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by all means, as your wealth is gradually drained away by outside meetings and lectures. And that these things are true, when you depart from here, make haste to see those who were absent today, and you will see how great is the difference between your cheerfulness and their despondency. A bride is not so beautiful and graceful sitting in the bridal chamber as is a soul, wonderful and glorious, appearing in the Church, breathing spiritual myrrh. For he who comes here with faith and zeal departs having received countless treasures; and if he only opens his mouth, he has immediately filled his companions with all fragrance and spiritual wealth; and if countless terrible things should befall him, he will bear them all easily, having taken from here a sufficient starting-point for endurance and philosophy from the divine Scriptures. And just as one who stands continually upon the rock laughs at the waves, so he who enjoys the continual assembly, and is watered by the divine words, as if having set himself upon the rock of the right judgment of things, will be captured by none of human affairs, having placed himself above the assault of worldly matters; not only from counsel, but also from prayer, and from a fatherly blessing, and from common synod, and from the love of the brethren, and from countless other things having reaped much benefit and spiritual refreshment, so he has departed, carrying countless good things home. See, therefore, how great a blessing you will enjoy today, and how great a loss they will suffer. For you will depart receiving the reward of martyrs; but they, in addition to being deprived of this gain, will also suffer another loss, dragging after them a great rubbish-heap of cares from unprofitable pastimes. For just as he who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward; so he who receives a martyr in the name of a martyr will receive a martyr's reward; and the reception of a martyr is to come together for his remembrance, to share in the narration of his contests, to marvel at what has happened, to emulate his virtue, to report his brave deeds to others. These are the hospitalities for martyrs; thus one receives these saints, just as you have done today.

2. Yesterday, then, our Master was baptized with water, but today the servant

is baptized with blood; yesterday the gates of heaven were opened, today the gates of Hades were trampled down. And do not be surprised that I have called martyrdom a baptism; for here too the Spirit descends with great abundance, and a removal of sins and a certain wonderful and extraordinary cleansing of the soul takes place; and just as those who are baptized with waters, so those who bear witness are washed in their own blood; 50.523 which indeed also happened in his case. But before the slaughter it is necessary to speak of the devil's craftiness. For when that one perceived that he laughed at every kind of punishment and torment, and that neither by lighting a furnace, nor digging a pit, nor preparing a wheel, nor raising him on the wood, nor throwing him down cliffs, nor casting him to the teeth of wild beasts was he able to overcome the saint's philosophy, he devised another, more grievous way, and went about seeking to find a punishment that would be at the same time both most severe and most prolonged. For since some unbearable torments provide the quickest release, while the more prolonged ones diminish the pain, he hastened to find a torment that had both things at once, both length and an unbearable excess of pain, so that by both the intensity and the length of time he might overthrow the firmness of his mind. And what does he do? He gives this saint over to famine; but you, when you hear of famine, do not pass over what is said lightly; for of all deaths, this is the most grievous. And those who have had experience are witnesses; for may we indeed never have experience; for we have been well taught to pray not to enter into

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πάντως, κατὰ μικρὸν ἐκ τῶν ἔξω συνεδρίων καὶ διαλέξεων ὑποσυρομένης σου τῆς εὐπορίας. Καὶ ὅτι ταῦτά ἐστιν ἀληθῆ, ἀνα χωροῦντες ἐντεῦθεν σπουδάσατε τοὺς σήμερον ἀπο λειφθέντας ἰδεῖν, καὶ ὄψεσθε πόσον τὸ μέσον τῆς ὑμετέρας εὐθυμίας καὶ τῆς ἐκείνων ἀθυμίας. Οὐχ οὕτως ἐστὶ νύμφη καλὴ καὶ ἐπίχαρις ἐν παστάδι καθημένη, ὡς ἔστι ψυχὴ θαυμαστὴ καὶ ἔνδοξος ἐν Ἐκκλησίᾳ φαινομένη, μύρων πνέουσα πνευματικῶν. Ὁ γὰρ ἐνταῦθα μετὰ πίστεως καὶ σπουδῆς παραγι νόμενος, μυρίους λαβὼν ἄπεισι θησαυρούς· κἂν ἀνοίξῃ τὸ στόμα μόνον, πάσης εὐωδίας εὐθέως καὶ πλούτου πνευματικοῦ τοὺς συγγινομένους ἐνέπλησε κἂν μυρία προσπέσῃ δεινὰ, πάντα οἴσει ῥᾳδίως, ἱκανὴν ἀφορμὴν ἀπὸ τῶν θείων Γραφῶν ὑπομονῆς καὶ φιλοσοφίας ἐντεῦθεν λαβών. Καὶ καθάπερ ὁ διηνεκῶς ἐπὶ τῆς πέτρας ἑστὼς τῶν κυμάτων καταγελᾷ, οὕτως ὁ συνάξεως ἀπολαύων διηνεκοῦς, καὶ τοῖς θείοις ἀρδευόμενος λόγοις, καθάπερ ἐπὶ πέ τρας τῆς ὀρθῆς τῶν πραγμάτων κρίσεως στήσας ἑαυ τὸν, οὐδενὶ τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων ἁλώσεται, ἀνώτερον τῆς τῶν βιωτικῶν πραγμάτων καταστήσας ἑαυτὸν ἐπιδρο μῆς· οὐκ ἀπὸ συμβουλῆς δὲ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀπὸ εὐχῆς, καὶ ἀπὸ πατρικῆς εὐλογίας, καὶ ἀπὸ κοινῆς συνόδου, καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἀγάπης, καὶ ἐξ ἑτέρων μυρίων πολλὴν ὠφέλειαν καὶ ψυχαγωγίαν καρπωσάμενος, οὕτως ἀνεχώρησε, μυρία οἴκαδε φέρων ἀγαθά. Ὅρα οὖν πόσης μὲν ὑμεῖς σήμερον ἀπολαύσεσθε τῆς εὐλογίας, πόσην δὲ ὑποστήσονται ἐκεῖνοι τὴν ζημίαν. Ὑμεῖς μὲν γὰρ μαρτύρων μισθὸν λαμβάνοντες ἀπελεύσεσθε· ἐκεῖνοι δὲ πρὸς τῷ τοῦ κέρδους ἀποστερηθῆναι τούτου, καὶ ἑτέραν ὑποστήσον ται ζημίαν, ἐκ τῶν ἀνονήτων διατριβῶν πολὺν φρον τίδων ἐπισυρόμενοι φορυτόν. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ὁ δεχό μενος προφήτην εἰς ὄνομα προφήτου, μισθὸν προφήτου λήψεται, καὶ ὁ δεχόμενος δίκαιον εἰς ὄνομα δικαίου, μισθὸν δικαίου λήψεται· οὕτως ὁ δεχόμενος μάρτυρα εἰς ὄνομα μάρτυρος, μισθὸν μάρτυρος λήψεται· ὑποδοχὴ δὲ μάρτυρος τὸ συνελθεῖν εἰς τὴν ἐκείνου μνήμην, τὸ κοινωνῆσαι τῆς διηγήσεως τῶν ἄθλων, τὸ θαυμάσαι τὰ γεγενημένα, τὸ ζηλῶσαι τὴν ἀρετὴν, τὸ εἰς ἑτέρους ἐξενεγκεῖν τὰς ἀνδραγαθίας τὰς ἐκείνου· ταῦτα τῶν μαρτύρων τὰ ξένια· οὕτω τοὺς ἁγίους τούτους τις ὑποδέχεται, καθάπερ οὖν καὶ ὑμεῖς τήμερον πεποιήκατε.

