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52.795 and let us celebrate this manifest and splendid festival, since we have all in common enjoyed the gift from him.

Just as a benevolent master, having loved his own servant, on account of his affection for him does not refuse to put on his garment; so also our Master Christ, having loved our nature, and having seen it brought down to the depth of wickedness, and having no hope of salvation, and needing much condescension, deigned to take up our body. And for this reason, having appeared to the world, he freed all men from error, and led them back to the truth; and he cries out in the Gospel, saying: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance. What therefore he willed, he achieved, and he raised up human nature lying somewhere below, and showed such philanthropy that human reasoning cannot contain the account of what has happened.

For how, tell me, were we who had offended, who appeared unworthy of the earth, and who had fallen from our former dominion, suddenly raised to such a height? How was the war ended? How was the wrath abolished? For this is the wonderful thing and full of much amazement, that it was not we who ran to him, but he himself, who was justly indignant with us, who pleaded for us, and so peace was made. And Paul cries out, saying: We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us. Have you seen such resourceful wisdom? Have you seen the ineffable philanthropy of the Master? Have you seen such surpassing care? Now the sting of death has been dissolved; now the victory of Hades has been shattered; now the dominion of death has been abolished; now the enmity has been destroyed; now the long war has been extinguished; men then were made like angels, men were mingled with angels, and a great bond of fellowship between each name has been established. For the common Master ascended, having reconciled his own Father to the race of men. And that for this reason he ascended, hear him saying: It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Paraclete will not come to you. And as a sign of the reconciliation, he promises to give us the presence of the Paraclete. For see also how precisely he added what follows: And he, he says, will guide you into all the truth; clearly, those who are wandering and being led about here and there, the Holy Spirit, being sent down, will guide us all to the truth. For since he was angered, and we were thus turning away from the benevolent Master, our Master Christ, throwing himself in the middle, brought about the reconciliation. For he truly broke down the middle wall of the partition. Therefore we henceforth have good hopes, looking to the Lord, the firstfruits of our nature.

For whatever you might say henceforth, I no longer fear, whether you say worm, or dust, or fire, or punishment, or gnashing of teeth, or ashes, or whatever you might say to me, all are contemptible to me as I look upon my firstfruits sitting above, and all but conversing with and crying out to all men: Desist henceforth from indolence, and recognize your own noble birth, considering the measure of the gifts, of which you are about to receive a share before long. For, being assembled together with them, he commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father. See in this also the Master's care; for seeing the weakness of human nature, and that it needs much alliance, he bestowed the help of the Holy Spirit, so that man might become unconquerable against the schemes of the devil. And the same thing has happened, just as if some excellent general, seeing the soldiers ranked under him not bearing the threats of the enemy, but being utterly terrified by the struggle, should strengthen them all, fencing them round on all sides with a breastplate and shield and helmet, and with the rest

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52.795 καὶ τὴν περιφανῆ ταύτην καὶ λαμπρὰν ἑορτάζωμεν πανήγυριν, ἐπειδὴ καὶ κοινῇ πάντες τῆς ὑπ' αὐτοῦ δωρεᾶς ἀπηλαύσαμεν.

Καθάπερ δὲ δεσπότης φιλάνθρωπος ἀγαπήσας τὸν ἴδιον οἰκέτην, διὰ τὸ περὶ αὐτὸν φίλτρον οὐ παραιτεῖται τὸ ἱμάτιον αὐτοῦ περιβάλλεσθαι· οὕτω καὶ ὁ ∆εσπότης ἡμῶν Χριστὸς ἀγαπήσας τὴν φύσιν τὴν ἡμετέραν, καὶ θεασάμενος εἰς βυθὸν κακίας κατενεχθεῖσαν, καὶ οὐδεμίαν ἐλπίδα σωτηρίας ἔχουσαν, καὶ πολλῆς δεομένην τῆς συγκαταβάσεως, κατηξίωσε τὸ σῶμα τὸ ἡμέτερον ἀναλαβεῖν. Καὶ διὰ τοῦτο φανεὶς τῷ κόσμῳ, πάντας ἀνθρώπους ἀπὸ τῆς πλάνης ἠλευθέρωσε, καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐπανήγαγε· καὶ βοᾷ ἐν Εὐαγγελίῳ, λέγων· Οὐκ ἦλθον καλέσαι δικαίους, ἀλλὰ ἁμαρτωλοὺς, εἰς μετάνοιαν. Ὃ τοίνυν ἐβούλετο, κατώρθωσε, καὶ τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην φύσιν κάτω που κειμένην ἀνέστησε, καὶ τοσαύτην φιλανθρωπίαν ἐπεδείξατο, ὡς μὴ χωρεῖν ἀνθρώπινον λογισμὸν τὸν λόγον τῶν γενομένων.

