing, finally leaves. The inexhaustible and never-ending subject of their conversation (when it is necessary to talk) is the remembrance of death and the thought of eternal judgment. 16) I will not fail to tell you about the very extraordinary success of the local cook. “Seeing that during his ministry he was constantly immersed in thought and tears, I asked him to tell me how he was granted such grace. And forced by me, he answered: “I always thought that I served not people, but God; and recognizing myself as unworthy of all rest, in this visible fire I have a constant reminder of the future flame.” 17) Let’s hear about their other extraordinary success. Even during the meal itself, they do not stop mental activity, but, according to some skill, with secret signs and gestures, these blessed ones remind themselves of inner prayer. And they do this not only at meals, but also at every meeting with each other, and in every meeting. 18) If any of them commits a crime; then there are many petitions from the brethren to him, so that he would allow them to take care of this, and bring justification before the shepherd, and accept punishment. Why does this great man, having learned that his disciples are doing this, impose the lightest punishments, knowing that the one being punished is not subject to responsibility, and does not even look for who exactly committed the offense. 19) Can they tolerate the remembrance of idle talk and jokes? If one of them starts a dispute with his neighbor; then another, passing by, bows, and thereby dispels anger. If he notices that those arguing are vindictive; then he announces the quarrel to the second-ranking superior, and brings it to the point that they are reconciled with each other even before sunset. And if they persist in bitterness; they are either punished by deprivation of food until reconciliation, or expelled from the monastery. 20) This commendable severity is not observed in vain among them, but clearly brings abundant fruit. For these reverend fathers turned out to have many who were successful in active life, perspicacious, prudent and humble in wisdom. Among them one can see a terrible and angelic spectacle: venerable gray-haired and sacred-looking elders, like children, hasten to obedience, and count their humiliation as the greatest praise. There I saw men about fifty years in obedience; and when I asked them to tell me what consolation they received from such long-term labor, some of them answered that they had reached the depths of humility, and they had forever repelled all abuse; others said that they had already acquired complete insensitivity to slander and insults, and tolerated them without difficulty. 21) I also saw that other of these ever-memorable fathers, with angelic gray hair, reached the deepest gentleness and all-wise, spontaneous and God-ruled simplicity. Just as the evil one is something double, one is visible, and the other is hidden; so simple is not something dual, but something unified. There is no foolish and unwise old man among them, such as there are old people in the world, who are usually called crazy; on the contrary, in appearance they are completely meek, approachable, not gloomy, neither in words nor in morals (which is not found in many) they have nothing feigned, cunning and deceitful; internally - in the soul, like innocent babies, they breathe only God and the abbot; and their intelligent eye is boldly and cheerfully fixed on demons and passions. 22) My whole life, O sacred head and God-loving congregation, will not be enough to describe the virtues and angelic life of these blessed fathers. However, it is better for us to decorate our words and arouse you to God-loving zeal with their arduous deeds, rather than with our own advice; for without any contradiction the worst is adorned with the best. I ask only one thing, not to suspect that we are writing anything fictitious; for distrust usually harms good. Let us again continue what we talked about before. 23) Someone named Isidore, who had the rank of city governor in Alexandria, recently renounced the world in the cenobitic monastery we mentioned, and I found him still there. The most reverend shepherd, having received him, noticed that he was very crafty, cruel, angry and arrogant; and this wise one, with human ingenuity, outsmarts the demonic cunning, and says to Isidore: “if you have decided to take on the yoke of Christ; then I want you to learn obedience first of all.” Isidore answered: “Like iron to a blacksmith, so I submit myself into submission to you, Most Holy One.” The Great Father, taking advantage of this analogy, immediately gives exercise to this iron - Isidore, and says: “I want, brother by nature, for you to stand at the gates of the monastery, and before everyone who enters and leaves, kneel and say: pray for me, father; I am in epilepsy." And he obeyed, like an angel of the Lord. When he spent seven years there, and reached the deepest humility and contrition: then the illustrious father, after the legal seventh anniversary and Isidore’s unparalleled patience, deigned to include Isidore, as worthy, among the brethren, and to honor him with ordination. But Isidore, through others and through me, who was weak, belittled the shepherd many times, so that he could finish his course there, as he lived before, not clearly making clear with this word his end and his approaching calling; which indeed happened. For when the mentor allowed him to remain in the same chip, after ten days, in his disgrace he gloriously moved to the Lord, on the seventh day after his dormition the goalkeeper of the monastery appeared to the Lord, since the blessed one used to tell him: “If I am worthy of boldness before the Lord, then soon you will be inseparable from me there too.” Which came true to perfect confirmation of his shameless obedience and God-imitating humility. 24) I asked this great Isidore, when he was still alive: “What was his mind doing while he was at the gate?” And the ever-memorable one did not hide this from me, wanting to benefit me. “At first,” he said, “I reasoned that I was sold for my sins; and therefore, with all grief, with compulsion, as if shedding blood, he bowed. After a year had passed, my heart no longer felt sorrow, expecting a reward for patience from God himself. And when another year had passed; Then, with a feeling from my heart, I began to consider myself unworthy of being in the monastery, and of seeing the fathers, and meeting with them, and communing the Mysteries, and did not dare to look anyone in the face; But, with his eyes downcast, and his thoughts even more downcast, he sincerely asked those entering and leaving for their prayers.” 25) One day, I was sitting at a meal with this great abbot; and he, bowing his holy lips to my ear, says: “Do you want me to show you, even with the deepest gray hair, the divine way of thinking”? When I began to ask for this, the righteous one called from the second meal the man named Lavrentiy, who had been in the monastery for about forty-eight years, and the second presbyter in the monastery. He came, knelt before the abbot, and received a blessing from him. But when he got up, the abbot did not say anything to him at all, and left him standing before the meal and not eating anything; dinner was just beginning, so it stood for a long hour, or two hours. I was already ashamed to look at this worker’s face; because he was all gray and lived for eighty years. So he stood there until the end of lunch without answering. When they got up, the monk sent him to the great Isidore mentioned above to say the beginning of the thirty-ninth psalm. 7 26) I, in my cunning, did not miss the opportunity to test the elder. And to my question, what was he thinking about while standing in front of the table? - he said: “Imagining the shepherd in the image of Christ, I reasoned that I had a command not from him, but from God. That’s why I stood, Father John, not as before a human table, but as before God’s altar, offering prayer to God; in the reasoning of the shepherd there was no evil thought at all, according to my faith and love for him: for someone said that love does not think evil (1 Cor. 15:5). Moreover, let it be known to you, father, that if someone has given himself over to simplicity and voluntary gentleness, then the evil one no longer has either place or time in him.” 27) As, with the help of God, this zealot for the salvation of verbal sheep was, the righteous Lord sent him the same kind of steward of the monastery. He was no less chaste than anyone else, and meek like very few others. The great elder, for the edification of others, in vain attacked him in the church, ordering him to be expelled untimely. I, knowing that he was not reproached for what the shepherd blamed him for, privately began to justify the icon before this great elder. The wise one answered me: “And I myself knew this, father; but how unfair and pitiful it is to snatch bread from the mouth of a hungry baby; Likewise, one who cares about souls does harm to himself and to the worker if he does not provide him with hourly opportunities to acquire crowns, which, as far as he knows, a worker can receive, enduring either insults, or dishonor, or humiliation, or ridicule. For this causes three very grave injustices; firstly, he suffers injustice and is deprived of the reward that he would have received for punishment; secondly, the abbot acts unfairly when, through the virtue of one, he could have benefited others, but did not do so; and the third - the most serious injustice is that often, apparently, the most hardworking and patient, if you do not take care of them for a while, and the superior, as those who have succeeded in virtue, does not rebuke and reproach them, are deprived of that meekness and that patience that was in them. The land, although good, is fruitful and fat; but the depletion of the water of dishonor can cause it to become wild, and the thorns of arrogance, fornication and lack of fear will grow on it. Knowing this, the great apostle wrote to Timothy: insist, attack, punish them in time and untimely” (2 Tim. 4:2). 28) I entered into an argument with this true guide and presented to him the weakness of our family and the fact that many, as a result of vain, and perhaps not in vain, punishment, are rejected from the flock. To this, the elder, this chamber of wisdom, also said: “A soul, for the sake of Christ, attached to the shepherd with love and faith, will not leave him, even if it were necessary to shed blood, especially if it was ever blessed by him and healed from his scabs; for he remembers who says: neither angels, nor principalities, nor any other creature can separate us from the love of Christ (Rom. 8:38). If she is not so much attached, committed and attached to the shepherd; then I will be amazed if it finally turns out that she did not stay in this place in vain, tied to it by feigned and false submission.” And this truly great elder was not deceived, but kept it to himself, led, perfected, and brought immaculate sacrifices to Christ. 29) Let us listen and marvel at God’s wisdom, finding it in meager vessels. While staying in the same monastery, and marveling at the faith, patience and unshakable firmness of some newcomers in the face of troubles not only from the abbot, but also from the very last, for my edification I asked one brother, named Avvakir, who had been living in the monastery for fifteen years; for he saw that everyone especially offended him, and the servants kicked him out of the meal every day because this brother, by nature, was somewhat intemperate in speaking. And I said to him: “Brother Avvakir, why, as I see, are you kicked out of the meal every day, and do you often fall asleep without dinner?” He answered: “Believe me, father, that the fathers are tempting me to see if I am really a monk; because they are not doing this in truth. And knowing what the goal of the great elder and them is, I endure all this without burden; and I’ve been arguing this way for fifteen years now. So they themselves, when I entered, told me that up to the age of thirty they tempt those who renounce the world. And they act justly in this, Father John; because without temptation even gold is not perfected.” 30) This valiant Avvakir, having lived in the monastery for two years after my arrival there, moved to the Lord, and being near death, he spoke to the fathers like this: “I thank, I thank the Lord and you; for, having been tempted by you for my salvation, I remained untempted by demons for seventeen years.” And the just shepherd, paying tribute to him, ordered him, as a confessor, to be placed with the saints resting there. 31) I will offend all the zealots of perfection if I hide in the grave of silence the merit and feat of Macedonius, the first of the deacons there. This man, protected by the Lord, one day, before the onset of the feast of the Holy Epiphanies, and precisely two days in advance, strenuously asks the shepherd to allow him to go to the city of Alexandria for some of his own needs, promising to return from the city as soon as possible, due to the festive following and preparation. But the devil, a hater of good, put an obstacle in the way of the archdeacon, and he, dismissed by the abbot, did not make it to the monastery in time for the holy holiday and at the time appointed by the abbot; came the next day. The shepherd excommunicates him from the diaconal service and demotes him to the rank of the very last of the new ones. This good deacon of patience and true archdeacon of firmness so indifferently accepts this definition from his father, as if it were not him, but someone else, who was being punished. When he had been in this rank for forty days, the wise shepherd again elevated him to his own degree. And barely a day had passed when the archdeacon begged the shepherd to leave him in his former punishment and dishonor, telling him that he had unforgivably fallen in the city. The monk, knowing that Macedonius was telling him a lie and was only seeking punishment for the sake of humility, yielded to the good desire of the worker. And here was the sight: a venerable, gray-haired old man spends his days in the rank of novices, and sincerely begs everyone to pray for him; for, he says about himself, I have fallen into the fornication of disobedience! But this great Macedonius revealed to me, the humble one, why he voluntarily entered into such a humiliated way of life. “Never,” he said, have I seen in myself such relief from all battles and such the sweetness of divine light as now.” “It is in the nature of angels,” he continued, not to fall, and perhaps, as others say, they cannot fall. People tend to fall, and every time this happens, they rise up as soon as possible. But it is common for demons, and only demons alone, not to rise when they fall. 32) The brother who oversaw the services of the monastery opened up: “When I was still young, he said, and I had cattle in my care, it happened to me that I fell into a very serious spiritual fall. since I never had the habit of hiding a snake in the pores of my heart; then grabbing her by the tail (by tail I mean the end of the matter), he showed it to the doctor. He, smiling and lightly hitting me on the cheek, said to me: go, child, continue your service as before, no less, without fear. And I, having placed my faith in this with ardent faith, received confirmation of my healing within a few days, and continued on my way, both rejoicing and trembling.” 33) Every genus of creation, as others say, has its own differences that distinguish one genus from others. So in the council of brethren there were differences both in prosperity and in dispositions. When the doctor noticed that some liked to show themselves off when worldly people visited the monastery; then, in the presence of such visitors, he subjected them to extreme insults, and imposed on them the most humiliating services; why did they begin to hide in haste as soon as they saw the arrival of the laity? Thus something incredible happened; vanity exorcised itself and hid it from people. 34) The Lord was pleased not to deprive me of the prayers of the reverend father, and a week before my departure from this holy place, he took to himself a wonderful husband named Minu, who occupied second place after the shepherd, who lived in the hostel for fifty-nine years, and had already completed all his ministries. On the third day after the saint’s dormition, when we performed the usual canon over him, the whole place where the saint lay was suddenly filled with fragrance. Therefore, the great father ordered us to open the coffin in which the monk was laid. The coffin was opened, and we all see that from his honest feet, like from two sources, comes the incense of peace. Then the mentor said to everyone: “Look, howl, the sweat of his labors and illnesses brought peace to God.” And rightly so. The fathers of this monastery told us about many other merits of the Most Reverend Mina; By the way, they also said this: “One day the abbot set out to tempt his God-given patience. Mina came to the abbot's cell in the evening, and bowing to the ground to the abbot, asked, according to custom, to give him instructions. The abbot left him lying on the ground until the very beginning, and then, having blessed him and reprimanded him that he liked to show off and was impatient, he ordered him to get up. The monk knew that Mina would endure this courageously, and therefore he did so as an edification to everyone.” The disciple of the Monk Mina confirmed to us what was said about the mentor, and therefore added: “I inquired from him whether sleep had overcome him during such genuflection before the abbot! And he assured me that, lying on the ground, he read the entire psalter.” 35) I will not fail to decorate the crown of the word with this emerald. I once started talking about silence with some of the most courageous elders in the monastery. They, with a smile on their faces and with a cheerful disposition of spirit, affably tell me: “We, Father John, are like real people, and we go through material life, having judged in advance that we should enter into battle according to our weakness, and recognizing that it is better to fight with people who are sometimes fierce, and sometimes repent, and not with demons, who are always frantic and armed against us.” 36) One of these ever-memorable fathers, having received God’s great love and trust for me, graciously spoke to me: “If in you, wise man, there is the power to say about yourself with spiritual feeling: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13); if the Holy Spirit descended on you with the dew of purity, as on the Holy Virgin; if the power of the Most High has overshadowed you with patience; then, as a Man (Christ God), gird up your loins with the ribbon of obedience, and rising from the supper of silence, wash the feet of your brethren in a contrite spirit; better to say, fall at the feet of the cathedral with humble thoughts. Place strict and vigilant gatekeepers at the doors of your heart. Control an uncontrollable mind in a body entertained by worries; Having flexible and oscillating limbs, practice mental silence, and, what is most glorious, be fearless in your soul amidst rebellions. Bind your tongue, which is furiously eager to argue. Fight this ruler seventy times a day. On the spiritual tree - the cross, establish an anvil - a mind that, with continuous blows to it with hammers and with incessant knocking, that is, abuse, ridicule, insults, could not be crushed in any way, and would not be damaged, but would remain completely smooth and unshakable. Strip off your will like a shameful garment, and go naked into the field; put on the rare and hard-to-acquire armor of faith in your hero, not allowing yourself to be weakened and hurt by unbelief. With the bridle of chastity restrain the shamelessly rushing sense of touch. With the thought of death, close your eye, which is every hour ready to look with curiosity at the greatness and beauty of the body. Curb your inquisitive mind, which, while caring about itself, is ready to condemn your brother for negligence; encourage him to unflatteringly express any love and compassion for his neighbor. About this, dear father, then everyone will truly understand that we are disciples of Christ, if the imams have come together and love each other (John 13:35). Here, this excellent friend also said, settle here with us, and drink reproach every hour like living water. David, having experienced all the pleasures under heaven, and finally wondering what to choose from everything, said: behold, what is good, or what is red! nothing else but for the brethren to live together (Ps. 133:1). If we have not yet been granted this good, that is, such patience and obedience; then it is best, having at least slept through your weakness, and standing alone far from the ascetic field, to please the ascetics and ask them for patience from God.” I was defeated by this kind father and perfect mentor, who evangelically and prophetically, or better yet, amicably overcome us; and without hesitation we desired to give preference to blessed obedience. 37) But, having mentioned one more generally useful virtue of these blessed ones, and as if emerging from paradise, I will again begin to offer you ugly and unhelpful thorny words. The blessed shepherd noticed more than once that others were talking while we were standing in prayer; He placed them at the church for a whole week, and ordered them to bow to everyone entering and leaving, and, what is more surprising, he did this even with the clergy, that is, the elders. 38) Having noticed that one of the brethren stands at the psalmody with greater heartfelt feeling than many others, especially at the beginning of the song, with his movements and changes in his face, he seems to be talking to someone, I asked him to explain what this custom of the blessed one means. He, knowing that it is not useful to hide, told me: “I have the habit, Father John, at the very beginning of gathering my thoughts, mind and soul, and calling them to cry out to them: come, let us worship and fall down to Christ himself, the King and our God. 39) Having become curious, I also learned the following about the person overseeing the meal: Having noticed the tablet that always hung on his belt, I realized that, writing down his thoughts on it every day, he revealed all of them to the shepherd. He saw that he was not the only one, but many others from the local brethren were doing the same; and this, as I heard, was even the commandment of the great shepherd. 40) One day, one of the brethren was expelled by him because he had slandered his neighbor before him, calling him idle talker and talkative. The expelled man did not leave the gates of the monastery for a whole week, asking himself permission to enter and forgiveness. When the shepherd, who was zealous for the salvation of souls, learned about this and discovered that this brother had not eaten anything at all for six days; then he announced to him “if you resolutely wish to live in the monastery; then I will reduce you to the rank of repentants.” When the brother, bringing repentance, accepted this with joy, the shepherd ordered to take him to a special monastery of those crying about their sins; which was done. since I mentioned the said monastery; then let's give a brief idea about it. 41) At a distance of one field from the great monastery there was a place called a prison, devoid of all consolation. There was never any smoke, no wine, no oil in the food, or anything else except bread and a small amount of vegetables. It was here that the shepherd imprisoned those who fell into sin, upon being called into the brotherhood, without escape, and not all together, but each individually and separately, or no more than two at a time, and kept there until the Lord certified him about the correction of each. He also appointed a governor over them, a great man named Isaac, who demanded almost constant prayer from those entrusted to him; and to prevent despondency they had a large number of branches. 8 Such was the way of life, such a decree, such a pastime of those who truly sought the face of the God of Jacob! 42) It is wonderful to be amazed at the works of the saints; it is salutary to compete with them; but to suddenly want to become imitators of their lives is both unreasonable and impossible. 43) Vulnerable by reproofs, we will keep our sins in memory until the Lord, seeing the effort in us - strong seekers of Him, blots out our sins, and transforms the sorrow that hurts our hearts into joy. For it is said: according to the multitude of my illnesses in my heart, in the same measure Your consolation has made my soul glad (Ps. 93:19). In our time, let us not forget the one who speaks to the Lord: Thou hast shown me many sorrows and evils: and having turned, thou hast given me life, and from the depths of the earth, after the fall, thou hast raised me up again (Ps. 70:20). 44) Blessed is he who, daily slandered and humiliated, overcomes himself for the sake of God. He will rejoice with the martyrs and speak boldly with the angels. Blessed is the monk who considers himself every hour worthy of all dishonor and humiliation. Blessed is he who has completely mortified his will and left the care of himself to his mentor in the Lord; he will be placed at the right hand of the Crucified One. He who has rejected fair or unjust reproof has renounced his salvation. And whoever accepted the conviction with sorrow, or even without sorrow, will soon receive remission of his sins. 45) Mentally testify before God to your sincere faith and love for your father; and God, finally, in an unknown way, will inspire him so that, according to your disposition towards him, he too will become attached and well-disposed to you. 46) He who puts every snake to shame shows in himself effective faith; and whoever hides it still wanders outside the path of salvation. 47) Then a person will undoubtedly recognize his brotherly love and his love when he sees in himself that he weeps over his brother’s sins and rejoices at his success and gifts. 48) Whoever in a conversation, although he speaks the truth, only desires it, and only means that his word will prevail, let him know that he is sick with the devil’s disease. And if he does this in conversation with equals; then, perhaps, the admonition of the higher ones will heal him. If he treats the highest or the wisest in this way; then people cannot heal his illness. 49) He who does not yield in word will undoubtedly not yield in deed. For he who is unfaithful in small things is adamant in deeds. He labors in vain, and from holy submission he will gain nothing but condemnation. 50) If anyone has a clear conscience in the highest degree subordinate to the father; then, every day expecting death for himself, like a dream, go, it is better to say, like life, he is not afraid of it, knowing for sure that, during the separation of the soul from the body, not he, but his superior will be responsible. 51) If someone, in the Lord without coercion, having accepted a service assignment from his father, suffers some unexpected stumbling block while fulfilling it; then let him attribute the reason for this to the one who did not give, but accepted, the weapon; because he took up weapons to fight the enemy, and instead turned them on his heart. If, however, he forced himself for the sake of the Lord, and first spoke to the one giving the assignment about his weakness; then let him be in good spirits; although he has fallen, he is not yet dead. 52) I forgot, beloved, to offer you this sweet bread of virtue. I saw there those who were obedient to the Lord, who, according to God, subjected themselves to insults and dishonor, so that, having thus prepared themselves, they would no longer fear the insults inflicted by others. 53) The soul, thinking about confession, is restrained from sin by it, like a bridle. For what we do not confess, we already do, as if in darkness, without fear. 54) When, in the absence of the abbot, imagining his face, we imagine that he himself is in front of us, and we avoid any conversation, or word, or food, or sleep, or anything else that, as we assume, would be unpleasant for him to see in us: then we really learned true obedience. Spoiled children consider the absence of a teacher a joy, but well-behaved children consider it a loss. 55) Once, I humbly asked one of the most experienced elders to tell me how humility is acquired through obedience? He said to this: “The graciously obedient one, although he will raise the dead, although he will receive the gift of tears and liberation from spiritual battles, will certainly reason that this is accomplished by the prayer of the spiritual father; and he remains alien and far from vain exaltation. For how can he be proud of something that (he himself admits) was done with the help of another, and not through his efforts? 56) But the silent person does not know the practice of the virtues described above; The conceit that inspires him that he accomplishes good deeds through his own efforts also seems fair to him. 57) He who is in subjection, having defeated two enemy flatteries, 9 remains an eternally obedient servant of Christ. 58) The demon, in the fight against workers of obedience, sometimes intensifies to defile them with bodily impurities, sometimes to make them hard-hearted, sometimes anxious beyond custom, sometimes somehow dry, fruitless, lazy in prayer, drowsy and darkened, in order to distract them from the feat, as having not achieved any success from submission, and even lagging behind in their progress. For it does not allow them to establish themselves in the thought that often the taking away of goods that apparently already belonged to us, according to God’s providence, leads us to the deepest humility. 59) Others often reflected the now-mentioned deceiver with patience. But before he even has time to finish his speech, another angel, having introduced himself, soon attempts to deceive us in another way. I saw workers of obedience who, under the protection of their father, became filled with heartfelt tenderness, meek, self-controlled, diligent, not feeling any abuse within themselves, burning with zeal. And having approached them, the demons instilled in them the idea that they already had sufficient strength for silence, as a perfect reward for the feat, and in silence they could achieve dispassion. And deceived by this, they set off from the pier into the sea, when a storm overtook them, and they had no helmsmen, they suffered a pitiful wreck on this unclean and dirty sea. 60) The sea sometimes needs to be agitated and furious, so that at the same time it throws firewood, and hay, and all sorts of rot that is brought into it by the rivers of passions again onto the land. If we look closely; then we will find that after a storm there is deep silence at sea. 61) He who sometimes obeys his father, and sometimes disobeys him, is like a man who binds either healing powder or lime to his eye. For it is said: one creates, and another destroys. What more will be accomplished than labor (Sir.34:23)? 62) Do not flatter yourself, son obedient to the Lord, with the spirit of conceit, and do not declare your sins to the teacher as on behalf of another; Without shame it is impossible to get rid of shame. Bare your scab before the doctor, and without shame, say: “Here is my ulcer, father, caused by myself, through my carelessness, and not by anyone else; no one is to blame for this, neither man, nor spirit, nor body, nor anything else, but my negligence alone is the cause.” 63) Both in appearance and in thought, be at confession as if you were condemned; lower your eyes to the ground, and, if possible, water the feet of the judge and the doctor with your tears, like the feet of Christ. 64) It is often the custom of demons to suggest to us that we should either not confess, or do it as if on someone else’s behalf, or reproach others, calling them the culprits of our sins. 65) If everything depends on habit and people follow it; then, without a doubt, even more so, goodness also depends on skill; because in a good deed there is a great helper - God. 66) You will not work for many years, son, seeking blissful peace within yourself, if at the beginning you wholeheartedly surrender yourself to the patience of dishonor. 67) Do not consider it indecent for yourself to bring confession to your assistant, as to God, with a humble spirit. I saw that the condemned, with their pitiful appearance, strong repentance and requests, softened the inflexibility of the judge, and turned his anger over to mercy. That is why John the Baptist demanded confession of sins from those who came to him before baptism, not having the need himself to know the sins of those coming, but arranging for their salvation. 68) Let us not be amazed that even after confession we find ourselves fighting. For it is better to fight against defilements, but not with self-conceit. 69) Do not rush, and do not become exalted in thought, hearing stories about silent fathers and hermits. For you too walk in the army of the first martyr. And when you fall, do not withdraw from the field; for it is then that we most especially need a doctor. Whoever, with help, stumbled with his foot on a stone, without help, of course, would not only stumble, but also find himself dead. 70) When we are brought to the point of falling; then the demons, immediately attacking us, and taking something plausible as an excuse, or rather, something unreasonable, leave us seemingly speechless; The goal of the enemies is that, when they fall, they inflict wounds on us. 71) When the doctor refuses, admitting his powerlessness; then it is necessary to go to another; because rare people are healed without a doctor. Who would think of contradicting us when we say that every ship that had a skilled helmsman and was wrecked will inevitably perish without a helmsman? 72) The consequence of obedience is humility, the consequence of humility is dispassion; if only in our humility I remember the Lord: and He delivered us from our enemies (Ps. 135:23-24). Therefore, nothing prevents us from saying that the consequence of obedience is dispassion, in which the end of humility is achieved. Humility begins with obedience, like the law of Moses, and a daughter perfects her mother, like Mary perfects the synagogue. 73) Those patients who, having experienced the art of a doctor and received benefit from him, out of preference for another, leave him before a complete recovery, are worthy of any punishment from God. Do not run from the hands of the one who brought you to the Lord; for throughout your life you will never respect anyone as much as he does. 74) It is not safe for an inexperienced warrior to leave the regiment and go out into single combat; It is not without disaster for a monk, without experience and long exercise in the fight against spiritual passions, to retreat into silence; he endangers the body, and this one endangers the soul. Scripture says: two are better than one (Eccl. 4:9), that is, it is good for a son, together with his father, with the assistance of God’s Spirit, to enter into a struggle with his former addictions. Who takes away a leader from a blind man, a shepherd from a flock, a wayfinder from a lost one, a father from a baby, a doctor from a sick man, a helmsman from a ship; he puts both of them in danger. And whoever intends to fight the spirits without the help of others is killed by them. 75) Let those who have entered the medical profession first pay attention to their painful attacks, and those who remain in subordination - to their humility; The first is the relief of painful attacks, the last is their increasing self-condemnation, which serves as a true sign of health, and, moreover, such a sign as nothing else can be. 76) Let your conscience be a mirror for you to verify your obedience - and that’s enough. 77) Those who obey their father in silence have demons as their opponents, and only one of them; and those staying in the hostel fight together with both demons and people. The first, always having a teacher before them, observe his commandments more strictly; The latter, due to the absence of it, often violate them several times. However, if those who are thorough and hardworking, then they more than make up for this deficiency by patience with grief, and receive special crowns. 78) Let us guard ourselves with every care (Proverbs 3:23); because a pier full of ships conveniently crushes them, especially if they are imperceptibly worn away by irritability, like a worm. 79) Let us try to show extreme silence and ignorance in front of the abbot: the silent one is the son of wisdom; in any case, he acquires a lot of knowledge. 80) I saw a novice who seemed to be catching the words from the abbot’s mouth, but I despaired of his obedience, noticing that the abbot’s speech served for him to pride, and not to humility. 81) Let us be sober with all sobriety, observe with all observance, and guard ourselves with all caution, delving into when and how service should be preferred to prayer; because this is not always necessarily necessary. 82) Be attentive to yourself in the presence of your brothers, and never rush to show yourself in anything more righteous than them; for you will do extreme evil: you will also hurt them with your false and feigned diligence; and in any case you will lead yourself to arrogance. 83) Be diligent in your soul, without showing it in the slightest physically, either by appearance, or by word, or by a mysterious sign; and this is necessary, 10 if only you stopped humiliating your neighbor. If you are still inclined to humiliate the brethren; then be like your brethren, and do not differ in anything from your conceit before them. 84) I saw an unskilled student who, in front of some people, boasted about the virtues of his teacher, and thinking of gaining glory for himself with someone else’s bread, rather brought dishonor upon himself when everyone said to him: “How did this good tree produce a barren branch?” 85) It is not because we courageously endure our father’s ridicule that we are recognized as patient; but when we endure, even if every person neglects us and strikes us, we endure from our father both out of respect and out of duty. 86) Like the water of life, drink willingly the reproach (Job 34:7) from every person who wants to give you this drink that cleanses you from lust. Then deep integrity will shine in your soul, and the light of God will not dim in your heart. 87) If anyone sees that through his efforts the brotherhood has been put to rest; then let him not boast in his mind; because there are thieves all around. Do not forget what was said: when you have done all that is commanded, say, “For we are unworthy servants, for whatever we ought to do, we have created (Luke 17:10). We will learn the judgment of our labors at the time of our passing. 88) The hostel is the earthly sky. Therefore, let us try to bring our hearts into the same disposition as the angels who serve the Lord. Those who are in this heaven sometimes seem to be petrified in their hearts, and sometimes they are also consoled by the tenderness of their hearts, in order to avoid conceit and ease their labors with tears. 89) A small fire softens a great piece of wax; So often a small dishonor that happens to us suddenly softens, delights and erases all ferocity, insensitivity and bitterness in the heart. 90) I once saw two people sitting secretly, observing the labors, and eavesdropping on the sighs of the ascetics. But one did this in order to compete, and the other, in order to reproachfully expose him to shame on occasion, and to hinder God’s workman in his wonderful work. 91) Do not be unreasonably silent, and do not cause others to be embarrassed and upset. Do not be slow in your actions and in your gait when you are told to hurry. Otherwise, you are worse than the raging and confused. I have often seen, as Job says, that souls suffer from this, both because of their slowness of temperament, and sometimes because of their readiness for anything, and I marveled at how diverse the vice is. 92) Whoever is not alone, but together with others, can benefit not so much from psalmody as from prayer; because with the unity of singing voices, the meaning of the psalm becomes unclear. 93) Fight your thoughts relentlessly; and when it rushes here and there, gather it together. From workers of obedience God does not require prayer, which is never distracted by anything. Do not be discouraged when your thought is plundered; but be complacent, constantly forcing your mind to return to itself. Indestructible composure of mind is characteristic only of an angel. 94) Who secretly made a vow - not to give up the fight until the last breath, and not to retreat in the face of thousands of deaths of body and soul; he cannot so easily fall into any of these shortcomings; because wavering of the heart and unfaithfulness to one's place always produces stumbling and misfortune. Those who are inclined to move from place to place are not skillful in everything; nothing is so much a cause of infertility as impatience. 95) If you came to an unknown doctor and an unknown clinic; then be in it, like a passer-by, and secretly test everyone there. When you feel the benefit from doctors and servants, relief from your illnesses, especially what you wanted, from the arrogance of your soul; then get down to business and sell yourself for the gold of humility, having written the condition on the charter of obedience, in letters of service, with angels as witnesses; and moreover, tear up the charter of your own will. Moving from one place to another, you turn into nothing the purchase with which Christ has already redeemed you. Let your abode be for you a grave even before the grave; and no one comes out of the tomb until the general resurrection; if some came out, then, look, they died again; Whatever happens to us, let us pray to the Lord. 96) Lazy monks, when they notice that the orders given to them are difficult to carry out, then they try to prefer prayer to them; and when the orders are easy, they run from prayer like from fire. 97) It happens that someone who has entered into a ministry, in order to appease another brother, being asked to do so, leaves it. It also happens that others leave ministry out of laziness. It also happens that others leave it out of vanity; There are also those who leave out of jealousy. 98) If you have bound yourself to conditions, 11 and notice that the eye of your soul does not prosper; then don’t try to break the agreement. A well-skilled person is well-skilled everywhere, and vice versa. In the world, slander has separated many; and in brotherhood, gluttony produces all the downfalls and deposition. If you are in charge of this ruler, 12 then every place you are in will give you dispassion; If he rules over you, then, except for the tomb, you will be in poverty everywhere. 99) The Lord makes the blind eyes of the obedient wise to see the teacher’s virtues, and darkens them so as not to see his shortcomings, but the hater of goodness does the opposite. 100) Let the so-called liquid silver be for us an example of the most perfect submission. 13 When mixed with every substance, it occupies the lowest place, and no uncleanness is mixed with it. 101) It is better for the thrifty to be attentive to themselves, so that for condemning the careless they themselves will no longer be condemned. And Lot, I think, is justified for the fact that, living with such people, he never condemned them. 102) We will always, and even more so during hymns, observe silence and serenity; for the demons have the goal of turning prayer into nothing by the rebellion of thoughts. 103) Those serving should physically stand before people, and mentally touch heaven with prayer. 104) Insults, humiliation, and the like, in the soul of the obedient are likened to the bitterness of wormwood; and praise, honor, glorification, in the voluptuous, like honey, give rise to all sweetness. Let us see what the properties of both are. Wormwood usually cleanses all internal mucus, and honey increases bile. 105) We must carelessly trust those who have taken upon themselves the care of us in the Lord, even if they ordered something that was apparently contrary and contrary to our salvation. Then our faith in them is tempted, as if in the crucible of humility; for this is a sign of the truest faith if we undoubtedly trust our superiors, even seeing something contrary to our expectations. 106) From obedience comes humility, as we said above; from humility comes prudence, just as the great Cassian beautifully and very highly philosophizes about this in his word about prudence; 14 From prudence comes discernment, and from the latter comes insight. And who will not follow this wonderful path of obedience, seeing before him the preparation of such blessings? The excellent Psalmist said about this great obedience: Thou hast prepared by Thy goodness for the poor man who works obedience, O God, Thy presence in his heart (Ps. 67:11). 107) Throughout your life, do not forget that great ascetic, who for eighteen whole years did not hear from his abbot, with your outer ears, the words: save yourself; but every day I heard from the Lord, with my inner hearing, no longer: save yourself (this is only a good wish, the fulfillment of which is not known), but: you are saved (which was already definite and undeniable). 108) Some of the workers of obedience, noticing the abbot’s compliance and condescension, forgot themselves and asked his permission for their own desires. But let those who have received such permission know that they have undoubtedly lost the crown of confession; because obedience is the alienation of hypocrisy and one's own desire. 109) Another, having received an order, and having penetrated into the intention of the orderer, namely, that the execution of the ordered was unpleasant for him, did not fulfill the order; and the other knew this, and did not hesitate to obey. The question is: which of them acted more piously? 110) It is impossible for the devil to resist his will. Let those who live in negligence, and those who have established themselves somewhere in silence, or in community, convince you of this. If in our hermitage the thought of the inconvenience of the place disturbs us; then let this be for us proof of our good pleasure there; if only the fact that we are fighting serves as a sign that we ourselves are fighting. 111) I will not be an unjust concealer and an unmerciful covetous, keeping silent before you about what it is not permissible to remain silent about. John Savvait, a great man, told me things worth hearing about. And that he is impartial and pure from all lies, from the word and deed of the evil one - this is known to you, reverend, from experience itself. So, he retold to me: “In my monastery, which is in Asia (for from there this righteous man came), there was one elder who was very careless and incontinent; I say this not to condemn, but to be faithful to the truth. He, I don’t know how, acquired a disciple, a young man named Akaki, simple in heart, but prudent in mind. And he suffered so much from such an old man that this may seem incredible to many. The elder tormented him every day not only with insults and dishonor, but even with beatings. Akakievo’s patience was not unreasonable. So, seeing that he was in extreme poverty every day, like a bought slave, when I met him I repeatedly asked him: “What, brother Akaki, what is it like today?” - and he immediately showed me his blue eye, his neck, his beaten head. I, knowing that he was a hard worker, said to him: good, good; be patient and you will benefit. So, having lived with this unmerciful old man for nine years, Akaki went to the Lord. Five days later, after his burial in the tomb of his fathers, mentor Akakiev went to one great elder who was there and said to him: “brother Akaki has died.” As soon as the elder heard this, he said to the one who said: “Believe me, elder; I don’t believe it.” He answers: go and see. The elder immediately rises up, together with the mentor of the blessed sufferer, comes to the tomb as if he were alive, calls out to this - truly alive and after his death, and says: are you dead, brother Akaki? And this humble worker of obedience, showing his obedience even after death, answered the great elder: how is it possible, father, for a man – a worker of obedience – to die? Then the elder, who was Akakiev’s mentor, fell into fear, fell face down on the ground with tears, then, asking the abbot of the Lavra for a cell near the tomb, he lived in it chastely, always saying to his fathers: “I committed murder.” And it seems to me, Father John, that the one who spoke with the dead was the great John himself. For his blessed soul told me another story, as if about someone else; It was really him, how could I later find out for sure, and I found out. About John Sabbat, or Antiochus 112) “Another person,” said John, in the same Asian monastery lived with a certain monk, meek, modest and silent. And seeing that the elder treats him respectfully and seems to be neglecting him, he reasons perfectly that this is dangerous for many; and begs the elder to let him go. The elder had another disciple, and for him this was not very regrettable. So, he departs, and according to a letter from his mentor, he is placed in a cenobitic monastery in Pontus. And on the first night he entered this monastery, he saw in a dream that some were keeping an account with him, and, at the end of this terrible account, he remained a debtor, and his debt extended to one hundred liters of gold. Having woken up, he began to reflect on what he had seen in his dream, and said: truly, humble Antiochus (that was his name), there is still a lot of debt left for us. “When,” he continued, I stayed in this monastery for three years in unquestioning obedience, and everyone respected me for nothing and insulted me as a foreigner (there was no other foreigner monk there); then again I see in a dream that someone is giving me testimony about paying ten liters of my debt. So, having awakened and understood the vision, I say: only ten more; When will I pay the rest? After this I say to myself: you need labor and dishonor even more, humble Antiochus. From that time on, I began to pretend to be a holy fool, however, without at all abandoning the work of service. Why did the merciless fathers, seeing that I served with all readiness in the same rank, ordered me to do every difficult task in the monastery? I patiently carried on this way of life until I was thirteen years old, and I saw in a dream that those who had appeared to me before came again and wrote perfect security for my debt. Why, when those living in the monastery insulted me with something, remembering their duty, I endured it courageously.” This is what, Father John, this wise John retold to me, as if about another person, for which he renamed himself Antiochus; in fact, it was he himself, who so courageously tore up the manuscript with his patience. 113) But let us hear what gift of prudence this monk acquired through his extreme obedience. When he was in the monastery of St. Savva, three young monks came to him with the intention of becoming his disciples. Having received them, he immediately lovingly gave them shelter so that they could rest after the labors of the journey. After three days, the elder said to them: “By nature, brothers, I am a prodigal man, and I cannot accept any of you.” But they were not tempted by this; for they knew the toil of the old man. No matter how much they begged him, they could not convince him. Then they threw themselves at his feet, begging him to at least give them a rule about how and where they should stay. The elder, having yielded to the requests, and knowing that they would accept the word with humility and obedience, says to one: “The Lord wants you, child, to remain in a silent place with one of the fathers, in submission to him.” To the second he says: “Go, sell your will, and give it to God; take up your cross and endure in the assembly and community of the brethren; and without a doubt you will have treasure in heaven.” Then he says to the third: “inseparably, with every breath, take into yourself this word: he who endures to the end will be saved (Matthew 10:22). Go, and, if possible, do not allow that in the human race there is a person more demanding and stricter than your mentor in the Lord, and strengthened by patience, drink his reproach and ridicule every day like honey and milk.” The brother says to the great John: “What if such a father leaves something neglected”? The elder answers: “If you see that he has even fallen into fornication, do not leave him, but say to yourself: why did you come, friend? Then you will see that the arrogance in you will disappear, and the anger will weaken.” 114) Let us strive with all our might, all of us who intend to live in the fear of the Lord, so that even in the very school of virtue we will most likely not acquire guile, malice, cruelty, deceit, cunning, and anger. For this also happens; and there is nothing to be surprised about. As long as a person does not have an honorary title, as long as he is either a ship's servant or a farmer, the Tsar's enemies do not so much arm themselves against him. When they see that he has received a seal, and a shield, and a sword, and a bow, and is clothed in military clothing; Then they gnash their teeth at him, and use all measures to destroy him. Therefore, let us not indulge in sleep. 115) I saw that young and beautiful children come to school for the sake of wisdom, education and benefit, but there they learn only rudeness and vice from their treatment of other students. Anyone who has intelligence will understand this. 116) Whoever studies art with all his heart, it is impossible not to succeed in it every day. But some know their success, while others, according to God’s will, do not know it. A good trader certainly calculates the day's profit or loss in the evening. And I could not have known this clearly if I had not written it down on my blackboard every hour. For by counting each hour the counting of the whole day becomes clear. 