Author: Anthony Perlas

Chapter Seven: On Exhaustion and the True Remedy

As I have observed the falcon soar until its wings tremble, then descend to earth for rest, so too doth man, made of dust, reach the limit of his mortal strength. Exhaustion is no mere accident of the body; it is the cry of the soul that hath forgotten its Sabbath.

The Lord Himself, though He needed no rest, “rested on the seventh day from all his work” (Genesis 2:2) and sanctified rest as holy.
St Augustine (†430) writeth:
“Thou hast made us for Thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rest in Thee.”
When labour ceaseth to be ordered toward God, it ceaseth to refresh and beginneth to devour.

The Fathers before the year 1200 are unanimous:

• St Basil the Great (†379), in his Longer Rules, commandeth that monks alternate work with prayer and sleep, lest the body rebel and the soul grow dark.
• St Benedict (†547), Rule ch. 48: “Idleness is the enemy of the soul; therefore the brethren should be occupied at stated hours in manual labour, and again at other hours in sacred reading.”
• St John Cassian (†435) teacheth that exhaustion cometh not from toil itself, but from toil without measure, without prayer, and without love.

Therefore the true remedy is threefold, drawn from Scripture and the ancient tradition:

1. Keep the Lord’s Day holy, and take one full rest therein, as the Third Commandment requireth (Exodus 20:8-11).
   Even the oxen rested under the Law.
2. Extrovert the spirit after labour.
   When the mind hath been fixed upon one task too long, it becometh introverted like a bow over-bent.
   Go forth into the wide creation: walk beneath the stars, behold the fields, touch the earth, as the Lord walked among lilies (Matthew 6:28).
   St Anthony of Egypt (†356) restored his monks by sending them to gaze upon the desert sky when their spirits flagged.
3. Offer thy weariness to God.
   “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
   St Gregory the Great (†604) saith: “The fatigue of the body, when borne for love of God, becometh prayer.”

He who observeth these three, though he labour from dawn till dusk, shall not fall into exhaustion, but shall be renewed like the eagle (Psalm 103:5).
He who neglecteth them shall collapse, though he work but two hours.

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Chapter Five: Life As a Contest Under Divine Providence

As I have beheld the ceaseless motion of the spheres, each governed by an unseen hand yet striving in harmonious contest, so too is human life a great arena wherein the soul contendeth for virtue amidst trials. The Scriptures declare it plainly: “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain” (1 Corinthians 9:24, Greek: Οὐκ οἴδατε ὅτι οἱ ἐν σταδίῳ τρέχοντες πάντες μὲν τρέχουσιν, εἷς δὲ λαμβάνει τὸ βραβεῖον; οὕτω τρέχετε ἵνα καταλάβητε – “Know ye not that they which run in a stadium run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may apprehend it”).

Labour is no mere drudgery but a divine contest, ordained for man’s sanctification. St Ignatius of Antioch (†107) writeth to the Polycarp: “Labour together with one another; strive in company together; run together; suffer together; sleep together; and awake together, as the stewards, and associates, and servants of God.” The early martyrs viewed persecution as an athletic trial, wherein endurance winneth the crown (2 Timothy 4:8).

Yet this contest demandeth rules:

• Strive not for earthly laurels alone, but for the incorruptible crown (1 Corinthians 9:25).
• Compete with charity, for “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not” (1 Corinthians 13:4).
• If thou fallest, rise again, as the just man falleth seven times and riseth up again (Proverbs 24:16).

St John Climacus (†649), in his Ladder of Divine Ascent, likeneth life to a stadium where the soul ascendeth rung by rung through disciplined toil. He who treateth labour as a game under Providence findeth joy even in sweat, for “In his labour shall a man find refreshment” (Sirach 40:18, though apocryphal, echoed in patristic wisdom).

Beware the false contest of avarice or sloth, which leadeth to defeat. Embrace the true strife, wherein victory is union with Christ, the Victor over death.

