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has handed down the way of life through the teaching according to the Gospel. Zion, therefore, will be abandoned, and as a lodge for fruit, the guard-hut of the fruit. But the fruit is not solid and lasting food, but soft and temporary. Such is the law, having an imitation of worship, not the truth itself; for it is a pattern and shadow of the heavenly things. And since each soul is also compared to a vine, as in the psalm: 'Your wife as a fruitful vine'; and the Lord says, 'I am the vine, you are the branches'; lest the threatened things reach even us, when we do not yield the fruits that are our due. For perhaps the body is a tent, in which the Holy Spirit dwells. For do you not know that your bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit in you? And the soul is a vineyard, required to bear fruit worthy of its original planting and of God's cultivation. For it was planted as a true vine, having been made in the image of the true God; and it is cultivated by the particular cares of the Creator, who prunes the fruit-bearing part, that it may bear more fruit. For if we give ourselves to purity of life, God assists us in the purification from the passions, perfecting our diligence and zeal for the good. Therefore, just as a vine is pruned, being prevented from its excess growth, so also we cut back the soul's zeal for vain things, reserving all its power for the fruit-bearing of virtuous works, lest, running wild with foliage in the ostentatious world, it should empty its whole power for the sake of pleasing men, being occupied, as it were, with leaves and tendrils, the fashion of the world. But the soul is also dug around, appropriating all things at hand for its own nourishment, and thus preparing itself for the reception of the Spirit's teachings. For just as a vine that has not been dug around is unable to breathe and, because of the density of the surrounding earth, cannot receive the benefit from water, so the soul that has not cast off bodily things and breathed out from their weight, remains barren, compressed by the weight of material things, and for this reason, not partaking of help from above, remains fruitless. And from the fruitless soul the Holy Spirit departs; and the hedges fall, the helps of the Angels; and the strangers rush in, those who pass us by, the active powers of sins relating to knowledge. And the passions, having taken it over beforehand, ravage it, like a boar rushing irrationally and wallowing in foul odors. And then is fulfilled for such a soul the saying, 'The daughter of Zion will be abandoned, as a tent in a vineyard.' But 'Also as a lodge in a cucumber field.' Those who