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they will be withered, and like green herbs, they will quickly fall away. Do you see the righteous and sinners being punished? See that the cause is not the same; For, he says, many are the scourges of the sinner; but it is not so with the righteous, but, Many are the afflictions of the righteous, and out of them all the Lord will deliver them; and again; The death of sinners is evil; and, Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. Say these things continually, be instructed from them. For each of these sayings is a vast sea of meanings; for we have simply passed these by; but if you should wish to investigate what has been said with precision, you will see great wealth both from these, and similarly from the other Scriptures.

2. But since reading has labor and is very burdensome, to the

things that have been said for now let us devote ourselves; so that you may at once delight your soul by singing, and steal away the labor. Let the mouth sing psalms, therefore, and let the mind be instructed; not even this itself is a small thing. For when it does not permit you to envy, nor to be grieved and despondent unseasonably, nor to consider wealth anything, nor affliction, nor poverty, nor to think that life itself is anything, it frees you from all the passions. 55.537 And besides, if we teach our tongue to sing psalms, the soul will be ashamed of desiring the contrary while it is psalm-singing. We need, therefore, the harp of David, so that we may sing to the soul the divine incantations, both those from here, and those of good deeds. Since if we do only one of these, and hearing the song, we fight against the one who sings these things through our deeds, the medicine will be a judgment for us, and the madness of the devil will become fiercer. For before hearing, the evil demon is afraid, lest having heard we should do right; but when having heard we remain the same, this too is taken away.

Let us sing, therefore, the song of deeds, so that we may cast out the more grievous sin of the demon, and draw upon ourselves the grace of the Spirit. For nothing, nothing so raises up the soul, and gives it wings, and frees it from the earth, and releases it from the bonds of the body, and makes it philosophize, and to scorn all things of this life, as the melodious harmony of the psalms, and a song composed with rhythm. For since God saw that the majority of men were rather lazy, and not gladly undergoing the labor from that source, wishing to make the labor more desirable, and to diminish the perception of the toil, He moved the tongue of the blessed David to arrange these psalms, and to mix melody with the prophecy, so that all, being charmed by the rhythm of the melody, might with much eagerness send up sacred hymns to Him. For our nature is so congenially and pleasantly disposed toward songs and melodies, that even nursing infants, when they are whimpering and distressed, are lulled to sleep in this way. Nurses, at any rate, often carrying them in their arms as they walk away, and singing some childish songs to them, in this way they lull their eyelids to sleep. For this reason also travelers, often at midday driving their beasts of burden, do this by singing, consoling the weariness of the journey with those songs. Not only travelers, but also farmers treading the winepress, and gathering the vintage, and tending the vines, and doing any other work, often sing; and sailors rowing do this. Indeed, women too who are weaving and with the shuttle separate the tangled threads of the warp, often sing, sometimes each by herself, and often all together in harmony some one melody. And women, and farmers, and sailors do this, being eager to console the toil of their work with song; since the soul, if it should hear melody and song, is able to bear all troublesome and laborious things more easily. Since, therefore, the soul is congenially disposed toward this form of delight, lest the demons lewd songs

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ξηρανθήσονται, καὶ ὡσεὶ λάχανα χλόης, ταχὺ ἀποπεσοῦνται. Βλέπεις δικαίους καὶ ἁμαρτωλοὺς κολαζομένους; Ἴδε ὅτι οὐχ ἡ αὐτὴ αἰτία· Πολλαὶ γὰρ, φησὶν, αἱ μάστιγες τοῦ ἁμαρτωλοῦ· ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν δικαίων οὐχ οὕτως, ἀλλὰ Πολλαὶ αἱ θλίψεις τῶν δικαίων, καὶ ἐκ πασῶν αὐτῶν ῥύσεται αὐτοὺς ὁ Κύριος· καὶ πάλιν· Θάνατος ἁμαρτωλῶν πονηρός· καὶ, Τίμιος ἐναντίον Κυρίου ὁ θάνατος τῶν ὁσίων αὐτοῦ. Ταῦτα λέγε συνεχῶς, ἐντεῦθεν παιδεύου. Τούτων γὰρ ἕκαστον τῶν ῥημάτων πέλαγος ἀχανὲς νοημάτων· ἡμεῖς γὰρ ἁπλῶς ταῦτα παρεδράμομεν· εἰ δὲ βουληθείητε μετὰ ἀκριβείας διερευνᾶσθαι τὰ εἰρημένα, πολὺν ὄψεσθε τὸν πλοῦτον καὶ ἀπ' αὐτῶν, καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν ἄλλων Γραφῶν ὁμοίως.

βʹ. Ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ ἡ ἀνάγνωσις ἔχει πόνον καὶ πολὺ τὸ φορτικὸν, τοῖς

