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and they will mistreat them for four hundred years, God said to Abraham. Therefore, so that they would not, despairing at the length of the time and not bearing the hardship, give up on their return and fall away, giving them the greatest pledge of hope, he foretold concerning the bringing back of the bones, 50.691 so that they, reasoning among themselves that if the righteous man had not strongly and with precision persuaded himself that, We shall all return, he would not have given instructions about his bones, might have an indisputable proof and a firm hope of returning to the land that bore them. And that this is true, and that for this reason he foretold about his bones, not being concerned about burial but correcting their unbelief, listen to what Paul says: By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones. What is, By faith? It means that he foresaw the things that would happen long ages later, and that his descendants would certainly take back their own land. So that he might show this, he foretold both these things, and it was a wonderful and extraordinary thing to see at the time of the exodus, the carrying of the bones. For Joseph, who had brought them down into Egypt, was himself leading them again as they went up, anointing them for endurance and the hope of things to come. For when they saw the remains before their eyes, and then from this were reminded of that whole story, and reasoned among themselves that he was plotted against by his brothers, that he was thrown into a pit, that he was in danger of the ultimate consequences, that he lived in a prison, and indeed all the other things that had happened to him; then, that after all those things he became king and first in Egypt, and the guardian and protector of so many, they had sufficient hopes for deliverance from the terrible things that were always befalling them, being taught through the bones of the righteous man that no one who has believed in God and awaited his alliance has ever been abandoned. For even if some grievous and unwanted things should intervene between the promises, and fall in between, they will never be able to cast out the hopeful from their final end, but that which was foretold will surely come to pass according to the decree from above, making more glorious those who with patience await all the things ordained by God. For these reasons he gave instructions concerning his bones. 2. Let us not, then, be so scrupulous about burial at home, nor let us tremble at death, but at sin. For death did not give birth to sin, but sin gave birth to death for us; but death has become a remedy for sin. For that we should not fear death, but sin, listen to what the prophet says: Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints; and elsewhere, The death of sinners is evil. Do you see that those who pay attention to themselves are able to reap the greatest things from it, while the negligent and slothful, these are the ones who receive the matter as a condemnation? I do not raise this argument without reason, but since I often hear many people speaking about the manners of death, being ashamed of those that are not shameful, but not disparaging those that are worthy of the greatest accusation, for this reason I wish to clarify this argument today. For this kind of philosophy is also timely on a martyr's day. For I have heard many saying, "So-and-so died more dishonorably than a dog in a foreign land, with none of his friends present or committing him to the earth, but having been laid out by some contribution, with just a few neighbors calling one another together, thus he was given over for burial." Therefore, so that these things may not grieve us, it is necessary to correct this suspicion also. 50.692 For this is not to die more miserably than a dog, O man, but to die more miserably than a dog is to die in sin, not in a

