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pricking the eyes with thorns. Therefore, knowledge necessarily needs love.

4.63 (63) Do not occupy yourself entirely with the flesh, but assign to it ascetic practice according to your strength and turn your whole mind to what is within; For bodily exercise is profitable for a little; but godliness is profitable for all things; and so forth.

4.64 (64) He who unceasingly occupies himself with what is within is temperate, is long-suffering, is kind, is humble-minded; not only this, but he also contemplates and theologizes and prays; and this is what the Apostle says: Walk in the Spirit, and so forth.

4.65 (65) He who does not know how to travel the spiritual path, takes no care of passionate thoughts, but occupies himself entirely with the flesh and either is gluttonous and licentious, and is grieved and becomes angry and bears grudges and from this darkens his mind, or uses asceticism immoderately and muddies his intellect.

4.66 (66) Scripture abolishes none of the things given to us by God for our use, but it punishes lack of measure and corrects irrationality. For example, it does not forbid eating or having children or having money and managing it rightly, but it forbids being gluttonous, fornicating, and so forth; nor does it forbid thinking of these things; for this is why they came to be; but to think of them with passion.

4.67 (67) Some of the things done by us according to God are done by commandment; but others not by commandment, but, as one might say, (14__336> as a voluntary offering. For example, by commandment are: to love God and neighbor, to love one's enemies, not to commit adultery, not to murder, and the rest; for transgressing which we are also condemned. But not by commandment are: to be a virgin, celibacy, non-possession, withdrawal from the world, and so forth; these hold the place of gifts, so that if out of weakness we are not able to fulfill some of the commandments, through these gifts we may propitiate our good Master.

4.68 (68) He who honors celibacy or virginity must necessarily have his loins girded and his lamp burning; his loins, through self-control, and his lamp, through prayer and contemplation and spiritual love.

4.69 (69) Some of the brethren think themselves to be outside the gifts of the Holy Spirit; for they do not know, through neglect of the practice of the commandments, that he who has unadulterated faith in Christ has all the divine gifts collectively within himself. For since we are far from love for him in action, on account of our idleness, which shows us the divine treasures within us, we reasonably consider ourselves to be outside the divine gifts.

4.70 (70) If Christ dwells in our hearts through faith, according to the divine Apostle, and all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in him; then all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in our hearts. But they are revealed to the heart in proportion to each one's purification through the commandments.

(14__338> 4.71 (71) This is the treasure hidden in the field of your heart, which you have not yet found because of your idleness; for if you had found it, you would then have sold everything and bought that field. But now, having left the field, you are busying yourself with the things around the field, in which nothing else is found but thorns and thistles.

4.72 (72) For this reason the Savior says: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God; since he is hidden in the heart of those who believe in him. And they will see him and the treasures in him then, when they purify themselves through love and self-control, and so much the more, the more they intensify their purification.

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τριβόλοις τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς κατακεντοῦντος. ∆ιὸ ἀναγκαίως δέεται ἡ γνῶσις τῆς ἀγάπης.

4.63 (ξγ') Μὴ ὅλην τὴν σχολήν σου περὶ τὴν σάρκα ἔχε, ἀλλὰ ὅρισον αὐτῇ τὴν κατὰ δύναμιν ἄσκησιν καὶ ὅλον τὸν νοῦν σου περὶ τὰ ἔνδον τρέψον· Ἡ γὰρ σωματικὴ γυμνασία πρὸς ὀλίγον ἐστὶν ὠφέλιμος· ἡ δὲ εὐσέβεια πρὸς πάντα ἐστὶν ὠφέλιμος· καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς.

4.64 (ξδ') Ὁ ἀδιαλείπτως περὶ τὰ ἔνδον τὰς διατριβὰς ποιούμενος σωφρονεῖ, μακροθυμεῖ, χρηστεύεται, ταπεινοφρονεῖ· οὐ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ θεωρεῖ καὶ θεολογεῖ καὶ προσεύχεται· καὶ τοῦτό ἐστιν ὃ λέγει ὁ Ἀπόστολος· Πνεύματι περιπατεῖτε, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς.

4.65 (ξε') Ὁ τὴν πνευματικὴν ὁδὸν ὁδεύειν μὴ ἐπιστάμενος, τῶν ἐμπαθῶν νοημάτων οὐ ποιεῖται φροντίδα, ἀλλ᾽ ὅλην τὴν σχολὴν περὶ τὴν σάρκα ἔχει καὶ ἢ γαστριμαργεῖ καὶ ἀκολασταίνει, λυπεῖταί τε καὶ ὀργίζεται καὶ μνησικακεῖ καὶ ἐντεῦθεν τὸν νοῦν σκοτίζει ἢ ἀμέτρως τῇ ἀσκήσει κέχρηται καὶ θολοῖ τὴν διάνοιαν.

4.66 (ξστ') Οὐδὲν τῶν ἐκ Θεοῦ εἰς χρῆσιν ἡμῖν δοθέντων ἀναιρεῖ ἡ Γραφή, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἀμετρίαν κολάζει καὶ τὴν ἀλογιστίαν διορθοῦται. Οἷον οὐ κωλύει ἐσθίειν οὐδὲ παιδοποιεῖν οὐδὲ χρήματα ἔχειν καὶ ὀρθῶς διοικεῖν, ἀλλὰ κωλύει γαστριμαργεῖν, πορνεύειν καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς· ἀλλ᾽ οὐδὲ τὸ νοεῖν ταῦτα κωλύει· διὰ τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ γεγόνασιν· ἀλλὰ τὸ ἐμπαθῶς νοεῖν.

