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would quickly choose to make such a prayer to God? What am I saying, such a one? Indeed, who would easily endure not praying against the one who has caused him grief? For indeed the majority of men have come to such a point of beastliness, that whenever they are weak and can do no evil to the one who has grieved them, they call upon God himself for defense, and beseech him to grant them vengeance on those who have wronged them. But this man, as if making his prayer diametrically opposite and contrary to all those things, beseeches that vengeance not be granted, saying thus: May it not be granted to me from the Lord, to lay my hand upon him, speaking of his enemy as of a son, as of a true child. And not only did he spare him, but he also composes a defense on his behalf. And see how intelligently and wisely. For since, in investigating his life, he found nothing good, nor could he say, "I have not been wronged by him," or "I have not suffered evil"—for the soldiers present, who had learned of his wickedness by experience, would have spoken against these things—he goes about seeking from another direction to find a plausible defense. Then, not being able to do this based on his life or on his deeds, he took refuge in his honor, saying, "Because he is the Lord's anointed." What are you saying, he says? That he is defiled and utterly defiled, and full of countless evils, and has treated us with the worst? But he is a king, but a ruler, but he was entrusted with our leadership. And he did not say, "king," but what? "Because he is the Lord's anointed," making him worthy of reverence not from the honor from below, but from the decree from above. Do you despise your fellow servant, he says? Revere the Master. Do you spurn the one who was appointed? Fear the one who appointed him. For if we fear and shudder before these rulers who are appointed by a king, even if they are wicked, or thieves, or robbers, or unjust, or whatever else they may be, not despising them on account of their wickedness, but being moved to respect by the dignity of the one who appointed them; much more must one do this in the case of God. He has not yet removed him, he says, from his rule, nor has He made him a private citizen. Therefore let us not overturn the order, nor let us make war on God, demonstrating through our works that apostolic saying: "That whoever resists authority, has opposed the ordinance of God; and those who have opposed will receive judgment for themselves." And he called him not only anointed, but also his own lord. It is a mark of no ordinary philosophy, to address an enemy with names of honor and service. And one may see again how great a thing this is from what others experience. Many at any rate