{"slug":"khazarzar-john-chrysostom-ad-demetrium-de-compunctione-i","id":"greek:khazarzar:khazarzar-john-chrysostom-ad-demetrium-de-compunctione-i","title":"Ad Demetrium de compunctione i","title_source":"Ad Demetrium de compunctione i","author":"John Chrysostom","genre":"other","date":null,"tradition":"greek","coverage":"not-located","coverage_claim":{"status":"not-located","text":"No English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed."},"publication":{"status":"machine-draft","reviewed_by":null,"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4.1-flash:floor","provider":"Baidu","generated":"2026-11-15T17:38:27Z","cost_usd":0.004165},"source":{"registry_id":"greek:khazarzar:khazarzar-john-chrysostom-ad-demetrium-de-compunctione-i","work_id":"khazarzar-john-chrysostom-ad-demetrium-de-compunctione-i","edition":"khazarzar","language":"","license":null,"url":null},"stats":{"passages":37,"english_words":10087,"coptic_letters":0,"source_letters":40040,"commentary_units":0,"commentary_kinds":0,"derived_notes":0,"ambiguities":0,"work_notes":0,"external_links":0,"timeline":0},"summary":{},"links":[],"checks":{"work":"khazarzar-john-chrysostom-ad-demetrium-de-compunctione-i","status":"pass","blocking":[],"warnings":[],"stats":{"passages":37,"translated":37,"commentary_passages":0,"commentary_units":0,"english_words":10087,"source_letters":40030,"commentary_kinds":0},"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4.1-flash:floor"},"work_notes":[],"derived_work_notes":[{"kind":"coverage","severity":"info","text":"No English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed."},{"kind":"limit","severity":"caution","text":"The English is a machine draft produced passage by passage from the transcribed Greek; no human has verified it. The commentary is model-written and cites only keys the pipeline could resolve."},{"kind":"register","severity":"info","text":"Register: other in ancient Greek; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them."},{"kind":"structure","severity":"info","text":"Passages: 37 narrative."},{"kind":"source","severity":"info","text":"Source edition: khazarzar."}],"derived_structure":{"narrative":37},"term_index":[],"citations":{},"segments":[{"i":1,"ref":"p1","source":"ΠΡΟΣ ΔΗΜΗΤΡΙΟΝ ΜΟΝΑΖΟΝΤΑ ΠΕΡΙ ΚΑΤΑΝΥΞΕΩΣ ΛΟΓΟΣ ΠΡΩΤΟΣ. αʹ. Ἐγώ σε ὁρῶν, ὦ μακάριε Δημήτριε, συνεχῶς ἐγκείμενον ἡμῖν, καὶ μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς σφοδρότητος τοὺς περὶ κατανύξεως ἀπαιτοῦντα λόγους, ἐμακάρισά τε ἀεὶ καὶ ἐθαύμασα τὴν ἐν τῇ σῇ ψυχῇ καθαρότητα. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἔστι μὴ πρότερον ἐκκαθαρθέντα καλῶς, καὶ τῶν βιωτικῶν ἁπάντων ἀνώτερον γενόμενον, εἰς ταύτην τῶν λόγων τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν ἐλθεῖν. Καὶ τοῦτο ῥᾴδιον συνιδεῖν ἐκ τῶν καὶ πρὸς ὀλίγον τούτῳ κατεχομένων τῷ πόθῳ, ὅτι τοσαύτην ἀθρόως δέχονται τὴν μεταβολὴν, ὡς εὐθέως πρὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν μεταστῆναι· καθάπερ γάρ τινων δεσμῶν χαλεπῶν, τῶν τοῦ κόσμου φροντίδων ἀπολύσαντες τὴν ψυχὴν, οὕτως ἀφιᾶσι πέτεσθαι πρὸς τὸν οἰκεῖον αὐτῇ τόπον καὶ συγγενῆ. Ἀλλὰ τοῖς μὲν πολλοῖς τοῦτο ὀλιγάκις τοῦ παντὸς χρόνου συμβαίνειν εἴωθε· σὲ δὲ, ὦ θεία κεφαλὴ, διαπαντὸς οἶδα τούτῳ κατεχόμενον τῷ πυρὶ τῆς κατανύξεως. Καὶ μαρτυρήσειαν ἄν μοι αἵ τε ἄϋπνοι νύκτες, καὶ αἱ τῶν δακρύων πηγαὶ, καὶ ὁ τῆς ἐρημίας ἔρως ἐνιζάνων τε ἀεὶ καὶ ἐνακμάζων σου τῇ ψυχῇ. Τί οὖν ἄν σοι γένοιτο πλέον παρὰ τῶν ἡμετέρων λόγων; Καὶ γὰρ καὶ αὐτὸ τοῦτο τὸ πρὸς αὐτὴν μὲν ἥκειν τὴν κορυφὴν, οἴεσθαι δὲ ἔτι μετὰ τῶν χαμαὶ ἐρχομένων εἶναι, καὶ τὴν ἐπτερωμένην ψυχὴν λιθίνην καλεῖν, καὶ συνεχῶς τῆς δεξιᾶς ἁπτόμενον τῆς ἐμῆς, καὶ φιλοῦντα καὶ δακρύοντα λέγειν, σύντριψόν μου τὴν καρδίαν τὴν πεπωρωμένην, πόσης μὲν εὐλαβείας, πόσης δὲ πυρώσεως ἄν τις θείη εἶναι τεκμήρια;","english":"TO DEMETRIUS THE MONK: FIRST DISCOURSE ON COMPUNCTION. 1. Seeing you, blessed Demetrius, continually pressing upon us and with great vehemence demanding discourses on compunction, I have always counted you blessed and marveled at the purity in your soul. For it is not possible for one who has not first been thoroughly cleansed and become superior to all the things of life to come to this desire for discourses. And this is easy to perceive from those who are possessed by this longing even for a little while, that they receive such a sudden change as to be transported straightway to heaven; for just as if they had loosed their soul from harsh bonds, the cares of the world, so they let it fly to the place that is its own and akin to it. But for most people this is accustomed to happen only rarely in all their time; but you, O divine head, I know are always possessed by this fire of compunction. And the sleepless nights will bear witness to me, and the fountains of tears, and the love of the desert ever taking root and blazing up in your soul. What then could come to you more than from our discourses? For even this very thing—to have come to the very summit itself, and yet to think that one is still among those who crawl on the ground, and to call a soul that has taken wing stone, and continually to touch my right hand and, kissing it and weeping, to say, Crush my hardened heart—of how much reverence, of how much fervor would one set these down as proofs?","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":2,"ref":"p2","source":"Εἰ μὲν οὖν ἡμᾶς καθεύδοντας διυπνίσαι βουλόμενος ἐπὶ ταύτην εἵλκυσας τὴν ὑπόθεσιν, καὶ τῆς φιλοσοφίας καὶ τῆς προνοίας ἀποδέχομαι τῆς πολλῆς· εἰ δὲ ἀληθῶς τὸ σαυτοῦ σκοπῶν, καὶ τοῦ διαναστήσοντος δεῖσθαι νομίζων, οὐκ οἶδα πῶς ἂν ἑτέρως ἡμᾶς ἐδίδαξας, ὅτι σοι τῶν παρ' ἡμῶν οὐδενὸς δεῖ. Πλὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ οὕτως εἴξομέν σοι, καὶ πεισθησόμεθα πάντων ἕνεκεν, καὶ τῆς παῤῥησίας τῆς πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν καὶ τῆς περὶ τὴν αἴτησιν σπουδῆς, καὶ τῆς φιλίας τῆς πρὸς ἡμᾶς· σὺ δὲ ἡμᾶς ἀντὶ τούτων ταῖς εὐχαῖς ταῖς σαῖς ἀμείβου, ὥστε ἡμῖν καὶ τὸν βίον ὀρθωθῆναι τοῦ λοιποῦ, καὶ ἐν τῷ παρόντι δυνηθῆναί τι γενναῖον εἰπεῖν, καὶ ἱκανὸν τάς τε κειμένας ἀναστῆσαι καὶ τὰς παρειμένας ἐπισφίγξαι καὶ συγκροτῆσαι ψυχάς. Πόθεν οὖν ἡμῖν, πόθεν ἀρκτέον τούτου τοῦ λόγου; τίνα αὐτῷ θεμέλιον, ποίαν κρηπῖδα θήσομεν; Ἦ δῆλον ὅτι τοῦ Χριστοῦ τὰ ῥήματα, δι' ὧν ταλανίζει μὲν τοὺς γελῶντας, ἐν δὲ τοῖς μακαριζομένοις τίθησι τοὺς πενθοῦντας, οὑτωσὶ λέγων· Μακάριοι οἱ πενθοῦντες, ὅτι αὐτοὶ παρακληθήσονται· καὶ, Οὐαὶ οἱ γελῶντες νῦν, ὅτι πενθήσετε καὶ κλαύσετε. Καὶ μάλα εἰκότως· πένθους γὰρ ἀληθῶς, πένθους καὶ ὀδυρμῶν ὁ παρὼν ἅπας καιρός· τοιαύτη συμφορὰ τὴν οἰκουμένην κατείληφεν ἅπασαν, τοιαῦτα ἅπαντας ἀνθρώπους συνέχει κακά· ἅπερ εἴ τις μετὰ ἀκριβείας ἐξετάζειν ἐθέλοι, εἴ γε δυνατὸν μετὰ ἀκριβείας, οὐ παύσεται ὀδυρόμενος καὶ πενθῶν· οὕτως ἅπαντα ἀνατέτραπται καὶ συγκέχυται, καὶ ἀρετῆς ἴχνος οὐδαμοῦ.","english":"If then you wished to wake us from sleep and for this reason drew us to this subject, I accept both your love of wisdom and your great forethought. But if you were truly considering your own case and thought you needed someone to rouse you up, I do not know how you could have taught us otherwise that you need nothing from us. Nevertheless, even so we will yield to you and be persuaded for all reasons—both because of your boldness toward God and your zeal in petition, and because of your friendship toward us. In return for these things, repay us with your prayers, so that for the rest our life may be set straight, and that in the present we may be able to say something noble, and be sufficient to raise up souls that are laid low and to brace and strengthen souls that are slackened. From where, then, shall we begin this discourse? What foundation, what base shall we lay for it? Is it not clear that it is the words of Christ, by which he pronounces woe on those who laugh and places those who mourn among the blessed, saying thus: Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted; and, Woe to those who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. And very reasonably so; for this whole present time is truly a time of mourning, of mourning and lamentation. Such a calamity has seized the whole inhabited world, such evils hold all people together; and if anyone wished to examine these things accurately—if indeed it is possible to do so accurately—he will not cease lamenting and mourning; so completely has everything been overturned and thrown into confusion, and there is no trace of virtue anywhere.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":3,"ref":"p3","source":"Καὶ τὸ δὴ χαλεπώτερον, ὅτι τῶν συνεχόντων ἡμᾶς δεινῶν αἴσθησιν οὔτε αὐτοὶ ἔχομεν, οὔτε ἄλλοις παρέχομεν, ἀλλ' ἐοίκαμεν σώματι ἔξωθεν μὲν ἀνθοῦντι, πολλῷ δὲ ἔνδοθεν τηκομένῳ πυρί· τῆς δὲ ἀναλγησίας ἕνεκεν οὐδὲν τῶν παραπαιόντων διενηνόχαμεν, οἳ πολλὰ μὲν ἐπικίνδυνα καὶ αἰσχρὰ καὶ λέγουσι καὶ πράττουσιν ἀδεῶς, αἰσχύνονται δὲ τούτων οὐδὲν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐναβρύνονται, καὶ τῶν καθεστηκότων μᾶλλον ὑγιαίνειν νομίζουσιν. Οὕτω δὴ καὶ ἡμεῖς, τὰ τῶν νοσούντων ἅπαντα πράττοντες, οὐδὲ αὐτὸ τοῦτο, ὅτι νοσοῦμεν, ἴσμεν. Ἀλλ' ἐπὶ μὲν τοῦ σώματος, κἂν τὸ τυχὸν ἡμᾶς ἐνοχλήσῃ πάθος, καὶ ἰατροὺς καλοῦμεν, καὶ χρήματα\n\nἀναλίσκομεν, καὶ καρτερίαν ἐπιδεικνύμεθα, καὶ οὐ πρότερον ἀφιστάμεθα, ἅπαντα πράττοντες, ἕως ἂν ἀποθώμεθα τὸ λυποῦν· τῆς δὲ ψυχῆς καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν κεντουμένης, σπαραττομένης τοῖς πάθεσι τοῖς σωματικοῖς, καιομένης, κρημνιζομένης, καὶ πάντα τρόπον ἀπολλυούσης ἑαυτὴν, οὐδὲ βραχὺν ἔχομεν λόγον. Τὸ δὲ αἴτιον, ὅτι ἅπαντας ἡ νόσος κατείληφε· καὶ καθάπερ ἐπὶ τῶν καμνόντων τὰ σώματα, εἰ συμβαίη μηδένα παρεῖναι τῶν ὑγιαινόντων αὐτοῖς, οὐδὲν τὸ κωλύον ἅπαντας εἰς τὴν ἐσχάτην καταπεσεῖν φθορὰν, μηδενὸς αὐτῶν τὰς ἀλόγους ἐπιθυμίας κατέχοντος· οὕτω καὶ ἐφ' ἡμῶν διὰ τὸ μηδένα εἶναι τὸν ὑγιαίνοντα καθαρῶς ἐν τῇ πίστει, ἀλλὰ πάντας ἀῤῥωστεῖν, τοὺς μὲν ἐκ πλείονος, τοὺς δὲ ἐξ ἐλάττονος μοίρας, οὐδεὶς ὁ τοῖς κειμένοις ἐξαρκέσων ἐστίν.","english":"And what is even more grievous is that we neither have perception of the terrible things that beset us, nor do we give it to others, but we are like a body blooming on the outside while consumed within by a great fire; and because of our insensibility we differ in no way from the deranged, who both say and do many dangerous and shameful things without fear, and are ashamed of none of them, but even exult in them, and think they are healthier than those of sound mind. So too we, doing all the things that the sick do, do not even know this very thing, that we are sick. But in the case of the body, if even some chance ailment troubles us, we call physicians and spend money and display endurance, and we do not desist first, doing everything, until we cast off what pains us; but when the soul is pricked every day, torn by bodily passions, burned, hurled down, and destroying itself in every way, we give it not even a brief thought. And the reason is that the sickness has seized everyone; and just as in the case of those sick in body, if it should happen that none of the healthy are present with them, there is nothing to prevent all from falling into the utmost corruption, since no one restrains their irrational desires; so too in our case, because there is no one who is purely healthy in the faith, but all are sick, some in greater part, some in lesser, there is no one to suffice for those who lie fallen.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":4,"ref":"p4","source":"Εἰ γάρ τις ἔξωθέν ποθεν ἡμῖν ἐπιστὰς, καὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ τὰ προστάγματα, καὶ τῆς πολιτείας τῆς ἡμετέρας τὴν σύγχυσιν καταμάθοι καλῶς, οὐκ οἶδα εἴ τινας ἑτέρους μᾶλλον ἡμῶν ἐχθροὺς ὑπολήψεται εἶναι τοῦ Χριστοῦ· καθάπερ γὰρ ἐσπουδακότες τὴν ἐναντίαν αὐτοῦ ἐλθεῖν τοῖς ἐπιτάγμασιν, οὕτω ταύτην ὡδεύσαμεν τὴν ὁδόν. βʹ. Καὶ ἵνα μή τις ὑπερβολῆς εἶναι νομίσῃ τὰ ῥήματα τὰ παρ' ἡμῶν, τὴν ἀπόδειξιν ἐπαγαγεῖν ἤδη πειράσομαι, ἑτέρωθεν μὲν οὐδαμόθεν, ἀπὸ δὲ αὐτῶν τῶν ἐντολῶν τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Τί οὖν φησιν ὁ Χριστός; Ἐῤῥέθη τοῖς ἀρχαίοις· Οὐ φονεύσεις. Ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω ὑμῖν, ὅτι πᾶς ὁ ὀργιζόμενος τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ εἰκῆ, ἔνοχος ἔσται τῇ κρίσει· ὃς δ' ἂν εἴπῃ τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ, Ῥακὰ, ἔνοχος ἔσται τῷ συνεδρίῳ· ὃς δ' ἂν εἴπῃ, Μωρὲ, ἔνοχος ἔσται εἰς τὴν γέενναν τοῦ πυρός. Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ὁ Χριστός. Ἡμεῖς δὲ τῶν ἀπιστούντων αὐτῷ μᾶλλον τὸν νόμον τοῦτον κατεπατήσαμεν, καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν μυρίαις τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς πλύνοντες λοιδορίαις. Καὶ τὸ δὴ καταγελαστότερον, ὅτι τὸ μωρὸς ὄνομα παραφυλαττόμενοι, πολλάκις ἑτέρας τούτου ὕβρεις πικροτέρας ἐπάγομεν, ὡς ἐκείνου μόνου τοῦ ῥήματος τὴν κόλασιν ἔχοντος. Τὸ δὲ οὐ τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν, ἀλλὰ τὸν ὑβριστὴν καθάπαξ κολάζων, τοῦτο τέθεικε τὸ ἐπιτίμιον· καὶ δῆλον ἐξ ὧν καὶ Παῦλός φησιν, οὑτωσὶ λέγων· Μὴ πλανᾶσθε· οὔτε πόρνοι, οὔτε εἰδωλολάτραι, οὐ μοιχοὶ, οὐ μαλακοὶ οὔτε ἀρσενοκοῖται, οὐ κλέπται οὔτε πλεονέκται, οὐ μέθυσοι, οὐ λοίδοροι, οὐχ ἅρπαγες, βασιλείαν Θεοῦ κληρονομήσουσι.","english":"For if someone from somewhere outside stood over us and carefully understood both the commandments of Christ and the confusion of our manner of life, I do not know whether he would suppose any others to be enemies of Christ more than us; for just as if we had been eager to go in the opposite direction to his ordinances, so we have traveled this road. 2. And so that no one may think that the words from us are an exaggeration, I shall now attempt to bring forward the proof, from nowhere else but from the very commandments of Christ. What then does Christ say? It was said to the ancients: You shall not murder. But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother without cause will be liable to the judgment; and whoever says to his brother, Raca, will be liable to the council; and whoever says, Fool, will be liable to the Gehenna of fire. These things, then, are what Christ says. But we have trampled this law more than those who do not believe him, washing our brothers every day with countless insults. And what is even more ridiculous, while guarding against the word fool, we have often brought upon them other insults more bitter than it, as though that word alone had the punishment. But it is not so; rather, punishing the insolent person once for all, he has set down this penalty; and it is clear from what Paul also says, speaking thus: Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor the effeminate, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor the abusive, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":5,"ref":"p5","source":"Εἰ δὲ ὁ μωρὸν λέγων τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ τῆς ἐσχάτης κολάσεώς ἐστιν ἄξιος, ὁ κακοῦργον καὶ βάσκανον καὶ εὐχερῆ καὶ κενόδοξον, καὶ μυρία ἄλλα τοιαῦτα κακηγορῶν, πόσον ἑαυτῷ τὸ τῆς γεέννης συνάξει πῦρ; Τὸ γὰρ, Μωρὲ, καὶ Ῥακὰ, τῶν εἰρημένων πολλῷ κουφότερον· διόπερ ἐκεῖνο παρεὶς, τοῦτο τέθεικεν ὁ Χριστὸς, ἵνα μάθῃς ὅτι, εἰ τὸ φορητότερον λεχθὲν τὴν γέενναν ἐπισπᾶται κατ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ λέγοντος, πολλῷ μᾶλλον τὰ βαρύτερα καὶ ἀφορητότερα τοῦτο ἐργάσεται. Εἰ δέ τινες ὑπερβολὴν τοῦ λόγου καταγινώσκουσι (καὶ γάρ τινας οἶδα τοῦτο παθόντας ἐγὼ, καὶ νομίζοντας ὑπὲρ τοῦ φοβῆσαι μόνον ταύτην εἰρῆσθαι τὴν ἀπειλὴν), ὥρα αὐτοὺς τοὺς μοιχοὺς, τοὺς ἀρσενοκοίτας, τοὺς μαλακοὺς, τοὺς εἰδωλολάτρας τῆς εἰρημένης ἀπαλλάττειν κολάσεως. Εἰ γὰρ φόβου μόνον ἕνεκεν τοῖς λοιδόροις ἠπείλησε, δῆλον ὅτι κἀκείνοις· ὁμοῦ γὰρ ἅπαντας συναγαγὼν, οὕτως ἐπήγαγε τῆς βασιλείας τὴν ἔκπτωσιν. Τί οὖν, φησίν; ὁ λοίδορος μετὰ τοῦ μοιχοῦ καὶ μαλακοῦ καὶ πλεονέκτου καὶ εἰδωλολάτρου κείσεται; Εἰ μὲν τὴν αὐτὴν αὐτοῖς δώσει δίκην, ἑτέρου τοῦτο ζητῆσαι καιροῦ· ὅτι δὲ τῆς βασιλείας ὁμοίως ἐκπεσεῖται ἐκείνοις, τῷ Παύλῳ πείθομαι λέγοντι, μᾶλλον δὲ τῷ ἐνεργοῦντι δι' αὐτοῦ Χριστῷ, ὅτι οὔτε οὗτοι, οὔτε ἐκεῖνοι βασιλείαν Θεοῦ κληρονομήσουσιν. Οὐκ ἐπὶ τούτου δὲ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπὶ πολλῶν ἑτέρων πολλοὶ τοῦτο πεπόνθασι, καὶ τὰ πάντως ἐκβησόμενα ὑπερβολικῶς εἰρῆσθαι νομίζουσι· διαβολικὴ δέ ἐστιν αὕτη ἡ παγίς.","english":"But if the one who says to his brother, \"Fool,\" is worthy of the utmost punishment, then the one who reviles him as a malefactor, a slanderer, a reckless person, a vainglorious person, and a thousand other such things—how much fire of Gehenna will he heap up for himself? For \"Fool\" and \"Raca\" are far lighter than the things just mentioned; therefore Christ passed over that and set down this, so that you may learn that, if the more bearable word draws Gehenna upon the one who speaks it, much more will the heavier and more unbearable words accomplish this. But if some take issue with the hyperbole of the saying (for I know that some have experienced this, and think that this threat was spoken only to frighten), it is time for them to release the adulterers, the sodomites, the effeminate, and the idolaters from the punishment that has been mentioned. For if he threatened revilers only for the sake of fear, it is clear that he did so for those others as well; for having gathered them all together, he then brought in the loss of the kingdom. What then, someone says? Will the reviler lie alongside the adulterer, the effeminate, the covetous, and the idolater? Whether he will give them the same penalty is a question for another time; but that he will be excluded from the kingdom just as they are, I am persuaded by Paul, or rather by Christ who works through him, that neither these nor those will inherit the kingdom of God. And not only in this case, but in many others as well, many have experienced this and think that things which will certainly come to pass were spoken hyperbolically; but this is a diabolical snare.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":6,"ref":"p6","source":"Ἵνα γὰρ τὸν φόβον τῆς μελλούσης ἐκλύσῃ κολάσεως τῶν κατανυγέντων ἐν τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀγάπῃ, καὶ χαυνοτέρους ἐργάσηται περὶ τὴν ὑπακοὴν τῆς ἐντολῆς, τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς ὑπερβολῆς παραμυθίαν εἰσήγαγεν, εἰς μὲν τὸ παρὸν ἱκανὴν χαρίσασθαι ταῖς ῥᾳθυμοτέραις\n\nψυχαῖς ἀπάτην, ἐλεγχθησομένην δὲ κατὰ τὸν τῆς κρίσεως καιρὸν, ὅτε κέρδος οὐδέν. Τί γὰρ ὄφελος, εἰπέ μοι, νῦν ἀπατηθέντας, τότε συνιδεῖν τὴν ἀπάτην, ὅταν μηδὲν ᾖ ἀπὸ τῆς μετανοίας εἰς τὸν τῆς ἀναστάσεως ἀπόνασθαι λόγον; Μὴ δὴ μάτην ἀπατῶμεν ἑαυτοὺς, καὶ παραλογιζώμεθα ἐπὶ κακῷ, μηδὲ ἑτέραν προκαλώμεθα τιμωρίαν, τὴν ἐκ τῆς ἀπιστίας. Οὐ γὰρ μόνον τὸ μὴ εἴκειν ταῖς ἐντολαῖς τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ ἀπιστεῖν αὐταῖς χαλεπωτάτην ἐπάγει τὴν κόλασιν· τὸ δὲ ἀπιστεῖν γίνεται ἐκ τοῦ πρὸς τὴν ἐκπλήρωσιν ἐκλελύσθαι τῶν ἐντολῶν. Ὅταν γὰρ τὴν ἐκτῆς ὑπακοῆς ἀσφάλειαν μὴ ἐθελήσωμεν ἑαυτοῖς πορίσασθαι, μηδὲ τὰ προστεταγμένα ποιεῖν, ὥστε ἀπαλλάξαι τοῦ φόβου τῶν μελλόντων τὸν λογισμὸν, βαρυνόμενοι τῷ συνειδότι καὶ ἀγχόμενοι, καὶ τὸν πολὺν τῶν κειμένων κολάσεων φόβον ἀποῤῥῖψαι σπουδάζοντες, εἰς ἕτερον ἑαυτοὺς καταβάλλομεν βάραθρον, ἀπιστοῦντες τοῖς κολαστηρίοις ἐκείνοις. Καὶ καθάπερ οἱ πολλῷ συνεχόμενοι πυρετῷ, καὶ κατὰ τῶν ψυχρῶν πηδῶντες ὑδάτων, οὐκ ἀποτινάσσονται τὸ πνῖγος, ἀλλ' ἕτερον ἑαυτοῖς προστιθέασι πῦρ· οὕτω καὶ ἡμεῖς, κεντούμενοι τῷ τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων συνειδότι, εἰς τὸν τῆς ὑπερβολῆς εὔριπον καταποντίζειν ἑαυτοὺς ἀναγκαζόμεθα, ἵνα πάντα ἀδεῶς ἁμαρτάνωμεν τοῦ λοιποῦ. Οὐδὲ γὰρ μόνον παροῦσιν ὀργιζόμεθα τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀποῦσι πολλάκις μαχόμεθα·","english":"For in order to loosen the fear of the coming punishment in those who are pricked in heart by the love of God, and to make them more slack concerning obedience to the commandment, he introduced the consolation that comes from excess, sufficient for the present to grant a deception to the more easygoing souls, but one that will be exposed at the time of judgment, when there is no profit. For what benefit is it, tell me, to have been deceived now and then to perceive the deception, when there is nothing from repentance to enjoy in the account of the resurrection? Let us not then deceive ourselves in vain, nor defraud ourselves to our harm, nor provoke another punishment, that which comes from unbelief. For not only does failing to yield to the commandments of Christ, but also disbelieving them, bring on the most severe chastisement; and disbelieving arises from being slackened toward the fulfillment of the commandments. For when we are unwilling to procure for ourselves the security that comes from obedience, nor to do what has been commanded, so as to rid our reasoning of the fear of things to come, being weighed down by conscience and oppressed, and eager to throw off the great fear of the punishments that lie in store, we cast ourselves down into another abyss, disbelieving those places of chastisement. And just as those gripped by a great fever, leaping into cold waters, do not shake off the suffocation but add another fire to themselves, so too we, stung by the conscience of our sins, are compelled to plunge ourselves into the strait of excess, so that we may sin fearlessly in everything from then on. For we are not only angry with our brothers when present, but often we fight with them when absent.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":7,"ref":"p7","source":"ὅπερ ὑπερβολὴ θηριωδίας ἐστί. Καὶ τοὺς μὲν μείζους ἑαυτῶν καὶ δυνατωτέρους καὶ ἀδικοῦντας καὶ ὑβρίζοντας φέρομεν μετὰ ἐπιεικείας πολλῆς, διὰ τὸν παρ' αὐτῶν φόβον, πρὸς δὲ τοὺς ὁμοτίμους καὶ ἐλάττονας οὐδὲν λελυπηκότας ἀπεχθανόμεθα. Τοσοῦτον ὁ παρὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων φόβος τοῦ παρὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ μείζονα ἔχει τὴν ἰσχύν.\n\nγʹ. Ἔστιν οὖν ἡμῖν σωτηρίας ἐλπὶς τοσαύτην ἐνδεικνυμένοις ὀλιγωρίαν καὶ καταφρόνησιν; πόθεν, εἰπέ μοι; Τί τοίνυν φορτικὸν ἀπῄτησε, τί δὲ ἐπαχθὲς παρ' ἡμῶν ὁ Χριστός; Μὴ ὀργίζου, φησὶ, τῷ ἀδελφῷ σου εἰκῆ. Πολὺ δὲ τοῦτο εὐκολώτερον τοῦ φέρειν ἕτερον ὀργιζόμενον εἰκῆ· ἐκεῖ μὲν γὰρ συνῆκται ἤδη τοῦ πυρὸς ἡ ὕλη, ἐνταῦθα δὲ, οὐδενὸς ὑποκειμένου, τὴν φλόγα ἀνάπτεις αὐτός· οὐκ ἔστι δὲ ἴσον, ἑτέρου λαμπάδα προσάγοντος, καρτερεῖν καὶ μὴ πίμπρασθαι, καὶ μηδενὸς παρακινοῦντος ἡσυχάζειν καὶ ἠρεμεῖν Ὁ μὲν γὰρ ἐκείνου κρατήσας, μεγίστης φιλοσοφίας βάσανον ἐπεδείξατο· ὁ δὲ τοῦτο κατορθῶν, οὐδενὸς ἂν εἴη θαύματος ἄξιος. Ὅταν οὖν τὸ μεῖζον διὰ τὸν τῶν ἀνθρώπων φόβον ἀνύοντες, διὰ τὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ μηδὲ τὸ ἔλαττον βουλώμεθα, ἐννόησον ὅσης κολάσεως καὶ τιμωρίας ὑπευθύνους καθιστῶμεν ἑαυτούς. Τὸν τοίνυν ἀδελφὸν μὴ τὸν ὁμότιμον μόνον, μηδὲ ἐλεύθερον νομίσῃς εἶναι, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν οἰκέτην· Ἐν γὰρ Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ οὔτε δοῦλος, οὔτε ἐλεύθερος, κατὰ τὸν Ἀπόστολον. Ὥστε κἂν πρὸς τοὺς δούλους. ἀγριαίνωμεν εἰκῆ, τὴν αὐτὴν ὑποστησόμεθα δίκην· ἀδελφὸς γὰρ καὶ οὗτός ἐστι, καὶ τῆς ἐλευθερίας ἠξίωται τῆς ἀληθοῦς, ἓν πνεῦμα ἔχων.","english":"Which is an excess of savagery. And those who are greater than ourselves and more powerful, who do wrong and insult us, we bear with great forbearance, because of the fear of them; but toward our equals and inferiors who have done us no harm, we are hostile. So much greater strength does the fear of men have than the fear of Christ.\n\n3. Is there, then, any hope of salvation for us, who show such negligence and contempt? From where, tell me? What, then, burdensome thing did Christ demand, what grievous thing, of us? Do not be angry with your brother without cause, he says. But this is much easier than bearing another who is angry without cause; for there the fuel of the fire is already gathered, but here, with nothing underlying it, you kindle the flame yourself. And it is not the same thing to endure and not be set ablaze when another brings a torch, and to keep quiet and be at rest when no one provokes. For the one who has mastered that man has given proof of the greatest philosophy; but the one who achieves this would be worthy of no wonder. When, then, we accomplish the greater thing because of the fear of men, but because of the fear of God do not even wish to do the lesser, consider of how much punishment and retribution we make ourselves liable. Do not think, then, that your brother is only your equal, nor only the free man, but also the slave; for in Christ Jesus there is neither slave nor free, according to the Apostle. So that even if we rage without cause against slaves, we shall undergo the same judgment; for this man too is a brother, and has been deemed worthy of true freedom, having one Spirit.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":8,"ref":"p8","source":"Τίς οὖν λοιδορίας καθαρὸν τὸν ἑαυτοῦ βίον καὶ ὀργῆς ἀλόγου καὶ ματαίας ἐπιδεῖξαι δύναται; Μὴ γάρ μοι τὸν ὀλιγάκις τοῦτο πάσχοντα εἴπῃς, ἀλλὰ τὸν μηδὲ ὅλως ἁλόντα ποτέ· ἕως δ' ἂν μὴ τοῦτο δείξῃς ἡμῖν, οὐδὲ τὴν ἀπειλὴν λῦσαι δυνήσῃ, διὰ τὸ μὴ συνεχῶς τοῦτο παθεῖν. Καὶ γὰρ ὁ κλέπτων καὶ ὁ πορνεύων, κἂν ἅπαξ μόνον τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἐκείνην ἐργάσωνται, οὐκ ἐπειδὴ μὴ πολλάκις τοῦτο τετολμήκασιν, ἀφίενται τῆς τιμωρίας, ἀλλὰ ἐπειδὴ τετολμήκασιν ὅλως, κολάζονται. Τὸ δὲ ἐφεξῆς τούτῳ κείμενον, τίς οὐκ ἂν τῶν ἀπίστων καὶ μῦθον εἶναι νομίσειε, μετὰ τοσαύτης. σφοδρότητος ἀνατετραμμένον ὁρῶν ὑφ' ἡμῶν; Τοῦ γὰρ Θεοῦ εἰπόντος· Ἐὰν προσφέρῃς τὸ δῶρόν σου ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον, κἀκεῖ μνησθῇς, ὅτι ὁ ἀδελφός σου ἔχει τι κατὰ σοῦ, ἄφες ἐκεῖ τὸ δῶρόν σου ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου, καὶ ὕπαγε πρῶτον, διαλλάγηθι τῷ ἀδελφῷ σου, καὶ τότε ἐλθὼν, πρόσφερε τὸ δῶρόν σου· ἡμεῖς δὲ ἐκπεπολεμωμένοι πρὸς ἀλλήλους καὶ ὑπούλως διακείμενοι τοῖς θυσιαστηρίοις πρόσιμεν. Καὶ ὁ μὲν Θεὸς τοσαύτην τῆς ἡμετέρας","english":"Who then can show his own life clean of abuse and of irrational anger and of vanity? For do not tell me of the one who suffers this only a few times, but of the one who was never at all caught by it; and until you show us this, you will not be able to dissolve the threat either, because he did not suffer this continually. For the thief and the fornicator, even if they commit that sin only once, are not released from punishment because they did not dare it many times, but because they dared it at all, they are punished. And who among the unbelievers would not think that what is set next after this is a myth, seeing it overturned by us with such vehemence? For when God said, If you offer your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go first, be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift; but we, having been made hostile to one another and being secretly disposed, approach the altars. And God, so great a thing of our","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":9,"ref":"p9","source":"καταλ λαγῆς πεποίηται σπουδὴν, ὡς ἀνέχεσθαι τὴν αὐτοῦ θυσίαν μένειν ἀτέλεστον, καὶ τὴν ὑπηρεσίαν ἐγκόπτεσθαι ὑπὲρ τοῦ τὴν πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἀπέχθειαν καταλῦσαι καὶ τὴν ὀργήν· ἡμεῖς δὲ οὕτω τοῦ πράγματος ἀλογοῦμεν, ὡς καὶ ἡμέρας πολλὰς τὴν ἔχθραν διατηρεῖν κατὰ τῆς ἑαυτῶν κεφαλῆς. Οὐδὲ γὰρ τοὺς μνησικακοῦντας κολάζει μόνον ὁ Χριστὸς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς τούτου μὲν ἀπηλλαγμένους τοῦ πάθους, πεπληγμένων δὲ καταφρονοῦντας τῶν ἀδελφῶν. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ τῶν ἠδικημένων ἐστὶ τὸ μνησικακεῖν, ὁ δὲ ἀδικῶν οὐκ ἂν ῥᾳδίως ληφθείη τούτῳ τῷ πάθει, τούτου χάριν τοῦτον ἤγαγε πρὸς ἐκεῖνον, δεικνὺς ὅτι τῆς τιμωρίας τῆς ἐκείνου μᾶλλον ὑπεύθυνός ἐστιν ὁ καὶ τὴν ῥίζαν τῷ ἁμαρτήματι παρασχών. Ἀλλ' ἡμεῖς οὐδὲ οὕτω παιδευόμεθα, ἀλλὰ λυποῦμεν καὶ ὑπὲρ τῶν τυχόντων τοὺς ἀδελφούς· εἶτα ὥσπερ οὐδενὸς γενομένου δεινοῦ, οὕτως ἀμελοῦμεν καὶ ἐπιλανθανόμεθα τῶν λυπηθέντων παρ' ἡμῶν, καὶ τὴν ἔχθραν εἰς μακρὸν ἐκτεινομένην χρόνου μῆκος περιορῶμεν, οὐκ εἰδότες ὅτι τοσούτῳ μείζονα τίσομεν κόλασιν, ὅσῳ πλείονας ἂν ἀφῶμεν ἐπεισελθεῖν ἡμέρας τῇ λύπῃ, τούτῳ τε αὐτῷ, καὶ τῷ δυσκολωτέραν ἡμῖν γενέσθαι λοιπὸν τὴν καταλλαγήν. Ὥσπερ γὰρ, φιλίας συνεχούσης ἡμᾶς, οὐδὲν εὐκόλως τῶν διαιρούντων ἰσχῦσαι καὶ πιστευθῆναι δυνήσεται· οὕτως, ἔχθρας προκαταλαβούσης ἡμῶν τὰς ψυχὰς, πάντα εὔκολα καὶ ῥᾷστα τοῖς βουλομένοις ἡμῖν συγκρούειν ἐπιπλεῖόν ἐστι, τῶν μὲν χρηστῶν ἀπιστουμένων, πιστευομένων δὲ μόνων τῶν πονηρῶν.","english":"He has made it a matter of earnest concern that his sacrifice remain uncompleted and his service be interrupted, in order to dissolve the enmity and anger between people; but we are so irrational about the matter that we preserve hostility for many days against our own head. For Christ punishes not only those who bear grudges, but also those who have been freed from this passion yet despise their brothers who are afflicted. Since bearing grudges belongs to those who have been wronged, and the one who does the wrong would not easily be caught in this passion, for this reason he brought the latter to the former, showing that the one who also supplied the root for the sin is more liable to punishment than the other. But not even so are we instructed, but we grieve our brothers even over chance occurrences; then, as though nothing terrible had happened, we neglect and forget those we have grieved, and we allow the hostility stretched out over a long length of time, not knowing that we shall pay a punishment as much greater as we allow more days to enter into the grief—both by this very thing, and by the reconciliation becoming harder for us thereafter. For just as, when friendship holds us together, none of the things that divide will easily prevail or be believed; so, when hostility has pre-occupied our souls, all things are easy and most ready for those who wish to clash with us further, the good things being disbelieved, and only the evil things believed.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":10,"ref":"p10","source":"Διὰ ταῦτα κελεύει τὸ δῶρον ἀφέντας ἐπὶ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου, πρῶτον διαλλαγῆναι τῷ ἀδελφῷ, ἵνα μάθωμεν, ὅτι εἰ ἐν ἐκείνῳ τῷ καιρῷ ἀναβάλλεσθαι τὴν καταλλαγὴν ταύτην οὐ χρὴ, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἐν ἑτέροις. Ἡμεῖς δὲ τὰ μὲν σύμβολα τῶν πραγμάτων κατέχομεν, τῆς δὲ ἀληθείας αὐτῆς ἐκπεπτώκαμεν, ἀσπαζόμενοι μὲν ἀλλήλους μέλλοντος τοῦ δώρου προσφέρεσθαι, χείλεσι δὲ ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πολὺ καὶ στόματι τοῦτο ποιοῦντες μόνον. Ὁ δὲ Κύριος οὐ τοῦτο βούλεται, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἀπὸ τῆς ψυχῆς φίλημα, καὶ τὸν ἀπὸ τῆς καρδίας ἀσπασμὸν διδόναι τῷ πλησίον ἡμᾶς. Τοῦτο γάρ ἐστιν ἀσπάσασθαι ἀληθῶς, ἐκεῖνο δὲ σκηνή τις καὶ ὑπόκρισις, καὶ παροξύνειε μᾶλλον ἂν τὸν Θεὸν ἢ καταλλάξειεν ὁ οὕτω φιλῶν. Τὴν γὰρ εἰλικρινῆ καὶ ἐῤῥιζωμένην φιλίαν ἐπιζητεῖ παρ' ἡμῶν, οὐ ταύτην, ἧς τὸ μὲν σχῆμα πολὺ καὶ τὴν μόρφωσιν περιφέρομεν, τὴν δὲ δύναμιν πᾶσαν ἐσβέσαμεν, ὅπερ καὶ αὐτὸ τεκμήριον τῶν κατεχουσῶν ἡμᾶς ἀνομιῶν ἐστι. Διὰ γὰρ τὸ πληθυνθῆναι τὴν ἀνομίαν, φησὶ, ψυγήσεται ἡ ἀγάπη τῶν πολλῶν. Καὶ ταῦτα πράττομεν ἄνθρωποι, μήτε ὀργίζεσθαι, μήτε ἐχθροὺς ἔχειν κελευσθέντες τινὰς, εἰ δέ ποτε καὶ σχοίημεν, ἐφ' ἡμέρας μόνον· Ὁ ἥλιος γὰρ, φησὶ, μὴ ἐπιδυέτω ἐπὶ τῷ παροργισμῷ ὑμῶν Καὶ οὐδὲ μέχρι τούτου ἱστάμεθα, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπιβουλὰς κατ' ἀλλήλων ῥάπτομεν, καὶ δι' ὧν λέγομεν καὶ δι' ὧν πράττομεν δάκνοντες τὰ οἰκεῖα μέλη καὶ κατεσθίοντες· ὅπερ λαμπρᾶς μανίας ἐστί. Καὶ γὰρ τοὺς ἀνιάτως δαιμονῶντας καὶ μαινομένους ἀπὸ τούτου μάλιστα δοκιμάζομεν.","english":"For this reason he commands the one bringing the gift to leave it at the altar and first be reconciled with his brother, so that we may learn that if at that time this reconciliation ought not to be postponed, much more so in other circumstances. But we hold on to the symbols of things while we have fallen away from the truth itself, greeting one another when the gift is about to be offered, but for the most part doing this only with lips and mouth. The Lord does not want this, but rather the kiss from the soul and the greeting from the heart to be given to our neighbor. For this is truly to greet, while that other is a kind of stagecraft and hypocrisy, and the one who greets in this way would provoke God rather than reconcile him. For he seeks from us the sincere and deeply rooted friendship, not this one whose outward appearance and form we parade about extensively while we have extinguished all its power—which is itself a proof of the lawlessness that possesses us. For because lawlessness has increased, he says, the love of many will grow cold. And we do these things, though we are commanded neither to be angry nor to hold anyone as an enemy, and if ever we should, only for a day; for let not the sun, he says, go down on your provocation. And we do not stop even there, but we stitch plots against one another, and by what we say and by what we do we bite and devour our own members—which is sheer madness. For it is by this especially that we recognize those who are incurably possessed and insane.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":11,"ref":"p11","source":"Τί δὲ ὁ περὶ τοῦ ἀντιδίκου νόμος, καὶ ὁ περὶ τῆς ἐπιθυμίας τῆς ἀτόπου, καὶ τῶν ἀκολάστων ὀφθαλμῶν, καὶ τῆς ἀλόγου φιλίας καὶ ἐπιβλαβοῦς; Ὁ γὰρ δεξιὸς ὀφθαλμὸς, καὶ ἡ δεξιὰ χεὶρ, οὐδὲν ἡμῖν ἕτερον αἰνίττεται, ἢ τοὺς ἐπὶ βλάβῃ φιλοῦντας ἡμᾶς· καὶ ὁ περὶ τῶν ἀπολελυμένων δὲ γυναικῶν ὑπὸ τίνος οὐ κατελύθη καὶ κατεπατήθη πολλάκις;\n\nδʹ. Τοὺς γὰρ περὶ τοῦ μὴ δεῖν ὀμνύναι κειμένους καὶ αἰσχύνομαι λέγειν, οὐ διὰ τὰς ὁρκωμοσίας μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ διὰ τὰς ἐπιορκίας τὰς συνεχεῖς. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ τὸ ὀμνύναι, κἂν εὐορκῇ τις, ἔγκλημα καὶ ἐντολῆς παράβασις, ποῦ τὴν ἐπιορκίαν θήσομεν; Εἰ γὰρ τὸ περισσὸν τοῦ ναὶ καὶ τοῦ οὒ ἐκ τοῦ Πονηροῦ, τὸ καὶ τούτου περισσότερον τίνος ἔσται λοιπόν; Εἶτα πάλιν φησίν· Ἐάν τίς σε ῥαπίσῃ εἰς τὴν δεξιὰν σιαγόνα, στρέψον αὐτῷ καὶ τὴν ἄλλην· καὶ τῷ θέλοντί σοι κριθῆναι, καὶ τὸν χιτῶνά σου λαβεῖν, ἄφες αὐτῷ καὶ τὸ ἱμάτιον· καὶ ἐάν τίς σε ἀγγαρεύσῃ μίλιον\n\nἓν, ὕπαγε μετ' αὐτοῦ δύο· καὶ τῷ αἰτοῦντί σε δίδου, καὶ τὸν θέλοντα ἀπὸ σοῦ δανείσασθαι μὴ ἀποστραφῇς. Τί ἄν τις εἴποι πρὸς ταῦτα; Ἐφ' ἑκάστου γὰρ τῶν εἰρημένων δακρύειν μόνον καὶ ἐγκαλύπτεσθαι λείπεται· οὕτως ἐκ διαμέτρου πρὸς τὴν ἐναντίαν ἀντεταξάμεθα, εἰς κρίσεις καὶ μάχας καὶ δίκας καὶ ἀμφισβητήσεις τὸν ἅπαντα χρόνον ἀναλίσκοντες, καὶ μηδὲ βραχεῖαν ἐπήρειαν φέροντες, μὴ τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν πραγμάτων, μὴ τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν ῥημάτων, ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὸς τὸ τυχὸν ἐκθηριούμενοι.","english":"But what of the law concerning the adversary, and concerning unlawful desire, and unchaste eyes, and irrational and harmful friendship? For the right eye and the right hand signify nothing else to us than those who love us to our harm; and the law concerning divorced women—by whom has it not been repeatedly abolished and trampled underfoot?\n\n4. For the laws laid down concerning not swearing I am ashamed even to speak of, not only because of the oaths but also because of the constant perjuries. For if swearing, even when one swears truly, is a reproach and a transgression of the commandment, where shall we place perjury? For if the superfluity of yes and no is from the Evil One, whose will that which is more than this superfluity be? Then again he says: If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also; and to the one who wishes to judge you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well; and if anyone compels you to go one mile, go with him two; and give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wishes to borrow from you. What could one say to these things? For at each of the things said, it remains only to weep and cover oneself; so diametrically opposed are we to the contrary, spending all our time in judgments and fights and lawsuits and disputes, and bearing not even a slight assault, neither that from circumstances nor that from words, but becoming savage even at the merest trifle.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":12,"ref":"p12","source":"Εἰ δὲ ἔχοις τινὰς λέγειν τῶν πολλὰ μὲν ἀνηλωκότων εἰς πένητας, καταφρονουμένων δὲ διὰ τὴν πενίαν ὕστερον, καὶ μυρία πασχόντων κακὰ, ὀλίγους μὲν τούτους καὶ εὐαριθμήτους ἐρεῖς· πλὴν ἀλλ' οὐδὲ οὕτω τὸν ἐνταῦθα ἀναγεγραμμένον ἡμῖν φιλόσοφον ἔδειξας· πολὺ γὰρ οὗτος ἐκείνου τοῦ βίου πνευματικώτερος. Οὐδὲ γάρ ἐστιν ἴσον ἑκόντα δοῦναι, καὶ ἀποστερούμενον πάντων ἐνεγκεῖν. Τί δὲ λέγω ἐνεγκεῖν; ὃ γὰρ ὁ Χριστὸς εἶπε, πολλῷ τούτου πάλιν μεῖζόν ἐστι. Τοσοῦτον δὲ ἀπέστησεν ὁ λόγος τῶν ἀδικουμένων τὰς ψυχὰς τῆς πρὸς τοὺς ἀδικοῦντας ὀργῆς, ὡς μὴ μόνον ὑπὲρ τῶν ἤδη ληφθέντων μὴ δυσχεραίνειν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν ὑπολειφθέντων ἑκόντας παραχωρεῖν, καὶ τῆς ἐκείνων μανίας περὶ τὸ κακῶς ποιεῖν μείζονα περὶ τὸ κακῶς πάσχειν ἐπιδείκνυσθαι τὴν προθυμίαν ἡμᾶς. Ὅταν γὰρ ὁ βουλόμενος ἀδικεῖν εὕρῃ τὸν ἀδικούμενον πλέον παρεσκευασμένον πρὸς τὸ παθεῖν ἤπερ ἐκεῖνος ἐβούλετο, καὶ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν ἐμπλήσας τὴν ἑαυτοῦ, τὸν ἐπηρεασθέντα ἐκ περιουσίας ἴδῃ φιλοτιμούμενον, ἄπεισιν ἡττημένος, τὴν ὑπερβολὴν τῆς ἀνεξικακίας ἐρυθριάσας· κἂν γοῦν θηρίον ᾖ, κἂν ἕτερόν τι τούτου χαλεπώτερον, μετριώτερος ἔσται τοῦ λοιποῦ, τήν τε αὑτοῦ κακίαν καὶ τὴν ἀρετὴν ἐκείνου καλῶς ἀπὸ τῆς συγκρίσεως ταύτης ἰδών. Τοῦτον ἐγὼ τὸν βίον ἐπιζητῶ νῦν, ὃν μόνον ἐν ταῖς Γραφαῖς κείμενον ὁρῶ, ἀλλαχοῦ δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἔργων οὐδαμοῦ. Μὴ γάρ μοι τὸν ἠδικημένον εἴπῃς καὶ στέγοντα· συμβαίνει γὰρ καὶ παρὰ ἀδυναμίαν τοῦτο παθεῖν.","english":"But if you could name some who have spent much on the poor, and later were despised because of poverty, and have suffered countless evils, you will name few and easily counted; yet not even so have you shown us the philosopher recorded here. For this life is far more spiritual than that one. For it is not the same to give willingly and to endure being robbed of everything. But why do I say endure? For what Christ said is again much greater than this. The word so far removed the souls of the wronged from anger against the wrongdoers, that they not only do not resent what has already been taken, but willingly yield even what remains, and show greater eagerness for suffering evil than those men's madness for doing evil. For when the one who wishes to wrong finds the one being wronged more prepared to suffer than he himself wished, and having filled his own desire, sees the one he abused glorying out of abundance, he departs defeated, ashamed at the excess of forbearance; and even if he be a beast, even if something more savage than a beast, he will be more moderate thereafter, having well seen both his own vice and that man's virtue from this comparison. This is the life I now seek, which I see set forth in the Scriptures alone, but nowhere else in deeds. For do not tell me of the man who was wronged and kept silent; for this can happen even from weakness.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":13,"ref":"p13","source":"Εἰ δὲ καὶ πρὸς τοὺς ὁμοτίμους καὶ οἷς δυνατὸν ἐπεξελθεῖν ἐπεδείξατο τοῦτο, ἀλλὰ οὐ μέχρι τοσούτου, ὡς καὶ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν ὑπερακοντίσαι τὴν ἐκείνου, καὶ πλέον ὧν ἐβούλετο δοῦναι, καὶ τοῖς ἑκοντὶ προστεθεῖσι, τὴν ἐπὶ τοῖς βίᾳ ἀποσπασθεῖσι δεῖξαι μακροθυμίαν. Τὸ δὲ τούτων πάλιν ἀνώτερον καὶ αὐτῆς ἁπτόμενον τῆς κορυφῆς, τοὺς τὰ τοιαῦτα ἐργαζομένους εἰς ἡμᾶς, καὶ ἐπηρεάζοντας καὶ χρήμασι καὶ σώμασι καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἅπασιν, ἐν φίλων τάξει, καὶ φίλων τῶν γνησίων κατατάττειν ἐκέλευσεν ὁ Χριστός. Μὴ γὰρ προσδίδου μόνον τῷ ἁρπάζοντι καὶ πλεονεκτοῦντι, φησὶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ φίλει τοῦτον φιλίᾳ τῇ σφοδροτάτῃ καὶ εἰλικρινεῖ. Τοῦτο δὴ, τοῦτο καὶ παραστῆσαι βουλόμενος εἶπεν· Εὔχεσθε ὑπὲρ τῶν ἐπηρεαζόντων ὑμᾶς· ὅπερ ἐπὶ τῶν σφόδρα ἀγαπωμένων ποιεῖν εἰώθαμεν μόνον. Καὶ ἵνα μὴ πάλιν ὑπερβολῆς νομίσῃς εἶναι τὰ ῥήματα, καὶ τὴν διαβολικὴν ἐπεισαγάγῃς ἀπάτην, προστίθησι τῷ πράγματι λογισμὸν, καὶ αἰτίαν δικαίαν λέγων· Ἐὰν γὰρ ἀγαπήσητε τοὺς ἀγαπῶντας ὑμᾶς, τίνα μισθὸν ἔχετε; οὐχὶ καὶ οἱ τελῶναι τὸ αὐτὸ τοῦτο ποιοῦσι; Καὶ ἐὰν ἀσπάσησθε τοὺς ἀσπαζομένους ὑμᾶς, τί περισσὸν ποιεῖτε; οὐχὶ καὶ οἱ ἐθνικοὶ τοῦτο ποιοῦσιν; Ὅταν οὖν τῶν τελωνῶν καὶ τῶν ἐθνικῶν μηδὲν κατὰ τοῦτο διαφέρωμεν, πῶς οὐ πενθεῖν ἄξιον καὶ κατακόπτεσθαι; Καὶ εἴθε τοῦτο μόνον ἦν τὸ δεινόν· νῦν δὲ τοσούτου ἀποδέομεν τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ἀγαπᾷν, ὡς καὶ τοὺς ἀγαπῶντας ἀποστρέφεσθαι καὶ μισεῖν.","english":"But if he also showed this toward equals and those whom it is possible to attack, yet not to such an extent as to surpass that man's desire and to give more than he wished, and to those willingly added, to show forbearance toward those forcibly torn away. But again, something higher than these and touching the very summit itself: Christ commanded that those who do such things to us, and who maltreat us in money and body and all other things, be ranked in the position of friends, and genuine friends. For do not merely give to the one who snatches and takes advantage, he says, but also love him with the most intense and sincere love. This, indeed, this is what he wished to establish when he said: Pray for those who maltreat you—which we are accustomed to do only for those who are greatly loved. And so that you may not again think the words are excess, and introduce the devil's deception, he adds reasoning to the matter, and states a just cause: For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet those who greet you, what more do you do? Do not even the Gentiles do this? When, then, we differ in nothing in this respect from tax collectors and Gentiles, how is it not worthy of mourning and of beating the breast? And would that this were the only terrible thing; but now we are so far from loving enemies that we even turn away from and hate those who love us.