Καὶ ἀπεστέναξε Σουσάννα, καὶ εἶπεν· Στενά μοι πάντοθεν. Ἐάν τε γὰρ τοῦτο πράξω, θάνατός μοί ἐστιν· ἐάν τε μὴ πράξω, οὐκ ἐκφεύξομαι τὰς χεῖρας ὑμῶν. Αἱρετόν μοί ἐστιν μὴ πράξασαν ἐμπεσεῖν εἰς τὰς χεῖρας ὑμῶν. ἢ ἁμαρτεῖν ἐνώπιον Κυρίου.» «Ἀπεκρίθησαν οἱ τρεῖς παῖδες τῷ βασιλεῖ, λέ γοντες· Οὐ χρείαν ἔχομεν ἡμεῖς περὶ τοῦ ῥήματος τούτου ἀποκριθῆναί σοι. Ἔστι γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν ἐν οὐρανοῖς, ᾧ ἡμεῖς λατρεύομεν, δυνατὸς ἐξελέσθαι ἡμᾶς ἐκ τῆς καμίνου τοῦ πυρὸς τῆς καιομένης· καὶ ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν σου, βασιλεῦ, ῥύσεται ἡμᾶς.» «Μὴ φοβεῖσθε ἀπὸ τῶν ἀποκτεινόντων τὸ σῶμα, τὴν δὲ ψυχὴν ἀποκτεῖναι μὴ δυναμένων. Φοβήθητε μᾶλλον τὸν δυνάμενον τὴν ψυχὴν καὶ τὸ σῶμα ἀπολέσαι ἐν γεέννῃ.» «Ἀποκριθεὶς Πέτρος, καὶ οἱ ἀπόστολοι, εἶπον Πειθαρχεῖν δεῖ Θεῷ μᾶλλον, ἢ ἀνθρώποις.» «Ἄρτι γὰρ ἀνθρώπους πείθω, ἢ τὸν Θεόν; ἢ ζητῶ ἀνθρώποις ἀρέσκειν; εἰ ἀνθρώποις ἤρεσκον, Χριστοῦ δοῦλος οὐκ ἤμην.»
ΣΤΟΙΧΕΙΟΝ Ψ.
ΤΙΤΛ. Αʹ. –Περὶ ψεύδους καὶ συκοφαντίας.
And Susanna sighed and said, "I am hemmed in on every side. For if I do this, it is death to me; and if I do not do it, I shall not escape your hands. It is preferable for me, without having done it, to fall into your hands than to sin before the Lord." "The three young men answered the king, saying, 'We have no need to answer you concerning this matter. For our God is in the heavens, whom we serve; he is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and from your hands, O king, he will rescue us.'" "Do not fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul. Rather fear the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna." "Peter answered, with the apostles, 'It is necessary to obey God rather than men.'" "For am I now persuading men, or God? Or am I seeking to please men? If I were still pleasing men, I would not be a servant of Christ."
Letter Ψ.
Title 1. — On falsehood and slander.
«Ἐκάλεσεν ἡ γυνὴ τοὺς ὄντας ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ αὐτῆς, καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, λέγουσα· Εἰσήνεγκεν ἡμῖν παῖδα Ἑβραῖον, ἐμπαίζειν ἡμῖν. Εἰσῆλθε γὰρ πρός με λέγων, Κοιμήθητι μετ' ἐμοῦ. Καὶ ἐβόησα φωνῇ· ἐν δὲ τῷ ἀκοῦσαι αὐτὸν ὅτι ὕψωσα τὴν φωνήν μου, καὶ ἐβόησα, καταλιπὼν τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ παρ' ἐμοὶ, ἐξῆλθεν ἔξω.» «Οὐ ψεύσεσθε, οὐδὲ μὴ συκοφαντήσῃ ἕκαστος τὸν πλησίον αὐτοῦ.» «Οὐ ψευδομαρτυρήσεις κατὰ τοῦ πλησίον σου μαρτυρίαν ψευδῆ.» «Ἐὰν καταστῇ μάρτυς ἄδικος κατὰ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου καταλέγων αὐτοῦ ἀσέβειαν, καὶ στήσονται δύο ἄνθρωποι, οἷς ἐστιν ἐν αὐτοῖς ἀντιλογία ἔναντι Κυρίου, καὶ ἔναντι τῶν ἱερέων, καὶ ἔναντι τῶν κριτῶν, οἳ ἂν ὦσιν ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις· καὶ ἐξετάσουσιν οἱ κριταὶ ἀκριβῶς, καὶ ἰδοὺ μάρτυς ἄδικος ἐμαρτύρησεν ἄδικα· ἀντέστη κατὰ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ· καὶ ποιήσετε αὐτῷ ὃν τρόπον ἐπονηρεύσατο ποιῆσαι τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐξαρεῖτε τὸ πονηρὸν ἐξ ὑμῶν αὐτῶν· καὶ οἱ ἐπίλοιποι ἀκούσαντες φοβηθήσονται.»
