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it be joined with sin, into how great a hell will it not be able to cast down him who has it? These things I say, not that we should be neglectful of righteousness, but that we should flee from arrogance; not that we should sin, but that we should be moderate. For the foundation of our philosophy is humility. And if you build up ten thousand things upon it, whether almsgiving, or prayers, or fasting, or any virtue, if this has not been first laid down, all will be built up rashly and in vain, and will easily fall down, like that building which was set upon the sand. For there is nothing, nothing of our right actions, which does not need it; there is nothing that will be able to stand without it. But whether you speak of self-control, or virginity, or contempt of riches, or whatever else, all things are 51.313 unclean and polluted and abominable when humility is absent. Everywhere, therefore, let us take it to ourselves, in words, in deeds, in thoughts, and with it let us build these things.

3. But enough has been said concerning humility, not according to the worth of the

right action; for no one will be able to praise it according to its worth; but for the understanding of your love. For I know well that even from the few things that have been said you will draw it to yourselves with much earnestness. But since it is necessary also to make plain and clear the apostolic saying read today, which seems to many to furnish a pretext for indolence, so that no one, procuring for himself some cold excuse from it, may neglect his own salvation, come, let us direct our discourse to it. What then is the saying? Whether in pretense, he says, or in truth, Christ is proclaimed. This many carry about simply and as it happens, not reading what comes before, nor what comes after; but having cut it off from the sequence of the other members, they present it to the more indolent for the destruction of their own soul. For when they attempt to lead them away from the sound faith, and then see them fearing and trembling, as though it were not without danger to do this, and wishing to release their fear, they bring forward this apostolic saying, saying: Paul permitted this, saying, Whether in pretense, or in truth, let Christ be proclaimed.

But it is not so, it is not so. For in the first place he did not say, let him be proclaimed, but, he is proclaimed; and there is a great difference between the one and the other. For to say, let him be proclaimed, is the part of one legislating; but to say, he is proclaimed, is that of one reporting what is happening. But that Paul does not legislate that there should be heresies, but leads away all who pay attention to him, hear what he says: If any one preaches to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed, even if I, or an angel from heaven. And he would not have anathematized both himself and an angel, if he had known the matter to be without danger. And again, For I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy, he says; for I betrothed you to one husband as a pure virgin. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. Behold, he has also posited sincerity, and has not given pardon. For if there were pardon, there was no danger; but if there was no danger, Paul would not have been afraid; nor would Christ have ordered the tares to be burned, if it were an indifferent matter to attend to this one, or that one, or another, and simply to all.

4. What then is the meaning of what is said? A little from the beginning I the whole story for you

wish to relate; for it is necessary to know in what circumstances Paul was when he wrote these things. In what circumstances, then, was he at that time? In prison and in chains and in unbearable dangers. From where is this clear? From the epistle itself. For above this he says: I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have turned out for the furtherance of the Gospel, so that my bonds in Christ have become manifest in all the

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ἁμαρτίας ᾖ συμβεβλημένη, εἰς πόσην οὐ κατακρημνίσαι δυνήσεται τὸν ἔχοντα αὐτὴν γέενναν; Ταῦτα λέγω, οὐχ ἵνα ἀμελῶμεν δικαιοσύνης, ἀλλ' ἵνα φύγωμεν ἀπόνοιαν· οὐχ ἵνα ἁμαρτάνωμεν ἀλλ' ἵνα μετριάζωμεν. Θεμέλιος γάρ ἐστι τῆς καθ' ἡμᾶς φιλοσοφίας ἡ ταπεινοφροσύνη. Κἂν μυρία ἄνωθεν οἰκοδομήσῃς, κἂν ἐλεημοσύνην, κἂν εὐχὰς, κἂν νηστείαν, κἂν πᾶσαν ἀρετὴν, ταύτης μὴ προκαταβληθείσης, πάντα εἰκῆ καὶ μάτην ἐποικοδομηθήσεται, καὶ καταπεσεῖται ῥᾳδίως κατὰ τὴν οἰκοδομὴν ἐκείνην τὴν ἐπὶ τῆς ψάμμου τεθεῖσαν. Οὐδὲν γάρ ἐστιν, οὐδὲν τῶν ἡμετέρων κατορθωμάτων, ὃ οὐ ταύτης δεῖται· οὐδέν ἐστιν, ὃ χωρὶς ταύτης στῆναι δυνήσεται. Ἀλλὰ κἂν σωφροσύνην εἴπῃς, κἂν παρθενίαν, κἂν χρημάτων ὑπεροψίαν, κἂν ὁτιοῦν, πάντα 51.313 ἀκάθαρτα καὶ ἐναγῆ καὶ βδελυρὰ ταπεινοφροσύνης ἀπούσης. Πανταχοῦ τοίνυν αὐτὴν παραλαμβάνωμεν, ἐν ῥήμασιν, ἐν πράγμασιν, ἐν ἐνθυμήμασι, καὶ μετὰ ταύτης ταῦτα οἰκοδομῶμεν.

