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is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control, sanctification of soul and body, humility of heart and contrition, mercy, bearing no malice, love for mankind, vigilance, exact repentance for all past errors, tears of compunction, mourning both for one's own sins and for those of one's neighbor, and things similar to these, which, like certain steps and ladders connected to one another and constructed by one another, raise the soul to heaven. Behold, after baptism, we are commanded to hold fast to these things, and to abstain from their opposites. But if after receiving the knowledge of the truth, we again take up the former dead works, and return as a dog to its own vomit, what was said by the Lord will happen to us. For when, He says, the unclean spirit has gone out of a man (that is, by the grace of baptism), it passes through waterless places, seeking rest, and does not find it; and not being able to wander for long without a home and a hearth, it says: I will return to my house, from which I came out. and, when it comes, it finds it swept and put in order, but empty and idle, not having received the work of grace, nor 150 having filled itself with the wealth of virtues. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself; and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. For baptism, burying in the water the handwriting of all past sins, gives it over to complete destruction, and for the future is for us a safe wall and a bulwark and a mighty weapon for the battle against the enemy; but it does not take away free will, nor does it have forgiveness for sins committed after baptism, nor a second plunging into the font. For we confess one baptism; and it is necessary to keep ourselves with all watchfulness, not to fall into second defilements, but to take hold of the commandments of the Lord for having said to the Apostles, Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, He did not stop there; but He added, Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And He commanded to be poor in spirit, whom He blesses and calls worthy of the kingdom of heaven. Then He suggests to mourn in the present life, that we may be deemed worthy of the future comfort, to be meek and always hungering and thirsting for righteousness, to be merciful and generous, compassionate and sympathetic, pure in heart, abstaining from every defilement of flesh and spirit, peacemakers both towards our neighbors and towards our 152 own soul, having subjected, clearly, the worse to the better and having made peace through right judgment in the perpetual war between them, and to endure every persecution and every affliction and reproach, brought upon us for righteousness' sake for His name, that we may be deemed worthy of eternal joy in the splendid distribution of gifts. But also in the world He thus exhorts our light to shine before men, that they may see, He says, your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. For the law of Moses, formerly given to the Israelites, says, You shall not kill, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness; but Christ says, that Everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says, You fool, shall be in danger of the hell of fire; and that, If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go; first be reconciled to your brother; and that Everyone who looks at a woman to lust after her, has already

