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against your brother. Thus therefore you will be guilty of the sin of the slanderer. Evil is slander; it is a restless demon, never at peace, but always dwelling in dissensions. Keep away from it, therefore, and you will always have prosperity with all people. But put on gravity, in which there is no evil stumbling-block, but all things are smooth and cheerful. Do what is good, and from your labors, which God gives you, give simply to all who are in need, not doubting to whom you should give or to whom you should not give. Give to all; for God wishes that it be given to all from His own gifts. Those therefore who receive will render an account to God, why they received and for what purpose; for those who receive being afflicted will not be judged, but those who receive in hypocrisy will pay the penalty. He therefore who gives is guiltless; for as he received from the Lord the ministry to complete, he completed it simply, making no distinction to whom he should give or not give. Therefore this ministry, simply completed, became glorious before God. He therefore who thus simply serves will live to God. Keep therefore this commandment, as I have spoken to you, that your repentance and that of your house may be found in simplicity and pure and guileless and unspotted. Mandate 3 Again he says to me: “Love truth, and let all truth proceed from your mouth, so that the spirit, which God made to dwell in this flesh, may be found true among all men, and thus the Lord who dwells in you will be glorified; for the Lord is true in every word, and with Him there is no lie. Those therefore who lie set aside the Lord and become defrauders of the Lord, not returning to Him the deposit which they received. For they received from Him a spirit free from lies. If they return this as a lying spirit, they have defiled the commandment of the Lord and have become defrauders.” Hearing these things, therefore, I wept much. And seeing me weeping, he says: “Why do you weep?” “Because,” I say, “sir, I do not know if I can be saved.” “Why?” he says. “For never yet,” I say, “sir, in my life have I spoken a true word, but I have always lived craftily with all people, and I have shown my lie to be true before all men; and no one ever contradicted me, but my word was believed. How then,” I say, “sir, can I live, having done these things?” “You,” he says, “think well and truly; for you ought, as a servant of God, to walk in truth and an evil conscience should not dwell with the spirit of truth, nor bring grief to the holy and true spirit.” “Never,” I say, “sir, have I heard such words accurately.” “Now then,” he says, “you hear; keep them, so that the former lies you spoke in your dealings, when these present words are found to be true, may themselves become trustworthy; for they too can become trustworthy. If you keep these things and from now on speak all truth, you will be able to obtain life for yourself. And whoever hears this commandment and abstains from the most evil vice of lying, will live to God.” Mandate 4 “I command you,” he says, “to keep purity, and let it not come up into your heart concerning another man’s wife or concerning any fornication or concerning any such evil likenesses. For by doing this you work a great sin. But by always remembering your own wife you will never sin. For if this thought comes up into your heart, you will sin, and if other such evil things, you work sin. For the thought

