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the assault of thoughts because of the shamelessness of the one warring against us, not even so is it fitting to despair, nor to leave the struggles half-finished; but to persevere to such an extent, until God, having beheld our resistance, shines forth the grace of the Spirit, which puts the plotter to flight, and purifies our mind, and fills it with divine light, and grants the reason to worship God with gladness in a waveless calm.

CHAPTER 18. To those living by the rule in a coenobium.

Now, concerning the individual ascetic, and the one who has embraced the solitary life, we have shown in the preceding sections, as far as was possible; how, by training the soul toward the good, and managing the body for what is needful, he might portray for us the exact philosopher; but since most of the ascetics live in communities, sharpening each other's minds toward virtue, and by the comparison of their achievements urging themselves on to progress in the good, we thought it right to offer to these also the exhortation of our words. But it is necessary that they, first understanding how great and of what quality is the good they pursue, so receive this exhortation to it, that they may display a zeal and earnestness worthy of the virtue of the achievement. First, then, they return to the good which is according to nature, by embracing community and life together. For I call that a most perfect community of life, in which the particularity of possession has been banished, the opposition of opinion has been driven away, and all disturbance, and contentiousness, and strife have been removed; but all things are common: souls, minds, bodies, and those things by which bodies are nourished and cared for; God is common, the business of piety is common, salvation is common, the contests are common, the labors are common, the crowns are common, the many are one, and the one is not alone, but in many. What is equal to this way of life? What is more blessed? What is more exact than this connection and union? What is more graceful than this blending of characters and souls? People from various 31.1384 races and countries, having been moved, have been fitted together into such a precise 31.1384 identity, that one soul is seen in many bodies, and the many bodies are shown to be instruments of one mind. He who is weak in body has many who suffer along with him in disposition; he who is sick and falls in soul has many to heal and raise him up together. They are equal slaves to one another, masters of one another, and in their incontestable freedom they show in return to one another the most exact slavery, which the necessity of circumstance did not bring on by force, bringing much despondency to those caught in it, but the free will of the mind created it with gladness; love subjecting the free to one another, and by free will guarding that which is free. God has willed us to be such from the beginning, and for this purpose He created us. These recall the ancient good, covering over the sin of the first father Adam. For division, and separation, and war would not exist among men, if sin had not cut nature asunder. These are exact imitators of the Savior and of his way of life in the flesh. For just as he, having formed a choir of disciples, provided all things in common, and himself in common to the apostles; so also these, obeying their leader, those at least who guard well the rule of life, have imitated with exactness the way of life of the apostles and of the Lord. These have emulated the life of the angels, having guarded community with exactness, just as they do. There is no strife among angels, no contentiousness, no dispute; each one has the things of all, and all store up the good things complete within themselves. For the ... of the ... is not a circumscribed matter

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λογισμῶν ἐπήρεια διὰ τὴν τοῦ προσπολεμοῦντος ἀναίδειαν, οὐδὲ οὕτως ἀπαγορεύειν, οὐδὲ ἡμιέργους τοὺς ἀγῶνας καταλιμπάνειν προσήκει· ἀλλὰ μέχρι τοσούτου καρτερεῖν, μέχρις ἂν ὁ Θεὸς, τὴν ἡμε τέραν ἔνστασιν θεασάμενος, τὴν χάριν τοῦ Πνεύμα τος ἐπιλάμψῃ, τὸν μὲν ἐπίβουλον φυγαδεύουσαν, τὴν δὲ διάνοιαν ἡμῶν καθαίρουσαν, καὶ θείου φωτὸς ἐμ πιπλῶσαν, καὶ ἀκυμάντῳ γαλήνῃ τὸν λογισμὸν τῷ Θεῶ λατρεύειν μετ' εὐφροσύνης παρέχουσαν.

ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΟΝ ΙΗʹ. Πρὸς τοὺς ἐν κοινοβίῳ κανονικούς.

