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the world is the bearer, the beast works, that is, the flesh alone is the man who is led; creating for him a passion of deceit; by which, having placed him far from God and nature, it teaches him to do all things contrary to nature.

The extremes, therefore, I mean God and the world, are accustomed to lead man away from one another and from the mean, by which I mean nature. But the mean, being the 0448 boundary between them, if it should take man as looking to it alone, equally separates him from the extremes when he is moved; 15Β_134 neither allowing him to run up to God, and being ashamed to let him fall down to the world. Therefore, as soon as man is moved with inner disposition towards one of these, he at once changes his activity toward that very one, and alters his designation, being called carnal, or soulish, or spiritual. The work and sign of the carnal man is to know how to do only evil. Of the soulish, never to wish to do, nor to suffer, evil. Of the spiritual, to wish only to do well, and if it happens to suffer well for the sake of virtue, to accept it eagerly. If, therefore, you desire to be led by the Spirit of God, O blessed one, as indeed you do desire, take away from yourself the world and nature; or rather, circumcise yourself from them, and do not refuse to be wronged; do not shrink from bearing mockery and insults; and, to speak concisely, when suffering evil, never cease from doing well to those who do evil, and from forgiving all that is done, for the sake of God and virtue, according to the one who said: If any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And again according to the blessed Apostle who says: Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it; being defamed, we intreat.

Therefore, if you would be persuaded by me, O blessed servant of God, show great grace to those who have afflicted you; and if it is necessary to suffer further loss from them in all things, do not refuse; and rather bless when you are reviled; and endure when you are persecuted, and entreat when you are defamed, that you may not be carnal, as one who only knows and wishes to do wrong; or soulish, as one who does not endure being wronged; but rather spiritual, willingly knowing and practicing only doing good; and knowing how to suffer evil eagerly from those who wish it 15Β_136 for the sake of virtue; looking to Jesus, the author of our salvation; who in return for all the good things, which no one has yet been able to comprehend with knowledge, patiently endured all the terrible things, which no one has, from sinners, and for the sake of sinners. For the purpose of the giver of the commandments is to free man from the world and from nature. And for this reason, he who does not obey is condemned; and in vain do worldly fathers make excuses for their children, and the heads of communities of those practicing the solitary life, for the necessity that the commandments be reasonably inactive for them. If we should accept this as true, the Lord will be shown to have written a law of salvation for no one at all. But the word of Scripture, as I think, called the natural man soulish; since the property of nature is naturally observed only concerning, as those skilled in such things say, things that are ensouled, and simply those things subject to generation and corruption.

But I have written these things to you, my lord, because I found you much 0449 displeased by what has happened, through your sub-reader. But pray powerfully, as one who is powerful, to the one who is powerful to forgive sins, for Maximus, your servant and disciple, O honored Father.

LETTER 10. TO JOHN THE CUBICULARIUS. The same to John the Cubicularius.

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κόσμος ἐστίν ὁ φέρων, κτῆνος ἐργάζεται, ἤτοι σάρκα μόνην τόν ἀγόμενον ἄνθρωπον· ἐμπάθειαν αὐτῷ δ᾿ ἀπάτης δημιουργῶν· καθ᾿ ἡν Θεοῦ τε καί φύσεως μακράν αὐτόν ἀποθέμενος, τά παρά φύσιν πάντα ποιεῖν αὐτόν ἐκδιδάσκει.

Αἱ οὖν ἀκρότητες, Θεόν δέ φημι καί κόσμον, ἀλλήλων καί τῆς μεσότητος, λέγω δέ τήν φύσιν, ἀπάγειν τόν ἄνθρωπον εἰώθασιν. Ἡ δέ μεσότης, τούτων 0448 οὖσα μεθόριος, εἰ αὐτήν μόνην σκοποῦντα λάβοι τόν ἄνθρωπον, ἐπίσης τῶν ἄκρων κινηθῇ διίστησιν· 15Β_134 οὔτε πρός τόν Θεόν αὐτόν ἀναδραμεῖν συγχωροῦσα, καί πρός τόν κόσμον ἀφιέναι καταπεσεῖν αἰδουμένη. Ἅμα τοίνυν πρός τινα τούτων κινηθῇ κατά γνώμην ἐνδιαθέτως ὁ ἄνθρωπος, ἅμα πρός αὐτόν ἐκεῖνον καί τήν ἐνέργειαν ἤμειψε, καί τήν προσηγορίαν μετάβαλε, σαρκικός, ἤ ψυχικός, ἤ πνευματικός προσαγορευόμενος. Ἔργον δέ καί γνώρισμα τοῦ μέν σαρκικοῦ, τό κακῶς μόνον εἰδέναι ποιεῖν. Τοῦ δέ ψυχικοῦ, τό μήτε ποιεῖν βούλεσθαί ποτε, μήτε πάσχειν κακῶς. Τοῦ δέ πνευματικοῦ, τό ποιεῖν μόνον καλῶς βούλεσθαι, καί ὑπέρ ἀρετῆς εἰ συμβαίνει πάσχειν καλῶς, προθύμως καταδέχεσθαι. Εἰ τοίνυν Πνεύματι Θεοῦ ἄγεσθαι ποθεῖς, εὐλογημένε, ὥσπερ οὖν καί ποθεῖς, κόσμον καί φύσιν σαυτοῦ περίελε· μᾶλλον δέ τούτων σαυτόν περίτεμε, καί ἀδικεῖσθαι μή παραιτήσῃ· ἐμπαιγμούς τε καί ὕβρεις φέρειν μή ἀπαναίνου· καί ἵνα συνελών εἴπω, πάσχων κακῶς, τοῦ ποιεῖν καλῶς τοῖς δρῶσι κακῶς, καί πάντα προσαφιέναι τά δρώμενα, Θεοῦ χάριν καί ἀρετῆς, μή παύσῃ ποτέ, κατά τόν εἰπόντα· Ἐάν τις θέλῃ σοι κριθῆναι, καί τόν χιτῶνά σου λαβεῖν, ἄφες αὐτῷ καί τό ἱμάτιον. Καί πάλιν κατά τόν μακάριον Ἀπόστολον λέγοντα· Λοιδορούμενοι, εὐλογοῦμεν· διωκόμενοι, ἀνεχόμεθα· βλασφημούμενοι, παρακαλοῦμεν.

