152

"Whoever breaks one of these least commandments and teaches men so to do, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven".

But one must also pay attention to the divine Scriptures, and as they are being read, a man ought to look at himself, and to understand and learn, as in a mirror, the state of his own soul. What do I mean? He hears the Lord saying: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand". He ought therefore to remember how he passes his days. And if he is repenting well, let him increase and intensify his labor; but if negligently, let him correct himself.

Again he hears it said: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven". He ought, therefore, always to examine and test himself in every base encounter, I mean of insolence, dishonor and contempt, and so to look at himself, whether this virtue of humility is indeed in him or not; for he who has possessed it bears all things without grief and without burden, his heart not being pierced by any of the things that happen. But if he is pierced even a little, still he is not completely disturbed; and over that piercing of his heart, because he was grieved at all, even a little, and did not rather receive what happened with joy, he scourges and humbles himself, (401) he grieves and weeps, entering into the inner chamber of his soul or of his cell, and so falling down before God, he confesses to Him, as if he had lost his whole life.

Then again he hears: "Blessed are they that mourn". And observe how it does not say, 'those who have mourned', but 'those who are always mourning'; therefore, here too we ought to examine whether we mourn daily. For if we become humble from repentance, it is manifest that not a day or a single night will pass for us without tears and mourning and compunction.

And again: "Blessed are the meek". For who, mourning every day, would remain living in anger and not become meek? For just as a flame of fire is put out by water, so by mourning and tears the anger of the soul is extinguished; and so much so that when one has spent time in this, the irascible part of his soul is transformed and comes to a state of stillness. Therefore one ought to look at himself in this too, whether he is truly meek; for such a person in no way endures to see a transgression of the commandment of God, but as if he himself were sinning, he laments unceasingly for those who sin; and so, whether he hungers and thirsts for the righteousness of God; for it is possible to find someone pursuing a certain righteousness, without hungering or thirsting for it; for righteousness is God, just as you hear Him called the sun of righteousness. He therefore who hungers and thirsts for Him, considers the whole world and the things in the world to be rubbish, and the honors of rulers he reckons as a disgrace, or he is not at all sensible of human honors.

(402) And again: "Blessed are the merciful". So, who are the merciful? Those who give money and feed the poor? No! But who? Those who have become poor for the sake of Him who became poor for us and have nothing to give, but who are always mindful in spirit of the poor and widows and orphans and those in sickness, and who often, seeing them, also sympathize with them and weep fervently for them, such as was Job, saying: "But I wept for every one that was in distress", who, also, whenever they have something, show mercy to them with cheerfulness and remind all without grudging of the things that pertain to the salvation of the soul, obeying the one who said: "I learned without deceit, I impart without grudging". These are the ones blessed by the Lord, the truly merciful; wherefore also from such mercy, as by a certain step, they ascend and arrive at the perfect purity of the soul.

Hence, and from this, God blessed the pure in heart, saying thus: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God", knowing, as being God and our lawgiver, that unless our soul comes to such a disposition, neither

152

"Ὁ λύσας μίαν τῶν ἐντολῶν τούτων τῶν ἐλαχίστων καί διδάξας οὕτω ποιεῖν τούς ἀνθρώπους, ἐλάχιστος κληθήσεται ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τῶν οὐρανῶν".

Ἀλλά γάρ προσέχειν δεῖ καί ταῖς θείαις Γραφαῖς, κἀκείνων ἀναγινωσκομένων βλέπειν ὀφείλει ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἑαυτόν, κατανοεῖν τε καί καταμανθάνειν ὡς ἐν ἐσόπτρῳ τήν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχήν, ἐν ποίοις ἐστίν. Οἷόν τι λέγω; Ἀκούει λέγοντος τοῦ Κυρίου· "Μετανοεῖτε, ἤγγικε γάρ ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν". Μνησθῆναι οὖν ὀφείλει ὅπως διέρχεται τάς ἡμέρας αὐτοῦ. Καί ἐάν καλῶς μετανοῇ, ἐπαυξήσῃ καί ἐπιτείνῃ τήν ἐργασίαν αὐτοῦ· εἰ δέ ἀμελῶς, διορθώσηται.

Πάλιν ἀκούει λέγοντος· "Μακάριοι οἱ πτωχοί τῷ πνεύματι, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν". Ὀφείλει τοίνυν ἐξετάζειν καί δοκιμάζειν ἀεί ἑαυτόν εἰς πᾶν συνάντημα εὐτελές, ὕβρεώς φημι, ἀτιμίας καί ἐξουδενώσεως, καί οὕτω βλέπειν εἰς ἑαυτόν, εἰ ἄρα καί ἔστιν ἡ ἀρετή αὕτη ἐν αὐτῷ τῆς ταπεινώσεως ἤ οὔ· ὁ γάρ ταύτην κεκτημένος φέρει πάντα ἀλύπως καί ἀβαρῶς, μή κεντούμενος ἔν τινι τῶν γινομένων τήν καρδίαν αὐτοῦ. Εἰ δέ καί μικρόν κεντηθῇ, ἀλλ᾿ οὐ τελείως ταράσσεται· ὑπέρ δέ τοῦ κεντήματος μᾶλλον ἐκείνου τῆς καρδίας αὐτοῦ, ὅτι ὅλως μικρόν ἐλυπήθη καί οὐχί μετά χαρᾶς μᾶλλον τά συμβάντα ἐδέξατο, μαστίζει ἑαυτόν καί εὐτελίζει, (401) λυπεῖται καί κλαίει, εἰσερχόμενος ἐν τῷ ταμιείῳ τῆς ψυχῆς ἤ τῆς κέλλης αὐτοῦ, καί οὕτω προσπίπτων τῷ Θεῷ ἐξομολογεῖται αὐτῷ, ὡς πᾶσαν ἀπολέσας τήν ἑαυτοῦ ζωήν.

