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is supplied by the breasts and how it works, I will leave for you to seek. The back, to willingly lift the burdens of others upon oneself and to bear about the marks of the Lord Jesus in oneself, as the Apostle says: “You who are strong, bear the burdens of the weak,” and again: “Henceforth let no one cause me trouble; for I bear on my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.” And the Lord through the prophet: “My back,” he says, “I have given to the scourges and my cheeks to blows.” These things, even if the time to suffer them does not come, one must always hope for and be prepared for them at every hour. Shoulders and arms, the patient and enduring quality in temptations and afflictions, through which and with which the hands are able to work. And by hands I mean the active and eager quality for every obedience and work of God’s commandments, which no one can acquire at all without much patience and endurance. And in addition to these, this stage of life also has spiritual hands, by which it comforts the fainthearted, raises up the fallen, binds up the broken, pouring oil and wine upon them, with which it also does many other things in word and deed for its neighbors daily, and touches the very hem of the Lord's garment, and offers bread to its Lord, and gives the cup into His hands. And thus it nourishes (191) the one who nourishes all breath by a nod, with the food that He said He desired and longed for; and blessed is the one who knows these things and has them and offers them to his Master, because He too, who is borne upon the Cherubim, will make him recline in the kingdom of heaven, and girding Himself, according to His unfailing promise, will serve him. The neck of this body is unwavering hope.

Behold, then, we have completed the whole body, by the help and grace of God, of a man, as I think, who is perfect, having all his members whole. Therefore, only the head is lacking for it. But perhaps you thought we had said everything and were lacking in nothing at all, as if what has been said were sufficient for the wholeness of virtue and the salvation of the soul. But this is not so, it is not so. For just as the body, having all its members, but deprived of the head, is completely dead and inoperative, and again the head without the rest of the whole body is indeed a head in itself, but being separated from it, is unable to show its own operations, so understand that it is also with the spiritual body constructed by us through the cooperation of the Holy Spirit, and that all the things we have said, without a head, are stale and useless, even if many, by working at these and partially acquiring them, are foolishly disposed as if they had accomplished the whole, and being dead, they are not aware of the good of which they have been deprived. For the things that have been said, even if we have related them separately for a clearer example and knowledge, yet without the head and their natural connection to one another, it is impossible for them to exist and be strengthened. For just as it is not possible for the body of a small child deprived of its own head to ever grow, but both being united and receiving (192) nourishment from each other, that is, the body through the mouth and the head again through the moisture sent up from the body, thus the whole man is nourished and grows, understand the same thing to happen with me after the head has been placed upon the spiritual body, and you will see it. And that I may make this clearer to you, listen carefully as I make a repetition of what has been said.

You have, therefore, faith and humility as the foundations of the virtues, and upon these all the virtues which I have already mentioned are built up, through which, clearly, the whole body was constructed and completed up to the neck, which is hope; which, on the one hand, stands above the rest of the body, but on the other, by itself, not having been joined to the head, is dead along with the other members of the body, not having any source for breath

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μαστοῖς χορηγεῖται καί ὅπως ἐργάζεται, ὑμῖν ἐάσω ζητεῖν. Νῶτον δέ, τό τά ἀλλότρια βάρη ἐφ᾿ ἑαυτόν εὐπροθύμως αἴρειν καί τά στίγματα τοῦ Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ ἐν ἑαυτῷ περιφέρειν, καθώς φησιν ὁ Ἀπόστολος· "Ὑμεῖς οἱ δυνατοί τά βάρη τῶν ἀδυνάτων βαστάζετε", καί αὖθις· "Τοῦ λοιποῦ κόπους μοι μηδείς παρεχέτω· ἐγώ γάρ τά στίγματα τοῦ Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ ἐν τῷ σώματί μου βαστάζω". Καί ὁ Κύριος διά τοῦ προφήτου· " Τῷ νῶτόν μου, φησί, δέδωκα εἰς μάστιγας καί τάς σιαγόνας μου εἰς ῥαπισμόν". Ἅπερ, εἰ καί μή ἀπαντήσει καιρός τοῦ παθεῖν, ἀλλά χρή ἐλπίζειν ἀεί καί πρός ταῦτα καθ᾿ ὥραν παρασκευάζεσθαι. Ὤμους δέ καί βραχίονας, τό ὑπομονητικόν τε καί καρτερικόν ἐν τοῖς πειρασμοῖς καί ταῖς θλίψεσι, δι᾿ ὧν αἱ χεῖρες καί μεθ᾿ ὧν ἐνεργεῖν δύνανται. Χεῖρας δέ φημι τό πρός πᾶσαν ὑπακοήν καί ἐργασίαν τῶν ἐντολῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐνεργητικόν τε καί πρόθυμον, ἅτινα δίχα ὑπομονῆς καί καρτερίας πολλῆς οὐδείς οὐδαμῶς κτήσασθαι δύναται. Ἔχει δέ πρός ταύταις καί πνευματικάς χεῖρας ἡ ἡλικία αὕτη, δι᾿ ὧν τούς μέν ὀλιγοψύχους παραμυθεῖται, τούς δέ καταπίπτοντας ἀνιστᾷ, τούς συντετριμμένους καταδεσμεῖ, ἔλαιον καί οἶνον ἐπιχέων αὐτοῖς, μεθ᾿ ὧν καί ἄλλα πολλά λόγῳ καί ἔργῳ πρός τούς πλησίον καθ᾿ ἑκάστην ποιεῖ καί αὐτοῦ τοῦ κρασπέδου ἅπτεται τοῦ δεσποτικοῦ καί ἄρτον προσφέρει τῷ Κυρίῳ αὐτοῦ καί τό ποτήριον δίδωσιν εἰς τάς χεῖρας αὐτοῦ. Καί οὕτω τρέφει (191) τόν τρέφοντα νεύματι καί πᾶσαν πνοήν, τροφήν ἥν εἶπεν ἐκεῖνος ἐπιθυμεῖν καί ἐφίεσθαι· καί μακάριος ὁ εἰδώς ταῦτα καί ἔχων καί προσφέρων τῷ δεσπότῃ αὐτοῦ, ὅτι κἀκεῖνος ἀνακλινεῖ αὐτόν ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τῶν οὐρανῶν, ὁ ἐπί τῶν Χερουβίμ ἐποχούμενος, καί περιζωσάμενος κατά τήν ἀφευδῆ ἐπαγγελίαν αὐτοῦ διακονήσει αὐτῷ. Τράχηλος δέ τοῦ σώματος τούτου ἡ ἀδίστακτός ἐστιν ἐλπίς.

