1
People often make a mistake in calling themselves verbal.6 For it is not those who are verbal
who have studied the teachings and books of the ancient sages who are verbal, but those who have a verbal
soul and can distinguish between good and evil, and avoid what is evil
and harmful to the soul; they diligently learn what is good and beneficial to the soul
and do this, giving great thanks to God. Only such should
we truly call verbal people.
2
A truly verbal person watches over one thing, namely, to obey and
please God in everything and to teach his soul only how to please God,
giving thanks for such His constant providence and management of all
creatures in every life event. For it is unwise not to thank
the doctors for the health of the body, who give us bitter and painful medicines, and to thank God for what appears to us
for sorrows, and not to understand that all these things happen as they should
and for our benefit according to His providence. Such understanding and faith in God is the salvation
and perfection of the soul.
3
Temperance, gentleness, purity, fortitude and patience, and similar
great and virtuous powers, we have received from God, which resist and
stand against, and come to our aid in sorrows. When we exercise ourselves in these powers
and keep them ready, nothing will seem to us difficult or
painful or unbearable, because all this is human and its virtues that
are in us overcome. The foolish in soul do not think about this, for they do not think that everything good
and fitting happens for our benefit, so that virtues may sow and God may crown us.
6 “Wordly” means: 1. Intelligent, endowed with reason. 2. Spiritual (Slovník jazyka sta
roslovĕnského, Praha 1966, p. 111). (Translator’s note)
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Part One
4
Considering the acquisition of wealth and living from it only as a temporary illusion
and knowing that a virtuous and God-pleasing life is better than wealth,
learn this firmly and, keeping this in mind, you will not groan, you will not weep, you will not reproach
anyone, but you will thank God for everything, seeing those worse than yourself who
are established in glory and wealth. The fierce passions of the soul are lust, and glory,
and ignorance.
5
A man of words, examining himself, tries out what is suitable
and useful for him, what is proper and useful to the soul, and what is alien to it. And thus he avoids
what is harmful to the soul and distances it from immortality.
6
The more temperate a man lives, the better he fares, because he does not
worry about many things: about slaves, plowmen, and the purchase of cattle. For by this we
exhaust ourselves and because of this, falling into troubles, we complain against God. And from our own
Our free will increases the death and we remain in the darkness of a sinful
life, reduced, not knowing ourselves.
7
It is not right to say that it is impossible for a person to lead a virtuous life
; one can say that it is not easy. The virtuous life is shared by pious people
who have a God-loving mind; and in general the human mind is worldly
and capricious, gives good and evil thoughts, is changeable by nature and inclines
to sensual things. And the God-loving mind is the opponent of evil, which
of itself arises in people from laziness.
8
The unlearned and ignorant mock at teachings and do not want to listen to them
, because their ignorance will be revealed, and they want everyone to be like
them, therefore they have intemperate lives and customs. They try to make everyone
worse than themselves, thinking that they will be justified by the multitude of evils. The soul perishes and
is tormented by the powerless evil, having in itself fornication, pride, gluttony,
anger, insolence, rage, murder, shouting, envy, usury, theft, restlessness
, lies, lust, laziness, sorrow, fear, illness, hatred, reproaches,
powerlessness, flattery, ignorance, forgetfulness of God. With these and similar things
the cursed soul, which separates itself from God, is tormented.
9
Those who want to live virtuously and piously and gloriously, are recognized not by
pretense and deceitful life, but by deeds. As masters – painters and sculptors – show
their skill, so the righteous show a virtuous and God-loving
life and, as from a snare, turn away from all evil sweets.
10
Those who are wise call a rich and good-
born man unfortunate, because he lacks spiritual enlightenment and all the virtues of life,
while a poor and slave adorned with learning and a virtuous life is happy.
However, just as travelers go astray, so those who
do not care about a virtuous life perish, tempted by lust.
11
The creator of men should be called the one who can calm the unlearned
so that they will love learning and teaching; in the same way, those who transform
people who live intemperately into virtuous and God-pleasing ones, according to the
instructions of our Holy Father Anthony the Great,
13
should be called the creators of men, because they transform men. Meekness and temperance
are well-being and good hope for human souls.
12
It is truly fitting for men to arrange their customs and lives as they should.
When they are arranged, it is easier to know God. Whoever honors God with all his heart
and faith, God provides for him to restrain malice and lust. For
the cause of all evils is lust and malice.
13
A man can be called either verbal or one who wants to correct
himself. But an uncorrected man is not called a man, because
it is beyond the power of a man to correct himself, and such should be avoided. He who lives with malice can never
be included in the number of the immortals.
14
When we have verbal speech, it makes us worthy to be called human. But he who
turns away from verbal speech differs from the speechless only in the arrangement
of his limbs and voice. Therefore, let a wise man know that he is immortal,
and let him hate every shameful lust that is the cause of death.
15
Just as every artisan, by decorating the things he works on, shows his
skill, such as the carver, the coppersmith, the goldsmith, the silversmith, so we, hearing about a good
life, a virtuous and God-pleasing life, should show our perfection
; as men, we are truly verbal in soul, and not in the forms of the body. A truly
verbal and God-loving soul immediately knows all the things of life and lovingly
pleases God and thanks Him in truth, rushing to Him and directing
all its thoughts.
16
As helmsmen steer a ship to the harbor, so that it does not hit
a reef or a rock, so
let those who care about a virtuous life not carefully examine what they should do, but what to avoid;
let them consider the true and divine laws as beneficial for themselves, cutting off
evil thoughts from their souls.
17
As helmsmen and grooms achieve what
they strive for by practice and diligence, so it is fitting for those who strive for a righteous and virtuous life
to learn and take care to live righteously and God-pleasingly. For whoever wants and thinks that
he can [live so], by faith passes into immortality.
18
Those who are free, not by their state, but by their life
and customs, should be considered free. For it is not fitting to call wicked or
intemperate princes truly free, for they are slaves of natural passions. And freedom and the well-
being of the soul are true purity and contempt for transient things.
