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exists bearing upwards, but evil drags down him who uses it; as Solomon somewhere stated, that The feet of foolishness bring those who use it down to Hades. Babylon is sometimes said to be the devil, sometimes the soul of a man confused by harsh temptations, sometimes the world on account of the confusion, and mockery, and deceit governing within it. Some, even without circumstance and necessity, approach God with divine longing and love, having fled what seems beautiful and pleasant in the world; you, though struck by so many hardships, still remain contentious, and love material things, and are being choked by sins, do you not wish to perceive, but in battle array you provoke God, O thrice-wretched one? If you had perception, the very affairs of life would drive you to take refuge in God, and be saved. But since you willingly do evil, behold the things that will befall you, so that in the midst of worldly affairs you may end your life by a most evil fate, and depart there naked of all virtue. You yourself eat the fruits of your own pursuits. For it is also said by Isaiah, that They shall eat the works of their wickedness. And when the heart has been formed by wickedness, abominable thoughts spring forth from it. It would be ridiculous to rule over slaves, but to be enslaved by sin. All sinners are said to be of many ways. For there is one way of fornication, and another way of anger, and another way of vainglory, and of envy, and of resentfulness, and of the rest. But the righteous are of one way. Wherefore the blessed David says, that the Lord makes those of a common way to dwell in a spiritual house. If a leper, once covered in spots on his flesh, having approached Christ the all-highest God with faith, immediately received it back clean of every stain, why do you hesitate to use faith and prayer, and be delivered from the defiled and unclean passions of the soul? Do you not know that of whatever passions of the soul one is defeated, of these he also becomes a slave deserving of the whip? but we are not children of the handmaid, but of the free woman, so that, being separated from sin, we may live in freedom. It is 95.1169 better to become a slave and a house-slave of house-slaves, than ever to be enslaved to accursed passions. Have you not many times known the great sea and the fear of the sea? how much more terrible is the remembrance of the judgment. Not all demons are assigned the same practices, or the same evil ministries by the devil. For one is entrusted with one abominable and God-hated service, and another with another. And these indeed engrave thoughts of blasphemy in the hearts of men; while those suggest shameful desires to the soul. And some are accustomed to stir up to vainglory, and envy, and the rest; others supply heretics with the materials for their thoughts; others are occupied with gluttony and drunkenness, and fornication. And some demons deceive and mock through dreams and Hellenic observances. Others cast the pleasures of men into the body, and make all the members laugh aloud and surge with lawlessness, and they fill the senses with mist and darkness; and some cooperate with and give strength to enchanters, and sorcerers, and those who use incantations. Those, and to speak simply, each order of demons has been allotted its own particular soul-harming service and business. He who confesses Christ with his lips only, but denies him by his works, is not in him, nor does he have him in himself; with only the one who does all things in him being a partaker of all. Then forgiveness of previous sins occurs, when works of repentance are accomplished after these. For if anyone, while still doing things that are blameworthy and deserving of punishment, pretends repentance, he will not obtain forgiveness, while still doing the forbidden things. When the impious Basilides greeted John the Evangelist, and said: Do you recognize us? The saint says carelessly, I recognize you, the firstborn of Satan. Let us fear, not the external disease, but the sins, on account of which is the disease; and the disease of the soul, not of the body.

