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of grace, narrate freely to all how they are holy servants of His glory. But if you confess, doing well, that you have not partaken of the gift nor perceived yourself as having become dead to the world, nor known yourself (239) as having ascended into heaven so as to be hidden there alone and not be seen, nor have you been outside the whole world according to Paul, whether in the body or out of the body, nor have you perceived yourself as wholly changed and having become as it were spirit in the putting off of the flesh, comparing spiritual things with spiritual, why do you not embrace good silence and seek in repentance and tears to receive and learn these things, but wish to speak thus emptily about things of which you have not had true knowledge, and love to be called holy without these things, and are disposed as one already saved, daring to receive alien thoughts and to teach others? Do you not shudder to guide others to the light, when you yourself are deprived of the divine light? Do you not fear to shepherd brothers, you who still sit in darkness and have not yet acquired that eye which sees the true light? Are you not ashamed to heal others, when you yourself are weak and not even able to have a perception of your own wounds? For tell me, if you have not known yourself to be dispassionate and have not learned that the dispassionate God dwells in you, in what else having confidence, have you dared to serve and enter into the works of the dispassionate and the ministries of the holy servants of God?

See that you do not unawares leap upon strange ranks and alien ministries, and as a despiser of the divine will and a rash and useless servant be sent away into the outer darkness. See that you are not found naked of the senatorial garment and dignity, which you will understand to be nothing other than the grace of the Spirit, and being bound, in this state, hand and foot, be cast into the eternal fire. Take care not to attempt to shepherd (240) before you acquire the good shepherd as a genuine friend, since you will gain nothing else, know this, than to give an account to God, not only concerning your own unworthiness, but also concerning the sheep which you have lost through inexperience and passion. Take care, I beseech you, not to take on the debts of others at all while being yourself indebted in some way; do not dare to give remission, you who have not acquired in your heart the one who takes away the sin of the world. See that you do not consent to judge another, brother, before you yourself become exact and an examiner of your own faults and cast a just vote against yourself through tears and mourning; and then, having been filled with the Holy Spirit, in the freedom from the law of the flesh and of the death of sin by the grace of God you may be established as a just judge for the judgment of others, as one appointed by God in this through the Spirit.

For see that none of the rulers according to the world dares to leap upon this dignity, before he is enrolled by the king in the order of judges. And if for human dignities there is such an order and such a fear, so as not to offend the earthly king, how much reverence ought to be rendered by us to the dignities of God, so as not to be self-ordained and before being called from above leap upon the divine things and fall into the hands of the living God. Shudder, O man, and respect the long-suffering of God, and do not appear to have less fear for God, the heavenly king, than the worldly rulers have for the earthly one; nor be one who despises the riches of His goodness and long-suffering through love of glory and love of rule, because He is (241) the ruler of all and the fearful judge of all, rendering to each according to his deeds and his thoughts; but just as these render to the earthly, so also you likewise render honor and fear to the heavenly king and God, so that honoring and fearing Him you may be able to keep His commandments and through the keeping of the commandments, having prepared yourself, you might be deemed worthy to be a house of His three-beamed splendor.

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χάριτος διηγοῦ ἀκωλύτως τοῖς πᾶσιν ὥς εἰσιν ἅγιοι δοῦλοι τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ. Εἰ δέ ὁμολογεῖς, καλόν ποιῶν, μή μετασχεῖν τοῦ χαρίσματος μηδέ αἰσθανθῆναι σαυτόν νεκρόν τῷ κόσμῳ γενόμενον, μηδέ εἰς οὐρανόν ἔγνως ἑαυτόν (239) ἀνελθόντα ὡς κρυβῆναι μόνον ἐκεῖ καί μή φαίνεσθαι, μηδέ τοῦ κόσμου παντός ἔξω κατά τόν Παῦλον εἴτε ἐν σώματι εἴτε χωρίς ἐγένου τοῦ σώματος, μηδέ ἀλλοιωθέντα κατέμαθες ἑαυτόν ὅλον καί πνεῦμα οἱονεί γενόμενον ἐν τῇ τῆς σαρκός ἀποθέσει, πνευματικά συγκρίνοντα τοῖς πνευματικοῖς, τί οὐκ ἀσπάζῃ τήν καλήν σιωπήν καί ζητεῖς ἐν μετανοίᾳ καί δάκρυσι ταῦτα λαβεῖν καί μαθεῖν, ἀλλά κενῶς οὕτως λαλεῖν ἐθέλεις περί ὧν οὐκ ἔσχες τήν ἀληθινήν γνῶσιν καί ἅγιος τούτων χωρίς καλεῖσθαι φιλεῖς καί ὡς ἤδη σεσωσμένος διάκεισαι, λογισμούς τολμῶν ἀλλοτρίους ἀναδέχεσθαι καί διδάσκειν ἑτέρους; Οὐ φρίττεις ἄλλους ὁδηγεῖν πρός τό φῶς, αὐτός ὑπάρχων ἐστερημένος τοῦ θείου φωτός; Οὐ δέδοικας ποιμαίνειν ἀδελφούς, ὁ ἔτι ἐν σκότει καθήμενος καί μηδέ τόν ὀφθαλμόν ἐκεῖνον κτησάμενος τόν ὁρῶντα τό φῶς τό ἀληθινόν; Οὐκ αἰσχύνῃ ἄλλους ἰατρεύειν, ἀσθενής ὑπάρχων αὐτός καί μηδέ τῶν ἰδίων τραυμάτων λαβεῖν ἰσχύων τήν αἴσθησιν; Εἰπέ γάρ μοι, εἰ μή σεαυτόν ἀπαθῆ ἔγνωκας εἶναι καί τόν ἀπαθῆ Θεόν κατέμαθες οἰκοῦντα ἐν σεαυτῷ, ἐν τίνι ἄλλῳ θαρρήσας, τοῖς ἔργοις τῶν ἀπαθῶν καί ταῖς διακονίαις τῶν ἁγίων τοῦ Θεοῦ δούλων ὑπηρετεῖν καί ὑπεισελθεῖν κατετόλμησας;

