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and instead of receiving the reward for your service, you will undergo the condemnation of a thief and a temple robber. But if you are forced to this by your superior, be disposed as one handling a burning fire, and keeping away the assault of the thought through confession (408) and repentance, you will be preserved unharmed by the prayer of your superior.

πε'. He who has not become dispassionate does not even know that dispassion exists, nor can he believe that such a person exists on earth. For how will one who has not first denied himself and eagerly poured out his own blood for the sake of this truly blessed life, suppose another to have done these things in order to acquire dispassion? So too, he who thinks he has the Holy Spirit, while having nothing, never believes, when he hears of its energies taking place in those who have the Holy Spirit, that there is anyone in this generation, equally with the apostles of Christ and the saints from of old, who is energized and moved by the divine Spirit or who comes to be knowingly and consciously in a vision of it. For each one judges his neighbor's affairs from his own state, as it is, whether one speaks of virtue or of vice.

πστ'. Dispassion of the soul is one thing, and dispassion of the body is another; for the former also sanctifies the body with its own radiance and with the outpouring of light from the Spirit, while the latter, alone by itself, can in no way benefit the one who possesses it.

πζ'. The motionlessness of the members of the soul and body is one thing, and the acquisition of virtues is another; for the one is present by nature, while the other suppresses all the natural movements.

πη'. Not to desire any of the delights and pleasures of the world is not the same as to long for the eternal and invisible good things; for this is one thing, and that is another. For many have despised the former, but few people have been concerned for the latter.

πθ'. To turn away and not seek the glory of men (409) is not the same as to depend on the glory of God, but there is a great distance between them both. For many, being mastered by other passions, have rejected the former, but very few have been deemed worthy to receive the latter with much toil and labor.

$'. To be content with humble clothing and not to desire splendid attire is not the same thing as to be clothed in the light of God; for this is one thing, and that is another. For some have easily despised the former, being dragged down by countless desires, but only they are clothed with the latter who unceasingly seek it through all hardship and become sons of light and day through the fulfillment of the commandments.

$α'. To speak with humility is one thing, and to think with humility is another, and humility is one thing, and the flower of humility is another, and its fruit is one thing, and the beauty of this fruit is another, and the sweetness of the beauty is another, and besides these, the energies from this fruit are another thing. And of these, some are in our power, and others are not in our power. And those that are in our power are: to understand all things, to think all things, to reason all things, and to say and do all things that lead us to humility. But holy humility and its other properties, its gifts and its energies, are a gift of God and not from us, and no one will ever be deemed worthy of them, unless he has first properly sown the seeds that are within his power.

$β'. Not to be indignant at dishonors and insults and in temptations and tribulations is one thing, and to be well-pleased in them is another thing, and to pray for those who do these things to us is another. And to love them from the soul is another thing. And besides these, it is another thing to mentally picture the face of each (410) one of them and, as genuine friends, to embrace them dispassionately with tears of sincere love, so that clearly no trace of any aversion is found then in the soul. But greater than these things we have mentioned is when, even at the very time of the temptations, one has the same and similar

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καί ἀντί τοῦ λήψεσθαι μισθόν διακονίας, κλέπτου καί ἱερόσυλου καταδίκην ὑφέξεις. Εἰ δέ ὑπό τοῦ προεστῶτος πρός τοῦτο ἐκβιασθῇς, ὡς πῦρ μεταχειριζόμενος φλέγον διάκεισο, καί τήν προσβολήν τοῦ λογισμοῦ δι᾿ ἐξαγορεύσεως (408) καί μετανοίας ἀπείργων, ἀβλαβής τῇ τοῦ προεστῶτος εὐχῇ διατηρηθήσῃ.

πε'. Ὁ μή γεγονώς ἀπαθής οὐδ᾿ ὅτι ἐστίν ἀπάθεια οἶδεν, ἀλλ᾿ οὐδέ πιστεύειν εἶναί τινα τοιοῦτον ἐπί τῆς γῆς δύναται. Πῶς γάρ ὁ μή ἑαυτόν ἀπαρνησάμενος πρῶτον καί τό αἷμα προθύμως κενώσας τό ἑαυτοῦ ὑπέρ τῆς μακαρίας ταύτης τῷ ὄντι ζωῆς ἄλλον ὑπονοήσει ταῦτα πεποιηκέναι εἰς τό κτήσασθαι τήν ἀπάθειαν; Οὕτω δέ καί ὁ δοκῶν Πνεῦμα Ἅγιον ἔχειν, μηδέν ἔχων, οὐ πιστεύει ποτέ, τάς ἐνεργείας αὐτοῦ γινομένας ἀκούων ἐν τοῖς τό Πνεῦμα τό Ἅγιον ἔχουσιν, ὅτι ἔστι τις κατά τήν γενεάν ταύτην, ἐπίσης τοῖς ἀποστόλοις Χριστοῦ καί τοῖς ἀπ᾿ αἰῶνος ἁγίοις, θείῳ ἐνεργούμενος καί κινούμενος Πνεύματι ἤ ἐν ὀπτασίᾳ τούτου γνωστῶς καί εὐαισθήτως γινόμενος. Ἕκαστος γάρ ἐκ τῆς οἰκείας καταστάσεως καί τά τοῦ πλησίον κρίνει ὡς ἔχει, εἴτε ἀρετῆς εἰπεῖν εἴτε κακίας.

