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I will not be a fool; for I will speak the truth. For what reason then do you not boast? But I refrain, lest anyone should think of me above what he sees me to be, or hears anything from me. Therefore, lest something of this sort happen also in the case of the prophet (for even if he was Elijah, he was still a man), He mixed a failing of nature with the miracle. For this reason he who controlled the heavens, did not control hunger; he who restrained the birth-pangs of the earth, had no strength to restrain the need of his stomach, but had need of a widow woman, so that you might learn both the divine grace and human weakness. But what happened was beneficial not only for this, but also for another thing no less than this. What then is this? So that when someone encourages you to the zeal of the prophet, you might not be downcast, nor despair, thinking the man to be of a different nature, and for this reason to have had such great boldness toward God. Which indeed someone also hinted at, saying: Elijah was a man with feelings like our own; as much as to say, Do not think it impossible to reach the same height of philosophy as he did; for he too shared in the same nature. But nevertheless his wonderful and divine purpose showed him to be much higher than the others.

7. But it is time now to return to the widow. He came, it says, to Zarephath of Sidon, and found a widow woman gathering sticks. The things at the gate were for the time being worthy of the poverty within. What then? Was he turned away, seeing such beginnings of hospitality? By no means; for he had heard a divine decree; but he cried out after her and said, ‘Bring me some water,’ and she went to get it. Truly the woman was noble and a philosopher, and, if it is not bold to say, worthy even of the magnanimity of the prophet himself; or rather, it is not bold to say; for if she had not been worthy, she would not have been deemed worthy to receive that holy man. Just as Christ says to his disciples, 'Whatever town or village you enter, ask who in it is worthy, and stay there;' so also here God, since he knew that the woman was most worthy of all to receive the prophet, for this reason leaving all the others, sent him there. But let us see her nobility through the events themselves. ‘Bring me,’ he says, ‘water in a vessel.’ Great was the kindness of the woman. For that she answered, that she gave him a word, that she did not seize him and call the whole city to the punishment of that divine head, is it not worthy of astonishment and wonder? For that it was likely that the necessity of the famine would drive the woman to this anger, learn from a Jewish example. Elisha, the disciple of Elijah, the double Elijah (for in the disciple one could see the teacher twofold), prophesied a famine after these things; he did not bring it himself, like Elijah, but foretold that it was about to come. What then of the king, who was reigning in those times? He put on sackcloth, it says; for the disaster had humbled him; but nevertheless, though so humbled, hearing a certain woman lamenting over the things that happened 51.344 because of the famine, he was then carried away to such anger as to cry out immediately and say, ‘May God do so to me and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat remains on him this day.’ Did you see the king’s anger? Learn the philosophy of the woman; for she, having found not the one who foretold the famine, but the one who brought it on, and being near the city, was not indignant, was not enraged, did not call others to punishment, but obeyed with great forbearance.

8. For you know that whenever we are occupied with some need, we often do not even look upon our friends with pleasure, but are annoyed even with them; and when such great affliction is present, even the light itself seems to annoy us; and this again one can learn from a Jewish example. When, for instance, Moses came announcing countless good things to the Jews, release from tyranny, freedom, and to the

