FIRST HOMILY - to Demetrius the monk. The reason for writing the word. - The necessity of contrition due to the domination of sinfulness on earth. - Unfounded apologies of sinners. - Punishment of those who slander. - The duty of a Christian to love his enemies and do good to them. - Commentary on the petition: "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." - Explanation of the word: "Do not give holy things to dogs." The desire for true good. - The miraculous power of this desire. -Up. Paul as an example of contrition and love for God.

SECOND WORD - to Stelechius. Contrition inspires the soul. - A description of the soul lifted up to heaven on the wings of crushing. - Explanation of the words of Ap. Paul: "For me the world is crucified, and I for the world." - The extraordinary love of Ap. Paul to Jesus Christ. - David's love for Christ and his contrition. - Discourse on Psalm 6. - God's goodness and providence for people as a strong incentive to contrition. - The universe and man as its king.

V. To Stagirius, the ascetic, possessed by a demon.

FIRST WORD. The terrible ordeal that befell Stagirius, and the desire to console him, at least in writing. - Allowing us trials and the benefit of both them and the fall itself. - Examples are Adam in Paradise, Cain, Noah during the Flood, Abraham and Joseph. - Trial, as one of the means by which the Lord increases our merits and brings our reason into subjection to the divine. - The reason why God allows the good to prosper and the good to grieve. - The inscrutability of God's ways. - Eternity as a righteous reward for good and evil. - The duty of a true Christian to be obedient to God's Providence. - Exhortation to Stagirius to be strengthened in such conviction.

In addition, Stagirius said that despondency is worse than a demon. SECOND WORD. An exhortation to free oneself from oppressive thoughts of suicide. - Such thoughts do not always come from a demon, but sometimes from one's own despondency. "We must dispel this despondency, and the best way to do this is to rise above the opinions of the crowd and think that there is only one sin to be ashamed of. - Rewards are in store for the future, the present is a time of labor. - This is shown by the examples of saints. - The example of Abraham. - About the sacrifice of Isaac. - Sons of Oedipus. - Jacob's grief. - An example from the life of Joseph.

In addition, Stagirius about despondency. THIRD WORD. The example of Moses. - The sorrows of Moses in the wilderness. - The grief of Joshua. - Explanation of the subject using the example of Samuel. - David's grief. - Daniel's grief. - The Afflictions of Elijah and Elisha. - Sorrows of Ap. Paul. - The calamities to which the friends of Stagirius were subjected. - Demophilus and Aristomenes. - The spectacle of human misery in hospitals and prisons. - God tests us to atone for our sins and is more lenient to us than we are.

VI. Homily to Those Who Lived with the Virgins.

Indecent abuse in the life of the clergy. - Vain excuses for custom. - Passion as its basis. - Inevitable incitement of passions. - Refutation of imaginary justifications for illegal custom. "Nothing is more amusing than a good conscience. - The greater demands of the New Testament in comparison with the Old.

VII. Homily to the virgins who lived with men.

It is indecent for virgins to cohabit with men. - The absence of virgins among Greeks or pagans. - It is obscene for virgins to take excessive care of their bodies and outfits. - Marriage is preferable to poorly preserved virginity. - He who seduces others is already sinning, even if he has not done evil. - Women's desire for vanity. - The Manners of a True Virgin.

VIII. The Book of Virginity.

Heretics do not have true virgins, because their virgins are unchaste and accept virginity out of disgust with marriage as a crime. - They cannot count on the same bribe as Orthodox virgins. - The Apostle, advising abstinence, does not make a rule out of it, and heretics who depart from his teaching put their disciples in a position worse than pagans. - Finally, the virginity of heretics is an insult to God, because their virgins, having renounced the faith, do not have a pure heart. "Moreover, the state of virginity, in order to have the value of merit, requires complete freedom in the matter of marriage, which is not the case with heretics who blaspheme marriage. - The Church, on the contrary, approves of marriage and considers it a means of taming the passions for those who use it wisely. - Persons who do not need such a means are advised by the Church not to enter into marriage, although it does not forbid it. - It condemns and expels from its bosom only those who defile the sanctity of marriage. "For marriage is a good deed, but virginity is better, and it is as much higher than marriage as angels are higher than men." - Virginity is useful to the believer, and according to the original plan of creation, it should have reigned only on earth, because sin, which was the cause of death, was also the cause of sin. - The possibility of reproduction of people without marriage. - The celibate origin of the first men and angels. - Such would have been the spread of people, if the ancestors had not sinned. "And now marriage is allowed only as a cure for intemperance. - Abstinence is a gift of God, but it does not exclude the cooperation of man himself. - A picture of unhappy marriages. - An admonition to virgins, as well as to widows, that after pronouncing the vow of chastity, it is forbidden to marry without sinning grievously. - Marriage is a chain, because by its cares and troubles it plunges the spouses into slavery. "Their mutual submission is a heavy duty, and they cannot get rid of it except by mutual consent. - Hypocritical virgins who liken themselves to foolish virgins. - They will be deprived of the kingdom of heaven. - The superiority of virginity is especially revealed in the fact that it makes it easier for us to perform prayer and good deeds. - The groundlessness of referring to Abraham as proof of the superiority of marriage over virginity. - The apostles are higher than this patriarch. - And a rich man who is married and engaged in affairs can also lead a righteous life; But such examples are rare. - The New Testament requires greater perfection than the Old, because in the former we are given the gifts and grace of the Holy Spirit in greater abundance.

IX. To the young widow.

FIRST WORD. The sorrow of the young widow Thirasius and consolation to her. - God cares for widows. - The dignity of widowhood is revered by Christians and pagans alike. - The joy of hope and confidence that we will see again those we loved. - The brevity of earthly life, the disasters that accompany it, and the fragility of happiness. - Proof of this last proposition. - The example of two widows of the rich and high-ranking who, after the death of their husbands, reached extreme poverty. - The example of the nine emperors who reigned in Constantinople, seven of whom died of violent death. - A depiction of the glory and bliss that Thirasias enjoys in heaven.