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to man, angels as tutors attending him; God having become of the same tongue as men, speaking in his own voice, the infant child being instructed from all sides, that he might run back to the likeness of God; since he understood man, since he saw that the Lord was calling this small creature to the same honor as the angels; leading him up through virtue, and through moderation of the things in life to the perfection of the soul. For as long as man was alone, the devil had no hold, but when the woman was created, a tender creature, the Creator having necessarily implanted a natural tenderness, so that infants might be easily nourished by the loving one. For if the woman were stern, she would not have embraced the weeping infant to her breasts; she would not have neglected her own food, but held out the breast for the benefit of the suckling child. Now indeed, the compassions of mothers often drive sleep from their eyelids, whenever the infant is slightly troubled.
Therefore, so that an infant might be nourished, the female nature was brought forth tender, tender and loving. So the devil, attending to the tender and the yielding, made the ease toward virtue an ease into evil. This, then, is the devil's own evil, envy; an envy that cannot be spoken, that does not admit of a cure. The one with a headache tells the doctor 31.1456 of the headache; the one sick with envy, what can he say? The good things of my brother grieve me? This is the truth; but everyone is ashamed of the words. Why do you groan? For your own evil, or another's good? For by feeding dogs, we tame them; but by doing good to the envious man, we make him more difficult. For he does not rejoice in the good things he receives; but he is grieved by your prosperity, because you have the means from which you will fulfill his need. Therefore, do not fall into the deceit of the devil; he envied you, he envied; he exiled you from paradise. Because of him, thorns; because of him, sweat; because of him, the place of exile; into which having fallen, do not forget your ancient fatherland.
Remember your own nobility; remember the fatherland from which you were exiled. Remember the one who caused you such great loss; do not make a truce with him, nor ever accept conversation with him. For he has done two wrongs: both cast you out from the beginning, and now he interrupts the return. He envied you the first good things through a woman, and again by contrivances concerning the woman he hinders the restoration. He devised fornication, so that you might not enter paradise. The first loss was not sufficient for him, that he overthrew; but he devises second methods, obstructing our course. He steals through falsehood, since falsehood is a wall to those journeying to paradise. His practices are myriad. His offshoots are cruelty, harshness, greed, slander; all that the word of truth hates, these are of the devil. A hater of man, since he is also a fighter against God. He hated first, he was stiff-necked against God the Almighty, he despised the Master, he