Discourse 50

Again, the heads of the chapters which contain various thoughts: in them is shown the difference between the error of a foolish man in the person of the fear of God, and the help that comes from tranquility, along with other things. A man who errs never reaches the limit of thought; and he is cut off from the limit, and cut off from joy. For if the limit of thought is called complete health, then error is the opposite of the limit. Therefore, it is a great sickness, the sick one, that which is moved by error. O man, as long as you are disturbed by the sickness of others, your error is shown to be moved; you, however, have driven away health from yourself. Concerning the healing of your constitution, you should be more concerned with following it. If, then, you wish to heal the sick, know that those who are sick are more in need of the foundation than of the garment. For when you do not help others, you harm your own constitution with a great sickness. Error does not come from the senses of wisdom through the eyes, but from one of the sicknesses of the soul, which is the narrowness of thought, and not from abundant knowledge. The head of divine wisdom is humility, which is acquired from the greatness of the soul, and the blindness of the weak in the eyes. You, then, O strong ones, take up the burden of the sick.

and he is established for passing over: with a humble spirit. From the fruits of the spirit of holiness, the apostle brings to tranquility and patience. A heart filled with grief over the face of his insufficiency towards the revelation of the labors of the body: it is the sum of all bodily labors. The labors of the body: apart from the grief of the mind, like a body without a soul. He who feels in his heart and dwells in his senses, like a sick man who is afflicted in his body, and his mouth refrains from foods that cause harm. He who feels in his heart and dwells in his senses, like a man who has an only son and hides him in his arms little by little. The feeling of the mind: it is a precious gift from God. And she who has lost it along with her righteousness, like a man who has lost holiness over his limbs. A man who allows his tongue to rule over every good and evil: he is not worthy of this grace. Repentance and vigil: a pure fast. A gift and blows: a hidden thorn in honey. Asceticism and vigil with a woman: like a lion and a lamb in one house. Labors and excommunication before God: like a man who hides a son from his father. He who is pure in himself and corrects his companions: like a man whose eyes are blind and he shows the way.

compassion and justice in one soul: like a man who worships God and the idols in one house. In all your compassion: it is the enemy of justice. Justice is: the rightness of a balanced scale, which gives to each person as is fitting, without inclining toward one of the two sides to receive its recompense in the face. Compassion, however: is a pain that is moved from goodness, toward every creature for consolation. And to one who is worthy of evil, it does not repay. And to one who is worthy of good, it bestows with open hands. If this is from the side of righteousness, then that is from the side of wickedness. Just as fire and water cannot dwell together in one house, so justice and compassion cannot be in one soul. Just as a small piece of salt cannot balance against a great weight of gold, so the worth of God's justice cannot balance against the weight of his compassion. Just as a grain of salt that falls into the great sea, so the sins of all flesh are overwhelmed by the weight of God's thought. Just as a rich spring of streams is not exhausted by filling a handful of dust, so the compassion of the doer is not diminished by the wickedness of the deeds. Just as a man who sows in the sea and expects to harvest, so is he who holds a grudge and prays.

as the sparks of fire are not overcome by the ascent upward, so the prayers of the compassionate one are not overcome by the ascent to heaven. As the flow of water in a low place, so is the power of anger when it finds an opening in our thought. He in whom bitterness is fixed in his heart is dead to the world. He who is dead to the world is dead to the passions. He is dead in his heart to his neighbors; Satan is dead to him. He who finds lack, with him finds the one who would be his first finder. There is humility from fear of God, and there is humility from love of God. There is one who is humbled from fear of him, and one who is humbled from his joy. And to the one who is bound, humility of the limbs with orderliness of the senses, and a heart that is broken at all times. But to this one, abundant outpouring and a heart that is tranquil and not disturbed. Love does not know shame. For this reason: it does not know that it has given measure and order to its limbs. Love naturally has its own indestructibility and the dissolution of its measure. Blessed is he who finds it, to the mother of all joys. The beloved of God is the adornment of the humble, like the adornment of the Seraphim. A chaste body is weighty before God, better than a pure sacrifice. Both of them, however, find the Trinity through the good things prepared in the soul. With your lovers, walk in measure.

when you do this, you will benefit both yourself and him. For like a ladder, by the economy of love the soul sends forth the commands of vigilance. From the body, beware: it is not always beneficial. In the silence of the heart, however, many virtues are hidden. From the belly, if you beware, it is not as if by choice. The internal battle is easy, from all sides. Do not believe, my brother, that inner thoughts are concealed except by the discipline of the body. To abandon habits is more than to abandon enemies. For habit is like a mountain that is difficult to move. Both stand by the measures of their power. Habit, if it follows once, is established in its time; another time, you may find it weak. And if this time does its will, a second time, stronger, you may find it coming against you. Over all your actions, let this remembrance remain with you. Good is the help that comes from vigilance, more than the help that comes from labors. To the lover of laughter and the lover of mockery, you shall not be a friend, for he will lead you to lax habits. With one whose conduct is settled, do not change your face. For if you follow him, beware. If he loves to rise, give him a hand, and until death, strive for his finding. If you are sick now, it is not for you nor for the end.

do not extend the tip of your shoot, nor its remainder. Before the one who is proud and sick in his senses, speak with caution. For when you speak, he will interpret your words in his heart according to what he loves. Even from the beautiful things that are yours, he will take an occasion to weigh them against others, and your words will be turned about within his thought to occasions of bitterness. With whomever begins to speak about his brothers before you, lower your face. When you do this, you will be found cautious before God and before him. If you give something to a needy person, let the joy of your countenance precede your gift, and words of pleasantness, and a heart that feels his frailty. But when you do this, you will overcome by your gift the delight of his mind, more than the need of the body. On the day that you open your mouth to speak about a human being, consider yourself dead before God, and all your labors vain. Even if it seems that you are prompted by zeal and by petition to speak, what compels you to hide a person's need and to weigh down his companion? On the day that you feel concern for a human being in any of the orders—whether for the good or for the wicked, in body or in thought—consider yourself a martyr on that day, as one who has drunk the cup of confession for Christ.

Remember Christ. Die for the wicked, as the word of Scripture says, not for the good. See how great is the zeal to think for the evil and to benefit sinners, even more than that for the righteous. The Apostle: as if it were fitting for the steward to remind of this. If you are found to be justified, then you yourself, within yourself, do not cease to seek another righteousness. In all your actions, let the asceticism of the body and the purity of the intention be foremost. Without them, all actions are vain before God. Every deed that you do without thought and without examination, know that your labor in it is vain, even if it appears beautiful. For God cuts off righteousness for the sake of the warmth of the heart, and not for the sake of the work of the form. A lamp in the sun: a righteous man without wisdom. Seed on a rock: the prayer of a sinner. A tree without fruit: a wicked man without mercy. A sword that is sharp: the humility of a haughty man. A hidden snare: the praise of a hypocrite. A foolish king: a blind guide. A broken heart: a dwelling with fools. A sweet spring: a company with the wise. A wise king: he is a wall of trust. A foolish friend: he is a treasure of loss. It is better to see among the weeping than to see a wise man who is attached to a fool.