Chapter Six: Affinity, Reality, and Communion in Labour

In dissecting the bonds betwixt soul and body, I perceive a threefold cord not easily broken: affinity (love), reality (truth), and communion (fellowship). These mirror the Trinity itself, as St Augustine (†430) elucidateth in De Trinitate: the mind’s love, knowledge, and memory image the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

In labour, affinity is charity toward co-workers: “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another” (John 13:34, Greek: Ἐντολὴν καινὴν δίδωμι ὑμῖν ἵνα ἀγαπᾶτε ἀλλήλους – “A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another”). Without it, toil becometh strife.

Reality is the acknowledgment of truth in tasks: “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). St Thomas Aquinas (though post-1250, drawing from earlier Fathers like St Anselm †1109) affirmeth that truth is the conformity of mind to thing.

Communion is the sharing of burdens: “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2, Greek: Ἀλλήλων τὰ βάρη βαστάζετε, καὶ οὕτως ἀναπληρώσετε τὸν νόμον τοῦ Χριστοῦ – “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ”).

St Basil (†379) in his Longer Rules prescribeth communal labour among monks, wherein affinity fostereth reality through shared truth, and communion bindeth all in Christ.

He who cultivateth these three in his vocation buildeth not upon sand, but upon the Rock (Matthew 7:24-27).

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Chapter Four: On Control in Labour

As I have pondered the marvellous contrivances of the human hand, wherein bones, sinews, and vessels obey a single will to grasp, shape, and release, so too in labour doth control reveal the divine hierarchy imprinted upon creation. God Himself exerciseth supreme dominion: “The Lord hath prepared his throne in heaven: and his kingdom ruleth over all” (Psalm 102:19, from the Septuagint Greek: Κύριος ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ ἡτοίμασεν τὸν θρόνον αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἡ βασιλεία αὐτοῦ πάντων δεσπόζει – “The Lord hath prepared his throne in heaven, and his kingdom ruleth over all”).

Control is not tyranny, but the ordered governance that mirror- eth the celestial spheres, each moving in harmony under the Prime Mover. St Augustine (†430) teacheth: “Peace is the tranquillity of order,” and order demandeth just control (De Civitate Dei XIX, 13). Without it, labour descendeth into anarchy, as when the builders of Babel, bereft of unity, scattered in confusion (Genesis 11:9).

Yet control must be wielded with justice: the superior command- eth not for self-aggrandizement, but for the common good and the glory of God. St Gregory the Great (†604), in his Regula Pastoralis, admonisheth bishops (and by extension all in authority): “He who ruleth must rule with humility, lest power corrupt the heart.” The Council of Chalcedon (451) decreed that superiors must not oppress inferiors, echoing St Paul’s exhortation: “Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven” (Colossians 4:1, Greek: Οἱ κύριοι, τὸ δίκαιον καὶ τὴν ἰσότητα τοῖς δούλοις παρέχεσθε, εἰδότες ὅτι καὶ ὑμεῖς ἔχετε κύριον ἐν οὐρανῷ – “Masters, render unto your servants that which is just and equal, knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven”).

Bad control is oppression, as Pharaoh enslaved the Israelites (Exodus 1:13-14), breeding resentment and rebellion. Good con- trol is paternal, as a shepherd leadeth his flock (Psalm 22:1, Greek: Κύριος ποιμαίνει με, καὶ οὐδέν με ὑστερήσει – “The Lord shepherdeth me, and nothing shall fail me”). St Basil (†379) counseleth: “The good ruler commandeth what is expedient, not what is burdensome.”

In thy labour:

• Submit to just authority, for “Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ” (Ephesians 6:5).
• If thou commandest, do so with charity, remembering thou shalt answer before the Judge of all (Hebrews 13:17).
• Flee arbitrary control, which soweth discord, but embrace the control that fostereth virtue and productivity.

