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more difficult. For this reason, the blessed Paul, having heard and not having a proper name to apply to the sin according to its worth, reveals the magnitude of the transgression in another way, speaking thus: “It is actually reported that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not even named among the Gentiles.” He did not say “is not even dared,” but “is not even named,” wishing to show the excessiveness of that transgression. And he delivers him to the devil and cuts him off from the whole Church and does not even permit him to share a common table with anyone. For he says that one must not even eat with such a person, and he is greatly incensed, demanding the ultimate penalty for him, and using Satan as an executioner for this, and through him cutting down his flesh. But nevertheless Paul, the one who cut him off from the Church, who did not permit him to share a common table with anyone, who commanded all to mourn on his account—“For you are puffed up,” he says, “and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you”—he who drove him out from everywhere like some plague, who shut him out from every house, who delivered him to Satan, who demanded such a penalty from him, when he saw him grieving and repenting for his sins and singing a recantation through his deeds, thus he himself also changed his mind again so as to command the opposite to those to whom he had enjoined these things. For he who said: “Cut him off, turn away, mourn, and let the devil take him,” what does he say? “Confirm your love toward him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow and we should be taken advantage of by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his devices.” Do you see how satanic it is to grieve without measure and the work of his snare, making the saving medicine a poison by its lack of measure? For it becomes a poison and delivers the man to him, when it falls into immoderation; which is why he said: “Lest we should be taken advantage of by Satan.” What he says is something like this: the sheep was full of much scab, was estranged from the flock, was broken off from the Church, but it corrected the disease, it became a sheep such as it was before; for such is the power of repentance. It has therefore become part of our flock. Let us draw him in completely, let us receive him with open arms, let us embrace him, let us enfold him, let us unite him to ourselves. For if we should not wish to do this, the devil then takes advantage of us, not by taking what is his, but what has become ours, out of our own indifference and through the immoderation of despondency drowning him and then making him his own. This is why he added: “For we are not ignorant of his devices,” because even through things that are beneficial, often, when these things are not done properly, he is accustomed to trip up those who are not paying attention. 8.3 If then for sins he himself committed, and such a sin, Paul does not permit him to be possessed by much sorrow, but hastens and is eager and does and contrives everything so as to cut away the mass of despondency, saying that immoderation is satanic and an advantage for the devil and the work of his malice and of his evil designs, how is it not of the utmost foolishness and madness to be so cut down and to grieve over the sins that others have committed and for which others are about to be held accountable, so as to bring an unspeakable darkness upon the mind, and much disturbance and confusion and turmoil and unspeakable dizziness? But if you say the same things to me again, that “I want to, but I am not able,” I will say the same things to you again, that “this is an excuse and a pretext.” For I know the sinews of your philosophic soul. But in order that I may make your resistance and victory against this untimely and destructive despondency easier for you from another direction, do this again which I command. Whenever you hear someone recounting this utter ruin, leap away quickly from these thoughts and run to the thought of that fearful day and consider within yourself the dreadful judgment seat, the judge the