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οὐκ ἔσομαι ἄφρων· ἀλήθειαν γὰρ ἐρῶ. Τίνος οὖν ἕνεκεν οὐ καυχᾶσαι; Φείδομαι δὲ μή τις εἰς ἐμὲ λογίσηται ὑπὲρ ὃ βλέπει με, ἢ ἀκούσῃ τι ἐξ ἐμοῦ. Ἵνα οὖν μὴ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ προφήτου τοιοῦτόν τι συμβῇ (εἰ γὰρ καὶ Ἠλίας ἦν, ἀλλ' ἄνθρωπος ἦν), ἐγκατέμιξε θαύματι τὸ τῆς φύσεως ἐλάττωμα. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ὁ τῶν οὐρανῶν κρατήσας, τῆς πείνης οὐκ ἐκράτησεν· ὁ τὰς ὠδῖνας τῆς γῆς ἐπισχὼν, τῆς γαστρὸς τὴν ἀνάγκην ἐπισχεῖν οὐκ ἴσχυσεν, ἀλλὰ χήρας ἐδεῖτο γυναικὸς, ἵνα μάθῃς καὶ τὴν θείαν χάριν, καὶ τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην ἀσθένειαν. Οὐκ εἰς τοῦτο δὲ μόνον ὠφέλει τὸ συμβὰν, ἀλλὰ καὶ εἰς ἕτερον οὐκ ἔλαττον τούτου. Ποῖον δὴ τοῦτο; Ἵν' ὅταν σε παρακαλῇ τις πρὸς τὸν τοῦ προφήτου ζῆλον, μὴ καταπέσῃς, μηδὲ ἀπογνῷς νομίζων ἑτέρας εἶναι τὸν ἄνθρωπον φύσεως, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τοσαύτην πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ἐσχηκέναι τὴν παῤῥησίαν. Ὅπερ οὖν καί τις ᾐνίξατο εἰπών· Ἠλίας ὁμοιοπαθὴς ἡμῖν ἦν ἄνθρωπος· μονονουχὶ λέγων, Μὴ νομίσῃς ἀδύνατον εἶναι πρὸς τὴν αὐτὴν ἐκείνῳ φθάσαι τῆς φιλοσοφίας τὴν κορυφήν· καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἐκεῖνος τῆς αὐτῆς ἐκοινώνησε φύσεως. Ἀλλ' ὅμως ἡ θαυμαστὴ καὶ θεία προαίρεσις πολὺ τῶν ἄλλων αὐτὸν ὑψηλότερον ἔδειξεν.

