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seventy times seven; some think seventy-seven, but it is not so; but it is nearly five hundred; for seven times seventy is four hundred and ninety. And do not think the command is difficult, beloved. For if you forgive one who has sinned once and a second and a third time in the day, even if he be exceedingly of stone, even if the one who has caused grief be fiercer than the demons themselves, he will not be so senseless as to fall into the same things again, but being disciplined by the frequency of forgiveness, he will be better and more reasonable; and you, in turn, if you are prepared to disregard the sins committed against you so many times, having trained yourself from the first and second and third forgiveness, you will no longer have any trouble in such a philosophy, having practiced once for all through the frequency of forgiveness not even to be wounded by your neighbor's sins. Having heard these things, Peter stood speechless, caring not only for himself, but also for those who were about to be entrusted to him. Therefore, so that he might not do the same thing that he also did concerning other commandments, [He] anticipated and cut off every question from him. And what did he do concerning the other commandments? If ever Christ commanded something of this sort, which seemed to have some difficulty, he would leap forward before the others and ask and inquire about the commandment. For when the rich man came and asked Christ about eternal life, and having learned the things that make for perfection, went away grieving because of his money, when Christ said that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven; Peter, though he had stripped himself of everything, and no longer even held a fishhook, but had despised both his trade and his boat, came and said to Christ: "And who can be saved?" And see both the reasonableness of a disciple, and his fervor; for he neither said: "You command impossible things, the command is difficult, the law is harsh"; nor was he silent, but he also showed his care for the others, and he rendered the honor owed by a disciple to a teacher, by saying thus: "And who can be saved?" and not yet having become a shepherd, he had the soul of a shepherd, and not yet having been entrusted with the leadership, he kept the care proper to a leader, caring for the whole world. For if he had been rich, and possessed of much money, perhaps someone might have said that he cared not for others, but for himself, and concerned for his own affairs, he put forward this question; but now his poverty frees him from this suspicion, and shows how, caring for the salvation of others, he was anxious and inquisitive, and wished to learn from the teacher the way of salvation. For this reason Christ also, encouraging him, says: "The things that are impossible with men are possible with God." For do not think, he says, that you are left desolate; I am helping you in this endeavor, and I make the impassable things become easy and simple. Again, when Christ was speaking about marriage and a wife and saying, that "Whoever divorces his wife, except for the reason of fornication, makes her commit adultery," and exhorting to bear every fault of a wife except fornication alone, Peter, while the others were silent, came and said to Christ: 51.22 "If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is not good to marry." See here also how he both kept the honor proper to a teacher, and cared for the salvation of the others, not even here being anxious for his own affairs. Therefore, so that he might not say something of this sort here also, [He] anticipated and preempted his objection by means of the parable. For this reason the evangelist also said: "Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves;" showing that he tells this parable for this reason, so that