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χαλεπώτερον. ∆ιὰ δὴ τοῦτο καὶ ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος ἀκούσας καὶ οὐκ ἔχων ὄνομα ἐπιθεῖναι πρὸς ἀξίαν τῷ ἁμαρτήματι κύριον, ἑτέρως ἐμφαίνει τὸν ὄγκον τῆς παρανομίας, οὑτωσὶ λέγων· «Ὅλως ἀκούεται ἐν ὑμῖν πορνεία καὶ τοιαύτη πορνεία οἵα οὐδὲ ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ὀνομάζεται.» Οὐκ εἶπεν «οὐδὲ τολμᾶται», ἀλλ' «οὐδὲ ὀνομάζεται», τὴν ὑπερβολὴν δεῖξαι θέλων τῆς παρανομίας ἐκείνης. Καὶ παραδίδωσιν αὐτὸν τῷ διαβόλῳ καὶ πάσης ἐκτέμνει τῆς Ἐκκλησίας καὶ οὐδὲ τραπέζης κοινῆς ἀφίησιν αὐτόν τινι κοινωνεῖν. Τῷ γὰρ τοιούτῳ μηδὲ συνεσθίειν δεῖν φησι καὶ πολὺς πνεῖ τὴν ἐσχάτην αὐτὸν ἀπαιτῶν δίκην καὶ δημίῳ πρὸς τοῦτο κεχρημένος τῷ Σατανᾷ καὶ κατακόπτων αὐτοῦ δι' ἐκείνου τὴν σάρκα. Ἀλλ' ὅμως ὁ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ἀποτεμὼν Παῦλος, ὁ μηδὲ τραπέζης κοινῆς ἀφείς τινι κοινωνεῖν, ὁ πάντας κελεύσας δι' ἐκεῖνον πενθεῖν-»Καὶ ὑμεῖς γὰρ πεφυσιωμένοι ἐστέ, φησί, καὶ οὐχὶ μᾶλλον ἐπενθήσατε, ἵνα ἐξαρθῇ ἐκ μέσου ὑμῶν ὁ τὸ ἔργον τοῦτο ποιήσας»-, ὁ πανταχόθεν αὐτὸν ὥσπερ λοιμόν τινα ἀπελαύνων, ὁ πάσης αὐτὸν ἀποκλείσας οἰκίας, ὁ τῷ Σατανᾷ παραδούς, ὁ τοσαύτην παρ' αὐτοῦ δίκην ἀπαιτῶν, ὅτε εἶδεν ἀλγήσαντα καὶ μεταγνόντα ἐφ' οἷς ἥμαρτε καὶ παλινῳδίαν διὰ τῶν ἔργων ᾄδοντα, οὕτως καὶ αὐτὸς μετετάξατο πάλιν ὡς ἐκείνοις οἷς ταῦτα ἐπέταξε, τὰ ἐναντία κελεῦσαι. Ὁ γὰρ εἰπών· «Ἐκκόψατε, ἀποστράφητε, πενθήσατε, καὶ λαμβανέτω αὐτὸν ὁ διάβολος», τί φησιν; «Κυρώσατε εἰς αὐτὸν ἀγάπην, μήπω τῇ περισσοτέρᾳ λύπῃ καταποθῇ ὁ τοιοῦτος καὶ πλεονεκτηθῶμεν ὑπὸ τοῦ Σατανᾶ· οὐ γὰρ αὐτοῦ τὰ νοήματα ἀγνοοῦμεν.» Ὁρᾷς πῶς σατανικὸν τὸ ἀμέτρως ἀλγεῖν καὶ τῆς ἐκείνου παγίδος ἔργον, τὸ σωτήριον φάρμακον τῇ ἀμετρίᾳ ποιοῦντος δηλητήριον; Καὶ γὰρ γίνεται δηλητήριον κἀκείνῳ τὸν ἄνθρωπον παραδίδωσιν, ὅταν εἰς ἀμετρίαν ἐκπέσῃ· διὸ καὶ ἔλεγεν· «Ἵνα μὴ πλεονεκτηθῶμεν ὑπὸ τοῦ Σατανᾶ.» Ὃ δὲ λέγει τοιοῦτόν ἐστι· ψώρας τὸ πρόβατον ἐμπέπληστο πολλῆς, ἠλλοτριώθη τῆς ἀγέλης, ἀπερράγη τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, ἀλλὰ διώρθωσε τὴν νόσον, γέγονε πρόβατον οἷον ἔμπροσθεν ἦν· τοιαύτη γὰρ τῆς μετανοίας ἡ δύναμις. Γέγονε λοιπὸν τῆς ποίμνης τῆς ἡμετέρας. Ὁλοκλήρως ἐπισπασώμεθα αὐτόν, ὑπτίαις ὑποδεξώμεθα ταῖς χερσί, περιλάβωμεν, περιπτυξώμεθα, ἑνώσωμεν ἡμῖν αὐτοῖς. Εἰ γὰρ μὴ βουληθείημεν τοῦτο ποιῆσαι, πλεονεκτεῖ λοιπὸν ἡμᾶς ὁ διάβολος οὐ τὸν αὐτοῦ λαμβάνων, ἀλλὰ τὸν ἡμέτερον γενόμενον ἀπὸ τῆς ῥᾳθυμίας τῆς ἡμετέρας καὶ διὰ τῆς ἀμε τρίας τῆς κατὰ τὴν ἀθυμίαν καταποντίζων καὶ αὐτοῦ λοιπὸν ποιῶν εἶναι. ∆ιὸ καὶ ἐπήγαγεν· «Οὐ γὰρ αὐτοῦ τὰ νοήματα ἀγνοοῦμεν», ὅτι καὶ διὰ τῶν ὠφελούντων πολλάκις, ὅταν μὴ δεόντως ταῦτα γένηται, τοὺς μὴ προσέχοντας ὑποσκελίζειν εἴωθεν. 8.3 Εἰ δὲ ὑπὲρ ὧν αὐτός τι ἐπλημμέλησε καὶ πλημμέλημα τοιοῦτον, οὐκ ἀφίησιν ὁ Παῦλος πολλῇ τῇ λύπῃ κεχρῆσθαι, ἀλλὰ σπεύδει καὶ ἐπείγεται καὶ πάντα ποιεῖ καὶ πραγματεύεται ὥστε ἐκκόψαι τὸν ὄγκον τῆς ἀθυμίας, σατανικὴν εἶναι λέγων τὴν ἀμετρίαν καὶ διαβόλου πλεονεξίαν καὶ τῆς ἐκείνου κακουργίας καὶ τῶν πονηρῶν αὐτοῦ νοημάτων ἔργον, ὑπὲρ ὧν ἕτεροι πεπλημμελήκασι καὶ ἄλλοι μέλλουσιν εὐθύνας ὑπέχειν, πῶς οὐκ ἐσχάτης ἀνοίας τε καὶ μανίας οὕτω κατακόπτεσθαι καὶ ἀλγεῖν ὡς καὶ σκότος ἄφατον ἐπάγειν τῇ διανοίᾳ, καὶ πολὺν τὸν θόρυβον καὶ σύγχυσιν καὶ ταραχὴν καὶ ζάλην ἄφατον; Εἰ δὲ πάλιν μοι τὰ αὐτὰ λέγεις ὅτι «βούλομαι μέν, οὐκ ἰσχύω δέ», πάλιν σοι καὶ ἐγὼ τὰ αὐτὰ ἐρῶ ὅτι «σκῆψις ταῦτα καὶ πρόφασις». Καὶ γὰρ οἶδά σου τῆς φιλοσόφου ψυχῆς τὰ νεῦρα. Ἵνα δὲ ἑτέρωθεν εὐκολωτέραν σοι ποιήσω τὴν κατὰ τῆς ἀθυμίας ταύτης τῆς ἀκαίρου καὶ ὀλεθρίας ἀντίστασίν τε καὶ νίκην, τοῦτο πάλιν ὅπερ ἐπιτάττω ποίει. Ὅταν ἀκούσῃς διηγουμένου τινὸς τὴν πανωλεθρίαν ταύτην, ἀποπήδα ταχέως ἀπὸ τῶν λογισμῶν τούτων καὶ τρέχε ἐπὶ τὴν ἔννοιαν τῆς ἡμέρας ἐκείνης τῆς φοβερᾶς καὶ ἀναλογίζου παρὰ σαυτῇ τὸ βῆμα τὸ φρικῶδες, τὸν δικαστὴν τὸν