10

ζʹ. Behold, He also makes a second proof of the forgiveness of sins. For to forgive sins is much greater than to heal the body, and as much greater as the soul is than the body. For just as paralysis is a disease of the body, so also sin is a disease of the soul; but though the one was greater, it was unseen; while the other, though it was less, was manifest. Since, therefore, He is about to use the lesser for the proof of the greater, showing that He did so because of their weakness, and condescending to their lowliness, He says: Which is easier, to say, Your sins are forgiven, or to say, Arise and walk? For what reason then does He come to the lesser thing for their sakes? Because the manifest provides a clearer proof than the unmanifest. For this reason He did not raise him up first, until He had said to them, But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins, He then says to the paralytic, Arise and walk, as if He said: The forgiveness of sins is a greater sign; but for your sakes I add the lesser also, since this seems to you to be a proof of that. For just as there, having praised the centurion for saying, Only speak a word, and my servant will be healed; for I also say to this one, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes, He confirmed his judgment by praises; and again, having rebuked the Jews on the Sabbath who found fault with Him, because He again was breaking the law, He showed that He is Lord to change laws; so also here, having said this, He makes Himself equal to God, promising what belongs to the Father alone, and having found fault with them and accused them, and having shown by His works that He does not blaspheme, He provided us an undeniable proof that He can do these things which He who begot Him also can. See, then, how He desires to establish this, that what belongs to the Father alone, these things are His also; for He did not simply raise the paralytic, but after saying: 51.61 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins; so it was His work and endeavor to show this especially, that He has the same authority as the Father.

ηʹ. Let us therefore hold fast to all these things with accuracy, both the things said previously and those before that day, and let us beseech God that they remain unmoved in our mind, and let us bring in diligence from ourselves, and let us constantly meet here. For thus we will both keep the things said before, and will acquire others again; and if anything should slip away with time, we will easily be able to recover it by constant teaching. And not only will our doctrines remain sound and incorrupt, but our life also will enjoy much care, and with pleasure and with cheerfulness we will be able to get through this present life. For whatever passion troubles the soul when we are present here, it will be able to be easily dissolved; since Christ is present now also, and he who approaches Him with faith will receive the cure easily, Does someone struggle with continual poverty, and lack necessary food, and has often gone to sleep hungry? Let him come in here and hear Paul saying that he lived in hunger and in thirst and in nakedness, and that not for one or two or three days, but continually he endured this (for indicating this, he said: To this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked), he will receive sufficient comfort, learning from what has been said, that God did not allow him to be in poverty out of hatred for him or by abandoning him; for if this were from one who hates, He would not have allowed this in the case of Paul, who was His friend more than all men; but out of care and providence, and leading him to a greater philosophy. Does another have his body besieged by disease and a myriad of evils? Sufficient comfort for him would be the bodies of these paralytics, and along with them the blessed and noble disciple of Paul, who was continually in sickness, and never took a breath from his long weakness, which Paul also said: Use a little wine for your stomach

