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Their lawless fast, then, is at hand in five days; but I, ten days or even more beforehand, have made this exhortation to you, so as to make your brothers secure. But let no one condemn this discourse as untimely because we have brought it forward so many days in advance. For when a fever is expected, or some other sickness, they take precautions and secure with many treatments the body that is about to be seized, hastening to rescue it from the evils that are about to seize upon it, before the experience of the attack. Since, therefore, we too see a most grievous disease about to approach, from the beginning and long before the time, we have testified, so that the correction may come before the experience of the evil. For this reason I did not give this exhortation on the very days themselves, lest the shortness of time hinder you in the hunt for your brothers, but that having ample time from the number of days, you might be able, with all freedom, to track down and recover those who suffer from such things. Thus also do those who celebrate weddings and prepare lavish dinners; not on the very days, but long before the time they speak with fishers of fish and hunters of birds, so that no hindrance may arise for them from the shortness of time in the preparation of the table. Since, therefore, we also were about to set a table before you against the insensibility of the Jews, we have spoken with you, the fishers, in advance, so that you might net the weaker of your brothers, and lead them to the hearing of our words. As many of you, then, who have fished and hold them safely within the nets, remain, tightening them with the word of exhortation; but as many as have not yet seized this good prey, you have sufficient time, these five days, to succeed in the catch. Let us therefore spread out the nets of teaching, let us stand around in a circle, just like hunting dogs, driving them from all sides into the laws of the Church. And let us bring upon them, if you please, like some excellent hunter, the blessed Paul, crying out and saying: Behold, I, Paul, say to you that, if you are circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. For indeed many of the untamed and wild animals, whenever, hiding under a bush, they happen to hear the voice of the hunter, they leap up from fear, but being driven by the force of the voice, and often unwillingly pushed together by the shout, they fall into the very traps; so also your brothers, who are hiding as if in some bush, in Judaism, if 48.858 they should hear the voice of Paul, I know well that they will easily fall into the nets of salvation, and will put away all the Jewish error. For it is not Paul who is speaking, but Christ who is moving his