Sacra parallela recensiones secundum alphabeti

The sowing is human free choice; the harvest is the recompense for that choice. The harvest is worthy of your sowing. You sowed bitterness; gather the sheaves.

TITLE 11. — On prosperity and adversity; and that one ought not to be elated in prosperity, nor to be cast down in adversity. "Give me neither wealth nor poverty, but appoint for me what is necessary and sufficient, lest being filled I become false and say, Who sees me? or being impoverished I steal and swear the name of God." "In the day of good things do not forget evils, and in the day of evils do not forget good things." "Remember the time of famine in the time of plenty; poverty and want in the day of wealth. From morning until evening the time changes; and all things are swift before the Lord. For a wise man will be cautious in everything." "In a man's good fortune his enemies are in grief, and in his misfortunes even his friend will be separated from him." "Whatever is brought upon you, accept it, and in the clamor of your humiliation be long-suffering, for gold is tested in fire, and acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation." A pilot is needed, so that even in the calm of life, when all things proceed smoothly for him, he may expect changes, and not rest upon present things as though they were immortal, and in gloomier circumstances not despair of himself, nor, swallowed up by excessive grief, be carried under. For neither health of body, nor the bloom of youth, nor the prosperity of a household, nor the rest of life's well-being remains for long. But in this fair weather of life, expect sometime also a winter of affairs.

For disease will come, and poverty will come, when the wind does not always stand astern, but even the man who is most admired in all things, the object of envy, is often overtaken by unexpected disgraces, and some circumstances, like hidden reefs, have thrown into confusion every prosperity of life with unwanted troubles. And the succession of evils is like waves, one urged on after another, roughening your life and making the surge of life fearful around you; but you will one day see even this pass by into cheerfulness, and your life changed into truly white calm. This, then, is the prudent helmsman, who takes thought for the nature that lies before him, handles whatever befalls, and remains like himself, neither exalted in times of good cheer nor cast down in misfortunes. Disease, poverty, disgrace, death, and all that is grievous to men ought not yet to be counted in the lot of evils, because we do not count their opposites among the greatest of goods either, since some of these things are by nature, and others have been shown to befall many for their benefit. Let us look upward, brothers; at every time and in every circumstance let us set before us the good hope, and let us neither cast away fear in our desires nor good hope in our sorrows. Let us remember the storm even in fair weather, and in winter

of the helmsman. But let us not grow faint in afflictions, nor become wicked slaves. Let us give thanks to the Master when he is good to us, and not add to our sins when he disciplines us; and yet sometimes sickness is better than health, a reminder of relaxation, a visitation for negligence, and a turning back for forgiveness. Let us neither fall because of misfortunes, nor wax insolent because of satiety. Let us neither admire all health, nor spit upon all sickness, nor attach ourselves to flowing wealth, nor rise up against poverty as wholly to be spat out, condemned, and the hated portion; but let us know how to despise senseless health, whose fruit is sin, and to honor holy sickness, reverencing those who conquered through suffering. Neither despair of prosperity when you are disheartened, nor, when you fare well and nobly, despair. One year brings four seasons, and one turn of time brings many changes of affairs. While you sail with a fair wind, fear shipwreck, and you will be shipwrecked less, using fear as a helper. Do not speak boastfully while sailing well, before the storm. Many a ship has sunk while sailing well toward harbor; many have been brought to anchor out of a rough sea. Neither let pain be without consolation, nor let prosperity be without instruction. When you sail well, remember the storm most of all. Do not greatly praise the smooth course of life, you who know how to think greater things than what is seen, lest for me the height be hard to climb, while for you the ease of life is a precipice. My sorrow is better than your fine state. You once saw oxen, one great in the stall, exalted, gleaming with prosperity, arching its neck, and the other bowed down, wrinkled with the marks of farming; then the one kept for slaughter, the other feeding both itself and its master.

Who is happier than these? Tell me. Is it not the one who is narrow and worn down by the yoke? It is evident; but you love breadth, even if it be evil and evilly composed. Or will you praise the bulk of one who is dropsical, or does one stricken in mind seem to you to be strong? But the sweet thing is the saving remedy of all, whose bitterness has often driven it out. But the sweet thing leads for the most part toward the worse, when one ought not to accept every turn of the helm until one has come to anchor in calm harbors. A tomb, and corruption, and dust, the conclusion of worldly prosperity. One must neither add any good things to these, since they are human beings, nor again hate them for evils, but be above both, trampling on the one and sending the other on to those in need. God weaves these things through one another, it seems to me, so that neither the painful may be without remedy, nor the cheerful without discipline; and so that, having observed their instability and unevenness, we may look to him alone. It is shameful for us to bless in the more favorable things, but to be silent in the gloomier and more painful matters; but then one must give thanks even more, knowing that whom the Lord loves he disciplines, and scourges every son whom he receives. A tomb will succeed the end of glory. As it is the mark of the tasteless to be excessively elated by compassions, so it is the mark of the cowardly to cower in failings. For the change is swift in both. Just as it is proper to light to illuminate, so it is proper to God to have mercy and pity on his own creatures. For the Lord is merciful and compassionate, according to the voice of David. Therefore neither despair nor despise.

When all your affairs are prospering, expect a change. And again, when you are surrounded by unexpected calamities, picture to yourself the good things, and the better. One must not be vexed at what happens, but rather desire many afflictions. For this reason, he says, I afflicted you and made you hungry, so that you might be fed the manna of knowledge, and in the last times I will do you good. The life of men, likened to the sea, admits of billowings and turnings of every kind, both in prosperity and in adversity. For nothing of those born of the earth is fixed, but it is carried here and there, like a boat at sea driven by contrary things.

TITLE 12. — Concerning prosperity and wealth; and that in times of wealth sins are wont to occur.

"Jacob ate, and was filled, and the beloved one kicked." "Having eaten and been filled, take heed to yourself, lest you forget the Lord your God." "Lest, having eaten and been filled, and having built fine houses and dwelt in them, and your sheep and your cattle having multiplied, and silver and gold having multiplied for you, you be lifted up in your heart." "Having eaten and drunk, take heed to yourself, lest your heart be led astray, lest you be deceived in the filling of the belly." "They were magnified and grew rich;

They were fattened, they were filled with food, and they transgressed my words unto evil. This was the iniquity of Sodom: that in pride and abundance of bread, and in prosperity of wine, she and her daughters reveled, and they did not take hold of the hand of the poor and the needy, and they committed iniquity before me. Take heed lest you be led astray and be brought low in your gladness. The prosperities of life become temptations for many. They love sins to be born from crowds of people and from abundance of necessities. TITLE 13. — Concerning plots, and those who plot against their neighbors. He dug a pit and scooped it out, and he shall fall into the ditch. In this snare which they hid, their foot was caught. They dug a pit before my face, and they fell into it. The sinners shall fall in their net. He who digs a pit for his neighbor shall fall into it. And he who rolls a stone, rolls it upon himself. Whoever prepares a net for the face of his own friend, wraps it around his own feet. He who digs a pit shall fall into it, and a serpent shall bite him who tears down a fence; he who removes stones shall be troubled by them. He who digs a pit shall fall into it, and he who sets a snare shall be caught in it. He who does evil shall be rolled into them, and he shall not know from where it comes. Why a disciple? Why also a plotter, plotting against his own teacher, and imitating that Judas, who became a betrayer of his own teacher? TITLE 14. — Concerning enemies and their fall; and that one must not rejoice at the misfortune of enemies.

If your enemy falls, do not rejoice over him, and do not exult when he is tripped up. For the Lord will see it, and it will not please him, and he will turn his wrath away from him. Do not rejoice over evildoers. If your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him drink. For by doing this, you will heap coals of fire on his head, and the Lord will repay you with good things. Do not rejoice over me, my enemy, because I have fallen; for I shall rise again. Do not rejoice over the sons of Judah in the day of their destruction, and do not boast greatly in the day of distress. Thus says the Lord: Because you clapped your hand and stamped your foot and rejoiced from your soul over the land of Israel, therefore behold, I will stretch out my hand against you, and I will give you for plunder among the nations, and I will destroy you from among the peoples, and I will destroy you with destruction. Thus says the Lord: Because you rejoiced over my holy things, that they were profaned, and over the house of Judah, that they went into captivity; therefore I give you to the sons of Kedem as an inheritance, and they shall dwell in you with their baggage, and they shall set their tents in you. They shall eat your fruits, and they shall drink your fatness. And I will give the city of Ammon as pastures for camels, and the sons of Ammon as shepherds of sheep. One must be admonished by the blow that falls on one's neighbors, and through the misfortunes of others set one's own affairs well. Guard yourself, and do not laugh at another's fall. Do not laugh at a fall

of your neighbor. Cross over safely, as far as you are able, but also give a hand to one lying on the ground. We must be kind to those who have fallen before us, and acquire mercy by mercy. In the misfortunes of others we must set our own affairs well, and lend mercy to God—we who need mercy—and not despise human beings, being human ourselves. When you see your enemy fallen into your hands, do not think that this is a time for punishment, but for salvation. For this reason, we must especially spare our enemies when we become their masters. Many kings, upon coming to power, took those who had long since wronged them and thought it unworthy of themselves not to exact the penalty for their offenses, and the abundance of their authority became an occasion for reconciliation. Nothing is safer than sparing enemies; nothing more perilous than wishing to avenge oneself and retaliate. It is far greater and more profitable to spare than to destroy. For the one who destroys his enemy will often condemn himself and have an evil conscience, pursued by that sin every day and hour. But the one who spares, after enduring a short time, afterward rejoices and luxuriates, having acquired good and better hopes, and expects the rewards of forbearance from God. And if ever he falls into some terrible circumstance, he will demand the recompense from God with great boldness. Conspicuous and enviable is the goodness—namely, to extend mercy to those who hate us and choose it, and to offer a helping hand;

To wish also to save them, not rather by trampling on them, and, as it were, riding over those lying down, and smiling on the misery that is in them without compassion, but rather by doing those things through which they might get out of the snare, and by making supplications on their behalf to the one who has authority over all things. It is fitting to pity misfortunes, not to hate them. One must not be elated at every fall and every sin of a human being, nor ever rejoice over one who has been brought to lamentation, even if such a person seems to be a murderous enemy; but rather to suffer with him and grieve with him, and to make prayer on his behalf to God, fearing and trembling and reasoning that perhaps the one who has been tripped up may be shown forth as a trophy-bearer, while the one who thinks he stands may afterward, contrary to expectation, be dashed down by a extraordinary fall and die in that fall. For this reason one must especially spare one's enemies when we become masters of them. And if ever it happens that someone rarely swerves from virtue and falls to the devil, do not wish to judge and condemn this person. Rather fear, lest you too be overtaken by misfortune. To rejoice at the misfortunes of enemies, even if it is ever just, is nevertheless not human.

TITLE 15. — On beneficence, or an offering made from unjust things. "David said to Ornan: Give me the place of the threshing floor, and I will build on it an altar to the Lord; give it to me for silver, and the plague will cease from the people. And Ornan said to David: Take it for yourself, and let my lord the king do what is good in his eyes. And the king said: No; but I will buy it for a worthy price of silver, for I will not take your things to bring up a burnt offering to the Lord God for nothing. And David gave to Ornan for his place six hundred shekels of gold by weight." "He who sacrifices from unjust things, the sacrifice is a mockery, and the gifts of the lawless are not for good pleasure. He who sacrifices a son before his father, so is he who offers a sacrifice from the money of the poor. One builds, and another tears down: what profit is there in sailing or in toil? One prays, and another curses: whose voice will the Master hear?" He who takes another's things and gives to another has not shown mercy, but has also committed the ultimate injustice. For if you show mercy from the things by which you do injustice, show mercy to those whom you wrong. For that man is pious, not the one who shows mercy to many, but the one who wrongs no one. And further, if you wish again to show mercy, show mercy from

of your fruits of righteousness. If you sow for the poor, sow your own things. For the things of others are more bitter than tares; for you till a field that you cannot reap. TITLE 16. — On contractors and those who take commissions, who thrust themselves into others' lawsuits.

"As he who grasps a dog by the tail, so is he who presides over another's judgment." "The counsel of the wicked devises lawless things, to destroy the lowly with unjust words, and to scatter the words of the poor in judgment." "He who pursues a commission shall fall into judgment." "Concerning a matter for which you have no need, do not provoke." TITLE 17. — On good bishops, and those who keep the commandments of God.

"Every man in whom there is a blemish shall not come near to offer. A man blind, or lame, or with a maimed nose, or mutilated, or in whom there is a fracture of hand or foot, or crooked, or with a blemish in his eyes, or with a squint, or in whom there is a wild scab, or a lichen, or one with a single testicle, shall not come near to offer sacrifices to the Lord, because there is a blemish in him. He shall eat of the holy gifts, but he shall not come near to the veil, and he shall not approach my altar. They shall not take a woman who is a harlot and defiled, because they are holy." "Your priests shall be clothed with righteousness, and your holy ones shall rejoice with exultation." "You shall surely know the souls of your flock, and you shall set your heart upon your herds." "Shepherd the sheep of slaughter, which those who possessed them were slaughtering, and did not repent, and those who sold them said: Blessed is the Lord, and we have become rich, and their shepherds suffered nothing for them.

Son of man, I have given you as a watchman to the house of Israel, and to hear a word from my mouth, and to declare it to them from me. When I say to the lawless man, 'Turn back from his ways, that he may live'—if that lawless man dies in his injustice, I will require his blood at your hand. And if you declare it to the lawless man, and he does not turn back from his lawlessness, he shall die in his injustice, and you shall deliver your own soul. And when a righteous man turns back and commits a transgression, he shall die in his sins, because his righteous deeds shall not be remembered, and I will require the blood at your hand. But if you declare it to the righteous man not to sin, you shall deliver your own soul." "No priest shall drink wine when he enters the inner court. From all your firstfruits it shall belong to the priests." "Those who have kept the holy things holily shall be made holy, and those who have been taught them shall find a defense." "Do not seek from the Lord a guardianship, nor from a king a seat of glory. With your whole soul revere the Lord, and marvel at his priests. With all your strength glorify the one who made you, and do not forsake his ministers. Fear the Lord, and glorify the priest, and give them their portion, as he commanded you." "They appointed you as a leader? Do not exalt yourself. Be among them as one of them. Care for them, and so sit down, and having done all your business, recline, that you may be glad because of them, and for the sake of good favor receive the crown." "When Jesus came into the parts of Caesarea Philippi," and the rest.

