Constitutiones asceticae

OF OUR FATHER AMONG THE SAINTS BASIL, ARCHBISHOP OF CAESAREA IN CAPPADOCIA, ASCETICAL CONSTITUTIONS, ADDRESSED TO THOSE WHO PRACTISE THE ASCETIC LIFE IN COMMUNITY AND IN CELLS. PROEM. Having taken up the philosophy according to Christ, and having raised your mind above the desires and pleasures and cares of this life, and having earnestly striven to separate and sever your reason from the passions of the flesh in every way, you have often made many speeches to us, inquiring in what manner one ought to complete the undertaking of the contest, never being captured by the fleshly desires that enter through the body into the soul; and what is first, as most of all to be guarded against, and what is after the first; and which of the good things one ought to emulate, so that by guarding one may flee the activity of what is improper, and by emulation one may achieve the practice of good things. Then, however, you deemed it right that a written exposition of our counsel concerning this should also be made for you. For this reason we too were moved not to overlook your good zeal, but also to strengthen and confirm the manner that is in you by our own counsels; not as though offering a word sufficient for the undertaking, but as not concealing what exists, as it were, under a mound, by silence, and thereby fleeing the condemnation threatened against the one who buried the talent in the earth. The pretext, then, for human beings, for the most part, for worldly desires and pleasures and cares is marriage. For neither in men for the desire of the female, nor in women for that of the male, could one find a stronger and more violent desire implanted in the nature of the body.

And very reasonably so, since it is by nature constituted for the sprouting of offspring; which, having its activity most opportune, was destined also to bring on a more vehement impulse; nor are there cares heavier than those that suddenly swoop upon men because of marriage, as Paul says: He who has married is anxious about the things of the world, having burdened himself with cares. For the man who is alone might endure his own needs and those of his body, or perhaps even disregard them, being easily able to persuade himself to this; but he who cares for a wife and children is no longer master of his own judgment, but has necessity to act according to pleasure in this matter, and being occupied with the care of children, to draw in a great abyss of cares, which to enumerate would be longer than the present occasion allows. Therefore, he who longs to be free from the bonds of the world has fled marriage as though it were a kind of fetter; and having fled it, he has dedicated his own life to God, and has vowed chastity; so that there is no license for him to turn back to marriage, but he must hold fast in every way to the struggles for chastity, wrestling by nature also against its more violent impulses. For such a man, having become a lover of God, and desiring to attain, at least in the smallest degree, to his impassibility, and longing to taste spiritual holiness, and calm and tranquility, and gentleness, and the gladness and joy born from these, has earnestly sought to lead his thoughts far away from every material and bodily passion that clouds the soul.

With a pure and unshadowed eye of the soul he gazes upon divine things, being filled insatiably with the light from there. And having trained the soul into such a habit and condition, he is made akin to God according to the likeness that is possible, and becomes greatly desired and most longed for by him, as one who has endured a great and hard-to-accomplish contest and has been able, through the blending with matter, with a pure and separated mind, to commune with God apart from the entanglement of bodily passions. Therefore it is fitting and consistent that the one who has ascended into such a habit through the aforesaid discipline should not be dragged down again through the provocations of the flesh to communion with its passions, nor, receiving the vapors rising from there, be darkened in the eye of the soul as by some very deep mist, and fall away from the divine and spiritual contemplation, the sight of his reason being sharpened by the smoke of the passions. CHAPTER 1: That prayer must be preferred to all things. Every action, beloved, and every word of our Savior Jesus Christ is a canon of piety and virtue. For this reason too he became man, as if drawing for us in an image piety and virtue, so that each one of us, men and women, seeing them according to our ability, might emulate the archetype. For this reason he wears our body, so that we too might imitate his way of life, as far as possible. You therefore, whenever you hear a word or action of his, do not hear it carelessly and simply and as it happens; but step into the depth of the contemplations; become a partaker of what has been mystically handed down. For Martha receives the Lord;

Mary sits at his feet. In two sisters there is a noble eagerness; but let the matter stand between them. For Martha was serving, preparing what was needed for the welcome of his bodily need; and Mary, sitting at his feet, was listening to his words. The one, then, was giving rest to what is seen; the other was serving what is unseen. For the one present was truly both man and God, the same Master who received the eagerness of both women. But Martha, pressed by toil, kept begging the Lord to become a mediator, so that she might take her own sister as a helper in the ministry. "Tell her," she says, "to rise up and serve with me." And the Lord said to her: "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things. But one thing is needful. For Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her." For we are not present for this—that we should recline at table and feed the belly—but we are present that we may feed you with the word of truth and the contemplation of the mysteries. So then, he did not turn the one away from what she was doing, but he received the other for what she was attending to. Observe, then, the two portions introduced through the two women: the one lesser, choosing the more bodily ministry—except that it too is most useful—and the other, having ascended through contemplation of the mysteries, greater and more spiritual. You, the hearer, understand these things spiritually, and choose what you will. If you wish to serve, serve in the name of Christ. For he himself said: "Inasmuch as you did it to one of these, my least brothers, you did it to me.

For if you receive strangers, if you give rest to the poor, if you bend down to those in pain, if you extend a hand of help to those in necessity and misfortune, if you serve the sick, Christ takes all of it upon himself. But if you wish to emulate Mary, who left behind the service of the body and ascended to the contemplation of spiritual visions, pursue the matter genuinely. Leave the body behind, let go of farming, cooking, and preparation; sit at the feet of the Lord, and hear his words, so that you may become a partaker of the mysteries of the Godhead. For the contemplation of Jesus' teachings has ascended above the service of the body. You have received, then, beloved, the examples and the proof. Be zealous for what you wish—either be a servant of the poor, or a lover of Christ's doctrines. And if you are able to be zealous for both, you carry off the fruit of salvation from both sides. The spiritual word, however, is first, and all the rest are second. For Mary, it says, chose the good portion. If, then, you too wish to be a mystic of Christ, sit beside his feet, receive his Gospel, leave behind your whole life, and you will live without care; you will even forget your own body, and thus you will be able to converse with his contemplations, so that you may emulate Mary and reap the highest glory. And when you pray, see that you do not ask for one thing in place of another and provoke the Lord to anger—not for money, not for human glory, not for power, not for any other of the things that pass away; but ask for the kingdom of God, and he himself will provide you with everything needed for the body, as the Lord himself says:

Seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. But prayer, beloved, is of two kinds: the one of glorification with humility, and the second of petition, which is lower. So when you pray, do not come immediately to petition; otherwise you will condemn your own purpose, as though you pray to God under compulsion of need. Beginning, then, your prayer, leave yourself, wife, children; leave the earth, pass beyond heaven, leave all creation visible and invisible, and begin with the glorification of the one who made all things; and when you glorify him, do not let your mind wander here and there, nor mythologize in the Greek manner, but choosing from the Holy Scriptures, say: I bless you, Lord, the long-suffering and forbearing, who are long-suffering toward me each day as I sin, and who have given to all of us the authority of repentance. For this reason you are silent and endure us, Lord, so that we may glorify you, who order the salvation of our race, at one time through fears, at another through exhortations, at one time through prophets, and later by the visitation of your Christ upon us. For you formed us, and not we ourselves. You are our God. And when you have glorified from the Scriptures, as you are able, and sent up praise to God, then begin with humility and say: I, Lord, am not worthy to speak before you, because I am exceedingly a sinner. And even if you are conscious of nothing base in yourself, you ought to speak thus. For no one is without sin except God alone.

For we sin greatly, and for the most part we do not even understand it. Therefore the Apostle says: I know nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this—that is, I sin greatly and do not understand it. Whence also the Prophet says: Who will understand his transgressions? So then you do not lie when you call yourself a sinner. For if you do understand, you sin in this very thing by saying, I am not a sinner; but rather say, I am more than all sinners the one who transgresses the divine command that bids: When you have done all things, say, We are unprofitable servants; for what we ought to have done, we have done. Thus you must always reckon, that I am unprofitable; and again: In humility esteeming one another as surpassing yourselves. Pray therefore to God with fear and humility. So when you stretch out a word of humility and say: I thank you, Lord, that you have been long-suffering toward my transgressions, and until now have left me unpunished; for I was long ago worthy to suffer countless dreadful things and to be cast away from your presence, but your forbearing love for humanity was long-suffering toward me; I thank you, even if I am not sufficient for thanksgiving of your forbearance; and when you have fulfilled the two parts of glorification and humility, then at last ask what you ought to ask: not wealth, as was said before, not earthly glory, not bodily health. For he himself formed you and cares for your salvation, and knows how it is profitable for each, whether to be healthy,

whether to be weak; but ask, as you were commanded, the kingdom of God. For concerning the need of your body, as I said before, he himself will care. For our king is most worthy, and he is indignant if anyone asks him something small, if anyone of us asks him for things that are not at all fitting. Do not, then, in your prayer bring indignation upon yourself, but ask for yourself things worthy of God the king. And when you ask for things worthy of God, do not cease until you receive. For hinting at this, the Lord says in the Gospel: Who of you will have a friend, and will go to him at midnight, and say to him: Friend, lend me three loaves, since a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him; and he from within answers: Do not give me trouble; for already the door has been shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you. I tell you, even if he will not give to him, rising because he is his friend, yet because of his shamelessness he will rise and give him as many as he needs. The Lord gives us an example, in order to teach us to be earnest and contentious in faith. For he takes an example from man to man, so that you may learn never to give up; so that, when you ask and do not receive, you may not cease until you receive—provided, as I said before, that you ask for the things God wills; and do not say, "I am a sinner, and I am not heard." For so that you may not despair, he says this: Even if he will not give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his shamelessness he will give him as many as he needs.

For the rest, even if a month passes, or a year, or three years, or four years, or more years, until you receive it, do not withdraw, but ask in faith, always doing good. For often one of us in youth laid claim to chastity, then pleasure crept in, the natural desires were stirred, prayer grew weak, wine was imposed upon youth, chastity was lost, and the man became another in place of another. Thus changes come about, because they do not resist the passions with a noble reasoning. It is necessary, then, to contribute all things on one's own part, and to cry out to God, that he may fight alongside him. For if anyone, through slackness, gives himself over to his desires and betrays himself to the enemies, God does not fight alongside such a one, nor does he listen; for by anticipating through sin he has alienated himself from God. For he who wishes to be helped by God does not betray what is fitting; and he who does not betray what is fitting is never betrayed by the divine alliance. It is necessary, therefore, to be condemned in nothing by one's own conscience, and thus to call upon the divine alliance; and to call upon it not carelessly, not with the mind lifted up here and there; for such a one not only will not receive the petition, but will provoke the Master even more. For if, standing before a ruler and conversing, one stands with great fear, keeping undistracted both the outward eye and the inner eye of the soul, lest he be in danger; how much more must one stand before God with fear and trembling, keeping the whole mind fixed upon him alone, and nowhere else at all?

For he himself sees not only the outward man, as men do, but also beholds the inward. If, then, you stand before God as you ought, and bring with you all that lies in your power, do not withdraw until you receive your request. But if your conscience condemns you as one who is contemptuous, and if you stand in prayer in a distracted manner when you are able to stand without distraction, do not dare to stand before God, lest your prayer become a sin. But if, weakened by sin, you are unable to pray without distraction, force yourself as much as you can, and persevere standing before God, keeping your mind toward him and gathering it to itself, and God grants forgiveness, because it is not from contempt but from weakness that you are unable to stand before God as you ought. If you thus force yourself to every good work, do not withdraw until you receive your request, but patiently knock at his door, asking your request. For everyone who asks receives, he says, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. For what else do you wish to obtain except salvation according to God alone? Do you wish to learn, beloved, how the saints were patient and did not give up? God called Abraham when he was younger, and moved him from the land of the Assyrians to Palestine, saying to him: To you I will give this land, and to your seed after you; and as the stars of heaven, so shall your seed be, which cannot be numbered.

