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granting a well-speaking tongue to the survivor. But if he sees many running together in praise, changing again, he envies the dead. He admires wealth after its loss. The beauty of the body, or its 31.376 strength and well-being after sickness he praises and extols. And in general, he is an enemy of things present, but a friend of things that are lost. What then could be more destructive than this sickness? A corruption of life, a ruin of nature, an enmity toward the things given to us by God, an opposition to God. What drove the author of evil, the demon, to war against men? Was it not envy? through which he was also openly convicted of fighting against God, being vexed with God for the great gift to man, and taking vengeance on man, since he was not able to harm God. And Cain is shown doing these same things, the first disciple of the devil, taught by him both envy and murder, sister iniquities, which Paul also yoked together, saying: Full of envy, murder. What then did he do? He saw the honor from God, and was kindled to jealousy, and slew the one honored, that he might touch the one who honored. For being powerless for the fight against God, he resorted to fratricide. Let us flee, brothers, a sickness that is the teacher of fighting against God, the mother of manslaughter, the confusion of nature, the ignorance of kinship, a most unreasonable calamity. Why are you grieved, O man, having suffered nothing terrible? why do you war against one who is in some good things, who has diminished none of your own? But if indeed you are vexed even while being benefited, are you not openly envious of your own benefit? Such was Saul, who made the excesses of benefits an occasion for the war against David. For first, having been freed from his madness by that all-harmonious and divine music, he tried to pierce his benefactor with a spear; then having been saved with his army from the enemies, and freed from the shame concerning Goliath, nevertheless since in the victory songs the dancing women ascribed to David ten times the cause of what happened; David has slain his ten thousands, and Saul his thousands; because of this one saying, and the testimony that arose from the truth itself, he first tried to become a murderer himself, and to kill him from an ambush; then having made him a fugitive, not even so did he stop his enmity, but finally marching against him with three thousand chosen men, he searched the wildernesses. And if he had been asked the reason for the war, he would certainly have said the man's good deeds.

Who indeed at the very time of the pursuit was caught sleeping, ready for slaughter lying before his enemy, and again was saved by the just man, who guarded against laying hands on him, not even by this benefaction was he swayed; but again he gathered an army, and again he pursued; until, having been caught a second time by the same man in the cave, he showed the virtue of the one to be more brilliant, and made his own wickedness more manifest. Envy is a most difficult kind of enmity to handle. For good deeds make other kinds of enemies gentler; 31.377 but being treated well further provokes the envious and malicious man; and the greater the benefits he receives, the more he is vexed and grieved and displeased. For he is more burdened by the power of his benefactor than he is grateful for the things done for him. What wild beast do they not surpass in the harshness of their ways? What untamed thing do they not exceed in savagery? Dogs being fed are tamed; lions being cared for become tame to the hand; but the envious become more savage by kindness. What made the noble Joseph a slave? Was it not the envy of his brothers? There it is also worthy to marvel at the irrationality of the sickness. For fearing the outcome of the dreams, they made their brother a slave, as if a slave would never be bowed down to. And yet if the dreams were true, what device could prevent the predictions from coming to pass in every way? but if the visions of the dreams are false, for what reason are you envious of one who is mistaken? But now by the economy of God

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περιόντι γλῶσσαν εὔφημον χαρισάμενος. Ἐὰν μέν τοι πολλοὺς ἴδῃ συντρέχοντας τῷ ἐπαίνῳ, μεταβαλὼν πάλιν, βασκαίνει τῷ τεθνεῶτι. Τὸν πλοῦτον θαυμάζει μετὰ τὴν ἔκπτωσιν. Τὴν ὥραν τοῦ σώματος, ἢ τὴν 31.376 ῥώμην καὶ τὴν εὐεξίαν μετὰ τὰς νόσους ἐπαινεῖ καὶ ἐξαίρει. Καὶ ὅλως, ἐχθρὸς μέν ἐστι τῶν παρόντων, φίλος δὲ τῶν ἀπολλυμένων. Τί ἂν οὖν γένοιτο τῆς νόσου ταύτης ὀλεθριώτερον; Φθορὰ τῆς ζωῆς, λύμη τῆς φύσεως, ἔχθρα τῶν παρὰ Θεοῦ δεδομένων ἡμῖν, ἐναντίωσις πρὸς Θεόν. Τί τὸν ἀρχέκακον δαίμονα εἰς τὸν κατὰ ἀνθρώπων ἐξέμηνε πόλεμον; Οὐχ ὁ φθόνος; δι' οὗ καὶ θεομάχος φανερῶς ἀπηλέγχθη, ἀχθόμενος μὲν Θεῷ ἐπὶ τῇ μεγαλοδωρεᾷ τῇ εἰς τὸν ἄνθρωπον, τὸν ἄνθρωπον δὲ ἀμυνόμενος, ἐπειδὴ Θεὸν οὐκ ἠδύνατο. Τὰ αὐτὰ δὲ ταῦτα ποιῶν καὶ ὁ Κάϊν δείκνυται, ὁ πρῶτος μαθητὴς τοῦ διαβό λου, καὶ φθόνον καὶ φόνον παρ' αὐτοῦ διδαχθεὶς, τὰς ἀδελφὰς ἀνομίας, ἃς καὶ Παῦλος συνέζευξεν, εἰπών· Μεστοὺς φθόνου, φόνου. Τί οὖν ἦν ὃ ἐποίησεν; Εἶδε τὴν παρὰ Θεοῦ τιμὴν, καὶ ἐξεκαύθη πρὸς ζῆλον, καὶ ἀνεῖλε τὸν τιμηθέντα, ἵνα καθάψηται τοῦ τιμή σαντος. Πρὸς γὰρ τὴν θεομαχίαν ἀδυνατῶν, εἰς ἀδελ φοκτονίαν μετέπεσε. Φύγωμεν, ἀδελφοὶ, νόσον θεο μαχίας διδάσκαλον, ἀνδροφονίας μητέρα, σύγχυσιν φύσεως, οἰκειότητος ἄγνοιαν, συμφορὰν ἀλογωτάτην. Τί λυπῇ, ἄνθρωπε, μηδὲν δεινὸν πεπονθώς; τί πο λεμεῖς τῷ ἐν ἀγαθοῖς τισιν ὄντι, μηδὲν τῶν σῶν ἐλαττώσαντι; Ἐὰν δὲ δὴ καὶ εὐεργετούμενος ἀγανακτῇς, οὐκ ἄντικρυς τῆς ἑαυτοῦ ὠφελείας βα σκαίνεις; Ὁποῖος ἦν ὁ Σαοὺλ, ὃς τῶν εὐεργεσιῶν τὰς ὑπερβολὰς ἀφορμὴν τοῦ πολέμου τοῦ πρὸς τὸν ∆αβὶδ ἐποιήσατο. Πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ, τῇ παναρμονίῳ ἐκείνῃ καὶ θείᾳ μουσικῇ τῆς μανίας ἀπαλλαγεὶς, ἐπειρᾶτο δόρατι διαπεῖραι τὸν εὐεργέτην· ἔπειτα σὺν αὐτῷ τῷ στρατῷ ἐκ τῶν πολεμίων περισωθεὶς, καὶ τῆς ἐπὶ τῷ Γολιὰθ αἰσχύνης ἀπαλλαγεὶς, ὅμως ἐπειδὴ ἐν τοῖς ἐπινικίοις τὸ δεκαπλάσιον τῆς τῶν συμβάντων αἰτίας τῷ ∆αβὶδ ἀνέθεσαν αἱ χορεύ ουσαι· Ἐπάταξε ∆αβὶδ ἐν μυριάσι, καὶ Σαοὺλ ἐν χιλιάσιν αὐτοῦ· διὰ μίαν ταύτην φωνὴν, καὶ τὴν ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς ἀληθείας ὑπάρξασαν μαρτυρίαν, πρῶ τον αὐτόχειρ γενέσθαι, καὶ ἐξ ἐνέδρας ἀνελεῖν ἐπ εχείρησεν· εἶτα φυγάδα καταστήσας, οὐδὲ οὕτω τὴν ἔχθραν ἔστησεν, ἀλλὰ τὸ τελευταῖον ἐκστρατεύσας ἐπ' αὐτὸν τρισχιλίοις λογάσι, τὰς ἐρημίας δι ηρευνᾶτο. Εἰ δὲ ἠρωτήθη τοῦ πολέμου τὴν πρόφασιν, εἶπεν ἂν πάντως τὰς τοῦ ἀνδρὸς εὐποιίας.

