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that you may learn that even if you forgive your brother his sins seventy times seven in a day, you have not yet done anything great, but you fall far and unspeakably short of the Master's love for humanity, and you do not give as much as you receive. 4. Let us listen, therefore, to the parable; for although it seems to be clear on its own, it also has a certain unspeakable treasure of hidden meanings. The kingdom of heaven is like a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. Do not just skim over the saying, but unfold for me that tribunal, and entering into your own conscience, call to mind the things you have done throughout your whole life; and when you hear that he settles accounts with his servants, think of kings, and generals, and governors, and rich and poor, and slaves and free, and everyone; For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. If you are rich, consider that you will give an account, whether you spent your money on prostitutes or on the poor, whether on parasites and flatterers or on those in need, whether on licentiousness or on love of humanity, whether on luxury and debauchery and drunkenness, or on helping those who are oppressed. And you will be required to give an account not only for your spending, but also for your acquiring, whether you gathered it from just labors, or from robbery and greed, whether you inherited a paternal estate, or destroyed the houses of orphans and plundered the substance of widows. And just as we demand an account from our household servants not only of the outflow of money, but also of the inflow, examining from where they received the money, and from whom, and how, and how much; so also God demands from us the reckonings not only of our spending, but also of our acquiring. Not only the rich man, but also the poor man gives an account of his poverty: whether he bore his poverty nobly and with thanksgiving, whether he did not despair, whether he was not discontented, whether he did not accuse the providence of God, seeing another living in luxury and squandering, while he himself was in want. For just as the rich man is required to give an account of his almsgiving, so also the poor man is required to give an account of his patience; or rather, not only of his patience, but even of his almsgiving; for poverty is no hindrance to almsgiving. 51.23 And a witness is the widow who cast in two mites, and surpassed those who put in much by that small contribution. And not only the rich and poor, but also rulers and judges are examined with great strictness, whether they did not pervert justice, whether they did not cast their vote for litigants out of favor or out of enmity, whether being flattered they did not give their vote contrary to what was right, whether holding a grudge they did not wrong those who had done no wrong And not only secular rulers, but also the leaders of the Churches will render an account of their own authority; and it is especially these who are subject to the more bitter and heavy reckonings. For he who has been entrusted with the ministry of the word will be examined there with strictness, whether neither by sloth nor by envy he neglected to say any of the things that were needed, and showed by his works that he commanded all things, and hid nothing of what was profitable. Again, he who has obtained the episcopate, by as much as he has ascended to a greater dignity, by so much more of an account will he be required, not only of teaching and care for the poor, but also of the examination for ordinations and countless other things. And making these things clear, Paul wrote to Timothy: Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men's sins; and to the Hebrews, exhorting them about the same rulers, he inspired fear in another way, saying thus: Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account. Then not only for deeds, but also for words we shall render

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μάθῃς ὅτι κἂν ἑβδομηκοντάκις ἑπτὰ ἀφῇς τῆς ἡμέρας τῷ ἀδελφῷ τὰ ἁμαρτήματα, οὐδέπω οὐδὲν μέγα εἰργάσω, ἀλλὰ πολὺ καὶ ἄφατον ἀπολείπῃ τῆς δεσποτικῆς φιλανθρωπίας, καὶ οὐ τοσοῦτον δίδως ὅσον λαμβάνεις. δʹ. Ἐπακούσωμεν τοίνυν τῆς παραβολῆς· εἰ γὰρ δοκεῖ καὶ αὐτόθεν εἶναι σαφὴς, ἀλλ' ἔχει καὶ ἐναποκεκρυμμένον τινὰ θησαυρὸν νοημάτων ἄφατον. Ὡμοιώθη ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν ἀνθρώπῳ βασιλεῖ, ὅστις ἠθέλησε συνᾶραι λόγον μετὰ τῶν δούλων αὐτοῦ. Μὴ παραδράμῃς ἁπλῶς τὴν ῥῆσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀνάπτυξόν μοι τὸ δικαστήριον ἐκεῖνο, καὶ εἰς τὸ συνειδὸς εἰσελθὼν τὸ σεαυτοῦ, ἀναλόγισαι τὰ πεπραγμένα σοι παρὰ πᾶσαν τὴν ζωήν· καὶ ὅταν ἀκούσῃς, ὅτι συναίρει λόγον μετὰ τῶν δούλων αὐτοῦ, καὶ βασιλεῖς, καὶ στρατηγοὺς, καὶ ἐπάρχους, καὶ πλουσίους καὶ πένητας, καὶ δούλους καὶ ἐλευθέρους, καὶ πάντας ἀναλογίζου· Πάντας γὰρ ἡμᾶς φανερωθῆναι δεῖ ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ βήματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Κἂν πλούσιος ᾖς, ἐννόησον ὅτι δώσεις λόγον, πότερον εἰς πόρνας, ἢ εἰς πένητας τὰ χρήματα κατηνάλωσας, πότερον εἰς παρασίτους καὶ κόλακας, ἢ εἰς τοὺς δεομένους, πότερον εἰς ἀσέλγειαν ἢ εἰς φιλανθρωπίαν, πότερον εἰς τρυφὴν καὶ ἀσωτίαν καὶ μέθην, ἢ εἰς τὴν τῶν ἐπηρεαζομένων βοήθειαν. Οὐχ ὑπὲρ τῆς δαπάνης δὲ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑπὲρ τῆς κτήσεως ἀπαιτηθήσῃ λόγον, πότερον ἐκ δικαίων πόνων, ἢ ἐξ ἁρπαγῆς καὶ πλεονεξίας συνέλεξας, πότερον κλῆρον διαδεξάμενος πατρῷον, ἢ τὰς τῶν ὀρφανῶν καταστρέψας οἰκίας, καὶ τὰς τῶν χηρῶν διαρπάσας οὐσίας. Καὶ καθάπερ ἡμεῖς τοῖς οἰκέταις τοῖς ἡμετέροις οὐχὶ τῆς ἐξόδου μόνον τῶν χρημάτων, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς εἰσόδου ἀπαιτοῦμεν τὸν λόγον, ἐξετάζοντες πόθεν ὑπεδέξαντο τὰ χρήματα, καὶ παρὰ τίνων, καὶ πῶς, καὶ πόσα· οὕτω δὴ καὶ ὁ Θεὸς οὐχὶ τῆς δαπάνης μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς κτήσεως ἡμᾶς ἀπαιτεῖ τὰς εὐθύνας. Οὐχ ὁ πλούσιος δὲ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁ πένης τῆς πενίας δίδωσι λόγον· εἰ γενναίως καὶ εὐχαρίστως τὴν πενίαν ἤνεγκεν, εἰ μὴ ἀπεδυσπέτησεν, εἰ μὴ ἐδυσχέρανεν, εἰ μὴ κατηγόρησε τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ προνοίας, ἕτερον ὁρῶν τρυφῶντα καὶ σπαταλῶντα, ἑαυτὸν δὲ ὄντα ἐν ἐνδείᾳ. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ὁ πλούσιος τῆς ἐλεημοσύνης, οὕτω καὶ ὁ πένης τῆς ὑπομονῆς ἀπαιτεῖται λόγον· μᾶλλον δὲ οὐδὲ τῆς ὑπομονῆς μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτῆς τῆς ἐλεημοσύνης· οὐ γάρ ἐστι κώλυμα πρὸς ἐλεημοσύνην 51.23 ἡ πενία. Καὶ μάρτυς ἡ χήρα ἡ τὰ δύο καταβαλοῦσα λεπτὰ, καὶ τοὺς πολλὰ καταθέντας ὑπερακοντίσασα διὰ τῆς μικρᾶς ἐκείνης καταβολῆς. Οὐ πλούσιοι δὲ καὶ πένητες μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἄρχοντες καὶ δικασταὶ μετὰ πολλῆς ἐξετάζονται τῆς ἀκριβείας, εἰ μὴ διέφθειραν τὸ δίκαιον, εἰ μὴ πρὸς χάριν, εἰ μὴ πρὸς ἀπέχθειαν ἐψηφίσαντο τοῖς δικαζομένοις, εἰ μὴ κολακευθέντες ἔδωκαν παρὰ τὸ δέον τὴν ψῆφον, εἰ μὴ μνησικακοῦντες ἐπηρέασαν τοῖς οὐδὲν ἠδικηκόσιν Οὐχ οἱ ἔξωθεν δὲ μόνον ἄρχοντες, ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ τῶν Ἐκκλησιῶν προεστῶτες τῆς οἰκείας ἀρχῆς ὑφέξουσι τὸν λόγον· καὶ μάλιστα οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ ἐπὶ πλέον τὰς πικρὰς καὶ βαρείας εὐθύνας ὑπέχοντες. Καὶ γὰρ ὁ τοῦ λόγου τὴν διακονίαν ἐγκεχειρισμένος ἐξετασθήσεται μετὰ ἀκριβείας ἐκεῖ, εἰ μήτε ὄκνῳ, μήτε φθόνῳ παρεῖδέ τι τῶν δεόντων εἰπεῖν, καὶ διὰ τῶν ἔργων ἐπέδειξεν, ὅτι πάντα διεστείλατο, καὶ οὐδὲν ἔκρυψε τῶν συμφερόντων. Πάλιν ὁ τὴν ἐπισκοπὴν λαχὼν, ὅσῳ πρὸς μείζονα ὄγκον ἀναβέβηκε, τοσούτῳ πλείονα ἀπαιτηθήσεται λόγον, οὐχὶ διδασκαλίας μόνον καὶ πενήτων προστασίας, ἀλλὰ καὶ χειροτονιῶν δοκιμασίας καὶ μυρίων ἑτέρων. Καὶ ταῦτα δηλῶν ὁ Παῦλος τῷ Τιμοθέῳ ἔγραφε· Χεῖρας ταχέως μηδενὶ ἐπιτίθει, μηδὲ κοινώνει ἁμαρτίαις ἀλλοτρίαις· καὶ Ἑβραίοις δὲ περὶ τῶν αὐτῶν ἀρχόντων παραινῶν, ἑτέρως ἐφόβει οὕτω λέγων· Πείθεσθε τοῖς ἡγουμένοις ὑμῶν καὶ ὑπείκετε· αὐτοὶ γὰρ ἀγρυπνοῦσιν ὑπὲρ τῶν ψυχῶν ὑμῶν, ὡς λόγον ἀποδώσοντες. Τότε οὐχὶ πραγμάτων δὲ μόνων, ἀλλὰ καὶ ῥημάτων παρέξομεν