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of the Trinity, having been made flesh from her by an ineffable conception, and having become completely human.

The holy Church of God, having thus taught her own to piously speak and understand these utterances, has committed them to be kept by the divine and brilliant light of knowledge; exhorting through the Prophets and Apostles, and Christ himself who by his own sufferings both established and fitted her together, to take up a life that is suitable and fitting for the great profession of faith; Considering what is the will of God, that which is good and well-pleasing and perfect; and being vigilant in it. For we have been taught to need the best conduct no less than a pious faith in order to attain eternal life; lest, having built upon the foundation of faith things that do not belong, through wicked practices, as those who have insulted the calling and the grace of adoption, instead of endless joy and glory, we should make ourselves liable to eternal fire.

Therefore, seeing the many paths of virtue, O blessed ones, and prudent lovers of the blessed beauty of Christ, which have been given to men by the Lord of all, having one purpose, and all coming to one end for salvation, let us not neglect our own salvation, nor cast aside the time given to us for repentance, which it is impossible to obtain again. But before we go, as the great Job somewhere says, whence we shall not return, to a dark and gloomy land, to a land of eternal darkness, where there is no light, nor seeing the life of mortals, let each of us hasten to propitiate God according to his own ability. For, corresponding to the varied and different states of our souls, as he is good, he has fittingly made many paths that lead blamelessly those who journey on them to the eternal mansions, so that each one, choosing the path suitable for himself, and making the course of his life through it, might attain the all-glorious place set before him in the heavens according to his hopes.

Therefore, as we have ability by the cooperation and grace of Christ, let us take hold of what is fitting. Let us compassionately relieve the misfortune of the poor man, and let us not neglect (505) to make his want more moderate. Let us not put off covering the nakedness of the naked, revering the garment of incorruptibility given to us. Let us sympathize with those who are worn out by harsh imprisonment and bodily weakness, and oppressed by the burden of exile, and let us hasten to make the hardships of others our own; so that, by imitating in regard to our fellow man him who took up our infirmities and bore our diseases, and by honoring in our deeds his philanthropic emptying of himself for our sake, we too may be able to become worthy beholders and partakers of his glory; not practicing these things for the sake of glory from men, of which nothing remains for the account of acceptance after the present life; but becoming wholly God's in truth, and serving him as being and becoming all things to all men through philanthropy toward one another, let us both say and do all things by which we will please him. For thus by partial advances in virtue, we will be able, with God's help, to come at last to the divine philosophy as is fitting; and to be transformed to the life above, having despised all things on earth; considering it better and more honorable to have the lowest rank with God, rather than to hold the first places on earth with the king below; beginning to receive this for ourselves, and quietly and gently accustoming the soul's senses to wisely behold creation, let us carry away the greatest profit, that of being well guided through the turmoil and instability of visible things, to the things that are stable and do not move; but not

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Τριάδος, ἐξ αὐτῆς κατά σύλληψιν ἄῤῥητον σαρκωθέντος, καί τελείως ἐνανθρωπήσαντος.

Ταύτας οὕτω τούς ἰδίους ἡ ἁγία τοῦ Θεοῦ Ἐκκλησία τάς φωνάς εὐσεβῶς καί λέγειν καί νοεῖν διδάξασα, τῷ Θείῳ καί λαμπρῷ τῆς γνώσεως φωτί φυλάττεσθαι ἐνεχείρισε· παρακαλοῦσα διά τε Προφητῶν καί Ἀποστόλων, καί αὐτοῦ τοῦ τοῖς ἰδίοις παθήμασιν αὐτήν συμπηξαμένου τε καί ἁρμοσαμένου Χριστοῦ, πρόσφορόν τε καί πρέποντα τῷ μεγάλῳ τῆς πίστεως ἐπαγγέλματι βίον ἀναλαβεῖν· Σκοποῦντας τί τό θέλημα τοῦ Θεοῦ τό ἀγαθόν καί εὐάρεστον καί τέλειον· καί εἰς αὐτό ἀγρυπνοῦντας. Οὐχ ἦττον γάρ εὐσεβοῦς πίστεως ἀρίστης χρήζειν ἐδιδάχθημαεν πολιτείας πρός τό τυχεῖν τῆς αἰωνίου ζωῆς· μήπως τῷ θεμελίῳ τῆς πίστεως τά μή ἐπιβάλλοντα ἐποικοδομήσαντες, διά πονηρῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων, ὡς τήν κλῆσιν, καί τήν χάριν τῆς υἱοθεσίας ὑβρίσαντες, ἀντί χαρᾶς καί δόξης ἀτελευτήτου, αἰωνίου πυρός ὑποδίκους ἑαυτούς καταστήσωμεν.

