11

when praying for those whose body is sick, he might say: Let the sickness of the sick indeed be brought to an end. For in order that sin, spreading further like gangrene, may not find pasture, he prays to God for the further outpouring of sin to be stopped and limited, he who loves his enemies, and wishes to do good to those who hate him, and for this reason prays for those who abuse him. And you shall direct the just. The just man is called upright; and the heart that is set aright is upright. What then does the prayer to the Prophet mean here? For he prays that the one who already has uprightness may be directed. For no one would say there is anything in the just man that is crooked or perverse or tortuous. But perhaps the request on behalf of the just man is necessary, so that the uprightness of his purpose and the unperverted nature of his mind, this may be directed by the guidance from God, so that he may never swerve from the, as it were, rule of truth due to weakness, nor be harmed by the enemy of the truth 29.244 with perverse doctrines. God, testing hearts and minds, justly. Since Scripture often takes "heart" to mean the governing faculty, and "minds" often to mean the desiring part of the soul, here also it signifies the same thing: that, O God, judge me both on the doctrines which I hold concerning piety, and on my passionate movements; for you are the one who tests hearts and minds. A "testing" is properly the inquiry brought by judges with all manner of tortures upon those being examined, so that those who hide within themselves the things being sought may, by the necessity of their pains, bring what is hidden into the open. For in the inescapable examinations of the judge, our thoughts are tested, and our actions are also tested. Therefore let no one anticipate the true judge, nor let anyone judge before the time, "until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts." Therefore, in testing hearts and minds, God reveals his own justice. Thus the heart of Abraham was tested, whether he loves God with his whole soul, and with his whole heart, when he was commanded to offer Isaac as a whole burnt offering, so that it might be shown that he does not love his son more than God; and Jacob was also tested when he was plotted against by his brother, so that his brotherly love, not being blunted by Esau's many sins, might shine forth. The hearts of these men, therefore, were tested; but the mind of Joseph was tested when, his licentious mistress having gone mad for him, he preferred the gravity of self-control to unseemly pleasure. He was tested for this reason, so that the