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or having seized it, having bound and tightened it securely by the coupling and the assents of the thought, they strike it, as it were, with the ticklings and the movements of the flesh, and dragging it with force by means of misplaced desire, they cast it down into the pit of sin and the precipice of the deed.

It is necessary, therefore, with all strength to abstain from all wicked deeds, and to hold fast to all good works at the same time, and to do the commandments of God with fervent desire and all eagerness and to despise not even one of them, however insignificant, as being the least. For the one who says: "If only this evil had not been done by me, if only I had not committed this sin, since this or that is nothing" manifestly overturns all the commandments of God at once and resists them. Conceive for me, O man, (343) a precious vessel made from all the commandments of God, as from faith, from fear of God, from humility, from silence from idle speech, from obedience unto death, from the cutting off of the will and movement within the heart, from unceasing repentance and compunction, from perpetual prayer, from the exactness of the eyes, from dispassion toward one's neighbor and equal love for all, from freedom from avarice and temperance, from hope toward God and perfect love, from all the other virtues that follow these. For each one of these, being as it were a single leaf in itself, one of gold, another of silver, another of bronze, another of a precious stone, and the rest in order from other various materials, being united through the Spirit and all being glued together and fitted to one another into one, make man, as has been said, a useful vessel, into which the grace of God is poured like new wine. Tell me then, if one of all the aforementioned virtues is lacking, from which and through which the vessel was composed and fitted together, will God bear to pour into it at all any of the gifts of His Spirit, even if the hole from the supposedly missing leaf, that is, the place of the virtue, seems very small? By no means! For certainly, little by little through that small opening, what has been poured in will unknowingly flow out and be spilled.

How then do we, even without many virtues, whose incorruptible and inexhaustible wealth from (344) the working of the commandments we do not possess, through a few right actions, and these scattered from one another by sins, consider ourselves to be perfect and whole vessels, and think that we carry the Holy Spirit within us as a treasure? But truly, according to the one who said, "we became futile in our thinking, and our foolish hearts were darkened; and claiming to be wise, we became fools." For even if the divine Paul cries out: "The God who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' is the one who has shone in our hearts, and we have this treasure in earthen vessels," but by "vessels" he means our bodies, as he also says elsewhere: "Do you not know that your bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit dwelling in you, and you are not your own," and by saying "earthen" he indicated the weakness of our nature. Such bodies, therefore, are unbreakable and untearable because of the invincible power of the treasure in them. Wherefore, he adds, saying: "So that the surpassing power may be not from you, but from God." And that I may make it more manifest to you, what he says is this: "Do not think," he says, "that the treasure in you is held together and kept by you, but rather you yourself are kept by the treasure in you; by the grace in you, you were made to be a vessel useful to God. The wonderful thing is that even if the vessel is shattered not by us but by some other enemies, the treasure remains unemptied, and the vessel is made stronger and more secure by the energy of the treasure; for it is God." Whence concerning this the same apostle says: (345) "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

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ἤ κρατήσαντες τῷ συνδιασμῷ καί ταῖς συγκαταθέσεσι τοῦ λογισμοῦ συνδήσαντες ἀσφαλῶς καί περισφίγξαντες, τύπτουσιν αὐτόν οἱονεί τοῖς γαργαλισμοῖς καί ταῖς κινήσεσι τῆς σαρκός, καί διά τῆς ἀτόπου ἐπιθυμίας τοῦτον ἕλκοντες τῇ δυνάμει, τῷ βόθρῳ τῆς ἁμαρτίας καί τῷ κρημνῷ τῆς πράξεως ἀπορρίπτουσι.

Χρή οὖν πάσῃ δυνάμει τῶν μέν πονηρῶν πασῶν ἀπέχεσθαι πράξεων, τῶν δέ ἀγαθῶν ἔργων ἅμα πάντων ἀντέχεσθαι, καί τάς ἐντολάς τοῦ Θεοῦ ζέοντι πόθῳ καί προθυμίᾳ πάσῃ ποιεῖν καί μηδεμιᾶς καί τῆς τυχούσης ὡς ἐλαχίστης καταφρονεῖν. Ὁ γάρ λέγων· "Εἴθε μή τόδε μοι πέπρακται τό κακόν, τόδε μή πέπραχα τό ἁμάρτημα, ἐπεί τόδε ἤ τόδε οὐδέν ἐστι" φανερῶς ἁπάσας ὁμοῦ ἀνατρέπει τάς ἐντολάς τοῦ Θεοῦ καί ταύταις ἀνθίσταται. Ὑπονόει μοι, ἄνθρωπε, (343) σκεῦος τίμιον ἐκ πασῶν γενόμενον τῶν ἐντολῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ, οἷον ἐκ πίστεως, ἐκ φόβου Θεοῦ, ἐκ ταπεινώσεως, ἐκ σιωπῆς τῆς ἀπό ἀργοῦ λόγου, ἐξ ὑπακοῆς μέχρι θανάτου, ἐκ τῆς ἐκκοπῆς τοῦ ἔνδοθεν τῆς καρδίας θελήματος καί κινήματος, ἐκ τῆς ἀδιαλείπτου μετανοίας καί κατανύξεως, ἐκ τῆς ἀεννάου εὐχῆς, ἐκ τῆς τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν ἀκριβείας, ἐκ τῆς πρός τόν πλησίον ἀπροσπαθείας καί τῆς πρός πάντας ἐξ ἴσου ἀγάπης, ἐκ τῆς ἀφιλαργυρίας καί σωφροσύνης, ἐκ τῆς πρός τόν Θεόν ἐλπίδος καί τελείας ἀγάπης, ἐκ πασῶν ἄλλων τῶν ταύταις συνεπομένων ταῖς ἀρεταῖς. Μία γάρ ἑκάστη τούτων, οἱονεί πέταλον οὖσα καθ᾿ ἑαυτήν ἕν, ἡ μέν χρυσοῦν, ἡ δέ ἀργυροῦν, ἄλλη χαλκοῦν, ἑτέρα ἐκ λίθου τιμίου, καί καθεξῆς αἱ λοιπαί ἐξ ἑτέρων ἄλλων ὑλῶν, ἑνούμεναι διά τοῦ Πνεύματος καί ἀλλήλαις εἰς ἕν ἅπασαι συγκολλώμεναί τε καί συναρμολογούμεναι, εὔχρηστόν τι, ὡς εἴρηται, τόν ἄνθρωπον κατασκευάζουσι σκεῦος, ἐν ᾧ ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ χάρις ὡς οἶνος νέος ἐμβάλλεται. Εἰπέ οὖν μοι, ἐάν μία ἐκ πασῶν τῶν εἰρημένων ἀρετῶν ἐπιλείψῃ, ἐξ ὧν καί δι᾿ ὧν συνετέθη καί συνηρμόσθη τό σκεῦος, ἆρα ἀνέξεται ὁ Θεός ἐμβαλεῖν ἐν αὐτῷ ὅλως τι τῶν χαρισμάτων τοῦ Πνεύματος αὐτοῦ, εἰ καί δοκεῖ πάνυ μικρά ἡ τρυμαλιά εἶναι τοῦ ἐπιλείποντος δῆθεν πετάλου ἤτοι τοῦ τόπου τῆς ἀρετῆς; Οὐδαμῶς! Πάντως γάρ ἐκ τοῦ κατ᾿ ὀλίγον διά τῆς μικρᾶς ἐκείνης ὀπῆς τό ἐμβληθέν ἀγνώστως ῥεῦσαν χυθήσεται.

