# Coptic homilies in the dialect of Upper Egypt/I. Syriac Version of the Discourse of Mar John, Bishop of Constantinople, on Virginity, and Bepentance, and Admonition
### THE DISCOURSE OF MAR JOHN, BISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE, ON VIRGINITY, AND REPENTANCE, AND ADMONITION.

If the blessed man Paul, who became the Apostle of the Gentiles, the teacher of the Holy Church, who forgot the things which were behind and reached out to those that were in front of him, who being in a corruptible body made himself to be like unto the incorporeal hosts, who finished his course and kept the Faith, who was trained in his fasting, and was in dangers in abundance, who excelled in hunger and thirst, who served the service of preaching from Jerusalem to Illyricum, who possessed the attributes of Christ Who spoke in him, that earthly angel and heavenly man, that orator-apostle who became a receiver of the Spirit, who ascended up to the third heaven and heard words which cannot be uttered, who was incomparable in zeal and rich in love, that protector of the Church and orator of the fear of God, that succourer of the sick, and sponsor of the faithful, and rebuker of the Jews, who became the net and enclosed us all, who even after his death was a teacher and a preacher, who taught how meet it was for us to ascend into heaven; I say, if this man, who possessed all these spiritual excellences to such an extent that he could say, 'I feel nothing whatsoever in my soul,' said, 'I am afraid lest I who have preached unto others become a castaway.' what will we do who do not even possess the rectitude of spiritual excellence?
Therefore vigil and prayer are essential at all times, and we must ask God, not for gold, or silver, or any earthly riches whatsoever, but especially for the kingdom of heaven, and pray that we may rejoice in our Lord. Some rejoice in riches, and some in wine and feasts of dainty food, and others in an abundance of offspring and in the glory which is vain. Now he who is a virgin rejoices in our Lord, so that there may be to him glory from Him, and he will say, 'From before You is my glory,' There is nothing hateful and filthy [wanting] in the soul which is joined unto evil passions and is bound [by them]. Therefore it is meet that we should be exceedingly careful concerning the beauty of the soul, and we must say like the holy man, ' O God, in your good pleasure give to my glory strength, so that the Lord when He sees its beauty will say, 'You are wholly beautiful, my friend, and there is no blemish in you.'
But see that, although you preserve the beauty of virginity, you are not lifted up through your beauty, lest through your boasting God will pay no heed to you, and your exaltation will be rebuked. For what can you endure which will be equal to the things which He endured for your sake? He humbled Himself, and with His precious Blood bought you. He fasted for you, He who established the hosts of heaven tasted bitterness for your sake. He Who crowned the heavens with the splendour of the stars was crowned with a crown of thorns for your sake, and was obedient even unto death. Now it is right not that we should rejoice according to [the greatness of] these things, but that we should weep, and beat our breasts, and should be persuaded to do what he said, 'Repent in your hearts on your beds of what you say,' so that we may remember the things which we have done in the daytime and lament. In this manner did Ahab repent : he rent his garments, and he fasted, and put on sackcloth. And what did God say unto him? [He said,] ' I will not bring the evil upon him.' For this reason also our Redeemer said in the Gospel, ' Blessed are those who weep,' not over a dead man, nor because of some loss, but for sin. So that, like David, we may say, ' All the night long have I bedewed my couch, and I have made my cushions to be saturated.' And again, 'Streams of water have come from mine eyes because I have not kept your Law. 5 Wash away with tears the filth which is in your soul, smite upon your breast, bend your face to the ground, and remember the things wherein you have sinned.
At one time or another you have been snared through your eyes, like David, and you have opened the windows (or, shutters) wickedly, and your eyes were [enemies] against your soul. Shut yourself, with groanings and with tears, the eye which has seen wickedly, for it is in the habit of bringing a man by means of little things to great things wherein he falls. You have clean apparel ; sit not down in every place lest it be defiled. For if you are careless about one dirty spot, and about two, and about three, you will finally be like a man who possesses a wholly dirty garment, and it will not be cast away by you even though it become muddy throughout. And why? Therefore prayers are required that our foot may not trip over a stone, and that a camp of the angels of the Lord may deliver us ; and that we may be able to say confidently, 'It was an angel who delivered me from all these evils, and that an angel may call us as he called Abraham.
Now the angels love those who love their Lord. And the prophet also said, 'Take the harp and bring forth the drum, the beautiful harp with the psaltery.' He gives one thing and demands three. And why? Because we are constituted of three things, even as the Apostle said, 'That we may be preserved perfect, body, and soul, and spirit' ; now the drum is the body, and the harp is the spirit, and the psaltery is the soul. Now the drum has a mortal skin : put this to death so that you will praise God with the drum and with [all] four (sic) [instruments].
He delivered His Body over to sufferings, and disgrace, and death, for your sake. Take heed lest He say unto you, 'What advantage is there in My Blood that I should go down into destruction? 'What are we able to do or what will be equal before Him to all these things which He suffered for our sake?'
Be then a tree which produces fruit, so that you might be blessed by God, and you will give unto Him fruit according to your power. And if it be that you are unable to give the full hundredfold, give a portion thereof, that is to say, sixtyfold; and if even this amount be difficult for you, give one third, that is to say, thirtyfold. Only give what you have the power to give, so that you might not be cut down like that tree which was without fruit, and fall into the fire. If you have neither gold nor silver, that is to say, a life of purity, see that you do not become grass and reeds for the rivers of fire, see that you do not make yourself that pillar which the Lord hated, see that you do not set up your mind as an idol, and He accuse you in the Day of Judgement, so that you might not be there without witnesses and be rebuked, and might not have to confess the things which you know you have done and said [before] others.
Weep beforehand in order that you might not hear in the Other World [the words], l Is it now that you would repent? There is no time here for repentance. While we still have the time let us cultivate good works. For in the case of anything else if we lose it there is the possibility that we will recover it, but if we once lose this opportunity we will never be able [to find] another. For this reason also Paul admonishes us, saying, ' While we still have the time let us cultivate good works.' Let us weep over the sins which we have committed. Let us make a practice of raining down tears [from our eyes] until it is easy for us [to do so]. Let us smite upon our hearts, so that we may be saved from the gnashing of teeth which is in the Other World. Let us weep like David that we may be worthy of grace. For he not only wept but kept vigil also, and he flooded his bed [with tears]. One night he sinned, and he wept the whole night, and it is probable that he made confession and said, ' You gave me eyes that I might see your light with them, but I have seen with them in an evil manner. I have transgressed and erred through the eye, for I have gazed with mine eyes in an evil manner, and I opened the shutters thereof with evil intent. For this reason I will cleanse them with tears. In this way it is meet for us to weep, and to cleanse the eye which has looked with a wicked intent.
You have seen the sore; you have good knowledge of the cure [for it]. Take good heed to the windows (or, shutters) of your soul, not only of the eyes, but also of the hearing and the mouth, for these are the openings through which, according to our desire, bad things or good things enter. Observe lest death go up into your windows. But let there be at all times in front of your eyes the commandments which concern chastity of life, and in your ears let there be the similitude of the admonitions of God, and in your mouth hymns of praise and meditation on the Old and the New Testaments. These windows it is meet for us to open to God and to shut to sin.
Do you say like that holy soul which said, 'I will go up into the palm-tree and lay hold of the height thereof, that you might love integrity. And let your heart be pure that it may leap up towards heaven, and let it not creep about among the things of earth. Observe that there are also thorns on the palm, that is to say, rebukes against sin, for ' the words of the wise men are like ox-goads, and like iron bolts which are heated red hot.' Let those who would be justified by means of these things repent in their hearts, and flee from every [kind of] sin. But lay hold firmly on the top of the palm-tree, so that when the winds of temptations blow you might always remain there without falling.
Occupy you yourself at all times with the Holy Scriptures, for as when wine is drunk it silences griefs and changes [sorrow] into gladness, so also when spiritual wine is drunk it will change your soul into gladness. Remember God at all times, and with the holy man say, ' I have set the Lord in front of me at all times, and He has been on my right hand so that I should not be moved. Write these words on your hands, and let them be visible before your eyes. For if you honour God He will be at your right hand, and if you treat Him with contumely through your wicked actions, Satan will be at your right hand. Thus when Judas treated Him with contumely, the Book says that Satan was standing at his right hand. Glorify you God at every hour, saying, 'I will exalt You, O my God and King.' By deeds and not by words only will you exalt Him. For thus did David bless Him - for ever, and for ever and ever. Not for months, nor for a season, nor for a year, but always, for he knew that when man finishes God begins.
Perhaps, however, you will say, ' How is it possible for the heart to have sufficient strength in it to exalt God at all times? ' [Let your heart be] like unto that which Paul had, who said, ' I feel nothing whatsoever in my soul ' ; and like that of David, who said, ( Cleanse me from secret faults'; and like that which our Redeemer commanded us to have, saying, ' Blessed are those who are pure in their hearts, for they will see God. Thus he who sins not exalts God every day, and not in words only, but also in deeds he shows forth the reality of the matter. And a man must not fall into despair, though sickness attack him, or the loss of possessions come upon him, or even death, but he must say with Paul, 'Who will separate me from the love of Christ?'
The Lord did not abide without due care in the place wherein was impurity, but in an upper chamber which was made ready and arranged in good order, therefore you will make ready your soul that it may be a place of abode for God. Remember that alarming and awful day wherein every man will rise up, and [God] will give judgement concerning the things which [a man] has done, in the place where sinners will appear before the eyes of men and of angels, and everything will be revealed, where they will appear before those who knew not [of them], where are the river of fire and the serpent which shoots forth poison, where every man will stand forth clearly in the open, where the books of the hearts will be opened and read aloud in the middle of the theatre, with angels and men round about. Then will be laid bare the things which are hidden and the things which are revealed, the things which [were done] in the night and those which [were done] in the day, those which we forget and those which we remember and were committed when we knew temptation ; for the things which are hidden here will in that world come into the light.
Understand that we are about to go from this world to that Judge Whom no man can deceive, to a place where not only our actions, but also our words and our thoughts will be judged, where also the failings which were thought to be trivial matters [will bring upon us] a terrible judgement. Remember these things at all times, and forget not the flame which is never quenched. Consider carefully at all times Him Who will come to judge the living and the dead. Think, too, carefully of the thousands and tens of thousands of angels who will stand before that Judge! And you will hear beforehand [with your] hearing the sound of the last trumpet, and the awful voice of the Judge. And you will see beforehand with the eye those who are sent forth into the outer darkness, and those others who remain outside the door of the feast chamber, and this [is their fate] even after the labour and patient endurance of virginity. Consider carefully, too, those who like tares are bound and cast into the furnace, and those who, being bound hand and foot are carried outside, and those who are delivered over to the worm which dies not and to the gnashing of teeth. And observe also another who is judged for scoffing and ribald jesting ; and another [who is judged] because he treated his neighbour iniquitously, and also made his brother to offend ; and another who is punished because of secret sins ; and another [who is judged] for a vain word; and others who are condemned for evil will; and another who is expelled from the Kingdom for blasphemy ; and others who endure frightful tortures because they nursed their wrath; and another who stands in everlasting shame; and others who have denied their Lord and hear the words, ' I never knew you ', because they did that which Christ abominate.
Now these things being thus, it is necessary for us to become like men who make rivers of tears to flow each day, and to say like the prophet, ( Who will make my head to become water, and my eyes fountains of tears, so that I may weep for my sins day and night? ' Now in order that we may save ourselves from the torture which is to come, let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, and through extreme carefulness in respect of our good lives while we are here, let us cause the compassion of our Lord to incline towards our souls. For it is written, 'In Sheol who will give thanks unto You?'
Our Lord has given to us by nature every member in double, two eyes, two ears, two hands, two feet, so that if it happen that one of them be injured, we are consoled by the use of the other. He has, however, given unto us only one soul, and if we lose that with what will we live? It is meet that we should cherish this carefully, and that we should not hold anything which is visible to be of greater value than its redemption, because it is that which will rise with us and be judged before that awful throne of the Judge. If at that time you will say, ' Riches and possessions have led me astray,' the Judge will say unto you, ' Have you not heard [the words], "What will a man profit if he gain the whole world and lose his soul? " And, if you say, ' The Calumniator led me astray.' He will say unto you, 'This that you say, He led me astray, did not even do Eve any good.'
Now therefore, holding fast these things in our souls, let us have understanding, and let us be watchful before the darkness overtake us, and before that great and terrible day come concerning which the prophet said, ' Behold, He comes ! And who will be able to bear the day of His coming? For that day will be awful, a day of blackness and thick darkness.' But you say, 'How is it possible for us to save ourselves from these evils which are described? ' I, even I, will tell you. You can not do it by keeping your body in purity only, but by rewarding with good the evil which comes upon you, and by bearing patiently false accusations when they are made against you, and by returning a blessing for a curse, and by not imagining exalted attributes [for yourself] when you are fasting, for it is not abstinence from good only, but abstinence from sins, which makes perfect fasting.
It is meet that we should search the Scriptures. For observe how the prophet first of all saw a rod of walnut wood, and afterwards a blazing cauldron, in order that he might make manifest that the fire would receive him that was not afraid of the rod and did not correct his ways. And thus also did Moses make manifest the pillar of fire when he actually cried out saying, ' He who desires the Law, and will be obedient thereto, will see the light, him who is disobedient the fire will find, 'Read in the Doctrine of our Redeemer, and learn that when we depart from this world no man will be able to help us, and no brother will redeem his brother from the tortures which never cease, and no friend [will help] his friend, and fathers will not [be able to help their] sons, and sons will not [be able to help their] fathers.
Why need I say these things? If Noah, and Job, and Daniel were to come there they would not be able to persuade that Judge. But you will say, 'Where is the proof of this?' [And I reply] : Observe that man who was not arrayed in the apparel of the feast. When he was cast outside by the bridegroom no man dared to bring forward an entreaty on his behalf. And consider also him unto whom the talent was entrusted and who did not traffic therewith : when he was cast out into the darkness not one man made entreaty on his behalf. And observe, too, the case of the five virgins, for when they remained outside the door the wise virgins were unable to make entreaty on their behalf. Moreover, Christ called them ' foolish'. For after they had trampled down the flame of desire, and after they had quenched the furnace of delight, and after fasting, and vigil, and sleeping on the ground, they were called 'foolish virgins', and rightly so. Because, having guarded carefully the great thing, that is to say their virginity, they did not perform the act of courtesy which arises out of a small matter. Observe also the Judge who places the sheep on His right hand in the Day of Judgement, and the goats, which are without fruit, on His left. And to those who were on His right hand He said, ' Come, blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom which has been prepared for you,' while those who were on His left hand He sent into the outer darkness. And there was none able to help any one of them.
For true indeed is that which the [Book] says, 'Behold, a man comes, and his work is before him.' And again, you have heard of that rich man who would not show loving-kindness to Lazarus, and who, suffering agonies in the place of torment, desired eagerly a drop of water, and you know that not even Abraham himself was able to show mercy unto him at that time, and give him relief from his tortures.
Therefore let us help ourselves with this example, and let us give praise to God in our deeds and lives while we live, before we depart into the darkness. It is far better to make the tongue dry by fasting here, than to keep it wet and to have to ask there for a drop of water, which they will not give, when one is suffering agonies and endless torture. For through the small labours of this world we can escape great tortures [in the next]. We well understand that we cannot endure here the burning fever which lasts for three days, and that when we see the punishments which are inflicted by judges in this world, we are undone, and quake with fear, although in this world, even when the punishments are exceedingly severe, the judges have hardly the power to punish for more than fifty years; imagine then, how very much more severe will be the judgement of God, which will not last for fifty years only, and the tortures which it will prolong for endless ages.
Therefore let us enter in through the strait gate in order that we may be able to journey [subsequently] in a wide space, knowing that all visible things which are pleasant are like a dream, and that they are subject to parturition and birth-pangs. For although we possess health of body and strength, sickness can dissipate our joy in them, and old age is a foe to the beauty of the body, and if we delight in an abundant table, when the evening has come the pleasure therein wanes. And most certainly everything which appertains to time is more fragile than the web of the spider, and is snatched away from us more quickly than dreams. For this reason our Redeemer ascribed blessing to those who are afflicted, [and He did so] in order that the pleasure in the things which are fair might not lay fast hold upon him that is involved in them.
Therefore as Abraham obeyed [the words], ' Get you forth from your country,' let us depart from the customary use of the things which are pleasant to our senses, so that, by meditation upon the mortality of our members which are on the earth, we may make ourselves to become inhabitants of our City which is above. Let us subdue our body and bring it into subjection, in order that it may not make our soul to be subject to the Calumniator. By constant meditation on the Psalms let us put to sleep the lusts which leap up in us like wild beasts, and let us carry at all times death in our bodies. Let us remember him who said, 'Play the man, stand up, be watchful.' For no man who is a sleeper is crowned, neither does he who is inert and cowardly receive the crown, but he who bears and suffers the burden and wounds of blows, he who is found to have grown old in righting and who shows in his body bloody scars and marks of wounds.
Now therefore we learn by experience that the work of the Calumniator is evil and bitter, for he flees from him that is alive to his cunning devices, and he plunders him that is asleep. Therefore did the wise man say, 'You will give not sleep to your eyes, nor slumber to your eyelids, so that you might be delivered like a gazelle from the hunters' trap, and like a bird from the snare.' Let us flee at all times from the traps of this world, and from the care thereof, and let us be like men who have forsaken the world, and let nothing appertaining to the body be found with us, for the ambushes of the Crafty One are many. And [the Book] says, ' Our Adversary roars like a lion, and goes about and seeks ' - not a man to bite, and not a man to break, but - ' one whom he can swallow up '. Flee from the cunning of the Crafty One, and say, 'Through You I will be delivered from the robber, and by my God I will pass over a wall.' Flee not from labour that you fall not from the crown. The merchant is not sluggish, and he endures the waves in order that he may find profit. The athlete who goes down into the contest bears blows, because his eye looks [beyond them] to the crown, and the husbandman does not rejoice in crops unless he has beforehand sweated at the season of sowing. Thus also must it be with those who pursue heaven, and tribulations must be accounted as nothing to them, because they must be strong in the hope of the good things which are to come.
Therefore let us look out at all times and wait, so that, when the Bridegroom will come to the feast and we hear His voice, we may rise up prepared to meet Him, even as He said, ' Be like men who are awaiting their lord.' From this our Redeemer ascribed blessing to him that is vigilant, saying, 'Blessed is that servant whose lord will come and find him watching.' And as He blessed him that is vigilant, so did He contemn and chide him that is unfaithful, saying, ' If that wicked servant will begin to say, My lord tarries in coming, and he begin to beat his companions, and to eat and to drink with the drunkards, his lord will come on a day when he expects him not, and in an hour which he knows not, and will cut him asunder, and set his portion with the unbelievers.' Now if he who says ' He tarries ' is cut asunder, what will happen unto him who never expects Him to come at all?
Therefore it is meet for us to be chaste, and to be ready for departure, and we must say at all times, ( My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready.' We are [engaged] in a great battle in this world, for the wicked march around us, and the sinners stretch their bows. One shoots an arrow into our sense of hearing that it may incline favourably to the Calumniator, and another shoots an arrow into the sense of sight that it may gaze lasciviously, and another shoots an arrow into the tongue that it may vilify the brethren, and another shoots an arrow into the belly that it may incite it to greed, and another shoots an arrow into the hand [to move it to] plunder and robbery, and another shoots an arrow into the feet so that they may run [to do] wickedness.
Because of these [arrows] Paul clothed us with the armour of the Spirit, and wrote, 'Put on armour and a helmet in order that you may be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the Evil One.' Let us be persuaded by the voice of the prophet, who says, 'These things I require of you, [says] the Lord. That you doest judgement, and love goodness, and make yourself ready to go after the Lord your God. Therefore forgetting the things which are behind us, we reach out to the things which are before us, to the good things, so that we may eat what our hands have worked for, and may rejoice in the Lord.
Therefore let us not waste the time of our life in empty matters, but as men who have a Lord, let us serve Him with exact service. For behold, He teaches us, and reminds us, and testifies to us, and threatens, and persuads and admonishes us, and if we will allow ourselves to be persuaded by Him, He will bestow upon us the Kingdom of Heaven as the wages of our obedience. Let us gird up our loins, then, in truth, and let us cultivate the service of this Good Lord. Let us think how much the Redeemer suffered for our sakes, that is, to be born, to suck milk at the breast, to eat, to drink, to sleep, to rise up, to be baptized, to endure guile, to be alarmed and troubled, to be scourged, to be held up to disgrace, and at length to die. For observe, He bore all these things from the sinners who rose up against Him, and up to this present ye have not in your contending resisted sin unto blood.
And how many were the good deeds which He wrought for our sakes ! The healing of sicknesses, the cleansing of the lepers, the resurrection of the dead, the persecuting and driving out of the devils, the walking of the lame; and finally He bestowed upon us the Ascension into heaven, so that through our lives of good deeds we might follow in His footsteps. For it is meet that we should be in our lives that which we have been described as being, the Scripture calling us 'strangers and sojourners', so that we may despise the things which pass away.
Lust is like a dog which, if you feed it, will abide with you. For this reason Paul said, 'Stand up against the Calumniator, and he will flee from you.' Let us not remain [idle] while we go down into Sheol where the building up of repentance has no power. For neither when a man gnashes his teeth there, nor when his tongue is on fire, will any moisten [it] with a drop of water on the tip of his finger, but he will hear the words which that rich man heard.
Now therefore, since we see that all these things fly away and pass like a dream, and that we live [here] by the Divine Decree, and that we are bound in any case to depart, let us take care concerning our road, and let us take with us provisions for the life which is for ever. Let us array ourselves in the apparel which will go with us, the which Paul counsels us [to take], that is, mercy, and compassion, and goodness. For in that Other World we will not have need of gold, but of shade wherein to refresh ourselves. In that Other World leaves will not be required, but fruit, not words, but deeds. ' For not every one who says unto Me, My Lord, my Lord [will enter in], but he who does the will of My Father.'
Therefore let us not deceive ourselves. For supposing that we live our whole life in this world in [fulfilling our] lusts and in pleasure, what is this in comparison to the labours [in the Other World] which are never completed, and are never ending, and never pass away? In this world both good things and evil things come to an end, but in the Other World tortures never pass away. Here if the body burns, the soul escapes, but in the Other World, when the indestructible body rises up the soul will be tortured therein always, for sinners also will rise in indestructibility, not that they may be honoured, but that they may be punished with deathless tortures. For if we are not able to bear excessive heat in the bath, what will we do in that river of fire? For the fire will try us all, [to find out] if our gold be pure [or not]. It is meet also that the stamp (or seal) should be seen, lest the treasure of virginity has been filched away. It is meet also that that which is hidden, as well as that which is revealed, should be seen ; for we must all give the word with confidence, and no man is able to escape the wrath of that Judge.
But perhaps you will say, 'How is it possible for a soul to burn everlastingly in that Other World? How could the body burn in this world with fire continually? For if the body be brought exceedingly low in this world the soul departs.' [I reply,] In the Other World, because [the body] is never brought low, it follows of necessity that the soul will be punished in that burning everlastingly. Does there, then, exist the man who for the sake of dreams would wish to be tortured everlastingly? For what comparison can be made between dreams and these things which are to be expected [in that Other World]? For if the things [here] are thus transitory, then most assuredly the things which are [there are] abiding.
Come, therefore, while we have the time, and let us bind up and heal the wounds of the soul by means of tears, and let us not be our own enemies by abiding in wickednesses. For one builds up, and another scatters. What profit have they except labour in vain? For if the prophet Jeremiah lamented concerning that temple which was built of stones, saying, 'Let me weep bitterly, and you will not make strong your consolations towards me,' how much more is it moot for us to weep over the soul, which is far more holy than that temple? In the soul there is, it is true, no ark of gold, but in it there dwell the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. If we feel pain for those who die, and weep for them, who is there so devoid of feeling that he will not weep over his own soul? He who feeds his body with dainties kills his soul, but he who cares for his soul to live does not make his body to be in a healthy state.
For this reason we ought not to lament for the dead, but we ought to repent for our soul's sake, and pour out floods of tears; we must remember that the time is shortening, and that the Judge is already at the door, for even if He be afar off it will not be meet for us to rely upon [this]. Therefore let us wake up from dreams, for whether they be pleasant, or whether they be painful, they are nothing more than dreams. It is not meet for a man to sleep when he sees the sun, but he must produce fruits which are equal to repentance, even as it is written. Now as it is easy for us to immerse ourselves in water, so it is easy for the soul to repent. That thief did not need a long time [to repent], and the martyrs were crowned in a short time.
If now the things which are hard and which lead to death pierce us, so long as we have the bandages of redemption let us not despair of our lives. For the falling of a man is not in itself a very evil thing, but the not wishing to rise up again on the part of him that falls [is evil]. That we should go astray is human, but that we should not repent is of Satan and destruction. For this reason the Good Lord cried out by the hand of the prophet, l Is there no balm in Gilead? Or are there no physicians there? ' For if our body is sick we seek out physicians, we take care to provide ourselves with herbs, and we use every endeavour in order that the member which is sick will be healed. In respect of our soul, however, which is sick, we are careless, and we take no care at all about that which is of the greatest importance and of the highest value.
Let us, therefore, fear Him that is able to destroy both the body and the soul in Gehenna, and before the time of punishment (or, torture). Come, let us cast ourselves into the sea of the mercy of God, saying with that holy man, 'Cleanse me, and I will be whiter than snow.' Now our Good Shepherd stands and seeks to pluck us from the mouth of the lion before he will swallow us, and He also cries out now, saying unto us, 'My son, you have sinned, sin no more. Will not he who has fallen rise up [again]? Will not he who has gone backward return? Return to Me, My sons, and I will heal your broken [bones]. For He is not a liar Who said, ( I did not come to judge the world' ; only let us return. For He desires not the death of a sinner, but that he should repent and live. No man loves a woman as much as God loves the soul that repents before Him, for He loves it so greatly that even after it has played the whore away from Him He cries out to it, saying, ' Come back to Me.' So great is the loving mercy of our Lord.
And of those who repent He repulses not one, but He gives the hand [to them], and says, 'Today if you will hear My voice.' For if through severe pain the physician be driven away [by the sufferer], he does not neglect him because he has been treated with contempt, nay, on the contrary, he applies to him his aids with the more insistence, and he is not angry with the man who may very possibly have struck him. How much more, then, is this the case with that Physician of our souls? Most assuredly I am convinced that no man need be in despair concerning his soul. And also how very many times does the athlete fall before he at length goes up crowned from the contest! And the Greek who has been wounded in war and healed becomes a very much more successful fighter than those who have never fallen in the war. And many of the merchants who have lost their cargoes in the sea have come back and carried on their trade again, and have gotten wealth from the sea.
Did God, you think, prepare the fire for us? Certainly not. It was for the Calumniator and his angels only. Let us not kindle a fire against ourselves, and we will [not] hear from Him [the words], 'Depart into the light of your fire, and into the flame of your burning. There is no sickness, not even one, which cannot be healed by the medicines of our Physician. But perhaps you will say, 'I am not able entirely to make manifest a changing (or, conversion) to goodness.' If you are not able to become like the sun, be you like the moon; and if you are not able to become like the moon, be you like a star. Only draw yourself up from the earth, and begin to make yourself to be like the light-giving stars. It is better that you should acquire even a very few spiritual excellences than that you should possess none at all. Let the cup of cold water be offered by you to God, and the visiting of the sick and of those who are in prison.
Now if they judge us for words and thoughts, all the more will we receive a reward for our righteousnesses (i. e., alms), even though the spiritual excellences which we practise be few. Therefore let us work for a short time in order that we may not lose the good things which are for ever. And moreover, myriads are the labours which it would be meet for us to undergo in order that we should be worthy to see the Christ when He comes in His glory, for we will see the King not by representations, but face to face.
If in this world we admire the beauty of the body which is ashes and worms, and the constitution whereof is humour and watery matter, how very much more will we admire - if it be that we are accounted worthy to see [it] - that intransient and unchangeable beauty [of Christ] ! For if when Peter saw in the mountain a very little of that beauty he said, ' Lord, it is a good thing for us to be here.' what will we say who expect to see the full beauty of His glory? If in this world we admire him who stands by the side of the king, when we look upon the ornament of gold, and the purple raiment, and the crown, it is meet that we should be like him(?), when we ourselves stand by the side of Him that has the power to judge the world in righteousness.
Tell me now. If a man were to call upon you to become a king [in a certain country], and there were to meet you on your way [thither] mountains, and great toil, and difficulty, would you not endure everything that you might not lose the kingdom, even though it might possibly be one that would soon pass [from your hands]? I think that you would. Therefore from this time on you will not say, ' I have fallen into sin, and I cannot possibly turn again to God. Now even David on one occasion fell, but he rose up [again] in such wise that, a very long time after his death, he became a support for the children of Israel at the time when their city was besieged by the Assyrians, even as it is written, ' For I will protect this city, and I will deliver it, for My sake, and for the sake of David My servant.'
If therefore the enemy has cast you down, rise up, and return in repentance, and He will go forth to meet you, and will accept you, even as the father met the son who had squandered his possessions. Let us understand that after Solomon became king, and he had planted [gardens] and had built [the Temple], and had enjoyed the things which he had lusted after, and had become richer than all the kings who were before him, he said, 'All is vanity, and vanity, and trouble of spirit.' Tell me. Supposing that a number of vain people were about to praise us, I mean the people who sit in the theatre, should we not move in every possible way, and take the greatest care to snatch for ourselves that empty praise? How much more, then, is it meet for us, amid all the labours and tribulations which come upon us in this world, not only not to notice or to be grieved [by them], but to rejoice, even to the same degree, that we will be applauded and praised by those crowds of angels who are in that theatre of the Other World, before that Righteous Judge, Who rejoices in the praise of His servants?
I am afraid lest peradventure the tax-gatherers and the harlots will precede us in the Kingdom of Heaven. Now we have in the Scriptures various kinds of medicines. When Ahab sinned he saved himself from wrath by the medicine of repentance. The Ninevites [saved themselves] by the medicine of fasting. Belshazzar escaped from the decree of doom through the medicine of mercy ; and the harlot was able to placate our Lord by the medicine of tears. Paul, having turned from his sin, became the teacher of the penitent, and that thief became a dweller in Paradise because he believed in our Lord. Let us take these medicines for ourselves, and with them let us heal and bind up our wounds, saying at the same time, ' Heal us, O Lord, and we will be healed. Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.' Now when the Physician receives us He says, ' I, even I, am He Who blots out your sins, and I will not remember them again.'
Observe you how many medicines the Physician has prepared for you, therefore choose you the one which you wish for. He has shown you a variety of medicines in accordance with the variety of your sins. If you are not able to show mercy like Belshazzar, then repent even as Ahab. If you are not able to fast like the Ninevites, then even like the harlot do you shed tears, in order that you may est be washed clean of your sins. And again, if you think that this is difficult, although it is very easy to him that is sensitive in conscience, confess you your sins, and cast your hope upon the mercy of God. And take refuge with David, saying, 'Have mercy upon me, O God, according to the greatness of your mercy.'
For it is not the sting of a viper whereto I could apply the medicine which is suitable, neither is it a splashing of mud which I could wash away with water, but it is the sting of the Calumniator which has produced in you the boil of sin which requires the mercy of the Lover of men. Only, do you draw close to Him, and entreat Him for mercy, for He wishes to pour out mercy in abundance on those who beseech Him with fervour [to do so]. For He it was Who said, ' If the wicked man will turn away from his evil way, I will not remember against him his iniquities which he has committed.' Only show Him your sickness, and say, ' Have mercy upon me, O God, have mercy upon me. Have mercy on the body and on the soul. Have mercy upon me, both here and in the Other World. Have mercy upon me, both because of the sickness and feebleness of nature, and because of your goodness.' Only let Him make you feel the sickness, and you will be healed.
For this Physician desires your life, Who brought back the sheep that had gone astray, and Who sent out into the highways to call to the good and the wicked. Behold now, He offers to sell you the Kingdom of Heaven. If you have not the wherewithal to buy it in copper money, buy it with sighings ; He will exchange the Kingdom of Heaven with you even for broken pieces of bread. For behold, the prophet cries out, saying, ' Who is he that will buy life? Who is he that wishes to see good days? ' You who have no money take life for yourselves without money. You have, he says, neither money, nor repentance, nor fasting, nor tears, nor any other of the things which are required.
Keep your soul from evil, and your lips that they speak not guile, and these things will suffice you for salvation. See, moreover, if you dost fast that you are not lifted up. And if you do good deeds seek not the praise of men, for it is an empty thing. But when your fast has passed reckon up what you have profited by your abstinence, for peradventure you have come forth therefrom even as you went in. See what sin you have washed away from your soul, or in what matter you have advantage, or what rectitude you have acquired, or what breach you have repaired. [See] if you have ceased from your wrath, and from speaking against your brother, and from calumniating him, and from hating him secretly, and if you have ceased from being negligent, and if you have done any of the other fair things. Now if you have only restrained yourself from eating, and if you have not corrected the other wickednesses, you have become no better through your fast and your abstinence.
For, behold, I say unto you, ' Perhaps you will say, I am not able to lead a life of abstinence.' Why have you not become reconciled to your enemies? Why have you remained in your envy and jealousy? Or why have you nursed your wrath against him that has transgressed and vexed you? This last is the most evil and destructive of all sins. It is quite possible that there may be a reason for other sins, even though it may not be a true one [, but for the nursing of wrath there is none]. Now he who nurses his wrath by day, and by night, and at all seasons, commits sin. If you will remember these things, no disgrace, and no passion will be able to rouse you and make you to lay hold upon wrath against [any] man, although he will have injured you even to the death. For because a man has entreated you evilly, or has insulted you, that is no reason why you should insult God, Who commanded you to endure all evils. For because you treat with contempt His commandment, everything which has been done by you will be revealed in the congregation of the whole world. Therefore, before we fall into the pit of sin, let us flee from the punishment which is to come.
Let us understand that no man is able to deliver us from that Hall of Judgement, neither Moses, nor Noah, nor Daniel, and not even the Patriarch Abraham, who loved children, will be able to deliver us from that punishment.
Let us understand that we are guilty of many sins, both openly and secretly. For this reason [David] says, ' If you will lay up sins, O Lord, who will be able to stand? ' And why should I speak of the sins that are secret? For if He were to take vengeance on us for the sins that are open, what possible excuse (or, defence) could there be for us or to what kind of forgiveness should we be equal? For if He were to inquire into our carelessness in prayers, or our curtailment of the fast, or our failing to divide with Him the honour when we stand before Him (now we do not honour Him even as soldiers do their captains, though it is meet for us to fear Him and to honour Him more than servants fear their lords and honour them. And we do not even behave towards Him as a friend does to his friend. Now we hold converse with our friends with respectful solicitude, but when we pray to God about our sins we entreat forgiveness secretly and scornfully, and whilst we place our knees on the earth, our mind wanders abroad), if He were to seek to take vengeance on us for this only, how could we hide ourselves [from it]?
Now what if He were to bring into the midst the accusations which we make against each other? And if, moreover, He were to enquire into the idle wandering of our gaze, and were to take vengeance for our evil thoughts, and if the Judge were to take vengeance for our blasphemies, should we ever be able to open our mouth at all? Moreover, if He were [to take vengeance] for the vain glory which we seek, that is, that we should be praised for our fasting and our prayers, and for our good deeds - if we ever do any - do you think then that we should ever be able to lift up our gaze to the heavens?
Now if He were to regard us as sinners because of our guile towards each other, for when our brother is present we speak to him like a brother, and when he is absent we backbite him, then most assuredly we should be liable to be punished. And if He were to take vengeance for our swearings, and falsehoods, and oppressions, and wrath, and anger without reason, and the breakings of oaths, and the distress which we cause our friends who behave well towards us, and carelessness in respect of the assemblies, and our curtailing of His words when He speaks to us through the Scriptures (for we forsake Him and hold converse with our companions), what severe judgements are there to which we should not be condemned?
And this is the case even with Gehenna before our eyes ! If Gehenna were not threatening us, when should we ever remember our sins? Therefore it is meet for us to set before our eyes that judgement which is everlasting, for behold, He has told you beforehand of the penalty so that you might fly from the danger. Now if He tells you to deny yourself you make weakness of body the excuse [for not doing so]. And if He tells you to give alms you dost also plead poverty as the reason [for not doing so]. And if He tells you to attend regularly the assembling of the Church, you bring forth anxiety about affairs of business as an excuse [for not doing so].
Now if He tells you not to be angry, and not to nurse your wrath, what have you to plead in this case wherein you have no reason, neither bodily weakness, nor poverty, nor ignorance, nor anxiety concerning matters of business, that prevents you from carrying out this excellent behest ' You will not be angry.' Therefore this sin of nursing your wrath is without excuse. How can you lift up your eyes to heaven, or move your tongue to petition for forgiveness? You have acted wickedly, you have cheated, you have oppressed, you have hearkened unto evil things, and you have defrauded men in great matters ; abide you the penalty of the Lord of All.
Now if in the case of a servant who has abused you you do not strike him. but make an accusation against him to his lord, should you not do this all the more in the case of Him Who said, 'Vengeance is mine, and I will repay, says the Lord '?
You have fasted from meats, see what sin you have washed away from you thereby, or in what thing you have pleased your Lord, or what spiritual excellence you have acquired, or what breaches you have repaired. Now therefore, because you know that you will stand before the awful Throne, where no tongue can prevail, and no advocate avail when your soul passes through that unquenchable fire, send thither beforehand dew, and pour out fountains of tears. You have a well, from the depth of your heart draw up sufferings and sighings. Shake you the twin pupils of your eyes, and make streams of water to burst forth ! Let your tears be in proportion to your sins. If you have transgressed but a little, a little weeping will suffice; but if your sins are very great you must increase the stream of tears. If, moreover, you yourself have purity, and you have no need to weep, then lend to others your tears, and weep on your brother's behalf.
O that you would weep because of your own sins ! Where sin entered in from that same place must come the fountain of healing and the unloosing of sin. It is not here sin, and in heaven repentance (now the Redeemer of us all has power upon earth to forgive sins), and for this reason ' let him that thinks he stands take heed that he fall not', and let him that is close to falling make haste to stand up. And let him that has fallen not sink utterly. If any man has become crooked by his fall, there exists Him Who straightens the crooked ones, the Lord.
Now it happens that a man inclines to fall, even as the holy man said, 'Within a very little my feet had slipped,' and again, ' I said, my feet tottered, but your grace, O Lord, held me up.' Now there are some who are thrust out to fall, for [the Book says], 'I was thrust out that I might fall, but the Lord held me up.' There is also he who has fallen : [for him is] the consolation that he need not remain in his fallen state. And there is, peradventure, he that has fallen and has not risen up.
But see that you do not become sluggish when you see the goodness of God. For God is a Judge of truth, and He is mighty, and longsuffering, and as a Lover of man He receives at all times those who repent. Nevertheless, His sword He whets, and His bow He stretches, if ye do not repent ! At this time [His sword] He whets only, but He cuts not therewith, so that when you see His sword, which is sharp and glittering, you might be afraid and receive no experience of its cutting power. He terrifies you so that you might stand up and make yourself abounding in repentance. And thus also is it with the bow which is stretched, but He shoots no arrow, [for He wishes] you to be afraid of the mere form of the bow which He has stretched. But you might not despise the Judge, or hold in contempt the bow. For He is ready, and if you are sluggish He will shoot the arrow, notwithstanding that He is longsuffering.
Hearken you unto our Redeemer, Who said, ' Make terms with him that has a case against you, whilst you are in the way with him,' for in this world your fellow-litigant is always with you, and you are not able to flee from him. And this does Paul teach you, saying, 'The body lusts against the spirit, and the spirit lusts against the body, and the spirit will gain the mastery over the flesh which comes to an end. He compares the lust of the world with the kingdom of heaven ; the body decays in the earth, but the soul is made in the image of God, and it is meet for it to be like unto Him. Therefore make you terms with him that has a case against you whilst you are with him in the way in this world, for if this way come to an end, you will not again have time for repentance. And see. lest peradventure he who has a case against you deliver you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to those who beat [criminals], that is to say, to the hosts who inflict punishments, and you fall into prison, that is to say, into the outer darkness, until you will pay to the last farthing. And you will be punished not only for the things which you have done, but you will also be judged for the thoughts which you didst think.
Now therefore that we know all these things, let us assist ourselves in this world. In the Other World it will be for us to know how bitter are lusts, when we see by experience how many evils have been prepared for us through them, for we will know how we have placed these things for ourselves. Let us make supplication to God, the Merciful One, that we may not be handed over to the devils, and let us say with that holy man, l Deliver You me not over to my enemies.' For it is they who stir us up to sin, and it is they who become our accusers. Now it is not only the Calumniator who opens his mouth against us, but also those devils of his, who say, ' Were not we ourselves ministers unto you in respect of anger, and vain glory, and the slandering of your brethren? ' Let us therefore be afraid of that day wherein they will reckon against us severe judgements. Let us not abide [with them], that they may not become to us witnesses of iniquity, but from this time on let us entreat our Lord with passion and with weeping.
Now although the body is weak, yet great is He who is able to help us, and to redeem us, and to bring us to His Kingdom. It is meet that we should love our Lord, as the Beautiful One, and as the Good One, and as the One Who loves those who serve Him with the whole service of their souls. And we children of men love people for the three following reasons : either for beauty's sake, or because they entreat us well, or because they themselves love us. What, then, is more beautiful than our Lord, even as David said, ' He is more comely in His visage than the children of men.' Or who is as good as He Who has prepared for those who love Him that which the eye has not seen, nor the ear heard, nor has gone up in the heart of man?
Now who has ever loved us as He has? Or what father has loved his sons as He has, so that He cries out and says, f Does a woman ever forget her child? Yes, it is possible that she may, but I, even I, do not forget you, says the Lord. This Good Lord did David love, and he was most urgent to see Him, saying, 'When will I come and see your face? ' For he could not endure tarrying in this world, but he was burning to depart from this world that he might see Him Whom he loved. And this arose from the desire of a wise soul which was at all times flying aloft to heaven ; do you also love this thing.
For everything which is visible flees like a shadow and passes away. And at all times do you be mindful of the life which is everlasting, and of that Kingdom which dies not, and of that enjoyment [which you will have] with the angels, and that praise which passes not away, and that abiding with Christ wherefrom all troubles are removed. And moreover, see you and understand that this world is absolutely nothing, and that it is full of vexations, and envy, and calumny, and pains, and weariness, and sicknesses, and old age, and sin, and death. David saw that these and such like things were found in the world, and he wished to escape from them, and desiring this greatly he said, 'When will I come and see the face of God.' [and the place] where dwell rest, and peace, and love, and longsuffering, and beauty, and freedom from care, and freedom from anxiety, and all the good things which no speech can describe?
Now therefore, because you yourself have the hope of enjoying all these things, be not careless about your life, and treat it not with contempt. If He were a wretched person, or a poor man who ought to be despised by you, then in all probability you would do rightly in being careless and sluggish in respect of Him. But since He is the Great and Glorious One, and the Lord of the whole Kingdom, Him Whom you await, ... let your lamp be lighted every day, and being prepared, go forth to meet your Lord, so that you might hear from Him [the words], ' Enter into the joy of your Lord ' - to Whom be glory for ever and ever, Amen.
It is meet for us at all times to be wakeful and to pray. For if, when God said to Satan ' You will not draw close to Job ', the Devil was pertinacious and thought that he would conquer him and overthrow him, how much the more will he be pertinacious in the case of us, who ourselves, of our own desire, place ourselves under his hand, and vanquish us and overthrow us according as he wishes? Therefore vigilance is required. For the Greek who is in military service does not sleep upon a bed, but on the ground. The huntsman also does not pass the whole night in sleeping, but in standing up. The husbandman and the vineyard keeper manifest extreme wakefulness, so that nothing may injure the vineyard of their lord. And thus was Jacob who said, ' I bore the burning heat of the sun in the daytime, and the cold of the frost in the night season, and sleep departed from my eyes. And what was the cause of his vigil except that no sheep might be eaten by a wild beast? Now if he manifested such earnest care for a dumb animal, is it meet that we ourselves should be like unto those who have no solicitude for the rational soul, that soul which is more valuable than all the world, that soul which will stand up with us before that awful Throne of God, that it may make an apology for the things which have been done in the body?
For this reason also the Patriarch Jacob himself placed a stone for his pillow when he lay down to sleep at Bethel, in order that he might see that spiritual stone in his dream. And through this he was held to be worthy to see that ladder, and the angels who were going up and coming down on it, for they were carrying up our prayers, and were bringing down gifts from the Lord for those who were worthy thereof. The athlete is not anointed with unguents, for sweet-smelling spices and perfumes of this kind belong to the effeminate. For no impure thing is wanting in the soul when the body enjoys scent in this manner. For as the man with a loathsome disease covers his hands and his apparel with uncleanness, so also is the impurity of the soul recognizable from the scents of the body.
Therefore it is meet that we should choose a life of strenuous deeds, so that we may not rejoice in pleasure and in the lusts. For what pleasure has he who lies down on an ivory couch inlaid with stamped work in metal, except empty care? And this, moreover, invites the wrath of God. Other sinners may possibly have pleasure, although it flies away like a dream; this sinner, however, has no pleasure at all [therein]. For this reason the prophet in condemning such effeminacy as this spoke, saying, ' Those who lie upon ivory couches, and wanton on their beds.' Would you see the royal couch which was rilled with spiritual excellence? Look, then, on that of David, whereon were tears, like pearls, the whole night long !
Now these things were written [concerning these men] for our reproof and admonition, in order that we might travel in their footsteps, and might escape and save ourselves from the judgement which is to come. Therefore, before we enter into that Hall of Judgement, let us put off from us the burdens of our follies, for in the Other World there is no place for repentance. He wishes us to be ready [always], and for this reason He has hidden from us the day of our departure, so that we may always be in a state of meditation. If in the Halls of Judgement in this world those who are fettered are dissolved and parched with fear if they hear the voice only of him that makes the proclamation, how much more will those suffer who are about to stand before the throne of that Awful Judge? Much have ye suffered in silence in these things which have been spoken. Now at all times conscience smites sinners, but especially when we speak unto you concerning that Judgement. But perhaps the rebukes which are [made] in words will benefit them. Would that that rich man had been rebuked in this world, for then his tongue would not have been on fire, and he would not have been tormented !
Dost you earnestly desire to keep virginity? Keep the commandments, and God will bestow it upon you. If you say when you pray, ' Lord, keep me as the apple of the eye.' He will say, ' Keep My commandments, and My judgements, and My words as the light of your eyes.' And if you would be thus [kept], cast away from you all anxiety, and say, ' He Who is close unto me is as close to me as the apple of mine eyes.'
Now having laid your hand on the ploughshare, turn you not behind you lest you become a pillar of salt. Let your tongue be meditating at all times on the judgement which is to come. You will speak no empty words. You will not be vanquished by wrath, nor by grief, nor by any of the destroying passions, especially since you will thereby become involved in punishments in the Other World, so that through the fear of that Judge Who will come you might the more reach forward to the things which are before you. Let the Law of God be in your mouth at all times, so that your words may come forth according to His Will. Set you the Lawgiver over your mouth at every hour, and He will be unto you a Dwelling-place, and a Counsellor, and One like-minded to yourself. And if you see a man faring delicately, and enjoying himself, and also making himself a ruler, know you that very quickly he will wither like the light grass of the field. He enjoys himself with the things which are transitory, but do you enjoy yourself in the Lord.
Very many of the virgins have testified as martyrs. Since these have despised death, will not you persist against lust and conquer? That you must put to death your members is required of you ; and you must [be free] not only from lust and anger, but a measure must be set to the tongue. See that your conscience does not make you liable before the time. For the Judge will come, and everything will be revealed. In this world you do not wish to be stripped bare even before one man, and when we are stripped bare in the Other World before the tens of thousands [of angels], where will we be able to hide ourselves?
John the virgin was a pure man, and because of this he lay on the breast of his Lord. He who betroths his soul to Christ guards [his] purity. The tree will be known by the fruit ; the righteous man speaks faith openly. Remember at all times this good confession, and take into your mind the Last Day. See that you do not become smeared with dirt through your tongue, for the tongue pollutes the whole body, and when the body is polluted, it follows of necessity that the mind is destroyed. Well did Paul say, 'Men who destroy their minds, and destroy understandings with wicked writings and converse.'
Seek you Paul even as did Thekla, in order that you might be persuaded [to do] the things which were spoken by Paul. You have need of wings, and if these be not to you you have promised vainly. Let the gaze of the eyes testify to the chastity which is within. Let [your] gaze incline downwards that the mind may be on high. Extreme carefulness is required by us, for our Adversary is very crafty. And if he drove us out of the Paradise which was upon earth, he cannot be prevented [from obstructing us] now that we would go up to heaven.
See that you do not mingle water with the wine : let the Holy Scripture be to you in the place of water, and the doctrine of our Lord in the place of wine. Hearken you unto him who said, 'I would that ye should be without care, and that we should not be in trepidation.' Now therefore, if you dost eagerly desire to ascend into the Kingdom of Heaven in this earthly body, and to fly up into the heavens, reduce your body so that it may be easy for it to fly and to ascend thither. If a horse eats a very large meal he cannot run, and the athlete does not eat all that he desire And if Israel had not over-eaten he would not have waxed fat and kicked.
Lift up your gaze to where He is Whom you love, so that by means of celestial love you might vanquish terrestrial love. On this earth we have fastings, and prayers, and vigils which assist us, and the Scriptures which admonish us. He who curtails [his efforts] in the contests is not crowned. Herein have you a pledge of the life which is beyond, that you have not a wife. You have not to be in fear concerning the pains of her parturition, you have not to weep for one child who is dead, nor for another who is sick, nor for your daughter lest she should be deserted, but you are freed from begetting children, and from bringing them up, and from anxiety, and from the vexation of these things. On the contrary, you dost follow in the footsteps of that Bridegroom Who leads to the Kingdom, which passes not away, after Him Who said, ( If ye will walk with Me in truth, I also will walk with you in integrity. But if ye turn aside from Me, I also will act in wrath and in anger.'
Await you at all times your Lord Who is coming. For if he who said, ' He tarries in coming,' was cut asunder, what will happen unto him that does not expect Him to come at all? Dost you wish to be like unto Christ? Then follow in His footsteps, for strait is the door whereby the righteous enter in. Hearken you unto Daniel, who said, ' I Daniel was sitting in grief for three weeks of days. Bread I did not eat, and wine did not enter my mouth.' And John also, who dwelt in the desert, possessed nothing in order that he might not be taken by [the goods of this world] ; for he was a lamp, and therefore was afraid of the coming of the winds. Remember you these teachings.
You have chosen for yourself a heavenly course of life, fight you therefore the good fight in faith, looking forward to the victory, and through victory to the crown, and through the crown to Him that orders the contest. Only, let the labour [be performed] with knowledge. For it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God. If you have looked in times past at the images of the Emperors, you will have observed that the countenances of some of them are pleasant to the sight, and that some of them are frightful and savage; even thus is it in the Other World, for according to the life which a man leads in this world does he appear there.
As then we flee from that shame which is for ever, let us say, like the prophet, 'Keep me, O God, for in You have I put my trust, for of my good deeds You have no need.' For He has no need of the things which are ours, but He is anxious concerning our redemption. Let us offer unto Him our soul as a living sacrifice, even as it is written, ' Not through fire, but by longsuffering.' Now he who endures to the end will live, and moreover, weary yourself for ever that you might live for ever and ever. For this reason, even as we would choose for ourselves to live without disturbance and without distraction, let us run well in order that we may overtake. For the debt for which we should be liable would not be small, if after we have promised God that we will travel in this path, we were to turn back.
Therefore let your tongue and your gaze be well ordered, and lift you up your hands reverently in prayer. And by your behaviour, and by your conversation, and by your patient endurance, and by your persistence in self-denial, and by your love of labours, and by your love for the brotherhood, and by your health in the faith, make you yourself to be known as a disciple of Christ. And at all times do you be meditating upon that judgement which is to come. Now all these things are little and are easy to be described, but they are very great when they come to be performed in very deed.
Now [the Book] says, ' The kingdom of heaven is like unto the five virgins who were famous.' He does not say that it is like the sun, or the moon, or the ornament of the stars, or gold, or silver, or any one of the beautiful things which are transient. For what is there that is greater than the riches of the kingdom which are without care? For this reason Paul, the sponsor of the Church, admonished [us], saying, ( I desire that ye be without care.' Therefore is prayer necessary at all times, for if a man be sick he will be healed in the spirit, and if he be well, let him take good heed that he fall not, and let him say like that holy man, ( Seven times in the day have I praised You because of your righteous judgements.'
For it is a beautiful thing that by means of prayer we can always hold converse with God. And if converse with a good man profit, how very much more will we profit if our converse be with God by day and by night ! For who is able to sin when he is convinced that God is near him? Therefore [see] that sin does not find itself able to glide in by means of error. Let us remember him that said, 'Pray at all times, and let it not be a weariness to you.' Now the prayer with the lips is good, but the prayer of works is better, and it helps those who have need of us, and it is acceptable to God.
Meditate on your death ; put to death your members which are on the earth, for the day of the Lord comes like a thief. For if, when those who require your soul come, you begin to say unto them, ' Permit me to fast and to give alms,' your Lord will say unto you, ' Have I not already told you to take good heed? Have you not heard [the words], Repent, for the day of the Lord has drawn close? Did you not hear Paul, who said, ' While we have the time let us cultivate good works '? For he who is diligent has no need of a long time for repentance. That thief did not live a long time, but he believed, and gained the treasure of the kingdom; and the martyrs, those of them who poured out their blood, were crowned in a very short time. Do you pour out tears in abundance.
No liar is He Who said, ( I wish all the children of men to live.' For this reason He does not admonish us through the Holy Scriptures only, but He corrects us through the penalties which He brings upon others. And moreover, for this reason the physicians also make their cuttings in the presence of all men. And the governors also, when they sit upon the high throne, hack criminals in pieces, in order that we through the wickednesses of others may become better men. Therefore being firmly fixed in the faith, let us advance to knowledge ; and from knowledge let us come to love ; and from love to the inheritance which is with the saints. And let us strip off sin and array ourselves in righteousness, being constant in prayer, even as it is written, ' Who at any time suffered injury because he was watching? '
And behold, even though the wolves be a long way off, the shepherds watch and keep guard, and their dogs are ready [to spring]. Therefore is it a good thing that we should be vigilant at all times, for although there may be no recompense for your labours, the exercise (or training), will do you no harm. Hearken now unto good counsels. Now our fathers according to the body feel great anxiety concerning us in childhood, for they suffer with the suffering, and say, 'Who is sick and I myself am not sick?' And for this reason we must apply the medicine of the Word.
Now when once the soul has been seized by sin, and it remains without pain, it adds greatly to its sickness. For as the flame which has once laid hold upon fuel devoures everything, even so is sin ; when once it has laid hold upon the thoughts of the soul and there is none to cut it off, it can afterwards only be healed with the greatest difficulty, because with growth (or, addition) sluggishness comes. Now in this way, on many occasions, many who did not at the beginning extinguish the sparks, have suffered great overthrow, for they had not restrained their sin so that it might not advance. And sin is like unto the horse which has bitten through its bridle, and thrown its rider from the rock. For sick folk have a great prospect of recovery so long as they remain with their physicians ; but when once they have no one to care about the sickness, and to check it, they abide subsequently unhealed. And this does not happen through the law of the sickness, but because of neglect of Him that can heal [it].
Therefore it is meet to curb sin from the very beginning, like a fierce and obstinate horse. For after our departure from this world we can neither repent nor correct our ways, even as the athlete cannot be crowned when the contest is ended. Therefore let us snatch for ourselves the glory of the crown in this world that we may escape the disgrace of the next, for disgrace is more evil than burning. For if the servant of a man burn he suffers loss, but every disgrace is more severe than burning. Now if we seek not to be disgraced no one will disgrace us. It is said, ' You will not revile the man who turns from his sins.' For if in this world it is not seemly for us to revile the adulterer whose disgrace is not forgotten, how much more in that synagogue of the Other World, where there is no bribe and nothing else, should he be able to do away for himself that disgrace? Therefore open you your mouth with the word of God, and not with idle words. For if instead of an idle word we give a portion of the Psalms, how much more should we give instead of a deed which we have sinfully committed? Let not the pleasure of the things which are seen lead us astray ; for as we cannot overtake our own shadows, so also we cannot [overtake] the deeds of men. Now some of them are dissolved before our death, and others afterwards, and more rapidly than a mountain torrent they are exhausted, and fly away.
Now the things which are about to be change not, neither do they become old, nor are they transformed, but they are joyous at all times, and in their beauty they abide. Marvel not at the wealth which does not abide with those who possess it, but which forsakes them, and leaps from this man to another, and also from that man to another. And it is meet that we should despise all these transitory things, for it should be sufficient for us to hear him who said, ' God is the Judge of truth, the Mighty One, and the Long-suffering One.' Frequent vigil is necessary for you [if] you would guard yourself against thieves, for your Adversary, the Calumniator, seeks to cast you down s that you might not ascend to that place wherefrom he fell. His nets are many. Flee from his snares, and from his traps, so that you might be able to say, ' He will deliver you (me?) from the snare of stumbling, and from the words of emptiness.'
You have need at all times not only of a lamp, but also of a light [therein] because of the craftinesses which are from afar ; for although you have feet you will not be able to walk unless the Lamp of the Law is with you. And although you have hands and eyes you will be able neither to work nor to see whilst the light is not near you. You travel on the road every day, and the light is necessary for you, that you might not fall from the rock if you meet thieves. Be you above the snares at all times, saying, ' Skip about, and dwell on the mountains, like a goat ' ; and ' Would that I had wings like doves, so that I could fly away, and dwell, and be afar off ! '
The nature of the pupil of the eye is the eye, whatever it may be. You will be chaste as a virgin under the tamarind trees, so that you might arrive in the bed-chamber. Also, as the tongue is restrained between the two high hedges of the lips, and like a modest virgin, let us utter every word in knowledge and in order. And seeing beforehand the Judge Who is to come, let us say, ' What then is the river of fire like? And the outer darkness? And the gnashing of teeth? ' In your mind will you receive [the knowledge thereof], and you will be able to please God.
Now because [the loins of] the Bridegroom are girded up, guard you for Him your conscience in purity until He come in His glory. And sing you a Psalm, saying, f My soul is in your hands always, and your Law have I not forgotten.' Inasmuch as you are above snares you will not fall into them, so that you might be able to say, 'My soul has escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowler.' At all times fear you God, as the righteous Judge; and if you do not love the dwelling with angels, be afraid lest you be tortured with Satan. See how death comes, light your lamp, and let your lamp burn with a good flame, so that you might not tarry [through] sleep. Consider not the labours, but look upon Paradise ; reckon not the sufferings, but be of good courage with victory. You will not be anxious about the stripes, but the honour. You will not see those who have fallen, but be you like unto those who were trained and who conquered, who were crowned not with the [crowns of] earth, but with those of heaven.
The martyrs offered themselves to God, but let us offer the labours which are great. You think sleep pleasant, but understand you the sweetness of the spiritual song. If you find it to be a hardship to sleep upon the ground, observe you that the martyrs fell down on coals of fire. If your mouth be bitter through fasting, ponder you that to Him Who created sweetness did they give gall for your sake. And if you weep it is for yourself, for hitherto you have not poured out tears, like Paul, for the redemption of others.
Give courage to your soul with all these things. Labour is for a little time, but the rest is everlasting. Conquer the world by hope. Tribulation receives enjoyment. Consider that lust is of time, that everlasting punishment is prepared for you, and flee from pleasure because of the penalty which is attached to the fight. Let not your members become arrows for the Calumniator, neither through your sight, nor through your mouth, nor through your hand, nor through your belly, lest with the arrows which come from yourself he shoot you through and through. Now consider that nation which, through fasting, passed over the Sea of Sedge (Red Sea), which through drunkenness worshipped the calf, and was swallowed up in the pit of wickedness ; and have understanding concerning sins, and flee from falls. For if God does not spare the natural branches He will not spare you.
May our Lord then grant unto all of us to find mercy before Him, through the supplication and prayer of all His saints, and through the grace and love for man of our Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom be glory and dominion, together with His Father and His Holy Spirit, now, and always, and for ever and ever. Amen.
Here ends the Discourse of Mar John, Bishop of Constantinople, which was pronounced by him on Virginity, and Repentance, and Admonition.
* ↑ Deut. xxxii. 15.