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καὶ κακώσουσιν ἔτη τετρακόσια, ὁ Θεὸς πρὸς τὸν Ἀβραὰμ ἔλεγεν. Ἵν' οὖν μὴ πρὸς τὸ μῆκος ἀπαγορεύσαντες τοῦ χρόνου, καὶ τὴν ταλαιπωρίαν οὐ φέροντες ἀπογνῶσι πρὸς τὴν ἐπάνοδον, καὶ ἀναπέσωσι, μέγιστον αὐτοῖς ἐνέχυρον ἐλπίδος διδοὺς προεῖπεν περὶ τῆς ἀνακομιδῆς τῶν ὀστῶν, ἵν' ἐκεῖνοι πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς λογιζόμενοι, ὅτι εἰ μὴ σφόδρα καὶ μετὰ 50.691 ἀκριβείας ἑαυτὸν ὁ δίκαιος πεπεικὼς ἦν, ὅτι Πάντες ἐπανήξομεν, οὐκ ἂν περὶ τῶν ὀστῶν ἐνετείλατο, ἀναμφισβήτητον ἔχωσιν ἀπόδειξιν καὶ ἐλπίδα βεβαίαν τῆς εἰς τὴν ἐνεγκοῦσαν ἐπανόδου. Καὶ ὅτι τοῦτό ἐστιν ἀληθὲς, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο προεῖπε περὶ τῶν ὀστῶν αὐτοῦ, οὐχ ὑπὲρ ταφῆς φροντίζων, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἀπιστίαν αὐτῶν διορθούμενος, ἄκουσον τί φησιν ὁ Παῦλος· Πίστει Ἰωσὴφ τελευτῶν περὶ τῆς ἐξόδου τῶν υἱῶν Ἰσραὴλ ἐμνημόνευσε, καὶ περὶ τῶν ὀστέων αὐτοῦ ἐνετείλατο. Τί ἐστι, Πίστει; Ἀντὶ τοῦ προεώρα τὰ μακροῖς ὕστερον συμβησόμενα χρόνοις, καὶ ὅτι πάντως οἱ ἔγγονοι ἀπολήψονται τὴν οἰκείαν. Ἵν' οὖν τοῦτο ἐνδείξηται, ἀμφότερα ταῦτα προεῖπε, καὶ ἦν ἰδεῖν θαυμαστὸν καὶ παράδοξον ἐπὶ τῆς ἐξόδου πρᾶγμα τῶν ὀστῶν ἐπιφερομένων. Ὁ γὰρ καταγαγὼν αὐτοὺς εἰς Αἴγυπτον Ἰωσὴφ, αὐτὸς αὐτῶν καὶ ἀνιόντων προηγεῖτο πάλιν, εἰς ὑπομονὴν ἀλείφων καὶ τὴν τῶν μελλόντων ἐλπίδα. Ὁρῶντες γὰρ ἐκεῖνοι τὰ λείψανα πρὸ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν, εἶτα ἐντεῦθεν ἀναμιμνησκόμενοι τῆς ἱστορίας ἁπάσης ἐκείνης, καὶ ἀναλογιζόμενοι πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς, ὅτι παρὰ τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἐπεβουλεύθη, ὅτι εἰς λάκκον ἐῤῥίφη, ὅτι περὶ τῶν ἐσχάτων ἐκινδύνευσεν, ὅτι δεσμωτήριον ᾤκησε, καὶ τὰ ἄλλα δὴ πάντα τὰ συμβεβηκότα αὐτῷ· εἶτα, ὅτι μετ' ἐκεῖνα πάντα βασιλεὺς ἐγένετο καὶ τῆς Αἰγύπτου πρῶτος, καὶ τοσούτων κηδεμὼν καὶ προστάτης, ἱκανὰς εἶχον ἐλπίδας ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀπαλλαγῆς τῶν ἀεὶ καταλαμβανόντων αὐτοὺς δεινῶν, παιδευόμενοι διὰ τῶν ὀστῶν τοῦ δικαίου, ὅτι οὐδεὶς τῶν ἐπὶ τὸν Θεὸν πιστευσάντων, καὶ τὴν παρ' ἐκείνου συμμαχίαν ἀναμεινάντων ἐγκατελείφθη ποτέ. Κἂν γὰρ λυπηρά τινα καὶ ἀβούλητα μεσολαβῇ τὰς ὑποσχέσεις, καὶ μεταξὺ παρεμπίπτῃ, τοῦ τε τέλους οὐδέποτε ἐκκροῦσαι δυνήσεται τοὺς ἐλπίζοντας, ἀλλ' ἐκβήσεται πάντως ἐκεῖνο τὸ προῤῥηθὲν κατὰ τὴν ἄνωθεν ψῆφον, λαμπροτέρους ποιοῦν τοὺς μεθ' ὑπομονῆς ἀναμένοντας τὰ παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ θεσπισθέντα ἅπαντα. ∆ιὰ ταῦτα περὶ τῶν ὀστῶν αὐτοῦ ἐνετείλατο. ʹ. Μὴ τοίνυν ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον ὑπὲρ τῆς οἴκοι ταφῆς ἀκριβολογώμεθα, μηδὲ θάνατον τρέμωμεν, ἀλλὰ ἁμαρτίαν. Οὐ γὰρ θάνατος ἁμαρτίαν ἔτεκεν, ἀλλὰ ἁμαρτία θάνατον ἡμῖν ἐγέννησε· θάνατος δὲ ἁμαρτίας γέγονε φάρμακον. Ὅτι γὰρ οὐ χρὴ θάνατον δεδοικέναι, ἀλλὰ ἁμαρτίαν, ἄκουσον τί φησιν ὁ προφήτης· Τίμιος ἐναντίον Κυρίου ὁ θάνατος τῶν ὁσίων αὐτοῦ· καὶ ἀλλαχοῦ, Θάνατος ἁμαρτωλῶν πονηρός. Ὁρᾷς ὅτι οἱ μὲν προσέχοντες ἑαυτοῖς καὶ καρπώσασθαι τὰ μέγιστα ἀπ' αὐτοῦ δύνανται, οἱ δὲ ἠμελημένοι καὶ ῥᾳθυμοῦντες, οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ τὸ πρᾶγμα ἐν τάξει καταδίκης δεχόμενοι; Οὐχ ἁπλῶς δὲ οὐδὲ τοῦτον κινῶ τὸν λόγον, ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ πολλῶν πολλάκις ἀκούω λεγόντων περὶ θανάτου τρόπων, καὶ τοὺς μὲν οὐκ ὄντας ἐπονειδίστους αἰσχυνομένων, τοὺς δὲ μεγίστης ὄντας κατηγορίας ἀξίους οὐ διαβαλλόντων, τούτου χάριν καὶ τοῦτον βούλομαι διευκρινῆσαι τὸν λόγον τήμερον. Εὔκαιρος γὰρ καὶ οὗτος ἐν μαρτύρων ἡμέρᾳ τῆς φιλοσοφίας ὁ τρόπος. Πολλῶν γὰρ ἤκουσα λεγόντων, κυνὸς ἀτιμότερον ὁ δεῖνα τετελεύτηκεν ἐπ' ἀλλοτρίας, οὐδενὸς τῶν ἐπιτηδείων παρόντος, οὔτε τῇ γῇ παραδιδόντος, ἀλλὰ μόλις ὀλίγων γειτόνων ἀλλήλους συγκαλούντων, ἐξ ἐράνου τινὸς περισταλεὶς, οὕτω παρεδόθη ταφῇ. Ἵν' οὖν μὴ ταῦτα ἡμᾶς λυπῇ, ἀναγκαῖον καὶ ταύτην 50.692 διορθώσασθαι τὴν ὑπόνοιαν. Οὐ γάρ ἐστι τοῦτο κυνὸς ἀθλιώτερον ἀποθανεῖν, ἄνθρωπε, ἀλλὰ κυνὸς ἀθλιώτερον ἀποθανεῖν ἐστι τὸ ἐν ἁμαρτίᾳ ἀποθανεῖν, οὐ τὸ ἐπ'