Mystic Treatises (Ascetical Homilies)

Deem him a man of God, who constantly takes upon himself the lot of want, being moved by great compassion. Fie who does good to the poor finds God his provider. He who suffers want for His sake finds Him to be a great treasure. God does not need anything; only He rejoices when anyone satisfies or honours His image ] ) for His sake. When anyone asks thee and thou hast, do not say in thy heart: I will keep it for myself in order to have more comfort by it and I will let him pass quickly ; God will provide for him from another; I will bestow it upon myself. Do not speak thus. For in this way think iniquitous men, and people who do not know God deliberate thus, fostering such thoughts. But a righteous man does not give his honour to another one nor does he let slip the opportunity for bounty. God will provide for him certainly in some other way; if He knows that he is in trouble. God will not abandon any one. But thou art willing 69 immediately to leave God's honour and to throw His bounty from thee.

On the other hand rejoice if thou possessest and give, saying : Glory to thee, o Crod, who hast granted unto me that I find some one to comfort. And if thou possessest not, rejoice the more, thanking God with many thanksgivings, saying : I thank thee, o God, who hast granted me the honour of becoming poor for Thy sake, and who hast deemed me worthy to taste sufferings enjoined in Thy commandments namely illnesses and poverty such as the saints have tasted who have gone this way. And if thou art ill, say: Blessed are those who find in the things which God sends us for our profit, the aim for which God has destined them. Grod sends sickness for the sake of the health of the soul. One of the saints once said : The following I have taken as a sign. When a solitary does not serve God in the right way, and is not zealous in His works, God certainly will send him a temptation to occupy his thoughts, lest he be wholly idle and, by complete idleness, his mind turn aside to thinking of the things of the left hand.

But if he is not willing to think of excellence, the influence of the temptations will cause him to think of it and not to think of idle things. This God does with every man who loves Him. When He sees that he begins i) vi/. nuin to disdain His works, he sends a heavy sorrow in order to make him wise and to chastise him. Therefore, ' when such 70 people call to Him, He does not pay attention, nor does He hasten to free them, till they have become weary and know that they have to bear these things on account of their neglect. 'When ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you ; yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear' ] ). Even if this was said to others, still it is certainly applicable to those who leave the way. But if God is so compassionate, why do we then so frequently knock at His door in trouble and pray, and yet He turns away from our prayer? He says: Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear.

But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear a ). Remember the Lord at all times, then He will remember thee when evil approches unto thee. He has made thy nature a receptacle of accident. And in the world where He has created and left thee He has made frequent the causes of accidents and temptations. He has made thy nature a small receptacle of these things. Evil things are not far from thee, neither are they a few in number. For they rise from within thee when He gives a sign, and from under thy feet and from the place where thou art standing. But like one eyelid is near the other, so temptations are near the children of men. With wisdom God has provided these things for thee in this way, for thy profit, that thou mayest continually knock at His door and that, for fear of sorrowful events, the thought of Him may constantly recur to thy mind and thou be near to God in constant prayer and sanctified by constant thought of Him in thy heart. And when thou callest unto Him and He answers thee, thou 71 wilt know that thy saviour is God.

And thou wilt perceive thy God who has created thee and is thy provider and preserver, therein that He has made in thy behalf two worlds. One for thy instruction, as it were a school for a short time; and another one, a paternal home and thy abode for ever and ever. Lie has not made thee apathetic, lest thou shouldst desire divine rank and receive what Satan received. Nor has He made thee incapable of error or, lest thou shouldst be like the beings which are bound and thou shouldst receive thy good and thy evil without profit or remuneration as the other corporeal beings on the earth. How many blows and humiliations together with thanksgivings are born from the capacity for affections, and fear, and also error, is manifest for every one so that it should be known that our zeal for righteousness and our turning aside from evil are of our will, and that the honour and disdain, caused thereby, should be put to our credit. Thus we are put to shame and we fear on account of disdain •, but we thank God and press towards the good on account of honour.

All these instructions He has multiplied for thee, lest freed from them on account of thy not needing them or thy nature not being capable of them, exalted above fear and affecting things, thou shouldst forget God and turn away from Him and invent many gods. For though subjected to affections and want, which scourges were sent against them on account of paltry 72 riches and short-lived temporal power and precarious health, — still many have not only invented many gods, but have even ventured in their insanity to pretend to be of divine nature. Therefore He has turned thee away from all these things through that which troubles thee from time to time, lest He should be angry with thee on account o( thy turning aside and destroy thee from before Him in punishment. I omit the ungodliness and the sins that arise from health and lack of fear and comfort, even though that which has been mentioned above should not happen. Therefore, by sufferings and distress He has caused thee frequently to recall Him in thy heart-, and by fear of adversities He incites thee to turn towards the gate of his mercy. By liberating thee from these [troubles] He sows in thee causes of love unto Him.

And when thou hast found love he brings thee near to the honour of the sons ; He shows thee the richness of His bounty and the steadfastness of His care for thee. Then He will make thee perceive the holiness of His honour and the hidden mysteries of the nature of His greatness. How shouldst thou have become acquainted with these things if there had not been adversities? For through these the love of God is able to increase, viz. bv understanding His acts of bounty and by recalling His various l) viz. that creatures protend to lie of divine nature. Vcrli. AIM, l.,:lt.:rk. u,-.:: WYnMiirk , acts of care. All this good is born for thee from things causing grief, if thou knowest to give thanks. Therefore remember God, that Me may remember thee constantly ; and when Me remembers thee and saves thee, thou wilt receive ail these goods. Forget Him not in idle distraction, lest He also forget thee in thy temptations. 73 In prosperity be near to Him and obedient, that thou mayest have freedom of speech with Him in trouble because of thy constantly being near to Him in thy heart by means of thy prayer.

Sit before His face all thy time, thinking of Him and recollecting Him in thy heart, lest, seeing Him only after long thou shonldst lack freedom of speech with Him on account of bashfulness. A high degree of freedom of speech is born from constant intercourse. Constant intercourse with men is of a bodily nature ; that with God is psychic meditation and offerings in prayers. On account if its intensity this meditation is sometimes mingled with ecstasy. For the heart of those who seek the Lord rejoices. Seek the Lord, ye sinners and be strengthened in hope in your thoughts. Seek His face by repentance at all time and you will be sanctified by the holiness of His face and you will be. purified from your unrighteousness. Speed unto the Lord, ye unrighteous, the Lord who forgives unrighteousness and effaces sins. For He has sworn : I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that he turn from his way and live. I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious and disobedient people"). And why will ye die, O house of Jacob? 3 ) Turn unto me, then I will turn unto you.

And by Ezekiel He says : When the wicked turns from his way unto the Lord and do that which is lawful and right, the sins he has com74 mitted will not be remembered but he shall live, sayeth the Lord "). Thus it is also with the righteous ; when he turneth from bis righteousness and comitteth sin and iniquity, the righteousness he has done will not be remembered but I will lay a stumbling block before him and by the iniquity he has done he shall die if he remains steadfast in it"). Why is this? Because the iniquitous will not stumble on account of his iniquity after he turns unto the Lord. But the righteousness of the righteous i) Ez. 33,11. Is. 65,2. Ez. 33,11. Znch. 1,3. will not save him when he sins, if he builds his building on that foundation. And to Jeremia He spake thus: Take a roll of a book, and write therein all the words that I have spoken unto thee, from the day of Josia the king of Juda even unto this day. It may be that [the house of Juda] will hear and fear and they may return every man from his evil way and turn again unto me, that I may forgive their sins.

And the sage has said: He that covereth his sins, shall not prosper. But whoso confessed! and forsaketh them, shall have mercy from God. And Jesaja, who w-as rich in revelations, says: Seek ye the Lord and call ye upon Him when ye have found Him. And when He is near let the sinner forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him turn unto me and I o ts will have mercy upon him and to our God for He will abundantly pardon. Lor my thoughts are not your thoughts neither are my ways your ways. Wherefore do ye '*) spend money on that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good. Come unto me, hear and your soul shall live'). 75 When thou keepest the ways of the Lord and doest His will, then thou wilt confide in the Lord. Then thou wilt call on Him and He will answer thee ; thou wilt cry and He will say : Lo, here I am. The wicked when evil befalls him has confidence in God to call on Him. And he is not able to expect His salvation, because he has left His ways in the days of his prosperity.

Seek a helper for thyself before thou hast to struggle. Seek a physician for thyself before thou art ill. Pray before distress has reached thee ; then in the time of distress thou wilt find prayer (?) and it will answer thee. Pray and ask before thou stumblest. Prepare thy gifts before thou makest a vow, they are thy provisions. The ark was constructed in time of peace. A hundred years before its wood was planted. So when anger came, the wicked who had been comfortable in their wickedness, were confounded. But the ark was a refuge for the righteous. The wicked shuts his mouth during prayer. Inward baseness takes away freedom of speech from the heart. I) Cf. Jeremia 36,2 sq. I'rov. 28,13. Is. 55,6—8. Steadfastness of the heart makes tears of joy to flow during the imploration fof Godj. Strongendurance of injustice borne by free will purifies the heart. Endurance of injustice is based on contempt for the world. That a man remains steadfast during oppression without being distressed, is caused by the fact that the heart begins to see the truth. Joy on account of oppression and injustice borne by free will, exalts the heart. No one can bear oppression and injustice with a glad will, save those whose deliberations have wholly become dead to the world.