The woman called those who were in her house and said to them, "A Hebrew servant was brought in to us to mock us. For he came in to me saying, 'Lie with me.' And I cried out with my voice; and when he heard that I raised my voice and cried out, he left his garments with me and went out." "You shall not lie, nor shall each one slander his neighbor." "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor with a false testimony." "If an unjust witness stands against a man, accusing him of impiety, then two men shall stand, who have a dispute between them before the Lord, and before the priests, and before the judges who are in those days; and the judges shall examine carefully, and behold, an unjust witness has testified unjustly; he has risen up against his brother; and you shall do to him as he wickedly intended to do to his brother, and you shall remove the evil from among yourselves; and the rest, when they hear, shall be afraid.
«Ἐνετείλαντο νηστείαν, καὶ ἐκάθισαν τὸν Ναβουθὲ ἐν ἀρχῇ τοῦ λαοῦ, καὶ εἰσῆλθον δύο ἄνδρες υἱοὶ παρανόμων, καὶ κατεμαρτύρησαν αὐτοῦ κατέναντι τοῦ λαοῦ λέγοντες· Ηὐλόγησεν Θεὸν καὶ βασιλέα. Καὶ ἐξήγαγον αὐτὸν ἔξω τῆς πόλεως, καὶ ἐλιθοβόλησαν αὐτὸν ἐν λίθοις, καὶ ἀπέθανεν.» «Ἀπολεῖς πάντας τοὺς λαλοῦντας τὸ ψεῦδος.» «Ἐξολοθρεύσει Κύριος πάντα τὰ χείλη δόλια.» «Λαλῶν ἄδικα, οὐ κατεύθυνεν ἐνώπιον τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν μου.» «Ὃς ἐρείδεται ἐπὶ ψεύδεσιν, οὗτος ποιμανεῖ ἀνέμους· ὁ δὲ αὐτὸς διώξεται ὄρνεα πτερωτά.» «Βδέλυγμα Κυρίου χείλη ψευδῆ.» «Ὁ ἐνεργῶν θησαυρίσματα γλώσσῃ ψευδεῖ, μάταια διώκει, καὶ ἔρχεται ἐπὶ παγίδος θανάτου.» «Γλῶσσα ψευδὴς μισεῖ ἀλήθειαν.» «Μάταιον λόγον καὶ ψευδῆ μακρὰν ποίησον ἀπὸ σοῦ.» «Μάρτυς ψευδὴς ἀπολεῖται.» «Μὴ ἴσθι μάρτυς ψευδὴς ἐπὶ σὸν πολίτην.» «Ἧ συκοφαντία περιφέρει σοφὸν, καὶ ἀπολεῖ τὴν καρδίαν εὐτονίας αὐτοῦ.» «Στόμα τὸ ψευδόμενον ἀναιρεῖ ψυχήν.» «Ὅρκον ψευδῆ μὴ ἀγαπᾶτε· διότι ταῦτα ἐμίσησα, λέγει Κύριος παντοκράτωρ.» «Ἀναστάντες οἱ δύο πρεσβύτεροι ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ λαοῦ, ἔθηκαν τὰς χεῖρας ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν Σουσάννας. Ἡ δὲ κλαίουσα ἀνέβλεψεν εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν. Εἶπαν δὲ οἱ πρεσβύτεροι· Περιπατούντων ἡμῶν ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ μόνων, εἰσῆλθεν αὕτη μετὰ δύο παιδισκῶν, καὶ ἀπέλυσεν τὰς παιδίσκας, καὶ ἀπέκλεισεν τὰς θύρας τοῦ παραδείσου. Καὶ ἦλθε πρὸς αὐτὴν νεανίσκος, ὃς ἦν κεκρυμμένος, καὶ ἀνέπεσεν μετ' αὐτῆς. Καὶ ἐπίστευσεν ἡ συναγωγὴ τοῖς πρεσβυτέροις τοῦ λαοῦ καὶ κριταῖς, καὶ κατέκρινον αὐτὴν ἀποθανεῖν. Ἀνεβόησε δὲ Σουσάννα φωνῇ μεγάλῃ, καὶ εἶπεν·
