Answer. Rejoice, brother, in the Lord. Pray God to give me perfect patience, for I begin a work and do not finish it, but as soon as I have established a rule, I begin to waver; But I desire to make a beginning and come to an end, hearing the Apostle who speaks of the beginning and the end: "For he that hath begun a good work shall do good in you, even unto the day of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Phil. 1:6). And though I, who am to be pitied, do nothing pleasing to God, yet at thy command I give thee counsel as a brother; if thou canst, eat four laitin [53] a week; and on Sunday, because of bodily infirmity, soup, or hot food. I think it is good for you to partake of this; or perhaps I speak so unwisely, I do not know; For he who does not know how to govern himself, how can he govern others? Forgive me, brother, I should have asked you to make a rule for me, but my pride, the root of all evil, does not yet allow me to do so. Pray, brother, that we may walk the path that lies before us, for it is full of troubles and dangers, and I, as a fool, laugh and despise them. However, I do not cease to hope, having a merciful and gracious Lord. For the sake of love, therefore, give me thy hand, and draw me unto him, and through thee he shall save me also, who am cursed. To Him be the glory for ever, amen.

155. The same (brother), not following the advice given to him by the Elder concerning food, asked the same question a second time. The elder answered him as follows:

Brother! Hast thou not rejected my words, that thou hast found me obedient to thy love? However, even in the fact that my words have remained fruitless, it is not your fault, but mine: they are not the fruit of sweat, and therefore have no force. "Whoever inquires and disobeys (the fathers) provokes God; The question will be followed by the envy of the enemy, and we have not yet learned the tricks of the demons. The Apostle preaches incessantly, saying, "For we do not understand his designs" (2 Corinthians 2:11). Be of good cheer, my brother! If I did not consider you to be of one accord to me, for the love of Christ, I could not give you an answer, because, as I said before, I have not yet attained such a measure. But since God has bound me to thy love, I say again senselessly, Be content with four laitins during the week, as I told you, and on the Sunday you shall eat either one pottage or hot food because you are not infirm. But think not in your heart that I have given you a commandment: it is not a commandment, but a brotherly counsel. The field is open: "Come, that ye may comprehend" (1 Corinthians 9:24), for we are perishable people and of little time on earth, that we may find mercy in this terrible and terrible hour in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be the glory for ever, amen.

Answer 156, by the same Great Elder, which also explains the force of the previous answer.

Brother! What shall I say to you, who have done nothing at all? Though thou sayest that thou hast done and are doing, yet I remember nothing of myself, except that I always anger God by my works, and therefore I expect nothing from my works; I hope to be saved for His love for mankind, for He died for the salvation of sinners. And I abide in my cell in His name, until He comes by Himself, and says unto me, What wilt thou do? Then I will say with the blind man, "Lord, that I may see" (Luke 18:41). And if he had, he would not have dared to speak of them, for fear of the condemnation which befell the Pharisee. But I say unto thee, brother, that all my life and hope is centered in Him: day and night I beseech Him to grant me purification from manifest and hidden passions. What do we dare to say about the works of our righteousness, [54] when we hear: "Let every mouth be stopped" (Rom. 3:19), etc., and again: "Glory, let him glory in the Lord" (2 Cor. 10:17)? Blessed is he who has been cleansed from anger and other passions, who has kept all the commandments, and who says, "Be a servant who is not a slave" (Luke 17:10). But if we do one good deed and destroy it with another, what is the use of building up and destroying every day? He that despiseth glory and dishonour alike can be saved in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be the glory, amen. Commit me to the Lord and be silent with hope, praying for me, cursed and humble.

157. A question of the same to the same Great Elder. My father! Pray for me, I am weary of toil. Before I asked your advice, if I undertook a task that was within my power, I did it without difficulty; And ever since you gave me advice, I've been working myself to the point of exhaustion. And before this I wrote to thee, asking thy counsel, but thou didst think me to be of high wisdom, and reminded me of the Pharisee, and I told thee these things, my father, not out of high wisdom, but out of necessity. Please pray that the Lord will reveal to you what is in me.