It is better to dwell with beasts than to dwell with the prudent. It is better to be a dweller in a grave than to dwell with drunkards in the streets. Sit with the filthy and not with the proud. Be a companion to a murderer and not to a free man. Associate with a swine and not with a glutton. Better is the snout of a swine than the mouth of a glutton. Sit in the midst of lions and not in the midst of the rich. Be persecuted and not a persecutor. Be crucified and not a crucifier. Be oppressed and not an oppressor. Be afflicted and not an afflicter. Be a sufferer and not a tormentor. Take hold of goodness and not of bitterness. Bitterness is not a conduct of Christianity, nor is its remembrance inscribed in the teaching of Christ. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. For this is a sign of humility. With the sick, be sick. With sinners, mourn. Over the penitent, rejoice. Be a lover of all people, and be solitary in your thought. Participate in the suffering of all, but in your body be separate from all. Do not reproach anyone, and do not despise anyone, not even those who are very evil in their conduct. Stretch out your hand over the sinner, and cover him. If you are not able to take his transgressions upon yourself and receive the punishment in his place, then at least do not separate from him with contempt. Do not be angry for the sake of the belly. And do not be envious for the sake of honor.

and do not desire judgment. Know, my brother, that because of this you will enter within the door, as one who does not know the evil deeds of the wicked. For when you see everyone as good, you will attain purity through your intention. Be ashamed, and even a sinner will become a coverer and a persecutor, a judge and a confessor, and a seeker, in the measure that the seat of the cities is from the dwelling of the desert. If you are not peaceful in your heart, be peaceful in your tongue. If you are not able to be a coverer of your thoughts, be a coverer of your feelings. If you are not a subduer in your intention, be a subduer in your body. If you are not able to keep watch over your feet, keep watch over your sitting. If you are not sufficient for vigils, fast even in the evening. And if you are not sufficient for the evening fast, guard even against satiety. If you are not holy in your heart, be holy in your body. And if you are not a mourner in your heart, clothe yourself in mourning even on your face. If you are not able to be justified, speak like a sinner. If you are not a maker of peace, do not even be a disturber. If you are not able to be adorned, be in your intention like a lowly one. If you are not a victor, do not contend against the guilty.

do not stop up the mouth of anyone who speaks against his companion; guard your own face, that you may not be his partner. Know that if a spark goes out from you and kindles others, the souls of all who are burned by that spark will be demanded from your hands. And if you do not cast the spark, you are innocent of the one who casts it, and you are saved from his deed; you are not a partner in his sin. If you love humility, you will be silent; and if you are silent, you will be at peace; you will rejoice at all times. Seek understanding, not gold; wear sackcloth, not silk; desire silence, not a kingdom. There is no one who is both proud and humble; and whoever is not humble is not proud. There is no one who is both humble and silent; and whoever is not silent is not humble. There is no one who is silent and rejoices. For on all the paths that exist, the living run in this world; they cannot find silence until they approach the hope that is in God. The heart cannot be freed from cares and anxieties until it comes near to this place. And that hope silences them and pours joy into their hearts. And this is what that blessed mouth, full of holiness, said: Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Draw near to the hope of God, and keep away from many paths, and be freed from labors and from fear. The hope of God elevates the heart; the fear of Gehenna crushes it. The light of the mind gives birth to faith, and faith gives birth to the consolation of hope, and hope expands the heart. Faith is the revelation of the intellect. When the mind is darkened, faith is hidden, and fear prevails and cuts off our hope. Faith that comes from teaching does not free a person from despair and divisions, but rather that which is from the intellect that sees and is called the revelation of truth. As one who trusts in God like God, through the revelation of the intellect, fear does not approach the heart. When we are left in darkness and lose this intellect as though it were humbled, then fear comes upon us, so that we approach humility and repentance. The son of God bore the cross; sinners were encouraged to repentance. If the pattern of repentance turned away wrath from a king, do not now despise the truth of your thoughts. If for one who knew that it was not true, the pattern of humility turned away wrath from him, how much more for you, who in truth are conscious of your transgressions!

