Thus, if we want to cleanse our souls from the defilements of sin, then it is not enough to distribute our possessions to the poor, but it is also necessary to weep and shed tears from the bottom of our hearts. I think of myself in such a way that if I do not cleanse the filth of my sins with my tears, but depart from this life defiled, then I will be righteously given over to mockery by both God and the angels, and cast into an inextinguishable fire together with the demons. Yes, my brethren, so it is truly. We have not contributed anything to the present life, so that, when we sin, we would give it to God for the atonement of our sins, as the Gospel says: "What will a man give treason for his soul? (Matt. 16:26). Behold the just judgment! This is righteous and true humility, as the Holy Spirit also says through the mouth of David: I will not receive bullocks from your house, nor goats from your flocks. For I am all beasts, oak groves, and so forth (Psalm 49:9-10). And again, if thou wouldst desire sacrifices, thou wouldst give them, for thou didst not delight in burnt offerings. Sacrifice to God: the spirit is broken; God will not despise a broken and humble heart (Psalm 50:18-19). Again Christ also says: "Do not think that you have come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I have not come to destroy, but to fulfill" (Matt. 5:17). For the old law could not heal souls from the invisible disease of sinful passions by earthly medicines, that is, by bodily justifications, gifts, sacrifices, burnt offerings, and so on. That is why the Forerunner John also says: "Behold the Lamb of God, take away the sins of the world" (John 1:29). Likewise, the Apostle Paul: "The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath set me free from the law of sin and death" (Romans 8:2).

Do you want to know how Christ fulfilled the law and the prophets, as He Himself says? Listen to me. The law says: Thou shalt not kill, but Christ: Be not angry; the law: Thou shalt not commit adultery, but Christ: Thou shalt not lust; The law, Thou shalt not swear falsely, but Christ, Thou shalt not swear at all.

All the commandments of Christ are given to us in opposition to sins; in these commandments it is necessary to live and zealously fulfill them for everyone who wishes to be vouchsafed the Kingdom of Heaven; for everything else, one must be inactive and dead. Christ the Lord says: "If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, if ye will, ask, and it shall be given unto you" (John 15:7). Let us follow the word of Christ with zeal and zeal, until we reach the place where Christ dwells. Where Christ Himself dwells, there He draws those who follow Him, and places them in the holy of holies, as a Great Bishop, where He entered first, as a man like us, as He Himself says: "No one shall come to the Father but Me." I am the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). And again: Father, Thou hast given them unto Me, I will, that where I am, they also shall be with Me, that they may see My glory, which Thou hast given Me (John 17:24). Let us also be crucified with Christ, that is, let us endure every temptation that comes upon us, and let us die for love for Him for all worldly pleasures, that we may live with Him. Let us walk together with Him on the path that leads to heaven, keeping our hearts pure, for when we walk the path of His commandments and follow Him without turning back, then our enemy the devil will not be able to do us any harm, especially if we walk with a wise guide and good companions. Let us fear the example of the barren fig tree, cursed by Christ for its barrenness, and let us bring worthy fruit to Christ through repentance. Let us not allow ourselves to slumber through the negligence of our souls, and let us not allow ourselves to wander here and there in the delights of the world, at a time when we must labor in the practice of God's commandments, so as not to extinguish the lamp kindled and shining under the influence of the fruits of repentance, and not to become like the five foolish virgins. But by good and God-pleasing deeds let us multiply the talent of Christ's grace.

For for everyone in general, not only for monks, but also for laypeople, it is possible always to repent and weep, to pray to God and to succeed in all virtues.

Such were those who lived before Christ: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Lot, Moses, David, I will leave the rest, because they were many, but in the new grace, during the incarnate economy of Christ our God, the Apostle Peter, an unlearned fisherman, who preached Christ throughout the whole world. However, who can count them all, when they are more than the sand of the sea? There were many kings, princes, and persons in authority (not to mention the poor), who, with great dependence, built cities, palaces, churches of God, almshouses, and hospices, which have survived to this day. Having all this during their lifetime, they used it piously and pleasing to God, not as masters and rulers, but as servants of God, disposing of what God had given them, as it pleased God. They used the world, as St. Paul says, but they did not abuse it. Why, even living in the world, they were glorious and famous, and in the next life in the kingdom of heaven they will be more glorious and radiant for endless ages. In the same way, if we were not negligent and careless despises of God's commandments, but zealous, zealous and attentive fulfillers of them, then we would not have the need to abandon our possessions, withdraw from the world and become monks. But in order that you may be better convinced of this, listen to what will be said next.

2. In the beginning, God created man as king of all earthly things, and not only earthly things, but also those things that are under the roof of heaven, for the sun, the moon, and the stars were created for man. And so, being the king of all these visible things, did man suffer any harm to virtue from this? No, he did not. On the contrary, if he had always thanked God for this, Who created him, and dedicated all this to Him, then he would have increased in virtue. And if he had not transgressed the commandments of God, then, of course, he would not have lost his kingdom, which he had, and would not have fallen from the glory of God. But as soon as he transgressed the commandment of God, he was righteously expelled from paradise, and began to live in labor and trouble, and died in exile.

