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I have spoken to you, are spirit, and are life; and at another time that, The Holy Spirit will teach you all things, and will remind you of whatever I have said to you; for He will not speak, it says, of Himself, but whatever He hears from Me, this He will speak; these are the poor in spirit, who became poor not for any other reason, but because of the Lord's teaching when He said: Go, sell all that you have, and give to the poor. But if someone, having accepted any poverty that has befallen him, conducts himself according to the will of God, like Lazarus, this one is not a stranger to the blessing. 31.1220 QUESTION 206 Since the Lord commands not to be anxious about what we should eat, or what we should drink, or what we should wear, how far does this commandment extend; or how is it fulfilled? RESPONSE. The commandment extends until death, as does every commandment. For the Lord also was obedient until death. And it is fulfilled by trust in God. For the Lord, having forbidden anxiety, adds the promise, saying: For your Father knows what things you have need of, before you ask Him. Such was the Apostle when he said: We have had the sentence of death, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; dying daily according to the judgment and preparation of the soul, but being preserved by the good pleasure of God. Therefore he said with boldness: As dying, and behold, we live. And such a disposition is aided by fervent zeal and insatiable desire for the commandments of the Lord, by which he who is constrained has no leisure to be distracted by the needs of the body. QUESTION 207. Therefore, if one must not even be anxious about the necessities of life, and there is another commandment of the Lord who said: “Labor not for the food which perishes;” is working superfluous? RESPONSE. The Lord Himself clarified His own command in each place. For there, having forbidden seeking the things necessary for life in saying: Do not seek what you should eat, or what you should drink; for all these things the nations of the world seek after; He commanded, saying: But seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and how one must seek, He has shown through those who are deemed worthy; here, however, having forbidden laboring for the food that perishes, He taught to labor for the food that endures to eternal life; which He Himself again revealed in another place, saying: My food is to do the will of the Father who sent Me. And if it is the will of God to feed the hungry, to give drink to the thirsty, to clothe the naked, and the rest, it is altogether necessary to imitate the Apostle who says: I have shown you all things, how that so laboring you ought to support the weak; and to obey him when he teaches: But rather let him labor, working with his own hands the 