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In whatever place you are afraid, pray, for they will not fall upon you even if they frighten you so. But when you arise, encourage your heart, comfort it with psalmody, (saying) "You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor of the thing that walks in darkness, nor of the mishap and demon of noonday." For by doing this once and many times, you will quickly drive the demon of cowardice from yourself. For being unable to harm by deed, they make the soul cowardly with phantasms, so that men 79.1125 might think the weak and powerless to be strong and powerful.

CHAPTER 24. Do not wrap yourself in the finest garments, so that you not the of the

vainglory demon more openly put on; for virtues are not worn in the beauty of garments, but in the beauty of the soul labors are borne as gold. But put on the fear of God of the torments of judgment, so that by fear of the unquenchable fire you might put on fervor, and be made wise against the evil artifice of the thoughts more quickly, for the fear [of the Lord] is the beginning of wisdom. He who reports the error of thoughts through experience will not be easily known to all except those with experience, for experience has been established as the way of Gnostic knowledge in this part. For the cause of both is the practical life, which holding fast with more labor, we will know ourselves and condemn our thoughts, and we will know God. He who, from the departure of the practical and the indwelling of the Gnostic, anoints the simple with the art of thoughts, let him see that he does not boast of his Gnostic knowledge for a show of glory. But if a thought magnifying these things robs him, let him take for help the Greek Jethro, who gave to Moses the great prophet wise counsel from grace for judgment. Let your works be the power of your thoughts, for practical things are more philosophical than spoken things, just as they are also more laborious. When action is present, it is as if words flash forth, but when works are not present, words do not flash forth the power of works. An accusation of gray hairs, youthful speech, and haughty lips shaken with laughter, and he who disturbs and is disturbed in vain will be outside of stillness, and when there is no surge, he is storm-tossed.

CHAPTER 25. Do not hunt for words with an untimely tongue, so that you not the same thing from whom not

wish to endure. Flee from tripping up your neighbor's tongue, so that you too may escape the tripping of the devil. Flee from reproaching your brother's fault, so that you do not fall away from sympathy like a foreigner. He who does not have goodness and love for his brother, how could he be a member of Christ-bearing love? When a brother visits during your intense fast, do not accept the unpleasantness of thoughts that suggest to you an annoyance to your quiet, and a hindrance to your fast, for they do this so that when you see your brother, you do not see him as God. Let us not say that the constant visits of the brethren are annoyances, but rather that they are an alliance. Let us entrust their company against the phalanx of the adversary. For thus united by the love-charm of charity, we will push out wickedness, and transfer the works of our hands to the treasury of hospitality 79.1128. Let us not receive them as if doing a favor to the brethren, but as being debtors to the loan, let us offer hospitality with supplication, as Lot showed. Some are strangely puffed up over another's dignity, and when they invite a stranger, they do not entreat at all, but even embellish the word of invitation with arrogance, and they blame the one who declines as if he were insolent. For this reason a great puff of pride is kindled from this. For the thoughts, by goading the eye of the soul, blind it, so that we may use the finest of the commandments in the worst way.

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ἐν ᾧ τόπῳ δειλιᾷ εὐξάσθω, οὐ γάρ σοι ἐπιπεσοῦνται κἂν οὕτω σε θροήσωσιν· ἐπειδὰν δὲ ἀναστῇς θάῤῥυνε τὴν καρδίαν, παρακάλει τῇ ψαλμωδίᾳ, «Οὐ φοβηθήσῃ (λέγων) ἀπὸ φόβου νυκτερινοῦ, ἀπὸ βέλους πετομένου ἡμέρας, ἀπὸ πράγματος ἐν σκότει διαπορευομένου, ἀπὸ συμπτώματος, καὶ δαιμονίου μεσημβρινοῦ.» Οὕτω γὰρ ἅπαξ καὶ πολλοστὸν ποιήσας, τὸν δαίμονα τῆς δειλίας θᾶττον ἀφ' ἑαυτοῦ ἀπελάσεις. Ἀδυνατοῦντες γὰρ ἔργῳ βλάπτειν, ταῖς φαντασίαις τὴν ψυχὴν δειλοκοποῦσιν, ἵνα οἱ 79.1125 ἄνθρωποι τοὺς ἀσθενεῖς, καὶ ἀδυνάτους, ἰσχυροὺς καὶ δυνατοὺς εἶναι νομίσωσι.

