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my soul shall live because of you. What is this, O holy patriarch? Do you overlook the woman being dishonored, and the marriage bed being wronged, and the marriage being undermined? Do you fear death so much, tell me? Not only do you overlook it, but you also weave deceit with your wife, and you play a part in the drama of this outrage, and you do everything so that the king of the Egyptians attempting the adultery might not be discovered, and taking from her the name of wife, you have put on her the mask of a sister? But I am afraid lest, while striving to undo the power of death, we may appear to be accusing the just man; therefore I will try to do both: to show the weakness of death, and to snatch him away from this accusation. But first it is necessary to show that he feared death, and then to acquit him of the charges. Let us see, then, what an unbearable and terrible thing he endured; for to see one's wife being dishonored, and to behold her being committed to adultery is more unbearable than ten thousand 50.631 deaths. And why do I say committed to adultery? Even if he possesses in his soul but a mere thought of suspicion about her, his whole life becomes unlivable. For the passion of jealousy is for him an unconquerable fire and flame; and someone indicating its tyrannical and inexorable nature said: For the wrath of her husband is full of jealousy; he will not exchange his enmity for any ransom, nor will he spare in the day of judgment, nor will he be appeased by many gifts. And again elsewhere: Jealousy is cruel as the grave; for just as it is not possible, he says, to persuade Hades with money, so it is not possible to comfort and reconcile a jealous man.

Indeed, many have often given up their own lives in order to find the adulterer; and they would gladly taste the blood of the man who dishonored their wife, and would choose to do and suffer anything for this reason; but nevertheless the just man endured this unbearable passion, this tyrannical and inexorable thing, with even greater excess, and he overlooks his wife being dishonored because of the fear of death and its end.

2. That he feared death, then, is clear from this; but it is now time

to acquit him of the charges and of the accusation on this matter, first stating the accusation itself. What then is the accusation? He ought, it is said, to have died rather than to overlook his wife being dishonored; and this is what some accuse him of: that he chose rather to save his own life than the chastity of his wife. What are you saying? That he should have died rather than overlook his wife being dishonored? And what would have been gained? For if by dying he was going to rescue his wife from the outrage, you say these things well; but if by dying he would not help his wife at all toward deliverance from the outrage, for what reason does he vainly and simply betray his own safety? For so that you may learn that not even by dying was he going to rescue her from adultery, hear what he says: And it shall be that when the Egyptians see you, they will spare you, but me they will kill. Two dreadful things, therefore, were about to happen: adultery, and murder; and it was a matter of no small intelligence to gain at least one of these two things. For if—for I will say the same thing again—by giving up his own life he was going to deliver her from the outrage, and if after they killed the just man they would not touch Sarah, you would have accused him rightly; but if, even after he died, his wife was going to be dishonored just the same, for what reason do you accuse the just man, who, when two terrible things were about to happen—adultery and murder—prevented one of them through his wisdom, I mean the homicide? For he ought to be praised for this, that he kept the hand of the adulterer clean of blood. For you could not even say that, by her saying, 'I am his sister,' she drew the Egyptian to the outrage; for even if she had said, 'I am his wife,' not even then was he going to

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ζήσεται ἡ ψυχή μου ἕνεκεν σοῦ. Τί τοῦτο, ὦ ἅγιε καὶ πατριάρχα; περιορᾷς τὸ γύναιον ὑβριζόμενον, καὶ τὴν εὐνὴν ἀδικουμένην, καὶ τὸν γάμον διορυττόμενον; οὕτω δέδοικας, εἰπέ μοι, τὸν θάνατον; οὐ περιορᾷς δὲ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ πλέκεις δόλον μετὰ τῆς γυναικὸς, καὶ συνυποκρίνῃ τὸ δρᾶμα τῆς ὕβρεως, καὶ πῶς μὴ γένηται κατάδηλος ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν Αἰγυπτίων ἐπιχειρῶν τῇ μοιχείᾳ πάντα πράττεις, καὶ περιελὼν αὐτὴν τὸ ὄνομα τῆς γυναικὸς, περιέθηκας αὐτῇ τὸ προσωπεῖον τῆς ἀδελφῆς; Ἀλλὰ γὰρ δέδοικα μὴ θανάτου σπουδάζοντες παραλῦσαι δύναμιν, φανῶμεν τοῦ δικαίου κατηγοροῦντες· διόπερ ἀμφότερα ποιῆσαι πειράσομαι, καὶ τοῦ θανάτου δεῖξαι τὴν ἀσθένειαν, καὶ τοῦτον τῆς κατηγορίας ἐξαρπάσαι ταύτης. Πρότερον δὲ αὐτὸν ἀναγκαῖον δεῖξαι δεδοικότα τὸν θάνατον, καὶ τότε ἀπαλλάξαι τῶν ἐγκλημάτων. Ἴδωμεν τοίνυν ὅσον πρᾶγμα ὑπέμεινεν ἀφόρητον καὶ δεινόν· τὸ γὰρ γυναῖκα ὑβριζομένην ἰδεῖν, καὶ μοιχευομένην θεάσασθαι μυρίων 50.631 θανάτων ἀφορητότερόν ἐστι. Καὶ τί λέγω μοιχευομένην; κἂν ψιλήν τινα ἔννοιαν ὑποψίας περὶ αὐτῆς ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ κέκτηται, ἀβίωτος ὁ βίος αὐτῷ ἅπας γίνεται. Πῦρ γὰρ αὐτῷ καὶ φλόξ ἐστιν ἀκαταγώνιστος τὸ τῆς ζηλοτυπίας πάθος· καὶ τὸ τυραννικὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀπαραίτητον δηλῶν τις ἔλεγε· Μεστὸς γὰρ ζήλου θυμὸς ἀνδρὸς αὐτῆς· οὐκ ἀνταλλάξεται οὐδενὸς λύτρου τὴν ἔχθραν, οὐδὲ μὴ φείσηται ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κρίσεως, οὐδ' οὐ μὴ διαλυθῇ πολλῶν δώρων. Καὶ πάλιν ἀλλαχοῦ· Σκληρὸς ὡς ᾅδης ζῆλος· ὥσπερ γὰρ οὐκ ἔστι, φησὶ, τὸν ᾅδην χρήμασι πεῖσαι, οὕτως οὐδὲ τὸν ζηλοτυποῦντα παραμυθήσασθαι καὶ καταλλάξαι.

