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they stand continually, even if they are not seen by us, and they watch carefully if they might be able to find any of our members uncovered in order to fix their arrows in it and kill us. And there is no one who is able to protect himself from sensible walls and fortifications and hide for even one hour and take a little breath by himself or to use flight and be saved, nor for another to take up this war in place of another, but upon all men lies every necessity of fighting this war, and for one either to live, having conquered, or to die, having been struck, without a doubt.

(58) But a mortal wound is every unrepented and unconfessed sin and for one to fall into despair, which is a matter of our choice and will. For if we do not betray ourselves to the pit of negligence and despair, the demons will in no way prevail against us. But even after we have been struck, if we wish, we become braver and more experienced through fervent repentance. For after being struck and dying to rise again and to fight, is characteristic of the most noble and exceedingly brave, which is also worthy of much and full of wonder. For to be kept unwounded is not up to us, but to be immortal or mortal is up to us. For if we do not despair, we will not die, death will not rule over us, but we will always be powerful, taking refuge in repentance in our all-powerful and man-loving God.

Wherefore, I exhort both myself and all of you to show all diligence, all courage of patience and endurance through good deeds, so that, traveling through all the commandments and precepts of Christ, with eagerness of soul we may arrive at the eternal mansions in the conveyances of the Spirit, and be deemed worthy to stand before and worship the one and undivided Trinity in Christ Himself our God, to whom be the glory and the dominion unto the ages of ages. Amen.

On repentance and compunction. And from what works it is possible to acquire it. And that without tears it is impossible for one to attain to purity and dispassion

for one to attain.

Discourse 4. (59) Since, fathers and brothers, of our holy father Symeon the

Studite you read the divinely-inspired writings of his lofty deeds, which he set forth for the benefit of many, being moved by the divine Spirit, among his other preternatural achievements he also wrote and taught this explicitly, just as he kept it inviolably throughout his whole life, saying: "Brother, never receive communion without tears." When the hearers heard this - for many were present, not only laypeople, but also monks renowned and glorious for their virtue - they marveled at the saying and, looking at one another, they said, as if smiling slightly, with one accord, with one voice: "Then we will never receive communion, but we will all remain without communion! ".Having heard these things, I, the wretched and miserable one, remembering in private those very men who said these things and their words, and being troubled, wept bitterly, saying thus in myself in the pain of my heart: (60) "Were they truly so disposed concerning the matter, and having considered this to be impossible from their soul, did they say what they said? Or as considering it a rather small achievement at the time of communion

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διηνεκῶς ἵστανται, εἰ καί μή βλέπονται παρ᾿ ἡμῶν, καί σκοποῦσιν ἀκριβῶς εἴ που εὑρεῖν δυνηθῶσι μέλος ἡμῶν ἄσκεπον τοῦ ἐμπῆξαι τά αὐτῶν βέλη καί θανατῶσαι ἡμᾶς. Καί οὐδείς ἐστιν ὁ ἀπό τειχῶν αἰσθητῶν καί ὀχυρωμάτων ἑαυτόν περιφυλάξαι δυνάμενος καί κἄν μίαν ὥραν ἀποκρυβῆναι καί μικρόν ἀναπνεῦσαι καθ᾿ ἑαυτόν ἤ φυγῇ χρήσασθαι καί σωθῆναι, οὐδέ ἄλλον ἀντ᾿ ἄλλου τοῦτον τόν πόλεμον ἀναδέξασθαι, ἀλλά πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις ἀνάγκη πᾶσα ἐπίκειται τοῦ πολεμῆσαι τοῦτον τόν πόλεμον, καί ἤ νικήσαντά τινα ζῆσαι ἤ πληγέντα ἀποθανεῖν ἀναμφιβόλως.

(58) Πληγή δέ πρός θάνατόν ἐστι πᾶσα ἀμετανόητος καί ἀνεξαγόρευτος ἁμαρτία καί τό εἰς ἀπόγνωσιν τινά ἐμπεσεῖν, ὅπερ τῆς ἡμετέρας ἐστί προαιρέσεως καί θελήσεως. Εἰ γάρ ἡμεῖς ἑαυτούς οὐ προδώσομεν τῷ τῆς ἀμελείας βόθρῳ καί ἀπογνώσεως, οὐδέν οὐδαμῶς οἱ δαίμονες ἰσχύσουσι καθ᾿ ἡμῶν. Ἀλλά καί μετά τό πληγῆναι ἡμᾶς, ἐάν θέλωμεν, ἀνδρειότεροι καί ἐμπειρότεροι διά θερμῆς μετανοίας γινόμεθα. Μετά γάρ τό πληγῆναι καί θανεῖν πάλιν ἀναστῆναι καί πολεμεῖν, τῶν γενναιοτάτων καί ἄγαν ἀδρείως ἐστίν, ὅπερ καί πολλοῦ ἄξιόν ἐστι καί θαύματος πλῆρες. Τό μέν γάρ ἀπλήγους ἡμᾶς διατηρηθῆναι οὐκ ἔστι τῶν ἐφ᾿ ἡμῖν, τό δέ ἀθανάτους εἶναι ἤ θνητούς τῶν ἐφ᾿ ἡμῖν ἐστι. Μή ἀπογινωσκόντων γάρ ἡμῶν, οὐ τεθνηξόμεθα, θάνατος οὐ κυριεύσει ἡμῶν, ἀλλά ἐσόμεθα ἀεί δυνατοί, τῷ παντοδυνάμῳ καί φιλανθρώπῳ Θεῷ ἡμῶν ἐν μετανοίᾳ προσφεύγοντες.

∆ιό δή τοῦτο παρακαλῶ ἐμαυτόν τε καί πάντας ὑμᾶς πᾶσαν σπουδήν, πᾶσαν ἀνδρείαν ὑπομονῆς καί καρτερίας διά τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἐπιδείξασθαι πράξεων, ἵνα διά πασῶν τῶν τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐντολῶν καί προσταγμάτων ὁδεύοντες, ἐν προθυμίᾳ ψυχῆς εἰς τάς αἰωνίους μονάς καταντήσωμεν ἐν ἀγωγίμοις τοῦ Πνεύματος, καί τῇ μιᾷ καί ἀδιαιρέτῳ Τριάδι παραστῆναι καί προσκυνῆσαι καταξιωθῶμεν ἐν αὐτῷ Χριστῷ τῷ Θεῷ ἡμῶν, ᾧ ἡ δόξα καί τό κράτος εἰς τούς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.

Περί μετανοίας καί κατανύξεως. Καί ἐκ ποίων ταύτην ἔργων κτήσασθαι δυνατόν. Καί ὅτι ἄνευ δακρύων ἀδύνατον εἰς καθαρότητα καί ἀπάθειαν

ἐλάσαι τινά.

Λόγος ∆΄. (59) Ἐπειδήπερ, πατέρες καί ἀδελφοί, τοῦ ἁγίου πατρός ἡμῶν Συμεών τοῦ

Στουδιώτου τά θεόπνευστα τῶν ὑψηλῶν αὐτοῦ πράξεων ἀναγινώσκετε συγγράμματα, ἅπερ ἐκεῖνος εἰς πολλῶν ὠφέλειαν ἐξέθετο θείῳ κινούμενος Πνεύματι, μετά τῶν ἄλλων αὐτοῦ ὑπερφυῶν κατορθωμάτων καί τοῦτο ῥητῶς οὕτως, καθώς ἐν πάσῃ τῇ ζωῇ αὐτοῦ ἐκεῖνος ἀπαραβάτως ἐφύλαξεν, ἔγραψε καί ἐδίδαξε λέγων· "Ἀδελφέ, ἄνευ δακρύων μή κοινωνήσῃ ποτέ". Τοῦτο οἱ ἀκροαταί ἀκούσαντες - πολλοί γάρ παρῆσαν οὐ μόνον λαϊκοί, ἀλλά καί μοναχοί τῶν ὀνομαστῶν καί περιδόξων ἐπ᾿ ἀρετῇ , ἐθαύμασαν ἐπί τῷ λόγῳ καί ἀλλήλοις ἐνατενίσαντες εἶπον, ὡς ὑπομειδιῶντες, ὁμοθυμαδόν μιᾷ τῇ φωνῇ· "Λοιπόν ἡμεῖς οὐδέποτε κοινωνήσωμεν, ἀλλά μείνωμεν ἅπαντες ἀκοινώνητοι! ".Τούτων ἀκούσας ὁ ἄθλιος ἐγώ καί ταλαίπωρος, κατ᾿ ἰδίαν τε μνησθείς ἐκείνων αὐτῶν τῶν ταῦτα εἰπόντων καί τῶν ῥημάτων αὐτῶν καί διαπονηθείς, ἔκλαυσα πικρῶς, ἐν ὀδύνῃ καρδίας μου λέγων οὕτως ἐν ἐμαυτῷ· (60) "Ἆρα γε οὕτω περί τοῦ πράγματος ἀληθῶς διακείμενοι καί ὡς ἀδύνατον εἶναι τοῦτο ἀπό ψυχῆς λογισάμενοι, εἶπον ἅ εἶπον; ἤ ὡς μικρόν τι μᾶλλον κατόρθωμα λογισάμενοι τό κατά τόν καιρόν τῆς κοινωνίας