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of glory, so that what may happen to you? And what will you gain from this, that you have preferred the one called Jesus above all gods and men, and this hard and ill-clad way of life over the pleasant and enjoyable things of the sweetest life? Having heard these things, that man of God answered at once gracefully and calmly: If you wish to engage in discussion with me, O king, remove your enemies from the midst of the court, and then I will answer you concerning what you seek to learn; for while they are present with you, I have no word for you. But without discussion, punish, slaughter, 18 do what you wish; for to me the world has been crucified, and I to the world, says my divine teacher. And when the king said, "And who are these enemies, whom you command me to remove?" the divine man says: Anger and desire. For these were from the beginning produced by the creator as helpers of nature, and now they are likewise for those who live not according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. But in you, who are entirely of the flesh, having nothing of the spirit, they have become adversaries, and they do the works of enemies and foes. For desire in you, when active, arouses pleasure, but when thwarted, anger. Let these therefore be absent from you today, and let prudence and justice preside to hear and judge what is said. For if you remove anger and desire, and introduce in their place prudence and justice, I will tell you all things truthfully. To this the king said: Behold, yielding to your request, I will cast out from the council both desire and anger, and I will make prudence and justice mediate. Tell me then without fear from where such great error came to you, and the preference for things in empty hopes over those seen in your hands. And the hermit answered and said: If you seek the beginning, O king, from where it came to me to disdain temporal things, and to give myself wholly to eternal hopes, listen. In ancient days, when I was still quite young, I heard a certain good and saving word, and its power seized me completely, and, like 20 some divine seed, its memory, planted in my heart, was kept inseparable forever, so that it took root, and sprouted, and bore in me the fruit that you see. And the power of the word was something like this: 'It seems good,' it says, 'to the foolish to despise existing things as though they were not existing, and to cling to and embrace non-existing things as though they were existing. Therefore, he who has not tasted the sweetness of existing things, will not be able to comprehend the nature of non-existing things. And not having comprehended it, how will he look down upon them? The word, then, called "existing things" those that are eternal and unshakable, and "non-existing things" this present life and luxury and false prosperity; to which, O king, alas, your heart is wickedly attached.' And I too once clung to these things. But the power of the word, pricking my soul unceasingly, stirred up the ruling mind to the choice of the better. But the law of sin, warring against the law of my mind, and binding me as with some iron fetters, held me captive to the passion for present things . But when the kindness and goodness of God our Savior was pleased to deliver me from that harsh captivity, He strengthened my mind to overcome the law of sin, and opened my eyes to distinguish the vile from the better. Then indeed, then I understood and saw, and behold all present things are vanity and a striving after wind, as Solomon the most wise also said somewhere in his writings. Then the veil of sin was removed from my heart, 22 and the darkness from bodily grossness that lay upon my soul was scattered, and I knew for what I was made and that I must ascend to the creator, through the [way] of the commandments

