13–22

13. Believe in our Lord Jesus Christ and love Him with your whole being; keep yourself from unclean thoughts and from the craving for bodily pleasures, and, as it is said in the proverbs of Solomon, “neither be deceived by the feeding of the belly” (24:15). Beware of vainly exalting yourself, pray without ceasing and sing psalms both before going to sleep and when rising from sleep; study well all those commandments which Holy Scripture gives us to keep; always remember the deeds of the saints, so that your soul, remembering God’s commandments, may take as its example the very zeal of the Lord’s saints and martyrs. Strive especially to fulfil this counsel of the Apostle Paul: “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath” (Eph. 4:26). And consider that these words are spoken about every single commandment in general: that we should not only not meet the setting of the sun in anger, but should not pass the day in any other sin either; for it is good, and so it should be, that we be condemned neither by the sun for a sin of the day, nor by the moon for a transgression of the night, nor even for an evil thought or imagining.

14. If we want to keep ourselves from sin, we must hear and fulfil the word of the apostle when he counsels: “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” (1 Cor. 13:5). Therefore let each of us give himself an account every day of his deeds by day and by night; and if he ever sins, let him repent and sin no more. And if no sin is found during that day or night, let him not boast of this or exalt himself, saying, I am sinless, lest he fall into temptation; rather let him abide in virtue and not fail in diligence; let him not judge his neighbour and not count himself righteous, “until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts…” (1 Cor. 4:5). For often what we do is hidden even from ourselves. But the Lord sees everything and will bring everything to light in due time, even if we do not know our own sins. Therefore we must entrust everything to the Lord’s judgement and be forbearing toward one another, as though we were debtors to one another; and, as the Apostle Paul counsels, let us bear one another’s burdens and “so fulfil the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2). “For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself” (ibid., 3). Therefore let us judge ourselves, call ourselves to account for everything and strive to make up what we lack.

15. To fence ourselves off from sin we should do this also: let each of us note and write down his deeds and the movements of his soul, as though in order to tell another about them; and be assured that whoever does this will, out of fear of disclosure, certainly hold back from committing sin and will strive not to let anything evil and unseemly pass even through his thoughts. For is there a sinner who would want someone to be watching him while he commits a sin? And who among sinners will not try to lie, if only to hide his sin from people? If we watched one another, we should never give ourselves to fornication; and in the same way, if we write down our thoughts and imaginings with the intention of sharing them with one another, by this we shall better keep ourselves from unclean thoughts, since we shall be ashamed of disclosure. So let the writing down of our own deeds and thoughts take the place of our fellow-labourers’ eyes, so that we may not only not commit but never even in thought allow anything evil: for in writing them down we shall feel the same shame for our sins as we would if someone had seen us and reproved us! If we act in this way, that is, if we set down our daily deeds and every movement of the soul, then we shall be able to subdue and subject the body, to live a life pleasing to the Lord and to overcome the craft of the enemy of the human race.

16. I think that the grace of the Holy Spirit sooner fills those people who enter with their whole being upon the monastic course and from the very beginning resolve to stand firmly against the onslaught of the enemy and not to yield to the adversary in single combat even in the smallest thing, and to be so until they overcome him completely. At first, however, the Holy Spirit, who has called people to the monastic labour, arranges everything for them conveniently and well, so as in this way to make their entrance upon the labour of repentance easier; and only after this does He show them the truly hard road of such a labour. Helping them in every work, the Holy Spirit also declares to the ascetics what difficulties the labour of repentance holds, and appoints them the manner of how to deal both with the body and with the soul until they turn both wholly toward God, their Creator. To reach this end the Holy Spirit unceasingly urges them to labour tirelessly both in body and in soul, so that both, cleansed alike, may become equally worthy to inherit eternal life. For this, monks must temper the body by constant fasting, by toil and by frequent vigil, and the soul by spiritual work and great diligence in every kind of service and obedience that is performed by means of the body. Therefore we should always strive to do every work diligently and in the fear of God, and to do nothing superficially and carelessly; and then every work of ours will be fruitful and profitable for the soul.

