St. Serapion, Bishop of Thmuis

S. ORSIESII DE SEX COGITATIONIBUS SANCTORUM LIBELLUS

I. We must think of the Lord, that we may find delight in hoping in Him, and remember Him, as the blessed David says: "The men of the age console themselves for all their sorrows; they go and consider the lambs, and ride on horses, they weigh gold and silver, and hand them over to men: but I have been mindful of God, and I have found delight, and I shall be consoled for all my adversities."

II. Regarding the passion of Christ, that we may endure for His sake, by constantly thinking and recollecting that the omnipotent Lord and eternal Son of God descended from the high altitude of the heavens into a human body, in which holy body He was lifted up upon the cross; thereby He recalled all the heavenly kingdoms to our peace; He poured out His precious blood upon the earth; by this He made a way upward for us who are terrestrial, that we might become fellow citizens of the angels.

III. Regarding the hour of transition, that we may be prepared. The whole life of man, all wisdom, is a meditation on death, of which one day all the wise shall tremble.

IV. Regarding the day of judgment, that we may render an account. That day is great to think upon, and worthy of memory; on that day the Lord will break the creature which He created in the beginning. Behold, the Lord will dissipate the earth, and He will reveal it. The heavens and the earth shall pass away; and the Lord will reveal His face, that is, He will open the earth and the dead shall come forth from their sepulchers, and all the works of men shall be brought into the public. All shall stand equally before the judgment seat of Christ. Nothing is covered that shall not be revealed; nor hidden, that shall not be known. Yet the sins which are amended beforehand, He shall hide in the judgment, knowing them. On that day no one of the impious shall escape the great wrath of God; therefore we must remember beforehand what the blessed David says: "Happy is the man in the day of judgment, who shows mercy and lends; moreover he orders his words daily in judgment, because he shall not be moved forever."

V. Regarding hell, that we may fear the terrible thing which Isaiah said: "Their worm does not die, and their fire is not extinguished." The worm, that is, conscience, because they know that they suffer all evils for what they have deserved.

VI. Regarding eternal life, that we may desire it, where the saints shall possess joy and gladness, and pain and fear shall flee away. By these six thoughts the soul of the righteous man conquers the enemy, and by these it is guarded to think often and assiduously of the Lord and to recollect Him, and to love Him above all things, that after this age we may be able to love Him forever with the angels and archangels and with all the saints, through Him who lives and reigns unto ages of ages. Amen.

ANNO DOMINI CCCXLVII. S. SERAPION · THMUITANUS EPISCOPUS NOTITIA

I. Serapion the Egyptian, a man endowed with admirable holiness of life and a copiousness of speech, according to Sozomen ^A, ^B—a man most divine in his life and a powerful speaker—was first a practitioner of monastic discipline, and subsequently became the leader of many monks, before he was called to govern the Church of Thmuis, as Saint Athanasius writes ^C. He was held in great esteem by the great Abbot Anthony: indeed, he was accustomed to recount his visions to him, and upon dying he left him one sheepskin. The same Athanasius also enjoyed his friendship familiarly, and wrote five letters to him, in which he here and there celebrates his praises and extols his merits. Under the Emperor Constantius, he confessed even against the Arians...

^A and was, according to Jerome (a), a man illustrious for this, that he was indeed one of those Fathers of the Council of Sardica assembled in the year 347, who undertook to defend the cause of Athanasius against the Arians; and thus he was one of those orthodox prelates who, especially when George, the invader of the Church of Alexandria, pressed the matter, are known to have been driven into exile. But in what year Serapion closed his final day, we do not have fully ascertained. It is certain and explored from Epiphanius (b) that Ptolemy, bishop of Thmuis, was present at the Council of Seleucia celebrated in the year 359, and therefore Valesius (c) has established that Serapion had departed from this life under the Emperor Constantius before that council, that is, before the year 359. Tillemont (d), however, has opted for a different opinion, concluding that his death occurred much later.

II. Saint Jerome (e) recounts Serapion as a confessor among those doctors of the Church who "so rebuild their books with the doctrines and maxims of the philosophers, that you would not know," he says, "what you ought to admire first in them, the erudition of the secular world, or the knowledge of the Scriptures." And elsewhere (f) he says: "Serapion, bishop of Thmuis, earned for the elegance of his intellect the surname Scholasticus, that is, of a man excelling in letters and doctrine." By these words of the greatest doctor, I am led to the conviction that I should give credit to Philip Sidetes, who testifies (g) that Serapion presided over the Alexandrian school after Theognostus. To this place Dodwell (h) observes that such a testimony of Philip can be confirmed by the fact that Epiphanius, at the rise of Arius, names several Churches of Alexandria entrusted to Alexandrian presbyters (i), and among them enumerates also the Church of Serapion, which he was of course administering at that time, so that he had already been enrolled among the clergy of the Alexandrian Church and had thence succeeded Theognostus in the catechetical office there. I should have thought that these matters could be ^B reconciled with what I have brought forward above from Athanasius concerning Serapion's monastic life, such that, in the first place, he was assumed for the fulfillment of the catechetical office in the Alexandrian school at the end of the third century or the beginning of the fourth; that is, after Theognostus, who is thought to have flourished circa the year 282, under the Emperor Carus, as we have seen elsewhere (j): then, truly, having abdicated the catechetical office, he embraced the cenobitic form of living, by which he might indeed avoid the disturbances stirred up by Arius in the Church: whence, subsequently summoned by Athanasius, he was raised by him to govern the Church of Thmuis after Caius, who presided over the same Church and is known to have been present at the Council of Nicaea.

III. Furthermore, of those things which Serapion committed to writing, one book against the Manichaeans survives, which Jerome (k) calls excellent. And Photius also praises the same work in his *Epitome against the Manichaeans* (l); where he refers to our writer among the famous prelates of that age—namely, Cyril, Epiphanius, Titus of Bostra, and Alexander of Lycopolis—who unsheathed their pens against Manes and his followers, as the illustrious Lequien notes (m). But here he is called by Photius the author, Σαραπίων ὁ τῆς [?], and elsewhere (n) Σαραπίων. Thus even the great Athanasius calls him indiscriminately by this name. But it matters not; for the word Σέραπις, from which the name is derived, says Montfaucon (o), is written also Σάραπις among Clement of Alexandria (p), likewise among Origen (q) and elsewhere commonly among writers.

Nor should we pass over here the clearly golden saying of Serapion, which Socrates (r) recites from Evagrius: "Serapion, the angel of the Church of the Thmuites, said that the mind is indeed fully purified by a draught of spiritual knowledge; but the parts of the soul that seethe with anger are healed by charity: while the base desires which flow into the soul are restrained by abstinence." ^C «Ἔλεγε δὲ ὁ τῆς Θμουϊτῶν Ἐκκλησίας ἄγγελος Σαραπίων, ὅτι ὁ νοῦς μὲν πεπωκὼς πνευματικὴν γνῶσιν τελείως καθαίρεται· ἀγάπη δὲ τὰ φλεγμαίνοντα μόρια τοῦ θυμοῦ θεραπεύει· πονηρὰς δὲ ἐπιθυμίας ἐπιῤῥεούσας ἵστησιν ἐγκράτεια.» This sentiment of the holy Father we have therefore transcribed, because it does not occur anywhere in his surviving work.