They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth at the head of the people, and two men, sons of the lawless, came in and testified against him before the people, saying, 'He blessed God and the king.' And they brought him outside the city and stoned him with stones, and he died." "You will destroy all who speak falsehood." "The Lord will destroy all deceitful lips." "He who speaks unjust things did not set them straight before my eyes." "He who leans upon lies, this man will shepherd the winds; and he himself will pursue winged birds." "Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord." "He who works at treasuring up with a false tongue pursues vain things, and comes upon the snare of death." "A false tongue hates the truth." "Put a vain and false word far from you." "A false witness will perish." "Do not be a false witness against your fellow citizen." "Sycophancy carries a wise man around and will destroy the heart of his vigor." "A mouth that lies takes away a soul." "Do not love a false oath; for these things I have hated, says the Lord Almighty." "The two elders rose up in the midst of the people and laid their hands on the head of Susanna. And she, weeping, looked up to heaven. And the elders said, 'While we were walking alone in the garden, this woman came in with two maids, and she sent the maids away and shut the doors of the garden. And a young man came to her, who was hidden, and reclined with her.' And the synagogue believed the elders of the people and the judges, and they condemned her to die. But Susanna cried out with a loud voice and said,
Ὁ Θεὸς ὁ αἰώνιος, ὁ τῶν κρυπτῶν γνώστης, σὺ ἐπίστασαι ὅτι ψευδῆ μου κατεμαρτύρησαν.» «Μὴ ἀροτρία ψεῦδος ἐπ' ἀδελφῷ σου· μὴ φίλῳ τὸ ὅμοιον ποίει. Μὴ θέλε ψεύδεσθαι πᾶν ψεῦδος· ὁ γὰρ ἐνδελεχισμὸς αὐτοῦ οὐκ εἰς ἀγαθόν.» «Μῶμος πονηρὸς ἐν ἀνθρώπῳ ψεῦδος.» «Ἀπὸ ἀκαθάρτου τί καθαρισθήσεται; καὶ ἀπὸ ψευδοῦς τί ἀληθεύσει;» «Αἱρετὸν κλέπτης, ἢ ὁ ἐνδελεχίζων ψεύδει· ἀμφότεροι ἀπώλειαν κληρονομήσουσιν.» «Ἀνήρ τις Ἀνανίας ὀνόματι σὺν Σαπφείρῃ τῇ γυναικὶ αὐτοῦ ἐπώλησαν κτῆμα, καὶ ἐνοσφίσατο ἀπὸ τῆς τιμῆς, συνειδυίας καὶ τῆς γυναικός.» «Πᾶν ψεῦδος ἐκ τῆς ἀληθείας οὐκ ἔστιν.» «Ἐχθρὸς ὑμῶν γέγονα ἀληθεύων ὑμῖν.» Οὔτε ἐν δικαστηρίοις, οὔτε ἐν ταῖς ἄλλαις πράξεσιν ἐπιτήδειον τὸ ψεῦδος τοῖς τὴν ὀρθὴν ὁδὸν καὶ ἀληθῆ προελομένοις τοῦ βίου. Ἔσχατος ὅρος τῆς πονηρίας ἐστὶ τὸ ψεῦδος. Ἔοικέ πως ὁ λόγος, ἐπειδὰν ἅπαξ τῆς ἀληθείας παρενεχθῇ, εἰς πολλὰς καὶ ἐπικινδύνους ἀτοπίας ἐμφέρεσθαι. Ἡ τῆς ἀληθείας ἀπόπτωσις, ἀορασία ἐστὶ διανοίας καὶ τύφλωσις. Τὸ μὲν ἀληθὲς ἓν, τὸ δὲ ψεύδεσθαι πολυσχιδές. Τὸ ψεῦδος ὑπεραίρεται· ἡ πρὸς ἀλλήλους πίστις ἀπέφυγεν· ἡ ἀλήθεια τὴν γῆν κατέλιπεν· οἱ συκοφάνται τὸ ψεῦδος πιπράσκουσιν, ἀλλήλους ψευδόμενοι· τοὺς ὅρκους ἀνήλωσαν, εἰς τὸ ὀμνύειν καὶ μόνον τὸν Θεὸν ἐπιστάμενοι. Αἱ οὐκ ἀληθεῖς δόξαι διὰ μυρίων ψευδολογιῶν βαδίζουσαι, μίαν καὶ τὴν αὐτὴν τῆς ἑαυτῶν κατηχήσεως οὐκ ἔχουσι διήγησιν. ΤΙΤΛ. Βʹ. –Περὶ ψιθυριστῶν.
