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this has enjoyed greater care. For those who dwell in the cities enjoy continuous teaching, but those living in the country do not partake of so great an abundance. Therefore God, consoling the poverty of teachers with the abundance of martyrs, arranged for more martyrs to be buried among them. They do not hear the tongue of teachers continually, but the voice of martyrs speaking to them from the tomb and having a greater power. And that you may learn that martyrs have greater power even when silent than we who speak, many, often speaking to many about virtue, accomplished nothing; but others, while silent, have achieved the greatest things through the splendor of their life; so that much more the martyrs have accomplished this, not uttering a voice with the tongue, but one through their deeds themselves which is much loftier than that from the mouth, through which they speak to all human nature, saying these words: Look upon us, what terrible things we suffered. For what did we suffer, being condemned to death, and finding eternal life? We were deemed worthy to lay aside our bodies for Christ's sake; but if we had not yielded them up now for Christ's sake, a little later we were destined, even unwillingly, to be separated from them because of this temporary life. Even if martyrdom had not intervened and taken them, still the common death of nature, coming upon us, would have destroyed them. For these reasons we do not cease giving thanks to God, that He deemed us worthy to make use of the death that was in any case owed for the salvation of our souls, and He received from us that which was owed by necessity in the manner of a gift, and with the greatest honor. But the tortures are burdensome, and grievous. But they are for a brief moment of time, while the relief from these things is in the immortal ages; or rather, the tortures are not burdensome even for a brief moment of time for those who look to the things to come, and who gaze upon the judge of the contest. Since indeed the blessed Stephen, because he saw Christ with the eyes of faith, for this reason did not see the showers of stones, but instead of them was counting the prizes and the crowns. You therefore also turn your eye from present things to the future, and you will not have even a brief sensation of the terrible things. 2. These things and more than these the martyrs say, and they persuade much more than we do. For if I should say that torture has nothing burdensome in it, I am not credible in saying these things; for to philosophize on such things in word is not at all difficult; but the martyr, uttering a voice through deeds, has no one to contradict him. And just as it happens in 50.648 the baths, when the pool boils with hot waters and no one dares to go down, as long as those sitting on the edge exhort one another with words, they persuade no one the more; but when one of them either puts in his hand, or lowering his foot, with courage plunges in his whole body, while silent he would persuade those sitting above to dare the pool more than the many who are speaking; so also in the case of the martyrs. For here too, instead of the pool of waters, the pyre is set forth. Those therefore standing around outside, even if they should exhort with ten thousand words, do not strongly persuade; but when one of the martyrs lowers not only his foot, nor his hand, but plunges in his whole body, offering the proof through deeds, more powerful than all exhortation and counsel, he casts out the anguish of those standing around. Do you see how more powerful is the voice of the martyrs, even when they are silent? For this reason God has left to us their bodies; for this reason, having conquered long ago, they have not yet risen even now, but they endured their contests so long ago

