of a tree into two branches, or from the whole city into two neighborhoods. Furthermore, the greater parts of the soul are possessed by sin; and it thinks that it has become entirely, through and through, of the good part and of grace and of brightness; for example, having acquired five pounds of gold, it seems to him that he has acquired a hundred pounds; has the embryo in the womb already become a man? or because one has laid one foundation stone, has he already finished the building? or has the seed sown in the earth already become an ear of grain? has the merchant, at the same time he started his trade, already filled the warehouse? and has he who partakes of a little grace, on account of this become a Christian? Still the first and the great are so far from perfection as an official is from a governor; or as a small stream to the river Euphrates. He who has the intention of going to a city thirty days' journey away, if he should go two or three, let him not think that he has entered into the city; since, therefore, the opposing power is persuasive, not coercive; and divine grace is persuasive because of the free will and simplicity of nature, consequently if a man does evil things, being urged by Satan, Satan is not judged in his stead; but the man himself is punished and chastised, as having become obedient to wickedness by his own will. Likewise also if a man turns to the good, and the grace of God abounds, grace does not ascribe the good to itself, but it gives it to the man and glorifies him; since the man became for himself the cause 34.836 of the good; for this is of his own nature; and it is not as if grace, coming to him with coercive power, binds his will, and consequently makes him immutably good, willing or not, but the divine power, being present, yields to free will, so that the will of the man may be proved, whether it honors the soul or does not honor it; whether it agrees or does not agree; for many have honored and agreed. But others have turned away. For the Apostle says, 'Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?' For the law is not set for nature, but for the free choice that is able to turn to the good and to the evil. Therefore the Lord says, 'I came to cast fire upon the earth, and I wished that it were already kindled.' The Lord wishes the heavenly fire to be kindled in the hearts of men, and some wish it, but others do not wish it; likewise again he says, 'How often would I have gathered you together, as a hen her own brood, and you were not willing?' you see that the Lord wills; and again, men are not willing to draw near to the Lord and find mercy.

13. He who wishes to approach the Lord, and to be counted worthy of eternal life, and to become a dwelling-place of God, and to be counted worthy of the Holy Spirit, so that he may be able to produce its fruits blamelessly and purely according to the commandments of the Lord, ought to begin thus. First, to believe firmly in the Lord, and to give himself wholly to the words of His commandments, and to renounce the world in every way, so that his mind is occupied with none of the visible things at all. And to persevere always in prayer, and not to despair, expecting always the visitation and help of the Lord, having the purpose of his mind fixed on this continually. Then it is necessary to force oneself always toward every good, and toward all the commandments of the