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":14,"ref":"p14","source":"Τὸ γὰρ βασκαίνειν καὶ φθονεῖν, καὶ δι' ὧν πράττομεν καὶ δι' ὧν λέγομεν τὴν δόξαν αὐτῶν καθαιρεῖν καὶ τὴν εὐδοκίμησιν, τῶν σφόδρα μισούντων καὶ ἀποστρεφομένων ἐστίν. Οὕτως οὐ μόνον τῶν ἐθνικῶν οὐδὲν διαφέρομεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ πολλῷ χεῖρον αὐτῶν ἐν τούτῳ διακείμεθα. Καὶ ὁ μὲν Χριστὸς εὔχεσθαι ὑπὲρ τῶν ἐπηρεαζόντων ἐκέλευσεν, ἡμεῖς δὲ δόλους ῥάπτομεν, καὶ τοὺς καταρωμένους εὐλογεῖν κελευσθέντες, μυρίαις ἀραῖς περιβάλλομεν. Τί ταύτης σφοδρότερον τῆς ἐναντιώσεως γένοιτ' ἂν καὶ τῆς μάχης, ἣν μαχόμεθα τῷ ταῦτα νομοθετήσαντι, πᾶσιν αὐτοῦ τοῖς προστάγμασιν ἐξ ἐναντίας ἱστάμενοι; Τὴν γὰρ τῆς\n\nκενοδοξίας τυραννίδα, ἣν αὐτὸς μὲν διὰ τῶν ἑξῆς ῥημάτων κατέλυσεν, ἡμεῖς δὲ ηὐξήσαμεν, οὐκ ἐπὶ τὰς εὐχὰς μόνον καὶ νηστείας καὶ τὰς ἐλεημοσύνας, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ ἄλλα πάντα ἑλκύσαντες αὐτῆς τὴν ἀρχὴν, καὶ παντὸς μᾶλλον ἀργυρωνήτου τῇ μανίᾳ ταύτης ὑποθέντες ἑαυτοὺς διὰ τὸ πᾶσιν εἶναι δῆλον, παρίημι, τοσοῦτον εἰπὼν, ὅτι τῶν ἀνθρώπων οἱ μὲν εἰς ἐσχάτην καταφρόνησιν ἐκδόντες ἑαυτοὺς, οὐδενὶ τῶν προστεταγμένων προσέχουσιν, οἱ δὲ ἐκ βραχείας μοίρας ὑπακούειν θελήσαντες, καί τινας τῶν ἐντολῶν φυλάξαι σπουδάσαντες, καὶ οὗτοι πάλιν εἰς τὴν αὐτὴν ἐκείνοις ζημίαν κατέστρεψαν, διὰ τὸ μὴ θελῆσαι τῆς κενοδοξίας ἀποδύσασθαι τοὺς δεσμούς. Καὶ ὁ μὲν οὐδὲ ὅλως δίδωσιν ἐλεημοσύνην, ὁ δὲ παρέχων μὲν τοῖς δεομένοις τινὰ τῶν ἑαυτοῦ, μετὰ κενοδοξίας δὲ τοῦτο ποιῶν, οὐδὲν ἄμεινον τοῦ μὴ δεδωκότος διάκειται. Οὕτως ἅπαντας πανταχόθεν εἰς τὰς ἑαυτοῦ παγίδας ἐνέβαλεν ὁ Πονηρός.","english":"For to envy and begrudge, and through what we do and through what we say to tear down their reputation and good name, belongs to those who utterly hate and turn away from them. Thus we differ in nothing from the pagans, but are even disposed far worse than they in this matter. And Christ commanded us to pray for those who mistreat us, but we stitch together plots; and being commanded to bless those who curse us, we wrap them in countless curses. What could be more violent than this opposition and this battle which we fight against the one who laid down these laws, standing in opposition to all his commandments? For the tyranny of vainglory, which he himself abolished through the words that follow, we have increased, dragging its rule not only over prayers and fastings and almsgivings, but also over all other things, and subjecting ourselves to this madness more than any slave bought with silver—since it is clear to all—I pass over, having said only this much: that some people, having given themselves over to the utmost contempt, pay attention to none of the things commanded; while others, having wished to obey from a small portion and having been eager to keep some of the commandments, these too in turn fell back into the same loss as those, because they did not wish to strip off the bonds of vainglory. And one man does not give alms at all, while another gives some of his own possessions to those in need but does so with vainglory, and he is disposed no better than the one who did not give. Thus the Evil One has cast everyone, from every side, into his own snares.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":15,"ref":"p15","source":"Εἰ δέ τις καὶ ταύτην δυνηθείη διεκδῦναι τὴν βλάβην, ὑπὸ τῆς ἀπονοίας κατασχεθεὶς, πάλιν τὸ αὐτὸ πτῶμα κατέπεσε, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ πολλῷ χαλεπώτερον· οὐ γὰρ τοῦτο ζημιωθεὶς μόνον, ὅπερ ἐποίησεν, ἄπεισιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ κακόν τι προσλαβών. Πολλοὺς δὲ ἔγωγε οἶδα, οὐ ταύταις μόνον ἁλισκομένους ταῖς αἰτίαις, ἀλλὰ καὶ διὰ τὸ φιλεῖν καὶ διὰ τὸ δυσωπεῖσθαι, καὶ δι' ἑτέρας πολλὰς τοιαύτας ἐπαρκοῦντας προφάσεις τοῖς δεομένοις, οὐ διὰ τὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ φόβον καὶ τὴν ἐντολῆν. Τοσούτων οὖν ὄντων τῶν λυμαινομένων ταῖς πράξεσι ταῖς ἀγαθαῖς, τίς ταχέως σωθῆναι δυνήσεται τῶν τούτοις περιπεπτωκότων τοῖς κακοῖς;\n\nεʹ. Τὸ δὲ, Ἄφες ἡμῖν τὰ ὀφειλήματα ἡμῶν, ὡς καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀφίεμεν τοῖς ὀφειλέταις ἡμῶν, τίς ἄρα ὁ μετὰ παῤῥησίας ἐρῶν; Κἂν γὰρ μηδὲν ἀδικήσωμεν τοὺς ἐχθροὺς, ἀλλ' ὅμως τὴν πληγὴν ἀνίατον ἔχομεν. Ὁ δὲ Χριστὸς οὐχ οὕτως ἀφιέναι βούλεται μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ εἰς τοὺς πρώτους τῶν φίλων αὐτοὺς ἀριθμεῖν. Διὰ τοῦτο γοῦν, καθὼς ἔφθην εἰπὼν, καὶ ὑπερεύχεσθαι τούτων προσέταξεν. Ἐὰν δὲ ἀδικῇς μὲν μηδὲν, ἀποστρέφῃ δὲ, καὶ οὐχ ἡδέως ὁρᾷς, καὶ τὸ τραῦμα ἔχῃς ἐνακμάζον σου τῇ ψυχῇ, οὔπω τὴν ἐντολὴν ἐποίησας, ἣν προσέταξέ σοι ὁ Χριστός. Πῶς οὖν αὐτὸς ἵλεων γενέσθαι τὸν Θεὸν παρακαλεῖς. τοῖς εἰς σὲ πεπλημμεληκόσιν οὔπω γεγονὼς ἵλεως αὐτός; Τὸ τοιοῦτον καί τις σοφὸς διασύρων φησίν· Ἄνθρωπος ἀνθρώπῳ συντηρεῖ ὀργὴν, καὶ παρὰ Κυρίου ζητεῖ ἴασιν; ἐπ' ἄνθρωπον τὸν ὁμότιμον αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔχει ἔλεος, καὶ περὶ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν αὐτοῦ δεῖται; αὐτὸς σὰρξ ὢν διατηρεῖ μῆνιν, καὶ τίς ἐξιλάσεται τὰς ἁμαρτίας αὐτοῦ;","english":"But if someone should be able to escape this harm too, yet be seized by folly, he has fallen into the same ruin again, or rather into one far more grievous; for he does not depart having lost only this, namely what he did, but also having taken on some evil besides. Indeed, I know many who are caught not only by these causes, but also because of affection and because of being ashamed to refuse, and who supply the needs of the needy for many other such pretexts, not out of the fear of God and His commandment. Since, then, there are so many things that corrupt good deeds, who among those who have fallen into these evils will be able to be saved quickly?\n\n5. But the words, \"Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors,\" who is it that will say them with boldness? For even if we have wronged our enemies in nothing, nevertheless we have the wound incurable. But Christ does not will that we merely forgive in this way, but also that we count them among the first of our friends. For this reason, then, as I said before, He commanded us to pray even for them. But if you wrong them in nothing, yet turn away from them, and do not look on them with pleasure, and have the wound still festering in your soul, you have not yet fulfilled the commandment that Christ gave you. How, then, do you entreat God to become propitious, when you yourself have not yet become propitious to those who have trespassed against you? Ridiculing such a person, a certain wise man says: \"A man cherishes wrath against a man, and does he seek healing from the Lord? He has no mercy on a man like himself, and does he entreat concerning his own sins? He himself, being flesh, keeps up his anger, and who will make atonement for his sins?","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":16,"ref":"p16","source":"Ἐβουλόμην σιγῆσαι λοιπὸν, καὶ μέχρι τῶν εἰρημένων στῆσαι τὸν λόγον· οὕτως αἰσχύνομαι καὶ ἐρυθριῶ περαιτέρω προελθεῖν· τὸν γὰρ πόλεμον τοῦτον, ὃν ἠράμεθα πρὸς τὰς ἐντολὰς τοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ τὴν ἔχθραν τὴν ἀκήρυκτον, προϊὼν ὁ λόγος τρανότερον δείκνυσιν. Ἀλλὰ τί τὸ κέρδος ἀπὸ τῆς ἡμετέρας σιγῆς, τῶν πραγμάτων οὕτω βοώντων τὴν μάχην, καὶ πρὸ τῶν πραγμάτων δὲ αὐτῶν τοῦ μέλλοντος κρίνειν ἡμᾶς πάντα εἰδότος σαφῶς; Τὸ μὲν οὖν μὴ θησαυρίζειν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ἀλλ' ἐν οὐρανῷ, εἰ καὶ ὀλίγους, ὅμως εὕροι τις ἂν κατωρθωκότας καλῶς· οἱ γὰρ λοιποὶ πάντες ὥσπερ τοὐναντίον ἀκούσαντες, καὶ παραγγελθέντες ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς θησαυρίζειν, οὕτως ἀφιέντες τὸν οὐρανὸν, προστετήκασιν ἅπασι τοῖς ἐν τῇ γῇ, καὶ περὶ τὴν τῶν χρημάτων μαίνονται συλλογὴν, καὶ τὸν Θεὸν μισήσαντες, ἀγαπῶσι τὸν μαμωνᾶν· τὸ δὲ, Μὴ μεριμνήσητε περὶ τὴν αὔριον, οὐδένα οὔτε ἀκούσαντα, οὔτε πεισθέντα οἶδα ἐγὼ διὰ τὴν ὀλιγοπιστίαν ἡμῶν. Διὰ τοῦτο ταύτην ἐγκαλυψάμενος παρελεύσομαι τὴν ἐντολήν. Ἔδει μὲν γὰρ καὶ ἁπλῶς ἀποφαινόμενον πιστεύεσθαι τὸν Χριστόν· νῦν δὲ οὐδὲ λογισμοὺς ἀναντιῤῥήτους εἰπὼν, καὶ ὑποδείγματα παραγαγὼν, τό τε τῶν ὀρνίθων καὶ τοῦ χόρτου, πιστεύεται παρ' ἡμῶν, ἀλλ' ὁμοίως τοῖς ἔθνεσι, τάχα δὲ καὶ μικροψυχότερον ὑπὲρ τῆς τούτων φροντίδος δακνόμεθα, καὶ μηδὲ εὔχεσθαι ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν κελευσθέντες, ἅπασαν περὶ ταῦτα τὴν σπουδὴν ἀναλίσκομεν. Ταύτην οὖν, ὅπερ ἔφην, ἐρυθριάσας παρελεύσομαι τὴν ἐντολήν· ἐπὶ δὲ τοῖς μετὰ ταῦτα ἥξω, εἴ","english":"I wished to be silent from now on and to stop my discourse at what has been said; so ashamed am I and so I blush to proceed further. For this war that we have undertaken against the commandments of Christ, and the undeclared enmity, the discourse, as it advances, shows more clearly. But what is the gain from our silence, when the facts themselves cry out the conflict, and before the facts, the One who is to judge us, who knows all things clearly? Now, as for not storing up treasures on earth but in heaven, even if few, one might find some who have succeeded well; for all the rest, as though they had heard the opposite and been commanded to store up treasures on earth, thus forsaking heaven, cling to all things on the earth, and rage after the collecting of money, and having hated God, they love mammon. But as for \"Do not be anxious about tomorrow,\" I know no one who has either heard it or been persuaded by it, because of our little faith. Therefore, having covered this commandment over, I will pass it by. For it was fitting that Christ be believed even when simply declaring it; but now, not even when he has stated irrefutable reasonings and brought forward examples—both of the birds and of the grass—is he believed by us, but like the Gentiles, and perhaps even more faint-heartedly than they are we are bitten by anxiety about these things, and though not even commanded to pray for them, we expend all our zeal on them. This commandment, then, as I said, I will blush for and pass by; but I will come to what follows, if","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":17,"ref":"p17","source":"πώς τινα τῆς αἰσχύνης ταύτης εὕρω παραμυθίαν μικράν. Τί τοίνυν μετὰ ταῦτα λέγει; Μὴ κρίνετε, ἵνα μὴ κριθῆτε. Ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν παραμυθίαν ᾤμην εὑρήσειν τῆς ἡμετέρας αἰσχύνης, ὁρῶ δὲ προσθήκην οὐκ ἐλάττονα τῶν προτέρων. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ μηδὲν ἕτερον ἡμῖν πεπλημμέλητο, τοῦτο γοῦν ἱκανὸν εἰς ἐσχάτην γέενναν ἀπαγαγεῖν· οὕτω τῶν μὲν ἑτέροις ἁμαρτανομένων πικροὶ καθήμεθα δικασταὶ, τὰς δὲ ἑαυτῶν δοκοὺς παρορῶμεν, καὶ εἰς τὸ τὰ τῶν ἄλλων πολυπραγμονεῖν καὶ καταδικάζειν δαπανᾶται ἡμῖν ἅπας ὁ βίος. Καὶ οὐδένα ἂν εὕροις ταχέως οὐ βιωτικὸν ἄνδρα, οὐ μοναχὸν, οὐ τοῦ κλήρου, ταύτης ἐλεύθερον τῆς ἁμαρτίας· καίτοι γε τοσαύτης ἀπειλῆς κειμένης αὐτῇ· Ἐν ᾧ γὰρ κρίματι κρίνετε, κριθήσεσθε, φησί· καὶ, Ἐν ᾧ μέτρῳ μετρεῖτε, ἀντιμετρηθήσεται ὑμῖν. Ἀλλ' ὅμως κόλασιν μὲν τοσαύτην, ἡδονὴν δὲ τῆς ἁμαρτίας οὐδεμίαν ταύτης ἐχούσης, ἅπαντες ἐπιτρέχομεν τῷ κακῷ, καθάπερ σπουδάζοντες καὶ φιλονεικοῦντες, μὴ μόνον διὰ μιᾶς, ἀλλὰ καὶ διὰ πολλῶν ὁδῶν εἰς τὴν τῆς γεέννης κάμινον εἰσελ θεῖν. Καὶ οὐ πρὸς τὰ δοκοῦντα ἐπίπονα εἶναι μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὸς τὰ κουφότερα τούτων ὁμοίως ἀναπεπτώκαμεν, ἐπ' ἴσης καὶ ταῦτα κἀκεῖνα παραβαίνοντες, καὶ δεικνύντες διὰ τῶν ῥᾴστων, ὅτι καὶ τὰ ἐπιπονώτερα διὰ τὴν οἰκείαν καταφρόνησιν, οὐ διὰ τὸ βαρὺ τῶν προσταγμάτων οὐκ ἐξανύομεν. Ποῖον γὰρ, εἰπέ μοι, πόνον ἔχει, τὸ μὴ πολυπραγμονεῖν τὰ ἀλλότρια, μηδὲ καταδικάζειν τὰ τῶν πλησίον πλημμελήματα; Τοὐναντίον μὲν οὖν, πόνου δεῖται τὸ περιεργάζεσθαι καὶ κρίνειν ἑτέρους.","english":"How can I find some small consolation for this shame? What then does he say after this? \"Do not judge, so that you may not be judged.\" I thought, then, that I would find consolation for our shame, but I see an addition no less than the former things. For even if we had committed no other fault, this alone would be enough to lead us to the outermost Gehenna: we sit as bitter judges of the sins others commit, but we overlook our own beams, and our whole life is spent in meddling in the affairs of others and condemning them. And you would not quickly find anyone—not a worldly man, not a monk, not one of the clergy—free from this sin, although so great a threat lies against it: \"For with the judgment you judge, you will be judged,\" he says, and, \"With the measure you measure, it will be measured back to you.\" But nevertheless, though the punishment is so great and the sin brings no pleasure, we all rush into evil, as though eager and contending to enter the furnace of Gehenna not only by one road but by many. And we are equally slack not only toward what seem to be burdensome things but also toward the lighter ones, transgressing these and those alike, and showing through the easiest things that we fail to accomplish the more burdensome ones because of our own contempt, not because of the weight of the commandments. For tell me, what toil is there in not meddling in others' affairs, nor condemning the faults of neighbors? On the contrary, it is meddling and judging others that requires toil.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":18,"ref":"p18","source":"Τίς οὖν ταῦτα ἀκούσας πιστεύσει ποτὲ ἡμῖν, ὅτι ἐκ ῥᾳθυμίας, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἀπὸ σπουδῆς καὶ τοῦ μὴ βούλεσθαι πρὸς τὸ παρακούειν ἤλθομεν; Ὅταν γὰρ ἃ μὲν ἐπιτάττει ποιεῖν, εὔκολα καὶ ῥᾷστα τοῖς βουλομένοις, ἃ δὲ ἀπαγορεύει χαλεπώτερα καὶ ἐπίπονα, ἡμεῖς δὲ τὰ προστεταγμένα ἀφέντες, τὰ κεκωλυμένα πράττομεν, ἆρα οὐχ ὡς φιλονεικοῦντας αὐτῷ ταῦτα ἁμαρτάνειν φήσουσιν ἡμᾶς οἱ ἐχθροί; Καὶ γὰρ, ὅτι πόνον οὐδένα ἔχει τὰ ἐπιτάγματα τοῦ Χριστοῦ, αὐτὸς ἀπεφήνατο λέγων· Ἄρατε τὸν ζυγόν μου ἐφ' ὑμᾶς· ὁ γὰρ ζυγός μου χρηστὸς, καὶ τὸ φορτίον μου ἐλαφρόν ἐστιν. Ἀλλ' ἡμεῖς ὑπὸ τῆς ἀφάτου ῥᾳθυμίας, φορτικὰ τὰ κοῦφα ποιοῦμεν φαίνεσθαι τοῖς πολλοῖς. Τῷ μὲν οὖν ἀργεῖν καὶ καθεύδειν βουλομένῳ διαπαντὸς καὶ τὸ σιτίων μετασχεῖν καὶ πότου πάντως ἐπίπονον εἶναι δοκεῖ· οἱ δὲ ἐγρηγορότες καὶ νήφοντες οὐδὲ πρὸς τὰ πάνυ θαυμαστὰ καὶ δυσκατόρθωτα ἀναδύονται, ἀλλὰ μετὰ πλείονος οὗτοι θάρσους κατατολμῶσιν αὐτῶν, ἢ τῶν σφόδρα εὐκόλων οἱ παρειμένοι καὶ ὑπνηλοί. Οὐδὲν γὰρ, οὐδὲν οὕτως ἐστὶ ῥᾴδιον, ὃ μὴ σφόδρα βαρὺ καὶ ἐπαχθὲς ὁ πολὺς δείκνυσιν ὄκνος ἡμῖν, ὥσπερ ἐπίπονον καὶ δυσχερὲς, ὃ μὴ λίαν εὔκολον ἡ σπουδὴ καὶ ἡ προθυμία ποιεῖ. Τί γὰρ, εἰπέ μοι, τοῦ καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν κινδυνεύειν κινδύνους θάνατον ἀπειλοῦντας χαλεπώτερον ἦν; Ἀλλ' ὅμως ἐλαφρὸν τοῦτο ὁ μακάριος ἐκάλεσε Παῦλος, οὑτωσὶ λέγων· Τὸ γὰρ παραυτίκα ἐλαφρὸν τῆς θλίψεως, καθ' ὑπερβολὴν εἰς ὑπερβολὴν αἰώνιον βάρος δόξης κατεργάζεται ἡμῖν. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ τῇ φύσει τὸ πρᾶγμα βαρὺ, ἀλλὰ τῇ τῶν μελλόντων ἐλπίδι γίνεται κοῦφον· ἣν δὴ καὶ αὐτὸς αἰτίαν τέθεικεν εἰπών·","english":"Who then, upon hearing these things, will ever believe us, that it was from laziness, and not from zeal and from unwillingness, that we came to disobedience? For when the things he commands us to do are easy and most simple for those who are willing, and the things he forbids are harder and more laborious, and we, setting aside what has been commanded, do what has been forbidden—will our enemies not say that we sin in this way as though striving against him? For that the commandments of Christ involve no toil, he himself declared, saying: \"Take my yoke upon you, for my yoke is good, and my burden is light.