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he has not reached the limit of virtue; for this reason he sins, not yet having received the power that makes the weak strong; but he who audaciously sets his own weakness against the divine power as if it were strength, has transgressed the limit of virtue; and for this reason, sinning, as though the subsequent excess came from himself, he does not recognize it. For he considers the sin to be a virtue. More pardonable, therefore, is the one who has confined himself to his natural weakness, suffering the fall from virtue more through indolence, than the one who compares his own weakness as strength for the performance of duties against the divine power, committing the fall more through audacity.

QUESTION 57.

The prayer of a righteous man is very powerful when it is working; what is the meaning of 'when it is working'?

Answer. I know the prayer of a righteous man to be working in two ways: first,

when the one praying makes this offering of prayer to God with works according to the commandment; and not only in bare speech, and falling from the tongue in the empty sound of a voice, does the prayer lie idle and without substance; but active and living, animated by the ways of the commandments. For the substance of prayer and supplication is clearly the fulfillment through virtues; according to which the righteous man has a prayer that is strong and all-powerful, being worked through the commandments. And in a second way, when the one who requests the prayer of the righteous man performs the works of prayer, (592) correcting his former life, and the prayer of the righteous man is made powerful through his own good conduct.

For there is no benefit from the prayer of the righteous man, if the one who needs it takes more pleasure in sins than in virtues. Since even the great Samuel once mourned for Saul when he sinned, but he was not able to propitiate God, not having as a helper in his mourning the fitting correction of the one who sinned. Wherefore, causing His servant to cease from his fruitless mourning, God says to him, "How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him from reigning over Israel?"

And again Jeremiah, the most compassionate, praying for the people of the Jews who were maddened by the error of demons, is not heard, not having as a power for his prayer the repentance from the error of the godless Jews; whence God, leading him away also from praying in vain, says, "And you, do not pray for this people, and do not ask for them to be shown mercy; and do not pray, and do not approach me for them any longer, for I will not hear."

For it is truly of great folly, not to say madness, to seek salvation through the prayer of the righteous, while by disposition delighting in destructive things; and to ask for forgiveness for those things in which one glories, being defiled by intention in the very act; for it is necessary that the one who needs the prayer of the righteous man should not allow it to become idle and motionless, if he truly detests evil things; but to make it active, and powerful, winged by his own virtues, and reaching the one who is able to grant forgiveness for the sins committed.

Therefore, whether it is made effective by the righteous man who makes the prayer, or by the one who asks the righteous man for it to be made, the prayer of the righteous man has great power. For when made effective by the righteous man, it gives him confidence before the one who is able to give

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τόν ὅρον οὐκ ἦλθε τῆς ἀρετῆς· διά τοῦτο πλημμελεῖ, μήπω λαβών τήν τό ἀσθενές ἰσχυούσαν δύναμιν· ὁ δέ τῆς θείας δυνάμεως τήν οἰκείαν ἀσθένειαν ὡς ἰσχύν αὐθαδῶς ἀντιπροβαλλόμενος, τόν ὅρον παρῆλθε τῆς ἀρετῆς· καί διά τοῦτο πλημμελῶν, ὡς τοῦ κατόπιν ὑπερφεροῦς παρ᾿ ἑαυτοῦ γενομένου, οὐκ ἐπιγινώσκει. Ἀρετήν γάρ εἶναι νομίζει τό πλημμέλημα. Συγγνωστός οὖν μᾶλλον, ὅ τῇ κατά τήν φύσιν ἀσθενείᾳ ἑαυτόν περιγράψας, παθών μᾶλλον ἐκ ῥᾳθυμίας τῆς ἀρετῆς τήν ἔκπτωσιν, ἤ ὁ τήν οἰκείαν ἀσθένειαν ὡς ἰσχύν πρός τήν τῶν καθηκόντων ποίησιν ἀντιπαραβαλλόμενος τῆς θείας δυνάμεως, δράσας μᾶλλον ἐξ αὐθαδίας τήν ἔκπτωσιν.

ΕΡΩΤΗΣΙΣ ΝΖ΄.