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ἐστιν ἀγάπη, χαρά, εἰρήνη, μακροθυμία, χρηστότης, ἀγαθωσύνη, πίστις, πραότης, ἐγκράτεια, ἁγιασμὸς ψυχῆς καὶ σώματος, ταπείνωσις καρδίας καὶ συντριβή, ἐλεημοσύνη, ἀμνησικακία, φιλανθρωπία, ἀγρυπνία, μετάνοια ἀκριβὴς πάντων τῶν προγεγονότων σφαλμάτων, δάκρυον κατανύξεως, πένθος ὑπέρ τε τῶν ἰδίων ἁμαρτιῶν καὶ τῶν τοῦ πλησίον, καὶ τὰ τούτοις ὅμοια, ἅτινα, ὥσπερ τινὲς βαθμίδες καὶ κλίμακες ἀλλήλων ἐχόμεναι καὶ ὑπ' ἀλλήλων συγκροτούμεναι, εἰς οὐρανὸν τὴν ψυχὴν ἀναφέρουσιν. ἰδοὺ τούτων ἐντετάλμεθα, μετὰ τὸ βάπτισμα, ἀντέχεσθαι, τῶν δ' ἐναντίων ἀπέχεσθαι. Εἰ δὲ μετὰ τὸ λαβεῖν τὴν ἐπίγνωσιν τῆς ἀληθείας, τῶν προτέρων αὖθις ἐπιληψόμεθα νεκρῶν ἔργων, καὶ ὡς κύων ἐπὶ τὸν ἴδιον ἔμετον ἐπιστρέψομεν, συμβήσεται ἡμῖν τὸ ὑπὸ τοῦ Κυρίου εἰρημένον. Ὅταν γάρ, φησί, τὸ ἀκάθαρτον Πνεῦμα ἐξέλθῃ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου (τῇ χάριτι δηλαδὴ τοῦ βαπτίσματος), διέρχεται δι' ἀνύδρων τόπων, ζητοῦν ἀνάπαυσιν, καὶ οὐχ εὑρίσκει· μὴ φέρον δὲ ἐπὶ πολὺ ἄοικον καὶ ἀνέστιον περιπλανᾶσθαι, λέγει· Ἐπιστρέψω εἰς τὸν οἶκόν μου, ὅθεν ἐξῆλθον. καί, ἐλθόν, εὑρίσκει σεσαρωμένον καὶ κεκοσμημένον, κενὸν δὲ καὶ σχολάζοντα, μὴ ὑποδεξάμενον τὴν ἐργασίαν τῆς χάριτος, μηδὲ 150 πληρώσαντα ἑαυτὸν τῷ πλούτῳ τῶν ἀρετῶν. τότε πορεύεται καὶ λαμβάνει μεθ' ἑαυτοῦ ἕτερα ἑπτὰ Πνεύματα πονηρότερα ἑαυτοῦ· καὶ εἰσελθόντα κατοικεῖ ἐκεῖ· καὶ γίνεται τὰ ἔσχατα τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐκείνου χείρονα τῶν πρώτων. τὸ γὰρ βάπτισμα τῶν μὲν προημαρτημένων πάντων τὰ χειρόγραφα, τῷ ὕδατι ἐνθάπτον, παντελεῖ ἀφανισμῷ παραδίδωσι, καὶ εἰς τὸ ἑξῆς τεῖχος ἡμῖν ἐστιν ἀσφαλὲς καὶ προπύργιον καὶ ὅπλον κραταιὸν εἰς τὴν τοῦ ἐχθροῦ παράταξιν· οὐ μὴν δὲ ἀναιρεῖ τὸ αὐτεξούσιον, οὔτε τῶν μετὰ τὸ βάπτισμα ἁμαρτανομένων ἔχει συγχώρησιν, οὔτε δευτέρας κολυμβήθρας κατάδυσιν. ἓν γὰρ ὁμολογοῦμεν βάπτισμα· καὶ χρὴ πάσῃ φυλακῇ τηρεῖν ἑαυτούς, μὴ δευτέροις ἐμπεσεῖν μολυσμοῖς, ἀλλὰ τῶν ἐντολῶν ἐπιλαβέσθαι τοῦ Κυρίου εἰπὼν γὰρ πρὸς τοὺς Ἀποστόλους, Πορευθέντες μαθητεύσατε πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, βαπτίζοντες αὐτοὺς εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος, οὐ μέχρι τούτου ἔστη· ἀλλὰ προσέθετο, ∆ιδάσκοντες αὐτοὺς τηρεῖν πάντα ὅσα ἐνετειλάμην ὑμῖν. Ἐνετείλατο δὲ πτωχοὺς μὲν εἶναι τῷ πνεύματι, οὓς μακαρίζει καὶ τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν ἀξίους ἀποκαλεῖ. εἶτα πενθεῖν ἐν τῷ παρόντι ὑποτίθεται βίῳ, ἵνα τῆς μελλούσης παρακλήσεως ἀξιωθῶμεν, πραεῖς τε εἶναι καὶ ἀεὶ πεινῶντας καὶ διψῶντας τὴν δικαιοσύνην, ἐλεήμονάς τε καὶ εὐμεταδότους, οἰκτίρμονας καὶ συμπαθεῖς, καθαροὺς τῇ καρδίᾳ, ἀπεχομένους ἀπὸ παντὸς μολυσμοῦ σαρκὸς καὶ πνεύματος, εἰρηνοποιοὺς πρός τε τοὺς πλησίον καὶ πρὸς τὴν 152 ἑαυτῶν ψυχήν, ὑποτάξαντας δηλονότι τὸ χεῖρον τῷ κρείττονι καὶ τὸν μεταξὺ αὐτῶν διηνεκῆ πόλεμον ὀρθῇ κρίσει εἰρηνοποιήσαντας, ὑπομένειν τε πάντα διωγμὸν καὶ πᾶσαν θλῖψιν καὶ ὀνειδισμόν, ἕνεκεν δικαιοσύνης ὑπὲρ τοῦ ὀνόματος αὐτοῦ ἡμῖν ἐπαγόμενον, ἵνα τῆς αἰωνίου χαρᾶς ἐν τῇ λαμπρᾷ τῶν δώρων διανομῇ ἀξιωθῶμεν. ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ οὕτως παρακελεύεται λάμπειν τὸ φῶς ἡμῶν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ὅπως ἴδωσι, φησί, τὰ καλὰ ἔργα ὑμῶν, καὶ δοξάσωσι τὸν Πατέρα ὑμῶν τὸν ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ τοῦ Μωσέως νόμος, ὁ πάλαι δοθεὶς τοῖς Ἰσραηλίταις, Οὐ φονεύσεις, λέγει, οὐ μοιχεύσεις, οὐ κλέψεις, οὐ ψευδομαρτυρήσεις· ὁ δὲ Χριστός φησιν, ὅτι Πᾶς ὁ ὀργιζόμενος τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ εἰκῆ, ἔνοχος ἔσται τῇ κρίσει. ὃς δ' ἂν εἴπῃ, Μωρέ, ἔνοχος ἔσται εἰς τὴν γέενναν τοῦ πυρός· καὶ ὅτι, Ἐὰν προσφέρῃς τὸ δῶρόν σου ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον, κἀκεῖ μνησθῇς ὅτι ὁ ἀδελφός σου ἔχει τι κατὰ σοῦ, ἄφες ἐκεῖ τὸ δῶρόν σου ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον, καὶ ἀπελθὼν πρῶτον διαλλάγηθι τῷ ἀδελφῷ σου· καὶ ὅτι Πᾶς ὁ ἐμβλέπων γυναῖκα πρὸς τὸ ἐπιθυμῆσαι, ἤδη