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δόξης, ἵνα τί σοι γένηται; καὶ τί ἐντεῦθεν κερδήσεις, ὅτι πάντων θεῶν τε καὶ ἀνθρώπων τὸν λεγόμενον προτετίμηκας Ἰησοῦν, καὶ τὴν σκληρὰν ταύτην καὶ δυσείμονα ἀγωγὴν τῶν ἡδέων καὶ ἀπολαυστικῶν τοῦ γλυκυτάτου βίου; Τούτων ἀκούσας ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἄνθρωπος ἐκεῖνος, χαριέντως ἅμα καὶ ὁμαλῶς ἀπεκρίνατο· Εἰ λόγον πρός με συνᾶραι θέλεις, ὦ βασιλεῦ, τοὺς ἐχθρούς σου ἐκ μέσου τοῦ δικαστηρίου ποίησον, καὶ τηνικαῦτα ἀποκρινοῦμαί σοι περὶ ὧν ἂν ζητήσῃς μαθεῖν· ἐκείνων γὰρ συμπαρόντων σοι, οὐδεὶς ἐμοὶ πρός σε λόγος. ἐκτὸς δὲ λόγου τιμώρει, σφάττε, 18 ποίει ὃ θέλεις· ἐμοὶ γὰρ ὁ κόσμος ἐσταύρωται, κἀγὼ τῷ κόσμῳ, φησὶν ὁ θεῖος καὶ ἐμὸς διδάσκαλος. τοῦ δὲ βασιλέως εἰπόντος, Καὶ τίνες οἱ ἐχθροὶ οὗτοι, οὓς ἐκ μέσου ποιῆσαί με προστάσσεις; φησὶν ὁ θεῖος ἀνήρ· Ὁ θυμὸς καὶ ἡ ἐπιθυμία· ταῦτα γὰρ ἐξ ἀρχῆς μὲν συνεργοὶ τῆς φύσεως ὑπὸ τοῦ δημιουργοῦ παρήχθησαν, καὶ νῦν ὡσαύτως ἔχουσι τοῖς μὴ κατὰ σάρκα πολιτευομένοις, ἀλλὰ κατὰ πνεῦμα· ἐν ὑμῖν δέ, οἵτινες τὸ ὅλον ἐστὲ σάρκες, μηδὲν ἔχοντες τοῦ πνεύματος, ἀντίδικοι γεγόνασι, καὶ τὰ τῶν ἐχθρῶν καὶ πολεμίων διαπράττονται. ἡ γὰρ ἐπιθυμία ἐν ὑμῖν, ἐνεργουμένη μέν, ἡδονὴν ἐγείρει, καταργουμένη δέ, θυμόν. ἀπέστω οὖν ταῦτα σήμερον ἀπὸ σοῦ, προκαθεζέσθωσαν δὲ εἰς ἀκρόασιν τῶν λεγομένων καὶ κρίσιν ἡ φρόνησις καὶ ἡ δικαιοσύνη. εἰ γὰρ τὸν θυμὸν καὶ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν ἐκ μέσου ποιήσεις, ἀντεισάξεις δὲ τὴν φρόνησιν καὶ τὴν δικαιοσύνην, φιλαλήθως πάντα λέξω σοι. πρὸς ταῦτα ὁ βασιλεὺς ἔφη· Ἰδού, εἴξας σου τῇ ἀξιώσει, ἐκβαλῶ τοῦ συνεδρίου τήν τε ἐπιθυμίαν καὶ τὸν θυμόν, μεσάζειν δὲ τὴν φρόνησιν καὶ τὴν δικαιοσύνην ποιήσω. λέγε μοι λοιπὸν ἀδεῶς πόθεν σοι ἡ τοσαύτη ἐγένετο πλάνη, καὶ τὸ προτιμᾶν τὰ ἐν κεναῖς ἐλπίσι τῶν ἐν χερσὶ βλεπομένων. Ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ ἐρημίτης εἶπεν· Εἰ τὴν ἀρχὴν ζητεῖς, ὦ βασιλεῦ, πόθεν μοι γέγονε τῶν προσκαίρων μὲν ὑπεριδεῖν, ὅλον δὲ ἐμαυτὸν ταῖς αἰωνίοις ἐπιδοῦναι ἐλπίσιν, ἄκουσον. ἐν ἡμέραις ἀρχαίαις, ἔτι κομιδῇ νέος ὑπάρχων, ἤκουσά τι ῥῆμα ἀγαθὸν καὶ σωτήριον, καί με κατ' ἄκρας ἡ τούτου δύναμις εἷλε, καί, ὥσπερ 20 τις θεῖος σπόρος, ἡ τούτου μνήμη, τῇ ἐμῇ φυτευθεῖσα καρδίᾳ, ἀχώριστος εἰς ἀεὶ διετηρήθη ὡς καὶ ῥιζωθῆναι, καὶ ἐκβλαστῆσαι, καὶ ὃν ὁρᾷς καρπὸν ἐνεγκεῖν ἐν ἐμοί. ἡ δὲ τοῦ ῥήματος δύναμις τοιαύτη τις ἦν· Ἔδοξε, φησί, τοῖς ἀνοήτοις τῶν ὄντων μὲν καταφρονεῖν ὡς μὴ ὄντων, τῶν μὴ ὄντων δὲ ὡς ὄντων ἀντέχεσθαί τε καὶ περιέχεσθαι· ὁ μὴ γευσάμενος οὖν τῆς τῶν ὄντων γλυκύτητος, οὐ δυνήσεται τῶν μὴ ὄντων καταμαθεῖν τὴν φύσιν· μὴ καταμαθὼν δέ, πῶς αὐτῶν ὑπερόψεται; ὄντα μὲν οὖν ἐκάλεσεν ὁ λόγος τὰ αἰώνια καὶ μὴ σαλευόμενα μὴ ὄντα δὲ τὸν ἐνταῦθα βίον καὶ τὴν τρυφὴν καὶ τὴν ψευδομένην εὐημερίαν· οἷς, ὦ βασιλεῦ, κακῶς φεῦ, ἡ σὴ προσήλωται καρδία. κἀγὼ δέ ποτε τούτων ἀντειχόμην· ἀλλ' ἡ τοῦ ῥήματος δύναμις, νύττουσά μου τὴν ψυχὴν ἀδιαλείπτως, ἐξήγειρε τὸν ἡγεμόνα νοῦν εἰς ἐκλογὴν τοῦ κρείττονος· ὁ δὲ νόμος τῆς ἁμαρτίας, ἀντιστρατευόμενος τῷ νόμῳ τοῦ νοός μου, καὶ ὥς τισι σιδηροπέδαις δεσμῶν με, τῇ προσπαθείᾳ τῶν παρόντων αἰχμάλωτον κατεῖχεν . Ὅτε δὲ εὐδόκησεν ἡ χρηστότης καὶ ἀγαθοσύνη τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Θεοῦ ἐξελέσθαι με τῆς χαλεπῆς ἐκείνης αἰχμαλωσίας, ἐνίσχυσέ μου τὸν νοῦν περιγενέσθαι τοῦ νόμου τῆς ἁμαρτίας, καὶ διήνοιξέ μου τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς διακρίνειν τὸ φαῦλον ἀπὸ τοῦ κρείττονος. τότε δή, τότε κατενόησα καὶ εἶδον, καὶ ἰδοὺ πάντα τὰ παρόντα ματαιότης καὶ προαίρεσις πνεύματος, καθά που καὶ Σολομῶν ὁ σοφώτατος ἐν τοῖς αὐτοῦ ἔφη συγγράμμασι· τότε περιῃρέθη τῆς καρδίας μου 22 τὸ κάλυμμα τῆς ἁμαρτίας, καὶ ἡ ἐκ σωματικῆς παχύτητος ἐπικειμένη τῇ ψυχῇ μου ἀμαύρωσις διεσκεδάσθη, καὶ ἔγνων εἰς ὃ γέγονα καὶ ὅτι δεῖ με πρὸς τὸν δημιουργὸν ἀναβῆναι, διὰ τῆς τῶν ἐντολῶν