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Achieve righteousness. Practice patience; for it is a royal necklace. Work at almsgiving; for its web is woven on earth, but cut in heaven. If you hasten to bind the high crown upon your head, pursue humility; for nothing more glorious than this has been ordained by God. For this, neither flee temptations nor shun dangers nor refuse hard labors nor fear death.

6 Do not flee temptations; "For blessed is the man who endures temptation." Do not refuse persecutions, since "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Do not shun danger; "For the dangers of Hades found me, and I called upon the name of the Lord," says David, and as an ally He answered from the heavens. Do not fear death; for just now you have heard the church singing, "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints," and very rightly so. For before the harvest, the farmer in no way dares to be confident about the wheat, since he is wary of the locust and fears the grasshopper, he is afraid of blight, he does not cease suspecting the strikes of hail, he agonizes over the wounds of the wind-borne blight; but when the wheat is taken by the sickle and comes under the hand of the reaper and is added to the sheaves and is carried on the wagons with the stalk and reaches the threshing floor and the winnowing fork is raised and, having been winnowed, it is kept sealed inside the storehouse, then he is confident about it and rejoices as one who has become rich, he prides himself as one who has not labored in vain; and sometimes he will open the storehouses and will loosen the bolts and will throw open the doors, he will welcome; and at other times, having set the wheat out in the midst among the merchants, he will boast in the labors of his own hands. In the same way, then, the sower of the race, the farmer of our dough, is not confident in Adam until he sees him translated from the earth, until he passes through temptations, until he has ridden through the stadium of dangers for the sake of philosophy.

7 But when he departs from the earth, then He rejoices over him and is confident and takes pride and says to him: "Well done, good and faithful servant." Then He adds: "Enter into the joy of your lord." Then He proclaims: "Come, you who are blessed by my Father." Then by the experience of good things He demonstrates that "for those who love God all things work together for good"; whether tribulation besieges a man, or distress constrains the faithful, or nakedness takes hold, or dangers surround, or a sword is sharpened, none of these things will be able to separate the faithful from Christ, nothing will be able to separate the soldier from the king. For if tribulation besieges, contemplating Christ as the author of joy, they rejoice; if distress constrains, looking to the teacher, they are enlarged; if persecution presses, expecting heaven, they do not care for the earth, but they make their feet secure so as not to stumble; if famine is at hand, touching the bread of life, they are satisfied; if nakedness takes hold, they have put on the Spirit, they are clothed with grace and reasonably do not care for garments; if danger is threatened, they know the general, they recognize their ally and reasonably do not endure to bridle the boldness of their speech; if a sword is sharpened, the tongue does not endure to be silent, even when sacrificed. But they are ready for each of the approaching things as harmless lambs and pure sheep and rams, receiving with pleasure the command of the shepherd: "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves," that is, be courageous and go, make haste quickly, gather the nations, increase the flocks, confound the wolves, demonstrate the power of the shepherd.

8 You are not less than Moses nor second to Jeremiah, nor have you been entrusted with a grace worse than Ezekiel's. With you is the one who sent Elijah; this one will send

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δικαιοσύνην κατόρθωσον. Γυμνάζου τὴν ὑπομονήν· βασιλικὸν γὰρ ὑπάρχει περιδέραιον. Ἐργάζου τὴν ἐλεημοσύνην· ὁ γὰρ ταύτης ἱστὸς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς μὲν ὑφαίνεται, ἐν οὐρανῷ δὲ τέμνεται. Εἰ σπεύ δεις τὸν ὑψηλὸν τῇ κεφαλῇ περιδήσασθαι στέφανον, μετέρχου τὴν ταπείνωσιν· οὐδὲν γὰρ ταύτης ἐνδοξότερον παρὰ τῷ θεῷ τέτακται· ὑπὲρ τούτου μήτε πειρασμοὺς φεῦγε μηδὲ κινδύνους εὐλαβοῦ μηδὲ τοὺς ἱδρῶτας παραιτοῦ μηδὲ δειλία τὸν θάνατον.