10

ζʹ. Ἰδοὺ καὶ δευτέραν ἀπόδειξιν ποιεῖται τῆς τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων ἀφέσεως. Τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἁμαρτίας ἀφιέναι τοῦ σῶμα θεραπεῦσαι πολλῷ μᾶλλον μεῖζόν ἐστι, καὶ τοσοῦτον μεῖζον, ὅσον ψυχὴ σώματος. Ὥσπερ γὰρ τοῦ σώματος νόσος ἡ παράλυσις, οὕτω καὶ τῆς ψυχῆς νόσος ἡ ἁμαρτία· ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνο εἰ καὶ μεῖζον ἦν, ἄδηλον ἦν· τοῦτο δὲ εἰ καὶ ἔλαττον ἦν, φανερὸν ἦν. Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν μέλλει πρὸς τὴν ἀπόδειξιν τοῦ μείζονος τῷ ἐλάττονι κεχρῆσθαι, δεικνὺς, ὅτι διὰ τὴν ἀσθένειαν τὴν ἐκείνων οὕτως ἐποίησε, καὶ συγκαταβαίνων αὐτῶν τῇ ταπεινότητί φησι· Τί ἐστιν εὐκοπώτερον εἰπεῖν, Ἀφέωνταί σου αἱ ἁμαρτίαι, ἢ εἰπεῖν, Ἔγειραι καὶ περιπάτει; Τίνος οὖν ἕνεκεν ἐπὶ τὸ ἔλαττον ἔρχῃ δι' ἐκείνους; Ἐπειδὴ τὸ φανερὸν τοῦ ἀφανοῦς τρανοτέραν παρέχεται τὴν ἀπόδειξιν. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο οὐ πρότερον αὐτὸν ἀνέστησεν, ἕως οὗ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Ἵνα δὲ εἰδῆτε, ὅτι ἐξουσίαν ἔχει ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἀφιέναι ἁμαρτίας ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, τότε φησὶ τῷ παραλυτικῷ, Ἔγειραι καὶ περιπάτει, ὡσανεὶ ἔλεγε· Μεῖζον μέν ἐστι σημεῖον ἡ τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων ἄφεσις· διὰ δὲ ὑμᾶς καὶ τὸ ἔλαττον προστίθημι, ἐπειδὴ τοῦτο ὑμῖν ἀπόδειξις ἐκείνου εἶναι δοκεῖ. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐκεῖ τὸν ἑκατοντάρχην ἐπαινέσας εἰπόντα, Εἰπὲ λόγῳ μόνον, καὶ ἰαθήσεται ὁ παῖς μου· καὶ γὰρ ἐγὼ λέγω τούτῳ, Πορεύου, καὶ πορεύεται· καὶ τῷ ἄλλῳ, Ἔρχου, καὶ ἔρχεται, ἐκύρωσεν αὐτοῦ τὴν γνώμην διὰ τῶν ἐγκωμίων· καὶ πάλιν τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις ἐγκαλέσας ἐπὶ τοῦ σαββάτου μεμφομένοις αὐτῷ, ὅτι πάλιν παραλύει τὸν νόμον, ἔδειξεν ὅτι κύριός ἐστι μεταθεῖναι νόμους· οὕτω δὴ καὶ ἐνταῦθα εἰπόντα τοῦτον, ἴσον ἑαυτὸν ποιεῖ τῷ Θεῷ, ἐπαγγελλόμενος ἃ τοῦ Πατέρος ἐστὶ μόνον, μεμψάμενος αὐτοὺς καὶ αἰτιασάμενος, καὶ διὰ τῶν ἔργων ἐπιδείξας ὅτι οὐ βλασφημεῖ, ἀναντίῤῥητον ἡμῖν παρέσχεν ἀπόδειξιν, ὅτι ταῦτα δύναται, ἃ καὶ ὁ γεγεννηκώς. Ὅρα γοῦν πῶς τοῦτο κατασκευάσαι βούλεται, ὅτι ἃ τοῦ Πατρός ἐστι μόνον, ταῦτα καὶ αὐτοῦ· οὐ γὰρ ἁπλῶς ἀνέστησε τὸν παραλυτικὸν, ἀλλ' εἰπών· 51.61 Ἵνα δὲ εἰδῆτε ὅτι ἐξουσίαν ἔχει ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἀφιέναι ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἁμαρτίας· οὕτως ἔργον ἦν αὐτῷ καὶ σπουδὴ τοῦτο μάλιστα δεῖξαι, ὅτι τὴν αὐτὴν αὐθεντίαν ἔχει τῷ Πατρί.

