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we keep unquenched, being guarded by his prayers and intercessions, by which our faith in him, being watered, grows and will grow still—I say with confidence in God—, bearing fruit a hundredfold in that divine light itself. For the fruit of faith is the holy and never-setting light, and holy light is the addition and increase of faith; for inasmuch as the light springs forth, faith grows and ascends on high. And according to the proportion of faith, the fruit of the Spirit abounds manifestly: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control," which he who has them knows one by one. For just as one who has pearls and transparent stones, sapphire, amethyst, and certain others, knows, unless he is inexperienced, the form and size of each one of them, so too he who has planted the virtues in himself with much labor and tears and has brought forth the fruits of the Spirit, knows both the form and the quality of each one of them and tastes the sweetness of them all; and what is greater and more wonderful, is that he recognizes the same fruit when it is in others.

For just as the nations are recognized by their dress, and for the most part by their voice and words, so indeed the saints are known by their decorum and their graceful gait and their other external qualities, but their own particular mark with precision and truth is presented by the word that is born from them.

(282) For what the heart does not have, the mouth cannot utter; and if it should speak, as one not speaking well, it is immediately refuted by its own words. "For a good man," it says, "out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, but an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil things." And behold for me the depths of the Spirit, how the Lord did not say only "out of the good heart he brings forth good things," but added "out of the treasure of the heart," that you may learn that none of us can have an empty and light heart, but either through good works and true faith each one has the grace of the Spirit, or through unbelief and neglect of the commandments and the fulfillment of wicked things he carries about the evil devil within himself. And lest you think that he says that not those who keep Christ's commandments in part, while despising them in part, but those who keep all of them with precision have the treasure of the Spirit, he taught, saying: "He who has my commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves me; and he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him; and I and the Father will come and make our home with him."

Do you see how he who has acquired a good heart through labors and the working of the commandments has the whole Godhead dwelling in himself, which is the good treasure? But that such a treasure does not dwell in one who transgresses even one chance commandment, or neglects it and does not do it, hear him saying again: "Whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven." He called them least (283) not because they are so, but because they are so reckoned by us; for to speak idly or to desire something of a neighbor's or to look with passion or to despise and insult someone, we are indifferent, thinking it as nothing, forgetting the one who placed these things under judgment. For what does he say? "Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account for it on the day of judgment," and elsewhere: "You shall not covet anything that is your neighbor's," and again: "Whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. But whoever says to his brother, 'Raca,' shall be in danger of the hell of fire." And the Apostle, wishing to show that in those who do such things the

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ἄσβεστον διατηροῦμεν, ταῖς ἐκείνου εὐχαῖς καί πρεσβείαις φρουρούμενοι, ἐξ ὧν ἀρδουμένη αὐξάνει ἡ πίστις ἡμῶν ἡ πρός αὐτόν καί ἔτι αὐξήσει ἐν Θεῷ θαρρῶν λέγω , ἑκατονταπλασίονα τόν καρπόν φέρουσα ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ θείῳ φωτί. Καρπός γάρ πίστεως τό ἅγιον καί ἀνέσπερον φῶς, φῶς δέ ἅγιον προσθήκη καί αὔξησις πίστεως· καθόσον γάρ τό φῶς πηγάζει, ἡ πίστις αὐξάνει καί εἰς ὕψος ἀνέρχεται. Κατά δέ τήν ἀναλογίαν τῆς πίστεως ὁ καρπός ἀριδήλως βρίθει τοῦ Πνεύματος· "Ὁ δέ καρπός τοῦ Πνεύματος ἐστιν ἀγάπη, χαρά, εἰρήνη, μακροθυμία, χρηστότης, ἀγαθωσύνη, πίστις, πρᾳότης, ἐγκράτεια", ἅπερ καθ᾿ ἕν ὁ ἔχων ἐπίσταται. Ὥσπερ γάρ ὁ μαργαρίτας ἔχων καί λίθους διαφανεῖς, σάπφειρον, ἀμέθυσον καί ἄλλους τινάς, οἶδεν, εἰ μή ἀπείρως ἔχει, ἑνός ἑκάστου αὐτῶν τό εἶδος, τό μέγεθος, οὕτω καί ὁ τάς ἀρετάς μετά πόνου καί δακρύων πολλῶν ἐν ἑαυτῷ φυτεύσας καί τούς καρπούς ἐνεγκών τούς τοῦ Πνεύματος, ἐπίσταται καί τό εἶδος καί τήν ποιότητα ἑνός ἑκάστου αὐτῶν καί τῆς ἁπάντων αὐτῶν γλυκύτητος ἀπογεύεται· καί τό δή μεῖζον καί θαυμαστότερον, ὅτι καί ἐν ἄλλοις ὄντα τόν αὐτόν ἐπιγινώσκει καρπόν.

Καθάπερ γάρ τά ἔθνη ἀπό τῆς στολῆς, τό δέ πλεῖστον ἀπό τῆς φωνῆς καί τῶν λόγων ἐπιγινώσκονται, οὕτω δή καί οἱ ἅγιοι γνωρίζονται μέν ἀπό τῆς κοσμιότητος αὐτῶν καί τοῦ εὐσχήμου βαδίσματος καί τῶν ἄλλων τῶν ἔξωθεν, τό δέ γνώρισμα μετά ἀκριβείας καί ἀληθείας τό ἴδιον αὐτῶν ὁ λόγος ὁ γεννώμενος ἐξ αὐτῶν παρίστησιν.

