X. If after baptism the persecutor and
tempter of the light assail you (for he assailed even the Word my God
through the veil, i.e., the Sacred
Manhood. the hidden Light
through that which was manifested), you have the means to conquer
him. Fear not the conflict; defend yourself with the Water;
defend yourself with the Spirit, by Which all the fiery darts of the
wicked shall be quenched. Ephes. vi. 16. It is Spirit,
but That Spirit which rent the Mountains. 1 Kings xix. 11. It is Water, but that which quenches
fire. If he assail you by your want (as he dared to assail
Christ), and asks that stones should be made bread, do not be ignorant
of his devices. 2 Cor. ii. 11. Teach him
what he has not learnt. Defend yourself with the Word of life,
Who is the Bread sent down from heaven, and giving life to the
world. John vi. 33. If he plot
against you with vain glory (as he did against Christ when he led Him
up to the pinnacle of the temple and said to Him, Cast Thyself
down Matt. iv. 6. as a proof of Thy Godhead), be not overborne
by elation. If you be taken by this he will not stop here.
For he is insatiable, he grasps at every thing. He fawns upon you
with fair pretences, but he ends in evil; this is the manner of his
fighting. Yes, and the robber is skilled in Scripture. On
the one side was that It is written about the Bread, and on the other
that it Is written about the Angels. It is written, quoth he, He
shall give His Angels charge concerning thee, and they shall bear thee
in their hands. Ps. xci. 14. O vile
sophist! how was it that thou didst suppress the words that follow, for
I know it well, even if thou passest it by in silence? I will
make thee to go upon the asp and basilisk, and I will tread upon
serpents and scorpions, being fenced by the Trinity.
If he wrestle against thee to a
fall through avarice, shewing thee all the Kingdoms at one instant and
in the twinkling of an eye, as belonging to himself, and demand thy
worship, despise him as a beggar. Say to him relying on the Seal,
“I am myself the Image of God; I have not yet been cast down from
the heavenly Glory, as thou wast through thy pride; I have put on
Christ; I have been transformed into Christ by Baptism; worship thou
me.” Well do I know that he will depart, defeated and put
to shame by this; as he did from Christ the first Light, so he will
from those who are illumined by Christ. Such blessings does the
laver bestow on those who apprehend it; such is the rich feast which it
provides for those who hunger aright.