spectators of God's judgment might agree that the honor was justly bestowed upon him, because his gravity shone exceedingly in great trials. My help is from God. Properly in wars during the attacks of the enemy, those who are warred against seek help. And so here too, one who is aware of his own unseen enemies, and sees the danger that stands over him from the enemies encamped around him, will say: My help is not from wealth, nor from bodily resources, nor from my own power and strength, nor from human kinship, but My help is from God. What sort of alliance the Lord sends to those who fear him, we have learned elsewhere from the psalm which says: The angel of the Lord will encamp around those who fear him, and will deliver them; and elsewhere: The angel who delivers me. Of the one who saves the upright in heart. Upright in heart is he whose reasoning has no inclination toward excess or deficiency, but is directed toward the mean of virtue. For he who has deviated from courage toward the lesser is perverted by cowardice; while he who is overextended toward the greater inclines toward rashness. For this reason Scripture calls those crooked 29.245 who, by excesses and deficiencies, miss the mean. For just as a crooked line is made, sometimes toward the convex, and sometimes

11

καμνόντων τὸ σῶμα προσευ χόμενος λέγοι· Συντελεσθήτω δὴ ἡ νόσος τῶν καμνόντων. Ἵνα γὰρ μὴ ἐπὶ πλέον ἕρπουσα ὡς γάγγραινα νομὴν λαμβάνῃ ἡ ἁμαρτία, εὔχεται παρὰ Θεοῦ, στῆναι καὶ ὁρι σθῆναι τὴν ἐπὶ πλέον χύσιν τῆς ἁμαρτίας, ὁ ἀγαπῶν τοὺς ἐχθροὺς αὐτοῦ, καὶ καλῶς ποιεῖν τοὺς μισοῦντας βουλό μενος, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο προσευχόμενος ὑπὲρ τῶν ἐπηρεαζόντων αὐτόν. Καὶ κατευθυνεῖς δίκαιον. Εὐθὴς ὁ δί καιος ὀνομάζεται· καὶ εὐθὴς ἡ καρδία ἡ κατωρθω μένη. Τί οὖν βούλεται ἐνταῦθα ἡ προσευχὴ τῷ Προφήτῃ; Εὔχεται γὰρ τὸν ἤδη ἔχοντα τὴν εὐθύτητα κατευθύνε σθαι. Οὐ γὰρ ἄν τις εἴποι εἶναί τι ἐν τῷ δικαίῳ σκολιὸν οὐδὲ διεστραμμένον οὐδὲ στραγγαλιῶδες. Τάχα δὲ ἀναγ καία ὑπὲρ τοῦ δικαίου ἡ αἴτησις, ἵνα τὸ κατὰ πρόθεσιν αὐτοῦ εὐθὲς καὶ τὸ ἀδιάστροφον τῆς γνώμης, τοῦτο τῇ παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ χειραγωγίᾳ κατευθυνθῇ, ὡς μήτε ὑπὸ ἀσθενείας αὐτὸν ἀπονευσαί ποτε τοῦ οἱονεὶ κανόνος τῆς ἀληθείας, μήτε ὑπὸ τοῦ ἐχθροῦ τῆς ἀλη 29.244 θείας τοῖς ἐνδιαστρόφοις δόγμασι παραβλαβῆναι. Ἐτάζων καρδίας καὶ νεφροὺς ὁ Θεὸς δικαίως. Ἐπειδὴ καρδίαν ἡ Γραφὴ πολλαχοῦ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἡγεμονι κοῦ παραλαμβάνει, νεφροὺς δὲ πολλαχοῦ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἐπιθυμητικοῦ τῆς ψυχῆς, καὶ ἐνταῦθα τὸ αὐτὸ ση μαίνει· ὅτι, Ὁ Θεὸς, κρῖνόν με ἐπί τε τοῖς δόγμα