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may it be. Do you not see many poor people along the road, how they remain sick and naked? and one is younger, another is older, and one is supported by another, and great is their tragedy. Give therefore to your fellow servant, that you may have the Master as your debtor, who gladly owes, who gives the principal with interest; for among outsiders interest is a crime, but with God it is a praise. Do you not give to the poor man? pay attention to the one asking through him, and revere the dignity of the one receiving; the poor man receives, and God borrows. Consider where your Master descended for this purpose, to bend you not to be cruel and inhuman. For, he says, you saw me hungry, and you did not feed me; thirsty, and you did not give me drink; a stranger, and you did not take me in; naked, and you did not clothe me, and so on. Do you not give, then, to Christ who is hungry? You and the poor man both receive his body from the table, you likewise partake of his cup; he shares with you in things great and terrible, and you do not share with him in small things? For are you giving him your own things? For even if you received them from your parents, or from your ancestors, they are God's. Why do you bury them in the earth? Give to the poor man, and with great security the Master keeps them for you. Do you not see what farmers do? That often out of poverty, not having seed, one pawns his cloak, and takes what he wants, and entrusts it to the earth? And yet often an irregularity of seasons has come, and he went away having harvested nothing, and still he trusts the earth because of hope. What the earth does, then, can the Master not do this? Imitate that widow in the Old Testament, who had a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a cruse, for from these things she entertained the prophet; or this one in the Gospel, who having cast in two small coins surpassed all; for she cast in all her wealth. But what do you say? I am poor and have no money. Do you not have two small coins? And even if you do not have them, God seeks an abundance of good will. For this reason he said, Whoever gives a cup of cold water, shall not lose his reward. See what he says: of cold water, not hot, so that you might not be deprived of your reward because of the expense of wood. And a king, whatever gold he may impose on you, being hung up, being scourged, you give whatever he wants; even if you are poor, he does not pay attention to the ability of the persons, but to his own profit. But God is not so, but demands according to the ability of each. For why are there poor people? For was God not able to bring down a shower of gold? But it is so