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Four Hundred Chapters on Love

St Maximus the Confessor, tr. Sherwood, 1955

4. The Fourth Century

On reflecting on the divine, universal infinity—that inaccessible, much desired abyss—the mind first marvels; then it is astounded at how He has brought beings into existence from nothing. But as of His greatness there is no end,¹ so His prudence is unsearchable.

How can one not marvel contemplating that boundless abyss of goodness, too great for astonishment? How can one not be astounded reflecting on how and whence came rational and spiritual nature, and the four elements, the source of bodies, since no matter pre-existed their genesis? And what sort of power is it, the real source of motion, that brought these things into being? Yet men of Greek culture, in their ignorance, will not accept the all-powerful Goodness and Its effective wisdom and knowledge that no man can conceive.

God, who is eternally Creator, creates when He wills by His consubstantial Word and Spirit, because of His infinite goodness. Nor must you object: Why did He create at a certain time, since He was always good?—for I will reply: The unsearchable wisdom of the infinite essence does not fall under human knowledge.²

The Creator when He willed gave substance to and sent forth His eternally pre-existent knowledge³ of beings. It is in fact absurd, in the case of an omnipotent God, to doubt if He can give something substance when He wills.

Seek the cause for God’s creation; this pertains to knowledge. Seek not the how and why He but recently⁴ created; for that is not in the competence of your mind. Men may comprehend some divine things, others they may not. So it is some saint has said: ‘Unbridled contemplation may even drive one off the cliffs.’⁵

Some say that created things eternally existed with God, which is impossible. For how can things that are limited in every way eternally coexist with the absolutely infinite? Or how are they properly creatures if they are coeternal with the Creator? But such is the theory of the Greeks who make God out as Creator not at all of the substance of things, but only of their qualities. We, who know the all-powerful God, say that He is Creator not of the qualities but of the qualified substances. And if this is so, created things do not eternally coexist with God.

The Divine, and divine things, is in part knowable, in part unknowable. It is knowable in the contemplations concerning It, unknowable in the things of Its essence.⁶

Do not look for habits and aptitudes in the simple, infinite substance of the Holy Trinity, lest you make it something composite like creatures. To have such notions about God is absurd and irreligious.

The infinite Substance, all-powerful Creator of things, alone is simple, of a single form, unqualified, peaceful and without factions. Every creature is composite of substance and accident and always in need of Divine Providence, as it is not free from mutability.⁷

The intellectual and sensitive substances receive from God, when He brings them into being, powers receptive of beings; the intellectual substance receives thoughts, the sensitive, sensations.

God is participated only; creatures both participate and communicate. They participate being and well-being; they communicate well-being only, but the corporeal substance in one way, the incorporeal in another.⁸

The incorporeal substance communicates well-being by speech, by actions, by being an object of contemplation; corporeal substance by being object of contemplation only.

That rational and intellectual substances have ever-being or are not, depends on the will and counsel of Him who creates all things well; that they be good or bad by choice depends on the will of the creatures.

Evil is not considered in the substance of creatures, but in mistaken and irrational movements.⁹

The soul is moved reasonably when its concupiscible element is qualified by self-mastery, its irascible clings to charity, turning away from hate, and when the rational drives towards God by prayer and spiritual contemplation.¹⁰

When in time of temptation a brother does not put up with incidental annoyances, but cuts himself off from the charity of his spiritual brethren, he does not yet possess perfect love nor know Divine Providence in its depths.¹¹

The purpose of Divine Providence is to unify by right faith and spiritual charity those whom vice has sundered in various ways. Indeed for this the Savior suffered—to gather together in one the children of God that were dispersed.¹² He then who does not sustain the irksome, bear with annoyances, endure the laborious, walks outside divine charity and the purpose of Providence.

Charity is patient and kind.¹³ If then a man is fainthearted in the troubles that befall him and consequently acts evilly towards his offenders, cutting himself off from charity towards them, does he not fall away from the purpose of Divine Providence?

Take care, lest the vice that separates brothers be found sometime in you and not in your brother. Hasten to be reconciled with him, lest you fall away from the commandment of love.

Scorn not the commandment of love, because by it you will be a son of God, transgressing it you will become a son of Gehenna.

The things that separate from the love of friends are these: to envy or be envied, to cause or suffer loss, to insult or be insulted, and suspicions. May you never have performed or suffered any such thing to separate you from the love of your friend.