And a great number of years passed, and his nature was deadened, and death was at the doors, and he did not say, "Lord, you continually promise me children, and you foretell that I shall be the father of all the nations. The motions of my nature are dead through old age, and Sarah, my wife, no longer endures anything womanly because of old age; so the promise is false. For we are two old people—what hope do we have?" He did not say these things, he did not think them, but he remained unshaken in faith; and in age he grew old, but hope grew young. And the body began to come into weakness and produced despair, but faith was vigorous in both soul and body. "It is God," he says, "who made the promise, the Master of nature, and it cannot be otherwise. He is the one who makes even impossible things possible; for he does all things and transforms them as he wills. Imitate the faith of Abraham. When, then, his nature grew weak and its motions were deadened, then the promise of God came alive. Accept the examples. But we pray for a year and then withdraw; we fast for two years and then stop. Let us not, then, grow weak regarding the promise of God. For the one who promised to that man to multiply his seed also promised to us, when we ask, to grant our request. For he says: 'Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.' For when you were far from him, laboring and bearing the heaviest burden of sin, he had mercy on you and called you, so as to lighten you of the burden and to grant you rest for the rest of your life; and do you not believe him?

But even if we wish to be silent, we are convicted by our own conscience. For we do not disbelieve him as though he were unable to give us rest, but we shrink from taking his yoke upon ourselves, the good and light yoke, and from entering through the narrow gate into the kingdom of heaven; rather we choose to bear the burden of sins, and to walk the broad road through pleasures that are passions, and to enter through the wide gate into destruction. But, he says, I have often asked and not received. Certainly because you asked badly, or faithlessly, or frivolously, or for things that are not beneficial to you. And even if you often asked for things that are beneficial, you did not persevere. For it is written, In your patience possess your souls; and, He who endures to the end, this one shall be saved. God knows the heart of those who pray. What need, then, he says, does God have of our asking? Does he not know what things we need? What need is there, then, of asking? God indeed knows what things we lack, and he richly provides us all bodily things for enjoyment, and being good, he sends rain on the just and the unjust, and makes his sun rise on the evil and the good, even before we ask; but faith, and the achievements of virtue, and the kingdom of heaven, unless you ask with toil and much perseverance, you do not receive. For one must first desire, and having desired, seek in truth, in faith and perseverance, all things that come from him, being condemned by one's own conscience in nothing, as though asking carelessly or lazily, and then receive, when the Lord wills.

For he knows what is advantageous for you better than you do. And perhaps for this reason he delays giving, wisely training you in perseverance toward him, and so that you may know what the gift of God is, and may guard what has been given with fear. For whatever a person acquires with much labor, he is eager to guard it, lest, having lost it, he lose also his great labor, and having set aside the grace of God, become unworthy of eternal life. For what did it profit Solomon, who quickly received the grace of wisdom and lost it? Do not then be faint-hearted if you do not quickly receive your request. For if the good Master knew that, receiving the grace quickly, you would not lose it, he was ready to grant it even before you asked. But as it is, he does this out of care for you. For if the one who received the talent and kept it safe, because he did not trade with it, was condemned, how much more will the one who lost it be condemned? Knowing these things, then, whether we receive more quickly or more slowly, let us remain giving thanks to the Lord; because everything the Master does, he administers for our salvation—only let us not grow faint-hearted and cease from asking. For this reason the Lord spoke the parable about the widow, who by her persistence wore down the unjust judge, so that we too, by persistence, may receive our requests. For from this our faith and our love toward God is shown, when, even not receiving quickly, we remain giving thanks to him. Let us therefore give thanks to him continually, so that we may be counted worthy to obtain his eternal good things; for to him is due the glory unto the ages of ages. Amen.

CHAPTER 2. On the close attention of thoughts, and that the body is not evil, as some have supposed. First of all, then, one must by every means keep the reasoning faculty under control, setting over it the sober supervision of the understanding, so as not to permit the soul, by its uncircumspect impulses, easily to give way to the body's attractions. For the eye is the body's means of looking, but the mind, which is connatural to it, is the soul's means of seeing; not as one thing within another, but soul and mind are the same, being a certain natural power, and not an imported one, of the soul's reasoning faculty. For whenever the soul, stirring up its own intellectual faculty, which was naturally implanted in it by the Holy Trinity that made it, deliberates on what is needful and fitting, at that time it escapes the body's assaults; foreseeing and bridling its disordered motions, it brings the calm that befits it, and in undisturbed leisure it comes to be among the natural contemplations: on the one hand, gazing intently, as far as it is able, at the holy and adorable Trinity, and reflecting on the inaccessibility of the divine glory because of the excess of its brightness, the radiance of blessedness, the boundlessness of wisdom, the fixed and unfluctuating state of tranquility, the impassible and immovable nature. For to that nature nothing can happen from without, since it has stored up the knowledge of all things that are and that shall be, and holds all things in its grasp, and has all things under its hand, and nothing at all can oppose or even look against it; to this it follows that calm and unceasing tranquility are present.

For the sudden crises of unexpected events naturally produce disturbances in the minds of men. So that he whom no evil troubles, but to whom every virtue and everything honorable attends, would reasonably rejoice with a joy immovable and unending. For joy is the companion of virtue and goodness, as the Prophet says: The Lord shall rejoice in his works. The soul, then, that keeps its intellectual faculty in sobriety and in the activities that befit it will be established in the contemplations previously mentioned, and will train its own character toward what is right and just, orderly and peaceful. But whenever it ceases to think upon and gaze at the contemplations that are fitting, then, like unruly and bold whelps that have lost their master, the passions of the body rise up and bark loudly at the soul; and each of the passions attempts in various ways to tear it apart, dividing its vital power to itself. For I, for my part, think that the power of the soul is twofold, though it is one and the same: one part being vital to the body, and the other contemplative of things that exist, which we also call the rational. But the vital power, since the soul is mingled with the body, it supplies naturally through that mingling, and not by choice; for just as it is impossible for the sun, when it has shone forth, not to illuminate that upon which it has cast its rays, so it is impossible for a soul not to give life to the body in which it comes to be; but the contemplative power has its motion in choice.

If, then, it prepares its contemplative and reasoning faculty to be always awake, as the Prophet says, "He who guards you will not slumber," it calms the passions of the body in two ways: by the contemplation of better and congenial things, in which it is occupied, and by overseeing them in the tranquility of the body, it moderates and restrains them. But if, having embraced idleness, it keeps the contemplative faculty unmoved, the vital principle, finding the passions of the body at leisure and divided, with no one presiding over and checking them, drags the soul down together with them to their own impulses and activities. So that the passions of the body are violent when the reason within us is idle, but obedient when it orders and governs. The body, then, is not to be blamed by those who wish to judge rightly concerning it. For it is fitting, in the exposition of our counsel, also to refute the false opinions of those who have formed evil suppositions about the body. For just as, beloved, a horse is a good thing, and the sharper and hotter it is by nature, the better it is, but it needs a charioteer and pilot, since it is devoid of reason. And when the charioteer mounts, the horse will try to use its nature. If, then, the charioteer manages the impulses of the beast of burden as is fitting, he has used it for his own advantage, and has attained the goal set before him, and he himself is saved, and the beast of burden is seen to be most excellent in its use; but when the charioteer drives the colt badly, the colt is often turned aside from the highway and falls into a pathless place.

And when it is brought down, it sometimes brings down the rider as well, and the negligence of the charioteer becomes a danger to both. Understand this in the same way concerning the soul and the body. For the body has received its natural impulses, not unreasonable ones, but altogether good and useful for some purpose; but it is without a share of reason, so that the soul might be honored by the excellences of reason. For if the soul manages the impulses of the body as it ought, it preserves the body and itself remains outside of dangers; but if it neglects its supervisory role and, overcome by sleep from negligence, abandons the charioteering of the body, the body, being destitute of reasonings, is turned aside from the straight path, and the soul is encompassed by equal failings—not from its own wickedness, but through that one's neglect. For if the passions of the body were such as could not be subdued by the soul, the body would reasonably have the blame; but if they have become subject to many who have earnestly sought to master them, the body is blameless before those who attempt to accuse it as the origin of wickedness, but blameworthy for its negligence is she who has abandoned the authority over the body, not having the evil in herself by nature, but being established in this by the abandonment of the good. For wickedness is nothing other than the abandonment of virtue. CHAPTER 3. That one must not conduct meetings with women without guard.

Concerning the supervision of thoughts, the charioteering of the passions of the body, the spaciousness and calm of the inner man, and the contemplation and pursuit of what is fitting for him, we have spoken sufficiently, as far as was possible. But it is necessary not only to supervise the thoughts, but also, as far as possible, to separate oneself from their intercourse, especially those which, approaching us and leading us to a reminder of the passions, disturb and confuse the reasoning and produce wars and struggles in the soul. For to admit a war that falls upon us involuntarily would be necessary; but to create one for ourselves voluntarily is most irrational. For in the former case, defeat will perhaps obtain forgiveness—far be it from the athletes of Christ—but in the latter, being captured is a matter for ridicule and is deprived of forgiveness. It is necessary, then, to flee the intercourse and meetings with women as much as possible, unless some inexorable necessity forces the meeting. And when necessity has overtaken us, one ought to guard oneself as from fire, making the sharpest and swiftest departures. Consider what Wisdom says concerning this: Will anyone put fire in his bosom, and his garments not be burned? Or will anyone walk upon coals of fire, and his feet not be burned? But if anyone says that from meeting with women and living with them for a longer time he is not harmed, this man either has not partaken of the male nature, and is some most paradoxical possession, standing in the borderland between both natures (such as they say are eunuchs from birth, if indeed we should grant to them also the impassibility and immobility toward the female;

For the desire of a eunuch to deflower a maiden, says the Wise One; or, if he has had a share, being baptized by the passions, he does not perceive it, imitating drunkards or the delirious, who, having suffered the most terrible things, think they are outside of passion. But let us concede to the argument what is outside argument—that there is someone not pricked by the male passion. But even if he himself does not suffer, he would not easily persuade others that he does not suffer. And to scandalize the many when no achievement is set before them, I think is not without danger for the one who does it. Then there is another thing to see: even if the man does not admit harm to his thoughts, he will not thereby have settled the question for us concerning the woman, that she too is outside the passions of the body; but often she, being weak in reasoning and having a passion that inclines swiftly, has suffered something because of the one who made his encounters without guard. And he himself is not wounded, but he has often wounded, as he does not know. And under the pretense, ostensibly, of spiritual love, the woman coming continually to the ascetic begins through the eyes to be filled with sin, and with licentious eyes to feed upon the appearance of her neighbor, and to corrupt with impure thoughts the inner virgin, whom the bridegroom especially loves. In order, then, that none of the things said may happen, it is fitting to be on guard—if possible, completely; but if not, at least against the frequent and intense conversations and encounters with women, not as hating the race. Far be it!

nor as disowning their kinship, but even standing by them and helping them as far as possible, sharing in every way in human nature, and especially those who have undertaken the struggles for chastity, as fellow-contenders with us in the same contest; but guarding against meeting them, lest it become a reminder of a passion that we have renounced and forbidden. CHAPTER 4. That one must measure continence by the strength of the body; and that the labor of the body is good and lawful. It follows, moreover, also to master the belly. For the discipline of the belly is the chastisement of passions; and the chastisement of passions is tranquility and calm of soul; and the calm of the soul is the most fruitful spring of virtues. The best continence of the belly is that which is measured for each person according to the strength of the body. For to some even intensified hardship has appeared painless, and rather relief than pain seemed so, because of the firm and unyielding constitution and strength of the body; but what is tolerable to these has become a ground of danger to others. For one would find as great a difference between bodies as between bronze and iron and the dry, brittle kinds of wood. So it is fitting to choose continence in proportion to the strength that one has. For all the virtues that are accomplished in the soul alone will be appointed alike for all: such as gentleness, fairness, humility, goodness, love of brethren, guilelessness, love of truth, compassion, mildness, love of humanity; for these we call the special virtues of the soul, since for their possession and accomplishment the body contributes nothing more to the soul than to become for it a council-chamber for the consideration of them.

