How their heart was changed by hardness, not taking into mind the covenant with Christ, and the renunciation of the devil! How they turned aside from the straight path, having walked in the darkness of ignorance, and given over to the sleep of sloth, having plunged themselves into the precipice of Gehenna! How they were estranged from the light of virtues, having loved the darkness of sin, because they walked on the broad and spacious way of practiced wickedness! How they forgot the coming of our Lord, and God, and Savior Jesus Christ, and his many and unsearchable good deeds, having been cleansed indeed through the water of divine baptism and the Holy Spirit, and adorned with the myrrh of gladness! but for a small, hateful, and loathsome pleasure, having set aside such and so great gifts, they were enslaved to a spirit of fornication and adultery. Woe to those who have abandoned the adoption of sons, and followed the pleasures of the world! Woe to those who follow the fortunes of the world! Woe to those who love the darkness of sin! Woe to those who abandon the light of truth! Woe to those who walk in the night of sin! Woe to those who forsake the day of the knowledge of God! Woe to those filled with the evil habit of laughter! 77.1085 Woe to those who adorn themselves in order to wound souls into intercourse and the lust of unclean licentiousness! truly it is a hook of the devil, not an adornment; to those therefore who long for, and seek, and wish to be saved, it is hateful. Woe to those who slander one to another! Woe to the eavesdroppers, and pugnacious ones, and troublemakers! Woe to those who swear for the love of pleasure. Woe to the perjurers! woe to the gluttons, whose god is the belly! Woe to the drunkards!

But blessed is the one who here humbles himself, and abases himself for God's sake, and despises and condemns himself! Such a one is exalted by God most high, and is praised by angels, and at the judgment does not stand on the left. Blessed is the man who perseveres in prayers, and endures in fasts, and rejoices in vigils, and wrestles against, and drives away sleep, bending the knees in praise of God, striking his breast, smiting his face, raising his hands to the air, lifting his eye to heaven toward the Lord, thinking of the one sitting upon the throne of glory, and testing hearts, and searching the reins! For such a one enjoys eternal good things, he becomes a son, and brother, and friend, and heir of God. His face will shine like the sun in the day of judgment, in which is the kingdom of heaven. But he who loves the truth is found a friend of God; but he who continually utters lies becomes a friend of demons. He who hates deceit is delivered from the curse. He who endures temptations is crowned as a confessor before the judgment seat of Christ. He who murmurs, and is discontented in the calamities that befall him, and in the afflictions of despondency and blasphemies that occur, this one has gone astray, and has a deaf mind. The meek, and gentle, and humble of mind is praised by God, is called blessed by the angels, and is eulogized by men. But the bitter, and quick-tempered, and sharp-tongued, is cursed by God; his food is a cluster of the bitterness of demons; and the wine, the wrath of dragons, and the drink, the incurable venom of an asp. The pure in heart see the glory of God; but those who are defiled in mind reflect the devil.

Those who have done vile things, and conceived unseemly things, and plotted evil things against their neighbor, prevent themselves from divine communion. Those who moisten their face with rouge, and rub and whiten their cheeks with white lead, and adorn themselves by means of mirrors and looking-glasses, in order to capture and ensnare souls into licentiousness and unseemly desires, and satanic lusts, on the day of judgment are not found to be devout; but as despisers of the commandments of God

Πῶς ἠλλοιώθησαν τὴν καρδίαν αὐτῶν τῇ πωρώσει, εἰς νοῦν μὴ λαβόντες τὴν σύνταξιν τοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ τὴν ἀπόταξιν τοῦ διαβόλου!

Πῶς ἐξετράπησαν τῆς εὐθείας ὁδοῦ, ἐν τῷ σκότει τῆς ἀγνοίας βαδίσαντες, καὶ τῷ ὕπνῳ τῆς ῥᾳθυμίας ἐκδόντες, εἰς πέταυρον τῆς γεέννης ἑαυτοὺς ποντίσαντες! Πῶς ἀπηλλοτριώθησαν τοῦ φωτὸς τῶν ἀρετῶν, ἀγαπήσαντες τὸ σκότος τῆς ἁμαρτίας, διὰ τὸ βαδίσαι αὐτοὺς τῇ πλατείᾳ καὶ εὐρυχώρῳ ὁδῷ τῆς τριβακῆς κακίας! Πῶς ἐπελάθοντο τῆς τοῦ Κυρίου, καὶ Θεοῦ, καὶ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐπιδημίας, καὶ τῶν πολλῶν καὶ ἀνεξιχνιάστων αὐτοῦ εὐεργεσιῶν, καθαρισθέντες μὲν δι' ὕδατος τοῦ θείου βαπτίσματος καὶ Πνεύματος ἁγίου, καὶ στολισθέντες τῷ μύρῳ τῆς ἀγαλλιάσεως! διὰ δὲ μικρὰν ἡδονὴν, μισητὴν καὶ συχαντὴν, ἀθετήσαντες τὰς τοιαύτας καὶ τηλικαύτας δωρεὰς, ἐδουλώθησαν πνεύματι πορνείας καὶ μοιχείας. Οὐαὶ τοῖς καταλείψασι τὴν υἱοθεσίαν, καὶ ἀκολουθήσασι ταῖς τοῦ κόσμου ἡδοναῖς! Οὐαὶ τοῖς ἑπομένοις ταῖς τοῦ κόσμου συντυχίαις! Οὐαὶ τοῖς ἀγαπῶσι τὸ σκότος τῆς ἁμαρτίας! Οὐαὶ τοῖς καταλιποῦσι τὸ φῶς τῆς ἀληθείας! Οὐαὶ τοῖς περιπατοῦσιν ἐν νυκτὶ τῆς ἁμαρτίας! Οὐαὶ τοῖς καταλιμπάνουσι τὴν ἡμέραν τῆς θεογνωσίας! Οὐαὶ τοῖς ἐμπεπλησμένοις τῇ κακῇ συνηθείᾳ τοῦ γέλωτος! 77.1085 Οὐαὶ τοῖς καλλωπιζομένοις πρὸς τὸ τρῶσαι ψυχὰς εἰς συνουσίαν καὶ λαγνείαν ἀκολασίας ἀκαθάρτου! ἀληθῶς ἄγκιστρόν ἐστι τοῦ διαβόλου, οὐ καλλωπισμός· τοῖς οὖν ποθοῦσι, καὶ ζητοῦσι, καὶ θέλουσι σωθῆναι, μισητός ἐστιν. Οὐαὶ τοῖς διαβάλλουσιν εἶς τῷ ἑνί! Οὐαὶ τοῖς παρακροαταῖς, καὶ συμβαλλομάχοις, καὶ ταραχοποιοῖς! Οὐαὶ τοῖς ὀμνύουσι διὰ φιληδονίαν. Οὐαὶ τοῖς ἐπιόρκοις! οὐαὶ τοῖς γαστριμάργοις, ὧν θεὸς, ἡ κοιλία! Οὐαὶ τοῖς μεθύουσιν!

