Now therefore all. the commandments of righteousness and lovingkindness, which a man doeth while he is in the world, are still on this side of the border of nature, and therefore the whole old law and the commandments thereof are laid under nature, [p. 342] because it is imposible that the law should be above nature. And our Lord, when He was asked by Nicodemus, a man learned in the law, "What is thy doctrine?" 68 said, "I preach a new birth unto the children |327 of men." And although by those words He referred to that birth which is of baptism, yet they shew mightily that a man is born by the power of the grace of God, and also by the power of his will, from one world into the other, and that absolute poverty of everything which the eye can see becometh the womb which giveth him birth.
Now therefore it appeareth that the man of God is born three times; the first is the birth from the womb into creation, the second is from bondage into freedom, and from the condition of being a man into that of becoming a son unto God----now this taketh place through grace by baptism---- and the third is that a man himself is born of his own will from the carnal into the spiritual life; and utter poverty of everything becometh the womb which giveth him birth. And moreover, after this birth of poverty, a man is born by other births when he hath gone forth from the world, as, for example, from carnal mindedness into spiritual mindedness, and from suffering into impassibility, and from the going forth wholly and entirely from all the tremblings of the motion of the old man into the living motions of the man of the spirit; for these grades, and measures, and births exist in this rule of life. And however far a man may desire to walk on in front of him, [p. 343] there is room for his footsteps, for the country of spiritual mindedness is a wide country and without limit. What then? Now if in this world, which is carnal, however far a man may walk there is still room for him to walk, for if a man travelleth the whole period of his life's duration he will not be able to walk over the whole world, even so in that world of the spirit we cannot journey too much because our journey |328 therein is without end, and however much a man may penetrate therein, and ascend therein and enter therein, place after place, and step after step receive him, because it is a world which hath no limit. Now this world, however great it may be, is set within limits and boundaries, but that world is above a boundary, and beyond a limit, and blessed is he who is accounted worthy thereof, and hath entered therein by the change from the old man into the new, all carnal movement being dead in him, and the new living and spiritual motions welling up within him. And well did [our Lord] say, "Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God," 69 for except a man becometh destitute of everything which is in the world, and casteth off from him the carnal rule both outwardly and inwardly----after the manner that a child casteth off the natural womb, and is born into this world----he cannot see the kingdom of God, that is to say, he must feel the living motions of the spirit which are in the power of the body to perceive. [p. 344] And let this be an example unto thee: as the child is shut up in the womb's belly, even so the man who is in the world is shut in by the carnal rule of the world, with all its heaviness, and darkness, and density, and cares, and anxieties.
And as the child is born from the womb by the door of the belly into the light of creation, and when he is born into the light, which he findeth before him, he seeth all things, the beauty of the world, and all the variety of created objects, and the diversity of natural things in this composite creation, and he receiveth this sight, and he feeleth the experiences thereof by the |329 gradual growth of his bodily stature, even so he that is born again from the rule of the world, and who goeth forth to the other world of the spirit by the door of poverty, immediately he is born receiveth that world, and the light of knowledge beginneth to appear unto him; and as the things of this world are seen by the light of nature, and each object is distinguished from its fellow thereby, even so also by that knowledge of the spirit which a man beginneth to receive, he seeth all spiritual things, and boundaries, and countries, and grades, and orders, and everything which is above the perception of the body, for as the body perceiveth the things of nature, because the perception of its senses is too weak for the things of the world, even so [p. 345] also by the mediation of the spirit doth the soul perceive all the things which are akin unto its nature, and which are above the world. This, then, is the new birth, which cometh from the baptism of which our Lord spake to Nicodemus.
Let us now consider the answer of our Lord unto that young man who drew nigh unto Him, and who asked Him to teach [him] the doctrine of perfection, from which he might also receive perfect knowledge, and be born from one rule of life into another. Now when in order to learn he asked, "What shall I do that I may inherit eternal life," Jesus said unto him, "Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness"----which things constitute remoteness from wickedness; and [He taught] after these the working of good by the word which He spake, saying, "Honour thy father and thy mother, and that which is hateful unto thee, thou shalt not do unto thy neighbour," and He said, "If a man keep these things, he |330 shall inherit life everlasting." 70 Now the inheritance of everlasting life was unto all the righteous, and just, and merciful, and doers of good works while they were in [this] world, and these are they who were also called "blessed" by the living word of our Lord, in the words which He spake unto them, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, and inherit the kingdom which hath been prepared for you from before the foundations of the world. I was an hungered, and ye gave me to eat; I was athirst, and ye gave me to drink," 71 together with the rest of the things which were spoken unto them by our Lord, for they all are applicable unto the righteous men of olden time, and unto the just who [p. 346] were also owners of possessions. And it is well known that clothing the naked, and receiving strangers, and setting a table for the hungry, and providing the needy with all things for their bodily wants, belong unto the owner of possessions, for without riches these things cannot be; the men who have embraced poverty have not riches wherewith they may do good works, how much less then have spiritual and perfect men [wherewith to do them].
