16. Great is the Baptism that lies before you  55  S. Basil has a passage in praise of Baptism almost the same, word for word, with this. It is more likely to have been borrowed from Cyril by Basil and other Fathers, than to be a later interpolation here. : a ransom to captives; a remission of offences; a death of sin; a new-birth of the soul; a garment of light; a holy indissoluble seal; a chariot to heaven; the delight of Paradise; a welcome into the kingdom; the gift of adoption! But there is a serpent by the wayside watching those who pass by: beware lest he bite thee with unbelief. He sees so many receiving salvation, and is  seeking whom he may devour  56  1 Pet. v. 8. . Thou art coming in unto the Father of Spirits, but thou art going past that serpent. How then mayest thou pass him? Have  thy feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace  57  Eph. vi. 15. ; that even if he bite, he may not hurt thee. Have faith in-dwelling, stedfast hope, a strong sandal, that thou mayest pass the enemy, and enter the presence of thy Lord. Prepare thine own heart for reception of doctrine, for fellowship in holy mysteries. Pray more frequently, that God may make thee worthy of the heavenly and immortal mysteries. Cease not day nor night: but when sleep is banished from thine eyes, then let thy mind be free for prayer. And if thou find any shameful thought rise up in thy mind, turn to meditation upon Judgment to remind thee of Salvation. Give thy mind wholly to study, that it may forget base things. If thou find any one saying to thee, Art thou then going in, to descend into the water? Has the city just now no baths? take notice that it is  the dragon of the sea  58  Is. xxvii. 1. who is laying these plots against thee. Attend not to the lips of the talker, but to God who worketh in thee. Guard thine own soul, that thou be not ensnared, to the end that abiding in hope thou mayest become an heir of everlasting salvation.

Μέγα, τὸ προκείμενον βάπτισμα: αἰχμαλώτοις λύτρον: ἁμαρτημάτων ἄφεσις: θάνατος ἁμαρτίας: παλιγγενεσία ψυχῆς: ἔνδυμα φωτεινόν: σφραγὶς ἁγία ἀκατάλυτος: ὄχημα πρὸς οὐρανόν: παραδείσου τρυφή: βασιλείας πρόξενον: υἱοθεσίας χάρισμα. Ἀλλὰ δράκων παρὰ τὴν ὁδὸν τηρεῖ τοὺς περιπατοῦντας. βλέπε μὴ δάκῃ τῇ ἀπιστίᾳ. Βλέπει τοσούτους σωζομένους, καὶ ζητεῖ τίνα καταπίῃ. Πρὸς Πατέρα πνευμάτων εἰσέρχῃ, ἀλλὰ δι' ἐκείνου τοῦ δράκοντος διέρχῃ: πῶς οὖν αὐτὸν διέλθῃς; Ὑπόδησαι τοὺς πόδας ἐν ἑτοιμασίᾳ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου τῆς εἰρήνης: ἵνα κἂν δάκῃ, μὴ βλάπτῃ: πίστιν ἔνοικον ἔχε, κραταιὰν ἐλπίδα, κρηπίδα ἰσχυρὰν, ἵνα διέλθῃς τὸν ἐχθρὸν, καὶ εἰσέλθῃς πρὸς τὸν δεσπότην. Τὴν σαυτοῦ καρδίαν ἑτοίμασον εἰς ὑποδοχὴν διδασκαλίας, εἰς κοινωνίαν ἁγίων μυστηρίων. Εὔχου πυκνότερον, ἵνα ὁ Θεός σε καταξιώσῃ τῶν ἐπουρανίων καὶ ἀθανάτων μυστηρίων. Μήτε ἡμέραν ἄργει, μήτε νύκτα: ἀλλ' ὅταν ὁ ὕπνος ἐκ τῶν ὀμμάτων σου ἐκπέσῃ, τότε ἡ διάνοιά [σου] εἰς προσευχὴν σχολαζέτω. Κἂν ἴδῃς λογισμὸν αἰσχρὸν ἀναβάντα εἰς τὴν διάνοιάν σου, λάβε κρίσεως ὑπομνηστικὸν σωτηρίας: σχόλασον τὴν διάνοιαν εἰς τὸ μαθεῖν, ἵνα ἐπιλάθῃ φαύλων πραγμάτων. Ἐὰν ἴδῃς τινά σοι λέγοντα: Καὶ εἰσέρχῃ εἰς τὸ ὕδωρ καταβῆναι; ἄρτι γὰρ οὐκ ἔχει ἡ πόλις βαλανεῖα; Γίνωσκε ὅτι ὁ δράκων τῆς θαλάσσης ταῦτά σοι κατασκευάζει: μὴ πρόσεχε τοῖς χείλεσι τοῦ λαλοῦντος, ἀλλὰ τῷ ἐνεργοῦντι Θεῷ. Φύλασσε τὴν σαυτοῦ ψυχὴν, ὅπως ἄληπτος γένῃ: ἵνα παραμείνας τῇ ἐλπίδι, κληρονόμος γένῃ σωτηρίας αἰωνίου.