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of a slavish and subordinate standing, hear what Daniel says: I beheld until the thrones were set, and the Ancient of days sat. Ten thousand times ten thousand ministered to him, and a thousand thousands stood by him. And again Isaiah: I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and the Seraphim stood round about him. And Micah too, I saw the Lord God of Israel sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven stood on his right and on his left. You see everywhere the powers above standing, but him sitting. When, therefore, you see the Son also having the seat at the right hand, do not think him to be of liturgical and ministerial dignity, but of that which is lordly and possesses authority. For this reason Paul, knowing both these things, that to stand is for those who minister, but to sit for those who command and order, see how he distinguishes both these things, saying thus: To his angels he says: Who makes his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire; but to the Son: Your throne, O God, is for ever and ever; through the throne showing us the royal authority. Since, therefore, through all these things the argument has proven to us that the Son is not of ministerial dignity, but of the lordly, let us worship him as Lord and of equal honor with the Father; for so he himself commanded, saying, That all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father; and let us join the precision of conduct and of works to the orthodoxy of our doctrines, so that the things of salvation may not be ours by half. For nothing is so able to achieve precision of conduct and purity of life as constant engagement here and eager listening. For what food is to the body, this the teaching of the divine oracles is to the soul. For man shall not live by bread alone, he says, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. For this reason, not partaking of such a table is known to work a famine. Hear, then, God threatening this, and holding it out as a form of chastisement and punishment: For I will give them, he says, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the word of the Lord. How then is it not strange to do and busy oneself with all things to ward off bodily famine, but to willingly draw upon ourselves that of the soul, although it is much more severe, inasmuch as the loss is about greater things? Let us not, I pray and beseech, let us not counsel so ill concerning ourselves, but let our engagement here be preferred before all business and care. For what do you gain so much, tell me, by staying away from the assembly, as you harm both yourself and your whole household? For even if you find a whole treasure full of gold, and on account of this you were absent, you have suffered a greater loss, and greater by as much as spiritual things are better than perceptible things. For those things, even if they are many, even if they flow in from all sides, yet they do not journey with us to the life there, nor do they move with us to heaven, nor do they stand by us at the dread judgment seat, but often they depart, having left us even before our end; but even if they should remain until the end, they are certainly cut off by death. But the spiritual treasure is a possession that cannot be taken away, and it follows us wherever we go and journey, and gives us great confidence at that judgment seat.

4. But if the profit from other assemblies is so great, from the assemblies here it becomes twofold. For indeed we do not reap this benefit alone, that we water the soul with divine words, but that we scatter much of the enemies' shame, and we provide much comfort to our brethren, For this is the benefit of the battle line, to hasten to the struggling part of the war, the part full of danger. Therefore, all must run together here, and repel the attacking enemies. You are not able to deliver a speech

