Callistus and Ignatius Xanthopoulos, Monks

METHOD AND MOST ACCURATE RULE OF CALLISTUS AND IGNATIUS XANTHOPULUS, THE MONKS, WITH GOD

Also containing the testimonies of the saints, concerning those who have chosen to live peacefully and monastically; regarding their instruction, their manner of life, and their regimen; and how many and how great are the good things that stillness provides to those who approach it with understanding.

The present treatise of the discourse is divided into one hundred chapters. The preface of the discourse, which also bears the number of the first chapter, is concerning the divine and supernatural gift and grace ^A existing in the faithful through the Holy Spirit.

1. We ought, indeed, according to the divine oracles, to be taught by God, inasmuch as we bear about the new law ineffably inscribed upon our hearts, shining more clearly than a torch, and are steered by the good and most upright Spirit, as children and heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ, to live in a manner imitating the angels, and to be in no need at all of one to teach us, "Know the Lord." ^B But now, our turning away from good from our earliest youth, and our inclination toward evil; furthermore, the deception of the dreadful Belial and the relentless tyranny that he exercises against us, have disposed us to run far from the saving and god-working commandments, and to rush toward soul-destroying precipices. And, what is more miserable, he provokes us both to think and to act against these commandments; whence also, according to the divine utterance, "There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God; for all have turned aside, together we have become unprofitable," and for this reason we have become flesh, deprived of the light and of divine grace, and ^C we are in need of mutual excitation and aid toward the good.

That this argument was explained out of the inquiry of a certain brother, and in accordance with his desire, and for the observance of the Fathers' precepts.

^B2. Since, however, you, out of longing, in accordance with the Lord's word, have often demanded of us—unworthy as we are—a discourse and a written rule for the sake of your own profit, and perhaps also for that of others, as you yourself say, that you might search the divine and life-bestowing Scriptures and be instructed securely; and since, if not before, at any rate now, by the help of God, we have judged it necessary to fulfill your praiseworthy and heartfelt desire—forgetting our own innate indolence for the sake of charity and your profit, but rather admiring your ardor for good things and your persistent love of study, spiritual and most beloved son, and before all these things, fearing the judgment of God which has dreadfully threatened the one who hides his talent; and fulfilling also the paternal command which our Fathers and spiritual teachers laid upon us, that we should trust and hand down to other friends of God those things which they taught us. May God, therefore, the Father of charity and the unfailing Bestower of all good things, grant to us, who are so slow and endowed with such a thin voice, a timely discourse upon the opening of our mouth—He who often inspired voices into irrational animals—for the profit of the hearers; and may He grant to you, and to all who come upon these things, according to your desire, an ear to hear them wisely and properly and to fulfill them faithfully according to His mind; because without Him, as it is written, we can do nothing useful or saving, and because "unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it have labored in vain." And these things by this manner.

That the end precedes every matter; therefore, the end of the present treatise is to learn what the foundation is.

3. Since the end precedes every matter; and the purpose of both—ours, indeed, to explain to you what tends to spiritual growth; and yours, to live sincerely according to what is said—it behooves us, before anything else, to examine what sort of perfection of the house of Christ we are intending by laying a useful foundation; then, as the occasion invites us, or rather as we are abundantly favored by aid from above, we may be enabled to place a roof worthy of the architecture of the Spirit.

That the beginning of every life according to God consists in acting according to the commandments of the Savior; but the end is the return to the perfect grace of the most holy and life-giving Spirit, given to us from the beginning through divine baptism.

4. The beginning, therefore, of every life according to God, to grasp it in summary, is that we hasten

^A in every way and with all our strength to conduct our lives according to the ordinance of all the deifying commandments of the Savior. And the end is that, through the keeping of these, we may return to that perfect and spiritual transformation and conformation of grace, given to us from above and from the very beginning through the holy pool—or, if it pleases you to call this gift such—stripping off the old Adam along with his deeds and desires, and putting on the new and spiritual One, who is the Lord Jesus Christ, as the most divine Paul says: "My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ is formed in you," and, "As many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ."

On the question of what grace is, and how we might attain it; and what things cloud it, and what things, in turn, cleanse it again.

5. But as to what grace is, and how we might attain it, and which things cloud it and which in turn cleanse it, he who is more radiant than any gold in soul and tongue shall declare to you, saying thus in regard to that which is written: "What is intended by the words, 'beholding the glory of the Lord, we are transformed into the same image'?" "This was shown more clearly when the gifts of the Spirit were working through signs, yet even now it is not difficult for one who has faithful eyes to perceive it. For, as soon as we are baptized, our soul shines brighter than the sun, being cleansed by the Spirit, and we not only look upon the glory of God, but we also receive from thence a certain radiance. ^C For just as pure silver, if it be placed before the rays of the sun, sends forth rays itself, not only from its own nature, but also from the solar brilliance; so also the soul, being cleansed and having become brighter than any silver, receives a ray from the glory of the Spirit into the glory which is being generated, and such as is fitting to be received from the Lord the Spirit." And a little further on: "Do you wish that I manifest this to you more vividly from the apostles as well? Consider Paul, whose garments performed works; Peter, whose shadows possessed power. For they would not have had such power in their garments and shadows if they did not bear the image of the King, and if their splendors were not inaccessible. For the garments of a king are terrible even to robbers. Do you wish to see this radiance also shining through the body? 'Looking steadfastly,' it says, 'at the face of Stephen, they saw it as the face of an angel.' But this is nothing compared to the glory that shines within. For that which Moses once had upon his face, these men carried within their soul; ^D nay, indeed, something much greater. For that of Moses was sensory, but this is incorporeal. And just as flaming colors flowing from radiant bodies onto those things which are near communicate their own brilliance to them, so indeed does it befall the faithful; and because of this, those who experience this are released from the earth and dream of the things that are in heaven, alas! For it is beautiful even to sigh with longing, because, while enjoying such nobility, we do not...

^A even know what is spoken of, because we quickly destroy these things, and are beside ourselves for the sake of sensible things. "For this glory, which is unassailable and fearsome, remains in us for a day or two, but thereafter we extinguish it, bringing upon ourselves the winter of the concerns of this life, and by the thickness of the clouds, we repel the rays." And again elsewhere: "The bodies of those who have pleased God will be clothed in such glory that it cannot be seen even by these eyes." And God has prepared for us certain signs and faint traces of these things, both in the Old Testament and in the New: for there, the face of Moses shone at that time with such glory that it was inaccessible to the eyes of the Israelites. But in the New, the face of Christ shone forth with much more than this. Have you heard the words of the Spirit? Have you understood the power of the mystery? Have you learned what kind of offspring the perfect spiritual formation within us is, which proceeds from the holy font? What, then, will be the yields of the fruits, what the fullness, what the rewards? And how is it in our power to both increase and diminish—that is, to brighten and to dim—this supernatural grace in the present life? From this arise the storm of the affairs of this life and the moonless night of ^B passions born from them, which, like a winter storm or a wild torrent, rush upon us, and, submerging the soul, do not allow it to breathe or look toward that truly beautiful and blessed One, for the sake of whom it was made, but rather, darkening it entirely with the surge and smoke of pleasures, having become powerful and bitter, they submerge it. Just as, therefore, the things contrary to these—that is, those born through the deifying commandments—are beneficial and saving for those who walk not according to the flesh but according to the spirit ("For walk in the Spirit," he says, "and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh" [Gal. 5:16]), and, like a ladder, lead to that crowning point and the highest of the steps, which is love, which is God.

That in holy baptism we receive the divine grace as a gift through it, but having obscured it by passions, we cleanse it again by the fulfillment of the commandments.

6. But while we originally receive in the divine womb—that is, in the holy font—the entire [gift], perfect divine grace as a gift, if, however, we later, by the misuse of temporal things and by the care for the affairs of this life and by the mist of the passions, have, as we ought not to have, obscured it, it is ^D permitted to us, even so, through repentance and the fulfillment of the deifying commandments, to recover such supernatural brightness and to regain it, and to behold its manifestation most clearly. Yet the appearance of this is revealed according to the measure and strength of each person's faith, and before these, by the help and good pleasure of the Lord Jesus Christ, as the holy Mark says: "Christ, who is perfect God, has bestowed on the baptized the perfect grace of the Holy Spirit, in no...

wise receiving an addition from us, but being revealed and manifested to us according to the proportion of our working of the commandments, and providing for us an increase of faith, until we all attain to the unity of the faith, to the measure of the age of the fullness of Christ." If, therefore, we make any addition, having been regenerated in Him, that too is from Him, and was hidden within us from Him. ^B

That he who labors according to God must fulfill all His commandments, but must attribute the greatest part of his work to the first and, as it were, general ones

7. Since, therefore, the beginning and root of this entire undertaking, as we have said, is to live according to the saving commandments, and the end and fruit is to return to the perfect grace of the Spirit which was first bestowed upon us by baptism—which exists in us (for the gifts of God, it is said, are without repentance), but was buried by the passions, and is revealed through the working of the divine commandments—it behooves us, by the fulfillment of all such commandments as far as we are able, to hasten by every means to cleanse that manifestation of the Spirit which is in us, and to behold it most clearly. "For Your law, O Lord," says the blessed David, "is a lamp to my feet and a light to my paths, and the commandment of the Lord is bright, enlightening the eyes," and "I was directed to all Your commandments." And he who reclined upon the breast of Christ says: "He who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him; and His commandments are not grievous." And the Lord Himself says: "He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him." And, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him." And, "He who does not love Me does not keep My words." ^C We ought, therefore, to apply the greatest part of our work to the first and more general of these commandments, and in a way to those which are as it were the mothers of the rest; for thus, with God, we may unerringly attain the proposed goal, namely, the beautiful beginning, and the end of our desire, which is the manifestation of the Spirit. ^D

That the beginning of every God-pleasing work is the invocation with faith of the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with it, the peace and love that spring from it

8. The beginning, however, of every God-pleasing work is the invocation with faith of the saving name of our Lord Jesus Christ, because He Himself declared: "Without Me you can do nothing." And with it, peace. For, it is said, one ought to pray "without anger and disputing." And love; because God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. This peace and love not only make prayer acceptable, but from prayer itself [they are renewed].

born and rise, like twin divine rays, and they grow and are perfected. ^A

*That through each of these, and simultaneously through all three, the store of all good things is lavished upon us.*

9. From these, or rather through each of them, and simultaneously through all three, the store of all good things is lavished and overflows upon us. For by the invocation of the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in faith, we firmly hope to receive mercy and true life hidden in Him; as if from another ever-flowing divine spring, it pours these forth abundantly into our breasts, when the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is purely invoked. ^B By her, however, who possesses the whole mind, the peace, we are deemed worthy to be united with God and with other men. By charity, truly, whose glory is incomparable, since it is the end and sum of the law and the prophets, and since God Himself is named charity, we are wholly united with God, our sins being abolished by the justice of God, and that grace which makes us sons wonderfully working in us through charity. For charity, he says, will cover a multitude of sins; and charity bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things; charity never fails.

*That our Lord Jesus Christ also, at the time of His saving passion, left these to His disciples as a kind of final commandment and divine testament, and likewise after the resurrection.* ^C

10. Whence also our all-good and most sweet Lord Jesus Christ, both when He arrived at His voluntary passion for our sake, and when, after the resurrection, He was seen by the apostles; and indeed also when He was about to return to Him who is Father to Him by nature and to us by grace—as a true and most loving father—he left all these to all His own as a kind of final command, and gentle consolations, and most sweet and solid, so to speak, pledges; or rather, as an indelible divine testament. And indeed, entering upon His saving passion, He said to His disciples: "Whatever you ask the Father in my name, I will do." And, "Amen, amen, I say to you, that whatever you ask the Father in my name, He will give you. ^D Hitherto you have asked nothing in my name; ask, and you shall receive, that your joy may be full." And, "On that day you will ask in my name." And again, after His resurrection, He said: "And these signs shall follow those who have believed: in my name they shall cast out demons, they shall speak in new tongues," and so forth. Consistent with these, he who reclined upon His breast also declares: "Many other signs therefore Jesus did in the sight of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that..."

believing you may have life in His name.” ^A And the inspired Paul says, “In the name of Jesus every knee shall bow,” and so forth. And therefore, in the Acts of the Apostles it is written thus: “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said: ‘Be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands before you whole.’” And after a few words: “And there is no salvation in any other; for there is no other name under heaven given among men, by which we must be saved.” And again, the Savior says, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” And again, as to what the God-man Lord said to His apostles before the crucifixion: “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. These things I speak to you, that in Me you may have peace.” And, “This is My commandment, that you love one another.” And, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another; as the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.” And again, after the resurrection, He appears at various times and frequently gives peace, manifesting Himself to His own and saying, “Peace to you.” ^B And to Peter, to whom He entrusted the governance of the disciples, He shows that the care of the flock is a sort of requital for his fiery love for the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, saying in this way for the third time, “If you love Me, Peter, more than these, feed My sheep.” One might perhaps say, and not without reason, that through these three great things which we have shown, three other excellent things are born to us—namely, the purification of the soul, illumination, and perfection.

That all virtues are woven together in these three.

11. But if anyone wishes to examine accurately, he will clearly find that in this triple-braided and, so to speak, unbroken cord, all the abundant and God-fashioned purple of the virtues is suspended and woven. For the life according to God is as a precious chain, and a rope variegated with gold, connecting one virtue to another and reducing all to a consolidated unity. ^C Indeed, many things bring about this one work—namely, the deification of the man who sincerely lives a life in accordance with the virtues—so that, bound by such knots and ties, through faith, if he wills, and hope, and humility, he may deserve to be named by the beloved and saving name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and attain peace and charity. This is truly the thrice-perfect tree, the planting of God, bearing the fruit of life; in which, once grafted, man in this life, having become a participant in it in a manner befitting him, does not reap death, as the first-formed one did, but eternal life and a

^A life that does not perish. That the gift and arrival of the Holy Spirit to the faithful, through God the Father, is granted in Christ Jesus and in His holy name. 12. Indeed, the gift and arrival of the Holy Spirit to the faithful, through God the Father, is granted in Christ Jesus and in His holy name, as the most divine and loving Lord Jesus Christ Himself says to the apostles: "It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Paraclete will not come to you." And, "But when the Paraclete comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father." And again: "But the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name." That it has rightly been ordained by our holy Fathers, that we should pray to our Lord ^B Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit dwelling in them, and seek mercy from Him. 13. For this reason, then, our renowned guides and teachers, quite wisely and with the Holy Spirit dwelling in them, teach us that before every other good work and exercise—especially if we wish to dedicate ourselves to the arena of deifying stillness, to be set apart for God, to be severed from the world, and to live in stillness according to reason—we must pray in the Lord and seek mercy from Him without wavering, and hold His most holy and sweet name as an unceasing work and meditation. And we must carry this in our heart, and in our mind, and on our lips without interruption, and in Him and with Him breathe, and live, and sleep, and keep watch, and move, and eat, and drink, and, so to speak, strive to do all things in like manner. For just as when He is absent, every evil rushes in—or rather, nothing of what is useful is present to us—so when He is present within us, every contrary thing is driven away, and above all, nothing of the good is lacking to us, nor is anything opposed to our improvement; just as our Lord Himself declares: "He who abides in me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for without me you can do nothing." Therefore, having invoked in faith this work and name—which is to be feared and revered by every creature, and which is above every work and ^C name—and having altogether unfurled the sails of this present discourse upon it, we thus begin to speak and to proceed further. That he who wishes to walk without stumbling must, before all else, choose the Lord's path of stillness along with total renunciation and perfect obedience. 14. In the name of the great God our Savior Jesus Christ, who said: "I am the light, the life, and the truth, and the way, and the door to God the Father, and through me if anyone enters, he shall be saved," and ^D

^A he shall enter and go out, and he shall find pasture, that is to say, salvation. Apply your mind to what we are saying, and we sincerely offer you counsel: above all, choose for yourself, in accordance with the universal divine declaration, ^A renunciation and unconditional, perfect submission; that is, strive to seek and find a guide and teacher who does not err. And that which is unerring will be found if he presents the testimony of the holy Scriptures in the things he says, if he has the Holy Spirit within himself, leading a life that conforms to his actions; if he is lofty in contemplation but humble in mindset, and in all other ways good, and such a one as the divine words define a teacher according to Christ to be. But once you have found him, remain attached to him, as a most loving son to a true father, with both body and spirit; remain whole ^B by walking according to his commandments, looking toward him as if toward Christ himself, and not toward a man, casting all disbelief and doubt far from you; and indeed, even your own mindset and your own appetites together with your will; thus, simply and without curiosity, follow the footsteps of the teacher as if you possessed some mirror, for clear conviction ^B and supreme obedience, regarding your own conscience. And if at any time the devil, who hates virtue, should sow anything contrary into your mind, jump away from it as you would from fornication and fire, and wisely talk back to the deceiving tempter, saying that the one being led does not direct the one leading, but the one leading directs the one being led; and "I do not sit in judgment of my master, nor has my master accepted my judgment; nor am I his judge, but he has been constituted as my judge," as he who takes his name from the *Ladder* says, and reply with other things of this sort.

For there is nothing, without a doubt, more certain by such direction—that is, by submission—to one who has chosen to, for him to tear up the handwritings of his own transgressions ^C and be inscribed in the divine record of those who are saved. For if, according to the blessed Paul, the Son of God and our God, the Lord Jesus, became as we are for our sake, and while wisely managing the Father's good pleasure, he was seen travelling such a path, through which he was deemed worthy of the paternal proclamation, even for the sake of his good pleasure according to man? "For he humbled himself," he says, "becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also highly exalted him, and gave him a name," and the rest. ^D Who then will hope with pride, not to say foolishly, that he will attain the glory of the Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ and the paternal rewards, if he does not choose to walk the same path as our leader and teacher, Jesus Christ? For it is necessary for the disciple, if he wishes to become like the teacher, to gaze incessantly, as if upon an exemplar and most beautiful archetype, with the whole force of his soul, unswervingly, toward the life and conduct of his tutor; and daily to attempt to imitate him. Furthermore, concerning our Lord Jesus Christ himself, it is written: "And he was subject to his father and mother." And the Savior himself says:

"I came not to be ministered unto, but to minister."» ^A And there is another who wishes to live in a different way, that is, self-pleasingly and of his own authority, and without a guide. Does such a man think that he is walking in the manner of a life according to God? By no means; not at all; he is like one leaping over cliffs. And the one of the Ladder says: "Just as he who has no guide easily wanders on the road, so also he who walks the monastic path by his own authority easily perishes, even if he understands all the wisdom of the world." ^B For this reason, many, not to say all, who are not subject and do not walk with counsel, though they labor and sweat greatly while dreaming, truly reap the very least. But some, alas, instead of grain, gather tares, as they walk, according to what has been said, in self-will and a self-pleasing mindset, than which there is nothing worse. And witness to this is the author of the Ladder, who writes thus: "As many of you as have undertaken to strip for the arena of mental confession; as many of you as wish to place the yoke of Christ upon your own necks; as many of you as are eager to lay your own burdens upon the neck of another; as many of you as are hastening voluntarily to write your own lives, and wish to have freedom rendered to you in return for them; as many of you as are being lifted up by the hands of others and are swimming across this great sea; know that you have chosen to walk a short and rough path, having only the error in itself; and this is called 'self-will' (idiorrhythmia). For he who has renounced this entirely, before he even walks, has reached the goods that seem spiritual and pleasing to God. For obedience is to distrust oneself in all good things until the end of life." ^C When you, therefore, having studied these things with understanding and desiring to practice the good portion and the inalienable peace of the heaven-bound stillness, follow the laws which have been well-proclaimed, as has been shown to you, and first eagerly embrace obedience, then in this way, peace. For just as practice is a step toward contemplation, so is obedience to stillness. And do not wish to move the boundaries, as it is written, which the Fathers have set. Woe to the solitary! For in this way, by laying a beautiful foundation, as time advances, you will place a most glorious roof upon the architecture of the Spirit. For just as he whose beginning is, as it has been said, without glory, will have his whole work rejected, so conversely, he whose beginning is glorious, his whole work will be acceptable and well-arranged, even if its opposite ^D sometimes happens; and this, however, happens to come about through our own purpose and will.

What are the signs of true subjection, by which he who is instructed might be truly subject.

15. But since the discourse concerning such a way of life is extensive and difficult to navigate, from which it follows that those who undergo it do so in different ways, it is fitting also to indicate a few things about it, as it were, as signs, which...

^A you may keep as an infallible rule and balance, in order to live most purely. And this we say: He who is truly subject must necessarily pursue these five virtues. First, faith, that is to say, to have pure and sincere faith in him by whom he is directed, to such a degree that he believes that Christ himself is observing him and that he is obeying Him, as the Lord Jesus says: "He that heareth you, heareth me; and he that despiseth you, despiseth me; and he that despiseth me, despiseth him that sent me." And whatsoever is not of faith, according to him who derives his name from the Ladder, is sin. Second, truth: it is necessary for him to be truthful both in deed and word, and in the accurate confession of his thoughts. "For the beginning of thy words is truth," as it is written, "and the Lord requireth truth." And Christ also says: "I am the truth"; and indeed He is called Truth itself. Third, not to follow one’s own will. For it is a loss, he says, for one who is subject, to do his own will, but he must always willingly submit it, and not allow himself to be compelled by his own Father. Fourth, not to contradict nor to contend at all, since contradiction and contention are not characteristics of the pious. And the most holy Paul writes: "But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God." If then it is so simply and commonly forbidden to all Christians, by much more so to monks, and this according to the Lord, to whom they have promised to be accurately subject. Contradiction, however, and emulation have their origin in a mind teeming with pride and unbelief, as it has been said: A proud monk contradicts vehemently; ^B just as the opposite, that is to say, not to contradict and not to contend, proceeds from a faithful and humble disposition. And fifth, he must guard this virtue, namely to have an accurate and sincere confession toward his superior, just as we did at our tonsure, as if we were standing before the fearful judgment seat of Christ, in the sight of God and the holy angels, where we gave our promise to hold fast to the beginning and the end, along with our other promises and covenants made to the Lord, and to confess the secrets of our heart. It has been said also by the most holy David: "I said, I will confess against myself my iniquity to the Lord, and thou hast forgiven," etc. And by the same Author of the Ladder: "Stripes, if they triumph, will not advance to the worse, but shall be healed."

Whoever wisely and ardently guards this fivefold number of virtues which we have shown, let him know without doubt that he will attain, as if by a down payment, the blessedness of the righteous. And these indeed are the properties of this magnificent subjection, and are as it were the root and the foundation. But hear also what the branches are, and the fruit, and the top.

From subjection, the same Author of the Ladder says again, comes humility; from humility, discretion; from discretion, perspicacity; and from this, foresight; ^C which is solely the work of God, and to those who successfully act according to God, a gift

bestowed by Him, excellent and supernatural. ^A Furthermore, let this also be known to you: that according to the measure of your submission, humility will sprout within you; and again, according to the measure of humility, likewise discretion; and so on for the rest of the virtues. And strive with all your might to run the course of obedience without stumbling. For in this way, you will advance without danger to the things that lie before you. But if you should limp by some fault in the pursuit of submission, know that you will not successfully finish the remaining race of the course of the, as we say, life according to Christ; nor will you be crowned with the wreath given to the victors. Therefore, take obedience to be your own and what we have called its properties, so that it may show you the way, just as those who sail are guided by the stars, so that they do not wander across the seas; so that, always looking to it, you may be able to cross the great ocean of the virtues and thus reach the tranquil harbor of detachment. But if some storm and tossing should come upon you, this too will happen because of your ^B disobedience. For the true obedient one, according to the Fathers, not even the devil himself is able to harm. But that we may show you in a few words how sublime and honorable true obedience is, let us record one more oracle of a holy Father.