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κατὰ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ σου. οὕτως οὖν ἔνοχος ἔσῃ τῆς ἁμαρτίας τοῦ καταλα λοῦντος. πονηρὰ ἡ καταλαλιά· ἀκατάστατον δαιμόνιόν ἐστιν, μηδέ ποτε εἰρηνεῦον, ἀλλὰ πάντοτε ἐν διχοστασίαις κατοικοῦν. ἀπέχου οὖν ἀπ' αὐτοῦ, καὶ εὐθηνίαν πάντοτε ἕξεις μετὰ πάντων. ἔνδυσαι δὲ τὴν σεμ νότητα, ἐν ᾗ οὐδὲν πρόσκομμά ἐστιν πονηρόν, ἀλλὰ πάντα ὁμαλὰ καὶ ἱλαρά. ἐργάζου τὸ ἀγαθόν, καὶ ἐκ τῶν κόπων σου, ὧν ὁ θεὸς δίδωσίν σοι, πᾶσιν ὑστερουμένοις δίδου ἁπλῶς, μὴ διστάζων τίνι δῷς ἢ τίνι μὴ δῷς. πᾶσιν δίδου· πᾶσιν γὰρ ὁ θεὸς δίδοσθαι θέλει ἐκ τῶν ἰδίων δωρημάτων. οἱ οὖν λαμβάνοντες ἀποδώσουσιν λόγον τῷ θεῷ, διατί ἔλαβον καὶ εἰς τί· οἱ μὲν γὰρ λαμβάνοντες θλιβόμενοι οὐ δικασθήσονται, οἱ δὲ ἐν ὑποκρίσει λαμβάνοντες τίσουσιν δίκην. ὁ οὖν διδοὺς ἀθῷός ἐστιν· ὡς γὰρ ἔλαβεν παρὰ τοῦ κυρίου τὴν διακονίαν τελέσαι, ἁπλῶς αὐτὴν ἐτέλεσεν μηθὲν διακρί νων τίνι δῷ ἢ μὴ δῷ. ἐγένετο οὖν ἡ διακονία αὕτη ἁπλῶς τελεσθεῖσα ἔν δοξος παρὰ τῷ θεῷ. ὁ οὖν οὕτως ἁπλῶς διακονῶν τῷ θεῷ ζήσεται. φύ λασσε οὖν τὴν ἐντολὴν ταύτην, ὥς σοι λελάληκα, ἵνα ἡ μετάνοιά σου καὶ ἡ τοῦ οἴκου σου ἐν ἁπλότητι εὑρεθῇ καὶ καθαρὰ καὶ ἄκακος καὶ ἀμίαντος. Ἐντολὴ γ Πάλιν μοι λέγει· Ἀλήθειαν ἀγάπα, καὶ πᾶσα ἀλήθεια ἐκ τοῦ στόματός σου ἐκπορευέσθω, ἵνα τὸ πνεῦμα, ὃ ὁ θεὸς κατóκισεν ἐν τῇ σαρκὶ ταύτῃ, ἀληθὲς εὑρεθῇ παρὰ πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις, καὶ οὕτως δοξασθήσεται ὁ κύριος ὁ ἐν σοὶ κατοικῶν· ὅτι ὁ κύριος ἀληθινὸς ἐν παντὶ ·»ματι, καὶ οὐδὲν παρ' αὐτῷ ψεῦδος. οἱ οὖν ψευδόμενοι ἀθετοῦσι τὸν κύριον καὶ γίνονται ἀποστε ρηταὶ τοῦ κυρίου, μὴ παραδιδόντες αὐτῷ τὴν παρακαταθήκην ἣν ἔλαβον. ἔλαβον γὰρ παρ' αὐτοῦ πνεῦμα ἄψευστον. τοῦτο ἐὰν ψευδὲς ἀποδώσω σιν, ἐμίαναν τὴν ἐντολὴν τοῦ κυρίου καὶ ἐγένοντο ἀποστερηταί. ταῦτα οὖν ἀκούσας ἐγὼ ἔκλαυσα λίαν. ἰδὼν δέ με κλαίοντα λέγει· Τί κλαίεις; Ὅτι, φημί, κύριε, οὐκ οἶδα εἰ δύναμαι σωθῆναι. ∆ιατί; φησίν. Oὐδέπω γάρ, φημί, κύριε, ἐν τῇ ἐμῇ ζωῇ ἀληθὲς ἐλάλησα ῥῆμα, ἀλλὰ πάντοτε πανούρ γως ἔζησα μετὰ πάντων, καὶ τὸ ψεῦδός μου ἀληθὲς ἐπέδειξα παρὰ πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις· καὶ οὐδέποτέ μοι οὐδεὶς ἀντεῖπεν, ἀλλ' ἐπιστεύθη τῷ λόγῳ μου. πῶς οὖν, φημί, κύριε, δύναμαι ζῆσαι ταῦτα πράξας; Σὺ μέν, φησί, κα λῶς καὶ ἀληθῶς φρονεῖς· ἔδει γάρ σε ὡς θεοῦ δοῦλον ἐν ἀληθείᾳ πορεύ εσθαι καὶ πονηρὰν συνείδησιν μετὰ τοῦ πνεύματος τῆς ἀληθείας μὴ κατ οικεῖν, μηδὲ λύπην ἐπάγειν τῷ πνεύματι τῷ σεμνῷ καὶ ἀληθεῖ. Oὐδέ ποτε, φημί, κύριε, τοιαῦτα ·»ματα ἀκριβῶς ἤκουσα. Νῦν οὖν, φησίν, ἀκούεις· φύλασσε αὐτά, ἵνα καὶ τὰ πρότερα ἃ ἐλάλησας ψευδῆ ἐν ταῖς πραγ ματείαις σου, τούτων εὑρεθέντων ἀληθινῶν, κἀκεῖνα πιστὰ γένηται· δύνα ται γὰρ κἀκεῖνα πιστὰ γενέσθαι. ἐὰν ταῦτα φυλάξῃς καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν πᾶσαν ἀλήθειαν λαλήσῃς, δυνήσῃ σεαυτῷ ζωὴν περιποιήσασθαι. καὶ ὃς ἂν ἀκούσῃ τὴν ἐντολὴν ταύτην καὶ ἀφέξεται τοῦ πονηροτάτου ψεύσματος, ζήσεται τῷ θεῷ. Ἐντολὴ δ Ἐντέλλομαί σοι, φησίν, φυλάσσειν τὴν ἁγνείαν, καὶ μὴ ἀναβαινέτω σου ἐπὶ τὴν καρδίαν περὶ γυναικὸς ἀλλοτρίας ἢ περὶ πορνείας τινος ἢ περὶ τοιούτων τινῶν ὁμοιωμάτων πονηρῶν. τοῦτο γὰρ ποιῶν μεγάλην ἁμαρ τίαν ἐργάζῃ. τῆς δὲ σῆς μνημονεύων πάντοτε γυναικὸς οὐδέποτε δι αμαρτήσεις. ἐὰν γὰρ αὕτη ἡ ἐνθύμησις ἐπὶ τὴν καρδίαν σου ἀναβῇ, δι αμαρτήσεις, καὶ ἐὰν ἕτερα οὕτως πονηρά, ἁμαρτίαν ἐργάζῃ. ἡ γὰρ ἐνθύμησις