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makes the body, while the mind is vigorous, it gives rest to the weary flesh. But is sickness an evil? From whence then was Lazarus crowned? But poverty? And from whence was Job approved? But successive and continuous afflictions? 4.17 And from whence were the apostles proclaimed? And what road leads to life? Is it not the narrow and afflicted one? Do not say, therefore: 'Why this? For what purpose this?' but both in the dispensations and in the creations of God, the silence which the clay offers to the potter, this also you offer to God who made you.

5.t Ch. 5. That one must be persuaded that God provides for all things and for those who doubt, the greatest proof is through creation

5.1 'What then?' he says. 'Do you not want me to know clearly and believe that God provides for all things?' Indeed, I both want and pray and desire it greatly; but not to scrutinize providence, nor to be meddlesome. For if you know and have persuaded yourself, do not seek; but if you doubt, ask the earth, the heaven, the sun, the moon; ask the various kinds of irrational creatures, the seeds, the plants, the silent fish, the rocks, the mountains, the valleys, the hills, the night, the day.

5.2 For the providence of God is more manifest than the sun and its own ray, and in every season and in every place, both in the desert and in the inhabited world and in the uninhabited, both on land and on sea, and wherever you may arrive, you will see reminders of this providence, clear and sufficient, both old and new, and voices clearer than this rational voice of ours, borne from all sides, and teaching his care to the one willing to hear.

5.3 For this reason also the prophet, declaring the excellence of these voices, said: 'There are no speeches, nor words, whose voices are not heard.' For our voice is known only to those who speak the same language, but not to those of other tongues; but the voice through creation is audible to all the nations throughout the world.

6.t Ch. 6. Concerning the love of God which surpasses all love with exceeding abundance

6.1 To the grateful, therefore, even before the proof through works, the very declaration of God alone is sufficient, showing not only his providence, but also his vehement love for us. For he does not simply provide for us, but loves, and loves vehemently with an irresistible love, a love impassible, yet most fervent and vigorous and genuine and indestructible and unable to be extinguished.

6.2 And the divine Scripture, wishing to represent this, brings forward images found among humans, and brings forward also many examples of love and providence and care. However, it does not want us to stop only at these things, but also to surpass the examples with our reasoning. Nor does it bring these forward as sufficient to show his affection, but as familiar to the hearers and more able than other things to show this.

6.3 I mean something like this. To some who were once wailing and mourning and saying: 'The Lord has forsaken me and the God of Israel has forgotten me,' then the prophet adds, saying: 'Will a woman forget her child, or to have compassion on the offspring of her womb?' saying this, that just as she would not forget her own children, so also God would not forget the human race.

6.4 Then, that you may learn that the prophet brought forward this image, not wishing to show the measure of God's love to be so much as that of a mother for the offspring of her womb

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ποιεῖ τὸ σῶμα, ἀκμάζουσαν τὴν διάνοιαν, ἀναπαύει τὴν σάρκα πεπονηκυῖαν. Ἀλλὰ νόσος κακόν; Πόθεν οὖν ὁ Λάζαρος ἐστεφανώθη; Ἀλλὰ πενία; Καὶ πόθεν ὁ Ἰὼβ εὐδοκίμησεν; Ἀλλὰ θλίψεις ἐπάλληλοι καὶ συνεχεῖς; 4.17 Καὶ πόθεν οἱ ἀπόστολοι ἀνεκηρύχθησαν; ποία δὲ ὁδὸς ἡ εἰς τὴν ζωὴν ἄγουσα; οὐχ ἡ στενὴ καὶ τεθλιμμένη; Μὴ τοίνυν λέγε· ∆ιὰ τί τοῦτο; εἰς τί τοῦτο; ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν οἰκονομιῶν καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν κτισμάτων τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἣν παρέχει σιγὴν ὁ πηλὸς τῷ κεραμεῖ, ταύτην καὶ αὐτὸς τῷ ποιήσαντί σε Θεῷ.

5.t Κεφ. εʹ. Ὅτι δεῖ πεπεῖσθαι ὅτι προνοεῖ πάντων ὁ Θεὸς καὶ τοῖς ἀμφιβάλλουσι μεγίστη ἡ διὰ τῆς κτίσεως ἀπόδειξις

5.1 Τί οὖν; φησίν· οὐ βούλει με εἰδέναι σαφῶς καὶ πιστεύειν ὅτι προνοεῖ

πάντων ὁ Θεός; Καὶ μάλα καὶ βούλομαι καὶ εὔχομαι καὶ ἐπιθυμῶ σφόδρα· οὐ μὴν περιεργάζεσθαι τὴν πρόνοιαν, οὐδὲ πολυπραγμονεῖν. Εἰ μὲν γὰρ οἶσθα καὶ πέπεικας σεαυτόν, μὴ ζήτει· εἰ δὲ ἀμφιβάλλεις ἐρώτησον τὴν γῆν, τὸν οὐρανόν, τὸν ἥλιον, τὴν σελήνην, ἐρώτησον τὰ ποικίλα τῶν ἀλόγων γένη, τὰ σπέρματα, τὰ φυτά, τοὺς ἀφώνους ἰχθύας, τὰς πέτρας, τὰ ὄρη, τὰς νάπας, τοὺς βουνούς, τὴν νύκτα, τὴν ἡμέραν. 5.2 Τοῦ γὰρ ἡλίου καὶ τῆς ἀκτῖνος αὐτῆς φανερωτέρα ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ πρόνοια καὶ καθ' ἕκαστον καιρὸν καὶ καθ' ἕκαστον τόπον καὶ ἐν ἐρημίᾳ καὶ ἐν οἰκουμένῃ καὶ ἐν ἀοικήτῳ καὶ ἐν γῇ καὶ ἐν θαλάσσῃ καὶ ὅπουπερ ἂν ἀφίκῃ, ὑπομνήματα ὄψει τῆς προνοίας ταύτης σαφῆ καὶ διαρκῆ καὶ παλαιὰ καὶ νέα καὶ φωνὰς τῆς φωνῆς ἡμῶν ταύτης τῆς λογικῆς τρανοτέρας πανταχόθεν φερομένας καὶ τὸν βουλόμενον ἀκούειν παιδευούσας αὐτοῦ τὴν κηδεμονίαν. 5.3 ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ ὁ προφήτης τῶν φωνῶν τούτων τὸ ἐξαίρετον δηλῶν ἔλεγεν· «Οὐκ εἰσὶ λαλιαί, οὐδὲ λόγοι ὧν οὐχὶ ἀκούονται αἱ φωναὶ αὐτῶν.» Ἡ μὲν γὰρ ἡμετέρα τοῖς ὁμοφώνοις ἐστὶ γνώριμος μόνον, ἑτερογλώσσοις δὲ οὐκέτι· ἡ δὲ διὰ τῆς κτίσεως φωνὴ πᾶσι τοῖς ἔθνεσι τοῖς κατὰ τὴν οἰκουμένην ἐστὶν ἀκουστή.

6.t Κεφ. ςʹ. Περὶ τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ Θεοῦ τῆς πᾶσαν ἀγάπην μεθ'

ὑπερβολῆς ὑπερβαινούσης 6.1 Τοῖς μὲν οὖν εὐγνώμοσιν ἀρκεῖ καὶ πρὸ τῆς διὰ τῶν ἔργων ἀποδείξεως ἡ

ἀπόφασις αὐτὴ μόνη τοῦ Θεοῦ, οὐχὶ τὴν πρόνοιαν αὐτοῦ δεικνῦσα μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν σφοδρὸν ἔρωτα τὸν περὶ ἡμᾶς. Οὐ γὰρ ἁπλῶς ἡμῶν προνοεῖ, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐρῶν καὶ σφόδρα ἐρῶν ἔρωτά τινα ἀμήχανον, ἔρωτα ἀπαθῆ μέν, θερμότατον δὲ καὶ εὐτονώτατον καὶ γνήσιον καὶ ἀκατάλυτον καὶ σβεσθῆναι μὴ δυνάμενον. 6.2 Καὶ τοῦτον παραστῆσαι βουλομένη ἡ θεία Γραφή, παράγει μὲν εἰκόνας τὰς ἐν ἀνθρώποις, παράγει δὲ καὶ πολλὰ ἔρωτος ὑποδείγματα καὶ προνοίας καὶ κηδεμονίας. Οὐ μὴν μέχρι τούτων ἡμᾶς μόνον βούλεται ἑστάναι, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑπερβαίνειν τὰ παραδείγματα τῷ λογισμῷ. Οὐδὲ ὡς ἀρκοῦντα δεῖξαι τὸ φίλτρον παράγει ταῦτα, ἀλλ' ὡς γνώριμα τοῖς ἀκούουσι καὶ τῶν ἄλλων μᾶλλον δυνάμενα δεῖξαι τοῦτο. 6.3 Οἷόν τι λέγω. Πρός τινας ὀδυρομένους καὶ πενθοῦντάς ποτε καὶ λέγοντας· «Ἐγκατέλιπέ με Κύριος καὶ ἐπελάθετό μου ὁ Θεὸς τοῦ Ἰσραήλ», τηνικαῦτα ἐπάγει λέγων ὁ προφήτης· «Μὴ ἐπιλήσεται γυνὴ τοῦ παιδίου αὐτῆς ἢ τοῦ ἐλεῆσαι τὰ ἔκγονα τῆς κοιλίας αὐτῆς;» τοῦτο λέγων ὅτι ὥσπερ ἐκείνη οὐκ ἂν ἐπιλάθοιτο τῶν παιδίων τῶν ἑαυτῆς, οὕτως οὐδὲ ὁ Θεὸς τοῦ γένους τῶν ἀνθρώπων. 6.4 Εἶτα ἵνα μάθῃς ὅτι τὴν εἰκόνα ταύτην παρήγαγεν ὁ προφήτης, οὐχὶ τοσοῦτον βουλόμενος δεῖξαι τὸ μέτρον τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ Θεοῦ ὅση μητρός ἐστι περὶ τὰ ἔκγονα τῆς κοιλίας