πστ'. Ἄλλο ἀπάθεια ψυχῆς καί ἄλλο ἀπάθεια σώματος} ἡ μέν γάρ καί τό σῶμα καθαγιάζει τῇ οἰκείᾳ λαμπρότητι καί τῇ φωτοχυσίᾳ τοῦ Πνεύματος, ἡ δέ αὐτή μόνη καθ᾿ ἑαυτήν εἰς οὐδέν τόν κεκτημένον ὠφελεῖν δύναται.

πζ'. Ἕτερον ἀκινησία τῶν ψυχικῶν τε καί σωματικῶν μελῶν καί ἕτερον κτῆσις ἀρετῶν} ἡ μέν γάρ ἐκ φύσεως πρόσεστιν, ἡ δέ καί τάς φυσικάς κινήσεις ἁπάσας καταστέλλει.

πη'. Οὐκ ἔστι τό μή ἐπιθυμεῖν τινος τῶν τοῦ κόσμου τερπνῶν καί ἡδέων ἴσον τοῦ τῶν αἰωνίων καί ἀοράτων ἐφίεσθαι ἀγαθῶν} ἄλλο γάρ τοῦτο καί ἕτερον ἐκεῖνο} τῶν μέν γάρ προτέρων πολλοί κατεφρόνησαν, τῶν δέ δευτέρων ὀλίγοι τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐφρόντισαν.

πθ'. Οὐκ εἴ τι τό ἀποστρέφεσθαι καί μή ζητεῖν τήν δόξαν τῶν ἀνθρώπων, (409) τοῦτό ἐστι καί τό τῆς δόξης ἐκκρέμασθαι τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἀλλά πολύ τό μέσον ἐν ἀμφοτέροις} τήν μέν γάρ καί ὑπό παθῶν ἄλλων πολλοί κυριευθέντες ἀπώσαντο, τήν δέ ὀλίγοι λίαν κόπῳ καί πόνῳ πολλῷ λαβεῖν ἠξιώθησαν.

$'. Οὐχ ἕν τό εὐτελεῖ ἐσθῆτι ἀρκεῖσθαι καί μή ἐπιθυμεῖν στολῆς λαμπρᾶς καί τό ἐνδεδῦσθαι τό φῶς ἐστι τοῦ Θεοῦ} τοῦτο γάρ ἕτερον κἀκεῖνο ἄλλο} τοῦ μέν γάρ ὑπό μυρίων ἐπιιθυμιῶν καθελκόμενοί τινες εὐκόλως κατεφρόνησαν, τό δέ μόνοι περιβάλλονται ἐκεῖνοι οἱ ἀνενδότως αὐτό ζητοῦντες διά πάσης κακοπαθείας καί υἱοί φωτός καί ἡμέρας διά τῆς τῶν ἐντολῶν γινόμενοι ἐκπληρώσεως.

$α'. Ἄλλο τό ταπεινολογεῖν καί ἕτερον τό ταπεινοφρονεῖν, καί ἄλλο ταπείνωσις καί ἕτερον τό ἄνθος τῆς ταπεινώσεως, καί ὁ ταύτης καρπός ἄλλο καί τό τοῦ καρποῦ τούτου κάλλος καί τό τοῦ κάλλους ἡδύ ἕτερον, καί ἄλλο παρά ταῦτα αἱ ἐκ τοῦ καρποῦ τούτου ἐνέργειαι. Τούτων δέ τά μέν ἐφ᾿ ἡμῖν εἰσι, τά δέ οὐκ ἐφ᾿ ἡμῖν} καί τά μέν ἐφ᾿ ἡμῖν, τό πάντα νοεῖν, τό πάντα φρονεῖν, τό πάντα λογίζεσθαι καί λέγειν καί πράττειν, ὅσα πρός ταπείνωσιν ἡμᾶς ἄγουσιν} ἡ δέ ἁγία ταπείνωσις καί τά λοιπά αὐτῆς ἰδιώματα, τά χαρίσματα καί αἱ ἐνέργειαι αὐτῆς, δῶρον Θεοῦ καί οὐκ ἐξ ἡμῶν, ὧν καί οὐδείς καταξιωθήσεταί ποτε, ἐάν μή τά ὅσα ἐφ᾿ ἑαυτῷ εἰσι καλῶς προκαταβάλληται σπέρματα.

$β'. Τό μή ἀγανακτεῖν ἐν ἀτιμίαις καί ὕβρεσι καί ἐν πειρασμοῖς καί θλίψεσιν ἄλλο, καί τό ἄλλο τό εὐδοκεῖν ἐν αὐτοῖς, καί τό εὔχεσθαι ὑπέρ τῶν ταῦτα ποιούντων εἰς ἡμᾶς ἕτερον} καί ἄλλο τό ἀπό ψυχῆς αὐτούς ἀγαπᾶν} καί ἕτερον παρά ταῦτα τό νοερῶς ἀνατυποῦν τό πρόσωπον ἑνός (410) ἑκάστου αὐτῶν καί ὡς γνησίους φίλους ἀπαθῶς αὐτούς κατασπάζεσθαι ἐν δάκρυσιν ἀγάπης εἰλικρινοῦς, ἴχνους δηλονότι ἀηδίας καθόλου τινός μή εὑρισκομένου τότε ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ. Μεῖζον δέ τούτων ὧν εἴπομεν, ὅταν καί ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ καιρῷ τῶν πειρασμῶν, τήν ἴσην ἔχῃ τις καί ὁμοίαν