Now therefore this promise which is here given by our Lord befitteth not only those who are spiritual and perfect, but also those who have embraced poverty, because with them also the riches wherewith they might do these good things are not found; and however exalted above the righteous may be the grade of those who have embraced poverty it is well known from the admission of every man, that the man who hath absolutely nothing at all, and who hath |331 entirely stripped himself of his riches for the love of God, is superior unto him that keepeth them and doeth good works with them. And, moreover, spiritually minded men are exalted above those who embrace poverty, and those who are perfect above those who are spiritually minded, for spiritual mindedness is an example in respect of spiritual powers, but perfection is a type of the fulness of Christ by which are perfected, in the spirit, all things which arrive at the stature of the knowledge of the fulness of Christ, even as Paul saith 72; and how superior is the grade of perfect and spiritual men to that of the righteous and the merciful who are in the world the words of our Redeemer, which were spoken unto the lords of wealth in this world, are sufficient [to shew]: "Be strenuous to make unto yourselves friends of the mammon of iniquity, that when it hath come to an end, they may receive you into their everlasting habitations." 73 [p. 347]
Behold, therefore, the perfect, like the lords of the country and citizens, receive the righteous strangers who go into their world, because they are sons of the inheritance of Christ, and heirs of the Father Who is in heaven, even as Paul said concerning them, "Heirs of God, and joint heirs of Jesus Christ;"74 and making known why those who bore the cross of Christ have arrived at this measure, he saith, "If we suffer with Him, we shall also be glorified with Him."75 And the participation in the sufferings of Christ [consisteth] not in a man giving alms, and in shewing his lovingkindness unto those who are needy, but in his dying wholly and |332 entirely to the world, and to the body, and to the lusts, and to the passions, and in a man crucifying his old man with all the lusts thereof, even as Paul also spake concerning himself, "I am crucified unto the world." 76 And the whole feeling of the world was annulled in him, after the manner in which it is annulled in those who are dead in nature, for as the dead body feeleth not any one thing which is brought high unto it, even so in that man, who hath been crucified with Christ, and who hath put to death in himself all the old man, is there no perception of anything which is in the world; and for this reason also Paul calleth "dead" those who stand in this rule of perfection. For the righteous man who dwelleth in the world, and who hath a wife, and children, and riches, and possessions, [p. 348] cannot be called dead, because all his life is like unto that of a living man; for the dead man is not married, and he begetteth not, while the righteous are united unto their wives, and beget children, and [do] other things which follow in their train. "Ye are dead," crieth Paul unto the perfect, "and your lives are hid with Christ in God." 77 And again he said, "Ye are dead unto the world, but alive unto God, in our Lord Jesus Christ." 78 And again he said, "If ye died with Christ from the elements of the world, why, as if ye were living in the world, do ye receive the commandments?" 79 Now a man arriveth at this rule of life after he hath stripped himself of his possessions, and beginneth to work good deeds in the members of his person, for so long as he hath riches, he justifieth |333 himself by riches, and he emptieth not himself from the cares of riches which he serveth in himself. And if it be imagined that he will also do these things while he liveth in riches, [he will not,] for his service will be confounded, that is to say, he advanceth, and turneth backwards, and in addition thereunto, although this man may labour in the world of the body, yet it is impossible for him to stand in the purity of the soul, from which a man entereth into spiritual love, from which is born knowledge, the mirror of everything, and from which [p. 349] the understanding riseth step by step unto divine conversation.
