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And just as merchants sailing across the sea, and mooring in cities, do not disembark from the harbor, nor go up into the marketplace, until they have learned that there is some profit in the things laid up there; so also you should neither do nor say anything, unless it has a profit that is according to God. And do not tell me that it is not possible to do all things for God's sake. For when putting on shoes, and cutting hair, and clothing, and walking, and appearance, and words, 48.961 and gatherings, and entrances and exits, and jests and praises, and censures and encomiums, and friendships and enmities can be for God's sake, what is there left that cannot be for God's sake, if we wish? What is worse than a jailer? Does not his life seem the most wicked of all, But it is possible for one who wishes to profit even from that, when he spares the prisoners, when he tends to those unjustly cast in, when he does not make business from another's misfortune, when he is set forth as a common harbor to all in need. Thus that jailer in the time of Paul was saved; from which it is clear that from all things, if we wish, we can do business.

6. What is more grievous than murder, tell me? But it was able once to produce righteousness

for the one who committed this bold act; so great a thing it is to do something for God's sake. And how was murder able to work righteousness? The Midianites once, wishing to make God an enemy to the Jews, and in this way expecting to overcome them, if they might deprive them of the Master's good will, adorned young women, and set them before the camp, they enticed them, and led them into fornication, and then from there into impiety. Phinehas seeing this, taking up a sword, and finding two fornicating, in the very act of sin he pierced them both, and he stayed the wrath of God by his purpose. And what was done was murder, but the right action resulting from it was the salvation of all who were perishing, from which it also brought righteousness to the one who did it. And not only did he not defile his hands, but that murder even made them purer, and very rightly so; for he did this not hating those who were killed, but sparing the rest; he killed two, and saved countless myriads. For just as physicians do, cutting out the rotten parts of limbs, they save the whole body [and make it healthy]; so also did he.

For this reason the psalmist says: Phinehas stood up and made atonement, and the plague was stayed, and it was counted to him for righteousness for generation and generation, forever. The memory of the righteous deed therefore remains immortal. Again another prayed, and offended God; so great a thing it is not to do something for God's sake; I speak of the Pharisee. But just as Phinehas, having committed murder, was well 48.962 pleasing, so also this one, not because of the prayer, but because of the disposition with which he prayed, fell by offending. Thus when something is not done for God's sake, even if what is done is spiritual, it would cause the greatest harm; just as, therefore, when it is done for God's sake, even if what is done is worldly, it greatly benefits the one who does it with a God-loving disposition. For what is worse and more grievous than murder? but nevertheless it made righteous the one who dared it. What defense, then, shall we have, we who say that it is not possible to profit from everything, and to do everything for God's sake, when someone is found who profited even from murder? If we are willing to pay attention, throughout all of life we shall carry on this spiritual business, whether it be necessary to buy something, or to sell; for instance when we do not demand more than the customary price, when we do not watch for times of hardship, and then give to those in need; For he who holds back grain is cursed by the people, he says. And why must I speak of each thing, when it is necessary to grasp the whole by one example? For just as builders, when they are about to raise a wall, stretching a line from corner to corner, so weave their building, that its surface may not become uneven; so

7

Καὶ καθάπερ οἱ ἔμποροι περιπλέοντες τὸ πέλαγος, καὶ εἰς πόλεις ὁρμίζοντες, οὐ πρότερον ἀποβαίνουσι τοῦ λιμένος, οὐδὲ εἰς τὴν ἀγορὰν ἀναβαίνουσιν, ἕως ἂν πύθωνται, ὅτι κέρδος ἔχει τι τῶν ἐκεῖ ἀποτεθειμένων· οὕτω καὶ σὺ μηδὲν μήτε πράξῃς, μήτ' εἴπῃς, ἂν μὴ κέρδος ἔχῃ τὸ κατὰ Θεόν. Καὶ μή μοι λέγε ὅτι οὐ δυνατὸν διὰ τὸν Θεὸν πάντα ποιεῖν. Ὅταν γὰρ ὑπόδεσις, καὶ κουρὰ, καὶ ἱματίων στολὴ, καὶ βάδισις, καὶ ὄψις, καὶ ῥήματα, 48.961 καὶ συνέδρια, καὶ εἴσοδοι καὶ ἔξοδοι, καὶ σκώμματα καὶ ἔπαινοι, καὶ ψόγοι καὶ ἐγκώμια, καὶ φιλίαι καὶ ἔχθραι δύνωνται διὰ τὸν Θεὸν γίνεσθαι, τί ἔστι λοιπὸν ὃ μὴ δυνατὸν γενέσθαι διὰ τὸν Θεὸν, ἂν θέλωμεν; Τί δεσμοφύλακος χεῖρον; οὐ πάντων βίος ὁ πονηρότατος εἶναι δοκεῖ, Ἀλλ' ἔξεστι τῷ βουλομένῳ κἀκεῖθεν κερδᾶναι, ὅταν τῶν δεδεμένων φείδηται, ὅταν τοὺς ἀδίκως ἐμβεβλημένους θεραπεύῃ, ὅταν μὴ πραγματεύηται ἀπ' ἀλλοτρίας συμφορᾶς, ὅταν κοινὸς προκέηται λιμὴν τοῖς δεομένοις ἅπασι. Οὕτως ὁ δεσμοφύλαξ ἐκεῖνος ἐσώθη ὁ ἐπὶ Παύλου· ὅθεν δῆλον ὅτι πάντοθεν, ἂν θέλωμεν, δυνάμεθα πραγματεύεσθαι.

