On the Confessors

On the Confessors — Narsai The Eve of the Confessors A Memra of Twenty-Four The Eve of the Confessors A Response Thanks be to the power that empowered his martyrs, and they triumphed and conquered by the power of his love, my brothers. The sound of victory on the wood heard the dead, and they stood in hope to receive the prize spiritually. One from the race of sinners conquered by the cross, and the guilty stood at the sound of his victory and put on arms. In soul and body Adam of two took victory, and in the limbs of his race by the senses of the body and the movements of the soul. That daughter of a voice that cried out in the earth heard the earth-dwellers, that they should arise and be encouraged: "Lo, I alone have conquered by the cross." There was no hope of the name of victory for the corporeal, and the heart became the sound of confession of one who triumphed. Death was not able to cut short the pains, and when it saw the body suspended on the wood, it cried out in lamentation. The weak body was not able to sustain life, and when it was cast down, a corporeal one became, and it strengthened its senses. The earth-dwellers did not know how to ascend to the height, and one earth-dweller opened a path before their eyes. They were not fit to receive the prize by the senses of the body, and it was shown by the violence of abstinence from food. They were not wise enough to tread on silver under their feet, and one taught when he was stripped and trampled on the earth.

The fire was hidden and concealed, the coals of the love of glory, and its servant ran a little and searched out all of it. In the earthly regions the body was hidden, and the movements of the soul, and there was no radiance of spiritual things among the earthly ones. They were contending in the stadium of athletics, and there was none to give the crown of victory for their labors. It descended always to take the prize in the contests, and when they contended, they saw in the arena, and the recompense remained. But when the guilt of the race of man grew heavy, and the evil demons laughed and mocked at their sufferings. The sinner grieved when he saw his image being mocked, and his mind was stirred by the spirit to feel the pains of the flesh. By the power of the spirit he strengthened his image like a victor, who by the power of the spirit goes out and conquers the spiritual ones. He sealed him in all the bodily contests, so that by his sealing the body might strive toward victory. In him, like a sign, he taught the way to the crowns, that they might live toward the seal of the kingdom of heaven. Like a spectacle, he set his victory for the Augusti, that they might be likened to him in movements and sensations toward the end. In his sufferings they learned to take the prize with the seals, and by his fury they burned and scattered the sparks.

He showed how his body was pierced with goads from the torturers, and they gave their bodies to all the torments in his likeness. In his death they received the good hope of the life of the dead, and they sought life and loved death which was with him. At the time of his death they were reminded, when they suffered, that he left his mark and dismissed his father concerning forgiveness. That daughter of the voice was purified which cried out in the wood of the father of mercies: "Leave the foolish one to ignorance." In him they were amazed when they suffered in the pains of the contest, and they exchanged the life of the full contest for a worthless end. They crucified their bodily bodies on the stakes, and earthly ones became dead bodies before their eyes. They died to creation while living in it as if without life, and that creation considered them as if not alive. They walked on earth in the secret of spiritual conduct, and by their labors they sealed the covenant that cannot be destroyed. In the pains of the contest they purchased the kingdom that has no end, and with the simple ones they acquired the height of the grade above. They descended to the arena and held the rank with the righteous, and they clothed the spirit in the visible members. The hand clothed the spirit, not the body, and it sinned and was troubled a little before the weighty one. O wretched one who is destroyed, who sins every day, who is defeated and conquered in the battles that conquer every day.

Oh, the living one whose dust testifies to his martyrdom, that he conquered the spirit of his name proclaims his swiftness. He saw the rebel Adam of two minds and conquered, and he cried out and lamented over the victory that is not customary. He saw the hosts being persecuted from the name of Jesus, and he seized the cry of how the body pursues the spirit. He heard the judges being judged with a perceptible voice, and he trembled and was confounded that the insensible ones fled from the voice. In the midst of the conflicts, the wanton one stood over the hundred that were, while it was thought to be a dream or perhaps illusions. For he supposed in his stubbornness that he was not to be humbled, and again he would see the deaths that are not to be escaped. But when he learned through the deeds for the salvation of humanity, he fell from his height and began to compose wondrous interpretations. He cast off the armor of stubbornness that he had been offering, and for the captivity he armed and deepened one against the other. He struck the world that was with himself, he offered and was guilty, and it became for him like a spectator of battles. He compelled the sons of the earth to go to the furnace, and he stood there rejoicing while one of his companions was being condemned. For the slain one of death, he clothed his armor, and began to mock his own perishable stature. He spread a covering and set out to go from the lamentation, so that it might not be known whether humanity strikes humanity.