117) When a foolish person, reproached or condemned, is offended by this and tries to contradict, or immediately bows to the reproachful person, not for the sake of humility, but to stop reproaches; then you, taking the blows upon yourself, remain silent and endure these spiritual cauterizations, or better said, the insights of purity. When the doctor finishes, then bow to him, asking for forgiveness; because in anger, perhaps, he will not even accept a bow. 118) We, who live together, will constantly struggle with all passions, at least with these two: greed of the belly and irascibility; because in a crowd of people there is no shortage of food characteristic of these passions. 119) The devil inspires in those living in subjection the desire for virtues that are impossible for them. Likewise, those living in silence can imagine feats that are unusual for them. Look into the thought of an unskilled novice, and you will find there a sinful concept, the desire for silence, the strictest fasting, undistracted prayer, complete non-vanity, continuous remembrance of death, constant contrition, complete non-anger, deep silence, the most excellent chastity. since, according to God’s vision, he does not have all this at the beginning; then he falls into seduction, and in vain strives for a new kind of exploits; because the enemy encourages them to seek these perfections ahead of time, so that with patience they will not actually achieve them in due time. And to those who are silent, the seducer pleases in workers of obedience hospitable love, service, brotherly love, community-mindedness, going after the sick; The flatterer’s thought is to make the deceiver and these last, like the first, impatient. 120) Rare people can truly pass through silence intelligently, namely those only who have acquired divine consolation in labors and God’s assistance in battles. 121) Based on the quality of our passions, we will reason about the measures of subordination, and choose the latter in accordance with the former. If you are uncontrollably disposed and prone to lust; then let your mentor be not so much a miracle worker as an ascetic - not knowing any consolation in food, and not ready to accept and treat anyone to a meal. If you are high-ranking; then let him be hot and unyielding, and not meek and philanthropic. We will not look for those who are foreknowledgeable and perspicacious, but most of all, undoubtedly, those who are humble in wisdom - those who, in their morals and place of residence, would be most suitable for our illness. Let you also, following the example of the righteous Avvakir mentioned above, have this wonderful custom in the matter of obedience - always think that the abbot is tempting you; and you will never be unsuccessful. If a mentor constantly reprimands you, and you gain more faith and love for him; then know that the Holy Spirit has invisibly settled in your soul, and the power of the Most High has overshadowed you. 122) However, do not boast, and do not rejoice that you bravely endure insults and dishonor, but rather cry, as if you had done something certainly worthy of being treated badly, and had angered the soul of your mentor against you. Do not be surprised at what I am about to say (Moses speaks for me): it is better to sin against God than against our father; because our leader can reconcile an angry God with us; and when he is outraged by us, there is no one to appease him for us. However, it seems to me that sin is equal in both cases. 123) Let us watch, reason and soberly understand when, accused before the shepherd, we must endure with gratitude and silently, and when we must justify ourselves before him. I think that in any case that brings dishonor to us alone, we should remain silent; for this will be our gain; and in cases concerning the person of another, one must defend oneself, according to the union of love and inviolable peace. 124) All those who have abandoned the practice of obedience will tell you about the benefits of obedience; for only then did they know what kind of heaven they were in. 125) He who strives for dispassion and for God considers every day a great loss on which he does not tolerate slander. Like trees blown by the winds, they take root deep into the earth; so those who remain in obedience acquire a strong and unshakable soul. 126) Who, remaining in silence, recognized his weakness, and leaving it, sold himself into obedience; he, being blind, without difficulty received his sight and saw Christ. 127) Stand strong, stand strong, and I repeat, stand strong in your field, brother ascetics, heeding the word of the Wise One, who cries for you: like gold in a furnace, or, better to say, in a community, the Lord has tempted them, and like the fruitfulness of sacrifice I have received into My bosom (Wis. 3:6). To him be glory and eternal power with the beginningless Father and with the Holy and Worshipful Spirit! Amen. This is a degree equivalent to Evangelists. Stand on it firmly, ascetic, and flow fearlessly. John once preceded Peter; and here obedience precedes repentance; for the former served as an example of obedience, and the other as an example of repentance. Sermon 5. About much-careful and clearly expressed repentance, also about the lives of the holy condemned men, and about prison 1) Repentance is the return of baptism. Repentance is a promise to God of a new life. Repentance is a merchant stocking up on humility. Repentance is a constant hopelessness in bodily consolation. Repentance is a voluntarily self-condemning thought, not an anxious self-concern. Repentance is the daughter of hope and the renunciation of hopelessness. A repentant person is a shameless condemned person. Repentance is reconciliation with the Lord through good deeds, the opposite of sin. Repentance is the cleansing of conscience. Repentance is voluntary patience of all sorrowful things. The penitent is the inventor of punishment for himself. Repentance is a strong oppression of the belly and defeat of the soul, with a courageous feeling. 2) All those who have angered God, flock together, come and listen to what is told to you; gather together and see what He has revealed to my soul for your edification. Let us imagine and prefer the story of venerable workers who suffer dishonor. Let us all listen, preserve and fulfill, all of us who have suffered some reprehensible fall. Arise and strengthen yourself, those who have been cast down by the falls. Listen, my brethren, to this word of mine; Incline your ears, you who intend to be reconciled with God again through true conversion. 3) Having heard that I was weak, that there was some important and extraordinary institution and humility for those placed in a special monastery, called a prison, and subordinate to the same luminary of luminaries mentioned above, when I was with him, I asked this righteous one to allow me to visit this special monastery; and the great elder yielded to my request, not wanting to sadden my soul in any way. 4) So, having come to this monastery of the repentant, and truly to the land of the weeping, I really (if it is not bold to say) saw what the eye of a careless person could not see, what the ear of a careless person cannot accommodate, and what did not enter the heart of a lazy person - I saw deeds and speeches that can incline to God’s mercy, I saw exercises and external actions that quickly incline God’s love for mankind. 5) Some of these unconvicted convicts, all night until the morning, with motionless legs, stand in the open air, by the force of nature, pitifully overcome by sleep, but do not allow themselves the slightest rest, reproach themselves, drive away sleep with dishonor and insults. 6) Others turned their gaze to the sky, and from there, with sobs and cries, they asked for help. 7) Others stand in prayer; their hands, like those of condemned people, are tied back, their mournful face is bowed to the ground; they consider themselves unworthy to look at heaven, suppressed by the unworthiness of thoughts and conscience, they do not find what to say or pronounce, or what to pray to God for, how and where to begin their petition, but, as if filled with darkness and some despair, they present to God only a speechless soul and a dumb mind. 8) Others sit on the floor in sackcloth and ashes, hiding their faces between their knees, and striking the ground with their foreheads. 9) Others constantly beat themselves in the chest, cry out to their souls and to their former life; and some of them wet the floor with tears, others, due to lack of tears, strike themselves. Others weep loudly for their souls, unable to bear the oppression of their hearts; others cry out with their hearts, but forbid the voice of sobbing from their lips; but sometimes they can no longer control themselves, and suddenly exclaim. 10) I saw there that some, as if having lost control of themselves, became numb in their movements and in the very sense, from great embarrassment, became completely darkened, became as if insensitive to everything in life, had already plunged their minds into the abyss of humility, and with the fire of sadness dried up the tears in their eyes. 11) Others sit thoughtfully and look at the ground; their heads are in constant sway, and their hearts roaring, like lions, they sigh from the depths of their entrails. And some of them pray with good hope and ask for complete remission of sins; others, out of unspeakable humility, recognize themselves as unworthy of absolution, and cry out that they are not able to justify themselves before God. Some beg the Lord to punish here and have mercy there; others, crushed by the burden of conscience, sincerely ask not to subject them to future punishment, and not to be honored with the kingdom of heaven; “We’ve had enough of this,” they say. 12) I saw there humble and contrite hearts, crushed by the weight of the burden. And in the very stones they can awaken feelings with their invocations and broadcasts to God; for, lowering their gaze to the ground, they say: “So, we know, we know that, in all justice, we are already worthy of all punishment and torment. For how can we satisfy our many debts, even if we called the whole universe to cry for ourselves? We dare to speak about this one thing, about this we beg, we ask, so that you do not reprove us with rage, but punish us with your wrath (Ps. 6:2); punish, but with mercy. It is enough for us if You deliver us from Your great rebuke, from unnamed and hidden torments. For we dare not even ask for final remission. And how can we dare to do this, who did not keep our vow immaculately, but desecrated it after Your former love for mankind and the remission of sins granted to us? 13) There you can clearly see the fulfillment of David’s words, see how others suffer and are cut down until the end of their lives, walking around all day lamenting, as the wounds on their body become stale and rotting (Ps. 37:6-7), and they neglect them, forgetting to take their bread, and dissolving drinking water with crying; They eat dust and ashes instead of bread, and their bone is withered up like hay (Ps. 102:6,12). You will hear nothing else from them except the words: “alas, alas! woe is me, woe! righteous, righteous! have mercy, have mercy, Lord! Some say: “have mercy, have mercy”; and others - even more plaintively: “Forgive me, Master; forgive me if possible." 14) One could see how some had their tongues scorched with thirst and stuck out of their mouths, like dogs. Some tormented themselves in the sunny heat, others tormented themselves in the cold. Others, just to avoid dying of thirst after tasting a little water, stopped drinking; others, having bitten off a little bread, threw it far away, and called themselves unworthy of verbal food because they acted like dumb people. 15) Will you see the appearance of laughter in them? or idle talk? or irritability? or anger? They no longer think that people have anger; because tears ultimately destroy their irritability. Will you see them arguing? or celebration? or freedom of speech? or caring for the body? or a trace of vanity? or even the desire for joy? or thoughts about wine? or eating the fruit? or eating mountaineer? or pleasure of the larynx? Even the aspiration of all this has died out in them even in the present century. Will you see them caring about anything earthly? or condemnation of some person? - No way. 16) They constantly broadcast and cry to the Lord; and some, striking themselves firmly in the chest, as if standing before the heavenly gates, say to God: “Open to us, Judge, open; we have concluded them for ourselves with sins; You open to us; others say: only make Thy face shine, and we will be saved (Ps. 79:4). Another cries again: enlighten the humble, who sit in darkness and the shadow of death (Luke 1:78); another: may Your mercies soon precede us, O Lord; we are lost, we despair; as if there were great poverty (Ps. 78:8). Some say: “Will the Lord already make His face shine upon us?” Others: “Has our soul passed over the debt that lies upon us, this fickle water” (Ps. 123:5)? Another says: will the Lord finally be moved for us (Judges 2:18)? Will we hear when He says to us who are in unbreakable bonds: come out, and to those who are in hell to repent: you are forgiven (Is. 49:9). Has our cry entered the ears of the Lord? 17) Yet they constantly see death before their eyes, and say: “What will happen to us? What judgment will follow about us? What will be our end? Will there be a return for us? Will forgiveness be for the darkened, the humble, the judgmental? Was our prayer able to be heard before the Lord? Or did it return (as is right) humiliated and ashamed? If it did come in; then how much of God's favor was gained there? What kind of success was it? What benefits did it bring? What produced? It came from unclean lips and bodies, and did not have great power. Therefore, has the Judge been reconciled with us completely, or only partially? Are not only half of our scabs healed? Because they are really great and require a lot of work and sweat. Have our guardians become closer to us, or are they still far away from us? Until they come closer to us, all our labor will be in vain and useless. For our prayer does not have the power, boldness and wings of purity to reach the Lord, unless our angels, approaching us and receiving our prayer, lift it up to the Lord.” 18) Others often express their doubts to each other and say: “Are we succeeding, brothers? Will we get what we ask for? Will the Lord accept us again? Will he open the door for us? Others answer this: “Who knows, as our brethren of Nineveh said, if the Lord repents (John 3:9)? If he saves us from great torment, we will do everything that depends on us. And if he opens the door, then this is good and wonderful. For blessed is the Lord God, who has shut the door for us in His righteousness! And we will not stop knocking on the door until the end of our lives. Perhaps he will open it to us for our great persistence” (Luke 11:8). Therefore, rousing each other, they say: “Let us hasten, brethren, let us hasten; for haste is needed, and even haste; because we have fallen behind our good brethren. Let us hasten, not sparing this foul and evil flesh of ours; but let us kill her, as she killed us.” 19) This is what these blessed condemned men did. Their knees seemed stiff from many bows, their eyes dimmed and sunken deep inside. They had no hair; the cheeks are ulcerated and scorched by many hot tears; faces are emaciated and pale; they were no different from the dead; Feeling pain in their chests from frequent beatings in their chest, they coughed up blood. Will you find there a comfortable bed, cleanliness, or firm clothing? They were all tattered, stained, and covered with insects. In comparison with this, what does the suffering of those possessed by demons, or those who cry over the dead, or those living in captivity, or those convicted of murder, mean? Their involuntary torment and torture, indeed, means nothing in comparison with this arbitrary suffering. And I ask you, brothers, not to regard my story as a fable. 20) They often turned with requests to the great judge, I mean the shepherd, this angel among people, and begged him to put iron and shackles on their hands and necks, and to hammer their legs into stocks, and not release them from these bonds until the coffin, or even the coffin, accepted them. For in no way, in any way can I hide this truly touching humility in these blessed ones, their contrite love and repentance for God. 21) So, when these good inhabitants of this region of repentance had to go to the Lord and appear before the impartial court; then, as soon as someone saw himself at the very end, he begged the great elder through his abbot with oaths, so that they would not honor him with a human burial, but, as a dumb one, would either throw him into a river stream, or give him in the middle of a field to be devoured by animals; that this lamp of prudence often acted, commanding them to accompany them without any psalmody or honors. 22) The sight of their last hour was truly terrible and touching. When these fellow-convicts learned that one of them was ready to precede them with the end of his course, while he was still in a firm mind, they surrounded him, and with thirst, with tears, with love, with a tender look, a sad voice, waving their heads, they asked the dying man, burning with compassion for him, saying: “What, what is it like, brother and fellow-convict? what are you saying? what are you hoping for? What do you imagine? Did you achieve what you were looking for with your labor, or could you not? Have you opened the door for yourself, or are you still subject to judgment? Have you reached your goal or not yet? Have you received any certificate, or do you still have dubious hopes? Have you gained freedom, or are your thoughts still confused and wavering? Did you feel any kind of insight in your heart, or is it still darkened and ashamed? Was there not some inner voice in you that would say: Behold, you are healthy (John 5:14); or: these sins are forgiven (Matthew 9:2); or: your faith will save you (Mark 5:34)? Or don’t you hear such a voice: let sinners return to hell (Ps. 9:18); and: bind his hand and nose (Matthew 22:13); and again: let the wicked be lifted up, and not see the glory of the Lord (Is. 26:10)? What can you even say, brother? Open to us; We beg you to let us and ourselves know what state we will be in. For your time is already over, and you will never find another time.” And to this some of the dying answered: Blessed is the Lord, who has not left my prayer and His mercy from Me (Ps. 65:20). Others also said: Blessed is the Lord, Who did not let us be caught by their teeth (Ps. 123:6). Others painfully said: will our soul pass through the water of the fickle spirits of the air (Ps. 123:5)? For they were not yet sure, but from afar they looked at what was happening during this torture. And others responded even more painfully and said: “Woe to the soul that did not keep its vow blameless. At this hour, and only at that hour, she will know what is in store for her.” 23) And I, seeing and hearing all this from them, almost came to despair about myself when I looked at my coldness and compared it with their suffering. For what was the location and their dwelling! Completely gloomy, stinking, unclean, unkempt. It is rightly called a prison and a dwelling for the condemned. One glance at the location taught me all sorts of repentance and crying. But what is difficult and unbearable for others becomes pleasant and desirable for those who have lost virtue and spiritual wealth. For the soul, having lost its former boldness, having lost the hope of dispassion, having broken the seal of innocence, having given the treasures of gifts to be plundered, and having become a stranger to divine consolation, having rejected the covenant of the Lord, having extinguished the beautiful fire of spiritual tears, and being wounded, painfully tormented by the memory of that - not only readily accepts the labors described above, but piously decides to kill herself by exploits, if only the remnant of a spark of love, or the fear of the Lord, remains in her. Such were truly these blessed ones. Keeping this in mind, and mentally imagining the height from which they fell, they said: let us remember the days of old (Ps. 142:5) and that fire of our jealousy. Others cried out to God: where is the essence of Your ancient mercies, O Lord, which You showed to our souls in Your truth? Remember the reproach and suffering of Your servants (Ps. 89:50–51). And the other says: who will order me according to the months of former days, in which He kept me, when the lamp of His light shone above the head of my heart (Job 29:2)? 24) So they remembered their former virtues, and, like crying children, they complained about them, saying: “Where is the purity of prayer now? Where is her courage? Where are the sweet tears instead of the bitter ones? Where is the hope of perfect integrity and purity? Where is the aspiration of blissful dispassion? Where is the trust in the shepherd? Where is the benefit of his prayer in us? All this perished, and as something that had not been, disappeared, as something that had never happened, completely disappeared and passed away.” 25) Saying this and shedding tears, some wanted to endure torment from the demon, others begged the Lord to send epilepsy upon them; others wanted to lose their sight and present themselves as the most pitiful sight; others want to fall into relaxation, just not to experience the suffering there. And in this abode of tears, remaining willingly, I, my friends, forgot myself, and was completely carried away by thought, not having the strength to restrain myself. But let us return in a word to our subject. 26) Having spent up to thirty days in this prison, I returned, impatient, to the great monastery to the great shepherd. He, seeing me as if completely changed, and not yet coming to my senses, like a wise man, understood what this change meant, and said: “What, Father John, have you seen the exploits of the sick?” I answered: “I saw it, father, and marveled, and I blessed these fallen mourners more than those who did not fall and did not weep for themselves; because as a result of the falls they rose up in a safe uprising.” “It’s true,” he said; and his unlying tongue told me the following: About ten years ago I had a very diligent and active brother here; why, seeing that he was so burning in spirit, I trembled for him, so that in his rapid course, through the envy of the devil, he would not dash his foot against a stone, which usually happens to those who travel quickly. And so it was. In the late evening he comes to me, shows me a naked ulcer, asks for a plaster, asks for cauterization, and he himself is very alarmed. Then, since he was worthy of compassion, and saw for himself that the doctor did not intend to perform too cruel a section, he threw himself to the ground, hugged his legs, washed them with copious tears, and asked to be imprisoned in the dungeon that you saw. It’s impossible for me not to go there, he cried. Finally, which is very rare and unusual in patients, he himself forces the doctor to change his compassion for severity; with all haste he goes to the repentant and shares their suffering with them. So, out of love for God, struck in the heart, as if by the swords of sorrow, on the eighth day he moves to the Lord, asking not to bury him. But I brought him here, and as a worthy man I laid him with my fathers; because according to the week of slavery, on the eighth day he is allowed to be free. Someone reliably learned that he had not risen from my worthless and vile feet before he had already appeased God. And this is not surprising; because, having accepted the faith of the gospel harlot in his heart, with the same confidence he washed my humble feet. All things are possible to the believer, said the Lord (Mark 9:23). I saw that unclean souls, driven to extreme frenzy by carnal love, having taken upon themselves the veil of repentance, having experienced love, turned it to the Lord, and leaving all fear far behind them, they were wounded beyond measure by divine love. Why doesn’t the Lord say to this chaste harlot: “For I was afraid, but: “For I loved much” (Luke 7:47), and without difficulty could reflect love with love.” 27) I am not unaware, O venerable ones, that the feats I have described will seem incredible to some, hopeless to others, and leading to despair to others. This will serve as a butt and a fiery arrow to a courageous man, and after hearing this from me, he will go with jealousy in his heart. And the one who stands below him will recognize his weakness, and, having easily acquired humility by reproaching himself, will flow after the first, but I don’t know whether he will overtake him. But let a careless person not touch what has been said, so that in despair he does not squander even what he is working on, and so that the spoken word does not come true on him because he lacks zeal, and what he thinks he has will be taken away from him (Matthew 25:29). 28) It is impossible for us, who have fallen into the pit of iniquity, to be rescued from it unless we plunge into the abyss of the humility of the repentant. 29) Another thing is the sorrowful humility of those who repent; the other is condemnation of the conscience of those still falling into sin; and another – blessed enrichment through humility, achieved by the perfect, through God’s action. We will not go into the explanation of this third type of humility; because the work will be in vain. A sign of the second kind of humility is complete patience with dishonor. Previous habits often torment those who cry about them; and this is not surprising. In the discussion of God's judgments and our falls, it is shrouded in darkness and completely incomprehensible to the soul, which falls are due to negligence, which are due to God's economic allowance, and which are due to God's apostasy from us. However, someone told me that in the falls that happen to us according to God’s providence, we soon receive aversion from sin; because the Permissive One does not allow the demon of sadness to possess us for a long time. And we, who have fallen, will first of all fight this demon; because he, standing with us during our prayer, and reminding us of our former boldness, intends to make us incapable of prayer. 30) Don’t be surprised that you fall every day; do not retreat, but stand courageously; and your guardian angel will, without a doubt, respect your patience. While the ulcer is still new and hot, it is easily healed; old, neglected and neglected ulcers are not easy to heal, and to heal here they require a lot of work, cutting, sprinkling and cauterization. Many ulcers become incurable from time to time; With God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). 31) Before our fall, demons represent God to us as humane, and after our fall - inexorable. 32) Do not believe the one who, after your fall, tells you about minor offenses: it would be better for you not to do that; this doesn’t mean anything. Often small gifts satisfied the great wrath of the Judge. 33) He who really gives an account of his deeds considers every day lost on which he does not cry, even if he did some good on it. 34) Let no one who weeps feed himself with the hope that he will receive a certificate upon his departure. For the unknown is not solid. Weaken me with the certificate, but leave it at that, before I even leave here without being certified (Ps. 39:14). Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there the bonds are loosed; where there is incomparable humility, there the bonds are also loosed. And those who do not have these two certificates, let them not deceive themselves; they are still connected. 35) Those living in the world, and they alone, are strangers to these certificates, especially the first, but some, for the sake of their alms, flow with hope at their passing, knowing about their acquisition. 36) He who cries for himself will not learn about the crying, or the fall, or the reproach of another. A dog caught by a beast is even more furious at him, irritated to the point of frenzy by the pain in the ulcer. 37) Let us be careful that our conscience does not cease to denounce us, not as a result of purity, but as if driven into exhaustion by our sins. A sign of our resolution in the Fall is the constant recognition of ourselves as debtors to God. 38) Nothing equals God’s bounties, or nothing exceeds them. Therefore, whoever despairs is a suicide. A sign of caring repentance is recognition of oneself as worthy of all the sorrows that happen, visible and invisible, and even greater ones. Moses, after seeing God in the bush, returned again to Egypt, that is, into darkness, to the work of a mental plinth, perhaps a pharaoh; but then again he goes to the bush, and not only to the bush, but also to the mountain. Whoever understands this vision will never despair of himself. The great Job became poor, but became rich again. 39) In the lazy, falls, by vocation, are severe; suppress the hope of dispassion, and persuade one to think that one rise from the abyss will lead to bliss. Look: we are returning not necessarily by the same path on which we got lost, but also by another shortest one. 40) I saw two people walking towards the Lord in the same way and at the same time: one of them was old and superior in labor; the other disciple ran away faster than the elder, and came first to the tomb of humility (John 20:4). 41) All of us, and especially those who have fallen, will be careful not to suffer in our hearts the illness of the godless Origen; because this nasty illness, protected by God’s love for mankind, becomes very pleasant for sensualists. 42) In my teaching, or better yet, in my repentance, the fire of prayer will kindle (Ps. 39:4), devouring the material. Let the holy condemned men mentioned before this be a rule, a model, an example, a depiction of repentance for you; and throughout your entire life you will not need any book until Christ, the Son of God and God, shines for you in the resurrection of much-careful repentance. Amen. Behold, you have ascended to the fifth degree through repentance; because he cleansed the five senses with it, and by voluntarily perceiving it upon himself, he avoided involuntary punishment and torment. Word 6. On remembering death 1) Every word is preceded by a thought; and crying and shedding tears are preceded by the remembrance of death and the Fall; That’s why the word speaks about it in the proper order. 2) Remembering death is daily death; and the remembrance of one’s passing is an hourly sigh. 3) The fear of death is a property acquired by our nature as a result of disobedience; and mortal trembling is a sign of sins not purified by repentance. And Christ reveals in Himself (Matthew 26:57) the fear of death, but does not tremble in order to clearly show in Himself the property of two natures. 4) As bread is more necessary than any other food; so the thought of death is more necessary than any other activity. The remembrance of death in the living together gives rise to labor and reflection, and moreover, the sweetness of dishonor; and in those who have withdrawn from all rumors - putting aside worries, unceasing prayer and guarding the mind. But these same virtues both give rise to remembrance of death and are born from it. 5) How tin is clearly different from silver, although it is similar in appearance; Thus, for those who are sensible, the difference between the natural and supernatural fear of death is obvious and clear. 6) A sure sign in the depths of the heart of those who remember death is voluntary impartiality towards every creature and complete abandonment of their own will. 7) He who daily with certainty expects death is also well-skilled; but he who desires it hourly is holy. 8) Not every desire for death should be considered good. Others, constantly sinning out of habit, humbly pray for death. Others do not intend to repent and call for death out of despair. And others, out of conceit, consider themselves dispassionate and are not afraid of death. Finally, others, if such can be found today, through the action of the Holy Spirit, desire their transmigration. 9) Some are perplexed and ask: why, when the remembrance of death is so beneficial for us, did God hide from us the knowledge of the hour of death? But they do not know that God will wonderfully arrange our salvation. For no one, foreknowledge of his death, would have flown, long before it, to baptism or to monastic life; but everyone would spend all his days in lawlessness, and only on the day of his departure would he begin baptism and repentance. 10) When you cry about your sins, do not let that dog get to you, 15 which inspires you that God loves mankind (this thought is only useful to you when you see yourself being drawn into deep despair). For the enemy has the intention that you should have neither these tears nor this fearless fear. 11) Whoever intends to forever retain in himself the remembrance of death and the judgment of God, and meanwhile indulges in worries and material entertainment, is like a floating man who at the same time wants to flap his hands. 12) Living remembrance of death cuts off excess in food; and when this excess is cut off in humility, other passions are cut off along with it. 13) The insensibility of the heart blinds the mind, and the abundance of food dries up the sources of tears. Thirst and vigilance produce sorrow in the heart, and from a grieving heart water flows out. What we have said will seem cruel to gluttons and incredible to the lazy, but an active husband will willingly experience this, and, seeing it from experience, will smile at it. And whoever loves only to reason will become even sadder. 14) Just as, according to the definition of the fathers, perfect love does not fall, so I affirm that the perfect sensation of death is not terrible. 15) Much work for the active mind; I mean thinking about the love of God, about remembering death, about remembering God, about remembering the kingdom, about the zeal of the holy martyrs, about remembering the presence of God everywhere, according to the word of him who said: I have seen the Lord (Ps. 15:8), - about remembering the holy and intelligent Powers, about remembering one’s exodus, the upcoming meeting, torment and eternal condemnation. So we started from the high, and concluded with what makes it safe from falling. 16) One Egyptian monk once told me: “After the remembrance of death was established in the depths of my heart, when, due to the need I encountered, I wanted to bring a little consolation to mortal decay: this remembrance, like a judge, forbade me. And, surprisingly, when I intended to remove the thought of death from myself, I just couldn’t do it.” 17) Another person, who lived here in a place called Fola, often went into a frenzy at the thought of death, and as if he had lost consciousness or was stricken with an epilepsy, the brethren who were present carried him almost lifeless. 18) I will not fail to tell you the story about Hesychius Horebite. He spent his life in complete negligence, and had no care at all for his soul. Finally, his body was exhausted, so that for about an hour he seemed completely dead, when he came to his senses, he begs us all to leave immediately. And having blocked the door of his cell, he remained in it for twelve years, with no one, never saying an empty or practical word, and not eating anything other than bread and water. While remaining motionless, his mind was so immersed in what he saw during the frenzy that he never changed his position, but was always astonished, and in complete silence shed hot tears. When he was about to die, we broke down the door and entered, and after many requests we only heard from him the following: “Forgive me; whoever has acquired the remembrance of death can never sin.” We were amazed to see that someone who had previously been so careless was so suddenly transformed by this blessed change and transfiguration. Having reverently buried him in the cemetery, near the fence, the next day they began to look for the holy relics, and did not find them. Thus, the Lord confirmed by this his caring and praiseworthy repentance, encouraging everyone who, even after long negligence, wants to correct himself. 19) How some define that the abyss is something that has no limit, because by this name they call a bottomless place; Thus, through the thought of death, one acquires uncorrupted integrity and uncorrupted work. The truth of what was said is confirmed by the monk mentioned above. For those like him, constantly adding fear to fear, do not stop there until the last strength in their bones is exhausted. 20) Let us assure ourselves that the remembrance of death, like all other benefits, is a gift from God; because often, when we are at the very graves, we have no tears, and remain insensitive, and many times, not having such a sight in front of us, we come to contrition. 21) He who has died for everything remembers death; and whoever is still attached to the world does not cease to plot against himself. 22) Do not want to convince everyone with words of your love for them, but rather ask God to show them your love in an unknown way. Otherwise, you won’t have enough time to explain to people and express contrition. 23) Do not deceive yourself, reckless worker, as if you can replace one time with another; for not a single day is sufficient for his own debt to be fully repaid to the Master. 24) It is impossible, they say, it is impossible to spend a real day piously if we do not consider it the last day of our entire life. And it is truly amazing that even the pagans said something similar; for this is how philosophy was defined: it is thinking about death. This is the sixth degree. Whoever ascends it will not sin again. Remember your last and never sin (Sir.7:59). Word 7. About joyful crying 1) Crying for God is despondency of the soul and such an attitude of the sick heart in which it incessantly eagerly seeks what it longs for, and when the search is unsuccessful, it tirelessly pursues it, and, sobbing loudly, calls after it. Or this: crying is a golden sting in the soul, stripped of all commitment and all ties, and strengthened by holy sadness in the control of the heart. 2) Contrition is a continuous torment of conscience, which through mental confession cools the fire of the heart. And confession is oblivion of nature, like someone forgetting to eat his bread (Ps. 102:5). 3) Repentance is the deprivation of all bodily consolation that can be endured without sorrow. 4) The distinctive characteristic of those who succeed while still in blissful weeping is abstinence and silence of the lips, and those who succeed are not anger or memory-bearing; the perfect ones - humility, thirst for reproaches, voluntary hunger for involuntary sorrows, non-judgment of those who sin, compassion - not even to the best of one's strength. The first are worthy of praise, the second are praiseworthy; Blessed are those who hunger for sorrow and thirst for reproach, for they will be satisfied with unsatisfied food. 5) Having the gift of crying, hold it with all your strength. For before perfect assimilation, it is extremely easily taken away and, like wax from fire, conveniently melts from rebellion and bodily worries, from luxury, and especially from long-winded speech and ridicule, 6) The source of tears after baptism is higher than baptism itself, although it is somewhat daring to say this. For baptism is the cleansing of the evils that were previously in us, and with tears sins committed after baptism are cleansed; and when we received baptism in infancy, we all desecrated it, but with tears we cleanse it again. And if God, out of love for mankind, had not given tears to people; then they would be truly rare, and could hardly be found where they could be saved. 7) Sighings and lamentations cry out to the Lord. Tears shed in fear intercede; and tears of holy love show us that our prayer is accepted. 8) If nothing promotes humility more than crying; then, without a doubt, nothing counteracts as much as laughter. 9) Unforgettably keep within yourself the blissful and joyful sadness of holy contrition, and do not stop working on it until it presents you, exalted above this, to Christ pure. 10) Do not cease to imprint in your mind and contain in your thoughts the abyss of dark opium, and unmerciful servants, the judge who is not compassionate and inexorable, the immense abyss of the underworld flame, close descents into underground and terrible places, and into yawning abysses, as well as images of all the like, so that the concupiscence abiding in our souls, brought into inaction by great trembling, gives way a place of uncorrupted purity, and the soul received the illumination of immaterial light, shining more than any fire. 11) During your prayer request, stand with trembling, like a condemned, upcoming Judge, so that both your appearance and your inner disposition may quench the wrath of the righteous Judge; for He will not despise the widow - the soul who painfully faces Him and torments the Unweary (Luke 18:5). 12) He who has acquired spiritual tears, finds every place convenient for crying. And whoever cries only outwardly will not stop examining places and customs. Like hidden treasure, it is safer from theft than if it is placed in the marketplace; This is how we will understand what was said before this. 13) Do not be like those who bury the dead, who sometimes weep for them, sometimes get drunk for their sake; but be like the prisoners in the mines, who suffer hourly beatings from the assigned servants. 14) He who sometimes cries, and sometimes enjoys luxury and laughs, is like a man who throws bread at the dog of lust instead of a stone; Apparently he drives him away, but in reality he attracts him to him. 15) Be deep within yourself, do not like to show off, shut yourself up in your heart. Demons are also afraid of self-absorption, like tati are of dogs. 16) We are not called here to a wedding feast; No; therefore, He who called us here, of course, called us so that we would cry for ourselves. 17) Some, when they cry, inappropriately force themselves not to think about anything at all during this blissful time, without reasoning that tears without thought are characteristic of dumb, and not rational, nature. Tears are the product of thoughts, and thoughts are created by reason and mind. 18) Let your descent into the bed be for you the image of your descent into the grave; – and you’ll sleep less. Let the very eating at the meal be for you a reminder of the instructive meal of these worms; - and you will enjoy less luxury. And when you taste the drink - water, do not forget about the thirst in that flame; - and without a doubt you will overcome your nature. 19) When we suffer honest dishonor, reprimand and punishment from the abbot; Then we will imagine in our minds the terrible sentence of the Judge, and the unreasonable sadness and grief that arises in us, without a doubt, like a two-edged sword, we will kill with meekness and patience. 20) The sea becomes scarce with time, as Job says (Job.14:11); and what has been said now appears in us and is perfected gradually, over time and with patience. 21) Let the remembrance of the eternal fire fall asleep with you in the evening, and rise with you; and laziness will never prevail over you during psalmody. 22) Let even your very clothes convince you to do tearful work; because all those who mourn the dead are clothed in black. If you don't cry; then cry about it. If you cry; then cry even more because through your sins you have reduced yourself from a state of ease to a state of great difficulty. 23) Our good and righteous Judge, both in everything else and in tears, without a doubt, takes into consideration the power of nature. For I saw that even small drops of tears, like bloody ones, flowed out with difficulty; and I also saw sources of tears shed without difficulty. And I judged the working people more by their work than by the number of tears. And I think that God also judges. 24) Theology is not proper for those who cry; for it usually puts an end to crying. The one who speaks theology is like a teacher sitting in a pulpit, and the one who weeps is like one who spends his days in dung and sackcloth. Therefore, I think, even though David was a teacher and a wise man, when he cried, he answered those who asked: How can I sing the song of the Lord in a foreign land, that is, passionate (Ps. 137:4)? 25) Both in peace and in contrition, one is self-motivated, and one is moved by another. When we have not made any effort, and have not kept our thoughts in mind, but the soul becomes tearful, full of water and softened; then let's hurry; because the Lord came uninvited, and gives us the lip of God-loving sorrow and the cool water of godly tears to blot out our sins on the charter. Treasure these tears like the apple of your eye until they pass; The power of such crying is great, incomparably higher than that crying that is the result of our efforts and intentions. 26) The one who mourns achieves the perfection of crying not when he wants it; but this depends on what he wants to cry about, and on the fact that he is not crying about what he wants to cry about, but about whatever pleases God. Crying for God is often mixed with hateful tears of vanity; We recognize this skillfully and piously when we recognize within ourselves that we are both crying and being deceitful. 27) Contrition, in its proper sense, is not an arrogant illness of the soul, in which it does not give itself any peace, but every hour imagines only its solution, and, like cool water, expects consolation from God, who consoles humble monks. 28) Those who can cry from the depths of their hearts have come to hate their very life and turn away from their bodies as an enemy. 29) When we see anger and pride in those who imagine themselves crying for God; then we recognize their tears as disgusting; For what fellowship has light with darkness (2 Cor. 6:14)? 30) The generation of false contrition is conceit, but laudable contrition is a consolation. 31) Just as fire destroys stubble, so immaculate tears destroy all visible and mental defilement. 32) The concept of tears, according to the definition of many of the fathers, is somewhat dark and inconvenient, especially about the tears of newcomers, for whom the origin of tears has many different types, namely: there are tears from nature, from God, from sorrow, both reprehensible and praiseworthy, from vanity, from fornication, from love, from the remembrance of death, and from much more. 33) Having overcome all these types of tears with the fear of God, let us assimilate pure and unflattering tears for our permission; for there is no forgery or conceit in them; on the contrary, there is purification, the advancement of love for God, the washing away of sin and the bringing of passions to dispassion. 34) It is not surprising that crying begins with good tears and ends with evil ones; but it is worthy of praise; if spiritual tears are grafted onto reprehensible or natural tears. People prone to vanity clearly know this. 35) Do not trust your tearful sources before complete purification; because it is impossible to rely on wine straight from the winepress, sealed into a vessel. 36) No one argues that all kinds of tears for God are useful to us. But what is the benefit acquired from them, we will learn about this during our exodus. 37) He who abides in unceasing mourning for God does not cease to celebrate daily; and whoever continually celebrates physically, eternal mourning awaits him. 38) Those condemned to prison have no joy, and true monks have no holiday on earth. That is why, perhaps, this beautifully weeping one, sighing, said: Bring my soul out of prison (Ps. 142:8), so that I may finally rejoice in Your ineffable light. 39) Be like a king in your heart, exalted in humility, and command laughter: go, and it goes; and sweet cry: come, and he comes; and to our servant and tormentor - the body: do this, and he will do it (Matthew 8:9). 40) He who, as in a wedding robe, has clothed himself in blessed and gracious lament, knows the spiritual laughter of the soul. 41) Is there such a person who would spend all his days in monastic life in such piety that he would not lose a day, an hour, or a moment, but wait all the time for the Lord, in the thought that it is impossible to see the same day twice in this life? 42) Blessed is the monk who can raise the eyes of his soul to the mental Powers; but he is truly safe from falling who, due to the remembrance of death and the Falls, from his bodily eyes constantly waters his cheeks with living waters. And it’s hard for me to believe that without the last state the first one would come. 43) It happened to see shameless petitioners and beggars who, with some red words, soon even inclined the hearts of kings to compassion; and it happened to see the poor and beggars in virtue, who, not red-faced, but rather with some kind of humble, dark and timid utterances, from the depths of a desperate heart, relentlessly and patiently cried out to the Heavenly King, and with their effort, as it were, forced His unconstrained nature into compassion. 44) He who is puffed up in his soul with his tears, and in himself condemns the one who does not shed tears, is like a man who asked the King for a weapon against his enemy, and kills himself with it. 45) God does not require, and He does not want, that a person should cry from heart disease, but wants him to have fun with spiritual laughter out of love for Him. Take away sin, and painful tears are unnecessary for sensual eyes. What is healing powder for when there is no scab? Adam had no tears before the crime, just as there will be none after the resurrection, when sin has already been abolished; for then sickness, sorrow and sighing will flee away (Is. 35:10). 46) In some I saw weeping, and in others I saw doubt in their weeping; having crying, they are in such a position as if they did not have it; and from this beautiful ignorance they are safe, and about them it is said: The Lord makes the blind wise (Ps. 146:8). 47) Tears often lead frivolous people to exaltation; that is why they are not given to others. And such, in vain seeking tears, consider themselves unhappy, and condemn themselves to sighing, lamentation, spiritual sadness, deep sorrow and despondency. Yet this, although they recognize it as not at all useful, safely replenishes the very tears. 48) Observing diligently, we will find that the very demons often mock us bitterly. For when we are fed up, they arouse contrition in us, and when we fast, they make our heart hard, so that, deceived by false tears, we indulge in the mother of passions - luxury. And you shouldn’t listen to them, but it’s better to do the opposite. 49) And I, delving into the very quality of contrition, am amazed at how crying and so-called sadness have joy and joy contained within them, like honey in a wax cell. What can we learn from this? Because such contrition in its own sense is a gift from the Lord. Then there is no unsatisfying pleasure in the soul; because God invisibly comforts the brokenhearted. On the occasion of discussing truly effective crying and useful illness of the soul, we will listen to a soul-helping and touching story. 50) A certain Stefan lived here; loving the desert and silent life, he spent quite a few years in monastic exploits, was especially adorned with fasting and tears, and flourished with other good advantages. He had a cell on this holy mountain, on its slope from the holy God-seer Elijah. 16 And this worthy man, for a more effective, severe and difficult repentance, with the intention of choosing a place of hermits called Siddin, and spent several years there in the most cramped and strict life. since the place was devoid of all consolation and inaccessible to human traces, as it was seventy miles away from the monastery fence; then, before his death, the elder again comes to his cell on the holy mountain, where he had two disciples from Palestine, very reverent, who guarded the elder’s cell. After living for a few days, the elder fell into illness, from which he died. The day before his resolution, he comes into a frenzy of mind, and with open eyes looks around at the right and left sides of his bed, and, as if interrogated by someone, he says out loud to everyone present: “Yes, that’s true; but for this I fasted for so many years”; and then again: “No, you’re completely lying; I didn’t do this.” And again: “yes, it’s true, exactly like that; but I cried and served the brothers.” And one more thing: “no, you are completely slandering me.” Sometimes he said otherwise: “Yes, exactly like that; I don’t know what to say against this; but God is merciful.” And truly, it was a terrible and terrible sight - this invisible and merciless torture. And what’s worst of all is that they accused him of something he didn’t do. Isn't it wonderful? The silent man and hermit said about some of his falls into sin: “I don’t know what to say about this,” while he had already been a monk for about forty years and had tears. Alas, alas! Where was Ezekiel's word then, so that he could say to the tormentors: in what I find you, in that I will judge you, said God (Ezek. 33:20). Truly, he could not say anything like that. Why, glory to the One Leader! And some, as before the Lord, told me that in the desert he fed a leopard from his hands. So the tortured person was separated from the body, leaving us in the dark about what the trial was, or what the end was, and what the sentence was for him, or how this torture ended. 51) Like a widow who has lost her husband and has only her only son, she finds consolation in him alone in the Lord; so the fallen soul, during the exodus, has no other consolation than tormenting itself with hunger and tears. 52) Those who mourn will never sing or cry loudly to themselves in chants; because all such things are upset by crying. If by such means you intend to call him to yourself; then you are still far from business. For crying is the grief of an inflamed soul that has reached its fullest. 53) For many, crying was the forerunner of blissful dispassion; it prepared, elevated, and destroyed matter. 54) One skilled practitioner of this virtue told me: “Often times, as soon as I intended to indulge in vanity, or anger, or the satiety of the belly, my thought conjured me with inner crying and said: do not be vain; otherwise, I'll leave you. The same thing happened when other passions were aroused. And I said to my thoughts: I will never leave obedience to you until you present me to Christ.” 