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De pace i

ORATION VI.

On Peace I, on the union of the monks, after the silence, in the presence of his father.

I. Eagerness loosens my tongue, and I disregard the law of man for the sake of the law of the Spirit; and I give my speech to peace, having never before conceded it to anyone. For formerly, when the members were at strife with us, and the great and precious body of Christ was being divided and torn apart, so that our bones were all but scattered by the gates of Hades, like a deep clod of earth broken by the plough and scattered upon the ground, and the evil one, having cut up the seamless, and indivisible, and woven from the top throughout tunic, had made it all his own, having been able to do this through us, which he was not strong enough to do through those who crucified Christ; then indeed I set a watch upon my lips, which were not otherwise eager for speaking, because to first purify myself by the philosophy of deeds, then, having opened the mouth of my mind to draw in spirit, then to utter a good word, and to speak the perfect wisdom of God among the perfect, I considered to be of spiritual sequence; and just as there is a time for every matter, both small and great (for the saying of Solomon is right and very well-considered), so also, if anyone else, I knew there was a time for speech and for silence.

II. For this reason I became deaf and was humbled, being far from all good; and something like a cloud, running under my heart, covered up the ray of reason, and my pain was renewed night and day. And all things were fuel and reminders to me of the separation of the brethren: vigils, fasts, prayers, tears, calluses of knees, of chests, 35.724 rebukes, a groan sent up from the depths, all-night standing, the departure of the mind towards God, a gentle lamentation in prayer, a medicine of compunction for those who hear, those who sing psalms, those who give glory, those who meditate on the law of the Lord day and night, those who bear the high praises of God in their throats; and indeed these beautiful outlines and proclamations of the life according to God: the silent heralds, unkempt and dirty hair, bare feet, following the apostolic way, bearing nothing dead, a moderate tonsure, a garment that chastens pride, a belt that brings order to the unadorned, lifting up the tunic a little, and only so much as not to lift it up, a steady gait, an eye not wandering, a gracious smile, or rather the impulse of a smile, chastening the intemperance of laughter, speech moved by reason, silence more precious than speech, praise seasoned with salt, not for flattery, but for guidance to the better, a rebuke more desirable than praise, measures of dejection and relaxation, and the mixture and blending of both, the gentle with the noble, the austere mingled with modesty, so that neither is harmed by the other, but both are approved through each other; measures of mingling in the community and of withdrawal, the one training others, the other initiating into the Spirit, and the one preserving in community that which is not common, the other, in solitude, that which is brotherly and humane; and things still greater and loftier than these: wealth in poverty, possession in sojourning, glory in dishonor, power in weakness, fruitfulness in celibacy (if indeed the offspring according to God are better than those that begin from the flesh); those who live luxuriously by not living luxuriously, the humble for the sake of heavenly things; those who have nothing

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De pace i

ΛΟΓΟΣ ςʹ.

Εἰρηνικὸς Αʹ, ἐπὶ τῇ ἑνώσει τῶν μοναζόντων, μετὰ τὴν σιωπὴν, ἐπὶ παρουσίᾳ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ.

Αʹ. Λύει μου τὴν γλῶτταν ἡ προθυμία, καὶ περιφρονῶ τὸν ἀνθρώπινον νόμον διὰ τὸν νόμον τοῦ Πνεύματος· καὶ δίδωμι τῇ εἰρήνῃ τὸν λόγον, οὔπω πρότερον οὐδενὶ συγχωρήσας. Πρότερον μὲν γὰρ ἡνίκα ἐστασίαζε πρὸς ἡμᾶς τὰ μέλη, καὶ τὸ μέγα καὶ τίμιον σῶμα τοῦ Χριστοῦ διῃρεῖτο καὶ διεκόπτετο, ὡς μικροῦ καὶ διασκορπίζεσθαι τὰ ὀστᾶ ἡμῶν παρὰ τὸν ᾅδην, οἷον γῆς βάθος ἀρότρῳ ῥηγνύμενον, καὶ κατὰ γῆς σκεδαννύμενον, καὶ τὸν ἄτμητον, καὶ ἀμέριστον, καὶ ὑφαντὸν δι' ὅλου χιτῶνα κατατεμὼν ὁ πονηρὸς ὅλον ἑαυτοῦ πεποίητο, τοῦτο δι' ἡμῶν δυνηθεὶς, ὃ διὰ τῶν τὸν Χριστὸν σταυρωσάντων οὐκ ἴσχυσεν· τότε μὲν δὴ φυλακὴν ἐθέμην τοῖς χείλεσιν, οὐδ' ἄλλως προθύμοις οὖσι περὶ τὸν λόγον, ὅτι τῇ δι' ἔργων φιλοσοφίᾳ καθᾶραι πρῶτον ἐμαυτὸν, εἶτα τὸ στόμα τῆς διανοίας ἀνοίξας ἑλκῦσαι πνεῦμα, εἶτα ἐξερεύξασθαι λόγον ἀγαθὸν, καὶ λαλεῖν Θεοῦ σοφίαν τελείαν ἐν τοῖς τελείοις, ἀκολουθίας εἶναι πνευματικῆς ὑπελάμβανον· καὶ ὥσπερ καιρὸς ἐπὶ παντὶ πράγματι καὶ μικρῷ καὶ μείζονι (τὸ γὰρ τοῦ Σολομῶντος εὖ ἔχει καὶ λίαν ἐπεσκεμμένως), οὕτω καὶ λόγου καὶ σιωπῆς, εἰ καί τις ἄλλος, καιρὸν ἐγίνωσκον.