The Lord said to Peter: "Simon son of Jonah, do you love me?" "A dispute arose among the disciples, as to which of them seemed to be greater. And Jesus said to them: The kings of the nations lord it over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called benefactors. But you are not so; rather, let the greater among you become as the younger, and the leader as the one who serves. For who is greater, the one reclining at table, or the one serving? Is it not the one reclining? But I am in the midst of you as the one who serves." "Blessed are those servants whom the lord, when he comes, will find watching. Amen I say to you, that he will gird himself, and have them recline, and coming he will serve them. And the Lord said: Who then is the faithful and prudent steward, whom the lord will set over his household, to give the measure of grain in due season? Blessed is that servant whom the lord, when he comes, will find doing so. Truly I say to you, that he will set him over all his possessions." "I testify to you on this day, that I am clean from the blood of all of you. For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. Take heed therefore to yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has placed you as overseers, to shepherd the Church of God, which he obtained through his own blood. And now, brothers, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able also to give you an inheritance among those who have been sanctified." "So we speak, not as pleasing men, but God, who tests our hearts.

For we were never at any time with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness—nor seeking glory from men, neither from you nor from others, though we could have been a burden as apostles of Christ; but we were in the midst of you as a nurse cherishes her own children. If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a good work. Therefore the overseer must be blameless, the husband of one wife, sober, orderly, hospitable, able to teach, not given to wine, not a striker, but rather gentle, not a lover of money, managing his own household well, having children in all submission with all dignity. But if anyone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for the Church of God? Not a new convert, lest being puffed up he fall into the judgment of the devil. And he must also have a good testimony from those outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. Lay hands hastily on no one, nor share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure. The overseer must be blameless, as an apostle and steward of Christ: not self-willed, not angry, not given to wine, not a striker, not greedy for shameful gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, just, holy, temperate. Let no one despise your youth. Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work. Overseeing, not under compulsion, but willingly, nor for shameful gain, but eagerly according to God.

nor as lording it over the lots, but becoming examples to the flock. Let not the office exalt the one who presides, lest he fall from the blessing of humility, or himself, blinded, fall into the judgment of the devil. But let him be persuaded of this, that the care of the many is a service of the many. As therefore the one who serves many who are wounded, and cleans away the pus of each wound, and applies remedies according to the particular nature of the affliction, does not take his service as an occasion for exaltation, but rather for humility and struggle—so much more this one who has been entrusted to heal the infirmities of the brotherhood, as a servant of all and one who must give an account for all, ought to think and struggle. For in this way the purpose of the Lord will be achieved, who said: If anyone wishes to be first among you, let him be last of all and servant of all. Let the one entrusted with the common care, as one who must give an account for each of those entrusted to him, be so disposed. To learn without shame, and to teach without envy, and if he has been taught anything by another, not to conceal it, like worthless women who substitute bastard children; but to proclaim with good will the Father of the Word. For a man, since it is difficult to know how to be ruled, the danger is that it is even more difficult to know how to rule men; and especially this rule of ours, the one in the divine law and leading to God, whose danger is as great as its height and dignity. This to me

It appears in truth to be a certain art of arts, and a science of sciences, to lead man, the most versatile and most varied of living creatures. Just as not all bodies receive the same remedy and nourishment, but different ones receive different things, whether they are in good health or ill, so too souls must be treated with different reasoning and guidance. And the passions of those who are treated are witnesses to the treatment. Some are led by reason, others are regulated by example. Some need a goad, others a bridle. For some are sluggish and slow to move toward the good, who must be stirred up by the stroke of reason; others are more fervent in spirit than is fitting and hard to restrain in their impulses, like noble colts running outside the course. Some have been helped by praise, others by blame—both with due season and reason. Some are set right by encouragement, others by rebuke; and again, some by being reproved in public, others privately. For some are inclined to despise their own admonitions, being brought to their senses by the condemnation of the crowd; others are inclined to grow shameless toward freedom of reproof, being disciplined by the mystery of rebuke, and returning in exchange for sympathy a good disposition. It is necessary to observe some carefully, even down to the smallest things, as much as they think they escape notice; but in the case of others, some things are better overlooked, so that seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear; neither softening them by kindness, nor making them harsh by severity. This is the boundary of all spiritual oversight: everywhere to overlook one's own interest for the benefit of others. It is a fatherly law to spare children. Instruction is also the nourishment of the one who nourishes.

To rebuke calmly, to praise instructively, and to corrupt neither by excess, but to make both the rebuke fatherly and the praise authoritative; neither the gentle lax, nor the austere harsh; but the one mildness, the other prudence, and both philosophy. As great as the height and the dignity, so great also is the danger. Priests, clothe yourselves in righteousness. Let us not scatter the sheep of the law and destroy them, for whom the good shepherd laid down his soul, who knows his own and is known by his own, and calls them by name, and leads them in and leads them out from unbelief to faith, and from this life to the rest yonder; let us fear lest the judgment and the threat begin with us; let us not receive from the hand of the Lord double for our sins, both not entering ourselves and hindering those who are able to enter. Sheep, do not shepherd the shepherds, nor exalt yourselves beyond your own bounds. For it is enough for you if you are well shepherded. Do not judge the judges, nor legislate for the legislators. For God is not of disorder and confusion, but of peace and order. And the eye of the teacher is a silent teaching. As much as the soul is better than the body, by so much is he who heals souls more honored than those who tend bodies. The priesthood stands as much higher than kingship as the difference between spirit and flesh. For the failings of priests cannot be hidden, but even the smallest quickly become manifest.

One should not judge understanding by age, nor test an elder by gray hair, nor altogether exclude the young from such a ministry—but rather the newly planted. Yet the middle course of both is great. Most people, when they see someone superior to money, immediately declare him fit for this stewardship. Such a one would be a destructive protector, and a wolf instead of a shepherd. Let no one slander the young, nor praise the old. For neither is gray hair virtue, nor youth vice. Many have displayed philosophy even in youth; many indeed have been tripped up even in old age. For the three children were in the furnace, and they made the flame into dew; and Daniel, being twelve years old, conversed with the Hebrew people, and made the lions sheep—not changing their nature, but bridling their beastliness by faith. And Paul had grown old and was gray-haired, and had been a plunderer of the Churches. And after these things he seized the prize of faith, and became a sheep of goodness, and a herald, and an apostle. Do not therefore slander the young, nor praise the aged. For virtue and vice are not in the difference of age, but in the difference of disposition. Even if you are sober-minded, the untimeliness of your age will harm you in nothing; even if you are slack, old age will profit you nothing. For gray hair is not white hairs, but the virtue of the soul. This David, then, being young, had possessed the ripe fruit of virtue. Samuel came to Jesse, holding the horn where the holy oil was. And what does he say? God sent me to make one of your sons king.

Jesse, when he heard the king, thinking the office suited that one, brought his first son, and the prophet says: Bring him forward; God was not well pleased in him. He brings the second; nor this one. The third; nor this one; the fourth, the fifth. The chorus of the children was exhausted, and the one sought was not found. He says to him: Do you have another? The father was ashamed: I have one, he says, small, of little worth. You seek a king—small, of little worth, a shepherd. Man rejects, but God crowns. For not as man sees does God see. Man looks at the face, but God at the heart. For let us not seek fatness of flesh; we desire nobility of soul. Do you wish to learn how great is the power of priests? Consider baptism, the remission of sins, the adoption as sons, the countless good things which come to you through the laying on of these hands, and through the invocation made over you by them. But since we approach them carelessly and with negligent reasoning, for this reason our whole life has been overturned. If the patriarch Jacob, set over flocks, pasturing irrational sheep, and about to give account to a man, passed sleepless nights and endured heat and cold and every irregularity of the airs, so that none of those flocks should be lost, how much more must we, who are set over not irrational but spiritual sheep, and are about to give account not to men but to God, shrink from and hold back from nothing of the things able to benefit the flocks.

But to the extent that this flock is better than that one—and humans than irrational animals, and God than humans—so also ought we to show greater and more fervent zeal and readiness. Such were the hearts of the saints, so as to consider death with their children sweeter than life without them. All of you, follow the bishop as Jesus Christ follows the Father, and the presbytery as the apostles; and respect the deacons as those serving the commandment of God. Let no one do anything pertaining to the Church without the bishop. Let that Eucharist be considered valid which is held by the bishops. Wherever the bishop appears, let the multitude be there, just as wherever Christ is, there is the catholic Church. It is not permitted to baptize or to hold a love-feast without the bishop; but whatever he approves, this is pleasing to God. Whoever honors the bishop has been honored by God; whoever does something secretly without the bishop serves the devil. Bear with all, as the Lord also bears with you. Endure all in love; devote yourself to unceasing prayers. Ask for greater understanding than you have. Be watchful, having acquired an unsleeping eye. Bear the sicknesses of all as a perfect athlete. Where there is more toil, there is much gain. If you love good disciples, it will bring you no credit; rather, subdue the more disobedient in gentleness. Not every wound is healed by the same plaster. Stop the paroxysms with fomentations. For this reason you are fleshly and spiritual, so that you may flatter the things that appear to your face; but ask for the invisible things to be revealed to you, so that you may lack nothing.

It is necessary for the one who presides to cultivate and practice a blameless life, and to have nothing unbecoming of the things that please God. The minister of the Church ought, before all things, to be free from anger, and not to rebuke but to exhort. Then a teacher succeeds and is believed when he speaks, when he instructs by what he does, according to the saying, "What Jesus began to do and to teach." Prudence, and life, and nobility make a priest. Teach virtue by word, but proclaim it by deed. Alexander, seeing from afar the multitude in white garments, and the priests presiding in their linen vestments, and the high priest in the hyacinth and gold-embroidered robe, and on his head the headdress, and the golden plate upon it, on which the name of God was inscribed, came forward alone and worshiped the name and the high priest. And when Parmenion asked why, when all were worshiping him, he himself worshiped the high priest of the Jews, he said, "It was not this man that I worshiped, but God, by whose honor this man has been honored with the high priesthood." TITLE 18. — Concerning wicked bishops, and those who do not keep the commandments of God.

Their priests fell by the sword. The priests hid the way of the Lord. Her rulers judged for gifts, and her priests answered for hire, and her prophets divined for silver. It is not for you to know judgment, you who hate the good and seek the evil, who seize their skins and their flesh from their bones. Her priests profane the holy things and do wickedly against the law. Woe to those who shepherd vain things and have abandoned the sheep! A sword upon his arm. I will not shepherd you: let the dying die, and let the failing fail, and let the remnant devour, each the flesh of his neighbor. Behold, I will raise up an ignorant shepherd upon the earth: the failing he will not restore, and the scattered he will not heal, and the whole he will not set straight, and he will eat the flesh of the chosen and twist their ankles. They went astray through strong drink, priest and prophet. They were beside themselves through wine; they were shaken by the drunkenness of strong drink. Woe to the shepherds who scatter and destroy the sheep of the flock. Therefore thus says the Lord against the shepherds who shepherd my people: You have scattered my sheep, and driven them out, and not visited them. Behold, I will avenge you according to your evil practices. My people have become lost sheep.

Those who shepherded him drove them out; they led them astray upon the mountains. Their leaders are roaring lions, those who seize plunder, devouring souls in power, and receiving honors in injustice. And the priests rejected my law, and profaned my holy things; they did not distinguish between the unclean and the clean, and they profaned me in their midst. Her rulers in her midst are like wolves, seizing plunder, to shed blood, so that they might gain by greed; and her prophets anointed them. Thus says the Lord: O shepherds of Jerusalem! Do the shepherds not feed themselves? Do the shepherds not feed the sheep? Behold, you eat the milk and clothe yourselves with the wool, and you slaughter the fat, and my sheep you do not feed. The weak you did not strengthen, and the straying you did not turn back, and the lost you did not seek, and the strong you oppressed, and my sheep were scattered because there are no shepherds. The shepherds fed themselves, but my sheep they did not feed. Therefore behold, I am against the shepherds and I will require my sheep from their hands. Learn, judges of the ends of the earth, that your dominion was given by the Lord. He who will examine your works and search out your counsels, because being servants of his kingdom, you did not judge rightly, nor did you keep the law, nor did you walk according to the counsel of God. Swiftly and with terror destruction will come upon you, because a sharp judgment comes upon those in high places. For the least is worthy of pardon through mercy; but the mighty will be examined mightily.

For the Master of all will not show partiality, nor will he be awed by greatness. And again: “A stern inquiry awaits the mighty.” “Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying: The scribes and Pharisees have seated themselves on Moses’ seat. Therefore all things whatsoever they tell you to observe, observe, but do not do according to their works. For they say, and do not do. For they bind heavy burdens and hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of men, but with their finger they do not move them. And all their works they do to be seen by men. For they widen their phylacteries, and enlarge the fringes of their garments, and they love the first places at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men Rabbi. But you, do not be called Rabbi. For one is your teacher, the Christ, and you are all brothers. And call no man your father upon the earth. For one is your Father, who is in the heavens. But let the greater among you be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour the houses of widows, and for a pretense make long prayers; for this you will receive a greater judgment. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut the kingdom of the heavens, and you do not enter, nor do you allow those who are entering to come in.

Woe to you, because you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice, and mercy, and faith; you strain out the gnat, but swallow the camel. Woe to you, because you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of extortion and greed. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and the dish, so that its outside also may become clean. Woe to you, because you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful. Outwardly you appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. “But if that wicked servant says in his heart, My master is delayed in coming, and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day he does not expect, and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in two, and will place his portion with the hypocrites.” “Simon, seeing that through the laying on of the hands of the apostles the Holy Spirit was given, brought them money, saying: Give me also this authority, so that whomever I lay my hands on may receive the Holy Spirit. But Peter said to him: May your silver be with you unto destruction, because you thought to acquire the gift of God through money. You have no part, nor lot, in this matter.” How great an evil it is to become, instead of a guide, a cause of error to those under one’s charge! No one overlooks his own child when he is about to fall into a pit, or, once fallen, abandons him in the fall.

