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While he guards you, the Lord grants you a camp; and through the strength of the angel He as it were walls you in on all sides with security from him. For this is what is meant by, 'Round about.' For just as the ramparts of cities, lying round about all of them, ward off the attacks of enemies from all sides; so also the angel both fortifies from the front, and acts as a rear-guard, and does not leave the flanks unguarded. For this reason, 'A thousand shall fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand'; but not even a blow from any of the enemies shall come near you, 'for he will command his angels concerning you.' Taste, and see that the Lord is good. We have often observed that the powers of the soul are called by the same names as the external members. Since then our Lord is the true bread, and his flesh is true food, it is necessary that the pleasure of the gladness of the bread should come to us through an intellectual taste. As the nature of honey cannot be presented so much by word to the inexperienced as by the very sensation of tasting; so also the goodness of the heavenly Word cannot be clearly transmitted by teachings, unless, having examined the doctrines of 29.365 truth more fully, we are able to grasp the goodness of the Lord by our own experience. But 'Taste,' he said, and not 'Be filled'; because for now we know in part, and we see the truth through a mirror and in a riddle; but the time will come when the present pledge, and this taste of grace, will arrive for us at the perfection of enjoyment. And just as those with stomach ailments and those with poor appetite, who turn away from food, are cured of their aversion by physicians, who stimulate their appetites through some contrivance in the foods, so that, with the sense being provoked by that seasoning, their appetites are always intensified towards more; so also in the case of the word of truth, 'This very experience,' he says, 'will always summon you to an insatiable desire.' For this reason, he says, 'Taste,' that you may become blessed, 'always hungering and thirsting for righteousness.' Blessed is the man who hopes in him. He who is always in desire of the Word will place his hope on nothing other than the Lord. Fear the Lord, all you his saints; for there is no want to them that fear him. Unless fear disciplines our life, it is impossible for sanctification to be achieved in the body. For, 'Nail down,' he says, 'my flesh out of fear of you.' For as those whose limbs are pierced by nails hold their bodies motionless for action, so those whose souls are possessed by divine fear escape all the annoyance from the passions of sin. Therefore, for