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makes the sinner righteous, and establishes the righteous in a secure guard, and it plucks up existing evils, and plants good things that do not exist, it drives out wickedness, it leads back to virtue, and not only does it lead back, but it also roots it, and makes it remain perpetual, being a spiritual medicine, a certain divine and secret incantation, destructive of passions. For it both plucks up the thorns of sins, and works the field to be clean, and casts down the seeds of piety, and brings the fruit to its prime. Let us not then neglect so many good things, nor let us abandon the assemblies, but let us continually run here, so that we may be perpetually healed, and let no one be struck with envy seeing a rich man, nor be oppressed by poverty; but having learned the true nature of things, let him run past the shadows, and hold fast to the truth. For a shadow, even if it seems to be greater than the body, nevertheless is a shadow; and otherwise it is not greater, but seems so, and it seems so then, when we are further from the ray; thus, at any rate, when around steadfast noon the ray stands over the head, it is drawn together from all sides, and is contracted, and becomes shorter; which indeed it is possible to see also in human affairs. For as long as one places himself further from virtue, the things of the present life seem great; but when he places himself in the very brightest light of the divine Scriptures, then he sees the cheapness and the brevity and the nothingness of these mortal things, and he learns clearly, that these are disposed no better than river waters, appearing and running past at the same time. For this very reason the prophet, philosophizing, concerning the small-souled, and wretched, and those who crawl on the ground, and those who gape at the fantasy of wealth, and those who fear and tremble at those who pride themselves in these things, correcting them, and leading us away from such an agony, and persuading us to despise them as being nothing, said: Fear not, when a man becomes rich, or when the glory of his house is multiplied. Because when he dies he will not take everything. Have you seen the precision of the language and the clearest distinction? For he did not say, When his glory is multiplied, but, The glory of his house, showing that the glory of a man is one thing, and the glory of a house is another. What then is the glory of a man, and what is the glory of a house? For it is necessary to know these things clearly, so as not to embrace dreams before the truth. The glory of a house, then, is porticoes, walkways, a golden ceiling, a floor beautified with mosaics, meadows, parks, herds of slaves, luxurious furniture, none of which pertains to the man. The glory of a man is right faith, zeal according to God, love, gentleness, forbearance, the earnestness in 55.514 prayers, the philosophy of almsgiving, moderation, decorum, all the other members of virtue. And that you may learn that these things are in this manner, the one possessing those things does not reap the glory from them, nor would anyone be called good, because he has a beautiful house, or a park, or a meadow, or a multitude of slaves, or luxury of garments. For all that is admirable stands concerning the possession, not crossing over to the one who has it. For we admire the house, and the park, and the meadow, and the beauty of the garments, which are a commendation of the art of those who made them, not of the virtue of those who possess them, but, quite the contrary, a proof of vice. b. The nature of these possessions is so far from investing those who have them with glory, that it even ruins it with excess. For as cruel and inhuman and vulgar and alien to philosophy, so everyone ridicules those who display their abundance in these things; for these things are not the glory of a man, as I said, but of the house; but those living in moderation, decorum, gentleness,