γʹ. Ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν περὶ ταπεινοφροσύνης ἱκανῶς εἴρηται, οὐ πρὸς τὴν ἀξίαν τοῦ

κατορθώματος· οὐδεὶς γὰρ αὐτὴν κατ' ἀξίαν ὑμνῆσαι δυνήσεται· ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὴν σύνεσιν τῆς ὑμετέρας ἀγάπης. Εὖ γὰρ οἶδ' ὅτι καὶ ἀπὸ ὀλίγων τῶν εἰρημένων μετὰ πολλῆς αὐτὴν ἐπισπάσεσθε τῆς σπουδῆς. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἀνάγκη καὶ τὴν ἀποστολικὴν ῥῆσιν τὴν σήμερον ἀναγνωσθεῖσαν, πολλοῖς δοκοῦσαν παρέχειν ῥᾳθυμίας πρόφασιν, ποιῆσαι φανερὰν καὶ δήλην, ὥστε μὴ ψυχράν τινα ἀπολογίαν ἐντεῦθέν τινας ποριζομένους τῆς οἰκείας ἀμελεῖν σωτηρίας, φέρε, ἐπὶ ταύτην τὸν λόγον ἀγάγωμεν. Τίς οὖν ἐστιν ἡ ῥῆσις; Εἶτε προφάσει, φησὶν, εἴτε ἀληθείᾳ Χριστὸς καταγγέλλεται. Τοῦτο πολλοὶ περιφέρουσιν ἁπλῶς καὶ ὡς ἔτυχεν, οὐ τὰ πρότερα, οὐ τὰ μετὰ ταῦτα ἀναγινώσκοντες· ἀλλὰ τῆς ἀκολουθίας τῶν λοιπῶν ἀποκόψαντες μελῶν ἐπ' ὀλέθρῳ τῆς ἑαυτῶν ψυχῆς τοῖς ῥᾳθυμοτέροις προβάλλονται. Ἐπιχειροῦντες γὰρ αὐτοὺς τῆς ὑγιοῦς ἀπάγειν πίστεως, εἶτα ὁρῶντες δεδοικότας καὶ τρέμοντας, ὡς οὐκ ἀκίνδυνον ὂν τοῦτο ποιεῖν, καὶ βουλόμενοι τὸν φόβον αὐτῶν ἐκλῦσαι, τὴν ἀποστολικὴν ταύτην παράγουσιν ῥῆσιν, λέγοντες· Ὁ Παῦλος συνεχώρησε τοῦτο, εἰπών· Εἴτε προφάσει, εἴτε ἀληθείᾳ Χριστὸς καταγγελλέσθω.

Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἔστι ταῦτα, οὐκ ἔστι. Πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ οὐκ εἴρηκε, καταγγελλέσθω, ἀλλὰ, καταγγέλλεται· πολὺ δὲ τὸ μέσον τούτου κἀκείνου. Τὸ μὲν γὰρ εἰπεῖν, καταγγελλέσθω, νομοθετοῦντός ἐστι· τὸ δὲ εἰπεῖν, καταγγέλλεται, τὸ συμβαῖνον ἀπαγγέλλοντος. Ὅτι δὲ οὐ νομοθετεῖ Παῦλος αἱρέσεις εἶναι, ἀλλὰ ἀπάγει πάντας τοὺς αὐτῷ προσέχοντας, ἄκουσον τί φησιν· Εἴ τις ὑμᾶς εὐαγγελίζεται παρ' ὃ παρελάβετε, ἀνάθεμα ἔστω, κἂν ἐγὼ, κἂν ἄγγελος ἐξ οὐρανῶν. Οὐκ ἂν δὲ ἀνεθεμάτισε καὶ ἑαυτὸν καὶ ἄγγελον, εἰ τὸ πρᾶγμα ἀκίνδυνον ᾔδει. Καὶ πάλιν, Ζηλῶ γὰρ ὑμᾶς Θεοῦ ζήλῳ, φησίν· ἡρμοσάμην γὰρ ὑμᾶς ἑνὶ ἀνδρὶ παρθένον ἁγνήν. Φοβοῦμαι δὲ μήποτε ὡς ὁ ὄφις Εὔαν ἠπάτησεν ἐν τῇ πανουργίᾳ αὐτοῦ, οὕτω φθαρῇ τὰ νοήματα ὑμῶν ἀπὸ τῆς ἁπλότητος τῆς εἰς τὸν Χριστόν. Ἰδοὺ καὶ ἁπλότητα τέθεικε, καὶ συγγνώμην οὐκ ἔδωκεν. Εἰ γὰρ ἦν συγγνώμη, κίνδυνος οὐκ ἦν· εἰ δὲ κίνδυνος οὐκ ἦν, οὐκ ἂν ἐφοβήθη Παῦλος· καὶ οὐχ ὁ Χριστὸς δὲ τὰ ζιζάνια κἂν ἐκέλευσε κατακαῆναι, εἰ πρᾶγμα ἀδιάφορον ἦν καὶ τούτῳ, κἀκείνῳ, καὶ ἑτέρῳ προσέχειν, καὶ πᾶσιν ἁπλῶς.

δʹ. Τί ποτ' οὖν ἐστι τὸ λεγόμενον; Μικρὸν ἄνωθεν ὑμῖν τὴν ἱστορίαν ἅπασαν

διηγήσασθαι βούλομαι· δεῖ γὰρ εἰδέναι ἐν τίσιν ὁ Παῦλος ἦν, ἡνίκα ταῦτα ἐπέστελλεν. Ἐν τίσι τοίνυν ἦν τότε; Ἐν δεσμωτηρίῳ καὶ ἁλύσεσι καὶ κινδύνοις ἀφορήτοις. Πόθεν τοῦτο δῆλον; Ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς ἐπιστολῆς. Ἀνωτέρω γὰρ τούτου φησί· Γινώσκειν δὲ ὑμᾶς βούλομαι, ἀδελφοὶ, ὅτι τὰ κατ' ἐμὲ μᾶλλον εἰς προκοπὴν τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου ἐλήλυθεν, ὥστε τοὺς δεσμούς μου φανεροὺς ἐν Χριστῷ γενέσθαι ἐν ὅλῳ