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let us blame ourselves for the passions that hinder us, and blind our mind, so that we may be able to see the teachings concerning these things more clearly than the sun, and let us not deny the indwelling of grace.

78. God, who has promised you eternal good things, and has given the pledge of the Spirit in your heart, has commanded you to take care of your life, so that the inner man, having been freed from the passions, might begin from this point on the enjoyment of good things.

79. Having been deemed worthy of divine and lofty contemplations, take great care of love and self-control; so that, by keeping the passionate part undisturbed, you may have the unfailing light of the soul.

80. Bridle the irascible part of the soul with love; and wither its concupiscible part with self-control; and give wings to its rational part with prayer; and the light of the mind will never be dimmed.

81. The things that destroy love are these: for example, dishonor, loss, slander, whether concerning faith or life; beatings, blows, and the like; and these things happening either to oneself, or to one of one's relatives or friends. Therefore, he who for any of these things destroys love has not yet known what the purpose of Christ's commandments is.

82. Strive as much as you can to love every person. But if you are not yet able to do this, at least hate no one, but you cannot do even this, unless you despise the things of the world.

83. So-and-so has blasphemed; do not hate him, but the blasphemy, and the demon who prepared him to blaspheme. But if you hate the one who blasphemed, you have hated a man, and have transgressed the commandment; and what he did in word, you do in deed. But if you keep the commandment, show the things of love; and if you can do anything, help him, so that you may deliver him from the evil.

84. Christ does not want you to have hatred toward a person, or grief or anger or (1069) remembrance of wrongs at all, in any way, or for any temporary thing. And the four Gospels proclaim this in every way.

85. We who speak are many, but those who do are few. But no one ought to adulterate the word of God on account of his own negligence; but rather to confess his own weakness, and not to hide the truth of God; so that we may not become liable, along with the transgression of the commandments, for the misinterpretation of the word of God.

86. Love and self-control free the soul from passions; reading and contemplation deliver the mind from ignorance; and the state of prayer presents the mind itself to God.

87. When the demons see us despising the things of the world, so that we may not, on account of them, hate people and fall away from love, then they stir up slanders against us, so that, unable to bear the grief, we might hate those who slandered us.

88. There is no pain of the soul heavier than slander, whether someone is slandered with respect to faith or to life; and no one is able to despise it, except only the one who looks to God, like Susanna, who alone is able both to deliver from necessities, just as He did her, and to fully convince people, as also concerning her; and to comfort the soul with hope.

89. Insofar as you pray from the soul for the one who has slandered you, to that extent also God fully convinces those who were scandalized.

τέσσ. ἀνοικ. ΄. By nature, God alone is good; and by intention, only the one who imitates God is good. For his purpose is to join the wicked to the one who is good by nature, so that

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τῶν κωλυόντων ἡμᾶς, καί τόν νοῦν ἡμῶν ἐκτυφλούντων παθῶν, ὥστε δύνασθαι καί τρανότερον ἡλίου τούς περί τούτων λόγους ὁρᾷν, ἑαυτούς αἰτιασώμεθα, καί μή τήν τῆς χάριτος ἐνοίκησιν ἀρνησώμεθα.

οη΄. Ὁ ἐπαγγειλάμενός σοι Θεός τά αἰώνια ἀγαθά, καί τόν ἀῤῥαβῶνα τοῦ Πνεύματος ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ δεδωκώς, ἐνετείλατό σοι ἐπιμελεῖσθαί σε τοῦ βίου, ἵνα ὁ ἔσω ἄνθρωπος τῶν παθῶν ἐλευθερωθείς, ἄρξηται ἀπεντεῦθεν τῆς τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἀπολαύσεως.

οθ΄. Τῶν θείων καί ὑψηλῶν καταξιωθείς θεωρημάτων, σφόδρα ἐπιμελοῦ ἀγάπης καί ἐγκρατείας· ἵνα τό παθητικόν ἀτάραχον διαφυλάττων, ἀνέκλειπτον ἕξῃς τό τῆς ψυχῆς φέγγος.

π΄. Τό θυμικόν τῆς ψυχῆς, ἀγάπῃ χαλίνωσον· καί τό ἐπιθυμητικόν αὐτῆς ἐγκρατείᾳ καταμάρανον· καί τό λογικόν αὐτῆς προσευχῇ πτέρωσον· καί τό φῶς τοῦ νοῦ οὐκ ἀμαυροῦταί ποτε.

πα΄. Τά τήν ἀγάπην λύοντα, εἰσί ταῦτα· οἷον, ἀτιμία, ζημία, συκοφαντία, ἤ εἰς πίστιν,ἤ εἰς βίον· δαρμοί, πληγαί, καί τά ἑξῆς· καί ταῦτα ἤ αὐτῷ συμβαίνοντα, ἤ τινι τῶν αὐτοῦ συγγενῶν ἤ φίλων.Ὁ οὖν διά τι τούτων λύων τήν ἀγάπην, οὔπω ἔγνω τίς ὁ σκοπός τῶν τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐντολῶν.

