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has taken thought for her, saying: "But she that lives in pleasure is dead while she lives. But she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusts in God, and continues in supplications and prayers night and day." And writing to the Corinthians he says: "But she is happier if she so abide." Do you see how many are the praises of widowhood, and this in the New Testament, when the beauty of virginity also shone forth? But nevertheless, not even then was the brightness of the latter able to hide the splendors of the former, but it shines through even so, possessing its own proper virtue. When therefore we speak about widowhood, do not be downcast, nor think the matter a reproach; for if this were a reproach, much more so virginity. But it is not, it is not, far from it. For where we all admire and approve of those women who abstain while their husbands are still living, how should we not be amazed and praise those who show the same good will towards them even after they have departed? As long then, as I said, as you were with the blessed Therasius, you enjoyed such honor and providence as one would expect to enjoy from a good man; but now in his place you have the Lord of all, God, who, having long presided over you, will now do this more greatly and with more earnestness; and of His great providence He has already shown us no small proof, as I said before, by preserving you sound and untouched in so great a furnace of cares and grief, and not allowing you to suffer anything undesirable. And He who in so great a tempest did not permit a shipwreck, will much more in a calm preserve your soul and will make your widowhood light and the things which seem to be terrible from it. But if it is not the name of widowhood that disturbs you, but the loss of such a husband, I agree with you that few such men have been born anywhere on earth among secular men: affectionate, gentle, humble, sincere, intelligent, devout. But if he were completely dissolved and came to nothing, one should be disturbed and grieve; but if he has sailed into the fair haven and has departed to his true king, one must not mourn for these things, but even rejoice. For this death is not death, but a departure and a certain migration from worse things to better, from earth to heaven, from men to angels and archangels and the Lord of angels and archangels. For here on earth, serving a king, one could expect dangers and many plots from the envious; for the more his successes increased, the more did the plots from his enemies abound; but there, having departed, there is no reason to suspect any of these things. Therefore, as much as you mourn that God has taken a good and virtuous man, so much should you rejoice that he has departed with great security and glory, and having been delivered from the turmoil in present danger, is in peace and great tranquility. For how is it not absurd to confess that heaven is much better than the earth, but to mourn those who have migrated from here to there? For if that blessed man were among those who lived shamefully and contrary to what is pleasing to God, it would be necessary to lament and wail, not only for him departed, but also for him while living; but since he too happened to be one of His friends, one ought to rejoice with him not only while living, but also when he has fallen asleep. You have surely heard the blessed Paul saying: "To depart and to be with Christ is far better." But perhaps you long to hear his words and to enjoy friendship with him, and you seek his company and the glory through him and the splendor and the honor and the security, and all these things having vanished disturb and darken you.

Therefore, it is possible for you to preserve your friendship with him now, just as before. For such is the power of love; it embraces and glues and binds not only those who are present and near us and seen, but also those who are far away; and neither a multitude of years, nor distance of road, nor anything else of this kind could ever interrupt the friendship of a soul and