55) The abyss of mourning will see consolation, and the purity of the heart will receive illumination. Illumination is an ineffable effectiveness, incomprehensibly understood and invisibly visible. Consolation is the joy of a sick soul, which, like a baby, both cries internally and smiles cheerfully. God's intercession is the renewal of a soul suppressed by sadness, and miraculously transforms painful tears into non-painful ones. 56) Tears about the exodus of the soul give rise to fear; and when fear gives rise to fearlessness, then joy shines, and when endless joy is inherited, then the flower of holy love emerges. 57) With the hand of humility, as an unworthy one, turn away from yourself the joy that finds you, so that, quickly allowing it to reach you, you do not receive a wolf instead of a shepherd. 58) Do not rush to contemplation when it is not time for contemplation; let it itself pursue you for the beauty of humility, and overtake you, and for ever and ever be united with you in an all-immaculate marriage. 59) The baby, as soon as he begins to recognize his father, is completely filled with joy. If the father goes away for a while on business and then returns again, then the boy is full of both joy and sadness; joy - because he sees his beloved; sadness - because for so long I was deprived of the affections of a kind father. And the mother hides from the baby, and seeing with what sorrow she is looking for her, she delights in it; for through this she accustoms him to be forever attached to her, and ignites in him the strongest love for himself. “Have ears to hear, that he may hear,” says the Lord (Luke 14:35). 60) The condemned person, having heard his sentence, will not bother about arranging spectacles; so the one who really mourns will not turn to luxury, or glory, or anger, or irascibility. Crying is the fullness of the sorrow of a repentant soul, which daily adds sorrow to sorrow, like one giving birth and feeling the pangs of birth. 61) Righteous and holy is the Lord (Ps. 144:18). He brings the rationally silent one into reasonable contrition, and He cheers the rationally submissive one daily. And whoever does not go through both without sin is deprived of crying. 62) Drive away the dog who comes during the deepest crying and suggests that God is not merciful and merciful. If you watched this dog; then you will find that, before you commit a sin, he calls God humane, merciful and condescending. 63) Thinking gives rise to continuous activity, and continuous activity turns into feeling; and what is done with feeling is taken away with difficulty. 64) No matter what great feats we undergo, if we do not have a sick heart, they are false and worthless. For it is necessary, absolutely necessary, that we, (I will say this) having become defiled again after washing, cleanse our hands with the unquenchable fire of our hearts and the oil of God’s mercy. 65) I saw some who reached the extreme stage of crying; for he noticed that in a sensual way, with their lips, they shed blood from a painful and wounded heart; and then the word of the one who said came to my mind: I was wounded like grass, and my heart failed (Ps. 102:5). 66) Tears from fear themselves produce trepidation and caution; Tears from love, if love has not yet reached perfection, may be conveniently stolen from some. Unless (I don’t know, however) the ever-memorable fire will greatly inflame the heart during its operation. And, it’s strange to say that the more humble you are, the safer you are in your time. 67) There are things that dry up the sources of our tears, and there are other things that generate mud and vermin in them. From the first, Lot fell into an unlawful union with his daughters; and from the latter the devil fell from heaven. 68) Our very enemies have a lot of malice, so that they turn the mother of virtues into the mother of vices, and what leads to humility is made a reason for pride. Often the very location and appearance of our dwellings call our thoughts to contrition. Let Jesus, Elijah and John, who prayed in private, convince you of this. It happened to see that tears were often aroused in cities and among rumors, so that, indulging in the thought that we could not endure any harm from worldly rumors, we would become closer to the world; for this is the goal of the crafty demons. 69) Often one word stopped crying; but it would be wonderful if the same word brought him back. 70) We will not, we certainly will not be accused at the exodus of the soul for the fact that we did not perform miracles, or that we did not theologize, or did not lead a contemplative life; but, without any doubt, we will give God an answer for not crying incessantly. This is the seventh degree. Let him who is worthy to ascend it help me too; because he himself has already received help, by ascending to this seventh degree, having been washed from the defilements of this age. Word 8. About not being angry and meekness 1) As if by gradually pouring water on a fire, the flame completely goes out; so the tears of true crying suppress every flame of irritability and irascibility. Why and we offer this in order. 2) Not anger is an insatiable desire for dishonor, similar to the boundless desire for praise in the vain. Not anger is a victory over nature, which, as a result of exploits and labors, is achieved by insensitivity to insults. 3) Meekness is a motionless state of the soul, equally accepting both dishonor and praise. 4) The beginning of not being angry is the silence of the lips when the heart is in turmoil; the middle is silence of thoughts with slight confusion of the soul; and the end is unshakable silence with the breath of unclean winds. 5) Anger is the recollection of hidden hatred, that is, memory of malice. Anger is the desire to do harm to the one who upsets. Hot temper is an untimely ignition of the heart. Annoyance is an unpleasant movement nesting in the soul. Irritability is an unstable movement of morals and indecency in the soul. 6) How darkness is removed with the appearance of light; Thus, with the fragrance of humility, all annoyance and irritability disappear. 7) Others are soon changed by irritability; for they neglect to heal themselves from this passion and take care of this; do not keep in mind these unfortunates what was said: the aspiration of his rage will be his downfall (Sir.1:22). 8) It is possible for a millstone to move so quickly that in one instant it erases and turns into nothing more spiritual wheat and fruit than another can erase in a whole day. Therefore, prudent attention is needed. It is possible for such a ignition of a flame, suddenly fanned by a strong wind, which hits and destroys the field of the heart more than a prolonged fire. 9) It should not be hidden from us, friends, that evil demons sometimes suddenly leave, so that we, neglecting strong passions as unimportant for us, become incurably ill. 10) Like an acute-angled and hard stone, when it comes into collision and friction with other stones, it loses all its angularity, rigidity and solid structure, and becomes round; so an ardent and stubborn soul, being in society and treating other cruel people, will undergo one of two things: either it will heal its ulcer with patience, or, having yielded to others, it will certainly recognize its weakness when timid flight presents it to it, as in a mirror. 11) An irritable person is one who voluntarily suffers from epilepsy and, as a result of the involuntary rooting of the disease in him, falls into a fit and is tormented by it. 12) What is most unnatural for penitents is outrageous irritation; because conversion requires great humility, and irritation is a sign of all conceit. 13) If it is a sign of extreme meekness - and in the presence of an irritant, be disposed towards him in your heart with peace and love; then, without a doubt, a sign of a person’s extreme irritability when he is alone with himself, and with words and body movements he shows that he is angry with those who insulted him and is ready to argue with him. 14) If the Holy Spirit (as defined and as it really is) is spiritual peace; and anger (as it is said, and as it really is) is confusion of the heart; then nothing poses such an obstacle to the presence of the Holy Spirit in us as irritability. 15) Knowing the very many intolerable products of irritability, only its involuntary manifestation, although illegal, we recognized, however, as useful. It happened to see that others, inflamed to the point of fury and vomiting out the long-standing and hidden memory of malice, got rid of the passion by passion itself, as soon as they received either repentance or confirmation from the offender for causing long-term grief. And I also saw those who, apparently, were magnanimous, but foolishly, under the cover of silence, harbored malicious malice inside; I recognized them as more pitiful than those indulging in violent anger; because behind the blackness the dove was no longer visible in them. We need a lot of diligence against this serpent, because he, like the serpent of carnality, uses the assistance of our nature. 16) I saw angry people who, out of frustration, did not take food, and through this unreasonable abstinence added only poison to poison. I also saw others who, taking advantage of a plausible excuse for irritability, indulged in polyeating, and fell headlong from one abyss to another. But I saw that others control themselves intelligently, and, like good doctors, having dissolved both, they derive very great benefit from proportionate consolation. 17) Sometimes sweet singing, if it is proportionate, perfectly calms irritability, and sometimes, if it is immoderate and untimely, it favors voluptuousness. Therefore, we will use it, but setting decent times for this. 18) For the sake of some need, being outside the monastery, I heard that the silent ones, out of frustration and irritability, like partridges in a cage, each alone in his own cell, fought in their cells, and imagined that they were jumping on the one who upset them, as if he were there. And I gave them pious advice, not to remain in solitude, so that people would not become demons. And I also saw that people who are lustful and corrupt in heart are meek, flattering, brotherly loving, and love neatness. I suggested to such people to enter into silence, using it as a medicine that counteracts lust and depravity of the heart, so that otherwise they would not turn in a pitiful way from rational beings into dumb ones. since some told me about themselves that they, unfortunately, are dominated by one and the other passion; 17 Then I completely forbade them to walk of their own free will, amicably inspiring those in charge over them to allow them from time to time to go through sometimes this, sometimes another way of life, however, completely submitting to the chief superior. A voluptuous person usually harms himself, and perhaps also someone else who is entrusted with his secrets; and an irritable one, like a wolf, often confuses the entire herd, and humiliates many souls. 19) It is a grave sin to confuse the eye of the heart with irritability, according to the words of the one who said: “My eye is troubled with rage” (Ps. 6:8); but even worse is the desire of the soul to reveal words; to put hands into action is completely disgusting and alien to monastic, angelic and divine life. 20) If you want, or, more accurately, intend to take out a twig from another, then instead of a needle, do not use a log with which you will pierce the twig even deeper. And this log is rude words, indecent body movements; the needle is a gentle admonition and a generous reprimand. Reprove, says the apostle, rebuke, entreat (2 Tim. 4:2), but he did not say: strike. If this is required, then use such a measure rarely, and then not yourself. 21) If we observe people who are irritable; then in many of them we will see that they are zealous for vigil, fasting and silence. For the demon’s goal is to put into them, under the guise of repentance and crying, something that intensifies passion. 22) If, as we said above, one wolf, with the assistance of a demon, can confuse the entire herd; then, without a doubt, one wise brother, with the assistance of an angel, like a good bottle full of oil, can ward off the excitement and give a heavy ship a quiet sail. And no matter how severe the condemnation of the first is, the last will receive a great reward from God and become a useful example for everyone. 23) The beginning of blessed patience is to accept dishonor with grief and mental illness; the middle is to have a carefree disposition of spirit in dishonor; and perfection (if it is possible) is to impute dishonor to oneself as praise. Let the first rejoice; may the second be possible; Blessed be the Lord, and let the third rejoice! 24) I noticed a pitiful sight in the angry people, what kind of conceit they presented themselves without noticing it themselves: the angry ones were also angry because they were overcome by anger. And I was amazed, seeing how one fall led to another, I felt sorry, seeing how they punish sin with sin; and horrified by the cunning of the demons, he almost despaired of his life. 25) If someone noticed in himself that he was easily overcome by conceit and irascibility, deceit and hypocrisy, and therefore thought of drawing on them the double-edged sword of meekness and patience; then, if he wants to completely free himself from these vices, let him go and stay, as if in a working church of salvation, in the company of brothers, especially those with the most severe disposition, so that there, while insults, dishonor and anxiety from the brothers keep him in tension and spiritually amaze, and, perhaps, sometimes even sensually dare, overcome and oppress the earth, to wash away the filth that still exists in his spiritual feeling. And that reproach serves as a wash for spiritual passions - let the most common proverb convince you of this. For worldly people, when they personally shower dishonor on someone, boasting about him to others, say: “I washed so-and-so.” And this is absolutely true. 26) Another thing is not anger in new arrivals, as a result of crying; another is immobility to anger in the perfect. In some, anger is bound by tears, as if by some kind of bridle; and in others, like a serpent, he is killed by dispassion, like a sword. 27) I saw three monks who suffered dishonor together. One felt insulted, but remained silent; another was happy about himself, but sad about the one who slandered him; the third, imagining what harm his neighbor had suffered, shed hot tears. Thus one could see here the workers of fear, bribery and love. 28) There is only one fever in the body, but its inflammation has not one, but many causes. Thus, the inflammation and movement of irritability and our other passions have many and different causes. Therefore it is impossible to prescribe the same rule against them. I would rather give this opinion: for each of the ailing people, with special care, find your own method of healing. Let the first method of healing be to find out the cause of your suffering, so that, when the cause is found, you can accept such a plaster from the Providence of God and from spiritual doctors. So, for example, those who wish to enter the spiritual and proposed judgment seat with us about the Lord, let them enter, and we will slightly interrogate them about the passions or reasons mentioned above. Finally, let irritability, like a tormentor, be bound by the bonds of meekness, and struck down by long-suffering, drawn by holy love, appearing at this judgment seat of the word, be subjected to due torture. “Tell us, foolish and shameless one, what is the name of the one who gave birth to you, what is the name of the evil one who brought you into the world, and what is the name of your bad sons and daughters. Moreover, show us the signs of those attacking you, inflicting mortal blows on you.” And irritability says to us in response: “I have many who gave birth to me, and my father is not alone; my mothers: vanity, love of money, gluttony, and sometimes fornication. He who begat me is called arrogance. My daughters: memory of malice, hatred, enmity, litigation. My rivals, the second, now hold me in bonds that are the opposite of them: not anger and meekness. My admonisher is called humility. But whoever gave birth to him, ask him about that in due time.” On the eighth degree lies the crown of non-anger. He who is adorned with it by nature may not receive another crown; and whoever acquired it through labor ascended victoriously to the very top of the eighth degree. 1) Holy virtues are likened to Jacob’s ladder, and unclean vices are likened to the bonds that fell from the supreme apostle Peter. Why are the virtues, united with one another, elevating those who love them to heaven; and vices are born from one another and suppress themselves. And as we have now heard, senseless irritability is its own creation and is called memory malice; then, at the request of the time itself, we will immediately begin to talk about it. 2) Memory malice is the end of irritability, the guardian of sins, hatred of the truth, the destruction of virtues, a vile thing in the soul, a worm in the mind, a disgrace to prayer, suppression of prayer requests, alienation of love, a nail driven into the soul, a non-painful feeling, loved for the sweetness of bitterness, incessant sin, incessant lawlessness, hourly vice. 3) This dark and hateful passion, I mean memory malice, is one of those that are born, and not those that give birth, or those that give birth. Therefore, we do not intend to talk much about it. 4) He who has stopped anger in himself has also destroyed memory of malice; because childbearing occurs only during the life of the father. 5) He who has acquired love has avoided enmity; and the enemy gathers up untimely labors for himself. 6) A meal without due attention is the mother of license in speech; and through the window of love gluttony invades. 7) I saw that hatred broke long-standing bonds of fornication, and then memory of malice in a strange way did not allow the broken connection to be resumed. The spectacle is truly wonderful! One demon is healed by another demon. But perhaps this is no longer a matter of demons, but of God’s vision. 8) Memory malice is far from strong natural love; but fornication conveniently approaches it; and in the dove you see hidden worms. 9) Be mindfully hostile towards demons, and always hostilely hostile towards the body. The flesh is an ungrateful and treacherous friend. When you please her, then she tries even more to harm you. 10) Memory malice is an interpreter of Scripture who applies the words of the Spirit to his own species. May the Jesus Prayer put him to shame, which we cannot say if we are vindictive. 11) When, having struggled a lot, you are unable to finally crush this wall; then repent to the enemy, albeit verbally, so that, being ashamed of your long-term hypocrisy before him, you will love him completely when your conscience incites you like fire. 12) You will not know that you have completely freed yourself from this rottenness when you pray for the one who has offended you, or when you repay him for his evil with gifts, go, when you invite him to your meal, but when you hear that he has fallen into mental or physical unhappiness, and you begin to ache and cry for him as for yourself. 13) The vindictive silent one is an asp hiding in a hole, storing a deadly poison. 14) Remembering the sufferings of Jesus will heal the memory of malice, which is greatly shamed by Jesus’ patience. 15). Worms hatch inside a rotten tree; In the hypocritically meek and silent, anger finds its place. Whoever casts it off himself will receive forgiveness of sins; and whoever is attached to it is deprived of God's bounties. 16) Others, in order to receive forgiveness, give themselves up to labors and exploits; but the unforgiving one anticipates them. If you let go soon; then it will be generously distributed to you (Luke 6:37). 17) Forgiveness is a sign of sincere repentance; and whoever remembers evil and thinks of himself that he is bringing repentance is like a man who imagines in a dream that he is running. 18) I saw vindictive people who gave advice to other vindictive people - not to be vindictive, and, brought to shame by their own words, stopped serving this passion. 19) No one considers the darkened memory of malice to be an unimportant passion because it often affects spiritual men. Let him who has entered the ninth degree boldly ask for permission for his sins from the Savior Jesus. 1) None of the sane people, I think, will dispute that slander comes from hatred and memory of malice. Therefore, it is said about him immediately after what has been said about his ancestors. 2) Slander is a fiend of hatred, an invisible but gross disease, a secretive and insensible leech that sucks and absorbs the blood of love. This is hypocrisy in love; it prepares defilement and a burden for the heart, destroying integrity. 3) How there are such young virgins who do bad things without shame; and there are others who secretly and with apparently greater modesty do even worse than the first: the like of this can be seen in the passions of dishonor (Rom. 1:26). There are many false virgins; These are: hypocrisy, deceit, insult, memory malice, slanderous judgment about someone's heart. But they seem to express one thing and mean another. 4) I listened to those who indulged in slander and reprimanded them; These evil doers answered me in justification that they were doing this out of love and concern for the one who served as the subject of their slander. I told them: “Leave such love, so as not to reproach the one who said a lie: he who slanders the secret of his sincere person will be cast out (Ps. 100:5). If you say that you love; then pray in secret, and do not laugh at the person; This course of action pleases the Goepod. But here’s what I won’t hide from you (and, of course, you’ll come to your senses and stop judging the one who’s falling); Judas was among the disciples of Christ, and the robber was among the host of murderers; and what a wonderful change happened in an instant!” 5) Whoever wants to overcome the spirit of slander should not blame the person undergoing the fall, but the demon who instills this. No one wants to sin against God, although none of us is forced to sin. 6) I knew a man who sinned openly and repented secretly; I condemned him as a fornicator, but he was already chaste before God, having propitiated Him with a sincere conversion. 7) Never show respect to someone who speaks evil about your neighbor; or better yet, tell him: “Stop it, brother; I daily fall into the gravest sins; How can I condemn him? In this way, you will provide a double benefit, healing both yourself and your neighbor with one plaster. This is one of the shortest paths leading to receiving the forgiveness of sins, namely, not judging. If you do not judge, then you will not be judged (Luke 6:37). 8) Fire is not compatible with water; This is not the way to judge others when one intends to repent. If you see someone, even at the very end of the soul, falling into sin; then in this case do not condemn him; because God's judgment is hidden from people. Others fell into great sins openly, but did even greater good deeds secretly; and those who loved were deceived and laughed, catching smoke instead of the sun. 9) Listen to me, listen to all evil connoisseurs of other people's affairs; If it is true (as indeed it is true) that by whom you judge, you will be judged (Matthew 7:2), then, without a doubt, for whatever sins, physical or mental, we reproach our neighbor, we ourselves will fall into the same (it cannot be otherwise). 10) Quick and strict connoisseurs of the sins of their neighbors fall into this passion because they have not yet made a perfect and unmistakable recollection of their own sins, and have not taken care of it. For if someone, without the veil of pride, examines his bad deeds in detail, he will no longer care about anything else in life, reasoning that he will not have enough time to mourn himself, even if he lived a hundred years, and even if he saw that the whole Jordan River came out of his eyes with tears. I observed what crying was, and did not find in it even a trace of slander and condemnation. 11) Demons draw us into this, so that we either sin, or, if we have not sinned, condemn those who sin, and so that they become murderers through the second desecration and the first. 12) Know that this is also a sign of vindictive and envious people if, immersed in the spirit of hatred, they gladly and without difficulty discredit the teachings, or deeds, or merits of their neighbor. 13) I saw that others secretly and without publicity commit the most serious sins; and, presuming their purity, they strongly attack people whose sins are not important, but are publicized. 14) To judge, this is a shameless theft of God’s dignity; to condemn is the destruction of one’s soul. 15) How conceit, even without another passion, can destroy a person; So, if we have the habit of judging, then it in itself and alone can destroy us, completely, just as that Pharisee was condemned for this very thing. 16) A good grape gatherer, eating ripe berries, will not pick unripe ones; a noble and self-controlled mind, whatever virtues it sees in someone, notices them carefully, but a foolish one will begin to look for blameworthy and shortcomings. It is about him that it is said: having tried iniquity, those who tried the trials disappeared (Ps. 63:7). 17) Don’t judge if you see it even with your own eyes; because they too are often deceived. That's the tenth degree. Whoever ascended it became a worker of love, or crying. Word 11. About verbosity and silence 1) In the previous word we briefly said how dangerous it is to judge others, or, more accurately, to subject oneself to condemnation and punishment for one’s tongue, and that this vice creeps even into the most apparently spiritual people. Now, in order, we should already indicate to us in this word the reason for this vice, and the door through which it enters, or rather, exits. 2) Verbalism is the seat of vanity, on which it loves to show itself and expose itself to disgrace. Talking too much is a sign of ignorance, a door to slander, a leader to ridicule, a servant of lies, a destroyer of contrition, a harbinger of despondency, a precursor of drowsiness, a scattering of collected thoughts, a suspension of caution, a cooling of the warmth of the heart, a weakening of prayer. 3) Silence in knowledge is the mother of prayer, the return from captivity, the guarding of fire within oneself, the supervision of thoughts, the spy of enemies, the prison of weeping, the friend of tears, the worker of remembrance of death, the painter of future torment, the lover of the coming judgment, the helper of saving sorrow, hostility to freedom in speech, the companion of silence, the opponent of claims to teaching, the increase of knowledge, the teacher of contemplations, the inconspicuous prosperity, secret ascent. 4) He who has recognized his sins restrains his tongue; but the long-winded man has not yet known himself as he should. 5) The lover of silence approaches God, and secretly conversing with Him, he is enlightened by God. 6) The silence of Jesus put Pilate to shame; and silence turns the vanity of the voice into nothing. 7) Peter, having spoken the word, wept bitterly, not remembering the one who said: Rech, I will keep my ways, so that I do not sin with my tongue (Ps. 38:1), and the other who said: it is better to fall from on high to the ground than by the tongue (Sir. 20:18). 8) I do not intend to write much about this, although the tricks of passion prompt me to do so. However, I once heard from a loving person who was talking with me about oral silence. He said that verbosity is certainly born from one of the following reasons: either from a bad lifestyle, or from disordered skill (because the tongue, as a natural member of the body, what is taught, will demand it out of habit), or also, especially in ascetics, from vanity, and sometimes from gluttony. Therefore, many, curbing the belly, often, by this coercion and weakening of the belly, block the tongue and multiplicity. 9) He who cares about his outcome truncates his words; and whoever has acquired spiritual weeping runs away with many words like fire. 10) He who loved silence stopped his mouth; and whoever loves to leave his cell is driven out of it by this passion. 11) He who knows the stench of fire descending from above, like a bee of smoke, runs around human gatherings; because the bee is driven out by smoke, and crowds of people have an unpleasant effect on him. 12) It is very difficult to retain water without a dam; it is even more difficult to tame an intemperate mouth. Whoever ascended to the eleventh degree suddenly stopped many vices in himself. 1) The generation of iron and stone is fire; and the product of verbosity and wit is a lie. 2) Lies are the destruction of love; and perjury is renunciation of God. 3) None of the sane people would think that the sin of lying is of any unimportant nature; because the All-Holy Spirit pronounced a terrible sentence on him, above all sins. If you destroy all those who speak lies (Ps. 5:7), as David says to God; What will those who take an oath tolerate with lies? 4) It has happened to me that others boast of the art of lying, arouse laughter with their wit and idle talk, and, unfortunately, destroy the habit of crying in those who listen. 5) When the demons see that at the very beginning we intend, as if from an infectious disease, to withdraw from listening to the intricate speeches of a dangerous storyteller; then they are already trying to catch us with two thoughts, instilling in us: “don’t offend the storyteller,” or: “don’t reveal yourself as if you are more God-loving than those present.” Flee from the enemy, and do not hesitate; otherwise, during your prayer, you will renew funny ideas within yourself. Even not only run, but also upset the most evil gathering piously, bringing to the general attention the thought of death and judgment; for it is better for you to take on perhaps a few drops of vanity through this, but only to become a source of benefit for everyone. 6) Hypocrisy is often the mother and foundation of lies; for others, not otherwise, but define it this way: hypocrisy is an exercise in lying and an invention of it, combined with lies. 7) He who has acquired the fear of the Lord has avoided lies, having within himself an incorruptible judge - his own conscience. 8) Just as in all passions we notice varying degrees of their harm, so it is in lies. There is a different judgment for those who lie out of fear of punishment, and a different judgment for those who lie without imminent danger. 9) One lies for fun, another out of lust, another to make those present laugh, and another to lay a snare and harm his brother. 10) Lies are erased by the torture of the rulers, and in the end they are destroyed by many tears. 11) Whoever uses lies does so under the pretext of caring for others, and often considers the destruction of the soul to be a matter of truth. The inventor of lies claims about himself that he is an imitator of Rahab, and says that through his own destruction he arranges the salvation of others. 12) When we are completely clean from lies, then, however, with fear and only when required by need, we can resort to lies. 13) A baby and a soul that has no guile in itself do not know lies. 14) He who amuses himself with wine involuntarily speaks the truth about everything, and he who is drunk with contrition cannot lie. This is the twelfth degree. Whoever ascended it acquired the root of perfection. 1) And this, that is, despondency, as we have already said in advance, is often one of the branches and the first offspring of verbosity; that’s why we assign him a decent link in this worthless chain. 2) Dejection is exhaustion of the soul, relaxation of the mind, carelessness about asceticism, hatred of the given vow. It pleases the laity, slanderes God, as if He is not merciful and not loving of mankind. It does not have the strength to sing psalmody, it is weak for prayer, it is like iron in service, it is not lazy in needlework, it is not skillful in obedience. 3) He who lives in submission is not familiar with despondency, succeeding in the mental through the sensory. 4) The hostel counteracts despondency; and to the silent one it is an ever-servant; until his death he will not give up on him, and until his death he fights with him every day. Seeing the hermit’s cell, it smiles, and approaching it, it places its hut nearby. 5) The doctor visits patients in the morning; and despondency - ascetics around noon. 6) Dejection is an excuse for hospitality; it inspires with the help of handicrafts to do alms, convinces to diligently visit the sick, recalling the words of the One who said: I was sick, and came to Me (Matthew 23:36); inspires to go to those who have fallen in spirit and to the faint-hearted, and although he himself is cowardly, he advises to console the faint-hearted. 7) He reminds those who are about to pray of the necessary things to do, and this unreasonable despondency uses all means to distract us from prayer with some plausible excuse. 8) In the third hour, the demon of despondency produces chills, pain in the head, and first a pain in the stomach; when the ninth hour approaches, the patient gathers his strength; and when a meal is offered, he jumps out of bed. But the hour of prayer has come, and again there is a burden in the body; He began to pray, - sleep took possession of him, and due to an untimely yawn, he broke off the verse halfway. 9) Each of the other passions is brought into inaction by one virtue; For a monk, despondency is death that destroys everything. 10) A courageous soul resurrects a dead thought; and despondency and laziness waste all her wealth. since despondency is one of the eight main sins, and, moreover, the most serious; then, along with others, we will do the same with him; Shall we add only the following: 11) When there is no psalmodepia; then despondency does not appear; and after the rule is completed, the eyes no longer close. 12) During times of despondency, strong ascetics are discovered; for nothing prepares crowns for a monk more than the fight against despondency. 13) Observe, and you will find that if you stand on your feet, despondency fights with you; if you are sitting, he considers it best for you to tip over, and convinces you to lean against the wall of your cell, forcing you to knock and stomp your feet. 14) He who cries for himself does not know despondency. 15) May this tormentor also be bound by the remembrance of the Falls; We will strike him with handicrafts, with the presentation of future benefits; Having brought him in and presented him to the court, we will give him proper interrogation. 16) Tell me, finally, careless and relaxed, who gave birth to you unfortunately? Who are your fiends? Who are your enemies? And who is your fighter? And despondency answers: “The true workers of obedience have nowhere for me to lay my head; and if I find a place for myself with one of those who are in silence, then I live with them. There are many of my invitations; These are: sometimes spiritual insensitivity, sometimes forgetfulness of what is above, and sometimes excessive labor. My offspring are the journeys with me from place to place, disobedience to my spiritual father, failure to remember judgment, and sometimes abandonment of a vow. And my opponents, with whom I am now bound, are psalmody and handicrafts. My enemy is the thought of death; What kills me is prayer with the firm hope of future blessings. And whoever gave birth to prayer, ask her about him.” Here is the thirteenth victory. He who has truly gained it has become skilled in all good things. Word 14. About the beloved and wicked ruler - the womb 1) If in everything else, then even more so now, intending to talk about the womb, we assumed to be philosophical against ourselves; and I will be amazed if anyone freed himself from this ruler without yet moving into the tomb. 2) Gluttony is the hypocrisy of the belly; because the satiated one complains about poverty; overcrowded, and almost bursting, cries out that it is hungry. 3) Gluttony is the inventor of seasonings, the source of sweets. You blocked the stream, it appears in another place; stopped this one too, and another one will overcome you. 4) Gluttony is a deception to the eyes; takes in moderation, but assumes to absorb everything at once. 5) Saturation with food is the mother of fornication; exhaustion of the belly leads to purity. 6) He who caressed a lion often tamed him; and pleasing the body made it even more ferocious. 7) The Jew rejoices in the Sabbath and the holiday; and the monk is a glutton - Saturday and Sunday; calculates the day of Easter in advance, and prepares food a few days in advance. The servant of the womb calculates with what foods he will celebrate, and the servant of God calculates with what talents he will be enriched. 8) If a stranger came; then the glutton is entirely driven to love out of gluttony, and considers permission for himself to be a consolation for his brother. He debates in whose presence wine is allowed, and thinking to hide his virtue, he becomes a slave to passion. 9) Often vanity declares hostility to gluttony; and they quarrel among themselves over the poor monk, as over a bought slave. One forces you to allow it, and the other suggests showing off your virtue. A wise monk avoids both, reflecting one passion from himself in time with another. 10) While the flesh is still in full strength, we will exhaust it at all times and in every place. When did she pacify herself (which I don’t think is possible until the grave); Then we will hide what we are doing. 11) I saw elderly priests involved in deception by demons; and they allowed young people who were not under their control at feasts with blessings to have wine and other things. If those who permit are testified to the Lord; then we will allow it in moderation. If they are careless; then we will not seek their blessing, especially when our carnal warfare is in the heat of the moment. 12) The godless Evagrius thought of himself that he, both in expressions and in thoughts, was wiser than the wisest; but the wretched one was deceived, turning out to be more foolish than the foolish, both in many other things and in this. For he says: “When our soul desires various foods, then limit it to bread and water.” To prescribe this is the same as saying to a youth: “Climb the stairs in one step.” Therefore, rejecting his rule, let’s say: when our soul desires different foods, then it demands what is characteristic of nature. Therefore, against the all-cunning enemy, we too will use cunning; otherwise, we face the most severe battle, or fall. Let us first remove from ourselves fattening, then inflaming, and then delightful foods. If possible, give your belly nourishing and digestible food, so that satiation satisfies its insatiable greed, and with rapid digestion, like a scourge, we can get rid of liquefaction. If we pay attention; then we will find that most of the foods that puff up the belly excite the strongest movements in the body. 13) Laugh at the demon, who, after dinner, instills in you the idea of ​​eating later in the future; for the very next day, at the arrival of the ninth hour, he will renounce the orders of the previous day. 14) Another kind of abstinence is appropriate for those who behave without reproach, and another for those subject to weaknesses. For some, movement in the body is something extraordinary; while others fight without joy and unremittingly until their death. The former always want to maintain a good state of mind, while the latter appease God with spiritual lamentation and contrition. 15) A time of joy and consolation for the perfect - putting aside all care; for the ascetic - a time of struggle; to the slave of passions - a holiday of holidays and a triumph of triumphs. 16) The heart of gluttons dreams only of food and dishes, but the heart of those who cry dreams of torment and judgment. 17) Master your belly until it dominates you; otherwise, abstinence will end in shame. Those who have fallen into a terrible abyss know what I have said; the eunuchs did not experience this. 18) Let us tame the belly by imagining the future fire. Others, being obedient to the belly, finally cut off their members and died a terrible death. If we start looking; then we will certainly find that the womb alone brings us to the ruins that happen to us. 19) The mind of a faster prays soberly, but the mind of an intemperate person is filled with unclean idols. 20) The satiety of the belly dries up the fountains of tears, and the dry belly produces these waters. 21) He who pleases his belly and intends to overcome the spirit of fornication is like someone trying to put out a fire with oil. 22) When the belly is exhausted, the heart is humbled, but from pleasing the belly the thought is proud. 23) Observe yourself during the day and an hour before eating food, and you will learn from this the benefits of fasting. In the morning the thought jumps and runs from one thing to another; with the onset of the sixth hour of the day it calms down somewhat; and when the sun sets, it becomes completely pacified. 24) Exhaust your belly, and, without a doubt, you will close your lips; because the tongue is strengthened by eating a lot of food. Fight your stomach with all your might, and restrain it with all sobriety. If you work a little, the Lord will soon be your helper. 25) Bellows, if soft, are more spacious, but if left neglected, they do not absorb as much. He who burdens his belly with food expands his bowels; and whoever struggles with the belly squeezes them. When the insides are compressed; then they will not take in much, and naturally we become fasters. 26) Thirst often ends with thirst; But it is difficult and even impossible to stop hunger with hunger. When it overcomes you, tame it with your efforts; If this is impossible due to weakness, fight it with vigil. If your eyes are heavy, take up handicrafts; but if there is no sleep, do not touch needlework; because it is impossible to occupy the mind with God and mammon, that is, with both God and handicrafts. 27) Know that often a demon enters the stomach and makes it so that a person is not satisfied, even if he ate all of Egypt and drank the Nile River. But after eating food, this unclean spirit leaves and sends a prodigal spirit to us, informing him of our condition and saying: “Take it and confuse him; when the belly is full, you will bring it to relaxation.” The spirit of fornication comes with a smile, and having tied our hands and feet in sleep, it does with us whatever it pleases, desecrating our soul and body with impurities, dreams, and eruptions. 28) It is strange to see that the disembodied mind is defiled and darkened by the body; and again, the immaterial is purified and refined by clay. 29) If you have made a vow to Christ, to walk the narrow and cramped path; then oppress the belly; because by pleasing him and expanding him, you violate your terms. Look closely and you will hear who says: the wide and wide path of gluttony leads into the destruction of fornication, and many are those who enter into it; that narrow gate and strait path of fasting, bring into the belly of integrity, and there are few of them who enter into them (Matthew 7:14). 30) The prince of demons is the fallen star, and the main passion is the greed of the belly. 31) When sitting down to a meal filled with dishes, bring to mind the remembrance of death and judgment; for you can hardly stop a little passion in this way. When you taste the drink, do not cease to imagine the taste and gall of your Master; and without a doubt, you will either abstain, or sigh, or subdue your wisdom a little. 32) Don't deceive yourself; You will not be freed from Pharaoh, and you will not see the Passover on high, if you do not eat bitter potions and unleavened bread all your life. And bitter potions are compulsion and the labor of fasting; and unleavened bread, this is not arrogant wisdom. Let the word of the one who says be merged with your breath: I have always been afflicted by demons, clothed in sackcloth, and humbled my soul with fasting, and my prayer came close to the bosom of my soul (Ps. 34:13). 33) Fasting is a compulsion to nature and cutting off what delights the larynx, suppression of lust, eradication of evil thoughts, liberation from sleepy dreams, purity of prayer, lamp of the soul, preservation of the mind, deliverance from blindness, door of tenderness, humble sighing, joyful contrition, abolition of verbosity, reason for silence, guardian of obedience, relief of sleep, health of the body, provider dispassion, remission of sins and the door of heaven, and joy. 34) Let us interrogate this enemy, or better yet, this chief of our misfortunes, above all, this door of passion, this fall of Adam, this destruction of Esau, this destruction of the Israelites, this exposure of Noah’s shame, this traitor of the Gomorrites, this reproach to Lot, this destruction of the sons of the priest Eli, this leader of defilements; Let's ask him: From whom is he born? What are his fiends? Who is crushing him? And who destroys in the end? 35) Tell us, tormentor of all mortals, who bought everyone for the gold of gluttony: how did you find access to us? And what do you usually give birth to after you enter? And what is your departure from us? And gluttony, irritated by these insults, rushing at us with rage and ferocity, answers: “Why do you, who have become my subjects, shower me with reproaches? How are you trying to separate yourself from me? I am connected to you by nature. For me, the door is the property of food; the reason for my insatiability is habit; the basis of my passion is preliminary skill, insensibility of the soul and not remembering death. Do you want to know the names of my fiends? I will count them, and they will outnumber the sand. At least listen to the names of my first-born and beloved children. My firstborn son is an accomplice of fornication, the second after him is hardness of heart, and the third is drowsiness; From me come a sea of ​​thoughts, waves of defilements, an abyss of unknown and unnamed impurities. My daughters are laziness, verbosity, freedom of speech, laughter, wit, bickering, stiff-neckedness, stubbornness, insensibility, captivity, arrogance, insolence, panache, followed by impure prayer, frustration of thoughts, often unexpected and sudden misfortunes, with which despair is closely connected, this is the most evil of all my daughters. Remembrance of the Falls rises up against me, but does not defeat me. The thought of death is always hostile to me; but nothing completely destroys me in people. He who has received the Comforter will overcome me with Him; and the Comforter, implored by him, does not allow me to act passionately. And those who have not tasted His Gift will certainly seek the delight of my Sweetness.” With courage, victory is acquired. He who is able clearly hastens to dispassion and the highest degree of chastity. Sermon 15. About uncorrupted purity and chastity, which perishables achieve through exploits and hard work 1) We heard from frantic gluttony, who now said that his fiend is carnal warfare; and this is not surprising. For this is what our old forefather Adam teaches. If he had not been overcome by the womb, he would not have known his wife. Therefore, those who keep the first commandment do not fall into the second crime, but remain the sons of Adam, not knowing what Adam was, but are made a little less than an angel (Ps. 8:6); and this; so that evil does not remain immortal, as the same name says to Theology. 2) Purity is the assimilation of an incorporeal nature. Purity is, more than nature, a supernatural renunciation of nature and a truly extraordinary competition between the incorporeal body of mortal and perishable. 3) Blameless is the one who reflected love with love and extinguished the fire with immaterial fire. 4) Chastity is the general name for all virtues. 5) He is chaste who, even during sleep itself, does not feel any disturbance in his characteristic state. 6) He is chaste who has forever acquired complete insensitivity to the distinction of bodies. 7) This is the rule and definition of perfect and unblemished innocence - to be in the same disposition at the sight of animate and inanimate, verbal and dumb. 8) No one who has practiced maintaining integrity should attribute the acquisition of it to himself; because to overcome nature itself is an impossible task. And where nature is defeated, the presence of the supernatural is recognized. For without any contradiction the inferior is brought into inaction by the most perfect. 9) The beginning of purity is not the permission of thoughts and dreamless, at times, eruptions; the average state of purity - natural movements with an abundance of food, only occurring dreamlessly and without flow; The end of purity is the deadness of the body after the preliminary death of thoughts. 10) Blessed indeed is he who has acquired complete insensitivity to every body, color and beauty. 11) He is not blameless who has kept the clay undefiled, but who has completely subdued the mortal limbs to the soul. 12) Great is he who remains dispassionate in contact; even higher, who remained not wounded, and looking at the fire, was not ignited, but overcame himself by imagining the glory of those above. 13) Whoever drives away this dog with prayer is like one fighting a lion; whoever overthrows him by his resistance is like one who is still pursuing his enemy; but whoever once and forever turned his attack into nothingness, although still in the flesh, nevertheless rose from the grave. 14) If a sign of true integrity is not to be moved by sleepy dreams; then, without a doubt, the extreme degree of lust is to be subjected to eruptions from thoughts in the waking state. 15) Whoever wants to overcome this opponent by shedding sweat and tedious labor is like one who binds his enemy with brushwood. And whoever overcomes him with abstinence and vigilance is like someone who has placed an iron collar on him. But whoever fights with humility, not with anger and thirst, is like one who killed an enemy and hid him in the sand. By sand you mean humility, because it does not produce passion that feeds, but there is earth and ashes. 16) Another bound this tormentor with exploits, another with humility, and another with God’s revelation. The first is likened to the morning star, the second to the full moon, and the third to the shining sun. Yet they have residence in heaven. From dawn there is light, and in the light the sun rises; the same thing can be imagined, and actually found, and in reasoning what we are talking about. 17) The fox pretends to be asleep, and the demon pretends to be chaste; and the first - to deceive the bird, and the last - to destroy the soul. 18) Do not trust decay throughout your life, and do not rely on it until you stand before Christ. 19) Do not hope that if you abstain you will not fall; someone who ate nothing was cast out of heaven. 20) Some of the leaders have perfectly defined renunciation of the world, saying that it is enmity against the body and struggle with the womb. 21) For newcomers, carnal falls usually occur mostly due to luxury; those who are in the middle of the path (beyond what leads to the fall of newcomers), and from arrogance; and in those approaching perfection - solely from condemning one’s neighbor. 22) Others please those born as eunuchs by nature because they are delivered from the torment of the flesh; but I please those who daily become eunuchs, who, like a knife, distort themselves with thoughts. 23) I have seen those who fall involuntarily, and I have seen those who voluntarily want to fall, but cannot; and those who fall more than every day I considered these last to be unfortunate; because even without the opportunity, they hunger for stench. 24) It’s a pity who falls; but even more pitiful is he who gives another an opportunity to fall; because the latter carries the burden of two sins and also the burden of pleasure tasted by another. 25) Do not think that you can overthrow the prodigal demon with reasoning and objections; he has plausible excuses; because it fights us with what is in nature. 26) He who sets out to overcome his flesh or to conquer by himself, struggles in vain. For unless the Lord destroys the house of the flesh and builds the house of the soul, then he who destroys watches and fasts in vain. 27) Submit the weakness of your nature before the Lord, fully realizing your own powerlessness; and you will unconsciously accept the gift of chastity. 28) In the voluptuous (as someone who experienced this passion told me after sobering up from it) there is a feeling of some kind of love for bodies, and some shameless and inhuman spirit, which clearly resides in the very feeling of the heart, makes the one who is struggling from bodily languor burn in the heart, as if in a hot furnace, and makes the sufferer not fear God, remembrance he neglects torment as something insignificant, turns away from prayer, and during the very act, which is almost already complete, he looks at dead bodies as if at soulless stones, he seems to be out of his mind and in a frenzy he is constantly intoxicated with lust for both the verbal and the wordless, and if the days of this spirit had not ceased, not a single soul would have been saved, clothed in this clay, dissolved with blood and bad moisture. And would it be possible to be saved? since everything created insatiably lusts after its kindred - the blood of blood, the worm of the worm, the clay of clay; then how could the flesh not lust after the flesh, although we, who bridle nature within ourselves and lust after kingdoms, try to deceive this deceiver with various tricks? Blessed are those who have not experienced the battle described above! Let us pray that we may be freed from such a trial forever; because those who slip into the abyss described above fall far from this ladder 18 ascending and descending; and to get out of this abyss they need to shed a lot of sweat in extreme famine. 