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but by the forgiveness of sins against an enemy, it is immediately loosed. Therefore God called those things ten thousand talents, the sins against the Lord, but these one hundred denarii; which if you forgive, the ten thousand talents will be forgiven you.

βʹ. But enough has been said about prayer. If you please, let us take the discourse back a little, and return to the subject of the betrayal, and see how our Lord was delivered up. And that we may learn all the madness of the betrayer, and know the ingratitude of the disciple, and the ineffable love for mankind of the Master, let us hear the evangelist, how he relates to us his audacity: Then, he says, one of the twelve, Judas called Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said to them, 'What are you willing to give me, and I will deliver him to you?' For what is said seems to be clear, and to hint at nothing more; but if one should examine each of the things said with precision, it has much contemplation and great depth of meaning. And first, the time. For the evangelist does not note it simply; for he did not say, 'went,' simply, but added, 'Then he went.' Then; when? And for what reason does he mark the time? The evangelist, speaking by the Holy Spirit, does not simply mark the time for us; for he who speaks by the Spirit says nothing simply or in vain. What then is 'then'? Before this time, before this very hour, a woman came having an alabaster flask of ointment, and poured that oil upon the head of the Lord. The woman showed great faith, she showed great devotion, she showed great obedience and reverence; she was changed from her former life, and became better and more temperate. And when the prostitute repented, when she recognized the Lord, then the disciple betrayed the teacher. Then; when? When a prostitute, having approached, pouring out the alabaster flask of myrrh on the feet of Jesus, wiped them with her own hair, and showed great devotion, blotting out the sins of all her life through her confession. Then, therefore, when he saw her showing such devotion to the teacher, then he himself hastened to the lawless betrayal 49.385. And she indeed ascended from the very depth of wickedness to heaven itself; but he, after countless miracles and signs, after so much teaching, after the ineffable condescension, fell into the very pit of Tartarus. So great an evil is sloth and a corrupt will. Wherefore Paul also said: 'Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall'; and the prophet of old cried out: 'Does not he who falls rise again? Or he who turns away, does he not return?' so that neither he who stands should be confident, but be in constant struggle, nor he who has fallen should despair of himself. For so great is the power of the teacher, as to draw even prostitutes and tax collectors to His own obedience. What then does he say? He who drew prostitutes, did he not have the strength to draw a disciple? Yes, he had the strength to draw the disciple also; but He did not wish to make him good by force, nor to drag him to Himself by violence. For this reason the evangelist, relating to us the things concerning the ungrateful disciple, said: 'Then he went,' that is, not called by others, nor forced by another, nor having received the suggestion from another, but being moved from within he turned to this, showing that automatically, and of his own mind he rushed to this lawless, audacious deed, moved by no cause, but by the wickedness springing up from within, he pushed himself to the betrayal of the Lord: Then one of the twelve went. And this is no small charge, to say, 'One of the twelve.' For since there were also seventy other disciples, for this reason he said, 'One of the twelve,' that is, of the chosen ones, of those who associated with Him every day, of those who enjoyed great intimacy. Therefore, that you may learn that he was a disciple of the approved ones, he says, 'One of the twelve.' And the evangelist in writing does not pass over these things in silence, so that you may be persuaded that these things which seem shameful

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συγχωρήσει δὲ τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων τῶν εἰς τὸν ἐχθρὸν λύεται παραυτίκα. ∆ιὸ ἐκεῖνα μὲν μύρια τάλαντα ἐκάλεσεν ὁ Θεὸς, τὰ εἰς τὸν ∆εσπότην ἁμαρτήματα, ταῦτα δὲ ἑκατὸν δηνάρια· ἃ ἐὰν ἀφῇς, ἀφεθήσεταί σοι τὰ μύρια τάλαντα.

