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in punishments, and in chastisements to concede everything to Him. For how is it not absurd, if we allow masters to strike their servants, knowing that they spare them, since they are their own, but God when punishing will not spare? This Paul also alluded to, saying: Whether we live, or whether we die, we are the Lord's. He does not wish, he says, for His wealth to be diminished; He knows how to punish, He punishes His own children. No one spares us more than He who brought us from non-being into being, who makes the sun rise, who sends rain, who breathes a soul into us, who gave His own Son for us. But as I said, and for which reason all these things have been said by me, let us be humble-minded, as is right, let us be moderate, as is right; let this not become an occasion of pride for us.

Are you humble, and humbler than all men? do not on this account be proud, nor reproach others, lest you lose your boast. For this reason you are humble-minded, that you might be delivered from folly. If, therefore, through it you fall into folly, it is better not to be humble-minded. For hear Paul saying: Through that which is good, death is wrought for me, that sin might become exceedingly sinful through the commandment. Whenever you come to the thought of admiring yourself for humility, consider your Master, to where He descended, and you will no longer admire yourself nor praise yourself, but you will even laugh at yourself as having done nothing. By all means, consider yourself a debtor. Whatever you do, remember that parable, "Which of you," he says, "who has a servant, says to him when he has come in, 'Recline'?" Not so, I tell you, but rather, "Stand, and serve me." Do we thank our servants for serving us? By no means. But God thanks us, not for serving Him, but for doing what is profitable for ourselves. Nevertheless, let us not be so disposed, as if He is thanking us, so that He may thank us more, but as fulfilling a debt; for indeed the matter is a debt, and all things that we do are of debt.

For if we, when we buy slaves for money, wish them to live entirely for us, and whatever they have to have for us, how much more He who brought us from non-being into being, who after this purchased us with precious blood? He paid a price for us, such as no one would endure to pay even for a child; He poured out His own blood. If, then, having ten thousand souls, we should lay them all 62.714 down, shall we repay the equivalent? By no means. Why? Because He, owing us nothing, has done this, but the whole thing was of grace, while we henceforth are debtors. And He, being God, became a slave, and not being under death, came under death in the flesh; but we, even if we do not lay down our souls for Him, will certainly lay them down by the law of nature, and unwillingly a little later will depart from it. So also with money, even if we do not give it for His sake, we shall give it up through the necessity of death. So also with humility, even if we are not humble-minded for His sake, we shall be humbled through afflictions, through calamities, through powers. Do you see, then, how great is the grace? He did not say: "For what great thing do the martyrs do? even if they do not die for Me, they will die anyway;" but He shows them much grace, because they willingly lay down what they were later going to lay down unwillingly by nature.

He did not say: "For what great thing do those who give away their money do? they will certainly lay it aside even unwillingly;" but He shows much grace to these also, and is not ashamed to confess before all that the master was fed by his slaves. For this too is the glory of a master, to have grateful servants; and this is the glory of a master, that his slaves so love him; and this is the glory of a master, to appropriate their things as his own; and this is the glory of a master, not to be ashamed to confess it before all. Let us therefore reverence such great love of Christ, let us be warmed by the affection. Even if someone is humble, even if of no account, let us hear that he loves us, most of all