19
Remind yourself that it is always fitting to be distinguished by a good life and good
deeds. So the sick think and recognize doctors as saviors and benefactors
not by words, but by deeds.
20
The signs of a verbal and virtuous soul are the look, gait, voice, laughter, behavior
and conversation: they change and become better. For the God-loving
mind of verbal people is a vigilant gatekeeper, blocking the entrance for wicked and shameful
thoughts.
14
Part One
21
22
God made the soul free and autonomous in doing good or evil.
The verbal soul strives to free itself from debauchery, pride, arrogance,
passion, murder, theft, and the like, for these are all works of demons
and evil inclinations. But by diligence and constant action, a person corrects everything,
whose desires are not inclined to evil pleasures.
23
Those who live simply and imperfectly are free from troubles and do not need
anyone to protect them, because, conquering lust in everything, they easily find
the way to God.
24
It is fitting for verbal people to listen not to many conversations, but to useful ones
, which are guided by the will of God. Through them people return to life and eternal
light.
25
It is fitting for someone who seeks a virtuous and God-loving life to get rid of
frequent thoughts about himself and vain, deceptive fame, and to take care
to arrange his life and thoughts well; For a mind that loves God and is unchanging is the elevation
and the path to God.
26
There is no benefit from learning unless the soul lives in a pleasing and God-pleasing way;
and the cause of all evils is error, delusion, and ignorance of God.
27
The teaching of a good life and care for the soul make men good
and God-loving.
He who seeks God finds Him, conquering lust in everything and not
ceasing from prayer; for such a one is not afraid of demons.
28
Those who are tempted by worldly hopes and only know by word
what is right to do for a better life, experience something like those who
have acquired medicines and medical instruments, but do not know how to use them, nor do they try
to learn. Therefore, the cause of the sins we have committed is neither the time when we
were born, nor anyone else, but ourselves.
29
He who does not know what is good and what is evil, let him not judge the good and the evil.
A good man is one who knows God; but if he is not good, he knows nothing and does not
learn, for the way to know God is goodness.
30
Good and God-loving men rebuke evil deeds only to those who are present, but
they do not rebuke those who are not present, nor do they allow others to do so.
31
Let there be no willfulness in conversation. People of speech are
more adorned by modesty and chastity than by virgins. The mind that loves God is a light
that illuminates the soul as the sun illuminates the body.
32
With all the passions of the soul that you have, remember that to those who
think well and want to have their house protected, it is not the perishable
accumulation of wealth that seems sweet, but just and true honors; It is they who make them
capable of receiving good things. For wealth is stolen by thieves and taken away by the stronger,
but the virtue of the soul is the only acquisition that is both secure and unstolen, and after death.
saves those who have accumulated it. Those who think so are not captivated by
dreams of wealth and other pleasures.
Our holy father Anthony the Great, instructions
15
33
It is not fitting for fickle and unlearned people to test men of words
. And a man of words is pleasing to God, he is silent about many things or
reflects a little on what is necessary and pleasing to God.
34
Whoever lives virtuously and loves God, let him take care of the virtues of the soul, for they
are his own good and eternal delight. And temporal good is enjoyed
as much as he can contain and as much as God gives and wants, with all joy
and thanksgiving, receiving benefit for himself, even if it is very moderate.
Exquisite dishes nourish the body as naturally, but the knowledge of God, and temperance,
and goodness, and charity, and piety, and meekness deify the soul.
35
The man of words has his own will from God the Creator, who is stronger
than all misfortune and compulsion.
36 Let
those who consider it a misfortune to lose wealth, or children, or slaves, or other property, know that it is first of all right to be content with what God gives and that it is right to give it willingly and with a good intention, not at all grieving over the loss of it, in other words, by returning it – for having used something that is not ours, we return it. 37 The work of a good man is not to sell his will in order to accept wealth, even if it is given to him in great abundance. All the things of life are like a dream, and the appearance of wealth is temporary and short-lived. 38 Let those who are truly human strive to live in a way that loves God and is virtuous , so that their virtuous life may shine among other people. So also a little purple, dressed in white robes, adorning them, stands out and catches the eye. For in this way they will strive more for the virtues of the soul. 39 40 It is fitting for intelligent people to examine their strength and the growth of the spiritual virtue that is in them, and thus to grow and resist the passions that occur by the strength of the virtue given to them, by nature, by God. And against adornment and every lust harmful to the soul is temperance, against labors and privations – fortitude, against annoyance and malice – non-maliciousness and similar virtues. It is not possible for a person to suddenly become good and wise. He becomes so 41 through diligent instruction and research, and testing, sometimes with a feat , and the desire for a good deed. A good and God-loving person, who truly knows God, does not cease to sincerely do everything that is pleasing to God. Such men are rare. It is not fitting for people who are not naturally inclined to do good to fall into temptation.

tea about themselves, to weaken in the godly and virtuous life and despise
it as inaccessible and unattainable for them, but it suits them to be instructed by force
and to take care of themselves. Although they cannot perfectly acquire virtue and
salvation, nevertheless from instruction and desire they either become better or not worse,
which is of no benefit to the soul.
42
Man is united in mind with an ineffable and divine power, and in
body he has communion with animals. And not many people, but only the perfect and the wise,
try to turn their thoughts to God the Savior and become related to Him, and this they show
by
deeds
and a virtuous life; Many people, foolish in soul,
having abandoned the divine and immortal adoption, and
having inclined to a dead, unhappy, and short-lived relationship, thinking carnally
and being inflamed with passions, separate themselves from God and cast
the soul from heaven into the abyss, tearing it away from the desire for heaven.
43
A man of words, contemplating communion and communion with the Godhead
, will never love anything earthly and low, but
will raise his mind to heavenly and eternal things and understand that there is such a will of God that man may be saved. The will
of God is the cause of all good and the source of eternal blessings for people.
44
If someone happens to you who loves to quarrel and argues with you
against the truth, immediately stop the dispute and yield to the one who is petrified
in mind. Just as the best wine is spoiled by bad water, so virtuous life and thoughts
are destroyed by bad conversations.
45
If we exert all our diligence and skill to avoid
physical death, much more should we labor to avoid
spiritual death. For there is no obstacle to him who wants to be saved, except
negligence and boredom of the soul.
46
In all who are afraid to think about useful things and what is called good,
they are considered unfortunate. And in those who, understanding the truth, shamelessly argue
, the understanding is deadened, and their soul has become brutish and is not enlightened
, and they do not know God.
47
God brought out various kinds of animals [from the earth] for the common need by his word,
some for food, others for service; but man he created to be the overseer
over them and their life and a grateful interpreter. Therefore, people should labor
so that they do not die like speechless animals, without seeing and understanding God. For it
is good for man to know that God can do all things, and that nothing can hinder the Almighty;
He created from nothing whatever He willed, and He creates by His word for the salvation of men.
48
Those in heaven are immortal because of the goodness that dwells in them; those
on earth are mortal because of the willful malice that exists in them; malice
arises in the foolish because of their laziness and ignorance of God.
7
Boredom (ἀκηδία) – sloth, or apathy, a term that designates a state of apathy characteristic
of monks. It outlined the particular problem of hermits who lacked
encouragement from other brothers, as was the case in the Cenoviæ monasteries. Neilos of Ancyra
defines boredom as “a weakness of the soul that is unable to resist temptations” (PG 79: 1157 C).
Boredom was believed to be the result of such vices as laziness, talkativeness, and
emotionalism, but it was sometimes associated with a supernatural cause – a demon that
began to operate at noon. Under its influence, monks became restless, agitated, and careless
in prayer and reading. Boredom could be overcome by diligent prayer and reading
of the Holy Scriptures, perseverance, avoiding idle chatter, and manual labor (PG 79:
1456D-1460B). Theodore the Studite (PG 99: 1724C) prescribed 40 days of penance as a punishment for this
vice, including three weeks without wine and oil, and 250 prostrations daily, because if one does not
repent of this sin, it can lead to the abyss of hell (The Oxford Dictionary of
Byzantium, New York – Oxford 1991, vol. 1, p. 44). (Translator’s note)
Our Holy Father Anthony the Great’s Instructions
17
49
Death, if people understand it, is immortality; and that death which
the ignorant do not understand is death to them. And it is not this death that should be feared, but the destruction
of the soul, which is the ignorance of God. For this is a disaster for the soul.
50
Malice is a natural passion. Therefore the body cannot be without malice.
And the verbal soul, reflecting on this, shakes off the burden of nature, which is malice,
and, having got rid of this burden, knows the God of all, and watches over the body as an enemy and as
a plowman, not obeying it. Such a soul is crowned by God, because it has conquered the natural
passion of malice.
51
52
53
The soul, when it knows sin, hates it as the most foul-smelling beast;
but the unknown sin is loved by the one who does not know it, and it, having mastered its supporter
, holds him captive. And so the unfortunate and cursed man neither sees what
is good for himself, nor does he understand, but rejoices, because he thinks that sin adorns him.
A pure soul, being good, is enlightened and illuminated by God, and then the mind
thinks good and generates God-loving words. But when the soul is defiled by malice,
God turns away from it. And it is even worse for the soul that has separated itself from God:
evil demons, having entered into its thoughts, incite it to unrighteous deeds –
adultery, murder, theft, sacrilege, and the like – all the works of the devil.
Those who know God are filled with every good thought and, desiring
heavenly things, despise earthly things. For such people neither please
nor are they pleasing to many, so that for this they are not only hated, but also
laughed at by the foolish. They, however, are willing to endure everything out of poverty,
knowing that what others consider evil is good for them. For whoever understands the heavens
and things believes in God, knowing that all creation depends on His will;
but whoever does not understand will never believe that the world is the work of God –
it was created for the salvation of man.
54
Those who are filled with malice and intoxicated with ignorance do not understand God,
are not sober in soul. For God can be understood, but not seen; He is very evident
in visible creations, as the soul is in the body. Just as the body cannot exist without the soul, so
it is impossible for everything visible and living to exist without God.
55
56
Why was man created? So that, contemplating God’s creations, he might see
God and glorify Him who created them for man. But the mind that is beloved of God
is an invisible good that God grants to those who are worthy for a good life.
He is free who does not serve pleasures, but with wisdom and purity controls
his body and is content with great gratitude with what God gives him, even if
it is very little. When the mind and soul that love God are in harmony,
the whole body is created, even without wanting to. For when the soul wants,
every bodily movement is stilled.
57
Those who are not satisfied with the possessions they have and desire more, fall
into slavery to passions, which confuse the soul and put thoughts and
dreams into it that are also evil. And just as clothes that are too big hinder ascetics from moving, so
the desire for more possessions prevents souls from striving for salvation.
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Part One
58
When a person is forced or enslaved to something, it is like a prison and a hard labor for him
. Love, therefore, what happens to you, so that you do not cruelly torture
yourself, enduring everything without gratitude. There is only one way to this – to despise
the things of life.
59
Just as we have sight from God to distinguish the things we see as white and
black, so also is the gift of speech given to us from God to distinguish what is beneficial
for the soul. Lust, however, breaking away from prudence, gives rise to pleasure and does not
allow the soul to be saved or to be united with God.
60
Sins are not what happens according to nature, but what happens according to evil consent. It is not a sin
to eat, it is a sin to eat without gratitude and without restraint, because the body exists in life without any
of evil thought. Just looking is not a sin, it is a sin to look enviously and proudly
and greedily; and there is no sin in listening peacefully, it is a sin when one is angry;
and it is not a sin to prompt the tongue to thanksgiving and prayer, it is a sin to slander; and it is not a sin
to stretch out one’s hands to alms, it is a sin to murder and theft. Thus every member
sins, wilfully doing evil instead of good, against the will of God.
61
If you doubt that God watches over every deed, consider that you
are man and dust, and can simultaneously and simultaneously contemplate and think about different places
– how much more can God, Who sees everything, even
as small as a mustard seed, Who animates and nourishes everything as He wills.
62
When you close the door of your room and are alone, know that there is
an angel present with you, whom God assigns to each person, and whom the Greeks call the household
demon. He, sleepless and untempted, is always near you, sees everything,
and darkness has no power over him. Along with him, acknowledge God, who is present in
every place, for there is no place or thing where there is not God, who is greater
than all and holds all in his hand.
63
If ​​soldiers remain faithful to Caesar because he feeds them, much
more should we constantly thank him without hesitation and serve God
, who created everything for man.
64
Gratitude to God and a good life are the divinely pleasing human fruit. The fruits
of the earth do not all ripen at the same time, but gradually, depending on the rains and care,
so the fruits of man are sanctified in time by labor and instruction, by fortitude
and restraint, and by patience. If through them you appear to others to be good and
honorable, do not believe in yourself while you are in the body, and do not think that any of your works
are pleasing to God. For know that it is not easy for a man to maintain sinlessness to the end.
65
There is nothing more honorable among men than the word. So strong is the word that with words
and thanksgiving we honor God, and with abusive and dishonorable words we condemn
our soul. Therefore, it is the work of an insensitive person to blame his birth
or someone else for sinning, using either a word or
a wicked deed of his own free will.
66
If we try to heal bodily ailments so that those who
see us will not laugh at us, then much more should we try to heal mental ailments,
our holy father Anthony the Great instructs,
19
so that when we are judged before God, we will not be found dishonorable
or deserving of ridicule. For having our own will, we can, when we want,
not do evil deeds, although lust pushes us to them. We can do this,
and it is in our power to live in a godly way, and no one will ever force us
to do anything evil against our will. Thus striving, we will be worthy
of God’s people and like the angels who live in heaven.
67
If you want, you can be a slave to passions; if you want, you can be
free and not yield to passions. After all, God created you and gave you
free will. He who conquers carnal passions is crowned with incorruption.
For if there were no passions, there would be no virtues and crowns that God gives
to worthy people.
68
Those who do not see their own benefit and do not know what is good are blind in soul and their minds
are blinded by it. Therefore, it is not fitting to turn our attention to these, lest we, out of weakness,
fall into the same, not foreseeing that we too are blind.
69
It is not fitting to be angry with those who sin, even if their sin is
worthy of torment, but we must convert them and torment them for the sake of the truth itself,
whether through ourselves or through others.
It is not fitting to be angry or jealous. For anger is only due to passion, and not due to judgment and truth.
Therefore, it is not fitting to praise those who are excessively sorry.
It is fitting to punish the wicked for the sake of goodness and truth itself, and not due to one’s own passion for anger.
70
Spiritual enrichment alone is safe and unspoiled. It leads to
a virtuous and God-pleasing life and to understanding and doing good works.
But wealth is a blind guide and a foolish counselor, and it destroys the insensitive soul, which
has used wealth excessively and unwisely.
71
It is fitting for men either not to acquire anything superfluous, or, having it, to look upon
it firmly, as upon all things of life, perishable by nature and easily disposed of
, vile and fragile, and one should not despise what happens.
72
Know that bodily ailments are peculiar to the body, as perishable and natural. Therefore it is
fitting for a humble soul to show fortitude and patience in pains with grace, and not
to reproach God for the reason for which He created the body.
73
Those who compete in the Olympic games are not crowned for the first, second
, or third victory, but when they have conquered all who compete against them.
Thus it is fitting for everyone who wants to be crowned by God to teach his soul all
the wisdom of the world, and not only about the body, but also about gain, and loss, and theft,
and envy, and in food, and vainglory, and reproach, and death, and in everything that exists.
74
Let us not care for a good and God-pleasing life for the sake of human praise,
but for the sake of the salvation of the soul let us choose a virtuous life. For death is visible every
day before our eyes, and human honors are unknown.
75
It is in our power to live chastely, but it is not in our power to get rich. But
And what, is it not fitting for us to condemn our souls for the temporary desire for wealth
, which we have no power to acquire, but only desire it? Oh, how thoughtlessly
we live, not knowing that humility is the highest of all virtues, just as gluttony and the lust of life are the highest of all passions. 76 It is fitting for the wise to constantly remember that, enduring small and short-lived labors in life, we enjoy great pleasure and eternal joy after death. Therefore, let him who struggles with passions and desires to be crowned by God, when he falls, not be faint-hearted and not remain in sin, falling into despair, but, having risen, let him struggle and labor even more to be crowned, rising even to the last breath from the fall that happens. For bodily labors are the weapons of virtues and are salutary for the soul. 77 The troubles of life make men and ascetics worthy of being crowned by God. Therefore, it is fitting to die in one’s life to all worldly things, for the dead will never care about anything worldly. 78 It is not fitting for a verbal soul that performs a feat to immediately be afraid and afraid of the sufferings that befall it, lest it be ridiculed as timid. A soul that is disturbed by worldly dreams will depart from a good deed. Our spiritual virtues lead to eternal blessings, while the cause of torment is the willful malice of man. 79 A verbal person is overcome by the passions of the soul through verbal feelings. There are five bodily feelings: sight, smell, hearing, taste and touch. Through these five feelings the wretched soul falls into captivity, falling into the clutches of its own four passions. There are four passions of the soul: vanity, joy, anger , and fear. So when a man, who fights well, overcomes and conquers passions with wisdom and prudence, then he is no longer fought against, but will have peace in his soul and will be crowned by God as a conqueror. 80 Those who spent the night in an inn receive a bed; those who, having no bed, sleep on the ground, snore no more and no less than those who sleep on a bed ; and, having waited for the end of the night, in the morning they all go out together, carrying only their own. In the same way, all who walk in life, both mediocre and in fame and in wealth, living as if from an inn, go out of life, taking nothing with them of the pleasures and wealth of life, except their own deeds, whether good or evil, which they have done during their life. 81 Having full authority, do not be hasty in threatening anyone with death, knowing that by nature you are also subject to death and that the soul is clothed in the body, as in the body of a man.

