enlightened; consider him, that if, thinking he was advocating for a man, he did not depart from the truth, when he learns to speak according to the Gospel: In the beginning was the Word; and the Word was with God, and the Word was God; what will he be? For this reason, then, He corrected him unto knowledge, accepting his struggle, but sealing his faith in him. The Savior meets him; for this man did not know his appearance. For when He sent him to the pool of Siloam to wash, He sent him blind; but when he returned seeing, he did not see the Savior, who was mingled with the crowd, but immediately, before seeing the Lord, being called into the struggle, he contended. But before he washed, the Lord made clay, and anointed his eyes, that He might fill up what was lacking. When, therefore, they cast him out, Christ, finding him, said to him: Do you believe in the Son of God? For you must not believe as in a prophet who contends, but as in the Son of God. He, not 59.550 recognizing the face, recognized the voice. Do you believe, he says, in the Son of God? He recognized the voice, and with great joy cried out, And who is he, Lord, that I may believe in him? Why do you believe the faithful one who says to you: Do you believe in the Son of God? I know that your word is true; yet if you tell me the knowledge, I do not doubt to believe you. And who is he, Lord, that I may believe in him? And the one who knows beforehand replied: You have both seen him, and he who is speaking with you is he. He who advocated within, converses without: Do you believe in the Son of God? But he who was enlightened both in body and in mind, said: And who is he, Lord, that I may believe in him? And he answering said to him: You have both seen him, and he who is speaking with you is he. And he said: I believe, Lord; and he worshipped him. These things have been said by me, so that you all may learn to follow a good teacher, and to imitate a good shepherd, and to contend for the truth; for your struggle happens with the cooperation of the great shepherd. You marveled that a blind man became an advocate of the truth after being benefited; you marveled at the thief who advocated for Christ before his benefit. For a divine soul, ever zealous for the truth, through its own trustworthiness opens many mouths to advocate for the truth. On the cross Christ was hanging, and two thieves, one on the right and one on the left, and Jews are talking nonsense, high priests are blaspheming: Behold the King of the Jews; and again, If he is the King of Israel, let him come down now from the cross, that we may see, and we will believe in him; and again, He saved others, himself he cannot save. Likewise also the crucified thief himself was also talking nonsense, saying: If you are the Son of God, save yourself and us. But the other thief said nothing, punishing the condemned with his