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blessed Moses, "God," he says, "is faithful, and there is no injustice in him." He also called faithful those men who without doubt receive his words. Thus being and being called God, the munificent one also imparted this title to men, and he cries out: "I said, 'You are gods and all sons of the Most High, but you die like men.'" Therefore, the name "blessed" is the fruit of perfection in virtue. For just as each of the pursuits in life looks to its end; athletics, for example, to wreaths of wild olive, generalship to victories and trophies, and indeed medicine to health and deliverance from diseases, and commerce to the collection of money and an abundance of wealth; so also the knowledge of virtue has as its fruit and end the divine blessing. But let no one, seeing only a man being called blessed here, think that the female sex is deprived of this blessing. For the Lord Christ, by framing the beatitudes in the masculine, did not forbid the acquisition of virtue to women. For the word includes women along with men; for the man is the head of the woman, as the divine Apostle says. But the members of the body are joined to the head, and when the head is crowned, it rejoices; so also when speaking to someone, and calling him a dear head, we do not separate him from the parts of the body, but from a part we address the whole. And not without reason did he mention first of a way, then of a standing, then of a seat; but knowing precisely that reasoning first undergoes a motion, whether it be bad or good; then a standing, then a certain firm establishment. He exhorts, therefore, neither to admit any impious thought into the mind, nor to proceed to an unlawful act. The divine Scripture is accustomed to call impious those who practice atheism or polytheism; and sinners, those who choose to live in lawlessness, and embrace a corrupt life; and pestilent, those who not only corrupt themselves, but also transmit the corruption to others, like the disease that attacks both men and beasts, which those who approach the sick contract. Therefore the word commands to flee even their councils. But since the flight from evil is not sufficient for the perfection of virtue; "For depart," it says, "from evil, and do good;" and the blessed Isaiah: "Cease," he says, "from your evils, learn to do good;" very fittingly the blessed David added: 2. "But his will is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he will meditate day and night." And it is fitting not only to abhor the aforementioned things, but also to attend to the divine law night and day, and to will those things which the divine law dictates, and to direct one's own life according to its purpose. For thus also God of all things legislated through Moses, saying: "The words of this law shall be continually in your mouth, and you shall meditate on them when sitting, and rising up, and lying down, and walking on the way; and you shall bind them to your hand, and they shall be immovable before your eyes." Then he shows the fruit that grows from this. 3, 4. "For he shall be," it says, "like the tree planted by the streams of waters, which shall give its fruit in its season. And its leaf shall not fall off, and whatever he does shall prosper." For the streams of the divine Spirit imitate the irrigation of waters; and just as those make the trees planted beside them to flourish, so these prepare one to bear divine fruits. For this reason also the Lord Christ called his own teaching water. "For if anyone," he says, "thirsts, let him come to me and drink, and the water that I will give him will be a spring of living water leaping up to eternal life." And again: "He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his belly will flow rivers of living water." And indeed also to the Samaritan woman: "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst into the