soul. So when you hear him crying out and saying, Behold, I, Paul, say to you that, if you are circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing, consider the voice to be Paul's alone, but the thought and the doctrine to be of Christ who is speaking within him. But perhaps someone might say, is the harm of circumcision so great as to make the entire economy of Christ useless? Yes, the harm of circumcision is so great, not because of its own nature, but because of your ingratitude. There was once a time when the law was useful and necessary; now, therefore, it has ceased and is inactive. If, therefore, you draw upon it unseasonably, it makes the gift of God useless for you. For this reason Christ will profit you nothing, because you are not willing to approach. For if someone, caught in adultery and the most shameful things, were inhabiting the prison, and then, when his trial was about to be brought and the condemning verdict delivered, a letter from the king should come releasing all those inhabiting the prison without any account or examination, but he, not wishing to enjoy the gift, should choose and insist rather to be judged and to give accounts and be held responsible, he will no longer be able to enjoy the grace; for he makes himself accountable to the court and

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μὲν οὖν παράνομος αὐτῶν νηστεία μετὰ πέντε λοιπὸν ἡμέρας ἐφίσταται· ἐγὼ δὲ πρὸ δέκα ἡμερῶν, ἢ καὶ πλειόνων, προλαβὼν ἐποιησάμην πρὸς ὑμᾶς τὴν παραίνεσιν, ὥστε ἀσφαλίσασθαι τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς τοὺς ὑμετέρους. Ἀλλὰ μηδεὶς ἀκαιρίαν καταγινωσκέτω τοῦ λόγου, ὅτι πρὸ τοσούτων ἡμερῶν αὐτὸν προεβαλόμεθα. Καὶ γὰρ πυρετοῦ προσδοκωμένου, ἢ καὶ ἑτέρου τινὸς νοσήματος, προλαμβάνοντες τὸ τοῦ μέλλοντος ἁλώσεσθαι σῶμα πολλαῖς ἀσφαλίζονται θεραπείαις, ἐπειγόμενοι πρὸ τῆς πείρας τῆς ἐφόδου τῶν μελλόντων αὐτὸ ἐξαρπάσαι δεινῶν. Ἐπεὶ οὖν καὶ ἡμεῖς ὁρῶμεν νόσον χαλεπωτάτην προσιέναι μέλλουσαν, ἄνωθεν καὶ πρὸ πολλοῦ διεμαρτυράμεθα τοῦ χρόνου, ὥστε πρὸ τῆς πείρας τοῦ κακοῦ τὴν διόρθωσιν. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο οὐχὶ πρὸς αὐτὰς τὰς ἡμέρας παρῄνεσα, ἵνα μὴ ἡ τοῦ καιροῦ στενοχωρία ἐμποδίσῃ πρὸς τὴν θήραν ὑμᾶς τῶν ἀδελφῶν τῶν ὑμετέρων, ἀλλ' ἔχοντες τὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ πλήθους τῶν ἡμερῶν εὐρυχωρίαν, μετὰ ἀδείας ἁπάσης δυνηθῆτε τοὺς τὰ τοιαῦτα νοσοῦντας ἐξιχνιάσαι καὶ ἀνακτήσασθαι. Οὕτω που καὶ οἱ γάμους ἐπιτελοῦντες, καὶ δεῖπνα πολυτελῆ κατασκευάζοντες ποιοῦσιν· οὐ παρ' αὐτὰς τὰς ἡμέρας, ἀλλὰ πρὸ πολλοῦ τοῦ χρόνου ἁλιεῦσιν ἰχθύων καὶ ὀρνίθων θηραταῖς διαλέγονται, ἵνα μηδὲν αὐτοῖς ἀπὸ τῆς τοῦ καιροῦ στενοχωρίας γένηται κώλυμα πρὸς τὴν τῆς τραπέζης παρασκευήν. Ἐπεὶ οὖν καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐμέλλομεν ὑμῖν