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difficult and inexcusable and plunges him into the very pit of despair, and having brought him down to the bottom of Hades and bound him, leaves him. Let us flee, beloved, this destruction, I beseech you.

For he cunningly roots and sophistically produces despair in such men to such a degree, that they neither think themselves to be in despair, nor obey the divine Scriptures, nor indeed consider faithful those who speak to them about such things, but consider everything secondary to their own prudence or rather, foolishness and insensibility, and being bound by the neck, they remain senseless (144), which is worse than any despair. For it is one thing for someone who has fallen into a multitude of evils to despair of his own salvation, and another to use evil as if it were good and to be fully convinced that he is doing something good. For the first, if he is taught about repentance and the love of God for mankind and learns that there is no multitude of sins which repentance does not wipe away and that "where sin abounded, grace did much more abound," and that "there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents," perhaps coming to himself and being contrite, he might one day desire to be delivered from those many evils and for his conscience to be lightened of its unbearable burden, he will rise up and all other things—I mean the things of this life—will be counted as nothing, and he will fervently approach repentance. But the second, being more difficult to recall, completely refuses to be healed by such remedies. For how will he consent to be healed, who is not at all persuaded that he lies in sickness or in a fall? In no way!

But it is necessary for us first with spiritual words, as much as we are able, having selected from both the divine Gospel and the other holy Scriptures, to fully inform and show them, how, having started on the straight path, they were deceived by turning aside, and how the enemy, finding them isolated, deceitfully tied the rope of passion around their necks, and then how he led them around to the cliffs and abysses of sins; and after these things we will show them also how he cast them into the deepest pit, and where and how, having brought them down into Hades, he fastened the rope upon their neck, (145) and as they were no longer able to be freed and to ascend to the earth, having left them, he withdrew. And thus to those who are persuaded by the words of the divine Scripture and who come to an awareness of their own evils and confess and agree that their affairs are so, then we will also apply the remedies fitting for the wounds through their words.

But as I am about to come to the proofs of these matters and to undertake the contest of the word against the irrational and ignorant one who is pressing on, I ask all of you to pray with me, that the grace of the All-Holy Spirit, shining more brightly, may illumine my whole mind and intellect and grant me to say something worthily, not because of my own worth, but for your benefit, as if resounding the words itself, while at the same time showing and pointing out by its light all that we have said before, and as it were saying to us: "Behold the way, behold its deviation, behold the enemy, the rope. Behold the brother, how with joy he accepts the bond. Behold where the devil, dragging him, carries him off," and having pointed out everything in order without omission and having taught how we might be able to escape his snares, it may ascend to the heavens, taking us with it as free men. This will not be possible for us in any other way, unless we trace the account from above and from the beginning of our life and our entrance into the monastic contest, and make our beginning from there. For thus the word, as if walking on a path, might clearly demonstrate to those who pay attention what it has promised through the grace of the Spirit. But do not grow weary, for the discourse is profitable, inasmuch as

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χαλεπά καί ἀσύγγνωστα καί εἰς αὐτόν καταποντίζει τόν τῆς ἀπογνώσεως λάκκον, καί ἐν πυθμένι ᾅδου καταβιβάσας καί ἐνδεσμήσας ἀφίησι, φύγωμεν, ἀγαπητοί, τόν ὄλεθρον τοῦτον, παρακαλῶ.

Πανούργως γάρ ἐνριζοῖ ἐν τοῖς τοιούτοις καί σεσοφισμένως ἐμποιεῖ τήν ἀπόγνωσιν ἐπί τοσοῦτον, ὡς μήτε νομίζειν τούτους ἐν ἀπογνώσει γενέσθαι, μήτε πείθεσθαι ταῖς θείαις Γραφαῖς, μήτε μήν πιστούς ἡγεῖσθαι τούς περί τοιούτων λέγοντας πρός αὐτούς, πάντα δέ δεύτερα τῆς ἑαυτῶ τιθέναι φρονήσεως ἤ μᾶλλον εἰπεῖν ἀφροσύνης καί ἀναισθησίας, καί δεδεμένους ὄντας ἀπό τοῦ τραχήλου ἀναλγήτους (144) διακεῖσθαι, ὅπερ χεῖρον πάσης ἐστίν ἀπογνώσεως. Ἄλλο γάρ τό εἰς πλῆθος ἐμπεσόντα κακῶν τῆς ἑαυτοῦ σωτηρίας ἀπογινώσκειν τινά, καί ἕτερον τό ὡς καλῷ τῷ κακῷ χρᾶσθαι καί ἐν πλήροφορίᾳ εἶναι ὅτι καλόν τι ποιεῖ. Ὁ μέν γάρ πρότερος, εἰ περί μετανοίας καί τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ φιλανθρωπίας διδαχθῇ καί μάθῃ ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι πλῆθος ἁμαρτιῶν ὅ μή ἐξαλείφει ἡ μετάνοια καί ὅτι "ὅπου ἐπλεόνασεν ἡ ἁμαρτία, ὑπερεπερίσσευσεν ἡ χάρις" καί ὅτι "χαρά μᾶλλον γίνεται ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ ἐπί ἑνί ἁμαρτωλῷ μετανοοῦντι", ἴσως ἑαυτοῦ γενόμενος καί κατανυγείς, ἐπιθυμήσειέ ποτέ τῶν πολλῶν ἐκείνων ἀπαλλαγῆναι κακῶν καί τοῦ δυσβαστάκτου φορτίου κουφισθῆναι τό αὐτοῦ συνειδός, διαναστήσεται καί πάντα ἄλλα - τά βιωτικά λέγω - εἰς οὐδέν λογισθήσεται καί τῇ μετανοίᾳ θερμῶς προσέλθῃ· ὁ δέ δεύτερος, δυσανακλητότερος ὤν, εἰς ἅπαν ἀπαναίνεται τοῖς τοιούτοις φαρμάκοις ἰατρευθῆναι. Πῶς γάρ καί ἰατρευθῆναι καταδέξεται, ὁ μηδέ ὅτι ἐν νόσῳ ἤ πτώματι κεῖται ὅλως πειθόμενος; Οὐδαμῶς!