A temptation was occasioned for you by a brother, the trouble and grief led you to hate? Be not overcome by hate, but overcome hate with love. You will overcome in this way: sincerely pray for him to God, accept his apology; or else, heal him yourself by an apology, reckon yourself the cause of the temptation; be patient until the cloud passes.

The long-suffering man awaits the end of temptation and attains the triumph of perseverance.

He that is patient is rich in prudence,¹⁴ because he refers every happening to the end; and, while awaiting that, he endures the annoyances. And the end is life everlasting,¹⁵ as the divine Apostle says. Now this is eternal life: that they may know Thee, the only true God, and whom Thou hast sent Jesus Christ.¹⁶

Do not be light-hearted at the loss of spiritual love, because men have been left no other way of salvation.

Yesterday your brother was spiritual and virtuous; do not today judge him bad and wicked because of the hate that the abuse of the Evil One has induced in you. No, cast out from your soul today’s hate, considering with the patience of love yesterday’s good.

Whom yesterday you praised as noble and lauded as virtuous do not today disparage as bad and wicked, because you changed from love to hate, making the reproof of your brother the excuse of your wicked hate. On the contrary, stay by those same praises, though you still be possessed by grief, and you will easily return to saving charity.

In company with the other brethren do not adulterate a brother’s customary due of praise because of the grief against him still hidden in your heart, by imperceptibly mixing censure in your conversation. Rather in company use only pure praise; pray sincerely for him as for yourself, and you will very soon be delivered of this destructive hate.

Do not say: I do not hate my brother in putting him out of mind. Listen to Moses who said: Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart, but reprove him openly, and thou wilt not incur sin through him.¹⁷

If perhaps in temptation your brother insists on abusing you, do you not be carried away from your charitable dispositions, suffering the same wicked demon to infest your mind. And you will not be carried away if, being reviled, you bless, being tricked, you remain well-disposed. This is the philosophic way according to Christ; who will not walk it, does not enjoy His company.¹⁸

Do not take the reasons that bring grief to you and work hate towards your brothers as favorable thoughts, though they seem to be quite true. Turn from such as from deadly serpents in order to keep them from giving way to abuse and to deliver your own soul from wickedness.

Do not goad a brother by speaking in riddles, lest you receive the like from him in turn and you drive from both of you the disposition for charity. But go and reprove him in the freedom¹⁹ of charity that you may remove the causes of grief and free the both of you from trouble and grief.

Examine your conscience with the greatest accuracy, lest because of you your brother may not be reconciled. Do not cheat it, since it knows the hidden things of your heart, accuses you at the time of your passing, and becomes an obstacle in time of prayer.

In the time of peace do not recall what a brother said in the time of grief, even though the offensive things were said to your face, even though they were said to another about you and you heard them afterwards, lest in suffering grudging thoughts you turn again to destructive hate of a brother.

A rational soul that nourishes hate for a man cannot be at peace with God, who gave the commandments. For, He says, if you will not forgive men their offenses, neither will our Heavenly Father forgive you your offenses.²⁰ And if he will not have peace—do you keep yourself from hate, praying sincerely for him and not abusing him to anyone.

The unspeakable peace of the holy angels is comprised in these two attitudes, in love for God, in love for one another. The same holds good for all the saints from the beginning. It was, then, very beautifully expressed by Our Savior: On these two commandments dependeth the whole law and the prophets.²¹

Be no self-pleaser and you will not hate your brothers; be no self-lover and you will love God.

You who have determined to live with spiritual men, at the outset renounce your wills; in no other way will you be able to be at peace either with God or with your fellows.

The man capable of possessing perfect charity, who has ordered his whole life upon it, it is he who says LORD JESUS, in the Holy Spirit.²² In the contrary case, the contrary happens of course.

Charity for God is ever fond of winging the mind for divine communion; charity for neighbor ever prepares the mind to think well of him.

The man who still loves empty fame or is attached to some material thing is the one who is offended at men for the sake of temporal goods, who bears them grudges or hate, who is a slave of shameful thoughts; to the God-loving soul all these things are foreign.

