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they will give an account for it on the day of judgment.” 4.24 Therefore, let there be no worldly and unprofitable conversation from us that has no profit; for we have now chosen a new and different way of life, and it is fitting for us to act in accordance with this way of life, so that we may not become unworthy of it. Do you not see in worldly dignities how those who are eager to serve in what is called the senate among them are forbidden by human laws to do certain things which are permitted to other men with impunity? In the same way, then, it would be right for us, both those who are now initiated and those who were long ago deemed worthy of this grace, having once been enrolled in the spiritual senate, not to pursue the same things as others; but to show precision of tongue and purity of thought and to discipline each one of our members not to undertake any work which does not procure great profit for the soul. 4.25 What do I mean? To occupy the tongue only in hymns and doxology and reading of the divine oracles and spiritual conversations; “For if any word,” he says, “is good for edification, that it may give grace to the hearers; and do not grieve the Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed.” Do you see that not doing these things contributes to the grief of the Holy Spirit? For this reason, I beseech you, let us be diligent not to do any of the things that grieve the Holy Spirit, but even if we must go out, let us not seek harmful meetings nor gatherings that are foolish and full of idle talk, but before all things let nothing be more precious to us than the church of God and the houses of prayer and the gatherings that have spiritual discussions. 4.26 And let each of the things done by us partake of much propriety. “For the attire,” he says, “of a man and the laughter of teeth and the gait of a foot announce things concerning him.” For the outward appearance would be a clear image of the state within the soul, and the movement of the members especially shows its comeliness. And if we walk in the marketplace, let our progress be of such a kind, let it partake of such tranquility and composure as to turn those who meet us to our sight, and let neither the eye wander nor the feet walk disorderly, and let the tongue utter its words with quietness and gentleness, and in short let all outward things declare the comeliness of the soul sitting within, and let our conduct now be a certain strange and altered one, since the things that have been wrought for you are new and strange, just as the blessed Paul shows, saying: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” 4.27 And so that you may learn that the things given to us are new and wonderful, we who before this were more worthless than clay and, so to speak, crawling on the ground, have suddenly become brighter than gold and have exchanged the earth for heaven. For this reason, all the things given to us happen to be spiritual. For our clothing is spiritual and our food is spiritual and our drink is spiritual; it would therefore be consistent for our works and all our actions to be spiritual. For these are the fruit of the Spirit, just as Paul also says: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law,” he says. He spoke well in this way; for those who pursue virtue are superior to the law and are not subject to the law; “For the law,” he says, “is not laid down for a righteous man.” 4.28 Then, having gone through the fruit of the Spirit for us, he added: “But those who are of Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires,” as one might say, they have rendered it inoperative for the working of evils, they have made it inactive, they have so subdued it as to be superior to both passions and desires. For he hinted at this by saying “have crucified”. For just as one who is fastened to the cross and pierced with those nails, being cut off by pains and, so to speak, pricked from this side and that, would never be able