silence. Since, therefore, the high priests and the scribes, who knew the law, or rather were ignorant of it, who ought from the prophetic readings to have confessed Christ, did not confess; God opens an unexpected mouth upon the cross, advocating for the truth. And see what he does. He does not first hear Christ's voice, and yet this man advocates, and then he is crowned. For there were crucified, it says, with him two thieves, one on the right, and one on the left; and the Savior was in the middle like a balance of truth, lightening the one who confessed, but condemning the one who blasphemed. And behold the wondrous thing. While the scribes and the high priests were blaspheming Christ, and saying: If he is the King of Israel, let him come down now from the cross, that we may see, and we will believe in him; and the other thief: If you are the Son of God, save yourself and us; the one of the thieves who was well-disposed says nothing. For the two thieves were images of the Jewish people and of our own. For the one blasphemes, and is condemned; but the other believes, and repents, and is saved. Therefore the brother of the Jewish thievery among the ungrateful says (for the ungrateful Jews were a thievish people, as the Savior testifies, saying: My house shall be called a house of prayer; but you have made it a den of thieves; and of the first indeed

φωτισθείς· ἐννόησον αὐτὸν, ὅτι εἰ ὑπὲρ ἀνθρώπου νομίζων συνηγορεῖν, οὐκ ἐξέστη τῆς ἀληθείας, ἐὰν μάθῃ εὐαγγελικῶς λέγειν· Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Λόγος· καὶ ὁ Λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ ὁ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ Λόγος· τί ἔσται; ∆ιὰ τοῦτο λοιπὸν αὐτὸν εἰς γνῶσιν διωρθώσατο, τὸν μὲν ἀγῶνα ὑποδεξάμενος, τὴν δὲ πίστιν αὐτῷ σφραγίσας. Ἀπαντᾷ αὐτῷ ὁ Σωτήρ· οὐκ ἐγνώριζε γὰρ τὸν χαρακτῆρα οὗτος. Ὅτε γὰρ ἀπέστειλεν αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ κολυμβήθρᾳ τοῦ Σιλωὰμ τοῦ νίψασθαι, τυφλὸν ἀπέστειλεν· ὡς δὲ ἐπανῆλθε βλέπων, τὸν μὲν Σωτῆρα οὐκ εἶδε τῷ πλήθει ὄντα ἀναμεμιγμένον, ἀλλὰ εὐθέως, πρὶν τοῦ ∆εσπότην ἰδεῖν, εἰς τὸν ἀγῶνα κληθεὶς ἠγωνίσατο. Πηλὸν δὲ πρὸ τοῦ αὐτὸν νίψασθαι ἐποίησεν ὁ ∆εσπότης, καὶ ἔχρισεν αὐτοῦ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς, ἵνα ἀναπληρώσῃ τὸ λεῖπον. Ὅτε οὖν ἐξέβαλον αὐτὸν ἔξω, εὑρὼν αὐτὸν ὁ Χριστὸς, εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Σὺ πιστεύεις εἰς τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ; Οὐ δεῖ γάρ σε ὡς προφήτῃ πιστεῦσαι ἀγωνιζομένῳ, ἀλλ' ὡς Υἱῷ τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ἐκεῖνος τὸ πρόσωπον μὴ 59.550 γνωρίσας, τὴν φωνὴν ἀνεγνώρισε. Σὺ πιστεύεις, φησὶν, εἰς τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ; Ἐπέγνω τὴν φωνὴν, καὶ μετὰ περιχαρείας ἐβόησε, Καὶ τίς ἐστι, Κύριε, ἵνα πιστεύσω εἰς αὐτόν; ∆ιὰ τί πιστεύεις σοι λέγοντι τῷ πιστῷ· Σὺ πιστεύεις εἰς τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ; Οἶδα ὅτι ὁ λόγος σου ἀληθής ἐστιν· ὅμως δὲ κἂν εἴπῃς μοι τὴν γνῶσιν, οὐκ ἀμφιβάλλω σοι πιστεῦσαι. Καὶ τίς ἐστι, Κύριε, ἵνα πιστεύσω εἰς αὐτόν; Καὶ ὁ προγνώστης ἀντέφη· Καὶ ἑώρακας αὐτὸν, καὶ ὁ λαλῶν μετὰ σοῦ ἐκεῖνός ἐστιν. Ὁ ἔσω συνηγορήσας, ἔξω διαλέγεται· Σὺ πιστεύεις εἰς τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ; Ὁ δὲ πεφωτισμένος καὶ τὸ σῶμα καὶ τὴν διάνοιαν, ἔφησε· Καὶ τίς ἐστι, Κύριε, ἵνα πιστεύσω εἰς αὐτόν; Ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Καὶ ἑώρακας αὐτὸν, καὶ ὁ λαλῶν μετὰ σοῦ ἐκεῖνός ἐστιν. Ὁ δὲ ἔφη· Πιστεύω, Κύριε· καὶ προσεκύνησεν αὐτῷ. Ταῦτά μοι εἴρηται, ἵνα μάθητε πάντες καλῷ διδασκάλῳ ἕπεσθαι, καὶ ποιμένα ἀγαθὸν μιμεῖσθαι, καὶ ὑπὲρ ἀληθείας ἀγωνίζεσθαι· ὁ γὰρ ὑμῶν ἀγὼν συνεργείᾳ γίνεται τοῦ μεγάλου ποιμένος. Ἐθαυμάσατε, ὅτι τυφλὸς ἐγένετο συνήγορος τῆς ἀληθείας εὐεργετηθείς· ἐθαυμάσατε τὸν λῃστὴν τὸν πρὸ τῆς εὐεργεσίας συνηγορήσαντα τῷ Χριστῷ. Ἀεὶ γὰρ θεία ψυχὴ ἀλήθειαν ζηλοῦσα, διὰ τὴν ἑαυτῆς ἀξιοπιστίαν ἀνοίγει πολλὰ στόματα συνηγοροῦντα τῇ ἀληθείᾳ. Ἐπὶ σταυροῦ ὁ Χριστὸς ἐκρέματο, καὶ δύο λῃσταὶ, εἷς ἐκ δεξιῶν καὶ εἷς ἐξ εὐωνύμων, καὶ Ἰουδαῖοι φλυαροῦσιν, ἀρχιερεῖς βλασφημοῦσιν· Ἴδε ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων· καὶ πάλιν, Εἰ βασιλεὺς Ἰσραήλ ἐστι, καταβάτω νῦν ἀπὸ τοῦ σταυροῦ, ἵνα ἴδωμεν, καὶ πιστεύσωμεν αὐτῷ· καὶ πάλιν, Ἄλλους ἔσωσεν, ἑαυτὸν οὐ δύναται σῶσαι. Ὡσαύτως καὶ ὁ συσταυρωθεὶς λῃστὴς καὶ αὐτὸς ἐφλυάρει λέγων· Εἰ Υἱὸς εἶ τοῦ Θεοῦ, σῶσον σεαυτὸν καὶ ἡμᾶς. Ὁ δὲ ἕτερος λῃστὴς οὐκ ἐλάλει οὐδὲν, τῇ σιωπῇ κολάζων τοὺς καταδίκους. Ἐπεὶ οὖν οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ οἱ γραμματεῖς, οἱ νόμον εἰδότες, μᾶλλον δὲ ἀγνοοῦντες, οἱ ὀφείλοντες ἀπὸ τῶν προφητικῶν ἀναγνωσμάτων Χριστὸν ὁμολογῆσαι, οὐχ ὡμολόγησαν· ἀνοίγει ὁ Θεὸς ἀπροσδόκητον στόμα ἐπὶ τοῦ σταυροῦ, συνηγοροῦν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ. Καὶ βλέπε τί ποιεῖ. Οὐδὲ πρῶτον ἀκούει φωνῆς Χριστοῦ, καὶ οὗτος συνηγορεῖ, καὶ τότε στεφανοῦται. Ἐσταυρώθησαν γὰρ, φησὶ, σὺν αὐτῷ δύο λῃσταὶ, εἷς ἐκ δεξιῶν, καὶ εἷς ἐξ εὐωνύμων· καὶ ἦν ὁ Σωτὴρ μέσος ὥσπερ ζυγὸς ἀληθείας, κουφίζων μὲν τὸν ὁμολογοῦντα, καταδικάζων δὲ τὸν βλασφημοῦντα. Καὶ ὅρα τὸ θαυμαστόν. Τῶν γραμματέων καὶ τῶν ἀρχιερέων βλασφημούντων τὸν Χριστὸν, καὶ λεγόντων· Εἰ βασιλεὺς Ἰσραήλ ἐστι, καταβάτω νῦν ἀπὸ τοῦ σταυροῦ, ἵνα ἴδωμεν, καὶ πιστεύσωμεν αὐτῷ· καὶ τοῦ ἄλλου λῃστοῦ· Εἰ Υἱὸς εἶ τοῦ Θεοῦ, σῶσον σεαυτὸν καὶ ἡμᾶς· οὐδὲν λέγει εἷς τῶν λῃστῶν ὁ εὐγνώμων. Οἱ γὰρ δύο λῃσταὶ εἰκόνες ἦσαν τοῦ λαοῦ τῶν Ἰουδαίων καὶ τοῦ ἡμετέρου. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ βλασφημεῖ, καὶ κατακρίνεται· ὁ δὲ πιστεύει, καὶ μετανοεῖ, καὶ σώζεται. Λέγει οὖν τῶν ἀγνωμόνων ὁ τῆς Ἰουδαϊκῆς λῃστείας ἀδελφὸς (λῃστικὸς γὰρ ἦσαν λαὸς οἱ ἀγνώμονες Ἰουδαῖοι, ὡς μαρτυρεῖ ὁ Σωτὴρ λέγων· Ὁ οἶκός μου οἶκος προσευχῆς κληθήσεται· ὑμεῖς δὲ ἐποιήσατε αὐτὸν σπήλαιον λῃστῶν· καὶ ἡ μὲν τοῦ πρώτου