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would stand aloof; and he himself revealed this, saying: When they see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife,’ and they will kill me, but they will keep you for themselves. So if she had said that she was his wife, both adultery and murder would have occurred; but by her saying that she was his sister, the 50.632 murder was prevented. Do you see how, when two terrible things were about to happen, he averted the one through his wisdom? Do you wish to learn how he also cut short the crime of adultery again to the best of his ability, so as not to allow him to become a complete adulterer? Listen again carefully to his words: 'Say,' he says, 'that I am his sister.' What does he say? He who takes a sister is not an adulterer; for the adulterer is judged by his intention. For when Judah went in to his daughter-in-law Tamar, he was not judged an adulterer; for he went in to her not as a daughter-in-law, but as a prostitute. So also here the Egyptian, intending to take her not as Abraham's wife, but as his sister, was not going to be judged an adulterer. What then, you say, of Abraham, who knew that he was giving away his own wife, and not a sister? But this too is not his crime.

For if, upon hearing that she was his wife, he was going to refrain from the outrage, you would rightly have accused the just man. But if the name 'wife' was going to do nothing to help Sarah repel the outrage, just as he himself says, "They will say, 'This is his wife,' and they will keep you for themselves," we should rather marvel at the just man, who in such a difficult situation was able both to keep the Egyptian's hands clean of blood, and to mitigate the crime of outrage to the best of his ability. Let us then turn our discourse to his descendant Jacob; and you will see him too fearing and trembling at death, a man who from his earliest years displayed an apostolic philosophy. For what Paul legislated for the disciples, saying, "Having food and clothing, with these we shall be content," this he also asked from God, saying, "If the Lord gives me bread to eat and clothing to put on, it is enough for us." And yet even this man, who sought nothing more than what was needful, who scorned his home, who received the blessings, who obeyed his mother, who was a friend to God, who through wisdom overcame nature—for though he was second by nature, he became first in blessings—who was able to do so much, who practiced such philosophy, who showed such piety, after countless labors, after countless contests, after countless struggles and those many crowns, when he was returning to his homeland and about to meet his brother, as if he were about to see a wild beast, and fearing his grudge, he falls down before God and begs: "Deliver me from the hand of Esau my brother," saying, "for I fear him, lest he come and strike me, and the mother with the children." Do you see how he too feared death? how he trembles, and beseeches God about this? Do you wish me to show you another great man who suffered this same thing again? Consider Elijah, that heaven-high and divine soul; for he who shut the heaven, and opened it again, who brought down fire from above, who offered the wondrous sacrifice, who was zealous for God, he who in a human body displayed an angelic life, who had nothing more than his sheepskin, who 50.633 became higher than all human things, so trembles and fears death, that after all those things, after the heaven and the sacrifice, after the sheepskin and the wilderness, and such philosophy, and such great boldness, he feared a worthless woman, and for this reason fled.

For when Jezebel said, "So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of those who are dead by tomorrow;" Elijah was afraid, it says, and he fled a journey of forty days. 3. Do you see how terrible death is? Let us therefore marvel at the Lord, because what was terrible to prophets,

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ἀποστήσεσθαι· καὶ τοῦτο ἐδήλωσεν αὐτὸς εἰπών· Ὡς ἐὰν ἴδωσί σε, ἐροῦσιν, Ὅτι γυνὴ αὐτοῦ αὕτη, καὶ ἀποκτενοῦσί με, σὲ δὲ περιποιήσονται. Ὥστε εἰπούσης μὲν, ὅτι γυνὴ αὐτοῦ ἦν, καὶ μοιχεία καὶ φόνος ἐγίγνετο· εἰπούσης δὲ, ὅτι ἀδελφὴ, τὸ τοῦ 50.632 φόνου διεκωλύετο. Ὁρᾷς πῶς δύο μελλόντων συμβαίνειν δεινῶν, θάτερον διὰ τῆς αὐτοῦ σοφίας ἀνεῖλε; Βούλει μαθεῖν, πῶς καὶ τῆς μοιχείας τὸ ἔγκλημα κατὰ δύναμιν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ πάλιν ὑποτέμνεται, ὥστε μηδὲ μοιχὸν αὐτὸν ἀπηρτισμένον ἀφεῖναι γενέσθαι; Ἄκουσον αὐτῶν πάλιν ἀκριβῶς τῶν ῥημάτων· Εἰπὲ, φησὶν, ὅτι ἀδελφὴ αὐτοῦ εἰμι. Τί λέγει; Ὁ ἀδελφὴν λαμβάνων οὐκ ἔστι μοιχός· ὁ γὰρ μοιχὸς ἀπὸ τῆς προαιρέσεως κρίνεται· ἐπεὶ καὶ ὁ Ἰούδας πρὸς τὴν νύμφην τὴν ἑαυτοῦ εἰσελθὼν τὴν Θάμαρ, οὐκ ἐκρίνετο μοιχός· οὐ γὰρ ὡς πρὸς νύμφην, ἀλλ' ὡς πρὸς πόρνην εἰσῆλθε γυναῖκα. Οὕτω καὶ ἐνταῦθα ὁ Αἰγύπτιος μέλλων αὐτὴν λαμβάνειν οὐχ ὡς γυναῖκα τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ, ἀλλ' ὡς ἀδελφὴν, οὐκ ἔμελλε μοιχὸς κρίνεσθαι. Τί οὖν τοῦτο πρὸς τὸν Ἀβραὰμ, φησὶ, τὸν εἰδότα, ὅτι γυναῖκα τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἐξεδίδου, καὶ οὐκ ἀδελφήν; Ἀλλ' οὐδὲ τοῦτο ἔγκλημα τούτου.

Εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἔμελλεν ἀκούσας, ὅτι γυνὴ αὐτοῦ ἐστιν, ἀφέξεσθαι τῆς ὕβρεως, καλῶς ἐνεκάλεις τῷ δικαίῳ· εἰ δὲ οὐδὲν ἔμελλε τὸ ὄνομα τῆς γυναικὸς προστήσεσθαι τῆς Σάῤῥας εἰς τὸ τὴν ὕβριν ἀποκρούσασθαι, καθὼς καὶ αὐτός φησιν, ὅτι Ἐροῦσιν, ὅτι Γυνὴ αὐτοῦ ἐστιν αὕτη, καὶ περιποιήσονταί σε, πολλῷ μᾶλλον θαυμάζειν τὸν δίκαιον χρὴ ἐν τοσαύτῃ πράγματος δυσκολίᾳ δυνηθέντα καὶ αἱμάτων καθαρὸν τηρῆσαι τὸν Αἰγύπτιον, καὶ εἰς δύναμιν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ τὸ ἔγκλημα τῆς ὕβρεως παραμυθήσασθαι. Ἄγωμεν δὴ λοιπὸν τὸν λόγον καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν ἔκγονον αὐτοῦ τὸν Ἰακώβ· καὶ ὄψει κἀκεῖνον δεδοικότα καὶ τρέμοντα τὴν τελευτὴν, ἄνθρωπον ἐκ πρώτης ἡλικίας ἀποστολικὴν ἐπιδειξάμενον φιλοσοφίαν. Ὃ γὰρ Παῦλος τοῖς μαθηταῖς ἐνομοθέτει λέγων· Ἔχοντες τροφὰς καὶ σκεπάσματα τούτοις ἀρκεσθησόμεθα, τοῦτο καὶ οὗτος ᾔτησε παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ εἰπών· Ἂν δῴη μοι Κύριος ἄρτον φαγεῖν καὶ ἱμάτιον περιβαλέσθαι, ἀρκεῖ ἡμῖν. Ἀλλ' ὅμως καὶ οὗτος ὁ μηδὲν πλέον τῆς χρείας ζητῶν, ὁ τῆς οἰκίας ὑπεριδὼν, ὁ τὰς εὐλογίας λαβὼν, ὁ τῇ μητρὶ πεισθεὶς, ὁ τῷ Θεῷ φίλος, ὁ διὰ τῆς σοφίας βιασάμενος τὴν φύσιν δεύτερος γὰρ ὢν τῇ φύσει, πρότερος γέγονε ταῖς εὐλογίαις, ὁ τοσαῦτα δυνηθεὶς, ὁ τοσαῦτα φιλοσοφήσας, ὁ τοσαύτην εὐσέβειαν ἐπιδειξάμενος, μετὰ τοὺς μυρίους ἄθλους, μετὰ τὰ μυρία σκάμματα, μετὰ τὰ μυρία παλαίσματα καὶ τοὺς πολλοὺς στεφάνους ἐκείνους, ἐπὶ τὴν πατρίδα ἐπανιὼν, καὶ μέλλων ἐντεύξεσθαι τῷ ἀδελφῷ, καθάπερ θηρίον ὄψεσθαι μέλλων, καὶ φοβούμενος αὐτοῦ τὴν μνησικακίαν, προσπίπτει τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ παρακαλεῖ· Ἐξελοῦ με ἐκ χειρὸς Ἡσαῦ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ μου, λέγων, ὅτι φοβοῦμαι ἐγὼ αὐτὸν, μή ποτε ἐλθὼν πατάξῃ με, καὶ μητέρα ἐπὶ τέκνοις. Εἶδες πῶς καὶ οὗτος ἐδεδοίκει τὸν θάνατον; πῶς τρέμει, καὶ τὸν Θεὸν παρακαλεῖ περὶ τούτου; Βούλει σοι δείξω καὶ ἕτερον μέγαν ἄνθρωπον τὸ αὐτὸ τοῦτο πεπονθότα πάλιν; Ἐννόησον τὸν Ἠλίαν, τὴν οὐρανομήκη ψυχὴν καὶ θείαν· ἐκεῖνος γὰρ ὁ τὸν οὐρανὸν κλείσας, καὶ πάλιν ἀνοίξας, ὁ τὸ πῦρ ἄνωθεν κατενεγκὼν, ὁ τὴν θαυμαστὴν θυσίαν προσενεγκὼν, ὁ ζηλώσας ὑπὲρ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἐκεῖνος ὁ ἐν σώματι ἀνθρωπίνῳ ἀγγελικὸν ἐπιδειξάμενος βίον, ὁ τῆς μηλωτῆς πλέον ἔχων οὐδὲν, ὁ 50.633 πάντων ἀνωτέρω γενόμενος τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων, οὕτω τὸν θάνατον τρέμει καὶ δέδοικεν, ὡς μετὰ πάντα ἐκεῖνα, μετὰ τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν θυσίαν, μετὰ τὴν μηλωτὴν καὶ τὴν ἐρημίαν, καὶ τὴν φιλοσοφίαν, καὶ τὴν παῤῥησίαν τὴν τοσαύτην γύναιον εὐτελὲς φοβηθῆναι, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο φυγεῖν.

Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ εἶπεν Ἰεζάβελ· Τάδε ποιήσαιέν μοι οἱ θεοὶ, καὶ τάδε προσθείησαν, εἰ μὴ αὔριον τὴν ψυχήν σου θήσομαι ὡς τὴν ψυχὴν ἑνὸς τῶν τεθνηκότων· ἐφοβήθη Ἠλίας, φησὶ, καὶ ἔφυγεν ὁδὸν ἡμερῶν τεσσαράκοντα. γʹ. Εἶδες πῶς φοβερὸς ὁ θάνατος; Θαυμάσωμεν τοίνυν τὸν ∆εσπότην, ὅτι τὸν φοβερὸν ὄντα προφήταις,