4

darken it. The sorrows of wickedness are twofold, yoked together in every work, and one comes upon the heart when no sorrowful cause is seen, while the other is born, being pushed forth by strange causes, sorrow according to God 79.1104 recalls the soul with tears, not admitting the joy and sorrow of the opposite, but is anxious for the coming death, and judgment; and this she awaits gaping little by little. Desires that fail plant sorrows; but prayers and thanksgivings wither them; in the midst of angry men, sorrow is shaken. Therefore, the one who first sobers up, if he rises from the passion, and gives a hand to the other, with an apology, drives away bitter sorrow. Sorrow is a disease of soul and flesh, and it takes one captive, and withers the other on the spot. Sorrow is born from contraries, and from sorrow, wrath, and from these are born frenzy, reviling; if you wish to trample down sorrow and wrath, embrace the long-suffering of love, and clothe yourself in the joy of guilelessness, let your joy not be a sorrow to another; he who rejoices in injustice will mourn in goodwill, and he who endures sorrows suffering unjustly, will rejoice splendidly; for the things to come are contrary to the present.

CHAP. 8. Be especially thankful in tribulations, because through them you perceive the grace of help more clearly. For thus by thankfully shaking off the coming tribulations you will not darken the most brilliant beauty of perseverance, when a demon brings down a scourge upon your flesh, he has been found to be the procurer of the greatest reward for you, if you accept the blow as an occasion for thanksgiving. For in this way you will also put him to flight from you. And that your reward may rain down more abundantly through patience, let your patience be the general over all your manly labors, because through all wickedness, acedia also acts as a general against you, and spying on all your labors, it tests them, and whomever it does not find consumed by patience, this one it weighs down under itself, and bends down, but if the demon of acedia weakens in the face of patience in labors, the beast again bites the achievement with despair; if therefore with the understanding of security you will drive this away, you will also drive away the spirit of vainglory in it at the time of assembly. When the spirit of acedia falls upon you, it decrees psalmody to be burdensome for the soul, it presents sloth as an adversary to zeal, so that having touched the flesh with swiftness, it may cause it to recline in memory, as if forsooth it were wearied from some cause. Therefore when we are vigilant at night, let us not recline the assembly in acedia, lest the demons, coming upon us, gather the tares of thoughts, and at the same time sow them in the heart; for when we lose the gathering of hymns, then we gather a collection of thoughts; having been awakened before the assembly, let us exercise thoughts of light in the heart beforehand, so that being well-prepared we may be present for the psalmody with a vigilant mind. 79.1105

CHAP. 9. At one time the psalm must be said with a rushing sound in sobriety, at another one must be tested to speak idly in psalmody; for according to the ambush of the adversary, it is necessary for us also to be transformed, because at one time they suggest to drive the tongue, when acedia possesses the soul, at another they provoke the words to be chanted, as the intellectual eye takes its nourishment of strength from the light. For he who stretches forth to the vision of high things will receive a sharper eye, according to the example of Elisha. When a hostile thought comes upon your heart, do not seek for other things instead of others through prayer, but against the enemy sharpen the sword of tears; for thus if we should dash most vehemently into the battle, we will make him depart from us more quickly. Cultivate beauty with the work of your hands, and especially the remembrance of prayer; for the one is not always possible, but the other has an uninterrupted resource of work. Do not postpone paying the debt of prayer, hearing a thought on account of an approach of works, and not of noise