Lord, even if the heart is unwilling because of the sin dwelling with it; for example, to force oneself to be humble-minded before all men, and to consider oneself less and worse than all, not seeking honor or praise or glory from anyone, as it is written in the Gospel, but to have only the Lord always before his eyes, and His commandments, wishing to please Him alone. Likewise let him force himself to gentleness, even if his heart is unwilling, as the Lord says: 'Learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.' Likewise to be merciful, kind, compassionate, good, with all his might, he should accustom himself with force, as the Lord says: 'Be good and kind, as the

δένδρου εἰς κλάδους δύο, ἢ ἀπὸ πάσης τῆς πόλεως εἰς δύο γειτωνίας. Ἔτι δὲ τὰ πλείονα μέρη τῆς ψυχῆς κατέχεται ἀπὸ τῆς ἁμαρτίας· καὶ νομίζει ὅτι ὅλη δι' ὅλου, τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ μέρους καὶ τῆς χάριτος καὶ τῆς λαμπρότητος γέγονε· πρὸς λόγον πέντε λίτρας χρυσίου κτησάμενος, δοκεῖ αὐτῷ ὅτι ἑκατὸν λίτρας ἐκτήσατο· μὴ τὸ ἔμβρυον ἐν τῇ μήτρᾳ ἤδη γέγονεν ἄνθρωπος; ἢ ὅτι θεὶς ἕνα λίθον τοῦ θεμελίου, ἤδη ἐτελείωσε τὸ οἰκοδόμημα; ἢ ὁ σπόρος ὁ χωσθεὶς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ἤδη ἐγένετο στάχυς; μὴ ὁ πραγματευόμενος ἅμα τοῦ ἄρξασθαι τῆς πραγματείας, ἤδη ἐπλήρωσε τὴν ἀποθήκην; καὶ ὁ μετέχων χάριτος μικρᾶς, παρὰ τοῦτο γέγονε Χριστιανός; ἀκμὴν οἱ πρῶτοι καὶ οἱ μεγάλοι οὕτως εἰσὶ πρὸς τελειότητα, ὡς ὁ ὀφφικιάλιος πρὸς ἡγεμόνα· ἢ ὡς ῥύαξ μικρὸς πρὸς Εὐφράτην ποταμόν. Ὁ ἔχων πρόθεσιν ἀπελθεῖν εἰς πόλιν μακρὰν τριάκοντα μονῶν, δύο ἢ τρεῖς ἐὰν ἀπέλθῃ, μὴ νομίσῃ ὅτι εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὴν πόλιν· ἐπειδὴ οὖν ἡ ἐναντία δύναμις προτρεπτική ἐστιν, οὐκ ἀναγκαστική· καὶ θεία χάρις προτρεπτική ἐστι διὰ τὸ αὐτεξούσιον καὶ λιτὸν τῆς φύσεως, λοιπὸν ἐὰν ποιήσῃ κακὰ ὁ ἄνθρωπος προτρεπόμενος ὑπὸ τοῦ Σατανᾶ, οὐ κρίνεται ἀντ' αὐτοῦ ὁ Σατανᾶς· ἀλλ' αὐτὸς ὁ ἅνθρωπος τιμωρεῖται καὶ κολάζεται, ὡς ὑπήκοος γεγονὼς τῆς κακίας ἰδίῳ θελήματι. Ὁμοίως καὶ ἐὰν τραπῇ ὁ ἄνθρωπος εἰς τὸ ἀγαθὸν, καὶ περιγένοιτο χάρις Θεοῦ, οὐκ ἐπιγράφει τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἑαυτῇ ἡ χάρις, ἀλλ' ἀποδίδωσι τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ καὶ δοξάζει αὐτόν· ἐπειδὴ ἑαυτῷ ἐγίνετο ὁ ἄνθρωπος αἴτιος 34.836 τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ· αὐτῆς γάρ ἐστι τῆς φύσεως οὗτος· καὶ οὐχ οἷον ἐρχομένη ἡ χάρις πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀναγκαστικῇ δυνάμει δεσμεῖ αὐτοῦ τὸ θέλημα, καὶ λοιπὸν ἑκόντα καὶ ἄκοντα ποιεῖ αὐτὸν ἄτρεπτον ἀγαθοῦ, ἀλλὰ παραχωρεῖ τῷ αὐτεξουσίῳ καὶ συνοῦσα ἡ θεία δύναμις, ἵνα ἀποδειχθῇ τὸ θέλημα τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, εἰ τιμᾷ τὴν ψυχὴν ἢ οὐ τιμᾷ· εἰ συμφωνεῖ ἢ οὐ συμφωνεῖ· πολλοὶ γὰρ ἐτίμησαν καὶ συνεφώνησαν. Ἄλλοι δὲ ἐξετράπησαν. Λέγει γὰρ ὁ Ἀπόστολος, Ἐναρξάμενοι πνεύματι· νῦν σαρκὶ ἐπιτελεῖτε· τῇ γὰρ φύσει νόμος οὐ κεῖται, ἀλλὰ τῇ αὐτεξουσίῳ προαιρέσει δυναμένῃ τραπῆναι ἐπὶ τὸ ἀγαθὸν καὶ τὸ κακόν. ∆ιὸ λέγει ὁ Κύριος· Πῦρ ἦλθον βαλεῖν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν, καὶ ἠθέλησα εἰ ἤδη ἀνήφθη. Θέλει ὁ Κύριος ἀναφθῆναι τὸ οὐράνιον πῦρ εἰς τὰς καρδίας τῶν ἀνθρώπων, καὶ οἱ μὲν θέλουσιν, οἱ δὲ οὐ θέλουσιν· ὁμοίως πάλιν λέγει· Ποσάκις ἠθέλησα ἐπισυναγαγεῖν ὑμᾶς, ὡς ὄρνις τὰ ἑαυτῆς νοσσία, καὶ οὐκ ἠθελήσατε; ὁρᾷς ὅτι ὁ Κύριος θέλει· καὶ αὖ οἱ ἄνθρωποι οὐ θέλουσι προσεγγίσαι τῷ Κυρίῳ, καὶ εὑρεῖν ἔλεος.

