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books of our works and words and thoughts are opened, holding the records with all exactness. Through which the laying bare of all things done by us happens before all of creation; so that all know one another's sins as much as each knows his own, reading unerringly the book of his own conscience; according to which those placed on the right of the Judge will receive the promises of the ineffable good things; but those who have taken the left-hand position, the eternal fire, and the outer darkness, and the sleepless worm, and the gnashing of teeth, and the unceasing tear, and the endless shame, by which every condemned one (417) will be more pained by the unending torment from eternity, than by all the other kinds of punishment together. Of these truly fearful things and names, he who has godly sorrow is in no way forgetful; but as one always seeing the Judge and being seen, he will be disposed; and may he lead the present life piously and justly, doing or saying or thinking nothing of those things foreign to divine grace and calling.
The offspring of this praised sorrow is that excellent good among men, humility; through which the pious and God-loving man will in truth consider himself least of all; even if he be a king in rank, making his natural weakness the limit of his self-knowledge; under which all who have partaken of the same nature are equally subject; in no way distorting his reasoning concerning the natural law because of his rank. The projection of this has become meekness, being a disposition that repels the unnatural movements of both anger and desire; through which man receives likeness to the angels, among whom there is no raging anger, and its kin unseemly barking; nor indeed desire dissolving the intellectual tensions, and dragging down the impulse towards matter; but reason alone, having dominion over the whole, and ardently leading according to the mind towards the Word who is beyond cause and nature. Of this the fruit is love, according to which, being united to God and to one another, we willingly care for each other, as far as is possible, as much as God as a merciful one provides for all. Of this the end is the kingdom of heaven, and the enjoyment of the divine good things there. For to this end does godly sorrow lead those who love and keep it.
And of this sorrow there are signs, to accustom the eyes to see creation only for the glory of the Creator; and to look upon the things of one's neighbors without envy and malice; the ears to be readily opened only for the reception of the words of God, and of the supplication of those of us who are in distress; but to be diligently stopped up against all reproach and the ugliness of shameful words; the tongue to be sanctified by the praises of others, in no way being polluted by insults and reproaches against others. And simply, that I may speak concisely, that we should reform all the members of both the body and the soul towards that which seems good to the Spirit; and our whole aim according to piety may be achieved [κατορθώθῃ] .
These things, blessed one, examining ourselves with all exactness, if we find we have them, let us carefully preserve them; but if we possess none of these, let us labor diligently to acquire them, being humbled as men before all men for the sake of God and our common nature; remaining meek and gentle toward things that happen contrary to our opinion; (430) and generous towards the poor, and hospitable towards strangers; ready to help, as far as possible, those in need of protection; like-minded and of one accord with friends; adroit in all things with acquaintances; to the
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βίβλοι ἀνοίγονται τῶν ἡμετέρων ἔργων τε καί λόγων καί λογισμῶν, ἔχουσαι μετά πάσης ἀκριβείας τά ἔγγραφα. ∆ι᾿ ὧν ἡ πάντων γίνεται γύμνωσις τῶν πεπραγμένων ἡμῖν ἐπί πάσης τῆς κτίσεως· ὥστε τοσοῦτον ἀλλήλων πάντας γινώσκειν τάς ἁμαρτίας, ὅσον ἕκαστος τάς ἑαυτοῦ, τήν βίβλον ἁπλανῶς ἀναγινώσκων τῆς ἑαυτοῦ συνειδήσεως· καθ᾿ ἥν οἱ μέν ἐκ δεξιῶν τοῦ Κριτοῦ σταθέντες, λήψονται τῶν ἀποῤῥήτων ἀγαθῶν τάς ἐπαγγελίας· οἱ δέ τήν ἀριστεράν λαβόντες στάσιν, τό πῦρ τό αἰώνιον, καί τό ἐξώτερον σκότος, καί τόν ἀκοίμητον σκώληκα, τόν τε βρυγμόν τῶν ὀδόντων, καί τό ἄπαυστον δάκρυον, καί τήν ἀπέραντον αἰσχύνην, ἐφ᾿ ᾗ μᾶλλον ὀδυνηθήσεται πᾶς (417) κατακριθείς τήν ἀπ᾿ αἰῶσιν ἀτελεύτητον βάσανον, ἤ πᾶσιν ὁμοῦ τοῖς ἄλλοις τῆς κολάσεως εἴδεσι. Τούτων οὐδαμῶς ὄντως τῶν φοβερῶν καί πραγμάτων καί ὀνομάτων, ὁ τήν κατά Θεόν λύπην ἔχων ἐπιλανθάνεται· ἀλλ᾿ ὡς ὁρῶν ἀεί τόν Κριτήν καί ὁρώμενος, διατεθήσεται· καί τήν παροῦσαν εὐσεβῶς καί δικαίως διενέγκῃ ζωήν, μηδέ ποιῶν ἤ λέγων ἤ λογιζόμενος, τῶν ἀλλοτρίων τῆς θείας χάριτός τε καί κλήσεως.