When mentally you say nothing nor do anything shameful, when you have no grudge against him that harms or abuses you, when in the time of prayer you ever keep your mind untouched with matter and forms—know then that you have come to the full measure of detachment and perfect charity.²³

It is no small battle to be freed from vainglory. One is freed, however, by hidden exercise of virtue and more frequent prayer. It is a sign of deliverance no longer to bear grudges against him who abused or abuses one.²⁴

If you would be just, give to each part in you that which is due its position. I speak of the soul and the body. To the rational part of the soul give readings, spiritual contemplations, and prayer; to the irascible, spiritual love which is opposed to hate; to the concupiscible, temperance and self-mastery; and to the fleshly part give food and clothing, and that only which is necessary.²⁵

The mind operates according to its nature when the passions are subject, when it contemplates the essences of things, and when it dwells with God.²⁶

As health and sickness regard the body of an animal and light and darkness the eye; so virtue and vice regard the soul, knowledge and ignorance the mind.²⁷

The Christian is philosopher²⁸ in these three things: in the commandments, in doctrine, in the faith. The commandments separate the mind from the passions; doctrine introduces it to the knowledge of creatures; faith brings it to the contemplation of the Holy Trinity.

Some who contend for the prize beat off only impassioned thoughts; others cut off the passions themselves. One beats off impassioned thoughts, for instance, by psalmody or prayer or elevation of mind or by some other suitable distraction. One cuts off the passions by despising the things by which one has the passions.

The things for which we have passions are, for example, these: women, money, gifts, and so on. And one is then able to contemn women when, after withdrawal into solitude, one properly emaciates his body with self-mastery; and money, when one decides to be quite content with a sufficiency; and reputation, when one loves the secret exercise of virtues, known to God alone; and similarly for the rest. Now the man who contemns these will never come to hate anyone.

He who has renounced things, as women, money, and the like, makes a monk of the outer man, but not yet of the inner. He that renounces the impassioned representations of these same things, makes a monk of the inner man, that is, of the mind. It is easy to make a monk of the outer man, if only one wants to; but it is no little struggle to make a monk of the inner man.²⁹

Who then in this generation is entirely freed from impassioned representations and has been held worthy of pure, immaterial prayer—the sign of the inner monk?

There are many passions hidden in our souls; they are then exposed when the objects appear.

It can be that a person is not disturbed by passions in the absence of the objects, enjoying a partial detachment; but if the objects appear, the passions immediately vex the mind.³⁰

Do not think that you have perfect detachment when the object is not present. When it appears and you remain unmoved both as to the object itself and as to the recollection of it afterwards, know that then you have entered the confines of detachment. But even so, do not take matters lightly, because virtue, when it remains for a long time, kills the passions, but, neglected, rouses them up again.

He who loves Christ, certainly imitates Him as much as he can. Thus Christ never ceased to do good to men; when He was treated with ingratitude and blasphemed, He was long-suffering; when He was struck by them and put to death, He endured, imputing evil to no one at all. These three are the works of love for neighbor apart from which the man deceives himself who says he loves Christ or has reached His kingdom. For He says: Not the one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doth the will of my Father. And this also: He that loves me will also keep my commandments, and the rest.³¹

The whole purpose of the Savior’s commandments is to free the mind from incontinence and hate and to bring it to the love of Himself and of its neighbor. From these is begotten the splendor of holy knowledge, actually possessed.³²

You, to whom God has granted a partial knowledge, must not be careless of love and self-mastery. For they purify the passible part of the soul and always prepare the way to knowledge for you.

The way to knowledge is detachment and humility, without which no one will see the Lord.³³

Since knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth, yoke charity with knowledge and you will be not puffed up, but a spiritual builder, edifying yourself and all those that draw near you.³⁴

This is the reason why charity edifies, because it neither envies nor is embittered towards the envious, nor does it show off publicly the object of envy, nor does it count itself to have apprehended,³⁵ and it confesses unblushingly its ignorance of the things it does not know. Thus it makes the mind free from self-assertiveness and constantly prepares it for advance in knowledge.

In a way it is natural that presumption and envy follow after knowledge, especially in the beginning; presumption interiorly only, envy both interiorly and exteriorly (interiorly, in the presence of those who have knowledge, exteriorly in their absence). Charity then overthrows these three: presumption, because it is not puffed up; interior envy, because it is not jealous; exterior envy, because it is patient and kind. It is necessary then that the man who has knowledge also take along charity that he may preserve his mind from every sort of wound.

He who has been granted the grace of knowledge and yet has grief, grudges, or hate for someone, is like to the man who scratches his eyes with thorns and brambles. Therefore knowledge necessarily stands in need of charity.

