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being chosen. We do not bring him forward for this reason only, that he received his election from God, but also because he is one of those who were raised in the Old Covenant. For to appear pure from anger in the time of grace, and to forgive enemies their sins, and to spare those who have caused pain, is nothing wonderful after the death of Christ, after so great a forgiveness of sins, after the commandments full of philosophy; but in the time of the Old Covenant, when the law allowed an eye to be gouged out for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, and to avenge oneself on the wrongdoer with equal measures, for someone to appear who surpassed 54.678 the measures of the commandments, and reached apostolic philosophy, whom would this not astonish among those who hear? And whom of those who do not emulate him would it not deprive of all excuse and defense? But so that we may learn his virtue more accurately, allow me to take the account a little further back, and to speak of the good deeds which this blessed man bestowed upon Saul. For to simply not avenge oneself on an enemy who has caused pain is nothing wonderful; but for a man who had received many and great benefits, then in return for those benefits tried once, and twice, and many times to kill his benefactor, for the benefactor to get him into his hands, and having the power to kill him, to let him go, and to rescue him from the plot of others, and this when he was about to attack again with the same things—what remaining excess of philosophy would this leave? 2. What good deeds, then, did David do for Saul, and when and how, bear with me as I narrate briefly. For when a most difficult war once befell the Jews, and all were cowering and afraid, and no one dared to step forward, but the whole city was in extremity, and each one saw death before his eyes, and all were expecting to die each day, and they were living a life more wretched than those led to the pit, this man, coming from his sheep to the battle line, though his age and his art rendered him unsuited for the toils of war, he himself took up the war of all, and achieved successes greater than all hope. And yet, even if he had achieved nothing, it was necessary to crown him for his eagerness and his purpose alone. For it is nothing wonderful for a soldier of age to do this; for the law of military service required this. But this man, seeing no necessity laid upon him, but also having many who were trying to prevent him—for indeed his brother rebuked him, and the king, looking to his unripe age and the unbearable nature of the dangers, tried to restrain him and ordered him to stay, saying: You will not be able to go, because you are a boy, but he is a man of war from his youth, but nevertheless, with no pretext compelling him, but inflamed from within and by himself with divine zeal and with love for his country, as if seeing sheep rather than men, and as if about to drive away dogs rather than such an army of men, so he ran with fearlessness against the barbarians; and he showed such concern for the king at that time, as to raise him up even before the war and the victory, as he lay prostrate. For he not only benefited him by his deeds after this, but even before this he encouraged him with his words and persuaded him to be brave, and to have good hopes for the future, saying thus: Let not the heart of my lord fail on his account, for your servant will go and will fight with this foreigner. Is this a small thing, tell me, for one who had no necessity, 54.679 to give his own soul, and for their benefit to leap into the midst of the