Clothe the spirit of the victory of his confession with the garment of glory, and make a sign like the letters of the true ones. Give to drink the tincture of the mixture of his bitterness, and water the branches like a sprinkling. Cast the seal of the name of God upon their thoughts, and make the sign of the lock of the error of those who begot him. The Lord of his secret heard the voice of the name of the Creator, the evil request of the names of the gods that he had sought. He saw that one confession of one God was proclaimed, and the works of the servants of falsehood that aided them. He saw the weak one resting in the bosom against the pains, who began to cast by means of violences above the pains. Laughter seized him that as the body hastens to death, he turned and sought his destroyer to approach his side. Among the tombs he was cast and crushed while being reckoned, that because of what do the lovers of life hasten to life? Why do the earthly ones resemble the earthly ones, and upon what do they rejoice over the wounds that are not customary? Why do the earthly ones trample upon the desire of the flesh, and upon what do they exult in their joys like the abundant? Why is the nature of the prisoner in the branches changed, and his very self in the conduct of the life that remembers him? This was not, or was heard among the dead, that death would help life and love death.

There is no hope for the race of the sons of Adam other than this: the dwelling that is filled with sacrifice, and the life of sacrifice. They did not thirst for the sign of humanity for human natures, as if there were no sign, nor were they troubled among the sons of the living for the service of the earth. They never cultivated earthly things for the service of the spirit, nor did they give perishable fruits to those who do not perceive. They did not tread the path of the faces of earthly height, nor did the heavy body run with the spirits on branches. The earth is their mother, and on earth they were born, over the living, and in the likeness of children they suckle the milk of earthly things. They are deficient in much of the spiritual contest, and they are unable to receive the perfect food of the word of life. It is a new thing that came to be from the time they ceased on earth for the sons of earth, that they thirsted for the earth and for the brotherhood of earthly things. Through these sufferings the sign of humanity was being extinguished, which saw the humanity that began to kindle the fire of sufferings. It saw the loss that the signs of humanity were for its love, and it gathered the mountain of its evil nature that would destroy it. It saw that the earthly ones were armed against its power, and it also changed the weapon that humanity would receive. Through the contests the head of the air armed itself, which saw the simple ones who learned to set snares against its tricks. For them it armed one against one for the sons of earth, and it justified itself through the free one, one of its companions.

He divided the race of the sons of Adam, the rebel, and from him he kindled a fire for the side of his powers. He called the simple ones a devourer of their own kind, and he sent them like spies to their companions. He taught them the tricks of the craft of small foxes, and he made them accustomed, in the thought of evil, to bring forth evil. He stripped and laid bare the base nature over his members, and he began to corrupt his own substance without shame. They set an earthly contest against the flesh, and the base nature took up dust along with its sign. The rebel stood and sought his sides from his left, and the power of concealment and sought truth from his right. The spectators were amazed at how the lofty powers of the height were brought low, that they might see a man contending with demons. Demons and a man took up a contest with sensations and movements: those perceptible through sensations of the body, and demons through movements. The spirit clothed the hand of flesh with the movements that were in them, and through the members that are visible they completed their impulses. They laid a hand, not feeling, upon feelings, and they corrupted the body, a wonder beyond reckoning. In a wonder of flesh, the hand of the adversary was cut off, and pain did not approach the movements within from the members. To the sensations of the body that are visible, O rebel, the edge of the sword did not reach the whole of the mind.