the one who fears there is no want; that is, he who is prevented by fear from every improper deed is deficient in no virtue, but is perfect, lacking none of the goods that befit human nature. For just as he is not perfect in body who is wanting in some necessary part, but is imperfect in that which he lacks; so also he who is contemptuously disposed toward one of the commandments, because he falls short of it, is imperfect according to his deficiency. But he who has received perfect fear, and shrinks from all things through reverence, will sin in nothing by despising nothing; and he will have no want, because fear is sufficiently present to him for all things. The rich have become poor and hungry; but they that seek the Lord shall not be deprived of any good thing. Let the word also build us up toward contempt for bodily wealth, teaching us the uncertainty of the abundance of possessions. For wealth is changeable, and like a wave 29.368 driven by the force of the winds, it is by nature apt to flow away at different times to different places. And perhaps he calls Israel rich; whose is the adoption, and the worship, whose are the promises, from whom are the fathers. These, then, because of their sin against the Lord, have become poor. But those who in their place have sought the Lord shall not be deprived of any good thing. And they have become poor in some way

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φυλάσσοντός σε παρεμβολήν σοι χαρίζεται ὁ Κύριος· διὰ δὲ τὴν ἰσχὺν τοῦ ἀγγέλου οἱονεὶ περιτειχίζει σε πάντοθεν τῇ ἀπ' αὐτοῦ ἀσφαλείᾳ. Τοῦτο γὰρ σημαίνει τὸ, Κύκλῳ. Ὥσπερ γὰρ οἱ τῶν πόλεων περίβολοι, κύκλῳ πάσαις περι κείμενοι, πάντοθεν τὰς τῶν πολεμίων προσβολὰς ἀπείργουσιν· οὕτω καὶ ὁ ἄγγελος, καὶ προτειχίζει ἐκ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν, καὶ ὀπισθοφυλακεῖ, καὶ οὐδὲ τὰ ἑκατέρωθεν ἀφύλακτα καταλείπει. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο Πεσεῖ ται ἐκ τοῦ κλίτους σου χιλιὰς, καὶ μυριὰς ἐκ δε ξιῶν σου· πρὸς σὲ δὲ οὐδὲ πληγή τινος τῶν ἐχθρῶν ἐγγιεῖ, ὅτι τοῖς ἀγγέλοις αὐτοῦ ἐντελεῖται περὶ σοῦ. Γεύσασθε, καὶ ἴδετε ὅτι χρηστὸς ὁ Κύριος. Πολλαχοῦ τετηρήκαμεν, ὅτι τοῖς ἔξωθεν μέλεσιν ὁμωνύμως αἱ τῆς ψυχῆς προσαγορεύονται δυνάμεις. Ἐπεὶ δὲ ἄρτος ἐστὶν ἀληθινὸς ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν, καὶ ἡ σὰρξ αὐτοῦ ἀληθής ἐστι βρῶσις· ἀνάγκη τὴν ἡδονὴν τῆς εὐφροσύνης τοῦ ἄρτου διὰ γεύσεως ἡμῖν νοητῆς ἐγγίνεσθαι. Ὡς τοῦ μέλιτος ἡ φύσις οὐ τοσοῦτον τῷ λόγῳ δύναται παραστῆναι τοῖς ἀπείροις, ὅσον ἀπ' αὐτῆς τῆς κατὰ τὴν γεῦσιν αἰσθήσεως· οὕτως οὐδὲ ἡ χρηστότης τοῦ οὐρανίου λόγου ἐναργῶς πα ραδοθῆναι διδασκαλίαις δύναται, ἐὰν μὴ, τὰ τῆς 29.365 ἀληθείας δόγματα ἐπὶ πλέον βασανίσαντες, δυνηθῶ μεν τῇ οἰκείᾳ πείρᾳ τὴν χρηστότητα καταλαβεῖν τοῦ Κυρίου. Γεύσασθε δὲ, εἶπε, καὶ οὐχὶ ἐμπλήσθητε· διότι νῦν μὲν ἐκ μέρους γινώσκομεν, καὶ δι' ἐσόπτρου βλέπομεν καὶ αἰνίγματος τὴν ἀλήθειαν· ἥξει δέ ποτε ὅτε ὁ νῦν ἀῤῥαβὼν, καὶ τὸ γεῦμα τοῦτο τῆς χάριτος εἰς τελειότητα ἡμῖν τῆς ἀπολαύσεως καταντήσει. Ὥσπερ δὲ οἱ στομαχοῦντες καὶ οἱ κακόσιτοι, ἀποστρε φόμενοι τὰ σιτία, ὑπὸ τῶν ἰατρῶν θεραπεύονται τὸ δυσάρεστον, διεγειρόντων τὰς ὀρέξεις διά τινος ἐπι τηδεύσεως τῆς ἐν τοῖς βρώμασιν, ὥστε, ὑπὸ τῆς κα ρυκείας ἐκείνης ἐρεθιζομένης τῆς αἰσθήσεως, ἀεὶ πρὸς τὸ πλεῖον ἐπιτείνεσθαι τὰς ὀρέξεις· οὕτω καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ λόγου τῆς ἀληθείας, Αὐτὴ, φησὶν, ὑμᾶς ἡ πεῖρα πρὸς τὸ ἀκόρεστον τῆς ἐπιθυμίας ἀεὶ προσκα λέσεται. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο, φησὶ, Γεύσασθε, ἵνα μακάριοι γέ νησθε ἀεὶ πεινῶντες καὶ διψῶντες τὴν δικαιοσύνην. Μα κάριος ἀνὴρ ὃς ἐλπίζει ἐπ' αὐτόν. Ὁ ἀεὶ ἐν ἐπιθυμίᾳ ὢν τοῦ λόγου, ἐπ' οὐδὲν ἕτερον θήσεται τὴν ἐλπίδα ἢ ἐπὶ τὸν Κύριον. Φοβήθητε τὸν Κύριον, πάντες οἱ ἅγιοι αὐτοῦ· ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ὑστέρημα τοῖς φοβουμένοις αὐτόν. Ἐὰν μὴ φόβος παιδεύῃ ἡμῶν τὴν ζωὴν, ἀμήχανον κατορθωθῆναι τὸν ἁγιασμὸν ἐν τῷ σώματι. Καθήλωσον γὰρ, φησὶ, ἐκ τοῦ φόβου σου τὰς σάρκας μου. Ὡς γὰρ οἱ ὑπὸ τῶν ἥλων διαπεπαρ μένοι τὰ μέλη τοῦ σώματος ἀκίνητα ἔχουσι πρὸς ἐνέργειαν, οὕτως οἱ τῷ θείῳ φόβῳ τὴν ψυχὴν κατει λημμένοι πᾶσαν τὴν ἐκ τῶν παθῶν τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἐνόχλησιν διαφεύγουσι. Τῷ οὖν φοβουμένῳ οὐκ ἔστιν ὑστέρημα· τουτέστι, πρὸς οὐδεμίαν ἀρετήν ἐστιν ἐλλιπὴς ὁ ὑπὸ τοῦ φόβου ἀπὸ πάσης ἀτόπου πρά ξεως κωλυόμενος, ἀλλὰ τέλειός ἐστι, μηδενὸς τῶν ἐπιβαλλόντων τῇ ἀνθρωπίνῃ φύσει καλῶν ἀπολειπό μενος. Ὡς γὰρ οὐκ ἔστι τέλειος ἐν τῷ σώματι ὁ ἔν τινι μέρει τῶν ἀναγκαίων ἐλλιμπάνων, ἀλλ' ἀτε λής ἐστι καθ' ὃ ἐλλείπει· οὕτω καὶ ὁ περὶ μίαν τῶν ἐντολῶν καταφρονητικῶς διακείμενος, διὰ τὸ ὑστερεῖν αὐτῆς, ἀτελής ἐστι κατὰ τὸ ἐλλεῖπον. Ὁ δὲ τὸν τέλειον φόβον ἀνειληφὼς, καὶ πάντα καταπτήσσων δι' εὐλάβειαν, οὐδὲν μὲν ἁμαρτή σεται τῷ μηδενὸς ὑπερορᾷν· οὐχ ἕξει δὲ ὑστέρημα, τῷ ἐπὶ πάντα διαρκῶς παρεῖναι αὐτῷ τὸν φόβον. Πλούσιοι ἐπτώχευσαν καὶ ἐπείνασαν· οἱ δὲ ἐκζητοῦντες τὸν Κύριον οὐκ ἐλαττωθήσονται παντὸς ἀγαθοῦ. Οἰκοδομείτω μὲν ἡμᾶς καὶ πρὸς τὴν καταφρόνησιν τοῦ σωματικοῦ πλούτου ὁ λόγος, τὸ ἀβέβαιον τῆς τῶν χρημάτων περιουσίας ἐκδιδά σκων. Εὐμετάπτωτος γὰρ ὁ πλοῦτος, καὶ οἱονεὶ κῦμα 29.368 ὑπὸ τῆς βίας τῶν ἀνέμων ἄλλοτε πρὸς ἄλλα μέ ρη πεφυκὼς μεταῤῥεῖν. Καὶ πλούσιον λέγει τάχα τὸν Ἰσραήλ· ὧν ἡ υἱοθεσία καὶ ἡ λατρεία, ὧν αἱ ἐπαγ γελίαι, ἐξ ὧν οἱ πατέρες. Οὗτοι τοίνυν διὰ τὴν εἰς τὸν Κύριον ἁμαρτίαν ἐπτώχευσαν. Οἱ δὲ ἀντ' ἐκείνων ἐκ ζητήσαντες τὸν Κύριον οὐκ ἐλαττωθήσονται παντὸς ἀγαθοῦ. Ἐπτώχευσαν δέ πως