A withdraw from base, carnal, and meddlesome men, think more but speak little [(31)]; be not rash in speech, nor excessive in conversation, nor prone to laughter; be adorned with modesty; keep the eyes downcast, but the soul upward; do not gainsay in argument, be obedient; labor with the hands, ever remember the last things, rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, pray without ceasing, give thanks in everything, be humble toward all, hate arrogance, be sober and keep the heart pure from evil thoughts, lay up treasures in heaven through the commandments, examine oneself concerning daily thoughts and deeds, be not entangled in the business and babblings of life [(32)]; be not over-curious about the life of the slothful, but rather emulate that of the holy Fathers; rejoice with those who achieve virtue, and do not envy them; sympathize with those who suffer, and weep with them, and mourn for them deeply, yet do not condemn them; do not reproach one who turns away from sin, never justify yourself; before all else, confess yourself a sinner B before God and men, admonish the unruly; comfort the faint-hearted; serve the sick, wash the feet of the saints; be diligent in hospitality and brotherly love; be at peace with those of the household of faith; turn away from a heretical man; read the genuine books, and do not touch the apocryphal ones at all; do not dispute about the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, but speak and think of the uncreated and consubstantial Trinity with boldness [(33)], and say to those who ask: One must be baptized as we have received; believe as we have been baptized [(34)]; and glorify as we have believed. Be occupied in good works and words, do not swear at all, do not give money at usury, nor grain, nor wine, nor oil for the sake of C greater gain [(35)]; abstain from surfeiting, and drunkenness, and the cares of this life; do not converse with guile, nor speak evil against anyone at all; do not slander, nor hear slander with any pleasure; do not quickly believe a charge against anyone; do not be tyrannized by anger, do not be held by despondency, do not be angry with a neighbor without cause, do not hold a grudge against anyone, do not render evil for evil; rather, be ready to be reviled than to revile, to be struck than to strike, to be wronged than to wrong, D to be defrauded than to defraud.
2. And certainly above all things it behooves a monk to abstain from the company of women and from the drinking of wine: for wine and women will lead even the wise to apostasy; and, in the performance of the commandments of the Lord to the best of one’s strength, not to be faint-hearted, but to expect the reward and the praise from Him, and to desire the enjoyment of eternal life; A to have that saying of David always before one’s eyes, and to say: I foresaw the Lord always before my face, that he is at my right hand, that I should not be moved. And as a son, one ought to love God with all one’s heart, and with all one’s strength, and with all one’s mind, and with all one’s power; but as a servant, to revere Him and fear Him, and to obey Him, and with fear and trembling to work out one’s own salvation; to be fervent in spirit, to be clothed in the whole armor of the Holy Spirit, and not to run in uncertainty, nor to fight as one beating the air, B or to struggle against the adversary in the infirmity of the flesh and in poverty of spirit; to do all things commanded, and to acknowledge oneself an unprofitable servant; to give thanks to the holy and glorious and dreadful God; to do nothing through contention or vain glory, but for the sake of God, and for the sake of pleasing Him: For God hath scattered the bones of those who please men. By no means to boast, nor to speak one's own praises, nor to listen gladly to another who praises one; but in secret to serve in all things, and not to do anything for the display of men; C but to seek only the praise which comes from God, and to contemplate His dreadful and glorious appearing; the departure from hence, the good things laid up for the just, and likewise the fire prepared for the devil and his angels. But above all these things, to remember the apostolic saying: That the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. And with David to say in advance: To those who keep his commandments, there is a great recompense, a great reward, and crowns of righteousness, eternal tabernacles, life never to have an end, joy ineffable, a perpetual and unshaken mansion with the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, who is the true God in heaven; D the manifestation of face to face, dances with the angels, with the Fathers, with the patriarchs, with the prophets, with the apostles, and with the martyrs and confessors, and with those who from of old have pleased God, with whom we strive to be found by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and dominion unto the ages of ages. Amen.