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of many sinners» and «better is a little gain with righteousness». For to those not observing this, he says: «a dream comes in a multitude of temptation and the voice of a fool in a multitude of words», calling a dream the demon who stands over sleeping souls with a multitude of temptations and who thoroughly disturbs the soul, concerning whom Job also says to the Lord: «you frighten me with dreams and terrify me with visions»; and David, avoiding this enemy, beseeches the Lord, saying: «Enlighten my eyes, lest I sleep in death, lest my enemy say, 'I have prevailed against him'»; and in Proverbs: «Give no sleep to your eyes, nor slumber to your eyelids, that you may be saved like a gazelle from snares, and like a bird from a trap.» And he calls it the voice of the fool, coming with false words and deceiving the soul; and this is «from the voice of the one who reproaches and slanders». And it is possible to apply this also to the voice of the fool: «from a multitude of words sin will not be escaped». And the savior in the gospels commands man to be vigilant and to pray, so that he may not fall into temptation; for sleep of a rational soul is ignorance and evil; whence also Paul awakens those so sleeping, saying: «Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.» 36 5, 3 When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; for there is no pleasure in fools, therefore, whatever you vow, pay it. 5, 4 It is good that you do not vow than that you vow and do not pay. Of good gifts, some are offered to God from the soul, some from the body, and some from the things around the body. And from the soul we offer to him right faith and true doctrines, righteousness and courage and temperance; and from the body continence and virginity and monogamy; and from the things around the body sons and daughters and slaves and money and possessions. Let us see, then, the "to promise" and "to delay"; perhaps the delay does not signify a great interval of this time, but the complete refusal of the promise; for Jacob appears after many years to have paid the tithes to God which he promised to give to him when he was walking to Mesopotamia, and Hannah, having brought Samuel to God after a long time. Thus it is for the gifts of the things around the body; but for the gifts of the soul and of the body, how must it be understood? I think that he who has promised right faith and calls one of the persons of the holy trinity a creature delays, and he who has professed to confess that all things have come to be through God and again introduces automatism delays; and similarly for the other doctrines. And for the virtues, it is thus: he who has promised righteousness and does injustice delays to pay, and he who has professed temperance and again fornicates delays. And for the things of the body: he who has promised continence and again partakes of various foods delays, and he who has professed virginity or monogamy and has married or remarried delays to pay. And how "it is good not to vow than to vow and not pay" we shall resolve by bringing forward that from the gospel that the slave who did not know and did not do will be beaten with few stripes, but the one who knew and did not do will be beaten with many. 37 5, 5 Do not give your mouth to cause your flesh to sin, and do not say before the face of God that it is ignorance, lest God be angry at your voice and destroy the works of your hands; 5, 6.1 for in a multitude of dreams and vanities and many words «In a multitude,» he says, of evil «dreams and vanities and» false «words» a man becomes, his works having been destroyed from the abandonment of God, which has happened to him through his own transgression. 38 5, 7 If you see the oppression of the poor and the seizing of judgment and righteousness in a country, do not marvel at the matter; for a high one watches over a high one and high ones over

