Discourse 5: On Simplicity

Again, the Fifth Discourse on Simplicity. Concerning spiritual benefits, it is fitting that our discourse be stirred in every season, in this place which is a storehouse of benefits. For even you yourselves see that a helpful discourse is necessary for you to hear, and not one that is for entertainment and a cause of laughter. For words that are set for the entertainment of the hearing, or that stir up praises of laughter in the hearers, these are not at all sought in this place of asceticism; rather, it is fitting that, like the place itself, what is spoken in it should also be. For the place in which the humble labor is that of spiritual benefits and virtues. And let the simple word speak in it what is fitting in the place. For the benefit of the inner man, let it speak to him and to you who hear. For it is written that the hearer of the word should share with the one who makes him hear in all good things. For our discourse before this one was speaking about simplicity and clarity. And again, now I wish to speak concerning this helpful subject. For it is the will that is opposed to us. And yours is simplicity. And without it, there is no profit in the service of good works. For just as the members of the body cannot see without the eyes, so also good works cannot be performed without simplicity.

Just as by the sweetness of honey all the members are sweetened, so by the destruction of simplicity all the benefits are disturbed. Especially for this schema, simplicity is fitting for solitary life, and for those who have left the world and are outside it, a great and serene peace of mind is fitting for them. For where there is none of the schemata of the world, neither is the turmoil of the world required. For there is no sacrifice or offering here among us. There is no sophistry among us concerning passing advantages. There is no one here who makes himself better than his brothers and appears in authority better than his companion. There is no one here who conquers and is conquered, because there are no causes of victory among us. There is no one here who divides fields and vineyards, nor lands that are separated by boundaries. There is no one here who desires to become richer than his brother, or to be exalted in the glory of the world more than his fellow. There is no one here who desires to appear in splendid garments, for all have one garment of mourning and humility. There is no one here who serves his belly and desires to find varieties of foods, for all are sustained from one common table. There is no one here who desires to snatch the honor of his brother, for all are commanded to honor one another. There is no one here who contends with his companion, for all contend with one another for the sake of one.

There is no one here who desires that a well be dug, and other things that are fitting to be inscribed in inheritances, so that the whole of that one monastery is constrained by the lack of space. There is no one here who desires that his monastery be expanded and that golden porticoes be set up for it, so that all are put to sleep by a small measure of rest upon the ground in humility. And where these are fully present, there also the world’s rusticity ought not to be found. For just as the world’s pride is brought out and cast away, so too must its coarseness be cast off. For just as the bodily members of the body are stripped away, so too must the rusticity that is sought in their place be stripped away. Just as the old man is crucified with all his transformations, so too must the coarseness that is the seal of the old man be crucified. Just as the forgetfulness of falsehood is forgotten, so too must the rusticity that is the mother of falsehood be forgotten. Just as one brings out and casts away the son outside, so too must his fathers and begetters be cast out. For in the place where there is no son, and falsehood is not served within, there also rusticity and coarseness, the fathers of these, must be stripped away. Just as there is a lowly covering of hair, so too must the simplicity that is its bread be honored. For the covering of garments does not befit the schema, and the vessels of forms and colors are not seemly for the order.

in that likeness and more than these, rust does not suit iron, nor does tarnish suit the monastic habit. The desire for preeminence does not befit you, which belongs to the base and the dissolute. Here also there is no hindrance, which is its first capacity against the enemy. For rust is a worm that eats away, and all its servants. And simplicity is the wealth of Christ and of all his disciples. For the turning of the world, only tarnish is suitable, and for those who have set themselves to rapine and plunder of others, and to oppression and the oppression of those of their own kind, for them is required cunning. Wisdom does not dwell in a soul that is stained with evils. The wise Solomon says. Nor does knowledge of the spirit dwell in a body that loves sin. For a soul that is stained with evils is full of rust. Because this rust is the discoverer of evils. For whoever desires to work evils, he runs to become a disciple of rust. Through its teaching. And through the wicked deeds of iniquity that reveal him, he will be exposed, covering his evils, and will make an outlet for the spirit in place of the labors that are performed by him. For where evils are rejected and pains are driven to a distance, from there it is necessary that their root also be uprooted. And it be cut off and cast away. Also those who raise them. For there is no rust in heaven. There is no tarnish of evils. In Gabriel and in Michael.

There is no rusting and no tarnishing of the mind in those regions of the spirit. There is no dimming of the light in that bright Jerusalem, the city of life. There is no teaching that is nourished by preeminence through deceit, because even deceit is not employed in that place. There is no teaching that covers over its own blemishes, nor one that is ashamed and conceals its evils, as if these things were not present in that region of spiritual beings; nor should they be found in our region, which is the type of that region. For this monastic life is the death of the passions. This dwelling is the type of the heavens. This conversion of yours, who wear bodies, is the image of those higher beings who are without body. It is fitting for you to speak that which Paul proclaimed: that even in the flesh you live chastely, not that you serve the flesh in chastity. For bodies are seen by the eyes as you are, but your entire service is spiritual. You are angels in bodies, and spirits clothed in flesh. Pure, clear, sound, and holy is your dwelling, and the likeness of the higher dwelling of the spirits is imprinted upon it. The entire discipline of the disciples of Jesus stands upon simplicity. And if you take simplicity away from it, you destroy the discipline. Simplicity is the foundation for you, and whoever stands upon it is wise.

