1

Admonitiones spirituales

Spiritual admonitions.

62.741 It is time for you, then, to become sober and to shake everything off. Remember that today or tomorrow you are to see the heavens, and to behold the angels, and to stand before the fearful judgment seat, and to come before God in His tribunal, in the court of temperance and justice and truth, and to give an account of your whole life. If you wish to see the Holy One, sanctify yourself; if you wish to see the Holy and Undefiled One, purify yourself first. From the moment one comes to the fear of God, he has dedicated his whole self to God, and no longer has authority over himself; for he has enrolled himself under the law of God 62.742. Let him deny himself therefore and his own will, and let him follow God. What a sea has the conduct of this flesh raised up in life? how many waves has it wrought? how much turmoil? how many winds? how many shipwrecks? how many iniquities and sins? how many calamities and tragedies? how many evils in all the cities? how many in households? how many in the marketplace? What is its power? or what is its strength? It has all things full of fear. Its birth is fear, its death is fear, its life is fear, the things after death are unspeakable and indescribable. The turn of the scale is in our heart; there the scale inclines 62.743. Knock, be zealous, that it may be opened to you quickly; remember that after not long you leave behind all visible things, the heaven and the earth, people, affairs; remember that you are nothing, neither in body, nor in soul. A small care has troubled you, a small anxiety has struck you down, a small affliction has cast you down, a small pain has disturbed you, a mere word has beaten you down. And why do you not hate this life? But I say to you, that you ought to migrate, and above in the gates of heaven to fix a tent for yourself, and there to live alone, and to pray to God until death, that He may receive you kindly, and open to you in time quickly. Below on earth let the body bend the knee to God; and above let the soul entreat continually, casting itself on its face; let them contend, which will labor more in prayer. For you therefore the world has died, for you the coming judgment has come; as much as you can, push this one away, and remember that one.

It is better to consider the evils of the future life, than the goods of the present one; for those cause you the fear of God, but these plunder even what you have. In spiritual matters we are all orphans; we have no one, except God, as a helper, and our own zeal. Therefore, having scorned all things, let us take care of ourselves. Remember yourself and the evils that surround you; remember your sins, then, and your judgment; remember that you are a mortal and weak and wretched man, filthy and unclean; remember that you are a man living in an afflicted life and full of dangers, which has killed many, both good and bad, wise and unwise, rich and poor. Come, let's say, that you may eat and drink, and of one morsel you do not have security. Remember that you are a man, humbled bones from head to foot, not able to endure the toil of one day, or the vigil of one night; remember how many times you have offended God in deeds and words and thoughts; remember that you wrestle with a lion and a dragon day and night; consider how many souls are in Hades, because they despised the fear of God, begging to obtain a little relief, and not obtaining it, but in the lowest parts of the earth lamenting their fornications and their sloth and their luxuries, their wickednesses and their disputes. Remember that it will not be long before you must die and be judged, and this

1

Admonitiones spirituales

Νουθεσίαι πνευματικαί.