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ἁμαρτωλῶν πολὺν» καὶ «κρεῖσσον ὀλίγη λῆψις μετὰ δικαιοσύνης». Τοῖς γὰρ μὴ τοῦτο φυλαττομένοις φησί· «παραγίνεται ἐνύπνιον ἐν πλήθει πειρασμοῦ καὶ φωνὴ ἄφρονος ἐν πλήθει λόγων», ἐνύπνιον λέγων τὸν καθευδούσαις ταῖς ψυχαῖς ἐφιστάμενον μετὰ πλήθους πειρασμῶν δαίμονα καὶ ἐκταράσσοντα τὴν ψυχήν, περὶ οὗ καὶ Ἰώβ φησι πρὸς τὸν κύριον· «ἐκφοβεῖς με ἐνυπνίοις καὶ ἐν ὁράμασί με καταπλήσσεις»· καὶ ∆αυὶδ τοῦτον ἐκκλίνων τὸν ἐχθρὸν παρακαλεῖ τὸν κύριον λέγων· «φώτισον τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς μου, μήποτε ὑπνώσω εἰς θάνατον, μήποτε εἴπῃ ὁ ἐχθρός μου· ἴσχυσα πρὸς αὐτόν»· καὶ ἐν ταῖς Παροιμίαις· «μὴ δῷς ὕπνον σοῖς ὄμμασι μηδὲ ἐπινυστάξῃς σοῖς βλεφάροις, ἵνα σῴζῃ ὥσπερ δορκὰς ἐκ βρόχων καὶ ὥσπερ ὄρνεον ἐκ παγίδος.» Λέγει δὲ αὐτὸν καὶ φωνὴν τοῦ ἄφρονος, μετὰ ψευδῶν παραγινόμενον λόγων καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν ἀπατῶντα· καὶ τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ «ἀπὸ φωνῆς ὀνειδίζοντος καὶ καταλαλοῦντος». ∆υνατὸν δὲ καὶ τοῦτο ἐφαρμόσαι τῇ φωνῇ τοῦ ἄφρονος τὸ «ἐκ πολυλογίας οὐκ ἐκφεύξεται ἁμαρτία». Καὶ ὁ σωτὴρ δὲ ἐν τοῖς εὐαγγελίοις προστάσσει ἀγρυπνεῖν τὸν ἄνθρωπον καὶ προσεύχεσθαι, ἵνα μὴ ἐμπέσῃ εἰς πειρασμόν· ὕπνος γάρ ἐστι λογικῆς ψυχῆς ἄγνοια καὶ κακία· ὅθεν καὶ ὁ Παῦλος τοὺς οὕτω καθεύδοντας διυπνίζει λέγων· «ἔγειρε, ὁ καθεύδων, καὶ ἀνάστα ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν, καὶ ἐπιφαύσει σοι ὁ Χριστός.» 36 5, 3 καθὼς ἂν εὔξῃ εὐχὴν τῷ θεῷ, μὴ χρονίσῃς τοῦ ἀποδοῦναι αὐτήν· ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν θέλημα ἐν ἄφροσιν, σὺ οὖν ὅσα ἂν εὔξῃ ἀπόδος. 5, 4 ἀγαθὸν τὸ μὴ εὔξασθαί σε ἢ τὸ εὔξασθαί σε καὶ μὴ ἀποδοῦναι Τῶν ἀγαθῶν δώρων τὰ μὲν ἀπὸ ψυχῆς προσφέρεται τῷ θεῷ, τὰ δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ σώματος, τὰ δὲ ἀπὸ τῶν πέριξ τοῦ σώματος. Καὶ ἀπὸ μὲν ψυχῆς προσφέρομεν αὐτῷ πίστιν ὀρθὴν καὶ δόγματα ἀληθῆ, δικαιοσύνην καὶ ἀνδρείαν καὶ σωφροσύνην· ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ σώματος ἐγκράτειαν καὶ παρθενίαν καὶ μονογαμίαν· ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν πέριξ τοῦ σώματος υἱοὺς καὶ θυγατέρας καὶ δούλους καὶ χρήματα καὶ κτήματα. Ἴδωμεν τοίνυν τὸ ὑποσχέσθαι καὶ χρονίσαι· μήποτε οὐ τούτου τοῦ χρόνου τὸ μέγα διάστημα σημαίνει ὁ χρονισμός, ἀλλὰ τὴν παντελῆ ἄρνησιν τῆς ὑποσχέσεως· φαίνεται γὰρ ὁ Ἰακὼβ μετὰ πολλὰ ἔτη τὰς δεκάτας ἀποδεδωκὼς τῷ θεῷ ἃς ὑπέσχετο δώσειν αὐτῷ ἐπὶ τὴν Μεσοποταμίαν βαδίζων καὶ Ἄννα τὸν Σαμουὴλ μετὰ πολὺν χρόνον προσαγαγοῦσα τῷ θεῷ. Ἐπὶ μὲν τῶν δώρων τῶν πέριξ τοῦ σώματος οὕτως· ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν τῆς ψυχῆς καὶ τοῦ σώματος δώρων, πῶς ἐκληπτέον; ἐγὼ νομίζω ὅτι ὁ ὑποσχόμενος πίστιν ὀρθὴν καὶ λέγων κτίσμα ἕν τι τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς ἁγίας τριάδος χρονίζει, καὶ ὁ ἐπαγγειλάμενος πάντα ὁμολογεῖν διὰ τοῦ θεοῦ γεγενῆσθαι καὶ αὐτοματισμὸν πάλιν εἰσάγων χρονίζει· καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἄλλων δογμάτων ὡσαύτως. Ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν ἀρετῶν οὕτως· ὁ ὑποσχόμενος δικαιοσύνην καὶ ἀδικῶν χρονίζει τοῦ ἀποδοῦναι, καὶ ὁ ἐπαγγειλάμενος σωφροσύνην καὶ πάλιν πορνεύων χρονίζει. Ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν τοῦ σώματος· ὁ ὑποσχόμενος ἐγκράτειαν καὶ πάλιν μεταλαμβάνων ἐδεσμάτων ποικίλων χρονίζει, καὶ ὁ ἐπαγγειλάμενος παρθενίαν ἢ μονογαμίαν καὶ γαμήσας ἢ διγαμήσας χρονίζει τοῦ ἀποδοῦναι. Τὸ δὲ πῶς «ἀγαθὸν τὸ μὴ εὔξασθαι ἢ τὸ εὔξασθαι καὶ μὴ ἀποδοῦναι» λύσομεν τὸ ἀπὸ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου προσάγοντες ὅτι ὁ δοῦλος ὁ μὴ ἐγνωκὼς καὶ μὴ ποιήσας δαρήσεται ὀλίγας, ὁ δὲ ἐγνωκὼς καὶ μὴ ποιήσας δαρήσεται πολλάς. 37 5, 5 μὴ δῷς τὸ στόμα σου τοῦ ἐξαμαρτεῖν τὴν σάρκα σου καὶ μὴ εἴπῃς πρὸ προσώπου τοῦ θεοῦ ὅτι ἄγνοιά ἐστιν, ἵνα μὴ ὀργισθῇ ὁ θεὸς ἐπὶ φωνῇ σου καὶ διαφθείρῃ τὰ ποιήματα χειρῶν σου· 5, 6.1 ὅτι ἐν πλήθει ἐνυπνίων καὶ ματαιοτήτων καὶ λόγων πολλῶν «Ἐν πλήθει, φησίν, ἐνυπνίων» πονηρῶν «καὶ ματαιοτήτων καὶ λόγων» ψευδῶν γίνεται ἄνθρωπος, διαφθαρέντων αὐτοῦ τῶν ἔργων ἀπὸ τῆς ἐγκαταλείψεως τοῦ θεοῦ, ἥτις συμβέβηκεν αὐτῷ διὰ τῆς οἰκείας παρανομίας. 38 5, 7 ἐὰν συκοφαντίαν πένητος καὶ ἁρπαγὴν κρίματος καὶ δικαιοσύνης ἴδῃς ἐν χώρᾳ, μὴ θαυμάσῃς ἐπὶ τῷ πράγματι· ὅτι ὑψηλὸς ἐπάνω ὑψηλοῦ φυλάσσει καὶ ὑψηλοὶ ἐπ'