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And why upon the neck, and not upon another part? Of necessity he wept upon their necks, who had cast off the yoke of brotherly love. Did you see the meekness and piety of the man? But some say concerning Joseph that, being constrained by necessity and dwelling in foreign lands, and not having human help, or a protector, for this reason he showed meekness and humility. Pay attention, then, you who say these things; for Joseph himself, from his own disposition, put on his father's piety—a memorial of Joseph, and a presence of light. For Christ, the Lord of light, freed him from the darkness of the prison. Therefore you speak idly, O man, you do not justify, who say that Joseph was pious and forbearing from necessity. For so Joseph was a lover of God and a keeper of the law before the law, because even when flattered by his own mistress, he abominated the act of adultery. For was a law then given, commanding, "You shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness"? Did he not, becoming a law to himself, and clinging to his natural judgment, flee naked from her, so that he might not defile his master's bed? Did not his mistress shamelessly entreat him, and promise to give him tablets of freedom, and to make him master of all her possessions, if he would consent to what she urged? Did he not, the more she pursued, the more he drew back, making himself a eunuch according to the Lord's voice, not with a sword, but with faith? Did not the righteous man say these words to her: If my lord, mistress, knows nothing of what is in his house, but has entrusted everything into my hand, and withholds nothing from me except you, because you are his wife, then how can I do this wicked sin before God? For is not the God of my fathers present here? For is there one God in Canaan, and another in Egypt, even if you are ignorant? For is there not some overseeing power that beholds the one who wrongs his neighbor? For when your husband happens to be away, has my God also gone abroad with him? Your husband, woman, being my master, has entrusted all his substance into my hand, and shall I steal his side? He joined one to one; for not one to many, nor many to one? Be quiet, mistress; for I know the one who incites you against me. It is not you 62.764 who makes war on me, but the devil who armed my brothers against me. For having once alienated me from my father, he hastens also to make me depart from God; he circles up and down, so that he might make me a stranger to my dreams. Be quiet, therefore; for it is better to bear the name, and not the deed, of an adulterer. If I do not obey you, my body is scourged; but if I disobey my God, I will be punished in both. For he knew the one who said: Fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body. These things have been said for a demonstration of the meekness and forbearance of the chaste Joseph. But hear also his other undertaking. For you all know clearly that, having inhabited the prison by the slander of the Egyptian woman, and having become king of Egypt by the decree of divine providence, and now at last his dreams, or rather his revelations, showing their outcome, and his brothers having come down to Egypt on account of the lack of necessities, Joseph, seeing them, and being a king, and ruling over all of Egypt, did not draw his sword, did not shut them in prison, did not waste them with famine, did not inflict blows, did not consider them as wild beasts who had not pitied him, did not recall the tearing of his tunic, nor the depth of the pit, nor the shame of slavery, nor the vanity of envy, nor the smoke of brother-hating, nor the burden of his father's loss, nor the alienation of his full brother Benjamin; but putting aside all grievous things, joining threat with meekness,

