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the desire of the soul; which having departed from material things, the one who is meek by habit is sensible neither of those who praise nor of those who blame, as one being affected.

3. Ven. et. Fr. He speaks of unequal dispositions, the movements of both anger and desire, which form the soul according to themselves; from which the disciple of Christ must be free; neither slipping into pleasures by a pouring out of the blood around the heart, nor being driven mad toward anger by a boiling of the blood around the heart.

4. Fr. That is to say, of Greek and Jewish reasonings; of which in Christ there is none at all. For the word of Christ is equally pure of polyarchy and of the monarchy which is described in one person.

5. Fr. For not according to generation, or procession, that is, manifestation. 6. Fr. How can one forgive debtors their debts? 7. Fr. To the dispositions of our souls the divine is fittingly applied

justice, becoming for us such as we have made ourselves to one another; and establishing God for ourselves to be such as we have first disposed ourselves to be toward those who share our nature.

8. The principle of nature, he says, also becomes a law of nature, when it receives a consenting will for the activity of the natural powers.

ASCETIC DISCOURSE

By way of question and answer (912) BROTHER, THE ELDER. (912) 1. A brother asked an elder, saying: I beseech you, Father, to tell me, what is the

purpose then of the Lord's incarnation? And the elder, answering, said: I am amazed at you, Brother, that hearing the creed of the faith every day, you ask me about this. Nevertheless, I tell you that the purpose of the Lord's incarnation was our salvation. And the Brother said: How do you say, Father? And the elder answered: For since man, having been made by God from the beginning, and placed in paradise, by transgressing the commandment, fell into corruption and death; then, though guided by the manifold providence of God through every generation, he persisted in progressing toward the worse, being led by the various passions of the flesh to the despair of life; for this reason the only-begotten Son of God, the pre-eternal Word from God the Father, the fount of life and immortality, appeared to us who were sitting in darkness and the shadow of death; having been made flesh from the Holy Spirit and the holy Virgin; and He showed us a way of godlike life; and having given holy commandments, and having promised the kingdom of heaven to those who live according to them, and having threatened eternal punishment to the transgressors; and having suffered the saving passion, and having risen from the dead, He gave us the hope of the resurrection and of eternal life [Fr. altergue M. he bestowed on us] having undone through obedience the condemnation of the ancestral sin; and having abolished the power of death by death; so that, just as in Adam all die, so also in Him all will be made alive; and having ascended into heaven, and being seated at the right hand of the Father, He sent down the Holy Spirit as a pledge of life; and for the enlightenment and sanctification of our souls; and for the help of those who strive (913) for their own salvation to keep His commandments. This was the purpose of the Lord's incarnation, to speak in brief.

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ψυχῆς τήν ἐπιθυμίαν· ἧς ἀπογενομένης τῶν ὑλικῶν, οὔτε τῶν ἐπαινούντων, οὔτε τῶν ψεγόντων ὡς πάσχων, ὁ καθ᾿ ἕξιν πρᾶος αἰσθάνεται.

γ΄. Ven. et. Fr. Ἀνίσους διαθέσεις λέγει, τάς πρός ἑαυτάς τήν ψυχήν μορφούσας, τοῦ τε θυμοῦ καί τῆς ἐπιθυμίας κινήσεις· ὧν ἐλεύθερον εἶναι δεῖ τόν Χριστοῦ μαθητήν· μήτε χύσει τοῦ περί καρδίαν αἵματος πρός ἡδονάς ὀλισθαίνοντα, μήτε ζέσει τοῦ περί καρδίαν αἵματος πρός ὀργάς ἐκμαινόμενον.

δ΄. Fr. Λόγων δηλονότι Ἑλληνικοῦ καί Ἰουδαϊκοῦ· ὧν ἐν Χριστῷ παντελῶς οὐδείς. Ἐπίσης γάρ τῆς πολυαρχίας, καί τῆς ἑνί προσώπῳ περιγραφομένης μοναρχίας, ὁ τοῦ Χριστοῦ καθαρεύει λόγος.

ε΄. Fr. Οὐ γάρ κατά γέννησιν, ἤ πρόοδον, ἤτοι ἔκφανσιν. στ΄. Fr. Πῶς τις δύναται ἀφιέναι τοῖς ὀφειλέταις τά ὀφειλήματα; ζ΄. Fr. Ταῖς τῶν ψυχῶν ἡμῶν διαθέσεσιν ἡ θεία δεόντως ἐφαρμόζεται

δικαιοσύνη, τοιαύτη ἡμῖν γινομένη, οἵους ἀλλήλοις ἑαυτούς πεποιήμεθα· καί τοιοῦτον ἡμῖν αὐτοῖς τόν Θεόν καθιστῶσα, οἵους φθάσαντες τούς ὁμοιοπαθέσιν ἑαυτούς διεθήκαμεν.