He pressed the fiery stone of the deposit of the life-giving waters against the ribs, and the members concealed the movements for the wealth of the spirit in the hollows of the palm. By means of the revelations, the insolent one of lack and victory prepared, and he was not ashamed by the power of the covering that is within the soul. Even the body, slack, hid the limbs in the bosom, but the soul was not purified from its ribs. In the slack body, the arrow of his wrath fixed a seal, and received a sign, a mark in the lock of the spirit. The visible limbs were swallowed up in the fullness of the offering, and the movements, not painful, endured without disturbance. The body did not fall, nor was it prostrated in that which was shattered, for when it was painful, it bent the natural to outside the order. For it was a wonder by means of his violence against the pains, and it was good and strong when it was severed without loss. O the painful one, whose nature testifies concerning his suffering, that his nature erred and was like in power to the painless ones. O the living one, the scattered gardens of vinegar, which draws him to the spiritual sign. O the mortal one, who is wholly formed in mortality, who changes his course to the rider of the remembrance of his name. O the earth, the slack body formed in the earth, which ceased from the pearl-like, firm beauty. O the trembling one, the natural ear, which was pressed to the breaking, and pains struck it like an adamant, and it was not broken.

The fiery stone that was not placed in the foundation of truth was at the head of the foundation of the king's temple. The flood of his ribs, the waters of the pains of torment, he pressed, and it became the seal that receives the pains. He loosened the thought of the powers of his soul like a hero, and sought to trample upon the saint who trod upon his own footsteps. He taught his heavy body the subtleties of the contest, and strengthened his force to take up the contest with the spirits. He showed the deaf one the life to bear his lifetime, and brought him the promise of life without end. He awakened him from his baptism for the one sleeping in power, and prepared the way to the height for the lover of the depth. When did the bodily ones love the bodily ones for the spiritual ones, and where did the earthly ones resemble the heavenly ones? He revealed to the poor one hope for the reward, and examined the renewal of body and soul. He gave a sign in him of the one who cast into him the fire of his love, and taught him in secret to take up the contest with the groans. By the power of concealment he strengthened his soul toward the contest, and through it he was made mighty, and he cut off and trampled upon his own tormentor. By the spirit of revelation he sought a request to bear his lifetime, and through it he became wise to exchange life for life. Life for life they understood and weighed like merchants, and the palm of life that sprouts from eternity passed away.

The violence of life that raged in the kingdom of heaven did not prevail, and the labors did not ascend to the reward of the future things. The pains of body and soul were small compared to the torments, and fire and sword are not understood in the full glory. The body could not suffice in its sacrifice for the gate, nor the soul by its violence for the cause of peace. She considered the gift of the cause of peace as a favor, and they did not boast that through labors they received victory. For that daughter of the voice, the servants of the king were purified, that what you did, all the commanded ones would not be hindered. For that herald, making the peoples hear, was reminded that the pains of sacrifice are not equal to the gentle blessings. By the labors of his soul, they were made ready, as they were praised, and by his words they were amazed, as they were filled with venom. I fear, O father, that the seed of the word of life might not be, lest the father of my standing be disturbed for the treasure of life. And if the one who fills his chosen with venom, the spirit, was filled, he boasted that for his labors he would be equal to the good. If the athlete of righteousness humbles himself, he shows the beauty of his labors before the beholders. The evil of his words was revealed, and the athletes who considered pain small compared to the reward were revealed.

And because of this, in the endurance of the body, they bore pains that were more bitter than the coals of fire, many times over their labors. They laughed at swords and trampled on saws, and they trod upon fire and triumphed and rejoiced in the victory of the evil one and death. They broke the sword with the hard point of their minds, and they cut off the sinews of the limbs with the violence of the soul. They conquered fire with the fervor of the love within them, and its might was quenched and extinguished from their coals. O devourer that destroys bodies, which is worse than bodies! O consumer that became food for the consumed! O bodies burning every hour in the furnaces, who silenced the power of the flame with their violence! To fire with fire of their minds they added torments, and the tremors within them were not disturbed by the burning. In them was fulfilled and completed by the deeds that which is written: that if one would pass through sea and fire, you are with him. Over fire and water they ascended and were saved from the persecutors, and fire grew cold and water dried up, and they stood in the air. O ashes that the flame consumed, and they became vessels of the treasure of life that cannot be plundered. O living one that every hour is cast into the waters of pains, who passed through pains within his members in the likeness of fire. A vessel that is cast into the midst of a perishable dwelling, he immersed himself in the flame and was not disturbed.

