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Nothing else among all things is more beneficial to a soul that chooses to meditate on the law of God day and night, than the study of the divine Scriptures. For in them, the thought of the grace of the Spirit, being hidden, causes its spiritual perception to be filled with all pleasure, and lifting it entirely from earthly things and the lowliness of things seen, it makes it angel-like and a companion to the angels themselves. But let us see what the divine Apostle says to us in each case and wisely examine some of his divinely-inspired words, so that we may be enriched with the wealth laid up in them and from there delight in the grace of the Spirit unto the inexhaustible gladness and enjoyment of the soul. What, then, is that which is being investigated by us? What Paul exhorts, saying: "Redeeming the time, because the days are evil." But having considered it from the affairs of this life, let us also understand this well. For just as every merchant and artisan and farmer, and indeed any other person practicing any given trade, needs the greatest possible diligence and much care for his work (348), since, if he is neglectful for a short time or a brief hour, he sustains a great loss, so it also happens in the case of spiritual contests and works and actions.

But, as an example, let us first speak in more detail to your charity about one of these merchants. If all the merchants are running to the fair to do some business and make a profit from their trade, but one of them—while seeing some going before him, and others coming from behind him and overtaking him with great haste, or while sitting by his house watching them pass by and depart for the fair in haste—is himself overcome by ease and sloth, and not only this, but is also occupied with drunkenness and luxury and is wretchedly possessed by the love charm of a prostitute, and does not choose to run to the market, putting it off from day to day, have not the former redeemed the time of their life, by doing business and returning with a great profit, while the latter lost it, having spent it on useless and vain things, or rather, having sold it off? But if he should also reach the fair with them, and all of them, carrying gold, immediately proceed to business, one buying one thing and another another, from which he hopes to make a profit, while he, carrying nothing at all, runs about trying to find from where he might borrow, or if, even after finding gold, the fair ends and he is left without having done business, has he not again lost the time, having gone to the fair without gold? And if, carrying gold, he does reach the fair, but instead of diligently doing business, he begins to go around the tents of the innkeepers and the cooks and those selling other foods, and eating and drinking gluttonously, sometimes from these, sometimes (349) from others, and not only this, but also if he squanders his gold on drunkenness and debauchery, has not this man also lost the time and foolishly squandered what he had?

But what of the man who arrives at the fair with gold and does none of the contrary things we have mentioned, but having entered it with his fellow merchants, if he only goes around the entire fair, observing and learning about sometimes his acquaintances, and sometimes those not known to him, both his own people and strangers, how each of them does business, but he himself does no business, and so while he is unseasonably going about, the fair is again dissolved, with everyone having departed to their own homes—have not those who did business redeemed the time with diligence, doing the things proper to the season and acquiring for themselves a profit from it, while he who was meddling in the affairs of others and not

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Οὐδέν οὕτως ἕτερον τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων ὠφελιμώτερον ψυχῇ, νυκτός καί ἡμέρας ἐν τῷ νόμῳ τοῦ Θεοῦ μελετᾶν αἱρουμένῃ, ὡς ἡ τῶν θείων Γραφῶν ἔρευνα. Ἐν αὐταῖς γάρ ἐγκεκρυμμένη οὖσα ἡ διάνοια τῆς τοῦ Πνεύματος χάριτος, ἡδονῆς ἁπάσης πληροῦσθαι ποιεῖ τήν νοεράν αὐτῆς αἴσθησιν, καί ὅλην ἀπό τῶν γηΐνων και τῆς τῶν ὁρωμένων ταπεινώσεως ἄρασα, ἀγγελοειδῆ ταύτην καί ἀγγέλοις αὐτοῖς ὁμοδίαιτον ἀπεργάζεται. Ἀλλά γάρ ἴδωμεν τί καθ᾿ ἑκάστην ἡμῖν ὁ θεῖος Ἀπόστολος ὁμιλεῖ καί τῶν αὐτοῦ θεοπνεύστων ῥημάτων τινά συνετῶς ἐξετάσωμεν, ἵνα καί τόν ἐν αὐτοῖς ἀποκείμενον πλοῦτον πλουτήσωμεν καί τήν τοῦ Πνεύματος χάριν ἐκεῖθεν τρυφήσωμεν εἰς ἀκένωτον εὐφροσύνην ψυχῆς καί ἀπόλαυσιν. Τί οὖν ἐστι τό παρ᾿ ἡμῶν ἐρευνώμενον; Ὅ παραινεῖ λέγων ὁ Παῦλος· «Ἐξαγοραζόμενοι τόν καιρόν, ὅτι αἱ ἡμέραι πονηραί εἰσιν». Ἀλλ᾿ ἀπό τῶν βιωτικῶν πραγμάτων σκοπήσαντες, καί τοῦτο καλῶς καταμάθωμεν. Ὥσπερ γάρ πᾶς ἔμπορος καί χειροτέχνης καί γεωργός, ἀλλά μήν καί πᾶς τις ἄλλος ὁ τήν τυχοῦσαν μετερχόμενος τέχνην, σπουδῆς ὅτι μάλιστα καί ἐπιμελείας χρῄζει πολλῆς εἰς τό ἔργον (348) αὐτοῦ, ὡς, ἐάν μικρόν χρόνον ἤ βραχεῖαν ὥραν ἀμελήσῃ, μεγάλην ὑφίσταται τήν ζημίαν, οὕτω καί ἐπί τῶν πνευματικῶν ἀγώνων καί ἔργων καί πράξεων συμβαίνει γίνεσθαι.