was alienated from God. Since he saw man in the image and likeness of God, not being able to turn against God, he poured out his own wickedness upon the image of God; just as if some man in anger should stone the image, since he cannot the king, striking the wood that bears the likeness. I have seen the most man-hating of animals in the stadiums often, or I have seen, or I have heard; for let the account be reliable. Except that leopards themselves have a certain natural anger toward man, and are by nature wont to leap especially at the eyes of men. Therefore those who make sport of the beast's madness show it beforehand an image on paper, as of a man. And it, not reasoning because of its excessive impulse, as if it were a man, tears the paper, and there shows its hatred of man. So also the devil showed his hatred of God in the image, since he could not lay a hand on God. Thus the war against us has proof that the evil one is a fighter against God, and
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ἀνθρώπῳ, ἀγγέλους παιδαγωγοὺς παρεδρεύοντας αὐτῷ· Θεὸν ὁμόγλωσσον γενόμενον τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, διαλεγόμενον ἀπὸ ἰδίας φωνῆς, πανταχόθεν τὸν παῖδα τὸν νήπιον παιδευόμενον, ἵνα εἰς Θεοῦ ὁμοιότητα ἀναδράμῃ· ἐπειδὴ κατέμαθε τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ἐπειδὴ εἶδεν, ὅτι τὸ μικρὸν τοῦτο ζῶον πρὸς τὴν τῶν ἀγγέλων ὁμοτιμίαν ὁ Κύριος προεκαλεῖτο· διὰ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἀνάγων αὐτὸν, καὶ διὰ σωφροσύνης τῶν κατὰ τὸν βίον ἐπὶ τὴν τελείωσιν τῆς ψυχῆς. Ἕως γὰρ μόνος ἦν ὁ ἄνθρωπος, οὐκ εἶχε λαβὴν ὁ διάβολος, ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐκτίσθη ἡ γυνὴ, ἁπαλὸν ζῶον, ἀναγκαίως τοῦ ∆ημιουργοῦ τὴν ἁπαλότητα φυσικὴν ἐμποιήσαντος, ἵνα ὑπὸ τοῦ φιλανθρώπου εὐμαρῶς τραφῇ τὰ νήπια. Εἰ γὰρ αὐστηρὰ ἦν ἡ γυνὴ, οὐκ ἂν ἀποκλαιόμενον τὸ νήπιον τοῖς στήθεσιν ἐνηγκαλίζετο· οὐκ ἂν τῆς ἰδίας τροφῆς ἠμέλει, τὸν δὲ μαζὸν ἐπεῖχε πρὸς ὠφέλειαν τοῦ ὑπομαζίου παιδίου. Νῦν μέντοι μητέρων εὐσπλαγχνίαι τὸν ὕπνον πολλάκις τῶν βλεφάρων ἀποδιώκουσιν, ἐπειδὰν μικρὸν παρενοχληθῇ τὸ νήπιον.
Ἵνα τοίνυν ἐκτρέφηται νήπιον, ἁπαλὴ ἡ φύσις ἡ γυναικεία παρήχθη, ἁπαλὴ καὶ φιλάνθρωπος. Τῷ οὖν ἁπαλῷ καὶ τῷ εἰκτικῷ προσχὼν ὁ διάβολος, τὴν εὐκολίαν τὴν πρὸς ἀρετὴν, εὐκολίαν εἰς κακίαν ἐποιήσατο. Τοῦτο οὖν ἐστιν ἴδιον τὸ κακὸν τοῦ διαβόλου, ὁ φθόνος· φθόνος ὁ ἐκλαληθῆναι μὴ δυνάμενος, ὁ ἰατρείαν οὐκ ἐπιδεχόμενος. Ὁ κεφαλὴν ἀλγῶν λέγει τῷ ἰατρῷ 31.1456 τὴν κεφαλαλγίαν· ὁ φθόνον νοσῶν τί εἴπῃ; Λυπεῖ με τὰ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ ἀγαθά; Ἡ μὲν ἀλήθεια αὕτη· τὰ δὲ ῥήματα ἕκαστος ἐπαισχύνεται. Τί στενάζεις; ἴδιον κακὸν, ἢ ἀλλότριον ἀγαθόν; Τοὺς μὲν γὰρ κύνας τρέφοντες ἡμεροῦμεν· τὸν δὲ βάσκανον εὐεργετοῦντες χαλεπώτερον ἀπεργαζόμεθα. Οὐ γὰρ χαίρει ἐφ' οἷς ἂν πάθῃ χρηστοῖς· ἀλλὰ λυπεῖται τῇ σῇ εὐπορίᾳ, ὅτι ἔχεις ὕλην, ὅθεν τὴν χρείαν αὐτῷ πληρώσεις. Μὴ τοίνυν συνεμπέσῃς εἰς τὴν ἀπάτην τοῦ διαβόλου· ἐβάσκηνέ σοι, ἐβάσκηνεν· ἐξώρισέ σε τοῦ παραδείσου. ∆ι' ἐκεῖνον ἄκανθαι, δι' ἐκεῖνον ἱδρὼς, δι' ἐκεῖνον ὁ τόπος τῆς ἐξορίας· εἰς ὃν ἐκπεσὼν, μὴ ἐπιλάθῃ τῆς πατρίδος τῆς ἀρχαίας.
