and having entered with exultation, since indeed he has become the agent of great salvation for himself, if with long-suffering and patience he remains until the end in this good and soul-profiting service, viewing all as lords, as 258 members of Christ's household and heirs of the kingdom, and fulfilling all subjection to each one, but especially to the leading ascetics who have taken up the burdens of the cares of virtue, always considering himself a debtor of the ministry to the brothers with love and simplicity, according to what is said: Through love serve one another, and again: Owe no one anything, except to love one another. But you also, the ascetics who preside over the brotherhood, having undertaken a great work, so strive through humility against the crafty devices of wickedness, lest, being lifted up by the passion of arrogance as lording it over the brothers subject to you, instead of the greatest gain you cause loss to the soul and the greatest harm. but as compassionate fathers, having given yourselves to serve the brotherhood for God’s sake rather than to rule, and in all things caring for them bodily and spiritually, and for each one being diligent for what benefits the soul, you should take care of them as children of God, so that thus, preserving and cherishing the whole sacred body of the brotherhood for spiritual gain, you will receive the heavenly reward from God; and in public, maintain the order of the one who presides, such as to arrange or command or give counsel to the more proven of the brothers, or to rebuke someone or reprove where it is necessary 259 or to exhort where it is needed, according to the apostolic command, so that the monasteries may not, on the pretext of humility or meekness, through ignorance be in confusion, not preserving the order of the sequence of those who preside and those who are subordinate; but in secret, according to the mind, consider yourselves unworthy slaves of all the brothers and as good tutors entrusted with the master's children, with all goodwill and fear of God be diligent to equip each of the brothers for every good thing, as knowing that a great and inalienable reward is kept for you by God for such labor. And just as tutors of children often discipline their own masters for the sake of learning or the ordering of morals, not sparing them and even chastising them with whips, showing great goodwill and diligence toward them in the hope that they will become prudent and glorious in the world, so also you ascetics, do not defend yourselves with a passion of anger or high-mindedness against the uninstructed and childish brothers, but with the compassion of Christ and the aim of spiritual benefit and the hope of making useful for the kingdom of heaven those being trained by you. In such a mindset, correct the childishness of the brothers, for each one's benefit, as has been said before, approaching them either with exhortation or with rebuke. Only with zeal for God and the compassion of Christ bring about the correction, and do not defend yourselves with a passion of malice as if avenging yourselves, so that 260 having shown your labor, which you undertook for God's sake, to be perfect, you will be heirs of the heavenly kingdom. For this is truly the angelic life on earth, when both those who preside and those who are subordinate are equipped with such a mindset; when all the brothers, submitting to one another with all joy, consider one another lords and in honor prefer one another. Therefore, with simplicity and integrity and concord and peace and sincerity of heart with all humility, the brothers ought to be with one another. Let no one, being lifted up against another, consider himself greater and better even than the least, but on the contrary let him consider himself more deficient than all men, as a disciple of Christ, just as the Lord himself said: He who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who

