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11. Faith in Christ is not only to despise (386) the pleasures in this life, but also to endure and bear every approaching temptation in sorrows and afflictions and misfortunes, until God should will and visit us. "For I waited patiently," he says, "for the Lord, and He inclined to me."

12. Those who in any way prefer their own parents to the commandment of God do not possess faith in Christ; for in all cases they are judged by their own conscience, if indeed they have a living conscience concerning their unbelief. For this belongs to the faithful: in no way whatsoever to transgress the commandment of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

13. Faith in God has begotten a desire for good things and a fear of punishments; and the desire for better things and the fear of punishments have wrought a strict observance of the commandments; and the strict observance of the commandments teaches men their own weakness; and the understanding of our true weakness has generated the remembrance of death; and he who has acquired this as a companion will himself painstakingly seek to learn what things will be for him after the departure and exit from this life; and he who is always eager to know about the future must first of all deprive himself of present things. For he who is held by passion in these things, even to some insignificant degree, cannot acquire the perfect knowledge of those other things. But if he should taste of this by some economy of God, unless he quickly abandons the things by which and in which he is held by passion and becomes wholly of such knowledge, willingly consenting to consider nothing else besides it, even this which he seems to have will be taken away from him.

14. The renunciation of the world and complete withdrawal, having undertaken an estrangement from all the materials and (387) customs and opinions and persons in life and a denial of body and will, becomes the cause of great benefit in a short time for the one who has thus fervently renounced.

15. You who are fleeing the world, see that you in no way give your soul to consolation at the beginning, making your habitations in it, even if all your relatives and friends compel you to do this. For the demons suggest this to them, so that they might extinguish the fervor of your heart; for even if they should not be able to completely hinder your purpose, they will at least certainly render it more lax and weak.

16. When you are found to be courageous and inconsolable toward all the pleasant things of life, then the demons, having supposedly converted your relatives to sympathy, make them weep and lament for you before your face. And you will know this to be true, when you remain steadfast and unmoved even in this assault, and you see them suddenly inflamed into a fury and hatred against you and turning away from you as an enemy and not wanting to see you.

17. Seeing the affliction caused by your parents and brothers and friends on account of you, laugh at the demon who suggests that these things happen against you in various ways, and with fear and much haste withdraw and earnestly entreat God that you may quickly arrive at the harbor of a good father, in which he will give rest to your soul which is weary and burdened. For the sea of life has many things that cause dangers and ultimate destruction.

18. He who wishes to hate the world ought to have love for God from the depths of his soul and unceasing remembrance of Him. For nothing else makes one abandon all things with joy as these do and turn away from them as from refuse.

19. Do not wish for plausible or rather implausible reasons to (388) remain in the world at all, but when you are called, obey promptly. For in nothing else does God so

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ια΄. Ἡ εἰς Χριστόν πίστις ἐστί τό μή μόνον καταφρονῆσαι (386) τῶν ἐν τῷ βίῳ τερπνῶν, ἀλλά καί τό καρτερῆσαι καί ὑπομεῖναι πάντα πειρασμόν ἐπερχόμενον ἐν λύπαις καί θλίψεσι καί συμφοραῖς, ἕως ἄν θελήσῃ καί ἐπισκέψηται ἡμᾶς ὁ Θεός. «Ὑπομένων γάρ, φησίν, ὑπέμεινα τόν Κύριον καί προσέσχε μοι».

ιβ΄. Οἱ τούς ἑαυτῶν γονεῖς ἕν τινι προτιμῶντες τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐντολῆς πίστιν οὐ κέκτηνται πρός Χριστόν πάντως γάρ ὑπό τῆς ἰδίας κρίνονται συνειδήσεως, εἴ γε καί συνείδησιν ζῶσαν ἔχουσι περί τῆς ἀπιστίας αὐτῶν πιστῶν γάρ τοῦτό ἐστι τό ἐν μηδενί μηδαμῶς τοῦ μεγάλου Θεοῦ καί σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ παραβαίνειν τήν ἐντολήν.