Therefore, the most radiant light of the life according to Christ, and the new Beseleel of the heavenly Ladder, says again: “The Fathers define armor to be psalmody; a wall, prayer; but a bath, blameless tears; yet they judge blessed obedience to be a confession, without which no one among those subject to the passions will see the Lord.” These things are indeed sufficient, as it seems to us, for the most evident declaration and praise of the inimitable imitation of thrice-blessed obedience. We can still learn and discern this by experience ^C if we look back to the things before, and inquire what was the cause of our destruction and mortality, since we were not created such from the beginning; and what is the cause of our renewal and immortality. We find, then, that the cause of the former, that is, of corruption, was the first Adam’s self-reliance, his self-will, and his disobedience; from which arose the rejection and transgression of the divine commandment. But of the latter, that is, of incorruption, the author was the second Adam, even God and our Savior Jesus Christ, through His subjection to the Father, from which came the observance of His commandment. “For I,” says the Savior, “have not spoken of myself; but the Father who sent me, He gave me a commandment, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know ^D that His commandment is eternal life. Therefore, what I speak, as the Father has said to me, so I speak.” As, therefore, in the forefather and those who act according to him, self-conceit is the root and mother of all evils; so in the new God-man Jesus Christ, and in those who strive to live according to Him, the beginning, and fountain, and foundation of all good things, is humility. Such a state and order, and which is above us, we see that of the divine Angels observing; this, indeed, the earthly

Church, and those of us who turn aside from such regulations, and wishing—not to speak arrogantly—to live differently, we remember and believe that they are severed from God, and from that brilliant heavenly inheritance and the catholic Church, and are cast out and sent down into the darkness and the fire of Gehenna. And we say that those who behaved wickedly toward the East, and who in the times of the heretics spoke vain things, suffered this, as the divinely written oracles have shown, who, because of their self-sufficiency and pride, were miserably cast out from the divine glory, as it is said, and joy, and the holy assembly. ^B It has also been said by one of the wise that "contraries are the cures for contraries." Since, therefore, the cause of all gloomy things is disobedience and arrogance, while that of joyful things is obedience and contrition, it is necessary that he who desires to live securely should subject himself to a prudent Father, versed in the way, who, by experience of time and knowledge of divine things, possesses authority, and whose life is adorned with a garland of virtues; and he should hear his precepts and counsels as the voice and counsel of God. "For safety is in much counsel," he says. And, "A man without counsel is an enemy to himself." And if it happened that some of the Fathers, even without this exercise of subjection, attained divine peace and that perfection which is according to God, this was by divine revelation and happened rarely. It is also written that the rare is not the law of the Church, just as neither does one swallow make spring. But do you, believing ^C true obedience to be the preliminary introduction to the most excellent tranquility, leave aside those things which once happened by divine dispensation, and walk according to those things that were pleasing to the venerable Fathers. Thus will you be worthy of the reward due to those who live lawfully. What then? Would one not tread an obvious path if he had not yet experienced it, without an expert guide? Nor would he traverse the Ocean without an expert pilot; nor attempt any art or science without an infallible master; and yet, the art of arts, the science of sciences, the path leading to God, and the infinite ocean of the mind,—namely, the monastic life, which is compared to the life of the angels—would anyone dare to approach it, and hope to attain its end, without a leader, and pilot, and prudent and sincere master? In reality, whoever he is, he deceives himself, and errs, not even laying any foundation, since he is exercised outside the rule; just as, on the contrary, he who obeys the oracles of the Fathers has anticipated the end ^D even before he walks. For from where else can we learn how we ought to fight against the flesh, as is fitting, or how the war against desires and demons is to be undertaken? For together with the virtues, as it is written, grow the vices, and they stand in a certain way near the door. But how shall we chastise the senses of the body and order the virtues of the soul as in a threshing floor? Or rather, how will it be permitted to us to discern voices, and revelations, and divine exhortations and contemplations, and the guilts, errors, and oracles of the demon? And, to speak in one word, how are we to attain to that union with God, to that divine perfection, to the mysteries, when—

without the leading of a true and enlightened mystagogue? It is not possible, indeed, it is not possible. For when we see that chosen vessel, the most blessed Paul, that instructor in the ineffable, the mouth of Christ, the light of the world, the common sun, the teacher of the entire inhabited earth, sharing and deliberating on the Gospel with his fellow apostles—and the reason, he says, is lest I might be running, or have run, in vain—and indeed when we hear Wisdom herself, our Lord Jesus Christ, speaking of Himself, that "I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent me, the Father," and concerning the all-holy and life-giving Spirit, that "He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears, He will speak;" ^B by reason of the utility of this order, which holds together both heavenly and earthly things, we are seized with horror, stupor, and anguish when we attend to our own weakness and infirmity, and to those who dementedly choose to live obliquely, dangerously, by their own whim and caprice. For in truth, that struggle is terrible, and the robbers are countless, and the stratagems of the tempters are six hundredfold. And the shipwrecks cannot be numbered; whence even out of the many, barely a few escape. But let them walk as they please; "For every man’s work, as it is written, the fire will test," and that "You will render to each according to his works." ^C But especially, may Christ grant to all to understand not simply how they wish, but how it is necessary to both will and live. As for you, and whoever wishes to live according to Christ, as if taking hold of a hem of these words, seize the golden and spiritual path of blessed obedience, and hasten, as has been indicated beforehand, to find a learned and perfect master; for perfect, according to the divine apostle Paul, is solid food; that is, for those who by reason of habit have their senses trained to discern good and evil. And in this way, namely, by seeking with labor and faith, you will not miss your proposed goal. ^D "For everyone, says divine Scripture, who asks, receives, and he who seeks, finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened." And he will initiate you successively and by order into those things which are to be done and which please God, or rather, he himself will take you by the hand to those things which are pleasing and spiritual to God, and by most people considered intolerable; when he sees you truly rejoicing in mediocrity, humility, and simplicity, whether in food, or in clothing, or in cloak; and being content with those things which for the time are useful and opportune and necessary; and not with those superfluous, idle things, nor those things which, indulging in trifles and insane splendor, men deem great and draw a sword against themselves and their own salvation. For even the great Apostle says: "Having food and clothing, with these we shall be content." But you desire and wish to learn from us in writing what things pertain to the beginning, the inception, and the end of this Christian life? However much your question is to be commended, it is truly laborious to suddenly answer you

nevertheless, with Christ guiding our hand, we shall endeavor to fulfill your request, building, as upon a firm and unshakable foundation, upon that perfect and in every way reward-worthy obedience, this house celebrated by the speech of all, which we call the divine peace of all spiritual building. And surely we speak, supported by the oracles of the Fathers and the Holy Spirit as by most firm pillars. ^B

That he who wishes to have true and divine peace must take care to be full of good works along with orthodox faith; and that faith is double; and that he who is at peace must be peaceable, undistracted, free from care—that is, unconcerned—silent, quiet, thankful in all things, conscious of his own weakness, and must bear temptations nobly, hope in God, and accept from Him what is useful.

16. The Savior says: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” And you, therefore, beloved, if you love this God-making stillness not only with empty words—which, to those who sincerely enter into it, even now provides clearly the impressions of the kingdom of heaven and of God, and in the future, more fully and perfectly—but if you love it in truth and in deed, take care to be, alongside your orthodox faith, full of good works. Then, let your manner be peaceable with all, undistracted, free from care—that is, entirely unconcerned—silent, quiet, ^C thankful in all things, and conscious of your own weakness. And in all, keep an eye wakeful and sober against the various and manifold temptations that occur to you each day; fighting with obedience and magnanimity against the waves and the affliction that may come upon you from any side.

Concerning the first and the second—that is, that you ought to be adorned with good works along with orthodox faith—that illustrious brother of the Lord admonishes you openly, saying: “Faith without works is dead; just as works are without faith,” and, “Show me your faith by your works.” And before him, the instructor and master of all, our Lord Jesus Christ, said to His disciples: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to keep all that I have commanded you.” And the Theologian also says that God seeks these three things from every man who has baptism: right faith from the soul, self-control from the body, and truth from the tongue. ^D

That faith is twofold.

^A 2. Note that faith, according to the God-given oracles, is twofold. One is general, common to all orthodox Christians, into which we were baptized from the beginning and in which we must depart from this world. The other belongs to the few, namely to those who, through the fulfillment of the commandments of the deifying passions, have returned to the image and likeness, and thus, having been enriched by the divine light of grace, have anchored all their hope in the Lord. And so great—oh, the dignity of it!—is this, that they no way, according to the Lord’s word, waver at the time of prayer in their requests to God; but rather, they ask with faith and thus readily receive what is beneficial. For this reason the blessed ones have possessed this faith, confirmed by sincere works, as having cast away all knowledge, discernment, hesitation, and anxiety from themselves, and having been totally and completely immersed in the divine intoxication of faith, hope, and love toward God, and thus transformed by the better and blessed transformation of the right hand of the Most High, as the divine David says.

But to speak at length about the first faith is not for the present time; however, to speak about the second, which blossoms and is born like a flower from the first, is very timely. For faith is like a root and principle of the namesake deifying stillness. For if you do not believe, says the author of the *Ladder*, how will you be still? ^B The divine David therefore says: "I believed, therefore I spoke" (Ps. CXV, 10). And the great apostle Paul says: "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Heb. XI, 1); and "The just shall live by faith" (Heb. X, 38), etc. And the Savior, to the disciples asking him to increase their faith, speaks thus: "If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be plucked up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you" (Luke XVII, 6). And: "If you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done" (Matt. XXI, 21). And: "All things whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive" (Matt. XXI, 22). And: "Your faith has saved you" (Matt. IX, 22). The holy Isaac also writes: "Faith is sharper than knowledge, as knowledge is [sharpened regarding] sensible things." ^C For all the saints, having been deemed worthy to find this manner of life—which is an amazement toward God—live in the power of faith, in the delights of that life which is above nature.

We do not mean by faith that by which one believes in the distinction of the adorable and divine persons, and in the excellent and proper nature of the Divinity Itself, and in the wonderful economy which is accomplished in humanity, in the assumption of our nature—although that faith is indeed very high. Rather, we mean the faith which arises from the light of grace in the soul, by the testimony of the mind, establishing the heart unshakeably—far removed from any mere opinion. It does not show itself by the mere hearing of the ears, but looks with the eyes of the spirit upon the mysteries hidden in the soul, and those hidden and divine riches which are separated from the eyes of the children of the flesh ^D and are revealed through the Spirit only to those who recline at the table of Christ and meditate upon his laws, just as

...at the assurance of hope, which is removed from all conceit; and it shows itself not in the increase of the hearing of the ears, but in the spiritual eyes, the mysteries hidden in the soul; and the hidden and divine wealth, which is hidden from the eyes of the sons of the flesh, and is revealed in the Spirit to those who dwell at the table of Christ, in the meditation of his laws, as he said: “If you keep my commandments, I will send you the Paraclete, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot receive; and he will teach you all truth,” and so forth. And again: “Until that comes which is the fullness of the mysteries, and we are deemed worthy of the manifestation of them, faith serves between God and the holy ones, ^A mysteries [of which may we be deemed worthy through the grace of his Christ], here indeed as in a pledge, but there in the substance of truth, in the kingdom of the heavens, with those who love him.”

That you must be peaceable.

C. Concerning the third, namely that you must have peace with all, the exhortation is evident from the oracle of David; and indeed even more so from that of the Christ-bearing Paul, which rings out clearer than a trumpet: the former says, “Great peace have they that love thy law; and there is no stumbling-block for them.” – “And with them that hated peace I was peaceable.” And: “Seek peace, and pursue it.” The latter says, “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.” And: “As far as it is possible for you, being at peace with all men.”

That you must not be distracted.

D. As for the fourth, namely that you must be undistracted, that holy man Isaac will teach you, saying: “If desire,” he says, “is the fruit of the senses, then let those keep silent henceforth ^C who claim that peace of mind can be preserved alongside distraction; and do not associate with those who are distracted.”

That you must be free of anxiety and care.

E. Concerning the fifth, namely that you should not be anxious or concerned for any reason, whether from reasonable or unreasonable causes, you shall have as a document that which the Lord says in the Gospels: “Therefore I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, what you shall eat; nor for your body, what you shall put on. Is not the soul more than meat, and the body than clothing? Behold the birds of the heaven, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much better than they? Which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his stature? And why are you anxious for clothing?” And a little later: “Do not be anxious, therefore, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘Wherewith shall we be clothed?’ For all these things the nations seek after. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of...

and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” St. Isaac also says: “Unless you are free from anxiety, do not seek for light, nor for tranquility and stillness, in the slackness of your senses.” And the author of the *Climax* says: “A single hair torments the eye, and a little care banishes stillness. For stillness is the setting aside of thoughts and the denial of reasonable anxieties. He who has truly grasped stillness will not even be concerned about his own flesh.” For He who promised is truthful.

That you must be a lover of silence.

^B 6. Furthermore, the theme of the sixth point—namely, that you must be silent—compels me to speak. Regarding this, the holy Isaac also says: “He who keeps his mouth from backbiting preserves his heart from the passions; and he who cleanses his heart from the passions beholds the Lord at every hour. And if you place all the works of the way of life on one side of the scale, and silence on the other, you will find that silence has more weight.” And: “Love silence above all things, because it brings you near to the fruit. For the tongue is powerless to explain it. Let us first force ourselves to be silent, and then something will be born in us from silence, guiding us to silence itself. May God grant you to perceive something born in you from silence! But if you begin in this way of life, I do not know how great a light will rise for you from it.” And again: “Silence is the mystery of the world to come, but words are the instruments of this world.” And to the holy Arsenius, the divine voice prescribed for the second time: “Arsenius, flee, be silent, be still, and you shall be saved.”

That you must be tranquil.

^C 7. Likewise, regarding the seventh point—namely, that you must live a tranquil life—the great Basil and again the holy Isaac are trustworthy witnesses to present. The former says: “Tranquility is the beginning of the purification of the soul”; the latter says: “The definition of tranquility is silence from all things.” The one indicates its beginning, the other its end, through these words, as if in brief. And in the Old Testament it is said: “Have you sinned? Be tranquil.” And: “Be still, and know that I am God.” The author of the *Climax* also says: “The primary work of tranquility is to care for nothing, whether concerning things that are rational and agreeable, or contraries. For he who opens the door to the former will immediately fall into the latter: a fearless prayer, and then the most perfect work of the heart.” It is impossible for one who has not learned letters to study on tablets; it is still more impossible for those who have not attained the first to attain the two others. And again the holy Isaac says: “The desire for tranquility is the continuous expectation of death. He who enters into tranquility without this exercise cannot endure what we must patiently bear and endure in every way.”

That one must give thanks in everything.

That one must acknowledge one's own infirmity.

That one must manfully resist temptation.

"Your discipline has destroyed me," but ^A "He has straightened me to the end." Furthermore, do not seek after the causes of temptations, nor from whence they come; but only pray to God to be able to bear them with gratitude, as the holy Mark says: "When a temptation has come, do not seek why, or through whom it has come, but rather how you might endure it with gratitude and without resentment." And again: "If it is not easy to find one who has been pleasing [to God] without temptations, one must give thanks to God for every occurrence." And: "Every affliction tests the inclination of the will, whether it leans to the right or to the left; for this reason, the affliction that befalls one is called a temptation, as it provides to the participant a trial of hidden volitions." ^B And the holy Isaac, among many other things, also says this: "Temptation is useful to every person; for if it is useful to Paul, every mouth shall be stopped, and all the world shall be held accountable to God." Those who struggle are tempted so that they may add to their wealth; the proud are tempted, that they may preserve themselves from those who do them harm; the drowsy are tempted, that they may be instructed to awaken; those who are far away, that they may draw near to God; and those who are familiar, that they may dwell in [His] presence with boldness. Every son who is not trained does not receive the wealth of his father's house, so as to be helped by it; and for this reason, God first tempts and afflicts, then shows the gift. Glory to the Lord, who brings us the delights of health through bitter remedies! There is no one who, in the time of training, is not burdened, and there is no one to whom the time in which he is given the poison of temptations to drink does not seem bitter. For without these, it is impossible to acquire a strong constitution; and to endure, moreover, is not our own. For how could a vessel made of clay sustain the nature of water, ^C if the divine fire did not solidify it? If we be submissive, praying in humility with constant desires, we, too, shall receive all things in patience, in Christ Jesus our Lord. It is said also in the Wisdom of Sirach: "My son, if you come forward to serve the Lord your God, prepare your soul for temptation, and set your heart straight, and endure, and do not be hasty in the time of affliction."

That one ought to hope in God, and to expect from Him what is beneficial.

^D Fasten the anchor of hope upon God who is able to save you, and wait for the outcome of temptations from Him at the opportune time. "For faithful," he says, "is God, who will not suffer us to be tempted beyond what we are able, but will, along with the temptation, also make the issue." And that "affliction produces patience; and patience, probation; and probation, hope; and hope does not put to shame." And, "He who endures to the end, this one shall be saved"; and, "In your patience, possess your souls." And the brother of the Lord also speaks thus: "Count it all joy, my brethren, when you fall into various temptations, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience;

and patience has its perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire, lacking in nothing. And, "Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him." And, "The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." And, "I waited patiently for the Lord, and He inclined to me, and heard my cry, and brought me up out of a horrible pit, and out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps; and He has put a new song in my mouth, a hymn to our God." ^B And the blessed Simeon Metaphrastes also writes: "A soul caught in the bonds of divine love deems suffering as nothing, but rejoices in evils and flourishes in hardships; and when it suffers nothing painful for the sake of its Beloved, then it believes that it suffers most of all, and flees from ease as if it were a punishment."

Concerning the fear of God, that it is twofold: the fear of beginners and the fear of the perfect.

17. We must not hesitate now to make mention of the twofold fear according to God, although, by our own arbitrary choice, by speaking of the perfect fear after we had finished the ten chapters we indicated, we have disturbed the order of the first fear; for after faith, fear is ordained by the holy Fathers.

Concerning the first fear, which is that of beginners.

Know then, most beloved, that the fear of God is twofold: one indeed of beginners, the other of the perfect. Concerning the former, it is written: ^C "The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord"; and, "Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord"; and, "By the fear of the Lord everyone turns away from evil"; and, "Where there is fear of God, there is the fulfillment of the commandments." And the pious Isaac also says: "The fear of God is the beginning of virtue." It is said to be the fruit of faith, and it is sown in the heart when the mind is separated from the distraction of the world, for the gathering of its thoughts that are wandering from instability, in the contemplation of the future restoration. And, "The beginning of the true life of man is the fear of God; and this ^D cannot remain in the souls of some men along with instability of mind"; and, "Take care that on your journey you lay as a foundation the fear of the Lord, and you may be able to arrive at the gates of the kingdom after a few days, without the detours of the road."

Concerning the second and perfect fear of God.

Concerning the second, namely the perfect fear of God, it is thus said: "Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who delights greatly in His commandments"; and, "Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in His ways"; and, "Fear the Lord, all you His saints, for there is no want to those who fear Him"; and, Behold

^A so shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord; and, "The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring for ever and ever." Saint Peter of Damascus also writes: "The sign of the first fear is hatred and anger against sin, as if one were wounded by a beast; but of the perfect fear, it is the love of virtue and the fear of change." And he adds that no one is immutable, and that in all actions of life we must fear lest we fall. Wherefore, you too, understanding these things prudently, endeavor with all the aforementioned to keep that first fear within yourself ceaselessly; for it is the safest treasury of every good work. For having it thus, your steps will be directed toward the practice of all the commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ; and proceeding on this way, you will also attain to the perfect and pure fear, through the desire for virtues, and through the mercy of our good God.

Quod mandatorum causa et fidei Domini nostri ^B Jesu Christi, urgente occasione, ipsi vitae nostrae parcere non debemus.

18. In addition to what has been said, you ought also to observe this, that for the sake of the life-giving commandments, and the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ according to them, we ought, when the occasion demands it, to gladly lose our very soul; that is, not even to spare our own life. As our Lord Jesus Christ himself says regarding this: "He who loses his soul for my sake and the Gospel's, he will save it"; believing without doubt and without hesitation that the God-man, Jesus the Savior, is both resurrection and life, and everything that is salvific, as He Himself ^C said: "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, even if he die, shall live"; and, "Everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die for eternity"; and, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that everyone who believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life"; and, "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." Having yourself thus, and always forgetting the things behind and stretching out to the things before, as it is said, run with Christ Jesus our Lord, without turning back, in this way your course. It is good, however, as it seems to us, and very useful, to set forth first the natural method of the most blessed Nicephorus the Great, regarding the interior heart through the ^D entrance of breathing by the nostrils, which contributes somehow also to the recollection of the intellect; so that thus, by a well-disposed path, with God, the present treatise may proceed. That divine man therefore says, with many others, having the authority from the recorded testimonies of the saints, the following:

A natural method regarding the interior of the heart through the inspiration of the nostrils, and the prayer that operates with it, which is: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me." Such a method also contributes to the gathering of the mind.

19. ^A “You know, brother, that the breath which we breathe is this air; and we breathe it not for any other reason, but for the sake of the heart; for this is the cause of life and of the warmth in the body. The heart therefore draws in the spirit, in order that it may expel the heat outward through the expiration, and provide itself with a good temperament. The cause, or rather the minister, of such a process is the lungs, which, created fragile by the Creator, like a bellows painlessly draw in and send out the surrounding air. Thus, therefore, the heart, by drawing in the cool air and expelling the warm, inviolably maintains the order for which it was created for the preservation of the living creature. You, therefore, sitting in a quiet cell and gathering your mind, introduce it—that is, the mind—into the path of the nostrils, where the spirit enters into the heart, and urge it, and force it to descend with the inhaled spirit into the heart. ^B And when it has entered there, what will happen to you afterwards will not be without joy, nor without delight; but as a man who is away from his own house, when he returns, does not know what to do for joy because he has been deemed worthy to meet with his children and his wife, so also the mind, when it is united with the soul, is filled with ineffable joy and gladness. Therefore, brother, accustom the mind not to leave that place quickly; for at the beginning it suffers much because of the confinement and narrowness. But when it becomes accustomed, it no longer desires the roamings outside. For the kingdom of heaven is within us; and he who looks at it there, and seeks it through pure prayer, detests and hates all things outside.” And a little later: ^C “You must also learn this, that when your mind is in that state, you ought not to leave it idle and silent, but take care that it meditate on this: ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me,’ and that it meditate assiduously, and never cease from this meditation. For this work, holding the mind firmly, renders it insuperable and inexpugnable to the blows of the enemy, and leads it daily to the love and desire of God.” These, then, are the words of that blessed Father, having as his primary aim that, by the operation of this natural method in some way, the mind might return from its accustomed wandering, captivity, and instability to attention, and through attention might be joined to itself, and thus be united to prayer, and that from then on it might descend into the heart—with the prayer itself, clearly—and remain always within it, just as another of the men full of divine wisdom, as if explaining the oracle previously set forth, as one who is experienced in such a sacred work, declares the following. And

^A

On the method of natural inspiration through the nostrils, and the invocation of our Lord Jesus Christ that accompanies it.

20. It is necessary to make this manifest to those who love learning: that if we train our intellect to descend, during the intake of the breath, along with it, then we would accurately understand that the intellect, having descended, does not depart—or rather, it does not begin to depart—before it has cast off every reasoned thought and has become single and naked, clinging to no other memory save for the invocation of our Lord Jesus Christ; but when it departs from there again and goes to external things, it is divided, even against its will, toward a multiform memory.

That the divine Chrysostom, as also others of the ancient holy Fathers, decrees that we must pray in Christ Jesus our Lord; and within the heart; and he speaks of this prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me."

21. Also the great Chrysostom says: "I entreat you, brothers, never trample upon or despise the rule of prayer." And a little later: "The monk ought, whether he is eating, or drinking, or sitting, or serving, or traveling, or doing anything else, to cry out unceasingly: 'Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.'" And after a little: "In order that the name of the Lord Jesus, descending into the depth of the heart, may humble the dragon that has seized the pastures, and may save and vivify the soul." ^B "Therefore, remain unceasingly with the name of the Lord Jesus, in order that the heart may swallow the Lord, and the Lord the heart, and the two may become one." And again: "Do not separate your heart from God, but persevere, and protect it with the memory of our Lord Jesus Christ always, until the name of the Lord is implanted deep within the heart, and it thinks of nothing else, so that Christ may be magnified in you."

Further, regarding that memory of Jesus, with attention, within the heart through the inspiration of the nostrils.

22. Also, the author of the [i]Ladder[/i] writes: "Let the memory of Jesus be joined to your breath, and then you shall know the benefit of stillness." And the holy Hesychius says: "If you truly desire to cast shame upon your thoughts, and to live in stillness and tranquility, and to watch over your heart with ease, let the prayer of Jesus be joined to your breath; and in a few days you shall see this accomplished."

That it is necessary for one who wishes to watch over his mind spiritually, and especially the beginner, to sit during the time of prayer in a quiet and dark cell, because in this way the intellect and thought are naturally, in part, gathered together.

