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in war, the commander-in-chief in the battle line, the ark of the Lord in the camp; and I am to go away to my house, and I am to live in luxury? The soldier said these things, not knowing. And it became a reproach to the king that while the soldier did not even wish to see his own house, having come from the war, the king had so transgressed as to compel his own soldier to see his own wife, in order that he might be able to cover his own wound. He went off to the war, and the child was born. What then does he do? Since he was not able to conceal the wound, he writes to the general of the war: Take Uriah and place him in the strongest part of the war. Why? So that he might be killed. And he entrusts the letter to him. O the licentiousness! To what great cruelty sin led that most gentle man! The wronged man carried the sword against himself, and carried a letter full of blood, and went away. For it is necessary to be brief. What then happens? In the war he fell, he was slain. Behold, two sins, adultery and murder. Murder became the fruit of adultery.

6. But I say these things for the sake of sinners and those conscious of many evils in themselves,

so that hearing they might not despair of their own salvation. For it is written: You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery. For he transgressed these two first commandments. He committed adultery, and then he murdered the one who was wronged. Grievous is the ulcer, great is the wound. Therefore, when Uriah went off to the war and was slain, and immediately the concealed 55.572 sin leaped forth, then at last Nathan the prophet went to him. The desire was consummated, the transgression was fulfilled, the wronged one had been taken away. The prophet rebukes a prophet. Why? And yet David was a prophet; how then does he not heal himself? For just as physicians, when they are sick, need other physicians, and the illness harms their skill; so also here, that one was a prophet, this one was a prophet. But that one was not lying on a couch, but living in sin. They say to him: Nathan the prophet is outside. He says: Let him enter. The prophet enters. He sees him sitting with much splendor and royal pomp. And what does he say? I have a case, O king; hear me. O the wisdom of the physician! He entered holding a scalpel, in order to cut the ulcer; but he does not show it to the sick one, lest he be deprived of the healing; he hides it within, not under his garment, but under the drama of the narrative. For upon entering he did not immediately say to him: O lawless one, O profane one, O adulterer, O murderer; he does not strip bare the rebuke, nor the boldness without a mask; but he brings the scalpel concealed and says: I have a case, O king, hear me.

What then of the king? State the case. And he says: There was a certain rich man; he had many flocks and herds; and there was a certain poor man. Two men, Uriah and David. Learn the roles in the truth. The poor man had nothing but one ewe lamb (he means the woman who was the object of adultery), which ate from his table, and drank from his cup, and slept in his bosom. Do you see poverty having affection as its foundation? For among the rich there is much pomp; but among the poor the wife becomes a servant and a deaconess, and bears a child, and becomes herself both mother and nurse. But among the rich it is not so; but she bears a child, and gives it out, and pomp cuts through the affection. The mother gives birth, and does not become a nurse. For she who has become a mother is ashamed to become a nurse. But Christ is not so. For he begot us, and he himself became our nourisher. For this reason also, instead of food he fed us his own flesh, and instead of drink he gave us his own blood to drink. So the ewe lamb slept in his bosom. The tragedy was heightened by the narration of the affection. Therefore a strange man came to that rich man. Who is the stranger?