Ὅς γε παρ' αὐτὸν τὸν καιρὸν τῆς διώξεως καθεύδων καταληφθεὶς, ἕτοιμος εἰς σφαγὴν προκείμενος τῷ ἐχθρῷ, καὶ πάλιν περισωθεὶς ὑπὸ τοῦ δικαίου, ἐπαγαγεῖν αὐτῷ τὰς χεῖρας φυλαξαμένου, οὐδ' ὑπὸ ταύτης τῆς εὐεργεσίας ἐκάμφθη· ἀλλὰ καὶ πάλιν ἐστρατολόγει, καὶ πάλιν ἐδίωκεν· ἕως, καὶ δεύτερον ἁλοὺς ὑπὸ τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ σπηλαίῳ, τοῦ μὲν τὴν ἀρετὴν λαμπροτέραν ἀπέδειξεν, ἑαυτοῦ δὲ τὴν πονηρίαν καταφανεστέραν ἐποίησε. ∆υσμετα χειριστότατον ἔχθρας εἶδος ὁ φθόνος. Τοὺς μὲν γὰρ ἄλλως δυσμενεῖς ἡμερωτέρους ποιοῦσιν αἱ εὐποιίαι· 31.377 τὸν βάσκανον δὲ καὶ κακοήθη τὸ καλῶς παθεῖν πλέον προσερεθίζει· καὶ ὅσῳπερ ἂν μειζόνων τύχῃ, μειζό νως ἀγανακτεῖ καὶ ἀνιᾶται, καὶ δυσχεραίνει. Πλεῖον γὰρ ἄχθεται τῇ δυνάμει τοῦ εὐεργέτου, ἢ χάριν ἔχει τοῖς εἰς αὐτὸν γινομένοις. Ποῖον οὐ νικῶσι θηρίον τῇ χαλεπότητι τῶν τρόπων; Τί τῶν ἀνημέρων οὐχ ὑπερ βάλλουσιν ἀγριότητι; Οἱ κύνες τρεφόμενοι ἡμεροῦν ται· οἱ λέοντες χειροήθεις γίνονται θεραπευόμενοι· οἱ δὲ βάσκανοι ταῖς θεραπείαις πλέον ἐξαγριαί νονται. Τί τὸν γενναῖον Ἰωσὴφ δοῦλον ἐποίησεν; Οὐχ ὁ φθόνος τῶν ἀδελφῶν; Ἔνθα καὶ θαυμάσαι ἄξιον τὴν ἀλογίαν τῆς νόσου. Φοβηθέντες γὰρ τῶν ὀνειρά των τὴν ἔκβασιν, δοῦλον ἐποίουν τὸν ἀδελφὸν, ὡς οὐκ ἄν ποτε δούλου προσκυνηθέντος. Καίτοι εἰ μὲν ἀληθῆ τὰ ἐνύπνια, τίς μηχανὴ μὴ οὐχὶ πάντως ἐκβῆναι τὰ προῤῥηθέντα; εἰ δὲ ψευδεῖς αἱ τῶν ὀνει ράτων ὄψεις, ἀντὶ τίνος βασκαίνετε τῷ σφαλλομέ νῳ; Νυνὶ δὲ ὑπὸ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ οἰκονομίας