Беседа 18. Снова того же мар Исаака. О разных вопросах. 770

1. About peace and tranquility of the mind: how 771 people begin to feel them. After experiences of struggle, the soul acquires luminosity. 772 During times of struggle 773 the soul is darkened, however, when the struggle is over, the mind becomes like the sun with the radiance of knowledge: when it was subjected for the sake of our Lord to temptations 774 from passions and from demons, it becomes like ripe fruits, 775 which were exposed to all the power of the rays, acquired sweetness and became suitable for consumption. 776 2. About the love of God: 777 what it is, how it is acquired and when. Love for God is not something that awakens unconsciously or imperceptibly; and through mere knowledge of the Scriptures it cannot awaken in a person; and no one can love God by forcing himself. By reading, memorizing, and knowing the Scriptures 778 the mind may acquire a reverence from the remembrance of the greatness of God, and may manifestly feel the fear of Him, whether it be the fear of children or the fear of slaves. Thus one awakens to the desire 779 for virtue and zeal for good. The one who on this occasion believes, or thinks within himself, or teaches that the love of God appears 780 in him 781 through careful fulfillment of what is prescribed by laws, or other similar things, or through coercion and struggle, or through human ways and means, does not even know what he is talking about. And even thanks to the law and commandments that He Himself gives regarding love, it is impossible for us to love God, for from the law comes fear, not love. For until a person receives the Spirit of revelations and the soul unites in its movements with that wisdom that is above the world, and until the greatness of God 782 is known by a person from his own experience, 783 it is impossible for him to approach this glorious taste. He who has not drunk wine will not become drunk from stories about wine; and whoever has not himself been rewarded in his soul with knowledge of the greatness of God, 784 will not be able to become intoxicated with love for Him. 3. About the paths that lead thought to the glorious ones of God. Thanks to constant reflection and wandering of the mind on objects, towards the divine Nature, as well as through trials and exercise in spiritual struggles and competitions, something in thought is perceptibly born. 785 And this power generates in her 786 joy for every moment, and thanks to joy 787 a person approaches that purity of thoughts, which is called “the pure region of nature.” 788 And thanks to purity, he is rewarded with the action of the Holy Spirit: first he is cleansed, and then he is sanctified. And from time to time, when he is in mental conversation with Him, 789 thanks to some luminous movement that is above the body, he acquires inner silence in God - in comparison with some future, constant and ineffable peace in God. 4. What gives rise to incessant weeping, which is spoken of in connection with some holy men who never stopped weeping. There are three reasons why a person experiences an incessant flow of tears. , from amazement at the mysteries-filled insights that are revealed to the mind at every moment, tears flow in abundance without will and without compulsion: 790 he peers into these 791 with the vision of the mind, when he is overcome by admiration for the knowledge of those who are spiritually revealed to the mind in insights. And then those tears flow on their own, and the power of pleasure that engulfs the mind, which dwells in such a vision, does not tire. 792 These things, that is, mysterious and spiritual insights, the Fathers called the image of the manna that the children of Israel ate, 793 and the drink from the stone, which is Christ. 794 5. Or, from the love of God, which inflames the soul, and cannot endure without constant crying, which comes from its sweetness and enjoyment of it. 6. Or from great humility of heart. Humility of heart occurs in a person for two reasons: either from an acute awareness of his sins, 795 or from the recollection of the humility of our Lord, or rather, from the recollection of the greatness of God - to what extent this greatness of the Lord of all humbled itself, so that in various ways He spoke to people and exhorted them, humiliated itself to the point that He even took over the body from them - and how much our Lord suffered, and what His body went through, and how despicable He appeared He is the world, whereas He always possessed ineffable glory with God the Father. The angels tremble at the sight of Him and at the glory of His face shining among their ranks! But we saw Him in such an image of humility that, because of the commonness of His appearance, they grabbed Him when He spoke to them and hung Him on a tree. 7. So, whoever does not have a flow of tears is deprived not only of tears, but also of the causes of tears, and there are no 796 roots in him that give rise to them. In other words, he never tasted the love of God; the thought of divine mysteries was never aroused in him thanks to his constant presence with God; 797 he does not have humility of heart 798, although he imagines that he has humility. 