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πολέμῳ, ὁ ἀρχιστράτηγος ἐν τῇ παρατάξει, ἡ κιβωτὸς τοῦ Κυρίου ἐν τῇ παρεμβολῇ· καὶ ἐγὼ ἀπελεύσομαι εἰς τὸν οἶκόν μου, καὶ μέλλω τρυφᾷν; Ταῦτα ἔλεγεν ἀγνοῶν ὁ στρατιώτης. Ὄνειδος δὲ ἐγένετο τῷ βασιλεῖ, ὅτι ὁ μὲν στρατιώτης οὐδὲ τὴν οἰκίαν αὐτοῦ ἠβουλήθη ἰδεῖν ἐλθὼν ἐκ τοῦ πολέμου, ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς τοιαῦτα ἦν παρανομήσας, ὥστε ἀνάγκην ἐπιφέρειν τῷ ἰδίῳ στρατιώ τῃ πρὸς τὸ θεάσασθαι τὴν ἰδίαν γυναῖκα, ἵνα δυνηθῇ τὸ ἴδιον τραῦμα καλύψαι. Ἀπῆλθεν ἐπὶ τὸν πόλεμον, καὶ ἐτέχθη τὸ παιδίον. Τί οὖν ποιεῖ; Ἐπειδὴ οὐκ ἐδύνατο συσκιάσαι τὸ ἕλκος, γράφει τῷ στρατηγῷ τοῦ πολέμου· Λαβὼν τὸν Οὐρίαν στῆσον εἰς τὸ κραταιὸν μέρος τοῦ πο λέμου. ∆ιὰ τί; Ὥστε αὐτὸν ἀναιρεθῆναι. Καὶ ἐγχειρίζει αὐτῷ τὴν ἐπιστολήν. Ὢ τῆς ἀσελγείας! εἰς ὅσην ὠμό τητα τὸν πραότατον ἐκεῖνον ἡ ἁμαρτία προήγαγε! Τὴν μάχαιραν καθ' ἑαυτοῦ ἐβάσταζεν ὁ ἠδικημένος, καὶ ἐπι στολὴν ἔφερεν αἵματος γέμουσαν, καὶ ἀπῄει. ∆εῖ γὰρ ἐπιτεμεῖν. Τί οὖν γίνεται; Ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ ἔπεσεν, ἐσφάγη. Ἰδοὺ δύο ἁμαρτήματα, μοιχεία καὶ φόνος. Ὁ φόνος καρπὸς τῆς μοιχείας ἐγένετο.

ςʹ. Ταῦτα δὲ λέγω διὰ τοὺς ἁμαρτωλοὺς καὶ πολλὰ ἑαυ τοῖς συνειδότας κακὰ,

ἵνα ἀκούοντες μὴ ἀπογινώσκωσι τῆς ἑαυτῶν σωτηρίας. Γέγραπται γάρ· Οὐ φονεύσεις, οὐ μοιχεύσεις. Τὰς γὰρ δύο ταύτας πρώτας ἐντολὰς παρ έβη. Ἐμοίχευσε. καὶ τότε ἐφόνευσε τὸν ἠδικημένον. Χα λεπὸν τὸ ἕλκος, μέγα τὸ τραῦμα. Ἐπεὶ οὖν ὁ Οὐρίας ἀπελθὼν εἰς τὸν πόλεμον ἐσφάγη, καὶ εὐθέως ἐσκίρτησεν 55.572 ἡ ἁμαρτία ἡ συνεσκιασμένη, τότε λοιπὸν ἀπῆλθε πρὸς αὐτὸν Νάθαν ὁ προφήτης. Ἀπηρτίσθη ἡ ἐπιθυμία, ἐπλη ρώθη ἡ παρανομία, ἀνῄρητο ὁ ἠδικημένος. Ὁ προφήτης προφήτην ἐλέγχει. ∆ιὰ τί; Καίτοι ὁ ∆αυῒδ προφήτης ἦν· πῶς οὖν ἑαυτὸν οὐ θεραπεύει; Ὥσπερ οὖν οἱ ἰατροὶ, ὅτε νοσοῦσι, χρῄζουσιν ἑτέρων ἰατρῶν, καὶ ἡ ἀῤῥωστία τὴν τέχνην λυμαίνεται· οὕτω δὴ καὶ ἐνταῦθα προφήτης ἐκεῖνος, προφήτης οὗτος. Ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνος οὐκ ἐν κλίνῃ κείμενος, ἀλλ' ἐν ἁμαρτίᾳ διαγινόμενος. Λέγουσιν αὐτῷ· Νάθαν ὁ προφήτης ἔξω. Λέγει· Εἰσέλθῃ. Εἰσέρχεται ὁ προφήτης. Ὁρᾷ αὐτὸν καθεζόμενον μετὰ λαμπηδόνος πολλῆς καὶ τύφου τοῦ βασιλικοῦ. Καὶ τί φησι; ∆ίκην ἔχω, βασιλεῦ. ἄκουσόν μου. Ὢ σοφίας ἰα τροῦ! Εἰσῆλθε σιδήριον λαβὼν, ἵνα τέμῃ τὸ ἕλκος· ἀλλ' οὐ δείκνυσι τῷ νοσοῦντι, ἵνα μὴ στερηθῇ τῆς ἰατρείας· κρύπτει ἔνδον, οὐχ ὑπὸ τὸ ἱμάτιον. ἀλλ' ὑπὸ τὸ δρᾶμα τῆς διηγήσεως. Εὐθέως γὰρ εἰσελθὼν οὐκ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Ὦ παράνομε, ὦ βέβηλε, ὦ μοιχὲ, ὦ ἀνδροφόνε· οὐ γυ μνοῖ τὸν ἔλεγχον, οὐδὲ χωρὶς προσωπείου τὴν παῤῥη σίαν· ἀλλὰ τὸν σίδηρον ἐγκεκρυμμένον φέρει καὶ λέγει· ∆ίκην ἔχω, βασιλεῦ, ἄκουσόν μου.

