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of angels the sharp and stern gaze, and the downcast countenance, does one not tremble, being shaken? Who will not fear the most terrible of all evils, the turning away of the face of the God who is by nature gentle, a lover of mankind, and merciful, from whom all creation also turns away and whom it abominates, those who through a hateful disposition have entangled themselves in so many evils, being justly indignant against them, for having forced the God who is by nature and alone a lover of mankind to appear such to them? Who will endure the boundless shame according to conscience that is about to be upon the revelation of hidden things? who will be able to measure the unceasing weeping, and that bitter and senseless tear, and the gnashing of teeth, and the wailings of those oppressed in torments, or the pain from remorse lying upon the middle of their heart, and justly consuming the depth of their soul? Who is able 15Β_038 to express the anguish arising in them from not hoping for a deadline for change, and an end of the impending punishment, nor expecting to receive 0384 a change again towards living well. For that judgment is final and unique, and terrible and truly just, and more just than it is fearsome, and perhaps for this reason more terrible, because it is also just; and enclosing for itself all the ages according to the just decree of God. Who, taking to mind the wailings and groans uttered from the midst of their heart, and laying hold of their marrow, and bitterly biting their inward parts, will be able to be free from tears? Who can bear the lamentation and the wailing without pain and the dejection over it, and with what kind of words from remorse being uttered, both of each of the punished to himself, and of all to all?

For then each one becomes a true judge of his own failings, when things appear naked in themselves, and free from every veil of deceit. Just is your judgment, O God; for you called us, and we did not obey you; and you offered us words, and we did not pay attention, but we made your counsels void; and to your words we did not pay attention. Therefore justly came upon us perdition, and destruction, and a tempest, and affliction, and siege; and now we call upon you, and you do not hear; we seek mercy from you, and we do not find it; for neither did we listen to your words; nor did we show mercy to our neighbor. For we who hated wisdom, and did not choose the fear of the Lord, nor wished to heed the counsels of God, reap such fruits of our own seeds, and are filled with our own folly. For the deceit of life blinded us, and we did not know the mysteries of God; nor did we hope at all for a reward for holiness. For this reason we were filled with the paths of lawlessness, and we journeyed through pathless deserts, that is, of divine oversight, and the way of the Lord we did not know. And now what has pride profited us, and what has wealth with arrogance contributed to us? All those things have passed away, like a shadow, and like a messenger running by, and like a ship passing through surging water; 15Β_040 of which, when it has passed by, it is not possible to find a trace, nor a path of its keel in the waves; or as of a bird flying through the air, no proof of its journey is found. All those things have passed away, leaving to us this fire as an inheritance, which remains for all the ages.

Just is your judgment, O God; for saying the same things we will henceforth never cease; we were called, and we did not obey; we were admonished, and we did not pay attention. Concerning these terrible things we were taught each day, and we despised the things being said. the words concerning these things did not grieve us then even a little; since not

8

ἀγγέλων τό δριμύ τε καί βλοσυρόν τοῦ βλέμματος, καί τοῦ προσώπου τό κατηφές οὐχ ὑποτρέμει δονούμενος; Τίς τό πάντων δεινότερον τῶν κακῶν, τήν ἀποστροφήν τοῦ προσώπου τοῦ φύσει πράου καί φιλανθρώπου Θεοῦ καί οἰκτείρμονος οὐ φοβηθήσεται, ᾧ πᾶσα κτίσις συναποστρέφεταί τε καί συμβδελύττεται, τούς διά φιλαπεχθήμονα γνώμην ἑαυτούς τοσούτοις κακοῖς περιπείραντας, ἀγανακτοῦσα κατ᾿ αὐτῶν ἐνδίκως, ὡς τοιοῦτον ἑαυτοῖς φανῆναι τόν φύσει τε καί μόνον φιλάνθρωπον Θεόν βιασαμένων; Τίς τήν κατά συνείδησιν ἀπέραντον αἰσχύνην ἔσεσθαι μέλλουσαν ἐπί τῇ φανερώσει τῶν κρυπτῶν ὑποστήσεται; τίς τόν ἀσίγητον κλαυθμόν, καί τό πικρόν ἐκεῖνο καί ἀνόητον δάκρυον, καί τό βρυγμόν τῶν ὀδόντων, καί τούς κωκυτούς τῶν ἐν ταῖς βασάνοις πιεζομένων, ἤ τόν ἐκ τῆς μεταμελείας πόνον κατά μέσης αὐτῶν ἐπικείμενον τῆς καρδίας, καί διασμύχοντα δικαίως αὐτῶν τῆς ψυχῆς τόν πυθμένα, μετρῆσαι δυνήσεται; Τίς τήν ἐγγινομένην αὐτοῖς στενοχωρίαν ἐκ τοῦ μή ἐλπίζειν προθεσμίαν μεταποιήσεως, καί τέλος τῆς ἐπικειμένης κολάσεως, μηδέ τῆς πρός τό εὖ ζῇν πάλιν μεταβολῆς 0384 ἐκδέχεσθαι προσδοκίαν, ἐξειπεῖν ἐστιν 15Β_038 ἱκανός. Τελευταῖον γάρ καί μόνον, καί φοβερόν ἐκεῖνο καί δίκαιον ὡς ἀληθῶς ἐστι τό κριτήριον, καί δίκαιον πλέον ἤ ὅσον ἐπίφοβον, καί διά τοῦτο τυχόν φοβερώτερον, ὅτι καί δίκαιον· καί πάντας ἑαυτῷ κατά τήν δικαίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ ψῆφον τούς αἰῶνας ἐναποκλεῖον. Τίς τάς οἰμωγάς καί τούς στεναγμούς τούς ἐκ μέσης αὐτῶν προφερομένους τῆς καρδίας, καί αὐτῶν καθαπτομένους τῶν μυελῶν, καί πικρῶς τά σπλάχνα καταδάκνοντας ἐπί νοῦν λαβών, δακρύων ἐλεύθερος εἶναι δυνήσεται; Τίς τόν θρῆνον καί τόν ὁλοφυρμόν ἐνέγκῃ χωρίς ὀδύνης καί τῆς ἐπ᾿ αὐτῇ κατηφείας, καί μεθ᾿ οἵων προφερομένους τῶν ἐκ μεταμελείας λόγων, τῶν τε πρός ἑαυτόν ἑκάστου τῶν κολαζομένων, καί πάντων πρός ἅπαντας;