For just as in the world, the one who is simple is called foolish by the foolish, so in this spiritual region, the simple one ought to be called foolish by the distinguished, who stand in that region which does not suit them. And he finds within himself a discovery that is not his own. No one seeks to find trees and seeds and plants among the waves of the sea. Nor again does anyone seek to see waves and breakers on dry land. But each of them is sought and found in its own place. Thus it is not fitting that simplicity be found in the clear region of the spirits. For the region of simplicity is the world, which is full of evils. And just as song is not fitting in a house of mourning, and weeping is not fitting in a house of feasting, so it is not fitting that the rust of evils be found in the region of simplicity. For in the region of spiritual excellences, the discovery of simplicity is a loss proper to the spirits. For it is not in disputations that you speak with your brother, that simplicity should be required of you. It is not in secret that you sit within the monastery, that you should kill the righteous one by stealth. Why do you need rust and stain? Why are you proud or foolish in something that is your fault? Why do you boast in something that shames you? Why do you consider great something that is your disgrace? Why are you proud of a standing that is not your own? You took simplicity from the world; by its hand you are accused, and all the evils of the world have come to you.

For the tree is known by its fruits. And the tree whose roots are in evil is pride. And wherever it is found, all evils are with it. And even if they are not seen in manifest actions, they are present in hidden thoughts. For the sickness of the soul is pride, just as its true health is simplicity. And just as you see a sick person who is insolent in his sickness, or a sufferer who boasts of his pains, so the monk who is proud of the asceticism he has practiced is not fitting, because he has been found in a way that does not suit him. For just as he has the shame of the harlot who is with the chaste woman, so too he ought to have shame if pride is found with him—pride which is the likeness of the harlot. For by the example of the harlot in the marketplace, pride is within the soul. For just as she speaks with every man and puts on every persona, so that she may appear to each one as like him, so too pride is seen in the changes of all thoughts, and puts on various forms and colors, so that it may show itself to each one as like him. And that which is written firmly by the Apostle, "I became all things to all men," is accomplished perversely by pride, which becomes all things to all men in order to destroy them, and in every man it mocks and laughs. And if these are the works of pride, how then does it become the disciple of Christ?

And as it is fitting that it be found in simple individuals, look then at the tree of knowledge, and understand that all evils proceed from pride. For in it is falsehood; in it deceit is found. Slander is near to it. Haughtiness loves it. Arrogance is its foundation. Evil secrecy is its habit. Error and also madness are its teachings. It is a partner with boastfulness. For it is itself the beginning of adultery. Instead of humility, it is a wind that puffs up. It takes a bribe to the face of shame. The humble are cast down by it. It is prepared for false witness. The mother of falsehood is its stubbornness. And as if to say in sum: all evils have set up pride as their beginning, so that it may speak judgment on their behalf, to deny them while concealing them, to deny them while puffing up on their behalf, to deny them while denying that they exist, and to multiply excuses and produce likenesses in the wind, to deny them by making other persons the agents of the evils, and saying that it was not because of this that they happened, nor did they occur in this manner. To it is attached all the discourse of falsehood. It is fitting for judges when they wish to be bribed. By it the heads of state are furnished when they wish to take plunder. It is fitting for evildoers when they are accused. It is a wife who wishes to transgress the path of the law against her husband; she takes him with her, and then puffs up the excuse of licentiousness. By it the disciples are taught.

And then they begin to lie about their fellow beings. The scribes who are before the judges speak, and from its wealth they compose their words. And in its first moment their changes are confounded. It is the spreader of nets of iniquity. It is the one who casts snares upon the paths of travellers. It is the one who hides traps of deceit. It is the one who digs pits of destruction. It is a writ of divorce that is torn, and it is the demand of a lawsuit that pursues them. Until falsehood approaches her, she does not know that her spirit will go out in exchange for herself. Falsehood prepares to deceive. And how it will deceive, it teaches her. Evil will is the preparer of falsehood. But where it finds the deed, hardness becomes its queen. It begins to walk in falsehood on a path opposite to truth, and it calls to hardness, "Come after me, and also be strong." Hardness is the treasurer of all evils. It is the preparer of all storms. It takes the person of all of them, and in place of all of them it says "mine," and it does the work of bringing forth in spirit. And as this is said from hardness to evil: "Come, evil, make me evil as much as you wish. And all your members, let them be delighted in the pleasures of desire. Let the body of all your senses be filled with those whom you love. Let all your senses be stirred in them with their taste. And let them grow and ripen. As it pleases you, be puffed up and do not spare. Be filled. And do not be ashamed of your face. Make me crooked as my companion. Make me wicked and tremble as you wish. Be fulfilled in iniquity and do not fear.

Be not disturbed in all the tumults. And do not be shaken. Let not the fear of the judges frighten you. Let not the confusion of the court move you. Do not be led astray by the voice of the authorities. Let not the outcry of the lords frighten you. Against all of them, I stand as a defender for you. I go forth as a spirit on your behalf before all the heads. It is easy for me that with your heads, I shall weave praise for you, and with those who think other things that condemn you, I shall crown you with a crown of victory. All my thought is for you. In the thoughts of your causes, I am full. By night and by day, whenever I am sought, I go forth as a spirit on your behalf. I am a shepherd at all times. Come now, O evil one, be glad in the tumults, and I am a teacher, I am a scribe who acquits you. Do not be anxious where or how before the judges you will speak. I am made a speaker on your behalf. I am a silencer for your heads. I am a conqueror of the accusations that speak against you. I am a silencer of the rectitude of the judges concerning your faults. To your tongue, O evil one, I have come. I have been prepared and become a speaking mouth for you. Every tongue that wishes to speak with you of justice, I stand and condemn it. For these approach the tumults from shamelessness, and wickedness draws near. And this speech corrupts her, that she may be provoked to step upon iniquity. Shamelessness confesses that her evil is that of the evil one, and her power is that of sin, and the life of the body of the tumults.