Τί οὖν ὁ βασιλεύς; Εἰπὲ τὴν δίκην. Ὁ δὲ λέγει· Ἄνθρωπός τις ἦν πλούσιος·οὗτος εἶχε ποίμνια καὶ βουκόλια πολλά· ἄνθρωπος δέ τις ἦν πένης. ∆ύο ἄνθρωποι, Οὐρίας καὶ ∆αυΐδ. Μάνθανε τὰ προσωπεῖα ἐν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ. Ὁ μὲν πένης οὐκ εἶχεν εἰ μὴ μίαν ἀμνάδα (τὴν μοιχευθεῖσαν γυναῖκα λέγει), ἥτις ἀπὸ τῆς τραπέζης αὐτοῦ ἤσθιε, καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ ποτηρίου αὐτοῦ ἔπινε, καὶ ἐν τῷ κόλπῳ αὐτοῦ ἐκάθευδεν. Ὁρᾶς τὴν πενίαν φιλοστοργίας ὑπόθεσιν ἔχουσαν; Ἐπὶ μὲν γὰρ τῶν πλουτούντων πολὺς ὁ τῦφος· ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν πενή των ἡ γυνὴ ὑπηρέτις γίνεται καὶ διάκονος, καὶ τίκτει παιδίον, καὶ γίνεται αὐτὴ καὶ μήτηρ καὶ τροφός. Ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν πλουτούντων οὐχ οὕτως ἀλλὰ τίκτει παιδίον, καὶ δίδωσιν αὐτὸ ἔξω, καὶ τὴν φιλοστοργίαν διατέμνει ὁ τῦ φος. Τίκτει ἡ μήτηρ, καὶ οὐ γίνεται τροφός. Αἰσχύνεται γὰρ γενέσθαι τροφὸς ἡ γενομένη μήτηρ. Ὁ δὲ Χριστὸς οὐχ οὕτως. Ἐγέννησε γὰρ ἡμᾶς, καὶ αὐτὸς τροφεὺς ἡμῶν ἐγένετο. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἀντὶ βρωμάτων τὴν ἰδίαν σάρκα ἡμᾶς ἔθρεψε, καὶ ἀντὶ πόματος τὸ ἴδιον αὐτοῦ αἷμα ἡμᾶς ἐπότισεν. Ἡ οὖν ἀμνὰς ἐν τῷ κόλπῳ αὐτοῦ ἐκάθευ δεν. Ηὐξήθη ἡ τραγῳδία τῇ διηγήσει τῆς φιλοστοργίας. Ἦλθε τοίνυν ξένος ἄνθρωπος πρὸς τὸν πλούσιον ἐκεῖνον. Τίς ὁ ξένος;