A When they had reached the place and found the reality to be greater than the report, they settled there with pleasure. They did not rejoice at the throng of the people, nor did they marvel at the size of the houses, but having found a singular faith accompanied by sincere love, they held their new settlement of more account than their native land.
5. Furthermore, the blessed Syncletica B was illustrious by descent, and likewise educated in all the things which are accounted among the comforts of life. She had a sister of like mind, and two brothers, who were themselves also raised in a most honorable way of life; of whom one died while in his childhood, but the other, when he had arrived at his twenty-fifth year, was urged by his parents toward marriage. And when all things were ready for the affair, and the agreements had been made according to custom, the youth flew away like a bird from a snare, exchanging the earthly bride for the blameless and free assembly of the saints.
6. She herself, while yet in her father’s arms, exercised her soul first in the love of God, and did not so much take care for the body as she kept watch over the impulses of nature.
7. For she was in body most beautiful, C so that even in her early youth many suitors came to her, motivated partly by her wealth, partly by the dignity of her parents, and in addition to these, inflamed by the beauty of the maiden herself. Indeed, her parents gladly urged the young woman toward marriage, pressing this point, that the succession of the family might be preserved for them through her. But she, being prudent and noble in spirit, did not at all agree with such counsels of her parents; but upon hearing of worldly marriage, she imagined that which was divine, and disregarding the many suitors, she fixed her attention solely upon the heavenly Bridegroom.
8. It is possible to see in blessed Thecla a genuine disciple, D following her in the same teachings. For the suitor of both was Christ, and for both the groomsman was Paul; and I think that their bridal chamber does not differ either: for the Church is the common bed for them both. And David himself sings psalms over both of them with solemn and divine songs. For with well-sounding cymbals he delights the souls consecrated to God, and with timbrels and ten-stringed psalteries he sends up the most perfect song. Miriam [Mary] introduces the dancers to these sacred nuptials, saying, "Let us sing to the Lord; for He has been gloriously glorified." The dishes of the divine banquet are also common to those who feast: "Taste and see," says he, "that the Lord is good." Moreover, there was but one texture for their bridal garments: "For as many as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ." Their love toward the Lord was therefore of like manner; for they were deemed worthy of the same gifts: and they also struggled with the same contests. And indeed, the martyrdom and torments of the blessed Thecla are unknown to no one, which, through fire and untamed beasts...
A she contended: and I do not think that her virtuous labors and sweat are unknown to many. For if there was one Savior whom they desired, necessarily there was also one adversary, the devil, who set himself against them. And indeed, I think the labors of Thecla were gentler: for the malice of the enemy was overcome, attacking her through external things; but here, he displayed a more bitter malice against himself, attacking through inner struggles and through the contrary and destructive thoughts of the mind.
9. The texture of expensive garments did not fascinate her eyes, nor the varied colors of precious stones; neither did the cymbal deceive her hearing, nor could the flute relax the vigor of her soul. The tears of her parents did not soften her, nor did any exhortation of her kinsfolk, but being instructed with an adamant mind, she was in no way broken in spirit; and closing all her senses as if they were windows B, she conversed privately with her Spouse, using these words of Scripture: *My beloved is mine, and I am his*. But wherever smoky and dark conversations occurred, she would flee from them, withdrawing herself into the inner chambers of her soul; but where bright and beneficial exhortations were found, she would open her whole mind to receive the words that were offered.
10. Nor did she neglect the salutary remedy for the body; for she was such a lover of fasting that among those present, none was her equal. For she considered this the guard and foundation of all other virtues. And if, when necessity compelled, she took some food outside the accustomed hour, it happened to her differently than to those who eat: for her face would grow pale, and the bulk of her body would diminish. For when the mover is distressed, that which is moved is changed and weakened together with it; for in whatever way the principle is affected, those things which depend upon it follow in like manner. For those to whom food is offered as a pleasure, to them the habit of the body is vigorous; but to those to whom the contrary happens, the flesh is wasted and thin. The infirm bear witness to my words. This blessed Virgin, therefore, while she cared to keep her body weak, displayed the vigor of her soul, and that according to the Apostle's saying C: *For though our outward man is corrupted, yet the inward man is renewed day by day*. Thus, therefore, she began such a struggle that she remained hidden from the eyes of the multitude.
11. But after her parents had finished the ends of their lives, being moved by a greater impulse from God, she took with her her sister, who was devoid of the use of her eyes; and having left her father's house D she went into the monument of a certain kinsman, far removed from the city, and when she had sold those goods which had been left to her and had distributed them to the poor, having summoned a certain presbyter, she cut off the hair of her head. Then she cast away all ornament and finery; for it is the custom of women to call their hair their finery.
A That act, however, was a symbol that her soul had been made free from all superfluity and had become pure. It was then that she was first deemed worthy of the name of virgin.
12. After she had distributed all her property to the poor, she said: "I have been deemed worthy of a great name; but what I shall render in return that is worthy of the One who gave it, I do not know. For if, in outward matters, for the sake of corruptible dignity, men cast away all their substance, how much more does it behoove me, who have been deemed worthy of such grace, to surrender—together with the possessions deemed to be mine—my very body? But why do I say to give possessions or body, when all things belong to Him? For the earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof." B By these words, having attained humility, she led a life of quiet and solitude.
13. She had indeed exercised herself sufficiently in the ancestral halls in labors; and having been brought into the middle of the stadium, she was advancing in virtues. For as many as approached this divine mystery without exercise and without due consideration fell short of what they sought, not having foreseen everything beforehand. But she, just as those who are about to set out on a journey first provide themselves with provisions, so also she—having prepared herself for the journey upward, having equipped herself with her former labors as with provisions—advanced cautiously and securely. For having stored up whatever was necessary for the completion of the house, she finished a most fortified tower for herself. C For whereas the construction of houses is fashioned from external materials, she did the opposite: she did not gather external materials, but rather emptied out the internal ones. For having distributed her wealth to the poor, and having left behind anger and rancor, and having pushed away envy and vainglory, she built her house upon the rock, the tower of which was conspicuous and the house storm-proof.
14. But why do I say much? For she surpassed, even from the beginning, those who had become accustomed to the monastic life. For as the most talented of children, while still in their syllables, contend with those who are older and have spent a longer time with their teachers; so also she, fervent in spirit, left the others behind.
15. We are unable to recount her active and ascetic life, since she did not even allow anyone to be a spectator of it. For she did not want those who were present to be heralds of her noble deeds. D For she did not care so much for doing well as for the guarding and concealment of it. And she did this not out of envy, but preserved by divine grace. For she kept in mind that saying of the Lord, which says: If your right hand does anything, let not your left hand know it. Thus, remaining hidden, she performed the duties suited to her profession.
16. From early youth and until the prime of life, she not only declined the company of every man; but even her equals, the ple-
most part avoided for two reasons: either so as not to be glorified by the excess of her asceticism, or so as not to be distracted from the exercise of virtue by bodily necessity.
17. Thus did she observe the first movements of the soul, not permitting it to be drawn along by bodily desires. For like a luxuriant tree, she would prune away the unfruitful branches and wisely remove the thorny growths springing up in her mind, through fasting and prayer, of course. And if each of these began to sprout even slightly, she would apply to them various torments, macerating her body with all manner of labors. For she was not content only with starving herself of bread, but she even used water most sparingly.
18. Whenever, however, the hostile enemy fought against her, she would immediately call upon her own Master through prayer for support; for she did not rely on mere asceticism to quench the lion’s onset. And with her supplication the Lord was present, and the enemy would flee. But often the enemy would delay the battle, and the Lord would not repel the wicked one, thus increasing the training of her virtuous soul. She, as if by an accession of gifts, would recover her strength to win the victory. And it was not enough for her to macerate herself with a scarcity of food, but she also tried to block off from herself all ways to voluptuous pursuits. She fed on bran bread, for instance; she often abstained from water entirely, and she would sleep on the ground from time to time. As long as the war raged, she used such weapons as these. The role of C shield and weapon was filled for her by prayer; she was clothed in a breastplate forged from faith, hope, and charity. For faith led the way for all, strengthening all the joints of her soul. Charity, too, was present—if not in deed, then at least in purpose and will.
19. Thus, after the victory over the enemy was obtained, she herself would set a limit to her most rigorous exercise, and this she did so that her bodily members would not suddenly collapse; for this would surely have been a sign of a defeat accepted. For when weapons have collapsed, what hope is left for a soldier to join in battle? Consequently, there are some who, having consumed themselves with immoderate and thoughtless fasting, have inflicted a lethal wound upon themselves, and, as if refusing to engage the adversary, have cast themselves into destruction. She did not act in this way, but considered D all things, so that, fortified by prayers and exercise, she might struggle strenuously against the enemy, and at the same time look to the care of her body to ensure the tranquility of her own ship. For even sailors, when a storm and gale arise, abstain from food, setting all the skill and expertise they possess against the danger before their eyes; yet once they have escaped unharmed, they then take care for their secondary salvation, and their entire time is not consumed in struggling against the sea and the swell, but they accept the briefest calm as a respite from their labors; and even then, they do not live without concern, nor do they allow themselves to be carried off into deep sleep, pre
monished by the experience of what has passed and by the foreknowledge of what is to come. For even if the storm has ceased, the sea has not settled; and if the second wave has passed, the first A still remains. And if the event that occurred is gone, its cause is still present. Thus, too, in the present case: even though the spirit of desire has been driven out, the one who holds it under his dominion is not far off. Therefore, one must pray unceasingly because of the instability of the sea and the bitter wickedness of the enemy. The blessed woman, therefore, knowing precisely the present surge in the life of man and foreseeing the blasts of the winds, was steering her own vessel with piety toward God; and indeed, she brought it into the saving harbor free from storms, having cast the most secure anchor of faith in Jesus.
20. B Her life was apostolic, bound by faith and voluntary poverty, and resplendent with charity and humility. She herself fulfilled the work of the saving word: "For you shall walk," it says, "upon the asp and the basilisk, and upon all the power of the enemy" (Ps. xc, 13; Luc. x, 19). For she had indeed heard such a voice: "Well done, good and faithful servant; because you have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many" (Matth. xxv, 21, 23). Although this statement refers to gifts, let it be understood in this place as: "Because you have conquered in the bodily struggle, through my help you will also erect a trophy of spiritual victory. Let the principalities and powers mentioned by my servant Paul recognize the magnitude of your faith; for having conquered the opposing powers, you will converse with those that are higher."
21. Thus, withdrawing into solitude, she was a worker of good deeds. C But as time went on, and her virtues flourished, the fragrance of her most glorious labors spread to many. "For there is nothing," it says, "concealed that shall not be revealed" (Matth. x, 26). For God knows those who love him, and makes them known through Himself for the correction and fruit of those who hear. Then, therefore, by the counsel of the greater One, some began to visit her and to engage in conversations with her for their own edification; for those who gained from her manner of life through these words drew yet closer, desiring greater advancement. According to the usual custom, they would ask her, saying: "How must one be saved?" And she, sighing heavily and shedding a flood of tears, would withdraw into herself, and as if she had answered the inquirers through her tears, would again hold herself in silence. D They, however, would gather and compel her to speak of the great things of God, for they were struck with amazement at the mere sight of her; and again they would entreat her to speak. And after the blessed woman had been compelled for a long time, and after long silence and much quiet, she spoke that scriptural saying in a humble voice: "Do not do violence to the poor, for he is weak" (Prov. xxii, 22). Those present received the saying gladly, as if they had tasted honey and the honeycomb, and they pressed her more vehemently with their questions, and henceforth they urged her, borrowing words from the Scripture, saying to her: "Freely you have ac-
received, freely give." And she says: "See that you do not have to pay the penalty for the hidden talent, like that servant." Then she replied: "Why do you think so highly of me, a sinner, as if I had done or said anything good? We have a common master, the Lord; we draw spiritual draughts from the same fountains; we are nourished with the milk of the same breasts, namely the Old and the New Testament." They, however, said: "We indeed know that we too have one guide, Scripture, and the same master; but you, A with vigilant zeal, have progressed in virtues; and it is right for those who have acquired the habit and custom of virtues, being stronger, to offer aid to the young, for our common master commands this." Hearing this, the blessed virgin, like an infant at the breast, burst into tears. They, gathering to her, left aside their questioning and begged her to put an end to her weeping. And when she had become quiet, there was again a long silence. Then they began to exhort her again: moved by compassion, and not unaware that what she was going to say would bring her no honor, but rather plant benefit in those who were present, she began her discourse to them thus: B
22. "Little daughters, we all—both men and women—know how we gain salvation, but through negligence we fall away from salvation. For first it is necessary to keep those things which have been handed down to us through the grace of the Lord. And these are the following: 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your soul, and your neighbor as yourself.' From these, the beginning of the Law is preserved, and in this, the fullness of grace rests. The sound of the words is brief, but the virtue in them is great and infinite. For all things beneficial to the soul hang from these, and Paul bears witness C saying that the end of the Law is charity. Therefore, whatever men say is useful according to the grace of the Spirit, arises from charity and ends in it. And so this is salvation, the twofold charity."
23. "And furthermore, this must be added, that it is from this same charity that each of us understands what it is to desire greater things." As they hesitated and asked again, she answered them: "You are not unaware of the parable in the Gospel concerning the hundred, the sixty, and the thirty. The hundredfold number is our profession; the sixtyfold is the state of the continent; D the thirtyfold is of those living in conjugal chastity. And it is indeed a noble thing to pass from the thirtyfold to the sixtyfold, because it is worthwhile to arrive at greater things from the lesser. But to descend from greater to lesser goods is not without danger. For he who has once turned toward worse things cannot even stand in moderate things, but is borne as if into the depths of destruction. Some, therefore, having promised chastity, and being enticed by the weakness of their soul, invent excuses for their sins. For they say to themselves—or rather to the devil—'While modestly (or rather…)'
senselessly), we shall at least attain to the thirty;' for they say that the whole Old Law preached the begetting of children. Let it be known, therefore, that this opinion is the enemy's. For whoever is led from greater things to lesser ones is cast down by the adversary, and is judged like a deserter from the army; nor is he granted pardon A because he has moved to a lesser service, but rather he suffers punishment because he has fled. It is necessary, therefore, as I have said, to advance from the lesser to the greater. And the Apostle teaches this, that we must forget those things which are behind and reach forth unto those things which are before. It is right, then, that those who have attained the hundred should revolve it within themselves and not set a limit to the number. For He says: When you have done all things, say: We are unprofitable servants.
24. B Therefore, since we have taken up such a profession, we must maintain the highest chastity. For even among secular women, chastity seems to be practiced, but foolishness is present with them, because they slip and sin with all their other senses. For they look immodestly and laugh intemperately. But we, especially by abandoning these very things, let us ascend to the virtues and remove empty phantasy from our eyes. For the Scripture says: Let thine eyes look right things. We must also restrain the tongue from such sins. For it is wicked that the instrument of hymns should utter shameful words. And these things are to be rejected not only from being spoken, but also from being heard.
25. C We cannot preserve these things if we are constantly going out. For through our senses, even if we do not wish it, thieves enter. For how can a house not be blackened by smoke stirred up from outside when the windows are open? It is therefore necessary to avoid trips to the marketplace. For if we consider it troublesome and grievous to see brothers or parents naked, how much more harmful will it be for us to behold in the squares those who are indecently denuded, and who, moreover, utter impudent words? For from these D things unpleasant and pestilential phantasies are wont to arise.
26. When we shut ourselves up in our houses, we must not even there have a care-free mind, but must watch; for it is written: Watch. Yet the more we fortify ourselves towards chastity, the more we are joined by bitter thoughts. For he who adds knowledge, he says, adds grief. For the more the athletes progress, the more they are joined by greater antagonists. See from how much you have escaped, and do not be negligent regarding the present. Have you conquered material and active fornication? The enemy will set against you that which is exercised through the senses. And when you restrain yourself even from this, in the regions of the mind...
A the enemy still lies hidden as if in a cavern, and stirs up a spiritual war against you. For he suggests becoming appearances and unsightly figures, and old conversations to those who live in solitude. But one must not assent to the phantasms, for it is written: "If the spirit of the one having power should ascend against you, do not abandon your place" (Eccl. X, 4). Indeed, the consent to these things is to be compared to secular fornication; for Scripture says: "The mighty shall be mightily tormented" (Sap. VI, 7). Great, therefore, is the struggle against the spirit of fornication. For that is the head of the adversary's evils for the ruin of the soul. And the blessed Job, alluding to this, said of the devil: "He has his power in the navel of the belly" (Job XL, 11).
27. With many and varied machines, therefore, the devil moves the goad of fornication against those who love Christ. For often that wicked old serpent has also transformed brotherly love into his own malice. Indeed, he has overthrown through brotherly affection even virgins who had fled marriage and every luxury of the world; and he has wounded and deceived monks who had themselves fled all kinds of fornication, through religious conversation. B For this is the device of the enemy: to cover himself with alien garments, while secretly pushing forward his own. He shows a grain of wheat, and places a snare beneath it. And I think the Lord says concerning this: "Who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves" (Matth. VII, 15).
28. What then shall we do regarding this? Let us be "prudent as serpents, and simple as doves" (Matth. X, 16), employing wise counsel against his snares. For that which says: "Be prudent as serpents," is said so that the assaults of the devil may not escape us. For like makes the swiftest recognition from like. But the simplicity of the dove shows the purity of our action. Every good work, therefore, shall consist in the flight from the worse. But how shall we flee what we do not know? Wherefore it is necessary that, having understood the wickedness of the enemy, we guard against his pernicious machinations; for he says: "He goes about seeking whom he may devour" (I Pet. V, 8). "And his food is choice" (Habac. I, 16). Therefore, one must always be vigilant. For he attacks through external things, and conquers through internal thoughts. And indeed, he harms more through the interior; for he approaches spiritually both by night and by day.
29. What, therefore, is the need for this war? D Clearly, one of laborious exercise and pure prayers. And these are the remedies generally for every destructive thought. But it is necessary, moreover, to use certain particular counsels to repel the present plague of the soul: and upon the approach of a most base thought, to oppose it with the contrary. For if a phantasy of a fair face should arise in the regions of the mind, it must be chastened by reason, which...
A should gouge out the eyes of the idol, and remove the flesh from the cheeks; let it cut away the lips, and at last behold the deformed structure of the bare bones, and consider what it was that was being loved. Thus, indeed, the thought might be able to restrain itself from vain wandering. For what was loved was nothing but blood mixed with phlegm, which serves even for the use of animals as a covering. In this way, then, it is likely that by such thoughts the abominable wickedness may be driven away; and just as one drives out a nail with a nail, so it is fitting to expel the demon. Moreover, one must also draw for oneself, over the whole body of the beloved, ulcers heavy with stench and putrid; and, to put it briefly, to offer to the inward eyes something similar to a corpse, or even to pose oneself as a corpse. But the greatest thing of all is to rule the belly; for thus it is possible to master the pleasures that are beneath the belly. B
30. The divine banquet of those present was joyful, for they were cheered by the craters of wisdom. The minister of the divine draught and stream was the blessed Syncletica. Each of them received what she wished, and one of those gathered asked her, saying: "Is poverty a perfect good?" But she said: "It is indeed a very great good for those who can bear it. For those who endure this have affliction in the flesh, but relief in the soul. For just as sturdy garments, when trodden upon and violently twisted, are washed and whitened, so the strong soul is strengthened more by voluntary poverty; but those who have a weaker disposition suffer the opposite of the former. For if they are oppressed even by slight afflictions, like tattered garments, they fall to pieces, not bearing the washing that comes through virtue. And the art of washing is one for both, and the craftsman is the same, but the end of the garments is different: for the one sort are torn and perish, while the latter are whitened C and renewed. One might say, therefore, that poverty is a precious treasure for a courageous spirit; for it is a bridle for practical sins."