How much more terrible is it for a soul falling into the depth of evils to be abandoned to destruction? Let no one be a head who is scarcely a hand, or a foot, or any other of the more worthless parts of the body. Let each one remain in the rank in which he was called, brothers. I speak especially to you who are of the judgment seat: do not be an eye filled with darkness, nor let us appear as leaders of evil. For if the light is such as this, how great is the darkness? Who could persuade others to be moderate when those who preside are so disposed? What profit is it to be a good helmsman when one uses wicked rowers? From where, tell me, do you think such great disturbances are born in the Churches? For I think it is from nowhere else than from the fact that the choices and elections of those who preside are made simply and as it happens. Nothing is colder than a teacher who philosophizes in words only. This is not a teacher, but a hypocrite. Nothing is more wretched than a ruler who benefits those he rules in no way. To the extent that the one who has obtained the episcopacy has ascended to the greater bulk of the high priesthood, to that extent he will be required to give a greater account, not only of teaching, but also of the protection of the poor. For just as we, entrusting silver to household servants,

We demand an account from them all; so too God, having entrusted words to us, will require what is his, and the manner of our expenditure. It is impossible for those who have not first learned from those who know to know these things, great and divine as they are, or to be able to teach others rightly. The inexperience of the teacher destroys the disciples, and the negligence of the disciples brings danger to the teacher, especially when they grow careless because of his own ignorance. Let them not think that this matter is a pretext for ease and enjoyment. For to rule souls is more laborious than all things. And those who come to these things must anoint themselves as men entering upon a laborious contest. He who splits wood will be in danger among it, if the iron falls out. For he who divides matters by reason, if he does not have his reason safeguarded on every side, will be in danger among his hearers, providing to the disciples an occasion of stumbling in his speech. Do not be ignorant of this, that many of the bishops have it in their power to adorn the furnace of fire. The work of each priest and teacher, whatever it is, the eternal fire will test. For that day will uncover and make manifest all things, because it will be revealed in fire. Do you not know that even bishops sometimes undergo destruction and a fall? It is absurd, while pursuing honors, to flee the labors through which honors come. Let it be a law against those who deem it right to look upon the venerable and divine things not venerably and in a manner worthy of God, that it bring upon them the punishment of blindness.

TITLE 19. — On surety.

TITLE 20. — On desire; and that we must not follow evil desires.

"You shall not desire your neighbor's wife, nor his house, nor his field, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his beast of burden, nor all that belongs to your neighbor." "David desired a desire, and said: Who will give me water to drink from the cistern that is in Bethlehem? And the three mighty men took it and came to David; and he was unwilling to drink it, and poured it out to the Lord, and said: Be merciful to me, O Lord, that I should do this, if I drink the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives." "A good desire is a tree of life." "Do not go after your desires, and restrain yourself from your appetites." "The rushing of desire wears away an innocent mind." "Whoever looks at a woman to desire her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." "Everything in the world is the desire of the flesh, and the desire of the eyes, and the vainglory of life, which is not from the Father, but is from the world." "I exhort you, as sojourners and strangers, to abstain from fleshly desires, which wage war against the soul." "I, the Creator, implanted desire in the creature, and I do not slander the natural motion. For I do not say: You shall not desire. I do not tear up the root of what was well planted, but I prune the bastard shoots of the plant that has been corrupted. I do not say, then, to banish desire itself from the soul, but I cut off the offshoots of the fighting passion that are still sprouting. Who sows weeds alongside the good field?

I sowed good seed; whence the destruction of the tares? Root out, trample down, choke the evil seed, and you will not suffer when the tare grows rank. But everyone who looks at a woman to desire her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. As the sparrow's wings are of no use to it when caught by the snare, but it will flutter in vain and to no purpose, so also with thoughts there is no benefit if you are simply caught by force by evil desire, but however much you may leap about, you are caught.

For this reason sparrows have wings, that they may escape snares; for this reason men have thoughts, that they may escape sins.

TITLE 21. — On voluntary and involuntary sins. "If anyone strikes someone and he dies, he shall surely be put to death. But he who did it not willingly, but God delivered him into his hands, I will give you a place where the slayer may flee there." "That servant who knew his master's will and did not do it will be beaten with many blows. But he who did not know will be beaten with few." "I give thanks to Christ who strengthened me, because he considered me faithful, appointing me to the ministry, though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and an insolent man; but I was shown mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. But the grace of the Lord abounded exceedingly with faith and love that is in Christ Jesus." "If we sin willingly after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a zeal of fire that is about to devour the adversaries." Of sins, some are involuntary, and some come from an evil disposition.

For let us suppose that the matter under judgment is fornication, and there are two prostitutes; but the one, having been sold to a brothel-keeper, is in evil by necessity, supplying the labor of her body to her wicked master; the other, for the sake of pleasure, willingly gave herself over to sin. In one way, then, involuntary acts obtain pardon, and in another way acts from a corrupt choice are condemned. The involuntary is not judged. And this is twofold: what happens through ignorance, and what happens through necessity. If someone first errs through ignorance, he is not to be punished, while that one is to be punished who sins by habit. Involuntary sins both the law pardons and God overlooks, being humane and not harsh, and so too with those committed willingly. As sinning willingly is unjust, so sinning involuntarily and through ignorance is not immediately just, but somewhere quickly between the two, the just and the unjust, is what some call the indifferent. For no sin is a work of righteousness. To the one who errs through ignorance of the better, pardon is given; but the one who does wrong from knowledge has no defense, having been condemned beforehand in the court of conscience.

TITLE 22. — Concerning those who give thanks and are grateful; and that benefactors must be proclaimed.

«To the two young men who had gone to spy, Jesus said: Enter into the woman's house, and cast her out, and all that is hers. And they entered, and brought out Rahab the harlot, and her father, and her mother, and her brothers.» «I will sing of your mercies, O Lord, forever.» «What shall I render to the Lord for all that he has rendered to us?» «If I forget you, Jerusalem, let my right hand be forgotten.» «It is a mark of prudence also to know whose the grace is.» «He who repays graces is remembered in after times, and in the time of his fall he will find support.» «Keep a man's grace as you would a maiden.» «Mary said: My soul magnifies the Lord.» «As he was entering into the city, ten leprous men met him, and they raised their voice saying: Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And seeing them he said to them: Go, show yourselves to the priests. And as they were going, they were cleansed. But one of them, seeing that he was healed, turned back with a loud voice glorifying God, and fell on his face giving thanks to him; and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answered and said: Were not the ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were none found returning to give glory to God except this foreigner? And he said to him: Rise and go; your faith has saved you.» «In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ

Jesus into you." A fitting occasion for glorification is the narration of benefits. Let us therefore repay the debt with interest, if indeed we are shown to be so well supplied. TITLE 23. — Concerning vengeance; and that it is forbidden to exact penalties twice for the same matter.

"You shall not avenge twice for the same thing." "Why do you reason against the Lord? He himself will bring about the consummation, and he will not avenge twice for the same thing in affliction." TITLE 24. — Concerning things held in common; and that one must flee common lodgings, because they produce fights and dissensions. "Abraham said to Lot: Let there be no strife between me and you, and between my shepherds and your shepherds, for we are brothers. Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you go to the left, I will go to the right; if you go to the right, I will go to the left. And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw the whole region of the Jordan, that it was all watered, before God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, like the paradise of God, and like the land of Egypt. And Lot chose for himself the region of the Jordan, and Lot departed from the east, and they were separated." "Better to dwell on a corner in the open air than in a common house." "Do not share with one stronger and richer than yourself." The cares of common things have handles for blame.

TITLE 25. — Concerning good repute; that the achievement is worthy of prayer. "For small and great, hold good repute." "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker unashamed." TITLE 26. — Concerning merchants. "A merchant shall scarcely be delivered from transgression. TITLE 27. — Concerning eunuchs.

"Blessed is the eunuch who has not wrought lawlessness with his hands, nor thought evil things against the Lord. To him shall be given the chosen grace of faith, and a portion in the temple of the Lord more delightful." "The desire of a eunuch is to deflower a young maiden." "There are eunuchs who were born so from their mother's womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven." Dishonorable is the race of eunuchs and utterly ruinous. This very thing is unmanly, unwomanly, mad after women, and enviable, unsociable, all-receiving, unabashed, tearful at feasts, quick-tempered, mad after gold, ill-paid, harsh, womanish, slave to the belly; and what shall I say? together with their very birth, condemned to iron. For how can right judgment be in those whose feet are twisted? These then are temperate without reward, by means of iron; but they remain fruitless through their own shamefulness. Put away from your wife the emerald of the eunuchs. For even if he may seem to have been cut off from the lower twins, yet above he has in his face the twin eyes looking passionately, and already dragging along evil testimonies.

TITLE 28. — Concerning praises and those who rejoice in them; and that one must not praise anyone before testing.

"Tested silver and gold you shall purify by fire; but a man is tested through the mouth of those who praise him." "To praise and to blame the same person is not the mark of a good man." "Do not praise a man before deliberation. For this is a temptation of man." "Woe to you when

all men speak well of you. For according to these things their fathers did to the false prophets." "Even if I am strong in God, I must fear all the more and beware of those who puff me up at random. For in praising me they scourge me." Let us not be softened toward praises beyond the truth. Many, hunting after the praise that comes from the many, in deed prefer injustice and greed as profitable, but in appearance and word they marvel exceedingly at equality and justice. So-and-so, spending his wealth on beast-fighters and exulting in the vain shouts of the crowds, is puffed up by the praises and thinks greatly of himself, having his glory in his shame; who even displays his own sin in writing on tablets to the distinguished men of the city. TITLE 29. — Concerning the vengeance of God that comes upon those who are wronged; and that one must entrust matters of vengeance to God.

God of vengeance is the Lord, God of vengeance has spoken boldly." "The Lord who performs acts of mercy, and judgment for all who are wronged." "I know that the Lord will execute judgment for the poor, and their cause." "Do not say, I will repay the enemy, but wait for the Lord, that he may help you." "A thorn of bitterness and a sting of pain from those around them. And I will make a resting place among all who dishonor them." "There was a certain judge in a certain city who did not fear God and did not respect man. And there was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him saying, Avenge me against my adversary. And for a time he was unwilling. But after these things he said to himself, Even if I do not fear God and do not respect man, yet because this widow keeps causing me trouble, I will avenge her, so that she does not wear me out by coming to the end. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge says. And will God not execute the vengeance of his elect, who cry out to him night and day, and is he long-suffering toward them? I tell you that he will execute their vengeance quickly." "Do not avenge yourselves, but give place to wrath. For it is written: Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." Certainly the one who is wronged is set ablaze by grief, and being unable to defend himself, or sometimes to come through equal measures, because he is defeated by the hand of the wrongdoer, he calls the sting of the hatred of evil from above to his aid. It is necessary, I think, for those who inhabit a sacred place to entrust everything to God to judge, and to despise this human hand, whenever they themselves look to the judge above. TITLE 30.

Concerning those who are called to account and exact penalties; and that in no way will one be called to account in place of another.

"Fathers shall not die for children, nor sons for fathers; each shall die for his own sin." "A brother does not redeem; shall a man redeem?" "In those days they shall by no means say, 'The fathers ate sour grapes, and the children's teeth were set on edge'; but each shall die in his own sin, and the teeth of the one who ate shall be set on edge." "The fathers ate sour grapes, and the children's teeth were set on edge. As I live, says the Lord, the soul that sins, it shall die. But the man shall be righteous, the one who does righteousness. A son shall not take upon himself the injustice of the son. But the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the lawlessness of the lawless shall be upon him." "Each bears his own burden. TITLE 31. Concerning reproofs. "Stripes and reproofs give wisdom." "He who reproves a man's ways will have more favor than the one who flatters with the tongue." "Better is a man who reproves than a stiff-necked man." "Those who reprove shall appear better, and blessing shall come upon them

Good." "He who reproves with boldness makes peace." "Do not reprove the wicked, lest they hate you." "At a banquet of wine do not reprove your neighbor." "Do not kindle coals by reproving sinners, lest you be set on fire in the flame of the fire of sins." "Reprove those who sin before all, so that the rest also may have fear." Letter Z.

TITLE 1. — Concerning seeking God, and following him, and that we must do all things in his name.

"I will be sanctified among those who draw near to me." "You shall fear the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve, and to him shall you cleave, and in his name shall you swear. This is your boast, and this is your life." "You have not forsaken those who seek you, Lord." "With bit and bridle bind their jaws, of those who do not draw near to you." "I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and from all my afflictions he delivered me." "Those who keep themselves far from you shall perish." "The rich have become poor and have hungered, but those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing." "Let all those who seek you rejoice and be glad in you, Lord." "Seek God, and your soul shall live." "Let the heart of those who seek the Lord rejoice." "He who seeks the Lord will find knowledge with righteousness.

Those who seek him rightly will find peace. "While there is still time, seek the Lord." "Keep mercy and judgment, and draw near to your God always." "Listen to me, and you shall eat good things, and your soul shall delight in good things." "All those who separate themselves from the Lord shall be put to shame." "Seek me with your whole heart, and I will appear to you." "To those who seek him, God becomes a rewarder." "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you." It is impossible to turn aside from the righteous path unless, in their souls, they have suffered forgetfulness of God. As far as Adam departed from life, so far did he draw near to death. For God is life, and death is the deprivation of life. So that Adam brought about death through his withdrawal from God, according to what is written: Behold, those who distance themselves from you shall perish. It is necessary that a soul made desolate of its intimacy with God become a dwelling place of unclean spirits. The best order for everything that begins, whether word or deed, is to begin from God and to rest in God. Make God the beginning and the end of all things.

