55. In this office, that is, to one's neighbor, a person becomes blind because he does not heed the office of God, and in this office he becomes blind and erroneous. God commanded us not to do evil, so to do good to our neighbor. Therefore, a person, when he either does evil or does not do good to his neighbor, does not listen to the command of God, and does not revere the God who commands, does not fear, does not love; and so, not fulfilling his duty to his neighbor, he leaves his office to God. And from this it is evident that the duty to one's neighbor from the office to God is inseparable, and one cannot be fulfilled without the other. He does not honor God who forsakes his duty to his neighbor; he does not fear God, who is not afraid to do evil to his neighbor; and he does not love God who does not love his neighbor. The Apostle teaches us about this: "Whoever says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, is a liar" (1 John 4:20). For God commanded us to love our neighbor: "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" (Matt. 22:39); - and again: "This I command you, that you love one another" (John 15:17). Therefore, whoever does not love his neighbor does not listen to God, Who commands him to love his neighbor, and so does not honor Him. The root and source of all piety is true knowledge of God. And just as a pious life is a testimony to the knowledge of God, so a sinful and lawless life is a proof of God's ignorance and a godless heart, even if such a person confesses God and Christ, goes to church, prays, communes of the Mysteries, and shows other signs of Christianity.

56. Since God, as a Spirit, not subject to any senses, is seen not with the eyes of the body, but with the eyes of the soul, therefore the sinner does not know Him, and, not knowing Him, does not revere Him, for the darkness of sin has blinded his spiritual eyes. From whence it comes, it does something, it strives for it, it only seeks that which is subject to its external feelings. Because he sees his father, sees his master, sees his master, then he honors them, listens to them, tries to serve and please them, and takes care to offend and anger them; he sees judgment and temporal punishment and fears them; He sees the honor, glory, and riches of this world, and therefore desires them and seeks them. But he does not see God and eternal glory, and honor, and riches, so he does not try to please God, so he does not try to seek that eternal treasure. Whoever does not see or know what does not want and does not seek it. He does not desire honey or the fruits of the earth and trees, until he knows the taste of their sweetness: we must first taste them, whether they are sweet or bitter, useful or harmful to us, and so desire or reject them. A merchant does not go to that country where he does not hope to find profit for himself; The foolish lad does not see any benefit in science, and therefore he does not care about learning. So it is with spiritual things: whoever does not have spiritual enlightenment in himself about them, does not strive for them, does not desire them, and does not seek them. The sinner has not tasted "how good the Lord is," and does not seek Him. He does not feel God's blessings in his heart - and does not thank God. He does not know the omnipotence and majesty of God - and does not tremble before Him. He does not know His truth, and does not believe Him. He does not know the truth - and is not afraid to anger Him. He does not know how great sweetness, and peace, and peace are found in Christian love and in all piety, and he does not strive for this. He does not see eternal bliss - and does not properly seek what he does not see. You must first know, and then seek what you will know. It is necessary to know God in His attributes - and then to revere Him. To know that He is the Creator, the Redeemer, the Providence, the Lord and the King of all, and that as your Creator, Redeemer, Provider, Lord and King, you revere and obey His will and commands, as your father, who begat you, your lord and king. It is necessary to know that He is God, Helper, Defender and Intercessor, as well as yours, and there is none else besides Him. And so to put our hope in Him, and in the day of trouble and misfortune to run to Him and call upon Him, and to ask for help and protection from Him, and so on. It must be kept without doubt that those who worship God in the age to come will have eternal bliss and incomprehensible to the mind, and thus the desire and diligence to receive it will be kindled. Thus the farmers first look upon the fruits of the earth, and thus, hoping to gather the fruits, they labor in agriculture. Such miners first know where the ore is in the ground, whether copper, or iron, or silver, and then they dig it. Thus, with the eye of faith, one must first see the life to come, and so by faith seek it, and wait for it, and hope to receive it, as it is written about Moses: "He refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, and would rather suffer with the people of God than have a temporal pleasure of sin, and he considered the reproach of Christ to be greater riches for himself than the treasures of Egypt; for he looked to the recompense" (Hebrews 11:24-26). And for what reason did he despise all the glory and wealth of Egypt? For with the eye of faith he saw the future glory and life, and despised the earthly as nothing, and sought it, "for he looked upon the recompense." In the same way, whoever sees the future life and glory of God's chosen ones with the eye of faith will surely despise the glory, honor, riches, and all the vanity of this world, and will strive for this one as his goal and priceless treasure. You see that every thing is first known, and so it is desired and demanded, for what we do not know, we do not desire and do not seek. And from this it is evident that every sinner does not revere God, does not fear and does not love Him, because he does not know Him; and he does not desire or seek the future life and glory in due course, because he does not see it. He does not know God and does not see that glory, because he does not have spiritual eyes, enlightened by His faith and grace, by which only God and that glory are seen. Such Christians have darkness and darkness on their spiritual eyes, like a veil, and does not allow them to see God and His glory. And it will lie until they turn with all their hearts to the Lord, as the Apostle wrote about the Jews: "Until now, when they read Moses, a veil lies over their hearts; but when they turn to the Lord, then the veil is removed" (2 Corinthians 3:15-16). With this veil the eyes of the soul are covered, although they read and listen to the Holy Scriptures, they do not understand, as the Apostle says of the Jews in the same place: "But their minds are blinded" (2 Corinthians 3:14), and so they become blind both in the knowledge of God and in the worship of Him. This blindness and darkness lies on the heart of every sinner who has not turned from the world and sin to God.