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ταῖς κολάσεσι, καὶ ἐν ταῖς τιμωρίαις τὸ πᾶν αὐτῷ παραχωρεῖν. Πῶς γὰρ οὐκ ἄτοπον, εἰ ἡμεῖς μὲν δεσπότας ἐῶμεν τύπτοντας τοὺς οἰκέτας, εἰδότες ὅτι φείδονται αὐτῶν, ἅτε αὐτῶν ὄντων ἐκείνων, ὁ δὲ Θεὸς κολάζων οὐ φείσεται; Τοῦτο καὶ ὁ Παῦλος ᾐνίξατο εἰπών· Ἐάν τε ζῶμεν, ἐάν τε ἀποθνήσκωμεν, τοῦ Κυρίου ἐσμέν. Οὐ βούλεται αὐτῷ, φησὶ, τὸν πλοῦτον ἐλαττωθῆναι, οἶδε πῶς κολάζει, οἰκείους κολάζει παῖδας. Οὐδεὶς ἡμῶν μᾶλλον αὐτοῦ φείδεται τοῦ ἐκ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος εἰς τὸ εἶναι παραγαγόντος ἡμᾶς, τοῦ τὸν ἥλιον ἀνατέλλοντος, τοῦ βρέχοντος, τοῦ ψυχὴν ἐμπνέοντος, τοῦ τὸν Υἱὸν αὐτοῦ δεδωκότος ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν. Ἀλλ' ὅπερ ἔφην, καὶ δι' ὃ πάντα μοι ταῦτα εἴρηται, ταπεινοφρονῶμεν, ὡς χρὴ, μετριάζωμεν, ὡς χρή· μὴ ἀφορμὴ ἡμῖν τοῦτο γενέσθω ἐπάρσεως.

Ταπεινὸς εἶ, καὶ πάντων ἀνθρώπων ταπεινότερος; μὴ διὰ τοῦτο μέγα φρόνει, μηδὲ ἑτέροις ὀνείδιζε, μὴ ἀπολέσῃς τὸ καύχημα. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ταπεινοφρονεῖς, ἵνα ἀπονοίας ἀπαλλαγῇς. Ἂν τοίνυν δι' αὐτῆς εἰς ἀπόνοιαν πέσῃς, κρεῖττον μὴ ταπεινοφρονεῖν. Ἄκουε γὰρ Παύλου λέγοντος· ∆ιὰ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ μοι κατεργάζεται θάνατον, ἵνα γένηται καθ' ὑπερβολὴν ἁμαρτωλὸς ἡ ἁμαρτία διὰ τῆς ἐντολῆς. Ὅταν εἰς ἔννοιαν ἔλθῃς θαυμάσαι ἑαυτὸν ἐπὶ ταπεινοφροσύνῃ, νόησον τὸν ∆εσπότην σου, ποῦ κατῆλθε, καὶ οὐκέτι θαυμάσεις σαυτὸν οὐδὲ ἐπαινέσεις, ἀλλὰ καὶ καταγελάσεις σαυτοῦ ὡς οὐδὲν πεποιηκότος. Πάντως ἑαυτὸν ὀφειλέτην εἶναι νόμιζε. Ἅπερ ἂν ποιήσῃς, ἐκείνην ἀναμιμνήσκου τὴν παραβολὴν, Τίς ἐξ ὑμῶν, φησὶν, ὃς ἔχει δοῦλον, μὴ εἰσελθόντι αὐτῷ, Ἀνάπεσον, λέγει; Οὐχὶ λέγω ὑμῖν, ἀλλὰ, Στῆθι, καὶ διακόνει μοι. Μὴ χάριν ἴσμεν τοῖς οἰκέταις ἡμῶν διακονουμένοις ἡμῖν; Οὐδαμῶς. Ἀλλ' ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῖν οἶδε χάριν οὐκ αὐτῷ διακονουμένοις, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἡμῖν συμφέρον ποιοῦσι. Πλὴν ἀλλὰ μὴ οὕτω διακεώμεθα, ὡς χάριν εἰδότος αὐτοῦ, ἵνα μᾶλλον εἰδῇ, ἀλλ' ὡς ὀφειλὴν ἐκπληροῦντες· καὶ γὰρ ὄντως ὀφειλὴ τὸ πρᾶγμα, καὶ ὀφειλῆς ἐστι πάντα, ἅπερ ἂν πράττωμεν.

