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their state of mind, that they suffer such things, are not worthy of tears nor of lamentations, but of thanksgiving to God. But if Paul gives thanks for the good things of others, what will they suffer who not only do not give thanks, but are also consumed with envy? Because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all toward each other abounds. And how is it possible for faith to grow, he says? How? When we suffer something terrible for its sake. Great, then, is it both to be established, and not to be carried away by reasonings; but when winds also beat against it, when rains break down upon it, when a harsh storm rises from all sides, when the waves come one after another, and then we are not shaken, it is a proof of nothing else but of having grown, and grown exceedingly, and become higher. For just as in the flood all stony and lowly things were quickly hidden, but whatever was higher up, it did not reach them; so also faith, having become high, is no longer pulled down. For this reason he did not say, grows, but, Your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all toward each other abounds. Do you see that this also contributes to enduring tribulations, to be compacted together, to hold fast to one another? From this also came much comfort. Tribulations, then, shake weak love and 62.474 faith, but make the strong stronger. For the soul in pain, when it is weak, would add nothing, but the strong one, especially then. And behold love; they did not love one, and not another, but it was equal from all; for he intimated this by saying, Of every one of you all toward each other; that it is in a kind of equilibrium, as of one body. Since even now we find love existing among many, but this love becomes a cause of division. For when we are joined together in twos and threes, and the two are strongly bound to each other, or three or four, and withdraw themselves from the rest, having a refuge with those and confiding all things to them, this is a division of love, not love. For tell me: if the eye were to confine the providence which it has for the whole body to the hand, and turning itself away from the other members, should attend to that alone, does it not injure the whole? Reasonably so. So also we, if we should confine the love which ought to extend to the whole Church of God to one or a second, we injure both ourselves and them and the whole. For these are not things of love, but schisms of division, and scattered fragments. Since even if I should take a part by tearing it from the whole man, that fragment is indeed united to itself, and is continuous and glued together; yet even so it is a fragment, because it is not united to the rest of the body. 2. For what is the benefit, that you love so-and-so intensely? The love is human; but if it is not human, but you love for God's sake, love all; for God so commanded to love even enemies. And if He commanded to love enemies, how much more those who have caused no grief? But I do love, he says. But not so; or rather, you do not love at all; for when you speak evil, when you envy, when you plot, how do you love? But I do none of these things, he says. But when you hear someone spoken ill of, do you not shut the mouth of the speaker, do you not disbelieve the things said? Do you not put a stop to it? Of what kind of friendship are these a proof? And the love of every one of you all toward each other abounds, he says, so that we ourselves boast of you in the churches of God. At any rate, in the first epistle he says that all the churches of Macedonia and of Achaia were sounded out, having learned the things concerning their faith; So that, he says, we have no need to say anything; for they themselves report about you what kind of entrance we had to you; but here he says, So that you may boast. What then is the meaning of what has been said? There he says, that they do not need teaching from the

