"Euergetinus", or "A Collection of God-Speaking Sayings and Teachings of the God-Bearing and Holy Fathers, Collected from All God-Inspired Scriptures, in a Proper and Convenient Way and Expounded by Paul, the Most Venerable Monk and Founder of the Monastery of the Most Holy Theotokos Euergetis, Called Euergetinus" is a patristic anthology compiled in the eleventh century by the monk Paul, who lived in Constantinople.

"Euergetine" is a patristic anthology, divided into chapter 200. Each chapter of the Euergetine is devoted to a specific passion, the way to fight it and the acquisition of the corresponding virtue. "Euergetinus" was found and corrected by Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain in the XVIII century.

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Volume 1

Prologue of this book

He Who is above the comprehension of all that is comprehensible, the pre-eternal and essential Intellect, is comprehensible not by reason, but by faith, from intelligible essences (νοούμενα). Being Himself beneficent and beneficent by nature, He created the universe out of nothing and nothing, filled it with the Word, made it a life-giving Spirit, and willed that it should be subject to certain rules and regulations.

And He rules over the higher, immaterial (uoεφαί) beings according to certain supramundane laws, according to which they move in divine harmony and proportion: those who dwell above enjoy the illumination available to them, while the lower ones, in turn, receive light from the higher. And in the bodies that are in this material world, he put some essential forces – they are also called natural laws. According to these laws and in accordance with them, they must move and develop, performing the actions that are due to them, so that the world can serve as a prototype of truth.

In man, however, He sowed a certain rational and independent faculty of judgment, and to help him He gave a commandment, which everyone calls the moral law. In accordance with it and according to it, as according to the most exact standard, man must straighten himself out: with all his might he must distance himself from all evil, for it is a deviation from the straightness of the moral law, and strive with reason for everything that is good and virtuous, for in it, in this good, is the goal of moral philosophy.

But what does the Universe Mind expect and seek for Itself in this? Is it not to gain His glory in a general movement — harmonious, proportionate, and according to established laws — to gain His glory? After all, any creature, no matter how many advantages and disadvantages it has, glorifies or dishonors its creator to the same extent. That is why it is said somewhere in the Holy Scriptures: "The heavens will reveal the glory of God." Of man it says: "That they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 5:16).

And all other creatures, with a few exceptions, obeying the command of the Creator, remained within the limits set for them. "For," as it is said, "set a limit, and it shall not pass by" (cf. Psalm 148:6) With their many-sounding chorus, with ineffable voices, as many as are given to whom, they glorified God. And man, man—oh, how can I talk about it without tears! — became the only earthly creature who became hardened against his own Creator only because he received complete freedom and was deceived by the envy of the devil. Not only did he deviate from the straightforwardness of the true Word in him, but he also rejected the moral principles that were given to him at one time or another. He completely forgot about virtue and goodness, became the ancestor of evil and, alas! — a multitude of pernicious passions. And in so doing he rejected the glory prepared for him in God, and mocked himself.

God's Only-begotten Word and God took pity on this unfortunate fall. In the last days, He became Man and revived the moral institutions that had been laid down before. And besides this, He has also provided the moral philosophy of the Gospel with more general rules and more perfect goals than before, and thus He has given it an extraordinary beauty. And He Himself was the first to fulfill this philosophy in His deeds, glorifying God on earth with them. In this way He has passed it on to us, so that we may follow in His footsteps and become doers of all kinds of virtues, and later glorify the Creator with them. After all, this is how we would be able to address our original goal.

He commanded the majority to firmly keep this moral law and to become a part of it themselves. And to those who are able to go further and are willing to do more, He has granted all that they will be jealous of for the love of God. And in a hidden way He Himself pointed it out. First, when he spoke of the mysterious scum of virginity: "Whosoever is able to bear, let him receive" (Matthew 19:12). And secondly, when he mentioned the two denarii, that is, the Old and the New: "If you spend any more, when I return, I will give it to you" (Luke 10:35).