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do you wish to be involved with them again? But if what you destroyed for Christ's sake, you build again for your relatives, you make yourself a transgressor. Therefore do not depart from your place on account of a debt to your relatives; for in departing from your place, you might perhaps depart from your way of life. Do not be a lover of crowds, do not be a lover of places, do not be a lover of cities, but a lover of the desert, always remaining by yourself undistracted, considering prayer and psalmody your work. Nor should you neglect the readings, especially of the New Testament, because from the Old Testament harm often arises, and not that it was written to be harmful, but that the mind of those who are harmed is weak. For all bread is nourishing, but to the sick it is harmful. Thus, therefore, "all Scripture is God-breathed and profitable," and nothing is common through it, except to the one who considers it to be common, to him it is common. "But test all things, hold fast to what is good, abstain from every form of evil." "For all things are lawful, but not all things are profitable." Be therefore in all things blameless to those who meet you, cheerful, a lover of the brethren, pleasant, humble-minded, not falling from the purpose of hospitality through the luxury of foods, but being content with what is at hand, receive from no one anything more than the daily need of the solitary life; and especially flee from gold as a plotter against the soul and the father of sin, and a minister of the devil. Do not, under the pretext of ministry to the poor, make yourself liable to the love of money. But if someone brings you money for the sake of the poor, and you know some who are in need, advise the very one to whom the money belongs to deliver it to the needy brethren, lest the reception of the money defile your conscience. 42.4 Flee from pleasures, pursue self-control, and exercise the body with labors, but accustom the soul to temptations. Considering the departure of body and soul a release from every evil, await the enjoyment of the eternal goods of which all the saints have become partakers. But you, ceaselessly weighing, set the pious thought against the diabolical thought, as on a scale yielding to this one by the tipping of the balance. And especially when the evil thought, rising up, says: "What benefit is there for you in the way of life in this place? What profit is there for you in the withdrawal from the company of men? Or have you not known the bishops of the Churches of God, appointed by God, living in company with men and ceaselessly celebrating the spiritual festivals in which, most of all, there is benefit for those who attend? For there are revelations of proverbial riddles, solutions of apostolic teachings, exposition of evangelical thoughts, the hearing of theology, meetings of spiritual brethren providing great benefit to those who encounter them from the sight of their face. But you, having made yourself a stranger to so many good things, sit here grown wild perhaps like the beasts. For you see here much quiet, no little inhumanity, a lack of teaching, alienation of brethren and the spirit having much idleness concerning the commandment of God." Therefore when the evil thought, rising up with such and so many specious pretexts, wishes to tear you down, set against it through pious reasoning the experience of the matter, saying: "Since you tell me that the things in the world are good, for this reason I have moved here, judging myself unworthy of the good things of the world. For evils are mixed in with the good things of the world, and the evils are rather more abundant. For once when I attended the spiritual festivals, I barely ever met one brother, who seemed to fear the Lord, but was held by the devil, and I heard from him elegant words and fabricated tales for the deception of those who met him. And after him I met many thieves, robbers, tyrants. I saw the unseemly behavior of drunkards, the blood of the oppressed. I saw also the beauty of women