your clothes. Knowing this well, learn meekness and, doing good, always
thank God, for he who does not show mercy has no virtue in himself.
82
It is impossible and unthinkable to avoid death. Knowing this, truly verbal
people, and those who are trained in virtue and God-pleasing thoughts, accept death without
groaning, fear and weeping, reflecting on its inevitability and on liberation from
the evils of life.
83
Those who have forgotten about a good and God-pleasing life and do not reflect on
good and God-loving dogmas, it is fitting not to hate, but to sympathize with them as, according to the instructions
of our Holy Father Anthony the Great,
21
those who are bewildered in mind and blind in heart and thought. Taking evil for good,
they perish through ignorance and do not see God, being three-fold wretched and depraved in soul.
84
Do not undertake to speak to many about piety and a good life. I say this
not out of envy, but because the wicked will mock you. After all,
he loves his own, and such words will not find many listeners, or perhaps even very
few. It is better not to say it, because this is not what God wants for the salvation of man.
85
The soul suffers together with the body, but the body does not suffer together with the soul: when
the body is cut, the soul also suffers, but when the body is strong and healthy, the passions of the soul enjoy themselves together with it
. When the soul ponders, the body no longer ponders
, but remains separate by itself. For pondering is a passion of
the soul, just like ignorance, pride, unbelief, usury, hatred, envy,
anger, negligence, vanity, ambition, disagreement, and lack of feeling for good.
For all this happens in the soul.
86
When thinking about God, be pious, not envious, good, virtuous
, gentle, ready to help according to your strength, kind, non-contentious, and so on.
After all, it is an unstolen acquisition of the soul to please God with these virtues and
not to judge anyone, and not to say about anyone that such and such is evil and has sinned, but
it is better to test your evil deeds and look at yourself, at your
life, whether it pleases God. What does it matter to us that someone else is evil?
87
A true man strives to be pious; piety
is that which does not desire what is alien, and all creation is alien to man. Therefore,
as the image of God, despise everything. Man becomes the image of God when
he lives well and in a way that pleases God. But this is possible only when a man departs
from all worldly things. Whoever has a mind pleasing to God knows what
spiritual benefit and reverence it brings. A man who loves God does not reproach anyone else
for what he himself sins in, and this is a sign of a soul that is saved.
88
All who care with all their might for temporal possessions and love the lust
of evil deeds, not knowing death and the destruction of their souls, and do not look, wretched ones, to
their own benefit, do not think how much people suffer from evil after death.
89
Evil is a passion of nature. Evil does not come from God. God gave people
understanding, signs and the power of the mind that separates good from evil, and free will.
But negligence and human laziness give rise to the passions of evil, so the cause
is not at all in God. From the division of thoughts, demons and many people became evil.
90
A person who lives virtuously does not allow sin to enter the soul.
But when there is no sin in the soul, the soul is safe and secure, neither
an evil demon nor chance controls it. For God delivers it from the wicked, and it lives, preserving it
somehow unharmed, like God. If someone praises such a man, he laughs
to himself at the one who praised him; if someone insults him, he will neither answer
those who reproach him, nor be angry at their words.
91
Evil follows nature, as rust follows copper, and impurity follows bodies. But neither
the coppersmith created rust, nor the woman in labor created impurity, and neither did God create sins . He gave man understanding and prudence, that he might avoid evil, knowing that he would suffer harm from it and suffer. Beware, therefore, lest, seeing someone prosperous, in power and wealth, you praise him through demonic
dreams . But let death be immediately before your eyes, and never desire anything evil or earthly. 92 Our God has granted immortality to those who are in heaven; He created the things on earth to be changeable, and to all creation He gave life and movement, and all things for man. Let not the worldly reverie of the demon, who incites the soul to evil thoughts, captivate you, but, meditating on heavenly blessings, say: if I want, it is in my power to conquer this violation of passion, I will not conquer if I desire to fulfill my desire. Therefore, work in this feat, which can save your soul. 93 Life is the union and connection of mind, soul and body, and death is not the death of the connected, but the breaking of their connection. God will preserve them even after the breaking. 94 The mind is not the soul, but a gift of God that saves the soul, and warns and advises the soul, for the mind pleasing to God is to despise temporal, natural, and perishable things, and to love eternal, imperishable, and unnatural goods, and to walk in the body of man, contemplating and seeing with the mind the heavenly and the divine, and all things together. Thus, the mind loving God is a benefactor and salvation for the human soul. 95

The soul, when it is in the body, immediately becomes darkened and perishes from sorrow and pleasure
. Sorrow and pleasure are like slime for the body. But the God-loving mind, resisting,
oppresses the body and saves the soul; like an enemy that cuts or burns the body.
96
Those souls that the mind does not restrain and which the mind does not control, so that it
restrains and calms their passions, that is, sorrow and pleasure, perish
like speechless animals, when the mind is scattered by passions, breaking away
like horses from their rider.
97
It is a great suffering for the soul, a ruin and a ruin to not know God, Who
created everything for man and gave him reason and speech, by which people
unite with God, understanding and praising Him.
98
The soul is in the body, and in the soul is the mind, and in the mind is the word, through which God, whom we understand
and glorify, creates the soul immortal, granting it incorruption and eternal
joy. For God, in all things, has bestowed existence by His one goodness.
99
God, having given man the free will of choice, as He is good and not envious, has also given him the opportunity,
when he wishes, to please Him. But man pleases God when there is no sin in him.
Even if people praise the good deeds and virtues of a reverend and God-loving
soul, and condemn shameful and evil deeds,
God praises them much more, Who wants man to be saved.
100 Man accepts good from God as from good, for this reason God created him.
But man attracts evil to himself through himself, and his sin, and lust, and insensibility.
