seems to me to be signified by a symbol; namely, that just as a fringe is the beginning of a garment, so is the A “beginning of wisdom, the fear of the Lord” (Eccli. I, 16); this, therefore, one must weave underneath the entire summit of virtue—since summits are in a way deceptive, leading astray those of little mind toward folly—so that, while it is stirred up unceasingly before the eyes of the soul, it may restrain the irrational swelling caused by deeds well done, and may teach the one endowed with virtue that, even if he has woven the garment for himself, nevertheless it is God who has given the wisdom for such a texture, and that it is the Author of knowledge, not the workman, to whom one must attribute the entirety of the power. For in this way will virtue be more illustrious, being acknowledged as the work of God; and its acquisition remains secure for the one who possesses it through the fear of God, and is preserved throughout by religious piety toward our God himself, to whom be glory and power unto the ages. Amen.
OF OUR BLESSED FATHER NILUS: ASCETIC AND MANIFOLD DISCOURSE, CONTAINING SPIRITUAL ADMONITIONS.
CHAPTER 1.
Multiform and, indeed, multifarious is the struggle of the contest set before the faithful in this present life—for those, that is, who are able with insight B to discern things with prudence, to characterize the present appropriately, and to contemplate the future profitably. This course of training requires much attention and care, so that the mind, stretched toward both and extending here and there for the necessary testing and the required contemplation, might be able to understand, and not falter through forgetfulness
A or be attacked by disbelief, or be plotted against by unworthiness. For Adam, in the beginning of creation, having disobeyed, found an opportunity for restoration through the presence of Christ in the flesh; but we, living at the end of the world, if we fall away from such graces, and render the higher and most wonderful dignity of that kingdom useless through the sins of disobedience, shall have no opportunity for restoration, but rather an encounter with Gehenna. For those who, after the second renewal of humanity, persist in the oldness [of sin] while glorying in their wickedness, vainly attempt to follow the institutions of Christ, and their condemnation is just: therefore, we are taught to cast off the oldness and to put on the newness. B For he is praiseworthy, who yesterday was wrathful and irascible, but today is gentle and quiet, and who has conquered the passions and practiced virtue; he is praiseworthy, who yesterday was led by self-will, but today is subject under the obedience of the Gospel, and who sets a rule for every word, and deed, and thought, and is concerned with the acquisition of virtues, and does not abuse his own authority for the transgression of the evangelical virtues, but is concerned for the age to come, and holds the present in contempt, so that by struggling against it and conquering, he may attain praise in the age to come, and be renewed by that newness day by day through abstinence from evil things and the display of virtues; for this is the casting off and the putting on. What then is the cause of death, and what is the mode of life? It is the sin of disobedience, and the righteousness of obedience; for when we sin, we become liable for disobedience, C and therefore there is need of the practice of resistance and of ascetic care, and only with difficulty will anyone evade the incursions of sinful passions.
CHAPTER II
For this reason, the Lord leaves the commandments to the ancients, but to the newer men He enjoins the evangelical teachings, that they should not hate, nor be angry, nor covet, nor render evil for evil, but be guided towards perfection by the arguments of love; yet the commandments of the Lord are not heavy, but the sinful powers opposed to our members, which are not innate to our nature but are superadded, make them laborious for anyone who attends to their observance. D And therefore the Lord commands to root out and plant, and to dig up and rebuild. But such work requires much prudence, and attention, and care, since our habitual way of life offers no small obstacle to such security. Therefore, there is need of courage and struggle, and of athletic, constant endurance in the intellect, which must be broad and prepared to fight against every incursion, and never yielding. But you, O believer, do not be ignorant of your own dignity, nor be dragged along by vanity.
but A oppose shadow to the shadowy life, and so pass through life itself as if it were a passing shadow. Act so that, as a known citizen of the future age, you now embrace its friendship, so that when you arrive there, you may not be unrecognized as a stranger, but be received as a friend and honored as a citizen. For the state of this present life passes away because of its changeableness; but then the things to the right shall be on the right, and those to the left on the left, divided by an immense chasm. And then the faith of the just shall shine forth, and charity shall be exalted, and constancy shall be praised and crowned; and fortitude shall be a source of admiration, inasmuch as it has adorned with crowns the victors who, devoting themselves to laborious virtues and discipline, have fought excellently and completed the good race. B
CHAPTER III.
For this is the lawful struggle and evangelical arrangement, when the Lord says: "He who loves father or mother, or son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me." And therefore the Lord again said to those who have kept his commandments: "Come, you blessed of my Father; for I hungered for righteousness, and I found it among you; and I thirsted for charity, and you caused it to abound; I wished to clothe you, and you showed yourselves worthy; I was lurking in prison, and you inquired and were able to find me; I appeared in infirmity and humiliation, and you acknowledged the sovereignty. C Come, you blessed of my Father, you who have come from a far land, who have passed through many robbers and escaped unharmed from their snares, because you used the more frequent arrows of the virtues, by which at length you attained victory. Come, you blessed of my Father, because you were watchful, and you subjected your free will to the observance of the angelic legislation, preferring this subjection to free will. Come, you blessed of my Father, because I beheld you as roses among thorns, which by the fervor of meditation appeared as a pyre, and as lilies I beheld you shining with the purity of conscience. Come, you blessed of my Father, because you were like the D adamant stone, which is neither burned in fire, nor steeped in water; and you have become like asbestos, which indeed receives fire but is not consumed by the flame, but rather displays a substance more splendid and unblemished; so also you, when you had passed through the arrows of the wicked one, were not inflamed, but rather abounded in justice, and, giving forth a good odor, you accumulated more abundant virtues. You also did not love the world, but burned instead with the desire for the kingdom of heaven. Come, be filled with the abundance of my house, and rejoice in the torrent of delightful pleasure.
CAPUT IV.
Come, you blessed of my Father, because you have built your house upon the rock, and when the rivers,
and when the rivers and winds and rains came upon you, you remained unshaken, and did not give your feet over to wavering, but set them firmly upon the rock, and proved yourselves approved in the faith. “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” A But you were not determined beforehand to be heirs of the kingdom; otherwise, neither would you be praiseworthy, nor would the calling of Him who calls be just. Rather, the struggles were preordained, and the virtues of those who would advance through the struggles were foreseen, and all were called to pass through the struggles, but not all obeyed. You, however, who did obey, and shook off the crime of disobedience, and obtained the praise for obedience, and by displaying those virtues, were held worthy of the kingdom. Blessed are those who are held worthy of this testimony, in the sight of angels and all men; for because they feared God exceedingly, and kept His commandments perfectly, and abounded in righteousness, with the measure they measured, it has been measured back to them in like manner by the Lord. Let us therefore put an end to our discourse here, giving thanks and blessing the Lord for all His good gifts, which His philanthropy bestows upon us, for all that we are unworthy. To Him be glory and honor unto the ages. Amen. B