187

23. Before mourning and tears, let no one deceive you with empty words, nor let us delude ourselves, there is no repentance in us, nor true remorse, nor the fear of God in our hearts, nor have we condemned ourselves, nor has our soul become aware of the future judgment and the eternal torments. For if it had acquired these things and been in them, it would immediately have brought forth tears; for without these things, neither can our hard heart ever be softened, nor can our soul acquire spiritual (428) humility, nor shall we be able to become humble. He who has not become such cannot be united to the Holy Spirit; and he who has not been united to Him through purification can neither be in the vision and knowledge of God, nor is he worthy to be taught the mystical virtues of humility.

24. Just as one who explains the matters of rhetoric and philosophy to a child just being taught to spell the letters will not only not help at all, but will also make him rather neglect what he has begun and give it up, because his mind cannot at all grasp the power of what is said, so too he who speaks of perfection to beginners, and especially to the more lax, will not only not help at all but will also cause them to go backwards. For looking at the height of virtue and understanding how far they fall short of its summit, and thinking it will be impossible for them to ascend to its peak, they will both despise the partial things they have begun as useless and will sink into despair.

25. When those still held and ruled by the passions hear that the one who is perfect according to God considers himself more unclean than every man and every animal and beast, who rejoices when dishonored, blesses when reviled, endures when persecuted, and prays for his enemies with tears and pain of heart, beseeching God and supplicating for them, at first they disbelieve, trying to establish themselves as equal to them; then, being refuted by the divine Scriptures and overturned by the saints who showed these things by deed, they confess that they are not able to attain to these things; and when they hear that it is impossible for them to be saved without the fulfillment of these things, then, completely unwilling to make a cutting off (429) of evil and to repent for what they have sinned, they despair of themselves.

26. Those who feign virtue and appear one way by the fleece of their habit, but are another way in their inner man, perhaps filled with all injustice, full of jealousy and strife and the stench of pleasures, the many honor as dispassionate and holy, not having the eye of their soul purified nor being able to recognize them by their fruits; but those who live in piety and virtue and simplicity of heart and are truly holy, they reckon as the rest of other men, and despising them they pass them by.

27. Such men reckon the talkative and showy man to be more instructive and spiritual; but the silent man who is scrupulous about idle talk they declare to be boorish and mute.

28. The one who speaks in the Holy Spirit, the high-minded who are sick with the pride of the devil turn away from as high-minded and proud, being struck by his words rather than being pierced with compunction; but the one who speaks glibly from his belly or from learning and speaks falsely about their salvation they praise exceedingly and accept, and thus among such men there is no one who is able to see and discern the matter well and as it is.

29. "Blessed," says God, "are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Therefore, a pure heart is not naturally perfected by one virtue, nor by two or ten, but by all of them together, so to speak, being as it were one, and to the highest degree

187

κγ'. Πρό τοῦ πένθους καί τῶν δακρύων, μηδείς ὑμᾶς κενοῖς ἀπατάτω λόγοις μηδέ πλανῶμεν ἑαυτούς, οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν ἡμῖν μετάνοια οὐδέ ἀληθής μεταμέλεια οὐδέ φόβος Θεοῦ ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ἡμῶν, οὐδέ κατέγνωμεν ἑαυτῶν, οὐδέ ἐν αἰσθήσει τῆς μελλούσης κρίσεως καί τῶν αἰωνίων βασάνων ἐγένετο ἡ ψυχή ἡμῶν. Εἰ γάρ ταῦτα ἐκτήσατο καί ἐν τούτοις ἐγένετο, εὐθύς καί δάκρυα κατήγαγεν ἄν˙ τούτων γάρ χωρίς, οὔτε ἡ σκληρά καρδία ἡμῶν ἁπαλυνθῆναί ποτε δύναται, οὔτε ἡ ψυχή ἡμῶν πνευματικήν (428) ταπείνωσιν κτήσασθαι, οὔτε ταπεινοί γενέσθαι ἰσχύσομεν. Ὁ δέ μή τοιοῦτος γενόμενος ἑνωθῆναι τῷ Πνεύματι τῷ Ἁγίῳ οὐ δύναται˙ ὁ δέ μή τούτῳ ἐκ καθάρσεως ἑνωθείς, οὔτε ἐν θεωρίᾳ καί γνώσει Θεοῦ γενέσθαι δύναται, οὔτε ἄξιός ἐστι τάς τῆς ταπεινώσεως μυστικάς ἀρετάς ἐκδιδάσκεσθαι.

κδ'. Ὥσπερ τῷ συλλαβίζειν ἄρτι παιδευομένῳ τά γράμματα ὁ τά τῆς ρητορικῆς καί φιλοσοφίας ἐκδιηγούμενος οὐ μόνον οὐδέν ὠφελήσει, ἀλλά καί τῶν ἐναρχθέντων μᾶλλον κατολιγωρῆσαι αὐτόν καί ἀποστῆναι ποιήσει, διά τό μή χωρεῖν τήν διάνοιαν αὐτοῦ τῶν λεγομένων ὅλως τήν δύναμιν, οὕτω καί ὁ τοῖς εἰσαγωγικοῖς τά περί τελειότητος λέγων, καί μᾶλλον τοῖς χαυνοτέροις, οὐ μόνον οὐδέν ὠφελήσει ἀλλά καί εἰς τά ὀπίσω ὑπάγειν ποιήσει. Πρός γάρ τό ὕψος τῆς ἀρετῆς ἀποβλέψαντες καί ὅσον ἀπολείπονται τῆς κορυφῆς αὐτῆς ἐννοήσαντες καί ὡς ἀδύνατον αὐτοῖς ἔσται τό πρός τό ἄκρον αὐτῆς ἀνελθεῖν οἰηθέντες, καί τῶν μερικῶς ἐναρχθέντων ὡς ἀνωφελῶν καταφρονήσουσι καί πρός ἀπόγνωσιν καταδύσουσι.