Περὶ μὲν οὖν τοῦ καθέκαστον ἀσκητοῦ, καὶ τοῦ τὸν μονήρη βίον

ἀσπασαμένου, ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν, ὡς ἐνῆν, δεδηλώκαμεν· ὅπως, τήν τε ψυχὴν πρὸς τὸ καλὸν ἐξασκῶν, καὶ τὸ σῶμα πρὸς τὸ δέον οἰκονο μῶν, δύναιτ' ἂν ἡμῖν τὸν ἀκριβῆ χαρακτηρίσαι φι λόσοφον· ἐπεὶ δὲ οἱ πλεῖστοι τῶν ἀσκητῶν κατὰ συστήματα πολιτεύονται, ἀλλήλοις τὰ φρονήματα πρὸς ἀρετὴν παραθήγοντες, καὶ τῇ τῶν κατορθωμά των ἀντιπαραθέσει παρορμῶντες ἑαυτοὺς ἐπὶ τὴν τοῦ καλοῦ προκοπὴν, δίκαιον ᾠήθημεν, καὶ τούτοις τὴν διὰ τῶν λόγων παράκλησιν εἰσενέγκασθαι. Χρὴ δὲ, πρότερον ἐγνωκότας αὐτοὺς, ὁπόσου καὶ πηλίκου μεταποιοῦνται καλοῦ, οὕτω τὴν ἐπὶ τοῦτο προ τροπὴν ὑποδέξασθαι, ἵνα προθυμίαν καὶ σπουδὴν ἐξίαν τῆς τοῦ κατορθώματος ἀρετῆς ἐπιδείξωνται. Πρῶτον μὲν οὖν ἐπὶ τὸ κατὰ φύσιν καλὸν ἐπαν έρχονται, τὴν κοινωνίαν καὶ τὴν συνδιαίτησιν ἀσπα ζόμενοι. Κοινωνίαν γὰρ βίου τελεωτάτην ἐγὼ καλῶ, ἐν ᾗ κτήσεως μὲν ἰδιότης ἐξώρισται, γνώμης δὲ ἐναντίωσις ἀπελήλαται, ταραχὴ δὲ πᾶσα, καὶ φιλο νεικία, καὶ ἔριδες ἐκ ποδῶν ἑστήκασι· κοινὰ δὲ τὰ σύμπαντα, ψυχαὶ, γνῶμαι, σώματα, καὶ ὅσοις τὰ σώματα τρέφεται καὶ θεραπεύεται· κοινὸς ὁ Θεὸς, κοινὸν τὸ τῆς εὐσεβείας ἐμπόρευμα, κοινὴ ἡ σωτη ρία, κοινὰ τὰ ἀγωνίσματα, κοινοὶ οἱ πόνοι, κοινοὶ οἱ στέφανοι, εἷς οἱ πολλοὶ, καὶ ὁ εἷς οὐ μόνος, ἀλλ' ἐν πλείοσι. Τί ταύτης τῆς πολιτείας ἴσον; τί δὲ μα καριώτερον; τί τῆς συναφείας καὶ τῆς ἑνώσεως ἀκριβέστερον; τί τῆς τῶν ἠθῶν καὶ τῶν ψυχῶν συγκράσεως χαριέστερον; Ἄνθρωποι ἐκ διαφόρων 31.1384 γενῶν καὶ χωρῶν κινηθέντες εἰς τοσαύτην ἀκρίβειαν 31.1384 ταυτότητος συνηρμόσθησαν, ὥστε μίαν ψυχὴν ἐν πολλοῖς σώμασι θεωρεῖσθαι, καὶ τὰ πολλὰ σώματα μιᾶς γνώμης ὄργανα δείκνυσθαι. Ὁ ἀσθενῶν τὸ σῶμα πολλοὺς ἔχει τῇ διαθέσει συγκάμνοντας· ὁ νοσῶν καὶ καταπίπτων τῇ ψυχῇ πολλοὺς ἔχει τοὺς ἰωμένους καὶ συνδιανιστῶντας αὐτόν. Ἀλλήλων ἰσό δουλοι, ἀλλήλων κύριοι, καὶ ἐν τῇ ἀμάχῳ ἐλευθερίᾳ τὴν ἀκριβεστέραν δουλείαν ἀλλήλοις ἀντεπιδεί κνυνται, ἣν οὐκ ἀνάγκη περιστάσεως πρὸς βίαν ἐπήγαγε, πολλὴν φέρουσα τοῖς ἁλοῦσι τὴν ἀθυμίαν, ἀλλὰ γνώμης τὸ αὐθαίρετον μετ' εὐφροσύνης ἐδη μιούργησεν· ἀγάπης τοὺς ἐλευθέρους ὑποτασσούσης ἀλλήλοις, καὶ τῷ αὐθαιρέτῳ τὸ ἐλεύθερον φυλαττού σης. Τοιούτους ἡμᾶς ἐξ ἀρχῆς ὁ Θεὸς εἶναι βεβού ληται, καὶ ἐπὶ τούτοις ἐδημιούργησεν. Οὗτοι τὸ ἀρχαῖον ἀνακαλοῦνται καλὸν, τοῦ ἀρχιπάτορος Ἀδὰμ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἐπικαλύπτοντες. ∆ιαίρεσις γὰρ, καὶ διάστασις, καὶ πόλεμος οὐκ ἂν ἦν ἐν ἀν θρώποις, μὴ τῆς ἁμαρτίας διατεμούσης τὴν φύσιν. Οὗτοι ἀκριβεῖς μιμηταὶ τοῦ Σωτῆρος καὶ τῆς κατ' αὐτὸν ἐν σαρκὶ πολιτείας ὑπάρχουσιν. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐκεῖνος, χορὸν μαθητῶν συστησάμενος, κοινὰ τὰ πάντα, καὶ κοινὸν ἑαυτὸν τοῖς ἀποστόλοις παρέσχη κεν· οὕτω καὶ οὗτοι τῷ καθηγουμένῳ πειθόμενοι, οἵγε καλῶς τὸν κανόνα τοῦ βίου διαφυλάσσοντες, τὴν τῶν ἀποστόλων καὶ τοῦ Κυρίου πολιτείαν μετ' ἀκριβείας μεμίμηνται. Οὗτοι τὴν τῶν ἀγγέλων ζωὴν ἐζηλώκασι, τὸ κοινωνικὸν, ὥσπερ ἐκεῖνοι, δι' ἀκρι βείας φυλάξαντες. Οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν ἀγγέλοις ἔρις, οὐ φιλονεικία, οὐκ ἀμφισβήτησις ἕκαστος τὰ πάντων ἔχει, καὶ πάντες ὁλόκληρα παρ' ἑαυτοῖς τὰ καλὰ ταμιεύονται. Οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ὕλη ἐμπερίγραπτος ὁ τῶν