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evil desire and covetousness down to the smallest form and thing. We shall be able to do this if we consider the magnitude of the glory and joy and delight that is to succeed for us. For what, tell me, is so much greater in heaven or on earth as for one to become a son of God and His heir and a co-heir with Christ? Absolutely nothing! But because we prefer earthly things and things at hand, and because we do not seek the good things laid up in heaven nor hang upon the desire for them, we provide a clear proof to those who see that first, we are held by the disease of unbelief, as it is written: "How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?"; then also, having become slaves of passions, we are nailed to the earth and the things in it, not at all willing to look up to heaven and God, but in the foolishness of soul, disregarding the commandments of God, we fall away from His adoption.

For what is more foolish, tell me, than one who disobeys God and is not eager to attain His adoption? For he who believes that God exists imagines certain great things about Him. For he knows that He alone is Master and Creator and Lord of all, and that He is immortal, eternal, incomprehensible, ineffable, incorruptible, and of His kingdom there will be no end. Therefore, one who knows such a God, how will he not long for Him? How will he not be eager to lay down even his own soul to death for the love of Him, (165) in order to be deemed worthy, I do not say to become His son and heir, but even one of His genuine servants who stand near Him? But if everyone who strives and keeps all the commandments of God without transgression becomes a child of God and a son of God, born from above, and is known to all as truly faithful and Christian, but we despise the commandments of God and set aside His laws, which He will avenge when He comes again with glory and terrible power, and we show ourselves in faith to be unfaithful by our very works, but in unbelief to be faithful by words alone. For without works, do not be deceived, faith alone will not profit us at all; for it is dead, and the dead do not become partakers of life, unless they first seek it through the working of the commandments. For in this working, love, almsgiving, sympathy toward one's neighbor, meekness, humility, endurance of temptations, purity, and cleanness of heart spring up within us like some abundant fruit, through which we are deemed worthy to see God and in which the presence and illumination of the Holy Spirit comes, which also begets us from above and makes us sons of God and clothes us with Christ and lights the lamp and shows us to be children of light and frees souls from darkness and makes us partakers of eternal life, already knowably, from this point on.

(166) Therefore let us not, trusting in some other works and virtues alone, I mean fasts or vigils or sleeping on the ground and various other hardships, despise this working of the Lord's commandments, as if we are able to be saved through those things and without this. For this is impossible, impossible! And let the five foolish virgins persuade you, and those who have performed many signs and wonders in the name of Christ, who, because they did not have love and the grace of the All-holy Spirit in themselves, heard from the Lord: "Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness! For I do not know where you are from ", and not only these but with them also many others, who were baptized by the holy apostles and the saints after them, but were not deemed worthy of the grace of the Holy Spirit because of an excess of wickedness, neither did they display a life worthy of the calling to which they were called, nor were they named children of God, but remained being flesh and blood, not even believing that the Spirit exists nor seeking or expecting to receive Him. Whence such men neither

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ἐπιθυμίαν κακήν καί τήν πλεονεξίαν μέχρι ἐλαχίστου εἴδους καί πράγματος. Τοῦτο δέ ποιῆσαι δυνησόμεθα, ἐάν τό μέγεθος τῆς μελλούσης ἡμᾶς διαδέξασθαι δόξης καί χαρᾶς καί τρυφῆς ἐννοήσωμεν. Τί γάρ, εἰπέ μοι, τοσοῦτον μεῖζον ἐν οὐρανῷ ἤ ἐπί τῆς γῆς ὡς τό γενέσθαι τινά υἱόν Θεοῦ καί κληρονόμον αὐτοῦ καί συγκληρονόμον Χριστοῦ; Πάντως οὐδέν! Ἀλλά διά τό προτιμᾶν ἡμᾶς τά ἐπίγεια καί τά ἐν χερσί καί διά τό μή ζητεῖν τά ἐν οὐρανοῖς ἀποκείμενα ἀγαθά μηδέ τῷ πόθῳ τούτων ἐκκρέμασθαι, σαφῆ παρέχομεν τοῖς ὁρῶσιν ἀπόδειξιν ὅτι πρῶτον μέν ἀπιστίας νόσῳ κρατούμεθα, καθώς γέγραπται· "Πῶς δύνασθε πιστεύειν δόξαν παρά ἀνθρώπων λαμβάνοντες, τήν δέ δόξαν τήν παρά τοῦ μόνου Θεοῦ μή ἐπιζητοῦντες;"ἔπειτα καί δοῦλοι παθῶν γεγονότες τῇ γῇ καί τοῖς ἐν αὐτῇ προσηλούμεθα μηδ᾿ ὅλως ἀνανεῦσαι βουλόμενοι πρός οὐρανούς καί Θεόν, ἀλλ᾿ ἐν ἀφροσύνῃ ψυχῆς παρακρουόμενοι τάς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐντολάς ἐκπίπτομεν τῆς υἱοθεσίας αὐτοῦ.

