If thou truly desirest to be vouchsafed his divine glory and to enjoy the resplendent grace of his mental beauty, and to be called a servant of the Heavenly Father, then unceasingly "morning" to thy King, Jesus, beseeching Him with sacred prayers and "the earth," unvisited by foul and wordless thoughts, that is, "flesh," exhausted by dry food, cleansed of passions, and "empty," as the God-speaking hymn-singer proclaims, "Appear, O soul, to Him who reigns in the highest, that you may "see" His holy "glory," and that "your lips" may be filled "with fat and oil" of heaven, and sing "with your lips joy; but the pernicious demons who always seek your destruction, "will descend into the underworld" and the dark abysses of the "earth" and "will be given into the hands" of the destructive "weapon of hell," and "will be a part of the fox" (Psalm 62:2-11).

Do not, O soul, prefer the perishable to the eternal heavenly blessings, lest it happen to you that which was said by the Meonian Homer, who says: "A foolish man comes to consciousness when he falls into trouble and there is no longer any way to help himself." After all, the feat of virtue is established in this life, in which we have previously fallen into a terrible fall, where our opponents are always present before us, with whom, if we fight bravely, we joyfully reach our beautiful homeland, the God-created Eden. Our only main goal should be to work joyfully to the very grave for the glory of God. This beautiful feat is granted to those who struggle well by the One Who Himself is the giver and guardian of life. That is the only and truly sweet joy to have divine goodness living in the heart. In this lies the true and firm hope to express hope by doing good deeds. Only that acquisition will usually follow us after death, which is gathered by diligence in the divine virtues; this is the only wisdom and true art to always conquer one's absurd passions; only true wealth is the wealth of the soul, which Christ the King bestows upon his friends. Everything else is laughter, which for a moment rejoices the heart, and then punishes forever with the torments of hell.

Let us not, O soul, be foolishly deceived by the vain wisdom of the flesh-pleasers, but let us take up with great zeal a dispassionate life, adhering to a chaste and honorable disposition. A mirror covered with a thick layer of dust cannot perceive the brilliance of the sunshine: even the soul, enslaved to vile carnal passions, does not accept the rays of unflickering light; but deprived of it, it does not differ in any way from dumb animals; for the beauty of the rational soul consists in a warm zeal for God. This is the soul that we will seek with all our hearts. For everything else that is beautiful on earth, all this is pus and falsehood, completely vain and fleeting. How unseemly it is to weave wool on a gold base, or to adorn a golden image with brass: it is so shameful for those who bear the name of Christ to be defiled by the pernicious passions of the flesh. Christ is the King, fully pure, beautiful and holy, and His followers must also be holy. And those who are not like that will be like those who vainly chase after a flock of high-flown birds. For no one who has no holiness will see God, as the divinely wise Paul clearly testified.

And so, rather, soul, let us know ourselves, and let us philosophize according to our nature, without sinking into sleep and laziness, as if passing through a completely quiet voyage. You have been appointed by the Most High to suffer and to fight against invisible enemies, and honor or punishment is prepared for you, depending on whether you courageously fight or suffer defeats. And if thou wilt be courageous, thou shalt receive honor, ageless life, and heaven itself with all its inhabitants, and thou shalt be a beloved child of the Most High God, feasting upon the great wisdom of thy Father. What beautiful honors are reserved for you, O soul, if you prevail! If you have sound reasoning, then constantly strive for them. But if you turn your backbone, then terrible torments and sicknesses are prepared for you, and the fire that constantly burns the wicked, where there is incessant weeping and gnashing of teeth, where the terrible worm gnaws unceasingly, where there is darkness and gloom and one never-ceasing night — in the very day of hell, from whence to come out, condemned there by the righteous judgment of God, there is no hope. Who has determined both to you, O soul? Is it not He Who shakes the whole earth from its very foundations, and stirs up the seas with strong stormy winds, Who in His hand both contains and bears everything like God, Who by the good and quiet winds of the All-Holy Spirit, and by people who are unlettered, has destroyed the rhetorical speeches and harmful philosophical teachings that raged like a storm, and the insidious and pernicious charm of demons formerly revered throughout the whole world? how He tore apart the cobwebbed fabric, and how He instantly dispelled the deep gloomy smoke from everywhere, and put into human thoughts the teaching of infallible theology and the undoubted mysteries — Christ the King, the One terrible and mighty God, who has the power of life and death? But if in your folly you do not obey, O accursed one, the true and divine words of your Lord, then at least receive the external sages who speak of the same things as guides to the knowledge of the truth. There is no reproach for you to use the herb bird cherry to cleanse the inner pain of the stomach, so long as it does not have a very strong effect and does not cause death. Understand, then, if you have the right reasoning, that I am telling you divination. Do not let the soul-destroying serpent deceive you, assuring you that there will be no trial of human deeds, and that the Lord cares not about the prodigal falls of youth, and that it is impossible to demand sinlessness from everyone without exception. This, O soul, is a soul-destroying thought, this is the charm of the evil serpent, who wants to bring you down with him, the accursed one, to the very bottom of hell. Do not incline your ear to his advice, but stand firm in firm faith, and with divine fear guard yourself strongly, rejecting all unbelief from your heart. There is a righteous Eye, which sees and examines everything, as all the writings of the ancients testify. If no other reliable word and no reason could make you wait for the future judgment, then let the cunning Odysseus, who descended into hell and saw in the Elysian Fields noble people, always illuminated by a beautiful light, and others again given over to bitter torments, convince you. Also let Minos and Rhadamanthus, those fabulous judges in hell, and the fiery rivers Cocytus and Acheron, in which all the wicked are condemned for their wickedness, assure you.

Ponder also wisely about why the Lord adorned you with such divine gifts: immortality, intelligence, the gift of speech, reason and free will, and the fear of torment leads you away from evil, if He had not appointed you reward and crowns for courage, and condemnation and torment for negligence? Know also that the people themselves do not write their laws in vain and prescribe feats and glorious honors combined with them, but also do give glory and honor to those who struggle, and disgrace and sorrow to transgressors of the law. If people care so much about truth and reasonableness, then, soul, how should they understand about God? He is the very goodness, wisdom and truth. The Most High is terrible, and He created all things in wisdom, and He rules by standards, which are very righteous. He has adorned you, O soul, more than all the creatures that exist on earth, enriching you with divine gifts, so that you, following correct reasoning and reason, would always imitate His divine goodness, hate all malice, and by singing God would always honor your Creator, following Him in straight paths. It is impossible for Him to leave your virtue unrewarded, nor to leave your wickedness unpunished. As it is proper for fire to warm and light to shine, so it is proper for God to reward each one according to his deeds. Suppose, the soul, in God there is love for truth, at least to the extent that the earthly authorities have it, who do not neglect the crimes of their subordinates, but torment them without mercy; and those who are known to lead a laudable life, they are glorified, even though they are foreigners. And you praise the earthly authorities when they punish evil, and revere virtue: but of Him Who is in essence the most truth, the depth of generosity, and the only goodness, you think that He does not rejoice in good righteous deeds, nor does He punish the malice of the proud! Truly you alone are the madest of all men, and in no way different from the animals themselves. But, rejecting far from your own thought all such concepts as blasphemous, submit yourself to the laws of piety, and, as one who has a multitude of invisible adversaries against you, always be sober, and beware from their destructive attacks, knowing that the present life is a feat of life and death. Cast off all sloth, knowing that you have Christ God as a witness to your labors, Who from above lovingly stretches out His strong hand to help you. Know also that the most pure heavenly powers are zealously helping you in your labors against the terrible adversaries – the pernicious demons, who are constantly trying to deprive you of eternal life. Oh, how beautiful, beneficent and great, soul, is the feat of your sacred labors! Your podvig is not about temporal life or death, but about either honorably obtaining a place in heaven, or being imprisoned in dark Tartarus and in endless torment.

Cast off every vain thought with all your heart, and stand boldly, arming yourself with that divine weapon with which Paul, raising you up to fight against bodiless enemies, arms you. And instead of a shell, take unblemished faith, instead of a shield hope, and instead of a helmet, unceasing love for God; but instead of the sword, the word of God, which the heavenly divinely inspired books make for you by means of the fire of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of the Paraclete (Ephesians 6:17). To this add a pure and unceasingly pronounced prayer, and the bridle of the possessed flesh — scanty food. Know, then, that pure and God-pleasing prayer, which always enters into the ears of the Most High, is that which is kindled in the heart by holy tenderness, by means of the coal of humility, which is pernicious to the passions; Such a prayer the mind infallibly directs to the very heavenly gates and, leading there, places it before the heavenly thrones. The heart, O soul, is likened to a good-voiced harp, and the mind to a skilful artist of musical singing, the tongue to an instrument that strikes the strings, and the good-voiced lips to the strings themselves. You, beseeching the dreadful Judge, if you wish to bring a God-pleasing song to the King and with it to win Him over mercifully, see that all these things agree with one another. For this purpose, let the tongue always sing in harmony with the lips divine songs to the King of all and to God, and from below let the heart be cooperated with frequent sighs, being wholly inflamed by the divine fire; let your eyes wash your earthly composition from defilement with pure streams of tears; but the mind, having transmigrated into heaven, passing over all the stars, let it prostrate itself entirely at the feet of all the King. In this way, soul, you will appear as a beautiful and acceptable sacrifice to the King of all and to God.