Πολλάς οὖν ὁρῶντες ὁδούς ἀρετῶν, εὐλογημένοι, καί τῆς μακαρίας Χριστοῦ καλλονῆς σώφροντες ἐρασταί, παρά τοῦ Κυρίου τῶν ὅλων τοῖς ἀνθρώποις δεδωρημένας, ἕνα τε τόν σκοπόν ἐχούσας, καί πρός ἕν τάς πάσας τέλος καταντώσας εἰς σωτηρίαν, μή ἀμελήσωμεν τῆς ἑαυτῶν σωτηρίας, μηδέ προώμεθα τόν καιρόν τόν ἐπί μετανοίᾳ ἡμῖν δεδομένον, οὗ πάλιν ἐπιτυχεῖν ἀμήχανον. Ἀλλά πρίν πορευθῆναι, καθά πού φησιν ὁ μέγας Ἰώβ, ὅθεν οὐκ ἀναστρέψομεν, εἰς γῆν σκοτεινήν καί γνοφεράν, εἰς γῆν σκότους αἰωνίου, οὗ οὐκ ἔστι φέγγος, οὐδέ ὁρᾷν ζωήν βροτῶν, σπουδάσωμεν τόν Θεόν ἱλεώσασθαι κατά τήν ἑαυτοῦ ἕκαστος δύναμιν. Πρός γάρ τό ποικίλον καί διάφορον τῶν καταστάσεων τῶν ψυχῶν ἡμῶν, ὡς ἀγαθός, πολλάς εἰκότως εἶναι καί τάς ὁδούς πρός τάς αἰωνίους μονάς ἀγούσας τούς δι᾿ αὐτῶν ὁδεύοντας ἀμέμπτως πεποίηκεν, ὅπως τήν ἑαυτῷ πρόσφορον ἐπιλεξάμενος ἕκαστος, καί τόν δρόμον τοῦ βίου δι᾿ αὐτῆς ποιησάμενος, τόν ἐν οὐρανοῖς κατ᾿ ἐλπίδας προκείμενον πανένδοξον καταλήψοιτο χῶρον.

Τοιγαροῦν καθώς ἔχομεν δυνάμεως συνεργείᾳ καί χάριτι Χριστοῦ, τῶν καθηκόντως ἁψώμεθα. Ἐπικουφίσωμεν συμπαθῶς τοῦ πένητος τήν συμφοράν, καί μετριωτέραν αὐτῷ καταστῆσαι τήν ἔνδειαν μή (505) ἀμελήσωμεν. Τῶν γυμνῶν περιστεῖλαι τήν γύμνωσιν, τό δοθέν ἡμῖν αἰδούμενοι τῆς ἀφθαρσίας ἔνδυμα μή ἀναβαλώμεθα. Τοῖς ἐν κακώσει φρουρᾶς τρυχομένοις καί ἀσθενείᾳ σώματος, καί βάρει ξενητείας πιεζομένοις συναλγήσωμεν, καί τά δυσχερῆς τῶν ἄλλων οἰκειοῦσθαι σπουδάσωμεν· ἵνα τόν Τάς ἀσθενείας ἡμῶν ἀναλαβόντα, καί τάς νόσους βαστάσαντα, περί τό ὁμόφυλον μιμησάμενοι, καί τήν αὐτοῦ δι᾿ ἡμᾶς φιλάνθρωπον κένωσιν τοῖς ἔργοις τιμήσαντες, τῆς αὐτοῦ καί ἡμεῖς ἄξιοι γενέσθαι δυνηθῶμεν ἐπόπται δόξης καί μέτοχοι· μή δόξης ἕνεκεν τῆς παρά τῶν ἀνθρώπων ταῦτα ἐπιτηδιεύοντες, ἧς μετά τήν παροῦσαν ζωήν ὑφέστηκε πρός ἀποδοχῆς λόγον, οὐδέν· ἀλλ᾿ ὅλου Θεοῦ τῇ ἀληθείᾳ γενόμενοι, καί ὡς αὐτόν πάντα πᾶσι καί ὄντα καί γινόμενον διά τῆς εἰς ἀλλήλους φιλανθρωπίας θεραπεύοντες, πάντα καί λέγωμεν καί πράττωμεν, δι᾿ ὧν αὐτῷ εὐαρεστήσομεν. Οὕτω γάρ ταῖς κατά μέρους εἰς ἀρετήν προκοπαῖς, καί τήν θείαν ποτέ μετελθεῖν δεόντως φιλοσοφίαν, σύν Θεῷ φᾶναι δυνησόμεθα· καί πρός τόν ἄνω βίον μεθαρμοσθῆναι, πάντων καταφρονήσαντες τῶν ἐπί γῆς· κρεῖττον καί τιμιώτερον τήν ἐσχάτης ἔχειν παρά Θεῷ μᾶλλον ἡγούμενοι τάξιν, ἤ παρά τῷ κάτω βασιλεῖ τά πρῶτα φέρειν τῶν ἐπί γῆς· καθ᾿ ἥν ἑαυτοῖς προσλαβεῖν ἀρχόμενοι, καί καθ᾿ ἡσυχίαν ἡρέμα τά τῆς ψυχῆς αἰσθητήρια ἐμφρόνως ὁρᾷν τήν κτίσιν ἐθίσαντες, κέρδος μέγιστον ἀπενεγκώμεθα, τό καλῶς ὁδηγηθῆναι διά τῆς τῶν ὁρατῶν ταραχῆς καί ἀστασίας, ἐπι τά ἑστῶτα καί μή κινούμενα· ἀλλά μή