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He says: You know what sort of men we were among you? Here he touches upon his own achievements, but in a veiled manner; for he wishes first to go through their praises. What he says is something like this: We knew that you were of the noble and great men, that you were of the chosen; for this reason we also endure all things for your sakes. For the phrase, "What sort of men we were among you," signifies this, that with great eagerness and great vehemence we are ready to give our lives for you; and for this, the credit is not ours, but yours, because you were chosen. For this reason he also says elsewhere: "And these things I suffer for the elect's sakes." For on behalf of God's beloved, what would one not suffer? And having said his part, he all but says: For if you are beloved and elect, we reasonably endure all things. For not only did praising them strengthen them, but also reminding them that they themselves had shown a courage that was a match for their own eagerness. At any rate, he says: "And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit." Bravo! how great the praise! The disciples suddenly became teachers; they not only heard the words, but they also reached the same summit as Paul. But this is nothing compared to what follows; for see to what height he elevates them, saying: "You became imitators of the Lord." How? "Having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit." Not simply with affliction, but with much. And it is possible to learn this from the Acts of the Apostles, how they stirred up persecution against them; —"and they troubled," he says, "all the rulers of the city, and set the city in an uproar against them." And it cannot be said, "You were afflicted and you believed, but while in pain," but rather, "while rejoicing exceedingly." Which is what the apostles also did: "Rejoicing," it says, "that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for the name of Christ." For the wonderful thing is this: even if that other is not a small thing, to bear afflictions in any way; but this was now the mark of those who transcend human nature, and who have, as it were, an impassible body. And how did they become imitators of the Lord? Because He also endured many sufferings, and did not feel pain, but rejoiced; for He came to this willingly. For our sakes He emptied Himself, He was about to be spat upon and slapped, to be crucified; and so He rejoiced in suffering these things, that He said to the Father, "Glorify me." "With joy," he says, "of the Holy Spirit." Lest anyone should say: How can you speak of affliction? how of joy? how can both come together? he added: "With joy of the Holy Spirit." The affliction is in things of the body, and the joy in things of the spirit. How? The things that happen are grievous; but the things born from them, no longer so; for the Spirit does not abandon them. So it is possible both to suffer and not rejoice, when one suffers for sins; and to be scourged and take pleasure, when one suffers for Christ. 3. For such is the joy of the Spirit; instead of things that seem to be grievous, it brings forth pleasure. They afflicted you, he says, and persecuted you, but the Spirit did not abandon you 62.396 even in those things; but just as the three youths were cooled in the fire, so also were you in the afflictions. And just as there it was not the nature of the fire to cool, but of the whistling Spirit; so also here, it is not the nature of affliction to give birth to joy, but of suffering for Christ's sake, and of the Spirit that cools, and that gives relief through the furnace of temptations. "With joy," he says, not simply, but "with much"; for this is of the Holy Spirit. "So that you became examples to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia." And yet he came to them later; but you shone so brightly, he says, as to become teachers of those who came before. And this is apostolic. For he did not say: "So that you became examples for believing," but "to those who already believe you became an example"; that is: You taught how one ought to believe in God, you who are from

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λέγει· Οἴδατε οἷοι ἐγενήθημεν ἐν ὑμῖν; Ἐνταῦθα καὶ τῶν αὐτοῦ κατορθωμάτων ἅπτεται, ἀλλ' ἐπεσκιασμένως· βούλεται γὰρ πρότερον τοῖς ἐκείνων ἐγκωμίοις ἐπεξελθεῖν. Ὃ δὲ λέγει, τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν· Ἤδειμεν ὅτι τῶν γενναίων ἦτε καὶ μεγάλων ἀνδρῶν, ὅτι τῶν ἐκλεκτῶν· διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἡμεῖς πάντα ὑπομένομεν δι' ὑμᾶς. Τὸ γὰρ, Οἷοι ἐγενήθημεν ἐν ὑμῖν, τοῦτό ἐστι δηλοῦντος, ὅτι μετὰ πολλῆς προθυμίας καὶ πολλῆς σφοδρότητος ἕτοιμοί ἐσμεν τὰς ψυχὰς ἡμῶν ἐκδοῦναι δι' ὑμᾶς· καὶ τούτου δὲ οὐχ ἡμῖν χάρις, ἀλλ' ὑμῖν, ὅτι ἐκλεκτοὶ ἦτε. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἀλλαχοῦ φησι· Καὶ ταῦτα πάσχω διὰ τοὺς ἐκλεκτούς. Ὑπὲρ γὰρ τῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀγαπητῶν τί οὐκ ἄν τις πάθοι; Καὶ εἰπὼν τὸ αὐτοῦ, μονονουχί φησιν· Εἰ γὰρ καὶ ἀγαπητοὶ καὶ ἐκλεκτοὶ, πάντα εἰκότως ὑπομένομεν. Οὐ γὰρ δὴ τὸ ἐπαινεῖν αὐτοὺς ἐῤῥώννυε μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ ὑπομιμνήσκειν, ὅτι καὶ αὐτοὶ τῆς ἐκείνων προθυμίας ἀντίῤῥοπον ἀνδρείαν ἐπεδείξαντο. Φησὶ γοῦν· Καὶ ὑμεῖς μιμηταὶ ἡμῶν ἐγενήθητε καὶ τοῦ Κυρίου, δεξάμενοι τὸν λόγον ἐν θλίψει πολλῇ, μετὰ χαρᾶς Πνεύματος ἁγίου. Βαβαί! πόσον τὸ ἐγκώμιον! οἱ μαθηταὶ ἐξαίφνης ἐγένοντο διδάσκαλοι· οὐκ ἤκουσαν μόνον τῶν λόγων, ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὸς τὴν αὐτὴν κορυφὴν τῷ Παύλῳ ἔφθασαν. Ἀλλ' οὐδὲν τοῦτο πρὸς τὸ ἑξῆς· ὅρα γὰρ ποῦ αὐτοὺς ἀνάγει λέγων· Μιμηταὶ ἐγένεσθε τοῦ Κυρίου. Πῶς; ∆εξάμενοι τὸν λόγον ἐν θλίψει πολλῇ, μετὰ χαρᾶς Πνεύματος ἁγίου. Οὐχ ἁπλῶς μετὰ θλίψεως, ἀλλὰ μετὰ πολλῆς. Καὶ ἔνεστι τοῦτο ἀπὸ τῶν Πράξεων τῶν ἀποστολικῶν μαθεῖν, πῶς ἐπήγειραν τὸν διωγμὸν ἐπ' αὐτούς· -Καὶ πάντας, φησὶ, τοὺς πολιτάρχας ἐτάραξαν, καὶ τὴν πόλιν ἀνεπτέρωσαν κατ' αὐτῶν. Καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν εἰπεῖν, ὅτι Ἐθλίβητε μὲν καὶ ἐπιστεύσατε, ἀλγοῦντες δὲ, ἀλλὰ καὶ χαίροντες σφόδρα. Ὅπερ καὶ οἱ ἀπόστολοι ἐποίουν· Χαίροντες, φησὶν, ὅτι κατηξιώθησαν ὑπὲρ τοῦ ὀνόματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἀτιμασθῆναι. Τὸ γὰρ θαυμαστὸν, τοῦτό ἐστιν· εἰ καὶ οὐδὲ ἐκεῖνο μικρὸν, τὸ φέρειν ὁπωσδήποτε θλίψεις· τοῦτο δὲ ἤδη τῶν τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην φύσιν ὑπερβαινόντων ἦν, καὶ ὥσπερ ἀπαθὲς σῶμα ἐχόντων. Πῶς δὲ μιμηταὶ τοῦ Κυρίου ἐγένοντο; Ὅτι καὶ αὐτὸς πολλὰ παθήματα ὑπέμεινε, καὶ οὐκ ἤλγει, ἀλλ' ἔχαιρεν· ἑκὼν γὰρ ἐπὶ τοῦτο ἤρχετο. ∆ι' ἡμᾶς ἑαυτὸν ἐκένωσεν, ἔμελλεν ἐμπτύεσθαι καὶ ῥαπίζεσθαι, σταυροῦσθαι· καὶ οὕτως ἔχαιρε ταῦτα πάσχων, ὡς τῷ Πατρὶ λέγειν· ∆όξασόν με. Μετὰ χαρᾶς, φησὶ, Πνεύματος ἁγίου. Ἵνα μή τις εἴπῃ· Πῶς θλίψεως λέγεις; πῶς χαρᾶς; πῶς ἀμφότερα ἔνι συνελθεῖν; ἐπήγαγε· Μετὰ χαρᾶς Πνεύματος ἁγίου. Ἡ θλῖψις ἐν τοῖς σωματικοῖς, καὶ ἡ χαρὰ ἐν τοῖς πνευματικοῖς. Πῶς; Τὰ μὲν γινόμενα, λυπηρά· τὰ δὲ ἐξ αὐτῶν τικτόμενα, οὐκέτι· οὐ γὰρ ἀφίησι τὸ Πνεῦμα. Ὥστε ἔνεστι καὶ πάσχοντα μὴ χαίρειν, ὅταν ὑπὲρ ἁμαρτημάτων τις πάσχῃ· καὶ μαστιζόμενον ἥδεσθαι, ὅταν διὰ τὸν Χριστόν τις πάσχῃ. γʹ. Τοιαύτη γὰρ ἡ τοῦ Πνεύματος χαρά· ἀντὶ τῶν δοκούντων εἶναι ἀνιαρῶν, ἐκφύει τὴν ἡδονήν. Ἔθλιψαν ὑμᾶς, φησὶ, καὶ ἐδίωξαν, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἀφῆκεν ὑμᾶς 62.396 τὸ Πνεῦμα οὐδὲ ἐν ἐκείνοις· ἀλλ' ὥσπερ ἐν πυρὶ ἐδροσίζοντο οἱ παῖδες οἱ τρεῖς, οὕτω καὶ ὑμεῖς ἐν ταῖς θλίψεσιν. Ὥσπερ δὲ ἐκεῖ οὐ τῆς τοῦ πυρὸς φύσεως τὸ δροσίζειν, ἀλλὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος τοῦ διασυρίζοντος· οὕτω καὶ ἐνταῦθα, οὐ τῆς φύσεως τῆς θλίψεως τὸ τὴν χαρὰν τίκτειν, ἀλλὰ τοῦ διὰ τὸν Χριστὸν πάσχειν, καὶ τοῦ Πνεύματος τοῦ δροσίζοντος, καὶ διὰ τῆς καμίνου τῶν πειρασμῶν ἐν ἀνέσει ποιοῦντος. Μετὰ χαρᾶς, φησὶν, οὐχ ἁπλῶς, ἀλλὰ πολλῆς· τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι Πνεύματος ἁγίου. Ὥστε γενέσθαι ὑμᾶς τύπους πᾶσι τοῖς πιστεύουσιν ἐν τῇ Μακεδονίᾳ καὶ Ἀχαΐᾳ. Καὶ μὴν ἐν ὑστέρῳ ἦλθε πρὸς αὐτούς· ἀλλ' οὕτως ἐλάμψατε, φησὶν, ὡς τῶν προλαβόντων γενέσθαι διδάσκαλοι. Καὶ τοῦτο ἀποστολικόν. Οὐ γὰρ εἶπεν· Ὥστε τύπους γενέσθαι πρὸς τὸ πιστεῦσαι, ἀλλὰ τοῖς ἤδη πιστεύουσι τύπος ἐγένεσθε· τουτέστι· Πῶς δεῖ πιστεύειν εἰς Θεὸν ὑμεῖς ἐδιδάξατε, οἱ ἀπὸ