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strength; for the runner, the harmony of the limbs and the lightness; so also for the helmsman, the sharpness and readiness of the mind. For this reason the word calls not just anyone to governance, but the intelligent one. What is governance, but surely the soul's knowledge concerning the unstable nature of human affairs, how one ought to traverse it?

For in many places we find this life named waters and sea by Scripture, as in the psalm: He sent from on high and took me; he drew me out of many waters. For it is clear that by "waters" he means the turmoil of life. For neither do the favorable things eagerly sought by the many have stability and permanence, nor are circumstantial and gloomy affairs firmly fixed; but all things are subject to a certain tossing and turmoil and unexpected changes. Just as, therefore, it is impossible for the sea to remain the same for long (for the one now smooth and stable you will see a little later being roughened by violent winds, and indeed the one growing wild and boiling with the surge, a deep calm has quickly settled); so also the affairs of life easily take turns in either direction. For this reason there is need of a helmsman, so that even in the calm of life when all things are proceeding smoothly for him, he may expect changes, and not rest upon present things as if they were immortal, and in the more gloomy state not despair of himself, nor, being swallowed by excessive grief, be carried underwater. For neither health of body, nor the flower of youth, not the prosperity of a house, not the remaining good fortune of life endures for long; but being in this fair weather of life, expect also at some time a winter of affairs. For sickness will come, and poverty will come; the wind does not always stand at the stern; but unexpected disgraces often overtake even the one admired and envied by all; and all the good fortune of life, like certain reefs, unwanted circumstances have thrown into confusion. And the succession of evils 31.420 are like waves to you, some rising after others, roughening your life, and making the surge of your life dreadful. You will see these things too pass by someday, and your life changed to cheerfulness and a truly white calm. This, then, is the intelligent helmsman, the one who, having considered the underlying nature, handles events as they occur, and always remains like himself, neither being lifted up in good cheer, nor falling down in misfortunes.

Again, the good that comes from governance is also useful to us for other things. For I know other waves and a dreadful surge rising up against the soul, the one from the passions of the flesh. For angers and fears, and pleasures and griefs, falling upon it as from some violent storm of the fleshly mind, have often sunk the ungoverned soul.

It is necessary, therefore, for the mind, like some helmsman sitting above the passions, and as if having embarked on the ship of the flesh, and skillfully turning his thoughts like rudders, to trample down the waves nobly, while remaining on high and being inaccessible to the passions, in no way to be filled with their bitterness as if with some brine, but always praying to say: May I be delivered from those who hate me, and from the deep waters. Let not a storm of water overwhelm me, nor the deep swallow me up. Do you want me to describe to you another voyage, for which the gift of governance is necessary for us? The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant. All of us, therefore, who travel the evangelical path are merchants, acquiring for ourselves the possession of heavenly things through the working of the commandments. It is necessary, therefore, for us to gather much and varied heavenly wealth, if we are not to be ashamed at the presentation of our work, like those who received the talents, nor to hear, "Wicked and lazy servant"; but having loaded the cargo, to try safely

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τὴν ἰσχύν· τὸν δρομικὸν τὴν εὐαρμοστίαν τῶν μελῶν καὶ τὴν κουφότητα· οὕτω καὶ τὸν κυβερνήτην τὸ τῆς διανοίας ὀξὺ καὶ εὐπαρακολούθητον. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο οὐ τὸν τυχόντα καλεῖ πρὸς τὴν κυβέρνησιν ὁ λόγος, ἀλλὰ τὸν νοήμονα. Τί δέ ἐστιν ἡ κυβέρνησις, ἢ πάντως ἐπιστήμη ψυχῆς περὶ τὴν ἄστατον φύσιν τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων πραγμάτων, ὅπως αὐτὴν διαπεραιοῦσθαι προσήκει;