They made the furnace of coals into a garment for their bodily limbs, for this body is destructible like all bodies, and the soul within it is not destroyed by fire. Even the bodies of the confessors were a destructible body, and the soul within them, which was of the wicked, was not destroyed. They made the furnace of the body into a great sea of pains, and the body was beautiful and the soul shone with the voice of renewal. The dead in the earth who speak heard the voice of renewal, and they covered the body that was consumed in pains so that it might be renewed again. They saw the weakness of their limbs, small and frail, and they hastened to cover it with the goodness of their minds. They covered it, not because of the bitterness of their persecutors, which would have been easy for them to drive away pains from their bodies. Through the filth of the destructible body it was sought, and they brought its beauty into the furnace of pains that consumed its comeliness. It was not the bitterness of the wood that hindered the freedom of their minds, for they drove it away like reapers of this harvest. In a strong wind they saw their bodies that were tossed about, and they cast aside the body of the fragile clay and stood firm in spirit. Like wise men they drove and were divided on two sides, that the death that is full of sacrifice might blossom and not fade forever. They were in distress over the movements of the soul and the sensations of the body, of what kind the pain was, whether light or severe.

body, but the soul within them is a living thing that cannot be burned. They said to the senses of the body, "This is a simple tremor, the pains of the furnace or an endless departure." From the power of the soul, it was said to the furnace of her dwelling, from the murderer of one man or of both. And already the meaning of that word read the thought, that they should not be frightened by the murderer who kills the body. They feared, indeed, more, and they were arrayed like executioners, from what can the soul and the body cast into the fire. In that endless departure they were being consumed, and in that knowledge of the one who enters into his thought, the tremors of the soul. The word of God is living; they all read and meditated, and his knowledge is sharper than the sword of two mouths. On the tablet of their heart they wrote the clear books of the spirit, and spiritually they meditated on the mysteries. When the sinews were afflicted and the eyes saw and the limbs trembled, they read thoughts in the future and sought to go. When again the sword of power flashed above the body, they placed the thought of the salvation of life like a crown. When the flame was kindled in the coals of wrath, coolness descended like dew upon the limbs. On the road to Babylon the confessors ran in their thoughts, and there they saw the mountain of shame and the body of the victor. In that they saw the daughter of the furnace, how she ascended, and where the hidden sign leaps to the height of her flame.

was strong, very strong, when it spread out upon the logs of wrath. And it flowed and was extinguished, and the end of its flame was purified. That command was very powerful which gave it fuel, and it weakened and relaxed the power of its action beyond measure. The destructive nature of every word that is corruptible: it lost its bitterness and the power of its strength was broken. The mouth of the furnace, which is insatiable of anything from the depth, they cast a log and it did not open its mouth against its fuel. To that which was kindled by the Babylonians with arrogance, the righteous ones cried out as a spectacle before their eyes. There they stood and also were baptized in the eyes of the heart, when the peoples gathered to see the destruction of the fire. To that end of that action they completed and finished, when the fire was kindled with the fire of fortitude. And already now they also returned and saw their executioners, that they were not ashamed to let out a spirit over their suffering. That command which commands the mouth of the flame: it will deliver you from the abandonment of your afflictions. To that fullness which cannot be deceived, listen and take heart, that whoever endures until the end will live forever. The hope of life was established in their afflictions, and they were not scattered when they were suffering from the deniers. A vision of wonder was shown before their eyes, and the warmth of love was kindled by love.

By the love of divine love, which was rooted, the love of the love that is placed in the vessel of mortality. O will, the pure freedom of the separator, who bound his knot to the imprisonment that the Creator placed. O vessel that bound all in the life of sacrifice, whose portion is the love of the love of immortal life. O one who stretched his nature to death in place of his folly, and began to interpret in the sufferings of the body the cancellation of debts. O one who offered the accuser the food of the fruit, who called out sparks by the violence of the tribunals. With all and in all they made contests in the arenas, and over every one they condemned and for every one they convicted and they cried out and they conquered. In the sufferings of the body and the tremors of the soul they took victory, and they proclaimed and glorified the tribunals of body and soul. They conquered the vigilant nature of the two by means of loss, and to him, the vessel, they cast him and they passed beyond his afflictions. To the desire of the body, the will to rule by force, they cut off its flow from the members that would not be stirred. To the love of money, the mother of all evils, they placed it in a tomb so that it would no longer give fruits to death. To the love of glory, they confined it in the bosoms of humility, and they held before its face the doors of the love that is to be embraced. A sealed seal that rolled and condemned over all the suffering, they humbled the violence of its strength by the word of peace.