Do not give your entire time to the flesh, but set it exercises according to its capacity; and turn your entire mind within. For bodily exercise is profitable to little; but godliness is profitable to all things, and so on.³⁶

He who unceasingly concerns himself with the inner life is sober, long-suffering, kind, and humble. But this is not all, he also contemplates, attains theology, and prays, which is what the Apostle says: Walk in the Spirit, and so on.³⁷

He who does not know how to walk the spiritual way is not concerned over impassioned representations, but gives his entire time to the flesh. Either he is gluttonous and licentious, is full of grief, anger, and grudges and so darkens his mind; or else he indulges immoderately in ascetic exercises and roils the understanding.

Scripture takes away nothing that God has given us for use, but chastises immoderation and corrects unreasonableness. Thus it does not forbid one to eat, beget children, to have money and administer it properly; but it does forbid one to be gluttonous, to fornicate, and so on. Nor does it even forbid one to think of these things (they were made to be thought of), but to think of them with passion.³⁸

Some of the God-pleasing things we do are done in obedience to commandments, some not by commandment, but as it were, by free-will offering. Such as these are done by commandment, loving God and neighbor, loving enemies, refraining from adultery, murder, and the rest. When we transgress these, we are condemned. By free-will offering, however, there are virginity, celibacy, poverty, solitude, and so on. These are of the nature of gifts, so that, if out of weakness we have been unable to perform some of the commandments, we may propitiate our good Master by gifts.³⁹

He who honors celibacy or virginity must necessarily have his loins girt about and his lamp burning.⁴⁰ He girds his loins with self-mastery; he supplies his lamp with prayer, contemplation, and spiritual charity.

Some of the brethren suppose they have no part in the graces of the Holy Spirit.⁴¹ Because of their negligent practice of the commandments they do not know that the genuine believer in Christ has in himself all the divine graces together. But since by our laziness we are far from having an active love for Him (which manifests to us the divine treasures in us), reasonably enough we suppose that we have no part in the divine graces.

If—so the divine Apostle—Christ dwells in our hearts by faith and all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hid in Him,⁴² then all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hid in our hearts. They are made manifest to the heart in proportion to each one’s purification by the commandments.

This is the treasure hidden in the field of your heart, which you have not yet found because of laziness. For if you had found it, you would therefore have sold all and acquired that field.⁴³ But now you leave the field and go after things nearby, in which there is nothing to be found but thorns and brambles.

Therefore the Savior says: Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God.⁴⁴ They will then see Him and the treasures in Him, when by love and self-mastery they purify themselves, and the more fully the further they press the purification.

Therefore also He says: Sell what you possess and give alms; and behold, all things are clean unto you.⁴⁵ Such people no longer devote their time to things for the body, but hasten to purify the mind of hate and intemperance (the mind the Lord called heart). For these things that stain the mind do not permit it to see Christ dwelling in it by the grace of holy baptism.

Scripture calls the virtues ways; and the best of all ways is charity. Therefore the Apostle said: I show unto you yet a more excellent way⁴⁶—one which would persuade to despise material things and prefer nothing temporal to the eternal.

Love for God is opposed to concupiscence, for it persuades the mind to abstain from pleasures. Love for neighbor is opposed to anger, for it makes it scorn fame and money. These are the two pence that the Savior gave to the host that he might take care of you.⁴⁷ So then, do not show yourself inconsiderate, joining up with the robbers, lest you be once again beaten and be found not half but fully dead.

Cleanse your mind of anger, grudges, and shameful thoughts. Then you will be able to know the indwelling of Christ.

Who illumined you with the faith of the holy, consubstantial, worshipful Trinity? Or who made known to you the incarnate dispensation of one of the Holy Trinity? And who taught you about the natures of incorporeal beings and the reasons of the beginnings and consummation of the visible world? Or about the resurrection from the dead and eternal life? Or about the glory of the kingdom of the heavens and the dread judgment? Was it not the grace of Christ dwelling in you, the pledge of the Holy Spirit?⁴⁸ What is greater than this grace? What is better than this wisdom and knowledge? Or what is more exalted than these promises? If then we are lazy and careless and do not cleanse ourselves from the passions, which check and blind our mind, so as to see more clearly than the sun the natures and reasons of these things, at least let us blame ourselves and not deny the indwelling of grace.

God, who has promised you eternal goods and placed in your heart the pledge of the Spirit, commanded you to tend with care your manner of life that the inner man, freed from the passions, might begin here and now to enjoy those goods.

You, to whom have been granted divinely exalted contemplations, take the greatest care for charity and self-mastery, that by keeping your sensitive part undisturbed, the soul’s splendor may be unfailing.⁴⁹

Check the soul’s irascible element with charity; the concupiscible reduce with self-mastery; and wing its rational part with prayer. And at no time will the light of your mind be darkened.⁵⁰

These are examples of the things that break charity: dishonor, loss, calumny—either against the faith or one’s manner of life—beatings, stripes, and so on, whether they happen to oneself or to one’s relatives or friends. He who breaks charity for one of these, has not yet learned what the purpose of Christ’s commandments is.

Be eager to love every man as much as you can. If you are unable to do this, at least hate no one. And you cannot even do this unless you despise the things of the world.⁵¹

So and so has slandered. Do not hate him, but the slander and the demon who brings on the slander. If you hate the slanderer, you have hated a man and transgressed the commandment and do in deed what he had done in word. If you keep the commandment, show marks of love and, if you can in any way, help to free him from the evil.

Christ does not want you to have hate for any man or grief, or anger, or grudges in any way whatsoever at all or for any temporal thing whatsoever. And this surely the four Gospels proclaim with loud voice.

We talkers are many, doers there are few. No one then ought to falsify the word of God by his own negligence; rather one should confess his weakness and not cover up God’s truth, lest we be guilty of false interpretation of the word of God as well as of the transgression of the commandments.

Love and self-mastery free the soul from passions; reading and contemplation deliver the mind from ignorance; the state of prayer places it with God Himself.

When the demons see us despising the things of the world, lest for such things we hate men and fall from charity, then they incite calumnies against us, in order that, not bearing the grief, we hate the calumniators.

There is no trouble more grievous to the soul than calumny, whether faith be its object or one’s manner of life. And no one can scorn it, save only he who, as did Susanna, looks to God, who alone is able to rescue in need, as He did her, to give men, as in her case, satisfaction, and to comfort the soul with hope.

As much as you pray from your heart for your calumniator, so much too God makes the truth known to those who were scandalized.

God alone is good by nature, and only the imitator of God is good through conformity of will. His purpose indeed is to join the wicked to the good by nature that they may become good. Therefore, reviled, He blesses them; persecuted, He endures; slandered, He entreats; put to death, He intercedes. He does everything in order not to fall from love’s purpose.⁵²

The commandments of the Lord teach us to use means reasonably. The reasonable use of means purifies the soul’s condition; a pure condition begets discernment and discernment begets detachment, from which perfect love is begotten.⁵³

He does not yet have detachment who is not able, in case of temptation, to overlook the fault of a friend, whether it be real or apparent. The roused passions in his soul blind his intelligence and do not permit him to look into the rays of truth nor to distinguish the good from the bad. Neither then does such a one possess perfect charity that casts out the fear of judgment.⁵⁴

Nothing can be compared to a faithful friend.⁵⁵ Indeed he takes his friend’s misfortunes as his own and endures with him in hardships until death.

The number of friends is great, but only in good times; in time of trial you will scarce find one.

Every man is to be loved from the soul; our hope is to be placed in God alone; He alone is to be served with all our strength. For so long as He preserves us, all our friends treat us with respect and all our enemies are impotent against us. But should He desert us at any time, all our friends turn from us and all our enemies prevail against us.⁵⁶

There are four general kinds of dereliction. One is in the Dispensation, as with the Lord, that through the apparent dereliction, the deserted may be saved. Another is for trial and proof, as with Job and Joseph, that they may be manifest as pillars—one of courage, the other of chastity. The third is for spiritual education, as with the Apostle, that in humility he might keep the superabundant treasure of grace. The fourth is a turning away, as with the Jews, that in punishment they might be bowed down to repentance. All these ways are saving and full of the divine goodness and kindness.⁵⁷

Only the strict observers of the commandments and the genuine initiates in the divine judgments do not desert their friends suffering divinely-permitted trials. People who disregard the commandments and are inexperienced in the divine judgments, take pleasure with their friend in prosperity, but in the hardships of trial they desert him, or even, it may be, side with his opponents.

The friends of Christ love all sincerely, but are not loved by all; the friends of the world neither love all nor are loved by all. The friends of Christ preserve the bond of charity until the end; the friends of the world until they are in conflict with one another for things of the world.

A faithful friend is a strong defense.⁵⁸ For in prosperity he is a good counselor and an intimate collaborator, and in hardships truly a genuine helper and a most sympathetic ally.

Many have said much about charity. Looking for it only among the disciples of Christ will you find it, for they alone held the true Charity, the Teacher of charity, of which it is said: If I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries, and all knowledge, . . . and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. He then that possesses charity, possesses God Himself, for God is charity.⁵⁹

To Him be glory through the ages. Amen.

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