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One easily makes the outer man a monk, only if he wishes; but it is no small struggle to make the inner man a monk.
4.51 (να') Who then is there in this generation who is completely freed from passionate thoughts and has been deemed worthy of pure and immaterial prayer, which is a sign of the inward monk?
4.52 (νβ') Many passions are hidden in our souls; but they are exposed when things appear.
4.53 (νγ') One can not be troubled by the passions in the absence of things (14__330>, having attained partial dispassion; but if things appear, the passions immediately distract the mind.
4.54 (νδ') Do not think you have perfect dispassion when the thing is not present. But when it appears and you remain unmoved both toward the thing and its subsequent memory, then know that you have stepped on its boundaries. Yet, even so, do not be contemptuous, because virtue, when it persists, puts the passions to death, but when neglected, it raises them up again.
4.55 (νε') The one who loves Christ certainly also imitates Him according to his ability. For example, Christ did not cease doing good to men and though met with ingratitude and blasphemy, He was long-suffering; and though struck by them and killed, He endured, taking no account of evil against anyone at all. These three are the works of love for one's neighbor, without which, the one who says he loves Christ or will attain His kingdom deceives himself. For not everyone who says to me, He says, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father; and again: 'The one who loves me will keep my commandments'; and so on.
4.56 (νστ') The whole purpose of the Savior's commandments is to free the mind from intemperance and hatred and to lead it to His love and that of the neighbor, from which is born the light of active holy knowledge.
4.57 (νζ') Having been deemed worthy of partial knowledge from God, do not neglect love and self-control; for these, by purifying the passionate part of the soul (14__332>, always prepare the way to knowledge for you.
4.58 (νη') The way to knowledge is dispassion and humility, without which no one will see the Lord.
4.59 (νθ') Since knowledge puffs up, but love builds up, join love to knowledge and you will be free from pride and a spiritual builder, building up both yourself and all who draw near to you.
4.60 (ξ') For this reason love builds up, because it neither envies nor is embittered toward those who envy, nor does it parade what is envied, nor does it consider itself to have already attained, and it shamelessly confesses its ignorance of the things it does not know; thus it renders the mind free from pride and always prepares it to advance in knowledge.
4.61 (ξα') Conceit and envy somehow tend to accompany knowledge, especially in the beginning; and conceit, only from within; but envy, both from within and from without; from within, against those who have knowledge; from without, from those who have it. Love, therefore, overturns the three: conceit, because it is not puffed up; inward envy, because it is not jealous; and outward envy, because it is long-suffering and kind. It is necessary, therefore, for the one who has knowledge to also take up love, so that he may keep his mind invulnerable in every way.
4.62 (ξβ') He who has been deemed worthy of the gift of knowledge and holds grief or resentment or hatred toward a person, is like one who (14__334> with thorns and
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ἔξω ἄνθρωπον εὐκόλως τις ποιεῖ μοναχόν, μόνον ἐὰν θελήσῃ· οὐκ ὀλίγος δὲ ἀγὼν τὸν ἔσω ἄνθρωπον ποιῆσαι μοναχόν.
4.51 (να') Τίς ἄρα ἐστὶν ἐν τῇ γενεᾷ ταύτῃ ὁ παντάπασιν ἀπαλλαγεὶς ἐμπαθῶν νοημάτων καὶ τῆς καθαρᾶς καὶ ἀΰλου καταξιωθεὶς προσευχῆς, ὅπερ ἐστὶ σημεῖον τοῦ ἔνδον μοναχοῦ;
4.52 (νβ') Πολλὰ πάθη ἐν ταῖς ψυχαῖς ἡμῶν κέκρυπται· τότε δὲ ἐλέγχονται, ὅταν τὰ πράγματα ἀναφαίνωνται.
4.53 (νγ') ∆ύναταί τις μὴ ὀχλεῖσθαι ὑπὸ τῶν παθῶν ἐν τῇ τῶν πραγμάτων (14__330> ἀπουσίᾳ, μερικῆς τυχὼν ἀπαθείας· ἐὰν δὲ ἀναφανῶσι τὰ πράγματα, εὐθὺς τὰ πάθη τὸν νοῦν περισπῶσι.
4.54 (νδ') Μὴ νόμιζε τελείαν ἔχειν ἀπάθειαν, τοῦ πράγματος μὴ παρόντος. Ὅταν δὲ ἀναφανῇ καὶ μείνῃς ἀκίνητος πρός τε τὸ πρᾶγμα καὶ τὴν μετὰ ταῦτα μνήμην αὐτοῦ, τότε γνῶθι σεαυτὸν τῶν ὅρων αὐτῆς ἐπιβεβηκέναι. Πλὴν μηδὲ οὕτω καταφρονήσῃς, διότι ἀρετὴ μὲν χρονίζουσα νεκροῖ τὰ πάθη, ἀμελουμένη δὲ πάλιν ἐγείρει αὐτά.
