6. Knowing this, let us keep in mind one thing that is pleasing to Him (God) and that can attract His favor upon us; and neither out of pleasing friendship, nor out of obedience to any custom, let us despise virtue, but let us make proper use of God's long-suffering, and, while there is still time, putting aside all sloth, let us love virtue and hate vice. If we do not strive for virtue with love and eagerness, and if we do not harbor great hatred for vice, then we will not be able to avoid harm from it, nor to attain it. And that virtue deserves that we should desire it and burn with love for it – listen to what the prophet says: "The judgments of the Lord are true, all are righteous; they are more desirable than gold, and even a great quantity of pure gold" (Psalm 18:10,11). I said this not because this alone was the most desirable, but because we cannot find anything more precious than these objects. That is why he added: "sweeter than honey and drops of honeycomb." And here again he used this comparison because he could not find a substance sweeter than honey. And those who are possessed by an insane passion and love for the accumulation of wealth, exhaust all their strength for this, and are never satisfied, because the love of money is insatiable drunkenness; And just as drunkards, the more wine they pour into themselves, the more they are inflamed with thirst, so these (lovers of money) can never stop this indomitable passion, but the more they see the growth of their possessions, the more they are inflamed with covetousness, and do not abandon this evil passion until they fall into the very abyss of evil. If these people manifest with such intensity this pernicious passion, the author of all evil, then how much more should we always have the judgments of the Lord, which are higher than "gold and even the multitude of pure gold," in our thoughts and prefer nothing to virtue, and to eradicate these pernicious passions from our souls, and to know that this temporary pleasure usually gives rise to unceasing sorrow and endless torment. and not to deceive ourselves and not to think that our existence ends with the present life. True, the majority of people do not express this in words, on the contrary, they even say that they believe in the doctrine of the resurrection and the future retribution; But I pay attention not to the words, but to what is done every day. If you really expect resurrection and recompense, then why are you so anxious about worldly glory? Why, tell me, do you torture yourself every day, collecting more money than sand, buying villages, houses, and baths, often acquiring this even by robbery and covetousness, and fulfilling the prophetic word on yourself: "Woe to you who add house to house, who add field to field, so that there is no room for [others], as if you were alone on the earth" (Isaiah 5:8)? Isn't this what we see every day? One says: "The house of so-and-so takes away my light," and invents a thousand pretexts to take it away; and another, having taken a field from the poor, adds it to his own. And what is especially remarkable, extraordinary, strange, and unforgivable is that some people live in one place, often do not even have the opportunity, if they wanted to, to move to another place, either because of bodily weakness, or because of other circumstances, and yet they want to have monuments of their covetousness everywhere and in all, so to speak, cities, to erect everywhere the eternal pillars of their impiety. and he lays the sins with which all these things are collected on his own head, and bearing this heavy and unbearable burden, he does not feel it, but gives the enjoyment of the treasures he has gathered to others, not only after the transmigration from this life, but also before the departure from here. If he does not lose them against his will, they are all scattered and, so to speak, torn to pieces by his household, and he himself does not enjoy even an insignificant part of them. And what do I say, He does not enjoy? If he wanted to, how would he get him, when he had only one belly with so much wealth?