ηʹ. Ταῦτα οὖν ἅπαντα, καὶ τὰ πρῴην καὶ τὰ πρὸ ἐκείνης εἰρημένα τῆς ἡμέρας μετὰ ἀκριβείας κατέχωμεν, καὶ τὸν Θεὸν παρακαλῶμεν ἀκίνητα μένειν ἐν τῇ διανοίᾳ τῇ ἡμετέρᾳ, καὶ τὴν παρ' ἑαυτῶν εἰσάγωμεν σπουδὴν, καὶ συνεχῶς ἐνταῦθα ἀπαντῶμεν. Οὕτω γὰρ καὶ τὰ πρόσθεν εἰρημένα φυλάξομεν, καὶ ἕτερα προσκτησόμεθα πάλιν· κἂν ἀποῤῥυῇ τι τῷ χρόνῳ, ῥᾳδίως αὐτὰ ἀνακτήσασθαι δυνησόμεθα τῇ συνεχεῖ διδασκαλίᾳ. Καὶ οὐ τὰ δόγματα μόνον ὑγιῆ καὶ ἄφθορα μενεῖ, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁ βίος πολλῆς ἀπολαύσεται τῆς ἐπιμελείας, καὶ μεθ' ἡδονῆς καὶ μετ' εὐθυμίας τὴν παροῦσαν δυνησόμεθα διανύσαι ζωήν. Ὁποῖον γὰρ ἐνοχλεῖ πάθος τὴν ψυχὴν ἐνταῦθα παραγινομένων ἡμῶν, ῥᾳδίως διαλυθῆναι δυνήσεται· ἐπεὶ καὶ νῦν ὁ Χριστὸς πάρεστι, καὶ ὁ μετὰ πίστεως αὐτῷ προσιὼν δέξεται τὴν ἰατρείαν εὐκόλως, Πενίᾳ τις πυκτεύει διηνεκεῖ, καὶ τῆς ἀναγκαίας ἀπορεῖ τροφῆς, καὶ πεινῶν ἐκαθεύδησε πολλάκις, εἰσελθὼν δὲ ἐνταῦθα, καὶ ἀκούσας Παύλου λέγοντος, ὅτι ἐν λιμῷ καὶ ἐν δίψει καὶ γυμνότητι διῆγε, καὶ ὅτι οὐκ ἐν μιᾷ καὶ δύο καὶ τρισὶν ἡμέραις, ἀλλὰ διηνεκῶς τοῦτο ὑπέμεινε (τοῦτο γοῦν ἐνδεικνύμενος ἔλεγεν· Ἄχρι τῆς ἄρτι ὥρας καὶ πεινῶμεν, καὶ διψῶμεν, καὶ γυμνητεύομεν), λήψεται παραμυθίαν ἱκανὴν, μαθὼν διὰ τῶν εἰρημένων, ὅτι οὐχὶ μισῶν αὐτὸν ὁ Θεὸς οὐδὲ ἐγκαταλιμπάνων συνεχώρησεν εἶναι ἐν πενίᾳ· οὐ γὰρ ἂν εἰ μισοῦντος τοῦτο ἦν, ἐπὶ τοῦ Παύλου, τοῦ φίλου μάλιστα πάντων ἀνθρώπων ὄντος αὐτῷ, τοῦτο συνεχώρησεν· ἀλλὰ κηδόμενος καὶ προνοῶν, καὶ εἰς πλείονα ἄγων φιλοσοφίαν. Ἄλλος τις ὑπὸ νόσου καὶ μυρίων κακῶν τὸ σῶμα ἔχει πολιορκούμενον; Ἱκανὴ τούτῳ παραμυθία γένοιτ' ἂν τῶν παραλυτικῶν τούτων τὰ σώματα, καὶ μετὰ τούτων ὁ μακάριος καὶ γενναῖος τοῦ Παύλου μαθητὴς, ὃς διηνεκῶς ἐν ἀῤῥωστίαις ἦν, καὶ οὐδέποτε ἀνέπνει ἐκ τῆς μακρᾶς ἀσθενείας, ὅπερ οὖν καὶ ὁ Παῦλος ἔλεγεν· Οἴνῳ ὀλίγῳ χρῶ διὰ τὸν στόμαχόν