Those whose thoughts are wholly filled with the odour of 76 this life, are made to blaze with anger at once through vain glory ; or they fall into thoughts of spite, born of (the love of vain glory]. O how difficult is this excellence, and how honoured it is with God! He who denies this behaviour, has to go abroad and to leave his country. It is difficult for a man to accomplish this exalted excellence in his country -, the eminent and the strong only are able to bear the grief that is born of this behaviour, among their acquaintances and also those who in their lifetime have become dead to this life and have abandoned hope of the consolation of this time. As Grace is near to humility, so are difficult accidents to haughtiness. The heart of the Lord is towards the humble, to comfort them. The face of the Lord is against the haughty to humiliate them. Humility receives compassion , continually. But hardness of heart and unbelief meet hardships continually that seem hopeless till of a sudden evil rises against them and they are delivered to destruction. Make thyself small among men, then He will exalt thee even above the heads of the people.

Let thy prostration be low before all men and be the first to salute ; then thou wilt be honoured more than he who brings gold from Ophir. Be despised and rejected in thine own eyes, then thou wilt see the glory of God within thyself. 77 Where humility sprouts, there glory will rise. If thou strivest publicly after dishonour among men he will make thy honour great. And if thou art humble in thy heart, He will show thee His glory in thy heart. Be disdained in thy greatness, not great in thy being disdained. Learn to be disdained, while being full of the honour of the Lord; not, to be honoured while being injured by ulcers within. Reject honour, then thou wilt be honoured. Do not love it, lest thou be rejected. If thou pursuest honour, it will flee from thee. If thou fleest from it, it will rise for thee from the place where thou hidest thyself and it will be a herald of thy humility to every one. If thou givest thyself to disdain in order to be honoured, the Lord will confound thee. If thou rejectest thyself for the sake of truth He will command the creatures to praise thee.

And they will reveal to thee the glory of the creator who from eternity speaks through them and they will glorify thee as the creator, because thou art His thrue ima^e. o Has anyone found a man whose behaviour is exalted, who is despised among men and who is enlightened and wise and poor in spirit? Blessed is he who has humbled himself in all things, for he will be magnified in all things. He who has humbled and made himself small for the sake of God, will be glorified by God. And whoever for His sake is hungry and thirsty, He will give to drink him from His good a wine causing a drunkenness that never leaves those who drink it. And he who goes naked for His sake will be clad by Him with a garment of glory. And he who is poor and indigent 7* for His sake, his consolation will be established in His true richness. Make thyself disdained for the sake of God, then thy glory will be great, even if thou doest not perceive it. During thy whole life deem thyself as a sinner, then thou wilt found to be a righteous man during thy whole life. Be despised though wise, and do not err in thy wisdom.

Be simple in thy wisdom and do not assume the appearance of being wise if thou art simple. If humility elevates the despised how, much more will it elevate the honoured. Flee from praise, then thou wilt be praised. Fear haughtiness, then thou wilt be exalted. For pride was not assigned to the children of man, nor haughtiness of heart to those born from a woman. If thou hast voluntarily renunciated the whole body of the world, do not quarrel with anyone concerning small parts of it. If thou hast rejected glory, flee from those who hunt praise. Flee from possessors as from possessions. Depart from the luxurious, as from luxury. Flee from the lascivious, as from fornication. If the memory of their habits troubles the mind, how much more if one see and be near to them. Be near to the excellent; through them thou wilt be near unto God. Be an ascctc with the humble, to learn from his ways. If to see his habits is profitable to those who see him, how much more the character of his behaviour and teachings received from his very lips. Love the poor ; through them thou wilt find mercy. Do not approach unto the quarrelsome, lest thou be compelled to leave thy peaceful customs.

Flee not from the ugliness of the illness of the sick, for thou art also clad with flesh. Do not contend with the bitter in 79 heart, lest thou be beaten with the rod with which they are beaten and seeking a consolator, wilt not find any. Do not reject the cripples lest thou enter Sheol with them. Love the sinners but reject their works. Do not despise them because of their shortcomings, lest thou be tempted by the same. Remember that thou sharest in the stink of Adam and that thou too art clad with his illness. To him who needs passionate prayer and soft words, do not give blame in stead, lest thou cause his destruction and his soul be demanded from thy hand. Resemble the physicians who use cold medicines against symptoms of fever. Compel thyself to show honour to thy fellow man, when thou meetest him ; and kiss his hand and his foot, and warm thy heart with love unto him, piously. And take his hands several times and place them upon thy eyes and caress them with great honour. And attribute to his person beautiful things, that do not belong to him. And also when he is absent, speak about him fine and beautiful things and call him by several honourable names.

By these things and the like, thou compellest him not only unto the desire of beautiful things, since he will be ashamed of the renown thou imputest him without his deserving it and so thou wilt be able to sow in him the seed of excellent things, but by means of these habits and the 80 like to which thou accustomest thyself, thou wilt found in thyself peaceful and humble customs and be liberated from many severe struggles, against which others learn to guard themselves by steady works. And not only this. But if he, who receives these honours from thee, has any shortcoming or fault of will, he will easily acquire from thee healing, if thou lettest him clearly perceive [it] but for an instant only ; for he will be ashamed because of the honour shown to him and because of the sign of love he constantly perceives in thee. This be thy aim regarding all men. And when thou becomest angry at any one and zealous for the sake of faith, or on account of his evil works, or thou reprehendest and vituperatest him, then be cautious. We all have a just judge in heaven. But if thou art merciful and seekest to turn him unto the truth, thou hast to suffer for him.

And with tears and in love thou must speak to him without being enraged against him, effacing all sign of hostility from thy face. Love does not know how to be angry ; it is not indignant, it does not despise so as to cause suffering. Wherever the sign of love and knowledge is present, it is profound humility rising from the inner mind.

81 The fact that a man may fall into accidental faults, proves the weakness of his nature, namely that our nature necessarily is liable to such things. It has not seemed crood unto God that it would be profitable for him that he should be wholly exalted above this [weakness], before his nature arrived at the second creation. The fact of his being subject to chance, is profitable for the subjugation of the mind. But the constant [falling into faults] causes audacity. There are three modes by which every rational soul may approach unto God: by the fervour of faith; by fear; by punishment from God. For it cannot approach unto the rank of love by its own power ; but only if it is based on one of these modes. As from a disordered l ) belly confusion of thought is born, so, from wantonness in speech and confusion of habits, ignorance and folly of mind. The care of practical things confuses the soul, and the distraction of work disturbs the mind and makes it lose its quietness and drives away from it its peacefulness.

It is becoming for the solitary who has devoted himself to heavenly work, that his mind be constantly free from care so that, when he examines his soul and deliberates, he may not see in it any thing belonging to this world, nor desire of any visible object, 12 but that, on account of his complete absorption from temporary things, he may be able to meditate upon the law of the Lord night and day, without any distraction. Bodily works without mental beauty are like a barren womb and dry breasts ; they do not bring any nearer unto the knowledge of God. They have no care for a body labouring to eradicate passions from the mind-, so they do not reap anything. As a man who sows on thorns and is not able to reap, so is he whose mind is injured by care and wrath and desire of gathering treasures, and who sighs on his bed on account of the frequency of his vigils and abstinence. Witness is the scripture that says: As a nation that did righteousness and forsook not the ordinance of their God : they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in coming near unto God.

Wherefore have we fasted and thou seest not' Have we afflicted our soul and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure and sacrifice unto all your idols r j. This means : the evil designs and the evil thoughts hold you in yourself in stead of God and sacrifice to them your liberty, a thing esteemed at all times;' the sacrifice which is honoured above all things and which you ought not to omit, consists of your good works' and pious inner being. A good land which makes its lord rejoice by yielding an hundredfold, is the soul s 3 that is made excellent by meditation on God, in vigil day and night. The Lord will build upon its foundations and around it, a cloud for shade during the day and a shining flame of fire during the night. From within its darkness, light will dawn. As a cloud obscures the rays of the moon, so the vapour of the stomach obscures the divine wisdom so that the soul does not see it. As a hearth burning with dry wood, so is bodily desire in a full stomach. As oily matter excites the fierceness of a flame, so does the humidity of food the carnal passion in the body.

The knowledge of God does not dwell in a body that loves comfort. A man who loves his body will not be deemed worthy of divine gifts. As from the travail a fruit is born that gladdens the woman, so from labours there is born in the soul the knowledge of God's mysteries. To the pusillanimous and those who love l) Is. 5S, 2 sq. Cf. Book of Che Dors p. 27 note 3. comfort, a fruit is born that causes shame. As a father shows mercy unto his son, so Christ shows mercy unto the body that performs labours, and He is near its mouth at all times. The labour of wisdom is priceless. A stranger is he who is strange is his spirit unto every habit of this world. A mourner ') is he, who spends all the days of this life in hunger, thirst and mourning, for the sake of the expectation of heavenly hope. A recluse is he who, 84 removing his abode from the sight of the world, and looking beyond, has only one demand in prayer: the desire of the world to be. The riches of the solitary are in his heart.

The riches of the solitary are either consolation granted him from the midst of mourning, or gladness that dawns from faith, the treasury of his spirit. The compassionate is he, whose spirit does not distinguish, when practising compassion, any of the classes of men. Virginity is this, that a man not only guards his body from the corruptions of revelling, but that he also guards his chastity against his soul even when he is alone. It thou desirest chastity, restrain the course of impure deliberations, by occupying thyself with recitation and constant beseechings unto God. Then thou wilt be armed also in thy inner being against the things that spring from nature. Without those, man is able to see purity in himself. If thou art desirous to acquire compassion, first train thyself to acquire contempt for [outwardj things, lest their importance draw the mind away from the aim which it has set before itself. The purity of compassion is known from patience in bearingwrong, and the perfection of humility from idle oppression borne gladly.

