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slow of speech, and deprived of the understanding to speak good things; having neither a mind that attends to divine things, nor the spoken word that is able to serve the greatness of the things sought. For I am still young in passions, and possess the rebellion of the flesh which overcomes the law of the spirit. And even if we grant hypothetically that I am lacking in none of these abilities, who is so rash and daring as to add ordinances to those thus hierarchically decreed by divine vote? But I rather entreat you in your esteemed letters to clarify for me by a definition, what is energy, and in how many ways is energy, and what besides this is activity; and which of these we say, and the difference with respect to work and action, so that I may be able to know the force of what has been written. For I have not yet been able to understand precisely what and how the one energy should be received, whether spoken or conceived. For we do not simply utter meaningless sounds, but signify thoughts by sounds. For which reason, I have found the divinely-inspired Fathers often conceding sounds, but by no means thoughts; because our mystery of salvation exists not in syllables, but in thoughts and realities. For they did the one, being mindful of peace; the other, establishing souls in the truth. And so much for these matters.

(15Β_360> And I beseech you, honored Father, of your holiness, to receive kindly the divine Fathers bringing this modest letter, who have given themselves to this voyage for a need beneficial to the common order of monks; and to condescend to do all things for them, as many as the exact word of the divine commandment wills, for those who long for divine things, and have the incarnate Word as the sole model of their own life. For they are worthy of your 0597 zeal in this, because they blamelessly draw the divine yoke of both virtue and knowledge. But in writing these things I fear lest, among those who do not know you, Father, and have not experienced your condescension, I might incur the reproach of untimely boldness and lack of taste; and lest it be said justly of me, what one of the wise men outside our doctrine said, upon seeing one of the tasteless puffing himself up over something:

A wise man, smiling, drove a fool to madness toward insolence. In all things, therefore, holy Father, forgive me your servant, and by your

all-holy prayers make Christ the God propitious to me, whom you serve always both by the purity of your mind and by the exactness of your life.

LETTER 20. ... TO MARINUS THE MONK. 20. Of the same to Marinus the monk. (15Β_362> I indeed, knowing the multitude of my own transgressions, and the

condemnation that will likely succeed them for me, beholding this after the departure from life; and as it were contemplating that great and terrible tribunal already gathered in my soul, before which each of us will receive the rewards worthy of what we have done; I intended to have silence as my companion, sparing in every way, as it seems to me, the divine words that are beyond me, lest I be condemned more and more justly, as one who utters the words of God which have been put to death by me through the inaction of good works, and for this reason are unable to grant life in grace to those who hear; and are not strong enough to show the ways of virtues in the life of me, the speaker; and I become liable to the future threat, as one who not only in myself through my wicked ways the life-giving words of God

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βραδύγλωσσος, καί τῆς ἐπί τῷ λαλεῖν τά καλά συνέσεως ἐστερημένος· μήτε τόν νοῦν ἔχων ἐπιβάλλοντα τοῖς θείοις, μήτε τόν κατά προφοράν λόγον, ἐξυπηρετεῖσθαι τῷ μεγέθει τῶν ζητηθέντων δυνάμενον. Νεάζω γάρ ἔτι τοῖς πάθεσι, καί πλεονεκτοῦσαν τόν νόμον τοῦ πνεύματος κέκτημαι τῆς σαρκός τήν ἐπανάστασιν. Ὁπόταν καί εἰ δῶμεν καθ᾿ ὑπόθεσιν μηδέν λείπεσθαί με τῆς ἐν τούτοις δυνάμεως, τίς οὕτω θρασύς ὑπάρχει καί τολμηρός, ὥστε τοῖς οὕτω κατά θείαν φῆφον ἱεραρχικῶς θεσπισθεῖσιν, ἐπιδιατάττεσθαι; Παρακαλῶ δέ μᾶλλον τιμίοις σου γράμμασιν ὁρισμῷ μοι διασαφῆσαι, τίς ἡ ἐνέργεια, καί ποσαχῶς ἡ ἐνέργεια, καί τί παρά ταύτην ἐπί τό ἐνέργημα· καί τίνα τούτων φαμέν, πρός τε τό ἔργον καί τήν πρᾶξιν τήν διαφοράν, ἵνα ἔχω τῶν γραφέντων γινώσκειν τήν δύναμιν. Οὔπω γάρ ἀκριβῶς ἐπιστῆσαι δεδύνημαι, τίνα καί πῶς λεγομένην ἤ νοουμένην ἐκδέξασθαι χρή τήν μίαν ἐνέργειαν. Οὐχ ἁπλῶς γάρ φωνάς ἀσήμους προφέρομεν, ἀλλ᾿ ἐννοίας ταῖς φωναῖς διασημαίνομεν. ∆ι᾿ ἥν αἰτίαν, φωνάς μέν πολλάκις πραχωροῦντας εὗρον τούς θεηγόρους Πατέρας, ἐννοίας δέ οὐδαμῶς· ὅτι μή ἐν συλλαβαῖς, ἀλλ᾿ ἐν νοήμασί τε καί πράγμασι τό τῆς σωτηρίας ἡμῶν ὑπάρχει μυστήριον. Τό μέν γάρ ἐποίουν, εἰρήνην φροντίζοντες· τό δέ, ψυχάς τῇ ἀληθείᾳ στηρίζοντες. Καί ταῦτα μέν περί τούτων.

