47

yours, and the abyss. But withdraw afar, and stretch forth your hands 1399 upon nations or cities, as many as have not known God. But I am Christ's portion, and have been made a temple, and a sacrifice; and then a god, my soul having been mingled with the Godhead. But yield to God, and to the divine creation, revering both the wrath of God, and the chorus of pious souls, and the sound in everlasting hymns.

55. A warding off of the evil one, and an invocation of Christ. Flee from my

heart, crafty one, flee most swiftly; Flee from my limbs, flee from my life. Thief, serpent, fire, Belial, wickedness, fate, chasm, dragon, beast, Night, ambush, madness, chaos, slanderer, man-slayer; You who also sent destruction upon my first parents, 1400 having given a taste of wickedness, O destroyer, and of death. Christ the King commands you to flee into the gulf of the sea, or down cliffs, or into a herd of swine, like the reckless legion before. But yield, lest I strike you with the cross, before which all things tremble. I bear the cross in my limbs, and the cross in my journey, and the cross in my heart; the cross is my glory. Will you not cease lying in wait for me, O mischief-maker? Will you not look to cliffs, not to Sodom, not to the herds of the godless, who, having cut the great Godhead apart, dissolved it, but upon my grey hair, but upon my heart? You are always blackening me with gloomy thoughts, O enemy, trembling at neither God, nor the sacrifices. This mind of the Trinity has also become a resounding herald; and now it looks to the end. O filth, do not trouble me, 1401 so that I, being pure, may meet with the pure heavenly lights. Splendors, come to my life; I stretch out my hands, receive me. Farewell, you world; Farewell, bearer of toil; spare those after me.

56. Against the same. I cry out to God. What is this? Flee from me quickly, Flee, O most evil

beast, man-slaying, Why do you trouble me, having been wronged in no way? Go, enter and fill the depths of your swine. They will receive you readily as you fall into the abyss. But keep away from me, lest I strike you with the cross, which all things shudder at and tremble with fear of its power. 1402

57. Against the evil one. Flee from these lines, O barbarian, do not trouble me.

Flee, every evil one; Christ is being written for me, lest my concentrated thought flee from me; be gone, all you whom Christ does not lead far from earthly things.

58. Against the same. This too is from your attack, O most evil one. You creep into

the mind with cunning coils, Persuading it to snatch the smoothness of pleasure. But you will not persuade me; Adam has persuaded me of this. Turn back to the earth, and I will tread on your head. But if there is strength to touch you a little with my foot, I will hang you up like a bronze serpent, that seeing the harm I may flee it. 1403

59. Against the same. Depart, depart, hostile one, man-slayer; Depart,

eye of terrors, rabid evil; Depart. Christ is within, to whom I have brought and given my soul. Flee, renouncing, as quickly as possible. O help, guardian angels! O tyranny, and theft approaches. From which rescue me, yes, friends, I am stoned.

60. Against the same. You came indeed, you came, O most evil one, but you were checked. When I saw the smoke, I also sensed the fire. A pungent smell, the indication of the dragon. But I set up the cross, which is the guardian of my life, which, binding the whole cosmos together, brings it to God. 1404 Fearing this, yield, do not appear again. Grace calls me as an undefiled assistant. How much you press me with evils? How much? For me God has died, and again was raised. Revere the font; yield, O man-slayer. As you first stole me with bitter pleasure, so wickedly you wish to kill me today. Depart, depart; for I have sensed the wrestling match. Even if you have a body

47

τεὸν, ἠδὲ βέρεθρον. Ἀλλ' ἀποχάζεο τῆλε, τεὰς δ' ἐπὶ χεῖρας ἰάλλοις 1399 Ἔθνεσιν ἢ πτολίεσσιν, ὅσαι Θεὸν οὐκ ἐνόησαν. Αὐτὰρ ἐγὼ Χριστοῖο λάχος, νηός τε τέτυγμαι, Καὶ θύος· αὐτὰρ ἔπειτα θεὸς, θεότητι μιγείσης Ψυχῆς. Ἀλλ' ὑπόεικε Θεῷ, καὶ πλάσματι θείῳ, Ἁζόμενος μῆνίν τε Θεοῦ, ψυχῶν τε χορείην Εὐσεβέων, ἦχόν τε διηνεκέεσσιν ἐν ὕμνοις.

ΝΕʹ. Ἀποτροπὴ τοῦ πονηροῦ, καὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐπίκλησις. Φεῦγ' ἀπ' ἐμῆς