ςʹ. Τί φόνου χαλεπώτερον, εἰπέ μοι; Ἀλλ' ἠδυνήθη ποτὲ δικαιοσύνην τεκεῖν

τῷ ποιήσαντι τοῦτο τὸ τόλμημα· τοσοῦτόν ἐστι τὸ διὰ τὸν Θεόν τι ποιεῖν. Καὶ πῶς ἠδυνήθη δικαιοσύνην ἐργάσασθαι φόνος; Οἱ Μαδιηναῖοι ποτὲ βουλόμενοι τὸν Θεὸν ἐκπολεμῶσαι τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις, καὶ ταύτῃ προσδοκῶντες αὐτῶν περιέσεσθαι, εἰ τῆς εὐνοίας αὐτοὺς ἀποστερήσαιεν τοῦ ∆εσπότου, κόρας καλλωπίσαντες, καὶ τοῦ στρατοπέδου προστήσαντες, ἐδελέασαν αὐτοὺς, καὶ εἰς πορνείαν ἤγαγον, εἶτα ἐκεῖθεν εἰς ἀσέβειαν. Τοῦτο ἰδὼν Φινεὲς, μεταχειρισάμενος ξίφος, καὶ πορνεύοντας δύο καταλαβὼν, ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ ἀμφοτέρους ἐξεκέντησε, καὶ ἔστησε τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν ὀργὴν ἀπὸ τῆς γνώμης. Καὶ τὸ μὲν γενόμενον φόνος ἦν, τὸ δὲ κατορθούμενον ἐξ ἐκείνου σωτηρία τῶν ἀπολλυμένων ἁπάντων, ὅθεν καὶ δικαιοσύνην ἤνεγκε τῷ ποιήσαντι. Καὶ οὐ μόνον οὐκ ἐμίανε τὰς χεῖρας, ἀλλὰ καὶ καθαρωτέρας εἰργάσατο ὁ φόνος ἐκεῖνος, καὶ μάλα εἰκότως· οὐ γὰρ τοὺς ἀναιρεθέντας μισῶν, ἀλλὰ τῶν λοιπῶν φειδόμενος τοῦτ' εἰργάσατο· ἀπέκτεινε δύο, καὶ ἔσωσε μυριάδας ἀπείρους. Καθάπερ γὰρ ἰατροὶ ποιοῦσι τὰ σεσηπότα τῶν μελῶν ἐκτέμνοντες, ὁλόκληρον σώζουσι τὸ σῶμα [καὶ ὑγιές]· οὕτω κἀκεῖνος ἐποίησε.

∆ιὰ τοῦτό φησιν ὁ ψαλμῳδός· Ἔστη Φινεὲς καὶ ἐξιλάσατο, καὶ ἐκόπασεν ἡ θραῦσις, καὶ ἐλογίσθη αὐτῷ εἰς δικαιοσύνην εἰς γενεὰν καὶ γενεὰν, ἕως τοῦ αἰῶνος. Ἀθάνατος γοῦν ἡ μνήμη τοῦ κατορθώματος μένει. Πάλιν ἕτερος ηὔξατο, καὶ προσέκρουσε τῷ Θεῷ· τοσοῦτόν ἐστι τὸ μὴ ποιεῖν τι διὰ τὸν Θεόν· ὁ Φαρισαῖος λέγω. Ἀλλ' ὥσπερ Φινεὲς φόνον ποιήσας εὐ 48.962 δοκίμησεν, οὕτω καὶ οὗτος οὐ παρὰ τὴν εὐχὴν, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τὴν γνώμην, μεθ' ἧς ηὔξατο, κατέπεσε προσκρούσας. Οὕτως ὅταν μὴ διὰ τὸν Θεὸν γίνηταί τι, κἂν πνευματικὸν ᾖ τὸ γινόμενον, τὰ μέγιστα βλάψειεν· ὥσπερ οὖν ὅταν διὰ τὸν Θεὸν γίνηται, κἂν βιωτικὸν ᾖ τὸ γινόμενον, τὰ μέγιστα ὠφελεῖ τὸν μετὰ φιλοθέου γνώμης ποιοῦντα. Τί γὰρ φόνου χεῖρον καὶ χαλεπώτερον; ἀλλ' ὅμως δίκαιον εἰργάσατο τὸν τολμήσαντα. Ποίαν οὖν ἕξομεν ἀπολογίαν ἡμεῖς οἱ λέγοντες, ὅτι οὐ δυνατὸν πάντοθεν κερδαίνειν, καὶ πάντα διὰ τὸν Θεὸν ἐργάζεσθαι, ὅταν εὑρεθῇ τις καὶ ἀπὸ φόνου κερδάνας; Ἂν ἐθέλωμεν προσέχειν, διὰ παντὸς τοῦ βίου τὴν πνευματικὴν ταύτην ἐμπορευσόμεθα πραγματείαν, κἂν πρίασθαί τι, κἂν ἀποδόσθαι δέῃ· οἷον ὅταν μὴ πλέον τῆς νενομισμένης ἀπαιτῶμεν τιμῆς, ὅταν μὴ τοὺς καιροὺς τῆς στενοχωρίας παρατηρῶμεν, καὶ τότε τοῖς δεομένοις μεταδιδῶμεν· Ὁ γὰρ τιμιουλκῶν σῖτον δημοκατάρατος. φησί. Καὶ τί χρὴ καθ' ἕκαστον λέγειν, δέον δι' ἑνὸς ὑποδείγματος τὸ πᾶν συλλαβεῖν; Καθάπερ γὰρ οἱ οἰκοδόμοι, ἐπειδὰν μέλλωσι τοῖχον ἐγείρειν, σπαρτίον τείναντες ἀπὸ γωνίας εἰς γωνίαν, οὕτως ὑφαίνουσι τὴν οἰκοδομὴν, ὥστε μὴ ἀνώμαλον αὐτῆς γενέσθαι τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν· οὕτω