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having entered, when they become a habit, are difficult to change, how much more so virtue, which has been 292 naturally implanted in us by the Creator and which has Him as its helper, if, after we have struggled a little, it becomes rooted in the soul as a habit, will it be difficult to change? xx Hence a certain laborer of this related to me, that "After I had acquired divine contemplation as a most firm habit and my soul had been formed by its practice, wishing once to make a test of it, I restrained my mind, not allowing it to undertake its customary practice; and I found it was grieved and distressed and was urged toward it with an irresistible longing, and in no way able to incline toward any contrary thought; and when I loosened the reins a little, it immediately ran swiftly back to its own work, as the Prophet says: As the hart longs for the fountains of waters, so my soul longs for God, the mighty, the living. It has been shown, therefore, from all these things, that the acquisition of virtue is in our power, and we have become masters of it, whether we wish to cleave to it, or to prefer sin. Those, therefore, who have been enslaved to wickedness are with difficulty torn away from it, as indeed I said before. But you, having at last been freed from this through the tender mercy of our God, and having put on Christ by the grace of the divine Spirit, transfer your whole self to the Lord, and in no way 294 open a door to the passions any longer; but having adorned your soul with the fragrance and brilliance of the virtues, make it a temple of the Holy Trinity, occupying all the powers of your mind with the contemplation of it. For if one who lives with and converses with an earthly king is shown to be blessed by all, one who is deemed worthy to converse with God and be with Him in the mind, of how much blessedness will he partake? Therefore, always behold Him as in a mirror, and converse with Him. But how will you converse with God? By nearness to Him through prayer and supplication. For one who prays with most fervent longing and a purified heart, having removed his mind far from all material and base things, and standing before God as though face to face, offering his supplications to Him with fear and trembling, such a one converses with Him and speaks to Him face to face. For our good Master is everywhere present, hearkening to those who approach Him sincerely and purely, just as the Prophet says: The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. And for this reason the Fathers define prayer as the union of man with God, and call it the work of angels, and a prelude to the gladness to come. For since they esteem the nearness and contemplation of the Holy Trinity as the kingdom of heaven above all things, and the practice of prayer guides the mind to this, it is fittingly called a prelude and, as it were, a prefiguration of that blessedness. But not every prayer is thus constituted, but that which is 296 truly worthy of this name, which has God as its teacher, who gives prayer to the one who prays, which has been raised above all things on earth and intercedes immediately with the Master God. Acquire this for yourself, and strive for progress in it; for it is able to lift you up from earth to heaven. But you will not progress in this unpreparedly and by chance; but, having first cleansed the soul of all the passions, and wiped it clean of every evil thought like a clean and newly-polished mirror, and having distanced yourself from all remembrance of wrongs and wrath, which more than anything prevents our prayers from ascending to God, and having forgiven from your heart the offenses of all who have sinned against you, and having given wings to your prayer with alms and compassion for the poor, offer it to God with fervent tears. Praying thus, you will be able to say as the

