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will enlighten his face," by face always meaning the inner man, the mind. They have become a heavy burden, they drag me down, when one ought to bear that burden which Jesus places on us and the yoke which he imposes; for it is a worthless burden, as this very saying says: "My iniquities have become a heavy burden, they have weighed down upon me." "Come," therefore, he says, "to me, for I will give you rest," I lift the loads from you and the burdens laid upon you; "for my yoke is easy and my burden is light." This burden lifts up the one who carries it, it bears him upward, this burden is winged. But that of wickedness weighs down, it casts down. Of the wicked, at any rate, it says: "you will sink like lead in the mighty water." 5 Like a heavy burden they have weighed down upon me. And this is not for everyone to know, that wickedness is a heavy burden, but for one who has perceived its oppressiveness. For then one of those who bear this burden grows weary, when he perceives the weight of wickedness. And then he comes to Jesus. But he who takes pleasure in the burden of wickedness is rather far from Jesus. For this reason it is also said in Isaiah: "The labor of Egypt, the merchandise of the Ethiopians, and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over to you and they shall be your slaves and they shall worship you, because God strengthens and there is no God besides you." Then "Egypt labored," when it perceived what evils it is to be idolatrous and to be engaged in curious trifles, in augury, in necromancy and with the demons that possess them. But when it has no perception of them, it does not labor. "The merchandise," therefore, "of the Ethiopians" or "the markets of the Ethiopians" then labor. By Ethiopians he means those who are blackened in the inner man. Thus, at any rate, the devil in the Epistle of Barnabas and in the Shepherd is called "the black one," not in body, but darkened in mind, 263 being outside the splendor of the saints. These Ethiopians, therefore, have merchandise or markets, where their merchandise is. And then they labor, when they perceive what evils they are; for as long as one takes pleasure in sinning, he does not labor. 6 My wounds have become foul and are corrupt because of my foolishness. I have had wounds from the arrows of punishment or also from the fiery darts of the evil one; for he himself is said to have fiery darts. When, therefore, one receives scratches, that is, thoughts and considerations of evils and impieties, he is in wounds. But when these have grown and having given off a stench, they become foul, then they also undergo