God, the eternal, the knower of hidden things, you know that they testified falsely against me. Do not plow falsehood against your brother; do not do the like to a friend. Do not wish to lie any lie, for its continuance is not for good. An evil blemish in a man is a lie. From what is unclean, what shall be cleansed? And from what is false, what shall be true? A thief is preferable to one who persists in a lie; both will inherit destruction. A certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession and kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it. Every lie is not of the truth. I have become your enemy by telling you the truth. Neither in courts of law nor in other affairs is lying suitable for those who have chosen the right and true path of life. The last limit of wickedness is the lie. The account seems somehow, once it has been diverted from the truth, to be carried into many and dangerous absurdities. The falling away from truth is blindness of mind and darkening. The true is one, but lying is many-branched. The lie is exalted; faith toward one another has fled; truth has left the earth; slanderers sell the lie, deceiving one another; they have done away with oaths, knowing to swear by God alone. False opinions, walking through countless falsehoods, do not have one and the same account of their own instruction. TITLE 2. — Concerning Whisperers.
«Μολύνει τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχὴν, ὁ ψιθυρίζων, καὶ οὗ ἐὰν παροικήσῃ, μισηθήσεται.» «Ψίθυρον καὶ δίγλωσσον καταράσασθαι. Πολλοὺς γὰρ εἰρηνεύοντας ἀπώλεσεν.» «Μὴ κληθῇς ψίθυρος, καὶ τῇ γλώσσῃ σου μὴ ἐνέδρευε.» ΣΤΟΙΧΕΙΟΝ Ω. Περὶ ὥρας καὶ ἡμέρας θανάτου, καὶ τῆς ἐξόδου ἡμῶν· καὶ ὅτι χρὴ ἡμᾶς εὐτρεπίζεσθαι πρὸς αὐτὴν, καὶ ἐν ᾧ δεῖ λαμβάνειν τὴν μετάστασιν. «Τίς ἐστιν ἄνθρωπος, ὃς ζήσεται, καὶ οὐκ ὄψεται θάνατον;» «Ἑτοίμαζε εἰς τὴν ἔξοδον τὰ ἔργα σου, καὶ παρασκευάζου εἰς τὸν ἀγρόν.» «Καθὼς ἐξῆλθεν ἀπὸ γαστρὸς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ γυμνὸς, ἐπιστρέψει τοῦ πορευθῆναι ὡς ἥκει, καὶ οὐδὲν λήψεται ἐν μόχθῳ αὐτοῦ, ἵνα πορευθῇ ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ· καί γε τοῦτο πονηρὰ
ἀῤῥωστία· ὥσπερ γὰρ παρεγένετο, οὕτω ἀπελεύσεται. Καὶ τίς ἡ περισσεία αὐτοῦ ᾗ μοχθεῖ εἰς ἄνεμον; Καί γε πᾶσαι αἱ ἡμέραι αὐτοῦ ἐν σκότει, καὶ ἐν πένθει, καὶ ἐν παροξυσμῷ, καὶ θυμῷ πολλῷ, καὶ ἀῤῥωστίᾳ, καὶ χολῷ.» «Πατέρες ἡμῶν καὶ οἱ προφῆται ποῦ εἰσι; μὴ τὸν αἰῶνα ζήσονται;» «Μία πάντων εἴσοδος εἰς τὸν κόσμον, ἔξοδός τε ἴση.» «Ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς ἔργοις σου μιμνήσκου τὰ ἔσχατά σου, καὶ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα οὐ μὴ ἁμαρτήσῃς.» «Μνήσθητι ὅτι θάνατος οὐ χρονιεῖ, καὶ διαθήκη ᾅδου οὐκ ἀπεκαλύφθη σοι.» «Μνήσθητι τὰ ἔσχατά σου, καὶ παῦσαι ἐχθραίνων.» «Μὴ εὐλαβοῦ κρῖμα θανάτου. Μνήσθητι προτέρων σου καὶ ἐσχάτων· τοῦτο κρῖμα παρὰ Κυρίου πάσῃ σαρκί· καὶ τί ἀπαναίνῃ ἐν εὐδοκίᾳ Ὑψίστου; Εἴτε δέκα, εἴτε ἑκατὸν, εἴτε χίλια ἔτη·