101 The foolish soul, although immortal and the master of the body, indulges
the body in pleasures, not thinking that bodily pleasure harms it;
not feeling this and acting foolishly, it cares about bodily pleasure.
Our holy father Anthony the Great’s instructions
23
102 God is good, but man is evil. There is nothing evil in heaven, nothing good on
earth. The man of words chooses what is better, and knows the God of all, and thanks
and praises Him, and more than death, despises the body, and does not allow
evil feelings to take place, knowing their destruction and power.
103 The wicked man loves greed and despises truth, thinking neither
of the unknown and impermanence, nor of the brevity of life, forgetting
the incorruptibility and inevitability of death. But when it is old and foolish, it is like
a rotten tree, fit for nothing.
104 We experience pleasure and joy when we taste what
we need: he who was thirsty drinks with pleasure, he who was hungry eats
with pleasure, he who did not sleep well sleeps with pleasure,
he who has not been offended does not know the feeling of joy. Therefore, if we do not despise the temporary, we do not
We are to enjoy eternal blessings.
105 The word is the servant of the mind; what the mind desires, the word expresses.
106 The mind sees everything, even what is in heaven; and nothing darkens it, except
sin. For a pure mind there is nothing unattainable, just as for words there is nothing
inexpressible.
107 For the body man is mortal, but for the mind and the word he is immortal. Think silently
, and having thought, speak; in silence the mind gives birth to the word. And the word of thanksgiving
, which we offer to God, is the salvation of man.
108 He who speaks senseless things is foolish, because he speaks without thinking at all
. But consider what is useful for you to do for the salvation of your soul.
109 A wise and soul-beneficial word is a gift from God, but a word full of foolishness
and one that investigates the measure and distance from heaven to earth and the size of the sun and stars
is the invention of a man who labors in vain. She seeks what is useless
to her, boasting in vain, like one who wants to carry water in a sieve. For this
is impossible for people to investigate.
110 No one sees heaven and can understand those who are in it, except a person
who cares for a virtuous life and understands and glorifies Him who created her
for salvation and gave her life. Undoubtedly, such a God-loving man knows that
without God there is nothing, but God is everywhere, as if unfathomable.
111
As a person comes out of his mother’s womb naked, so the soul comes out of the body naked
: one pure, another bright, one with sinful defilements, and another black
from many transgressions. Therefore, a verbal and God-loving soul, remembering
and reflecting on what misfortune awaits her after death, lives piously, so as
not to be condemned for the same. For unbelievers, foolish in soul, do not
honor and sin, despising the eternal.
112 Just as, having come out of the womb, you do not remember what was in the womb, so,
having come out of the body, you do not remember what was in the body.
113 Just as, having come out of the womb, you become a better and greater body, so,
having come out of the body pure and undefiled, you will be better and incorruptible, dwelling in heaven.
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Part One
114 As it is fitting for the body that was formed in the womb to be born, so it is
fitting for the soul, when it has remained in the body for the time appointed by God, to leave the body.
115 Just as you hold the soul while it is in the body, so it
will hold you, when it is out of the body. For whoever holds his body in good and profit, for him
there is trouble after death; condemn your soul as a fool.
116 Just as the body, having left the mother’s womb imperfect, cannot return
, so the soul, having left the body and not having acquired the knowledge
of God through a good life, cannot be saved or united with God.
117 The body, uniting with the soul, comes out of the dark womb into the light, and the soul, uniting
By being with the body, it is shut up in the darkness of the body. Therefore, one should hate and
punish the body as an enemy and adversary of the soul. The abundance of food and delicious dishes
excite evil passions in people; but restraint of the stomach pacifies the
passions and saves the soul.
118 Bodily sight is the eyes, and spiritual sight is the mind. And just as a body that has no eyes
is blind, and the sun that illuminates the whole earth and the sea cannot see, and
cannot enjoy the light, so also the soul that does not have a good and good life is blind
and does not understand God – the Creator and Benefactor of all – and does not glorify it, and
cannot enjoy its own incorruption and eternal blessings.
119 The insensitivity and foolishness of the soul leads to ignorance of God. Evil is born
from ignorance, but good comes to people from the knowledge of God and saves the soul.
If you do not hasten to act according to your desires, you are sober and, knowing
God, think about virtues. But if for the sake of pleasure you hasten to act according to your
evil desires, reveling in the ignorance of God, you perish like speechless animals,
not thinking about the evil that awaits you after death.
120 All this work of providence, which is created according to divine law, and that
every day the sun rises and sets, and the earth bears fruit; and yet it is created
for the sake of man. The law also determines what is necessary for man,
121 Everything that God creates, as good, He creates for man; everything that man
creates, He creates for himself – both good and evil. Therefore do not be surprised at the prosperity
of the wicked. Know that executioners live in cities, not because their craft is good, but because
they punish those who deserve punishment. Therefore God allows wicked
men to have the affairs of life under their control, so that through them
the insensitive may be taught, and finally He delivers them to judgment. For they, in their wickedness
, do evil to men, and do not serve God.
122 If those who honor idols understood and saw with their hearts what they
honor, they would not flee, damned, from piety, but, seeing the good beauty,
the work and the providence of all that has been and is from God, they would know Him who
created all things for man.
8 Here we should understand the restraint of the body from passionate acts and pleasures that injure the soul.
It is also true that “no one ever hated his own flesh; on the contrary, he feeds and cherishes
it” (Eph. 5:29).
Our Holy Father Anthony the Great’s Instructions
25
123 Man, as evil and unjust, can kill, but God does not cease to grant
life even to the unworthy. For He – not envious and good by nature – willed
that the world should come into being, and the world came into being, and serves man for his salvation.
124 A verbal man is one who has understood what the body is, that it is perishable.
and temporary. Such a person also understands about the soul that the soul is divine and immortal
and, being that which God breathed into man, united with the body for testing
and deification. Whoever understands what the soul is,
lives righteously and God-pleasingly, not obeying the body, but sees God with his mind
and sees the eternal blessings that God grants to the soul with his mind.
