Epistula Magna

 are possible with the God who has promised for the passions of sin later came upon the soul and the body because of the transgression of the first-fo

 gives himself to all the well-pleasingness of the commandments, to that extent he also acquires the participation of the spirit for the spiritual incr

 [as] one who, as a bride of Christ, longs to be joined to the heavenly king who is pure and undefiled. For the soul that longs to be joined to him and

 the worse work of destruction, numbering hidden and manifest sins as one, he says: And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up

 to have fellowship and to be united, but only with the Spirit of God, 247 being united and clinging to it, he commanded the soul to bear the sacred of

 But in another epistle, teaching about the same things and showing the disciples the abundance of spiritual wealth and exhorting them to hasten to att

 he sets forth the goal. And because we are not sufficient for the struggle against the principalities and the powers and the spiritual forces of wicke

 let us have affliction and struggle and a ceaseless race, daily stretching forward always to the things that are before and forgetting the things that

 and having entered with exultation, since indeed he has become the agent of great salvation for himself, if with long-suffering and patience he remain

 he who humbles himself will be exalted and again: Whoever wishes to be first among you, let him be the last of all and the servant of all just as th

 the adversary always hinders the mind in good things, from loving the things above by the memory of good things, but rather, by enticing the will thro

 occupying ourselves with love always. and thus we shall be able to receive daily increase and progress towards divine love, being helped by the divine

 the soul's love is stretched out toward God and therefore if someone wishes to persevere unceasingly in prayers and to be at leisure for fasting acco

 surrendering the mind to such things and by reason of a lack of discernment being fully convinced by the bodily kneeling, while the mind is in a state

 a lack, his own work and toil, should he think the fruits of the spirit to be, he possesses much vain conceit and falls from great spiritual goods, no

 the future hope of the resurrection 279 immortal and it is possible to take up the sufferings of Christ readily and easily. Let those who have not ye

 being done That, he says, they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. And the apostles, having legislated through the Spir

 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. F

 we are deemed worthy of Christ, let us have communion with one another in all good things for the edification and benefit both of ourselves and of our

 of practices will it be to attain unless through what we have said before, setting forth through many things at the same time also the scriptural test

 believe in truths, that it is necessary for the one who has truly come to serve God to arrive at the measures of impassibility and freedom. Since ther

 workers or certain slaves are told by their master to reap three plethra each day, and one worker, having received such a command from his master, giv

 is promised to those who have consecrated themselves. For those who consider it impossible for this accomplishment to happen in men through the Spirit

 to those who obey the spirit, that it is necessary for the one who has approached God in truth, believing in his promises with a whole heart and striv

workers or certain slaves are told by their master to reap three plethra each day, and one worker, having received such a command from his master, gives himself over completely 296 with all his strength and power, struggling and laboring and being anxious and striving, as to how he alone will reap three plethra; but the other, thinking it impossible to fulfill the command, became slack from the beginning, and so all day, sometimes reaping, sometimes being slack and resting, is not able to accomplish as much as the former who strove; and even if he is not able, on account of the excessiveness of the command, to complete what was commanded him, yet he by all means accomplishes much more work than the other worker who did not have that goal, nor struggled and was anxious and strove in this way, on account of his great and unceasing effort and on account of his anxiety and struggle and his not being slack at all; so those aforementioned, looking to the perfect goal of the heavenly calling and believing according to the divinely-inspired scriptures and striving for the good, as much as is in their power, are by all means better and greater in knowledge and faith and works than those who do not believe they can attain to the calling of perfection and freedom and passionlessness, nor strive for it, but are convinced by their own will alone and have their progress in conceit; for not looking to the highest goal of the evangelical words of the blessed calling, they are not yet able to consider themselves to be nothing, not having a contrite heart nor always hungering and thirsting for righteousness, and they are not able to run with all strength and readiness and labor and struggle, from the beginning not believing the sacred precepts of the holy commandments and 297 the evangelical words, so that by receiving spiritual progress through faith and good effort they might become worthy of the eternal goods. In addition to all the things said before, this too will be fittingly said; if, relying on our own power and trusting in our own strength or understanding or righteous deeds, we were promising to abolish and uproot the activity of the passions, which is impossible for human nature, each one would rightly have occasion to speak against us as thinking arrogant things out of vanity and promising things beyond human nature; but if, following the word of God and being accustomed to the understanding of the holy scriptures and trusting in the power of God, we confess and believe that the things impossible for men are all possible with God who promised, why do you judge it incredible, if God raises the dead, as it is said in the Acts? For if He raises the dead, He is also not unable to uproot the passions of evil from those who strive to the utmost in all virtues and believe sincerely and completely; for nothing is impossible with God. For every word promised in the divine scriptures by the Spirit will not be deceived, according to what was said by the Lord: Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away, and elsewhere: But the word of the Lord endures forever. For by human strength, through the utmost discipline and effort and struggle, it is not possible for the foul passions that are present with the soul and the body to be checked so that they do not operate; but for the tares of the passions, sown in human nature by the enemy, to be completely cut off and uprooted is possible only for those who truly 298 believe in the power of God. For behold, he says, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world; and If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. But also the saying God will crush Satan under your feet shortly and words similar to these, spoken beforehand by the Spirit, the complete redemption from the passions for those who through faith and struggle completely themselves to God