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μακάριος Μωσῆς, "Θεὸς, φησὶ, πιστὸς, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἀδικία ἐν αὐτῷ." Ἐκάλεσε καὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων πιστοὺς τοὺς ἀναμφι βόλως δεχομένους αὐτοῦ τοὺς λόγους. Οὕτω Θεὸς ὢν καὶ καλούμενος μετέδωκε καὶ ταύτης τῆς κλή σεως τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ὁ μεγαλόδωρος, καὶ βοᾷ· "Ἐγὼ εἶπον, Θεοί ἐστε καὶ υἱοὶ Ὑψίστου πάντες, ὑμεῖς δὲ ὡς ἄνθρωποι ἀποθνήσκετε." Τὸ οὖν μακάριος ὄνομα τῆς κατ' ἀρετὴν τελειώσεως ὑπάρχει καρπός. Ὥσπερ γὰρ καὶ ἕκαστον τῶν κατὰ τὸν βίον ἐπιτηδευμάτων εἰς τὸ τέλος ὁρᾷ· ἀθλητικὴ μὲν οὖν εἰς τοὺς ἐκ κοτίνου στεφάνους, στρατηγική τε εἰς νίκας καὶ τρόπαια, καὶ μέντοι καὶ ἰατρικὴ εἰς ὑγίειαν καὶ νόσων ἀπαλλαγὴν, καὶ ἐμπορικὴ εἰς συλ λογὴν χρημάτων καὶ πλούτου περιουσίαν· οὕτως καὶ ἡ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἐπιστήμη καρπὸν ἔχει καὶ τέλος τὸν θεῖον μακαρισμόν. Μηδεὶς δὲ ἄνδρα μόνον ὁρῶν ἐν ταῦθα μακαριζόμενον, ἐστερῆσθαι νομίσῃ τοῦδε τοῦ μακαρισμοῦ τῶν γυναικῶν τὸ γένος. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ὁ ∆ε σπότης Χριστὸς ἀῤῥενικῶς τοὺς μακαρισμοὺς σχη ματίσας ἀπηγόρευσε ταῖς γυναιξὶ κτῆσιν τῆς ἀρε τῆς. Συμπεριλαμβάνει γὰρ τοῖς ἀνδράσι καὶ τὰς γυ ναῖκας ὁ λόγος· κεφαλὴ γὰρ γυναικὸς ὁ ἀνὴρ, ᾗ φησιν ὁ θεῖος Ἀπόστολος. Συνάπτεται δὲ τῇ κεφαλῇ τὰ μέλη τοῦ σώματος, καὶ κεφαλῆς στεφανουμένης ἀγάλλεται· οὕτω καὶ πρός τινα διαλεγόμενοι, καὶ φίλην αὐτὸν κεφαλὴν ὀνομάζοντες, οὐ χωρίζομεν τῶν μορίων τοῦ σώματος, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ μέρους τὸ πᾶν προσ φθεγγόμεθα. Οὐχ ἁπλῶς δὲ πρῶτον ὁδοῦ, εἶτα στά σεως, εἶτα καθέδρας ἐμνημόνευσεν· ἀλλ' εἰδὼς ἀκριβῶς, ὡς κίνησιν μὲν πρῶτον ὁ λογισμὸς ὑπο μένει, εἴτε φαῦλος, εἴτε σπουδαῖος εἴη· εἶτα στά σιν, εἶτά τινα ἑδραίαν βεβαίωσιν. Παραινεῖ τοίνυν, μήτε τῷ νῷ παραδέξασθαι δυσσεβῆ τινα ἔννοιαν, μήτε ἐπὶ πρᾶξιν ὁδεῦσαι παράνομον. Ἀσεβεῖς δὲ φίλον τῇ θείᾳ Γραφῇ καλεῖν τοὺς ἀθεΐαν, ἢ πολυ θεΐαν θρησκεύοντας· ἁμαρτωλοὺς δὲ, τοὺς παρα νομίᾳ συζῇν προαιρουμένους, καὶ βίον διεφθαρμένον 80.869 ἀσπαζομένους· λοιμοὺς δὲ, τοὺς μὴ μόνον σφᾶς αὐ τοὺς λυμαινομένους, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἑτέροις τῆς λύμης μεταδιδόντας, κατὰ τὴν ἐπισκήπτουσαν καὶ ἀνθρώ ποις καὶ κτήνεσι νόσον, ἧς μεταλαγχάνουσιν οἱ τοῖς νοσοῦσι πελάζοντες. ∆ιὸ φεύγειν ὁ λόγος παρα κελεύεται καὶ τὰ τούτων συνέδρια. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ οὐκ ἀπόχρη εἰς ἀρετῆς τελείωσιν τῆς κακίας φυγή· "Ἔκκλινον γὰρ, φησὶν, ἀπὸ κακοῦ, καὶ ποίησον ἀγαθόν·" καὶ ὁ μακάριος Ἡσαΐας· "Παύσασθε, φησὶν, ἀπὸ τῶν πονηριῶν ὑμῶν, μάθετε ποιεῖν καλόν·" μάλα εἰκότως ἐπήγαγεν ὁ μακάριος ∆αβίδ· βʹ. "Ἀλλ' ἐν τῷ νόμῳ Κυρίου τὸ θέλημα αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐν τῷ νόμῳ αὐτοῦ μελετήσει ἡμέρας καὶ νυ κτός." Προσήκει δὲ οὐ μόνον τὰ προειρημένα βδελύξασθαι· ἀλλὰ καὶ τῷ θείῳ νόμῳ νύκτωρ καὶ μεθ' ἡμέραν προσέχειν, κἀκεῖνα θέλειν ἃ ὁ θεῖος νό μος ὑπαγορεύει, καὶ κατὰ τὸν ἐκείνου σκοπὸν τὸν οἰκεῖον βίον εὐθύνειν. Οὕτω γὰρ καὶ ὁ τῶν ὅλων Θεὸς διὰ Μωσέως ἐνομοθέτησε λέγων· "Ἔσται τὰ ῥήματα τοῦ νόμου τούτου διὰ παντὸς ἐν τῷ στόματί σου, καὶ μελετήσεις ἐν αὐτοῖς καθήμενος, καὶ δι ανιστάμενος, καὶ κοιταζόμενος, καὶ πορευόμενος ἐν ὁδῷ· καὶ ἀπαρτήσεις αὐτὰ τῆς χειρός σου, καὶ ἔσται ἀσάλευτα πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν σου." Εἶτα δείκνυσι τὸν καρπὸν τὸν ἐντεῦθεν φυόμενον. γʹ, δʹ. "Ἔσται γὰρ, φησὶν, ὡς τὸ ξύλον τὸ πεφυ τευμένον παρὰ τὰς διεξόδους τῶν ὑδάτων· ὃ τὸν καρπὸν αὑτοῦ δώσει ἐν καιρῷ αὑτοῦ. Καὶ τὸ φύλλον αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἀποῤῥυήσεται, καὶ πάντα ὅσα ἂν ποιῇ κατευοδωθήσεται." Μιμεῖται γὰρ ὑδάτων ἄρδειαν τὰ τοῦ θείου Πνεύματος νάματα· καὶ καθάπερ ἐκεῖνα τὰ παραφυτευόμενα δένδρα τεθηλέναι ποιεῖ, οὕτω ταῦτα παρασκευάζει τοὺς θείους φέρειν καρ πούς. Οὗ δὴ χάριν καὶ ὁ ∆εσπότης Χριστὸς ὕδωρ τὴν οἰκείαν διδασκαλίαν ὠνόμασεν. "Εἴ τις γὰρ, φησὶ, διψᾷ, ἐρχέσθω πρός με καὶ πινέτω, καὶ ἔσται τὸ ὕδωρ ὃ ἐγὼ δώσω αὐτῷ πηγὴ ὕδατος ζῶντος ἁλλομένου εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον." Καὶ πάλιν· "Ὁ πι στεύων εἰς ἐμὲ, καθὼς εἶπεν ἡ Γραφὴ, ποταμοὶ ἐκ τῆς κοιλίας αὐτοῦ ῥεύσουσιν ὕδατος ζῶντος." Καὶ μέντοι καὶ πρὸς τὴν Σαμαρῖτιν· "Ὁ πίνων ἐκ τοῦ ὕδατος τούτου διψήσει πάλιν· ὃς δ' ἂν πίῃ ἐκ τοῦ ὕδατος, οὗ ἐγὼ δώσω αὐτῷ, οὐ μὴ διψήσει εἰς τὸν