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the care of their needs. This is manifestly in conflict with the law of love, which the Apostle fulfilled, not seeking his own advantage, but that of the many, that they might be saved. Then, in separation, each person will not easily recognize his own fault, having no one to reprove him and correct him in meekness and compassion. For reproof, even from an enemy, might often create a desire for healing in a reasonable person; but the skillful healing of a sin is accomplished by one who loves sincerely. For he who loves, it says, chastens diligently. It is impossible to find such a person in the solitary life, if one has not been previously united during one's life; so that what was said happens to him: Woe to him who is alone, for if he falls, there is no one to lift him up. And the commandments are more easily fulfilled by many together, but no longer by one alone; for in the work of one, the other is hindered. For example, in visiting the sick, the reception of a stranger is hindered, and in the sharing and distribution of necessities (and especially when the ministries are far apart), so is zeal for one's tasks; so that as a result the greatest and most intense commandment for salvation is neglected: neither the hungry being fed, nor the naked being clothed. Who then would choose to prefer the idle and fruitless life to the fruitful one accomplished according to the Lord's commandment? And if all of us who have been called in one hope of our calling are one body, having Christ as our head, and each one members of one another, if we are not joined together in harmony for the fitting of one body in the Holy Spirit, but each of us chooses the solitary life, not serving in the economy for the common good according to what is pleasing to God, but fulfilling the private passion of self-satisfaction; how can we, being separated and divided, preserve the relation and service of the members to one another, or the subjection to our head, which is Christ? For it is possible neither to rejoice with one who is glorified, nor to suffer with one who suffers, in the separation of life, since it is not likely that each can know the affairs of his neighbor. Then too, since one person is not sufficient 31.932 to receive all the spiritual gifts, but according to the proportion of faith in each, the supply of the Spirit is given, in the community of life the particular gift of each becomes common to his fellow citizens. For to one is given the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge, to another faith, to another prophecy, to another gifts of healing, and so on; each of which the one receiving has not so much for himself as for others. So it is necessary