But if a wise man [asks] if such a statement, clearly most worthy of Serapion, does not exist today in his book against the Manichaeans; certainly Sixtus of Siena professes to have read in it many other things which you would now seek in vain, so that it seems he himself had a much fuller copy of this work than the one we enjoy at present, whether in Greek or Latin; especially on the account that he calls that work of Serapion immense and most noble (s), although ^D

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899 PATRES ÆGYPTII SÆCULI IV. 900

words concerning the weight of the arguments and the excellence of the work, ^A which Basnage prefers to accept (a). We only cite the locations from the holy Bibliotheca of the same Sixtus of Siena (b); for it is not convenient to examine them thoroughly at this time. Yet in reporting these, the aforementioned Basnage thinks that he himself was mistaken, and that he borrowed those things from another writer (c). Meanwhile, it would not be idle to consult Fabricius (d), but especially Huet (e) regarding them.

IV. Now it remains that we should say a few things about the edition of Serapion. Therefore, Henry Canisius (f) published that work at the beginning of the previous century from the version of Franciscus Turrianus; whence it was afterwards printed in various Libraries of the Fathers. But Basnage (g) edited the Greek text not long ago in his Canisian Thesaurus from a manuscript codex of the Holstenius collection in the library of St. John in Hamburg, a copy of which he states he received from D. Johannes Fridericus Winckler. And we have consigned this revised edition to print, furnished with several observations and augmented with chapter distinctions and arguments.

Here, however, it will be helpful to add one thing which escaped us while reviewing the work. For of course, Facundus of Hermiane (h) recites a passage excerpted from the book of Serapion (i), which he wrongly ascribes to Saint Athanasius. Let us hear him: "Athanasius also wrote a book against the Manichæans, the beginning of which is: 'For when I see the man Jesus, I understand what sort he is: but when I contemplate the mode, I marvel and do not recognize it: for mutation provides wonder. And the essences indeed are not changed: for the body remains, not as another effect: for neither has the body been turned into an incorporeal thing; nor does the soul stand forth as other in essence, but the essences remaining, the pursuits have not remained. ^B For the pursuits are by no means essential: for they would remain with the essences, and would not be taken away.'" And these are the words of Facundus. Concerning this passage, accept the censure of the most learned Sirmond, placed under the author's words: "The book against the Manichæans. Of this title, he says, or of this beginning, no book of Athanasius exists today. But both the title and the beginning agree with the book of Serapion, Bishop of Tmuis, against the Manichæans; and in it are the words which Facundus recites, and attributes to Athanasius. But the deception regarding the name of the author would be lighter than that regarding the name of Jesus, which is wrongly interwoven here into those words, and is not read in Serapion: who speaks of those men who are converted from depraved morals to better pursuits: which it is impious to think concerning Christ the Lord. Therefore he deceived Facundus, who suggested this passage to him." Thus far V. C. But enough of these matters.

S. SERAPIONIS EPISCOPI THMUEOS LIBER ADVERSUS MANICHAEOS.

CHAPTER I. Truth conquers error.

Solvit errorem veritas et exstinguit fallaciam, et ^C omnis mendacii ortum intercipit ac prohibet. Obsecremus igitur Dominum Jesum qui est veritas, ut illuminet mentem nostram, ut neque fallacia mentem capere possit nec error vincere; neque si ceperit aut vicerit, firmam et stabilem victoriam obtineat. Solummodo enim si apparuerit, et radios veritatis suæ emiserit, fallaciam quidem inductam dissipabit, mentem vero extra errorem conservabit. Ipse enim clamat: Ego sum via, veritas et vita. Ipse præcipit: Attendite a falsis prophetis, qui veniunt ad vos in vestimentis ovium, intus autem sunt lupi rapaces. Quia enim illorum modus fraudulentus erat et mores simulati, non celavit eos Veritas, sed nudavit; non permittens, ut quod in mente latet, ab eo quod extrinsecus fictum et simulatum est tegatur: ut ipsa fallacia deprehensa ^D [by that which is feigned and shaped—]

being brought to light, may become weak in its arguments, and be unable to ensnare anyone.

Chapter II. The various degrees of error.

^B Malice is indeed multiform and multipartite, spread out into various arguments, of which some parts are more harmful and more deadly. For this reason, neither the lesser things should be passed by in silence, nor should the greater things be spared, since we know that lesser parts of vice cause lesser harms, but greater parts cause great ones. For he who falls into more serious things is punished with more serious penalties, and he who is deceived by something greater suffers a greater punishment. For fallacies are weighed, and sins are weighed; and he who is weighed brings back a punishment according to the weight of his burden. Nor does the Judge leave anything unweighed; rather, He measures the fallacy of each one who has deceived, and the ease of the one who has been deceived, and determines the penalty. Therefore, we must strive not to be caught by even the slightest fallacy; for the smallest fallacy, like a spark that has found material, ignites the assent of the soul and creates a great flame; for many, having begun from a small error, have been swept away and poured out into a sea of error.

Chapter III. Manichaeism is the worst error.

Therefore, we must take care not to be led astray by even the smallest error, having built a most beautiful rampart for the soul, so that we may not be caught by a greater one. For he who errs in small things will eventually fall into greater ones; and he who has not been seduced by small things will be so fortified and safe against the greater ones that he cannot be resisted. Since, therefore, if many wolves clothed in sheep's skins were to attack the flock, the shepherd would not be silent, but would brandish his sword to place the flock in safety, unmasking and laying bare the attempt of the wild beasts. Behold, there are many who have gone forth, and wander here and there, having put on the name of Christ instead of sheep's skins; who call themselves what they are not, but do not wish to be called what they are; but they cover their own wickedness with the cloak of the name; who indeed possess the common name, but strive to utterly destroy the name of Christ; who fight against Jesus, and call upon Jesus. This is the most difficult wickedness of all, to be called by the name of Christ, and to oppose Christ. For because perversity could not wage war against God, it employed the name, that by the use of the name it might cast an opinion into the minds of the imprudent, so that, as if it were a familiar friend of Christ, here and there, as it pleases, it might destroy those who have believed in the Savior. Thus Valentinus went forth, thus Marcion, thus Sitianus, ^C and from elsewhere also Phanius. The final abortion of wickedness, which has diminished all the wickedness of others and has set the wickedness of others in secondary place by its own greater wickedness, is the madness of Manichaeus; and it is written in the prophets: "Because of your excessive negligence, Jerusalem has been justified by Sodom." ^D Many

^A et confusa sit. There were indeed, a little prior to this, absurd and false opinions which, when compared with the magnitude of the perverse opinion of the Manichaeans, appear moderate, though they were otherwise immersed in the sea of overflowing wickedness.

Cap. IV. What the nature of sin is.

And that we may not lightly attack these absurdities, and by merely using their names appear to proceed to their accusations without the conclusion of an argument—which is demonstration—come, let us apply ourselves to the demonstrative method, so that we may both dissolve their errors and bring the truth into the light. Vice, therefore, is without substance and lacks independent existence; it is an action rather than an essence or substance, and an action resulting from the choice of those in whom that choice is sickly; an action which happens, but which easily departs from those who have been ailing. If, however, it had happened but did not depart, one might say that, while it is not vice in itself, it is impossible for a substance ever to exist without vice. But if it happens as a matter of choice, yet is easily separated, so that what was subject to vice is rendered pure again and retains no signs or traces of vice, then vice will be neither nothing in itself, ^B nor something that can exist by itself, nor something that always is; but rather it is destroyed, and as it is destroyed, it is proven not to be able to exist by itself, and that it did not once exist, but rather issued forth a little while ago from the infirmity of a choice that had grown sick.

