3 According to the manuscript, instead of α̉υτˆων it reads ε̉κ τωˆν.

there are thousands of examples, from which it becomes clear that of all that is valued in life, nothing is higher than prayer.

But although it is time to devote ourselves to the prayer itself, let us nevertheless add something else to the word, because, by God's grace, we have many blessings of all kinds, and for recompense for what we have received, we have this only thing – the opportunity to pay the debt to the Benefactor by prayer and thanksgiving. For this reason I reason that if we continue our conversation with God for the rest of our lives, abiding in thanksgiving and prayer, then our recompense will be as invaluable as if we had not yet taken care to lay the foundations for the fulfillment of this duty – to repay the Benefactor with something. The continuation of time is divided into three sections: past, present, and future. These three divisions encompass the Lord's beneficence to us. Will you think about the present? You live in the Lord; or about the future? He is for you the hope of what is expected; Or about the past? Thou wouldst not have existed, if thou hadst not received existence from Him; thereby you are blessed by Him, because you have received from Him being, and you are also benefited by the fact that you use being, because in Him you live and move, as the Apostle says (Acts 17:28). And the hopes for the future depend on this same beneficence.4 You yourself have power only in the present, so that if you did not cease to thank God at all times, you would hardly be able to give thanks for the present, not finding any way to give credit both for the future and for the past. And we are so poor in the due gratitude5 that we are not grateful as far as possible, I do not say the whole day, not even devoting the greater part of the day to contemplation of God. Who has spread out the earth for me? Who by his invention has made even the moist nature impassable? Who hath built me the heavens as a tent to dwell in (Isaiah 40:22)? Who bears the lamp of the sun before me? Who sends springs to the valley? Who prepared the riverbed for the rivers? Who gave me the dumb animals into my service? Who made me, inanimate dust, a partaker of life and understanding? Who formed this mortal in the likeness of the image of God? Who has brought the image of God, darkened in me by sin, back to its original babbling? Who draws me, expelled from paradise, removed from the tree of life, hidden in the abyss of material life, to primordial bliss? there is none that understandeth (Rom. 3:11), says the Scriptures. Considering this, we should give thanks endlessly and unceasingly throughout the entire time of life.

But now almost all human nature is vigilant for one material thing, about this all its thoroughness, for this all its zeal, this is the subject of both remembrance and hope. Vigilant and irrepressible in every matter is human nature to desire more, wherever anything greater can still be found: whether it be in honor and glory, in the abundance of possessions or in the infirmity of irritability, everywhere our nature intends to achieve more in this, but there is not even a thought of the true blessings of God, or known by promise.

But it is time to investigate, if possible, the meaning of the sayings used in prayer; for it is evident that it becomes possible for us to obtain what we desire only when we know how to ask for it. Wherefore what doctrine is taught about this? And when you pray, it is said, do not speak superfluously, as the pagans do, for they think that in their verbosity they will be heard (Matt. 6:7). Although the content of this teaching, being set forth to us simply, may in itself be clear and does not require any more subtle investigation, it is nevertheless worthy of investigation for us: what is the meaning of utterance: superfluous speech,6 so that, having ascertained the meaning of this word, we should not do what is forbidden to us.

It seems to me that the Lord chastes the vanity of the mind, restrains those who plunge into vain desires, and therefore He invented this hitherto unused and newly composed utterance to denounce the foolishness of those who amuse themselves with desires of useless and vain things. For the word is prudent, sensible and

4 According to the manuscript, instead of ε̉νεργίας, it reads: ε̉υεργεσίας.

5 In the manuscript, instead of κατα δύναμιν, it reads κατ ̉αξιαν.

6 Lisshegolanie — superfluous verbosity, polyphony.— Ed.

That which is directed towards what is useful in the proper sense is called a word, and that which is uttered by unfulfilled desires for the sake of an unrealizable pleasure is not a word, but a superfluous speech, or as another, expressing a thought in more common words, would say: idle talk, nonsense, nonsense, and anything else of the same meaning. Therefore, what does this word inspire us? – During prayer, do not be subjected to the same things that, for example, happen in a child's mind. For those who are imperfect in mind do not think about what could really be fulfilled according to their thoughts, but autocratically build for themselves some kind of happy fate, assuming treasure, marriage, kingdoms, great cities, which are called by their names, imagine themselves to be the owners of what the vanity of thoughts has depicted to them, and some are even more boldly given over to such vanity, and having transgressed the measure of nature, or become birds in their thoughts, or shine like stars, or carry mountains in their hands, or imagine the sky to be passable for themselves, or intend to live for thousands of years, turning from old people to young people, or other similar things like bubbles and empty ideas7 give birth to the heart in the young in mind; Wherefore, just as in ordinary affairs he does not speculate on how any of the good desires are attained, but is vain with unfulfilled desires, like a foolish and miserable man, in these dreams he wastes time in which he could think how to do something useful for himself: so he who during prayer does not strive for that which is useful to the soul, but asks God to show favor to the passionate movements of his mind, as a foolish man, there is indeed one who speaks superfluously, praying that God may become a co-worker and servant of his vanities. I will say for example: someone approaches God with prayer and, not understanding in his mind the height of the power to which he approaches, without realizing it, offends this greatness with shameful and base petitions. As if a man, out of extreme poverty or coarseness, considers clay vessels to be of great value to himself, and then comes to the king, who is ready to distribute riches and ranks, putting aside the petitions that are proper for the king, and begins to ask the venerable one by this dignity to mold from clay what is desirable for him; In the same way, he who ignorantly uses prayer does not himself rise to the height of the Giver, but, on the contrary, desires to reduce the Divine power to his own low and earthly desire, and therefore extends his passionate aspirations to Him Who sees the heart, and extends them not in order to heal the inappropriate movements of the heart, but so that it may become even worse, when this evil striving, with the help of God, will be crowned with action. Since so-and-so offends, and the heart is disposed towards the offender, he says to God: "Smite him," as if crying out: "Let my passion be made Yours, let my malice pass into Thee also."

Just as in human battles it is impossible to stand for someone on the one hand, without feeling irritation with the one who is angry at the opposing one, so it is obvious that he who stirs up God against his enemy asks Him to be angry with him and become a participant in irritation. And this means for the Divinity to become passionate, to become like a man, and to transform the good nature into brutal cruelty. Thus, the lover of glory, so proud to have more and more, so eager to gain victory in legal proceedings, so eager to receive a crown in bodily struggles, seeking approval in spectacles, and often exhausted by the violent passion of youth – all of them pray to God not to be freed from the disease that prevails them, but that the illness in them may reach its limit; and since each of them does not have time to do this as a misfortune for himself, they truly speak too much, beseeching God to become a co-worker of their mental illness. And what is worse of all, it is desirable for them that the Divinity should accept opposite strivings, dividing God's efficacy into cruelty and love for mankind; for for Whom they desire to be merciful and gentle to them, they also ask Him to show Himself cruel and unmerciful to their enemies. What foolishness of those who speak superfluously! If God

7 According to the manuscript, instead of ποιηματα it reads: νοήματα. 4

is cruel to them, then, without a doubt, he is not kind to you either. And if, in your hope, he bows down to mercy towards you, then why will he come to the opposite disposition, exchanging mercy for cruelty?

But lovers of disputes have this objection at hand. For in defense of their cruelty they immediately present prophetic words, namely: David, who desires that sinners perish (Psalm 9:4), and prays for the shame and shame of his enemies (Psalm 82:18); Jeremiah, who expresses a desire to see God's vengeance on those who oppose him (Jeremiah 11:20); Hosea, who asks to give his enemies a womb that does not give birth and dry breasts (Hosea 9:14), is also collected by many other things, scattered in various places of the Holy Scriptures, proving that one should pray for vengeance on one's opponents and make God's goodness a co-worker of one's cruelty. But in order to stop those who deviate from the contrary about this, as if in passing, we will propose the following about each of the passages mentioned: