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Listen, I will now show you the eternal wealth; weep, repent, despise all things, become poor in spirit, become so also in heart, become possessionless in money, become a stranger to the world, become an enemy of your contrary wills and belong only to the will of your Master, and follow eagerly in His footsteps. And then the Master, walking more slowly, will willingly be overtaken by you, the wretched one; and seeing Him, shout and cry out loudly, and He will turn with a gracious eye and will look and grant you to see Him for a little while, and again He will leave you, being hidden from your eyes. Then you will lament, O wretched one, then you will weep painfully, then you will ask for death, not bearing the pain, not enduring the separation from the sweet Master. But the good one, seeing you at a loss and vehemently persisting in weeping and grief, will suddenly appear again, again He will illumine you, again He will show you the inexhaustible wealth, the unfading glory of the paternal face, and He will gladden you as before and will fill you with joy and so He will leave you, filled with joy. But little by little the joy will desert you because of worldly words and thoughts, and grief will befall you, (352) and so again, as before, you will be lamenting vehemently and crying out with wailing and seeking Him, the provider of gladness, the giver of joy, the wealth that is stable and always truly existing. As He thus tests your resolve, see to it that you do not grow weary, O soul, that you do not turn back, do not say: ‘Until when will He be so unattainable for me?’ Do not say: ‘Why, when He appears, does He immediately hide again, and for how long will He pitilessly provide me with labors?’ Do not say: ‘But how can I toil until the end?’ and grow hesitant, O soul, to seek the Master, but having given yourself over to death once for all, O soul, do not grope for rest, do not seek glory, nor the body's luxury, nor the friendship of relatives, do not look around to the right, nor to the left at all, but as you began, or rather, running more fervently, hasten always to overtake, to seize the Master. And even if He becomes invisible ten thousand times, so many times will He become visible to you, and thus the unattainable one will be attainable for you, ten thousand times, or rather, as long as you breathe at all, seek more eagerly and run toward Him. For He will not leave you, He will not forget you, but little by little He will indeed appear more fully and more frequently, O soul, the Master will be with you

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Ἄκουσον, ἄρτι δείξω σοι τόν αἰώνιον πλοῦτον˙ δάκρυσον, μετανόησον, καταφρόνησον πάντων, γενοῦ πτωχή τῷ πνεύματι, γενοῦ καί τῇ καρδίᾳ, γενοῦ ἀκτήμων χρήμασι, γενοῦ τοῦ κόσμου ξένη, γενοῦ τῶν θελημάτων σου ἐχθρά τῶν ἐναντίων καί μόνου τοῦ θελήματος γενοῦ τοῦ σοῦ ∆εσπότου καί ἀκολούθησον αὐτοῦ τοῖς ἴχνεσιν εὐτόνως. Καί τότε σχολαιότερον βαδίσας ὁ ∆εσπότης θέλων καταληφθήσεται ὑπό σοῦ τῆς ἀθλίας˙ αὐτόν δ᾿ ἰδοῦσα βόησον καί κραύγασον μεγάλως, αὐτός δ᾿ ἐπιστραφήσεται ὄμματι τῷ ἱλέῳ καί βλέψει καί παράσχει σοι μικρόν αὐτόν ἰδέσθαι καί πάλιν καταλείψει σε κρυβείς ἐξ ὀφθαλμῶν σου. Τότε θρηνήσεις, τάλαινα, τότε κλαύσεις ἐμπόνως, τότε αἰτήσεις θάνατον μή φέρουσα τόν πόνον, μή στέγουσα τόν χωρισμόν τοῦ γλυκέος ∆εσπότου. Αὐτός ἐξαποροῦσαν δέ ὁ ἀγαθός ἰδών σε καί σφοδρῶς ἐπιμένουσαν τῷ κλαυθμῷ καί τῇ λύπῃ πάλιν αἴφνης φανήσεται, πάλιν σε καταυγάσει, πάλιν καθυποδείξει σοι τόν ἀκένωτον πλοῦτον, τήν δόξαν τήν ἀμάραντον τοῦ πατρικοῦ προσώπου, καί εὐφρανεῖ σε ὡς τόν πρίν καί χαρᾶς σε ἐμπλήσει καί οὕτω καταλείψει σε τῆς χαρᾶς πεπλησμένην. Κατά μικρόν δέ ἡ χαρά τοῖς ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου λόγοις καί λογισμοῖς ἐκλείψει σε καί προσέσται σοι λύπη, (352) καί οὕτω πάλιν ὡς τό πρίν ἔσῃ σφοδρῶς θρηνοῦσα καί κοκυτῷ κραυγάζουσα κἀκεῖνον ἐκζητοῦσα, τόν εὐφροσύνην πάροχον, τόν τῆς χαρᾶς δοτῆρα, τόν πλοῦτον τόν ἱστάμενον καί ἀεί ὄντως ὄντα. Οὕτω σου τήν προαίρεσιν δοκιμάζοντος βλέπε, μή ἀποκάμῃς, ὦ ψυχή, μή στραφῇς εἰς τοὐπίσω, μή εἴπῃς˙ Μέχρι πότε μοι ἄληπτος οὕτως ἔσται; Μή εἴπῃς˙ Τί φαινόμενος εὐθύς κρύπτετααι πάλιν καί ἕως πότε κόπους μοι οὐκ ἐλεεῖ παρέχειν; Μή εἴπῃς˙ Πῶς δέ δύναμαι κοπιᾶν μέχρι τέλους; καί κατοκνήσῃς, ὦ ψυχή, ἐκζητεῖν τόν ∆εσπότην, ἀλλ᾿ ὡς πρός θάνατον σαυτήν ἅπαξ, ψυχή, ἐκδοῦσα μή ψηλαφήσῃς ἄνεσιν, μή ἐκζητήσῃς δόξαν, μηδέ τρυφήν τοῦ σώματος, μή συγγενῶν φιλίαν, μή περιβλέψῃ δεξιᾷ, μή εὐωνύμᾳ ὅλως, ἀλλ᾿ ὡς ἐνήρξω, μᾶλλον δέ θερμοτέρως δραμοῦσα σπεῦσον ἀεί καταλαβεῖν, δράξασθαι τοῦ ∆εσπότου. Κἄν μυριάκις ἄφαντος, τοσαυτάκις φανής σοι γένηται, καί ὁ ἄληπτος οὕτως ἔσται ληπτός σοι, μυριοντάκις, μᾶλλον δέ ἕως πνέεις ὅλως, προθυμοτέρως ζήτησον καί πρός ἐκεῖνον δράμε. Καί γάρ οὐ καταλείψει σε, οὐκ ἐπιλήσεταί σου, κατά μικρόν δέ μάλιστα ἐπί πλεῖον φανεῖται καί συχνοτέρως σοι, ψυχή, συνέσται ὁ ∆εσπότης