Беседа 20. Того же мар Исаака другое рассуждение, 855 в котором ясно различные виды размышления, 856 происходящего в сознании соответственно степени преуспеяния 857 и мере знания, которых достиг человек. 858

1. We will begin by describing the various kinds of 859 human knowledge, as well as the level which is below the nature of the soul, and the admirations 860 which are above nature. 2. When that rational power that is in us becomes illuminated, a person completely despises the fear of death and is constantly inspired 861 by the hope of resurrection, as if the virtue of the nature of the soul began to manifest itself through the indication of its thoughts: concern for the Judgment of God intensifies in him, and he begins to monitor his behavior, his words and his thoughts night and day; and if in all his asceticism 862 he performs wonderful and pious works, this care and this memory do not leave him. For the natural movement of the rational soul is this thought and this thought. Those in whom this thought is absent until they have achieved love, 863 know that they are deprived of knowledge, for they rely on their exploits. 864 If they do not rely on their exploits, they lead either a spiritual or, conversely, a relaxed lifestyle; 865 at these two levels there can be no fear of Judgment. These are either with animals, devoid of understanding and the thought of resurrection, or with angels who exist in other knowledge and who do not stoop to such thoughts. 866 For they are busy with other experiences 867 and they think about mysteries that are higher than the thought of the Judgment. In others, due to lack of sobriety and darkness of the soul, this thought lies dormant. 3. In those who are on the soul level, 868 this thought is correct, for the nature in them is beautifully moved by the natural beauty of discrimination. And they live in the enlightenment of natural thoughts, united with the grace that accompanies them. 4. For the one whose consciousness is not clouded by imagination, 869 when he moves towards perfection through a virtuous lifestyle, the consciousness 870 will not agree to calm down or subside from this movement. 5. But I will show that when this happens, this concern for his thoughts properly ceases: truly! After all, when he has achieved divine love, he rises above this thought and remains in freedom from thoughts. 872 divine love does not at all come from spiritual asceticism 873 and not from the natural movement of the soul in the service of virtue, for fear belongs to this level of asceticism, and it is absolutely impossible to feel divine love. The latter is beyond the power of the soul, and this admiration 874 does not belong to the natural way of life; 875 and divine love belongs to the spiritual way of life. 6. For virtue is a natural path, which is in humility, works, alms, chastity, 876 sacrifices and prayers of the mouth, as well as mercy. In the new century, none of this is required, because the spiritual way of life is in a different knowledge, which does not appear 877 as a result of physical or mental labor, and its service 878 does not come from them. 879 Those who are at this level tend to 880 think. In the spiritual way of life there is no reflection, no thought, no excitement, no movement. Thoughts are set in motion at the soul level, but at the spiritual level there is no thought, since the mind rises above the images of this world and resides in a different knowledge. The knowledge of those 881 can be described in our usual verbal way; as for these, 882 their knowledge cannot be described even in the manner in which the mind exists there. The knowledge here, of course, presupposes the movement of thoughts, while that 883 way of life is above all such things. It is in this state that we will be after the resurrection from the dead along with the holy angels; the angels are already in it. For, except when they are sent by God for some kind of service in our world, they do not move away from this image of vision and mental disposition. 7. But if a person says: “How is it possible that there is unceasing amazement at God among those who are constant and unchanging, but who receive commands about the elements and next to every person? And how is it possible that the described image does not prevent them from constantly abiding?” – 8. Such a person thinks very humanly about these quick and easy natures, which are not hindered by bodies or actions due to the speed and enlightenment of their minds. They do not get tired of the change in their activity 884 and do not become overtired; and in everything they do, they do not need time or place that could hinder them in their service. For they do everything quickly and instantly in accordance with the strength and amazing ability bestowed on their nature. In them, the likeness of Himself in everything, as far as possible, was created by Being - the Creator, Who is above all. 9 . But let’s leave spiritual natures and return to our topic 885 - to this world; and let us continue our reasoning 886 from where we deviated. 