And if there were no disturbance, then evil would be at rest from the sting of the guilty one. And from the fear of the judge who has been appointed over it from anxiety. Evil is known by disturbance from all evils. For disturbance is the tower of sin. When it fell upon the ways, and it raged against every man, it ran to the house of its fortress of disturbance, so that the spirit might go out on its behalf to its heads. And it might hide in it as in a tower from the wails of anxiety, which seek to pursue its tracks. Behold, by what evil is your boast, O disciple of David? And by what are you confident, O bear that is wrapped in the skin of a lamb? If your disturbance is in you, all iniquity is with you. If agitation is in your soul, all sin dwells in you. If the garments of rebellion stand in your life, all evil dwells in you. And your errors are not seen openly. Because that disturbance conceals them. For thus it is confessed to the disciple that it becomes a cover for his sin. This which is the mother of all evils is not fitting for you. And the evil that has made a nest for all evils is not suitable for your spiritual conduct. But you, O upright disciple, rejoice in your simplicity, by which you have run the path of righteousness. And do not be grieved that you are called a child. For this name is fitting for you. And this appellation is worthy of you. For by it your purity from iniquity is known. For the name of child.

It is the revealer of his simplicity and his purity, that this one proclaims that there is no guile in him. For just as each of the days of the world, or those who serve in the military strategy of the earthly kingdom, has a name by which his station is known, which distinguishes his office, so also that disciple is called by the name "simple." Why should I give you cause to marvel at the name by which God is called? For the name "simple" is the revealer of something singular. For the simple one has no guile in him. And deceit does not combine with him. And falsehood does not succeed in him. And duplicity is not found in him. And slander does not dwell in him. And he does not strike his companion in secret. And he does not seek to do evil. And he does not spread himself to be innocent. And he has no guile against his neighbor, nor does he contemplate evil against his brother who sits with him in peace. But he is a pure and praying vessel. And his neighborhood is a neighborhood of light. And just as in the hope of a pure child, one of these evils is not moved, so also in him whose intention is simple, not one of them stirs. For a child is not considered among evils because of his childhood, nor is a simple one counted among deceits because of his simplicity. For by the name of simplicity all good things are gathered, just as by the name of wickedness all evil things are assembled. For simplicity is a cultivated field that receives seed and the plants of all virtues. For wickedness is a land filled with thorns and thistles.

Now these are divided and empty thoughts. And just as the growth of good seed is choked within a field full of thorns and thistles, so too within the divided thoughts of cunning is the simple growth of faith choked. And just as the growth of good seed is strong in ground that is clear of the infestation of thorns, so too does the growth of the word of truth flourish strongly within a simple mind. For simplicity does not dispute the utterance of faith, nor does it inquire why God commanded thus. It has no turning against anything that it is told to do, but listens straightforwardly, receives plainly, and keeps simply. For simplicity is without labor in all its activities, and is not subtle in thoughts that bind and loose each other. For the service of righteousness is easy for simplicity, and the unhesitating ones travel the path of labors. And concerning this, our Lord also taught his disciples: "Learn the simplicity of children," because children possess simplicity. For he rejected the cunning and chose the simple. He dismissed the scribes and the learned, and brought near to him the unlettered and the common people. A fisherman was John. A tax collector was Matthew. The Pharisees were disputatious. The scribes were cunning. And all of these the choice of the Savior rejected. And instead of Matthew he chose Simon, and instead of John, Joshua, and instead of the scribes, Andrew.

instead of the Pharisees, Matthew; instead of the Sadducees, Philip; instead of the Scribes, Bar Tolmai; instead of the Heretics, James. The company of the simple ones instead of the cunning of the Scribes. For those who knew nothing, instead of those who think they know everything. For truth always triumphs through simplicity, and faith through the innocence of childhood. And again afterwards, our Lord abolished the cunning of the rhetoricians and the schools of the heretics and the Scribes, and chose for himself fishermen and illiterates, and those without discipline. He again taught even those who had added to their simplicity, and did not stop only at that first ability of their childhood. And he took a child and placed him in their midst. And when he looked at all of them, he said to them: “Unless you turn and become like this child, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” And our Lord did this because he saw that they wished to depart from the thought of their simplicity through a question of honor, and that they thought one rank was above another. And the simple do not desire a question like this, but the question was born from the thought that he wanted to be honored through disputation. And our Lord silenced this vain production of inquiry, and said to his disciples, while he was standing and showing them: “If you are mine, be simple; and if you desire the kingdom of heaven, be like this child. Just as you desire the life that is to come, abide in peace.

If you also wish to become wise through the word of life, you have fallen from your first state. For I do not want you to be simple ones who are foolish, but rather simple ones who are wise. For he who runs to be foolish from simplicity descends downward. But he who runs to be wise from childhood ascends upward. The fool does not accept my teaching. And for this reason I chose you because you were children. For I have already rejected foolishness in others. Beware lest it be in you and I reject you along with it. This child is an example for you: just as he is not anxious about anything from the world, and does not ask for anything from the affairs of life, neither rank nor honor, neither wealth nor authority, but only his sustenance and his clothing, upon which his childhood is intent, so also you should be children like him, and perfect and simple like him, so that you may be chosen disciples for me, and you may be found as I chose you. Behold, even our Lord Jesus commands through this commandment concerning simplicity, and exhorts that we be good and perfect. For it is not right that we be in simplicity and then be uprooted from it, like those who are of no use for the desires of the world, and are despised in the eyes of the simple, and think that they have lost something. For they are not sought after for this world, but they are useful and sought after for the kingdom of God. For what is despised by the affairs of life is chosen for God.

