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in the way of God's commandments the flock of Christ. But he who does not know and is otherwise disposed is manifest that he does not even possess the sharpened and healthy senses of the soul, for whom it will be better to be led than to lead dangerously.

νε΄. He who looks upon his teacher and guide as God (397) cannot contradict. But if he thinks and says he has both, let him know, he is deceived; for he is ignorant of what sort of disposition the people of God have towards God.

νστ΄. He who believes his life and death to be in the hand of his shepherd would never contradict; but ignorance of these things begets contradiction, the cause of spiritual and eternal death.

νζ΄. Before the condemned man receives the sentence, an opportunity is given him for a defense, to speak to the judge concerning what he has done; but after the revelation of his deeds and the judge's sentence, he contradicts his tormentors in nothing, whether small or great.

νη΄. Before the monk enters this tribunal and reveals what is in his heart, it is perhaps permitted him to contradict, partly out of ignorance and partly because he thinks he can hide his own affairs. But after the disclosure of his thoughts and his sincere confession, it is never permitted him to contradict his judge and master after God until death. For the monk, having at the beginning entered this tribunal and laid bare the secrets of his heart, is persuaded from the outset, if indeed he possesses any knowledge at all, that he is worthy of ten thousand deaths, and through his obedience and humility he believes he is freed from all punishment and chastisement, if he truly understands the way of the mystery.

νθ΄. He who indelibly keeps these things in his mind will never have his heart moved, when he is being disciplined or admonished or reproved, since he who falls into such evils, I mean contradiction and disbelief towards his spiritual father and teacher, while still living is wretchedly cast down into the precipice and depth of Hades and becomes a house of Satan and of all his unclean (398) power, as a son of disobedience and perdition

ξ΄. I beseech you, son of obedience, to turn these things over continually in your mind and with all zeal to struggle not to descend into the aforesaid evils of Hades, but thus to pray fervently to God each day and say: «O God and Lord of all, who has authority over every breath and soul, who alone is able to heal me, hear my prayer, wretched as I am, and the dragon lurking within me, slay and destroy by the coming of your all-holy Spirit, and deem me worthy, poor and naked of all virtue as I am, to fall with tears at the feet of my holy father, and draw his holy soul to compassion, to have mercy on me. And grant, O Lord, humility to my heart and thoughts befitting a sinner who has agreed with you to repent, and do not utterly forsake a soul that has once enlisted with and confessed and chosen and preferred you above all the world. For you know, O Lord, that I wish to be saved, even if my wicked habit becomes an obstacle for me; but all things are possible for you, Master, that are impossible for men».

ξα΄. Those who have laid the good foundation of faith and hope in the court of piety with fear and trembling, and have set their feet unshakably upon the rock of obedience to their spiritual fathers, and hear the commands from them as from the mouth of God, and upon this foundation of obedience unhesitatingly build them up in humility of soul, straightway they succeed, and this great and first achievement is accomplished for them, to deny themselves. For to fulfill another's will and not one's own, not only

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ὁδῷ τῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐντολῶν τό ποίμνιον τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Ὁ δέ μή εἰδώς καί ἄλλως ἔχων πρόδηλός ἐστιν ὅτι οὐδέ τά αἰσθητήρια τῆς ψυχῆς τετρανωμένα καί ὑγιῆ ἐπιφέρεται, ᾧ καί μᾶλλον καλῶς ἕξει τό ἄγεσθαι ἤ τό ἄγειν ἐπικινδύνως.

νε΄. Ὁ τῷ διδασκάλῳ καί ὁδηγῷ αὐτοῦ ὡς Θεῷ ἀτενίζων (397) ἀντιλέγειν οὐ δύναται. Εἰ δέ οἴεται καί λέγει ἀμφότερα ἔχειν, ἴστω, πεπλάνηται ὁποίαν γάρ οἱ τοῦ Θεοῦ πρός τόν Θεόν ἔχουσι τήν διάθεσιν ἀγνοεῖ.

νστ΄. Ὁ πιστεύων ἐν τῇ χειρί τοῦ ποιμένος αὐτοῦ τήν ἑαυτοῦ ὑπάρχειν ζωήν καί τόν θάνατον οὐκ ἀντείποι ποτέ ἡ δέ τούτων ἄγνοια ἀντιλογίαν γεννᾷ, τήν πρόξενον τοῦ νοητοῦ καί αἰωνίου θανάτου.

νζ΄. Πρό τοῦ λαβεῖν τήν ἀπόφασιν τόν κατάδικον, τόπος δίδοται ἀπολογίας αὐτῷ λαλεῖν τῷ δικαστῇ περί ὧν ἔπραξεν μετά δέ γε τήν τῶν πρακτέων φανέρωσιν καί τήν τοῦ δικαστοῦ ἀπόφασιν, οὐδέν ἤ μικρόν ἤ μέγα τοῖς βασανίζουσιν ἀντιλέγει.