57. The image of terrible blindness is presented to us by the Scriptures in the old Israel. The Lord performed all kinds of miracles before them in the land of Egypt, as we read in the Book of Exodus and in the Psalms: "He sent darkness and brought darkness, for they resisted His words; He turned their waters into blood, and killed the fish in them; their land has boiled with frogs, even in the treasuries of their kings; And he commanded, and the flies and gnats of the dog appeared in all their borders; instead of rain he sent them hail and fire, scorching their land; And he smote their vineyards and their figs, and broke down every tree within them. He commanded, and locusts and caterpillars without number appeared, and they ate all the grass in their land, and ate all the fruit in their land. and smote every firstborn in their land, the firstfruits of all their labor" (Psalm 104:28-36). But the holy prophet confesses to the Lord: "Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Thy wonders" (Psalm 105:7), when those terrible plagues of the Egyptians, the enemies of Israel, struck down, but did not touch the Israelites, as we read in the Book of Exodus. This very thing, as it were, showed them with a finger the special Providence of God and mercy for them; but they "did not understand the miracles of God, nor remembered the mercy of God." To those who came out of Egypt and fled from their enemies, the Lord opened the way, and there where there was no way, "He divided the sea, and led them along" (Psalm 77:13), "and held back the Red Sea, and it was dried up, and led them through the abyss as in the wilderness" (Psalm 105:9). They also saw their enemies with water, as with one grave, covered: "The water covered their oppressors, not one of them remained"; they also sang the praise of God (Psalm 105:11-12). "But soon they forgot" such great and terrible works of God: "hastening, forgetting His works." They made a golden calf; instead of God the Creator, their Father and Deliverer, they honored the soulless idol and worshipped the work of their hands: "And they made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the image: and they exchanged His glory for the likeness of a calf eating grass. And they forgot God, who saves them, who did great things in Egypt, miracles in the land of Ham, terrible things in the Red Sea" (Psalm 105:13, 19-22). They ascribed such a miraculous blessing of God to a soulless thing and to the creation of their hands: "Behold thy god, O Israel, who brought thee up out of the land of Egypt" (Exodus 32:4). Terrible blasphemy and blindness! A soulless thing, immovable of itself, what help can give, especially to do such a wonderful deed.. But blinded Israel stretches out her hands and cries: "Behold your god, Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!" Called to eternal life and the heavenly kingdom, as the promised land, boiling with honey and milk; but they want and strive in this world to become rich, to be glorified, to reign, and, if possible, to abide forever - as is evident from their insatiable desire for wealth, honor, glory and superfluous buildings. Consider whether it would not be great folly for a man who, being in a foreign country, and soon having to return to his home, began to build there rich houses, which he would soon be forced to leave, and so only his labor would be useless; Or one who, having been informed that he will die soon, in two days or two weeks, nevertheless gathers wealth, seeks honor and glory? Truly, anyone would call both senseless! Thus do those people who in this world build rich and superfluous buildings, accumulate great treasures, seek honor and glory, knowing that all these things must soon be left in this country and go to their place without all this. No one takes anything from this world with him, "for we have brought nothing into the world; it is evident that we can take nothing out of it" (1 Tim. 6:7). And although to every one of those who gather, and not in God, the voice of God thunders: "Fool! this night thy soul shall be taken from thee; Who will get what you have prepared?" (Luke 12:20)

With such people, darkness and darkness lie on the spiritual eye and blind it. Although they are rich, they do not see their poverty. Although they are glorious, they do not see their meanness and poverty. Though they are wise, they do not see their foolishness and blindness. Although they consider themselves blessed, they do not see their wretchedness.