Ἀλλά γάρ ὡς ἐν ὑποδείγματι πρῶτον περί ἑνός τούτων τῶν ἐμπορευομένων εἴπωμεν λεπτομερέστερον πρός τήν ἀγάπην ὑμῶν. Ἐάν οἱ ἔμποροι πάντες πρός τήν πανήγυριν τρέχουσιν ἐμπορεύσασθαί τι καί κερδῆσαι ἀπό τῆς πραγματείας αὐτῶν, εἷς δέ τούτων τούς μέν βλέπειν προάγοντας αὐτοῦ, τούς δ᾿ ὄπισθεν αὐτοῦ ἐρχομένους καί σπουδῇ πολλῇ φθάζοντας αὐτόν, ἤ πρός τῆς οἰκίας αὐτοῦ καθεζόμενος ὁρᾷ διερχομένους αὐτούς καί πρός τήν πανήγυριν μετά σπουδῆς ἀπερχομένους, αὐτός ῥᾳστώνῃ καί ῥᾳθυμίᾳ κρατούμενος, οὐ μόνον δέ, ἀλλά καί μέθῃ καί τρυφῇ προσασχολούμενος καί φίλτρῳ πόρνης γυναικός ἐλεεινῶς κατεχόμενος, οὐ προαιρεῖται δραμεῖν εἰς τήν ἐμπορίαν, ἡμέραν ἐξ ἡμέρας ἀναβαλλόμενος, οὐχί οὗτοι μέν ἐξηγοράσαντο τόν καιρόν τῆς ζωῆς αὐτῶν, ἐμπορευσάμενοι καί μετά κέρδους μεγάλου ὑποστρέψαντες, ἐκεῖνος δέ ἀπώλεσεν αὐτόν, εἰς ἀνωφελῆ καί μάταια τοῦτον ἐξαναλώσας, εἶτ᾿ οὖν ἀπεμπολήσας αὐτόν; Εἰ δέ καί τήν πανήγυριν σύν αὐτοῖς καταλάβῃ καί πάντες μέν ἐκεῖνοι χρυσίον ἐπιφερόμενοι, εὐθύς πρός πραγματείαν χωρήσουσι καί ἄλλος μέν ἄλλο τι ἐξωνήσεται, δι᾿ οὗ κερδῆσαι ἐπ᾿ αὐτῷ ἐλπίζει, ἐκεῖνος δέ μηδέν ὅλως ἐπιφερόμενος περιτρέχει ζητῶν εὑρεῖν πόθεν καί δανείσασθαι, ἤ καί μετά τό εὑρεῖν χρυσίον, ἐάν ληθῇ ἡ πανήγυρις καί καταλειφθῇ ἀπραγμάτευτος, οὐχί καί αὖθις ἀπώλεσε τόν καιρόν, ἄνευ χρυσίου εἰς τήν πανήγυριν ἀπελθών; Εἰ δέ καί χρυσίον ἐπιφερόμενος τήν πανήγυριν καταλάβῃ, ἐάν ἀφείς ἐν σπουδῇ πραγματεύσασθαι ἄρξηται τάς σκηνάς τῶν καπήλων καί τῶν μαγείρων καί τῶν τά λοιπά βρώματα ἀπεμπολούντων περιϊέναι καί ποτέ μέν ἐκ τούτων ποτέ δέ (349) ἐξ ἑτέρων λιχνευόμενος ἐσθίῃ καί πίνῃ, καί οὐ τοῦτο μόνον, ἀλλά καί ἐάν μέθῃ καί ἀσελγείαις καταδαπανήσῃ τό χρυσίον αὐτοῦ, οὐχί καί οὖτος τόν καιρόν ἀπώλεσε καί τά προσόντα αὐτῷ ἀφρόνως κατεδαπάνησεν;

Ὁ δέ καί ἐν τῇ πανηγύρει μετά χρυσίου παραγινόμενος καί μηδέν ἐξ ὧν εἴπομεν ἐναντίον διαπραττόμενος, ἀλλά μετά τῶν συνεμπόρων αὐτοῦ εἰσελθών ἐν αὐτῇ, ἐάν μόνον ἅπασαν τήν πανήγυριν περιέρχηται, κατασκοπῶν καί καταμανθάνων ποτέ μέν τούς γνωρίμους, ποτέ δέ καί τούς μή γνωριζομένους αὐτῷ, οἰκείους τε καί ἀλλοτρίους, πῶς ἕκαστος αὐτῶν πραγματεύεται, αὐτός δέ μηδέν πραγματεύσηται καί οὕτως ἀκαίρως περιερχομένου αὐτοῦ διαλυθείη πάλιν ἡ πανήγυρις, πάντων αὐτομολησάντων εἰς τά οἰκεῖα, οὐχί οἱ ἐμπορευσάμενοι μέν τόν καιρόν ἐξηγοράσαντο ἐν σπουδῇ, τά τῷ καιρῷ πρέποντα ἐργασάμενοι καί κέρδος ἐκεῖθεν ἑαυτοῖς περιποιησάμενοι, ὁ δέ περιεργαζόμενος τά ἀλλότρια καί μή