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to remain impassible, but also while moving about in the midst of cities, hearing tragedians and cithara players and seeing people laughing and dancing and playing, to be in no way harmed, every writing indeed testifies, and every history and the acts of the saints describe for us such testimonies, and for this reason every struggle and every hardship is undertaken by the pious.

(228) For the goal of those who struggle according to God is this: first, to flee the whole world and the things in the world. By world, I mean the present life, that is, this temporary age, and by the things in the world, all the things around us which the Word commands us to leave behind, from which one must by all means flee, such as from father and mother, brothers and relatives and friends, and further, from possessions and money and property and all wealth, not as though these things are forbidden or even harmful, but because we, while moving in their midst, are not able to be freed from attachment to them; for he who is already overcome by pleasures, if he does not flee their causes and get far away from them, will not be freed from the desires for them. And after he has become stripped of all his possessions, then he ought, if he is zealous, to deny his own soul; which is accomplished in the mortification of one's own will, I do not mean only the exterior will, such as not eating, not drinking, not doing anything rashly, not sleeping, not doing anything that seems good without a command, but also of the interior, I mean, the movement of the heart, such as not looking with passion, not embracing in the same way, not secretly finding fault, not condemning someone, not rejoicing at someone's fall, not being angry in one's thought, not envying wickedly, not being jealous in malice.

How shall I enumerate all the characteristics of piety, so that I may show you precisely the precision of Christians? Yet learn still more the things of the life-giving mortification: never to hide even a random thought, not to let a single day pass without tears, according to one's ability, not to wash one's face with water out of habit, not to adorn the hair of one's head, or even of one's beard, not to loosen one's (229) belt when turning to sleep, so that, becoming slack, one does not sleep more than necessary, not to put one's hand inside and scratch a part of the body, but also to guard oneself from other touch, not to gaze simply even at the face of an old person for the one who mediates evils is present everywhere , not to give a sign to someone against someone else, not to say anything that is not beneficial and to be silent about what is worthy of being said, never to abandon the customary rule until death, not to acquire a partial friendship with anyone, even if he seems to have the reputation of being a saint, not to care in part or at all for the adornment of clothing or footwear, except only for what is necessary, at once dignified and seemly, not to taste anything with pleasure nor to eat what pleased the soul through sight. For in all these and in many other things the one who struggles practices self-control; and through these, by all means, if he proceeds laxly and lazily, he fulfills his own will hour by hour, even if he is called blessed by men as one who has renounced. For someone who practices self-control in exterior things which are seen by all is proclaimed a laborer by those who do not know how to see well, but by fulfilling the hidden desires of the heart, he is hated and turned away from by God as impure; and even if he should struggle thus for a thousand years, he will find no benefit from the exterior struggles alone.

But he who practices self-control in all things and pre-trains his soul not to wander about in a disorderly way nor to do its own will in anything in which God is displeased, but compelling his whole soul, as if tightrope-walking, to walk fervently in the commandments of God, this man in a short time will find Him hidden in His divine commandments. And having encountered Him, of every other work

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ἀπαθῆ διαμένειν, ἀλλά καί ἐν μέσαις στρεφόμενον πόλεσι, τραγῳδούντων τε καί κιθαρῳδούντων ἀκούοντα καί ὁρῶντα γελῶντας καί ὀρχουμένους καί παίζοντας, μηδέν παραβλάπτεσθαι, πᾶσα μέν συγγραφή μαρτυρεῖ, πᾶσα δέ ἱστορία καί τῶν ἁγίων αἱ πράξεις τοιαύτας τάς μαρτυρίας ἡμῖν διαγράφουσι, καί τούτου ἕνεκεν πᾶσα πρᾶξις ἐναγώνιος καί πᾶσα κακοπάθεια παρά τῶν εὐσεβούντων ἐπιτελεῖται.

(228) Ὁ γάρ τῶν κατά Θεόν ἀγωνιζομένων σκοπός τοιοῦτός ἐστι, πρῶτον μέν ἐκφυγεῖν κόσμον ἅπαντα καί τά ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ. Κόσμον δέ λέγω τήν παροῦσαν ζωήν, ἤγουν τόν αἰῶνα τοῦτον τόν πρόσκαιρον, τά δέ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ, τά περί ἡμᾶς πάντα ἅπερ καταλιμπάνειν ἡμᾶς ὁ Λόγος διακελεύεται, ἀφ᾿ ὧν καί φεύγειν ἐκ παντός χρή, οἷον ἀπό πατρός καί μητρός, ἀδελφῶν τε καί συγγενῶν καί φίλων, ἔτι δέ ἀπό κτημάτων καί χρημάτων καί περιουσίας καί πλούτου παντός, οὐχ ὡς ἀπηγορευμένων ὄντων αὐτῶν ἤ καί ἐπιβλαβῶν, ἀλλ᾿ ὡς μή δυναμένων ἡμῶν, ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῶν στρεφομένων, τῆς αὐτῶν προσπαθείας ἀπαλλαγῆναι· ὁ γάρ ἤδη ταῖς ἡδοναῖς συγκραθείς, εἰ μή τάς αἰτίας αὐτῶν ἐκφύγοι καί μακράν γένηται ἀπ᾿ αὐτῶν, οὐκ ἄν τῶν ἐπιθυμιῶν αὐτῶν ἐλευθερωθήσεται. Μετά δέ τό γενέσθαι γυμνός πάντων τῶν προσόντων, τότε καί αὐτήν ἑαυτοῦ ὀφείλει, εἰ σπουδαῖός ἐστιν, ἀπαρνήσασθαι τήν ψυχήν· ὅπερ καί κατορθοῦται ἐν τῇ τοῦ οἰκείου ἀπονεκρώσει θελήματος, οὐ λέγω μόνου τοῦ ἔξωθεν, οἶον μή φαγεῖν, μή πιεῖν, μή προπετῶς τι διαπράξασθαι, μή ὑπνῶσαι, μή τι τῶν δοκούντων εἶναι καλῶν ἄνευ ἐπιταγῆς ποιῆσαι, ἀλλά καί τοῦ ἔσωθεν, φημί, τῆς καρδιάς κινήματος, οἳον μή βλέψαι ἐμπαθῶς, μή ὡσαύτως ἀσπάσασθαι, μή μέμψασθαι ἀφανῶς, μή κατακρῖναί τινα, μή ἐπιχαρῆναι πτώσει τινός, μή ὀργισθῆναι κατά διάνοιαν, μή φθονῆσαι κακῶς, μή ζηλῶσαι ἐν πονηρίᾳ.