125 God, who always remains good and not envious, gave man power
over good and evil, granting him reason, so that, seeing the world and everything in the world, he might
know the One who created everything for man. The unrighteous can will and not
understand; he can both not believe, and be poor, and think contrary to the truth.
Such a person has power over good and evil.
126 Such is God’s command that the soul, when the body grows, should be filled with reason, so that
man may choose between good and evil, as he pleases. But the soul that does not
choose good has no reason. Therefore, all bodies have a soul, but not every
soul can be said to have reason. The God-loving mind is found in the virtuous,
and the reverend, and the righteous, and the blameless, and the good, and the merciful, and the pious
. When there is reason, it is easier for a man to know God.
127 Only one thing is impossible for a man, namely, to be immortal. 9
It is possible for him to unite with God if he thinks that he can. For a man who wants,
understands, believes, and loves, through a good life is a partner of God.
128 The eye sees what is visible, but the mind understands what is invisible. The God-loving mind
is the light of the soul. He who has a God-loving mind is enlightened with his heart and sees
God with his mind.
129 No good man is shameless; the ungood are always evil and
lovers of the flesh. The first virtue of man is contempt for the flesh. Renunciation of the temporal
and natural, because it is perishable, makes us heirs of the eternal and imperishable,
if this renunciation is voluntary, and not through poverty.
130 He who has reason knows himself for what he is, knows that he is perishable; and he who knows himself
knows that all are God’s creatures and created for salvation. To understand everything and to
believe rightly is within the power of man. Such a man knows for sure that those who despise
worldly affairs will work the least, but will receive pleasure and eternal peace
from God after death.
131 As the body without the soul is dead, so the soul without the mind is empty and
cannot inherit the Kingdom of God.
132 Only man does God listen, only man does God appear. God is
beloved of man, for wherever man is, there God is also. Only man is worthy
to worship God. For man’s sake God is transformed.
9 This is said of the body, not of the soul, for it too will become immortal after the resurrection.
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Part One
133 God created everything for man: He created the sky and adorned it with stars,
He created the earth for man. People cultivate the earth for themselves. Those who do not
feel such a providence of God are foolish in soul.
134 Good is invisible, just as everything in heaven is invisible; evil is visible, just as
everything on earth is visible. Good cannot be compared with anything. A person who has
reason chooses what is better. Only God and His creation teach man.
135 The mind manifests itself in the soul, and nature in the body, and the mind of the soul is deification,
and the nature of the body is separation. In every body there is nature, but not in every soul
there is mind. Therefore, not every soul is saved.
136 The soul is in the world as born, and the mind is higher than the world as unborn. The soul
, however, which understands the world and wants to be saved, always keeps the law, reflecting
in itself what a struggle and trial it is now, and how it cannot restrain (appease) the Judgment
, and how it perishes, and the soul is protected from small and shameful sweetness.
137 On earth God gave hell and death, but in heaven – providence and immutability. And everything
was created for man and his salvation. God, who does not need any good,
created heaven and earth and the elements for man, granting him through them all pleasures.
138 Mortal things are subject to immortal things, and immortal things to mortal things10;
therefore, the elements serve man out of love for man and the goodness of God the Creator innate in them
.
139 The poor and incapable of harm are not counted among those who act
piously; and he who can do harm, but does not use his power for evil and spares
the humble for piety to God, obtains a good reward even after death.
140 Through the love of man of God, who created us, very many
ways of salvation are given to people, which convert souls and raise them to heaven.
Human souls receive a reward for virtue, and punishment for transgressions.
141 The Son is in the Father and the Spirit in the Son, and the Father is in both. By faith,
a person knows all invisible and all that can be understood. And faith is the free consent of the soul.
142 Just as those who, out of necessity or forced by circumstances, swim in wide
rivers, if they are sober, remain alive, even though the waves are mighty.
Having swayed a little on them, they will not drown, but will find their way to the shore. When they are drunk,
even if they try with all their might to row to the shore, they are overcome by wine and drown
in the waves. In the same way, the soul also dies, falling into the impurities and noise of the waves
of life, if, having risen from the sin of nature, it does not realize that it – divine
and immortal – has been united through temptation with the temporal, multi-passionate
and mortal, that bodily pleasures attract it to destruction; despising itself and
drunk with ignorance and not caring for itself, it perishes and is cut off from among the living.
As a river drags us into the depths, so often does the body drag us into unworthy pleasures.
143 The verbal soul, unshakably preserving a good will, bridles, like a horse,
rage and lust – its wordless passions and, conquering, calming
10 Immortal here should be understood as long-lasting and long-lasting.
Our holy father Anthony the Great’s instructions
27
and surpassing them, it is crowned and adorned with heavenly life, receiving
from God, who created it, the reward for victory and labors.
144 Truly, the verbal soul, seeing the prosperity of the wicked and the prosperity of
the unworthy, is not embarrassed, imagining their pleasures in this life. Such a soul knows
for certain the impermanence of happiness, the uncertainty of life, the shortness of life, and the incorruptibility of judgment, and believes that God cares for its necessary food. 145 The life of the flesh and the abundance of wealth, and the power of the pleasures of this life become death for the soul. But labor, and patience, and poverty with thanksgiving, and mortification of the body are life and eternal delight for the soul. 146 The verbal soul is a natural creation, and, despising the fleeting life, chooses heavenly sweetness and eternal life, receiving them from God through a good life. 147 He whose clothes are soiled with mire, stains the clothes of others by touching them. So also the wicked in willfulness and the unrighteous in life, addressing the simplest, speaking to them about things that are not fitting, as with mire, defile the soul by hearing. 148 The beginning of sin is lust, through which the verbal soul perishes. And the beginning of the salvation of the soul and the Kingdom of Heaven is love. 149 As copper, which is not cared for and not properly processed, rots from rust, long-term binding and disuse and becomes useless and unusable, so also the empty person, who does not care about a good life and conversion to God, separating himself through evil deeds from God’s protection, through sin, which is born of laziness, is destroyed by the body, like copper from rust, and becomes worthless and unusable. 150 God is good, dispassionate and unchangeable. But if someone considers it good and true that God does not change, but does not understand how He delights in good, and turns away from evil and is angry with those who sin; But when He is honored, He is merciful, then it must be said that God is neither happy nor angry : for joy and sorrow are passions. And gifts are not brought to Him, for that would mean that He is overcome by the love of pleasure. It is not right to think that God is good or evil depending on human actions. For He is good

is, and only helps, and never harms, always the same and identical
. But we, being good, are united with God by likeness; but
being evil, we are distant from God by unlikeness. And, living virtuously,
we cherish God, but being evil, we make Him our enemy. But if we are not
angry in vain, but at sins that do not allow God to shine in us, but unite
us with tormenting demons, when we receive
the remission of sins through prayers and good deeds, this does not mean that we have honored God or changed Him.
