9. Let thy feet hasten to the catechisings; receive with earnestness the exorcisms  39  Index, “Exorcism.” : whether thou be breathed upon or exorcised, the act is to thee salvation. Suppose thou hast gold unwrought and alloyed, mixed with various substances, copper, and tin, and iron, and lead: we seek to have the gold alone; can gold be purified from the foreign substances without fire? Even so without exorcisms the soul cannot be purified; and these exorcisms are divine, having been collected out of the divine Scriptures. Thy face has been veiled  40  Index, “Veiling.” , that thy mind may henceforward be free, lest the eye by roving make the heart rove also. But when thine eyes are veiled, thine ears are not hindered from receiving the means of salvation. For in like manner as those who are skilled in the goldsmith’s craft throw in their breath upon the fire through certain delicate instruments, and blowing up the gold which is hidden in the crucible stir the flame which surrounds it, and so find what they are seeking; even so when the exorcists inspire terror by the Spirit of God, and set the soul, as it were, on fire in the crucible of the body, the hostile demon flees away, and there abide salvation and the hope of eternal life, and the soul henceforth is cleansed from its sins and hath salvation. Let us then, brethren, abide in hope, and surrender ourselves, and hope, in order that the God of all may see our purpose, and cleanse us from our sins, and impart to us good hopes of our estate, and grant us repentance that bringeth salvation. God hath called, and His call is to thee.

Οἱ δὲ πόδες σου εἰς τὰς κατηχήσεις σπευδέτωσαν. Τοὺς ἐπορκισμοὺς δέχου μετὰ σπουδῆς: κἂν ἐμφυσηθῇς, κἂν ἐπορκισθῇς, σωτηρία σοι τὸ πρᾶγμα. Νόμισον εἶναι ἀργὸν χρυσὸν, καὶ δεδολωμένον, ποικίλαις ὕλαις ἀναμεμιγμένον, χαλκῷ, καὶ κασσιτέρῳ, καὶ σιδήρῳ, καὶ μολύβδῳ: ζητοῦμεν τὸν χρυσὸν μόνον ἔχειν: χρυσὸς μὴ δύναται ἄνευ πυρὸς καθαρθῆναι τὰ ἀνοίκεια: οὕτως ἄνευ ἐπορκισμῶν οὐ δύναται καθαρθῆναι ψυχή: εἰσὶ δὲ θεῖοι, ἐκ θείων γραφῶν συνειλεγμένοι: ἐσκέπασταί σου τὸ πρόσωπον, ἵνα σχολάσῃ λοιπὸν ἡ διάνοια: ἵνα μὴ τὸ βλέμμα ῥεμβόμενον ποιήσῃ ῥέμβεσθαι καὶ τὴν καρδίαν. Τῶν δὲ ὀφθαλμῶν ἐσκεπασμένων, οὐκ ἐμποδίζεται τὰ ὦτα δέξασθαι τὸ σωτήριον. Ὃν γὰρ τρόπον οἱ τῆς χρυσοχοϊκῆς ἐργασίας ἔμπειροι, διὰ τινῶν λεπτῶν ὀργάνων τὸ πνεῦμα τῷ πυρὶ παρεμβάλλοντες, καὶ τὸ ἐν τῇ χώνῃ κεκρυμμένον χρυσίον ἀναφυσῶντες, τὴν παρακειμένην ἐρεθίζοντες φλόγα εὑρίσκουσι τὸ ζητούμενον: οὕτω τῶν ἐπορκιζόντων, διὰ Πνεύματος θείου ἐμβαλλόντων τὸν φόβον, καὶ ὥσπερ ἐν χώνῃ, τῷ σώματι, τὴν ψυχὴν ἀναζωπυρούντων: φεύγει μὲν ὁ ἐχθρὸς δαίμων, παραμένει δὲ ἡ σωτηρία, καὶ παραμένει ἡ ἐλπὶς τῆς αἰωνίου ζωῆς, καὶ λοιπὸν ἡ ψυχὴ καθαρθεῖσα τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων ἔχει τὴν σωτηρίαν. Παραμένωμεν τοίνυν τῇ ἐλπίδι, ἀδελφοὶ, καὶ δῶμεν ἑαυτοὺς, καὶ ἐλπίσωμεν: ἵνα ὁ Θεὸς τῶν ὅλων, τὴν ἡμετέραν προαίρεσιν ἰδὼν, καθάρῃ μὲν ἡμᾶς τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν, ἐλπίδας δὲ ἡμῖν ἀγαθὰς παράσχῃ τῶν πραγμάτων, καὶ δώῃ ἡμῖν μετάνοιαν σωτηρίας. Θεὸς ἐκάλεσε, σὺ δὲ ἐκλήθης.