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they were falling down, but the courage of the soul was not falling; but the hand was consumed and flowed away; for it was flesh, and not adamant; but the soul was seeking another hand again, so as to show forth its endurance in that one too. And just as a noble soldier, having gone in against the enemy, and having cut down the phalanx of those opposing him, having broken his sword by the frequency of successive blows, then turns and seeks another, because he has not yet had his fill of the slaughter of the enemy; so indeed the soul of the blessed Barlaam, having consumed its hand in cutting down the phalanxes of demons, was seeking another right hand again, so as to show forth its zeal in that one too. For do not tell me this, that he gave up only one hand; but consider this before that: that he who gave up his hand would have also given up his head, and offered his sides, and arrayed himself against fire, and beasts, and the sea, and the precipice, and the cross, and the wheel, and against all the punishments ever heard of, and suffered all things, if not in experience, yet in intention. For the martyrs do not go to meet defined punishments, but strip themselves for undefined torments; for they are not masters of the will of the tyrants, nor do they set for them limits and measures of punishments; but whatever evils the inhuman and beastly will of those men may desire to inflict on them, so many do they enter in to suffer; unless in the meantime the body, having failed, leaves the desire of the tyrants unfulfilled in the midst. Therefore the flesh was withering, and the will was becoming more zealous, surpassing the very coals in brightness, and shining more than them; for within a spiritual fire was kindled, much more flaming than this fire.

For this reason he was not sensible of the flame without, since the fire within was burning him, the fervent and burning fire of the love of Christ. 4. Let us not only hear these things, beloved, but also imitate them. For what I said from the beginning, I also say now: let not the martyr be admired only up to the present hour, but let each one, going away home, take the saint with him, and bring him into his own house, or rather into his own heart through the memory of what has been said. Receive him, as has been said before, and set him upon your heart, holding his hand outstretched; receive the crowned one, and never let him depart from your mind. For this reason we have also brought you to the tombs of the holy martyrs, so that from the sight of them you might receive some exhortation to virtue, and strip yourselves for the same zeal. For indeed the hearing of a hero's exploits arouses a soldier; but much more so sight and observation, and especially when one enters into the tent of the hero himself and sees the blood-stained sword, the head of the enemy lying there, 50.681 the spoils hanging above, the fresh blood dripping from the hands of him who set up the trophy, spears and shields and bows and all the other complete armor lying everywhere. For this reason we too have come together here. For the tomb of the martyrs is a soldier's tent; and if you open the eyes of faith, you will see the breastplate of righteousness lying here, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the greaves of the Gospel, the sword of the Spirit, the very head of the devil cast down on the ground. For when you see a man possessed by a demon lying on his back beside the tomb of the martyr, and often convulsing himself, you see nothing other than the head of the Evil One cut off. For even now these weapons are set before the soldiers of Christ, and just as kings bury their champions with their weapons, so also did Christ, and buried them with their weapons, so that even before the resurrection He might show all the glory, and the power of the saints. Learn therefore their spiritual panoply, and you will depart from here having gained the greatest things.

4

ἐξέπιπτον κάτω, ἡ δὲ ἀνδρεία τῆς ψυχῆς οὐ διέπιπτεν· ἀλλ' ἡ μὲν χεὶρ ἀνήλωτο καὶ ἐῤῥύη· σὰρξ γὰρ ἦν, καὶ οὐκ ἀδάμας· ἡ δὲ ψυχὴ ἑτέραν ἐπεζήτει χεῖρα πάλιν, ὥστε καὶ ἐν ἐκείνῃ τὴν καρτερίαν ἐπιδείξασθαι. Καὶ καθάπερ στρατιώτης γενναῖος εἰς πολεμίους εἰσελθὼν, καὶ κατακόψας τὴν φάλαγγα τῶν ἀνταγωνιζομένων αὐτῷ, διακλάσας τὸ ξίφος τῇ πυκνότητι τῶν ἐπαλλήλων πληγῶν, εἶτα ἐπιστραφεὶς ἕτερον ἐπιζητεῖ, διὰ τὸ μηδέπω κόρον εἰληφέναι τῆς τῶν πολεμίων σφαγῆς· οὕτω δὴ καὶ ἡ ψυχὴ τοῦ μακαρίου Βαρλαὰμ τὴν χεῖρα ἀναλώσασα ἐν τῷ κατακόπτειν τὰς φάλαγγας τῶν δαιμόνων, ἑτέραν ἐπεζήτει δεξιὰν πάλιν, ὥστε καὶ ἐν ἐκείνῃ τὴν προθυμίαν ἐπιδείξασθαι. Μὴ γάρ μοι τοῦτο εἴπῃς, ὅτι μίαν ἐξέδωκε χεῖρα μόνον· ἀλλὰ τοῦτο πρὸ ἐκείνου ἐννόει, ὅτι ὁ τὴν χεῖρα προδοὺς, οὗτος καὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν ἐξέδωκεν ἂν, καὶ τὰς πλευρὰς προὔ θηκε, καὶ πυρὶ, καὶ θηρίοις, καὶ πελάγει, καὶ κρη μνῷ, καὶ σταυρῷ, καὶ τροχῷ, καὶ πρὸς πάσας τὰς ἀκουσθείσας ποτὲ τιμωρίας παρετάξατο, καὶ πάντα ἔπαθεν, εἰ καὶ μὴ τῇ πείρᾳ, ἀλλὰ τῇ προθέσει. Οὐ γὰρ πρὸς ὡρισμένας κολάσεις ἀπαντῶσιν οἱ μάρτυ ρες, ἀλλὰ πρὸς ἀορίστους ἀποδύονται τιμωρίας· οὐ γάρ εἰσι κύριοι τῆς γνώμης τῶν τυράννων, οὐδὲ ὅρους αὐτοῖς καὶ μέτρα τιμωριῶν τιθέασιν· ἀλλ' ὅσα ἂν αὐτοὺς ἡ ἀπάνθρωπος καὶ θηριώδης ἐκείνων γνώ μη διαθεῖναι ἐπιθυμήσῃ κακὰ, τοσαῦτα εἰσέρχονται πεισόμενοι· πλὴν ἂν μὴ μεταξὺ τὸ σῶμα ἀπαγορεῦ σαν ἀπλήρωτον ἐν τῷ μέσῳ καταλίπῃ τὴν τῶν τυ ράννων ἐπιθυμίαν. Ἐμαραίνετο τοίνυν ἡ σὰρξ, καὶ ἡ προαίρεσις προθυμοτέρα ἐγίνετο, αὐτοὺς τοὺς ἄνθρα κας παρερχομένη τῇ λαμπρότητι, καὶ μᾶλλον αὐτῶν ἀποστίλβουσα· πνευματικὸν γὰρ ἔνδον ἀνεκαίετο πῦρ πολὺ τοῦ πυρὸς τούτου φλογωδέστερον.