62.741 Καιρός σε λοιπὸν ἀνανῆψαι καὶ πάντα ἀποσείσασθαι. Μνήσθητι ὅτι σήμερον

ἢ αὔριον ἰδεῖν ἔχεις τοὺς οὐρανοὺς, καὶ τοὺς ἀγγέλους θεάσασθαι, καὶ παραστῆναι τῷ φοβερῷ βήματι, καὶ ἐλθεῖν ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν τῷ κριτηρίῳ αὐτοῦ, ἐν τῷ τῆς σωφροσύνης καὶ δικαιοσύνης καὶ ἀληθείας δικαστηρίῳ, καὶ λόγον δοῦναι παντὸς τοῦ βίου σου. Εἰ θέλεις ἰδεῖν τὸν ἅγιον, ἁγίασον σεαυτόν· εἰ θέλεις ἰδεῖν τὸν ἅγιον καὶ ἀμίαντον, ἅγνισον σεαυτὸν πρότερον. Ἀφ' οὗ τις ἔλθῃ εἰς τὸν φόβον τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὅλον ἑαυτὸν ἀνέθηκε τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ οὐκέτι ἔχει ἑαυτοῦ ἐξουσίαν· τῷ γὰρ νόμῳ τοῦ Θεοῦ 62.742 κατέγραψεν ἑαυτόν. Ἀρνησάσθω οὖν ἑαυτὸν καὶ τὰ θελήματα ἑαυτοῦ, καὶ ἀκολουθησάτω τῷ Θεῷ. Πόσην ἤγειρε θάλασσαν ἐν τῷ βίῳ ἡ πολιτεία τῆς σαρκὸς ταύτης; ὅσα κύματα εἰργάσατο; ὅσας ταραχάς; ὅσους ἀνέμους; ὅσα ναυάγια; ὅσας ἀνομίας καὶ ἁμαρτίας; ὅσας συμφορὰς καὶ τραγῳδίας; ὅσα κακὰ ἐν πάσαις ταῖς πόλεσιν; ὅσα κατ' οἴκους; ὅσα κατ' ἀγοράν; τίς ἡ δύναμις αὐτῆς; ἢ τίς ἡ ἰσχὺς αὐτῆς; ὅλα φόβου μεστὰ ἔχει. Ἡ γέννησις αὐτῆς φόβος, ὁ θάνατος φόβος, ἡ ζωὴ αὐτῆς φόβος, τὰ μετὰ θάνατον ἄῤῥητα καὶ ἀδιήγητα. Ῥοπὴ ζυγοῦ ἐστιν ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ ἡμῶν· ἐκεῖ ῥέπει 62.743 ζυγός. Κροῦσον, σπούδασον, ἵνα ἀνοιγῇ σοι ταχέως· μνήσθητι ὅτι μετ' οὐ πολὺ πάντα καταλιμπάνεις τὰ ὁρώμενα, τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν, τοὺς ἀνθρώπους, τὰ πράγματα· μνήσθητι ὅτι οὐδὲν εἶ, οὐ σώματι, οὐ ψυχῇ. Μικρὰ φροντὶς ἐτάραξέ σε, μικρὰ ἀγωνία κατέπληξέ σε, μικρὰ θλῖψις κατέβαλέ σε, μικρὸς πόνος ἐθορύβησέ σε, λόγος ψιλὸς κατεκτύπησέ σε. Καὶ διὰ τί μὴ μισήσῃς τὸν βίον τοῦτον; Ἐγὼ δέ σοι λέγω, ὅτι μετοικῆσαι ὀφείλεις, καὶ ἄνω ἐν ταῖς πύλαις τοῦ οὐρανοῦ πῆξαι σεαυτῷ σκηνὴν, καὶ ἐκεῖ καταμόνας διᾶξαι, καὶ δέεσθαι τοῦ Θεοῦ μέχρι θανάτου, ἵνα εὐμενῶς προσδέξηταί σε, καὶ ἀνοίξῃ σοι ἐν καιρῷ ταχέως. Κάτω ἐπὶ γῆς τὸ σῶμα κλινάτω γόνυ τῷ Θεῷ· καὶ ἄνω ἡ ψυχὴ παρακαλείτω διαπαντὸς, ἐπὶ πρόσωπον ἑαυτὴν ῥίπτουσα· φιλονεικήσωσι, τίς πλέον καμεῖ ἐν τῇ δεήσει. Κατὰ σὲ οὖν ὁ κόσμος ἀπέθανε, κατὰ σὲ ἦλθεν ἡ κρίσις ἡ μέλλουσα· ὅσον δύνασαι ταύτην ἄπωσαι, κἀκείνης μνημόνευε.

Βέλτιον τὰ κακὰ τῆς μελλούσης, ἢ τὰ ἀγαθὰ τῆς παρούσης λογίζεσθαι· ἐκεῖνά σοι φόβον Θεοῦ προξενεῖ, ταῦτα δὲ καὶ τὸν ὄντα συλᾷ. Ἐν τοῖς πνευματικοῖς πράγμασιν ὀρφανοί ἐσμεν ἅπαντες· οὐδένα ἔχομεν, εἰ μὴ τὸν Θεὸν, βοηθὸν, καὶ τὴν σπουδὴν ἑαυτῶν. Οὐκοῦν πάντων διαπτύσαντες, φροντίσωμεν ἑαυτῶν. Μνήσθητι σεαυτοῦ καὶ τῶν κακῶν τῶν περιεχόντων σε· μνήσθητι τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν σου λοιπὸν, καὶ τῆς κρίσεώς σου· μνήσθητι, ὅτι ἄνθρωπος εἶ θνητὸς καὶ ἀσθενὴς καὶ ταλαίπωρος, ῥυπαρὸς καὶ ἀκάθαρτος· μνήσθητι, ὅτι ἄνθρωπος εἶ ἐν βίῳ θλιβερῷ διάγων καὶ κινδύνων μεστῷ, πολλοὺς ἀποκτείναντι καὶ καλοὺς καὶ κακοὺς, σοφοὺς καὶ ἀσόφους, πλουσίους καὶ πένητας. Ἄγε, φέρε, ἵνα φάγῃς καὶ πίῃς, καὶ ἑνὸς ψωμοῦ οὐκ ἔχεις τὸ ἀσφαλές. Μνήσθητι, ὅτι ἄνθρωπος εἶ, ὀστέα τεταπεινωμένα ἀπὸ κεφαλῆς ἕως ποδῶν, μὴ δυνάμενος μιᾶς ἡμέρας ὑπενεγκεῖν κόπον, ἢ μιᾶς νυκτὸς ἀγρυπνίαν· μνήσθητι πόσα προσέκρουσας τῷ Θεῷ ἐν ἔργοις καὶ λόγοις καὶ ἐνθυμήμασι· μνήσθητι, ὅτι λέοντι καὶ δράκοντι παλαίεις ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτός· λόγισαι πόσαι εἰσὶν ἐν ᾅδου ψυχαὶ, ὅτι κατεφρόνησαν τοῦ φόβου τοῦ Θεοῦ, μικρᾶς ἀνέσεως παρακαλοῦσαι τυχεῖν, καὶ μὴ τυγχάνουσαι, ἀλλ' εἰς τὰ κατώτατα τῆς γῆς θρηνοῦσαι τὰς πορνείας ἑαυτῶν καὶ τὰς ῥᾳθυμίας καὶ τὰς τρυφὰς, τὰς πονηρίας αὐτῶν καὶ τὰς λογομαχίας. Μνήσθητι, ὅτι οὐκ εἰς μακράν σε δεῖ ἀποθανεῖν καὶ κριθῆναι, καὶ τοῦτο