58. As long as a person is in such blindness, he thinks of himself that he is doing everything right and reasonably; But in fact, all his actions, deeds, plans and undertakings are one delusion. For the heart, from which all things proceed, filled with vanity and filled with worldly love, is nothing else but conceiving vain things and producing them into action? And such a one is in all things like a blind man or one who is in darkness, who, although all dirty, nevertheless thinks that he is clean; although he has lost his way and is wandering, yet he thinks that he is following the right path. And this blindness is all the more disastrous because man does not see it, and the knowledge of it is the beginning of spiritual bliss. And this blindness is noticeable not only in simple and illiterate people, but also in the wise and prudent of this age, who dream of something lofty about themselves and separate themselves from the simple, unlettered and ignorant. For where there is immoderate self-love and love of this world, there this blindness has its place. Self-love and worldly love do not exist without darkness.

59. If a person is not delivered from that calamitous blindness and is not enlightened by the light of God's grace; then it will lead him to a calamitous state and a late but useless repentance, described in the Book of the Wisdom of Solomon, where the wicked, having learned their error late, in distress of spirit sigh, repent, and say: "We have gone astray from the way of truth, and the light of righteousness has not shone upon us, and the sun has not shone upon us. We were filled with works of iniquity and destruction, and walked in impassable wildernesses, and did not know the way of the Lord" (Wis. 5:6-7).

60. In order for us, Christians, to get rid of this blindness and not to come to that unfortunate, late, and useless repentance, we must do the following: 1) Listen with diligence to the lamp of God's word, which shines to all and enlightens those who love him, and look upon him, and hearken to him. To hearken, I say, "as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day begins to dawn, and the morning star rises in your hearts" (2 Peter 1:19). For the word of God, as a spiritual luminary, drives away darkness and illumines the eyes of the soul, reveals the vanity and charm of the world, exposes our self-love and our sins - like a mirror shows the impurity and vices of the face that looks into it. 2) To do not what the lustful heart wants, but what the word of God teaches, although this is contrary to the blind mind and sorrowful to the heart. And to imitate in such an important matter the weak, who, wishing to be healed, take unpleasant and bitter medicine, in order only to be freed from illness. Thus, he who wishes to be freed from blindness must compel and persuade himself to what the word of God prescribes, and turn away from what it prohibits. For to our corrupt and blinded nature the word of God seems as repugnant as light to weak eyes, and food to those who are in fever, and science to senseless youths. "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, because he thinketh them foolishness" (1 Corinthians 2:14). But it is a true and immovable rule and cannot deceive us, for it is the fruit of the true God. Therefore, everyone must entrust himself to him, and whatever he offers, he must have it for the truth, and hold fast and unshakable rule, and submit his heart to it, although it is unwilling and averse. 3) Since all people have gone astray from the true path, according to the testimony of the Holy Scriptures: "We have all gone astray like sheep, each one has turned into his own way" (Isaiah 53:6; Psalm 13:1-3 and in other places), therefore the Son of God, "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6), appeared on earth, and "visited us the East from above, to enlighten those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to direct our feet to the way of peace" (Luke 1:78-79), and He gave us a holy and blameless life as a rule and an image. Therefore, we must look to Him and follow Him, in order to be freed from natural darkness and blindness, as He Himself says: "I am the Light of the world; whoever follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life" (John 8:12). To follow Christ is nothing else than to follow His life. If he who follows Christ does not walk in darkness, as He says, then surely there will be one in darkness and error who does not follow Him. As the Lord created the visible sun in heaven to enlighten all under heaven, so the mental sun, Christ His Son, He sent into the world, so that our souls might be enlightened and warmed by Him. "There was a true Light, which enlighteneth every man that cometh into the world" (John 1:9).

