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and to deliberate on all things. 1.45 Or do you not see how those who administer political affairs, when they are clothed in a garment having the royal insignia, are full of pride and for this reason want to be deemed worthy of greater honor and enjoy a bodyguard? If, therefore, those who have the insignia upon a garment wish to be revered for this, how much more you who are about to put on Christ himself. "For I will dwell in you," he says, "and walk among you, and I will be your God." 1.46 Flee, therefore, all these evil snares of the devil, and let nothing be more important to you than entering the church. And along with abstinence from foods and abstinence from evils, let our zeal for virtue be great; and let us divide all the time of the day, some for prayers and confessions, some for reading and compunction of soul, and let all our zeal be directed so that our conversations are about spiritual things. We need great exactness so as not to be caught in the snares of the evil one. For if we are required to give an account for an idle word, how much more for untimely trifles, for worldly conversations. 1.47 If, therefore, you so take thought and care for the health of your soul, you will both draw God to greater goodwill and you yourselves will enjoy greater confidence, and we with much eagerness will also give the instruction that follows, knowing that we are sowing these spiritual seeds into well-disposed ears and into a rich and deep soil. May it be that you are deemed worthy of the lavish gift from God and that we obtain his loving-kindness, by the grace and mercies of his only-begotten Son, with whom to the Father together with the Holy Spirit be glory, dominion, honor, now and forever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

2.t DISCOURSE II Of the same, a sequence for those who are about to be

enlightened, and a clear demonstration of the things accomplished symbolically and typologically in divine baptism.

2.1 Come now, let us again say a few things to those who have enrolled themselves as Christ's own, showing them both the power of the weapons they are about to receive and the ineffable goodness of the philanthropic God which he displays toward the human race, so that approaching with great faith and full assurance they might enjoy a more lavish generosity. For consider, beloved, from the very preludes the excess of his goodness. For if he deems worthy of so great a gift those who have not yet toiled nor shown anything noble, and forgives the sins committed in all their past time, if after such great generosity you, having become well-disposed, should wish to contribute what is from yourselves, of how great a reward is it likely you will be deemed worthy by the philanthropic God? 2.2 Now in human affairs, one never sees anything of this sort happen, but many people often, after many toils and hardships which they endure in hope of rewards, go back home with empty hands, either because those who were expected to give the reward have become ungrateful toward those who toiled much, or often also because they have been snatched away beforehand from their midst and were not able to fulfill their own purpose. But in the case of our Master, not only is there no reason ever to suspect such a thing, but even before we begin our labors and show what is from ourselves, he anticipates and displays his own generosity, in order that by his many benefactions he might draw us toward the care for our own salvation. 2.3 Thus, therefore, from the beginning and from of old he has continued to benefit the human race.

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ἅπαντα καὶ βουλεύεσθαι. 1.45 Ἢ οὐχ ὁρᾷς τοὺς τὰ πολιτικὰ διοικοῦντας πράγματα πῶς ἐπειδὰν ὦσιν ἐσθῆτα περικείμενοι τὰς μορφὰς ἔχουσαν τὰς βασιλικὰς μέγα φρονοῦσι καὶ διὰ τοῦτο βούλονται πλείονος ἀξιοῦσθαι τῆς τιμῆς καὶ δορυφορίας ἀπολαύουσιν. Εἰ τοίνυν ἐκεῖνοι οἱ ἐπὶ ἱματίου τὴν μορφὴν ἔχοντες ἐπικειμένην ἐντεῦθεν εἶναι αἰδέσιμοι βούλονται, πολλῷ μᾶλλον σὺ ὁ αὐτὸν μέλλων ἐνδύεσθαι τὸν Χριστόν. «Ἐνοικήσω γὰρ ἐν ὑμῖν, φησί, καὶ ἐμπεριπατήσω καὶ ἔσομαι ὑμῶν Θεός.» 1.46 Φεύγετε τοίνυν πάντα ταῦτα τὰ πονηρὰ δελεάσματα τοῦ διαβόλου καὶ τῆς εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν εἰσόδου μηδὲν ὑμῖν ἔστω προτιμότερον. Καὶ μετὰ τῆς ἀποχῆς τῶν βρωμάτων καὶ τῆς τῶν κακῶν ἀποχῆς, πολλὴ ἡμῖν γινέσθω τῆς ἀρετῆς ἡ σπουδή· καὶ τὸν καιρὸν ἅπαντα τῆς ἡμέρας διανείμωμεν, τὸν μὲν ἐν εὐχαῖς καὶ ἐξομολογήσεσι, τὸν δὲ ἐν ἀναγνώσει καὶ κατανύξει ψυχῆς καὶ ἡ σπουδὴ ἡμῶν πᾶσα γινέσθω ὥστε περὶ τῶν πνευματικῶν ἡμῖν εἶναι τὰς διαλέξεις. Πολλῆς ἡμῖν δεῖ τῆς ἀκριβείας πρὸς τὸ μὴ ἁλῶναι ταῖς τοῦ πονηροῦ παγίσιν. Εἰ γὰρ ὑπὲρ ἀργοῦ λόγου δίκας ἀπαιτούμεθα, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ὑπὲρ τῶν φλυαριῶν τῶν ἀκαίρων, ὑπὲρ τῶν βιωτικῶν διαλέξεων. 1.47 Ἂν τοίνυν οὕτω φροντίζητε καὶ ἐπιμελήσησθε τῆς κατὰ ψυχὴν ὑμῶν ὑγείας, καὶ τὸν Θεὸν εἰς πλείονα εὔνοιαν ἐπισπάσεσθε καὶ αὐτοὶ πλείονος ἀπολαύσετε τῆς παρρησίας καὶ ἡμεῖς μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς προθυμίας καὶ τὴν εἰς τὸ ἑξῆς διδασκαλίαν ποιησόμεθα, εἰδότες ὅτι εἰς εὐγνώμονας ἀκοὰς καὶ εἰς λιπαρὰν καὶ βαθύγειον ἄρουραν τὰ πνευματικὰ ταῦτα καταβάλλομεν σπέρματα. Γένοιτο δὲ καὶ ὑμᾶς δαψιλοῦς ἀξιωθῆναι τῆς παρὰ Θεοῦ δωρεᾶς καὶ ἡμᾶς τῆς παρ' αὐτοῦ τυχεῖν φιλανθρωπίας, χάριτι καὶ οἰκτιρμοῖς τοῦ μονογενοῦς αὐτοῦ Υἱοῦ μεθ' οὗ τῷ Πατρὶ ἅμα τῷ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι δόξα, κράτος, τιμή, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.