η΄. Ὁ τῆς φύσεως λόγος, φησί, καί νόμος γίνεται φύσεως, λαμβάνων συμφωνοῦσαν τήν γνώμην εἰς ἐνέργειαν τῶν κατά φύσιν δυνάμεων.

ΛΟΓΟΣ ΑΣΚΗΤΙΚΟΣ

Κατά πεῦσιν καί ἀπόκρισιν (912) Α∆ΕΛΦΟΣ, Ο ΓΕΡΩΝ. (912) α΄. Ἀδελφός ἠρώτησεν γέροντα, λέγων· Παρακαλῶ σε, Πάτερ, εἰπεῖν μοι, τίς ὁ

σκοπός οὖν τῆς τοῦ Κυρίου ἐνανθρωπήσεως; Καί ὁ γέρων ἀποκριθείς εἶπε· Θαυμάζω σε, Ἀδελφέ, ὅτι καθ᾿ ἡμέραν τοῦ συμβόλου ἀκούων τῆς πίστεως, περί τούτου με ἐρωτᾷς. Πλήν λέγω σοι, ὅτι ὁ σκοπός τῆς τοῦ Κυρίου ἐνανθρωπήσεως, ἡ ἡμετέρα ἦν σωτηρία. Καί ὁ Ἀδελφός εἶπε· Πῶς λέγεις, Πάτερ; Καί ἀπεκρίθη ὁ γέρων· Ἐπειδή γάρ ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἀπ᾿ ἀρχῆς γεγονώς ὑπό τοῦ Θεοῦ, καί ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ τεθείς, τήν ἐντολήν παραβάς, τῇ φθορᾷ καί τῷ θανάτῳ ὑπέπεσεν· εἶτα τῇ ποικίλῃ τοῦ Θεοῦ προνοίᾳ κατά πᾶσαν γενεάν καί γενεάν κυβερνώμενος, ἐπέμενεν ἐπί τό χεῖρον προκόπτων, ὑπό τῶν ποικίλων τῆς σαρκός παθημάτων ἀγόμενος τῷ ἀπελπισμῷ τῆς ζωῆς· τούτου χάριν ὁ μονογενής τοῦ Θεοῦ Υἱός, ὁ προαιώνιος Λόγος ὁ ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ καί Πατρός, ἡ πηγή τῆς ζωῆς καί τῆς ἀθανασίας, ἐπέφανεν ἡμῖν τοῖς ἐν σκότει καί σκιᾷ θανάτου καθημένοις· σαρκωθείς ἐκ Πνεύματος ἁγίου, καί τῆς ἁγίας Παρθένου· καί πολιτείαν ἡμῖν θεοειδοῦς ζωῆς ἐπέδειξε· καί ἐντολάς ἁγίας δεδωκώς, καί βασιλείαν οὐρανῶν ἐπαγγειλάμενος τοῖς κατ᾿ αὐτάς πολιτευομένοις, καί κόλασιν αἰώνιον τοῖς παραβαίνουσιν ἀπειλήσας· καί παθῶν τό σωτήριον πάθος, καί ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀναστάς, τήν ἐλπίδα τῆς ἀναστάσεως καί τῆς αἰωνίου ζωῆς ἐδωρήσατο ἡμῖν [Fr. altergue M. ἡμῖν ἐχαρίσατο] τό κατάκριμα δι᾿ ὑπακοῆς λύσας τῆς προγονικῆς ἁμαρτίας· καί τό κράτος τοῦ θανάτου θανάτῳ καταργήσας· ἵνα, ὥσπερ ἐν τῷ Ἀδάμ πάντες ἀποθνήσκουσιν, οὕτως ἐν αὐτῷ πάντες ζωοποιηθήσονται· καί εἰς οὐρανούς ἀνελθών, καί ἐν δεξιᾷ τοῦ Πατρός καθεσθείς, τό Πνεῦμα τό ἅγιον κατέπεμψεν εἰς ἀῤῤαβῶνα τῆς ζωῆς· καί εἰς φωτισμόν καί ἁγιασμόν τῶν ἡμετέρων ψυχῶν· καί εἰς βοήθειαν τῶν ἀγωνιζομένων (913) ὑπέρ τῆς ἑαυτῶν σωτηρίας φυλάξαι τάς ἐντολάς αὐτοῦ. Οὗτος ἦν ὁ σκοπός τῆς τοῦ Κυρίου ἐνανθρωπήσεως, ὡς ἐν συντόμῳ εἰπεῖν.