Epistula Magna

 are possible with the God who has promised for the passions of sin later came upon the soul and the body because of the transgression of the first-fo

 gives himself to all the well-pleasingness of the commandments, to that extent he also acquires the participation of the spirit for the spiritual incr

 [as] one who, as a bride of Christ, longs to be joined to the heavenly king who is pure and undefiled. For the soul that longs to be joined to him and

 the worse work of destruction, numbering hidden and manifest sins as one, he says: And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up

 to have fellowship and to be united, but only with the Spirit of God, 247 being united and clinging to it, he commanded the soul to bear the sacred of

 But in another epistle, teaching about the same things and showing the disciples the abundance of spiritual wealth and exhorting them to hasten to att

 he sets forth the goal. And because we are not sufficient for the struggle against the principalities and the powers and the spiritual forces of wicke

 let us have affliction and struggle and a ceaseless race, daily stretching forward always to the things that are before and forgetting the things that

 and having entered with exultation, since indeed he has become the agent of great salvation for himself, if with long-suffering and patience he remain

 he who humbles himself will be exalted and again: Whoever wishes to be first among you, let him be the last of all and the servant of all just as th

 the adversary always hinders the mind in good things, from loving the things above by the memory of good things, but rather, by enticing the will thro

 occupying ourselves with love always. and thus we shall be able to receive daily increase and progress towards divine love, being helped by the divine

 the soul's love is stretched out toward God and therefore if someone wishes to persevere unceasingly in prayers and to be at leisure for fasting acco

 surrendering the mind to such things and by reason of a lack of discernment being fully convinced by the bodily kneeling, while the mind is in a state

 a lack, his own work and toil, should he think the fruits of the spirit to be, he possesses much vain conceit and falls from great spiritual goods, no

 the future hope of the resurrection 279 immortal and it is possible to take up the sufferings of Christ readily and easily. Let those who have not ye

 being done That, he says, they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. And the apostles, having legislated through the Spir

 the need of those who serve and give rest, and again the surplus of those who serve and work for the need of those who devote themselves to prayers. F

 we are deemed worthy of Christ, let us have communion with one another in all good things for the edification and benefit both of ourselves and of our

 of practices will it be to attain unless through what we have said before, setting forth through many things at the same time also the scriptural test

 believe in truths, that it is necessary for the one who has truly come to serve God to arrive at the measures of impassibility and freedom. Since ther

 workers or certain slaves are told by their master to reap three plethra each day, and one worker, having received such a command from his master, giv

 is promised to those who have consecrated themselves. For those who consider it impossible for this accomplishment to happen in men through the Spirit

 to those who obey the spirit, that it is necessary for the one who has approached God in truth, believing in his promises with a whole heart and striv

occupying ourselves with love always. and thus we shall be able to receive daily increase and progress towards divine love, being helped by the divine power of Christ, and the burden of the righteousness of the commandments will appear light to us as we fulfill them purely and blamelessly, the Lord himself working with us because of our fervent impulse towards him through faith and love and our good desire for all his commandments. 268 But concerning the outward discipline and what good practice is first and greatest, know this, beloved, that all the virtues are bound to one another and hang from one another; for just as some sacred and spiritual chain, they are suspended one from another; prayer from love, love from joy, joy from meekness, meekness from humility, humility from service, service from righteousness, righteousness from hope, hope from faith, faith from obedience, obedience from simplicity; just as on the opposite side, the evils are bound one to another; hatred from anger, anger from pride, pride from vainglory, vainglory from unbelief, unbelief from hardness of heart, hardness of heart from negligence, negligence from laxity, laxity from contempt, contempt from despondency, despondency from impatience, impatience from love of pleasure, and the remaining members of wickedness hang from one another; so also on the good side, the virtues are suspended from one another. But the chief point of all good zeal and the summit of accomplish269 ments is perseverance in prayer, through which we are able daily to acquire the other virtues through petition from God, since goodness and a certain mystical communion of spiritual activity and a union of the disposition and of the mind itself in ineffable love towards the Lord comes in prayer through divine visitation to those who are deemed worthy and he who forces himself to persevere in prayers is drawn daily into a heavenly love and a fiery longing for God by spiritual love, as it is said: You have put gladness in my heart; and the Lord: The kingdom of heaven is within you. But what else does the kingdom being within signify, if not the heavenly gladness of the Spirit which is actively produced in worthy souls, which very enjoyment and joy and spiritual gladness in eternal light the saints are to have in the kingdom? Of this the worthy and faithful souls are deemed worthy to possess the pledge and first-fruits already from here, through the active communion of the Spirit. For He who comforts us, it says, in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. But also this: My heart and my flesh have rejoiced in the living God, and: May my soul be filled as with fat and richness, and things similar to these, it hints through these things at the active gladness and comfort of the Spirit; but the subsequent 270 precepts of all the commandments are like members of the head, which those who have given themselves to God ought to fulfill according to their ability. Since, therefore, the goal of piety is one for all, which we have stated before through many scriptural testimonies, to be deemed worthy, through faith and much zeal in all virtues, of the fullness of the Holy Spirit and to acquire a complete deliverance from the passions, which is the cleansing of the heart that occurs in faithful and devout souls through the sanctifying Spirit; let each one therefore give himself to the good, as much as he