31. One must be exercised first in labors—I mean in fasting, in sleeping on the ground, and in other such things part by part—and thus acquire this virtue. For those who do not do so, but rush headlong to the casting away of their wealth, as a rule fall into repentance for their deed.
32. For wealth is an instrument of a sensuous life. Take away first your own art, that is to say, gluttony and luxury, and thus you will be able to cut away easily the material of your wealth. For I think it is burdensome, when the art is present, for the instrument to be missing. For he who has not cast away the first, how, I ask, will he be able to rid himself of the second? D For this reason, the Savior, conversing with the rich man, does not command him to cast away his wealth all at once, but first questions him whether he has kept the commandments of the law. And the Lord, assuming the character of a genuine teacher, asks: "If you have learned the elements, if you have received the syllables, and finally if you have become accustomed to the names, come now to the most perfect reading..."
A that is: "Go, sell what you possess, and come, follow me" (Matt. xix. 21). And I suspect that, had he not professed to have performed those things regarding which he was questioned, He would by no means have invited him to the abandonment of his goods. For how, indeed, could he have been able to advance to the reading had he been ignorant of the power of the syllables?
33. Voluntary poverty is thus good for those who have attained a habit of virtues. For when they have cast away all superfluous things, they turn toward the Lord, singing that divine oracle with a pure mind, which says: B "Our eyes wait upon thee: and thou givest them their meat in due season" (Ps. cxliv, 15).
34. Furthermore, they receive no small benefit from this; for when they do not incline their soul toward a treasure on earth, they clothe themselves with the kingdom of heaven, and clearly execute that sentence sung by the psalmist David, which says: "I was as a beast before thee" (Ps. lxxii, 23). For just as beasts of burden, while performing their own work, are satisfied only with food necessary for life, so too the lovers of poverty consider the use of money as nothing, and perform bodily work only for the sake of daily food. These hold the foundation of faith; for it was said to them by the Lord not to be anxious about the morrow, and that: "The birds of the air do not sow, nor do they reap, and the heavenly Father feeds them" (Matt. vi, 26). Relying on these words (for it is God who speaks), they boldly and fearlessly pronounce that voice of Scripture which says: "I believed, therefore have I spoken" (Ps. cxv, 10).
35. But also the enemy is more easily overcome by those who practice such poverty; for he has nothing whereby to do harm. For the greatest part of troubles and temptations consists in the loss of possessions. C For what damage can he bring to the destitute? He has none. To burn fields? They are not present. To destroy beasts of burden? They have none of these either. To harm their dearest ones? They have already said a long farewell to these as well. Poverty, therefore, is the greatest punishment against the enemy and a precious treasure for the soul.
36. Moreover, by how much more poverty is admirable and superior for virtue, by so much is the love of money worse and more wicked for vice; and the divine Apostle truly said regarding it that it is the cause of all evils (I Tim. vi, 10). For the desire of wealth, perjury, theft, D robbery, fornication, envy, hatred of brothers, war, idolatry, greed, and the offshoots of these—hypocrisy, flattery, mockery—it is confessed that all these have greed as their cause and origin. Whence the Apostle rightly named it the mother of all evils. And not only does God punish these; but also…
A they themselves prepare their own destruction. For as they are possessed by an insatiable wickedness, they have no limit to their goal, and thus an incurable wound is within them. He who has nothing desires a little; and having attained it, he reaches for more. He has a hundred gold coins, and he covets a thousand; having acquired these, he extends his desire to infinity. And thus, since they cannot set a limit for themselves, they always lament their poverty. Now, the love of money always brings envy with it. And this in turn destroys the possessor first. For just as a viper, when it is born, destroys its own mother before it harms others, so also does envy waste away the one who possesses it before it consumes the neighbors.
37. It would be a great thing if we could endure such toils B in seeking that approved silver, as those hunters of this vain world encounter in their incurable miseries. They endure shipwrecks, they engage with pirates, they fall in with robbers on land; they tolerate violent surges and winds; and often, when they have gained profit, they declare themselves poor for the sake of the envious. But we, for the sake of true gain, do not dare at all to face such dangers. And if at any time we should acquire some small thing, we magnify ourselves, showing it off to people; and often we speak boastingly of what did not even occur. Whence it happens that the spark of good that we seem to have, we lose, stolen by the enemy. And those others, having gained much, reach out for more; they consider present goods as nothing, and stretch their desire toward those things they do not have. We, however, even when we have nothing of what is sought, do not wish to acquire anything; and suffering from extreme poverty, we proclaim ourselves rich. It is therefore good that one who does well should report it to no one; for those who do such things will rather suffer loss, and indeed what they seem to have will be taken away from them. C
38. Therefore, we must take every care that our gain remains hidden. But those who are accustomed to narrate their own achievements should strive to relate also the faults joined with them; and if they hide these in order to avoid being blamed by their listeners, they must much more take care to open up those former things, since that matter withdraws them from association with God. And indeed, those who live according to virtue do the opposite; they recount their small slips along with additions of things they did not even do, casting aside the glory of men; yet they hide their good deeds for the safety of the soul. For just as a treasure, when it is revealed, is diminished, so also virtue, when it is known and publicized, is destroyed; for just as wax melts D from the face of the fire, so does the soul dissolve from praises, and it loses its vigor.
39. And there will be the opposite of these things again: for if heat has melted the wax, then cold produces solidification. If praise removes the vigor of the soul, then blame—
A and insult bring it unto the greatness of virtue. For it says: "Rejoice and be glad, when men shall say all manner of falsehood against you." And elsewhere it says: "Thou hast enlarged me in tribulation." And again: "My soul hath looked for reproach and misery." And ten thousand other such good things from the holy Scriptures the soul can behold being supplied to it.
40. B Truly, sadness is useful, and sadness is destructive. That which is useful pertains to groaning over one's own sins, and also over the ignorance of one's neighbor; to being cautious lest we fall away from our purpose, and to reaching the end of goodness. These, then, are the kinds of genuine and good sadness. And there is also another kind of sadness, suggested by the enemy, which knows how to attach itself to these. For he himself also casts in sadness that is full of folly, which some have termed acedia. This spirit, therefore, one must especially drive away by prayer and the chanting of psalms.
41. We who are occupied with good cares should not imagine anyone in this life to be free from troubles. For the Scripture says: "Every head is in labor, and every heart in sorrow." In one sentence the Holy Spirit has described both the monastic and the secular life. For by the "labor of the head," he alludes to the monastic way of life; C for the head is the ruling part. "For the wise man's eyes," he says, "are in his head." Discernment, therefore, as I suppose, resides therein. By "labor," however, is indicated that every emerging virtue is accomplished through toils. By the "sorrow of the heart," He signified the unstable and wretched secular condition. For some have said that the heart is the seat of wrath and sadness; when they are not praised, they grieve; coveting the possessions of others, they pine away; when in poverty, they are indignant; when provided with wealth, they go mad, finding not even a place for sleep because of the care and guarding of their possessions.
42. Therefore, let us not be discouraged in spirit, saying that those who live in the world are free from cares. For perhaps, if we compare ourselves with them, they have more troubles and labor than we do. For women in the world are for the most part held in great hatred; they bring forth children with difficulty and danger, and they are miserably tortured in the nursing of them, and they are ill when their infants are ill; and these things they endure without any end to their labors. For the offspring received is either crippled in body, or, having been led astray by evil ways, plots the destruction of its parents. D Knowing these things, then, let us not be lured by the enemy, as if such a life were peaceful and free from cares. For indeed, they are extinguished by the violence of pain in childbirth; and if they do not bear children, they pine away under the disgrace of sterility and barrenness.
43. These things I say to you, so that we may guard ourselves against the adversary. For the things said are not suitable for all, but only for those who have embraced the monastic life. Just as
there is not one food for all animals, so too one discourse is not suitable for all men. For it is not necessary, he says, to put new wine into old wineskins. For those who are filled with contemplation and knowledge are entertained in one way, while those who have tasted the ascetic and practical life are entertained differently, and those who practice righteousness according to their ability while living in the world in yet another. For A just as some animals are land-dwelling, some are aquatic, and some are winged; so too with men: some hold to the middle way, like land animals; some gaze toward the heights, like the winged; and others are covered by the waters of sins, like fish. For he says: "I have come into the depths of the sea, and a storm has submerged me." And such is the nature of animals; but we, having grown wings like eagles, let us ascend to higher things, and let us trample upon the lion and the dragon; and let us now rule over him who formerly ruled over us. And we shall accomplish this if we offer our whole mind to the Savior. 44. But the more we rise toward the heights, the more he tries to hinder us through his own snares. And is it any great thing if we have adversaries when we are striving toward the good, when they are envious even in trivial matters? Indeed, they do not permit men to take the treasures hidden under the earth. If, therefore, they are antagonistic toward earthly wealth, how much more will they envy the kingdom of heaven? 45. We must, then, arm ourselves in every way against them; for they also make assaults from the outside, and nothing less are they stirred up from within. And the soul, like a ship, is sometimes submerged by the waves from without, B and sometimes it is sent to the bottom by the bilge-water from within. And so we, too, sometimes perish through outward practical sins, and other times we are obliterated by internal thoughts. It is necessary, therefore, both to guard against the external assaults of the spirits and to drain out the uncleanness of the internal thoughts, and always to be vigilant against thoughts; for they are constantly upon us. In the case of external waves, when the sailors cry out, salvation often comes through nearby ships; but the bilges, even when the sailors are asleep and the sea is calm, creep in and often destroy them. 46. It is necessary, therefore, to labor with greater diligence in our mind against the thoughts. For the enemy, wishing to demolish the soul as if it were a house, either prepares its fall from the foundations, or, beginning from the roof, tears the whole thing down, or, having entered through the windows, first binds the master of the house, and in this way takes possession of everything. Now the foundation is good works, the roof is faith, and the windows are the senses. D Through all these, the enemy wages war. Wherefore, he who wishes to be saved must be many-eyed. We do not have immunity here, for the Scripture says: "Let him who stands take heed lest he fall." 47. We sail in the dark, for life is a sea.
llbracketA It is called a sea by the holy singer David. In the sea, furthermore, some places are rocky, others full of monsters, and others calm. We seem to be sailing in a calm part of the sea, while worldly people are in dangerous regions. We sail by day, guided and led by the sun of justice, while they sail by night, carried by ignorance. But it often happens that a worldly person, finding himself in a storm and in darkness, by crying out and keeping watch, saves his own vessel; while we, in a calm, are submerged through carelessness, having lost the rudder of justice.