just as the apostles were weaned from the whole world. And again, the Savior Jesus was weaned and separated from all the Jews. Thus also he who mocks the simple ones, and for this reason he runs and despises them, in the manner of the Jews and the scribes and the Pharisees who rejected the Messiah and his disciples. The manner of this arrogant one is set. See, then, on whom the beginning of the word of the Messiah is placed, concerning him who causes one of them to stumble. And beware, lest you cause yourself to stumble. For when this word is good for other understandings, it happens that when it causes those little ones to stumble, it would have been better for him to have a millstone hung around his neck and to be sunk in the depths of the sea, than again more exceedingly. For upon them it is fitting that he not harm, nor be arrogant, nor mock the simplicity of the perfect ones. For when you have derided and mocked and scorned his simplicity, and have disturbed his peace and broken his perfection, and it has been considered by you as vain and worthless, the burden of your blasphemies against him has pressed upon him, so that he has cast off his peace and denied his simplicity. As when you were the cause of his being mocked, and he fled from that childhood which he had foolishly maintained for the arrogant. And instead of what he was, he became what he was not, through your burden against it, and your blasphemies against him, and you caused him to stumble in his first conduct which he had abandoned, and instead of it he took up others which are the opposite of his peace.

and when he was silent, he abandoned this. And he chose and selected for himself a speech more than silence, and a subtlety more than his former simplicity, and a cleverness more than his naivety. And they made him bitter and angry instead of gentle and peaceful. And because thus his stumbling blocks and he was hindered from your counsel, that he exchanged his goods for evils, it was fitting for you that you be a tied-up donkey’s foal at your neck. And you cast yourself into the depths of the sea, or that you stumble one of these little ones who believe in the Son. See then that even the Lord of the little ones calls them children. Because they diminish themselves from every man. And that which taught you not to flee from children, because this one runs toward childhood. But rather in it more you should grow in your eyes. For the sight of the simple ones is pleasant. And their form is naive and common. And whoever wishes to flee from children, from their sight takes cause to mock them. Because they have no thought that knows that their nakedness is set before the sons of men, and they show themselves outwardly before the known and renowned world. You, however, in this especially take cause and increase your eyes. And their simplicity will be for you a cause for their honor. And their foolishness a fullness for their praise. For where faith is perfect in its completeness, and does not spoil with thoughts of subtlety, it honors and magnifies simplicity. And it loves and supports it, even when it is foolish in its appearance.

And he understood from this the help of the works, how much the simple ones are beloved over the faithful. And how much the boors and idiots are loved because of Christ, for the whole economy of Christ. And he understood also from this, that the youths of the world run towards the boors of faith, and the poor and the beggars bow down before the simplicity of Christ. For look and see the great ones of the world, how lovingly they embrace simplicity, and worship and love boorishness. And the more one appears in a greater measure of simplicity, the more he becomes great and honored in their eyes. For it is not that the poor and the youths who embrace in the world, for the spiritual birds that are outside the world, lift up your eyes, O disciple, and look at those who come to you and run to your door with love. For they run to see the children of the Spirit, and not the negotiators and the knowers of the affairs of the world. For when they wish to see the poor and the youths who teach and speak with the wisdom of the world, they enter cities and towns. But when they embrace outside the world, they run to see the children and the simple ones of Christ. Let not a serpent come in place of a dove, and a thorn in place of a pure rose, and your word for evil things in place of a wise man for good things. Let it come to see you, O disciple, as one who runs to see you.

For he sent his wisdom and put on simplicity, and through it he approached you, and you ran to put on that which he sent, and you desired to acquire that which he set aside. He did not err and bring with him thoughts of cunning. But the simplicity of faith entered into your dwelling. That which he left in the world in the place of spiritual things cannot be found. Hear the prophet, for also the Lord in his teaching proclaims himself as simple. And by the lamb and the kid he is depicted. The life of the pure one among all animals, like a lamb led to the slaughter, and like a kid silent before the shearer. The lion, the wolf, and the bear are fierce, along with the rest of all the wild beasts, whose fierceness and strength are mingled with wickedness. But the tame and the pure, in their gentleness and their movements, are sheep, lambs, and kids. And by them the Lord was depicted, and by their names the faithful are called. For the Lord did not depict himself as a lion, when he was led to suffering and death. Nor did he call his members by the names of beasts that are fierce and evil in the nature of their creation. But he was called lamb and kid, because when he was silent in their likeness, he was led to suffering and death. Like a kid silent before the shearer. And thus he did not open his mouth in his humiliation. And he confirmed the word of simplicity by deed, when he was silent while being led, and silent while being judged, and when he was struck he did not cry out, and when he was condemned he did not become agitated.

And when they struck him, he was not disturbed. And when they slapped his cheeks, he did not become angry. And when he was stripped of his garments like a lamb from its fleece, he did not cry out. And when they gave him gall and vinegar, he did not curse or spit. And when they pierced him with wood, he did not complain against them. And when he wished to send, he heard the simplicity of the lamb, and he took a sword for the pursuit of the shearer of his master, he was ashamed of it. That he might change the razor in its place, he turned your razor to its place. I do not need your help. He stands before the judge and is questioned, he who is the scribe and teacher of all wisdom. And he does not answer a word. He keeps the law of simplicity, which confirmed that which was conducted like a lamb to the slaughter. They bound him like one without speech, and from place to place they lead him about. And from place to place they drag him. And from judge to judge they hand him over. He stood before the accuser and was silent. And until he was condemned, he did not speak. He was questioned by Pilate and was silent. And until he heard from him that he was the king of the Jews, the word that reveals the rebellion against Caesar, he did not answer a word. They led him to Herod, and when he saw and heard from him great things in silence, he was questioning. And again he stood silent and did not speak. And he did not answer a word to his questions. He was considered a fool who knows nothing, and a simpleton who has no word. The Jews and the priests accused him of what they wished. And that simplicity of the lamb did not abandon.