TITLE 2. — Concerning irrational animals, which are adorned with natural wisdom. "Or have you clothed the horse with strength, and put fear upon his neck? And from afar he scents battles. And by your knowledge does the hawk stand, spreading his wings, motionless, looking toward the south? The vulture, sitting upon his nest, lodges on the edge of a rock, and in a hidden place; being there he seeks his food; and from afar his eyes look out." "Who has prepared food for the raven? For his young cry out to the Lord, wandering, seeking their food. If you knew the time of the birth of the mountain-goat on the rock, and have you watched the pangs of the deer? And have you numbered their months full of birth, and loosed their pangs? And have you nourished their young without fear? And who is he who sent the wild ass free? And who loosed his bonds? And I set his dwelling in the wilderness." "Go to the ant, O sluggard, and be zealous, seeing his ways, and become wiser than he. For he, though there is no farm, nor has he one who compels him, nor is he under a master, prepares his food in summer, and makes a great harvest in the reaping

A comparison. Or go to the bee, and learn that she is a worker; and she makes her work as something venerable. Kings and commoners bring her labors for health. And she is desirable to all, and illustrious, though she is weak in strength. "There are four things least upon the earth; but these are wiser than the wise: the ants, which have no strength, and prepare their food in summer; and the rock-badgers, a nation not strong, which made their houses in the rocks. The locust is without a king, yet it marches out at a single command; and the gecko, supported by its hands, and though easily caught, dwells in the strongholds of kings. There are three things which go well, and the fourth which passes over finely: a lion's cub, stronger than beasts, which will not turn back, nor does any beast frighten it; and a rooster walking about among the females, stout-hearted; and a he-goat leading the flock." The wrasse feed on hemlock, escaping the harm of the poison through the constitution of their body. For having narrow passages to the heart, they manage to expel it first. And hellebore is the food of quails, which avoid the harm by the peculiarity of their temperament. And these very things are at times also useful to us. The viper, the most savage of serpents, comes to mate with the sea moray, and having signaled its presence by a hiss, it calls her out from the depths to the marital coupling. And she obeys, and is united with the venomous one. Some migratory fish, as if sent out from a common council to a foreign land, all set out at a single signal.

When the appointed time of their spawning arrives, others, having moved from the bays of the shores, stirred by the common law of nature, hasten to the northern sea. And you would see at the time of their ascent, like a stream, the fish united and flowing from the Propontis to the Euxine. Who is it that moves them? What royal command? What decrees displayed in the marketplace make this clear? Who are their guides? Do you see the divine ordinance fulfilling all things and pervading even the smallest creatures? The fish does not contradict the law of God, and do we not endure the doctrines of salvation? Do not despise the fish because they are irrational and wholly voiceless; but fear lest you be more irrational than they, resisting the ordinance of the Creator. Hear the fish, all but uttering a voice through what they do, that for the preservation of their kind we are sent on this long journey abroad. They have no reason of their own, but they have the law of nature firmly implanted, indicating what must be done. Let us go, it says, to the northern sea. For that water is sweeter than the rest of the sea, because the sun, lingering over it but briefly, does not draw out all its fresh water through its ray. Sea creatures too rejoice in what is sweet; whence they often swim up into rivers and are carried far from the sea. For this reason the Pontus is more preferred by them than the other bays, as being suitable for spawning and rearing their offspring. And when their endeavors have been sufficiently fulfilled, again all together in a body they return home.

I heard that the sea urchin, a creature altogether small and easily despised, often becomes a teacher of calm and of swelling waves to those who sail. When it foresees a disturbance of wind, it slips beneath some stout pebble and rides at anchor upon it as if securely, held by the weight so as not to be easily swept away by the waves. When the sailors see this sign, they know the violent motion of the winds that is expected. The crab desires the flesh of the oyster, but the hunt becomes difficult for it because of the oyster's surrounding shell. For nature has secured the tender flesh with a strong fence. Therefore it is also called shell-skinned. And since two valves fitted closely to one another enclose the oyster, the crab's claws are necessarily ineffective. What then does it do? When it sees it in windless places warming itself with pleasure and spreading out its folds toward the rays of the sun, then the crab secretly inserts a pebble and prevents it from closing, and the deficiency of strength is found to be overcome by cunning. This is the wickedness of those that share in neither reason nor voice. The crafty and entangled nature of the octopus would not escape me either, which, whatever rock it clings to, takes on that rock's color, so that many fish swimming unawares fall in with the octopus, thinking it a rock, and become another prey for the cunning one. The rooster is proud, the peacock loves beauty, doves are lustful, and domestic fowls have the power of mating at every season.

The partridge is deceitful and jealous, villainously cooperating with the hunters for the catch. Among the bees the dwelling is common, and the work of all is one; and the greatest thing is that they set about their works under a king and some leader, not venturing to come to the meadows before they see the king leading the flight. And their king is not one chosen by vote; for often even the licentiousness of a people has set the worst man over the rule; nor does he hold his authority by lot; for the chances of lots are irrational, often by lack of judgment bringing power to the very last of all; nor does he sit upon the throne by paternal succession; for these too become uneducated and ignorant of every virtue through luxury and flattery for the most part; but he has the primacy over all by nature. For the king has a sting, but he does not use it for defense. Let the Christians hear, to whom it is a command to repay no one evil for evil, but to overcome evil with good. Imitate the peculiar nature of the bee: that without the king she destroys nothing, nor corrupts another's fruit, but fashions the honeycombs. And these do not approach all flowers alike, and those which they have taken as suitable for their work, they let the rest alone. The wax from the flowers she openly gathers, but the honey, having drawn to herself with her mouth the dew-like moisture scattered upon the flowers, she puts this into the hollows of the combs. Whence it is also liquid at first; then, being digested by time, it returns to its proper consistency and sweetness.

Thus wisely, loving craftsmanship, she stores up the granaries of honey, stretching the wax into a thin membrane, and builds the hollows close and continuous with one another, so that the density of the binding of the smallest things to one another becomes a support for the whole. For each cell is joined to the other; for, separated by a thin partition and at the same time joined together by it. Then two-storied and three-storied tubes are built up by them upon one another. For they took care not to make one hollow continuous throughout, lest the liquid, by its weight, fall out toward the outside. Consider how the discoveries of geometry are mere byworks of the most wise bee. For all the tubes of the honeycombs are hexagonal and equilateral, not set directly upon one another, lest the bases, fitted to the empty spaces, be strained, but the angles of the lower hexagons are a base and support for those above, so as safely to raise the weights above them, and so that the liquid is held in each hollow separately. How do the cranes receive the night watches by rotation? And some sleep, while one going around in a circle provides them all with safety in sleep? Then, when the time of the watch is fulfilled, the one having cried out turns to sleep, and the other, having received the succession, gives back the safety she happened to receive. You will observe this same order also in flight. For at one time one, at another another, receives the leadership, and having led the flight for a fixed time, going to the rear, hands over the leadership of the way to the one after her. And the matter of the storks is nothing far from rational understanding.

Thus at one signal season all are to be present in these regions, and at one signal all are to depart. The crows among us escort them and accompany them, it seems to me, making a kind of alliance against hostile birds. The first sign is that no crow at all appears during that season; then, that they return with wounds, bringing clear proofs of their close order and alliance. Who established among them the laws of hospitality? Who threatened them with indictment for deserting the army, so that none should be left behind from the escort? Let those who are inhospitable hear, who shut their doors and do not share even a roof in winter and night with those who sojourn among them. The forethought of storks for their aged parents is enough to make our children lovers of their fathers, if they wish to pay attention. For surely no one is so deficient in understanding as not to judge it worthy of shame to fall short in virtue of the most irrational birds. For they, when their father has lost his feathers from old age, warm him all around with their own wings, and preparing food abundantly, they provide the help that is possible even in flight, gently lifting him on either side with their wing. And this has been so celebrated among all that some already call the repayment of benefits "stork-repayment." Let no one bewail poverty, nor despair of his life, if he has left no abundance at home, looking to the resourcefulness of the swallow.

For she, when building her nest, carries the twigs with her mouth, but since she cannot lift clay with her feet, she moistens the tips of her feet with water, then rolls them in the finest dust, and thus contrives the use of clay, and little by little binding the twigs to one another with the clay as with a kind of glue, she rears her nestlings in it. If anyone puts out the eyes of these, she has a certain remedy from nature, by which she restores the eyes of her offspring to health. Let these things admonish you not to turn to wickedness because of poverty, nor in the most grievous sufferings to cast away all hope and lie idle and inactive, but to flee for refuge to God, who, if he grants such things to a swallow, how much greater will he give to those who call upon him with their whole heart? The halcyon is a sea bird; it is its nature to nest beside the very shores, laying its eggs on the sand itself, and it nests somewhere in the middle of winter, when the sea is dashed against the land by many violent winds; yet nevertheless all the winds are lulled to rest, and every wave of the sea is still, whenever the halcyon broods over its eggs for the seven days. For in so many days alone it hatches its young. Since it also has need of food, for another seven days for the growth of its young, God the great giver granted to the smallest creature. So that all sailors also know this, and they call those seven days halcyon days. These things have been ordained for you as an encouragement to ask of God what is for your salvation, through God's providence over irrational creatures. What would not happen for your sake, you who have been made in the image of God?

when even over a bird so small the great and fearsome sea is held in check, commanded to be calm in the midst of a storm? They say that the turtle-dove, once separated from its mate, no longer accepts union with another, but remains unpaired, refusing fellowship with a partner in memory of the one once yoked to it. Let women hear this, that the dignity of widowhood is preferred even among irrational creatures to the indecency of multiple marriages. Most unjust in the rearing of its offspring is the eagle. For having brought forth two nestlings, it casts one of them down to the ground, thrusting it away with blows of its wings; and taking up the other alone, it acknowledges it as its own, rejecting the one it begot because of the toil of feeding it. But the osprey does not allow this one to perish, but taking it up, it rears it together with its own nestlings. Such are those parents who expose their infants on the pretext of poverty. Do not imitate the cruelty of the hook-taloned birds, which, when they see their own nestlings

daring to fly, they cast them out of the nest, striking them with their wings and pushing them, and take no further care of them. Praiseworthy is the love of offspring of the crow, which even follows them when they are already flying, feeding them and rearing them for the longest time. How does the bird that shares your home rouse you to work, crying out with its shrill voice, giving notice from afar? How watchful is the race of geese, and most keen for the perception of things hidden; they once even preserved the imperial city, giving notice of certain enemies who were already about to seize the citadel of Rome through hidden underground passages. In what kind of birds does nature not display some peculiar wonder? Who is it that signals to the vultures the death of men, when they have made war upon one another? For you would see countless flocks of vultures following the armies, inferring the outcome from the preparation of their weapons. How shall I describe to you the fearsome things of the locust? Raised all together at a single signal, and encamped across the breadth of the land, it does not touch the crops before the divine command is given to it. What is the manner of the cicada's song? If you learn how the swan, lowering its neck down into the depth, brings up food for itself, then you will find the wisdom of the Creator: that for this reason he attached the neck longer than the feet, so that, letting it down like a fishing line, it might procure the food hidden in the depth. Each of the animals is distinguished by different peculiarities.

The ox is steady, the donkey sluggish, the horse hot with desire for the female, the wolf untameable, the fox crafty, the deer timid, the ant industrious, the dog grateful and mindful of friendship. For each was created together with its own peculiarity of nature brought along with it: anger was born together with the lion, its solitary manner of life, its unsociability toward its own kind. For like some tyrant among the irrational creatures, through its natural disdain, it does not accept equality of honor with the many. To it nature has implanted such instruments of voice that, surpassing most animals in speed, it is often captured by its roar alone. The leopard is swift, and its body is joined as well-suited for its sharp-turning impulses, following the movements of the soul by its moisture and lightness. The nature of the bear is sluggish, and its character is peculiar, crafty, deep, secretive. The ant stores up winter food in summer, until it lays up in its storehouses food sufficient for itself, and not even this carelessly, but by some wise device contriving that the food should last. For it cuts through the very middle of the fruits with its claws, so that, if they do not sprout, they may not become useless as food for it. Who could attain it in words? What hearing could contain it? What time would suffice to tell and recount all the wonders of the craftsman? The lioness loves her own offspring, and the wolf fights for its whelps. For the affection of the irrational creatures for their children, and of parents for one another, is beyond contrivance.

For God, who created them, compensated for their lack of reason by the abundance of their senses. How is it that among countless sheep a lamb, leaping out of the fold, knows its mother's voice and hastens to her, and seeks out the familiar fountains of milk; and even if it encounters a mother's meager teats, it is content with them? And the mother, among countless lambs, recognizes her own offspring. The dog is without reason, yet it has perception equal in power to reason. And the dog's remembrance of kindness—whom among the ungrateful toward benefactors would it not put to shame? Since indeed many dogs are recorded to have died with those slain in a desolate place. Already some have even become, with warm affection, guides to those seeking murderers, and have caused the criminals to be brought to justice. The chameleon takes on all colors except one, whiteness. Who is it that weaves a song with the swan, when it spreads its wing to the breezes and makes its hissing a melody? How is the peacock, the boastful and Median bird, so fond of beauty and so ambitious? For it perceives its own beauty; when it sees someone approaching the females, as they say, it adorns itself, stretching up its neck, and having set its plumage in a circle, it displays its golden-shining and starry beauty to its admirers with a stately gait. How is it that bees and spiders have their love of work and love of craft, so that for the bees the honeycombs are woven and held together by hexagonal tubes and counter-facing cells, and their stability is secured through the middle of the wall and by the interweaving of the angles with the straight lines?