2.t ΛΟΓΟΣ Βʹ Τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἀκολουθία πρὸς τοὺς μέλλοντας

φωτίζεσθαι καὶ σαφὴς ἀπόδειξις τῶν συμβολικῶς τε καὶ τυπικῶς ἐν τῷ θείῳ βαπτίσματι τελουμένων.

2.1 Φέρε δὴ πάλιν τοῖς εἰς τὸ ἴδιον τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἀπογραψαμένοις μικρά τινα

διαλεχθῶμεν, δεικνύντες αὐτοῖς καὶ τῶν ὅπλων ὧν μέλλουσιν ὑποδέχεσθαι τὴν δύναμιν καὶ τοῦ φιλανθρώπου Θεοῦ τὴν ἄφατον ἀγαθότητα ἣν περὶ τὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐπιδείκνυται γένος, ἵνα μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς πίστεως καὶ τῆς πληροφορίας προσελθόντες δαψιλεστέρας ἀπολαύσωσι τῆς φιλοτιμίας. Ἐννόησον γάρ μοι, ἀγαπητέ, ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν προοιμίων τῆς ἀγαθότητος τὴν ὑπερβολήν. Εἰ γὰρ μηδέπω καμόντας μηδὲ ἐπιδειξαμένους τι γενναῖον τοσαύτης ἀξιοῖ τῆς δωρεᾶς καὶ τὰ ἐν παντὶ χρόνῳ πεπλημμελημένα ἀφίησιν, εἰ μετὰ τὴν τοσαύτην φιλοτιμίαν εὐγνώμονες γενόμενοι τὰ παρ' ἑαυτῶν εἰσενεγκεῖν βουληθείητε, πόσης ὑμᾶς εἰκὸς ἀξιωθῆναι παρὰ τοῦ φιλανθρώπου Θεοῦ τῆς ἀμοιβῆς; 2.2 Ἐπὶ μὲν οὖν τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων πραγμάτων οὐδέν ἐστι τοιοῦτον ἰδεῖν γινόμενόν ποτε, ἀλλὰ πολλοὶ πολλάκις μετὰ τοὺς πολλοὺς πόνους καὶ τὰς ταλαιπωρίας ἃς ὑφίστανται ἐλπίδι τῶν ἀμοιβῶν κεναῖς οἴκαδε ἀναχωροῦσι χερσίν, ἢ τῶν προσδοκηθέντων ἀμείβεσθαι ἀγνωμόνων γενομένων περὶ τοὺς πολλὰ κεκμηκότας ἢ καὶ πολλάκις προαναρπασθέντων ἐκ τοῦ μέσου καὶ μὴ δυνηθέντων ἀποπληρῶσαι τὸν οἰκεῖον σκοπόν. Ἐπὶ δὲ τοῦ δεσπότου τοῦ ἡμετέρου οὐ μόνον οὐδέν ἐστι τοιοῦτον ὑποπτεῦσαί ποτε, ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὶν ἢ ἄρξασθαι ἡμᾶς τῶν πόνων καὶ ἐπιδείξασθαι τὰ παρ' ἑαυτῶν, προλαμβάνων τὴν οἰκείαν φιλοτιμίαν ἐπιδείκνυται ἵνα ταῖς εὐεργεσίαις ταῖς πολλαῖς ἐπισπάσηται ἡμᾶς πρὸς τὴν τῆς οἰκείας σωτηρίας πρόνοιαν. 2.3 Οὕτως οὖν ἄνωθεν καὶ ἐξ ἀρχῆς εὐεργετῶν διετέλεσε τὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων γένος.