decay. "My wounds," therefore, "have become foul and are corrupt." From where did I get the wounds, from where has their decay come? —"because of my foolishness." It is necessary for me to refute foolishness, to depart from it. But one endures foolishness when one does not acquire prudence. The stings of thoughts and of desires, these create wounds. It is necessary to heal these quickly. Someone saw a woman with desire. He received a wound. Let him heal it, let him stop his passion at the stage of pre-passion; for thus the desire will neither become foul nor bring on decay. But the mind, dwelling on it, brings on these things, both decay and a smell and something unpleasant. When one does not have this prudence so as to know what must be done and what not, the mixed things which are called indifferent, he is in foolishness. And foolishness nourishes and strengthens the sins that seem to be small, so that they are compared to a wound, and they become a stench and decay. And according to the substance about which the discourse is, understand the becoming foul and the decay; for nothing bodily appears; for many foolish people are both healthy and have strong bodies. 7 I am troubled and bowed down greatly. Misery is often brought on by unpleasant and painful things. And the body itself, at any rate, makes the one who is burdened miserable. This idea is suggested by the apostolic phrase which is as follows: "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body

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φωτιεῖ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ", πρόσωπον πάντως λέγων τὸν ἔσω ἄνθρωπον, τὸν νοῦν. φορτίον βαρὺ γεγένηνται, καθέλκουσίν με κάτω, δέον ἐκεῖνο ὃ Ἰησοῦς ἐπιτίθησιν φορτίον καὶ τὸ ζυγὸν ὃ ἐπιβάλλει, φέρειν· ἐστὶν γὰρ φορτίον φαῦλον, ὡς αὐτὸ τοῦτο τὸ ῥητὸν λέγει· "φορτίον βαρὺ αἱ ἀνομίαι ἐβαρύνθησαν ἐπ' ἐμέ". "δεῦτε" οὖν, φησίν, "πρὸς ἐμέ, ἀναπαύσω γὰρ ὑμᾶς", αἴρω τὰ φορτία ἀφ' ὑμῶν καὶ τὰ ἐπικείμενα ἄχθη· "ὁ γὰρ ζυγός μου χρηστός ἐστιν καὶ τὸ φορτίον μου ἐλαφρόν". τὸ φορτίον τοῦτο μετεωρίζει τὸν βαστάζοντα, ἄνω αὐτὸν φέρει, ὑπόπτερόν ἐστιν τὸ φορτίον τοῦτο. τὸ δὲ τῆς κακίας κάτω βρίθει, κάτω καταβάλλει. περὶ φαύλων γοῦν λέγει· "δύσεσθε ὡσεὶ μόλιβος ἐν ὕδατι σφοδρῷ". 5 ὡσεὶ φορτίον βαρὺ ἐβαρύνθησαν ἐπ' ἐμέ. καὶ τοῦτο δὲ οὐ παντός ἐστιν εἰδέναι ὅτι βαρὺ φορτίον ἐστὶν ἡ κακία̣ ἢ τοῦ αἴσθησιν λαβόντος τοῦ ἐπαχθοῦς αὐτῆς. τότε γοῦν κ̣οπιᾷ τις τῶν φερόντων τὸ φορτίον τοῦτο, ὅταν αἴσθη̣σιν λάβῃ τοῦ βάρους τῆς κακίας. καὶ τότε ἔρ χεται πρὸς τὸν Ἰησοῦν. ὁ δὲ ἡδόμενος ἐπὶ τῷ φορτίῳ τῆς κακίας μᾶλλον κ̣αὶ μακρύνεται τοῦ Ἰησοῦ. διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἐν Ἰσαίᾳ λέγεται· "ἐκοπίασεν