But those [spiders], by means of fine and almost airy threads stretched in many ways, weave their many-twisted webs, and that from invisible beginnings. The cubs of lions have been observed to be born blind, just as dogs are. When lions' bones are struck, fire is kindled from them as from flint stones. The eagle places in its nest a stone called the aetites as a remedy, driving the serpent away from its nestlings. There is a beast called the tarandros, in size like an ox, but most closely resembling a deer in the form of its face. Report has it that this creature always changes the color of its hair according to the places and trees near which it stands, so that through the similarity of its color it escapes the notice of those who encounter it, and by this means is harder to hunt than by the strength of its body. TITLE 3. — On just scales, weights, and measures. You shall not make an unjust judgment in measures, and in weights, and in scales. Just scales, and just measures, and a just choinix shall be yours. There shall not be in your bag a weight great or small; and there shall not be in your house a great or a small. A true and just weight shall you have, that you may be long-lived upon the land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance, because everyone who does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God. A just scale, and a just measure, and a just choinix shall be yours. TITLE 4. — On unjust scales, weights, and measures. The sons of men are false in scales, to do wrong. Deceitful scales are an abomination before the Lord, but a just weight is acceptable to him. A great and a small weight, and double measures, are both unclean before the Lord.

And the one who does them will be entangled in his own pursuits. A double weight is an abomination to the Lord, and a deceitful balance is not good before him. Canaan, in his hands is an unjust balance, he loved to oppress. All his labors will not be found for him, because of the sins which he sinned. Hear these things, you who trample the poor in the morning and oppress the needy on the earth; you who say, When will the month pass, and we will sell, and the Sabbaths, and we will open treasuries, to make the measure small and the weights great, and to make an unjust balance, to acquire the poor for silver and the humble for sandals, and we will trade from every offspring. From these things they filled their wealth with ungodliness. TITLE 5. — On good or evil zeal.

Do not be zealous among those who do evil, nor be zealous for those who commit lawlessness. Do not be zealous for the one who prospers in his way, in a man who commits lawlessness. Do not be zealous so as to do evil, for those who do evil will be utterly destroyed. Do not let your heart be zealous for sinners. Son, do not be zealous for evil men, nor desire to be with them. Do not rejoice over evils, nor be zealous for sinners. Do not be zealous for the glory of sinners. Be zealous for the better gifts. Do not think to appear better than the wicked, but be grieved when you are surpassed by the good.

ELEMENT H.

TITLE 1. — On a good day.

"This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." "In a day of goodness, live in good." "On a good day, forgetfulness of evils." "Do not fall short of a good day."

TITLE 2. — On a bad day.

"On a day of evils he will not remember good things." "Do not be anxious about tomorrow. For tomorrow will be anxious about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own evil."

TITLE 3. — On day and night.

"You made darkness, and night came to be; in it all the beasts of the field will pass through." But what is day and night, having received an equal share with each other, and a measured turning, the one rousing us to work, the other giving rest. Night and day you appointed to yield to each other gently, honoring the law of brotherhood and friendship. And by the one you put an end to the labors of the much-toiling flesh, and by the other you roused us to work and to deeds dear to you. "Night and man are drawn together by sleep, and the beasts take courage, and each seeks the food given by the Creator. By day the beasts too are gathered, and man hastens to his labor, and we yield to one another in order. Light and darkness do not wish to wait for each other, but by the law of nature they stand over against one another.

ELEMENT H.

TITLE 1. — On the divine mystagogy.

"The mystery is for me and for those who are mine." "Do not give what is holy to the dogs, nor cast your pearls before the swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turning, they tear you to pieces." "No one puts new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the wineskins, and it will be poured out, and the wineskins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved." To cast the mysteries of salvation upon just anyone, and to receive all alike—those who have neither a pure life nor a tested and exact word—is like someone putting precious myrrh into a filthy vessel. How shall I proclaim the sweetness of honey to those who do not know it? Let us speak the mystical things mystically, and the holy things holily; and let us not cast abroad what is not for utterance into profane ears, nor make those who worship demons, and are servants of shameful myths and deeds, appear more reverent than we are. It is not lawful to divulge the sacred mysteries to the uninitiated.

TITLE 2. — On sacrifices; and that God does not accept counterfeit sacrifices. "The Lord God said to Cain: Why have you become deeply grieved? And why has your face fallen? If you offer rightly, but do not divide rightly, you have sinned; be still. To you is his turning, and you shall rule over him." "All that have any blemish in themselves they shall not bring near to the Lord, because they will not be acceptable." "If you bring a blind animal for sacrifice, is it not evil? And if you bring a lame or sick one, is it not evil? Bring it to your ruler; will he accept it, or will he show favor to you? says the Lord Almighty." "Cursed is he who was able, and there was in his flock a male, and his vow was in it, and he sacrifices corrupted things to the Lord." TITLE 3. — On the divine oracles; and that one must listen to them and keep them in meditation.

"You shall place these words upon your hearts, and in your souls, and you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and it shall be immovable before your eyes. And you shall teach your children to speak in them when sitting in the house, and when walking in the way, and when sleeping, and when rising up; and you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, so that your days may be multiplied, and the days of your sons, upon the earth." "The oracles of the Lord, oracles are pure; silver tried, tested in the earth," and the rest. "The oracles of the Lord are tried." "The law of the Lord is blameless, converting souls; the testimony of the Lord is faithful, making infants wise." "Blessed are those who search out his testimonies. In the way of your testimonies I delighted as in all wealth.

How sweet are your words to my throat, sweeter than honey to my mouth! I will rejoice at your words, as one who finds great spoils. The law is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my paths. A commandment of the law is a lamp, and a light. To know the law is the mark of a good understanding. The wise in heart will receive commandments. All the words of God are tried in fire. Be willing to listen to every account of God, and let not the proverbs of understanding escape you. Meditate on the precepts of the Lord, and ponder his commandments continually. Let your every account be in the law of the Most High. Search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify concerning me; and you are unwilling to come to me, so that you may have eternal life. Every Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. When a spiritual word gushes forth in the Church, and a devout heart wells up from the gifts of the Spirit, receive what is said with gladness, and gratefully gather the fruit of the benefit. For no one covers his eyes when the sun has shone. Every Scripture is inspired by God and profitable; for this reason it was written by the Spirit, so that, as in a common infirmary of souls, all people might each choose the healing of their own passion. For healing, it says, will put an end to great sins; and, simply put, it is a common treasury of good teachings, finding out for each person what is suitable according to his diligence.

For it heals the old wounds of souls and brings swift correction to the newly wounded, and preserves what is whole; and in general it removes the passions, as far as is possible, which in various ways lord it over souls in the life of men. What then would you not learn from this? Not the magnificence of courage? Not the exactness of justice? Not the dignity of temperance? Not the perfection of prudence? Not the manner of repentance? Not the measures of endurance? Not whatever good thing you might name? Here is complete theology, the foretelling of the coming of Christ in the flesh, the threat of judgment, the hope of resurrection, the fear of punishments, the promises of glory, the revelation of mysteries; all things are stored up as in some great and common treasury in the divine Scripture. The same power is needed by those who prophesy and by those who hear the prophets, and one would not hear a prophet unless the Spirit that prophesied had granted him understanding of his words. Insatiable is the sweetness of spiritual words. – If someone sets up a lifeless image of a child, or a friend, or a relative, he thinks that the one who has departed is present, and through the lifeless image he pictures him. Much more do we, through the divine Scriptures, enjoy the presence of the saints,

not having the images of the bodies themselves, but of the souls; for the things said by them are the images of the souls. —Just as it is not possible for earth that is not watered, even if one throws countless seeds upon it, to bring forth ears of grain; so it is not possible for a soul that has not first been watered by the Scriptures, even if one pours out countless words, to show forth any fruit. —Beloved, nevertheless hold fast to the very words; for even the bare reading of the Scriptures sanctifies the soul. And this will not be your only gain, but in time you will bear more through the continuity of reading, your understanding opening of itself. If images of the body bring comfort to those who see them, much more do the images of the divine Scripture. For those cannot be seen everywhere, but one must continually be fixed in one place. But there is nothing to prevent you from carrying this one around wherever you may go. For having stored it in the treasuries of your understanding, wherever you may be, you will be able to see it continually, and it is possible to reap great benefit from it. One must engage with the divine Scriptures. For just as wine, when drunk, puts an end to grief and turns the heart to gladness, so the spiritual wine turns the soul to joy. And as the sea is open to all, and one swims, another trades, and another catches fish; and as the earth is common, one travels, another plows, and another builds; so also when the Scripture is read, one is benefited unto faith, another unto character; and another's superstition is removed through the knowledge of the letters.

But the athlete, having recognized the Olympian stadium, strips for the contest in the teaching, and struggles, and becomes victorious, having outwitted and overthrown the opponents and assailants of the gnostic way.

TITLE 4. – On the divine mysteries.

"I am the bread of life, which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread which I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. Amen, amen I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in yourselves. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life; and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is truly food, and my blood is truly drink; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will also live because of me. This is the bread which came down from heaven. Not as they ate the manna and died; he who eats this bread will live forever." "You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?" "For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night in which he was being delivered up, took bread, and having given thanks, broke it, and said: This is my body, which is being broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying:

This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes. Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will be guilty of the body of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks unworthily eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord. Moses says: Sacrifice an unblemished lamb of the sheep, and smear its blood on the doors. What do you say? Does the blood of a irrational creature know how to save rational men? Yes, he says. Just as the royal statues, being lifeless and senseless, preserve those who flee to them—living men, possessing sensation—the lifeless and senseless statues save them, not because they are bronze, but because they are the image of the king; so too that blood, senseless and lifeless, saved men who have souls—not because it was blood, but because it was a type of this blood. When the destroyer saw the blood smeared on the doors, he did not dare to leap upon them. Now if the devil sees the blood of the body smeared not on the doors but on the mouths of the faithful—the blood of the truth, the blood of the temple of the Christ-bearer—will he not much more hold back? For if an angel, seeing the type, was ashamed, much more will the devil, seeing the truth, flee.

That soldier pierced the side and dug through the wall of the holy temple, and I found the treasure and took the wealth. So it happened also with the lamb. The Jews slaughtered the sheep, and I reaped the sacrifice—blood and water from the side. As a woman nourishes the child she has borne with her own blood and milk, so Christ continually nourishes those he has begotten with his own blood. What are you doing, man? While Christ is present, angels stand by, the table is set before you, your brothers are still being initiated into the mysteries—do you yourself leave and leap away? And when invited to a dinner, even if you have been satisfied earlier, you do not dare to withdraw before your friends while the others are reclining at table; but here, while the mysteries are being performed and the sacred rite is still in progress, you abandon everything in the middle and withdraw? And where are these things worthy of pardon? Of what defense? Do you wish me to say whose work they do who withdraw before the final Eucharist and do not bring the thanksgiving hymns to the end of the table? Perhaps what is about to be said is burdensome, but nevertheless it must be said because of the negligence of the many. When Judas partook of the last supper on the final night, while all the others were reclining, he himself sprang up and went out. These who leap away before the final [thanksgiving] imitate him. If he had not gone out, he would not have become a traitor. If he had not left the disciples, he would not have perished. If he had not torn himself away from the flock, the wolf would not have found him alone and devoured him. If he had not separated himself from the shepherd, he would not have become a prey to the beast.

For this reason, while that man was with the Jews, these were with the Master, and having sung hymns, he says, immediately. Do you see that the final prayer after the sacrifice is made according to that type? Let us consider these things; let us reason on these things. Let us fear the judgment that lies upon this. He himself imparts to you of his flesh, but you do not repay him even with words, nor do you give thanks for what you have received; but while you enjoy bodily food, after the table you turn to prayer, yet partaking of the spiritual food that surpasses all creation, both visible and invisible, being a man and of lowly nature, do you not remain giving thanks, both in words and in deeds? How are these things not worthy of the utmost punishment? I say these things not so that you may be disturbed and cry out, but so that you may display the order that is fitting. It is both called and is a mystery. And where there are mysteries, there is great silence; with great compunction, then, with great decorum, with the reverence that is fitting for us, let us approach this sacred sacrifice, so that we may draw God to greater favor, and having cleansed the soul, thus may we be able to attain the eternal goods. TITLE 5. — Concerning those who are afflicted, and those who are anxious, and concerning grief. "Why is light given to those in bitterness, and life to souls in pain? Who long for death, and do not obtain it. Death is rest to a man." "You terrify me with dreams, and you overwhelm me with visions. If I lie down, I say, When will it be day? And if I rise up, I say again, When will it be evening? And I am filled with pains." "My days

I passed by in the stench. I called upon Death to be my father. The robber bands came upon me with one accord. I was abandoned by all, I perished, and I became an outcast. Now the least have laughed me to scorn. Now they admonish me in turn, those whom I did not deem worthy to be my wandering dogs. My brothers have stood aloof from me. They have known strangers rather than me. And my friends have become merciless. I called my servant, and he did not obey me. My mouth pleaded, and I besought my wife. Have mercy on me, you my friends; for the hand of the Lord is what has touched me. My belly has boiled over, and I will not be silent. I have labored in my groaning; every night I will wash my bed. How long, O Lord, will you forget me to the end? and the rest. The pangs of death surrounded me, and the rest. My heart has become like wax melting. The afflictions of my heart have been multiplied, and the rest. There is no healing in my flesh, and the rest. My heart has been troubled, my strength has forsaken me. You have made us a reproach to our neighbors, and the rest. You have humbled us in a place of evil, and the rest. Our soul has been humbled to the dust, and the rest. I was grieved in my meditation, and I was troubled, and the rest. Save me, O God, for the waters have come in, and the rest. They have been multiplied beyond the hairs, and the rest. I have become estranged to my brothers, and the rest. He has become a reproach to me; and I set, and the rest. I am poor and in pain; your salvation. Let them quickly come upon us, and the rest.

My soul was filled with evils, and my life, and the rest. They were brought low, and they were afflicted by affliction, and the rest. The bones of a sorrowful man are dried up. Give drunkenness to those in grief, and wine to drink to those in pain, so that they may forget their poverty, and remember their toils no more. As a moth to a garment, and a worm to wood, so grief harms a man's heart. I sleep, and my heart keeps watch. Woe to me, O soul, that I have become as one gathering stubble in the harvest, and as a gleaning in the vintage, when there is no cluster to eat the first-fruits. Jonah said to them: Take me up, and cast me into the sea, and the sea shall cease, for I know that this tempest is because of me. I cried out in affliction. Master, Lord, take my soul from me, for it is better for me to die than to live. Lord, in affliction we remembered you; in a little affliction your discipline was upon us. I am in pain in my belly, and the senses of my heart rage within me. Who will give water to my head, and a fountain of tears to my eyes? And I will weep for this people day and night. Woe to me, O mother, that you bore me as a man striving and contending in all the earth. Neither have I profited, nor has anyone profited me. My strength has failed among those who curse me. Cursed be the day on which I was born in it; the day on which my mother bore me, let it not be desired. Why did I come forth from the womb to see toils and pains, and my days have been spent in shame? My heart is crushed within me, all my bones are shaken.

