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walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them and upon the Israel of God. And again: If anyone is in Christ, a new creation; the old things have passed away. The 'new creation' is an apostolic rule; and it is this which he himself clearly showed in another place, saying: That I might present the church to myself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she might be holy and without blemish. He called a 'new creation' the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in a pure and blameless soul, which has been delivered from all malice and wickedness and shame. For when the soul hates sinning, and appropriates itself to God according to its power by a life of virtue, and, having been transformed in its way of life, receives into itself the grace of the Spirit, 8,1.62 it has become wholly new and has been re-created. And the saying, 'Cleanse out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump,' indicates this, and the saying, 'Let us celebrate, not with old leaven, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.' For since the tempter sets many snares for the soul, setting before it his own evil from all sides, and human strength by itself is too weak for the victory over him, the apostle commands us to arm our members with heavenly weapons, commanding us to put on the breastplate of righteousness, and to shod our feet with the readiness of peace, and to gird our loins with truth, and above all, taking up the shield of faith, by which he says, 'You will be able to quench all the flaming darts of the evil one;' and the flaming darts are the licentious passions; and he exhorts us to receive the helmet of salvation and the holy sword of the Spirit; and he calls the sword holy, the word of God in power, with which one must arm the right hand of the soul to repel the schemes of the enemy.

How then must we take up these arms? Learn from the apostle himself 8,1.63 when he says: 'Praying with all prayer and supplication at all times in the Spirit, and to that end keeping alert with all perseverance and supplication;' wherefore also he prays over all thus: 'The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.' And again: 'May your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.' Do you see how many ways of salvation he has shown you, tending toward one road and one goal, that of being a perfect Christian? For this is the end which the lovers of truth must reach through strong faith and firm hope, walking with pleasure, together with struggle and eagerness. By these things the course toward the summit of the commandments of life is also easily fulfilled, on which hangs every prophet along with the law. Which commandments do I mean? 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.' Such, then, is the goal of piety, which both the Lord himself and the apostles who received the knowledge from him 8,1.64 handed down to us; and if by demonstrating through more lengthy arguments we have drawn out the discourse to some length, let no one find fault, since we are more concerned with presenting the truth than with shortening what is said. For it is necessary for those who have resolved to philosophize rightly and to ransom their souls from the defilements of evil to know precisely the goal of this philosophy, so that, having learned both the labor of the journey and the end of the course, they may all cast off arrogance and great-mindedness over their achievements, and having denied their own soul along with their life according to the command of scripture, they may look to one wealth, which God has set as a prize of love for Christ for those who love him, calling to it all those who eagerly undertake the contest to receive it, for whom the cross of Christ is a sufficient provision for the journey of such a life; which they must bear with joy and good hope, following the Savior God, making his dispensation the law and way of life, as the apostle himself said: 'Be imitators of me, as I am'

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κανόνι τούτῳ στοιχοῦσιν, εἰρήνη ἐπ' αὐτοὺς καὶ ἔλεος καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν Ἰσραὴλ τοῦ θεοῦ. καὶ πάλιν· Εἴ τις ἐν Χριστῷ, καινὴ κτίσις· τὰ ἀρχαῖα παρῆλθε. τὸ καινὴ κτίσις ἀποστολικός ἐστι κανών· ἔστι δὲ οὗτος ὃν αὐτὸς ἐν ἄλλῳ μέρει σαφῶς ἐδήλωσεν εἰπών· Ἵνα παρα στήσω αὐτὸς ἑαυτῷ τὴν ἐκκλησίαν ἔνδοξον, μὴ ἔχουσαν σπῖλον ἢ ῥυτίδα ἤ τι τῶν τοιούτων, ἀλλ' ἵνα ᾖ ἁγία καὶ ἄμωμος. καινὴν κτίσιν ἐκάλεσε τὴν ἐν καθαρᾷ καὶ ἀμώμῳ ψυχῇ καὶ πάσης ἀπηλλαγμένῃ κακίας καὶ πονηρίας καὶ αἰσχύνης ἐνοίκησιν τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος. ὅταν γὰρ μισήσῃ μὲν ἡ ψυχὴ τὸ ἁμαρτάνειν, οἰκειώσῃ δὲ ἑαυτὴν τῷ θεῷ κατὰ δύναμιν τῇ τῆς ἀρετῆς πολιτείᾳ καὶ δέξηται μετα ποιηθεῖσα τῷ βίῳ τὴν τοῦ πνεύματος εἰς ἑαυτὴν χάριν, 8,1.62 καινὴ γέγονεν ὅλη καὶ ἀνεκτίσθη. καὶ τὸ Ἐκκαθάρατε τὴν παλαιὰν ζύμην, ἵνα ἦτε νέον φύραμα, τοῦτο δηλοῖ, καὶ τὸ Ἑορτάζωμεν, μὴ ἐν ζύμῃ παλαιᾷ, ἀλλ' ἐν ἀζύμοις εἰλι κρινείας καὶ ἀληθείας. ἐπειδὴ γὰρ πολλοὺς μὲν ἵστησιν ὁ πειρατὴς τῇ ψυχῇ βρόχους πανταχόθεν αὐτῇ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ κακίαν προβάλλων, ἐλάττων δὲ καθ' ἑαυτὴν ἡ ἀνθρωπίνη δύναμις τῆς κατ' ἐκείνου νίκης, ὁπλίζειν ἡμᾶς ὁ ἀπόστολος κελεύει τὰ μέλη τοῖς οὐρανίοις ὅπλοις, τὸν θώρακα τῆς δικαιοσύνης κελεύων ἐνδύσασθαι καὶ ὑποδήσασθαι τοὺς πόδας ἐν ἑτοιμασίᾳ τῆς εἰρήνης καὶ περιζώσασθαι τὴν ὀσφὺν ἐν ἀληθείᾳ, ἐπὶ πᾶσι δὲ τὸν θυρεὸν τῆς πίστεως ἀναλαβόντες, δι' ἧς φησι ∆υνήσεσθε πάντα τὰ βέλη τοῦ πονηροῦ τὰ πεπυ ρωμένα σβέσαι· βέλη δέ ἐστι πεπυρωμένα τὰ ἀκόλαστα πάθη· καὶ τὴν περικεφαλαίαν τοῦ σωτηρίου δέξασθαι παρεγγυᾷ καὶ τὴν ἁγίαν μάχαιραν τοῦ πνεύματος· μάχαιραν δὲ ἁγίαν λέγει τὸν ἐν δυνάμει θεοῦ λόγον, ᾧ χρὴ τὴν δεξιὰν τῆς ψυχῆς ὁπλίσαντα τὰς τοῦ ἐχθροῦ μηχανὰς ἀποκρούεσθαι.