17. In moving the penitent to spiritual labour, the Holy Spirit, who has called people to repentance, sends him consolation too and teaches him the means of not turning back once he has set out on this way and of not drawing near to anything earthly. For this He opens the penitent’s spiritual eyes and gives him the strength to behold all the beauty of purity, which is attained only by the labour of repentance; and by this way He kindles in the monk’s heart a strong striving toward the perfect cleansing of himself together with the body, so that both, the soul and the body of the person, may become cleansed alike. For this is precisely the aim of the instructing guidance of the Holy Spirit: to cleanse wholly the soul and body of a person and to raise him almost to that first state in which he dwelt in blessedness before the fall; and by the power of the Holy Spirit everything that was mixed into a person’s soul and body through the envy of the devil is blotted out, so that he has nothing of the enemy left. And then, when a person returns to his first state, that is, is again such as God created him, then the body will in everything obey the command of the mind, which by its strong will will limit it in eating and drinking, in sleep and in every other action, since the mind will be instructed unceasingly by the Holy Spirit. For the blessed Apostle Paul says too: “I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway” (1 Cor. 9:27).

18. It is known that three kinds of bodily power act in the body of a person. The first is the natural power, the inborn striving toward movement, which of itself, without the soul’s consent, brings forth nothing sinful or burdensome to the soul, but only makes us feel that this power exists and acts in our body. The second power is roused by the taking of excessive food and acts in our body when the blood, heated by rich and abundant food, stirs our body against the soul and breeds unclean desires in it. It is precisely of this that the apostle warns us: “Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18). So too our Lord Jesus Christ lays this as a covenant upon His disciples, and therefore upon us: “Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares” (Luke 21:34). And those people who are filled with zeal for the monastic labour and by this way have desired to gain perfect purity should strive especially to fulfil this counsel, so as to live in such a way that, like the apostle, they may be able to say: “I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection” (1 Cor. 9:27). The third power acts in a person’s body through the evil spirits, who are filled with envy against one who strives for purity and try, by setting this power in motion, to lead astray the one who has already set out on the path of purity (that is, the monk), or to turn back the soul that as yet only wishes to set out on this path (that is, one who only desires to enter the monastic labour). These three bodily powers act in the body of every person at all times.

19. Yet if a person arms himself with patience and firmly keeps the commandments given by God, then the Holy Spirit will become the guide of his mind and will teach him how, by what way and by what means to cleanse soul and body from the working of these powers. But if a person who has set out on the path of purity should at some time weaken in feeling and allow himself to disregard God’s commandments and to treat the Lord’s ordinances carelessly, in that case he will be overcome by the evil spirits, who will seize his whole body and begin to defile it by means of this bodily power. And the tormented soul will be brought so low that it will no longer know what to do and in despair will not be able to see from where any help may come to it. But after he, now sobered, turns again to the keeping of the Lord’s commandments and bows his neck under His yoke, or, understanding the force of his vow, again entrusts himself to the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit — then the soul of the person will again be filled with a saving disposition and will know that peace must be sought in God alone, and that only by keeping God’s commandments is it possible for it to abide in peace.

