Слово 8. Нравоучительные наставления для владеющих над истинноверующими

It is characteristic of bodily courage to overthrow bodies, destroy strong walls of cities and take up arms against a visible enemy; The courage of the soul of a God-loving king must consist in always curbing the godless carnal passions that arise in it, as if with a strong bridle, by the fear of God and divine zeal. The word of God testifies to this, which says: By the fear of the Lord everyone turns away from evil (Prov. 15:27). What evil could be greater than the carnal passions that rise up in the soul, making it vile before God and its Creator? Try, most pious sovereign, to keep her pure for the immortal King and her Bridegroom, so that she, together with the wise virgins, having a burning lamp, may be honored to enter the heavenly chamber of her Bridegroom. Honor him as a true king and autocrat, most pious sovereign, who cares not only about improving the position of his subjects with truth and good laws, but also about always defeating the dumb passions and desires of his soul - rage and anger and lawless carnal lusts. And whoever is overcome by these wordless passions is not an animated image of the heavenly Lord, but only a humanoid likeness of a wordless nature. The true mind of God not only decorates the inner man with wisdom, meekness and all righteousness, but also decorates the external members of his body, such as the eyes, ears, tongue and hands. This mind cannot allow him to fornicately enjoy the beauty of others, or to listen to indecent songs and harmful jokes of laughers and blasphemers, or to listen to the slander of envious people, or to annoy, slander and use foul language with his own tongue, as well as to inflict insults on the innocent with his hands, or to steal someone else’s property. How can we acquire this saving grace? The divinely inspired prophet and King David teaches us this, singing in the form of a question and answer. How, he says, will the youngest man correct his path? This is a question to which the Holy Spirit answers: Always keep Your words (Ps. 119:9), that is, fulfill the commandments of Him who reigns in heaven. Therefore, in another place he prays, saying: Teach me goodness and punishment and wisdom, as in Thy commandments of faith (Ps. 119:66). We, too, will observe them with all our souls and, without a doubt, will receive every grace and spiritual blessing. Truth elevates the tongue, says the wise Solomon (Proverbs 14:34); wickedness will transform the thrones of the mighty (Wis.5:24). And his father said: Thou art righteous, O Lord, and Thy judges rule; Thou hast commanded the truth of Thy testimony and the truth (Ps. 119:137-138). And in another place: The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are at their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to consume their remembrance from the earth (Ps. 33:16-17). The one who reigns faithfully on earth needs nothing more than truth; for in this case he is invisibly assisted and assisted in the management of this earthly kingdom by the King of Truth Himself, Jesus Christ, Who is God above all. Try to acquire this virtue, most pious Sovereign, so that you too can boldly say: I will appear before Your face in righteousness, I will be satisfied, never appearing before Your glory (Ps. 16:15). Also, praying to the Lord of all for help for yourself and for deliverance from sorrowful circumstances, could you not be ashamed to say: I have created justice and righteousness: do not betray me to those who offend me (Ps. 119:121). We remembered God and rejoiced (Ps. 76:4), says this righteous king-prophet. Truly worthy of surprise and all praise is the virtue of this righteous man and lover of God, who, although surrounded by countless excellent and valuable beauties of this age, did not rejoice in anything, according to his own testimony, except in the memory of God. And fair enough. For the memory of these valuable everyday beauties and attachment to them with all our soul deprives us of the enjoyment of eternal blessings and separates us from them; the everlasting memory of the Creator of everything and Provider, the most good God and Lord, consisting in the fulfillment of His saving commandments, makes us firmly heirs of eternal life and an endless kingdom. Let us reasonably consider and correctly understand the power of the words spoken in the Divine Scripture: The shepherds of the multitude have corrupted My grapes, desecrated My inheritance, My part (Jer. 12:10). This divine saying is worthy of great care and every preservation for those who wish to rule godly on earth over kings and saints. If the people entrusted to them, bearing the name of Christ, constitute the “grapes” and “inheritance” of the Lord; the shepherds of this sacred inheritance of the Most High Lord are kings and saints and other dignitaries, then let them diligently listen to how they rule over them and how they govern them - is it lawful and according to the commandments given from the Most High Lord? After all, they also watch over their souls, having to give an answer about them to the Most High, as the