and he did not let go of the garment of simplicity. The apostle Paul saw him, that he was considered by the torturers as a fool and as one without understanding, and that his enemies regarded him as lacking knowledge and intelligence. And it was on behalf of Jesus that he spoke before them, that the foolishness of God is wiser than the sons of men. For because you were not honored, in order that you might be considered a fool by the sons of men on account of your simplicity, God himself showed himself as a fool, in that he stood before his interrogators without a ready answer. And he appeared to them as one who did not know, when he gave no answer. So also you, be strong in your own power, and do not transgress the garment of simplicity. Nor should you be considered a fool by any man, nor be thought of as lacking knowledge and discipline. For whoever is angry, if he is considered by men as simple and ordinary, his mind is bound by the empty passion for the knowledge of the world. And if he is considered as contrary, distress and grief rule over his life. For it is right for you to be considered anything, because your path will be completed, and the completion of the path will bring about your discipline. For behold, also the prophet David, when his life was in danger of death, showed himself to the Philistines as a fool and without sense, and he let his spittle run down over his beard, in the likeness of a man without understanding, so that his life might escape from death.

David therefore, because he did not lose the life of the sacrifice, appeared in the form of simplicity, and without confusion and separation. How much more fitting is it for you, for the sake of eternal life, to be adorned with your simplicity. And do not be cleansed by the mockery of the scorners, and go out from the place set for you. Read also the Lord of the faithful of his flocks. By the names of simplicity he is known among them. If you do not love me, he says to Simon, the head of the disciples, tend my sheep and lambs and kids. And just as that one was called by the word of simplicity, lamb and kid, and again John called him the lamb of God, so also to the disciples of his parable. By these names, which indicate purity, he named them. When all the faithful heard that these names were given to them by the shepherd, they hastened to be like sheep and lambs and kids in all purity. And they did not go out from the canon of simplicity.

And like those perfect animals that are led to slaughter, and are brought to the tether, and are offered for shearing, and are sought from the animals and do not cry out or bleat, but are in silence and in the perfection of their purity, so also it is fitting for the disciple of the Lord, that before all the trials of deeds and words, of afflictions and joys, of imprisonments and oppressions, of persecutions and prisons, of the torments of oppressions and the snares of deceivers, he should remain in the purity of his heart, and the law of his silence he should not abandon, and his purity he should not let go, and he should not let go of his simplicity and be agitated to show malice to his enemies, for that is their own work: the curses of the wicked, and the shouts of the unjust, and they are reckless at all times in their own work. For you, however, there is the work of hiding from their knowledge, so that the simplicity of your mind may complete it, and secretly you may delight in it, and they, in this delight, are not aware, because they have not tasted the flavors of your own tastes. For simplicity is without mixture, and on this account it is also trustworthy at all times with joy.

of the simple ones is like that of the perfect animals. And they have much laughter because of their simplicity, because the cares of the world do not knock at the door of the joy that is moved childishly in their minds. Thus the joy is always complete in a simple heart, because there is no interval, so that what does not go out to work does not enter into his thoughts as grief. For he who wishes to harm his enemy and cannot, or who strives to become rich and does not become rich, or who runs to overtake and does not reach, because of these things sadness and grief take counsel against his life. And all that joy which is born from simplicity is taken away from him. For the simple one, as is evident, never lacks anything. And if it seems that he lacks something for the world or for a disciple, do not be troubled by this. For his glory is this, that of a Christian, when he does not care about these worldly things, and lacks nothing for bodily adornment. For if someone says to you that you do not know craftsmanship, or that you have not been able to work at the trades of the craftsmen, or that you do not know one of the worldly arts and skills, this is not a matter for laughter. For even a king is not diminished by this, that he does not know the work of one of the worldly arts, but rather this becomes a glory for him. Because his authority is high above these things, he is not compelled to know them. And his not knowing them is found to be his glory. For their knowledge is his disgrace.

just as we see also in the case of the many among the children of the world, those who are at one of the degrees of worldly honor, who, when they know the letters and distinguish the rest of the skills that are beneath their rank, deny that they do not know. And this very thing—that they do not know—is counted as praise for them. And as if in praise they run and boast in it and say that they are not knowers of letters. In this likeness, therefore, also for the disciple of Christ, praise is not knowledge of the skills of the world. And his glory is this: that he does not become small and does not become contemptible, and it is a good name for him that he does not distinguish between the colors of evil things. And ignorance of these is considered a small thing before him. And more than is fitting, ignorance of the letters of the world is a disgrace for the king of the world; knowledge of the letters of the world is a disgrace for the disciple of Christ, who is enrolled in the heavenly kingdom, to know these things which are far from his order and remote from the character of his discipleship. For his life is not empty of intercourse with God, that he might be occupied with the learning of these habits and be exercised in these things which are of the flesh, and be spread out as to how he may do evil and how he may overcome his enemies, and how he may become rich and acquire, and how he may speak and be heard in opposition to his adversaries, and where he may find profit, and by what means he may find honor. For the intercourse of the simple one with God does not permit him to be occupied with these things and to be exercised in them.

and does not descend from the height of the knowledge of the kingdom of Christ to the divisions and thoughts of these sick passions, these which are always in their sickness, those which are agitated in their thoughts. For it is not fitting for the thought that the faith of Christ, which is simple, should be healed and cured by these bodily remedies and by these harmful wounds. Do not consider it a disgrace that you are not versed in the wounds of the world. Rather, let this be a greater honor for you, that you are elevated and ascend in the patterns of spiritual things, beyond those which are bodily. For even among the spiritual ones, there are no capacities and wounds upon the surface of the world's desires. For if their glory is elevated above all corporeality, it is known that their thought also is elevated above these passions. And in the praises of divinity alone consists all their exercise, when they are nurtured in the knowledge of the spirit, in those things that are elevated above their knowledge, and they are not lowered to look down below them. For they do not wish to descend from their ranks, but to ascend higher. And to be established at all times before them in the mysteries of being. In the pattern, therefore, of these powers are the thoughts that are not agitated by corporeal things. And this is the rank of spiritual beings, those which are above the world.