23. Whence, along with the things declared, as being from above, and as decreed by the great holy Fathers, in accordance with the testimonies set forth for us concerning praying through the inspiration of the nostrils and within the heart—both in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and in his holy and saving name—and regarding the exercise, and the watchfulness, and the petitioning for mercy from him; there must be added also this, namely that always, but especially ^C

at the appointed time of prayer, and indeed in a dark corner, one should sit who is striving to watch mentally within his heart, and this is even more applicable to the beginner, as those holy Fathers and teachers who have had experience of such a most blessed work instruct and command. For the gaze and vision of the eyes are naturally apt to divide and separate the mind toward things seen and observed, and indeed to distract and change it. But when one is shut in, as has been said, in a quiet and dark room, he ceases from this distraction and change which occur through sight and appearance; and thus, whether willingly or unwillingly, the mind dwells in peace and is accustomed to be gathered to itself, as the great Basil says: "A mind not distracted toward external things, nor diffused over the world by the senses, returns to itself." ^A

That before all things, through our Lord Jesus Christ and the invocation of his holy name with faith in the heart, constancy is provided to the mind; and the natural method through the inspiration of the nostrils, and the remaining in a quiet and dark place, and the like, cooperate with it in a certain way in the heart.

24. And before these, or rather before all things, such a struggle is brought to perfection for the mind by the cooperation of divine grace, which supervenes upon the single-word invocation of our Lord Jesus Christ, performed with a pure heart and without turning about in faith, and not by that method we have set forth—by the inspiration of the nostrils or staying in a quiet and dark place—far from it! For such things were not devised by the holy Fathers for any other purpose than that these might serve as aids to the recollection of the mind and to its return from its accustomed wandering to itself and to attention, as we have said. Through all of which, a continuous, and pure, and constant prayer ^B is generated in the mind. As St. Nilus says, the attention that prayer seeks, it will find. For prayer follows attention—if anything else does—which is why it must be sought. And these things have been said. But you, my son, who wish to live and desire to see good days, and to live in the body as if without a body, live under such a rule and standard.

How one who is quiet ought to pass the interval which separates evening from dawn; and the beginning of the instruction according to width.

25. When the sun has set, after you have invoked our Lord Jesus Christ, the all-good and omnipotent, for his aid, sit on a couch in a quiet and dark cell, and gathering your mind from its external, accustomed roaming and wandering, and gently pushing it into the interior of your heart, through the inspiration of the nostrils hold the prayer, namely: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me"; at the same time, of course, drawing in with your breath ^C in a unified way the words of the prayer, just as the holy Hesychius says: "Unite the watchfulness of your [heart] to the inspiration of your nostril, and the name of Jesus, and the certain care for death, and humility." ^D

^A For you know that both these things are helpful: having, along with prayer and the other things mentioned to you, the memory of the judgment and of the recompense for good and evil deeds; and—strictly deeming yourself, in your soul, to be the most sinful of all men, and more unclean than the demons themselves—on account of this, consider that you are to be eternally punished. In whatever line of reasoning among those mentioned you find compunction, sorrow, and tears, dwell specifically on that one as long as these alone continue. But if you have not yet been deemed worthy of the gift of tears, strive and ask with a humble mind to attain it. For through these we are cleansed of passions and stains, and we become partakers of good and saving things, as the one of the Ladder says: "Just as fire consumes straw, so pure tears consume every stain, both visible and invisible." ^B And another Father says: "He who wishes to cast out malice, casts it out by weeping; and he who wishes to acquire virtues, acquires them by weeping. And if you do not have compunction, know that you have vainglory; for this does not allow the soul to be pricked." If tears do not come, sit and attend to these thoughts, along with prayer, for one hour; then, having risen, chant the Little Compline with attention, and sitting down again, hold to the prayer as much as you are able, purely and without distraction—that is, free from anxiety, from any kind of thought, and from any imagination—with great vigilance for half an hour, according to the one who says: "Without breath and food, be outside all other things in prayer, if you wish to become with the mind alone." Then, having sealed yourself with the sign of the precious and life-giving cross, and likewise your bed, and having sat upon it, enter into contemplation concerning future enjoyments, we say, and punishments; [also] of the fleeting and deceptive nature of temporal things; and indeed also of the sudden and common debt—namely, death; and of the fearful judgment that is after the end, and [that which is] before the end; and having remembered your transgressions in general, as in a summary, and having fervently asked for forgiveness for these, and having examined yourself accurately as to how you passed the previous day, lie down, holding also to the prayer, according to the one who says: "Let the memory of Jesus sleep with you," sleep for five or six hours; or rather, according to the interval of the night, sleep yourself in proportion.

How one ought to pass the time of the dawn, even until the morning.

^C 26. Having become awake, and having glorified God, and again having called upon Him for your help, begin the first of your first works, that is, to pray in your heart without distraction and purely, for one hour; for at that time the mind is generally calm and unperturbed. Nevertheless, we are commanded to offer to God the first and foremost things; that is, to extend our first thought, as much as possible, unswervingly, through pure prayer of the heart, toward our Lord Jesus Christ. ^D And the holy Nilus says: "This one performs prayer, who always [keeps] his primary thought..."

^A offered to God. After this, chant the midnight office. But if, because you are not yet suited for more perfect stillness, you are unable, as we have said, to begin, or perhaps for some other reason—as often tends to happen to those just starting such a work, and indeed rarely even to those who are progressing and have not yet attained perfection (for the perfect can do all things in Christ who strengthens them)—rise from sleep, and as far as you are able, having become vigilant, chant first the midnight office with all attention and understanding. Then, sitting down, pray purely and unswervingly in your heart, as has been indicated, for one hour; or rather, as the Giver of good things shall grant you. For the author of the *Ladder* says: "By night, give most of your time to prayer; [give] but a little to psalmody; and when day returns, prepare yourself according to your strength." If, however, even after struggling in this way, you are still negligent and despondent, and you find your mind troubled by some occurrence, rise, bestir yourself, as you know how, and occupy yourself with prayer.

Then sitting down, hasten to pray, as has been written, ^B constantly taking care that through pure prayer you may commune with the pure God. Then rising, chant with understanding the Six Psalms, the fiftieth, and whatever canon you wish. Then sitting down after this and keeping watch, pray with sincerity for half an hour. And again, rising, chant the praises [of God], the customary doxology, and the first hour. And after these things, conclude. Let the words spoken by your lips be raised to such a height that they are audible only to your own ears; since we are commanded to offer the fruit of our lips to God; with all our soul and mind giving thanks to the benevolent and provident and all-wise God of ours, who, according to His great mercy, has granted us to pass safely through the expanse of the past night, and to behold the bright course of the present day; and fervently entreating Him likewise that He may grant us to pass the day without tumult, through the dark and savage storm of demons and passions, and that He may have mercy upon us.

How one should conduct oneself from morning until the midday meal.

^{C D} 27. Again, from the morning until the midday meal, as much as you can, offering yourself wholly to the whole God, and praying to Him with a contrite heart that He might help you—as you are weak, frail, and feeble—pass the time thus in constant prayer of the heart; when reading, read the Psalms, the Apostle, and the Gospel while standing; doing likewise in your prayers to our Lord Jesus Christ and the most pure Theotokos; but sitting during the remaining readings of the Holy Scriptures. After these things, chant with your mind the customary hours, which have been most wisely arranged by the fathers of the Church, driving away idleness with all your will, as the mother of all malice.

along with the passions and their occasions, even if they seem to be small and appear harmless.

On guarding against idleness; and that it is necessary even for the one who lives in tranquility to observe the ecclesiastical tradition.

28. As the holy Isaac says: "Guard yourselves, dearly beloved, against idleness; for in it most certain death is concealed, so that without it, it is not possible to fall into the hands of those who hasten to capture the monk." God will judge us on that day not for the psalms, nor for sloth in prayer, but for the fact that through their omission, an entrance is given to the demons. And once they have found room and entered in, and have closed the doors of our eyes, ^B then they will fill us tyrannically and impurely, just as the divine sentence comprehends its fellow-workers with the most violent vengeance; and we become their servants, because we have neglected the small things which, for Christ’s sake, are worthy of care, as it has been written by the most wise: "He who does not subject his own will to God, will be subjected to His adversary." Thus, these things that seem small to you should be reckoned as walls for you against those who lie in wait for us, the perfection of which has been wisely established within the cell by those who hold the magistracy of the Church, for the guarding of our life in the spirit of revelation, the neglect of which is considered trivial by the unwise, ^C who do not reckon the damage that follows from them. Of these men, the beginning and the middle of the way is untaught liberty, which is the mother of the passions. For it is better to struggle not to neglect small things, than to give a place to sin by neglecting them. For the end of this untimely liberty is bitter servitude. And again: "O how sweet are the beginnings of the passions!" For while one can sometimes cut off the passions and become tranquil by their removal, and rejoice when they cease, yet he cannot abandon their causes; therefore, we are tempted even against our will, and are bound by the passions, but we prefer their principles to reside within us. We do not desire the sins, but we receive with joy the causes that bring them to us. ^D For this reason, the latter become, by their own efficacy, the causes of the former. He who loves the beginnings of the passions is subject to them against his will and desire, and is made a slave to the passions. He who hates his own sins will cease from them; and he who has confessed them will find forgiveness. However, it is impossible for anyone to abandon the habit of sin before he has conceived hatred for it, and to attain forgiveness before he has confessed his transgressions; the former is the cause of true humility, the latter of compunction, which follows in the heart with shame. And again: "There is no sin that is irremissible, except that which is not corrected." But enough has been said on these matters. You, however, after the psalmody of the stated hours, eat; while occupying yourself in prayer during the eating, so that by doing this you may arrive at the habit, by the power of grace, of praying unceasingly, according to our Lord's

^A commandment. But let the discourse concerning the food that sustains the body, according to the ineffable wisdom of its Creator, wait a little; and let the discourse concerning that which sustains and vivifies the soul be set forward, which is, according to the saints, the holy and deifying prayer. And very rightly so, since the soul is also more precious than the body.

Concerning prayer, and that one ought to pray always.

29. Just as this body of ours, if the soul is absent, is dead and exhales a foul odor, so too the soul, if it does not move itself toward prayer, is dead, and wretched, and foul. And that it is fitting to believe that the lack of prayer is worse than any death, the great prophet Daniel teaches us well, ^B who deemed it better to die than to be deprived of prayer for a single moment of an hour. The divine Chrysostom also teaches us well: "Whoever prays, converses with God. How great a good it is for a man to converse with God, no one among all is ignorant; but to demonstrate this honor in words, no one could. For this honor transcends even the magnificent state of the angels." And further: "Prayer is the common work of angels and men alike. There is no longer, regarding prayer, any medium between either nature. It separates you from the brute beasts; it joins you to the angels. ^C Quickly would one pass over into their way of life, and manner of living, and conversation, and honor, and nobility, and wisdom, and understanding, if he would zealously spend his whole life in prayers and in the worship of God." And further: "When the devil sees a soul fenced about with virtues, he does not dare to draw near to it, fearing the strength and power which prayers provide, which nourish the soul more than corn nourishes the body." And further: "Prayers are the nerves of the soul. For just as the body is held together by nerves, and is knit up, and stands, and lives, and is made solid; but if anyone should cut these, he dissolves the ^D whole harmony of the body; so souls are harmonized and knit together through holy prayers, and they run the course of piety happily. If, however, you deprive yourself of prayer, you do the same thing as if you were to take a fish out of the water. For just as water is life to it, so is prayer to you; through it, you may fly through the air, as if through water, and ascend into the heavens, and draw near to God." And further: "Prayer and supplication render men the temples of God; and just as gold, and precious stones, and marble make the houses of kings, so also does prayer make men the temples of Christ. What greater eulogy of prayer could there be than that it makes us temples of God? And He whom the heavens do not contain, this One enters into the soul that lives in prayers." And further: "From this one may know the virtue of holy prayer, that Paul, who runs throughout the whole earth as if winged, and dwells in prison, and endures lashes and sorrows, and lives amidst bloodshed and dangers, casts out demons, raises the dead, and throughout all the habitable [next page begins: ...world...]

area, he did not rely on any of these things for the salvation of men, but fortified his soul with prayers; and after the signs and the resurrection of the dead, he ran to his prayers just as an athlete runs to the wrestling ground ^A for his crown. For prayer is the provider of the resurrection of the dead and of all other things. For as water has power over trees, so do prayers have power over the life of the holy ones. Furthermore: Prayer is the occasion of salvation, the procurer of immortality, the unbreachable wall of the Church, an asylum and guardian, fearful to the demons but saving to us the pious. Furthermore: Just as when a queen enters a city, it is necessary that all wealth follow her, so too, when prayer enters into a soul, the whole of virtue enters with it. Furthermore: What the foundation is to a house, that is prayer to the soul; and it is necessary to stake this down first like a base and root in the soul, and then to build upon it eagerly both temperance, and provision for the ^B poor, and all the laws of Christ. Furthermore: Prayer with fervor is the light of the intellect and the soul; a light unquenchable and perpetual. For this reason the wicked one casts countless swarms of thoughts into our minds; and things we never even contemplated, he gathers together and pours over our soul at the time of prayer. Furthermore: Prayer is a great weapon; a great security. And the Theologian says: “One must remember God and breathe God.” And again: “Think of God more continuously than you breathe.” And the holy Isaac says: “Without unceasing prayer, you cannot draw near to God.” And: “After the labor of prayer, to cause the intellect to occupy itself with another care brings about a dispersion of the mind.” And: “Every prayer in which the body is not labored and the heart is not crushed is considered an abortion; for that prayer is without a soul.” And the one of the Ladder says: ^C “Prayer is, according to its essence, the communion and union of man and God; but according to its operation, it is the consistency of the world, reconciliation with God, the mother of tears and again their daughter, the expiation of sins, a rampart against temptations, a middle wall against affliction, the healing of wars, the work of the angels, the food of all incorporeal beings, future joy, infinite activity, the fountain of virtues, the origin of gifts, invisible progress, food for the soul, enlightenment of the intellect, an axe for despair, the demonstration of hope, the cleansing of filth, the riches of monks, the treasure of the hesychasts, the mitigation of anger, a mirror of progress, the showing of measures, the declaration of a state, the revelation of things to come, a token of ^D glory. Prayer is, to those who truly pray, a tribunal and judgment seat, before the future judgment seat is established. And again: “Prayer is nothing other than an alienation from the visible and invisible world.” And the holy Nilus says: “If you desire to pray, renounce all things, so that you may inherit the All.” Furthermore: Prayer is...

the communion of the mind with God. Furthermore: Just as bread is nourishment for the body, and virtue for the soul, so too is spiritual prayer the nourishment of the mind. And so much for these things; it is timely now to set forth, as briefly as possible, regarding bodily diet, both as to weight, quantity, and quality ^A thereof.

On bodily regimen: how he who is tranquil ought to nourish himself.

30. It is written: “Son of man, thou shalt eat thy bread by weight, and drink thy water by measure, that by these, he who wishes to struggle according to God may live, having sufficient nourishment.” For unless you give blood, as it is said, you shall not receive spirit. But also the great Paul says: “I chastise my body, and bring it into subjection, lest perhaps when I have preached to others, I myself should become a castaway.” And the divine David: “My knees are weakened through fasting, and my flesh is changed for oil.” And the Theologian: “By nothing else, as by suffering evil, is God worshiped, and his mercy poured out through ^B tears.” And holy Isaac: “As a mother cares for her child, so Christ cares for the afflicted body, and is perpetually near to this body.” And again: “In a belly that is full, there is no knowledge of the mysteries of God.” And: “As to those who sow in tears, sheaves of rejoicing arise, so joy follows that affliction of the body which is according to God.” And Macarius: “He who removes himself from all delights which separate him from his Creator.” And again: “Being tempted for a long time on the right and on the left, and having often tested myself in these two ways, and having received countless blows from the enemy, and having been deemed worthy ^C of great secret gifts, I have gained experience for myself from the long passage of years; and in probation, and by the grace of God, I have learned these things: namely, that the foundation of all good things, and the liberation of the soul from the captivity of the enemy, and the way leading to light and to life, are these two methods: to gather oneself into one place, and to always fast; that is to say, to regulate oneself in temperance of the belly, wisely and prudently, in an immovable seat, in incessant tranquillity, and in the meditation of God. For from thence arises the subjection of the senses; thence the vigilance ^D of the mind; thence those raging desires which are stirred in the body are restrained; thence the sweetness of reasonings; thence the luminous motion of thought; thence the ardor for the divine works of virtue; thence sublime and delicate thoughts; thence incessant tears, which flow perpetually; thence the memory of death; thence the pure wisdom which is removed from every phantasy that hinders thought; thence the sharpness of sight and the vigor of the knowledge of things that are far off. Thence those deeper mystical senses which thought grasps in the power of the divine oracles, and the interior motions which are produced in the soul, and the difference and the discernment of spirits and of holy powers and of true vision and vain imaginations, and thence the fear of the ways and paths—

that are stirred up in the sea of the mind, which cuts off sloth and negligence; and the flame of zeal, which transcends every danger and passes over every fear; and the warmth, which scorns every desire and wipes it out from the mind, and produces oblivion of all memory of things that pass away along with the rest. And, to speak briefly, the freedom of the true man, and the joy of the soul, and the resurrection, and the rest with Christ in the kingdom of heaven, come from this. If anyone is negligent in these two, let him know that he not only deprives himself of all the things aforementioned, but also shakes the foundation of all virtues by his contempt for these two virtues. ^B And just as these are in the soul the beginning and head of divine operation, and the door and way to Christ, if anyone takes hold of them and perseveres in them, so also if anyone withdraws from them and leaps away from them, he arrives at the two things that are contrary to these—I mean, to be puffed up in the body, and to indulge in gluttony lawlessly, and the rest. And in others: "And some, being slothful and lax at their beginnings, are not only terrified and troubled by these and such-like struggles, but also by the rustling of the leaves of a tree; and they are overcome and cast down and turn backward by a small necessity that arises from the discomfort of hunger, and by a small infirmity. But the sincere and approved ones are not even sated with the grass of herbs; nor, nourished by the roots of dry plants, do they dare to taste anything of them before the appointed hour of food. But they lie upon the ground in the infirmity and weakness of the body; and their eyes have dim vision, ^C because their body is excessively empty. And if they are in such a state from necessity that they are about to depart from the body, not even then do they give their hands to be overcome and succumb, so strong is their will. For they desire and wish to do violence to themselves for the sake of the love of God; and they prefer to labor for the sake of virtue than to have a transient life and all the rest that is in it. And when temptations come upon them, they rejoice more that they are perfected in them, that is, they become perfect. But neither do they doubt in the love of God because of the harsh afflictions that occur in them; but until they have departed from this life, they desire to undertake labors generously, and they do not yield, because they become perfect in them." Following then in these and such-like things, and also being obedient to Him who said: ^D "Walk in the royal way, and do not turn aside to the right or to the left," we also set forth for you an example and a rule of the mean, which indeed has this definition.

How one who struggles ought to be nourished on the second, fourth, and sixth days.

31. As for the three days of the week, that is, the second, fourth, and sixth, observe them perpetually; that is, eat once a day, taking six ounces of bread, taking a sufficient amount of dry foods temperately; and of water, if you wish, three or four...

of the apostles, who says: "If a bishop, or presbyter, or deacon, or reader, or chanter does not fast during the holy quadragesima of Pascha, or the fourth day, or the preparation day (Friday), let him be deposed, unless he is hindered by bodily infirmity. But if a layman, let him be excommunicated." And the second day has likewise been regulated by the holy Fathers. ^A

How one must eat on the third and fifth day

32. On these two days again, namely the third and the fifth, eat twice in the day: at the midday meal, sustain yourself with six ounces of bread, eating temperately of cooked food and some of the dry foods, and drinking wine mixed with water—up to three or four cups, if ^B you wish. Toward evening, take three ounces of bread and some dry foods or certain fruits; take wine mixed with water, one cup, or at most two, when violent thirst urges you. For thirst cooperates vehemently in tears, having wakefulness as a companion, as the author of the *Ladder* says: "Thirst and wakefulness have wrung out the heart; and when the heart was afflicted, waters have gushed forth." And the blessed Isaac says: "Thirst for God's sake, that He may fill you with His love." But if you prefer to eat only once on these two days, you shall do well. For fasting and temperance are the first, and mother, and root, and fountain, and foundation of all good things. A certain one among the profane says: "Choose the best life; habit will make it sweet." And the great Basil: ^C "Where there is choice, there is no obstacle." And another of the saintly ones: "The beginning of fruit is the flower, and the beginning of the active life is temperance." But these things may perhaps seem difficult, nay even impossible, to those who wish to follow them; yet he who considers the thriving fruitfulness that blossoms from them, and contemplates what great glory they are wont to generate, will judge them tractable, and by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and his own zeal according to his strength, he will proclaim them most easy in words and deeds, and will seal them with sanction. And the holy Isaac says: "Simple bread from a clean table cleanses the soul of the eater from every passion." And: "From the table of those who fast and keep vigil and labor in the Lord, take for yourself a remedy of life, and stir up ^D the dormant soul of yours; because the Beloved reclines in their midst, sanctifying the foods, and transforms their bitterness into His own ineffable sweetness. And His spiritual and celestial ministers overshadow them and their holy food." And: "The odor of the one who fasts is most sweet, and his encounter gladdens the hearts of those who have discernment." And: "The life of the temperate man is most dear to God."

How one must eat on the Sabbath; and concerning vigils, and how one must eat during their time

33. On every Sabbath, except the Great Sabbath, it behooves you to eat twice, as has been indicated for the third and

^A fifth, both because of the definition of the holy canons, and because you ought to possess this custom on all the Sundays of the entire year, except for the vigil during the week of Tyrophagy, unless perhaps a vigil for one of the great Feasts of the Lord or one of the greatest Saints should fall then; in which case, having celebrated that, you may omit the Sunday vigil. Nevertheless, whatever the case may be, eat twice on the Sabbaths. ^B It is useful, however, that you constantly compel yourself to the labor of the nocturnal vigil. Whence, even if by chance a vigil occurs in the middle of the week, it is most profitable for you to keep the vigil also on Sunday, and you will quickly receive great gain from it; nay more, your morning light will thus break forth, according to that which was said: “And your garments [in other copies: your healings] shall soon rise.” ^C The holy Isaac also says: “For every struggle against sin and desire, the labor of the vigil and of fasting is the beginning, and especially for him who fights against the sin within us. And the sign of hatred for sin and its desire is manifest from this to those who gird themselves for this invisible war. And almost all the impulses of the passions begin to diminish in fasting. And after fasting, the night vigil cooperates with the exercise. He who in all his life loves the yoke of this combined discipline, this man becomes a friend of prudence; just as the delights of the belly are the principle of all evils, and the abundance of sleep, which favors the desire of fornication: so the holy way of God and the foundation of every virtue is fasting, and the vigil, and alertness in the service of God.” And again: ^D “A soul that is brightened by the memory of God and by sleepless vigil, day and night: there the Lord builds for its security, a cloud overshadowing it by day, and a fire of light illuminating the night; and in its darkness, light will shine.” And further: “Choose for yourself the operation of delights, the continuous vigil in the nights: in which all the Fathers put off the old man, and were deemed worthy of the renewal of the mind. In these hours the soul perceives that immortal life; and in the perception of it, it puts off the darkness of the passions, and receives the Holy Spirit.” And again: “Honor the operation of the vigil, so that you may find consolation in your soul.” And further: “Do not think, O man, that in any of the monastics’ work, there is any conduct greater than the nocturnal vigil.” And: “Do not look upon a monk who persists in the vigil, with discernment of mind, as one clothed in flesh; for this work is truly of the angelic order.” And further: “A soul laboring in this angelic conduct of the vigil will have cherubic eyes, to look constantly and behold the heavenly contemplation.” You shall spend these vigils, namely, in prayer, psalmody, and reading, purely and steadfastly and with compunction, alone, or with a pious and like-minded assembly. After any vigil of yours, perform a small refreshment, because of the labor brought on by the vigil, eating and drinking, at the time of the meal: to wit, eat three ounces of bread; add a little dry food, which will suffice for you: drink wine with water, three cups. See to it, however, that you do not push your vigil into the day.

through to the ninth hour, having kept vigil, and perhaps because of the vigil, break your ninth hour fast. For it is necessary to do this, and not leave the other undone. For the Word has prescribed that you perform the prayer of thanksgiving once the vigil is finished.

How one ought to eat on Sundays; and concerning certain other things; and furthermore, concerning toil and humility.