The pain of the mind ceases, instead of the burden of bodily labors, as the word of the Interpreter says. The hope of grace is that which mingles with God through the constant thought of him. What is the contemplation of him? A constant stillness in his trust, and pain at all times, and a constant humility of mind for the sake of those things which, because of the purity of the constant one, remain from perfection, and a constant shame upon their faces, so that the mind is lost in gentle movements and brings before itself the dwelling of humility as an offering in its prayer. And as much as it can, it lightens for itself the burden upon the body, according to its strength. This is the one who is lost in the constant remembrance of God, as the blessed Basil the Bishop said: "Prayer without stillness is not; it is that which the constant thought of God makes in the soul." For this is the dwelling of God, in which he dwells through the constant remembrance by which we remember him. This, then, is the humble mind of the heart in the preparation of its trusts. Evil thoughts not from will, from the beginning which was before them, come to be. Therefore, my brothers, as if for a provision alone, they wish to rest the body a little because of the service of God, as they were strengthened and then turned back to their service.

In the short days of rest, complete vigilance does not settle, and the whole soul gives itself to relaxation, like a man who is no longer appointed to perform his work. Those who in the time of silence are of the spirit, they are the ones who, from the freedom of will, are filled with compassion within themselves. And they see the garment of prayer in the holy place, which they have put on. But these are not the ones who, in the time of God in themselves, are not these who in the time of relaxation have called. These are the ones in the time of pure prayer, who, when they wish to approach and put us to shame, are the ones who in the time of the simplicity of their senses have become householders. Vigilance is a help to man, more than labors. And relaxation brings him to an end, more than rest. For from rest, domestic battles occur, which even wear down the man, and it is possible for him to begin again. As much as they let go of rest, and again turned to the place of the world, they were silenced and fled from it. Not so also anything that is born from relaxation, even relaxation itself is born from rests. For what is still in the place of his freedom, he is able again to snatch his habits to the order of his laws. In the place of his freedom he is still; in relaxation, however, he has departed from the place of freedom.

If a man is completely vigilant, his vigilance does not cast him from himself; he is not disturbed by a short rope, that without his will he should be compelled to follow after those who do not strike. And if the boundary of his freedom is completely relaxed, he is not troubled by events that befall him, so that he might be forced to stand against it, he is not able. Do not let go of the place of freedom by your senses, O man, lest you return to enter there again and not be able to find it. Rest is only for children. The beginning, however, is for the perfect and the elders. Those who were led by the rest of evil thoughts, yet by vigilance turned back and stood upon the height of good conduct. For those who by the trustworthiness of labors in vigilance were quieted, from the height of conduct they were cast down to the beginning of life. There are those who in the place of enemies were consumed, and in the time of the tempter died. And there are those who took the merchandise of life and took the profit for themselves. It is not what is established by force that is preserved, but what is maintained by it. The laws, however, even for the vigilant, there are events at times. The remainder, however, in them is death to the end. The pain you endure is for the transgressions that are committed in them violently. The place of pure labor is considered for you from the grace that has gone astray from life.

If a man is completely vigilant, his vigilance does not cast him from himself; he is not disturbed by a short rope, that without his will he should be compelled to follow after those who do not strike. And if the boundary of his vigilance is broken, he walks with God in a small measure. This, while he does not know the leap of the sudden assault that falls upon the head, nor does he perceive the time of his vigilance. Every man who has loosed his senses has loosed his heart. The service of the heart is the bond of the external members. If there is one who by discernment does this like the fathers before us, it is known from the other things that are seen in him: that he is not bound by bodily superfluities, nor does he love money, and he is completely freed from anger. But where these three are found in opposition, the love of bodily superfluities, whether small or great, and the levity of anger, and the defilement from the belly, even among the first saints it is evident that without the interior endurance, which is the beginning of his exterior, there is no exchange for the folly of the self of discernment. Otherwise, how is there simplicity over the bodily and tranquility not fixed? To the folly of discernment are joined: not the bondage of the will, and the simplicity of life, and the love of the living. If he opportunely suffers lacks for God, he is pure from within. If he does not strive for the sake of the blemishes that he has, truly he is a free man.

