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of work. Wherefore, having left everything, I followed him and I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord, because he rescued me from the clay and the brick-making, and from the harsh and destructive ruler of the darkness of this age, and showed me a short and easy way, through which I will be able, in this earthen body, to embrace the angelic way of life, which seeking to attain, I chose to walk the narrow and afflicted way, having utterly condemned the vanity of present things and their unstable course and revolution, and not being persuaded to name anything else good before the truly good, from which you, O king, have wretchedly been torn away and separated. Wherefore we too have been separated and divided from you, because you are falling into clear and confessed destruction and are compelling us to be brought down to an equal danger. For as long as we were examined concerning only worldly service, we omitted nothing of our duties; you yourself will bear witness to me that we were never accused of any laziness or neglect. But since you strove to take from us the very chief of good things, piety, and to inflict this ultimate loss on God, and for this reason you remind us of honors and distinctions, how could I not rightly say that you are ignorant of the good, because you compare these things at all 24 with one another, I mean piety towards God and human friendship and glory that flows away like water? And how shall we be partners with you in this, and not, on the contrary, renounce friendship, and honor, and the affection of children and if there was anything else greater? seeing you rather, O king, ungrateful towards God, who provides you with being itself and breathing, who is Christ Jesus, the Lord of all, who, being co-unoriginate and co-eternal with the Father and having established the heavens and the earth by his word, also created man with his own hands and honored him with immortality, and appointed him king of the things on earth, having assigned to him, as a certain palace, the most beautiful of all things, paradise. But he, stolen by envy and (alas for me) enticed by pleasure, wretchedly fell from all these things; and he who was before enviable was seen as pitiable and worthy of tears because of the disaster. He therefore who formed and created us, seeing again with benevolent eyes the work of his own hands, not changing from being God, which he was from the beginning, became for our sake sinlessly what we are, and having willingly endured the cross and death, he cast down the enemy who from above had bewitched our race, and, having rescued us from that bitter captivity, he benevolently restored our former freedom, and, to the place from which we had fallen through disobedience, there again through his love for mankind he led us back, having deemed us worthy of a greater honor than before. Him who suffered such things for us and deemed us worthy of such things again, do you yourself reject 26 and mock at his cross? And being wholly nailed to the luxury of the body and to its destructive passions, do you proclaim as gods the idols of dishonor and shame? Not only have you made yourself an alien to the communion of heavenly goods, but you have also already torn away from it all who obey your commands, and have delivered them over to the peril of their souls. Know therefore that I for my part will not obey you, nor will I be a partner with you in such ingratitude towards God, nor will I deny my benefactor and Savior, even if you will consume me with wild beasts, if you will deliver me to the sword and fire, which are within your power. For I neither fear death, nor do I long for present things, having condemned their great weakness and vanity. For what of them is useful, or lasting, or sufficient? And not only this, but also in their very existence there is much misery, much grief, much and inseparable care. For with their joy and enjoyment is joined all dejection and pain; wealth