νη΄. Πρό τοῦ εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τοῦτο τό δικαστήριον τόν μοναχόν καί φανερῶσαι αὐτοῦ τά ἐγκάρδια, ἴσως ἀντιλέγειν ἔξεστιν αὐτῷ, τά μέν κατά ἄγνοιαν τά δέ καί ὡς οἰομένῳ κρύπτειν τά ἑαυτοῦ. Μετά δέ τήν τῶν λογισμῶν ἀποκάλυψιν καί εἰλικρινῆ ἐξαγόρευσιν οὐκ ἔξεστιν ἀντιλέγειν τῷ μετά Θεόν δικαστῇ καί ἐξουσιαστῇ αὐτοῦ μέχρι θανάτου ποτέ. Ὁ γάρ μοναχός ἐν τούτῳ κατ᾿ ἀρχάς εἰσελθών τῷ δικαστηρίῳ καί ἀπογυμνώσας τά κρυπτά τῆς καρδίας αὐτοῦ πέπεισται ἐκ προοιμίων, εἴ γε καί ὁπωσοῦν γνῶσιν κέκτηται, ὅτι μυρίων ὑπάρχει θανάτων ἄξιος, καί διά τῆς ὑπακοῆς αὐτοῦ καί τῆς ταπεινώσεως πάσης τιμωρίας καί κολάσεως λυτρωθῆναι πιστεύει, εἰ ὡς ἀληθῶς ἄρα τοῦ μυστηρίου τόν τρόπον ἐπίσταται.

νθ΄. Ὁ ἀνεξάλειπτα ταῦτα φυλάττων ἐν τῇ ἑαυτοῦ διανοίᾳ τήν καρδίαν οὐδέποτε κινηθήσεται, παιδευόμενος ἤ νουθετούμενος ἤ ἐλεγχόμενος, ἐπειδή ὁ ἐμπίπτων τοῖς τοιούτοις κακοῖς, λέγω δέ τῇ ἀντιλογίᾳ καί ἀπιστίᾳ τῇ πρός τόν πνευματικόν πατέρα αὐτοῦ καί διδάσκαλον, εἰς πέταυρον καί βυθόν ᾅδου ἔτι ζῶν ἐλεεινῶς καταφέρεται καί οἶκος τοῦ Σατανᾶ καί πάσης αὐτοῦ τῆς ἀκαθάρτου (398) δυνάμεως γίνεται, ὡς ἀπειθείας καί ἀπωλείας υἱός

ξ΄. Παρακαλῶ σε τόν τῆς ὑπακοῆς υἱόν ταῦτα στρέφειν συνεχῶς ἐν τῇ διανοίᾳ σου καί πάσῃ σπουδῇ ἀγωνίσασθαι τοῦ μή κατελθεῖν ἐν τοῖς εἰρημένοις τοῦ ἅδου κακοῖς, ἀλλ᾿ οὕτω δέεσθαι τοῦ Θεοῦ θερμῶς καθ᾿ ἑκάστην καί λέγειν «Θεέ καί Κύριε τῶν ἁπάντων, ὁ πάσης πνοῆς καί ψυχῆς ἔχων τήν ἐξουσίαν, ὁ μόνος ἰάσασθαί με δυνάμενος, ἐπάκουσόν μου τῆς δεήσεως τοῦ ταλαιπώρου καί τόν ἐν ἐμοί ἐμφωλεύοντα δράκοντα τῇ τοῦ παναγίου σου Πνεύματος ἐπιφοιτήσει θανατώσας ἀφάνισον κἀμέ πτωχόν καί γυμνόν πάσης ὑπάρχοντα ἀρετῆς τοῖς τοῦ ἁγίου μου πατρός ποσί μετά δακρύων προσπεσεῖν ἀξίωσον καί τήν ἁγίαν αὐτοῦ ψυχήν εἰς συμπάθειαν τοῦ ἐλεῆσαί με ἕλκυσον. Καί δῷς, Κύριε, ταπείνωσιν τῇ καρδίᾳ μου καί λογισμούς πρέποντας ἁμαρτωλῷ συνθεμένῳ σοι μετανοεῖν, καί μή εἰς τέλος ἐγκαταλείψῃς ψυχήν ἅπαξ συνταξαμένην καί ὁμολογήσασαν καί ἀντί παντός τοῦ κόσμου ἐκλεξαμένην καί προτιμησαμένην σε. Οἶδας γάρ, Κύριε, ὅτι θέλω σωθῆναι, εἰ καί ἡ πονηρά μου συνήθεια ἐμπόδιόν μου καθίσταται ἀλλά δυνατά σοι, ∆έσποτα, πάντα ὅσα παρά ἀνθρώποις ἀδύνατα».

ξα΄. Οἱ καλόν τόν θεμέλιον τῆς πίστεως καί ἐλπίδος ἐν τῇ αὐλῇ καταβαλόντες τῆς εὐσεβείας μετά φόβου καί τρόμου, καί ἐπί τήν πέτραν τῆς ὑπακοῆς τῶν πνευματικῶν πατέρων τούς πόδας ἀσαλεύτους ἐρείσαντες, καί ὡς ἐκ Θεοῦ στόματος τά παρ᾿ ἐκείνων ἐντελλόμενα ἀκούοντες, καί τῷ θεμελίῳ τούτῳ τῆς ὑπακοῆς ἀδιστάκτως ἐποικοδομοῦντες αὐτά ἐν ταπεινώσει ψυχῆς, εὐθύς κατορθοῦσι, καί κατορθοῦται αὐτοῖς τό μέγα τοῦτο καί πρῶτον κατόρθωμα, τό ἑαυτούς ἀπαρνήσασθαι. Τό γάρ πληροῦν ἀλλότριον θέλημα καί μή τό ἑαυτοῦ, οὐ μόνον