ΙΓʹ. Ὁ βουλόμενος προσελθεῖν τῷ Κυρίῳ, καὶ ζωῆς αἰωνίου καταξιωθῆναι, καὶ κατοικητήριον Θεοῦ γενέσθαι, καὶ Πνεύματος ἁγίου καταξιωθῆναι, ἵνα τοὺς καρποὺς αὐτοῦ κατὰ τὰς ἐντολὰς τοῦ Κυρίου δυνηθῇ ἀμώμως καὶ καθαρῶς ποιεῖν, οὕτως ὀφείλει ἐνάρξασθαι. Πρῶτον πιστεῦσαι τῷ Κυρίῳ βεβαίως, καὶ ἐπιδοῦναι ἐξ ὅλου ἑαυτὸν τοῖς λόγοις τῶν ἐντολῶν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἀποτάξασθαι τῷ κόσμῳ κατὰ πάντα, ἵνα ἐν οὐδενὶ ὅλως τῶν φαινομένων ὁ νοῦς ἀσχολῆται. Καὶ εἰς τὴν εὐχὴν πάντοτε προσκαρτερεῖν αὐτὸν, καὶ μὴ ἀπογινώσκειν προσδεχόμενος τοῦ Κυρίου τὴν ἐπίσκεψιν καὶ τὴν βοήθειαν πάντοτε, τὸν σκοπὸν τοῦ νοὸς αὐτοῦ εἰς τοῦτο ἔχων διὰ παντός. Εἶτα βιάζεσθαι χρὴ ἀεὶ εἰς πᾶν ἀγαθὸν, καὶ εἰς πάσας τὰς ἐντολὰς τοῦ Κυρίου, κἂν μὴ θελούσης τῆς καρδίας διὰ τὴν συνοῦσαν αὐτῇ ἁμαρτίαν· οἷον βιάζεσθαι ἑαυτὸν εἰς τὸ ταπεινοφρονεῖν ἐνώπιον πάντων ἀνθρώπων, καὶ ἑαυτὸν πάντων ἐλάττω καὶ χείρονα ἡγεῖσθαι, μὴ ζητῶν τιμὴν ἢ ἔπαινον ἢ δόξαν παρά τινος, καθὼς ἐν τῷ Εὐαγγελίῳ γέγραπται, ἀλλὰ μόνον τὸν Κύριον ἀεὶ πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν ἔχειν, καὶ τὰς ἐντολὰς αὐτοῦ, αὐτῷ μόνῳ βουλόμενος ἀρέσαι. Εἰς τὴν πραότητα ὁμοίως ἑαυτὸν βιαζέτω, καὶ μὴ θελούσης τῆς καρδίας, ὥς φησιν ὁ Κύριος· Μάθετε ἀπ' ἐμοῦ, ὅτι πρᾶός εἰμι καὶ ταπεινὸς τῇ καρδίᾳ, καὶ εὑρήσετε ἀνάπαυσιν ταῖς ψυχαῖς ὑμῶν. Ὁμοίως εἰς τὸ εἶναι ἐλεήμονα, χρηστὸν, εὔσπλαγχνον, ἀγαθὸν, ὅση δύναμις, ἑαυτὸν ἐθίζειν μετὰ βίας, ὥς φησιν ὁ Κύριος· Γίνεσθε ἀγαθοὶ καὶ χρηστοὶ, καθὼς ὁ