I became like a man broken in pieces, and like a man held fast. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon devoured me like a dragon; he filled his belly with my food. My labors thrust me out into Babylon. A grieving soul and a hungry soul will give glory and righteousness, O Lord. Let no one rejoice over me, the widow left by many. Walk, children, walk; for I was left desolate. I stripped off the robe of peace, and put on sackcloth of supplication. See, O Lord, my humiliation, for the enemy has been magnified. See, O Lord, that I am afflicted, and my heart is troubled, and my heart is turned within me. He filled me with bitterness, made me drunk with gall, knocked out my teeth with a stone. He fed me with ashes; he thrust my soul away from peace. Do not provoke a man in his distress. Do not strike a heart that is angered. Do not laugh at a man in the bitterness of his soul; for there is one who humbles and one who exalts. The misery of the hour brings forgetfulness of luxury. Better is death than a bitter life, or a lingering sickness. Do not give your soul over to grief, and put far from you grief. For grief has destroyed many, and there is no profit in it. From grief comes death, and grief of heart bends strength. Do not give your heart over to grief; put it away by remembering the last things. Through many afflictions we must enter the kingdom of heaven. When we came to Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted in every way: without, fightings; within, fears.

But God, who comforts the humble, comforted us by the presence of Titus. I decided this for myself, not to come to you again in sorrow. For if I grieve you, who then is the one who gladdens me, if not the one who is grieved by me? And I wrote this, so that when I come I may not have sorrow from those from whom I ought to have joy. It is the mark of a friend of God to bestow help out of exceeding affliction on those who seek him. Are you sick? Be of good cheer, for the Lord disciplines whom he loves. Are you poor? Rejoice, for the good things of Lazarus will come to you in turn. Are you dishonored for the name of God? Blessed are you, for your shame will be changed into the glory of an angel. Let us persuade ourselves, then, brothers, in the time of trial not to run away to human hopes and hunt for helps for ourselves, but with tears and groans, and with diligent prayer, and with strenuous vigil, to make our supplications. For that man receives help out of affliction who despises human help as vain. The fellowship of groans brings consolation to one in pain. Rebuke is burdensome to those whose soul is afflicted by grief. Sometimes affliction too is a good medicine for salvation. Passion makes even kings humble. Do not be too much bitten by grievous things. For if we grieve less, they are less grievous. For the evils we suffer, either we dissolve our sins, or we receive brighter crowns, if we do not have so many sins. If you long to enter the kingdom of heaven, draw affliction upon yourself. For the one who is not afflicted will in no way enter, because the gate is narrow.

The one who presses himself into the narrow place, it is evident that he will obtain that divine spaciousness and the rest that is in the heavenly courts. But the one who widens himself in the present life through luxury, and drunkenness, and fading glory, would not enter, being squeezed out. The Lord commanded you, that you should call upon him in the day of affliction. Therefore one must not be slack, but call upon God at every time, and especially in times of affliction, so that we may show our enemies that we have not been swallowed up by circumstances, but with confidence we look up to God. The fifth contest for us is against the spirit of sorrow, which darkens the soul from all spiritual contemplation and hinders it from every good work. For when this evil spirit has seized the soul and darkened it wholly, it does not permit it to accomplish prayers with zeal, nor to persevere in the benefit of the sacred readings. It does not endure that a man be gentle and easily moved toward his brothers. And it implants hatred toward the very promise of life. Therefore this is our one aim, to strive the spiritual contest, and with all guard let us keep our own heart from the spirit of sorrow. For as the moth eats a garment, and the worm wood, so sorrow eats the soul of man, persuading it to turn away from every good encounter; and it does not permit it to receive counsel even from genuine friends, nor allow it to impart a kind and peaceful answer, but having taken over the whole soul, it fills it with bitterness and unpleasantness.

And for the rest, he subjoins that men are the causes of the disturbance to her. Which grief we ought thus to shun as fornication and love of money, and anger, and the rest of the passions. But this is healed through prayer, and hope in God, and meditation on the divine oracles. TITLE 6. — On death, and the state in Hades. "If a man goes down to Hades, he shall not come up again, neither shall his place know him any more." "A land dark and gloomy, a land of eternal darkness, where there is no light, nor to see the life of mortals." "In death there is none who remembers you," and the rest. "What profit is there in my blood, in my going down?" and the rest. "Shall anyone declare your mercy in the grave?" and the rest. "The dead shall not praise you, O Lord, nor all," and the rest. "Who shall praise the Most High in Hades? From the dead, as from one who is not, confession perishes." "In Hades there is no reproof of life. O death, how bitter is your remembrance to a man at peace in his possessions, to a man undistracted and prospering in all things, and still strong to receive food! O death, good is your judgment to a man in need and failing in strength, in extreme old age, and distracted about all things and disobedient, and having lost patience." "Hades and destruction are not filled." The evils in Hades have not God as their cause, but ourselves. Hades is a common inn, and a workshop of lamentations.

TITLE 7. Concerning the dead; and that one ought not to mourn for one who has departed before us. "They shall not make cuts in their flesh for the dead." "I grieve for you, brother Jonathan; you were very beautiful to me. Your love to me was wonderful, beyond the love of women." "David arose from the ground, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his clothes, and went into the house of God, and worshipped him. And he asked for bread to eat, and they set bread before him, and he ate. And his servants said to him, What is this thing that you have done? While the child was still alive, you fasted, and wept, and kept watch; and when he died, you arose, and ate bread and drank. And David said, While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, because I said, Who knows whether the Lord will have mercy on me, and the child will live? But now he is dead, why should I fast for this? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me." "They finished their life in good things, and they slept in the rest of Hades." "There the weary in body shall rest, who with one accord, the eternal ones, have not heard the voice of the tax-gatherer. Small and great are there, and the servant who fears his master." "If a man dies, shall he live again, having completed the days of his life?" "You shall come to the grave, like ripe grain harvested in its season." "Death is rest to a man." "Let the blessing of the perishing one come upon me." "It is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of drinking. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning.

But the heart of fools is in the house of gladness. "For a man has gone to his eternal home, and the mourners have gone about in the marketplace." "As he came out naked from his mother's womb, he will return to go as he came, and he will take nothing from his toil to carry away in his hand." "Better is the day of death than the day of his birth." "Being made perfect in a little while, he fulfilled long years. For his soul was pleasing to the Lord; therefore he hastened to depart from the midst of wickedness." "Do not fail those who weep, and mourn with those who mourn." "Do not rejoice over a dead man; remember that we all die." "Music in mourning is an untimely tale. Weep over the dead, for the light has failed. Mourning for the dead lasts seven days." "Child, shed tears over the dead, and make the mourning according to its order for one day, and two for the sake of reproach; and be comforted for the sake of grief. For know that there is no return. For you will not benefit him, and you will harm yourself. For from grief comes death." "When a man dies, he will be inherited by reptiles, and beasts, and worms." Neither to women nor to men is the love of mourning and the love of tears permitted, but only to be saddened by sorrowful things, and to shed a small tear, and this quietly, neither being agitated, nor wailing, nor tearing one's tunic, nor pouring dust upon oneself, nor shamelessly practicing any other such thing, as is done by those who are untrained in the face of human affairs. For it belongs to a cowardly soul, one that has no tension from hope in God, to fall violently and to be broken down by sorrowful things.

Just as worms are especially bred in the softer kinds of wood, so griefs are implanted in the softer characters of men. Do not, then, look at that dead body, with its eyes closed and lying speechless, but look to the one who is rising again and receiving incorruptible and awe-inspiring glory. But do you seek his company and conversation, and for this reason lament and weep and wail? And how would this not be absurd? For if you have given your daughter to a bridegroom, and then the bridegroom, having taken her, has departed to a distant land and continues to fare well, you consider nothing that has happened to be terrible, so as to console your despondency. But here it is not a man, not a friend, not a relative who has taken her, but the Master himself; and should we grieve and lament? And how is it possible, he says, for a man not to weep and lament? I do not say this either, but I remove the intensification of despondency. For to be despondent is natural, but to go beyond measure is the work of madness and of diabolical activity, and of a womanish soul. Grieve, weep, but do not despair, do not be vexed, do not be indignant. Give thanks to the one who has taken her, so that you may adorn the one who has departed and make her burial splendid. For if you are vexed or indignant, you have both insulted her and provoked the one who has taken her, and harmed yourself. But if you give thanks, you have both adorned her and glorified the one who has taken her, and benefited yourself. Weep as your Master wept for Lazarus, setting for us measures and standards and bounds of despondency, which we must not overstep. So too Paul said:

But concerning those who have fallen asleep, brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant, so that you may not grieve, as the rest do who have no hope. Grieve, but not as a Greek who despairs of his own life, who does not look to the coming resurrection. Believe me, beloved, that I am ashamed as I pass through the street and hear the choruses of unseemly women, tearing their hair, lacerating their cheeks, cutting their arms. What then will the Greeks say against us? What then? Are not these the ones who philosophize about the resurrection, and in their deeds do the deeds of those who have despaired? For if they were confident that there truly is a resurrection of the dead, they would not lament in this way. For what reason, tell me, do you weep thus for the one who has departed? Was he wicked? Then for this very reason you ought to give thanks, that he was taken away more quickly, before the things of his goodness were changed for him, and God received him into a place where he now lives in safety, and no change can any longer be suspected. But he was young? Then for this also give thanks to the one who took him, that he called him more quickly to the citizenship above. But he was old? Then for this glorify the one who took him all the more, and give thanks again. Let us be ashamed of the appearance of the funeral procession. For this reason there are prayers, and psalms, and doxologies to God, so that you may not weep and lament, but rather that you may give thanks to God who took him. For just as all escort those who are called to office with great honor, so also this one is escorted with great honor, as one called to a greater dignity, and honor, and citizenship. Death is a rest, a release from sweats and worldly cares.

Do not be vexed, do not be exasperated, but give thanks to God. Why were you not disposed beforehand to think mortal thoughts concerning a mortal, but received the death of your child as something unexpected? When the birth of your son was first announced to you, if someone had asked you what sort of thing the one born was, what would you have answered? Would you have said anything other than that the one born is a human being? And if a human being, then also mortal. Do you not see the sun rising and again setting? The moon waxing, then waning? Do you not see the earth flourishing, then drying up? What among the things around us stands still? What has a nature immovable and unchangeable? Look up to heaven and see the earth: not even these endure forever. For heaven and earth will pass away, it says, the stars will fall from heaven, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light. What then is wonderful, if we too, being a part of the world, enjoy the things that come from the world? For separation from habit is most grievous even to irrational animals. And at that time I saw an ox at the manger weeping when its companion and yoke-fellow had died, and the rest of the irrational animals may be seen vigorously clinging to their accustomed ways. But you have not learned thus, nor been taught so. Yet to begin friendship from long association and lengthy habit is nothing unreasonable; but to bewail a separation because of the time we have spent together to the greatest extent is altogether irrational. For instance, a wife was allotted to you in the partnership of life, providing you every pleasure in life, a creator of cheerfulness, a cause of delights, increasing good things, and in the remaining troubles taking away the greater part of what is painful.

But she has been snatched away suddenly and is gone. Do not be exasperated by the suffering, nor say that what has happened is some spontaneous chance, as if no protector were governing the world; nor fall away from the bounds of piety. For since you two altogether became one flesh, there is great forgiveness for the one who receives the severing and the division of the union with grief; yet it is not profitable for you, on account of this, either to think anything improper or to utter it. For consider that God, who formed us and gave us souls, gave to each soul its own manner of life, and fixed other limits for its departure. For he has arranged for one to remain longer in the presence of the flesh, and he has ordained that another be released sooner from the bonds of the body, according to the ineffable reasons of his wisdom and righteousness. Just as those who fall into prisons—some are shut up in the misery of dungeons for a longer time, while others find a quicker release from their hardship—so also souls: some are held back in this life for a long time, others for less, in proportion to the worth of each, while the Creator foresees wisely and deeply, and as the mind of men could not attain, the things concerning our last end. Do you not hear David saying, Bring my soul out of prison? Have you not heard concerning the saint, that his soul was released? And what of Symeon, when he embraced our Lord, what voice did he utter? Was it not, Now you release your servant, Master? For to one who is hastening toward the life above, dwelling with the body is heavier than every punishment and every prison.

Do not, then, seek to follow the ordinances concerning souls according to your own pleasure, but reason concerning those who have been joined together in life and then separated by death, that they are like travelers journeying on one road. Neither untimely deaths nor any other misfortunes that come upon us unexpectedly will ever astonish us, who are being trained by the word of piety. For example, I had a son, a young man, the only successor of my family, the comfort of my old age, the ornament of my family, the flower of his peers, the support of my house, himself in the most gracious prime of his age; he has been snatched away and is gone, and has become earth and dust—he who a little while ago uttered a sweet sound to hear and was a most delightful sight to his father's eyes. What then shall we do? Shall I tear my garments and consent to roll on the ground and wail and be indignant and show myself to those present like some child crying out and gasping under blows? Or, attending to the necessity of what happens, that the law of death is inexorable,

Passing through every age alike, and dissolving all composite things in succession, shall I be estranged by what has happened? Shall I not be overturned in my mind, as though dashed down by unexpected blows? I was long beforehand instructed that, being mortal, I had a mortal child, and that nothing human is secure, nor is it natural for possessions to remain with their owners forever. But indeed great cities too, distinguished by the splendor of their buildings, by the power of their inhabitants, and by the rest of the prosperity throughout their land and marketplace, now bear the symbols of their ancient dignity only in ruins. And a ship often saved from the sea, having sailed swiftly ten thousand times and carried countless freight for the merchants, was destroyed by a single blast of wind; and armies that often prevailed in battle over their enemies, when their prosperity was overturned, became a pitiable sight and tale. And whole nations and islands that advanced to great power, and raised many trophies on land and many on sea, and gathered much wealth from spoils, were consumed in time, and becoming captives, exchanged freedom for slavery. And in general, whatever you may mention, life already possesses beforehand the examples of the greatest and most unbearable evils. Observe in the Epistle to the Thessalonians how he writes concerning those who have fallen asleep; and he did not say, concerning those who have died: that you may not grieve as the rest who have no hope. To be cut to the heart, then, over those who have departed belongs to those who have no hope.