Αἴγυπτος, ἐνπορία Αἰθιόπων, καὶ οἱ Σαβαῖται ἄνδρες ὑψηλοὶ ἐπὶ σὲ διαβήσονται καὶ ἔσονται δοῦλοί σου καὶ προσκυνήσουσίν σοι ὅτι ὁ θεὸς ἐνδυναμοῖ καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν θεὸς πλὴν σοῦ". τότε "ἐκοπίασεν Αἴγυπτος", ὅτε αἴσθησιν̣ ἔλαβεν οἷ κακῶν ἐστιν εἰδωλολατροῦσα καὶ ἔχουσα περὶ τὰς περιέργους φλυαρίας, περὶ οἰωνοσκοπικῶν, περὶ νεκυομ̣αντείᾳ καὶ τοῖς ἐπικειμένοις αὐτοῖς δαίμοσιν. ὅτε δὲ οὐκ ἔχει αἴσθησιν αὐτῶν, οὐ κοπιᾷ. "ἡ ἐμπορία" οὖν "τῶν Αἰθιόπων" ἢ "τὰ ἐμπόρια τῶν Αἰθιόπων" τότε κοπιᾷ. Αἰθίοπας δὲ λέγει τοὺς μεμ̣ελ̣ανωμένους κατὰ τὸν ἔσω ἄνθρωπον̣. οὕτω γοῦν καὶ ὁ διάβολος ἐν τῇ ἐπιστολῇ τοῦ Βαρναβᾶ καὶ τῷ Ποιμένι λέγεται "ὁ μέλας" οὐ κατὰ σῶμα, ἀλλὰ κ̣ατὰ τὴν διάνοιαν ἐσκοτισμένος, 263 ἔξω τῆς λαμπρότητος τῶν ἁγίων γενόμενος. οὗτοι οὖν οἱ Αἰθίοπες ἔχουσιν ἐνπορίαν ἢ ἐνπόρια, ἔνθα ἡ ἐμπορία αὐτῶν. καὶ τότε σκοπιῶσιν, ὅταν αἴσθησιν λάβωσιν οἷ κακῶν εἰσιν· ὅσον γὰρ ἥδεταί τις τῷ ἁμαρτάνειν, οὐ κοπιᾷ. 6 προςώζεσαν καὶ ἐσάπησαν οἱ μώλωπές μου ἀπὸ προσώπου τῆς ἀφροσύνης μου. μώλωπας ἔσχον ἀπὸ τῶν βελῶν τῆς κολάσεως ἢ καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν πεπυρακτωμένων βελῶν τοῦ πονηροῦ· εἴρηται γὰρ καὶ αὐτὸς βέλη ἔχειν π̣ε̣πυρωμένα. ὅταν τις οὖν ἀμυχὰς λάβῃ, τουτ έστιν λογισμοὺς καὶ ἐνθυμήματα τῶν κακῶν καὶ ἀσεβημάτων, ἐν μώλωψίν ἐστιν. ὅταν δὲ αὐξηθέντες οὗτοι καὶ ἀποφορὰν ἐσχηκότες προσόζουσιν, λοιπὸν καὶ σῆψιν ὑφίστανται. "προσώζεσαν" οὖν "καὶ ἐσάπησαν οἱ μώλωπές μου". πόθεν δὲ ἔσχον τοὺς μώλωπας, πόθεν ἡ σῆψις αὐτῶν γέγονεν; -"ἀπὸ προσώπου τῆς ἀφροσύνης μου". δέον ἐλέγξαι με τὴν ἀφροσύνην, ἀποστῆναι αὐτῆς. ὑφίσταται δέ τις ἀφροσύνην, ὅταν φρόνησιν μὴ κτήσηται. τὰ κεντώματα τῶν λογισμῶν καὶ τῶν ἐπιθυμημάτων, ταῦτα μώλωπας ἐνποιεῖ. δέον τούτους ταχὺ θεραπεύειν. εἶδέν τις γυναῖκα πρὸς ἐπιθυμίαν. μώλωπα ἔσχεν. θεραπευσάτω, μέχρι τῆς προπαθείας στησάτω τὴν ὀργήν· οὕτω γὰρ οὐδὲ προσοζέσῃ ἡ ἐπιθυμία οὐδὲ σῆψιν ἐπενέγκῃ. ἐνμένουσα δὲ ἡ διάνοια, ταῦτα ἐπιφέρει καὶ σῆψιν καὶ ὀσμὴν κ̣αὶ ἀηδῆ. ὅταν μὴ ἔχῃ ταύτην τὴν φρόνησιν ὥστε εἰδέναι τὰ ποιητέα καὶ μή, τὰ μικτῶς ἔχοντα τὰ λεγόμενα ἀδιάφορα, ἐν ἀφροσύνῃ ἐστίν. καὶ ἡ ἀφροσύνη τὰ δόξαντα εἶναι μικρὰ ἁμαρτήματα ὥστε μώλωψιν αὐτὰ παραβάλλεσθαι, τρέφει καὶ κρατύνει, καὶ γίνεται δυσωδία καὶ σῆψις. καταλλήλως δὲ τῆς οὐσίας τῆς περὶ ἧς ὁ λόγος, λάμβανε τὴν προσόζεσιν καὶ τὴν σῆψιν· οὐδὲν σωματικὸν γὰρ φαίνεται· πολλοὶ γὰρ ἄφρονες καὶ ὑγιαίνουσιν καὶ ἰσχυρὰ ἔχουσιν σώματα. 7 ἐταλαιπώρησα καὶ κατεκάμφθην ἕως τέλους. ταλαιπωρίαν ἐπιφέρει πολλάκις τὰ ἀηδῆ καὶ ἐπίπονα. καὶ αὐτὸ γοῦν τὸ σῶμα καὶ ταλαίπωρον ποιεῖ τὸν ἐπηχθισμένον. ταύτην τὴν ἔννοιαν ὑποβάλλει ἡ ἀποστολικὴ λέξις ἡ οὕτως ἔχουσα· "ταλαίπωρος ἐγὼ ἄνθρωπος· τίς με ῥύσεται ἐκ τοῦ σώματος