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adorned with self-control and justice and all other good things, is punished both by poverty and diseases and the most terrible evils. Are these things, then, what scandalize you? These, he says. If, then, you see many of the rapacious being punished, and some, or even countless numbers, of those living in virtue enjoying good things, why do you not reverse this vote, nor accept the Master? Because this very thing is what scandalizes me more. For why, when there are two wicked men, is one punished, while the other escapes and goes away, and when there are two good men, is one honored, while the other continues to be punished? And this very thing is the greatest work of God's providence. For if He punished all the wicked here, and honored all the good here, the day of judgment would be superfluous. Again, if He punished no wicked person, nor honored any of the good, the worthless would have become more worthless and evil, as being much more slothful than the good; and those wishing to blaspheme would have accused God more, and would have said outright that our affairs are deprived of providence. For if even now, when some wicked men are punished, and some good men are honored, they likewise say that human affairs are without 49.255 providence, if not even this were happening, what would they not have said? What words would they not have cast out? For this reason, He punishes some of the wicked, but does not punish others, and He honors some of the good, but does not honor others. He does not punish all, to convince you that there is a resurrection; but He does punish some, so that by fear, through the punishment of others, He may make the more slothful more diligent. Again, He honors some of the good, so that by these honors He may draw others to the zeal of virtue; but He does not honor all, so that you may learn that there is another time for rendering to all their rewards. For if all received their due here, they would have disbelieved the doctrine of the resurrection; but if no one received their due, the majority would have become more slothful. For this reason He punishes some, and does not punish others, benefiting both those who are punished and those who are not punished; for of the one group, He cuts off their wickedness, and the others He makes more temperate by their punishment. And this is clear from what Christ Himself said. For when they reported to Him that a tower had fallen and buried some people, He said to them: Do you think that those were sinners only? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you too will suffer the same things. Do you see how those perished on account of sin, and the rest did not escape on account of righteousness, but so that by the punishments of those men they might become better? Therefore, he says, those who are punished have been wronged; for they could have, without being punished, become better themselves by the punishments of others. But if God had known they would become better from repentance, He would not have punished them. For if, foreseeing many would gain nothing from His long-suffering, He nevertheless bears with them with much forbearance, fulfilling His own part and giving them opportunity to recover at some point from their own folly, how would He have deprived those who were going to become better from the punishment of others of the gain of repentance? So that these have been wronged in nothing, both because their wickedness was cut off by the punishment, and because the punishment there will be lighter, on account of their having suffered evils here beforehand. Again, those who were not punished have been wronged in nothing. For it was possible for them, if they wished, to use the long-suffering of God for the best change, and, admiring his forbearance, to stand in awe of the excess of His patience, and to turn at some point to virtue, and by the punishments of others to gain their own salvation. But if they persist in wickedness, God is not the cause, who is long-suffering for this reason, that He might win them back, but they are unworthy of pardon, who did not use the long-suffering of God for what was needful. But it is not only this reason that one can give, for which not all are punished