Only let yourselves be taught, and do not let your thoughts descend to the inquiries and teachings of these who are sick in their form. For in that manner which distinguishes and knows the teaching of each of the ousiot, and whoever is a disciple of an ousia, it is fitting that he learn in the place of the teaching and not in another. So also the whole of the disciple's meditation and practice is in the teaching of his ousia, while in nothing else does he slacken the intention of his thoughts. For ousia is the teaching of spiritual things, and of thoughts and of deeds. They are above the world, and it is established at all times before those who are of the spirit. For the disciple who does not run before the ousiot in the teaching of his ousia is separated from his masters, and is mocked and despised by his fellows, for in his likeness this one also is worthy to be separated even more than he. The disciple of this ousia of the spirit, however, is not separated, but is raised day by day, and runs before in the labor of the body and in the thoughts of the spirit. While also the deficiency which occurs to each of them is revealed and known. For he who does not receive the teaching of the ousia of the world lacks the advantages which are found in that ousia. But he who does not receive the teaching of Christ, and is raised in the good things, his deficiency is the kingdom of heaven, and the blessings which are sealed and stored up for the elect of God.

and that which is not seen by the eye and not heard by the ear, and which has not arisen in the mind of a human being. And that partnership which exists between the perfect and Christ—that for the sake of which even Christ himself came down from heaven to earth. And the purpose of this lack is precisely his own person, along with the rest of the goods that are above nature. For the thought of these can receive, it is simple and plain. And just as the thought of a child is simpler and more ready to receive teaching than that of a full-grown man, so too a simple thought is more receptive to the teaching of spiritual things than are hard and twisted thoughts. For the earth is good, simplicity, and it readily receives the seeds and plantings of this teaching. And just as there are soils in nature that receive seeds and plantings and produce their fruits more quickly than other soils, so too the soils of the thoughts of the simple readily receive the plantings of this spiritual teaching, and quickly take hold and produce fruit. But the earth of hardness, its darkness is that of this teaching, or it does not receive it at all, or if it does take hold and is received in it, its growth is choked within it by thorns and thistles—by disputes and thoughts that at all times disturb and trouble, those which are the adversaries of faith and simplicity. Rejoice, therefore, in simplicity, O disciple.

not only before God are you beloved, but also in the eyes of human beings you are loved. And see and observe if you have any hope in the service of the works, that the simple are more loved in the eyes of human beings than the cunning and the crafty. For every human being loves simplicity, just as every human being loves childhood. For the simple and children, both of them are loved. For cunning and wickedness are hated by every human being. And every human being is wary of them, because they are full of tricks and deceits, and they overturn the stability of everything. Simplicity, however, together with that which is loved, is also trustworthy. And no one is wary of a simple person in anything he does, because he is pleasing in his innocence, which is not suspected of evil deeds. And just as no one is wary of a child when he wants to play innocently in the house, because there is no power in his childhood to see his faults, so also no one is wary of a simple person in the things he wants to do, because the likeness of a child is confused in his thoughts. For who does not rejoice that he is loved by God and beloved by human beings? And both of these are found in simplicity. Why does a monk or a disciple flee so as to be loved by God and beloved among human beings? And without labor you will find the love of the Spirit, from the boundary and from the whole of creation. But they mock me and consider me foolish and simple, and that I am nothing and have no discernment.

What good is it that has no adversary or disciple? For if from the adversaries of the good things of fear, the perfect good from you does not come to be, because for all adversaries are found, and in the work of all toil is mixed. Along with that, also loss and error are stirred up in the children of men, against the rest of the good things. But this good of simplicity, more than all evils, is freed from adversaries, in that neither loss nor error is brought against it, and neither strife nor enmity is contended with it. For if it has this, that it is easily scattered and pacified, yet also with this, love is found. And these who preach concerning the simple love him, and not from strife is he cast in their eyes, but from trust or from that which is not fitting for them that they themselves are sought, they consider him foolish. For these of the world, and the simpletons to the contrary of the children of men, and of those without knowledge of the passions and evils. In these, therefore, you must rejoice, that you are considered that which you are, and are called that which it is fitting for you to be.

If someone says to you, "Do you not know how to deceive, or to commit fraud, or to perjure yourself?"—this is considered an insult to you. Or, "Do you not know how to mount a chariot to be a charioteer?" Or, "Are you not skilled in the contests of athletes?" Or, "Do you not know the song and the dance of the dancers?" Or, "Are you not able to mock and laugh, and to show the order and the hour of the mimes?"—do not think that these things are considered an insult to you. Suppose that they are not. And again, no one from among the wicked will reproach you, because you are ignorant of these arts. So also, that should not be considered an insult to you, that you are cut off from the company of the wicked and the fellowship of the foolish. For the perfect and the upright, even the blessed David who followed him, used to say this. And it is known that perfection is born from simplicity. For my discourse now is about the serenity of the spirit, which is within the soul, at the uprooting of all evils. For the order of simplicity of the body is one thing, and the rank of serenity of the spirit is another. For simplicity of the body is the beginning of the path of the teaching of Christ. But serenity of the spirit is the completion of the path of righteousness. And he who begins with simplicity finishes with serenity. Just as also the blessed apostles, at the beginning of their election, were simple; but at the completion of their conduct, after they received the Holy Spirit, they appeared serene. For this is serenity.

