all care of a vine is for the enjoyment of its fruits, but if fruits are not found on the vine, all the hard work of its cultivation is in vain and to no purpose; so too, if through the working of the Spirit we do not recognize within ourselves the fruits of love, and peace, and joy, and humility, and the rest mentioned by the Apostle, in all full assurance and spiritual perception, the labor of virginity, and prayer, and psalmody, fasting and vigils is shown to be to no purpose. For these labors of soul and body ought to be undertaken in hope of spiritual fruits; and the fruit-bearing of the Spirit in the virtues is a spiritual enjoyment in incorruptible pleasure, in faithful hearts, worked by the Spirit; for let the work and toil and labors of our nature be led with much discernment of understanding through faith and hope, being worked by the Holy Spirit for the worthy. Fasting is good, vigil is good, exile is good; but these are the height of a good way of life 34.829; nevertheless the order of Christians is more inward than these things, and one ought not to have one's confidence in these things alone. But it happens that there are some who partake of grace; and evil, still being present, acts craftily, and willingly yields, and is not active, but makes the person think that his mind has been cleansed; and then it brings about the conceit, that 'I am a perfect Christian,' and after this, when the person thinks, 'I am free,' and is without care, then evil comes to him in a predatory manner, making a hiding place, and tempts him, and brings him down to the lowest parts of the earth. For if men who are often robbers or soldiers against enemies know how to act craftily, and lie in wait, and make a hiding place, and take the enemies from behind, and surround them suddenly, and kill them; how much more does evil, being of so many thousands of years, having this as its work, having destroyed so many souls, know how to make a hiding place in the heart, at times not being active, in order to bring the soul to a conceit of perfection?

10. This is the foundation of Christianity, that whenever a person performs acts of righteousness, he should not rest in them, and consider himself great, but be poor in spirit; and if he becomes a partaker of grace, he should not think he has attained anything, nor imagine he is somebody, nor begin to teach; but that, being of a good exile and way of life, fasting much, living as a stranger, praying, partaking of grace, he should not consider his soul precious; but then especially, when the beginning of grace occurs, that he should have labor, thirst, that being satisfied he should not consider himself righteous or rich in grace, but be mourning and weeping. And in the way that if there is a mother, and she has an only-begotten son and raises him, and when he becomes a man, it happens that he dies; and then however many people there are consoling the mother, they rather stir up her grief, and she is inconsolable; so must the Christian weep for his fall, and unceasingly shed tears; and above all have a contrite heart.

11. Just as if a king's house had many apartments and various courts, and many gateways, and inner chambers, where the king stays, and the purple, and the treasures are stored; then let him who enters into the outer courts not think that he has already come into the inner chambers, where the glory of the king is, and the purple, and the treasures; so in the spiritual realm, let those who fast, who keep vigil, who sing psalms and pray, not think that they have entered into the rest, as they are still entering into the gateways and into the courts, not where the purple and the treasures are. Therefore, the brethren ought not to be confident in their outward conduct, and say, 'I am someone;' and if one becomes a partaker of grace, to be conceited as having attained, or having become very near to the king; for he is still abiding in the outer chambers. One ought not to examine 34.832 each thing, if he has found the treasure in the earthen vessel, or put on the purple of the Spirit, or found the king, and rested, The

