a stranger, a beggar and inferior to others; great are these (virtues) if you correct (them).

You will all be [then] an imitator of the Lord, and what is higher than this?

Daily weeping corrects everyone: for it is sweeter than food and drink.

He teaches the knowledge of the transitory and the abide, for first of all He distances us from the world.

Exercise yourself in the silence that preserves (all) this, for it cuts through all kinds of useless roots.

Always keep the memory of death, for it is the cause of humility.

From here, having been purified and enlightened in the heart (O miracle sought by all!),

thou shalt be vouchsafed to see the Divine light clearly; for it is the immaterial ray of the Immaterial.

Christ is perfect love; he who has Him by adoption is God.

Souls who seek Him, He enlightens; they alone shall live—no one shall be deceived.

O God-creating love, which is God, a gift mysteriously given to the worthy; it is marvellous and not easily acquired.

Hymn 19: Instructions to Monks Who Have Recently Renounced the World and the Things in the World; and about what faith one should have in one's father (spiritual).

Leave the whole world and that which is in the world, accept only blessed weeping, weep only for your evil deeds, because they have deprived you of the Creator of all—Christ and (the community of) saints (Him). Other than that, there is nothing else to worry about. Even let your body be as strange to you. Looking down, as one condemned and led to death, always sigh from the depths of your heart. Wash your face with tears alone. Do not wash your feet that are bleeding on evil (deeds) with water. And let your hands be bent; shamelessly do not stretch them out to God, which you have often used for sin. Restrain the bold tongue as much as possible (for it is very agile for sin), because because of it alone, many even of the great (men), having gone astray, have lost the kingdom of heaven. First of all, shut your ears, so that you do not hear anything shameful and vain; Then, perhaps, you will master the language. Listen only to the instructions of your (spiritual) father, give him humble answers, and, as to God, reveal your thoughts, hiding nothing even to (sinful) attachments; do nothing without his will: do not sleep, do not eat and do not drink. And when you observe this in good time, you will not imagine that you have done anything great; For thou hast sown in sweat and toil, yet thou hast not yet gathered the fruit of thy labours. Therefore, do not be deceived and do not think that you have found (what you are looking for) before you have acquired the eyes of your soul and cleansed the ears of your heart with your tears, having washed them from impurity, and (before) you have not begun to see and hear spiritually, and have not begun to change with your senses within. For you will see much that cannot be expressed, and much more you will hear, and moreover, extraordinary things, which you will not be able to express with language. To see in this way is the miracle of miracles. Such a person never thinks anything carnal, but he tramples on the earth, as if walking through the air, and sees everything even to the depths, delving into all creatures; he comes to know God and, stricken with fear as the Creator, worships (Him) and glorifies (Him). And it is a great thing to know (His) authority and might, although everyone thinks they know it; However, do not doubt that very many people are deceived. Only the enlightened know this, while others (oh, terrible ignorance!) are darkened by even greater darkness than the demons.

But, O Lord and Creator of all! Thou Who created me from the earth as a mortal being and honored me with the grace of immortality, Who bestowed upon me life, and speech, and movement, and (the opportunity) to glorify Thee, the Lord of all, Thou Thyself, O Lord, grant me, the wretched one, falling down before Thee, to ask (for myself) that which is useful. For I do not know how I came into this world, nor what is here that which (people) consider to exist. I cannot say, O my God, what is my sight and what are the things that I see. How are we all people vain, and do not have a correct judgment about things? Yesterday I came (here), tomorrow I will depart, and I think that I will exist here immortally. Before all I confess Thee to be my God, but in my works I deny Thee daily (Titus 1:16). I teach that Thou art the Creator of all things, and yet I strive to have all things independently of Thee. Thou reignest above and below, and I alone do not tremble to resist Thee. Grant me, helpless, let me, the most unfortunate, reject every blemish of the soul, which, alas, is belittled and crushed by pride and empty arrogance. Grant (me) humility, give me a helping hand, cleanse the defilement of my soul, and give me tears of repentance, tears of desire, tears of salvation, tears that cleanse the darkness of my mind, and make me again (clear) and bright, desiring to see Thee, the Light of the world, the Light of my eyes, my (I say) me, miserable, having a heart full of worldly evils, many sorrows, and enmity towards those who have caused me exile, it is better to speak to my benefactors, masters, and truly my friends. Repay them for their evil, O my Christ, with eternal, rich, and divine blessings, which Thou hast prepared for ever and ever to those who desire Thee and love Thee from the bottom of their hearts

Hymn 20: What should a monk be like, and what is his work, or ascent, and ascent?

Make the house of your soul a chamber in the dwelling place of Christ, the King of all, with drops of your tears, with cries, sobs, kneelings and frequent sighs, if you wish, O monastic, to be truly a monk. And then you will not be lonely, since you will be co-existent with the King, and you will be lonely like us, as one who is separated from people and the whole world; This, of course, is (therefore) a monk. And having been united with God and the King, thou didst not become lonely, but was numbered among all the saints, became a cohabitant of the angels, a companion of the righteous, and truly a co-heir with all the heavenly dwellers. And so, how are you lonely, when you have a dwelling place where there is a council of martyrs and monks, where there is a countenance of prophets and divine Apostles, where there is an innumerable multitude of righteous people, bishops, patriarchs and other saints? But he who has Christ living in himself, how can he be called the only one, tell me? After all, the Father and the Spirit dwell with my Christ. How lonely is he who is united with three as with one? He who is united with God is not alone, even though he is alone, even if he sits in the desert or is in a cave. But if anyone has not found Him, has not come to know Him, has not received Him all, the incarnate God the Word, he is absolutely, woe is me! he did not become a monk; therefore he is alone, separated and separated from God.

Likewise, each of us separately and all of us (people of this spirit) are, of course, separated from other people, and are orphaned and separated, although it seems to us that we have unity through cohabitation and communicate with each other in crowded assemblies. For in spirit and body we are separated, and that this is true is shown by death, separating each one from his relatives and friends, and bringing oblivion to all those who are now beloved. In the same way, night, sleep, and the affairs of life naturally dissolve the unity of many. But whoever by virtue has made his cell heaven, while sitting in it, beholds and sees the Creator of heaven and earth, and worships (Him), always coexisting with the Unsetting Light, the Unfading Light, the Unapproachable Light, from Whom he in no way separates himself, nor does he depart at all, either day or night, neither in food, nor in drink, nor even in sleep, either on the way, or when changing places, but both the living and the dead, to put it more clearly, are completely eternally co-existent with Him in soul. For how can the bride be separated from the bridegroom, or the husband from the wife with whom he was once married? The lawgiver, tell me, will he not keep the law? Who said: "And the two shall be one flesh" (Gen. 2:24), how can He not Himself become with it (soul) completely (one) spirit? For the woman is in the man, and the husband is in the wife, and the soul is in God, but God is also united in the soul and is known in all the saints.