Cap. V. The substance of the body and of the soul is not evil.

That a soul is not found to be substantially evil, and thus made by nature, nor a body an evil substance in itself, is testified to by reasons and actions. For if temperance is a virtue, and the body an evil substance, it would not be possible for a temperate body to be found, lest a body which is by substance base and vicious should become a body of virtue. For when a body is temperate, it has become a body of virtue and is a body of virtue; and because it is a body of virtue, it can be a temple. For if every body were given over to lust, and temperance could not be found in bodies, we might have attributed ^C to the substance of bodies a substantial evil. But if bodies have progressed so far, and are so honored, and have been clothed in such temperance that they become the home of the Creator and the storehouse of the Lord, so that the Father and the Son, and the ^D

^A how can their argument be anything but absurd and ridiculous? For, behold, when Paul says in one place: "Do you not know that your bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you?" and God promises through the prophet, saying: "I will dwell in them and walk among them, and I will be their God," he convinces the mind and bears witness to the bodies, and he drives out the idea of substantial evil; for the study of practice accomplishes the matter. For when the study provides the aptitude for the way of life, then such a constitution is given back to the bodies, so that the bodies are able to serve the Spirit, and serve the Word as well. How, then, can the tongue serve the things conceived by the mind? For if by its substance the tongue is evil, but the mind is good, how can it have communion with the thoughts, bringing the notions into the light through interpretation? Just as temperance is not generated from lust, so it is impossible for anything honest to proceed from that which is evil by substance. When, therefore, you examine each of the members—hearing, sight, the tongue, the other members—and you see them becoming instruments of the teachings which we have learned, then you will approve the body and not blame it, and you will see that the deeds themselves are pure and clean; but you will abhor the deceitful enemy of the truth.

Cap. VII. The Manichæan opinion concerning the body is trifling and foolish.

^B But if some parts of the body were always temperate, never having been slothful, while others were always slothful, never having embraced any part of temperance, it might be said that there was a division in the bodies, and that some parts were made by nature in one way, and others in another; and their argument would be weak in this. For a dispute about the bodies as a whole would no longer exist if they used such a hypothesis. But they are easily refuted again: for how can two contrary natures subsist from the same substance, and the same substance be divided into two natures, so that this part is always evil, while the other is always good; and so that they cannot receive one another, and fight against themselves, and destroy themselves, and in their exercises destroy one another, since in other cases a substance never fights against itself and destroys itself? If such things are investigated, their question will again appear trifling and foolish.

Cap. VIII. The same author pursues the argument.

^D But if bodies are not like this—neither are some always in the virtue of temperance, while others are always in sloth—but there is fear regarding the temperate, lest at some time they become slothful due to negligence; for many bodies already clear by the virtue of temperance have been taken, and the heat of lust has swallowed them up. But, on the other hand, there is hope concerning the unchaste and lustful bodies, since many that were already in sloth and idleness have made such progress in

^A be, and for the harlots to go before you into the kingdom of heaven? When Paul says: “By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not,” of what substance or nature were the bodies? For if they were of the good, how were they slothful? But if of the evil, how did they become temperate? If, however, from sloth they shifted to temperance, and were at one time sluggish and at another time temperate—and they were able to be sluggish and able to be temperate, as these changes testify—then nature is dissolved, the will is revealed, and the body is not essentially evil, but rather serves the will and is a servant of the will, not existing by nature, and becoming that which the will renders it.

Cap. IX. The body follows the movements of the soul.

For when the mind, having received teachings, begins to be held by a love of those teachings, then the body is also freed from the movements that entice and provoke, and it prizes tranquility and does not fight against the service of deeds. But when, through lack of practice and through a laxity that irritates the intellect, so to speak, a dissolution and laxity of the mind comes about, then the passion is inscribed upon the body, and it appears to be a craft of either one, nothing else. And true is that which is written: “Behold, I have set before you death and life; choose what you will,” so that he who chooses what is just to use, of this an account may be required of him in judgment; and not being forced into something, he may use violence and necessity as an excuse for what he has done; nor, having been born in such a way, may he be beyond complaint and blame, because he could not fight against nature. And since he has both in his power, and is master of choosing, he renders an account of his own judgment, and defends himself; for what he chose, he chose willingly; and for this reason he undergoes judgment for his voluntary acts, having applied himself by his own will to the performance of deeds. If these things are not so, in vain shall the saints be crowned, in vain shall the wicked be tormented, if the cause of the action is not ascribed to those who do them.

Cap. X. The Manichæans reason poorly concerning the body.

What, then, moved the Manichæans to bring accusations and vituperations against bodies, those which are so abundantly accused both by what is written and by what was said by the ancients? For temperance, which is placed in action, bears witness to a temperate body. Now the Scripture, which cries out: “Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God,” concludes a sufficient argument; for God does not approve or embrace that which is not His own, nor does He seek that which has been fashioned and simulated by another, lest He who accuses others of violence should Himself be found violent, and lest He should desire something, as if He were unable to make it Himself. For if it is honorable and He wishes the bodies to be in the virtue of temperance, why did He not make what He wished? But if He did not indeed make them Himself, but they were so made by nature as to be evil, how did He change nature so that they no longer had their own nature, nor were evil, but were honorable? And if a nature can be changed, how is it still a nature, being mutable and becoming the opposite of itself?

or by that which is becoming? For that which receives changes and variations no longer accepts the boundaries of nature; for the body is altered and changed, and when it has been slothful, it becomes temperate; and the words cry out: "You shall not commit fornication"; they cry out: "You shall not commit adultery";—those things which they abolish through the commandment; and they restrain through exhortation that which is capable of being perfected, and they give reason as an ally to the mind, so that the understanding, inclining toward good, may draw the body also toward virtue.

^A Sane indeed, the bodies of the saints have progressed so far in virtue that they have been honored, and have not been made empty of divine operation and power. The body of Elisha lay dead, and while it lay dead, it raised a dead man; it drove away death, delivered the one who had died, sent back the deceased into the living, and acted as a forerunner to the one who had been brought to resurrection. But if the Manichaeans, raging against this, even accuse Scripture and do not honor the Law, let a similar example deter them; let the shadow of Peter ^B put them to shame: for it was the shadow of a body, which, when it overshadowed the bodies of the sick, made their bodies completely free from diseases.

Cap. XII. The arguments of the Manichaeans solved.

Since, therefore, our demonstrative arguments are such, and such is the demonstrative action, how can they not be absurd, who take pains to fit and bind together with words things which cannot be fitted or bound together? For the Manichaeans say: "We bear the body of Satan, but the soul is of God; and the body is by nature evil, having come forth from evil; ^C but the soul is by nature good, having its origin from the Good; therefore there are two principles and two substances; and the two principles are causes, one of the evil body, and the other of the good soul. Therefore the soul is good, and the body evil." And how is it that the body is temperate, while the soul is often slothful? And how does neither abide in its own order? And it has come to pass, conversely, that what was the devil’s has become God’s, and what was God’s has become the devil’s; and the heralded enmity is dissolved, and friendship and a treaty have been made, with God sending away the soul to serve the devil, ^D and on the other hand the devil sending away the body to serve God? For it serves God when it is temperate. This, however, is God’s, just as in turn the soul serves the devil when it does not believe and speaks blasphemies.

Cap. XIII. The repentance of the prodigal son.

How, therefore, does it not fittingly befit sensible men to laugh and mock at those who have taken such pains to introduce such an absurd and ridiculous dogma? But that this very faculty of the soul which is placed in reason was captured by the vice of intemperance, but was able again, and is able, to abandon the intemperance which had held it, is sufficiently proven by that of the younger son, who was slothful while with his father.

^A He left his father, and set out for the paths of the passions, and wasted time in dissipation; at last he came to his senses, returned to his father, and repented. He abandoned shameful things, proceeded to make supplication, and obtained forgiveness; for the study of the lessons of great value that he had learned, having become rich, wiped away the weeping brought about by sin, and restored a rational and divine festival instead of mourning.

Cap. XIV. Concerning the conversion of the Apostle Paul.

^B I know not whether they also accuse the Apostle, and number him among the apostles because of his new life. For if they accuse him because of his former things, what will they say about his new things? And if they praise his new things, what do they say about his former ones? For the first things do not accord with the latter. He was a wolf, and was found a shepherd; he was a slaughterer, and today he is a shield; as a defender he wished to shed the blood of the flock, and in the end he exposed himself to dangers and sought to shed his own blood. For, having been born recently and brought forth from the womb with the pain of travail, he did not remain in the same state until the time of his burial, but rather used various changes and conversions. Having found a happy end, yet having lived a way of life contrary to his earlier state, he is not ashamed, nor does he pass over his former things in silence. He thought it a praise of his new life that, having departed from such great perversity, he had returned to such a height of virtue, and he cries out: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the first; but I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the first, Jesus might display all his patience for the instruction of those who are to believe in him for eternal life." 1 Tim. 1:15, 16.

Cap. XV. The Apostles were formerly sinners.

^C When we examine the choir of the apostles, we shall understand that it was gathered from sinners and profane men, who had formerly sinned much but were no longer fallen into error; in whom there were two things: that they had been fallen, and that they were now fallen no longer. For if they had been endowed with an evil nature, they would have sinned always; again, if with a good nature, they would never have sinned. But if, having fallen in many things and having committed many sins, they reached the point of not sinning and attained to a life free from errors, it is established that the nature of the soul is of free choice and will, not made by nature for any one thing, but that it undergoes changes by choice; whichever way it wills to turn and return, to that it chooses to turn. And sometimes it lives thus, sometimes otherwise, as it wills, making its own will the rule of its actions: for the rule of action is the will of the agent. If, however, they loved what they had hated, and hated what they had loved, and the intention was not fixed in hatred, but like a bird it moves itself lightly to where it desires, where is nature? For it is necessary that a nature that hates should always hate what it hates, and a nature that loves should always love what it has loved; ^D and not, on the one hand, to love what it had hated, nor on the other to hate what it had loved. For where intentions are changed,

and friendships so great undergo such ^D changes, how could the matter not be a struggle?

CHAPTER XVI. Substantia eadem ante et post conversionem.

Jesus was once hated by Paul, and is greatly loved by him who had hated Him. Robbery was loved by the robber, and virtue was hated; and the mind was so transformed as to love exceedingly what it had greatly hated. For this is proper to him who is possessed by the zeal of virtue, to love what he had pursued with hatred, and to hate what he had pursued with love. Indeed, young people have been fond of shameful things and have hated what is noble; yet today, having come to knowledge, they have been distinguished. For this reason they are not even recognized; for this reason they have struggled with themselves; for this reason they do not even take up the old image; and yet they are men. They have not ceased to be men; while the substance remains, the habits do not remain. The substances are not dissolved, but the habits are dissolved. The substance of each one has stood — the substance of man — but I no longer recognize the man. He was a fornicator, and he has become chaste; he was a plunderer, and he has imitated the life of a benefactor. He has not destroyed the figure of the face; the lineaments of the appearance remain; he has not taken away the appearance of the nature.

Chapter XVII. The aforementioned points are confirmed.

When I see the man, I recognize what he is; but when I consider his habit, I am astonished; I no longer recognize him; the change has provided the astonishment. And the substances have not been changed; for the body remains, not having become something else; for neither has the body been changed into the incorporeal; nor has the soul existed as another in substance; but, while the substances remain, the pursuits have not remained.

Chapter XVIII. The same argument is further established.

What then shall we say? If, while the substances remain, the pursuits have not remained, then the pursuits are not essential; for otherwise they would have remained with the substances, and would not have departed. But if the substances have remained, but the pursuits have not remained, but rather the eye which formerly was captured by pleasure has had temperance as a barrier; and the tongue which formerly was ready and forward, and running ahead of plans, now obeys the rein of reason, and confesses, and speaks things that are free from error; and the body, a moment before living ^A luxuriously, now rests and is gathered together, and henceforth lives temperately; then the nature of the eye was not appetite, nor was the nature of the tongue forwardness, nor the nature of the body laziness. And if one must insist upon natural things, and not be silent about these: it was the eye's [nature] to see, not how it might see; and it was the tongue's [nature] to speak, not how it might speak; for the quality of the movements lies in the choice. But the simple and non-dangerous movement of things is attributed to the limbs. Therefore, the simple movement is devoid of danger; [but] the change is uncertain. And as for judgment and learning, with the eyes leading the way,

^A the view is straight and divine, extended unto those things that are worthy of being beheld. But when negligence prevails, things become base and counterfeit. So it is with the body, and so it is with every limb: it honors the action, it imitates the purpose. That which is formed is good; for it can serve virtue. The laws are holy; for they care that that which is formed applies diligence. Mix the law with the formation, and you will see that which is formed possess the likeness of Him who formed it, and it will imitate the Former. But if you have the formation, yet do not render to the formed [objects] the laws that are the characters of the formation, you run the risk of accusing [the Creator] with calumny, appearing to insult that which has been made; you are committing an insult against Him who made it.

Cap. XIX. Although morals change, the soul does not change.

Since there is a certain substance of the soul, ^B and its substance is not dissolved, nor will it be dissolved; but morals are often dissolved and removed: why do you confess that what can be dissolved is substantial, as if it could not be dissolved? Souls are often seized by imprudence, but afterwards they have embraced prudence; and [they are] often shining in prudence, but later have fallen into imprudence. You have often heard: *Man that is in honor, understands not; he is compared to the senseless beasts, and made like unto them.* And Paul also cried out: *God hath chosen the foolish things of the world, that He might confound the wise.* Therefore, those who were in folly have come to prudence, and those who were in prudence [have come] to folly; and sloth indeed seized the mind, [having] ^C taken a mind captured by the sickness of imprudence, but discipline recovered the foolish mind, and having cast out the sickness of imprudence, restored it to its proper health. Vices, therefore, and virtues have undergone changes; they can be obtained, and lost. You have, and you do not have; you have found, and you have lost; you have what you have found, you do not have what you have lost; you are numbered among those who find and lose. It is one thing to be found and lost; for this is virtue and vice. But he who finds and loses is the one who gives himself to virtue and vice. And vice is indeed nothing; for properly it is nothing: for vice cannot exist by itself. But take the action, which consists in the softness of affection and which perishes by the study of deliberate will—take it, that is, from those things which are learned, and from the movements, consider those which are outside; ^D contemplate those which are inside; perceive the thoughts, when you feel a turbulent movement and a certain tumult; when pleasure tickles, when even now, while involved in such danger, you see in the soul, by the presence and protection of a little discipline, tranquility and great constancy; and this happens in the same [person], and not at a great interval of time, but rather, very often, in a point of time.