48. Let him who stands, therefore, see that he does not fall. For he who has fallen has one concern, namely, to rise again. But he who stands must guard himself lest he fall. For there are various falls; those who have fallen are indeed deprived of standing, but lying down, they have not suffered much harm. But let him who stands not despise him who has fallen, but let him fear for himself, lest he fall and be destroyed, and go into a deeper pit, where it may happen that, the cry being overcome by the depth of the pit, he cannot even ask for help. llbracketB For the righteous man says: "Let not the deep swallow me up, nor let the pit shut its mouth over me" (Ps. LXVIII, 16). He who has fallen first has remained. See to it, lest by falling you also become the food of beasts. He who has fallen does not secure the door; but you, do not nod off at all; rather, always chant that divine saying which says: "Lighten my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death" (Ps. XII, 4). And keep watch continually because of him who roars like a lion.
49. These words are useful for this, that we may not be puffed up. llbracketC He who has fallen, if he turns and groans, will be saved. Look to yourself, you who stand. A double fear hangs over you: either that you might not return to your old ways, with the enemy attacking you on account of your sloth, or that you might be tripped while running. For our adversary, the devil, either pulls you back toward himself when he sees the soul sluggish and lazy, llbracketD or, if it seems diligent and strenuous in the ascetic life, he creeps in cunningly and secretly through pride, and thus utterly destroys it. This snare is the very last and highest of all evils. Through it the devil was cast down, and through it he attempts to conquer the strongest of men. For just as the most strenuous soldiers, after they have exhausted their smaller weapons, if the adversaries are still pressing them, bring out the strongest of all, namely the sword—so also the devil, after he has exhausted his first snares, then finally uses his last sword, namely pride. What, then, were his first snares? Clearly gluttony, pleasure, and fornication. For these spirits especially infest the youthful age; these are followed by the love of money, avarice, and the like. Therefore, once the wretched soul has avoided these snares, after it has controlled the belly, after it has passed over the desires subjected to the belly through purity, after
the struggle of the stomach, when one also transcends the lower appetites with gravity, and when one despises silver: then the artisan of evils, reduced to straits from every side, injects into the soul an unruly impulse; for he inflates it A so that it might unseemly exalt itself against the brethren. This poison of the adversary is heavy and destructive. He has cast down many on a sudden, darkened by this state. For he suggests to the soul an illegitimate and deadly thought. He makes it imagine that it has apprehended things unknown to the many, and that it surpasses others in fasts; and he adds to it a multitude of good deeds, but brings it to forgetfulness of all the sins it has committed, so that it may exalt itself against those who dwell with it. For he steals from its mind its transgressions; and he does not do this for its benefit, but so that it might not be able to utter that medicinal cry, "To thee only have I sinned, have mercy on me." Nor, indeed, will he allow it to say, "I will confess to thee, O Lord, with all my heart." But just as he himself said in his mind, "I will ascend and set my throne," so he also excites this person vainly toward principalities and first seats, and furthermore toward teachings and the dispensing of healings. The soul thus deceived is corrupted and perishes, struck by a wound that is difficult to heal.
50. What then must be done when such thoughts are present? One must incessantly meditate upon that divine oracle which the blessed David cried out, saying, "But I am a worm and no man." And in another place he says, "But I am earth and ashes." Furthermore, let one also hear the word of Isaiah which says, "All the righteousness of man is as the garment of a menstruous woman." And if these thoughts C steal into one who is living the anchoritic life in solitude, let her enter a cenobium; and let her be compelled to eat twice in the day, if indeed through excess of asceticism she has fallen into this passion. And let her be rebuked by her companions, and let her be reviled and sternly admonished, as if she were doing nothing great; and let her perform every service. Let the lives of the most excellent saints be brought forward for instruction; and let those who have gathered together attempt to intensify their own labors toward ascetic practice for those few days, so that she, beholding the magnitude of their virtues, may consider herself the least.
51. Another evil precedes this disease, namely, disobedience; whence, through the opposite, which is obedience, it is possible to cleanse the putrid infection of the soul; for "Obedience," he says, "is better than sacrifice."
52. It is necessary, therefore, to tear down the tumor of glory in due season, and to praise and admire it again in due season. For if the soul be found negligent and slothful D, and moreover dormant toward the progress of the good, it is fitting to praise it; and if it accomplishes some small good thing, one must admire it and magnify it. And one must speak of its grave and monstrous transgressions as being of the least and no significance; for the devil, desiring to overturn all things, attempts in the case of the diligent and those who are exercised to hide the sins that have been committed, so that he may increase pride in them. In the case of the novices,
B and the souls of those who have but just entered the path, he sets all their sins before their eyes. For he suggests to the one who has committed fornication: "For you who have committed fornication, what pardon is to be expected?" And to another he says: "Since you have been so avaricious, it is impossible for you to obtain salvation." Souls that are agitated in this manner, therefore, must be comforted in the following way; for one must speak to them thus: "Rahab was a harlot, but she obtained salvation through faith; Paul was a persecutor, but he became a vessel of election; Matthew was a tax collector, but no one is ignorant of the grace granted to him; and the thief was given to theft and murder, but he was nevertheless the first to open the gate of paradise." Considering these things, therefore, do not despair of your own soul.
53. But when you have found these remedies to be appropriate for them, one must also apply that cure to those who have been captured by pride. For one must address her thus: "Why are you puffed up? Because you do not eat meat? Others do not even see fish. And if you do not drink wine, consider that others do not even eat oil. Do you fast until evening? Some others pass two or three days without food. But do you think highly of yourself because you do not bathe? Many, even when they were ill, did not use it at all. Perhaps you admire yourself because you sleep on a mat and a hair-cloth bed? But others lie on the ground continually; and even if you were to do this, it would not be a great thing: for there are those who have even placed stones under themselves, so that they might not enjoy the natural comforts; and others have spent the whole night hanging. But even if you were to perform all these things, and were to complete the most extreme exercise, do not think highly of yourself; for indeed the demons have done and do even more than you. For they neither eat, nor drink, nor marry, nor sleep; nay, they even dwell in the wilderness, if by chance, inhabiting a cave, you suppose that you are doing something great."
54. Thus, therefore, and by similar arguments, we can C cure the opposing maladies, I mean despair and pride. For just as fire, when blown upon too vehemently, is scattered and extinguished, and when deprived of air it dies out, so too virtue flies away through pride, even if it has been cultivated with strenuous exercise; and the good is again corrupted by negligence when we do not stir ourselves at all to the fanning of the divine Spirit. A sharp sword is easily broken upon a stone; and a strenuous discipline and exercise quickly comes to ruin through being proud. Wherefore it is expedient to protect the soul from every side, and to lower the most extreme asceticism, when it is scorched by the heat of pride, into shaded places, and sometimes to prune away what is superfluous, D so that the root may become more vigorous.
55. But let the one who is seized by despair be urged by the aforementioned arguments to reach upward. For the soul that clings to the earth is base and abject. Indeed, the most skilled of farmers, when they see a plant thin and weak, irrigate it generously and nurture it with much solicitude so that it may receive growth. Whenever, however, in
A a plant they perceive a precocious sprout, they prune away all that is superfluous; for such things are wont to wither quickly. And physicians also nurture some of the sick with generous food, and urge them to walk about; while others they bind and keep for a long time in abstinence.
56. It is clear, therefore, that the supreme evil is pride; and its opposite, B humility, proves this to be a good. Yet it is difficult for anyone to acquire this humility. For unless one has cast off all vain glory, one will not be able to obtain this treasure. And so great is the virtue of humility, that while the devil seems to imitate all other virtues, he does not even know what this one is at all. Knowing, therefore, its firmness and stability, the Apostle commands us to "be clothed with humility" (I Petr. v, 5), and in doing all things that are useful, to put this on like a garment. For even if you fast, and even if you show mercy, and even if you teach; and if you happen also to be temperate and prudent, again set this before yourself as an unbreakable wall. Let this most beautiful of all virtues, humility, bind and hold your virtues together. Do you see also the hymn of the three holy children (Dan. iii, 87), how, having scarcely made mention of other virtues, they enumerated the humble among the choir of those singing the hymn, without mentioning the temperate or the lovers of poverty? For just as it is impossible for a ship to be built without nails, so also we cannot attain salvation without humility.
57. And because the Lord is good and is the provider of salvation, C fulfilling his economy toward men, he also clothed himself in it. For he says: "Learn of me, for I am meek and humble of heart" (Matth. xi, 29). Attend to who it is that is speaking, and be a perfect disciple. Let humility be to you the beginning and the end of virtues. He speaks of a humble mind, not merely appearance, but implies the inner man; for the outward man will follow this. Have you kept all the commandments? The Lord knows. But he himself commands you at the same time to take up the beginning of servitude; for he says: "When you have done all things, say: We are unprofitable servants" (Luc. xvii, 10).