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παρεστάναι δουλικῆς καὶ ὑποτεταγμένης, ἄκουσον τί φησιν ὁ ∆ανιήλ· Ἐθεώρουν ἕως οὗ θρόνοι ἐτέθησαν, καὶ ὁ Παλαιὸς τῶν ἡμερῶν ἐκάθητο. Μύριαι μυριάδες ἐλειτούργουν αὐτῷ, καὶ χίλιαι χιλιάδες παρειστήκεισαν αὐτῷ. Καὶ πάλιν ὁ Ἡσαΐας· Εἶδον τὸν Κύριον καθήμενον ἐπὶ θρόνου ὑψηλοῦ καὶ ἐπηρμένου, καὶ τὰ σεραφὶμ εἱστήκεισαν κύκλῳ αὐτοῦ. Καὶ ὁ Μιχαίας δὲ, Εἶδον τὸν Κύριον τὸν Θεὸν τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ καθήμενον ἐπὶ θρόνου αὐτοῦ, καὶ πᾶσα ἡ στρατιὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ εἱστήκει ἐκ δεξιῶν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐξ ἀριστερῶν αὐτοῦ. Ὁρᾷς πανταχοῦ τὰς μὲν ἄνω δυνάμεις παρεστηκυίας, αὐτὸν δὲ καθήμενον. Ὅταν οὖν ἴδῃς καὶ τὸν Υἱὸν τὴν ἐκ δεξιῶν ἔχοντα καθέδραν, μὴ τῆς λειτουργικῆς καὶ ὑπουργικῆς αὐτὸν εἶναι νομίσῃς ἀξίας, ἀλλὰ τῆς δεσποτικῆς καὶ αὐθεντίαν ἐχούσης. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ Παῦλος ἀμφότερα ταῦτα εἰδὼς, ὅτι τὸ μὲν παρεστάναι λειτουργούντων ἐστὶ, τὸ δὲ καθῆσθαι τῶν ἐπιταττόντων καὶ προσταττόντων, ὅρα πῶς ἀμφότερα ταῦτα διαιρεῖ λέγων οὕτω· Πρὸς μὲν τοὺς ἀγγέλους αὐτοῦ φησιν· Ὁ ποιῶν τοὺς ἀγγέλους αὐτοῦ πνεύματα, καὶ τοὺς λειτουργοὺς αὐτοῦ πυρὸς φλόγα· πρὸς δὲ τὸν Υἱόν· Ὁ θρόνος σου, ὁ Θεὸς, εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος· διὰ τοῦ θρόνου τὴν βασιλικὴν ἡμῖν ἐξουσίαν δηλῶν. Ἐπεὶ οὖν διὰ πάντων ὁ λόγος ἡμῖν τούτων ἀπέδειξεν οὐχὶ λειτουργικῆς ὄντα ἀξίας τὸν Υἱὸν, ἀλλὰ τῆς δεσποτικῆς, ὡς ∆εσπότην, αὐτὸν προσκυνῶμεν καὶ ὁμότιμον τῷ Πατρί· οὕτω γὰρ καὶ αὐτὸς ἐκέλευσεν εἰπὼν, Ἵνα πάντες τιμῶσι τὸν Υἱὸν, καθὼς τιμῶσι τὸν Πατέρα· καὶ τὴν διὰ τῆς πολιτείας καὶ τῶν ἔργων ἀκρίβειαν τῇ τῶν δογμάτων ὀρθότητι συνάπτωμεν, ἵνα μὴ ἐξ ἡμισείας ἡμῖν τὰ τῆς σωτηρίας ᾖ. Πολιτείας δὲ ἀκρίβειαν καὶ βίου καθαρότητα οὐδὲν οὕτω δύναται κατορθοῦν, ὡς ἡ συνεχὴς ἐνταῦθα διατριβὴ καὶ ἡ μετὰ προθυμίας ἀκρόασις. Ὅπερ γάρ ἐστιν ἐπὶ τοῦ σώματος ἡ τροφὴ, τοῦτο ἐπὶ τῆς ψυχῆς ἡ τῶν θείων λογίων διδασκαλία. Οὐ γὰρ ἐπ' ἄρτῳ μόνῳ ζήσεται ἄνθρωπος, φησὶν, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ παντὶ ῥήματι ἐκπορευομένῳ διὰ στόματος Θεοῦ. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ λιμὸν οἶδεν ἐργάζεσθαι τὸ μὴ μετέχειν τοιαύτης τραπέζης. Ἄκουσον γοῦν τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦτο ἀπειλοῦντος, καὶ ἐν τάξει κολάσεως καὶ τιμωρίας ἐπανατεινομένου· ∆ώσω γὰρ αὐτοῖς, φησὶν, οὐ λιμὸν ἄρτου, οὐδὲ δίψαν ὕδατος, ἀλλὰ λιμὸν τοῦ ἀκοῦσαι λόγον Κυρίου. Πῶς οὖν οὐκ ἄτοπον ὑπὲρ μὲν τοῦ τὸν σωματικὸν λιμὸν ἀποκρούσασθαι πάντα ποιεῖν καὶ πραγματεύεσθαι, τὸν δὲ τῆς ψυχῆς ἑκόντας ἐπισπᾶσθαι, καίτοι πολλῷ χαλεπώτερον ὄντα, ὅσῳ καὶ περὶ μειζόνων ἡ ζημία; Μὴ, δέομαι καὶ ἀντιβολῶ, μὴ κακῶς οὕτω περὶ ἑαυτῶν βουλευσώμεθα, ἀλλὰ πάσης ἀσχολίας καὶ φροντίδος ἡ ἐνταῦθα 48.801 προτιμάσθω διατριβή. Τί γὰρ τοσοῦτον κερδαίνεις, εἰπέ μοι, τῆς συνάξεως ἀπολιμπανόμενος, ὅσον ζημιοῖς καὶ σαυτὸν καὶ τὴν οἰκίαν πᾶσαν; Κἂν γὰρ θησαυρὸν εὕρῃς ὁλόκληρον χρυσίου γέμοντα, καὶ διὰ τοῦτον ἀπολειφθῇς, μείζονα ἐζημιώθης, καὶ τοσούτῳ μείζονα, ὅσῳ τῶν αἰσθητῶν τὰ πνευματικὰ ἀμείνω. Ἐκεῖνα μὲν γὰρ κἂν πολλὰ ᾖ, κἂν πάντοθεν ἐπιῤῥέῃ, ἀλλ' οὐ συναποδημεῖ πρὸς τὴν ἐκεῖ ζωὴν, οὐδὲ συμμεθίσταται ἡμῖν πρὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν, οὐδὲ ἐπὶ τοῦ βήματος παρίσταται τοῦ φοβεροῦ, ἀλλὰ πολλάκις καὶ πρὸ τῆς τελευτῆς ἡμᾶς καταλιπόντα οἴχεται· εἰ δὲ καὶ παραμείνειεν μέχρι τέλους, ἀλλ' ὑπὸ τῆς τελευτῆς διακόπτεται πάντως. Ὁ δὲ πνευματικὸς θησαυρὸς ἀναφαίρετόν ἐστι κτῆμα, καὶ πανταχοῦ βαδίζουσιν ἡμῖν καὶ ἀποδημοῦσιν ἕπεται, καὶ πολλὴν ἐπὶ τοῦ βήματος ἐκείνου δίδωσιν ἡμῖν τὴν παῤῥησίαν.

δʹ. Εἰ δὲ ἀπὸ τῶν ἄλλων συνάξεων τοσοῦτον τὸ κέρδος, ἀπὸ τῶν ἐνταῦθα συνάξεων διπλοῦν τοῦτο γίνεται. Οὐ γὰρ δὴ τοῦτο καρπούμεθα μόνον, ὅτι τὴν ψυχὴν τοῖς θείοις λόγοις ἄρδομεν, ἀλλ' ὅτι πολλὴν μὲν τῶν ἐχθρῶν κατασκεδάννυμεν τὴν αἰσχύνην, πολλὴν δὲ τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς τοῖς ἡμετέροις παρέχομεν τὴν παράκλησιν, Τοῦτο γὰρ τῆς παρατάξεως τὸ κέρδος ἐστὶ, τὸ σπεύδειν ἐπὶ τὸ πονοῦν τοῦ πολέμου μέρος, τὸ κινδύνου γέμον. ∆ιόπερ ἅπαντας ἐνταῦθα συντρέχειν δεῖ, καὶ τοὺς πολεμίους ἐπιόντας ἀποκρούεσθαι. Οὐ δύνασαι κατατεῖναι λόγον