34. Likewise, on all Sundays, eat twice in the day, just as you do on Saturdays; and let this rule be kept safe and sound, barring sickness; for these days have been granted by the holy Fathers and relaxed, owing to long custom and certain more recent causes—we speak of divine ones, or even others. For on these days we neither eat once, nor do we partake of dry food; but we partake of all that is useful and irreproachable, and herbs: yet temperately, and with the determined quantity; for it is always best to practice temperance in all things. But in bodily infirmities, as we have said, we must without blushing partake of all things useful and lawful which support the body; for the holy Fathers have taught us to be slayers of the passions, not slayers of the body. Likewise, it is fitting for you to taste a little bit of all things that are allowed, that is, whatever is permitted by the profession, for the glory and thanksgiving of God, and to avoid pride. But repel whatever is superfluous. “For the scarcity of things,” as Saint Isaac says, “teaches a man temperance, even against his will and desire; for when we have an abundance and plenty of them, we cannot restrain ourselves.” Do not love bodily rest. For the soul that loves God, according again to the holy Isaac, possesses its rest in God alone. Rather, choose to live with toil and hardship and humility. For toil and humility, as some saint writes, possess Jesus.

How one ought to live and conduct oneself during the holy Lenten seasons, and especially during the Great Lent.

35. Regarding the manner of life and order during the holy Lenten seasons, we consider it superfluous to explain it in detail and minutely. For as it has been previously determined for you to live on the days on which you perform the ninth hour, so it is allowed for you to work during the holy Lenten seasons, except for Saturdays and Sundays. Indeed, if possible, even more accurately and more vigilantly, and especially during the holy and Great Lent, as it is the tithe of the whole year, and it provides the rewards of the contests, through the Lord’s divine and illustrious day of Resurrection, to those who have been victorious according to Christ.

Concerning discernment, in part, and that there is no honor in mediocre work; and concerning obedience.

36. Furthermore, these things, and those similar to these,

you must approach with accurate discernment, for the harmony of the double composite being and for a peaceful state. "For with wisdom," he says, "is a house built, and with understanding it is set aright; and by sense are the storehouses filled with all precious and beautiful wealth." And the divine Thalassius writes: "Need and straitness, when joined with reason, are the royal road; so that indiscriminate mortification or irrational self-abasement are unprofitable, as both happen contrary to reason." And the holy Isaac says: "There follows after the loosening of the members a disarray and confusion of the thoughts; and after immoderate labor, listlessness; and after listlessness, rapture (ecstasis). But one rapture differs from another: for upon the first rapture there follows the war of fornication; but upon the second, the abandonment of one's own cell, and migration from place to place. Moreover, for work that is moderate and remains painful, there is no honor; for the reduction of these things increases pleasure, but immoderation causes rapture." And the great Maximus says: "Do not spend all your leisure time on the flesh; but set for it an exercise according to your strength, and turn your whole mind toward the interior things. For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness [profits] in all things," and so forth. If the scales of the flesh somehow pull back, and tyrannize, and weigh down the scales of the soul, drawing it toward disorderly and soul-corrupting movements and impulses, as it is written: "The flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh," you yourself must curb it with the bridle of self-control, and mortify it until, even against its will, it becomes manageable and obeys the better part, mindful of the great Paul, who says: "As much as our outward man is perishing, so much is the inward man being renewed day by day." And the holy Isaac says: "Give yourself to die in the contests, and do not live in neglect; for not only are those who have accepted death for the sake of faith in Christ martyrs, but also those who die for the sake of the observance of His commandments. And it is better for us to die in the struggle than to live in transgression." And before all things, be with counsel and inquiry, doing everything according to your spiritual Father in the Lord. For thus, by the grace of Christ, even things that are burdensome and uphill will seem light to you, and as if you were being carried over a flat plain. But we must return to where we started.

How the one who is struggling ought to pass the time between the meal and the setting of the sun; and that one ought to believe that, according to the labor and the measure of our work, the distribution of divine gifts is granted to us.

37. After having dined, as the one who is struggling ought to do—according to the divine Paul, who teaches that he who struggles exercises self-control in all things—read, while sitting, in the watchful writings of the Fathers, sufficiently. And thereafter sleep for one hour, if the days are long. Then, having risen, perform a little manual labor, while also engaging in prayer. After

^A these things, pray, as has been indicated beforehand; read, meditate, and strive that you may be humbled and hold yourself beneath all men. “For he who exalts himself,” he says, “will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” And: “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” And, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” And: “The beginning of pride is to not know the Lord.” And: “The proud have transgressed exceedingly.” And: “Do not mind high things, but associate with the humble.” The divine Chrysostom also says: “This man is most truly one who knows himself, he who thinks himself to be nothing. For nothing is so dear to God as to count oneself among the lowest.” And holy Isaac says: “To the humble-minded the mysteries are revealed.” And: “Where humility blossoms, there the glory of God also springs forth.” And, that “Humility runs before grace, and conceit runs before instruction.” And holy Barsanuphius says: ^B “If you truly wish to be saved, listen in deed: take your feet off the earth, and lead your mind up into heaven, and let your meditation be there night and day; and as much as you have strength, seek to be despised; striving to see yourself beneath every man. This is the true way; outside of this, there is no other for him who wishes to be saved through Him who strengthens him, Christ. Let him who wills run; let him who wills run; let him who wills run, so that he may attain—I testify before the living God, and the willing One—to share eternal life with everyone who so wills.” And the author of the *Ladder* says: “I have not fasted, I have not kept vigil, I have not slept on the ground, but I was humbled, and He saved me quickly,” pursuing before all else the state of being unreckoned, as holy Barsanuphius says: for freedom from anxiety regarding every matter causes you to approach the city; and not being appraised among men causes you to dwell in the city; and dying to every man causes you to inherit the city, and its treasures. And if you wish to be saved, hold fast to being unreckoned, and run toward the goal set before you. It is, moreover, according to his student, ^C the venerable John, what being unreckoned is: not to consider oneself equal to anyone, and not to say concerning a good work, “I also did this.” Then again, sitting down, pray purely and steadfastly until the evening arrives, and so chant the customary vespers, and conclude, believing with a sincere heart that for our labor and the sorrow on account of virtue and the measure of our work, the distribution and declaration and consolation of gifts and rewards will be brought about by God; as the divine Psalmist says: “According to the multitude of my sorrows in my heart, your consolations have gladdened my soul.” And the Savior: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” And the great Paul: “If we suffer with Christ, ^D that we may also be glorified with him; for I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the future glory which shall be revealed in us.” And the divine and wise Maximus says concerning these things: “The measure of each man’s faith is said to be the cause of the distribution of divine blessings; just as

we believe, so too do we have an increase of zeal for acting. ^A Thus, he who acts, in proportion to his action, demonstrates the measure of his faith, receiving the measure of grace as he has believed. But he who does not act, in proportion to his inaction, demonstrates the measure of his unbelief, receiving, as he has disbelieved, the privation of grace. Therefore, the envious man does ill to begrudge those who are making progress, for the choice of believing and acting, and of receiving the grace that comes according to the measure of faith, lies clearly with him, and is not placed in another. Let us then, with all our soul, pray that we may remain in this state for the rest of our time. And may the very ends of our life be Christian, free of pain, unashamed, and peaceful; and in addition to these, may we render a good account, standing before the fearful judgment seat of our Lord, and God, and Savior Jesus Christ.

That pure prayer is greater than every work.

^B 38. In addition to the things declared, know this also, brother, that every method, and every rule, and, if you will, every different practice, has been fashioned and regulated in this way, because we are not yet able to pray in our hearts purely and without distraction. For if we have perfectly attained, through the benevolence and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and have abandoned those many, various, and fleeting things, we are united immediately, beyond reason, with Him who is one and simple and has the power of union, as was said by the illustrious Theologian: “God being united with and known by divine men”; which is that interior illumination in the heart, through the Holy Spirit, which is born, as has been said, from the aforementioned pure and undistracted prayer of the heart. ^C But this is rare, and hardly one in a thousand is deemed worthy, by the grace of Christ, to progress to this state. But to pass even beyond this, and to be deemed worthy of spiritual prayer, and to obtain the revelation of the mysteries of the age to come, is given to very few, and they are found from generation to generation, by the benevolence of grace, just as the holy Isaac writes: “Just as with difficulty one is found out of ten thousand men who has fulfilled the commandments and the ordinances without any small lack, and has reached the purity of the soul, so one in a thousand is found who is deemed worthy to reach, with great vigilance, to pure prayer, and to break through this limit, and to obtain that mystery. For many were not at all deemed worthy ^D of pure prayer; but few. But he who has reached that mystery which is after it and beyond it, is found with difficulty from generation to generation, by the grace of Christ.” And a little later: “And if with difficulty someone prays with purity, what shall we say about spiritual prayer? For all spiritual prayer is free from movement. And that which inclines even a little is below the spiritual.” Therefore, if you yourself wish to be deemed worthy of such new mysteries in Christ Jesus, by work and deed, that is, by experience itself, hasten to pray in your heart at every time and every hour and in all your work, purely and without distraction; so that from

^A an infant nursing you may progress to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, and with the faithful and prudent servant may attain blessedness and the crown, as you direct your words in judgment—that is, acting according to reason—whence you shall not be shaken for eternity. As the holy Philemon writes concerning this: "Brother, whether by night or by day, may God deem you worthy to pray with a pure mind without distraction; do not cling to your own rule, but as much as you are able, strive to be united with God; and He Himself will illuminate your heart concerning spiritual labor." And one of the God-bearing ones says: "If you wish to serve God in the body as if without a body, possess unceasing prayer secretly in your heart, and before death your soul shall become as an angel." The holy Isaac writes in agreement with these things. For when asked by someone what the summit of all the fruits of this work—that is, of hesychia—was, so that anyone reaching it might know that he had attained the perfection of life, he answered thus: "When one is deemed worthy of the abiding of prayer; for when he reaches this, he has reached the summit of all virtues, and henceforth has become a dwelling-place of the Holy Spirit." For if someone has not perfectly received the grace of the Paraclete, he cannot accomplish perseverance in prayer in leisure. For the Spirit, he says, when He dwells in a certain man, does not cease to pray. For the Spirit Himself prays always. Then, neither in sleep nor in waking does prayer fail from his soul; but whether he eats, or drinks, or sleeps, or does anything else, and even in deep sleep, the sweet fragrance and breathings of prayer gush forth without labor; and then prayer has no division; but at all hours, even if such a one's prayer is tranquil externally, yet ^C again it serves him in secret. For a certain saint calls the silence of the perfect ones prayer; since their thoughts are certain divine movements; and the movements of a pure heart and mind are gentle voices, with which they chant in secret to the hidden God. And many other holy men, initiated by divine grace itself, have set forth many such things worthy of admiration; which we have omitted on account of the length of our discourse.

On the number of genuflections per the space of a day and night.

39. As for the number of genuflections, we know that three hundred are prescribed by our divine Fathers, which we ought to perform throughout the space of a day and night during the five days of the week; for on every Sabbath and every Sunday, and also on other days designated by custom and in weeks, according to certain mystical and unspeakable reasons, we are commanded to be at leisure from these. There are, however, some who exceed this number. And some who do not reach it, each according to his strength or preference. And you, therefore, do according to your ability; yet indeed blessed is he who in all things that are according to God offers violence to himself.

^A “For the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.”

That not only, as has been said before, is the distribution of divine gifts granted according to the struggle and the measure of our exertion, but also according to our habit, our aptitude, and our faith, and the natural disposition present within us.

40. ^B And this, therefore, must be known: that not only, as we have said before, is the distribution of divine gifts granted to us according to the struggle and the measure of our exertion, but also according to the habit and aptitude of our way of life, and indeed, according to our faith regarding the things set before us, and the natural disposition fittingly present within us. And holy Maximus says: “The mind is the organ of wisdom; the reason, of knowledge; the natural persuasion regarding both is of the faith that consists through both; but for the gift of healings, it is natural compassion.” For every divine gift has something in us that is fitting and appropriate, as a power, or a habit, or a disposition, an organ capable of receiving it: for example, he who has made his mind pure from all sensible images receives wisdom; and he who has made his reason master of the innate passions—I mean anger and desire—receives knowledge; and he who has an unshakeable assurance regarding the Divine, according to his mind and reason, receives the faith that can do all things; and he who has perfected natural compassion, after the complete removal of self-love, receives the gifts of healings. And these things are so. ^C But beware that no one may know your work, except the one who admonishes and guides you; praying for us who are unworthy, who speak indeed, but do not do the good, so that we may be deemed worthy to do first the things pleasing to God, and then to speak and persuade others. For he who has done and taught, according to the divine oracle, this one shall be called great. May the almighty and all-merciful Lord strengthen and guide you again, to understand these things intelligently, and to do them with all longing. For “not the hearers of the law are just before God,” according to the divine Paul, “but the doers [of the law]”; may the Lord lead you to every good and salutary work, and may He take you by the hand to the spiritual purpose and holy work in the Spirit, by the prayers of the saints. Amen.

^D But since we have spoken before concerning the practical discernment, it is now opportune to say a few words, as we are able, concerning the discernment that is universal and most perfect, since according to our renowned Fathers it is greater than all the virtues.

On the universal and most perfect discernment; and who it is that lives contrary to nature and carnally; and who it is that lives according to nature and psychologically; and who it is that conducts himself above nature and spiritually.

41. He who lives and conducts himself carnally and contrary to nature has completely lost his own power of discernment; but he who has refrained from evils, and rejects the beginning of doing well, as...

it is written: “Depart from evil and do good” [Ps. XXXVI, 27], he as a beginner, and one who yields to instruction, ^A bends his head just a little towards a certain sense of discernment, such as is appropriate for the novice. But he who lives according to nature and psychically, as one performing acts within the mind and living according to reason—who is also called the “middle” one—he, according to his own measure, sees and discerns both that which concerns himself and that which concerns those like him. But he who lives above nature and spiritually, he—as one who has surpassed the passionate state, the beginning stage, and the boundaries of the middle state, and who has progressed by Christ’s grace to the perfect state, that is to say, to the essential illumination and the most perfect discernment—he sees himself and discerns most clearly. And indeed, he sees and discerns all things purely, while he himself is seen, looked into, and judged by no one; nay, he is judged as the one who is and is named a spiritual man. “Not with writings and ink, but by deed and grace,” as the divine Apostle says: “The spiritual man judges all things, but he himself is judged by no one” [I Cor. II, 15].

Further concerning discernment, by way of example.

42. The first of these is like one who walks in a deep, dark, and gloomy night, whence, wandering and covered in impenetrable darkness, he not only does not see or discern himself, but does not even know where he is going or walking, as the Savior says: “He who walks in darkness does not know where he is going” [John XII, 35]. The second is like ^B one who moves in a night that is clear and illuminated by the stars, whence, being slightly brightened by the twinkling of the stars, he walks little by little, often striking his feet against the stones of undiscerning-ness, and suffering frequent falls. This man, therefore, sees and discerns himself a little, but as if in a shadow, as it is written: “Awake, you who sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine upon you” [Ephes. V, 14]. The third is like him who makes his way in a quiet night illuminated by the brightness of the moon; whence, being directed also by the lunar rays, he travels more unerringly and moves forward. He sees himself, as if in a mirror, and discerns at the same time those who are traveling with him, as it has been said: “You do well, paying attention to the law, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts” [II Pet. I, 19]. The fourth is like him who ^C walks at high noon, firm and most pure, illuminated by the shining rays of the sun; and therefore such a one sees himself sincerely in the solar light, and discerns, and judges others—or rather, indeed, all men, in accordance with the divine Apostle; and indeed, all things that occur to him from everywhere and in any way, walking himself without error and leading those who follow him without stumbling toward the true Light, and the Life, and the Truth, concerning whom it is also written: “You are the light of the world” [Matt. V, 14]. And the most divine Paul also says: “God who said light should shine out of darkness, he has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” [II Cor. IV, 6]. And the blessed ^D

David: ^A “The light of thy countenance, O Lord, is signed upon us” [Ps. IV, 7]. And: “In thy light shall we see light” [Ps. XXXV, 10]. And the Lord: “I am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” [John VIII, 12].

On conversion and change in the individual, and on the eminent glory of humility.

43. We wish you to know this also: that even those who have attained to perfection through purification and illumination, in accordance with their powers—for there is no complete perfection in this imperfect age, but rather an incomplete perfection—do not always possess unchangeability with them, both because of natural infirmity and because of the opinion that sometimes creeps in. Indeed, they sometimes suffer changes and thefts for the sake of testing, and then again receive greater succors; and the Fathers define those who are contrary to these as being a portion of the wolves. ^B For firmness and unchangeability are reserved for the age to come; but in the present, it is now a time of purity, peace, and divine consolation, and now a time of defilement, tempest, and sadness, and this is in proportion to each person’s manner of life and progress, and in accordance with the judgments of the Lord, which He alone knows; and indeed, so that through these things we may judge our own infirmity. “For blessed,” he says, “is he who knows his own infirmity, that we may not be confident in ourselves, according to Paul, but in Him who raises the dead” [cf. II Cor. I, 9]; and thus we may run continuously to God in humility, repentance, and confession. And the holy Isaac says: “Again and again do some happen to transgress, ^C and yet by repentance they bring a remedy to their souls; and grace enters in unto them.” For in every reasonable nature, change has its place quite often. Changes attend every human being at all hours of his life; from these, one who has the power of discernment can understand this matter. And the trials which he experiences within himself every day can do much to make him wise, if he be vigilant: that he may observe himself in his intellect, and learn how great a change of gentle-mindedness and kindness his mind receives each day; and how, from its own peace, it is suddenly turned into confusion, when there is no cause from the place for it to be turned; ^D and how he finds himself in great and unspeakable danger. And this is what the blessed Macarius wrote clearly, with much care and zeal, for the memory and instruction of the brethren, so that they might not fall into despair at the time of the change of contrary things, teaching that to those standing in the place of purity it happens that they fall—just as it happens to the air to grow cold—and this even without them being in carelessness or laxity. Nay rather, even when they are proceeding according to their order, falls occur to them, contrary to the aim of their own will. And continuing, he says: “What, then, is it now? Changes,” he says, “happen to every person just as they do to the air.” But understand that in each one. For nature is verily one. Do not believe that he is speaking of the weaker and more fragile

^A beings and only the smallest ones, and that, consequently, the perfect are free from change and stand unswervingly in one order, without impassioned thoughts, as the Euchites say. This is why he added, “in each one.” How then, O Macarius, is this so? Yet you yourself say: cold, and a little later, heat; and perhaps hail, and after a while, clear weather. And in our life it is likewise: war and the receiving of grace, and at times the soul lies in a tempest, and horrendous waves rise up against it. And again, a change occurs, with grace protecting and filling the heart with joy and divine peace, and with sensible and peaceful thoughts. These counsels of prudence he joins together, exhorting those who were previously brutish and impure, ^B and he rouses them, saying: “If, therefore, after these counsels of prudence and gentleness, calamity follows, let us not be saddened nor despair.” And in the rest of grace, again, let us not become proud, but in the time of joy, let us accept affliction. And continuing, he says: “Know that all the saints were in this operation. As long as we are in this world, consolation abounds for us with afflictions. Therefore, daily and every hour, the proof of divine love is sought from you in the struggle and fight against temptations: which is that you not be saddened, nor be negligent in the struggle.” And thus your way is directed. “But he who wishes to be cast out from these and to decline from this, he is of the portion of the wolves.” O marvelous word of this man! ^C How in a few words he confirmed that oracle, and showed it to be full of meaning, and perfectly drove doubt from the mind of the reader! “But that man,” he says, “who declines from these, and is made a part of the wolves, wishes to walk upon an untrodden path, and has set it in his mind to gain this fate, and wishes to walk in private paths, not trodden by the Fathers.” And a little later: “Humility without works admits many sins: but works without humility are altogether useless.” And a little after: “As salt is to food, so is humility to every virtue; and it can crush the power of all sins; beyond it, it is necessary that we be saddened unceasingly according to the mind in humiliation and sorrow of judgment; and if we possess it, it makes us children of God; and without good works it presents us to God; ^D and thus, without it, all our works are vain, and all virtues and all operations. But God desires the change of the mind.” And: “By the mind we become better: it alone can stand before God without help, and speak for us.” He says furthermore: “One of the saints said: When the sense of pride comes to you, saying to you: ‘Remember your virtues,’ say: ‘Elder, look to your fornication.’”

On penance, purity, and perfection

44. The perfection of every course is in these three things: in penance, and in purity, and in perfection. What then is penance? To leave behind former things and to be saddened over them. And what is meant by purity, in brief? The heart…

^A that is merciful over the whole of created nature. And what is perfection? A depth of humility, which is the leaving behind of all things, both visible and invisible—visible, that is, all sensible things; invisible, that is, those that are intelligible—and being free, furthermore, from the anxiety regarding them. Moreover, penance is a twofold death voluntarily undergone for all things. A merciful heart is a burning of the heart for the whole of creation, for men and for birds and for animals and for demons and for every creature. And again, as long as we are left in this world and in the flesh, even if we were to be raised up to the vault of the heavens, it is not possible for us to be without works and toil, or to be in a state of freedom from care; this is what perfection is. Pardon me; that which is beyond this is solicitation, that is to say, it is without reason. And Saint Maximus: “Philosophy according to virtue is ^B naturally able to produce the tranquility of the mind, not nature; through which spiritual tranquility, the joy of divine grace enters into the mind.” And again: “He who has experienced the sorrow and pleasure of the flesh might be called proven, inasmuch as he has been tempted by the zeal or the weariness of carnal acts; but perfect is he who has mastered the pleasure or pain of the flesh by the virtue of reason; and he is entirely a victor who has maintained the habits of action and contemplation with steadfastness towards God. By these things, indeed, discernment is demonstrated to be greater than all virtues, so that in those in whom it is born, once they are illumined by the divine light, it is permitted to discern ^C accurately both divine and human matters, and mystical and hidden visions. It is time, therefore, in order, to show you as much as I am able the beginning of the holy and deifying peace which we have announced, so that it may be manifest; and may God direct even these things which we are about to say.

Concerning the five operations of the first and, as it were, introductory peace of beginners: namely prayer, psalmody, reading, meditation, and manual labor.

45. Through these five operations, by which God is worshiped, the beginner in stillness ought to pass the day and night; namely, in prayer, that is to say, in the memory of the Lord Jesus Christ, continuously introduced [in another manuscript: invoked], as has been said before, through the breath of the nose ^D into the heart gently, and again in this manner brought forth, with lips closed, without any other thought or imagination—which, through the temperate control of the belly, we say, of sleep and of other sensible things, is accomplished within the cell with sincere humility—in psalmody, in reading from the holy Psalter, the Apostle, and the holy Gospels, and from the writings of the God-bearing and holy Fathers, and especially the chapters on prayer and watchfulness, and in addition the other divine oracles of the Holy Spirit, in the laborious memory of sins of the heart, and in the meditation upon the judgment of God, or of death, or of punishment, or of delight, and the like; and in light manual labor, as a muzzle for sloth, and again to return [45 cont.] to prayer, even if...

the matter has force until the mind becomes accustomed to cast aside its own wandering easily through complete contemplation toward the Lord Jesus Christ, and through constant memory, and through a continuous inclination to the inward treasury, that is, the hidden space of the heart, and through firm rootedness. For the holy Isaac also writes: "Make haste to enter into thy treasury ^B within, and thou shalt see the heavenly treasury; for this and that are one, and in one entry thou beholdest both." And the holy Maximus: "The heart directs the whole organ, and when grace has taken hold of the pastures of the heart, it governs all thoughts and members. For there is the mind, and all the thoughts of the soul; there, therefore, it behooves us to watch, whether the grace of the Holy Spirit has inscribed its laws." There—where? In the leading ^C organ, in the throne of grace, where the mind is, and all the thoughts of the soul, that is to say, in the heart.

Whence those who desire to live in peace according to reason must begin, and what is the beginning, and the increase, and the advancement, and the perfection.