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ἐργασίας. ὅθεν, πάντα καταλιπών, αὐτῷ ἠκολούθησα καὶ εὐχαριστῶ τῷ Θεῷ διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν, ὅτι ἐρύσατό με τοῦ πηλοῦ καὶ τῆς πλινθείας, καὶ τοῦ ἀπηνοῦς καὶ ὀλεθρίου ἄρχοντος τοῦ σκότους τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου, καὶ ἔδειξέ μοι ὁδὸν σύντομον καὶ ῥᾳδίαν, δι' ἧς δυνήσομαι ἐν τῷ ὀστρακίνῳ τούτῳ σώματι τὴν ἀγγελικὴν ἀσπάσασθαι πολιτείαν, ἥνπερ φθάσαι ζητῶν, τὴν στενὴν καὶ τεθλιμμένην εἱλόμην βαδίζειν ὁδόν, πάνυ καταγνοὺς τῆς τῶν παρόντων ματαιότητος καὶ τῆς ἀστάτου φορᾶς τούτων καὶ περιφορᾶς, καὶ μὴ πειθόμενος ἄλλο τι καλὸν ὀνομάζειν πρὸ τοῦ ὄντος καλοῦ, οὗπερ σὺ ἐλεεινῶς, ὦ βασιλεῦ, διερράγης τε καὶ διέστης. ὅθεν καὶ ἡμεῖς διέστημέν σου καὶ διῃρέθημεν, διὰ τὸ εἰς σαφῆ καὶ ὡμολογημένην σέ τε καταπίπτειν ἀπώλειαν καὶ πρὸς ἴσον κατενεχθῆναι καὶ ἡμᾶς κίνδυνον ἀναγκάζειν. ἕως μὲν γὰρ περὶ μόνην τὴν κοσμικὴν στρατείαν ἐξηταζόμεθα, οὐδὲν τῶν δεόντων ἡμεῖς ἐνελίπομεν· μαρτυρήσεις μοι καὶ αὐτὸς ὅτιπερ οὐδὲ ῥᾳθυμίαν τινὰ οὐδὲ ἀμέλειάν ποτε ἐνεκλήθημεν. Ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ αὐτὸ τῶν καλῶν τὸ κεφάλαιον ἀφελέσθαι ἐφιλονείκησας ἡμᾶς, τὴν εὐσέβειαν, καὶ τὸν Θεὸν ζημιῶσαι τὴν ἐσχάτην ταύτην ζημίαν, τιμῶν τε διὰ τοῦτο καὶ φιλοτιμίας ἀναμιμνήσκεις, πῶς οὐκ ἀμαθῶς ἔχειν σε τοῦ καλοῦ δικαίως ἂν εἴποιμι, ὅτι καὶ παραβάλλεις ὅλως 24 αὐτὰ πρὸς ἄλληλα, εὐσέβειάν φημι πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν καὶ φιλίαν ἀνθρωπίνην καὶ δόξαν τὴν ἴσα παραρρέουσαν ὕδατι; πῶς δέ σοι καὶ κοινωνοὶ ἐσόμεθα ἐπὶ τούτῳ, καὶ οὐχί, τοὐναντίον, καὶ φιλίαν, καὶ τιμήν, καὶ στοργὴν τέκνων καὶ εἴ τι ἄλλο μεῖζον ἦν, ἀρνησόμεθα; ὁρῶντές σε μᾶλλον, ὦ βασιλεῦ, ἀγνωμονοῦντα πρὸς τὸν Θεόν, τὸν καὶ αὐτό σοι τὸ εἶναι καὶ τὸ ἀναπνεῖν παρεχόμενον, ὅς ἐστι Χριστὸς Ἰησοῦς, ὁ Κύριος τῶν ἁπάντων, ὃς συνάναρχος ὢν καὶ συναΐδιος τῷ Πατρὶ καὶ τοὺς οὐρανοὺς τῷ λόγῳ καὶ τὴν γῆν ὑποστήσας, τὸν ἄνθρωπόν τε χερσὶν οἰκείαις ἐδημιούργησε καὶ ἀθανασίᾳ τοῦτον ἐτίμησε, καὶ βασιλέα τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς κατεστήσατο, καθάπερ τινὰ βασίλεια τὸ κάλλιστον ἁπάντων ἀποτάξας αὐτῷ, τὸν παράδεισον. ὁ δέ, φθόνῳ κλαπεὶς καὶ ἡδονῇ (φεῦ μοι) δελεασθείς, ἀθλίως τούτων ἐξέπεσε πάντων· καὶ ὁ πρὶν ζηλωτὸς ἐλεεινὸς ὡρᾶτο καὶ δακρύων διὰ τὴν συμφορὰν ἄξιος. ὁ πλάσας τοίνυν ἡμᾶς καὶ δημιουργήσας φιλανθρώποις πάλιν ἰδὼν ὀφθαλμοῖς τὸ τῶν οἰκείων χειρῶν ἔργον, τὸ Θεὸς εἶναι μὴ μεταβαλών, ὅπερ ἦν ἀπ' ἀρχῆς, ἐγένετο δι' ἡμᾶς ἀναμαρτήτως ὅπερ ἡμεῖς, καὶ σταυρὸν ἑκουσίως καὶ θάνατον ὑπομείνας, τὸν ἄνωθεν τῷ ἡμετέρῳ γένει βασκαίνοντα κατέβαλε πολέμιον, καί, ἡμᾶς τῆς πικρᾶς ἐκείνης αἰχμαλωσίας ἀνασωσάμενος, τὴν προτέραν ἀπέδωκε φιλαγάθως ἐλευθερίαν, καί, ὅθεν διὰ τὴν παρακοὴν ἐκπεπτώκαμεν, ἐκεῖ πᾶλιν διὰ φιλανθρωπίαν ἡμᾶς ἐπανήγαγε, μείζονος ἡμᾶς ἢ πρότερον τιμῆς ἀξιώσας. Τὸν δὴ τοιαῦτα δι' ἡμᾶς παθόντα καὶ τοιούτων ἡμᾶς πάλιν καταξιώσαντα, τοῦτον αὐτὸς ἀθετεῖς 26 καὶ εἰς τὸν ἐκείνου σταυρὸν ἀποσκώπτεις; ὅλος δὲ τῇ τρυφῇ τοῦ σώματος καὶ τοῖς ὀλεθρίοις προσηλωμένος πάθεσι, θεοὺς ἀναγορεύεις τὰ τῆς ἀτιμίας καὶ αἰσχύνης εἴδωλα; οὐ μόνον σεαυτὸν τῆς τῶν οὐρανίων ἀγαθῶν συναφείας ἀλλότριον κατεσκεύασας, ἀλλὰ καὶ πάντας τοὺς πειθομένους τοῖς σοῖς προστάγμασι ταύτης ἤδη ἀπέρρηξας, καὶ ψυχικῷ κινδύνῳ παρέδωκας. ἴσθι τοίνυν ὡς ἔγωγε οὐ πεισθήσομαί σοι, οὔτε μὴν κοινωνήσω σοι τῆς τοιαύτης εἰς τὸν Θεὸν ἀχαριστίας, οὐδὲ τὸν ἐμὸν εὐεργέτην καὶ Σωτῆρα ἀρνήσομαι, εἰ καὶ θηρίοις ἀναλώσεις, εἰ ξίφει καὶ πυρὶ παραδώσεις με, ἃ τῆς σῆς ἐξουσίας ἐστίν. οὔτε γὰρ θάνατον δέδοικα, οὔτε ποθῶ τὰ παρόντα, πολλὴν αὐτῶν καταγνοὺς τὴν ἀσθένειαν καὶ ματαιότητα. τί γὰρ αὐτῶν χρήσιμον, ἢ μόνιμον, ἢ διαρκές; καὶ οὐ τοῦτο μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ εἶναι πολλὴ συνυπάρχει αὐτοῖς ἡ ταλαιπωρία, πολλὴ ἡ λύπη, πολλὴ καὶ ἀδιάσπαστος ἡ μέριμνα. τῇ γὰρ εὐφροσύνῃ αὐτῶν καὶ ἀπολαύσει πᾶσα συνέζευκται κατήφεια καὶ ὀδύνη· ὁ πλοῦτος