βʹ. Ἀλλὰ περὶ μὲν τῆς εὐχῆς ἱκανῶς εἴρηται. Εἰ δὲ δοκεῖ, μικρὸν ἀνωτέρω τὸν λόγον ἀγαγόντες, ἐπὶ τὸν τῆς προδοσίας ἐπανέλθωμεν λόγον, καὶ ἴδωμεν πῶς παρεδόθη ἡμῶν ὁ ∆εσπότης. Ἵνα δὲ καὶ τοῦ προδότου τὴν μανίαν ἅπασαν καταμάθωμεν, καὶ τοῦ μαθητοῦ τὴν ἀγνωμοσύνην γνῶμεν, καὶ τοῦ ∆εσπότου τὴν ἄφατον φιλανθρωπίαν, ἀκούσωμεν τοῦ εὐαγγελιστοῦ, πῶς ἡμῖν αὐτοῦ διηγεῖται τὴν τόλμαν· Τότε, φησὶ, πορευθεὶς εἷς τῶν δώδεκα, Ἰούδας ὁ λεγόμενος Ἰσκαριώτης, πρὸς τοὺς ἀρχιερεῖς, εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Τί θέλετέ μοι δοῦναι, κἀγὼ ὑμῖν παραδώσω αὐτόν; ∆οκεῖ μὲν γὰρ σαφὲς εἶναι τὸ λεγόμενον, καὶ μηδὲν πλέον αἰνίττεσθαι· εἰ δέ τις ἀκριβῶς ἐξετάσειεν ἕκαστον τῶν εἰρημένων, πολλὴν ἔχει θεωρίαν καὶ πολὺ τὸ βάθος τῶν νοημάτων. Καὶ πρῶτον ὁ καιρός. Οὐ γὰρ ἁπλῶς αὐτὸν ἐπισημαίνεται ὁ εὐαγγελιστής· οὐ γὰρ εἶπε, πορευθεὶς, ἁπλῶς· ἀλλὰ προσέθηκε, Τότε πορευθείς. Τότε· πότε; Καὶ τίνος ἕνεκεν ἐπισημαίνει τὸν χρόνον; Οὐχ ἁπλῶς ἡμῖν ἐπισημαίνεται τὸν καιρὸν ὁ εὐαγγελιστὴς Πνεύματι ἁγίῳ φθεγγόμενος· ὁ γὰρ Πνεύματι φθεγγόμενος, οὐδὲν ἁπλῶς οὐδὲ εἰκῆ φθέγγεται. Τί οὖν ἐστι τὸ, τότε; Πρὸ αὐτοῦ τοῦ χρόνου, πρὸ αὐτῆς τῆς ὥρας προσῆλθε κόρη ἀλάβαστρον μύρου ἔχουσα, καὶ κατέχεε τὸ ἔλαιον ἐκεῖνο ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν τοῦ Κυρίου. Ἐπεδείξατο πολλὴν πίστιν ἡ γυνὴ, ἐπεδείξατο πολλὴν θεραπείαν, ἐπεδείξατο πολλὴν ὑπακοὴν καὶ εὐλάβειαν· μετεβάλλετο ἀπὸ τοῦ βίου τοῦ προτέρου, καὶ ἐγένετο βελτίων καὶ σωφρονεστέρα. Καὶ ὅτε ἡ πόρνη μετενόησεν, ὅτε τὸν ∆εσπότην ἐπέγνω, τότε ὁ μαθητὴς τὸν διδάσκαλον παρέδωκε. Τότε· πότε; Ὅτε πόρνη προσελθοῦσα, τὸ ἀλάβαστρον τοῦ μύρου καταχέασα κατὰ τῶν ποδῶν τοῦ Ἰησοῦ, ταῖς οἰκείαις θριξὶν ἐξέμαξε, καὶ πολλὴν τὴν θεραπείαν ἐπεδείκνυτο, τὰ ἐν παντὶ τῷ χρόνῳ ἁμαρτήματα ἐξαλείφουσα διὰ τῆς ἐξομολογήσεως αὐτῆς. Τότε οὖν, ὅτε ἐκείνην ἐθεάσατο τοσαύτην θεραπείαν τῷ διδασκάλῳ ἐπιδειξαμένην, τότε αὐτὸς ἐπὶ τὴν παράνομον