4.55 (νε') Ὁ ἀγαπῶν τὸν Χριστόν, πάντως καὶ μιμεῖται αὐτὸν κατὰ δύναμιν. Οἷον ὁ Χριστὸς τοὺς ἀνθρώπους εὐεργετῶν οὐκ ἐπαύσατο καὶ ἀχαριστούμενος καὶ βλασφημούμενος ἐμακροθύμει καὶ τυπτόμενος ὑπ᾽ αὐτῶν καὶ φονευόμενος ὑπέμενε, μηδενὶ τὸ σύνολον τὸ κακὸν λογιζόμενος. Ταῦτα δὲ τὰ τρία εἰσὶ τὰ ἔργα τῆς εἰς τὸν πλησίον ἀγάπης, ὧν χωρὶς ὁ λέγων ἀγαπᾶν τὸν Χριστὸν ἢ τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ τυχεῖν ἑαυτὸν ἀπατᾷ· Οὐ γὰρ ὁ λέγων μοι, φησί, Κύριε Κύριε, οὗτος εἰσελεύσεται εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν, ἀλλ᾽ ὁ ποιῶν τὸ θέλημα τοῦ Πατρός μου· καὶ πάλιν· Ὁ ἀγαπῶν ἐμὲ τὰς ἐντολάς μου τηρήσει· καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς.
4.56 (νστ') Ἅπας ὁ σκοπὸς τῶν ἐντολῶν τοῦ Σωτῆρος, ἵνα ἀκρασίας καὶ μίσους τὸν νοῦν ἐλευθερώσῃ καὶ εἰς τὴν αὐτοῦ ἀγάπην καὶ τοῦ πλησίον ἀγάγῃ, ἐξ ὧν τίκτεται τὸ φέγγος τῆς κατ᾽ ἐνέργειαν ἁγίας γνώσεως.
4.57 (νζ') Μερικῆς γνώσεως παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ καταξιωθείς, μὴ ἀμέλει ἀγάπης καὶ ἐγκρατείας· αὗται γὰρ τὸ παθητικὸν μέρος τῆς ψυχῆς (14__332> ἐκκαθαίρουσαι τὴν ἐπὶ τὴν γνῶσιν ὁδὸν ἀεί σοι εὐτρεπίζουσιν.
4.58 (νη') Ὁδὸς ἐπὶ τὴν γνῶσίν ἐστιν ἀπάθεια καὶ ταπείνωσις, ὧν χωρὶς οὐδεὶς ὄψεται τὸν Κύριον.
4.59 (νθ') Ἐπειδὴ ἡ γνῶσις φυσιοῖ, ἡ δὲ ἀγάπη οἰκοδομεῖ, σύζευξον τῇ γνώσει τὴν ἀγάπην καὶ ἔσῃ ἄτυφος καὶ πνευματικὸς οἰκοδόμος καὶ σεαυτὸν οἰκοδομῶν καὶ πάντας τοὺς ἐγγίζοντάς σοι.
4.60 (ξ') Ἐντεῦθεν ἡ ἀγάπη οἰκοδομεῖ, ἐπειδὴ οὐδὲ φθονεῖ οὐδὲ πρὸς τοὺς φθονοῦντας πικραίνεται οὐδὲ τὸ φθονούμενον δημοσιεύει ἐπιδεικτικῶς οὐδὲ λογίζεται ἑαυτὸν ἤδη κατειληφέναι καὶ ὧν δὲ οὐκ οἶδεν ὁμολογεῖ ἀνερυθριάστως τὴν ἄγνοιαν· οὕτως οὖν τὸν νοῦν ἄτυφον ἀπεργάζεται καὶ προκόπτειν εἰς τὴν γνῶσιν ἀεὶ παρασκευάζει.
4.61 (ξα') Πέφυκέ πως παρέπεσθαι τῇ γνώσει οἴησις καὶ φθόνος, ἐν προοιμίοις μάλιστα· καὶ ἡ μὲν οἴησις, ἔνδοθεν μόνον· ὁ δὲ φθόνος, καὶ ἔνδοθεν καὶ ἔξωθεν· καὶ ἔνδοθεν μέν, πρὸς τοὺς ἔχοντας γνῶσιν· ἔξωθεν δέ, ἀπὸ τῶν ἐχόντων. Ἡ οὖν ἀγάπη τὰ τρία ἀνατρέπει· τὴν μὲν οἴησιν, ἐπειδὴ οὐ φυσιοῦται· τὸν δὲ ἔνδοθεν φθόνον, ἐπειδὴ οὐ ζηλοῖ· τὸν δὲ ἔξωθεν, ἐπειδὴ μακροθυμεῖ καὶ χρηστεύεται. Ἀνάγκη οὖν τὸν ἔχοντα γνῶσιν προσλαβέσθαι καὶ τὴν ἀγάπην, ἵνα ἄτρωτον τὸν νοῦν ἐν παντὶ διαφυλάττῃ.
4.62 (ξβ') Ὁ τοῦ χαρίσματος τῆς γνώσεως καταξιωθεὶς καὶ λύπην ἢ μνησικακίαν ἢ μῖσος πρὸς ἄνθρωπον ἔχων, ὅμοιός ἐστι τοῦ (14__334> ἀκάνθαις καὶ