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look upon those who live indifferently and contemptuously, so that you do not fall into presumption or even condemn them; but indeed never sit with them for untimely meetings; do not go about seeking famous monks, nor investigate their lives, but if by the grace of God you have met a spiritual father, tell your affairs to him alone; but if not, then, seeing Christ, look always to him and throughout all things have him alone as the beholder of your sorrow and affliction.

Show him, or rather let him see your unwashed state, your extreme poverty, your manner free from avarice. Nor, if all the wealth of the world flows from somewhere or even a multitude of gold is thrown before your feet - for this also happens from the contrivance of the Evil One and his collaborators and champions - should you wish to turn your eye at all and look upon these things, even if on the pretext of the poor it seems sinless both to be taken (257) and to be given by you. Let him see you being struck and not striking back, being insulted and not insulting back, being reviled and blessing those who revile you, seeking neither glory, nor honor, nor repose, and simply doing everything and accomplishing everything and in no way giving in nor turning back, until, moved with compassion, he will grant you to drink that fearful and unutterable and unnameable potion. And when you are deemed worthy of this, then you will know what we are speaking of and what we are explaining to you. "For we speak wisdom," he says, "not of this age which is passing away, but we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom."

But if you have not been deemed worthy to see Christ at all, why is it that you seem to live? Why is it that you think you serve him, whom you have not yet seen? But not having seen him nor having been deemed worthy to hear his voice, from where will you be taught his holy and well-pleasing and perfect will? But if you say you will learn this from the holy Scriptures, I ask how, being entirely dead and lying in darkness, you will be able to hear it or fulfill it, so that you may be deemed worthy to live and to see God. In no way. What then? "If we are dead," he says, "and live in darkness, how will we have the strength to live or how will we see Christ, the true light, who came to the earth?" Listen attentively and do not wish to justify yourself; but be humbled before God and say: "Lord, who does not desire the death of the sinner but that he should turn and live, who for this reason descended to the earth, so that you might raise up those lying dead from sin and deem them worthy to see you, the true light, as it is possible for a man to see, send me a man who knows you, (258) so that, as if serving you in him and subjecting myself with all my strength and doing your will in his will, I may be well-pleasing to you, the only God, and I, a sinner, may also be deemed worthy of your kingdom."

If then you persist thus with all your soul and strength, knocking, exhorting, and beseeching him, he will not abandon you, but either through himself or through one of his servants, he will teach you whatever you must do and through his grace and the prayer of his servant he will bestow upon you strength to fulfill them. For without him you can do nothing; but he, as I have already said, will unfailingly be everything to you; but if for the time being you do not find everything in your departure seeking Christ, for the time being you are found subjecting yourself and serving him through his friends and rulers, for the time being you fulfill the will of the servants of God and not your own - for the will of God is the will of his servants - for the time being in work and not in idleness, for the time being in humility and not in presumption. Remember what I said, that the generals and all the rulers are some servants, others friends of the king and through them also the people under each one of them; who, even if they do not see the king and meet with him, but by serving their general or ruler well, as they would the king himself, to receive both gifts and dignities through

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ἀδιαφόρως καί καταφρονητικῶς βιοῦντας ἀποβλέψῃς, ἵνα μή εἰς οἴησιν ἐμπέσῃς ἤ καί κατακρίνῃς αὐτούς· ἀλλά γάρ μηδέ συγκαθεσθῇς πρός συντυχίας ἀκαίρους ποτέ μετ᾿ αὐτῶν· μή παριέλθῃς τούς ὀνομαστούς ζητῶν μοναχούς, μηδέ ἐρεύνα τούς βίους αὐτῶν, ἀλλ᾿ εἰ μέν πνευματικῷ πατρί Θεοῦ χάριτι ἐνέτυχες, αὐτῷ μόνῳ λέγε τά κατά σέ· εἰ δ᾿ οὖν, ἀλλά τόν Χριστόν ὁρῶν, εἰς ἐκεῖνον ἀπόβλεπε ἀεί καί διά παντός ἐκεῖνον μόνον τῆς σῆς κατηφείας καί θλίψεως ἔχε θεωρητήν.

∆είκνυε αὐτῷ, μᾶλλον δέ ἐκεῖνος ὁράτω σου τήν ἀλουσίαν, τήν ἄγαν ἀκτημοσύνην, τόν ἀφιλάργυρον τρόπον. Μηδέ, εἰ ῥέει ποθέν ἅπας ὁ πλοῦτος τοῦ κόσμου ἤ καί πλῆθος χρυσίου ἔρριπται πρό τῶν ποδῶν σου - γίνεται γάρ καί τοῦτο ἐκ τῆς τοῦ Πονηροῦ μηχανῆς καί τῶν ἐκείνου συνεργῶν καί ὑπασπιστῶν , ἐπιστρέψαι κἄν ὅλως τόν ὀφθαλμόν καί ἀπιδεῖν πρός ταῦτα θελήσῃς, εἰ καί προφάσει τῶν πτωχῶν ἀναμαρτήτως δοκεῖ καί λαμβάνεσθαι (257) καί διδόσθαι παρά σοῦ. Ἐκεῖνος βλεπέτω σε τυπτόμενον καί μή ἀντιτύπτοντα, ὑβριζόμενον καί μή ἀνθυβρίζοντα, λοιδορούμενον καί τούς λοιδοροῦντάς σε εὐλογοῦντα, μή δόξαν ζητοῦντα, μή τιμήν, μή ἀνάπαυσιν, καί ἁπλῶς πάντα ποιοῦντα καί πάντα διαπραττόμενον καί μηδόλως ἐνδιδοῦντα μήτε εἰς τά ὀπίσω στρεφόμενον, ἕως οὗ σπλαγχνισθείς ἐπιδώσει σοι τό φοβερόν ἐκεῖνο καί ἄρρητον καί ἀκατονόμαστον πόμα πιεῖν. Καί ὅταν τούτου ἀξιωθῇς, τότε γνώσεις ἅπερ λαλοῦμεν καί ἅπερ σοι ὑφηγούμεθα. "Λαλοῦμεν γάρ σοφίαν, φησίν, οὐ τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου τήν καταργουμένην, ἀλλά λαλοῦμεν Θεοῦ σοφίαν ἐν μυστηρίῳ, τήν ἀποκεκρυμμένην".