σιν οἷς ἔχω περὶ τῆς εὐσεβείας, καὶ ἐπὶ τοῖς κινή μασι τοῖς παθητικοῖς· σὺ γὰρ εἶ ὁ ἐτάζων καρδίας καὶ νεφρούς. Ἐτασμὸς κυρίως ἐστὶν ἡ μετὰ πασῶν βασάνων προσαγομένη ἔρευνα παρὰ τῶν κριτῶν τοῖς ἐξεταζομένοις, ἵνα οἱ κρύπτοντες παρ' ἑαυτοῖς τὰ ἐπιζητούμενα τῇ ἀνάγκῃ τῶν πόνων εἰς τὸ ἐμφανὲς καταστήσωσι τὸ λανθάνον. Ἐν γὰρ τοῖς ἀπαραλο γίστοις ἐξετασμοῖς τοῦ κριτοῦ ἐτάζονται μὲν ἡμῶν οἱ λογισμοὶ, ἐτάζονται δὲ καὶ αἱ πράξεις. Μηδεὶς οὖν προλαμβανέτω τὸν ἀληθινὸν κριτὴν, μηδὲ πρὸ καιροῦ τις κρινέτω, Ἕως ἂν ἔλθῃ ὁ Κύριος, ὃς καὶ φωτίσει τὰ κρυπτὰ τοῦ σκότους, καὶ φανε ρώσει τὰς βουλὰς τῶν καρδιῶν. Ἐν οὖν τῷ ἐτάζειν καρδίας καὶ νεφροὺς ὁ Θεὸς τὸ ἑαυτοῦ δίκαιον ἀνα φαίνει. Ἠτάσθη μὲν οὖν ἡ καρδία τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ, εἰ ἀγαπᾷ τὸν Θεὸν ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας, ὅτε ἐκελεύσθη ὁλοκαύτωμα ἀνενεγ κεῖν τὸν Ἰσαὰκ, ἵνα φανῇ, ὅτι οὐκ ἀγαπᾷ τὸν υἱὸν ὑπὲρ τὸν Θεόν· ἠτάσθη δὲ καὶ Ἰακὼβ ἐπιβουλευόμε νος ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ, ἵνα λάμψῃ ἐν τοσούτοις ἁμαρ τήμασι τοῦ Ἡσαῦ μὴ ἀμβλυνομένη αὐτοῦ ἡ φιλαδελ φία. Τούτων μὲν οὖν αἱ καρδίαι ἠτάσθησαν· νεφροὶ δὲ ἠτάσθησαν τοῦ Ἰωσὴφ, ὅτε, ἐπιμανείσης αὐτῷ τῆς ἀκολάστου δεσποίνης, τὸ σεμνὸν τῆς σωφροσύνης τῆς ἀσχήμονος ἡδονῆς προετίμησεν. Εἰς τοῦτο δὲ ἠτάσθη, ἵνα οἱ θεαταὶ τῆς κρίσεως τοῦ Θεοῦ συνθῶνται δικαίως ἀπονεμομένην αὐτῷ τὴν τιμὴν, διὰ τὸ ἐν μεγάλοις δοκιμαστηρίοις ὑπερλάμψαι αὐτοῦ τὴν σεμνότητα. Ἡ βοήθειά μου παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ. Κυρίως ἐν πολέμοις κατὰ τὰς ἐφόδους τῶν ἐναντίων τὰς βοη θείας ἐπιζητοῦσιν οἱ πολεμούμενοι. Καὶ ἐνταῦθα τοί νυν ὁ τῶν ἀοράτων ἐχθρῶν ἑαυτοῦ ἐπαισθανόμενος, καὶ τὸν ἐφεστῶτα αὐτῷ κίνδυνον παρὰ τῶν περιστρα τοπεδευομένων αὐτὸν πολεμίων ὁρῶν, ἐρεῖ· Ἡ βοή θειά μου οὐκ ἐκ πλούτου, οὐδὲ ἐκ σωματικῶν ἀφορ μῶν, οὐδὲ ἐκ δυνάμεως καὶ ἰσχύος ἐμῆς, οὐδὲ ἐκ συγγενείας ἀνθρωπίνης, ἀλλ' Ἡ βοήθειά μου παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ποταπὴν δὲ συμμαχίαν ἀποστέλλει τοῖς φοβουμένοις αὐτὸν ὁ Κύριος, ἀλλαχοῦ μεμαθήκαμεν τοῦ ψαλμοῦ λέγοντος· Παρεμβαλεῖ ἄγγελος Κυρίου κύκλῳ τῶν φοβουμένων αὐτὸν, καὶ ῥύσεται αὐ τούς· καὶ ἀλλαχοῦ· Ὁ ἄγγελος ὁ ῥυόμενός με. Τοῦ σώζοντος τοὺς εὐθεῖς τῇ καρδίᾳ. Εὐθύς ἐστι τῇ καρδίᾳ ὁ τὸν λογισμὸν μὴ ἔχων ῥέποντα πρὸς ὑπερβολὴν μηδὲ ἔλλειψιν, ἀλλ' ἀπευθυνόμενος πρὸς τὸ μέσον τῆς ἀρετῆς. Ὁ γὰρ ἀπὸ τῆς ἀνδρίας ἐπὶ τὸ ἔλαττον παρεκκλίνας κατὰ δειλίαν διαστρέφε ται· ὁ δὲ ἐπὶ πλέον ὑπερταθεὶς ἐπὶ τὴν θρασύτητα ἀποκλίνει. ∆ιόπερ τούτους σκολιοὺς ἡ Γραφὴ ὀνομά 29.245 ζει, τοὺς ταῖς ὑπερβολαῖς καὶ ἐλλείψεσι τοῦ μέσου διαμαρτάνοντας. Ὥσπερ γὰρ σκολιὰ γραμμὴ γίνε ται, ποτὲ μὲν ἐπὶ τὸ κυρτὸν, ποτὲ δὲ