Hate acquisitiveness, as the cause of the destruction of the soul, and vain glory, this destroyer of virtues; Love the thinness of the garments and brushes, and the sacred vigil — the mother of chastity; vigil I mean that by which the soul is enlightened in the instruction of the book and is abundantly anointed with sacred prayer. Bridle the insolent tongue with a strong bridle, setting a measure for it both in conversation and in silence, so that you may be told only that which serves to the glorification of the Lord and gives spiritual grace to those who hear. In addition to this, love silence, fearing that sinful abyss into which the unbridled tongue draws. Unceasingly exercise yourself in the reading of divinely inspired books, so that divine love may always grow in you, which, O soul, you will draw abundantly, if you will instill their sacred teachings into your thought, and you will always diligently fulfill them in deed, for the glory of the Most High, and not for the sake of the earth-born.

I see that you are terribly afflicted with vanity, and I am greatly afraid of your superstition. Why do you go so mad for the sake of empty human glory and catch it by all means? Tell me, what benefit do you hope to receive from it in the present life or hereafter? On the contrary, if you want to judge it wisely, you will find that it is the cause of great evils: it gives rise to terrible disputes and enmities in people, destructive envy and flattering speech. Another, desiring it, indecently flatters everyone, and all his words and deeds are flattering, and if he does not achieve it, he melts with heartfelt sorrow, and seeing another who has attained it, he envies and enmities him in every way, and does not cease from enmity until he deprives him of this glory. If he is unable to achieve this, then he turns to secret calumnies, and already thinks about how to deprive him of this light. The desire for glory, if it is not achieved, gives rise to envy, and from envy are born all disastrous consequences. Its parent (envy) is born of terrible pride, and this mother is born of the transgression of the holy commandments, and madness, which is the cause of all evil in general and the destruction of unfortunate peoples. Have you understood what evils are caused to you by your beloved desire for empty glory? Run her, soul! Strive unceasingly with all your heart to eternal glory, according to the commandment of the Lord. Consider nothing, O soul, more honest and amiable than divine love, for it usually makes its divine guardian the abode of all the Divinity, and shows itself a terrible, invincible, and completely strong fighter for its opponents. Cleave to Jesus with ardent love, as one would become attached to his beloved father; fear Him as the Lord, and hasten to fulfill all His commandments, as a prudent servant. In no way can the divine desire dwell for a long time in a heart possessed by pernicious dissolution, but as from a cruel stone it flies away, leaving the entire interior alien to the light. Kindle thyself with the divine fire of the Paraclete and offer thyself to the living God as a living and pure sacrifice. The monastic life, the soul, is like a field in which wheat is sown, and needs great diligence. If you want it to bring forth many ears of corn, and not thorns and any weeds that serve as food for cattle, then be sober and work to bring to your Lord a hundredfold fruit, either sixty or thirty. This will also be required of those who legally married wives. Try to prove to your heavenly worker a good earth, and not a stone, nor a road, nor thorns, lest, through laziness, you be robbed by pernicious birds, stealing away things from above in your heart; or from the heat of sorrowful circumstances it would not soon wither, as if it had not taken root in the depths of the heart; or by the pernicious cares of the present life, like thorns, it would not be crushed, and will not bring forth heavenly fruit. Let your eyes be constantly fixed downwards to the earth, and let your thoughts be lifted up to the place where the divine ranks of angels glorify Christ together with the Father without beginning and with the all-good Spirit, the all-powerful, dominant, and life-giving Trinity. Do not take obscene words into your ears; flee as much as you can, all kinds of lawless speeches: they are sharper than any knife, and with them the enemy wounds the heart through remembrance. Laying your hand on the sword of the Gospel commandments, take heed that you do not turn back. Hasten to the honor of the heavenly calling, always forgetting the past labors and stretching out to the future feats, until the sickle of death cuts you off from this life. Walk the narrow path with your full foot, so that your foot may be vouchsafed to stand in the vast heavenly homeland. Always guard the tube of your larynx, lest it plunge you into the depths of the ever-agitated abyss of gluttony. Try to eradicate from your heart every partialized desire that delights the flesh; on the contrary, grieve her with a cruel life, abhorring everything that delights her. Do not forget that you are attached to a terrible beast that rages at you and barks constantly. Always try to tame his soul-destroying aspirations with every kind of fasting and extreme poverty. Pleasant drinks, delicious food, and soft beds, and long sleep—all this inflames this beast, and you retreat from it. If you really want to tame his possession, then with a non-acquisitive life, always with a light stomach, make a lifely voyage, praying to Christ. Consider this life as exile, into which you have been condemned for your crime, condemned with the fact that if, in a second struggle, you raise yourself up from the defeat by which in ancient times you were defeated by the evil serpent, then you will no longer be a worker of the Garden of Eden, with fear of the threat of death if you eat the forbidden fruit; but, as the true promise of Christ says, wherever the Lord Himself is Divinity, there you will also be, being filled with His divine glory. Take heed, then, that the time appointed for you by God for the healing of your spiritual scabs does not pass your mind in eating sweets and drunkenness, and, instead of the unsetting light, do not dwell in terrible darkness.

