How, I said, lord, is it a sister of these? For irascibility seems to me to be one thing, and double-mindedness another, and grief another. You are without understanding, O man, he said, and do not perceive that grief is more wicked than all the spirits and most dreadful to the servants of God, and beyond all the spirits it destroys a man and crushes out the Holy Spirit—and again saves it.
Hear, he said: those who have never searched concerning the truth nor inquired concerning the Deity, but merely believed, and have become entangled in business dealings and wealth and friendships with the gentiles and many other affairs of this age—as many, then, as cling to these do not perceive the parables of the Deity; for they are darkened by these doings and are corrupted and become barren.
Just as good vineyards, when they meet with neglect, become overgrown with thorns and various weeds, so men who have believed and fall into these many doings aforesaid go astray from their understanding, and comprehend nothing at all concerning righteousness; rather, even when they hear concerning the Deity and the truth, their mind is occupied with their business, and they comprehend nothing at all.
But those who have the fear of God and search concerning the Deity and the truth and have their heart toward the Lord perceive and understand more quickly everything that is said to them, because they have the fear of the Lord in themselves; for where the Lord dwells, there too is much understanding. Cleave, then, to the Lord, and you shall understand and perceive all things.
When the double-minded man undertakes some action and fails of it because of his double-mindedness, this grief enters into the man and grieves the Holy Spirit and crushes it out.
Then again, when irascibility cleaves to a man over some matter, and he becomes greatly embittered, again grief enters into the heart of the man who was irascible, and he is grieved over the deed which he did and repents, because he did wickedly.
This grief, then, seems to bring salvation, because the one who did the evil repented. Both actions, then, grieve the Spirit: double-mindedness, because it did not succeed in its undertaking; and irascibility grieves the Spirit, because it did the evil. Both, then, are grievous to the Holy Spirit, double-mindedness and irascibility.
Take away grief from yourself, then, and do not afflict the Holy Spirit that dwells in you, lest it intercede with God against you and depart from you.
Put on cheerfulness, then, which always has favor with God and is acceptable to him, and delight yourself in it. For every cheerful man works good and thinks good and despises grief.
But the sorrowful man always does wickedly: first he does wickedly because he grieves the Holy Spirit which was given to man as a cheerful thing; second, in grieving the Holy Spirit he works lawlessness, by not interceding nor making confession to the Lord. For the intercession of a sorrowful man never has power to ascend to the altar of God.
Why, I said, does the intercession of the grieving man not ascend to the altar? Because, he said, grief sits enthroned in his heart. Grief mingled, then, with the intercession does not allow the intercession to ascend pure to the altar. For just as vinegar and wine mixed together do not have the same pleasantness, so also grief mingled with the Holy Spirit does not have the same intercession.
Cleanse yourself, then, from this wicked grief, and you shall live to God; and all shall live to God, as many as cast off grief from themselves and put on all cheerfulness.