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ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς τὴν φροντίδα πεποίηται λέγων· «Ἡ δὲ σπαταλῶσα ζῶσα τέθνηκεν· ἡ δὲ ὄντως χήρα καὶ μεμονωμένη ἤλπισεν ἐπὶ τὸν Θεόν, καὶ προσμένει ταῖς δεήσεσι καὶ ταῖς προσευχαῖς ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτός.» Καὶ Κορινθίοις ἐπιστέλλων φησί· «Μακαριωτέρα δ' ἐστὶν ἐὰν οὕτως μείνῃ.» Εἶδες ὅσα τῆς χηρείας τὰ ἐγκώμια, καὶ ταῦτα ἐν τῇ Καινῇ, ὅτε καὶ τὸ τῆς παρθενίας διέλαμψε καλόν; ἀλλ' ὅμως οὐδὲ τότε τὰς μαρμαρυγὰς αὐτῆς ἀποκρύψαι ἴσχυσεν ἡ ταύτης φαιδρότης, ἀλλὰ διαλάμπει καὶ οὕτως τὴν οἰκείαν ἔχουσα ἀρετήν. Ὅταν οὖν μνημονεύωμεν μεταξὺ χηρείας, μὴ καταπέσῃς, μηδὲ ὄνειδος τὸ πρᾶγμα νόμιζε· εἰ γὰρ τοῦτο ἐπονείδιστον, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἡ παρθενία. Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἔστιν, οὐκ ἔστι, μὴ γένοιτο. Ὅπου γὰρ τὰς ἔτι περιόντων ἀπεχομένας τῶν ἀνδρῶν θαυμάζομεν ἅπαντες καὶ ἀποδεχόμεθα, τὰς καὶ ἀπελθόντων αὐτῶν τὴν αὐτὴν περὶ αὐτοὺς ἐπιδεικνυμένας εὔνοιαν, πῶς οὐκ ἐκπλήττεσθαι δεῖ καὶ ἐπαινεῖν; Ἕως μὲν οὖν, ὅπερ ἔφην, συνῆς τῷ μακαρίῳ Θηρασίῳ, καὶ τιμῆς καὶ προνοίας ἀπέλαυες οἵας παρὰ ἀνθρώπου χρηστοῦ ἀπολαύειν εἰκός· νῦν δὲ εἰς τὴν ἐκείνου τάξιν ἔχεις τὸν ἁπάντων ∆εσπότην Θεόν, ὃς καὶ πάλαι σου προεστὼς μειζόνως καὶ μετὰ πλείονος τοῦτο ποιήσει τῆς σπουδῆς νῦν· καὶ τῆς πολλῆς αὐτοῦ προνοίας οὐ μικρόν, ὥσπερ ἔφθην εἰπών, τεκμήριον ἔδειξεν ἡμῖν ἤδη, ἐν τοσαύτῃ καμίνῳ φροντίδων καὶ λύπης ὑγιῆ καὶ ἀνέπαφόν σε διαφυλάξας καὶ μηδὲν ἀφεὶς τῶν ἀβουλήτων παθεῖν. Ὁ δὲ ἐν τοσούτῳ σάλῳ μὴ συγχωρήσας γενέσθαι ναυάγιον, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἐν γαλήνῃ διατηρήσει τὴν σὴν ψυχὴν καὶ κούφην ποιήσει τὴν χηρείαν καὶ τὰ ἐκ ταύτης δοκοῦντα εἶναι δεινά. Εἰ δέ σε τὸ τῆς χηρείας ὄνομα οὐ θορυβεῖ, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἄνδρα τοιοῦτον ἀποβαλεῖν, συνομολογῶ σοι κἀγὼ πανταχοῦ γῆς ὀλίγους γεγενῆσθαι τοιούτους ἐν ἀνδράσι βιωτικοῖς φιλοστόργους, ἐπιεικεῖς, ταπεινούς, ἀπλάστους, συνετούς, εὐλαβεῖς. Ἀλλ' εἰ μὲν διελύετο παντελῶς καὶ εἰς τὸ μηδὲν ἔληγεν, ἔδει θορυβεῖσθαι καὶ ἀλγεῖν· εἰ δὲ εἰς τὸν εὔδιον κατέπλευσε λιμένα καὶ πρὸς τὸν ὄντως αὐτοῦ βασιλέα ἀποδεδήμηκεν, οὐ πενθεῖν ὑπὲρ τούτων, ἀλλὰ καὶ χαίρειν δεῖ. Οὐ γὰρ θάνατος ὁ θάνατος οὗτος, ἀλλ' ἀποδημία καὶ μετάστασίς τις ἀπὸ τῶν χειρόνων ἐπὶ τὰ βελτίω, ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς πρὸς τὸν οὐρανόν, ἀπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων πρὸς ἀγγέλους καὶ ἀρχαγγέλους καὶ τὸν τῶν ἀγγέλων καὶ ἀρχαγγέλων ∆εσπότην. Ἐνταῦθα μὲν γὰρ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς στρατευόμενον βασιλεῖ καὶ κινδύνους ἦν προσδοκᾶν καὶ πολλὰς παρὰ τῶν φθονούντων τὰς ἐπιβουλάς· ὅσῳ γὰρ αὐτῷ τὰ τῆς εὐδοκιμήσεως ηὔξανε, τοσούτῳ καὶ τὰ παρὰ τῶν ἐχθρῶν ἐπλεόναζεν· ἐκεῖ δὲ ἀπελθόντα οὐκ ἔστιν ὑποπτεῦσαι τούτων οὐδέν. Ὥστε ὅσῳπερ ἂν πενθῇς ὅτι χρηστὸν ὄντα καὶ ἐνάρετον ἔλαβεν ὁ Θεός, τοσούτῳ χαίρειν δεῖ ὅτι μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς ἀσφαλείας καὶ τῆς δόξης ἀποδεδήμηκε, καὶ τῆς ἐν τῷ παρόντι κινδύνῳ ταραχῆς ἀπαλλαγείς ἐστιν ἐν εἰρήνῃ καὶ ἡσυχίᾳ πολλῇ. Πῶς γὰρ οὐκ ἄτοπον τὸν μὲν οὐρανὸν πολλῷ βελτίω τῆς γῆς εἶναι ὁμολογεῖν, τοὺς δὲ ἀπὸ ταύτης ἐκεῖ μεταστάντας πενθεῖν; Εἰ μὲν γὰρ τῶν αἰσχρῶς βεβιωκότων καὶ παρὰ τὸ τῷ θεῷ δοκοῦν ὁ μακάριος ἐκεῖνος ἦν, ἔδει κόπτεσθαι καὶ θρηνεῖν, οὐκ ἀπελθόντα μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ζῶντα ἐκεῖνον· ἐπειδὴ δὲ τῶν αὐτῷ φίλων καὶ οὗτος εἷς ἐτύγχανεν ὤν, οὐ ζῶντι μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ κοιμηθέντι συνήδεσθαι χρή. Τοῦ μακαρίου Παύλου πάντως ἤκουσας λέγοντος· «Τὸ ἀναλῦσαι καὶ σὺν Χριστῷ εἶναι πολλῷ μᾶλλον κρεῖσσον.» Ἀλλὰ ῥημάτων ἴσως ποθεῖς ἀκοῦσαι τῶν ἐκείνου καὶ φιλίας ἀπολαῦσαι τῆς πρὸς αὐτόν, καὶ συνήθειαν ἐπιζητεῖς καὶ δόξαν τὴν δι' αὐτὸν καὶ λαμπρότητα καὶ τιμὴν καὶ ἀσφάλειαν, καὶ ταῦτά σε πάντα φροῦδα γενόμενα θορυβεῖ καὶ σκοτοῖ.

Τὴν μὲν οὖν φιλίαν τὴν πρὸς ἐκεῖνον ἔξεστί σοι φυλάττειν καὶ νῦν ὁμοίως ὥσπερ καὶ πρότερον. Τοιαύτη γὰρ ἡ τῆς ἀγάπης δύναμις· οὐ τοὺς παρόντας μόνον καὶ πλησίον ὄντας ἡμῶν καὶ ὁρωμένους, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς μακρὰν ἀφεστῶτας περιλαμβάνει καὶ συγκολλᾷ καὶ συνδεῖ· καὶ οὔτε χρόνων πλῆθος, οὔτε ὁδῶν διάστημα, οὔτε ἄλλο τῶν τοιούτων οὐδὲν ψυχῆς φιλίαν διακόψαι δύναιτ' ἂν καὶ