You have heard that the celestials have more joy over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine righteous ones. This promise of Christ is not false, and it serves to a clear knowledge of the divine mercy that the Lord has for the human race. Always try to rejoice the angelic faces by fulfilling the commandments of the Lord, and not to rejoice with lawless deeds the filthy and misanthropic hosts of pernicious demons. As the holy angels rejoice over your salvation, so do the vile demons rejoice over your destruction. In all things, O soul, you are like a ship that swims across the abyss, and you are tossed about by all kinds of terrible winds, which intensify to throw you down to the bottom of hell and burn you always with burning fire. Take heed, then, that you may always be guided by the calm cool winds, that is, by the instructions of the Holy Spirit, that you always see Him and listen to Him alone, that you fill your mental sails with Him, that by Him you may unshakably establish the mast of your heart, so that you may reach the heavenly harbor without loss, keeping intact all the riches of your virtues. Keep the lamp of your body in simplicity, so that all of it may always be light, illumined by the unapproachable light. Otherwise, the natural light that dwells in you will be transformed from negligence and intemperance into terrible darkness and will cast you into utter darkness, where there is a terrible gnashing of teeth and incessant (useless) tears. Acquire for yourself the God-given wealth of tears, with which Christ the King soon bows down to mercy. Acquire patience, that unshakable pillar of the soul against the misfortunes that come upon you. But even then, do not fall when a storm of evil temptations attacks you. For no one is crowned unless he strives lawfully. Avoid being likened to the foolish and abominable Pharisee, and do not condemn your neighbor; Always see the beam in your own eye, that is, the exorbitant burden of your vices. One should always take care to place oneself far from this assimilation, so that not only with one's tongue, but also in one's heart, one should always consider oneself an unclean dog and a trampling on people. And do not allow yourself to consider the twig that is in the eye of your neighbor, that is, an insignificant sin. For everyone, O my dear soul, will then give an account of his sins to the Judge of all. Always have the memory of the torments of hell, O soul, and walk straight along the path of piety. For every transgressor, and delightful in iniquity, shall be given over to endless torments. Always hold fast to the divine commandments, diligently directing your life according to them. For otherwise it is impossible to be saved, just as he who does not submit to doctors will not receive health. Let him assure thee of this, who from the most divine wedding feast was banished into the flames of torment, because he had no garment befitting a sacred marriage, woven of pious deeds. Faith, the soul, is like a golden base, and every beautiful weft (for this fabric) is good deeds. And just as the one and the other, being in isolation, cannot be recognized or called a beautiful fabric, so faith without good works, as well as good works without a blameless faith, are both dead. "Fire," he says, "have come to bring upon the earth" (Luke 12:19), signifying by this zeal and divine zeal for His saving commandments, by which, as by divine fire, all impurity and fleshly defilement are destroyed, and around you blossoms the luminous garment of holiness, miraculously covering you. Try to cleanse all the defilements of your flesh with this divine fire. And do not be deceived by the heresy which asserts that after death in fire the fleshly impurities of sinners are cleansed. This is a terrible charm, and the final abyss, and the teaching of Origen's error. For it was not by purifying fire, but by compulsion that the Judge commanded himself to contrive to enrapture the kingdom of heaven; likewise, before the heavenly door is closed, we are commanded to try to enter by the narrow way. By the narrow path, my soul, understand the compulsion of oneself to fulfill the holy commandments, and by the severe closing of the door after death, understand the great patience of God: for if we live righteously, then this door is always open to us and graciously receives inside those who are departed from everywhere; but if we live lawlessly and without repentance, then it is mercilessly shut up to us when we are snatched away from here by death. This harsh conclusion of the divine door exposes the obvious falsity of the teaching about the purifying fire. If there were any hope for the wicked and unrighteous who disappear from here in the purifying fire after death; then the door of the divine bridal chamber would not have been closed to virgins who had not taken oil with them in their vessels, and the idle word, which is the lightest of all sins, would not have been preserved for the answer at the last judgment. Those virgins did not lead a prodigal life, nor did they live in disorderly laughter; but some of them were always hungry, others wept; and when they prayed that the gates of heaven would be opened to them, they heard: "I do not take you, depart from me, you workers of iniquity" (Matt. 25:11, 12 and ch. 8:23). Likewise, he who calls his neighbor a foolish idle talker (Matt. 5:22) would not be condemned into eternal fire. By all this, soul, the Lord clearly teaches that the present life serves as a time of podvig, both for the acquisition of virtue and for the destruction of all evil, and after death, accordingly, either reward or punishment is received. This is more clearly shown by that divine parable in which the Lord teaches us by example, showing the rich man who was burned in the fire for his lack of mercy, but was not cleansed, and representing Abraham, who says to him: "Child, thou hast received thy good in thy life," as well as this wretched man, his "wicked" (Luke 10:25), having endured with great patience many sorrows. By this He clearly showed that this life is predestined for all people both for the acquisition of virtue and for the redemption of themselves from sin, as stated above; And in the afterlife, either reward or torment awaits us. But also a great father (Anthony the Great)