4

ἀμαυρώσῃ. ∆ιτταὶ τῆς κακίας αἱ λύπαι τυγχάνουσιν ἐν ἑκάστῃ ἐργασίᾳ ἐπιζευγμέναι, καὶ ἡ μὲν ἐφίσταται καρδίᾳ λυπηρᾶς αἰτίας οὐ βλεπομένης, ἡ δὲ τίκτεται ἐξ ἀλλοκότων αἰτιῶν ὠθουμένη, ἡ κατὰ Θεὸν 79.1104 λύπη τοῖς δάκρυσι τὴν ψυχὴν ἀνακαλεῖται, τὴν ἀπεναντίας χαράν τε καὶ λύπην μὴ παραδεχομένη, τὸν δὲ ἐπιόντα θάνατον μεριμνᾷ, καὶ κρίσιν· καὶ τοῦτο κατ' ὀλίγον κέχηνε προσδεχομένη. Ἐπιθυμίαι ἀποτυχοῦσαι φυτεύουσι λύπας· εὐχαὶ δὲ, καὶ εὐχαριστίαι μαραίνουσι ταύτας· μεταξὺ ὀργιζομένων μέση λύπη δονεῖται. Ὁ οὖν πρῶτος ἐκνήψας, ἐὰν τοῦ πάθους ἀναστῇ, καὶ τῷ ἑτέρῳ δώσῃ χεῖρα, ἀπολογίᾳ, τὴν πικρὰν λύπην ἀπελαύνει. Λύπη, ψυχῆς νόσος καὶ σαρκὸς τυγχάνει, καὶ τὴν μὲν αἰχμαλώτιδα αἵρει, τὴν δὲ ἐπὶ τόπῳ μαραίνει. Ἐξ ἐναντίων λύπη γεννᾶται, ἐκ δὲ λύπης μῆνις, τίκτεται δὲ ἐκ τούτων φρενῖτις, λοιδορία· λύπην καὶ μῆνιν εἰ θέλεις συμπατῆσαι, τὴν μακροθυμίαν τῆς ἀγάπης ἐναγκαλίζου, καὶ τὴν χαρὰν τῆς ἀκακίας περιβάλλου, ἡ σὴ χαρὰ ἑτέρῳ λύπη μὴ ἔστω· ἐπ' ἀδικίᾳ ὁ χαίρων ἐν εὐδοκίᾳ θρηνήσει, καὶ ὁ ὑποφέρων λύπας πάσχων ἀδίκως, λαμπρῶς ἀγαλλιάσεται· τὰ γὰρ μέλλοντα τοῖς παροῦσιν ἐναντία.

ΚΕΦΑΛ. Ηʹ. Ἐν ταῖς θλίψεσιν εὐχάριστος ἔσο μάλιστα, ὅτι δι' αὐτῶν τῆς

ἀντιλήψεως τὴν χάριν σαφέστερον αἰσθάνῃ. Οὕτω γὰρ τὰς ἐπιούσας θλίψεις εὐχαρίστως ἐκτινάσσων οὐκ ἀμαυρώσεις τῆς καρτερίας τὸ λαμπρότατον κάλλος, ἐπάν σοι μάστιγα κατὰ σαρκὸς δαίμων καταῤῥάξῃ, μεγίστου σοι μισθοῦ πρόξενος εὑρέθη, ἐὰν ὑπόθεσιν εὐχαριστίας τὴν πληγὴν καταδέξῃ. Οὕτω γὰρ καὶ αὐτὸν ἐκ σοῦ φυγαδεύσεις, Ἵνα δὲ πλεῖον ὁ μισθός σου διὰ τῆς ὑπομονῆς ἐπομβρήσῃ, διόλων τῶν ἀνδρείων πόνων ἡ ὑπομονή σου στρατηγείτω, ὅτι διὰ πάσης κακίας, καὶ ἡ ἀκηδία ἀντιστρατηγεῖ σοι, καὶ κατασκοποῦσά σου τοὺς πόνους ἅπαντας πειράζει, ὃν δὲ μὴ εὕρῃ τῇ ὑπομονῇ ἐνηλωμένον, τοῦτον καταβαρύνει ὑφ' ἑαυτὴν, καὶ κατακάμπτει, ἐὰν δὲ δαίμων τῆς ἀκηδίας πρὸς τὴν ὑπομονὴν τῶν πόνων ἀτονήσῃ, ἀπονοίας πάλιν ὁ θὴρ τὸ κατόρθωμα δάκνει· εἰ οὖν συνέσει τῆς ἀσφαλείας τοῦτο ἐλάσεις, καὶ κενόδοξον πνεῦμα ἐν αὐτῷ ἐλάσεις ἐν καιρῷ συνάξεως. Ἐπάν σοι τὸ τῆς ἀκηδίας ἐπιπέσῃ πνεῦμα, ὡς φορτικὴν ἐπιψηφίζει τῇ ψυχῇ τὴν ψαλμῳδίαν, τὸν ὄκνον, ὡς ἀντίπαλον τῇ σπουδῇ παραβάλλει, ἵνα ψαύσας τῷ τάχει τὴν σάρκα ἀνακλίνῃ τῇ μνήμῃ, ὡς κοπωθεῖσαν δῆθεν ἔκ τινος αἰτίας. Ἐπὰν οὖν ἐγρηγορότες ὦμεν νυκτὸς μὴ τὴν σύναξιν τῇ ἀκηδίᾳ ἀνακλίνωμεν, ἵνα μὴ οἱ δαίμονες ἐπιστάντες τὰ ζιζάνια τῶν λογισμῶν συνάξωσι, καὶ ἅμα τῇ καρδίᾳ κατασπείρωσιν· ὅταν γὰρ τὴν σύνοδον τῶν ὕμνων ἀπολέσωμεν, τότε τὸν σύλλογον τῶν λογισμῶν ἐπισυνάγομεν· πρὸ συνάξεως διυπνισθέντες, λογισμοὺς φωτὸς ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ προγυμνάζωμεν, ἵνα εὐτρεπισθέντες ἔχωμεν, γρηγορούσῃ διανοίᾳ, τῇ ψαλμωδίᾳ παρίστασθαι. 79.1105