that his poverty might become a comfort for your sins. A great thing is man, and a precious thing a merciful man; see how great a thing is almsgiving. God compares the merciful man to Himself; For, he says, Be ye merciful, as your heavenly Father also is merciful. When death comes, money remains here; why then do you not send it ahead for yourself there, so that on that day the poor may stand by you, where there is no orator, nor advocate? For the poor show their garments and swaddling-clothes, and snatch you from the fire. The sun coming upon ice does not so dissolve it, as almsgiving falling upon a multitude of sins makes them disappear. But that you may learn the height of almsgiving, what is more arduous than virginity? Nothing; there are many virtues, some are great, some are greater, and some are less, but nothing is more arduous than virginity; it wrestles against nature; this war has no truce; it is a battle that never has peace, except through the mercy of Christ. The virgin stands drawing the furnace to herself, and not being burned; a vir48.1062 gin standing on coals is not burned up; being in the furnace she is not consumed, having dew just like the three youths; competing against the invisible powers, she imitates Michael, and rivals Gabriel. In paradise was virginity, and by the dragon

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γένηται. Οὐχ ὁρᾶτε πολλοὺς κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν πένητας, πῶς μένουσι νοσοῦντες καὶ γυμνητεύοντες; καὶ ὁ μὲν νεώτερος, ὁ δὲ πρεσβύτερος, καὶ ἄλλος ὑφ' ἑτέρου στηρίζεται, καὶ πολλὴ ἡ τούτων τραγῳδία. ∆ὸς οὖν τῷ συνδούλῳ, ἵνα ἔχῃς τὸν ∆εσπότην χρεωφειλέτην, τὸν ἡδέως χρεωστοῦντα, τὸν διδόντα τὸ κεφάλαιον μετὰ τοῦ τόκου· ἐπὶ μὲν γὰρ τῶν ἔξω ἔγκλημα ὁ τόκος, ἐπὶ δὲ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἔπαινος. Οὐ δίδως τῷ πένητι; πρόσεχε τῷ δι' αὐτοῦ αἰτοῦντι, καὶ αἰδέσθητι τὸ ἀξίωμα τοῦ λαμβάνοντος· ὁ πένης λαμβάνει, καὶ ὁ Θεὸς δανείζεται. Ἐννόησον ποῦ κατέβη ὁ ∆εσπότης σου δι' ἐκεῖνο, ἵνα σε ἐπικάμψῃ μὴ εἶναι ὠμὸν καὶ ἀπάνθρωπον. Πεινῶντα μὲν γὰρ, φησὶν, εἴδετέ με, καὶ οὐκ ἐθρέψατε· διψῶντα, καὶ οὐκ ἐποτίσατε· ξένον, καὶ οὐ συνηγάγετε· γυμνὸν, καὶ οὐ περιεβάλετε, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. Οὐ δίδως οὖν πεινῶντι τῷ Χριστῷ; Σὺ καὶ ὁ πένης τὸ σῶμα αὐτοῦ κοινῶς ἐκ τῆς τραπέζης μεταλαμβάνετε, τοῦ ποτηρίου αὐτοῦ ὁμοίως μετέχετε· ἐν τοῖς μεγάλοις σοι καὶ φρικτοῖς κοινωνεῖ, καὶ τῶν μικρῶν αὐτῷ οὐ μεταδίδως; Μὴ γὰρ τὰ σὰ αὐτῷ παρέχεις; Κἂν γὰρ παρὰ τῶν γονέων ἐδέξω, κἂν παρὰ τῶν προγόνων, τοῦ Θεοῦ εἰσι. Τί καταχωννύεις αὐτὰ εἰς τὴν γῆν; ∆ὸς τῷ πένητι, καὶ μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς ἀσφαλείας φυλάττει σοι αὐτὰ ὁ ∆εσπότης. Οὐχ ὁρᾷς τοὺς γηπόνους