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σωφροσύνῃ καὶ δικαιοσύνῃ καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἅπασιν ἀγαθοῖς κεκοσμημένος, καὶ πενίᾳ καὶ νόσοις καὶ τοῖς ἐσχάτοις κολάζεται δεινοῖς. Ταῦτ' οὖν ἐστι τὰ σκανδαλίζοντά σε; Ταῦτα, φησίν. Ἐὰν οὖν ἴδῃς καὶ τῶν ἁρπαζόντων πολλοὺς κολαζομένους, καὶ τῶν ἐν ἀρετῇ ζώντων ἐνίους, ἢ καὶ μυρίους ἀπολαύοντας ἀγαθῶν, διὰ τί μὴ λύεις ταύτην τὴν ψῆφον, μηδὲ ἀποδέχῃ τὸν ∆εσπότην; Ὅτι αὐτὸ τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ σκανδαλίζον με πλέον. ∆ιὰ τί γὰρ δύο ὄντων τῶν πονηρῶν, ὁ μὲν κολάζεται, ὁ δὲ διαφυγὼν ἀπέρχεται, καὶ δύο ὄντων ἀγαθῶν, ὁ μὲν τιμᾶται, ὁ δὲ τιμωρούμενος διατελεῖ; Καὶ τοῦτο αὐτὸ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ προνοίας μέγιστον ἔργον ἐστίν. Εἰ γὰρ πάντας ἐνταῦθα ἐκόλαζε τοὺς πονηροὺς, καὶ πάντας ἐνταῦθα ἐτίμα τοὺς ἀγαθοὺς, περιττὴ ἡ τῆς κρίσεως ἦν ἡμέρα. Πάλιν εἰ μηδένα ἐκόλαζε πονηρὸν, μηδὲ ἐτίμα τινὰ τῶν ἀγαθῶν, καὶ οἱ φαῦλοι φαυλότεροι καὶ κακίους ἂν ἐγένοντο, ὡς πολλῷ τῶν χρηστῶν ῥᾳθυμότεροι· καὶ μειζόνως οἱ βουλόμενοι βλασφημεῖν, κατηγόρησαν ἂν τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ ὁλοσχερῶς ἂν εἶπον ἀποστερεῖσθαι προνοίας τὰ καθ' ἡμᾶς. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ νῦν κολαζομένων τινῶν πονηρῶν, καὶ τιμωμένων ἀγαθῶν, ὁμοίως φασὶν ἀπρο 49.255 νόητα εἶναι τὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων πράγματα, εἰ μηδὲ τοῦτο ἐγίνετο, τί οὐκ ἂν εἶπον; ποῖα δὲ οὐκ ἂν ἐξέβαλον ῥήματα; ∆ιὰ τοῦτο τοὺς μὲν κολάζει, τοὺς δὲ οὐ κολάζει τῶν πονηρῶν, καὶ τοὺς μὲν τιμᾷ, τοὺς δὲ οὐ τιμᾷ τῶν ἀγαθῶν. Οὐ κολάζει μὲν ἅπαντας, ἵνα σε πείσῃ, ὅτι ἔστιν ἀνάστασις· κολάζει δέ τινας, ἵνα τοὺς ῥᾳθυμοτέρους τῷ φόβῳ διὰ τῆς τῶν ἑτέρων τιμωρίας ποιήσῃ σπουδαιοτέρους. Πάλιν τιμᾷ μέν τινας τῶν ἀγαθῶν, ἵνα ἑτέρους ἐπισπάσηται ταῖς τιμαῖς πρὸς τὸν τῆς ἀρετῆς ζῆλον· οὐ τιμᾷ δὲ πάντας, ἵνα μάθῃς, ὅτι ἔστιν ἕτερος καιρὸς ἀποδιδοὺς ἅπασι τὰς ἀμοιβάς. Εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἅπαντες ἐνταῦθα ἀπελάμβανον τὰ κατ' ἀξίαν, ἠπίστησαν ἂν τῷ τῆς ἀναστάσεως λόγῳ· εἰ δὲ μηδεὶς ἀπελάμβανε τὰ κατ' ἀξίαν, οἱ πλείους ἂν ἐγένοντο ῥᾳθυμότεροι. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο τοὺς μὲν κολάζει, τοὺς δὲ οὐ κολάζει, καὶ τοὺς κολαζομένους καὶ τοὺς μὴ κολαζομένους ὠφελῶν· ἐκείνων μὲν γὰρ ἐκκόπτει τὴν κακίαν, τοὺς δὲ ἑτέρους τῇ τούτων τιμωρίᾳ σωφρονεστέρους ποιεῖ. Καὶ τοῦτο ἐξ ὧν αὐτὸς εἶπεν ὁ Χριστὸς δῆλον. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἀπήγγειλαν αὐτῷ, ὅτι πύργος κατενεχθεὶς ἀνθρώπους τινὰς κατέχωσε, φησὶ πρὸς αὐτούς· Τί νομίζετε, ὅτι ἐκεῖνοι ἁμαρτωλοὶ ἦσαν μόνον; Οὒ, λέγω ὑμῖν· ἀλλ' ἐὰν μὴ μετανοήσητε, καὶ ὑμεῖς τὰ αὐτὰ πείσεσθε. Εἶδες πῶς κἀκεῖνοι δι' ἁμαρτίας ἀπώλοντο, καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ οὐ διὰ δικαιοσύνην διέφυγον, ἀλλ' ἵνα ταῖς ἐκείνων τιμωρίαις βελτίους γένωνται; Οὐκοῦν ἠδίκηνται, φησὶν, οἱ κολαζόμενοι· ἐδύναντο γὰρ μὴ κολασθέντες ταῖς ἑτέρων τιμωρίαις αὐτοὶ γενέσθαι βελτίους. Ἀλλ' εἰ ᾔδει βελτίους ἐσομένους ἐκ μετανοίας, οὐκ ἂν ἐκόλασεν ὁ Θεός. Εἰ γὰρ πολλοὺς προειδὼς οὐδὲν ἀπὸ τῆς μακροθυμίας αὐτοῦ κερδανοῦντας, ὅμως φέρει μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς ἀνεξικακίας, τὸ αὑτοῦ πληρῶν καὶ παρέχων αὐτοῖς ἀνανῆψαί ποτε ἐκ τῆς οἰκείας ἀνοίας· πῶς ἂν τοὺς μέλλοντας βελτίους ἀπὸ τῆς ἑτέρων γενέσθαι τιμωρίας, ἀπεστέρησεν ἂν τοῦ τῆς μετανοίας κέρδους; Ὥστε οὐδὲν οὗτοι ἠδίκηνται, καὶ τῆς κακίας αὐτοῖς ἐκκοπείσης τῇ τιμωρίᾳ, καὶ τῆς ἐκεῖ κολάσεως κουφοτέρας ἐσομένης, διὰ τὸ προλαβόντας ἐνταῦθα παθεῖν κακῶς. Πάλιν οἱ μὴ κολασθέντες οὐδὲν ἠδίκηνται. Ἐξῆν γὰρ αὐτοῖς, εἴπερ ἐβούλοντο, τῇ μακροθυμίᾳ τοῦ Θεοῦ πρὸς μεταβολὴν ἀρίστην χρήσασθαι, καὶ θαυμάσαντας τὸ ἀνεξίκακον αἰδεσθῆναι τῆς ἀνοχῆς τὴν ὑπερβολὴν, καὶ μεταστῆναί ποτε πρὸς ἀρετὴν, καὶ ταῖς ἑτέρων τιμωρίαις τὴν οἰκείαν κερδᾶναι σωτηρίαν. Εἰ δὲ ἐπιμένουσι τῇ πονηρίᾳ, οὐχ ὁ Θεὸς αἴτιος, ὁ διὰ τοῦτο μακροθυμῶν, ἵνα αὐτοὺς ἀνακτήσηται, ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνοι συγγνώμης ἀνάξιοι, οἱ μὴ χρησάμενοι εἰς δέον τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ μακροθυμίᾳ. Οὐ τοῦτον δὲ τὸν λόγον μόνον ἔστιν εἰπεῖν, δι' ὃν οὐ κολάζονται πάντες