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who shone in his generation, but also to have surpassed many of the ancient fathers in the height of his virtues and in his achievements beyond his strength. For this reason, having shown himself to us worthy of much praise and many encomia, he is praised and blessed and extolled by us according to our ability.

(186) For all praise and blessing of the saints consists of these two things, through both orthodox faith and a praiseworthy life, and through the gift of the Holy Spirit and His charisms. For the third follows upon these two. For when someone has lived well and in a manner pleasing to God with an orthodox mindset and has been graced by God and glorified through the gift of the Spirit, praise and blessing follow for him from the whole church of the faithful and from all its teachers. But if faith and works are not unceasingly established, it is impossible for the presence of the adorable and divine Spirit ever to come, and for any of mankind to receive His gift. But if this [Spirit] has not come to a man, nor dwelt in him consciously, it is entirely unfitting to call him spiritual. And he who has not become spiritual, how will he be holy? And he who has not become holy, for what other work or deed will he be blessed, if blessedness is God? But he who has not partaken of God, or rather, he who does not have Him wholly in himself, how does he seem blessed to me? In no way. For a sun without light, how could it be called a sun? and a man without participation in the All-Holy Spirit, how could he be called holy? "For be ye," said the Lord, "holy, because I am holy," as if the merciful One were exhorting us, who are tried in sins, to imitation through works, and saying: "Depart from evil and do all good things, pursue every virtue as far as you are able, and as far as is possible for you, become holy, if indeed you wish to have communion with me. For I am holy, (187) that is, pure and undefiled. These things belong to me by nature, but you, in the working of the commandments, abstaining from the pollution of sins and becoming partakers of me by the grace of the Spirit, then you too will be holy." For this is what "become" signifies.

A man therefore becomes holy in abstinence from evil and in the working of good, not as being sanctified entirely through works—for no soul shall be justified by the works of the law—but as becoming conformed to the Holy God through the working of such deeds. But I am rather persuaded that the Lord said this to those who had already received the grace of the Spirit, who also, commanding them not to be confident in the gift and through negligence to return to evil things, spoke as if saying: "Do not give yourself over to idleness, O you spiritual one, who have received the grace of the Holy Spirit and through it Me. For idleness begets wickedness, and wickedness brings forth every kind of evil. By the daily working of the commandments, therefore, become holy, if, he says, you wish Me to be in you and with you, and you in Me and with Me." And since the mind is a ceaselessly moving thing, not able to be idle at all, it is necessary for it to be concerned and diligent in the working of the commandments of God. For thus also the whole life of men is one of care and concern, and is not able to have leisure from all things, even if many have struggled to do this beyond their own strength and power, but also from the beginning man was created thus: for Adam was commanded to work and to keep the paradise, and there is in us a certain natural impulse of work toward good things. (188) Those therefore who give themselves over to idleness and negligence, whatever sort of spiritual and holy men they might be, cast themselves into unnatural passion.

For just as a spring perpetually gushing forth water, if it ceases for a little while, disappears and is changed from being a spring into a cistern, so also he who is always purifying himself by the working of the commandments and is being purified and sanctified by God, if

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τήν γενεάν αὐτοῦ λάμψαντας, ἀλλά καί τῶν παλαιῶν πατέρων πολλούς ὑπερβῆναι τῷ ὕψει τῶν ἀρετῶν καί τοῖς ὑπέρ δύναμιν κατορθώμασι. ∆ιά τοῦτο καί ἐπαίνων καί ἐγκωμίων πολλῶν ἀναφανείς ἡμῖν ἄξιος, ἐπαινεῖται καί μακαρίζεται καί ἐγκωμιάζεται ἡμῖν κατά δύναμιν.