But self-control will be defined for each person according to the capacity of the body, so that one neither falls short of the strength he possesses nor stretches out to things beyond his strength. For this too, I think, one ought to consider: that we not, by the immoderateness of our self-control, destroy the strength of the body and render it idle and useless for the earnest pursuits of action. For God, when He made man, did not will that he be idle and motionless, but that he be active in what is fitting, having commanded Adam in paradise to work and to keep it (for even if the contemplation attaches to what is said, yet at any rate the particular point is also worthy of zeal and earnestness), and after the fall from there having declared that he should eat his bread in the sweat of his face. And that what was said to Adam was said to all who were born from him is clear from this: for God ordained death for that man, saying, Earth you are, and to earth you shall depart; and all who came from him shared in that experience in like manner. It is fitting, then, to innovate nothing contrary to nature and the bounds of the Benefactor of nature, but, remaining within these, to keep the body active, nowhere paralyzed by immoderateness. For this, I think, is the mark of the best stewardship: to follow the bounds that have been set. Moreover, we can establish the argument from more testimonies of the divine Scripture. For the divine Scripture commands us to work and to move the body, and rather to support the weakness of others than to need the hand of others.

For to waste and paralyze it by immoderate indulgence is in no way [permissible]. And of this I will present to you the most trustworthy witness, the holy Paul, saying in one place: "We hear that some among you are walking disorderly, doing nothing," and declaring idleness to be disorder; for "we did not behave disorderly among you," he says, "nor did we eat bread from anyone for free, but working night and day in toil and labor"; and more than this: "These hands ministered to my needs and to those who were with me"; and elsewhere again: "so that working, he says, they may eat their own bread"; and again in another place: "to be quiet, and to attend to their own affairs, and to work with their hands." The ascetic ought to be free from all conceit, and walking the truly middle and royal road, in no way to incline to either side: neither embracing relaxation, nor rendering the body useless by excess of self-control. For if it were good for the body to be neglected and to lie as a living corpse, God would certainly have made us such from the beginning; but if he has not made us so, he certainly accomplished whatever he knew to be good; and if what was good, this he did not neglect, those sin who do not guard what has been well made, as far as is possible. Let the ascetic therefore consider one thing of piety: whether perhaps evil has not lurked in the soul through ease, whether perhaps sobriety and the earnest stretching out of the mind toward God have not been slackened, whether perhaps the sanctification of the Spirit and the illumination born from it in the soul have not been dimmed.

Since, if indeed the things said are flourishing as good, the passions of the body will in no way have an opportunity to rise up against us, while the soul is occupied with things above and does not give the body an opportunity for the stirring up of the passions. For if, when we often think intently on something in life with concentrated reasoning, both sight and hearing remain inactive, and the whole soul clings to the thought, leaving the senses deserted, how much more, if divine love flourishes in our soul, will we not have even an opportunity for the thought of the passions. But if ever these are stirred up even a little, they will quickly be checked by the soul's greatness of mind. For what is better, tell me, than to imitate the fruitful trees, which themselves are rich and gladden others by their fruitfulness, or to resemble the vegetables that wither under heat and drought, and to be, according to the prophet, like a half-boiled pulse, unable even to serve its own needs (and this though they have from nature a self-sufficient power of caring for themselves)—and to practice philosophy halfway, with the soul only, and not also with the body? For if we existed outside the body, it would be necessary for the soul alone to pursue the best things; but since man is twofold, the pursuit of virtue must also be twofold, accomplished by labors of the body and disciplines of the soul. And the labors of the body are not idleness, but work. Yet one must also consider this, that we not, on the pretext of the body's need, drift away into the service of pleasures.

For if it were possible, by devoting ourselves to continual want, to perform the works that are fitting for the body, this would be best. But since it belongs to very few bodies not to collapse under such a regimen, one must both fast in measure and bring the most necessary relief to the body, with pleasure not leading in matters of food, but reason defining the need with precision—just as some skilled physician, without attachment, treats the weakness by what is fitting. For when this disposition has come to be in the soul, the one who partakes of food will appear in no way second to the one who does not partake in philosophy; but in his aim he has achieved not only continual fasting but even total abstinence from food, while in his forethought for the body he has the praise of the best stewardship. For the moderate regimen and self-control of the body does not know how to inflame the desires and make the passions untamed. That belongs to greed and luxury. And these things, then, as far as concerns the laws of nature and the testimonies of divine Scripture, suffice to establish what now lies before us for consideration. But since it is necessary to confirm what has been said not only by the counsels of words but also to strengthen the advice by practical examples, I will now proceed to the very commonwealth of the Savior, which, having lived as a citizen in the flesh, he set forth as a pattern and model of virtue for all who wish to live piously; so that the rest, looking to those characters, might stamp upon their own lives a like image, nowhere distorting the archetype by a variation in their imitation.

For hear him plainly teaching this: "If anyone," he says, "serves me, let him follow me"—not declaring the following according to the flesh (for that was impossible for all, since the Lord is now known to be in the heavens according to the body), but the exact imitation of his manner of life, as far as is possible. How, then, did our Savior live, and how did he conduct himself? He committed no sin. For how could righteousness be defeated by sin? How could falsehood prevail over truth? How could power be wrestled down by weakness? Or how could what is not overcome what is? For God, ever being and having no limit of existence, admits no end; but sin never exists, nor is it grasped in its own subsistence; rather, in those who commit it—more than in the things done wickedly—it has its existence by falling away from the good, being shaped as an intelligible darkness by acts of injustice, and dissolved by the light of righteousness. For the

Light shines in the darkness, and runs along with the limit of the incongruities. For when evil deeds have ceased, the existence of sin also vanishes together. For it will be sought, he says, his sin, and it will surely not be found; even if the punishment stored up for sins should fall upon those who sin, and the chastisement for wrongdoings be unloosed. Therefore he did not commit sin, nor was guile found in his mouth. But of longsuffering, and forbearance, and kindness, of gentleness and love of mankind, and mildness, of humility and prudence, and in a word of every virtue, he provided many examples, which are clearly set forth in the Gospels. Of longsuffering and forbearance, by bearing the plots of the Jews, which always covered the former wickednesses with successive excesses; and by reproving them gently, only so far as to stop their wickedness, but not defending himself or proceeding against them even a little, but striving to conquer their inhumanity by benefactions, and the intensification of their wickedness by the supply of good things; and finally by accepting the cross on behalf of those who crucified him. Of gentleness and mildness, by receiving all with the kindness that befitted him, and by providing boldness of converse not only to the earnest among men, but even to those whose delight and habit it was to practice the most shameful things. Thus, at any rate, prostitutes and tax collectors came to him, not that he might increase the disease of lust or of avarice, but that they might wipe off the disease of the soul. And they were not rather overwhelmed by the consciousness of their wickedness than they took courage in the hope of healing.

For I found the experience of hope to be even higher. And what are the examples of his love for humanity and his compassion? At one time, in the wilderness, he himself spreads a lavish table for those weakened by want, honoring them doubly—both by the abundance of their need and by the unexpectedness of the provision; at another time, he has compassion on those who lie fallen, because they were harassed and cast down like sheep without a shepherd; and he heals bodily infirmities, and corrects injuries of the limbs and disabilities; and he looses both sicknesses of the soul and the indissoluble bonds of sins, and the stranglings of violent transactions which we have made with the father of sin, the devil. And how great are the examples of humility? Not only to choose to clothe himself in flesh, but also, in the present form, to be born and to be reckoned as a child of lowly parents—born of his mother, but reckoned as of the one called his father. And of wisdom: at one time to refute the Sadducees who try to mock the resurrection with the fiction of the seven brothers who died for one wife; at another time to put to shame the disciples of the Pharisees along with the Herodians, when, putting forward the two-edged question, "Whether it is necessary to give tribute to Caesar, or not," they received an answer that was ambidextrous, able to capture their folly on either side, commanding not to give but to render. For he says, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's," since the coin was Caesar's, bearing his image and inscription. And these are the foremost of his achievements, and greater than these in number beyond measure.

And what of the body—how great were these things, and how many? It is chiefly for their sake that the example has been set forth. In his first age, being subject to his parents, he patiently and obediently shared in every bodily toil. For since they were righteous and pious men, but poor and not well supplied with necessities (and the manger is a witness of the honored birth, the care given there), they reasonably devoted themselves continually to bodily labors, procuring for themselves their necessary need by this means. And Jesus, being subject to them, as the Scripture says, surely demonstrated his obedience also by sharing in their labors. But advancing and unveiling his lordly and divine beneficences, and now choosing disciples, and intending to proclaim the kingdom of heaven, he did not sit in one corner, nor, being weakened in body, did he need ministry from others; but at one time journeying and walking continually, he ministered together with his disciples, as he himself said: But I am in the midst of you as one who serves; and, Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve; at another time washing the feet of the disciples; again, spending time in teaching for a long while, and changing place from place untiringly, he continued for the sake of our salvation. And once he appears to have used a beast of burden, and that only for a little while, not in order to rest his body, but in order to seal the prophecy by his deeds. And what of the apostles? Did they not imitate the Master? Did they not converse with toils continually?

Consider Paul, working ceaselessly, traveling strenuously, sailing, facing dangers, storm-tossed, driven out, scourged, stoned, sufficing for all trials by the eagerness of his soul and the strength of his body. But if by excess he had been weakening the body's power, he would not have been crowned for these things. It is good, then, to imitate the life of the Master and of his disciples and apostles, both through the virtues of the soul and through bodily disciplines, keeping the body active and serving the best actions. For it belongs to the soul to choose those good things that are also accomplished with the body's cooperation; and it belongs to the body to carry out what the soul has chosen. But when the body is without strength for action, the achievement is half-complete, hidden in intention, like some shoot withering in the folds of the earth and not advancing to the use of those for whose sake it grew. But, he says, the Lord also endured an intense fast, and Moses no less, and Elijah the prophet. But consider this too, that our Lord did this only once, and Moses and Elijah likewise; but for all the rest of the time, governing the body in the proper order and keeping it active, always engaging in labors and toils, thus they made the virtues of the soul shine forth with the cooperation of the body, having made the practical life a seal and perfection of the spiritual citizenship. This Moses did, this Elijah did, and this John himself did, who by an inscrutable dispensation made his long stay in the desert—

After the fulfillment of the dispensation, he came to the adorned land, preaching and baptizing—things that belong to action—and through his boldness before Herod he was perfected in his contest. This is also true of the whole catalogue of the saints, and of Jesus himself, who continued in action; so that it is clear from every side—from the laws of nature and the teaching of the divine Scriptures, from what all the saints have done, from the conduct of our Savior, and from the rule of life of the pious—that it is good and advantageous for the body to be compacted rather than relaxed, and to render it active for good deeds rather than to make it voluntarily idle. Chapter 5: That the ascetic ought to pursue works that are fitting. The ascetic ought indeed to perform works that are fitting—works that are free from all shopkeeping, from longer distractions, and from base gain; works that can, for the most part, be accomplished while we remain under a roof, so that both the work may be completed and quietness preserved. But if through necessary need there should be occasion to perform a work out of doors, not even this will hinder philosophy. For the exact philosopher, having his body as a place of thought and a safe lodging for the soul, whether he happens to be in the marketplace, or at a festival, or on a mountain, or in a field, or in the midst of

he is established in the natural monastery of the great multitude, gathering his mind within and philosophizing on what is fitting for him. For it is possible, even while sitting at home, to wander abroad in one's thoughts; and while being in the marketplace, yet sober, to be as in a desert, turning to oneself and to God alone, and not receiving through the senses the disturbances that fall upon the soul from sensible things. CHAPTER 6. That the ascetic ought not to associate with all people without guard. It is fitting to entrust oneself to no one, nor to lay oneself bare, nor to uncover oneself without guard. For the one who conducts his life according to God has many lying in wait for him—and often even those closest to him as spies upon his life. It is fitting, then, not to make one's encounters with outsiders without examination. For if the Savior, as the Gospel says, did not entrust himself to all (for Jesus himself, it says, did not entrust himself to them)—if that one, the pure, the blameless, the irreproachable, the righteous, the one who is wholly virtue—how shall we, sinners, prone to slip, not always prospering according to the mark, partly through natural weakness, partly through the one who wrestles against us wickedly and relentlessly—how shall we, by delivering ourselves over to meddlesome people, not draw upon ourselves evil slanders and plant stumbling blocks for ourselves? For often the wicked attempt to slander even things done well, and do not endure to leave even the smallest of faults unreviled. It is necessary, then, to make one's conversations with outsiders guarded.