\" But we, through unspeakable laziness, make the light things appear burdensome to the many. For to the one who wishes always to be idle and to sleep, even to partake of food and drink seems altogether laborious; but those who are awake and sober do not shrink even from the most wondrous and difficult things, but with greater boldness they dare them, than those who are slack and drowsy dare the very easy things. For nothing, nothing is so easy that great sluggishness does not make it appear to us very heavy and burdensome, just as eagerness and zeal make nothing laborious and difficult that is not exceedingly easy. For tell me, what was harder than to be in danger every day from dangers that threaten death? Yet nevertheless the blessed Paul called this light, saying thus: \"For the momentary lightness of our affliction works for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure.\" For even if the matter is heavy by nature, yet by the hope of things to come it becomes light; which cause he himself also set forth, saying:","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":19,"ref":"p19","source":"Μὴ σκοπούντων ἡμῶν τὰ βλεπόμενα, ἀλλὰ τὰ μὴ βλεπόμενα. ςʹ. Ἴδωμεν δὲ καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. Μὴ δῶτε, φησὶ, τὰ ἅγια τοῖς κυσὶ, μηδὲ ῥίψητε τοὺς μαργαρίτας ὑμῶν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν χοίρων. Ὁ μὲν οὖν Χριστὸς καὶ ἐν προστάγματος τάξει τὴν ἐντολὴν δέδωκεν· ἡμεῖς δὲ ὑπὸ κενοδοξίας καὶ φιλοτιμίας ἀλόγου καὶ τοῦτο τὸ πρόσταγμα ἀνετρέψαμεν, ἀνθρώπους φθόρους καὶ ἀπίστους καὶ μυρίων γέμοντας κακῶν ἁπλῶς καὶ ἀνεξετάστως εἰς τὴν τῶν μυστηρίων παραδεχόμενοι κοινωνίαν, καὶ πρὶν ἢ τῆς οἰκείας γνώμης δοῦναι βάσανον ἀκριβῆ, πάντα τὸν περὶ τῶν δογμάτων αὐτοῖς ἐκκαλύπτοντες λόγον, καὶ τὰ προπύλαια οὔπω δυνηθέντας ἰδεῖν ἀθρόως εἰς τὰ ἄδυτα ἄγοντες. Διὰ γοῦν τοῦτο τῶν οὕτω τελεσθέντων τινὲς ταχέως ἀποπηδήσαντες, μυρία εἰργάσαντο δεινά. Καὶ οὐκ ἐπὶ τῶν ἄλλων μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐφ' ἡμῶν αὐτῶν τὴν φρικωδεστάτην ταύτην\n\nπαραβλέπομεν ἐντολὴν, ἡνίκα ἂν τῶν ἀθανάτων μυστηρίων δέοι μετασχεῖν, μετὰ τῆς ἐγκειμένης ἡμῖν ἀκαθαρσίας τε καὶ ἀναισχυντίας τοῦτο ποιοῦντες πολλάκις. Οὐ ταύτας δὲ μόνον τὰς ἐντολὰς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς ἑξῆς ὑπὸ πάντων ὁλοσχερῶς ἀνατετραμμένας ἴδοι τις ἄν, Εἰπόντος γὰρ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, Ὅσα ἐὰν θέλητε ἵνα ποιῶσιν ὑμῖν οἱ ἄνθρωποι, οὕτω καὶ ὑμεῖς ποιεῖτε αὐτοῖς· ἡμεῖς πάντα ποιοῦμεν ἃ πάσχειν μὴ θέλομεν, καὶ κελευσθέντες διὰ τῆς στενῆς πύλης εἰσελθεῖν, τὴν εὐρύχωρον ἐπιζητοῦμεν πανταχοῦ, Καὶ τὸ μὲν τῶν βιωτικῶν τινας ταύτην ἀσπάζεσθαι καὶ φιλεῖν, οὐ σφόδρα ἐστὶ θαυμαστόν·","english":"Since we do not look at the things that are seen, but at the things that are not seen. 6. Let us consider what follows as well. \"Do not give,\" he says, \"what is holy to the dogs, nor cast your pearls before the swine.\" Christ indeed gave this commandment in the form of a precept; but we, out of vainglory and irrational love of honor, have overturned even this precept, admitting corrupt and faithless men, full of countless evils, simply and without examination into the communion of the mysteries, and before giving a precise test of their own disposition, we reveal to them the whole account of the doctrines, and while they are not yet able to see the outer courts, we lead them all at once into the innermost sanctuary. For this reason, some of those thus initiated quickly leaped away and wrought countless evils. And not only in the case of others, but also in our own case, we overlook this most dreadful commandment, whenever it is necessary to partake of the immortal mysteries, often doing this with the uncleanness and shamelessness that lies within us. One could see that not only these commandments, but also the ones that follow, have been wholly overturned by all. For when Christ said, \"Whatever you wish that men should do to you, so also do you to them,\" we do everything that we do not wish to suffer, and when commanded to enter through the narrow gate, we seek the broad one everywhere. And that some of those concerned with worldly things should welcome and love this is not very surprising.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":20,"ref":"p20","source":"τὸ δὲ ἄνδρας ἐσταυρῶσθαι δοκοῦντας πλέον ἐκείνων ἀνιχνεύειν αὐτὴν, τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ πολλῆς ἐκπλήξεως γέμον, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ αἰνίγματι ἔοικε τὸ πρᾶγμα. Τῶν γὰρ μοναχῶν ὡς ἐπιπολὺ πάντων ταῦτα εὐθέως πρῶτον ἀκούσῃ τὰ ῥήματα, εἴ ποτε αὐτοὺς εἰς οἰκονομίαν τινὰ παρακαλέσεις ἐλθεῖν, ἐρωτώντων εἴ γε ἀνάπαυσιν ἔστιν εὑρεῖν, καὶ εἴ γε δύναται ἀναπαῦσαι ὁ καλῶν, καὶ ἄνω καὶ κάτω πολὺ τὸ τῆς ἀναπαύσεως ὄνομα. Τί λέγεις, ἄνθρωπε; τὴν τεθλιμμένην κελευσθεὶς βαδίζειν ὁδὸν περὶ ἀναπαύσεως ἐρωτᾷς, καὶ διὰ τῆς ἐστενοχωρημένης προσταχθεὶς πύλης εἰσελθεῖν εὐρύχωρον ἐπιζητεῖς; καὶ τί ταύτης τῆς διαστροφῆς χεῖρον γένοιτ' ἄν; Ἵνα δὲ μὴ νομίσῃς ἑτέρους με καταδικάζοντα ταῦτα λέγειν νῦν, τὸ ἐμαυτοῦ σοι ἐρῶ. Ὅτε γὰρ πρώην ἐγὼ ἐγνώκειν, τὴν πόλιν ἀφεὶς, ἐπὶ τὰς σκηνὰς τῶν μοναχῶν ἐλθεῖν, πολὺς ἤμην τοῦτο ἐρευνῶν καὶ πολυπραγμονῶν, πόθεν ἡ τῶν ἀναγκαίων ἔσται χορηγία, καὶ εἰ δυνατὸν ἄρτον ἐσθίειν ἐφήμερόν τε καὶ νεαρὸν, καὶ εἰ μή τις ὁ καταναγκάζων ἐλαίῳ χρῆσθαι τῷ αὐτῷ πρὸς λύχνον τε καὶ τροφὴν, εἰ μή τις ὁ πρὸς τὴν τῶν ὀσπρίων ταλαιπωρίαν ὠθῶν καὶ εἰς ἔργον ἐμβάλλων χαλεπὸν, οἷον σκάπτειν ἢ ξυλοφορεῖν κελεύων ἢ ὑδροφορεῖν, καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πάντα τὰ τοιαῦτα ὑπηρετεῖν· καὶ ὅλως ὁ περὶ τῆς ἀναπαύσεως λόγος ἦν πολὺς ἡμῖν.","english":"But that men who seem to have been crucified should search it out more than those men, this is what is full of great amazement—or rather the matter resembles a riddle. For when you urge monks, as is mostly the case with all of them, you will first hear these words at once, if ever you call them to come for some stewardship: they ask whether rest is to be found, and whether the one calling is able to give rest, and up and down there is much talk of the name of rest. What are you saying, man? Commanded to walk the narrow way, do you ask about rest? And ordered to enter through the straitened gate, do you seek a spacious one? And what could be worse than this perversity? But so that you may not think I say these things now condemning others, I will tell you my own case. For when I had recently decided, leaving the city, to come to the tents of the monks, I was much searching into this and busying myself: from where will the supply of necessities come, and whether it is possible to eat bread fresh and new, and whether there is anyone compelling the use of the same oil for both lamp and food, whether there is anyone thrusting one into the hardship of legumes and casting him into hard work—such as ordering him to dig or carry wood or carry water—and to serve in all the other such things; and in short, the talk about rest was much among us.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":21,"ref":"p21","source":"Καὶ οἱ μὲν τὰς τῶν ἀρχόντων ὑπηρεσίας καὶ τὰς τῶν δημοσίων διοικήσεις ἀναδεχόμενοι, τούτων πολυπραγμονοῦσιν οὐδὲν, ἀλλ' εἰ μόνον κέρδος ἔχοι τὸ πρᾶγμα, κέρδος ἐπίκαιρον, κἂν ὑπὲρ τούτου θαῤῥῆσαι δυνηθῶσί ποτε, οὐ πόνους, οὐ κινδύνους, οὐκ ἀτιμίας, οὐ διακονίας δουλοπρεπεῖς, οὐκ ἀποδημίας μακρὰς, οὐ τὴν ἐν ἀλλοτρίᾳ διαγωγὴν, οὐχ ὕβρεις, οὐ βασάνους, οὐ καιρῶν μεταβολὴν, οὐ τὸ πρὸς τῷ τέλει σφαλῆναι τῆς ἐλπίδος πολλάκις, οὐ θανάτους ἀώρους, οὐ τὸν τῶν οἰκείων χωρισμὸν, οὐ γυναικὸς ἐρημίαν καὶ παίδων, οὐκ ἄλλο οὐδὲν δυσχερῶν ἐννοοῦσι λοιπόν· ἀλλ' ὑπὸ τῆς τῶν χρημάτων ἐπιθυμίας ἐκβακχευθέντες, πάντα ὑπομένουσι, δι' ὧν ταύτης ἐπιτεύξεσθαι προσδοκῶσιν. Ἡμεῖς δὲ, οὐ χρημάτων οὐδὲ γῆς προκειμένης ἡμῖν, ἀλλ' οὐρανῶν καὶ τῶν ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς ἀγαθῶν, ἃ μήτε ὀφθαλμὸς εἶδε, μήτε οὖς ἤκουσε, μήτε ἐπὶ καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου ἀνέβη, ὑπὲρ ἀναπαύσεως πυνθανόμεθα· τοσοῦτόν ἐσμεν ἐκείνων ἐλεεινότεροι καὶ μαλακώτεροι. Τί φῂς, ἄνθρωπε; πρὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν στέλλεσθαι μέλλων, καὶ τὴν βασιλείαν τὴν ἐκεῖσε λαμβάνειν, ἐρωτᾷς εἴ τι δυσχερὲς κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν ταύτην καὶ τὴν ἀποδημίαν ἐστὶ, καὶ οὐκ αἰσχύνῃ οὐδὲ ἐρυθριᾷς, οὐδὲ ἀπελθὼν κατορύττεις σαυτόν; Κἂν γὰρ ἅπαντα ᾖ τὰ ἐν ἀνθρώποις δεινὰ, κἂν λοιδορίαι, κἂν ὕβρεις, κἂν ἀτιμίαι, κἂν συκοφαντίαι, κἂν ξίφος, κἂν πῦρ, κἂν σίδηρος καὶ θηρία καὶ καταποντισμοὶ, κἂν λιμὸς καὶ νόσος καὶ ὅσα ἐξ ἀρχῆς εἰς τὸ παρὸν ὁ βίος ἤνεγκε χαλεπὰ, οὐ καταγελάσεις πάντων, εἰπέ μοι, καὶ καταφρονήσεις; ἐννοήσεις δὲ ὅλως ταῦτα;","english":"And those who take on the services of rulers and the administrations of public affairs pry into none of these things, but if only the matter involves profit—a profit for the moment—and if they can ever bring themselves to be bold for its sake, they no longer consider toils, nor dangers, nor dishonors, nor servile duties, nor long journeys abroad, nor living in a foreign land, nor insults, nor tortures, nor changes of circumstance, nor the frequent failure of their hope at the very end, nor untimely deaths, nor separation from their own, nor the desolation of a wife and children, nor any other of the harsh things; but, driven to frenzy by the desire for money, they endure everything through which they expect to obtain it. But we, when what lies before us is not money or land, but the heavens and the good things in the heavens, which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have they come up into the heart of man—we ask about rest; so much more pitiable and soft are we than those men. What do you say, man? About to be sent to heaven and to receive the kingdom there, do you ask whether there is anything harsh on this road and in this journey abroad, and are you not ashamed nor do you blush, nor do you go off and bury yourself? For even if all the terrible things among men should be there—even revilings, even insults, even dishonors, even slanders, even sword, even fire, even iron and wild beasts and drownings, even famine and disease and all the grievous things that life has brought from the beginning until now—will you not, tell me, laugh at them all and despise them? Will you even give them any thought at all?","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":22,"ref":"p22","source":"Καὶ τί ταύτης γραωδέστερον γένοιτ' ἂν τῆς ψυχῆς, τί δὲ ταπεινότερόν τε καὶ ἀθλιώτερον; Τὸν γὰρ τῇ τῶν οὐρανίων ἐπιθυμίᾳ ληφθέντα οὐ λέγω μόνον, ὅτι ἀνάπαυσιν οὐ χρὴ ζητεῖν, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ παρούσης αἰσθάνεσθαι. Ἢ πῶς οὐκ ἄτοπον, τοὺς μὲν ἀτόπως ἐρῶντας οὕτως εἶναι τῶν ἐρωμένων ὅλους, ὡς πλὴν ἐκείνων καὶ τῆς ἐκείνων συνουσίας μηδὲν ἡγεῖσθαι ἕτερον ἡδὺ τῶν ἐν τῷ παρόντι βίῳ, καίτοι γε ὄντων πολλῶν· ἡμᾶς δὲ οὐκ ἀτόπῳ τινὶ, ἀλλὰ τῷ πάντων ἀνωτέρῳ ληφθέντας ἔρωτι μὴ μόνον παρούσης ἀναπαύσεως μὴ καταφρονεῖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀποῦσαν ἐκζητεῖν;\n\nζʹ. Οὔπω οὐδένα, ἀγαπητὲ, τῶν οὐρανίων ἔλαβεν ἐπιθυμία καλῶν, καθὼς λαβεῖν χρή· ἦ γὰρ ἂν πάντα τὰ δοκοῦντα εἶναι χαλεπὰ, σκιὰν ἐνόμισε καὶ γέλωτα πολύν. Ὁ μὲν οὖν τὰ παρόντα θαυμάζων, οὐκ ἂν ἀξιωθείη τῆς τῶν μελλόντων θεωρίας ποτέ· ὁ δὲ τούτων ὑπερορῶν, καὶ οὐδὲν ἄμεινον σκιᾶς καὶ ὀνείρατος διακεῖσθαι πάντα νομίζων, ταχέως ἐπιτεύξεται τῶν μεγάλων ἐκείνων καὶ πνευματικῶν. Καὶ γὰρ οἷς ἂν γνησίως τοῦτο παραγένηται τὸ καλὸν, τοσαύτην ἐπιδείκνυται τὴν ἰσχὺν, ὅσην ἐν ταῖς ἀκάνθαις τὸ πῦρ, κἂν ὑπὸ μυρίων ἀγχόμενον εὕρῃ κακῶν, κἂν πολλὰ τὰ σχοινία τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων περικείμενα, κἂν σφόδρα τῶν ἐπιθυμιῶν τὴν φλόγα καίουσαν, καὶ πολὺν τῶν βιωτικῶν πραγμάτων περιεστῶτα τὸν θόρυβον, πάντα εὐθέως ἐκεῖνα σφοδρᾷ τινι μάστιγι κατάκρας ἐλαύνουσα πόῤῥω καθίστησι τῆς ψυχῆς.","english":"And what could be more foolish than such a soul, what more base and wretched? For the one who has been seized by longing for heavenly things—I do not say merely that he ought not to seek rest, but that he ought not even to perceive it when present. Or how is it not absurd that those who love inordinately are so wholly devoted to the objects of their love that, apart from them and their company, they consider nothing else in the present life pleasant, although there are many such things; while we, seized not by some inordinate love but by the love that is higher than all, do not merely despise rest when present, but even seek it out when absent?\n\n7. No one, beloved, has yet been seized by longing for the heavenly beauties as one ought to be seized; for otherwise he would have regarded all things that seem difficult as a shadow and a great laughingstock. So the one who marvels at things present would never be deemed worthy of the contemplation of things to come; but the one who looks down on these things and considers all things to be no better than a shadow and a dream will quickly attain those great and spiritual things. For in whomever this good thing genuinely comes to be present, it displays as much strength as fire among thorns, even if it finds him hemmed in by countless evils, even if many cords of sins are wrapped around him, even if the flame of desires burns fiercely and a great tumult of worldly affairs surrounds him—driving all those things out at once with a certain vehement scourge, it sets them far away from the soul.