10. So, at that moment, when a person has risen above spiritual service in his thought and knowledge, which consists of effective virtue, 887 and his consciousness rises to a spiritual way of life, as far as is achievable here for human nature, immediately amazement at God clings to him, and from the movements of his former thoughts he calms down and subsides, and his whole mind is excited by these spiritual movements of love. Together with this knowledge, fear is taken away from a person, and freedom from thoughts, 888 which is above all fear and mental suffering, is driven by thinking in the image of the new age: and this, by the grace of Christ, he was rewarded with the way of life of the new man, those movements that arise in nature there, in the Kingdom of Heaven. 11. And when, again, he moves away from them, 889 he has spiritual joy, and in his thoughts and in his thoughts he is not like the children of this world, for from this he grew in freedom from thoughts, 890 filled with movements of knowledge and amazement at God. And since he lives in knowledge, which is higher than the soul, and has risen above fear, he remains in the joy of God in the movement of his thoughts at every moment, as is typical for children. 891 12. Such are the movements of thoughts on these three levels and the knowledge of these movements. 13. So, he who is corporeal in his knowledge is impossible to be above the fear of death in his thoughts, but he is constantly horrified at the memory of it. Being bodily, he thinks about the physical, and therefore doubt about the resurrection constantly lives in him. 14. 892 fear lives in the soul. He does not think about the body - about its death, about its sorrow, about its blessings, about its suffering - but he easily accepts it for the sake of the future. For truly he is intelligent; however, he has only the soul, that is, the constant thought 893 of the resurrection from the dead. 894 15. The spiritual has none of this, but he remains in knowledge and in divine joy, for he has become a son and partaker of the mystery of God. 16. From this a person understands the measure of his knowledge and his asceticism, from those movements that constantly arise in him while he remains in his exploits and in his knowledge of the short period of his earthly life. 895 17. For it also happens that in his exploits and in his knowledge he has left the physicality, but has not yet achieved the spiritual, 896 which is perfect repentance and the perfection of the fear of God. Then thoughts arise in him on both sides. 18. For very few are those who have been rewarded with the fullness of their souls. 897 This is the pinnacle of 898 repentance. This is the way of life that our Catholic Mother possesses. 899 19. It happens, again, that one has improved in the spiritual, 900 but has not yet entered into a spiritual way of life, and only a little has begun to awaken in it. While in all his asceticism he is still spiritual, it sometimes happens that certain spiritual movements arise in him from time to time indistinguishably, and he begins to feel joy and innermost consolation in his soul: like some kind of flashing lightning, if such a comparison is appropriate, certain mysterious insights arise and are aroused in his mind. And immediately his heart explodes with joy. Even if this is hidden and taken away from him, it is clear that his mind is full of hope. 20. I know a person in the neighborhood who 901 has a taste for these lightning flashes. But, although the mysterious insight instantly flashes through his mind and departs, nevertheless the flash of joy from and the taste of it lasts a long time, and the silence that comes from this, long after it goes away, is diffused in his thinking; also the state of the body and the members of the body becomes peaceful, and there is great rest; and the joy of enjoying this miracle is noted at the highest moment on his mental lips. 902 With such, it is not long to despise the temporary world, and the consolation of hope for the future - to come to the weary wanderer. 903 This serves as an indication for him so that he does not turn onto the path of a passionate life, 904 for from now on he has no other hope than this. 21. Many ships have gone astray in this ocean. Although they 905 hear with their ears and read with their lips, 906 the power of knowledge of this hope has not touched 907 even the tip of their little finger. For this reason, despite the hard and labor-intensive work 908 of their helmsmen and their amazing knowledge, 909 they cannot in their intention to despise this world, which means the killing of a person’s heart 910 through humility and self-forgetfulness. 911 22. We should not imagine that in that small particle of which we spoke lies the gift of our Lord. For there are, again, those who not only partake of the true mysteries in such a lightning-like manner, 912 but in the firmament of their hearts the very Sun of Truth 913 has risen in the radiance of 914 its rays. “In the pure heart is imprinted a new heaven, the appearance of which is light, and the place of which is spiritual.” 