βʹ. Χθὲς μὲν οὖν ὁ ∆εσπότης ἡμῶν ὕδατι ἐβαπτίσατο, σήμερον δὲ ὁ δοῦλος

αἵματι βαπτίζεται· χθὲς ἠνεῴχθη σαν οὐρανοῦ πύλαι, σήμερον κατεπατήθησαν ᾅδου πύ λαι. Καὶ μὴ θαυμάσητε, εἰ βάπτισμα τὸ μαρτύριον ἐκάλεσα· καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἐνταῦθα τὸ Πνεῦμα μετὰ πολ λῆς ἐφίπταται τῆς δαψιλείας, καὶ ἁμαρτημάτων ἀναί ρεσις καὶ ψυχῆς γίνεται καθαρμὸς θαυμαστός τις καὶ παράδοξος· καὶ ὥσπερ οἱ βαπτιζόμενοι τοῖς ὕδα σιν, οὕτως οἱ μαρτυροῦντες τῷ ἰδίῳ λούονται αἵματι· 50.523 ὃ δὴ καὶ ἐπὶ τούτου γεγένηται. Ἀλλὰ γὰρ πρὸ τῆς σφαγῆς ἀναγκαῖον εἰπεῖν τοῦ διαβόλου τὴν πανουρ γίαν. Συνιδὼν γὰρ ἐκεῖνος ὅτι πάσης τιμωρίας καὶ κολάσεως εἴδους κατεγέλασε, καὶ οὔτε κάμινον ἀν άψας, οὔτε βάραθρον ὀρύξας, οὔτε τροχὸν εὐτρεπίσας, οὔτε εἰς ξύλον ἀναγαγὼν, οὔτε εἰς κρημνοὺς ῥίψας, οὔτε εἰς θηρίων ὀδόντας ἐμβαλὼν ἴσχυσε περιγενέσθαι τῆς τοῦ ἁγίου φιλοσοφίας, ἕτερον ἐπενόησε χαλεπώ τερον τρόπον, καὶ περιῄει ζητῶν τιμωρίαν εὑρεῖν, ὥστε τὴν αὐτὴν ὁμοῦ καὶ δριμυτάτην γενέσθαι καὶ μακροτάτην. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ τῶν κολάσεων αἱ μὲν ἀφό ρητοι ταχίστην παρέχουσι τὴν ἀπαλλαγὴν, αἱ δὲ ἐπιμηκέστεραι ὑποτέμνονται τὴν ὀδύνην, ἐσπούδασεν εὑρεῖν κόλασιν ὁμοῦ τε τὰ ἀμφότερα ἔχουσαν, καὶ μῆκος καὶ ὑπερβολὴν ὀδύνης ἀνήκεστον, ἵνα καὶ τῇ σφοδρότητι καὶ τῷ πλήθει τοῦ χρόνου τὸ στεῤῥὸν καταβάλῃ τῆς αὐτοῦ διανοίας. Καὶ τί ποιεῖ; Λιμῷ τὸν ἅγιον παραδίδωσι τοῦτον· σὺ δὲ λιμὸν ἀκούσας μὴ παρέλθῃς ἁπλῶς τὸ λεγό μενον· ἁπάντων γὰρ θανάτων οὗτός ἐστι χαλεπώ τατος. Καὶ μάρτυρες οἱ πεῖραν εἰληφότες· μὴ γὰρ δὴ ἡμεῖς πεῖραν λάβοιμεν· καλῶς γὰρ ἐδιδάχθημεν εὔχεσθαι, μὴ εἰσελθεῖν εἰς