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to God and the things profitable for your soul, lest you be found obeying man and not God, and be stripped bare of the glory and the divine gift given to you - for if you find a good co-worker and spiritual counsellor, know that your undertaking will be more secure and your mindset becomes more humble - therefore all these things and many other things besides them, if you look intently, you will truly find and you will know from yourself, (255) or rather, you will learn from the sun of glory, if indeed you have ever gazed intently at the sun.

But if the appointment is of such a kind and so difficult and hard to understand for it to be made according to God, much more so the undertaking and administration of the matters themselves, and the patience toward temptations, and the most subtle discernment toward spiritual warfare. For this very reason, these few things, which we have been deemed worthy to learn and to know, we thought it necessary to make them clear to your love through this instruction; but concerning the rest, lest we appear to be divulging the things that happen in the monasteries, we have held back our mind and our hand, but indeed, leaving behind all other things, let us direct our discourse to the shepherd.

Therefore, look intently at your heart, spiritual father, or rather, always wash the eye of your mind and keep it pure and untroubled, through which you will be seeing your own heart, and to discern well and to manage fittingly the matters of the sheep entrusted to you, or rather, fathers and brothers. For the church, as you hear, is a body and the one presiding is its head; just as the other members of the body one by one have one function, for example the foot for walking, the hand for holding and working, but the head is the composition of the whole body, as it also has in itself all the senses and the mind and reason itself; so also the brothers in the monastery, not all of them do all things, but one is naturally suited to do and serve one thing, and another another. Whence you will scarcely find one or two of the virtues at the same time in one subordinate (256) and it is not surprising; for they are members in part, but the one presiding is required to have all the virtues in himself, and not only the spiritual ones but also the physical ones, or rather, along with the virtues, also the mystical and great gifts. For just as the head of a man has from its outward formation and comeliness its beauty and honor, but it is useless and dishonored by all, if it does not have its mind and senses sound and unimpaired, so indeed is the one presiding; for not only ought he to be adorned and brightened by spiritual and physical virtues, but also to be beautified all the more by the spiritual gifts, since virtue is one thing and a gift is another. For virtues are achieved by our own zeal and are gathered from our own labors, but the spiritual gifts are gifts from God given to those who strive.

What am I saying? Fasting and continence are a virtue; for it withers pleasures and restrains the fiery passions of the body. These are the work of our own choice; but to practice them without affliction and without pain and to arrive at purity and perfect dispassion, this is a gift of God and a most high grace. Again, to restrain wrath and anger is a wonderful struggle and an intense labor, but to arrive at the immovability of these and to acquire stillness of heart and perfect meekness, is an energy of God alone and a remaking by His hand. And again, to scatter and distribute all one's possessions to the poor and to become a poor man seeking alms is of our own will, but to desire nothing (257) but with joy and gladness to endure the furnace of poverty, is some mystical and divine energy. Thus every action, fine and good, done according to the Lord's commandment, becomes a virtue; but just as the farmer labors only

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Θεῷ καί τά συμφέροντα τῇ ψυχῇ σου, ὡς ἄν μή εὑρεθῇς πειθαρχῶν ἀνθρώπῳ καί οὐ Θεῷ, καί ἀπογυμνυμνωθήσῃ τῆς δόξης καί τοῦ δοθέντος σοι θείου χαρίσματος - ἐάν γάρ συνεργόν εὑρήσῃς ἀγαθόν καί πνευματικόν σύμβουλον, ἴσθι ὅτι ἀσφαλεστέρα σου ἔσται ἡ ἐπιχείρησις καί ταπεινότερόν σου τό φρόνημα γίνεται - ταῦτα τοίνυν πάντα καί τούτων πλείονα ἕτερα ἐάν βλέπων βλέπῃς, εὑρήσεις ἀληθῶς καί ἀπό σεαυτοῦ γνώσεις, (255) μᾶλλον δέ παρά τοῦ ἡλίου τῆς δόξης μαθήσει, εἰ ἄρα καί τῷ ἡλίῳ ποτέ ἐνητένισας.

Εἰ δέ ἡ πρόβλησις τοιαύτη καί οὕτω δύσκολος καί εἰς τό γενέσθαι ταύτην κατά Θεόν δυσνόητος, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἡ τῶν πραγμάτων αὐτῶν ἐγχείρησις καί διοίκησις, καί ἡ πρός τούς πειρασμούς ὑπομονή, καί ἡ πρός τούς πολέμους λεπτοτάτη διάκρισις. ∆ιά δή τοῦτο ὀλίγα ταῦτα, ἐξ ὧν μαθεῖν καί γνῶναι κατηξιώθημεν, δῆλα τῇ ἀγάπῃ ὑμῶν διά τῆς κατηχήσεως ταύτης ποιῆσαι ᾠήθημεν δεῖν· περί δέ τῶν λοιπῶν, ἵνα μή ἐκπομπεύοντες φανῶμεν τά ἐν τοῖς μοναστηρίοις γινόμενα, τόν νοῦν καί τήν χεῖρα ἐπέσχομεν, ἀλλά γάρ τά τῶν ἄλλων ἅπαντα καταλείψαντες ἐπί τόν ποιμένα τόν λόγον ἰθύνωμεν.

