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.

6. What can be more deplorable, what is more miserable than such a life? I promised to show that Noah's condition was no better than that of those who constantly carry burdens and never have rest; but my word did much more, revealing to us that Noah's condition was not only no better, but much more difficult than theirs. It seems to many that Abraham lived complacently all the time, which is why they are accustomed to comparing with him those who are prosperous and happy in all respects. Let us consider what happened to him. In my opinion, he is much more than Noah and Abel... but I would rather say nothing until the very consideration of events has given us a solution. What happened to him in Persia, and whether anything sorrowful happened to him before the seventy years of his life, no one can know for sure. And Blessed Moses did not write us a history of this time, but, omitting all these years of his life, he began to narrate from the following years. And that Abraham probably suffered in the same way as Noah, when one wanted to live godly among so many wicked and foreigners, is not so unknown as the rest, and even the most foolish people can easily understand it. However, let us leave this for the moment; Let us begin with the migration of Abraham, considering, first of all, how far the land of the Chaldeans was from Palestine, what was the condition of the roads, what were the mutual relations of people, what was the social structure. From the fact that the righteous man easily obeyed, one should not now consider the matter itself easy, and from the fact that Moses spoke about the event concisely and briefly, it is not necessary to think that the deed itself is as brief as the words; it is easy to say and describe it; But it is not so easy to do, on the contrary, it is very difficult. The length of the journey, and the great distance between these countries, might therefore be accurately stated by those who would come to us from there, if there be any. But we did not see any of them, and when we met one of those who were in the neighboring country and asked how much time he was to spend on the journey, we heard that - thirty-five days; however, he said, he had not seen Babylon, but had heard from those who had been there that there was another way of equal length. Such was the distance then, and such is it now; but the condition of the roads then was not the same as it is now. Nowadays there are often inns, cities, and villages on the road, and the traveler may meet many travelers, and this is no less important for safety than the inn, the city, and the village. Moreover, the governors of the city, having chosen from the country men who differed from others in bodily strength, and who were able to act with javelin and sling in the same way as archers with arrows and spearmen with spears, and having placed over them commanders, relieved them of all other work, and entrusted them only with the protection of the roads. And then they devised another, more reliable, measure of security: having built dwellings by the roadside at a distance of a thousand paces from each other, they placed in them night watchmen, whose vigilance and supervision serve as a great obstacle to the attacks of evildoers. And in the time of Abraham there was none of this: no frequent villages, no cities, no inns; it was not soon that you could see an inn or a companion, or anything like that; not to mention the unevenness of the roads and the inconstancy of the winds, although even these inconveniences, even without them, can cause quite a lot of trouble to travelers. This can be witnessed by those who, having carts and draft animals, do not dare to set out on them along the ordinary road, unless they first pave it with stones and, having blocked the potholes from the streams, do not level the road in this way. At that time, the road was more deserted than uninhabited places, more impassable than mountains, more dangerous than ditches and rocks. But I have not yet spoken of the most important inconvenience, which was the mutual relations of men, which caused them much more difficult difficulties than the road itself, since all were divided according to nations, or even according to cities.

What is more difficult than such a life? Moreover, Abraham feared and trembled not only for himself, but also for his father, and for his wife, and for his nephew. He also had no small concern for his servants, even when they were at home, and even more so when they often had to be in a foreign land. And if he had known exactly where his pilgrimage would end, his cares would not have been so unbearable; and now, having heard simply and vaguely about the earth, not about this or that, but "which I will show you" (Gen. 12:1), he mentally went around all countries and experienced great confusion in his soul, because he could not stop thinking anywhere, but had to doubt and worry about many things. He could have thought that he would go to the very ends of the universe and to the ocean, so that, although he did not go through the whole earth, he endured the anxiety of such a journey. In his heart he was ready not only to go as far as Palestine, but to follow everywhere, even if he were commanded to traverse the whole universe, or even to go to islands outside it. If, however, the vagueness of the command made one expect both of the opposite, then this too was difficult. Whoever has to endure something difficult is much easier to know clearly what he will be subjected to and what he must prepare for, than to rush his thoughts everywhere and wait for what is favorable, then unfavorable, and not to hope for anything, but equally not to trust both.

7. This happened to Abraham before his arrival in the promised land; but when he reached Palestine and hoped at last to calm down, then he found an even greater storm in the harbor itself. And it is not easy, on the contrary, it is very difficult when someone, thinking that his sorrow is over, and that he is already free from it, therefore, putting aside all care and care, suddenly he will have to begin again to struggle with troubles. He who expects disasters can more easily endure their coming; but whoever has calmed down and renounced his cares, if something similar to the former happens to him again, is indignant and more easily succumbs to grief for two reasons: because of the suddenness of the calamity, and because he has laid aside all care and precaution. So, what storm came upon Abraham? At that time there was such a great famine in Palestine that Abraham immediately rose from there and went to Egypt. Having come there in the hope of finding deliverance from the calamity, he was again beset by a misfortune more grievous than famine, exposed to extreme danger. He then fell into such fear that he even decided to do what was most intolerable to all men; This is a mockery of their wives. He then went to such an extreme that he even resorted to hypocrisy, and what could be more difficult than this? What do you think was in his heart when he was forced to advise his wife as follows: "Behold, I know that you are a woman of beautiful appearance; and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, This is his wife; and they will kill me, and they will let you live; tell me therefore that thou art my sister, that it may be well for my sake, and that my soul may live through thee" (Gen. 12:11-13)? These words were spoken by one who had left for God his fatherland, and home, and friends, and relatives, and everything else in the house, and who had endured such sorrow and so much labor during the long time of his journey. However, he did not then say anything like this: "God has forsaken me, turned away, and deprived me of his providence"; no, he endured everything courageously and with faith; and whoever should be most angry when his wife was subjected to reproach in the greatest extremity, tried in every way that the reproach should not be made manifest. And with what this is combined with despondency and grief, it is impossible to express in words, but those who have had wives and have fallen into trouble with jealousy know this. Solomon also testifies to this passion when he says: "Jealousy is the wrath of a man, and he will not spare in the day of vengeance, nor accept any ransom, nor be satisfied, no matter how many gifts you multiply" (Proverbs 6:34,35); And again: "Love is as strong as death; jealousy is as fierce as hell" (Song of Songs 8:6). And if the jealous one is thus inflamed, is not he more unfortunate than anyone who has fallen into such misfortune that he is even compelled to flatter the offender and to take every effort to ensure that the adulterer, whom he should take revenge, conveniently takes advantage of his wife? When these calamities were over, other difficulties arose again: famine was followed by war. I do not speak now of the quarrel of the shepherds and the separation from his nephew, although even this, if compared with other circumstances, could cause (Abraham) great despondency.

However, I omit all this now, because we are talking about the Patriarch, and not about any of the ordinary people.

8. Thus the famine was followed by war with the Persians, and Abraham was compelled to march against them, not at the very beginning, when both sides were still strong, but when the allies were all put to flight, the victory was with the enemy, and no one could resist them, for some were utterly defeated, others fled, and some were enslaved by them. However, nothing kept Abraham at home, but, overwhelmed by great grief over what had happened, he went to share the misfortune with the vanquished, exposing himself to an obvious death; for it was possible to go out to battle with such a large army, having a little over three hundred household members, only by calculating and deciding on capture, torture and innumerable deaths. So he went ready to test the ferocity of the barbarians; but when he was saved by God's love for mankind and returned with booty and a relative, he again had to weep over his own grief - I mean childlessness and the fact that he did not have an heir. If you only now hear him complaining before God and saying, "What will you give me? I remain childless" (Gen. 15:2), then do not think that now he only felt this grief; no, this care and anxiety entered the house of the righteous man together with his young wife, or even before the wife herself. As a rule, all of us, as soon as we begin to consult and talk about marriage, are troubled by all the cares connected with it, the most important of which is about children, and the fear (of childlessness) from that very day disturbs our souls. If it happens that one year, or two, or even three years (without children) pass after marriage, then despondency increases, and hopes for joy weaken; but when more time has passed, then hope completely leaves us, and despondency takes possession of the soul, darkening all the pleasures of life and not allowing us to enjoy anything. Thus, if none of so many disasters had befallen Abraham, but everything had been according to his wishes, only the despondency of childlessness, which accompanied all the events of his life, would have been able to darken and destroy all complacency. God's promise followed already in his extreme old age, when nature no longer gave hope (for childbearing); and all that preceded so long he spent in sorrow and sorrow; and the more he saw his wealth increase, the more he grieved, having no heir. What do you think he endured when he heard: "Know this, that thy descendants shall be sojourners in a land not their own, and shall enslave them, and shall oppress them four hundred years" (Gen. 15:13)? And the wife, who now advises Abraham to take her maidservant, and when he has taken her, reproaches and complains, calling upon God, and compels him to cast out the same maidservant who shared his bed and was preparing to bear him a son, whom would she not plunge into utter despondency? To those who think this is of little importance, let him remember that whole houses were upset because of this, and marvel at the righteous man. Although he bravely endured everything through the fear of God, he was a man and suffered and grieved because of all this. Then the maidservant returns to the master's house and bears him a natural son, and Abraham becomes a father after such a long time; This event gave him some pleasure, but still greater despondency. The natural son reminded him of the lawful and aroused the strongest desire of such a son. He thought that the words, "He shall not be thy heir, but he who shall come out of thy loins shall be thy heir" (Gen. 15:4) were spoken of Ishmael, because nothing had yet been said of Sarah. When, at last, he received the clearest promise about Isaac, and the time of his birth was appointed, before he had time to enjoy this hope, the calamities of the Sodomites brought upon him a great cloud of sorrow. And that these calamities did not stir up the righteous man a little, this is evident to everyone from his very words and from the prayer which he lifted up to God for the Sodomites; And when he saw how that terrible rain poured down and everything suddenly turned to dust and ashes, he was already beside himself.

Scarcely had the calamities of Sodom been accomplished than the king of Gerar tried to inflict on Sarah the same disgrace as Pharaoh; and again the wife was forced to resort to lamentable hypocrisy, and dishonor would indeed have been inflicted on her, if God had not again prevented her.

This can be learned from the Bible itself. A firm and courageous husband, who decided to sacrifice his only begotten (son) with his own hands, grieved when his wife demanded that he be banished (Hagar); and he would not have yielded or obeyed Sarah, though she had had more courage and spoken to him (more insistently) if the fear of God had not impelled him to do so. Therefore, when you hear that Abraham, by God's command, sent a maidservant with her son, do not think that his sorrow ceased (it was impossible); but marvel at the great humility by which he, though tormented by compassion, did not resist God, but sent the child and his mother away, not even knowing whither they would go; He endured and endured with sorrow, because he was not above nature.