do not endure to call their own enemies by their bare and simple names, but from other names that carry great accusation—the defiled, the madman, the deranged, the crazed, the destroyer—and stringing together many other such things, thus they address their enemies. And 54.686 that this is true, I shall bring you the example not from afar, but from near at hand, from this very Saul himself. This saint, at any rate, on account of his great hatred, he did not endure to call by his own name, but when a festival was once being held, seeking for him he said: Where is the son of Jesse? And thus he called him, at the same time hating his name, and at the same time expecting to dishonor the glory of the just man by the lowliness of his father; not knowing that it is not the eminence of ancestors, but the virtue of the soul, that is accustomed to make one brilliant and distinguished. But not so the blessed David. For he neither called him by his father's name—although that man too was very lowly and rejected—nor by his bare and simple name, but by that of honor, by that of lordship. Thus was his soul pure from all hatred. You therefore too, beloved, imitate this man, and be taught this first: never to call an enemy by slanderous names, but by honorable ones. For if the mouth practices with honor and service

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ταχέως ἕλοιτο τοιαύτην εὐχὴν εὔξασθαι τῷ Θεῷ; Τί λέγω, τοιαύτην; Μὴ κατεύξασθαι μὲν οὖν τοῦ λελυπηκότος τίς ἂν ῥάδιως ὑπομείνειε; Καὶ γὰρ εἰς τοῦτο θηριωδίας ἐληλάκασιν οἱ πολλοὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ὡς, ἐπειδὰν ἀσθενήσωσι, καὶ μηδὲν δυνηθῶσι κακὸν ποιῆσαι τὸν λελυπηκότα, αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τὴν ἄμυναν καλεῖν τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ παρακαλεῖν δοῦναι αὐτοῖς ἐπεξελθεῖν τοῖς ἠδικηκόσιν. Οὗτος δὲ ὥσπερ ἐκ διαμέτρου πᾶσιν ἐκείνοις καὶ ἀπεναντίας ποιούμενος τὴν εὐχὴν, παρακαλεῖ μὴ δοῦναι ἐπεξελθεῖν, οὕτω λέγων· Μή μοι γένοιτο παρὰ Κυρίου, ἐπενεγκεῖν τὴν χεῖρά μου ἐπ' αὐτὸν, ὡς περὶ υἱοῦ τοῦ πολεμίου διαλεγόμενος, ὡς περὶ γνησίου παιδός. Καὶ οὐ μόνον ἐφείσατο, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀπολογίαν τὴν ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ συντίθησι. Καὶ ὅρα πῶς συνετῶς καὶ σοφῶς. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ τὸν βίον αὐτοῦ διερευνώμενος, οὐδὲν εὕρισκεν ἀγαθὸν, οὐδὲ εἶχεν εἰπεῖν, ὅτι Οὐκ ἠδίκημαι παρ' αὐτοῦ, οὐδὲ ἔπαθον κακῶς ἔμελλον γὰρ ἀντιφθέγγεσθαι τούτοις οἱ στρατιῶται παρόντες, οἱ τῇ πείρᾳ μαθόντες αὐτοῦ τὴν πονηρίαν, περιέρχεται ἑτέρωθεν ζητῶν ἀπολογίαν εὐπρόσωπον εὑρεῖν. Εἶτα οὐκ ἔχων ἀπὸ τοῦ βίου, οὐδὲ ἀπὸ τῶν ἔργων τῶν ἐκείνου τοῦτο ποιῆσαι, ἐπὶ τὴν τιμὴν τὴν ἐκείνου κατέφυγεν εἰπὼν, Ὅτι χριστὸς Κυρίου ἐστί. Τί λέγεις, φησί; ὅτι