Discourse 9

On Sins from Habit and from Evil Will, and on Their Remedies. There is a sin from weakness, and a person is forcibly overcome by it. And there is a sin from will. And there is one from ignorance. And there is one from an event that befalls him. And there is one from habit. And there is one from custom. And all these kinds and varieties of sins, even all of them, are bound under the authority of the mind, in a changeable manner, and there is smallness and abundance in the pursuit of them. And there is one that is difficultly received in its repentance, and its judgment is great. And there is one that is near to forgiveness. Even God, with respect to Adam and Eve and the serpent, even not one of them from the beginning received the recompense of his folly; a great change appears in the curse of the serpent, and in that of Eve, and in that of Adam. So also in these, according to the measure of the taking of the offense and the love that he has for the sin, so is the judgment of his knowledge determined. And if there is one who does not love to cleave to sin, yet from the negligence of righteousness he is drawn to it, from mere carelessness in this, and even if the mixture with it is difficult for him, his judgment is light. If, however, when he has taken this offense, he is pleased with the pleasures of it, his mercy is near to his error without distinction.

Another is when a person takes the veil of virtue upon his face and becomes weary in its works, and at night he comes in its nakedness, so that something is lacking from its obligations; and by day its weight is lost and rolls away; and his whole practice is of the habit of sin; and when he is in this state and like this, it is either from ignorance or from the narrowness of the obstacles that are in the path of virtue, and the waves of lust that rise up at every moment in his members, and the freedom of choice placed in him for election, the light scale of the balance tilts to the left, and he is swept away by the weakness of his flesh by one of the kinds of sins, while he is weak and distressed on its surface, and is troubled with pain over his standing, because of the sickness against the events that happen from time to time. And another is when a person is slack in the work of righteousness, or has completely abandoned the path, and like a servant runs with all obedience before all the suggestions of sin, and takes up a burden to find opportunities for its chain. And like a prepared servant, he hastens to do the will of his master, when his members are prepared as a weapon to strike with all obedience. And he does not even look to the possibility of approaching virtue and completing his path defectively.

Another is the matter of the laws and the falls that are placed on the path of virtues, and in the discipline of righteousness, according to the word of the fathers. On the path of virtues there are falls, there are stumblings, there is a snare, and the rest. And another thing is the death of the soul, and complete destruction, and total abandonment. And this is known: that when he falls, the love of his father does not cease. And when he grows old in the laws of all the righteous, his diligence is not hindered from his beautiful service. And from his running, he does not remain behind. And he does not cease to stand again in repentance before them; and in his justification, he does not become weary. And from the weariness of his petition, he does not cease every day to make a beginning for the foundation. And his word, which is in his mouth like a lamb, until the hour of his departure from this world, does not cease: "My enemy has not rejoiced over me, that I have fallen and again I stand; and that I sat in darkness, the Lord enlightens me." And he does not cease, until death, from presenting himself. And he does not give himself over to justification, as is the custom among his chosen ones. And when every day his ship is wrecked, and the rest of the time of his merchandise goes to the deep, he does not cease from adding and joining together planks, and sailing on hope. Until, when the Lord sees his diligence, he has compassion on his wreck, and inclines his mercy toward him.

and gives him powerful tremors to endure, and burning arrows of evil. This is the wisdom from God, and this sick one is wise. Cut off hope; practice does not stand still. For it teaches you that it is known through individual things, and not through complete abandonment. And the discerning good judge, when he warns you not to be deceived by the multitude of snares and the various kinds of battles that are on the path of righteousness, and to turn to your interior, and to give the victory of completion to your adversary through one of the instruments of evil, while he arranges for you as if by types, says: For if you have truly hastened to arrive tomorrow at excellence, and to attain the serenity of mind that is with God, and to experience those things that are visible to him, it is necessarily right for you to bear all the battles that are upon these faces, which from natural pains and from the additions of this world and the malice of demons are persistently prepared to be stirred up against you. While you are not shaken by your weakness, nor by the instability of the snare, nor do you fear from its persistence and the strength of the battle.

and does not withdraw from the camps of the enemies; and does not fall from the cutting off of hope, if it is kindled and stirred up in that place and errs; and blows and names, as in the battle of this whole great one, receive upon your faces. But you are not even removed from this because of your will. Rather, you are confirmed in the choice of your conduct, when you consider this beloved and glorious one: that when you are wounded by the blood of your blows, you will be seen in the battle, while you do not cease from the contest against the enemies to the end. These are the interpretations of the blessed interpreter. However, it is not that we ought to be disturbed because of these. Woe to the solitary one who deceives in his covenant, and with the pleasure of his thought gives a hand to Satan for the entry of evils upon him, both small and great, in the forms of sin. For again, he cannot find strength to stand before the gate that he himself opened before the enemies.

and in the might of the faces, he sees what is appointed for his companions, the rocks, with one another: these separate his way from going to the path of destruction, and the hope of the saints with God; and that prayer from a heart of rock ascends, and is raised up and passes even to the camps of the angels, and is not hindered until it enters before the greatness of God, holding keys in its hands and not hindered, until it receives its request, and returns to the mouth that sent it with joy. And that which is difficult among all: as he separates his way from them here, Christ separates him from them on that day, when the bright clouds bear burdens on their shoulders for the bodies that have been adorned in purity, and enter the great gate of heaven. For this reason: the wicked do not stand in judgment, because from the beginning, that is their doing. Nor sinners in the contest of the virtuous in the resurrection of judgment, nor the contemptible in the ranks of the saints.