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health to the one being healed. Lest your adversary deliver you to the judge; to the judge to come; The adversary; whom if you now forgive, then the judge is found delivering you to the officer, that is to the punishing powers, and you will be cast into prison, into the outer darkness. A dreadful place. You will by no means get out of there until you have paid the last kodrantes. If before death you settle the debt, it is settled; if you depart owing, even the remainder of the smallest debts will be demanded. What is, "The last kodrantes?" That the thought of a man will confess to you, and the remainder of a thought will celebrate you. Knowing these things, brothers, place side by side the pleasures, and the coming day of judgment, and the vote of the one judging; and then you will understand how bitter is pleasure, when you know how much bitterness it causes. Do you wish that we might admonish the Church a little from two banquets recorded in the Gospels, what is the end of the lovers of pleasure, and what is the fruit of the repentant? And do not wonder if Scripture also often writes of the banquets of lovers of pleasure; for it records all things, what you should guard against, what you should imitate. It writes of the lovers of pleasure, so that it may perpetually denounce them, and so that you may flee their imitation; it writes of the lovers of God, so that you may run to the image of repentance, and placing side by side the lover of pleasure and the lover of God, you may flee the one, and emulate the other. And at the same time let it be a lesson to those who understand, not to feast your eyes excessively on the public spectacles, nor to run readily to the hippodrome, nor to occupy the theater from night; for the hope of indecent spectacles is manic. For they anticipate the day with the swiftness of their eagerness, occupying in the night the place of darkness, so that they may delight their pupils with indecent spectacles, or watch the defenses of wild beasts and beast-fighters. And often men sit as spectators, turning their favor toward the beasts rather than their fellow men. And you do not pity the wretched one, who in order to fill his stomach, deserts to the stomach of beasts; and in order to satisfy the disease of gluttony, is gladly entombed in the bellies of wild beasts. He has an intemperate stomach; you, do not have an intemperate eye. Another, a buffoon, will enter, to shape his limbs for his own shame, having hired out his head for a laugh, being ashamed if he is not slapped in public, and preparing his cheeks for the blows of the gates, and removing the hairs with a razor, so that not even a hair may mediate the insults. Another, made effeminate by womanly dances, and imitating things contrary to nature, and grieving that he was not born a woman from his parents, and making the change of nature a point of ambition; and doing all these things for the sake of his belly and of gain, and taking pride in shameful things; concerning whom it is good to say the words of Paul: Whose god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame. Do not run together to these things, do not turn your swift feet to such steps; but neither should you introduce indecent pleasures to your banquets. Sometimes you say: I renounce the theater, I do not go up the steps; it is a banquet and a time of merriment; and 59.761 there you perform the indecent spectacles of the theaters. What then do you gain by abominating the theater? For do we abominate the stones? For are the stones of the theaters condemned? The shamefulness of the things being done, the evil of the indecent spectacles, which through the senses of the eyes and of hearing, as through certain windows, brings in the robber. When, therefore, you renounce the theater, and at your own table you bring in the shames of the spectacles, you have unawares made your own house a theater. For I do not hate the place of the theater, but I fear the manner of those who gather there. 3. But that you may know, that also at banquets spectacles are often indecent and harmful