If thou art really compassionate, thou wilt not be angry within thyself, when thou art bereft of thy possessions iniquitously and with injustice; and thou wilt not show thy suffering openly unto others, but let the sin of thy injustice be effaced by pas85 sionate compassion, as the headiness of wine is abated by [mixing it with] much water. But show thou the mark of purity that arises from great mercy, by adding there-unto other things and do well to those who do thee wrong, with gladness, as also the blessed Elisha did unto his enemies, which were come to take him prisoner who, by praying and by blinding their eyes by visions, made manifest the power at his disposal. And if he had wished this, they would have been annihilated before him ; but by providing them with food and drink and letting them go away, he made manifest the mercy he possessed within himself. If thou art truly humble, be not troubled if thou art oppressed. And do not excuse thyself in any point, but actually take upon thee the wrong laid to thy charge, without being anxious to persuade people that the matter is otherwise. On the contrary, pray that thou mayest obtain forgiveness.

Some have taken upon them the evil name of fornication and others have taken upon them deeds of adultery for which they were too pious, and the fruit of a sin which they had not committed they made appear serious by bewailing it as if it were their own. And they implored forgiveness for sins which they had not committed from their oppressor with tears, while their soul was crowned with the full purity of chastity. Others, lest they should be praised on account of wonderful deeds performed in secret, have assumed the habits of lunatics, though they were in the full possession of their wits and their serenity; so that 86 the holy angels, in admiration of these deeds, became spectators of the greatness of such men. Thou , however, hast assumed humility where those others have given witness against themselves ; thou art not even able to keep silence if thou art accused, and yet thou deemest thyself to be humbler If thou art [really] humble, try thyself by these things, whether or not thou art troubled. The many mansions in the house of the Father denote the spiritual degrees of the inhabitants of that place.

This means : the different gifts and the spiritual ranks in which they rejoice spiritually, and the variety of the classes of gifts. It is not to be understood in such a manner, that every person has really his defined portion in the various local habitations, so that [these differences] manifest themselves openly in the variety ot particular mansions apponited for every one ; but they are to be compared with the personal advantage every one of us obtains by the. personal yet common use of this apperceptive sun in accordance with the purity of his visual power. Thus as the eyelid regulates the effusion of the quality of light, and as a lamp, in one and the same house, distributes the use of its light in a varied fashion, although the lamp itself is not bereft of the simplicity of its light, so as to become many with its varied aspects, so, those who have been deemed worthy of that place, although dwelling in one mansion, indivisible as it is into parts, attract, at a fixed time, from one and the same intelligible sun, every one according to the rank of his beha87 viour, the own delight, in one air and one place and one abode and with one sight and one mode.

The high degree of his neighbour's rank is not seen by him who is inferior, namely not as if it arose from the many gifts of his neighbour and from the scarcity of his own gifts, so that it should be to him a cause of grief and spiritual torment, absit ! To think such things in the place of delights were impossible. Every one rejoices within himself at the gift he has been deemed worth y of, and at the height of his rank. But the outward aspect of them all, is one; and the place is one. And what is still truer, they dwell as in encampments of angels, in one aereal abode, in equality of actual vision, with secret consciousness of their [different] ranks, in contemplative revelations that vary according to their degree. If real personal beings possess, apart from working apperceptive power, also spiritual impulses, no one will venture, even in the world to be, to proclaim in words an order of things deviating from this one : that [that the only differentiation is with regard to] the intellect and further [spiritual] powers, even though [this differentiation) be very manifest on account of the perfection of nature.

True, therefore, is the word spoken by the Fathers : on the one hand there is ignorance for an undetermined time ; on the other hand there is a limited time for the manifestation of its abrogation, together with [the revelation of] other peculiar mysteries that are defined in silence by the [supreme] being. For there is no mean between com88 plete elevation and absolute abasement, in the future separation. Either one belongs wholly to the high ones or wholly to the low ones. But within this and the other [state] there are varying modes of retribution. And if this be true, as it is true, what then is the folly of some, who say: I do not desire to be in the kingdom-, if I only could strive after salvation from hell. Being saved from hell is the kingdom. And being without the kingdom is hell. For the scriptures do not teach three places [in the world to be]. What do they teach? When the son of man shall come in his glory, he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Here the scriptures do not mention three classes, but two : those of the right hand and those of the left. The difference between the dwelling place is given distinctly.

And these, it says, shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of the father a ), and those [will depart] into everlasting lire :! ). Further: They shall come from the east and west, and shall sit clown with Abraham in the kingdom l ). And the children of the promise that have not been obedient shall go into the darkness outside the kingdom. There will be psychic weeping and grinding of teeth, which is a grief more hard than the fire. Now thou understandest that to remain far from that elevation means torturing hell. It is beautiful for a man to admonish mankind unto beans'.) tiful things and to bring them, by his constant care, from error to the knowledge of life. And this is the stage of our Lord and the apostles, and it is very elevated. But if he perceives within himself, that by familiar and constant intercourse, his inner being becomes injured by the sight of [worldly) things, and his serenity is disturbed so as to lose its discernment, and is darkened , since his spirit still acquires cautiousness and stricter submission of the senses.

For he is sick as long as his senses are not yet healed : and wishing to heal others, he loses his own partial health of soul and quits the chaste freedom of his will for a troubled mind. Such a one has to recall the word of the apostle who says : Strong meat belongeth to the healthy "'), and he shall turn back, lest he hear from them, symbolically : How art thou a physician for others, yet full of wounds thyself? Accordingly he shall keep to himself and guard his own health only. Then instead of audible words he shall care ") for a beautiful behaviour, and others will profit not by his spoken words, but by the health in which he holds himself, if possible. Thus by his health they will be healed, even though he be absent, [thay is to say] by the zeal of his excellent deeds, which is a more excellent thing than to serve them merely with words, while sick himself, and in need of healing more than they themselves. l) Matthew 25,32. Matthew 13,43. Matthew 25.41. Matthew 8,11.

For if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch l ). 90 For strong meat belongeth to the healthy and to those whose senses have been trained and strengthened so as to receive all kinds of food, that is [those that are strengthened] against all sensual shocks, because the heart is healthy on account of its training in perfection. But when Satan desires to defile the chaste spirit by thoughts of fornication, he first tempts its endurance by vain glory, since the beginning of such a thought does not resemble that of the affections. This he does with the guarded spirit into which he cannot easily instill a thought which is purely evil. But when he that was strong, by meditating on old thoughts has left his fortress and when he is at some distance from it, Satan causes him to be assailed by full opportunity of fornication, by associating the spirit with lascivious things. At first the spirit feels a sudden terror when it meets them, because of the chastity of the deliberations that meet the [worldly] things, for the mind, their governor, has refrained from looking at them before. But it falls from the height of its original thought, even though it be not defiled.

And it does not turn and regains quickly the former deliberations which are the cause of the secondary ones, then, when it meets often with these things, custom will blind the discernment of the soul through frequency of meeting. So in accordance with the quantity and the character of the first affection, is the submission to the second. To avoid the affections by the recollection of virtues is easier and more beautiful than to vanquish them in strife. For when the affections leave their place and are in motion so as 9' to show themselves at strife, then they also print on the spirit forms and images. [People of] this rank possess a great valiance, so that they draw strength from the spirit ; but the mind is greatly disturbed and troubled. By the former way of proceeding mentioned, even the traces of affections are not known in the spirit when they have departed. Bodily labours and meditating upon the scriptures preserve purity. And labours are made firm by hope and fear. Hope and fear arc established in the spirit by seclusion from the children of man and by constant prayer '). Until man has received the Comforter, he needs written documents, in order to fix in his heart, by images, profitable recollections.

And by constant meditation upon them, he will renew the attractions of excellence and see in himself caution against the narrow paths of sin ; for he does not yet possess the dominating force of spirit which reduces to oblivion those powers which bereave man of profitable recollections and adduce in him languor by distraction of mind. But when spiritual force enters and dwells in the intelligible forces of the operative soul, then there are fixed in the heart in stead of written laws spiritual commandments, which the heart learns secretly from the spirit, which does not need the help of sensible material by the medium of the senses. Whenever the mind learns from matter this instruction is followed by error and forgetfulness. T3ut whenever it draws instruction from incorruptible things, its recollection will also be incorruptible, founded on their intelligible nature. 92 There are good deliberations and there is a good will. There are evil deliberations and there is an evil heart. The former, without the latter are of little account for remuneration. The latter are impulses which blow over the mind, as the winds that blow over the sea causing waves to arise. But the latter are the roots.

And in accordance with the fundamental direction is also the good or the bad remuneration ; not in accordance with the motion of the deliberations. For the soul does not cease from setting into motion varying deliberations, and if thou calculatest a remuneration for all these even though they have no root beneath, thou wilt be near to changing thy remuneration and thy retributions thousand times every day. A young bird without wings is the mind that has lately left the bonds of the affections, by means of the works of repentance. At the time of prayer it strives to exalt itself above earthly things, but it cannot. For it creeps still on the surface of the earth, where also the serpent crawls. But it concentrates its deliberations by recitation and works and fear and care for excellent qualities. For beyond these it does not yet know anything. And these keep the mind pure for a short time. But I) rWlft^a Lilt.: impressions in ink. then recollections will return, troubling: and defiling: the heart. For he does not yet perceive the air of peace and liberty, which concentrates the mind for a long time, [keeping it] quiet without any recollection of [worldly] things. For it has still 93 wings of flesh, viz. bodily virtues which are exercised openly.

But is does not yet see and perceive the theoretical significance of the virtues exercised, which consists in wings of the mind by which it approaches unto heavenly things and is removed far from the earth. As long as man serves God in a way that can be perceived by the senses and in [outward] things, the prints of things will be delineated in his deliberations and his mind will think of divine things in bodily forms. But when he perceives that which is within things, then, according to the measure of its apperceptive power, the mind will also be exalted above the forms of things in due time. The eyes of the Lord are upon the humble and His ears are willing to hear them l ). The prayer of the humble [goes] as it were from his mouth unto [God's] ear : O Lord, my God, let my darkness be enlightened. When thou art [occupied] in solitude with the beautiful work of humility, when thy soul is near unto coming forth from under the darkness, this will be thy sign : thy heart will burn and glow as with fire, night and day, so that thou wilt esteem all earthlythings as ash and dung.