in the common life that the working of the Holy Spirit in one person passes on to all at once. Therefore, he who lives by himself may have one gift, and he makes this useless through idleness, having buried it in himself; how great a danger this is, all you who have read the Gospels know. But in living together with many, he both enjoys his own gift, multiplying it by sharing, and he reaps the fruit of others' gifts as his own. The common life also has more good things, all of which are not easy to enumerate. For it is more useful than the solitary life for keeping the good things given to us by God, and safer for guarding against the external plotting of the enemy is being awakened by the watchful, if ever one should happen to doze off into that sleep unto death, which we have been taught by David to pray may not happen to us, when he says: Enlighten my eyes, lest I sleep unto death; and for the one who sins, withdrawal from sin is easier, being ashamed of the condemnation made in agreement by the many, so that what was said would fit him, Sufficient for such a one is this punishment, which was inflicted by the many; but for the one who does right, the assurance is great in both the testing by the many and the approval of his work. For if by the mouth of two and three witnesses every word shall be established, much more certainly

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τῶν χρειῶν θερα πείαν. Τοῦτο δὲ προδήλως μαχόμενόν ἐστι τῷ τῆς ἀγάπης νόμῳ, ὃν ὁ Ἀπόστολος ἐπλήρου, μὴ ζητῶν τὸ ἑαυτοῦ συμφέρον, ἀλλὰ τὸ τῶν πολλῶν, ἵνα σωθῶσιν. Ἔπειτα ἐν τῷ καταχωρισμῷ οὐδὲ τὸ ἐλάττωμα ῥᾳδίως ἕκαστος τὸ ἑαυτοῦ ἐπιγνώσεται, οὐκ ἔχων τὸν ἐλέγχοντα αὐτὸν, καὶ ἐν πραότητι καὶ εὐσπλαγχνίᾳ ἐπανορθούμενον. Ἔλεγχος μὲν γὰρ καὶ παρὰ ἐχθροῦ πολλάκις ἂν γένοιτο θεραπείας ἐπιθυμίαν ἐμποιῶν τῷ εὐγνώμονι· θεραπεία δὲ ἁμαρτήματος ἐπιστημό νως παρὰ τοῦ εἰλικρινῶς ἀγαπήσαντος κατορθοῦται. Ὁ γὰρ ἀγαπῶν, φησὶν, ἐπιμελῶς παιδεύει. Ὃν ἐπὶ τῆς μονώσεως εὑρεῖν ἄπορον, μὴ προενωθέντα κατὰ τὸν βίον· ὥστε συμβαίνειν αὐτῷ τὸ εἰρημένον ἐκεῖνο· Οὐαὶ τῷ ἑνὶ, ὅτι ἐὰν πέσῃ, οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ ἐγείρων αὐτόν. Καὶ αἱ ἐντολαὶ δὲ ὑπὸ μὲν τῶν πλειόνων ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ ῥᾳδίως γίνονται πλείους, ὑπὸ δὲ τοῦ ἑνὸς οὐκέτι· ἐν γὰρ τῇ ἐργασίᾳ τῆς μιᾶς ἐμποδίζεται ἡ ἄλλη. Οἷον, ἐν τῇ ἐπισκέψει τοῦ ἀσθενοῦντος ἡ ὑποδοχὴ τοῦ ξένου, καὶ ἐν τῇ μετα δόσει καὶ κοινωνίᾳ τῶν χρειῶν (καὶ μάλιστα, ὅταν διὰ μακροῦ αἱ διακονίαι γίνωνται), ἡ περὶ τὰ ἔργα σπουδή· ὥστε ἐκ τούτου τὴν μεγίστην καὶ σύν τονον πρὸς σωτηρίαν ἐντολὴν ἐλλιμπάνεσθαι· μήτε τοῦ πεινῶντος τρεφομένου, μήτε τοῦ γυμνοῦ περι βαλλομένου. Τίς ἂν οὖν ἕλοιτο τὴν ἀργὴν καὶ ἄκαρ πον ζωὴν τῆς ἐγκάρπου καὶ κατ' ἐντολὴν τοῦ Κυρίου