it happens, but by the balance of righteousness and grace God disciplines and has mercy and 119 governs this. For if the whole of life among men were ease and luxury and satiety and wealth without afflictions and pains, men would not have borne or endured it, despising God and giving themselves over completely to the pleasures of the flesh. "For," it says, "Jacob ate and was filled, he grew fat, he grew thick, he grew broad, and the beloved one kicked." So also apply this to the spiritual realm. If the soul lived entirely and unceasingly only in the joy and the relaxation and gladness of the spirit, it would no longer have known itself and would have been ignorant of the training and path of "righteousness" and would have become proud, and would have progressed only in conceit, being puffed up against all, and would not have even considered itself to be human. As the apostle says: because of "the abundance of the revelations," "there was given to me" "an angel of Satan to buffet me, so that I should not be exalted." You see that for such a holy man the afflictions were for his benefit. Again, as the same one says, "affliction produces endurance, and endurance, character, and character, hope; and hope does not put to shame." So that afflictions are for a benefit and happen to make the soul more approved.

β νρ. 20α φ. 133ρ1133ῃ16 β νρ. 20α φ. 137ρ29138ρ3. ῃγλ. δο̈ρριες ς. 193φ. The souls of Christians, coming into many afflictions in this world from the evil one, are like a type of hemp. For just as the type of hemp, the more it is beaten and processed, the finer and more useful and purer it is made, so as to become from it the finest threads, and the more it is processed and combed, the more useful it becomes, so also the God-loving and truth-loving souls of Christians, the more they enter into many afflictions and trials and temptations from the spirits of wickedness, and they endure and are long-suffering, 121 the purer and more useful and more approved are they fashioned for the spiritual work of the fineness of grace, and finally are deemed worthy to inhabit the heavenly place of the saints. For the soul, being tested in many temptations and various afflictions and being helped by grace, enduring with long-suffering in hope of the Lord, little by little diminishes from itself every form of wickedness and puts off the heavy burden of indwelling sin in some such way: just as if someone travels a long road going to a certain city, and carries a bag full of sand, and such a bag has a very fine hole underneath, and as he walks along the whole road it flows out and he himself is lightened, and finally upon his arrival in the city the very heavy sand was emptied and he was lightened and was completely relieved from the weight of the sand—so also for the soul that truly struggles, as it travels the road of "righteousness" and hurries to the city of the kingdom, while carrying with itself the heavy burden of the sin of the passions, the more it travels the road of the virtues and clings to the Lord, the more sin and the passions are diminished and it feels within itself the very sense of lightness and gentleness of passion. But if it clings perfectly and completely and travels the road of "righteousness" blamelessly and well, it is deemed worthy to enter into the very rest of the fullness of grace, having been completely redeemed from the very heavy burden of the sin of the passions. But first it must pass through many temptations and afflictions, and thus it enters into the rest of the fullness of grace, that is, it is deemed worthy to attain impassibility.

β νρ. 20β φ. 133ῃ17134ρ9 β νρ. 20β φ. 138ρ426. ῃγλ. δο̈ρριες ς. 194 For just as a newly formed vessel, not having been put into the fire, is useless to men, or just as a young infant happens to be unfit for the works of the world, for neither