ἐργάταις ἢ δούλοις τισὶ ῥηθῇ παρὰ τοῦ δεσπότου πρὸς τρία πλέθρα τῆς ἡμέρας ἕκαστον θερίσαι, καὶ ὁ μὲν εἷς ἐργάτης, τοιαύτην ἐντολὴν παρὰ τοῦ δεσπότου λαβών, ἐκδῶ ὁλοτελῶς 296 ἑαυτὸν πάσῃ ἰσχύϊ καὶ δυνάμει ἀγωνιῶν καὶ πονῶν καὶ μεριμνῶν καὶ σπουδάζων, πῶς τρία πλέθρα μόνος θερίσει· ὁ δὲ ἕτερος ἀδύνατον εἶναι νομίσας τὸ ἐπιταχθὲν πληρῶσαι ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρχῆς ἐχαυνώθη καὶ οὕτως ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν ποτὲ μὲν θερίζων ποτὲ δὲ χαυνούμενος καὶ ἀναπαυόμενος οὐ δύναται τοσοῦτον ἐργάσασθαι ὅσον ὁ πρότερος ὁ σπουδάσας· κἂν μὴ δυνηθῇ διὰ τὴν ὑπερβολὴν τοῦ προστάγματος τελέσαι τὸ προσταχθὲν αὐτῷ, ἀλλὰ τοῦ ἄλλου ἐργάτου τοῦ μὴ ἔχοντος ἐκεῖνον τὸν σκοπὸν μήτε οὕτως ἀγωνιῶντος καὶ μεριμνῶντος καὶ σπουδάζοντος πολὺ πλέον ἐξ ἅπαντος ἔργον ποιεῖ διὰ τὴν πολλὴν καὶ ἄπαυστον σπουδὴν καὶ διὰ τὴν μέριμναν καὶ τὸν ἀγῶνα καὶ τὸ μὴ χαυνωθῆναι ὅλως· οὕτως οἱ προειρημένοι εἰς τὸν τέλειον τῆς οὐρανίου κλήσεως σκοπὸν ἀποβλέποντες καὶ κατὰ τὰς θεοπνεύστους γραφὰς πιστεύοντες καὶ ἀγωνιζόμενοι εἰς τὸ ἀγαθόν, ὅση δύναμις αὐτοῖς, κρείττους καὶ μείζους εἰσὶν ἐξ ἅπαντος ἐν τῇ γνώσει καὶ πίστει καὶ ἔργοις ἐκείνων τῶν εἰς τὴν κλῆσιν τῆς τελειότητος καὶ ἐλευθερίας καὶ ἀπαθείας φθάσαι μὴ πιστευόντων μηδὲ ἐπιτηδευόντων, ἀλλὰ τῷ ἰδίῳ θελήματι μόνῳ πληροφορουμένων καὶ οἰήσει τὴν προκοπὴν ἐχόντων· οὐκ ἀποβλέποντες γὰρ εἰς τὸν ἄκρον τῶν εὐαγγελικῶν λόγων τῆς μακαρίας κλήσεως σκοπὸν ἑαυτοὺς μηδὲν εἶναι ἡγεῖσθαι ἀκμὴν οὐ δύνανται, συντετριμμένην καρδίαν οὐκ ἔχοντες μηδὲ πεινῶντες ἀεὶ καὶ διψῶντες τὴν δικαιοσύνην, καὶ ὅλῃ ἰσχύϊ καὶ προθυμίᾳ καὶ πόνῳ καὶ ἀγῶνι τρέχειν οὐ δυνάμενοι, τὴν ἀρχὴν μὴ πιστεύοντες τοῖς τῶν ἁγίων ἐντολῶν καὶ 297 εὐαγγελικῶν λόγων ἱεροῖς παραγγέλμασιν, ἵνα διὰ τῆς πίστεως καὶ σπουδῆς ἀγαθῆς τὴν πνευματικὴν προκοπὴν λαμβάνοντες τῶν αἰωνίων ἀγαθῶν ἄξιοι γένωνται. Πρὸς πᾶσι δὲ τοῖς προειρημένοις καὶ τοῦτο ἁρμοζόντως ῥηθήσεται· εἰ μὲν τῇ ἑαυτῶν δυνάμει ἐπερειδόμενοι καὶ τῇ ἰδίᾳ ἰσχύϊ ἢ συνέσει ἢ δικαιώμασι