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and having a distinct and unconfused opinion concerning the nature of the underlying things; what is to be chosen among existing things; and what is abominable and to be rejected. And again, on the contrary, the evil in this part will certainly be seen, when there is impiety concerning the Divine, and lack of judgment concerning what is truly good; and an altered and mistaken supposition concerning the nature of things, so as to call light darkness, and darkness light, as Scripture says.

But of the desiderative part, the virtuous movement is for desire to be led up to what is truly desirable and truly good; and if there is any erotic power and disposition in us, for all of it to be occupied there, in the conviction that nothing else 45.225 is desirable by its own nature, except virtue and the nature that is the source of virtue. But the perversion and sin of such a part is when someone diverts desire toward insubstantial vainglory, or toward the superficial bloom of bodies; from which arise the love of money, and the love of glory, and the love of pleasure, and all such things which are attached to this kind of evil. Again, of the spirited disposition, the right action is hatred toward evil, and war against the passions, and the soul being steeled for courage, in not cowering before what is considered fearsome by the many, but resisting sin even unto blood; and despising the threat of death, and painful punishments, and separation from the sweetest things, and becoming superior to all things that hold the many in pleasure through some habit and preconception, fighting in defense of both faith and virtue. But the failings of such a part are manifest to all: envy, hatred, wrath, insults, conflicts, contentious and vindictive dispositions, which prolong vengefulness for a long time, and incite many to murders and bloodshed. For when the uninstructed reason does not find where to use the weapon profitably, it turns the edge of the sword upon itself, and the defensive weapon given to us by God becomes destructive to the one who uses it badly.

These things, therefore, having been distinguished in the aforementioned manner, as many sins as touch the rational part of the soul were judged more severe by the Fathers, and worthy of a greater, longer, and more laborious repentance. For instance, if anyone denied the faith in Christ, or was seen to desert to Judaism, or to idolatry, or to Manichaeism, or to some other such form of atheism, the one who willingly rushed into such an evil, and then condemned himself, has the time of his repentance for his whole life. For he is never deemed worthy to worship God with the people while the mystical prayer is being performed, but he will pray by himself; and he will be entirely excluded from the communion of the holy things; but at the hour of his departure, he will then be deemed worthy of a portion of the holy thing. But if it should happen that he lives contrary to expectation, he will again live under the same judgment, being without a share in the mystical holy things until his departure. But those who were tortured with severe torments and punishments were penanced for a specified time, the holy Fathers thus using philanthropy towards them, as if it were not a fall of the soul, but the weakness of the body not holding out against the tortures. Therefore, the forced and painful transgression was measured out in repentance with the same measure as those who sinned in fornication. But those who go to sorcerers, or diviners, or those who promise to perform certain purifications and averting of evils through demons, these are questioned with precision and examined, whether while persevering in the faith 45.228 in Christ, they were brought to that sin by some necessity, some affliction or unbearable loss having created this impulse in them; or having altogether despised what is believed by us

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τε καὶ ἀσύγχυτον ἔχουσα περὶ τῆς φύσεως τῶν ὑποκειμέ νων τὴν δόξαν· τί μέν ἐστιν αἱρετὸν ἐν τοῖς οὖσι· τί δὲ βδελυκτὸν καὶ ἀπόβλητον. Καὶ πάλιν ἐκ τοῦ ἐναν τίου πάντως ἡ ἐν τῷ μέρει τούτῳ κακία θεωρηθή σεται, ὅταν ἀσέβεια μὲν ᾖ περὶ τὸ Θεῖον, ἀκρισία δὲ περὶ τὸ ὄντως καλόν· ἐνηλλαγμένη δὲ καὶ ἐσφαλμένη ἡ περὶ τὴν τῶν πραγμάτων φύσιν ὑπόληψις, ὥστε τιθέναι τὸ φῶς σκότος, καὶ τὸ σκότος φῶς, κα θώς φησιν ἡ Γραφή.