58. Humility, therefore, is practiced through reproaches, D through insults, through blows; so that you may hear yourself called senseless and foolish, poor and needy, infirm and base, unprogressive in works, irrational in speech, despicable in appearance, weak in power. These are the sinews of humility. These things our Lord heard and suffered. For they called him a Samaritan and said he had a demon. He assumed the form of a servant, was struck on the face, and was disgraced by blows.
59. It is necessary that we also imitate this humility. For there are some who feign the external appearance of humility, and humbling themselves, seek glory for this very thing; but they are recognized by their fruits; for when afflicted by even the lightest injury, they by no means
A endure it, but immediately, like serpents, vomit forth their own venom.
68. The others who had gathered [68. 60.] were greatly exulting, and continued to persevere, never admitting any satiety of good things. And again, the blessed Virgin addressed them, saying: Great is the struggle for those approaching God, and the labor is immense at the beginning, but afterward the joy is ineffable. For just as those who wish to kindle a fire are first choked by smoke and shed tears, and in this way attain what they seek—for it is written: "Our God is a consuming fire"—so also must we kindle the divine fire within ourselves with tears and labor. For the Lord Himself says: "I came to cast fire upon the earth." And indeed, some, having endured the annoyance of the smoke, did not kindle the fire, because they lacked patience, or rather because their affection toward God was weak and feeble.
61. Wherefore charity is a great treasure, B about which the Apostle affirms: "If you distribute all your goods, and deliver your body to be burned, but have not charity, you have become as sounding brass or a clanging cymbal." Charity is therefore a great good, and consequently anger is a great evil: for it darkens the whole soul, turns it into ferocity, and deprives it of reason. The Lord, however, taking care of our salvation on all sides, has by no means allowed even the slightest part of the soul to remain without protection. Does the enemy arouse lust? The Lord has armed us with temperance. Does he beget pride? But humility is not far off. Has he implanted hatred? Charity stands in the midst. As many darts as the adversary hurls against us, the Lord has fortified us C with more weapons, both for our own salvation and for his destruction.
62. The greatest evil among evils is wrath; for, He says, the wrath of man does not work the righteousness of God. Therefore, it must be reined in, because in due season it has appeared useful: for it is profitable to be angry and moved against demons. But it is by no means appropriate to be moved vehemently against a human being, even if he has sinned; rather, one ought to lead him to repentance after the emotion of anger has subsided.
63. But while being angry may perhaps seem less of an evil, resentment D is the most grievous of all things. For wrath, like smoke, having troubled the soul for a brief time, vanishes; but resentment, like something deeply fixed in the soul, makes it fiercer than a wild beast. For a dog, indeed, while raging against someone, if appeased by food, lays aside its anger; and other wild beasts are softened and tamed by habit. But he who is seized by resentment is persuaded by no exhortation, mollified by no food, nor will time, which changes all things, ever cure a disease of this kind. These, therefore, are the most impious and lawless of all. For they do not obey the Savior
A when He says, "Go, first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift"; and in another place, "Let not the sun," He says, "go down upon your wrath."
64. It is, then, a praiseworthy thing not to be angry; but if it should happen, you have not been granted even the space of a day to hold on to your emotional agitation, for He commanded that the sun should not set upon it. But you delay, until the entire time of your life has set. Do you not know how to say, "Sufficient for the day is its own evil"? Why do you hate the man who has caused you grief? It was not he himself who did the injustice, but the devil. Hate the disease, but not the one suffering from it. "Why do you boast in malice, O mighty man?" B Concerning you, this the Psalm cried out: "For you have devised iniquity," it says, "all the day"; that is to say, throughout the whole time of your life, you disobey the Lawgiver who says, "Let not the sun go down upon your wrath." He says, furthermore, "Your tongue has devised injustice"; for you do not cease from speaking blasphemy against your brother. Whence a just punishment is offered to you by the Psalmist himself, by the Spirit: "For this reason," he says, "God shall destroy you forever, He shall pluck you up and remove you from your tabernacle, and your root from the land of the living." These are the gifts for the one who keeps in mind injuries; these are the rewards of malice.
65. We must, therefore, guard against the keeping of injuries, for many evils follow C upon it: envy, sorrow, detraction. The malice of these is deadly, even if it seems small. For these things are indeed like the enemy's slender arrows. And often wounds from a double-edged sword and a large blade—such as are fornication, greed, and murder—have often been healed through the saving medicine of repentance; but pride, or the keeping of injuries, or detraction, which are considered small arrows, have secretly slain, being fixed into the more vital parts of the soul. These things kill not by the gravity of the wound, but by the negligence of those who are wounded; for, as if they were of no account, they disregarded detraction and the rest of the vices, and by them, little by little, they perished.
66. Detraction is burdensome and wicked, yet it happens to be food and, as it were, a rest for certain people. But you, do not receive a vain report; do not become a receptacle D for the evils and vices of others. Prepare your soul to be unfettered. For if you have admitted the foul filth of words, you will sprinkle stains upon your prayer through these thoughts, and without cause, you will hate those who associate with you. For your ears having been steeped in the inhumanity of those who speak evil, you will look upon everyone with an ignoble spirit; just as the eye, once it has been strongly affected by a color, has a blurred perception of what it sees.
67. We must therefore guard the tongue and the ear, so as neither to speak nor to listen to anything of that kind with passion. For it is written, "Do not receive a vain report,"
and, "Whoever slandered his neighbor in secret, him I pursued." A And in the Psalm it is said: "That my mouth may not speak of the works of men." But we even speak of things that are not works. Therefore, we must not believe those who say such things, nor condemn those who speak them; but according to the divine Scripture, act and say: "But I, like a deaf man, was not hearing, and like a mute who does not open his mouth."
68. We must not rejoice over the calamity of a human being, even if he be the greatest sinner. For some, having seen someone beaten with whips or cast into prison, ignorantly uttered that worldly proverb which says, "He who has made his bed badly shall fare miserably." Do you, therefore, who have made your bed well, trust that you shall rest tranquilly for the time of your life? And what shall we do to him who affirms that one event is for the just man and for the sinner? For here our way of life is one, even though we have a different manner of living. B
69. It is not permitted to have enemies. For the Lord strictly commanded us this with His own voice. He says: "Do not love only those who love you: for this even sinners and tax collectors do." For what is good needs neither skill nor struggle to be caught, for it draws those who love it to itself; but evil requires divine teaching to be blotted out, and much labor. For the kingdom of heaven is not for the languid and the slothful, but for the violent.
70. Just as it is not permitted to have enemies, so neither is it right to flee from or mock the negligent and the slothful. Some, indeed, put forward to themselves that Scriptural sentence, which says, "With the holy you will be holy, and with the perverse you will be perverted." Therefore, they say, we flee from sinners, so that we may not be perverted by them. C Such people, through ignorance of soul, act in opposition. For the Holy Spirit commands not that we should be perverted with the perverse, but that we should correct them from their crooked path to the straight one. For "you will be perverted" means "you will draw him toward yourself," from the left to the right.
71. There are three types of characters regarding the life of men: the first is of the highest malice; the second is of a middle condition, which looks toward both and is a participant in both; the third, having been led to the height of contemplation, D not only binds itself, but also attempts to lead by the hand those placed after it. Now, wicked men, being mixed with worse ones, create a very great increase of evils. But those who are placed in the middle attempt to flee from those who are more intemperate, fearing lest they be dragged down by them again; for they are still infants in the exercise of virtues. But the third, endowed with a manly spirit and instructed with a firm mind, dwell and live together with the wicked, wishing to prepare salvation for them. Truly, they are blamed by those on the outside, and are mocked by them, who
A claim they are one and the same with them. But they, receiving men's insults as if they were praises, fearlessly accomplish the divine work. For it says: "Rejoice and be glad, when men shall say all manner of lies against you." (Matt. 5:11). This is a work worthy of the Lord; for the Lord ate with tax collectors and sinners; rather, their mind is more brother-loving than self-loving. For just as those who see fires in their neighbors' houses, neglecting their own affairs, strive to save others who are perishing, and, scorched by the consuming insults, they endure them—these are the first. But the ones in the middle, if they see a brother burning with sin, flee away, fearing lest the fire might spread to them, too. The third, taking the part of evil neighbors, stoke those who are burning all the more, supplying matter for their destruction, namely their own malice. For just as if they found a ship daubed with pitch, instead of water they pour on cedar resin. But the opposite of these, the good ones, have counted their own possessions as secondary to the salvation of the others. These are the proofs of true charity; these are the guardians of sincere love.
72. B Just as in one case evils hang together—for after greed follows envy, deceit, perjury, anger, remembrance of injuries—so the opposites of these are linked to charity: I mean gentleness, forbearance, long-suffering, and the perfect good, renunciation of property. For it is not possible for anyone to attain this virtue, I mean charity, unless through renunciation of property; C for the Lord did not command charity toward one man alone, but toward all. Therefore, it is not fitting for those who have possessions to despise those in need. For something is stolen from charity. For it is impossible for a human being to have enough for everyone; this is the work of God.
73. What then, she says, you who possess nothing, do you struggle regarding almsgiving, and does this become for you an occasion to acquire? This has been commanded to those in the world. For almsgiving was not instituted so much for the feeding of the poor as it was for the sake of charity. For God, who governs the rich man, also feeds the poor man. Was almsgiving, therefore, commanded in vain? Far from it! But it becomes a beginning of charity for those who do not know. D Just as for the uncircumcised the circumcision of the flesh was a foreshadowing of the circumcision of the heart, so almsgiving was established as a teacher of charity. Therefore, to those to whom charity has been given by grace, almsgiving is superfluous, showing the purity of renunciation. Therefore, let not the lesser become a hindrance to the greater. In a little time you have achieved a small good; for you have given away all things at once; now look toward the greater thing, namely, charity. For you are a cross-bearer. You ought to utter the free voice: "Behold, we have left all, and"
A have followed you." You have been deemed worthy to imitate the bold speech of the apostles. For Peter and John say, "Silver and gold have I none." 33 The tongue is double, but the faith is one.
75. Furthermore, among secular matters, let not alms be given rashly and inconsiderately. For it says: "Let not the oil of the sinner fatten my head." 34 It is fitting, therefore, that he who distributes alms be endowed with the prudence of Abraham, and that he act justly and uprightly as that man did. For the righteous man, while showing hospitality to guests, offered his own intention along with his hearth. B For he stood, it is said, serving, being unwilling that his servants should be sharers in such gain. Truly, those who are of such a kind shall receive the reward of their alms, even if they are placed in the second rank. For the Lord, having created the world, placed in it a twofold order of inhabitants. For to those living uprightly, he enjoined marriage for the sake of the procreation of children; but to others, for the sake of purity of life, he delivered chastity, making them equal to the angels. And to the former, he gave laws, punishments, and teachings; but to these, he says: "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." 35 There, he says: "You shall till the earth;" 36 here, he commands: "Be not solicitous for tomorrow." 37 To those, he gave the law; to us, he personally through grace made known the commandments.
76. The Cross for us is the trophy of victory. For our profession is nothing else than the renunciation of life and the meditation of death. As, therefore, the dead do not work with the body, so neither do we. For whatever things were to be accomplished by it, we did when we were but children. For the Apostle says: "To me the world is crucified, and I to the world." 38 Let us live by the soul; let us show the virtues through it; let us practice mercy by the mind. For "Blessed are the merciful in soul." 39 For just as he says in that place that he who has desired beauty, even if he does nothing externally, has committed sin without a witness; so in this matter, discourse is held concerning alms, with the mind accomplishing the action, even if the money is lacking, and we are held in greater honor.
77. For just as those who are in the world possess various services of servants, and some they send into the field to cultivate the lands and for the sake of propagating their race; but their sons, if they see them to be upright and elegant, they transfer to their own house to serve them; so also the Lord placed those who have entered into honorable marriage in the field of the world; but their more excellent sons, as many as have most embraced a righteous purpose, he has moved to himself for ministry. These are aliens from all earthly businesses, since they have been deemed worthy of the Lord's table. Nor are they solicitous about clothing, for they have put on Christ.
A 78. There is one Lord of both orders. For just as the chaff and the seed are from the same wheat, so too, from the same God, are those who live honorably in the world and those who have taken up the monastic life. And certainly both are necessary; the leaves are for the protection and preservation of the seed, but the acquisition of the fruit is necessary, for from it all things are born. For just as it is not possible for the blade and the seed to exist at the same time, so it is impossible, while we are surrounded by the glory of the world, to produce heavenly fruit. But once the leaves have fallen and the stalk has dried, the ear is ready for the harvest. And so we too, having cast away the delusion of the earth in place of the leaves, and having dried our body like the stalk, and having lifted up our mind, shall be able to beget the seed of salvation.
79. It is dangerous for one who has not been instructed in the active life to attempt to teach. For just as if someone having a dilapidated house admits guests, he brings harm upon them through the collapse of the dwelling; so also these, not having first firmly built themselves up, have destroyed those who came along with them. For by their words they called them to salvation, but by the wickedness of their conduct they rather harmed those who gathered. For a mere exposition of words is like paintings made with easily-fading colors, which a very short time dissolves with gusts of wind and drops of rain; but an instruction confirmed by works, not even an entire age could dissolve. For the word that sculpts the solid parts of the soul bestows an eternal image of Christ upon the faithful. B C
80. We must therefore not treat the care of the soul superficially, but adorn it entirely throughout, especially by not neglecting the depths. We have performed the cutting of the hair; let us also cut away the worms in the head: for if these alone are left, they will cause us greater pain. For our hair was the adornment of the world—honors, glories, the acquisition of wealth, splendid robes, the use of baths, the enjoyment of foods. These we appeared to cast away; but let us rather cast out the soul-destroying worms. And what are these? Slander, perjury, avarice. Our head, then, is the soul; and as long as the beasts were hidden in the forests of worldly affairs, they seemed to go unnoticed; but now, laid bare, they are manifest to all. For this reason, in a virgin or in a monk, even the most trivial sins are evident; for just as in a clean house the creature that is seen becomes visible to all, even if it is very small, whereas in the world, as in unclean caves, the greatest of the venomous beasts lie hidden, covered by the continuous matter of the world. Therefore, it is necessary for us to cleanse the house continually, and to watch, lest any of the soul-destroying creatures creep into the storehouses of the soul; and we must also smoke them out with the divine incense of prayer. For just as the more pungent creatures of the venomous…
beasts are driven out by stronger medicines, so does prayer when combined with fasting drive out impure thoughts.
81. A Among the soul-destroying monsters is that which is insinuated by those who say there is fate, which they also call genesis. This is the devil’s most terrible goad. And it often excites a pestilential phantasm in the mind of earnest souls, but then it flees; yet it dominates the more negligent. For no one who lives a virtuous life trusts or accepts this insane and empty opinion; for he regards God as the beginning of all things past and present that are good, and establishes his own mind as the second guide and judge of virtue and vice. But all those who, out of folly, have suffered through their own sloth, immediately approach that demon. Just as children who desert their rank and cannot endure the training of their parents, which is profitable to them, flee and reach desolate places, and join themselves to wild and barbaric B demons; for, ashamed to attribute the wicked deeds to their own will, they falsely accuse things that are not present.
82. B Furthermore, those who cast themselves away from the divine name affirm that pleasures come to them from genesis, or birth; for those who fornicate, steal, labor with avarice, and are fraudulent, being ashamed of their own actions, have turned away from the truth. And the end of their purpose is a death-bearing despair. For it is necessary from these thoughts and arguments that God be taken away by them from the midst, and furthermore, judgment. C For one says: "If it has been judged for me in this way, that I should commit fornication or be greedy, judgment is superfluous." For a just punishment indeed concerns faults committed of one’s own accord; but that deed which, depending on some principle, is involuntary, renders the agent innocent. So that from this, judgment is taken away.
83. C How the divinity is also driven out by them must be heard. For they will say it is either primary, or secondary, or always existing with that which they vainly admit. For if they confess that God holds the first place, it necessarily follows that all things have been made through him; for he himself is in D all things; therefore he himself is the lord of fate. But if a man is a cheat or a fornicator by genesis or birth, it is necessary through the medium of genesis that God is the cause of evil; which is absurd. But if they say that the divinity holds the second place, it follows that it is subject to the first. And whatever the one who is in command desires, that which follows must necessarily execute; and again, God will be the author of evils among them; which is an impious thing to say. But if they wish it to be coeternal, they will entirely stir up a battle between them, since they possess contrary natures. By these arguments, therefore, as if in a summary, their empty suspicion has been refuted. Of these things the Scripture has spoken, as it says: "The fool has said in his heart, there
is no God"; and: "They have spoken wickedness on high."
84. They also invent excuses for themselves in their sins. For they mutilate the Scriptures, being blind, desiring to confirm their own perversity from them. And first of all, trying to vomit forth their own poison from the Gospel, they force it; for it says: "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was in this way." For the divine Scripture has called his origin a "birth" (genesis). Moreover, that he came to men by the economy is consistently called a birth. And if they also lie about the star, let them learn again from that place about his glorious advent. One star, most luminous, has become the herald of truth for us; but their vain opinion introduces many things into the hunting of human nativity. And from this it is shown that wickedness is everywhere opposed to itself. And they call upon Isaiah to witness their own folly. For they say he said: "The Lord who makes peace, and creates evils." Peace is indeed acknowledged by all to be the work of God; but wickedness truly resides among them, being a wickedness of the soul; but to us, the wickedness that comes from God is most beneficial. For toward the salvation of the soul and the discipline of the bodies come famines and droughts, diseases and poverty, and certain other adversities. For the saving remedies, which they thought were wickedness of the soul and real evils, these are applied to us by the Better One for our conversion: "For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?" And furthermore, that "The ways of man are not in himself," they likewise bring forward to their own destruction; for not having ways, they wish to track them out. Avarice, gluttony, and fornication have no way; for these are unsubstantial, not existing in themselves. For these are what they are accustomed to call ways. But the Scripture tells us that there are two ways common to all, life and death. For they are truly the journeys of both the entrance into this world here and the passage out of these sensible things.
85. Therefore, those wretched ones do everything so that they might cast away their own free will; and they set this as their goal, to exchange freedom for slavery. For this, too, is the work of wickedness, that it always drags itself down to worse things; for they themselves become witnesses that they have sold themselves to wickedness. And this, therefore, is the deceitful artifice of the devil; for he causes slothful souls to bow down through false doctrine, not allowing them to rise up to the knowledge of the truth. For just as a ship sailing without a rudder is always tossed by storms, so also in these people, danger always blows; for they cannot hasten to the saving harbor, having abandoned the Lord who is the helmsman. And thus he deceives the souls delivered to him. But often also the [enemy of souls...]
dedicated to the virtues, concerned to intercept their good course. For he suggests to their mind that what we do well and prosperously comes from the movement of the stars. The adversary implants this thought in those who have turned to the monastic life from secular wisdom. For since the devil is skillful in evil, he lays snares according to the character of men. For some he besets assiduously through the temptation of desperation; others he draws along through the desire for vain glory; others he overpowers through the love of money. And, like a lethal physician, he offers poisonous medicines to men. And one indeed he destroys by the liver, offering him the toxin of greed; another he wounds in the heart, inciting his spirit to anger; and as for some, he blunts the ruling faculty of their soul, either by enveloping them in ignorance or by overturning them through curiosity.
