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of righteousness has been in the enjoyment of good things, a mediator being found for them, between deficiency and excess.
264. Neither will the earth, unless it grants to the farmer a manifold return for his labor, make him wealthy and free from want, providing only the seed or even some small addition; nor can the accomplished work make the practical man righteous before God, unless his zeal is found to be better than his intention.
265. Neither are all who do not love their neighbor able to hate; nor are those who do not hate him able to love; and it is one thing to envy his virtue, but another not to be found an obstacle to his progress. And the lowest degree of wickedness will be found to be, (1456) not only to be stung by his accomplishments, but also to slander his good qualities, as if they were not such.
266. The passions of the body are one thing, and those of the soul are another; some are according to nature, and others are contrary to nature. He, then, who rejects the one, but takes no thought for the other, is like a man who erects a high and covered fence against wild beasts, but takes pleasure in the birds eating the visible grapes of the spiritual vineyard.
267. First the soul is in the imagination of evil; then in desire; then in pleasure or pain; then so in sensation; then after this in touch, both visible and invisible; in all things the thoughts following, except the first movement; which if it is not accepted, every evil after it will be found inoperative.
268. Those who approach dispassion are not shaken by imaginations; but those who are moderately affected, by desires; and those who are pleasure-loving, by attachments. And those who misuse things of need become sensible of evil, but are grieved; but in touch, those who engage in it without grief.
269. Pleasure is established in all the members of the body; but it does not appear to trouble all in the same way; but in some, more in the desiring part of the soul; in others, in the irascible part; and in others, in its reasoning part; through gluttony, irritability, and wickedness, the cause of all unholy passions.
270. Therefore, it is necessary to open the senses, as gates of the city. But it is necessary not to allow, in the opening for necessary things, those things that desire the enemy to enter with them, and become causes of battle.
271. The activity of pleasure is desire; of anger, irritability; of envy, wickedness becomes established. But he who does not struggle against the rulers is not at peace with the last things; nor can he who pursues the commandments by force enter into the harbor of moderate passion.
272. (1457) Those who repel the assaults do not allow thoughts to enter within the spiritual vineyard like wild beasts, and to cause ruin to its fruits; but others engage with them, and allow them to enter simply, but not to touch any of the same things; who also converse pleasantly with the passions through their thoughts, but not coming to consent, are likened to those who have allowed the wild boar to enter within the fence, but have not allowed it to be sated with the clusters of the vineyard; then they found it stronger than their own strength, those who are often found in consent to the passions.
273. He has not yet reached simplicity, who still needs the care of a fence for self-control. For the perfect man, it says, does not practice self-control; but he is like one having a vine, or a field, not in the midst of many other vineyards and fields, but somewhere in a corner; and for this reason needing much guarding and watchfulness. For of him who has reached simplicity, the vine becomes untouched by everything, as if of a king or
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δικαιοσύνης ἐν ἀπολαύσει γέγονεν ἀγαθῶν, μεσίτιδος εὑρισκομένης αὐτοῖς, ἐλλείψεως καί ὑπερβολῆς.
σξδ΄. Οὔτε ἡ γῆ εἰ μή πολυπλασίονα τῷ γεωργῷ τόν πόνον χαρίσηται, εὔπορον καί ἀνενδεῆ ἀπεργάσεται αὐτόν, μόνον τόν σπόρον παρεχομένη, ἤ καί μικράν τινα προσθήκην· οὔτε τῷ πρακτικῷ τό ἀνυόμενον ἔργον, εἰ μή κρεῖττον τῆς προαιρέσεως αὐτοῦ ἡ σπουδή εὑρεθείη, πρός τόν Θεόν δίκαιον ἀπεργάσασθαι δύναται.
σκε΄. Οὔτε πάντες οἱ μή ἀγαπῶντες τόν πλησίον μισεῖν δύνανται· οὔτε οἱ μή μισοῦντες αὐτόν ἀγαπᾷν· καί ἄλλο μέν ἐστι, τό βασκαίνειν ἐκείνου τήν ἀρετήν· ἕτερον δέ τό μή ἐμποδών αὐτῷ εὑρίσκεσθαι πρός προκοπήν. Ἐσχάτης δέ κακίας εὑρεθήσεται βαθμός, (1456) τό μή μόνον δάκνεσθαι ἐπί τοῖς ἐκείνου προτερήμασιν, ἀλλά καί τό διαβάλλειν τά ἐκείνου καλά, ὡς οὐ τοιαῦτα τυγχάνουσιν.
σκστ΄. Ἄλλα τά σωματικά πάθη, καί ἄλλα εἰσί τά ψυχικά· ἄλλα τά κατά φύσιν, καί ἄλλα τά παρά φύσιν. Ὁ γοῦν τά μέν ἀπωθούμενος, τῶν δέ πρόνοιαν μή ποιούμενος, ὅμοιός ἐστιν ἀνθρώπῳ φραγμόν μέν ὑψηλόν καί συνερεφῆ κατά τῶν θηρίων ἱστῶντι, συνηδομένῳ δέ τοῖς πτηνοῖς ἐσθίουσιν τάς τοῦ λογικοῦ ἀμπελῶνος περιφανεῖς σταφυλάς.
σκζ΄. Ἐν πρώτοις ἡ ψυχή ἐν φαντασίᾳ γίνεται τοῦ κακοῦ· εἶτα ἐν ἐπιθυμίᾳ· ἔπειτα ἐν ἡδονῇ ἤ λύπῃ· εἶθ᾿ οὕτως ἐν αἰσθήσει· εἶτα μετ᾿ αὐτήν ἐν ἀφῇ, τῇ φαινομένῃ καί ἀφανεῖ· ἐν πᾶσι συνεπομένων τῶν λογισμῶν, πλήν τῆς προτέρας κινήσεως· ἧς μή παραδεχομένης, πᾶν τό μετ᾿ αὐτήν κακόν ἀνενέργητον εὑρεθήσεται.
σκη΄. Οἱ μέν τῇ ἀπαθείᾳ ἐγγίζοντες, φαντασίαις [οὐ] σαλεύονται· ἐπιθυμίαις δέ, οἱ μετριοπαθεῖς· σχέσεσι δέ, οἱ ἡδυπαθεῖς. Ἐν αἰσθήσει δέ γίνονται τοῦ κακοῦ, οἱ παραχρώμενοι μέν τά τῆς χρείας, λυπούμενοι δε· ἐν δέ ἀφῇ, οἱ ἀλύπως αὐτῇ συγγινόμενοι.
σκθ΄. Ἡδονή, ἐν πᾶσι μέν τοῖς τοῦ σώματος ἐγκαθίδρυται μέλεσι· οὐ πᾶσιν δέ ὡσαύτως παρενοχλοῦσα φαίνεται· ἀλλά τοῖς μέν, μᾶλλον εἰς τό ἐπιθυμητικόν τῆς ψυχῆς μέρος· τοῖς δέ, εἰς τό θυμικόν· ἑτέροις δέ, εἰς τό ταύτης λογιστικόν· διά γαστριμαργίας, ὀξυχολίας τε καί πονηρίας, τῆς πάντων αἰτίου τῶν ἀνοσίων παθῶν.
σλ΄. Οὐκοῦν ἀνάγκη τά αἰσθητήρια, ὡς πύλας ἀνοίγειν τῆς πόλεως. Ἀνάγκη δέ μή συγχωρεῖν ἐν τῇ τῶν ἀναγκαίων ἀνοίξει, συνεισέρχεσθαι τά τούς πολεμίους θέλοντα, καί μάχης αἴτια καθιστάμενα.
σλα΄. Ἐνέργεια ἡδονῆς μέν, ἐπιθυμία· θυμοῦ δέ, ὀξυχολία· βασκανίας δέ, πονηρία καθίσταται. Οὐκ εἰρηνεύει δέ μετά τῶν ἐσχάτων, ὁ μή κατά τῶν ἀρχόντων ἀγωνιζόμενος· οὐδέ εἰς τόν τῆς μετριοπαθείας δύναται λιμένα εἰσέρχεσθαι, ὁ βίᾳ τάς ἐντολάς μετερχόμενος.
σλβ΄. (1457) Τάς προσβολάς οἱ ἀποκρουόμενοι, οὐ συγχωροῦσιν ἔνδοθεν τοῦ λογικοῦ ἀμπελῶνος ὡς θηρία τούς λογισμούς εἰσέρχεσθαι, καί τῶν ἐκείνου ἐν λύμῃ καθίστασθαι· οἱ δέ συνδυάζονται μέν, ἁπλῶς δέ εἰσέρχεσθαι αὐτούς συγχωροῦσιν, μή ἅπτεσθαι δέ μηδενός τῶν αὐτῶν· οἵ καί ἡδέως μέν συνομιλοῦσι τοῖς πάθεσι διά τῶν λογισμῶν, εἰς συγκατάθεσιν δέ μή ἐρχόμενοι, ὡμοιώθησαν τοῖς ἐάσασι τόν μονιόν ἔνδοθεν μέν τοῦ φραγμοῦ εἰσελθεῖν, ἐν κόρῳ δέ αὐτόν τῶν τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος γενέσθαι βοτρύων μή συγχωρήσασιν· εἶτα εὗρον αὐτόν τῆς ἑαυτῶν δυνάμεως ἰσχυρότερον, οἱ ἐν συγκαταθέσει πολλάκις παθῶν εὑρισκόμενοι.
σλγ΄. Οὔπω ἔφθασεν εἰς ἁπλότητα, ὁ ἔτι δεόμενος ἐπιμελείας φραγμοῦ τοῦ κατά τήν ἐγκράτειαν.Ὁ τέλειος γάρ, φησίν, οὐκ ἐγκρατεύεται· ἔοικε δέ τινι ἔχοντι ἄμπελον, ἤ ἄρουραν, οὐ μέσον πολλῶν ἄλλων ἀμπελώνων καί χώρων, ἀλλ᾿ ἐν γωνίᾳ που· καί διά τοῦτο δεομένῳ πολλῆς τῆς φυλακῆς καί τῆς νήψεως. Τοῦ γάρ εἰς ἁπλότητα φθάσαντος, ἐκ παντός ἀνέπαφος ἡ ἄμπελος γίνεται, βασιλέως καθάπερ ἤ