41. A soul that does not lag behind evil cares can neither love God worthily, nor hate the devil sincerely, for the veil of worldly cares lies over its heart.

42. Whoever succeeds in good deeds and then again turns to bad customs not only loses the reward for his former labors, but is also subjected to the most severe punishment, as one who has experienced the sweetness of good deeds.

43. Where there are pleasures, games, laughter, disorderly speech, music, foul songs, and effeminate fragrances, there is the darkening of the mind, the corruption of the heart, the destruction of husbands and wives, young men and virgins, and the feast of demons. Woe to them! Their fire shall not be quenched, neither shall the worm die. On the contrary, where there is reading and studying the Scriptures, psalmody, prayer, tears, sighing, contrition of heart, almsgiving, chastity, and zeal for all virtues, there is the feast of God, the joy of the saints, the joy of the angels! To those who do such things the Kingdom of Heaven will be opened, that they may rejoice in it forever.

44. Whence are sicknesses, whence are infirmities and premature death? Is it not from gluttony and gluttony? And contentment with little is the mother of health. As we corrupt the body with sweets, we corrupt the soul with passions; the body is earthly, but if we will, it will become heavenly. Make the vessel of the body clean, and God will dwell in you.

45. Just as a fish cannot live without water, so the soul cannot be saved without silence and instruction in the Divine Scriptures.

46. When eating and drinking, do not tear your mind away from the memory of death, and praise God, Who has created a multitude of various viands for the maintenance and healing of our body; Do not forget that strait and sorrowful is the path that leads to eternal life.

47. Labors give birth to glory: let us labor here a little in every temptation, oppression, sorrow, with great patience, so that there we may rejoice forever. The acuteness of sorrow will turn into joy, and temporal labors will bring forth the fruit of the Kingdom of Heaven. Without labors, sorrows and strong feats, it is impossible to reap the great promises of God.

48. The ascetic must devote himself entirely to the Lord with all his heart, with all his mind, and with all his strength, and, having been crucified to the world in soul and body, he must constantly work for Him in the fulfillment of His commandments, so that, having stood steadfastly on this path, he may receive eternal and blessed life.

49. He who bridles the belly diminishes the passions, but he who is conquered by him multiplies them. The more wood, the stronger the flame, and the more food, the more worms there will be. When the Holy Spirit, who dwells in a person, unable to endure the stench of gluttony, departs from him, then an evil spirit enters into him and corrupts everything within him. As smoke drives away bees, so gluttony drives away the grace of the Holy Spirit.

50. It is not bad to drink a little wine, as the Apostle wrote to Timothy, for its moderate use does not disturb the natural state of the body and does not arouse evil thoughts in the mind; only its immoderate use is the sowing of thorns of passions and vile thoughts.

51. The ascetic must abstain from everything, not only from the multitude and variety of foods, but also from everything that is forbidden. As the body, deprived of one limb, everything becomes ugly, so he who neglects the one virtue of abstinence destroys all its splendor. For abstinence is the restraining of oneself from every passionate and sinful deed and striving, in order to do nothing but the will of God. One must preserve abstinence in all senses: in sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch, in gait and in all affairs in general.

52. A person who wishes to please God by polishing must also keep all the commandments, for why do we fast, if not in order to fulfill the will of God more conveniently?

53. When we love God with strong love, He will not remember our former iniquities, for He does not reproach those who come, nor does He say, "Why have you fled from Me so long?" but with love He receives every repentant sincerely, whenever he comes to Him. Let us cleave to Him strongly, and pierce our flesh with His fear.

54. The strength of the body is exhausted by illnesses, its beauty is taken away by old age, and after a rich meal, hunger soon returns again. Let us abandon the care of what we cannot perpetuate. Let us move to the heavenly Jerusalem through virtues. Let us exhaust the body with labor and fasting and enslave it to the soul, so that it does not enslave the soul to the devil!