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spiritually, is certainly idle from both. If, then, idleness is an evil, the one who adheres to it truly sins, because the man of knowledge in spiritual work is not thereby hindered in the actions of God's commandments accomplished through the body, (379) but rather is even greatly assisted towards them and performs them more easily, but he who demonstrates his art only through external things, that is, who pursues ascetic practice, if he ceases from these, is no longer able to work in spiritual things either. How? Because he carries about the tools and the material in his hands, but being inexperienced in the art, he is not able to bring it to completion as a work, but his labor proves weak and fruitless. And that you may learn the power of what is being said, I will make it clearer to you through other examples. How many, if you can say, were eager to weep like the harlot, but did not receive forgiveness as she did? How many have gone up to Mount Tabor and go up until now, but have in no way seen the Lord who was transfigured there, not because Jesus Christ is not altogether present there, for He is present, but because they are not worthy to be spectators of His divinity? How many of the Jews entered into the house where the apostles were sitting, and none of them received the Paraclete? How many interpret the Scriptures and have been altogether ignorant of the One who speaks in the Scriptures? How many have died in caves and mountains and have not become superior to the world, so that the world was not worthy of them, but with the world—O your judgments, Lord—these too were numbered? How many have kept silence and now keep silence, and do not understand the meaning of the name itself, let alone the mystery in stillness? For the knowledge of God is not given from external stillness, as some wrongly interpret "Be still, and know that I am God," but rather, from the knowledge of God, stillness comes to be in the one who struggles lawfully and well. (380) For if we call leisure the abstention from works, and stillness idleness, and we prefer these instead of the work of the commandments, how shall we fulfill the law of Christ and the ordinance of the apostles, of the one who says, "Whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them," and again, "If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet," and again, "Whoever wants to be first among you must be last of all and servant of all and minister of all," and of the other, "If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat," and elsewhere, "In all things I have shown you that by working you must help the weak," and, "These hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me." For all the apostles and the God-bearing fathers from them nowhere preferred stillness to pleasing God through works, but having demonstrated their faith through the fulfillment of the commandments, they were deemed worthy of the love of God in knowledge, and, as ones who struggled lawfully and received the knowledge of God in love as the prize of victory and longed to be with Him, they came to be outside the stadium and the tumults of wars, and still those who struggle lawfully come to be outside these things, enjoying without care and without mixture with the things below and with grievous things the fruits of their labors. But when they have insatiably reveled in such a good thing and have been assured that "the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed," according to the divine Apostle, and that "each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor," they are not content with their previous labors, but again from rest (381) and such delight they proceed to the struggles, according to what was said by the Theologian, from stillness to the word, not for themselves, even if for themselves, but striving for the God whom they long for and by whom they are longed for in return. And no longer striking and being struck, nor in the former manner do they engage with the enemies,