Πῶς οὖν ἡμεῖς καί δίχα πολλῶν ἀρετῶν, ὧν τόν ἄφθαρτον καί ἀκένωτον οὐ κεκτήμεθα πλοῦτον ἐκ (344) τῆς τῶν ἐντολῶν ἐργασίας, διά τῶν ὀλίγων κατορθωμάτων καί τούτων διεσπαρμένων ἀπ᾿ ἀλλήλων ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις, ὡς σκεύη ἑαυτούς εἶναι νομίζομεν τέλεια καί ὁλόκληρα, καί τό Ἅγιον Πνεῦμα ὡς θησαυρόν ἔνδον ἐν ἡμῖν φέρειν οἰόμεθα; Ἀλλ᾿ ὄντως κατά τόν εἰρηκότα "ἐματαιώθημεν ἐν τοῖς διαλογισμοῖς ἡμῶν καί ἐσκοτίσθη ἡ ἀσύνετος ἡμῶν καρδία καί φάσκοντες εἶναι σοφοί ἐμωράνθημεν". Εἰ γάρ καί Παῦλος ὁ θεῖος βοᾷ· "Ὁ Θεός ὁ εἰπών ἐκ σκότους φῶς λάμψαι, ὅς ἔλαμψεν ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ἡμῶν, καί ἔχομεν τόν θησαυρόν τοῦτον ἐν ὀστρακίνοις σκεύεσιν", ἀλλά "σκεύη" μέν τά ἡμετέρα σώματά φησι, καθά καί ἀλλαχοῦ λέγει· "Οὐκ οἴδατε ὅτι τά σώματα ὑμῶν ναός εἰσι τοῦ ἐνοικοῦντος ἐν ὑμῖν Ἁγίου Πνεύματος καί οὐκ ἐστέ ἑαυτῶν", "ὀστράκινα" δέ εἰπών τό τῆς φύσεως ἡμῶν ᾐνίξατο ἀσθενές. Ἄθραυστα τοίνυν καί ἀδιάρρηκτά εἰσι τά τοιαῦτα σώματα διά τήν τοῦ ἐν αὐτοῖς θησαυροῦ ἀκαταμάχητον δύναμιν. ∆ιό καί ἐπιφέρων φησίν· "Ἵνα τό πλεῖστον τῆς δυνάμεως μή ᾖ ἐξ ὑμῶν, ἀλλ᾿ ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ". Καί ἵνα ὑμῖν αὐτό ἐκδηλότερον ἀπεργάσωμαι, τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν ὅ φησι· "Μή νομίσῃς ὅτι ὑπό σοῦ, φησί, συνέχεται καί τηρεῖται ὁ ἐν σοί θησαυρός, ἀλλά ὑπό τοῦ ἐν σοί θησαυροῦ αὐτός σύ μᾶλλον τετήρησαι, ὑπό τῆς ἐν σοί χάριτος κατεσκευάσθης εἰς τό εἶναι σκεῦος εὔχρηστον τῷ Θεῷ. Τό δή θαυμαστόν, ὅτι καί ἐάν μή ὑφ᾿ ἡμῶν ἀλλ᾿ ὑφ᾿ ἑτέρων ἐχθρῶν τινων συντριβῇ τό σκεῦος, ὁ μέν θησαυρός μένει ἀκένωτος, τό δέ σκεῦος ἰσχυρότερόν τε καί ἀσφαλέστερον ὑπό τῆς τοῦ θησαυροῦ ἐνεργείας κατασκευάζεται· ὁ Θεός γάρ ἐστιν". Ὅθεν περί τούτου ὁ αὐτός ἀπόστολος λέγει· (345) "Πάντα ἰσχύω ἐν τῷ ἐνδυναμοῦντί με Χριστῷ".