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to pray, and the Pharisee began to enumerate his virtues. I am not, he says, a sinner like the rest of the world, nor like this publican. Miserable and wretched soul, you have condemned the whole world, why did you also afflict the one near you? Was the world not enough for you, that you also condemned the publican? From here you slandered everyone, and you did not spare even this one man. I am not like the rest of the world, nor like this publican; I fast twice a week, I give a tenth of my possessions to the poor. He uttered words of arrogance. Wretched man, 49.290 so be it, you have condemned the world, why did you also rebuke the publican near you? Were you not sated with the accusation of the world, that you also condemned the one with you? What then of the publican? Hearing these things, he did not say: Who are you to say such things to me? How do you know my life? You have not associated with me; you have not lived with me, you have not spent time with me; why are you so proud? For who testifies to your good works? Why do you praise yourself? Why do you gratify yourself? But the publican said none of these things, but bowing down he worshipped and said: O God, be merciful to me, the sinner; and having humbled himself, the publican became righteous. But the Pharisee went down from the temple having lost his righteousness, and the publican went down having gained righteousness; and words conquered deeds. For the one lost righteousness by his works, but the other gained righteousness by a word of humility. And yet that was not humility; for humility is this, when someone who is great humbles himself; but this of the publican was not humility, but truth; for his words were true; for he was a sinner. 5. For what is worse than a publican, tell me? He is a dealer in the misfortunes of others, a sharer in the labors of others; and he does not consider the toil, but shares in the profit; so that the sin of the publican is extreme. For a publican is nothing else than open violence, lawful sin, specious greed. For what is worse than a publican who sits by the road, and reaps the fruits of others' labors, and when there is toil, he has no care, but when there is profit, from that which he did not labor, he takes his share? So if the publican, being a sinner, obtained so great a gift by humbling himself, how much more one who is virtuous and humble? So if you confess your sins and humble yourself, you become righteous. But do you wish to learn who is humble? Look at Paul, the truly humble, Paul the teacher of the world, the spiritual orator, the chosen instrument, the waveless harbor, the unshaken tower, the one who in a small body encircled the world, and like someone with wings ran around it; look at him humbling himself, the unlearned and the philosopher, the poor and the rich. Him I call truly humble, who endured countless labors, who displayed countless trophies against the devil, who preached and said, His grace toward me was not in vain, but I labored more than all of them; he who endured prisons, and scourgings; he who captivated the world through his Epistles; he who was called by a heavenly voice, he humbles himself, saying: For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle. Have you seen the greatness of humility, have you seen Paul humbling himself, calling himself least? For I am, he says, the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle. For this is truly humility, to be humbled in all things, and to call oneself least. Consider who it was that spoke these words: Paul, the citizen of heaven, who was simply 49.291 clothed in a body, the pillar of the Churches, the earthly angel, the heavenly man.

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προσεύξασθαι, καὶ ἤρξατο ὁ Φαρισαῖος τὰς ἀρετὰς αὐτοῦ ἀπαριθμεῖσθαι. Οὐκ εἰμὶ κἀγὼ, φησὶν, ἁμαρτωλὸς ὡς πᾶς ὁ κόσμος, οὔτε ὡς ὁ τελώνης οὗτος. Ἀθλία καὶ ταλαίπωρε ψυχὴ, ὅλην τὴν οἰκουμένην κατεδίκασας, διὰ τί καὶ τὸν ἐγγύς σου ἔθλιψας; οὐκ ἤρκεσέ σοι ἡ οἰκουμένη, εἰ μὴ καὶ τὸν τελώνην κατέκρινας; πάντας ἐντεῦθεν διέβαλες, καὶ οὐδὲ τοῦ ἑνὸς ἀνδρὸς ἐφείσω. Οὐκ εἰμὶ ἐγὼ ὡς πᾶς ὁ κόσμος, οὐδὲ ὡς ὁ τελώνης οὗτος· δεύτερον τῆς ἑβδομάδος νηστεύω, ἀποδεκατῶ τὰ ὑπάρχοντά μου τοῖς πτωχοῖς. Ἀλαζονείας ῥήματα ἐφθέγξατο. Ἄθλιε ἄνθρωπε, 49.290 ἔστω, τὴν οἰκουμένην κατεδίκασας, τί καὶ τὸν ἐγγύς σου τελώνην ἐπέπληξας; οὐκ ἐνεπλήσθης τῇ κατηγορίᾳ τῆς οἰκουμένης, εἰ μὴ καὶ τὸν σὺν σοὶ κατέκρινας; Τί οὖν ὁ τελώνης; Ἀκούσας ταῦτα οὐκ εἶπε· Σὺ γὰρ τίς εἶ ὁ τοιαῦτά μοι λέγων; πόθεν οἶδας τὸν βίον μου; οὐ συνανεστράφης μοι· οὐ συνέμεινας, οὐ συνεχρόνισας· διὰ τί τοσοῦτον ὑπερηφανεύῃ; σοὶ γὰρ τίς μαρτυρεῖ ἀγαθοεργίας; τί σεαυτὸν ἐπαινεῖς; τί σεαυτῷ χαρίζῃ; Ἀλλ' οὐδὲν τούτων εἶπεν ὁ τελώνης, ἀλλὰ κύψας προσεκύνησε καὶ εἶπεν· Ὁ Θεὸς, ἱλάσθητί μοι τῷ ἁμαρτωλῷ· καὶ ταπεινοφρονήσας ὁ τελώνης ἐγένετο δίκαιος. Ὁ δὲ Φαρισαῖος κατῆλθεν ἐκ τοῦ ἱεροῦ δικαιοσύνην ἀπολέσας, καὶ ὁ τελώνης κατῆλθε δικαιοσύνην κτησάμενος· καὶ ῥήματα πράγματα ἐνίκησαν. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ ἔργοις δικαιοσύνην ἀπώλεσεν, ὁ δὲ λόγῳ ταπεινοφροσύνης δικαιοσύνην ἐκτήσατο. Καίτοι γε οὐδὲ ταπεινοφροσύνη ἦν ἐκεῖνο· ταπεινοφροσύνη γὰρ τοῦτό ἐστιν, ὅταν τις μέγας ὢν ἑαυτὸν ταπεινοῖ· τοῦτο δὲ τοῦ τελώνου οὐκ ἦν ταπεινοφροσύνη, ἀλλ' ἀλήθεια· ἀληθινὰ γὰρ ἦν τὰ ῥήματα· ἁμαρτωλὸς γὰρ ἦν. εʹ. Τί γὰρ τελώνου χεῖρον, εἰπέ μοι; τῶν ἀλλοτρίων συμφορῶν ἐστι πραγματευτὴς, τῶν ἀλλοτρίων πόνων συμμεριστής· καὶ τὸν μὲν κάματον οὐκ ἐπιβλέπει, τὸ δὲ κέρδος συμμερίζεται· ὥστε ἐσχάτη ἁμαρτία τοῦ τελώνου. Οὐδὲν γὰρ ἄλλο ἐστὶ τελώνης ἢ πεπαῤῥησιασμένη βία, ἔννομος ἁμαρτία, εὐπρόσωπος πλεονεξία. Τί γὰρ χεῖρον τελώνου τοῦ καθεζομένου κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν, καὶ ἀλλοτρίων πόνων τοὺς καρποὺς τρυγῶντος, καὶ ὅτε μὲν οἱ κάματοι, οὐδεμία αὐτῷ φροντὶς, ὅτε δὲ τὸ κέρδος, ἐξ ὧν οὐκ ἔκαμε, τὴν μερίδα λαμβάνει; Ὥστε εἰ ἁμαρτωλὸς ὢν ὁ τελώνης τοσαύτης ἐπέτυχε τῆς δωρεᾶς ταπεινοφρονήσας, πόσῳ μᾶλλον ὁ ἐνάρετος ὢν καὶ ταπεινοφρονῶν; Ὥστε ἐὰν ὁμολογήσῃς τὰς ἁμαρτίας σου καὶ ταπεινοφρονήσῃς, δίκαιος γίνῃ. Θέλεις δὲ μαθεῖν ταπεινόφρων τίς ἐστι; βλέπε Παῦλον τὸν ὄντως ταπεινόφρονα, Παῦλον τὸν διδάσκαλον τῆς οἰκουμένης, τὸν ῥήτορα τὸν πνευματικὸν, τὸ σκεῦος τῆς ἐκλογῆς, τὸν λιμένα τὸν ἀκύμαντον, τὸν πύργον τὸν ἀσάλευτον, τὸν ἐν σώματι βραχεῖ τὴν οἰκουμένην κυκλοῦντα, καὶ καθάπερ ὑπόπτερόν τινα ταύτην περιδραμόντα· βλέπε ἐκεῖνον ταπεινοφρονοῦντα, τὸν ἰδιώτην καὶ φιλόσοφον, τὸν πένητα καὶ πλούσιον. Ἐκεῖνον ἀληθῶς ταπεινόφρονα λέγω, τὸν μυρίους καμάτους ἀντλήσαντα, τὸν μυρία τρόπαια κατὰ τοῦ διαβόλου ἐνδειξάμενον, τὸν κηρύττοντα καὶ λέγοντα, Ἡ χάρις αὐτοῦ εἰς ἐμὲ οὐ κενὴ ἐγενήθη, ἀλλὰ περισσότερον πάντων ἐκοπίασα· ὁ φυλακὰς ὑπομείνας, καὶ μάστιγας· ὁ δι' Ἐπιστολῶν τὴν οἰκουμένην σαγηνεύσας· ὁ οὐρανία φωνῇ κληθεὶς, ἐκεῖνος ταπεινοφρονεῖ λέγων· Ἐγὼ γάρ εἰμι ὁ ἐλάχιστος τῶν ἀποστόλων, ὃς οὐκ εἰμὶ ἱκανὸς καλεῖσθαι ἀπόστολος. Εἶδες ταπεινοφροσύνης μέγεθος, εἶδες Παῦλον ταπεινοφρονοῦντα, ἐλάχιστον ἑαυτὸν καλοῦντα; Ἐγὼ γάρ εἰμι, φησὶν, ὁ ἐλάχιστος τῶν ἀποστόλων, ὃς οὐκ εἰμὶ ἱκανὸς καλεῖσθαι ἀπόστολος. Τοῦτο γὰρ ἀληθῶς ταπεινοφροσύνη, τὸ ταπεινοῦσθαι ἐν πᾶσι, καὶ ἑαυτὸν καλεῖν ἐλάχιστον. Ἐννόησον τίς ἦν ὁ λέγων ταῦτα τὰ ῥήματα· Παῦλος ὁ οὐρανοπολίτης, ὁ τὸ σῶμα ἁπλῶς 49.291 περικείμενος, ὁ στῦλος τῶν Ἐκκλησιῶν, ὁ ἐπίγειος ἄγγελος, ὁ ἐπουράνιος ἄνθρωπος.