Πῶς πάντα τά τῆς εὐσεβείας ἀπαριθμήσομαι ἰδιώματα, ἵνα καί δείξω σοι ἀκριβῶς τῶν χριστιανῶν τήν ἀκρίβειαν; Πλήν ἔτι τά τῆς ζωοποιοῦ νεκρώσεως μάνθανε, τοῦ μή κρῦψαι λογισμόν μηδέ τόν τυχόντα ποτέ, μή παρελθεῖν δακρύων χωρίς ἡμέραν μίαν τό κατά δύναμιν, μή τρῖψαι τήν ὄψιν κατά τήν συνήθειαν ὕδατι, μή τῆς κόμης κοσμῆσαι τάς τρίχας, ἤ καί τοῦ πώγωνος, μή λῦσαι τήν (229) ζώνην εἰς ὕπνον τρεπόμενος, ἵνα μή χαυνωθείς ὑπνώσῃ πλέον τοῦ δέοντος, μή βάλαι χεῖρα εἴσω καί κνῆσαι μέλος τοῦ σώματος, ἀλλά καί φυλάξασθαι ἀπό ἑτέρας ἀφῆς, μή ἐνατενίσαι ἁπλῶς μηδέ εἰς γηράσαντος ὄψιν ὁ γάρ μεσάζων τοῖς κακοῖς πανταχοῦ πάρεστι , μή ἐννεῦσαί τινι κατά ἑτέρου τινός, μή λαλῆσαι μηδέν ὅ μή συμφέρει καί σιωπῆσαι ὅ καί λαληθῆναι ἄξιον, μή καταλεῖψαι τόν συνήθη κανόνα μέχρι θανάτου ποτέ, μή κτήσασθαι μετά τινος μερικήν φιλίαν, εἰ καί ἁγίου δοκεῖ ἔχειν ὑπόληψιν, μή ἐν μέρει ἤ καθόλου καλλωπισμῶν φροντίσαι ἐνδύματος ἤ ὑποδήματος, εἰ μή μόνην τήν χρείαν σεμνήν ὁμοῦ καί εὐσχήμονα, μή ἐνηδόνως τινός γεύσασθαι μηδέ φαγεῖν ὅ τῇ ψυχῇ διά τῆς ὁράσεως ἤρεσεν. Ἐν τούτοις γάρ πᾶσι καί ἐν πλείοσιν ἄλλοις ὁ ἀγωνιζόμενος ἐγκρατεύεται· καί διά τούτων πάντως, εἰ χαύνως καί ῥᾳθύμως πορεύεται, τό οἰκεῖον καθ᾿ ὥραν ἐκπληροῖ θέλημα, εἰ και τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ὡς ἀποταξάμενος μακαρίζεται. Τῶν γάρ ἔξωθέν τις καί βλεπομένων τοῖς πᾶσιν ἐγκρατευόμενος παρά τῶν μή καλῶς εἰδότων ὁρᾶν ὡς ἐργάτης ἀνακηρύττεται, τά δέ κρύφια τῆς καρδίας θελήματα ἐκπληρῶν, ὡς ἀκάθαρτος παρά Θεῷ μισεῖται καί ἀποστρέφεται· κἄν εἰ χίλια ἔτη οὕτω ποιήσῃ ἀγωνιζόμενος, οὐδεμίαν εὑρήσει ἐκ τῶν ἔξωθεν μόνων ἀγώνων ὠφέλειαν.

Ὁ δέ εἰς πάντα ἐγκρατευόμενος καί τήν ψυχήν προπαιδεύων ἀτάκτως μή περιφέρεσθαι μηδέ ποιεῖν ἐν μηδενί ὧν ὁ Θεός ἀπαρέσκεται τό ἑαυτῆς θέλημα, ἀλλ᾿ ὅλην, ὥσπερ ἐπί κάλου τινός ἀεροβατοῦσαν, τοῖς τοῦ Θεοῦ ὁδεύειν θερμῶς ἀναγκάζων προστάγμασιν, οὗτος ἐν ὀλίγῳ καιρῷ ἐν αὐτοῖς αὐτόν εὑρήσει κεκρυμμένον τοῖς θείοις αὐτοῦ ἐντάλμασιν. Ὧ καί ἐντυχών, πάσης ἄλλης ἐργασίας