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πάλιν ἐν αὐτοῖς ἀναστρέφεσθαι θέλεις; Εἰ δὲ ἃ κατέλυ σας διὰ Χριστὸν πάλιν ταῦτα οἰκοδομεῖς διὰ τοὺς συγγε νεῖς σου, παραβάτην σεαυτὸν καθιστᾷς. Μὴ οὖν διὰ χρέος τῶν συγγενῶν σου ἀναχωρήσῃς τοῦ τόπου σου· ἀναχωρῶν γὰρ ἐκ τοῦ τόπου σου ἴσως ἀναχωρήσεις ἐκ τοῦ τρόπου σου. Μὴ ἔσο ὀχλοχαρής, μὴ φιλόχωρος, μὴ φιλοπολίτης, ἀλλὰ φιλέρημος, ἐφ' ἑαυτῷ μένων ἀεὶ ἀμετεωρίστως τὴν εὐχὴν καὶ τὴν ψαλμῳδίαν ἔργον ἡγούμενος. Μηδὲ τῶν ἀναγνωσμάτων κατολιγωρήσῃς, μάλιστα τῆς νέας ∆ια θήκης, διὰ τὸ ἐκ τῆς παλαιᾶς ∆ιαθήκης πολλάκις βλάβην ἐγγίνεσθαι, καὶ οὐχ ὅτι ἐγράφη βλαβερά, ἀλλ' ὅτι ἡ τῶν βλαπτομένων διάνοια ἀσθενής. Πᾶς γὰρ ἄρτος τρόφιμος, ἀλλὰ τοῖς ἀσθενοῦσιν ἐπιβλαβής. Οὕτως οὖν «πᾶσα Γραφὴ θεόπνευστος καὶ ὠφέλιμος», καὶ οὐδὲν κοινὸν δι' αὐτῆς, εἰ μὴ τῷ λογιζομένῳ κοινὸν εἶναι ἐκείνῳ κοινόν. «Πάντα δὲ δοκίμαζε, τὸ καλὸν κάτεχε, ἀπὸ παντὸς εἴδους πονηροῦ ἀπέχου.» «Πάντα γὰρ ἔξεστιν, ἀλλ' οὐ πάντα συμφέρει.» Ἔσο οὖν τοῖς συντυγχάνουσί σοι ἐν πᾶσιν ἀπρόσκοπος, προσχαρής, φιλάδελφος, ἡδύς, ταπεινόφρων, μὴ ἐκπίπτων τοῦ σκοποῦ τῆς φιλοξενίας διὰ βρωμάτων πολυτελείας, ἀρκούμενος δὲ τοῖς παροῦσι, τῆς καθη μερινῆς χρείας τοῦ μονήρους βίου μηδὲν πλέον ἀπό τινος λάβῃς· καὶ μάλιστα φύγε τὸν χρυσὸν ὡς ψυχῆς ἐπίβουλον καὶ ἁμαρτίας πατέρα, ὑπουργὸν δὲ τοῦ διαβόλου. Μὴ προφάσει τῆς εἰς τοὺς πένητας διακονίας σεαυτὸν ὑπό δικον φιλοχρηματίας καταστήσῃς. Εἰ δέ τις πτωχῶν ἕνεκα κομίσει σοι χρήματα, γνῶς δέ τινας λειπομένους, αὐτῷ ἐκείνῳ ᾧ ὑπάρχει τὰ χρήματα ἀποκομίσαι τοῖς ὑστε ρουμένοις ἀδελφοῖς συμβούλευσον, μήποτε μολύνῃ σου τὴν συνείδησιν ἡ τῶν χρημάτων ὑποδοχή. 42.4 Τὰς ἡδονὰς φεῦγε, τὴν ἐγκράτειαν δίωκε, καὶ τὸ μὲν σῶμα τοῖς πόνοις ἄσκει, τὴν δὲ ψυχὴν τοῖς πειρασμοῖς ἔθιζε. Τὴν σώματος καὶ ψυχῆς ἀνάλυσιν ἀπαλλαγὴν παν τὸς κακοῦ τιθέμενος ἐκδέχου τῶν αἰωνίων ἀγαθῶν τὴν ἀπόλαυσιν ἧς πάντες οἱ ἅγιοι μέτοχοι γεγόνασι. Σὺ δὲ ἀδιαλείπτως ζυγοστατῶν ἀντιπαρατίθεσο τῇ διαβολικῇ ἐννοίᾳ τὸν εὐσεβῆ λογισμόν, ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τρυτάνης τῇ ῥοπῇ τῆς πλάστιγγος τούτῳ παραχωρῶν. Καὶ μάλιστα ὅταν ἐπα ναστᾶσα ἡ πονηρὰ ἔννοια λέγῃ· «Τί σοι τὸ ὄφελος τῆς ἐν τῷ τόπῳ τούτῳ διαγωγῆς; Τί σοι τὸ κέρδος τῆς ἀναχωρή σεως τῆς ἀπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων συνηθείας; Ἢ οὐκ ἔγνως τοὺς παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τεταγμένους ἐπισκόπους τῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ Ἐκκλησιῶν τοῖς ἀνδράσι συνήθως συνδιαζῶντας καὶ τὰς πνευματικὰς ἀδιαλείπτως ἐπιτελοῦντας πανηγύρεις ἐν αἷς μάλιστά που τοῖς παραγενομένοις γίνεται ὄφελος; Ἐκεῖ γὰρ ἀποκαλύψεις παροιμιακῶν αἰνιγμάτων, λύσεις ἀποστολικῶν διδαγμάτων, εὐαγγελικῶν νοημάτων ἔκθεσις, θεολογίας ἀκρόασις, ἀδελφῶν πνευματικῶν συντυχίαι μεγάλην τοῖς ἐντυγχάνουσιν ἐκ τῆς θέας τοῦ προσώπου τὴν ὠφέλειαν παρεχόντων. Σὺ δὲ τοσούτων ἀγαθῶν ἀλλό τριον σεαυτὸν καταστήσας κάθησαι ἐνθάδε ἐξηγριωμένος ἴσως τοῖς θηρσίν. Ὁρᾷς γὰρ ἐνταῦθα ἠρεμίαν πολλήν, ἀπανθρωπίαν οὐκ ὀλίγην, ἀπορίαν διδασκαλίας, ἀδελφῶν ἀλλοτρίωσιν καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα περὶ τὴν ἐντολὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀργίαν ἔχον πολλήν.» Ὅταν οὖν τοιαύταις καὶ τοσαύταις εὐλογοφανέσι προφάσεσιν ἐπαναστᾶσα ἡ πονηρὰ ἔννοια καταρρῆξαί σε θέλῃ, ἀντιπαράθες αὐτῇ διὰ τοῦ εὐσεβοῦς λογισμοῦ τὴν πεῖραν τοῦ πράγματος λέγων· «Ἐπειδὴ σὺ λέγεις μοι καλὰ τὰ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ εἶναι, διὰ τοῦτο ἐγὼ ἐνταῦθα μετῴκησα ἀνάξιον ἐμαυτὸν κρίνας τῶν τοῦ κόσμου καλῶν. Παραμέμικται γὰρ τοῖς τοῦ κόσμου καλοῖς τὰ κακά, καὶ μᾶλλον ὑπεραίρει τὰ κακά. Παραγενόμενος γάρ ποτε ἐν ταῖς πνευματικαῖς πανηγύρεσιν ἑνὶ μὲν ἀδελφῷ μόλις ποτὲ περιέτυχον, τὸ μὲν δοκεῖν, φοβουμένῳ τὸν Κύριον, κρατουμένῳ δὲ ὑπὸ τοῦ διαβόλου, καὶ ἤκουσα παρ' αὐτοῦ λόγους κομψοὺς καὶ μύθους πεπλασμένους εἰς ἀπάτην τῶν ἐντυγχανόντων. Πολλοῖς δὲ μετ' αὐτὸν συνέτυχον κλέπταις, ἅρπαξι, τυράννοις. Εἶδον μεθυόντων σχῆμα ἄσχημον, τὰ αἵματα τῶν καταπονουμένων. Εἶδον δὲ καὶ κάλλος γυναικῶν