2

can hear. But if the prophets say that those who were present were not even human beings, because they did not pay earnest attention to what was said, what could we say about those who not only are not heard, but do not even endure to set foot on these sacred thresholds, about those wandering outside this sacred flock, being far from this mother's house, in the streets and narrow lanes, just like unruly and lazy children? For they too, having left their father's house, wander somewhere outside, spending their days in childish toys; for this very reason such children have often fallen away from both freedom and life. For falling into the hands of kidnappers or robbers, they have often paid with death the penalty for their laziness. For those men, taking them and stripping off their golden ornament, either drown them in the currents of rivers, or, when they decide on something more humane concerning them, carry them off to a foreign land and sell their freedom. This is what these people also suffer. For when they wander away from their father's house and their time spent here, they fall into the mouths of heretics, and the tongues of the enemies of the truth; then, just as kidnappers, those men, having taken them 51.116 and stripped off the golden ornament of faith, immediately drown them, not by casting them into rivers, but by plunging them into the turbid doctrines of their foul-smelling heresy. 2. It would be your task to provide for the salvation of these brethren, and to lead them back to us, even if they pull back, even if they resist, even if they cry out, even if they lament. This contentiousness and laziness of mind is childish. But you, correct their soul which is still in an imperfect state; it is your task to persuade them to become human beings. For just as we would not say that a man who rejects human food, but grazes on thorns and herbs with the cattle, is a human being; so too we would not say that a man who hates the true food proper to a human soul, that from the divine oracles, but sits in worldly gatherings and meetings always full of baseness, and grazes on unlawful words, is a human being. For a human being, in our view, is not one who is fed on bread alone, but one who before that food partakes of divine and spiritual oracles. And that this is a human being, hear Christ saying: Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. So the food of our life is twofold, the one lesser, the other better; and one must especially lay claim to this latter, so as to nourish the soul as well, and not overlook it as it wastes away with hunger. It would therefore be your task to make the city full of human beings for us. Since, therefore, this great and populous city is desolate of human beings, it would be right for you to make this contribution to your fatherland, and you must draw your brothers to you, if you convey to them the things from here. For we then persuade people to enjoy a table, not when we only praise the table, but also when we have something of its dishes to offer to those who were left behind. Do this now, and one of two things will certainly happen: either you will persuade them to return to us, or, while they remain in the same contentiousness, they will be fed by your tongue, or rather, they will certainly return. For they will not choose to be fed as a matter of grace, when it is possible to enjoy this paternal table with full right. But that you are doing this, or have done it, or will do it, I am very confident and I believe; for I myself have not ceased to continually exhort these things; and you too are filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish others. It is now time, then, to set before you our table, this humble and poor one, full of great poverty, but having the best relish, your

