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a lover of money, not irascible, not vainglorious, not insolent, not resentful and returning evil for evil. But let him be rather without possessions, hating glory, hating every pleasure of life and comfort of the flesh, humble, of no account, easily moved to compunction, affable, gentle, not given to anger, not a lover of money, not meddlesome, quiet, orderly, patient, faithful, self-controlled, solicitous, watchful, zealous, a zealot, taking care (260) of the souls entrusted to you as your own members, if need be laying down even your life for them each day, not preferring any other of the world's affairs to their love. For since you yourself were chosen from the rest to shepherd the rational flock of your Lord and God, you must, according to His word, be the last of all in your disposition and in your humility according to God, so that as a strong man you may bear the weaknesses of the weak, and as a physician you may heal the passions and the diseases of those who are sick in soul, and as a shepherd you may turn back the one who has gone astray and make the one who is well fruitful in virtues, and the one that is full of mange and incurably ill you may cut off from your rational flock, lest it transmit the disease to the healthy ones of your rational sheep.

Strive therefore to increase the flock of your Lord. Do not incline towards the relaxation or luxuries of the body, nor squander wrongly the wool and the fat of Christ's sheep, hoarding the monastery's goods for yourself rather than for your brothers for the sake of enjoyment. Do not do or say anything for the sake of human glory from matters not pertaining to your monastery, do not love to make constant processions on costly mules with those following together and leading the way. For it is sufficient for you, going out even once a month, to carry out the more necessary services and affairs of your flock, and the others the deacons will do, preserving for you freedom from distraction in the ministry of the word and in the care, clearly, with prayer (261) for one who is persevering for the brothers. Do not prepare lavish tables for yourself, but for your children humble, unseasoned, and despised ones, but let the table be common, apart from any illness and the meeting of friends of the same mind and life as you, both for you and for your children; whether it is prepared by the cellarer in common with boiled vegetables and seeds, or even with fish once a week on the Lord's Day and a feast of the Lord.

You shall not be carried away by anger and wrath and clamor against your children and brothers without some matter causing danger to the soul, but with a gentle word and utterance you will teach them how each one ought to walk and conduct himself in the midst of the brotherhood. You will teach the young and unestablished to be sparing of themselves and of the other brothers, so that they may not become agents of harm to those who see them, through their gait and the disorder of their habits and their boldness and the disorderly practices of youth. Those who have spent time in the ascetic life you will teach in a word of understanding patience for the temptations that come from the enemy, humility, contrition of heart, compunction, tears, diligence and attendance to prayer, blessed mourning, and to be and to become through word and deed a benefit to the others. The priests, reverence, quietness, the study of the divine Scriptures, the precise knowledge of the apostolic canons and traditions, the orthodoxy of doctrines, purity of heart, persistent prayer and compunction, (262) the attendance at the divine sanctuary in fear and trembling of God, the mystery of the sacred rite, the revelation of the mysteries of God, since to them it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens according to the voice of the Lord, so that they may be divine salt and light to the whole brotherhood and to those outside, having the word of life in themselves.

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φιλάργυρος, μή θυμώδης, μή κενόδοξος, μή ὑβριστής, μή μνησίκακος καί κακόν ἀντί κακοῦ ἀποδιδούς. Ἀλλ᾿ ἔστω μᾶλλον ἀκτήμων, μισόδοξος, μισῶν ἡδονήν πᾶσαν τοῦ βίου καί εὐπάθειαν τῆς σαρκός, ταπεινός, εὐτελής, εὐκατάνυκτος, προσηνής, πρᾷος, ἀόργητος, ἀφιλάργυρος, ἀπράγμων, ἥσυχος, εὐσταλής, ὑπομονητικός, πιστός, ἐγκρατής, ἐμμέριμνος, ἄγρυπνος, σπουδαῖος, ζηλωτής, φροντίδα ποιούμενος (260) τῶν καταπιστευθεισῶν σοι ψυχῶν ὡς οἰκείων μελῶν, εἰ δέοι δέ τιθείς καί τήν ψυχήν σου καθ᾿ ἑκάστην ὑπέρ αὐτῶν, μή προτιμώμενος ἕτερόν τι τῶν τοῦ κόσμου πραγμάτων τῆς ἀγάπης αὐτῶν. Καί γάρ ἐπεί τῶν λοιπῶν αὐτός προεκρίθης εἰς τό ποιμαίνειν τήν λογικήν ποίμνην τοῦ ∆εσπότου σου καί Θεοῦ, δεῖ σε κατά τόν αὐτοῦ λόγον ἔσχατον πάντων εἶναι τῷ φρονήματι καί τῇ κατά Θεόν ταπεινώσει σου, ἵνα ὡς δυνατός μέν τά ἀσθενήματα βαστάζῃς τῶν ἀδυνάτων, ὡς δέ ἰατρός τά πάθη θεραπεύῃς καί τό νοσήματα τῶν νοσούντων κατά ψυχήν, ὡς δέ ποιμήν τό πλανώμενον ἐπιστρέφῃς καί τό καλῶς ἔχον πολύτοκον ἐργάζῃ ταῖς ἀρεταῖς, τό δέ ψώρας γέμον καί ἀνιάτως ἔχον τῆς ἀγέλης σου τέμνῃς τῆς λογικῆς, ἵνα μή καί τοῖς ὑγιέσι τῶν λογικῶν σου προβάτων μεταδῷ τοῦ νοσήματος.

