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How did the soul not fly from the flesh? How, I say. She was not looking to the earth, but was preparing all things for what was to come; she feared one thing only, that the tyrant might spare and prematurely end the contest, that he might break up the chorus of the children, that some might remain uncrowned. And because she feared this, she all but took the last one with her hands and thus cast him into the cauldron, using exhortation and counsel towards him instead of hands. We do not hear of the evils of others without pain, and she saw her own without pain. Let us not hear these things simply, but let each of the hearers take upon his own children all this tragedy; let him picture the longed-for countenance, and sketching for himself his dearest ones, let him paint on them these sufferings, and then he will know well the power of what is said; or rather, not even so; for no word will be able to represent the passions of nature, but experience alone teaches. It is fitting to say to her that prophetic word after the crowning of the seven children: But you are like a fruitful olive tree in the house of God. For in the Olympic games, when a thousand athletes often enter, the crown falls to one only; but here, from seven athletes have come seven victors. What land can you show me so fertile? What womb so fruitful? What such birth pangs? The mother of the sons of Zebedee became the mother of apostles, but of two onl50.622y; but I know of no single womb that has brought forth seven martyrs, and she herself again added to them, not in the addition of one martyr only, but in that of many more. For the children were only seven martyrs; but the body of their mother, added to them, was one body, but it filled the place of twice seven martyrs, because she was martyred in each one of them, and because she had made them such, bringing forth for us a whole Church of martyrs. She was in labor with seven children, and she was in labor with none for the earth, but all for heaven, or rather for the king of heaven, bringing them all forth into the life to come. The devil therefore brought her last to the wrestling for the reason I mentioned before, so that with her strength already consumed in the spectacle of the tortures, she might become an easy prey when she received the adversary last. For if men, often seeing flowing blood, have collapsed faint-heartedly and needed much effort to bring back their failing life and the soul flying from their body; she, seeing so many streams of blood flowing not from another's, but from the flesh of her children, what would she not have endured? How much turmoil would she not have received in her soul? The devil, therefore, as I said before, for this reason dragged her to the contests after her children, so as to make her weaker; but the opposite happened; for she came to the contests with more courage. For what reason, and why? Because she no longer feared, nor was she concerned for any children left behind for her here, lest they might be weakened and deprived of their crowns; but having deposited them all as into a safe treasury, heaven, and having sent up the crowns and the immovable good things, she stripped for the contest with courage and with great pleasure; and like the most precious stone to a crown, she, having fitted her own flesh to the chorus of her children, departed to the longed-for Jesus, leaving us the greatest exhortation and counsel, the admonition through her deeds, so that with a strengthened soul and a lofty mind we might dare to face all terrible things. For what man, what woman, what old man, what youth will henceforth obtain pardon, or have an excuse for being afraid for Christ's sake

