him, and he feareth not His judgement, and he goeth not after Him; but, because love is not in him, so that he may flee from iniquity, and wait for the life which hath been promised, he is always performing the work of sin. And he doth this because His judgement is raised too far above his eyes. Therefore let us run after love, wherein the holy fathers were rich, for it is able to reward its nature and its God, and this is its praise.”
675. The brethren said, “In what way doth wisdom live in a man?” The old man said, “Now when a man hath gone forth to follow God with a sincere mind, grace taketh up its abode in him, and his life and deeds are strengthened in the Spirit, and he hath taken a hatred to the world, for he perceiveth that new spiritual life which is in the new man, and which is exalted above the impurity of human life, and in his mind he thinketh upon the humility of the life and works which are to come, and which are [more] excellent than those here.”
676. The brethren said, “By what is love made known?” The old man said, “By the fulfilment of work, and by spiritual meditation and by the knowledge of faith.”
677. The brethren said, “What are works?” The old man said, “The keeping of the commandments of God in the purity of the inner man, together with the [performance of] labours by the outer man.”
678. The brethren said, “Is every man who is destitute of works also destitute of love?” The old man said, “It is impossible for the man who is in God not to love and it is impossible that he who loveth should not work; and it is incredible that he who teacheth and doth not work is indeed a believer, for his tongue is the enemy of his actions, and although he speaketh life, he is in subjection unto death.”
679. The brethren said, “And is he who is in this state destitute of reward?” The old man said, “The man who speaketh the things of the spirit, and who performeth the things of the body is not destitute of reward, and that which he needeth is fulfilled for him, but he is deprived of the crown of light, because he desireth not that the rule of the spirit shall have dominion over him.”
680. The brethren said, “Fasting and prayer: what are they?” The old man said, “Fasting is the subjugation of the body, and prayer is converse with God, vigil is the war with Satan, abstinence is the being weaned from meats, standing up is the humility of the primitive man, genuflexion is the bowing down before the Judge, tears are the remembrance of sins, nakedness is our captivity through trans-