Ἰδού οὖν ὅλον τό σῶμα ἀπηρτίσαμεν, Θεοῦ βοηθείᾳ καί χάριτι, ἀνδρός, ὡς οἶμαι, τελείου πάντα τά μέλη ὁλόκληρα ἔχον. Λείπεται τοιγαροῦν τούτῳ μόνη ἡ κεφαλή. Ἀλλ᾿ ἴσως πάντα εἰπεῖν ἡμᾶς ἐλογίσασθε καί μηδέν μηδαμῶς ὑστερηκέναι, ὡς ἀρκούντων δῆθεν καί τῶν εἰρημένων εἰς ὁλοκληρίαν ἀρετῆς καί σωτηρίαν ψυχῆς. Οὐκ ἔστι δέ τοῦτο, οὐκ ἔστιν. Ὥσπερ γάρ τό σῶμα, ἔχον πάντα τά μέλη, τῆς δέ κεφαλῆς ἐστερημένον, νεκρόν ἐστιν εἰς ἅπαν καί ἀνενέργητον, καί πάλιν ἡ κεφαλή δίχα τοῦ λοιποῦ ὅλου σώματος αὐτή μέν καθ᾿ ἑαυτήν κεφαλή ἐστι, κεχωρισμένη δέ τούτου τυγχάνουσα τάς ἑαυτῆς ἐνεργείας δεικνύειν οὐ δύναται, οὕτω μοι νόει καί εἰς τό ὑφ᾿ ἡμῶν διά τῆς συνεργείας τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος κατασκευασθέν πνευματικόν σῶμα γίνεσθαι καί ὅτι ἅπερ εἴπομεν πάντα δίχα κεφαλῆς ἕωλά εἰσι καί ἀνωφελῆ, εἰ καί πολλοί ἐπί τῇ τούτων ἐργασίᾳ καί μερικῇ κτήσει ὡς τό πᾶν κατορθώσαντες ἀφρόνως διάκεινται καί νεκροί ὄντες οὐκ ἐπαισθάνονται οὗ ἀπεστέρηνται ἀγαθοῦ. Τά μέν γάρ εἰρημένα, εἰ καί διῃρημένως εἰς ὑπόδειγμα καί γνῶσιν τρανότερον διηγησάμεθα, ἀλλ᾿ ἄνευ τῆς κεφαλῆς καί τῆς εἰς ἄλληλα φυσικῆς συναφείας συστῆναι ταῦτα καί κραταιωθῆναι ἀδύνατον. Καθάπερ γάρ σῶμα παιδίου μικροῦ ἐστερημένον τῆς ἑαυτοῦ κεφαλῆς οὐκ ἐνδέχεται αὐξηθῆναί ποτε, ἀλλ᾿ ἀμφότερα ἡνωμένα ὄντα καί τήν ἐξ ἀλλήλων (192) τροφήν δεχόμενα, εἴτ᾿ οὖν τό σῶμα διά τοῦ στόματος καί ἡ κεφαλή πάλιν διά τῆς ἀναπεμπομένης ὑγρότητος ἀπό τοῦ σώματος, οὕτω τρέφεται καί αὔξεται ὅλος ὁ ἄνθρωπος, τό αὐτό μοι μετά τό ἐπιτεθῆναι τῷ πνευματικῷ σώματι τήν κεφαλήν κατανόησον καί ὄψει γινόμενον. Καί ἵνα σοι σαφέστερον τοῦτο ποιήσωμαι, ἐπανάληψιν ποιουμένου μου τῶν εἰρημένων ἀκριβῶς ἄκουε.

Ἔχεις τοιγαροῦν πίστιν καί ταπείνωσιν τάς βάσεις τῶν ἀρετῶν καί ἐπί ταύταις τάς ἀρετάς πάσας, ἅς ἔφθην εἰπών, ἐποικοδομηθείσας, δι᾿ ἅς ὅλον δηλονότι κατεσκευάσθη τό σῶμα καί μέχρι τραχήλου ἀπετελέσθη, ὅπερ ἐστίν ἡ ἐλπίς· ἥτις τοῦ μέν λοιποῦ ὑπερανέστηκε σώματος, αὐτή δέ μόνη καθ᾿ ἑαυτήν μή συναφθεῖσα τῇ κεφαλῇ συννενέκρωται τοῖς λοιποῖς τοῦ σώματος μέλεσιν, μή ἔχουσα ὅθεν εἰς πνοήν