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to men waiting for their own lord, when he will return from the wedding. In other places He already taught about weddings, saying: The kingdom of heaven is likened to a king, who made a wedding feast for his son. As, therefore, the wedding has already taken place, and the banquet has been completed, the lord returns to the watchful servants, who, when the bridegroom himself arrives to take the bride, when he knocks on the door of the soul, they will most readily obey and open, being ever watchful, and awaiting his coming. For he adds: Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he comes shall find watching. And how are they not blessed who are about to be deemed worthy of so great an honor? For he swears to them, saying: Truly I say to you, that he will gird himself and make them recline, and will come and serve them. And comparing human life to the night, as truly kin to darkness and ignorance, by different watches, that is, hours and times of the night, he represents the time of human life; in which he declares blessed those who are always watchful because of the uncertainty of each one's end; and what exhortation could be higher than this, which has promised that the master himself will serve the servants, and that the servants will recline in his kingdom, that is, will rest? And going on, again he confirms the same promise to the disciples, saying: But I am among you as one who serves. You are those who have continued with me in my trials; and I assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom; that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom. Such blessedness will the servants obtain, whom the Lord when he comes shall find watching; for during this mortal life, being still children and infants, and not yet deemed worthy of the bridal chamber, and dwelling in a foreign land, as strangers here, and sojourners, and being brought up under tutors and guardians, they did not always have the bridegroom with them. Therefore they also fasted, as he said that the bridegroom will be taken from them, and then they will fast. But he promises that at the end he will receive them when they have grown and been perfected, and will bring them together into his own bridal chamber; when also having made them recline, he will serve them; and they, being with him always, will no longer fast, but having rested from their labors, will enjoy heavenly delight. If the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming. Through many things he exhorts us to be sober and watchful, not only because of the sudden and unexpected arrival of the day of the Lord, but also because of the thief who lies in wait for those who are rich toward God and masters of the house. This is the time of 24.564 each one's death, or also the angel who is about to receive each one's soul at the time of death. If, therefore, we knew the time of the thief's coming, it would be necessary to watch that hour alone, so as not to allow our house to be broken into; but since this is unknown, it will be necessary to watch always; for we do not know in which watch he will attack. Therefore, one must be watchful at all times, and with all vigilance guard the heart according to the writer of proverbs, and one must stay awake through the whole night of this mortal life, so that we may remain inviolate, not allowing the treasures of our soul to be broken into; for thus it will be well with us in both respects, both because we have kept our own existence safe, and because we have readily received our Lord when he came and knocked on the door of our soul, being prepared with much light, and our loins girded. And the Lord said: Who then is the faithful and wise steward? He answers Peter's question, teaching that what has been said was spoken indefinitely to all. But those things were said about being always watchful on account of the watch for the thief and of his own coming; but what one must do while watching, he now necessarily adds, advising not to look only to one's own things, but also to those of others