Cap. XX. The same doctrine is confirmed.

But often when the soul desires some base thing, and immediately restrains itself and brings upon itself the calming of the perturbation, and immediately [reads or considers] those things which pertain to temperance,

when this happens, I say, how is it not a thing to be wondered at? How is it not to be said that there is nothing proper to the soul, but rather that the soul makes proper to itself that to which it wishes to apply itself, and that no baseness exists by itself, but rather appears to be so when it is fashioned by thought? Therefore, base things do not exist by themselves; but when the mind has inclined to them and has become prone, then they obtain their consistency. Whence the soul needed schools, from which it might take acumen and splendor. From which it happens that it often speaks to itself, exciting itself, or hears itself aroused by another: *Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, his holy name*; and: *Praise the Lord, O my soul*. For either, having been excited and roused by arguments, it has become stronger, or the admonitions of another bestow upon it a perfect state. But more often it incites and urges itself to baseness, and grants absurdity to itself, and cries out: *Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; eat, drink, be merry*. ^B

CAP. XXI. Whether the soul is twofold in man.

CAP. XXII. Demas, Gehazi, and Judas the betrayer, as an example of purpose.

CAP. XXIII. The fall and penitence of Peter.

a fisherman, and he was not evil; for he was not without sin, since he was a man. And when he was called, he left his nets and the fish, and followed, having abandoned everything so that he might possess Jesus alone. And having left his former state, he was not frustrated in his longing; for he found what he sought, and he progressed to such a state that he heard: "You are Simon son of Jonah; you shall be called Cephas," which is interpreted Peter; and that he might hear: "I will give you, Peter, the keys of the kingdom of heaven"; and that he might be testified to: "Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven." ^A Later, he was found to be impetuous in speech; and having come under rebuke, and not fleeing the rebuke, he heard: "Get behind me, Satan, you are a stumbling block to me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but of the things of men." And but a moment before he was receiving the keys of heaven; the Father was speaking in him; he was called Peter[1] instead of Simon; but instead of a reality, ^B he was being chosen for a rebuke of words. But the fall was healed by improvement, and the rebuke became a remedy, and his mind embraced the healing; and Peter was great and divine, having healed the fall, while suffering no loss from what had been previously said. But when the Lord was betrayed and was being led to the hall of the high priest, the courageous Peter was tested and gave way; he who had received the keys shook; he who had received them risked being true outside the gates of truth; the man who was full emptied his mind; he was overcome by a single girl; he feared a serving maid; he could not stand against a slave woman; he who was pious, he who was dear to God, he who knew the manifest things, he who was an eyewitness of the Lord, has fallen into cowardice. ^C And I say these things, not that I may accuse him; for he is confident that I say these things so that truth might not be slandered; I speak on behalf of truth; and I bring forward the servant of truth, so that falsehood might not win; I produce the minister of truth; for since the Manichaeans wish there to be natures in fault, and are insane regarding the doctrine of nature, Peter has been produced by me so that nature might be exposed. For his many changes demonstrate that which the free will has accomplished; and the noise of free will shall cease, as the rewards of judgment occur; for by free will we live, and by free will we store up the accomplishment.

CAP. XXIV. That the sins of the saints are to be revealed.

^A have been brought to light. For what would it have pained them if their sins had remained silent? Who wrote them? Did not the evil accuse the good? Or did the good not narrate the sins of the good, and others their own? Paul his own; John those of Peter; then Thomas; another those of another. For if the evil were the ones accusing, we would reproach hatred, and we would complain of envy and malice, because such words were brought forth by those who hated. But if they themselves have spoken of their own, or if the good have spoken of the sins of the good, or rather if the Holy Spirit who has spoken in the saints, and the Lord himself, has set forth the sins of his servants and has not hidden them in silence, we seek the cause. For they have not spoken in order that they might be slandered—for they have cast out slander—but so that, had the sins been kept silent, they might not be suspected of being sinless by nature. Therefore, the account is for the sake of truth; and the narration of sins teaches and explains the truth.

CHAPTER XXV. No man attains perfection.

O, what a strange wonder! The sins of the saints have been written so that the truth might be known: that, having been born from ones like ourselves ^B and having originated in the same way, they excelled by dint of virtue; they who did not conquer by nature, but shone through virtue. But if, in the case of Peter and the other apostles, it is not nature, but free will that defines virtue, among whom can we find a sinless nature, if we could not find it among the apostles? Where shall we be able to search? In vain and fruitlessly do we curiously inquire into things that do not exist. Behold, I question Peter; behold, I examine Thomas. I do not speak of old things; I do not call to mind David, although I ought to—so that from those by whom the ignorant choose to bring accusations, from them they might be refuted as to those things they gladly discuss. For because they have studied the Gospels, from the Gospels we have brought forth the means by which they are to be convicted. For this reason they speak of the law without law, not loving, or knowing the logic of the word; for this reason they possess no knowledge of the Gospel, not having accepted the beginning of the Gospels: "The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; as it is written in Isaiah the prophet." They have cast out the beginning of the teachings ^C by the beginning of the webs which they weave in their malice.

CAP. XXVI. On the excellence of the saints.

Whoever hides His benefit within their soul, if He should enter and be within, divine and holy assemblies are brought about in it, and choirs that cannot be described by speech, and joy honored by silence; for immediately He lifts up the mind, and makes the soul light, and sets it on high toward the better things. Indeed, if anyone sees Him, he no longer looks at himself, but is struck with wonder by the beauty he contemplates; he considers all other things as ugly. Because of His splendor he cries out: "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." "I count all things as refuse, that I may gain Christ." But if, indeed, He should knock, and the mind is slow, and makes use of sleep, and becomes the cause of the delay, He sends forth a voice: "Open to me, my sister, ^D

my spouse, because my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night." ^A This He says to show friendship and to signify provisory care; for even when excluded, the Word endures, and while outside, He bears with it, and does not depart until the mind, by the continuity of the entreaty and the knocking, opens itself, providing a place for the One knocking.

Cap. XXVII. The arts of the pseudo-prophets.

Magicians, false prophets, and pseudo-Christs prowl around, partly knocking, partly digging. They use a softer knock, imitating the true knock, so that the mind, perhaps deceived by the similarity of the knocking, might open to them as to someone familiar and known. Yet they do not refuse even to break through walls, but are intent on digging through, ^B so that they might beguile the minds either by deceit or by force. Indeed, they have captured some by force, and have bewitched others by deceit. Therefore, those wise and venerable keepers of the keys mingle knowledge with vigilance: because they are vigilant, the walls are not dug through; because they are wise, they are not deceived. For wisdom offers no place for deceptions, nor does vigilance for those digging through. Therefore, let us who are honest and venerable keep our own minds with the key; overcoming fraud by knowledge, and keeping ourselves safe from plunder by watchfulness.