Τότε γάρ ἀληθής ἐπιγνώμων τῶν ἐαυτοῦ πταισμάτων καθέστηκεν ἕκαστος, ὅταν ἐφ᾿ ἑαυτῶν γυμνά φανῶσι τά πράγματα, καί παντός καλύμματος ἀπάτης ἐλεύθερα. ∆ικαία ἡ κρίσις σου, ὁ Θεός· ἐκάλεις γάρ ἡμᾶς, καί οὐχ ὑπηκούομέν σου· λόγους δέ παρεῖχες ἡμῖν, καί οὐ προσείχομεν, ἀλλ᾿ ἀκύρους ἐποιοῦμεν τάς σάς βουλάς· τοῖς δέ σοῖς λόγοις οὐ προσείχομεν. Τοιγαροῦν δικαίως ἦλθεν ἐφ ἡμᾶς ἀπώλεια, καί ὄλεθρος, καί καταιγίς, καί θλίψις, καί πολιορκία· καί νῦν ἡμεῖς ἐπικαλούμεθά σε, καί οὐκ εἰσακούεις· ζητοῦμεν παρά σοῦ, καί οὐχ εὑρίσκομεν ἔλεος· οὐδέ γάρ ἡμεῖς εἰσηκούσαμέν σου τῶν λόγων· οὐδέ τῷ πλησίον ἐποιήσαμεν ἔλεος. Οἱ γάρ μισήσαντες σοφίαν, καί τόν φόβον Κυρίου μή προελόμενοι, μηδέ θελήσαντες Θεοῦ προσέχειν βουλαῖς, τοιούτους δρεπόμεθα τῶν οἰκείων σπερμάτων τούς καρπούς, καί τῆς ἑαυτῶν ἀνοίας ἐμπιπλώμεθα. Ἀπετύφλωσε γάρ ἡμᾶς ἡ ἀπάτη τοῦ βίου, καί οὐκ ἔγνωμεν μυστήρια Θεοῦ· οὐδέ μισθόν εἶναι τό σύνολον ἠλπίσαμεν ὁσιότητος. ∆ιά τοῦτο τρίβοις ἀνομίας ἐνεπλήσθημεν, καί διωδεύσαμεν ἐρήμους ἀβάτους, δηλαδή θείας ἐπισκοπῆς, τήν δέ ὁδόν Κυρίου οὐκ ἔγνωμεν. Καί νῦν τί ὠφέλησεν ἡμᾶς ἡ ὑπερηφάνια , καί τί ὁ πλοῦτος μετά ἀλαζονείας συμβέβληται ἡμῖν; Παρῆλθεν ἐκεῖνα πάντα, ὡς σκιά, καί ὡς ἀγγελία παρατρέχουσα, καί ὡς νῦς διερχομένη κυμαινόμενον ὕδωρ· 15Β_040 ἧς διαβάσης οὐκ ἔστιν ἴχνος εὑρεῖν, οὐδέ ἀτραπόν τρόπεως αὐτῆς ἐν κύμασιν· ἤ ὡς ὀρνέου διαπτάντος ἀέρα, οὐθέν εὑρίσκεται τεκμήριον πορείας. Παρῆλθεν ἐκεῖνα πάντα, τοῦτο τό πῦρ ἡμῖν ἀφέντα κληρονομίαν, εἰς πάντας διαμένουσαν τούς αἰῶνας.

∆ικαία ἡ κρίσις σου, ὁ Θεός· τά αὐτά γάρ λέγοντες οὐδέποτε λοιπόν παυσόμεθα· ἐκαλούμεθα, καί οὐχ ὑπηκούομεν· ἐνουθετούμεθα, καί οὐ προσείχομεν. Περί τούτων καθ᾿ ἑκάστην ἡμέραν ἐδιδασκόμεθα τῶν δεινῶν, καί κατεφρονοῦμεν τῶν λεγομένων. Οὐκ ἐλύπει ἡμᾶς τότε κἄν μικρόν τά περί τούτων ῥήματα· ἐπεί οὐκ