46. This is the work of the ancient monks, the first, and as it were introductory for those who choose ^D to live in peace according to reason, beginning from the fear of God, and the fulfillment of all the deifying commandments according to their strength; from freedom from the cares of reasonable and unreasonable things, and above all from faith and from the utter flight of things contrary to it, and from a pure disposition toward Him who truly Is, as has been said; but as they grow in unashamed hope, and advance to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, through prayer of the heart—pure, and becoming unwavering, and occurring through a complete, divinely inspired, and fervent love, and thus being perfected—through motionless and unceasing spiritual prayer, and through that which wells up from perfect love toward Him alone, by a direct ecstasy, and by the rapture and union of the highest object of desire, which is the unerring advancement and resurrection [or, uplifting] from action toward contemplation, which the ancestor of God, David, also suffered, and being changed by that blessed change, he cried out loudly: "I said in my ecstasy, Every man is a liar." And another of those who shone in the Old Testament: "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what God hath prepared for them that love Him." And the great Paul, concluding this, adds: "But to us God has revealed it through His Spirit; for the Spirit searcheth all things, even the deep things of God."

On the order of stillness for beginners.

47. The beginner, then, as we have said, must not constantly depart from his cell, nor converse with others, and must refrain from all outward looking, unless there is great necessity, and then with attention and safety, and rarely, as the divine Isaac says: "In everything, let this memory remain in thee, that the help which arises from guarding is better than the help which comes from works." And not only for beginners, but also for those who have already...

progressed, such things cause scattering and distraction, as the same holy Isaac says again, that "Rest harms only the young, but relaxation harms both the young and the old; and peace mortifies the external senses, but excites the internal movements; while external conversation does the opposite of these things, that is, it excites the external senses and mortifies the internal movements." ^A And he indeed indicates action, or rather the way of peace, by these words; while the *Ladder* signifies him who acts and walks well along this path by what follows, writing: "The hesychast is one who strives to enclose the incorporeal in a bodily house, which is a most paradoxical thing; and the hesychast is he who said: 'I sleep, and my heart watcheth;' and he shuts indeed the door of the cell to the body, and the door of the tongue to speech, and the door of the spirit within." ^B He is peaceful who strives to determine the incorporeal in a bodily house, which is worthy of the greatest praise; and peaceful is he who said: "I sleep, but my heart watcheth"; and he has indeed closed the door of the cell to the body, and the door of the tongue to sound, and within he has closed the door of the spirit.

Of prayer which is performed with attention and the vigilance of the heart, and of its operation.

48. Prayer which is performed with attention and vigilance within the heart, as has been said, without any other cogitation and imagination, clearly, is performed through these words: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God," and through the memory of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, the mind is extended immaterially and utterance-lessly; but through the "Have mercy on me," it returns and is moved toward itself, as if unable to endure not praying for itself; but having progressed toward charity through experience, it is turned singular-ly toward the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, for it has received manifest persuasion of the second. ^C

How the divine Fathers have delivered to us to say the prayer, and that it is done differently, and what prayer is.

49. Therefore, not all the divine Fathers appear to have delivered the prayer in its entirety; but one indeed [delivered it] whole, another half; another in part, and another in a different way, according to the powers and state of the one praying. And the divine Chrysostom indeed delivered it in its entirely, thus saying: "I exhort you, brethren, never to trample upon or despise the rule of prayer. For I once heard the Fathers saying: 'Who is that monk who would despise or trample upon the rule? But he ought, whether he eats, or drinks, or sits, or serves, or travels, or does any other thing, incessantly to cry out: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me,' ^D so that this memory of the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may stir him to fight against the enemy. For the soul that uses force can find everything through memory, whether evil things or good things. But first it is permitted to see the evil within his heart, and then the good; for memory can stir the dragon, and memory can humble him; memory can detect the sin dwelling in us, and memory can destroy it and stir up all the power of the enemy in the heart, and memory can overcome and eradicate it by parts; so that the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, descending into the depths of the heart...

may humble the dragon that holds its pastures, and save and vivify the soul. Persistently, therefore, remain with the name of the Lord Jesus, that the heart may swallow the Lord, and the Lord the heart, and the two become one. But this task is not of one day, or two, but of much time; for much struggle and much time are needed, so that the enemy may be cast out, and Christ may dwell within. ^B And again: "It is necessary to strengthen and rein in the mind, and put a bridle upon it, and to chastise every thought and every energy of the wicked one through the invocation of our Lord Jesus Christ." And where the body stands, there let the mind also be, that between God and the heart nothing else may be found as an intermediate wall, or a partition darkening the heart, and separating the mind from God. If at any time it carries the mind away, you must not linger on the thoughts, so that the assent to these thoughts may not be reckoned to his account on the day of judgment before the Lord, when God shall judge the hidden things of men. Be at leisure, therefore, always, and cleave to the Lord our God, until He has mercy upon you, and seek nothing else, but only mercy from the Lord of glory. And seeking mercy, seek it with a humble and wretched heart, and cry from morning until evening, and if possible, even the whole night, "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me," and force your mind to this task even unto death; for this task requires much violence, because "narrow is the gate and strait the way which leads to life, and the violent enter into it"; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to the violent. I exhort you, therefore, do not separate your hearts from God, but cleave to Him and guard them always and everywhere with the memory of our Lord Jesus Christ, until the name of the Lord is planted within in the heart, and it thinks of nothing else, so that Christ may be magnified in you. ^C Before this, however, the great Paul, putting forward the Lord Jesus, says: "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." And again: "No one says that Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit." And he adds "by the Holy Spirit," that is, when the heart receives the power of the Holy Spirit, through which it also prays, which belongs to those who have made progress, and who have become rich in Christ, who manifestly dwells within them. Consistently with this, the holy Diadochus also says: "The mind demands from us, when we have blocked all its exits with the memory of God, a task which can satisfy its diligence. Therefore, we must give it this: 'Lord Jesus,' solely for the entire operation, which tends toward the goal. For no one can say the Lord Jesus, except by the Holy Spirit. But let him contemplate this word strictly in his inner treasuries, ^D lest he wander into some fantasies. For whoever meditates on that glorious and lovable name continuously in the profound heart, they are able also to perceive the light of the mind at times; for by strict study, having been occupied with thought, it burns up all the filth emerging in the soul. For God...

He says, is a consuming fire; whence also the Lord finally calls ^A the soul to great love of His glory. For that glorious and lovable name, abiding through the memory of the mind in the warmth of the heart, begets in us a habit of completely loving His goodness, with nothing left to hinder it. For this is the precious pearl, which anyone having sold all his wealth can purchase, and have inexpressible joy at its finding. The holy Hesychius, writing thus about Christ Jesus, adds: "The soul flying through death in the air to the gates of heaven, having Jesus with it and above it, will not fear its enemies there, but with confidence, as now, so then at the gates will speak to them, provided that at its exit it does not cease to cry out to the Lord Jesus Christ day and night; and He Himself will perform its vengeance speedily, according to His own and God’s promise, which He expressed concerning the judge of iniquity; and I say to you truly, He will do it both in the present life and after its soul has departed from the body." And the one of the Ladder, saying Jesus alone: "With the name of Jesus whip the enemies; for there is no weapon stronger in heaven and on earth," and he adds nothing else. And again he says: "Let the memory of Jesus be united to your breath, and then you will know the benefit of stillness."

^C Item, that not only among the aforementioned holy Fathers, but also from the very foremost of the apostles, Peter, and Paul, and John, are found the words of the holy and life-giving prayer somehow mystically signified in the Spirit.

V. Not only by these aforementioned God-bearing Fathers, and those after them, will one find such words of holy prayer somehow mystically signified, but certainly before them, even from the first and foremost apostles themselves, we mean those around Peter, and Paul, and John. For one says, as we have mentioned before: "No one can say 'Lord Jesus' except in the Holy Spirit," and another: "Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God." And the chief of the disciples of Christ, to the question directed by the Savior and Master to the apostles themselves, "Who do people say that I am?" bringing forward that most blessed confession, answered: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." For this reason also those who came after them, our glorious instructors, and rather those who pursued the life without yoke, and the eremitic and quiet life, gathered such utterances scattered here and there, and part by part, in these three pillars of the holy Church, proclaimed in advance as divine voices put forth according to revelation in the Holy Spirit, ^D and for these three men worthy of faith, as most things declare and testify, "In the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established," those heavenly men, gathering them into one and with the Spirit dwelling in them,

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ^B climantes, they have announced the column of prayer, and have commended those who followed them to occupy and keep it in the same manner. Observe, therefore, the order and consequence, which stands out greatly with divine wisdom. One, indeed, says "Jesus," another "Jesus Christ," but the third "Christ the Son of God," as if one were following another, and they held together among themselves by the concord and bond of such words. For you may see each one of them taking the voice which is at the end in the next, and the matter being so regarding the third. And you will see the same regarding the addition of the Holy Spirit. For the blessed Paul saying: "No one can say 'Lord Jesus,' except in the Holy Spirit," ^C at this final word, namely the Holy Spirit, he who has a voice like thunder, John, began in his usage, saying: "Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God." They have placed these before all things, not spontaneously nor of themselves, but led by the hand of the most holy Spirit. For indeed the confession of the divine Peter was made through revelation in the Holy Spirit. "For all these," he says, "works one and the same Spirit, dividing to each one as He wills." And thus, therefore, the context and stitching of the life-giving thread of prayer, having been applied and unbroken, has been most wisely and learnedly constructed, and has reached down to us, keeping the same method.

The addition, therefore, of this voice, "Have mercy on me," the Fathers who followed them have made and ordered with these saving words, namely "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God," and especially because of those who are still infants in virtue, namely the beginners and the imperfect. For those who have progressed and are perfect in Christ, through each one of those oracles, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God," or even sometimes through the sole invocation of "Jesus," are sufficient for themselves, and they embrace ^D and apply it as the universal work of prayer, and through it are filled with a joy ineffable and surpassing all sight and hearing. And thus, therefore, these most blessed men, dwelling outside the flesh and the world, imposing silence upon their senses, raised by the gift and grace into the most ardent and happiest love for the Divine which dwells within them, are cleansed and illuminated, and are made perfect, inasmuch as they look accurately at the supernatural and eternal and uncreated grace of the supersubstantial Godhead, in the part of a pledge, obscurely as in a mirror, contented by memory alone and meditation, as has been said, with one or another appellation of the Word of God and Man, through this they are lifted up into raptures and knowledge and revelation, which they experience in the Spirit without speech. In manifestation of which and most evident faith, our sweetest and most loving Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, whose words, acts, and deeds are, according to Him, Spirit and life to us, clearly revealed, saying: "Without me you can do nothing." And, "If you ask anything in my name, I will do it." And those things which follow and have been handed down to us.

That it is permitted even for beginners to pray at times with the entire words of the prayer, and at times with a part of it, yet always within the heart, and that one should not continually change the words.

^B 51. It is permitted even for beginners to pray at times with the entire words of the prayer, and at times with a part of it, yet within the heart and perpetually; for according to the holy Diadochus, "He who always dwells in his own heart departs from the things of this beautiful life." For one who walks in the Spirit cannot know the desires of the flesh, since he henceforth conducts his walk within the fortress of the virtues, having these virtues as it were the gatekeepers of the citadel of purity. Therefore, the schemes of the demons become henceforth ineffectual against him. And the holy Isaac also writes: "The heart of him who keeps watch over his soul every hour rejoices in revelations; and he who gathers his contemplation within himself beholds the radiance of the Spirit." Whoever has loathed all distraction beholds his Master within the depths of his heart, and one must not continually change the phrases of prayer, lest the mind, having become accustomed to constant change and shifting—to a kind of instability and wavering—remain unsteady and unfruitful, like trees that are constantly moved and transplanted.

That the fruit of praying within the heart also requires much time, and struggle, and violence, and that every good thing is accomplished through much toil and time.

52. And this praying always within the heart, and likewise the things that go beyond it, are not accomplished simply, or as it happens, or through brief and momentary toil. Even if this is indeed found rarely in some by an ineffable providence, it requires much time, and labor, and struggle of both body and soul, and much violence, and intensified effort for its accomplishment. For according to the portion of the gift of grace ^C that we hope to be granted in participation, it behooves us to exert our own struggles in proportion to our strength, and to measure out the hours; and this is, according to the holy Fathers, to cast out the enemy from the pastures of the heart and to establish Christ clearly within it. For the holy Isaac also says: "He who wishes to see the Lord makes an effort to cleanse his heart with the uninterrupted memory of God, and thus in the radiance of his intellect he shall behold the Lord at every hour." And the holy Barsanuphius says: "Unless the inward operation united with God helps a man, he toils in vain in outward things. For the inward operation brings purity along with the labor of the heart; and purity, in turn, [brings] true

stillness of heart, and this stillness brings humility, and humility makes man a dwelling-place of God. And from this dwelling-place, the demons are cast out along with the passions, and thus man becomes a temple of God, full of sanctification, full of illumination, and of purity and grace. Blessed, then, is he who beholds his own Lord in the inner sanctum of the heart, pouring out his prayer with weeping before His goodness. And the pious John of Karpathos [says]: "Much struggle and time is needed in prayers, so that we may find in the undisturbed state of the mind another heavenly space within the heart, where Christ dwells, as the Apostle says: ^B 'Or do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you? Unless indeed you fail to meet the test!' And the great Chrysostom [says]: "Incessantly cleave to the name of the Lord Jesus, that the heart may swallow the Lord, and the Lord the heart, and the two may become one." But this work is not of one day or two, but of long and much time; for much struggle and time is needed so that the enemy may be cast out and Christ may dwell within. And so much for these things; let the discourse return to what was proposed in order.

Concerning prayer of the heart that is not [yet] pure, and how one comes to pure and constant prayer.

53. From adhering to the aforementioned method of interior and pure and constant prayer—even if it is not perhaps otherwise pure and ^C constant—it is manifest that the one who struggles, despite the phantasies and thoughts that obstruct his prayer, comes to a habit of praying without violence and inconstancy, and [prays] purely and truly. That is, by keeping (the mind) in the heart, and not with force and contempt through the inspiration introducing and again extracting [the mind], but by always adhering to it and thus praying perpetually. For the holy Hesychios says: "He who does not have prayer free from thoughts has no weapon for battle; and by prayer I mean that which is ceaselessly active in the inner sanctum of the heart, so that by the invocation of Jesus Christ, the one who fights in secret may be scourged and the enemy may be burned." ^D And again: "Blessed is he who is thus joined to the prayer of Jesus in his understanding, and invokes Him unceasingly in his heart, just as air is united to our bodies, or as flame to wax." And again: "And as the sun, passing over the earth, makes the day, so the holy and venerable name of the Lord Jesus, shining continuously in the understanding, will generate unnumbered sun-like thoughts."

Concerning constant and pure prayer of the heart, and the ardor born from it.

54. This is and is called prayer of the heart—pure and constant, as has been said—from which a certain ardor is born in the heart, according to that: "My heart was warmed within me, and in my meditation, a fire shall be kindled." (Ps. XXXVIII, 4).

^A This is the fire which the Lord Jesus Christ came to cast into the earth of our hearts, which previously bore thorns because of the passions, but now by grace brings forth the Spirit, as our Lord Jesus Christ says: "I have come to cast fire upon the earth, and what will I, if it be already kindled?" (Luc. XII, 49). This fire, having once warmed and burned those about Cleopas, caused them to cry out to one another in ecstasy: "Was not our heart burning within us in the way?" (Luc. XXIV, 32). The great John of Damascus also says, in one of his hymns to the all-holy Theotokos: "The fire which lies hidden in the heart draws me to sing of the love of the Virgin."

St. Isaac also writes: "From intense labor is born the immeasurable warmth, which is kindled in the heart from the ardent desires that have newly come upon the intellect. This labor and watchfulness thin out the mind ^B with their warmth and provide it with vision; and as it progresses, the outpouring of tears is born from this warmth which arises from the grace of contemplation. After a little, the soul receives peace of thoughts from the unceasing tears. From the peace of thoughts, it is raised to the purity of the mind; through the purity of the mind, man comes to see the mysteries of God."

And after a few words: "After these things, the mind arrives at seeing revelations and signs, just as the prophet Ezekiel saw." And further: "Tears and the beating of the head in prayer, and rolling about with warmth, awaken the warmth of their sweetness within the heart; and with praised ecstasy, the heart flies toward God and cries: 'My soul hath thirsted after the strong, living God; when shall I come and appear before the face of God?' (Ps. XLI, 3), and so on."

And [the author] of the Ladder: "Fire having settled in the heart, it has awakened prayer; this having been aroused and caught up into heaven, a descent of fire in the upper room of the soul has come to pass."

Further: "Who then is the faithful and wise monk, who has kept his own warmth unquenchable, and until his departure, day by day, ^C adding fire to fire, and warmth to warmth, and desire to desire, and zeal to zeal, has not ceased?"

And St. Elias the Ecdicus: "When the soul, having desisted from external things, is joined to the Soul, then, like a flame surrounding it—just as fire [affects] iron—it renders it entirely ignited. It is indeed the same soul, but no longer touchable. For the ignited iron can no longer be grasped."

And further: "Blessed is he who in this life is deemed worthy to be seen as such; and having seen that his own sculpted form, by nature earthen, has by grace been made fiery!"

That warmth also has a different origin, and the one from pure prayer of the heart is more sovereign.

55. Know also that such warmth has the origin of its existence in us in various and manifold ways.

And this is evident from the oracles of the saints set forth, but we hesitate to say [it comes] from the action itself; yet ^A there is a way in which the warmth resulting from pure prayer of the heart is more sovereign than these. Progressing continuously with it, and increasing, it brings one to the subsistent light, that is, it renders the one in such a state enlightened in a subsistent manner, according to the Fathers.

What is the work of the warmth of the heart?

56. Such warmth immediately drives away the things that hinder the prior, pure prayer from being accomplished ^B perfectly. For our God is a fire, and a fire consuming the wickedness of the demons and of our passions. For the holy Diadochus also says: "When the heart receives the arrows of the demons with a certain sharp pain, such that it imagines it is the enemy himself bringing these weapons, then the soul, as if beginning to be cleansed, hates the passions with pain." Therefore, if one does not suffer greatly over the impudence of sin, one will not be able to rejoice richly in the goodness of righteousness. He, then, who wishes to purify his heart, let him inflame it perpetually with the memory of Jesus Christ, having this alone as his meditation and unceasing work. For it is not the case that those who wish to cast out their own corruption ought to pray ^C at one time and not at another; but rather, they must always be occupied with prayer in the custody of the mind, even if they should happen to be lodging somewhere outside the houses of prayer. For just as he who wishes to purify gold, if he allows the fire beneath the furnace to be extinguished even for a little while, causes the material to become hard again; so too he who remembers God at one time, but at another does not, loses through idleness what he seems to have acquired through prayer. It is, however, the characteristic of a man who is a lover of virtue to use the memory of God to consume the earthly element of the heart, so that in this way, with the evil being gradually consumed by the fire of the memory of the good, the soul may ^D return perfectly to its natural brightness with greater glory. And so, the mind remaining in the heart without hindrance, prays purely and without error, according to the holy one who says: "Then is prayer true and unerring, when the mind guards the heart while praying." And the holy Hesychius also writes: "This is a monk who is truly such, he who perfects watchfulness, and thus he is truly sober, who is a monk in the heart."

Concerning the longing and love that arises from fervent attention and prayer.

57. In such warmth, and with attention and prayer—that is, pure prayer—there is born in the heart a desire and divine love and charity toward the Lord Jesus Christ, who is always being remembered, as it is written: "Young maidens have loved me, they have drawn me," and that "I am wounded with love." And the holy Maximus also says: "All the virtues cooperate with the mind toward divine love, but most of all

pure prayer. For by this the mind, taking wing toward God, is established outside of all things."

On tears of the heart; and further on divine desire and love.

58. From this heart, a tear for the most part flows forth, cleansing and fattening him who has acquired these things through charity, but not softening and drying them. For this is what they work: the one from divine fear, and the other from divine love, through an intense and unrestrained desire and love for the remembered Lord Jesus Christ. And the soul, inspired, cries out: "You have charmed me with desire, O Christ, and have changed me with your divine love." And: "You are the whole, O Savior, sweetness; you are all desire and yearning; you are wholly beyond ^B comprehension; you are wholly indescribable beauty." And with Paul, the herald of Christ, it cries out: "The charity of God compasses us," and: "Who shall separate us from the charity of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or hunger, or nakedness, or danger, or the sword?" And again: "I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the charity of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Exhortation not to seek anything beyond measure; and also an incitement to the continuous memory of our Lord Jesus Christ in the heart.

59. If, therefore, one is to be deemed worthy of these things, and of all that follows—which it is not timely to speak of now—do not seek, it says, for what pertains to the season before the season. And good is not good when it is not done well. And according to the holy Mark, it is not profitable to know things that come later before the performance of things that come earlier; for knowledge puffs up on account of idleness, but charity edifies by enduring all things. One ^C must hasten and always strive, as has been said, to carry the memory of the Lord Jesus Christ continuously in the depth of the heart, and not outwardly or superficially, as the same blessed Mark also says concerning this: "Unless the inmost and hidden and sincere space of our heart be opened through universal and intellectual hope, it is not possible to know firmly Him who dwells within, nor to know whether our rational sacrifices have been accepted or not."

On ardent zeal, and the divine appearance within us, and the substantial illumination of grace.

60. For thus one will readily turn away, not only from evil works, but also from passionate thoughts and unseemly fantasies, as it is written: "Walk in the spirit, and you shall not fulfill the desires of the flesh." Nay rather, he will depart from every thought and every fantasy, as burning them up with an ardent zeal for virtue, so to speak, and ^D expelling every act of malice, whether through the senses or through the mind, which previously operated within him, together with the leaders of these things, the demons who rejoice in alien evil.

^A Terrible is he to the demons and beloved of God and His angels, who with burning zeal eradicates the thorns planted within him by the enemy. And he will reach a state of progress so as to have from this a certainty of the love for Him, and of the manifest appearance, and indwelling of the substantial and most divine light of grace. Or, if you wish to express it this way, he will quite brightly run back to that nobility and spiritual adoption given to us from above through the grace of baptism. And again, holy Isaac says: «This is Jerusalem, and the kingdom of God, which is hidden within us according to the word of the Lord. This place is the cloud of the glory of God, into which only the pure in heart shall enter to behold the face of their own Master.» Only let him not seek the appearance of God, lest he receive the one who is truly darkness, and pretends to be light.

On divine operation, and that which is contrary.

61. When, however, his mind sees light not seeking it, let him not accept it immediately, nor yet reject it, as the holy Mark says, for «There is an operation of grace unknown to the infant. And there is another [operation] of malice, very similar to the truth. It is good for those who are not erring not to contemplate such things, nor to curse them for the sake of truth; but in all things to take refuge in God through hope. For He Himself knows what is useful in both cases; but let him ask the one who has grace and power before God to teach him, and to discern.»

On the illuminated and unerring master.

62. And if he finds one who can teach, not only as he has known from the divine Scripture, but as he himself has also blessedily experienced the divine illumination, thanks be to God. If not, it is better not to accept [it], but to take refuge in God in humility, deeming himself unworthy of such high merit and contemplation with a sincere heart; just as it has been said, and from those things which will be said, and as we have been initiated, by the grace of Christ, from lips that do not lie, moved and speaking by the Holy Spirit; and from the God-inspired Scriptures and from personal experience. ^C

On true and false light, that is, on divine and evil light.

63. For even if, in some of their writings, our glorious Fathers give us the signs of unerring light and of that which is of deception, as indeed the thrice-blessed Paul did when he spoke to a disciple of his who asked him about such a matter, that "the light of the opposing power is like fire, smoky, and conforms to material fire; and when a soul that is a friend of virtue and pure sees it, it is without joy and rejects it. But the light of the good is good, and most pleasing, and pure; and as it comes it sanctifies, and fills the soul with light and joy and serenity, and makes it gentle and merciful." And others say similar things. But nevertheless, you hear the aforesaid things also from one delivering them by living voice,

and so you shall likewise hear about this in due time; for now is not the time.

On base and noble phantasia, and how one must approach them.

^A 64. Since a little while ago we mentioned phantasia, and base phantasia, it is most useful, as it seems to us, to speak briefly about it, or rather about all phantasia, as far as is possible. For this cursed thing resists the pure and heart-felt prayer, and the singular and unerring activity of the mind, with great intensity. Whence the divine Fathers express themselves many times about it and against it. This multi-form phantasia, then—like the fabled Daedalus, and many-headed like the Hydra—has been called by the saints a kind of bridge for the demons. For through it, the murderous spirits ^B pass across and cross over, communicating and mingling with the soul, making it a hive of drones and a dwelling-place of fruitless and passionate thoughts. This phantasia, then, is to be rejected altogether; unless perhaps you wish, for the sake of repentance, and contrition, and mourning, and humility—and above all, for the meditation on the things that are—to set a noble phantasia against a base one, and to weigh them against each other; and by mixing that with this, and acting in opposition, and like a deserter having basely cast off his shield, having fallen defeated and cast down, you may be able to celebrate a triumph. And so, by acting in this way, you would be the author not only of causing no harm, but even of profit to yourself, as one who directs his own affairs with steady judgment, ^C destroying the base phantasia with a noble one, and striking and killing these enemies with the weapons of their opposites, just as divine David of old did to Goliath.