ΚΕΦΑΛ. Θʹ. Πὴ μὲν ῥοίζῳ τὸν ψαλμὸν ἐν τῇ νήψει λεκτέον, πὴ δὲ ἀδολεσχεῖν

ἐν τῇ ψαλμῳδίᾳ δοκιμαστέον· κατὰ γὰρ τὴν ἔνεδραν τοῦ ἐναντίου ἀνάγκη καὶ ἡμᾶς μεταμορφοῦσθαι, διότι ποτὲ μὲν ἐλαύνειν τὴν γλῶτταν ὑποτίθενται, τῆς ἀκηδίας τὴν ψυχὴν περιεχούσης, ποτὲ μελῳδεῖσθαι τὰς λέξεις ἐρεθίζουσι, τοῦ νοεροῦ ὄμματος καθάπερ ἰσχὺν τὴν τροφὴν ἐκ τοῦ φωτὸς λαμβάνοντος. Ὁ γὰρ τῇ ὀπτασίᾳ τῶν ὑψηλῶν ἐπεκτεινόμενος ὀξυδερκέστερον ὄμμα λήψεται, κατὰ τὸ ὑπόδειγμα Ἐλισσαιέ. Ὅταν λογισμός σου ἐπιστῇ καρδίᾳ πολέμιος, μὴ ἄλλα ἀντ' ἄλλων δι' εὐχῆς ἐπιζήτει, κατὰ δὲ τοῦ πολεμίου τὸ ξίφος τῶν δακρύων ἀκόνα· οὕτω γὰρ σφοδροτάτως ἂν τῇ μάχῃ προσρήξωμεν, θᾶττον αὐτὸν ἀφ' ἡμῶν ἀποστῆναι ποιήσομεν. Φιλοκάλει σὺν τῷ ἔργῳ τῶν χειρῶν, καὶ μάλα τῆς εὐχῆς τὴν μνήμην· τὸ μὲν γὰρ οὐ πάντοτε, τὸ δὲ ἀδιάλειπτον ἔχει τῆς ἐργασίας τὸν πόρον. Μὴ ἀναβάλλου δοῦναι τῆς εὐχῆς τὸ χρέος, λογισμοῦ ἀκούων διὰ πρόσβασιν ἔργων, καὶ μὴ θορυβοῦ