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αὐτῶν τὰ φρονήματα, ὅτι τοιαῦτα πάσχουσιν, οὐ δακρύων ἄξια οὐδὲ θρήνων, ἀλλ' εὐχαριστίας τῆς εἰς τὸν Θεόν. Εἰ δὲ Παῦλος εὐχαριστεῖ ἐπὶ τοῖς ἀλλοτρίοις ἀγαθοῖς, τί πείσονται οἱ μὴ μόνον μὴ εὐχαριστοῦντες, ἀλλὰ καὶ τηκόμενοι; Ὅτι ὑπεραυξάνει ἡ πίστις ἡμῶν, καὶ πλεονάζει ἀγάπη ἑνὸς ἑκάστου πάντων ὑμῶν εἰς ἀλλήλους. Καὶ πῶς ἔνι πίστιν αὐξῆσαι, φησί; Πῶς; ὅταν ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς πάσχωμέν τι δεινόν. Μέγα μὲν οὖν καὶ τὸ ἐστηρίχθαι, καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν λογισμῶν μὴ παραφέρεσθαι· ὅταν δὲ καὶ ἄνεμοι προσαράσσωσιν, ὅταν ὑετοὶ καταῤῥηγνύωνται, ὅταν αἴρηται πάντοθεν χαλεπὸς ὁ χειμὼν, ὅταν ἐπάλληλα τὰ κύματα ᾖ, εἶτα μὴ παρασαλευώμεθα, οὐδενὸς ἑτέρου τεκμήριόν ἐστιν, ἀλλ' ἢ τοῦ αὐξηθῆναι, καὶ ὑπεραυξηθῆναι, καὶ ὑψηλοτέραν γενέσθαι. Καθάπερ γὰρ ἐπὶ τοῦ κατακλυσμοῦ πάντα μὲν τὰ λιθώδη καὶ ταπεινὰ ἀπεκρύβη ταχέως, ὅσα δὲ ἦν ὑπεράνω, οὐκ ἐφικνεῖτο αὐτῶν· οὕτω καὶ ἡ πίστις ὑψηλὴ γενομένη, οὐκέτι κατασπᾶται. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο οὐκ εἶπεν, αὐξάνει, ἀλλ', Ὑπεραυξάνει ἡ πίστις ὑμῶν, καὶ πλεονάζει ἡ ἀγάπη ἑνὸς ἑκάστου πάντων ὑμῶν εἰς ἀλλήλους. Ὁρᾷς ὅτι καὶ τοῦτο πρὸς τὰς θλίψεις συμβάλλεται, τὸ συμπεφράχθαι, τὸ ἀλλήλων ἔχεσθαι; Ἀπὸ τούτου καὶ παράκλησις ἐγίνετο πολλή. Τὴν μὲν οὖν ἀσθενῆ καὶ ἀγάπην καὶ 62.474 πίστιν θλίψεις παρασαλεύουσι, τὴν δὲ ἰσχυρὰν ἰσχυροτέραν ποιοῦσιν. Ἡ μὲν γὰρ ἐν ὀδύνῃ ψυχὴ, ὅταν ἀσθενὴς ᾖ, οὐδὲν ἂν πρόσθοιτο, ἡ δὲ ἰσχυρὰ καὶ τότε μάλιστα. Καὶ ὅρα ἀγάπην· οὐ τὸν μὲν ἠγάπων, τὸν δὲ οὒ, ἀλλ' ἴση ἦν παρὰ πάντων· τοῦτο γὰρ ᾐνίξατο τῷ εἰπεῖν, Ἑνὸς ἑκάστου πάντων ὑμῶν εἰς ἀλλήλους· ὅτι ἰσόῤῥοπός τίς ἐστιν, ὥσπερ ἑνὸς σώματος. Ἐπεὶ καὶ νῦν εὑρίσκομεν ἀγάπην οὖσαν παρὰ πολλοῖς, ἀλλὰ ταύτην τὴν ἀγάπην διαστάσεως αἰτίαν γινομένην. Ὅταν γὰρ κατὰ δύο καὶ τρεῖς ὦμεν συνημμένοι, καὶ οἱ μὲν δύο πρὸς ἀλλήλους σφόδρα ὦσι συνδεδεμένοι, ἢ τρεῖς ἢ τέσσαρες, τῶν δὲ λοιπῶν ἑαυτοὺς ἀφέλκωσι, τῷ πρὸς ἐκείνους ἔχειν καταφυγεῖν καὶ ἐκείνοις πάντα θαῤῥεῖν, τοῦτο διάστασις ἀγάπης ἐστὶν, οὐκ ἀγάπη. Εἰπὲ γάρ μοι· εἰ ὁ ὀφθαλμὸς τὴν πρόνοιαν, ἣν ὑπὲρ τοῦ παντὸς σώματος ἔχει, εἰς τὴν χεῖρα περιστήσειε, καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἑαυτὸν ἀποστρέψας μελῶν, ἐκείνῃ μόνῃ προσέχοι, οὐχὶ τῷ παντὶ λυμαίνεται; Εἰκότως. Οὕτω καὶ ἡμεῖς ἂν τὴν ἀγάπην τὴν εἰς πᾶσαν τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ ὀφείλουσαν ἐκτείνεσθαι, εἰς ἕνα καὶ δεύτερον περιστείλωμεν, καὶ ἡμῖν αὐτοῖς κἀκείνοις καὶ τῷ παντὶ λυμαινόμεθα. Ταῦτα γὰρ οὐκ ἀγάπης ἐστὶν, ἀλλὰ διαστάσεως σχίσματα, καὶ ῥήγματα διεσπασμένα. Ἐπεὶ κἂν ἀπὸ τοῦ παντὸς ἀνθρώπου ἀποσπάσας λάβω μέρος, αὐτὸ μὲν οὖν τὸ σχίσμα ἑαυτῷ ἥνωται, καὶ ἔστι συνεχὲς καὶ συγκεκολλημένον· πλὴν καὶ οὕτω σχίσμα ἐστὶν, ἐπειδὴ τῷ λοιπῷ οὐχ ἥνωται σώματι. βʹ. Τί γὰρ ὄφελος, ὅτι τὸν δεῖνα φιλεῖς σφοδρῶς; Ἀνθρωπίνη ἐστὶν ἡ ἀγάπη· εἰ δὲ οὐκ ἔστιν ἀνθρωπίνη, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸν Θεὸν φιλεῖς, πάντας φίλει· ὁ γὰρ Θεὸς οὕτως ἐπέταξε καὶ τοὺς ἐχθροὺς φιλεῖν. Εἰ δὲ τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ἐπέταξε φιλεῖν, πόσῳ μᾶλλον τοὺς οὐδὲν λελυπηκότας; Ἀλλὰ φιλῶ, φησίν. Ἀλλ' οὐχ οὕτω· μᾶλλον δὲ οὐδὲ φιλεῖς· ὅταν γὰρ κακηγορῇς, ὅταν φθονῇς, ὅταν ἐπιβουλεύῃς, πῶς φιλεῖς; Ἀλλ' οὐδὲν τούτων ποιῶ, φησίν. Ἀλλ' ὅταν ἀκούοντος κακῶς, μὴ ἐμφράττῃς τὸ στόμα τοῦ λέγοντος, μὴ ἀπιστῇς τοῖς λεγομένοις; μὴ καταστέλλῃς, ποίας ταῦτα φιλίας τεκμήριον; Καὶ πλεονάζει, φησὶν, ἡ ἀγάπη ἑνὸς ἑκάστου πάντων ὑμῶν εἰς ἀλλήλους, ὥστε ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς ἐν ὑμῖν καυχᾶσθαι ἐν ταῖς Ἐκκλησίαις τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ἐν γοῦν τῇ προτέρᾳ ἐπιστολῇ τὰς Ἐκκλησίας φησὶν ἁπάσας τῆς Μακεδονίας καὶ τῆς Ἀχαΐας ἐξηχεῖσθαι μαθούσας τὰ κατὰ τὴν πίστιν αὐτῶν· Ὥστε, φησὶ, μὴ χρείαν ἔχειν ἡμᾶς λαλεῖν τι· αὐτοὶ γὰρ περὶ ὑμῶν ἀπαγγέλλουσιν ὁποίαν εἴσοδον ἔσχομεν πρὸς ὑμᾶς· ἐνταῦθα δέ φησιν, Ὥστε ὑμᾶς καυχᾶσθαι. Τί δήποτ' οὖν ἐστι τὸ εἰρημένον; Ἐκεῖ φησιν, ὅτι οὐ δέονται διδασκαλίας τῆς