8

to send the rain of your will, so that you may not be the cause of the evil things, but a stranger to the good things, but I honor you. O the love for mankind of the Master, overcome by the goodwill of a servant! But nevertheless he himself had great presumption, as one without sin; but now he himself was shown to have fallen under sin, with God permitting and contriving it, so that from the love for mankind he himself received, he too might not be inhuman toward others. And Elijah fled, it says, a journey of forty days. Where are those words which, having spoken to the captains of fifty, he brought down fire and burned them up? God, therefore, wishing to show that even when he was performing the miracles, it was not he himself who was working, but the power of God, and see what happens. When God was at work, both kings and rulers and peoples fell; when God withdrew, even a fearsome woman stood against him; God withdrew, and his nature was exposed. But nevertheless, after Elijah fled for forty days, he came and was sleeping in a certain place, and God comes to him, the Master to the 50.735 servant, the guardian and lover of mankind; and what does he say? though knowing why he had come there, yet asking; What are you doing here, Elijah? and why are you here? hinting at his flight, as if to say, You fled. Where is that boldness? So that you may learn not to trust in yourself. What are you doing here, Elijah? and why are you here? But nevertheless Elijah answers, having one thing in mind, but saying another. For what does Elijah say to this? Lord, they have killed your prophets, and they have torn down your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek to take my life. What then does God say to him? He immediately rebukes him. It is not for this reason you fled, he says, Elijah; for you are not the only one who has not worshipped Baal; then he adds, rebuking him: I have left for myself seven thousand men, who have not bent the knee to Baal.

He rebuked him, therefore, that he did not flee for this reason, but out of fear for the woman; and one woman made such a man and so great a man a runaway and a fugitive, so that you may learn, Elijah, when you do something extraordinary, not to credit it to yourself, but to the power of God. Do you see how when grace withdrew, nature was exposed? Elijah fled a journey of forty days. O the intensity of fear! O the excess of cowardice! he fled not for one day, not for a second, not for a third, but for forty days, and he himself took to the utter wildernesses, having no food, carrying no provisions; for being intoxicated by fear, he did not think of these things, but sought out the uninhabited places. The word of the woman entered into the prophet, and just as a west wind, falling violently upon a sail, sends a cargo-ship away with its force; so the word of the woman, entering into the prophet, sent him out into the desert with great force. Where, 50.736 Elijah, are the things of that boldness? Where is that fearsome mouth? Where is the tongue that was the charioteer of the rains? Where is he who commands both elements, at one time closing heaven, at another calling fire upon the sacrifice? But nevertheless, as I said before, he did these things while grace was at work; for which reason also he is rebuked by God. Do you see how he was permitted to fall by a small sin so that he might put on a whole tunic of love for mankind? Henceforth, Elijah, you have been taught, become a lover of mankind like your Master, from what you have been taught, from what you have learned from your Master. Did you see how God permitted those pillars, those bulwarks, those towers to fall into a small sin? so that they might not by their own sinlessness cut everyone off from the Church; so that when they see someone who has sinned, and wish to show pitilessness toward him, they may remember their own sin, and share with him the same love for mankind, which they themselves have received from the Master. We have said these things not to accuse the righteous, but to prepare for you a way of salvation, so that when you sin, you may not despair of your own salvation through the memory of the righteous who have erred, and who through repentance were not diminished in honor.