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":23,"ref":"p23","source":"Καὶ καθάπερ πρὸς ἀνέμου βίαν ῥαγδαίου οὐκ ἄν ποτε σταίη κόνις λεπτὴ, οὕτως οὐδὲ ἀτόπων ἐπιθυμιῶν πλῆθος κατανύξεως ῥύμην ἐμπεσοῦσαν δυνήσεται ἐνεγκεῖν, ἀλλ' ἀφανίζεται καὶ διαχεῖται τῆς κόνεως καὶ καπνοῦ θᾶττον παντός. Εἰ δὲ ὁ τῶν σωμάτων ἔρως οὕτω δουλοῦται ψυχὴν, ὡς πάντων αὐτὴν ἀπαγαγεῖν, καὶ τῇ τῆς ἐρωμένης προσηλῶσαι τυραννίδι μόνῃ, τί οὐκ ἂν ὁ τοῦ Χριστοῦ πόθος ἐργάσαιτο, καὶ τὸ δέος τῆς ἐκεῖθεν ἀλλοτριώσεως; Ὥσπερ γὰρ χαλεπὸν, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ ἀδύνατον, ἀναμίξαι ὕδατι πῦρ, οὕτω, οἶμαι, τρυφὴν καὶ κατάνυξιν εἰς ταυτὸ συναγαγεῖν· ἐναντία γὰρ ταῦτα, καὶ ἀλλήλων εἰσὶν ἀναιρετικά. Ἡ μὲν γὰρ δακρύων ἐστὶ μήτηρ καὶ νήψεως, ἡ δὲ γέλωτος καὶ παραφορᾶς· καὶ ἡ μὲν κούφην καὶ ὑπόπτερον ἐργάζεται τὴν ψυχὴν, ἡ δὲ αὐτὴν μολίβδου παντὸς βαρυτέραν καθίστησι. Καὶ τοῦτο οὐκ ἀπὸ τῶν ἐμαυτοῦ λόγων, ἀλλ' ἀπ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ κατασχεθέντος τῇ ἐπιθυμίᾳ ταύτῃ τῇ καλῇ παραστῆσαι πειράσομαι. Τίς οὖν οὗτός ἐστιν; Ὁ διάπυρος ἐραστὴς τοῦ Χριστοῦ Παῦλος, ὃς οὕτως ἐτρώθη τούτῳ τῷ πόθῳ, ὥστε στένειν μὲν ἐπὶ τῇ μελλήσει καὶ διατριβῇ τῆς ἐνθένδε ἀποδημίας· Καὶ γὰρ οἱ ὄντες, φησὶν, ἐν τῷ σκήνει τούτῳ στενάζομεν· ἐπόθει δὲ καὶ ἐβούλετο ἔτι μένειν ἐνθάδε διὰ τὸν Χριστόν. Τὸ γὰρ ἐπιμένειν με, φησὶ, τῇ σαρκὶ ἀναγκαιότερον δι' ὑμᾶς· τουτέστιν, ἵνα ἐπιδοθῇ ἡ πίστις ἡ εἰς τὸν Χριστόν. Διὰ τοῦτο καὶ λιμὸν καὶ δίψαν καὶ γυμνότητα καὶ δεσμὰ καὶ θανάτους καὶ διαποντίους ἀποδημίας καὶ ναυάγια καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πάντα, ἃ κατέλεξε, ἔφερε, καὶ οὐ μόνον οὐκ ἐβαρύνετο τούτοις, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἔχαιρε· τὸ δὲ αἴτιον ἦν ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ Χριστοῦ.","english":"And just as fine dust would never stand against the force of a rushing wind, so neither will a multitude of disordered desires be able to withstand the onrush of compunction when it falls upon them, but it is destroyed and scattered more quickly than any dust and smoke. But if the love of bodies so enslaves a soul as to lead it away from all things and nail it fast to the tyranny of the beloved alone, what would not the longing for Christ accomplish, and the fear of being estranged from him? For just as it is difficult, or rather impossible, to mix fire with water, so, I think, it is to bring luxury and compunction together into the same place; for these things are contrary, and they destroy one another. For the one is the mother of tears and sobriety, the other of laughter and madness; and the one makes the soul light and winged, while the other makes it heavier than any lead. And this I shall attempt to establish not from my own words, but from the very man who was seized by this noble desire. Who then is he? Paul, the fervent lover of Christ, who was so wounded by this longing that he groaned at the delay and tarrying of his departure from here. For we who are, he says, in this tabernacle do groan; yet he longed and wished to remain here still for Christ's sake. For to remain in the flesh, he says, is more necessary for you—that is, so that the faith in Christ might be advanced. For this reason he endured hunger and thirst and nakedness and bonds and deaths and journeys across the sea and shipwrecks and all the other things which he recounted, and not only was he not weighed down by these, but he even rejoiced; and the cause was the love of Christ.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":24,"ref":"p24","source":"Διὸ καὶ ἔλεγεν· Ἐν τούτοις γὰρ, φησὶ, πᾶσιν ὑπερνικῶμεν διὰ τοῦ ἀγαπήσαντος ἡμᾶς. Καὶ μὴ θαυμάσῃς· εἰ γὰρ ἀνθρώπων φιλία θανάτου πολλάκις κατατολμῆσαι ἐποίησε, τί οὐκ ἂν ἐργάσαιτο ἡ τοῦ Χριστοῦ; ποίαν δυσχέρειαν οὐκ ἂν ἐξευμαρίσειεν; Οὕτως ἐκείνῳ πάντα φορητὰ ἦν πρὸς τὸν ποθούμενον ὁρῶντι μόνον, καὶ τὸ δι' ἐκεῖνον ἅπαντα πάσχειν, πάσης ἡδονῆς καὶ ἀπολαύσεως ἡγουμένῳ μεῖζον, ὥσπερ οὖν καὶ ἔστιν. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐνόμιζεν εἶναι ἐν τῇ γῇ, οὐδὲ ἐν τῷ παρόντι βίῳ, οὐδὲ μετὰ ἀνθρώπων στρέφεσθαι, ἀλλ' ὡς ἤδη τὴν οὐράνιον λῆξιν ἔχων, καὶ μετὰ ἀγγέλων πολιτευόμενος, καὶ τὴν βασιλείαν ἀπολαβὼν, καὶ πρόσωπον πρὸς πρόσωπον ἀπολαύων, οὕτω κατεφρόνει τῶν ἐν τῷ παρόντι ἡδέων τε καὶ λυπηρῶν, καὶ ἀναπαύσεως αὐτῷ λόγος οὐδεὶς ἦν, ὃ συνεχῶς ἐπιζητεῖται παρ' ἡμῶν, ἀλλὰ ἐβόα λέγων· Μέχρι τῆς ἄρτι ὥρας καὶ πεινῶμεν καὶ διψῶμεν, καὶ γυμνητεύομεν, καὶ κολαφιζόμεθα, καὶ ἀστατοῦμεν, καὶ κοπιῶμεν ἐργαζόμενοι ταῖς ἰδίαις χερσί· λοιδορούμενοι εὐλογοῦμεν, διωκόμενοι ἀνεχόμεθα, βλασφημούμενοι παρακαλοῦμεν. Καὶ πάλιν, Ὡσπερεὶ καθάρματα τοῦ κόσμου ἐγενήθημεν, πάντων περίψημα ἕως ἄρτι. Καθάπαξ γὰρ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τῆς ψυχῆς στρέψας εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν, καὶ τὸ ἐκεῖ κάλλος καταπλαγεὶς, οὐκ ἠνέσχετο πρὸς τὴν γῆν ὑποστρέψαι πάλιν· ἀλλ' ὥσπερ τις πτωχὸς καὶ πένης ἐν οἰκίσκῳ γνοφώδει καὶ ταπεινῷ τὸν ἅπαντα χρόνον κατακλεισθεὶς, ἐπὰν ἴδῃ βασιλέα χρυσῷ τε πολλῷ καὶ λίθων ἀστραπαῖς ἀποστίλβοντα, οὐκ ἂν ἕλοιτο λοιπὸν οὐδὲ εἰς νοῦν τὴν τῆς οἰκείας πτωχείας οἰκίαν λαβεῖν, ἀλλ' ἅπαντα πραγματεύσεται ὑπὲρ τοῦ μεταστῆναι πρὸς","english":"Therefore he also said: \"In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.\" And do not marvel; for if the friendship of men has often made people dare death itself, what would not the love of Christ accomplish? What difficulty would it not make easy? Thus for him all things were bearable, as he looked only to the one he longed for, and considered suffering all things for his sake greater than every pleasure and enjoyment, as indeed it is. For he did not think he was on earth, nor in the present life, nor conversing with men, but as one who already possessed the heavenly portion, and lived as a citizen with angels, and had received the kingdom, and enjoyed face to face, so he despised the pleasant and painful things of the present, and there was no account of rest for him, which is continually sought by us, but he cried out saying: \"To this present hour we both hunger and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling place, and labor, working with our own hands; being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; being defamed, we entreat.\" And again, \"We have become as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now.\" For once for all, having turned the eyes of his soul to heaven and being struck with amazement at the beauty there, he could not bear to turn back again to the earth; but just as some poor and destitute man, shut up all his time in a dark and lowly little house, when he sees a king gleaming with much gold and the flashes of precious stones, would no longer choose even to bring to mind the house of his own poverty, but will do everything to remove to","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":25,"ref":"p25","source":"ἐκείνην τὴν οἴκησιν, ἂν ἐξῆ· οὕτω καὶ ὁ μακάριος ἐκεῖνος κατοπτεύσας τὰ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς, κατεφρόνει τῆς ἐνθάδε πενίας, καὶ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις διὰ τὴν τοῦ σώματος ἀνάγκην συναναστρεφόμενος, πρὸς οὐδὲν τῶν ἐνθάδε ἐπεστρέφετο, ἀλλ' ὅλον ἑαυτὸν πρὸς τὴν πόλιν ἐκείνην μετέθηκε. Καὶ τί λέγω τὰ ἐν τῷ παρόντι βίῳ λυπηρά; τοσοῦτον ἐπένευσεν εἰς αὐτὸν ὁ τοῦ Χριστοῦ πόθος, ὡς εἴ γε προέκειτο καὶ τὰς ἀθανάτους κολάσεις ἐκείνας ὑπενεγκεῖν ἕνεκεν τοῦ Χριστοῦ, μηδ' ἂν τοῦτο παραιτήσασθαί ποτε. Οὐ γὰρ ὥσπερ ἡμεῖς οἱ μισθωτοὶ γέενναν δεδοικότες, καὶ τῆς βασιλείας ἐφιέμενοι, οὕτω κἀκεῖνος ἐδούλευε τῷ Χριστῷ, ἀλλ' ἑτέρῳ τινὶ πολλῷ τούτου βελτίονι καὶ μακαρίῳ πόθῳ ληφθεὶς, ἔπασχέ τε καὶ ἔπραττεν ἅπαντα δι' ἕτερον μὲν οὐδὲν, ἵνα δὲ παραμυθήσηται τὸν ἔρωτα μόνον, ὃν εἶχεν εἰς τὸν Χριστόν· ὃς οὕτως αὐτοῦ κατὰ κράτος εἷλε τὸν λογισμὸν, ὡς καὶ ὃ πάντων αὐτῷ τιμιώτερον ἦν, τὸ συνεῖναι τῷ Χριστῷ λέγω, ὑπὲρ οὗ καὶ γεέννης κατεφρόνησε καὶ βασιλείας οὐρανῶν, καὶ τούτου πάλιν ἀλλοτριωθῆναι ἑκὼν, ἑλόμενος διὰ τὸν Χριστὸν καὶ τὴν ἄφατον ἔκπτωσιν, ὡς ἕν τι τῶν εὐκταιοτάτων, ἀσπάζεσθαι καὶ μετὰ πολλῆς ἑλέσθαι τῆς προθυμίας.","english":"That dwelling, if he could, so too that blessed man, having gazed upon the things in the heavens, despised poverty here, and while associating with men because of the body's necessity, he turned to nothing of the things here, but transferred his whole self to that city. And why do I speak of the sorrowful things in the present life? So greatly did the longing for Christ incline into him that if it were set before him even to endure those deathless punishments for the sake of Christ, he would never have declined this. For not as we hirelings, fearing Gehenna and desiring the kingdom, did he serve Christ, but seized by another longing, much better and more blessed than this, he suffered and did all things for no other reason than to console the love alone which he had for Christ; which so overpowered his reasoning that even that which was more precious to him than all things—I mean being with Christ, for which he despised both Gehenna and the kingdom of heaven—even of this he willingly chose to be alienated for the sake of Christ, and the ineffable fall, to welcome it as one of the most desirable things and to choose it with great eagerness.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":26,"ref":"p26","source":"ηʹ. Καὶ τάχα νῦν μὲν ἀσαφὲς εἶναι δοκεῖ πολλοῖς τὸ λεχθέν· ὅταν δὲ αὐτὸ σαφέστερον εἴπω, τότε πάλιν ἄπιστον εἶναι δόξει τούτοις, οἷς πρότερον ἦν ἀσαφές. Καὶ οὐδὲν θαυμαστόν· καὶ γὰρ καὶ ὁ μακάριος ἐκεῖνος προσδοκήσας ἀπιστηθήσεσθαι περὶ τούτων, διὰ τοῦτο προλαβὼν ἔλεγεν· Ἀλήθειαν λέγω ἐν Χριστῷ, οὐ ψεύδομαι, συμμαρτυρούσης μοι τῆς συνειδήσεώς μου ἐν Πνεύματι ἁγίῳ. Καὶ ὅμως τοσαῦτα τῷ λόγῳ προσθεὶς, καὶ μάρτυρας αὐτοῦ τῆς συνειδήσεως καλέσας τοιούτους, ἀπιστεῖται καὶ νῦν ἔτι. Τί τοίνυν τοῦτό ἐστιν ὅ φησιν; Ἄκουε. Διαλεχθεὶς περὶ τῶν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ τούτῳ δεινῶν, καὶ εἰπὼν, ὅτι Τίς ἡμᾶς χωρίσει ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ Χριστοῦ; θλῖψις, ἢ στενοχωρία, ἢ διωγμὸς, ἢ λιμὸς, ἢ γυμνότης, ἢ κίνδυνος, ἢ μάχαιρα; καὶ πάντα διελθὼν τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ἄνεισιν εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν, καὶ δεῖξαι βουλόμενος, ὅτι οὐδὲν μέγα τῶν ἐνταῦθα κολαστηρίων καταφρονεῖν διὰ τὸν Χριστὸν, ἐπήγαγεν, ὅτι Οὔτε ἄγγελοι, οὔτε ἀρχαὶ, οὔτε δυνάμεις, οὔτε ἐνεστῶτα, οὔτε μέλλοντα, οὔτε ὕψωμα, οὔτε βάθος, οὔτε τις κτίσις ἑτέρα δυνήσεται ἡμᾶς χωρίσαι ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ Θεοῦ, τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν. Ὃ δὲ λέγει, τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν· Οὐ μόνον ἄνθρωποι οὐ δυνήσονται ταύτης διασπάσαι με τῆς φιλίας, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ ἄγγελοι, οὐδ' ἂν εἰ πᾶσα. τῶν οὐρανίων συνέλθοιεν εἰς ταυτὸ δυνάμεις, τοῦτο ἰσχύσουσι. Τί λέγω; οὐδ' ἂν βασιλείας ἐκπεσεῖν δέῃ, οὐδ' ἂν εἰς γέενναν ἐμπεσεῖν διὰ τὸν Χριστὸν, οὐδὲ τοῦτό μοι φοβερόν. Τὸ γὰρ ὕψωμα καὶ βάθος, καὶ ζωὴ καὶ θάνατος, οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἢ τοῦτο ἐμφαίνει.","english":"8. And perhaps now what was said seems unclear to many; but when I state it more clearly, then again it will seem unbelievable to those to whom it was previously unclear. And this is no wonder; for that blessed man also, expecting to be disbelieved concerning these things, therefore said beforehand: I speak the truth in Christ, I do not lie, my conscience bearing witness with me in the Holy Spirit. And yet, having added so much to his word, and having called such witnesses of his conscience, he is disbelieved even now. What then is this that he says? Listen. Having spoken about the terrors in this world, and having said, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? and having gone through all the things on earth, he ascends to heaven, and wishing to show that it is no great thing to despise the punishments here for the sake of Christ, he added: that neither angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. And what he says is of this sort: Not only will men not be able to tear me away from this friendship, but not even angels, nor even if all the powers of heaven should come together into one, will they be able to do this. What do I say? Not even if I must fall from a kingdom, not even if I must fall into Gehenna for the sake of Christ—not even this is fearful to me. For height and depth, and life and death, signify nothing other than this.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":27,"ref":"p27","source":"Ταῦτα δὲ ἔλεγεν, οὐχ ὡς ἀγγέλων ἐπιχειρησόντων αὐτὸν διαστῆσαι τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ μηδόλως ἐκβησόμενά ποτε ὑποτίθεται τῷ λόγῳ, ἵνα δυνηθῇ τὸν πολὺν πόθον, ὃν εἶχε, παραστῆσαι καὶ ποιῆσαι κατάδηλον ἅπασι. Τοιοῦτον γὰρ τὸ τῶν φιλούντων ἔθος ἐστίν· οὐ στέγουσι σιγῇ κατέχειν τὸν ἔρωτα, ἀλλ' εἰς τοὺς ἐπιτηδείους ἅπαντας τὴν φλόγα ἐκφέρουσι, τῷ συνεχῶς διηγεῖσθαι τοῦ πόθου τὴν ὑπερβολὴν διαναπαύοντες αὐτῶν τὴν ψυχήν. Ὅπερ οὖν καὶ ὁ μακάριος ἐκεῖνος τότε ἐποίησε· καὶ πάντα τῷ λόγῳ περιλαβὼν, τὰ ὄντα, τὰ ἐσόμενα, τὰ συμβάντα, τὰ μηδέποτε συμβησόμενα, τὰ ὁρατὰ καὶ τὰ ἀόρατα, καὶ πᾶσαν κόλασιν, καὶ πᾶσαν ἀνάπαυσιν, ὥσπερ οὐκ ἀρκούντων τούτων αὐτῷ πρὸς τὴν τοῦ πάθους παράστασιν, ἕτερα τοσαῦτα πάλιν οὐχ ὑφεστῶτα ὑποστησάμενος τῷ λόγῳ καὶ θεὶς (τὸ γὰρ, Κτίσις ἑτέρα, τῶν οὐχ ὑφεστώτων ἐστὶν), οὕτως ἐπήγαγε, δηλῶν ὅτι πάντων τῶν εἰρημένων οὐδὲν ἡμᾶς χωρίσαι δυνήσεται τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ Θεοῦ τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν. Καὶ ἐκεῖνος μὲν πρὸς τοσοῦτον ὕψος τὸν ἑαυτοῦ πόθον ἀνῆψεν· ἡμεῖς δὲ οἱ κελευσθέντες εἶναι αὐτοῦ μιμηταὶ, οὐδὲ τὰς ἐνθάδε θλίψεις φέρομεν εὐχερῶς, ἀλλὰ ἀλύομεν καὶ δυσανασχετοῦμεν τῶν πυρεττόντων οὐκ ἔλαττον. Ἡ γὰρ μακρὰ αὕτη νόσος, ἡ καταλαβοῦσα τὰς ἡμετέρας","english":"He said this, not as though angels were going to attempt to separate him from Christ, but he also sets before us in his discourse things that would never at any time come to pass, so that he might be able to present the great longing he had and make it clear to all. For such is the habit of those who love: they cannot contain their love in silence, but carry the flame out to all their friends, resting their soul by continually recounting the excess of their longing. This, then, is what that blessed man also did at that time: having encompassed everything in his discourse—things present, things to come, things that have happened, things that will never happen, things visible and things invisible, and every punishment and every rest—as though these were not enough for him to present his passion, he again set forth and posited in his discourse as many other things besides that do not exist (for \"another creation\" belongs to things that do not exist), and thus he added, making clear that none of the things said