Thus ordered, labour becometh a foretaste of paradise, where all things submit to the will of God without compulsion.

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Chapter Three: The Right to Labour

In the beginning God gave man dominion over the works of His hands (Genesis 1:28).
This dominion is not tyranny over creation, but stewardship; and the first stewardship is labour itself.
Therefore every man, woman, and child capable of work hath a sacred right to labour, and every society that denieth this right offendeth the Creator.

St Basil the Great (†379), in his homily on the words “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread,” declareth:
“Work is the natural law of man; to take it away is to take away his dignity and to make him a slave.”

St John Chrysostom (†407) teacheth:
“Idleness is the mother of all vices. He who doth not work neither hath the right to eat.”

The early councils of the Church (Elvira 306, Ancyra 314, Gangra 340) condemned those who, under pretext of false asceticism, refused to labour, and commanded them to work or be excommunicated.

Thus the right to labour is threefold:

1. The Right to Useful Work
   No man should be condemned to meaningless toil or to the production of vanities.
   The worker hath the right to know that his labour serveth God and neighbour, even if he sweepeth streets or carrieth burdens.
2. The Right to Just Compensation
   “The labourer is worthy of his hire” (Luke 10:7; 1 Timothy 5:18).
   St Clement of Alexandria (†215) and St Ambrose (†397) condemned the rich who paid starvation wages, saying:
   “To withhold the wage of the poor is to steal from God Himself.”
3. The Right to Rest and Contemplation
   God rested on the seventh day and sanctified it (Genesis 2:2-3).
   The Church from the beginning commanded the observance of the Lord’s Day, that man might raise his mind from creatures to the Creator.
   St Augustine (†430) writeth:
   “Thou hast made us for Thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in Thee.”
   Without this rest, labour becometh slavery.

Woe to the ruler, the merchant, or the master who robbeth man of this threefold right.
He buildeth not a city, but a prison; not prosperity, but the wrath of God.

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Chapter Two: The Anatomy of Confusion in Labour

As I have dissected the sinews and veins of the human frame, finding therein the hidden order of the Creator, so must we dissect the confusion that afflicts the worker, lest he perish in darkness.

Confusion ariseth not from the labour itself (for work was given unto Adam before the Fall, that he might dress the garden), but from the disorder introduced by sin and its three daughters: ignorance, distraction, and loss of purpose.

1. Ignorance of the End
   Man laboureth without knowing why.
   St Thomas Aquinas (†1274) teacheth that every act must be ordered to its final end, which is God (Summa Theologiae I-II, q.1, a.8).
   When the worker seeth only the paycheck and not the glory of God or the common good, his toil becometh a wheel of Ixion, endless and fruitless.
2. Distraction of the Senses
   The eye wandereth after vanities (television, gossip, drink), the ear after flattery, the hand after idleness.
   St Gregory the Great (†604) warneth: “The mind that is too scattered cannot contemplate truth.”
   Thus the worker, though surrounded by tools, seeth them not; though commanded, he heareth not; though tasked, he performeth not.
3. Loss of Purpose
   The devil persuadeth man that labour is meaningless, that the world is chaos, and that nothing he buildeth shall endure.
   Yet Scripture proclaimeth the contrary: “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might” (Ecclesiastes 9:10), for every honest work, even the sweeping of a floor, is a participation in the creative act of God.

The remedy is threefold, drawn from the Fathers and the sacred page:

• Order thy day as the monks ordered theirs: prayer, work, study, rest.
  St Benedict (†547) ordained eight hours of labour that the monk might “truly seek God.”
• Fix thine attention upon the task at hand, as the arrow upon the mark.
  St John Climacus (†649) saith: “Attention is the beginning of contemplation.”
• Offer each act to God, for “whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).

He who thus laboureth walketh in light; he who laboureth without these three walketh in the shadow of death.