And listen, I will tell you something that no one has yet said with complete clarity. The Divine Scripture says: God said to Adam, 'Adam, where art thou?' (Gen. 3:9). Why does the Creator of all things say this? Of course, in order to dispose Adam to come to his senses, to recognize his sin and to repent. For this reason he says: Adam, where art thou? As if to say: Adam, enter into thyself, know thy nakedness, and understand what garment and what glory thou hast lost: Adam, where art thou? In a way, as it were, He stirs him up and says: O Adam, come to yourself and humbly confess your sin. Get out of where you are hiding. Do you think you will hide from Me? Say, I have sinned. "But he does not say this (or rather, I, poor man, do not say this, because it is my own passion), and what does he say?" I heard the voice of Thee, walking in paradise, and feared, for I was naked, and hid myself (10). And what did God say to him: "Who shall tell thee that thou art naked, except of the tree, whose commandments thou alone hast eaten, of which thou hast eaten? (11). Do you see, beloved, the mercy of God? That when God said to Adam, "Where art thou," and Adam did not confess his sin, but said, "I heard the voice of Thee, walking in the garden, and feared that I was naked, and hid myself," He was not immediately angry with him, nor turned away from him, but again asked him, saying, "Who shall tell thee that thou art naked, except of the tree, whose commandments thou alone shall not eat? Did you eat from him? "Have you understood the depth of the wisdom of God, that when Adam said, 'I am naked,' God said to him, 'Why say you are naked, but hide your sin?' Do not think that I see only your body, and I do not see your heart and your thoughts. For Adam was deceived and really thought that God did not know about his sin, saying in a way in himself: "I will say that I am naked; God, not knowing the reason for this, will ask: "Why have you become naked?" And I will answer him: I do not know. Thus I will deceive Him and again receive the former covering. And if I do not receive this, at least He will not immediately expel me from paradise and send me to another place. This is what Adam thought, as many do now, and I myself am the first, hiding my sins. But God, not wanting Adam's sin to be burdened by this lack of consciousness, said to him: "How did you know that you were naked, if you had not eaten of the tree, from which it was forbidden for you to eat?" It was as if he were saying to him, "And thou thinkest thou to hide thyself from me?" I do not know what I have done? Why do you not say, I have sinned? Say, wretched one: to her, O Lord! I have truly sinned, transgressing Thy commandment, I have listened to the counsel of my wife, and have committed a great sin, having acted according to her word, and transgressed Thy own. Have mercy on me, O God, and forgive me. But he does not say this, he is not humbled, he is not contrite; his heart is hardened, as is I, a poor man. If he had said this, he would have remained in paradise again and would not have been subjected to the deprivations that he experienced later. With this one word: if he sinned, he would atone for all the many years that he spent in hell.

That's what I promised to tell you! But listen further, and you will understand how true my word is. God said to Adam: "In the next day ye shall take away from him, from the forbidden tree, ye shall die death" (Gen. 2:17), "death, that is, of the soul," which was done immediately, "man took off the garment of immortality, and neither God said anything more (that decree), nor did anything happen after that special thing. God, foreseeing that Adam had sinned, and wishing to forgive him if he repented, said nothing more than what was said. But Adam denied his sin and did not repent, even though he was rebuked by God, for he said, "The woman whom thou hast given with me, she has deceived me" (Gen. 3:12). Alas for his blinded soul! Having said this, he said, as it were, to God: "You yourself are to blame, because I have been deceived by the woman whom you have given me." What do I, poor and unfortunate, suffer the most now, when I do not want to humble myself and say with all my heart that I myself am guilty of my own destruction, but I say that so-and-so prompted me to do or say this and that, he advised me and led me astray. Alas for my poor soul, who speaks such words full of sin! Oh, the most shameless and foolish words of a shameless and foolish soul! And so, after Adam has said this, God also says to him: In the sweat of thy brow thou shalt bring forth thy bread, until thou returnest to the earth, from which thou wast taken; for thou art the earth, and into the land shalt thou go (Gen. 3:19). It was as if He said to him: "I told you to repent in order to remain in your former state, but because you are hard-hearted and impenitent, depart from Me." This separation of you from Me will be enough for your punishment: you are the earth, and you will go to the earth. Do you now understand that Adam, because he did not repent and did not say, "I have sinned, I have been expelled from paradise, I have been condemned to spend my life in toil and sweat, and to depart into the earth from which I was taken"? Then, having left him, God approached Eve, wishing to discover that she, too, was righteously condemned together with Adam to exile, because she did not want to repent, and said to her, "What have you done? For what other reason would God have spoken such words to her, except to induce her to say: O Lord, through my foolishness I have done this, poor and wretched, and have obeyed Thee, my Lord, have mercy on me and forgive me! But she didn't say that, so what? The serpent deceived me. O petrified insensibility! And you, Eve, after you agreed to converse with the serpent, who spoke to you words contrary to your Lord and God, preferred him to God your Creator, found his advice better than the commandments of your Lord and considered it truer than the commandment of God, - do you not confess that you have done wrong and do not repent?! "And so, since she also did not want to say, 'I have sinned,' she also is expelled from the paradise of sweetness and is separated from God. Delve into the depths of the mysteries of the loving God and know from this that if they had repented, they would not have been expelled from paradise and condemned to return to the land from which they were taken. How is that? Listen to me.

3. Since, having been expelled from paradise, they immediately began to hunger and thirst, to chill and tremble, to bear toil and sweat, and to endure all the hardships and sorrows that we also endure today, they soon felt into what a bitter state they had descended and what a great calamity they had been subjected to. Then they came to know their hardness of heart and impenitence, and God's ineffable condescension and kindness towards them. Why, walking and sitting outside of paradise, they repented and shed tears, beat themselves in the face and pulled out the hairs of their heads, weeping over their former hardness of heart. And they did this not for one, or two, or ten days, but all their lives.

Они познали величие сих благ и цену им, когда потеряли их, быв изгнаны из рая; тогда же познали они и всю великость понесенного ими зла. Почему непрестанно горевали и плакали, призывая благоутробие Божие.

Что же делает Бог, скорый и готовый на милость и косный на наказание? Он провидел, что они наконец смирятся и раскаются, потому предопределил и особый способ к отменению своего на них праведного приговора, но не тотчас привел в исполнение сие предопределение, а свои назначил для сего и время, и место, и образ, чтоб научить нас любомудрствоватъ и не восставать против Творца своего и Бога. Как предопределил, так потом и сделал, и тем, которых изгнал из рая за продерзость пред Ним и нераскаянное сердце, поелику смирились и оплакивали себя, устроил путь к возвращению потерянного. Именно: для сего Сам Единородный Сын и Слово безначального Отца снисшел с небес на землю и не только соделался человеком, подобным им, но и благоволил понесть смерть насильственную и позорную, потом нисшел в ад, извел их оттуда и восстановил. Итак, Христос столько, как каждодневно слышишь, пострадавший за них, чтоб возвратить их из такого далекого изгнания, ужели бы не сжалился над ними, если б они покаялись тогда в раю? Как можно, чтобы не сжалился над ними Тот, Кто по существу человеколюбив и благоутробен и Кто создал их для того, чтоб они наслаждались благами рая и прославляли Благодетеля своего?

Но чтоб тебе лучше познать сие и поверить слову моему, слушай и еще. Если б они покаялись тогда, когда находились еще в раю, то получили бы опять только рай и ничего более. Но поелику, изгнаны быв из рая за нераскаянность, потом раскаялись, много плакали и бедствовали, то Владыка всяческих Бог, за труды их и поты, за бедствия, претерпенные ими, и за доброе их покаяние, благоволил паче почтить их и прославить, чтоб заставить их забыть все понесенное ими зло. И что же делает? Смотри, сколь велико человеколюбие Его! Сошедши во ад и изведши их оттуда, Он не ввел их опять в тот же рай, из которого они изгнаны, но возвел на небо небесе и, когда воссел одесную Бога и Отца Своего, спосадил их с Собою. Помысли же, какою великою почтил Он честию Адама, который был раб Ему по естеству, и сподобился быть отцом Ему по благодатному домостроительству? Видишь, на какую высоту вознес его Владыка наш Христос за его покаяние, смирение, плач и слезы! О сила покаяния и слез! О море человеколюбия неизъяснимого и милосердия неисследованного!

4. И не только Адама почтил Бог и прославил, но и нас, сынов его, которые то есть восподражали его покаянию, слезам, плачу и всему, о чем сказали мы, - и даже доселе прославляет Он и чтит, как Адама, тех, которые каются как следует и делают то, что делал Адам, - еще и тех, которые отныне и напоследок будут так делать и каяться, миряне ли они, или монахи, будет Он прославлять, как его, как Сам сказал Он, истинный Бог наш: "истинно говорю вам, не оставлю их никогда, но как братий Моих и друзей, отцов и матерей, сродников и сонаследников Моих покажу их, прославил и прославлю их, и на небеси горе, и на земли низу, и животу их и радованию и славе не будет конца".

Скажи же мне, брат мой, какую пользу принесла прародителям нашим оная беструдная и беспечальная жизнь, какую имели они в раю, когда они вознерадели, презрели Бога неверием Ему и преступили заповедь Его? Ибо если б верили Ему, то Ева не сочла бы змия вернейшим Бога, Адам не поверил бы Еве паче Бога, - и они поостереглись бы вкусить от древа запрещенного. Но вкусили, и не покаялись, и за это изгнаны из рая. Впрочем, и от изгнания опять они получили не вред, а великую пользу. Это в силу домостроительства спасения нашего.