Βʹ. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ἐκωφώθην καὶ ἐταπεινώθην, πόῤῥω παντὸς ἀγαθοῦ γενόμενος· καὶ οἷόν τι νέφος τὴν ἐμὴν καρδίαν ὑποδραμὸν συνεκάλυψε τὴν ἀκτῖνα τοῦ λό γου, καὶ τὸ ἄλγημά μου νυκτὸς καὶ ἡμέρας ἀνεκαι νίζετο. Καὶ πάντα μοι ἦν ὑπεκκαύματα καὶ ὑπομνή ματα τῆς τῶν ἀδελφῶν διαζεύξεως, ἀγρυπνίαι, νηστεῖαι, προσευχαὶ, δάκρυα, τύλοι γονάτων, στηθῶν, 35.724 ἐπιτιμήσεις, στεναγμὸς ἐκ βάθους ἀναπεμπό μενος, στάσις πάννυχος, νοῦ πρὸς Θεὸν ἐκδημία, θρῆνος ἐν δεήσει λεπτὸς, φάρμακον τοῖς ἀκούουσι κατανύξεως, οἱ ψάλλοντες, οἱ δοξάζοντες, οἱ μελε τῶντες τὸν νόμον Κυρίου ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτὸς, οἱ τὰς ὑψώσεις τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν τοῖς λάρυγξι φέροντες· καὶ ταῦ τα δὴ τὰ καλὰ τοῦ κατὰ Θεὸν βίου προγράμματα καὶ μηνύματα, οἱ σιωπῶντες κήρυκες, αὐχμῶσα καὶ πιναρὰ κόμη, πόδες γυμνοὶ καὶ τοῖς ἀποστολικοῖς ἑπόμενοι, μηδὲν νεκρὸν φέροντες, κουρὰ σύμμετρος, περιβολὴ τύφον κολάζουσα, ζώνη τῷ ἀκόσμῳ κοσμία, μικρόν τι τοῦ χιτῶνος ἀναστέλλου σα, καὶ ὅσον μὴ ἀναστέλλειν, βάδισμα εὐσταθὲς, ὀφθαλμὸς οὐ πλανώμενος, μειδίαμα προσηνὲς, μᾶλ λον δὲ ὁρμὴ μειδιάματος, ἀκρασίαν γέλωτος σωφρο νίζουσα, λόγος τῷ λόγῳ κινούμενος, σιωπὴ λόγου τιμιωτέρα, ἔπαινος ἅλατι ἠρτυμένος, οὐ πρὸς θω πείαν, ἀλλ' ὁδηγίαν τοῦ κρείττονος, ἐπίπληξις εὐφημίας ποθεινοτέρα, μέτρα κατηφείας καὶ ἀνέσεως, καὶ ἡ δι' ἀμφοτέρων μίξις καὶ κρᾶσις, τὸ ἁπαλὸν τῷ γενναίῳ, τὸ αὐστηρὸν αἰδοῖ σύγκρατον, ὡς μηδ' ἕτερον ὑπὸ τοῦ ἑτέρου παραβλάπτεσθαι, ἀλλ' ἀμφότερα δι' ἀλλήλων εὐδοκιμεῖν· μέτρα τῆς εἰς τὸ κοινὸν ἐπιμιξίας καὶ ὑποχωρήσεως, τῆς μὲν τοὺς ἄλλους παιδαγωγούσης, τῆς δὲ τῷ Πνεύματι μυσταγωγούσης, καὶ τῆς μὲν ἐν τῷ κοινῷ τὸ ἄκοινον φυλαττούσης, τῆς δὲ ἐν τῷ ἀμίκτῳ τὸ φιλάδελφον καὶ φιλάνθρωπον· καὶ ἃ μείζω τούτων ἔτι καὶ ὑψηλότερα, ὁ ἐν πενίᾳ πλοῦτος, ἡ ἐν παροικίᾳ κατάσχεσις, ἡ ἐν ἀτιμίᾳ δόξα, ἡ ἐν ἀσθενείᾳ δύναμις, ἡ ἐν ἀγαμίᾳ καλλιτεκνία (εἴπερ κρείττονα τῶν ἀπὸ σαρκὸς ἀρχο μένων τὰ κατὰ Θεὸν γεννήματα)· οἱ τρυφῶντες τῷ μὴ τρυφᾷν, οἱ ταπεινοὶ ὑπὲρ τῶν οὐρα νίων· οἱ μηδὲν