καὶ μετὰ ἀγαλλιάσεως ὑπεισελθών, ἅτε δὴ μεγάλης σωτηρίας ἑαυτῷ πρόξενος γενόμενος, ἐὰν μετὰ μακροθυμίας καὶ ὑπομονῆς ἕως τέλους ἐμμείνῃ τῇ καλῇ ταύτῃ καὶ ψυχωφελεῖ δουλείᾳ, πάντας κυρίους ὡς 258 Χριστοῦ οἰκείους καὶ τῆς βασιλείας κληρονόμους ἐνοπτριζόμενος καὶ πᾶσαν ὑποταγὴν ἑκάστῳ, μάλιστα δὲ τοῖς προεστῶσιν ἀσκηταῖς καὶ τὰ βάρη τῶν φροντίδων τῆς ἀρετῆς ἀναδεδεγμένοις ἀποπληρῶν, πάντοτε χρεώστην ἑαυτὸν ἡγούμενος τῆς μετὰ ἀγάπης καὶ ἁπλότητος πρὸς τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς διακονίας κατὰ τὸ εἰρημένον· ∆ιὰ τῆς ἀγάπης δουλεύετε ἀλλήλοις, καὶ πάλιν· Μηδενὶ μηδὲν ὀφείλετε, εἰ μὴ τὸ ἀλλήλους ἀγαπᾶν. Ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑμεῖς οἱ ἀσκηταὶ οἱ προεστῶτες τῆς ἀδελφότητος ὡς μεγάλου ἔργου ἐπιλαβόμενοι οὕτως ἀγωνίζεσθε διὰ τῆς ταπεινοφροσύνης πρὸς τὰς τῆς κακίας ἐντέχνους μεθοδείας, ἵνα μὴ πάθει ὑπερηφανίας ὡς κατεξουσιάζοντες τῶν ὑποτεταγμένων ὑμῖν ἀδελφῶν κατεπαιρόμενοι ἀντὶ μεγίστου κέρδους ζημίαν τῇ ψυχῇ καὶ βλάβος μέγιστον προξενήσητε. ἀλλ' ὡς εὔσπλαγχνοι πατέρες δουλεύειν ἑαυτοὺς διὰ τὸν θεὸν ἐκδεδωκότες τῇ ἀδελφότητι ἤπερ κυριεύειν καὶ εἰς πάντα ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν φροντίζοντες σωματικῶς καὶ πνευματικῶς καὶ ἑκάστῳ τὸ ὠφελοῦν τῇ ψυχῇ σπουδάζοντες ὡς τέκνων θεοῦ ἐπιμέλειαν ποιεῖσθε, ἵν' οὕτως πᾶν τὸ ἱερὸν συγκρότημα τῆς ἀδελφότητος εἰς πνευματικὸν κέρδος περιποιούμενοι καὶ περιθάλποντες τὸν ἐπουράνιον μισθὸν παρὰ θεοῦ ἀπολήψεσθε· καὶ εἰς μὲν τὸ προφανὲς τὴν τάξιν τοῦ προεστῶτος φυλάττετε, οἷον τὸ διατάξασθαι ἢ ἐπιτάξαι ἢ συμβουλεῦσαι τοῖς δοκιμωτέροις τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἢ ἐπιτιμῆσαί τινι ἢ ἐλέγξαι ὅπου χρὴ 259 ἢ παρακαλέσαι ὅπου δέοι κατὰ τὸ ἀποστολικὸν παράγγελμα, ἵνα μὴ προφάσει ταπεινότητος ἢ πραότητος δι' ἄγνοιαν ἐν συγχύσει ᾖ τὰ μοναστήρια, τὴν τάξιν τῆς ἀκολουθίας τῶν προεστώτων καὶ τῶν ὑποβεβηκότων μὴ ἀποσῳζόντων· εἰς δὲ τὸ κρυπτὸν κατὰ τὸν νοῦν ὡς δούλους ἀναξίους πάντων τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἑαυτοὺς ἡγεῖσθε καὶ ὡς παιδαγωγοὶ καλοὶ δεσποτικὰ τέκνα ἐμπιστευθέντες, μετὰ πάσης εὐνοίας καὶ φόβου θεοῦ ἕκαστον τῶν ἀδελφῶν καταρτίζειν εἰς πᾶν ἀγαθὸν σπουδάζετε ὡς εἰδότες, ὅτι μέγας ὑμῖν καὶ ἀναφαίρετος μισθὸς ὑπὲρ τοῦ τοιούτου καμάτου παρὰ θεῷ τετήρηται. καὶ ὥσπερ οἱ παιδαγωγοῦντες τοὺς παῖδας πολλάκις τοὺς ἰδίους δεσπότας μαθημάτων χάριν ἢ καταστάσεως ἠθῶν μὴ φειδόμενοι καὶ μάστιξι παιδεύουσι, πολλὴν εὔνοιαν καὶ σπουδὴν εἰς αὐτοὺς ἐνδεικνύμενοι ἐλπίδι τοῦ γενέσθαι αὐτοὺς φρονίμους καὶ ἐνδόξους ἐν κόσμῳ, οὕτω καὶ οἱ ἀσκηταὶ μὴ πάθει θυμοῦ ἢ ὑψηλοφροσύνης ἀμύνεσθε τοὺς ἀπαιδευτοῦντας καὶ νηπιάζοντας ἀδελφούς, ἀλλ' εὐσπλαγχνίᾳ Χριστοῦ καὶ σκοπῷ πνευματικῆς ὠφελείας καὶ ἐλπίδι τοῦ χρησιμεῦσαι τοὺς ὑφ' ὑμῶν παιδαγωγουμένους εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν. ἐν τοιούτῳ φρονήματι ἐπιστρέφετε τὴν τῶν ἀδελφῶν νηπιότητα, ἑκάστῳ πρὸς τὸ συμφέρον, ὡς προείρηται, εἴτε παρακλήσει εἴτε ἐπιτιμήσει προσφερόμενοι. μόνον ζήλῳ θεοῦ καὶ σπλάγχνοις Χριστοῦ τὴν ἐπιστροφὴν ποιεῖσθε, καὶ μὴ πάθει κακίας ὡς ἑαυτοὺς ἐκδικοῦντες ἀμύνεσθε, ἵνα 260 τέλειον ὑμῶν ὅνπερ διὰ θεὸν ἀνεδέξασθε κάματον ἀποδείξαντες τῆς ἐπουρανίου βασιλείας ἔσεσθε κληρονόμοι. οὕτως γάρ ἐστιν ἀληθῶς ὁ ἀγγελικὸς βίος ἐπὶ γῆς, ὅταν τοιούτῳ φρονήματι κατηρτισμένοι ὦσι καὶ οἱ προεστῶτες καὶ οἱ ὑποβεβηκότες· ὅταν ἀλλήλοις πάντες οἱ ἀδελφοὶ μετὰ πάσης χαρᾶς ὑποτασσόμενοι ἀλλήλους κυρίους ἡγήσωνται καὶ τῇ τιμῇ ἀλλήλους προηγήσωνται. ἁπλότητι οὖν καὶ ἀκεραιότητι καὶ ὁμονοίᾳ καὶ εἰρήνῃ καὶ ἀφελότητι καρδίας μετὰ πάσης ταπεινώσεως οἱ ἀδελφοὶ ὀφείλουσι συνεῖναι ἀλλήλοις. μηδεὶς κατὰ τοῦ ἑτέρου ἐπαιρόμενος ἑαυτὸν μείζονα καὶ κρείττονα κἂν τοῦ τυχόντος ἡγείσθω, ἀλλὰ τοὐναντίον ἐνδεέστερον πάντων ἀνθρώπων ἑαυτὸν ἡγείσθω ὡς μαθητὴς Χριστοῦ, καθὼς εἶπεν αὐτὸς ὁ κύριος· Ὁ ὑψῶν ἑαυτὸν ταπεινωθήσεται καὶ ὁ