will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. And he kindled his own longing to such a height; but we, who have been commanded to be his imitators, do not even bear the afflictions here with ease, but are distressed and impatient no less than those in fever. For this long disease, which has seized our","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":28,"ref":"p28","source":"ψυχὰς, ἀνίατος τῷ χρόνῳ γέγονεν, ὡς εἰπεῖν, καὶ τῆς εἰλικρινοῦς ὑγιείας οὐδὲ ἔννοιαν δυνάμεθα λαβεῖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀδύνατος εἶναι δοκεῖ ἡμῖν λοιπὸν ἡ ταύτης ἀνάκτησις. Κἂν ἀκούσωμέν τινος τοὺς ἀποστόλους εἰς μέσον ἄγοντος, καὶ τὰ ἐκείνων κατορθώματα λέγοντος, δέον εὐθέως καὶ πενθῆσαι ἑαυτοὺς, ὅτι τοσοῦτον αὐτῶν ἀφεστήκαμεν, οὐδὲ ἁμάρτημα τὸ πρᾶγμα εἶναι νομίζομεν, ἀλλ' ὡς οὐδὲ δυνατὸν πρὸς ἐκεῖνο φθάσαι τὸ ὕψος, οὕτω διακείμεθα. Κἂν ἔρηταί τις τὴν αἰτίαν, εὐθέως τὴν ἄλογον ταύτην ἀπολογίαν προβαλλόμεθα λέγοντες· Ἐκεῖνος Παῦλος ἦν, κἀκεῖνος Πέτρος ἦν, κἀκεῖνος Ἰωάννης. Τί ἐστιν, Ἐκεῖνος Παῦλος ἦν, ἐκεῖνος Πέτρος ἦν; οὐ τῆς αὐτῆς φύσεως, εἰπέ μοι, καὶ οὗτοι μετεῖχον; οὐ διὰ τῆς αὐτῆς ὁδοῦ παρήχθησαν εἰς τὸν βίον ἡμῖν, οὐ ταῖς αὐταῖς ἐτράφησαν τροφαῖς; οὐ τὸν αὐτὸν ἀνέπνευσαν ἀέρα; οὐ πράγμασιν ἐχρήσαντο τοῖς αὐτοῖς; οὐχ οἱ μὲν αὐτῶν καὶ γυναῖκας εἶχον καὶ παῖδας, οἱ δὲ καὶ τέχνας βιωτικὰς, ἕτεροι δὲ καὶ εἰς αὐτὸ τῆς κακίας τὸ βάραθρον κατηνέχθησαν; Ἀλλὰ πολλῆς ἀπήλαυσαν, φησὶ, τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ χάριτος. Ἀλλ' εἰ μὲν νεκροὺς ἀναστῆσαι ἐκελευόμεθα, ἢ ὀφθαλμοὺς ἀνοῖξαι τυφλῶν, ἢ καθαρίσαι λεπροὺς, ἢ χωλοὺς ἀνορθῶσαι, ἢ δαίμονας ἐκβαλεῖν, καὶ τὰς ἄλλας τὰς τοιαύτας ἰᾶσθαι νόσους, καιρὸν ἂν εἶχε τὰ τῆς ἀπολογίας ταύτης ἡμῖν· εἰ δὲ πολιτείας ἐξέτασις πρόκειται νῦν, καὶ ὑπακοῆς ἐπίδειξις, ποῖον ταῦτα πρὸς ἐκεῖνον ἂν ἔχοι λόγον;","english":"our souls have become, so to speak, incurable with time, and we cannot even conceive of genuine health, but from now on its recovery seems to us impossible. And if we hear someone bringing the apostles into the midst and telling of their achievements, when we ought immediately to mourn for ourselves because we have fallen so far short of them, we do not even consider the matter a sin, but we are disposed as though it were not possible to reach that height. And if someone asks the reason, we immediately put forward this irrational defense, saying: \"That was Paul, and that was Peter, and that was John.\" What is this, \"That was Paul, that was Peter\"? Did they not, tell me, partake of the same nature? Were they not brought into this life through the same path as we? Were they not nourished with the same food? Did they not breathe the same air? Did they not use the same things? Did not some of them have wives and children, others also worldly trades, and others again were dragged down even into the very pit of wickedness? But they enjoyed, he says, much of the grace of God. But if we were commanded to raise the dead, or open the eyes of the blind, or cleanse lepers, or make the lame walk, or cast out demons, and to heal the other such diseases, this defense of ours would have its place; but if now the examination of our conduct and the demonstration of obedience lie before us, what relevance would these things have to that?","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":29,"ref":"p29","source":"Καὶ γὰρ καὶ σὺ θείας ἀπήλαυσας χάριτος βαπτιζόμενος, καὶ Πνεύματος μετέσχες, εἰ καὶ μὴ πρὸς τὸ τὰ σημεῖα ποιεῖν, ἀλλ' ὅσον ἀρκεῖ πρὸς τὸ πολιτείαν ὀρθὴν καὶ ἠκριβωμένην λαβεῖν· ὥστε ῥᾳθυμίας μόνον τῆς ἡμετέρας ἐστὶν ἡ διαστροφή. Καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς δὲ κατὰ τὴν ἡμέραν ἐκείνην οὐ τοῖς τὰ σημεῖα ἐργασαμένοις ἁπλῶς τὰ ἔπαθλα δίδωσιν, ἀλλὰ τοῖς τὰ προστάγματα πεποιηκόσι τὰ αὐτοῦ. Δεῦτε γὰρ, φησὶν, οἱ εὐλογημένοι τοῦ Πατρός μου, κληρονομήσατε τὴν ἡτοιμασμένην ὑμῖν βασιλείαν ἀπὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου, οὐχ ὅτι ἐθαυματουργήσατε, ἀλλ' ὅτι Ἐπείνασα, καὶ ἐδώκατέ μοι φαγεῖν· ἐδίψησα, καὶ ἐποτίσατέ με· ξένος ἤμην, καὶ συνηγάγετέ με· γυμνὸς, καὶ περιεβάλετέ με· ἠσθένησα, καὶ ἐπεσκέψασθέ με· ἐν φυλακῇ ἤμην, καὶ ἤλθετε πρὸς μέ. Καὶ ἐν τοῖς μακαρισμοῖς δὲ οὐδαμοῦ τοὺς τὰ θαύματα ποιοῦντας τίθησιν, ἀλλὰ τοὺς βίον ἔχοντας ὀρθόν. θʹ. Ὥστε εἰ καὶ ἐκείνη συνέσταλται νῦν ἡ χάρις, οὐδὲν ἡμᾶς παραβλάψαι τοῦτο δυνήσεται, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ ἀπολογήσασθαι ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν, ὅταν τὰς εὐθύνας ὑπέχωμεν τῶν πεπραγμένων. Καὶ γὰρ τοὺς μακαρίους ἐκείνους οὐ διὰ τὰ σημεῖα θαυμάζομεν· τοῦτο γὰρ ὅλον τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ δυνάμεως ἦν· ἀλλ' ὅτι πολιτείαν ἐπεδείξαντο ἀγγελικήν· τοῦτο δὲ μετὰ τῆς ἄνωθεν ῥοπῆς καὶ τῆς αὐτῶν σπουδῆς ἔργον ἐστί. Καὶ οὐκ ἐγὼ τοῦτο λέγω νῦν, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὸς ἐκεῖνος ὁ τοῦ Χριστοῦ μιμητής. Ὅτε γὰρ πρὸς τοὺς ψευδαποστόλους διετείνετο γράφων τοῖς μαθηταῖς, καὶ τὸ μέσον τῆς δοκίμου τε καὶ κιβδήλου διακονίας παραστῆσαι ἐβούλετο, οὐκ ἀπὸ τῶν σημείων, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ τῶν κατορθωμάτων αὐτοῦ τοῦτο ἐποίησεν, οὑτωσὶ λέγων·","english":"For you too enjoyed divine grace when you were baptized, and you partook of the Spirit—not, indeed, to the extent of working signs, but as much as is sufficient to receive a right and exact manner of life; so that the distortion is due only to our own negligence. And Christ on that day does not simply give the prizes to those who worked signs, but to those who have done his commandments. For he says, Come, you who are blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world—not because you worked wonders, but because I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you visited me; I was in prison and you came to me. And in the beatitudes he nowhere places those who work miracles, but those who have a right life. 9. So even if that grace has now been restrained, this will be able to do us no harm, nor even to serve as an excuse for us when we render account for what we have done. For we admire those blessed men not because of the signs—for that was wholly the work of God's power—but because they displayed an angelic manner of life; and this is a work of both the impulse from above and their own zeal. And I am not saying this now, but that very imitator of Christ himself did so. For when he was earnestly writing to his disciples against the false apostles, and wished to set forth the difference between genuine and counterfeit ministry, he did this not from the signs, but from his own achievements, speaking thus:","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":30,"ref":"p30","source":"Διάκονοι Χριστοῦ εἰσι; παραφρονῶν λαλῶ; ὑπὲρ ἐγώ· ἐν κόποις περισσοτέρως, ἐν φυλακαῖς περισσοτέρως, ἐν πληγαῖς ὑπερβαλλόντως, ἐν θανάτοις πολλάκις· ὑπὸ Ἰουδαίων πεντάκις τεσσαράκοντα παρὰ μίαν ἔλαβον, τρὶς ἐῤῥαβδίσθην, ἅπαξ ἐλιθάσθην, τρὶς ἐναυάγησα, νυχθήμερον ἐν τῷ βυθῷ πεποίηκα· ὁδοιπορίαις πολλάκις, κινδύνοις ποταμῶν, κινδύνοις λῃστῶν, κινδύνοις ἐκ γένους, κινδύνοις ἐξ ἐθνῶν, κινδύνοις ἐν πόλει, κινδύνοις ἐν ἐρημίᾳ, κινδύνοις ἐν θαλάσσῃ, κινδύνοις ἐν ψευδαδέλφοις, ἐν κόπῳ, ἐν μόχθῳ, ἐν ἀγρυπνίαις πολλάκις, ἐν λιμῷ καὶ δίψει, ἐν νηστείαις πολλάκις, ἐν ψύχει καὶ γυμνότητι. Χωρὶς τῶν παρεκτὸς, ἡ ἐπισύστασίς μου ἡ καθ' ἡμέραν, ἡ μέριμνα πασῶν τῶν Ἐκκλησιῶν. Τίς ἀσθενεῖ, καὶ οὐκ ἀσθενῶ; τίς σκανδαλίζεται, καὶ οὐκ ἐγὼ πυροῦμαι; Διὰ ταῦτα θαυμάζω τοὺς ἀποστόλους ἐγώ· ὡς οἵ γε τούτων χωρὶς ἐπιδείξασθαι σημεῖα διά τινος οἰκονομίας συγχωρηθέντες οὐ μόνον οὐκ ἐγένοντο θαυμαστοὶ, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀδόκιμοι, καθὼς καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς δείκνυσι λέγων·","english":"Are they ministers of Christ? I am speaking as one beside himself—I am more so: in labors more abundantly, in prisons more abundantly, in stripes beyond measure, in deaths often. Five times I received from the Jews forty lashes less one; three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I suffered shipwreck; I have spent a night and a day in the deep. In journeys often, in dangers from rivers, in dangers from robbers, in dangers from my own people, in dangers from the Gentiles, in dangers in the city, in dangers in the wilderness, in dangers at sea, in dangers among false brothers; in labor, in toil, in sleepless nights often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Apart from these things, there is the daily pressure upon me, the care of all the Churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation? For these reasons I marvel at the apostles. Since they, without these things, were permitted through some dispensation to display signs, they not only did not become admirable, but were even disapproved, as Christ also shows, saying:","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":31,"ref":"p31","source":"Πολλοὶ ἐροῦσί μοι ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ· Κύριε, Κύριε, οὐ τῷ σῷ ὀνόματι προεφητεύσαμεν, καὶ τῷ σῷ ὀνόματι δαιμόνια ἐξεβάλομεν, καὶ τῷ σῷ ὀνόματι πολλὰς δυνάμεις ἐποιήσαμεν; Καὶ ἐρῶ αὑτοῖς· Ἀποχωρεῖτε ἀπ' ἐμοῦ, πάντες οἱ ἐργαζόμενοι τὴν ἀνομίαν· οὐδέποτε ἔγνων ὑμᾶς. Διὰ τοῦτο καὶ τοῖς μαθηταῖς παρῄνει λέγων· Μὴ χαίρετε ὅτι τὰ δαιμόνια ὑμῖν ὑποτάσσεται, ἀλλ' ὅτι τὰ ὀνόματα ὑμῶν γέγραπται ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς. Πολιτεία μὲν γὰρ ὀρθὴ καὶ τούτων χωρὶς ἀπολήψεται τοὺς στεφάνους, καὶ οὐδὲν ἔλαττον ἕξει παρὰ τοῦτο τότε· βίος δὲ παράνομος οὐδὲ μετὰ σημείων δυνήσεται τὴν κόλασιν ἐκφυγεῖν. Ὥστε περιττὸς ἡμῖν ὁ λόγος οὗτός ἐστιν, οὗ περιττὸς δὲ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπικίνδυνος, καὶ πολλοῖς τῶν αἱρετικῶν παρέχων λαβάς. Εἰ γὰρ μὴ διὰ τὴν οἰκείαν ἐκεῖνοι προαίρεσιν οὕτως ἐγένοντο θαυμαστοὶ, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὴν τοῦ Χριστοῦ χάριν μόνον, τί τὸ κωλύον ἅπαντας τοιούτους γενέσθαι; Ἡ γὰρ χάρις εἰ μὴ τὰ παρ' ἡμῶν πρότερον ἐζήτει, ἀθρόως ἂν εἰς τὰς ἁπάντων ἐξεχύθη ψυχάς· οὐ γάρ ἐστι προσωπολήπτης ὁ Θεός· ἐπειδὴ δὲ τὰ παρ' ἡμῶν ζητεῖ, διὰ τοῦτο τοῖς μὲν ἕπεται καὶ παραμένει, τῶν δὲ ἀφίπταται, εἰς δὲ τοὺς λοιποὺς οὐδὲ τὴν ἀρχὴν καθικνεῖται. Ὅτι δὲ προαίρεσιν πρότερον ἐξετάσας, οὕτω τὴν χάριν ἔδωκεν ὁ Θεὸς πρὶν ἤ τι θαυμαστὸν ἐπιδείξασθαι τὸν μακάριον ἐκεῖνον, ἄκουσον τί περὶ αὐτοῦ φησι· Σκεῦος ἐκλογῆς μοί ἐστι, τοῦ βαστάσαι τὸ ὄνομα μου ἐνώπιον ἐθνῶν τε καὶ βασιλέων, καὶ παντὸς γένους Ἰσραήλ. Ταῦτα οὔπω τῆς χάριτος παρούσης ἐμαρτύρησεν ὁ τὰς καρδίας ἐμβατεύων ἡμῶν.","english":"Many will say to me in that day: Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons, and in your name perform many mighty works? And I will say to them: Depart from me, all you workers of lawlessness; I never knew you. For this reason he also exhorted the disciples, saying: Do not rejoice that the demons are subject to you, but that your names are written in the heavens. For a right conduct of life will receive the crowns even without these things, and will have nothing less on that account then; but a lawless life will not be able to escape punishment even with signs. So this argument of ours is superfluous—and not only superfluous, but also dangerous, and providing handles for many of the heretics. For if those men became admirable not through their own free choice but only through the grace of Christ, what prevents all from becoming such? For grace, if it did not first seek what is from us, would have been poured out at once into the souls of all; for God is not a respecter of persons; but since it seeks what is from us, for this reason it follows and remains with some, but flies away from others, and into the rest it does not even begin to descend. And that God, having first examined free choice, thus gave grace before that blessed man displayed any wondrous deed, hear what he says concerning him: He is a chosen vessel to me, to bear my name before nations and kings, and all the race of Israel. These things he testified before grace was yet present, who searches our hearts.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":32,"ref":"p32","source":"Μὴ δὴ σφάλλωμεν ἑαυτοὺς, ἀγαπητοὶ, ἀδύνατον εἶναι λέγοντες γενέσθαι κατὰ Παῦλόν τινα. Τῆς μὲν γὰρ χάριτος καὶ τῶν σημείων ἕνεκεν οὐκέτι Παῦλος ἕτερος ἔσται λοιπὸν, τῆς δὲ ἀκριβείας τοῦ βίου, τῶν βουλομένων ἕκαστος τοιοῦτος γένοιτ' ἄν· εἰ δὲ μὴ εἰσὶ, παρὰ τὸ μὴ βούλεσθαι μόνον. Ἀλλὰ γὰρ οὐκ οἶδα πῶς εἰς τοῦτο ἀλογίας ἐξέπεσον, κατὰ Παῦλον ζητῶν τινας τῶν νῦν, οὐδὲ κατὰ τοὺς τρίτους ἢ τοὺς τετάρτους μετ' ἐκεῖνον δυνάμενος ἰδεῖν. Διὰ ταῦτα πενθεῖν δὴ χρὴ καὶ δακρύειν καὶ ὀδύρεσθαι, οὐ μίαν οὐδὲ δευτέραν ἡμέραν μόνον, ἀλλὰ τὸν βίον ἅπαντα· εἰ γάρ τις εἰς ταύτην τὴν ἕξιν καταστήσειεν ἑαυτὸν, δυσκόλως ἁμαρτήσεται τοῦ λοιποῦ. Καὶ εἰ διαπιστεῖς τῷ λόγῳ, τοὺς πενθοῦντας ἐξέτασον, πένθη λέγω τὰ κοσμικὰ, μὴ τούτων τινὰ τῶν πολλῶν καὶ τὸν ἐπίπονον ζώντων βίον, ἀλλ' ἐκείνων τῶν ἁβρῶν, καὶ οὐδὲν ἕτερον εἰδότων ἢ τρυφᾷν. Οὗτοι γὰρ, οὗτοι οἱ μεθύειν μελετῶντες καὶ γαστρίζεσθαι, οἱ τὰ μὲν ἄριστα συντελοῦντες μέχρις ἑσπέρας, τὰ δὲ δεῖπνα εἰς μέσας νύκτας ἐκτείνοντες, οἱ τὰ τῶν ἄλλων ἁρπάζοντες, καὶ οὔτε χήρας, οὔτε πένητος, οὔτε ἀδυνάτου φειδόμενοι, οἱ πολλὴν ὠμότητα ἐπιδεικνύμενοι, εἴ ποτε πένθει ληφθεῖεν σφοδρῷ καὶ δυναμένῳ κάτωθεν ἀναστρέψαι καὶ διαταράξαι ψυχὴν, πάσας ἐκείνας τὰς βλακώδεις ἐπιθυμίας καὶ παρανόμους ἐκβαλόντες, εἰς τὸν τῶν φιλοσόφων μετατίθενται βίον, σκληραγωγίαν, ἀγρυπνίαν, χαμευνίαν, καρτερίαν, νηστείαν, σιγὴν, ἐπιείκειαν, ταπεινότητα, φιλανθρωπίαν ἐπιδεικνύμενοι πολλήν. Καίτοι γε τὰ ἑτέρων ἁρπάζοντες καὶ τὰ ἑαυτῶν ἡδέως ἂν πρόοιντο κατ' ἐκεῖνον τὸν καιρόν·","english":"Let us not deceive ourselves, beloved, by saying that it is impossible for someone to become like Paul. For as for grace and signs, no other Paul will ever exist hereafter; but as for exactness of life, each one of those who wish could become such a man—and if they are not, it is only because they do not wish it. But I do not know how I have fallen into such unreasonableness, seeking some among the present age who are like Paul, when I cannot even see those who are third or fourth after him. For this reason one must mourn and weep and lament, not for one day or a second only, but for one's whole life; for if a man should establish himself in this condition, he will hardly sin for the rest of his life. And if you disbelieve this statement, examine those who mourn—I mean worldly mourning, not that of the many who live a toilsome life, but of those luxurious people who know nothing other than to revel. For these, these very men who practice drunkenness and gluttony, who conduct their finest affairs until evening and stretch their dinners to midnight, who seize the possessions of others and spare neither widow nor poor man nor the helpless, who display great cruelty—if ever they are seized by a violent mourning able to overturn and disturb the soul from its depths, casting out all those sluggish and lawless desires, they transfer themselves to the life of philosophers, displaying austerity, wakefulness, sleeping on the ground, endurance, fasting, silence, gentleness, humility, and great love of humanity. And yet those who seize the possessions of others would gladly give up even their own at that time.