SECOND WORD.

In the preceding (sermon) we have spoken of God's Providence and of the fact that God tests you in a certain way, not out of aversion or hatred, but out of special love. But since, according to your words, you lament very much for another reason, namely, because the demon often suggests to you the idea of destroying yourself in the sea or the abyss, or of ending your present life in some other way, I want to talk a little about these thoughts as well. Such suggestion comes not only from him alone, but also from your despondency, and even more from the latter than from the former, and perhaps from despondency alone. This is evident from the fact that many of those who are not possessed by a demon plot the same thing only out of sorrow. Reject it and expel it from the soul, then the demon will not have the strength not only to persuade to such a deed, but also to proceed to suggestion. Just as thieves at nightfall, having extinguished the fire, can very easily steal property and kill its owners, so now the demon, having brought despondency instead of night and darkness, tries to steal away all the guarding thoughts, in order to attack the soul deprived of them and helpless, inflicting innumerable wounds on it. When, having dispelled this darkness with hope in God and turning to the sun of righteousness, someone hastens to receive its rays into his soul, then the confusion from these thoughts will pass on to the thief himself; for even these criminals, when someone catches them and brings in fire, tremble, are timid, and are troubled. How, you will say, can one be freed from this sorrow without first freeing oneself from the demon who causes it? It is not the demon that causes despondency, but it makes the demon strong and inspires evil thoughts. Blessed Paul can testify to this; and he feared, not of any demon, but of excessive sorrow, when he wrote to the Corinthians, that they might at last forgive the sinner his sin: "lest he should be swallowed up," he says, "with excessive sorrow" (2 Corinthians 2:7).

How is it possible, you will say, not to lose heart? It is possible if, rejecting the opinions of the crowd on this subject, you will think about things above. Now your situation seems terrible to you, because the crowd thinks it so; but if you wish to examine it accurately in itself, and to renounce an empty and erroneous prejudice, you will find that it presents no cause for despondency, as we have repeatedly proved. As for your peers (whose good-humor and boldness you see before your brethren, and because of this, I think, you are confused and discouraged)

But since I am quite sure that you will never cease to be modest, but will always consider yourself among the latter, even if you are immensely praised and extolled, I will say everything without the least pretending. You, I hear, have succeeded so well in your pious life that you are no longer inferior not only to those young men, but also to great and wondrous men. And from these, they say, you do not lag behind in anything, neither in fasting (and is it possible otherwise, when you eat only water and bread, and then every other day?), nor in the duration of the nightly vigils, but like them you spend many nights in succession without sleep. And in the passage of the day, they say, you have already surpassed many of them; from those who come from there I hear stories that you spend all your time praying and crying; And just as those who struggle in silence, or who have shut themselves up in solitude in a cell, do not talk to anyone or about anything, so do you, they say, when you live in the midst of such a multitude of people. Of thy heartfelt contrition, of sorrow and lamentation, they speak even with amazement, and with these stories of thy exploits here have brought many to contrition. He does not look, they say, at anyone who comes there, and does not give himself rest from constant labor, we have often feared that he would blind his eyes with tears, that he would damage the brain by excessive vigilance and unceasing and uninterrupted exercise in reading.

2. And so, it grieves and troubles you that you have already outstripped your peers, and, having a strong and bold adversary, have left far behind you those who struggle with you!

The fall does not consist in what you say happens to you, but in falling into sin; with such a fall, one should be ashamed and complain. And now we are ashamed of that which has nothing shameful in it; on the contrary, when we do what is really shameful and worthy of ridicule and heavy punishment, we think that nothing bad has happened to us, if the soul falls every day under the weight of sins, then no one weeps; and if something like this happens to the body, it seems difficult and unbearable. Is this not what possession consists of, when the soul is in such a state and so erroneously judges things? If your fits were due to drunkenness, you should be ashamed and discouraged; then the guilt would be arbitrary, but if they arise from the violence of another, then it is not the one who endures that should be ashamed, but the one who does the offense and violence. So in the square, if during a quarrel one pushes the other and throws him to the ground, we all blame the one who pushed him, and not the one who fell.

Madmen say a lot of bad things to those around them, but those who listen to them do not think of being offended. In the same way, when you hear these fools, do not consider what happens to you to be a disgrace and harm, lest you really become worthy of condemnation by angering God. If you consider shameful what God sends for admonition and benefit, then see to what this evil leads.