This means that it will not even please thee to touch food, on account of the pleasure of the new, fervent deliberations, which move continually within thee. Then, of a sudden, the fountain of tears will be given thee, so that they flow from thy eyes, as the waters of brooks, without compulsion, mingling themselves with all thy work, viz. with thy recitation and with thy prayer, with thy service and with thy meditation, with thy food and with thy drink, with all that thou doest tears will stream. If thou observest this in 94 thyself, take heart, thou hast passed through the sea. Continue thy labours, keep thy cautiousness sound that thy grace may augment from day to day. As long as thou hast not yet met with these things, thy way has not yet finally reached the mountain of God. If this state vanishes after thou hast found it and if this fervour abates, without thy proceeding to take another thing I) <T. Ps. : , 4 ,, 5. as its substitute, woe to thee, what hast thou lost ! Either thou hast become haughty, or thou art lax.

What is it that is situated after tears, and what a man meets after having passed beyond them, and what there is further after this latter state, we will describe beneath, in those chapters which deal with the course of behaviour, as a thing concerning" which we are enlightened by the scriptures and by the Fathers who were entrusted such mysteries. If thou hast no works thou shalt not speak about excellence. Dearer to God are trials for righteousness' sake, than all vows and sacrifices. And dearer is the odour of the sweat of the fatigue they cause, than all the drugs of sweet scent and exquisite perfumes. All excellence, which does not vex the body, must be deemed by thee a miscarriage without a soul. The sacrifices of the righteous are the tears of their eyes, and their acceptable offerings are the sighs of their vigils. The saints lament because of the dulness of the body and they sigh and send their prayers unto God with suffering. And at the voice of their lamentations the 95 holy hosts assemble to them in order to give them heart through hope and to console them. The holy angels are their partners during the temptations and sufferings of the saints, because they are near to them.

Labours and humility make man a God on the earth. Faith and compassion give a speedy advance to clearness. Fervour and a broken heart cannot dwell in one soul ; neither do those . that are drunk know control of their mind. When fervour has been given, sorrow and mourning are taken away. Wine has been given for gladness, and fervour for the joy of the soul. The former warms the heart, the word of God the mind. Those who are kindled by fervour, are transported to the world to be in their deliberations by meditations of hope. As to those who are drunk with wine, various hallucinations present themselves, so he, who is drunk and is ablaze does not know trouble, nor the world nor anything in it. These things happen to those who are simple of heart and fervent with hope. The many things which will happen unto those who go the traditional course of behaviour after long labours of purification are tasted by them, in the beginning of the way, by faith of soul only. All that the Lord wills, He does.

Blessed arc; those who. in the sea of troubles, keep themselves simple and avoid investigation, in fervour to God, without turning their back, for they will quickly be safe in the harbour of the promises and rest in the mansions attained by all who labour well. There they are consoled for their toiling, exulting 96 with the joy of their hope. Those who proceed with hope, are not liable to see the injuries on the way ; neither are they able to investigate the like. But when they have gone ashore they appear unto them, and they praise God [thinking ofj how they have been guarded amidst all those storms and the many cliffs of which they were unconscious, because they were not anxious to look at such things. But those who cherish serious thoughts and wish to deal very prudently, and give themselves up to evolving deliberations and to bear and make many preparations, and wish to see and to deliberate the causes of injuries and thoughts of relaxation, such are usually constantly found at the door of their houses. For the slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets *).

And as those who said : And there we saw the giants, and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers "). And the cities are strong and walled up to heaven ;? ). These are the people who at the time of death are found at the beginning of their way. They are those who constantly wish to act prudently, but never to begin. But the simple swims and passes with his first ardour. He does not think of the body nor of the possibility that his commerce will not prosper. Let not the greatness of thy wisdom be a stumbling-block for thyself and a snare before thee, preventing thee from beginning manly and quickly, in the hope in God, thy course 97 cleansed with blood, lest thou be constantly needy and devoid of the knowledge of God. He who looks at the winds will not sow. Better for us is death in the war for [the sake of] God, than a life of shame and baseness. If thou wilt begin with one of the works of God, make thy testament beforehand as one who has no further life in this world and as one prepared for death.

Draw near to it without hope, as one whose end will be reached in that action and as if it will be the end of thy days without thy seeing any more. Let this be truly decided in thy mind, lest victory i) L'roverbs 22,13 Xnmbcrs 13,33 Pen I. I, 2.S Cf. p. 31 Wi-li. Af.l. I..-ii,tI. ,,,-j ,'\YYi.-;iiD-k'.. = be taken from thee through hope of life, being a cause of spiritual laxity. Therefore let not wisdom reign wholly over thy actions. Give quickly room also to faith in thy spirit. Remember constantly the clays after death and let laxity never enter thy soul, according to the word of the sage who has said : A thousand years in this world are not like one day in the world of the righteous ] ). Begin manly with every work of excellence •, do not approach it with a double heart. Do not doubt in thy heart, on the way of thy course, of the hope of God's grace, lest thy toiling become in vain and the work of thy service become heavy for thee.

But believe in thy heart that God is merciful and saves grace to those who seek Him, not in accordance with our service but in accordance with the love of our soul and with our faith in Him. For as thou hast believed, so it will happen unto thee. Some are occupied by knocking their head the whole day in stead of by their services; and with some, perpetual kneelings take the place of the number of their prayers. Some are occupied by the course of their tears in stead of by their canonical [duties] without seeking any thing besides, because it is better to them than all other things. Some fulfill the laws prescribed to them by their zeal for their spiritual meditations, by their suffering from hunger which cats away their flesh. Some are withheld from accomplishing their work, by the torments which torture their stomach. Some do not make a break in their recitingof Psalms on account of their spiritual fervour. The heart of some is set aflame by written words; some are captivated by the understanding thereof. And there are some whose lips are withheld from their ordinary course by the stupor caused by the contents of their recitation. Some taste all these thing's and are satisfied and turn away and desist.

Some taste a little from them only, and become puffed up and isolent and forget. Some are held back from them by the severe suffering from their plagues; some by all kinds of allurements; some by power, some by glory among men, others by passion for [worldly] things; some by wanton occupations. Some however advance I) Cf. Ps. 8.1, II well and making up their mind, they do not turn their back before they have taken possession ot the pearl. Begin every work for the sake of God joyfully. And if thou art pure from affections and from doubt of heart, God will 99 remunerate thee and help thee and give thee wisdom, and according to Mis will and in a wonderful way He will bring thee to perfection. To whom be glory and power and adoration and exaltation for ever and ever. Amen. Completed are the six treatises on the behaviour of excellence.

There is a trust in God, with a faith of the heart, which is beautiful and which rises from the discernment of knowledge. And there is another trust which is insipid and rises from folly ; and this is false trust. That a man who has absolutely no care for any of these passing things and whose soul is night and day given to the works of God, without thought of any work of this world because of his great zeal for exellence and because of his absorbing anxiety for the divine things, and who, therefore, neglects to prepare dress and food and to fix and to prepare a place for his shelter and the like, — that such a man trusts in God that He will prepare in its due season all he needs and that He will care for him — this is really true trust and a trust of wisdom. And in truth, for such a man it is also ioo beautiful to confide in God, because he is His servant, and he is ladened with thoughts concerning Him and he bears the weight of His works without needed.

And so it is becoming to Him to show care for him, which is distinguished from His care for the rest of mankind, because he has eminently main tained in his person the word of our Lord saying: seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness and: Take no thought for your body ~). And if ye care for this, the world will prepare all for you, like as a servant. And as unto a master it will be obedient unto your words without hesitation, without thwarting your will in anything. Therefore, because such a man does not desist on account of [worldly] causes from standing perpetually before Him, he will not surrender himself to those things which the body needs. For he does not care for other things either, but he abstains from them all equally, be they small or great, be they things of comfort or pleasure ■ — an abstention based on fear of God. So he will find sustenance in a wondrous way, even though he does not touch any of these things, nor fatigues himself with them.

Another however, whose heart is wholly buried in the earth and who constantly eats dust with the serpent without caring in any way for the things pleasant to God, who fatigues himself in every respect by the bodily things and is occupied by and constantly cares for intercourse and pleasure and luxury, and who has manifold worldly connections, — when such a man, given to such laxity and indifference regarding excellence, from time to time gets into trouble or want, or the fruits of sinfulness disturb him in any way, and [when he] says as follows: ioi I trust in God, He will work for me without doubt and He will comfort me, — o fool, till now thou hast not recalled God but thou hast disdained Him by the laxity of thy works and His name was slandered among the nations, as the scripture says. And now thou sayest with a full mouth: I confide in Him who will help me and care for me. God has well said through the prophet, scorning such people : They seek me daily and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness and forsook not the ordinance of their God : they ask of me the ordinances of justice.

To them belongs the fool who does not even spiritually come near unto God, but, at a time when the darkness of troubles surrounds him, elevates his hands unto Him in confidence. That such become wise, requires that they i) Matthew G, 33 Matthew 6,25 Jos. 58,2 be branded several times. For, although they have no works such as could be a basis for trust in God, yet they have been thought worthy of chastisement and loaded with mercy, as it were from [the midstj of their evil works and their indifference regarding their duties. They should not mislead themselves and, forgetting the rank of their previous way of life, say : I trust in God. Such have to be chastised, lest they, though not possessing works of faith, stretch out their feet in idleness, saying: I believe that God will give me to eat, as if they were toiling in the works of God. Or it may come to pass that some one goes and falls into a pit through his own folly, and although he has never thought of God before, he says now: I trust in God, He will 102 deliver me. Err not, thou fool.

Trust in God has to be preceded by works for the sake of God and by the sweat of 1 lis service. If thou believest in God thou doest well. But also faith requires works ; and confidence in Him requires the testimony of the heart which is born of the toils [for the sake] of excellence. Believe that God is He who cares for His creatures and who is clad with all power. But connect with this faith the works which suit it. Then He will answer thee. Take no wind in thy fist, viz. faith without deeds. If a man travel a road without being conscious of the fact that there are evil beasts or murderers on it, or the like, how many times will this universal care of God cause [the dangerj to pass, by retaining him at the place where he is, for any cause, till the danger is over, or by some one meeting him and causing him to return. Or another time, a dangerous serpent lies on the way, which he has not noticed. If God will that he be not entangled in evil, the animal will at once make a sound or leave its place and disappear, or it will creep farther so that he sees it and is cautious.

Thus God will save him, even if he be not worthy, for motives which God alone knows, especially for His mercy's sake. Or, another time a house or a wall or a rock is on the point of falling or slipping from its place and coming down instantly [at the placej where 103 some men are sitting. Thereupon God will order an angel and will hinder this accident and prevent it till those people have risen [and left] that place, for any reason whatsoever that makes them go away, so that none will remain under [the falling thing]. But as soon as they have left [the place], it will fall. But if it happens that anyone be under it, he will not be damaged. By this God desires to show the greatness of His power. Such things and the like are [signs of j universal care. The righteous possesses this grace perpetually ; as an individual, not l ) as a member of the community. The rest, however, are ordered by God to govern themselves with insight and to mingle in their affairs intelligence with the care of God. But the righteous does not need this insight in order to govern with it his affairs. In stead of this insight he possesses faith by which he storms strong fortresses.

And such things as we have enumerated he does not fear. As scripture says: the righteous is bald as a lion '-) and he ventures all through his faith. Not as one who tempts God but as one who possesses confidence in Him and as one who is armed and strongly clad with the force of the spirit. And concerning His great perpetual care for him God has said thus: I will be with him in trouble ; I will deliver him and honour him. With long life I will satisfy him, and shew him my salvation. He who is 104 weak in his works and lax or negligent, or whose deeds are evil, it is impossible that this hope be his. But it will be for him that is constantly with God in all things and who is His relative by his beautiful works, who directs constantly the gaze of his heart towards God's grace, as David says : My eyes fail while I wait for the Lord M.

Blessed is the man who knows his weakness. This knowledge becomes for him the foundation and the beginning [of his comintrl unto all eood and beautiful things. When a man knows and perceives that he really and in truth is weak, then he restrains his soul from profuseness which is dissipation of knowledge and he will augment the watchfulness of his soul. Unless a man has been remiss in some small thing and a slight negligence has appeared in him and tempters have surrounded him either with temptations that arouse bodily affections or with temptations which stir the affectable power of the soul, he cannot perceive his own weakness, Then, however, he recognizes the greatness of God's help by comparing it with his own weakness. Thus if he sees that his heart does not rest from fear, even though he be provident and very cautious, withdrawing and 105 hiding his soul in innumerable apartments and providing his soul with causes of trust, then he understands and knows that this whole impulse of his heart denotes some other thing which is lacking and which is very necessary to him, viz. that he needs other help. For the heart testifies to [this] within, by the fear that moves in it, denoting the lack of something. And therefore he cannot remain in confidence.

For the help of God is necessary for deliverance. When he knows that he needs divine help, he will frequently pray. And by much beseeching the heart becomes humble, tor there is no man who is needy and asking, without being humble. And God will not despise a broken and contrite heart ! ). Until the heart has become humble, it will not rest from distraction. Humility restrains the heart. And as soon as man has become humble, mercy will surround and envelop him. And when mercy draws near, the heart will perceive help at once, because some confidence and force will also move in it. When it perceives that divine help approach unto it and that He is its support and its helper, then the heart will be filled with faith at once.

Then it will see and understand that prayer is the port of help, the fountain of salvation, the treasure of confidence, the sheet-anchor amidst the storms, the light in the darkness, the stick of the weak, the shelter at the time of temptations, the medicine at the time of illness, the shield of protection in the battle, the sharp arrow against the enemies. 106 And because by prayer he has found the entrance unto all this good, he will delight in prayer of faith for ever more, while his heart exults in confidence, not blindly and with words only, as it had been till then. When he knows this, he possesses prayer as a treasure within his soul. And from joy he changes the tenor of prayer into sounds of thanksgiving. And the following" word has been said by the sage among the saints, Mar Euagrius, who did every thing which he did with a purpose : Prayer is a joythat gives place to thanksgivings.

Concerning this prayer, which takes place after receiving the knowledge of God, he says : This prayer that gives place [to thanksgiving], in which a man does not pray nor act as in the other passionate prayers which he prayed, perceiving grace, consists therein that in the heart, which is filled with joy and ecstasy, frequently emotions of thanksgivings and gratitude stir themselves, in the silence of kneelings. Then, on account of the inner ardour, which is set in motion by wonder at the understanding of God's bounties, he will of a sudden raise up his voice and praise without being wearied, while the inner ardour gives place to thanksgivings also of the tongue ; and so he will give utterance [to his feelings| long and wonderfully. Who has experienced these things clearly, not dimly, and has noted them with intelligence, will understand when I say that it occurs without variation, for it has been experienced many times. And furthermore [such a man] 107 will leave idle things and be constantly with God, without a break, in constant prayer, fearing that he will be bereft of the current of its helping forces. All these beautiful things are born from a man's perceiving his own weakness. For from this, because of his longing for help, he turns to God with beseechings.

And as he brings near his spirit unto God, Me comes nigh unto him with His gifts. And He does not take away from him His inspiration, because of his great humility. For as a widow unto the judge, he cries at all times : avenge me on my adversary. Therefore God, the merciful, necessarily will delay his petitions, that he have the better reason to approach unto Him. And because of his need he will constantly remain at the fountain of help, while God grants some of his demands quickly, others not: [He grants] those concerning which He knows that they are necessary for life, the rest He delays. And in some cases He withholds from him the ardour of his enemies, and in others He gives an opening to temptations, that this, as I have said, should be a cause for approaching unto God, and that he should become prudent by temptations.

And this is what is said in the scripture : The Lord left many peoples and He did not destroy them at once, nor did He give them into the hand of Joshua, in order to test Israel by them so that the generations of the children of Israel should learn war l ). 10< s As for the righteous who is not acquainted with his weakness, all his affairs are in peril. He is not far from falling, the destroying lion is not removed from him nor the demon of haughtiness. Who lacks knowledge of his weakness , lacks humility. Who lacks humility, lacks perfection. Who lacks perfection is still in a state of peril. And the enemy can attack him at every quarter, because his town is not fortified with iron bolts nor with a brazen lintel. Neither is humility to be acquired except through the causes which bring about a continually broken heart and destroy the deliberations of presumption. Without humility the service of man cannot be sealed : the seal of the spirit has not yet been placed on the charter of his freedom, he is still a slave and his service cannot be established without his being made humble, neither can he acquire wisdom without temptations, neither can he reach humility without wisdom.

Therefore God necessarily sends the saints things which cause humility and brokenness of heart and passionate prayer without distraction. Sometimes he afflicts them by accidents that arise from the natural affections or by transgressions arising from impure deliberations; sometimes by disdain or by idle oppressions which they have to endure from men, or by bodily pains; sometimes by poverty or need of necessary things ; sometimes by vehement affections 109 of fear in the open war of the demons which He allows in order to keep them continually in motion, or by terrible varying states of which one is still more strong and sorrowful and hard than the other. All these things happen, that man should have a reason for being humble, lest he should sleep in neglect either of things present from which the struggler suffers, or of fear of things to be. Therefore temptations will necessarily be profitable unto men. Now I do not say, that, in order to have a cause of humility, he ought to let loose his will unto evil things, with the purpose of humbling himself by the recollection of them, or that he should hasten unto other temptations.

But it is beautiful for him that, apart from his performing good works, he should constantly spur himself and remember that he is a creature and naturally prone to be seduced. And whosoever is a creature, requires an external power, viz. to help him. And he who requires external help, the deficiency of his own nature is manifest. And every one who knows that he is deficient, to him humility is becoming in order to receive what he needs from Him who is able to give it. If he knows all these things from the beginning and looks to them at all times, he will not sleep. And if he does not sleep, he will not be delivered into the hand of the powers which endanger his vigilance. Therefore it is becoming for him no that goes the way of God, that he confess and reproach and rebuke his soul for all [evils] that overtake him, knowing that either because of his negligence it is excited by the tempter by order of the Governor, or because he has exalted himself. Therefore he shall not leap up nor be shaken, but keep his sold quiet without accusation [of GodJ, lest his evil be doubled. For there is not iniquity with God, on the contrary, He is the fountain of justice.

DENTALLY There are sins in which a man is entangled through weakness and accidentally. And there are sins the source of which is the will ; others [spring] from an uncultivated mind. Some are committed occasionally, others continually ; others are customary. And all these classes and kinds of sins, though bound by the common verdict of reprehension, have a different character and their punishment may be greater or smaller. Some sins are reprehended severely •, others arc near to mercy. God has also shown unto Adam, Eve and the serpent, though not one of them was exempted from receiving the retribution of his fault, a great variety in the curse which was directed against each one of them ; and so He did in the curses directed against their offspring. In accordance with the propensity and inclination of each unto sin, is judgment made more heavy, in If any one be not inclined to follow sin, but he be drawn towards it on account of neglect regarding righteousness, although he be not zealous for it, his judgment will be severe even if the connection with sin be difficult for him. But if he be diligent and temptations rise, mercy is near to purify him, without doubt.

For it is another thing that a man who is careful regarding excellence and constant in its works, meditating on it even in the night, should fail in any of its duties; while by day he is loaded with its burden and goes around with it, all his thoughts concentrated upon justness — it is a different thing that, while he is occupied with such things, through ignorance or the compulsion of opposition on the way of excellence and the mighty waves that arise every moment in his limbs, and the propensity towards aberration which is implanted in him as a test of freedom, the indicator of his scale should point somewhat to the left, and through the sickness of the flesh he should be entangled in any kind of sin and suffer and be sorry on account of it and bewail himself passionately because of his miserable weakness in the face of what overtakes him now and then.

It is a very different thing, that one being lax in the works of righteousness or wholly neglectful of the way, should run like a slave in complete obedience to all the delights of sin, and try to find the means of its accomplishment ; and that like 112 a slave he should purpose zealously to perform the will of his adversary, his limbs serving him as weapons on behalf of Satan in complete obedience and that he should not even think of repentance so as to draw nearer unto excellence and end his path of shortcomings. Different are the trespasses and the stumbling-blocks laid on the way of virtue and in the course of righteousness. As the rathers say: On the way of excellence there are stumblingblocks, there are varying states, there is compulsion, and the like. A different thing J s death of the soul and complete destruction and total abandonment.

This is known thereby that, although one falls, he docs not forget the love of his Father -, and although he is loaded with trespasses of every kind, his zeal for the service of good is not held back, nor docs he desist from his course, nor abhor to stand in stiwgfle against these things anew and with the same chance of being vanquished, nor cease from demolishing every day his building and beginning a [new] foundation. And the word of the prophet is in his mouth : Till the hour of my departure from this world, rejoice not against me, O mine enemy : when I fall, I shall arise ; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me r ). And he will not cease to struggle till death. He will not allow himself to be vanquished, as long as there is breath in his nostrils.

And though his ship is wrecked every day and the sweat of his commerce becomes a prey to the depths, he does not cease to borrow and fit out ships and navigate with good hope; till the Lord, seeing his zeal, has mercy for his shipwrecks and inclines unto *3 him in compassion and gives him strong impulses towards patience and towards braving the burning arrows of the Evil one. This is wisdom from God and whoever is sick in this way, is wise. To abandon hope profits not. It is more expedient for us to be judged on account of special [sins] than on account of complete abandonment. Therefore the blessed commentator warns us against becoming weary in face of the many struggles and the frequent various kinds of strife to be met on the way of righteousness lest we should turn back and give our adversary the opportunity of a complete victory in any kind of evil.

And so the blessed commentator says, arranging the strugglers as it were in classes: If you are truly zealous to look towards excellence and anxious for serenity of mind unto God, and to practise those things which are agreeable unto Him, you must necessarily bear for the sake of these things, all the struggles which will arise continually against you on account of the natural affections and the attractions of this world and the evil of the demons, without relaxing in spite of the constant and never ceasing strife, without fear of the tenacious vehemence of war, without dread of the hosts of enemies, and without dejection if it happen that you trespass somewhere and sin, but receiving on your faces the blows and wounds such as are [to be expected] in so great a war. On account of these things, therefore, you must not let yourself be moved l) Micali 7,8 Theodore of Monsuesthi even from your will's decision ; on the contrary you must maintain the choice of your behaviour, deeming it a beloved and ,x 4 glorious thing to show yourselves in the war besmeared with the blood of your blows, without pausing in the slightest degree from strife against the enemies.

These are the warnings of the blessed commentator. 1 hus, it is not becoming in us to relax because of these things. Woe to the solitary who is unfaithful to his covenant and, treading down his conscience, gives Satan entrance into him, in small and great matters of sin, so that he does not find strength to defend against the enemies the breach [Satan] has made in his soul. And with what countenance will he behold the chaste, his companions, when they are brought together from whom he has separated his way to go the way of destruction, and the freedom of speech with God which the pious possess, and the prayer which arises from the chaste heart towards God and uplifts itself and even passes the hosts of the angels and stops not until it reaches God's majesty, holding the keys in its hands ceasing not until it has acquired its demand, rehiring unto the mouth that has sent it, with gladness. [And with what countenance will he look upon] what is harder than all these things, viz. that, as he has separated his way from them here, so Christ will separate him from them on that day.

When the brilliant clouds will bear on their backs the bodies that have become splendid by purification and that enter the great gate of heaven. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment -), because their work is already judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous, in the resurrection before the judgment, nor the impure in the ranks of the saints. i) I.ittcrally : hip:

The encouragement which our Fathers give us in their writings and the help towards repentance which is in the writings of the Prophets and the Apostles, should not be taken by us as a reason to disregard the threats of the divine acts of judgment, nor the punishment which God has decreed firmly against the trangression of the borders which should not be passed, through the mouth of all His saints and by means of all kinds of laws, in order to eradicate sins. As if the hope of repentance could be reason for us to strip from ourselves the feeling of fear in order to sin more freely and without dread. These [threats] are confirmed by the seals of the word of God, in all the scriptures of our salvation, and by the [divine] decrees fixed against them, [threatening] all kinds of terror. Some of these He has partly revealed to the many or to the few [people] by the punishments Fie brought upon them in order to show that He hated sin. Or why then were drowned in the Deluge the generations of the days of Noah?

Was it not on account of the vileness of lasciviousness, because they had violated the n6 beauty of the daughters of Kainr In that time there was no love of money nor adoration of idols, nor sorcery, nor wars waged [by men] against one another. Or again, why were five towns of the Sodomites for ever burnt? Was it not because they had given way to lust of the flesh, which had taken possession of them according to its good pleasure, consisting in all kinds of impurity? Was it not because of the fornication of one man that in Israel, the firstborn of God, there fell twenty-five thousand by the plague in an instant? Why then was Simson rejected by God, Simson, the man of strength, the Naziraean from the womb, the sanctified to God, whose birth was annunciated by an angel like that of John the son of Zecharia, through whose hand [God] wrought marvels and signs, and who by the supernatural strength which God infused into his body smote a thousand men with the jawbone of an ass and became a saviour and a judge unto Israel? Was it not because he made impure and defiled his hallowed limbs by intercourse with a harlot, that the Lord left him and gave him into the hands of his enemies?

David, the heart of God, for whose excellence the promise made unto the righteous Fathers was carried out in his offspring from whom sprouted Christ the Saviour of the whole world — was it not by adultery with one woman and for the feebleness of one moment that from a glance of his eye he got an arrow in his soul and wrought evil against himself from within his own house ; for the son which was to come forth from his loins was to pursue him ? And this happened although he showed repentance and the 117 Lord said to him: Also have I put away thy sin; thou shalt not die ; ), and he wept a flood of tears so that he moistened his bed during' the nights.

I return to what I was saying before : Why then did distress and destruction hit the house of Eli the priest, the righteous old man, a priest and a judge of Israel during forty years." Was it not because of Pinehas and Hophni his sons who treated the women scornfully that came to pray in the tabernacle, though he himself did not sin, at any rate not wilfully, but only in so far as he was silent and reprehended with words only, without showing fervour against the fornication of his sons, so that the judgment of the Lord took revenge on them t And lest any one should think that the Lord shows His zeal only against those who are sinners in their lifetime, He also displays it against this audacious sin hated of Him, in the case of those who are near to Him, Llis priests and judges and the heads of the people and against those men who were holy unto Him and by whose hands He had clone wonderful things, yet whom, when they violated the laws He had laid down, He did not spare.

As is written in Ezechiel where He says to the man whom Lie orders to smite the people of Jerusalem with a hidden sword: Begin before my altar and do not spare, neither old man nor boy nor youth ; to show that it was the people near to Him, those who walked in fear 118 and chastity before Him and performed His will. The saints of the Lord and those near to Him are good works and a pure heart. But when they reject the ways of the Lord's will, Me also rejects them and puts them away from before Him and takes His grace from them. And why then did the judgment of the Exalted smite Belshazzar by the sign of the hollow hand? Was it not because he had behaved audaciously against the holy vessels which he had taken from Jerusalem and in which he drank with his concubines? And in the same way the judgment of the Exalted will of a sudden smite him who in abandoned audaciousness uses for worldly purposes the limbs that once were set apart for the holiness of the Lord, just as Belshazzar was smitten who behaved audaciously against the holy vessels taken from the sanctuary of the Lord.

Therefore we should not make use of the confidence in repentance and the heart-giving words of the scriptures as a motive for disregarding the words and the threats of the Lord and disdain Him by evil deeds, disdaining thereby also the limbs that once we have offered as a sacrifice for the ministration of His sanctuaries and for the use of His service. Verily we are the sanctified of the Lord and the Naziraeans abstaining from women, as Elijah, Elisha and the prophets and the other sanctified Naziraeans and holy virgins by whose hands great and amazing things were done, who spake with God face to face ; and as those who lived afterwards, John the virgin and the holy Simeon and the other preachers of 119 the New Testament who sanctified themselves to the Lord and received mystic secrets from Him, some from His own mouth, others by revelation. And so they became mediators between God and mankind, and the "receptacles of His revelations and the preachers of the Kingdom to the inhabitants of the world.

It is becoming for the solitary to be in every way a vision of stimulation unto those who look at him, so that because of the beauties which radiate from him on all sides as the rays of the sun, even the enemies of truth unwillingly acknowledge that the Christians have a well-founded hope ; and from every side they will flow to their place of refuge, and thus the head of the church will be elevated above its enemies. Thus the glory of the solitary's deeds will be a stimulus for many to withdraw from the world. And [it is becoming] that he be reverenced by every one on account of his excellence, so that the mouth of the members of the church will be opened on his account and their head exalted above all creeds. The pride of Christ's church consists in the behaviour of the solitaries.

Therefore it is becoming to the solitary that the beauties of his habits shine on all sides-, in the humble attitude of his limbs, in the simplicity o( his habit, in his elevation 120 above visible things, in the veracity of his renunciation, in his rigorous fasting, in his being continuous silent, in the subduing of his senses, in the continence of his aspect, in his not being quarrelsome with other people for any reason, in the sparingness of his speech, in his being pure from rancour, in his discriminate conscious simplicity.

And [it is becoming for him] that it be known that he is alien to this harmful and fleeting life and near to true and spiritual life, from his constantly being bv himself, from his bein^ unknown among men, from his not being tied to any ona by the bonds of comradeship and intimacy, from his quiet dwellingplace, from the small space of his habitation, from his few and mean utensils, from his avoiding men, from his constant prayer, from his hating and avoiding honour, from his not being bound by temporal life, from his great patience, from his endurance in temptations, from his keeping aloof from rumours and from inquiries into worldly affairs, from his constant care for and meditation upon his true country, known by his sad countenance and his shrivelled face, from his constantly weeping night and day, and above all from his cautious chastity and his freedom from covetousness in small and great things. These are, in short, the manifest beauties of the solitary 121 which testify to his being wholly dead to the world and near unto God. It is becoming for him to think of these things constantly in order to acquire them. Verli. AM. UtU-rk. !.,;-• i Wcir-ln. V. If any one asks : Wherefore are these lengthy descriptions necessary?

I answer: they are very necessary. For if any one search for them, one by one, in himself, and if any fail him who cares for his life, he can ascertain from these distinctions his deficiency in any of the virtues. And thus these descriptions may become to him admonitions. And if he possess personally all the things described and also those omitted, the knowledge of them is given him [in this way] and so he will become a cause of God being praised among men and angels. And then he may prepare for his soul a place of rest before departing this world.

There are three degrees which constitute the whole course of man. The degree of novitiate, the middle one, and that of perfection. And although the mind of the first degree looks with all its occupations and recollections towards excellence, yet it is connected with the affections. The second degree, the middle one, lies between the affectable and the spiritual state. Righthand and lefthand deliberations arc stirred equally in it. And neither the fountain of light nor that of darkness ever cease to flow on its side, as it has been said. If the [solitary] cease for even a short time from meditating restlessly on spiritual writings, or from thinking of divine things, such as enflanie him as lire by their tending towards the truth, in union with outward needfulness as strict as possible which includes inward cautiousness and sufficient works — then he is swept away towards the side of the affections.

But if he heighten his natural warmth in the way mentioned, without desisting from seeking and inquiring, and if he follow these things from afar without seeing them, except their designation in the scriptures, and if he multiply his deliberations and dominate them by those which do not decline unto the left side, and receive not any seed of phantasies coming from the demons instead of from truth, but be desirous on the contrary, long and guard himself and beseech God in passionate, enduring prayer — then, as soon as it will please God to give it, He will open His gate before him. Especially on account of his humility, for to the humble the mysteries are revealed. If he dies, however, in that expectation, without having seen that country at a short distance, I think that his heritage will be with the ancient righteous, wdio have expected perfection, according to the word of the Apostle, but have not seen it x ), t23 yet have worked in expectation of it all their lifetime and have departed.

But what shall we say, if any one does not reach [the degree which enables him] to enter the promised land which is the stage of the perfect and to find truth eye to eye in so far as nature is capable of this? Shall he then resign this [and remain] on that low stage which is wholly connected with that of the left side? And because he has not found the whole truth, shall he remain in this low state which does not even know to desire these tliiiiLrs, or shall he elevate himself unto the middle stage mentioned, even though he does not look as it were in a mirror, but expects it from afar, and in that expectation will be gathered unto his fathers? Even though he is not deemed worthy of the fulness of that grace here, yet he shall occupy his mind through intercourse with it at a distance and by its stimulating influence during his lifetime he shall eliminate and fly from bad deliberations. And in this hope, his heart being full of God, he shall depart this world. All that takes place in humility, is beautiful.

The uncorporeal thoughts of the mind inclining towards the love of God [engendered] by the understanding of the scriptures, are a fence for the gates of the soul against foreign deliberations. They guard the spirit by ardent recollections of future things, against its being distracted through idleness to the recollection of [worldly] things ; this would quench the ardour of its emotion and it would fall into desires.

To him who has determined to order his being in lonely dwelling and to pass the remainder of his clays in service and in the ordering of the way of solitude, it will come to pass that, while he is as usual, in solitude, such as is justly prescribed by divine grace, his soul will be hidden in darkness. And just as the radiance of the sun is hidden from the earth bythick clouds, so, for a short time he is bereft from spiritual consolation and from the rays of grace, by the clouds of the affections; and some of the joy-giving force is withdrawn from him, while an unusual darkness falls upon his spirit ; yet his mind is not troubled nor inclined towards dejection ; but he remains patient, occupying himself with the writings of divine men and with prayers to which he forces himself, looking for help.

Then of a sudden it will be given him unexpectedly x ). l ; or, as the face of the earth is gladdened by the rays of the sun when the dense atmosphere is torn asunder, so the words of prayer are able to tear away and to remove from the soul the ,25 dark cloud of the affections and to gladden and to illuminate the spirit by the rays of joy and consolation which is born in our deliberations. Especially when the soul is able to have recourse to the profit from the holy books and from vigils that make the mind pure. Constant meditation upon the holy scriptures will perpetually fill the soul with incomprehensible ecstasy and joy in God.

I shall tell thee a thing at which thou must not laugh; for I tell the truth. Do not doubt it, for those from whom I have received it, are trustworthy. If thou hangest on they eyelids before God, do not think that in behaviour thou hast reached anything till tears come forth ; for thy hidden being still ministers unto the world. This means, that thou art on the same stage of behaviour with faithful lay people. For thou workest with thy outward man in the service of God but the inward man is still without fruits. His fruits begin at the point which I have indicated. When thou hast reached the place of tears, then understand that the spirit has left the prison of this world and set its foot on the way towards the new world. Then it begins to breathe the 126 wonderful air which is there, and to spend tears. For now the throes caused by the spiritual child, become vehement. And grace, the common mother, hastily delivers, as it were, the soul, God's image, unto the light of the world to-come.

And when the time of birth is come, then the mind will perceive a something belonging to that world, like a faint perfume, which the child has received in the members into which it has grown. But he who does not patiently bear what is unusual, will move his body with weeping mingled with joy which excels the sweetness of honey. Together with the growing of the child within there will be an increase of tears. The stream of tears begins when the spirit begins to become serene. I mean the flowing of tears belonging to the stage which I have described, not that partial one, which takes place from time to time. This consolation which takes place from time to time, will come to pass to every one who serves God in solitude. Sometimes during spiritual contemplation. Sometimes when hearing or reading the words of the scriptures. Sometimes while occupied with beseechings. But I propose to speak of that complete one, which continues night and clay without a break, and which comes to him who has found truth in solitude by the sincerity of his behaviour, when the eyes become fountains of water for a period of nearly two years. This happens during a transition-period ; I mean symbolical transition.

At the end of the period of tears thou wilt reach peace of deliberations ; and by this peace of deliberations thou wilt reach the divine rest of which Paul speaks, rest in part, according to [our] nature. From the beginning of [this period of] rest onward, the mind 127 will see hidden things. Then the Holy Ghost will begin to reveal unto it heavenly things, while (rod dwells in thee and promotes spiritual fruits in thee. Then thou wilt perceive the state which the whole nature will receive in the renewal of all things, dimly and mysteriously. This I have written to the profit of myself and of everyone who comes across this book, being that which 1 have attained by contemplation of the scriptures and from the mouth of veracious men (and to a small part by experience) that I also may gain profit by the prayers of those who have gained profit from these things, because I have toiled upon them.

Listen also to another thing which I tell thee, as I have heard it from a mouth that does not lie : As soon as thou hast entered this place where the deliberations are set at peace, then the violence of weeping is again taken from thee and thou readiest the state of moderation. This is the exact truth in a few words; and it is true and confirmed by the whole church, by the excellent among her sons and by her chief protagonists. ox -nil': couusii of tiii: solitary' (.wkklk, ktc. ^7

Lucidly and distinctly, the course of virtues shows itself so. Erom works performed by compulsion, in solitude there is 12S born a blazingand immeasurable heat, which is generated in the heart by fervent deliberations, newly born in the spirit. Works and watchfulness polish the mind by their heat and idve it siidit. And si<dit gives birth to the fervent deliberations mentioned, because of the depth of psychic sight which is called contemplation. Contemplation gives birth to fervour; from this fervour sight given by grace is born ; and then outbursts of tears begin. At first partial ones; this means that a man's tears will flow several times every day. Then he will come to [the state of [ tears without a break. Through the tears the soul receives peaceful deliberations. From peaceful deliberations it rises unto serenity of insight. And by serenity of insight a man reaches the sight of hidden things. For purity is brought about by being free from war. And after these the mind will reach that which is denoted by the symbol of the brook in Ezekiel the prophet '), a symbol which contains the type of those three psychic stages which are near to divine things and of which the third is the utmost which a man can reach.

The beginning of all these is a good will unto God and various works in solitude and that uprightness which is born from severe reclusion from the world. It is not necessary to enumerate the distinctions between the works, for they are known to every man. Hut as soon as any one occupies himself with them it is not possible that he deteriorate ; I know, on the contrary, that he will profit by 1:9 them. They are the following: the work of hunger, of reciting, waking during the night, according to every one's strength ; frequent prostrations, several times in the day and often during the night. Some will perform thirty prostrations at one time, salute (the crossj ') and go away from it. Some will perform even a greater number. Others will prolong prayer during three hours and stay in concentration while prostrated, without compulsion and without distraction. These two varying states show the great richness of grace, which works in various ways with every man according to his measure, be it that he multiplies the number [of his prayersj on account of his fervent ardour, be it that he acquires quiet in his soul so that he reduces to one the lar<je number of his former prayers.

As to the question of the cause of that other prayer and its duration without compulsion, it seems to me that it is not becoming for us to treat such things in detail, by describing their nature in speech or writings lest the reader, being unable to understand anything of it, should judge it to be something insipid ; or, if he should be acquainted with these things, should despise him who is not able to cross the border of certain things. From the one blame, from the other laughter would be the consequence; and thus I would become a barbarous writer to such ones, according to the word of the apostle i;,o concerning him that speaks in prophecies. But he who is desirous to know these things should know that their course has been described above. He may combine works with deliberation, by the grace of our Lord. And what practically happens in these states he may experience personally. Stay therefore in thy cell and the cell will teach thee everything-. iiuw L'Kokh'.\[;i,i<; it is kor tiik sou, wliilk v:vc. ^9

That a man who is beset with care, should be quiet and in a slate of peace, is impossible. I ; or the necessary things which cohere with those things upon which he expends his labour, cannot but have the effect that lie be shaken ; and they will bereave him of his rest and quiet. For the only opportunity for Satan to enter the soul is distraction. Therefore it is becoming for the solitary to place himself constantly before God's face and to look for His will *), if it be his intention to keep his mind in watchfulness and if it be his will grasp quickly the small deviations as soon as they begin to stir in him, and, in peace of spirit, learn to recognise what passes in him :: ). Frequent oscillations are a sign of the solitary's relaxation as to the preparation of Christ's service, and they are signs of deficiency in divine things. Without bein<r free [from cares! thou canst not demand lucidity from thy soul ; nor rest and quiet if the senses are set free; nor concentration of the senses when the oscillations of practice [are frequent |. Keep thy self free from accidents ; then thou wilt find no trouble in thy mind.

Without constant beseechings it is not possible to be near to God. And to think of other things at the same time with the work of beseechings, is distraction of the heart. If fervent emotions befall thee sometimes when thou tastest God in the hot fire of divine things, but when thou seekest them again thou lindest them to have become insipid and cold l) COVwOl I,iU.'r;ilIy : those who go in and out. within thyself, [this is because] the distraction of intercourse with men has assailed thee somewhere, or because thou hast estimated bodily work above them, and on account thereof the fervour of thy deliberations has become cold. Tears, however, and beating the head [on the ground] during prayer, and fervent self-humiliations quicken again their warm sweetness in the heart. And in lauded madness the heart will fly after God, crying: My soul thirsteth for thee, the living God: when shall I come and see thy face? He that has tasted this wine and has been bereft of it, he only knows in what a torment he has been left and what has been taken from him on account of his relaxation.

O, how evil is the sight of men and intercourse with them 132 for him that lives in solitude, especially him that is relaxed and left alone"). Verily, my brethren, as a strong blast of cold, that suddenly hits the buds of the trees and nips their small heads germinating from the twigs, so intercourse with men, even though it be short and in a congregation with a good purpose, withers the sprouts of the virtues which have but lately shown their heads because of the good air :i ) of solitude, and which beset with their humidity the tree of the soul, planted by the brooks of repentance. And as the sharpness of the cold strikes the new sprouts of the roots, destroying and pushing back their heads into the earth, so intercourse with men destroys the root of the mind which but begins to grow green by reason of the herbs of virtues, thrusting them back to their original place and destroying their tenderness.

And if intercourse with those who are nearly master of themselves is so obnoxious to the soul, be it only on account of their hindering the customary service, this must happen to a larger extent if a man speaks with and sees stupid and uncultivated men or even lay people, which has the effect of fire upon small wood. And as the humility of an honourable and estimable man, who forgets himself frequently by drinking wine, is troubled and his honour stained and his chastity shaken by the foreign deliberations which dominate his spirit on account of the force of the wine, so the chastity of the soul is shaken by intercourse •33 with and sight of men ; and it forgets the aim of its watchfulness and is bereft of the whole intention of its will ; and intercourse and recreation and the use of luxury eradicate from its depth the whole foundation of laudable behaviour. And even if a man be silent and only in the presence of such men in person, hearing and seeing, the mere fact that the doors of his eyes and his ears let in [what is seen and heard], is able to turn his spirit from divine things and to trouble it greatly.

If thus the mere sight of men and the bare hearing of their speech for only a small time is able to cause so much harm to the solitary who is watchful, what then shall we say about regular meetings or about those of a longer duration? The vapour rising from the stomach obscures ] ) the knowledge of divine things, as the inhalations rising from the damp earth obscure the face of the sun ~). Haughtiness does not understand that it proceeds in darkness without knowing insight and wisdom. In its own thoughts it is elevated above all things, but it is poorer and lower than any thing. It is unable to know the ways of (rod, and the Lord will hide His will from it, because it does not like to go in the way of the humble.

LIFETIME Do not think, O man, that among all the works of ascetics there is any one greater and more profitable than that of vigils. In truth, my brethren, if during the day the ascetic is not distracted by corporeal things and temporal care , but cuts himself off somewhat from the world, and is watchful to even a low degree during vigils, then I do not object to declare unto you in truth, that soon his spirit will fly as with wings and ascend unto God to be in delight. And he will easily look at that glory, and in that knowledge which is higher than i) In one Ms. only Sec p. S3 human spirit he will quickly swim. The solitary who during' his vigils abides by the discernment of the mind, will no longer seem to be clad with flesh. Verily, this work belongs to the class of the angels. And it is impossible that those who applicate themselves to this behaviour, should be left without great divine gifts, on account of the vigilance and serenity of their heart, and because their deliberations tend to Him only.

The soul, therefore, which applies itself in its labours to the duty of vigils, becomes trained, and acquires Cherubs' eyes in the swiftness and acuteness of their gaze, so that at all times it gazes on heavenly contemplations. I am of the opinion that he who on account of vaste knowij5 ledge and with discernment has chosen for himself this great and divine work, and is wholly devoted to bear the load of the glorious part he has chosen, will necessarily be zealous to guard himself also during the day against the trouble of occupations and of care for [worldly] things, and that he consequently will not be devoid of wonderful fruits and the great delight he will gather from them. And I may say deliberately, without lying, that he who despises this, does not even know for what purpose he performs all this toil: the loss of sleep, the many repetitions, the fatigue of the tongue, the standing on his feet during the whole night, while his mind is not there where he recites his Psalms and prayers-, but he performs these works as a matter of custom, as something which is devoid of discernment.

And if this were not as 1 say, how could he suffer to be bereft of and to remain without reaping profitable fruits from the constant occupation with his work: But he strives towards these [results] through the holy occupation of the recitation of the scriptures, which is a fortification of the mind and, principally, a cause of prayer, a helper and a companion of vigils, a light of the mind, a guide on the way and the seed of manifold contemplation during prayer. It is a check against the distraction of the spirit and against its occupying itself with idle things. It sows in the soul constant recollection of God and [of] the ways of the saints who have pleased Him. And it causes the mind to acquire wisdom and subtlety. Wherefore then, () zealous man, doest thou order thy occuJ) rdxXXX. literally: the sower on Ttti: short I'.vrns towards god vViiu'ii ii'ic:. 93 136 pations in this way, without discernment? For thou showest care for thyself in that thou standest upon thy feet duringthe whole night, fatiguing thyself with glorifications and Psalms and prayers. It would be easy for thee, by little watchfulness during the day, to be made worthy of the divine grace for thy strenuous efforts in other duties.

Wherefore doest thou fatigue thyself and sow in the night, whereas during the day thou renderest useless thy works so as to lose the fruits, dissipating this vigilance and fervour which thou wouldst acquire by vigils, through the distraction of intercourse with men and through different occupations, and destroying thy profit by wandering idleness? If thou wouldst associate to thy nightly meditation, o man, service during the day without breaking in twain the fervour of the occupations of the heart, thou wouldst quickly embrace Jesus' bosom. And from this thou seest that thou sufferest for lack of discernment. For thou doest not perceive why vigils are necessary for the ascetic. Thou thinkest it is for the sake of toiling only, and not in respect of another thing which is expected to be born from it.

But he that by grace has almost been made worthy of understanding that for which the sages hope in combating sleep and compelling nature to such a degree that during the whole night, awake bodily and mentally, they offer prayers — ■ also knows the strength given by watchfulness during the day and the profit it grants the spirit in its nightly solitude while '37 at its vigils with discernment, and the power it supplies over the deliberations and the purity l ) and concentration with which it endows the mind, so that without compulsion and strife the spirit gazes at the greatness of the words [recited] . I say this also, that though the body may fall short in the work of fasting on account of its great weakness, yet vigils, by their lonely character, afford the mind steadfastness in prayer, and enable the heart to recognize spiritual powers by means of insight. This can only take place if it is not assailed by any disturbance through relaxation caused by things met during the day.

Therefore I admonish thee, o man of insight who wishest to acquire vigilance of mind in (iod and knowledge of the new life, that during thy lifetime thou may est not despise this duty l ) of vigils, by which thy eyes will be opened so as to see the whole glory of ascetic work and the power of the way of righteousness. And if it should happen — unfortunately — that a thought of relaxation should make its nest in thee, and thou shouldst think, on account of [previous] experience, that thy usual helper is training thee and making thee prudent by means of varying states, such as coldness and heat, or by variety of chance and occasion, or on account of thy body being ill or weak; and if this should induce thee to forego sleep in the evening, though thou shouldst not be willing to fatigue thy body — then I beseech thee with love to desist from all this zealous labour, the reciting of Psalms, the performing of the service, the frets 8 quent kneelings during regular praying. I advice thee to sit in solitude, awake, if thou art able to do this, without recitation of Psalms and without prostrations. And if thou art able to do so, pray with thy heart only.