For another passion also befalls them from inexperienced reasonings in the case of those who have withdrawn from the world. For they suppose that it is not the disposition of those who have changed their manner of life that has been changed, but that their human nature itself has been refashioned; and they do not judge the ascetics as being tossed about in the same passions, but as conquering them by the power of the soul and by their alienation from pleasures; rather, they think that the passions have been entirely removed from their bodily nature. Hence, indeed, if the spiritual man should err even a little from the good, immediately all, even those who were before the most fervent praisers and admirers, become bitter accusers, and they convict themselves, since they did not make their praises true beforehand. For just as when some athlete slips, immediately his opponent rises up against him, striking and attacking him, so too those men, when they see one living a life of virtue in asceticism erring a little from the good, set upon him with insults and slanders, as if shooting with arrows, not considering within themselves that they themselves are wounded each day by countless darts of the passions. But the champions of piety, though besieged by similar passions, are often harmed by them either a little or not at all—and this, though they receive the adversary more violently than those others. Since these men have acknowledged the contest against him, and it is a great thing for the evil one to win a victory over them, while again to be defeated brings a fatal blow, as to one defeated wholly and in all the parts of virtue.

But the war against those who have devoted themselves to the world is despised: partly because most of them rush spontaneously to defeat, being enticed to sin by various pleasures and desires, and thus render victory over themselves effortless for him; and partly because even those who seem to rise up a little against sin are easily drawn away from the struggle by various distractions, and turning their backs, and being struck without relenting, they bear many shameful marks of defeat. But if ever some, having forced back even the rush of worldly distractions, have been able to look the war of the evil one in the face, nevertheless they have not endured such contests, but fall far short by a great and boundless measure of the ascetic ones. For the one has earnestly desired to prevail over the righteous and strives contentiously in disputes about present things; but the other yields even to those who dispute with the righteous, fulfilling the saying, From him who takes your goods, do not demand them back. The one, when struck, struck back, and when wronged, retaliated, and in this way supposes he has equality; but the other endures until he has produced satiety in the wrongdoer or even in the striker. And the one has earnestly desired to rule over all the pleasures of the body, but the other lives in satiety of pleasures. How, then, could the worldly man be considered a contender when judged against the ascetic? Consider also another thing, which it is customary for those who attend to the present life to suffer, whenever they examine the matters concerning the ascetics.

For when the ascetic, after a long period of deprivation, considers it right to support the body with food, they treat him as though he were incorporeal and immaterial, and expect him either to take no food at all or the very least. And if they see the ascetic not being entirely indifferent to the body, but healing the existing deprivation at least in some part, they revile and slander him, and call him a great eater and a glutton, extending the insult and drunken violence against one man to all; not considering that they themselves eat twice, some of them even three times a day, the richest and fattest foods, stuffing themselves with boundless heaps of meat, and pouring in an immeasurable quantity of wine, and thus gape over their tables like dogs released from their chains after a long deprivation. But the true ascetics have used the driest food, which has little nourishment along with weakness, and once throughout the whole day; those who have resolved to live in order, and who eat this moderately and with understanding, reasonably supply the body's need at the proper time of eating with a conscience full of boldness. For this reason it is fitting that our freedom not be judged by another's conscience. For if we partake by grace, why are we blasphemed for that for which we give thanks, choosing deprivation and the cheapness of food with as much gladness as they do not choose even the most splendid and manifold preparation of the elaborate table?

But if one of the men just mentioned is known for understanding and piety, and out of reverence holds our manner of life in honor, it is not unreasonable to share a table with him, if he should carefully request it. CHAPTER 7. That one ought not to make frequent and unexamined journeys abroad. One must not, even on the pretext of visiting and conversing with the brethren, make many and frequent journeys abroad (for this too is a certain diabolical device, the enemy attempting by such a method to loosen our stability and the ordered regularity of our life, and to cast us into various pleasures and disorders of thought); but in quiet, conversing with ourselves, we should examine and correct the sins of the soul. For one who has but recently abandoned the world in disposition has the praiseworthy quality from his inclination toward good things; but he has not yet acquired the perfection of the virtues; and often he has not even considered the manner of their accomplishment, but needs, having examined himself in quiet, to discern the disordered impulses and motions of the soul, and to struggle nobly against them, and to correct the disorders by better thoughts; for the order of the soul is the virtue

Therefore the one who is always on journeys and travels, and who constantly fans and scatters the concentrated and compacted thought of the soul, and who little by little grows accustomed to look toward the pleasures of the body, how will he be able to observe himself, or to recognize what is not well, or to adjust these things as they ought to be, while he still provokes his soul toward passionate dispositions? One must therefore remain quiet for the most part, and each person must endure his own dwelling-place, so that he may have this as a testimony of the stability of his manners; not to be shut in altogether, but to make the necessary goings-out with confidence, in which conscience brings no accusation, and to visit the best and most profitable of the brethren through the exactness of their conduct, receiving examples of virtues from the profitable meeting, making his goings-out, as we said, moderate and blameless. For often the going-out, having dissolved the listlessness that has arisen in the soul, and having provided, as it were, encouragement and a little breathing-space again, gives one to come eagerly to the struggles for the sake of piety. But if anyone prides himself on not going out of his room, let him know that he is puffed up with an empty thing. For neither does not going out in itself know how to produce what is good, nor does going out at the right time know how to produce what is good or base; but the firm and unmoved judgment concerning what is good, or the opposite, the easily-changed, makes a thing earnest or base.

But if someone, having firmly established the good in his soul, and having gained experience in the governance of the passions through long practice, and having subdued bodily intemperance and bridled the disorders of the soul, and trusting in the bridle of reason, should wish to make more frequent journeys for the edification and visitation of brothers, such a one the discourse will rather encourage toward the journey, so that, placing the lamp on the lampstand, he may supply to all the light of the guidance of good things—provided only that he is confident that he will be able both in word and in deed to offer himself as a school of virtues to those he meets; and thus he would secure himself, as the Apostle has said: Lest perhaps, having preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. Chapter 8. That one ought not to give boldness and confidence to the unstable among the ascetics, but rather to be on guard against them as well. It is fitting, however, to be on guard also against the unstable, who at one time move from one brother to another, and who roam the monasteries continually with ceaseless and unyielding impulses, and who under the pretext, ostensibly, of spiritual love fulfill the desires of the flesh; having nothing firm, nor settled, nor well-ordered, nor adorned with understanding in their souls, but everything that is meddlesome and malicious, full of wandering and irrationality, of guile and hypocrisy, of falsehood and deceitful flattery. These are uneducated in tongue, unrestrained in belly, and in soul always winged and fanned, having thoughts like the flight of bats, looking nowhere straight ahead, but flying crookedly and inconstant.

...revealing other things contrary to their first impulses, and being carried by the fickleness of their judgment toward something else beyond all expectation, creeping along in many ways and making no progress. They resemble also draft animals driven around the millstones, which are found to walk many steps always in the same place; and the body is worn out, but it never passes beyond the small space. So also those men, forever wallowing in the passions of the body, make no progress toward spiritual height; they run an endless circle, always shaken by the desires and pleasures of the body, and carried again from the same things to the same things, and not released from evil slavery because of the wickedness of their choice. These men, holding out the appearance of the sheep as a bait for those who see, hide within the greedy and malicious and treacherous fox, and they strive to turn many aside to the same vice—as many as, lacking the governance of reason, readily attach themselves to what leads them well or badly, considering that to be good whatever someone may set before them either rightly or persuasively. And these men, then, they strive to drag down into their own pit, considering their own perversion to be a defense, and the fellowship of wickedness to be a lessening of the charges. These men, therefore, one must guard against in every way, so that neither may they harm others by imparting the plague of the soul, and that they themselves, being fenced off on every side, may at last turn toward the good, taking shame as their tutor, and the aversion of the earnest as an admonition for the removal of vice.

For Paul also taught this, saying of those who do nothing but are busybodies: "Mark this man," he says, "and do not associate with him, so that he may be put to shame." CHAPTER 9. That the ascetic ought in no way to desire a lot or the leadership of brethren. Moreover, the ascetic ought in no way to desire a lot or the leadership of brethren. For the disease is diabolical, and the charge is one of love of rule—which is the mark of the devil's utmost wickedness. For he too was brought down by this passion into the fall of pride; and the one mastered by this passion is sick with the same things as he. Then this passion makes those captured by it envious, contentious, accusers, shameless, slanderers, flatterers, schemers, and humble beyond what is fitting, and servile, and boastful, and full of countless turmoil. For such a man envies those who are worthy and slanders them; and he will often even pray for their death, so that for lack of those fit for the work the votes may come to him. And he will flatter those who are masters to give the lot, and for this he will be servile; but he is bold against his inferiors, if they should oppose him. He will therefore stitch together plots; he will have countless turmoils and suspicions; and he will destroy the calm of his soul; and the God of peace will be driven away, having no place to rest. Knowing, then, the loss, let us flee the absurdity of the desire. But if God should at some point vote someone to such things, the resourceful one knows how he will also provide the worthy man.

since we are nowhere conscious in ourselves of having been zealous about such a thing, or of harboring the desire in the soul at all. For this too is a most grievous disease of the soul, and a falling away from good things. CHAPTER 10. That one ought not, with an eye to vainglory, to be zealous for good things. We ought to flee vainglory especially—the vainglory that does not withdraw from toil before the labors of toiling (for then the evil would be less), but after the labors strips away the crowns, the hard-to-catch plotter against our salvation, the one that establishes ambushes against us near the heavenly vaults, and strives to cast down the virtues that have grown stalk-high as far as the heavens. For when it sees the merchant of piety having filled the ship of his mind with cargo of every kind of virtue, then, stirring up its own squall, it struggles to overturn the vessel and send it to the bottom. For having persuaded the mind of the sailor of the kingdom above to look toward things below and human glories, all the wealth of the

It suddenly blew out the soul, and having swept away the foundations of the virtues to the ground, it brought down to earth labors of heavenly height, causing us to seek from men the reward for our labors, when we ought to look only to God and to store up our achievements with him, and to receive worthy recompense from him alone. But we, preferring to do good through the glory of men rather than to be zealous for the good because of God, and demanding from them the empty reward of praise, rightly and justly fall away from the divine recompenses, since we do not labor for God but hire ourselves out to men; and receiving from them loss of reward instead of reward, what shall we ask from God, for whom we have chosen to do nothing? And that this is true, hear the holy Gospel saying concerning those who do good things for the sake of men: Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. Let us therefore flee vainglory, the sweet plunderer of spiritual wealth, the pleasant enemy of our souls, the moth of the virtues, the one that despoils our good things with pleasure, the one that has smeared the poison of its own deceit with honey and offers to the minds of men the deadly cup, so that, I think, they may be filled with the passion insatiably. For human glory is sweet to the uneducated. And in another way it easily causes those caught by it to err from right judgment. For the one who desires it has destroyed his own judgments; and he has considered that honorable which is admired by those who happen to be present.

For if, being wicked or irrational, they should admire evil things, the one who is praised will certainly do this very thing, which he has come to regard as honorable in the judgment of those who approve their own pursuits; so that vainglory is not only a destroyer of good deeds, but also a guide to wicked ones. Therefore it is fitting, looking to right reason and to God, the guide of right reason, to walk in that way in which God may lead; and even if some praise such a way, we should not make much of their praise, looking to the praiser from above, but only rejoice with them for their right judgment concerning good things; and even if others blame, we should by no means be cast down, but count those blessed who are destitute of right judgment, and who endure the most terrible darkness of mind. CHAPTER 11. On the right occasion for words. These, then, are the chief points of the right actions, which have been set forth not in proportion to the greatness of their own virtue, but according to the measure of our ability; yet the virtues that follow in order, as many as adorn the character at hand, I think it is easy for all to discern, such as the right occasion for words and the bringing forth of speech toward what is useful. And it would be useful either to discourse on virtue at the proper time, or to make one's words toward the present and pressing need, or indeed wholly toward the edification of the hearers; but to avoid the rest as superfluous and unprofitable. CHAPTER 12. That the ascetic must not look to pleasantry. One ought to abstain from all pleasantry.