...ies of his honor are not set against him, and he is not disturbed by the encounter of those who do not submit to him. He is dead in truth to the life of the world. Good is the vigilance of discernment, more than the practices of every scheme that is disturbed by all the disturbances of the wicked. Do not be angry with the sinner. Cease. They condemn you. If it is because of God that you are disturbed, weep over him. Why are you angry with him? Are you angry at his sins? Pray for his standing, that in Christ he may be imitated, who was not angry with sinners, but prayed for them. Have you not seen how he wept over Jerusalem? For many are mocked by Satan. Why is the one who is mocked like the one who mocks him in his sin? Why are you angry with the sinner, or the wicked? Indeed, why is your righteousness not just like his? And where is your righteousness, that you have no debt? And if you have a debt, why do you not weep over him, but rather persecute him? From ignorance, men are disturbed who think they are righteous over the deeds of sinners. Be a herald of the grace of God, from that which, when you are not worthy, you distribute to yourself. And when you condemn many, by his sign you are not known. And by the small things that you show desire, great things are repaid to you.

Do not again call God “jealous,” for his jealousy is not known in your actions. Even David called him jealous and upright, but his Son taught us that he is good and gentle. He is gentle toward the wicked and the deniers. How then do you call God “jealous,” when you encounter that passage concerning the reward of workers? My friend, do not pervert me. I wish to come to this last one, like you. Or is your own evil mind that would say “good” to me? How do you dare call God “jealous” when you meet that passage concerning the Prodigal Son? For when his property was squandered in dissipation, by vows alone did he live; he ran and fell upon his neck, and made him master over all his property. No other person says because of it that he was divided over his goodness. His own Son testifies concerning him these things. Where is jealousy in God, that when sinners existed, Christ died for them? Know here that he is compassionate; we believe that he admits no change. Hush, lest this blasphemy be heard, that there is a time when God is not compassionate. The attributes of God are not changeable like those of mortals. And there is no time when something stands, and afterwards stands, or from what stands is diminished or increased, like created things.

But those things which belong to God are eternal, and without end are with him, as the blessed interpreter also said in the interpretation of creation. Fear his love, and not the name of severity that is placed upon him. Love them, for we are guilty of loving him. Not because of those things which he is about to give, but also in return for those things which we have received. Even if he made this world alone for our sakes, who can repay his grace? Where are his recompenses in our actions? Who appeased him before he brought us into being? And who appeases him on our behalf, when we are without remembrance as if we had not been? Who turned our corruption toward life? And from where again does the tremor of knowledge fall within the dust? O the wonder of the compassion of God! O the marvel of the goodness of our Creator! O the power of the sufficiency of the All! O the immeasurable sweetness over our nature, even for sinners he brings again into being! Who is sufficient for his praises? He who acted wickedly and blasphemed against him, he raises up the dust without motion: a glorious and rational and speaking constitution. And the scattering of the dust, insensible and with scattered sensations, a speaking nature and of slight movements. Even if the sinner is not sufficient for his consolation, his grace is sufficient for being revealed. Where is Gehenna that can afflict us?

And what is this terror that overcomes the fear of him, to conquer the joy of his love? And what is Gehenna compared to the grace of the resurrection? For from Sheol it warms us, and makes this perishable thing put on the imperishable. And to this one, old in the hair of Sheol, it raises up in glory? Or the Pharisees: Come, be amazed! What wise mind does he have for wonder? Come, marvel at the grace of our Creator! The punishment of sinners is this: that instead of the punishment of sorrow, the resurrection repays them. And instead of the bodies that trampled upon his laws, the glory of perfection clothes them. Great is this grace, after they have acted foolishly, more than that which, when they did not exist, brought them into being. Glory to your unsearchable grace! Now be silent, my words of your graces, and let no tremor remain in me, nor any resistance to your grace. With what mouths shall I confess you, good king, lover of my life? Glory to you in both worlds, for you created our upbringing and our delight. From all that you brought into being to know your praise, even now and at all times and forever and ever. Amen.