To the wrath which is the wild beast of the outer man that cannot be tamed, they bound its limbs with gentleness like a chain. By the lion's pride which roars in the den to break the trap, they brought his captivity into the house of humility. The evil inclination they cut off and uprooted from its roots, so that it might not again change and produce fruits of bitterness. They lowered the height of the steps of movements and sensations, and they subjugated and placed them under the will that loves truth. By the armor of the spirit they cut off all the powers within and without, which the will of the self offered in it as its own. The will of the self cried out as its own, and the victory of power was reckoned to it as its own. It was not its own that it conquered the pains fixed in it, but the power that gave it power to cut off its pains. The fire of love gathered the spirit within the mind, and kindled and burned the thick forest of steps. By the contemplation of immortal life they sharpened the points, and the love of going to accomplish the will of the self dripped. With hidden movements it licked and reclined on the height above, and saw in the air that sign which is indestructible. On the wings of the spirit they flew over the earth and ascended to heaven, and there they heard the voice of praise that is unspeakable. By the company of Paul, the chosen mouth, they pursued the persecuted and led them to the place where they are praised spiritually.

The sign of his election he brought near by means of the will, to hear the voice that is unspoken in the tongue of the flesh. With him they ascended to the height of the summit in a hidden air, and they concealed the beauty of their victories in the slumber that is his. The evil one, the adversary of those who conquered, they silenced at all times, and they curbed him greatly by the violence of their thoughts. The death of Abel was always set before their eyes, and in his murder they were being examined as they were being martyred. At the voice of his blood their thoughts were being stirred up, as it cried out to the one who sees all, against his murderer. The great nearness made the silent one act with the wanton one, and gave the sign of entering; they called him before the judge. The nearness of blood saw the judge, and he erred and was troubled, and he passed judgment against the murderer according to his folly. For the seven severe cords he stretched out to shed blood, that in the cutting of his judgment he might prolong the pain from the side of the slaying. Rejoicing, the confessors gave their bodies freely, and they did not seek the cry of their torments from the tormentors. By the blood that cried out like a speaker they were being examined, and easily they poured out their blood that the voice might be stilled. By the severe cords that are stretched over the wanton ones, they were being adorned, the entrance of death from the murderers who condemned them.

They did not feel the persecutors who were upon them, as if they were treading underfoot that affliction which is the cause of life. They did not grieve over the injury of their members, for at every moment the dissolution of the body was set before their eyes. They did not sorrow over the separation of body and soul, when they saw that they were exchanging death for life. O mind, how it raged and raved against the flesh, that it might be silent and still concerning the separation of the two sides! O freedom, how it despised imprisonment in its rebellion, and considered the bond placed upon the flesh as if it were not! O endurance, how the soul wrought with itself, and overcame and conquered the tyranny of harsh torments! It seized the contest with the torments, and the torments with it gave a hand; it with the torments gave strength to freedom. The strength of freedom of choice prevailed in the contests, to which a hidden sign was given that restrains all. By the armor of the spirit, freedom conquered nature and its passions, like a mighty champion purified in the power of the kingdom. By the power of this armor, the bodily ones were armed together with the spiritual ones, and the bodily ones in measure and openly. Through the bonds they received the proof of the power of his help, that whoever offers in it takes victory and inherits and rules.

