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paying attention? But if Greek men, who have no sound understanding at all, were able to perceive this, and have honored with great honor those who only died for them, having accomplished nothing more, how much more will Christ do this, who everywhere overcomes those who are in peril for His sake with the superabundant recompense of His gifts? For He has appointed a great reward not only for persecutions, nor for stripes, nor for imprisonments and murders and slaughter, but also for insult alone and for reproachful words. For "Blessed are you," He says, "when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven." If, then, to suffer evil and to hear evil increases the reward both for those who suffer and those who hear evil, the one who prevents them from suffering and hearing evil has benefited not these, but those who speak and do the evil. For he has harmed these, cutting off the greater part of their reward, and taking away the occasion for their joy and much leaping. So that for their sake one ought to be silent, and allow these things to happen which produce for them a great wealth of good things, and prepare for them a greater boldness; but since we are members of one another, even if they in turn deny the grace, it is not right for those so disposed to care for one part, and to neglect another. For there will be for them an occasion 47.325 for other good repute, even if they do not suffer evil now; but these, if they do not abstain from this battle, will no longer be able to be saved. For this reason indeed, overlooking their interest, I turn to yours, and I beg and beseech you to be persuaded by our exhortations, and no longer to thrust the sword against yourselves, nor to kick against the pricks, nor, thinking to vex men, to grieve the Holy Spirit of God. For that you will praise this our opinion, if not now, yet hereafter, I know and am persuaded; but I wish you to do this now, that you may not do it in vain afterwards. Since also that rich man, when he was here, considered the prophets and the law and the exhortation from them a kind of myth and nonsense; but when he went there, he so admired their counsel that, since he saw that he could be helped in nothing by his praises, he asked the patriarch to send one of those in Hades to report to those above the earth, fearing that they too might suffer the same thing, and having scorned the divine Scriptures, might then admire them when there would be no benefit to them from their admiration. And yet he did not do anything as great as you have. For he did not share his own things with Lazarus, yet he did not prevent others who wished to share, or drive them away as you do now. And