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A Treatise on the Labours of Man: Observations Drawn from the Divine Order of Creation

In this discourse, wherein I have contemplated the intricate mechanisms of the human frame and the vast architecture of the cosmos, I turn my gaze to the noble pursuit of labour, which is the very sinew of earthly existence. As the Almighty hath ordained from the dawn of time, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread” (Genesis 3:19), so labour is not a curse but a path to sanctity, provided it be ordered aright. Thy security in this vale of tears, both temporal and eternal, is of utmost concern to me, for as the Apostle saith, “Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called” (1 Corinthians 7:20), guiding us toward the heavenly Jerusalem through diligent toil.

Yet in a world shadowed by confusion and moral decay, where the slothful devour the fruits of the just (Proverbs 10:3), one must seek a wisdom rooted in the eternal verities. Happiness in labour ariseth not from fleeting fortunes but from union with the Creator, as St. Basil the Great (†379) teacheth: “Work is a duty imposed by God upon man.” To aid thy brethren in their vocations, inscribe their name upon this volume, and thine own beneath, as a bond of fraternal charity. Present it unto them with fervent exhortation to study its precepts, for as Proverbs counseleth, “In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury” (Proverbs 14:23).

Should obscurities arise in these terms, consult the Sacred Scriptures or the glosses of the Fathers, lest discord spring from ignorance, as in the confusion of tongues at Babel (Genesis 11:1-9). Thus, by disseminating this light, thou fortifiest not only thine own vocation but extendest the reign of virtue, as Christ commandeth: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

Why This Treatise is Given Unto Thee

Thy eternal salvation and earthly prosperity are precious to me, for as the Law proclaimeth, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 22:39). True felicity in toil, that serene contentment amidst exertion, eludeth those ensnared in idleness or vice, for “An idle soul shall suffer hunger” (Proverbs 19:15). In a society rife with falsehood and iniquity, where the wicked prosper like the green bay tree but only for a season (Psalm 37:35), diligence demandeth vigilance against the snares of the adversary.

Observe how the body, that wondrous edifice designed by the Divine Architect, faltereth when beset by the misconduct of others—be it envy, deceit, or sloth. Such ills not only weary the flesh but corrode the soul, turning vocation to drudgery. Yet thou art called to edify thy fellows, as salt preserveth and light illumineth (Matthew 5:13-14). By exemplifying virtue in thy labours, thou upliftest their paths, and thine own, toward the celestial reward where “they shall rest from their labours; and their works do follow them” (Revelation 14:13).

Chapter One: On Security in Labour

What availeth the holding of a vocation? Doth it rest upon lineage, acquaintance, charm, fortune, learning, diligence, zeal, wit, or innate capacity? To one seasoned in the observatories of human endeavour, the former seem predominant, whilst the young cling to illusions of merit. Yet, as I have dissected the forms of nature, finding therein no chaos but divine proportion, so too in labour: true security lieth not in accidents but in providence.

Familial ties, though oft a ladder to preferment, are but the accident of birth, as St. Augustine (†430) observeth: “We are all born equal in Adam’s sin.” Acquaintance and favour, whilst opening doors, are fleeting, for “A man’s gift maketh room for him” (Proverbs 18:16), yet without virtue, it leadeth to ruin. Charm and fortune are vanities: “Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain” (Proverbs 31:30).

Nay, security floweth from divine ordinance: “Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established” (Proverbs 16:3). The diligent soul findeth rest, for “The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat” (Proverbs 13:4). St. Basil (†379) teacheth that labour is the guardian of innocence, warding off the tempter’s snares.

Yet in this fallen world, insecurity beseteth the worker: illness, slander, age. These are the thorns of Eden’s curse (Genesis 3:18). The remedy? Trust in the Lord: “In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:6). Governments and masters, ordained by God (Romans 13:1), owe just wages and protection, as the Council of Ancyra (314 AD) decreed fair treatment for labourers.

Thus, security is not in man’s grasp alone but in God’s: “Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it” (Psalm 127:1).

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