Βλέπων τοίνυν βλέπε τήν σήν καρδίαν, πάτερ πνευματικέ, μᾶλλον δέ τόν ὀφθαλμόν ἀεί τῆς σῆς διανοίας ἔκπλυνε καί καθαρόν εἶναι περιποιοῦ καί ἀθόλωτον, δι᾿ οὗ καί τήν καρδίαν ἔσῃ βλέπων τήν σήν, καί τά τῶν ἐγχειρισθέντων σοι προβάτων, μᾶλλον δέ πατέρων καί ἀδελφῶν, διαγινώσκειν καλῶς καί πρεπόντως οἰκονομεῖν. Σῶμα γάρ, ὡς ἀκούεις, ἡ ἐκκλησία ἐστί καί κεφαλή ταύτης ὑπάρχει ὁ προεστώς· καθάπερ τά μέν ἄλλα μέλη τοῦ σώματος ἕν καθ᾿ ἕν μίαν ἔχει ἐνέργειαν, οἷον ὁ ποῦς εἰς τό περιπατεῖν, ἡ χείρ εἰς τό κρατεῖν καί ἐργάζεσθαι, ἡ δέ κεφαλή τοῦ ὅλου σώματός ἐστιν ἡ σύστασις, ὡς καί πάσας ἔχουσα ἐν ἑαυτῇ τάς αἰσθήσεις καί τόν νοῦν καί τόν λόγον αὐτόν· οὕτω καί οἱ ἐν τῇ μονῇ ἀδελφοί οὐ πάντες πάσας, ἄλλος δέ ἄλλο τι ἐνεργεῖν καί διακονεῖν πέφυκεν. Ὅθεν καί μόλις μίαν ἤ δύο τῶν ἀρετῶν ἐν ταὐτῷ εὑρήσεις ἐν ὑπηκόῳ ἑνί (256)καί οὐδέν θαυμαστόν· μέλη γάρ ἐκ μέρους εἰσί , ὁ δέ γε προεστώς πάσας ἀπαιτεῖται τάς ἀρετάς ἔχειν ἐν ἑαυτῷ, καί οὐ μόνον τάς ψυχικάς ἀλλά δή καί αὐτάς τάς σωματικάς, μᾶλλον δέ σύν ταῖς ἀρεταῖς καί αὐτά τά μυστικά καί μεγάλα χαρίσματα. Ὥσπερ γάρ ἡ τοῦ ἀνδρός κεφαλή ἔχει μέν ἀπό τῆς ἔξωθεν διαπλάσεως καί εὐπρεπείας τό περικαλλές καί τό τίμιον, ἀχρεῖος δέ ὑπάρχει καί ἄτιμος πᾶσιν, ἐάν μή καί τόν νοῦν καί τάς αἰσθήσεις σώας καί ἀκεραίας ἔχῃ, οὕτω δή καί ὁ προεστώς· οὐ μόνον γάρ ἀπό τῶν ψυχικῶν καί σωματικῶν ἀρετῶν ὀφείλει κατακοσμεῖσθαί τε καί φαιδρύνεσθαι, ἀλλά καί ἀπό τῶν πνευματικῶν χαρισμάτων πλειόνως ἐγκαλλωπίζεσθαι, ἐπειδή ἄλλο ἀρετή καί ἕτερον χάρισμα. Αἱ μέν γάρ ἀρεταί ἐξ ἡμετέρας κατορθοῦνται σπουδῆς καί ἐξ οἰκείων πόνων συνάγονται, τά δέ πνευματικά χαρίσματα δῶρά εἰσιν ἐκ Θεοῦ τοῖς ἀγωνιζομένοις διδόμενα.

Οἷόν τι λέγω; Ἡ νηστεία καί ἡ ἐγκράτεια ἀρετή ἐστι· μαραίνει γάρ τάς ἡδονάς καί τάς πυρώσεις συστέλλει τοῦ σώματος. Ταῦτα δέ τῆς ἡμετέρας εἰσί προαιρέσεως ἔργον· τό δέ ἀθλίπτως καί ἀπόνως ταύτας μετέρχεσθαι καί εἰς ἁγνείαν φθάσαι καί τελείαν ἀπάθειαν, τοῦτο δῶρον Θεοῦ καί χάρισμα ὑψηλότατον. Πάλιν, τό κρατεῖν ὀργῆς καί θυμοῦ ἀγῶνός ἐστι θαυμαστοῦ καί πόνου σφοδροῦ, τό δέ εἰς ἀκινησίαν τούτων ἐλθεῖν καί γαλήνην κτήσασθαι καρδίας καί τελείαν πραότητα, Θεοῦ μόνου ἐστίν ἐνέργεια καί τῆς ἐκείνου χειρός μεταποίησις. Καί πάλιν, τό διασκορπίσαι καί διαδοῦνται τά ὑπάρχοντα πάντα τοῖς πένησι καί γενέσθαι πτωχόν ζητοῦντα ἐλεημοσύνην τῆς ἡμετέρας ὑπάρχει θελήσεως, τό δέ μή ἐπιθυμεῖν τινος (257) ἀλλά μετά χαρᾶς καί εὐφροσύνης ὑποφέρειν τῆς πτωχείας τήν κάμινον, μυστική τις ὑπάρχει καί θεία ἐνέργεια. Οὕτω πᾶσα πρᾶξις καλή τε καί ἀγαθή κατά τήν τοῦ Κυρίου ἐντολήν γινομένη ἀρετή γίνεται· ἀλλά καθάπερ ὁ γεωργός κοπιᾷ μόνον