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πνευματικῶς, πάντως ἐξ ἀμφοτέρων ἀργεῖ. Εἰ γοῦν ἡ ἀργία κακόν, ἁμαρτάνειν ὄντως ὁ ταύτῃ στοιχῶν, ἐπειδή ὁ ἐπιστήμων ἐν ἐργασίᾳ πνευματικῇ οὐκ ἐμποδίζεται παρά τοῦτο εἰς τάς διά τοῦ σώματος ἐπιτελουμένας πράξεις τῶν ἐντολῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ, (379) ἀλλά καί λίαν συνεργεῖται μᾶλλον πρός ταύτας καί εὐκοπώτερον αὐτάς ἐργάζεται, ὁ δέ διά μόνων τῶν γινομένων ἐκτός τήν τέχνην ἐπιδεικνύμενος, ἤγουν τήν ἄσκησιν μετερχόμενος, ἐάν ἐκ τούτων σχολάσῃ, οὐκέτι καί ἐν τοῖς πνευματικοῖς ἐργάζεσθαι δύναται. Πῶς; Ὅτι τά μέν ἐργαλεῖα καί τήν ὕληυν ἐν χερσί περιφέρει, ὡς δέ τῆς τέχνης ἄπειρος εἰς ἔργον αὐτήν κατασκευάσαι καί τελειῶσαι οὐ δύναται, ἀλλά ἀσθενής καί ἄκαρπος ἡ ἐργασία αὐτοῦ ἀποδείκνυται. Ἵνα δέ μάθῃς τῶν λεγομένων τήν δύναμιν, ἐξ ἑτέρων ὑποδειγμάτων σαφεστέραν σοι ταύτην ποιήσομαι. Πόσοι, εἰ δύνασαι εἰπεῖν, ὡς ἡ πόρνη κλαῦσαι προεθυμήθησαν, οὐκ ἔλαβον δέ τήν ἄφεσιν ὡς ἐκείνη; Πόσοι εἰς τό Θαβώριον ὄρος ἀνέβησαν καί ἀνέρχονται μέχρι τοῦ νῦν, τόν δέ ἐκεῖσε μεταμορφωθέντα Κύριον οὐδαμῶς ἐθεάσαντο, οὐ διά τό μή παρεῖναι πάντως ἐκεῖσε Ἰησοῦν τόν Χριστόν, πάρεστι γάρ, ἀλλά διά τό μή ἀξίους εἶναι τῆς θεότητος αὐτοῦ θεατάς; Πόσοι τῶν Ἰουδαίων εἰσῆλθον ἐν τῷ οἰκήματι ἔνθα ἐκάθηντο οἱ ἀπόστολοι, καί οὐδείς αὐτῶν ἔλαβε τόν Παράκλητον; Πόσοι τάς Γραφάς ἑρμηνεύουσι καί τόν ἐν ταῖς Γραφαῖς λαλοῦντα ὅλως ἠγνόησαν; Πόσοι ἐν σπηλαίοις καί ὄρεσιν ἐναπέψυξαν καί τοῦ κόσμου ὑπεράξιοι οὐ γεγόνασιν, ὥστε αὐτῶν μή εἶναι τόν κόσμον ἄξιον, ἀλλά μετά τοῦ κόσμου ὤ τῶν κριμάτων σου, Κύριε - καί οὗτοι συνηριθμήθησαν; Πόσοι ἡσύχασαν καί νῦν ἡσυχάζουσι, καί οὐδέ αὐτοῦ τοῦ ὀνόματος τήν σημασίαν ἐπίστανται, μή τί γε εἰπεῖν τό ἐν τῇ ἡσυχίᾳ μυστήριον; Οὐ γάρ ἀπό τῆς ἔξωθεν ἡσυχίας ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ γνῶσις δίδοται, ὥς τινες κακῶς τό «Σχολάσατε καί γνῶτε ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ Θεός» ἐπιλαμβάνουσιν, ἀλλ᾿ ἐκ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ γνώσεως μᾶλλον ἡ ἡσυχία τῷ νομίμως καί καλῶς (380) ἀγωνιζομένῳ ἐγγίνεται. Εἰ γάρ σχολήν τῶν ἔργων τήν ἀποχήν, καί ἡσυχίαν τήν ἀργίαν καλέσομεν καί ἀντί τῆς ἐργασίας τῶν ἐντολῶν ταῦτα προκρίνωμεν, πῶς τόν τοῦ Χριστοῦ νόμον καί τήν τῶν ἀποστόλων διάταξιν ἐκπληρώσομεν, τοῦ μέν λέγοντος «Ἅ θέλετε ἵνα ποιῶσιν ὑμῖν οἱ ἄνθρωποι καί ὑμεῖς ὁμοίως ποιεῖτε αὐτοῖς», καί πάλιν «Εἰ οὖν ἐγώ ὁ Κύριος καί ὁ διδάσκαλος ἔνιψα ὑμῶν τούς πόδας, ὀφείλετε καί ὑμεῖς ἀλλήλων νίπτειν τούς πόδας», καί πάλιν «Ὁ θέλων ἐν ὑμῖν εἶναι πρῶτος ἔστω πάντων ἔσχατος καί πάντων δοῦλος καί πάντων διάκονος», τοῦ δέ «Ὁ ἀργός μηδέ ἐσθιέτω», καί ἀλλαχοῦ «Πάντα ὑμῖν ὑπέδειξα καί ὅπως δεῖ ἐργαζομένους ἀντιλαμβάνεσθαι τῶν ἀσθενούντων», καί «Αἱ χεῖρες αὗται διηκόνησαν ἐμοί καί τοῖς σύν ἐμοί». Πάντες γάρ οἱ ἀπόστολοι καί οἱ ἐξ αὐτῶν θεοφόροι πατέρες οὐδαμοῦ τῆς διά τῶν ἔργων εὐαρεστήσεως τήν ἡσυχίαν προέκριναν, ἀλλά διά τῆς τῶν ἐντολῶν ἐκπληρώσεως τήν πίστιν ἐπιδειξάμενοι τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀγάπης ἐν γνώσει κατηξιώθησαν καί, ὡς νομίμως ἀγωνισάμενοι καί ἔπαθλον τῆς νίκης τήν ἐν ἀγάπῃ γνῶσιν Θεοῦ λαβόντες καί εἶναι σύν αὐτῷ ἐπιποθοῦντες, ἔξω τοῦ σταδίου καί τῶν ἐν πολέμοις ταραχῶν ἐγένοντο καί ἔτι οἱ νομίμως ἀγωνιζόμενοι ἔξω τούτων γίνονται, ἀμερίμνως καί ἀνεπιμίκτως τῶν κάτω καί λυπηρῶν τάς ἐπικαρπίας τῶν πόνων ἐπαπολαύοντες. Ἐπάν δέ τοῦ τοιούτου καλοῦ ἀκορέστως κατατρυφήσωσι καί βεβαιωθῶσιν ὡς «οὐκ ἄξια, κατά τόν θεῖον Ἀπόστολον, τά παθήματα τοῦ νῦν καιροῦ πρός τήν μέλλουσαν ἀποκαλύπτεσθαι δόξαν» καί ὅτι «ἕκαστος λήψεται τόν μισθόν κατά τόν ἴδιον κόπον», οὐκ ἐν τοῖς προλαβοῦσιν ἄθλοις ἀρκοῦνται, ἀλλά πάλιν ἀπό τῆς ἀνέσεως (381) καί τῆς τοιαύτης τρυφῆς ἐπί τούς ἀγῶνας χωροῦσι, κατά τό εἰρημένον ὑπό τοῦ Θεολόγου, ἀπό τῆς ἡσυχίας ἐπί τόν λόγον, οὐχ ἑαυτοῖς, εἰ καί ἑαυτοῖς, ἀλλ᾿ ὅν ποθοῦσι καί ᾧ ἀντιποθοῦνται Θεῷ φιλοτιμούμενοι. Οὐκέτι δέ τύπτοντες καί τυπτόμενοι, οὐδέ ἐν τῷ προτέρῳ τρόπῳ τοῖς ἐχθροῖς συμπλέκονται,