Τί γάρ ἀφρονέστερον, εἰπέ μοι, τοῦ παρακούοντος τοῦ Θεοῦ καί μή σπουδάζοντος ἐπιτυχεῖν τῆς υἱοθεσίας αὐτοῦ; Ὁ γάρ πιστεύων ὅτι ἔστι Θεός, μεγάλα τινά φαντάζεται περί αὐτοῦ. Οἶδε γάρ ὅτι μόνος ∆εσπότης καί Κτίστης καί Κύριος αὐτός ἐστι τῶν ἀπάντων, καί ὅτι ἀθάνατος, ἀῒδιος, ἀκατάληπτος, ἄφραστος, ἄφθαρτος, καί τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ τέλος οὐκ ἔσται. Ὁ γοῦν τοιοῦτον εἰδώς τόν Θεόν, πῶς οὐ ποθήσει αὐτόν; Πῶς οὐ σπουδάσει καί αὐτήν τήν ψυχήν αὐτοῦ εἰς θάνατον ὑπέρ τῆς ἀγάπης αὐτοῦ θεῖναι, (165) ἵνα καταξιωθῇ, μή εἴπω υἱός αὐτοῦ καί κληρονόμος γενέσθαι, ἀλλά κἄν τῶν γνησίων αὐτοῦ δούλων εἷς, τῶν ἱσταμένων πλησίον αὐτοῦ; Εἰ δέ πᾶς μέν ὁ ἀγωνιζόμεος καί φυλάττων ἀπαρατρώτως πάσας τάς ἐντολάς τοῦ Θεοῦ, καί τέκνον Θεοῦ καί υἱός Θεοῦ γεννηθείς ἄνωθεν γίνεται, καί πιστός ὄντως καί χριστιανός τοῖς πᾶσι γνωρίζεται, ἡμεῖς δέ τῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐντολῶν καταφρονοῦμεν καί ἀθετοῦμεν τούς νόμους αὐτοῦ, οὕς ἐκδικήσει ἐκεῖνος ἐλθών μετά δόξης αὖθις καί δυνάμεως φοβερᾶς, καί δεικνύομεν ἑαυτούς ἐν μέν τῇ πίστει τοῖς ἔργοις αὐτοῖς ἀπίστους, ἐν δέ τῇ ἀπιστίᾳ διά τῶν λόγων μόνον πιστούς. Ἄνευ γάρ ἔργων, μή πλανᾶσθε, οὐδέν ἡμᾶς ἡ πίστις μόνη ὠφελήσει· νεκρά γάρ ἐστι, νεκροί δέ ζωῆς οὐ γίνονται μέτοχοι, εἰ μή πρότερον διά τῆς τῶν ἐντολῶν ἐργασίας ταύτην ζητήσουσιν. Ἐν γάρ τῇ ἐργασίᾳ τούτῃ ἀναφύεται ὥσπερ τις πολύχους καρπός ἐντός ἡμῶν ἡ ἀγάπη, ἡ ἐλεημοσύνη, ἡ πρός τόν πλησίον συμπάθεια, ἡ πραότης, ἡ ταπείνωσις, ἡ ὑπομονή τῶν πειρασμῶν, ἡ ἁγνεία, ἡ καθαρότης τῆς καρδίας, δι᾿ ἧς καταξιούμεθα ὁρᾶν τόν Θεόν καί ἐν ᾗ ἡ τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος παρουσία καί ἔλλαμψις γίνεται, ἥτις καί ἄνωθεν ἡμᾶς γεννᾷ καί υἱούς Θεοῦ ἀποτελεῖ καί τόν Χριστόν ἐπενδύει καί τήν λαμπάδα ἀνάπτει καί τέκνα φωτός ἀποδεικνύει καί τοῦ σκότους τάς ψυχάς ἐλεθεροῖ καί τῆς αἰωνίου ζωῆς κοινωνούς ἡμᾶς ἀπ᾿ ἐντεῦθεν ἤδη γνωστῶς ἀπεργάζεται.

(166) Μή οὖν ἐπί μόναις ἄλλαις τισίν ἐργασίαις καί ἀρεταῖς θαρρήσαντες, νηστείαις λέγω ἤ ἀγρυπνίαις ἤ χαμευνίαις καί ποικίλαις ἄλλαις κακοπαθείαις, ταύτης τῆς ἐργασίας τῶν ἐντολῶν τοῦ Κυρίου καταφρονήσωμεν, ὡς δι᾿ ἐκείνων καί χωρίς ταύτης σωθῆναι δυνάμενοι. Ἀδύνατον γάρ τοῦτο, ἀδύνατον! Καί πειθέτωσάν σε καί αἱ πέντε μωραί παρθένοι καί οἱ πολλά σημεῖα καί θαύματα ἐν τῷ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ὀνόματι πεποιηκότες, οἵ διά τό μή ἔχειν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς τήν ἀγάπην καί τήν τοῦ Παναγίου Πνεύματος χάριν ἤκουσαν ἀπό τοῦ Κυρίου· "Ἀπέλθατε ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ οἱ ἐργάται τῆς ἀνομίας! Οὐ γάρ οἶδα ὑμᾶς πόθεν ἐστέ ", καί οὐ μόνον οὗτοι ἀλλά μετά τούτων καί πολλοί ἕτεροι, οἵτινες παρά μέν τῶν ἁγίων ἐβαπτίσθησαν ἀποστόλων καί τῶν μετά ταῦτα ἁγίων, τῆς δέ χάριτος τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος μή καταξιωθέντες διά πονηρίας ὑπερβολήν, οὔτε βίον ἄξιον τῆς κλήσεως ἧς ἐκλήθησαν ἐπεδείξαντο, οὔτε τέκνα Θεοῦ ἐχρημάτισαν, ἀλλ᾿ ἔμειναν σάρκες ὄντες καί αἵματα, μηδέ ὅτι ἐστι Πνεῦμα πιστεύσαντες ἤ ζητήσαντες ἤ λαβεῖν προσδοκήσαντες.Ὅθεν οἱ τοιοῦτοι οὐδέ