Πῶς οὖν ἡμῖν ληπτέον τὰ ὅπλα, παρ' αὐτοῦ μάθε 8,1.63 τοῦ ἀποστόλου λέγοντος· ∆ιὰ πάσης προσευχῆς καὶ δεή σεως προσευχόμενοι ἐν παντὶ καιρῷ ἐν πνεύματι καὶ εἰς αὐτὸ ἀγρυπνοῦντες ἐν πάσῃ προσκαρτερήσει καὶ δεήσει· ὅθεν καὶ ὑπερεύχεται πάντων οὕτως· Ἡ χάρις τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ἡ κοινωνία τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος μετὰ πάντων ὑμῶν. καὶ πάλιν· Ὁλόκληρον ὑμῶν τὸ πνεῦμα καὶ ἡ ψυχὴ καὶ τὸ σῶμα ἀμέμπτως τηρηθείη ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. ὁρᾷς ὅσους ὑπέδειξέ σοι τρόπους τῆς σωτηρίας εἰς μίαν τείνοντας ὁδὸν καὶ σκοπὸν ἕνα τοῦ τέλειον εἶναι Χριστιανόν; τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι τὸ πέρας εἰς ὃ δεῖ φθάσαι διὰ πίστεως ἰσχυρᾶς καὶ ἐλπίδος βεβαίας τοὺς τῆς ἀληθείας ἐραστὰς ἐν ἡδονῇ μετὰ ἀγῶνος καὶ προθυμίας βαδίζοντας. τούτοις καὶ πληροῦται ῥᾳδίως ὁ πρὸς τὸ ἄκρον τῶν ἐν τολῶν τοῦ βίου δρόμος, ὧν ἐξήρτηται πᾶς προφήτης μετὰ τοῦ νόμου. τίνας λέγω τὰς ἐντολάς; Ἀγαπήσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ψυχῆς σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς διανοίας σου καὶ τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν. Ὁ μὲν οὖν σκοπὸς τῆς εὐσεβείας τοιοῦτος, ὃν αὐτός τε ὁ κύριος καὶ οἱ παρ' ἐκείνου τὸ εἰδέναι λαβόντες ἀπό 8,1.64 στολοι παρέδοσαν ἡμῖν· εἰ δὲ διὰ μακροτέρων ἀποδεικνύν τες εἰς μῆκος προηγάγομεν τὸν λόγον, τοῦ παραστῆσαι τὴν ἀλήθειαν μᾶλλον ἢ τοῦ συντεμεῖν τὰ λεγόμενα φροντί ζοντες, μεμφέσθω μηδείς. δεῖ γὰρ τοὺς ὀρθῶς φιλοσοφεῖν ἐγνωκότας καὶ τὰς ψυχὰς ἐκ τῶν τῆς κακίας μολυσμῶν λυτρουμένους ἀκριβῶς εἰδέναι τὸν τῆς φιλοσοφίας σκοπόν, ὅπως μεμαθηκότες τῆς τε πορείας τὸν πόνον καὶ τοῦ δρόμου τὸ πέρας ῥίψωσι μὲν πάντες τὴν αὐθάδειαν καὶ τὸ μέγα φρονεῖν ἐπὶ τοῖς κατορθώμασι, τὴν δὲ ἑαυτῶν ψυχὴν μετὰ τοῦ βίου κατὰ τὸ πρόσταγμα τῆς γραφῆς ἀρνησάμενοι πρὸς ἕνα βλέπωσι πλοῦτον, ὃν τῆς εἰς Χριστὸν ἀγάπης ἆθλον τοῖς ἀγαπῶσιν ἔθηκεν ὁ θεός, καλῶν εἰς αὐτὸν πάντας τοὺς τὸν ἀγῶνα τοῦ λαβεῖν προθύμως ὑφισταμένους, οἷς ἐξαρκεῖ πρὸς τὴν τοῦ τοιούτου βίου πορείαν ἐφόδιον ὁ σταυρὸς τοῦ Χριστοῦ· ὃν δεῖ μετ' εὐφροσύνης καὶ ἀγαθῆς ἐλπίδος βαστάζοντας ἀκολουθεῖν τῷ σωτῆρι θεῷ, νόμον καὶ ὁδὸν τοῦ βίου τὴν ἐκείνου ποιουμένους οἰκονομίαν, καθὼς εἶπεν αὐτὸς ὁ ἀπόστολος· Μιμηταί μου γίνεσθε καθὼς κἀγὼ