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appropriating through work. But I am rather persuaded that the Lord said this to those who have already received the grace of the Spirit, who, commanding them not to be confident in the gift and through slothfulness to turn back to evil things, was saying, as it were: "Do not give yourself over to idleness, O you spiritual man, who have received the grace of the Holy Spirit and through it, Me. For idleness begets wickedness, and wickedness brings forth every form of evil. Therefore, by the daily work of the commandments, become holy, if you wish, He says, for Me to be in you and with you, and you in Me and with Me". And since the mind is a perpetually moving thing, unable to be completely idle, it is necessary for it to be full of care and diligent in the work of God's commandments. For so also the entire life of men is one of anxiety and care, and cannot 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 keep the paradise, and there exists in us a certain natural impulse of work toward good things. (188) Therefore, those who give themselves over to idleness and slothfulness, however spiritual and holy they may 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 to being a cistern, so also he who is always purifying himself by the work of the commandments and being purified and sanctified by God, if he falls away from the work for a little while, he falls away from holiness in proportion. But he who is carried away by a single sin with knowledge falls completely away from purity, just as a vessel of water is entirely defiled by a little dung. I do not mean sin that is accomplished only through the body, but also the other passions within, which are accomplished invisibly in us through ourselves. And do not disbelieve me when I say this, brothers, but you will know this: that if we practice every virtue and perform miracles, if we omit nothing of the commandment, whether small or great, but desire only the glory that comes from men, and if we somehow seek this through our practices and hasten to receive it, we have been deprived of the reward for all the others. For by receiving the glory of men and not preferring the glory of God, we are judged as idolaters, serving the creature rather than the Creator. But also, he who accepts earthly glory when it is given, with pleasure and joy, and preens himself in it, and rejoices in his heart, will be condemned as a fornicator. For such a person is like a man who chooses to be a virgin and has renounced intercourse with women, and does not of his own accord go over to them, nor desires to live with them, (189) but when some woman comes to him, he immediately accepts her with pleasure and fulfills the pleasure of intercourse. This, then, also happens to be the case with every other desire and with every passion. For if someone willingly gives himself over to envy, and avarice, or jealousy, or strife, or any other evil, he will not obtain the crown of righteousness. For God, being just, does not tolerate having unjust partners; and being pure, He is not defiled with the impure; and being without passion, He does not dwell with the passionate; and being holy, He does not enter into a polluted and wicked soul. And wicked is he who has received the seed of the wicked sower in his heart and bears thorns and thistles of sin for the devil, the kindling for the eternal fire, which are envy, hatred, remembrance of wrongs, jealousy, contentiousness, conceit, vainglory, pride, deceit, meddlesomeness, slander, and any abominable passion accomplished through the flesh according to pleasure which defiles the inner man, according to the Lord's voice.

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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 μικρόν τῆς ἐργασίας ἐκπέσῃ, κατά ἀναλογίαν ἐκπίπτει τῆς ἁγιότητος. Ὁ δέ καί ἁμαρτίᾳ μιᾷ ἐν γνώσει συναπαγόμενος ὅλος ἐκπίπτει τῆς καθαρότητος, καθάπερ καί ἀγγεῖον ὕδατος μικρᾷ κόπρῳ καθόλου μιαίνεται. Οὐ λέγω ἁμαρτίαν τήν ἐπιτελουμένην μόνον διά τοῦ σώματος, ἀλλά καί τά ἄλλα πάθη τά ἔνδοθεν καί ἐν ἡμῖν ἀοράτως τελούμενα δι᾿ ἡμῶν. Καί μή ἀπιστήσετέ μοι λέγοντι, ἀδελφοί, τοῦτο δέ γινώσκοντες ἔσεσθε, ὅτι εἰ πᾶσαν ἀρετήν ἐξασκήσομεν καί θαύματα ἐκτελέσομεν, εἰ μηδέν ἤ μικρόν ἤ μέγα τῆς ἐντολῆς παραλείψομεν, μόνην δέ τήν ἐξ ἀνθρώπων δόξαν ποθήσομεν καί ταύτην κἄν ὁπωσοῦν δι᾿ ἐπιτηδευμάτων ζητήσομεν καί πρός τό λαβεῖν ταύτην σπεύσομεν, τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων τόν μισθόν ἐστερήθημεν. Τήν τῶν ἀνθρώπων γάρ δόξαν λαμβάνοντες καί τήν τοῦ Θεοῦ μή προκρίνοντες, ὡς εἰδωλολάτραι κρινόμεθα λατρεύοντες τῇ κτίσει παρά τόν κτίσαντα. Ἀλλά καί διδομένην τήν ἐπίγειον δόξαν, ὁ μεθ᾿ ἡδονῆς καί χαρᾶς ταύτην ἀποδεξάμενος καί ἐν ταύτῃ ἐναμβρυνόμενος καί τῇ καρδίᾳ ἐνευφραινόμενος, ὡς πόρνος κατακριθήσεται. Ὅμοιος γάρ ἐστιν ὁ τοιοῦτος ἀνθρώπῳ παρθενεύειν προαιρουμένῳ καί τήν τῶν γυναικῶν συνουσίαν ἀπηρνημένῳ και πρός μέν αὐτάς μή αὐτομολοῦντι, μήτε μετ᾿ αὐτῶν διάγειν ἐπιθυμοῦντι, (189) ἀπερχομένης δέ πρός αὐτόν μιᾶς τινος γυναικός, μεθ᾿ ἡδονῆς εὐθύς ἀποδεχομένῳ καί τήν τῆς μίξεως ἡδονήν ἐκπληροῦντι. Τοῦτο δέ ἄρα καί ἐπί πάσης ἄλλης ἐπιθυμίας καί ἐπί παντός πάθους συμβαίνει γίνεσθαι. Εἴτε γάρ φθόνῳ, καί φιλαργυρίᾳ ἤ ζήλῳ ἤ ἔριδι ἤ τινι ἑτέρᾳ κακίᾳ ἑκουσίως ἑαυτόν τις ἐκδῷ, τοῦ στεφάνου τῆς δικαιοσύνης οὐκ ἐπιτεύξεται. ∆ίκαιος γάρ ὤν ὁ Θεός, ἀδίκους ἔχειν συγκοινωνούς οὐκ ἀνέχεται καί καθαρός ὤν, ἀκαθάρτῳ οὐ συμμιαίνεται καί ἀπαθής ὑπάρχων, τοῖς ἐμπαθέσιν οὐ συναυλίζεται καί ἅγιος ὤν, εἰς κεχραμμένην ψυχήν καί πονηράν οὐκ εἰσέρχεται. Πονηρός δέ ἐστιν ὁ τοῦ πονηροῦ σπορέως τόν κόκκον ὑποδεξάμενος ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ καί καρποφορῶν ἀκάνθας καί τριβόλους τῆς ἁμαρτίας τῷ διαβόλῳ, τά τοῦ αἰωνίου πυρός ὑπεκκαύματα, ἅτινά ἐστι φθόνος, μῖσος, μνησικακία, ζῆλος, ἐριθεία, οἴησις, κενοδοξία, ὑπερηφανία, δόλος, περιεργία, διαβολή καί εἴτι διά σαρκός πάθος ἀπόπτυστον καθ᾿ ἡδονήν ἐκτελεῖται καί κοινοῖ τόν ἐντός ἡμῶν ἄνθρωπον κατά τήν τοῦ Κυρίου φωνήν.