And as darkness begins to depart from the heavenly places, then everyone is enlightened, and "a man goes out to his work, and to his work, until the evening" (Psalm 103:23), when the sun draws near to the heavens, so darkness begins to depart from the soul, and the soul begins to be enlightened, and to go to its work and to its work, that is, to know itself, its poverty, its wretchedness, the vanity and charm of this world, and true bliss, and to do Christian virtues, when Christ with His teaching and life approaches it and dwells in it. Therefore, just as we open the windows, so that the sun may let its rays into the temple and enlighten it, so must we open the temple of our heart and allow the light of the teaching and life of Christ to enter and enlighten it, if we wish to be delivered from darkness and blindness of heart. By nature we are all blind and darkened by darkness, therefore we must be enlightened by the light of Christ. The contrary will be chased away by the opposite, such as: cold with warmth, bitterness with sweetness, darkness with light, and so on. If we, too, wish to drive blindness away from our hearts, we must heed the teaching and example of the life of Christ, which is the light that drives away our darkness. And the more we heed and follow this, the more we will be enlightened, for whoever draws nearer to the lamp, the more enlightened he is. Christ, with His holy teaching and life, is the "way" – one must hold on to Him, so as not to go astray; is "truth" - we must entrust ourselves to Him, so as not to be deceived; there is "life" - one must cling to Him, hold on to Him, and follow Him, so that one does not die forever, but with Him, and in Him, and through Him, come to life and live forever. Everyone who departs from this path is in error; and he who does not believe in this truth is deceived; and dead is he who does not hold on to this life. 4) In order to heed the teaching and example of the life of Christ and thus be enlightened, one must forsake sins and turn to God, for sins are darkness that darkens the eyes of the soul: by them the soul is darkened and blinded. Just as darkness and light cannot be together, so Christ's enlightenment cannot be in that heart which the darkness of sin has embraced. "What hath light to do with darkness" (2 Corinthians 6:14)? "Therefore it is said," says the Apostle, "arise, you who sleep, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light" (Ephesians 5:14). You see that first he must rise from the sleep of sin and rise from the dead (for every unrepentant sinner is a living dead), and then Christ will enlighten him. It is necessary for the sleeping to rise and for the dead to rise again, and then he will be enlightened by Christ - otherwise there will be no enlightenment. It is not he who sleeps and dies, but he who rises and lives who demands and is enlightened. O Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God! Awaken the sleepers, for whose sake Thou didst fall asleep on the Cross, and raise up the dead, for whom Thou didst taste death, our life and resurrection, and then let us seek Thy light, and let us be enlightened. "O Lord God of Hosts! Raise us up, and enlighten Thy face, and we shall be saved" (Psalm 79:20). Whoever wants to see the sun must turn to the sun. Thus, whoever wants to know and see God must turn his heart to God. Lawless and unrepentant sinners, because their hearts have been added to sin and the world, have turned away from God and turned to sin and the world: how can they see Him, having turned away from Him? We must certainly turn to the Lord if we want to be enlightened. That is why the Apostle says of the Jews: "But when they turn to the Lord, then this veil is removed" (2 Corinthians 3:16). This veil is nothing but darkness and blindness, darkening the eyes of the soul of the unconverted and unenlightened man, as was said above. Unconverted and unenlightened man does not know what he is doing, and wanders like a blind man, which comes from nothing else but the veil and the natural darkness of sin. We read that Moses' face was so illumined by his conversation with God on Mount Sinai that the children of Israel could not look at him; and when he conversed with people, he covered his face with a veil, and when he turned to God, he took away the veil (see Exodus 34:33-35). Thus, every man, as long as he serves the world, has a veil lying on his heart. And when he turns from the world to God, then by the grace of Christ he is taken away, and he himself is enlightened, and he comes to know God, and Christ His Son, and the mystery of His providence, and the power of the law and His Gospel; then the light of the soul will begin to shine for him, like the dawn after the night, and to enlighten and enlighten him in the matter of salvation. "Therefore it is said, 'Arise, you who sleep, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.'" 5) Whoever wishes to receive enlightenment from Christ must certainly admit his blindness from the heart, otherwise he has always been blind, although he will know all the Holy Scriptures by heart, that is, he will know the writings, but he will not understand the power. For God hides His mysteries from those who consider themselves wise and prudent, and reveals them to infants, that is, to those who are simple-hearted and confess their ignorance, according to the testimony of the Lord: "Thou, Father, hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes" (Matt. 11:25). Such He enlightens, admonishes, makes Him wise, and reveals His mysteries to them; but the rest, who boast of their wisdom, understanding, and art, he leaves. That is why the Lord says: "I have come into this world for judgment, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind" (John 9:39), that is, those who acknowledge their blindness by the light of Christ will be enlightened and see; but those who do not recognize themselves and consider themselves wise will remain in their former blindness, and will be even more darkened by ingratitude and pride, as were the scribes and Pharisees during Christ's life on earth, who said to Christ: "Are we also blind" (John 9:40)? For pride and arrogance are the work of the devil, and just as he himself was darkened and made darkness out of a light-bearing angel, so he makes people who follow him like him. Christ justifies only those who acknowledge and confess themselves sinners, and heals those who confess their illness, so He enlightens only the blind, as the Gospel testifies: "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick" (Matt. 9:12). If we want to be enlightened, let us admit our blindness - and Christ will enlighten us. If we want to be justified and thus be saved, let us acknowledge ourselves to be sinners and lost, and Christ will justify and save us. If we want to be healed, let us acknowledge our weakness – and Christ will heal us. 6) Just as without turning from sin to the Lord there will be no true repentance, as was said above, so without fervent prayer there is no true enlightenment. This enlightenment comes from God. Therefore, the one who is converted and repentant must pray and sigh with the Psalmist: "Look, hear me, O Lord my God, enlighten my eyes, that I may not sleep unto death" (Psalm 12:4). And again: "Thou shalt kindle, O Lord my God, my lamp, Thou shalt illumine my darkness" (Psalm 17:29). And again: "Send forth thy light and thy truth, O God; they shall instruct me, and bring me into Thy holy mountain, and into Thy dwellings" (Psalm 42:3). And again: "Open my eyes, O Lord, and I will understand the wonders of Thy law" (Psalm 118:18); and with the blind of the Gospel: "Lord, let my eyes be opened" (Matt. 20:33). There are many such prayers in church books. Then the Lord, Who is the light of the world, and enlightened the bodily eyes of the blind, seeing our turning to Him, and diligence, and diligence, will enlighten the eyes of the soul unto salvation, for which He also came into this world. 7) With God's help, this is facilitated by meditation on time and eternity, on the vanity of this world, for everything that is dear in this world is nothing against eternal good, and that everything in this world is transitory, and from him who loves it it departs: from the rich riches, from the honorable, from the glorious glory, and from the lover of pleasure departs from voluptuousness. Death makes everyone equal. Virtue alone is inseparable from man, and it accompanies him when he departs to the other world, and brings him to the face of God, and mercy intercedes. Which will be discussed below, especially in 67.

