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5. For such is the custom of the saints; if they should do anything base,

they publish it, and every day they lament and make it manifest to all; but if anything noble and great, they hide and commit to oblivion. At any rate, this saint himself would constantly turn over and publish his sins, even when no one compelled him, at one time saying, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the first; at another time saying, I thank Christ who has strengthened me, because he considered me faithful, appointing to the ministry one who was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man; but I received mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief; and again, Last of all he appeared to me also, as to one born out of due time; for I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God; and again, To me, the least of all the saints, was this grace given. Do you see how he calls himself last not only of the apostles, but also simply of all the faithful, saying, "To me, the very least of all the saints, was this grace given"?

Thus he says he is not even worthy of the salvation 51.306 by which he was saved; for after saying that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the first; listen for what reason he says this: But for this reason I received mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might display all his longsuffering, for a pattern to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. What he says is this: I did not receive mercy because of a worthy change of life, do not think this; but so that no one who has lived in wickedness should despair, nor any of those who have warred against Christ, seeing him saved, who was the last of all, and after whom there was no other so hostile to Christ. And Christ indeed says, He is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before Gentiles and kings; but he, not at all puffed up by those praises, continues to call himself wretched with such great boldness, calling himself the first of sinners, and saying that for this reason he received mercy, so that no one who has been driven to the extreme of wickedness should despair of his own salvation, looking to him and the love for mankind that was shown to him.

6. His sins, therefore, even when there is no necessity, he publishes

every day in all his epistles, denouncing and making them plain not only to the people then, but also to all who would come after; but his praises, even when he saw there was a necessity, nevertheless he hesitates and shrinks from recounting. And this is clear from how he called the matter folly countless times, and clear also from all the time he was silent about that wonderful and divine revelation; for he had seen it not then, nor two, three, or ten years before, but many more. For this reason he also sets down the time itself, saying thus: I know a man caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago; so that you may learn that he would not have spoken even then, if he had not seen a great necessity pressing. For if he had wanted to recount his own praises, he would have spoken of it immediately when he saw it, or in the first, second, or third year; but now he has endured and been silent for fourteen years and has told no one, but only the Corinthians.

And when? When he saw the false apostles rising up, showing that he would not have spoken even then, if he had not seen such great corruption happening among the disciples. But we are not so, but we do entirely the opposite; of our sins, we are not mindful for even a single day, but if we hear others mention them, we are indignant, we are vexed, we consider the matter an insult, we wash them with countless reproaches; but if we should do some small good thing, we constantly turn it over, and to the

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εʹ. Τοιοῦτον γὰρ τῶν ἁγίων τὸ ἔθος· εἰ μέν τι πρά ξαιεν φαῦλον,

ἐκπομπεύουσιν αὐτὸ, καὶ καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν θρηνοῦσι καὶ πᾶσι ποιοῦσι κατάδηλον· εἰ δέ τι γενναῖον καὶ μέγα, ἀποκρύπτουσι καὶ λήθῃ παρα πέμπουσιν. Αὐτὸς γοῦν οὗτος ὁ ἅγιος τὰ μὲν ἁμαρ τήματα καὶ μηδενὸς βιαζομένου, συνεχῶς ἔστρεφε καὶ ἐξεπόμπευε, νῦν μὲν λέγων, Χριστὸς Ἰησοῦς ἦλθεν εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἁμαρτωλοὺς σῶ σαι, ὧν πρῶτός εἰμι ἐγώ· νῦν δὲ λέγων, Χάριν ἔχω τῷ ἐνδυναμώσαντί με Χριστῷ, ὅτι πιστόν με ἡγήσατο, θέμενος εἰς διακονίαν τὸν πρότερον ὄντα βλάσφημον καὶ διώκτην καὶ ὑβριστήν· ἀλλ' ἠλεήθην, ὅτι ἀγνοῶν ἐποίησα ἐν ἀπιστίᾳ· καὶ πάλιν, Ἔσχατον δὲ πάντων ὡσπερεὶ τῷ ἐκτρώ ματι ὤφθη κἀμοί· ἐγὼ γάρ εἰμι ὁ ἐλάχιστος τῶν ἀποστόλων, ὃς οὐκ εἰμὶ ἱκανὸς καλεῖσθαι ἀπό στολος, ὅτι ἐδίωξα τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ· καὶ πάλιν, Ἐμοὶ τῷ ἐλαχιστοτέρῳ πάντων ἁγίων ἐδόθη ἡ χάρις αὕτη. Ὁρᾷς πῶς οὐ τῶν ἀποστόλων μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἁπλῶς τῶν πιστῶν ἁπάντων ἔσχατον ἑαυτὸν καλεῖ, Ἐμοὶ τῷ ἐλαχιστοτέρῳ, εἰπὼν, πάν των τῶν ἁγίων ἐδόθη ἡ χάρις αὕτη;