86. Therefore, he has suborned some through inept and absurd questions. For, desiring to dispute about God and His nature, they suffered shipwreck. For, not having properly undertaken the life of action, they rushed toward contemplation, and, seized by vertigo, they fell. For, not having grasped the first in order, they failed in the second. Just as those who are taught the letter A first consider its shape, second learn its name, and thus learn the number, and lastly receive the accents. If, therefore, there is need for such exercise, delay, and skill in the first element, how much more should time and labor precede the contemplation of the ineffable glory of the Creator that is set before us? But let no one approach the comprehension of divine things proudly, having come to it from secular disciplines. For such a one deceives himself, deluded by the demon. For the Psalmist says: "Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise." C The Lord also speaks in the Gospel thus: "Suffer the little children to come to me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven." And in another place He says: "Unless," He says, "you become as these little ones, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." You were instructed in these things for the sake of the world; become foolish for the sake of God: pluck up the old, that you may plant the new; tear down the ruinous foundations, that you may substitute the adamant base of the Lord; that you, like the Apostle, may be built upon the firm rock.
87. Nor, indeed, is it fitting to be contentious: do not spend much time on an D abundant faculty of speaking. For through untimely chatter the devil can harm you. He is equipped with many snares, inasmuch as he is a most expert hunter. And, indeed, for little sparrows he prepares the smallest traps: but for larger birds he prepares stronger snares. A cruel and lethal snare is to have faith in the doctrine of genesis. The thought which looks to this must be fled. But does he persuade you through the things themselves and through the foreknowledge of events? But the reasoning is conjectural, the judgment is uncertain.
A For the things they say do not necessarily follow; for just as for laypeople and sailors there is some dim knowledge of winds or rains from the nature of the clouds, so too for these people there is a flimsy foreknowledge from demons. Indeed, they themselves also say certain things conjecturally, just as ventriloquists do; and this, if one were to reason it out, might better disperse their evil frame of mind—for if these conjectural false prophecies are composed by demons, then the art of those who calculate nativities is vain.
88. B And if the enemy persists in defending the same cause, you shall convict him of lying from the fact that he attacks the soul now with one set of thoughts, now with another. For what is unstable is unreliable; and what is unreliable is near to destruction. The devil is not content with his initial malice; but he even suggests a fortuitous event of things to the soul; and he portrays our ruling mind as the flower of nature, and claims that as the body dissolves, the soul perishes along with it. He injects all these things to destroy the soul through listlessness. But when these shadowy phantasms arrive, let us not assent to them as if they were true. For they demonstrate their own malice, approaching now in one way, then in another, and flying off in the twinkling of an eye. Indeed, I know a certain servant of God who lived according to virtue, who, while sitting in his cell, would observe the enticements of his thoughts, and would measure which one was first, and which was second, and how much time each of them occupied; and whether it was later or sooner than the previous day. So accurately did he know both the grace of God and his own perseverance and strength, and furthermore, the defeat of the enemy.
89. C We ought, therefore, to accept and keep these rules. For if those who trade in temporary affairs weigh their profits every day, and gladly welcome the greater gains, but are averse to losses, it is much more fitting for those who trade in the true treasure to be vigilant; and to desire the greater goods. And if a small theft by the enemy should occur, one should indeed bear it heavily for the sake of the judgment to be undergone, but not, however, lose heart, nor abandon everything on account of an involuntary stumble. You have the ninety-nine sheep; seek also the one that is lost. Do not be terrified because of the one, do not flee from the Master, lest the bloodthirsty devil, having taken your entire flock of deeds into captivity, destroy it. Do not, therefore, desert your post because of the one; for the Master is good; for He says through the Psalmist: D *When he falls, he shall not be cast down, for the Lord supports his hand* (Ps. XXXVI, 24).
90. For whatever we have traded or gained here, let us deem small, if it be compared to the eternal wealth to come. For on this earth we exist as in a second maternal womb. For just as in those inner chambers we did not have such a life; for neither did we enjoy such solid foods in those
≫ places as we do now; nor was it possible to act in the same way as in this life; for we were devoid of sunlight and all radiance. Just as therefore, while lingering in places of such a kind, we were deprived of many things of the present life; so too in this world we are defrauded of the far greater magnificence of the kingdom of heaven. We have made proof of the foods of this life; let us now seek the divine ones. We have enjoyed the light of this place; let us desire the Sun of righteousness. Let us consider the Jerusalem above to be our own city and mother; and let us call God our father. Let us live temperately here, so that we may attain eternal life.
91. For just as infants, when formed in the womb, are led by means of lesser food and life to greater perfection and a state of more vigorous health; so too the righteous, separating themselves from the conduct of the world toward the journey above, according to what is written: *They shall go from strength to strength*. B But sinners, like embryos in the womb that perish, are delivered from darkness into darkness. For on earth they are dead, covered by a multitude of sins; and when they have been led away from this life, they are brought down into gloomy and tartarean places. We are born three times in life. The first generation is the exit from the maternal bosom, when we are driven from earth onto earth: but the remaining two lift us from earth to heaven; of which one is by grace, which comes to us through the divine laver: for this we rightly call regeneration. But the third comes to us from repentance and good works. And in this last one we now stand.
92. We ought therefore, seeing that we have approached the true Bridegroom, to be more fittingly adorned. Let the sight of a worldly wedding be for our edification. For if maidens, joining themselves to a husband who can easily be captivated by their appearance, nonetheless apply such great care in baths, ointments, and other various kinds of adornments, because they think that by these they will be more charming and lovable; if there is such great desire for ostentation within those who are devoted to the cultivation of the body: how much more does it behoove us, C who have been betrothed to the heavenly Bridegroom, to surpass them, and through laborious exercise to wash away the filth of sins, and to exchange bodily garments for spiritual ones. They adorn the body with earthly and worldly flowers; let us adorn the soul with virtues; and in place of precious stones, let us place upon our head the triple crown: faith, hope, and charity. And let us surround our neck with a precious necklace, humility; in place of a girdle, let us be girded with temperance; let our magnificent garment of linen be voluntary poverty; and let there be brought to the feast provisions that do not perish, prayers and psalms. But, as the Apostle says, do not move the tongue only, but also understand in the spirit the things that are spoken. For often the mouth speaks, while the heart p...
is occupied with thoughts. We must be careful, lest by approaching the divine nuptials, we suffer a poverty of lamps, that is, of virtues. For the bridegroom will hate us, and will not receive us at all, if he does not receive the promises. What are these? To have less care for the body, and to irrigate the soul more abundantly: these are the agreements entered into with him. A
93. Just as it is not possible to draw up two buckets at the same time full of water; for by the turning of the axle, one is sent down empty, and the other is drawn up full; so it happens with us. For when we expend all care upon the soul, it is brought up filled with good things, desiring heavenly things. Our body, however, having become light through exercise, does not weigh down that ruling power. And the Apostle is a witness to this, for he says: "Though our outward man perishes, yet the inward man is renewed day by day" (II Cor. IV, 16). B
94. Are you in a monastery and cenobium? Do not change your place; for it will be of great detriment to you. For just as a bird, moving away from its eggs, makes them exposed to the wind and barren; so a virgin or monk who changes from place to place grows cold and is extinguished in the faith.
95. Do not be deceived by the delicacies of this world, as if they had something useful. They cultivate the culinary art for the sake of pleasure and highly prize it; but do you, through fasting and the baseness of food, overcome their abundance. For it is said: "Anima in saturitate favis illudit" (A soul that is in satiety mocks at honeycombs) (Prov. XXVII, 7). "Be not sated with bread, and you will not desire wine." C
96. There are three primary heads of the enemy, from which all malice is derived: concupiscence, pleasure, and sorrow. These depend one upon another, and one follows the other. It is possible to moderately restrain pleasure, but it is impossible to restrain concupiscence. For that which belongs to pleasure is performed through the body; but that which belongs to concupiscence begins from the soul; and sorrow is fashioned out of both. Do not allow the concupiscence, therefore, to work, and you will dissipate the rest. If, however, you allow the first to emerge, [which] tends toward the second, they will return in a circular motion, and will not allow the soul to emerge at all. For it is written: "Ne des aquae exitum" (Do not give passage to water) (Eccli. XXV, 34). D
97. Not all things are expedient for all; let each person be persuaded by his own mind. For it is profitable for many to remain in a cenobium, and for others it is useful to withdraw privately. For just as of plants, some happen to be more flourishing in moist places, and others more firmly and happily established in drier ones; so also among humans, some act properly and happily in higher places, and others are preserved in lower ones. Many indeed in the city...
by imagining the things of the desert, were saved; and many, being in the mountain, by doing the things of the worldly, perished. It is possible for one who is with many to be a solitary in mind, and for one who is alone to dwell with crowds in his thought. 98 Many are the goads of the devil. A Could he not move the soul with poverty? He brings forward wealth as bait. Did he not prevail through insults and ignominy? He offers praises and glory. Was he defeated by health? He sends disease into the body. For since he could not deceive with pleasures, he attempts, through involuntary labors, to prepare the downfall of the soul, unchosen and unintended. For he is permitted to inflict very grave diseases, with which he tries to cast men into listlessness and to trouble their love toward God. B But if the body is cut to pieces and inflamed by most violent fevers, and if one is tormented by an incurable and unbearable thirst, if indeed you are a sinner when you suffer these things, remember the future punishments, the eternal fire, and the judicial torments, and you will not be listless regarding the present. Rejoice that the Lord has visited you, and have that beautiful saying upon your tongue: *The Lord chastening has chastened me, and has not delivered me up to the death of sin*. You were iron, but by fire you lose the rust. But if you are righteous and are held by infirmity, you progress from great things to greater ones. You are gold: but through fire you emerge more refined. An angel of Satan has been given to your flesh; exult. See to whom you have become similar: you have been gifted with the grace of Paul. By fever you are proved; by trembling you are instructed; but the Scripture says: *We have passed through fire and water*. What remains is the prepared refreshment. You have obtained the first, await the second. While you suffer, cry out, uttering these words of holy David; for he says: *I am poor and needy and in pain*. You will be perfected by the ternary number. For he says: *In tribulation you have enlarged me*. In these contests especially let us exercise our souls; for we have the adversary before our eyes.