divine Apostle says (Heb. 13:17). The Kingdom of God, he says, is not food and drink, but truth and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For those who serve Christ are well-pleasing to God and skilled in man (Rom. 14:17-18). Against this, what can we say, the humble ones, who place all the hope of our salvation in the mere non-eating of meat and fish and oil during holy fasts, but we do not stop offending and depriving the poor subordinates of their property, dragging them through the courts, acting hostilely against them and embittering them in various ways? Abstinence from fattening foods is very good and very useful for mortifying carnal lusts, and prayer is also necessary for enlightening spiritual strength; but we should also add abstinence from spiritual passions, so that this divine saying does not apply to us: Those who keep vain and false mercy will leave behind (Jon. 2:9). The Apostle says that evil will not place us before the Lord (1 Cor. 8:8). Consider as a wondrous adviser and well-wisher for your kingdom not the one who, contrary to the truth, encourages you to battles and wars, but the one who advises you to always love peace and silence with all the neighboring peoples surrounding your God-protected power. For the first brings your power under the wrath and indignation of God, according to what was said: Scatter the tongues that want to fight (Ps. 67:31); and in another place: The Lord abhors a man of blood and flattery (Ps. 5:7). And the second makes you, together with the meek King David, a skillful fulfiller of the divine commandment, which says: If it is possible from you, have peace with all men (Rom. 12:18). And in another place: With those who hate peace, be at peace (Ps. 119:6). The priesthood and the kingdom are the two greatest blessings given to the human race by the Supreme Divine goodness: the first, always raising reverend hands in pure prayer, begs the common Master for our sins, appeases Him and reconciles with us. The tsar, with wise reasoning, various institutions and - sometimes authoritative, sometimes paternal orders, providing for his subjects, always directs the royal power for the better. So, great good is constituted by both of these gifts when they piously agree with each other and try to be obedient to the Most High, firmly observing His saving commandments and regulations, and, in accordance with them, paternally, and together, authoritatively arrange the position of those subordinate to themselves. Moses and Aaron, says the divine hymnist, are among His priests, and Samuel among those who call on His name: I call upon the Lord, and He listens to them. For what reason? For I keep His testimony and His commandments which He gave them (Ps. 98:6–7). O most pious Sovereign, do not prefer anything from earthly beauties to the love of God, the King and Creator of your kingdom, so that He may glorify you in the present century and in the future. Only spiritual beauty is true beauty, to the extent that it is adorned with godlike virtues, that is, truth and chastity, reason and courage, meekness and mercy, kindness and love for mankind, for which properties the Only Begotten Son of God is glorified with the words: Handsome in kindness than the sons of men. What is His beauty, this is clear from what was further said by the hymnist: Grace was poured out on Your lips (Ps. 44:3). What other grace could there be than that which we hear sung in another place in the Holy Scriptures, where it is said about the Hypostatic Wisdom of God: From His mouth comes righteousness, but the law and mercy are on the tongue (Prov. 3:16). For this reason, the singer (David) further says: Come, and be successful, and reign for the sake of truth and meekness and righteousness (Ps. 44:5). This is the mental beauty of the soul! This is the incomparable kindness of the Only Begotten Son of God, for which He is glorified with the words: Handsome in kindness than the sons of men! And this visible bodily beauty is not only temporary and false, but also strongly counteracts and harms the mental beauty of the soul; for the impure desire for this beauty darkens the intelligent kindness of the soul and makes it vile before its Creator. Try, most pious Sovereign, to acquire the intelligent kindness of the soul, which accompanies it at the departure of the soul, remains with it invariably and makes those who acquire it sons of God. There is not a single star in the firmament of heaven brighter than the sun, for it alone illuminates the entire universe with its rays: so the beautiful soul of the blessed king, adorned with truth, meekness, mercy, and rejoicing in this, illuminates everything subordinate to it and surrounding it, decorates, and with its exemplary life encourages to succeed in good deeds, just as the sun with its warmth, warming the earth and everyone on it gardens, helps them bear fruit. But then a small cloud appeared, stood before this brightest sun and deprived the entire universe of its light: so the soul of the blessed king, if it is enveloped in a cloud of wordless passions - rage and timeless anger, drunkenness and worthless