Πολύ ἰσχύει δικαίου ἐνεργουμένη· τί ἐστι τό ἐνεργουμένη. Ἀπόκρισις. Κατά δύο τρόπους ἐνεργουμένην οἶδα τοῦ δικαίου τήν δέησιν· καθ᾿ ἕνα μέν,

ὁπόταν μετά τῶν κατ᾿ ἐντολήν ἔργων τῷ Θεῷ τήν ταύτης ποιεῖται προσαγωγήν τῆς δεήσεως ὁ εὐχόμενος· καί μή μόνον ἐν ψιλῷ λόγῳ, καί διακένῳ φωνῆς ἤχῳ τῆς γλώττης ἐκπίπτουσαν, ἀργήν κεῖσθαι τήν δέησιν καί ἀνυπόστατον· ἀλλ᾿ ἐνεργόν καί ζῶσαν, τοῖς τρόποις τῶν ἐντολῶν ψυχουμένην. Εὐχῆς γάρ καί δεήσεως ὑπόστασις, ἡ διά τῶν ἀρετῶν ὑπάρχει προδήλως ἐκπλήρωσις· καθ᾿ ἥν ἰσχυράν καί πάντα δυναμένην ὁ δίκαιος ἔχει τήν δέησιν, ἐνεργουμένην ταῖς ἐντολαῖς. Καθ᾿ ἕτερον δέ τρόπον ὁπόταν ὁ τῆς εὐχῆς τοῦ δικαίου δεόμενος, τά ἔργα τῆς εὐχῆς διαπράττεται, (592) τόν τε πρότερον διορθούμενος βίον, καί τήν δέησιν τοῦ δικαίου ἰσχυράν διά τῆς οἰκείας καλῆς ἀναστροφῆς δυναμουμένην.

Οὐ γάρ ὄφελος τῆς τοῦ δικαίου δεήσεως, τοῦ ταύτης χρῄζοντος πλέον τῶν ἀρετῶν ἡδομένου τοῖς πλημμελήμασιν. Ἐπειδή καί ὁ μέγας ποτέ Σαμουήλ ἐπένθει πλημμελοῦντα τόν Σαούλ, ἀλλ᾿ οὐκ ἴσχυσε τόν Θεόν ἱλεώσασθαι, μή λαβών συλλήπτορα τοῦ πένθους τήν καθήκουσαν τοῦ πλημμελοῦντος διόρθωσιν. ∆ιό τοῦ ἀνονήτου πένθους ὁ Θεός καταπαύων τόν ἑαυτοῦ θεράποντα, φησί πρός αὐτόν, Ἕως πότε σύ πενθεῖς ἐπί Σαούλ· κἀγώ ἐξουδένωκα αὐτόν τοῦ μή βασιλεύειν ἐπί Ἰσραήλ.

Καί πάλιν Ἱερεμίας ὁ συμπαθέστατος, ὑπέρ τοῦ λαοῦ τῶν Ἰουδαίων περί τήν πλάνην μανέντος τῶν δαιμονίων, οὐκ εἰσακούεται προσευχόμενος, οὐκ ἔχων εἰς προσευχῆς δύναμιν, τήν ἀπό τῆς πλάνης τῶν ἀθέων Ἰουδαίων ἐπιστροφήν· ὅθεν τοῦ διακενῆς προσεύχεσθαι καί τοῦτον ἀπάγων ὁ Θεός, φησί, Καί σύ μή προσεύχου περί τοῦ λαοῦ τούτου, καί μή ἀξίου τοῦ ἐλεηθῆναι αὐτούς· καί μή εὔχου, καί μή προσέλθῃς μοι περί αὐτῶν ἔτι, ὅτι οὐκ εἰσακούσομαι.

Πολλῆς γάρ ὄντως ἐστίν ἀβελτηρίας, ἵνα μή λέγω παραφροσύνης, δι᾿ εὐχῆς δικαίων ἐπιζητεῖν τήν σωτηρίαν, τόν κατά διάθεσιν τοῖς ὀλεθρίοις ἡδόμενον· κἀκείνων αἰτεῖσθαι συγχώρησιν, οἷς ἐγκαυχᾶται κατ᾿ ἐνέργειαν προθέσει σπιλούμενος· δέον μή ἀργήν ἐᾷν γίνεσθαι καί ἀκίνητον τοῦ δικαίου τήν δέησιν τόν ταύτης δεόμενον, εἴπερ ἀληθῶς τοῖς πονηροῖς ἀπεχθάνεται· ἀλλ᾿ ἐνεργόν ποιεῖν, καί ἰσχυράν ταῖς οἰκείαις ἀρεταῖς πτερουμένην, καί φθάνουσαν τόν συγχώρησιν διδόναι τῶν πλημμεληθέντων δυνάμενον.

Εἴτε οὖν ἐκ τοῦ ποιουμένου τήν δέησιν δικαίου, εἴτε ἐκ τοῦ γίνεσθαι ταύτην αἰτουμένου τόν δίκαιον ἐνεργουμένη, πολύ ἰσχύει τοῦ δικαίου ἡ δέησις. Ὑπό μέν γάρ τοῦ δικαίου ἐνεργουμένη, δίδωσιν αὐτῷ παῤῥησίαν πρός τόν δοῦναι δυνάμενον