Πῶς γὰρ, εἰπέ μοι, ἡμεῖς οἱ προσκεκρουκότες, οἱ τῆς γῆς ἀνάξιοι φανέντες, καὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς κάτωθεν ἐκπεσόντες, πρὸς τοσοῦτον ὕψος ἀθρόον ἀνήχθημεν; πῶς ὁ πόλεμος κατελύθη; πῶς ἡ ὀργὴ ἀνῃρέθη; Τὸ γὰρ θαυμαστὸν καὶ πολλῆς ἐκπλήξεως γέμον τοῦτό ἐστιν, ὅτι οὐχ ἡμῶν προσδραμόντων, ἀλλ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ δικαίως πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἀγανακτοῦντος, παρακαλέσαντος ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν, καὶ οὕτως ἡ εἰρήνη γέγονεν. Καὶ βοᾷ Παῦλος λέγων· Ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ πρεσβεύομεν, ὡς τοῦ Θεοῦ παρακαλοῦντος δι' ἡμῶν. Εἶδες εὐμήχανον σοφίαν; εἶδες ἄφατον φιλανθρωπίαν ∆εσπότου; εἶδες κηδεμονίαν ὑπερβάλλουσαν; Νῦν τὸ κέντρον τοῦ θανάτου διελύθη· νῦν τοῦ ᾅδου τὸ νῖκος διεῤῥάγη· νῦν τοῦ θανάτου ἡ δυναστεία κατήργηται· νῦν ἡ ἔχθρα καταλέλυται· νῦν ὁ χρόνιος ἔσβεσται πόλεμος· ἄνθρωποι τότε ἀγγέλοις ὡμοιώθησαν, ἄνθρωποι τοῖς ἀγγέλοις ἀνεμίγησαν, καὶ πολὺς παρ' ἑκατέρας τῆς ὁμωνυμίας ὁ σύνδεσμος πεπολίτευται. Ἀνῆλθε γὰρ ὁ κοινὸς ∆εσπότης καταλλάξας τὸν ἑαυτοῦ Πατέρα τῷ τῶν ἀνθρώπων γένει. Καὶ ὅτι διὰ τοῦτο ἀνῆλθεν, ἄκουσον αὐτοῦ λέγοντος· Συμφέρει ὑμῖν, ἵνα ἐγὼ ἀπέλθω· ἐὰν γὰρ μὴ ἐγὼ ἀπέλθω, ὁ Παράκλητος οὐκ ἐλεύσεται πρὸς ὑμᾶς. Καὶ σημεῖον τῆς καταλλαγῆς ἐπαγγέλλεται δώσειν ἡμῖν τὴν τοῦ Παρακλήτου παρουσίαν. Ὅρα γὰρ καὶ τὸ ἐπαγόμενον πῶς ἀκριβῶς προσέθηκεν· Καὶ αὐτὸς, φησὶν, ὁδηγήσει ὑμᾶς εἰς πᾶσαν τὴν ἀλήθειαν· δηλονότι πλανωμένους, καὶ ὧδε κἀκεῖσε περιαγομένους, καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον καταπεμφθὲν ἅπαντας ἡμᾶς πρὸς τὴν ἀλήθειαν ὁδηγήσει. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ αὐτὸς ὠργίζετο, ἡμεῖς δὲ καὶ οὕτως ἀπεστρεφόμεθα τὸν φιλάνθρωπον ∆εσπότην, μέσον ἑαυτὸν ἐμβαλὼν ὁ ∆εσπότης ἡμῶν Χριστὸς, τὴν καταλλαγὴν εἰργάσατο. Ἔλυσε γὰρ ἀληθῶς τὸ μεσότοιχον τοῦ φραγμοῦ. ∆ιὸ χρηστὰς ἔχομεν λοιπὸν τὰς ἐλπίδας πρὸς τὸν τῆς ἡμετέρας ἀπαρχῆς ἀφορῶντες Κύριον.

Ὅπερ ἂν γὰρ λοιπὸν εἴποις, οὐκ ἔτι δέδοικα, κἂν σκώληκα εἴποις, κἂν κόνιν, κἂν πῦρ, κἂν κόλασιν, κἂν βρυγμὸν ὀδόντων, κἂν τέφραν, κἂν ὁτιοῦν μοι εἴποις, πάντα μοι εὐκαταφρόνητα ἐπὶ ἀπαρχὴν τὴν ἐμὴν ὁρῶντι ἄνω καθημένην, καὶ μονονουχὶ πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις διαλεγομένην καὶ βοῶσαν· Ἀπόστητε τῆς ῥᾳθυμίας λοιπὸν, καὶ ἐπίγνωτε τὴν ἑαυτῶν εὐγένειαν, ἐννοήσαντες, τὸ μέτρον τῶν δωρεῶν, ὧν μετ' οὐ πολὺ τὴν μετουσίαν ὑποδέχεσθαι μέλλετε. Συναυλιζόμενος γὰρ αὐτοῖς παρήγγειλεν ἀπὸ Ἱεροσολύμων μὴ χωρίζεσθαι, ἀλλὰ περιμένειν τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν τοῦ Πατρός. Ὅρα καὶ ἐν τούτῳ κηδεμονίαν ∆εσπότου· ἰδὼν γὰρ τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως τὴν ἀσθένειαν, καὶ ὅτι πολλῆς δεῖται συμμαχίας, ἐχαρίσατο τὴν τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος βοήθειαν, ἵνα ἀκαταγώνιστος γένηται ὁ ἄνθρωπος πρὸς τὰς τοῦ διαβόλου μηχανάς. Καὶ ταυτὸν γέγονεν, ὥσπερ ἂν εἴ τις στρατηγὸς ἄριστος ἰδὼν τοὺς ὑπ' αὐτὸν ταττομένους στρατιώτας, οὐ φέροντας τὰς τῶν ἐναντίων ἀπειλὰς, ἀλλὰ καταπεπληγμένους ὑπὸ τῆς ἀγωνίας, ἅπαντας αὐτοὺς ἐπιῤῥώσειεν, περιφράξας πανταχόθεν θώρακι καὶ ἀσπίδι καὶ περικεφαλαίᾳ, καὶ τῇ λοιπῇ