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in no way for anyone to transgress the commandment of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

13. Faith in God begat a desire for good things and a fear of punishments; and the desire for better things and the fear of punishments 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 begat the remembrance of death; and he who has acquired this as a companion will himself earnestly 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 things ought first of all to deprive himself of present things, for he who is held by passion in these things, even to some insignificant degree, cannot acquire perfect knowledge of those things. But if he should even taste of this according to some economy of God, if he does not quickly let go of the things by which and in which he is held by passion and become wholly of such knowledge, willingly accepting to think of nothing else outside of it, even this which he seems to have will be taken from him.

14. The renunciation of the world and complete withdrawal, undertaking an estrangement from all worldly matters and (387) customs and opinions and persons, and a denial of body and will, becomes a source of great benefit in a short time to the one who has so 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 dwellings 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 fervour of your heart; for even if they are not able to completely hinder your purpose, they will at any rate make it more listless and weak.

16. When you are found to be courageous and inconsolable towards all the pleasures of life, then the demons, having seemingly 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 in this assault, and you see them suddenly inflamed with madness 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 your account, laugh at the demon who suggests that these things happen against you in various ways, and with fear and much haste withdraw, and earnestly beseech 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 utter destruction.

18. He who wishes to hate the world ought to have love for God from the depths of his soul and a ceaseless remembrance of Him, for nothing else makes one leave everything behind with joy and turn away from them as from dung.

19. Do not wish to remain in the (388) world at all for reasonable, or rather unreasonable, causes, but when you are called, obey promptly; for in nothing else does God rejoice so much as in our swiftness, since swift obedience with poverty is better than slowness with a multitude of riches.

20. If the world and all things in the world pass away, and God alone is eternal and immortal, rejoice, all you who for His sake have left behind perishable things; for perishable things are not only wealth and possessions, but also every pleasure and enjoyment of sin is corruption; but the commandments of God alone are light and life, and are so called by all.

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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 ὡς ἐν ταχύτητι ἡμῶν ἐπευφραίνεται, ἐπειδή καί κρεῖσσον ὑπακοή σύντομος μετά πενίας ἤ βραδύτης μετά πλήθος χρημάτων.

κ΄. Εἰ ὁ κόσμος καί τά ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ πάντα παρέρχονται, ὁ δέ Θεός μόνος ἀΐδιός ἐστι καί ἀθάνατος, χαίρετε ὅσοι δι᾿ αὐτόν τά φθαρτά κατελείψατε φθαρτά δέ εἰσιν οὐ μόνον πλοῦτος καί χρήματα, ἀλλά καί πᾶσα ἡδονή καί ἀπόλαυσις ἁμαρτίας φθορά ἐστι μόναι δέ αἱ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐντολαί φῶς εἰσι καί ζωή καί τοῦτο παρά πάντων καλοῦνται.