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puffed up with vanity. Therefore, it is necessary for one who is about to bring soul and body to God according to the law of piety and to render to him the bloodless and pure worship, making pious faith the guide of [his] life, which the voices of the saints cry out to us through all of Scripture, to thus surrender his soul, so obedient and well-reined, to the courses of virtue, releasing himself purely from the fetters of this life and being set free from all slavery to lowly and vain things, and becoming wholly God's alone in faith and life, knowing clearly that where there is pious faith and a blameless life, there also is the power of Christ present, and where the power of Christ is present, there is the flight of all evil and of the death that plunders our life; for evil things do not have such power in themselves as to withstand the master's power, but it is their nature to arise from the disobedience of the commandments 8,1.44; which the first-formed one suffered long ago, and now all those who imitate his disobedience by their own choice; but those who approach the Spirit with a guileless mind and have faith in all fullness, with no stain underlying in their conscience, this power of the Spirit cleanses them according to the one who said, For our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction, as you know, and again, May your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who provided through the font to the worthy the pledge of immortality, so that the talent entrusted to each may, by the work of those who have been entrusted, bring the invisible wealth. For it is a great thing, brothers, a great thing for the acquisition of intelligible things for those who receive holy baptism with fear; for the rich and abundant Spirit that flows always to those who receive grace, with which the holy apostles, having been filled, showed the fruits of the fullness to the churches of Christ, this remains as a co-worker and a co-dweller for those who have sincerely received the gift according to the measure of faith of each of those who have partaken, building up in each the good for the soul's zeal in the works of faith according to the voice of the Lord that says, as the one who received that mina† for the working of what was given, that is, for the progress and growth of the one who receives, to each is given the grace of the Holy Spirit; for the soul, having been reborn by the power of God, must be nourished 8,1.45 up to the measure of the intelligible age in the Spirit, being watered continually both by the sweat of virtue and by the provision of grace; for just as the nature of the body, when an infant has just been born, does not remain in the tender age, but being watered by the body's foods according to the law of nature, it presses on to the given measure, so also is it fitting for the newborn soul, whose participation in the Spirit, destroying the disease that entered through disobedience, renews the ancient beauty to its nature, not to remain always an infant nor to be idle and at leisure, sleeping motionless in the state of its birth, but to water itself with its own foods and to nourish itself through all virtue and labors toward the magnitude which nature demands, so that it might make itself invincible to the invisible robber who assails souls with many unseen devices, by the power of the Spirit through its own virtue.

Therefore one must always advance oneself to a perfect man according to the apostle: Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be infants, tossed by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine in craftiness for the methodical scheme of deceit, but speaking the truth, let us grow up into him in all things, who is the head, Christ; and 8,1.46 elsewhere the same one: Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, for you to discern what is the will of God, the good and

