9. Let thy feet hasten to the catechisings;
receive with earnestness the exorcisms Index,
“Exorcism.”: whether thou be breathed upon or
exorcised, the act is to thee salvation. Suppose thou hast gold
unwrought and alloyed, mixed with various substances, copper, and tin,
and iron, and lead: we seek to have the gold alone; can gold be
purified from the foreign substances without fire? Even so
without exorcisms the soul cannot be purified; and these exorcisms are
divine, having been collected out of the divine Scriptures. Thy
face has been veiled Index,
“Veiling.”, that thy mind may
henceforward be free, lest the eye by roving make the heart rove
also. But when thine eyes are veiled, thine ears are not hindered
from receiving the means of salvation. For in like manner as
those who are skilled in the goldsmith’s craft throw in their
breath upon the fire through certain delicate instruments, and blowing
up the gold which is hidden in the crucible stir the flame which
surrounds it, and so find what they are seeking; even so when the
exorcists inspire terror by the Spirit of God, and set the soul, as it
were, on fire in the crucible of the body, the hostile demon flees
away, and there abide salvation and the hope of eternal life, and the
soul henceforth is cleansed from its sins and hath salvation. Let
us then, brethren, abide in hope, and surrender ourselves, and hope, in
order that the God of all may see our purpose, and cleanse us from our
sins, and impart to us good hopes of our estate, and grant us
repentance that bringeth salvation. God hath called, and His call
is to thee.