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":33,"ref":"p33","source":"κἂν πῦρ ἀφεῖναί τις ἐθέλοι τοῖς ὑπάρχουσι μετὰ τῆς οἰκίας πάσης, οὐ παροξύνονται. Πολλοὺς δὲ ἔγωγε οἶδα, μετὰ τὴν τῶν φιλτάτων ἀποβολὴν τοὺς μὲν τὴν ἐν ἀγροῖς δίαιταν τῆς πόλεως ἐναλλαξαμένους καὶ τῶν ἐν ταύτῃ καλῶν, τοὺς δὲ παρὰ τὰ μνήματα τῶν ἀπελθόντων τὰς οἰκίας δειμαμένους, καὶ τὸν βίον ἐκεῖ καταλύσαντας. Ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν ὕστερον· ἕως δ' ἂν ἀκμάζῃ τὸ πένθος, οὐδενὸς αὐτοῖς τῶν παρόντων λόγος ἐστὶν, ἀλλὰ τὴν μανίαν, ἣν περὶ τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν καὶ τὴν συλλογὴν τῶν χρημάτων εἶχον, ἣν περὶ τὴν κτῆσιν τῆς δυναστείας καὶ τῆς δόξης τῆς παρὰ τῶν πολλῶν, ὥσπερ τινὰ χόρτον, ἢ καὶ ἄνθος χόρτου, τῇ φλογὶ τῆς ἀθυμίας καταφλέξαντες, ἔῤῥιψαν ἀπὸ τῆς ψυχῆς, καὶ πρὸς τοσαύτην τότε ἡ διάνοια φιλοσοφίαν μεθίσταται, ὡς μηδὲ μέχρι ῥημάτων ἀνασχέσθαι τινὸς τῶν κατὰ τὸν παρόντα βίον ἡδέων, ἀλλὰ πάντα τὰ πρὸς ἡδονὴν εἶναι δοκοῦντα πρότερον προσίστασθαί τε αὐτοῖς καὶ\n\nπικρότατα φαίνεσθαι· καὶ οὐδεὶς ἂν οὔτε τῶν οἰκετῶν, οὔτε τῶν φίλων τολμήσειε τότε ὑπὲρ τῶν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ τούτῳ, καὶ σφόδρα κατεπειγόντων, ῥῆξαι φωνήν· πάντα γὰρ ἐκποδὼν γινόμενα παραχωρεῖ τοῖς περὶ φιλοσοφίαν λόγοις, τῆς ψυχῆς διὰ τοῦ πένθους τότε καθάπερ ἐν ἱερῷ τινι τόπῳ παιδευομένης τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως τὴν οὐδένειαν, τοῦ παρόντος αἰῶνος τὸ ἐπίκαιρον, τῶν βιωτικῶν τὸ εὔφθαρτόν τε καὶ ἄστατον, τῆς σκηνῆς τῶν γινομένων τὴν ὑπόκρισιν.","english":"Even if someone wished to set fire to their possessions along with their entire household, they are not provoked. Indeed, I know many who, after the loss of their dearest ones, exchanged their life in the countryside for the city and its advantages, while others built dwellings beside the tombs of the departed and ended their lives there. But these things come later; while grief is still at its height, they have no regard for any of their present circumstances, but the madness they had concerning the care and accumulation of money, concerning the acquisition of power and the glory that comes from the many—like some grass or the flower of grass—having burned it up in the flame of their despondency, they cast it away from their soul, and their mind then shifts to such great philosophy that they cannot endure even to the level of words any of the pleasant things of the present life, but all that previously seemed to be for pleasure now becomes an offense to them and appears most bitter; and no one—neither servant nor friend—would then dare to open his mouth on behalf of the things of this world, even if they were most urgent; for all such things, being removed out of the way, give place to words of philosophy, since the human soul through grief is then, as it were in some sacred place, being taught the nothingness of human nature, the fleetingness of the present age, the corruptibility and instability of worldly things, and the hypocrisy of the stage of passing events.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":34,"ref":"p34","source":"Ὑπεροψία χρημάτων τότε πολλὴ, τότε ὀργῆς ἀναίρεσις, τότε ὀλιγωρία φιλοτιμίας, καὶ οὔτε φθόνος ἐμφωλεῦσαι, οὐ τῦφος ἐκβακχεῦσαι τὸν ὑπὸ τοῦ πένθους συντριβέντα δύναιτ' ἂν, οὐκ ἐπιθυμία ἐμπίπρησι τὸν ἀκόλαστον, ἀλλὰ πάντων τούτων φυγαδευθέντων ἐκεῖθεν, εἷς μόνος κατοικίζεται λογισμὸς, ὁ τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ τετελευτηκότος διακρατῶν συνεχῶς· τοῦτο καὶ σῖτα, καὶ ποτὸς, καὶ ὕπνος, καὶ ἡδονὴ, καὶ ἀνάπαυσις, καὶ παραμυθία πολλή· τοῦτο δόξα, καὶ πλοῦτος, καὶ δυναστεία, καὶ τρυφή. ιʹ. Οὕτως ἡμᾶς ἐχρῆν τὴν ἀποβολὴν τῆς σωτηρίας τῆς ἡμετέρας πενθεῖν, ἵνα μηδὲν εἴπω πλέον· μετὰ τοσούτου πόθου καὶ προθυμίας ἔδει πάντων ἐκεῖ τετάσθαι τὸ ὄμμα τῆς ψυχῆς, καὶ πάντα ἡμῖν τὴν ἐκείνης εἶναι μνήμην καὶ ἀνατύπωσιν. Νῦν δὲ οἱ μὲν παῖδας καὶ γυναῖκας ἀποβαλόντες πρὸς οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἀπασχολοῦσι τὸν νοῦν, ἢ πρὸς τὸ φαντάζεσθαι τοὺς ἀποσπασθέντας αὐτῶν· ἡμεῖς δὲ οἱ βασιλείαν ἀπολέσαντες οὐρανῶν, πάντα μᾶλλον ἢ ταύτην διανοούμεθα. Καὶ ἐκείνων μὲν οὐδεὶς, κἂν βασιλικωτάτου τύχῃ γένους, τῷ τοῦ πένθους αἰσχύνεται νόμῳ· ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπ' ἐδάφους καθιεῖται, καὶ θρηνήσει πικρὸν, καὶ τὴν ἐσθῆτα μεταβαλεῖ, καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πάντα μετὰ πολλῆς ὑποστήσεται προθυμίας τὰ τῆς τιμωρίας ἐκείνης· καὶ οὔτε ἀνατροφὴν, οὔτε σώματος ἕξιν, οὐ τὰς μετὰ ταῦτα λογιεῖται νόσους, τὰς ἀπὸ τῆς ταλαιπωρίας ἐκείνης, ἀλλὰ μετὰ πολλῆς ἅπαντα οἴσει τῆς εὐκολίας. Καὶ ταῦτα μὲν οὐκ ἄνδρες μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ γυναῖκες, κἂν σφόδρα ἀσθενεῖς ὦσιν, ἐπιδείκνυνται, καὶ τούτων πλείονα.","english":"At that time there is great contempt for wealth, at that time the removal of anger, at that time a disregard for ambition, and neither could envy lurk nor pride exult over one crushed by grief, nor could desire set ablaze the licentious man, but when all these have been driven out from there, one single thought settles in alone, the one that continually holds fast the image of the deceased. This is both food and drink, and sleep, and pleasure, and rest, and great consolation; this is glory, and wealth, and power, and luxury. 10. It was thus that we ought to mourn the loss of our own salvation, that I may say nothing more; with such longing and eagerness ought the eye of the soul to be stretched out toward all things there, and all things ought to be for us a remembrance and re-formation of that. But now, those who have lost children and wives occupy their mind with nothing else than imagining those torn away from them; yet we, who have lost the kingdom of the heavens, think of everything rather than this. And of those people, no one, even if he happens to be of the most royal lineage, is ashamed at the law of mourning; but he sits upon the ground, and he will lament bitterly, and he will change his clothing, and all the other things of that punishment he will undergo with great eagerness; and he will reckon neither upbringing, nor condition of body, nor the illnesses that come after these, the ones from that misery, but he will bear all things with great ease. And these things not only men but also women display, even if they are very weak, and more than these.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":35,"ref":"p35","source":"Ἡμεῖς δὲ οὐ παῖδας, οὐ γυναῖκας, ἀλλὰ ψυχῆς ἀπώλειαν πενθοῦντες, ψυχῆς οὐκ ἀλλοτρίας, ἀλλὰ τῆς ἡμετέρας, σκηπτόμεθα προφασιζόμενοι σώματος ἀσθένειαν καὶ ἀνατροφῆς ἁπαλότητα. Καὶ εἴθε τοῦτο μόνον ἦν τὸ δεινόν! νῦν δὲ οὐδὲ ἐκεῖνα πράττομεν ἐν οἷς οὐδὲν τῆς τοῦ σώματος ἐνεργείας δεόμεθα. Ποῦ γὰρ, εἰπέ μοι, σωματικῆς χρεία δυνάμεως, ὅταν συντρίψαι δέῃ καρδίαν, ὅταν εὔξασθαι νήφοντα καὶ διεγηγερμένον, ὅταν ἀναλογίσασθαι τὰ ἁμαρτήματα, ὅταν καταλῦσαι τῦφον καὶ ἀπόνοιαν, ὅταν ταπεινῶσαι λογισμόν; Ταῦτα γάρ ἐστιν ἃ καὶ τὸν Θεὸν ἵλεων ἡμῖν καθίστησι, καὶ οὐ πολλοῦ δεῖται πόνου· καὶ οὐδὲ ταῦτα πράττομεν. Οὐδὲ γὰρ σάκκου περιβολὴ, οὐδὲ τὸ ἐν οἰκίσκῳ κατακλεῖσαι ἑαυτὸν, οὐδὲ τὸ καθίσαι ἐν σκότῳ, τοῦτο μόνον ἐστὶ τὸ πενθεῖν, ἀλλὰ τὸ διαπαντὸς τὴν μνήμην τῶν οἰκείων ἀναστρέφειν κακῶν, καὶ βασανίζειν τὸ συνειδὸς τούτοις τοῖς λογισμοῖς, τὸ συνεχῶς ἀναμετρεῖν τῆς ὁδοῦ τὸ μῆκος, ὅσον ἀπολειπόμεθα τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν. Καὶ πῶς τοῦτο ἔσται; φησί. Πῶς; ἂν τὴν γέενναν ἔχωμεν ἀεὶ πρὸ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν, καὶ τοὺς πανταχοῦ τότε διατρέχοντας ἀγγέλους, καὶ συνάγοντας ἐκ τῆς οἰκουμένης ἁπάσης τοὺς ἐν τῇ γεέννῃ ἀπαχθήσεσθαι μέλλοντας· ἂν τὴν ἔκπτωσιν λογισώμεθα τῆς βασιλείας, ὅσον κακὸν, καὶ τῆς γεέννης χωρίς.","english":"But we mourn not for children or wives, but for the loss of a soul—not another's soul, but our own—yet we plead in excuse the weakness of the body and the delicacy of our upbringing. And would that this were the only evil! But as it is, we do not even do those things in which we need no activity of the body. For where, tell me, is there need of bodily strength, when one must crush the heart, when one must pray soberly and alertly, when one must reckon up one's sins, when one must bring down arrogance and folly, when one must humble one's reasoning? For these are the things that make God propitious to us, and they require no great toil; and not even these do we do. For it is not the wearing of sackcloth, nor shutting oneself up in a little cell, nor sitting in darkness—this alone is not mourning, but rather to turn the memory of one's own evils over continually, and to torment the conscience with these thoughts, to measure again and again the length of the road, how far we fall short of the kingdom of heaven. And how will this be? he says. How? If we keep hell always before our eyes, and the angels who then run everywhere and gather from the whole inhabited world those who are to be led away to hell; if we reckon the loss of the kingdom—how great an evil it is—and that apart from hell.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":36,"ref":"p36","source":"Καὶ γὰρ, εἰ μὴ τὸ πῦρ ἐκεῖνο ἠπείλητο ἡμῖν, μηδὲ ἀθάνατοι κολάσεις ἡμᾶς ἔμενον, αὐτὸ μόνον τὸ ἀλλοτριωθῆναι τοῦ Χριστοῦ, τοῦ πράου καὶ φιλανθρώπου, τοῦ παραδόντος ἑαυτὸν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν εἰς θάνατον, καὶ πάντα παθόντος, ἵνα ἡμᾶς ἐξαιρήσηται τῆς κολάσεως ἐκείνης, καὶ καταλλάξῃ ἡμᾶς τῷ ἑαυτοῦ Πατρὶ ἐχθροὺς ὄντας τοῖς πταίσμασιν, εἰ καὶ μὴ τῶν προκειμένων ἐκείνων ἀνεκλαλήτων ἀγαθῶν καὶ ἀθανάτων ἐκπίπτειν μέλλομεν, πάσης κολάσεως μεῖζόν ἐστι, καὶ ἱκανὸν διεγεῖραι ψυχὰς, καὶ πεῖσαι νήφειν διαπαντός. Εἰ γὰρ ἀναγινώσκοντες μόνον τὸ ὑπόδειγμα τῶν πέντε παρθένων, ἃς ἔξω τοῦ νυμφῶνος ἡ τοῦ ἐλαίου σπάνις ἀπέκλεισεν, ἐξ ἴσης ἐκείναις αὐταῖς ἀλγοῦμεν ἐπὶ τοῖς ἐκείνων κακοῖς, καὶ\n\nθορυβούμεθα· ἂν ἐννοήσωμεν ὅτι καὶ αὐτοὶ τοῦτο πεισόμεθα ῥᾳθυμήσαντες, τίς οὕτως ἔσται λίθινος λοιπὸν, ὡς, τοῦ παραδείγματος αὐτὸ τοῦτο συνεχῶς στρέφοντος τὴν ψυχὴν, εἰς ὀλιγωρίαν ἐμπεσεῖν; Ἐνῆν μὲν οὖν καὶ εἰς μεῖζον μῆκος ἐκτεῖναι τὸν λόγον, ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ μόνον ὑπακοῆς καὶ οὐκ ἄλλης χρείας ἕνεκεν ἡμῖν εἴρηται, καὶ ταῦτα πέρα τοῦ δέοντος γέγραπται. Εὖ γὰρ οἶδα ὅτι πᾶσαν τῆς κατανύξεως τὴν ἀρετὴν αὐτός τε ἔχεις ἀκριβῶς, καὶ ἄλλοις ἂν μεταδοίης καὶ σιωπῶν, ἂν μόνον βραχὺ τῇ εὐλαβείᾳ συζῆσαι ἀξιωθεῖεν τῇ σῇ, καὶ τὸν ἐσταυρωμένον βίον ἰδεῖν. Ὥστε εἰ χρὴ κατάνυξιν μαθεῖν τοὺς μὲν νῦν ζῶντας, εἰς τὸ σὸν βαδίζειν δεῖ καταγώγιον· τοὺς δὲ μετὰ ταῦτα, ἀκούειν τὰ σά· πολλὴν γὰρ οἶμαι ῥοπὴν παρέξειν πρὸς τοῦτο τὴν διήγησιν μόνον τοῦ βίου τοῦ σοῦ.","english":"For even if that fire had not been threatened to us, nor immortal punishments were awaiting us, the very fact of being estranged from Christ—the gentle and loving-kind one, who gave himself over to death for us and suffered all things, so that he might rescue us from that punishment and reconcile us to his own Father when we were enemies by our transgressions—even if we were not about to fall from those ineffable and immortal good things set before us, this is greater than every punishment, and sufficient to awaken souls and persuade them to be sober at all times. For if, merely reading the example of the five virgins, whom the scarcity of oil shut out from the bridal chamber, we grieve equally with them over their misfortunes, and are disturbed—if we consider that we ourselves will suffer this same thing if we are negligent—who then will be so made of stone as, while the example itself continually turns the soul toward this very thing, to fall into carelessness? It was possible, then, to extend the discourse to a greater length, but since it has been spoken to us only for the sake of obedience and no other need, these things too have been written beyond what is necessary. For I well know that you yourself possess precisely the whole virtue of compunction, and could impart it to others even in silence, if only they were deemed worthy to live a little while with your piety and to see the crucified life. So that if those now living must learn compunction, they must walk to your dwelling; and those after these things, to hear your words; for I think the narration of your life alone will provide great weight toward this.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]},{"i":37,"ref":"p37","source":"Διὸ δέομαι καὶ παρακαλῶ τὴν ἀμοιβὴν ἡμῖν ἀποτῖσαι λοιπὸν, καὶ τὰς εὐχὰς ἀντιδοῦναι τὰς σὰς, ὥστε μὴ λέγειν περὶ κατανύξεως μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ διὰ τῶν ἔργων τὸ πρᾶγμα ἐπιδείκνυσθαι τοῦτο· ἐπειδὴ τὸ διδάσκειν ἄνευ τοῦ ποιεῖν, οὐ μόνον κέρδος οὐδὲν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ζημίαν πολλὴν καὶ κατάκρισιν φέρει τῷ μετὰ τοσαύτης ἀπροσεξίας διοικοῦντι τὸν βίον τὸν ἑαυτοῦ. Οὐ γὰρ πᾶς, φησὶν, ὁ λέγων μοι, Κύριε, Κύριε, ἀλλ' ὃς δ' ἂν ποιήσῃ καὶ διδάξῃ, οὗτος μέγας κληθήσεται ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τῶν οὐρανῶν.","english":"Therefore I beg and entreat you to repay us the recompense from now on, and to give back your prayers in return, so as not to speak about compunction only, but also to demonstrate this matter through deeds; since teaching without doing brings not only no profit, but even great loss and condemnation to the one who manages his own life with such great carelessness. For not everyone, he says, who says to me, Lord, Lord, but whoever does and teaches, this one will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[],"ambiguities":[],"confidence":"","notes":[]}]}