do not bear fruit worthy of the divine storehouse, but exult in the perishable fruits of this world, those who trust in riches, those who are lifted up by glory, those who are proud of the noble birth of ancestors or of bodily health, are like a cucumber field, cultivating a non-nourishing fruit, which fills one with arrogant puffing up and causes the soul to swell with vain bulk and to be puffed up. Desiring which, the lustful people were buried in the wilderness. For they wept (it says), remembering the cucumbers and the melons, the Egyptian foods, which an Israelite would not eat, who is nourished by the heavenly bread, the manna, which those of that time, despising it, longed for the onions. Let us not also suffer these things, preferring the life of pleasure to the rational life. For in reality the pleasures through the body are like onions and garlic, providing much pungency and irritation, but leaving behind a foul and hard-to-wash-off stench deep within, in whomever they arise, and causing a flood of tears for those who receive them. But among the threats is also this: that it will be abandoned as a besieged city. The enemies sit around us, watching for our relaxation, so that they may attack us when we are unguarded. Therefore, just as a city that has been captured by siege, its stored-up wealth having been plundered, has no closed gates, no

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κατὰ τὸ Εὐαγγέλιον διδασκαλίᾳ τὴν πολιτείαν μεταπαρέδωκεν. Ἐγκαταλειφθήσεται οὖν ἡ Σιὼν, καὶ ὡς ὀπωροφυλάκιον, τὸ φυ λακτήριον τῆς ὀπώρας. Ἡ δὲ ὀπώρα οὐχὶ στερεὰ τροφὴ καὶ μόνιμος, ἀλλ' ἁπαλὴ καὶ πρόσκαιρος. Τοιοῦτος δὲ ὁ νόμος, μίμημα ἔχων λατρείας, οὐκ αὐτὴν τὴν ἀλήθειαν· διότι ὑπόδειγμά ἐστι καὶ σκιὰ τῶν ἐπουρανίων. Ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ ἡ καθέκαστον ψυχὴ ἀμπέλῳ παρεικάζεται, ὡς ἐν ψαλμῷ· Ἡ γυνή σου ὡς ἄμπελος εὐθηνοῦσα· καὶ ὁ Κύριος Ἐγὼ (φησὶν) ἡ ἄμπελος, ὑμεῖς τὰ κλήματα· μήποτε καὶ εἰς ἡμᾶς φθάνῃ τὰ ἠπειλημένα, ὅταν μὴ ἀποδίδωμεν τοὺς ἐπιβάλλοντας ἡμῖν καρπούς. Τάχα γὰρ σκηνὴ μέν ἐστι τὸ σῶμα, ᾧ ἐνοικεῖ τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον. Οὐκ οἴδατε (γὰρ) ὅτι τὰ σώματα ὑμῶν ναὸς τοῦ ἐν ὑμῖν ἁγίου Πνεύματός ἐστιν; Ἀμπελὼν δὲ ἡ ψυχὴ, τὴν καρποφορίαν ἀξίαν τῆς ἐξ ἀρχῆς φυτείας καὶ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ γεωργίας ἀπαιτουμένη. Ἐφυτεύθη γὰρ ἀλη θινὴ κατ' εἰκόνα τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ Θεοῦ γενομένη· γεωργεῖται δὲ ταῖς κατὰ μέρος ἐπιμελείαις τοῦ Κτίσαντος, ὃς τὸ μὲν καρποφοροῦν καθαίρει, ἵνα πλείονα καρπὸν φέρῃ. Ἐὰν γὰρ ἑαυτοὺς ἐπιδῶμεν τῇ καθαρότητι τοῦ βίου, συλλαμβάνεται ἡμῖν πρὸς τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν παθῶν κάθαρσιν ὁ Θεὸς, τελειῶν τὴν περὶ τὸ ἀγαθὸν σπουδὴν καὶ προθυμίαν. Ὥσπερ οὖν κλαδεύεται ἄμπελος ἀπὸ τῆς ἐν τοῖς περιττοῖς φορᾶς κωλυομένη, οὕτω καὶ ψυχῆς τὴν περὶ τὰ μάταια σπουδὴν περικόπτομεν, πᾶσαν αὐτῆς τὴν δύναμιν ἐπὶ τὴν τῶν σπουδαίων ἔργων καρποφορίαν ταμιευόμενοι, μήπως, ὑλομανήσασα ἐν τῷ ἐπιδεικτικῷ κόσμῳ, πρὸς τὴν τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἀρέσκειαν τὴν ὅλην ἑαυτῆς δύναμιν ἐκκενώσῃ, οἱονεὶ περὶ φύλλα καὶ ἕλικας, τὸ σχῆμα τοῦ κόσμου, ἀσχοληθεῖσα. Ἀλλὰ καὶ σκάπτεται ἡ ψυχὴ πάντα εἰς τὴν ἰδίαν τροφὴν, οἰ κειοῦσα τὰ παρακείμενα, καὶ οὕτως ἑαυτὴν εὐτρεπίζουσα πρὸς τὴν ὑποδοχὴν τῶν διδαγμάτων τοῦ Πνεύματος. Ὥσπερ γὰρ μὴ σκαφεῖσα ἄμπελος ἀδιάπνευστός ἐστι καὶ τῆς ἐκ τοῦ ὕδατος ὠφελείας διὰ τὴν πυκνότητα τῆς παρακειμένης γῆς ἀνεπίδεκ τος, οὕτως ἡ μὴ ἀποσκευασαμένη τὰ σωματικὰ ψυχὴ καὶ ἐκ τοῦ βάρους αὐτῶν ἀναπνεύσασα, ἄγονος διαμένει τῷ βάρει τῶν ὑλικῶν πεπιλημένη, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο, τῆς ἄνωθεν μὴ με ταλαμβάνουσα βοηθείας, ἄκαρπος μένει. Τῆς δὲ ἀκάρπου ψυχῆς ἀφίσταται μὲν τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον· πίπτουσι δὲ οἱ φραγμοὶ, αἱ τῶν Ἀγγέλων βοήθειαι· εἰσπίπτουσι δὲ οἱ ξένοι, οἱ διοδεύοντες ἡμᾶς, αἱ τῶν περὶ τὴν γνῶσιν ἁμαρτη μάτων ἐνεργητικαὶ δυνάμεις. Τά τε πάθη προκαταλαβόντα λυμαίνει, ὑὸς δίκην ἀλόγιστα ὁρμῶντος καὶ καλινδουμένου ταῖς δυσωδίαις. Καὶ τότε πληροῦται ἐπὶ τὴν τοιαύτην ψυχὴν τὸ Ἐγκαταλειφθήσεται ἡ θυγάτηρ Σιὼν, ὡς σκηνὴ ἐν ἀμπελῶνι. Ἀλλὰ Καὶ ὡς ὀπωροφυλάκιον ἐν σικυηράτῳ. Οἱ μὴ τὰ ἄξια τῆς θείας ἀποθήκης καρποφοροῦντες, ἀλλὰ τοῖς εὐφθάρτοις καρποῖς τοῦ κόσμου τούτου ἐπαγαλλόμενοι, οἱ πλούτῳ πεποιθότες, οἱ δόξῃ ἐπαιρόμενοι, οἱ ἐπ' εὐ γενείᾳ προγόνων, ἢ εὐεξίᾳ σωματικῇ μέγα φρονοῦντες, σι κυηράτῳ ἐοίκασιν, ἄτροφον καρπὸν γεωργοῦντες, φυσή ματος ἀλαζονικοῦ ὑποπιμπλῶντα καὶ ὄγκῳ ματαίῳ τὴν ψυχὴν ἐξοιδαίνειν καὶ ὑπερφυσᾶσθαι παρασκευάζοντα. Ὧν ἐφιέμενος ὁ ἐπιθυμητὴς λαὸς, ἐτάφη ἐν ἐρήμῳ. Ἔκλαιον γὰρ (φησὶ) μνησθέντες τῶν σικύων καὶ τῶν πεπόνων, τῶν Αἰγυπτιακῶν βρωμάτων, ἃ οὐκ ἂν φάγοι Ἰσραηλίτης, ὁ τῷ οὐρανίῳ ἄρτῳ, τῷ μάννα τρεφόμενος, ὃν ἐξουδενοῦντες οἱ τότε, τῶν κρομμύων ἐπεθύμουν. Ἃ μὴ πάθωμεν καὶ ἡμεῖς τὸν ἡδονικὸν βίον τοῦ λογικοῦ προτιμῶντες. Κρομμύοις γὰρ τῷ ὄντι καὶ σκορόδοις αἱ διὰ τοῦ σώματος ἡδοναὶ προσεοί κασι, πολὺ μὲν τὸ δριμὺ καὶ ἐρεθιστικὸν παρεχόμεναι, δυσωδίαν δὲ χαλεπὴν καὶ δυσέκνιπτον ἐναφιεῖσαι τῷ βάθει, οἷς ἂν ἐγγένωνται, δακρύων δὲ πλῆθος τοῖς δεχομένοις αὐτὰς προξενοῦσαι. Ἐν ταῖς ἀπειλαῖς δέ ἐστι καὶ τὸ ὡς πολιορκουμένην πόλιν ἐγκαταλειφθήσεσθαι. Περικαθέζονται ἡμᾶς οἱ πο λέμιοι, ἐπιτηροῦντες ἡμῶν τὴν ἄνεσιν ἵνα ἀφυλάκτοις ἡμῖν ἐπιθῶνται. Ὥσπερ οὖν ἐκπολιορκηθεῖσα πόλις, διαρ πασθέντος τοῦ πλούτου τοῦ ἐναποκειμένου αὐτῇ, οὐ πύ λας ἔχει κεκλεισμένας, οὐ