8

γνώμης σῆς ὑετὸν πέμψαι, ἵνα μὴ τῶν κακῶν μὲν σὺ αἴτιος ᾖς, τῶν δὲ καλῶν ξένος, ἀλλὰ τιμῶ σε. Ὢ ∆εσπότου φιλανθρωπία εὐνοίᾳ δούλου νενικημένη! Ἀλλ' ὅμως πολλὴν αὐτὸς εἶχεν ἀπόνοιαν ὡς ἀναμάρτητος· νῦν δὲ ἐδείχθη καὶ αὐτὸς ἁμαρτίᾳ ὑποπεπτωκὼς, τοῦ Θεοῦ συγχωρήσαντος καὶ ἐπινοοῦντος, ἵνα ἐξ ὧν αὐτὸς φιλανθρωπίας ἔτυχε, καὶ αὐτὸς ᾖ πρὸς τοὺς ἄλλους μὴ ἀπάνθρωπος. Καὶ ἔφυγε, φησὶν, Ἠλίας ὁδὸν ἡμερῶν τεσσαράκοντα. Ποῦ ἔστι τὰ ῥήματα ἐκεῖνα ἃ πρὸς τοὺς πεντηκοντάρχους εἰπὼν, κατέβησε πῦρ, καὶ τούτους κατέκαυσε; Θέλων οὖν δεῖξαι ὁ Θεὸς, ὅτι καὶ ὅτε ἐποίει τὰ θαύματα, οὐκ αὐ τὸς ἦν ὁ ἐργαζόμενος, ἀλλ' ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ δύναμις, καὶ βλέπε τί γίνεται. Ὅτε ὁ Θεὸς ἐνήργει, καὶ βασιλεῖς ἔπιπτον καὶ ἄρχοντες καὶ δῆμοι· ὅτε Θεὸς ἀπέστη, καὶ γυνὴ φοβερὰ ἐπέστη· ἀπέστη ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ ἠλέγχθη ἡ φύσις. Ἀλλ' ὅμως μετὰ τὸ φυγεῖν Ἠλίαν ἡμέρας τεσσαράκοντα, ἦλθε καὶ ἐκάθευδεν ἐν τόπῳ τινὶ, καὶ ἔρχεται πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ Θεὸς, ὁ ∆εσπότης πρὸς τὸν 50.735 δοῦλον, ὁ κηδεμὼν καὶ φιλάνθρωπος· καὶ τί φησιν; εἰδὼς μὲν διὰ τί ἦλθεν ἐκεῖ, ὅμως δὲ ἐρωτῶν· Τί ὧδε, Ἠλία; καὶ τί σὺ ὧδε; αἰνιττόμενος αὐτοῦ τὴν φυγὴν, ἀντὶ τοῦ. Ἔφυγες ποῦ ἔστιν ἡ παῤῥησία ἐκείνη; Ἵνα μάθῃς, μὴ σαυτῷ θαῤῥεῖν. Τί ὧδε, Ἠλία; καὶ τί σὺ ὧδε; Ἀλλ' ὅμως ὁ Ἠλίας ἀποκρίνεται, ἄλλα μὲν ἔχων ἐν τῇ γνώμῃ, ἄλλα δὲ λέ γων. Τί γὰρ ὁ Ἠλίας πρὸς ταῦτα; Κύριε, τοὺς προφήτας σου ἀπέκτειναν, καὶ τὰ θυσιαστήριά σου κατέσκαψαν, κἀγὼ ὑπελείφθην μόνος, καὶ ζη τοῦσι τὴν ψυχήν μου λαβεῖν αὐτήν. Τί οὖν πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ Θεός; εὐθὺς αὐτὸν ἐλέγχει. Οὐ διὰ τοῦτο ἔφυγες, φησὶν, Ἠλία· οὐ γὰρ σὺ μόνος εἶ ὁ μὴ προσκυνήσας τῇ Βαάλ· εἶτα ἐπάγει ἐλέγχων αὐτόν· Κατέλιπον ἐμαυτῷ ἑπτακισχιλίους ἄνδρας, οἵτινες οὐκ ἔκαμψαν γόνυ τῇ Βαάλ.

