63

Our Master and God and Lord of all is accustomed to be fed by us through fulfillment. For our holy fathers say that just as demons are fed by our evil deeds and grow strong against us, but when we abstain from evil things, they are starved and weakened, so I reckon also that the one who became poor for our salvation is fed by us and, again, is overlooked, starving. And it is possible for us to know and be fully assured of this from the very lives of the saints, and, so that I may pass over the others, who are many and more numerous than sand, I will fully assure your love from one holy man or woman.

I know that you hear the life of Mary of Egypt, not from someone else narrating it, but from that angel-like one herself, as in the manner of a confession, declaring her poverty in saying that: "Often I did not even take the wage of sin from those who offered it to me. This I did, she says, not because I had plenty of necessities—for I fed myself by spinning flax—but so that I might have many lovers at the ready for my passion." And when she was about to board the ship and depart for Alexandria, she was so poor that she possessed neither fare nor provision. But when, having taken leave of the all-pure Theotokos, she set out for the desert, having received two folles from someone, she bought loaves of bread, and so having crossed the Jordan, she persevered in the desert until her end, seeing the face of no person, (171) except only that of Zosimas, and certainly not feeding a hungry poor person or giving drink to a thirsty one or clothing a naked one or visiting those in prison or gathering in strangers; on the contrary rather, having driven many into the abyss of destruction, she received them in the lodging-place of sin. How then, tell me, will she be saved and enter into the kingdom of heaven with the merciful, she who neither left behind wealth, nor gave her possessions to the poor, nor ever performed any almsgiving at all, but rather became an agent of destruction for countless others? Do you see how, if we say that almsgiving happens only through money and bodily food and that the Lord is fed by us through this, and that only those who thus feed Him and give Him drink and simply care for Him are saved, while those who do not do this perish, this will seem absurd, as even many of the saints would be cast out of the kingdom. But this is not so, it is not so!

For the things and possessions in the world are common to all, just like the light and this air which we breathe, and the very pasture for the irrational animals both in the plains and in the mountains. Therefore, all things are established as common to all for the mere use of enjoyment, but by ownership to none; but greed, entering life like a tyrant, the things given in common to all by the Master, has divided up this way and that through its slaves and servants, enclosing them with fences and securing them with towers and bars and doors, has deprived all other people of the enjoyment of the Master’s goods, the (172) shameless one saying that it is the owner of these things and contending that it wrongs no one at all. And the servants and slaves of this tyranny, each one of them in succession, is not an owner of the stored-up things and possessions, but becomes a certain wicked slave and guard. How then, if from such possessions, either out of fear of threatened punishments or in hope of receiving a hundredfold or being swayed by human misfortunes, they bring out a few things or even everything, and give to those in hardship and need who until then were overlooked, will they be reckoned as merciful, or as having fed Christ, or as having done a deed worthy of reward? By no means, but as I say, they even owe repentance until death, for the things which they held for a time and of whose use they deprived their brothers.

63

ἐκπληρώσεως τρέφεσθαι εἴωθε παρ᾿ ἡμῶν ὁ ∆εσπότης ἡμῶν καί Θεός καί Κύριος τοῦ παντός. Λέγουσι γάρ οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν οἱ ἅγιοι ὅτι καθάπερ ἐκ τῶν πονηρῶν ἡμῶν πράξεων οἱ δαίμονες τρέφονται καί ἰσχύουσι καθ᾿ ἡμῶν, ἐπάν δέ ἡμεῖς τῶν κακῶν ἀφιστάμεθα, λιμοκτονοῦνται ἐκεῖνοι καί ἐκνευρίζονται, οὕτω λογίζομαι καί τόν διά τήν ἡμετέραν σωτηρίαν πτωχεύσαντα τρέφεσθαι παρ᾿ ἡμῶν καί παρορᾶσθαι πάλιν λιμώττοντα. Καί τοῦτο ἐξ αὐτοῦ τοῦ βίου τῶν ἁγίων ἔστι γνῶναι καί πληροφορηθῆναι ἡμᾶς καί, ἵνα τούς ἄλλους παρήσω πολλούς ὄντας καί ὑπέρ ἀριθμόν ψάμμου πέλοντας, ἐξ ἑνός ἤ μιᾶς ἁγίας πληροφορήσω τήν ὑμετέραν ἀγάπην.

