2. I now remembered this, not without reason, but because someone came to us and told us news that was bitter and painful, and even very offensive to God. There are (he said) even now people who dare to do the same as those barbarians, or even more iniquitous; for they drive out from everywhere those who come to our wisdom, and with great threats forbid them to say anything about it, or to teach it to any of the people. Hearing this, I immediately cried out, and repeatedly asked the speaker if he was not jokingly saying this. And he said, "No, I would never joke like that; not only would I not have said or invented it, but, on the contrary, I would have given much and would often pray that I would not even hear of this deed even now that it has been accomplished. Then, weeping even more bitterly, I said, "Surely this is a matter as much more impious than the insolence of Mithridates and all those (foreigners), as this temple (spiritual) is much more honorable and holy than that (Jerusalem). But who, tell me, and whence are those who have ventured to do such a thing? Why, for what reason, and for what purpose, do they throw stones upwards, throw arrows at heaven, and make war on the God of peace? Shemai and the Pharatheans, the princes of Assyria and all the rest (1 Ezra 4:9) were barbarians, as can be seen from their very names; in their way of life they were far from the Jews and did not want to see the peoples adjacent to them grow stronger, believing that the power of these (peoples) would finally eclipse their own strength. And why did these people dare to do such a thing? Is freedom constrained by them? Is their security violated? Does any of the rulers help them? Thus the Persian kings deigned in their enterprise; but our (kings), I am sure, desire and demand the opposite. Wherefore I am greatly astonished that under pious kings, among the cities, as you say, they dare to undertake such a deed. And what, he said, if you learn of a still greater strangeness, that those who do these things appear to be pious and call themselves Christians, and many of them are already among those who are initiated (into the sacraments)? Even one of them, under the strong suggestion of the devil, dared to say with his unclean tongue that he was ready to apostatize from the faith and offer sacrifice to the demons, because he (indignation) chokes him at the sight that people who are free, noble, and able to live in pleasure are attracted to such a harsh life. Hearing this, I was even more amazed, and considering how much evil would come from here, I wept over the whole world and cried out to God: "Take my soul and bring me out of my troubles" (1 Kings 19:4; Psalm 24:17); Release me from this temporal life and move to a country where no one else will say anything of the kind to me, and I will not hear it. I know that when I depart from here, utter darkness will embrace me, where there is great weeping and gnashing of teeth; but it is more pleasant for me to listen to the gnashing of teeth than to those who utter such speeches." When he saw that I was so much grieved, he said, "Now is not the time for this; with these words you can never convert the lost and those who are perishing; and evil, I think, will not stop, but we must take care to extinguish this fire and stop the infection; this is our duty; and if you wish to obey me, then, having ceased weeping, compose a word of admonition to these sick and restless, for the salvation of them as well as of all people in general; and I, taking this book, will put it, instead of any medicine, in the hands of the sick: since there are many friends of mine among these patients, they will allow me to come to them once, and twice, and many times, and, I am sure, they will soon be free from the infection." "You," I said, "measure our strength by the measure of your love; but I have no power of speech; and if it seems that there is, I am ashamed not to use it for such a subject, but of all the pagans, both present and subsequent. I have always condemned them as much for their teaching as well as for their careless life; and now I am compelled to acquaint you with our vices. If some of them learn that among the Christians there are people who are so hostile to virtue and wisdom that they not only themselves shy away from such feats, but do not even endure speeches in defense of them, they do not even stop there in their madness, but if anyone else begins to advise and talk about it, then he is expelled from everywhere; if they hear this, I am afraid that they will recognize us not as men, but as beasts and monsters, anthropoids, and some kind of demons, destroyers and enemies of all nature; and such a judgment will be pronounced not only about the guilty, but also about all our people." To this, he laughed and said: "

As some soldiers, having been in many battles and having won victories, cheerfully talk about their exploits, so these people boast of their riots. You will hear one say: "I was the first to lay hands on such and such a monk, and struck him;" another: "I myself found his cell before others"; "And I," says another, "have provoked the judge against him more than others"; another boasts of the prison and the horrors of the prison, and of the fact that he dragged those saints through the square; something else. Then everyone starts laughing about it. And this (is done) in the congregations of Christians, and the pagans laugh at them and at those whom they mock; over the former for their deeds, and over the latter for their sufferings; And everywhere there is some kind of internecine war, or rather, something much worse than this war. Those who have waged such a war, when they remember it afterwards, curse in every way the instigators of it, and attribute everything that happened in it to an evil demon, and those of them who did more than others in that war are more ashamed than others; on the contrary, these people still boast of their riots. And not only because this war is more impious than that (internecine) that is waged against holy and innocent people, but also because (it is waged) against people who do not even know how to do harm to anyone, but are only ready to endure.''