He who whispers slanders defiles his own soul, and wherever he sojourns he will be hated. Curse the whisperer and the double-tongued man, for he has destroyed many who were at peace. Do not be called a whisperer, and do not lie in wait with your tongue. LETTER Ω. Concerning the hour and day of death, and our departure; and that we ought to prepare ourselves for it, and in what manner we must receive our translation. Who is the man who shall live and not see death? Prepare your works for the departure, and make ready for the field. As he came out naked from his mother's womb, so shall he return to go as he came, and he shall take nothing for his toil, that he may carry it in his hand; indeed this also is a grievous affliction; for as he came, so shall he depart. And what is his abundance for which he toils into the wind? Indeed all his days are in darkness, and in mourning, and in provocation, and in great anger, and in sickness, and in bile. Our fathers and the prophets, where are they? Shall they live forever? There is one entrance for all into the world, and an equal exit. In all your works remember your last end, and you will never sin. Remember that death does not delay, and the covenant of Hades has not been revealed to you. Remember your last end, and cease from enmity. Do not fear the judgment of death. Remember your former and your latter things; this is the judgment from the Lord upon all flesh; and why do you refuse in the good pleasure of the Most High? Whether ten, or a hundred, or a thousand years—
οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν ᾄδῃ ἐλεγμὸς ζωῆς.» «Ἐν συντελείᾳ ἀνθρώπου ἀποκάλυψις ἔργων αὐτοῦ.» «Γρηγορεῖτε, ὅτι οὐκ οἴδατε τὴν ἡμέραν, οὐδὲ τὴν ὥραν, ἐν ᾗ ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἔρχεται.» «Ἔστωσαν ὑμῶν αἱ ὀσφύες περιεζωσμέναι, καὶ οἱ λύχνοι καιόμενοι. Καὶ ὑμεῖς ὅμοιοι ἀνθρώποις προσδεχομένοις τὸν κύριον ἑαυτῶν, πότε ἀναλύσει ἐκ τῶν γάμων· ἵνα ἐλθόντος καὶ κρούσαντος, εὐθέως ἀνοίξουσιν αὐτῷ. Μακάριοι οἱ δοῦλοι ἐκεῖνοι, οὓς ἐλθὼν ὁ Κύριος εὑρήσει γρηγοροῦντας. Ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ὅτι περιζώσεται, καὶ ἀνακλινεῖ αὐτοὺς, καὶ παρελθὼν διακονήσει αὐτοῖς. Καὶ ἐὰν ἔλθῃ ἐν τῇ δευτέρᾳ φυλακῇ, καὶ ἐν τῇ τρίτῃ φυλακῇ ἔλθῃ, καὶ εὕρῃ οὕτως, μακάριοί εἰσιν οἱ δοῦλοι ἐκεῖνοι. Τοῦτο δὲ γινώσκετε, ὅτι εἰ ᾔδει ὁ οἰκοδεσπότης ποίᾳ ὥρᾳ ὁ κλέπτης ἔρχεται, ἐγρηγόρησεν ἂν, καὶ οὐκ ἂν ἀφῆκεν διορυγῆναι τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ. Καὶ ὑμεῖς οὖν γίνεσθε ἕτοιμοι, ὅτι ᾗ ὥρᾳ οὐ δοκῆτε, ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἔρχεται.» Προσήκει τὸν ἀρχόμενον τοῦ βίου ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς ἔχειν τὴν τελευτήν. Μηδείς σε ἐξαπατάτω κενοῖς λόγοις. Ἐπιστήσεται γάρ σοι αἰφνίδιος ὄλεθρος, καὶ ἡ καταστροφὴ ὁμοίως καταιγίδι παρέσται, ἡνίκα ἂν ἐκλείπωσιν αἱ τοῦ ζῇν ἀφορμαί· ἀπορία δὲ πάντοθεν καὶ θλίψις ἀπαραμύθητος, ἀπειρηκότων μὲν ἰατρῶν, ἀπειρηκότων δὲ τῶν οἰκείων, ὅτε τῷ πυκνῷ ἄσθματι καὶ ξηρῷ συνεχόμενος, πυρετοῦ λάβρου διακαίοντος τὰ ἔνδον καὶ ὑποσμήχοντος, καὶ στενάξεις μὲν ἀπὸ μέσης καρδίας, τὸν δὲ συλλυπούμενον οὐχ εὑρήσεις· καὶ φθέγξῃ μέν τι λεπτὸν καὶ ἀδρανὲς, ὁ δὲ ἀκούων οὐκ ἔσται· πᾶν δὲ τὸ λαλούμενον παρὰ σοῦ, ὡς παραφροσύνη καταφρονήσεται.
