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. For thus, he says, there is equality according to what is written: He who gathered much had nothing over, and he who gathered little had no lack; only, as we have said before, let there be simplicity and love and humility and lack of jealousy among the brethren, and for the rest let each one according to his ability run the good race with joy and fight the good fight, so that in the unerring way of godliness, inasmuch as he believes and inasmuch as he loves and inasmuch as 285 he toils, daily receiving progress he will be deemed worthy of the kingdom. This is truly an angelic life on earth; this is the 'Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven', when we are not puffed up against one another; when we are joined together with one another with lack of jealousy and lack of envy and simplicity and love and peace and joy, considering the progress of our neighbor our own gain, and thinking the weakness or shortcoming or affliction of our neighbor to be our own loss. For he says, 'Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others'; for thus suffering with one another and bearing one another's burdens, especially the able for the unable and the strong for the weaker, we are able to fulfill the law of Christ according to the exhortation of Paul. And in such a way, being together, we will truly be able to tread upon serpents and scorpions and upon all the power of the enemy, and through concord and the grace of Christ to crush the heads of dragons [of the spirits of wickedness], treading upon the asp and the basilisk and trampling the lion and the dragon. For if, as we have said before, the brethren are together with one another in love and simplicity and integrity, then also he who is in great measures of spiritual progress and 286 persevering in prayer receives increase and progress toward greater things through the cooperation and harmony of the brethren. And likewise the lesser one, through the exhortation in love of the greater ones, is improved day by day in progress, and working cheerfully and hastening on to better things. But if you are not so disposed toward one another, but grumblings and complaints and slander and swellings of pride are stirred up against one another, neither can those who seem to be devoted to prayers and fasts, because of the disharmony and harm of the others toward them and their own conceit, become better than themselves, nor will those serving and physically refreshing others be able to have grace in their service because of the grumbling against those who are devoted to prayer and the hatred between them; and so, there being a schism in the body, it is impossible to receive spiritual edification and for the will of God to be done in us. But the apostle also brings the distribution of the many spiritual gifts into one union and harmony, as being members of one body, and says, but having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if he who serves, in his serving; if he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who contributes, in generosity; he who leads, with zeal; he who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be genuine, and the rest. And again, each of you has a psalm, 287 has a revelation, has knowledge, has a prophecy; let all things be done for edification; that is, let each one benefit from the gifts of the others through concord and harmony with one another in love. So also the brethren in the monasteries, having given yourselves over to the Lord and to one another, you who are strong, whether in body or in mind, bear the burdens of the weaker ones for the sake of the blessed hope of Christ; and whatever good each one has in his nature, whether strength or intelligence or courage or some ingenuity or diligence, let us give it completely to one another. whether of spiritual gifts through grace