κραδίης, δολομήχανε, φεῦγε τάχιστα· Φεῦγ' ἀπ' ἐμῶν μελέων, φεῦγ' ἀπ' ἐμοῦ βιότου. Κλὼψ, ὄφι, πῦρ, Βελίη, κακίη, μόρε, χάσμα, δράκων, θὴρ, Νὺξ, λοχέ, λύσσα, χάος, βάσκανε, ἀνδροφόνε· Ὃς καὶ πρωτογόνοισιν ἐμοῖς ἐπὶ λοιγὸν ἕηκας, 1400 Γεύσας τῆς κακίης, οὔλιε, καὶ θανάτου. Χριστὸς ἄναξ κέλεταί σε φυγεῖν ἐς λαῖτμα θαλάσσης, Ἠὲ κατὰ σκοπέλων, ἠὲ συῶν ἀγέλην, Ὡς λεγεῶνα πάροιθεν ἀτάσθαλον. Ἀλλ' ὑπόεικε, Μή σε βάλω σταυρῷ, τῷ πᾶν ὑποτρομέει. Σταυρὸν ἐμοῖς μελέεσσι φέρω, σταυρὸν δὲ πορείῃ, Σταυρὸν δὲ κραδίῃ· σταυρὸς ἐμοὶ τὸ κλέος. Οὐ λήξεις λοχόων με, κακόσχολε; οὐκ ἐπὶ κρημνοὺς, Οὐ Σόδομα βλέψεις, οὐκ ἀθέων ἀγέλας, Οἳ μεγάλην θεότητα διατμήξαντες ἔλυσαν, Ἀλλ' ἐπ' ἐμὴν πολιὴν, ἀλλ' ἐπ' ἐμὴν κραδίην; Αἰεί με δνοφεροῖσι νοήμασιν, ἐχθρὲ, μελαίνεις, Οὔτε Θεὸν τρομέων, οὔτε θυηπολίας. Οὗτος καὶ Τριάδος νόος ἔπλετο ἠχέτα κήρυξ· Καὶ νῦν τέρμα βλέπει. Βόρβορε, μή με θόλου, 1401 Ὡς καθαρὸς καθαροῖσι συναντήσω φαέεσσιν Οὐρανίοις. Αἶγλαι, δεῦτ' ἐπ' ἐμὴν βιοτήν· Τὰς δὲ χέρας τανύω, δέξασθέ με. Χαῖρε σὺ, κόσμε· Χαῖρε, μογηροφόρε· φείδεο τῶν μετ' ἐμέ.

Νςʹ. Κατὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ. Θεὸν βοῶ. Τί τοῦτο; φεῦγέ μοι τάχος, Φεῦγ', ὦ κάκιστον

θηρίον, βροτοκτόνον, Τί μοι διοχλεῖς οὐδὲν ἠδικημένος; Τῶν σῶν συῶν πλήρωσον εἰσελθὼν βάθη. ∆έξονθ' ἑτοίμως εἰς βυθοὺς πεσούμενον. Ἐμοῦ δ' ἀπόσχου, μή σε τῷ σταυρῷ βάλω, Ὃν πάντα φρίσσει καὶ τρέμει φόβῳ κράτους. 1402

ΝΖʹ. Κατὰ τοῦ πονηροῦ. Φεῦγ' ἄπο τὰς γραμμὰς, ὦ βάρβαρε, μή με διόχλει.

Φεῦγε, πονηρὸς ἅπας· Χριστὸς ἐμοὶ γράφεται, Μή με φύγῃ τὸ νόημα συνηγμένον· ἔῤῥετε πάντες, Οὓς μὴ Χριστὸς ἄγει τῆλ' ἀπὸ τῶν χθονίων.

ΝΗʹ. Κατὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ. Καὶ τοῦτο τῆς σῆς, ὦ κάκιστε, προσβολῆς. Τὸν νοῦν

ἐφέρπεις εὐστρόφοις ἑλίγμασι, Πείθων τὸ λεῖον ἁρπάσαι τῆς ἡδονῆς. Ἀλλ' οὔτι πείσεις· τοῦτ' Ἀδὰμ πέπεικέ με. Εἰς γῆν ἀποστράφηθι, καὶ κάραν πατοῦ. Εἰ δ' ἰσχύς ἐστι μικρὸν ἐγχρίψαι ποδὶ, Κρεμῶ σε χαλκοῦν, ὡς βλάβην ὁρῶν φύγω. 1403

ΝΘʹ. Κατὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ. Ἄπελθ', ἄπελθε, δυσμενὲς, βροτοκτόνε· Ἄπελθε,

δεινῶν ὄμμα, λυσσῶδες κακόν· Ἄπελθε. Χριστὸς ἔνδον, ᾧ φέρων ἐμὴν Ψυχὴν δέδωκα. Φεῦγ' ἀπειπὼν ὡς τάχος. Ὠὴ βοηθεῖτ', ἄγγελοι παραστάται! Ὠὴ τυραννὶς, καὶ κλοπὴ προσέρχεται. Ὧν μ' ἐξέλεσθε, ναὶ, φίλοι, λιθάζομαι.

Ξʹ. Κατὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ. Ἦλθες μὲν, ἦλθες, ὦ κάκιστ', ἀλλ' ἐσχέθης. Ὡς καπνὸν εἶδον, ᾐσθόμην καὶ τοῦ πυρός. Ὀσμὴ δριμεῖα, τοῦ δράκοντος ἔμφασις. Σταυρὸν δ' ἐφίστημ', ὃς φύλαξ ζωῆς ἐμῆς, Ὃς πάντα κόσμον συνδέων, Θεῷ φέρει. 1404 Τοῦτον φοβηθεὶς, εἶκε, μὴ πάλιν φανῇς. Καλεῖ μ' ἄχραντον ἡ χάρις παραστάτην. Πόσον πιέζεις δή με τοῖς κακοῖς; πόσον; Ἐμοὶ Θεὸς τέθνηκε, κ' αὖθις ἔγρετο. Αἰδοῦ τὸ λοῦτρον· εἶξον, ὦ βροτοκτόνε. Ὡς ἡδονῇ με πρῶτον ἔκλεψας πικρᾷ, Οὕτω κακῶς με σήμερον κτεῖναι θέλεις. Ἄπελθ', ἄπελθε· τῆς πάλης γὰρ ᾐσθόμην. Κἂν σῶμ' ἔχῃς