7. The cause of all evil is vanity and the desire to give one's name to fields, baths, houses. What does it profit you, O man, when, after a while, from the fever that has befallen you, your soul, suddenly flying away, leaves you without everything and naked, or, better, deprived of virtue, and clothed in unrighteousness, theft, covetousness, groans, sighs, tears of orphans, intrigues, deceits? How can you, having such a great burden of sins upon you, be able to pass through those narrow gates that cannot contain such a great burden? Of necessity you will remain outside (the kingdom) and, under the weight of this burden, you will repent in vain, seeing before your eyes the punishments prepared before your eyes, that terrible and never burning fire and the worm that does not die. But if we are in any way concerned about our salvation, then, while there is still time, let us depart from sin, turn to virtue, and renounce vanity. That is why it is called vain, because it is empty and has nothing solid and permanent in it; it is only a deception of the eyes, disappearing before it appears. Do we not see how often he who is preceded today by lictors, and who is surrounded by spearmen, tomorrow finds himself in prison, together with criminals? What is more deceptive than this vain and vain glory? And if such a change does not happen to him in the present life, death will surely overtake him and interrupt his well-being, and he who today spoke solemnly in the square, put (others) in prison, sat on an elevated place, behaved very proudly, and looked upon all people as shadows, tomorrow suddenly lies dead, breathless, full of stench, showered with a thousand reproaches both from those who have been offended by him and from those who have not been offended, but who sympathize with those who have been offended. What can be more unhappy than such a person? And all that he has gathered is often divided among his enemies and foes; and the sins accumulated in him from this, he takes with him, and is subjected to a very strict account for them. Therefore, I beseech you: fleeing from this vain glory, let us love true glory that endures forever, and let us not be deceived by the passion of riches, nor burned by the flame of lust, nor dried up by envy and hatred, nor inflamed by anger, but having quenched all these evil and pernicious passions with the dew of the spirit, let us despise the present, desire the future, think about the future day (judgment), and show great thoroughness in life. We did not come into this life only to eat and drink.

Life was not created for food and drink, but food and drink for life. So let us not pervert this order, and let us not so please the belly and the pleasures of the flesh, as if we were created for this; but, reflecting on the harm that occurs for us from this gratification, let us begin to tame the movements of the flesh, let us not be lazy and not allow it to rise up against the soul. If Paul, so great and exalted a man, as if on wings flew over the whole world, who rose above bodily needs and was vouchsafed to hear ineffable words, which no one else had heard before, said in his epistle: "I subdue and enslave my body, lest, preaching to others, I myself remain unworthy" (1 Corinthians 9:27), – then if he, who was vouchsafed such grace, after so many and lofty feats, had the need to subdue and enslave, to subdue under the power of the soul and to subject it to the dominion of the strong impulses of the flesh (which subdue that which rebels, and enslaves that which throws off the bridle), then what shall we, who have nothing good, burdened with grievous sins, and yet given over to great carelessness, say? Is there a truce in this battle? Is there a definite time for an attack? We must always be sober and awake, and never consider ourselves safe, because there is no appointed time when the enemy and adversary will attack us. Therefore, let us always think, always take care of our salvation, so that in this way we may be invincible and, having escaped the snares of the enemy, receive mercy from God, through the grace and mercies of His Only-begotten, with Whom to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, be glory, dominion, and honor, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

CONVERSATION 23

"And Noah found grace in the sight of the Lord. Here is the life of Noah: Noah was a righteous man and blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God" (Gen. 6:8,9).

1. Have you seen from what has already been said, how great is the love of mankind and how exceedingly long-suffering is God's patience? Have you seen how the wickedness of the people of that time (contemporary with Noah) increased? They learned what was the virtue of the righteous among such a multitude (of the wicked), and how nothing harmed him,

Such is virtue: it is immortal and invincible, it is not subject to the vicissitudes of the present life, but raised above the snares of impiety, it looks at everything human as if from some high tower, and does not feel anything that is burdensome to others. On the contrary, just as he who stands on a high rock laughs at the waves when he sees that they strike the rock with a noise and immediately turn into foam, so he who strives in virtue, staying in a safe place, does not experience any discomfort from the excitement of life, but lives quietly, enjoying the silence of his thoughts and imagining that the affairs of the present life, which pass so quickly and quickly, do not differ in any way from river currents. As it happens with the waves of the sea, that they rise to an unspeakable height, then suddenly fall again, so we see that people who do not care about virtue and are given over to vice, now think highly, raise their eyebrows and succeed in the affairs of the present life, then suddenly become humiliated and come to extreme poverty. Pointing to them, the blessed prophet David also said: "Do not be afraid, when a man grows rich, when the glory of his house increases: for when he dies, he will take nothing" (Psalm 48:17,18). And he said well, "Don't be afraid." Do not be troubled, he says, by the excess of his wealth and the splendor of his glory. After a while, you will see him lying on the ground, motionless, dead corpse, having become the food of worms, deprived of all these things (wealth and glory) and unable to take anything with him, but leaving everything here. Do not be embarrassed when you look at the present, and do not please him who is soon to lose all this. Such is true happiness and such is the quality of wealth: it does not accompany those who depart from here; leaving all their wealth here, they depart naked and worthless, carrying with them only impiety and the burden of sins they have accumulated because of their riches. But in the matter of virtue there is nothing of the sort: even here it places (us) above our ill-wishers and makes us invincible, gives us unceasing pleasure and does not allow us to feel the vicissitudes of (worldly) affairs; accompanies us during the exodus from here, and then, especially when we need her help, on that terrible day He gives us great help, bowing down to the mercy of the Judge to us; and as here, in times of tribulation, He exalts them above calamities, so in the future (age) He delivers those who possess it from eternal torment. Not only that: it also gives us the pleasure of ineffable blessings. And in order to convince you that this is really so, and that we do not say this simply and in vain to carry you away, I will try to prove it to your love by the subject of this discourse. See how this wondrous one, I mean Noah, at a time when the whole human race had incurred the wrath of the loving Lord, by his virtue was able to escape the wrath (of God) and deserve great favor from Him. But, if you like, let us talk for the time being about the events of the present life, because some may not believe in the future and the invisible. Thus, from the events here, let us see what fate befell those who gave themselves over to impiety, and what was vouchsafed to him who loved virtue. For the good God determined to punish the human race for the increased wickedness with universal destruction, saying, I will destroy from off the face of the earth men whom I have created, and showing the power of his wrath, He pronounced this judgment not only on the human race, but also on all cattle, and creeping things, and birds (for when the people for whom these creatures were created were to perish in the flood, then it is natural for them to share the punishment with people)

The Scripture says, "And Noah found grace in the sight of the Lord."

2. Notice the accuracy of the Scriptures, just as even one syllable cannot be found (in it) without meaning. Having informed us of the excessive increase of human wickedness, and of the great punishment to which the perpetrators of this were to be subjected, the Scriptures also show us one who, among such a multitude, was able to preserve the purity of virtue. Of course, virtue in itself is worthy of wonder; but if someone else creates it surrounded by obstacles, then it is much more wondrous. Therefore, the Divine Scriptures, as if marveling at the righteous man, say that among such a multitude of people who had to be subjected to the wrath of God for their wickedness, "Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." "He found grace," but before God; it is not simply said, "He found grace," but before the Lord God, in order to show us that his only purpose was to win the approval of that watchful Eye, and that he cared not in the least for glory, or for dishonor, or for the ridicule of men. Naturally, for his determination, in spite of everything, to strive in virtue, he endured great reproach and ridicule, since all the impious usually always mock those who have decided to shun impiety and cling to virtue, which is often the case even today. And we see that many careless people, unable to endure ridicule and reproach and preferring human glory to true and eternal glory, are carried away and partake of the impiety of other people. Only a valiant and firm soul can resist those who try to seduce it and do nothing to please people, but direct its gaze to that ever-vigilant Eye and only expect favor from it, and not look at people and do not value their praise and blame, but leave them unnoticed, like a shadow and a dream. And now often many, unable to endure the ridicule of ten, twenty or fewer persons, stumble and fall: "There is shame that leads to sin" (Sir. 5:25). An important thing is not to pay attention to those who slander, mock and mock. But this righteous man did not act in this way: he despised not only ten and twenty and a hundred people, but all their totality, so many thousands of people. It is probable that everyone mocked him, mocked him, swore, and insulted him a lot; perhaps they even wanted to tear him to pieces, if it were possible. Impiety always shows great malice against virtue; and not only does he not harm it in the least, but by attacking it, it only makes it stronger. Such is the power of virtue that, even when it suffers, it overcomes those who inflict (suffering), and when it is attacked, it is higher than the attackers. And this can be seen from many (examples). But in order to present to you the means (to be convinced of this) – for it is said: "Give [instruction] to the wise, and he will be wiser" (Proverbs 9:9) – it is necessary to present to you examples from both the Old and New Testaments. Remember Abel: was he not killed by Cain? Was he not thrown to the ground? But do not look at the fact that (Cain) overcame, and conquered, and killed a brother whom he envied, and who did not offend him in any way, but consider the consequences, that the one who was slain from that time to this day is glorified and blessed, and that so long a time has not erased the memory of him; but he who killed and overcame, even then dragged out a life heavier than death, and from that time to this day is exposed to shame and condemned by all, while he is sung every day by the lips of all. And this is in the present life; And what will follow in the age to come – what word, what mind can imagine it? I am sure that you, as men of understanding, will find many other similar examples in the Scriptures: they are written for our benefit, so that we, recognizing them, may shun impiety and cling to virtue. Do you want to see the same thing in the New Testament? Listen to how Blessed Luke tells the same thing about the Apostles, namely: that they, having endured the blows, went out of the Sanhedrin, rejoicing, that for the name of Christ they were vouchsafed to receive mockery (Acts 5:41). Though the blows did not cause joy, but pain and dishonor, yet for God's sake the blows and the reason why (the apostles) were subjected to the blows gave them joy. Meanwhile, those who struck (the apostles) were in great perplexity and difficulty, not knowing what to do. Listen, indeed, how do they, even after they have struck, be perplexed and say: "What shall we do with these people" (Acts 4:16; cf. v. 3)? What do you say? You have inflicted beatings, done a lot of evil, and are still perplexed? So strong and invincible is virtue: even in suffering itself it conquers those who cause suffering.

3. But in order not to make the word prolonged, we must again turn to this righteous man (Noah), and marvel at his high virtue, how he was able to despise and rise above such a great multitude of those who mocked him, attacked, reviled, dishonored him (again I say the same, and I will not cease to speak). How is that? Here's how. He constantly gazed at the ever-vigilant Eye and directed the gaze of his soul to it; therefore he no longer cared about all these (scoffers), as if they had never existed. This is how it should be: whoever is wounded by this love and strives with his heart towards God, no longer pays attention to the visible, but constantly contemplates the object of his striving, both night and day, and when he lies down and when he gets up. Let it not surprise you if this righteous man, having only directed his thought there, did not think of any of those who tried to seduce him. Fulfilling his duty and acquiring the highest grace, he became higher than all of them. "And Noah," it is said, "found grace in the eyes of the Lord." Even if he was not pleasant and amiable to all the people of that time, because he did not want to follow the same path with them; therefore he found grace in the Searching heart. Who approved of his spiritual disposition. And tell me, what harm does it do to a man from the reproach and ridicule of those like him, when he who created our hearts and understands all your deeds glorifies and crowns him? What does it profit a man if the whole universe marvels at him and praises him, and the Creator of all and the infallible Judge condemns him on that terrible day? Therefore, knowing this, beloved, let us not treasure the praise of men, and let us not seek glory from men in every way, but for the sake of Him Who searches hearts and bowels, let us do good deeds and flee from wickedness.

That is why Christ, teaching us not to pursue the glory of men, after many other things, finally said the following: "Woe to you, when all men speak well of you!" (Luke 6:26). See how He showed us by the word "woe" what punishment is prepared for such people. This "woe" is a lamentable exclamation; as if weeping for them, (Christ) says: "Woe to you, when all men speak well of you!" Notice the accuracy of the expression: he did not say simply "people", but "all people". It is impossible for a virtuous person who walks the narrow and sorrowful path and fulfills the commandments of Christ to earn praise and amazement from all people, because the power of evil and enmity to virtue are great. Therefore, the Lord, knowing that it is impossible for a person who strives strictly in virtue and expects praise from Him alone, to enjoy praise and good fame from all people, calls unfortunate those who, because of human praise, neglect virtue. Praise from all can be the greatest proof that (the praised) care a little about virtue. And how will everyone praise the virtuous, if he begins to snatch away the offended from the offenders, those who suffer evil from those who want to do evil? Again, if he wants to correct sinners and praise those who live virtuously, is it not natural that some will praise him, and others will blame him? Therefore (the Lord) says: "Woe to you when all men speak well of you!" After this, should not this righteous man (Noah) be amazed and amazed when, guided by the natural law, he fulfilled with great accuracy in advance what Christ taught after his coming (to earth), and, disregarding human praise, tried to acquire grace from God by a virtuous life? "And Noah," he says, "has found grace in the eyes of the Lord." That for his virtue he found grace before the Lord God, this wondrous prophet, inspired by the Holy Spirit, told us; it is also necessary to know what is said next, to see how God Himself judged him. "Behold," it is said, "the life of Noah: Noah was a righteous man and blameless in his generation" (Gen. 6:9). An unusual way of genealogy. Having said, "This is the life of Noah," and having aroused our attention, intending as if to tell the genealogy of Noah, who his father was, whence he came into the world, how he came into the world, and all the rest of which genealogies are wont to narrate, the divine Scripture leaves all this, and, contrary to custom, says: "Noah was a righteous and blameless man in his generation; Noah walked with God." Have you seen the wonderful genealogy? "Noah," he said, "was a man." Behold, the common name of nature is turned into praise to the righteous. While others, immersed in the pleasures of the flesh, ceased even to be men, Noah, it is said, in the midst of such a multitude (of the depraved) retained the image of man, because it is man who exercises virtue. It is not that we have the form of a man – and the eyes, and the nose, and the lips, and the cheeks, and other members, this is not what distinguishes man: these are bodily members. We call a man the one who preserves the image of a person. What is the image of man? It is to be reasonable. Why, it will be said, were they not reasonable? But even this is not enough: in order to be a man, one must also be virtuous, flee from vices, conquer impure passions, and fulfill the commandments of the Lord.

4. And in order for you to be convinced that the Scriptures of those who are given over to impiety and do not care about virtue usually do not vouchsafe even the name of man, listen to those words of God, of which we said yesterday: "My Spirit is not forever despised by men; for they are flesh" (Gen. 6:3). I, says (God), have given them, together with the flesh, the power (or being) of the soul; but they, as if clothed only with flesh, so disdained of the valor of the soul, that at last they became completely flesh. See how God calls them flesh and not men because of their wickedness! And further, as you will immediately learn, St. The Scriptures call them earth because they have completely given themselves over to earthly thoughts; namely, he says: "The earth is corrupted before the face of God" (Gen. 6:11), meaning here not the sensual earth, but calling those who dwell on it the earth. And in another place he does not even call them flesh or earth, does not even consider them to exist in the present life, because they do not do virtue. Listen to what the prophet cries out and says in the midst of the chief city, Jerusalem, where there are so many thousands, where there are innumerable multitudes of people: "I came, there was none, and when I called, no one answered" (Isaiah 50:2), not because there was no one, but because those who were were no better than those who were not. And again in another place: "Go about...," he says, "and see if there is not one who keeps the truth, who seeks the truth? I would have spared [Jerusalem]" (Jeremiah 5:1).

Have you seen how the Divine Scripture calls man only he who does virtue, and does not even consider others to exist, calling them now flesh and sometimes earth? That is why even now, promising to depict the genealogy of the righteous man, the Divine Scripture says: "Noah was a man" – he was only a man, and the rest are not men, but, having the form of a man, by evil will they destroyed the nobility of their nature, and from men they descended to the foolishness of animals. And as for men, rational creatures, when they deviate into wickedness and become prisoners of irrational passions, the divine Scripture gives the names of beasts, listen to how it says in one place: "These are fattened horses: each of them neighs at the wife of another" (Jeremiah 5:8). See how it, for excessive voluptuousness, gives (man) the name of dumb. And in another place: "Their venom is like the venom of a serpent" (Psalm 57:5). Here it means those who imitate the cunning and cunning of this beast (adder). And again he calls others dumb dogs (Isaiah 56:10-11); and again he says: "Like a deaf adder that stops its ears" (Psalm 57:5), meaning those who close their ears to the teaching of virtue. And there are many names that the Divine Scripture gives to people who through negligence indulge in bestial passions. This can be seen not only in the Old Testament, but also in the New. Listen to what John the Baptist says to the Jews: "Offspring of vipers! Who inspired you to flee from the wrath to come?" (Matthew 3:7). Do you see how here also he designated the cunning of their will by the name of the beast? What can be more miserable than people who are given over to wickedness, when they are deprived of the very name of man, and are subjected to the greater punishment because, having received from nature many means (for virtue), they did not make use of them, having fallen of their own free will (from the heights) and turned to impiety? Thus, when the contemporaries (of Noah) appeared unworthy of the name (of man), and this righteous man, in such a poverty of virtue, manifested in himself such a great virtue, the divine Scripture, beginning the genealogy of this man, says: "Noah was a man." One can also meet another righteous man, to whom this name was given instead of the greatest praise, and who is glorified by this name above all others, as zealously striving in virtue. Who is he? Blessed Job, the ascetic of piety, the hero of the universe, who alone endured those unbearable misfortunes, and, having received innumerable arrows from the evil demon, remained unwounded, and, like a certain adamant, was able to endure all misfortunes, and not only did not sink into such great waves, but even became higher than them – having experienced all the sufferings of the universe on his body, he appeared even brighter from this. The continuity of the calamities that followed one another not only did not strike him, but even aroused him to even greater gratitude, and he fully showed his prudence, inflicting a mortal wound on the devil and proving that he was in vain strengthening himself and going against the. Praising and glorifying this holy even before the struggle and such great feats, the lover of mankind said to the devil: "Have you paid attention to My servant Job? for there is none like him on earth: a blameless man, just, God-fearing, and shunning evil" (Job 1:8)? Do you see, and he is glorified first of all by the common name of man? – "Have you paid attention to My servant Job? for there is no such man like him? Though all are alike, yet not in virtue, but only in appearance; but this is not what a person is, but when someone, avoiding impiety, strives in virtue.

5. Have you seen whom the Divine Scripture usually calls man? That is why in the beginning the Lord of all, approaching the creation of man, said: "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness" (Gen. 1:26), that is, that he should be lord over all things visible and over the passions that arise in him, so that he would rule, and not be under authority. And if, having left the rulership, he wishes to be under the ruler rather than to be the ruler, then he ceases to be a man and brings upon himself the name of a dumb animal. For this reason even now the divine Scripture, wishing to praise the virtue of the righteous, says: "This is the life of Noah: Noah was a righteous man." Here is another very important type of praise: "righteous." By this name (Scripture) means all the virtues of Noah in general; The name righteous we usually give to those people who practice every virtue. Then, so that you may know that Noah reached the very height of virtue, which was required of our nature even then. The Scripture says, "Righteous and blameless in his generation." He says that he fulfilled all that a virtuous man ought to have done (this is what "blameless" means perfect), without omitting anything, without stumbling in anything. Not that he did one thing, and sinned in another; but in every virtue he was perfect; and this he had to do. Further, in order to present the righteous man to us in a still greater light by pointing to time and by comparison with others, the Scriptures say: "Blameless in his generation," at that time in his corrupt generation, who gave himself over to such impiety and would not show even a trace of virtue. In such and such a way, in such and such times, this righteous man not only manifested virtue, but also reached the very height of virtues, appeared perfect and without any lack. As I said before, to live virtuously among those who rise up against virtue and to show constant zeal for it among those who hinder it, always testifies to the special dignity of virtue. That is why this righteous man is honored with special praise. But the Divine Scripture does not stop here in glorifying him, but, showing us the superiority of his virtue, and that he received approval from above, after the words: "Blameless in his generation," he says: "Noah walked with God." So great was his virtue that he deserved praise from God. "Noah," he says, "walked with God"; – this means that he was approved by God, pleased that vigilant Eye by his God-pleasing deeds, attracted His favor to himself by his life, so that (the Lord) not only delivered him from the wrath that was about to break out over everyone, but also made him the protector of others. "Noah," he says, "walked with God." Who can be more blessed than a man who was able to show such virtue that he was praised by the Lord of all?