ADMONITION TO THE FOLLOWING EPISTLE OF SAINT SERAPION

Jerome, in *De viris illustribus*, chapter 99, relates that Saint Serapion, Bishop of Thmuis in Egypt, wrote—besides the surviving treatise against the Manichaeans—also useful letters to various people. Since none of these had survived, one recently presented itself to me in an ancient Vatican codex, which was once in the monastery of Grottaferrata, by which I adorn my book as if with a small gem. For who would not willingly read a brief epistle, however short, of a blessed man who was famous for his confession of Christ, who flourished in the friendship of Athanasius and Anthony the Great—from whom he finally received even a sheepskin cloak bestowed upon his deathbed—and whom Jerome says earned the surname "the Scholastic" for the elegance of his intellect? Would that some codex might emerge somewhere that would more copiously restore the lost writings of Serapion, or at least one that might happily complete his treatise against the Manichaeans, which gapes in the editions!

The Epistle of Saint Serapion, Bishop of Thmuis, to Bishop Eudoxius.

Do not mourn because of your pains, but rejoice, having kept your faith towards God; and do not collapse in spirit because you are sick, but be cheerful because you are free from fault. Do not think of disease as wretched, for only sin is wretched; for while it befalls both good and bad men to be sick, we see that to sin is proper to the wicked. Moreover, the disease of him who is ill dies with him in death; but the sinner will find his sin even after the funeral in the grave. For disease stops at the grave,

for it can no longer vex the one who is dying. Sin, however, lies in wait for the living and covers them secretly; but in those who are dying it is kindled more intensely, and it reveals its own flame, and punishes the one who has sinned. I have written these things to you, most beloved brother, so that you might not succumb altogether to grief, but strengthen yourself in Christ. You must courageously endure the perturbations and tumults of this life, look toward its end, and think upon the providence of God, who, even if He seems for a moment to let go, nevertheless soon resumes the helm, and after a brief spell of, as it were, dissimulation, is present again as defender, nor is the Church ever deserted by Him; for the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Therefore, demonstrate the vigor of your virtue to the all-seeing God, so that you may appear excellent in all things. We, however, have not allowed ourselves to call you here, lest we seem to draw you away from the city. ^{A B}

ADMONITION ON THE LETTER TO THE ALEXANDRIAN MONKS

Several years ago, I published an unedited epistle of Serapion, Bishop of Egypt, in the fifth volume of my *Classicorum Auctorum*, one of those which St. Jerome narrates that he wrote in *De viris illustribus*, chapter 99. Now, behold another, much longer epistle of the same author, in the nature of a book, written to the Alexandrian monks, which a Vatican codex has provided. It is full of the highest piety, containing an extraordinary eulogy and description of the monastic profession, and the commemoration of those holy men who flourished around the times of Anthony and Athanasius. Truly, if I were to keep such a good and useful writing to myself, I would be doing a disservice to the cause of Greek literature and Christian piety; nor should anyone wonder that this Serapion is called only "Bishop" in the title, with the word *Thmuis* (the name of his city) omitted; for Fabricius has already advised us in his notes to Jerome that this also occurs in several codices of Serapion’s work against the Manichaeans. That the author of this epistle is in fact that most ancient Serapion, and not some homonym from a slightly later period, is confirmed by the final chapter, where he addresses living monks who he says were associated with Amun, John, and Macarius, who had in part departed this life before the Great Anthony himself. Serapion the Abbot speaks in Cassian, *Conference* II, chapter 11, and throughout *Conference* V. He also seems to be the same person as the Arsenoite Serapion, a presbyter and father of many monasteries, mentioned in Palladius, *Historia Lausiaca*, chapter 76.

BEATISSIMI ET SANCTISSIMI SERAPIONIS EPISCOPI EPISTOLA AD MONACHOS.

I. I praise, most beloved, your devotion, and I bless your life, O you who are blessed, living before God, since ^C

you possess a nature common to all men, yet you have not set for yourselves the same purpose; nay, having conceived of something great, you have winged your mind to those very heavenly mansions, that by investigating the utility of the divine teachings there, you might be found to be peers of the blessed angels, whose glory awaits you and whose blessedness expects you. For though you are humans and have proceeded from humans, you have not been dragged down by human thoughts, nor have the things of this life that seem desirable been able to diminish the intensity of your longing for God. Having once and for all bidden farewell to everything, you have but one goal: to please God. And the struggle of your own attainment is spoken of by everyone: it was not an abundance of wealth, nor the promises of offered gifts that brought forth this good longing in you, but a pious faith and a mind inflamed with love, while God the Savior interceded and was well-pleased. The bestower, the author, and the finisher of this acceptable and good intent is Jesus Christ, who grants to you monks perseverance and a noble end, and who reveals himself as the ready path to all who wish to be saved; and having from the beginning been eager to travel this path, you have as your companion the Savior Lord, who says: *I will not leave you, nor will I forsake you.* ^A

II. For because of Him, nothing has been able to cut off your heavenly purpose: not the desire for wealth, not the memory of parents, not inheritances from relatives, not the company of brothers, not the dispositions of kinsfolk, not luxuries, baths, and drinking bouts, not the associations of friends, not worldly honors; but, scorning all these things, you cry out by your very actions what the Apostle said: *I count all things as refuse, that I may gain Christ.* Hence, you occupy the desert, and with fastings, purities, ascetic exercises, and pure prayers, you appease God. No earthly king, prince, judge, governor, or any other authority is now at all feared by you; *for the law is not laid down for the just, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for parricides and matricides, for murderers, fornicators, and sodomites, for perjurers, and if anything else is contrary to sound doctrine;* ^B for rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil ones. And again: *Do you wish not to fear the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from it.* Therefore, praises are justly yours, just as the punishment of threatened torments is bitter for those who act otherwise. ^C

III. God chose you for Himself as a peculiar people, *zealous for good works.* *You are the light of the world,* the Savior has said; and those whose zeal is the same, and whose work is the same, theirs also is the same praise and the same reward. You are blessed, therefore, and thrice-blessed, O monks most dear to God. Who shall worthily praise your conduct? For your works by day and by night are psalms, hymns, and spiritual canticles, and actions befitting God. For charity, an angelic virtue, dwells with you; peace is established among you, as a rampart of the heavens; ^D

your manner of life is free from avarice, for you are always content with what is necessary, constant in fasts, even more strenuous in prayers, and in your vigils you pass the day in watchfulness. ^A *Let your light shine*, says the Lord; and what He has said is made manifest among you; nor are you attached to the world, nor to the things that are in this world. Blessed, therefore, are you before God, and blessed also is the world because of you. The desert places are held in veneration on your account, and the inhabited world is preserved by your prayers; rain is sent down upon the earth by your supplications; the earth grows green, and trees burdened with fruit yield their produce unharmed; the river, increasing annually and irrigating all of Egypt, associating itself with marshes and bestowing a great abundance of waters upon the seas, demonstrates ^B the power of your supplications. For if Elias was a man of like passions, as it is written, and by prayer stayed the rain, and again brought it forth, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth its fruit, how much more shall your intercessions obtain for us the things useful for our petitions?

IV. Happy, therefore, is the city of Alexandria having you as intercessors! Certainly the cities of the Sodomites would by no means have fallen into ashes if ten righteous men had dwelt there; nor, again, would other cities have been overturned if they had possessed your holiness abiding among them. The friends of the God-fearing Job, though of perverse character, were saved on his account, as it is written: *Job, my servant, shall pray for you, for him will I accept*; for had it not been for him, I would have destroyed you all. ^C Furthermore, the Jewish people once sinned at the time when the servant of God was receiving the law that had been handed down to him; for that ever foolish and uninstructed people, forgetful of its duty, was importunate with Aaron, saying: *Make us gods, which shall go before us*. And when they had transgressed, the Lord was angered against them and said: *Moses, Moses, make haste, descend, for the people has sinned*. But he, having descended and looked upon the lawlessness, answered God, saying: *If indeed You will forgive them their sin, forgive; but if not, blot me also out of the book which You have written*. O how great is the disposition of the saints! O how great utility your prayers shall obtain for us, having reconciled the benevolence of God! O how great a rest awaits you who strive to be joined to God! ^D O with how many good things shall you be filled, who have left behind father, and mother, and brothers!