Ὅρα μή λάθῃς σεαυτόν ξένοις βαθμοῖς καί ἀλλοτρίαις διακονίαις ἐπιπηδῶν καί ὡς καταφρονητής τοῦ θείου θελήματος καί τολμηρός καί ἀχρεῖος οἰκέτης εἰς τό σκότος ἀποπεμφθῇς τό ἐξώτερον. Ὅρα μή εὑρεθῇς τοῦ συγκλητικοῦ ἐνδύματος καί ἀξιώματος γυμνός, ὅπερ οὐδέν ἄλλο εἶναι νοήσεις ἤ τήν χάριν τοῦ Πνεύματος, καί δεθείς, οὕτως ἔχων, χεῖρας ἅμα καί πόδας, εἰς τό πῦρ ἐμβληθῇς τό αἰώνιον. Βλέπε μή πρότερον ποιμαίνειν (240) ἐπιχειρήσῃς, πρίν ἄν τόν καλόν σε ποιμένα φίλον γνήσιον κτήσασθαι, ἐπεί οὐδέν κερδήσεις ἕτερον, γίνωσκε, ἤ δοῦναι λόγον τῷ Θεῷ, οὐ μόνον περί τῆς σαυτοῦ ἀναξιότητος, ἀλλά καί περί τῶν προβάτων, ὧν ἐξ ἀπειρίας καί ἐμπαθείας ἀπώλεσας. Βλέπε, παρακαλῶ, μή ἀναδέξῃ τό σύνολον χρέη ἀλλότρια ὑπόχρεως ὑπάρχων αὐτός ἔν τινι· μή ἄφεσιν δοῦ ναι τολμήσῃς, ὁ μή τόν αἴροντα τήν ἁμαρτίαν τοῦ κόσμου ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ κτησάμενος. Ὅρα μή κρῖναι τόν ἕτερον, ἀδελφέ, καταδέξῃ, πρίν ἄν αὐτός ἀκριβής γένῃ καί τῶν οἰκείων σφαλμάτων ἐξεταστής καί δικαίαν τήν ψῆφον κατά σαυτοῦ διά δακρύων ἀπολύσῃς καί πένθους· καί τηνικαῦτα, Πνεύματος ἐμπλησθείς Ἁγίου, ἐν τῇ ἐλευθερίᾳ τοῦ νόμου τῆς σαρκός καί τοῦ θανάτου τῆς ἁμαρτίας ὑπό τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ χάριτος εἰς τήν τῶν ἄλλων κρίσιν δίκαιος ἀποκατασταθῇς κριτής, ὡς ὑπό Θεοῦ προχειρισθείς ἐν τούτῳ διά τοῦ Πνεύματος.

Ἴδε γάρ ὅτι οὐδείς τῶν κατά κόσμον ἀρχόντων τούτῳ τολμᾷ ἐπιπηδῆσαι τῷ ἀξιώματι, πρίν ἄν παρά τοῦ βασιλέως τῷ τῶν κριτῶν ἐγκαταλεγῇ τάγματι. Καί εἰ ἐπί τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων ἀξιωμάτων τοιαύτη τάξις ἐστί καί τοιοῦτος φόβος, ὡς μή τῷ ἐπιγείῳ βασιλεῖ προσκροῦσαι, πόση εὐλάβεια ὀφείλεται παρ᾿ ἡμῶν ἀπονέμεσθαι τοῖς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀξιώμασιν, ὡς μή αὐτοχειροτόνητοι καί πρό τοῦ κληθῆναι ἄνωθεν ἐπιπηδᾶν τοῖς θείοις καί εἰς χεῖρας Θεοῦ ζῶντος ἐμπίπτειν. Φρίξον, ἄνθρωπε, καί τοῦ Θεοῦ σεβάσθητι τό μακρόθυμον καί μή ἔλαττον ἔχων φανῇς τῶν κοσμικῶν ἀρχόντων τόν φόβον εἰς Θεόν, τόν ἐπουράνιον βασιλέα, ἤ ὅσον ἐκεῖνοι πρός τόν ἐπίγειον ἔχουσι· μηδέ καταφρονῶν ἔσῃ τοῦ πλούτου τῆς χρηστότητος καί μακροθυμίας αὐτοῦ διά φιλοδοξίαν καί φιλαρχίαν, ὅτι αὐτός ἐστι (241) πάντων ἐξουσιαστής καί πάντων κριτής φοβερός, ἀποδιδούς ἑκάστῳ κατά τάς πράξεις καί τάς ἐνθυμήσεις αὐτοῦ· ἀλλ᾿ ὥσπερ οὗτοι τῷ ἐπιγείῳ, οὕτω καί σύ κἄν ὡσαύτως τῷ ἐπουρανίῳ βασιλεῖ καί Θεῷ τήν τιμήν καί τόν φόβον ἀπόνεμε, ἵνα τιμῶν καί φοβούμενος αὐτόν δυνηθῇς τηρῆσαι τάς αὐτοῦ ἐντολάς καί διά τῆς τῶν ἐντολῶν φυλακῆς ἑαυτόν προετοιμάσας οἶκος τῆς τριφεγγοῦς αἴγλης αὐτοῦ ἀξιωθείης