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that baptism was received for our sakes, but differs in time? Which you seem to me to be putting forward as some great and wonderful thing against your own salvation.

31. If then you are persuaded by me in anything, bid farewell to such arguments; and you yourselves leap forward to the good, and you will fight a double contest; the one to purify yourselves beforehand for the baptism, the other to preserve the baptism; since it is of the same difficulty, both to acquire some good thing not possessed, and to preserve it when acquired. For often what diligence has acquired, carelessness has destroyed; and what hesitation has lost, care has recovered. A good help for you toward obtaining what you long for, are vigils, fasts, sleeping on the ground, 36.404 prayers, tears, pity for those in need, sharing. Let this be for you, for what you have obtained, at once a thanksgiving and a protection. You have a reminder of many commandments, the good deed; do not pass it by. Did a poor man approach? Remember how poor you were, how rich you became. In need of bread, or drink, perhaps another Lazarus cast at your gates? Revere the mystical table, to which you approached; the bread, of which you partook; the cup, in which you have shared, being perfected by the sufferings of Christ. Has a stranger fallen upon you, homeless, a sojourner? Welcome through this one the one who for your sake became a stranger, and this among his own, and who came to dwell in you through grace, and drew you to the dwelling above. Become Zacchaeus, yesterday a tax collector, and today generous; bear fruit in everything at the entrance of Christ, that you may appear great, even if you are small in physical stature, having seen Christ well. Is a sick and wounded man lying before you? Revere your own health, and the wounds from which Christ freed you. If you see a naked person, clothe him, honoring your own garment of incorruption; and this is Christ; For as many of us as were baptized into Christ, have put on Christ. If you find a debtor falling down before you, tear up every bond, unjust and just. Remember the ten thousand talents, which Christ forgave you. Do not become a bitter collector of the lesser debt. And this to whom? To your fellow servants, you who have been forgiven the greater amount by the Master, lest you also suffer the penalty for his love of mankind, which you did not imitate, though you received an example.

32. Let the washing be for you, not of the body only, but also of the image; not a washing away of sins only, but also a correction of character; let it not only wash away the previous filth, but also cleanse the source; let it not only imprint how to acquire well, but also how to re-acquire well, or, at the very least, to put away what has been badly acquired. For what is the benefit if the sin is forgiven for you, but for the one who has been wronged the loss from you is not released; when there are two evils for you, both having acquired unjustly, and holding on to what was acquired? For the one, you have received forgiveness, but for the other, you are committing injustice today. For today 36.405 what belongs to another is with you; and the sin has not been done away with, but has been interrupted by time. The one was dared before baptism, the other remains after baptism; for of sins that have been committed, not of sins being committed, the washing has forgiveness. But the purification must not be sophisticated, but imprinted; you must be made completely bright, and not just colored; nor should the gift be a covering of sins, but a deliverance. Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven; this belongs to complete purification; and whose sins are covered; this belongs to those not yet cleansed in depth. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin; this is a third class of sinners; whose action is not praiseworthy, but whose intention is without blame.

33. What then do I say, and what is my argument? Yesterday you were a Canaanite soul, and bent over through sin; today you have been set upright by the Word. Do not be bent over again, and be inclined to the earth, as though weighed down by a stoop from the evil one, and hard to call back.

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τὸ βάπτι σμα παρειλῆφθαι μὲν δι' ἡμᾶς, τῷ χρόνῳ δὲ διαφέ ρειν; Ὃ σύ μοι δοκεῖς ὡς μέγα τι καὶ θαυμαστὸν οἷον προβάλλεσθαι κατὰ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ σωτηρίας.

ΛΑʹ. Εἴ τι οὖν ἐμοὶ πείθεσθε, τοὺς μὲν τοιούτους λό γους χαίρειν ἐάσατε· αὐτοὶ δὲ τῷ ἀγαθῷ προσπηδή σατε, καὶ διπλοῦν ἀγῶνα ἀγωνιεῖσθε· τὸν μὲν προ καθαίρειν ὑμᾶς αὐτοὺς τοῦ βαπτίσματος, τὸν δὲ συντηρεῖν τὸ βάπτισμα· ἐπειδὴ τῆς αὐτῆς ἐστι δυσχε ρείας, καὶ κτήσασθαί τι τῶν ἀγαθῶν οὐχ ὑπάρχον, καὶ κτηθὲν διασώσασθαι. Πολλάκις γὰρ ὃ μὲν σπουδὴ προσέλαβε, ῥᾳθυμία διέφθειρεν· ὃ δὲ ὄκνος ἀπώλε σεν, ἀνεκαλέσατο ἐπιμέλεια. Καλόν σοι βοήθημα πρὸς τὸ τυχεῖν, ὧν ἐπιποθεῖς, ἀγρυπνίαι, νηστεῖαι, χαμευ 36.404 νίαι, προσευχαὶ, δάκρυον, οἶκτος τῶν δεομένων, με τάδοσις. Τοῦτό σοι γενέσθω, ὧν τετύχηκας, εὐ χαριστήριόν τε ἅμα καὶ φυλακτήριον. Ἔχεις πολλῶν ἐντολῶν ὑπόμνημα, τὴν εὐεργεσίαν· μὴ παραδρά μῃς. Πένης προσῆλθε; μνήσθητι πόσον πτω χεύων, πόσον ἐπλούτησας. Ἄρτου δεόμενος, ἢ πόμα τος, Λάζαρος ἴσως τις ἄλλος τοῖς σοῖς πυλῶσι προσ εῤῥιμμένος; Αἰδέσθητι τὴν μυστικὴν τράπεζαν, ᾗ προσῆλθες· τὸν ἄρτον, οὗ μετείληφας· τὸ ποτήριον, οὗ κεκοινώνηκας τοῖς Χριστοῦ πάθεσι τελειούμε νος. Ξένος προσέπεσεν, ἄοικος, παρεπίδημος; Ὑπό δεξαι διὰ τούτου τὸν διὰ σὲ ξενιτεύσαντα, καὶ ταῦτα ἐν τοῖς ἰδίοις, καὶ εἰσοικισθέντα σοι διὰ τῆς χά ριτος, καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἄνω κατοικίαν ἑλκύσαντα. Γενοῦ Ζακχαῖος, ὁ χθὲς τελώνης, καὶ σήμερον μεγαλόψυχος· πάντα τῇ εἰσόδῳ τοῦ Χριστοῦ καρποφόρησον, ἵνα μέγας ἀναφανῇς, κἂν μικρὸς ᾖς τὴν σωματικὴν ἡλικίαν, καλῶς Χριστὸν θεασάμενος. Ἄῤῥωστος πρόκειται καὶ τραυματίας; τὴν σὴν ὑγίειαν αἰ δέσθητι, καὶ τὰ τραύματα, ὧν σε Χριστὸς ἠλευθέ ρωσεν. Ἐὰν ἴδῃς γυμνὸν, περίβαλε, τὸ σὸν τιμῶν ἔνδυμα τῆς ἀφθαρσίας· Χριστὸς δὲ τοῦτό ἐστιν· Ἐπειδὴ ὅσοι εἰς Χριστὸν ἐβαπτίσθημεν, Χριστὸν ἐνδεδύμεθα. Ἐὰν χρεωφειλέτην λάβῃς προσπίπτοντα, πᾶσαν συγγραφὴν ἄδικον καὶ δικαίαν διάσπασον. Μνήσθητι τῶν μυρίων ταλάντων, ὧν σοι Χριστὸς ἐχαρίσατο. Μὴ γένῃ πράκτωρ πικρὸς τοῦ ἐλάττονος χρέους. Καὶ ταῦτα τίσι; Τοῖς ὁμοδούλοις, ὁ τὸ πλέον παρὰ τοῦ ∆εσπότου συγχωρηθεὶς, μὴ καὶ τῆς ἐκείνου φιλανθρωπίας ὑπόσχῃς δίκην, ἣν οὐκ ἐμιμήσω λαβὼν ὑπόδειγμα.

ΛΒʹ. Γενέσθω σοι τὸ λουτρὸν, μὴ τοῦ σώματος μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς εἰκόνος· μὴ τῶν ἁμαρτημά των ἔκπλυσις μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦ τρόπου διόρ θωσις· μὴ τὸν προλαβόντα βόρβορον ἀποκλυζέτω μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν πηγὴν καθαιρέτω· μὴ τὸ καλῶς κτᾶσθαι τυπούτω μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ καλῶς ἀποκτᾶ σθαι, ἢ, τό γε κουφότατον, τὸ κακῶς κτηθὲν ἀποτίθε σθαι. Τί γὰρ ὄφελος σοὶ μὲν συγχωρηθῆναι τὴν ἁμαρτίαν, τῷ δὲ ἠδικημένῳ μὴ λυθῆναι τὴν παρὰ σοῦ ζη μίαν· δύο σοι κακῶν ὄντων, τοῦ τε κτήσασθαι μὴ δικαίως, καὶ τοῦ τὸ κτηθὲν κατέχεσθαι; Τοῦ μὲν ἄφεσιν ἔλαβες, τὸ δὲ σήμερον ἀδικεῖς. Σήμερον γάρ 36.405 ἐστι παρὰ σοὶ τὸ ἀλλότριον· καὶ οὐκ ἀνῃρέθη τὸ ἁμάρτημα, τῷ χρόνῳ δὲ διεκόπη. Τὸ μὲν πρὸ τοῦ βαπτίσματος τολμηθὲν, τὸ δὲ μένον μετὰ τὸ βάπτισμα· τῶν γὰρ ἡμαρτημένων, οὐ τῶν ἁμαρτανομένων τὸ λουτρὸν ἔχει συγχώρησιν. ∆εῖ δὲ μὴ σοφισθῆναι τὸν καθαρμὸν, ἀλλ' ἐνσημανθῆναι· λαμπρυνθῆναί σε τελείως, ἀλλὰ μὴ χρωσθῆναι· μηδὲ ἐπικάλυψιν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν, ἀλλ' ἀπαλλαγὴν ἔχειν τὸ χάρισμα. Μακά ριοι, ὧν ἀφέθησαν αἱ ἀνομίαι· τοῦτο τῆς παντελοῦς καθάρσεως· καὶ ὧν ἐπεκαλύφθησαν αἱ ἁμαρ τίαι· τοῦτο τῶν οὔπω τὸ βάθος καθηραμένων. Μακά ριος ἀνὴρ, ᾧ οὐ μὴ λογίσηται Κύριος ἁμαρτίαν· τρίτη τις αὕτη τάξις τῶν ἁμαρτανομένων· ὧν ἡ μὲν πρᾶξις οὐκ ἐπαινετὴ, τὸ δὲ τῆς γνώμης ἀνεύ θυνον.

ΛΓʹ. Τί οὖν φημι, καὶ τίς ὁ ἐμὸς λόγος; χθὲς ἦσθα Χαναναία ψυχὴ, καὶ διὰ τῆς ἁμαρτίας συγκύ πτουσα· σήμερον ἀνωρθώθης ὑπὸ τοῦ Λόγου. Μὴ συγκύψῃς πάλιν, καὶ εἰς γῆν κλιθῇς, ὥσπερ κύφωνι παρὰ τοῦ πονηροῦ βαρηθεῖσα, καὶ δυσ ανάκλητον