lust, then itself, alas! is darkened and terribly changes for the worse, and everything subordinate to it is destroyed by various insults, everything is engulfed by a terrible storm of rebellion and frequent riots, and everything is shaking. Therefore, the king always needs great sobriety of mind so that he can rule the kingdom entrusted to him in a godly manner. Let us not sleep in our souls, but let us become sober and awake in our minds. The human mind, although it is said that it is created in the image and likeness of God, however, in terms of skill, is no different from wax and paper. Like on these, whatever words anyone wants, he inscribes such words; So is the human mind: whatever habits and customs you teach it to - whether good or evil - it remains in those to the end and willingly lives in them. If anyone sincerely wishes to decorate him with godly skills and morals, let him listen carefully to the 100th divine psalm, and often repeat it to himself, and let him carry out in deed what is written in it by the Holy Spirit, and then in every possible way he will achieve the perfection of virtue. Just as it is unnatural for human nature to fly through the air, so it is unprofitable and completely indecent for a godly king to desire other people’s estates and acquisitions; for such a desire raises up the most terrible and righteous Judge to avenge the offended. The divine saying is not false, which says: I know that the Lord will bring judgment to the poor and vengeance to the needy (Ps. 139:13). And in another place: For the sake of passion (for the sake of offense) of the poor and the sighing of the wretched, I will now rise again, says the Lord: I will rely on salvation, I will not complain about it (Ps. 11:6). So, let every pious person reject such an abominable desire from himself. For it is a terrible thing,” he says, “to fall into the hand of the living God (Heb. 10:31). And again: Neither the covetous nor the plunderers will inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:10). The Divine hymnist, confessing to the Leader of human hearts, said: Do not cling to me with an obstinate (depraved) heart. This divine saying is not polysyllabic, but it contains a great, very beneficial and necessary meaning for those who listen to it intelligently. For a pious king requires no little effort in order not only to preserve his conscience to the end in the rightness and integrity of his God-loving thoughts, but also to immediately send away and drive away those who propose or advise him anything corrupt, not allowing them to offer their speeches to the royal free mind. For good customs are corrupted by evil conversations, says the divine Apostle (1 Cor. 15:33). Just as being and talking with good and righteous men abundantly enlightens and instructs our mind, so, on the contrary, being and talking with evil people usually darkens and ultimately corrupts it. Before every fruit there is a color, and the color is preceded by the moisture of the good earth: and every royal good deed is preceded by a good disposition of a soul that is free and has risen above all enslavement and stinginess. To excellently thank and reward the nobles in power and his other servants is the characteristic of a truly pious king and is the gift and deed given to him. For in this way those who rule on earth liken themselves to the One who reigns in the highest, Whose sun shines on the evil and on the good and rains on the righteous and the unjust (Matthew 5:45), in order to draw everyone to the infallible knowledge of God with His philanthropic beneficence. The Lord will send you a rod of strength from Zion, and rule in the midst of your enemies (Ps. 109:2), says the divine prophet and King David to Jesus Christ, born of him in the flesh, the Only Begotten Son of the Most High. He calls the honest and life-giving Cross the rod of power, since it overthrew the insolence and all the charm of demons, and the uncontrollable madness of the God-fighting Jews, and his most wicked persecutors - the Hellenes and Romans - were completely destroyed and scattered like dust. Hold on to this strong and invincible Rod with all your soul, you, most pious Sovereign, and thereby crush the destructive heads of your visible and invisible adversaries, like Moses once did, and then, many centuries later, the Great Constantine. Always liken yourself to them with right faith in God, purity, truth, mercy, meekness and diligent keeping of the saving commandments of the Most High Master, so that you, along with others, will be worthy to receive His endless kingdom. The lips of the righteous will learn wisdom, says the divine hymnist, and his tongue will speak judgment (Ps. 36:30). Just as a touchstone reveals gold and silver when both are rubbed against it, so a man’s mouth, as soon as it opens and his tongue moves, clearly reveals the thoughts of his heart. Let us instill in him the beginning of wisdom, that is, the fear of God. The beginning of wisdom, he says, is the fear of the Lord, and therefore wisdom is good for all who do it (Prov. 1:7), that is, for those who fulfill the commandments of the