παρατιθέναι τράπεζαν κατὰ τῆς Ἰουδαίων ἀναισθησίας, προλαβόντες ὑμῖν τοῖς ἁλιεῦσι διελέχθημεν, ἵνα σαγηνεύσητε τῶν ἀδελφῶν τῶν ὑμετέρων τοὺς ἀσθενεστέρους, καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἀκρόασιν τῶν ἡμετέρων ἀγάγητε λόγων. Ὅσοι μὲν οὖν ἡλιεύσατε, καὶ εἴσω τῶν δικτύων ἔχετε μετὰ ἀσφαλείας, μείνατε ἐπισφίγγοντες αὐτοὺς τῷ λόγῳ τῆς παραινέσεως· ὅσοι δὲ μηδέπω τῆς καλῆς ταύτης ἐκρατήσατε θήρας, ἱκανὴν ἔχετε προθεσμίαν, τὰς πέντε ταύτας ἡμέρας, ὥστε περιγενέσθαι τῆς ἄγρας. Ἀναπετάσωμεν τοίνυν τὰ δίκτυα τῆς διδασκαλίας, περιστῶμεν κύκλῳ, καθάπερ κύνες θηρατικοὶ, πάντοθεν αὐτοὺς συνελαύνοντες εἰς τοὺς τῆς Ἐκκλησίας νόμους. Ἐπαγάγωμεν δὲ αὐτοῖς, εἰ δοκεῖ, ὥσπερ τινὰ κυνηγέτην ἄριστον, τὸν μακάριον Παῦλον βοῶντα καὶ λέγοντα· Ἴδε ἐγὼ Παῦλος λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι, ἐὰν περιτέμνησθε, Χριστὸς ὑμᾶς οὐδὲν ὠφελήσει. Καὶ γὰρ πολλὰ τῶν ἀνημέρων ζώων καὶ ἐξηγριωμένων, ἐπειδὰν ὑπὸ θάμνον κρυπτόμενα τύχῃ τῆς τοῦ κυνηγέτου φωνῆς ἀκούσαντα, ἐξάλλεται μὲν ἀπὸ τοῦ φόβου, συνελαυνόμενα δὲ τῇ τῆς φωνῆς ἀνάγκῃ, καὶ ἄκοντα πολλάκις ὑπὸ τῆς βοῆς συνωθούμενα, εἰς αὐτὰ ἐμπίπτει τὰ θήρατρα· οὕτω καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ οἱ ὑμέτεροι, οἱ καθάπερ ἐν θάμνῳ τινὶ, τῷ ἰουδαϊσμῷ, κρυπτόμενοι, ἂν 48.858 τῆς Παύλου φωνῆς ἀκούσωσιν, εὖ οἶδ' ὅτι ῥᾳδίως εἰς τὰ τῆς σωτηρίας ἐμπεσοῦνται δίκτυα, καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν Ἰουδαϊκὴν ἀποθήσονται πλάνην. Οὐδὲ γὰρ Παῦλός ἐστιν ὁ φθεγγόμενος, ἀλλ' ὁ Χριστὸς ὁ κινῶν τὴν ἐκείνου ψυχήν. Ὥστε ὅταν ἀκούσῃς αὐτοῦ βοῶντος καὶ λέγοντος, Ἴδε ἐγὼ Παῦλος λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι, ἐὰν περιτέμνησθε, Χριστὸς ὑμᾶς οὐδὲν ὠφελήσει, τὴν φωνὴν εἶναι Παύλου μόνην νόμιζε, τὸ νόημα δὲ καὶ τὸ δόγμα τοῦ ἔνδοθεν αὐτῷ ἐνηχοῦντος Χριστοῦ. Ἀλλ' ἴσως εἴποι τις ἂν, καὶ τοσαύτη τῆς περιτομῆς ἡ βλάβη, ὡς πᾶσαν ἀνόνητον ποιῆσαι τοῦ Χριστοῦ τὴν οἰκονομίαν; Ναὶ, τοσαύτη τῆς περιτομῆς ἡ βλάβη, οὐ παρὰ τὴν οἰκείαν φύσιν, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τὴν ἀγνωμοσύνην. Ἦν ποτε καιρὸς, ὅτε χρήσιμος ἦν καὶ ἀναγκαῖος ὁ νόμος· νῦν οὖν ἐπαύσατο καὶ ἀργεῖ. Ἂν τοίνυν ἀκαίρως αὐτὸν ἐπισπάσῃ, ἀνόνητόν σοι ποιεῖ τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν δωρεάν. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο Χριστὸς ὑμᾶς οὐδὲν ὠφελήσει, ἐπειδὴ μὴ βούλεσθε προσελθεῖν. Καὶ γὰρ εἴ τις ἐπὶ μοιχείᾳ καὶ τοῖς αἰσχίστοις ἁλοὺς τὸ δεσμωτήριον οἰκοίη, εἶτα μελλούσης αὐτῷ τῆς δίκης εἰσάγεσθαι, καὶ τῆς καταδικαζούσης φέρεσθαι ψήφου, ἔλθοι βασιλέως ἐπιστολὴ τοὺς τὸ δεσμωτήριον οἰκοῦντας ἅπαντας ἀφεῖσα ἄνευ λόγου τινὸς καὶ ἐξετάσεως, ὁ δὲ μὴ βουληθεὶς ἀπολαῦσαι τῆς δωρεᾶς, ἕλοιτο καὶ φιλονεικοίη δικάζεσθαι μᾶλλον καὶ λόγους καὶ εὐθύνας ὑπέχειν, οὐ δυνήσεται λοιπὸν ἀπολαῦσαι τῆς χάριτος· ὑπεύθυνον γὰρ ἑαυτὸν δικαστηρίῳ καὶ