ζʹ. Ἀλλὰ καιρὸς λοιπὸν πρὸς τὴν χήραν ἐπανελθεῖν. Ἦλθε, φησὶν, εἰς

Σαρεφθὰ τῆς Σιδῶνος, καὶ εὗρε γυναῖκα χήραν συλλέγουσαν ξύλα. Ἄξια τῆς ἔνδον πενίας τέως τὰ προπύλαια. Τί οὖν; ἀπετράπη τοιαῦτα τῆς φιλοξενίας ἰδὼν τὰ προοίμια; Οὐδαμῶς· θείας γὰρ ἦν ἀκηκοὼς ἀποφάσεως· ἀλλ' ἐβόησεν ὀπίσω αὐτῆς, καὶ εἶπε, Λάβε δή μοι ὕδωρ, καὶ ἐπορεύθη λαβεῖν. Ὄντως γενναία καὶ φιλόσοφος ἡ γυνὴ, καὶ εἰ μὴ τολμηρὸν εἰπεῖν, καὶ αὐτῆς τοῦ προφήτου μεγαλοψυχίας ἀξία· μᾶλλον δὲ οὐ τολμηρὸν εἰπεῖν· εἰ γὰρ μὴ ἦν ἀξία, οὐκ ἂν ὑποδέξασθαι κατηξιώθη τὸν ἅγιον ἐκεῖνον. Καθάπερ ὁ Χριστός φησι πρὸς τοὺς μαθητάς· ὅτι Εἰς ἣν δὲ ἂν πόλιν ἢ κώμην εἰσέλθητε, ἐρωτήσατε τίς ἄξιος ἐν αὐτῇ, κἀκεῖ μείνατε· οὕτω καὶ ἐνταῦθα ὁ Θεὸς, ἐπειδὴ μάλιστα πάντων ἀξίαν ᾔδει τὴν γυναῖκα τοῦ δέξασθαι τὸν προφήτην, διὰ τοῦτο τὰς ἄλλας πάσας ἀφεὶς, ἐκεῖσε αὐτὸν ἔπεμψε. Πλὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ δι' αὐτῶν τῶν πραγμάτων ἴδωμεν αὐτῆς τὴν εὐγένειαν. Λάβε δή μοι, φησὶν, ὕδωρ εἰς ἄγγος. Πολλὴ ἡ φιλοφροσύνη τῆς γυναικός. Ὅτι γὰρ ἀπεκρίνατο, ὅτι λόγου μετέδωκεν, ὅτι μὴ κατασχοῦσα αὐτὸν τὴν πόλιν ἅπασαν ἐκάλεσε πρὸς τὴν τιμωρίαν τῆς θείας ἐκείνης κεφαλῆς, οὐκ ἄξιον ἐκπλήττεσθαι καὶ θαυμάζειν; Καὶ γὰρ ὅτι εἰκὸς ἦν τοῦ λιμοῦ τὴν ἀνάγκην πρὸς ταύτην ἐξαγαγεῖν τὴν ὀργὴν τὸ γύναιον, ἐξ Ἰουδαϊκοῦ παραδείγματος μάνθανε. Ὁ Ἐλισσαῖος, ὁ μαθητὴς τοῦ Ἠλίου, ὁ διπλοῦς Ἠλίας (ἐν γὰρ τῷ μαθητῇ διπλοῦν τὸν διδάσκαλον ἦν ἰδεῖν), προεφήτευσε μετὰ ταῦτα λιμόν· οὐχὶ αὐτὸς ἐπήγαγε, καθάπερ Ἠλίας, ἀλλὰ μέλλοντα ἥξειν προεῖπε. Τί οὖν ὁ βασιλεὺς, ὁ κατ' ἐκείνους τοὺς χρόνους βασιλεύων; Περιεβάλλετο σάκκον, φησί· καὶ γὰρ ἐταπείνωσεν αὐτὸν ἡ συμφορά· ἀλλ' ὅμως οὕτω ταπεινωθεὶς, ἀκούσας γυναικὸς ὀδυρομένης τινὸς ἐπὶ 51.344 συμβᾶσι διὰ τὸν λιμὸν, εἰς τοσαύτην ἐξηνέχθη τότε ὀργὴν, ὡς ἀναβοῆσαι εὐθέως καὶ εἰπεῖν, Τάδε ποιήσαι μοι ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ τάδε προσθείη, εἰ στήσεται ἡ κεφαλὴ Ἐλισσαίου υἱοῦ Σαφὰτ ἐπ' αὐτὸν σήμερον. Εἶδες τοῦ βασιλέως τὴν ὀργήν; Μάθε τῆς γυναικὸς τὴν φιλοσοφίαν· αὕτη γὰρ οὐχὶ τὸν προειπόντα λιμὸν, ἀλλὰ τὸν ἐπαγαγόντα εὑροῦσα, καὶ τῆς πόλεως οὖσα ἐγγὺς, οὐκ ἠγανάκτησεν, οὐκ ἠγρίανεν, οὐχ ἑτέρους πρὸς τιμωρίαν ἐκάλεσεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ μετὰ πολλῆς ὑπήκουσε τῆς ἐπιεικείας.

ηʹ. Ἴστε δὲ ὅτι ἐπειδὰν περί τινα χρείαν ὦμεν ἠσχολημένοι, οὐδὲ τοὺς

ἐπιτηδείους πολλάκις ὁρῶμεν ἡδέως, ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὸς αὐτοὺς δυσχεραίνομεν· ὅταν δὲ θλῖψις τοσαύτη παρῇ, καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ φῶς ἐνοχλεῖν ἡμῖν δοκεῖ· καὶ τοῦτο πάλιν ἐξ Ἰουδαϊκοῦ μαθεῖν ἔστι παραδείγματος. Ὅτε γοῦν ἦλθεν ὁ Μωϋσῆς τὰ μυρία τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις ἀπαγγέλλων ἀγαθὰ, τυραννίδος ἀπαλλαγὴν, ἐλευθερίαν, καὶ πρὸς τὴν