Most High not only in words, but also in deeds. For where the fear of the Lord is, says the theologian Gregory, there is the fulfillment of the commandments of God; and where the fulfillment of the commandments is, there is the purification of the mind; and where there is purification of the mind, there is wisdom and understanding, and the coming of the Holy Spirit and enlightenment. By the word of the Lord the heavens were established, and by the spirit of His mouth was all their strength (Ps. 32:6). This divine saying most clearly presents to us the mystery of the Holy and Almighty Trinity. The Lord here refers to the beginningless and ever-present God the Father Himself; In a word, the co-originating and co-essential Son and His Word, eternally born from Him; The Spirit is the Divine and worshiped Paraclete Himself. This also shows that everything visible and invisible was created by the good will of the beginningless God the Father, His beginningless Word, as it is said: All things came into being, and without Him they came into being as nothing (John 1:3). This can also be understood in a figurative sense. By heaven one can understand the lofty thoughts of the Orthodox kings, and by their power the perfection of piety established in them. By the Word of the Lord, that is, by the holy commandments of the Savior, they are confirmed and fulfilled in all piety, and by the reverence and spirit of His mouth their mental power is observed in all holiness and purity. Therefore, they must firmly and with great abstinence adhere to the divine commandments if, indeed, they want their earthly and temporary kingdom to always be affirmed by the highest incomprehensible Kingdom and Dominion. For from there every good gift is sent down and every gift is perfect, as it is said (James 1:17). The terrible mystery of the incarnation of God exceeds every concept and every human word: so the daily worries and concerns of the royal mind for the well-being of his subordinates exceed every measure and every word. Winds and storms never cease to agitate the surface of the sea: and the thought of the pious king, imbued with love for his subordinates, can never calm down due to the frequent perplexity and anxiety on the part of neighboring peoples. It is not so much that a mother’s heart grieves over children suffering deprivation of everyday needs, as the soul of a pious king cares about the affirmation and peaceful well-being of her beloved subordinates. Only then does this God-loving soul truly rejoice when he sees his loyal subjects leading a quiet and peaceful life. Truly, blessed and most blessed are such kings, and they are everlasting friends of God and His faithful servants, since they always try to be like the Highest King with all righteousness, love for mankind and meekness towards their subordinates. Light from the Light, the Father's radiance is Christ, who is God and Lord above all, Who, with countless and clearest sayings, parables and wondrous miracles and His very death, showed His incomprehensible love for mankind towards us, the ungrateful, and kindness - among His other numerous humane commandments and commandments, likens Himself to a shepherd of sheep, who, having left 99 sheep that were not lost, went to look for a sheep that had gone astray from his sacred flock, giving thereby the image and rule of godly shepherding to all who after Him were to be representatives of His multinational flock - Orthodox saints and kings, so that they would care and care equally for all the cities and peoples under their jurisdiction, dissolving power with paternal love, so that everyone would always adhere to love and truth, living according to the holy commandments of the Lord common to all. He has truly lost his way from the sacred flock of Christ who rejoices over untruth and any theft of other people's property. And whoever turns such a person from the path of the evil one to life according to God and to truth, he is the true shepherd of the verbal sheep of Christ. For such a Doorman opens the door of the mental heavenly chambers, he enters them with joy and leaves with all confidence, and pasture will be found, as the Divine voice of Christ says (John 10:3, 9), and you will hear: Well done, good and faithful servant: you have been faithful over a few, I will set you over many: enter into the joy of your Lord (Matthew 25:21). The shepherd rejoices and rejoices when he sees his sheep eating their fill of green grass and drinking clean water: and the pious and righteous king rejoices when he sees his cities enjoying the mysterious and mental past of good faith and drinking the water of peace and tranquility. But the shepherd of dumb sheep, seeing that his cattle are fattening, rejoices that he can sell them for a more expensive price and thus acquire the greatest monetary profit for himself; and whoever leads the verbal sheep of the Savior rejoices by faith in the fact that for this he will, without a doubt, receive the brightest crowns and receive the most abundant reward from the life-giving right hand of the Chief Shepherd Christ. The characteristic of a pious king and a