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ματαίῳ πεφυσημένοι. ∆εῖ τοίνυν τὸν μέλλοντα ψυχὴν καὶ σῶμα κατὰ τὸν τῆς εὐσεβείας νόμον προσάγειν θεῷ καὶ τὴν ἀναίμακτον αὐτῷ καὶ καθαρὰν ἀποδιδόναι λατρείαν, ἡγεμόνα [τε] τοῦ βίου τὴν εὐσεβῆ πίστιν ποιούμενον, ἣν αἱ τῶν ἁγίων φωναὶ διὰ πάσης ἡμῖν βοῶσι γραφῆς, οὕτως εὐπειθῆ καὶ εὐήνιον τὴν ψυχὴν τοῖς τῆς ἀρετῆς ἐπιδιδόναι δρόμοις, λύοντα μὲν ἑαυτὸν καθαρῶς τῶν τοῦ βίου τούτου πεδῶν καὶ πάσης ἀπηλλαγμένον τῆς τῶν ταπεινῶν καὶ ματαίων δουλείας, ὅλον δὲ τῇ πίστει καὶ τῷ βίῳ τοῦ θεοῦ μόνου γινόμενον, εἰδότα σαφῶς ὡς ἐν ᾧ πίστις εὐσεβείας καὶ βίος ἄμεμπτος, ἐκεῖ καὶ Χριστοῦ πάρεστι δύναμις, ἐν ᾧ δὲ Χριστοῦ πάρεστι δύναμις, ἐκεῖ κακίας πάσης φυγὴ καὶ τοῦ λῃστεύοντος τὴν ζωὴν ἡμῶν θανάτου· οὐ γὰρ ἔχει τὰ πονηρὰ δύναμιν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς τοσαύτην ὡς ἀνθίστασθαι τῇ δεσποτικῇ δυνάμει, ἀλλὰ τῇ παρακοῇ τῶν ἐντολῶν 8,1.44 ἐπιγίνεσθαι πέφυκεν· ὃ πάλαι μὲν πέπονθεν ὁ πρῶτος πλασθείς, νῦν δὲ πάντες οἱ τὴν τούτου παρακοὴν αὐθαι ρέτῳ προαιρέσει μιμούμενοι· τοὺς δὲ προσερχομένους ἀδόλῳ γνώμῃ τῷ πνεύματι καὶ πίστιν ἔχοντας ἐν πάσῃ πληροφορίᾳ, μηδεμιᾶς ἐν τῷ συνειδότι κηλῖδος ὑπούσης, ἡ τοῦ πνεύματος αὕτη καθαίρει δύναμις κατὰ τὸν εἰπόντα Ὅτι τὸ εὐαγγέλιον ἡμῶν τὸ πρὸς ὑμᾶς οὐκ ἐγενήθη ἐν λόγῳ μόνῳ, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν δυνάμει καὶ ἐν πνεύματι ἁγίῳ καὶ ἐν πληροφορίᾳ πολλῇ καθὼς οἴδατε, καὶ πάλιν Ὁλόκληρον ὑμῶν τὸ πνεῦμα καὶ ἡ ψυχὴ καὶ τὸ σῶμα ἀμέμπτως τηρηθείη ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὃς παρέσχε διὰ τοῦ λουτροῦ τοῖς ἀξίοις τὸ τῆς ἀθανασίας ἐνέχυρον, ὅπως τὸ πιστευθὲν ἑκάστῳ τάλαντον τῇ τῶν πιστευθέντων ἐργασίᾳ τὸν ἀόρατον κομίσῃ πλοῦτον. μέγα γάρ, ἀδελφοί, μέγα πρὸς κτῆσιν τῶν νοητῶν τοῖς φόβῳ δεχομένοις τὸ ἅγιον βάπτισμα· τὸ γὰρ πλούσιον καὶ ἄφθονον πνεῦμα τὸ ῥέον ἀεὶ τοῖς δεχομένοις τὴν χάριν, ἧς οἱ ἅγιοι πληρωθέντες ἀπόστολοι ταῖς τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐκκλησίαις τοὺς καρποὺς ἐπεδείξαντο τοῦ πληρώματος, τοῦτο τοῖς τὴν δωρεὰν εἰλικρινῶς δεξαμένοις κατὰ τὸ μέτρον τῆς ἑκάστου τῶν μετειληφότων πίστεως συνεργὸν καὶ σύνοικον παραμένει, οἰκοδομοῦν ἐν ἑκάστῳ τὸ ἀγαθὸν πρὸς τὴν τῆς ψυχῆς ἐν τοῖς τῆς πίστεως ἔργοις σπουδὴν κατὰ τὴν τοῦ κυρίου φωνὴν τὴν λέγουσαν, ὡς ὁ λαβὼν τὴν μνᾶν ἐκείνην† ἐπὶ ἐργασίᾳ τοῦ δοθέντος, τουτ έστιν εἰς προκοπὴν καὶ αὔξησιν τοῦ λαμβάνοντος ἑκάστῳ δίδοται ἡ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος χάρις· δεῖ γὰρ τρέφεσθαι 8,1.45 τὴν ἀναγεννηθεῖσαν τῇ τοῦ θεοῦ δυνάμει ψυχὴν μέχρι τοῦ μέτρου τῆς ἐν τῷ πνεύματι νοητῆς ἡλικίας, ἀρδομένην διαρκῶς τῷ τε ἱδρῶτι τῆς ἀρετῆς καὶ τῇ τῆς χάριτος χορηγίᾳ· ὥσπερ γὰρ ἡ τοῦ σώματος φύσις γεννηθέντος ἄρτι τοῦ βρέφους οὐκ ἐν τῷ ἁπαλῷ καταμένει τῆς ἡλικίας, ἀλλὰ ταῖς τοῦ σώματος τροφαῖς ἀρδομένη κατὰ τὸν τῆς φύσεως νόμον πρὸς τὸ δοθὲν ἐπείγεται μέτρον, οὕτω προσ ήκει καὶ τὴν ἀρτιγενῆ ψυχήν, ἧς ἡ μετουσία τοῦ πνεύ ματος τὴν ἐπεισελθοῦσαν διὰ παρακοῆς διαφθείρουσα νόσον τὸ παλαιὸν ἀνανεοῖ τῇ φύσει κάλλος, μὴ μένειν ἀεὶ νήπιον μηδὲ ἀργεῖν καὶ σχολάζειν ἀκίνητον ἐν τῇ τῆς γεννήσεως καθεύδουσαν στάσει, ἀλλ' ἑαυτὴν ταῖς οἰκείαις ἄρδειν τροφαῖς καὶ πρὸς ὅπερ ἡ φύσις ἀπαιτεῖ μέγεθος διὰ πάσης ἀρετῆς καὶ πόνων ἐκτρέφειν, ὅπως ἂν τῷ ἀοράτῳ λῃστῇ καὶ πολλὰς ἀφανεῖς μηχανὰς προσβάλλοντι ταῖς ψυχαῖς ἀμήχανον ἑαυτὴν τῇ δυνάμει τοῦ πνεύματος δι' οἰκείας ἀρετῆς καταστήσαι.

Χρὴ οὖν ἀεὶ προάγειν ἑαυτὸν εἰς ἄνδρα τέλειον κατὰ τὸν ἀπόστολον Μέχρι καταντήσωμεν οἱ πάντες εἰς τὴν ἑνότητα τῆς πίστεως καὶ τῆς ἐπιγνώσεως τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ εἰς ἄνδρα τέλειον εἰς μέτρον ἡλικίας τοῦ πληρώματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἵνα μηκέτι ὦμεν νήπιοι, κλυδωνιζόμενοι καὶ περιφερόμενοι παντὶ ἀνέμῳ τῆς διδασκαλίας ἐν πανουργίᾳ πρὸς τὴν μεθοδείαν τῆς πλάνης, ἀληθεύοντες δὲ αὐξήσωμεν εἰς αὐτὸν κατὰ πάντα, ὅς ἐστιν ἡ κεφαλὴ ὁ Χριστός· καὶ 8,1.46 ἀλλαχοῦ ὁ αὐτὸς Μὴ συσχηματίζεσθε τῷ αἰῶνι τούτῳ, ἀλλὰ μεταμορφοῦσθε τῇ ἀνακαινώσει τοῦ νοὸς ὑμῶν εἰς τὸ δοκιμάζειν ὑμᾶς τί τὸ θέλημα τοῦ θεοῦ τὸ ἀγαθὸν καὶ