ἀμπέλου πᾶσα ἐπιμέλεια καὶ διὰ τὴν τῶν καρπῶν ἀπόλαυσιν γίνεται, καρπῶν δὲ μὴ εὑρισκομένων ἐν τῇ ἀμπέλῳ εἰκῆ καὶ μάτην πᾶσα ἐμπόνησις τῆς ἐργασίας γίνεται· οὕτως ἐὰν μὴ διὰ τῆς ἐνεργείας τοῦ Πνεύματος καρποὺς ἀγάπης καὶ εἰρήνης καὶ χαρᾶς καὶ ταπεινώσεως, καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν παρὰ τῷ Ἀποστόλῳ ῥηθέντων ἐν πάσῃ πληροφορίᾳ καὶ αἰσθήσει πνευματικῇ ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἐπιγνῶμεν, εἰκῆ ὁ τῆς παρθενίας κάματος, καὶ εὐχῆς, καὶ ψαλμωδίας, νηστείας τε καὶ ἀγρυπνίας ὁ πόνος εἰς οὐδὲν ἀποδείκνυται. Οὗτοι γὰρ οἱ πόνοι ψυχῆς καὶ σώματος ἐπ' ἐλπίδι πνευματικῶν καρπῶν ἐπιτελεῖσθαι ὀφείλουσιν· ἡ δὲ τοῦ Πνεύματος ἐν ταῖς ἀρεταῖς καρποφορία ἀπόλαυσίς ἐστι πνευματικὴ ἐν ἡδονῇ ἀφθάρτῳ, ἐν καρδίαις πισταῖς, ὑπὸ τοῦ Πνεύματος ἐνεργουμέναις· ἐν πολλῇ γὰρ διακρίσει συνέσεως ἡ ἐργασία καὶ πόνος καὶ κάματοι τῆς φύσεως ἡγείσθωσαν διὰ πίστεως καὶ ἐλπίδος ἀπὸ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος τοῖς ἀξίοις ἐνεργούμενοι. Καλόν ἐστιν ἡ νηστεία, ἡ ἀγρυπνία, ἡ ξενιτεία· ἀλλὰ ταῦτα ἀκμὴ πολιτείας 34.829 ἐστὶν ἀγαθῆς· πλὴν ἡ τάξις τῶν Χριστιανῶν ἐσωτέρα ἐστὶ τούτων, καὶ οὐκ ὀφείλει τις ἐπὶ τούτοις τὴν πεποίθησιν ἔχειν καὶ μόνοις. Συμβαίνει δὲ ὅτι εἰσί τινες χάριτος μέτοχοι· καὶ ἡ κακία ἔτι οὖσα τεχνάζεται, καὶ παραχωρεῖ ἑκοῦσα, καὶ οὐκ ἐνεργεῖ, ἀλλὰ ποιεῖ νομίσαι τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ὅτι ἐκαθαρίσθη ὁ νοῦς αὐτοῦ· καὶ λοιπὸν φέρει αὐτὴν οἴησιν, ὅτι Χριστιανός εἰμι τέλειος, καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα, ὅταν νομίσῃ ὁ ἄνθρωπος, ὅτι Ἐλεύθερός εἰμι, καὶ ἀμεριμνεῖ, τότε λῃστρικῷ τρόπῳ ἔρχεται αὐτῷ ἡ κακία ἔγκρυμμα ποιοῦσα, καὶ πειράζει αὐτὸν, καὶ καταφέρει αὐτὸν εἰς τὰ κατώτατα τῆς γῆς. Εἰ γὰρ ἄνθρωποι πολλάκις λῃσταὶ ὄντες ἢ στρατιῶται κατὰ πολεμίων οἴδασι τεχνάζεσθαι, καὶ ὑποκαθέζονται, καὶ ποιοῦσιν ἔγκρυμμα, καὶ λαμβάνουσι τὰ νῶτα τῶν ἐχθρῶν, καὶ περικυκλοῦσιν αὐτοὺς ἀθρόως, καὶ ἀποκτείνουσι· πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἡ κακία οὖσα τοσούτων χιλιάδων τοῦτο τὸ ἔργον ἔχουσα, τόσας ἀπολέσασα ψυχὰς, οἶδεν οὖν ἔγκρυμμα ποιεῖν ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ, κατὰ καιροὺς μὴ ἐνεργεῖν, ἵνα ἐνέγκῃ τὴν ψυχὴν εἰς οἴησιν τελειότητος;