99 D Let us not be saddened in soul, if through the weakness and wound of the body we cannot stand for prayer or chant with our voice: all these things will profit us for the destruction of desires. For fasting and sleeping on the ground are commanded us for the sake of declining the most shameful pleasures. If, then, the disease has blunted these, the labor is superfluous. But why do I say superfluous? Because, as with a heavier and stronger remedy, the lethal symptoms have been quieted by the disease. And this is the great exercise: to endure patiently in diseases and to send up hymns of thanksgiving to the Most High. Have our eyes been taken from us? Let us not bear it heavily, because, although we have lost the instruments of insatiable desire, we contemplate with internal eyes the glory of the Lord. Have we gone deaf
let us give thanks that we have utterly lost our vain hearing. Are our hands infirm? But we have hands within prepared for the battle to be waged against the adversary. Is the whole body affected by disease? Yet the health of the inner man increases all the more.
100. Being in a cenobitic community, let us prefer obedience to asceticism; for the latter teaches pride, while the former promises humility. But a rigorous exercise also arises from the enemy, for his disciples perform the same thing. How then shall we distinguish the divine and royal exercise from the tyrannical and demonic? Clearly, by moderation. Let there be one rule of fasting for your whole life. Do not fast for four or five days, and then on the following day dissolve B your strength through gluttony. This is pleasing to the enemy. Everywhere, excess proves to be destructive. Do not consume your weapons all at once, lest, being found naked in the battle, you become easily captured. Our weapons are the body, and the soul is the soldier; take care of both for the time of need. While you are young and healthy, fast. For old age will come with infirmity. While you can, store up food for yourself, so that when you are no longer able, you may find it. Fast with reason and diligence. Beware lest the enemy enter into the business of your fasting; I think it is perhaps for this reason that the Savior said: "Be reliable moneychangers"; that is, know precisely the royal imprint; for there are also counterfeit coins; the nature of the gold is the same, but it differs in its imprint. The gold is fasting, continence, and almsgiving. But the pagans C impress their own tyrannical image upon these things, and all heretics boast of them as well. One must watch for these and avoid them as counterfeiters. See that you, having fallen in with them through lack of training, do not suffer loss. Receive, therefore, with security the cross of the Lord sealed with the virtues; that is, the right faith along with holy actions.
101. We must govern the soul with all discernment, and while in the cenobium, not seek our own things, nor serve our own will, but obey the mother according to the faith. We have consigned ourselves to exile, that is, we have gone outside the bounds of worldly things; therefore, since we have been cast out, let us not seek the same things. There we had glory, here ignominy; there an abundance of food, here a scarcity of bread. In the world, those who offend and do not wish it are cast into prison; let us also imprison ourselves for our sins, so that D our voluntary punishment may ward off the future torment.
102. Fast; do not make illness an excuse. For even those who do not fast fall into the same sicknesses. Have you begun what is good? Do not recoil while the enemy places obstacles before you. For he is destroyed by your patience;
A for just as those who begin to sail first catch a favorable wind when they have spread their sails, but afterward a contrary wind meets them, yet the sailors do not on account of the onrushing wind lighten the ship, but, having remained quiet for a little while or even having fought against the surge, they complete the voyage; so we too, when a contrary wind has fallen upon us, by spreading out the cross in place of a sail, will complete the voyage in safety.
103. These were the venerable teachings of Syncletica, and works rather than words; and many other great things were made known by her for the benefit of those who heard and saw them. Such an abundance of good things flowed from her that human language would be at a loss to express it. B
104. But the devil, who hates the good, not bearing such an abundance of fine things, pined away, and plotted within himself how he might be able to cloud the rising of these good works. And so he demands for the final contest the most noble virgin; and he takes vengeance on her with such hatred that he did not begin the blow from the exterior members, but, having touched the inner parts, he inflicted a deep pain upon her, so that by no human aid could she receive any comfort.
105. Therefore he first wounds the most necessary part of life, namely the lung, and through destructive diseases he slowly stokes the malady. C For he could indeed, after he had obtained this from the Lord, have prepared death for her in a short time; but as a bloodthirsty executioner, with very many blows and over a long time he displays his savagery. For he cast off the lung, dissolved little by little through the emission of sputum. There were present also constant fevers, consuming the body like a file.
106. She was in her eightieth year when the devil transferred the labors of Job to her; for he used the same lashes then too. But now he shortens the time and presses her with harder sorrows. For the blessed Job spent thirty-five years in the plague; but here the enemy, having snatched away the decades of years as it were as certain first-fruits, applies the lashes to her sacred body. For three years and a half she struggled against the enemy through these glorious labors. On the one hand, in the case of Job, the devil made the beginnings of the wounds from the outside; but in her case, he begins the torments from the inside. D For by attacking her internal members, he assigned to her greater and more severe pains. I do not think the most noble martyrs struggled in such a way as the celebrated Syncletica. For the wicked one attacked them from the outside, and whether he brought a sword or fire to them, it was lighter than the temptations offered to the saint. For he kindled her vitals as though through a fiery furnace, slowly stoking the fire from the inside; and like a file over a long period he consumed her body: which, that it may be truly said, is grave and inhuman. For those to whom judiciary magistracies are committed, when they wish to inflict heavier punishments upon the guilty, with a very slow
A fire they consume them. Just so, the enemy also from within, as if stirring up a smoldering fever, incessantly by night and by day inflicted torment.
107. B She, however, firmly bearing such a wound, did not yield in spirit. Once again the blessed virgin renewed the battle against the enemy. And again, with her excellent teachings, she healed those wounded by the enemy; for, just as from the jaws of a bloodthirsty lion, she plucked souls unharmed. She cured the wounded with the saving remedies of Christ. She even kept some unharmed, for by indicating to them the deceitful snares of the devil, she rendered them free from sin.
108. The admirable virgin said, moreover, that souls dedicated to God ought never to be carefree, because the enemy is especially hostile toward them: for while they dwell in retreat and quiet, he roars, vanquished and indignant; and withdrawing a little, he watches whether they might fall asleep even for a short time, and then he attacks; and by means of the very things through which someone thinks he is in safety, through those same things he trips him up. For just as it is impossible for those who are wholly wicked not to have some spark of good, so the opposite is true for the virtuous; for a part of those things which war with one another is found in opposite areas. Thus, a man is often surrounded by every sort of infamy and is steeped in all intemperance, yet he happens to be merciful; and again, in those zealous for virtue, temperance, fasting, and laborious exercise often dwell; yet they are perhaps avaricious and calumniators.
109. C Therefore, small things are not to be neglected, as though they were unable to do harm. For water over time hollows out a stone. The greatest of the good things among men come to them from divine grace; but those which seem small, we have been taught to drive away by our own efforts. Whoever, therefore, having overcome the greater things by grace, happens to despise the small, will be greatly harmed. For our Lord, as a true Father, reaches out His hand to His children just as they are beginning to walk, and while rescuing us from every great danger, He allows us to move in small things by ourselves, as it were on our own feet, thus showing our will to be free. For he who is easily overcome in small things, how could he be able to guard against the greater ones?
110. D Again, when the hater of good saw her asserting herself against him, he was troubled. And seeing his tyranny being destroyed, he contrived another way of malice; he struck her vocal organs, in order to cut off her spoken word, thinking that by this means those who came together would be famished for divine discourse. But even if he deprived their ears of their accustomed benefit, a greater gain was granted them; for as they looked upon what she suffered with their eyes, they were strengthened with greater courage of soul. For the wounds of her body healed the wounded souls. And it was possible to see...
A in this a healing for those who beheld the blessed one’s magnanimity and perseverance.
111. Thus the enemy makes this the pretext for the plague: for having pained one molar tooth, he immediately causes the gum to rot; the bone falls out, and the corruption runs through the entire jaw, and the decay of the affected parts occurs; and within forty days the bone is eaten away, and after two months a perforation occurs. All the parts round about were blackened. The bone itself also, having decayed, was gradually consumed; and rot and a most grievous stench took hold of the whole body, so that those who served her were affected with greater nausea than she. And they would withdraw for the most part, not bearing the inhuman smell; but whenever necessity called, having kindled a multitude of aromatics, they would approach, and again they would retreat because of the inhumanity of the stench. B But the blessed one openly perceived the adversary, and would not allow human help to be brought to her at all, showing her own courage in this as well. When the company of virgins exhorted her that they might at least smear the places with perfumes because of their own infirmity, she would not be persuaded. For she thought that the glory of this most glorious contest was diminished by external aid. Moreover, the gathered company summoned a certain physician, to see if he could possibly persuade the virgin to accept treatment. But she, on the other hand, would not endure it, saying: "Why do you cut me off from this good contest? Why do you seek what is apparent, while remaining ignorant of what lies hidden? Why do you curiously inquire about what has happened, not seeing the one who causes it?" And the attending physician said to her: "It is not for the sake of any cure or comfort that we offer this remedy, but that we may bury the dead and C alienated member according to custom, lest those who are present be corrupted along with it. For what is applied to the dead, this we now do: I apply aloe mixed with myrrh and myrtle, moistened with wine." She, having accepted the counsel, gave her consent, having taken pity on the present company: for in that way the intensity of the stench was cleansed.
112. Who did not shudder, having beheld such a wound? To whom was the manifest fall of the enemy not useful and fruitful? For he inflicted the ulcer where the saving and sweetest fountain of words proceeded. Its magnitude, exceeding every measure, dissipated all consolation. Like a bloodthirsty beast, he drove off all the attention of those who gathered, in order to tear apart the prey offered to him; and seeking a feast, he became the fodder. For he was lured as if by a hook through the infirmity of the body; seeing a woman, he despised her, because he was ignorant D of her manly spirit. He realized her members were diseased, for he was blind, and could not estimate her most courageous mind. Therefore, for the space of three months she fought in this contest. But her entire body was sustained by divine power. For the things that serve for the preservation of her body were diminished. For starvation was present: for how could she have taken food, with such decay and putrefaction prevailing?