προδοσίαν 49.385 ἔσπευσε. Κἀκείνη μὲν ἀπ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ πυθμένος τῆς κακίας εἰς αὐτὸν τὸν οὐρανὸν ἀνῆλθεν· οὗτος δὲ μετὰ μυρία θαύματα καὶ σημεῖα, μετὰ τὴν τοσαύτην διδασκαλίαν, μετὰ τὴν ἄφατον συγκατάβασιν, εἰς αὐτὸν τὸν πυθμένα τῶν ταρτάρων κατέπεσε. Τοσοῦτόν ἐστι ῥᾳθυμία κακὸν καὶ προαίρεσις διεφθαρμένη. ∆ιὸ καὶ Παῦλος ἔλεγεν· Ὁ δοκῶν ἑστάναι, βλεπέτω μὴ πέσῃ· καὶ ὁ προφήτης πάλαι ἐβόα· Μὴ ὁ πίπτων οὐκ ἀνίσταται; ἢ ὁ ἀποστρέφων οὐκ ἐπιστρέφει; ἵνα μήτε ὁ ἑστὼς θαῤῥῇ, ἀλλ' ἐναγώνιος ᾖ διηνεκῶς, μήτε ὁ καταπεσὼν ἀπογνῷ ἑαυτοῦ. Τοσαύτη γὰρ ἡ δύναμις τοῦ διδασκάλου, ὡς καὶ πόρνας καὶ τελώνας ἐπισπάσασθαι πρὸς τὴν οἰκείαν ὑποταγήν. Τί οὖν φησιν; Ὁ πόρνας ἐπισπασάμενος, μαθητὴν οὐκ ἴσχυσεν ἐπισπάσασθαι; Ναὶ, ἴσχυεν ἐπισπάσασθαι καὶ τὸν μαθητήν· ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐβούλετο αὐτὸν ἀνάγκῃ ποιῆσαι καλὸν, οὐδὲ βίᾳ ἑλκύσαι αὐτὸν πρὸς ἑαυτόν. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ὁ εὐαγγελιστὴς διηγούμενος ἡμῖν τὰ κατὰ τὸν μαθητὴν τὸν ἀγνώμονα ἔλεγε· Τότε πορευθεὶς, τουτέστιν, οὐχ ὑφ' ἑτέρων κληθεὶς, οὔτε βιασθεὶς παρ' ἄλλου, οὐδὲ παρ' ἑτέρου δεξάμενος τὴν προτροπὴν, ἀλλ' οἴκοθεν κινούμενος ἐπὶ τοῦτο ἐτράπη, δεικνὺς ὅτι αὐτομάτως, καὶ ἐξ οἰκείας γνώμης ἐπὶ τὸ παράνομον τοῦτο τόλμημα ὥρμησεν, ἐξ οὐδεμιᾶς αἰτίας κινούμενος, ἀλλ' ὑπὸ τῆς πηγαζούσης ἔνδοθεν κακίας ἐπὶ τὴν προδοσίαν τοῦ ∆εσπότου ἑαυτὸν ὠθήσας· Τότε πορευθεὶς εἷς τῶν δώδεκα. Καὶ τοῦτο οὐ μικρὸν ἕγκλημα τὸ εἰπεῖν, Εἷς τῶν δώδεκα. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἦσαν καὶ ἕτεροι ἑβδομήκοντα μαθηταὶ, διὰ τοῦτο εἶπεν, Εἷς τῶν δώδεκα, τουτέστι, τῶν ἐγκρίτων, τῶν καὶ καθ' ἑκάστην αὐτῷ συναναστρεφομένων, τῶν πολλῆς ἀπολαυόντων τῆς παῤῥησίας. Ἵνα οὖν μάθῃς ὅτι μαθητὴς ἦν τῶν δοκίμων, φησίν· Εἷς τῶν δώδεκα. Καὶ οὐ παρασιωπᾷ ταῦτα γράφων ὁ εὐαγγελιστὴς, ἵνα σὺ πεισθεὶς ὅτι ταῦτα τὰ δοκοῦντα ἐπονείδιστα