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to God. What then shall we do, we who willingly betray ourselves in sins? what comfort shall we have? what consolation? how shall we propitiate the terrible judge? with how much shame shall we be filled, seeing our impieties before our eyes? Yet if we are willing now to be roused to the things pleasing to God, we shall be able to wash away all our sins, and to escape those terrible judgments. This will be, if we continually remember the departure of our body from here; For, he says, 'Remember your last end, and you will never sin'; then let us consider the terrible judgment seat of Christ, before which all things are naked and laid open to His eyes, things in word, things in deed, things in thought; then the river of fire, the unbreakable bond, the lightless darkness, the gnashing of teeth, the venomous worm, that day, painful for sinners, but bright and sweet for those who have accomplished works of righteousness.

2. But there are some men filled with so much folly as to consider the divinely inspired Scriptures false, and allegorizing the justice of God. For I have heard some lovers of sin, and possessed by great love of pleasure, saying such things as this, they say, 'God threatened these things for the fear of men; for may it not be that He, being merciful, will punish anyone, and especially those who have known Him.' Hear then, O men who have lost your hearts, you who are persuaded by the suggestion of the hater of good who rejoices in your destruction. For so that 59.622 we, not being afraid, might not change ourselves to a good life, and escape the torments of punishment, for this reason he has led us into this fearlessness; so that being neglectful here, we might cast ourselves into the very bottom of Hades. Tell me then, you who declare God a liar, you who consider the holy Scriptures mere words only, and not truth, what do you think, O foolish ones? Is not that rich man punished, who looked down on Lazarus? Are not the foolish virgins cast out of the bridechamber? Do not those who did not feed Christ go away into the fire prepared for the devil and his angels? Is not the one clothed in filthy garments, having his hands and feet bound, cast into the fire? Is not the one who demanded the hundred denarii handed over to the tormentors? Is not what was said concerning the adulterers truth, that 'Their worm will not die, and their fire will not be quenched'? Or are these only threats? Yes, he says. And from where, tell me, you wretched ones, do you dare to declare such a thing, and this bringing from your own minds the unjust verdict?

But I shall try to prove the contrary, both from what Christ has said and from what He has done. For if we do not believe concerning the future punishments, let us at least believe from those which have already happened; for indeed the things that have happened and come to pass are not only threats and words. Who then flooded the whole world in the time of Noah, and brought about that terrible shipwreck, and caused the complete destruction of our entire race? Who again after this sent those thunderbolts and fiery whirlwinds upon the land of the Sodomites? Who drowned all of Egypt? Who laid low the six hundred thousand in the desert? Who burned up the congregation of Abiram? Who commanded the earth to open its mouth and swallow up those with Korah and Dathan? Who struck down the seventy thousand in the twinkling of an eye in the time of David? Who put to death the one hundred and eighty-five thousand in one night in the time of the prophecy of Isaiah? Shall I also speak of those who were punished individually, Cain who was given over to perpetual punishment, Achan who was stoned with his whole family, the one who suffered the same for gathering wood on the sabbath, the forty-two youths in the time of Elisha who were devoured by the beasts, and did not obtain pardon even on account of their age? And if you wish to see such things even after grace, consider what the Jews suffered, how their own children were eaten by the