799 8. Do not give me an example of those who are humble by nature: they say, there are many whose very nature testifies that they are humble, and yet they have no tears. So, do not talk about nature, 800 for the feelings are extinguished and weak, 801 in which heat and combustion have died. They do not have this insightful humility 802, which has humble thoughts, attentive, insightful thought, consciousness of one’s own insignificance, a contrite heart and a stream of tears that comes from the suffering of conscience and insight of the will. 9 . If you want, ask them. For they have none of this: do they have contrite thoughts, do they listen to the voice of conscience? 803 They have no reflection on the remembrance of the humility of our Savior, no acute pain piercing them from the consciousness of their own sins; there is no burning and heat in them that ignites their hearts to remember future blessings; and other useful thoughts that, thanks to the sobriety of the mind, are usually aroused in the heart. 10. Otherwise, you must place those infants who live in this world without thinking about anything 804 on the same level as the humble! If, however, you consider those who are calm and meek by nature on the same level as those who are humble through knowledge and their will, then you should also call eunuchs, 805 who are such from their mother’s womb, virgins and rank them among the ranks of virgins and saints, 806 although it was not their own will that prevented them from marrying and forced virginity, but nature. It is the same with those who are gentle and humble by nature: nature moderated their impulses, not willpower. 11. These people have in no way tasted or felt the sweetness of the gifts and consolations that those who are humble for the sake of our Lord taste. And therefore they do not receive the wondrous gift of incessant and consoling tears - those that are perceived by the Fathers as a prototype of the Promised Land. “Once you enter there, you will no longer be afraid of the struggle.” 807 For comfort is promised to broken hearts. To those who have no hope for this, 808 when they cry, no consolation will be sent; and those who neither thirst nor languish will not be quenched with spiritual drink. 12. If, however, in addition to what they possess by nature, they also have prudence of the will, then please such people, for they have been rewarded with the good disposition of their will to find an ally in nature, so that without struggle they succeed in virtue. That is why they too receive the consolation that comes from good will. 13. But if this is only a natural talent, then do not envy such people any more than you would praise and please the dumb. 14. So, if you do not have humility of heart or sweet and burning suffering from the love of God, which is the roots of tears that pour out sweet consolation in the heart, then do not resort to the defectiveness of nature, or to people whose hearts are naturally sluggish and whose internal members are damaged, setting in motion the healthy power of understanding 809 in the soul. as an apology that you are not suffering even a little about your shortcomings. 15. Those who, along with natural simplicity 810 and calmness, have luminous and judicious movements, it is known that they also have tears. For where there is humility of the heart with prudence, it is impossible for a person to restrain himself from crying, even if he does not want to - for, contrary to his will, his heart is constantly overwhelmed by a stream of crying due to burning, uncontrollable suffering and contrition of the heart. 16. A person acquires these three from silence: be it love for God, or amazement at His mysteries, or humility of heart. There is no suffering more burning than love for God. Lord, deign me to drink 811 from this source! So, whoever does not have silence does not know any of these, even if he has many virtues. He cannot know what love for God is, and he will never acquire spiritual knowledge or true humility of heart 812. 