For often those who occupy themselves with such things happen to miss right reason, since the soul is diffused toward jesting and dissolves the compact and concentrated quality of prudence. And often evil, proceeding by its own path, has descended into foul speech and the utmost absurdity, so that sobriety of soul and the diffusion of wittiness do not occur together. But if at some point it should be necessary, so that the sullen countenance may be relaxed a little, to be made cheerful through words, let your speech be full of spiritual grace and seasoned with the evangelical salt, so that it may carry the fragrance of the wise stewardship within and gladden the hearer doubly, both by the relaxation and by the grace of understanding. CHAPTER 13. Concerning gentleness, and in what manner love is established. The ascetic ought most of all to be full of gentleness, since he has either partaken of the spirit of gentleness or desires to partake of it. And it is fitting that the one who hosts this spirit be like the one who is hosted. But if at some point indignation should be necessary against the negligent—that is, against one who has been appointed under us—let the indignation be tempered with reason. For murderers too have used swords, and physicians' sons have used them as well. But the former, because they handle the sword with anger and cruelty, do the most absurd of all things, destroying those of their own kind; while the latter, because they come to the action performed by the sword with reason, derive the greatest benefits from it; for they preserve those in danger. So too the one who has resolved to be indignant with reason has greatly benefited the very person against whom he made his indignation, correcting his negligence or wickedness.

But one who is overcome by the passion of anger accomplishes nothing sound. And that timely indignation is also fitting for those who cultivate gentleness is clear from this. For Moses, who was testified to be the gentlest of all men, when the occasion called, was indignant, and advanced to such a degree of movement that he defined his indignation by the slaughter of his own people—both when they fashioned the calf and when they were defiled with Baal-peor. So it is possible, even for one who is gentle, to be warmed with reason and not to destroy the beauty of gentleness. But to remain unmoved, or not to be rightly indignant, would belong to sluggishness of nature, not to gentleness. And forbearance naturally follows gentleness in some way. For gentleness is the mother of forbearance. And no less is kindness also mingled with those who are truly gentle, and not those whose character is struck with heaviness. For kindness is the material of gentleness. And these things, when mingled with one another and combined, produce the greatest of the virtues, love. CHAPTER 14. On Prudence.

In all things that are done, prudence ought to lead the way. For without prudence, everything, even if it seems good, falls into wickedness through untimeliness and excess. But since reason and prudence define the right time and measure for good things, the gain from their use is wonderful, both for those who give and for those who receive. CHAPTER 15. Concerning faith and hope. In all undertakings, let faith in God lead the way, and let hopefulness follow, so that by faith we may be established in the strength of the soul, and by hopefulness we may be eager for good things. For neither will human undertaking of good things be brought to completion without help from above, nor would the grace from above come upon one who is not zealous; but both must be mingled together—human zeal and the alliance from above that comes through faith—for the perfection of virtue. CHAPTER 16. Concerning humility. In all things that we accomplish, the soul should refer the causes of its accomplishment to the Master, reckoning that it accomplishes nothing at all from its own power. For such a disposition naturally produces humility in us. And humility is a treasury of virtues. These things are, as one might say, seeds of the words concerning virtue from us to you; but do you, taking them from here, produce for us fruit a hundredfold, and fulfill the word of Wisdom, which commands giving starting points to the wise, so that they may become wiser. CHAPTER 17. In how many ways evil thoughts arise in the soul.

Since we have already examined beforehand the matters concerning thoughts, but have not distinguished in how many ways evil thoughts grow upon right thoughts, we have now decided to add this too, so that the examination of this part may be most complete. There are, then, two ways in which improper thoughts trouble right thoughts: either when the soul, through its own negligence, wanders about things that are not fitting and encounters irrational fancies arising from fancies, or through the plotting of the devil, who tries to suggest monstrous things to the mind and to lead it away from the contemplation and consideration of things praiseworthy. Whenever, then, the soul, relaxing the intensity and tension of the mind, brings up memories of whatever happens to come along and of chance events, at that time the reasoning, being carried without instruction and without knowledge toward the things remembered, and occupying itself with them for too long, passes from error to error over long distances, and often in the end descends into shameful and monstrous thoughts. But such negligence and diffusion of the soul must be corrected and brought back by a more intense and more attentive concentration of the mind, and it must be kept occupied with the constant consideration of good things in the present. But whenever the devil attempts to plot, and with great vehemence, as if shooting fiery arrows, forces the thoughts that come from him upon the soul that is at rest and at peace, and suddenly sets it on fire, and makes the memories of what has once been cast in lasting and hard to dissolve—

At such times one must withdraw from such plots with vigilance and more intense attentiveness, just as an athlete avoids the holds of his opponents by the most exact guard and swiftness of body; and one must commit the whole cleansing of the war and the warding off of the arrows to prayer and to the invocation of help from above. For Paul taught us this, saying: Above all, taking up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one. Even if, then, during the very prayers he suggests evil fantasies, the soul must not desist from praying, nor think that the evil sowings of the enemy and the fantasies of the manifold wonder-worker are its own crops; but having reasoned that the fantasy of absurd thoughts comes from the shamelessness of the inventor of evil, let it rather intensify its assault and entreat God that the evil wall of the memory of absurd thoughts be scattered away from it, so that with the unimpeded impulse of the mind, timelessly and swiftly, it may pass over to God, nowhere interrupted by the onsets of evil thoughts. But if such a thing of the

...the assault of thoughts because of the shamelessness of the one who wages war against us, one must not on that account give up, nor leave the contests half-finished; but one must endure until God, having beheld our steadfastness, causes the grace of the Spirit to shine upon us, putting the plotter to flight, cleansing our mind, filling it with divine light, and granting us to serve God with gladness in a mind undisturbed by waves, in a calm without swells. CHAPTER 18. To the regulars in the cenobium. Concerning the individual ascetic, then, and the one who has embraced the solitary life, we have set forth in what precedes, as far as was possible: how, training the soul toward the good and managing the body as is fitting, he could characterize for us the exact philosopher. But since most ascetics live in communities, sharpening one another's dispositions toward virtue and urging themselves on to progress in the good by the mutual comparison of their achievements, we thought it right to bring also to these the exhortation that comes through words. It is necessary, however, that they first have known how great and how lofty is the good to which they lay claim, and so receive the encouragement toward it, in order that they may show a zeal and eagerness worthy of the virtue of the achievement. First, then, they return to the good that is according to nature, embracing community and shared life. For I call that the most perfect community of life in which private ownership is excluded, opposition of opinion is driven out, and all disturbance, rivalry, and strife are set aside.

All things are common: souls, minds, bodies, and all that nourishes and tends the body; God is common, the merchandise of piety is common, salvation is common, the contests are common, the labors are common, the crowns are common; the many are one, and the one is not alone, but among many. What is equal to this commonwealth? What is more blessed? What is more exact than this union and unity? What is more gracious than this blending of characters and souls? Men stirred from different races and lands have been fitted together into such exactness of identity that one soul is seen in many bodies, and the many bodies are shown to be instruments of one mind. He who is weak in body has many who suffer together with him in disposition; he who is sick and falls in soul has many who heal him and raise him up together. They are fellow-slaves of one another, masters of one another, and in their unwarring freedom they display to one another the most exact slavery, which no necessity of circumstance brought on by force, bringing great discouragement to those captured, but the free choice of the will wrought with gladness, love subjecting the free to one another and preserving the free in the voluntary. Such God willed us to be from the beginning, and for this he created us. These recall the ancient good, covering over the sin of Adam the first father. For division, and separation, and war would not exist among men, were it not that sin cut nature apart. These are exact imitators of the Savior and of the life in the flesh that is according to him.

For just as he, having gathered a chorus of disciples, made all things common and offered himself as common to the apostles, so too these, obeying their superior—those who rightly guard the rule of life—have imitated with exactness the way of life of the apostles and of the Lord. These have emulated the life of the angels, preserving the communal way, as those do, with exactness. There is no strife among angels, no rivalry, no disputing; each has the possessions of all, and all store up the good things whole within themselves. For the wealth of the angels is not circumscribed matter, needing division whenever it must be distributed among many; but the possession is immaterial, and the wealth is of the mind. And for this reason the good things, remaining whole in each, make all equally rich, providing each with his own possession beyond dispute and beyond conflict. For the contemplation of the highest good, and the clearest comprehension of the virtues, is the treasure of the angels, to which it is permitted to all to look, each receiving the whole of their knowledge and possession. Such are the true ascetics, not laying claim to earthly things but contending for heavenly things, and by undivided distributions all alike, each storing up the same things whole within himself. For the possession of virtue, and the wealth of right actions, and praiseworthy covetousness, and tearless plunder, and insatiability that is crowned, and he who is not violent is liable. All plunder, and no one is wronged, and therefore peace presides over the wealth.

These seize beforehand the good things of the promised kingdom, presenting their virtuous way of life and fellowship as an exact imitation of the conduct and state of things there. These have perfectly achieved possessionlessness, having nothing of their own, but all things in common with one another. How great are the good things of which the Savior's becoming man has been the cause for us, these men have clearly shown by their life to mankind, gathering again, as far as in them lies, human nature, which had been torn apart and cut into countless fragments, both to itself and to God. For this is the sum of the Savior's dispensation in the flesh, that he might gather human nature both to itself and to himself, and, removing the evil division, recall the ancient union—just as some excellent physician binds back together with healing remedies a body divided into many parts. And I have gone through these things, not that I might make some display of ambition and exalt the achievements of the cenobites with my words (for the power of my words is not so great as to magnify great things, but rather on the contrary even to obscure them by the weakness of my narration), but that, as far as possible, I might go through and demonstrate the height and greatness of the achievement. For what could come into comparison as equal to this beauty?

For where there is one father imitating the Father above, and many sons who have earnestly striven to surpass one another in their good will toward their leader, sons at harmony among themselves and welcoming their father with virtuous deeds, not inscribing nature as the cause of their union, but making the word of nature a firmer leader and guardian of their unity, and held together by the bond of the Holy Spirit—what image of things on earth could they have to set forth the virtue of their achievement? But of things on earth, not one; only the image above remains. The Father above is passionless; this father too is without passion, drawing all to himself by the word. The sons of the Father above are incorruptible; he has brought these too into incorruptibility. Love binds the things above; love has joined these too to one another. Truly even the devil himself gives way before such a phalanx, not being a match for so many champions who thus march in good order and close ranks against him, and who are so closely locked together in love and fenced about by the Spirit that they afford not even the slightest opening to his shafts. Consider for me the harmonious contest of the seven Maccabees, and you will find among these a more fervent harmony. Concerning these David the prophet cried out in songs, saying: Behold, what is good, or what is pleasant, but for brothers to dwell together in the same place?—by "good" setting forth the proven character of their life, and by "pleasant" the gladness that comes from concord and unity. Those who pursue this life with exactness have, it seems to me, emulated the highest virtue.

CHAPTER 19. That the ascetic must come to the discipline with firm judgment, and concerning obedience. For those, then, who are keen-sighted in mind, the discourse has already defined the rule of conduct in its preceding exposition of the particulars of the discipline. But since, for the sake of the simpler among the brethren, it is fitting to set forth more clearly the rule of conduct in each case, let us turn to this as well. Before all things, then, it is necessary that the one who has come to such a discipline have his mind established, firm, and unmoved, and a judgment unassailable and unchangeable against the spirits of wickedness, and that he display, in the steadfastness of his soul, a constancy like that of martyrs unto death, holding fast to the commandments of God and showing obedience to those who preside over him. For this is the sum of the discipline. For just as God, being the Father of all and deigning to be called so, requires from his servants the most exact compliance; so too the spiritual father among men, harmonizing his own ordinances with the laws of God, requires unquestioning obedience. For if one who gives himself over to some craft of the artisans—those, that is, which are useful to us for the present life—obeys the craftsman in every way, and opposes none of his commands, nor indeed separates himself from him even to the smallest degree, but is at every moment in the eyes of his teacher, and endures food and drink and the rest of his manner of life such as that one may prescribe—

Much more, then, those who come to the learning of piety and equality, having once persuaded themselves that they will be able to receive such knowledge from the guide, will bring to them all obedience and the most exact submission in all things; and they will not demand an account of what has been commanded, but they will carry out the work that has been commanded—except insofar as, being ignorant of something that contributes to salvation, they ask and are instructed in an orderly manner and with fitting reverence. And let all the zeal of the person be directed to this: that the lofty element of the soul not be brought low through the uprising of pleasures. For how can the soul that has been fastened down to the pleasure of the flesh still look up with a free eye toward the kindred and intelligible light? Therefore, before all things, one must practice self-control, since it is a safe guard of chastity, not permitting the ruling mind to wander here and there. For just as water enclosed in pipes is carried upward by the compressing force, having nowhere to spread out, so too the human mind, with self-control pressing it tightly on every side like a watertight pipe, will somehow be lifted up by its natural capacity for motion toward the desire for higher things, having nowhere to leak away. For it is not possible for that which is ever-moving to stand still, having received its nature from the Maker; and when it is prevented from moving toward vain things, it is impossible that it should not direct its course entirely toward the truth.

