"Why don't you get up from the floor," they went on, "don't you go with us on your usual business?" Prostitutes and taverns are waiting for you — can't you go, you won't quench your passions? For you, all hopes are already behind, and if you harass yourself like this, then the verdict is not far off! And why are you, poor fellow, in such a hurry to be punished? Why are you so anxious to get to the trial as soon as possible? You have tried everything that is lawless, for all this you are in our power, and you still dare to escape? Why are you silent? Or do you disagree? So will you come with us or not?"

But the young man continued to cry, did not answer them, and did not even listen. Then the demons, having obtained nothing from him, seized him and began to torture him severely. Having tormented his whole body with tortures, they threw him half-dead and left. And the young man remained motionless as before, shedding tears in unfailing repentance.

Meanwhile, his relatives began to look for him and found him. When they found out what had happened to him, they insisted on carrying him into the house. However, the young man did not agree. The next night the demons came again and subjected him to tortures even more terrible. But when his relatives came again, he did not allow himself to be carried away from there.

"It is better to die than to fall into the same filth again," he said to them.

On the third night, the demons tortured him so mercilessly that he barely survived.

When the demons saw that he did not give up, they retreated with a cry:

"You won, you won, you won!"

From that time on, nothing bad happened to the young man, and he continued to strive in purity and virtue. Until his death, he lived in that very tomb, and God honored him with spiritual gifts and miracles."

2. From the Life of St. Syncliticia

Blessed Syncliticia said that negligent and frivolous souls, those who are powerless to strive for good and moreover easily fall into despair, should be praised even for the smallest good motive, admired and exalted, and grave and greatest sins should be called unimportant and insignificant. Because the devil, wishing to turn everything to our destruction, tries to hide their sins from the prosperous and ascetics and make them forget them, in order to arouse their pride; but to the novices and the unestablished, He shows their sins in an exaggerated form, in order to cause them despair.

Souls in such confusion are to be comforted in the following manner. It is necessary to remind them of the incomparable condescension and goodness of God, as well as of the fact that our Lord is merciful, merciful and magnanimous, and regrets human sins.

In addition, it is necessary to bring them testimonies from the Divine Scriptures, which prove His inscrutable condescension to those who have sinned and repented. It should be said: "Rahab was a harlot, but she was saved by faith; Paul was a persecutor, but he became a chosen vessel; and the thief robbed and killed, but by a single word he was the first to open the gates of paradise," and also to enumerate Matthew, the publican, the prodigal son, and the like, and thereby lead them out of despair.

And souls that have become the prey of pride should be healed by higher examples. After all, even the best of farmers, if they see that the plant is short and frail, water it abundantly and make great efforts to grow and get stronger. And if they notice a too early shoot on the plant, then cut off the excess so that the plant does not dry out ahead of time. And doctors feed some of the patients abundantly and take them for a walk, and they impose a diet on someone and keep them from walking.

3. From St. Palladius