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how I might find some small comfort for this shame. What then does he say after these things? Judge not, that you be not judged. I, for my part, thought I would find some comfort for our shame, but I see an addition no less than the former ones. For even if nothing else had been transgressed by us, this at least is enough to lead us to the uttermost hell; so harsh are we as judges of the sins of others, while we overlook our own beams, and our whole life is spent in meddling in the affairs of others and condemning them. And you would quickly find no one, not a man of the world, not a monk, not one of the clergy, free from this sin; and yet so great a threat is attached to it: For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged, he says; and, With what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again. But nevertheless, though this sin has such a punishment and no pleasure, we all run to the evil, as if striving and contending to enter the furnace of Gehenna not only by one road, but by many. 47.402 And not only with respect to things that seem laborious, but also with respect to the lighter things we are equally remiss, transgressing both these and those alike, and showing through the easiest things that it is because of our own contempt, and not because of the weight of the commands, that we do not accomplish even the more laborious ones. For what labor, tell me, is there in not meddling in others' affairs, nor condemning the trespasses of one's neighbors? On the contrary, indeed, it takes labor to be meddlesome and to judge others. Who then, hearing these things, will ever believe us, that it is from indolence, and not from eagerness and an unwillingness not to listen, that we have come to disobedience? For when the things which he commands to be done are easy and very simple for those who are willing, but the things which he forbids are more difficult and laborious, yet we, having abandoned the commanded things, do the forbidden things, will not our enemies say that we sin in these things as if contending with him? For indeed, that the commandments of Christ have no labor, he himself declared, saying: Take my yoke upon you; for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. But we, through our unspeakable indolence, make the light things appear burdensome to the many. For to one who wishes always to be idle and to sleep, even to partake of food and drink seems altogether laborious; but those who are watchful and sober do not shrink even from things altogether wonderful and difficult to achieve, but these venture them with greater courage than the slack and sleepy venture the very easy things. For there is nothing, nothing so easy, that much sloth does not show to be very heavy and burdensome for us, just as there is nothing laborious and difficult, that zeal and readiness do not make exceedingly easy. For what, tell me, was more difficult than to be in peril every day, with dangers threatening death? And yet the blessed Paul called this light, saying thus: For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. For even if the thing is heavy by nature, yet by the hope of things to come it becomes light; which very cause he himself has stated, saying: While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.

6. Let us see also the things that follow. Give not, he says, that which is holy to the dogs, neither cast your pearls before swine. Christ, then, gave the commandment in the form of a command; but we, through vainglory and irrational ambition, have overturned this command as well, receiving corrupt and unbelieving men, full of countless evils, into the communion of the mysteries simply and without examination, and before they have given exact proof of their own disposition, revealing to them the whole doctrine concerning the dogmas, and leading those who have not yet been able to see the outer courts at once into the holy of holies. For this reason, therefore, some of those thus initiated, having quickly fallen away, have wrought countless 47.403 terrible things. And not only in the case of others, but also in our own case, this most dreadful

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πώς τινα τῆς αἰσχύνης ταύτης εὕρω παραμυθίαν μικράν. Τί τοίνυν μετὰ ταῦτα λέγει; Μὴ κρίνετε, ἵνα μὴ κριθῆτε. Ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν παραμυθίαν ᾤμην εὑρήσειν τῆς ἡμετέρας αἰσχύνης, ὁρῶ δὲ προσθήκην οὐκ ἐλάττονα τῶν προτέρων. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ μηδὲν ἕτερον ἡμῖν πεπλημμέλητο, τοῦτο γοῦν ἱκανὸν εἰς ἐσχάτην γέενναν ἀπαγαγεῖν· οὕτω τῶν μὲν ἑτέροις ἁμαρτανομένων πικροὶ καθήμεθα δικασταὶ, τὰς δὲ ἑαυτῶν δοκοὺς παρορῶμεν, καὶ εἰς τὸ τὰ τῶν ἄλλων πολυπραγμονεῖν καὶ καταδικάζειν δαπανᾶται ἡμῖν ἅπας ὁ βίος. Καὶ οὐδένα ἂν εὕροις ταχέως οὐ βιωτικὸν ἄνδρα, οὐ μοναχὸν, οὐ τοῦ κλήρου, ταύτης ἐλεύθερον τῆς ἁμαρτίας· καίτοι γε τοσαύτης ἀπειλῆς κειμένης αὐτῇ· Ἐν ᾧ γὰρ κρίματι κρίνετε, κριθήσεσθε, φησί· καὶ, Ἐν ᾧ μέτρῳ μετρεῖτε, ἀντιμετρηθήσεται ὑμῖν. Ἀλλ' ὅμως κόλασιν μὲν τοσαύτην, ἡδονὴν δὲ τῆς ἁμαρτίας οὐδεμίαν ταύτης ἐχούσης, ἅπαντες ἐπιτρέχομεν τῷ κακῷ, καθάπερ σπουδάζοντες καὶ φιλονεικοῦντες, μὴ μόνον διὰ μιᾶς, ἀλλὰ καὶ διὰ πολλῶν ὁδῶν εἰς τὴν τῆς γεέννης κάμινον εἰσελ 47.402 θεῖν. Καὶ οὐ πρὸς τὰ δοκοῦντα ἐπίπονα εἶναι μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὸς τὰ κουφότερα τούτων ὁμοίως ἀναπεπτώκαμεν, ἐπ' ἴσης καὶ ταῦτα κἀκεῖνα παραβαίνοντες, καὶ δεικνύντες διὰ τῶν ῥᾴστων, ὅτι καὶ τὰ ἐπιπονώτερα διὰ τὴν οἰκείαν καταφρόνησιν, οὐ διὰ τὸ βαρὺ τῶν προσταγμάτων οὐκ ἐξανύομεν. Ποῖον γὰρ, εἰπέ μοι, πόνον ἔχει, τὸ μὴ πολυπραγμονεῖν τὰ ἀλλότρια, μηδὲ καταδικάζειν τὰ τῶν πλησίον πλημμελήματα; Τοὐναντίον μὲν οὖν, πόνου δεῖται τὸ περιεργάζεσθαι καὶ κρίνειν ἑτέρους. Τίς οὖν ταῦτα ἀκούσας πιστεύσει ποτὲ ἡμῖν, ὅτι ἐκ ῥᾳθυμίας, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἀπὸ σπουδῆς καὶ τοῦ μὴ βούλεσθαι πρὸς τὸ παρακούειν ἤλθομεν; Ὅταν γὰρ ἃ μὲν ἐπιτάττει ποιεῖν, εὔκολα καὶ ῥᾷστα τοῖς βουλομένοις, ἃ δὲ ἀπαγορεύει χαλεπώτερα καὶ ἐπίπονα, ἡμεῖς δὲ τὰ προστεταγμένα ἀφέντες, τὰ κεκωλυμένα πράττομεν, ἆρα οὐχ ὡς φιλονεικοῦντας αὐτῷ ταῦτα ἁμαρτάνειν φήσουσιν ἡμᾶς οἱ ἐχθροί; Καὶ γὰρ, ὅτι πόνον οὐδένα ἔχει τὰ ἐπιτάγματα τοῦ Χριστοῦ, αὐτὸς ἀπεφήνατο λέγων· Ἄρατε τὸν ζυγόν μου ἐφ' ὑμᾶς· ὁ γὰρ ζυγός μου χρηστὸς, καὶ τὸ φορτίον μου ἐλαφρόν ἐστιν. Ἀλλ' ἡμεῖς ὑπὸ τῆς ἀφάτου ῥᾳθυμίας, φορτικὰ τὰ κοῦφα ποιοῦμεν φαίνεσθαι τοῖς πολλοῖς. Τῷ μὲν οὖν ἀργεῖν καὶ καθεύδειν βουλομένῳ διαπαντὸς καὶ τὸ σιτίων μετασχεῖν καὶ πότου πάντως ἐπίπονον εἶναι δοκεῖ· οἱ δὲ ἐγρηγορότες καὶ νήφοντες οὐδὲ πρὸς τὰ πάνυ θαυμαστὰ καὶ δυσκατόρθωτα ἀναδύονται, ἀλλὰ μετὰ πλείονος οὗτοι θάρσους κατατολμῶσιν αὐτῶν, ἢ τῶν σφόδρα εὐκόλων οἱ παρειμένοι καὶ ὑπνηλοί. Οὐδὲν γὰρ, οὐδὲν οὕτως ἐστὶ ῥᾴδιον, ὃ μὴ σφόδρα βαρὺ καὶ ἐπαχθὲς ὁ πολὺς δείκνυσιν ὄκνος ἡμῖν, ὥσπερ ἐπίπονον καὶ δυσχερὲς, ὃ μὴ λίαν εὔκολον ἡ σπουδὴ καὶ ἡ προθυμία ποιεῖ. Τί γὰρ, εἰπέ μοι, τοῦ καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν κινδυνεύειν κινδύνους θάνατον ἀπειλοῦντας χαλεπώτερον ἦν; Ἀλλ' ὅμως ἐλαφρὸν τοῦτο ὁ μακάριος ἐκάλεσε Παῦλος, οὑτωσὶ λέγων· Τὸ γὰρ παραυτίκα ἐλαφρὸν τῆς θλίψεως, καθ' ὑπερβολὴν εἰς ὑπερβολὴν αἰώνιον βάρος δόξης κατεργάζεται ἡμῖν. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ τῇ φύσει τὸ πρᾶγμα βαρὺ, ἀλλὰ τῇ τῶν μελλόντων ἐλπίδι γίνεται κοῦφον· ἣν δὴ καὶ αὐτὸς αἰτίαν τέθεικεν εἰπών· Μὴ σκοπούντων ἡμῶν τὰ βλεπόμενα, ἀλλὰ τὰ μὴ βλεπόμενα.

ςʹ. Ἴδωμεν δὲ καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. Μὴ δῶτε, φησὶ, τὰ ἅγια τοῖς κυσὶ, μηδὲ ῥίψητε τοὺς μαργαρίτας ὑμῶν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν χοίρων. Ὁ μὲν οὖν Χριστὸς καὶ ἐν προστάγματος τάξει τὴν ἐντολὴν δέδωκεν· ἡμεῖς δὲ ὑπὸ κενοδοξίας καὶ φιλοτιμίας ἀλόγου καὶ τοῦτο τὸ πρόσταγμα ἀνετρέψαμεν, ἀνθρώπους φθόρους καὶ ἀπίστους καὶ μυρίων γέμοντας κακῶν ἁπλῶς καὶ ἀνεξετάστως εἰς τὴν τῶν μυστηρίων παραδεχόμενοι κοινωνίαν, καὶ πρὶν ἢ τῆς οἰκείας γνώμης δοῦναι βάσανον ἀκριβῆ, πάντα τὸν περὶ τῶν δογμάτων αὐτοῖς ἐκκαλύπτοντες λόγον, καὶ τὰ προπύλαια οὔπω δυνηθέντας ἰδεῖν ἀθρόως εἰς τὰ ἄδυτα ἄγοντες. ∆ιὰ γοῦν τοῦτο τῶν οὕτω τελεσθέντων τινὲς ταχέως ἀποπηδήσαντες, μυρία εἰρ 47.403 γάσαντο δεινά. Καὶ οὐκ ἐπὶ τῶν ἄλλων μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐφ' ἡμῶν αὐτῶν τὴν φρικωδεστάτην ταύτην