not only in this cruelty have you surpassed him, but also in another. For just as it is not the same thing to do no good oneself, and to prevent others who wish to do it, so it is not the same thing to lack bodily food, and to prevent one who is lying in a great famine of philosophy from being fed by others. So you have doubly outstripped that cruel rich man, by both preventing others from quenching the famine, and displaying this inhumanity to a soul being choked. This the Jews also once did, and they forbade the apostles to speak to men the things pertaining to salvation. Nevertheless, you are even worse than these. For they indeed, having taken up the position of enemies, thus did all those things; but you, having put on the mask of friends, show the deeds of enemies. They scourged and insulted and surrounded with an evil reputation the holy apostles at that time, calling them sorcerers and deceivers. But such a punishment overtook them, that no other calamity could henceforth be compared to their terrible fate. For these first and alone of all men under the sun suffered such things as no one else has. And of these things Christ is a trustworthy witness, saying thus: There shall be great tribulation, such as was not

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προσανέχοντες; Εἰ δὲ Ἕλληνες ἄνθρωποι, καὶ μηδὲν ὅλως ὑγιὲς ἐννοοῦντες, τοῦτο ἠδυνήθησαν συνιδεῖν, καὶ πολλῇ τετιμήκασι τῇ τιμῇ τοὺς ἀποθανόντας μόνον ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν, μηδὲν δὲ ἐργασαμένους πλέον, πόσῳ μᾶλλον ὁ Χριστὸς τοῦτο ἐργάσεται, ὁ πανταχοῦ τοὺς δι' αὐτὸν κινδυνεύοντας ἐκ πολλοῦ τοῦ περιόντος ταῖς τῶν δωρεῶν νικῶν ἀντιδόσεσι; Οὐ γὰρ διωγμῶν μόνον, οὐδὲ πληγῶν, οὐδὲ δεσμωτηρίων καὶ φόνων καὶ σφαγῆς, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὕβρεως μόνης καὶ ῥημάτων ὀνειδιστικῶν πολὺν ἔθηκε τὸν μισθόν. Μακάριοι γὰρ, φησὶν, ἐστὲ, ὅταν μισήσωσιν ὑμᾶς οἱ ἄνθρωποι, καὶ ὅταν ἀφορίσωσιν ὑμᾶς καὶ ὀνειδίσωσι, καὶ ἐκβάλωσι τὸ ὄνομα ὑμῶν ὡς πονηρὸν, ἕνεκεν τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου· χαίρετε ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ καὶ σκιρτήσατε· ἰδοὺ γὰρ ὁ μισθὸς ὑμῶν πολὺς ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ. Εἰ τοίνυν τὸ κακῶς παθεῖν καὶ τὸ κακῶς ἀκοῦσαι ἐπιτείνει τὸν μισθὸν καὶ τοῖς πάσχουσι καὶ τοῖς ἀκούουσι κακῶς, ὁ κωλύων αὐτοὺς παθεῖν καὶ ἀκοῦσαι κακῶς, οὐχὶ τούτους, ἀλλὰ τοὺς λέγοντας καὶ τοὺς ποιοῦντας ὠφέλησε. Τούτους γὰρ ἔβλαψε, τοῦ μισθοῦ τὸ πλέον ἐκκόπτων αὐτοῖς, καὶ τῆς χαρᾶς καὶ τῶν πολλῶν σκιρτημάτων ἀναιρῶν τὴν ὑπόθεσιν. Ὥστε τούτων μὲν ἕνεκεν καὶ σιγῆσαι ἐχρῆν, καὶ ἀφεῖναι γενέσθαι ταῦτα τὰ πολὺν αὐτοῖς τὸν πλοῦτον ποιοῦντα τῶν ἀγαθῶν, καὶ μείζω τὴν παῤῥησίαν κατασκευάζοντα· ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἀλλήλων ἐσμὲν μέλη, κἂν αὐτοὶ πάλιν ἀρνῶνται τὴν χάριν, οὐ χρὴ τοὺς οὕτω διακειμένους, ἑνὸς μὲν προνοεῖν μέρους, ἑτέρου δὲ περιορᾷν. Ἐκείνοις μὲν γὰρ ἔσται καὶ ἑτέρας εὐδοκιμήσεως ὑπό47.325 θεσις, κἂν μὴ νῦν πάθωσι κακῶς· οὗτοι δὲ, ἂν μὴ μάχης ἀπόσχωνται ταύτης, οὐκέτι σωθῆναι δυνήσονται. Τούτου δὴ χάριν παριδὼν τὸ ἐκείνων, πρὸς τὸ ὑμέτερον ἵσταμαι, καὶ δέομαι καὶ ἀντιβολῶ πεισθῆναί τε ἡμῖν παρακαλοῦσι, καὶ μηκέτι καθ' ἑαυτῶν τὸ ξίφος ὠθεῖν, μηδὲ πρὸς κέντρα λακτίζειν, μηδὲ νομίζοντας ἀνθρώπους ἀνιᾷν, λυπεῖν τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ὅτι μὲν γὰρ ἐπαινέσεσθε ταύτην ἡμῶν τὴν γνώμην, κἂν μὴ νῦν, ἀλλ' αὖθις, οἶδα καὶ πέπεισμαι· βούλομαι δὲ ὑμᾶς τοῦτο ποιῆσαι νῦν, ἵνα μὴ μάτην αὐτὸ μετὰ ταῦτα ποιῆτε. Ἐπεὶ καὶ ὁ πλούσιος ἐκεῖνος, ὅτε μὲν ἦν ἐνταῦθα, τοὺς προφήτας καὶ τὸν νόμον καὶ τὴν ἐκ τούτων παράκλησιν μῦθόν τινα ἡγεῖτο καὶ λῆρον· ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἀπῆλθεν ἐκεῖ, οὕτως ἐθαύμασεν αὐτῶν τὴν παραίνεσιν, ὡς, ἐπειδὴ συνεῖδε μηδὲν αὐτὸν ἀπὸ τῶν ἐπαίνων ὠφεληθῆναι δυνάμενον, παρακαλέσαι τὸν πατριάρχην πέμψαι τινὰ τῶν ἐν ᾅδου τοῖς ὑπὲρ γῆς ἀπαγγέλλοντα, ἐκεῖνο δεδοικὼς, μή ποτε καὶ αὐτοὶ τὸ αὐτὸ πάθωσι, καὶ καταγελάσαντες τῶν θείων Γραφῶν, τότε αὐτὰς θαυμάσωσι, ὅταν αὐτοῖς ὄφελος οὐδὲν ἀπὸ τοῦ θαύματος. Καίτοι γε οὐδὲν ἐκεῖνος τοσοῦτον εἰργάσατο οἷον ὑμεῖς. Ἐκεῖνος γὰρ τῶν μὲν ἑαυτοῦ οὐ μετέδωκε τῷ Λαζάρῳ, οὐ μὴν καὶ ἑτέρους βουληθέντας μεταδοῦναι ἐκώλυσεν, ἢ ἀπήλασε καθάπερ ὑμεῖς νῦν. Καὶ οὐ ταύτῃ μόνον αὐτὸν ἀπεκρύψατε τῇ ὠμότητι, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἑτέρῳ. Ὥσπερ γὰρ οὐκ ἔστιν ἴσον αὐτὸν μηδὲν ποιεῖν ἀγαθὸν, καὶ ἑτέρους βουλομένους κωλύειν ποιεῖν, οὕτως οὐκ ἔστιν ἴσον τροφῆς τε ἀπορεῖν σωματικῆς, καὶ ἐν πολλῷ τῷ τῆς φιλοσοφίας λιμῷ κείμενον κωλύειν τρέφεσθαι παρ' ἑτέρων. Ὥστε διπλῇ παρηλάσατε τὸν ὠμὸν πλούσιον ἐκεῖνον, τῷ τε ἑτέρους κωλῦσαι σβέσαι τὸν λιμὸν, καὶ τῆς ψυχῆς ἀγχομένης τὴν ἀπανθρωπίαν ἐπιδείκνυσθαι ταύτην. Τοῦτο καὶ Ἰουδαῖοι ποτὲ ἐποίησαν, καὶ ἐκώλυον τοὺς ἀποστόλους τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τὰ πρὸς σωτηρίαν λαλεῖν. Πλὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ τούτων χείρονες ὑμεῖς. Οἱ μὲν γὰρ δὴ τὴν τῶν ἐχθρῶν ἀναδεξάμενοι τάξιν, οὕτως ἅπαντα ἔπραττον ἐκεῖνα· ὑμεῖς δὲ τὸ τῶν φίλων ὑποδύντες προσωπεῖον, τὰ τῶν ἐχθρῶν ἐπιδείκνυσθε· ἐμάστιξαν καὶ ὕβρισαν καὶ πονηρᾷ περιέβαλον δόξῃ τοὺς ἁγίους ἀποστόλους τότε ἐκεῖνοι γόητας καὶ πλάνους καλοῦντες αὐτούς. Ἀλλὰ τοιαύτη κατέλαβε αὐτοὺς δίκη, ὡς μηδεμίαν λοιπὸν δυνηθῆναι τοῖς ἐκείνων δεινοῖς παρισωθῆναι συμφοράν. Πρῶτοι γὰρ οὗτοι καὶ μόνοι τῶν ὑφ' ἡλίῳ πάντων ἀνθρώπων τοιαῦτα ἔπαθον, οἷα οὐδεὶς ἕτερος. Καὶ τούτων μάρτυς ἀξιόπιστος ὁ Χριστὸς, οὕτω λέγων· Ἔσται θλῖψις μεγάλη, οἴα οὐ