skilled in the art of chariot-driving?" But if someone says to you, "Do you not know how to be simple?"—this is not considered an insult. For simplicity is the beginning of the way, and the ground cleared of thorns, so that it may receive good seed. For it is one thing to uproot thorns and cut down thistles, and to clear the ground and prepare it, and to make it ready to receive good seed and beautiful plants; and another thing is that which is sown and planted, the field that bears fruit, and that looks to the hand and awaits the seasons, so that it may be gathered and placed in storehouses as the produce of the harvest. Now this is the function of simplicity: a field that is perfected in seed and completed in plants, and that bears fruit of the kinds that have come to completion and have reached ripeness. But simplicity is the field that has been worked and cleared of thorns, and prepared and made suitable to receive whatever is placed in it. As for coarseness and roughness, it is a field that is full of thorns and thistles and weeds, so that even if good seed falls into it, it is choked and suffocated.

and his upbringing. For him the field is plowed and prepared for Jesus or the disciple, and he sows in you the good seed of his word, and plants within your soul a new shoot of his teaching. If you have simplicity in your nature, rejoice in it, and be eager also to increase it. But if you have not acquired it, like one who sows natural seed, hasten after it with your will and acquire it, because it is a profitable discovery for your life in God, and it gives you to live a life without end, in trust within the monastery in which you are. For a simple person is not considered evil by anyone, nor is he cut off from the evils of others. For just as he is not suspected of doing evil, so also he is not considered that others do evil to him. For simplicity in everyone appears like itself. And as a person is in himself, so does what is in him appear, that he is like it, and like everyone. For it is the revealer of itself and the light of its substance. And as it is in itself, so it is seen in every person. And as it is without hindrance, so it appears also in others. And when they are divided in the distinctions of their wickedness towards themselves, these who are seen in them are not towards it, but all of them are one towards it. And because of this it begins at all times, without hesitations, and the waves and hesitations that disturb its tranquility are not stirred up in it.

because within it the spirit of cunning does not dwell, from which all the waves of the teachings are stirred up. For just as in a calm sea, waves are stirred up by the operation of the wind that blows against its surface, so also thoughts are born from the storms of cunning, and a disturbance of errors is stirred up from within it, by the force of the bitterness that rages within it. But a simple mind is one that has no waves. And just as the sea is calm apart from waves and winds, so also a simple thought is in tranquility, in freedom from all disturbances, which in the likeness of waves arise in it. For simplicity is a mother who conceals within herself the simple ones who flee from the waves of cunning. And everything that enters into her, she settles in tranquility. And she turns all disturbance into the order of her peace. For the simple one is not only simple himself, but also turns everything that falls into him into his own order. For obedience is also attached to simplicity, and she does not judge those who speak against her. Nor does she resist those who command her. For the dwelling of the simple one is pleasant to his neighbors. And all his acquaintances rejoice in him. There is no envy in his neighborhood. Nor is there contention in his proximity. Nor is there wrath in his gentleness. Nor is there stubbornness in his obedience. Nor is there turning against anything that is said to him. Every affliction seizes him. Even in choice.

And in the variety of teachings, one is chosen from among many. For a good disposition is considered worthy of the person who attains it. For he does not know that he will not be heard, and he does not think that he will be hindered in the face of another. For his entire knowledge is of good things, and not of evil ones. And concerning that which is fitting for his commandments, he is nourished, and not according to how his will may be constrained. So then, simplicity is fitting for the conduct of solitaries, and integrity is suitable for mourning, and transparency is appropriate for monastic life, and gentleness is becoming for asceticism, and purity is fitting for virginity. For the chief priests of the Jews marveled at the apostles, for although they were unlettered and did not know books, like wise men they uttered words concerning the life to come. And the fishermen made Christ known through their very simplicity. For Christ took unlettered fishermen to speak on his behalf, so that through them the victory of his wisdom might be proclaimed all the more, and it might be known to all people that it was not they who were speaking, but he who was speaking through them. They understood that they did not know books and were illiterate, and they remembered that they were walking with Jesus. And they marveled at them. This too is fitting, that simplicity should preserve commandments that are wondrous, and that what wise men do not do, illiterate men of wonder do. For the priests were persuaded by the apostles before the sacrifice of the wise men.

And they spoke wisely, that they were not greatly amazed at themselves, for they heard from themselves something that was fitting for their training. But they were even more amazed at themselves because they heard from themselves something they did not expect, and they gave an answer from themselves beyond the capacity of all the wise. And through their simplicity, Jesus was glorified, and his wisdom was proclaimed before all people. And indeed for this reason the Lord chose the simple and rejected the wise and the subtle, so that he might teach every one who would be his disciple that he should hold this beginning, and through it proceed to him. And it is not because wisdom is considered contemptible in the world that one should flee from her, nor because simplicity is despised among the children of men that one should abstain from her. For behold, even in his choice the Lord shows us both: that he chose fishermen and tax collectors. These, then, are the unlettered and the unjust, the foolish and the evil, the opponents of knowledge and the adversaries of righteousness. For thus are they fishermen and tax collectors: a fisherman is far from knowledge, and a tax collector from righteousness, so that when these two are established, through the remembrance of these two, Jesus would be revealed to all people as a teacher and a justifier. For it was necessary that the victory of the world be brought and won by those who adhered to the Messiah. But through their choice the simple were found, and the testimony to their simplicity is their obedience.

For until they were superior to the training of the world, and were astonished at the harsh discipline which they had endured, and stood in the sufficiency of their simplicity as hunters, the Lord did not approach them to be recipients of his teaching. Nor did he allow them to prevail over the treasures of his knowledge. And likewise also that which he commanded concerning simplicity in every place, he was advising them who had been compared to young boys. And because of these disciples he used to say, along with that which he also forbade others from the teaching of discipline. For he taught the simple to persevere in their simplicity. And to those who had been raised in the teaching of discipline, he urged that they should cast off from themselves this oppressive habit, and that both of them should come to a single equality. And as from the foot of one another, they should begin in the race of the path of virtues. For there are those who, from the beginning of training, give birth to simplicity. Like Simon and Andrew, and James and John. And there are those who, from the upbringing of the world, were bound in the womb of discipline. Like Matthew, Zacchaeus, and Philip, along with the rest of the others. And those who were not born, he begot them from childhood to the order of youth. And he girded all of them with the belt of simplicity, and then began to raise them in the stature of his teaching, and brought them to the sufficiency of the strength of the spirit.