Μέμνησο τῆς εὐγενείας τῆς σεαυτοῦ· μέμνησο τῆς πατρίδος ὅθεν ἐξωρίσθης. Μέμνησο τοῦ τὰ τηλικαῦτά σε ζημιώσαντος· μὴ σπείσῃ πρὸς αὐτὸν, μηδέ ποτε τὴν πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁμιλίαν καταδέξῃ. ∆ύο γὰρ ἠδίκησε, καὶ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐξέβαλε, καὶ νῦν τὴν ἐπάνοδον διακόπτει Ἐβάσκηνέ σοι τῶν πρώτων ἀγαθῶν διὰ γυναικὸς, καὶ πάλιν ἐπινοίαις ταῖς κατὰ τὴν γυναῖκα εἰς τὴν ἀποκατάστασιν κωλύει. Πορνείαν ἐπενόησεν, ἵνα μὴ εἰσέλθῃς εἰς παράδεισον. Οὐκ ἤρκεσεν αὐτῷ ἡ πρώτη ζημία, ὅτι κατέστρεψεν· ἀλλὰ δευτέρας μεθοδείας ἐπινοεῖ, τὸν δρόμον ἡμῖν ἐπέχων. Κλέπτει διὰ τοῦ ψεύδους, ἐπειδὴ τεῖχός ἐστι τοῖς ὁδεύουσιν εἰς παράδεισον τὸ ψεῦδος. Τὰ ἐκείνου ἐπιτηδεύματα μυρία. Τὰ ἐκείνου βλαστήματα, ὠμότης, τραχύτης, πλεονεξία, λοιδορία· πάντα ὅσα μισεῖ ὁ λόγος τῆς ἀληθείας, ταῦτα τοῦ διαβόλου ἐστί. Μισάνθρωπος, ἐπειδὴ καὶ θεομάχος. Ἐμίσησε πρότερον, ἐτραχηλίασε κατὰ Θεοῦ παντοκράτορος, κατεφρόνησε τοῦ ∆εσπότου, ἠλλοτριώθη τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ἐπειδὴ εἶδε τὸν ἄνθρωπον κατ' εἰκόνα καὶ ὁμοίωσιν Θεοῦ, μὴ δυνάμενος εἰς Θεὸν τραπῆναι, εἰς τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ πονηρίαν ἐκένωσεν· ὥσπερ εἴ τις ἄνθρωπος ὀργισθεὶς τὴν εἰκόνα λιθάζοι, ἐπειδὴ τὸν βασιλέα οὐ δύναται, τὸ ξύλον τύπτων, τὸ τὴν μίμησιν ἔχον. Εἶδον ἐγὼ τὰ μισανθρωπότατα τῶν ζώων ἐν τοῖς σταδίοις πολλάκις, ἢ εἶδον, ἢ ἤκουσα· ἀσφαλὴς γὰρ ἔστω ὁ λόγος. Πλὴν ὅτι αὐταὶ αἱ παρδάλεις φυσικήν τινα ἔχουσι πρὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον ὀργὴν, καὶ πεφύκασι μάλιστα τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐφάλλεσθαι. Οἱ τοίνυν καταπαίζοντες τῆς μανίας τοῦ θηρίου ἐν χάρτῃ εἰκόνα προδεικνύουσιν ὡς ἄνθρωπον. Ἡ δὲ ὑπὸ τῆς ἄγαν ὁρμῆς μὴ λογιζομένη, ὡς ἄνθρωπον, σπαράσσει τὸν χάρτην, κἀκεῖ δείκνυσι τὸ μισάνθρωπον. Οὕτω καὶ ὁ διάβολος ἐν τῇ εἰκόνι τὸ μισόθεον ἔδειξεν, ἐπειδὴ Θεοῦ προσάψασθαι οὐκ ἐδύνατο. Οὕτως ὁ εἰς ἡμᾶς πόλεμος ἀπόδειξιν ἔχει τοῦ θεομάχον εἶναι τὸν πονηρὸν, καὶ