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ἀποδώσουσι περὶ αὐτοῦ λόγον ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κρίσεως.» 4.24 Μήτε διάλεξις τοίνυν βιωτικὴ καὶ ἀνόνητος καὶ μηδὲν κέρδος ἔχουσα παρ' ἡμῶν γινέσθω· καινὴν γὰρ εἱλόμεθα λοιπὸν πολιτείαν καὶ ἐξηλλαγμένην καὶ προσήκει ἡμᾶς ἀκόλουθα τῇ πολιτείᾳ διαπράττεσθαι ἵνα μὴ ταύτης ἀνάξιοι γενώμεθα. Οὐχ ὁρᾶτε ἐν τοῖς βιωτικοῖς ἀξιώμασι πῶς οἱ εἰς τὴν παρ' αὐτοῖς λεγομένην σύγκλητον τελεῖν σπουδάζοντες ὑπὸ τῶν νόμων τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων κωλύονταί τινα διαπράττεσθαι τῶν τοῖς ἄλλοις ἀνθρώποις μετὰ ἀδείας συγκεχωρημένων; Τὸν αὐτὸν δὴ τρόπον καὶ ἡμεῖς οἵ τε νῦν μεμυημένοι καὶ οἱ πάλαι ταύτης τῆς χάριτος ἀξιωθέντες δίκαιοι ἂν εἴημεν, εἰς τὴν σύγκλητον τὴν πνευματικὴν ἅπαξ ἀπογραψάμενοι, μὴ τὰ αὐτὰ τοῖς ἄλλοις μετιέναι· ἀλλὰ καὶ γλώττης ἀκρίβειαν καὶ διανοίας καθαρότητα ἐπιδείκνυσθαι καὶ ἕκαστον ἡμῶν τῶν μελῶν παιδαγωγεῖν μηδὲν ἔργον μεταχειρίζειν ὃ μὴ πολὺ τὸ κέρδος τῇ ψυχῇ πραγματεύεται. 4.25 Οἷόν τι λέγω; Τὴν γλῶτταν εἰς ὕμνους μόνον καὶ δοξολογίαν καὶ ἀνάγνωσιν τῶν θείων λογίων καὶ διαλέξεις πνευματικὰς ἀπασχολεῖν· «Εἴ τις γὰρ λόγος, φησίν, ἀγαθὸς πρὸς οἰκοδομὴν ἵνα δῷ χάριν τοῖς ἀκούουσι· καὶ μὴ λυπεῖτε τὸ Πνεῦμα τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν ᾧ ἐσφραγίσθητε.» Εἴδετε ὅτι τὸ μὴ ταῦτα ποιεῖν εἰς λύπην τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος συντείνει; ∆ιὰ τοῦτο, παρακαλῶ, σπουδάζωμεν μηδὲν τῶν λυπούντων τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον διαπράττεσθαι ἀλλὰ κἂν προϊέναι δέῃ, μὴ τὰ ἐπιβλαβῆ συνέδρια ἐπιδιώκωμεν μηδὲ τοὺς συλλόγους τοὺς ἀνοήτους καὶ φλυαρίας γέμοντας ἀλλὰ πρὸ πάντων τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐκκλησίας καὶ τῶν εὐκτηρίων οἴκων μηδὲν ἡμῖν ἔστω προτιμότερον καὶ τῶν συλλόγων τῶν πνευματικὰς ἐχόντων διαλέξεις. 4.26 Καὶ ἕκαστον τῶν παρ' ἡμῶν γινομένων πολλῆς μετεχέτω τῆς κοσμιότητος. «Στολισμὸς γάρ, φησίν, ἀνδρὸς καὶ γέλως ὀδόντων καὶ βῆμα ποδὸς ἀναγγέλλει τὰ περὶ αὐτοῦ.» Τῆς γὰρ ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ καταστάσεως εἰκὼν ἂν γένοιτο σαφὴς ἡ ἔξωθεν ὄψις, καὶ ἡ τῶν μελῶν κίνησις ἐκείνης μάλιστα δείκνυσι τὴν εὐμορφίαν. Κἂν βαδίζωμεν ἐπὶ τῆς ἀγορᾶς, τοιαύτη ἡμῶν ἔστω ἡ πρόοδος, τοσαύτης μετεχέτω γαλήνης καὶ καταστάσεως ὡς ἐπιστρέφειν εἰς τὴν ἡμετέραν θέαν τοὺς ἀπαντῶντας, καὶ μήτε ὀφθαλμὸς ῥεμβέσθω μήτε οἱ πόδες ἄτακτα βαδιζέτωσαν καὶ ἡ γλῶττα μετὰ τῆς ἡσυχίας καὶ ἐπιεικείας τὰ ῥήματα προφερέτω καὶ ἁπλῶς ἅπαντα τὰ ἔξωθεν μηνυέτω τῆς ἔνδοθεν καθημένης ψυχῆς τὴν εὐμορφίαν, καὶ ξένη τις καὶ παρηλλαγμένη γινέσθω λοιπὸν ἡμῶν ἡ διαγωγή, ἐπειδὴ καινὰ καὶ ξένα ἐστὶ τὰ ὑμῖν ὑπηργμένα, καθάπερ ὁ μακάριος δείκνυσι Παῦλος λέγων· «Εἴ τις ἐν Χριστῷ, καινὴ κτίσις.» 4.27 Καὶ ἵνα μάθῃς ὅτι καινὰ καὶ παράδοξα τὰ δεδωρημένα ἡμῖν, οἱ πρὸ τούτου τοῦ πηλοῦ ἀτιμότεροι καὶ χαμαὶ ὡς εἰπεῖν συρόμενοι ἀθρόον χρυσοῦ φαιδρότεροι γεγόναμεν καὶ ἀντὶ τῆς γῆς τὸν οὐρανὸν ἠλλαξάμεθα. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ πάντα τὰ δεδωρημένα ἡμῖν τυγχάνει πνευματικά. Καὶ γὰρ τὸ ἔνδυμα ἡμῶν πνευματικὸν καὶ ἡ τροφὴ ἡμῶν πνευματικὴ καὶ τὸ πόμα ἡμῶν πνευματικόν· λοιπὸν ἀκόλουθον ἂν εἴη καὶ τὰ ἔργα ἡμῶν καὶ τὰς πράξεις πάσας εἶναι πνευματικάς. Αὗται γάρ εἰσι καρπὸς τοῦ Πνεύματος καθάπερ καὶ Παῦλος λέγει· «Ὁ δὲ καρπὸς τοῦ Πνεύματός ἐστιν ἀγάπη, χαρά, εἰρήνη, μακροθυμία, χρηστότης, ἀγαθοσύνη, πίστις, πραότης, ἐγκράτεια· κατὰ τῶν τοιούτων οὐκ ἔστι νόμος, φησίν.» Καλῶς οὕτως εἶπεν· ἀνώτεροι γὰρ τοῦ νόμου οἱ τὴν ἀρετὴν μετιόντες καὶ οὐχ ὑπόκεινται νόμῳ· «∆ικαίῳ γάρ, φησί, νόμος οὐ κεῖται.» 4.28 Εἶτα τὸν καρπὸν τοῦ Πνεύματος ἡμῖν διελθὼν ἐπήγαγεν· «Οἱ δὲ τοῦ Χριστοῦ τὴν σάρκα ἐσταύρωσαν σὺν τοῖς παθήμασι καὶ ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις», ὡς ἂν εἴποι τις ἀνενέργητον αὐτὴν πρὸς τὴν τῶν κακῶν ἐργασίαν ἀπέδειξαν, ἄπρακτον αὐτὴν κατέστησαν, οὕτως αὐτὴν κατηγωνίσαντο ὡς ἀνωτέραν εἶναι καὶ τῶν παθῶν καὶ τῶν ἐπιθυμιῶν. Τοῦτο γὰρ ᾐνίξατο εἰπών «ἐσταύρωσαν». Καθάπερ γὰρ ὁ ἐπὶ τοῦ σταυροῦ προσηλωμένος καὶ τοῖς ἥλοις ἐκείνοις προσπεπαρμένος ὑπὸ τῶν ὀδυνῶν διακοπτόμενος καὶ ἐντεῦθεν κἀκεῖθεν ὡς εἰπεῖν κεντούμενος, οὐκ ἂν δυνηθείη ποτὲ