There is no reproof of life in Hades. "At a man's end, his works are revealed." "Watch, for you do not know the day, nor the hour, in which the Son of Man comes." "Let your loins be girded about, and your lamps burning. And be like men waiting for their own lord, when he will return from the wedding; so that when he comes and knocks, they may open to him immediately. Blessed are those servants whom the Lord, when he comes, will find watching. Amen I say to you, that he will gird himself, and make them recline, and passing by will serve them. And if he comes in the second watch, and comes in the third watch, and finds them so, blessed are those servants. But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would have watched, and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. And you therefore, be ready, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man comes." It is fitting for one who is beginning life to keep the end before his eyes. Let no one deceive you with empty words. For sudden destruction will come upon you, and the overthrow will be present like a squall, whenever the resources for living fail; and there will be perplexity from every side and inconsolable affliction, when physicians have given up, and relatives have given up, when you are gripped by frequent and dry gasping, while a fierce fever burns and scrapes away at what is within, and you will groan from the midst of your heart, but you will not find one to grieve with you; and you will utter something faint and feeble, but there will be no one to hear; and everything spoken by you will be despised as madness.
Ἴσως καὶ ἰατρὸς ὑπισχνεῖται ὥρας, καὶ σεαυτὸν οὐκ ἀπογινώσκεις διὰ τὸ φύσει φιλόζωον· ὁ δὲ θάνατος παρέστηκεν· οἱ ἀπάγοντες κατεπείγουσιν. Τίς ὁ ἐξαιρούμενος; Θεὸς ὁ καταφρονηθείς; Ἀλλ' εἰσακούσεται τότε; σὺ γὰρ αὐτοῦ νῦν εἰσακούεις. Προθεσμίαν δώσει; καλῶς γὰρ ἐχρήσω τῇ δεδομένῃ. Νὺξ βαθεῖα, καὶ νόσος βαρεῖα, καὶ ὁ βοηθῶν οὐδαμοῦ· ὁ ἐφεδρεύων τῷ κλήρῳ, ἕτοιμος, πάντα πρὸς τὸ αὐτοῦ χρήσιμον διοικούμενος. Ἄπρακτος ὁ ποιῶν τὰ βουλεύματα. Εἶτα περιβλεψάμενος ὧδε καὶ ὧδε, καὶ ἰδὼν τὴν περιεστῶσάν σε εἰρήνην, τότε αἰσθήσῃ τῆς ἀβουλίας· τότε στενάξεις τὴν ἄνοιαν, εἰς οἷον καιρὸν ἐταμιεύσω τὴν ἐντολήν· ὅτε ἡ μὲν γλῶσσα παρεῖται, ἡ δὲ χεὶρ ὑπότρομος, κλονουμένη ταῖς συνολκαῖς, ὡς μήτε φωνῇ, μήτε γράμματι σημᾶναι τὴν γνώμην. Διδάσκει ἡμᾶς ὁ Κύριος, μὴ καταμελεῖν τῶν ἀναγκαίων, ἀλλὰ πρὸ καιροῦ παρεσκευασμένους τῆς ζωῆς τὰ ἐφόδια, ἐν τῇ ἑτοιμασίᾳ τῆς καρδίας ἀναμένειν τοῦ νυμφίου τὴν παρουσίαν. Αἱ φρόνιμοι γὰρ, φησὶ, παρθένοι διὰ τοῦ ἔχειν ἐν ταῖς λαμπάσι τὸ ἔλαιον, συνεισῆλθον τῷ νυμφίῳ· αἱ δὲ μωραὶ, διὰ τὸ ἀνέτοιμον αὐτῶν, τῆς χαρᾶς τοῦ νυμφῶνος ἠλλοτριώθησαν. Οὐ φιλοπονεῖς περὶ σεαυτὸν, ἄνθρωπε; Οὐκ ἐν τῷ παρόντι αἰῶνι προαποτίθεσαι τὰς τοῦ μέλλοντος ἀναπαύσεις, πρὸς τὸ ὑπόδειγμα τοῦ μύρμηκος ἀποβλέψας, ὃς ἐν τῷ θέρει τὴν χειμέριον τροφὴν ἑαυτῷ θησαυρίζει· καὶ οὐχ ᾧ μήπω πάρεστι τὰ τοῦ χειμῶνος λυπηρὰ, διὰ ῥᾳθυμίαν παραπέμπει τὸν χρόνον, ἀλλὰ σπουδῇ τινι ἀπαραιτήτῳ πρὸς τὴν ἐργασίαν ἑαυτὸν κατατείνει, ἕως ἂν τὴν ἀρκοῦσαν τροφὴν ἐναπόθηται τοῖς ταμείοις;