Εἶτα πάλιν ἀκούει· "Μακάροι οἱ πενθοῦντες". Καί σκόπει πῶς οὐ λέγει οἱ πενθήσαντες, ἀλλ᾿ οἱ ἀεί πενθοῦντες· σκοπεῖν οὖν καί ἐνταῦθα ὀφείλομεν, εἰ καθ᾿ ἡμέραν πενθοῦμεν. Ἐάν γάρ ταπεινοί ἀπό τῆς μετανοίας γενώμεθα, εὔδηλον ὅτι οὐ μή παρέλθῃ ἡμῖν ἡμέρα ἤ μία νύξ ἄνευ δακρύων καί πένθους καί κατανύξεως.

Καί πάλιν· "Μακάριοι οἱ πραεῖς". Τίς δέ καθ᾿ ἑκάστην πενθῶν ὀργίλως ζῶν διαμείνῃ καί μή πραΰς γένηται; Ὥσπερ γάρ φλόξ πυρός ὑπό ὕδατος, οὕτως ὑπό τοῦ πένθους καί τῶν δακρύων ὁ θυμός τῆς ψυχῆς σβέννυται· καί τοσοῦτον ὡς χρονίσαντά τινα ἐν τούτῳ, εἰς ἀκινησίαν μετατεθῆναι καί ἐλθεῖν τό θυμικόν τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ. ∆ιό βλέπειν ὀφείλει τις καί ἐν τούτῳ ἑαυτόν, εἰ πρᾶος ὄντως ἐστίν ὁ γάρ τοιοῦτος ἐν οὐδενί ἀνέχεται παράβασιν ἰδεῖν τῆς ἐντολῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἀλλ᾿ ὡς ἐκεῖνος ἁμαρτάνων ὑπέρ τῶν ἁμαρτανόντων ἀδιαλείπτως θρηνεῖ · εἶθ᾿ οὕτως, εἰ τήν δικαιοσύνην πεινᾷ καί διψᾷ τοῦ Θεοῦ· ἔστι γάρ καί δικαιοσύνην τινά μετιόντα εὑρεῖν, μή πεινῶντα μηδέ διψῶντα αὐτήν· δικαιοσύνη γάρ ὁ Θεός ἐστιν, ὥσπερ ἥλιον αὐτόν δικαιοσύνης ἀκούεις καλούμενον. Ὁ γοῦν πεινῶν αὐτόν καί διψῶν, τόν κόσμον ὅλον καί τά ἐν κόσμῳ ἡγεῖται σκύβαλα, τιμάς δέ ἀρχόντων ὡς αἰσχύνην ταῦτα λογίζεται ἤ οὐδόλως τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων τιμῶν ἐπαισθάνεται.

(402) Καί αὖθις· "Μακάριοι οἱ ἐλεήμονες". Ἄρα τίνες εἰσίν οἱ ἐλεήμονες; Οἱ τά χρήματα διδόντες καί διατρέφοντες πένητας; οὔ! Ἀλλά τίνες; Οἱ πτωχεύσαντες διά τόν πτωχεύσαντα δι᾿ ἡμᾶς καί μηδέν ἔχοντες δοῦναι, τῶν δέ πτωχῶν καί χηρῶν καί ὀρφανῶν καί τῶν ἐν ἀσθενείᾳ νοερῶς ἀεί μεμνημένοι, πολλάκις δέ καί ὁρῶντες καί συμπαθοῦντες τούτοις καί ὑπέρ αὐτῶν θερμῶς κλαίοντες, οἷος ἦν ὁ Ἰώβ λέγων· "Ἐγώ δέ ἔκλαυσα ἐπί παντί ἀδυνάτῳ", οἵτινες καί ὅταν ἔχωσιν ἐλεοῦσι τούτους ἐν ἱλαρότητι καί τά πρός σωτηρίαν ψυχῆς πάντας ἀφθόνως ὑπομιμνήσκοντες, τῷ εἰρηκότι πειθόμενοι· "Ἀδόλως τε ἔμαθον ἀφθόνως τε μεταδίδωμι". Οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ ὑπό Κυρίου μακαριζόμενοι, οἱ ἀληθεῖς ἐλεήμονες· διό καί ἐκ τῆς τοιαύτης ἐλεημοσύνης, ὡς διά βαθμίδος τινός, εἰς τήν τῆς ψυχῆς τελείαν ἀνιόντες φθάνουσι καθαρότητα.

Ἔνθεν τοι καί ἀπό ταύτης ὁ Θεός τούς καθαρούς ἐμακάρισε τήν καρδίαν, οὕτως εἰπών· "Μακάριοι οἱ καθαροί τῇ καρδίᾳ, ὅτι αὐτοί τόν Θεόν ὄψονται", εἰδώς ὡς ἅτε Θεός καί νομοθέτης ἡμῶν, ὅτι εἰ μή εἰς τοιαύτην ἔλθῃ διάθεσιν ἡ ψυχή ἡμῶν, οὔτε