29) Let's look at our mental enemies; in their militia against us, is it not the same as in visible warfare, each of them is ordered to fulfill the assignment actually given to him? To my surprise, I noticed this in those who were tempted, and I saw that there are some more difficult falls than others. Have ears to hear, that he may hear (Matthew 11:15). 30) It is the demon’s custom, especially in the fight against ascetics and those who lead a solitary life, to often use all swiftness, all diligence, all cunning, all cunning and all inventions in order to attack them with only what is unnatural, and not with what is natural. Why do ascetics often, being with women, and not at all, not struggling with lust or thought, already consider themselves blessed, but they do not know, poor things, that where greater destruction is ready, there is no need for less. 31) I think that our accursed murderers have the custom of plunging us poor people into unnatural falls for the following two reasons: so that everywhere we have plenty of means to fall, and so that we deserve even greater punishment. What we have said was experienced by the one who formerly commanded the onagers, and was subsequently pitifully deposed and mocked by wild onagers, who formerly ate the bread of heaven, and then was deprived of this good, and, what is most surprising, the one about whom, after his fall, although he brought repentance, our mentor Anthony, bitterly lamenting, said: “The great pillar has fallen.” 19 But this wise man hid the image of the fall, for he knew that bodily fornication is possible without the assistance of another body. There is some kind of death in us, there is sinful destruction in us, which is always with us, especially in youth; but I do not dare to write about it because my hand is held back by the one who said: it is shameful to eat and speak and write and hear (Eph. 5:12). 32) Paul called this my, and at the same time not mine, my dear enemy - flesh death: who, he says, will deliver me from the body of this death (Rom. 7:24)? Another theologian calls her passionate, a slave and a ghost of the night. And I want to know why such names were given to it? If the flesh, as stated above, is death; then the one who defeats her, without a doubt, does not die. But who is a man who will live and not see death in the filthiness of his flesh (Ps. 89:49)? 33) I ask you to enter into the study: who is greater, the one who died and rose again, or the one who did not die at all? He who pleases the latter is deceived; for Christ both died and rose again: and he who pleases the former convinces those who die, or, better said, those who fall, that there is no reason for despair. 34) And the inhuman enemy, the teacher of fornication, says: that God loves mankind and greatly condescends to this passion, as if it were natural. But let us delve into the cunning of the demons, and we will find that, after committing a sin, they call us God a truthful and implacable Judge. There they asserted in such a way as to draw us into sin; and now they are already talking to plunge us into despair. 35) While sadness and despair are strong, we usually do not fall into sin again; and when they fade away, the tormentor comes to us again, deceiving us with God’s love for mankind. 36) The Lord, as incorruptible and incorporeal, delights in the integrity and non-corruption of our body; and for demons, as some claim, nothing else pleases so much as the stench of fornication, and no other passion pleases so much as the desecration of the body. 37) Integrity is the assimilation of oneself and assimilation to God, according to human strength. 38) The mother of sweetness is earth and dew, and the mother of purity is silence with obedience. The dispassion of the body, perfected by silence, approaching the world, often did not remain unshakable; what is acquired by obedience is everywhere skillful and unshakable. 39) I saw that pride led to humility. And I remembered the one who says: Who understands the Lord (Rom. 11:34)? The ditch and the fruit of vain is a fall; Fall, however, is often a reason for humility in those who wish. 40) Whoever, with gluttony and satiety, wants to overcome the prodigal demon, is like a person who puts out a fire with oil. 41) Whoever, through abstinence, and this alone, tries to stop fighting, is like a man who floats on one hand, and tries to escape from the sea. Pair humility with abstinence; because without the latter the former turns out to be useless. 42) Whoever sees that some passion prevails, let him first always arm himself against this passion, and against it alone, especially if it is a domestic enemy; because until this passion is destroyed, we will not benefit from victory over other passions; Having killed this Egyptian, and we, of course, will see God in the bush of humility. 43) I felt during temptations that this wolf produced unreasonable joy and tears and consolation in my soul, and in my childish simplicity I thought to find fruit in this, and not harm. 44) If every sin that man commits exists besides the body: but the fornicator sins in his own body (1 Cor. 6:18-20); then, without a doubt, because by fornication we defile the very essence of the flesh, which cannot happen in any other sin. 45) I ask: why, with any other sin, is it our custom to call people crawling, and nothing more; and when we hear that someone has committed fornication, we say with sorrow: so-and-so has fallen? 46) The fish quickly runs away from the fish; and the voluptuous soul turns away from silence. 47) When the devil intends to bind someone to each other with shameful bonds; then, having tempted both sides, he begins to kindle warfare in them. 48) Those inclined to voluptuousness are often compassionate, merciful, affectionate, and ready to cry with others; those who care for integrity do not have these properties to the same extent. 49) One knowledgeable husband asked me a terrible question, saying: “What is the most serious sin, besides murder and renunciation of God?” And when I said: “fall into heresy,” he asked: “Why does the conciliar Church accept heretics, if they sincerely curse their heresy, and honor them with communion of the Mysteries; and whoever has fallen into fornication, if he confesses and forsakes his sin, accepting it, he commands, according to the apostolic rules, to be excommunicated for many years from communion of the most pure Mysteries?” And how amazed I was with bewilderment; that which was bothering me remained unresolved and unresolved. 50) In considering the pleasure we feel in the weights of psalmody, we will seek, weigh and observe what is in us from the prodigal demon, and what is from the words of the Spirit and from the grace and power contained in them. 51) Don’t remain ignorant, young man; I saw that others pray from the heart for their loved ones, and, driven by a lustful thought, think that they are remembering them out of duty, and fulfill the law of love. 52) Through one touch one can become physically defiled; because the most dangerous thing for us is the sense of touch. Remember the one who wrapped his hand in the skirt of his robe; and you bring your hand to numbness when you touch the secret and other members of your own and someone else’s body. 53) I think that it is impossible to call anyone completely holy in the true sense until he transforms this land into a shrine, if only such a transformation is possible. 54) Having thrown ourselves on the bed, let us be especially sober; because our mind without a body then fights with demons; and if he is voluptuous, he willingly becomes a traitor. 55) Let them fall asleep with you, and let them rise with you without fail, the remembrance of death and the Jesus Prayer said in private; because other than this you will not find any other equal help during sleep. 56) Others think that wars and eruptions in dreams occur only from food. But it happened to see that the seriously ill and the most strict fasters were often subjected to this desecration. I once asked one of the most skillful and sensible monks about this; and the blessed one explained it to me very clearly. “Eruptions in a dream,” said this ever-memorable man, happen from a lot of food and from a calm life; It also happens out of pride when we boast that we have not been subject to leaks for a long time; and they also come from judging one’s neighbor. The last two cases, he added, can also occur with patients.” But I think all three can. If someone, by strict self-examination, does not find in himself any of the above reasons; then blessed is the worker of such dispassion; If this happens to him, it will only be due to the envy of the demons, when God allows it for a while, so that, due to this sinless misadventure, he will acquire the highest humility. 57) Let no one have the habit of thinking to himself during the day about the dreams that happened in his sleep; for this is the goal of the demons, to defile us with dreams even in the waking state. 58) Let us also hear about the new, evil deception of our enemies. Just as foods harmful to the body produce illness in us after a few times or days; This is how causes that defile the soul often act. I saw that others indulge in luxury, and at this time do not feel enemy attacks; I saw that others eat and spend time with women, and then they do not have any bad thoughts in their minds. And these deluded ones, having hoped that when they think they will be in peace and security, in their cells they are suddenly exposed to destruction. What kind of physical and mental destruction this befalls us alone - the experienced knows about this; and the unsophisticated should not even know. 59) At this time, the best help for us is sackcloth, ashes, all-night standing, hunger, a thirsty and moderately watered tongue, dwelling at the tombs, above all humility of heart, and, if possible, a spiritual father, or a diligent brother with an old mind and experience to provide help. But I will be surprised if anyone alone will be able to save the ship from the abyss by himself. 60) One and the same fall into sin often brings condemnation on one a hundred times greater than on another, depending on character, place, prosperity and much more. 61) Someone told me about an extraordinary and highest degree of purity; he said: “One, 21 looking at female beauty, glorified the Creator, and from one glance plunged into the love of God and into the source of tears. And it was wonderful to see that what for another would have served as a ditch of destruction, for him supernaturally became a crown.” Such a one, if in such cases he always has the same feeling and action, has already risen incorruptible even before the general resurrection. 62) We will be guided by the same rule in our discussion of singing and song. Those who love God by both worldly and spiritual songs are usually aroused to quiet joy, to Divine love and to tears, and those who love voluptuousness - to the opposite. 63) Others, as we said before, in silent places suffer much stronger attacks from enemies. And this is not surprising; because in such places the demons who were driven out by the Lord, for our salvation, into the desert and into the abyss love to dwell most of all. The demons of fornication brutally attack the silent man in order to expel him into the world as someone who has not benefited from the desert. Demons move away from us when we are in the world, so that we can remain among the laity longer, as those who do not tolerate attacks there. Where we suffer attacks, there, without a doubt, we ourselves wage a cruel war; and whoever of us does not tolerate attacks turns out to be a friend of his enemies. 64) When we are in the world due to some need: the hand of the Lord covers us, and perhaps most often through the prayer of our father, may the Lord not be blasphemed for our sake. And sometimes what saves us is our insensitivity and the fact that we have experienced this many times before, and are even fed up with everything we see and hear, or also the fact that the demons voluntarily move away from us, leaving with us one demon of conceit, which replaces everyone. 65) Hear about one more intrigue and cunning of this seducer, all of you who wish to be established in integrity; and be careful. Someone who has experienced flattery told me that the demon of carnality very often hides completely, allowing the monk to notice in himself his extreme reverence and even sometimes a source of tears, and when he sits or talks with women, putting into him the thought of giving them instructions about remembering death, about judgment, about chastity, so that poor women, seduced by words and feigned reverence, flock to this to the wolf as to the shepherd; and finally, when they become more familiar and become more fluent in handling, then the unfortunate person will suffer a fall. 66) We will avoid by all means; so that we neither see nor hear about the fruit that we have vowed not to eat again; for it is amazing if we think about ourselves that we are stronger than the prophet David; which is impossible. 67) So highly praiseworthy is chastity that some of the fathers dared to call it dispassion. 68) Others say that after experiencing sin, it is no longer possible to be called blameless. To refute them, I will say: it is possible and not difficult, if anyone wants, to graft a good olive onto a wild olive tree. And if the keys of the heavenly abodes were entrusted to a virgin according to the flesh; then, perhaps, the teaching of those who affirm the above would be true. But let him who had a mother-in-law put him to shame, and having become blameless, received the keys of the kingdom. 69) The serpent of carnality is manifold; in those who have not experienced sin, he instills the thought - to test and, having experienced once, to stop; and those who have experienced this insidious memory of sin prompts them to a new test. Many of the first, out of bad ignorance, do not feel the struggle within themselves; the latter, having experienced this abomination, already endure anxiety and abuse; however, the opposite of this often happens. 70) When we rise from sleep in a good and peaceful disposition, this happens to us through an unnoticed action of the holy angels, especially if we fell asleep with prayer and great sobriety. Sometimes we rise from sleep in a bad mood, subjected to this as a result of bad dreams. 71) I saw the wicked, exalted and towering like the cedars of Lebanon, I saw that he was restless and raging against me, and I died with abstinence, and behold, his wrath was not as before, and I sought him, having humbled my thoughts, and his place was not found in me, or his trace (Ps. 37:35-36). 72) He who has conquered his body has conquered his nature; and he who conquered nature, without a doubt, became superior to nature; whoever has become such is made less than an angel (Ps. 8:6). 73) It is not surprising that the immaterial fights the immaterial; but it is amazing, and truly amazing, for someone who dwells in matter, in the fight against this hostile and malicious substance, to put to flight immaterial enemies. 74) The good Lord shows great concern for us in the fact that he tied the shamelessness of the female sex, as if with some kind of bridle, with shame. For if a woman were to give herself over to a man, no flesh would be saved. 75) The judicious of the fathers determine that one thing is attack, and another is friendship, another is consent, another is captivity, another is struggle, and another is the so-called passion in the soul. And these blessed ones define that an attack is a simple concept, or an image of something encountered, brought into the heart for the first time; and friendship is an interview with the introduced person, combined with passion or dispassionate; and assent is the inclination of the soul towards what has presented itself to it, combined with pleasure. Captivity is a violent and involuntary attraction of the heart, or constant contact with someone we have encountered, which disrupts the well-being of our condition. Struggle, by their definition, is a force equally powerful to the one who is fighting, which voluntarily either wins or suffers defeat. Passion in the proper sense is what they call something that, for a long time, has been anxiously nesting in the soul, and out of habit it turns to it as if it were a permanent habit; why the soul willingly and friendly surrenders to this. Of all these states, the first is sinless, the second is not always, and the third is sinful, or sinless, in accordance with the state of the ascetic. The struggle can be either crowns or torment. Captivity is condemned differently during prayer, differently at other times, also differently in indifferent things, and differently with evil thoughts. But passion, if it is not purified in someone, is undoubtedly condemned in any case, and is subject to either equivalent to repentance or future torment. Therefore, whoever looks at the first dispassionately has stopped everything that follows in one go. 76) Those of the loving fathers who went into great detail about this have a more subtle previous concept of what, according to them, is called the flogging of the mind, which, without a long time, without any word or image, in a passionate person quickly reveals his passion. Nothing happens either in bodily movements so quickly, or in spiritual actions so quickly and imperceptibly, as this property reveals its presence in the soul with one simple reminder, with which the soul does not have time to become friends, without the slightest continuation of time, completely inexplicable, and in others even unknown to itself. Therefore, if anyone, with the help of crying, was able to comprehend such a subtlety of this property, then he can explain to us how with one eye, a simple glance, the touch of a hand, hearing singing, without any idea or thought, the soul can fall into passionate fornication. 77) Others say that from the thoughts of the heart the body comes into passion; and others again argue on the contrary, that evil thoughts are born from bodily feelings. And the first reason: if the mind had not preceded, then the body would not have followed. The latter, in their justification, present the harmfulness of carnal passion, saying that other evil thoughts find access to the heart as a result of a pleasant vision, or the touch of a hand, or the smell of incense, or the hearing of sweet voices. Whoever can, let him explain this about the Lord; for such knowledge is very necessary and useful to those who go through an active life with knowledge; and for workers of virtue who strive in simplicity of heart, this has no importance; because knowledge is not for everyone, and blissful simplicity does not serve as armor for everyone from the cunning of the evil ones. 78) Some passions pass into the body from the inside, and others also vice versa. The latter happens to those living in the world, and the former to those going through monastic life, due to a lack of external stimulation. And I will only say the following about this: you seek understanding from the wicked, and you will not find it (Proverbs 14:6). 79) When, having fought a lot with this demon, the cohabitant of earth, we drive him out of our hearts, tormenting him with the stones of fasting and the swords of humility; then this accursed one, like some worm, hiding in our body, intensifies to defile us, irritating us to some unreasonable and untimely movements. 80) Most of all, those who have submitted to the demon of vanity are most susceptible to this, who, because they no longer often accept lustful thoughts in their hearts, thereby become close to vanity. And in order to make sure that what was said is not false, let them, when they have found some silence for themselves, carefully examine themselves; then they will certainly find that some thought, like a serpent in pus, lurks in the depths of their hearts, and inspires them that through their own diligence and zeal they have somewhat succeeded in integrity of heart. But these poor people do not understand what was said: did they receive the same thing (1 Cor. 4:7) either from God, or through the cooperation and prayer of others? Therefore, let them be attentive and with all diligence let them cast out the above-mentioned serpent from their hearts, killing it with deep humility, so that they too, when they get rid of this serpent, can eventually take off their leather garments, and sing to the Lord the victorious song of chastity with innocent babies; unless, having been stripped, they find themselves naked from the gentleness and humility that is natural to children. 81) This demon himself, much more than others, looks out for the time when we cannot physically strengthen ourselves against him with prayer; and then this unclean one primarily attacks the pass. 82) Those who have not yet acquired true heartfelt prayer are helped by fatigue in bodily prayer, I mean raising the hands, beating the chest, sincerely raising the eyes to heaven, deep sighs, and frequent bending of the knees. And since they often cannot do this for the sake of those present; then the demons at this time try to attack them. They, not yet being able to oppose them with firmness of mind and the invisible power of prayer, out of necessity, perhaps, yield to those attacking them. Retreat, if possible, immediately, hide for a while in an inconspicuous way, raise grief, if you can, spiritually, and if not, then the outer eye, hold your hands motionless in the image of the cross, so that in this image of the cross you can shame and defeat Amelik. Cry to the One who is able to save, using not clever expressions, but humble sayings, first of all beginning like this: have mercy on me, for I am weak (Ps. 6:3). Then by experience you will know the power of the Most High, and with invisible help you will drive away the invisible. He who is so accustomed to warfare will soon begin to put his enemies to flight with his spiritual strength alone; because the second is given from God to the workers as a reward for the first. And this is fair. 83) While in one meeting, I noticed a zealous brother, confused by evil thoughts, and since he did not find a decent place for secret prayer, under the guise that he was prompted by natural need, he hastily went to the designated place and armed himself against the enemies with intensified prayer. When I reproached him for choosing an indecent place, he answered: “In an unclean place I prayed for the driving away of unclean thoughts in order to be cleansed of filth.” 84) All demons try to darken the mind, and then they inspire what they want. For until the mind closes its eyes, the treasure will not be stolen. The demon of fornication tries much more than others to do this. He often, having darkened the ruling mind, encourages and disposes us to do in front of people what only those lacking intelligence do. Why, when over time the mind sobers up, we are ashamed not only of those who saw our indecent deeds, speeches and movements, but also of ourselves, and are surprised at our former blindness. Others often, after such reasoning, stopped behaving badly. 85) Turn away from the enemy when, after committing a sin, he prevents you from praying, or practicing piety, or staying in vigil; Remember the one who said: my soul has labored for me, tormented by the thought of past sins, I will take vengeance on her from her enemies (Luke 18:5). 86) Who conquered the body? -Who broke the heart. Who broke the heart? -Who has denied himself. For is not he brokenhearted who dies to his own will? 87) The passionate are more passionate than the passionate; others even bring confession of their defilements with delight and pleasure. Unclean and shameful concepts in the heart are usually generated by the deceiver of the heart, the demon of fornication; abstinence and complete imputation of them as nothing heals them. 88) But I don’t know by what rules and in what way, having bound this friend of mine, I should judge him according to the example of other passions. Before I bind him, he loosens his bonds; Before I condemn, I make peace with him; Before I punish, I bow to mercy. How can I hate someone I am used to loving by nature? How can I free myself from someone with whom I am bound forever? How can I destroy what will rise with me? How can I make what has taken on a corruptible nature uncorrupted? What can I say thoroughly to someone who has plausible excuses for himself in nature? Shall I bind him with fasting? But, having condemned my neighbor, I again surrender to his power. Will I overcome it by stopping judging others? But, having exalted myself in heart, I again fall into the same situation. For he is both my helper and my enemy, and my helper, and my rival, and my protector and my accuser. If I please him, he attacks me; if I exhaust, he becomes exhausted; if I put him to rest, he goes wild; if I hit, he doesn’t tolerate it; if I upset you, I myself will be in great trouble; If I strike, there will be nothing to gain me virtue. I both turn away and embrace the same thing. What is this secret inside me? What is the law of my dissolution? How did I become an enemy to myself? Tell me, tell me, my wife, my nature; for I will not ask anyone else to find out about you. How can I make myself not vulnerable from you? How can I avoid natural disaster, when I have already made a vow to Christ to be at enmity with you? How can I overcome your torment when I was commanded in advance to be your oppressor? And the flesh, in response to its soul, said: “I will tell you not about what you do not know, but about which we both have knowledge. My father in me is pride. The reason for external irritation is pleasing me and generally peace; the cause of internal movements is in previous peace and in previous affairs. Having conceived, I give birth to the Fall; they, having been born, again distribute death through despair. If you recognized my and your obvious and deep weakness; then you tie my hands. If you starve your larynx; then you will tie my feet and take away the opportunity for me to move on. If you enter into an alliance with obedience; then you will dissolve your alliance with me. And if you acquire humility, you will cut off my head.” Here is the fifteenth victory award. He who accepted it while still living in the flesh died and was resurrected, and here we can recognize the firstfruits of future incorruption. 1) Most wise teachers are in the habit of, after the tormentor described before, introducing this thousand-headed demon of the love of money. So that we, the unwise, do not change the order of the wise, we followed the same charter and rule. Therefore, if you wish, having said a little about illness, let us then briefly discuss health. 2) The love of money is the worship of idols, the daughter of unbelief; it is justified by infirmities, prophesies old age, foretells famine, predicts drought. 3) The lover of money laughs at the Gospel, and he is a voluntary criminal. He who has acquired love wastes money; and whoever says that he lives for love and for money is deceiving himself. 4) He who cries for himself has renounced his body, and when circumstances require it, he will not spare it. 5) Don’t say that you collect for the poor; The kingdom was bought with two mites. 6) A lover of hobbies and a lover of money met each other, and the second called the first unreasonable. 7) He who conquered the passion of the love of money put an end to cares; and whoever is bound by it will never pray with a pure heart. 8) The beginning of the love of money is the intention to give alms; and its end is hatred of the poor. Until he starts collecting, he is merciful; and the money appeared,” and he clenched his hands. 9) I saw that those who were poor in money were enriched by the life of the poor in spirit, and forgot their first poverty. 10) A monk who loves money is a stranger to laziness; he every hour recalls the apostolic word: let the idle eat (2 Thess. 3:10), and another: serve me with this hand and those who are with me (Acts 20:44). Here is the sixteenth curse. Whoever wins in it either gains love or puts an end to care. Word 17. About non-covetousness 1) Non-covetousness is, putting aside worries, carelessness about the things of life, unhindered travel, faith in the commandments, free from sorrow. 2) A non-covetous monk is the ruler of the world, entrusting all concerns to God, and by faith acquiring everyone as his slaves. He will not tell a person about his need; and what comes, he accepts as if from the hand of the Lord. 3) The non-acquisitive worker, the son of impartiality, thinks about what he has, as if he did not have it. Having become a hermit, he attributed everything to his mind. If he is sad about something, it means that he has not yet become non-covetous. 4) A non-covetous person is pure during prayer, but a covetous person prays to material idols. 5) Those who remain obedient are alien to the love of money. For where the body is given into subjection, what can be owned? The only thing they usually do harm to themselves is that they are quick and ready to move from place to place. It happened to see that material possessions forced the monks to remain patiently in one place; but more than them I have pleased those who enter the community, for the Lord’s sake. 6) He who has tasted the things above conveniently neglects the things below; but he who has not tasted the things above delights himself in possessions. 7) An unreasonable non-covetous suffers double harm: he abstains from the present and is deprived of the future. 8) Therefore, we, monks, will not be more unfaithful than the birds; they have no care and do not collect. 9) Great is he who piously renounces the possession of property, but holy is he who renounces the possession of his own will: one will receive either property or gifts a hundredfold; and the other will inherit eternal life. 10) The waves in the sea will not become scarce, but the lover of money will have anger and sadness. 11) He who neglected the substance was freed from litigation and disputes; but the covetous fights for the needle to death. 12) Unshakable faith will stop all worries; and the remembrance of death will also renounce the body. 13) There was not a trace of love of money in Job; why, having lost everything, he remained undisturbed. 14) The love of money is (as it is called) the root of all evil (1 Tim. 6:10); because it produces hatred, theft, envy, separation, enmity, confusion, resentment, hard-heartedness, and murder. 15) Others burned a large forest with a small fire, and with the help of small virtue avoided all the real passions we have listed. This virtue is called impartiality; and it is born from testing and tasting the knowledge of God and concern for one’s justification at the departure of the soul. 16) Those who read this with attention do not know the word about the mother of all evil. When counting her wicked and cursed children, it is said that her second fiend is a stone of insensibility. But the many-headed serpent of idolatry prevented me from giving him his own place. I don’t know why the prudent fathers gave him a third place in the eight-link chain. Having talked about it in terms of proportionality, we now intend to talk about insensibility as a third (second in origin) ailment. And after this, let us briefly discuss sleep and wakefulness, as well as childish and cowardly fear; because such infirmities are characteristic of newcomers. Whoever has acquired the seventeenth victory award moves immaterially towards heaven. Word 18. About insensibility, that is, about the mortification of the soul, and about the death of the mind before the death of the body 1) Insensibility in both body and spirit is a deadened feeling, which from a long illness and from negligence has reached the point of insensibility. 2) Loss of sensitivity is negligence turned into nature, numb thought, the creation of previous bad habits, a snare for zeal, a snare for courage, ignorance of contrition, a door to despair, the mother of oblivion, and at birth the mother of one’s own mother, the dispersion of fear 3) He who has lost sensitivity is a foolish philosopher, a self-condemned interpreter, a self-contradictory philanderer, a blind man teaching others to see. He talks about the healing of an ulcer, and does not stop nagging at it, talks about illness, and does not stop eating harmful things; complains about it, and immediately takes on what produces the disease; doing this, he becomes angry at the illness, and this unfortunate man is not ashamed of his own words. “What I’m doing is bad,” he cries, and diligently continues to do it. The lips complain of illness, but the body works to keep it within itself. He talks about death, but behaves like an immortal. He sighs about the separation of the soul from the body, but he himself does not care about anything, as if he is eternal. He talks about abstinence, but serves gluttony. Reads about the trial and begins to smile; reads about vanity, and becomes vain by reading itself. He talks a lot about vigil, and immediately falls into sleep. He praises prayer, but runs from it like a scourge. He pleases obedience, but he himself is the first to show disobedience. He praises those who are impartial, and is not ashamed to be vindictive and quarrel over rags. The angry one is annoyed, and gets angry again for being annoyed; and is not ashamed to endure another after one defeat. Having had enough, he repents, and after hesitating a little, again indulges in satiety. He pleases silence, but praises it with many words. He teaches meekness, and during the teaching itself he often becomes angry, and for his annoyance he becomes angry again. Having awakened from passion, he sighs, and turning his head, again indulges in passion. Cures laughter and teaches about tears with a smile. In front of others, he reproaches himself as vain, and through this blasphemy seeks glory for himself. He looks at the world passionately and talks about chastity. Living in the world, he praises the silent, and, shaming himself, does not understand this. He glorifies the merciful and reproaches the poor. He always becomes the accuser of himself, and does not want (not to say cannot) come to his senses. 4) It happened to see that many people like these hear about death and the Last Judgment, and shed tears, and while the tears are still in their eyes, they hastily go to the meal. And I marveled at how this lady, this receptacle of impurities, having become strong, due to a complete loss of sensitivity, can put even crying to flight. 5) To the extent of the weak strength that I have, I discovered the cunning and strings of this petrified, stubborn, frantic and insane passion. I don’t have the patience to talk to her much. Whoever can try in the Lord to apply medicine to scabs, let him not hesitate. And I am ashamed to make an excuse with my powerlessness, as if I were greatly obsessed with this disease. And I myself could not have comprehended her cunning and tricks if, having caught her, I had not restrained her by force, and forced her to confess to what was said above, torturing and striking her with the scourge of the fear of the Lord and unceasing prayer. Why did this evil tormentor tell me: “Those who have become mine, seeing the dead, laugh; standing in prayer, they are completely petrified, hard-hearted and darkened; before the holy meal, they remain insensitive; when receiving Holy Communion the Gifts are in the same position as when eating simple bread. Looking at the brokenhearted, I laugh at them. I learned from the father who gave birth to me to kill all the blessings generated by courage and love. I am the mother of laughter, teacher of sleep, friend of satiety; I am in close connection with false reverence. When they reprove me, I don’t grieve about it.” And I, poor thing, surprised by the words of this frantic woman, asked her about her parent, wanting to know his name, and she said: “I have had more than one birth; My conception is somehow mixed and uncertain. Saturation gives me strength, time gives me growth, strength comes from crafty skill. Whoever holds on to this skill will not free himself from me. Stay vigil often, reflecting on eternal judgment; Then maybe I'll cut you some slack. See from what cause I am born in you, and resist my mother; but I don’t do everything for the same reason. Pray often at the tombs, indelibly etching their images in your heart. And if you don’t write down your heart with fasting, you won’t defeat me forever.” Sermon 19. About sleep, about prayer and about psalmody in a general meeting 1) Sleep is, as it were, a constraint on nature, an image of death, inaction of the senses. Sleep is one, but has many beginnings, just like lust; that is, it happens by natural demand, from food, from demons, or, perhaps, sometimes from extremely intense fasting, from which the flesh, having weakened, already wants to strengthen itself with sleep. 2) Just as drinking a lot depends on habit, so does sleeping a lot depend on habit. Why, at the beginning, especially of obedience, will we fight sleep; because long-term habits are difficult to cure. 3) Let us observe and find that the spiritual trumpet serves as a sign, visibly for the gathering brethren, but invisibly for the flocking enemies. Why do some, standing by the bed, upon our awakening, put into us the thought of lying down on the bed again; “Wait, they say, for the end of the initial chants; and then you will go to church.” Others who stand in prayer are put to sleep. Others produce severe, more than usual, pain in the womb. Others suggest the idea of ​​having conversations in the Lord’s church; others involve the mind in shameful thoughts; others do that we lean against the wall, as if exhausted. Sometimes they excite us into frequent yawning; some of them do that, during prayer, we often laugh; and by this they want to incite the wrath of God against us. Others force us to rush into psalmody out of laziness; others encourage you to sing more slowly out of self-pleasure; and sometimes, sitting on the lips, they make them prisoners and barely open. Whoever thinks that he stands before God will, in his heartfelt feeling, be motionless during prayer, like a pillar; and not one of the numbered demons will mock him. 4) A true worker of obedience during prayer often suddenly becomes completely enlightened and joyful; because this fighter was prepared and previously kindled to prayer by unhypocritical service. 5) Everyone can pray in crowds; but for many it is more decent to pray with one of those who are unanimous; because solitary prayer is not possible for many people. 6) When you eat with many, it will be impossible for you to pray immaterially. Let it be a smart thing for you to delve into the spoken words, or again to pray some specific prayer while waiting for the beginning of the next verse. 7) It is not proper for anyone to engage in sharing, much less work, during prayer. For, according to the testimony of the great Anthony, an angel clearly taught this. 22 8) Gold is tempted by the crucible, and diligence and love for God in monks is tempted by standing in prayer. 9) Whoever has acquired this praiseworthy deed draws closer to God and puts the demons to flight. Words 20. About bodily vigil and how through it to achieve spiritual vigil and remain in it 1) Some stand before the kings of the earth unarmed and without everything, others hold staffs, others hold shields, and others hold swords. And the great, even incomparable, difference is between the first and the last; because the first, as a rule, are the relatives and household princes. This is what happens with earthly kings. 2) Now, finally, we will see how we can perform our presence before God and the Heavenly King during evening, day and night intercessions and prayers. For others, during the evening and all-night vigils, as immaterial and stripped of all worries, raise their hands in prayer. Others stand during these times with psalmody, while others are most occupied with reading, and some, out of weakness, take up handicrafts, courageously resist sleep. And others, having given themselves over to the thought of death, through this want to acquire contrition. Of all these, the first and last remain in the God-loving all-night vigil; those second after them remain in monastic vigil; and still others follow a lower path. However, God accepts and values ​​gifts according to the judgment and strength of each person. 3) The waking eye makes the mind immaculate; and long sleep blinds the soul. 4) A monk who is awake is an enemy of fornication, and a monk who is sleepy is his cohabitant. 5) Vigil - cessation of inflammation, deliverance from bottom visions, teary eye, softened heart, protection from thoughts, melting of food, taming of spirits, curbing the tongue, putting dreams to flight. 6) A wakeful monk is a catcher of thoughts, and in the silence of the night he can conveniently notice and catch them. 7) When the trumpet signals the time of prayer, the God-loving monk says: “Okay, okay!” but the lazy one says: “alas, alas”! 8) Preparing a meal serves as a test for gluttons, and doing prayer serves as a test for lovers of God. The first, seeing the meal, gallops; and the latter becomes sad. 9) Long sleep leads to forgetfulness, and vigil clears the memory. 10) Farmers gather wealth on the threshing floor and at the grindstone; and the monks gather wealth and knowledge in evening and night activities and in mental deeds. 11) A long sleep is an unkind friend; half the life of the lazy, or more, is stolen from them. 12) An unskillful monk is vigilant in a friendly conversation; and the hour of prayer has come,” his eyes grew heavy. 13) The lazy monk is skilled in verbiage; and reading is suggested, he cannot even look with his eyes from sleep. At the sound of the trumpet the dead will rise; idle talk has begun - those who have been put to sleep are made cheerful. 14) The tormentor of sleep is an insidious friend; when we are satiated, he often moves away from us; and in times of hunger and thirst it attacks strongly. 15) Instills in us the thought of carrying handicrafts with us during prayers; because otherwise he cannot frustrate the prayer of those who are awake. 16) First he enters into warfare with newcomers, in order to make them careless at the very beginning, or to prepare them for the attacks of the prodigal demon. 17) Until we free ourselves from it, we will not give up psalmody in the general meeting; because we often do not sleep even from shame. The dog is hostile to hares, and the demon of vanity is hostile to sleep. 18) The seller, at the end of the day, and the ascetic, after performing psalmody, sits down and counts his profit. 19) After prayer, behave soberly, and you will see that ranks of demons, as if defeated by us, are trying to invade us, after prayer, with obscene dreams. Then sit down and watch; and you will see those who, as a rule, steal the beginnings of spiritual activity. 20) It happens that during sleep the thought is occupied with sayings from the psalms, as a result of incessant exercise in them. But sometimes demons put these sayings into our thoughts in order to drive us to pride. I would not like to mention the third case, unless someone forces me to say it. The soul, which constantly studied the word of the Lord during the day, willingly does the same in sleep. The second is, in the proper sense, retribution for the first, and serves to drive away spirits and dreams. Here's the twentieth degree. Whoever ascended it received the light in his heart. Word 21. About cowardly fear 1) If you undergo feats of virtue in a monastery or community of brethren; then fear does not attack you too much. If you strive in the most silent places; then beware lest this offspring of vanity, this daughter of unbelief, prevail over you. 2) Fear is an infantile disposition in an old, vain soul. Fear is a deviation from faith in anticipation of unexpected events. 3) Fear is a premeditated danger; or again: fear is a tremulous feeling of the heart, disturbed and brought into sorrow by unknown misfortunes. Fear is deprivation of identity. 4) A proud soul is a slave of fear; she is self-confident, and is afraid of any rustle, even shadows. 5) Those who mourn over sins and are insensitive to any other sorrow have no fear; those who are fearful often fall into a frenzy. And this is natural. For the Lord justly leaves the proud, so that the rest of us may learn not to be arrogant. 6) Although all the fearful are vain, not all the fearless are humble; because robbers and grave diggers do not always become afraid. 7) Don’t be lazy to go to those places where you are used to feeling fear late at night. If you show some weakness; then this childish and funny weakness will grow old with you. When setting out on a journey, arm yourself with prayer; Having arrived at the place, spread out your hands and defeat the enemies in the name of Jesus; because neither in heaven nor on earth is there such a strong weapon. Having freed yourself from the disease of fear, glorify the Deliverer. If you remain grateful; then He will cover you forever. 8) It is impossible to fill the belly and overcome fear once and for all. As the crying increases, it moves away faster, and as the crying becomes scarcer, we become fearful. 9) Fearful of my power and flesh, Eliphaz said (Job 4:15), depicting the cunning of the demon. Sometimes the soul, and sometimes the flesh, is first struck by fear, and one transfers this weakness to the other. If the flesh is stricken with fear, but this untimely fear does not penetrate the soul; then deliverance from the disease is near. When did we really free ourselves from fear? then what makes the demons strong against us is not the darkness and desolation of the place, but the barrenness of the soul. But sometimes this can also be an admonishment for us, according to God’s will. 10) He who has become a servant of the Lord will fear his Master alone; and whoever does not yet fear Him often comes to fear from his own shadow. 11) From the presence of an invisible spirit, the body comes into fear; from the presence of an angel the soul of the humble rejoices. Therefore, having understood presence from action, let us rather hasten to prayer; because our good Guardian came to pray with us. Word 22. About vanity having many types 1) Others want to separate vanity from pride and assign it a special place and word. This is why they say that there are eight first and main sinful thoughts. But Gregory the Theologian and others count them as seven. I am especially convinced that I agree with them. For who, having conquered vanity, has pride in himself? Between them there is only such a difference as the nature of a boy with a husband, and wheat with bread; because one is the beginning, and the other is the end. So, as the time demands, let us briefly talk about the beginning and fullness of passions, about evil conceit. For he who intends to philosophize about this at length is likened to one who weighs the winds with vain curiosity. 2) Vanity, in appearance, is a change in nature, a perversion of morals, the provision of reproach, and in quality - waste of labor, loss of achievements, abuse of treasure, the offspring of unbelief, the forerunner of pride, a wreck in the pier, an ant on the threshing floor, which is small, but threatens all labor and fruit with danger. The ant waits for the wheat to be ready, and vanity waits for the wealth to be gathered; one loves to steal, and the other loves to waste. 3) The spirit of despair joyfully sees the increase in vices, and the spirit of vanity sees the increase in virtues. The door to the first is many plagues, the door to the second is a wealth of labor. 4) Observe and you will find that obscene vanity is exalted in clothes, fragrant ointments, luxurious accompaniments, aromas and much more until the grave. 5) The sun shines for everyone without exception; vanity turns all our endeavors to its advantage. For example: I am vain about fasting, and by allowing fasting so that they do not recognize me as a faster, I am again vainglorious as a prudent person. Dressed luxuriously, I am overcome by vanity, and putting on poor clothes, I again become vain. No matter how you throw this horn, one horn will always go to the top. 6) A vain person is an idolater Christian; Apparently, he honors God, but wants to please not God, but people. 7) Anyone who loves to show off is vain. The fast of a vain person remains without reward, and his prayer is useless; because he does both for human praise. 8) A vain ascetic suffers extreme harm: his body is exhausted and he does not receive any reward. 9) Who will not laugh at the maker of vanity? It makes him, when he stands at psalmody, and is driven by vanity, either laugh or cry in front of everyone. 10) The Lord often hides from our eyes the perfections we have acquired; and whoever praises, or better yet, misleads us, opens our eyes with praise. But as soon as our eyes opened, our wealth disappeared. 11) The flatterer is a servant of demons, a leader to pride, a destroyer of contrition, a destroyer of perfections, a lying guide. Those who desire you flatter you, says the prophet (Is. 3:12). 12) People of high spirit endure insult courageously and joyfully; but it is common for some saints and saints to hear praise without harm. 13) I saw that those being praised wept, became inflamed with anger, and, as if at a spectacle, changed one passion into another. 14) There is no one who knows anything but the spirit of man (1 Cor. 2:10). Therefore let those who intend to please in person be ashamed and silent. 15) When you hear that your neighbor and friend scolds you in absentia, or to your face; then show love by praising him. 16) It is a great thing to reject human praise with your heart, and even greater - demonic praise. 17) His humility is shown not by the one who speaks poorly of himself (who would not be bearable for himself?), but by the one who, hearing reproach of himself from another, does not diminish his love for him. 18) I noticed that the demon of vanity puts thoughts into one brother, and reveals them to the other, and incites the latter to tell the first what is in his heart, and then pleases him as a seer. Sometimes this evil one, touching the very bodily members, produces trembling in them. 19) Do not allow him to come to you when the thought of being a bishop, or abbess, or teaching puts in you; It will be difficult to drive the dog away from such a meal at which meat is offered. 20) As soon as he sees those who have arrived in a somewhat peaceful state, he immediately encourages them to go from the desert to the world, saying: “Go to save perishing souls.” 21) The face of the Ethiopians is different, and the idols are different; The image of vanity is also different between those living in the hostel and those living in the deserts. 22) Vanity prevents the arrival of worldly people, encourages frivolous monks to meet those who come, makes them fall at their feet, and being full of pride, is clothed in humility, shows modesty in movements and in voice, looks into the hands of visitors to receive something from them, calls them rulers and patrons who, according to God, give life; It instills abstinence in those sitting at meals, and treats the lower ones without mercy; He makes the lazy ones standing at psalmody cheerful, those who have no voice good-willed, and those who are sleepy vigilant; flatter the charterer by calling him father and teacher; begs him to give first place until the strangers leave. 23) Vanity makes those who are preferred proud, and those who are neglected vindictive. 24) Vanity often, instead of honor, causes dishonor; because he brings great shame to his angry disciples. 25) Vanity makes angry people meek in front of people. 26) It exalts itself greatly over natural gifts, and with them it has often plunged the unfortunate into destruction. 27) It happened to see that a demon upset and drove away his brother. One brother was angry; at this time worldly people came, and the unfortunate man, leaving anger, resold himself to vanity; because he could not serve both passions at the same time. 28) He who has sold himself to vanity leads a double life; In appearance he spends time with monks, but in his way of thinking and judgment he spends time in the world. 29) If we rush with haste to the pleasures above; then, without a doubt, we will taste the heavenly glory. And whoever tastes it will despise all earthly glory. But I would be surprised if someone, without tasting the first, completely neglected the second. 30) It often happens that, having been stolen by vanity, and then changing, we successfully take away what was stolen from him. It happened to see that others began spiritual work out of vanity; and after the reprehensible beginning had been made, because their thoughts had changed, the end became praiseworthy. 31) Whoever exalts himself with natural advantages, that is, subtlety of mind, understanding, his reading, pleasant pronunciation and all similar, easily acquired talents, will never achieve supernatural benefits; because he who is unfaithful in little things is also unfaithful and vain in many things (Luke 16:10). 32) Others exhaust their body in vain for the sake of the highest dispassion, wealth of talents, miracles and the power of foreknowledge; These pitiful ones do not know that it is not labor, but above all humility, that is the mother of such perfections. 33) He who considers himself a debtor will receive unexpected and unexpected wealth. 34) Do not believe this leader, who puts into you the idea of ​​divulging your virtues for the benefit of those listening: what good is it to a person if he brings benefit to the whole world, but loses his own soul (Matthew 16:26)? Nothing can serve so much for the edification of those who see it as humble and sincere disposition and speech; because they also teach others never to be arrogant. What is more important than such benefit? 35) Someone who had the gift of vision noticed and recounted what he saw. “When,” he said, I was sitting in the meeting, the demon of vanity and the demon of pride came and sat down next to me on both sides; one nudged me in the side with the finger of vanity, urging me to tell about some contemplation or activity I had done in the desert. How quickly I drove him away from me, saying: let them turn back and be ashamed of those who plot evil against me (Ps. 39:15); immediately on the left side the demon said to me in my ear: well, you have done well, and you have become great, having defeated my shameless mother. And I, successfully taking advantage of the continuation of the verse, answered him: let the abies return, ashamed, saying: “Good, good have you done” (Ps. 39:16). To answer my question: why is vanity the mother of pride? he answered: “Praises are exalted and puffed up; when the soul is exalted, then pride takes hold of it, raises it to the heavens, and brings it down to the abyss.” 36) There is glory from the Lord; for it is said: I will glorify those who glorify Me (1 Samuel 2:30). And there is glory that accompanies us in the devil’s dispensation; for it is said: Woe, if all men speak good things unto you (Luke 6:26). You will clearly recognize the first one when, recognizing it as harmful to yourself, you will turn away from it in every way, and wherever you go, you will begin to hide your life. You recognize the other when, no matter what, you do so that you will be seen by people; and vile vanity puts in us the idea of ​​​​showing in ourselves a virtue that is not in us, leading to this by saying: so let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good deeds (Matthew 5:16). 37) The Lord often drives the vain to the point of lack of vanity by the dishonor that befalls them. 38) The beginning of vanity is not the guarding of the lips and the love of dishonor. The middle is the cutting off of all mental endeavors of vanity; and the end (if only there is an end in the abyss) is the indifferent execution in front of many of such a deed, which is imputed to us as dishonor. 39) Do not hide your shame with the intention of not giving temptation. 40) And finally, depending on the type of offense, it may be necessary to use more than one plaster. When we seek glory for ourselves, when others glorify us without our solicitation, when out of vanity we decide to carry out some undertaking; then let us immediately bring to mind our tears and our trembling presence in solitary prayer; and without a doubt, we will be ashamed of shameless vanity, if only we make an effort about true prayer. If this is not enough; then we will immediately turn to the thought of our outcome. If this is also invalid; then we will be afraid, at least, of the shame that accompanies vanity; because be lifted up; will humble himself (Luke 14:11), and without a doubt, he will humble himself here, before the age to come. 41) When our praisers, or, better to say, our seducers begin to praise us, we will immediately bring to mind our many iniquities, and we will find that we are unworthy of what they say about us or do for us. 42) Without a doubt, even those who are vain in some of their petitions can be heard by God; but the Lord usually precedes their prayers and petitions, so that, having received otherwise through prayer, they would not become even more exalted in their conceit. 43) Simple people are not so much infected with the poison of vanity; because vanity is a loss of simplicity and feigned behavior. 44) It is not uncommon for a worm, having reached adulthood, to receive wings and fly into the heights; so vanity, having reached its fullness, gives birth to pride, this boss and perpetrator of all evils. 45) Whoever does not have this illness in himself is close to salvation; and whoever is not free from it will find himself far from the glory of the saints. Here is the twenty-second degree. He who is not captivated by vanity will not fall into a pride hostile to God and insane. Word 23. About insane pride and unclean blasphemous thoughts 1) Pride is a renunciation of God, a demonic invention, the humiliation of people, the mother of condemnation, the fiend of praise, a sign of infertility, concealment from God's help, the predecessor of insanity, the preparer of falls, the cause of epilepsy, the source of irritability, the door of hypocrisy, the support of demons, the guardian of sins, the preparer of unmercifulness, ignorance of compassion, cruel torturer, inhuman judge, opponent of God, root of blasphemy. 2) The beginning of pride is the end of vanity; the middle is humiliation of one’s neighbor, shameless disclosure of one’s labors, self-praise in the heart, hatred of reproof, and the end is renunciation of God’s help, exaltation of one’s own zeal, demonic disposition. 3) Let us all listen, who want to avoid this abyss: this passion often finds food for itself in gratitude; because at first it does not occur to him to shamelessly renounce God. It happened to see those who thank God with their lips and magnify themselves mentally; and this is clearly confirmed by the Pharisee, who said: God, I give You praise (Luke 18:11). 4) Where the fall took place, pride was already instilled there; because falling serves as an indicator of pride. 5) Assume that there are twelve passions of dishonor (I heard from one respectable man); if by your will you love one of them, I mean conceit; then she will fill the place of the other eleven. 6) A highly intelligent monk will argue strongly, but a humble monk does not know how to contradict at all. 7) The cypress tree will not bend down to send branches across the ground; and a proud monk will not stoop to acquire obedience. 8) A proud person wants to be in charge; because otherwise and no matter how it is, he cannot, or better said, does not want to reach complete destruction. 9) The Lord opposes the proud (James 4:6). Who after this can have mercy on them? Anyone who is high-hearted is not pure before the Lord (Proverbs 16:5). After this, who can cleanse such a thing? 10) Admonition to the proud is a fall, the one who misleads him is a demon, and the sign of his abandonment by God is frenzy. In the first two cases, people often received healing from people; but the last evil is incurable by people. 11) He who rejects reproof reveals passion in himself; and whoever seeks reproof himself has been freed from bondage. 12) If someone, without any other passion, fell from heaven through this one; then the question arises: is it not possible, without other virtues, to ascend to heaven with humility alone? 13) Pride is the loss of wealth and labor. You cried, and did not save (Ps. 17:42): no doubt because they cried proudly; crying out to the Lord and not hearing them: no doubt because they did not destroy within themselves the reasons that brought them to the need to pray. 14) The elder, very knowledgeable in spiritual matters, admonished the proud brother; but the blind man says: “Sorry, father, I’m not proud.” The wise old man answers him: “What clearest proof of this passion would you present to us, child, except this word: I am not proud?” 15) For such people, the following are very useful: submission, a harsh and humiliated life, reading legends about the supernatural successes of their fathers. In this case, for those suffering from this illness, there may be little hope of salvation. 16) It is a shame to be proud of someone else’s decoration; but extreme madness is to boast of God’s gifts. Whatever merits you had before your birth, only exalt yourself. And what you have by birth, like birth itself, was given to you by God. In whatever virtues you have succeeded without the help of the mind, those alone belong to you; because the mind was given to you by God. Whatever feats you performed without the assistance of your body were accomplished through your efforts; because the body is not yours, but God’s creation. 17) Do not be self-confident until you hear the last sentence about yourself, having before your eyes the one who, after reclining in the bridal chamber, was bound hand and foot, and cast out into utter darkness (Matthew 22:13). 18) Do not be high-minded, being earthly; for many were cast out of heaven, being holy and immaterial. 19) When the demon finds a place for himself among his workers; then, either in a dream or in a waking vision, appearing to them in the form of a holy angel, or some martyr, he gives them a revelation of secrets, or the gift of gifts, so that the unfortunate, deceived, completely destroy their minds. 20) Even if we endure thousands of deaths for Christ, then even in this case we will not fulfill all that is due. For if you look at the dignity, and not at the essence; one is the blood of God himself, and the other is the blood of slaves. 21) If we do not stop constantly testing ourselves and comparing ourselves with the fathers and lamps who lived before us; then we will find that we have not yet embarked on the path of a strict life, and have not kept our vow sacredly, but we still live according to the worldly rule. 22) A monk, in the proper sense, is a spiritual eye that does not look straight ahead, and a bodily sense that is not set in motion. 23) A monk is one who, like animals, calls enemies upon himself, and annoys them when they flee from him. 24) Monk, this is a continuous delight of the mind and sadness about life. 25) A monk is one who has mastered virtues, just as others have mastered pleasures. 26) Monk, this is an unfading light in the eye of the heart. 27) Monk, this is an abyss of humility; He cast himself into her, and crushed every evil spirit in her. 28) Puffiness produces oblivion of the Falls; remembering them leads to humility. 29) Pride is extreme poverty of the soul; This vile passion, which recognizes darkness as wealth, not only does not allow one to emerge from it, but also casts one down there from the heights. 30) Pride is an apple that is rotten on the inside, but shining with beauty on the outside. 31) A proud monk will have no need for a demon; because he has already become a demon and an enemy for himself. 32) Darkness is alien to light; and the proud is alien to all virtue. 33) Blasphemous speech is born in the hearts of the proud, and heavenly contemplations are born in the souls of the humble. 34) The thief does not like the sun, but the proud humiliates the meek. 35) Не знаю – почему, но гордые, большею частью, не знают самих себя, и, почитая себя бесстрастными, видят собственную свою нищету при исходе своем. 36) He who is captivated by pride needs help from the Lord; because human salvation is in vain for him. 37) I once caught this crazy wanderer as she approached my heart, carried on her mother’s shoulder. Having bound them with bonds of obedience, and striking them with the scourge of squalor, he interrogated how they found access to me? Why, under my blows, did they say: “We have neither beginning nor birth; because all passions are born under our control and from us. Contrition of heart, born in submission, attacks us immensely; because we are not used to being under someone’s command. That is why, having wanted to rule in heaven, we became apostates there. Therefore, to put it briefly, we are the parents of everything that opposes humility; for everything that promotes it is disgusting to us. However, we have still become strong in heaven; where can you run from our presence? We have the custom of often accompanying patience with dishonor, and obedience, and not anger, and forgetfulness of malice, and the performance of services. Our fiends are the downfalls of spiritual men: anger, slander, vexation, irritability, crying, blasphemy, hypocrisy, hatred, envy, bickering, self-will, disobedience. There is only one thing that we cannot attack; and we declare this to you, not enduring your blows: if you sincerely condemn yourself before the Lord, then you will blame us for the web. Vanity, as you see, is the horse of pride; I sit on it; holy humility and self-condemnation will laugh at both the horse and its rider, pleasantly singing the song of victory: we will sing to the Lord, gloriously we will be glorified: horse and rider will be cast into the sea (Ex. 15:1) and into the abyss of humility.” That's the twenty-third degree. Whoever ascended it, if it is possible to ascend, has strengthened his strength. About unspeakable blasphemous thoughts 38) In the previous one we heard that from a worthless root and from a worthless mother there is a worthless offspring; that is, from vile pride the vile offspring is blasphemy. Why is it necessary to bring it to the environment; for this is not an unimportant, but of all the most dangerous enemy and adversary, and, what’s even worse, it can be difficult to pronounce it, confess it, or discover it before a spiritual doctor. Therefore, this evil person often gave rise to despair and hopelessness in many, like a worm in a tree, destroying all hope in them. 39) So, this, this vile enemy, not rarely, during the most holy meetings, at the most terrible hour of the Mysteries, has the custom of blaspheming the Lord and the Holy Mysteries being performed; from which we learn clearly that it is not our soul that inwardly utters these lawless, incomprehensible and secret words, but the God-hating demon, cast out from heaven because there, too, he probably spewed blasphemy against the Lord. For, if these shameless and obscene words belong to me, then how can I worship, having accepted the Gift? How can I both curse and bless? 40) This flatterer and strangler often drove many into a frenzy of mind. No other thought is as difficult to declare in confession as this one. This is why he often grows old with many. For nothing gives demons and thoughts such power over us as if we nourish and hide the latter in our hearts, without revealing them in confession. 41) Let no one think that he himself is guilty of blasphemous thoughts; for the Lord is the Knower of the Heart, and knows that blasphemous speech comes not from us, but from our enemies. 42) Intoxication is the cause of stumbling; and pride is the cause of obscene thoughts. And the one who stumbles, although not guilty of stumbling, will, without a doubt, be punished for intoxication. 43) When we stand in prayer, these unclean and secret thoughts arise; and when we finish the prayer, they immediately leave; because they don’t like to fight with those who don’t fight with them. 44) Not only does the godless enemy blaspheme the Divine and everything Divine, but he utters some shameful and obscene words at us, so that we either give up prayer or despair of ourselves. 45) This evil and inhuman tormentor distracted many from prayer, removed many from the Mysteries, exhausted the body of some with sadness, exhausted others with fasting, and did not give them any rest, doing this not only to those living in the world, but also to those going through monastic life, instilling in them that there was no longer any salvation for them, and assuring them that they were more unfortunate than all infidels and pagans. 46) Whoever is troubled by the spirit of blasphemy and wants to be freed from it, let him firmly know that it is not his soul that is the cause of such thoughts, but the unclean demon himself, who once said to the Lord: I will give all this to you, even if you bow down (Matthew 4:9). Therefore, we, humiliating him, and not at all respecting his suggestions, will say to him: “Follow me Satan: I will worship the Lord my God, and I will serve him alone (Matthew 4:10); May your work and your word be turned on your head, and on the top of your head may your blasphemy come down in this and in the next century.” 47) Whoever wants to overcome the demon of blasphemy in a way other than what has been said is like someone who dreams of holding lightning in his hands. For how will he catch it, or compete and fight with someone who suddenly, like the wind, bursts into the heart, utters words in a moment, and suddenly disappears? All other enemies stop, continue to fight, hesitate, and the one who intends to fight them is given time; this enemy is not like that; barely appears, and retreats; barely says a word and leaves. 48) This demon often loves to enter the minds of simple and innocent people; and they especially become more confused and confused than others. It is about them, in fact, that we say that all this happens to them, not out of conceit, but out of demonic envy. 49) Let us stop judging and condemning our neighbor; and blasphemous thoughts will not frighten us; for the first is the reason and root for the second. 50) Just as someone who is locked in his house hears the words of those passing outside the house, but does not utter them himself; so the soul, enclosed within itself, hearing demonic blasphemies, is embarrassed by what a walking demon says. 51) He who has humbled this enemy is free from infirmity. If anyone manages to fight him differently; then finally enslaves him. For whoever intends to overcome spirits with words is like someone trying to block the wind. 52) One diligent monk, troubled by this demon, exhausted his flesh with fasting and vigils for up to twenty years. And how I didn’t feel any benefit; then he went and, having described his weakness on the charter, gave the charter to one holy man, and he prostrated himself before him on his face, and could not raise his gaze to him. The elder, as soon as he read it, smiled, and raising his brother, said to him: “Put your hand, child, on my neck.” And when the brother did this, the great elder said: “This sin is on me, brother, no matter how many years it has acted, and it will not act in you; and after this, don’t regard it as anything.” And this monk confirmed that before he left the elder’s cell, his weakness ceased. And he told me this, giving thanks to Christ, having himself been in temptation. He who has won victory over this weakness has driven away pride from himself. Word 24. About meekness, simplicity, gentleness, and wickedness, acquired not from nature, but from skill 1) The sun is preceded by the dawn, but the forerunner of all humility is meekness. Therefore, let us listen in what order the Light itself places these virtues. For He says: Learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart (Matthew 11:29). So, even before the sun, you can be illuminated by light, and then raise your clarified gaze to the sun. It is impossible, absolutely impossible, to see what follows without knowing what precedes, as the actual state of things teaches. 2) Meekness is an unchangeable state of mind, the same in honor and dishonor. 3) A sign of meekness - to someone who is embarrassed by his neighbor, calmly and sincerely pray for him. 4) Meekness is a rock protruding from the sea of ​​irritability, against which all the waves that rush towards it break, but it itself remains motionless. 5) Meekness is the support of patience, the door, or better yet, the mother of love, the foundation of prudence: for it is said: The Lord will teach the meek in His way (Ps. 24:9). Meekness prepares for us the remission of sins; it is boldness in prayer, the seat of the Holy Spirit: to whom shall I look? only against the meek and silent (Is.66:2). 6) Meekness is a promoter of obedience, a guide to brotherhood, a bridle for the violent, a barrier to the irritated, a giver of joy, an imitation of Christ, an angelic quality, a bond for demons, a shield against vexation. 7) The Lord rests in the hearts of the meek; and a rebellious soul is the seat of the devil, 8) The meek will inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5), or even prevail over the earth; and the irritable people will be cut off from their land. 9) A meek soul is the throne of simplicity; and an angry mind is the builder of wickedness. 10) A quiet soul will contain words of wisdom; because the Lord will guide the meek to judgment (Ps. 24:9), or better yet, to prudence. 11) The right soul is the cohabitant of humility; and the evil soul is a slave to pride. 12) The souls of the meek will be filled with knowledge; and an irritable mind is a friend of darkness and ignorance. 13) Met each other irritable and feigned; and in their conversation it is impossible to find a single correct word. Looking into the heart of the first, you will find rage; Having examined the soul of another, you will see deceit. 14) Simplicity is a uniform habit of the soul, brought to the point of inflexibility towards any kind of evil. 15) Cunning is an art, or better said, demonic shamelessness, devoid of truth and thinking of hiding from many. 16) Hypocrisy is an opposite state of body and soul, associated with inventions of all kinds. 17) Kindness is a clear state of soul, far from any fiction. 18) Rightness is an unstrained way of thinking, a genuine disposition, an unfeigned and not prepared word. 19) The non-evil one is the soul in its pure nature, and in dealing with everyone, showing itself as it is. 20) Evilness is a perversion of righteousness, a deceptive way of thinking, falsely hiding behind decency, flattering oaths, cunning words, depth of the heart, an abyss of deceit, deceitfulness that has become a habit, conceit turned into nature, the enemy of humility, the mask of repentance, diminishment of crying, hostility to confession, willfulness, preparation for the fall, an obstacle to rebellion, when insulted, a smile, a downcast appearance, covered with foolishness, feigned reverence, a demonic life. 21) The evil one is a companion and interlocutor with the devil; why the Lord taught us to call the devil that way, saying: deliver us from the evil one (Matthew 6:13). 22) We flee from the rapids of hypocrisy and from the ditch of double-mindedness, hearing what is said; the wicked will be consumed: and like the potion of grain they will quickly fall away (Ps. 37:2, 9); because they are demonic pasture. 23) God is called both love (1 John 4:8) and righteousness. Why does the Wise One say in songs to a pure heart: love righteousness (Song.1:3). Also, the father of the wise man says: the Lord is good and right (Ps. 24:8), and asserts that those who are named after God are saved by Him; for he says: those who are upright in heart save (Ps. 7:11); and again: you have seen the righteousness of souls, and visited His face (Ps. 10:7). 24) The first quality of childhood is unfeigned simplicity. While Adam had it, he did not see in himself either spiritual nakedness or carnal disgrace. 25) Beautiful and blessed is the simplicity that is found in others by nature, but not so much as that which is grafted in with great effort after deceit. For the first hides only from great pretense and passions; and the latter leads to the highest humility and meekness. And the first is not a great reward, but the last is a very high one. 26) All of us, who intend to attract the mercy of the Lord, will approach Him, like students studying to a teacher, simply, unfeignedly, without cunning, without cunning, and not out of empty inquisitiveness. He Himself is simple and uncomplicated, and wants the souls that come to Him to be simple and innocent; because simplicity can never be seen without humility. 27) The evil one is a deceitful seer who imagines that he can infer from words about thoughts, and from appearance about the dispositions of the heart. 28) I have seen the just, who learned to be cunning from the wicked, and I wonder why they could so quickly lose their natural property and advantage. But just as the righteous change easily, the wicked find it difficult to change. 29) A truly pilgrim life, submission and keeping one’s mouth often had great power, and miraculously corrected the incurable. 30) If knowledge puffs up many; then simplicity and ignorance, perhaps, are equally capable of humbling. 31) The Most Blessed Paul the Simple became for us an example, a clear rule and a model of blessed simplicity; because no one, truly no one, has ever seen, heard, and cannot see such prosperity in such a short time. 32) A monk, full of simplicity, is dumb, intelligent, obedient, and places his burden completely on the one who leads him. A dumb animal will not contradict the one who knits it; and a right soul does not resist the ruler; follows the attractor wherever he pleases; even if he led him to slaughter, he doesn’t know how to contradict. 33) Do not let rich people enter into the kingdom (Matthew 19:23), and foolish wise men into simplicity. 34) The highly intelligent were often brought to their senses by their fall, granting them salvation and kindness against their will. 35) Stand firm in the thought that your wisdom is erroneous, and by doing so you will find salvation and righteousness in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen. Word 25. About death for passions - the highest humility, which lies in an invisible feeling 1) Whoever intends to depict in a visible word the feeling and effectiveness of the love of the Lord accurately, humility - decently, blessed chastity - truly, Divine illumination - clearly, the fear of God - not false, heartfelt assurance - sincerely, and thinks that he will enlighten those who have not tasted this, with his description of all this, he is like a person who, with words and similarities, wants to give the idea of the sweetness of honey to people, never those who have not tasted it. But the latter will reason in vain, not to say, idle talk; so the first one will either turn out to be unskillful in his description, or rather, will become a playground of vanity. 2) This word offers for testing such a treasure that is stored in meager vessels, or better to say, in bodies, and the quality of which remains unknown to every mind. One incomprehensible inscription placed on top of those searching for its meaning is already an extensive subject for research and endless work. The words of the inscription are as follows: holy humility. 3) Let all who are led by the Spirit of God gather with us in this spiritual and wise gathering, carrying with them in their mental hands the God-written tablets of knowledge. And we came together, searched, and tried to find out the meaning of this venerable inscription. And one said: “it means constant forgetting about one’s good deeds.” Another: “recognizing oneself as the last of all and the most sinful.” Another: “mental recognition of one’s own weakness and powerlessness.” Another again: “in case of grief, a warning to your neighbor, so as to put an end to the anger first.” And another: “recognition of God’s grace and God’s mercy.” And again another: “a feeling of a contrite soul, and a renunciation of one’s own will.” But after listening to all this, carefully and soberly examining it with myself, I could not recognize by hearing what the blissful feeling of humility was. Why, last of all, just as Nes collected the grains from the meal, so I, having collected what fell from the lips of these leading and blessed men, said in the definition of humility: “Humility is a nameless grace in the soul, only named by those who have experienced it. This is indescribable wealth, God's naming and alms; for it is said: learn, not from an angel, not from a man, not from a book, but from Me, that is, from My dwelling in you, illumination and action, for I am meek and humble in heart, and in thought, and in the way of thinking, and you will find peace from battles and relief from the thoughts of your souls (Matthew 11:29). 4) The appearance of this holy vineyard is different during the winter of passions, another already in the spring of fruits, and another in the very harvest of virtues; although all these species are similar in one thing - in joy and fruitfulness; why they have their own, as it were, indications and signs of fruits. For, as soon as the grapes of holy humility begin to bloom in us, we immediately, although not without struggle, begin to hate all human glory and praise, driving out of ourselves irritability and anger. As this queen of virtues progresses in her soul with spiritual age, we regard as nothing, or rather, we recognize as an abomination all the good deeds we perform, and with the unknown waste of our burden, assuming that every day we add more and more to it, we come to the conclusion that the very abundance of the Divine gifts descending on us, as unworthy of them, threatens us with an increase in more. torment. Why is it that our mind, enclosed in the bag of modesty, remains inviolable for the thieves, hearing their blows and ridicule, but not subject to the attacks of any of them; because modesty is an inaccessible repository. 5) So we dared, with the poverty of words, to philosophize about the flowering and short-term prosperity of this ever-blooming fruit. What is the perfect victorious reward of this sacred virtue - about this you, close to the Lord, ask the Lord himself. It is impossible to quantify her essence; to explain its quality is even more impossible; at least, let’s try to express the thought that comes to our mind about its distinctive property. 6) Repentance, even guardianship, crying, cleansed from all filth, and holy humility in beginners have as much difference and difference between themselves as leaven and flour are different from bread. Through true repentance, the soul is crushed and thinned, but is brought into some kind of unity, and I will say this, into a single mixture with God, through the waters of unfeigned weeping. And from this, having touched the fire of the Lord, blessed, unleavened and undying humility is nourished and hardened. Therefore, having concentrated itself into itself, as if into a single force and effectiveness, this holy tangled rope, or better to say, the heavenly rainbow, already has its own actions and properties; and what you call in it as a sign of one thing will turn out to be a sign of another. That is why I will try to briefly confirm what has been said with a visible outline. 7) The first and primary property of this beautiful and wonderful trinity is the acceptance of dishonor with complete pleasure, when the soul accepts it with open arms and embraces it as something that calms and burns mental illness and great sins. The second property is the destruction of all irritability in oneself, and modesty when putting it to sleep. The third (the highest degree) is a true distrust of one’s own perfections, and a constant desire to learn. 8) The end of the law and the prophets is Christ for righteousness to everyone who believes (Rom. 10:4). The end of impure passions is vanity and pride in everyone who is inattentive; and their destroyer - this mental tree preserves those living with it unharmed from any deadly poison. For does humility ever contain the poison of hypocrisy or the poison of slander? Is there a snake hiding in a hole somewhere? Isn't the heart killed and destroyed rather when it is taken out of the earth? 9) In union with humility, neither the appearance of hatred, nor any kind of contradiction, nor even the stench of disobedience is possible, unless the word is about faith. 10) Whoever entered into a marriage union with him is meek, quiet, full of contrition, compassionate, no matter what, calm, cheerful, compliant, carefree, vigilant, not lazy and (why list so many?) dispassionate; if only in our humility I remember the Lord: and He delivered us from our enemies - both our passions and our defilements (Ps. 135:23-24). 11) A humble monk does not inquire about the secrets; but the proud suffer the judgments of God. 12) One of the most knowledgeable brothers was pleased by demons, who appeared to him visibly; but the wise one said to them: “If only you would stop praising me in my soul; then from your removal I would conclude that I am great. If you don’t stop praising me; then by your very praise I guess my uncleanness; For everyone who is high-hearted is unclean before the Lord (Proverbs 16:5). So, either withdraw, and then I am great; or praise, and through you I will gain humility.” Struck by bewilderment, they became invisible. 13) May your soul not be such a storehouse of this life-giving moisture, which sometimes exudes it, and sometimes dries up again from the heat of glory and exaltation; but let it become a source of dispassion, always draining the river of poverty. 14) Know, dear one, that abundance will multiply the wheat (Ps. 64:14) and spiritual fruit in itself. This pleasure is a humble soul, among the mountains, that is, among works and virtues, always remaining non-arrogant and motionless. I did not fast, did not indulge in vigil, did not lie down on the bare ground, but I humbled myself; and soon the Lord saved me (Ps. 114:5). 15) Repentance awakens, crying strikes the heavenly door, holy humility opens it; and I confirm this, and worship the three in one, and the one in three. 16) The sun illuminates everything visible, and humility gives strength to everything that is done according to reason. If there is no light, everything is darkened; if there is no humility, everything about us is rotten. 17) One place 23 in the whole creation once saw the sun, and one thought often gave birth to humility. On one and only day the whole world rejoiced; and there is only one virtue, inimitable for demons. 18) It’s another thing to be exalted, another thing not to be exalted, and another thing to humble yourself. One judges others every day; the other does not judge others, but does not condemn himself; the third, not deserving of condemnation, always condemns himself. 19) It is another thing to be humble in wisdom, another thing to try to acquire humility, and another thing to praise the humble person. The first is characteristic of the perfect, the second - of the truly obedient, and the third - of all the faithful. 20) He who humbles his inner self will not be robbed by his lips; What is not in the treasury will not be revealed by the door. 21) A horse, when alone, often imagines that it is running, and when with others, then it recognizes its slowness. 22) If the thought is no longer vain of natural gifts: this is a sign of the beginning of health. But until he feels the stench of pride, he will not feel the fragrance of the world. 23) He who loved me, said holy humility, until he unites with me, will no longer beat, judge, rule, or trick. And in combination with me, the law no longer applies to him (1 Tim. 1:9). 24) One ascetic, zealous for blessed humility, had unclean demons plant praise in his heart; he, by God’s inspiration, manages to overcome the wickedness of the spirits with pious cunning, stands up, and along the wall of his cell places the names of the highest virtues, that is, perfect love, angelic humility, pure prayer, uncorrupted chastity and others like that. Therefore, when his thoughts began to praise him, he said to them: “Let’s go for proof”; then, approaching, he read the names and cried out to himself: “Until you acquire them, know that you are still far from God.” 25) We cannot say what power and essence this sun has; however, from its actions and properties we explain the essence for ourselves. 26) Humility is God’s cover, so that we do not see our successes. Humility is an abyss of self-abasement, inaccessible to any king. Humility is a pillar of strength against the enemy (Ps. 60:4). The enemy will have time against him, and his son, or, better said, the thought of iniquity will not embitter him: and he will cut off his enemies from before him, and defeat those who hate him (Ps. 89:23-24). 27) In addition to all the distinctive properties mentioned above, the great owner of this household wealth has others in his soul. And all these properties, except one, testify to those who see wealth. You know that this holy essence is already in you, without deceiving yourself, by the abundance of ineffable light, by the indescribable love of prayer. And the acquisition of this is preceded by a heart that does not condemn the sins of others; and its forerunner is disgust from all vanity. 28) He who knew himself in the judgment of every emotional feeling, sowed on the earth; and those who have sowed wrongly, humility cannot flourish in them. 29) He who knows himself has acquired the concept of the fear of the Lord. And whoever walks in fear has reached the gates of love. 30) Humility is the door of the kingdom, leading those approaching it. I think that the Lord said about the one who enters through this door: he will enter and leave life without fear, and he will find pasture and grain in paradise. All who came in monastic form through another door are the essence of their lives and robbers (John 10: 8–9). 31) We who intend to understand ourselves will not cease to seek this. And if we admit with spiritual feeling that every neighbor is better than us; then God’s mercy is close to us. 32) It is impossible for a flame to come out of snow; It is even more difficult to be humble in a non-Orthodox person; it is the success of the faithful and pious, and, moreover, those who have already been purified. 33) Many, perhaps, call and indeed consider ourselves sinners, but the heart is tested by dishonor. 34) He who hastens to this untroubled pier will not cease to direct his ways, and words, and thoughts, and inventions, and questions, and research, and all his behavior, all means, desires and prayers, to her alone, thinking about her alone, yearning for her alone, until, with God’s assistance, and with behavior even more humble and humiliated, he delivers the boat of his soul from unceasingly stormy sea of self-importance; because he who is freed from this sea in all other sins will become a conveniently justified publican. 35) Some of the bad deeds they had previously committed, and having received forgiveness for them, turned for themselves the reason for humility, putting aside their vain conceit for the rest of their lives. Others, imagining the suffering of Christ in their minds, always consider themselves debtors. Others humiliate themselves for their daily shortcomings. Others, as a result of temptations, illnesses and falls that happened to them, acquired the mother of talents. And there are also those (I can’t say whether they still exist today) who, for the sake of the very gifts of God, as they are condescended, humble themselves, consider themselves unworthy of such wealth, and remain in such a state of mind as if their debt was increasing every day. Such is humility, such is bliss, and such is the perfect reward. 36) When you see or hear that someone in a few years has acquired the highest dispassion; then conclude that he traveled no other way, but this blessed, short path. 37) Sacred couple - love and humility; one exalts, and the other, having the exalted, never falls. 38) Another is contrition, another is recognition, another is humility. 39) Contrition is a product of the fall. The one who falls comes into contrition, and without boldness stands in prayer, with commendable, however, persistence, like a slob, leaning on the rod of hope, and using it to drive away the dog of despair. 40) Recognition of one’s own measures is safe, and memory and understanding of one’s easy falls are not distracted by anything. 41) Humility is the spiritual teaching of Christ, mentally acceptable to those worthy in the spiritual cage, and inaccessible to the sensual word. 42) Whoever says that he fully feels the stench of such a world in himself, and during praise feels at least an instantaneous movement of the heart, or understands the power of words; he (let him not remain in error) is already in error. 43) Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to Your name give glory (Ps. 113:9), says someone, as I hear, with spiritual feeling. For he knows that human nature, as usual, cannot by itself remain undamaged. From You is my praise in the great Church (Ps. 21:26), that is, in the next century; and before that I cannot accept it without danger to myself. 44) If the limit, rule and character of extreme pride is to show in oneself for glory such virtues as do not exist in a person; then it follows that a sign of the deepest humility will be - for the sake of humiliation, to present ourselves as guilty of something of which we are not guilty. This is what the one who picked up the bread and cheese did. 24 Such is the worker of integrity, who would take off his clothes and walk dispassionately through a whole city. 25 Such people do not care that people may be tempted, having already received the power, through prayer, to confirm everyone invisibly. And whoever cares about the first shows in himself the poverty of the second. If God is ready to heed the request; then we can do everything. 45) It’s better for you to upset people than God. God rejoices when he sees that we ourselves are going to meet dishonor, just to suppress, defeat and destroy vain conceit in ourselves. 46) Such feats are achieved by wandering taken to the highest degree; for it is common for the truly great to endure ridicule from their household. Don't be surprised by what was said; for no one can ever ascend the ladder with one step. 47) Everyone knows that we are God’s disciples, not because demons obey us, but because our names are written in the heaven of humility (Luke 10:20). 48) The infertility of the so-called lemon trees naturally causes their branches to run high; inclined branches are more often fruitful. Those who are attentive will understand this. 49) This degree of holy humility acquires fruit from God in thirty, sixty and one hundred. The dispassionate ascend to the last measure; to the middle - courageous, everyone can reach the first. 50) He who knows himself will never fall into deception and will not undertake anything that is higher than him, but already has his foot on this blessed path. 51) The bird is afraid of the hawk's gaze; but workers of humility are afraid of the voice of discord. 52) Many achieved salvation without the gift of predictions, insights, signs and wonders; but without humility no one will enter the bridal chamber; because the latter is the guardian of the former, and the former in the frivolous were often destructive for the latter. 53) For us, who do not want to humble ourselves, the Lord, according to His vision, arranged that no one can see his scabs the way his neighbor sees; and therefore we must give thanks for our healing not to ourselves, but to our neighbor and to God. 54) The humble man always abhors his own will as sinful, and in his petitions to the Lord, with undoubted faith, he studies what he is obliged to do, and remains in obedience, not paying attention to the life of the teachers, but entrusting care to God, who through the donkey taught Balaam what he should do. Such a worker, although he does everything, understands, and speaks according to God, but even in this case does not attribute it to himself. Self-confidence for the humble is a burden and a burden, just as for the proud it is someone else’s opinion. 55) It seems to me that it is only characteristic of an angel not to be carried away by sins in secret; for I hear what the earthly angel says: I am worthless in myself: but I will not be justified in this: but the Lord is the one who contends for me (1 Cor. 4:4). Therefore, we must constantly condemn and reproach ourselves in order to be justified in involuntary sins by voluntary humiliation. Otherwise, at our end, we will, without a doubt, be subjected to severe torture for them. 56) Whoever asks God for what is beneath him will undoubtedly receive what is above him. And this shows the publican, who asked for remission of sins, and received justification. And the robber asked only to remember him in the kingdom; but he was the first to inherit the whole paradise. 57) In the world, it is not possible to see a small or large fire in one’s own nature; and in unfeigned humility it is absolutely impossible for any kind of substance to remain. Until we fall voluntarily, we do not have this substance; voluntary fall is a sign of its appearance in us. 58) The Lord, knowing that spiritual virtue is combined with external behavior, accepted lention; showed us the way to walk the path of humility. For the soul becomes similar to bodily activities, and what it does, it borrows an image from and is aligned with it. For one of the angels, the leadership served as a reason for arrogance, although it was not given to him with that reason. 59) The disposition of the one sitting on the throne is different, and the disposition of the one sitting on the rot is different. And for this reason, perhaps, this great righteous man sat on a dunghill outside the city; for, having then acquired complete humility, he said with spiritual feeling: I reproached myself, and melted away: and I consider earth and ashes for myself (Job 42:6). 60) I find that Manasseh sinned as no other person sinned, desecrating both the church of God with idols and all Divine services. If the whole world fasted on itself for him, it would not be able to adequately reward it. But humility was able to heal the unhealed in him. If you had desired sacrifices, David says to God, you would have given them: but burnt offerings, that is, the body of an offering burnt by fasting, do not please. A sacrifice to God - and what comes next is known to everyone (Ps. 50:18). 61) I sinned against the Lord, blessed humility once cried out to God, after committing adultery and murder; and it soon heard: The Lord has taken away your sin (2 Samuel 12:13). 62) The path to humility and the basis for it, according to the definition of the ever-memorable fathers, is bodily labor; and I add obedience and rightness of heart; because they are naturally the opposite of self-conceit. 63) If conceit made some angels demons; then humility, without a doubt, can turn demons into angels. Therefore, let the fallen have courage! 64) Let us hasten with all our might to ascend to the very top of humility. If we cannot go on our own; then we will ascend at least on his shoulders. If even there we become somewhat exhausted; then, at least, we will not fall out of his embrace: for whoever falls out of it, I will be amazed if he receives any eternal gift. 65) The strength of humility and its path, and not its signs, are: non-acquisitiveness, inner wandering, concealment of wisdom, simplicity of speech, asking for alms, concealing nobility, eliminating freedom in speech, avoiding verbosity. 66) Nothing can ever humble the soul as much as a poor state and living on alms. For then, only then, do we turn out to be wise and lovers of God when, given the opportunity to exalt ourselves, we irrevocably flee from exaltation. 67) If, when you arm yourself against any passion; then take humility as your companion; it will step on the asp and the basilisk, and will trample the lion and the serpent, I mean, it will step on sin and despair, it will trample the devil and the carnal serpent (Ps. 90:13). 68) Humility is a heavenly trumpet that can lift a soul to heaven from the abyss of sins. 69) Someone saw in his heart the beauty of humility, and, overcome with surprise, asked to tell the name of his parent. Smiling pleasantly and calmly at him, humility says: “How do you want to know the name of my parent? He cannot be named, and I will not tell you his name until you have God within you.” Glory to him forever and ever! Amen. Whoever has ascended to this level, let him dare, as one who has become an imitator of the Teacher - Christ; such a one will be saved. The mother of the source is the abyss, and the source of prudence is humility. Word 26. On the distinction of thoughts, passions and virtues 1) Prudence in those who have just arrived is a true knowledge of themselves, in those who are progressing - a spiritual feeling that infallibly distinguishes in the proper sense what is good from what is naturally good and from what is opposite to good; in the perfect, knowledge, which is a consequence of Divine illumination, and with its lamp can illuminate what is dark in others. Or, perhaps, in general, prudence exists and is recognized as the undoubted comprehension of God’s will at all times, in all places and deeds; and it occurs only in those who are pure in heart, body and lips. 2) Whoever through piety destroyed three passions in himself, 26 also destroyed five; 27 But whoever neglected them has not overcome anything. 3) Prudence is an undefiled conscience and pure feeling. 4) Let no one, seeing or hearing anything supernatural in monastic life, fall into unbelief out of ignorance; for where the supernatural God dwells, there very much is already accomplished supernaturally. 5) Every demonic warfare is carried out in us in these three main ways: either through negligence, or through pride, or through the envy of demons. The first battle is regrettable, the second is very disastrous, and the third is most blessed. 6) Let us have our conscience according to God as our goal and rule in everything, so that, knowing where the breath of the winds comes from, we can accordingly spread sails to us. 7) In all our deeds according to God, demons dig three pits for us. Firstly, they strive to prevent good things from being done. Secondly, after their first defeat, they try to ensure that what is done is not according to God. When will these people not achieve this goal? then, silently standing before our souls, they please us, as those who lead our lives in everything according to God. The enemy of the first is zeal and concern for death, the second is submission and humiliation, and the third is constant condemnation of oneself. This is the work that lies ahead of us until God’s fire enters our sanctuary. For then the previously ingrained bad inclinations will no longer bother us. Our God is a fire that consumes (Heb. 12:23) every kindling and movement, every inclination that has taken root in us, and every blindness, internally and externally noticed and known. 8) Demons usually produce in us the opposite of what has been said. For when they take possession of the soul and extinguish the light of the mind, then in us poor people there will be neither sobriety, nor prudence, nor recognition, nor shame; there will be carelessness, insensibility, recklessness and blindness. 9) What has been said is now very clearly known to those who have become chaste from fornication, have reduced their freedom in speech, and from shamelessness have come to their senses; they know how, after the mind has sobered up, after its blindness, or, better said, distortion, has ended, they are internally ashamed of themselves for what they previously said and did, living in blindness. 10) If the spiritual day does not brighten first and does not get dark; then the tati will not come to steal, kill and destroy the soul. 11) Robbery is the inconspicuous capture of the soul. The slaughter of the soul is the mortification of the verbal mind, which has fallen into obscene deeds. Destruction is despair in oneself after committing lawlessness. 12) Let no one be dissuaded by his weakness from fulfilling the Gospel commandments; for there are souls who have done things beyond the commandments. And of what has been said, without a doubt, you will be convinced by the one who loved his neighbor more than himself and laid down his life for him, although he did not have the command of the Lord to do so. 28 13) Struggling with passions, but humble, let them dare. For if they fall into every ditch, and become entangled in every snare, and suffer from every disease; then, after restoration of health, they will become luminaries, doctors, lamps and pilots for everyone, teaching them to recognize the properties of each disease, and saving those close to the fall with their own experience. 14) If some are still dominated by their former habits of sin, but can teach even with one word; then let them teach. For, perhaps, being ashamed of their own words, they will someday begin an active life. And if they don’t start; what will happen to them is what, as I saw, happened to others wallowing in the mud. Covered in mud, they told those passing by how they sank there, doing this for their salvation, so that they would not end up there the same way. But, for the salvation of others, the Almighty delivered them themselves from the mud. If, possessed by passions, they voluntarily indulge in pleasures; then let them teach by silence; That is why Jesus began to create and teach (Acts 1:1). 15) We, humble monks, are crossing a dangerous, truly dangerous sea - a sea on which there are many winds, rocks, whirlpools, robbers, hurricanes, shoals, animals and waves. By rock to the soul we mean fierce and sudden irritability. Beneath the whirlpool is hopelessness, which envelops the mind and tends to drag it into the depths of despair. Under the shallows is ignorance, which accepts bad as good. Under the beasts is a heavy and ferocious body. Under the robbers are the most dangerous servants of vanity, who plunder our cargo and the work of virtues. Under the wave is a satiated and burdened womb, which with its desire betrays us into the power of the beast. Under the hurricane is pride cast down from the sky, which lifts us up and then brings us down to the abyss. 16) For students of writing, it is known which sciences are suitable for beginners, which for intermediate students, and which for teachers themselves. Let us delve wisely so that, after long-term training, we do not stop at the initial lessons. And to see that an old man goes to a children's school is considered a shame by everyone. 17) Here is an excellent alphabet for everyone: (α) obedience, (β) fasting, (γ) sackcloth, (δ) ashes, (ε) tears, (ζ) confession, (η) silence, (θ) humility, (ι) vigil, (κ) courage, (λ) cold, (μ) labor, (ν) suffering, (ξ) humiliation, (ο) contrition, (π) forbearance, (ρ) brotherly love, (σ) good nature, (τ) simple and not inquisitive faith, (υ) putting aside worldly cares, (φ) hateless hatred of parents, (χ) impartiality, (ψ) simplicity with kindness, (ω) voluntary humiliation of oneself. 18) Subject of study for those who succeed and evidence of their success: not vanity, not anger, trustworthiness, silence, prudence, firm remembrance of judgment, charity, love of hospitable people, decent admonition, dispassionate prayer, lack of love of money. 19) And here is the limit, charter and law for those who are perfected in spirit and body by piety in the flesh: (α) an uncaptivated heart, (β) perfect love, (γ) the source of humility, (δ) the transmigration of the mind, (ε) the indwelling of Christ, (ζ) inexhaustibility of light and prayer, (η) the abundance of Divine illumination, (θ) the desire for death, (ι) hatred of life, (κ) flight from the body, (λ) a prayer book for the world, (μ) a strong seeker of God, (ν) a fellow servant of the angels, (ξ) the abyss of knowledge, (ο) the abode of secrets, (π) the guardian of the inscrutable, (ρ) the guardian of the salvation of men, (σ) the god of demons, (τ) the lord of passions, (υ) the lord of the body, (φ) guardian of nature, (χ) alien to sin, (ψ) house of dispassion, (ω) with the Lord’s help, imitator of the Lord. 20) We need no little sobriety when the body is sick. The demons, seeing us defeated and still unable, due to weakness, to enter into a feat with them, then attack us with all their might. Those who live in the world, during illnesses, are haunted by the demon of irritability, and sometimes by blasphemy. And those who live outside the world, even if they have an abundance of everything they need, are haunted by the demon of gluttony and fornication. Those who spend their lives in places devoid of any consolation and in asceticism, the tormentor - the demon of despondency and ingratitude - relentlessly follows. 