τί ποιοῦσιν; ὅτι πολλάκις ὑπὸ πενίας μὴ ἔχων σπόρον, τίθησιν αὐτοῦ τὸ ἱμάτιον, καὶ λαμβάνει ὃ βούλεται, καὶ τῇ γῇ καταπιστεύει; καίτοι πολλάκις ἦλθε καιρῶν ἀνωμαλία, καὶ ἀπῆλθε μηδὲν θερίσας, καὶ ὅμως πιστεύει τῇ γῇ διὰ τὴν ἐλπίδα. Ὅπερ οὖν ἡ γῆ ποιεῖ, τοῦτο ὁ ∆εσπότης οὐ δύναται ποιῆσαι; Μίμησαι ἐκείνην τὴν ἐν τῇ Παλαιᾷ χήραν, τὴν ἔχουσαν δράκα ἀλεύρου ἐν τῇ ὑδρίᾳ, καὶ ὀλίγον ἔλαιον ἐν τῷ καμψάκῃ, ὅτι ἐξ αὐτῶν τὸν προφήτην ἐξενοδόχησεν· ἢ ταύτην τὴν ἐν τῷ Εὐαγγελίῳ, ἥτις δύο ὀβολοὺς βαλοῦσα πάντας ὑπερηκόντισεν· ὅλον γὰρ τὸν πλοῦτον ἑαυτῆς ἔβαλεν. Ἀλλὰ τί λέγεις; Πένης εἰμὶ καὶ οὐκ ἔχω χρήματα. ∆ύο ὀβολοὺς οὐκ ἔχεις; Εἰ δὲ καὶ οὐκ ἔχεις, γνώμης ἀγαθῆς περιουσίαν ζητεῖ ὁ Θεός. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ἔλεγεν, Ὅστις ἐὰν δῷ ποτήριον ψυχροῦ ὕδατος, οὐ μὴ ἀπολέσει τὸν μισθὸν αὐτοῦ. Βλέπε, τί λέγει· ψυχροῦ ὕδατος, οὐ θερμοῦ, ἵνα μὴ διὰ τὴν δαπάνην τῶν ξύλων στερηθῇς τοῦ μισθοῦ. Καὶ βασιλεὺς μὲν ὅσον ἐὰν ἐπιβάλῃ σοι χρυσίον, κρεμώμενος, σχοινιζόμενος, δίδως ὅπερ βούλεται· κἂν πένης ᾖς, οὐ προσέχει τῇ δυνάμει τῶν προσώπων, ἀλλὰ τῷ ἰδίῳ κέρδει. Ὁ δὲ Θεὸς οὐχ οὕτως, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὴν ἑκάστου δύναμιν ἀπαιτεῖ. ∆ιὰ τί γάρ εἰσι πένητες; μὴ γὰρ οὐκ ἠδύνατο ὁ Θεὸς ὄμβρον χρυσοῦν κατενεγκεῖν; ἀλλ' ἵνα σοι ἡ ἐκείνου πενία παραμυθία τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων σου γένηται. Μέγα ἄνθρωπος, καὶ τίμιον ἀνὴρ ἐλεήμων· βλέπε πόσον ἐστὶν ἡ ἐλεημοσύνη. Ἑαυτῷ παραβάλλει ὁ Θεὸς τὸν ἐλεήμονα· Γίνεσθε γὰρ, φησὶν, οἰκτίρμονες, ὡς καὶ ὁ Πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὁ οὐράνιος οἰκτίρμων ἐστίν. Ἐὰν ἔλθῃ ὁ θάνατος, ὧδε μένει τὰ χρήματα· διὰ τί οὖν οὐ προαποστέλλεις σεαυτῷ ἐκεῖ, ἵνα ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ παραστῶσί σοι πένητες, ὅπου ῥήτωρ οὐκ ἔστιν, οὐδὲ συνήγορος; Ἐπιδείκνυνται γὰρ οἱ πένητες τὰ ἱμάτια, καὶ τὰ στρόφια, καὶ ἁρπάζουσί σε τοῦ πυρός. Οὐχ οὕτως ἥλιος εἰς πάγος ἐλθὼν λύει αὐτὸ, ὡς ἐλεημοσύνη ἐμπεσοῦσα εἰς πλῆθος ἁμαρτιῶν ἀφανίζει αὐτάς. Ἵνα δὲ μάθῃς τῆς ἐλεημοσύνης τὸ ὕψος, τί τῆς παρθενίας ἐπιπονώτερον; Οὐδέν· πολλαί εἰσιν αἱ ἀρεταὶ, αἱ μὲν μεγάλαι, αἱ δὲ μείζους, αἱ δὲ ἐλάττονες, τῆς δὲ παρθενίας οὐδὲν ἐπιπονώτερον· πρὸς τὴν φύσιν παλαίει· ὁ πόλεμος οὗτος ἀνοχὴν οὐκ ἔχει· μάχη ἐστὶν εἰρήνην μηδέποτε ἔχουσα, εἰ μὴ διὰ τοῦ ἐλέους τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Ἕστηκεν ἡ παρθένος τὴν κάμινον πρὸς ἑαυτὴν συνάγουσα, καὶ μὴ καιομένη· παρ48.1062 θένος ἐπὶ τῶν ἀνθράκων ἑστῶσα οὐ κατακαίεται· ἐν τῇ καμίνῳ οὖσα οὐ φλέγεται, δρόσον ἔχουσα καθάπερ οἱ τρεῖς παῖδες· πρὸς τὰς ἀοράτους δυνάμεις ἁμιλλωμένη, τὸν Μιχαὴλ μιμεῖται, καὶ πρὸς τὸν Γαβριὴλ ἁμιλλᾶται. Ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ ἦν ἡ παρθενία, καὶ ὑπὸ τοῦ δράκοντος