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Θεῷ. Τί οὖν ποιήσομεν οἱ ἐν ἁμαρτίαις προδιδόντες ἑαυτοὺς ἑκόντες; τίνα ἕξομεν τὴν παραψυχήν; τίνα παραμυθίαν; πῶς ἐξιλεωσόμεθα τὸν φοβερὸν δικαστήν; πόσης αἰσχύνης πληρωθῶμεν, ὁρῶντες πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν τὰς ἀσεβείας ἡμῶν; Ὅμως ἐὰν θελήσωμεν νῦν διεγερθῆναι πρὸς τὰ Θεῷ ἀρεστὰ, δυνησόμεθα καὶ πάντα τὰ ἡμαρτημένα ἀπονίψασθαι, καὶ τὰ φοβερὰ ἐκεῖνα κριτήρια διαφυγεῖν. Τοῦτο δὲ ἔσται, ἐὰν μνημονεύσωμεν διηνεκῶς τῆς ἐντεῦθεν ἀποδημίας τοῦ σώματος ἡμῶν· Μιμνήσκου γὰρ, φησὶν, τὰ ἔσχατά σου, καὶ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα οὐχ ἁμαρτήσεις· ἔπειτα ἀναλογιζώμεθα τὸ φοβερὸν βῆμα τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἐν ᾧ πάντα γυμνὰ καὶ τετραχηλισμένα τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς αὐτοῦ, τὰ ἐν λόγῳ, τὰ ἐν ἔργῳ, τὰ ἐν διανοίᾳ· ἔπειτα τὸν ποταμὸν τοῦ πυρὸς, τὸν δεσμὸν τὸν ἄλυτον, τὸ σκότος τὸ ἀφεγγὲς, τὸν βρυγμὸν τῶν ὀδόντων, τὸν σκώληκα τὸν ἰοβόλον, τὴν ἡμέραν ἐκείνην, τὴν ὀδυνηρὰν μὲν τοῖς ἁμαρτωλοῖς, φαιδρὰν δὲ καὶ ἡδεῖαν τοῖς ἔργα δικαιοσύνης ἐπιτελέσασιν.

βʹ. Ἀλλ' εἰσί τινες τῶν ἀνθρώπων τοσαύτης ἀνοίας πεπληρωμένοι, ὡς ψευδεῖς ἡγεῖσθαι τὰς θεοπνεύστους Γραφὰς, καὶ τὸ δίκαιον τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀλληγοροῦντες. Ἀκήκοα γάρ τινων φιλαμαρτημόνων, καὶ ὑπὸ πολλῆς φιληδονίας κατεχομένων, λεγόντων τοιαῦτα, ὅτι, φασὶν, Ὁ Θεὸς πρὸς φόβον τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἠπείλησε ταῦτα· μὴ γένοιτο γὰρ, ὅτι ἐλεήμων ὢν κολάσει τινὰ, καὶ μάλιστα τῶν ἐπεγνωκότων αὐτόν. Ἀκούσατε οὖν οἱ ἀπολωλεκότες τὰς καρδίας ἄνθρωποι, οἱ τῇ ὑποβολῇ τοῦ μισοκάλου πειθόμενοι τοῦ χαίροντος ὑμῶν τῇ ἀπωλείᾳ. Ἵνα γὰρ 59.622 μὴ φοβηθέντες εἰς χρηστὸν βίον ἑαυτοὺς μεταβάλωμεν, καὶ φύγωμεν τῆς κολάσεως τὰ βασανιστήρια, διὰ τοῦτο εἰς ταύτην ἡμᾶς ἤγαγε τὴν ἀφοβίαν· ὅπως ἐνταῦθα ἀμελήσαντες, εἰς αὐτὸν τὸν τοῦ ᾅδου πυθμένα ἑαυτοὺς ἐμβάλωμεν. Λέγετε οὖν μοι, οἱ ψεύστην τὸν Θεὸν ἀποφαίνοντες, οἱ ῥήματα μόνον ψιλὰ τὰς ἁγίας Γραφὰς λογιζόμενοι, καὶ οὐχὶ ἀλήθειαν, τί νομίζετε, ὦ ἀνόητοι; οὐχ ὁ πλούσιος ἐκεῖνος κολάζεται, ὁ τὸν Λάζαρον ὑπεριδών; οὐχὶ αἱ μωραὶ παρθένοι τοῦ νυμφῶνος ἐκβάλλονται; οὐχὶ οἱ μὴ θρέψαντες Χριστὸν, εἰς τὸ πῦρ ἀπέρχονται τὸ ἡτοιμασμένον τῷ διαβόλῳ καὶ τοῖς ἀγγέλοις αὐτοῦ; οὐχ ὁ τὰ ῥυπαρὰ ἱμάτια ἐνδεδυμένος, χεῖρας καὶ πόδας δεθεὶς ἐκβάλλεται εἰς τὸ πῦρ; οὐχὶ ὁ τὰ ἑκατὸν δηνάρια ἀπαιτήσας παραδίδοται τοῖς βασανισταῖς; οὐ τὸ περὶ τῶν μοιχῶν εἰρημένον ἀλήθειά ἐστιν, ὅτι Ὁ σκώληξ αὐτῶν οὐ τελευτήσει, καὶ τὸ πῦρ αὐτῶν οὐ σβεσθήσεται; ἢ ἀπειλαὶ μόνον ταῦτά εἰσι; Ναὶ, φησί. Καὶ πόθεν, εἴπατέ μοι ἄθλιοι, πρᾶγμα τοιοῦτον τολμᾶτε ἀποφήνασθαι, καὶ ταῦτα οἴκοθεν φέροντες τὴν ἄδικον ψῆφον;