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πῶς οὐκ ἀπέπτη τῆς σαρκὸς ἡ ψυχή; Πῶς, ἐγὼ λέγω. Οὐχ ἑώρα πρὸς τὴν γῆν, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὰ μέλλοντα παρεσκευάζετο πάντα· ἓν ἐδεδοίκει μόνον, μὴ φείσηται καὶ προκαταλύσῃ τὸν ἀγῶνα ὁ τύραννος, μὴ διασχίσῃ τὸν χορὸν τῶν παιδίων, μὴ μείνωσί τινες ἀστεφάνωτοι. Καὶ ὅτι τοῦτο ἐδεδοίκει, τὸν ἔσχατον μονονουχὶ ταῖς χερσὶ λαβοῦσα, οὕτως εἰς τὸν λέβητα ἐνῆκεν, ἀντὶ χειρῶν τῇ τῶν λόγων πρὸς αὐτὸν χρησαμένη παρακλήσει καὶ συμβουλῇ. Ἡμεῖς οὐκ ἀκούομεν χωρὶς ἀλγηδόνος τὰ ἀλλότρια κακὰ, κἀκείνη ἔβλεπε χωρὶς ἀλγηδόνος τὰ οἰκεῖα. Ταῦτα μὴ ἁπλῶς ἀκούωμεν, ἀλλ' ἕκαστος τῶν ἀκροατῶν ἐπὶ τῶν οἰκείων ἀναλαμβανέτω παιδίων ἅπασαν ταύτην τὴν τραγῳδίαν· ὑποτυπούτω τὴν ὄψιν τὴν ποθουμένην, καὶ τὰ φίλτατα ὑπογράφων ἑαυτῷ, ἐπ' αὐτῶν ἀναζωγραφείτω ταῦτα τὰ πάθη, καὶ τότε εἴσεται καλῶς τῶν λεγομένων τὴν δύναμιν· μᾶλλον δὲ οὐδὲ οὕτως· τὰ γὰρ τῆς φύσεως πάθη λόγος μὲν οὐδεὶς παραστῆσαι δυνήσεται, πεῖρα δὲ διδάσκει μόνη. Εὔκαιρον πρὸς ἐκείνην εἰπεῖν τὸ προφητικὸν ἐκεῖνο μετὰ τὸν στέφανον τῶν ἑπτὰ παίδων· Σὺ δὲ ὡσεὶ ἐλαία κατάκαρπος ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ἐπὶ μὲν οὖν τῶν Ὀλυμπιακῶν ἀγώνων, χιλίων πολλάκις εἰσελθόντων ἀθλητῶν, εἰς ἕνα περιίσταται μόνον ὁ στέφανος· ἐνταῦθα δὲ ἀπὸ ἑπτὰ ἀθλητῶν ἑπτὰ στεφανῖται γεγόνασι. Ποίαν ἔχεις μοι δεῖξαι χώραν οὕτως εὔφορον; ποίαν νηδὺν οὕτως εὔτοκον; ποίας τοιαύτας ὠδῖνας; Ἡ μήτηρ τῶν υἱῶν Ζεβεδαίου ἀποστόλων ἐγένετο μήτηρ, ἀλλὰ δύο μό50.622 νων· ἑπτὰ δὲ μάρτυρας οὐκ οἶδα μίαν ἐξενεγκοῦσαν γαστέρα, καὶ αὐτὴν πάλιν προστεθεῖσαν αὐτοῖς, οὐκ ἐν προσθήκῃ μιᾶς μάρτυρος μόνον, ἀλλ' ἐν πολλῷ πλειόνων. Οἱ μὲν γὰρ παῖδες ἑπτὰ μάρτυρες ἦσαν μόνον· τὸ δὲ σῶμα τῆς μητρὸς αὐτῶν προστεθὲν σῶμα μὲν ἦν ἓν, μαρτύρων δὲ δὶς ἑπτὰ χώραν ἐπλήρου, ὅτι τε καθ' ἕκαστον αὐτῶν ἐμαρτύρησε, καὶ ὅτι κἀκείνους τοιούτους εἰργάσατο, Ἐκκλησίαν ὁλόκληρον μαρτύρων ἡμῖν ἀποκυήσασα. Ἑπτὰ παῖδας ὤδινε, καὶ οὐδένα ὤδινε τῇ γῇ, ἀλλὰ πάντας τῷ οὐρανῷ, μᾶλλον δὲ τῷ βασιλεῖ τῶν οὐρανῶν, εἰς τὴν μέλλουσαν αὐτοὺς ἅπαντας ἀποκυήσασα ζωήν. Ὁ μὲν οὖν διάβολος ἐσχάτην αὐτὴν ἦγε πρὸς τὰ παλαίσματα διὰ τὴν αἰτίαν, ἣν ἔφθην εἰπὼν, ἵνα τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτῇ προαναλωθείσης ἐν τῇ θεωρίᾳ τῶν βασάνων, εὐχείρωτος γένηται ἐσχάτη δεχομένη τὸν ἀντίπαλον. Εἰ γὰρ αἷμα πολλάκις ὁρῶντες καταῤῥέον ἄνθρωποι κατέπεσον ὀλιγοψυχήσαντες, καὶ πολλῆς ἐδεήθησαν πραγματείας, ὥστε τὴν ζωὴν ἐκλείπουσαν αὐτοῖς καὶ τοῦ σώματος ἀφιπταμένην τὴν ψυχὴν ἐπαναγαγεῖν· τοσούτους ἐκείνη αἵματος βλέπουσα ῥύακας οὐκ ἐξ ἀλλοτρίας, ἀλλ' ἐκ τῆς τῶν παιδίων σαρκὸς καταῤῥέοντας, τί οὐκ ἂν ὑπέμεινεν; πόσον οὐκ ἂν ἐδέξατο θόρυβον τῇ ψυχῇ; Ὁ μὲν οὖν διάβολος, ὅπερ ἔφθην εἰπὼν, διὰ τοῦτο μετὰ τοὺς παῖδας αὐτὴν ἐπὶ τοὺς ἀγῶνας εἵλκυσεν, ὥστε ἀσθενεστέραν ἐργάσασθαι· ἐγένετο δὲ τοὐναντίον· μᾶλλον γὰρ θαῤῥοῦσα πρὸς τοὺς ἀγῶνας ἤρχετο. Τίνος ἕνεκεν, καὶ διὰ τί; Ὅτι οὐκ ἐδεδοίκει λοιπὸν, οὐδὲ ἐφρόντιζεν ὑπέρ τινων ἐνταῦθα καταλιμπανομένων αὐτῇ παιδίων, μή ποτε καταμαλακισθέντες ἀποστερηθῶσι τῶν στεφάνων· ἀλλὰ πάντας αὐτοὺς ὥσπερ εἰς ἄσυλον ἀποθεμένη ταμεῖον τὸν οὐρανὸν, καὶ πρὸς τοὺς ἄνω πέμψασα στεφάνους καὶ τὰ ἀκίνητα ἀγαθὰ, θαῤῥοῦσα ἐπαπεδύετο μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς ἡδονῆς· καὶ καθάπερ στεφάνῳ τινὶ τὸν τιμαλφέστατον λίθον, αὕτη τὴν σάρκα τὴν ἑαυτῆς τῷ χορῷ τῶν παιδίων ἐναρμόσασα πρὸς τὸν ποθούμενον Ἰησοῦν ἀπεδήμησε, μεγίστην ἡμῖν καταλιποῦσα παράκλησιν καὶ συμβουλὴν, τὴν διὰ τῶν ἔργων παραίνεσιν, ὥστε ἐῤῥωμένῃ ψυχῇ καὶ ὑψηλῷ τῷ φρονήματι πάντων κατατολμᾷν τῶν δεινῶν. Τίς γὰρ ἀνὴρ, ποία γυνὴ, τίς πρεσβύτης, ποῖος νέος συγγνώμης τεύξεται λοιπὸν, ἢ ἀπολογίαν ἕξει δεδοικὼς διὰ τὸν Χριστὸν