That not only base phantasia, but also noble phantasia, is to be rejected by the saints for pure prayer and for the simple and singular activity of the mind.

65. This, however, is a struggle for those who are still infants, that is, for beginners. For those who have advanced in time cast away the base phantasia altogether along with the noble one, and make them vanish—burning them up and dissolving them like wax before the face of fire—because of pure prayer, and the unformed stripping away and nakedness of the mind from all things, for the sake of the simple approach to God; ^D or if you will, for the sake of receiving [Him], and of that unconfigured and singular union. For the holy Hesychius also says: "Every thought is a phantasia in the mind of some sensible thing." For the Assyrian, that is the spirit, is not able to deceive in any other way unless he uses the things that are sensible and familiar to us. And the holy Diadochus: "Since every thought enters the heart through the phantasia of certain sensible things, then the blessed light of the Godhead shines upon it when it has completely found rest from all things, and has become unconfigured from them, if indeed the splendor of that Light appears to the pure mind through the privation of all thoughts." And the great Basil:

^A "Just as the Lord does not dwell in temples made by hands, so neither does He dwell in certain configurations and mental images." For these are cast forth as barriers to the soul that has been corrupted, which is not able to gaze purely toward the truth, but is still held by the mirror and the enigma. And the divine Evagrius: "God is said to sit there, where He is known; hence the pure mind is called the throne of God." The thought of God, therefore, will not be found in the thoughts that configure the mind, but in thoughts that do not configure it. Wherefore, he who prays must be separated entirely from the thoughts that configure the mind; for the mind will be configured in one way when it contemplates the mind, and will be disposed in another way when it contemplates the Word of God. ^B From this we learn how spiritual knowledge detaches the mind from the thoughts that configure it, and, rendering it unconfigured, presents it to God. And holy Maximus in the *Scholia* on the great Dionysius: "Phantasy is one thing, and thought—that is, the concept—is another. For they arise from different faculties, and they differ in the nature of their movement. For thought is a kind of efficacy and action; but phantasy is a passion and a figurative representation that brings news of something sensible, or as of something sensible. And sense perception perceives beings according to an obtuse formation. But the mind touches—that is, perceives—beings in another ^C way, and not as sense perception does. Concerning, then, the corporeal or the spiritual, in which we previously said the senses also exist, the movement is passive and figurative. But judgment and intellect are to be granted to the soul and to the mind. Imagination, therefore, must be removed from this intellect of the mind. Imagination is divided into three parts: the first is the capacity for imaging that provides the sensible form to the things that cause the perception; the second is that which fashions a type from the residues remaining from these things, which does not have images resting upon anything, which they properly call 'phantastic'; the third is that in which all pleasure and the imagination of what is thought to be good, or the sadness of that which seems evil, ^D is composed. No phantasy, therefore, as has been said, has a place in God; for He is, once and for all, simply beyond thought and transcends it. And again the great Basil: "The mind that is not dissipated upon external things, nor scattered toward the world through the senses, returns to itself; and through itself it ascends to the thought of God, and, being illuminated by that beauty, it receives a forgetting of its own nature." You, therefore, knowing these things, strive at all hours to pray to God without phantasy, without figure, and without form, as a whole with the whole, with a pure mind and with a pure soul; for holy Maximus also speaks thus.

Concerning the mind, soul, and heart that are pure and perfect.

§ 66. Concerning the pure mind.—A pure mind is that which has been separated from ignorance, and is illuminated by the divine light.

^A

Concerning a pure soul.

Concerning a pure heart.

Concerning a perfect mind.

Concerning a perfect soul.

Concerning a perfect heart.

Concerning the pure [mind].

How the prophets had visions.

^A of the governing mind." And the Theologian Gregory says: "This (that is, the Holy Spirit) operated previously in the angelic and celestial powers." And a little later: "Then in the Fathers and the prophets: some of whom represented God to themselves and knew Him, while others foretold the future; they had the governing mind molded by the Spirit, and were present to future things as if they were actually there."

Still further concerning phantasies, and the many and various contemplations.

68. If there are some who still doubt, as they accept phantasies and many and various contemplations, and resist us—thinking that they are adhering to the footsteps of the saints, and contending that the Theologian means that God is only shadowed forth by the mind, not from those things that are in Him, but from those things that are around Him, by a phantasy gathered from one thing to another into one certain image of truth, and so on; and that the divine Maximus says that the mind cannot become without passion ^B from actions alone, unless it receives many and various images; and that similarly other saints say things equal to these—let such persons know that these words of those blessed ones do not refer to the operation which is according to reception and the grace of knowledge and vision, which through experience itself joins man to God, but rather to that which is through effort [conatum], namely, that which proceeds from wisdom and from that contemplation which gathers together the analogies and harmonies of things, and inclines in some ^C way, albeit obscurely, to the thought of God—which is easy of access and thought for the many, or rather for all. So that whoever examines such oracles of the saints with reflection will clearly perceive that it was written: "From the greatness and beauty of created things, the Creator is proportionately perceived" [Wisd. 13:5], that is, from that profane, verbose, vain, and laborious knowledge of the world. For that, as an obscure handmaid, and one puffed up with learned sophistical and demonstrative thought, not following evangelical faith and humility and true assent, is driven far from the sacred doors. Our discourse now, however, is about the perfect and substantial illumination, just as the chosen apostles who, ascending the mountain of Tabor with Jesus, underwent an ineffably ^D beautiful and truly blessed transformation, and were accounted worthy to behold the invisible kingdom and Divinity, their sense of sight having been prepared for something more divine—that is, having been made spiritual by the right hand of the all-holy Spirit. For as far as the east is from the west, and heaven from earth, and as the soul excels the body, by so much does the operation and grace through reception excel that which is through effort. The latter, to be sure—that which is through effort—is profane, as we have said, and has its progress through the well-ordered motions of things, and the order and collection of images following one from another, and is extended to God in faith. The former, however—that which is through reception—is accustomed to be produced immediately by God Himself, substantially within the heart; and sometimes it even makes the body a participant in its own illumination and most divine light, which is above thought, by a supernatural illumination of the heart.

according to ^A the most wise Maximus, not generating the unbegotten deification. For this saint says: "I call unbegotten deification that illumination which comes to pass according to the essential form of the Divinity; which has no generation, but an inconceivable manifestation in those who are worthy." The great Dionysius also speaks in harmony with what has been said: "One must know that our mind possesses a power for thinking, by which it perceives intelligible things; but it also possesses a union which transcends the nature of the mind, by which it is joined to things that are beyond itself." And the holy Isaac says: "We possess two psychic eyes, as the Fathers say, and the usefulness of the contemplation through each is not the same. For with one eye we see the things hidden in natures, that is, the power of God, and His wisdom, and His providence towards us, which is perceived from the holiness of His governance towards us; and with the other eye we behold the glory of His holy nature, whenever God deigns to lead us into spiritual mysteries." And the divine Diadochus says: "Wisdom and knowledge are gifts of the one Holy Spirit, as are all divine gifts, but each has its own proper energy. Wherefore the Apostle testifies that to one is given wisdom, and to another knowledge, by the same Spirit. For knowledge unites man to God by experience, without moving the soul to ^B reasonings about things. Therefore, some of those who pursue the monastic life are indeed illuminated by it in sense, but they do not arrive at divine reasonings. But wisdom, if it be given to someone with fear (and this is rare), manifests the very energies of knowledge; since the one is accustomed to illuminate by energy, the other by reason. And prayer, along with much tranquility and complete freedom from care, brings knowledge. But the unvain study of the oracles of God brings wisdom, and first the grace of the God who gives." And furthermore, the holy Maximus says in the Scholia: "The well of Jacob is Scripture; the water is the knowledge which is in Scripture; the deep is the difficult contemplation of the Scriptural enigmas; the drawing is the instruction through the letters of the divine Word, which the Lord did not have, since He was the Word Himself, and He gave to those who believe not the knowledge from instruction and meditation, but the ever-flowing, spiritual wisdom from grace, which never ceases, bestowing it upon the worthy. For the drawing, that is to say the instruction, receiving the smallest part of knowledge, leaves the whole, being unable by any reason to grasp it. But knowledge according to grace has the whole, and without meditation, it brings ^C forth such wisdom as is appropriate for men, for various needs." And again the holy Diadochus: "Our mind, for the most part, is moved with difficulty toward prayer; because, indeed, the volitional virtue is too narrow and constricted; but theology freely offers itself, because divine contemplation is broad and unconstrained. But let us not give ourselves the will to say many things, and let us not think to fly beyond measure, for cheerfulness, prayer, ^D and psalmody...

and the reading of the holy Scriptures, to which we devote our time, should not allow us to neglect the discipline of learned men, the faith of whom is known through their writings. And while doing this, let us not permit the mind to mix its own words with the words of grace, nor to be distracted by vainglory, dispersed by excessive joy and talkativeness; but let us guard it far from every ^A fantasy at the time of contemplation, and let us cultivate in it, from this, all tearful thoughts. For the one who rests in times of quiet, and who delights especially in the sweetness of prayer, not only remains free from the aforementioned faults, but is more and more renewed, so that he may cast himself vividly and without labor into divine thoughts by degrees, and abound in the knowledge of discernment with much humility. It must be known, however, that prayer excels every latitude; but it belongs only to those who are filled in every sense and faith with the grace of God. Have you heard? There is, he says, a prayer surpassing all latitude, which belongs only to those who, within and in the heart, in every sense and faith, are substantially and supernaturally flooded with the divine light of grace. The holy Isaac calls this "unsealed memory," meaning formless and imageless and simple. And other holy Fathers speak of it in other ways.

On the Five Powers of the Soul; and likewise also concerning the fantasies peculiar to the soul and the mind, and that it is necessary to flee entirely from fantasy, and figures, and types, and forms, in pure prayer and in the simple and unified operation of the mind.

69. But, since it has been demonstrated ^C that the soul can imagine not only from demons but also naturally from itself through its five powers—namely the mind, the intellect, opinion, fantasy, and sense, just as the body has five senses: sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch—and since fantasy is, as we have said, one of the soul's powers through which the soul is possessed of the faculty of imagining, it is necessary to govern and temper it well in those things which pertain to it, to incite those powers which most closely join it to God, both in the present age and in the future, and to direct them toward God; but as for the rest, it is necessary to care for them ^D as is fitting, and to use them, and to do them. It must be inquired, therefore, what the Fathers have said concerning all these things, and what seems probable. And the holy Maximus says: "Since the soul by itself, that is, through its own substance, is rational and intellectual, and altogether subsists by itself. And if it subsists by itself, it will act by itself and according to itself naturally, and with the body, naturally thinking and reasoning, and never naturally granting rest to the spiritual powers inherent within it; for those things which by nature belong to any substance [remain]..."

as long as it exists and subsists, cannot be taken away. ^A The soul, therefore, which from the moment it was created has always existed and subsisted through God who created it, always thinks, reasons, and knows—both by itself and with the body—through itself and its own nature. Thus, no argument will be found capable of separating the soul from those things that naturally belong to it, nor through the body, after its dissolution. Since, therefore, we know—and are instructed by the holy ones—that the mind and the intellect are moved and operate toward God both in the present age and in the one to come, while the other powers do so in the present age alone as being proper to this age, it is necessary, therefore, that the soul, as a skilled governor and naturally ruling over them, should not only in the present age, as we have said, direct and move its labor, mind, and thought completely and ardently toward God, and unite with Him during the time of pure, spiritual, single, and simple prayer; but it is necessary, I say, that it completely separate them from fantasy and from the other powers. For as Saint Nilus says: ^B "The order of prayer is a state without passion, which with most ardent love snatches the philosopher and spiritual mind to spiritual height." For by acting in this way, the soul will preserve the dignity that befits and adorns it.

Further concerning the mind.

70. Likewise, it is necessary that the mind itself, being an indivisible, simple, and self-sufficient substance, clean and luminous, should keep and guard itself ^C untainted and separated from that—namely, from fantasy; for the mind inherently possesses a natural power to return to itself, to attend to itself, and to be moved. For this is the rest of the mind, which is granted to it by divine grace, as the Climacicus says: "To make the mind rest is nothing but [the work] of the Holy Spirit." For even if, in that it is a power of the soul, the mind is moved and exists in some way from it, yet it is and is called its eye, and it possesses its own natural power ^D that is self-subsistent, as we have said. Therefore, when the mind remains disposed relative to the soul and its powers, it is then as a potential mind, and is called the natural man. But if it recovers its own natural, simple, and essential dignity—the splendor that is indivisible, self-sufficient, and self-governing—that is, if it is delivered from bodily and psychic natural relations and movements, and if it is deemed worthy to transition from being a potential mind to becoming a mind in act, that is, if it rises to the supernatural and spiritual man, then it always returns to itself without straying, and through itself ascends firmly and constantly to the thought of God. This thought has neither form nor figure, but is simple, as the Great Basil says: "The mind that is not scattered upon external things, nor diffused over the world by the senses, returns to itself, and through itself ascends to the thought of God; and, glowing and illumined by that beauty, it receives the knowledge of His nature." And thus, therefore, the image of God

and His likeness, being a mind, and through itself immediately and intellectually being united and joined to the divine, that is to say, to God. This operation is the motion in a circle, that is, the return and turning of the mind to itself, and its union, and the union through itself to God, which alone is truly unerring and faultless, as it is a union that is disengaged, immediate, beyond thought, and a vision beyond sight. And the great Dionysius says: “The motion of the soul is indeed circular, that is, its entry into itself from external things; and the simple involution of its intellectual powers, as in a circle, which provides it with unerringness, and turns it from many things ^B from without, and gathers it first into itself, and then, having become uniform, unites it to the powers that are unified simply, and thus leads it to the Beautiful and Good, which is above all things that exist, and is one and the same, and unbegotten and immortal and eternal. But the soul is moved in a circle in as much as it is properly illuminated by divine knowledge; not mentally and unitively, but logically and periodically, and as though by mixed and transitive faculties. But the straight way is when it does not enter into itself, and is not moved by a single intellect (for that is posterior, as I said, to the motion in a circle), but proceeds to things around it, and is led from external things, as from various complex and manifold symbols, to simple and unified ^C contemplation.” And the holy Maximus says: “Having received an immediate union with God, the mind is able to be entirely empty and free from thinking and from being thought of. When, therefore, it lets go of this faculty, thinking of something of those things that are after God, it is convicted of breaking the union that is above thought, through which, so long as it is with God, as though supernatural and by participation itself become God, it transgresses the law of its nature as an immovable end.” And again: “A pure mind has received a relationship regarding the Cause in a union beyond thought, according to which, having brought to a rest its manifold natural motion and relationship toward things after the Cause, it clings only unknowably, having become, in the unspeakable outcome, partaker of the most blessed silence ^D that is above thought, which neither speech nor thought can fully manifest, but only experience through participation, of those who have been deemed worthy of the enjoyments beyond thought; of which a sign, easy to see and manifest to all, is the soul’s total insensibility and rest regarding its disposition toward this present age.” To this, therefore, the mind, neither being assisted by the soul—that is, to be always moved toward God—nor by itself attaining and performing what is its own—that is, returning to itself and thus ascending disengagedly to the thought of God—or rather not reaping this from either part, but being joined to fantasy, is now henceforth made manifold, and is far distant from God.

Still concerning pure prayer.

That the apatheia of the mind is one thing, and true prayer another, which is even greater.

72. It must be known, therefore, this also, that, if even according to saint Maximus, "The mind cannot become free from passion through action alone without desire, unless many and varied contemplations receive it," yet again, according to the most divine Nilus, it is possible for one who has become free from passion not to pray truly, but to be made manifold, and to be far distant from God. For this Father says concerning such a matter thus: "Even if the mind is above bodily contemplation, it has not yet contemplated the perfect place of God; for it can be in the knowledge of thoughts, and be made manifold toward it." And further: "He who has attained apatheia does not yet pray truly; for he can be in mere thoughts, and be distracted by ^C their histories, and be far distant from God." And further: "Not because the mind lingers in the mere thoughts of things, has it already reached the place of prayer; for it can be in the contemplation of things and chatter in their arguments; which, even if they are mere words, but as theorems belonging to things, they mold the mind, and lead it far away from God." And the one of the Ladder also says: "If the mind has learned to pray truly, these speak to the Lord dominantly and face to face, as those who speak words toward the king's ear." From these and such things, you can accurately understand the difference of both types, and by comparison their dissimilarity, since the one is through reception, and the other through effort. For of the one, the work is cares, and many and varied contemplations. ^D Of the other, the work is true prayer. Moreover, that the apatheia of the mind is one thing, and true prayer another. Furthermore, that he who possesses true prayer, according to the saints, is by every necessity also naturally disposed to possess a mind free from passion, but he who possesses only a mind free from passion has not been able to possess also true prayer. And these things are thus; but let the discourse return to what is proposed to us. Since not only those things which we have said, but also the memory of good and evil things itself, frequently are accustomed to mold the mind and lead it to fantasy;

of this—for this, too, we must speak a little—is the memory of both good and evil, which is wont, in a certain way, to present itself suddenly to the mind and provoke fantasy. It is therefore necessary to say a little about this as well.

Still concerning fantasies, and the images of the mind, and the signs of error and of truth; and what are the signs of error.

^B 75. If you are living in stillness and wish to be alone with God alone, never receive any sensible or intelligible thing that you may see, whether inside or outside yourself, even if it be the supposed form of Christ, or an angel, or the appearance of a saint, or a manifestation of light that appears to the mind. But remain incredulous and heavy/wary toward it—even if it seems good—before you have asked those who are experienced, as we have said. For this is most useful, and most dear and acceptable to God. Always keep your mind without color, without form, without image, without quality, and without quantity. Cleave only to the words of prayer, and apply and contemplate them within the movements of the heart, as the Climacus says: “The beginning of prayer is to pursue the words throughout their preludes by means of soliloquy; the middle is to have the mind attentive to what is being said; and the end is a rapture toward the Lord.” And Saint Nilus likewise says: “The supreme prayer of the perfect is a certain rapture of the mind, a total withdrawal from all things that are according to the senses, with the spirit communing with God through ineffable groanings—He who looks upon the disposition of the heart as an inscribed book, opened up, showing its will in silent signs.” Just as Paul was rapt up to the third heaven, not knowing whether he was in the body or out of the body; similarly, Peter went up to the roof to pray and saw the vision of the sheet. The second prayer, after the first, is to pronounce the words while the mind follows with a subsequent compunction, ^C knowing to whom it addresses its petition. But prayer that is interrupted and dissipated by bodily thoughts has departed from the state of the one who is praying. Remain, therefore, in these things and do not accept others until you have attained peace and have asked those who are experienced, as has been said. These are the signs of error that we have announced, and others similar to them. But see also what are the signs of truth. The signs of truth, and of the good and life-giving Spirit, are love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, ^D temperance, and the rest, as the divine Apostle says, calling them all fruits of the Holy Spirit. He says also again: “Walk as children of light. For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and justice and truth,” of which error possesses the direct opposite. And one of the wise men, being asked by someone, says: “Concerning the secure way of salvation, beloved, as you have said, there are many ways that lead to life, and many that lead to death.” And proceeding further: “You have one way that leads to life: the observance of the commandments of Christ. In these commandments you will find every form of virtue, but especially these three: humility, charity, and mercy, without which no one will see the Lord.” And a little later: “These three are the invincible weapons against the demons, which the Holy Trinity has bestowed upon us: I mean humility and charity and

mercy, against which even the whole swarm of demons cannot look. For there is not among them the slightest trace of humility, since they were blinded by pride and eternal fire was prepared for them. Where is there among them, or even a shadow of, charity or mercy—they who have fostered unceasing hatred toward the human race and do not cease to wage war against it? Let us then be armored with these weapons, which whoever puts on becomes invincible to his enemies.” And a little later: “This triple-woven cord, which the Holy Trinity wove and joined together, we see to be both three and one; three, indeed, in names, or if you will, also in persons; but one in power and efficacy, and in that closeness, inclination, and familiarity which it has with God.” Concerning these the Master said: “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matt. xi, 30). And the disciple whom he loved: “And his commandments are not heavy” (I John v, 3). And after a few words: “For this reason, the soul that is mingled with God through purity of soul, and through the keeping of the commandments, and possesses these three weapons, which are God Himself, puts on God Himself and becomes god by participation, through humility, mercy, and charity, and having passed beyond the material dyad and having transcended the head of the law—I mean charity—is joined to the supersubstantial and life-creating Trinity, conversing with her immediately, adding light to light and being suffused with ceaseless and eternal joy.” But enough has been said regarding these things. It is worth while, however, just as we have mentioned from a part of the signs and fruits of error and truth (whence, from these very fruits, according to the divine Paul, we may know those who are at work, of what spirit they are), so also to discourse briefly from the Fathers concerning both kinds of excitation—that is, regarding the divine and true grace, and the false and contrary one. Thus, therefore, does the divine Diadochus speak concerning this.

Concerning divine and false excitation.

^D “When our mind begins to perceive the consolation of the Holy Spirit, then Satan also, in some pleasant sensory way, in the silence of the night, when one is coming into the inclination of a very light sleep, excites the soul. If, therefore, the mind is found to be holding the holy name of the Lord Jesus with very fervent memory, and uses that holy and glorious name as a weapon against the deception, the deceiver of guile withdraws, but henceforth he kindles a manifest war against the soul. Whence, recognizing the deception of the evil one accurately, the mind progresses further into the experience of discernment.” And again: “The good consolation occurs while the body is awake, or also when it is about to come into some semblance of sleep, when one is in fervent memory of God, and as it were glued to His charity; but that of the deception occurs when, as I said, the wrestler has come into some light sleep, with a middling memory

^A of God. For the one, as being from God, clearly wishes to urge the souls of those who wrestle in piety, in a great outpouring of soul, toward His love. But the other, since it is accustomed to toss the soul in some wind of delusion, attempts to steal, through the sleep of the body, the experience of the sense of the healthy mind, especially when it is lukewarm regarding the memory of God. If, therefore, the mind is found, as I said, cautiously remembering the Lord Jesus Christ, it scatters that sweet-seeming breeze of the enemy, and rejoicing, moves to war against him, as having, beyond grace, a second successful weapon: the boasting derived from experience. And again: If by a certain motion, free from images and doubt, the soul is kindled toward the love of God, drawing its body ^B as well into the depths of that ineffable charity—whether the body be awake or, in the way I have mentioned, entering into sleep—being led by the holy grace, and thinking of nothing else at all save only that toward which it is moved, one must know that this is the activity of the Holy Spirit. For, being thoroughly suffused with this ineffable sweetness, it can think of nothing else, since it rejoices in a joy that is never remitted. If, however, the mind conceives any ambiguous or sordid thought while engaged in this, even if it uses the holy name for defense against the evil one, and not rather solely for the love of God, one must understand that such an excitation is from the deceiver, in the guise of joy. But that joy is qualitatively and structurally chaotic, for it is the enemy wishing to seduce the soul. For when he sees the mind precisely ^C boasting in the experience of his own sensation, then, as I said, he invites the soul with certain fair-seeming excitations, so that, as it is distracted by that shallow and liquid sweetness, the mixing of the deceiver may remain unknown to it. From this, therefore, we shall know the spirit of truth and the spirit of delusion. It is impossible, however, for anyone to taste the divine goodness sensibly, or to experience the wickedness of the demons sensibly, unless one first persuades himself that grace truly resides in the depths of the mind, whereas evil spirits dwell in the parts of the heart—a thing the demons never wish for men to believe, lest the mind, knowing this precisely, should arm the memory of God against them. You have now enough on this subject, and you should be content; for one should not cross beyond the Pillars of Gades, and if you find honey, eat but a little, ^D lest, having had your fill, you vomit it up.

On divine pleasure, which springs from the heart.