Μακάριος δὲ ὁ ἐνταῦθα ἑαυτὸν εὐτελίζων, καὶ ταπεινῶν διὰ τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ ἐξουθενῶν καὶ κατακρίνων! ὁ τοιοῦτος ὑπὸ Θεοῦ ὑψίστου ὑψοῦται, καὶ ὑπὸ ἀγγέλων ἐπαινεῖται, καὶ ἐν τῇ κρίσει ἐξ εὐωνύμων οὐχ ἵσταται. Μακάριος ἄνθρωπος ὁ καρτερῶν ἐν προσευχαῖς, καὶ ὑπομένων ἐν νηστείαις, καὶ χαίρων ἐν ἀγρυπνίαις, καὶ ἀντιπαλαίων, καὶ ἀποσοβῶν τὸν ὕπνον, κάμπτων τε τὰ γόνατα εἰς δοξολογίαν Θεοῦ, κρούων τὸ στῆθος, τύπτων τὸ πρόσωπον, ὑψῶν τὰς χεῖρας εἰς τὸν ἀέρα, αἴρων τὸ ὄμμα εἰς οὐρανὸν πρὸς Κύριον, ἐννοῶν τὸν ἐπὶ θρόνου δόξης καθήμενον, καὶ καρδίας ἐτάζοντα, καὶ νεφροὺς ἐμβατεύοντα! Ὁ γὰρ τοιοῦτος ἀπολαύει τῶν αἰωνίων ἀγαθῶν, υἱὸς, καὶ ἀδελφὸς, καὶ φίλος, καὶ κληρονόμος Θεοῦ γίνεται. Τούτου λάμψει τὸ πρόσωπον ὡς ὁ ἥλιος ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κρίσεως, ἐν ᾗ ἡ τῶν οὐρανῶν βασιλεία. Ὁ δὲ ἀγαπῶν τὴν ἀλήθειαν, φίλος Θεοῦ εὑρίσκεται· ὁ δὲ ψεύδη ἐνδελεχίζων, φίλος δαιμόνων γίνεται. Ὁ μισῶν τὸν δόλον, λυτροῦται τῆς ἀρᾶς. Ὁ ὑπομένων τοὺς πειρασμοὺς, ὡς ὁμολογητὴς στεφανοῦται ἐνώπιον τοῦ βήματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Ὁ γογγύζων, καὶ δυσπετῶν ἐν ταῖς συμπιπτούσαις συμφοραῖς, καὶ ταῖς συμβαινούσαις θλίψεσιν ἀκηδιῶν τε καὶ βλασφημῶν, οὗτος πεπλάνηται, καὶ φρένας κωφὰς ἔχει. Ὁ πρᾶος, καὶ ἐπιεικὴς, καὶ ταπεινόφρων, ὑπὸ Θεοῦ ἐπαινεῖται, μακαρίζεται ὑπὸ τῶν ἀγγέλων, καὶ ἐγκωμιάζεται ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων. Ὁ δὲ πικρὸς, καὶ ὀξύθυμος, καὶ ὀξύχολος, κεκατήραται ἀπὸ Θεοῦ· τούτου ἡ βρῶσις, βότρυς πικρίας δαιμόνων· ὁ δὲ οἶνος, θυμὸς δρακόντων, καὶ ἡ πῶσις ἰὸς ἀσπίδος ἀνίατος. Οἱ καθαροὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ ὁρῶσι τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ δόξαν· οἱ δὲ ἐῤῥυπωμένοι τὸν νοῦν, ἐνοπτρίζονται τὸν διάβολον.

Οἱ τὰ φαῦλα πράξαντες, καὶ τὰ ἄτοπα ἐννοοῦντες, καὶ τὰ κακὰ λογιζόμενοι εἰς τὸν πλησίον, κωλύουσιν αὐτοὺς τῆς θείας κοινωνίας. Οἱ τὸ πρόσωπον φοινικείοις ὑγραίνοντες, καὶ ψιμμυθίῳ τὰς παρειὰς τρίβοντες, καὶ λευκαίνοντες, καὶ δι' ἐσόπτρων καὶ κατόπτρων στολιζόμενοι, πρὸς τὸ ζωγρῆσαι καὶ σαγηνεῦσαι ψυχὰς εἰς ἀκολασίαν καὶ ἐπιθυμίας ἀτόπους, καὶ ἔρωτας σατανικοὺς, ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κρίσεως θεοσεβεῖς οὐχ εὑρίσκονται· ἀλλ' ὡς καταφρονηταὶ τῶν ἐντολῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