Ταύτης τῆς ἐπαινουμένης λύπης γέννημα τυγχάνει, τό ἐν ἀνθρώποις ἐξαίρετον ἀγαθόν, ἡ ταπεινοφροσύνη· δι᾿ ἧς ὁ ευσεβής καί φιλόθεος, πάντων ἑαυτόν ἐλαχιστότερον κατ᾿ ἀλήθειαν ἡγήσεται· κἄν βασιλεύς ᾗ τήν ἀξίαν, ὅρον τῆς ἐπιγνωμοσύνης ἑαυτοῦ ποιούμενος τήν κατά φύσιν ἀσθένειαν· ὑφ᾿ ἧν πάντες κατά τό ἴσον τελοῦσιν, οἱ τῆς αὐτῆς φύσεως μετειληφότες· οὐδαμῶς τοῦ κατά φύσιν λόγου, διά τήν ἀξίαν παραφέρων τόν λογισμόν. Ταύτης προβολή καθέστηκεν ἡ πραότης, ἕξις ὑπάρχουσα τῶν παρά φύσιν, τοῦ τε θυμοῦ καί τῆς ἐπιθυμίας, κινημάτων ἀπωστική· δι᾿ ἧς τήν πρός ἀγγέλους ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὁμοιότητα δέχεται, παρ᾿ οἷς οὐκ ἔστι θυμός λυσσῶν, καί τό συγγενές ἀπρεπῶς καθυλακτῶν· οὔτε μήν ἐπιθυμία τούς νοερούς διαλύουσα τόνους, καί πρός τήν ὕλην τήν ἔφεσιν ὑποσύρουσα· λόγος δέ μόνος, τήν ὅλης ἔχων δυναστείαν, καί διαπύρως κατά νοῦν ἄγων πρός τόν ὑπέρ αἰτίαν καί φύσιν Λόγον. Ταύτης ὑπάρχει καρπός ἡ ἀγάπη, καθ᾿ ἥν Θεῷ τε καί ἀλλήλοις ἑνούμενοι, τοσοῦτον ἀλλήλων ἑκόντες φροντίζομεν, ὡς ἐφικτόν, ὅσον ὁ Θεός ὡς οἰκτίρμων πάντων ἀντέχεται. Ταύτης ἐστί τέλος ἡ τῶν οὐρανῶν βασιλεία, καί τῶν ἐκεῖ θείων ἀγαθῶν ἡ ἀπόλαυσις. Πρός τοῦτο γάρ ἄγει τό πέρας ἡ κατά Θεόν λύπη τούς στέργοντας αὐτήν καί φυλάττοντας.
Ταύτης δέ τῆς λύπης ὑπάρχει γνωρίσματα, τό ἐθίσαι τούς ὀφθαλμούς τήν κτίσιν ὁρᾷν πρός δόξαν μόνην τοῦ Κτίσαντος· καί τά τῶν πλησίον ἄνευ, φθόνου καί βασκανίας ἐπισκοπεῖν· τά ὦτα πρός ὑποδοχήν τῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ λόγων μόνην, καί τῆς τῶν ζεομένων ἡμῶν ἰκεσίας ἑτοίμως ἠνεῷχθαι· πρός δέ πᾶσαν λοιδορίαν, καί λόγων αἰσχρῶν εἰδέχθειαν, σπουδαίως βεβύσθαι· τήν γλῶσσαν ταῖς τῶν ἄλλων εὐφημίαις καθαγιάζεσθαι, μηδαμῶς ταῖς κατ' ἄλλων ὕβρεσι καί λοιδορίαις μολυνομένην. Καί ἁπλῶς ἵνα συνελών εἴπω, πάντα τά μέλη τοῦ τε σώματος καί τῆς ψυχῆς, πρός τό δοκοῦν τῷ Πνεύματι μεταρυθμίσωμεν· καί ὅλος ἡμῖν ὁ κατ᾿ εὐσέβειαν σκοπός κατορθωθῇ [κατορθώθῃ] .
Ταῦτα, εὐλογημένε, κατά πᾶσαν ἀκρίβειαν ἑαυτούς ἐρευνῶντες, εἰ μέν εὕρωμεν ἔχοντας, ἐπιμελῶς διατηρήσωμεν· εἰ δέ μηδέν τούτων κεκτημένους, κατά σπουδήν κτήσασθαι φιλοπονήσωμεν, πᾶσι διά τόν Θεόν καί τήν κοινήν φύσιν ἀνθρώποις, ὡς ἄνθρωποι ταπεινούμενοι· πρός τά συμβαίνοντα παρά τήν ἡμετέραν γνώμην, πρᾶοι καί ἥμεροι διαμένοντες· (430) εὐμετάδοτοί τε πρός τούς πτωχούς, καί πρός τούς ξένους φιλόξενοι· τοῖς δεομένοις προστασίας, κατά τό δυνατόν, πρός ἀντίληψιν ἕτοιμοι· πρός τούς φίλους ὁμόψυχοι καί ὁμογνώμονες· πρός τούς γνωρίμους ἐν πᾶσι περιδέξιοι· τοῖς