We consider self-control to be defined not only as abstinence from foods (for many even of the philosophers among the Greeks achieved this), but before all things as the restraint of the wandering of the eyes. For what profit is it if, abstaining from foods, you devour through your eyes the licentiousness of adultery, or willingly listen with your ears to vain and slanderous voices? There is no profit in abstaining from foods while not abstaining from the pride of lofty-mindedness and empty glory and every passion. Or what profit is it to practice self-control from foods and not to abstain from evil and vain thoughts? Therefore also the Apostle said: I fear lest somehow our thoughts be corrupted. Let us, then, be self-controlled from all these things, lest with good reason the Lord's reproach come upon us also, as those who strain out the gnat but swallow the camel. CHAPTER 20. That one ought not to pursue associations with worldly relatives, or to be anxious about their affairs. It is fitting, however, to be separated from relatives and friends and parents in disposition as much as we see the dead separated from the living. For the one who has truly stripped himself for the contests according to virtue, and has renounced the whole world together with all things in the world, and has crucified himself—to speak fully—to the world, has died to the world and to all things in the world, whether they be parents, or brothers, or those holding the third or fourth or however-manyeth degree of kinship. If, then, those who begot them should depart from this life and transfer themselves to the conduct of the child, they are truly relatives, holding the rank not of parents but of brothers.

For he is the truest father—first, the Father of all things; and second after him, the one who guides us in the spiritual way of life. But if the relatives remain, having embraced their former life, they are a part of the world from which we have separated ourselves, and they have no claim on those who have put off the fleshly man and stripped themselves of their kinship with them. But whoever earnestly embraces friendship with worldly things and desires always to associate with them, has, through constant association, brought their dispositions into his own soul. And again, filled in his mind with the worldly mindset, he has fallen away from his good resolve and has been separated from the spiritual mindset, and has licked up his former vomit in his soul, and has been wounded by the enemy, who has muddied the spiritual way of life through fleshly kinship. Let us, then, pray for the best things for our relatives—I mean righteousness and piety, and those things which we ourselves have made precious. For it is fitting for us to pray for these things, and it is advantageous for them to reap them from us. But let us ourselves release our thoughts from care and anxiety about them. For the devil, seeing that we have stripped off all worldly care and are running lightly toward heaven, has stirred up in us the thought concerning our relatives, and having prepared us to care for their affairs, he also prepares our reasoning to be anxious about worldly cares.

What is the extent of their relatives’ property, and whether it is sufficient or deficient; and what gains have accrued to them from business dealings, and how far they increase their wealth; and what losses befall them from the circumstances of life, and how far they diminish the property they possess. And he makes them rejoice with their relatives’ prosperity, grieve with their failures, and share in their enmity toward their enemies (and this, when they are commanded to have no enemy at all), and rejoice with friends who are often unworthy of spiritual kinship, and rejoice even at their unjust and unreasonable gains; and all the wicked dispositions of worldly affairs, which we had stripped off and in place of which we had settled spiritual thoughts within ourselves, he brings in again upon our reasonings, and by working the material and worldly mindset again in the soul, he destroys the inner ascetic and makes him carry about only the outward form of an ascetic, a mere statue, nowhere animated by the virtues. And often, because of the affections intensified toward relatives, the ascetic has dared even to commit sacrilege, so as to relieve the poverty of his relatives. For the sacred things stored up for the saints, those who have dedicated themselves to God, are understood and reckoned as truly sacred offerings. Whoever, then, appropriates any of these is one of those who dare sacrilege. Knowing, therefore, of the

Let us flee the unbearable harm of our disposition toward relatives, and avoid concern for them, since it is a weapon of the devil. For the Lord himself forbade such attachment and familiarity, not permitting one of his disciples even to bid farewell to his relatives; and to another, not even to bury his dead father in the ground. For to the one who wished to bid farewell to his relatives he says: No one who has put his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of heaven; and to the one asking to bury his father he says: Follow me, and, Let the dead bury their own dead. And yet both seemed to be making requests most reasonable and most just; but the Savior did not consent, nor did he allow those nurtured for the kingdom of heaven to be separated from him even for a moment, lest they should do or think anything lower than the lofty and heavenly mind, through the inclination toward earthly and fleshly attachments—as though it were not permitted for those who think on heavenly things to have any regard for things on earth, as having already departed and become supermundane in their understanding. But if someone should say, How then does the law command us to care for relatives, saying: And you shall not overlook the relatives of your own seed; and likewise the Apostle: But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for his relatives, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever—we will give a brief answer.

Because the divine Apostle said this to those living in the world, to those who possess material wealth and are able to relieve the poverty of relatives. Likewise the law also says these things, and, to speak more briefly, it speaks to the living, not to the dead; for these are free from any such obligation. But you have died, and have been crucified to the whole world. For having renounced material wealth, you have loved possessionlessness; and having dedicated yourself to God, you have become a treasure of God. As one dead, you are free from every contribution on behalf of relatives; as one possessing nothing, you have nothing to give. And having offered even your body itself as firstfruits, and no longer having authority over it either, since it is a dedication, it is not lawful for you to be for human use; but only to consort with those of like disposition, who have likewise dedicated everything to God. From where, then, will the remembered words of Holy Scripture fit you? Or how will you not sin by nullifying your own confessions concerning the ascetic life?

CHAPTER 20. That one must not cut oneself off from the spiritual brotherhood. It is necessary, however, to be clearly persuaded of this also: that the one who has once come into the bond and union of spiritual brotherhood cannot be cut off and separated from those with whom he has been joined. For if people, often coming together into a partnership of this material life, could not separate contrary to what has been agreed, or the one doing this will be liable to the prescribed penalties, how much more would the one who has come into a covenant of spiritual cohabitation, which possesses an indissoluble and eternal union, not be able to divide and cut himself off from those with whom he has been fused. Or by doing this, he subjects himself to the heaviest penalties from above. For if a woman, who has come into partnership with a man and has a fleshly union with him, if she is caught plotting against him, is condemned to death, how much more does the one joined in spiritual communion, with the Spirit himself as witness and mediator, become liable for separation? Just as, therefore, the members of the body, bound by the bond of nature, could not be torn away from the body, or, if one were torn away, the part torn away would become dead, so also the ascetic joined to the brotherhood, and by the stronger bond of nature, the harmony of the Spirit—

being held fast, he would not have the authority to cut himself off from those to whom he has been joined. But if he does this, he is dead in soul and deprived of the grace of the Spirit, inasmuch as he has set aside the agreement made upon him. But if someone should say that certain of the brothers are worthless—for he will not accuse all of them; for they did not form the fellowship for the sake of wickedness, so that all should be evil in harmony—if, then, he should say that certain of the brothers are worthless, carelessly loosening what is good, neglecting propriety, overlooking the exactness that befits ascetics, and that for this reason one ought to separate from such people, he has devised this as no sufficient defense for separation. For neither Peter, nor Andrew, nor John tore themselves away from the remaining choir of the apostles because of Judas's wickedness, nor did any other of the apostles make this a pretext for apostasy, nor was anyone hindered from obeying Christ by that man's depravity; but obeying the Lord's teachings, they zealously pursued piety and virtue, not turning aside to that man's wickedness. Thus the one who says, "I am compelled to separate from spiritual union because of the worthless," has not invented a reasonable pretext for his own instability; but he himself is rocky ground, unable to nurture the word of truth because of instability of purpose, but at the assault of a small trial, or through intemperance of passions, not enduring a sober way of life, is immediately dried up by the scorching heat of the passions—the newly sprouted shoot of teaching.

devising frivolous excuses that are not sufficient for defense before the judgment seat of Christ, according to his own self-assurance, and easily deceiving himself. For nothing is easier than deceiving oneself, since each person becomes a judge favorable to himself, judging pleasant things to be advantageous. Let such a person, then, be condemned by truth that judges rightly, as one who becomes a cause of stumbling for many, either always provoking others by a wicked example to emulate the same outrages, and becoming an heir of woe. And it would be better for him that a millstone of a donkey be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depth of the sea. For when a soul has become accustomed to apostasy, it is filled with great incontinence, greed, and gluttony, falsehood and every kind of malice; and finally it overturns into the very bottom of wickedness, being experienced in the last evils. Let him, then, who becomes a guide of such people consider of how many souls' destruction he becomes guilty—he who is not even able to suffice for the accounts of his own soul. For why would such a person not rather imitate the great Peter, and become an example of firm faith and of standing firm concerning good things for the rest, so that, with the light of that man's achievements shining, those who live in the darkness of wickedness might be led to what is better?

Then the righteous Noah did not say to God, "I must depart from the world because all are wicked," but rather he endured athletically and nobly, and amid the abyss of wickedness he kept his piety unstormed, and in no way rebelled against the Master, but by endurance and perseverance amid the waves of impiety he preserved safe the vessel of piety. And Lot in Sodom, moving amid so much impiety and lawlessness and transgression, kept his virtue uncorrupted, nowhere taken captive by evil plots; but amid murderers of strangers, and men carried by great insolence and licentiousness against the ordinances of nature, he both preserved his holiness undefiled himself and, as far as he could, instructed the rest, training them in the good by deeds before words. But you make pretexts of the negligence of your brothers, whether real or fabricated by you, contemplating apostasy and devising the rejection of the Holy Spirit, and making the wickedness of yourself and your laziness toward labors for virtue a curtain for the

you are working the slander of brothers. So that such a person, disciplined by these examples, should cherish the harmony of the Spirit, which he fitted to himself at the first swaddlings of his heavenly conception. For neither, if it should happen that one of the fingers on the hand suffers some painful thing, will the other forthwith contend that it too must be cut off; but it will first avoid the pain of the incision, and then it will also remain firmly, so as to contribute even the service of the one in danger to the body, and so that the hand, having been wholly deprived of its natural branches, may not be despoiled of its own order and native beauty. Transfer the example, then, to the ascetic, and consider how much pain and disorder he works in sensitive souls by the excision, and how he shows himself dead and without part in life. But that the leader would not choose to lead his own disciple into wickedness, so that the wicked conduct of the teacher should become a pretext for the disciple's separation and revolt, let us consider as follows, if it seems good. What is a father? What is a teacher? Each is a trainer. For the one has earnestly desired to pray and counsel the better things for the child, the other for the disciple. For it is nature for children to pray that they become as good and as prudent as possible, most orderly and most moderate, so that the children may be well esteemed, and the fathers may become more glorious by the reference to them of the child's good qualities.

It is also the earnest aim of trainers that those who are trained by them become the strongest and most skilled, so that, having made their contest versatile through strength and experience, they may be shown to be brilliant victors over their opponents, and their lawful athletic discipline may become clear praise for their instructors. And it is natural to everyone who has chosen to teach to want their students to attain the most exact comprehension of their teachings. Since, then, the nature of fathers holds this principle, how could the teacher of holiness not also pray that the one being educated by him be shown to be the most guileless and most temperate in spiritual wisdom? And indeed he knows clearly that, when the student becomes such a person, he will be renowned among men and will receive brilliant crowns from Christ, since he has made his servants—or rather, to say it better, brothers, since Christ also chose this—worthy of intimacy with him through his own care. And let us consider another point: if the student turns out base contrary to his guidance, the instructor will have inconsolable shame at the ecumenical assembly at the time of judgment, and at the universal gathering of heavenly beings he will not only be ashamed but will also be punished. From where, then, will it arise that the leader should not wish his own companion to be orderly and equitable? And in another way, the student's wickedness is unprofitable to the teacher. For since each has chosen to live together with the other, whatever wickedness the student shares in, he first imparts its fruits to the teacher.