17. Anyone who does not know these three virtues, or rather these glorious gifts, is surprised when he hears about people who have incessant weeping, for he imagines that they weep of their own free will or that they force themselves to do so. Therefore, this seems incredible to him. 813 18. About a reasonable feeling, 814 which suddenly arises from amazement at how we came into being and were created by God. And at the moment when it arises in a person, he falls silent 815 in amazement and is filled with pleasure from head to toe. 816 Anyone who has experienced such moments filled with joy will understand. Glory to Your grace, O God! Glory to Your grace, O God! Glory to Your grace, O God, who brought us into existence when we did not exist, who gave us an existence that has no end! You also gave us life, feeling, literature, 817 free will and power - five incomparably great gifts. For Your love not only gave us existence, but also made us verbal, so that we could feel the pleasure of knowledge and the joy of the great gift of insight and enjoy. And since it was impossible for us to be without beginning, like You, You granted us to be endless, like You. Glory to Thee for the enjoyment of Thy gift! 19. The Holy Fathers of blessed memory say that from the proximity of angels there are such moments that lead to amazement with the insights that they 818 arouse thanks to enlightened movements. 819 For it happens that at such times it is as if all the members of that person’s body become streams of tears, out of joy and amazement. These instructions will be recognized by those on whom such mercies have been poured out. For even after a long time after these, such a person seems to be in a certain peace and silence. After such insights, who will not praise you, O silence, haven of mercies? 20. This is how you should understand my insights about all the insights that happen from grace: they are not from the quest or will of man, but they unexpectedly happen to nature, at the command of God, for the consolation of man, through the holy angels who are sent to constant service for those who are to inherit salvation, according to the word of blessed Paul. 821 21. Instructions from the Fathers regarding these times. In these moments, let the one to whom this happens remember the admirable word of Evagrius among the saints about the distinction between thoughts from demons and from angels, so that a person does not mistake one for the other: 22. “After thoughts of resistance 822 the soul is confused, that is, immediately aroused by passions - rage, lust, and so on; pride, or arrogance, or vanity. But after thoughts from the angels, for a long time the soul acquires indescribable peace, silence and great humility, but also fervor and joy, and constant tears, and contempt for the world.” 823 Lit. "Questions about various things." Or “recognize”, “cognize”. Sire. (apyuta. See note 89 to Conversation 1. Lit. "useful for enjoyment." Lit. "retelling of Scripture." Perhaps we are talking about the practice of memorizing the texts of the Holy Scriptures, widespread in early Christian monasticism. Lit. "knowledge of the exalted ones of God." Lit. “something connected with thought is born.” Sire. atra dakya da-kyana. The expression is borrowed from the work of Rev. Mark of the Ascetic “On those who think to be justified by works.” Lit. “embracing the mind from within the vision that is in them.” In particular, Rev. spoke about manna. Ephraim the Syrian (Hymns of Faith 9.12), as well as other Syrian authors. Var. "accurate knowledge of one's sins." Lit. "consistency with God." Sire. mukkaka means humility as a way of behavior (a person “humbles” himself). Sire. makkikuta means humility as an acquired quality (one has become humble). Lit. “Do not take nature to the middle.” Lit. “humility of prudence” (mukkaka d-purane). The term purana (lit. “discrimination,” cf. Greek diakrisis) occurs three times in this phrase, which we translate as “judgment” or “discernment.” Lit. “Do they care about conscience?” Lit. “who live in the world without thought.” Sire. mhaimen can mean either "eunuch" or "believer". The term qaddia (saint) in early Syriac Christian literature, particularly in Aphraates, was applied primarily to people who had taken a vow of chastity. Quote from the Sayings of the Desert Fathers (Apophthegmata patrum). Sire. mliluta corresponds to Greek. logistikon (reason, understanding) and denotes one of the three forces of the soul that Plato spoke about (“desire”, “irritation”, “reason”). Or “straightforwardness”, “innocence”. Or “taste”, “taste”. Lit. “humility, from the heart.” Lit. “The subject is incredible for them.” Or “judgmental movement”, “discrimination movement” (Sir. zaw'a parua). Or “subsides”, “falls silent”. Wed. Evagrius. About prayer 30. Lit. “from the damned”, i.e. demons. Wed. Evagrius. Practitioner (in Russian translation “The Word on Spiritual Work”) 80 and 24. Obviously, Rev. Isaac quotes Evagrius from memory. You might be interested in: