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he cried out, Lord, do you wash my feet? and again: You shall never wash my feet.

For this he receives so great a threat, that if, not again knowing the truth of the Lord’s words, he had not hastened with obedience to correct his contradiction, nothing of what went before, not his own good deeds, not the blessings and gifts and promises from the Lord, not even the very revelation from God the Father of such and so great a good pleasure in the only-begotten Son would have sufficed to excuse his present disobedience. But if I should wish to recount these things, as many as I find from both the Old and New Testaments, time will perhaps fail me in the telling. And now also when I come to the very words of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Gospel, the sayings of him who is to judge the living and the dead, which are more trustworthy to the faithful than any history, or any other proof, I learn in them the great necessity, so to speak, of obedience to God in all things; and that there is no pardon at all left for those who do not repent of their disobedience concerning any commandment whatsoever, unless one should dare something else, and even to conceive a thought against such bare, clear, and absolute declarations: For, He says, Heaven and earth will pass away, but my 31.673 words will not pass away. Here there is no distinction, there is no division, nothing at all has been left out anywhere. He did not say, "These or those," but, "My words," clearly all of them together, "will not pass away." For it is written: The Lord is faithful in all His words; whether forbidding anything, or commanding, or promising, or threatening, and whether for the doing of forbidden things or for the omission of commanded things. For that the omission of good works is punished equally with the commission of evil deeds, the aforesaid judgment on Peter would have sufficed for proof and assurance to a soul not sick with complete unbelief; he, having done nothing forbidden, nor yet having omitted any such commandment that would convict the omitter of sloth or contempt, but only having scrupled to accept service and honor from the Master, received such a threat that he would not have escaped, if, as has been said before, he had not forestalled the wrath by the speed and vehemence of his correction.

However, since the good and merciful God, being long-suffering toward us, was pleased to show us the same thing many times and through many examples, so that the soul, being with difficulty moved and watered by their multitude and continuity, might be able to cast off the long-standing habit of lawlessness, it is necessary for the present to recall only those who on the great and terrible day of judgment stand at the left hand of our Lord Jesus Christ; to whom He said, who received all authority for judgment from the Father, who comes to bring to light the hidden things of darkness and to reveal the counsels of hearts: Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. And He added the reason, not saying: Because you murdered, or fornicated, or lied, or wronged someone, or did any other of the forbidden things, even the very least; but what? Because you neglected good works. For, He says, I was hungry and you gave me no food; I was thirsty and you gave me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take me in; naked and you did not clothe me; sick and in prison and you did not visit me. These and such things, by the grace of the good God, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth, and who teaches man knowledge, having learned in the divinely-inspired Scriptures, and having recognized the most dreadful cause of such discord among the many, both toward one another and toward the commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ, and having been taught the terrible

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ἐξεβόησε Κύριε, σύ μου νίπτεις τοὺς πόδας; καὶ πάλιν· Οὐ μὴ νίψῃς τοὺς πόδας μου εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα.

Ἐπὶ τούτῳ τὴν τοσαύτην εἰσδέχεται ἀπειλὴν, ὡς εἰ μὴ πάλιν εἰδὼς τὴν ἀλήθειαν τῶν ῥη μάτων τοῦ Κυρίου, ἔφθασε τῇ ὑπακοῇ διορθωσάμε νος τὴν ἀντιλογίαν, οὐδὲν ἂν αὐτῷ τῶν προλαβόντων, οὐ τῶν ἰδίων κατορθωμάτων, οὐ τῶν παρὰ τοῦ Κυρίου μακαρισμῶν τε καὶ δωρεῶν καὶ ἐπαγγελιῶν, οὐδὲ αὐτὴ ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Πατρὸς τῆς τοιαύτης καὶ τοσαύτης εἰς τὸν μονογενῆ Υἱὸν εὐδοκίας ἀποκάλυψις ἤρκεσε παραμυθήσασθαι τὴν παροῦσαν ἀπείθειαν. Ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν ἐὰν θέλω καταλέγειν, ὅσα εὑ ρίσκω ἔκ τε Παλαιᾶς καὶ Καινῆς ∆ιαθήκης, ἐπιλεί ψει με τάχα διηγούμενον ὁ χρόνος. Ἤδη δὲ καὶ ἐπ' αὐτὰς ὅταν ἔλθω τὰς τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χρι στοῦ ἐν τῷ Εὐαγγελίῳ φωνὰς, αὐτοῦ τοῦ μέλλοντος κρίνειν ζῶντας καὶ νεκροὺς τὰ ῥήματα, ἃ πάσης μὲν ἱστορίας, πάσης δὲ ἄλλης ἀποδείξεως παρὰ τοῖς πιστοῖς ἀξιοπιστότερα, πολλὴν μὲν ἐν αὐτοῖς καταμανθάνω τῆς ἐν πᾶσι πρὸς Θεὸν εὐπειθείας, ἵνα οὕτως εἴπω, ἀνάγκην· οὐδεμίαν δὲ ὅλως, ἐπ' οὐδενὶ προστάγματι, καταλειπομένην τοῖς μὴ μετανοοῦσι τῆς ἀπειθείας συγγνώμην, εἰ μή τι ἕτερόν ἐστι τολμῆσαι, καὶ μέχρις ἐννοίας λαβεῖν, πρὸς οὕτω γυμνὰς, σαφεῖς τε καὶ ἀπολύτους ἀποφάσεις· Ὁ οὐρανὸς γὰρ, φησὶ, καὶ ἡ γῆ παρελεύσονται, οἱ δὲ 31.673 λόγοι μου οὐ μὴ παρέλθωσιν. Οὐκ ἔστιν ἐνταῦθα διαφορὰ, οὐκ ἔστι διαίρεσις, οὐδὲν οὐδαμοῦ ὅλως ὑπολέλειπται. Οὐκ εἶπεν· Οὗτοι ἢ ἐκεῖνοι, ἀλλ', Οἱ λόγοι μου, πάντες ὁμοῦ δηλονότι, οὐ μὴ παρέλθωσι. Γέγραπται γάρ· Πιστὸς Κύριος ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς λόγοις αὐτοῦ· εἴτε ἀπαγορεύων ὁτιοῦν, εἴτε προσ-τάσσων, εἴτε ἐπαγγελλόμενος, εἴτε ἀπειλῶν, καὶ εἴτε ἐπὶ τῇ πράξει τῶν ἀπηγορευμένων, εἴτε ἐπὶ τῇ ἐλλείψει τῶν ἐπιτεταγμένων. Ὅτι γὰρ ἐπίσης τῇ ἐνεργείᾳ τῶν κακῶν καὶ ἡ τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἔργων ἔλλειψις ἐκδικεῖται, ἤρκει μὲν καὶ πρὸς ἀπόδειξιν καὶ πληροφορίαν τῇ γε μὴ παντελῆ ἀπιστίαν νοσούσῃ ψυχῇ τὸ προειρημένον ἐπὶ τῷ Πέτρῳ κρῖμα· ὃς, οὐκ ἀπηγορευμένον τι πράξας, οὐδὲ μὴν πρόσταγμά τι τοιοῦτον ἐλλείψας, ὃ ῥᾳθυμίαν ἢ καταφρόνησιν κατηγορεῖ τοῦ ἐλλείποντος, ὑπηρεσίαν δὲ καὶ τιμὴν τὴν παρὰ τοῦ ∆εσπότου μόνον ὑποδέξασθαι εὐλαβηθεὶς, τοιαύτην ἐδέξατο τὴν ἀπειλὴν ἣν οὐκ ἔφυγεν ἂν, εἰ μὴ, καθὼς προείρηται, ἔφθασε τὴν ὀργὴν τῇ ταχύτητι καὶ σφοδρότητι τῆς διορθώσεως.

Πλὴν ἐπειδὴ ὁ ἀγαθὸς καὶ εὔσπλαγχνος Θεὸς μακροθυμῶν ἐφ' ἡμῖν εὐδόκησε, καὶ πολλάκις ἡμῖν τὸ αὐτὸ καὶ διὰ πολλῶν ὑποδεῖξαι, ἵνα τῷ πλήθει καὶ τῇ συνεχείᾳ δυνηθῇ μόλις ποτὲ μοχλευθεῖσα καὶ καταντληθεῖσα ἡ ψυχὴ ἀποτρίψασθαι τὴν πολυχρόνιον τῆς παρανομίας συνήθειαν, ἐκείνων μόνων πρὸς τὸ παρὸν μνημονεῦσαι ἀναγκαῖον τῶν ἐν τῇ μεγάλῃ καὶ φοβερᾷ τῆς κρίσεως ἡμέρᾳ ἐξ ἀριστερῶν τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἱσταμένων· πρὸς οὓς ἔλεγεν ὁ πᾶσαν τὴν ἐξουσίαν τῆς κρίσεως λαβὼν παρὰ τοῦ Πατρὸς, ὁ ἐρχόμενος φωτίσαι τὰ κρυπτὰ τοῦ σκότους, καὶ φανερῶσαι τὰς βουλὰς τῶν καρδιῶν· Πορεύεσθε ἀπ' ἐμοῦ, οἱ κατηραμένοι, εἰς τὸ πῦρ τὸ αἰώνιον, τὸ ἡτοιμασμένον τῷ διαβόλῳ καὶ τοῖς ἀγγέλοις αὐτοῦ. Καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν ἐπήγαγεν, οὐχ· Ὅτι ἐφονεύσατε, λέγων, ἢ ἐπορνεύσατε, ἢ ἐψεύσασθε, ἤ τινα ἠδικήσατε, ἢ ἄλλο τι τῶν ἀπηγορευμένων, κἂν τὸ βραχύτατον γοῦν, ἐπράξατε· ἀλλὰ τί; Ὅτι τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἔργων ἠμελήσατε. Ἐπείνασα γὰρ, φησὶ, καὶ οὐκ ἐδώκατέ μοι φαγεῖν· ἐδίψησα, καὶ οὐκ ἐποτίσατέ με· ξένος ἤμην, καὶ οὐ συνηγάγετέ με· γυμνὸς, καὶ οὐ περιεβάλετέ με· ἀσθενὴς καὶ ἐν φυλακῇ, καὶ οὐκ ἐπεσκέψασθέ με. Ταῦτα καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα Θεοῦ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ χάριτι, τοῦ θέλοντος μὲν πάντας ἀνθρώπους σωθῆναι, καὶ εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν ἀληθείας ἐλθεῖν, διδάσκοντος δὲ ἄνθρωπον γνῶσιν, καταμαθὼν ἐν ταῖς θεοπνεύστοις Γραφαῖς, καὶ γνωρίσας μὲν τὴν φρικωδεστάτην αἰτίαν τῆς τοιαύτης τῶν πολλῶν πρός τε ἀλλήλους καὶ πρὸς τὰς ἐντολὰς τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ διαφωνίας, παιδευθεὶς δὲ τὸ φοβερὸν