Perhaps a physician too promises a time, and you do not despair of yourself because of your natural love of life; but death is at hand, and those who lead you away are urgent. Who is the one who will rescue you? God, whom you have despised? But will he listen then? For you do not listen to him now. Will he grant a delay? For you made good use of the one given. Deep night, and severe illness, and no helper anywhere; the one who lies in wait for the lot, ready, managing everything for his own advantage. The one who forms plans is without effect. Then, looking around here and there, and seeing the peace that surrounds you, you will then perceive your folly; then you will groan over your senselessness, at what a time you stored up the commandment; when the tongue is paralyzed, and the hand trembling, shaken by convulsions, so that neither by voice nor by writing can it make known its thought. The Lord teaches us not to neglect what is necessary, but to prepare the provisions of life beforehand, and in the readiness of the heart to await the coming of the bridegroom. For the wise virgins, he says, because they had oil in their lamps, went in with the bridegroom; but the foolish ones, because of their unpreparedness, were alienated from the joy of the bridal chamber. Do you not labor for yourself, O man? Do you not in the present age lay up beforehand the rests of the age to come, looking to the example of the ant, which in summer stores up winter food for itself; and does he not, though the sorrows of winter are not yet present, through laziness let the time pass by, but with some inexorable zeal strain himself to the work, until he stores up sufficient food in his storehouses?
Μακαρία ψυχὴ, ἡ νυκτὸς καὶ ἡμέρας μηδεμίαν ἄλλην μέριμναν στρέφουσα, ἢ πῶς ἐπὶ τῆς μεγάλης ἡμέρας, καθ' ἣν πᾶσα ἡ κτίσις
περιστήσεται τῷ κριτῇ, τὰς εὐθύνας τῶν πεπραγμένων ἀποδιδοῦσα. Ὁ γὰρ ἐκείνην τὴν ἡμέραν καὶ τὴν ὥραν πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν τιθέμενος, καὶ ἀεὶ μελετῶν τὴν ἐπὶ τοῦ ἀπαραλογίστου κριτηρίου, ὁ τοιοῦτος, ἢ οὐδὲν, ἢ παντελῶς ἐλάχιστα ἁμαρτήσεται, διότι τὸ ἁμαρτάνειν ἡμῖν κατὰ ἀπουσίαν τοῦ θείου φόβου γίνεται. Ὧ δ' ἂν ἐναργὴς παρῇ τῶν ἀπαιτουμένων ἡ προσδοκία, οὐδένα καιρὸν δώσει τοῖς τοιούτοις ὁ σύνοικος φόβος εἰς ἀβουλήτους πράξεις ἢ ἐνθυμήσεις ἐκπίπτειν. Ἀνόνητα μεταγινώσκει τις ἐπὶ ταῖς τελευταίαις ἀναπνοαῖς, ἡνίκα εὐγνώμων τῶν ἑαυτοῦ κριτὴς διὰ τὸ ἐκεῖ δικαστήριον. Πείθομαι σοφῶν λόγοις, ὅτι ψυχὴ πᾶσα, καλή τε καὶ θεοφιλὴς, ἐπειδὰν τοῦ συνδεδεμένου λυθεῖσα σώματος ἐντεῦθεν ἀπαλλαγῇ, εὐθὺς μὲν ἐν συναισθήσει καὶ θεωρίᾳ τοῦ μένοντος αὐτὸν καλοῦ γενομένη, ὅτε τοῦ ἐπισκοτοῦντος ἀποκαθαρθέντος, ἢ οὐκ οἶδα ὅ τι καὶ λέγειν χρὴ, θαυμασίαν τινὰ ἡδονὴν ἥδεται, καὶ ἀγάλλεται, καὶ ἡδέως χωρεῖ πρὸς τὸν αὐτὸν δεσπότην, ὥσπερ τι δεσμωτήριον χαλεπὸν τὸν ἐνταῦθα βίον ἀποφεύγουσα, καὶ τὰς περικειμένας ἀποσεισαμένη πέδας, ὑφ' ὧν τὸ τῆς διανοίας πτερὸν καθείλκετο, καὶ οἷον ἤδη τῇ φαντασίᾳ καρποῦται τὴν ἀποκειμένην. Ἔκδεξαι τὴν διάλυσιν, ὥσπερ προθεσμίαν ἀναγκαίας ἐλευθερίας, καὶ τοῦ ἡδέως πρὸς τὰ ἑξῆς μεταβήσεσθαι, ἔνθα οὐκ ἔστιν ἄωρος, οὐδὲ πρεσβύτης, ἀλλὰ πάντες τὴν πνευματικὴν ἡλικίαν τέλειοι. Ἀεὶ μὲν ἐργάζοιο τὴν σωτηρίαν· Καιρὸς δὲ δὴ μάλιστα τοῦ βίου λύσις.
