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thinking, and you deny the garment itself, just as I have heard many saying: "For have I come to become someone's slave or have I arrived to be insulted?" O, the madness!

Did you not come to struggle against the invisible enemies? Have you not come to take up the war against the passions? For what reason did you wish to enlist and (50) be enrolled among the soldiers of Christ? So that receiving rations and wages equally with them, you might recline like those who feast and get drunk in a tent? If you think these things, woe to you on the day of judgment, when Christ comes to render to each according to his deeds, when he demands from the monks, who enrolled with him before many witnesses, the agreements which they arranged to perform and to keep before the holy altar and his holy angels. For what do we answer when asked? Is it not: why we have come to the holy altar and to this holy brotherhood, desiring the monastic life and to embrace the angelic state? What then do we reply to this? Is it not, "Yes, venerable father"? And what does the priest say to us in turn? "Know, brothers, that inasmuch as you have come to be numbered among the servants of Christ the King, prepare yourselves for temptations. For you shall know that from now on the enemy will set in motion every device against you. Therefore you must hunger and thirst and be cold, and be dishonored and be spit upon, and be struck and be mocked and endure all sorrows according to God." So what do we answer to these things? Do we not promise to suffer and endure all things, and do we not utter "Yes, venerable father" at every question concerning the sufferings of patience? Do we not confess before God and the angels to keep continence and vigil and prayer and obedience until death to the superior and to all the brotherhood? And now, as if there were no one who will demand from us these agreements which we made, (51) we are so disposed, living in fearlessness of God and in contempt of His commandments, exalting ourselves not only over all the rest of the brotherhood, but also over our superiors, murmuring, contradicting, cursing, being slothful, and doing all things that God hates and that destroy our souls in the gehenna of fire.

Where has such a work of contrivance been heard of from the beginning of time? What demon will devise a way of destruction against our souls greater than this? Or rather, what more will the demons care for or be concerned about against us? For seeing us held fast by the will of the flesh, the demons see us carrying about death; and for what other reason do they campaign against us? For all the war of the demons is waged against us for this reason, that they may alienate those who obey them from the glory of God and from the grace of the Holy Spirit. But even before their struggle, we, as I see, have deprived ourselves of such a gift, having abandoned the commandments of God and never being eager to seek Him with our whole soul. For if we sought Him, we would not live so slothfully and carelessly. If we were concerned with heavenly things, we would not make such an effort for earthly things. If we were thinking about incorruptible things, we would not be gaping at things that are fleeting and corruptible. If we were longing for eternal things, we would not cling so to temporary things. If we loved God, we would not (52) turn away so from those who guide us to Him. If we cultivated the virtues, we would not loathe the teachers of the virtues. If we gladly embraced the fast, we would never murmur because of a lack of food or drink. If we struggled to be continent of the passions, we would not give in incontinently to pleasures. If we had a right and firm faith, we would not be committing the works of unbelievers. If we had the fear of God in our hearts, we would not to his genuine servants in every

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ἡγούμενος, καί αὐτό ἀπαρνῇ τό ἔνδυμα, καθά πολλούς ἐγώ λέγοντας ἤκουσα· "Μή γάρ δοῦλος γενέσθαι τινός ἐλήλυθα ἤ διά τό ὑβρίζεσθαι παραγέγονα; " Ὤ τῆς παραπληξίας!

Οὐκ ἦλθες κατά τῶν ἀοράτων ἐχθρῶν ἀγωνίσασθαι; Οὐκ ἐλήλυθας ἀναλαβέσθαι τόν κατά τῶν παθῶν πόλεμον; ∆ι᾿ ἥν αἰτίαν στρατευθῆναι καί (50) τοῖς Χριστοῦ στρατιώταις καταταγῆναι ἠθέλησας; ἵνα σιτηρέσια ἐπίσης αὐτοῖς λαμβάνων καί ὀψώνια, ἀνάκεισαι ὡς οἱ ἐπί σκηνῆς τρυφῶντες καί μεθυσκόμενοι; Ἐάν ταῦτα λογίζῃ, οὐαί σοι ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῆς κρίσεως, ὅταν ὁ Χριστός ἔλθῃ ἑκάστῳ ἀποδοῦναι κατά τάς πράξεις αὐτοῦ, ὅταν ἐκζητήσῃ ἀπό τῶν μοναχῶν, τῶν συνταξαμένων αὐτῷ ἐπί πολλῶν μαρτύρων, τάς συνθήκας ἅς συνέθεντο ποιῆσαι καί διαφυλάξαι ἐνώπιον τοῦ ἁγίου θυσιαστηρίου καί τῶν ἁγίων ἀγγέλων αὐτοῦ. Τί γάρ καί ἐρωτώμενοι ἀποκρινόμεθα; Οὐχί· τί προσήλθομεν τῷ ἁγίῳ θυσιαστηρίῳ καί τῇ ἁγίᾳ συνοδίᾳ ταύτῃ, ποθοῦντες τόν μοναχικόν βίον καί τήν ἀγγελικήν ἀσπάσασθαι πολιτείαν; Τί οὖν πρός ταῦτα ἀνθυποφέρομεν; οὐχί τό "Ναί, τίμιε πάτερ"; Ὁ δέ ἱερεύς τί πρός ἡμᾶς φησι πάλιν; "Γινώσκετε, ἀδελφοί, ὅτι ἐφ᾿ ὅσον ἐληλύθατε καταριθμηθῆναι τοῖς δούλοις τοῦ βασιλέως Χριστοῦ, ἑτοιμάσατε ἑαυτούς εἰς πειρασμούς. Ἔσεσθε γάρ εἰδότες ὅτι ἀπό τοῦ νῦν μᾶλλον πᾶσαν μηχανήν ὁ ἐχθρός κινήσει καθ᾿ ὑμῶν. ∆εῖ οὖν ὑμᾶς πεινᾶσαι καί διψῆσαι καί ῥιγᾶσαι, ἀτιμασθῆναί τε καί ἐμπτυσθῆναι, ῥαπισθῆναι τε καί χλευασθῆναι καί πάντα τά κατά Θεόν λυπηρά ὑπομεῖναι". Ἄρα τί πρός ταῦτα ἡμεῖς ἀποκρινόμεθα; Οὐχί πάντα παθεῖν και ὑπομεῖναι ἐπαγγελόμεθα, καί τό "Ναί, τίμιε πάτερ" κατά πᾶσαν ἐρώτησιν τῶν τῆς ὑπομονῆς παθημάτων φθεγγόμεθα; Οὐχί ἐγκράτειαν καί ἀγρυπνίαν καί προσευχήν καί ὑπακοήν μέχρι θανάτου τῷ προεστῶτι καί πάσῃ τῇ ἀδελφότητι φυλάξαι ὁμολογοῦμεν ἐνώπιον Θεοῦ καί ἀγγέλων; Καί νῦν, ὡς οὐδενός ὄντος τοῦ μέλλοντος ἀπαιτῆσαι ἡμᾶς τάς συνθήκας ταύτας ἅς συνεθέμεθα, (51) οὕτω διακείμεθα, ἐν ἀφοβίᾳ Θεοῦ διάγοντες καί καταφρονήσει τῶν αὐτοῦ ἐντολῶν, κατεπαιρόμενοι οὐ μόνον ἁπάσης τῆς λοιπῆς ἀδελφότητος, ἀλλά καί τῶν προεστώτων ἡμῶν, γογγύζοντες, ἀντιλέγοντες, καταρώμενι, ῥαθυμοῦντες και πάντα ποιοῦντες, ὅσα μισεῖ Θεός καί ὅσα εἰς γέενναν πυρός ἀπολλύουσιν ἡμῶν τάς ψυχάς.

Ποῦ τοιοῦτον ἀπό τοῦ αἰῶνος ἠκούσθη μηχανῆς ἔργον; Ποῖος δαίμων τρόπον ἀπωλείας κατά τῶν ἡμετέρων ψυχῶν ἐπινοήσει μείζονα τούτου; Μᾶλλον δέ τί πλεῖον καθ᾿ ἡμῶν οἱ δαίμονες μεριμνήσουσιν ἤ φροντίσουσι; Τῷ γάρ θελήματι τῆς σαρκός ὁρῶντες οἱ δαίμονες κατεχομένους ἡμᾶς, τόν θάνατον βλέπουσι περιφέροντας· καί τίνος ἄλλου χάριν καθ᾿ ἡμῶν αὐτοί ἐκστρατεύουσιν; Ἅπας γάρ ὁ πόλεμος τῶν δαιμόνων διά τοῦτο καθ᾿ ἡμῶν φέρεται, ὅπως ἐκ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ δόξης καί τῆς τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος ἀλλοτριώσωσι χάριτος τούς πειθομένους αὐτοῖς. Ἀλλ᾿ ἡμεῖς καί πρό τῆς ἐκείνων πάλης ἑαυτούς ἡμᾶς, ὡς ὁρῶ, τῆς τοιαύτης ἀπεστερήσαμεν δωρεᾶς, καταλιπόντες τάς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐντολάς καί μηδέ ζητῆσαι αὐτόν ἐξ ὅλης ψυχῆς ποτε προθυμούμενοι. Εἰ γάρ ἐζητοῦμεν αὐτόν, οὐκ ἄν οὕτω ῥᾳθύμως καί ἀμελῶς ἐβιοῦμεν. Ἐάν τά οὐράνια ἐφροντίζομεν, οὐκ ἄν περί τά γήινα τοσαύτην σπουδήν ἐποιοῦμεν. Ἐάν περί τῶν ἀφθάρτων διενοούμεθα, οὐκ ἄν ἐκεχήναμεν εἰς τά ῥέοντα καί φθαρτά. Ἐάν τῶν αἰωνίων ἐφιέμεθα, οὐκ ἄν τῶν προσκαίρων οὕτως ἀντεποιούμεθα. Ἐάν τόν Θεόν ἠγαπῶμεν, οὐκ (52) ἄν τούς πρός αὐτόν ἡμᾶς ὁδηγοῦντας οὕτως ἀπεστρεφόμεθα. Ἐάν τάς ἀρετάς περιεποιούμεθα, οὐκ ἄν τούς διδασκάλους τῶν ἀρετῶν ἐβδελυσσόμεθα. Ἐάν τήν νηστείαν ἄσμενοι ἠσπαζόμεθα, οὐκ ἄν ποτε διά βρωμάτων ἤ πομάτων ἔνδειαν ἐγογγύζομεν. Ἐάν ἐγκρατεῖς τῶν παθῶν εἶναι ἠγωνιζόμεθα, οὐκ ἄν ἀκρατῶς ταῖς ἡδοναῖς ἐνεδίδομεν. Ἐάν πίστιν εἴχομεν ὀρθήν καί βεβαίαν, οὐκ ἄν τά τῶν ἀπίστων ἔργα διεπραττόμεθα. Ἐάν φόβον Θεοῦ εἰς τάς καρδίας ἡμῶν εἴχομεν, οὐκ ἄν τοῖς γνησίοις δούλοις αὐτοῦ εἰς πᾶσαν