Πολλοὶ γοῦν πολλάκις καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν προήκαντο τὴν ἑαυτῶν, ὥστε τὸν μοιχὸν εὑρεῖν· καὶ τοῦ αἵματος δὲ αὐτοῦ ἡδέως ἂν ἀπογεύσαιντο τοῦ τὴν γυναῖκα ὑβρικότος ἀνδρὸς, καὶ πάντα ἂν ἕλοιντο καὶ ποιῆσαι καὶ παθεῖν διὰ τοῦτο· ἀλλ' ὅμως τοῦτο τὸ ἀφόρητον πάθος, τοῦτο τὸ τυραννικὸν καὶ ἀπαραίτητον ὑπέμεινεν ὁ δίκαιος μετὰ πλείονος ὑπερβολῆς, καὶ περιορᾷ τὴν γυναῖκα ὑβριζομένην διὰ τὸν φόβον τοῦ θανάτου καὶ τῆς τελευτῆς.

βʹ. Ὅτι μὲν οὖν ἐδεδοίκει τὸν θάνατον ἐκ τούτου δῆλον· ὥρα δὲ λοιπὸν

αὐτὸν ἀπαλλάξαι τῶν ἐγκλημάτων καὶ τῆς κατηγορίας τῆς ἐπὶ τούτῳ, πρότερον αὐτὴν εἰπόντα τὴν κατηγορίαν. Τίς οὖν ἐστιν ἡ κατηγορία; Ἔδει, φησὶν, αὐτὸν ἀποθανεῖν μᾶλλον, ἢ περιιδεῖν τὴν γυναῖκα ὑβριζομένην· καὶ τοῦτό ἐστιν ὃ κατηγοροῦσί τινες· ὅτι εἵλετο μᾶλλον τὴν ἑαυτοῦ διασῶσαι ζωὴν, ἢ τὴν σωφροσύνην τῆς γυναικός. Τί λέγεις; ἔδει μᾶλλον αὐτὸν ἀποθανεῖν, ἢ τὴν γυναῖκα περιιδεῖν ὑβριζομένην; Καὶ τί πλέον ἐγίγνετο; εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἔμελλεν ἀποθνήσκων ἐξαρπάζειν τὴν γυναῖκα τῆς ὕβρεως, καλῶς ταῦτά φατε· εἰ δὲ ἀποθανὼν οὐδὲν ὠφελεῖ τὴν γυναῖκα πρὸς τὴν τῆς ὕβρεως ἀπαλλαγὴν, τίνος ἕνεκεν εἰκῆ καὶ ἁπλῶς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ προδίδωσι σωτηρίαν; Ἵνα γὰρ μάθῃς, ὅτι οὐδὲ ἀποθανὼν ἔμελλεν ἐξαρπάζειν αὐτὴν τῆς μοιχείας, ἄκουσον τί φησι· Καὶ ἔσται ὡς ἄν σε ἴδωσιν οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι, σὲ μὲν περιποιήσονται, ἐμὲ δὲ ἀποκτενοῦσι. ∆ύο τοίνυν ἔμελλε γίνεσθαι ἄτοπα, μοιχεία, καὶ φόνος· οὐ τῆς τυχούσης δὲ ἦν συνέσεως ἐκ τῶν δύο τούτων ἓν γοῦν κερδᾶναι. Εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἔμελλε πάλιν γὰρ τὸ αὐτὸ ἐρῶ τὴν ψυχὴν ἐπιδοὺς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἀπαλλάττειν ἐκείνην τῆς ὕβρεως, καὶ ἀποκτείναντες ἐκεῖνοι τὸν δίκαιον τῆς Σάῤῥας οὐχ ἥπτοντο, καλῶς ἐνεκάλεις· εἰ δὲ καὶ ἀποθανόντος αὐτοῦ, ὁμοίως ἔμελλεν ὑβρίζεσθαι ἡ γυνὴ, τίνος ἕνεκεν τοῦ δικαίου κατηγορεῖς, ὅς γε δύο μελλόντων συμβαίνειν δεινῶν μοιχείας καὶ φόνου, θάτερον διὰ τῆς αὐτοῦ σοφίας ἐκώλυσε, τὸ τῆς ἀνδροφονίας λέγω; Ὑπὲρ γὰρ τούτου καὶ ἐπαινεῖσθαι αὐτὸν ἔδει, ὅτι καθαρὰν ἐτήρησεν αἵματος τὴν τοῦ μοιχοῦ χεῖρα. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐκεῖνο ἂν ἔχοις εἰπεῖν, ὅτι τῷ εἰπεῖν αὐτὴν, ὅτι ἀδελφὴ αὐτοῦ εἰμι, τούτῳ ἐπεσπάσατο τὸν Αἰγύπτιον πρὸς τὴν ὕβριν· καὶ γὰρ εἰ εἶπεν, ὅτι γυνὴ αὐτοῦ εἰμι, οὐδὲ οὕτως ἔμελλεν