-this indeed worthy of much shuddering-, whom Christ, being good, seeks wandering on the mountains and calls as he flees and having found him with difficulty lifts him onto His shoulders. Let us not, I beseech you, counsel so badly concerning ourselves, nor thrust the sword into ourselves. For those who attempt to harm some or, on the contrary, to do them good, do not in every case do to them what they intended, but having made wickedness or goodness to dwell with themselves, they will be full either of divine virtues or of untamable passions. And these, as followers and fellow-travelers of good angels both here and there, with all peace and freedom from all evils, will inherit the most blessed ends for the age that is forever, and will be with God always, the greatest of all goods. But these will fall away from the divine peace and at the same time their own, both here and after death, and will be with the savage demons. For which very reason our great earnestness is to be with the good God and to be with the Lord always, and not to be separated with the wicked by the Justifier, suffering from ourselves the things we deserve, which I fear more than anything and pray to be without share in all evils. And if you wish, I will also mention a divine vision of a certain holy man; and do not laugh, for I will speak the truth. Once when I was in Crete, the holy Carpus guided me, a man, if ever there was one, most suited for the vision of God because of his great purity of mind. And indeed, he would not even attempt the holy rites of the mysteries unless a sacred and benevolent vision first appeared to him during the preliminary prayers. He said, then, that he had once been grieved by a certain one of the unbelievers; and the grief was because that man had led someone from the church astray to godlessness, while his joyful days were still being celebrated. It being necessary to pray fittingly for both, and, taking God the Savior as a helper, to convert the one, and to conquer the other with goodness, and not to cease admonishing for his whole life, until this very day, and thus to lead them to the divine knowledge, so that the matters of dispute might be judged for them and those who are unreasonably insolent might be compelled to be temperate by lawful justice. But not having suffered this in himself before, I know not how, he then, having steeped himself in a certain great malevolence and bitterness, fell asleep in this bad state; for it was evening. But about midnight—for he was accustomed at this time to keep vigil by himself for the divine hymns—he arose, having experienced nothing from his sleep, which was plentiful and yet constantly interrupted, except turmoil. And standing nevertheless for the divine communion, he was impiously vexed and displeased, saying that it was not just if godless men should live who pervert "the straight ways of the Lord." And saying these things, he was praying to God that by some thunderbolt He would pitilessly put an end to the lives of both at once. And having said these things, he said that he seemed to see suddenly the house in which he was standing first shaken, then split in two down the middle from the roof, and a certain very bright flame before him, and this (for the place now seemed to be open to the sky) descending from the heavenly region down to him, and heaven itself opened, and on the back of heaven Jesus, with countless angels in human form standing beside him; and that these things were seen from above, and that he marveled. And Carpus said that, having bent down, he saw the very ground rent open into a sort of gaping and dark chasm, and those men whom he was cursing, before him at the mouth