Ἐγὼ δὲ καὶ ἀφ' ὧν εἴρηκε ὁ Χριστὸς καὶ ἀφ' ὧν πεποίηκε, τοὐναντίον ἀποδεῖξαι πειράσομαι. Εἰ γὰρ περὶ τῶν μελλουσῶν κολάσεων οὐ πιστεύομεν, κἂν ἀπὸ τῶν ἤδη γεγενημένων πιστεύσωμεν· οὐ γὰρ δὴ τὰ γεγενημένα καὶ εἰς ἔργον ἐξελθόντα ἀπειλαὶ καὶ ῥήματά εἰσι μόνον. Τίς οὖν τὴν οἰκουμένην κατέκλυσεν ἅπασαν ἐπὶ τοῦ Νῶε, καὶ τὸ χαλεπὸν ἐκεῖνο ναυάγιον εἰργάσατο, καὶ τὴν τοῦ γένους ἡμῶν πανωλεθρίαν παντὸς ἐποίησε; τίς πάλιν μετὰ ταῦτα τοὺς κεραυνοὺς ἐκείνους καὶ τοὺς πρηστῆρας ἀφῆκεν ἐπὶ τὴν Σοδόμων γῆν; τίς τὴν Αἴγυπτον ἅπασαν κατεπόντισε; τίς τὰς ἑξακοσίας χιλιάδας ἐπὶ τῆς ἐρήμου κατέστρωσε; τίς τὴν συναγωγὴν Ἀβιρὼν κατέφλεξε; τίς τοὺς περὶ Κορὲ καὶ ∆αθὰν ἀνοῖξαι τῇ γῇ τὸ στόμα καὶ καταπιεῖν ἐκέλευσε; τίς τὰς ἑβδομήκοντα χιλιάδας ἐν μιᾷ καιροῦ ῥοπῇ κατήνεγκεν ἐπὶ τοῦ ∆αυΐδ; τίς τὰς ἑκατὸν ὀγδοήκοντα πέντε χιλιάδας ἐν μιᾷ νυκτὶ ἐθανάτωσεν ἐπὶ τῆς προφητείας Ἡσαΐου; Εἴπω καὶ τοὺς κατ' ἰδίαν κολασθέντας, τὸν διηνεκεῖ παραδοθέντα τιμωρίᾳ Κάϊν, τὸν καταλευσθέντα μετὰ παντὸς τοῦ γένους Χάρμην, τὸν ὑπὲρ συλλογῆς ξύλων τὸ αὐτὸ παθόντα ἐν σαββάτῳ, τοὺς ἐπὶ Ἐλισσαίου τεσσαράκοντα καὶ δύο παῖδας τοὺς ὑπὸ τῶν θηρίων δαπανηθέντας, καὶ μηδὲ ἀπὸ τῆς ἡλικίας τυχόντας συγγνώμης; Εἰ δὲ καὶ μετὰ τὴν χάριν τοιαῦτα ἰδεῖν ἐθέλοις, ἐννόησον, ὅσα ἔπαθον οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι, πῶς τὰ ἴδια τέκνα κατέφαγον αἱ