V. To Abraham of old God said: *Go out from your land and from your kindred, and come into the land which I shall show you*. And Abraham indeed obeyed and went out. I see that you also have seized upon the word of God, that you might follow after Abraham, and share in his blessings. *It is good for a man, when he has borne the yoke from his youth; he shall sit alone and be silent*. This your withdrawal into the wilderness interprets.

as an interpreter. Wealth did not beguile you, nor did the beauty of women deceive you; but, being as it were incorporeal, you have trampled upon the contrary pleasures through the fear of God. You have not been transfixed by the cares of this world; nay, you have fled from their vanity. Simpler bread with salt and water for drink is sweeter to you in the wilderness than the luxuries and banquets of the city, which are accompanied by toil. For, as the ancient author of the Proverbs counsels: "Better is a dinner of herbs with pleasure and peace, than a house full of many good things and unjust sacrifices with strife." ^A You are free in every respect, O monks most dear to God. A wife does not trouble you regarding feminine accoutrements; sons or daughters do not oppress you, wearing you down with various demands; no servant takes your wealth and runs away; nor does the anxiety of riches steal your sleep. For as Ecclesiastes says, to the man who is filled with wealth, "there is no rest that allows him to sleep."

VI. These, moreover, are the pleasures of worldly life, these its desirable goods; when someone marries in the city, the beginning of the matter is the disbursement of the family estate. Is the wife pregnant? Has she given birth? Is the infant delivered? Anxiety besets the man as to how he might satisfy the wishes of his wife. Has she borne a female child? The man is vexed, preoccupied with dowries. Has a male been born? His countenance is joyful for a little while; but not long after, the child is seized by illness—a calamity for the man. He does not cease calling for physicians; he gives much and is ready to give more, if the child might be saved. In his dejection, he meets his friends and tells them, "Pray, for the child is ill; if anything should happen to him, I shall destroy myself by hanging." The friends are distressed. Yet God, in His own benevolence, grants the life. The child recovers, develops, grows, and becomes a youth. Various teachers are engaged, and, according to the progress of his age, he is instructed according to the custom of the world. He reaches the age of youth, fit for nuptial union. His father is again occupied with the cares of the wedding; everything is prepared, the bridal chamber is ready, and lo, death suddenly snatches the youth away. ^B Thus, an unexpected and incurable affliction comes to the father. The youth is carried out for burial; thereafter come groanings and lamentations. The father goes to the tomb, sending forth wails, striking his head with his hands, shaking and beating his face, and incessantly crying out, "Woe, woe!" And, being severely stung by this calamity, he often falls into an incurable illness, and, being consumed little by little, he subsequently calls for death.

VII. Learn, O monks most beloved by God, from how many troubles Christ has freed you! Learn how many calamities you have avoided! Learn what kind of life you have entered upon! For your manner of life is angelic. For just as when the dead rise again, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but the righteous are as the angels in heaven, ^C even so, by having lived in this manner, you have anticipated the future state by your longing. Who, therefore, would not account you blessed, having chosen a life so free from anxieties? Who would not admire your manner of life in the wilderness? Who would not desire this tranquility of yours? Council-houses are in the cit- ^D

are agitated, and debates are held concerning civil life; who shall fill the bellies of dancers, mimes, and flute-players? Who shall waste wealth on base or empty spectacles? ^A From these consultations you are also estranged for the Lord’s sake, since you are immune to public or urban services; neither does the hand of the tax collector strike at your doors so that you may pay a tax; no one drags you into the praetorium, as happens, nor do you inhabit prisons, circumvented by calumnies, nor indeed do your feet receive the iron shackles, falsely accused of great crimes so that you might pay out public moneys; nor will your hands be bound by cords for any other cause; you do not know the extortions of soldiers, nor the inhuman harassments of the beadles; you do not engage in trade, that you might heap up wealth through perjuries, knowing that it is better for the just man to have little than for sinners to have many riches. ^B Being asleep, the creditor shall not wake you, bringing a bond, nor has he stood you before a magistrate, having written petitions against you; nor, being dunned for a multitude of debts, have you groaned; but neither do you fear the sea, lest, having been stirred by a sudden storm, it swallow up the cargo, and the rich man be found a pauper in an instant.

VIII. These are the cares of mundane life, these the affairs of life, these things those who are bound in marriage endure; but you live in the wilderness, distracted by no cares, concerned only with the purity of life. Oh, how great a preeminence of honor does your holy and sacred habit possess! Oh, how great a spiritual fragrance it breathes! Oh, how great a promise you have voted for! No discourse is able to hymn it! ^C Oh, promise touching heaven! Oh, promise joining one to God! Oh, promise being conformed to the angels! Oh, promise preserving that which is according to the image of God! Oh, promise standing before God! Oh, promise most precious to God! Oh, promise through which the world is saved! Anyone declaring your blessedness would justly say: Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord (Ps. CXVIII, 1). For, meditating on this law day and night, as a tree planted by the streams of waters, which shall give its fruit in its season, and its leaf shall not fall off, and whatsoever he does shall prosper (Ps. I, 2, 3). Thus, therefore, bringing forth fruit in word and deed, you are able to say more confidently to God: Let my kinsman descend into his garden, and let him eat the fruit of his nuts (Cant. V, 1). ^D For each one of you, o monks worthy of God’s love, is a garden of Christ, containing kinds of all trees, cultivated by the guards and commandments of the Law; you are not a forest of trees in which wild beasts might dwell, that bloodstained system of the opposing powers; but rather you are a garden encompassed with precious stones, the custody and protection of the Law. Wherefore you were not prey of the devil, but were caught in the net of Christ from the bitter turbulence of the world.

IX. He who follows the conjugal life divides his mind

as Paul says, *He who is married cares for the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and is divided* ^A. But you, O wonderful souls, longing for God, remain inseparable from Him, always saying what was said by David with a fervent affection of mind: *My soul has cleaved after thee, and thy right hand has upheld me* ^B. For you have not pursued fields, or houses, or any other possessions with your desire, so that you might enjoy what you have acquired, nor have you indulged in base passions, or slander, or avarice, or any other deceit; but you have done what is written: *You shall walk after the Lord your God, and shall cleave to Him* ^C; and these words you have brought into reality: *Go, sell what you possess, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven, and come, follow me* ^D. And the power of this utterance is manifest in you, for, being steadfastly tenacious of it, you have bid farewell to the world and the cares of the world, having great confidence in Him who said: *Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you*.