Τοῦ δὲ ἐπιθυμητικοῦ μέρους ἡ μὲν ἐνάρετός ἐστι κίνησις τὸ πρὸς τὸ ὄντως ἐπι θυμητικὸν, καὶ ἀληθῶς καλὸν ἀνάγεσθαι τὸν πόθον· καὶ εἴ τις ἐν ἡμῖν ἐρωτικὴ δύναμίς τε καὶ διάθεσις, ἐκεῖ κατασχολεῖσθαι πᾶσαν, ἐν τῷ πεπεῖσθαι μηδὲν 45.225 ὀρεκτὸν εἶναι τῇ ἑαυτοῦ φύσει ἄλλο, πλὴν τῆς ἀρε τῆς, καὶ τῆς τὴν ἀρετὴν πηγαζούσης φύσεως. Παρατροπὴ δὲ καὶ ἁμαρτία τοῦ τοιούτου μέρους ἐστὶν, ὅταν τις μεταγάγῃ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν πρὸς τὴν ἀνυπό στατον κενοδοξίαν· ἢ πρὸς τὸ ἐπικεχρωσμένον τοῖς σώμασιν ἄνθος· ὅθεν γίνεται ἡ φιλοχρηματία, καὶ ἡ φιλοδοξία, καὶ ἡ φιληδονία, καὶ πάντα τὰ τοιαῦτα, ὅσα τοῦ τοιούτου ἤρτηται τῆς κακίας γένους. Πάλιν δὲ τῆς θυμώδους διαθέσεως κατόρθωμα μέν ἐστιν ἡ πρὸς τὸ κακὸν ἀπέχθεια, καὶ ὁ πρὸς τὰ πάθη πόλε μος, καὶ τὸ πρὸς ἀνδρείαν ἐστομῶσθαι τὴν ψυχὴν, ἐν τῷ μὴ καταπτήσσειν τὰ τοῖς πολλοῖς φοβερὰ νομιζό μενα, ἀλλὰ μέχρις αἵματος πρὸς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἀν τικαθίστασθαι· καταφρονεῖν δὲ θανατικῆς ἀπειλῆς, καὶ ἀλγεινῶν κολαστηρίων, καὶ τῆς τῶν ἡδίστων δια ζεύξεως, καὶ πάντων ἅπαξ τῶν διά τινος συνηθείας καὶ προλήψεως ἐν ἡδονῇ τοὺς πολλοὺς κατεχόντων κρείττονα γενέσθαι, τῆς τε πίστεως καὶ τῆς ἀρετῆς προμαχόμενον. Τὰ δὲ ἀποπτώματα τοῦ τοιούτου μέ ρους ἐστὶν ἅπασι πρόδηλα, ὁ φθόνος, τὸ μῖσος, ἡ μῆνις, αἱ λοιδορίαι, αἱ συμπλοκαὶ, αἱ ἐμφιλόνεικοί τε καὶ ἀμυντικαὶ διαθέσεις, αἱ μέχρι πολλοῦ παρα τείνουσαι τὴν μνησικακίαν, καὶ πολλοὺς εἰς φόνους καὶ αἵματα καταθήγουσαι. Μὴ γὰρ εὑρὼν ὁ ἀπαί δευτος λογισμὸς ὅπου χρήσηται λυσιτελῶς τῷ ὅπλῳ, ἐφ' ἑαυτὸν τρέπει τὴν τοῦ σιδήρου ἀκμὴν καὶ γίνε ται τὸ ἐκ Θεοῦ δοθὲν ἡμῖν ἀμυντήριον ὅπλον τῷ κα κῶς κεχρημένῳ ὀλέθριον.

Τούτων τοίνυν κατὰ τὸν εἰρημένον διακρινηθέντων τρόπον, ὅσα μὲν ἁμαρτήματα τοῦ λογιστικοῦ τῆς ψυ χῆς ἅπτεται μέρους, χαλεπώτερα παρὰ τῶν Πατέρων ἐκρίθη, καὶ μείζονος καὶ διαρκεστέρας καὶ ἐπιπονω τέρας τῆς ἐπιστροφῆς ἄξια· οἷον εἴ τις ἠρνήσατο τὴν εἰς Χριστὸν πίστιν, ἢ πρὸς Ἰουδαϊσμὸν, ἢ πρὸς εἰ δωλολατρείαν, ἢ πρὸς Μανιχαϊσμὸν, ἢ πρὸς ἄλλο τι τοιοῦτον ἀθεΐας εἶδος αὐτομολήσας ἐφάνη, ὁ μὲν ἑκουσίως ἐπὶ τὸ τοιοῦτον ὁρμήσας κακὸν, εἶτα κα ταγνοὺς ἑαυτοῦ, χρόνον τὸν τῆς μετανοίας ἔχει, ὅλον τὸν τῆς ζωῆς αὐτοῦ. Οὐδέποτε γὰρ μυστικῆς ἐπιτε λουμένης εὐχῆς, μετὰ τοῦ λαοῦ προσκυνῆσαι τὸν Θεὸν καταξιοῦται, ἀλλὰ καταμόνας μὲν εὔξεται· τῆς δὲ κοινωνίας τῶν ἁγιασμάτων καθόλου ἀλλότριος ἔσται· ἐν δὲ τῇ ὥρᾳ τῆς ἐξόδου αὐτοῦ, τότε τῆς τοῦ ἁγιάσματος μερίδος ἀξιωθήσεται. Εἰ δὲ συμβαίη παρ' ἐλπίδας ζῆσαι αὐτὸν, πάλιν ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ κρίματι διαβιώσεται, ἀμέτοχος τῶν μυστικῶν ἁγιασμάτων μέχρι τῆς ἐξόδου γινόμενος. Οἱ δὲ βασάνοις καὶ τι μωρίαις χαλεπαῖς αἰκισθέντες, ἐν ῥητῷ χρόνῳ ἐπ ετιμήθησαν, οὕτω τῶν ἁγίων Πατέρων φιλανθρωπίᾳ ἐπ' αὐτῶν χρησαμένων, ὡς οὐχὶ ψυχῆς γεγενημένης ἐν πτώματι, ἀλλὰ τῆς σωματικῆς ἀσθενείας πρὸς τὰς αἰκίας οὐκ ἀντισχούσης. ∆ιὸ τῷ μέτρῳ τῶν ἐν πορνείᾳ πλημμελησάντων, καὶ ἡ βεβιασμένη τε καὶ ἐπώδυνος παράβασις ἐν τῇ ἐπιστροφῇ συνεμετρήθη. Οἱ δὲ πρὸς γόητας ἀπιόντες, ἢ μάντεις, ἢ τοὺς διὰ δαιμόνων καθάρσιά τινα καὶ ἀποτροπιασμοὺς ἐνεργεῖν ὑπισχνουμένους, οὗτοι ἐρωτῶνται δι' ἀκρι βείας καὶ ἀνακρίνονται, πότερον ἐπιμένοντες τῇ εἰς 45.228 Χριστὸν πίστει, ὑπ' ἀνάγκης τινὸς συνηνέχθησαν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ, κακώσεώς τινος, ἢ ἀφορήτου ζημίας ταύτην αὐτοῖς τὸν ὁρμὴν ἐμποιησάσης· ἢ καθόλου καταφρονήσαντες τοῦ πεπιστευμένου παρ' ἡμῶν