Now therefore for this reason those who desire perfection strip themselves of their riches, in order that they may be able to do their own labours, and that, being free from everything in the world, they may wage war with the lusts of the body; and a man should labour in his inner man, and not in his outer man, and when he hath rooted up the lusts of the body, and the passions of the soul, he should begin to sow in his own person the seed of living knowledge. Therefore whosoever wisheth to draw nigh unto this rule of life must be destitute of riches, and having been born again, he may enter therein, and the man who is not thus cannot enter therein, according to the testimony of Christ: "If thou wishest to be perfect, go and sell thy possessions, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and take up thy cross, and follow Me. " 80 Observe, then, how perfect is the doctrine of Christ, for not even when a man hath stripped himself of everything that he hath, hath he yet begun to |334 walk in the way of His doctrine, for poverty is the end of the path of the righteousness which can be wrought in this world; but the words, "Take thy cross, and "follow Me," are the beginning of the path of the spiritual life. Now the reward hath Jesus set in the midst between the righteous and the perfect, "Go, sell thy possessions, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven;" 81 behold the reward for righteousness! And He calleth this reward "treasure," because the men who hasten after the righteousness of the world [p. 350] do good works on the condition that there is a reward, and well did Jesus in His words place the treasure at the end of the way of the righteousness which is in the world, that their wages being set before them they may run direct to where they are, even as do those who contend in a game, and before whom is set the crown which will make them to gain the victory. Into the land of the perfect our Lord did not make a reward to enter, because it would be a disgrace unto the perfect to labour in the rule of the spirit for wages; for behold the spiritual mindedness in which the perfect stand is the wages of the just and righteous, because they have wrought good things in the world on the condition that they should be changed and become spiritual beings, and be freed from all the carnal mindedness, and the passions, and the subjection of the world. This is the life of the perfect, for they are moved by the spirit, and they labour in the spirit, and they became changed from carnal mindedness unto spiritual mindedness already while they were in the world which is seen. How then can they expect to receive |335 wages, the thing for which they toiled when they lived in the world? For as an angel doth not expect the spirituality of his nature to be his wages, or that he is sent to perform the will of Him that existeth, because he also existeth therein and doeth it naturally, even so also the perfect man doth not look for wages in the change of the spirit, because he standeth in that spiritual change, and all his motion is like that of the powers of heaven. [p.
351] And all his life is like unto theirs, and like unto them he crieth "Holy" in the spirit, and he singeth in the spirit, and he serveth God in spirit and in truth, even as it hath been said by the word of God concerning the perfect, "A Spirit is God, and those who serve Him in spirit and in truth serve Him;" 82 "A Spirit is God, and the service of the perfect is of the Spirit. " Behold, then, they serve in a divine manner, and they are also exalted by the degree of spiritual beings, that, in the likeness of God, they also may serve in power and in the freedom which is not made subject, and which is above laws and commandments even as is God. And to recount with our speech the service of the living motions of the perfect is impossible for us, because if a man were to arrive at the measure of them, he would be unable to speak concerning the perfection of their service. And, moreover, if they themselves wished to speak, and their living motions, and their divine service were sufficient therefor----for this service is not of the body----how could it be described by the tongue of the body? for they feel it only, and they serve in a divine manner with their inner man; and their service cometh not unto speech, nor their motions, |336 nor their feeling, nor their constant admiration, nor the visions and revelations which they have. This is the end of the path to Christ, O disciple, and on this vision resteth thy journeying if thou wilt run therein, [p. 352] and this is the rule which was delivered unto us by Christ. Go forth then from the world, and make thyself destitute of everything which is therein, both in thy body and in thy soul, that thou mayest find the things which are above speech, and that thou mayest have pleasure thyself therein together with all the hosts of light, in the world of truth, in Jesus Christ, to Whom be glory from all generations of the world for ever and ever, Amen.
Here endeth the Second Discourse on Poverty and on the service of the spiritual commandments.83
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[Footnotes renumbered and moved to the end. Page numbers in brackets refer to the Syriac text in vol. 1 of the printed edition.]
1. 1 St John iii. 3.
2. 1 Ephesians iv. 13.
3. 1 St. Matthew xi. 28.
4. 1 Galatians vi. 14.
5. 1 Exodus xiv. 14.
6. 1 Exodus xiv. 15.
7. 1 Exodus xiv. 14.
8. 1 Philippians iii. 20.
9. 1 Compare Hebrews ix. 11.
10. 1 St. Matthew xi. ii; St. Luke vii. 28.
11. 1 Romans vi. 6.
12. 1 Romans vi. 6.
13. 2 Romans vii. 24.
14. 1 Compare St. Matthew xvi. 24; St. Luke xiv. 26.
2. 1 Ephesians iv. 13. 3. 1 St. Matthew xi. 28. 4. 1 Galatians vi. 14. 5. 1 Exodus xiv. 14. 6. 1 Exodus xiv. 15. 7. 1 Exodus xiv. 14. 8. 1 Philippians iii. 20. 9. 1 Compare Hebrews ix. 11. 10. 1 St. Matthew xi. ii; St. Luke vii. 28. 11. 1 Romans vi. 6. 12. 1 Romans vi. 6. 13. 2 Romans vii. 24. 14. 1 Compare St. Matthew xvi. 24; St. Luke xiv. 26.
15. 1 St. Luke ix. 59.
16. 2 St. Luke ix. 60.
17. 1 St. Luke ix. 61.
18. 2 St. Luke ix. 62.
19. 1 St. Matthew x. 34.
20. 1 St. Luke x. 4.
21. 1 St. Matthew vi. 24.
22. 1 St. Luke xiv. 28 ff.
23. 1 St. Luke ix. 58.
24. 1 St. Luke ix. 62.
25. 2 St. Matthew viii. 22.
26. 3 St. Luke xii. 14.
27. 1 1 Corinthians ix. 25.
28. 2 2 Timothy ii. 4.
29. 1 St. Matthew xix. 27.
30. 1 St. Matthew ix. 17; St. Mark ii. 22; St. Luke v. 37.
31. 1 St. Luke xvii. 32.
32. 2 Genesis xix. 26; and compare Ezekiel xvi. 4.
33. 1 St. Matthew xix. 27.
34. 1 St. John vi. 67.
35. 1 St. John vi. 68.
36. 2 St. Matthew xix. 28.
37. 1 Daniel vii. 10; Revelation v. 11.
38. 2 Isaiah vi. 3.
39. 3 Ezekiel x. 18; iii, 12.
40. 4 Hebrews i. 14.
41. 1 Romans viii. 17.
42. 2 Romans viii. 17.
43. 3 2 Timothy ii. 12.
44. 4 Philippians iii. 21.
45. 5 St. Matthew xix. 29.
46. 1 2 Corinthians iv. 18.
47. 2 Isaiah lxiv. 4; 1 Corinthians ii. 9.
48. 3 St. Luke xiv. 33.
49. 1 Compare St. Matthew x. 38; xvi. 24; St. Mark xiii. 34; St. Luke ix. 23; xiv. 33.
50. 2 St. Luke ix. 23.
51. 3 St. Luke xvii. 33; St. Matthew xvi. 25.
52. 4 St. John xii. 25, 26.
53. 5 St. John xiv. 31.
54. 6 St. John xii. 26.
55. 1 St. Mark x. 17 ff.
56. 2 Psalm xxxiv. 14; I St. Peter iii, 11.
57. 3 Romans xii. 21.
58. 4 Romans xiii. 3.
59. 5 Romans xii. 21.
60. 6 St. Mark xii. 30, 31.
61. 7 1 Timothy i. 9.
62. 1 1 Timothy i. 9.
63. 1 St. Matthew vii. 13.
64. 1 St. Matthew xix. 21.
65. 1 St. Matthew xix. 21.
66. 2 Job i. 21.
67. 1 1 Timothy vi. 7.
68. 1 St. John iii. 1-7.
69. 1 St. John iii. 3.
70. 1 St. Matthew xix. 16.
71. 2 St. Matthew xxv. 34, 35.
72. 1 Ephesians iv. 13.
73. 2 St. Luke xvi. 9.
74. 3 Romans viii. 17.
75. 4 Romans viii. 17.
76. 1 Galatians vi. 14.
77. 2 Colossians iii. 3.
78. 3 Romans vi. 11.
79. 4 Colossians ii. 20.
80. 1 St. Matthew xix. 21.
81. 1 St. Matthew xix. 21.
82. 1 St. John iv. 24.
John iii. 3. 70. 1 St. Matthew xix. 16. 71. 2 St. Matthew xxv. 34, 35. 72. 1 Ephesians iv. 13. 73. 2 St. Luke xvi. 9. 74. 3 Romans viii. 17. 75. 4 Romans viii. 17. 76. 1 Galatians vi. 14. 77. 2 Colossians iii. 3. 78. 3 Romans vi. 11. 79. 4 Colossians ii. 20. 80. 1 St. Matthew xix. 21. 81. 1 St. Matthew xix. 21. 82. 1 St. John iv. 24.
83. 1 A reads----"of the commandments of the holy Mar Philoxenus," and C adds, "Here endeth the writing of this volume, "[and] the nine Discourses upon the Christian life and character, "which were said by the blessed Mar Philoxenus, Bishop of "Mabbôgh. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to "the Holy Ghost, now, and always, and for ever and ever; "yea, Amen, Amen."
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