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But what is it to be in doubt and of two minds? Pay attention, beloved! Doubt of heart is to reckon or to consider at all within oneself that “Will God have mercy on me or not?”. This “not” is of unbelief. For if you do not believe that He wants to have mercy on you more than you yourself expect, why do you even approach Him to entreat Him? And to be of two minds is not to give oneself up completely to death for the sake of the kingdom of heaven, but to be anxious at all for the life of one's flesh. Know well that the one who repents with toil must guard against this one thing only, that he not kill himself by some contrivance and become a suicide, such as by throwing himself off a cliff or by using a noose or by committing some other contrary act. But of the rest, by which he knows the body is nourished and lives, let him have no care, according to the saying: “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (394) and all these things, that is, what is needful for your body's use, shall be added unto you.” For he who lives a life of struggle and lives according to the Gospel is able to be nourished each day and to live with only bread and water, and he is in better health than those who enjoy more delicate tables. For this reason Paul, knowing this, said and always says: “Having food and clothing, with these we shall be content,” and again: “that we should have the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead.”

Behold, therefore, we have told you, beloved brother, how you must approach God and what sort of repentance you must show to Him. Do not, then, desist until your last breath, nor forget the good counsel of me, the sinner; for I have not done these things and spoken to you from my own action, but the grace of God has granted me to say these things for your sake and for your salvation. If, then, with God working with you, you should do these things, while you persevere in this work of repentance, little by little you yourself would understand still other, greater mysteries, being taught them by grace from above, and there will be granted to you not only a fountain of tears, but also, through such actions, alienation from all the passions. For to seek repentance and compunction always, and to investigate what things are helpful and conducive to mourning and weeping and being contrite, and to perform them with haste, but not to prefer oneself in anything nor to do the will of the flesh at all, quickly brings a man to progress (395) and to purification and dispassion, and makes him a partaker of the Holy Spirit, and not only this, but also makes him equal to Antony, Sabas and Euthymius, the great fathers.

And these things, if you hear me and love repentance and compunction; but if you are unwilling to hear me and to make the aforesaid things an unceasing work, let neither you nor another blaspheme and say this is impossible, nor that: “I confessed, I have been so many years or so many,” nor let him recount to me the distribution and scattering of wealth and gold, nor let him say: “With so much or so much of the gold that was mine I clothed the naked, I fed the hungry, I gave drink to the thirsty, I scattered all I had, I came to this mountain, I entered this cave, I reached the tomb of the Lord, I went up to the Mount of Olives, and now I have entered this monastery and have been tonsured or even having been previously purified I sit in one cell, saying so many or so many prayers; and with these things I will be saved and it is enough for me!”. Do not, therefore, deceive yourself, brother, whoever you are, nor console yourself with empty notions, doing this foolishly. For all these things are good, and very good, but they are seed, know well, beloved. See then, as I say by way of example, you have fallowed the land and harrowed it, and harrowed it a third time, and sown. Have you then known the seed to have sprouted from the bowels of the earth? Have you known it to have grown? Have you known the ears of grain to have ripened? Have you known the crops of your soul’s land to be white and ready for harvest? Have you plucked ears of grain from them,

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Τί δέ ἐστι τό ἐν δισταγμῷ καί διψυχίᾳ; Πρόσεχε, ἀγαπητέ! ∆ισταγμός καρδίας ἐστί τό λογίζεσθαι ἤ ὅλως ἐνθυμεῖσθαι ἐν ἑαυτῷ ὅτι "Ἤ ἐλεήσει με ὁ Θεός ἤ οὔ;". Τό "οὔ" τοῦτο ἀπιστίας ἐστίν. Εἰ δέ μή πιστεύεις ὅτι ἐλεῆσαί σε θέλει μᾶλλον ἐκεῖνος πλέον ἤ ὅσον προσδοκᾷς σύ, τί καί προσέρχῃ παρακαλῶν αὐτόν; ∆ιψυχία δέ ἐστι τό μή εἰς θάνατον τελείως ἑαυτόν ἐκδοῦναι ὑπέρ τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν, ἀλλά μεριμνᾶν ὅλως τι εἰς ζωήν τῆς σαρκός αὐτοῦ. Τοῦτο μόνον, εὖ ἴσθι, ὀφείλει φυλάξασθαι ὁ ἐμπόνως μετανοῶν, ἵνα μή ἑαυτόν διά τινος μηχανῆς ἀποκτείνῃ καί αὐτοφονευτής γένηται, οἷον ἤ κρημνῷ ῥίψας ἑαυτόν ἤ ἀγχόνῃ χρησάμενος ἤ ἕτερόν τι ἐναντίον διαπραξάμενος. Τῶν δέ λοιπῶν, δι᾿ ὧν οἶδε τρέφεσθαι τό σῶμα καί ζῆν, μηδεμίαν φροντίδα προείτω κατά τό λόγιον· "Ζητεῖτε πρῶτον τήν βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ καί τήν δικαιοσύνην αὐτοῦ (394) καί ταῦτα πάντα, τά εἰς χρείαν δηλονότι τοῦ σώματος ὑμῶν ἐπιτήδεια, προστεθήσεται ὑμῖν". ∆ύναται γάρ ὁ ἐναγώνιον ἔχων τόν βίον καί ζῶν κατά τό Εὐαγγέλιον, μετά μόνου ἄρτου καί ὕδατος ἀποτρέφεσθαι καθ᾿ ἑκάστην καί ζῆν, καί μᾶλλον ἐκεῖνος εὐεκτεῖ ἤ οἱ τῶν ἁβροτέρων τραπεζῶν ἀπολαύοντες. ∆ιό τοῦτο καί ὁ Παῦλος εἰδώς ἔλεγε καί ἀεί λέγει· "Ἔχοντες διατροφάς καί σκεπάσματα, τούτοις ἀρκεσθησόμεθα", καί πάλιν· "Ἵνα ἐν ἑαυτοῖς τό ἀπόκριμα τοῦ θανάτου ἔχοντες, μή ὦμεν πεποιθότες ἐφ᾿ ἑαυτοῖς, ἀλλ᾿ ἐπί τῷ Θεῷ τῷ ἐγείροντι τούς νεκρούς".

