103. Just as not all work is useful, so not all idleness is vicious. Evil are those lawless labors that are taken up for the sake of lawless deeds.

Just as these and other similar works are not praiseworthy, but vicious, so the abolition from them is praiseworthy. How blessed is peace when the mind is calmed from evil and soul-damaging thoughts, the heart from evil lusts; the eyes see nothing, the ears listen to nothing, the tongue and lips say nothing, the hands do nothing that is contrary to God's holy Law! Blessed is this idleness and blessed peace. This is what our Creator and Lord requires of us. This Sabbath is not only every week, but also every day, hour and minute we must celebrate. To this salvific and quietest repose, in which not only the external members of the body, but also the inner spiritual forces are calmed by harmful deeds and the conscience rests sweetly, Christ Himself calls: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28).

Chapter 7: On Drunkenness

"Woe to those who seek strong drink from early in the morning, and inflame themselves with wine until late in the evening; and the harp, and the harp, the tympanum, and the flute, and the wine at their banquets; but they do not look at the works of the Lord, nor do they think of the works of His hands. Therefore my people will go into captivity unexpectedly, because they have not known the Lord" (Isaiah 5:11-13)

"Who's howling? Who is moaning? Who has quarrels? Who has grief? Who has wounds for no reason? Who has crimson eyes? Joys that sit long at wine, who come to seek wine that is seasoned" (Proverbs 23:29-30)

"Do not be drunk with wine, whereby there is debauchery" (Ephesians 5:18)

104. Wine, like every created thing, is good, for it was created for our benefit by our Creator. "Every creature of God is good," says the Apostle, "and nothing is reprehensible, if it is received with thanksgiving" (1 Timothy 4:4). And in the Book of Genesis it is written: "And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good" (1 Timothy 1:31). "Wine, taken in moderation, is useful to man, joy of the heart and gladness of the soul, consumed at the proper time," says Sirach (Sir. 31:31,33); for what is used in this way rejoices the sorrowful, strengthens the weak. For this reason the Apostle wrote to St. Timothy: "Henceforth drink not only water, but drink a little wine, for the sake of your stomach and your frequent infirmities" (1 Timothy 5:28). Hence St. Paul forbids not to drink wine, but to get drunk on wine, saying: "Do not be drunk with wine." To drink wine is one thing, and to get drunk on wine is another. Consequently, those who abhor wine and do not use it sin, not for the sake of abstinence, but because it is as if it were a sin to use it. Thus, in cursing the creation that God has arranged man in favor of mankind, they also blaspheme the Creator, just as someone who despises art, for example, a painted image, also despises the artist himself, that is, the painter. 2) Those who abhor wine, and their brethren who use it, despise it, but dream highly of themselves: they say, I do not drink wine from birth.. As if piety consisted only in not drinking wine? Satan does not drink wine and does not eat bread, because he is bodiless; but he devours human souls like a lion, and makes partakers of his eternal destruction, and is the most evil and the beginning of all malice. In the same way, those who do not drink wine can be imitators of it. If you don't drink wine, it's good. But do not blaspheme wine, and do not despise the brethren who drink. For if you do not drink wine, but dream highly of yourself, you are always filled with the spirit of arrogance, which is abhorrent in the sight of God. Not wine, but drunkenness, not the use of wine, but abuse is vicious and harmful. A person uses it for evil, when he uses it at the wrong time and beyond measure. Thus, not only wine, but also bread, water, fire, and other creatures of God are used by man for evil. In the same way he uses his bodily limbs for evil, such as: the tongue - to slander, condemnation and slander; hands - to theft, robbery and unrighteous beating; the belly - to overeating and drunkenness. And so with them, as if with some kind of tools, he kills his soul.

105. Wine is not the cause of drunkenness, for if wine were the cause of it, then all those who drink it would be drunkards. But life itself shows the opposite: many drink wine, but are sober. The cause of drunkenness is: 1) An evil and intemperate heart, like other sins. "It is not wine that produces drunkenness," says St. Chrysostom, "but intemperance"

(Discourse 1 to the people of Antioch). 2) Idleness, as mentioned above. 3) Frequent feasts, companies, intensified feasting. 4) Treatment of the wicked and intemperate. From frequent repetitions, passion and evil custom are made.

106. Drunkenness, as in itself, is a sin, for "drunkards shall not inherit the kingdom of God," according to the teaching of the Apostle (1 Corinthians 6:10); and Christ says: "Take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with gluttony and drunkenness" (Luke 21:34), so many and grievous sins are the causes. It quarrels, fights, and from this it produces subsequent bloodshed and murders. It is riotousness, blasphemy, blasphemy, it causes annoyance and offense to one's neighbor. It teaches you to lie, flatter, rob and steal someone else's property, so that you have something to satisfy your passion. It fuels anger and rage. It makes people wallow in filth, like pigs in a swamp. In a word, it makes man a beast, a verbal man dumb, so that not only the inner state, but also the external appearance of a person often changes. That is why St. Chrysostom says: "The devil loves nothing so much as luxury and drunkenness, since no one fulfills his evil will so much as a drunkard" (Discourse 58 on the Evangelist Matthew).

107. Drunkenness is the cause not only of spiritual but also of bodily temporal evils. 1) 1) The body relaxes and leads to weakness. That is why it is written: "Do not show yourself brave against wine, for wine has destroyed many" (Sir. 31:29). 2) It leads to misery and poverty. "A worker who is inclined to drunkenness will not be rich," says Sirach (Sir. 19:1). 3) Takes away glory and good name; on the contrary, it leads to disgrace, contempt and disgust: people despise no one so much as a drunkard. 4) Sorrow and sorrow to family, relatives, friends, and makes fun of enemies. 5) He makes his caretaker incapable of any calling. And although in some rank there will be a drunkard, he builds more troubles and misfortunes than benefits to society. St. Chrysostom, depicting the calamities and evils of drunkenness, says: "Drunkenness is self-willed possession, a revelation of thoughts, a mocking misfortune, a sickness, worthy of laughter, a voluntary demon, and so on" (Homily on the Resurrection).

108. In order to guard against drunkenness, it is useful to note the following: 1) Young people should not be allowed to drink intoxicating drinks, since young people easily get used to it, and what they learn in their youth they will hold on to it all their lives. 2) Do not allow them to associate with drunkards and depraved people. 3) Adults should not drink wine unnecessarily. 4) To distance oneself from evil companies and feasts. 5) Remember that it is very difficult to lag behind this passion. And many perish in soul and body because of this passion and in that very passion. 6) Those who are accustomed to this passion should arm themselves firmly against its torment, stand firm, not succumb, pray and call upon God's all-powerful help. 7) Remember the troubles that happen in drunkenness and compare the state of a sober life with the state of a drunken person. 8) To think that many people die drunk in their sleep, and from this world they pass from this world to the next without any feeling and therefore without repentance, and so on.

Chapter 8: On the Love of Money and Covetousness