-τοῦτο δὴ τὸ πολλῆς φρίκης ἄξιον-, ὃν ὁ Χριστός, ἀγαθὸς ὤν, ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη πλανώμενον ἐπιζητεῖ καὶ ἀποφεύγοντα προσκαλεῖται καὶ εὑρεθέντα μόλις ἐπὶ τῶν ὤμων αἴρει. Μ», παρακαλῶ, μὴ κακῶς οὕτω περὶ ἑαυτῶν βουλευώμεθα, μηδὲ εἰς ἑαυτοὺς ὠθῶμεν τὸ ξίφος. Oἱ μὲν γὰρ ἀδικεῖν τινας ἢ τοὐναντίον εὐεργετεῖν ἐπιχειροῦντες ἐκείνους μὲν οὐ πάντως ἔδρασαν, ἅπερ ἠθέλησαν, ἑαυτοῖς δὲ κακίαν ἢ ἀγαθότητα συνοικίσαντες ἢ θείων ἀρετῶν ἢ ἀτιθάσων ἔμπλεοι παθῶν ἔσονται. Καὶ οὗτοι μὲν ἀγγέλων ἀγαθῶν ὀπαδοὶ καὶ ξυνοδοιπόροι καὶ ἐνθάδε καὶ ἐκεῖ σὺν πάσῃ εἰρήνῃ καὶ ἐλευθερίᾳ πάντων κακῶν εἰς τὸν ἀεὶ ὄντα αἰῶνα τὰς μακαριωτάτας ἀποκληρώσονται λήξεις καὶ μετὰ θεοῦ ἀεὶ ἔσονται, τὸ πάντων ἀγαθῶν μέγιστον. Oὗτοι δὲ ἀποπεσοῦνται τῆς θείας ἅμα καὶ τῆς ἑαυτῶν εἰρήνης καὶ ἐνθάδε καὶ μετὰ θάνατον ἅμα τοῖς ἀνημέροις ἔσονται δαίμοσιν. Oὗ δὴ ἕνεκα ἡμῖν ἡ πολλὴ σπουδὴ μετὰ θεοῦ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ γενέσθαι καὶ εἶναι σὺν κυρίῳ πάντοτε καὶ μὴ τοῖς κακοῖς ἐκ τοῦ δικαιωτοῦ συν αφορισθῆναι τὰ κατ' ἀξίαν ἐξ ἑαυτῶν ὑπομένοντας, ὅπερ ἐγὼ πάντων μάλιστα φοβοῦμαι καὶ εὔχομαι εἶναι πάντων κακῶν ἀμέτοχος. Καὶ εἰ βούλει, καὶ θείας ὁράσεως ἁγίου τινὸς ἀνδρὸς ἐπιμνησθήσομαι· καὶ μὴ γελάσῃς, ἀλήθειαν γὰρ ἐρῶ. Γενόμενόν μέ ποτε κατὰ τὴν Κρήτην ὁ ἱερὸς ἐξεναγώγησε Κάρπος, ἀνήρ, εἰ καί τις ἄλλος, διὰ πολλὴν καθαρότητα νοῦ πρὸς θεοπτίαν ἐπιτηδειότατος. Καὶ γοῦν οὐδὲ ταῖς ἁγίαις τῶν μυστηρίων τελεταῖς ἐνεχείρει μὴ πρότερον αὐτῷ κατὰ τὰς προτελείους εὐχὰς ἱερὰς καὶ εὐμε νοῦς ὁράσεως ἐπιφαινομένης. Ἔλεγεν οὖν, ὅτι λελυπηκότος αὐτόν ποτε τῶν ἀπίστων τινός· ἡ λύπη δὲ ἦν, ὅτι τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἐκεῖνός τινα πρὸς τὸ ἄθεον ἀπεπλάνησεν, ἔτι τῶν ἱλαρίων ἡμερῶν αὐτῷ τελουμένων. ∆έον ἀμφοτέρων ἀγαθοπρεπῶς ὑπερεύξασθαι καὶ θεὸν σωτῆρα συλλήπτορα λαβόντα τὸν μὲν ἐπιστρέψαι, τὸν δὲ ἀγαθότητι νικῆσαι καὶ μὴ διαλιπεῖν νουθετοῦντα διὰ βίου παντός, ἄχρις οὗ τὸ σήμερον, καὶ οὕτως ἐπὶ τὴν θείαν αὐτοὺς ἀγαγεῖν γνῶσιν, ὡς ἂν ἤδη καὶ τῶν ἀμφισβητησίμων αὐτοῖς κρινομένων καὶ τῶν ἀλόγως θρασυνομένων ἐννόμῳ δίκῃ σωφρονεῖν ἀναγ καζομένων. Ἀλλ' ἐν ἑαυτῷ μὴ πρότερον τοῦτο παθών, οὐκ οἶδ' ὅπως, τότε πολλήν τινα τὴν δυσμένειαν καὶ τὴν πικρίαν ἐντήξας κατεδάρθη μὲν οὕτω κακῶς ἔχων· ἑσπέρα γὰρ ἦν. Περὶ δὲ μέσας νύκτας-εἰώθει γὰρ εἰς τόνδε τὸν καιρὸν αὐτὸς ἐφ' ἑαυτοῦ πρὸς τοὺς θείους ὕμνους ἐγρηγορέναι-διανίσταται μὲν οὐδὲ τῶν ὕπνων αὐτῶν, πολλῶν γε ὄντων, καὶ ἀεὶ ἐγκοπτομένων, ἔξω ταραχῆς παραπολαύσας. Ἑστὼς δὲ ὅμως εἰς τὴν θείαν ὁμιλίαν οὐκ εὐαγῶς ἠνιᾶτο καὶ ἐδυσχέραινεν οὐκ εἶναι δίκαιον λέγων, εἰ ζῷεν ἄνδρες ἄθεοι καὶ διαστρέφοντες «τὰς ὁδοὺς κυρίου τὰς εὐθείας». Καὶ ταῦτα λέγων ἐδεῖτο τοῦ θεοῦ πρηστῆρί τινι τὰς ἀμφοτέρων εἰσάπαξ ἀνηλεῶς ἀποπαῦσαι ζωάς. Ταῦτα δὲ εἰπὼν ἔλεγε δόξαι ἰδεῖν ἄφνω τὸν οἶκον, ἐν ᾧπερ εἱστήκει, διαδονηθέντα πρότερον, ἐκ τῆς ὀροφῆς εἰς δύο μέσον διαιρεθέντα καί τινα πυρὰν πολύφωτον ἐπίπροσθεν ἑαυτοῦ καὶ ταύτην (ἐδόκει γὰρ λοιπὸν ὕπαιθρος ὁ τόπος) ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανίου χώρου μέχρις αὐτοῦ καταφερομένην, τὸν δὲ οὐρανὸν αὐτὸν ἀναπεπταμένον καὶ ἐπὶ τῷ νώτῳ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἀπείρων ἀνθρωποειδῶς αὐτῷ παρεστηκότων ἀγγέλων· καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ἄνωθεν ὁρᾶσθαι καὶ αὐτὸν θαυμάζειν. Κάτω δὲ κύψας ὁ Κάρπος ἰδεῖν ἔφη καὶ τοὔδαφος αὐτὸ πρὸς ἀχανές τι χάσμα καὶ σκοτεινὸν διερρηγ μένον καὶ τοὺς ἄνδρας ἐκείνους, οἷς ἐπηρᾶτο, πρὸ αὐτοῦ κατὰ τὸ στόμιον