3. If you want to see people who are really worthy of shame and condemnation, then I will try to point out to you some of them.

And whoever, being attacked by a demon, nevertheless shows great wisdom in his life, deserves that everyone not only does not condemn him, but also marvels at him and adorns him with crowns because he makes such a difficult journey with such bonds and ascends the steep and narrow path of virtue. However, I have almost forgotten something in which you have an advantage over your brethren, namely, that you can easily, if you have sinned in something, atone for these sins by your present misfortune. This is known to us from what I said above, when I spoke about Lazarus and the fornicator of Corinth. But I fear for my father, you say; I can bear my sorrows calmly, but will it be easy for us to endure his confusion and indignation if he ever learns any of them? However, he has not yet learned; and to be discouraged and tormented by what will happen sometime after, or perhaps never to happen, is very cowardly.

If you yourself were to be the author of your father's sorrows, then you should really fear and tremble, as the author of such a calamity; but if he wants to subject himself to extreme grief, you have nothing to do with them; It remains only to sympathize with the father. Moreover, we do not know how he will receive this news; often many things happened contrary to expectations; Although this is not so common and rare, in this case it is both natural and very possible. Where do you see what? Your father cares much for his illegitimate children, and such love for them may overshadow his sorrow for you; Do not torment yourself with vain worries. If it is necessary to complain about the father, then about his insane extravagance, feasting, pride, cruelty, and the present life of fornication. Is it really a small evil, in your opinion, to have an affair with another woman during the lifetime of your wife, your mother, and to bear children from lawless cohabitation? This obvious deed, leading to a bad end, is worthy of lamentation and tears; and what happens because of you, it may be bad, or perhaps it will not be bad; to endure certain torment in view of an unknown future is very reckless. Let us even suppose that the news of you will be received (by your father) with great indignation; but it will end very soon and will be extinguished before it burns well; For a man who is so devoted to pleasures, who is preoccupied with many things, who feeds freeloaders and flatterers, and who is so inflamed with passion for a woman by whom he has half-relatives to you, if he pays attention to you, it is not long or insignificant.

Thus, if these words do not prove to be very rash, I think that he is even glad of what has happened to you, considering you to have suffered punishment because you have resolutely refused to accept his advice, although he has often admonished you and wanted to distract you from this strict life.

4. This is what I can say about your father and your fear for him: and this, I think, is enough to dispel all your fear about it. But you said that the main trouble was that you could not hope for the future, and did not know whether there would be an end to your suffering, or whether he who entered into this struggle with you would want to fight with you to the death. Concerning this I can say nothing certain, nor can I vouch for the future; but I know it well, and I wish you also to be convinced that whatever happens will be for our benefit; and if you have such a conviction, you will soon drive away from you what you call the height of your misfortunes. In addition, it should be borne in mind that the time of rewards and crowns is the future century - the time of struggle and feats. Blessed Paul wanted to explain this to us, saying: "Therefore I do not run as to what is wrong, I do not fight so that I only beat the air; but I subdue and enslave my body, lest, preaching to others, I myself remain unworthy" (1 Corinthians 9:26,27). When he approached his end, then he pronounced the following blessed saying: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; but now a crown of righteousness is prepared for me" (2 Timothy 4:7,8), explaining that our whole life must be spent in struggle and labor, if we want to enjoy eternal rest and innumerable blessings. But if any of the careless wishes to enjoy both the pleasures of this world and the rewards prepared for the laborers, he deceives and deceives himself. Just as among wrestlers he who seeks peace during the struggle finds shame and disgrace for himself forever, and he who bravely endures all difficulties at the place of struggle, receives crowns, glory and praise from the spectators both during the struggle and after it, so it is with us. Whoever makes the time of labor a time of rest will groan, gnash his teeth, and endure extreme torment when it is necessary to calm down with eternal rest; and whoever here endures sorrows with good humor, both here and there will shine and enjoy immortal and true glory. If, in the affairs of life, a man who does something inopportunely does not attain what he had in mind, and exposes himself to innumerable calamities, how much more will he experience this who does not know the appointed times in spiritual matters. Christ said: "In the world ye shall have tribulation" (John 16:33). Blessed Paul said: "And all that desire to live godly in Christ Jesus shall be persecuted" (2 Timothy 3:12), meaning not only persecution from men, but also the wiles of demons. Job said: "Temptation is life for man on earth" (Job 7:1)[1]. Why do you lament, enduring sorrows during sorrows? It would be necessary to lament if we were to make the time which Christ would call the time of sorrow, a time of pleasure and rest; if, at the time when we are commanded to strive and work, we gave ourselves over to idleness; if we had walked the broad way, when He commanded us to walk the strait. For this, we would inevitably have to suffer punishment in that age. But what would you say, you say, about those who walk here also on the broad path and will rest there? Who are these people? I believe only the word of Christ, who says that "strait is the gate, and narrow is the way that leadeth unto life" (Matthew 7:14). And that one can never follow a narrow path as a broad one, this, of course, is clear to everyone. If in worldly struggles no one received a crown without labor, having as his opponents the same people, then how can we, against whom the evil forces fight, overcome their fury without sorrow and sorrow?

