How God hides his face and the dragon is led

Whether they surrender the body to reach the stage of martyrdom, or endure the pains of asceticism—believing that by doing so they are perishing and dying through the loss of life's pleasures—the truth remains: He who loses his soul for my sake will find it. For one who thus perishes, according to the light of the Savior, and in doing so finds his soul, what a great blessing and prayer it is! Any of those who rejoice would wish to offer this to him, saying mindfully: 'Blessing...' quote I was an eye to the blind and a guide. Regarding the intellect, he opened blind minds; he benefited those perfected in soul and became an eye to them. To those who have fallen, he granted feet—the very foundations of the soul—and through his word, he became a guide who leads others. Thus, the eye pertains to noetic guidance, while the guide pertains to ethical guidance. quote I was a father to the helpless. In these words, the character of one who aids the helpless and the weak is made clear. quote I traced out a justice I did not previously know. Observe his protection: it extends not merely to usefulness, nor even to food and clothing, but even to the dangers of foreign warfare. quote I crushed the mills of the unrighteous. Consider the difficulty of the task; he says that he corrected the matter even when it had already been foreseen. Truly, when Christ came, he crushed the mills of opposing forces. The Lord crushed the mills of the lions, as it is written in the prophet: quote 'For he wounds, but he also binds up; he has torn, but his hands will heal.' quote And I said, 'My age has grown old, like a phoenix stem.' Observe how much time has passed before he says these things; he does not speak out of pride or a sense of greatness, but is compelled to speak of God's providence, explaining why he departed from it and what his current state is. quote Now even the least have mocked me; they admonish me in ways that render their own fathers powerless. He does not yield to this powerlessness, but understands them clearly, just as the prophet said: 'Every adulterer is made powerless before him,' for he held such people in no esteem. quote And even the strength of their hands—why should it be against me? Their destruction has perished. In trial and hunger, they are without offspring; those who fled from dryness yesterday now face distress and hardship. (Olympiodorus, Origen). Yet he says he did not ask them for any help, so that they might not use such words against him; for those of old, being wicked, were indebted to justice and somehow escaped their punishment. Or perhaps, desiring death because of extreme poverty, they did not succeed, and their lack of means did not make them wise enough to pursue the good; instead, they remained uncultivated—those enemies who, only a short while ago, had fled from the desert and from misfortunes. It seems to slander them as low-born, coming from dishonorable villages and poor fathers, that their benefit has perished. Instead, they never did anything useful. quote They are like those surrounding a feeding place upon an echoing place, where the feeding was their grain. A 'feeding' is a certain herb, as they say, that quickly satisfies the eater. An 'echoing place' refers to a gorge or rocky terrain, for such places are pleasant and produce echoes when one speaks. Or perhaps he means a leafy place where the wind moving through the wood produces an echo. He is saying, therefore, that they surround the woods, the gorges, and the places where flowing waters resound, searching out herbs and the roots of trees for food as a consolation during extreme hunger. They are dishonorable and despised, lacking in every good. It is another evil to be such even in poverty. quote For if indeed I were able to heal myself—note that he does not say 'if I were able' because of weakness, but because he is forbidden. quote I have stood in a church and cried out. Because of the excess of terrible things, even a crowd in the assembly is not ashamed. quote I have become a brother to sirens and a companion to sparrows. He says he fell into the ferocity of birds, not knowing how to live better than them. quote For I stand in a just yoke, but the Lord knows my wickedness if my foot strays from the way. Woe to the precision! No one is forced to starve after having used wealth and good things for laziness and dissipation; such is a kind of justice. I have fallen, and God has thrown a medicine appropriate to me. For the one who, having attended to the lover of laughter, trifles, and luxury, appropriately opposes the opposite...