Book Three 4 страница

561.

This, then, is what happens to all the angry people that are angry overmuch.

562.

Wherefore do you depart from that most wicked spirit anger, and put on patience, and resist anger and bitterness, and you will be found in company with the purity which is loved by the Lord.

563.

Take care, then, that you neglect not by any chance this commandment:

564.

for if you obey this commandment,

you will be able to keep all the other commandments which I am to give you.

565.

Be strong, then, in these commandments, and put on power,

and let all put on power, as many as wish to walk in them.

The Shepherd of Hermas CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Divisions 566-605

Commandment 6

SHEPHERD OF HERMAS 2, 6

566.

How to recognise the two spirits attendant on each man,

and how to distinguish the suggestions of the one from those of the other

Chapter 1

567.

I gave you, he said, directions in the first commandment

to attend to faith, and fear, and self-restraint.

568.

Even so, sir, said I.

569.

And he said,

Now I wish to teach you the powers of these,

that you may know what power each possesses.

570.

For their powers are double,

and have relation alike to the righteous and the unrighteous.

571.

Trust you, therefore, the righteous, but put no trust in the unrighteous.

572.

For the path of righteousness is straight,

yet that of unrighteousness is crooked.

573.

Yet walk in the straight and even way, and mind not the crooked.

574.

For the crooked path has no roads,

yet has many pathless places and stumbling-blocks in it, and it is rough and thorny.

575.

It is injurious to those who walk therein.

576.

Yet they who walk in the straight road walk evenly without stumbling,

because it is neither rough nor thorny.

577.

You see, then, that it is better to walk in this road.

578.

I wish to go by this road, said I.

579.

You will go by it, said he;

580.

and whoever turns to the Lord with all his heart will walk in it.

Chapter 2

581.

Hear now, said he, in regard to faith.

582.

There are two angels with a man— one of righteousness, and the other of iniquity.

583.

And I said to him, How, sir, am I to know the powers of these, for both angelsdwell with me?

584.

Hear, said he, and understand them.

585.

The angelof righteousness is gentle and modest, meek and peaceful.

586.

When, therefore, he ascends into your heart, immediately he talks to you

of righteousness, purity, chastity, contentment, and of every righteous deed and glorious virtue.

587.

When all these ascend into your heart, know that the angel of righteousness is with you.

588.

These are the deeds of the angel of righteousness Trust him, then, and his works.

589.

Look now at the works of the angel of iniquity.

590.

First, he is wrathful, and bitter, and foolish, and his works are evil, and ruin the servants of God.

591.

When, then, he ascends into your heart, know him by his works.

592.

And I said to him, How, sir, I shall perceive him, I do not know.

593.

Hear and understand said he.

594.

When anger comes upon you, or harshness, know that he is in you;

595.

and you will know this to be the case also, when you are attacked by a longing after many transactions, and the richest delicacies, and drunken revels,

and various luxuries, and things improper,

and by immoderate desiring after women, and by overreaching, and pride, and blustering,

and by whatever is like to these.

596.

When these ascend into your heart, know that the angel of iniquity is in you.

597.

Now that you know his works, depart from him, and in no respect trust him,

because his deeds are evil, and unprofitable to the servants of God.

598.

These, then, are the actions of both angels.

599.

Understand them, and trust the angel of righteousness;

yet depart from the angel of iniquity, because his instruction is bad in every deed.

600.

For though a man be most faithful, and the thought of this angel ascend into his heart,

that man or woman does sin.

601.

On the other hand, be a man or woman ever so bad,

yet, if the works of the angel of righteousness ascend into his or her heart,

he or she must do something good.

602.

You see, therefore, that it is good to follow the angel of righteousness,

but to bid farewell to the angel of iniquity.

603.

This commandment exhibits the deeds of faith,

that you may trust the works of the angel of righteousness, and doing them you may live to God.

604.

Yet believe the works of the angel of iniquity are hard.

605.

If you refuse to do them, you will live to God.

The Shepherd of Hermas CHAPTER NINETEEN

Divisions 606-620

Commandment 7

SHEPHERD OF HERMAS 2, 7

606.

About fearing god, and not fearing the devil

607.

Fear, said he, the Lord, and keep His commandments, Ecclesiastes 12: 13

for if you keep the commandments of God,

you will be powerful in every action, and every one of your actions will be incomparable.

608.

For, fearing the Lord, you will do all things well.

609.

This is the fear which you ought to have, that you may be saved.

610.

Yet fear not the devil;

for, fearing the Lord, you will have dominion over the devil, for there is no power in him.

611.

But he in whom there is no power ought on no account to be an object of fear;

but He in whom there is glorious power is truly to be feared.

612.

For every one that has power ought to be feared;

but he who has not power is despised by all.

613.

Fear, therefore, the deeds of the devil, since they are wicked.

614.

For, fearing the Lord, you will not do these deeds, but will refrain from them.

615.

For fears are of two kinds:

for if you do not wish to do that which is evil, fear the Lord, and you will not do it;

but, again, if you wish to do that which is good, fear the Lord, and you will do it.

616.

Wherefore the fear of the Lord is strong, and great, and glorious.

617.

Fear, then, the Lord, and you will live to Him,

and as many as fearHim and keep His commandments will live to God.

618.

Why, sir, said I,

did you say in regard to those that keep His commandments, that they will live to God?

619.

Because, says he, all creation fears the Lord,

but all creation does not keep His commandments.

620.

They only who fear the Lord and keep His commandments have life with God;

but as to those who keep not His commandments, there is no life in them.

The Shepherd of Hermas CHAPTER TWENTY

Divisions 621-660

Commandment 8

SHEPHERD OF HERMAS 2, 8

621.

We ought to shun that which is evil, and do that which is good

622.

I told you, said he, that the creatures of God are double, for restraint also is double;

for in some cases restraint has to be exercised, in others there is no need of restraint.

623.

Make known to me, sir, say I, in what cases restraint has to be exercised, and in what cases it has not.

624.

Restrain yourself in regard to evil, and do it not;

but exercise no restraint in regard to good, but do it.

625.

For if you exercise restraint in the doing of good, you will commit a great sin;

but if you exercise restraint, so as not to do that which is evil, you are practising great righteousness.

626.

Restrain yourself, therefore, from all iniquity, and do that which is good.

627.

What, sir, say I, are the evil deeds from which we must restrain ourselves?

628.

Hear, says he:

From adultery and fornication, from unlawful revelling,

from wicked luxury, from indulgence in many kinds of food and the extravagance of riches,

629.

and from boastfulness, and haughtiness, and insolence,

and lies, and backbiting, and hypocrisy,

from the remembrance of wrong, and from all slander.

630.

These are the deeds that are most wicked in the life of men.

631.

From all these deeds, therefore, the servant of God must restrain himself.

632.

For he who does not restrain himself from these, cannot live to God.

633.

Listen, then, to the deeds that accompany these [listed above]

634.

Are there, sir, said I, any other evil deeds than these?

635.

There are, says he; and many of them, too, from which the servant of God must restrain himself.

636.

— theft, lying, robbery, false witness, overreaching,

wicked lust, deceit, vainglory, boastfulness,

and all other vices like to these.

637.

Do you not think that these are really wicked?

638.

Exceedingly wicked in the servants of God.

639.

From all of these the servant of God must restrain himself.

640.

Restrain yourself, then, from all these, that you may live to God,

and you will be enrolled among those who restrain themselves in regard to these matters.

641.

These, then, are the things from which you must restrain yourself.

642.

But listen, says he, to the things in regard to which you have not to exercise self-restraint,

yet which you ought to do.

643.

Restrain not yourself in regard to that which is good, but do it.

644.

And tell me, sir, say I, the nature of the good deeds,

that I may walk in them and wait on them, so that doing them I can be saved.

645.

Listen, says he, to the good deeds which you ought to do,

and in regard to which there is no self-restraint requisite.

646.

First of all there is faith,

then fear of the Lord,

love,

concord,

647.

words of righteousness,

truth,

and patience.

648.

Otherwise than these, nothing is better in the life of men.

649.

If any one attend to these, and restrain himself not from them, blessed is he in his life.

650.

Then there are the following attendant on these:

Helping widows,

looking after orphans and the needy,

rescuing the servants of God from necessities,

the being hospitable

— for in hospitality good-doing finds a field—

651.

never opposing any one,

being quiet,

having fewer needs than all men,

reverencing the aged,

652.

practising righteousness,

watching the brotherhood,

bearing insolence,

being long-suffering,

653.

encouraging those who are sick in soul,

not casting those who have fallen into sin from the faith,

but turning them back and restoring them to peace of mind,

admonishing sinners,

not oppressing debtors and the needy,

and if there are any other deeds like these they would likewise be blessed.

654.

Do these seem to you good? says he.

655.

For what, sir, say I, is better than these?

656.

Walk then in them, says he, and restrain not yourself from them, and you will live to God Keep, therefore, this commandment.

657.

If you do good, and restrain not yourself from it, you will live to God.

658.

All who act thus will live to God.

659.

And, again, if you refuse to do evil, and restrain yourself from it, you will live to God.

660.

And all will live to God who keep these commandments, and walk in them.

The Shepherd of Hermas CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

Divisions 661-685

Commandment 9

SHEPHERD OF HERMAS 2, 9

661.

Prayer must be made to God without ceasing, and with unwavering confidence

662.

He says to me,

Put away doubting from you and do not hesitate to ask of the Lord,

saying in your heart,

663.

'How can I ask of the Lord and receive from Him,

seeing I have sinned so much against Him?

664.

'Do not thus reason with your mind,

yet with all your heart turn to the Lord and ask of Him without doubting,

665.

and you will know the multitude of His tender mercies;

that He will never leave you, but fulfil the request of your soul.

666.

For He is not like men, who remember evils done against them;

yet He Himself remembers not evils, and has compassion on His own creature.

667.

Cleanse, therefore, your heart from all the vanities of this world,

and from the words already mentioned,

668.

And ask of the Lord, and you will receive all,

and in none of your requests will you be denied which you make to the Lord without doubting.

669.

Yet if you doubt overmuch in your heart, you will receive none of your requests.

670.

For those who doubt regarding God are weak-willed,

and obtain little or none of their requests.

671.

But those who are perfect in faith ask everything, trusting in the Lord;

and they obtain, because they ask nothing doubting, and not being double-souled.

672.

For every double-souled man, even if he repent, will with difficulty be saved.

673.

Cleanse your heart, therefore, from all doubt, and put on faith,

because it is strong, and trust God that you will obtain from Him all that you ask.

674.

And if at any time, after you have asked of the Lord,

you are slower in obtaining your request [than you expected],

do not doubt because you have not soon obtained the request of your soul;

675.

for invariably it is on account of some temptation or some sin of which you are ignorant

that you are slower in obtaining your request.

676.

Wherefore do not cease to make the request of your soul, and you will obtain it.

677.

Yet if you grow weary and waver in your request, blame your soul,

and not Him who does not give to you.

678.

Consider this doubting state of mind, for it is wicked and senseless,

and turns many away entirely from the faith, even though they be very strong.

679.

For this doubting is the daughter of the devil,

and acts exceedingly wickedly to the servants of God.

680.

Despise doubting then, and gain the mastery over it in everything;

clothing yourself with faith, which is strong and powerful.

681.

For faith promises all things, perfects all things;

yet doubt having no thorough faith in itself, fails in every work which it undertakes.

682.

You see, then, says he,

that, faith is from above— from the Lord — and has great power;

683.

yet doubt is an earthly spirit, coming from the devil, and has no power.

684.

Serve, then, that which has power, namely faith,

and keep away from doubt, which has no power,

and you will live to God.

685.

And all will live to God whose minds have been set on these things.

The Shepherd of Hermas CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

Divisions 686-720

Commandment 10

SHEPHERD OF HERMAS 2, 10

686.

Of grief, and not grieving the spirit of God which is in us

Chapter 1

687.

Remove from you, says he, grief;

for she is the sister of doubtand anger.

688.

How, sir, say I, is she the sister of these?

689.

For anger, doubt, and grief seem to be quite different from each other.

690.

You are senseless, O man, says he.

691.

Do you not perceive that grief is more wickedthan all the spirits,

and most terrible to the servants of God,

and more than all other spirits destroys man and crushes out the Holy Spirit,

and yet, on the other hand, she saves him?

692.

I am senseless, sir, say I, and do not understand these parables.

693.

For how she can crush out, and on the other hand save, I do not perceive.

694.

Listen, says he,

Those who have never searched for the truth, nor investigated the nature of the Divinity,

yet have simply believed, when they devote themselves to and become mixed up with business,

and wealth, and heathen friendships, and many other actions of this world,

695.

do not perceive the parables of Divinity;

for their minds are darkened by these actions, and they are corrupted and become dried up.

696.

Even as beautiful vines, when they are neglected,

are withered up by thorns and various plants, so men who have believed,

and have afterwards fallen away into many of those actions above mentioned,

likewise go astray in their minds, and lose all understanding in regard to righteousness;

697.

for if they hear of righteousness, their minds are occupied with their business,

and they give no heed at all.

698.

Those, on the other hand, who have the fear of God, and search after Godhead and truth,

and have their hearts turned to the Lord,

quickly perceive and understand what is said to them,

because they have the fear of the Lord in them.

699.

For where the Lord dwells, there is much understanding.

700.

Cleave, then, to the Lord, and you will understand and perceive all things.

Chapter 2

701.

Hear, then, says he, foolish man, how grief crushes out the Holy Spirit, and on the other hand saves.

702.

When the doubting man attempts any deed, and fails in it on account of his doubt,

this grief enters into the man, and grieves the Holy Spirit, and crushes him out.

703.

Then, on the other hand, when anger attaches itself to a man in regard to any matter,

and he is embittered,

then grief enters into the heart of the man who was irritated,

and he is grieved at the deed which he did, and repents that he has wrought a wicked deed.

704.

This grief, then, appears to be accompanied by salvation,

because the man, after having done a wicked deed, repented.

705.

Both actions grieve the Spirit:

706.

doubt, because it did not accomplish its object;

and anger grieves the Spirit, because it did what was wicked.

707.

Both these are grievous to the Holy Spirit— doubt and anger.

708.

Wherefore remove grief from you, and crush not the Holy Spirit which dwells in you,

lest he entreat God against you, and he withdraw from you.

709.

For the Spirit of God which has been granted to us to dwell in this body

does not endure grief nor straitness.

710.

Wherefore put on cheerfulness, which always is agreeable and acceptable to God, and rejoice in it.

711.

For every cheerful man does what is good, and minds what is good, and despises grief;

but the sorrowful man always acts wickedly.

712.

First, he acts wickedly because he grieves the Holy Spirit, which was given to man a cheerful Spirit.

713.

Secondly, Grieving the Holy Spirit, he works iniquity, neither entreating the Lord nor confessing to Him.

714.

For the entreaty of the sorrowful man has no power to ascend to the altar of God.

715.

Why, say I, does not the entreaty of the grieved man ascend to the altar?

716.

Because, says he, grief sits in his heart.

717.

Grief, then, mingled with his entreaty,

does not permit the entreaty to ascend pure to the altar of God.

718.

For as vinegar and wine, when mixed in the same vessel,

do not give the same pleasure (as wine alone gives),

so grief mixed with the Holy Spirit does not produce the same entreaty

(as would be produced by the Holy Spirit alone).

719.

Cleanse yourself from this wicked grief, and you will live to God;

720.

and all will live to God who drive away grief from them, and put on all cheerfulness.

The Shepherd of Hermas CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

Divisions 721-745

Commandment 11

SHEPHERD OF HERMAS 2, 11

721.

The spirit and prophets to be tried by their works;

Also of the two kinds of spirit

722.

He pointed out to me some men sitting on a seat, and one man sitting on a chair.

723.

And he says to me, Do you see the persons sitting on the seat?

724.

I do, sir, said I.

725.

These, says he, are the faithful, and he who sits on the chair is a false prophet,

ruining the minds of the servants of God

726.

It is the doubters, not the faithful, that he ruins.

727.

These doubters then go to him as to a soothsayer, and inquire of him what will happen to them;

728.

and he, the false prophet, not having the power of a Divine Spirit in him,

answers them according to their inquiries, and according to their wicked desires,

and fills their souls with expectations, according to their own wishes.

729.

For being himself empty, he gives empty answers to empty inquirers;

for every answer is made to the emptiness of man.

730.

Some true words he does occasionally utter;

for the devil fills him with his own spirit,

in the hope that he may be able to overcome some of the righteous.

731.

As many, then, as are strong in the faith of the Lord, and are clothed with truth,

have no connection with such spirits, but keep away from them;

732.

but as many as are of doubtful minds and frequently repent, betake themselves to soothsaying,

even as the heathen, and bring greater sin upon themselves by their idolatry.

733.

For he who inquires of a false prophet in regard to any action is an idolater,

and devoid of the truth, and foolish.

734.

For no spirit given by God requires to be asked;

but such a spirit having the power of Divinity speaks all things of itself,

for it proceeds from above from the power of the Divine Spirit.

735.

But the spirit which is asked and speaks according to the desires of men is earthly, light, and powerless, and it is altogether silent if it is not questioned.

736.

How then, sir, say I, will a man know which of them is the prophet, and which the false prophet?

737.

I will tell you, says he, about both the prophets,

and then you can try the true and the false prophet according to my directions.

738.

Try the man who has the Divine Spirit by his life.

739.

First, he who has the Divine Spirit proceeding from above is meek, and peaceable, and humble,

and refrains from all iniquity and the vain desire of this world,

and contents himself with fewer wants than those of other men,

740.

and when asked he makes no reply;

nor does he speak privately, nor when man wishes the spirit to speak does the Holy Spirit speak,

but it speaks only when God wishes it to speak.

741.

When, then, a man having the Divine Spirit comes into an assembly of righteous men

who have faith in the Divine Spirit, and this assembly of men offers up prayer to God,

742.

then the angel of the prophetic Spirit, who is destined for him, fills the man;

and the man being filled with the Holy Spirit, speaks to the multitude as the Lord wishes.

743.

Thus, then, will the Spirit of Divinity become manifest.

744.

Whatever power therefore comes from the Spirit of Divinity belongs to the Lord.

745.

Hear, then, says he, in regard to the spirit which is

earthly, and empty, and powerless, and foolish.

The Shepherd of Hermas CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

Divisions 746-770

Commandments 11

SHEPHERD OF HERMAS 2, 11

746.

First, the man who seems to have the Spirit exalts himself, and wishes to have the first seat,

and is bold, and impudent, and talkative,

and lives in the midst of many luxuries and many other delusions,

747.

and takes rewards for his prophecy;

and if he does not receive rewards, he does not prophesy.

748.

Can, then, the Divine Spirit take rewards and prophesy?

749.

It is not possible that the prophet of God should do this,

yet prophets of this character are possessed by an earthly spirit

750.

Then it never approaches an assembly of righteous men, but shuns them.

751.

And it associates with doubters and the vain, and prophesies to them in a corner,

and deceives them, speaking to them, according to their desires, mere empty words:

for they are empty to whom it gives its answers.

752.

For the empty vessel, when placed along with the empty, is not crushed,

but they correspond to each other.

753.

When, therefore, it comes into an assembly of righteous men who have a Spirit of Divinity,

and they offer up prayer, that man is made empty, and the earthly spirit tees from him through fear,

and that man is made dumb, and is entirely crushed, being unable to speak.

754.

For if you pack closely a storehouse with wine or oil,

and put an empty jar in the midst of the vessels of wine or oil,

you will find that jar empty as when you placed it, if you should wish to clear the storehouse.

755.

So also the empty prophets, when they come to the spirits of the righteous,

are found (on leaving) to be such as they were when they came.

756.

This, then, is the mode of life of both prophets.

⇐ Предыдущая 2 3 4 5 678 9 10 11 Следующая ⇒