15. Sin is also called spirit in the Scriptures, as we have said, but in a different and opposite sense, as, for example, it is said: "By the spirit of fornication thou wast deceived" (Hos. 4:12). An unclean spirit is called a spirit (Luke 11:24), the devil, however, with the addition, unclean. Each spirit is given its own name to designate its property. If the Scriptures call the human soul spirit; then with the addition: the spirit of man. If he calls the wind a spirit, he calls it a stormy spirit (Psalm 47:8). If sin is called a spirit, then it is called a spirit of fornication (Oc. 4:12). If he calls the devil a spirit, he calls him an unclean spirit: so that we may know what kind of spirit he is talking about. Do not think that the Holy Spirit is said here — no; for the name of spirit is something general, and everything that does not have a gross body is usually called spirit. But there is a great difference here. For an unclean spirit, when it attacks the soul of a man (may the Lord preserve the soul of all those who hear, as well as those who are not here!), is like a bloodthirsty wolf attacking a sheep in order to devour it.

Truly, the enemies of men are the devils, who treat them in such a vile and merciless way.

16. No, the Holy Spirit is not like that; His actions, on the contrary, are directed towards good and salvation. And in the first place, His appearance is meek, with Him they received incense, His lightest burden. Rays of light and knowledge shine before His appearance. He comes with the love of a true Minister. For to come to save and heal, to teach, to admonish, to strengthen, to comfort, to enlighten the mind, first of the one who comes, and through Him the minds of others. And just as he who was formerly in darkness, and then suddenly beheld the sun, receives light with his bodily eyes, and sees what he has not clearly seen: so he who has been vouchsafed the Holy Spirit is enlightened by the soul, and having risen above man, beholds what he has not seen. On earth with his body, and with his soul he looks to the heavens. He sees Isaiah sitting on the throne of the Lord high and exalted (Isaiah 6:1): he sees Ezekiel sitting on the Cherubim (Ezekiel 10): he sees, like Daniel, thousands of thousands, and thousands of thousands (Dan. 7:10). And the little man sees the beginning of the world and the end of the world, and the middle of times, and the succession of kings, he knows what he did not understand before: for the true Enlightener is with him. Inside the walls is a man, but the power of knowledge extends far away, and he sees even the deeds of others.

7. Peter was not with Ananias and Sapphira when they sold their possessions, but he was there in spirit. Why, he says, will Satan fill thy heart with lying to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3)? There was no accuser, no witness. How did he know what had happened? Is not that which is yours? And what is sold is not in your power? What hast thou put this thing in thy heart (4)? The unlearned Peter learned by the grace of the Spirit what the Greek wise men did not understand. Thou knowest the same thing of Elisse: for when he healed Naaman's leprosy for nothing, Gehazi took payment, as a reward for the labor of others: and he took money from Naaman, and hid it in a dark place; But darkness is not dark for the saints. For as soon as he came, Elisha asked him; and how does Peter say: "O Lord, if I have given up a village on it" (Acts 5:8)? Thus also this one testeth: whence come, Gehazi (2 Kings 5:25)? Not because he did not know whence he came, but out of sorrow he said, "From where?" Thou hast come from darkness, and into darkness thou shalt go. Thou hast sold healing to the leper, and thou shalt receive in return his leprosy. I have fulfilled, he says, the command of Him who said to me, Thou shalt receive it, thou shalt give it to me; but you, having sold this gift, accept the leprosy, which was an occasion for sale. What then did Elisha say to him? And is my heart walking with thee (26)? Though I was here in body, yet the Spirit given to me by God saw what was distant, and showed me clearly what was happening elsewhere. Do you see that the Holy Spirit not only leads out of ignorance, but also communicates knowledge? Do you see how he enlightens souls?

18. Isaiah for almost a thousand years saw Zion as a tabernacle, while this city still stood, was adorned with marketplaces, and was in glory, and another prophet said, "Zion, as the field shall be prooted" (Micah 3:12); predicting what has now come to pass in our presence. Notice, then, the accuracy of the prophecy; it says: "The daughter of Zion shall be left as a tabernacle in the vineyard, and as a storehouse of vegetables in the vineyard" (Isaiah 1:8). Now in these places there are almost cucumber ridges everywhere. Do you see how the Holy Spirit enlightens the saints? Therefore, see that instead of Him, because of the similarity of the name, you do not receive another spirit, but try to find exact signs.

19. If, while you are sitting, the thought of purity or virginity comes to you, then this is the teaching of the Holy Spirit.

There are so many flattering benefits in the world, but Christians have nothing. From what? By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Truly an invaluable gift, the Holy and Good Spirit. Righteously we are baptized into the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Man, while still in the flesh, confronts many of the most ferocious unclean spirits. And often the unclean spirit, whom many could not humble with iron chains, was humbled by the prayer of the one in whom dwelt the power of the Holy Spirit: and the breath of the conjurer alone is fire to these invisible enemies. Thus, we have a great Champion and Intercessor from God, a great Teacher of the Church, a great Protector. Let us not be afraid of evil spirits, nor of the devil himself: for our Defender is greater; only let us open the doors to Him. For He goes about everywhere, looking for those who are worthy, seeking to communicate His gifts to someone.

20. But He is called the Comforter because He comforts, exhorts, and alleviates our infirmity. For what we pray for, as befits us, we do not know: but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings unutterable (Romans 8:26), it is obvious that before God. It often happens that someone suffers unjust anger and dishonor for Christ: a martyr's feat comes, torments come from everywhere, and fire, and swords, and beasts, and the abyss. But the Holy Spirit inspires, saying: "Be patient with the Lord" (Psalm 26:14), man! it does not matter what happens to you, but the gifts are great: if you do not labor here for long, you will live forever with the Angels. Unworthy of the passion of the present time for the glory that desires to be manifested in us (Romans 8:18). He depicts the kingdom of heaven to man, and shows him the paradise of sweetness; and the martyrs, of necessity, standing before the judgments in person, in the body, by the power of the Spirit, already in paradise, despised the cruelties they saw.

21. And do you want to know that by the power of the Holy Spirit the martyrs perform the feat of martyrdom? Do not worry about how or what you say, or what you say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that hour that befits the prayer (Luke 12:11, 12). For it is impossible to perform a martyr's feat for Christ, if one does not perform it with the help of the Holy Spirit. For if no one can speak of the Lord Jesus by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:3), then who will lay down his life for Jesus without the help of the Holy Spirit?

22. The Holy Spirit is great, omnipotent in gifts, and wondrous. Think how many of you are now, how many souls are here! He acts by adapting himself to everyone: being among us, he sees each attribute, sees thoughts and conscience, knows also what we say and what we think about. Great indeed is what I have said about Him, but it is still not enough. You, who have an enlightened mind from Him, see how many Christians are in our region and in all Palestine; then turn your mind's gaze from this region to the entire Roman kingdom; and after this look at the whole world, at the tribes of Persia, at the peoples of India, at the Goths and Sarmatians, at the Gauls and the Gispanians, at the Moors and the Libyans and the Ethiopians, and at other peoples unknown to us. For we do not know many peoples even by name. Look at the bishops, presbyters, deacons, monastic virgins in every nation, and also the laity. See how this great Intercessor and Giver of gifts, in all the whole world, bestows purity on one, eternal virginity on another, disposition to almsgiving, love for poverty to another, and power to cast out nasty spirits to another; and as light illuminates all things by the mere striving of the ray, so the Holy Spirit enlightens those who have eyes. Therefore, if anyone who is blind does not receive grace, let him not reproach the Spirit, but his own unbelief.