In a hidden contest of endurance they were tested, with that garment of his flesh offering sacrifice alongside the righteous one. The suffering of Job was set before their eyes at every moment, and they compared themselves to his patience, striving toward victory. Like a bride they fixed their gaze to see in the contest how the bodily offers sacrifice with the spiritual. Openly and in secret they were tested, as if in the open, when they saw that the flesh conquers and the spirit sins. With the voice of victory of the flesh, the foolish were encouraged to take up the contest with the righteous one in the senses of the flesh. That voice which Job cried out to his wife they repeated to the slanderer, a vain hope. Like a fool, Job considered the wound of his affliction as a gift that gave his fame in the name of the one who rejoiced in it. The fool raged in the trembling of his limbs with the foolish woman, and uprooted the tree of knowledge from the forest of his affliction. "Go away, evil one, with the righteous one!" the victors cried: "Go, be foolish with the foolish women, as is your custom! Do not lead yourself to humility by your affliction, O fool, and do not let evil seed be received within your thoughts. Go, be joined with the bodily ones against yourself, for without the flesh your strength is weak before the bride. Go, gather your nets, your traps, your snares, which from the beginning you have offered with our humanity.

In the contest of his flesh he held the contest with the head of the race, and as with a sword he slew Adam through his members. With the bow of Eve he shot also at Job the arrows of his limbs, and Job received the reward of the victory of faith. In Joseph he cast the heavy chains of the passion of the flesh, and Job cut through them with the lightness of his pure movements. And because you learned through trial to conquer in the contest, behold, with them in your own you wish to contend. Victorious is your way, and in the habit of a man you bring a man, and without a man you do not offer a man with a human being. In the youth of a man you complete the formation of your bitterness, and in it you make the limbs taste the inheritance of death. Come with the fleshly force that contends with you, and hold the contest with the fleshly ones through your members. Enter, break the covering of your soul's secret with revealed flesh, and complete your formation among the fleshly ones toward the pure ones. Do not fear your torments, however harsh they may be, and do not flee from the sound of the bow of your victory. To you your contest yields if it does not conquer you, and it does not give you a place to disturb the orders of truth. They do not cease from the struggle as long as it is day, until the evening of the contest comes and gives rest to your bodies. If you wish to learn the sign of your endurance, complete your will in death over them and see the deeds.

If you hope that your strength will be preserved through sufferings, present your sinews and take up the fire and brandish the sword. For neither height nor depth was considered by you as anything, nor could the powers of the heavens overcome you. Nor would another creation, if it were to contend with you, relax the love of your self from that which is outside. O athletes of righteousness, how they became strong, that they conquered on earth and began to kindle fires against heaven. They bound the horn and humbled his power through their sufferings, and they rejoiced and laughed even at death, which is fearful to all. They spent their lives and shot arrows at earthly things, and they united body and soul together for the sake of the height of glory. They saw that unceasing feast secretly, and they captured the air through victory, as if with bridles. Their minds were always filled with desire and love, as they remembered the one for whom they had endured the sufferings of his own self. In him they looked when he went out from the feast, and in his absence they were afflicted with bitter lamentation. They remembered that consolation of the promises, and they did not cease to anoint themselves with the oil of mercy. And when the great wealth of sufferings which they had heaped up on earth became abundant, they feared lest the flame of suffering be diminished.

In the contests of the air, they were being burned in the writings, and they were being led to the gate of the firmament of truth. For they thought that toil would be abolished without love, and that no one could enter the height except with it. The word of Paul made them understand this, that toil is abolished without the glories. If the greatness of the great is spread out on the earth, how do the small toils ascend to the height above? If the gift of the confessors considers suffering, how does it tremble before the trial of the fire of the just? Faith despised the mountains, and nothing was lacking to it, and how did it consider that which is something as something lesser? If the sufferings with the righteous deeds were greater, how could the greatness of love be overcome? To find love, the righteous ran with the movements of the soul, and in it, like a foundation, they placed the foundations of their victory. They saw all the goods that are incomprehensible with its greatness, and they rejected everything and loved love more than everything. Through their sufferings, they stood in the greatness of the unassailable, and they did not seek with it another help in their distress. It was fitting for them to have mercy on love for the heirs of love, and also for love to help the seekers of its mysteries. Its lovers were many and were not separated from its service; they loved and helped above strength.

