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of moderation to be plunged into the billows of luxury, this table therefore is better than that one, even for the sake of pleasure. And the matters of expense are also better here; for that one is expensive, but this one is not. But what? Is this table more pleasant only for those reclining, or does it also bring more pleasure than that one to the one who invites them? For this is what we are chiefly seeking. Therefore, the one who invites those men prepares many days beforehand, and is forced to have troubles and cares and anxieties, sleeping neither at night, nor being at rest during the day; but contriving many things in his mind, conversing with cooks, confectioners, table-setters. Then, when the day itself arrives, one might see him more fearful than those about to box, lest something should go wrong, lest he be struck by the evil eye, lest he get many accusers from there. But this man is freed from all this care and trouble, improvising the table, and not worrying for many days beforehand. And after these things, this one has immediately lost the favor; but that one has God as his debtor, and is nourished by good hopes, feasting every day from that table. For the foods are consumed, but the grace is not consumed, but every day he rejoices and is gladdened more than those who were filled with much wine. For nothing so nourishes the soul, as a good hope and the expectation of good things. But let us now see what comes after. There, flutes and lyres and pipes, but here no discordant melody; but what? Hymns, psalms. There the demons are praised in song, but here the Lord of all, God. Do you see how much grace this one has, and how much ingratitude and senselessness that one is full of? For tell me: God nourished you from His good things, and when you ought to give thanks to Him after being fed, you bring in the demons? For the songs of harps are nothing other than songs of demons. When you ought to say, Blessed 62.307 are you, Lord, for you have nourished me from your good things, you, like some dishonorable dog, do not even remember, but bring in the demons? Rather, dogs, whether they have received or not, fawn on their own people, but you do not even do this. The dog, even when not receiving, fawns on his master, but you, even when you have received, bark against him. Again, a dog, even when treated well by a stranger, does not on this account put an end to its enmity toward him, nor is it drawn to friendship; but you, even suffering countless evils from the demons, bring them in to feast; so that you are doubly worse than the dog. But I have now well been reminded of dogs in regard to those who only give thanks when they are treated well. Be ashamed, I beseech you, of the dogs, who even when starving fawn upon their masters; but if you hear that a demon has healed someone, you immediately forsake the Lord, O you more senseless than dogs. But the prostitutes, he says, give pleasure when seen. What pleasure? What dishonor do they not give? Your house has become a brothel, madness and frenzy; and are you not ashamed to call these things pleasure? If, then, it is permitted to indulge in every pleasure, greater is the shame and the disgust from it. How so? Is it not a hard thing to make one's house a brothel, and to take pleasure like swine wallowing in mire? But if it is only up to their appearance, behold again a greater pain; for the sight is not a pleasure, when there is no use of them, but rather the desire is greater, and the flame more vehement. But do you wish to learn the end? The ones rising from the table resemble madmen and the frenzied, insolent, wrathful, ridiculous even to their slaves; and while the servants depart sober, these men are drunk. O the shame! But there, there is nothing of the sort, but having closed the banquet with thanksgiving, they thus depart for home, sleeping with pleasure, rising with pleasure, freed from all shame and accusation. 2. If you wish to see the invited guests themselves, you will see these ones being such; inside, what these are outside, blind, crippled,

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μέτρου εἰς τὸ τῆς τρυφῆς καταποντίζεσθαι κλυδώνιον, βελτίων ἄρα ἐκείνης αὕτη ἡ τράπεζα καὶ ἡδονῆς ἕνεκεν. Καὶ τὰ τῆς δαπάνης δὲ ἐνταῦθα βελτίονα· ἐκείνη μὲν γὰρ δαπανηρὰ, αὕτη δὲ οὐκέτι. Ἀλλὰ τί; ἆρα τοῖς ἀνακειμένοις μόνον ἡδίων αὕτη ἡ τράπεζα, ἢ καὶ τῷ καλοῦντι πλείονα αὕτη φέρει τὴν ἡδονὴν ἐκείνης; Τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι τὸ μᾶλλον ζητούμενον ἡμῖν. Οὐκοῦν ὁ μὲν ἐκείνους καλῶν, πρὸ πλειόνων ἡμερῶν παρασκευάζεται, καὶ πράγματα ἔχειν ἀναγκάζεται καὶ φροντίδας καὶ μερίμνας, οὔτε τὰς νύκτας καθεύδων, οὔτε τὰς ἡμέρας ἡσυχάζων· ἀλλὰ ἀναπλάττων ἐν ἑαυτῷ πολλὰ, μαγείροις διαλεγόμενος, ὀψοποιοῖς, τραπεζοποιοῖς. Εἶτα αὐτῆς τῆς ἡμέρας ἐπιστάσης ἴδοι τις ἂν αὐτὸν μᾶλλον δεδοικότα, ἢ τοὺς μέλλοντας πυκτεύειν, μή τις παρὰ λόγον γένηται, μὴ βασκανίᾳ βληθῇ, μὴ κατηγόρους ἐκεῖθεν λάβῃ πολλούς. Οὗτος δὲ πάσης ταύτης ἀπήλλακται τῆς φροντίδος καὶ τῶν πραγμάτων, αὐτοσχεδιάζων τὴν τράπεζαν, καὶ οὐ πρὸ πολλῶν ἡμερῶν μεριμνῶν. Καὶ μετὰ δὴ ταῦτα οὗτος μὲν εὐθέως τὴν χάριν ἀπώλεσεν· ἐκεῖνος δὲ ἔχει τὸν Θεὸν ὀφειλέτην, καὶ χρησταῖς τρέφεται ταῖς ἐλπίσι, καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν εὐωχούμενος ἀπ' ἐκείνης τῆς τραπέζης. Τὰ μὲν γὰρ σιτία ἀναλίσκεται, ἡ δὲ χάρις οὐκ ἀναλίσκεται, ἀλλὰ καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν μᾶλλον χαίρει καὶ γάννυται ἐκείνων τῶν τὸν πολὺν οἶνον ἐμφορηθέντων. Οὐδὲν γὰρ οὕτω τρέφει τὴν ψυχὴν, ὡς ἐλπὶς ἀγαθὴ καὶ τὸ χρηστὰ προσδοκᾷν. Ἀλλὰ δὴ τὰ μετὰ ταῦτα ἴδωμεν. Ἐκεῖ μὲν αὐλοὶ καὶ κιθάραι καὶ σύριγγες, ἐνταῦθα δὲ οὐδὲν ἀπηχὲς μέλος· ἀλλὰ τί; ὕμνοι, ψαλμῳδίαι. Ἐκεῖ μὲν οἱ δαίμονες ἀνυμνοῦνται, ἐνταῦθα δὲ ὁ πάντων ∆εσπότης Θεός. Ὁρᾷς πόσης μὲν αὕτη χάριτος, πόσης δὲ ἀγνωμοσύνης ἐκείνη καὶ ἀναισθησίας γέμει; Εἰπὲ γάρ μοι· ὁ Θεός σε ἔθρεψεν ἐκ τῶν ἀγαθῶν αὐτοῦ, καὶ δέον αὐτῷ εὐχαριστεῖν μετὰ τὸ τραφῆναι, σὺ δὲ τοὺς δαίμονας ἐπεισάγεις; τὰ γὰρ διὰ τῶν πηκτίδων οὐδὲν ἄλλο, ἢ δαιμόνων ᾄσματα. ∆έον εἰπεῖν, Εὐλο 62.307 γητὸς εἶ, Κύριε, ὅτι ἔθρεψάς με ἐκ τῶν ἀγαθῶν σου, σὺ δὲ, καθάπερ τις κύων ἄτιμος, οὐδὲ μέμνησαι, ἀλλὰ τοὺς δαίμονας ἐπεισάγεις; Μᾶλλον δὲ οἱ μὲν κύνες λαβόντες καὶ μὴ λαβόντες σαίνουσι τοὺς οἰκείους, σὺ δὲ οὐδὲ τοῦτο. Ὁ κύων καὶ μὴ λαμβάνων σαίνει τὸν δεσπότην, σὺ δὲ καὶ λαβὼν ὑλακτεῖς κατ' αὐτοῦ. Πάλιν ὁ κύων καὶ εὐεργετούμενος παρὰ τοῦ ἀλλοτρίου, οὐδὲ οὕτω καταλύει τὴν ἔχθραν τὴν πρὸς αὐτὸν, οὐδὲ ἐπισπᾶται πρὸς φιλίαν· σὺ δὲ καὶ μυρία πάσχων κακὰ παρὰ τῶν δαιμόνων, ἐπ' ἄριστα αὐτοὺς εἰσάγεις· ὥστε διπλῇ τοῦ κυνὸς εἶ χείρων. Καλῶς δὲ ἀνεμνήσθην νῦν τῶν κυνῶν πρὸς τοὺς τότε μόνον εὐχαριστοῦντας, ὅταν εὖ πάσχωσιν. Αἰδέσθητε, παρακαλῶ, τοὺς κύνας, οἳ καὶ λιμώττοντες σαίνουσι τοὺς δεσπότας· σὺ δὲ ἂν ἀκούσῃς, ὅτι ὁ δαίμων τινὰ ἐθεράπευσεν, ἀφίης εὐθέως τὸν ∆εσπότην, ὦ κυνῶν ἀλογώτερε. Ἀλλ' αἱ πόρναι, φησὶν, ἡδονὴν ἔχουσιν ὁρώμεναι. Ποίαν ἡδονήν; ποίαν δὲ οὐκ ἀτιμίαν; Πορνεῖον γέγονέ σου ἡ οἰκία, μανία καὶ οἶστρος· καὶ οὐκ αἰσχύνῃ ταῦτα ἡδονὴν καλῶν; Ἂν μὲν οὖν ἐξῇ χρήσασθαι πάσῃ ἡδονῇ, μείζων ἡ αἰσχύνη καὶ ἡ ἐκ ταύτης ἀηδία. Πῶς δαί; Οὐ χαλεπὸν τὸ τὴν οἰκίαν πορνεῖον ποιεῖν, καὶ ἥδεσθαι καθάπερ χοίρους ἐγκαλινδουμένους βορβόρῳ; Ἂν δὲ μέχρι τοῦ φανῆναι μόνον, ἰδοὺ πάλιν ὀδύνη μείζων· ἡ γὰρ ὄψις οὐχ ἡδονὴ, ὅταν ἡ χρῆσις μὴ ᾖ, ἀλλὰ καὶ μείζων ἡ ἐπιθυμία, καὶ σφοδροτέρα ἡ φλόξ. Ἀλλὰ τὸ τέλος βούλει μαθεῖν; Οἱ μὲν τοῖς μαινομένοις καὶ τοῖς παραπλῆξιν ἐοίκασιν ἀπὸ τῆς τραπέζης ἀνιστάμενοι, θρασεῖς, ὀργίλοι, καταγέλαστοι καὶ τοῖς ἀνδραπόδοις· καὶ οἱ μὲν οἰκέται ἀναχωροῦσι νήφοντες, οὗτοι δὲ μεθύοντες. Ὢ τῆς αἰσχύνης! Ἐκεῖ δὲ τοιοῦτον οὐδὲν, ἀλλ' εὐχαριστίᾳ τὴν τράπεζαν κατακλείσαντες, οὕτως ἀναχωροῦσιν οἴκαδε, ἡδόμενοι καθεύδοντες, ἡδόμενοι ἐγειρόμενοι, πάσης αἰσχύνης ἀπηλλαγμένοι καὶ κατηγορίας. ʹ. Εἰ βούλει καὶ αὐτοὺς τοὺς κεκλημένους ἰδεῖν, ὄψει τούτους μὲν τοιούτους ὄντας· ἔνδον, ὅπερ οὗτοι ἔξω, τυφλοὺς, ἀναπήρους,