Εἰ γὰρ ἀργυρίου παῖδας ὠνούμενοι, πάντα ἡμῖν αὐτοὺς ζῇν βουλόμεθα, καὶ ὅσα ἂν ἔχωσιν ἡμῖν ἔχειν, πόσῳ μᾶλλον ὁ ἐκ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος εἰς τὸ εἶναι παραγαγὼν, ὁ μετὰ ταῦτα τιμίῳ αἵματι ἡμᾶς πριάμενος; Τιμὴν κατέβαλεν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν, ὅσην οὐδεὶς οὐδὲ ὑπὲρ τέκνου καταβαλεῖν ἂν ἀνάσχοιτο, τὸ αἷμα ἐξέχεε τὸ ἑαυτοῦ. Ἂν οὖν μυρίας ἔχοντες ψυχὰς, ταύτας πάσας κατα 62.714 θώμεθα, ἆρα τὴν ἴσην ἀποδώσομεν; Οὐδαμῶς. ∆ιὰ τί; Ὅτι αὐτὸς οὐκ ὀφείλων ἡμῖν τοῦτο πεποίηκεν, ἀλλὰ τὸ πᾶν χάριτος γέγονεν, ἡμεῖς δὲ λοιπὸν ὀφείλομεν. Καὶ αὐτὸς Θεὸς ὢν, δοῦλος γέγονε, καὶ οὐκ ὢν ὑπὸ θάνατον, ὑπὸ τὸν θάνατον γέγονεν ἐν σαρκί· ἡμεῖς δὲ, κἂν μὴ ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ καταθώμεθα τὰς ψυχὰς, τῷ νόμῳ τῆς φύσεως πάντως καταθησόμεθα, καὶ ἄκοντες μικρὸν ὕστερον αὐτῆς ἀποστησόμεθα. Οὕτω καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν χρημάτων, κἂν μὴ δι' αὐτὸν αὐτὰ δῶμεν, διὰ τὴν τῆς τελευτῆς ἀνάγκην ἀποδωσόμεθα. Οὕτω καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς ταπεινοφροσύνης, κἂν μὴ δι' αὐτὸν ταπεινοφρονήσωμεν, διὰ τὰς θλίψεις, διὰ τὰς συμφορὰς, διὰ τὰς δυναστείας ταπεινωθησόμεθα. Ὁρᾷς οὖν, ὅση ἡ χάρις; Οὐκ εἶπε· Τί γὰρ μέγα ποιοῦσιν οἱ μάρτυρες; κἂν μὴ δι' ἐμὲ ἀποθάνωσι, τεθνήξονται πάντως· ἀλλὰ πολλὴν αὐτοῖς οἶδε χάριν, ὅτι ἑκόντες ἀποτίθενται ὅπερ ὕστερον ἀπὸ τῆς φύσεως ἄκοντες ἔμελλον.

Οὐκ εἶπε· Τί γὰρ μέγα ποιοῦσιν οἱ τὰ χρήματα κενοῦντες; πάντως αὐτὰ ἀποθήσονται καὶ ἄκοντες, ἀλλὰ πολλὴν καὶ τούτοις οἶδε χάριν, καὶ οὐκ αἰσχύνεται ἐπὶ πάντων ὁμολογῶν, ὅτι ἐτράφη παρὰ τῶν δούλων ὁ δεσπότης. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ τοῦτο δόξα δεσπότου, τὸ οἰκέτας ἔχειν εὐγνώμονας· καὶ τοῦτο δόξα δεσπότου, τὸ οὕτω φιλεῖν αὐτὸν τοὺς δούλους· καὶ τοῦτο δόξα δεσπότου, τὸ οἰκειοῦσθαι τὰ ἐκείνων· καὶ τοῦτο δόξα δεσπότου, τὸ μὴ ἐπαισχύνεσθαι ἐπὶ πάντων ὁμολογεῖν. Αἰδεσθῶμεν τοίνυν τὴν τοσαύτην ἀγάπην τοῦ Χριστοῦ, διαθερμανθῶμεν τῷ φίλτρῳ. Κἂν ταπεινὸς ᾖ τις, κἂν εὐτελὴς, ἀκούωμεν δὲ ὅτι φιλεῖ ἡμᾶς, μάλιστα πάντων