Andrew Louth - Syriac Christian Church

180 OPUSCULE 7
C
D
72A
B
to his mysteries. For by the sacred weaving together of both
you possess perfection in everything good. In accordance with
this, then, you are completely devoted in everything to God
through the fulfilment of his divine commandments. Through
the exceeding severity of your poverty you are considered to be
wholly different from those who, like me, by the material
inclination of their souls crawl in the slime of impure passions,
and at the same time you are preserved steadfast from within
by reason, for nothing is stronger than voluntary poverty for
the stability and preservation of what is good and fine. For the
foundation of the divine structures in the soul has been
established as unbreakable, and an agent of salvation for all
those others who are devoted to the good. For it is not so much
by words of teaching, as by active example, that those who
wisely direct their mind and their life towards you are led to
the depth of virtue through sublime lowliness. In accordance
with this zeal, I say, you have the whole warmth of the Spirit, 2
and possess fire in the earth of the heart, 3 that fire which the
Word, who by nature loves the good and loves humankind, and
exhausts all our wretched habits and movements, came to cast
on the earth. 4 You burn up those who rave and run riot from
deceit and madness in wicked deeds and fraudulent words,
convicting them of unsoundness and purpose-lessness, by the
radiance of the blessed lamp that burns within you
inextinguishably according to your divine knowledge and
virtue. You warm those who seek refuge with this frozen
product, 5 deprived of light, and far from the radiant beams of
the divine words, driving away and dissolving the night, and
exchanging their extreme pusillanimity for the greatest
courage and power. And again you illuminate from the eternal
mountains (Psa. 75:5) —I mean, from the immaterial
mountains—with all knowledge that transcends the senses
and the power of the words and dogmas of the Fathers, those
who desire light and by the taste of wisdom are already formed
through hope into the image of that which is the natural object
of their longing, as you lead and introduce them reverently to
that complete transformation through experience. For is not
the work of your sacred priesthood thus represented?— as
unbending zeal tempered by modesty before God, and the
Word implanted in us that both sustains and inspires us,
preparing us to accomplish whatever the One who is first by
nature encourages, and wisely guiding us in our ascent to him
and in the perfect recapitulation through holy deeds and good
dogmas, and in fleeing and turning from those who make us fail