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ὑγιείας τῷ θεραπευομένῳ. Μήποτέ σε παραδῷ ὁ ἀντίδικος τῷ κριτῇ· τῷ μέλλοντι κριτῇ· Ὁ ἀντίδικος· ᾧ ἐὰν νῦν σὺ χαρίσῃ, τότε εὑρίσκεταί σε παραδιδοὺς ὁ κριτὴς τῷ ὑπηρέτῃ, ταῖς τιμωρητικαῖς δηλαδὴ δυνάμεσι, καὶ εἰς φυλακὴν βληθήσῃ εἰς τὸ σκότος τὸ ἐξώτερον. Φοβερὸς ὁ τόπος· Οὐ μὴ ἐξέλθῃς ἐκεῖθεν, ἕως οὗ ἀποδῷς τὸν ἔσχατον κοδράντην. Ἐὰν πρὸ τοῦ θανάτου διαλύσῃς τὸ χρέος, λέλυται· ἐὰν ὀφείλων ἀπέλθῃς, καὶ τὸ ἐγκατάλειμμα τῶν ἐλαχίστων ὀφειλημάτων ἀπαιτηθήσῃ. Τί ἐστι, Τὸν ἔσχατον κοδράντην; Ὅτι ἐνθύμιον ἀνθρώπου ἐξομολογησεταί σοι, καὶ ἐγκατάλειμμα ἐνθυμίου ἑορτάσει σοι. Ταῦτα εἰδότες, ἀδελφοὶ, παράλληλα θέσθε τὰς ἡδονὰς, καὶ τὴν μέλλουσαν ἡμέραν τῆς κρίσεως, καὶ τὴν τοῦ δικάζοντος ψῆφον· καὶ τότε νοήσετε πῶς πικρὸν ἡ ἡδονὴ, ὅταν γνῶτε πηλίκης πικρίας γένηται πρόξενος. Βούλεσθε μικρόν τι τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν ἀπὸ δύω συμποσίων ἀναγεγραμμένων ἐν Εὐαγγελίοις νουθετήσωμεν, τί μὲν τὸ τῶν φιληδόνων τέλος, τίς δὲ ὁ τῶν μετανοούντων καρπός; Καὶ μὴ θαυμάσῃς εἰ καὶ πολλάκις καὶ φιληδόνων συμπόσια γράφει ἡ Γραφή· πάντα γὰρ ἀναγράφει, τί φυλάξῃ, τί μιμήσῃ. Γράφει τὰ τῶν φιληδόνων, ἵνα διηνεκῶς αὐτοὺς στηλιτεύσῃ, καὶ ἵνα σὺ φύγῃς τὴν μίμησιν· γράφει τὰ τῶν φιλοθέων, ἵνα ἐπιδράμῃς τῇ εἰκόνι τῆς μετανοίας, καὶ θεὶς παράλληλα τὸν φιλήδονον καὶ τὸν φιλόθεον, τὸν μὲν ἐκφύγῃς, τὸν δὲ ζηλώσῃς. Ἅμα δὲ καὶ διδασκάλιον ἔστω τοῖς συνιοῦσι, τὸ μὴ σφόδρα ταῖς δημοτελέσι θέαις ἑστιᾷν ὑμῶν τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς, μηδὲ προχείρως ἐπὶ τὸν ἱππόδρομον τρέχειν, μηδὲ ἐκ νυκτῶν καταλαμβάνειν τὸ θέατρον· μανικὸν γὰρ θεαμάτων ἀσέμνων ἐλπίς. Καὶ γὰρ προλαμβάνουσι τὴν ἡμέραν τῷ τάχει τῆς προθυμίας, ἐν νυκτὶ τὸν τοῦ σκότους τόπον καταλαμβάνοντες, ἵνα θεάμασιν ἀσέμνοις τὰς κόρας τέρψωσιν, ἢ θηρίων ἀμύνας καὶ θηριομάχων θεάσωνται. Καὶ κάθηνται πολλάκις ἄνθρωποι θεαταὶ, τὰς εὐνοίας ἐπὶ τὰ θηρία μᾶλλον ἢ τοὺς ὁμοφύλους τρέποντες. Καὶ οὐ ταλανίζεις τὸν ἄθλιον, ὃς ἵνα πληρώσῃ τὴν γαστέρα, εἰς θηρίων αὐτομολεῖ γαστέρα· καὶ ἵνα πληρώσῃ τῆς γαστριμαργίας τὴν νόσον, ἡδέως ταῖς κοιλίαις τῶν θηρίων ἐνθάπτεται. Ἐκεῖνος ἀκόλαστον ἔχει γαστέρα· σὺ μὴ λάβῃς ἀκόλαστον ὀφθαλμόν. Ἄλλος γελωτοποιὸς εἴσεισιν, εἰς αἰσχύνην ἑαυτοῦ διαπλάσασθαι μέλη, γέλωτι μισθώσας τὴν κεφαλὴν, αἰσχυνόμενος ἐὰν μὴ δημοσίᾳ ῥαπίζηται, καὶ τοῖς κτύποις τῶν πυλῶν προευτρεπίζων τὰς παρειὰς, καὶ ξυρῷ τὰς τρίχας περιαιρῶν, ἵνα μηδὲ θρὶξ μεσιτεύηται ταῖς ὕβρεσι. Ἄλλος ὀρχήσεσι γυναικείαις θρυπτόμενος, καὶ τὰ παρὰ φύσιν μιμούμενος, καὶ λυπούμενος ὅτι μὴ γυνὴ παρὰ τῶν γονέων ἐτέχθη, καὶ τὴν τῆς φύσεως μεταβολὴν φιλοτιμίαν τιθέμενος· καὶ ταῦτα πάντα ποιῶν γαστρὸς ἕνεκα καὶ κέρδους, καὶ τοῖς αἰσχροῖς φιλοτιμούμενος· περὶ ὧν καλὸν εἰπεῖν τὴν τοῦ Παύλου φωνήν· Ὧν ὁ θεὸς ἡ κοιλία, καὶ ἡ δόξα ἐν τῇ αἰσχύνῃ αὐτῶν. Μὴ πρὸς ταῦτα συντρέχετε, μὴ τοὺς πόδας ὀξεῖς ἐπὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα βήματα τρέπετε· ἀλλὰ μηδὲ τοῖς συμποσίοις τὰς ἀσέμνους ἡδονὰς ἐπεισάγετε. Ἐνίοτε λέγεις· Παραιτοῦμαι τὸ θέατρον, οὐκ ἀνέρχομαι τοὺς βαθμούς· ἔστι συμπόσιον καὶ καιρὸς εὐφροσύνης· καὶ 59.761 ἐκεῖ τὰ ἄσεμνα τῶν θεάτρων τελεῖτε θεάματα. Τί οὖν ὠφελεῖς τὸ θέατρον βδελυττόμενος; Μὴ γὰρ τοὺς λίθους βδελυττόμεθα; μὴ γὰρ οἱ λίθοι τῶν θεάτρων εἰσὶ κατακεκριμένοι; Ἡ τῶν πραττομένων αἰσχρότης, ἡ τῶν ἀσέμνων θεαμάτων κακία, ἡ διὰ τῶν αἰσθητηρίων τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν καὶ τῆς ἀκοῆς, ὥσπερ διά τινων θυρίδων, τὸν λῃστὴν ἐπεισάγουσα. Ὅταν οὖν παραιτήσῃ τὸ θέατρον, καὶ παρὰ τὴν σεαυτοῦ τράπεζαν τὰς τῶν θεαμάτων ἐπεισάγῃς αἰσχύνας, λέληθας τὸν οἶκον σεαυτοῦ ποιήσας θέατρον. Οὐδὲ γὰρ τοῦ θεάτρου μισῶ τὸν τόπον, ἀλλὰ δέδια τῶν συνιόντων τὸν τρόπον. γʹ. Ἵνα δὲ γνῷς, ὅτι καὶ παρὰ συμπόσια θεάματα πολλάκις ἄσεμνα καὶ βλαβερὰ