Just as venomous reptiles first inject their venom into those who warm them, so it is clear from every angle—both from the nature of things and from what is advantageous to the one who leads—that he will pray and strive in every way that the one trained under him become gentle and orderly. For if he were a trainer of vice and wickedness, he would certainly have striven to bring those exercised by him to that end; but if he is a teacher of virtue and righteousness, I do not think he would choose that the outcome for the one being taught should turn out contrary to his own earnest purposes. Every plausible pretext, then, has been taken away from the one who wishes to separate from a spiritual community. The cause of such a resolve has been shown to be his lack of self-control over the passions, his contempt for labors, and the rottenness and instability of his judgment. For this man did not hear from the prophet David: Blessed are those who keep judgment—those who keep it, not those who abolish it. These are the ones who have been likened to the foolish, who place the foundation of their spiritual building upon the sand—that is, upon the instability of their own judgment—which a few drops of trials and a brief torrent of the assaults of the evil one, having undermined its base, dissolved and scattered.

CHAPTER 22. Concerning obedience, more fully. How it is fitting, then, for one who has once been united to a spiritual body to keep that union indissoluble, we have set forth as far as we were able. But now let us again exercise the discourse concerning obedience—first having gone through it briefly, but now setting it out more perfectly—and let us show how great an obedience the exact account demands from ascetics toward the superior. For from the holy Scripture itself I will attempt to make clear the measure of this. Paul the apostle, writing to the Romans, commands that all be subject to the governing authorities—the authorities of the world, not the spiritual ones—and he made this clear from what follows, speaking about taxes and tribute, and he declares that the one who opposes the authority, even in the smallest matter, opposes God. If, then, the divine law has assigned so great a subjection from the pious to the rulers of this world, who have received their rule according to human law—and this at a time when they were living in impiety—how great an obedience ought the ascetic to bring to the ruler established by God and receiving his authority from His laws? And how would one not oppose the ordinance of God, if he opposes the superior? Especially since the Apostle plainly commands us to yield to spiritual leaders in all things. For, he says, obey your leaders and submit, for they keep watch over your souls, as those who will give an account, so that they may do this with joy and not groaning; for that would be unprofitable for you.

If, then, not to obey with exactness is unprofitable, it is fitting for us to pursue what is more profitable. For what is unprofitable, I think, brings with it the appearance of great loss and regret and correction. But it is especially fitting to emulate the ready obedience of the saints, which they displayed toward God, if indeed we are to accomplish obedience well, using a sufficient example for the matter. And let no one think that I, wishing to strengthen ready obedience toward superiors, am introducing excessive examples and boldly likening obedience toward men to obedience toward God. For I have not made this comparison from my own resources, but from the divine Scriptures themselves. For consider what the Lord says in the Gospels, ordaining obedience toward his own servants: "He who receives you receives me"; and again elsewhere: "He who hears you hears me; and he who rejects you rejects me." And that what he said to the apostles he legislated concerning all those who would preside after them, it is possible to establish from many and indisputable testimonies of divine Scripture and most evident proofs. So accordingly we too have made our words in accordance with the divine ordinances, saying that it is necessary to set before ourselves the ready obedience of the saints toward God as an example of obedience toward those who preside. How, then, did the saints display their ready obedience to the Master?

Consider Abraham for me, when he was commanded to leave house, homeland, property, possessions, relatives, friends, and in addition to these to pursue the opposite things—strange land, obscurity, wandering, poverty, fears, dangers, and all the hardships that attend those who live abroad; and he obeyed without hesitation, and left behind the prosperity and rest at home, choosing instead of these the hardship and wandering in a foreign land. Do you see the most exact ascetic, and the despiser of all worldly prosperity for God's sake? But let us proceed to what follows. He reaches Palestine, the place shown to him by God for his dwelling; but when famine seized the land, he moves to Egypt, and there, when his wife was taken from him, he does not lose heart, nor does he blame God's dispensations, as though receiving such returns for his obedience; but he bore this too gently—the most grievous of all injustices, an injustice done not once, but indeed also a second time by the king of the Gerarites. For having once decided to obey God, he did not consider what God was arranging concerning him, but how he himself might render his obedience most exact and blameless. For this reason he also receives at last the child Isaac, the prize and gift of long prayer and faith; and when he saw him advancing to the prime of age, and providing good hopes to his parents of succession and of the later establishment of his line, at that very time, after so many hopes, he is commanded by God to lead him up to a high mountain and sacrifice him to the one who gave him.

Having received that abrupt voice, and the fearful ministry, and that which is stronger than nature—not only a command but even a report—how gently did he bear it, how did he not lose his mind, how did he not fall in his soul, but as one about to sacrifice a lamb, so with a calm and undisturbed mind, having placed upon himself the yoke of obedience, he went with his child to fulfill what had been commanded, in this too in no way busying himself about God's judgment, nor complaining, but looking to his own part, that in nothing he might weaken his obedience. Thus indeed he also took up a bright crown, being established for the inhabited world as a pillar of faith and obedience. It was possible, then, to go through also the obedience of the remaining saints who shone forth in the old history, as instruction for the unquestionable obedience of ascetics; but so that we may not make the discourse long, having sent each of those who wish to be instructed to the hearing of the holy Scriptures, we ourselves shall turn the discourse to the disciples of the Savior, showing how they obeyed and how they submitted. Jesus was saying to them while they still had the beginning of discipleship, and expected that the Master would reign at any moment, and supposed that they themselves would labor in nothing, nor would they risk danger, nor would they toil, but would reign together with Christ and would share in the royal glory and service and honor. And Peter makes this clear when he rebukes Jesus, when he was speaking about his own passion; for taking him aside, it says, Peter began to rebuke him, saying, "God forbid, Lord, this shall not happen to you.

And showing by this that he did not expect anything difficult at all; the sons of Zebedee also make this clear, bringing their mother to the Lord as she pleaded on their behalf, so that they might be honored with a seat at the right and at the left. For if they had not supposed that he was about to reign immediately, they would not have dared to ask this, imagining the Savior's seat at the right of the Father in the heavens. What, then, did he say to them as they expected and hoped for these things? Behold, I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves. And having heard a thing so utterly contrary to their own hope, they did not say, "We came with other hopes, and you command us things contrary to what we hoped for? We expected relief, and you send us out to dangers? We hoped for honors, and you bring in dishonors? We expected a kingdom, and you order us to be driven about and to be slaves of all?" None of these things did they say, although they heard other things greater and heavier than what had been said, such as, They will deliver you up to afflictions, and they will kill you, and you will be hated by all the nations for my name's sake. And you will be brought before governors and kings for my sake.

Having heard all these things contrary to their expectation, then, they bowed the neck of their mind, submitted to the yoke, and readily advanced to dangers, to the marketplaces, to insults, to stonings, to beatings, to dishonors, to crosses, to various deaths; and they endured these things with such great eagerness that they rejoiced and celebrated brightly whenever they were deemed worthy to share in the sufferings of Christ. For they rejoiced, it says, because they were deemed worthy to be dishonored for his name. The ascetic according to God is required to bring this obedience to the superior. For Christ chose disciples, molding this way of life for men, as we have already said. For the superior is nothing other than one who holds the place of the Savior, and who has become a mediator between God and men, and who serves God as priest for the salvation of those who obey him. And we are taught this by Christ himself, who appoints Peter after himself as shepherd of his Church; for, he says, Peter, do you love me more than these? Feed my sheep; and he grants equal authority to all the shepherds and teachers who follow in succession. And the sign of this is that all bind and loose alike, just as he did. As, therefore, the sheep obey the shepherd, turning wherever the shepherd leads, so it is fitting for ascetics according to God to obey their superiors, not busying themselves over the commands when they are free from sin, but fulfilling what has been commanded with all eagerness and zeal.

For just as the carpenter or the builder uses each of the tools of his craft according to his own will, and the tool would not say that it will not fulfill the need for which the craftsman handles it, but it yields to the hand of the one guiding it; so it is fitting for the ascetic, as a tool contributing to a craftsman for the completion of the spiritual building, to be obedient in all things in which the superior does not judge that it is well for him to serve, so that he may not do damage to the completion of the spiritual work by not contributing his own proper service. And just as the tool does not choose for itself what it should do for its contribution to the craft, so also the ascetic ought not to choose his own works for himself, but to yield to the understanding and the management of the craftsman his own formation. For the one who guides wisely knows how to examine accurately the character and passions and psychic impulses of each, and to adapt to these his own management in each case. For this reason it is fitting in no way to oppose his ordinances, but to be persuaded that it is the hardest of all things to know and to heal oneself, because self-love is innate in human beings, and each one steals away the judgment of the truth by his attachment to himself. But to be known and healed by another is easy, since the passion of self-love does not trouble the true discernment of those who judge in the case of others. For when this harmony has been established in an ascetic community, peace will easily be conducted among them, and the salvation of all will be accomplished with love and concord. Chapter 23.

That the ascetic ought to choose even the lowly tasks with great eagerness. Indeed, the ascetic ought to choose even the more lowly tasks with great zeal and eagerness, knowing that everything done for God's sake is not small but great, and spiritual, and worthy of the heavens, and drawing down for us the rewards from there. If, then, it should be necessary to attend to the pack animals that carry burdens for the common needs, one must not resist, considering the apostles, how eagerly they obeyed the Lord when he commanded them to bring the colt, and reckoning that even those for whose sake we choose the care of the pack animals are brothers of the Savior; and the goodwill and zeal toward them has its reference to the Lord who said: Inasmuch as you did it to one of these least of my brothers, you did it to me. And if he appropriates the things of the least, much more will he appropriate the things of the elect, provided only he does not reckon the service an occasion for indifference, but secures himself in all watchfulness, so that it may become a benefit both to himself and to those he meets. But if it is necessary to perform any of the more lowly tasks, one must know that the Savior also served the disciples, and did not disdain to do the lowly tasks, and it is a great thing for a man to become an imitator of God, being led through these humble things up to the height of that imitation. And who thereafter would call himself humble, when God has taken hold of his activity? Chapter 24. That the ascetic ought not to seek honors and precedence. The ascetic ought not to seek honors in any way.

For if he seeks here the rewards of his labors and achievements, he is wretched in his recompense, losing eternal things for the sake of things temporary; but if he has chosen to strive here and to receive the crowns in heaven, he ought not only not to seek honors, but even when they are given to beg them off and to reject them, so that the honor here may not become a diminishment of the glory there. For the present life is wholly one of works and struggles; the life to come, of crowns and rewards, just as the great Paul, when about to be perfected in this life and to depart to the things there, says: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord will give me—not here, but in that day—the righteous judge. And again the Savior says: In this world you will have tribulation. And again the same Apostle: Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of heaven. If, then, you wish to reign in the time to come, do not seek here ease or honor, but even if you are afflicted for the present for the sake of the word—that is, of the truth—know that you will reign afterward. For this is the reward appointed for tribulation here endured for the sake of the good. But if you are not afflicted, do not expect the crowns from there, since you have not first laid down here the struggles and labors appointed for those crowns. Therefore let the ascetic by no means seek honors, nor to be preferred above the rest. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled; and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

If the ascetic exalts himself, he has a heavy and powerful humbler, able even to bring him down to Hades; but if he humbles himself, he will be exalted brightly and exceedingly, God exalting the one who humbles himself according to his own power. Wait, therefore, O ascetic, for the one who exalts rightly, and in no way be fainthearted regarding the present things. For you are an athlete and a worker of Christ, having agreed to strive the whole day and to endure the heat the whole day. Why, not yet having completed the measure of the day, do you pursue rest? Wait for the evening, the end of life here, so that, when the master of the house comes, he may count out your wages to you. For when evening had come, the lord of the vineyard said to his steward: Call the workers and give them their wage—not at midday, nor at the beginning of the hiring. Wait, then, for the end of life, and then you will receive your wages worthily. For now endure the last place, so that then you may receive the first.

CHAPTER 25. On freedom from vanity and simplicity in foods. The ascetic ought by no means to seek variety in foods, nor, under the pretense of continence, as it were, a change of dishes. For this is a subversion of the common good order and a ground for scandals, and he who introduces such causes of disturbance in an ascetic community becomes an heir of the woe. But even if this relish, the salted one, approved by the holy Fathers in place of some other seasoning, is to be added in the smallest amount to the foods, mingled with the rest of the dish of water or vegetables, let him not, on the pretext of vainglorious scrupulousness, as though abstaining from meats, seek the more costly and better foods, but soaking his bread unnoticed in the broth of the smallest fragment, let him partake with all thanksgiving. For that smallest fragment, thrown into so great a quantity of water or, if it so happens, of a seed-bearing food, is not a charge of luxury, but the most exact and truly wretched continence of ascetics. The ascetic of holiness must therefore not observe such things. For we abstain from such things not by judaizing, but by fleeing the satiety of luxury.