23. You have seen His power at work throughout the world; do not stop on earth, but be lifted up on high; ascend with your mind to the first heaven, and look there at the myriad of Angels. Ascend with your thoughts, if you can, and higher. Look at the Archangels, look at these Spirits, look at the Powers, look at the Principalities, look at the Powers, look at the Thrones, look at the Dominion. The Comforter for all of them is the Ruler from God, and the Teacher and Sanctifier. Men have need of Him, Elijah, and Elisha, and Isaiah; the angels, Michael and Gabriel, have need of Him. Nothing created has an equal dignity to Him. The ranks of angels and all of them together have no equality with the Holy Spirit. All of them are invisible before the all-good power of the Comforter. They are sent into service, and this one searches both the depths of God, as the Apostle says, for the Spirit searches all things, and the depths of God. For who is the message of man, which is in man, the spirit of man that dwelleth in him? In the same way there is no message of God, but the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 2:10, 11).

24. He proclaimed Christ in the prophets; He acted in the Apostles; To this day in Baptism He seals souls. And although the Father gives everything to the Son, the Son gives it to the Holy Spirit. Jesus Himself says this, not I: all things are committed to Me by My Father (Matt. 11:27). And of the Holy Spirit He says: When He comes, the Spirit of truth, etc. (John 16:13). He will glorify Me, as He will receive from Me, and He will declare it to you (14). The Father gives everything through the Son together with the Holy Spirit. Not other gifts of the Father, some of the Son, but others of the Holy Spirit. There is one salvation, one power, one faith, one God the Father, one Lord, His only-begotten Son, one Holy Spirit the Comforter. It is enough for us to know this; but do not be curious about His nature, or His essence. For if it had been written, we would have said. What is not written, we dare not say. It is enough for us to know for salvation that there is a Father, and a Son, and the Holy Spirit.

25. This Spirit descended upon the seventy elders in the time of Moses: (but let not a long conversation be a burden to you, beloved; may He Himself, of whom we speak, give strength to all of us, both to me who speaks and to you who hear). This Spirit descended, as I said, upon the seventy elders in the time of Moses. and this I offer you in order to show now that He knows all things, and acts as He pleases. Seventy elders were chosen: and the Lord descended in the cloud, and received from the Spirit, which was upon Moses, and put an elder upon the seventy men (Num. 11:23): it was not the Spirit that was divided, but grace was divided according to the readiness and ability of those who received it. But sixty-eight were there and prophesied; Eldad and Modad were not there. Therefore, in order to show that it was not Moses who communicated this gift, but the working Spirit, Eldad and Modad, although they were called, did not come, and yet prophesied.

26. Joshua, the successor of Moses, was amazed, and when he came, he said to Moses, "You have heard that Eldad and Modad prophesy, they were called, and they did not come, 'My Lord, to Moses! rebuke them" (Num. 11:28). I cannot forbid them, says Moses, for this is a heavenly gift: and much less can I forbid them, since I myself have the gift of grace. But I do not think that you said this out of envy. Do not be jealous that they prophesy, and you do not yet prophesy. Wait for time. And who will give all the people of the Lord (to be) prophets, when the Lord gives his Spirit upon them (29)? Moses also said this prophetically, "When the Lord gives." Now he has not yet given: therefore thou hast not yet had. Did not Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph have this Spirit? Did those who were formerly their former also not have Him? But these words, when the Lord gives, obviously mean that He will give it to all. Now grace is partial, then it will be given in abundance. He spoke divination about what happened to us on the day of Pentecost: for the same Spirit came to us. He had come down to many before. For it is written: "And Joshua the son of Nun shall be filled with the Spirit of wisdom: for Moses lay his hands on him" (Deuteronomy 34:9). Do you see that everywhere, both in the Old and New Testaments, the Spirit was communicated in the same way? In the time of Moses, the Spirit was communicated by means of ordination; and Peter communicated the Spirit by putting on him: "And grace shall descend upon thee, when thou shalt be baptized: in what manner? I do not say; for it is not yet the time.