(282) Ὅ γάρ οὐκ ἔχει ἡ καρδία, τό στόμα προφέρειν οὐ δύναται· εἰ δέ καί εἴπῃ, ὡς οὐ καλῶς λέγων εὐθύς ὑπ᾿ αὐτῶν τῶν ἑαυτοῦ λόγων ἐλέγχεται. "Ὁ γάρ ἀγαθός, φησίν, ἄνθρωπος ἐκ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ θησαυροῦ τῆς καρδίας προφέρει τά ἀγαθά, ὁ δέ πονηρός ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ θησαυροῦ τῆς καρδίας προφέρει τά πονηρά". Καί ὅρα μοι τά βάθη τοῦ Πνεύματος, πῶς οὐκ εἶπεν ὁ Κύριος ὅτι "ἐκ τῆς ἀγαθῆς καρδίας προφέρει τά ἀγαθά" μόνον, ἀλλά προσέθετο εἰπεῖν "ἐκ τοῦ θησαυροῦ τῆς καρδίας", ἵνα μάθῃς ὅτι καρδίαν κενήν καί κούφην οὐδείς ἡμῶν ἔχειν δύναται, ἀλλά εἴτε διά ἀγαθοεργίας καί ἀληθινῆς πίστεως τήν χάριν ἔχει τοῦ Πνεύματος ἕκαστος, ἤ διά τῆς ἀπιστίας καί ἀμελείας τῶν ἐντολῶν καί τῆς τῶν φαύλων ἀποπληρώσεως τόν πονηρόν ἐν ἑαυτῷ περιφέρει διάβολον. Καί ἵνα μή νομίσῃς ὅτι οὐ τούς ἐν μέρει μέν φυλάσσοντας τάς τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐντολάς, ἐν μέρει δέ τούτων καταφρονοῦντας, ἀλλά τούς φυλάσσοντας πάσας ταύτας μετά ἀκριβείας, τόν θησαυρόν λέγει τοῦ Πνεύματος ἔχειν,, ἐδίδαξεν εἰπών· "Ὁ ἔχων τάς ἐντολάς μου καί τηρῶν αὐτάς, ἐκεῖνός ἐστιν ὁ ἀγαπῶν με· ὁ δέ ἀγαπῶν με ἀγαπηθήσεται ὑπό τοῦ Πατρός μου καί ἐγώ ἀγαπήσω αὐτόν καί ἐμφανίσω αὐτῷ ἐμαυτόν· καί ἐγώ καί ὁ Πατήρ ἐλευσόμεθα καί μονήν παρ᾿ αὐτῷ ποιήσομεν".

Ὁρᾷς ὅπως ὁ ἀγαθήν καρδίαν κτησάμενος διά πόνων καί τῆς τῶν ἐντολῶν ἐργασίας ἔνοικον ἔσχε τήν ὅλην ἐν ἑαυτῷ θεότητα, ἥτις ἐστίν ὁ ἀγαθός θησαυρός; Ὅτι δέ εἰς τόν παραβαίνοντα μίαν καί τήν τυχοῦσαν ἐντολήν, ἤ ἀμελοῦντα καί μή ποιοῦντα αὐτήν, ὁ τοιοῦτος οὐ κατοικεῖ θησαυρός, ἄκουε αὐτοῦ πάλιν λέγοντος· "Ὁ λύσας μίαν τῶν ἐντολῶν τούτων τῶν ἐλαχίστων καί διδάξας οὕτω τούς ἀνθρώπους ποιεῖν ἐλάχιστος κληθήσεται ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τῶν οὐρανῶν". Ἐλαχίστας δέ ταύτας ὠνόμασεν ( 283) οὐχ οὕτως οὔσας, ἀλλά διά τό παρ᾿ ἡμῶν οὕτω ταύτας λογίζεσθαι· τό γάρ ἀργολογεῖν ἤ τι τοῦ πλησίον ἐπιθυμεῖν ἤ ὁρᾶν ἐμπαθῶς ἤ ἐξουθενεῖν καί ὑβρίζειν τινά ὡς οὐδέν ἡγούμενοι, ἀδιαφοροῦμεν, τοῦ ταῦτα ὑπό κρῖμα θεμένου ἐπιλαθόμενοι. Τί γάρ φησί; "Πάντα λόγον ἀργόν ὅν ἐαν λαλήσωσιν οἱ ἄνθρωποι, λόγον δώσουσι περί αὐτοῦ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κρίσεως", καί ἄλλως· "Οὐκ ἐπιθυμήσεις τι τοῦ πλησίον σου", καί πάλιν· "Ὁ ἐμβλέψας πρός τό ἐπιθυμῆσαι ἤδη ἐμοίχευσεν ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ. Ὅστις δέ εἴπῃ πάλιν τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ ῥακκᾶ, ἔνοχος ἔσται τῇ γεέννῃ τοῦ πυρός". Θέλων δέ καί ὁ Ἀπόστολος δεῖξαι ὅτι ἐν τοῖς τά τοιαῦτα πράσσουσιν ὁ