Ἀλλά δέον ἡμᾶς λόγοις πρότερον, καθ᾿ ὅσον οἷοί τε ὦμεν, πνευματικοῖς, ἔκ τε τοῦ θείου Εὐαγγελίου καί τῶν λοιπῶν ἁγίων Γραφῶν ἀναλεξαμένους, πληροφορῆσαι καί δεῖξαι αὐτοῖς, πῶς μέν τῆς εὐθείας ὁδοῦ ἀπαρξάμενοι, ἐκκλίναντες ἠπατήθησαν, πῶς δέ ὁ ἐχθρός αὐτούς μεμονωμένους εὑρών τό τῆς προσπαθείας σχοινίον ἀπατηλῶς τοῖς ἑαυτῶν τραχήλοις ἐμπεριέδησεν, ἔπειτα καί πῶς αὐτούς εἰς κρημνούς καί βάραθρα ἁμαρτημάτων ἐμπεριήγαγε· καί μετά ταῦτα δείξομεν αὐτοῖς καί πῶς τῷ βαθυτάτῳ λάκκῳ ἐναπέρριψε, καί ποῦ καί πῶς ἐν τῷ ᾅδῃ καταβιβάσας, τό ἐπί τοῦ τραχήλου αὐτῶν σχοινίον ἐναπέδησε, (145) καί ὡς οὐκέτι δυναμένους ἐλευθερωθῆναι καί πρός τήν γῆν ἀνελθεῖν, ἀφείς αὐτούς ὑπεχώρησε. Καί οὕτω τούς πειθομένους τοῖς λόγοις τῆς θείας Γραφῆς καί εἰς συναίσθησιν τῶν οἰκείων ἐρχομένους κακῶν καί συνομολογοῦντας καί οὕτως ἔχειν συντιθεμένους τά κατ᾿ αὐτούς, τηνικαῦτα καί τά φάρμακα τοῖς τραύμασιν ἁρμόζοντα διά τῶν λόγων αὐτῶν ἐπιδώσομεν.

Μέλλοντί μοι δέ πρός τάς ἀποδείξεις τῶν πραγμάτων ἐλθεῖν καί τόν ἀγῶνα τοῦ λόγου τῷ ἀλόγῳ καί ἀμαθεῖ ἐπειγομένῳ ἀναδέξασθαι, συνεύξασθαι δέομαι πάντων ὑμῶν, ἵνα ἡ χάρις τοῦ Παναγίου Πνεύματος φαιδρότερον ἐπιλάμψασα ὅλην μου καταφωτίσῃ τήν διάνοιαν καί τόν νοῦν καί δῴη ἀξίως εἰπεῖν τι, οὐχί διά τήν ἐμήν ἀξίαν, ἀλλά διά τήν ὑμετέραν ὠφέλειαν, ἐνηχοῦσα οἷον αὐτήν τούς λόγους ἅμα τε τῷ ταύτης φωτί φαίνουσα καί ὑποδεικνύουσα πάντα ἅπερ προείπομεν, καί οἱονεί πως λέγουσα πρός ἡμᾶς· "Ἴδε ἡ ὁδός, ἴδε ἡ ἔκπτωσις αὐτῆς, ἴδε ὁ ἐχθρός, τό σχοινίον. Ἴδε ὁ ἀδελφός, πῶς μετά χαρᾶς τόν δεσμόν καταδέχεται. Ἴδε ποῦ σύρων ὁ διάβολος αὐτόν ἀποφέρει", καί πάντα καθεξῆς ἀνελλιπῶς ὑποδείξασα καί πῶς τούς ἐκείνου βρόχους δυνηθῶμεν διαφυγεῖν ἐκδιδάξασα, πρός τούς οὐρανούς ἐλευθέρους ἡμᾶς συμπαραλαβοῦσα ἀνέλθῃ. Τοῦτο δέ οὐκ ἄλλως ἄν γένηται ἡμῖν δυνατόν, εἰ μή ἄνωθεν καί ἐξ ἀρχῆς τοῦ βίου καί τῆς εἰς τό μοναχικόν στάδιον εἰσόδου ἡμῶν τόν λόγον ἀναγαγόντες, ἐκεῖθεν τήν ἀρχήν ποιησόμεθα. Οὕτω γάρ καί ὡς ἐν ὁδῷ βαδίζων ὁ λόγος, ἅπερ ὑπέσχετο διά τῆς τοῦ Πνεύματος χάριτος καθαρῶς τοῖς προσέχουσιν ἀποδείξειεν. Ἀλλά μή ἀποκάμητε, ὠφέλιμος γάρ ὁ λόγος, καθ᾿ ὅσον