They were trembling from it and did not remain from it by means of their deeds. They went to the waters of life without end. For them was victory with a reward that cannot be taken away, for they sought life and loved hope that cannot be deceived. For them was praise from every mouth like a victor, and for them was a body without blood in their own evil. To the lowly heirs they left the courses from their sufferings, and they scattered to the earthly contests. To the hidden ones they gave the wealth from their labors, and they did not spread in it the poverty of the life of man. The weak sons took the inheritance of spiritual things, and they sold it for a price and did not take spiritual values. They were not truly heirs to the wealth of the spirit, and deceitfully they loved and cherished truth with arrogance. Because of the love of earthly things they turned away from truth, and because of the dignity of preeminence they put on a form. With the love of glory they desired and sought honors for the afflicted, and they made a going to the house of commerce for the love of money. Traps of money they set in the house of holiness, the ministers of holiness, that the hunt for money might fall, a known thing for the love of money. For money they spread over the physicians of money, a consumed thing, that everyone might see the beauty of money and bring money. With the love of money they dried up bones in the outer senses, and with a glance they kissed money without satiety.

In the love of money they burned bones with external sensations, and in the gaze they extinguished money without satiety. They set up the bones of the dead as a harsh voice to pursue money from humanity in the house of visions. The pursuers of money who cut the webs of the spread of money made the love of money a hunt for money. By the power of bones they desired to swallow much greed, and in its confusion they gave authority to pursue demons. Not in truth did they pursue, but in clamor, and from the voice of money the rebels fled, not from truth. The love of money made the workers of its vineyard hirelings, so that they would work for an evil wage as if for truth. The demon serves the love of money with the sensations of the body and ministers to it with services as to a lord. Come, O distinguisher, observe and be amazed distinguishably how the love of money flew on the wings of money. In the furnace of its toil it gathered together humanity and demons, and they did not suffice to fill its deficiency, height and depth. It conquered the poor and the laity with changes, and set up a ladder of greatness above every human. Even the athletes who cried out and conquered in the contest of truth were shamed by the love of money in the form of love for their bones. A hidden reward they sought for the bones of the ascetics, when in form and not in truth the love of money pursued them.

For the sake of money they increased and honored bones for money, and they pursued the wage of a foul schema as if it were true. They did not desire the curses of the priests for the sake of honoring, nor were they concerned with their hymns and their liturgy. No fragrance of the soul was needed for the adornment of their persons, nor for the humble ones the splendid light of the coals of sacrifice. In the love of self, they distinguished the priests for honoring, just as also they, in the movements of the soul, loved God. In secret they adorned themselves like Pharisees for the spectacle in secret, and that secret one honored them in secret and openly. Even the beginnings of their path in life toward the height gave that blessedness which, without seeing, believes in his name. It was fitting for us to strike the evil of his own with movements, and not to show beauty to your assemblies in the spectacle. It was not fitting that in the honor of the priests the honor of their persons be honored, nor was it right that the wage of their labor be pursued. They gave the gift vainly, that by which they became rich, and in that likeness it was necessary for us to serve them. The abundance of the belly caused and dissolved the house of the dead, and because of this David destroyed and obliterated the dwelling of man. The love of the den spread nets in the house of the earth-dwellers, and every man fell into the snares of thievery. Vain glory humbles itself in the name of sweetness, and it gave them to drink the poison of death to their enemies.

A foul shame has blinded the soul from knowledge, and the world grew dark, and the signs of the fire began in the furnace. Understanding departed from the mind of eloquence, and the movements of silence ceased from the cry. And even the help of the sign does not reach us; the thoughts of the flesh have failed and become deceitful. Come, O guilty ones, pay a small portion of the bond of your debts, lest the weight of your iniquity press down and sink you. Come, be clothed in the garments of the sorrowful like the weepers, that you may pass through in love and mercy before the Judge. Come, make for us friends here until our lives, that they may receive us in their coverings that are not rent. Come, trade spiritually with the virtuous, that it may be equal to the reward of the workers who bore the weight of the day. Guard your mind among those who sinned like the separated ones, that you may be companions to those who endured the cords in love. Lest you be sufficient to bear the pains of the body, feel a little in the movements of the soul for the members. For your strength is weak to endure before the incisions; call upon the stones that have counted your afflictions, that they may pass through you. Response: Blessed is the Lord of those who sleep, his servants; and he it is who increases their memorials.