It means that by good deeds and conversion to God we have healed our sin
and have become worthy to partake of God’s goodness. Therefore, God
turns away from the wicked just as the sun is hidden from those who have lost their sight.
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Part One
151 The pious soul knows the God of all. Piety is nothing other than the creation
of the will of God. The knowledge of God consists in being unenvious, virtuous
, gentle, gracious in power, friendly, non-contentious, and doing what is
pleasing to the will of God.
152 The knowledge of God and the fear of Him heals from natural passions. But when the soul
is accompanied by ignorance of God, the incurable passions in it fester;
as from long-standing pus, so it rots from sin, the cause of which is not
God, Who sent down knowledge and reason to people.
153 God filled man with knowledge and reason, trying to cleanse
passions and self-inflicted sin, and to transform mortal things into immortal things by His goodness
.
154 The mind that is in a pure and God-loving soul truly beholds God unborn
and invisible and ineffable, the only pure for the pure in heart.
155 The crown of incorruption, and virtue, and salvation of man consist in the gentle
and gracious bearing of discord. And to restrain anger, the tongue, the belly
, and the desire for pleasure is a great help to the soul.
156 The world is held together by the providence of God, and there is no place where there is no
providence. And providence is the self-contained Word of God, Who creates the substance
of which the world is composed, and the Creator and Master of all that is. It is impossible for things
to be adorned without the rational power of the word, which is the image, and the mind, and wisdom,
and the providence of God.
157 Lust, which arises from thought, is the root of passions related to
darkness. And the soul, which dwells in the thought of lust, does not know itself that it is
what God breathed into man, and so rushes towards sin, not thinking, foolishly,
about the evil that will befall it after death.
158 A great and incurable disease and ruin for the soul is impiety and
the love of glory. The desire of evil leads to the deprivation of good. But good is without envy.
to do good, all that pleases the God of all.
159 Only man can receive God. Only with this living creature does
God converse at night through dreams, and during the day through reason, and in all ways He
announces and foretells future good things to worthy people.
160 There is nothing difficult for him who believes and desires to understand God. If
you want to see Him, look at the beauty and providence of all that has been and is to be
by His word. And all this is for man.
161 He is called holy who is pure from malice and sins. Therefore, it is a great
success of the soul and pleasing to God when there is no malice in a man.
162 A name is a sign that distinguishes one person from many. Therefore, it is foolish
to think that God, although He is one and the same, has another name. This name – God –
denotes the beginningless One, Who created everything for man.
163 When you know that you are doing evil deeds, cut them off from your soul with the hope
of good. For God is righteous and loves mankind.
Our holy father Anthony the Great, instructions
29
164 A person knows God, and God knows him who wants to be always inseparable from Him.
And that person is inseparable from God who is good in everything, who overcomes all love
for pleasures – not because he has little of them, but by his own will and restraint.
165 Do good to the one who wrongs you, and God will be your friend.
Do not slander your enemy to anyone: have love, virtue, patience, restraint.
For this is the knowledge of God, that is, imitating God with humility and wisdom and such
deeds. These are not the deeds of simple people, but of a wise soul. 166 I have written a separate chapter
about those who impiously dare to call sprouts and herbs animated , so that the simplest people will know. Herbs have natural life, but they do not have souls. Man is called a verbal being, because he has reason and contains knowledge. Other earthly and aerial beings have voice, because they have a spirit and a soul; and all grow and shrink, because they live and grow, but not all have a soul. There are four kinds of beings. Some of them are immortal and animated, that is, angels; others have mind, soul and breath, that is, people; still others have breath and soul, that is, animals; and others have only life, that is, plants: only life is in plants, and they have no soul, breath and mind, and immortality. And all the others cannot exist without life. Every human soul is always moving from one place to another. 167 When you have received a dream of some sweetness, be careful not to be carried away by it, and, having slightly turned away from the dream, remember death and think that it is better to see this illusion of sweetness defeated in yourself. 168 As in birth itself there is passion, for whatever happens in life is subject to it.

In corruption, so in passion there is sin. But do not say: “Could not God have cut off sin?”
Those who say this speak insensibly and foolishly. It does not befit God to cut off
nature, for these are natural passions. God cut off sin from people for their benefit
, giving them intelligence, knowledge and reason and the ability to distinguish good, so that, seeing
how we are damaged by sin, they may flee from it. But the foolish man follows sin
and boasts of it and, as if caught in a net, is overcome by it, being wrapped
in it, and can never renounce it and see and know God, Who
created everything for the salvation and deification of man.
169 Mortality hates itself, because it anticipates its death. And the immortal,
because it is good, joins the reverend soul; but the mortal, because it is evil,
joins the foolish and damned soul.
170 When you return to your bed with gratitude, meditating in yourself on the benefits
and God’s providence for you, being filled with good thoughts, and
also rejoicing, then your bodily sleep, the sobriety of your soul, and the closing of your eyelids will be
a true vision of God, and your silence, being full of goodness, will give
with all your soul and strength high glory to the God of all. When there is no sin in a person,
then thanksgiving itself will please God more than any precious sacrifice.
To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.