Σπεῦδε οὖν ἐπαυξάνειν τό ποίμνιον τοῦ ∆εσπότου σου. Μή πρός ἀνέσεις ἤ τρυφάς ἐκκλίνῃς τοῦ σώματος, μηδέ τό ἔριον καί τό στέαρ καταδαπανήσῃς κακῶς τῶν προβάτων Χριστοῦ, ἑαυτῷ μᾶλλον ἤ τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς σου τά τῆς μονῆς θησαυρίζων ἀπολαύσεως ἕνεκεν. Μή διά δόξαν ἀνθρωπίνην πράξῃς ἤ λέξῃς τι τῶν μή ἀνηκόντων τῇ μονῇ σου πραγμάτων, μή συνεχεῖς ἀγαπήσῃς τάς προόδους ποιεῖσθαι ἐν ἡμιόνοις πολυτιμήτοις καί τοῖς ἑπομένοις ὁμοῦ καί προάγουσιν. Ἀρκετόν γάρ σοι καί ἅπαξ τοῦ μηνός ἐξερχομένῳ τάς ἀναγκαιοτέρας ἐκτελεῖν διακονίας καί ὑποθέσεις τῆς ποίμνης σου, τάς δ᾿ ἄλλας οἱ διακονοῦντες ποιήσουσι, τό ἀπερίσπαστόν σοι διατηροῦντες ἐν τῇ διακονίᾳ τοῦ λόγου καί τῇ ἐπιμελείᾳ δηλονότι μετ᾿ εὐχῆς (261) προσκαρτεροῦντι τῶν ἀδελφῶν. Μή ἑαυτῷ μέν τραπέζας ἑτοιμάζῃς πολυτελεῖς, τοῖς δέ γε τέκνοις ταπεινάς καί ἀναρτύτους καί καταπεφρονημένας, ἀλλά κοινή μέν ἡ τράπεζα ἄνευ τινός ἀρρωστίας καί ὑπαντῆς φίλων, τῶν τοῦ αὐτοῦ σοι καί φρονήματος καί βίου, σοί τε καί τοῖς τέκνοις ἔστω· εἴτε διά λαχάνων ἐφθῶν καί σπερμάτων, εἴτε καί διά ἰχθύων ἅπαξ τῆς ἑβδομάδος κατά Κυριακήν ἡμέραν καί ∆εσποτικήν ἑορτήν παρά τοῦ κελλαρίτου κοινῶς ἑτοιμάζεται.

Οὐκ ἔσῃ θυμῷ καί ὀργῇ καί κραυγῇ κατά τῶν σῶν φερόμενος τέκνων καί ἀδελφῶν ἄνευ τινός πράγματος κίνδυνον προξενοῦντος ψυχῆς, ἀλλά ἠπίῳ λόγῳ καί φθέγματι διδάξεις αὐτούς πῶς δεῖ περιπατεῖν ἕκαστον καί μέσον τῆς ἀδελφότητος ἀναστρέφεσθαι. Τούς νέους καί ἀστηρίκτους διδάξεις φείδεσθαι ἑαυτῶν τε καί τῶν λοιπῶν ἀδελφῶν, ἵνα μή πρόξενοι τοῖς ὁρῶσι γίνωνται βλάβης διά τε τοῦ βαδίσματος καί τῆς ἀκαταστασίας τῶν ἠθῶν καί τῆς παρρησίας καί τῶν ἀτάκτων τῆς νεότητος ἐπιτηδευμάτων. Τούς ἐν τῇ ἀσκήσει χρονίσαντας ἐν λόγῳ διδάξεις συνέσεως τήν ὑπομονήν τῶν ἐπερχομένων πειρασμῶν ἀπό τοῦ ἐχθροῦ, τήν ταπείνωσιν, τήν συντριβήν τῆς καρδίας, τήν κατάνυξιν, τά δάκρυα, τήν ἐπιμέλειαν καί παράστασιν τῆς εὐχῆς, τό μακάριον πένθος καί τοῦ εἶναι καί γίνεσθαι διά λόγου καί πράξεως τῶν λοιπῶν εἰς ὠφέλειαν. Τούς ἱερεῖς τήν εὐλάβειαν, τήν ἡσυχίαν, τήν μελέτην τῶν θείων Γραφῶν, τήν εἴδησιν ἀκριβῶς τῶν ἀποστολικῶν κανόνων καί παραδόσεων, τήν τῶν δογμάτων ὀρθότητα, τήν καθαρότητα τῆς καρδίας, τήν ἐπίμονον προσευχήν καί κατάνυξιν, (262) τήν τοῦ θείου βήματος ἐν φόβῳ Θεοῦ καί τρόμῳ παράστασιν, τό τῆς ἱεουρουργίας μυστήριον, τήν ἀποκάλυψιν τῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ μυστηρίων, ἐπειδή αὐτοῖς δέδοται γνῶναι τά μυστήρια τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν κατά τήν τοῦ Κυρίου φωνήν, ἵνα ὦσι πάσῃ ἀδελφότητι καί τοῖς ἔξω ἅλας θεῖον καί φῶς, λόγον ζωῆς ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἔχοντες.