with tears. But even if she did not speak with her tongue, but with groans that cannot be uttered she gave voice, revealing the contrition of her heart, making a spectacle of the multitude of her sins, parading the wicked thoughts, the accursed imaginings, the profane deeds, the lawless conversations; for there was nothing of the evil things she had done that she did not bewail with tears. For she knew that of those things she confessed, she received amnesty. For I said, it says, I will confess my transgression to the Lord, and you forgave the ungodliness of my heart. And not only did she give voice without speech with the groans of her heart, entreating the Lord, but she also by her posture portrayed the beauty of repentance. She wept, as one who had laughed much, washing away wicked laughter with goodly tears, and with the drops from her eyes washing away the filth from her cheeks, so that in what she had sinned, in these things she might also make her defense, in what she had transgressed, in these things she might propitiate the lawgiver. For just as David washed with tears the bed which he had unlawfully defiled by an embrace; for I will wash, he says, my bed every night, I will drench my couch with my tears, so also she, through the eyes with which she drew many of the young into licentiousness, releasing fountains of tears, washed away the hard-to-clean filth of sin, presenting for herself the tears as a bath of repentance. For she offered her tears as water, and she invisibly received remission from Christ. But indeed, perhaps not only imitating Abraham, but surpassing him, she washed the feet of Christ. For he, having set out a basin, washed with water and wiped with a towel, but she, not having drawn water, but having released fountains of tears, washed the feet of Jesus. And sparing lest with a sinner's tears she should insult holy feet, she put forward the beauty of her hair as a towel and wiped his feet. And one could see the woman entirely bent to the service of Jesus; for her eyes from above sent forth channels as fountains of tears, and her soul, lying beneath like a basin, received the drops dripping from his feet, and her tresses wiped them, fulfilling the role of a towel, and her hands, pouring out the alabaster jar of ointment, anointed the divine feet, honoring the Ointment with ointment; For your name, it says, is ointment poured out. Do you see how a sinful woman, and one without a share in the divine laws, overcame the ungrateful opinion of the Jews? For they were throwing stones at him, but she was delighting him with fragrant ointments. But the Jews, as ungrateful, as senseless and ignorant, repaid their benefactor with evils, showing their regard for the cornerstone with stones; but she anointed with ointment the feet that for her sake were about to stand all day upon the platform of the cross. And why do I say that she overcame the ungrateful people of the Jews, when she surpassed the whole choir of the saints? For she received a grace which kings did not receive, which rulers did not obtain; For the kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents, and all the kings of the earth shall worship him. And indeed, according to the prophet, they gave gifts and worshipped from afar, but none of them kissed the feet of Jesus. For how could they? The Magi came, taking a star as an ally for their guidance, but from afar they offered gifts, knowing the measure of their own rank. For heaven is my throne, he says, and the earth is my footstool. Let the woman therefore be praised as having received the honor of the whole earth, as having touched undefiled feet whose dust nations and tribes shall lick, according to that which was spoken, that they shall lick the dust of his feet. She touched undefiled feet, she shared the body of Christ with John. For he reclined on his breast, for from there he was about to draw forth divine teaching; but she anointed the feet that walked for our sake. But Christ, not judging the sin, but praising the repentance, not punishing the past,

4

δάκρυσιν. Ἀλλ' εἰ καὶ μὴ τῇ γλώσσῃ ἐλάλει, ἀλλὰ στεναγμοῖς ἀλαλήτοις ἐφθέγγετο τὸν συντριμμὸν τῆς καρδίας ἐκκαλύπτουσα, τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν θριαμ βεύουσα, τοὺς ἀτόπους λογισμούς, τὰς ἐναγεῖς ἐνθυμήσεις, τὰς βεβήλους πράξεις, τὰς παρανόμους ὁμιλίας ἐκπομπεύουσα· οὐδὲν γὰρ ἦν τῶν πεπραγμένων αὐτῇ κακῶν, ὃ μὴ δάκρυσιν ἐξετραγῴδει. Ἤδει γὰρ ὅτι ὧν ὡμολόγει τὴν ἀμνηστίαν ἐλάμβα νεν. Εἶπα γάρ, φησίν, Ἐξαγορεύσω τὴν ἀνομίαν μου τῷ κυρίῳ καὶ σὺ ἀφῆκας τὴν ἀσέβειαν τῆς καρδίας μου. Καὶ οὐ μόνον ἀλαλήτως ἐφθέγγετο τοῖς στεναγμοῖς τῆς καρδίας δυσωποῦσα τὸν κύριον, ἀλλὰ καὶ σχήματι τὸ τῆς μετανοίας διέγραφε κάλλος. Ἐδάκρυσεν μὲν ὡς πολλὰ γελάσασα τοῖς καλοῖς δάκρυσι τὸν κακὸν ἐκπλύ νουσα γέλωτα, ταῖς δὲ ῥανίσι τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν τὸν τῶν παρειῶν ἐκπλύνουσα ῥύπον, ἵνα ἐν οἷς ἥμαρτεν, ἐν τούτοις καὶ ἀπο λογήσηται, ἐν οἷς ἠνόμησεν, ἐν τούτοις τὸν νομοθέτην ἐξιλεώση ται. Ὥσπερ γὰρ τὴν κοίτην ἣν ἐκθέσμως ἐμόλυνε συμπλοκῇ, δάκρυσιν ἀπέπλυνεν ὁ ∆αβίδ· Λούσω γάρ, φησί, καθ' ἑκάστην νύκτα τὴν κλίνην μου, ἐν δάκρυσί μου τὴν στρωμνήν μου βρέξω, οὕτω καὶ αὕτη δι' ὧν ὀφθαλμῶν πολλοὺς τῶν νέων εἰς ἀκολασίαν ὑπέσυρε δακρύων ἀφεῖσα πηγὰς τὸν δύσπλυτον τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἀπέπλυνε ῥύπον, αὐτὴ ἑαυτῇ λοῦτρον μετανοίας προβαλλομένη τὰ δάκρυα. Τὰ μὲν γὰρ δάκρυα ὡς ὕδωρ αὐτὴ παρεῖχε, τὴν δὲ ἄφεσιν ἀοράτως παρὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ὑπεδέχετο. Ἀλλὰ μὴν καὶ τὸν Ἀβραὰμ τάχα οὐ μιμουμένη μόνον, ἀλλὰ νικῶσα, τοὺς πόδας ἀπέπλυνε τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ νιπτῆρα θεὶς ὕδασιν ἀπέπλυ νεν καὶ λεντίῳ κατέμασσεν, αὕτη δὲ οὐχ ὕδωρ ἀντλήσασα, ἀλλὰ κρήνας δακρύων ἀφεῖσα τοὺς πόδας ἀπέπλυνε τοῦ Ἰησοῦ. Φεισαμένη δὲ μὴ δάκρυσιν ἁμαρτωλοῖς ἁγίους ἐνυβρίσῃ πόδας, τὸ τῶν τριχῶν κάλλος ὡς λέντιον ὑποβαλοῦσα ἀπέμασσε τοὺς πόδας. Καὶ ἦν ἰδεῖν ὅλον δι' ὅλου τὸ γύναιον πρὸς θεραπείαν τοῦ Ἰησοῦ καμπτόμενον· οἱ μὲν γὰρ ὀφθαλμοὶ ἄνωθεν ὡς κρῆναι δακρύων ἔπεμπον ὀχετούς, ἡ δὲ ψυχὴ ὥσπερ νιπτὴρ ὑποκειμένη τὰς ἐκ τῶν ποδῶν ἀποσταζούσας ἐδέχετο ῥανίδας, οἱ δὲ πλόκα μοι ἀπέμασσον λεντίου πληροῦντες σχῆμα, αἱ δὲ χεῖρες τὸ ἀλάβαστρον τοῦ μύρου καταχέουσαι τοὺς θείους ἤλειφον πόδας μύρῳ τὸ μύρον τιμῶσαι· Μύρον γάρ, φησίν, κενωθὲν ὄνομά σοι. Εἶδες πῶς ἐνίκησε τὴν ἀχάριστον τῶν Ἰουδαίων γνώμην γυνὴ ἁμαρτωλὸς καὶ θείων ἄμοιρος νόμων. Οἱ μὲν γὰρ λίθοις αὐτὸν ἔβαλλον, ἡ δὲ τοῖς τῆς εὐωδίας ηὔφραινε μύροις. Ἀλλ' Ἰουδαῖοι μὲν ὡς ἀχάριστοι, ὡς ἀσύνετοι καὶ ἀγνώμονες, κακοῖς ἠμείβοντο τὸν εὐεργέτην λίθοις τὸν ἀκρογωνιαῖον φιλο φρονούμενοι λίθον· ἡ δὲ μύρῳ ἤλειφε τοὺς πόδας τοὺς μέλλοντας δι' αὐτὴν πανημέριον ἐπὶ τῆς ἰκρίας ἰστᾶσθαι τοῦ σταυροῦ. Καὶ τί λέγω ὅτι τὸν ἀχάριστον τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἐνίκησε δῆμον, ὅπου γε ὅλον τῶν ἁγίων ὑπερηκόντισε τὸν χορόν; Ἔλαβε γὰρ χάριν ἣν οὐκ ἔλαβον βασιλεῖς, ἧς οὐκ ἔτυχον δυνάσται· Βασιλεῖς γὰρ Θαρσεῖς καὶ νῆσοι δῶρα προσοίσουσι καὶ προσκυνήσουσιν αὐτῷ πάντες οἱ βασιλεῖς τῆς γῆς. Καὶ δὴ κατὰ τὸν προφήτην καὶ ἔδωκαν τὰ δῶρα καὶ πόρρωθεν προσεκύνησαν, ἀλλ' οὐδεὶς αὐτῶν τοῦ Ἰησοῦ τοὺς πόδας ἐφίλησε. Πῶς γάρ; Ἦλθον μάγοι λαβόντες ἀστέρα τῆς ἡγεσίας σύμμαχον, ἀλλὰ πόρρωθεν ἐδωροφόρουν τῆς οἰκείας τάξεως τὸ μέτρον γινώσκοντες. Ὁ οὐρανὸς γάρ μοι, φησίν, θρόνος, ἡ δὲ γῆ ὑποπόδιον τῶν ποδῶν μου. Ἐπαινείσθω τοίνυν ἡ γυνὴ ὡς ὅλης τῆς γῆς τὴν τιμὴν ὑποδεξαμένη, ὡς ἁψα μένη ποδῶν ἀχράντων ὧν τὸν χοῦν ἔθνη καὶ πατριαὶ λείξουσι, κα τὰ τὸ εἰρημένον ὅτι τὸν χοῦν τῶν ποδῶν αὐτοῦ λείξουσι. Ἥψατο ποδῶν ἀχράντων, ἐμερίσατο πρὸς Ἰωάννην τοῦ Χριστοῦ τὸ σῶμα. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ ἐπὶ τοῦ στήθους ἀνέπεσε, θείαν γὰρ αὐτόθεν ἔμελλε διδασκαλίαν ἀπομάσσεσθαι· ἡ δὲ τοὺς ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν βαδίζον τας πόδας ὑπήλειφεν. Ἀλλ' ὁ Χριστὸς μέν, ὁ μὴ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν κρίνων, ἀλλὰ τὴν μετάνοιαν ἐπαινῶν, ὁ μὴ τὰ παρελθόντα κο λάζων,

4