31.1221 good thing, that he may have to give to him who has need. Therefore, since these things have been thus handed down to us by the Lord through the Gospel and the Apostle, it is clear that to be anxious or to work for one's own sake is altogether forbidden; but according to the commandment of the Lord, one must be more diligent to be anxious and to work for the need of one's neighbor; especially since the Lord takes upon Himself the diligence shown to those who are dedicated to Him, and promises the kingdom of heaven in return for this. QUESTION 208. Whether it is good to practice silence at all times. RESPONSE. The goodness of silence is tested by time and person, as we are taught by the divinely-inspired Scripture. By time, as when it says that, The one who understands in that time will keep silent, for it is an evil time; and again; I set a guard on my mouth, while the sinner stood before me; and by person, as when the Apostle writes: But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent; and again; Let your women keep silent in the churches. But there is a time when even for those who are intemperate with their tongue, and unable to keep the saying, Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good for the building up of faith; complete silence is necessary, until in this

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λελάληκα ὑμῖν, πνεῦμά ἐστι, καὶ ζωή ἐστι· ποτὲ δὲ ὅτι, Τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον διδάξει ὑμᾶς πάντα, καὶ ὑπομνήσει ἃ ἂν εἴπω ὑμῖν· οὐ γὰρ λαλήσει, φησὶν, ἀφ' ἑαυτοῦ, ἀλλ' ὅσα ἂν ἀκούσῃ παρ' ἐμοῦ, ταῦτα λαλήσει· οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ πτωχοὶ τῷ πνεύματι, οἵτινες οὐ δι' ἄλλην τινὰ αἰτίαν ἐπτώ χευσαν, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὴν διδασκαλίαν τοῦ Κυρίου εἰπόν τος· Ὕπαγε, πώλησον πάντα ὅσα ἔχεις, καὶ δὸς πτωχοῖς. Ἐὰν δέ τις, καὶ τὴν ὁπωσοῦν συμ βᾶσαν πτωχείαν καταδεξάμενος, κυβερνήσῃ πρὸς τὸ θέλημα τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὡς ὁ Λάζαρος, οὐδὲ οὗτος τοῦ μακαρισμοῦ ἀλλότριος. 31.1220 ΕΡΩΤΗΣΙΣ Σʹ Τοῦ Κυρίου παραγγέλλοντος μὴ μεριμνᾷν τί φάγωμεν, ἢ τί πίωμεν, ἢ τί περιβαλλώμεθα, μέχρι τίνος ἐστὶν ἡ ἐντολή· ἢ πῶς κατορ θοῦται. ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ. Ἡ μὲν ἐντολή ἐστι μέχρι θανάτου, ὡς καὶ πᾶσα ἐντολή. Καὶ γὰρ ὁ Κύριος ὑπήκουσε μέχρι θανάτου. Κατορθοῦται δὲ τῇ ἐπὶ τὸν Θεὸν πεποιθήσει. Ἀπαγορεύσας γὰρ ὁ Κύριος τὴν μέριμναν, ἐπισυνάπτει τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν, εἰπών· Οἶδε γὰρ ὁ Πατὴρ ὑμῶν, ὧν χρείαν ἔχετε, πρὸ τοῦ ὑμᾶς αἰτῆσαι αὐτόν. Τοιοῦτος ἦν ὁ Ἀπόστολος λέγων· Τὸ ἀπόκριμα τοῦ θανάτου ἐσχήκαμεν, ἵνα μὴ πεποιθότες ὦμεν ἐφ' ἑαυτοῖς, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τῷ Θεῷ τῷ ἐγείροντι τοὺς νεκρούς· κατὰ μὲν τὴν κρίσιν καὶ τὴν ἑτοιμασίαν τῆς ψυχῆς καθημέραν ἀποθνήσκων, τῇ δὲ τοῦ Θεοῦ εὐδοκίᾳ φυλασσόμενος. ∆ιὸ μετὰ παῤῥησίας ἔλεγεν· Ὡς ἀποθνήσκοντες, καὶ ἰδοὺ ζῶμεν. Βοηθεῖ δὲ τῇ τοιαύτῃ προαιρέσει καὶ ἡ περὶ τὰς ἐντολὰς τοῦ Κυ ρίου διάπυρος σπουδὴ καὶ ἀκόρεστος ἐπιθυμία, ὑφ' ἧς ὁ κρατηθεὶς οὐδὲ σχολὴν ἄγει μετεωρισθῆναι περὶ τὰς τοῦ σώματος χρείας. ΕΡΩΤΗΣΙΣ ΣΖʹ. Οὐκοῦν εἰ μηδὲ μεριμνᾷν δεῖ περὶ τῶν ἀναγ καίων πρὸς τὸ ζῇν, καὶ ἄλλη παραγγελία ἐστὶ τοῦ Κυρίου εἰπόντος· «Ἐργάζεσθε μὴ τὴν βρῶσιν τὴν ἀπολλυμένην·» περισσὸν τὸ ἐργά ζεσθαι. ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ. Αὐτὸς ὁ Κύριος ἐν ἑκατέρῳ τόπῳ τὸ ἑαυτοῦ πρόσ ταγμα ἐσαφήνισεν. Ἐκεῖ μὲν γὰρ ἀπαγορεύσας τὸ ζητεῖν τὰ πρὸς τὸ ζῇν ἐν τῷ εἰπεῖν· Μὴ ζητεῖτε τί φάγητε, ἢ τί πίητε· ταῦτα γὰρ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη τοῦ κόσμου ἐπιζητεῖ· προσέταξεν εἰπών· Ζητεῖτε δὲ τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ τὴν δι καιοσύνην αὐτοῦ· πῶς δὲ δεῖ ζητεῖν, διὰ τῶν κατ αξιουμένων ἐδήλωσεν· ἐνταῦθα δὲ κωλύσας ἐργά ζεσθαι τὴν βρῶσιν τὴν ἀπολλυμένην, ἐδίδαξεν ἐργά ζεσθαι τὴν βρῶσιν τὴν μένουσαν εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον· ἣν αὐτὸς πάλιν ἐφανέρωσεν ἐν ἑτέρῳ τόπῳ εἰπών· Ἐμὸν βρῶμά ἐστιν, ἵνα ποιῶ τὸ θέλημα τοῦ πέμψαντός με Πατρός. Εἰ δὲ θέλημα Θεοῦ ἐστι πεινῶντα θρέψαι, διψῶντα ποτίσαι, γυμνὸν περι βαλεῖν, καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ, ἀνάγκη πᾶσα μιμεῖσθαι τὸν Ἀπόστολον λέγοντα· Πάντα ὑπέδειξα ὑμῖν, ὅτι οὕτω κοπιῶντας δεῖ ἀντιλαμβάνεσθαι τῶν ἀσθε νούντων· καὶ ὑπακούειν αὐτῷ διδάσκοντι· Μᾶλλον δὲ κοπιάτω ἐργαζόμενος ταῖς ἰδίαις χερσὶ τὸ 31.1221 ἀγαθὸν, ἵνα ἔχῃ μεταδιδόναι τῷ χρείαν ἔχοντι. Τούτων τοίνυν οὕτως ἡμῖν ὑπὸ τοῦ Κυρίου διὰ τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου καὶ τοῦ Ἀποστόλου παραδεδο μένων, φανερὸν ὅτι τὸ μὲν ἑαυτοῦ ἕνεκεν μεριμνᾷν, ἢ ἐργάζεσθαι, παντάπασιν ἀπηγόρευται· κατ' ἐντολὴν δὲ τοῦ Κυρίου, διὰ τὴν χρείαν τοῦ πλησίον μεριμνᾷν καὶ ἐργάζεσθαι σπουδαιότερον χρή· μάλιστα τοῦ Κυρίου εἰς ἑαυτὸν ἀναδεχομένου τὴν εἰς τοὺς ἀνα κειμένους αὐτῷ σπουδὴν, καὶ βασιλείαν οὐρανῶν ὑπὲρ ταύτης ἐπαγγελλομένου. ΕΡΩΤΗΣΙΣ ΣΗʹ. Εἰ καλόν ἐστι καθόλου σιγὴν ἀσκεῖν. ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ. Τῆς σιγῆς τὸ καλὸν καιρῷ καὶ προσώπῳ δοκιμά ζεται, ὡς παρὰ τῆς θεοπνεύστου Γραφῆς διδασκό μεθα. Καιρῷ μὲν, ὡς ὅταν λέγῃ ὅτι, Ὁ συνιὼν ἐν τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ σιωπήσεται, ὅτι καιρὸς πονηρός ἐστι· καὶ πάλιν· Ἐθέμην τῷ στόματί μου φυλακὴν, ἐν τῷ συστῆναι τὸν ἁμαρτωλὸν ἐναντίον μου· προσώπῳ δὲ, ὡς ὅταν γράφῃ ὁ Ἀπό στολος· Ἐὰν δὲ ἄλλῳ ἀποκαλυφθῇ καθημένῳ, ὁ πρῶτος σιγάτω· καὶ πάλιν· Αἱ γυναῖκες ὑμῶν ἐν ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις σιγάτωσαν. Ἔστι δὲ ὅτε καὶ τοῖς ἀκρατεστέροις τὴν γλῶσσαν, καὶ μὴ δυναμένοις φυ λάξαι τὸ, Πᾶς λόγος σαπρὸς ἐκ τοῦ στόματος ὑμῶν μὴ ἐκπορευέσθω, ἀλλ' εἴ τις ἀγαθὸς, πρὸς οἰκοδομὴν τῆς πίστεως· ἀναγκαία ἡ τελεία σιωπὴ, ἕως ἂν ἐν ταύτῃ τό