And this entire matter of the apostles is seen to be that of the superiority of simplicity, so that it is not to be found with them in an excessive way, nor is it to be sought after among the contests of the solitaries, where that service itself is this pursuit, and those who come to them think that it is thus that they are seen. A disciple, therefore, does not prepare the ground, and it is the teacher of evil things, not of good things, who is the one who whitens what is black for all the sons of his teaching. For he is the teacher of evil things and not of good things, and of the likeness of defects and not of the likeness of advantages. He is the teacher of disobedience, the revealer of intractability, who boasts in vanities, speaks of excesses, is a boastful miser, bound in fetters, driven by a halter, to something he does not desire, a doer of full wickedness, a hired cutter, who does not make the bread of his mouth, a destroyer of the place of the worthy, who holds his place and is stripped of his work, a stone of burden for runners, a revealer of foreign paths, who brings out confusion for those who pursue rightly, who twists the path before those who run straight, who looks at fallen things, who flees from authorities, a lover of the rich, a son of need of the known, a companion of magicians, a faster from fetters, deprived of foods by the halter of the law, a laborer without profit, a disciple of sight and not of thought, a nourisher of the mind, a self that desires evil things, a tongue that is bitter, insolent, empty, a height in which there is nothing, an opponent of all rectitude.

The person who ascends by the ladders of stumbling. The body that is composed of the limbs of divisions. The one who is opposed to every desire. The head over every action. The one who seeks out those who do not look upon him. He brings good things. He is swift to the course of evil things. The child of error. The daughter of idleness. The enemy of vigilance. The helper of prayer. The companion of the prepared table. He anoints with perfumes. He looks upon the openings. The right hand of the slanderer. The left arm of the enemy. These and those like these are found in the disciple who is empty, and the wealth from his skills is these things that have been spoken. And what is it that is like this? That he should be stripped of every proper conduct, so that by his simplicity his evil may be struck down. For the prophet curses those who are children in good things and wise in evil things. Ephrem became for us like a dove, a child without a heart. He came to Egypt and went to Assyria. And on the path of repentance he did not walk with me. For the prophet condemns such childishness, because it is not simplicity but foolishness. Now then, also the wickedness of their childishness from good things: instead of one savior, they chose other helpers for themselves. And they left the path that leads to God, and ran after the Egyptians and Assyrians who came to their aid.

And when they had tried many times, they were unable to free their eyes from the evils in which they stood, they did not learn from the help of the servants, that they should run to the house of the mercy of God. And they placed their eyes on the days. That their later fruits were taken, and the child of their entrails was made a servant to the later ones. And they thought that without a heart, they could not approach the distinction by which they would come near to God. Again, he also completed them in his word, to him who follows his desire like a child who is empty, and from the knowledge of the one who offers, with his senses, he was hidden. He himself went after her like a child. And like an ox that goes to the slaughterer. And like a dog to the chain. And like one who casts a spark into his liver. For this childhood is worthy of condemnation. Because it was not for the sake of good things, but served evil things. And it is not fitting that it be called by the word of purity, childhood, even though Scripture here names it. In opposition to the sense that was set for it. But it is folly and loss of being. And not distinction. And the destruction of the faculty. For it is not about this simplicity that our word is concerned, that a person without knowledge should throw himself into every danger, and be caught by the teaching of every doctrine. For from this also the apostle of God warns us. Do not be children who are shaken and swayed by every wind, by weak teachings that are in the mouth of a person.

Behold, from the word of the Apostle, this simple intention was called simplicity. For it is directed to all sounds and teachings, and it changes its stability with base behaviors and vile lives. But to that simplicity whose entire thought is in goods, the word of the discourse also hastens upon it. It remained, therefore, in the simplicity of all believers, and saw the childhood of the minds of the disciples of Christ. For when they do not cease in the weariness of the heresies of their errors, and do not know the bitterness of their evil teaching, they are careful not to participate in it. And they hold fast to the truth without change, because of their wise simplicity. And because of the firmness of the fear of God in their simplicity. And when they do not know the thought of teachings, they cease in the thoughts of their own teaching. And like the childhood of one great one who knows alone. And his own fear rules over him: and he trembles at his command and is terrified only by his rod, but for other great ones, even if they do not exist, he does not cease. Thus also the believing child, the fear of the greatness of Christ alone rules over his life, and other teachers of teachings are of no account to him. And he is not persuaded that he needs another scribe. And he does not listen to a teacher other than one. And he does not tremble and is not terrified by the fear of those whose greatness he does not perceive. But in the likeness of a pure child, he is careful of his fear in one teacher. And in one scribe.

If another teacher wishes to impart another teaching, beyond that which he holds, he does not accept it. For his simplicity is the simplicity of the righteous, and not the deceptive corruptions of thoughts. He runs and confesses like the disciples of Christ in the path which he showed us, and walks in the way which he taught us. And he honors with his eyes the discovery of simplicity. And let them be simple children, to receive the beautiful teaching. And let them be armed like serpents against the enemy who spreads himself for the sake of righteousness. And let him remember at all times that which was spoken from Christ our Lord to all the disciples in his word: that everyone who does not receive the kingdom of God as a child will not enter it. For by his grace all will be worthy of it, and inheritances with all the saints will be: through the mercies of Christ God himself, to whom is glory for eternal worlds. Amen. End of the second discourse on simplicity.