Оба эти велики и достохвальны: и тот, кто об этом повествует (Афанасий Великий), и тот, кто это мысленно созерцал (Антоний Великий). Из них один—премудрый святитель Александрии, а другой—превосходнейший глава священных иноков.

Итак, не прельщайся пустыми словами ложных мудрецов, а повинуясь учению евангельскому, старайся добрыми делами и смиренными слезами смыть тяжесть многих своих согрешений. Для этого со всяким прилежанием исполняй всегда до последней йоты божественные заповеди Спасителя, если не постыдно желаешь оказаться тогда стоящим одесную Господа своего. Ибо «тогда, говорите псалмопевец, «не постыжуся, внегда призрети ми на вся заповеди Твоя». И опять: «буди сердце мое непорочно во оправданиих Твоих, яко да не постыжуся» (Пс. 118, 6. 80). Сердце же непорочное и не постыдно пребывающее в заповедях Вышняго—у того, кто не смеет ни одной из них презреть, не исполнив делом, или изменить; но все точно исполняете со страхом.

Избегай пагубной праздности и деланием рук отгоняй помыслы уныния. Нет ничего пагубнее праздности, и от той произошло в роде нашем всякое зло. Делай же все ради Бога, а какие от того получаются прибыли, то не жалея влагай в руки нищих, а не храни без ума для себя, если, действительно, желаешь наследовать вечное небесное богатство. Ибо «где» будет «ваше сокровище», говорит Господь наш, «ту и сердце ваше будет» (Мф. 6,21.). Питайся от своих праведных трудов, как изначала назначило божественное Господне повеление:» «в поте лица твоего», говорит оно, «снеси хлеб твой вся дни живота твоего» (Быт. 3, 19.), а не имей подручных себе поселян, как властелин; но, как ученик Христов, живи по апостольски, добывая себе хлеб свой собственными руками, предварительно раздав все свое нищим, по заповеди Спасителя. Предпочитай лучше сама работать на других, чем властвовать другими. Ибо первым возвышаешься горе, а последним разделяешь себя на двое: если согласно установлениям Божиим будешь устраивать порученное тебе начальство, будешь блаженна; если же будешь преступать эти установления, то будешь осуждена с законопреступниками.

Предпочитай быть нищею, нежели иметь в изобилии серебро. Если беспокоят недостатки, предпочитай терпеть, а не беспокоить других. Это имей себе правилом, а не желай питаться кровно убогих, требуя от них проценты на серебро. Последним ты не вслед обнищавшего Христа ходишь, окаянная, а вслед беззаконных язычников, и делаешь себя подлежащею проклятью закона и наследницею огня неугасаемого. Ибо «проклят», сказано, «всяк, иже сребро свое в лихву дает ближнему своему». (Лев. 25, 36; Втор. 27, 26). Слышала ты, душа, что «расточившего» и «раздавшего убогим», а не в лихву дающего сребро, «правда пребывает во веки» (Пс.111, 9.). Зачем, как аспид глухой, затыкаешь уши свои? Если истинно любишь распявшегося Иисуса Христа, и желаешь наследовать Его блаженную славу, —с Ним обнищай и сраспнись Ему, и все твои желания пересели на небо. Для сродников своих, для знакомых и друзей, будь яко странен, незнаем, бездомен, не имущий ни отечества, ни звания, —и как бы мало смыслен. Раздай все свое убогим. Возненавидь и отбрось от себя все прежние обычаи и всякую любезную тебе волю. Пребывай в алчбе и жажде добровольно и невольно; терпи скорби; радуйся, если будешь заключена в темницу. «Аще кто мне служит, — сказал Спаситель, Мне да последует, и идеже есмь Аз, ту и слуга Мой будет» (Иоан.12, 26.)

Бегай зла богомерзкого ростовщичества, за которым следует страшное преступление заповеди Божией и правды Его; дерзостное же прекословие и злодеяние и лесть постоянно обходят городские стены, ради чего «языки потопляемы» бывают (Пс.54, 10.), будучи свыше посекаемы божественным мечем. Бегай зла лихоимства, делающего антихристом, то есть, противником евангельским заповедям—всякого, утешающегося им. Ибо Христос Господь, как написано, пришел разрешить души убогих, связанных неправедными лихвами (Пс.71, 14; Лук. 4, 18.); ростовщик же, беснуясь неистовством златолюбия, опять связывает их процентными оковами. Бегай ростовщического зла, претворяющего своего последователя в неверного и служителя богомерзких идолов (Еф. 5, 5.). Если же лихоимство есть полное служение идолам, как слышим от божественного проповедника: то всеми силами избегай злобы лихоимания. Если желаешь безвозвратно вселиться в божественной горе вместе со святыми, угодившими Богу, и с ними вечно веселиться во свете: то бегай этой мерзости, любителей которых — язычников, божественная песнь, устами всех по всей вселенной благоверных, проклинает и всегда молится с великою ревностью о потоплении их, говоря: «потопи Господи, и раздели языки..». (Пс.54,10.) и прочее, известное читающим и пренебрегаемое ими. Питаясь кровью бедственно живущих и утешаясь пагубною лихвою, ты уподобляешься какому то зверю кровопийце, и из сухих костей стараешься вы сосать мозги, подобно псам и воронам. Тебе велено, о несмысленная, своими трудами питать убогих, а не пить кровь других посредством лихоимства, —служить иным, а не властвовать над другими. Зачем точишь нож на свое сердце? Христос Господь до конца возлюбил крайнюю нищету, так что не имел где приклонить священную Свою главу. Ты же, окаянная, не страшишься пагубными лихвами непрестанно томить бедных поселян. О, какое ужасное неистовство! Не стыдишься ли самой жизни Христа твоего, которым хвалишься? Как понимаешь ты, душа, о Христе? Неужели думаешь, что Он на это не обращает внимания и не потребует отчета на страшном суде? Ужасайся Его угрозы, ибо Он говорит: «обличу тя и представлю пред лицем твоим» вся беззакония «твоя» (Пс. 9. 21.). Или думаешь, что немногими твоими кусками, которые иногда подаешь подходящим к твоим воротам убогим, ты избавишься по смерти заслуженной своим бесчеловечием казни и мучения в пламени? Безумствуешь, обманываешь себя; ты стоишь далеко от пути, ведущего праведных в царство небесное. Ибо лихоимец не наследует царство небесное, вопиет божественный Павел, — эти неложные уста Христовы (Еф.5, 5). Если не уподобишься усердно тому, кто вчетверо отдал обиженным им, и не раздашь, подобно ему, пол—имения своего убогим: то и в дом свой не примешь пребывать Христа—Царя, и не надейся услышать от Него: «днесь спасение дому сему бысть» (Лук. 19, 9). Милость, оказанная нищим, и любовь от чистого сердца ко Господу и ко всем людям, —вот все, чего требует от нас Христос Бог; без этого же, все остальное не приносит пользы, —ни воздержание в пище, ни продолжительные молитвенные подвиги. Ибо ни жертвы, говорит, хощу, но милости. Пусть убедит тебя пример «буиих дев», не имевших елея в сосудах своих, это никакой не получили они пользы от прочих своих добродетелей, но были изгнаны из небесного чертога.