4.67 (ξζ') Τὰ μὲν τῶν ὑφ᾽ ἡμῶν κατὰ Θεὸν πραττομένων κατ᾽ ἐντολὴν πράττεται· τὰ δὲ οὐ κατ᾽ ἐντολήν, ἀλλ᾽ ὡς ἄν τις εἴποι, (14__336> καθ᾽ ἑκούσιον προσφοράν. Οἷον κατ᾽ ἐντολὴν μέν, τὸ ἀγαπᾶν τὸν Θεὸν καὶ τὸν πλησίον, τὸ ἀγαπᾶν τοὺς ἐχθρούς, τὸ μὴ μοιχεύειν, μὴ φονεύειν καὶ τὰ λοιπά· ἅτινα καὶ παραβαίνοντες κατακρινόμεθα. Οὐ κατ᾽ ἐντολὴν δέ, τὸ παρθενεύειν, ἡ ἀγαμία, ἡ ἀκτημοσύνη, ἡ ἀναχώρησις καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς· ταῦτα δώρων λόγον ἐπέχουσι, ἵνα ἐάν τινας τῶν ἐντολῶν κατορθῶσαι ἐξ ἀσθενείας μὴ δυνηθῶμεν, διὰ τῶν δώρων τὸν ἀγαθὸν ἡμῶν ἐξιλεωσώμεθα ∆εσπότην.

4.68 (ξη') Ὁ τὴν ἀγαμίαν τιμῶν ἢ παρθενίαν ἀναγκαίως ὀφείλει ἔχειν τὴν ὀσφῦν περιεζωσμένην καὶ τὸν λύχνον καιόμενον· τὴν μὲν ὀσφῦν δι᾽ ἐγκρατείας, τὸν δὲ λύχνον διὰ προσευχῆς καὶ θεωρίας καὶ ἀγάπης πνευματικῆς.

4.69 (ξθ') Τινὲς τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἐκτὸς ἑαυτοὺς εἶναι νομίζουσι τῶν τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος χαρισμάτων· οὐ γὰρ ἴσασι διὰ τὴν ἀμέλειαν τῆς τῶν ἐντολῶν ἐργασίας ὅτι ὁ τὴν εἰς Χριστὸν πίστιν ἀνόθευτον ἔχων πάντα τὰ θεῖα χαρίσματα συλλήβδην ἔχει ἐν ἑαυτῷ. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ τῆς εἰς αὐτὸν κατ᾽ ἐνέργειαν ἀγάπης διὰ τὴν ἀργίαν μακράν ἐσμεν, τῆς δεικνυούσης ἡμῖν τοὺς ἐν ἡμῖν θείους θησαυρούς, εἰκότως ἐκτὸς ἑαυτοὺς τῶν θείων νομίζομεν χαρισμάτων.

4.70 (ο') Εἰ ὁ Χριστὸς ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ἡμῶν κατοικεῖ διὰ τῆς πίστεως, κατὰ τὸν θεῖον Ἀπόστολον, πάντες δὲ οἱ θησαυροὶ τῆς σοφίας καὶ τῆς γνώσεως ἐν αὐτῷ εἰσιν ἀπόκρυφοι· πάντες ἄρα οἱ θησαυροὶ τῆς σοφίας καὶ τῆς γνώσεως ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ἡμῶν εἰσιν ἀπόκρυφοι· φανεροῦνται δὲ τῇ καρδίᾳ κατὰ τὴν ἀναλογίαν τῆς ἑκάστου διὰ τῶν ἐντολῶν καθάρσεως.

(14__338> 4.71 (οα') Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ θησαυρὸς ὁ ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ κεκρυμμένος τῆς καρδίας σου, ὃν οὔπω εὗρες διὰ τὴν ἀργίαν· εἰ γὰρ εὗρες, ἄρα ἂν πέπρακας πάντα καὶ ἐκτήσω τὸν ἀγρὸν τοῦτον. Νῦν δὲ τὸν ἀγρὸν ἀφεὶς τὰ περὶ τὸν ἀγρὸν περιέπεις, ἐν οἷς οὐδὲν ἄλλο εὑρίσκεται πλὴν ἀκανθῶν καὶ τριβόλων.

4.72 (οβ') ∆ιὰ τοῦτο λέγει ὁ Σωτήρ· Μακάριοι οἱ καθαροὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ, ὅτι αὐτοὶ τὸν Θεὸν ὄψονται· ἐπειδὴ αὐτὸς ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ κέκρυπται τῶν εἰς αὐτὸν πιστευόντων. Τότε δὲ ὄψονται αὐτὸν καὶ τοὺς ἐν αὐτῷ θησαυρούς, ὅτε δι᾽ ἀγάπης καὶ ἐγκρατείας ἑαυτοὺς καθαίρουσι καὶ τοσούτῳ πλέον ὅσῳ τὴν κάθαρσιν ἐπιτείνουσι.