21) I noticed that the wolf of fornication aggravated the suffering in the sick person, and during the most suffering he produced carnal movements and eruptions in him. And it was amazing to see how the flesh, amidst intense torment, burned with desire and went berserk. And I turned and saw those lying on the bed themselves, who were consoled by God’s power, or a feeling of contrition, and with this consolation they reflected painful sensations from themselves, and reached such a disposition that they did not want to ever be freed from the disease. And he turned again and saw those who were seriously suffering, whom illness, like some kind of admonition, freed from spiritual passion; and I glorified with the clay the One who cleansed the clay. 22) The spiritual mind, without a doubt, appropriates spiritual feeling to itself, so that we do not cease to look for this feeling in ourselves, when it is not yet in us; and when it is revealed, then the external feelings will cease their inherent actions. Knowing this, one of the wise said: and you will gain a Divine feeling. 23) Let monastic life be observed in the feeling of the heart, in deeds, words, thoughts and movements. If not; then it will not be a monastic life, let alone an angelic one. 24) Another is God’s Providence, another is God’s help, another is God’s preservation, another is God’s mercy, and another is God’s consolation. Providence is revealed in every nature, help - only in the faithful, protection - in the faithful, and the faithful are true, mercy - in those who work for God, and consolation - in those who love Him. 25) Sometimes what serves as medicine for one person is poison for another; and sometimes the same thing to the same person, when given at the right time, serves as a medicine, and not at the right time serves as a poison. 26) I saw an inexperienced doctor who, having subjected a broken-spirited patient to dishonor, only brought him to despair. And I saw a well-skilled doctor who struck a haughty heart with dishonor and cleansed it of all stench. 27) I saw that the same patient sometimes drinks the medicine of obedience to cleanse filth, moves, walks and does not sleep; and sometimes, when the spiritual eye suffers from illness, it remains motionless, silent and silent. Have ears to hear, let him hear. 28) Others, I don’t know where from, because I have not learned to explore with my thoughts and subject to my own research the gifts of God, but, I will say this, from nature itself, they have an inclination towards abstinence, or silence, or purity, or modesty, or meekness, or tenderness. And others, since their very nature almost opposes them in this, force themselves to the best of their ability, and, although at times they suffer defeats, nevertheless, as those who fight against nature, in my opinion, they are higher than the first. 29) Do not boast, O man, of the wealth you have acquired without difficulty. For the Giver, foreseeing your great loss, and weakness, and death, saves you, albeit a little, and with these advantages that you have not deserved. 30) Education in childhood, upbringing, activities when we come of age, either promote or hinder us in virtue and in monastic life. 31) For monks, light is angels; and for every person the light is monastic life. Therefore, let the monks strive to become good examples in everything, not to cause anyone to stumble in anything (2 Cor. 6:3) when they do or say anything. For if the light becomes darkness, how much more will the darkness be darkened, that is, those who live in the world. 32) If you obey me, you who are submissive, or better yet, those who intend to be obedient; then the best thing for us is not to be fickle, and not to divide our poor soul into parts, not to invite thousands of thousands and thousands of enemies with us into battle; for our strength is not enough to study, or fully discover, all their deceits. 33) With the assistance of the Holy Trinity, we will arm ourselves with three against three. 29 Otherwise, we will incur a lot of trouble. 34) If the Sea turns into dry land (Ps. 65:6); then, without a doubt, our Israel, that is, the mind that sees God, will pass this sea without worry, and will see the Egyptians drowned in the tearful waters. And if He has not yet entered into us; then the sound of the waves of this sea, that is, our flesh, who can stand (Ps. 65:8)? 35) If during our activity God rises in us, then His enemies will be scattered; and if we approach Him by contemplation, then those who hate Him will flee from His presence and from ours (Ps. 67:2). 36) Let us try to study the Divine more by works than by words alone; for, at the time of the exodus, it was not words that were to be shown, but deeds. 37) Those who hear about a treasure hidden in a certain place look for it, and having found it, they treasure it with difficulty; and those who have become rich without labor squander their wealth. 38) It is difficult to overcome previous bad skills without difficulty; and those who do not stop adding new ones to them either fall into despair or do not receive any benefit from submission. However, I know that everything is possible with God, but nothing is impossible for Him (Job 42:2). 39) Some people proposed to me an insoluble question, which is beyond the power of anyone like me, and is not found in any of the books that have reached me, namely: what are the actual offspring of the eight thoughts? Or which of the three main ones is the ancestor of the other five? And I, shielded from the question by laudable ignorance, learned the following from the reverend men: the mother of fornication is gluttony, and despondency is vanity; sadness, as well as anger, are the products of these three; The mother of pride is vanity. 40) In response to this, to these ever-memorable fathers, I began to earnestly ask that they tell me about the generation of the eight thoughts: which one is born from which? And these dispassionate ones kindly taught me, saying: “The foolish have no order or rationality; but they have every kind of disorder and every disorder.” And the blessed fathers confirmed this with convincing examples, offering on Wednesday many convincing proofs, some of which we put in this word, so that from them we can draw light for ourselves in the reasoning of other things. 41) So, for example, untimely laughter is sometimes born from a prodigal demon, and sometimes from vanity, when a person inwardly glorifies himself without shame; sometimes - and from luxury. 42) Drowsiness - sometimes from luxury, and sometimes from fasting, when those who fast are exalted; sometimes out of despondency, and sometimes out of nature. 43) Talking a lot - sometimes from gluttony, and sometimes from vanity. 44) Dejection - sometimes from luxury, and sometimes from lack of fear. 45) Blasphemy, in fact, is a product of pride, but it is often born from condemning one’s neighbor in the same thing, or from the hostile envy of demons. 46) Hardening of the heart sometimes happens from satiety, from insensibility, from addiction. And addiction again sometimes comes from fornication, or from the love of money, or from gluttony, or from vanity, and from many other reasons. 47) Cunning is also born from conceit and anger. 48) Hypocrisy - from complacency and self-will. 49) Everything opposite to this is born from parents opposite to them, but without saying much, because I would not have enough time if I intended to explore everything separately, I will say that for all the passions listed above, in the proper sense, humility is destructive; and those who acquired it conquered all passions. 50) The parent of all vices is voluptuousness and deceit. Whoever has them in himself will not see the Lord; and abstaining from the first will not bring us the least benefit without abstaining from the second. 51) As an example of the fear of the Lord, let us take the fear that we have before rulers and beasts; and may the example of carnal love serve you as an example of love for God. For nothing prevents us from borrowing examples of virtues from the opposite. 52) The real race is extremely spoiled, and is all filled with conceit and hypocrisy. In bodily labors, perhaps, he will turn out to be an imitator of our ancient fathers, but he will not be worthy of their talent; although, I think, nature has never had such a need for talents as it does now. And rightly this is done to us; because God reveals Himself not through labor, but through simplicity and humility. Though the power of the Lord is made perfect in weakness; however, the Lord will not forbid a humble worker. 53) When we see one of our ascetics suffering physically, then we will not make an effort to see in his weakness the judgment of God, and explain it by his vicious life; but on the contrary, in simple-hearted and unkind love, we will heal him, accepting him as our own member, and as a warrior wounded in battle. 54) There is weakness for the purification of sins, and there is weakness for the humility of our wisdom. 55) When the good and all-good Lord and our Lord sees that others are often lazy for achievement; then He humbles the flesh with weakness, as if it were a less difficult feat. And sometimes it cleanses the soul from evil thoughts and passions. 56) Everything that happens to us, visible and invisible, can be accepted by us with kindness, and with passion, and with some kind of in-between disposition. I saw three brothers who suffered harm; one was annoyed, the other remained carefree, and the third even felt great joy. 57) I saw farmers who threw identical seeds into the ground, but each of them had his own special intention; who has to pay their debts; from whom - to accumulate wealth for oneself; for some - to honor the ruler with gifts; for others, for diligent work, to gain praise from those passing by on the path of life, and for others, to annoy his envious enemy; and for the other - not to deserve reproach from people for idleness. Here is the name of the seeds that farmers throw into the ground: fasting, vigil, almsgiving, various services, and the like. Let the brethren carefully test their intentions in the Lord. 58) How, while scooping up water from a spring, it sometimes happened unnoticed to scoop up a so-called toad with the water; like this, and striving along the path of virtues, we often enter the path of vices, invisibly connected with these virtues. So, for example, gluttony is combined with love of love, fornication with love, severity with prudence, wickedness with prudence, double-mindedness, slowness, laziness, bickering, waywardness and disobedience with meekness; with silence - teacher's arrogance; with joy - conceit; with hope - laziness; with love again - condemnation; with silence - despondency and laziness; with integrity - grief; with humility - boldness; behind all of them, as a general medicine, or better yet, a poison, comes vanity. 59) Let us not grieve if, after asking something from the Lord, we are not heard for some time. The Lord would have liked for all people to become dispassionate in an instant. 60) Everyone who asks something from God and does not receive it is undoubtedly not accepted for one of the following reasons: either because they ask ahead of time, or because they ask unworthily and vainly, or because, having received, they would become arrogant, or because they would be remiss in fulfilling their request. 61) That demons and passions are removed from the soul, either for a while or forever, I think no one doubts this; but not many people know - as a result of which they are removed from us. 62) From others, not only the faithful, but also the unfaithful, all passions were removed except one, 30 leaving in them this one as some kind of primal evil, completely replacing all other passions; for it is so harmful that it can bring down from heaven. 63) The substance of passions is destroyed, uprooted and burned in the soul by Divine fire. 64) Demons voluntarily withdraw from us in order to drive them to negligence; and then they suddenly kidnap the poor soul, and master it with passions to such an extreme that from that time on it becomes its own accuser and enemy. 65) I also know another removal of these beasts, after the soul acquires a perfect habit of vices. An example of this is infants who, out of long-term habit, when they are not given their mother’s breasts, suck their own fingers. 66) I also know the fifth type of spiritual dispassion, which comes from still great simplicity and praiseworthy innocence. For such are righteously given help from God, who saves the upright in heart (Ps. 7:11) and insensitively frees them from all evil; just like babies, when their clothes are taken off, they do not know their nakedness at all. 67) Vice, or passion, naturally does not exist in nature, because God is not the Creator of passions. Many virtues are given to us by God by nature itself; Of these, the following are obvious: mercy, because the pagans are also compassionate; love, because dumb animals often cry when they are deprived of each other; faith, because we all give birth to it from ourselves; hope, because by lending, and sailing, and sowing, we hope to become rich. So, if, according to what has been proven, love is in us by nature, and it is virtue, union and fulfillment of the law (Rom. 13:10); then it follows that virtues are not far from nature; and let those be ashamed who dissuade themselves from fulfilling them through impotence. 68) Above nature - purity, not anger, humility, prayer, vigil, fasting, constant contrition. Some of them are taught by people, others by angels, and others by the Teacher and Giver - God the Word himself. 69) When comparing evils, we should choose the easiest. For example, it often happens that we are standing in prayer, and brothers come to us, and it is necessary to do one of two things: either leave the prayer, or grieve the brother by sending him away without an answer. Love is higher than prayer; because one is a particular virtue, and the other embraces all virtues. 70) Once upon a time, when I was still young, I came to a city or village, and while sitting at a meal, I was suddenly overwhelmed by thoughts of gluttony and vanity. Fearing the fiend of gluttony, he decided to give in to vanity; for he knew that in young people the demon of gluttony often prevails over the demon of vanity. And this is not surprising; because in worldly people the root of all evil is the love of money, and in monks it is gluttony. 71) In spiritual people there are often other very unimportant passions, which are left in them according to God’s providence, so that they, mercilessly condemning themselves for other unimportant and sinless shortcomings, acquire the instealable wealth of humility. 72) It is impossible for someone who does not live in subordination to acquire humility at the very beginning. For anyone who has studied art willfully dreams a lot about himself. 73) According to the teachings of the fathers, an active life is determined by the two most important virtues. And fair enough; because one destroys voluptuousness, and the other protects this destruction with humility. Therefore, there are two types of mourning: one eliminates sin, the other produces humility. 74) It is characteristic of the pious to give to everyone who asks; the more pious - give to those who do not ask; but not to demand back from the one who took it, especially when there is an opportunity for this, is characteristic, perhaps, only of the dispassionate, and they alone. 75) In every passion, and also in virtues, let us not cease to inquire about ourselves; where are we? Is it at the beginning, or in the middle, or at the end? 76) All demonic warfare against us occurs for these three reasons: from lust, or from pride, or from demonic envy. The latter are blessed, the middle are very unhappy, and the former are completely obscene. 77) There is some kind of feeling, or better yet, some kind of skill called tirelessness. Anyone who has mastered it will never again be afraid of work or shy away from it. The souls of the martyrs, embraced by this glorious feeling, easily despised torment. 78) Guarding one’s thoughts is another matter, and guarding one’s mind is another. As far as the east is from the west, the second (although it is more difficult) is higher than the first. 79) It’s another thing to pray for deliverance from thoughts, another thing to resist them, and another thing to impute them to nothing and ignore them. The first method is evidenced by the one who said: God, come to my help and the like (Ps. 69:9); about the second - he said: and I answer those who reproach me with the word (Ps. 119:42) quarrel; and again: you have put us in contention with our neighbors (Ps. 79:7); about the third the witness is the Song Singer; I was dumb and did not open my mouth (Ps. 39:10); and kept those like them, so that the sinner would never rise up before me (Ps. 39:2); and again: I am proud and transgressing the law, but I have not strayed from Thy contemplation (Ps. 119:51). Those who stand at the middle level often use the first of these methods, due to their unpreparedness for counteraction. And whoever stands on the first degree is not able to repel enemies in the second way. But he who has reached the third degree laughs at the demons in everything. 80) Naturally it is impossible for an incorporeal being to be determined by a body; but all things are possible to God who created. 81) How can those who have a healthy sense of smell recognize who has hidden aromas; So a pure soul recognizes in others, imperceptibly for others, both the fragrance that it itself acquired from God, and the stench from which it has already completely freed itself. 82) It is not possible for everyone to become dispassionate, but it is not impossible for everyone to be saved and reconciled with God. 83) Let not those foreigners prevail over you who inquisitively want to know the secret ways of God’s vision, or the visions that happen to people, and secretly suggest that the Lord is partial. For (as indeed it is, and is clearly visible) these are the offspring of conceit. 84) There is a demon of love of money, which often takes upon itself the feigned image of humility; and there is a demon of vanity, as well as a demon of voluptuousness, which encourages almsgiving. Why, if we are pure from both, we will not stop doing works of mercy in every place. 85) Others said that demons oppose demons; but I learned that they all seek our destruction. 86) Every spiritual activity, both visible and mental, is preceded by our own intention and strong desire, with God’s assistance in them. For if the first have not been preceded, the second will not follow. 87) If there is a time for every thing under heaven, as Ecclesiastes says (Eccl.3:1); and by the name of every thing we must also understand that which concerns our sacred life: then let us consider, if you wish, and for every time we will look for what is characteristic of this time. For, without a doubt, among ascetics (I say this because of the infancy of those who strive) there is a time of dispassion, a time of tears, and a time of hardness of heart; a time to obey, and a time to command; a time of fasting, and a time of eating; a time of warfare with the enemy—the body, and a time of slaying the spirit; a time for spiritual storms, and a time for peace of mind; a time of heartfelt sadness, and a time of spiritual joy; a time for learning, and a time for listening; a time of defilement, perhaps due to conceit, and a time of purification for humility; a time of struggle and safe peace; a time for silence, and a time for unamusement; a time for unceasing prayer, and a time for unfeigned service. So, let us not, deceived by proud jealousy, seek ahead of time what happens in its season, that is, look for in winter what happens in summer, and during sowing - what happens when gathering handles; because there is a time to sow labors, and there is a time to reap the ineffable gifts of grace. Otherwise, even when the time comes, we will not receive what is characteristic of this time. 88) According to God’s ineffable providence, some received righteous rewards for their labors from God before the labors, others during the labors themselves, others after the labors, and others already at death. The question is: which of them is more humble than each other? 89) There is despair due to many sins, a burdened conscience and unbearable sadness that the soul is covered with many ulcers, and under the burden of them it plunges into the depths of despair. And despair also befalls us as a result of pride and conceit, when someone considers himself as undeserving of the fall that has happened to him. Those who are observant in both will find the following distinctive property: one, in despair, indulges in sins indifferently, the other, in despair, continues his asceticism, which is at odds with his condition. But the former can be healed by abstinence and good hope, and the latter by humility and the skill of not judging anyone. 90) It should not surprise us or seem strange to us when we see that some people do bad things and say good words; for conceit, even in paradise, having exalted the serpent, cast him down into destruction. 91) In all your undertakings and in every way of life, whether you live in spiritual subordination, or not submitting to anyone, visibly, or mentally, let it be a charter and rule for you to ask yourself: are your deeds exactly according to God? For example: when we, I mean beginners, begin to fulfill some intention, and from this doing the humility we have acquired so far does not increase in our soul; Then, in my opinion, whether our work is small or great, we are not doing it according to God. For in us, still infancy in spiritual life, humility serves as confirmation of agreement with the Lord’s will; those who have reached an average state are certified, perhaps, by the removal of abuse from them; and for the perfect - the increase and abundance of Divine light. 92) In the great and the small there can be no little; and in small things even great things are, without a doubt, imperfect. 93) The air, cleared of clouds, shows the sun in all its clarity; and the soul, worthy of the remission of previous sins, without a doubt, saw the Divine light. 94) Another is sin, another is idleness, another is negligence, another is passion, and another is fall. Whoever can investigate this about the Lord, let him make this clear. 95) Others delight most of all in the gift of miracles and that which is visible in spiritual gifts, not knowing that much is above this and hidden, and therefore remains inalienable. 96) He who is completely purified sees the soul of his neighbor (although not the very essence of the soul), in what disposition it is; but the one who succeeds still concludes about the soul according to the body. 97) A small fire often destroys an entire forest; Likewise, a small well spoils all the work. 98) There is a tranquility that, through the enmity of the flesh, awakens the strength of the mind, and does not arouse fervor. And there is a weariness of the body, perhaps a strong one, which stirs up movements in the flesh, so that we may not put our hope in ourselves (2 Cor. 1:9), but let us hope in Him who unknowingly mortifies the lust that dwells in us. 99) When we see that others love us in the Lord; Then we won’t especially take liberties with them; for nothing destroys love and produces hatred so much as freedom in circulation. 100) The eye of the soul is spiritual and very beautiful, and it surpasses everything after incorporeal entities. Why, people subject to passions could often recognize the thoughts in other souls by their strong love for them, especially before they became defiled and were not mired in corruption. 101) If nothing is so contrary to immaterial nature as material nature (let the reader understand this); then the observations of worldly people will be contrary to God’s Providence, and among us monks, they will be contrary to spiritual knowledge. 102) Let those who are weak in soul know that the Lord has visited them by their bodily needs, dangers, and the difficulty of external circumstances, and let those who are perfect know by the presence of the Holy Spirit in them, and by the increase in their gifts. 103) There is a demon who comes to us when we lie down on our bed, and shoots at us with evil and unclean thoughts, so that we, not then armed against him, out of laziness for prayer, fall asleep with these bad thoughts, and then have bad dreams. 104) There is a so-called predecessor of evil spirits, which attacks us immediately upon awakening from sleep, and defiles our first thought. Dedicate the firstfruits of your day to the Lord, because the whole matter will belong to the one who first took possession of us. One excellent worker told me a noteworthy word: “By the way my morning is, he said, I foreknow the course of the whole day.” 105) There are many paths of piety and destruction. Therefore, it often happens that another is opposed to one thing, and sincerely agrees with another; while both have an intention that is pleasing to the Lord. 106) When temptations happen to us, demons intensify to force us to either say or do something indecent. If they are unable to do this, they stand quietly and put into us the thought of offering proud thanksgiving to God. 107) Those who have philosophized above, after the separation of the soul from the body, in one part ascend to the mountain, and those who have philosophized further go down again. For for souls separated from the body there is no longer a middle place. One of the creatures received existence in another, and not in itself, and it is amazing how it can exist outside of that in which it received existence. 108) Mothers give birth to pious daughters, and the Lord makes mothers. And regarding the opposite, it is not unreasonable to establish a rule similar to this. 109) Moses, and better yet, God himself forbids the fearful to go out to war (Deut. 20:8), so that the last spiritual deception would not be worse than the first bodily fall. And this is fair. The light for all bodily members is the sensual eyes; intelligent light is the discrimination of Divine virtues. On Discreet Discrimination 110) Just as a tree scorched by the heat thirsts for water, so monks desire the understanding of God’s good will, and the knowledge not only of God’s will, but also of what is not the pure will of God, and what is even contrary to it. This is a truly important subject for us and not easily explained, and namely: what matters within our power must be carried out urgently, without any delay, and as quickly as possible, according to the word of him who said: woe to those who put off day by day (Sir. 5:8), and from time to time; and which again should be carried out without haste and with prudence, as he advises who said: with government comes warfare (Prov. 24:6), and also: let everything happen in a good manner and in order (1 Cor. 14:40). For not everyone can quickly and clearly recognize such indiscernible things, even if a God-bearing man, in whom the Holy Spirit speaks, often prays about this, and sometimes says: teach me to do Thy will, for Thou art my God (Ps. 142:10), and sometimes again: guide me in Thy truth (Ps. 24:5); and one more thing: tell me, Lord, the way, where I will go, for I have taken You from all the worries and passions of this life and lifted up my soul (Ps. 142:8). 111) Those who intend to know the will of the Lord must die to themselves. So, with faith and sincere simplicity, having prayed to God, with humility and an undoubting heart, asking the souls of the fathers and brothers, that they may receive their advice, as if from God’s lips, even if this advice seemed contrary to their own intention, and even if those asked were imperfectly spiritual. For God is not unrighteous, and will not allow souls to be deceived who, with faith and kindness, humbly submitted to the advice and judgment of their neighbor. Although those questioned are foolish, the Immaterial and Invisible speaks through them. The great ones are filled with humility, undoubtedly guided by the rule stated before this. For if someone opened his confession in the Psalter (Ps. 48:5); then the verbal mind and the rational soul, do you think, are much more preferable than what an inanimate thing teaches! 112) Many, out of their pride, having not yet achieved the perfect and easy good shown before them, having set out on their own and in themselves to comprehend what is pleasing to the Lord, have conveyed to us very many and different judgments about this. 113) Some of those who sought what the will of God was, put aside all attachment and thought about this and that decision of the soul, that is, whether to begin a task or resist it, as well as their mind, distracted by its own will, for the prescribed number of days, presenting it to the Lord with fervent prayer, they reached the knowledge of the will of the Lord, either from a mental conversation of the highest spiritual mind with our mind, or from that, that one thought completely disappeared in the soul. 114) Others, due to the sorrow and obstacles that followed the undertaking of the matter, concluded that it was from God, following the example of him who said: We will come to you once and twice, and Satan forbid us (1 Thess. 2:18). 115) Others, on the contrary, from unexpected assistance in the matter, realized that it was pleasing to God, saying internally: God helps everyone who wills good. 116) Whoever has insight from God, in matters that require haste and in matters that allow delay, receives a certificate in a short time according to the second method. 117) To waver in judgment and remain perplexed for a long time is a sign of a soul that is not illuminated from above and is fame-loving. 118) God is not unrighteous, and He will not shut His door to those who strike it in humility. 119) The Lord looks at the purpose of every undertaking, both that which requires haste and that which must be postponed; for every deed, pure from passion and all filth, done, in fact, for the sake of the Lord, and not for anyone else, even if it was undoubtedly not good, will be counted as good to us. 120) The study of what is above us does not have a safe end. The Lord's judgment about us is hidden in secret. The Lord, in His special way of looking after us, is often pleased to hide His will from us; for He knows that even if we had known His will, we would have disobeyed it, and for that we would have suffered the most severe punishments. 121) The right heart is free from a variety of affairs, floating comfortably in the boat of kindness. 122) There are courageous souls who, with love and humility of heart, approach such deeds that are higher than them; but there are also proud hearts that do the same. For our enemies often have the intention of making us do things that are beyond our strength, so that, through them, having reached the point of negligence, we abandon what is within our power and make ourselves a great laughingstock to our enemies. 123) I saw that those who were weak in soul and body, due to many falls into sin, undertook what was higher than them, and could not bear it. I told these that God judges repentance by the amount of humility, and not by work. 124) Sometimes education, and sometimes treatment of others, is the cause of an extremely bad life. But often a corrupt soul in itself is sufficient to destroy itself. The one who has secluded himself is free from the first two reasons, and perhaps from the third. But whoever has a third reason is not skillful in every place; because there is no place safer than heaven. 31 125) With the infidels or the evil-doers who maliciously argue with us, having given them one or two admonitions, we will cease relations; and for those who want to learn the truth from us until the end of the century, let us not be lazy about doing good. However, we will use communication with both of them to strengthen our own hearts. 126) It is extremely foolish who, hearing about supernatural virtues in saints, despairs of himself; on the contrary, they will excellently teach you one of two things: either they will encourage you to imitate the saints, or through blessed humility they will lead you to deep self-knowledge and to the discovery of the weakness hidden in you. 127) Of the unclean, crafty demons, even more crafty are those who inspire us to commit sin not only but advise us to have others as accomplices in a bad deed in order to subject us to the most severe punishment. I saw that one learned a bad skill from another, and although the one who taught it, having come to his senses, began to repent and stopped doing the bad thing; however, his repentance for the student’s bad deeds was not strong. 128) Great, truly great and incomprehensible is the wickedness of evil spirits; It is not visible to many, but I think that it is not completely visible to many. Why, luxurious and satiated, we stay awake without slumbering; and while fasting and exhausting ourselves with labor, we pitifully overcome sleep? Or, living in silence, do we harden our hearts, and living in society do we become contrite? When we are hungry, we are tempted by dreams; and when we are full, we do not tolerate these temptations? In poverty we become gloomy and incapable of tenderness; and if we drink wine, are we cheerful and easily moved to emotion? Whoever is able, let him enlighten the unenlightened in this about the Lord. And we are not enlightened for this. At the very least, let’s say that such a transformation does not always happen from demons, but sometimes happens from the dissolution of this unclean and insatiable plumpness given to me and enveloping me, I don’t know why. 129) When one of the above incomprehensible changes happens to us; then let us sincerely and humbly pray to the Lord. And if, after prayer, we feel the same within ourselves for a long time; then we conclude from this that this is done to us not by demons, but by nature. And often God’s vision desires to benefit us through the opposite, and by any means to overthrow our self-conceit. 130) It is dangerous to inquisitively explore the depth of God’s destinies; because inquisitive researchers sail on the boat of self-conceit. 131) Someone asked one of those who had the gift of insight: “Why has God, knowing that they will fall, decorated some with gifts and miracles?” And he answered: “to warn other spiritual men, to show human freedom, and to make the fallen irresponsible in judgment.” 132) The law, as imperfect, commanded: attend to yourself (Deut. 4:9); The Lord, being perfect, entrusted us with the correction of our brother, saying: if your brother sins, etc. (Matthew 18:15). If the reproof is pure and humble, it would be better to say your reminder; then do not refuse to act according to the Lord’s commandment, especially with those who receive reproof. And if you have not achieved this yet; then at least practice lawful service. 133) Do not be surprised when you see that those you love are at enmity against you. These frivolous ones are the tools of demons, and especially against demonic enemies. 134) For me, one thing is extremely surprising in us: why, having as partners in virtues the almighty God, angels, saints, and otherwise only a crafty demon, are we more willing and more willing to give in to the passions? I can’t talk about this in detail, and I don’t want to. 135) If all created beings, as they are by nature, remain such; then why, as the great Gregory says, am I the image of God, and was mixed with clay? If some of the creatures, although they have become no longer the same as they originated, nevertheless, certainly strive with insatiability for what is akin to them; then let a person use all means to, so to speak, lift him up on earth and seat him on the throne of God. And let no one dissuade himself from this ascent; because the way and the door are open. 136) What we hear about the successes of spiritual fathers awakens the mind and soul to compete with them, and listening to their teaching is a lamp in the darkness, returning the lost to the right path, enlightening the blind. 137) The prudent is the inventor of health, the eradicator of disease. 138) All those who express surprise at every little thing do it for two reasons: either because of extreme ignorance, or in order to show their humility, they magnify and extol the deeds of their neighbor. 139) Let us make an effort not only to fight demons, but also to attack them. The first sometimes overthrows, and sometimes is overthrown; the latter always pursue the enemy. 140) He who has conquered the passions offends the demons by pretending to show that he has passions, and thereby deceiving his enemies, and remaining invincible from them. One of the brothers once suffered dishonor, and without moving his heart at all, he prayed with his mind, and then began to lament about the dishonor inflicted on him, covering up his dispassion with feigned passion. Another of the brethren, who did not at all want the chairmanship, pretended to aspire to it. How can I depict to you the chastity of one who entered a house of prodigals, apparently for the sake of sin, but attracted a harlot to an ascetic life? Very early in the morning, someone brought a bunch of grapes to another of the silent ones; and when he brought it out, with some haste, however, without any lust, he ate the berries, showing the demons the glutton in himself. Another, having lost several rods, pretended to be mourning for the whole day. But such people need a lot of sobriety so that, having set out to laugh at demons, they themselves do not become their playground. Of these, without a doubt, someone said: as they are flatterers, they are truthful (2 Cor. 6:8). 141) Whoever wants to present his body to the Lord blameless and show his heart pure, let him avoid anger and abstinence; for without them all our work is useless. 142) Just as the lightness of the eyes varies, so in the soul there are many different shades of the mental sun. A different kind of joy is aroused in the soul by bodily tears, a different kind - by spiritual tears; different - with bodily eyes, different - with spiritual eyes; something different happens from hearing a word, and something different arises in the soul by itself; Still other things happen from silence, and others from obedience. On top of all this, there is another joy, which in admiration is inexpressible, and inexplicably in the light lifts the mind to Christ. 143) There are virtues and there are mothers of virtues. Therefore, the wise man primarily tries to acquire the latter; and in them our Teacher is God himself, acting by His own power; Many people teach first. 144) Let us be careful not to make up for the lack of self-indulgence in food with an excess of sleep. For it is common for the foolish to do this, as well as to do the opposite. 145) I saw workers who, on some occasion, made a small indulgence to the belly, but soon afterwards these valiant ascetics tormented the poor belly with all-night standing, and through this taught it to subsequently joyfully refuse satiety. 146) The demon of the love of money strenuously fights against the non-covetous. When it is not possible to overcome them; then, as an incentive, presenting the supply of the poor, he convinces - from immaterial to again become material. 147) When we fall in spirit, we will constantly keep in mind the commandment given by the Lord to Peter, to forgive the sinner seventy times seven (Matthew 18:22); for He who gave this commandment to another, without a doubt, will do it himself to an even greater extent. And when we exalt ourselves, we will constantly keep in mind the word of the One who said: whoever fulfills the whole spiritual law will sin in one passion, that is, he will fall into arrogance and be guilty of everything (James 2:10). 148) Some of the wicked and envious spirits voluntarily withdraw from the saints, so that in the event of unsuccessful battles, those who are disturbed are not given the opportunity to acquire crowns. 149) Blessed are the peacemakers (Matthew 5:9); no one contradicts this. But I also saw blessed enemy-makers. The two had an adulterous relationship with each other. But one of the leading and skillful men served to arouse mutual hatred in them, one slandering the other, which slandered him, and also the second against the first. And this wise man, with human cunning, managed to repel the demonic malice and produce hatred, which broke the fornication. 150) Someone breaks a commandment for the sake of a commandment. I saw young men who, according to God, were attached to each other, but, in order not to harm others and not to tempt their conscience, out of mutual conviction, they separated for a while. 151) How opposite marriage and burial are to each other; Pride and despair are so incongruous. But due to the disorder caused by demons, it happens that you see both together. 152) Some of the unclean demons teach us, at the beginning of monasticism, to interpret the Divine Scriptures. They especially like to do this with the hearts of vain people and those who mainly practice worldly sciences, so that, gradually deceiving them, they are led into heresies and blasphemies. We can recognize this demonic theology, or better yet, fighting against God, by the embarrassment and uncontrollable and indecent joy that is felt in the soul during this interpretation. 153) All creatures received from the Creator the order of existence and the beginning, and others the end. But virtue has an unlimited limit. For the Songsinger says: I have seen the end of every end, but your commandment is wide and boundless (Ps. 119:96). If some good workers pass from the power of activity to the power of contemplation; then love stops at nothing, and the Lord will preserve the entry of your fear and the outflow of your love (Ps. 120:8); and from this it follows that the limit of love is limitless, and we will never cease to succeed in it, neither in the present nor in the future century, accepting new light to the light of knowledge. And although what I am saying will seem strange to many; however, based on the evidence given, I cannot say, blessed father, that even intelligent beings are not overripe; I affirm, on the contrary, that they too continually receive glory after glory; and leading to leading. 154) Don’t be surprised if demons often give us good thoughts and mentally contradict them. The goal of our enemies in this case is to assure us that they also know the thoughts of our hearts. 155) Do not be a strict judge of those who teach high things in words when you see that they are lazy in active life. For the benefit of words often made up for the poverty of deeds. Of course, we do not all gain everything equally. For some, the word is superior to the deed, and for others, the latter is again superior to the first. 156) God did not create and was not the author of evil. Therefore, those who claimed that some passions are natural in the soul were deceived, not knowing that we have turned the praiseworthy properties of nature into passions. For example: by nature we have the seed for childbearing, but we turned it into fornication. By nature we are irritated with the serpent; but we turned it on our neighbor. There is in us a zeal for competition in virtues; and we compete in evil. Naturally, the soul desires glory, but heavenly glory. It’s natural to be proud, but in front of demons. Joy is also natural, but about the Lord and about the success of your neighbor. We received from nature and, memory, malice, but against spiritual enemies. We also received hunger for food, but without intemperance. 157) An unlazy soul raises demons against itself. But as the wars multiply, the crowns also multiply. He who has not suffered plagues from his enemies will, of course, not be crowned; and whoever, when he falls, does not faint, will be praised by the angels as a good warrior. 158) He who stayed three nights in the land 32 received life forever. The one who wins for three hours will not die. 159) If for our edification, according to God's vision, the sun, after its rise in us, knows its west (Ps. 103:19); then, without a doubt, cover your darkness (Ps. 17:12), and suddenly the night in it will pass to us the wonders of the tabernacles that had previously departed and all the wild beasts of the oak forest of thorny passions, roaring to snatch away the hope that is in us, and to seek from God the food of the passions, either in thought or in activity. And now again, in the darkness of humility, the sun has risen for us, and the animals have gathered to themselves and lie down in their beds (Ps. 103:20-25), that is, in the hearts of the voluptuous, but not in us. Then the demons will say: The Lord has exalted to show mercy to them. And we will say to them: The Lord has magnified to do with us: we were rejoicing (Ps. 125:3-4), but you are persecuted. Behold, the Lord sits on a light cloud, no doubt, in a soul exalted above all earthly lust, and will come to Egypt - into a heart previously darkened, and the hand-made ideas and thoughts of the mind will be shaken (Is. 19:1). 160) If Christ, although omnipotent, physically flees from Herod; then let the rash be warned not to fall into temptation. For it is said: do not let your feet fall into confusion; the angel who guards you will slumber below (Ps. 121:3) 161) Puffiness is grafted onto courage, like the so-called smilax, onto a cypress tree. 33 162) Let it be our constant occupation not to allow even one thought to enter our minds - that we have acquired something good. Let us set a goal for ourselves - to search with all precision for signs of whether there really is good in us. And then, without a doubt, we will see how insufficient we are. 163) Constantly search within yourself for signs of passions; and then you will know that there is much in you that, being subject to these ailments, we cannot recognize in ourselves, either because of weakness, or because of deep rooting. 164) God judges intention; but in what does not exceed our strength, we also humanely seek to do. Great is he who unfailingly does everything within his power; but greater than him, who with humility reaches out to what is beyond his strength. 165) Demons often prevent us from doing what is easier and useful for us, but encourage us to quickly take on the difficult. 166) I find that Joseph is blessed for turning away from sin, and not for showing dispassion. The question is: in what and how many sins does aversion from them gain us a crown? It is another thing to turn away from the shadow, and much higher to strive for the sun. 167) Darkness is the cause of stumbling, stumbling is a fall, and a fall is death. 168) Those who are darkened by wine are often sobered up with water; and those darkened by passions are sobered by tears. 169) Confusion is another thing, confusion is another, blinding is another. The first is cured by abstinence, the second by silence, and the third by obedience and God, who was obedient (Phil. 2:8). 170) Taking as an example two institutions in which earthly things are purified, we decently imagine two institutions for the wise above; and let us call a whitewash a community according to the Lord, in which spiritual uncleanness, fatness and ugliness are destroyed; Let hermitage be more beautiful for those who have put aside lust, memory and irritability, and who are moving from community to silence. 171) Others say that we fall into the same sins due to a lack of repentance appropriate and commensurate with our previous life. But the question is: has everyone who has not fallen into sins of the same kind repented as they should? Others fall into the same sins, either by plunging into deep oblivion of previous sins, or by voluptuousness, presenting God as a lover of mankind, or by despairing of their salvation. I don’t know if anyone will blame me when I say that they are falling because they can no longer bind this enemy, who rules over them by force of habit. 172) It is worth researching: why does the soul, being barren, when spirits identical with it in essence approach, does not see what their properties are? Is this a consequence of its connection with the flesh? This is known to the only One who connected her with the body. 173) One knowledgeable man asked me: “Tell me, it would be desirable for me to know, tell me, which of the spirits, when we commit sins, humble the mind, and which ones exalt it? since I was embarrassed by the proposal, and confirmed my ignorance with an oath; Then the one who wanted to learn himself taught me, saying: “In a few words, having given you the leaven for discerning spirits, I leave it to your own diligence to find out the rest. The spirit of carnality, the spirit of anger, the spirit of gluttony, the spirit of despondency, the spirit of drowsiness do not somehow have the custom of raising the horn of the mind; and the spirit of love of money, covetousness, verbosity, and many others, have the custom of adding evil to evil. Therefore, the spirit of condemnation is close to the latter.” 174) If any of the monks went to the worldly people; or he received them at his place, and after being separated from them, after an hour or a day, he is stung by the arrow of sadness, and does not rejoice any more, like one freed from a holding net; then he became a playground of either vanity or fornication. 175) First of all, let’s test where the wind is blowing from, so as not to pull the sail in the wrong direction. 176) Comfort the elders practicing their activities, who have exhausted their bodies with labors, with love, giving them a little peace. And force the young ones who have suppressed their souls with sins to abstain, bringing to their memory eternal torment. 177) Among the impossibilities, as I said elsewhere, is that suddenly, upon entering monasticism, we become completely clean from gluttony and vanity. But let us not overcome vanity with luxury, because victory over gluttony, and precisely in newcomers, gives rise to vanity. It’s better to protect ourselves against him with poverty. For the hour will come, and there is already one for those who wish, in which the Lord will subdue this passion under our feet. 178) Young and old, entering monasticism, are not fought by the same passions; because they often have completely opposite ailments. Therefore, blessedly blessed is humility; because with him, both in the young and in the old, repentance is reliable and strong. 179) Don’t be embarrassed by what I want to say. Rarely, there are souls who are right and unkind, alien to malice, hypocrisy and deceit, who are completely disgusted by being with people, while, with the help of a guide, from silence as from a pier, they can ascend to heaven, and remain not wanting and not experiencing communal rebellions and temptations. 180) People heal the lustful, angels heal the wicked, and God heals the proud. 181) And this, perhaps, often constitutes one of the types of love, if we allow the neighbor who visits us to do whatever he pleases, and in any case we show him all our complacency. 182) The question is: to what extent, when, and is it true that repentance destroys the good as well as the bad? 183) Do we need a lot of prudence to know when, in what cases and to what extent we should fight what feeds the passions? For sometimes you need to recognize what is best for yourself - to run through weakness, so as not to die. 184) Let us watch and observe (and over time, perhaps, we will destroy the bile of bitterness in ourselves) which of the demons exalt us, which humble us, which embitter us, which console us, which darken us, which again, apparently, impart enlightenment to us, which make us inactive, which are insidious, which are sad and which are cheerful. 185) But we will be amazed if we see that at first in the monastic field the passions in us are stronger than in our worldly life. For all the causes of illness must be set in motion (and then health will come to us); while, perhaps, the animals hiding somewhere within us were not visible. 186) When those close to perfection, for some reason, in something unimportant, are overcome by demons; then let them use all measures to immediately reward this a hundredfold. 187) How the winds sometimes, in calm weather, disturb only the surface of the sea, and sometimes the very depths; So imagine the dark winds in your reasoning; because in those enslaved by passions they disturb the innermost feeling of the heart, and in those who have already succeeded - only the surface of the mind; why the latter soon begin to feel their own silence, remaining undefiled. 188) It is common for the perfect to always recognize which thoughts in the soul are from their own consciousness, which are from God, and which are from demons; because not everything that is contrary is initially instilled in us by demons. Therefore, this question is truly obscure. 189) The body is illuminated by two sensual eyes; and with mental and visible prudence the eyes of the heart are enlightened. A short list of previous words 1) Firm faith is the mother of renunciation of the world. The opposite is obvious to her. 2) Unshakable hope is the door to impartiality. The opposite is obvious to her. 3) Love for God is the basis of pilgrimage. The opposite is obvious. 4) Submission is born from self-condemnation and the desire for mental health. 5) Abstinence is the mother of health, and the mother of abstinence is the thought of death and the firm remembrance of gall and vinegar, tasted by the Lord and God. 6) The assistant and foundation of chastity is silence. Quenching carnal lust – fasting. The opponent of evil and evil thoughts is contrition of the heart. 7) Faith and wandering are death to the love of money. And compassion and love are a traitor to the body. 8) Unflagging prayer is a detriment to despondency, and remembrance of judgment promotes zeal. 9) Love of dishonor is a cure for irritability, and psalmody, compassion and non-covetousness are the suppression of sadness 10) Impartiality towards the sensory – contemplation of the mental. 