Ἰδού τοιγαροῦν εἴπομέν σοι, ἀγαπητέ ἀδελφέ, ὅπως προσελθεῖν σε δεῖ τῷ Θεῷ καί ὁποίαν αὐτῷ ἐπιδείξασθαι τήν μετάνοιαν. Μή οὖν ἀποστῇς ἕως τῆς ἐσχάτης σου ἀναπνοῆς, μηδέ ἐπιλάθῃ τῆς καλῆς συμβουλῆς ἐμοῦ τοῦ ἁμαρτωλοῦ· οὐ γάρ ἔπραξα ταῦτα καί ἀπό πράξεως ἐμῆς εἶπόν σοι, ἀλλά ἡ χάρις τοῦ Θεοῦ διά σέ καί τήν σήν σωτηρίαν δέδωκέ μοι ταῦτα εἰπεῖν. Εἰ οὖν ταῦτα Θεοῦ συνεργοῦντός σοι ποιήσειας, ἐγχρονίζοντός σου εἰς τό ἔργον τοῦτο τῆς μετανοίας, κατ᾿ ὀλίγον αὐτός σύ νοήσειας ἔτι μείζοντα ἄλλα μυστήρια, ὑπό τῆς ἄνωθεν χάριτος αὐτά διδασκόμενος, καί χαρισθήσεταί σοι οὐ μόνον δακρύων πηγή, ἀλλά καί πάντων παθῶν διά τῶν τοιούτων πράξεων ἀλλοτρίωσις. Τό γάρ ζητεῖν ἀεί μετάνοιαν καί κατάνυξιν, ἐρευνᾶν τε τίνα τά βοηθοῦντα καί συνεργοῦντα εἰς τό πενθεῖν καί κλαίειν καί κατανύσσεσθαι καί μετά σπουδῆς αὐτά διαπράττεσθαι, ἀλλά μηδέ προτιμᾶς ἐν μηδενί ἑαυτόν ἤ τό τῆς σαρκός ὅλως ποιεῖν θέλημα, συντόμως εἰς προκοπήν φέρει (395) τόν ἄνθρωπον καί εἰς κάθαρσιν καί ἀπάθειαν, καί Πνεύματος Ἁγίου κοινωνόν αὐτόν ἀπεργάζεται, οὐ μόνον δέ ἀλλά καί Ἀντωνίου, Σάβα καί Εὐθυμίου, τῶν μεγάλων πατέρων, ἴσον ἀποκαθίστησι.

Καί ταῦτα μέν, ἐάν ἀκούσῃς μου καί ἀγαπήσῃς τήν μετάνοιαν καί κατάνυξιν· εἰ δέ μή θελήσῃς ἀκοῦσαί μου καί τά εἰρημένα ἔργον ἀδιάλειπτον κτήσασθαι, μήτε σύ μήτε ἕτερος βλασφημείτω καί λεγέτω τοῦτο ἀδύνατον, μηδέ ὅτι· "Ἐξηγόρευσα, ἔχω τόσους χρόνους ἤ τόσους", μηδέ ἀπαριθμείτω μοι διάδοσιν καί διασκόρπισιν πλούτου καί χρυσίου, μηδέ λεγέτω· "Τόσους ἤ τόσους ἀπό τῶν ἐμοί ὑπαρχόντων χρυσίων ἐνέδυσα γυμνούς, πεινῶντας ἔθρεψα, διψῶντας ἐπότισα, πάντα μου διεσκόρπισα, ἀφικόμην εἰς τόδε τό ὄρος, εἰσῆλθον εἰς τόδε τό σπήλαιον, τόν τοῦ Κυρίου τάφον κατέλαβον, εἰς τό ὄρος ἀνῆλθον τῶν Ἐλαιῶν, καί νῦν εἰσῆλθον εἰς τόδε τό μοναστήριον καί ἀπεκάρην ἤ καί προαποκαθαρθείς κάθημαι ἐν ἑνί κελλίῳ, ποιῶν τόσας ἤ τόσας εὐχάς· καί μετά τούτων σωθήσομαι καί ἀρκετόν μοί ἐστι! ". Μή τοίνυν ἀπάτα σεαυτόν, ἀδελφέ, ὅστις εἶ, μηδέ παραμυθοῦ σεαυτόν διακένοις ἐννοίαις, ἀφρόνως τοῦτο ποιῶν. Ταῦτα γάρ πάντα καλά καί λίαν καλά, ἀλλά σπόρος εἰσίν, εὖ ἴσθι, ἀγαπητέ. Ἴδε οὖν, ὡς ἐν ὑποδείγματι λέγω, τήν χώραν ἐνέωσας καί ἐδιβόλησας, ἐτριβόλησας, ἔσπειρας. Ἔγνως ἆρα τόν σπόρον προκύψαντα ἐκ τῶν λαγόνων τῆς γῆς; Ἔγνως αὐξήσαντα; Ἔγνως στάχυας φθάσαντας; Ἔγνως λευκά σου τῆς ψυχικῆς γῆς τά λήϊα καί πρός θερισμόν ἕτοιμα; Ἔτιλλας στάχυας ἐξ αὐτῶν,