61. True enlightenment will follow: 1) When this saving ray flashes and begins to shine in the temple of the heart, then the enlightened will see how great darkness he was, how blind and foolish he was, although he seemed wise to himself; how far he has departed from the true path, although he thought that he walked rightly. In such a way the word of the Lord will be fulfilled: "When thou returnest and sigh, then shalt thou be saved, and thou shalt understand where thou wast" (Isaiah 30:15). That is, the one who is converted and enlightened will know in what a poor, deplorable and pernicious state he was, until the ray of God's grace touched his heart. Then he feels like a man who at night did not walk the road he was supposed to take, although he thought that he was going the right way; and when the dawn shone and enlightened all things, he knew that he had strayed from the proper path and was wandering; and so, seeing his error, and the time wasted in vain, and his useless labor, he greatly regrets and scolds himself. Thus, the sinner, as long as he is satisfied with his natural reason and his imaginary wisdom, thinks that he is doing well and is following the right path; but when the dawn of God's grace shines upon him, he recognizes his deception and error, regrets, repents and laments that he has wasted time in vain, all his work was useless, and weeps with the prophet: "My days have vanished like smoke; my days have deviated like a shadow" (Psalm 101:4, 12). Wine is truly worthy of weeping! Truly, the time that is lived on vanity is perishing! Truly useless is the work that is undertaken for the sake of the honor, glory and wealth of this world! Those days that are spent in voluptuousness, in luxury, in carnal pleasure, and in the amusements of this world are truly disappearing! "What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what ransom shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matthew 16:26) "We have brought nothing into the world; it is evident that we can take nothing out of it" (1 Timothy 6:7). Naked we come out of our mother's womb, naked and depart from this world (Job 1:21). "Do not be afraid when a man is rich, or when the glory of his house increases; for in death he shall take nothing, neither shall he go with him" (Psalm 48:17-18). Where are the glorious and rich who used to be, who insatiably desired and sought treasures in this world? They are in their places and await the general judgment and in matters of retribution. There also go the present-day lovers of glory, and other lovers of peace. It is worthy of weeping when a man has spent his days in vanity: he who lays up treasures for himself, and not in God grows rich, must weep (Luke 12:21). How much more should he weep and lament who has spent his days in sins and iniquities, for time is shortening, days are passing, life is ending, death is invisibly approaching and rapturing, righteous judgment is coming, where people will be judged for words, deeds and thoughts. Let us weep, sinner, let us weep here, so that it is useless not to weep there, and the rest of the time we will live in repentance and piety. Therefore, the enlightened one, knowing that everything that is in this world is like vanishing smoke, which passes away with days and time, and, remembering his former life, lived in vanity, error and sins, regrets, repents, sighs and weeps, as stated above, and desires to return it; but what has already been done and passed cannot be otherwise. The past time does not return, and the deed done and the word spoken cannot be otherwise as it was. 2) He who is enlightened by the light of God must earnestly thank God for His mercy shown to him, that he endured his wretchedness, that in such a mistake he did not rapture him, and that He gave him enlightenment and the understanding of salvation. 3) Leading his wretchedness and weakness, that he, as a man, is easily inclined to fall, error and all evil, such a person prays fervently to God that He would give him His help and not leave him alone without His grace; and he himself acts cautiously and takes care not to fall into his former error. 4) He guards against all sin and fights against all sin. And just as it was easy for him to sin before, so in this state it is difficult for him to sin in small things, and to irritate God, and to trouble his conscience. For He knows that by every sin God is angry, and he who sins is deprived of His mercy. 5) Such a person does not want to offend anyone either in deed or in word. But more than that, he tries to love everyone without hypocrisy, and both for himself and for everyone he wishes and wants everyone, like him, to be saved, for which he prays. 6) With every person not flatteringly, not deceitfully, but simply treated. What he declares in words, he has in his heart, and therefore he does not want to lie or deceive anyone. 7) The honor, glory, wealth, voluptuousness, and everything that in this world is considered to be the beautiful, dear, and pleasant sons of this world, it despises and despises, knowing that all this comes and departs from us as soon as a dream. 8) Eternal bliss alone is considered true bliss, which, once found, will never be lost, and once lost, will never be found. Therefore he thinks about it and tries not to lose it; thither he lifts up his thoughts and sighs, and prays to God for this, that by His grace He may vouchsafe him to receive them. 9) Since the enlightened one does not recognize anything valuable in this world, he considers all things in this world to be equal. For him, silver, gold, and other precious metals, in the opinion of man, are the same metals as copper, iron, tin, lead, and so on. He considers the precious stones that people keep in their chests and treasuries to be the same stones as those that lie on the roads and are trampled underfoot. He is equally nourished by both rich and poor food, as long as it is healthy. He is covered with silk and cloth, both colored and dark clothes, and is warmed with both fox and sheepskin skins. He does not care where to live, whether in stone or wooden chambers, in rich chambers, or in a squalid hut, and so on. For he uses everything that is in this world only for the sake of need, and does not set his heart to anything, but only to his Creator. 10) He has this life as a path by which he goes to the desired eternity, and as a pilgrimage that must be ended soon, saying: "I am a stranger with Thee, O God, and a stranger, like all my fathers" (Psalm 38:13). Therefore, like a traveler and a stranger, he does not burden himself with worldly things, but is content with what he has, remembering the Apostle's words: "We have brought nothing into the world; it is obvious that we cannot take anything out of it. Having food and clothing, let us be content with them" (1 Timothy 6:7-8). 11) The more enlightened he is, the more he corrects his actions, corrects his deeds, words and thoughts, sees vices and small ones, and guards himself.