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ψηφιζομένου. Οὐ διὰ τοῦτο δὲ μόνον αὐτὸν εἰς μέσον ἄγομεν, ὅτι παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν ψῆφον ἐδέξατο, ἀλλ' ὅτι καὶ τῶν ἐν τῇ Παλαιᾷ τραφέντων ἐστί. Τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἐπὶ τῆς χάριτος φανῆναί τινα καθαρὸν ὀργῆς, καὶ τοῖς ἐχθροῖς ἀφιέντα τὰ ἁμαρτήματα, καὶ τῶν λελυπηκότων φειδόμενον, θαυμαστὸν οὐδὲν μετὰ τὸν τοῦ Χριστοῦ θάνατον, μετὰ τὴν τοσαύτην τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων ἄφεσιν, μετὰ τὰ φιλοσοφίας γέμοντα ἐπιτάγματα· τὸ δὲ ἐπὶ τῆς Παλαιᾶς, ἡνίκα ὁ νόμος συνεχώρει ὀφθαλμὸν ἐξορύττειν ἀντὶ ὀφθαλμοῦ, καὶ ὀδόντα ἀντὶ ὀδόντος, καὶ τοῖς ἴσοις ἀμύνεσθαι τὸν ἀδικήσαντα, φανῆναί τινα ὑπερ54.678 βάντα τὰ μέτρα τῶν προσταγμάτων, καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἀποστολικὴν φθάσαντα φιλοσοφίαν, τίνα μὲν οὐκ ἂν ἐκπλήξειε τῶν ἀκουόντων; τίνα δὲ οὐκ ἂν τῶν μὴ ζηλούντων πάσης ἀποστερήσειε συγγνώμης τε καὶ ἀπολογίας; Ἵνα δὲ ἀκριβέστερον αὐτοῦ καταμάθωμεν τὴν ἀρετὴν, δότε μοι μικρὸν ἀνωτέρω τὸν λόγον ἀγαγεῖν, καὶ τὰς εὐεργεσίας εἰπεῖν, ἃς εἰς τὸν Σαοὺλ κατέθετο ὁ μακάριος οὗτος ἀνήρ. Τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἁπλῶς ἐχθρὸν λυπήσαντα μὴ ἀμύνασθαι, θαυμαστὸν οὐδέν· τὸ δὲ ἄνθρωπον εὐεργετηθέντα πολλὰς καὶ μεγάλας εὐεργεσίας, εἶτα ἀντὶ τῶν εὐεργεσιῶν ἐκείνων καὶ ἅπαξ καὶ δὶς καὶ πολλάκις ἀνελεῖν ἐπιχειρήσαντα τὸν εὐεργέτην, λαβόντα εἰς χεῖρας, καὶ κύριον γενόμενον ἀνελεῖν, καὶ αὐτὸν ἀφεῖναι, καὶ τῆς ἑτέρων ἐπιβουλῆς ἐξαρπάσαι, καὶ ταῦτα πάλιν τοῖς αὐτοῖς ἐπιθήσεσθαι μέλλοντα, τίνα ἂν καταλίποι λοιπὸν φιλοσοφίας ὑπερβολήν; βʹ. Τίνας οὖν εὐηργέτησεν ὁ ∆αυῒδ εὐεργεσίας τὸν Σαοὺλ, καὶ πότε καὶ πῶς, ἀνάσχεσθε διὰ βραχέων διηγουμένου. Πολέμου γάρ ποτε τοὺς Ἰουδαίους καταλαβόντος χαλεπωτάτου, καὶ πάντων κατεπτηχότων καὶ δεδοικότων, καὶ οὐδενὸς προκύψαι τολμῶντος, ἀλλ' ἐν ἐσχάτοις τῆς πόλεως οὔσης ἁπάσης, καὶ τὸν θάνατον πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν ἑκάστου βλέποντος, καὶ καθ' ἑκάστην ἀποθανεῖσθαι τὴν ἡμέραν προσδοκώντων ἁπάντων, καὶ τῶν ἐπὶ τὸ βάραθρον ἀγομένων ἀθλιώτερον ζώντων τὸν βίον, εἰσελθὼν οὗτος ἀπὸ τῶν προβάτων ἐπὶ τὴν παράταξιν, καὶ τῆς ἡλικίας καὶ τῆς τέχνης ἀτέλειαν παρεχούσης αὐτῷ τῶν πολεμικῶν πόνων, τὸν ἁπάντων αὐτὸς ἀνεδέξατο πόλεμον, καὶ κατώρθωσεν ἐλπίδος ἁπάσης κρείττονα κατορθώματα. Καίτοι εἰ καὶ μηδὲν ἦν κατωρθωκὼς, τῆς προθυμίας αὐτὸν καὶ τῆς προθέσεως ἕνεκεν στεφανοῦν ἔδει μόνον. Τὸ μὲν γὰρ στρατιώτην τινὰ τῶν ἐν ἡλικίᾳ ποιῆσαι τοῦτο, θαυμαστὸν οὐδέν· ὁ γὰρ τῆς στρατείας νόμος τοῦτο ἀπῄτει. Οὗτος δὲ οὐδεμίαν ὁρῶν ἀνάγκην ἐπικειμένην, ἀλλὰ καὶ πολλοὺς τοὺς κωλύοντας ἔχων καὶ γὰρ καὶ ὁ ἀδελφὸς ἐπετίμησε, καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς πρὸς τὸ τῆς ἡλικίας ἄωρον καὶ τὸ τῶν κινδύνων ἀφόρητον βλέπων, κατεῖχε καὶ μένειν ἐκέλευε λέγων· Οὐ δυνήσῃ πορευθῆναι, ὅτι σὺ παιδάριον εἶ, αὐτὸς δὲ ἀνὴρ πολεμιστὴς ἐκ νεότητος αὐτοῦ, ἀλλ' ὅμως οὐδεμιᾶς αὐτὸν ἑλκούσης προφάσεως, οἴκοθεν καὶ παρ' ἑαυτοῦ διαθερμανθεὶς θείῳ ζήλῳ καὶ τῷ τῆς πατρίδος ἔρωτι, ὥσπερ πρόβατα μᾶλλον ἢ ἀνθρώπους ὁρῶν, καὶ ὡς κύνας μᾶλλον ἢ στρατόπεδον ἀνθρώπων τοιοῦτον μέλλων ἐλαύνειν, οὕτω μετὰ ἀδείας ἐπὶ τοὺς βαρβάρους ἔτρεχε· καὶ τοσαύτην περὶ τὸν βασιλέα κηδεμονίαν ἐπεδείξατο τότε, ὡς καὶ πρὸ τοῦ πολέμου καὶ τῆς νίκης ἐπ' ὄψιν αὐτὸν κείμενον ἀναστῆσαι. Οὐ γὰρ δὴ μόνον αὐτὸν τοῖς ἔργοις μετὰ ταῦτα ὠφέλει, ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὸ τούτου τοῖς ῥήμασι παρεκάλει καὶ θαῤῥεῖν ἔπειθε, καὶ χρηστὰς περὶ τοῦ μέλλοντος ἐλπίδας ἔχειν, οὕτω λέγων· Μὴ συμπεσέτω ἡ καρδία τοῦ κυρίου μου ἐπ' αὐτὸν, ὅτι ὁ δοῦλός σου πορεύσεται, καὶ πολεμήσει μετὰ τοῦ ἀλλοφύλου τούτου. Ἆρα μικρὸν τοῦτο, εἰπέ μοι, τὸν μηδεμίαν ἀνάγκην ἔχοντα, 54.679 τὴν ψυχὴν ἐπιδοῦναι τὴν ἑαυτοῦ. καὶ ὑπὲρ τῆς ἐκείνων ὠφελείας εἰς μέσους πηδῆσαι τοὺς