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Now let me bring the discourse to what is more somber; come, let us return again to you. "I renounce you, Satan." What has happened? What is this strange and paradoxical thing? You who were afraid, who were trembling, have you risen up against the tyrant? Do you despise his cruelty? Who has lifted you to such recklessness? From where did you get your courage? "I have a weapon," he says, "a strong one." What weapon, what alliance? Tell me. "I enlist with you, O Christ," he says; "for this reason I am bold and I rise up; for I have a strong refuge. This has made me superior to the demon, me who before this was afraid and trembling. For this reason, I renounce not only him, but also all his pomp." The pomp of the devil is every form of sin, theaters of lawlessness, horse races, gatherings full of laughter and shameful speech; the pomp of the devil are auguries and divinations, omens and observances of times, and tokens and amulets and incantations. The cross possesses a wondrous amulet and a very great incantation, and blessed is the soul that says the name of Jesus Christ the crucified; call on this name 173 and every disease will flee, every satanic plot will yield to you. Remember these words, therefore; these are the covenants with the bridegroom. For just as in marriages it is necessary that documents of the bridal gifts and the dowry be completed, so also now it happens before the wedding; He found you naked and poor and uncomely, and did not pass by; for He requires only your choice. Therefore, bring these words instead of a dowry and Christ will consider it a great treasure, if you keep these things always; for His wealth is the salvation of our souls. Listen to what Paul says: "rich unto all and over all that call upon him."

But after these words, after the renunciation of the devil, after the enlistment with Christ, since you have now become His own and have nothing in common with that one, straightway, he commands you to be sealed and on your forehead he gives you the cross. For since it is likely that that beast, having heard these words, would be all the more enraged—for he is shameless and wishes to leap upon your very face—by imprinting the cross on your face through the anointing, He quells all his fury; for he will no longer dare to look upon such a countenance, but as if seeing rays leaping forth from there, thus with his eyes blinded he will depart. The cross is imprinted through the anointing; and this chrism is oil and myrrh together, myrrh as for a bride, oil as for an athlete. And that again it is not a man, but God himself who anoints you through the hand of the priest, listen to Paul saying: "Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God." And when this ointment has anointed all your members, you can restrain the dragon with impunity and you will suffer nothing terrible. After this anointing, therefore, it remains to come to the font of the holy waters. Then the priest, having stripped you of your garment, himself leads you down to the streams. Why naked, then? He reminds you of your former nakedness, when you were in Para174dise and were not ashamed; "For Adam and Eve," it says, "were naked and were not ashamed," until they received the garment of sin, which is full of much shame. Therefore, be not ashamed here either; for the font is much better than paradise. There is no serpent here, but Christ is here initiating you into the regeneration from water and Spirit. There are no trees here beautiful and fair to see, but there are spiritual gifts here. There is no tree of the knowledge of good and evil here, nor law and commandments, but grace and gifts. "For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace." But since you have listened with such pleasure to what has been said, I will ask of you one reward for your pleasure, which I also asked of you from the beginning. When you go down into the font of those waters, remember my lowliness. I asked this of you before, when I also reminded you of Joseph, who to

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νῦν ἐπὶ τὸ σκυθρωπότερον τὸν λόγον ἀγάγω, φέρε πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἐπανέλθωμεν πάλιν. "Ἀποτάσσομαί σοι, Σατανᾶ". τί γέγονε; τί τὸ ξένον καὶ παράδοξον; ὁ δεδοικώς, ὁ τρέμων κατεξανέστης τοῦ τυράννου; καταφρονεῖς αὐτοῦ τῆς ὠμότητος; τίς σε εἰς τοσαύτην ἀπόνοιαν ἐπῆρε; πόθεν σοι τὸ θαρρεῖν ἐγένετο; "Ὅπλον ἔχω", φησίν, "ἰσχυρόν". ποῖον ὅπλον, ποίαν συμμαχίαν; εἰπέ μοι. "Συντάσσομαί σοι, Χριστέ", φησί· "διὰ τοῦτο θαρρῶ καὶ κατεξανίσταμαι· ἰσχυρὰν γὰρ ἔχω καταφυγήν. αὕτη με τοῦ δαίμονος ἐποίησεν ἀνώτερον, τὸν πρὸ τούτου δεδοικότα καὶ τρέμοντα. διὰ τοῦτο οὐχὶ αὐτῷ μόνῳ, ἀλλὰ καὶ πάσῃ αὐτοῦ ἀποτάσσομαι τῇ πομπῇ". πομπὴ δὲ διαβόλου πᾶν εἶδος ἁμαρτίας ἐστί, θέατρα παρανομίας, ἱπποδρομίαι, συνέδρια γέλωτος καὶ αἰσχρολογίας γέμοντα· πομπὴ διαβόλου οἰωνισμοὶ καὶ μαντεῖαι, κληδόνες καὶ παρατηρήσεις καιρῶν, καὶ σύμβολα καὶ περίαπτα καὶ ἐπῳδαί. θαυμαστὸν περίαπτον ὁ σταυρὸς ἔχει καὶ μεγίστην ἐπῳδήν, καὶ μακαρία ἡ ψυχὴ ἡ λέγουσα τὸ ὄνομα Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ σταυρωθέντος· τοῦτο κάλεσον 173 καὶ πᾶν νόσημα φεύξεται, πᾶσα ἐπιβουλὴ παραχωρήσει σοι σατανική. τούτων οὖν μέμνησο τῶν ῥημάτων· αὗται αἱ συνθῆκαι πρὸς τὸν νυμφίον εἰσί. καθάπερ γὰρ ἐπὶ τῶν γάμων τὰ τῶν ἕδνων καὶ τῆς φερνῆς ἀνάγκη συντελεῖσθαι γραμματεῖα, οὕτω καὶ νῦν πρὸ τῶν γάμων γίνεται· γυμνήν σε εὗρε καὶ πτωχὴν καὶ ἀσχημονοῦσαν, καὶ οὐ παρέδραμε· τῆς προαιρέσεώς σου γὰρ δεῖται μόνης. ἀντὶ προικὸς τοίνυν ταῦτα εἰσένεγκε τὰ ῥήματα καὶ μέγαν ἡγήσεται πλοῦτον ὁ Χριστός, ἂν ταῦτα φυλάττῃς διὰ παντός· πλοῦτος γὰρ ἐκείνου τῶν ἡμετέρων ψυχῶν ἡ σωτηρία. ἄκουσον, πῶς φησιν ὁ Παῦλος· "πλουτῶν εἰς πάντας καὶ ἐπὶ πάντας τοὺς ἐπικαλουμένους αὐτόν".

Μετὰ δὲ τὰ ῥήματα ταῦτα, μετὰ τὴν ἀποταγὴν τοῦ διαβόλου, μετὰ τὴν συνταγὴν τὴν πρὸς τὸν Χριστόν, ἅτε οἰκείους γεγενημένους λοιπὸν καὶ οὐδὲν κοινὸν ἔχοντας πρὸς ἐκεῖνον, εὐθέως, σφραγίζεσθαι κελεύει καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ μετώπου δίδωσί σοι τὸν σταυρόν. ἐπειδὴ γὰρ εἰκὸς τὸ θηρίον ἐκεῖνο ταῦτα ἀκοῦσαν τὰ ῥήματα ἀγριωθῆναι μᾶλλον ἀναίσχυντον γάρ ἐστι καὶ αὐτῇ βούλεται ἐπιπηδῆσαι τῇ ὄψει, διὰ τοῦ χρίσματος ἐντυπῶν σου τῷ προσώπῳ τὸν σταυρὸν ἅπασαν αὐτοῦ καταστέλλει τὴν μανίαν· οὐ γὰρ τολμήσει πρὸς τοιαύτην ἀντιβλέψαι λοιπὸν ὄψιν, ἀλλ' ὥσπερ ἀκτῖνας ὁρῶν ἐκπηδώσας ἐκεῖθεν, οὕτως ἀποτυφλωθεὶς τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἄπεισιν. ἐντυποῦται δὲ ὁ σταυρὸς διὰ τοῦ χρίσματος· τὸ δὲ χρῖσμα τοῦτο ἔλαιον ὁμοῦ καὶ μύρον ἐστί, μύρον μὲν ὡς νύμφην, ἔλαιον δὲ ὡς ἀθλητήν. καὶ ὅτι πάλιν οὐκ ἄνθρωπος, ἀλλ' αὐτός σε χρίει ὁ θεὸς διὰ τῆς τοῦ ἱερέως χειρός, ἄκουσον τοῦ Παύλου λέγοντος· "ὁ δὲ βεβαιῶν ἡμᾶς σὺν ὑμῖν εἰς Χριστὸν καὶ χρίσας ἡμᾶς, θεός". ἐπειδὰν δὲ τοῦτο τὸ ἄλειμμα ἀλείψῃ πάντα τὰ μέλη, μετὰ ἀδείας τὸν δράκοντα κατέχειν δύνασαι καὶ οὐδὲν πείσῃ δεινόν. Μετὰ τὴν χρῖσιν τοίνυν ταύτην ἐπὶ τὴν κολυμβήθραν τῶν ἁγίων ὑδάτων λείπεται ἐλθεῖν. τότε ἀποδύσας σε τὸ ἱμάτιον ὁ ἱερεύς, αὐτός σε κατάγει ἐπὶ τὰ νάματα. τίνος οὖν ἕνεκεν γυμνόν; ἀναμιμνήσκει σε τῆς προτέρας γυμνότητος, ὅτε ἦς ἐν τῷ παρα174 δείσῳ καὶ οὐκ ᾐσχύνου· "ἦσαν" γάρ φησιν "Ἀδὰμ καὶ Εὔα γυμνοὶ καὶ οὐκ ᾐσχύνοντο", ἕως ἔλαβον τὸ τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἱμάτιον, τὸ πολλῆς γέμον αἰσχύνης. μὴ τοίνυν μηδὲ ἐνταῦθα αἰσχύνου· πολὺ γὰρ τοῦ παραδείσου βελτίων ἡ κολυμβήθρα. οὐκ ἔστιν ἐνταῦθα ὄφις, ἀλλὰ Χριστός ἐστιν ἐνταῦθα μυσταγωγῶν σε πρὸς τὴν ἐξ ὕδατος καὶ πνεύματος ἀναγέννησιν. οὐκ ἔστιν ἐνταῦθα δένδρα καλὰ καὶ ὡραῖα ἰδεῖν, ἀλλ' ἔστιν ἐνταῦθα χαρίσματα πνευματικά. οὐκ ἔστιν ἐνταῦθα ξύλον γνωστὸν καλοῦ καὶ πονηροῦ, οὐδὲ νόμος καὶ ἐντολαί, ἀλλὰ χάρις καὶ δωρεαί. "ἁμαρτία γὰρ ὑμῶν οὐ κυριεύσει· οὐ γάρ ἐστε ὑπὸ νόμον, ἀλλ' ὑπὸ χάριν". Ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ μετὰ τοσαύτης ἡδονῆς ἠκούσατε τῶν εἰρημένων, μίαν ὑμᾶς αἰτήσω τῆς ἡδονῆς ἀμοιβήν, ἣν καὶ παρὰ τὴν ἀρχὴν ὑμᾶς ᾔτησα. ὅταν εἰς τὴν κολυμβήθραν καταβῆτε τῶν ὑδάτων ἐκείνων, μνήσθητέ μου τῆς εὐτελείας. τοῦτο καὶ πρώην ἡμῶν ἐδεήθην, ὅτε καὶ τοῦ Ἰωσὴφ ἀνέμνησα, ὃς πρὸς