Εἰ δέ οὐδέ αὐτόν τόν Χριστόν ὅλως ἰδεῖν κατηξίωσαι, τί ὅτι καί δοκεῖς ζῆν; Τί ὅτι καί δουλεύειν νομίζεις αὐτῷ, ὅν οὐδέπω τεθέασαι; Μή θεασάμενος δέ μηδέ φωνῆς αὐτοῦ ἀκοῦσαι ἀξιωθείς, πόθεν τό θέλημα αὐτοῦ τό ἅγιον καί εὐάρεστον καί τέλειον διδαχθήσῃ; Εἰ δέ ἐκ τῶν ἁγίων εἴπῃς μαθήσεσθαι τοῦτο Γραφῶν, ἐρωτῶ πῶς αὐτό, νεκρός ὅλος ὤν καί ἐν σκότει κείμενος, ἀκοῦσαι δυνηθῇς ἤ ἐκπληρῶσαι, ἵνα καί ζῆσαι ἀξιωθῇς καί ἰδεῖν τόν Θεόν. Οὐδαμῶς. Τί οὖν; Εἰ νεκροί ἐσμεν, φησίν, ἐν σκότει διάγομεν, πῶς ζῆσαι ἰσχύσομεν ἤ πῶς τόν Χριστόν, τό ἀληθινόν φῶς, ἐλθόντα ἐπί τῆς γῆς θεασόμεθα; Ἄκουε νουνεχῶς καί μή θέλε δικαιοῦν σεαυτόν· ἀλλά ταπεινώθητι ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ καί εἰπέ· "Κύριε, ὁ μή θέλων τόν θάνατον τοῦ ἁμαρτωλοῦ ὡς τό ἐπιστρέψαι καί ζῆν αὐτόν, ὁ κατελθών διά τοῦτο ἐπί τῆς γῆς, ἵνα τους κειμένους καί τεθανατωμένους ὑπό τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἐξαναστήσῃς καί σέ κατιδεῖν αὐτούς, τό φῶς τό ἀληθινόν, ὡς ἰδεῖν ἀνθρώπῳ δυνατόν, καταξιώσῃς, πέμψον μοι ἄνθρωπον γινώσκοντά σε, (258) ἵνα, ὡς σοί δουλεύσας αὐτῷ καί πάσῃ δυνάμει μοι ὑποταγείς καί τό σόν ἐν τῷ ἐκείνου θελήματι ποιήσας θέλημα, εὐαρεστήσω σοι τῷ μόνῳ Θεῷ καί καταξιωθῶ σου κἀγώ τῆς βασιλείας, ὁ ἁμαρτωλός".

Ἐάν οὖν οὕτως ἐπιμείνης ἐξ ὅλης ψυχῆς καί δυνάμεως κρούων, παρακαλῶν τε καί δεόμενος αὐτοῦ, οὐκ ἐγκαταλείψει σε, ἀλλά ἤ δι᾿ ἑαυτοῦ ἤ δι᾿ ἑνός τῶν δούλων αὐτοῦ, ὅσα δεῖ σε ποιῆσαι διδάξει σε καί διά τῆς αὐτοῦ χάριτος καί τῆς εὐχῆς τοῦ δούλου αὐτοῦ ἰσχύν σοι χαρίσεται τοῦ ἐκπληρῶσαι αὐτά. Χωρίς γάρ ἐκείνου οὐ δυνήσῃ ποιῆσαι οὐδέν· ἀλλ᾿ ἐκεῖνος, καθώσπερ ἔφθην εἰπών, ἀπαραλείπτως γενήσεταί σοι τά πάντα· εἰ δέ μή πάντα τέως εὑρίσκῃ ἐν τῇ ἐξόδῳ σου τόν Χριστόν ἐκζητῶν, τέως τοῖς αὐτοῦ φίλοις καί ἄρχουσιν ὑποτασσόμενος εἶς καί δουλεύων εὑρίσκῃ διά τούτων ἐκείνῳ, τέως τῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ δούλων καί οὐχί τό σόν θέλημα ἐκ πληροῖς - Θεοῦ δέ θέλημα τό θέλημα τῶν ἐκείνου δούλων ἐστίν , τέως ἐν ἐργασίᾳ καί οὐκ ἀργίᾳ, τέως ἐν ταπεινώσει καί οὐκ ἐν οἰήσει. Μνήσθητι ὧν εἶπον, ὅτι οἱ στρατηγοί καί οἱ ἄρχοντες πάντες οἱ μέν δοῦλοι, οἱ δέ φίλοι τοῦ βασιλέως εἰσί καί διά τούτων αὐτῶν καί ὁ ὑφ᾿ ἑνί ἑκάστῳ τούτων πέλων λαός· οἵ, εἰ καί μή τόν βασιλέα καθορῶσι καί συντυγχάνουσιν, ἀλλά τῷ στρατηγῷ αὐτῶν ἤ τῷ ἄρχοντι ὡς ἐκείνῳ αὐτῷ τῷ βασιλεῖ καλῶς ἐκδουλεύοντες δωρεάς τε καί ἀξιώματα λαβεῖν δι᾿