66. Or rather, it is more timely and appropriate to say: Who shall announce the sweetness of honey to those who have not yet tasted it, and much more, incomparably, the divine pleasure and supernatural joy, life-giving and ever-flowing, which springs from a pure and true heart, and leaps up with perpetual streams? As the God-man Jesus says: "Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him, shall not thirst forever; but the

water that I will give him shall become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life." And again: "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink." "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." But He said this concerning the Spirit, ^A says the Theologian, which those believing in Him were about to receive; and the great Paul: "God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying: Abba, Father."

That this spiritual joy is manifold, and nameless.

76. This spiritual joy is supernatural, lifegiving, and substantial splendor; it is called, mystically, the darkness that is above light, and the inexplicable beauty, and the greatest of things desired, and inspection, and the vision of God, and deification; but it remains unnamed after it has been named, and unknown after it has been known, and inconceivable after it has been conceived. And the great Dionysius says: "According to this, we pray to reach the super-luminous darkness, and through blindness and ignorance to see and to know Him who is beyond vision and knowledge—that is, to see and to know this very thing, that He is not visible and not knowable; for this is indeed to see and to know, and to praise the Supersubstantial ^B supersubstantially through the removal of all beings." And further: "The divine darkness is the inaccessible light in which God is said to dwell; and it is invisible on account of its superabundant splendor, and inaccessible on account of the excess of its supersubstantial effusion. In this light is he who is deemed worthy to know and see God; by this very fact of not seeing and not knowing, he truly enters into that which is beyond vision and knowledge; knowing this very thing, that He is beyond all things sensible and intelligible." And the great Basil says: "The flashes of divine beauty are altogether ineffable and indescribable; speech cannot express them, nor hearing receive them. Even if you mention the splendors of the morning star, ^C or the brightness of the moon, or the light of the sun, all are vile in comparison to that glory, and fall further short in comparison to the true light than deep night and gloomy darkness fall short of the purest midday. This beauty is invisible to eyes of flesh, but graspable by the soul and mind alone. And if at any time it has shone upon any of the saints, it has left behind in them an unendurable sting of longing, so that, exulting with joy for the future life, they would say: 'Woe is me, that my sojourning is prolonged!' and 'My soul thirsted for God, the strong, the living; when shall I come and appear before the face of my God?' And, 'To depart and be with Christ is far better.' And, ^D 'Now dismiss your servant, Master, according to your word, in peace'; considering this present life a prison-house. For they, since they could not be sated with the contemplation of the divine beauty, wished that, through all eternal life, the contemplation of the splendor of the Lord might be extended along with it. And the Theologian says: 'Whose fear is the keeping of the commandments,

^B is the cleansing of the flesh, which surrounds the soul like a cloud, and does not permit it to see the divine rays; whose inundation is illumination, and illumination is the fulfillment of desire for those who desire the greatest things, or the Greatest [God] Himself, or things beyond the great.' And the divine Gregory of Nyssa says: 'If you should empty out, through the care of a virtuous life, the grime that has formed on your heart, divine beauty will shine forth for you, as is wont to happen with iron. For when, through the whetstone, that which was just before black is stripped of its rust, it sends forth from itself certain rays and shines with brightness toward the sun; so also the inner man, whom the Lord calls heart, once it has scrubbed off the poisonous grime that has sprouted upon its form through evil corruption, will again retrieve its likeness to the archetype, and will be good; for good follows in every way upon that which is good.' And saint Nilus: 'Blessed is he who embraces the ignorance which is inseparable from prayer.' And the [author] of the Ladder: 'The abyss of mourning beheld consolation, the cleansing of the heart received illumination; illumination is an ineffable operation, glimpsed invisibly and understood unknowingly.' ^C For this reason, those who like the ancient Mary have chosen this good portion and way of life — the spiritual and unstealable one — are thrice-blessed and deemed worthy of such God-befitting good fortune, so that with great and ecstatic joy, it is permitted to them, along with the divine Paul, to be inspired openly and to cry out together: 'But when the kindness and the philanthropy of God our Savior appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, which He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being justified by His grace, we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life' (Tit. III, 4-7); and again: 'Who also has anointed us and sealed us, and given us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts' (II Cor. I, 21-22); and: 'But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us' (II Cor. IV, 7). And ^D those men were such; but may it be for us also, by their prayers to the Lord that persuade God, to share partly, like them, in mercy and in grace.

That it is necessary by all means for him to be of a gentle heart who desires to live in peace absolutely.

77. But this, O child, you must know now in due time before all else, and along with all else, that just as he who wishes to learn to shoot an arrow well does not aim his bow without marks, so he who wishes to learn to live in peace must have, as his mark, to be always gentle of heart. And saint Isidore says: 'It is not sufficient for virtue to practice, but it is necessary to be moderate in the practice as well. For if, starting the contest of gentleness, we fight with a troubled mind, it is nothing other than wishing indeed to attain salvation, but not wishing to do the things that contribute to it.' And before him the divine David: 'He will guide the meek in judgment; He will teach—

^A the meek His ways. And the son of Sirach: 'To the meek are mysteries revealed.' And the sweetest Jesus: 'Learn from me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest for your souls.' And: 'To whom shall I look, but to him who is meek and quiet, and who trembles at My words?' And: 'Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth,' that is, the heart, bringing forth fruit by grace: thirty, sixty, and a hundred-fold, according to the order of the beginners, the intermediate, and the perfect. For that man will not be troubled, nor will he be troubled by others, if the discourse is not yet concerning piety.

How meekness is achieved in us, and concerning the tripartite soul: the irascible, the desiderative, and the rational.

^B You can easily achieve this, if you turn away from everything at once and move your soul toward love, remaining silent for the most part, eating moderately, and always praying, as it has been said to the Fathers: 'Bridle the irascible part of the soul with love; mortify its desiderative part with temperance; and give wings to its rational part with prayer: and the light of the mind will never be dimmed.' And: 'The bridle of anger is timely silence; of irrational desire, ^C measured food; of the stubborn mind, one-thought prayer.' And again: 'There are three virtues which provide light to the mind always: not knowing the malice of any man; bearing what happens without disturbance; and doing good to those who do evil. These three virtues beget three other virtues greater than themselves: not knowing the malice of man begets love; bearing what happens without disturbance begets meekness; and doing good to those who do evil grants peace.' And again: 'There are three moral states, more general among monks: the first is not to sin in action; the second, not to let passionate thoughts linger in the soul; and the third, to view the forms of women and of those who cause sorrow, without passion, in the mind.'

That one must repent quickly for accidental lapses, and thus wisely secure oneself for the future.

^D 79. But if it should happen at some time that you are disturbed, or that you slip into some fault, and miss the mark of what is proper, you must immediately be reconciled with the person you have grieved or who has grieved you; and you must repent from the soul, mourn and weep, and reproach yourself. And thus, for the future, you must be heedful and secure yourself most wisely, as the Lord Jesus teaches: 'If you offer your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go, first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.' And the apostle Paul: 'All bitterness and wrath...'

and anger, and clamor, and blasphemy, be put away from you, with all malice. And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.' And: 'Be ye angry, and sin not.' And: 'Let not the sun go down upon your wrath.' And: 'Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath.' And: 'Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.' And this indeed is said concerning mutual reconciliation.

Of slipping and repentance.

^B Concerning slipping, St. Isaac says: "We should not grieve when we slip in something, but when we remain in it. For slipping happens often even to the perfect; but remaining in it is complete destruction. The sorrow, however, that we feel for our own slips is reckoned to us, by grace, as a place of pure work. He who slips a second time in the hope of repentance walks before God with craftiness; upon him death falls unexpectedly, and he does not reach the time of his hope to fulfill the works of virtue." And further: "It is necessary," he says, "for us to know at every hour that in these twenty-four hours of night and day we are in need of repentance. The understanding of the name 'repentance,' as we have known it from the true nature of things, is this: it is a stretch of supplication at every hour, in prayer filled with compunction, approaching God for the remission of past things; and sorrow for the guarding of those to come." And again: "Grace upon grace, repentance has been given to men. For repentance is a second regeneration from God, and the pledge which we received from faith, through repentance we receive as His grace. Repentance is the door of mercy, which is opened to those who seek it. Through this door we enter into the divine mercy, and outside this entrance, we shall not find mercy. Because all have sinned, according to the divine Scripture, justified freely by His grace. Repentance is the second grace, and it is born in the heart from faith and fear. And fear is the paternal rod which steers us until we reach the spiritual paradise; and when we have reached it, it leaves us and turns back. Paradise is the love of God, in which is the delight of all blessings." And again: "Just as it is impossible to cross the great sea without a ship and a boat, so no one can cross to love without fear. We can pass through the foul sea that is spread between us and the spiritual paradise by the boat of repentance, which holds the rowing-oars of fear. But if the rowing-oars of fear do not steer this boat of repentance, through which we pass the sea of this world toward God, we are submerged in that foul sea."

^A 81. Repentance is a ship; fear is its helmsman; charity is the divine harbor. Fear therefore establishes us in the ship of repentance and sends us across the foul sea of this life; and it leads us to the divine harbor, which is charity, into which all those who toil and are burdened through repentance arrive. And when we reach charity, we have reached God, and our journey is finished, and we have crossed over to the island which is beyond this world, where the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit are. Concerning sorrow according to God, the Savior speaks thus: "Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted."

Further concerning tears, the holy Isaac writes this: "Tears during prayer are a sign of the mercy of God, of which the soul has been deemed worthy in its repentance; they indicate that it has been accepted and has begun to enter into the plain of purity through tears. For unless thoughts of what is passing away are cast off, and they cast from themselves the hope of the world, and there is stirred up within them contempt for it, and they begin to prepare good provisions for their departure from the world, and thoughts of certain things that are there in heaven begin to be moved in the soul, the eyes cannot weep. For tears are multiplied and increase more and more from pure and constant converse, from many and continuous thoughts, and from those that come readily and from the memory of some slight thing formed in the mind, and the heart grieving from the memory of it, and from these [things] tears are increased and grow yet more." ^B And he of the Ladder says: "As fire consumes stubble, so the pure tear consumes every defilement, whether apparent or conceptual." Further: "Let us acquire pure and sincere tears for our own dissolution; for in them there is no theft or conceit; rather, there is purification, progress in charity toward God, the washing away of sin, and the deprivation of passions." Further: "Do not trust your springs before perfect purification; for wine that is enclosed in casks immediately from the winepress does not have stability." Further: "Tears which proceed from fear possess within themselves their own safeguard; but those of charity, before charity is perfect, are in some cases exposed to those who would plunder them, unless perhaps the fire which is to be ever-remembered, at the time of its operation, has entirely kindled the heart. And it is a wondrous thing how that which is more humble is more secure in the time of its fire." Further: "A tear of departure has brought forth fear; but when fear has brought forth security, joy has appeared; and as inexpressible joy has ceased, the flower of holy charity has sprouted."

Regarding self-reproach, the great Antony says: "This is the great work of a man, that he should cast his own fault upon himself before God, and expect temptation until his very last breath." And another holy Father, being asked, "What is the greater thing you have found, Father, in this way?" replied saying, "To reproach oneself in all things." This, the one who had asked approved, and said to him, "There is no other way than this." And Abbot ^C Poemen […]

^A said: "All the virtues entered this world with a sigh. Take away one virtue, and outside of it, a man stands with toil." And they asked him, "What is this one?" And he says: "That a man should reproach himself at all times." He said again: "He who reproaches himself, whatever may happen to him, whether loss, or disgrace, or any affliction whatsoever, has anticipated it by judging himself worthy of it, and he is never disturbed."

On attention and the need to be wisely confirmed.

^B 82. In like manner, regarding attention and confirmation, the divine Paul writes: "See how carefully you walk; not as unwise, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil" (Eph. v, 15). And holy Isaac says: "O wisdom, how admirable you are, and how you foresee all things from afar! Blessed is he who finds you; for he has been delivered from the sloth of youth. If anyone trades through a small profit—that is, provision—the healing of great passions, he does well. For this is wisdom, that one should always be vigilant even in the smallest and least things being done by him. For he treasures up great rest for himself, and does not sleep, lest anything contrary happen to him; but he cuts off the causes of evil before the time, and through the briefest matters sustains a small sadness, through it dissipating the greater ones and advancing. Therefore also the Wise Man says: 'Be vigilant and attentive for your life; for sleep is a relative of thought, and an image of the true immortal.' ^C The Hierophant Basil also says: 'Whoever is slothful in small things, do not trust him to excel in matters of greatness.'"

That one ought to act seriously in all the things aforementioned; but above all, that we should be tranquil and gentle, and that it is necessary to invoke the Lord Jesus Christ purely within the heart, if we desire to act in peace.

83. Because of all these things, set yourself to work seriously on the things aforementioned; but above all, ^D that you may be tranquil and gentle, and with a clean conscience, invoke the Lord Jesus Christ in the depths of the heart, as we have said. For in this way, advancing by this path, you will possess divine grace resting in your soul. For the Climacus also says: "He who is encumbered by anger and conceit, and hypocrisy and the memory of injuries, will never dare to see the trace of tranquility, lest he should thereby gain an ecstasy; but if one is pure from these, he will eventually know what is advantageous; though I think not even he." And indeed, you will not only have grace resting in your soul, but also having your soul resting completely from those things that formerly troubled it, namely demons and passions. For even if they trouble it again, they do not succeed, because it does not cling to them, nor does it desire the pleasure that comes from them.

On good and ecstatic love, and on divine beauty.

84. For the whole longing of such a one, and the inward

disposition of his soul, gazes toward the supreme beauty, which the Fathers have called the sum of all desirable things. ^A And the great Basil says: “When the love of piety takes hold of the soul, every form of warfare is for it a laughing-stock, and all those who tear it apart for the sake of the One whom it loves, benefit rather than strike it.” And again: “What is more wonderful than the divine beauty? What thought is more pleasant than divine magnificence? What yearning of the soul is as vehement and as unbearable as that which is produced by God in a soul purged of all malice, and which, from a true disposition, says: ‘I am wounded by love’?”

On warfare, and on instructive withdrawal,

and on abandonment by aversion.

85. Now, war is waged by way of instructive withdrawal, not by way of abandonment through aversion. Why? So that his mind may not be exalted on account of the good it has found; but, being warred upon and instructed, it always puts on humility, by which alone it not only conquers those who arrogantly wage war against it, but is also continuously deemed worthy of greater gifts, progressing as much as human nature allows, bound and weighed down by necessary cords and the burden of the flesh, and journeying toward the perfection and impassibility that is in Christ. And Saint Diadochus says: “The Lord Himself says that Satan has fallen like lightning from the heavens, ^B so that the deformed one might not look upon the habitations of the holy angels.” How, then, can the human mind, which is not deemed worthy of the communion of good servants, have a common dwelling-place with God? But they will say that this happens by way of withdrawal, and they will say nothing more. For instructive withdrawal in no way deprives the soul of the divine light; it only hides, as I have already said many times, the presence of grace from the mind, so that it may be urged forward—just as the soul, through the bitterness of the demons, is urged, because of all fear and great humility, to seek out the help that comes from God, recognizing bit by bit the malice of its enemy. Just as if a mother were to briefly push away from her arms a child who is unruly regarding the laws of breastfeeding, ^C so that, being terrified by some repulsive men standing around him, or by any wild beasts whatever, he might return to his mother’s bosom with great fear and tears. But the withdrawal that occurs by way of aversion delivers the soul that does not wish to have God to the demons, as if it were a prisoner. We, however, are not children of abandonment—may it never be!—but we believe ourselves to be true infants of the grace of God, nourished by it with small withdrawals and frequent consolations, so that, through the goodness of God, we may hasten to arrive at a perfect man, unto the measure of age. And again: “The instructive withdrawal indeed brings much sorrow and humility, and a diffidence proportionate to the soul, so that its ambitious and dauntless part may fittingly come to humility; ^D but straightway it brings the fear of God and tears of confession into the heart, and a vehement desire for the best silence. But the abandonment that comes by way of aversion to God is filled with desperation, and diffidence, and anger

^A and permits the soul to be filled with pride. We must, therefore, know the experience of both kinds of abandonment, and according to the manner of each, we must approach God. In the former case, we owe Him thanksgiving along with our apology, inasmuch as He chastised the intemperance of our mind by the delay of consolation, so that, as a good Father, He might teach us the difference between virtue and vice. But in the latter case, we owe unending confession of sins, incessant tears, and more complete withdrawal, so that we might thereby be able, by the addition of labors, to appease God at last, so that He might look again, as before, into our hearts.

Nevertheless, it must be known that, when the battle between the soul and Satan takes place by way of a providential encounter—I mean by the instructional abandonment—grace withdraws itself, as I have already said; yet it cooperates secretly with the soul by its assistance, so that it may show the victory to be that of the soul alone against its enemies. ^B And Saint Isaac says: "It is impossible for a man, without those temptations that occur by divine permission, to become wise in spiritual wars, and to know his own Provider, and to sense his God, and to be strengthened in His faith secretly, unless he receives it by the power of the experience which he has undergone. And when grace sees that conceit has begun in his mind even a little, and he has begun to think great things about himself, it immediately permits temptations to be strengthened and to prevail against him, until he learns his own infirmity, and flees, and possesses God in humility. And in these things man comes to the measure of a perfect man, in the faith and hope of the Son of God, and is exalted toward love."

For the love of God toward man is known to be admirable when he happens to be in the midst of circumstances that cut off his hope; and therein God shows His power in the salvation that He brings upon him. For man never learns the divine power in rest and relief; and God never showed His own energy perceptibly ^C except in a place of stillness, and in the desert, and in places devoid of the encounters and the tumult of living alongside men.

On Apathy, and what human apathy is.

86. Further, it is necessary here to add a word from a part on apathy and perfection, and after a little, to put an end to the present treatise. Hear what the great Basil says: ^D "He who has become a lover of God, and desires to grasp even the smallest portion of His apathy, and of His spiritual holiness, and of that tranquility, and freedom from disturbance, and gentleness, and of the happiness and joy that is born from these, strives to withdraw his thoughts far from every material passion that defiles the soul. He looks upon divine things with a pure and unobscured eye; he is filled inexhaustibly with the light that rises from thence; and after he has exercised his soul into such a habit and state, he becomes, as far as is possible, similar to God, and loves and desires Him, inasmuch as he

has sustained a great and difficult struggle and, being freed from the commixture of matter, is able, with a mind pure and separated from the intermingling of bodily passions, to commune with God. ^A And this is concerning *apatheia* (dispassion). But concerning what human *apatheia* is, the holy Isaac writes as follows: "Apatheia is not the failure to feel the passions, but the failure to accept them. For from the many and varied virtues, both manifest and hidden, which one has acquired, the passions have become weak within them, and they cannot easily rise up against the soul; and the intellect does not need to pay attention to them at all times. For at every moment it is filled with its own thoughts, through meditation and the conversation of the best ways of life, which move in the understanding within the mind. And when the passions begin to be moved and to be troubled, the intellect is suddenly snatched away from their proximity, by a certain understanding that looks down into the mind; and the passions are left idle in it, as the blessed Mark said: 'The mind, fulfilling the acts of the virtues by the grace of God, and abounding in knowledge, feels little of the evil and irrational part of the soul.' For its knowledge snatches it up to the heights and alienates it from all things that are in the world; and because of the purity, subtilty, lightness, and keenness of their mind, and because of their continued exercise, their mind is cleansed and shown to be clear, ^B because their flesh has been withered by the leisure of stillness (*hesychia*) and the long persistence therein. For this reason, contemplation is easily and quickly attached to each one, and the theory within them leads them, to their own astonishment; and in this they are multiplied a hundredfold in theories; and their intellect never lacks material for understanding; and they are never outside those things which the fruit of the Spirit produces in them. And through long-accustomed habit, those memories that move the passions in the soul are erased from their hearts, as is the strength of the power of the devil. For when the soul does not dally with the passions, nor associate with them in their meditation, by being held fast by another care without ceasing, the strength of the claws of the passions is unable to take hold of its spiritual senses." And the divine Diadochus says: "Apatheia is not the state of not being attacked by demons—for then we would have to depart from the world, according to the Apostle—but the state of remaining unvanquished while being attacked by them. For those steel-clad soldiers are indeed shot at by their adversaries, and they hear the sound of the archery, and they even see the very arrows being sent against them, but they are not struck because of the solidity of their martial ^C garments. But while those men, armored in iron, remain unvanquished while under attack, we, however, ^D armored with the light of the holy all-

-armor, and with the helmet of the Savior, having armed ourselves with all that is good, let us break the dark phalanxes of the demons. For it is not the mere ceasing to do evil that brings purity, but also the total abolition of evil through diligence in good deeds.» And Saint Maximus also divides ^A apathia in four ways, saying this: «I call the first apathia the motionlessness of the body regarding sin in its operation. I call the second apathia the complete casting away of passionate thoughts in the soul, through which the motion of the passions, which the first apathia extinguishes, is withered away, having no passionate thoughts to ignite it into action. I call the third apathia the total stillness of desire regarding the passions, through which the second also naturally comes to be, established by the purity of the thoughts. I call the fourth apathia the complete discarding of all sensible images in the intellect, through which the third takes its origin, as it no longer possesses the images of sensible things that give form in it to the icons of the passions.» Further: «Apathia is a peaceful state of the soul whereby it becomes difficult to move toward wickedness.»

Further concerning apathia and perfection

87. ^B And indeed, Saint Ephrem also, concerning apathia and perfection, declares thus: «Those who are passionless, reaching out insatiably toward the supreme desirable object, make their perfection unfinishable; for there is no end to eternal goods. And it is perfect, insofar as it relates to the measure of human capacity. Yet it is unfinishable, as it always surpasses itself with daily additions, and is elevated continuously in its ascents toward God.» Similarly, Saint Nilus also speaks thus concerning perfection: «Two perfections must be understood: one temporal, and the other eternal; concerning which the Apostle writes: 'When that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be abolished' (1 Cor. xiii, 10). For when it says 'when that which is perfect is come,' it signifies that here we are unable to attain divine perfection.» Further: «The divine Paul recognizes two perfections; and he knows the same man to be both perfect and not perfect: insofar as he relates to the present life, the man is called perfect; but as he relates to Him who is truly perfect, he is not perfect. Therefore he says, 'Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected' (Philipp. iii, 12). And a little later ^C he says: 'Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, be thus minded' (Ibid. 15).»

Concerning the passionate, the sweetly-passionate, the strongly-passionate, and the lack of passion

88. Saint Elias the Ekdikos also says: «Evil matter: of the body—passion; of the soul—sweet-passion; of the mind—strong-passion. It is indicted, the first by touch; the second by the remaining senses; the last by a contrary disposition.» Further: «The sweetly-passionate one is near to the passionate one; the strongly-passionate one to the sweetly-passionate; but far from both is the passionless one.»

What it is to experience the passionate, the sweetly-passionate, the strongly-passionate, and the passionless; and concerning the cure of each

89. One is passionate who possesses the sinful [act] ^D

more violently than the thought, even if for the time being he does not sin outwardly. One is sweetly-passionate who possesses the operation of sin weaker than the thought, even if he suffers [it] outwardly. One is strongly-passionate who inclines more to the freedom than to the servitude of the intermediate things. One would be passionless, who is ignorant of the difference between all these things. Likewise, however, concerning the cure of both, he declares the following: corporeal passion is cast out from the soul through fasting and prayer; the sweetly-passionate, through vigils and silence; the strongly-passionate, through stillness and attention; and passionlessness consists in the memory of God.

On faith, hope, and love.

^B 8. But since faith, hope, and love are the beginning, the middle, and the end of all good things—or, if you would prefer to say, the leader and the guide—that threefold cord, and God-woven, and above all, love, because God is and is called love, it is not right not to complete by these also what is lacking in the present treatise. Or rather, since even according to holy Isaac one receives the perfection of the many fruits of the Spirit when he is accounted worthy of perfect love.