5. However, why should we prove this by reasoning, when we can have recourse to the blessed and valiant ascetics who lived in former times? Remember all those who were glorified in those times, and you will see that through sorrows they all attained boldness before God. First of all, if you wish, let us turn to the son of the first-created, the lamb of Christ, Abel, who did no evil, and yet suffered what the most grievous sinners are subjected to. We endure temptations as a punishment for our sins; and this righteous man suffered not for anything else, but for being righteous. As long as he was not distinguished by anything great, his brother was favorable to him, but when he became famous for his sacrifice, Cain, blinded by envy, did not look at nature. Why do you know whether it is not this reason that has now stirred up the devil against you, and whether it is not the glory of your life that has provoked him to this struggle? If you laugh at these words of mine, I praise you for your humility, but I will not cease to think so. If Abel, having brought fat, pleased God, how much more could he dedicate to God not something outward, but all of himself, and could arm the enemy against him. But God has allowed him to attack you, just as then He did not prevent the murder from being committed, but allowed the righteous to fall into the hands of the murderer, and did not deliver him who suffered death for His sake and His glory; He did not want to reduce Abel's crowns, so he allowed him to go to the end. But, you say, what punishment is death? Oh, if only I could suffer such a punishment now! This, beloved, you say now, but before death seemed more painful and painful than any punishment. Therefore, according to the Law of Moses, those who committed the greatest and unforgivable sin were subjected to this punishment. And according to the laws of external (pagan) legislators, even now all those convicted of the most heinous crimes are punished in no other way; Meanwhile, this righteous man suffered the same as the wrongdoers, or even much more severely, since he received a blow at the hands of his brother. And what about Noah? And he was righteous and perfect, and in the midst of the general corruption he pleased God alone, while all the others offended him. And yet, he endured an innumerable number of sorrows and grievous ones. He did not die as soon as Abel, nor did he suffer what seems easy to you, but he endured a long life, and for many years he lived no better than those who bear burdens and are constantly worn out by the heaviest burdens. I will now fully explain this to you, having previously told you the following. For a whole year Noah lived as it were in prison, in a prison unusual and terrible. I will not speak of the multitude of beasts and reptiles with whom he lived so long, imprisoned in such darkness; What do you think he endured from the peals of thunder, from the noise of the rains? The lower abyss was opened, the upper one was overthrown; And inside the ark he sat alone with his sons. Although he could have been sure that the flood would end, the extreme nature of the event made him petrified with fear in advance.

And for a whole year he was in such fear. When the flood ceased, although his fear decreased, his sorrow increased. Only when he came out of the ark did he meet another storm, no less than the first, seeing a great desert, a violent death, the bodies of the dead mixed with mud and mud, and all together, men, donkeys, and lower animals, buried in the same miserable grave. Although those who perished in the flood were great sinners, yet Noah was a man and had compassion for those who had the same nature as him. In the same way, Ezekiel, although he was righteous and knew that the Israelites were the most wicked of all, yet when he saw them struck down and falling, he also had compassion and wept; whereas, God had revealed to him beforehand all their wickedness, and had enabled him to see it with his own eyes, so that when he saw them punished, he might bravely endure this misfortune; and yet, after such relief, he complained, and when he fell, he cried thus: "O Lord God! wilt thou destroy all the remnant of Israel" (Ezekiel 9:8)? And this happened to him not only once, but also another time, when he saw the death of Jeconiah. In the same way, Noah, although he knew about the innumerable crimes of his contemporaries, was not more courageous than either Ezekiel or Moses. And Moses suffered many times in the same way as the prophet, and seeing that those who sinned had to suffer punishment, he lamented and grieved more than those who were punished themselves. But under Noah the calamity was more terrible; for such a death as happened in his time was the only one. Then, when Noah was afflicted with such great calamities; - loneliness, compassion for his fellow countrymen, the multitude of the dead, the manner of their death, the desolation of the land, and when his sorrow greatly increased and increased on all sides, then another insult was inflicted on him from his son - an unbearable, very shameful and very sorrowful insult. As many times as insults from friends are heavier than insults from enemies, so many times insults from children are more intolerable than insults from friends. Thus, when a father sees that the one whom he has begotten, whom he has raised, whom he has educated, for whom he has endured many sorrows, labors and cares, treats him more offensively than anyone else, when he experiences this, he is unable to endure great spiritual sorrow. Offense for a free person is intolerable in itself; but when it is inflicted by one's own children, it can even drive the offended person to a frenzy; it is so heavy! Moreover, keep in mind not only this insult, but also conclude from it how the offender treated Noah in all previous times. If Ham, while still having a terrible event before him, had just been freed from such a prison, and still seeing the calamities of the universe, did not understand it, but insulted him whom it was least necessary to insult; if he was not corrected by the death of so many people, or by the desolation of the earth, or by the wrath of God, or by any other of the events of that time, then what was he like before the flood, when there were many that led him to vices? Yes, then, because of this (the son) and the rest of the people, the righteous man endured a more severe storm than that which was at the time of the flood itself. At the time of the flood he was surrounded only by a great deal of water; but before the flood he was enveloped on all sides by an abyss of vices, and the wiles of evil men troubled him more than the waves. Being left alone in the midst of such a multitude of lawless and wicked men, although he suffered no harm from them, he endured much ridicule and mockery, if not before, then when he spoke to them about the ark and the calamities to come. And how such ridicule can disturb the soul, this can be testified to us by one who was sanctified from his mother's womb and even wanted to renounce prophecy because of this; "I will speak no more," says (Jeremiah), "in His name" (Jeremiah 20:9). In addition, how much grief, how much sorrow Noah was caused by the fact that there was no one who was the same with him either in soul or in life! Not only that: he endured many sorrows from condolences for his contemporaries. Do the righteous grieve only when they see sinners dying, and when they see them sinning, do they not grieve? No, in the latter case they are much more distressed than in the former. And this can be well learned from the prophets. One of them bitterly cried out: "Woe is me! There are no merciful ones on earth, there is no righteousness among men" (Micah 7:2). And another said to God: "Why do you give me to see wickedness and to look at calamities" (Hab. 1:3)? And grieving greatly for the oppressed, he wept thus: "You leave men as fish in the sea, as creeping things, which have no ruler" (Hab. 1:14). But if this was the case when there were laws, and rulers, and tribunals, and priests, and prophets, and punishments, then imagine to what extent all vices extended under Noah, when nothing of the kind restrained people. Moreover, with vices, human life did not last long, seventy or eighty years; and then it extended to six hundred years or more. In addition to all that has been said, how much labor must he have to endure, having traveled such a long way, and trying in such a long time not to be in the least deflected by the many obstacles encountered? What do I say: of many, when the whole way was like this, all from one end of the earth to the other was full of rocks and thorns, wild beasts and stench, pestilence and cold, and evildoers? Truly, it is more convenient to walk in the deepest night along a narrow path than along the path of virtue in those days: how many people were trying to seduce Noah from his path! When everyone can do whatever they want, and only one follows the opposite path, how can he go to the end if everyone is pushing him back and dragging him back? And how difficult it is to lead a virtuous life among a multitude of people, this is proved by those who have settled in the deserts, at the present time, when, by the grace of God, everywhere one can see a good life, unanimity, and no small love for one another. At that time there was none of this, but everyone treated Noah more ferociously than even wild beasts.