20. In the striving after perfect purity, the soul and the body of a person must bear equally and in agreement the labour of repentance and every weight that accompanies monastic struggle. And when his mind becomes worthy of such grace that, sparing and pampering himself in nothing, he begins the fight against his foul desires, then the Holy Spirit Himself will instruct him in this fight, will teach him everything and strengthen him. Strengthened in this way, a person’s soul will successfully begin to beat back those unclean powers which come from foul desires. This divine Spirit, joined and in accord with a person’s mind, that is, with the soul, because the soul has resolved to keep the Lord’s commandments strictly, directs all its effort to driving out of the soul every foul desire and every passion — both those bred by the body and mixed into the soul, and those existing in the soul itself apart from the body. The Holy Spirit teaches such a soul how to keep the whole body in order, from the crown of the head to the soles of the feet: that a person’s eyes should always look out with purity; that his ears should hear everything with peace and never delight in slander, denunciations, blame or reviling; that his tongue should speak only good, should weigh every word and should never allow anything unclean, coming from foul desire, to be mixed into his speech; that his hands should above all move for the labour of prayer and should work only to give alms generously and to do some useful work; that the belly of such a person should always take food and drink in due measure, only as much as is needed for the keeping of the body and for its existence, so as not to be enslaved to the temptation of gluttony and not to overstep the measure; that a person’s feet should always step uprightly and, by the will of God, labour only for the doing of good deeds. And when a person is thus taught by the Holy Spirit and cleanses his body of everything unseemly, he will grow used to always doing a good work; and, having wholly submitted to the Holy Spirit, he will in the end be so changed that in a certain measure he will partake of and gain those qualities of the spiritual body which the righteous are normally to gain after the resurrection from the dead, that is, at the hour of the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, “who shall come to judge the living and the dead.”

21. The soul of a person, as I have already said, has its own passions and unseemly desires, existing apart from the body. These are: pride, hatred, envy, anger, sloth and others of the kind. When the soul dedicates itself to God with all its effort, then the all-generous and merciful God grants it the spirit of true repentance and cleanses it from all these passions; and with this He teaches it what means to use so as not to be overcome by them again, and gives it strength to defeat the enemies, who rise up unceasingly against such a soul and try by a thousand temptations to carry it off again. And if a person’s soul is firm in its turning to God and is obedient in everything to the Holy Spirit, who teaches it repentance, the merciful God will have mercy on it for those labours and toils which it performs while lacking much and suffering hardship: for long fasting, for frequent wakefulness, for unceasing study of the word of God, for unflagging prayer, for keeping from every worldly comfort, for serving everyone with a pure heart, for humility and spiritual poverty. Therefore, if a person’s soul is firm and diligent in all this, the all-merciful God will look upon it with a forbearing eye, will deliver it from every temptation and will snatch it from the hand of the enemy.

22. God the Father in His goodness “spared not his own Son” (Rom. 8:32), the Only-begotten, and “delivered him up for us all” (ibid.), in order to redeem man from sin and from wickedness. And the Son of God, for our human salvation, humbled Himself, came down from heaven, clothed Himself in a human body, healed us of the sickness of the soul and so ordered things as to grant us the way of salvation. So I beseech you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: always know and keep in your mind the remembrance of this great divine providence, that is, that for our salvation He, God the Word, became like us human beings in everything except sin. And everyone who is endowed with understanding should know this with understanding and be filled with such zeal that he too, by the power of the Lord’s coming down into this world, may be freed from sins and may save his soul. Therefore those people who have known as they ought and have used to their own profit this great work of the Lord are His true servants. But the knowledge of this work alone does not yet mean the perfection of the one who knows. Spiritual perfection makes us attain adoption by God, and by its mercy the enlightenment of the divine light will be granted us in due time. So when our Lord Jesus Christ saw that the disciples had drawn near to adoption by God and, taught by the Holy Spirit, had now come to know Him, the true God, He addressed them thus: “Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you” (John 15:15). And the Lord’s disciples, who have understood what they have become through Jesus Christ, should cry out to Him thus, like the Apostle Paul: “…ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God” (Rom. 8:15–16). But the person who does not show full readiness to be freed from sin and is not diligent for the salvation of his own soul — let such a one know that the second coming of the Saviour Lord into this world will be for his judgement and condemnation. That is why at the very beginning Simeon, who received the Lord, cried out thus: “Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against” (Luke 2:34). And afterwards the Apostle Paul declared the same: “We are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved and in them that perish: to the one we are the savour of death unto death, and to the other the savour of life unto life” (2 Cor. 2:15–16).