ἐπιτελουμένης προτιμῆσαι; Εἰ δὲ καὶ πάντες, οἱ ἐν μιᾷ ἐλπίδι τῆς κλήσεως προσληφθέντες, ἓν σῶμά ἐσμεν, κεφαλὴν ἔχοντες τὸν Χριστόν· ὁ δὲ καθεὶς ἀλλήλων μέλη, ἐὰν μὴ ἐκ συμ φωνίας πρὸς ἑνὸς σώματος ἁρμολογίαν ἐν Πνεύματι ἁγίῳ συναρμοσθῶμεν· ἕκαστος δὲ ἡμῶν τὴν μόνωσιν αἱρῆται, μὴ κατὰ τὸ εὐάρεστον τῷ Θεῷ πρὸς τὸ κοινῇ συμφέρον τῇ οἰκονομίᾳ δουλεύων, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἴδιον τῆς αὐταρεσκείας πάθος πληροφορῶν· πῶς δυ νάμεθα ἀπεσχισμένοι καὶ διῃρημένοι σώζειν τὴν τῶν μελῶν πρὸς ἄλληλα σχέσιν τε καὶ ὑπηρεσίαν, ἢ τὴν ὑποταγὴν πρὸς τὴν κεφαλὴν ἡμῶν, ἥτις ἐστὶν ὁ Χρι στός; Οὔτε γὰρ τῷ δοξαζομένῳ συγχαίρειν, οὔτε συμπάσχειν δυνατὸν τῷ πάσχοντι, ἐν τῇ διαστάσει τοῦ βίου, οὐ δυναμένου κατὰ τὸ εἰκὸς ἑκάστου γινώ σκειν τὰ τοῦ πλησίον. Εἶτα καὶ ἑνὸς μὴ ἐξαρκοῦντος 31.932 ὑποδέξασθαι πάντα τὰ πνευματικὰ χαρίσματα, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὴν ἀναλογίαν τῆς ἐν ἑκάστῳ πίστεως, τῆς ἐπιχορηγίας τοῦ Πνεύματος γινομένης, ἐν τῇ τῆς ζωῆς κοινωνίᾳ, τὸ ἑκάστου ἴδιον χάρισμα κοινὸν τῶν συμπολιτευομένων γίνεται. Ὧ μὲν γὰρ δίδοται λό γος σοφίας, ἑτέρῳ δὲ λόγος γνώσεως, ἄλλῳ πί στις, ἄλλῳ προφητεία, ἄλλῳ χαρίσματα ἰαμάτων, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς· ὧν ἕκαστον οὐ μᾶλλον δι' ἑαυτὸν ἢ διὰ τοὺς ἄλλους ὁ λαμβάνων ἔχει. Ὥστε ἀνάγκη ἐν τῷ κοινωνικῷ βίῳ τὴν ἐν τῷ ἑνὶ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος ἐνέργειαν εἰς πάντας ὁμοῦ διαβαίνειν. Ὁ μὲν οὖν καθ' ἑαυτὸν ζῶν ἓν τυχὸν ἔχει χάρισμα, καὶ τοῦτο ἄχρηστον ποιεῖ διὰ τῆς ἀργίας, κατορύξας ἐν ἑαυτῷ· ὅπερ ἡλίκον ἔχει κίνδυνον, ἴστε πάντες οἱ ἀνεγνω κότες τὰ Εὐαγγέλια· ἐν δὲ τῇ τῶν πλειόνων συμβιώσει καὶ τοῦ ἰδίου ἀπολαύει, πολυπλασιάζων αὐτὸ τῇ μεταδόσει, καὶ τὰ τῶν ἄλλων ὡς ἑαυτοῦ καρποῦται. Ἔχει δὲ καὶ πλείονα ἡ ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ ζωὴ ἀγαθὰ, ἅπερ οὐ ῥᾴδιον ἐξαριθμεῖσθαι πάντα. Πρός τε γὰρ τὴν τήρησιν τῶν δεδομένων ἡμῖν παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀγαθῶν τῆς μονώσεώς ἐστι χρησιμωτέρα, καὶ πρὸς τὴν φυλακὴν τῆς ἔξωθεν ἐπιβουλῆς τοῦ ἐχθροῦ ἀσφαλέστερος ὁ παρὰ τῶν ἐγρηγορότων ἐξυπνισμὸς, εἴποτε ἄρα τῷ ἑνὶ ἀπονυστάξαι συμβαίη ὕπνον ἐκεῖνον τὸν εἰς θάνατον, ὃν ἐδιδάχθημεν παρὰ τοῦ ∆αβὶδ ἀπεύχεσθαι ἡμῖν συμβῆναι, λέγοντος· Φώτι σον τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς μου, μήποτε ὑπνώσω εἰς θάνατον· καὶ τῷ μὲν ἁμαρτάνοντι τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἡ ἀναχώρησις ῥᾴων μᾶλλον, ἐντρεπομένῳ τὴν παρὰ τῶν πλειόνων ἐν συμφωνίᾳ γινομένην κατάγνωσιν, ὥστ' ἂν ἁρμόσαι αὐτῷ τὸ, Ἀρκετὸν τῷ τοιούτῳ ἡ ἐπιτιμία αὕτη, ἡ ὑπὸ τῶν πλειόνων· τῷ δὲ κατορθοῦντι ἡ πληροφορία πολλὴ ἔν τε τῇ τῶν πολλῶν δοκιμασίᾳ καὶ συγκαταθέσει τοῦ ἔργου. Εἰ γὰρ ἐπὶ στόματος δύο καὶ τριῶν μαρτύρων σταθήσε ται πᾶν ῥῆμα, πολλῷ δηλονότι