πεποιθότες τὴν τῶν παθῶν ἐνέργειαν ἀναιρεῖν καὶ ἐκριζοῦν ἐπηγγελλόμεθα, ὅπερ ἀνθρωπίνῃ φύσει ἐστὶν ἀδύνατον, καλῶς ἂν ἕκαστος καθ' ἡμῶν εἶχε λέγειν ὡς ὑπέρογκα ἐκ ματαιότητος φρονούντων καὶ τὰ ὑπὲρ ἀνθρωπίνην φύσιν ἐπαγγελλομένων· εἰ δὲ τῷ λόγῳ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐξακολουθοῦντες καὶ τῇ συνέσει τῶν ἁγίων γραφῶν συνεθισθέντες καὶ τῇ δυνάμει τοῦ θεοῦ πεποιθότες ὁμολογοῦμεν καὶ πιστεύομεν, ὅτι τὰ παρὰ ἀνθρώποις ἀδύνατα παρὰ τῷ ἐπαγγειλαμένῳ θεῷ πάντα δυνατὰ τυγχάνει, τί ἄπιστον κρίνετε, εἰ ὁ θεὸς νεκροὺς ἐγείρει, καθὼς ἐν ταῖς Πράξεσιν εἴρηται; εἰ γὰρ νεκροὺς ἐγείρει, καὶ πάθη κακίας τῶν ἄκρως ἐν πάσαις ἀρεταῖς ἀγωνιζομένων καὶ εἰλικρινῶς καὶ ὁλοκλήρως πιστευόντων ἐκριζοῦν οὐκ ἀδυνατεῖ· οὐδὲν γὰρ ἀδύνατον παρὰ τῷ θεῷ. πᾶν γὰρ ἐπαγγελθὲν ἐν ταῖς θείαις γραφαῖς ὑπὸ τοῦ πνεύματος ῥῆμα οὐ παραλογισθήσεται κατὰ τὸ εἰρημένον ὑπὸ τοῦ κυρίου· Ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ ἡ γῆ παρελεύσονται, οἱ δὲ λόγοι μου οὐ μὴ παρέλθωσι, καὶ ἀλλαχοῦ· Τὸ δὲ ῥῆμα κυρίου μένει εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. ἀνθρωπίνῃ μὲν γὰρ ἰσχύϊ δι' ἀκροτάτης ἀσκήσεως καὶ σπουδῆς καὶ ἀγῶνος ἀνακόπτεσθαι εἰς τὸ μὴ ἐξεργάζεσθαι πάθη μιαρὰ τὰ συνόντα τῇ ψυχῇ καὶ τῷ σώματι οὐ δυνατόν· ἐκκόπτεσθαι δὲ καὶ ἐκριζοῦσθαι παντελῶς τὰ ἐπισπαρέντα τῇ τῶν ἀνθρώπων φύσει ὑπὸ τοῦ ἐχθροῦ τῶν παθῶν ζιζάνια τοῖς ἀληθῶς 298 πιστεύουσι τῇ τοῦ θεοῦ δυνάμει μόνον δυνατόν. Ἰδοὺ γάρ, φησίν, ὁ ἀμνὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ὁ αἴρων τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τοῦ κόσμου· καὶ Ἐὰν ὑμεῖς μείνητε ἐν τῷ λόγῳ τῷ ἐμῷ, ἀληθῶς μαθηταί μου ἐστέ, καὶ γνώσεσθε τὴν ἀλήθειαν, καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια ἐλευθερώσει ὑμᾶς. ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ Ὁ θεὸς συντρίψει τὸν σατανᾶν ὑπὸ τοὺς πόδας ὑμῶν ἐν τάχει καὶ τὰ τούτοις ὅμοια τὰ προειρημένα ὑπὸ τοῦ πνεύματος ῥήματα τὴν τῶν παθῶν παντελῆ ἀπολύτρωσιν τοῖς διὰ πίστεως καὶ ἀγῶνος ὁλοτελῶς ἑαυτοὺς τῷ θεῷ