ὑστέρημα τῶν διακονούντων καὶ ἀναπαυόντων, καὶ πάλιν τὸ περίσσευμα τῶν διακονούντων καὶ ἐργαζομένων ἐπὶ τὸ ὑστέρημα τῶν ταῖς εὐχαῖς σχολαζόντων. οὕτως γάρ φησι γίνεται ἰσότης κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον· Ὁ τὸ πολὺ οὐκ ἐπλεόνασε, καὶ ὁ τὸ ὀλίγον οὐκ ἠλαττόνησε· μόνον, ὡς προειρήκαμεν, ἐν μέσῳ τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἁπλότης καὶ ἀγάπη καὶ ταπείνωσις καὶ ἀζηλία ἤτωσαν καὶ λοιπὸν ἕκαστος κατὰ δύναμιν μετὰ χαρᾶς τὸν καλὸν δρόμον τρεχέτω καὶ τὸν καλὸν ἀγωνιζέσθω ἀγῶνα, ἵνα εἰς τὴν ἀπλανῆ τῆς θεοσεβείας ὁδόν, καθόσον πιστεύει καὶ καθόσον ἀγαπᾷ καὶ καθόσον 285 κάμνει, ὁσημέραι τὴν προκοπὴν λαμβάνων τῆς βασιλείας ἀξιωθήσεται. Οὗτος ἀληθῶς ἀγγελικὸς ἐπὶ γῆς ἐστι βίος· τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ Γενηθήτω τὸ θέλημά σου ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς, ὅταν μὴ κατεπαιρώμεθα ἀλλήλων· ὅταν μετὰ ἀζηλίας καὶ ἀφθονίας καὶ ἁπλότητος καὶ ἀγάπης καὶ εἰρήνης καὶ χαρᾶς συνηρμόσμεθα ἀλλήλοις, τὴν τοῦ πλησίον προκοπὴν ἴδιον ἡγούμενοι κέρδος, τὴν δ' ἀτονίαν ἢ ἐλάττωσιν ἢ θλῖψιν τοῦ πλησίον ἰδίαν εἶναι νομίζοντες ζημίαν. Μὴ γάρ φησι μόνον τὰ ἑαυτῶν σκοποῦντες, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ τῶν πλησίον ἕκαστος· οὕτω γὰρ ἀλλήλοις συμπάσχοντες καὶ ἀλλήλων τὰ βάρη βαστάζοντες, μάλιστα οἱ δυνατοὶ τῶν ἀδυνάτων καὶ οἱ ἰσχυροὶ τῶν ἀσθενεστέρων, ἀναπληρῶσαι δυνάμεθα τὸν νόμον τοῦ Χριστοῦ κατὰ τὴν παραίνεσιν Παύλου. τοιούτῳ δὲ τρόπῳ ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ τυγχάνοντες ἀληθῶς δυνησόμεθα πατεῖν ἐπάνω ὄφεων καὶ σκορπίων καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν δύναμιν τοῦ ἐχθροῦ καὶ διὰ τῆς ὁμονοίας καὶ τῆς χάριτος τοῦ Χριστοῦ κεφαλὰς δρακόντων [πνευμάτων πονηρίας] συνθλᾶν, ἐπὶ ἀσπίδα καὶ βασιλίσκον ἐπιβαίνοντες καὶ καταπατοῦντες λέοντα καὶ δράκοντα. ἐὰν γάρ, ὡς προειρήκαμεν, ἐν ἀγάπῃ καὶ ἁπλότητι καὶ ἀκεραιότητι σύνεισιν οἱ ἀδελφοὶ ἀλλήλοις, τότε καὶ ὁ ἐν μέτροις μεγάλοις ὢν πνευματικῆς προκοπῆς καὶ τῇ εὐχῇ προσκαρ286 τερῶν ἐπὶ τὰ μείζονα διὰ τῆς συνεργίας καὶ συμπνοίας τῶν ἀδελφῶν τὴν αὔξησιν καὶ προκοπὴν λαμβάνει. ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ὁ μικρότερος διὰ τῆς τῶν μειζόνων ἐν ἀγάπῃ προτροπῆς καθ' ἡμέραν βελτιοῦται τῇ προκοπῇ καὶ εὐθύμως ἐργαζόμενος καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ κρείττονα ἐπειγόμενος. εἰ δὲ μὴ οὕτω διάκεισθε πρὸς ἀλλήλους, ἀλλὰ γογγυσμοὶ καὶ μέμψεις καὶ καταλαλιαὶ καὶ φυσιώσεις κατ' ἀλλήλων ἐπεγείρονται, οὔτε οἱ δοκοῦντες σχολάζειν εὐχαῖς καὶ νηστείαις διὰ τὴν τῶν ἑτέρων πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἀσυμφωνίαν καὶ βλάβην καὶ τὴν αὐτῶν ἔπαρσιν κρείττους ἑαυτῶν γενέσθαι δύνανται, οὔτε οἱ διακονοῦντες καὶ ἀναπαύοντες σωματικῶς δυνήσονται χάριν ἐν τῇ διακονίᾳ αὐτῶν ἔχειν διὰ τὸν κατὰ τῶν σχολαζόντων γογγυσμὸν καὶ τὸ μεταξὺ μῖσος· καὶ οὕτω σχίσματος ὄντος ἐν τῷ σώματι ἀδύνατον οἰκοδομὴν πνευματικὴν λαμβάνειν καὶ τὸ θέλημα τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν ἡμῖν γίνεσθαι. Ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν τῶν πολλῶν χαρισμάτων διανομὴν εἰς μίαν ἕνωσιν καὶ συμφωνίαν ὁ ἀπόστολος ἄγων ὡς ἑνὸς σώματος ὄντα μέλη, φησίν, ἔχοντες δὲ χαρίσματα κατὰ τὴν χάριν τὴν δοθεῖσαν ἡμῖν διάφορα, εἴτε προφητείαν κατὰ τὴν ἀναλογίαν τῆς πίστεως, εἴτε ὁ διακονῶν ἐν τῇ διακονίᾳ, εἴτε ὁ παρακαλῶν ἐν τῇ παρακλήσει, ὁ μεταδιδοὺς ἐν ἁπλότητι, ὁ προϊστάμενος ἐν σπουδῇ, ὁ ἐλεῶν ἐν ἱλαρότητι, ἡ ἀγάπη ἀνυπόκριτος καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. καὶ πάλιν ἕκαστος ὑμῶν ψαλμὸν ἔχει, 287 ἀποκάλυψιν ἔχει, γνῶσιν ἔχει, προφητείαν ἔχει· πάντα πρὸς οἰκοδομὴν γινέσθω· τουτέστιν ἀπολάβετε ἕκαστος τῶν χαρισμάτων ἀλλήλων διὰ τῆς ὁμονοίας καὶ τῆς πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἐν ἀγάπῃ συμφωνίας. οὕτω καὶ οἱ ἐν τοῖς μοναστηρίοις ἀδελφοὶ ἐκδεδωκότες ἑαυτοὺς τῷ κυρίῳ καὶ ἀλλήλοις οἱ ἰσχυροὶ εἴτε τῷ σώματι εἴτε τῇ φρονήσει τῶν ἀσθενεστέρων τὰ βάρη βαστάζετε διὰ τὴν τοῦ Χριστοῦ μακαρίαν ἐλπίδα· καὶ ἕκαστος ὅπερ ἔχει ἐν τῇ φύσει αὐτοῦ ἀγαθόν, ἢ ἰσχὺν ἢ σύνεσιν ἢ ἀνδρείαν ἢ ἐπίνοιάν τινα ἢ σπουδήν, ἀλλήλοις ὁλοκλήρως ἐκδῶμεν. εἴτε πνευματικῶν χαρισμάτων διὰ τῆς χάριτος