11) Silence and silence are the enemies of vanity. But if you go the middle way; then choose dishonor for yourself. 12) Visible pride will be healed by the sad circumstances of life, but invisible pride will be healed only by the eternally Invisible One. 13) The deer destroys all sensual reptiles, and humility destroys mental reptiles. 14) Through everything visible in nature we can acquire a clear concept of the mental. 15) Just as a snake cannot shed its decay unless it crawls into a narrow hole; So we will not put aside long-standing prejudices, spiritual decay and the tunic of the old man, if we do not follow the path of close and sorrowful fasting and dishonor. 16) Just as it is impossible for fat birds to fly to heaven, so it is impossible for a man who pleases his flesh. 17) Dried mud is no longer attractive to pigs, and in emaciated flesh there is no rest for demons. 18) How a large amount of wood often suppresses the flame and extinguishes it, producing a lot of smoke; Likewise, excessive sadness often makes the soul seem futile and gloomy, and dries up the waters of tears. 19) Just as a blind man is an unskilled shooter, so a contentious student is a lost man. 20) Just as a hardened iron can sharpen something that is not hardened; Thus, a zealous brother often saved a lazy one. 21) How eggs heated in the depths become viviparous; This is how undetected thoughts manifest themselves in deeds. 22) How horses try to get ahead of each other while running; This is how a good squad of brothers excites itself to jealousy. 23) How clouds cover the sun; This is how evil thoughts darken and destroy the mind. 24) As someone who has heard his sentence and is going to execution will not talk about spectacles; so he who truly weeps for himself will never please the belly. 25) How the poor, looking at the royal treasures, become even more aware of their poverty; So, when reading stories about the great virtues of the fathers, the soul, without a doubt, becomes even more humble in its way of thinking. 26) Like iron and reluctantly obeys a magnet; Thus, those who have mastered sinful habits are forcibly dominated by them. 27) Like oil tames the troubled sea, whenever it wants to; This is how fasting against one’s will extinguishes bodily fervor. 28) Like a constrained stream of water rushes upward; so often a soul, constrained by dangers, flowed to God through repentance and was saved. 29) Like someone who carries fragrances with him, the fragrance exposes him against his will; so the one who has the Spirit of the Lord is known by his words and humility. 30) How the winds confuse the abyss; So irritability disturbs the mind more than anything else. 31) How, what the eye has not seen, you do not greatly desire to taste just by hearing; So those who are immaculate in body find great relief in this. 32) How the thieves will not go to a place where they see the royal weapon lying; So, one who has established prayer in his heart is not easily creeped in by mental thieves. 33) Just as fire does not produce snow; so he who seeks glory for himself here will not enjoy honors there. 34) How one fiery spark repeatedly burned a large forest; it so happens that one good deed makes up for many great falls into sin. 35) How it is impossible to exterminate animals without weapons; so without humility it is impossible to acquire non-anger. 36) How by nature it is impossible to live without food; so until the very end it is impossible, even for a moment, to indulge in negligence. 37) Like a sunbeam, entering a well, it illuminates everything in the house, and then you can see the smallest flying specks of dust; so the fear of the Lord, settling in the heart, shows him all his sins. 38) It’s easy to catch crayfish by the very fact that they walk, now forward, now back; so the soul, which sometimes laughs, sometimes cries, sometimes enjoys luxury, cannot derive benefit from anything. 39) Just as it is not difficult to rob those who are sleepy, so are those who practice virtue near the world. 40) Like someone fighting a lion, as soon as he turns away his gaze, he immediately dies; So he who fights with his flesh perishes as soon as he gives it rest. 41) How those who climb a rotten ladder expose themselves to danger; so all honor, glory and dominion are opposed to humility. 42) Like a hungry person, it is impossible not to remember bread; so it is impossible for anyone to be saved who does not remember the outcome and judgment. 43) Just as writings are written with water, so the fall of sin can be erased with tears. 44) Like other writings, due to lack of water, we erase them by other means; so there are souls who have no tears, and they erase and remove sins from themselves with sadness, sighing and prolonged lamentation. 45) Like a lot of pus produces a lot of worms; So a lot of food produces a lot of falls, evil thoughts and dreams. 46) As one whose feet are tied cannot walk freely; so those who hoard money cannot ascend to heaven. 47) How a fresh wound heals comfortably; the opposite of this happens with long-standing mental ulcers; if and when they are healed, they are healed with difficulty. 48) How impossible it is for a dead person to walk; So it is impossible for the desperate to be saved. 49) He who says that he has the right faith, and yet sins, is like a man who has no eyes on his face. And whoever does not have faith, although he may do something good, is like someone who draws water and pours it into a thin barrel. 50) Like a ship on which a good helmsman, with God’s assistance, comfortably enters the pier; so the soul, which has a good shepherd, even though it has done a lot of bad things, comfortably ascends to heaven. 51) Even someone who is very prudent can quickly lose his way without a wayfinder; so the one who willfully follows the monastic path soon perishes, although he knows all worldly wisdom. 52) If anyone is weak in body and has fallen into serious sins; then let him follow the path of humility and the virtues inherent in it: for he cannot find any other salvation. 53) As someone who has suffered from a long illness, it is impossible to get health in an instant; So it is impossible to suddenly free yourself from passions, or from passion alone. 54) In every passion, and in every virtue, have an indicator of its measure; and you will know your prosperity. 55) Those who exchange clay for gold suffer damage, as well as those who, for the sake of bodily things, expose to shame and divulge spiritual things. 56) Soon many received remission of sins; but no one quickly acquired dispassion; This requires time, great diligence, and God’s assistance. 57) Let us find out which animals and birds try to harm us during sowing, which during germination, and which during harvest, in order to provide us with decent tools for fishing. 58) As someone sick with fever, there is no right to commit suicide; So one should never, until the very last breath, come to despair. 59) How unbecoming it is for someone who has buried his father to immediately go to the wedding feast upon returning from the funeral; Thus, it is not common for those who cry about their sins to seek honor, or peace, or glory from people in the present century. 60) Like some dwellings for citizens, and others for convicts; so the state of those mourning their guilt, in all fairness, should be different from the state of the innocent. 61) Like a warrior who received severe wounds on his face during a battle, the king commands not to leave his service, but to show even new successes; This is how the Heavenly King crowns a monk who suffers many troubles from demons. 62) Feeling is a distinctive property of the soul itself; and sin is an insult to feelings. Feeling produces either a cessation or a reduction of evil. Consciousness is a product of conscience. And conscience is the word and conviction of our Guardian, given to us at baptism. Therefore, we find that those who are not enlightened by baptism, when committing bad deeds, are not so much, but much weaker, vulnerable in their souls. 63) Reducing bad things produces abstinence from bad things; and abstinence from evil is the beginning of repentance; the beginning of repentance is the beginning of salvation; and the beginning of salvation is a good intention; and good intention is the mother of works. The beginning of work is virtue; the beginning of virtues is color, and the color of virtues is doing. The generation of virtues is constancy; and the fruit and product of constant exercise is skill, and the fruit of skill is assimilation, and assimilation of good is the mother of fear; fear gives rise to observance of the commandments, both heavenly and earthly. Keeping the commandments is a sign of love; and the beginning of love is the wealth of humility; the wealth of humility is the daughter of dispassion, and the acquisition of the latter is the fullness of love, and this is followed by the perfect indwelling of God in the pure in heart due to dispassion. For they will see God (Matthew 5:8). Glory to him forever and ever! Amen. Homily 27. On the sacred silence of body and soul 1) We, as purchased slaves of unclean passions and who became their hired slaves, therefore know several tricks, customs, orders and tricks of the spirits ruling over our poor soul. And others, through the action of the Holy Spirit, and because of liberation from the power of these spirits, clearly understand their machinations. For one, by the painful state of illness, guesses about a calm state of health; the other, out of complacency in health, forms a concept for himself and concludes about incompassion during illness. Therefore, as we are not powerful, we are now afraid to philosophize before you in the word about the haven of silence, knowing that at the meal of good fellowship there is always some kind of dog who looks to steal the bread from the meal, that is, the soul, and carrying it away in its mouth, then runs away and devours it calmly. Why, in order not to give room to this dog and an excuse to those looking for excuses with our words, we now considered it impermissible to talk about peace with the courageous warriors of our King who are struggling in battle. We notice one thing, that the relentlessly fighting are intertwined with the crowns of peace and silence. So, in order not to offend only them, if the word about silence remained completely inviolable, and about it, if you wish, we will say something, as if only for differentiation. 2) Silence of the body is the knowledge and putting in order of internal movements and feelings; and the silence of the soul is knowledge and not plundered understanding of thoughts. 3) Friend of silence, this is a courageous and unyielding thought, which vigilantly stands at the door of the heart, and kills or repels those who enter. He who is silent with his heart understands what is said; and whoever is still a child has not tasted or experienced this. 4) A knowledgeable silent person will have no need for words; because he explains words with actions. 5) The beginning of silence is to remove all noise from yourself, as it disturbs the depths of the heart; The end of silence is not to be afraid of riots, and to be insensitive among them. But he who still excels in silence does not excel in speech and is meek; this is a quiet church filled with love; he is slow to speak, immobile to irritability. The opposite of this is obvious. 6) The Silent One - who (isn’t it wonderful?) tries to enclose the incorporeal in a bodily church. 7) The mouse is in wait for its pursuer, and the mental mouse is in wait for the thought of the silent one. Do not disdain the example presented. Otherwise, you have not yet known silence. 8) It’s not the same as a monk living alone as a monk living with another monk. When a monk is alone, he needs great sobriety and a calm mind. When the monk is not alone; then the first is often helped by another, and the second is assisted by an angel. 9) Intelligent Forces are co-servants of the spiritually silent person, and love to be with him. And I will keep silent about the opposite before you. 10) The depth of dogmas is immeasurable, and it is not safe for the silent mind to venture into it. 11) It is not safe to swim with clothes on, and it is not safe for one subject to passion to touch Theology. 12) The cell of the silent person is the limits of the body, and inside it is the church of knowledge. 13) Whoever suffers from spiritual passion and goes into silence is likened to a man who jumped off a ship into the sea, and thinks on a small board to safely reach dry land. 14) For all those who struggle with decay, in due time there is silence, if only they have a leader; because the lonely need angelic power. I have a word about the true silent ones both in body and spirit. 15) The silent person, having become lazy, will tell a lie, hinting at letting people know that people have violated his silence. And leaving the cell, he accuses the demons; but he forgot that he had become a demon for himself. 16) I saw the silent ones, and they insatiably fed their flaming zeal for God with silence, generating in themselves fire with fire, love with love, desire with desire. 17) The Silent One is the earthly image of an angel, who, by the charter of love and the letters of zeal, freed his prayer from laziness and negligence. The silent one is the one who clearly cries out: my heart is ready, God (Ps. 56:8). The silent one is the one who says: I sleep, but my heart watches (Song. 5:2). 18) Lock the door of the cell to the body, the door of the tongue to the words, and the inner gate to the evil spirits. 19) Calm air and midday heat expose the swimmer’s patience; The impoverishment of necessary needs reveals the firmness of the silent man. One, losing heart, swims in the waters, and the other, out of despondency, seeks crowds. 20) Don't be afraid of noisy insurance; for crying knows no fear, and does not come to horror. 21) Those whose minds have learned to truly pray talk with the Lord face to face, as if in the ear of a king. Those whose lips pray fall to Him with a whole congregation. And those who live in the world ask for the King among the rumors of all the people. If you have thoroughly studied this art; then you can’t help but know what I’m saying. 22) Sitting on a height, watch if you can; and then you will see: how, when, where, in what numbers and what kind of thieves can come in and steal your grapes. 23) The guard, tired, gets up and prays, and then sitting down, with courage he takes up his previous work. 24) Someone who knew this from experience intended to talk about it with all the subtlety and detail, but he was afraid lest he instill negligence in the workers, and scatter those who decided to do it with the noise of words. 25) He who subtly and expertly discusses silence arms the demons against himself; because no one else can so expose their shame to shame. 26) He who has achieved silence has learned the depth of mysteries; but he will not descend into it unless he first sees and hears the rebellion of the waves and the breath of evil spirits, and perhaps he will not be watered by these waves. This is confirmed by Paul. If he had not been caught up into paradise, it would have been like silence; then I could not hear the unspeakable verbs (2 Cor. 12:4). The ear of silence will receive predictive verbs from God. Why, in the book of Job, did this all-wise silence say: Shall not my ear receive marvelous things from Him (4:12)? 27) A silent person is one who, however, without hatred, runs around as many people as another, however, carelessly, resorts to them; he runs because he does not want to feel the interruption of God’s sweetness. 28) When you go into silence, squander your property immediately (because it will take a long time to sell) and give to the poor (Matthew 19:21), so that through prayer they may promote your silence; take up your cross; bearing it in obedience, and courageously enduring the burden of cutting off your will, and then come after Me (Matthew 10:24), to be combined with the most blessed silence; and I will teach you the visible work and life of the intelligent Powers. They will never be satisfied praising the Creator, and he who has ascended to the sky of silence will not be satisfied praising the Creator. The immaterial ones do not care about matter, and about food - these even in the material body have become immaterial. The former will not even taste the food, and the latter will not demand the promise of food; those do not care about money and property, but these about embitterment from evil spirits. In those who are bitter there is no attraction to visible creatures, but in those who are lowly, abiding by lust for grief, there is no attraction to sensual vision; those will not cease to succeed in love, and these will imitate them daily; However, the wealth of their success is not unknown, and their love for ascension is not unknown; those will not stop until they reach Seraphim perfection, and these will not tire until they become angels. Blessed is the one who trusts, thrice blessed is the future angel and the one who achieves the hope. About different types of silence and about distinguishing between them 29) In any state of science, as everyone knows, there are differences in opinions and intentions. For not everyone accomplishes everything, either due to lack of diligence, or due to lack of strength. And into this harbor, 34 or better said, into this sea, and perhaps even the depths, others enter because of the weakness of the tongue and because of previously ingrained carnal habits; others - because they are irresistibly prone to irritability, and these poor people cannot overcome it in a crowded society; others - because, out of capriciousness, they decided it was better to swim according to their own volition rather than under guidance; others - because among the material they cannot abstain from substance; some with the intention of becoming more diligent in solitude; others - to secretly punish themselves for their guilt; some - in order to gain glory for themselves through this; and others (if only the Son of Man who comes finds such on earth) - for the sake of enjoying the love and sweetness of God, and out of a thirst for this they are combined with holy silence, and not before entering into this union, as having given divorce to all despondency; because communication with the latter is considered by the First to be fornication. 30) According to the meager knowledge that was given to me, like an unwise architect, I built a ladder of ascension. After this, let everyone see for himself what level he has reached: through self-will, or for the sake of human glory, or through the weakness of the tongue, or through indomitable irritability, or through a multitude of addictions, or to punish himself for his guilt, or to become more zealous, or to add fire to fire. The last will be first, and the first last. The seven works in this week are the works of the present age, and some of them are pleasing, others are displeasing to God; the eighth clearly marks the future century. 31) Observe, lonely monk, the times when the beasts come. Otherwise, you won't be able to supply them with decent networks. If the despondency that I received from divorce has completely retreated from me, then there will be little work. And if it still attacks me, then I don’t know how I can remain silent. 32) Why did the venerable Tabennesiots never have as many lamps as those in the monastery? Whoever can understand this, let him understand; but I cannot, or better yet, do not intend to say this. 33) Some tame their passions, others sing psalms, and spend most of their time in prayer, while others immerse themselves in contemplation, and thus spend time in the depths of silence. To solve a problem, follow a ladder, as it were. He who can contain it, let him contain it in the Lord. 34) In a communal monastery there are lazy souls, and abounding in what feeds their laziness, they reach complete destruction; but there are also souls who, as a result of being with others, remove their laziness. And the same thing often happens not only with the careless, but also with the zealous. 35) We will be guided by the same rule in the reasoning of silence, asserting that it, too, having accepted many as well-skilled, rejected them for waywardness, showing them to be sensualists, while others, after accepting them, through fear and concern that they would bear their own condemnation, made them more zealous and passionate. 36) Whoever is still troubled by irritability, conceit, hypocrisy and rancor, let him not even dare to see a trace of silence, lest, instead of any gain, he only reach the point of insanity. If anyone is clean from all this; then he will learn something useful for himself. But I think that he won’t get to this point on his own. 37) Here are the signs, feats, evidence that a person goes through silence intelligently: an untroubled mind, an immaculate thought, admiration for the Lord, the idea of torment, the thought of imminent death, the ever-present hunger for prayer, an irresistible guard over oneself, the mortification of fornication, ignorance of addiction, death to the world, aversion from gluttony, the beginning of Theology, the source of prudence, votive tears, loss verbosity, and all the like, which people are usually not inclined to do. 38) And here are the signs of those who pass through silence unwisely: in wealth there is impoverishment, an increase in anger, the preservation of rancor, a decrease in love, an increase in arrogance; I’ll keep silent about what’s next. 39) since our word has taken such a course; then it is necessary to say here about those living in subordination, especially since this word most of all refers to them. 40) Those who have entered into a legal, non-fornicating and non-filthy union with this decent and splendid obedience, both in reality and according to the definition of the God-bearing fathers, have the following signs, in addition to the increase and progress that they acquire, every day, reaching perfection in their time: an increase in initial humility, a decrease in irritability (for how can it not decrease with the depletion of bile?), the dispersion of delusions, the strengthening of love, the alienation of passions, liberation from hatred, the reduction of lust due to reproof, ignorance of despondency, the increase of zeal, compassionate love, the expulsion of pride - success, which everyone should strive for, but few achieve. A source in which there is no water, and the name is not decent. And what follows from this is clear to those who have intelligence. 41) The young wife, who did not preserve the bed, desecrated the body; and the soul, which did not keep the vow, desecrated the spirit. The first is accompanied by reproach, hatred, beatings and, worst of all, separation; and the other - desecration, oblivion of death, gluttony of the belly, intemperance of the eyes, enslavement to vanity, drowsiness, hardness of the heart, insensibility, a gathering of evil thoughts and increasing permission for them; captivity of the heart, the creation of turmoil in oneself, disobedience, contradiction, partiality, unbelief, incredibleness, verbosity and, worst of all, freedom in circulation and, what is even more disastrous, a heart that does not know contrition, the consequence of which in those who are inattentive is a loss of sensitivity - the mother of falls. 42) Of the eight evil spirits, five fight with those who are silent, and three with those who are undergoing obedience. 43) A silent person will often suffer harm because we fight with despondency; because the time of prayer and contemplation will be wasted on counteracting despondency and fighting it. 44) One day, having fallen into laziness, I was sitting in my cell, and was already thinking about leaving it. But several people came to me and began to please me a lot, as I was speechless, and the thought of laziness immediately gave way to the thought of vanity; and I was amazed that this resourceful demon resists all spirits. 45) Hourly observe the impulses and aspirations, inclinations and deviations of your partner, 35 how and where they are directed. Anyone who has acquired silence with the assistance of the Holy Spirit is not unaware of this situation. 46) The first task of silence is the preliminary relinquishment of care for all matters, both reasonable and unreasonable; for whoever opens the entrance first will, without a doubt, fall into the last. The second thing is non-slothful prayer; and the third is the unstealthy work of the heart. It is naturally impossible for someone who does not know the alphabet to read books; It is even more impossible for someone who has not acquired the first to rationally undergo the last two works. 47) While going through the middle of these things, I was with the middle (ranks of angels), and (the angel) enlightened me, who was thirsty. And so I was with them again; to the question (about Christ): “What was he before the image visible in Him?” (the angel) could not teach, because this prince was not allowed. I also asked him to say: “How is it now?” He answered: “in what is characteristic of Him, but not in this.” I continued to ask: “What does it mean to stand and sit at the right hand of the culprit”? He said: “It is impossible for human ears to be able to understand this secretly.” At that time I asked to be taken where my desire led me; and he said: “The hour has not yet come, due to the insufficiency of the incorruptible fire.” Whether I was with this dust then, I don’t know; or - beyond the pale - I can’t say at all. 48) It is difficult to overcome the midday nap, and especially in the summer; then maybe Perhaps, then, one should not give up handicrafts. 49) I learned that the demon of despondency prepares and paves the way for the demon of fornication, so that, by strongly enticing the body and plunging it into sleep, as if in reality, he would cause desecration in the silent ones. If you strongly resist them, then, without a doubt, they will attack you with force in order to force you to stop your exploits, as if you are not receiving any benefit from them. But nothing can indicate the defeat of the demons more than their brutal attack on us. 50) When you leave solitude, guard what you have collected; because locked birds fly away through an open door. And then silence will no longer benefit us. 51) A small hair bothers the eye; and a little care removes silence from us; because silence is the putting aside of thoughts and the renunciation of even plausible concerns. 52) He who has truly achieved silence will not even take care of his own flesh: for He who promised is not deceitful (Heb. 10:23). 53) Whoever intends to present his mind clean to God, and is indignant with worries, is like a man who has tightly tied his feet and tries to walk quickly. 54) Rare are people who have completely studied worldly philosophy; and I affirm that even fewer have known the wisdom of true silence. 55) He who has not yet known God is not skilled in silence, and exposes himself to many dangers. Silence destroys the inexperienced; They have not yet tasted the sweetness of God, and spend time in captivity, plunder, despondency, and paralysis of mind. 56) He who has experienced the kindness of prayer, like an onager, will run among crowds. For who, if not prayer, makes the wild onager 36 free from all communication with people. 57) He who is entangled in passions spends time in the desert, occupied with them, as the holy elder called George of Arselaita, who is not entirely unknown to your honesty, spoke and taught in a similar way. He instructed my once indecent soul, and, leading me to silence, said: “I noticed that in the morning the demons of vanity and lust most often invade us; at noon - demons of despondency, sadness and anger, and in the evening - lovers of pus and tormentors - demons of gluttony.” 58) A poor novice is better than an entertained silent one. 59) He who wisely entered into silence and does not see new benefits from it every day, is either unwisely silent or is robbed by conceit. 60) Silence is continuous service and presence of God. 61) Let the remembrance of Jesus be united with your breath; and then you will know the benefits of silence. 62) The fall of the novice is his own will; and for the silent person - cessation of prayer. 63) If you rejoice in visits to your cells; then know that you are abandoning yourself to despondency alone, and not to God. 64) Let the widow who is offended by her rival be your example of prayer (Luke 18:1-8), and the example of silence will be the great and equal-angelic silent Arseny. Remember in your solitude the life of this equal-angelic silent man, and see how often he sent away those who came to him, so as not to lose the most important thing. 65) I learned that demons persuade foolish wanderers to often come to those who are rationally silent, in order through them to at least somewhat hinder these workers. Notice those, and do not avoid the opportunity to upset these lazy ones in a pious manner; because, as a result of this grief, they will perhaps stop wandering. But be careful that, for the purpose stated before, you do not unnecessarily upset the soul that comes in thirst to draw water from you. In everything you need a lamp. 66) Let the life of the silent, especially in solitude, be according to conscience and feeling. He who flows rationally, all his intentions, sayings, thoughts, every step and every movement are in accordance with the Lord, and for the sake of the Lord, in his spiritual feeling, those intended by him are accomplished before the face of the Lord. If he is mistaken in this; then he no longer lives according to the rules of virtue. 67) I will open, says someone, into the psalms my chanting (Ps. 48:5) and my desire, due to the imperfection of my prudence. And I will reveal my desire in prayer, and in it I will receive a certificate for myself. 68) Faith is the wing of prayer. Not having it, she will again return to my bosom. Faith is the firm stand of the soul, unshakable by any opposition. To believe means to think that not only is everything possible for God, but also that the believer can receive everything from Him. Faith is the preparer of the hopeless; and prove this by being a robber. The mother of faith is work and a right heart; the latter produces certainty, and the former creates. Faith is the mother of the silent; for if someone does not believe, how can he remain silent? 69) The one imprisoned in chains in prison fears the punishing judge; and the silent one in his cell fears the Lord; and it is not so much the first that fears the judgment seat, but the second that fears the throne of the Judge. You need a lot of fear in silence, wonderful husband; because nothing else can drive away despondency like that. The condemned man constantly strains his gaze, waiting for the judge to come to the prison; but the true worker waits for the one who compels him to come. The first bears the burden of sorrow, and the second has a source of tears. 70) If you acquire the rod of patience; then the dogs will soon stop being shameless. Patience is work that does not crush the soul, not the least, not shaken even by plausible reasons for embarrassment. The patient is an infallible worker, and even in his downfalls he is victorious. Patience is a daily expected measure of sorrow. Patience is putting aside all apologies and being attentive to oneself. The worker does not need food so much as patience; because for the second he will receive a crown, but the first can serve to his destruction. The patient husband died before being laid to rest, having made his cell a coffin for himself. Patience gave birth to hope and crying. And whoever does not have hope and weeping is a slave of despondency. 71) The ascetic of Christ must know which enemies to pursue from afar, and with which to converge and enter into battle. Sometimes the struggle brought the crown; sometimes avoiding the fight made people unworthy of approval. But this cannot be learned with words; for we do not all have the same qualities and to the same extent. 72) Observe one of the evil spirits soberly; because he continually attacks you while you are standing, walking, sitting, moving, bowing, praying and sleeping. 73) since not all the bread of the spiritual work of heavenly wheat has the same appearance; then some of those who have established themselves in the field of silence are engaged in cultivating this word in themselves: I have seen the Lord before me (Ps. 15:8); and others: in your patience gain your souls (Luke 21:19); others: watch and pray (Matthew 26:41); others: prepare for the outcome of your deeds ( Proverbs 24:27 ); others: I humbled myself and saved me (Ps. 114:5); some: not worthy of the passion of this time for desiring glory (Rom. 8:18); others again always have in their thoughts the words: let him not snatch away, and never deliver (Ps. 49:22). All flow, but one of them receives honor (1 Cor. 9:24). 74) He who succeeds without fatigue does not only in the waking state, but also during sleep. Therefore, some even in their sleep shame the demons who approach them, and teach chastity to dissolute women. But do not expect visits, and do not prepare for them in advance; because the state of silence is completely simple and not connected by anything. 75) No one, even if he wants to create pillars and cells of silence, gets down to work unless he first calculates and prays for what he has to do what is needed, so that, according to the foundation, he does not become a laughing stock for his enemies and an obstacle for other workers (Luke 14:28-30). 76) Delve into the sweetness you feel, so that it is not dissolved by something through the cunning of cruel doctors, or better yet, slanderers. 77) At night, devote most of your time to prayer, and less time to psalmody. And during the day, again prepare for work to the best of your ability. 78) Reading enlightens and collects the mind a lot; for these are the words of the Holy Spirit, without a doubt, leading to the well-being of those who engage in them. By you, as a doer, let what you read be applied to your activity. For doing this actually makes reading other things superfluous. Strive to understand the words of salvation more by works than by books. Until you receive spiritual strength, do not engage in the writings of other-minded people; because these are the messages of darkness, and they darken the weak. 79) Often one cup makes the taste of wine known, and one word of a silent person with spiritual taste shows all his inner activity and state. 80) Acquire a spiritual eye that unswervingly watches over self-conceit; for nothing is more destructive than it, and does not rob the soul like this. 81) When leaving your cell, be careful with your tongue; because he knows how to suddenly squander the fruits of many labors. 82) Try to become inquisitive; for nothing else can defile silence so much as inquisitiveness. 83) Offer to those who come what they need for both body and spirit. If they are wiser than us, we will prove our wisdom by silence. If the brethren are in our condition, we will open the door for them in due measure. But it is better to think of everyone that they are superior to us. 84) When I was still an infant in silence, I wanted to completely prohibit all bodily activity during general meetings, but I was restrained by the one who wore sand in his outer clothing throughout the whole night. 37 85) How there is a contrast in the dogma of the Holy, uncreated and worshiped Trinity and in the doctrine of the economy of the incarnation of the One of the Persons of this all-sung Trinity; what is plural there is singular in Him; and what is individual there is multiple here, 38 so some activities are appropriate for silence, and others for obedience. 86) The Divine Apostle says: who understands the mind of the Lord (Rom. 11:34)? And I will say: who understood the mind in a man who is silent in body and spirit? 87) The king’s power is wealth and abundance; and the power of the silent man is the abundance of prayer. Homily 28. About sacred and blessed prayer - the mother of virtues, and about the mental and sensual in it. 1) Prayer, in its quality, is communication and unity of a person with God; and according to its effectiveness - affirmation to the world, reconciliation with God, mother and together the daughter of tears, cleansing of sins, bridge through temptations, mediastinum against sorrows, contrition of battles, angelic work, food for all incorporeal, future joy, boundless activity, source of virtues, guardian of talents, invisible prosperity, food for the soul, enlightenment of the mind, ax for despair, proof hope, the end of sorrow, the wealth of monks, the treasure of the silent, the reduction of irritability, the mirror of prosperity, the indication of measure, the discovery of fortune, the indication of the future and the sign of glory. The prayer to the one who truly prays is the judgment seat, the judgment and the throne of the Lord even before the future judgment. 2) Let us rise and listen to this sacred queen of virtues cry out in a high voice and say to us: Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and find rest for your souls and healing for your wounds. For my yoke is good and heals from great falls (Matthew 11:28–29). 3) As soon as we go to appear before the King and God and talk with Him, we will not set off on our journey without preparation, lest, otherwise, seeing us from afar having no weapons or clothing to stand before the King, He will command His servants and servants, having tied us up, drive us somewhere far away, and tear up our petitions and throw them in our faces. 4) When you go to appear before the Lord: let your spiritual tunic be entirely made of threads, or rather, from the remnants of unmemorable malice. Otherwise, prayer will not be beneficial to you. 5) Let the composition of your petition not be complicated. One word reconciled the publican and the prodigal son with God. 6) The appearance of all those who come to prayer is the same, but there are many differences and differences. Some talk with God as with a friend and Master, bringing Him songs and petitions for help, not for themselves, but for others. Others seek wealth, fame and greater boldness. Others ask for complete deliverance from their rival. Some beg to receive some dignity; others - about perfect security against debts; some are about liberation from prison, others are about the remission of sins. 7) On the charter of our prayer, let us first of all write sincere thanksgiving; Let the second verse be confession, spiritual contrition in the depths of feeling. And then we will make our petition known to the All-Tsar. The image of prayer now shown is the best, as revealed to one of the brothers by the Lord’s angel. 8) If you were once a defendant before a visible judge; then you will not look for another way to stand in your prayer. If he was not, he himself did not stand before the judge, and did not see how others were tortured; then at least learn to imitate how patients beg doctors when they must endure cutting or cauterization from them. 9) Do not use cunning words in prayer; because the simple and unadorned babblings of children often pleased their Heavenly Father. 10) Do not try to talk too much, so that the mind does not become distracted in the search for words. One word from the tax collector appeased God, and one word spoken with faith saved the thief. Repeated verbiage in prayer often leads the mind into daydreaming and soaring; and the brevity of prayer usually gathers the mind into one. 11) If you are pleased or moved by any word of prayer, then dwell on it; for then our Guardian prays with us. 12) Do not be daring, even if you have achieved purity; but it is better to approach with great humility, and you will receive even greater boldness. 13) Even if you have gone through the entire ladder of virtues, pray for the remission of sins, hearing how Paul cries out for sinners: of whom am I first (1 Tim. 1:15). 14) Oil and salt are common seasonings for cooking; and chastity and tears inspire prayer. 15) If you put on all meekness and gentleness; then it won’t be much work for you to free your mind from captivity. 16) Until we acquire real prayer, we will remain like those who first teach small children to walk. 17) Try to lift up, or better yet, to enclose your thought in the utterances of prayer, and if, tired in infancy, you fall, lift it up again; because inconstancy is characteristic of the mind, but it can also be established by the One who is able to give constancy to everything. If you become a perfect ascetic; Then He who sets the limits of the sea of ​​the mind will visit you, and during your prayer he will say to him: You will come to this, and you will not pass away (Job.38:11). It is impossible to bind a spirit; but where the Creator of the spirit is, everything is subdued. 18) If you have ever seen the Sun, 39 then you can converse with Him in a decent manner. For what you have not seen, can you easily enter into communication with? 19) Beginning of prayer - prayers reflected in a single word at their very beginning; the middle is the presence of the mind in that one thing that is pronounced in words and contained in thought; and its perfection is rapture to the Lord. 20) A different kind of joy occurs during prayer among those who live in brotherhood, and a different kind is felt by those who pray in silence. One is perhaps a little dreamy; and the other is completely filled with humility. 21) If you always train your mind not to go anywhere; then he will be near you during the offering of a meal. And if he wanders around you without restraint; it will never be with you. The great worker of high and perfect prayer says: I want to speak five words with my mind (1 Cor. 14:12). But such prayer is beyond the strength of infants. Therefore, as imperfect people, although the quality of prayer is good, we need a lot of it; because the latter contributes to the former. For it is said: give pure prayer, not slothfully, although uncleanly and with fatigue, to the one who prays (1 Samuel 2:9). 22) Another thing is the impurity of prayer, another is the quenching of it, another is theft, and another is ridicule. The impurity of prayer is to stand before God and imagine indecent thoughts in the mind. To extinguish prayer is to be captivated by useless worries. Theft of prayer is to unconsciously spin around in thought. A mockery of prayer is any kind of enemy that approaches us during prayer. 23) If during prayer we are not alone; then let us internally imprint on ourselves the image of prayer. If there are no partners with us in the service of praise; then we will make the appearance consistent with the state of prayer; because among imperfect people the mind is often in harmony with the body. 24) Everyone, especially those who came to the King to receive from him forgiveness of debts, needs unspeakable contrition. While we are still in prison, let us heed the One who says to Peter: gird yourself with the ribbon of obedience, put off your desires, and, having been naked of them, approach the Lord in your prayer, calling on His only will. Then you will receive God to you; and He will take the helm of your soul and guide you comfortably. 25) Awaken from your love of peace and voluptuousness, cast off your worries, get rid of your thoughts, renounce your body; because prayer is nothing other than alienation from the visible and invisible world. What is there in heaven? - There is nothing. And what did You want on earth? - Nothing else but to always inextricably cleave to You in prayer. To some, wealth is dear, to others, glory, to others, possessions, but I desire to cleave to God, and place the trust of my dispassion in Him (Ps. 72:25-28). 26) Faith gives wings to prayer, and without faith it is impossible to soar to heaven. 27) We, enslaved to passions, will relentlessly beg the Lord. For everyone enslaved to passions ascended to dispassion from a passionate state. 28) If the Judge does not fear God; then the soul, which became His widow because of sin and fall, does His labors, and He will take vengeance on it from its rival - the body, and from its enemies - the evil spirits (Luke 18:5-7). Our good Intercessor draws those who are grateful into His love by the speedy satisfaction of their petition; and ungrateful souls - dogs, with hunger and thirst for what they ask, makes them remain for a long time before Him in prayer; because an ungrateful dog, having grabbed the bread, immediately leaves the giver. 29) Do not say that, having been in prayer for a long time, you have not succeeded in anything; because just staying in prayer is already success. For what greater good is this - to cleave to the Lord and continually remain in unity with Him. 30) It is not so much the condemned person who is afraid of the sentence of execution; How much does a caring prayer worker fear standing in prayer? Therefore, he who is wise and skillful, remembering this, can avoid all reproach, and anger, and care, and lack of leisure, and sorrow, and satiety, and temptation, and thought. 31) Prepare with unceasing prayer in your soul to stand in prayer, and you will soon succeed. I saw that those who were radiant with obedience and, as much as they had the strength, trying to maintain the remembrance of God in their minds, suddenly starting to pray, immediately took possession of their minds and shed tears in streams; because they are prepared for this by holy obedience. 32) Psalmody, in a crowded meeting, is followed by captivity and soaring of thoughts; This does not happen during psalmody singing in solitude. But in one case despondency attacks, and in the other zeal helps. 33) War proves a warrior’s love for the king; and the monk’s love for God reveals the time of prayer and standing there. 34) Your prayer will show you your condition. Theologians say that prayer is the mirror of the monk. 35) Anyone who is busy with something and, when the hour of prayer comes, continues the same activity, serves as a playground for demons. The goal of these thieves is to steal another from us in one hour. 36) Do not refuse to pray for the soul of another, even if you have not yet acquired the gift of prayer; because the faith of the one who asks has often saved the one who prayed for him with contrition. 37) If, after praying for others, you are heard; then do not be arrogant; for their faith was active and strong. 38) Every youth is certainly questioned every day about what wisdom he learned from his mentor; and every mind, with every prayer, will need an account of the power that it received from God. Therefore, one must be attentive; when you begin to pray soberly, then most likely you will have to fight the angry movements within yourself; because this is the goal of our enemies. 39) We will always perform every virtue, especially prayer, with deep feeling; and the soul then prays with feeling when it is not overcome by irritability. 40) Acquired through many prayers and a long time - permanent. 41) He who has acquired the Lord will no longer utter his own words in prayer; because the Spirit itself then intercedes for him with groanings that cannot be uttered (Rom. 8:26). 42) During prayer, do not allow any sensual dreams, so as not to fall into a frenzy of mind. 43) The resolution of confusion is an irrefutable explanation of the unclear. 44) Be merciful, especially taking care of prayer. For in it the monks will receive a hundredfold; and what follows further, they will receive in the next age (Matthew 19:29). 45) Fire, having descended, resurrects prayer in the heart; and after her resurrection, and after the fire ascends to heaven, the soul descends into the upper room. 46) Others say that prayer is better than remembering death, but I sing of two essences in one hypostasis. 47) A good horse, as the distance travels, gets hotter and quickens its run. By running I mean singing; and under the horse is a courageous mind. And such a one smells battle from afar, and having prepared himself, he is already irresistible in everything. 48) It is a cruel thing to take away water from thirsty lips, and it is even more cruel for a soul praying with tenderness to tear itself away from its all-desired presence in prayer before it ends. 49) Do not give up prayer until you see that, according to God’s will, fire and water 40 have ceased for you. For, perhaps, you will not have such a convenient time to receive remission of your sins throughout your entire life. 50) He who has tasted prayer often defiles his mind by uttering one word, and when he begins to pray, he no longer finds what he desired, as was the case before. 51) It is another thing to often supervise the heart, and another thing to entrust supervision of the heart to the mind - this ruler and bishop who makes verbal sacrifices to Christ. Holy and heavenly fire, as one of those who received the name from Theology said, descending on people, burns some, due to the incompleteness of purification, while others, on the contrary, enlightens, according to the degree of perfection; for one and the same fire is called both consuming fire and illuminating light. Why, at the end of the prayer, others seem to emerge from a fiery furnace, feeling relief from some kind of defilement and from a substance; while others are, as it were, illuminated by light and clothed in a robe of humility and joy. And those who, at the end of the prayer, do not feel either of these two actions in themselves, prayed physically (not to say in Jewish), and not spiritually. 52) If a body, from touching another body, changes in its effectiveness; then how can one who touches God’s body with innocent hands not change? 53) You can see that our All-Good King, like the king of the earth, sometimes Himself, sometimes through a friend, and sometimes through a slave, sometimes unknowingly, distributes His gifts to His soldiers, depending on the tunic of our humility. 54) As the king of the earth hates the one who, standing before him, turns his face away from him and converses with the enemies of the ruler; So he is an abomination before the Lord who, while standing in prayer, is occupied with unclean thoughts. 55) Drive away the coming dog from you with the weapon of prayer, and in case of any shameless attempt on him, do not show him leniency. 56) Ask with tears, seek with obedience, knock on the door with patience. For in this way the one who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and the one who asks will be opened (Matthew 7:8). 57) Beware of indiscriminately making petitions for women in your prayer, lest you be robbed from the right side. 58) In prayer, do not confess your bodily affairs as they were, so as not to become a slanderer to yourself. 59) Do not use the time of prayer to think about necessary and spiritual matters. Otherwise, your best will be stolen. 60) He who continually leans on the rod of prayer will not stumble. And if he happens to stumble; it will not fall completely; because prayer is a godly possession of God. 61) We conclude about the benefits of prayer from demonic hesitations during God’s service; about its fruit - according to the overthrow of the enemy. For in this knowledge, because you have desired me, because during the battle my enemy will not rejoice over me (Ps. 40:12). I cried out with all my heart, says the Psalmist (Ps. 119:145), that is, body, soul and spirit. For where the last two are gathered together, 41 there is God in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20). 62) What concerns both the body and the spirit is not the same for everyone. For some benefit from brevity, and from others the length of psalmody. Some say about themselves that they are struggling with the captivity of the mind, while others say that they are struggling with ignorance. 63) If you constantly bring complaints to the king about your enemies; then when they approach you, do not lose courage; You won’t labor for long, because they themselves will soon retreat from you. These unclean ones will not want to see you receive a crown through prayer for fighting them. And moreover, they will run away from prayer, as if tormented by fire. 64) Have all the courage, and God will be your guide in prayer. It is impossible - just as it is impossible to learn vision from words, because vision depends on nature - so to learn the goodness of prayer from the instruction of another; because it itself has God as its mentor, Who teaches man knowledge; gives prayer to those who pray, and blesses the years of the righteous (1 Samuel 2:9). Sermon 29. About heaven on earth, or about godlike dispassion and perfection, and about the resurrection of the soul before the general resurrection 1) So we, lying in the deepest ditch of ignorance, in darkened passions and in the mortal shadow of this body, boldly begin to philosophize about heaven and earth. 2) The beauty of the firmament is the stars, and the adornment of dispassion is virtue; for by dispassion I mean nothing more than the inner heaven of the mind, for which demonic tricks are, finally, the same as children’s toys. 3) So, in the proper sense, he is impassive, and is recognized as impassive, who has made the flesh incorruptible, raised the mind above creation, subduing all the feelings to it, and presented to the face of the Lord a soul that is incessantly, even beyond its strength, directed towards God. 4) Some also define that dispassion is the resurrection of the soul before the body; and others that it is perfect, after the angelic, knowledge of God. 5) So, this perfect, but not yet final, perfection of the perfect, as someone who tasted it told me, sanctifies the mind so much and rejects it from the material that upon entering the heavenly haven, keeping it in admiration in heaven for most of its life in the flesh, it elevates it to contemplation. Perhaps the one who has comprehended this speaks about this somewhere: for God’s powers of the earth have been greatly exalted (Ps. 46:10). Such was, as we know, the Egyptian who did not allow his hands to remain raised in prayer for long when he prayed with others. 42 6) Who is dispassionate, and who is more dispassionate and dispassionate. For one strongly hates evil, while the other is insatiably enriched by virtues. 