γίνεται, ἀλλὰ τῷ τῆς δικαιοσύνης καὶ χάριτος ζυγῷ παιδεύει καὶ ἐλεεῖ καὶ 119 οἰκονομεῖ ταύτην ὁ θεός. εἰ γὰρ τὸ ὅλον ἄνεσις ἦν ἐν τῷ βίῳ παρὰ ἀνθρώποις καὶ τρυφὴ καὶ κόρος καὶ πλοῦτος ἄνευ θλίψεων καὶ ὀδυνῶν, οὐκ ἂν ἤνεγκαν καὶ ἐβάστασαν οἱ ἄνθρωποι καταφρονοῦντες τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ εἰς τὰς τῆς σαρκὸς ἡδονὰς ἑαυτοὺς παντελῶς ἐκδιδόντες. «ἔφαγε» γάρ φησιν «Ἰακὼβ καὶ ἐνεπλήσθη, ἐλιπάνθη, ἐπαχύνθη, ἐπλατύνθη, καὶ ἀπελάκτισεν ὁ ἠγαπημένος». οὕτω καὶ εἰς τὸ πνευματικὸν ἀνάλαβε. εἰ τὸ ὅλον καὶ ἀδιαλείπτως ἐν τῇ χαρᾷ καὶ τῇ ἀνέσει καὶ εὐφροσύνῃ τοῦ πνεύματος μόνον διῆγεν ἡ ψυχή, οὐκ ἂν ἑαυτὴν ἔτι ἐπεγίνωσκε καὶ τὴν γυμνασίαν δὲ καὶ ὁδὸν τῆς «δικαιοσύνης» ἠγνόει ἂν καὶ ὑπερῄρετο, καὶ τῇ οἰήσει μόνον προέκοπτε πάντων κατεπαιρομένη καὶ οὐδ' ὡς ἄνθρωπον ἑαυτὴν ἐλογίζετο εἶναι. ὥς φησιν ὁ ἀπόστολος· ἐν «τῇ ὑπερβολῇ τῶν ἀποκαλύψεων», «ἐδόθη μοι» «ἄγγελος σατᾶν, ἵνα με κολαφίζῃ, ἵνα μὴ ὑπεραίρωμαι». ὁρᾷς ὅτι τῷ τοιούτῳ ἁγίῳ ἀνδρὶ αἱ θλίψεις εἰς συμφέρον ἦσαν. ἔτι, ὥς φησιν ὁ αὐτός, «ἡ θλῖψις ὑπομονὴν κατεργάζεται, ἡ δὲ ὑπομονὴ δοκιμήν, ἡ δὲ δοκιμὴ ἐλπίδα· ἡ δὲ ἐλπὶς οὐ καταισχύνει». ὥστε αἱ θλίψεις εἰς συμφέρον καὶ εἰς τὸ δοκιμωτέραν τὴν ψυχὴν ἀπεργάσασθαι τυγχάνουσιν.