Ιʹ. Ὁ θεμέλιος τοῦ Χριστιανισμοῦ οὗτός ἐστιν, ἵνα ἂν ποιήσῃ ὁ ἄνθρωπος δικαιοσύνας, μὴ ἐπαναπαύῃ ἐν αὐταῖς, καὶ ἔχῃ ἑαυτὸν μέγαν, ἀλλ' ᾖ πτωχὸς τῷ πνεύματι· καὶ ἐὰν γένηται μέτοχος χάριτος, μὴ νομίσῃ ἑαυτὸν κατειληφέναι τι, καὶ οἰηθῇ εἶναί τις, καὶ ἄρξηται διδάσκειν· ἀλλ' ἵνα ὢν καλῆς ξενιτείας καὶ πολιτείας, νηστεύων πολὺ, ξενιτεύων, εὐχόμενος, μετέχων χάριτος, μὴ ἡγήσηται τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ τιμίαν· ἀλλὰ τότε μάλιστα, ὅταν ἀρχὴ χάριτος γένηται, ἵνα ἔχῃ τὸν πόνον, τὴν δίψαν, ἵνα μὴ κεκορεσμένος ἔχῃ ἑαυτὸν δίκαιον ἢ πλούσιον ἐν χάριτι· ἀλλ' ᾖ πενθῶν καὶ δακρύων. Καὶ ὃν τρόπον ἐὰν ᾖ μήτηρ, καὶ ἔχῃ υἱὸν μονογενῆ καὶ παιδεύσῃ αὐτὸν, καὶ ὅταν γένηται ἀνὴρ, συμβῇ αὐτῷ ἀποθανεῖν· καὶ λοιπὸν ὅσοι ἂν ὦσι παραμυθούμενοι τὴν μητέρα, μᾶλλον ἐπεγείρουσιν αὐτῇ τὸ πένθος, καὶ ἀπαραμύθητός ἐστιν· οὕτω χρὴ κλαίειν τὸν Χριστιανὸν τὴν πτῶσιν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἀδιαλείπτως δακρύειν· πρὸ πάντων δὲ ἔχειν συντετριμμένην τὴν καρδίαν.

ΙΑʹ. Ὥσπερ εἰ οἶκος βασιλέως ἔχων διαίτας πολλὰς καὶ αὐλὰς διαφόρους, καὶ πρόθυρα πολλὰ, καὶ ἐσωτέρους οἴκους, ἔνθα μένει ὁ βασιλεὺς, καὶ ἡ πορφύρα, καὶ οἱ θησαυροὶ ἀπόκεινται· λοιπὸν ὁ εἰσερχόμενος εἰς τὰς ἐξωτέρας αὐλὰς μὴ νομίσῃ, ὅτι ἤδη εἰς τοὺς ἐσωτέρους οἴκους ἦλθεν, ὅπου ἡ δόξα τοῦ βασιλέως, καὶ ἡ πορφύρα, καὶ οἱ θησαυροί· οὕτως εἰς τὸ πνευματικὸν, οἱ νηστεύοντες, οἱ ἀγρυπνοῦντες, οἱ ψάλλοντες καὶ εὐχόμενοι, μὴ νομίσωσιν, ὅτι εἰσῆλθον εἰς τὴν κατάπαυσιν, ὡς δὲ ἀκμὴν εἰς τὰ πρόθυρα καὶ εἰς τὰς αὐλὰς εἰσέρχονται, οὐχ ὅπου ἡ πορφύρα, καὶ οἱ θησαυροί. Οὐκ ὀφείλουσιν οὖν ἀδελφοὶ τῇ ἔξω πολιτείᾳ θαῤῥεῖν, καὶ λέγειν, ὅτι Εἰμί τις· εἰ δὲ καὶ χάριτος μέτοχος γένηται, οἰηθῆναι ὡς καταλαβὼν, ἢ γενόμενος ἐγγύτατος τοῦ βασιλέως· ἀκμὴν γὰρ εἰς τοὺς ἐξωτέρους οἴκους διατρίβει. Οὐκ ὀφείλει ἐρευ34.832 νᾷν ἕκαστον, εἰ εὗρεν ἐν τῷ ὀστρακίνῳ σκεύει τὸν θησαυρὸν, ἢ ἐνεδύσατο τὴν πορφύραν τοῦ Πνεύματος, ἢ εὗρε τὸν βασιλέα, καὶ ἀνεπαύσατο, Ἡ