3. "Stop, I said, stop; these stories are enough for us not to completely lose my breath; let me go away with a little strength. Your command will certainly be carried out; only add no other story to us, but go away and pray that the cloud of my despondency may be dispelled, and that I may receive from God, against Whom this war is being waged, some help for the healing of those who rise up against Him; and He, of course, will grant as a lover of mankind and not desiring "the death of the sinner, but that the sinner turn from his way and live" (Ezekiel 33:11; Ezekiel 18:32). Having thus sent him away, I proceeded to this word. Of course, if the evil consisted only in the fact that God's holy and wondrous men are seized and tormented, dragged to judgment seats, and subjected to beatings and other sufferings, of which I have just spoken, and no harm is done to the head of the perpetrators of such a riot; then not only would I not grieve over what has happened, but I would laugh at it very much more, and with pleasure.

We would have done the same if we had seen in this matter a child's irritability and a child's stroke, which does not cause them much harm. But since these people, although now, in the heat of anger, do not have a premonition, yet after a while they will weep, moan and weep, not with the same weeping as little children, but in utter darkness, as in the unquenchable fire; then we, on our part, will do the same as mothers, with the only difference from them, that not with threat and abuse, as they do, but with tenderness and complete meekness, let us say to these children: "From this there is no harm to holy men, on the contrary, there is still a higher reward and greater boldness; if we begin to talk about future blessings, you will perhaps laugh a lot, since you are accustomed to always laugh at them; but the present, even if you love to laugh a thousand times more, you will certainly believe, because you cannot but believe, even if you wanted to, when the very deeds speak against you. You have certainly heard of Nero (this man was famous for his debauchery; he was the first and alone in his power to invent some new forms of debauchery and debauchery). This Nero, accusing the blessed Paul (who was his contemporary) for the same thing that you accuse these holy men (Paul, having persuaded his most beloved concubine to accept the teaching of the faith, at the same time persuaded her to break off her unclean relationship with him), accusing him for this, and calling him both a destroyer and a deceiver, and other such names as you give (to hermits), At first he put him in chains, and as he could not force him to cease giving advice to the maiden, he finally put him to death. What harm did the sufferer suffer from this? And what is the use of the villain? On the contrary, what benefit was there to the then murdered Paul, and what harm was there to the murderer Nero? Is not the former sung throughout the whole universe as an angel (I am speaking of the present one for the time being), and is not the latter cursed by all, as a destroyer and a fierce demon?"

4. "And what is there, if you do not believe, must be said for believers, although you also ought to believe on the basis of what is here. However, no matter how you react to this, we will say it and we will not hide it." What will it be like there? That wretched and wretched (Nero), overwhelmed with grief and sorrow, covered with shame and darkness, with downcast eyes, will be led away to where the undying worm and the unquenchable fire are, and the blessed Paul with great boldness will stand before the very throne of the King, shining brightly and clothed with such glory that he will in no way yield to angels and archangels, and will receive such a reward as befits a man, who gave up his body and soul for the command of God. Thus, a great reward is prepared for those who do good, but it is greater and more abundant when those who do this good are still exposed to dangers and great dishonor; let the good deed be the same, both for him who has done it without labor, and for him who has done it with labor; but honor and crowns will not be the same. In the same way, in war, (everyone) who wins, of course, is rewarded, but much more so - he who can still show in himself the wounds with which he gained victory. But what do I say about the living, when even those who have only declared themselves to have died bravely in war, and have done nothing more useful to their countrymen, are glorified throughout Greece as saviors and defenders!