X. Wherefore you are worthy of praises and proclamations, you who have thus subjected your untrained hearing to Christ, so that you would not make it subservient to the vain slanders of the mob; and so that you might also teach your eyes to see what is upright and not to covet the property of others, you have taken care to direct them toward God, saying with the hymnographer David: *To thee have I lifted up my eyes, who dwells in heaven; behold as the eyes of servants are to the hands of their masters, as the eyes of the handmaid to the hands of her mistress, so are our eyes toward the Lord our God, until He has mercy on us*. Lifting up holy hands without ceasing, you are accustomed again to look toward God with pure prayers, that they may not be guilty of rapine, theft, or wars; and your feet you have taught to walk a straight course, either into the house of God or to the cells of the holy Fathers, lest by running toward malice they fall into pits. For regarding the freedom of your sense of smell, you are accustomed to say thus to God: *We will run after the odor of thy ointments*. You have also learned to accustom your taste to meager food and water for drink, so that you might not put on masks for the sake of the belly, and because Adam sinned primarily by reason of taste. Besides all these things, you wear humble and coarse clothing, a manifest image, obviously, of a sincere and devout character. A rug and a mat [are] more pleasing to you without the danger of falling into sin than soft beds with sin. More delightful to you is the remembrance of the resurrection and the fearful judgment than flutes, lyres, and vain songs. More desirable to you is a blessed death than a life protracted for a long time in base delights.

XI. Blessed, therefore, are you, most honorable monks! For this is a thing worthy to be said to you often. Blessed are you by the consubstan-

Trinity, having taken up service. A private man does not deceive a soldier; neither do the demons who have fled deceive your piety. For God, when granting the gifts of His grace to you, said: *Behold, I have given you power to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and upon all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall harm you.* You have not enlisted under a human king, that you might witness in war the slaughter of fellow-human beings, but you have enlisted under Christ, that you might witness the corpses of the demons. You have not possessed weapons of bronze and iron, that you might slay your fellow-servants, but you have acquired a strong faith, by which the devil is cast down. Nor again have you enlisted to shed human blood, but you have enlisted to God so that you might continuously pour forth your prayer before Him. *The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayer.* ^B Pray, therefore, for the world, being well aware that God inclines an ear to the prayers of the good, and that the prayer of a righteous man, when it is at work, avails much. Always be mindful of us. You dwell in the paradise of delights, with the entrance laid open; and the gates of paradise which the transgression of Adam closed, these your devotion toward God will unlock. You will occupy the stations of heaven, where you will meet the apostles, you will see the prophets, you will marvel at the martyrs, you will embrace all the righteous, you will spend time with the angels. You are blessed here, and after this life you will be more blessed; there you shall see John the Baptist, the founder of your ascetic institute, he who was surely nourished in the wilderness and excelled in the praise of a religious life. There you shall see the most courageous Job, clothed in much glory, the partner of your labors and a devotee of patience. There you shall see your forefather Abraham, who became a genuine emulator of your hospitality toward guests. There the most meek and most devout David will meet you, whose life’s example daily strengthens your piety. And that I may not, by naming each of the righteous, draw out the discourse longer, you shall see Christ Himself, the head of all good things, He who said: *Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.*

XII. Who therefore is more blessed or more fortunate than you, since you are to see God with your very eyes? You are blessed in the day of judgment, most desirable ones, when God shall judge the hidden things of men; because all things are naked and laid open to His eyes. ^D Because *we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil.* Fear will not seize you at that time, but cheerfulness and joy and a crown of exultation in the Holy Spirit. Judgment will not be formidable to you, nor eternal fire, nor the unsleeping worm, but to those who have existed in the contrary manner and have violated the commandment of God. You shall hear those words: *Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world,* you who have blamelessly held the thoughts of Christ. But to the common enemy of all, and to his followers, that trembling sentence will be pronounced, and to those who have followed him, that terrifying word: Let the wicked be removed so that

he may not see the glory of the Lord. There you shall go with gladness and joy, whence pain and sorrow and sighing have fled, where honor and glory and gifts cannot be taken away. ^B

XIII. Indeed, your piety is celebrated throughout the whole world. What city, having heard the report of your religious and apostolic life, does not desire to see you? What king, whether in past times or even in the present, holding the scepter and being told of your manner of life, so worthy of God and so full of virtue, has not desired to consult you and to embrace you with the deepest affection? From among you arose the abbot Anthony, having reached the highest pinnacle of discipline, whose life, committed to writing, is also preserved among you. Likewise, from among you the abbot Amun, and the abbot John, and the abbot Macarius, who shone with exceptional virtue, and who also exhibited to men miracles and other proofs of their holiness; and by casting out demons, God willing, and healing the great pains of diseases and various afflictions, they showed the feeble power of the medical art. For those diseases which physicians could by no means banish, they conceded were to be overcome by the prayers and strong faith of these holy men, inasmuch as they knew the limits and measure of their own art; when kings heard these things, they marveled greatly and praised God. ^C

XIV. You know these things more accurately than I, for you and your fathers have lived with those already mentioned. Who, then, could worthily recount your praises? Who would not approve and praise your love for God, your piety, devotion, temperance, fortitude, justice, patience, wisdom, and simplicity joined with prudence? What shall I say of your gentleness, silence, mild and peaceful manners? What of your sincerity, simplicity, tranquility, contempt of money, mercy, almsgiving, liberality, mutual compassion, brotherly love, kindness toward guests and the poor, affability, truthfulness, concord according to God, honey-sweet and gentle speech, composed gait, solitude, excellent reputation, orthodox mind, and faith in God? In what virtue you live! How many virtues adorn you, O most dear to God! With what a crown of virtues are you encircled! How great is the constancy of good works among you! Peace is conspicuous among you on account of your abstinence from vices. Humility excels among you, which is the good image of the Lord, by departing from which the devil was once justly cast out. ^D

XV. It was necessary and strictly appropriate for these things to be written and said to you by me, for it is written: The memory of the just is with praise; and because you who are just are praised,

...let the peoples rejoice. As often, therefore, as anyone remembers you, it is the praises of you that come to his mind. Therefore, O most courageous ones, knowing well your dignity and your fame, strive henceforth to heap up your reward, watching more alacritously in the hope of future good things, and singing that of David: "Act manfully, and let your heart be strengthened, and wait for the Lord." ^A Do not let even a single thought at any time destroy the whole treasure; nor, after such a stretch of time, let some brief negligence extinguish the burning torch of your soul’s goods, like a wind blowing from the opposite direction, you who in reality shine as lights in the world, that you may hear along with the apostles: "You are the light of the world." But also the Apostle says: "For you have need of patience, that, doing the will of God, you may receive the promise." ^B Do not grow weary, therefore, O most desired ones, but join the end to the beginning, and the beginning to the end. "For he who perseveres to the end shall be saved." And may it be granted to you and to us to attain a blessed and holy end, being nourished by divine dogmas, led by God and shepherded by Him! So that fulfilling those desirable words of the Apostle, we may say: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of justice, which the Lord, the just judge, will render to me in that day"—to Whom be glory and power, to the Father, that is, with the Son and the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen. ^C

SAINT PACHOMIUS, ABBOT OF TABENNA. NOTICE.

1. *The origin and institute of the life of Pachomius, before he gave his name to Christ. Having first professed the anchorite life, he later became the author of the Tabennensian monks, at which time he flourished. The fame of his memory. The year of his death.*

Pachomius, born in the Thebaid of lower Egypt of pagan parents, first enrolled for military service; but afterwards converted to the faith of Christ, he shone most notably in the time of Constantine the Great and his sons. For, having embraced the anchoritic life, he was subsequently divinely admonished, and is reported to have been the author and founder of the Tabennensian monks, as Sozomen writes after Palladius, an excellent professor of evangelical perfection, who instructed his disciples with the best precepts and institutes: A man... ^D