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τὸν ἁμαρτωλὸν δίκαιον ποιεῖ, καὶ τὸν δίκαιον ἐν ἀσφαλεῖ καθίστησι φυλακῇ, καὶ τὰ ὄντα κακὰ ἀνασπᾷ, καὶ τὰ οὐκ ὄντα ἀγαθὰ καταφυτεύει, ἀπελαύνει πονηρίαν, πρὸς ἀρετὴν ἐπανάγει, οὐκ ἐπανάγει δὲ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ῥιζοῖ, καὶ διηνεκῆ μένειν ποιεῖ, φάρμακον οὖσα πνευματικὸν, ἐπῳδή τις θεία καὶ ἀπόῤῥητος, παθῶν ἀναιρετική. Καὶ γὰρ τὰς ἀκάνθας ἀνασπᾷ τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων, καὶ καθαρὰν τὴν ἄρουραν ἐργάζεται, καὶ τὰ σπέρματα καταβάλλει τῆς εὐσεβείας, καὶ πρὸς ἀκμὴν τὸν καρπὸν ἄγει. Μὴ δὴ τοσούτων παραμελῶμεν ἀγαθῶν, μηδὲ ἀπολιμπανώμεθα συνάξεων, ἀλλὰ συνεχῶς ἐνταῦθα τρέχωμεν, ἵνα διηνεκῶς θεραπευώμεθα, καὶ μηδεὶς μήτε φθόνῳ βάλληται πλουτοῦντα ὁρῶν, μήτε πενίᾳ πιέζηται· ἀλλὰ καταμαθὼν τὴν ἀληθῆ τῶν πραγμάτων φύσιν, παρατρεχέτω μὲν τὰς σκιὰς, ἀντεχέσθω δὲ τῆς ἀληθείας. Καὶ γὰρ σκιὰ, εἰ καὶ μείζων τοῦ σώματος εἶναι δοκεῖ, ἀλλ' ὅμως σκιὰ τυγχάνει· ἄλλως δὲ οὐδέ ἐστι μείζων, ἀλλὰ δοκεῖ, καὶ τότε δοκεῖ, ὅταν μακροτέρω τῆς ἀκτῖνος γενώμεθα· οὕτω γοῦν ἡνίκα περὶ σταθερὰν μεσημβρίαν τῆς ἀκτῖνος ὑπὲρ κεφαλὴν ἱσταμένης συνελαύνεται πάντοθεν, καὶ συστέλλεται, καὶ βραχυτέρα γίνεται· ὃ δὴ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων ἔστιν ἰδεῖν. Ἕως μὲν γάρ τις μακροτέρω τῆς ἀρετῆς καθίστησιν ἑαυτὸν, μεγάλα φαίνεται τὰ τοῦ παρόντος βίου πράγματα· ὅταν δὲ ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ φανοτάτῳ φωτὶ τῶν θείων ἑαυτὸν καταστήσῃ Γραφῶν, τότε καὶ τὸ εὐτελὲς καὶ τὸ βραχὺ καὶ τὸ οὐδαμινὸν τῶν ἐπικήρων τούτων ὁρᾷ πραγμάτων, καὶ μανθάνει σαφῶς, ὅτι ποταμίων ὑδάτων οὐδὲν ἄμεινον ταῦτα διάκειται, ὁμοῦ τε φαινόμενα καὶ παρατρέχοντα. ∆ιά τοι τοῦτο ὁ προφήτης φιλοσοφῶν, τοὺς μικροψύχους, καὶ ταλαιπώρους, καὶ χαμαὶ συρομένους, καὶ κεχηνότας πρὸς τὴν τοῦ πλούτου φαντασίαν, καὶ δεδοικότας, καὶ τρέμοντας τοὺς ἐν τούτοις κομῶντας διορθούμενος, καὶ τῆς τοιαύτης ἀπάγων ἀγωνίας ἡμᾶς, καὶ πείθων ὡς οὐδὲν ὄντων καταφρονεῖν, ἔλεγε· Μὴ φοβοῦ, ὅταν πλουτήσῃ ἄνθρωπος, ἢ ὅταν πληθυνθῇ ἡ δόξα τοῦ οἴκου αὐτοῦ. Ὅτι οὐκ ἐν τῷ ἀποθνήσκειν αὐτὸν λήψεται τὰ πάντα. Εἶδες ἀκρίβειαν λέξεως καὶ διαίρεσιν σαφεστάτην; Οὐδὲ γὰρ εἶπεν, Ὅταν πληθυνθῇ ἡ δόξα αὐτοῦ, ἀλλ', Ἡ δόξα τοῦ οἴκου αὐτοῦ, δεικνὺς ὅτι ἕτερον δόξα ἀνθρώπου, καὶ ἕτερον δόξα οἴκου. Τί τοίνυν δόξα ἀνθρώπου, καὶ τί δόξα οἴκου; ∆εῖ γὰρ ταῦτα εἰδέναι σαφῶς, ὥστε μὴ τὰ ὀνείρατα πρὸ τῆς ἀληθείας ἀσπάσασθαι. Οἴκου μὲν οὖν δόξα στοαὶ, περίπατοι, χρυσοῦς ὄροφος, ἔδαφος ψηφίσι καλλωπισθὲν, λειμῶνες, παράδεισοι, ἀνδραπόδων ἀγέλαι, τὰ ἔπιπλα τὰ πολυτελῆ, ὧν οὐδὲν πρὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον. Ἀνθρώπου δόξα, πίστις ὀρθὴ, ζῆλος ὁ κατὰ Θεὸν, ἀγάπη, πραότης, ἐπιείκεια, ἡ ἐν 55.514 εὐχαῖς ἐκτένεια, ἡ τῆς ἐλεημοσύνης φιλοσοφία, σωφροσύνη, κοσμιότης, τὰ λοιπὰ ἅπαντα τῆς ἀρετῆς μέλη. Καὶ ἵνα μάθῃς ὅτι ταῦτα τοῦτον ἔχει τὸν τρόπον, ὁ μὲν ἐκεῖνα κεκτημένος οὐ καρποῦται τὴν ἐξ αὐτῶν δόξαν, οὐδ' ἂν κληθείη τις καλὸς, ἐπειδὴ οἰκίαν ἔχει καλὴν, ἢ παράδεισον, ἢ λειμῶνα, ἢ πλῆθος ἀνδραπόδων, ἢ ἱματίων πολυτέλειαν. Τὸ γὰρ θαυμαστὸν ἅπαν περὶ τὸ κτῆμα ἵσταται, οὐ διαβαῖνον πρὸς τὸν ἔχοντα. Τὴν γὰρ οἰκίαν θαυμάζομεν, καὶ τὸν παράδεισον, καὶ τὸν λειμῶνα, καὶ τῶν ἱματίων τὸ κάλλος, ἃ τῶν ἐργασαμένων τῆς τέχνης ἐστὶν ἐγκώμιον, οὐ τῆς τῶν κεκτημένων ἀρετῆς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὐναντίον ἅπαν τῆς κακίας ἀπόδειξις. βʹ. Τοσοῦτον γοῦν ἀπέχει τούτων ἡ φύσις τῶν κτημάτων τοὺς ἔχοντας δόξῃ περιβαλεῖν, ὅτι καὶ λυμαίνεται αὐτὴν μεθ' ὑπερβολῆς. Καὶ γὰρ ὡς ὠμοὺς καὶ ἀπανθρώπους καὶ βαναύσους καὶ φιλοσοφίας ἀλλοτρίους, οὕτως ἅπαντες κωμῳδοῦσι τοὺς ἐν τούτοις τὴν περιουσίαν ἐπιδεικνυμένους· οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ἀνθρώπου δόξα ταῦτα, καθὼς εἶπον, ἀλλὰ τοῦ οἴκου· τοὺς μέντοι ἐν σωφροσύνῃ ζῶντας, κοσμιότητι, πραότητι,