κε'. Ὅταν οἱ ἔτι κεκρατημένοι καί βασιλευόμενοι ὑπό τῶν παθῶν ἀκούσωσιν ὅτι ὁ κατά Θεόν τέλειος παντός ἀνθρώπωου καί παντός ζῴου καί θηρίου ἀκαθαρτότερον ἑαυτόν ἡγεῖται, ὅς καί ἀτιμαζόμενος χαίρει, λοιδορούμενος εὐλογεῖ, ἀνέχεται διωκόμενος καί ὑπέρ τῶν ἐχθρῶν αὐτοῦ εὔχεται μετά δακρύων καί πόνου καρδίας, παρακαλῶν τόν Θεόν καί ἱκετεύων ὑπέρ αὐτῶν, ἐν πρώτοις μέν ἀπιστοῦσιν, ἑαυτούς ἴσους ἐκείνων συστῆσαι πειρώμενοι˙ ἔπειτα ὑπό τῶν θείων Γραφῶν ἐλεγχόμενοι καί ὑπό τῶν ταῦτα ἔργῳ ἐπιδειξαμένων ἁγίων ἀνατρεπόμενοι, μή ἰσχύειν ἐν τούτοις ἐφικέσθαι ὁμολογοῦσιν˙ ὅταν δέ καί δίχα τῆς τούτων ἐκπληρώσεως ἀδύν ατον ἀκούσωσι σωθῆναι αὐτούς, τότε τελείως μή θέλοντες ἐκκοπήν ποιήσασθαι (429) τοῦ κακοῦ καί μετανοῆσαι, ἐφ᾿ οἷς ἥμαρτον, ἀπογινώσκουσιν ἑαυτῶν.

κστ'. Τούς ὑποκρινομένους τήν ἀρετήν καί τῷ μέν κωδίῳ τοῦ σχήματος ἄλλο φαινομένους, ἄλλο δέ ὄντας κατά τόν ἐντός ἄνθρωπον, πάσης τάχα πεπληρωμένους ἀδικίας, μεστούς ζήλου καί ἐριθείας καί ἡδονῶν δυσωδίας, ὡς ἀπαθεῖς οἱ πλείους καί ἁγίους τιμῶσι, μή κεκαθαρμένον ἔχοντες τόν τῆς ψυχῆς ὀφθαλμόν μηδέ ἐπιγνῶναι δυνάμενοι αὐτούς ἐκ τῶν καρπῶν αὐτῶν˙ τούς δέ εὐλαβείᾳ καί ἀρετῇ καί ἀφελότητι καρδίας διάγοντας καί ἁγίους ὄντας τῷ ὄντι, ὡς τούς λοιπούς τῶν ἄλλων ἀνθρώπων, παραλογίζονται καί καταφρονοῦντες αὐτῶν παρατρέχουσιν.

κζ'. Τόν λάλον καί ἐπιδεικτικόν διδακτικόν μᾶλλον καί πνευματικόν εἶναι οἱ τοιοῦτοι λογίζονται˙ τόν δέ σιωπηλόν καί περί ἀργολογίαν ἀκριβαζόμενον ἀγροῖκον καί ἄφωνον ἀποφαίνονται.

κη'. Τόν ἐν Πνεύματι Ἁγίῳ φθεγγόμενον οἱ ὑψηλόφρονες καί τήν ὑπερηφανίαν νοσοῦντες τοῦ διαβόλου ὡς ὑψηλόφρονα καί ὑπερήφανον ἀποστρέφονται, τοῖς λόγοις αὐτοῦ πληττόμενοι μᾶλλον ἤ κατανυσσόμενοι˙ τόν δέ ἀπό κοιλίας ἤ ἐκ μαθημάτων τορνολογοῦντα καί τῆς αὐτῶν σωτηρίας καταψευδόμενον ὑπερεπαινοῦσι καί ἀποδέχονται, καί οὕτως οὐδείς ἐν τοῖς τοιούτοις ἐστίν ὁ καλῶς καί ὡς ἔχει τό πρᾶγμα ἰδεῖν καί διακρῖναι δυνάμενος.

κθ'. «Μακάριοι», φησίν ὁ Θεός, «οἱ καθαροί τῇ καρδίᾳ, ὅτι αὐτοί τόν Θεόν ὄψονται». Καθαράν οὖν καρδίαν οὐχί μία ἀρετή οὐδέ δύο ἤ δέκα πεφύκασιν ἐκτελεῖν, ἀλλά πᾶσαι ὁμοῦ ὡς εἰπεῖν οἱονεί μία τις οὖσα καί εἰς ἄκρον