ΚΕΦΑΛ. Κ∆ʹ. Καλλίστοις ἱματίοις μὴ σεαυτὸν περιστολίσῃς, ἵνα μὴ τὸν τῆς

κενοδοξίας δαίμονα προφανέστερον ἐνδύσῃ· οὐ γὰρ ἐν κάλλει ἱματίων αἱ ἀρεταὶ φοροῦνται, ἀλλ' ἐν κάλλει ψυχῆς οἱ πόνοι χρυσοφοροῦνται· τὸν δὲ τοῦ Θεοῦ φόβον ἐπενδύου τῶν τῆς κρίσεως κολαστηρίων, ὅπως φόβῳ πυρὸς ἀκατάσβεστον τὴν θέρμην ἐπενδύσῃ, καὶ κατὰ τῆς κακοτεχνίας θᾶττον τῶν λογισμῶν σοφισθήσῃ, ἀρχὴ γάρ ἐστιν ὁ φόβος τῆς σοφίας. Ὁ τῶν λογισμῶν τὴν πλάνην διὰ πείρας ἐξαγγέλλων, οὐ πᾶσιν εὔγνωστος ἔσται πλὴν τῶν ἐν πείρᾳ, ὁδὸς γὰρ τῆς ἐν τούτῳ τῷ μέρει γνωστικῆς ἡ πεῖρα καθέστηκεν· αἰτία γὰρ ἀμφοτέρων ἐστὶν ἡ πρακτικὴ, ἥνπερ πονικώτερον κατέχοντες, ἑαυτοὺς ἐπιγνωσόμεθα καὶ λογισμῶν καταγνωσόμεθα, καὶ Θεὸν ἐπιγνωσόμεθα. Ὁ ἐκ πρακτικῆς ἐκδημίας, καὶ γνωστικῆς ἐνδημίας τῶν λογισμῶν τῇ τέχνῃ τοὺς ἀφελεῖς ἀλείφων, βλεπέτω μὴ εἰς ἔνδειξιν δόξης τὴν γνωστικὴν κομπάζῃ· εἰ δὲ λογισμὸς τούτων μεγαλύνων λῃστεύει, εἰς βοήθειαν λαβέτω τὸν Ἕλληνα Ἰοθὸρ, Μωϋσῇ τῷ μεγάλῳ προφήτῃ τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς χάριτος σοφὴν συμβουλίαν διὰ κρίσιν ἐκδόντα. Ἤτω σου τῶν λογισμῶν ἡ δύναμις τὰ ἔργα, τὰ γὰρ πρακτέα τῶν λεκτέων ἐστὶ φιλοσοφώτερα, καθάπερ, καὶ ἐπιπονώτερα· πράξεως παρούσης ὥσπερ οἱ λόγοι ἐξαστράπτουσιν, ἔργων δὲ μὴ παρόντων, οἱ λόγοι τῶν ἔργων δύναμιν οὐκ ἀστράπτουσι. Πολιῶν ἔγκλημα, λόγος νεώτερος, καὶ χείλη πέρπερα τινασσόμενα γέλωτι, ὁ δὲ ταράττων καὶ ταραττόμενος εἰκῆ, γαλήνης ἐκτὸς ἔσται, καὶ κλύδωνος οὐκ ὄντος, χειματίζεται.

ΚΕΦΑΛ. ΚΕʹ. Μὴ τὴν ἄκαιρον γλῶσσαν λεξιθήρει, ἵνα μὴ τὸ αὐτὸ ὑφ' ὧν οὐ

θέλεις ὑπομείνῃς. Φεῦγε πτερνίσαι τοῦ πλησίον τὴν γλῶτταν, ἵνα καὶ σὺ τοῦ διαβόλου τὸν πτερνισμὸν διαφύγῃς· φεῦγε ὀνειδίσαι ἀδελφοῦ σου τὸ πταῖσμα, ἵνα μὴ τῆς συμπαθείας ὡς ἀλλόφυλος ἐκπέσῃς. Ὁ τὴν χρηστότητα, καὶ τὴν ἀγάπην εἰς τὸν ἀδελφὸν μὴ ἔχων, πῶς τῆς χριστοφόρου ἀγάπης μέλος ἂν εἵη; Ἐπὰν τῇ συντόνῳ σου νηστείᾳ ἀδελφὸς παραβάλῃ, μὴ τῶν λογισμῶν τὴν ἀηδίαν παραδέξῃ ὑποτιθεμένων σοι ὄχλησιν τῇ ἡσυχίᾳ, ἐγκοπὴν δὲ τῇ νηστείᾳ, ποιοῦσι δὲ τοῦτο ἵνα ἰδὼν τὸν ἀδελφόν σου μὴ ὡς Θεὸν αὐτὸν ἴδῃς. Τὰς συνεχεῖς τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἐπιστασίας ὀχλήσεις εἶναι μὴ φάσκωμεν, συμμαχίαν δὲ μᾶλλον πέλειν· κατὰ τῆς φάλαγγος τοῦ ἀντιπάλου τὴν αὐτῶν χοροστασίαν ἐμπιστεύσωμεν. Οὕτω γὰρ τῷ φίλτρῳ τῆς ἀγάπης ἑνωθέντες, τὴν κακίαν ἐξωθήσομεν, καὶ τὰ ἔργα τῶν χειρῶν εἰς τὸν τῆς φιλοξενίας θησαυρὸν μετακομί79.1128 σομεν. Μὴ, ὡς χάριν παρέχοντες τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς, τούτους δεξιωσώμεθα, ἀλλ' ὡς ὑπόχρεοι ὄντες τῷ δανείσματι μεθ' ἱκεσίας ξενίζωμεν, καθὼς ὑπέδειξε Λώτ. Τινὲς ἐπὶ ξένῳ ἀξιώματι καὶ ξένως ἐπαίρονται, καὶ ὅταν μὲν ξένον καλῶσιν οὐδόλως παρακαλοῦσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν τῆς κλήσεως λόγον τῷ τύφῳ πλατύνουσι, τὸν δὲ παραιτούμενον ὡς ἐφ' ὑβρικότα μέμφονται· διὰ τοῦτο μέγα φύσημα ἐντεῦθεν ἀνακαίεται. Οἱ γὰρ λογισμοὶ τὸ ὄμμα τῆς ψυχῆς παρακεντοῦντες τυφλώττουσιν, ἵνα ταῖς καλλίσταις τῶν ἐντολῶν κακίστως χρησώμεθα.