915 23. It is obvious that if the heart was worthy to become the place of heaven for the Lord, it was worthy of the pinnacle of all contemplation in the vision of revelation. 916 And this, of course, 917 is not for a moment, like those, and not symbolically, 918 but it lasts for hours - and even not only for hours, but also for days. Confirmation of this can be found in the stories dedicated to the Fathers. 919 24. As for me, whose wounds are infected and fester, I pray to You, Lord, grant me to perceive the image of repentance in my soul, so that when my hands stretch out to mercy and I sit at the gates of grace, I will be worthy of the hope that those who truly repentant receive from You. 25. Honor, O Lord, Thy servant with tears from his eyes to wash away at every moment the filth of his deeds from his soul, so that, constantly accepting Thy help in the weakness of his thoughts, he may, by grace, receive access to salvation. 920 Amen. 26. Now, by the grace of our Lord - like what we learned from the Fathers - we will indicate in these 921 Conversations, through what work a person begins to approach the way of life and the order of freedom, and not every person can lead such a way of life, but it is known that he must remain in this time. 922 We will also indicate when it is his time and in what rank 923 he should perform asceticism, and when it is proper for a person to behave according to the laws 924 of this world. 27. It is known that when the body has become weak, having lost its strength and former mobility, then careful constant reflection should accompany people leading such a lifestyle. 925 We will indicate the method of his works in its place, as well as, in order, 926 and others corresponding to this level. Lit. “which clearly distinguishes thought (Sir. renya).” Lit. “rank of behavior”, “level of lifestyle”. Lit. "in which a person stands." Lit. "discrimination of movements." Or “rises”, i.e. high spiritual states. Lit. “in whom, before they achieved love, this thought was not enough.” Lit. “they are in a spiritual lifestyle or a relaxed (casual) lifestyle.” Lit. “other movements are excited in them.” Lit. “at the level of the spiritual way of life”, “in the rite of asceticism of the soul.” Var. "condemnation". Sire. the term msabbranuta corresponds to the Greek. fantasia means “imagination” or “expectation”. The term masbbranuta (which has exactly the same spelling as msabbranuta without vowel) means “opinion,” “assumption,” “doubt,” “condemnation.” Lit. "in freedom of thought." Lit. “to the natural path of life (asceticism).” Lit. “integrity of consciousness”, “integrity of conscience”. Var. “who serves in this way of life”, “who abides in such exploits.” Those. located on the soul level. Those. on a spiritual level. Lit. “in his change and in his activity.” Lit. "to our story." Or “in the virtue of deeds.” Lit. "freedom of thought." Those. from fear and suffering. Lit. “excited”, “moves”. Lit. "constancy of thought." Lit. “about the things of the resurrection of their dead,” i.e. about what relates to the resurrection from the dead. Lit. "the short days of this monastery." Lit. “I have not yet entered into spirituality.” Rev. Isaac is obviously talking about himself in the third person. Lit. “in the palate of his thinking.” Literally, “to the stranger in his wearyness.” Sire. aksenaya is the equivalent of the Greek. xenos (“wanderer”): in the context of ascetic writing, the term means a person who has become alien to the world (“strange” to the world), i.e. renounced the world. Those. ships, which in this case means people. A typical example of the parallel use of two different figurative series: 1) ships, ocean, helmsman; 2) ears, lips, eating. The expression “they read with their mouth” reflects the practice of reading aloud, common in ancient times. Reading silently (“with your eyes”) was not accepted even when alone. The original uses the same root words. Lit. "the delightfulness of one's knowledge." Lit. "mortified (dead) heart." Or “lack of thought about oneself.” Var. "shone forth in outpouring." Rev. Isaac quotes the 39th letter of Evagrius of Pontus. Rev. Isaac uses three terms at once, which for him usually mean a mystical vision: téorya (contemplation), hzata (vision), gelyana (revelation). The adverb is used from the word remza, meaning in this context “sign”, “gesture”, “assumption”. Lit. "written about the Fathers." This refers primarily to Apophthegmata patrum (“Sayings of the Desert Fathers”). Lit. "entering life" So in the manuscript Paris syr.298. According to the reading of Bodleian syr.e.7, "previous." Var. “but the time during which he must remain in these things is known.” Lit. “constant reflection must carefully accompany it.” According to the reading of Paris syr.298, "constant reflection must always accompany it." You might be interested in: