Letter 665

To Thaumasius the Monk. For what did you expect, when you chose withdrawal and stillness? Assuredly afflictions, and temptations, and the countless assaults of grievous demons, and spears, and contrivances. How then are you indignant, pierced in various ways by the spears of the temptations, and dragged by sections under the fiery wheels of the demons' wagon as to your own soul, and chopped up like chaff? But endure thankfully and patiently with a firm resolve, and with frequent supplication, and with strenuous wakefulness, and with self-control; cleave to the better part, and you will see the end of those who contend for Christ's sake; for it is salvation, while the end of the demons is grievous destruction. For then those who now drag you will themselves be pierced, and you will trample them, and they will be ash beneath your feet, and so forth. At times the demonic reasonings are hidden within us, at times they peer out toward the outside, urging us on to sin through deeds; but God, when entreated by us, scatters them and drives them away from us. And then, sobering up from the confusion, we collect ourselves, and rekindle ourselves in the spirit, as though living from the dead, and being led up to the height of dispassion that is according to nature, we glorify and hymn the Lord, bringing our own life to rest in an end good and pleasing to God. And this is what was said by David: "And all the workers of iniquity peered forth, that they might be utterly destroyed forever." For by the spiritual oil of the better part the contending man will be made fat, who beforehand was worn down and dried up like salted fish by the harassment of his many sufferings. Let us therefore not in any way be thrown into uproar by the temptations, even if the release from the temptations does not come at once; rather let us yield to God, who is Lord of the release. For with greater grace he gives the recompense when he delays. Therefore let us especially persevere in giving thanks and singing hymns whenever he is slow with our request, and for a certain time God does not consent to grant the petition. For the afflictions that fall upon us make our hopes in God blossom. For it is written: "Affliction upon affliction, and hope upon hope." "For yet a little while, and he who is coming will come, and will not delay." "According to the multitude," it says, "of the sorrows of my heart, your consolations gladdened my soul." For in proportion to the measure of the painful things that befall us, we find the comfort from God to be counterbalancing. And when the soul, openly and secretly, is afflicted and humbled through various temptations, it is consoled through the spiritual priests, that is, the angels, who restore it with the most warm sweetness of tears, and with subtle thoughts, and with the strength of the virtues. See, beloved, what the Lord says: "Comfort, comfort my people, O priests, speak into the ears of Jerusalem, comfort her, for her humiliation is fulfilled, her sin is loosed." For the rest, in every misfortune one must give thanks to Christ the Most High: "For I will bless the Lord at every time," says the great David. For God receives our thanksgiving in our afflictions in place of all righteousness. It is necessary, therefore, that we, imitating Abraham, offer to the Lord the tithe of the first-fruits. And this would be the supreme one of the ten commandments, that is, to love God with the whole soul and strength. For the divine Apostle defines love as the fulfillment of the law. Now there is one righteousness nourished within us, in the equal distribution of what is due; and even if we do not attain it according to strict precision, yet acting with the most just intention, we do not fall short of the goal. But there is another righteousness brought in from heaven by the just Judge, the corrective and the retributive, much of which is hard to discern, on account of the height of the doctrines stored up within it, just as the divine David also says: "Your righteousness is like the mountains, your judgments a great abyss." Let us pray, then, that the Master of all things, God, may blend our souls and bodies toward the better. For nothing will withstand the divine nod and will. Let us therefore not be negligent and slack about the care of ourselves. For even if we are cast down into the very pits of evil, it is possible to recover ourselves, and to make ourselves better, and to spit out all baseness. For evil is not immovable, as the Manichaeans say. And do not suppose that it is some small thing, by the grace of God, to condemn one's faults and to be grieved over them. For this is in truth a very great grace, granted through the Master's cross to those who truly believe. For consider that, in the first place, the Hebrews, when reproved by the prophets over defiled and forbidden deeds, would not even with a bare word consent to say, "We have sinned, and forgive us," but on the contrary maintained that they had in no way transgressed, while doing countless evils shamelessly. But now the light of Christ the Most High God has so shone upon us that, even if we in no way stumble in what is apparent, but only converse in a friendly way in secret with wicked thoughts, we condemn ourselves at once, and we suffer pain and groan, and we accuse our own life, with no accuser present, and we weep and lament, and subject ourselves to bitter chastisements. And the remembrance of our Savior Jesus Christ, and the looking up to him and intense supplication, will become for you an incorporeal shield against the unseen enemy. For the Apostle writes: "In all things take up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one." For whether he attempts to shoot through wicked desire, or whether through envy or rancor, or whether he wars against the soul through every evil, the enemy of our life will surely be overcome, and will be brought to nothing by the strength of faith, and by the invocation of the divine name of Christ. The demons are exceedingly envious toward those who embrace chastity, and they cast wicked and forbidden desires into those who contend. But one must not be downcast over this; rather we are made more sinewy against our enemies through the harassment; for we are made the more assured concerning the good things in the promises when we are tempted to such a degree by the flesh-loving demons. For the enemies, knowing that the Lord has promised us great good things, are exceedingly angered against us, and out of malice set themselves against us through shameful and most base passions, and they greatly weaken the men who press on toward virtue. And a mind that has departed from the contemplation of God in its thought becomes either a demon or a beast. For the mind of man, when it withdraws from the contemplation of God, of necessity either falls in with the demon of desire that leads to licentiousness, or is overcome by the wicked demon of the irascible spirit. And the experienced father used to call undisciplined desire bestial, and anger a demonic movement. But in whatever thought or matter the soul happens to be, only in pious reasoning is it altogether with God. It was fitting, therefore, that the one who wishes to dwell among the multitude of the virtues should neither crave glory, nor consort with many, nor make use of continual companions, nor revile any, even if those reviled are deserving, nor talk much, even if the things said are good. For immoderate talkativeness hands one over to the demons of grief and of anger. Rather one must be occupied with the keeping of the holy commandments, and with deep remembrance of the Lord Jesus of glory. "For he who keeps a commandment," it says, "will not know an evil word"; that is, he will not turn aside into wicked and base words. For it is not merely the not doing of evils that brings excellence, but rather, by attention to good things, to set evils utterly aside by main force. For a habit comes to be from custom, and from a habit a nature is wont to come to be. And it is hard and difficult to remove or change a nature, except that for God it is possible. For a nature does not set itself against God. "For if your sins be as scarlet, I will make them white as snow; and if they be as crimson, I will make them white as wool." Hence one must not despair, for God who created us is stronger than the wicked and detestable custom, he who makes all things and refashions them, as the prophet says. For even if you come into a habit of evil, do not despair, but change your mind, and be saved. For on this account he took dyes that are not easily washed out, but are almost made one with their objects, the scarlet, I mean, and the crimson, and said that he would bring these into the contrary condition, in order that he might hold out good hopes to men. Great, therefore, is the power of repentance, if indeed it makes us as snow, and whitens us as wool. Even if sin, taking hold over a long time, has dyed the soul with base deeds, and [...] is repented of. For the Lord says to those who repent over their own sins: "Stand with bare minds, not condemned, and in your gloom I will write boldness, and depart like the righteous who have been crowned." "For my compassions are upon all my works." Therefore we also say to God: "We are the works of your hands, O Lord. Do not destroy the works of your hands." And it is written also in the book of Job, that "The Lord will save those whose eyes are bowed down." And "You shall be saved by your clean hands." That is, the Lord will save even the sinner who bows down in repentance and much humiliation, as he saved the tax collector also, who because of his lack of boldness struck his breast: "O God, be merciful to me the sinner." Hence the Lord also says to such sinners: "Bow down your souls to me from the depths like the condemned, and you will receive the same crowns as the righteous. Thus he who is bowed down is saved, not through active virtue, nor through the working of divine matters, but through the love of God for mankind, and through the confession made with much humiliation, and contrition of heart, of the one who confesses his own faults. Thus he is saved by the countenance of repentance, and of the deepest compunction. But as for you, be saved by clean hands, that is, by virtues and virtuous deeds. For Scripture is wont to call the virtues hands. Be saved, crying out to God: Guard my soul, O Master Christ, lest the devil despoil me, leading me astray from righteousness, and he names Hades and the darkness of sin. Unceasingly entreat the Savior Christ, saying: "Save me your servant, O Master, who hopes in you, and does not despair of attaining the incorruptible and eternal gifts. And it is written that our wrestling is not against blood and flesh, but against the principalities, against the authorities, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness, and against one's own body, and the various pleasures inflamed within it, and against the passions of the heart, and against the [...] ruinous reasonings that arise from some of these. Therefore even if desires are inflamed, and filthy pleasures, even if the flesh, rousing itself, leaps up, even if every devising and devilish cunning tempts us, we overcome all things through faith, and hope, and endurance, and wakefulness, and prayer, and psalmody, and reading, and humility, and the other exercises, and above all through the invocation of the name of Jesus Christ, the God who loves mankind, and our Savior. But it is impossible for the warring demons to prevail over us, unless we first despise the divine fear through neglect, and grow careless of the things commanded us by the Lord. There are, then, certain demons who slip under the human body, and diminish all the power of the organism, and instill sluggishness and exhaustion into nearly all the limbs, even though no illness or sickness is present; but these too cast the soul into much despondency and a lukewarm disposition; and having freed ourselves from them by a noble reasoning and a sober heart, let us cleave through prayer to the all-seeing God, saying: "Deliver me from my enemies, O God, and redeem me from those who rise up against me, restore my soul from their evildoing." And just as it once befell Samson, through love of pleasure, to fall into the hands of the foreigners, and to suffer those things written about him, so now too this happens altogether, with respect to the soul, to one who is hooked by pleasures. For when, at the assault of the wicked demon, the human reasonings follow after, the divine grace that guards the soul withdraws; and the demons, forgetful of what was proclaimed, dig out from him every chaste thought, and bind him with the hard-to-loose bonds of titillations and of shameful desire, and having brought him down into the treasury of evil, they prepare him for the evil custom, and to serve the devil whole days and whole nights. But if the soul of the one ensnared by sins is able to come to itself, and to groan to God with pain of heart, and to entwine itself through prayer and supplication about the lofty feet of the Master, the Lord says to the angels, just as Elisha did concerning the Shunammite woman: "Let her come to me, and do not push her away." For even if she possesses no virtue and no boldness toward me, yet because her heart is bowed down, and she rolls before me unrelentingly with tears and affliction, I receive her, and I save her. But we have need of the power and grace of the all-powerful and all-wise Spirit, which we ought to seek with our whole heart. For thus the bow of the demons who are powerful in evil will be weakened, which shoots us with the reasonings of pleasure-loving, like certain fiery darts; while those of the faithful who beforehand were weak in mind and had stumbled will afterward be greatly strengthened for the destruction of their adversaries. And this indeed is what Anna, the most faithful mother of Samuel, said in prophecy: "The mighty bow was weakened, and the weak girded themselves with strength." The devil does not know whether the Master of the house, Christ, is within in your mind, or not. When, therefore, he sees you angry, or swearing, or shouting, or speaking shameful and vain things, then the enemy perceives that the God who guards you and cares for you is not within your soul, fencing round the inner and outer parts of your spiritual house. And so then, like a thief entering, the wicked one, as though there were no lamp in your heart, plunders the house of the soul. And not only sinful men, but even those who strive most earnestly to hold fast to every manly virtue, are often abandoned in order to be taught endurance and steadfastness, for the overthrow of pride. For most men have great diseases of disdain, and of conceit, and of self-opinion in their hidden storerooms, and we ourselves too often escape our own notice through lack of self-examination. But the great Physician of our souls knows how to attend to the hidden things. Let us therefore not be vexed, and faint-hearted, and despondent, over the things which the Lord brings upon us fittingly. For many in the hospital of the present age are sick and wounded, and the same table is not set for all, for the physician applies the regimen and the diet to one in one way and to another in another way; "let this sick man," he says, "be comforted more frequently with honey, and let another be disciplined with the bitterness of wormwood, let another partake of the unpleasantness of hellebore," and he goes about each in a different way, and heals him. So God too dispenses to each of us what is profitable. The aim of the demon, who is at once the maker of evil and a painter, is to cast every man into grievous and inconsolable grief, and to draw him away from faith, and hope, and divine love, which are the more authoritative and the strongest things of the piety toward God. On this account he also often prepares some of the faithful, through the bestial movement, to emit seed even in the holy house itself, that he may bring the soul of the sufferer into hopelessness, and despondency, and complete despair. The one, therefore, who campaigns and ranges himself against such a demon, that is, who is fitted against his deceitful aim, making use of endurance and long-suffering, through prayer and unrelenting fasting, and faith, and hope, and perfect love toward God, will war down, and contend down, and altogether conquer this filthy and unclean demon, by the help of our Lord Jesus Christ. And let not only the reading of the Scriptures be present, but also prayers, and psalms, and self-control, wakefulness too, and sleeping on the ground, and stillness, and the work of the hands. "These," it says, "in chariots and horses," that is, in anger, and wrath, and vainglory, and envy and the other passions, the demons arm themselves against us; for these are called the horses and chariots of the opposing power; but we will call upon the name of the Lord our God. For the name of Jesus Christ the Most High God suffices us for our defense against the enemies. We have, then, great need of supplication toward God, lest we fall away from virtue. For that it is possible to fall away from righteousness into sin, and to be transformed from the good into the passion-ridden, the prophecy cries out to God: "We have become as from the beginning, when you did not rule over us, nor was your name called upon us, and we are unclean." But it is granted, even after the thing that has befallen all, to attain again, through repentance, the dispassion and strength that was in the beginning; for everyone who seeks through repentance and supplication will receive, at the fitting time, again the power from on high, and dispassion. Attend to the prophecy: "Arise, O Jerusalem, put on the strength of your arm, arise as in the beginning of days, for pain has fled from you, grief and groaning." And great even among evils is the small good. Even if we are held in remembrance by God for our sins, yet again we shall be loved through repentance. For that the most compassionate Master will receive us again, and gladden us with his love, see what he says to the spiritual Jerusalem, that is, to our soul: "And I will make you an eternal exultation, and a joy for generations of generations." Do not doubt how; for when God wishes to change matters from the worse to the better, at God's command all the opposing things give way, because the Lord will be able easily and readily to refashion humanity, just as he ordered the barkless and dry rod of Aaron to bear fruit more quickly than the plants rooted in the earth; whereas those bear fruit over many years and turns of the seasons, this one brought forth all together, in a single night, leaves, and blossoms, and fruit. It is possible, therefore, for the rocky and stony hearts of men, enjoying spiritual teaching, to be changed into rich and fruitful soil. Let us not, then, delay, but from here already let us turn to God with our whole heart. For if we take thought for our own salvation, we shall greatly benefit no other, but ourselves. For each of us has the height according to nature, if we do good things; but if we sin, we have altogether fallen from the height according to nature, and we have appeared as some sort of creatures cast to the ground. But if we are willing to incline again toward the good, it is quite clear that we are raised up again to our own kindred height. If indeed we are rational, and noble by reason, let us become obedient to the words of God, and of the fleeting things, pleasant for a short while, let us make our flight, but toward the enduring and unshakable goods, which are co-extended with the boundless ages, let us soberly and earnestly hasten ourselves. The manner of life according to nature has been ordained the same for us and for the animals by the Creator. For "Behold," says God to man, "I have given you all the grass of the field; it shall be for food to you and to the beasts." Having therefore received our diet in common with the beasts, and having perverted even this by our devisings toward greater profligacy, how shall we not be judged more irrational than they, seeing that the beasts remain within the bounds of nature, having altered nothing of the things ordained by God, while we, honored with reason, have lived altogether outside the ancient legislation? For what gluttonies of delicacies are there among them? What arts of bakers and cooks fashioning pleasures for the wretched belly? Do they not rather love the ancient frugality, contenting themselves with whatever comes to hand, and using running water for drink, and that perhaps but rarely? On which account they have diminished the pleasures of the belly, neither inflaming their appetites further with any fattening food, nor always knowing the difference of male and female; for one season of the year affords them this sensation, but the rest of the time they are so estranged from one another as to take complete forgetfulness of such an appetite; whereas in men, from the extravagance about foods, the insatiable desire for the pleasures of Aphrodite, sprouting up alongside, has sown maddened appetites. For the passion allows no time to be at rest.

Τί γὰρ προσδόκησας, προαιρούμενος τὴν ἀναχώρησιν καὶ τὴν ἡσυχίαν; Πάντως θλίψεις, καὶ πειρασμοὺς, καὶ χαλεπῶν δαιμόνων τὰς μυρίας προσπτώσεις, καὶ λόγχας, καὶ μηχανάς. Πῶς οὖν δυσανασχετεῖς, κεντούμενος ποικίλως ταῖς τῶν πειρασμῶν λόγχαις, καὶ τοῖς πρησιοειδέσι τροχοῖς τῆς τῶν δαιμόνων ἁμάξης τὴν σαυτοῦ ψυχήν, ἁλῶμενος τμήμασι, καὶ δίκην ἀχύρου κοπτόμενος; Ἀλλ’ ὑπόμεινον εὐχαρίστως καὶ μακροθύμως φρονήματι στιβαρῷ, καὶ ἱκεσίᾳ πυκνῇ, καὶ ἀγρυπνίᾳ συντόνῳ, καὶ ἐγκρατείᾳ· καλὴ προσαραμένων τὸ κρεῖττον, καὶ θεάση τὸ τέλος τῶν ἀγωνιζομένων διὰ τὸν Χριστὸν· σωτηρία γὰρ ὑπάρχει· τὸ δὲ τέλος τῶν δαιμόνων, ἀπώλεια χαλεπή. Τότε γὰρ κεντηθήσονται οἱ ἁλῶοντές σε νῦν, καὶ καταπατήσεις αὐτούς, καὶ ἔσονται σποδὸς ὑπὸ τοὺς πόδας σου, καὶ τὰ ἐξῆς. Ποτὲ μὲν κρύπτονται ἔνδον παρ’ ἡμῖν οἱ δαιμονιώδεις λογισμοί, ποτὲ δὲ διακύπτουσιν ἐπὶ τὰ ἔξω, κατεπείγοντες ἡμᾶς εἰς τὴν διὰ τῶν ἔργων ἁμαρτίαν· ἀλλ’ ὁ Θεὸς παρακληθεὶς παρ’ ἡμῶν διασκορπίζει αὐτούς, καὶ ἐξερεῖ αὐτοὺς ἀφ’ ἡμῶν. Καὶ τότε ἀνανήψαντες ἀπὸ τῆς συγχύσεως συλλέγομεν ἑαυτούς, καὶ ἀναζωπυροῦμεν τῷ πνεύματι, ὡσεὶ ἐκ νεκρῶν ζῶντες, καὶ εἰς τὸ κατὰ φύσιν ὕψος τῆς ἀπαθείας ἀγόμενοι, δοξολογοῦμεν καὶ ὑμνοῦμεν τὸν Κύριον, εἰς ἀγαθὸν καὶ εὐάρεστον τῷ Θεῷ τέλος καταπαύοντες τὸν ἑαυτῶν βίον. Καὶ τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ εἰρημένον τῷ Δαυΐδ· «Καὶ διέκυψαν πάντες οἱ ἐργαζόμενοι ἀνομίαν, ὅπως ἂν ἐξολοθρευθῶσιν εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα.» Τῷ γὰρ νοητῷ ἐλαίῳ τοῦ κρεῖττονος πιανθήσεται ὁ ἀγωνιστὴς ἄνθρωπος, ὁ τὸ πρὶν καταπονηθεὶς καὶ τεταριχευμένος τῇ ἐνοχλήσει τῆς πολυπαθείας. Μηδαμῶς οὖν τοῖς πειρασμοῖς θορυβώμεθα, ἐὰν μὴ παρὰ πόδας γένηται ἡ λύσις τῶν πειρασμῶν· Θεῷ δὲ μᾶλλον παραχωρῶμεν, Κυρίῳ τῆς λύσεως ὄντι. Μετὰ γὰρ πλείonos χάριτος τὰς ἀμοιβάς δίδωσιν, ὅταν ἀναβάλλεται. Διόπερ μάλιστα μένωμεν εὐχαριστοῦντες καὶ ὑμνολογοῦντες, ὅταν βραδύνῃ τὴν αἴτησιν, καὶ πρὸς καιρόν τινα μὴ ἐπινεύσῃ Θεὸς τὸ αἴτημα παρασχεῖν. Αἱ γὰρ προσπίπτουσαι θλίψεις, ταῖς εἰς Θεὸν ἐλπίδας ἐξανθοῦσι. Γέγρα- πται γάρ· « θλίψις ἐπὶ θλίψει, καὶ ἐλπὶς ἐπὶ ἐλπίδι. » Ἔτι γὰρ μικρὸν, καὶ ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἥξει, καὶ οὐ χρονιεῖ. — « Κατὰ τὸ πλῆθος, φησὶ, τῶν ὀδυνῶν τῆς καρδίας μου, αἱ παρακλήσεις σου εὔφρανον τὴν ψυχήν μου. » Πρὸς γὰρ τὸ μέτρον τῶν συμβαινόντων ἡμῖν λυπηρῶν, ἀντίῤῥοπον τὴν παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ ψυχαγωγίαν εὑρίσκομεν. Ὅτε δὲ ψυχὴ φανερῶς καὶ κρυπτῶς διὰ ποικίλων πειρασμῶν θλιβῇ καὶ ταπεινωθῇ, παρηγορεῖται διὰ τῶν νοητῶν ἱερέων, τουτέστι τῶν ἀγγέλων, ἀνακτωμένων αὐτὴν θερμοτάτῃ γλυκυθυμίᾳ δακρύων, καὶ λεπτοῖς νοήμασι, καὶ ἀρετῶν ἰσχύϊ. Βλέπε, ἀγαπητὲ, τί λέγει ὁ Κύριος· « Παρακαλεῖτε, παρακαλεῖτε τὸν λαόν μου, ἱερεῖς, λαλήσατε εἰς τὰ ὦτα Ἰερουσαλὴμ, παρακαλέσατε αὐτὴν, ὅτι ἐπλήσθη ἡ ταπείνωσις αὐτῆς, λέλυται αὐτῆς ἡ ἁμαρτία. » Λοιπὸν ἐπὶ παντὶ συμπτώματι εὐχαριστεῖν δεῖ τῷ πανυψίστῳ Χριστῷ· « Εὐλογήσω γὰρ τὸν Κύριον ἐν παντὶ καιρῷ, » φησὶν ὁ μέγας Δαυΐδ. Τὴν γὰρ ἐν ταῖς θλίψεσιν ἡμῶν εὐχαριστίαν, ἀντὶ πάσης δικαιοσύνης προσδέχεται ὁ Θεός. Ἀναγκαῖον οὖν ἡμᾶς μιμουμένους τὸν Ἀβραὰμ, τὴν τῶν ἀκροθινίων δεκάτην προσφέρειν τῷ Κυρίῳ. Αὕτη δ’ ἂν εἴη τῶν δέκα ἐντολῶν ἡ ὑπέρεχουσα, τουτέστι τὸ ἀγαπῆσαι τὸν Θεὸν ἐξ ὅλης ψυχῆς καὶ δυνάμεως. Πλήρωμα γὰρ νόμου τὴν ἀγάπην ὁρίζει ὁ θεῖος Ἀπόστολος. Δικαιοσύνη δέ ἐστιν, ἡ μέν τις ἐν ἡμῖν τρεφομένη, τοῦ ἴσου διανομῇ· εἰ καὶ μὴ τυγχάνομεν αὐτῆς κατὰ τὴν ἀκρίβειαν, ἀλλὰ γνώμῃ δικαιοτάτῃ ποιoῦντες, οὐκ ἐκπίπτομεν τοῦ σκοποῦ. Ἡ δέ τις οὐρανόθεν ἐπαγομένη παρὰ τοῦ δικαίου κριτοῦ, ἥ τε ἐπανορθωτικὴ καὶ ἀνταποδοτική, ἧς πολὺ τὸ δυσθεώρητον, διὰ τὸ ὕψος τῶν ἐναποκειμένων αὐτῇ δογμάτων, καθὼς φησι καὶ ὁ θεῖος Δαυΐδ· « Ἡ δικαιοσύνη σου ὡς ὄρη, τὰ κρίματά σου ἄβυσσος πολλή. » Εὐξώμεθα οὖν, ἵνα ὁ Δεσπότης τῶν ὅλων Θεὸς ἀνακεράσῃ πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον τὰς ἡμετέρας ψυχὰς καὶ τὰ σώματα. Τῷ γὰρ θείῳ νεύματι καὶ βουλήματι οὐδὲν ἀντιστήσεται. Μὴ οὖν ἀμελῶμεν καὶ καταῤῥαθυμῶμεν τῆς οἰκείας ἐπιμελείας. Κἂν γὰρ πρὸς αὐτὰ κατενεγχθῶμεν τῆς κακίας τὰ βάραθρα, δυνατὸν ἑαυτοὺς ἀνακτήσασθαι, καὶ βελτίους ποιῆσαι, καὶ πᾶσαν ἀποπτύσαι φαυλότητα. Οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ἀκίνητον τὸ κακὸν, ὡς Μανιχαῖοι φασί. Καὶ μὴ νομίσῃς τινὰ μικρὸν διὰ χάριν τοῦ Θεοῦ ὑπάρχειν, τὸ καταγινώσκειν τῶν πεπλημμελημένων, καὶ ἐπὶ τούτων λυπεῖσθαι. Χάρις γὰρ τῷ ὄντι αὕτη μεγίστη ἐστὶ, διὰ τοῦ Δεσποτικοῦ σταυροῦ δεδωρημένη τοῖς γνησίως πιστεύουσιν. Ἐνόησον γὰρ, ὅτι πρῶτον ὑπὸ προφητῶν ἐλεγχόμενοι Ἑβραῖοι, ἐπὶ πράγμασι μιαροῖς καὶ ἀπηγορρευμένοις, οὐδὲ ψιλῷ λόγῳ κατεδέχοντο εἰπεῖν, ὅτι « Ἡμάρτομεν, καὶ σύγγνωθι, » ἀλλὰ τοὐναντίον δισχυρίζοντο, μηδόλως ἐπαιικέναι, μυρία κακὰ δρῶντες ἀνεπαισχύντως. Νυνὶ δὲ τοσοῦτον ἔλαμψεν εἰς ἡμᾶς τὸ φῶς τοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ πανυψίστου Θεοῦ, ὥστε κἂν μηδαμῶς πταίσωμεν κατὰ τὸ φαινόμενον, μόνον δὲ λογισμοῖς πονηροῖς ἐν ἀποκρύφῳ φιλικῇ ὁμιλήσωμεν, καταγινώσκομεν ἑαυτῶν παραυτίκα, ἀλγοῦμέν τε καὶ στενάζομεν, τῆς τε ἰδίας κατηγοροῦμεν ζωῆς, μὴ παρόντος ἐλέγχου, κλαίομέν τε καὶ ὀλοφυρόμεθα, καὶ πικραῖς κολάσεσιν ἑαυτοὺς ὑποβάλλομεν. Καὶ ἡ μνήμη τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ ἡ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀνάβλεψις καὶ σύντονος ἱκεσία, γενήσεταί σοι ἀσώματος θυρεὸς κατ’ ἐχθροῦ μὴ βλεπομένου. Γράφει γὰρ ὁ Ἀπόστολος· «Ἐπὶ πᾶσιν ἀναλάβετε τὸν θυρεὸν τῆς πίστεως, ἐν ᾧ δυνήσεσθε πάντα τὰ βέλη τοῦ πονηροῦ τὰ πεπυρωμένα σβέσαι.» Κἂν τε γὰρ διὰ πονηρᾶς ἐπιθυμίας τοξεύειν ἐπιχειρήσῃ, κἂν τε διὰ φθόνου ἢ μνησικακίας, κἂν διὰ πάσης κακίας τῇ ψυχῇ πολεμῇ, καταγωνισθήσεται πάντως ὁ ἐχθρὸς τῆς ἡμετέρας ζωῆς, καὶ καταργηθήσεται τῇ ἰσχύϊ τῆς πίστεως, καὶ τῇ ἐπικλήσει τοῦ θείου ὀνόματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Ἄγαν φθονοῦσιν οἱ δαίμονες τοῖς τὴν σωφροσύνην ἀσπαζομένοις, καὶ πονηρὰς καὶ ἀπηγορευμένας ἐπιθυμίας ἐμβάλλουσι τοῖς ἀγωνιζομένοις. Ἀλλ’ οὐκ ἀθυμητέον ἐπὶ τούτῳ· μᾶλλον γὰρ νευρούμεθα κατὰ τῶν ἐχθρῶν ἡμῶν διὰ τῆς ἐνοχλήσεως· πλέον γὰρ περὶ τῶν ἐν ἐπαγγελίαις ἀγαθῶν βεβαιούμεθα ἐν τῷ πειράζεσθαι ἡμᾶς ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον ὑπὸ τῶν φιλοσάρκων δαιμόνων. Εἰδότες γὰρ οἱ ἐχθροί, ὅτι μεγάλα ἀγαθὰ ὁ Κύριος ἐπηγγείλατο ἡμῖν, σφόδρα ὀργίζονται καθ’ ἡμῶν, καὶ βασκαίνοντες ἀντιτάσσονται διὰ τῶν αἰσχρῶν καὶ φαυλοτάτων παθῶν, καὶ λίαν ἐκλύουσι τοὺς πρὸς τὴν ἀρετὴν ἐπειγομένους ἀνθρώπους. Νοῦς δὲ ἀποστὰς τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ θεωρίας κατ’ ἔννοιαν, ἢ δαίμων γίνεται, ἢ κτῆνος. Ὁ γὰρ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου νοῦς, ἀναχωρήσας τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ θεωρίας, ἐξ ἀνάγκης ἢ τῷ τῆς ἐπιθυμίας δαίμονι περιπίπτει τῷ ἄγοντι εἰς ἀκολασίαν, ἢ τῷ θυμικῷ πνεύματι ἡττᾶται τῷ πονηρῷ. Καὶ τὴν μὲν ἀκόλαστον ἐπιθυμίαν κτηνώδη, τὸν δὲ θυμόν, κίνησιν δαιμονιώδη ὁ ἔμπειρος πατὴρ ἔλεγεν. Ἐν ᾧ δὲ νοήματι ἢ πράγματι τυγχάνει οὖσα ἡ ψυχή, μόνον ἐν εὐσεβεῖ λογισμῷ μετὰ Θεοῦ ἐστι πάντως. Ἐχρῆν οὖν τὸν θέλοντα διαιτᾶσθαι τῷ πλήθει, τῶν ἀρετῶν, μήτε δόξης ἐφίεσθαι, μήτε πολλοῖς συντυγχάνειν, μήτε προδόοις συνεχέσι κεχρῆσθαι, ἢ λοιδορεῖν τινας, κἂν οἱ λοιδορούμενοι ὦσιν ἄξιοι, μήτε πολλὰ ὁμιλεῖν, κἂν καλὰ ὦσι τὰ λεγόμενα. Ἡ γὰρ ἄμετρος πολυλογία, τοῖς τῆς λύπης καὶ τῆς ὀργῆς δαίμοσι παραδίδωσι. Δεῖ δὲ εἰς τὴν τῶν ἁγίων ἐντολῶν τήρησιν ἀπασχολεῖσθαι, καὶ εἰς βαθεῖαν μνήμην τοῦ Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ τῆς δόξης. «Ὁ γὰρ φυλάσσων, φησίν, ἐντολήν, οὐ γνώσεται ῥῆμα πονηρόν»· τουτέστιν εἰς λόγους πονηροὺς καὶ φαύλους οὐκ ἐκτραπήσεται. Οὐ γὰρ τὸ μὴ πρᾶξαι μόνον τὰ κακά, χαραθρότητα φέρει, ἀλλὰ τό, ἐπιμελείᾳ τῶν καλῶν, κατὰ κράτος ἀθετῆσαι τὰ κακά. Ἑξις μὲν γὰρ ἀπὸ συνηθείας, ἀπὸ δὲ ἕξεως φύσις ἐγγίνεσθαι εἴωθε. Χαλεπὸν δὲ καὶ δύσκολον μετακινῆσαι ἢ μεταβαλεῖν. φύσιν, πλὴν τῷ Θεῷ δυνατόν. Φύσις γὰρ οὐκ ἀντιτάσσεται τῷ Θεῷ. «Ἐὰν γὰρ ὑπάρχωσιν αἱ ἁμαρτίαι ὑμῶν ὡς φοινικοῦν, ὡς χιόνα λευκανῶ· ἐὰν δὲ ὦσιν ὡς κόκκινον, ὡς ἑρεὸν λευκανῶ». Ὅθεν οὐκ ἀπογνωστέον, τῆς γὰρ πονηρᾶς καὶ ψευκτῆς συνηθείας ἰσχυρότερος ὁ κτίσας ἡμᾶς Θεός, ὁ ποιῶν πάντα, καὶ μετασκευάζων, ὡς φησιν ὁ προφήτης. Κἂν γὰρ εἰς ἕξιν ἔλθῃς τῆς κακίας, μὴ ἀπογνῷς, ἀλλὰ μετάγνωθι, καὶ σώθητι. Διὰ γὰρ τοῦτο χρώματα οὐκ ἐξίτηλα, ἀλλὰ σχεδὸν συνουσιωμένα τοῖς ὑποκειμένοις λαβών, τὸ φοινικοῦν, καὶ τὸ κόκκινον λέγω, εἰς τὴν ἐναντίαν ταῦτα κατάστασιν εἴρηκεν ἄξειν, ἵνα χρηστὰς ὑποτείνει τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἐλπίδας. Μεγάλη τοίνυν τῆς μετανοίας ἡ δύναμις, εἴπερ ἡμᾶς ὡς χιόνα ἐργάζεται, καὶ ὡσεὶ ἕριον λευκαίνει. Κἂν προσλαβοῦσα ἡ ἁμαρτία πολλῷ χρόνῳ κατέβαψε τὴν ψυχὴν φαύλοις ἔργοις, καὶ μεταμεμφώμενη. Φησὶ γὰρ ὁ Κύριος πρὸς τοὺς μεταμελουμένους ἐπὶ ταῖς ἰδίαις ἁμαρτίαις· «Στῆτε γυμναῖς γνώμαις οὐ κατάκριτοι, καὶ στυγνότητι γράψω παρρησίαν, καὶ ὡς δίκαιοι οἱ στεφανωθέντες ἀπέλθετε». «Οἱ γὰρ οἰκτιρμοί μου ἐπὶ πάντα τὰ ἔργα μου». Διόπερ καὶ λέγομεν πρὸς τὸν Θεόν· «Ἔργα ἐσμὲν τῶν χειρῶν σου, Κύριε. Μὴ ἀπολέσῃς τὰ ἔργα τῶν χειρῶν σου». Γέγραπται δὲ καὶ ἐν τῇ βίβλῳ τοῦ Ἰώβ, ὅτι «Κύριος κεκυφότας ὀφθαλμοὺς σώσει». Καὶ «Διασώθητι ἐν καθαραῖς χερσί σου». Τουτέστι καὶ τὸν ἁμαρτωλὸν σώσει Κύριος κατακύπτοντα ἐν μετανοίᾳ καὶ ταπεινώσει πολλῇ, ὡς καὶ τὸν τελώνην διὰ τὸ ἀπαρρήσιαστον τὸ στῆθος· «Ὁ Θεός, ἱλάσθητι μοι τῷ ἁμαρτωλῷ». Ὅθεν καὶ ὁ Κύριος πρὸς τοὺς τοιούτους ἁμαρτωλοὺς φησί· «Ἐκ βάθους μοι τὰς ψυχὰς ὑμῶν κατακάμψατε ὡς κατάδικοι, καὶ τοὺς αὐτοὺς στεφάνους τοῖς δικαίοις κομίσεσθε. Οὕτως σώζεται ὁ κεκυφὼς οὐ διὰ πρακτικὴν ἀρετήν, οὐδὲ δι' ἐργασίαν τῶν θείων πραγμάτων, ἀλλὰ διὰ φιλανθρωπίαν Θεοῦ, καὶ δι' ἐξομολόγησιν τὴν μετὰ πολλῆς ταπεινώσεως, καὶ συντριβῆς καρδίας τοῦ τὰ ἴδια πταίσματα ἐξαγορεύοντος. Οὕτω σώζεται τῷ προσώπῳ τῆς μετανοίας, καὶ βαθυτάτης τῆς κατανύξεως. Σὺ δὲ διασώθητι ἐν καθαραῖς χερσί, τουτέστιν ἐν ἀρεταῖς, καὶ ἐναρέτοις πράξεσι. Χεῖρας γὰρ ἡ Γραφὴ τὰς ἀρετὰς ὀνομάζειν εἴωθεν. Διασώθητι, κράζων πρὸς τὸν Θεόν· Φύλαξον τὴν ψυχήν μου, Δέσποτα Χριστέ, μήποτε συλήσῃ με ὁ διάβολος, ἀποπλανήσας τῆς δικαιοσύνης, καὶ ὀνομάζει τὸν ᾅδην, καὶ τὸ σκότος τῆς ἁμαρτίας. Ἀδιαλείπτως ἱκέτευε πρὸς τὸν Σωτῆρα Χριστὸν λέγων· «Σῶσόν με τὸν δοῦλόν σου, Δέσποτα, τὸν ἐλπίζοντα ἐπὶ σέ, καὶ μὴ ἀπογινώσκοντα ἐπιτυχεῖν τῶν ἀφθάρτων, καὶ αἰωνίων δωρεῶν. Γέγραπται δὲ, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ἡμῖν ἡ πάλη πρὸς αἷμα, καὶ σάρκα, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὰς ἀρχάς, πρὸς τὰς ἐξουσίας, καὶ πρὸς τὰ πνευματικὰ τῆς πονηρίας, καὶ πρὸς τὸ σῶμα τὸ ἴδιον, καὶ τὰς ἐν αὐτῷ φλεγμαινούσας διαφόρους ἡδονάς, καὶ πρὸς τὰ τῆς καρδίας πάθη, καὶ πρὸς τοὺς ἀ ἐξ αὐτῶν τινων συμβαίνοντας ὀλεθρίους λογισμούς. Διὸ κἂν ἐπιθυμίαι φλεγμαίνωσι, καὶ ἡδοναὶ ῥυπαραί, κἂν ἡ σὰρξ ἐπεγειρομένη σκιρτᾷ, κἂν πᾶσα ἐπίνοια, καὶ κακοτεχνία διαβολικὴ πειράζει ἡμᾶς, πάντα ὑπερνικῶμεν διὰ πίστεως, καὶ ἐλπίδος, καὶ ὑπομονῆς, καὶ ἀγρυπνίας, καὶ προσευχῆς, καὶ ψαλμῳδίας, καὶ ἀναγνώσεως, καὶ ταπεινοφροσύνης, καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἀγωνισμάτων, καὶ ὑπὲρ πάντα διὰ τῆς ἐπικλήσεως τοῦ ὀνόματος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ φιλανθρώπου θεοῦ καὶ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν. Ἀδύνατον δὲ κατισχῦσαι ἡμῶν πολεμίους δαίμονας, ἐὰν μὴ πρῶτον ἡμεῖς τοῦ θείου φόβου καταφρονήσωμεν δι’ ὀλιγωρισίας, καὶ ἀμελήσωμεν ὑπὸ τοῦ Κυρίου ἐντεταλμένων ἡμῖν. Εἰσὶν οὖν τινες δαίμονες τὸ ἀνθρώπινον ὑποδύντες σῶμα, καὶ πᾶσαν μὲν τοῦ ὀργανοῦ μειοῦντες τὴν δύναμιν, ἀδράνειάν τε, καὶ ἔκλυσιν πᾶσι σχεδὸν ἐνιέντες τοῖς μέλεσι, καίτοι μηδενὸς παρόντος νοσήματος, ἢ ἀῤῥωστίας τινός, ἀλλά γε καὶ πρὸς τούτους εἰς πολλὴν ἀθυμίαν, καὶ χλιαρὸν φρόνημα ἐμβάλλουσι τὴν ψυχήν, οὓς τινας δυσάμενοι γενναίῳ λογισμῷ, καὶ νηφαλίᾳ καρδίᾳ, τῷ παντεπόπτῃ θεῷ δι’ εὐχῆς κολληθῶμεν λέγοντες· «Ἐξελοῦ με ἐκ τῶν ἐχθρῶν μου, ὁ Θεός, καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἐπανασταμένων ἐπ’ ἐμὲ λύτρωσαί με, ἀποκατάστησον τὴν ψυχήν μου ἀπὸ τῆς κακουργίας αὐτῶν. Ὅπερ δὲ τῷ Σαμψὼν συμβέβηκέ ποτε διὰ φιληδονίας, εἰς χεῖρας ἐμπεσεῖν τῶν ἀλλοφύλων, καὶ παθεῖν ἐκεῖνα τὰ γεγραμμένα περὶ αὐτοῦ, τοῦτο καὶ νῦν γίνεται πάντως κατὰ ψυχὴν τῷ ἀγκιστρεωμένῳ ταῖς ἡδοναῖς. Τῇ γὰρ προσβολῇ τοῦ πονηροῦ δαίμονος ἐπακολουθησάντων τῶν λογισμῶν τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων, ἀφίσταται μὲν ἡ φρουροῦσα τὴν ψυχὴν θεία χάρις, ἐπιλαθόμενοι δὲ τοῦ ἀγορευθέντος οἱ δαίμονες, ἐξορύττουσιν αὐτοῦ πᾶν σωφρονικὸν νόημα, δεσμεύουσέ τε τοῖς δυσλύτοις τῶν γαργαλισμῶν, καὶ τῆς αἰσχρᾶς ἐπιθυμίας δεσμοῖς, καὶ εἰς τὴν γάζαν καταγαγόντες τῆς κακίας, παρασκευάζουσιν αὐτὴν τῇ κακῇ συνήθειᾳ, καὶ ἐξυπηρετεῖσθαι τῷ διαβόλῳ τὰς ἡμέρας, καὶ τὰς νύκτας ὅλας. Ἐὰν δὲ δυνηθῇ ἐς ἑαυτὴν ἐλθοῦσα ἡ ψυχὴ τοῦ παγιδευθέντος ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις, καὶ στενάξαι πρὸς τὸν θεὸν μετ’ ὀδύνης καρδίας, καὶ περιπλακῆναι δι’ εὐχῆς, καὶ ἱκεσίας τοῖς ἀερτοῖς τοῦ Δεσπότου ποσί, λέγει ὁ Κύριος τοῖς ἀγγέλοις, ὥσπερ ὁ Ἐλισσαῖος περὶ τῆς Σουμανίτιδος, «Ἄφετε αὐτὴν προσιέναι μοι, καὶ μὴ ἀπώσησθε αὐτήν.» Κἂν γὰρ μηδεμίαν κέκτηται ἀρετήν, καὶ παῤῥησίαν πρός με, ἀλλά γε διὰ τὸ κατιδῶνον εἶναι αὐτῆς τὴν καρδίαν, καὶ ἀνενδότως προσκυλινδεῖσθαί μοι μετὰ δακρύων, καὶ θλίψεως, προσδέχομαι, καὶ σώζω. Χρεία δὲ ἡμῖν τῆς τοῦ παντοδυνάμου, καὶ πανσόφου Πνεύματος, δυνάμεώς τε καὶ χάριτος, ὅπερ ζητεῖν ἐκθύμως ὀφείλομεν. Οὕτω γὰρ ἂν τὸ μὲν τόξον τῶν δυνατῶν τῇ κακίᾳ δαιμόνων ἀσθενήσει, κατατοξεῦον ἡμᾶς τοῖς τῆς ἡδυπαθείας λογισμοῖς, ὥσπερ τισὶ πεπυρωμένοις βέλεσιν, οἱ δὲ τὸ πρὶν ἡσθενηκότες κατὰ διάνοιαν, καὶ ὠκλακότες πιστοί, ὕστερον μεγάλως ἐνδυναμωθήσονται εἰς τὴν τῶν ἐναντίων ἀναίρεσιν. Καὶ τοῦτο ἄρα ἐστίν, ὅπερ προφητεύουσα ἡ πιστοτάτη μήτηρ τοῦ Σαμουὴλ Ἄννα ἔλεγε· «Τόξον δυνατὸν ἠσθένησε, καὶ οἱ ἀσθενοῦντες περιεζώσαντο δύναμιν.» Οὐκ οἶδεν ὁ διάβολος, πότερον ἔσω ἐστὶν ἐν τῇ διανοίᾳ σου ὁ οἰκοδεσπότης Χριστός, ἢ οὔ. Ὅταν οὖν ἴδῃ σε ὀργιζόμενον, ἢ ὀμνύοντα, ἢ κραυγάζοντα, ἢ λαλοῦντα αἰσχρά, καὶ μάταια, τότε νοεῖ ὁ ἐχθρός, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ἐντὸς τῆς ψυχῆς σου ὁ φυλάσσων σε, καὶ φροντίζων Θεός, καὶ περιφράττων τὰ ἐντός, καὶ τὰ ἐκτὸς τῆς νοητῆς οἰκίας σου. Καὶ οὕτω λοιπὸν καθάπερ κλέπτης εἰσελθὼν ὁ πονηρός, ὡς μὴ ὄντος λύχνου ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου, συλᾷ τὸν οἶκον τῆς ψυχῆς. Οὐ μόνον δὲ ἁμαρτωλοὶ ἄνθρωποι, ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ λίαν πάσης ἀνδραγαθίας ἀντέχεσθαι σπεύδοντες, πολλάκις ἐγκαταλιμπάνονται πρὸς τὸ διδαχθῆναι ὑπομονήν, καὶ καρτερίαν, πρὸς ἀνατροπὴν τῆς ὑπερηφανείας. Μεγάλα γὰρ νοσήματα ὑπεροψίας, καὶ τύφου, καὶ οἰήσεως ἐν τοῖς κρυπτοῖς ταμιείοις ἔχοντες τοὺς πολλοὺς τῶν ἀνθρώπων, καὶ ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς πολλάκις λανθάνομεν διὰ τὸ ἀνεπίσκεπτον. Ἀλλ’ ὁ μέγας τῶν ψυχῶν ἡμῶν ἰατρὸς οἶδε πῶς ἐπιμελήσεται τῶν κρυφίων. Μὴ οὖν ἀγανακτῶμεν, καὶ μικροψυχῶμεν, καὶ ἀποδυσπετῶμεν, ἐφ’ οἷς ἡμῖν ἁρμοζόντως ἐπάγει ὁ Κύριος. Πολλοὶ γὰρ ἐν τῷ νοσοκομείῳ τοῦ παρόντος αἰῶνος τυγχάνουσιν ἄρρωστοι, καὶ τραυματικοί, καὶ οὐ πᾶσιν ἡ αὐτὴ συμβάλλεται τράπεζα, ἄλλῳ γὰρ ἄλλως τὴν περιοδίαν, καὶ τὴν δίαιταν προσφέρει ὁ ἰατρός· οὗτος, φησίν, ὁ ἄρρωστος τῷ μέλιτι παρηγορείσθω πυκνότερον, καὶ ἄλλος τῇ πικρίᾳ τοῦ ἀψινθίου παραλυπείσθω, ἕτερος τῆς τοῦ ἐλλεβόρου ἀηδίας μετασχέτω, καὶ ἄλλον ἄλλως μετέρχεται, καὶ θεραπεύει. Οὕτω καὶ ὁ Θεὸς ἑκάστῳ ἡμῶν τὸ συμφέρον οἰκονομεῖ. Σκοπὸς τῷ δημιουργῷ τῆς κακίας ὁμοῦ, καὶ ζωγράφῳ δαίμονι, εἰς βαρεῖαν καὶ ἀπαραμύθητον λύπην ἐμβάλλειν ἕκαστον ἄνθρωπον, καὶ ἀποστῆσαι πίστεως, καὶ ἐλπίδος, καὶ τῆς θείας ἀγάπης, ἅπερ ἐστὶ κυριώτερα, καὶ κράτιστα τῆς εἰς Θεὸν εὐσεβείας. Διὰ τοῦτο καὶ τινας τῶν πιστῶν παρασκευάζει πολλάκις διὰ τῆς κτηνώδους κινήσεως καὶ ἐπ’ αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἁγίου οἴκου ῥέειν γονήν, ὅπως τὴν ψυχὴν τοῦ παθόντος ἐνέγκῃ εἰς ἀπελπισμόν, καὶ ἀθυμίαν, καὶ τελείαν ἀπόγνωσιν. Ὁ τοίνυν τῷ τοιούτῳ δαίμονι ἀντιστρατευόμενος, καὶ ἀντιπαραταττόμενος, δηλονότι πρὸς τὸν δολερὸν σκοπὸν ἁρμοζόμενος, τῇ ὑπομονῇ χρώμενος καὶ τῇ μακροθυμίᾳ, δι’ εὐχῆς καὶ νηστείας ἀνενδότου, καὶ πίστεως, καὶ ἐλπίδος, καὶ τελείας τῆς πρὸς Θεὸν ἀγάπης, καταπολεμήσει, καὶ καταγωνίσεται, καὶ νικήσει πάντως τὸν ῥυπαρὸν τοῦτον καὶ ἀκάθαρτον δαίμονα τῇ βοηθείᾳ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. Οὐ μόνον δὲ ἡ τῶν Γραφῶν ἀνάγνωσις παρέστω, ἀλλὰ καὶ εὐχαί, καὶ ψαλμοί, καὶ ἐγκράτεια, ἀγρυπνία τε, καὶ χαμευνία, καὶ ἡσυχία, καὶ τὸ ἔργον τῶν χειρῶν. «Οὗτοι, φησίν, ἐν ἅρμασι καὶ ἵπποις,» τουτέστιν ἐν ὀργῇ, καὶ μήνιδι, καὶ κενοδοξίᾳ, φθόνῳ τε καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις παθήμασιν ὁπλίζονται καθ’ ἡμῶν οἱ δαίμονες· ταῦτα γὰρ ἵπποι, καὶ ἅρματα λέγονται τῆς ἐναντίας δυνάμεως· ἡμεῖς δὲ ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου Θεοῦ ἡμῶν ἐπικελευσόμεθα. Ἀρκεῖ γὰρ ἡμῖν πρὸς τὴν καθ’ ἐχθρῶν ἄμυναν τὸ ὄνομα Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ πανυψίστου Θεοῦ. Πολλῆς οὖν ἡμῖν πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν χρεία δεήσεως, ἵνα μὴ ἐκπέσωμεν τῆς ἀρετῆς. Ὅτι γὰρ δυνατὸν ἐκ δικαιοσύνης εἰς ἁμαρτίαν μεταπεσεῖν, καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ εἰς τὸ ἐμπαθὲς μεταμορφωθῆναι, κράζει πρὸς Θεὸν ἡ προφητεία· «Ἐγενόμεθα ὡς τὸ ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς, ὅτε οὐκ ἦρξας ἡμῶν, οὐδὲ ἐπεκλήθη τὸ ὄνομά σου ἐφ’ ἡμᾶς, καὶ ὅσμεν ἀκάθαρτοι.» Ἀλλ’ ἐγχωρεῖ καὶ μετὰ τὴν συμβεβηκυῖαν πᾶσιν, πάλιν τυχεῖν διὰ τῆς μετανοίας τῆς ἐν ἀρχῇ ἀπαθείας, καὶ ἰσχύος· πᾶς γὰρ ὁ διὰ μετανοίας, καὶ δεήσεως ζητῶν λήψεται καιρῷ τῷ προσήκοντι πάλιν τὴν ἐξ ὕψους δύναμιν, καὶ ἀπάθειαν. Πρόσχες τῇ προφητείᾳ· «Ἐγείρου, Ἰερουσαλήμ, ἔνδυσαι τὴν ἰσχὺν τοῦ βραχίονός σου, ἐγείρου ὡς ἐν ἀρχῇ ἡμερῶν, διότι ἀπέδρα ἀπὸ σοῦ ὀδύνη, λύπη καὶ στεναγμός.» Μέγα δέ ἐστιν ἐν κακοῖς καὶ τὸ μικρὸν ἀγαθόν. Εἰ καὶ μεμνήμεθα ὑπὸ Θεοῦ διὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ πάλιν ἀγαπηθησόμεθα διὰ τῆς μετανοίας. Ὅτι γὰρ πάλιν προσληψόμεθα ἡμᾶς ὁ πολυεύσπλαγχνος Δεσπότης, καὶ κατευφραίνει τῇ ἀγαπήσει αὐτοῦ, βλέπε τί λέγει τῇ νοητῇ Ἰερουσαλήμ, τουτέστι τῇ ψυχῇ ἡμῶν· «Καὶ θήσομαι σὲ ἀγαλλίαμα αἰώνιον, καὶ εὐφροσύνην γενεαῖς γενεῶν.» Μὴ ἀμφιβάλλῃς πῶς· ὅταν γὰρ βουληθῇ ὁ Θεὸς ἀπὸ τοῦ χείρονος ἐπὶ τὸ κρεῖττον μεταβάλλαι τὰ πράγματα, τῷ ἐπιτάγματι τοῦ Θεοῦ πάντα ἐξίσταται τὰ ἐναντιούμενα, ὅτι εὐκόλως, καὶ ἑτοίμως δυνήσεται Κύριος τὴν ἀνθρωπότητα μετασκευάσαι, ὡς τὴν ἄφλοιον, καὶ ξηρὰν ῥάβδον τοῦ Ἀαρών, ταχύτερον τῶν ἐν γῇ ἐῤῥιζωμένων φυτῶν καρποφορῆσαι προσέταξεν· εἴπερ ἐκεῖνα πολλαῖς χρόνοις, καὶ καιρῶν τροπαῖς καρποφορεῖ, αὕτη δὲ ὑπὸ μίαν νύκτα, πάντα ὁμοῦ φύλλα, καὶ ἄνθη, καὶ καρπὸν προήγαγε. Δυνατὸν οὖν τὰς πετρώδεις, καὶ λιθώδεις καρδίας ἀνθρώπων, διδασκαλίας πνευματικῆς ἀπολαύοντας, μεταβαλεῖν εἰς λιπαράν, καὶ καρποφόρον. Μὴ ἀναβαλώμεθα οὖν, ἀλλ’ ἐντεῦθεν ἤδη πρὸς Θεὸν ἐπιστρέψωμεν ὁλοκάρδιως. Ἐὰν γὰρ τῆς ἑαυτῶν σωτηρίας φροντίσωμεν, οὐχ ἕτερον, ἀλλ’ ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς μεγάλα εὐεργετήσομεν. Ἔχει γὰρ ἕκαστος ἡμῶν τὸ κατὰ φύσιν ὕψος, ἐὰν καλὰ ποιῶμεν· ἐὰν δὲ ἁμαρτάνωμεν, ἐκπεπτώκαμεν πάντως τοῦ κατὰ φύσιν ὕψους, καὶ χαμαιῤῥιφεῖς τινες γενόμενοι ὤφθημεν. Ἐὰν δὲ βουληθῶμεν εἰς τὸ ἀγαθὸν πάλιν νεῦσαι, εὔδηλον ὅτι ἐπὶ τὸ οἰκεῖον καὶ συγγενὲς ὕψος ἀναδιβαζόμεθα. Εἴπερ λογικοὶ ἐσμεν, καὶ εὐγενεῖς τῷ λόγῳ ὑπάρχομεν, πειθήνιοι καταστῶμεν τοῖς τοῦ Θεοῦ λόγοις, καὶ τῶν μὲν ῥευστῶν, καὶ πρὸς ὀλίγον τερπνῶν, τὴν φυγὴν ποιησόμεθα, ἐπὶ δὲ τὸ διαρκῆ, καὶ ἀσάλευτα, καὶ τοῖς ἀπείροις αἰῶσι συμπαρεκτεινόμενα ἀγαθά, νηφαλέως τε καὶ σπουδαίως ἑαυτοὺς κατεπείξωμεν. Ἡ κατὰ φύσιν διαγωγὴ ἡμῖν τε καὶ τοῖς ζῴοις ἡ Α αὐτὴ ὥρισται παρὰ τοῦ Δημιουργοῦ. Ἰδοὺ, γὰρ ἔδωκα ὑμῖν, φησὶν ὁ Θεὸς τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ, πάντα τὸν χόρτον τοῦ ἀγροῦ· ὑμῖν ἔσται εἰς βρῶσιν καὶ τοῖς θηρίοις. Κοινὴν οὖν μετὰ τῶν θηρίων λαβόντες τὴν δίαιταν καὶ ταύτην ταῖς ἐπινοίαις ἐπὶ τὸ ἀσωτό- τερον παρατρέψαντες, πῶς οὐκ ἀλογώτεροι κριθησώ- μεθα ἐκείνων, εἴγε τὰ μὲν θηρία μένει ἐπὶ τῶν ὅρων τῆς φύσεως μηδὲν παρακινήσαντα τῶν παρὰ Θεοῦ τεταγμένων· οἱ δὲ λόγωι τετιμημένοι πάντη τῆς ἀρ- χαίας ἔξωθεν διητήμεθα νομοθεσίας; Ποῖαι γὰρ παρ' ἐκείνοις ὀψοφαγίαι; ποῖαι σιτοποιῶν καὶ μαγείρων τέχναι τῇ ἀθλίᾳ γαστρὶ δημιουργοῦσαι τὰς ἡδονάς; Οὐχὶ δὲ τὴν ἀρχαίαν εὐτέλειαν ἀγαπῶσι πηγα- γοῦντα καὶ τοῖς τυχοῦσιν ἀρκούμενα, καὶ ναματιαίῳ πεχρημένα ποτῷ, καὶ τούτῳ τυχὸν σπανίως· διὸ καὶ Β τὰς ὑπογαστρίους ἡδονὰς μεμείωνται, οὐδεμίᾳ πι- μελίδει τροφῇ τὰς ὀρέξεις προσαναφλεγόμενα, οὐδὲ πάντοτε τὴν ἄῤῥενος καὶ θηλείας εἰδότα διαφοράν· εἷς γὰρ αὐτοῖς καιρὸς τοῦ ἔτους ταύτην παρέχει τὴν αἴσθησιν, τὸν δὲ ἄλλον χρόνον οὕτως ἀλλήλων ἀλλο- τριοῦνται ὡς, λήθην λαβεῖν πάντη τῆς τοιαύτης ὀρέ- ξεως· ἀνθρώποις δὲ ἐκ τῆς περὶ τὰ βρώματα πολυ- τελείας ἡ τῶν ἀφροδισίων ἀκόρεστος ἐπιθυμία πα- ραβλαστάνουσα μανιῶδεις κατέσπειρε τὰς ὀρέξεις. Οὐδένα γὰρ καιρὸν ἠρεμεῖν συγχωροῦσα τὸ πά- θος.