∆ιὰ τοῦτο ἐκεῖνος τῆς ἔξωθεν οὐκ ᾐσθάνετο φλογὸς, ἐπειδὴ τὸ ἔνδον αὐτὸν ἔκαιε πῦρ τὸ διάπυρον καὶ διακαὲς τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ Χριστοῦ. δʹ. Ταῦτα μὴ μόνον ἀκούωμεν, ἀγαπητοὶ, ἀλλὰ καὶ μιμώμεθα. Ὅπερ γὰρ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἔλεγον, καὶ νῦν λέ γω· μὴ μέχρι τῆς παρούσης ὥρας θαυμαζέσθω ὁ μάρτυς μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ οἴκαδε ἀπιὼν ἕκαστος ἐπαγέ σθω τὸν ἅγιον, καὶ εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν εἰσαγέτω τὴν ἑαυ τοῦ, μᾶλλον δὲ εἰς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ καρδίαν διὰ τῆς τῶν εἰρημένων μνήμης. Ὑπόδεξαι αὐτὸν, ὡς προείρηται, καὶ στῆσον ἐπὶ τῆς καρδίας τῆς σῆς τὴν χεῖρα ἔχοντα ἐκτεταμένην· ὑπόδεξαι τὸν στεφανίτην, καὶ μηδέποτε ἀφῇς ἐξελθεῖν τῆς διανοίας τῆς σῆς. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ὑμᾶς καὶ παρὰ τὰς θήκας τῶν ἁγίων μαρτύρων ἠγάγομεν, ἵνα καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς ὄψεως λάβητέ τινα παράκλησιν ἀρετῆς, καὶ πρὸς τὸν αὐτὸν ἐπαποδύσησθε ζῆλον. Καὶ γὰρ στρατιώτην ἀνίστησι μὲν καὶ ἀκοὴ ἀριστέως· πολλῷ δὲ πλέον ὄψις καὶ θεωρία, καὶ μάλιστα ὅταν εἰς αὐτὴν τοῦ ἀριστέως τὴν σκηνὴν εἰσελθὼν ἴδῃ τὸ ξίφος ᾑμαγμένον, τὴν κεφαλὴν τοῦ πολεμίου κειμένην, 50.681 τὰ λάφυρα ἄνω κρεμάμενα, τὸ αἷμα νεαρὸν τῶν χει ρῶν ἀποστάζον παρὰ τοῦ τὸ τρόπαιον στήσαντος, πανταχοῦ δόρατα καὶ ἀσπίδας καὶ τόξα καὶ τὴν ἄλλην ἅπασαν παντευχίαν κειμένην. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐνταῦθα συνεληλύθαμεν. Σκηνὴ γάρ ἐστι στρατιωτικὴ τῶν μαρτύρων ὁ τάφος· κἂν ἀνοίξῃς τοὺς τῆς πίστεως ὀφθαλμοὺς, ὄψει τὸν θώρακα τῆς δικαιοσύνης ἐνταῦθα κείμενον, τὸν θυρεὸν τῆς πίστεως, τὴν περικεφαλαίαν τοῦ σωτηρίου, τὴν κνημῖδα τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου, τὴν μάχαιραν τοῦ Πνεύματος, αὐτὴν τοῦ διαβόλου τὴν κεφαλὴν ἀπεῤῥιμμένην χαμαί. Ὅταν γὰρ ἴδῃς δαι μονῶντα ἄνθρωπον παρὰ τὸν τάφον τοῦ μάρτυρος κείμενον ὕπτιον, καὶ σπαράσσοντα ἑαυτὸν πολλάκις, οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἀλλ' ἢ τὴν κεφαλὴν τοῦ Πονηροῦ τετμη μένην ὁρᾷς. Ἔτι γὰρ καὶ νῦν παράκειται ταῦτα τὰ ὅπλα τοῖς τοῦ Χριστοῦ στρατιώταις, καὶ καθάπερ τοὺς ἀριστέας μετὰ τῶν ὅπλων θάπτουσιν οἱ βασιλεῖς, οὕτω καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς ἐποίησε, καὶ μετὰ τῶν ὅπλων αὐτοὺς ἔθαψεν, ἵνα καὶ πρὸ τῆς ἀναστάσεως δείξῃ πᾶσαν τὴν δόξαν, καὶ τὴν δύναμιν τῶν ἁγίων. Μάθε τοίνυν τὴν παντευχίαν αὐτῶν τὴν πνευματικὴν, καὶ μέγιστα κερδάνας ἀναχωρήσεις ἐντεῦθεν.