CHAPTER 26. That progress will be able to harm nothing to one who looks to perfection. But if the ascetic should say that he is harmed by journeys, or by travels undertaken for the necessary needs of the community, and for this reason should decline the journey, he has not yet understood the exactness of obedience, nor perceived that this accomplishment is not perfected by such slackness. Let him look, then, at the examples of the saints, how they perfected obedience, contradicting or resisting not even in the least any of the commandments that are so hard to fulfill; and let him be trained in the perfection of obedience. But if anyone is truly being harmed, let him ask the brotherhood to entreat God on his behalf, and let him himself ask God with unhesitating hope to become a vessel in all things, both in spiritual accomplishments and in bodily services for good works, active and useful; and certainly he who accepts the eagerness of those who seek what is good will give the power, having himself urged them to the request, and having said: Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; and he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks it will be opened; and again elsewhere: If anyone of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all simply and does not reproach, and it will be given to him; but let him ask in faith, doubting nothing.

And in all cases, simply, in whatever matters the mind falters concerning perfect obedience, or Satan hinders, blunting our zeal and cutting it short, using this help, let us supplicate God and ask that ease in our good accomplishments be given to us, and that our flesh be nailed down with the fear of God, and that our mind become unwaveringly fixed, in no way captured by fleshly desires and pleasures. For in the exaltation of the mind, worldly desires, growing in the soul, work various irregularities in our thoughts and make us sluggish concerning good works. Let us not, then, refuse to contribute each his own cooperation to the common and necessary needs of the body, but let us supplicate God to receive the power of cooperation. Since, if all should refuse in imitation of those who have gone before, who will supply the needs? And otherwise it is also worth being taught this from an example. For the soldier just enrolled in a certain rank does not try to change those in the rank to his own condition, but he himself is conformed to the conduct and custom of the rank. It is fitting, then, that the one enrolled in a spiritual body should not wish to conform those men to his own manner, but to make his own manner like the customs and patterns of those in the body. CHAPTER 27. That the ascetic ought not to have private occupations. But the ascetic would not have authority even over himself for a moment, so as to spend time in private occupations.

For neither could an instrument be moved apart from the craftsman, nor could a member of the whole body be separated, even for a short time, or be moved contrary to what seems good to the inner craftsman and overseer of the whole body; nor does an ascetic have room to do or accomplish anything contrary to what seems good to the superior. But if he should say that through weakness of body he is without strength for the commands, he shall entrust the testing of his own weakness to the superior. Otherwise, also having considered the saying of the Scripture, he will urge himself on toward the fulfillment of what is commanded, hearing the Scripture saying: You have not yet resisted unto blood, struggling against sin; and again elsewhere: Strengthen the hands that hang down and the knees that are paralyzed. CHAPTER 28. That the superior ought to manage the affairs of his subjects with fatherly goodwill. And the superior himself also, caring as a father for genuine children, shall visit the need of each one, and shall bring the appropriate care and attention, as far as is possible; and the member that is truly weak, whether in soul or in body, he shall bear with love and the goodwill befitting a father. CHAPTER 29. That there ought not to be a companionship of two or three brothers in an ascetic community.

It is fitting for brothers to have love for one another, but not for two or three to form a faction together. For this is not love, but sedition and division, and an accusation of wickedness against those who come together. For if such persons loved the common good of order, they would have a love that is common and equal toward all. But if, cutting themselves off and separating themselves, they become a faction within a faction, the gathering of such a friendship is evil, and such persons gather something different from the common affair, which is an innovation against the prevailing stability. It is fitting, therefore, that such factions not be permitted, nor that anyone, for the sake of preserving love, enter into communion with a brother who wishes to do evil and to falsify the ordinances of the common order. But as long as all remain in the good, let each one's communion and union be with all. But if anyone, wishing to oppose the prevailing order, draws a brother along with him, this one should first be admonished in private by the one who is sound, as one sick in his reasonings; and if he does not wish to be healed privately, other brothers who are more discerning should be taken along for his healing, according to the holy Gospel: But if he does not

you, take with you one or two more. But if he will not listen to them, the sickness of his soul is to be made known to the superior; and if he will not endure even the superior, let him be reckoned as the Gentile and the tax collector, and be excluded from the flock as a sheep seized by plague, so that he may not fill the rest also with the sickness. But if there is no one who is harmed by the evil example, then only will forbearance toward him, even after the things said, have a place, in hope of correction. But forbearance means not cutting him off, not refraining from admonishing and correcting him with the penalties appointed by the law. Chapter 30. That the ascetic must not seek choice of garments or shoes. However, he must not seek the choice garments or shoes, but choose the cheaper, so that in this too we may display humility, and not carry away a reputation as lovers of adornment, lovers of self, and lovers not of brothers. For whoever strives for the first place is separated from love and humility. Chapter 31. That the superior must appoint what is enjoined in proportion to the strength of the body; and concerning those who conceal their own strength. The superior, however, must take care that he does not, by making the injunctions greater than the strength of the body, provoke the weak man to contradiction; but, as a father equally well-disposed and genuine toward all, he is to examine the powers of each one's body, and so to distribute and allot the injunctions.

They will, however, incur the greatest condemnation—those who deny the bodily strength that already exists and was given by God, who shamelessly treat their superiors with contempt, and who do not yield to those who give orders. For if it brings great and unbearable danger upon the superior to conceal what is hidden in the word, and not to forewarn each person of the sword that comes upon sin, much more will he bring danger upon the one who receives from God bodily strength for the benefit of the community, and who renders it useless and conceals it. Chapter 32. That the brothers ought not to be grieved when the weaker are deemed worthy of forbearance. The brothers, however, ought not to be grieved and indignant when the superior entrusts to the weaker the services that befit them and deems them worthy of forbearance, since need itself so suggests; but the stronger ought to spare the weaker as weaker members, and in this way fulfill spiritual love. For neither would the foot in the body rise up against the hand, or force it into its own service, nor would the whole hand lay the burden of its own activity upon the smallest finger; but each of the members exercises the strength it received from nature, distributing it to the weaker. If this order is preserved in the spiritual body, it will be shown that we truly are the body of Christ, and members in part, always preserving the harmony of connection and the unbroken union with one another. Chapter 33.

That the superiors ought not to grant freedom of speech to ascetics who have revolted from their own community, nor receive these into communion of life. It is necessary, however, that those who lead the spiritual communities, practicing goodwill toward one another and making one another's concern their own, should not destroy one another's endeavors, nor simply and without examination receive back from one another those who have revolted from the brethren. For this is complete confusion and dissolution and the destruction of the spiritual work. For the more understanding of the brethren, held by the fear of God, wait firmly for the good; but the duller and more sluggish, being disciplined and directed toward the good by shame before men and by the necessity hanging over them from men. If, then, the more sluggish man sees that it is permitted him with impunity to flee the labors in the community once chosen, and to move to another dwelling, and to live unguarded and without self-control, he will easily break away, and the one who readily receives him will be liable for his destruction. And this evil, advancing often, drives even those who walk well out of the right and just way; and the destruction of all will be heaped upon the one who gives the occasions for stumbling. In order, then, that this may not happen, let us either admonish those who have revolted from the brethren and lead them back from where they departed, or guard ourselves against those who do not obey us, and decline their company, and give this charge to all the brethren:

So that either those very persons, having been brought to their senses by such a turning away, may return to their own fold and be shepherded under the shepherd allotted to them; or, if they persist in the rejection of the spiritual communion, at least the rest, having seen how abominable they have become, may be brought to their senses by the example, and may flee from imitation, escaping the shame. And that these are not merely my own words, but clear words of the Spirit, I will set before you the very sayings of Paul, by which he chastised those who live without self-control, subjecting to rebuke, along with the others, both the drunkards and the revilers. For if any brother, he says, is a fornicator, or a reviler, or a drunkard, do not even eat with such a one. And again elsewhere, concerning those who do nothing but are busybodies, he said: Mark this man, and do not associate with him. And that the one who violates the covenants made in the Spirit dares things worse than the revilers, the drunkards, and those who spend their time in idleness, is surely clear to everyone. So, consistently, the word enjoins that those who destroy the spiritual good order be excluded and kept away from the company of those who preserve it. But only then ought a brother's separation to remain without reproach, when it comes about by the judgment of the superior for the sake of some dispensation.

CHAPTER 34. That one who lives as an ascetic in a community ought not to possess anything of material things privately. It is fitting, indeed, that the ascetic who has chosen the aforementioned fellowship be free from all private possession of material things. For if he does not do this, first he has corrupted the exact fellowship by the private possession of property; then he has also brought forth great proofs of unbelief against himself, as though he did not trust God, that he will not feed those gathered in his name; and he has not heard from the prophet David saying: I was younger, and indeed I grew old, and I did not see a righteous man forsaken, nor his seed seeking bread—either the intelligible bread of prudence, or the perceptible bread by which the body is nourished. For if where two or three are gathered in the name of Christ, he is in their midst, much more where there is a much larger and more populous assembly. Either, then, there will be no lack of necessities, since Christ is present with us—if indeed not even the Israelites in the wilderness had a shortage of useful things—or if there should be a lack for our testing, it is better to be in want and to be with Christ than, apart from fellowship with him, to be rich in all things according to this life. Such possession does not stop the harm at this point, but advances it further. For one who has been eager to have something privately is studying nothing other than separation and apostasy. For one who does not look to this, what would he even acquire? Knowing that by the grace of Christ his servants always continue in abundance of all necessities.

Such a person is clearly practicing the cutting off and mortification of his own soul, and selling his own salvation for a few small coins, and—allow me to dare say a little—becoming a second Judas, beginning from theft (for private possession is theft), and ending in betrayal; for he too betrays the word of truth, just as that one betrayed the Lord. For when the rule of life requires that we not even be separated from the community to which we were joined, nor acquire any private possession, nor do anything at all in secret, or become a wicked example to those being saved to the harm of the brethren—and then someone, disregarding the fear of God and the ordinances of the Holy Spirit, first conceives embezzlement (for any private possession, however and from wherever it comes, is embezzlement), and then also apostasy and separation—how has he not betrayed the word of truth and become a second Judas, betraying the truth as far as lies in his power? It is necessary, therefore, by every means to flee from possessing anything privately beyond what is provided in common for all together; and not only in this way to keep the mind unstained, but also to cleanse the inner man from all defilements: on the one hand, from unclean and wicked thoughts, which muddy the inner dwelling-place of the Spirit; on the other, from deceit, and hypocrisy, and envy, and strife, which tear up love by the root and drive God out of the soul of such people. For if God is love, the one who does not have love is deprived of the divine grace.

Let each person preserve his own soul in all humility, sanctification, and readiness for good deeds, confining his reasoning to the present, considering how he may not, in the present time, fail in any of God's wills and tear apart the foundation of his conduct. For such a condition of the soul will free us from all exaltation, and will prepare us to follow all good things in reverence and steadfast purpose, establishing this above all in the soul: that God is good and the cause of all good things, and not the cause of evil in any way whatsoever, even if we taste of a sharper remedy for the need of correction. For God, being a physician of human souls, mixes the power of his medicines in proportion to the nature of the diseases, purging out the deepest wickedness, whenever this should be needed. Knowing this clearly, then, let us always give thanks, even if we perceive a more severe treatment, being cleansed of our negligences. But to endure through trials and testing belongs to very few men, and those of Abraham's sort. These things, then, as the grace of God has supplied to the lowliness of our mind for your consolation, you who have embraced the communal life. And, as the discourse has shown, our own mind has seen that nothing brighter, nothing more gracious, nothing higher could be found among men than this way of life.

Since we have also brought the exhortation that lies before us to those who devote themselves to the monastic life, and since the aim of both is one and the same—to please Christ—and the teachings concerning these matters are akin, let us also set forth the account concerning them. For perhaps something useful may be contributed from that source as well to this discourse, able to illuminate further and to adorn the conduct of life.