(186) Ἅπας γάρ τῶν ἁγίων ἔπαινος καί μακαρισμός διά τῶν δύο τούτων συνίσταται, διά τε τῆς ὀρθοδόξου πίστεως καί τοῦ ἐπαινετοῦ βίου, καί διά τῆς δωρεᾶς τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος καί τῶν χαρισμάτων αὐτοῦ. Τοῖς γάρ δυσί τούτοις τό τρίτον συνέπεται. Ἐν γάρ τῷ βιῶσαί τινα καλῶς τε καί θεοφιλῶς μετά φρονήματος ὀρθοδόξου καί ἐν τῷ χαριτωθῆναι ἀπό Θεοῦ καί δοξασθῆναι διά τῆς τοῦ Πνεύματος δωρεᾶς, συνέπεται αὐτῷ ὁ ἔπαινος καί ὁ μακαρισμός παρά πάσης τῆς ἐκκλησίας τῶν πιστῶν καί παρά πάντων τῶν διδασκάλων αὐτῆς. Πίστεως δέ καί ἔργων ἀνελλιπῶς μή καταβληθέντων ἀδύνατόν ἐστι τήν παρουσίαν γενέσθαι ποτέ τοῦ προσκυνητοῦ καί θείου Πνεύματος καί τήν δωρεάν αὐτοῦ λαβεῖν τινα τῶν ἀνθρώπων. Τούτου δέ μή παραγενομένου ἐν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ, μηδέ γνωστῶς ἐνοικήσαντος ἐν αὐτῷ, ἀνοίκειον πάντῃ πνευματικόν αὐτόν ὀνομάζεσθαι. ὁ δέ μή πνευματικός γεγονώς, πῶς ἔσεται ἅγιος; Ὁ δέ μή ἅγιος γεγονώς, διά ποῖον ἄλλο ἔργον ἤ πρᾶξιν μακαρισθήσεται εἰ ἡ μακαριότης Θεός ἐστιν; Ὁ δέ τοῦ Θεοῦ μή μετασχών, μᾶλλον δέ ὁ μή αὐτόν ὅλον ἔχων ἐν ἑαυτῷ, πῶς μακάριος δοκεῖ μοι; Οὐδαμῶς. Ἥλιος γάρ ἄνευ φωτός, πῶς ἄν λεχθείη ἥλιος; καί ἄνθρωπος δίχα τῆς τοῦ Παναγίου Πνεύματος μετουσίας, πῶς ἄν κληθείη ἅγιος; "Γίνεσθε γάρ, εἶπεν ὁ Κύριος, ἅγιοι, ὅτι ἐγώ ἅγιός εἰμι", εἰς τήν διά τῶν ἔργων ἡμᾶς μίμησιν, τούς ἐν ἁμαρτίαις ἐξεταζομένους, ὁ εὔσπλαχνος οἱονεί προτρεπόμενος καί λέγων· "Ἀπόστητε τῶν κακῶν και πάντα τά καλά διαπράξασθε, πᾶσαν ἀρετήν κατά τό ὑμῖν δυνατόν μετέλθετε καί ὅσον ἐφικτόν ὑμῖν ἅγιοι γίνεσθε, εἴπερ ἄρα καί κοινωνίαν ἔχειν βούλεσθε μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ. Ἐγώ γάρ ἅγιός εἰμι, (187) τουτέστι καθαρός καί ἀμόλυντος. Ταῦτά μοι φυσικῶς πρόσεστιν, ὑμεῖς δέ ἐν τῇ ἐργασίᾳ τῶν ἐντολῶν ἀπό τοῦ μολυσμοῦ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἀπεχόμενοι καί μέτοχοί μου τῇ τοῦ Πνεύματος γενόμενοι χάριτι, τότε καί ὑμεῖς ἅγιοι ἔσεσθε". Τοῦτο γάρ δηλοῖ τό "γίνεσθε".

Γίνεται τοίνυν ἐν τῇ ἀποχῇ τῶν κακῶν καί ἐν τῇ ἐργασίᾳ τῶν ἀγαθῶν ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἅγιος, οὐχ ὡς δι᾿ ἔργων πάντως ἁγιαζόμενος - οὐ γάρ δικαιωθήσεται ἐξ ἔργων νόμου πᾶσα ψυχή , ἀλλ᾿ ὡς τῷ Ἁγίῳ Θεῷ διά τῆς τῶν τοιούτων πράξεων ἐργασίας προσοικειούμενος. Τοῦτο δέ πρός τούς ἤδη λαβόντας τήν τοῦ Πνεύματος χάριν εἰπεῖν τόν Κύριον μᾶλλον πείθομαι, ὅς καί παραγγέλλων μή θαρρεῖν τῇ δωρεᾷ καί διά ῥᾳθυμίας ἐπιστρέφειν πρός τά κακά, οἱονεί πως ἔλεγε· "Μή τῇ ἀργίᾳ σεαυτόν ἐκδῷς, ὦ πνευματικέ σύ, ὁ τήν χάριν λαβών τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος καί διά ταύτης ἐμέ. Ἡ γάρ ἀργία τίκτει τήν πονηρίαν, ἡ δέ πονηρία πᾶν εἶδος κακίας ἀπογεννᾷ. Τῇ οὖν καθημερινῇ ἐργασίᾳ τῶν ἐντολῶν γίνου ἅγιος, εἴπερ ἐμέ, φησί, βούλει ἐν σοί εἶναι καί μετά σοῦ καί σέ ἐν ἐμοί καί σύν ἐμοί". Ἐπειδή δέ ἀεικίνητον πρᾶγμα ὁ νοῦς ὅλως ἀργεῖν μή δυνάμενον, δέον ἐμφρόντιδα τοῦτον εἶναι καί σπουδαῖον εἰς τήν ἐργασίαν τῶν ἐντολῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ. Οὕτω γάρ καί ὁ βίος ἅπας ὁ τῶν ἀνθρώπων μεμεριμνημένος τίς ἐστι καί ἔμφροντις καί σχολήν ἔχειν ἐκ πάντων οὐ δύναται, εἰ καί πολλοί τοῦτο ποιῆσαι ὑπέρ τήν ἑαυτῶν ἰσχύν καί δύναμιν ἠγωνίσαντο, ἀλλά καί ἐξ ἀρχῆς τοιοῦτος ἐκτίσθη ὁ ἄνθρωπος· ἐργάζεσθαι γάρ καί φυλάσσειν ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ ὁ Ἀδάμ προσετάγη καί φυσική τις ἐν ἡμῖν ὑπάρχει τῆς ἐργασίας ἡ πρός τά καλά κίνησις. (188) Οἱ οὖν τῇ ἀργίᾳ καί ῥᾳθυμίᾳ ἑαυτούς ἐκδιδόντες, οἷοι δ᾿ ἄν καί εἶεν πνευματικοί καί ἅγιοι, εἰς τήν παρά φύσιν ἐμπάθειαν ἑαυτούς ἐπιρρίπτουσιν.

Ὥσπερ γάρ πηγή ἀεννάως τό ὕδωρ ἐκβλύζουσα, μικρόν παυσαμένη ἀφανίζεται καί εἰς τό μή εἶναι πηγή ἀλλά λάκκος μεθίσταται, οὕτω καί ὁ ἀεί τῇ ἐργασίᾳ τῶν ἐντολῶν ἑαυτόν καθαίρων καί ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ καθαιρόμενος καί ἁγιαζόμενος, ἐάν