Πολλαχοῦ γὰρ ὕδατα καὶ θάλασσαν τὸν βίον τοῦτον εὑρίσκομεν ὑπὸ τῆς Γραφῆς ὠνομασμένον, ὡς ἐν τῷ ψαλμῷ· Ἐξαπέστειλεν ἐξ ὕψους, καὶ ἔλαβέ με· προσελάβετό με ἐξ ὑδάτων πολλῶν. Πρόδηλον γὰρ, ὅτι τὴν ταραχὴν τοῦ βίου, ὕδατα λέγει. Οὔτε γὰρ τὰ δεξιὰ καὶ περισπούδαστα τοῖς πολλοῖς τὸ ἑστὼς καὶ μόνιμον ἔχει, οὔτε τὰ περιστατικὰ τῶν πραγμάτων καὶ κατηφῆ παγίως ἥδρασται· ἀλλὰ πάντα σάλῳ τινὶ καὶ κλόνῳ καὶ μεταβολαῖς ἀδοκήτοις ὑπόκειται. Ὥσπερ οὖν θάλασσαν ἀμήχανον τὴν αὐτὴν ἐπὶ πολὺ διαρκέσαι (τὴν γὰρ νῦν λείαν καὶ σταθερὰν μικρὸν ὕστερον ὄψῃ βίαις ἀνέμων τραχυνομένην, καὶ μέντοι καὶ τὴν ἀγριαίνουσαν, καὶ βρασσομένην τῷ κλύδωνι, βαθεῖα γαλήνη ταχὺ κατεστόρεσεν)· οὕτω καὶ τὰ τοῦ βίου πράγματα ῥᾳδίως λαμβάνει τὰς περιστροφὰς ἐφ' ἑκάτερα. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο κυβερνήτου χρεία, ἵνα καὶ ἐν γαλήνῃ τοῦ βίου πάντων αὐτῷ κατὰ ῥοῦν προϊόντων, τὰς μεταβολὰς ἐκδέχηται, καὶ μὴ ὡς ἀθανάτοις ἐπαναπαύηται τοῖς παροῦσι, καὶ ἐν τῇ σκυθρωποτέρᾳ καταστάσει μὴ ἀπελπίζῃ ἑαυτὸν, μηδὲ τῇ περισσοτέρᾳ λύπῃ καταποθεὶς ὑποβρύχιος φέρηται. Οὔτε γὰρ ὑγεία σώματος, οὔτε νεότητος ἄνθος, οὐκ εὐθηνία οἴκου, οὐχ ἡ λοιπὴ τοῦ βίου εὐημερία ἐπιπολὺ διαμένει· ἀλλ' ἐν τῇ εὐδίᾳ ταύτῃ τοῦ βίου ὢν, ἐκδέχου ποτὲ καὶ χειμῶνα πραγμάτων. Ἥξει γὰρ νόσος, καὶ ἥξει πενία· οὐκ ἀεὶ κατὰ πρύμναν ἱσταμένου τοῦ πνεύματος· ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν περίβλεπτον ἐν πᾶσι καὶ ζηλωτὸν ἀδόκητοι πολλάκις ἀδοξίαι καταλαμβάνουσι· καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν εὐημερίαν τοῦ βίου, οἷον σπιλάδες τινὲς, περιστάσεις ἀβούλητοι συνετάραξαν. Καὶ ἡ συνέχεια τῶν κακῶν 31.420 ὥσπερ κύματά σοί ἐστιν, ἄλλα ἐπ' ἄλλοις. ἐπεγειρόμενα, τραχύνοντά σοι τὸν βίον, καὶ περιϊστῶντα φοβερὸν τῆς ζωῆς σοι τὸν κλύδωνα. Ὄψει ποτὲ καὶ ταῦτα παραδραμόντα, καὶ πρὸς ἱλαρότητα καὶ λευκὴν ὄντως γαλήνην τὸν βίον μεταβληθέντα. Οὗτος οὖν ἐστιν ὁ νοήμων κυβερνήτης, ὁ ἐστοχασμένως τῆς ὑποκειμένης φύσεως μεταχειριζόμενος τὰ συμπίπτοντα, καὶ ὅμοιος ἀεὶ αὐτὸς ἑαυτῷ διαμένων, μήτε ἐπαιρόμενος ἐν ταῖς εὐθυμίαις, μήτε καταπίπτων ἐν ταῖς συμφοραῖς. Πάλιν καὶ πρὸς ἕτερα χρήσιμον ἡμῖν ἐστι τὸ ἐκ τῆς κυβερνήσεως ἀγαθόν. Οἶδα γὰρ καὶ ἄλλα κύματα καὶ κλύδωνα φοβερὸν ἐπανιστάμενον τῇ ψυχῇ, τὸν ἐκ τῶν παθῶν τῆς σαρκός. Θυμοὶ γὰρ καὶ φόβοι, καὶ ἡδοναὶ καὶ λύπαι, οἷον ἔκ τινος ζάλης βιαίας τοῦ τῆς σαρκὸς φρονήματος προσπεσόντες, πολλάκις τὴν ἀκυβέρνητον ψυχὴν κατεπόντισαν.

∆εῖ τοίνυν τὸν νοῦν ὥσπερ τινὰ κυβερνήτην ἄνω καθήμενον τῶν παθῶν, καὶ οἱονεὶ πλοίου τῆς σαρκὸς ἐπιβάντα, καὶ ἐμπείρως τοὺς λογισμοὺς οἷον οἴακας περιστρέφοντα, καταπατεῖν μὲν γενναίως τὰ κύματα, ὑψηλὸν δὲ διαμένοντα, καὶ δυσπρόσιτον ὄντα τοῖς πάθεσι, μηδαμῶς τῆς ἀπ' αὐτῶν πικρίας ὥσπερ ἅλμης τινὸς ἀναπίμπλασθαι, ἀλλ' ἀεὶ προσευχόμενον λέγειν· Ῥυσθείην ἐκ τῶν μισούντων με, καὶ ἐκ τῶν βαθέων ὑδάτων. Μή με καταποντισάτω καταιγὶς ὕδατος, μηδὲ καταπιέτω με βυθός. Βούλει σοι καὶ ἕτερον πλοῦν διηγήσωμαι, πρὸς ὃν ἀναγκαῖον ἡμῖν ἐστι τὸ δῶρον τῆς κυβερνήσεως; Ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν ὁμοία ἐστὶν ἀνδρὶ ἐμπόρῳ. Πάντες οὖν οἱ τὴν εὐαγγελικὴν ὁδὸν πορευόμενοι ἔμποροί ἐσμεν, διὰ τῆς ἐργασίας τῶν ἐντολῶν τὴν κτῆσιν ἑαυτοῖς τῶν οὐρανίων πραγματευόμενοι. ∆εῖ οὖν ἡμᾶς πολὺν καὶ ποικίλον τὸν οὐράνιον πλοῦτον συναγαγεῖν, εἰ μὴ μέλλοιμεν καταισχύνεσθαι ἐν τῇ ἐπιδείξει τῆς ἐργασίας, ὡς οἱ λαβόντες τὰ τάλαντα, μηδὲ ἀκούειν, ∆οῦλε πονηρὲ καὶ ὀκνηρέ· ἐνθεμένους δὲ τὰ ἀγώγιμα, ἀσφαλῶς πειρᾶσθαι