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ἑβδομηκοντάκις ἑπτά· τινὲς ἑπτὰ καὶ ἑβδομήκοντα νομίζουσιν, οὐκ ἔστι δέ· ἀλλὰ παρολίγον πεντακοσιοστόν ἐστι· τὸ γὰρ ἑπτάκις ἑβδομήκοντα, τετρακόσια καὶ ἐννενήκοντά ἐστι. Καὶ μὴ νομίσῃς δύσκολον εἶναι τὸ ἐπίταγμα, ἀγαπητέ. Ἐὰν γὰρ ἅπαξ καὶ δεύτερον καὶ τρίτον ἁμαρτόντι συγχωρήσῃς τῆς ἡμέρας, κἂν σφόδρα ᾖ λίθινος, κἂν αὐτῶν τῶν δαιμόνων ἀγριώτερος ὁ λελυπηκὼς, οὐκ ἔσται οὕτως ἀναίσθητος, ὡς πάλιν τοῖς αὐτοῖς περιπεσεῖν, ἀλλὰ τῇ πυκνότητι τῆς συγχωρήσεως σωφρονισθεὶς, βελτίων ἔσται καὶ ἐπιεικέστερος· σύ τε αὖ ἐὰν ᾖς παρεσκευασμένος τοσαυτάκις καταφρονεῖν τῶν εἰς σὲ γινομένων ἁμαρτημάτων, ἀπὸ μιᾶς καὶ δευτέρας καὶ τρίτης συγχωρήσεως γυμνασάμενος, οὐδὲ πόνον ἕξεις λοιπὸν ἐν τῇ τοιαύτῃ φιλοσοφίᾳ, μελετήσας καθάπαξ τῇ πυκνότητι τῆς συγχωρήσεως μηδὲ πλήττεσθαι παρὰ τῶν τοῦ πέλας ἁμαρτημάτων. Ταῦτα ἀκούσας ὁ Πέτρος, ἀχανὴς εἱστήκει, οὐχ ὑπὲρ ἑαυτοῦ φροντίζων μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑπὲρ τῶν μελλόντων αὐτῷ ἐμπιστεύεσθαι. Ἵνα οὖν μὴ τὸ αὐτὸ ποιήσῃ, ὅπερ καὶ ἐφ' ἑτέρων ἐντολῶν ἐποίησε, προλαβὼν ἀπέκλεισεν αὐτῷ πᾶσαν ἐρώτησιν. Τί δὲ ἐπὶ τῶν λοιπῶν ἐντολῶν ἐποίησεν; Εἴ ποτέ τι τοιοῦτον ὁ Χριστὸς ἐπέταττεν, ὃ δυσκολίαν τινὰ ἔχειν ἐδόκει, προπηδῶν τῶν ἄλλων ἠρώτα καὶ ἐπυνθάνετο περὶ τῆς ἐντολῆς. Καὶ γὰρ ὅτε προσελθὼν ὁ πλούσιος περὶ τῆς αἰωνίου ζωῆς τὸν Χριστὸν ἠρώτα, καὶ μαθὼν τὰ ποιητικὰ τῆς τελειότητος, ἀπῄει λυπούμενος ὑπὸ τῶν χρημάτων, εἰπόντος τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὅτι εὐκοπώτερόν ἐστι κάμηλον διὰ τρυμαλιᾶς ῥαφίδος διελθεῖν, ἢ πλούσιον εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν εἰσελθεῖν· ὁ Πέτρος, καίτοι πάντων ἑαυτὸν γυμνώσας, καὶ οὐδὲ τὸ ἄγκιστρον κατέχων λοιπὸν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς τέχνης καὶ τοῦ ἀκατίου καταφρονήσας, προσελθὼν ἔλεγε τῷ Χριστῷ· Καὶ τίς δύναται σωθῆναι; Καὶ ὅρα καὶ ἐπιείκειαν μαθητοῦ, καὶ θερμότητα· οὔτε γὰρ εἶπεν· Ἀδύνατα ἐπιτάττεις, δύσκολον τὸ ἐπίταγμα, χαλεπὸς ὁ νόμος· οὔτε ἐσίγησεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ὑπὲρ τῶν λοιπῶν κηδεμονίαν ἐπεδείξατο, καὶ τὴν διδασκάλῳ παρὰ μαθητοῦ τιμὴν ὀφειλομένην ἀπένειμεν, οὕτως εἰπών· Καὶ τίς δύναται σωθῆναι; καὶ μηδέπω γενόμενος ποιμὴν, ποιμένος εἶχε ψυχὴν, καὶ μηδέπω τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐγχειρισθεὶς, τὴν πρέπουσαν ἄρχοντι κηδεμονίαν ἐφύλαττεν, ὑπὲρ τῆς οἰκουμένης ἁπάσης φροντίζων. Εἰ μὲν γὰρ πλούσιος ἦν, καὶ πολλὰ χρήματα περιβεβλημένος, ἴσως εἶπέ τις ἂν, ὅτι οὐ τῶν λοιπῶν, ἀλλ' ἑαυτοῦ κηδόμενος, καὶ ὑπὲρ τῶν καθ' ἑαυτὸν πραγμάτων φροντίζων, ταύτην προσῆγε τὴν πεῦσιν· νυνὶ δὲ ἡ πενία ταύτης αὐτὸν ἀπαλλάττει τῆς ὑποψίας, καὶ δείκνυσιν ὡς τῆς ἑτέρων κηδόμενος σωτηρίας ἐμερίμνα καὶ περιειργάζετο, καὶ παρὰ τοῦ διδασκάλου μαθεῖν ἐβούλετο τὴν τῆς σωτηρίας ὁδόν. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς αὐτὸν παραθαῤῥύνων λέγει· Τὰ παρὰ ἀνθρώποις ἀδύνατα, παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ δυνατά ἐστι. Μὴ γὰρ νομίσῃς, φησὶν, ὑμᾶς ἐρήμους ἐγκαταλιμπάνεσθαι· ἐγὼ συνεφάπτομαι ταύτης ὑμῖν τῆς σπουδῆς, καὶ τὰ ἄπορα ποιῶ ῥᾴδια γενέσθαι καὶ εὔκολα. Πάλιν περὶ γάμου καὶ γυναικὸς διαλεγομένου τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ λέγοντος, ὅτι Ὁ ἀπολύων γυναῖκα παρεκτὸς λόγου πορνείας, ποιεῖ αὐτὴν μοιχευθῆναι, καὶ πᾶσαν κακίαν γυναικὸς παραινοῦντος φέρειν πλὴν πορνείας μόνης, ὁ Πέτρος, τῶν ἄλλων σιγώντων, προσελθὼν ἔλεγε τῷ Χριστῷ· 51.22 Εἰ οὕτως ἐστὶν ἡ αἰτία τοῦ ἀνθρώπου μετὰ τῆς γυναικὸς, οὐ συμφέρει γαμῆσαι. Ὅρα καὶ ἐνταῦθα πῶς καὶ τὴν πρέπουσαν διδασκάλῳ τιμὴν ἐφύλαξε, καὶ τῆς τῶν λοιπῶν ἐφρόντισε σωτηρίας, οὐδὲ ἐνταῦθα ὑπὲρ τῶν καθ' ἑαυτὸν μεριμνῶν. Ἵνα οὖν μὴ καὶ ἐνταῦθα εἴπῃ τι τοιοῦτον, προλαβὼν διὰ τῆς παραβολῆς προανεῖλεν αὐτοῦ τὴν ἀντίῤῥησιν. Τούτου χάριν καὶ ὁ εὐαγγελιστὴς εἶπε· ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ὡμοιώθη ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν ἀνθρώπῳ βασιλεῖ, ὃς ἠθέλησε συνᾶραι λόγον μετὰ τῶν δούλων αὑτοῦ· δεικνὺς ὅτι διὰ τοῦτο λέγει τὴν παραβολὴν ταύτην, ἵνα