faithful shepherd is not to acquire wealth for himself on earth, through untruths and the taking of other people's property; but so that with all righteousness and fear of God, with faith and love, to hide in heaven the inexhaustible treasures of veneration, mercy and all meekness and kindness towards those subordinates. Being the brightest and most glorious king, firmly strengthen yourself so as not to ever be defeated by the passion of the godless Jewish servile love of money, which the Apostle Paul calls idolatry, and its zealot an idolater (Col. 3:5). Always remember the admonition of the Prophet and King, who says: Do not trust in unrighteousness and do not desire admiration. Even if wealth flows, do not apply your heart (Ps. 61:11). Do not prefer to this prophet any vain earthly adviser, for disobedience to God and the teaching of His holy Apostles and Prophets puts us under the responsibility of that false saying, which says: Together the foolish and the foolish will perish, and they will leave their wealth to strangers, and their graves will be their dwellings forever (Ps. 49:11-12). The olive tree will lie, and the fields will not create poison, says the God-speaking Habakkuk, illuminated by the Divine Spirit (Hab. 3:17). “The olive tree,” due to the fruitfulness of this tree, allegorically denotes the holy catholic and apostolic Church of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ, since it always abounds in the mercy and bounties of God. He calls the “work” of this olive tree alms, as well as the saints appointed in it from time to time for the guidance and establishment of the immaculate Christian faith and for the management and care of all its poor and needy, orphans and widows, as the divine rules strictly command the bishops who are everywhere. So, is this prophetic saying no longer valid? - No way! Although it was said primarily about the bishops of the Jewish people who were in the Old Testament, who had to rage against the common Creator and Savior of all people and trample upon the law of the Most High and His holy commandments, but in our times anyone can conveniently rightly attribute it to the representatives of God’s holy churches. Nowadays, the workers of this mental sacred olive tree no longer fulfill its God-loving work, as the divine rules command. For everything that the Orthodox kings and Christ-loving princes gave to the holy Church - all the estates and acquisitions intended to feed the poor and orphans, they turned to their excesses and to the arrangement of their everyday situation. And thus they themselves live in all abundance and pleasure, eating abundantly and richly enriching their relatives and relatives, while Christ’s brothers - the poor, suffering from nakedness and perishing from hunger - are despised by them. Truly, the work of the mental olive tree has lied, that is, the work of alms to all the poor and needy has become impoverished and perished. Who else is able to avert this insult of the poor, with which they are offended, except God? But it is also appropriate for those reigning Orthodoxy on earth, and it is quite proper for pious kings, to correct such priestly shortcomings, not to say sins, imitating the zeal of the ancient Orthodox kings: Constantine, Theodosius and Justinian the Great. Nothing else can so establish the royal scepter as care and mercy for the poor for the sake of God. How good is the God of Israel with a right heart (Ps. 73:1). This blessed prophet and king, having considered the innumerable long-suffering of the all-good God and Creator of all, which He shows to lawless people, living in unrighteousness and in all kinds of crimes, with whom He is not only long-suffering, but also gives them abundant enjoyment of peace, health, wealth and all pleasure and longevity, gives the following moral teaching, saying: For this reason I have restrained their pride to the end: clothed in unrighteousness and their wickedness, and so on, which is said further about their wickedness (Ps. 72:1-6). All this, he says, took possession of them. Since they are not the essence of human labors, then they will not accept wounds from people, that is, since they, with their immeasurable wickedness and exaltation, are ungrateful towards the Creator of all and the Nourisher, and since they annoy Him in various ways, saying: What did God lead? and is there reason in the Most High? - therefore, they are not worthy of punishment from God and His saving visit, according to what is said in the Divine Scripture: The Lord loves Him, He punishes, He beats every son He accepts (Prov. 3:12). Therefore, blessed is man, says the same divine Prophet (David), if you punish him, O Lord, and teach him from Your law, that is, with Your holy commandments (Ps. 93:12), that is, turn him to the knowledge of the gravity of his sins, so that he, having known them and sighed about them with a heart disease, could receive salvation and help from God. Therefore, it is good and very saving to be in human labors, that is, to endure sorrows with all the righteous in this life and to receive wounds with them, that is, to be punished by