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ἄνω φέρον ὑπάρχει, τὸ δὲ κακὸν πρὸς τὰ κάτω καθέλκει τὸν κεχρημένον· ὥς που καὶ ὁ Σολομὼν ἐφράσατο, ὅτι Οἱ πόδες τῆς ἀφροσύνης τοὺς χρωμένους αὐτῇ εἰς ἅδην κατάγουσιν. Βαβυλὼν ποτὲ μὲν ὁ διάβολος λέγεται, ποτὲ δὲ ἡ ψυχὴ ἀνθρώπου συγκεχυμένη ἐκ πειρασμῶν χαλεπῶν, ποτὲ δὲ ὁ κόσμος δι' αὐτὴν ἐν αὐτῷ πολιτευομένην σύγχυσιν, καὶ χλεύην, καὶ ἀπάτην Τινὲς καὶ χωρὶς περιστάσεως, καὶ ἀνάγκης, πόθῳ θείῳ καὶ ἔρωτι προσέρχονται τῷ Θεῷ, ἀποφυγόντες τὰ δοκοῦντα ἐν κόσμῳ ὡραῖά τε καὶ τερπνά· σὺ τοσαύταις βληθεὶς ταλαιπωρίαις, μένεις ἀκμὴν φιλονεικῶν, καὶ στέργων τὰ ὑλικὰ πράγματα, καὶ ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις καταπνιγόμενος, οὐ βούλει αἰσθάνεσθαι, ἀλλ' ἐκ παρατάξεως τὸν Θεὸν παροργίζεις, τρισάθλιε; Εἴπερ αἴσθησιν εἶχες, αὐτὰ τὰ τοῦ βίου πράγματα ἤλαυνέ σε καταφυγεῖν πρὸς Θεὸν, καὶ σωθῆναι. Ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ ἐθελοκακεῖς, βλέπε τὰ καταληψόμενά σε, ἵνα ἐν μέσῳ τῶν βιωτικῶν πραγμάτων κακίστῳ μόρῳ τὸν βίον καταλύσῃς, κἀκεῖσε ἀπέλθῃς γυμνὸς ἀρετῆς πάσης. Τοὺς καρποὺς τῶν σῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων αὐτὸς ἐσθίεις. Καὶ γὰρ εἴρηται παρὰ τῷ Ἡσαΐᾳ, ὅτι Ἔδονται τὰ ἔργα τῆς πονηρίας αὐτῶν. Τῆς δὲ καρδίας τῇ πονηρίᾳ μεμορφωμένης, βδελυροὶ ἐκ ταύτης λογισμοὶ ἀναπηδῶσι. Καταγέλαστον ἂν εἴη τὸ κατάρχειν τῶν ἀνδραπόδων, ἐξανδραποδίζεσθαι δὲ ὑπὸ τῆς ἁμαρτίας. Πάντες οἱ ἁμαρτωλοὶ πολύτροποι λέγονται. Ἄλλος γὰρ τρόπος πορνείας, καὶ ἄλλος τρόπος θυμοῦ, καὶ ἕτερος κενοδοξίας τρόπος, καὶ φθόνου, καὶ μνησικακίας, καὶ τῶν ἑξῆς. Οἱ δὲ δίκαιοι μονότροποί εἰσιν. ∆ιόπερ φησὶν ὁ μακάριος ∆αβὶδ, ὅτι Κύριος κατοικίζει κοινοτρόπους ἐν οἴκῳ πνευματικῷ. Εἰ λεπρός ποτε κατάστικτος τὴν σάρκα, μετὰ πίστεως προσελθὼν Χριστῷ τῷ πανυψίστῳ Θεῷ, ἀπείληφεν εὐθέως ταύτην παντὸς καθαρὰν σπίλου, διὰ τί αὐτὸς ὀκνεῖς πίστει καὶ δεήσει χρήσασθαι, καὶ τῶν μιαρῶν, καὶ ἀκαθάρτων παθῶν τῆς ψυχῆς λυτρωθῆναι; Οὐκ οἶσθα ὅτι ὧν τις ἡττῆται ψυχῆς παθῶν, τούτων γίνεται καὶ δοῦλος μαστιγίας; ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐσμὲν ἡμεῖς παιδίσκης τέκνα, ἀλλὰ τῆς ἐλευθέρας, ὅπως τῆς ἁμαρτίας διαιρεθέντες ἐλευθεριάσωμεν. Αἱρετὸν 95.1169 μᾶλλον δοῦλον γενέσθαι καὶ οἰκοτρίβων οἰκότριβα, ἢ δουλωθῆναί ποτε πάθεσι καταράτοις Πλειστάκις τὴν μεγάλην θάλασσαν, καὶ τὸν θαλάσσιον οὐκ ἠγνόησας φόβον; πόσῳ μᾶλλον φοβερωτέρα ἡ μνήμη τῆς κρίσεως. Οὐ πάντες οἱ δαίμονες τὰ αὐτὰ ἐπιτηδεύματα, ἢ τὰς αὐτὰς πονηρὰς λειτουργίας ἐπιτάσσονται παρὰ τοῦ διαβόλου. Ἄλλος γὰρ ἄλλην βδελυρὰν καὶ θεοστυγῆ διακονίαν πεπίστευται. Καὶ οὗτος μὲν βλασφημίας λογισμοὺς ταῖς τῶν ἀνθρώπων καρδίαις ἐγγλύφουσιν· ἐκεῖνοι δὲ αἰσχρὰς ἐπιθυμίας ὑποτίθενται τῇ ψυχῇ. Καὶ ἄλλοι μὲν εἰς κενοδοξίαν, καὶ φθόνον, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς διεγείρειν εἰώθασιν· ἄλλοι δὲ τοῖς αἱρετικοῖς τὰς ὕλας τῶν νοημάτων χορηγοῦσιν· ἄλλοι δὲ περὶ γαστριμαργίαν καὶ μέθην, καὶ πορνείαν σχολάζουσι. Καὶ ἕτεροι μὲν δαίμονες διὰ τῶν ἐνυπνίων, καὶ τῶν παρατηρήσεων Ἑλληνικῶν ἐξαπατῶσι, καὶ χλευάζουσιν. Ἕτεροι δὲ τὰς ἡδονὰς τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐμβάλλουσιν ἐν τῷ σώματι, καὶ πάντα τὰ μέλη τῇ ἀθεσμίᾳ καγχλάζειν καὶ κυματοῦσθαι ποιοῦσι, καὶ ὀμίχλης, καὶ ζόφου πληροῦσι τὰς αἰσθήσεις· καὶ οἱ μὲν τοῖς ἐπαοιδοῖς, καὶ φαρμάκοις, καὶ τοῖς ἐπιλαλοῦσι συμπράττουσι, καὶ συνεπισχύουσιν. Ἐκεῖνοι, καὶ ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν, ἕκαστον τάγμα δαιμόνων ἰδίαν τινὰ κεκλήρωται διακονίαν καὶ πραγματείαν ψυχοβλαβῆ. Ὃ χείλεσι μόνον ὁμολογῶν τὸν Χριστὸν, ἀρνησάμενος δὲ τοῖς ἔργοις, οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν αὐτῷ, οὐδὲ ἔχει αὐτὸν ἐν ἑαυτῷ· μόνου καὶ παντὸς μετόχου τυγχάνοντος τοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ πάντα ποιοῦντος. Τότε συγχώρησις γίνεται τῶν προεπταισμένων, ὅταν ἔργα μετανοίας μετὰ ταῦτα τελεσθῇ. Εἰ γάρ τις ἔτι πράττων τὰ ψεκτικὰ καὶ κολαστέα, προσποιεῖται μετάνοιαν, οὐ τεύξεται συγχωρήσεως, ἔτι πράττων τὰ ἀπηγορευμένα. Προσαγορεύσαντος τοῦ ἀσεβοῦς Βασιλίδους τὸν εὐαγγελιστὴν Ἰωάννην, καὶ εἰπόντος· Ἐπιγινώσκεις ἡμᾶς; ἀμελητὶ, Ἐπιγινώσκω σε, λέγει ὁ ἅγιος, πρωτότοκον τε Σατανᾶ. Φοβηθῶμεν, οὐχὶ νόσον τὴν ἔξωθεν, ἀλλὰ ἁμαρτήματα, δι' ἃ ἡ νόσος· καὶ νόσον ψυχῆς, οὐχὶ σώματος.