πβ΄. Σπούδασον ὅσον δύνασαι πάντα ἄνθρωπον ἀγαπῆσαι. Εἰ δέ τοῦτο οὔπω δύνασαι, κἄν μηδένα μισήσῃς, οὐ δύνασαι δέ οὐδέ τοῦτο ποιῆσαι, εἰ μή τῶν τοῦ κόσμου πραγμάτων καταφρονήσῃς.

πγ΄. Ὁ δεῖνα ἐβλασφήμησε· μή μισήσῃς ἐκεῖνον, ἀλλά τήν βλασφημίαν, καί τόν βλασφημῆσαι παρασκευάσαντα δαίμονα. Εἰ δέ τόν βλασφημήσαντα μισεῖς, ἄνθρωπον ἐμίσησας, καί τήν ἐντολήν παρέβης· καί ὅπερ ἐκεῖνος τῷ λόγῳ ἐποίησε, ποιεῖς σύ τῷ ἔργῳ. Εἰ δέ τήν ἐντολήν φυλάττεις, τά τῆς ἀγάπης ἐπίδειξαι· καί εἴ τι δύνασαι, βοήθησον, ἵνα τοῦ κακοῦ αὐτόν ἀπαλλάξῃς.

πδ΄. Οὐ θέλει σε ὁ Χριστός μῖσος ἔχειν πρός ἄνθρωπον, ἤ λύπην ἤ ὀργήν ἤ (1069) μνησικακίαν τοσύνολον καθ᾿ οἱονδήποτε τρόπον, ἤ δι᾿ οἱονδήποτε πρᾶγμα πρόσκαιρον. Καί τοῦτο πάντη βοῶσι τά τέσσαρα Εὐαγγέλια.

πε΄. Πολλοί ἐσμεν οἱ λέγοντες, ὀλίγοι δέ οἱ ποιοῦντες. ἀλλ᾿ οὖν τόν λόγον τοῦ Θεοῦ οὐδείς ὤφειλε νοθεύειν διά τήν ἰδίαν ἀμέλειαν· ἀλλ᾿ ὁμολογεῖν μέν τήν ἑαυτοῦ ἀσθένειαν, μή ἀποκρύπτειν δέ τήν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀλήθειαν· ἵνα μή ὑπόδικοι γενώμεθα, μετά τῆς τῶν ἐντολῶν παραβάσεως, καί τῆς τοῦ λόγου τοῦ Θεοῦ παρεξηγήσεως.

πστ΄. Ἀγάπη καί ἐγκράτεια, παθῶν τήν ψυχήν ἐλευθεροῦσιν· ἀνάγνωσις καί θεωρία, ἀγνοίας τόν ἀπαλλάττουσιν· ἡ δέ τῆς προσευχῆς κατάστασις, αὐτῷ παρίστησιν αὐτόν τῷ Θεῷ.

πζ΄. Ὅταν ἴδωσιν ἡμᾶς οἱ δαίμονες τῶν πραγμάτων τοῦ κόσμου καταφρονοῦντας, ἵνα μή δι᾿ αὐτά τούς ἀνθρώπους μισήσωμεν καί τῆς ἀγάπης ἐκπέσωμεν, τότε συκοφαντίας καθ᾿ ἡμῶν ἐγείρουσιν, ἵνα τήν λύπην μή φέροντες, τούς συκοφαντήσαντας μισήσωμεν.

πη΄. Οὐκ ἔστι πόνος ψυχῆς βαρύτερος συκοφαντίας, κἄν τε εἰς πίστιν, κἄν τε εἰς βίον τις συκοφαντεῖται· καί οὐδείς ταύτης καταφρονεῖν δύναται, εἰ μή μόνος ὁ εἰς Θεόν ἀποβλεπόμενος ὡς ἡ Σωσάννα, τόν μόνον δυνάμενον καί ἐξ ἀναγκῶν ῥύσασθαι ὥσπερ κἀκείνην, καί τούς ἀνθρώπους πληροφορῆσαι, ὡς καί περί ἐκείνης· καί τήν ψυχήν τῇ ἐλπίδι παραμυθήσασθαι.

πθ΄. Ὅσον εὔχῃ ἐκ τῆς ψυχῆς ὑπέρ τοῦ συκοφαντήσαντος, τοσοῦτον καί ὁ Θεός πληροφορεῖ τούς σκανδαλισθέντας.

τέσσ. ἀνοικ. ΄. Φύσει ἀγαθός μόνος ὁ Θεός· καί γνώμῃ ἀγαθός, μόνος ὁ θεομίμητος. Σκοπός γάρ αὐτῷ ἐστι, τῷ φύσει ἀγαθῷ τούς πονηρούς συνάψαι, ἵνα