β νρ. 20α φ. 133ρ1133ῃ16 β νρ. 20α φ. 137ρ29138ρ3. ῃγλ. δο̈ρριες ς. 193φ. Ἐοίκασιν αἱ τῶν Χριστιανῶν ψυχαὶ ὑπὸ τοῦ πονηροῦ εἰς θλίψεις πολλὰς ἐρχόμεναι ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ τούτῳ εἴδει καννάβεως. ὥσπερ γὰρ τὸ τῆς καννάβεως εἶδος ἐφ' ὅσον τύπτεται καὶ βασανίζεται τοσοῦτον λεπτότερον καὶ χρησιμώτερον καὶ καθαρώτερον ἀπαρτίζεται, εἰς τὸ γενέσθαι ἐξ αὐτοῦ λεπτότατα νήματα, καὶ ἐφ' ὅσον πλέον βασανίζεται καὶ καταξαίνεται πλέον χρησιμώτερον καθίσταται, οὕτω καὶ αἱ φιλόθεοι καὶ φιλαλήθεις τῶν Χριστιανῶν ψυχαί, ἐφ' ὅσον εἰς πολλὰς θλίψεις καὶ δοκιμασίας καὶ πειρασμοὺς ὑπὸ τῶν τῆς πονηρίας πνευμάτων εἰσέρχονται, αὐταὶ δὲ ὑπομένουσι καὶ μακροθυμοῦσι, 121 καθαρώτεραι καὶ χρησιμώτεραι καὶ δοκιμώτεραι εἰς τὸ πνευματικὸν τῆς λεπτότητος τῆς χάριτος ἔργον κατασκευάζονται καὶ τέλος τὸν ἐπουράνιον τῶν ἁγίων χῶρον οἰκεῖν καταξιοῦνται. δοκιμαζομένη γὰρ ἡ ψυχὴ ἐν τοῖς πολλοῖς πειρασμοῖς καὶ ταῖς διαφόροις θλίψεσι καὶ ὑπὸ τῆς χάριτος βοηθουμένη, ὑπομένουσα μακροθύμως ἐπ' ἐλπίδι τοῦ κυρίου πᾶν τὸ τῆς κακίας εἶδος ἐξ αὐτῆς κατ' ὀλίγον μειοῖ καὶ τὸ βαρὺ τῆς συνοικούσης ἁμαρτίας φορτίον ἀποτίθεται τοιούτῳ τινὶ τρόπῳ· ὥσπερ ἐάν τις ὁδεύῃ ὁδὸν μακρὰν ἀπερχόμενος εἰς πόλιν τινά, βαστάζῃ δὲ μαρσίπιον μεστὸν ἄμμου, τὸ δὲ τοιοῦτον ἔχῃ κάτωθεν ὀπὴν λεπτοτάτην, καὶ ὅσῳ βαδίζει καθ' ὅλης τῆς ὁδοῦ ἀπορρέῃ καὶ αὐτὸς κουφίζεται, καὶ τέλος καταντήσαντος ἐν τῇ πόλει ἡ βαρυτάτη ἄμμος ἐκενώθη καὶ αὐτὸς ἠλαφρύνθη καὶ ἀνεπαύθη τελείως ἀπὸ τοῦ βάρους τῆς ἄμμουοὕτω καὶ τῆς κατ' ἀλήθειαν ἀγωνιζομένης ψυχῆς διοδευούσης τὴν ὁδὸν τῆς «δικαιοσύνης» καὶ εἰς τὴν πόλιν τῆς βασιλείας ἐπειγομένης, βασταζούσης δὲ μεθ' ἑαυτῆς τὸ βαρὺ φορτίον τῆς ἁμαρτίας τῶν παθῶν, ἐφ' ὅσον διοδεύει τὴν ὁδὸν τῶν ἀρετῶν καὶ τῷ κυρίῳ προσκολλᾶται, τοσοῦτον ἡ ἁμαρτία καὶ τὰ πάθη μειοῦνται καὶ αὐτὴ ἡ αἴσθησις ἐλαφρότητος καὶ πραϋπαθείας ἐν ἑαυτῇ αἰσθάνεται. ἐὰν δὲ τελείως προσκολληθῇ καὶ ὁλοκλήρως καὶ τὴν ὁδὸν τῆς «δικαιοσύνης» ἀμώμως καὶ καλῶς διοδεύσῃ, εἰς αὐτὴν τὴν κατάπαυσιν τοῦ πληρώματος τῆς χάριτος εἰσελθεῖν καταξιοῦται παντελῶς τοῦ βαρυτάτου φορτίου τῆς ἁμαρτίας τῶν παθῶν λυτρωθεῖσα. πρότερον δὲ διὰ πολλῶν πειρασμῶν καὶ θλίψεων διελθεῖν δεῖ, καὶ οὕτω εἰς τὴν κατάπαυσιν τοῦ πληρώματος τῆς χάριτος εἰσέρχεται, τουτέστι τῆς ἀπαθείας τυχεῖν καταξιοῦται.

β νρ. 20β φ. 133ῃ17134ρ9 β νρ. 20β φ. 138ρ426. ῃγλ. δο̈ρριες ς. 194 Ὥσπερ γὰρ τὸ νεόπλαστον σκεῦος τῷ πυρὶ μὴ βληθὲν ἀποίητόν ἐστι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, ἢ ὥσπερ νήπιον βρέφος ὡς πρὸς τὰ τοῦ κόσμου ἔργα ἀνεπιτήδειον τυγχάνει, οὔτε γὰρ