7) And integrity is called dispassion; and fair; because it is the beginning of the general resurrection and incorruption of the corruptible. 8) Dispassion was demonstrated by the one who said: I have the mind of the Lord (1 Cor. 2:16). The Egyptian showed dispassion when he said that he no longer feared the Lord 43 . Dispassion was shown by the one who prayed for passions to return to him. Who, before future glory, was worthy of such dispassion as this Syrian? For David, glorious in the Prophets, speaks to the Lord; weaken me, let me rest (Ps.39:14); and God’s ascetic cries out: weaken the waves of Your grace. 44 9) Dispassion has a soul that has become as accustomed to virtues as the passionate are accustomed to pleasures. 10) If the extreme limit of gluttony is to indulge in it without the urge to eat; then, without a doubt, the extreme limit of abstinence is to overcome one’s hungry nature, when it is not subject to responsibility for this hunger. If the extreme limit of lust is to fly into a frenzy at the sight of dumb and even inanimate creatures; then the extreme limit of integrity is to have the same dispassionate disposition towards everyone as towards inanimate things. If the height of the love of money is to collect, never stop and never get enough; then the height of non-covetousness is not to spare your own body. If the height of despondency is to not acquire patience while living in complete peace, then the height of patience is to think of yourself in the midst of sorrow that you are at peace. If we call it a sea of ​​anger, when a person becomes furious, not seeing anyone in front of him; then it will be a sea of ​​long-suffering - to be equally calm both in the presence and in the absence of the slanderer. If the height of vanity is to engage in activities that feed vanity, when there is no one obligated to praise for this; then, without a doubt, the hallmark of non-vanity is not to indulge in thoughts of seduction while in society. If it is a sign of destruction, that is, pride, it is to be exalted in poor clothing; then the saving sign of humility is to have a humble way of thinking in the face of high enterprises and merits. And if a sign of complete enslavement to passions is to immediately give place within ourselves to almost everything that demons sow in us; then I take it as a sign of holy dispassion to be able to say openly: I have not known the evil one who turns away from Me (Ps. 100:4); I did not know how and why the evil one came and how he left; but he had already become completely insensitive to everything like that; because I am completely and will always be united with God. 11) He who has been granted such a state, while still in the flesh, always has God dwelling in him as his ruler in all words, deeds and thoughts. Why does he internally, through illumination, like a certain voice, cognize the Lord’s will, becoming above all human teaching. When will I come and appear to the face of God (Ps. 41:3)? The strength of desire is already unbearable for me; I strive for immortal beauty, which You gave me before decay. 12) Do I need to say a lot? The dispassionate one does not live for himself, but Christ lives in him (Gal. 2:20), as he says, having fought a good fight, having finished his course, and having kept the Orthodox faith (2 Tim. 4:7). 13) The royal diadem is not made from one stone, and dispassion will not reach perfection if it neglects one virtue, whatever it may be. 14) With dispassion, imagine the palace of the Heavenly King in heaven; and by many monasteries - the villages within this city, and by the wall of Jerusalem - the remission of sins. Let us try, brothers, to be worthy of entering this bridal chamber. If, unfortunately, we are delayed, either by some previously assumed burden, or by time itself; then we will occupy at least one of the monasteries around the palace. If we are still exhausted, or we have weakened in strength; then we will use all measures - at least be inside the walls. For whoever does not enter there before the end, or better yet, does not go over the wall, will end up in the wilderness. Why did someone pray, saying: Through my God I will cross the wall (Ps. 17:30). And another says, as if on behalf of God: do not your sins separate you and Me (Is. 59:2)? Let us destroy, O friends, this mediastinum of the fence, which, to our own evil, we have built through disobedience; here we will receive a certificate of debt forgiveness; because in hell no one can heal. Let us be free from worries, brothers; because we have joined the ranks of those not bound by the affairs of life. It is not possible for us to excuse ourselves either by the Fall, or by time, or by the severity of the burden. For to all of us, who through the washing of rebirth have received the Lord into ourselves, He has given the realm to become children of God (John 1:12), saying: Be ye undone and understand that I am God (Ps. 45:10), and dispassion. Glory to him forever and ever! Amen. It raises the poor mind from earth to heaven, and blissful dispassion raises the wretched from the rotting pit of passions; and all-singing love makes him sit with the princes, with the holy angels, with the princes of the Lord’s people (Ps. 112:7–8). Word 30. On the union of the three most predominant virtues 1) Now, finally, after everything we have said, these three remain, strengthening and supporting the union of everything: faith, hope, love: love is greatest of all (1 Cor. 13:13); because God himself is called that way (1 John 14:16). 2) And I see a ray in one, light in the other, a circle in the third; in all there is one radiance and one lightness. 3) One can create and create everything, the other is surrounded and made shameless by God’s mercy; the third does not fall, does not stop in the flow, and does not allow those wounded by it to rest from blissful delight. 4) Whoever intends to talk about the love of God, intends to talk about God; It is difficult, and even dangerous, for those who are inattentive to communicate a word about God. 5) The word about love is known to the angels, and to them as well, as the illumination operates in them. 6) God is loving (John 4:8). But whoever intends to utter a definition of the being of God, without seeing anything, measures the sand in the abyss. 7) Love, in its quality, is likeness to God, as far as this is possible for mortals; in its effectiveness it is the rapture of the soul; and by its distinctive property - the source of faith, the abyss of long-suffering, the sea of ​​humility. 8) Love, in its proper sense, is the abandonment of every contrary thought; because love thinks no evil (1 Cor. 15:5). 9) Love, dispassion and sonhood differ from each other by naming, and by naming alone. Like light, fire, flame merge into one force; understand this about love, dispassion and sonship. 10) As love becomes scarce, fear appears; because he who has no fear is either full of love or dead in soul. 11) It is not at all offensive to represent desire, fear, diligence, jealousy, enslavement, and love for God in images borrowed from human life. Blessed is he who has acquired the same love for God that an enthusiastic lover has for his beloved. Blessed is he who fears the Lord as much as the condemned fear the judge. Blessed is he who is as zealous with true zeal as grateful slaves are zealous for their master. Blessed is he who has become as zealous of virtues as husbands are out of zeal in supervising their spouses. Blessed is he who stands before the Lord in prayer, just as the servants stand before the king. Blessed is he who continually strives to please the Lord, just as others please people. 12) It is not so much the mother who is attached to the infant as the son of love who is always committed to the Lord. 13) He who truly loves constantly imagines the face of his beloved and embraces him internally with pleasure. Such a person cannot even calm down from his strong desire even in his sleep, but even at this time he is busy thinking about his beloved. This is what happens in bodily nature; This is what happens in the nature of the incorporeal. Someone, wounded by love, said about himself (to which I was surprised): I sleep according to the demands of nature, and my heart watches because of the abundance of love (Song. 5:2). 14) It should be noted to you, faithful brother, that the tree - the soul, having destroyed these reptiles, 45 already desires and dies (Ps. 84:2) with the fire of love for the Lord, as if struck by a poisonous arrow. 15) The effect of hunger is somehow not obvious and noticeable; and the effect of thirst is strong, obvious and noticeable to everyone by the internal heat. Therefore, he who is flaming with love for God says: my soul thirsts for the mighty living God (Ps. 41:3). 16) If looking at the face of a loved one clearly and completely changes us, and makes us cheerful, joyful, carefree; what does the sight of the Lord not do when He invisibly visits a pure soul? 17) Fear, when it is in the inner feeling of the soul, destroys and succumbs to defilement; for it is said: nail my fear to your flesh (Ps. 119:120). But holy love yields to some, according to the word of the one who said: You have attracted our heart (Song.4:9); and sometimes it makes others bright and joyful; for it is said: My heart trusts in Him, and help me, and prosper my flesh (Ps. 27:7); and: the heart rejoices, the face blooms (Proverbs 15:13). When the whole person is already, as it were, fused with God’s love; then his appearance in the body, as if in a mirror, shows the lordship of the soul. This is how Moses, the seer of God, was glorified. 18) Those who have reached such an equal-angel state often forget about bodily food; I think that hunger for it is not often felt; and this is not surprising; because this opposite love often deprives the desire for food. 19) I think that the body of these incorruptibles is no longer subject to ordinary diseases; because it is purified, and in a way made incorruptible, in the flame of innocence, which suppressed carnal inflammation. I think that when they begin to eat food, they begin without any pleasure; because the root of the plant is nourished by underground water, and their soul is nourished by heavenly fire. 20) The increase of fear is the beginning of love, and the end of integrity is the foundation of Theology. 21) He who is completely united with God through his feelings is secretly guided by Him in the understanding of His words. Without this unity it is difficult to talk about God. 22) The Word, co-essential with God, perfects integrity, having put death to death by His coming; After killing death, the student of Theology is enlightened. 23) The Word of the Lord, which is from the Lord, endures forever. He who has not known God speaks from a guess. 24) Integrity makes the student a theologian, and he himself comprehends the dogma of the Trinity. 25) He who loves the Lord has loved his brother first, because the second serves as proof of the first. 26) He who loves his neighbor will not tolerate slanderers, but will rather run from them like from fire. 27) He who says that he loves the Lord, but is angry with his brother, is like a man who dreams that he is running. 28) The power of love is in hope; because with it we expect a reward for love. 29) Hope is enrichment with invisible wealth. Hope is a sure treasure before the acquisition of treasure. 30) She is peace from labor; she is the door of love; it destroys despair; she is the image of the absent. 31) The impoverishment of hope is the loss of love. Hope binds you to work. She supports in exploits; she is surrounded by God's mercy. 32) A monk, filled with good hope, inflicts death on despondency, and with the sword of the first overthrows the second. 33) Hope is born from the experimental knowledge of the gifts of the Lord; whoever has not experienced them has not been freed from doubts. 34) Hope is destroyed by irritability; because hope does not put one to shame (Rom.5:5), and an ardent man is not comely (Prov.11:25). 35) Love is the guardian of the prophetic gift; love is the giver of miracles; love is an abyss of insight; love is a fiery source; to the extent that it flows out drink, to the same extent it will knock down the thirsty. Love is an angelic state; love is eternal prosperity. 36) Tell us, most beautiful of virtues, where do you tend your sheep? where did they sleep at noon ( Song 1:6 )? Enlighten us, give us drink, guide us on the path, guide us; for we wish to finally come to you. You have dominion over all. Now she attracted my soul too; I can’t hold your flame in my heart. Where should I start singing songs about you? You rule over the power of the sea, and you tame and kill the indignation of its waves. You humble your proud thoughts, as if they were wounded, and with the muscle of your strength you have wasted your enemies (Ps. 89:10-11), and you have made your lovers invincible. 37) But I want to know how Jacob saw you established on the ladder? Satisfy my desire and tell me: what is the method of such ascension? What image, what price do you have for this combination of degrees along which the ascents you have laid in your heart (Ps. 83:4), your lover? I am eager to know how large the number of these degrees is? How long does it take to climb? He who knew your struggle and vision told us about the leaders 46; but he did not want, or better (if I must say more precisely) could not, enlighten us in anything else. And this queen, as if appearing to me from heaven, and as if talking in my ear with my soul, said this: until, my lover, you renounce your whiteness, you will not be able to know my beauty, what it is. Let this ladder teach you the spiritual combination of virtues. At its summit I establish myself, as my great secret one said: now these three remain: faith, hope, love: love is greatest of all. A brief exhortation equivalent to one spoken at length Arise, brethren, ascend diligently, putting ascension in your heart, and listening to the one who says: Come, let us ascend to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of our God (Is. 2:3), who perfects our noses like olive trees, and sets them on high (Ps. 17:34), so that we may be victorious in His way. Flow, I beg you, along with the one who says: let us make every effort until we achieve everything in the union of faith and knowledge of God, into a perfect man, to the measure of the age of the fulfillment of Christ (Eph. 4:13). And Christ, having been baptized at thirty years of human age, stood at the thirtieth degree of the spiritual ladder; because God is love. To Him is the dominion, to Him is the strength; in Him the wine of all good things is, and was, and will be forever! Our Reverend Father John. Abbot of Mount Sinai, word to the shepherd In this last book, I placed you last of all, God-wise father; but I am sure that in heaven, before all of us, you have been awarded the Divine writing. For He who said is true: Those who think about themselves will be last in dignity (Matthew 20:16). He, in the proper sense, is a shepherd who can seek out and correct the verbal sheep that perished from simplicity, through his own diligence and prayer. The helmsman who, having received spiritual strength from God and as a result of his own labors, can rescue the ship not only from troubles, but also from the abyss itself. The doctor who, having a painless body and soul, does not require any band-aid from others. He is a true teacher who has directly received the spiritual book of knowledge, inscribed with the finger of God, that is, by the action of illumination, and has no need for other books. It is indecent for teachers to teach based on what they copied from others, and for painters to paint pictures only from photographs. You, who teach those below, learn from above from those in heaven, and teach other things under sensible images, 47 not forgetting him who said: I teach doctrine neither from man nor by man (Gal. 1:1); because the earthly can never heal the earthly. The good helmsman saves the ship; and the good shepherd will revive and heal the spiritual sheep. To the extent that the sheep, continually prospering, follow the shepherd, to the same extent he will give an account for them to the Master of the House. In a word, like a stone, let the shepherd strike the sheep that lag behind due to laziness or gluttony. For this is also a sign of a good shepherd. When the sheep, inflamed by the heat, or better yet, by the body, begin to doze off mentally; then the shepherd, raising his gaze to heaven, carefully watches over them; because during this heat many usually become prey to wolves. However, if they, in the likeness of what we see outwardly in sheep, during this heat bow the head of their soul down to the ground; then we know what is said: God will not despise a broken and humble heart (Ps. 50:19). When will darkness and the night of passion overtake the flock; then let the dog stand motionless before God on guard at night. For there is nothing strange if you imagine your mind as a destroyer of these beasts. And the good Lord gave this property to our nature, that the sick person rejoices when he sees a doctor, although, perhaps, he will not receive even the slightest benefit from him. You too, venerable one, stock up on plasters, powders, eye lotions, drinks, sponges, not squeamishness, instruments for cutting veins and cauterizations, ointments, sleeping pills, a knife, bandages. If we do not have this; then can we show our art? - We can’t do it at all; because rewards are given for deeds, not for words. The plaster is a cure for visible passions; and taking medicine internally is a healing of internal passions, cleansing invisible defilement. Powder is a dishonor that hurts and heals us from the rottenness of self-conceit; an eye lotion is a cleansing of the spiritual eye - a mind outraged by the clouding of irritability. Drinking is a reprimand, upsetting and soon healing. A section of a blood vein is a quick cleansing of the implicit stench; This is a section in the proper sense, this is a decisive and cruel measure to save the sick. Sponge, this is - after sectioning the veins, or other manual intervention, in condescending, meek and gentle words, the doctor gives consolation and reassurance to the patient. Cauterization is a rule and penance, humanely imposed for a time for repentance. And ointment is a cauterization consolation offered to the patient either in a word or in a short petition. Giving a sleeping pill means taking on the burden of a novice, and through weakening subordination, granting him unceasing sleep and holy blindness, so that he does not see his perfections. To use bandages means to be patient until death. to strengthen and restrain those who are weakened and weakened by vanity. The end of everything is a knife; this is a determination and sentence about cutting off a mentally dead and rotten member, so that the Jew does not communicate his leprosy to other members. The lucky quality in doctors is not disgust, and in abbots it is dispassion. Just as doctors, having no disgust, immediately proceed to a fetid ulcer and provide all kinds of assistance; Thus, dispassionate superiors will be able to resurrect every dead soul. And let it be one of the abbot’s vows to have compassion for everyone and to adapt to everyone according to the dignity of each, so that otherwise he, like Jacob (Am. 6:6-8), would not harm both his beloved and those who participate. And superiors are usually subjected to this when they do not yet have spiritual feelings fully trained in the judgment of good and evil, and the mean between both (Heb. 5:14). It is a great shame for the abbot when he prays for the gift of something to a novice that he himself has not yet acquired. Just as those who have seen the face of the king, and have won the friendship of the king himself and all his servants, can, if they want, do so that even strangers to the king, or even his enemies, enjoy the sight of the royal glory; Think about the saints in the same way. The closest friends of the Tsars are respected by their friends and are obedient to them, perhaps even suffering coercion from them. It’s good to make spiritual friends for yourself; for no one helps us so much in virtue. One of the lovers of God told me that always, especially on the days of annual and Lord’s holidays, God rewards His servants with gifts. The doctor must be completely free from his passions, so that at other times he can feign some kind of passion in himself, especially irritability. And if he has not completely removed passions from himself; then he will not be able to remain dispassionate, taking on the appearance of being possessed by passion. It happened to see that a horse, which was not fully accustomed to obedience, as long as it was kept in a bridle, walked calmly, but was suddenly ready to do harm to its master if he loosened the bridle a little. In the reasoning of the two demons, the present requirement generally takes place. Those who intend to search, let them search without sparing labor. The doctor will then recognize the wisdom given to him by God when he is able to heal ailments that have not been healed by many. It is not the teacher who is worthy of surprise who made intelligent children smart, but the one who wised and improved the slow-witted and dull-witted. Then the abilities of the riders are revealed and deserve praise, when even on bad horses they win, and the horses are saved unharmed. If you have the gift of anticipating excitement; then clearly warn those sailing with you on the ship about this. Otherwise, you will be guilty of a shipwreck; because everyone carelessly entrusted you with the helm of the ship. I saw doctors who did not inform their patients about the causes of their illnesses, but caused great labor and sorrow to both the sick and themselves. To the extent that the abbot sees great trust in himself in both his novices and those who are distant, to the same extent he observes himself with all caution in everything he does and whatever he says, knowing that everyone looks at him as the original model, and what comes out of him, they consider that for themselves as a rule and law. Love will show a true shepherd; because out of love our Shepherd suffered crucifixion. Appropriate the vice you notice in others for yourself in words, and in no case will you feel great shame. Insult the patient for a while, so that his illness does not become old, or he does not die from your hateful silence. Many, from the silence of the helmsman, assumed that they were sailing safely, until they were soon wrecked. Let's listen to what the great Paul writes to Timothy: the infusion, he says, is timely and untimely (2 Tim. 4:2). It is more opportune, as I think, when those who are exposed gladly accept the accusation; but it is untimely when reproof stings them. And water flows from springs when there is not a single thirsty person. There is, so to speak, a natural shyness in abbots, which is why they often remain silent about what they should have said to the novices. Let them not refuse to do the same things that teachers do with their students, and let them even depict the necessary explanations in writing. Let us listen to what God’s Word says about some. Does he exercise the crops and the earth (Luke 13:7)? And again: drive out the evil one from you (1 Cor. 5:13); and: do not pray for these people (Jer. 11:14). Similarly, it was forbidden to pray for Saul (1 Samuel 16:1). The shepherd needs to know all this - over whom, how and when all this should be carried out; because God is truest of all. If anyone, convicted in private, is not ashamed; then he will turn the reproof in front of many into a reason for shamelessness, voluntarily despising his own salvation. I also mean what I have seen happen to many prudent patients. Knowing their fear and weakness, they begged the doctors to tie them up against their will and treated them using this arbitrary violence; because their spirit is vigorous because of the hope of the future, but their flesh is weak because of their former bad habits. And I, seeing this, begged the doctors to listen to the sick. The guide should not prescribe a narrow and cramped path for everyone who comes, and not a good yoke and a light burden for everyone, but on the contrary, look carefully and appropriately adapt the medicine to everyone. For those burdened with grave sins and close to despair, the second medicine is appropriate; and for those who are prone to arrogance and conceit - the first. Others, intending to go on a long journey and asking people who knew when they heard from them that the path was straight, smooth and safe, - according to this rumor, putting aside all worries about preparing themselves for the journey, halfway through the journey they either suffered disasters or had to turn back, not being prepared for the sorrows they encountered. And equally and vice versa, understand that where the love of God has touched the heart, there words will not produce fear; where the fear of Gehenna is visible, there is the patience of labor of all kinds; and where the hope of the kingdom is noticeable, There is the neglect of everything below. A good military leader must clearly know where the place and purpose of each of his subordinates is. For, perhaps, there are many who are capable of standing with him as comrades in the front ranks, or going out into single combat, while they are forced to remain inactive. The helmsman alone, without the assistance of the ship's servants, cannot save the ship. And the doctor will not heal the patient unless the patient, with all confidence, first summons the doctor to this with his requests and by showing the doctor his wound. Those who were ashamed of the doctors allowed their wounds to fester; and many often died. The shepherd, when tending the sheep, must not cease to use the flute of the word, especially when the sheep are ready to fall asleep; because the wolf fears nothing so much as the echo of the shepherd's pipe. The abbot must, just as he should not always humiliate himself foolishly, so he should not always exalt himself foolishly, in both cases looking at Paul walking before him. The Lord often closes the eyes of his superiors to some of the superior’s shortcomings. And if he himself discovers these shortcomings; This will give rise to self-distrust. I saw a rector who, out of extreme humility, consulted with his children on other matters. And he saw another who, out of conceit, wanted to show them his own wisdom unwisely, and treated them jokingly. Rarely, however, have I seen that, for some reason, people devoted to passions ruled over the dispassionate, and, ashamed of their subordinates, little by little, they cut off their own passions from themselves. And, as I think, the reward for those being saved was that which produced this change in the abbots, so that the passionate beginning of the matter served as the basis for them to be dispassionate. One must be careful not to squander what one has purchased at the marina in the middle of the sea. What has been said is understood by those who have not yet become accustomed to external rebellions. It is a truly great thing to endure the heat, the silence, and the inaction of silence with complacency and courage, and not to seek entertainment and consolation outside the ship’s cell, as careless sailors during calm periods seek coolness in the waters. What is incomparably higher is not to be afraid of riots, but even in the midst of their noise, to maintain a fearless and unshakable heart, spending time outwardly with people, and inwardly with God. May worldly decrees serve you, O venerable one, as the basis for our decrees. One comes to our truly terrible judgment seat as defendants, while the other, not guilty of anything, hurries to God’s work and service. There is a great contrast between the coming of both; and therefore each requires special rules. Let the person subject to responsibility first of all be interrogated, however, in private, what kind of deeds were he? And this is necessary for two reasons: so that, brought into complete contrition by this confession, he puts aside all insolence, and so that he learns what ulcers we take on our responsibility, and this prompts him to love us. Do not forget, honest father, since this is not unknown to you (let it not be!), namely, that God accepts in reasoning in the defendants both a place and an appeal to a better life and human abilities; because there are many modifications and differences in this. He who is weaker often turns out to be more humble in heart; why should he receive the lightest punishment from spiritual judges? The opposite of this is self-evident. It is not in the order of things for a lion to tend sheep; and it is not safe for one who is still a slave to passions to rule over people who are also passionate. An indecent sight - a fox among chickens; but the most indecent thing is an angry shepherd. One confuses and destroys chickens, and the other - rational souls. Be careful not to be a strict tormentor of the smallest things; otherwise, you will no longer be an imitator of God. And you yourself, in all your internal and external affairs, have God as your builder and leader, relying on Him as the most skillful helmsman, and for His sake, cutting off your own will, as if not having your own mind, be guided by His one wave. And you and everyone should delve into this: is it not grace that comes mostly by faith, and not for our purity, to act through us? For many, being slaves of passions, performed miracles in the manner described above. If it is said: many will say to Me in that day: Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, and so on (Matthew 7:22); The situation I said is worthy of belief. Whoever has truly found mercy from God can benefit those who suffer in a way that is imperceptible to them, achieving through this two very important gains: protecting himself from human glory, as if from the so-called rye in plants, and those who have been shown mercy, disposing to give thanks to the only God. To those who walk their path cheerfully and very valiantly, offer better and stronger food; and those who, either by understanding or by behavior, remain behind, offer milk to those who are infants; because every food has its time. The same food produces zeal in some, and loss of spirit in others. Those who begin to sow the seed must pay attention to the time, the face, the quantity and quality. Others, regarding the judgment for succession as nothing, foolishly undertook to be shepherds of souls, and having previously had great wealth, they moved from here empty-handed, squandering this wealth on others through succession. Just as children are one’s own and legitimate, and some are also from a second marriage, some are thrown, and others are born from slaves: so in the recipients one can notice a lot of similarities with this. There is receptivity in the proper sense, and it means giving one’s soul for the soul of one’s neighbor in any case. But you can only take upon yourself the previous sins of your neighbor; you can also take upon yourself some of his future sins; You can still take upon yourself the burden of your own commands, due to a lack of spiritual strength and due to the poverty of dispassion. But in this perfect succession, as we cut off the will of our neighbor, we bear judgment on ourselves. The legitimate son is recognized in the absence of the father. The abbot must pay attention and especially notice those who oppose him, and otherwise contradict him, and punish them in the presence of the elders of the brethren with the most severe reprimands, through them instilling fear in others, even if these reprimands greatly upset those being punished. For the chastity of many is more important than the offense of one. Others, being driven by spiritual love, take on the burdens of others beyond their strength, remembering Him who said: Greater love can no one have, and so on (John 15:13). And others, having received, perhaps, from God the power to take on others, do not willingly take on someone else’s burden to save their brother. And I consider the latter to be damned, as those who have not acquired love. About the first, I find, it is said nowhere: take away the honorable from the unworthy, as My mouth will be (Jer. 15:19); and: as thou hast created, it shall be done unto thee (Abd.1:15). Please also note this, that often a superior’s sin in thought is judged more severely than the novices’ sin in action, just as the misconduct of a warrior is easier than the unreasonable plan of a military leader. Instill obedience in the workers so that sins of the flesh and lust are not confessed in all detail, but other sins are remembered in all detail day and night. Teach them, providing a model for this in yourself, to be completely gentle in everything, simple-minded in dealing with each other and extremely prudent in relation to demons. Do not forget what the purpose of your sheep should be in considering their mutual relations. And the goal of wolves is to, through the lazy, bring the zealous into relaxation. Do not be lazy to ask and pray to God for the most negligent, not that they will have mercy (because this is impossible without their assistance), but that God will awaken them to diligence. Let those who are weak in faith not eat with heretics, as it is said in the rules; and the strong, on occasion, if the infidels invite them to them for the sake of faith, and it is desirable for them to go, let them go. Where the glory of the Lord is at stake, do not excuse yourself by ignorance; for he is ignorant; having done something worthy of wounds, he will be punished for it; that I did not try to find out (Luke 12:48). It is a shame for a shepherd to be afraid of death, when obedience itself, as they define it, is a lack of fear of death. Find out, blessed one, without which virtue no one will see the Lord, and first of all teach it to your children, saving them from any chance of seeing anything effeminate and effeminate. For all those who have submitted to us in the Lord, according to the difference of bodily ages, there will be different institutions and premises. For no one should be expelled from the port before he comes to his senses, for which the time is determined in worldly laws. Let us not quickly lay hands on anyone, lest the other sheep we brought into the years of ignorance, when they come to knowledge, unable to bear the burden and the heat, flee into the world; and this will not be safe before God for those who hastened to lay hands on them. Where is the steward from God who, having no shortage of tears and labors, does not spare them before God for the purification of others? Never cease to take care of restoring purity to souls, especially to desecrated bodies, so that you can boldly seek crowns from the good Hero of God not only for your own labors, but also for the souls of others. I saw that one weak man, through faith, cleansed the weakness of the weak one, resorting to God for him with commendable persistence, and laying down soul for soul, in humility for his healing, finally healed himself. But he saw that the other acted like this out of conceit, and as a reproach to himself he heard: doctor, heal yourself (Luke 4:23). One can renounce a good for a greater good, as one who avoids martyrdom does, not out of fear, but for the benefit of those saved and enlightened by him. Someone gives himself up to dishonor for the honor of others, and when many consider him a sensualist, he remains like a flatterer and true (2 Cor. 6:8). If the one who has a word for benefit, but does not communicate it abundantly, will not remain unpunished; What kind of danger do you think, beloved, threatens those who, through their active assistance, can help those who suffer, and do not help? Have you been delivered by God? - deliver others. Saved? - and save those yourself who are being dragged to death. Redeemed? – Do not skimp on the atonement of those killed by demons. For for everyone gifted with the power of breathing, this is a great reward from God, not acquired by any other work and contemplation of mortals and immortals. It is as if he were a collaborator with the bodiless and mental forces, who, with the purity given to him by God, cleanses the filth of others, and from what is reproached brings a blameless gift to God. For this alone constitutes the constant occupation of the Divine priests. Everyone around Him will bring gifts, that is, souls (Ps. 75:12). Nothing proves so much the love of mankind and goodness of our Creator towards us as this - to leave ninety-nine sheep and seek one that was lost (Matthew 18:12). Therefore, be attentive, a man filled with faith, and show all your diligence, love, ardor, and solicitude in prayer to God for those who are extremely lost and contrite. For where illnesses and scabs are great, there, without a doubt, great rewards are given. We will delve into and observe, and then do it. For the superior, due to the weakness of others, should not always prefer what is fair. I saw how two were judged by one wise judge. He declared the wrong one, as frivolous, to be right, and the right one, as courageous and complacent, he recognized as wrong and condemned, so that for the sake of truth no greater discord would occur; however, in private and without witnesses, he told everyone, especially those who were sick in soul, what he should have said. A grassy plain belongs to sheep, but to verbal sheep, what is most characteristic of them is teaching and remembrance of their outcome, by which all leprosy can be healed. Strictly supervise the complacent, and innocently expose them to dishonor in the presence of the weak, so that with the medicine given to one, you can heal the ulcer of another, and teach the paralytic to endure troubles. Nowhere do we see that God, hearing a confession, announced it publicly; and this in order not to frighten those confessing with such a discovery, and not to make them incurably painful. Although we will also have the gift of foreknowledge, we will not tell those who creep in advance about their creep; but it’s better to encourage them to confess with hints; because their own confession to us contributes no little to their receiving forgiveness from God. After their confession to us, we will be worthy of greater care and intimacy with us than before; for as a result of this they will greatly succeed in trusting and loving us. And we must show them in ourselves an example of extreme humility, but also teach them together so that they have fear of us. Be careful that your humility, demonstrated in deeds beyond the need, does not heap coals of fire on the heads of your children. You must be patient in everything, except when they disobey what you say. Keep an eye out to see if you see trees in your field that take up land in vain, but may perhaps become fruitful on another land. Do not refuse, according to general advice, to replant them with loving care for their repose. Sometimes it happens that the abbot safely improves in virtue in places that are unusual, conducive to luxury, or crowded. Therefore, let him be careful in accepting sheep; because deviation from acceptance and refusal are not in any case forbidden by God. If the doctor is full of spiritual silence; then he does not so much need physical silence to care for the sick. And if he lacks the first, let him use the second. No gift of ours is as pleasing to God as the repentant verbal souls brought to Him. For the whole world is not equal to the soul; the world passes away, but the soul is incorruptible and will remain incorruptible. Therefore, ironed, please those who bring to Christ not property, but verbal sheep. Make a pure burnt offering; otherwise, you won't get any benefit. How we should understand: for it was fitting that I should be betrayed to the Son of Man (Luke 24:7): woe and to him he will give himself over (Matthew 26:24); so, and vice versa, understand that many elect must be saved; the reward will be given to those through whom, according to the Lord, salvation is accomplished. First of all, honest father, we need spiritual strength so that those - whom we have undertaken to introduce into the Holy of Holies, and to whom we intend to show Christ resting on their mysterious and secret table, especially while they are still in the vestibule at the entrance - we, taking them by the hand, like babies, free them from the rebellion of thoughts, as soon as we see that they are in sorrow and in cramped conditions from the rebellion of those who intend to deny their entry. If others are very young or weak; then we need to lift and carry them on our shoulders until they pass through this door of a truly narrow entrance; for here all kinds of oppression and distress are usually experienced. Why, someone said about this entrance: this work is before me, until I enter into the sanctuary of God (Ps. 73:17), - and all the work is in this one thing. And in the preceding words, 48 ​​O father of fathers, we spoke about this father of fathers and teacher of teachers, what he was; how completely adorned with heavenly wisdom, unhypocritical, teaching, strict, chaste, condescending, complacent, and, most amazing of all, when he saw those wishing to be saved, he used the greatest severity against them; and in whom he again saw his own will, or passion, he deprived them of everything for which they were partial, and brought everyone to the point that everyone was finally careful not to show their own will in anything for which they had a disposition. This venerable father always used to say this: “It is better to expel someone from the monastery than to allow the novices to carry out their own will. For whoever expelled often made the expelled person humble and, finally, renouncing his will; and whoever shows such imaginary philanthropy and condescension, he does so that during their exodus they will curse him with complaints, as having deceived them more than having done them any good.” It was a majestic sight when the great father, after performing the evening prayers, sat on a seat, externally made of wood, and internally woven from spiritual gifts, like a kind of king, and a beautiful congregation surrounded him like wise bees, listening to his words as if they were God’s, and obeying his orders. And he commanded - some thirty, some fifty, some a hundred psalms to read before going to bed, and others - to make the same number of genuflections, others - to sleep sitting, some - to read until a certain time, and some - to stand the same amount in prayer. He appointed two overseers from the brethren, who noticed and stopped the gatherings of the brethren during the day and the idle pastime of time, and at night untimely awakenings and everything that was not permissible to be recorded in writing. And not only did the great father pay attention to this, but also in discussing food he determined a special rule for everyone. For not the same and not the same foodstuffs were offered to everyone, but they were assigned to each according to his condition. For this excellent steward prescribed food that was harsher for some, and more tolerable for others. And to his surprise, every command, as if coming from the mouth of God, was carried out without complaint. The Lavra was also subordinate to this illustrious father, in which this shepherd, perfect in everything, sent the strong in spirit out of the monastery into silence. I urgently ask you, do not accustom the simple-minded to cunning thoughts, but it is better, if possible, to bring the cunning to simplicity, which is extraordinary. Whoever, through extreme dispassion, has achieved the highest degree of purity, will also use severity as a Divine judge. For the lack of dispassion strikes the heart of the judge, and does not allow him to punish and correct evil as he should. As a legacy to your sons, leave above all immaculate faith and pious dogmas, so that you can bring not only your sons, but also your grandchildren to the Lord through Orthodoxy. Do not spare the strong in body and the young, exhaust and tame them, so that they will thank you during their exodus. And in this, O wise one, let the great Moses be an example to you. For he could not free the obedient and obedient Israelites who followed him from Pharaoh until they had eaten unleavened bread with bitter herbs. Unleavened bread signifies a soul that has no attachment to its own will; because one’s own will can puff up the soul to the point of exaltation, but the unleavened stone never rises upward. By bitter herbs we sometimes mean the grief that accompanies the subordination of one’s will to another, and sometimes the difficulties of a harsh fast. And I, sending this to you, father of fathers, am in fear when I hear him who says: teaching others, do you not teach yourself (Rom. 2:21)? But having now said the following, I will stop the flow of the word. A soul that, through purity, has entered into unity with God for its own teaching will have no need for the word of another; This blessed one has in herself the eternal Word as a secret guide, guide and enlightener. And such, as I remember, is your soul, O most sacred and luminous head; I remember this not simply by the gift of speech, but from deeds and having experienced her immaculate intentions, especially shining with bestial meekness and humility, like that of that great legislator, whose footsteps you really follow, O most patient one, and constantly ascending to heights, you almost already have advantages over him, namely, in the praises of chastity, in the victorious rewards of chastity, - such virtues, with which much more than others we can draw closer to the all-pure God, the giver and reinforcer of all dispassion, and for these He places those who still live on earth from earth to heaven. With them, like that lover of purity, Elijah, with unlazy feet you ascended, as it were, onto some kind of fiery chariot, and not only killed the Egyptian, and hid the victorious crown in the sand of humility, but even ascended the mountain, and during your thorny life, inaccessible to beasts, you saw God, enjoyed the Divine voice and Divine luminosity; Izul boots, that is, the entire death cover; He took for the mistake, or the end, the one who turned from an angel into a serpent, and put him to death, covering him with darkness, as if in his own hole and the underworld itself, in Egypt and in darkness; defeated the arrogant and arrogant pharaoh, defeated the Egyptians, and put their firstborn (this is your most important victory triumph) to death. Why did the Lord entrust to you, as an unshakable one, the leadership of the brethren, whom you, the leader of leaders, fearlessly delivered from Pharaoh and from the vile molding of clay, gave them to see and through every experience to be convinced of this vision of the Divine fire and the cloud of purity that extinguishes every flame; and on top of all this, he divided for them that black, flaming sea, in which most of us are in misery, and with his pastoral rod and knowledge he made them victors and triumphants; and all who pursued after them he destroyed in the end; and even after all this, Amalek of self-conceit, who usually meets the victors after winning a victory at sea, as perfect both in activity and in contemplation, you put to flight by raising your hands, defeated the pagans for your God-trusted and God-enlightened people, and brought those with you to the mountain of dispassion, installed priests, taught circumcision, without being purified by which it is impossible to see God; ascended to the heights, repelled all darkness, gloom and whirlwind (Deut. 4:11), that is, the triple darkness of ignorance, approached the most glorious, dazzling and highest Light seen in the bush, was granted a voice, was granted contemplation and the gift of prophecy. Or maybe, while still here, you have already seen what will finally happen, I mean the future final illumination of knowledge; and then hearing a voice: “Heavenly shall man see” (Exodus 33:20), and therefore from the vision of God at Horeb he descended into the deepest vale of humility, with a glorified face, mental and physical, carrying with him the tablets of knowledge and ascension. But alas! woe to us for this Telcelian light among those accompanying me! Woe to us for this destruction of the tablets! - What then? Taking these people by the hand, you led them through the desert; or maybe, when they were burning, they were the flame of their own fire, you sometimes exhausted the source of tearful waters through wood, that is, crucifixion, flesh with passions and lusts. You wage war with tongues coming out to meet you, destroying them with the fire of the Lord; you come to the Jordan (for nothing prevents me from retreating somewhat from history), you divide it for your people with a word, like Jesus, and you assign the former waters to the salt sea and the sea of ​​deadness, and the waters of love on the other side bring up grief in the eyes of these spiritual Israelites of yours; then, you command to bring twelve stones, either by re-establishing the apostolic rite, or by divination indicating the overcoming of eight tongues, that is, the passions, and the acquisition of the four main virtues; after this, completely leaving behind you the dead and barren sea, you come to the city of the enemy; in continuation of this sevenfold everlasting circle of human life, you trumpet in prayer, and having destroyed the city, you take possession of it; why can you also sing to the immaterial Companion: my enemy has run short of weapons to the end, and you have destroyed the cities of my passions (Ps. 9:7). Do you want me to tell you what is highest and most valiant? – You have ascended to Jerusalem to a vision of perfect spiritual peace, and you behold Christ, the God of the world, having suffered with Him as a good warrior (2 Tim. 2:3), having been crucified in the flesh with passions and lusts, and, without a doubt, so that, having become a god to Pharaoh and all his resisting power, you will be buried and descend into the underworld (I mean the underworld). Theology and unspeakable mysteries), to be anointed and perfumed by related and loving wives, or virtues. For what prevents me from saying and expressing myself like this? - You also remain in heaven, sitting at the right hand. What a glorious prize! Having resurrected yourself after three days, after defeating three tormentors (perhaps I will say more precisely), after winning victory over the body, soul and spirit, or after purifying, as it were, the three-part composition of the soul, that is, passionate, irritable and mental strength, you come to the Mount of Olives. For we must stop the word and not philosophize to the point of excess, especially when writing to someone who is full of wisdom and has the advantage of knowing everything that is higher than us. About this mountain, I think, one good man, ascending to it, said: the high mountains are green (Ps. 103:18), that is, to souls that destroy reptiles. 49 So, following the course with him, and accompanying him, you followed his trail and, looking up to heaven (I am again introducing the previous image of the word into the word), blessed us disciples, and turned your gaze to the ladder of virtues presented and established before Symbol, which you, as a wise architect, according to the grace given to you from God, laid the foundation, or better yet, gave the completion, although out of humility, replacing yourself with me feeble-minded, forced me to give you my unclean lips for the benefit of your people. And this is not surprising; because, according to what is depicted in history, Moses usually called himself thin-voiced and tongue-tied (Ex. 4:10). But he had an excellent gift of speech and a kind-hearted Aaron, and you, the secret one, I don’t know why, came for this to a waterless spring filled with Egyptian toads, or better yet, with rotten strings. But since I should not move away from the word I have taken upon myself, leaving it halfway along your course, O heavenly one; then, continuing to weave what was offered as a tribute to your kindness, I will say here: you approached the holy mountain, fixed your gaze on the sky, stepped foot on the path, began to flow, ascended to the heights, ascended to the Cherubic virtues, was introduced to their rank, entered into an exclamation, putting the enemy to flight, paved the way and preceded on it, or better yet, you also lead along it until now, and you precede all of us, ascending to the very top of the holy ladder and entering into unity with Love, and this Love is God. To him belongs glory, power, honor and worship forever and ever. Amen. Good inclinations, according to Elijah of Crete. Abba Martyria, as can be seen from the subsequent legend of the unknown Sinai monk. Pride; for, according to the teaching of the fathers, the thought of pride is the eighth among sinful thoughts. According to some, Isaac, who was mentioned above. The beginning of Psalm 39 is as follows; By being patient, let us endure the Lord, and listen to me and hear my prayer. Disobedience and conceit. those. be diligent to the soul. It is not necessary to stay in a monastery. That is, below the church of St. Prophet Elijah. Both anger and voluptuousness. The ladder seen by Jacob. View Memorable tales about the asceticism of the holy fathers, p. 6. Art. 14. about Anthony the Great, (ed. 1) St. Non, Bishop of Iliopolis. View Chetyi Menaia, October 8. Memorable tales about the asceticism of the holy fathers, page 3. The seabed during the passage of the Israelis. Abba Simeon. Memorable tales about the asceticism of the holy fathers, ed. 1845 p. 262. Art. 2. Abba Serapion. Palladia Lawsaic, pp. 217–219, ed. 1850. Gluttony, love of money and vanity. Fornication, irritability, despair, despondency and pride, Gregory of Sinai ch. 91. Abba Leo, who redeemed three captives with himself. See Spiritual Meadow, ch. 111. Art. 115–117. Against voluptuousness, love of money, love of fame - with abstinence, love, humility. A plant that climbs near other trees. that is, there are three Persons in the Trinity, and one Person in Christ; in the Trinity there is one nature, and in Christ there are two natures. Venerable Tithos, see Memorable tales of the asceticism of the holy fathers, p. 274, article 1. Anthony the Great ibid p. 11 art. 32. Ephraim the Syrian, see Works of the Holy Fathers in Russian translation. Creations of St. Ephraim, part 1, page 114. In the fourth and fifth words.