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ἐπεισελθόντα, ἡνίκα ἐν ἕξει γένωνται, δυσμετάβλητά εἰσι, πόσῳ μᾶλλον ἡ ἀρετή, καὶ 292 φυσικῶς ἡμῖν ἐμφυτευθεῖσα ὑπὸ τοῦ ∆ημιουργοῦ καὶ αὐτὸν ἐπίκουρον ἔχουσα, εἰ, μικρὸν ἀγωνισαμένων ἡμῶν, ἐν ἕξει ῥιζωθῇ τῇ ψυχῇ, δυσμετάβλητος ἔσται; χχ Ὅθεν μοι ταύτης ἐργάτης διηγήσατό τις, ὅτι Μετὰ τὸ προσλαβέσθαι με τὴν θείαν θεωρίαν ἐν ἕξει βεβαιοτάτῃ καὶ τῇ ταύτης μελέτῃ ποιωθῆναι τὴν ψυχήν, βουληθείς ποτε ἀπόπειραν αὐτῆς ποιήσασθαι, κατέσχον τὸν νοῦν μου, μὴ συγχωρήσας τῇ κατ' ἔθος ἐπιβαλεῖν μελέτῃ· καὶ ἔγνων αὐτὸν ἀνιώμενον καὶ δυσφοροῦντα καὶ πρὸς αὐτὴν ἀσχέτῳ ἐπειγόμενον πόθῳ, μηδόλως δὲ πρὸς ἐναντίαν τινὰ ἐνθύμησιν ἀποκλῖναι ἰσχύοντα· ἡνίκα δὲ μικρὸν ἐνέδωκα τὰς ἡνίας, ὀξυδρόμως εὐθὺς ἀνέδραμε πρὸς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἐργασίαν, καθά φησιν ὁ Προφήτης· Ὃν τρόπον ἐπιποθεῖ ἡ ἔλαφος ἐπὶ τὰς πηγὰς τῶν ὑδάτων, οὕτως ἐπιποθεῖ ἡ ψυχή μου πρὸς τὸν Θεόν, τὸν ἰσχυρόν, τὸν ζῶντα. ἀποδέδεικται οὖν ἐκ πάντων τούτων, ὡς ἐφ' ἡμῖν ἐστιν ἡ κτῆσις τῆς ἀρετῆς, καὶ ἡμεῖς ταύτης κύριοι καθεστήκαμεν εἴτε θελήσομεν αὐτῆς ἀνθέξεσθαι, εἴτε τὴν ἁμαρτίαν προκρῖναι. οἱ μὲν οὖν δουλωθέντες τῇ κακίᾳ δυσαποσπάστως αὐτῆς ἔχουσι, καθὰ δὴ προλαβὼν εἶπον. Σὺ δὲ λοιπὸν ἐλευθερωθεὶς ταύτης διὰ σπλάγχνα ἐλέους Θεοῦ ἡμῶν, καὶ τὸν Χριστὸν ἐνδεδυμένος τῇ τοῦ θείου Πνεύματος χάριτι, ὅλον σεαυτὸν μετάθες ἐπὶ τὸν Κύριον, καὶ μηδόλως 294 ἔτι τοῖς πάθεσι θύραν ἀνοίξῃς· ἀλλὰ τῇ εὐωδίᾳ καὶ λαμπρότητι τῶν ἀρετῶν κοσμήσας σου τὴν ψυχήν, ναὸν αὐτὴν ποίησον τῆς ἁγίας Τριάδος, τῇ ταύτης θεωρίᾳ πάσας σου τὰς τοῦ νοὸς δυνάμεις ἀπασχολήσας. εἰ γὰρ βασιλεῖ τις ἐπιγείῳ συνδιάγων καὶ διαλεγόμενος μακαριστὸς πᾶσι δείκνυται, ὁ Θεῷ διαλέγεσθαι καὶ συνεῖναι τῷ νοῒ καταξιωθεὶς πόσης ἀπολαύσεται μακαριότητος; αὐτὸν οὖν ἐνοπτρίζου πάντοτε, καὶ αὐτῷ προσομίλει. πῶς δὲ προσομιλήσεις Θεῷ; τῇ διὰ προσευχῆς καὶ δεήσεως πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐγγύτητι. ὁ γὰρ πόθῳ θερμοτάτῳ καὶ καρδίᾳ κεκαθαρμένῃ προσευχόμενος, πάντων μὲν τῶν ὑλικῶν καὶ χαμαιζήλων μακρύνας τὸν νοῦν, ὡς ἐνώπιος δὲ ἐνωπίῳ παριστάμενος τῷ Θεῷ, φόβῳ τε καὶ τρόμῳ τὰς δεήσεις αὐτῷ προσάγων, ὁ τοιοῦτος ὁμιλεῖ αὐτῷ καὶ πρόσωπον πρὸς πρόσωπον αὐτῷ διαλέγεται. Πάρεστι γὰρ πανταχοῦ ὁ ἀγαθὸς ἡμῶν ∆εσπότης ἐπακούων τῶν εἰλικρινῶς καὶ καθαρῶς προσερχομένων αὐτῷ, καθάπερ φησὶν ὁ Προφήτης· Ὀφθαλμοὶ Κυρίου ἐπὶ δικαίους, καὶ ὦτα αὐτοῦ εἰς δέησιν αὐτῶν. καὶ διὰ τοῦτο οἱ Πατέρες τὴν προσευχὴν ἕνωσιν ἀνθρώπου πρὸς Θεὸν ὁρίζονται, καὶ ἔργον ἀγγέλων ταύτην καλοῦσι, καὶ τῆς μελλούσης εὐφροσύνης προοίμιον. ἐπεὶ γὰρ βασιλείαν οὐρανῶν τὴν ἐγγύτητα καὶ θεωρίαν τῆς Ἁγίας Τριάδος πλέον πάντων τίθενται, πρὸς τοῦτο δὲ καὶ ἡ τῆς εὐχῆς προσεδρεία τὸν νοῦν χειραγωγεῖ, εἰκότως προοίμιον καὶ οἱονεὶ προεικόνισμα ἐκείνης τῆς μακαριότητος κέκληται αὕτη. οὐ πᾶσα δὲ εὐχὴ οὑτωσὶ καθέστηκεν, ἀλλ' ἡ 296 τῆς προσηγορίας ταύτης ὄντως ἀξία, ἡ Θεὸν ἔχουσα διδάσκαλον, τὸν διδόντα εὐχὴν τῷ εὐχομένῳ, ἡ πάντων τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς ὑπεραρθεῖσα καὶ τῷ ∆εσπότῃ Θεῷ ἀμέσως ἐντυγχάνουσα. Ταύτην σεαυτῷ περιποιοῦ, καὶ εἰς ταύτην ἀγωνίζου τὴν προκοπήν· ἱκανὴ γὰρ ὑπάρχει ἐκ γῆς εἰς οὐρανοὺς ἀνυψῶσαί σε. οὐκ ἀπαρασκεύως δὲ καὶ ὡς ἔτυχε προκόψεις ἐν ταύτῃ· ἀλλά, πάντων τῶν παθῶν τὴν ψυχὴν προκαθάρας, καὶ πάσης πονηρᾶς ἐνθυμήσεως ταύτην ἀποσμήξας ὡς καθαρὸν καὶ νεόσμηκτον ἔσοπτρον, πάσης τε μνησικακίας καὶ μήνιδος σεαυτὸν μακρύνας, ἥτις πλέον πάντων τὰς ἡμετέρας εὐχὰς πρὸς Θεὸν ἀνάγεσθαι κωλύει, πᾶσί τε τοῖς ἡμαρτηκόσι σοι ἀπὸ καρδίας ἀφεὶς τὰ πλημμελήματα, καὶ ἐν ἐλεημοσύναις καὶ οἰκτιρμοῖς πενήτων τὴν εὐχὴν πτερώσας, προσάγαγε τῷ Θεῷ μετὰ θερμῶν δακρύων. οὕτως εὐχόμενος δυνήσῃ εἰπεῖν ὡς ὁ