ιγ΄. Πίστις ἡ εἰς Θεόν ἐπιθυμίαν καλῶν ἔτεκε καί φόβον κολάσεων ἡ δέ τῶν κρειττόνων ἐπιθυμία καί ὁ φόβος τῶν κολάσεων τήρησιν ἐντολῶν ἀκριβῆ κατειργάσαντο, ἡ δέ ἀκριβής τῶν ἐντολῶν τήρησις τήν ἰδίαν τούς ἀνθρώπους ἐκδιδάσκει ἀσθένειαν, ἡ δέ κατανόησις τῆς ἀληθοῦς ἀσθενείας ἡμῶν θανάτου μνήμην ἐγέννησεν ὁ δέ σύνοικον ταύτην κτησάμενος αὐτός μαθεῖν ἐμπόνως ζητήσει ὁποῖα ἔσται αὐτῷ τά μετά τήν ἔξοδον τοῦ βίου τούτου καί ἀναχώρησιν ὁ δέ ἀεί περί τῶν μελλόντων γνῶναι σπουδάζων πρῶτον πάντων ἑαυτόν ἀποστερῆσαι τῶν παρόντων ὀφείλει ὁ γάρ ἐν τούτοις καί μέχρις εὐτελοῦς τινος ὑπό προσπαθείας κρατούμενος ἐκείνων τήν γνῶσιν τελείαν οὐ δύναται κτήσασθαι. Εἰ δέ καί ταύτης γεύσεται κατ᾿ οἰκονομίαν τινά τοῦ Θεοῦ, εἰ μή τάχιον ἐάσει τά ὑφ᾿ ὧν καί ἐν οἷς κρατεῖται κατά προσπάθειαν καί ὅλος τῆς τοιαῦτης γένηται γνώσεως, μηδέν ἕτερον ταύτης ἔξωθεν ἐννοεῖν ἑκουσίως καταδεχόμενος, καί αὕτη ἥν δοκεῖ ἔχειν ἀρθήσεται ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ.

ιδ΄. Ἡ ἀποταγή τοῦ κόσμου καί παντελής ἀναχώρησις, ξενιτείαν ἀναλαβομένην πάντων τῶν ἐν βίῳ ὑλῶν καί (387) ἠθῶν καί γνωμῶν καί προσώπων καί ἄρνησιν σώματος καί θελήματος, μεγάλης ὠφελείας πρόξενος γίνεται τῷ οὕτω θερμῶς ἀποταξαμένῳ ἐν βραχεῖ τῷ καιρῷ.

ιε΄. Ὁ φεύγων τόν κόσμον, ὅρα μηδαμῶς δῷς σήν ψυχήν εἰς παράκλησιν κατ᾿ ἀρχάς, ἐν αὐτῷ τάς οἰκήσεις ποιούμενος, εἰ καί πάντες σε τοῦτο ποιεῖν συγγενεῖς καί φίλοι καταναγκάζουσι. Τοῦτο γάρ αὐτοῖς οἱ δαίμονες ὑποβάλλουσιν, ὅπως τήν θέρμην ἀποσβέσωσι τῆς καρδίας σου εἰ γάρ καί μή τελείως ἐμποδίσαι σου τήν πρόθεσιν δυνηθῶσιν, ἀλλά γε χαυνοτέραν ταύτην πάντως καί ἀσθενῆ ἀπεργάσονται.

ιστ΄. Ὅταν πρός πάντα τά τοῦ βίου ἡδέα εὑρεθῇς ἀνδρεῖος καί ἀπαράκλητος, τότε εἰς συμπάθειαν δῆθεν οἱ δαίμονες τούς συγγενεῖς μετατρέψαντες, κλαίειν ποιοῦσι καί θρηνεῖν διά σέ πρό προσώπου σου. Καί τοῦτο ἀληθές εἶναι γνώσῃ, ὅταν σύ μέν ἄτρεπτος καί ἐν ταύτῃ ἐμμείνῃς τῇ προσβολῇ, ἐκείνους δέ εἰς μανίαν τήν κατά σοῦ καί μῖσος αἴφνης ἐξαφθέντας ἴδῃς καί ὡς ἐχθρόν σε ἀποστρεφομένους καί ὁρᾶν οὐκ ἐθέλοντας.

ιζ΄. Τήν παρά τῶν γονέων καί ἀδελφῶν καί φίλων σου θλῖψιν ὁρῶν διά σέ γινομένην, γέλα ἐπί τῷ ὑποβάλλοντι ταῦτα ποικίλως κατά σοῦ γίνεσθαι δαίμονι καί μετά φόβου καί σπουδῆς πολλῆς ὑποχώρησον καί τόν Θεόν ἐκτενῶς ἐκδυσώπει τοῦ τάχιον εἰς λιμένα καλοῦ πατρός καταντῆσαί σε, ἐν ᾧ τήν ψυχήν σου κεκοπωμένην καί πεφορτισμένην ὑπάρχουσαν αὐτός ἀναπαύσει πολλά γάρ ἔχει τό πέλαγος τοῦ βίου πρόξενα κινδύνων καί ἀπωλείας ἐσχάτης.

ιη΄. Ὁ μισῆσαι θέλων τόν κόσμον ἀγάπην ἐκ βαθέων ψυχῆς ἔχειν ὀφείλει πρός τόν Θεόν καί μνήμην τούτου ἀέναον οὐδέν γάρ ἕτερον ὡς ταῦτα μετά χαρᾶς πάντα καταλιμπάνειν ποιεῖ καί σκυβάλων δίκην αὐτά ἀποστρέφεσθαι.

ιθ΄. Μή θέλε δι᾿ εὐλόγους αἰτίας ἤ μᾶλλον ἀλόγους τῷ (388) κόσμῳ προσμεῖναι τό σύνολον, ἀλλ᾿ ὅτε κληθῇς, συντόμως ὑπάκουσον ἐν οὐδενί γάρ ἑτέρῳ οὕτω Θεός