"Blessed are you," He says, "when men hate you, and when they excommunicate you, and reproach you, and carry out your name as dishonorable for the Son of Man's sake. Rejoice in that day, and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven" (Luke 6:22,23). If, therefore, the endurance of suffering and backbiting brings reward to those who suffer and slander; then he who hinders them from suffering and listening to backbiting does not benefit them, but those who speak and do evil. On the contrary, it harms them, depriving them of the highest reward and depriving them of the basis of greater joy and exultation, so that it would be proper for them (we) to be silent and allow to be accomplished that which prepares for them a great abundance of blessings and the greatest boldness. But since we are members of one another, even though they themselves reject the gift, we should not, in this mutual relationship, neglect the other, taking care of one part. Those (hermits), if they do not suffer now, will have another opportunity to deserve good reputation, but these, if they do not cease enmity against them, will not be able to be saved. Therefore, leaving them, I stop at you, and beseech and beseech you to follow our exhortations, no longer to turn the sword against yourselves, not to go against the, and not to grieve by thinking to offend people, the Holy Spirit of God. I know, and I am sure, that you will, if not now, at least afterwards approve of this advice of ours; but I wish you to do it now, so that you do not do it in vain afterwards. So also the rich man (Luke 16:19 ff.)

Yet this rich man has done nothing of what you are doing. True, he did not give his estate to Lazarus; however, to others who wanted to give, he did not hinder or restrain them, as you do now. And not by this alone did you surpass him in cruelty, but also by another; For just as it is not all the same whether you yourself do not do any good, or whether others who wish to do it are hindered, so it is not the same whether you yourself suffer a lack of bodily food, or whether you are possessed by a strong hunger for wisdom to prevent you from eating from others. Thus you have doubly surpassed that cruel rich man, in preventing others from satisfying their hunger, and in showing such inhumanity at a time when the soul is perishing. The Jews once did the same. They forbade the apostles to tell people what was necessary for salvation (Acts 4:18; 5:40). And you are worse than them: they did all these things as open enemies, and you, putting on the guise of friends, act like an enemy. At that time they struck, reviled and dishonored the holy apostles, calling them sorcerers and deceivers: for this reason such a punishment befell them, that no misfortune can be compared with their misfortunes; for they are the first, and the one of all men who live under the sun, who have suffered as no one else. A reliable witness to this is Christ, who said: "There will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until now, and never will be" (Matthew 24:21). This is not the time to recount all these sufferings, but it is necessary to say a little of many things. However, I will not speak in my own words, but in the words of a Jew who described their calamity in detail [1]. What does he say? After telling about the burning of the temple, and describing those extraordinary disasters, he says:

5. "As for the temple, it was in just such a position; and an innumerable multitude of people dying of hunger lay around the city, and unspeakable horrors took place. In every house where there was even a shadow of food, there was war, and the closest friends fought among themselves to deprive each other of the miserable means of subsistence. They did not believe even the dying that they had no food; but the robbers also searched those who were dying, whether anyone pretended to be dying, keeping some food in his bosom. Others, with their mouths agape like mad dogs, wandered and ran hither and thither, pushing at the doors like drunken men, and in desperation intruded into the same houses two or three times in one hour. Need gave everything to the teeth; they gathered and did not disdain to eat even that which is unsuitable even for the most unclean of dumb animals; at last they did not give up belts and shoes; they also flayed the skin from the shields and chewed them. For some, tufts of old hay also served as food; and some gathered the dung, and sold the smallest measure of it for four attics. But why speak of the shamelessness of those who are hungry in relation to soulless things? I will point out such an action of theirs, which is not narrated either among the Greeks or among the barbarians, about which it is terrible to speak, and it is incredible to hear. Lest our descendants should think that I am inventing the unprecedented, I should gladly have kept silent about this misfortune, if I had not had an innumerable number of witnesses from among my contemporaries; On the other hand, I would do the fatherland a disservice by omitting from the story what it actually suffered. A certain woman from among the inhabitants beyond the Jordan, named Mary, daughter of Eleazar, from the village of Bethezoe, which means the house of hyssop, noble in birth and wealth, arrived with many others in Jerusalem, and was besieged. All her possessions, which she had taken with her from Nerea and brought into the city, were plundered by those who had seized power over the city; and the remnants of the stores and everything that she stored up for her food were plundered by the squires, who daily invaded her. A strong indignation took possession of the woman, and she often provoked robbers against her with her abuse and curses. For no one, neither from anger nor from pity, had killed her, and though she tried to find something to eat elsewhere, yet it could not be found anywhere, and hunger tormented her womb and brains, and inflamed her anger more than hunger; then, under the influence of irritation and extremity, she rose up against nature, and, seizing her child (she had a suckling boy), said: "Unfortunate child, for whom, in this war, hunger and indignation, shall I take care of you?" With the Romans, even if we live under their dominion, slavery is preceded by famine, and both are heavier than the rebels: then be food for me, a fury for the rebels, and a fable for the world, which alone is lacking in the misfortunes of the Jews. And with these words, she kills her son; then, having roasted it, he eats half of it, and hides the rest and keeps it. Soon the rebels came and, smelling an unusual smell, began to threaten that they would immediately kill her if he did not show them what she had prepared. And she, saying that she had saved a beautiful lot for them, showed the remains of her son. Horror and amazement immediately seized them, and they were petrified at the sight. This is my own child, she said, this is my work, eat, I have already eaten; do not be more gentle than a woman and more pitying than a mother; but if you fear God and abhor my offering, then since I have already eaten half of it, let me get the rest. After that, they went away trembling, being timid in this one thing, and yielding only this food to their mother. Immediately the whole city was filled with indignation, and everyone, having before his eyes such a terrible deed, was terrified, as if he himself were the author of it. The starving wished for death and called happy those who had died earlier, without hearing or seeing such disasters. Soon this terrible affair was divulged among the Romans; some of them did not believe, others pitied, and the majority hated this (Jewish) people even more."

6. Such and even more grievous calamities were suffered by the Jews, not only because they crucified Christ, but also because they afterwards prevented the apostles from speaking what was necessary for our salvation. Blessed Paul also accused them of this and foretold them these calamities, saying: "Wrath draweth nigh upon them to the end" (1 Thess. 2:16). But how, it will be said, does this come to us? We do not deviate from faith and preaching. And tell me, what is the use of faith, when there is no pure life? But perhaps you do not know this either, since all our things are not familiar to you; therefore I will give you the saying of Christ, and you will consider whether then (on the day of judgment) life will not be judged at all, but the punishment will be determined only for faith and dogmas? Thus Christ, having ascended the mountain and seeing the multitude of people surrounding Him, after other exhortations said: "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord! Lord!' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven"; and, "Many shall say unto Me in that day, Lord! God! Have we not prophesied in Thy name? and did they not cast out demons in Thy name? and did not many miracles work in Thy name? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of iniquity" (Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 13:27). Further, He likened anyone who listens but does not obey His words to a foolish man who builds a house on the sand and makes it destructible from rivers, rains, and winds (Matt. 7:26, 27). And in another place, preaching, He says, "As fishermen, having drawn a net, cast out the bad fish; so shall it be in the day when the angels shall cast all sinners into the furnace" (Matt. 13:47-50). Likewise, speaking of depraved and unclean people, He said that they would go to where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched (Mark 9:43ff.). And again, "the king," he says, "made a wedding feast for his son," and "saw there a man not clothed in a wedding garment, and said to him, 'Friend! How did you come here not in a wedding garment? He was silent. Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind his hands and feet, take him, and cast him into outer darkness' (Matt. 22:2, 11-13; Zech. 3:3). This is how he threatens depraved and dissolute people. And the virgins, not letting the bridegroom into the palace, suffered this for their lack of mercy and lack of love for mankind. And others again, for the same fault, will go "into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matthew 25:41). Even those are condemned who pronounce empty and idle words: "By thy words," he says, "thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned" (Matt. 12:37). Does it seem to you that it is in vain that we fear for life and care with great zeal about the moral part of wisdom? I don't think so; unless you say that Christ also spoke all this and much more than this in vain: not everything is given here. And if I had not found it difficult to write a long word, I would have taught from the prophets, and from Blessed Paul, and from the other apostles, what care God has shown for this part. However, I consider this to be sufficient, or better, not only this, but also a small part of what has been said; for when God speaks, then, even though He has spoken once, one must accept what is said as if it had been said many times.

7. Why, it will be said, can not those who remain at home perform those virtues, the non-fulfillment of which brings such punishment? I would like not less, but much more than you, and I have often prayed that the need for monasteries would pass away and such good order would come to the cities, so that no one would ever have to flee into the wilderness.

And they, once they have taken possession of it, treat it as vilely and insultingly as is characteristic of the evil demons, who strongly and passionately desire our shame and destruction. Having stripped her of all the garments of virtue, having clothed her in the rags of vicious passions, dirty, torn and stinking, which disgrace her more than nakedness, and having filled her with all the impurity peculiar to them, they constantly boast of the insults inflicted on her.

What tyranny, what captivity, what indignation, what slavery, what war, what shipwreck, what famine is not more miserable than this condition? Who is so cruel and severe, who is so feeble-minded and inhuman, so uncompassionate and ruthless, that he will not want to free a soul that suffers so much shame and harm from this accursed frenzy and violence to the best of his ability, but will leave its suffering unattended? And if this is peculiar only to a cruel and stony soul, how, tell me, shall we regard those who, in addition to such inattention, do another, much greater evil, who are ready to throw themselves into the very midst of dangers, who do not refuse to put their hands into the very mouth of the beast, but who dare to endure both the stench and the danger, in order to tear the souls that have already been swallowed up from the very jaws of the demon? not only do they not praise and disapprove, but also drive everywhere and persecute?

8.

But what should I do? I am afraid lest, in trying to restore them to their homeland, I should instead deliver them into the hands of evil demons, and, wishing to deliver them from desert and flight, I will not deprive them of all wisdom and tranquility. If, however, by pointing out the multitude of those who dwell in the city, you think to confuse and frighten me, supposing that I will not dare to condemn (to destruction) the whole world, then I will take the saying of Christ and stand with it against this objection. And you, of course, will not dare to undertake such an audacious deed as to contradict the definition of Him Who will then judge us. What does He say? "Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few are there that find it" (Matthew 7:14). If there are few who find them, then they are much less able to walk this path to the end. Not all who entered the beginning had the strength to remain on it to the end; but some were drowned at the very beginning, others in the middle, and many even at the pier itself. And in another place He says that "many are called, but few are chosen" (Matthew 20:16). But if Christ declares that there are more perishing, and salvation is limited to a few, then why do you argue with me? Thinking to stop our mouths by saying that we would not dare to condemn such a multitude, you do the same as if, when we spoke of what happened in the time of Noah, you were amazed that all were lost, and only two or three people escaped such punishment. But we will not be convinced of this, and we will not prefer the multitude of people to the truth; for the present affairs are not at all unimportant of those of that time, but are all the more criminal because they are already threatened with hell for them, and yet evil is not stopped. Tell me, who does not call his brother a fool? And this subjects them to the fire of Gehenna. Who has not looked at a woman with lustful eyes? And this is already complete fornication, and the adulterer inevitably falls into the same hell. Who hasn't sworn? And this, of course, is from the evil one; and what is from the evil one undoubtedly deserves punishment. Who hasn't envied a friend at some point? And this makes us worse than pagans and tax collectors; and that the worst of them cannot escape punishment is obvious to everyone. Who completely banished anger from the heart and forgave the sins of all those who sinned against it? And that he who does not forgive will inevitably be given over to torture, no one who has heard Christ will contradict this. Who does not serve mammon? And whoever has begun to serve it has necessarily already renounced the service of Christ, but whoever has renounced this has necessarily renounced his own salvation. Who has not slandered in secret? And the Old Testament commands that such people be killed and killed. How can we console ourselves in our miserable situation? By the fact that everyone, as if by some agreement, has fallen into the abyss of vice. But this is the most important proof of the intensification of illness, when we are comforted in misfortune by that which should be the cause of greater sorrow. The multiplicity of accomplices in sins, of course, does not exempt us from guilt and punishment. But if anyone has already fallen into despair from what has been said, let him wait a little, and then he will fall into greater despair when we speak of much more serious things, for example, about perjury. In truth, if swearing is the work of the devil, then to what punishment will the transgression of oaths subject us? If calling (a brother) a fool brings hell, then what will not the disgrace of a brother, who has often offended us in any way, do with innumerable reproachful speeches? If resentment alone is worthy of punishment, then what torment does vindictiveness deserve? But now is not yet (the time to speak) about this; let it be reserved for its place. To say nothing of the other things that have compelled us to make this speech, is this alone not enough to denounce the malignant disease of the present? Truly, if one does not feel one's iniquities and sin without any sorrow about it, there is an extreme limit to depravity; Where shall we appoint new legislators of this extraordinary and most absurd law, who with more boldness expel the teachers of virtue than others the teachers of vice, and persecute those who wish to correct (the wicked) more than those who have sinned; Or rather, they do not harbor displeasure for these and never condemn them, but those, on the contrary, would be glad to eat, and only do not shout in their words and deeds that we must hold fast to vice and never return to virtue, so that we should persecute not only those who strive for it, but also those who dare to vote for it?