Blessed is the soul that turns over no other care night and day than how, on the great day when all creation shall stand before the judge, it may render the accounts of what has been done. For the one who sets that day and hour before his eyes, and always meditates on the judgment at the impartial tribunal, such a one will either not sin at all, or sin very little indeed, because sinning comes to us through the absence of the divine fear. But where the expectation of what is demanded is vivid, the fear that dwells with him will give no occasion for such a one to fall into unwanted deeds or thoughts. One repents to no profit in his last breaths, when he is a fair judge of his own deeds because of that tribunal there. I am persuaded by the words of the wise, that every soul, both good and beloved of God, when it is released from the body bound to it and departs from here, immediately comes to awareness and contemplation of the good that awaits it, when what obscured it has been cleansed away—or I do not know what one should even say—and it rejoices with a wondrous pleasure, and exults, and gladly journeys to its own master, fleeing this life here as though a harsh prison, and shaking off the shackles that were wrapped around it, by which the wing of the mind was dragged down, and as if already in imagination it enjoys the good laid up for it. Await the dissolution as a fixed term of necessary freedom, and of passing gladly to what comes next, where there is neither one untimely nor an old man, but all are perfect in spiritual age. Always work out your salvation; but the time for it is especially the release of life.
Τὸ γῆρας ἦλθεν, ἔξοδον κήρυξ βοᾷ· Πᾶς εὐτρεπίζου· πλησίον γὰρ ἡ κρίσις. Βίου τὸ κέρδος, ἐκβιοῦν καθ' ἡμέραν. Τίς οὐκ οἶδεν τὸ αἴνιγμα τῆς θείας Γραφῆς τῆς λεγούσης, διὰ θυρίδων εἰσεληλυθέναι τὸν θάνατον; Τὰς γὰρ αἰσθήσεις, δι' ὧν ἐκκαλύπτουσα ἡ ψυχὴ πρὸς τὰ ἔξω πράγματα, τῶν κατὰ γνώμην ἀντιλαμ βάνεται, θυρίδας ἡ Γραφὴ προσηγόρευσεν· ἃς ὁδοποιεῖν τῷ θανάτῳ τὴν εἴσοδον ὁ λόγος φησίν. Ἑτοιμάζου πρὸς τὰ λυπηρὰ, καὶ κερδανεῖς τὰ πλείονα.
Ἄνθρωποι μὲν γὰρ πέρας τιμωριῶν εἶναι νομίζουσι τὸν θάνατον· ἐν δὲ τῷ θείῳ δικαστηρίῳ μόγις οὕτως ἐστὶν ἀρχή.
Old age has come; the herald cries out, "Departure! Let everyone make ready, for the judgment is near. The gain of life is to live it out day by day." Who does not know the riddle of the divine Scripture that says death has entered through the windows? For the senses, through which the soul, uncovering itself, reaches out to external things and grasps those that accord with its will, Scripture has called windows; and the word says that these make a path for death's entrance. Prepare yourself for sorrows, and you will gain the greater things.
For men think death is an end of punishments; but in the divine court it is scarcely even a beginning.