the Lord in a fatherly manner. Let us not grieve because of the sorrows inflicted on us by the righteous judgment of God and we will not prove ungrateful to the Creator of us, as if He despises us when we suffer insults from the wicked, but on the contrary, having learned, as befits Christians, our iniquities with which we always sin before our God, we will always repent with tears and confess to Him, abstaining from all sin, and He will humiliate chilling us. This is the power created in the Lord, about which the Prophet teaches, saying: O God, let us create power: and He will humble those who afflict us (Ps. 59:14). Let us not deceive ourselves, thinking that with one long prayer we will receive help from above, while at the same time remaining in our sins; for it is written: You ask and do not receive; you ask evilly (James 4:3). And in another place: Salvation is far from the sinner, for I have not sought Your justifications (Ps. 119:155). Every soul is a rational, immortal mental force that animates and controls this corruptible garment of its own during all the time assigned to it by the Creator of both to remain in it. When, at the command of the Creator, she is separated from him, then this mortal dwelling remains lifeless, without feelings and movement, and within a few days begins to stink, turn black and, alas, becomes the food of worms, and she herself is taken to the dwelling that she has prepared for herself - either by good or evil deeds, that is: or to a bright place, filled with all joy and divine fragrance, from where she escapes all sickness, sorrow and groaning (Is. 35:10), which in the Gospel of Luke is also called the bosom of Abraham; or into endless bitter torments, which are the essence: unquenchable fire, pitch darkness, gnashing of teeth and incessant crying due to unbearable suffering. This is clear both from many other divinely inspired writings, and especially from the parable of the wretched Lazarus and that senseless rich man who, for his inhumanity towards the wretched Lazarus, was condemned to the fire of Gehenna and, burning in it, was not honored to receive a drop of cold water from the patriarch Abraham, who covered all people with his love of strangeness. So, if anyone sincerely wants to get rid of the same condemnation to eternal torment that befell that insane rich man for his contempt for the poor, and wants to receive the same peace and the same consolation as the aforementioned blessed wretched one: let him with all his heart hate the hatred of the poor that that senseless rich man had, and not only let him stop offending, taking away what belongs to others and amassing for himself great treasures on earth, contrary to the commandment of the Savior, but let him also provide the poor with a generous hand, let him stand up for orphans and widows, and defend them from those who offend and rob them, and let him not despise them, seeing them hungry, thirsty and naked. For there is no other way for us to then receive standing at the right hand of the unwashed Judge and hear that blessed and longed-for voice that will say: Come, blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you, and so on (Matthew 25:34). To the extent that someone surpasses others in power and abundance of wealth - whether it be a king, or a saint, or a prince, so much should he surpass others in mercy and good deeds to those who are in need and in the poverty of everyday needs, so that he, along with all the righteous, will be worthy to hear the voice of the most good Master, saying to us: Because you alone have created these least of my brothers, you have created for me (Matt. 25:40). Therefore, blessed indeed and most blessed is he who considers the poor and wretched, for on the day of cruelty the Lord will deliver him (Ps. 40:2). The three most important passions, as the Holy Fathers say, are for the most part constantly and strongly fought by every soul gifted with reason, and especially by those holding the royal scepter and government. These passions are: voluptuousness, love of fame and love of money. Their creations are very terrible and destructive, for they, like bloodthirsty beasts, devour human souls and consign them to eternal fire, when they are separated from their bodies by death. The product of voluptuousness is insatiable gratification of the belly, delighting the larynx with various foods and enslavement to hypogastric, bestial desires. From the love of glory comes the fact that a person does nothing for the glory or for the sake of the glory of God, but tries to do everything to please people, so as to always receive glory and praise from them - and if he gets what he wants, then he treats everyone with meekness and generously does good to everyone; if he somehow finds out that he is being ridiculed, then, putting aside meekness, he uncontrollably indulges in fury and tries to take revenge more severely than any beast on those who do not praise him. The root of all evil - the love of money - has as its evil offspring an insatiable desire for wealth, an exorbitant desire to collect gold and silver in any way and to accumulate