ἀγάπην διὰ παντὸς ἀπασχολοῦντας. καὶ οὕτω δυνησόμεθα εἰς ἔρωτα θεῖον ὁσημέραι τὴν αὔξησιν καὶ προκοπὴν λαμβάνειν, βοηθούμενοι ὑπὸ τῆς θείας τοῦ Χριστοῦ δυνάμως, καὶ τὸ φορτίον τῆς δικαιοσύνης τῶν ἐντολῶν ἐλαφρὸν ἡμῖν καταφανήσεται καθαρῶς καὶ ἀμώμως ταύτας ἐπιτελοῦσι, συνεργοῦντος ἡμῖν αὐτοῦ τοῦ κυρίου διὰ τὴν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἡμῶν διὰ πίστεως καὶ ἀγάπης ζέουσαν ὁρμὴν καὶ πασῶν τῶν ἐντολῶν αὐτοῦ ἀγαθὴν ἐπιπόθησιν. 268 Περὶ δὲ τῆς φαινομένης ἀσκήσεως καὶ ποῖον ἀγαθὸν ἐπιτήδευμα πρῶτον καὶ μεῖζον τυγχάνει, τοῦτο γινώσκετε, ἀγαπητοί, ὅτι ἀλλήλων πᾶσαι αἱ ἀρεταὶ ἐκδέδενται καὶ ἀλλήλων ἐκκρέμανται· ὥσπερ γὰρ ἱερά τις καὶ πνευματικὴ ἅλυσις μία ἀπὸ τῆς μιᾶς ἀπήρτηνται· ἡ εὐχὴ ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγάπης, ἡ ἀγάπη ἀπὸ τῆς χαρᾶς, ἡ χαρὰ ἀπὸ τῆς πραότητος, ἡ πραότης ἀπὸ τῆς ταπεινώσεως, ἡ ταπείνωσις ἀπὸ τῆς διακονίας, ἡ διακονία ἀπὸ τῆς δικαιοσύνης, ἡ δικαιοσύνη ἀπὸ τῆς ἐλπίδος, ἡ ἐλπὶς ἀπὸ τῆς πίστεως, ἡ πίστις ἀπὸ τῆς ὑπακοῆς, ἡ ὑπακοὴ ἀπὸ τῆς ἁπλότητος· ὥσπερ καὶ τὸ ἐναντίον μέρος ἓν ἀφ' ἑνὸς τὰ κακὰ ἐκδέδενται· τὸ μῖσος ἀπὸ τοῦ θυμοῦ, ὁ θυμὸς ἀπὸ τῆς ὑπερηφανίας, ἡ ὑπερηφανία ἀπὸ τῆς κενοδοξίας, ἡ κενοδοξία ἀπὸ τῆς ἀπιστίας, ἡ ἀπιστία ἀπὸ τῆς σκληροκαρδίας, ἡ σκληροκαρδία ἀπὸ τῆς ἀμελείας, ἡ ἀμέλεια ἀπὸ τῆς χαυνώσεως, ἡ χαύνωσις ἀπὸ τῆς ὀλιγωρίας, ἡ ὀλιγωρία ἀπὸ τῆς ἀκηδίας, ἡ ἀκηδία ἀπὸ τῆς ἀνυπομονησίας, ἡ ἀνυπομονησία ἀπὸ τῆς φιληδονίας, καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ τῆς κακίας μέλη εἰσὶν ἀλλήλων ἐκκρεμάμενα· οὕτως καὶ ἐν τῷ ἀγαθῷ μέρει ἀλλήλων εἰσὶν αἱ ἀρεταὶ ἀπηρτημέναι. κεφάλαιον δὲ πάσης ἀγαθῆς σπουδῆς καὶ κορυφαῖον τῶν κατορθω269 μάτων ἐστὶν ἡ τῆς προσευχῆς προσκαρτέρησις, δι' ἧς καὶ τὰς λοιπὰς ἀρετὰς διὰ τῆς παρὰ θεοῦ αἰτήσεως ὁσημέραι προσκτᾶσθαι δυνάμεθα, ἐπειδὴ πρὸς μόνον θεὸν ἀγαθότης καὶ κοινωνία τις μυστικὴ πνευματικῆς ἐνεργείας καὶ συνάφεια τῆς διαθέσεως καὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ νοῦ ἐν ἀγάπῃ ἀρρήτῳ πρὸς κύριον ἐν εὐχῇ διὰ θείας ἐπισκέψεως τοῖς καταξιουμένοις γίνεται καὶ εἰς οὐράνιον ἔρωτα καὶ πόθον ἔκπυρον ὑπὸ τῆς πνευματικῆς ἀγάπης πρὸς θεὸν ἕλκεται ὁσημέραι ὁ ἑαυτὸν ταῖς προσευχαῖς προσκαρτερεῖν ἀναγκάζων, καθὼς εἴρηται· Ἔδωκας εὐφροσύνην εἰς τὴν καρδίαν μου· καὶ ὁ κύριος· Ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν ἐντὸς ὑμῶν ἐστι. τὸ δὲ ἐντὸς εἶναι τὴν βασιλείαν τί ἄλλο σημαίνει ἢ τὴν τοῦ πνεύματος οὐράνιον εὐφροσύνην τὴν ταῖς ἀξίαις ψυχαῖς ἐνεργῶς γινομένην, ἥνπερ ἀπόλαυσιν καὶ χαρὰν καὶ εὐφροσύνην πνευματικὴν ἐν φωτὶ αἰωνίῳ οἱ ἅγιοι ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ μέλλουσιν ἔχειν; ταύτης τὸν ἀρραβῶνα καὶ τὴν ἀπαρχὴν ἐντεῦθεν ἤδη αἱ ἄξιαι καὶ πισταὶ ψυχαὶ διὰ τῆς τοῦ πνεύματος ἐνεργοῦς κοινωνίας κεκτῆσθαι καταξιοῦνται. Ὁ παρακαλῶν γάρ, φησίν, ἡμᾶς ἐν πάσῃ τῇ θλίψει ἡμῶν εἰς τὸ δύνασθαι ἡμᾶς παρακαλεῖν τοὺς ἐν πάσῃ θλίψει διὰ τῆς παρακλήσεως ἧς παρακαλούμεθα καὶ αὐτοὶ ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ. ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ Ἡ καρδία μου καὶ ἡ σάρξ μου ἠγαλλιάσαντο ἐπὶ θεὸν ζῶντα, καὶ Ὡς ἐκ στέατος καὶ πιότητος ἐμπλησθείη ἡ ψυχή μου, καὶ τὰ τούτοις ὅμοια, τὴν τοῦ πνεύματος ἐνεργῆ εὐφροσύνην καὶ παράκλησιν διὰ τούτων αἰνίττεται· τὰ δὲ ἀκόλουθα πασῶν τῶν ἐντολῶν 270 παραγγέλματα ὥσπερ μέλη τῆς κεφαλῆς τυγχάνει, ἅπερ οἱ ἑαυτοὺς ἀποδόντες τῷ θεῷ κατὰ δύναμιν ἐπιτελεῖν ὀφείλουσι. Προκειμένου τοίνυν τοῦ τῆς εὐσεβείας σκοποῦ πᾶσιν ἑνός, ὅνπερ διὰ πλειόνων προείπομεν ἀπὸ γραφικῶν μαρτυριῶν παραστήσαντες, τοῦ καταξιωθῆναι διὰ τῆς πίστεως καὶ πολλῆς ἐν πάσαις ἀρεταῖς σπουδῆς πληρώσεως ἁγίου πνεύματος καὶ παντελῆ τῶν παθῶν ἀπαλλαγὴν κτήσασθαι, ὅ ἐστιν ὁ τῆς καρδίας καθαρισμὸς διὰ τοῦ ἁγιαστικοῦ πνεύματος ταῖς πισταῖς καὶ εὐλαβέσι ψυχαῖς ἐγγινόμενος· ἕκαστος οὖν ἑαυτὸν ἐκδότω εἰς τὸ ἀγαθόν, ὅσον καὶ ὁ