Ἤλεγξε τοίνυν αὐτὸν, ὅτι οὐ διὰ τοῦτο ἔφυγεν, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸν τῆς γυναικὸς φόβον ἀνεχόμενος· καὶ μία γυνὴ τὸν τοιοῦτον καὶ τηλικοῦτον ἄνδρα δραπέτην καὶ φυγάδα ἐποίησεν, ἵνα μάθῃς, Ἠλία, ὅταν τι παράδοξον ποιῇς, μὴ σαυτῷ ἐπιγράφειν, ἀλλὰ τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ δυνάμει. Εἶδες πῶς ὅτε ἀπέστη ἡ χάρις, ἠλέγχθη ἡ φύσις; Ἔφυγεν Ἠλίας ὁδὸν ἡμερῶν τεσσαράκοντα. Ὢ φόβου ἐπίτασις! ὢ δειλίας ὑπερβολή! οὐ μίαν ἔφυγεν ἡμέραν, οὐ δευτέραν, οὐ τρίτην, ἀλλὰ τεσσαράκοντα ἡμέρας, καὶ αὐτὸς τὰς πανερήμους κατέλαβεν, οὐ τροφὴν ἔχων, οὐ σιτηρέσιον ἐπαγόμενος· μεθύων γὰρ ἀπὸ τοῦ φόβου, τούτων οὐκ ἐφρόντιζεν, ἀλλὰ τὰς ἀοικήτους ἐδίωκεν. Εἰσῆλθεν ὁ λόγος τῆς γυναικὸς εἰς τὸν προφήτην, καὶ καθάπερ ζέφυρος σφοδρῶς ἐμπεσὼν εἰς ἱστίον τῇ ῥύμῃ τὴν ὁλκάδα ἀποπέμπει· οὕτως ὁ λόγος τῆς γυναικὸς εἰσελθὼν εἰς τὸν προφήτην, μετὰ πολλῆς ῥύμης αὐτὸν εἰς τὴν ἔρημον ἐξέπεμψε. Ποῦ 50.736 ἔστιν, Ἠλία, τὰ τῆς παῤῥησίας ἐκείνης; ποῦ τὸ στόμα τὸ φοβερόν; ποῦ ἡ γλῶττα ἡ ἡνίοχος τῶν ὄμβρων· ποῦ ὁ ἑκατέροις ἐπιτάττων τοῖς στοιχείοις, ποτὲ μὲν οὐρανὸν κλείων, ποτὲ δὲ πῦρ καλῶν ἐπὶ τὴν θυσίαν; Ἀλλ' ὅμως, ὡς προεῖπον, ταῦτα ἐποίει τῆς χάριτος ἐνεργούσης· διὸ καὶ ἐλέγχεται ὑπὸ Θεοῦ. Ὁρᾷς πῶς μικρῷ ἁμαρτήματι συνεχωρήθη πεσεῖν ἵνα ὁλόκληρον χιτῶνα φιλανθρωπίας ἐνδύσηται; Λοιπὸν, Ἠλία, ἐπαιδεύθης, γενοῦ φιλάνθρωπος ὡς ὁ ∆εσπότης σου, ἐξ ὧν ἐπαιδεύθης, ἐξ ὧν ἔμαθες παρὰ τοῦ ∆εσπότου σου. Εἶδες πῶς συνεχώρησεν ὁ Θεὸς μικρῷ ἁμαρτήματι περιπεσεῖν τοὺς στύλους ἐκείνους, τοὺς προβόλους, τοὺς πύργους; ἵνα μὴ τῷ ἑαυτῶν ἀναμαρτήτῳ πάντας ἀπὸ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ἐκκόψωσιν· ἵνα ὅταν ἴδωσί τινα ἁμαρτήσαντα, καὶ θέλωσιν ἀσπλαγχνίαν ἐνδείξασθαι εἰς αὐτὸν, ἀναμνησθῶσι τῆς ἑαυτῶν ἁμαρτίας, καὶ τῆς αὐτῆς αὐτῷ μεταδώσωσι φιλανθρωπίας, ἧς καὶ αὐτοὶ τετυχήκασι παρὰ τοῦ ∆εσπότου. Ταῦτα εἰρήκαμεν οὐ τῶν δικαίων κατηγοροῦντες, ἀλλ' ὑμῖν ὁδὸν σωτηρίας προκαταρτίζοντες, ἵνα ὅταν ἁμαρτήσητε, μὴ ἀπογνώσητε τῆς ἑαυτῶν σωτηρίας τῇ μνήμῃ τῶν πεπλημμεληκότων δικαίων, καὶ τῇ μετανοίᾳ τῆς τιμῆς μὴ ἐλαττωθέντων.