Let us mention a little about it also. For indeed, the author of the *Ladder* writes: ^C “Now finally, after all that has been said, these three remain, binding fast and holding the bond of all: faith, hope, love; but the greatest of these is love, for God is named [by it].” I, however, see the one as a ray, the other as light, the third as a circle, but all as one radiance and brightness. For the one can do and create all things; the second, the mercy of God encircles, and makes it unashamed; and the third never falls, nor ceases to run, nor allows him whom it has wounded to rest from that blessed madness. And further: “The discourse about love is known to the angels, and to them, according to the operation of illumination, love is God.” He who wishes to state the limit of this is like a blind man measuring the sand in an abyss. Love, according to its quality, is a likeness of God, as far as is possible for mortals; according to its operation, it is an intoxication of the soul; according to its property, it is a fountain of faith, an abyss of long-suffering, a sea of humility. Love is truly the repulsion of every contrary thought, since love does not imagine evil. Love, and passionlessness, and adoption are distinguished by names only; ^D as light, and fire, and flame run together into one operation, so also think concerning these. And the holy Diadochus: “Let faith, hope, and love, my brothers, lead every spiritual contemplation, but love most of all. For the former teach one to despise visible goods, but love joins the soul itself to the virtues of God, investigating the invisible God with an intellectual sense.” And further: “There is one love of the soul, the natural one, and another which is brought about in it from the holy Spirit. For the former is stirred proportionally by our own will when we wish, and therefore it is easily snatched away by evil spirits when we do not violently master our own inclination.”

^A And it so inflames the soul toward the love of God that all the parts of the soul are then gathered into an immense disposition of simplicity, for the mind, being then as it were pregnant from the spiritual energy, gushes forth a certain fountain of love and joy. And Saint Isaac says: “Charity which arises from certain things is like a small lamp, nourished by oil, and thus its light is maintained, or like a torrent flowing from rain, the flow of which ceases when the material that produces it fails. But that charity which has God as its author is like a springing fountain, and its waves are never interrupted; for He alone is the source of charity, and its unfailing substance.” ^B And again, when asked what the perfection of the manifold fruits of the Spirit is, he answered: “When someone is deemed worthy of the perfect charity of God.” And being asked again how one knows that one has reached this, he said: “When the memory of God is stirred in his consciousness, his heart is immediately moved in His love, and his eyes pour forth tears abundantly; for it is the custom of love to draw tears from the memory of those things which are loved, and such a one is never lacking in tears. For he never lacks the material which carries him into the memory of God, so that even in his sleep he converses with God; for such is the custom of love, to do these things, and this is the perfection of men in this life of theirs.” ^C And furthermore: “The charity of God is hot by nature, and when it falls upon someone beyond measure, it makes that soul ecstatic. For this reason the heart of the one who has felt it cannot contain it or endure it, but according to the measure of the quality and the charity that has come upon him, an unusual change is seen in him. And these are its sensible signs: the man’s face becomes fiery and joyful, and his body is warmed, fear and shame depart from him, and he becomes as it were ecstatic, ^D and the faculty that gathers the mind flees from him, and he becomes as one out of his mind, counting even terrible death as joy, and the contemplation of his mind never suffers any interruption from the thought of heavenly things. And though absent, he converses as if present, though unseen by anyone. His knowledge and natural vision pass away, and he is not sensibly aware of his own movement by which he moves among things. And if he does anything, he does not feel it at all, having his mind hovering in this contemplation, and his reflection always converses with another. Apostles and martyrs were once inebriated with this spiritual drunkenness; and some, traveling around the whole world, labored and were burdened with injuries; others, with mangled limbs, poured out their blood like water, and while suffering the most terrible things, did not flag, but endured them generously. And although wise, they were held as foolish, and others wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and in the holes of the earth; and in such turmoil, they were not perturbed. May God grant us to attain this foolishness.

On Holy Communion; and on the good things that the continuous reception of this, with a pure conscience, provides for us.

^A 91. Nothing contributes and helps us so much toward the purification of the soul, the illumination of the mind, the sanctification of the body, and the transformation and immortality of both toward that which is more divine—nay, more, toward the repulsion of passions and demons, or, to speak more appropriately, toward union and a supernatural conjunction and blending with God—as the continuous reception and communion, with a pure heart and ^B upright disposition, as far as is possible for man, of the holy, immaculate, immortal, and life-giving mysteries; we speak of that very venerable body and blood of our Lord and God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Therefore, it is most necessary that we also set forth some things concerning this, and devote time to this care, and thus bring our discourse to an end.

And this, therefore, is manifest, not only from what the saints say, but much more manifest from the very words of the Author of life and truth. For He says: «I am the bread of life» ^C; and, «This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that if anyone eats of it, he will not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I shall give is My flesh for the life of the world.» And, «Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, you have no life in you; he who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life.» And further: «For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood ^D is drink indeed; he who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven; and he who eats this bread will live forever.» And Christ’s disciple Paul says these things: «Brethren, I received from the Lord that which also I delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the same night in which He was betrayed took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you: do this in remembrance of Me. In the same manner also the cup, after supper, saying, This cup is the new Testament in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. Therefore, whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. Therefore, among you many are weak and infirm...

and many are asleep. If we judged ourselves, we would not surely be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with this world.” ^A

What it is necessary to learn regarding the miracle of the sacred mysteries; and what it is, and why it is given, and what its utility is.

92. Chrysostom writes: “It is necessary to learn what the miracle of the mysteries is, and why it is given, and what the utility of this matter is. We are one body and members, from the flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, and from his bones. But let those who have been initiated give ear to what is said, so that we may not only become this according to charity, but may in very reality be blended into that same flesh; ^B this is effected by the food which He has bestowed upon us, wishing to show us the love which He has for us. Therefore He has mingled Himself with us and implanted His body in us, so that we might become one, as a body united to a head. For this belongs to those who love vehemently. Hinting at this, Job spoke of his servants, to whom he was passionately desirable, for in showing their love, they said: ‘Who would give us to be filled with his flesh?’ Therefore Christ also has done this, leading us to a greater friendship and manifesting His love for us, not only offering Himself to be seen by those who desire Him, but also to be touched and eaten; and He willed that we should be united and connected to His flesh, and that our entire desire should be fulfilled.” And further: “Those who partake of this most holy body and venerated blood stand with angels and archangels and the heavenly powers, clothed in the royal garment of Christ itself and holding heavenly weapons. But they have not yet said anything; for they have put on the King Himself. But just as it is great and ^C awesome and marvelous, so if you approach with purity, you have approached unto salvation; but if with an evil conscience, unto condemnation and punishment. For he who eats and drinks unworthily, eats and drinks judgment to himself. For if those who defile the royal purple are punished no less than those who have torn it, it is altogether consistent that those who receive the body with a defiled conscience should undergo the same punishment as those who pierced it with nails. See, therefore, how Paul revealed this punishment, saying: ‘He who has despised the law of Moses, without mercy, on the testimony of two or three witnesses, dies. Of how much worse punishment do you think he will be worthy, who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has considered the blood of the covenant common, in which he was sanctified?’ ^D Whoever, therefore, we are who partake of this body, whoever we are who taste this blood, consider that we are tasting Him who sits on high, who is worshipped by the angels, who is near the omnipotent power. Oh! How many ways are opened unto us for salvation! He has made us His body, He has rendered us participants of His body, and none of these things draws us back from evil! O, the indolence!"

O, the insensibility! ^A And again: “A certain wonderful old man told me that he had been accounted worthy to see and hear such a thing: that those who are about to depart from hence, if they have happened to be partakers of the mysteries with a pure conscience, when they are on the point of death, the angels, escorting them on account of that which was received, lead them away from hence.”

And the divine John Damascene says: “Since we are twofold and composite, it behooves us that our birth and likewise our nourishment should be twofold and composite. Our birth, therefore, is given to us through water and the Spirit, but our food is the bread of life itself, our Lord Jesus Christ, who descended from heaven. And just as in baptism, since it is the custom for men to be washed with water ^B and anointed with oil, He joined the grace of the Spirit to the water and oil and made them a laver of regeneration, so, since it is our custom to eat bread and to drink water and wine, He joined His own divinity to these and made them His body and blood, so that through things habitual and natural we might attain to things supernatural.”

The body is truly joined to the divinity, *the body born of the holy Virgin, not that that body which we receive descends from heaven, but that the bread itself and the wine are changed into the body and blood of God. But if you inquire into the manner of how ^C this comes to pass, it suffices for you to hear that it is through the Holy Spirit—just as from the holy Theotokos, through the Holy Spirit, the Lord took flesh unto Himself and in Himself—and we know nothing more. But because the Word of God is true and effectual and omnipotent, while the mode is inscrutable, it becomes, therefore, to those who receive it worthily with faith, for the remission of sins and for eternal life, and for the preservation of soul and body; but to those who partake in unbelief and unworthily, it becomes for punishment and torment, just as the death of the Lord. And the bread and the wine are not a figure of the body ^D and blood of Christ—God forbid!—but the body of Christ itself, deified, and the blood itself. “For my flesh,” He says, “is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.”

It is the body and blood of Christ, descending into the substance of our soul and body, not being consumed, not corrupting, not passing into the draught, but into our substance and preservation, a cleanser of all filth; and even if it finds gold alloyed with dross, it cleanses it through the refining fire that we may not be condemned in the future with the world. Cleansed through it, we are united to the body of Christ and to His Spirit, and we become the body of Christ. This bread is the beginning of the future bread, which is the supersubstantial bread; for “supersubstantial” signifies either that which is future, that is to say, of the future age, or that which is taken for the preservation of our substance. The flesh of the Lord is a life-giving spirit, because it was conceived from the life-giving Spirit; for that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. This [alt-version omitted]

^A however, is spoken of as antitypes of things to come, not as though it were not truly the body and blood of Christ, but because now, through these, we partake of Christ’s divinity, whereas then, we shall do so mentally through vision alone. And the most divine Macarius says: "Just as wine is infused into all the limbs of the one drinking, and the wine becomes in him, and he in the wine, so too, he who drinks the blood of Christ is watered by the Spirit of Divinity, and it is infused into the perfected soul, and the soul into it; and thus, having been sanctified, it becomes worthy of the Lord." For all, he says, have been given that same Spirit to drink; and through the Eucharist of the bread, those who partake of the Holy Spirit in truth are counted worthy to become partakers, and thus the soul, being worthy, can live for ages. And just as for the body, life is not from itself, but from without, that is to say from the earth, so too did God ^B will for the soul to have—not from its own nature, but from His own Divinity, from His own Spirit and light—food, drink, and clothing, which is the true life of the soul. For the divine nature has also the bread of life, He who said, "I am the bread of life," and living water, and wine that gladdens, and the oil of gladness. And Saint Isidore says: "The reception of the divine mysteries is called communion, because it grants us union with Christ and makes us partakers of His kingdom." And the venerable Nilus says: "It is impossible for the faithful to be saved in any other way, and to receive the remission of sins, and to attain the kingdom of heaven, unless he receives with fear, faith, and desire the mystical and immaculate body and blood of Christ." Likewise, the great Basil writes in his letter to the patrician Caesaria: ^C "And to communicate and receive the holy body and blood of Christ every day is good and beneficial, the Lord Himself saying, 'He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him, and has eternal life.' For who doubts that to partake of life continuously is nothing other than to live in many ways? We, however, communicate four times every week: on the Lord's Day, on Wednesday, on Friday, and on Saturday, and on other days if the memorial of some saint occurs; on which days, I think, the saint also celebrated. For he could not do so daily, being burdened by so many cares." And Saint Apollo also said that "a monk ought, if possible, to communicate in the mysteries of Christ every day. For he who keeps himself away from these, keeps himself away from God; but he who does this continuously receives the flesh continuously. For the saving voice says: 'He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.' It is incumbent, therefore, upon monks to make ^D a perpetual remembrance of the saving passion. They must, therefore, always be prepared and so dispose themselves that they may be worthy to receive the sacred mysteries, since in this way we are made worthy of the remission of sins." And Climax also says: "If another body, when touching a body, is changed in its efficacy, how shall he not be changed who touches the body of God with innocent hands?" And it is written in the Geronticon: "John of Bostra, a holy man and one having power over unclean spirits, demons

who were dwelling in certain girls who were mad and being wickedly acted upon by them, asked, 'What things do you fear from the Christians?' They replied: 'You truly have three great things: one which you wear about your neck, and one which you wash in at the Church, and one which you eat in the communion.' And when questioned again, 'Of these three, which do you fear more?' they answered: 'If you guard well what you receive, none of us is able to harm a Christian. But there are things which our enemies fear more than the others: the Cross, Baptism, and Communion.'" ^B

The end of all the matters explored in detail, and a specific exhortation to the one who asked.

93. See now, most beloved child, your request has been fulfilled, with God. Whether it is in accordance with your intent and purpose, we do not know precisely; but it is in accordance with our power, and what is according to one’s power is pleasing to God. See to it, therefore, that your eagerness to learn and your zeal do not stop at this, but that you may also appear eager and fervent in works. For the illustrious brother of the Lord says: "My beloved brethren, be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observed himself, went away, and immediately forgot what kind of man he was. But he who looked into the perfect law of liberty and continued in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does." ^C

How one ought to hear and receive the spiritual sayings of the Fathers.

94. And before all these things, in order that you may faithfully and with the proper reverence receive and listen to the holy and spiritual sayings of the Fathers, remember what holy Macarius says: "Spiritual things are unreachable to the inexperienced; but the communion of the Holy Spirit and the heavenly treasures of the Spirit take hold of a holy and faithful soul, and they become manifest only to him who has experienced them; but to the uninitiated, it is not even possible to conceive of them at all." Listen, therefore, to the Fathers regarding these things religiously, until it befalls you, as you believe, to be deemed worthy of attaining them. For then you will know by the very experience of the eyes of the soul what good things and mysteries the souls of Christians are able to commune with even here. For if you are in this state, you will most quickly gather the fruit and benefit of the things written and heard, and from both learning and acting, you will progress so as to be able to exhort others and lead them by that same experience to things more divine and to those unknown to the many. May this come to pass for you, relying upon and guided by the most powerful hand of the Lord Jesus Christ! Amen. Since, however, satiety of speech is hostile to the ears, just as too much food is to the body, and since every measure is indeed best, we must be satisfied

with having avoided that satiety, and embracing moderation as the best course, having lingered only a little while in the discourse, and having sketched out a sort of summary of the present treatise, thus to cast the anchor of our discourse there.

Recapitulation, and how one ought to pray, and concerning true illumination and divine power.

^B 95. The Fathers say: He who desires to be vigilant in speech must constantly hasten to pray purely and undistractedly within his heart through the inhalation of his nostrils, attending only to the words of the prayer, and meditating and pondering the phrases—namely: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me"—until the time of the illumination of the mind in the heart, as the holy Diadochus says: "Whoever meditates ceaselessly in the depth of their heart upon the glorious and much-desired name of the Lord Jesus, these are able at some point to see the light of the mind." Once this has happened, by the impulse of God, from that time forward we shall walk the remainder of the course of our life according to God as if in the light, or rather, having become sons of light, we shall proceed without wandering and without stumbling, as Jesus, the Giver of Light, says: "While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light; and: I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, ^C but will have the light of life." And David cries out such things to the Lord: "In your light we shall see light." And the most divine Paul: "God, who said light shall shine out of darkness, he has shone in our hearts." For through Him, as through an inextinguishable and most brilliant lamp, those who are truly faithful are guided and proceed beyond the sensible realm; and for them, being pure in heart, the heavenly gate is opened, which is the gate of this life, a life similar to that of the angels and of this sublime state. And again, for these persons, as if from a solar disc, it rises, and they are enabled to investigate, to judge, to discern, to foresee, and things like these. And altogether through Him there shines before their eyes the revelation and manifestation of the hidden mysteries; they are filled in the Holy Spirit with ^D supernatural and divine power; and through this spiritual power their burden is lightened, or rather the heaviness of the flesh is diminished, lifted up, and they fly over it. By the grace of the power of this Holy Spirit who illuminates, although they were still clothed in flesh, certain holy Fathers, as if void of matter and body, crossed inaccessible lights and boat-traversed seas without sinking, and carried out long journeys of many days in an instant, and performed other extraordinary things in heaven, on earth, in the sun, in the sea, in the deserts, in cities, in every place and region, among beasts and among reptiles, and in a word in all creation and in all the elements; and they were glorified through all things, and while they stood in prayer, their holy and venerable bodies were raised from the earth as if they had wings; and by that divine and consuming and imma-

immaterial fire of grace, they were incinerated of their bodily thickness and weight, and enabled to be lifted up lightly. O wonderful thing! Transformed and reshaped toward what is more divine, by the wonder-working hand of the power and grace dwelling within them. And after death, the bodies of some remain holy and incorruptible, manifestly testifying to the supernatural grace and power that dwelt in them and dwells in all sincere believers. After the common and universal resurrection, through the same power shining in the Spirit, as if they had acquired wings, they will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord, as the most divine Paul, teacher of secrets, says: “And so they will always be with the Lord.” ^B To these things also the Spirit-inspired David sings: “O Lord, in the light of thy countenance they shall walk, and in thy name they shall rejoice all the day”—that is, the eternal one—“and in thy righteousness they shall be exalted, for thou art the boast of their strength.” And, “In thy good pleasure our horn shall be exalted.” And again: “The strong ones of God were raised up highly from the earth.” And the most loud-voiced Isaiah thus declares: “They that wait upon the Lord shall put forth wings; they shall renew their strength.” And Saint Macarius says: “Every soul which through faith and the zeal of all the virtues has been rendered worthy of being perfectly clothed with Christ in power and faith thenceforth, and has been united with the celestial light of the incorruptible image, is found worthy to receive substantial knowledge of the heavenly mysteries. And on the day of the resurrection, by the same celestial image of glory, the body, being glorified together with the soul and snatched up into the heavens by the Spirit, according to that which is written, to meet the Lord in the air, having been found worthy to be conformed to the body of his glory, shall reign together with the soul for ages.”

Another recapitulation

26. The beginning and origin of these new and ineffable words is the previously mentioned state of total freedom from care, stillness, attention, and prayer; these possess as a foundation—as it were a firmament and an impregnable rampart—the fulfillment of all the divinizing commandments according to one’s power. From this freedom from care, stillness, attention, and prayer, we say, comes the movement and fervor in the heart ^D which burns up the passions and the demons, and purifies the heart as if in a furnace; and from this ardor follows the desire for the Lord Jesus Christ, and an unceasing love. From this, the sweet outflow of tears of the heart flows in streams, through which the soul and the body, as if by hyssop, are cleansed and nourished by repentance, charity, and thanksgiving and confession. From these things come the calm and peace of thoughts, which has no limit, as it surpasses every mind. From these things follows the snow-bright illumination; and finally, as far as it is possible for man, apathy; and the resurrection of the soul before the resurrection of the body, and the...

image and likeness of the posterior; and through action and contemplation, through faith and hope and love, a reformation and conversion. A direction toward God and an immediate union with Him, an ecstasy, and ^A a cessation, a perfect rest, in the present time indeed as in a mirror and in an enigma and in a pledge; but in the future, a vision face to face, and the perfect and complete participation of God, and His eternal enjoyment. That this is truly the unerring, and true, and tradition-bearing, and godly way of life, namely the stillness born of obedience; which is also called by the saints, and rightly so, the life hidden in Christ.

97. This is the way, ^B and the godly spiritual life, and the sacred operation of those who are truly Christians; it is the true, and unerring, and unadulterated, and clearly the life hidden in Christ. This the God-Man and most sweet Jesus opened up and initiated; the divine apostles traversed it; and after them followed those who were their successors, our illustrious leaders and teachers; who from the beginning, from the very first presence of Christ on earth, and down to our own day, have shone like luminaries in the world, with the brightness of their life-giving words and with ^C their wonder-working deeds; who have handed down to those even in our time this good seed, this sacred leaven, the holy first-fruits, the inviolable deposit, the grace, the power from on high, the precious pearl, the divine inheritance of the Father, the treasure hidden in the field, the pledge of the Holy Spirit, the royal seal, the living and leaping water, the divine fire, the venerable salt, the charisma, the seal, the light, and things similar to these; which shall also be given as an inheritance, and mystically transmitted through generations of generations, until the very ^D second presence of Christ on earth. For He who promised is truthful, saying, “And behold, I am with you all the days, even unto the end of the age.” Amen.

That even if there be other ways of salvation, yet this one is pre-eminent, and the queen, and leads to adoption.

98. Even if there are other ways and manner of life, and if you will, good works that serve to guide toward salvation and bring to rest the one who follows them, just as indeed there are, and lead to servitude or mercenary labor, and end there, just as it has been said that there are many mansions with the Father given by the Savior; yet this one is the queen and most excellent, and superior to all works, as the soul is superior to the body; inasmuch as it renews one into the adoption of God from earth and dust, and wonderfully makes the man who enters into it a god in the Spirit, as the great Basil says: “When the Holy Spirit has come upon the soul of man, He gave life, He gave immortality, He raised up the one lying fallen.” And that which is moved by the Holy Spirit with an eternal motion has become a holy living being, and man has received the dignity of the Holy Spirit in

^A him, of prophet, apostle, angel, and of God; though he was previously mere earth and ashes.

That because of the excellence of its operation, this way of life bears many names.

99. Therefore, the divine Fathers have celebrated it with many and various glorious names. They have called it a learned way, an action worthy of praise, and ingenious contemplation; a prayer excelling all breadth; watchfulness of the mind; spiritual work; the work of the age to come; the angelic life; the heavenly way of acting; divine conversation; the region of the living; mystical intuition; the spiritual table; the divine paradise; heaven; the ^B heavenly palace; the kingdom of God; the light-transcending darkness; a life hidden in Christ; the supernatural vision of God; and names similar to these. Following these divine Fathers—while we live in clay and brick, with evil and impure thoughts, words, and works—we have ardently determined to fulfill your request, most beloved one; truly, just as you have asked, we have not hesitated to speak even beyond our measure, on account of our love for you and the command of the Fathers. The leader of this angelic life is the new and ineffable providence and incarnation of the Word and Son of God, the good pleasure of the unbegotten Father, and the cooperation of the Holy Spirit.

ETHICON

^C That with the help and grace of God, it behooves us to hasten and struggle as much as we can, so that we may be deemed worthy even now, as if by a pledge, of such supernatural and most great gifts; and that we may not, through a little sloth, lose these—alas!—which God forbid.

100. Since such and so great goods are set before us, beloved, not only in hopes and in promises to be fulfilled in the future, but in truth and in reality already, let us hasten, we implore you, while we have time; let us run, let us struggle, so that we too, through a small and temporary zeal and brief toil—and, for the most part, by the gift and grace of God—may be deemed worthy of them. “For the sufferings of this present time are not worthy of the glory that shall be revealed in us” (Rom. VIII, 18), as that divine herald Paul says; let us listen to him. Nay, rather, by hastening from now on, even we shall find it ^D as if in the beginning and by way of a pledge. For if those who are chosen for royal kinship and for communion from a lowly station do everything—in work, word, and intent, and by reaching for even those things unreachable—and yet often despise their very lives for the sake of such glory and honor, which is fleeting and temporary, and which sometimes leads to total destruction rather than to any usefulness, how much more does it behoove us to strive and hasten, who are invited to the communion, and marriage, and union of God, the King of all kings and Creator, and the only One incorruptible and existing eternally, and [Who gives] His glory and bo-

honor to His own, glorious and lasting; and ^A furthermore, that we have received the power to become children of God. "For as many," He says, "as received Him, to them He gave the power to become children of God, to those who believe in His name." He gives power; He does not draw us tyrannically nor force us against our own will. For tyranny always arms the one who is oppressed against the oppressor, so that evil may be cured by evil. But in this way He honors the preeminent dignity of our free will, so that the good may be brought about entirely by the benevolence and grace of the working God, while yet the act is also one of our own will and care. And He, although He is God and Lord, did whatever was necessary for Him to do; for He created all alike, and died for all, so that He might save all equally. To us, however, was left the freedom to approach, to believe, to enter into friendship, and with fear and fervor and love to serve that merciful Lord who truly and solicitously loved us; so that for our sake He willingly consented to undergo death, and indeed a shameful death, that He might deliver us from the tyranny of the devil, that ancient enemy, and reconcile us to the Father and God, making us heirs of God and joint-heirs with Himself—a thing most paradoxical and most blessed. ^B Let us not, then, through small and brief despondency, and carelessness, and worldly pleasure, of whatever kind, cast ourselves away from such and so great goods, and honors, and enjoyments; but let us do everything, and let us work; and if need be, let us not spare even our life for His sake, just as He, though being God, did for our sake, so that we may thus be deemed worthy of all these gifts and crowns, both now and forever. May all of us be granted to attain these, by the benevolence and grace of Him, the all-good and merciful One, our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ, who humbled Himself so much for our sake, and who effectively and abundantly bestows His supernatural and deifying grace from then on even to those who are humble in such a way; for to Him is due all glory, and honor, and worship, together with His unbegotten and most pure Father, and His co-eternal, and all-holy, and good, and life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.

CHAPTERS ON PRAYER