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of Christ; and again: Through patience let us run the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne 8,1.65 of God; for there is a fear lest, being puffed up by the gifts from the Spirit, and taking the accomplishment of something through virtue as an occasion for pride and haughtiness, before we come to the end of the things hoped for, we may fall away from our course, making our previous labor useless to ourselves through arrogance, and appearing unworthy of the perfection to which the grace of the Spirit was drawing us.

Therefore, one must nowhere relax the intensity of the labor, nor withdraw from the contests set before us, nor pay attention to whatever good has been done in the past, but to forget those things, and to stretch forward to what is ahead, according to the apostle, and to crush the heart with the cares of labors, having an insatiable desire for righteousness, for which alone those seeking to attain to perfection must hunger and thirst, becoming humble and fearful, as being somewhere far from the things promised, and settled far from the perfect love of Christ; for he who loves that love and looks to the promise above, neither in fasting nor in keeping vigil nor in striving for any other thing of virtue, stands puffed up by his previous accomplishments, but being full of divine longing and looking intently toward the one who calls, he considers whatever he may strive for to attain that to be small and unworthy of the prizes; but he contends eagerly until 8,1.66 the end of this life, joining labors to labors and virtues to virtues, until he might establish himself as precious to God through his works, not having it in his conscience to think that he has made himself worthy of God. For this is the greatest achievement of philosophy: though great in deeds, to be contracted in heart, and to condemn one's life, having cast down conceit somewhere by the fear of God, so that he may enjoy the promise inasmuch as, having believed, he loved it, not inasmuch as, having labored, he earned it. For since the gifts are great, it is not possible to find worthy labors; but there is need of great faith and hope for the reward to be measured by these, not by the labors; and the substance of faith is poverty of spirit and immeasurable love for God. I think that what concerns the hope of the goal for those who have chosen to live philosophically has been sufficiently said. But it is necessary henceforth to add to what has been said, how such people must be together with one another, what sort of labors they should love, how they should run with one another, until they arrive at the city above. It is necessary, then, for the one who purely despises the venerable things of this life, and denies his relatives, and denies all earthly glory, and loves heavenly honor, 8,1.67 and is joined spiritually to the brothers according to God, to deny along with his life also his own soul. Now, denial of the soul is to nowhere seek to serve one's own will, but rather to make one's own will the presiding word of God, and to use this as a good pilot, the one who with harmony directs the whole community of the brotherhood to the harbor of the will of God. And one must possess nothing nor consider anything one's own apart from the community, except for the garment that covers the body. For if he should have none of these things but be naked of concern for his own life, he will be a servant of the common need, and fulfilling eagerly with pleasure and hope what is commanded by the superiors, like a well-disposed and simple slave of Christ bought for the common need of the brothers. 8,1.68 For the Lord both wishes this and exhorts, saying: Whoever wishes to be first and great among you will be the last of all and the servant of all. Therefore, slavery among men must be without wages, and bearing no honor or glory to the one who serves, so that he may not appear to be a man-pleaser, contrary to what is written, fashioning himself in eye-service, not even to men but as to him himself,

9

Χριστοῦ· καὶ πάλιν· ∆ι' ὑπομονῆς τρέχομεν τὸν προκείμενον ἡμῖν ἀγῶνα, ἀφορῶντες εἰς τὸν τῆς πίστεως ἀρχηγὸν καὶ τελειωτὴν Ἰησοῦν, ὃς ἀντὶ τῆς προκειμένης αὐτῷ χαρᾶς ὑπέμεινε σταυρὸν αἰσχύνης καταφρονήσας ἐν δεξιᾷ τε τοῦ θρόνου 8,1.65 τοῦ θεοῦ κεκάθικεν· δέος γὰρ μὴ τοῖς παρὰ τοῦ πνεύματος δωρήμασιν ἐπαιρόμενοι καὶ τὸ κατορθῶσαί τι δι' ἀρετὴν ἀφορμὴν λαβόντες εἰς τὸ φρονεῖν καὶ σεμνύνεσθαι, πρὶν εἰς τέλος τῶν ἐλπιζομένων ἐλθεῖν, ἐκπέσωμεν τῆς ὁρμῆς, ἀχρεῖον ἑαυτοῖς καὶ τὸν προλαβόντα πόνον τῇ αὐθαδείᾳ ποιήσαντες καὶ ἀνάξιοι φανέντες τῆς τελειότητος, εἰς ἣν ἡ τοῦ πνεύματος εἷλκεν ἡμᾶς χάρις.