significant treasures for oneself through robbery, untruth and extortion; hence the excessive slander and insults; such a person places all his hope primarily in his treasures, and not in God, and the terrible day of the glorious coming of the unwashed Judge, who condemns to eternal fire those who rejoice in covetousness, unrighteousness and the plunder of other people's estates, never comes to his mind, as James, the brother of God, the first Bishop of Jerusalem, writes in his conciliar letter, saying: Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the cruel of your sorrows coming upon you. Throw away your wealth, and destroy your garments. Your gold and silver will corrode, and their rust will come upon you and consume your flesh like fire, which you will receive in the last days (James 5:1-3). If anyone has trampled and overcome the above three passions, he is truly a saint and a faithful worshiper of the Almighty and Most Holy Trinity, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. He is a king and autocrat to himself and all those subordinate to him. And whoever is possessed and driven by these passions, let him clearly hear the saying of the common Master of all: Everyone who commits sin is a servant of sin, but a slave does not remain in the house forever (John 8:34-35). What could be more shameful, not to say more wretched, than when someone who thinks of owning glorious cities and countless nations is himself in power and under the guidance of unreasonable passions and is called by the mouth of the Savior a slave. Let him understand what is clearly said. Among the many wondrous righteous deeds with which the soul of a pious king is admirably adorned and is loved and praised by everyone, I find the most useful and necessary for the power of pious kings to be the work of love of hospitable people, that is, to treat arriving foreigners with a sense of humanity, meekness and respect, whether they be merchants or those invited by them, and to take careful care of their comfortable stay during the entire time they are with them, so that they do not were subjected to insults from local residents, and so that they would not be forcibly detained and there would be no obstacles for them to return to their homeland. They should be allowed to come willingly and return again without hindrance, and let them go with all safety, peace and honor. Being thus received, protected and sent back to themselves, they, out of their own prudence, will treat us friendly and with praise and respect they will tell everyone about the virtue of the king, loudly praising them in front of everyone, and wherever they happen to be, they will talk about the truthfulness and meekness of the king and about the security that all foreigners generally enjoy when they arrive in their God-protected state. And what could be more useful than this for the power of pious kings? For everyone who hears about such prudence, about meekness and thoughtfulness towards foreigners will reward them with fervent prayers and extol them with great praise, and everyone will try to come here to be convinced of their kindness and enjoy their meekness and excellence. And those who treat foreigners differently, neglecting the insults and dishonor inflicted on them - what displeasure and what slander they incur on themselves both from these foreigners themselves, and from those who happen to tell them about such neglect and such untruth - I don’t even dare talk about this. Anyone with a sound understanding and reasoning not only knows this himself, but also does not want to hear about it. So, let us not be wiser than the villagers engaged in catching pigeons, who, in order to catch a flock of pigeons, smear some fragrant myrrh on the throat of one domestic pigeon and let it fly of its own free will to a flock of wild pigeons, and when it joins them and they enjoy the fragrance of the fragrant myrrh with which its throat is smeared, then it voluntarily leads everyone to the house of its owners. Let pious kings imitate this wisdom of fishers, and let foreigners who come to them willingly, with respect, let them go if they want to receive praise and enjoy friendship with all peoples living everywhere; but the cities under their rule will be decorated in this way and abound with people experienced in all wisdom, in verbal art and in the arts of life. For it is common for every person to strive to go where he hears that his inherent art of literature or everyday artistry is in the greatest respect. Said Menander the Philosopher: Three virtues most of all make the Orthodox earthly kingdom glorious and lasting: “truth,” that is, the justice of the court, which does not look at the face of the judges and does not take bribes; the second is “chastity,” that is, purity of life and curbing natural movements by godly abstinence; and thirdly, “meekness” towards subordinates, dissolved by royal fear, for their correction, and not for their destruction. A king who directs his life according to these three virtues is, truly, an Orthodox king and an animated image of the Heavenly King himself. You might be interested in: