title
title
To the Monks in Cenobia or Communities
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chapter
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Heirs of God, listen to the logoi of God,
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co-heirs of Christ, receive the maxims of Christ;
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so that you may give them to the hearts of your children,
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and teach them the logoi of the wise.
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chapter
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A good father trains his sons;
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but an evil father will destroy them.
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chapter
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Faith is the beginning of love.
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and the [final] end of love is knowledge of God.
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chapter
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Fear of the Lord guards the soul.
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temperance strengthens it.
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chapter
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The patient endurance of a man gives birth to hope;
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and good hope will glorify him.
6
chapter
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One who dominates his flesh, will be dispassionate;
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while one who nurtures it, will suffer pain from it.
7
chapter
7
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[The] spirit of fornication is in the bodies of the intemperate;
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while [the] spirit of chastity is in the souls of the temperate.
8
chapter
8
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Withdrawal [into solitude] in love purifies the heart;
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while withdrawal [into solitude] accompanied by hatred agitates it.
9
chapter
9
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Better to be one among a thousand in love
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than solitary, accompanied by hatred, in inaccessible caves.
10
chapter
10
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One who enchains memory of injury in his soul
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is like one who hides fire in chaff.
11
chapter
11
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Do not give much food to your body
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and you will not while sleeping see evil fantasies.
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For just as flame consumes the oak tree
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so hunger extinguishes shameful fantasies.
12
chapter
12
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One who is indignant will be frightened;
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one who is gentle will be fearless.
13
chapter
13
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13 1
A strong wind chases clouds away;
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brooding on wrongs chases the nous away from knowledge.
14
chapter
14
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One who prays for enemies will be forgetful of wrongs
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One who uses the tongue sparingly will not cause his neighbor sorrow.
15
chapter
15
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If your brother exasperates you,
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lead him to your house,
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and do not postpone going to his [home],
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but rather eat your morsel with him.
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For by doing this you deliver your soul
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and you will have no obstacle at the time of prayer.
16
chapter
16
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Just as love delights in poverty,
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so hatred makes merry in wealth.
40
chapter
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Pascha of the Lord - passing over from vices;
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while His Pentecost is resurrection of the soul.
41
chapter
41
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Festal celebration of God -
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forgetfulness of vices; one who remembers wrongs, will be grasped by sorrow.
42
chapter
42
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Pentecost of the Lord -
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resurrection of love; while who hates his brother will fall very deeply.
43
chapter
43
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Festal celebration of God -
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true knowledge; while one who clings to false knowledge will end shamefully.
52
chapter
52
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An angelic dream rejoices the heart;
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while a demonic dream disturbs it.
118
chapter
118
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[The] Flesh of Christ - virtues of asceticism (praktiké);
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one who eats it will acquire apatheia.
119
chapter
119
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[The] Blood of Christ - contemplation of what has come into being
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and one who drinks of it is made wise by it.
120
chapter
120
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Breast of the Lord - knowledge of God;
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one who rests upon it will be a theologian.
130
chapter
130
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Just as those who climb up on wheels are brought down again,
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so those who exalt their words are humbled by them.
131
chapter
131
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The wisdom of the Lord exalts the heart;
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and his prudence purifies it.
132
chapter
132
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The logoi of providence are dark, and hard for the nous are the contemplations of judgment;
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but the ascetical [praktikos] man will know them.
134
chapter
134
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One who says that the Holy Trinity is [a] created [being] blasphemes God,
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and one who rejects his Christ will not know him.
135
chapter
135
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Contemplations of worlds widen the heart
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the logoi of providence and judgment exalt it.
136
chapter
136
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Knowledge of incorporeal [beings] elevates the nous
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and presents it to the Holy Trinity.
137
chapter
137
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Remember one who has given you in the Lord clear proverbs,
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and do not forget my humble soul at the time of prayer.