And to utter an idle word is not harmless to one who was formerly easy to blaspheme, scold, slander, swear, lie, flatter, deceive, steal, steal, and commit other grave sins. 12) If he stumbles in anything, and sins out of weakness, and sees his sin in his conscience, then he is very anxious and scolds himself, he is terrified and sick in heart. Therefore, he humbles himself, and prostrates himself before the majesty of God, and with humility asks forgiveness, acknowledging his guilt, and is strengthened in the hope of God's mercy. 13) Knowing the blindness of the human mind, with which a person is often deceived and thinks that he is on the good path, but is deceived in his opinion, such a person fervently and often prays that he may be more and more enlightened; and, not believing in the caresses of his flesh, he gives himself over to God to guide him and guide him, and asks: "Tempt me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my ways, and see if there is a way of iniquity in me; and guide me in the way of eternity" (Psalm 138:23-24).

Chapter 4: Of Vain and Lovely Adornment

"And the Lord God made for Adam and his wife garments of skins, and clothed them" (Gen. 3:21).

"Let your [i.e., women's] adornment not be the outward plaiting of your hair, nor the adornment of gold, nor the finery of clothing, but the hidden man of the heart, in the incorruptible beauty of a meek and silent spirit, which is precious in the sight of God" (1 Peter 3:3-4; 1 Tim. 2:9-10)