For the soul, knowing nothing about the resurrection, but thinking this death to be immortal, reasonably beats her breast and laments over those who have perished, and mourns unbearably. But you who expect the resurrection, for what reason do you wail? It belongs to those who have no hope to wail. Listen, all you women who are fond of lamentation, all who bear yourselves unbearably in the face of sufferings, that you are doing the things of the Gentiles. But if grieving for the departed is Gentile, tell me, whose is it to cut oneself and tear the cheeks? For what reason do you lament? If you believe that he will rise, he has not perished. When, then, you lose a child at an untimely age, able as yet to do nothing, for what reason do you lament? What do you seek? He showed, she says, good hopes, and I expected that he would stand by me. For this I seek my husband, for this my son; and for this I beat my breast and lament, not disbelieving the resurrection, but having become destitute of help and having lost a protector, the companion of my house, the one who shared in all things, the one who comforted me; these things I mourn. I know that he will rise, but I cannot bear the separation in the meantime. The great crowd of affairs rushes in; I lie open to all who wish to do wrong. These things do not allow me to bear my widowhood gently. For these things I beat my breast, for these things I lament. If you mourn these things, why do you engage in second marriages? Do not love your husband more than God, and you will never feel widowhood. Why? Because you have as protector the immortal one who loves you more. Who gave him to you, O woman? Was it not he himself? And who made you? Was it not he himself? Of how much anger are these words? What such thing did you have from your husband?

For if he ever did any good, it was while enjoying pleasure. But in the case of God you could say nothing of the kind. For God does not benefit us because he enjoys pleasure, but being in need of nothing, from goodness alone he does good to the race of men. He promised you a kingdom, gave you immortal life, glory, adoption as sons, made you a co-heir of the Only-Begotten. And you mourn for a man? What did that man ever grant you like these things? He caused his sun to rise; he gave the rain; he nourishes with yearly food. Woe to us for our great ingratitude. For this reason he takes the man, so that you may not seek him; you ought to give thanks, you ought to cast all things upon him. For what is there among the things you obtained from the man? Pangs, and toils, and insults, and abuses, and often rebukes and indignations. Are not these from men? But there are, he says, also other good things. What sort of things are these? He adorned you with costly garments; he placed gold ornaments

upon your face; he made you respected by all. This king too has garments, not such as these; his is a garment having golden adornment. If you wish, clothe your soul. But that man did not make you contemptible among men. What is this great thing? Yet widowhood does not allow you to become contemptible to the demons. Then you ruled over your own household servants, if indeed you ruled over them at all; but now, instead of household servants, you rule over incorporeal powers, the principalities, the authorities, the ruler of this world. But do you care to nourish the children left behind? The father of the orphans will provide for them. Who gave them, tell me? Do you not hear the one saying in the Gospels, that the soul is more than food, and the body than clothing?

Do you see that our lamentation comes from habit, but not from faith? But are the children of a father who has died not splendid? Why is it that he has God as father, and is not splendid? How many shall I show you who were raised by widows and became distinguished? And how many who were under fathers and were corrupted and ruined? Do not look at those girded with golden belts, nor those carried on horses, nor those shining in palaces because of their fathers, nor those who have attendants and tutors. For perhaps these things make widows beat themselves over their orphans, thinking, "And this son of mine, if only his father were alive, would have enjoyed such great blessedness; but now he is in dejection and dishonor, and is worthy of no account." Do not think these things, O woman, but throw open the gates of heaven; with your reason understand the kingdom there. See the king seated there. It is possible, if you wish, for you to serve as a soldier in the heavens; enlist in that army. For those enlisted there are not carried on horses, but on clouds; they do not walk on earth, but are caught up into heaven; they do not have boys going before them, but the angels themselves; they do not stand beside a mortal king, but beside the immortal King of kings; not wearing a leather belt around their waist, but that ineffable glory, and they become more splendid than kings. For in those palaces, neither wealth nor noble birth nor anything else is sought, but virtue. You have been separated from your husband, but you have been united to Christ.

You do not have a fellow servant as a companion, but you have the Master. When you pray, are you not conversing with God? When you read, you are hearing him conversing with you. And what does he say to you? Words far more gentle than a man's. For a man, even if he flatters, the honor is not great, for he is a fellow servant. When, then, the Master flatters the servant, then the service is great. How, then, does he not care for us? Listen. Come, he says, to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. And again through the prophet he cries out, saying: Will a woman forget to have mercy on the offspring of her womb? Even if a woman should forget, yet I will not forget, says the Lord. Of how much love are these words? Turn to me, and you shall be saved. What is sweeter than these words? You see the conversation of God with men. Endure, then, that you may enjoy eternal goods. For was Job's heart made of adamant? Were his inward parts made of stone? Ten children fell for him in a brief moment of time, crushed by a single blow in the house of gladness, when the devil caused the dwelling to fall upon them in the time of enjoyment. He saw a table mixed with blood; he saw children, born at different times, yet together passing to the end of life. He did not wail; he did not tear his hair; he did not let out any ignoble sound, but he uttered that famous and by all men hymned word with boldness: The Lord gave, God has taken away; as it seemed good to the Lord, so it has come to pass; may the name of the Lord be blessed forever. Was the man without compassion?

And how is it, when he says of himself, "I wept over every helpless person"? Were you dishonored? But look to the glory laid up in the heavens through endurance. Were you deprived of property? But fix your gaze on the heavenly wealth, and on the treasure you have stored up for yourself through good deeds. Have you fallen from your homeland? But you have a homeland, the heavenly Jerusalem. Have you lost a child? But you have angels with whom you will dance around the heaven of God, and you will be gladdened with eternal gladness. Thus, by setting the expected good things against present troubles, you will preserve for yourself the painlessness and calm of your soul, to which the Apostle's legislation calls us. Let neither the cheerful things of men produce immoderate rejoicing in your soul, nor let the sorrowful things, by gloom and dejection, humble its exultation. To grieve at the misfortunes of those who mourn is fitting. For in this way you will make yourself akin to those who suffer, not exulting over their misfortunes, nor taking pleasure in the pains of others. Yet it is not fitting to be carried along with the sorrowing any further, so as either to cry out with them, or to lament with the one who has suffered, or in other respects to imitate and emulate one darkened by passion. From these things it is possible to intensify the misfortune rather than to soften it. One who wishes to raise up the fallen ought certainly to be higher than the one who has fallen. But one who has fallen to the same level himself also needs another to raise him up. It is fitting, however, to be stung by what happens, and quietly to grieve with those who sorrow.

Why do we not permit our own possessions to be disposed of as seems good to the wise Master, but instead are indignant as though deprived of things that are our own, and feel compassion for the dying as though they had been wronged? Let us grieve that we are slow to reach the tombs, which we carry about with us; that as men we die the death of sin, though we have become gods. How long shall we mourn for the departed? Are we not hastening to the same dwelling? Shall we not immediately be laid under the same stone? Shall we not shortly be that same dust? Such is our life, brothers; such is the play upon earth—to come into being when we were not, and, having come to be, to be dissolved. Do not begrudge your son his rest, O man, but know that he has passed over to a better joy, and that the one who has died has departed to a better portion; and you have not lost your son, but have henceforth laid him up in a place of safety. Therefore do not say, "I am no longer called a father." Tell me, why, when your son remains? For did you cast off the child? Did you lose the son? Rather, you have gained him, and you hold him more securely. For this reason he is no longer called father only here, but also in heaven. Do not lament over the dead. For the road is common, and he who has arrived first is blessed. TITLE 8. — On death, and the fear that arises from it. "There was a famine upon the earth, and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn. And he said to his wife, 'I know that you are a woman fair to look upon; it shall be, then, that when the Egyptians see you, they will say, "This is his wife," and they will kill me, but they will keep you alive. Say, then, that I am his sister, so that it may go well with me because of you, and my soul shall live for your sake.'

And it came to pass, when Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful, and they praised her to Pharaoh. And they dealt well with Abram for her sake. And God plagued Pharaoh with great and grievous plagues, and his house, because of Sarai, Abram's wife. And Pharaoh called Abram and said to him: What is this you have done to me, and why did you not tell me that she is your wife? And I took her for myself as a wife; and behold, your wife, take her and depart. Abraham sojourned in Gerar. And Abraham said of his wife, She is my sister. For he feared to say, She is my wife, lest the men of the city kill him. Abimelech said to Abraham: What is this you have done to me? And Abraham said: I said, Surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of her. Likewise Isaac sojourned in Gerar, and said the same of Rebekah. David feared before the face of Achish king of Gath, and changed his countenance; and he was carried about, and fell, and his saliva

it ran down upon his beard. Jezebel sent to Elijah and said, May the gods do thus to me and add this besides, that tomorrow I will set your life as the life of one of them. And he was afraid, and went a journey of forty days. Then the disciples left Jesus and fled. It is possible for every man to fear death.

TITLE 9. — On the sea.

By strength he calmed the sea, and by understanding he spread out its depth. I shut up the sea with gates when it was in travail, and when it came forth from its mother's womb. I made a cloud its clothing, and wrapped it in mist. I set boundaries, placing bolts and gates around it; I said to it, You shall come this far, and you shall not go beyond, but in yourself your waves shall be broken. Gathering the waters of the sea as in a wineskin, and the rest. He who stirs up the depth of the sea, and the rest. You strengthened the sea in your power, you shattered, and the rest. This is the great and wide sea, and the rest. Those who go down to the sea in ships, and the rest. All the torrents go into the sea, and the sea is not filled. When he set his boundary for the sea, and the waters shall not pass the mouth of it. The Lord who gave a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty water. He who appointed sand as a boundary for the sea by an everlasting command, and it shall not pass it, and it shall be troubled, and its waves shall roar, and it shall not pass it. He who gives a cry in the sea, and calmed its waves.

The Lord Almighty is his name. Men devised the hull by the desire of gain, but a craftsman built it by wisdom. But your providence, Father, steers it; for you gave a way even in the sea, and a safe path in the waters, showing that you are able to save out of everything, even if one should embark without skill. But you will that the works of wisdom not be idle, and for this reason men entrust their lives even to a very small piece of wood, and having passed through the surges they were saved on a raft. Those who sail the sea recounted its danger, and by the hearing of our ears we marvel. And there are the wondrous and strange works, the dwelling-place of every living creature, the creation of sea-monsters. The sea, often raging from the winds and raised up to a very great height by its waves, whenever it has only touched the shores, dissolving its rush into foam, has returned. Will you not fear me, says the Lord, who set the sand as a boundary to the sea? By the weakest of all things, the sand, the sea that is unbearable by the violence of the winds is bridled. Pleasant indeed is the sight, the sea growing white, when steadfast calm holds it; and pleasant also when, ruffled on its back by gentle breezes, it casts a purple hue or dark blue upon those who look; when it does not even strike the neighboring land violently, but as it were greets it with certain peaceful embraces. The sea joins together, providing unhindered intercourse for those who sail through itself, and becomes a procurer of wealth for merchants, and easily sets right the necessities of life; providing an export of surplus for the prosperous, and granting a restoration of what is lacking to the needy.

If I could not marvel at the sea's size, I would marvel at its gentleness, and how it stands, though loosed, within its own bounds; and if not at its gentleness, then surely at its size. But since both, let us praise the power in both. What gathered it? What bound it? How is it lifted up and yet stands, loosed within its own bounds, as though ashamed before the neighboring land? How does it receive all rivers, and yet remain the same through the abundance of its plenty? How is sand a boundary for it? How great a command did he set around the face of the water for the element? This is the bond of the wet nature. And how does it guide the landsman sailor with a small piece of wood and wind? Do you not marvel to see this? Was your mind not struck with wonder, that land and sea should be bound together for needs through mutual exchange, that things so greatly separated from each other by nature should come into one for man? And how sea and land gently mingle with each other, and impart kindly, and receive in turn, and nourish man in a humane way, and supply man from their own stores richly and generously. Those who go down to the sea in ships, they have seen the wonders of the Lord in the deep. What wonders? A sea swelling up to the clouds, land shining beneath in the midst of waters, the vessel hanging from a lofty wave, and now slipping down as if into cliffs in the hollows of the waters, now, as the wave crests, being hurtled into the air. The sea is stirred from its bottom by the blasts of the winds, and though driven violently, it does not overstep the boundaries of the sand. For you set a boundary, it says, which it shall not pass.

But when the wave, rolled from the deep, runs its course, and seething sinks into the hollow, and roaring, is straightway bent back and rolled away, and as if wrestling upon its head bows down in shame and fear, and dissolves into itself, and does not steal past the boundary line of the sand. O the wonder! The great and fearful sea the sand of the strait walls off, and fine earth, and downy, scattered hither and thither by the winds, becomes a bridle to the raging waves. Worthy of wonder is the sea, through which the countries extend to one another the exchanges of goods, and receive what they lack, and send back the abundance of what they have in surplus. TITLE 10. — Concerning Daughters.

"If a woman vows a vow, and binds herself by a bond in her father's house in her youth, and her father hears her vows and her bonds which she bound upon her soul, and her father keeps silent about her, then all her vows shall stand, and they shall remain for her. But if her father utterly disallows her on the day he hears, all her vows and the bonds which she bound shall not stand; and the Lord shall forgive her, because her father disallowed her." "You have daughters? Take heed to their body, and do not make your face cheerful toward them. Give a daughter in marriage, and you will have accomplished a great work, and give her to a prudent man." "A daughter is to her father a hidden wakefulness, and her care drives away sleep." "Over a shameless daughter set a guard." "A daughter becomes a loss. A prudent daughter will inherit a husband, and she who brings shame, to the grief of him who begot her.