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τί δὲ ἐπὶ τὸν τράχηλον, οὐχὶ δὲ ἐπὶ ἄλλο μέρος; Ἀναγκαίως ἐπὶ τοὺς τραχήλους αὐτῶν ἔκλαυσε, τοὺς ἀποβαλόντας τὸν ζυγὸν τῆς φιλαδελφίας. Εἶδες πραότητα καὶ εὐλάβειαν ἀνδρός; Ἀλλά φασί τινες περὶ τοῦ Ἰωσὴφ, ὡς ἀπὸ ἀνάγκης συσχεθεὶς καὶ ἐν ξένοις τόποις αὐλιζόμενος, καὶ μὴ ἔχων ἀνθρωπίνην βοήθειαν, ἢ τὸν προστατεύοντα, τούτου χάριν τὴν πραότητα καὶ τὴν ταπεινοφροσύνην ἐπεδείξατο. Πρόσεχε οὖν ὁ ταῦτα λέγων· αὐτὸς γὰρ ὁ Ἰωσὴφ ἀπὸ διαθέσεως οἰκείας τὴν πατρικὴν εὐλάβειαν περιέθετο τοῦ Ἰωσὴφ μνήμη, καὶ φωτὸς παρουσία. Ὁ γὰρ τοῦ φωτὸς ∆εσπότης Χριστὸς ἐκ τοῦ σκότους τῆς φυλακῆς τοῦτον ἠλευθέρωσε. ∆ιὸ περιττολογεῖς, ἄνθρωπε, οὐ δικαιολογεῖς, ὁ λέγων ὅτι ὁ Ἰωσὴφ ἀπὸ ἀνάγκης ὑπῆρχεν εὐλαβὴς καὶ ἀνεξίκακος. Οὕτω γὰρ πρὸ νόμου ὑπῆρχε φιλόθεος ὁ Ἰωσὴφ καὶ νόμου τηρητὴς, ὅτι καὶ κολακευόμενος παρὰ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ δεσποίνης, ἐμυσάττετο τῆς μοιχείας τὸ δρᾶμα. Μὴ γὰρ τότε νόμος ἦν δοθεὶς, ὁ κελεύων, Μὴ μοιχεύσῃς, μὴ κλέψῃς, μὴ ψευδομαρτυρήσῃς; οὐχὶ αὐτὸς ἑαυτοῦ νόμος γινόμενος, καὶ φυσικῷ κριτηρίῳ προσπλακεὶς ἔφυγε γυμνὸς ἐξ αὐτῆς, ἵνα τὴν δεσποτικὴν μὴ μολύνῃ κοίτην; οὐχὶ ἡ τούτου δέσποινα παρεκάλει αὐτὸν ἀναιδῶς, καὶ δέλτους ἐλευθερίας αὐτῷ δώσειν ὑπισχνεῖτο, καὶ πάντων τῶν αὐτῆς δεσπότην καταστήσειν, εἰ συγκατάθηται τῷ σπουδαζομένῳ; οὐχὶ ὅσον ἐκείνη προέτρεχε, τοσοῦτον οὗτος ἔκαμπτε, κατὰ τὴν τοῦ Κυρίου φωνὴν ἑαυτὸν εὐνουχίσας, οὐ ξίφει, ἀλλὰ πίστει; οὐχὶ ταῦτα τὰ ῥήματα ἔλεγε πρὸς αὐτὴν ὁ δίκαιος· Εἰ ὁ Κύριός μου, δέσποινα, οὐ γινώσκει τι τῶν ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ αὐτοῦ, ἀλλὰ πάντα ἐνεπίστευσεν ἐν τῇ χειρί μου, καὶ οὐδὲν ὑφαιρεῖται ἀπ' ἐμοῦ, πλὴν σοῦ, διὰ τό σε γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ εἶναι, καὶ πῶς ποιήσω τὸ πονηρὸν τοῦτο ἁμάρτημα ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ; μὴ γὰρ οὐ πάρεστιν ὧδε ὁ τῶν πατέρων μου Θεός; μὴ γὰρ ἄλλος ἐν τῇ Χαναὰν Θεὸς, καὶ ἄλλος ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ, εἰ καὶ ὑμεῖς ἀγνοεῖτε; μὴ γὰρ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐποπτική τις δύναμις ἡ θεωροῦσα τὸν ἀδικοῦντα τὸν πέλας; μὴ γὰρ, τοῦ ἀνδρός σου ἔξω τυγχάνοντος, καὶ ὁ Θεός μου συναπεδήμησεν; Ὁ σὸς ἀνὴρ, γύναι, ἐμὸς δεσπότης ὢν, πᾶσαν τὴν ὕπαρξιν αὐτοῦ ἐπίστευσεν ἐν τῇ χειρί μου, κἀγὼ τὴν πλευρὰν αὐτοῦ συλήσω; ἕνα ἑνὶ συνέζευξε· μὴ γὰρ μίαν πολλοῖς, ἢ ἑνὶ πολλάς; Ἡσύχασον, δέσποινα· οἶδα γὰρ τὸν ὑφάπτοντά σε κατ' ἐμοῦ. Οὐ σύ 62.764 με πολεμεῖς, ἀλλ' ὁ τοὺς ἀδελφούς μου κατ' ἐμοῦ ὁπλίσας διάβολος. Ἅπαξ γὰρ τοῦ πατρός με ἀλλοτριώσας, σπεύδει καὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀποστῆσαι· ἄνω καὶ κάτω κυκλοῖ, ὅπως ξένον με τῶν ὀνείρων ποιήσῃ. Ἡσύχασον τοίνυν· ἄμεινον γὰρ ὄνομα, καὶ μὴ πρᾶγμα βαστάζειν μοιχοῦ. Ἐάν σοι μὴ πεισθῶ, τὸ σῶμα μαστίζομαι· ἐὰν δὲ τοῦ Θεοῦ μου παρακούσω, τὸ συναμφότερον κολασθήσομαι. Ἔγνω γὰρ τὸν λέγοντα· Φοβήθητε τὸν δυνάμενον καὶ ψυχὴν καὶ σῶμα ἀπολέσαι. Ταῦτα εἴρηται πρὸς ἀπόδειξιν τῆς πραότητος καὶ ἀνεξικακίας τοῦ σώφρονος Ἰωσήφ. Ἄκουε δὲ αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν ἄλλην πραγματείαν. Ἴστε γὰρ πάντες σαφῶς, ὅτι συκοφαντίᾳ τῆς Αἰγυπτίας τὴν φυλακὴν οἰκήσας, ψήφῳ δὲ θείας προνοίας τῆς Αἰγύπτου βασιλεύσας, καὶ ἤδη λοιπὸν τῶν ὀνείρων αὐτοῦ, μᾶλλον δὲ τῶν ἀποκαλύψεων, τὴν ἔκβασιν ἐπιδεικνύντων, καὶ τῶν ἀδελφῶν αὐτοῦ κατελθόντων εἰς τὴν Αἴγυπτον διὰ τὴν τῶν ἀναγκαίων σπάνιν, θεασάμενος τούτους ὁ Ἰωσὴφ, καί γε βασιλεὺς ὑπάρχων, καὶ πάσης τῆς Αἰγύπτου δεσπόζων, οὐκ ἐγύμνωσε ξίφος, οὐκ ἐν φυλακῇ κατέκλεισεν, οὐ λιμῷ κατέτηξεν, οὐ πληγὰς ἐπέθηκε, οὐχ ὡς θῆρας τοὺς μὴ ἐλεήσαντας ἑαυτὸν κατενόησεν, οὐχ ὑπεμνήσθη τοῦ χιτῶνος τὸν διασπαραγμὸν, οὐ τοῦ λάκκου τὸν βόθυνον, οὐ τῆς δουλείας τὸ ὀνικὸν, οὐ τοῦ φθόνου τὸν τῦφον, οὐ τῆς μισαδελφίας τὸν καπνὸν, οὐ τῆς πατρικῆς ζημίας τὸν φόρτον, οὐ τοῦ ὁμομητρίου ἀδελφοῦ Βενιαμὶν τὴν ἀλλοτρίωσιν· ἀλλὰ πάντα τὰ λυποῦντα ἐκποδὼν ποιήσας, ἀπειλὴν μετὰ πραότητος συζεύξας,