∆εῖ οὖν μηδαμοῦ τὸν τοῦ πόνου τόνον ἐκλύειν μηδὲ ἐξίστασθαι τῶν προκειμένων ἀγώνων μηδὲ τοῖς κατόπιν εἴ τι πέπρακται σπουδαῖον προσέχειν, ἀλλ' ἐκείνων μὲν λήθην λαμβάνειν, ἐπὶ δὲ τὸ ἔμπροσθεν κατὰ τὸν ἀπόστολον ἐπεκτείνεσθαι καὶ συντρίβειν ταῖς τῶν πόνων φροντίσι τὴν καρδίαν, ἀκόρεστον ἔχοντας τὴν τῆς δικαιοσύνης ἐπιθυμίαν, ἧς μόνης χρὴ πεινῆν καὶ διψῆν τοὺς εἰς τὸ τέλειον φθάσαι ζητοῦντας, ταπεινοὺς δὲ καὶ περιδεεῖς γινομένους ὡς πόρρω που τῶν ἐπηγγελμένων τυγχάνοντας καὶ τῆς τελείας τοῦ Χριστοῦ μακρὰν ἀπῳκισμένους ἀγάπης· ὁ γὰρ ἐκείνης ἐρῶν καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἄνω βλέπων ἐπαγγελίαν οὔτε νηστεύων οὔτε ἀγρυπνῶν οὔτε ἄλλο τι τῶν τῆς ἀρετῆς σπουδάζων ἵσταται τοῖς προλαβοῦσι κατορθώμασιν ἐπηρμένος, ἀλλὰ μεστὸς ὢν τοῦ θείου πόθου καὶ πρὸς τὸν καλοῦντα συντόνως βλέπων πᾶν μὲν ὅτι ἂν ἀγωνίσηται πρὸς τὸ τυχεῖν ἐκείνου μικρὸν ἡγεῖται καὶ τῶν ἄθλων ἀνάξιον· φιλονεικεῖ δὲ μέχρι 8,1.66 τῆς τοῦ βίου τούτου τελευτῆς, πόνοις πόνους καὶ ἀρεταῖς ἀρετὰς συνάπτων, μέχρις ἂν τίμιον ἑαυτὸν τῷ θεῷ κατα στήσῃ διὰ τῶν ἔργων, οὐκ ἔχων ἐν τῷ συνειδότι τὸ νομίζειν ἄξιον ἑαυτὸν πεποιηκέναι θεῷ. τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι κατόρθωμα μέγιστον φιλοσοφίας τὸ μέγαν ὄντα τοῖς ἔργοις συστέλλε σθαι τῇ καρδίᾳ καὶ καταγινώσκειν τοῦ βίου, κάτω που ῥίψαντα τῷ πρὸς θεὸν φόβῳ τὴν οἴησιν, ὅπως ἀπολαύσῃ τῆς ἐπαγγελίας καθόσον πιστεύσας ἠράσθη ταύτης, οὐ καθόσον πονέσας εἰργάσατο. μεγάλων γὰρ ὄντων τῶν δώρων οὐκ ἔστι πόνους ἀξίους εὑρεῖν· μεγάλης δὲ δεῖ πίστεως καὶ ἐλπίδος εἰς τὸ ταύταις μετρηθῆναι, μὴ τοῖς πόνοις, τὴν ἀμοιβήν· πίστεως δὲ ὑπόστασις πνεύματος πτωχεία καὶ ἡ πρὸς θεὸν ἀμέτρητος ἀγάπη. Τὰ μὲν δὴ κατὰ τὴν ἐλπίδα τοῦ σκοποῦ τοῖς φιλοσόφως ζῆν ᾑρημένοις ἱκανῶς εἰρῆσθαι νομίζω. δεῖ δὲ λοιπὸν προσθεῖναι τοῖς εἰρημένοις, ὅπως μὲν χρὴ συνεῖναι τοὺς τοιούτους ἀλλήλοις, ὁποίους δὲ ἀγαπᾶν πόνους, ὅπως δὲ τρέχειν μετ' ἀλλήλων, ἕως ἂν ἐπὶ τὴν ἄνω πόλιν ἀφίκωνται. δεῖ τοίνυν τὸν τὰ τοῦ βίου τούτου σεμνὰ καθαρῶς ἀτιμά ζοντα καὶ ἀρνούμενον μὲν τοὺς συγγενεῖς, ἀρνούμενον δὲ πᾶσαν τὴν κάτω δόξαν καὶ ἐρῶντα τῆς οὐρανίας τιμῆς 8,1.67 καὶ τοῖς κατὰ θεὸν ἀδελφοῖς πνευματικῶς συναπτόμενον ἀρνήσασθαι μετὰ τοῦ βίου καὶ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχήν. ἄρνησις δὲ ψυχῆς τὸ μηδαμοῦ ζητεῖν τὸ ἑαυτοῦ θέλημα θεραπεύειν, μᾶλλον δὲ ἑαυτοῦ θέλημα ποιεῖν τὸν ἐφεστῶτα τοῦ θεοῦ λόγον καὶ τούτῳ κεχρῆσθαι καθάπερ ἀγαθῷ κυβερνήτῃ τῷ τὸ κοινὸν τῆς ἀδελφότητος πλήρωμα μεθ' ὁμονοίας ἐπὶ τὸν λιμένα τοῦ θελήματος τοῦ θεοῦ διευθύνοντι. κε κτῆσθαι δὲ οὐδὲν χρὴ ἢ νομίζειν ἴδιον παρὰ τὸ κοινὸν πλὴν τοῦ τὸ σῶμα καλύπτοντος ἱματίου. εἰ γὰρ μηδὲν ἔχοι τούτων ἀλλὰ γυμνὸς εἴη τῆς καθ' ἑαυτὸν τοῦ βίου φροντίδος, τῆς κοινῆς ἔσται χρείας θεραπευτὴς καὶ τὸ παρὰ τῶν προεστώτων ἐπιτασσόμενον μεθ' ἡδονῆς καὶ ἐλπίδος προ θύμως ἐπιτελῶν καθάπερ εὔνους καὶ ἁπλοῦς δοῦλος τοῦ Χριστοῦ πρὸς τὴν κοινὴν τῶν ἀδελφῶν χρείαν ἠγορασμένος. 8,1.68 τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ ὁ κύριος βούλεται καὶ παρακαλεῖ λέγων· Ὁ θέλων ἐν ὑμῖν εἶναι πρῶτος καὶ μέγας ἔσται πάντων ἔσχατος καὶ πάντων δοῦλος. Χρὴ οὖν τὴν δουλείαν παρὰ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἄμισθον εἶναι καὶ μηδεμίαν φέρουσαν τῷ δουλεύοντι τιμὴν μηδὲ δόξαν, ὅπως μὴ παρὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον ἀνθρωπάρεσκος φαίνηται, σχηματίζων ἑαυτὸν ἐν ὀφθαλμοδουλείᾳ μηδὲ ἀνθρώποις ἀλλ' ὡς αὐτῷ τῷ