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τοῦτο πλείονος ἀπήλαυσε τῆς θεραπείας. Οἱ μὲν γὰρ τὰς πόλεις οἰκοῦντες συνεχοῦς ἀπολαύουσι διδασκαλίας, οἱ δὲ ἐν ἀγροικίᾳ ζῶντες, οὐ τοσαύτης μετέχουσιν ἀφθονίας. Τὴν πενίαν τοίνυν τῶν διδασκόντων ἐν τῇ δαψιλείᾳ τῶν μαρτύρων παραμυθούμενος ὁ Θεὸς, ᾠκονόμησε πλείους παρ' ἐκείνοις ταφῆναι μάρτυρας. Οὐκ ἀκούουσι διδασκάλων γλώττης ἐκεῖνοι διηνεκῶς, ἀλλὰ μαρτύρων φωνῆς ἀπὸ τοῦ τάφου διαλεγομένης αὐτοῖς καὶ μείζονα ἰσχὺν ἐχούσης. Καὶ ἵνα μάθητε, ὅτι μείζονα ἰσχὺν ἔχουσι μάρτυρες καὶ σιωπῶντες ἡμῶν τῶν φθεγγομένων, πολλοὶ πολλάκις διαλεγόμενοι πολλοῖς περὶ ἀρετῆς οὐδὲν ἤνυσαν· ἕτεροι δὲ σιγῶντες μέγιστα κατώρθωσαν διὰ τὴν τοῦ βίου λαμπρότητα· ὥστε πολλῷ πλέον οἱ μάρτυρες τοῦτο εἰργάσαντο, τὴν μὲν διὰ τῆς γλώττης οὐκ ἀφιέντες φωνὴν, τὴν δὲ διὰ τῶν πραγμάτων αὐτῶν πολὺ τῆς ἀπὸ τοῦ στόματος οὖσαν ὑψηλοτέραν, δι' ἧς πρὸς πᾶσαν τὴν τῶν ἀνθρώπων διαλέγονται φύσιν, ταῦτα τὰ ῥήματα λέγοντες· Ἐμβλέψατε εἰς ἡμᾶς, ὅσα ἐπάθομεν δεινά. Τί γὰρ ἐπάθομεν θανάτῳ καταδικασθέντες, καὶ ζωὴν εὑρόντες διηνεκῆ; Κατηξιώθημεν ἀποθέσθαι τὰ σώματα διὰ τὸν Χριστόν· εἰ δὲ διὰ τὸν Χριστὸν μὴ παρεχωρήσαμεν αὐτῶν νῦν, μικρὸν ὕστερον ἐμέλλομεν καὶ ἄκοντες αὐτῶν ἀποστήσεσθαι τῆς προσκαίρου ζωῆς. Εἰ καὶ μὴ μαρτύριον παρελθὸν ἔλαβεν, ἀλλ' ὁ κοινὸς τῆς φύσεως θάνατος ἐπελθὼν κατέλυσεν αὐτά. ∆ιὰ ταῦτα οὐ παυόμεθα εὐχαριστοῦντες τῷ Θεῷ, ὅτι κατηξίωσεν ἡμᾶς τῷ πάντως ὀφειλομένῳ θανάτῳ πρὸς σωτηρίαν τῶν ἡμετέρων ἀποχρήσασθαι ψυχῶν, καὶ τὸ κατ' ἀνάγκην ὀφειλόμενον ἐν δωρεᾶς τάξει ἔλαβε παρ' ἡμῶν, καὶ μετὰ τῆς μεγίστης τιμῆς. Ἀλλ' αἱ βάσανοι φορτικαὶ, καὶ ἐπαχθεῖς. Ἀλλ' ἐν βραχείᾳ καιροῦ ῥοπῇ, ἡ δὲ ἐκ τούτων ἄνεσις ἐν τοῖς ἀθανάτοις αἰῶσι· μᾶλλον δὲ οὐδὲ ἐν βραχείᾳ καιροῦ ῥοπῇ φορτικαὶ αἱ βάσανοι τοῖς εἰς τὰ μέλλοντα βλέπουσι, καὶ πρὸς τὸν ἀγωνοθέτην κεχηνόσιν. Ἐπεὶ καὶ ὁ μακάριος Στέφανος, ἐπειδὴ τὸν Χριστὸν ἑώρα τοῖς τῆς πίστεως ὀφθαλμοῖς, διὰ τοῦτο τῶν λίθων τὰς νιφάδας οὐκ εἶδεν, ἀλλ' ἀντ' ἐκείνων τὰ βραβεῖα καὶ τοὺς στεφάνους ἠρίθμει. Καὶ σὺ τοίνυν μετάστησον ἀπὸ τῶν παρόντων πρὸς τὸ μέλλον τὸ ὄμμα, καὶ οὐδὲ βραχεῖαν τῶν δεινῶν λήψῃ τὴν αἴσθησιν. βʹ. Ταῦτα καὶ πλείονα τούτων οἱ μάρτυρες λέγουσι, καὶ πείθουσι πολλῷ μᾶλλον, ἢ ἡμεῖς. Ἐγὼ μὲν γὰρ ἂν εἴπω ὅτι οὐδὲν ἔχει φορτικὸν ἡ βάσανος, οὐκ εἰμὶ ἀξιόπιστος ταῦτα λέγων· λόγῳ γὰρ τὰ τοιαῦτα φιλοσοφεῖν οὐδὲν δύσκολον· ὁ δὲ μάρτυς τὴν διὰ τῶν πραγμάτων φωνὴν ἀφιεὶς, οὐδένα ἔχει τὸν ἀντιλέγοντα. Καὶ καθάπερ ἐπὶ τῶν βαλανείων γίνεται ἔν 50.648 δον, ὅταν ἀναζέῃ τῶν θερμῶν ὑδάτων ἡ κολυμβήθρα, καὶ μηδεὶς θαῤῥῇ καταβαίνειν, ἕως μὲν ἂν διὰ λόγων παρακαλῶσιν ἀλλήλους οἱ ἐπὶ τοῦ χείλους καθήμενοι, οὐδένα μᾶλλον πείθουσιν· ἐπειδὰν δὲ εἷς τις ἐξ αὐτῶν ἢ τὴν χεῖρα καθίῃ, ἢ τὸν πόδα χαλάσας μετὰ τοῦ θαῤῥεῖν ὅλον ἐναφίῃ τὸ σῶμα, σιγῶν τῶν πολλὰ φθεγγομένων μᾶλλον ἂν ἔπεισε τοὺς ἄνω καθημένους κατατολμῆσαι τῆς κολυμβήθρας· οὕτω καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν μαρτύρων· καὶ γὰρ ἐνταῦθα ἀντὶ τῆς κολυμβήθρας τῶν ὑδάτων ἡ πυρὰ πρόκειται. Οἱ μὲν οὖν ἔξωθεν περιεστηκότες κἂν μυρίοις λόγοις παρακαλῶσιν, οὐ σφόδρα πείθουσιν· ὅταν δὲ εἷς τις τῶν μαρτύρων μὴ τὸν πόδα, μηδὲ τὴν χεῖρα μόνον χαλάσῃ κάτω, ἀλλ' ὅλον ἐπαφῇ τὸ σῶμα, πάσης παραινέσεως καὶ συμβουλῆς δυνατωτέραν παρεχόμενος τὴν διὰ τῶν πραγμάτων πεῖραν, ἐκβάλλει τῶν περιεστηκότων τὴν ἀγωνίαν. Εἴδετε πῶς δυνατωτέρα καὶ σιγώντων ἡ φωνὴ τῶν μαρτύρων; ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ἀφῆκεν ἡμῖν τὰ σώματα αὐτῶν ὁ Θεός· διὰ τοῦτο πάλαι νικήσαντες, οὐδέπω καὶ νῦν ἀνέστησαν, ἀλλὰ τοὺς μὲν ἄθλους ὑπέμειναν πρὸ τοσούτου