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ἀνθρώποις προσδεχομένοις τὸν κύριον ἑαυτῶν, πότε ἀναλύσει ἐκ τῶν γάμων. Ἐν ἑτέροις ἤδη ἐδίδαξε περὶ τῶν γάμων εἰπών· Ὡμοιώθη ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν ἀνθρώπῳ βασιλεῖ, ὃς ἐποίησε γάμους τῷ υἱῷ αὑτοῦ. Ὡς οὖν ἤδη τῶν γάμων γεγενημένων, καὶ τοῦ συμποσίου τελεσθέντος, ἐπάνεισιν ὁ κύριος ἐπὶ τοὺς ἐγρηγορότας δούλους, οἳ, ἐπειδὰν ἀφίκηται αὐτὸς ὁ νυμφίος τὴν παράληψιν τῆς νύμφης ποιησόμενος, κρούσαντι αὐτῷ τὴν τῆς ψυχῆς θύραν, ἑτοιμότατα ὑπακούσουσι καὶ ἀνοίξουσι, διὰ παντὸς ἐγρηγορότες, καὶ τὴν αὐτοῦ παρουσίαν ἐκδεχόμενοι. Ἐπιλέγει γοῦν· Μακάριοι οἱ δοῦλοι ἐκεῖνοι, οὓς ἐλθὼν εὑρήσει γρηγοροῦντας. Καὶ πῶς γὰρ οὐ μακάριοι οἱ τοσαύτης μέλλοντες ἀξιωθήσεσθαι τιμῆς; Ἐπόμνυται γοῦν αὐτοῖς φάσκων· Ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ὅτι περιζώσεται καὶ ἀνακλινεῖ αὐτοὺς, καὶ παρελθὼν διακονήσει αὐτοῖς. Νυκτὶ δὲ παραβάλλων τὸν ἀνθρώπινον βίον, ὡς ἀληθῶς σκότους καὶ ἀγνοίας οἰκεῖον, διαφόροις φυλακαῖς, τουτέστιν ὥραις καὶ καιροῖς τῆς νυκτὸς, τὸν τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ζωῆς παρεικάζει χρόνον· ἐν ᾧ τοὺς διὰ παντὸς ἐγρηγορότας διὰ τὸ ἄδηλον τῆς ἑκάστου τελευτῆς μακαρίους ἀποφαίνει· ταύτης δὲ τῆς προτροπῆς τίς ἂν γένοιτ' ἀνωτέρα, ἣ τὸν δεσπότην ἐπήγγελται αὐτὸν τοῖς δούλοις διακονήσειν, τοὺς δὲ δούλους ἀνακλιθήσεσθαι ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ αὐτοῦ, τουτέστι διαναπαύσεσθαι; Προϊὼν δ' αὖθις τὴν αὐτὴν ἐπισφραγίζεται ἐπαγγελίαν τοῖς μαθηταῖς λέγων· Ἐγὼ δ' ἐν μέσῳ ὑμῶν εἰμι ὡς ὁ διακονῶν. Ὑμεῖς δέ ἐστε οἱ διαμεμενηκότες μετ' ἐμοῦ ἐν τοῖς πειρασμοῖς μου· κἀγὼ διατίθεμαι ὑμῖν, καθ' ἃ διέθετό μοι ὁ Πατήρ μου, βασιλείαν· ἵν' ἐσθίητε καὶ πίνητε ἐπὶ τῆς τραπέζης μου ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ μου. Τοιαύτης τεύξονται μακαριότητος οἱ δοῦλοι, οὓς ἐλθὼν ὁ Κύριος εὑρήσει γρηγοροῦντας· κατὰ γὰρ τὸν θνητὸν τοῦτον βίον, ἅτε παῖδες ἔτι ὄντες καὶ νήπιοι, καὶ μήπω τοῦ νυμφῶνος ἠξιωμένοι, ἐπ' ἀλλοδαπῆς δ' οἰκοῦντες, ἅτε ξένοι τῶν ἐνταῦθα, καὶ παρεπίδημοι, καὶ ὑπὸ παιδαγωγοῖς καὶ ἐπιτρόποις ἀνατρεφόμενοι, οὐκ εἶχον πάντοτε τὸν νυμφίον μεθ' ἑαυτῶν. ∆ιὸ καὶ ἐνήστευον, καθὼς εἶπεν ὅτι ἀρθήσεται ἀπ' αὐτῶν ὁ νυμφίος, καὶ τότε νηστεύσουσιν. Ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τέλει αὐξήσαντας αὐτοὺς καὶ τελειωθέντας παραλήψεσθαι ἐπαγγέλλεται, καὶ εἰς τὸν αὑτοῦ συνεισάξειν νυμφῶνα· ὅτε καὶ ἀνακλίνας αὐτοὺς, διακονήσει αὐτοῖς· οἱ δὲ, συνόντες αὐτῷ ἀεὶ, οὐκέτι νηστεύσουσιν, ἀλλὰ διαπαυσάμενοι τῶν καμάτων, τῆς οὐρανίου τρυφῆς ἀπολαύσουσιν. Εἰ ᾔδει ὁ οἰκοδεσπότης ποίᾳ ὥρᾳ ὁ κλέπτης ἔρ χεται. ∆ιὰ πλειόνων νήφειν καὶ ἐγρηγορέναι ἡμῖν παρακελεύεται, οὐ μόνον διὰ τὴν ἀθρόαν καὶ ἀπροσδόκητον ἄφιξιν τῆς ἡμέρας Κυρίου, ἀλλὰ καὶ διὰ τὸν κλέπτην τὸν τοῖς κατὰ Θεὸν πλουσίοις καὶ οἰκοδεσπόταις ἐφεδρεύοντα. Οὗτος δέ ἐστιν ὁ καιρὸς τῆς 24.564 ἑκάστου τελευτῆς, ἢ καὶ ὁ μέλλων τὴν ἑκάστου ψυχὴν παραλαμβάνειν ἄγγελος κατὰ καιρὸν τοῦ θανάτου. Εἰ μὲν οὖν ᾔδειμεν τὸν καιρὸν τῆς τοῦ κλέπτου παρουσίας, τὴν ὥραν ἐχρῆν ἐκείνην μόνην ἐπιτηρεῖν, πρὸς τὸ μὴ ἀφιέναι διορυγῆναι ἡμῶν τὸν οἶκον· ἐπεὶ δὲ ἄδηλός ἐστιν οὗτος, δεήσει ἀεὶ ἐγρηγορέναι· οὐ γὰρ ἴσμεν ὁποίᾳ φυλακῇ ἐπιθήσεται. ∆ιὸ γρηγορητέον διὰ παντὸς, καὶ πάσῃ φυλακῇ τηρητέον τὴν καρδίαν κατὰ τὸν παροιμιαστὴν, καὶ ἀγρυπνητέον διὰ πάσης τῆς τοῦ θνητοῦ βίου νυκτὸς, ὅπως ἄσυλοι διαμένωμεν, μὴ ἐῶντες διορυγῆναι ἡμῶν τοὺς τῆς ψυχῆς θησαυρούς· οὕτω γὰρ ἔσται ἡμῖν εὖ κατ' ἀμφότερα, ὅτι τε σώαν ἐφυλάξαμεν τὴν ἑαυτῶν ὕπαρξιν, καὶ ὅτι τὸν Κύριον ἡμῶν ἐπιστάντα καὶ κρούσαντα τῆς ψυχῆς ἡμῶν τὴν θύραν, ἑτοίμως ὑπεδεξάμεθα, πολλῷ τῷ φωτὶ παρεσκευασμένοι, καὶ τὰς ὀσφύας ἐζωσμένοι. Εἶπε δ' ὁ Κύριος· Τίς ἄρα ἐστὶν ὁ πιστὸς οἰκο νόμος καὶ φρόνιμος; Πρὸς τὴν ἐρώτησιν Πέτρου ἀποκρίνεται διδάσκων ἀορίστως πρὸς πάντα εἰρῆσθαι τὰ λελεγμένα. Ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνα μὲν εἴρηται περὶ τοῦ διὰ παντὸς ἐγρηγορέναι ἕνεκεν τῆς τοῦ κλέπτου φυλακῆς καὶ τῆς αὐτοῦ παρουσίας· τί δὲ χρὴ πράττειν γρηγοροῦντας, νῦν ἀναγκαίως προστίθησι, παραινῶν μὴ τὸ ἑαυτῶν μόνον σκοπεῖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς ἑτέρων