Οὕτως οὐδὲ 51.306 τῆς σωτηρίας, δι' ἧς ἐσώθη, ἄξιος εἶναί φησιν· εἰ πὼν γὰρ ὅτι Χριστὸς Ἰησοῦς ἦλθεν εἰς τὸν κό σμον ἁμαρτωλοὺς σῶσαι, ὧν πρῶτός εἰμι ἐγώ· ἄκουσον καὶ διὰ ποίαν αἰτίαν τοῦτο λέγει· Ἀλλὰ διὰ τοῦτο ἠλεήθην, ἵνα ἐν ἐμοὶ πρῶτον ἐνδείξηται Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς τὴν πᾶσαν μακροθυμίαν πρὸς ὑποτύπωσιν τῶν μελλόντων πιστεύειν ἐπ' αὐτῷ εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον. Ὃ δὲ λέγει, τοῦτό ἐστιν· Οὐ διὰ τὴν ἀξίαν μετάθεσιν τοῦ βίου ἠλεήθην, μὴ τοῦτο νο μίσῃς· ἀλλ' ἵνα μηδεὶς ἀπογνῷ τῶν ἐν κακίᾳ βεβιω κότων, μηδὲ τῶν τῷ Χριστῷ πολεμησάντων, τὸν πάντων ἔσχατον, καὶ μεθ' ὃν οὐδεὶς ἦν ἕτερος οὕτω πολέμιος τῷ Χριστῷ, σωθέντα ὁρῶν. Καὶ ὁ μὲν Χρι στός φησιν, Ὅτι σκεῦος ἐκλογῆς μοί ἐστι τοῦ βαστάσαι τὸ ὄνομά μου ἐνώπιον ἐθνῶν καὶ βα σιλέων· οὗτος δὲ οὐδὲν ὑπὸ τῶν ἐγκωμίων ἐκείνων φυσηθεὶς, μένει ταλανίζων ἑαυτὸν μετὰ τοσαύτην παῤῥησίαν, πρῶτον τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν ἑαυτὸν καλῶν, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἠλεῆσθαι λέγων, ἵνα μηδεὶς τῶν πρὸς ἐσχάτην ἐληλακότων κακίαν ἀπογνῷ τῆς οἰκείας σω τηρίας, πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ τὴν εἰς αὐτὸν γενομένην φιλανθρωπίαν βλέπων.

ςʹ. Τὰ μὲν οὖν ἁμαρτήματα, καὶ μηδεμιᾶς οὔσης ἀνάγκης, ἐκπομπεύει καθ'

ἑκάστην ἡμέραν ἐν ταῖς ἐπιστολαῖς αὐτοῦ πάσαις, στηλιτεύων καὶ δῆλα ποιῶν οὐχὶ τοῖς τότε μόνον ἀνθρώποις, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς μετὰ ταῦτα ἐσομένοις πᾶσι· τὰ δὲ ἐγκώμια, καὶ ἀνάγκην οὖσαν ὁρῶν, ὅμως ὀκνεῖ καὶ ἀναδύεται διηγήσασθαι. Καὶ τοῦτο δῆλον μὲν ἐξ ὧν μυριάκις ἀφροσύνην τὸ πρᾶγμα ἐκάλεσε, δῆλον δὲ καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ χρόνου παν τὸς, ὃν ἐσίγησε τὴν θαυμαστὴν καὶ θείαν ἀποκάλυψιν ἐκείνην· οὐ γὰρ δὴ τότε, οὐδὲ πρὸ δύο καὶ τριῶν καὶ δέκα ἐτῶν, ἀλλὰ πολλῷ πλειόνων ἦν αὐτὴν ἑωρακώς. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ τὸν χρόνον αὐτὸν τίθησιν οὕτω λέγων· Οἶδα ἄνθρωπον πρὸ ἐτῶν δεκατεσσάρων ἁρπα γέντα ἕως τρίτου οὐρανοῦ· ἵνα σὺ μάθῃς, ὅτι οὐκ ἂν οὐδὲ τότε ἐφθέγξατο, εἰ μὴ πολλὴν εἶδεν ἀνάγκην ἐπικειμένην. Εἰ γὰρ ἐβούλετο τοὺς οἰκείους ἐπαί νους διεξιέναι, εὐθέως ἂν αὐτὴν εἶπεν, ὅτε εἶδεν, ἢ τῷ πρώτῳ καὶ δευτέρῳ καὶ τρίτῳ ἔτει· νυνὶ δὲ ἔτη δεκατέσσαρα ἐκαρτέρησε καὶ ἐσίγησε καὶ πρὸς οὐδένα ἐξεῖπεν, ἀλλὰ πρὸς Κορινθίους μόνον.

Καὶ πότε; Ὅτε τοὺς ψευδαποστόλους εἶδεν ἐπιφυέντας, δεικνὺς ὅτι οὐδ' ἂν τότε ἐφθέγξατο, εἰ μὴ τοσαύτην ἑώρα διαφθορὰν ἐν τοῖς μαθηταῖς γενομένην. Ἀλλ' οὐχ ἡμεῖς οὕτως, ἀλλὰ τοὐναντίον ἅπαν ποιοῦμεν· τῶν μὲν ἁμαρτημάτων οὐδὲ μίαν μεμνήμεθα ἡμέραν, ἀλλὰ κἂν ἑτέρων μνησθέντων ἀκούσωμεν, ἀγανακτοῦ μεν, δυσχεραίνομεν, ὕβριν τὸ πρᾶγμα λογιζόμεθα, μυρίαις αὐτοὺς πλύνομεν λοιδορίαις· εἰ δέ τι μικρὸν ἐργασώμεθα ἀγαθὸν, τοῦτο συνεχῶς στρέφομεν, καὶ τοῖς