The bold woman shames both father and husband, and she will be dishonored by both. "I wish the younger women to marry, to bear children, to manage the household." TITLE 11. — On not trusting anyone at random. "Do not put your trust in friends, nor place your hope in leaders. From your bedfellow, be on guard against confiding in her what you are doing. For a son dishonors his father, and a daughter has risen up against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. All the men of his house are a man's enemies." "Let each of you be on guard against his neighbor, and do not trust in a sister; for every brother will trip up with the heel, and every friend walks with deceit; each is mocked by his brothers." "Do not do a secret thing in the presence of a stranger, for you do not know what it will bring forth. Do not reveal your heart to any man, lest he reproach you." "Do not take counsel with one who looks at you askance; hide your counsel from those who envy you. Do not reveal your heart to any man." TITLE 12. — On harvest and vintage.

When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not complete the reaping of your field to reap it, and you shall not gather the fallen gleanings of your harvest, and you shall not glean your vineyard a second time, nor shall you gather the grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and the stranger." TITLE 13. — On hunters.

"If you come upon a bird's nest on the road in any tree, and the mother is warming the nestlings or the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the children. You shall surely send the mother away, but the young you shall take for yourself, so that it may go well with you, and you may be long-lived."

LETTER I.

TITLE 1. — On healings wrought by the Lord and the prophets. "Naaman came with his chariots and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying: Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be cleansed. And Naaman was enraged and said: Behold, I said, he will come out to me and call upon the name of the Lord his God, and he will place his hand upon the leprous spot and gather it up from my flesh. Are not Abana and Pharphar, the rivers of Damascus, better than the Jordan, and than all the waters of Israel? Shall I not go and wash in them and be cleansed? And his servants came near and said to him: Father, if the prophet had spoken a great word to you, would you not have done it? Since he said to you, Wash, and be cleansed?

And Naaman went down and washed himself in the Jordan seven times, according to the word of the man of God. Isaiah was in the court, and the word of the Lord came to him, saying: Turn back, and you shall say to Hezekiah, the leader of the people: Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer, and I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you on the third day, and you shall go up to the house of the Lord, and I will add fifteen years to your days, and I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of the Assyrians. As he was coming down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And behold, a leper came to him and worshiped him, saying: Lord, if you are willing, you are able to cleanse me. And he stretched out his hand and touched him, saying: I am willing; be cleansed. And immediately he was cleansed. When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, beseeching him and saying: Lord, my servant lies at home paralyzed, grievously tormented. And Jesus says to him: I will come and heal him. And the centurion answered and said: Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof; but only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me, and I say to this one: Go, and he goes; and to another: Come, and he comes; and to my servant: Do this, and he does it. And when Jesus heard it, he said to those who followed him: Truly I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such faith. And he said to the one. When Jesus came into Peter's house, he saw his mother-in-law sick with fever;

And he touched her hand, and the fever left her. As Jesus was passing by, two blind men followed him, crying out and saying: Have mercy on us, Lord, Son of David. Jesus says to them: Do you believe that I am able to do this? They say to him: Yes, Lord. Then he touched their eyes, saying: According to your faith let it be done to you. And their eyes were opened. And as they were going out, behold, they brought to him a man who was mute and demon-possessed; and when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. Jesus, departing from there, came into their synagogue. And behold, there was a man with a withered hand. Then he says to the man: Stretch out your hand; and he stretched it out, and it was restored sound like the other. They brought to him all who were sick. And they begged him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were healed. Behold, a Canaanite woman came out from those borders, and the rest. Many crowds came to him having with them the lame, the blind, the mute, the maimed. And they cast them at the feet of Jesus, and he healed them. A man came to him, kneeling before him and saying: Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is moonstruck, and often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. And Jesus said: Bring him to me here. And he rebuked him, and the demon came out of him. Behold, two blind men sitting by the road, and they cried out, saying: Have mercy on us, Lord, Son of David. And he called them and said: What do you want me to do for you? They say to him:

Lord, that our eyes may be opened. And Jesus, moved with compassion, touched their eyes, and they received their sight. There was a man who had been in his infirmity thirty-eight years; and Jesus says to him: Do you wish to be made well? and so on. Having said this, he spat on the ground and made clay from the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man, and said to him: Go, wash in the pool of Siloam. And having washed, he came seeing. Behold, a man named Jairus fell at the feet of Jesus and implored him to enter his house, because he had an only daughter about twelve years old, and she was dying. And as he was going, a woman who had a flow of blood touched the fringe of his garment from behind, and immediately the flow of her blood stopped. While he was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue, saying to him: Your daughter has died; do not trouble the teacher. And having come into the house and taken her by the hand, he called out, saying: Child, arise. And her spirit returned. Behold, a woman who had a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years, and she was bent over and could not straighten up at all. And Jesus said to her: Woman, you are released from your infirmity; and immediately she was made straight. There was a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, saying: Ah, what have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us. And Jesus rebuked him: Be silent, and come out of him.

And he went out from him. They come to him carrying a paralytic, and they uncovered the roof, and they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. And Jesus, seeing their faith, says to the paralytic: Your sins are forgiven you. Rise, and take up your bed, and walk. Jesus came into the country of the Gadarenes, and there met him out of the tombs a man coming forth with an unclean spirit. And seeing Jesus from afar, he ran and worshipped him, and crying out with a loud voice he says: What have I to do with you, Son of God Most High? I adjure you by God, do not torment me. And he asked him: What is your name? And he says to him: Legion is my name. And they besought him that he would not send them out of the country. Now there was there a herd of swine feeding, and the demons besought him saying: Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. And Jesus permitted them. And the unclean spirits went out and entered into the swine; and they were two thousand. And they bring to him a deaf man who spoke with difficulty, and they beseech him that he would lay his hand on him. And he put his fingers into his ears, and touched his tongue, and he was healed immediately. They bring to him a blind man, and he placed his hands upon his eyes, and he received his sight. Peter said: Silver and gold have I none; but what I have, this I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ, walk. And immediately his feet and ankles were made strong, and he walked. Through the hands of the apostles signs and wonders were done among the people

many, so that they carried the sick out into the streets, so that as Peter passed by, even his shadow might overshadow some of them. And it came to pass that Peter, passing through all, went down also to the saints at Lydda. And there he found a man named Aeneas, who had been lying on a bed for eight years, and he was paralyzed. And Peter said to him: Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you; and immediately he was healed. A certain man, powerless in his feet, was sitting, lame from his mother's womb, who had never walked. And Paul said: Stand up on your feet upright; and he leaped up and walked. A slave girl having a spirit of Python, as they were passing by, cried out, saying: These men are servants of God Most High. And Paul said: I command you in the name of Jesus Christ, come out of her. It came to pass that the father of Publius was lying down afflicted with fevers and dysentery. Paul went in to him, and having prayed and laid his hands on him, he healed him. TITLE 2. — Concerning priestly things; and that it is not permitted for a private person to touch a priestly vessel.

Uzzah stretched out his hand to the ark of God to steady it, because the oxen had pulled it aside; and the Lord was angered at Uzzah, and God struck him, and he died beside the ark of the Lord. David said: There shall be none to carry the ark of God except the Levites, for the Lord chose them to minister to him forever. The priests stood against Uzziah the king and said to him: It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense. Come out of the sanctuary, for you have departed from the Lord, and this shall not be for your glory before the Lord God. And Uzziah was angered, and the censer was in his hand to burn incense in the temple. And when he was angered against the priests, leprosy rose on his forehead before the priests in the house of the Lord.

TITLE 3. — Concerning suppliants; and that the supplications of those who beg ought to be accepted.

Shimei the son of Gera fell on his face before the king as he was crossing the Jordan, and said: Let not my lord reckon iniquity; do not remember all that your servant did wrong on the day when my lord the king went out, for I have sinned. And the king said: You shall not die. And he swore to him. Jeroboam stretched out his hand, saying: Seize him. And his hand withered, which he had stretched out against him, and the altar was split, and the fatness upon it was poured out. And the king said to the man of God: Entreat your God, and let my hand be restored to me. And the man of God entreated, and restored the king's hand to him.

And it came to pass as it was. The third captain of fifty came to Elijah, and bent his knees before Elijah, and spoke to him, and said: Man of God, let my life now be honored, and the life of these your fifty servants. And the angel of the Lord spoke to Elijah, and said: Go down, do not be afraid. And Elijah arose, and went down to the king. Do not let your mind willingly turn aside from a petition in the necessity of the helpless. Do not reject a suppliant who begs, and do not turn your eye away from one who asks. How shameful it is that we too demand these things and do not ourselves provide them. One must measure the request to the one who asks. For it is equally out of place to seek great things from a small man and small things from a great man. For the one is untimely, the other petty. Receive the suppliant, having the day as his helper.

TITLE 4. On equality; and that one must distribute according to worth. With the holy you shall be holy, and with the innocent man you shall be innocent.

Render to Caesar the things of Caesar, and to God the things of God. Render to all their dues: to whom tribute is due, tribute; to whom custom, custom; to whom honor, honor; to whom fear, fear. The president of the games does not simply grant the prizes of distinction to such athletes as wish it, but distributes the rewards rather in proportion to the athletes' good repute. Equality is the source of justice. To distribute equal things to those who are unequal is the greatest injustice. To wrong no one, but to honor with equality, is a strong power. Everything unequal is alien to love. TITLE 5. On physicians, and healing.

You are unjust physicians, and all healers of evils." "Honor a physician for the needs of his honor; for the Lord created him. Healing is from the Most High, and he shall receive gifts from the king. The knowledge of the physician shall lift up his head, and he shall be admired before the great. Give a place to the physician; for the Lord created him. He who sins before the one who made him shall fall into the hands of a physician." Those who treat bodies secure the healthy with preventive aids; but those mastered by the disease they do not take in hand. – An unskilled physician entering in to the sick, instead of leading them back to health, takes away even the small remnant of their strength. – The wise among physicians, giving the harsher of the drugs to drink to those with a bad appetite, often smear the cup round with honey. I think the ancients among physicians legislated that the display of the various instruments be made public, not simply nor irrationally, but that they might secure the healthy, showing them beforehand how many things they will need if they are disorderly. We call a physician perfect who has left out nothing of what contributes to benefit and treatment. A good physician would not wish to bring all wholesome things upon the sick man at once in a single day, knowing that he would produce harm rather than benefit; but measuring out the times, he distributes the saving remedies, and adding other things at other times, gently produces health.

TITLE 6. — Concerning garments; and that one must not use costly clothing, whether man or woman.

"The priest shall put on a linen tunic, and he shall put on linen breeches around his body." "Put off a woven garment; you shall not put a counterfeit one upon yourself." "There shall not be a man's article upon a woman, nor shall a man put on a woman's robe, for everyone who does these things is an abomination to the Lord. You shall not put on a counterfeit garment, wool and linen together." "At all times let your garments be white." "Do not boast in the wrapping of garments." "Thus says the Lord: Because the daughters of Zion were lifted up, and walked with a high neck, and with nods of the eyes, and with the gait of their feet, dragging their tunics along, and playing with their feet at the same time; therefore God will bring low the ruling daughters of Zion. And the Lord will uncover their form in that day. And the Lord will take away the glory of their clothing, and their ornament, and the headbands, and the rings, and the bracelets, and the earrings, and the purple-bordered garments, and the wrappings about the house, and the transparent Laconian garments, and the fine linen, and the hyacinth-colored things, and the fine linen with gold, and woven together with hyacinth, and the summer garments, and the embroidered things of gold. And it shall be to you instead of sweet fragrance, dust, and instead of a belt, you shall be girded with a rope, and instead of the ornament of the head you shall have baldness, and instead of the purple-bordered tunic you shall gird yourself

sackcloth. "These things are to you instead of adornment." "John himself had his garment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his waist." The Apostle set before us the purpose of the use of clothing in a single word, saying: "But having food and coverings, with these we shall be content"—as though we need only covering, and no longer the variety of the adornment that comes from it, falling into the forbidden vanity—not to say something worse. For these things were introduced later through elaborate, vain craftsmanship. And the first use of coverings, which God himself gave to those in need, makes this clear. For God made them tunics of skin, and clothed them. For such use of tunics sufficed for the covering of what is shameful. Since another purpose also enters in—being warmed by coverings—it is necessary that the use of both be aimed at both ends: both the wrapping of our shameful parts and being a defense against harm from the air. —The measure of use is the unavoidable necessity of need. But if it goes beyond need, it has the disease of greed, or love of pleasure, or vainglory. —The one purpose of clothing is to be a covering for the flesh, sufficient for winter and summer. Let us not be softened by clothing, both soft and flowing, whose finest quality is uselessness. Gold was not its adornment, wrought by craft for an abundance of beauty; nor golden tresses, showing through and peeking out, and curls of ringlets, sophistries that make a tent of the precious head—most dishonorably.

Not the extravagance of flowing and transparent clothing; not the rays of stones and graces that dye the neighboring air and shine around the forms; not the arts and enchantments of painters, and the cheap beauty—but the flowing comeliness he has left to those in theaters and crossroads, and to all for whom to be ashamed is shame and reproach. To dress finely is merely childish, and has its pleasure in mere appearance, and mocks the eyes. The possessions of necessities do not have their quality harmful, but their quantity beyond measure. —One must not wholly reject the use of anointing, but use perfume as a medicine and remedy. TITLE 7. —On equality; and that there is an equal order with God of all. "This one made the small and the great, and he himself takes thought for all." For Christ the king does not wish to be a gentle father to some of his children, and to others of heavy mind. There is no partiality with God, according to what is written, but whether one be great and haughty, lifted on high by wealth and glory in this world, he will receive the inglorious and dishonored verdict, entangled in the charges of baseness; or whether one be small, living with poverty and dishonor, he will be condemned to uncleanness, unless he boasts in the ways of virtue.