Οἶδα ὅτι Μαρίας τῆς Αἰγυπτίας τόν βίον ἀκούετε, οὐκ ἄλλου τινός διηγουμένου αὐτόν, ἀλλ᾿ αὐτῆς ἐκείνης τῆς ἰσαγγέλου ὡς ἐν τάξει ἐξαγορεύσεως τήν πτωχείαν αὐτῆς δηλούσης ἐν τῷ εἰπεῖν ὅτι· "Οὐδέ διδόντων μοι πολλάκις τινῶν τῆς ἁμαρτίας μισθόν ἐλάμβανον. Τοῦτο δέ, φησίν, ἐποίουν οὐχ ὡς εὐποροῦσα τῶν ἀναγκαίων - στυππεῖον γάρ νήθουσα ἐτρεφόμην , ἀλλ᾿ ὅπως πολλούς ἐραστάς σχῶ ἐν ἑτοίμῳ τοῦ πάθους μου". Καί ὅτε ἐν τῷ πλοίῳ εἰσελθεῖν ἔμελλε καί εἰς Ἀλεξάνδρειαν ἀπελθεῖν, ἐπί τοσοῦτον ὑπῆρχε πτωχή, ὡς μηδέ ναῦλον, μηδέ δαπάνην κεκτῆσθαι αὐτήν. Ὅτε δέ τῇ παναμώμῳ Θεοτόκῳ συνταξαμένη ἐπί τήν ἔρημον ὥρμησε, δύο παρά τινος φόλλεις λαβοῦσα ἄρτους ὠνήσατο, καί οὕτω τόν Ἰορδάνην διαπεράσασα μέχρι τέλους αὐτῆς ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ ἐνεκαρτέρησε, μηδέ ἀνθρώπου πρόσωπον ἰδοῦσα, (171) εἰ μή μόνον τοῦ Ζωσιμᾶ, μή τοί γε πεινῶντα πτωχόν θρέψασα ἤ διψῶντα ποτίσασα ἤ γυμνόν ἐπενδύσασα ἤ τούς ἐν φυλακῇ ἐπισκεψαμένη ἤ ξένους συναγαγοῦσα· τοὐναντίον μᾶλλον μέν οὖν καί πρός ἀπωλείας βάραθρον πολλούς συνελάσασα, ἐν τῷ καταγωγίῳ τῆς ἁμαρτίας αὐτούς ὑπεδέχετο. Πῶς οὖν, εἰπέ μοι, σωθήσεται αὕτη καί μετά τῶν ἐλεημόνων εἰς τήν τῶν οὐρανῶν βασιλείαν συνεισελεύσεται, ἡ μήτε πλοῦτον καταλιποῦσα, μήτε ὑπάρχοντα δοῦσα πένησι, μήτε ἐλεημοσύνην ποτέ ὅλως ποιήσασα, χρηματίσασα δέ μᾶλλον ἄλλοις μυρίοις πρόξενος ἀπωλείας; Ὁρᾷς πῶς ἐάν διά χρημάτων καί σωματικῆς τροφῆς μόνης τήν ἐλεημοσύνην εἴπωμεν γίνεσθαι καί διά ταύτης παρ᾿ ἡμῶν τόν Κύριον τρέφεσθαι καί μόνους τούς οὕτω τρέφοντας αὐτόν καί ποτίζοντας καί ἁπλῶς θεραπεύοντας σῴζεσθαι, τούς δέ μή τοῦτο ποιοῦντας ἀπόλλυσθαι, ἄτοπον εἶναι δόξει τοῦτο, ὡς καί πολλούς τῶν ἁγίων τῆς βασιλείας ἐκβάλλεσθαι. Ἀλλ᾿ οὐκ ἔστι τοῦτο, οὐκ ἔστι!

Τά γάρ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ πράγματά τε καί χρήματα κοινά τῶν πάντων ἐστίν, ὥσπερ τό φῶς καί ὁ ἀήρ οὗτος ὅν ἀναπνεύομεν, καί αὐτή ἡ βοσκή τοῖς ἀλόγοις ζῴοις ἔν τε τοῖς πεδίοις ἔν τε τοῖς ὄρεσι. Πᾶσι μέν οὖν τά πάντα κοινά τῇ χρήσει μόνῃ τῆς ἀπολαύσεως καθεστήκασι, κατά δεσποτείαν δέ οὐδενός· ἡ δέ πλεονεξία, ὥσπερ τύραννος εἰσελθοῦσα τῷ βίῳ, τά κοινῶς τοῖς πᾶσιν ὑπό τοῦ ∆εσπότου δοθέντα ἄλλοθεν ἄλλως ὑπό τῶν αὐτῆς δούλων καί ὑπηρετῶν κατεμερίσατο, φραγμοῖς περικλείσασα καί πύργοις καί μοχλοῖς καί θύραις κατασφαλισαμένη, πάντας ἄλλους ἀνθρώπους τῆς ἀπολαύσεως τῶν τοῦ ∆εσπότου ἀγαθῶν ἀπεστέρησε, δεσπότης εἶναι τούτων ἡ (172) ἀναιδής λέγουσα καί μηδένα ἀδικεῖν τῶν ἁπάντων φιλονεικοῦσα. Οἱ δέ ὑπηρέται καί δοῦλοι τῆς τυράννους ταύτης, κατά διαδοχήν ἕκαστος αὐτῶν οὐ δεσπότης τῶν ἀποκειμένων πραγμάτων καί χρημάτων, ἀλλά πονηρός τις δοῦλος καί φύλαξ γίνεται. Πῶς οὖν, εἰ ἐκ τῶν τοιούτων χρημάτων ἤ φόβῳ τῶν ἀπειλουμένων τιμωριῶν ἤ ἐλπίδι τοῦ ἑκατονταπλασίονα λήψεσθαι ἤ συμφοραῖς ἀνθρώπων ἐπικαμφθέντες, ὀλίγα τινά ἤ και πάντα ἐξενεγκόντες, τοῖς ἐν στενοχωρίᾳ καί ὑστερήσει μέχρι τότε παρεωραμένοις δώσουσιν, ἐλεήμονες λογισθήσονται, ἤ ὡς Χριστόν θρέψαντες ἤ ὡς ποιήσαντες ἔργον μισθοῦ ἄξιον; Οὐδαμῶς, ἀλλ᾿ ὡς ἐγώ φημι, καί μετάνοιαν χρεωστοῦσι μέχρι θανάτου, ὑπέρ ὧν ἐπί χρόνοις ταῦτα κατέσχον καί τούς ἀδελφούς τήν χρῆσιν αὐτῶν ἀπεστέρησαν.