μιαρὸς καὶ παμμίαρος, καὶ μυρίων γέμων κακῶν, καὶ τὰ ἔσχατα ἡμᾶς διαθείς; Ἀλλὰ βασιλεὺς, ἀλλὰ ἄρχων, ἀλλὰ τὴν προστασίαν τὴν ἡμετέραν ἐνεχειρίσθη. Καὶ οὐκ εἶπε, βασιλεὺς, ἀλλὰ τί; Ὅτι χριστὸς Κυρίου ἐστὶν, οὐκ ἀπὸ τῆς κάτωθεν τιμῆς, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ τῆς ἄνωθεν ψήφου ποιήσας αἰδέσιμον. Καταφρονεῖς τοῦ συνδούλου, φησίν; Αἰδέσθητι τὸν ∆εσπότην. ∆ιαπτύεις τὸν κεχειροτονημένον; Φοβήθητι τὸν χειροτονήσαντα. Εἰ γὰρ τοὺς ἄρχοντας τούτους τοὺς ὑπὸ βασιλέως χειροτονουμένους, κἂν πονηροὶ, κἂν κλέπται, κἂν λῃσταὶ, κἂν ἄδικοι, κἂν ὁτιοῦν ὦσιν ἕτερον, δεδοίκαμεν καὶ πεφρίκαμεν, οὐ διὰ τὴν πονηρίαν καταφρονοῦντες αὐτῶν. ἀλλὰ διὰ τὴν ἀξίαν τοῦ χειροτονήσαντος δυσωπούμενοι· πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἐπὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ χρὴ τοῦτο ποιεῖν. Οὔπω παρέλυσεν αὐτὸν, φησὶ, τῆς ἀρχῆς, οὐδὲ ἰδιώτην ἐποίησε. Μὴ τοίνυν τὴν τάξιν ἀνατρέπωμεν, μηδὲ τῷ Θεῷ πολεμῶμεν, τὸ ἀποστολικὸν ἐκεῖνο διὰ τῶν ἔργων ἐπιδεικνύμενοι· Ὅτι πᾶς ὁ ἀντιτασσόμενος τῇ ἐξουσίᾳ, τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ διαταγῇ ἀνθέστηκεν· οἱ δὲ ἀνθεστηκότες, ἑαυτοῖς κρῖμα λήψονται. Οὐχὶ χριστὸν δὲ αὐτὸν ἐκάλει μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἑαυτοῦ κύριον. Οὐ τῆς τυχούσης δὲ φιλοσοφίας ἐστὶ, τὸ τὸν ἐχθρὸν τοῖς τῆς τιμῆς καὶ τῆς θεραπείας ὀνόμασι προσειπεῖν. Καὶ τοῦτο αὐτὸ πάλιν ἀφ' ὧν ἕτεροι πάσχουσιν ἴδοι τις ἂν ἡλίκον ἐστί. Πολλοὶ γοῦν τοὺς ἑαυτῶν ἐχθροὺς οὐδὲ ἀπὸ γυμνῶν καὶ ψιλῶν τῶν ὀνομάτων καλεῖν ἀνέχονται, ἀλλ' ἀφ' ἑτέρων πολλὴν ἐχόντων κατηγορίαν, τὸν μιαρὸν, τὸν μαινόμενον, τὸν ἐξεστηκότα, τὸν παραπαίοντα, τὸν λυμεῶνα, καὶ ἕτερα πολλὰ τοιαῦτα συνείροντες, οὕτω προσαγορεύουσι τοὺς ἐχθρούς. Καὶ 54.686 ὅτι τοῦτό ἐστιν ἀληθὲς, οὐ πόῤῥωθεν, ἀλλ' ἐγγύθεν οἴσω σοι τὸ παράδειγμα ἀπ' αὐτοῦ τούτου τοῦ Σαούλ. Τὸν γοῦν ἅγιον τοῦτον διὰ τὴν πολλὴν ἀπέχθειαν οὐχ ὑπέμεινε διὰ τοῦ οἰκείου καλεῖν ὀνόματος, ἀλλὰ πανηγύρεώς ποτε τελουμένης, ἐπιζητῶν ἔλεγε· Ποῦ ἔστιν ὁ υἱὸς Ἰεσσαί; Οὕτω δὲ αὐτὸν ἐκάλεσεν, ὁμοῦ μὲν αὐτοῦ τὸ ὄνομα μισῶν, ὁμοῦ δὲ τῇ τοῦ γεγεννηκότος εὐτελείᾳ προσδοκῶν λυμανεῖσθαι τὴν τοῦ δικαίου δόξαν· οὐκ εἰδὼς ὅτι λαμπρὸν καὶ ἐπίσημον οὐ περιφάνεια προγόνων, ἀλλὰ ψυχῆς ἀρετὴ ποιεῖν εἴωθεν. Ἀλλ' οὐχ ὁ μακάριος ∆αυῒδ οὕτως. Οὔτε γὰρ ἀπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτὸν ἐκάλεσε· καίτοι κἀκεῖνος σφόδρα εὐτελὴς ἦν καὶ ἀπεῤῥιμμένος· οὔτε ἀπὸ ψιλοῦ καὶ γυμνοῦ τοῦ ὀνόματος, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ τοῦ τῆς τιμῆς, ἀπὸ τοῦ τῆς δεσποτείας. Οὕτω καθαρὰ πάσης ἀπεχθείας ἦν αὐτῷ ἡ ψυχή. Καὶ σὺ τοίνυν, ἀγαπητὲ, τοῦτον ζήλωσον, καὶ τοῦτο παιδεύθητι πρότερον, μηδέποτε τὸν ἐχθρὸν ἀπὸ τῶν διαβεβλημένων, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ τῶν ἐντίμων καλεῖν ὀνομάτων. Ἂν γὰρ μελετήσῃ τὸ στόμα ἐντίμῳ καὶ θεραπείαν