6 Μὴ φεῦγε πειρασμούς· «Μακάριος γὰρ ἀνήρ, ὃς ὑπομένει πειρασμόν.» Μὴ παραιτοῦ διωγμούς, ἐπειδὴ «Μακάριοι οἱ δεδιωγμένοι ἕνεκεν δικαιοσύνης, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν.» Μὴ εὐλαβοῦ κίνδυνον· «Κίνδυνοι γὰρ ᾅδου εὕρο σάν με, καὶ τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου ἐπεκαλεσάμην», φησὶν ὁ ∆αυίδ, καὶ ὡς σύμμαχος ἐξ οὐρανῶν ἀπήντησεν. Μὴ δειλία τὸν θάνατον· ἄρτι γὰρ ψαλλούσης τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἀκήκοας «Τίμιος ἐναντίον κυρίου ὁ θάνατος τῶν ὁσίων αὐτοῦ», καὶ σφόδρα εἰκό τως. Ὁ γὰρ σῖτος πρὸ τοῦ θέρους, αὐτῷ θαρρεῖν οὐδαμῶς ὁ γεωργὸς ἀνέχεται, ἐπειδὴ καὶ βροῦχον ὑφορᾶται καὶ τὴν ἀκρίδα δέδοικε, τὴν ἐρυσίβην πεφόβηται, τὰς βολὰς ὑποπτεύων τῆς χαλά ζης οὐ παύεται, τῆς ἀνεμοφόρου πληγῆς ἀγωνιᾷ τὰ τραύματα· ὅταν δὲ ὁ σῖτος τῇ δρεπάνῃ ληφθῇ καὶ ὑπὸ τὴν χεῖρα τοῦ θερίζον τος γένηται καὶ προστεθῇ τοῖς δράγμασι καὶ ταῖς ἁμάξαις σὺν τῇ καλάμῃ βασταχθῇ καὶ καταλάβῃ τὴν ἅλωνα καὶ τὸ πτύον ἀνα βῇ καὶ λικμηθεὶς ἔσω τῆς ἀποθήκης ἐσφραγισμένος φυλάττηται, τότε ἐπ' αὐτῷ θαρρεῖ καὶ ὡς πλουτήσας εὐφραίνεται, ὡς οὐ μάτην κοπιάσας σεμνύνεται· καὶ ποτὲ μὲν ἀποθήκας ἀνοί ξει καὶ τὰ κλεῖθρα χαλάσει καὶ τὰς θύρας ἀναπετάσει, προσδέ ξεται· ποτὲ δὲ τὸν σῖτον εἰς μέσον προθεὶς μεταξὺ τῶν ἐμπόρων, ἐπὶ τοῖς πόνοις τῶν χειρῶν τῶν οἰκείων καυχήσεται. Τὸν αὐτὸν δὴ τρόπον ὁ τοῦ γένους σπορεύς, ὁ γεωργὸς τοῦ ἡμετέρου φυρά ματος, οὐ θαρρεῖ τῷ Ἀδάμ, πρὶν ἂν αὐτὸν ἀπὸ γῆς μετατεθέντα θεάσηται, πρὶν τοὺς πειρασμοὺς διαβῇ, πρὶν τῶν κινδύνων τῶν ὑπὲρ φιλοσοφίας διϊππεύσῃ τὸ στάδιον.

7 Ὅταν δὲ ἀποδημήσῃ τῆς γῆς, τότε ἐπ' αὐτῷ χαίρει καὶ θαρ ρεῖ καὶ σεμνύνεται καὶ λέγει πρὸς αὐτόν· «Εὖ, δοῦλε ἀγαθὲ καὶ πιστέ.» Τότε προστίθησι· «Εἴσελθε εἰς τὴν χαρὰν τοῦ κυρίου σου.» Τότε προσφωνεῖ· «∆εῦτε οἱ εὐλογημένοι τοῦ πατρός μου.» Τότε τῇ πείρᾳ τῶν ἀγαθῶν παρίστησιν ὅτι «τοῖς ἀγα πῶσι τὸν θεὸν πάντα συνεργεῖ εἰς ἀγαθόν»· εἴτε θλῖψις πο λιορκεῖ τὸν ἄνθρωπον, εἴτε στενοχωρία συνέχει τὸν πιστόν, εἴτε κατέχει γύμνωσις, εἴτε κυκλοῦσι κίνδυνοι, εἴτε ἠκόνηται μάχαιρα, οὐδὲν τούτων χωρίσαι τοῦ Χριστοῦ τὸν πιστόν, οὐδὲν ἀφορίσαι τὸν στρατιώτην τοῦ βασιλέως δυνήσεται. Εἰ μὲν γὰρ θλῖψις πολιορκεῖ, τὸν Χριστὸν πρύτανιν τῆς χαρᾶς θεωροῦντες εὐφραίνονται· εἰ δὲ στενοχωρία συνέχει, πρὸς τὸν διδάσκαλον ἀφορῶντες πλατύνονται· εἰ δὲ διωγμὸς ἔγκειται, τὸν οὐρανὸν προσδοκῶντες τῆς γῆς οὐ φροντίζουσιν, ἀλλ' ὥστε μὴ προσκόψαι τοὺς πόδας ἀσφαλίζονται· εἰ δὲ λιμὸς ἐπίκειται, τὸν ἄρτον τῆς ζωῆς ψηλαφῶντες χορτάζονται· εἰ δὲ κατέχεται γύμνωσις, ἐνδέδυνται τὸ πνεῦμα, τὴν χάριν περιβάλλονται καὶ τῶν ἐσθημάτων εἰκότως οὐ φροντίζουσιν· εἰ δὲ ἠπείληται κίν δυνος, τὸν στρατηγὸν ἴσασι, τὸν συμμαχοῦντα γινώσκουσι καὶ τοῦ λόγου χαλινῶσαι τὴν παρρησίαν εἰκότως οὐκ ἀνέχονται· εἰ δὲ ἠκόνηται μάχαιρα, ἡ γλῶσσα σιωπᾶν οὐδὲ τυθεῖσα ἀνέχεται· εἰσὶ δὲ πρὸς ἕκαστον τῶν ἐπιόντων ἕτοιμοι ὡς ἄρνες ἄκακοι καὶ ἀκέραια πρόβατα καὶ ἀμνοί, σὺν ἡδονῇ τὸ τοῦ ποι μένος ὑποδεχόμενοι πρόσταγμα· «Ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἀποστέλλω ὑμᾶς ὡς πρόβατα ἐν μέσῳ λύκων», τουτέστιν θαρρεῖτε καὶ πορεύεσθε, σπεύδετε τάχος, τὰ ἔθνη συναγάγετε, τὰς ἀγέλας αὐξήσατε, τοὺς λύκους θορυβήσατε, τὴν τοῦ ποιμένος ἐπιδείξασθε δύναμιν.

8 Οὐκ ἐστὲ τοῦ Μωυσέως ἐλάττονες οὐδέ γε Ἰερεμίου δεύ τεροι οὐδὲ χάριν τοῦ Ἰεζεκιὴλ ἐπιστεύθητε χείρονα. Μεθ' ὑμῶν ὁ τὸν Ἠλίαν πέμψας· οὗτος ἀποστελεῖ