2

δύνανται ἀκούειν. Εἰ δὲ τοὺς παρόντας, ἐπειδὴ μὴ προσεῖχον μετὰ σπουδῆς τοῖς λεγομένοις, οὐδὲ ἀνθρώπους εἶναί φασιν οἱ προφῆται, τί ἂν εἴποιμεν ἡμεῖς περὶ τῶν οὐ μόνον οὐκ ἀκουομένων, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ ἐπιβῆναι τῶν ἱερῶν τούτων προθύρων ἀνεχομένων, περὶ τῶν ἔξω τῆς ἱερᾶς ταύτης ἀγέλης πλανωμένων, πόῤῥωθεν ὄντων τῆς μητρικῆς ταύτης οἰκίας, ἐν ἀμφόδοις καὶ στενωποῖς, καθάπερ τὰ ἄτακτα καὶ ῥᾴθυμα τῶν παιδίων; καὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖνα τὸν πατρῷον οἶκον ἀφέντα, ἔξω που πλανᾶται, ἐν ἀθύρμασι διημερεύοντα παιδικοῖς· διά τοι τοῦτο καὶ τῆς ἐλευθερίας καὶ τῆς ζωῆς πολλάκις ἐξέπεσε τὰ τοιαῦτα παιδία. Περιτυγχάνοντα γὰρ ἀνδραποδιστῶν ἢ λωποδυτῶν χερσὶ, θάνατον πολλάκις τὴν τιμωρίαν τῆς ῥᾳθυμίας ἔδωκαν. Λαμβάνοντες γὰρ ἐκεῖνοι αὐτὰ, καὶ τὸν χρυσοῦν ἀφελόμενοι κόσμον, ἢ ῥεύμασι ποταμῶν ἀποπνίγουσιν, ἢ ὅταν φιλανθρωπότερόν τι περὶ αὐτῶν βουλεύσωνται, εἰς τὴν ἀλλοτρίαν ἀπαγαγόντες γῆν, τὴν ἐλευθερίαν αὐτῶν ἀποδίδονται. Τοῦτο καὶ οὗτοι πάσχουσιν. Ἐπειδὰν γὰρ τοῦ πατρῴου οἴκου καὶ τῆς ἐνταῦθα διατριβῆς ἀποπλανηθῶσι, περιτυγχάνουσι στόμασιν αἱρετικῶν, καὶ ταῖς γλώσσαις τῶν τῆς ἀληθείας ἐχθρῶν· εἶτα, καθάπερ ἀνδραποδισταὶ λαβόντες 51.116 αὐτοὺς ἐκεῖνοι, καὶ τὸν χρυσοῦν τῆς πίστεως ἀφελόμενοι κόσμον, ἀποπνίγουσιν εὐθέως, οὐκ εἰς ποταμοὺς ἐμβάλλοντες, ἀλλ' εἰς τὰ θολερὰ τῆς δυσωδίας αὐτῶν καταποντίζοντες δόγματα. βʹ. Ὑμέτερον ἂν εἴη τῆς τῶν ἀδελφῶν τούτων προνοῆσαι σωτηρίας, καὶ ἐπαναγαγεῖν αὐτοὺς πρὸς ἡμᾶς, κἂν ἀνθέλκωσι, κἂν ἀντιτείνωσι, κἂν καταβοῶσι, κἂν ὀδύρωνται. Παιδικῆς ἡ φιλονεικία αὕτη καὶ ῥᾳθυμία διανοίας ἐστίν. Ἀλλ' ὑμεῖς διορθώσατε τὴν ἀτελέστερον ἔτι διακειμένην αὐτῶν ψυχήν· ὑμέτερόν ἐστι πεῖσαι γενέσθαι ἀνθρώπους αὐτούς. Ὥσπερ γὰρ τὸν ἀνθρωπίνην ἀποστρεφόμενον τροφὴν, ἀκάνθας δὲ καὶ βοτάνας μετὰ τῶν θρεμμάτων βοσκόμενον, οὐκ ἂν εἴποιμεν ἄνθρωπον εἶναι· οὕτω δὴ τὸν τὴν ἀληθῆ καὶ προσήκουσαν ἀνθρωπίνῃ ψυχῇ μισοῦντα τροφὴν, τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν θείων λογίων, ἐν δὲ βιωτικοῖς συλλόγοις καὶ συνεδρίοις ἀεὶ αἰσχρότητος γέμουσι καθήμενον, καὶ παράνομα βοσκόμενον ῥήματα, οὐκ ἂν εἴποιμεν ἄνθρωπον εἶναι. Ἄνθρωπος γὰρ καθ' ἡμᾶς, οὐκ εἴ τις ἄρτον τρέφοιτο μόνον, ἀλλ' εἴ τις πρὸ τῆς τροφῆς ἐκείνης θείων λογίων μετέχοι καὶ πνευματικῶν. Καὶ ὅτι τοῦτο ἄνθρωπος, ἄκουσον τοῦ Χριστοῦ λέγοντος· Οὐκ ἐπ' ἄρτῳ μόνῳ ζήσεται ἄνθρωπος, ἀλλ' ἐν παντὶ ῥήματι ἐκπορευομένῳ διὰ στόματος Θεοῦ. Ὥστε διπλῆ τῆς ζωῆς ἡμῶν ἡ τροφὴ, ἡ μὲν ἐλάττων, ἡ δὲ βελτίων· καὶ δεῖ μάλιστα ταύτης ἀντιποιεῖσθαι, ὥστε καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν διατρέφειν, καὶ μὴ περιορᾷν αὐτὴν λιμῷ τηκομένην. Ὑμέτερον οὖν ἂν εἴη ποιῆσαι τὴν πόλιν ἡμῖν μεστὴν ἀνθρώπων. Ἐπειδὴ οὖν ἔρημός ἐστιν ἀνθρώπων ἡ μεγάλη αὕτη καὶ πολυάνθρωπος, δίκαιοι δ' ἂν εἴητε τοῦτον τῇ πατρίδι τὸν ἔρανον εἰσενεγκεῖν, καὶ τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς ἐπισπάσασθαι δεῖ, ἂν τὰ ἐντεῦθεν πρὸς ἐκείνους διακομίσητε. Καὶ γὰρ τραπέζης τότε πείθομεν ἀπολαύειν, οὐχ ὅταν ἐπαινῶμεν τὴν τράπεζαν μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὅταν τῶν ἐξ αὐτῆς ἐδεσμάτων τοῖς ἀπολειφθεῖσιν ἔχωμέν τι παρασχεῖν. Τοῦτο καὶ ὑμεῖς ποιήσατε νῦν, καὶ δυοῖν θάτερον ἔσται πάντως, ἢ πείσατε αὐτοὺς πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἐπανελθεῖν, ἢ μένοντες ἐπὶ τῆς αὐτῆς φιλονεικίας, διὰ τῆς ὑμετέρας τραφήσονται γλώττης, μᾶλλον δὲ ἐπανήξουσι πάντως. Οὐ γὰρ αἱρήσονται ἐν χάριτος τρέφεσθαι μέρει, παρὸν μετ' ἐξουσίας τῆς πατρικῆς ταύτης ἀπολαύειν τραπέζης. Ἀλλ' ὅτι μὲν τοῦτο ποιεῖτε, ἢ πεποιήκατε, ἢ ποιήσετε, πάνυ θαῤῥῶ καὶ πιστεύω· καὶ γὰρ αὐτὸς συνεχῶς ταῦτα παραινῶν οὐ διέλιπον· καὶ ὑμεῖς δὲ πεπληρωμένοι ἐστὲ πάσης γνώσεως, δυνάμενοι καὶ ἄλλους νουθετεῖν. Ὥρα δὴ λοιπὸν τὴν ἡμετέραν ὑμῖν παραθεῖναι τράπεζαν τὴν εὐτελῆ ταύτην καὶ πτωχὴν, καὶ πενίας μὲν πολλῆς γέμουσαν, ἔχουσαν δὲ ὄψον ἄριστον, ὑμῶν