εἰρημένοις τέως ἐμφιλοχωρῶμεν· ἵνα ὁμοῦ καὶ τέρπῃς τὴν ψυχὴν ᾄδων, καὶ ὑποκλέπτῃ τὸν πόνον. Ψαλλέτω τοίνυν τὸ στόμα, καὶ παιδευέσθω ὁ νοῦ· οὐκ ἐστιν οὐδ' αὐτὸ τοῦτο μικρόν. Ὅταν γὰρ μὴ φθονεῖν ἐᾷ, μὴ λυπεῖσθαι καὶ ἀθυμεῖν ἀκαίρως, μήτε ἡγεῖσθαί τι πλοῦτον, μὴ θλίψιν, μὴ πενίαν, μηδὲ αὐτὴν τὴν ζωὴν νομίζειν τι εἶναι, πάντων σε ἀπαλλάττει τῶν παθῶν. 55.537 Ἄλλως τε δὲ, ἐὰν παιδεύσωμεν τὴν γλῶτταν ψάλλειν, αἰσχυνθήσεται ἡ ψυχὴ ταύτης ψαλλούσης τἀναντία βουλομένη. ∆εῖ οὖν ἡμῖν τῆς κιθάρας τοῦ ∆αυῒδ, ἵνα ἐπᾴδωμεν τῇ ψυχῇ τὰς θείας ἐπῳδὰς, καὶ τὰς ἐντεῦθεν, καὶ τὰς τῶν ἀγαθῶν πράξεων. Ὡς ἂν θάτερον μόνον ποιῶμεν, καὶ τῆς ᾠδῆς ἀκούοντες, τῷ ταῦτα ἐπᾴδοντι πολεμῶμεν διὰ τῶν ἔργων, καὶ εἰς κρῖμα ἡμῖν ἔσται τὸ φάρμακον, καὶ ἀγριωτέρα ἡ μανία τοῦ διαβόλου γένηται. Πρὸ μὲν γὰρ τοῦ ἀκοῦσαι δέδοικεν ὁ πονηρὸς δαίμων, μήποτε ἀκούσαντες κατορθώσωμεν· ὅταν δὲ ἀκούσαντες οἱ αὐτοὶ μένωμεν, καὶ τοῦτο ἐξαιρεῖται.

Ψάλλωμεν τοίνυν τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν πράξεων ᾠδὴν, ἵνα τὴν δαίμονος χαλεπωτέραν ἐκβάλλωμεν ἁμαρτίαν, καὶ τὴν τοῦ Πνεύματος ἐπισπασώμεθα χάριν. Οὐδὲν γὰρ, οὐδὲν οὕτως ἀνίστησι ψυχὴν, καὶ πτεροῖ, καὶ τῆς γῆς ἀπαλλάττει, καὶ τῶν τοῦ σώματος ἀπολύει δεσμῶν, καὶ φιλοσοφεῖν ποιεῖ, καὶ πάντων καταγελᾶν τῶν βιωτικῶν, ὡς ἡ ἀπὸ τῶν ψαλμῶν ἐμμέλεια, καὶ ῥυθμῷ συγκείμενον ᾆσμα. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ εἶδεν ὁ Θεὸς τοὺς πολλοὺς τῶν ἀνθρώπων ῥᾳθυμοτέρους ὑπάρχοντας, καὶ τὸν ἐκεῖθεν οὐχ ἡδέως ὑπομένοντας κάματον, ποθεινότερον ποιῆσαι τὸν πόνον βουλόμενος, καὶ τοῦ καμάτου τὴν αἴσθησιν ὑποτέμνεσθαι, τὴν τοῦ μακαρίου ∆αυῒδ ἐκίνησε γλῶσσαν τοὺς ψαλμοὺς διευκρινῆσαι τούτους, καὶ μελῳδίαν ἀναμίξαι τῇ προφητείᾳ, ἵνα τῷ ῥυθμῷ τοῦ μέλους ψυχαγωγούμενοι πάντες, μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς προθυμίας τοὺς ἱεροὺς ἀναπέμπωσιν αὐτῷ ὕμνους. Οὕτω γὰρ ἡμῶν ἡ φύσις πρὸς τὰ ᾄσματα καὶ τὰ μέλη οἰκείως ἔχει καὶ ἡδέως, ὡς καὶ τὰ ὑπομάζια παιδία κλαυθμυριζόμενα καὶ δυσχεραίνοντα, οὕτω κατακοιμίζεσθαι. Αἱ γοῦν τίτθαι ἐν ταῖς ἀγκάλαις αὐτὰ βαστάζουσαι πολλάκις ἀπιοῦσαι, καί τινα αὐτοῖς κατεπᾴδουσαι ᾄσματα παιδικὰ, οὕτως αὐτοῖς τὰ βλέφαρα κατακοιμίζουσι. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ ὁδοιπόροι πολλάκις κατὰ μεσημβρίαν ἐλαύνοντες ὑποζύγια, ᾄδοντες τοῦτο ποιοῦσι, τὴν ἐκ τῆς ὁδοιπορίας ταλαιπωρίαν ταῖς ᾠδαῖς ἐκείναις παραμυθούμενοι. Οὐχ ὁδοιπόροι δὲ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ γηπόνοι ληνοβατοῦντες, καὶ τρυγῶντες, καὶ ἀμπέλους θεραπεύοντες, καὶ ἄλλο τι ἐργαζόμενοι, πολλάκις ᾄδουσι· καὶ ναῦται κωπηλατοῦντες τοῦτο ποιοῦσιν. Ἤδη δὲ καὶ γυναῖκες ἱστουργοῦσαι καὶ τῇ κερκίδι τοὺς στήμονας συγκεχυμένους διακρίνονται, πολλάκις μὲν καὶ καθ' ἑαυτὰς ἑκάστη, πολλάκις δὲ καὶ συμφώνως ἅπασαι μίαν τινὰ μελῳδίαν ᾄδουσαι. Ποιοῦσι δὲ τοῦτο καὶ γυναῖκες, καὶ γηπόνοι, καὶ ναῦται, τῷ ᾄσματι τὸν ἐκ τῶν ἔργων πόνον παραμυθήσασθαι σπουδάζοντες· ὡς τῆς ψυχῆς, εἰ μέλους ἀκούσειε καὶ ᾠδῆς, ῥᾷον ἅπαντα ἐνεγκεῖν δυναμένης τὰ ὀχληρὰ καὶ ἐπίπονα. Ἐπεὶ οὖν οἰκείως ἡμῖν πρὸς τοῦτο ἔχει τὸ εἶδος τῆς τέρψεως ἡ ψυχὴ, ἵνα μὴ πορνικὰ ᾄσματα οἱ δαίμονες