Answer of the Great Elder. Brother! The Divine Scripture says: "Do all things with counsel, and do nothing without counsel" (Sir. 32:21). "When you did not according to advice, but of your own free will, you did not work wisely; For there is no one who has no need of a counsellor but Himself who created wisdom. "And when thou hast made up thy mind, according to God, to cut off thy will, to come to humility, and to accept thy least brother as a counsellor, thou hast thereby envied the hater of good, the demon who always harbors envy against all. Do you see the obstinacy of the enemy? I did not prescribe anything to you of my own accord, but you begged me, and I advised you as a brother. "But when you heard, you left (the advice unobeyed) and asked me a second time, and I reminded you of the Pharisee. for he also said with self-boasting what he said. Thou hast sought a testimony,[55] and this is nothing but arrogance of wisdom. Be attentive and you will see truly that as soon as you make a beginning, the enemy immediately presents you with a plausible pretext, and you ruin what you have begun; — again you believe, and you destroy even sooner, and do not remember that he who endures to the end will be saved (Mark 13:13), and he who begins a good work in you will do it even to the day of our Lord Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:6). If you do as you have done (hitherto); It is comforting to you, I do not grieve over it; For I do not want to be anyone's Abba or teacher, remembering the Apostolic rebuke: "Teaching another, teach thyself not" (Rom. 2:21). Brother! It is the business of those who are saved to thin their souls like a spider's web. Therefore, much patience is needed, until through many tribulations we enter into the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22) in Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen. Forgive me, brother, and pray for me.

158. A question of the same to the same Great Elder. Jesus, who sought the lost sheep, teach us also how to seek the Shepherd. Father, I want to ask you one word. The Scripture says: "Seek ye the Lord, and be strong, seek His face" (Ps. 104:4). How can a sinful person seek the Lord's removal? Teach us, for the sake of Him who made you wise, how to understand these words, that we also may always seek the face of the Lord. To him be the glory for ever, amen.

Answer. Brother Euthymius! I beseech thy love to assist me in my prayer to God, the lover of mankind; for thy love beseecheth me to write unto thee concerning the search of the Shepherd. From the first day until now, I have prayed to God for your petition, and He answers me: "Cleanse your heart from the thoughts of the old man, and I will fulfill your requests; For my gifts are contained only in the pure, and are given to them. But as long as your heart is moved by anger, resentment, and similar passions of the old man, wisdom will not enter into it. If you desire My gifts, cast out from yourself the vessels of the alien (passion), and My gifts will enter into you of their own accord. Have you not heard that a servant cannot work for two masters (Matt. 6:24)? If you serve me, it is not the devil; but if it be him, then thou dost no longer serve me. Whoever wishes to be vouchsafed My gifts, let him consider My footsteps: as a gentle lamb, I endured all sufferings, not contradicting anything (cf. Acts 8:32), and I commanded you to be gentle like doves (cf. Matt. 10:16), but instead you give yourself over to the ferocity of passions. Beware lest I say unto you, Walk in the light of your fire (Isaiah 50:11)." Hearing this, I give myself over to weeping and weeping, until His goodness is merciful to me, and delivers me from the fierce passions of the old man, that I may receive all that befalls me with much patience. but you know what makes patience, and the Apostle mentioned it (cf. Rom. 5:3). Pray therefore, my brother, that I may receive it, and, for the sake of love, rebuke me, if I transgress anything, that I may be reformed: for though I am foolish, yet I love those who teach and rebuke me, knowing that their teaching will serve for the salvation of my soul. Pray again that I may not fall into self-justification; for I grieve very much. "And forgive me for all that I always put you to work; but for this work there is a great reward in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be the glory for ever, Amen.

Question 159, the same to the same Great Elder. My father! The labors that I give you, you have ascribed to yourself. Thus do the wise, not only to bear the burden of one neighbor, but to benefit the souls of many, and especially you, as a father, in Your much mercy, urge us to inquire about the way of life. Since the Lord has sent me refuge and refuge in you, I beseech you, have mercy, beseech the Lord to show me mercy and reveal to me even a little, for I myself do not know how I fall, and explain it to me as you explained before, that I may repent; And then, as one who has received my soul, show me the way by which I must go.

Answer. Brother! As to my own soul, I say unto thee; For the Lord hath bound thy soul unto mine, saying, Thou shalt not forsake him. It is not my business to teach you, but rather to learn from you: for I am afraid of him who said, 'When you teach another, do you not teach yourself' (Rom. 2:21). Thou sayest that a single wave is sufficient for the wise; But this was not enough for you, and you want to hear clearly. Know that if a fool sins in his word, all are forgiven; for he is foolish, and knoweth not what he speaketh. But if the wise one sins, he is not forgiven, for he is wise and has sinned in knowledge. Thus, if any of the brethren who are outside (silence) sin in the word, he deserves forgiveness, because he lives in the community of others; And if we are professed recluses and silent people, who have a good reputation among men, what forgiveness will we receive? And as thou wilt know plainly what is the matter, I say, Thou art in silence, as one who is dead to the world; How is it that when you enter into a conversation, you go from love and joy to irritation and resentment, and you blame your neighbor and not yourself? And not only do you not say that you are unworthy, but you consider yourself to be something; For on occasion you say, "Say that I have said this, and they will listen with pleasure." Who do you think you are, that your word will be gladly accepted? Or for the prophet Elijah? Reproach yourself and understand that everything that happens to you is not without the will of God: repose leads to thanksgiving, and sorrow leads to patience. Where is the word of the Scriptures, "For you will hear... If someone slaps you in the face, etc. (2 Corinthians 11:20)? That is why we are far from God. If thou wilt know the way, know that it consists in this: To receive the one who strikes as one who warms, the one who dishonors as one who glorifies, the one who annoys as one who honors him, and the one who comforts as one who comforts him; And if, by forgetfulness, or perhaps by will, they do not give thee that which is customary, do not grieve (for this), but, on the contrary, say, "If it had been the will of God, I would have received it." And when you receive it, receive it with a cheerful countenance, rejoicing, like Daniel, who, when the Lord visited him, said only, "For Thou hast remembered me, O God" (Dan. 14:38); And thou shalt say, God hath had mercy on me, who was unworthy. Consider yourself unworthy and forsake self-justification; but you, when you say something, say, "I have said well"; And if you comprehend anything with your mind, you say, "I have understood well, I have done this well, and I have done that well." Why don't we think about offending anyone, either in word or deed? And God will help us in everything. You were carried away by revealing your thoughts to the brethren in order to fulfill your will, insisting that your work be done without fail on the same day, and thus you wounded the thoughts of the younger brethren, who said: "Why does the elder not tolerate when there are still two days?" Have you ascended to heaven? (No, brother, I will simply tell you: By an untimely demand, by the action of the devil, you have wounded the thoughts of the brethren. From now on, leave the dead to bury their dead (Luke 9:60) and let us proclaim the Kingdom of God through Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be the glory forever, amen.

160. (Petition) of the same to the Great Elder in the form of a prayer.

Life of the desperate! Do not despise me in despair. The manifestation of Thy words enlightens and instructs infants (Ps. 118:130). Holy! You said to me, "Purify yourself and cast out the old man." Can shaving purify itself? Or should the building decorate itself if the architect does not decorate it? Or can a pot made by a potter burn itself up, if he who made it does not put it into the fire and test whether it is fit for use? And Thou, O Holy One, if Thou wilt save Thy creation, send Thy Divine Fire, that it may burn the vessel that Thou hast made, that it may then receive oil from Thee and hold it within itself; for thine is glory and mercy for ever, amen.

Answer. Brother! Do not compel me to speak, who wish to remain silent and silent; but thou shalt strengthen thy heart in the Lord, and endure it steadfastly; For he who envied Adam in the beginning, and cast him out of Paradise, envies also our oneness of mind in Christ. But He Who said, "Thou hast seen Satan as a thunderbolt falling from heaven" (Luke 10:18), let him put an end to his schemes against us, and let him break his nets. Take heed lest he outwit thee in any way, lest thou be shaken, and forsake thy place, as he also outwitted Malchus; [56] For (the enemy) is greatly grieved against us; but if we humble ourselves, the Lord will take it away. Let us always blame ourselves: that is what victory is all about. And for the determination to retire into the wilderness, as the Fathers said, there are three conditions which, if one observes, he can live among men, in the wilderness, and wherever he goes, namely, to reproach himself, to leave his will behind him, and to regard himself as inferior to all creatures. Let it be known to your love that all the efforts of the devil are directed to separating us from one another; For he clearly sees that the word of the Scripture is fulfilled upon us: "Brother by brother we help, for the city is strong and hedged" (Prov. 18:19). May the Lord not allow him to do His will in us, but may He crush him, according to the true word of the Scriptures, under our feet soon (Rom. 16:20). Do not doubt; for I hope that we shall both be laid in the same tomb (as I have foretold thee). God has joined us together to benefit from one another, and these temptations are an example for the benefit and affirmation of many. Be silent, therefore, brother, and pray that we may go our way, that our days may not pass in vain: the time is at hand, and therefore the enemy is in a frenzy. God doesn't think your work is vain, not at all! But He Himself, Who desires to be saved by all men, and to come to the understanding of the truth (1 Tim. 2:4), wants you to attain perfection. He said through the Apostle: "Speak, for ye are slaves who are not slaves" (Luke 17:10). Let us hold fast to this, and the Lord will have mercy on us for the sake of his name, which is called upon us. To him be the glory for ever, amen.