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with the accusation; then immediately remembering the words of the Lord, he went out and wept bitterly; and with those hot tears, recalling his defeat, he wrought a victory of another strength. For being experienced in war, even though he had fallen, he was not undone, nor did he despair of himself; but leaping up, he brought forth most bitter tears from a grieving heart; and immediately the enemy, seeing them, as if his eyes were burned by a most violent flame, leaped away 164 fleeing far off and wailing terribly. And the leader was a leader again, just as he had been ordained a teacher of the world, so now he also became an example of repentance. And after the divine resurrection, Christ, addressing him a third time, said, Peter, do you love me? He corrected the threefold denial, as the apostle answered: Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. From all these, therefore, and many other examples beyond number, we learn the power of tears and of repentance; only let its manner be worthy, let it come from a disposition that abhors sin, hating and condemning it, and using tears, as says the prophet David: I am weary with my groaning; every night I will wash my bed; I will water my couch with my tears. And then the cleansing of sins will come through the blood of Christ, in the greatness of his mercy, and in the multitude of the compassions of God who said that, Though your sins be as scarlet, I will make them white as snow, and so on. These things, then, are so, and so we believe; but it is necessary, after receiving the knowledge of the truth and being deemed worthy of regeneration and adoption and tasting the divine mysteries, to secure oneself with all strength from falling. For falling is not fitting for the athlete, since many who have fallen have not been able to rise again; some, having opened a door to the passions, and having clung to them inseparably, were no longer strong enough 166 to return to repentance; others, being snatched away beforehand by death, and not having managed through repentance to wash themselves of the filth of sin, were condemned. And for this reason it is dangerous to fall into any passion whatever; but if it happens that one falls, one must leap up immediately, and stand again in the good fight; and as often as this may happen, let that of rising and standing be immediate, until the end. For return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord God. xii To these things Ioasaph said: How then will someone keep himself clean from all sin after baptism? For even if there is, as you say, repentance for those who stumble, yet it is with toil and labor, with weeping and mourning, which I think are not easily achieved by the many; but rather I would wish to find a way of keeping the commandments of God exactly and not turning aside from them, nor, after the forgiveness of former evils, to provoke again the most sweet Master and God. And Barlaam said: You have spoken well these things, my lord king; this is also according to my own heart; but it is laborious and entirely impossible for one who associates with fire not to be smoked. It is difficult, therefore, and exceedingly arduous for one bound to the affairs of this life and occupied with its 168 cares and disturbances, living with wealth and luxury, to walk unswervingly the way of the Lord's commandments, and to preserve himself clean from these things. For the Lord says: No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other; you cannot serve God and mammon. And his beloved disciple, John the evangelist and theologian, also writes in his epistle thus: Do not love the world,

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ἐγκλήματι· εἶτ' εὐθὺς μνησθεὶς τῶν τοῦ Κυρίου ῥημάτων, ἐξελθὼν ἔξω ἔκλαυσε πικρῶς· καὶ τοῖς θερμοῖς ἐκείνοις δάκρυσι τὴν ἧτταν ἀνακαλεσάμενος ἑτεραλκέα τὴν νίκην εἰργάσατο. ἐμπειροπόλεμος γὰρ ὤν, εἰ καὶ πέπτωκεν, οὐκ ἐξελύθη, οὐδ' ἀπέγνω ἑαυτόν· ἀλλ' ἀναπηδήσας προσήγαγε πικρότατα δάκρυα ἀπὸ καρδίας θλιβομένης· καὶ παραυτίκα ὁ πολέμιος θεασάμενος αὐτά, ὥσπερ ὑπὸ φλογὸς σφοδροτάτης τὰς ὄψεις φλεγόμενος, ἀπεπήδησε 164 φεύγων μακρὰν καὶ δεινῶς ὀλολύζων. ὁ δὲ κορυφαῖος κορυφαῖος ἦν αὖθις, ὥσπερ διδάσκαλος τῆς οἰκουμένης χειροτονηθείς, οὕτω δὴ καὶ μετανοίας ὑπογραμμὸς γενόμενος. μετὰ δὲ τὴν θείαν ἀνέγερσιν τρίτον προσειπὼν ὁ Χριστός, Πέτρε, φιλεῖς με; τὸ τρισσὸν τῆς ἀρνήσεως διωρθώσατο, τοῦ ἀποστόλου ἀποκρινομένου· Ναί, Κύριε, σὺ οἶδας ὅτι φιλῶ σε. Ἐκ πάντων οὖν τούτων καὶ ἄλλων πολλῶν καὶ ἀριθμοῦ ὑπερκειμένων παραδειγμάτων μανθάνομεν τὴν δύναμιν τῶν δακρύων καὶ τῆς μετανοίας· μόνον ὁ τρόπος ταύτης ἀξιόλογος, γενέσθω ἐκ διαθέσεως βδελυσσομένης τὴν ἁμαρτίαν, μισούσης τε ταύτην καὶ καταγινωσκούσης, δάκρυσι δὲ κεχρημένης, καθώς φησιν ὁ προφήτης ∆αυίδ· Ἐκοπίασα ἐν τῷ στεναγμῷ μου· λούσω καθ' ἑκάστην νύκτα τὴν κλίνην μου· ἐν δάκρυσί μου τὴν στρωμνήν μου βρέξω. καὶ λοιπὸν ὁ καθαρισμὸς τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων γενήσεται διὰ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἐν τῷ μεγέθει τοῦ ἐλέους αὐτοῦ, καὶ τῷ πλήθει τῶν οἰκτιρμῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ εἰπόντος ὅτι, Ἐὰν ὦσιν αἱ ἁμαρτίαι ὑμῶν ὡς φοινικοῦν, ὡς χιόνα λευκανῶ, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν οὕτως ἔχει καὶ οὕτως πιστεύομεν· χρὴ δέ, μετὰ τὸ λαβεῖν τὴν ἐπίγνωσιν τῆς ἀληθείας καὶ τῆς ἀναγεννήσεως καὶ υἱοθεσίας ἀξιωθῆναι καὶ μυστηρίων γεύσασθαι θείων, πάσῃ δυνάμει ἀσφαλίζεσθαι τοῦ μὴ πίπτειν. τὸ γὰρ πίπτειν οὐ πρέπει τῷ ἀθλητῇ, ἐπειδὴ πολλοὶ πεσόντες ἀναστῆναι οὐκ ἠδυνήθησαν· οἱ μέν, τοῖς πάθεσι θύραν ἀνοίξαντες, καὶ δυσαποσπάστως αὐτοῖς προσμείναντες, οὐκ ἔτι ἴσχυσαν 166 πρὸς μετάνοιαν παλινδρομῆσαι· οἱ δέ, προαναρπασθέντες ὑπὸ τοῦ θανάτου, καὶ μὴ φθάσαντες διὰ μεταγνώσεως ἑαυτοὺς τοῦ ῥύπου τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἐκπλῦναι, κατεδικάσθησαν. καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἐπικίνδυνον τὸ πίπτειν ἐν οἱῳδήποτε πάθει· ἐὰν δὲ συμβῇ πεσεῖν, εὐθὺς ἀναπηδῆσαι χρή, καὶ στῆναι πάλιν εἰς τὸν καλὸν ἀγῶνα· καὶ ὁσάκις ἂν τοῦτο συμβῇ, κἀκεῖνο αὐτίκα ἔστω τὸ τῆς ἐγέρσεως καὶ στάσεως ἕως τῆς τελευτῆς. Ἐπιστράφητε γὰρ πρός με, καὶ ἐπιστραφήσομαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς, λέγει Κύριος ὁ Θεός. χιι Πρὸς ταῦτα ὁ Ἰωάσαφ εἶπε· Πῶς οὖν τις φυλάξει ἑαυτὸν μετὰ τὸ βάπτισμα καθαρὸν ἀπὸ πάσης ἁμαρτίας; κἂν γάρ ἐστιν, ὡς λέγεις, τοῖς πταίουσι μετάνοια, ἀλλ' ἐν κόπῳ καὶ πόνῳ, κλαυθμῷ τε καὶ πένθει, ἅπερ οὐκ εὐκατόρθωτα τοῖς πολλοῖς εἶναί μοι δοκῶ· ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον ἤθελον εὑρεῖν ὁδὸν τοῦ φυλάττειν ἀκριβῶς τὰ προστάγματα τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ μὴ ἐκκλίνειν ἀπ' αὐτῶν, μηδέ, μετὰ τὴν συγχώρησιν τῶν προτέρων κακῶν, παροργίζειν αὖθις τὸν γλυκύτατον ∆εσπότην καὶ Θεόν. Ὁ δὲ Βαρλαὰμ ἔφη· Καλῶς εἶπας ταῦτα, κύριέ μου βασιλεῦ· τοῦτο καὶ ἐμοὶ καταθύμιον ὑπάρχει· ἀλλ' ἐργῶδές ἐστι καὶ κομιδῇ ἀδύνατον τὸ πυρὶ συναναστρεφόμενόν τινα μὴ καπνίζεσθαι. δυσκατόρθωτον οὖν καὶ λίαν ἄναντες δεδεμένον τοῖς τοῦ βίου πράγμασι καὶ ταῖς αὐτοῦ ἀσχολούμενον 168 μερίμναις καὶ ταραχαῖς, πλούτῳ τε καὶ τρυφῇ συζῶντα, ἀκλινῶς βαδίζειν τὴν ὁδὸν τῶν ἐντολῶν τοῦ Κυρίου, καὶ καθαρὸν ἑαυτὸν ἐκ τούτων περισώσασθαι. φησὶ γὰρ ὁ Κύριος· Οὐδεὶς δύναται δυσὶ κυρίοις δουλεύειν· ἢ γὰρ τὸν ἕνα μισήσει καὶ τὸν ἕτερον ἀγαπήσει, ἢ τοῦ ἑνὸς ἀνθέξεται καὶ τοῦ ἑτέρου καταφρονήσει· οὐ δύνασθε Θεῷ δουλεύειν καὶ μαμωνᾷ. γράφει δὲ καὶ ὁ ἠγαπημένος αὐτοῦ μαθητής, Ἰωάννης ὁ εὐαγγελιστὴς καὶ θεολόγος, ἐν τῇ κατ' αὐτὸν ἐπιστολῇ οὕτως· Μὴ ἀγαπᾶτε τὸν κόσμον,