Λοιπόν εἰ πεισθῆναί μοι βούλοιο, δοῦλε τοῦ Θεοῦ εὐλογημένε, μεγάλην κατάθου χάριν τοῖς θλίψασι· καί προσζημιωθῆναι αὐτοῖς εἰ δέον ἐστί πάντα, μή ἀνανεύσῃς· καί μᾶλλον εὐλόγησον λοιδορούμενος· καί ἀνάσχου διωκόμενος, καί παρακέλεσον βλασφημούμενος, ἵνα μή ᾖς σαρκικός, ὡς ἀδικεῖν μόνον καί εἰδώς καί βουλόμενος· ἤ ψυχικός, ὡς ἀδικεῖσθαι μή ἀνεχόμενος· ἀλλά μᾶλλον πνευματικός, τό εὖ ποεῖν μόνον ἑκουσίως καί εἰδώς καί ἀσκούμενος· καί πάσχειν κακῶς παρά τῶν βουλομένων 15Β_136 προθύμως ὑπέρ ἀρετῆς ἐπιστάμενος· ἀφορῶν πρός τόν τῆς σωτηρίας ἡμῶν ἀρχηγόν Ἰησοῦν· ὅς ἀντί πάντων τῶν ἀγαθῶν, ὅσα οὐδέπω τις γνώσει περιλαβεῖν δεδύνηται, πάντα τά δεινά, ὅσα οὐδείς ὑπό τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν, καί ὑπέρ τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν μακροθύμως ὑπέμεινε. Σκοπός γάρ τῷ δοτῆρι τῶν ἐντολῶν, κόσμου καί φύσεως ἐλευθερῶσαι τόν ἄνθρωπον. Καί διά τοῦτο κατάκριτος, ὁ μή πειθόμενος· καί μάτην οἱ κατά κόσμον πατέρες τά ἔκγονα προφασίζονται, καί τάς συνοδίας τῶν τόν μονήρη βίον ἀσκουμένων οἱ προϊστάμενοι, πρός τό δεῖν εὐλόγως αὐτοῖς ἀργάς εἶναι τάς ἐντολάς. Ὅπερ ὡς ἀληθές εἰ δεξοίμεθα, οὐδενί τό παράπαν ὁ Κύριος γεγραφώς νόμον σωτηρίας δειχθήσεται. Ψυχικόν δέ, καθώς οἶμαι, τόν φυσικόν ὁ τῆς Γραφῆς λόγος ἐκάλεσεν ἄνθρωπον· ἐπειδή περί μόνα, καθώς φασιν οἱ τά τοιαῦτα δεινοί, τά ψυχούμενα, καί ἁπλῶς τά ὑπό γένεσιν καί φθοράν, ἡ τῆς φύσεως θεωρεῖσθαι πέφυκε ἰδιότης.

Ταῦτα δέ γέγραφα ὑμῖν, δέσποτα, ἐπειδή πολύ 0449 διά τοῦ ὑμετέρου παραναγνωστικοῦ δυσχεραίνοντας ὑμᾶς εὗρον πρός τά συμβάντα. Ἀλλ᾿ εὔχου δυνατῶς, ὡς δυνατός πρός τόν δυνατόν ἀφιέναι ἁμαρτίας, ὑπέρ Μαξίμου τοῦ σοῦ καί δούλου καί μαθητοῦ, τίμιε Πάτερ.

ΕΠΙΣΤΟΛΗ Ι'. ΠΡΟΣ ΙΩΑΝΝΗΝ ΚΟΥΒΙΚΟΥΛΑΡΙΟΝ Ι´Τοῦ αὐτοῦ πρός Ἰωάννην κουβικουλάριον.