(15Β_360> ∆έομαι δέ, Πάτερ τίμιε, τῆς σῆς ἁγιότητος, εὐμενῶς τούς τοῦτο τό μέτριον ἐπιφερομένους γράμμα θείους προσδέξασθαι Πατέρας, διά χρείαν λυσιτελοῦσαν τῷ κοινῷ τάγματι τῶν μοναχῶν, ἑαυτούς εἰς τοῦτον πλοῦν ἐπιδεδωκότας· καί πάντα γενέσθαι αὐτοῖς καταδέξασθαι, ὅσα τῆς θείας ἐντολῆς ὁ ἀκριβής βούλεται λόγος, τούς τῶν θείων ἐφιεμένου, καί μονώτατον τοῦ οἰκείου βίου τόν σαρκωθέντα Λόγον ἔχοντας ὑποτίπωσιν. Ἄξιοι γάρ τυγχάνουσι τῆς 0597 ὑμετέρας ἐπί τοῦτο σπουδῆς, ὅτι τόν θεῖον ἕλκουσιν ἀμέμπτως τῆς ἀρετῆς τε καί τῆς γνώσεως ζυγόν. ∆έδοικα δέ ταῦτα γράφων μή παῤῥησίας ἀκαίρου καί ἀπειροκαλίας παρά τοῖς οὐκ εἰδόσι σε, Πάτερ, καί τῆς σῆς πεῖραν οὐκ εἰληφόσι συγκαταβάσεως, ὄνειδος ἀπενέγκωμαι· καί λεχθῇ καί περί ἐμοῦ δικαίως, ὅπερ τις τῶν ἔξω τοῦ καθ᾿ ἡμᾶς λόγου σοφῶν ἔφη, θεασάμενος ἐπί τινι φυσηθέντα τινά τῶν ἀπειροκάλων·

Ἐξέμηνε πρός ὕβριν μωρόν, σοφός μειδιάσας. Ἐν πᾶσιν οὖν, ἅγιε Πάτερ, συγχώρησόν μοι τῷ σῷ δούλῳ, καί ταῖς σαῖς

πανιέροις εὐχαῖς ἐξιλέωσόν μοι Χριστόν τόν Θεόν, ὅν διά παντός τῇ τε τοῦ νοῦ καθαρότητι, καί τῇ ἀκριβείᾳ τοῦ βίου θεραπεύεις.

ΕΠΙΣΤΟΛΗ Κ'. ... ΠΡΟΣ ΜΑΡΙΝΟΝ ΜΟΝΑΖΟΝΤΑ. Κ´Τοῦ αὐτοῦ πρός Μαρίνον μονάζοντα. (15Β_362> Ἐγώ μέν εἰδώς τῶν οἰκείων πλημμελημάτων τό πλῆθος, καί τήν

ἐπ᾿ αὐτοῖς ὡς εἰκός διαδεξομένην με κατάκρισιν, μετά τήν ταύτης ἀπόλειψιν τῆς ζωῆς καθορῶν· καί οἷον ἐκεῖνο τό μέγα καί φρικτόν δικαστήριον κατά ψυχήν ἤδη συνηθροισμένον κατανοῶν, ἐφ᾿ οὗπερ κατ' ἀξίαν ἕκαστος ὧν πεπράχαμεν τάς ἀμοιβάς ἀποληψόμεθα· τήν σιωπήν σύνοικον ἔχειν διενοήθην, τῶν ὑπέρ ἐμέ θείων λόγων, ὥς γέ μοι δοκεῖ, παντοίως φειδόμενος, μή πως πλέον κατακριθῶ καί δικαιότερον, ὡς λόγους Θεοῦ προφέρων ὑπ᾿ ἐμοῦ τῇ τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἔργων ἀπραξίᾳ νενεκρωμένους, καί διά τοῦτο τοῖς ἀκούουσι τήν ἐν χάριτι ζωήν παρασχεῖν οὐ δυναμένους· καί τούς τῶ ἀρετῶν παραδεῖξαι τρόπους ἐν τῇ πολιτείᾳ μου τοῦ λέγοντος οὐκ ἰσχύοντας· καί γένωμαι τῆς μελλούσης ὑπόδικος ἀπειλῆς, ὡς οὐ μόνον αὐτός ἐν ἑμαυτῷ διά τῶν πονηρῶν μου τρόπων τούς ζωοποιούς τοῦ Θεοῦ