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to receive. And yet robbers have often escaped the hands of men; but nevertheless, knowing this, we would have prayed to be delivered, both for ourselves and our enemies, from their life and their accursed prosperity. But in God's case, it is not possible to say this; for no one will escape His sentence, but all those who live in avarice and rapine will certainly draw upon themselves that immortal and endless judgment from Him, just as that rich man did. Therefore, collecting all these things among yourselves, beloved, let us not call blessed those who live in wealth, but those who live in virtue; let us not pity those in poverty, but those in wickedness; let us not look at the present things, but let us consider the things to come; let us not examine the outward appearance, but the conscience of each person, and pursuing the virtue and joy that come from right actions, 48.981 let us, both rich and poor, emulate Lazarus. For he endured not just one or two or three, but very many trials of virtue, I mean poverty, sickness, the desolation of having no one to care for him, to endure those things in a house that could have quenched all such evils, and not be deemed worthy of a word of consolation from anyone, to see the one who despised him enjoying such luxury, and not only enjoying luxury, but also living in wickedness, and suffering no evil; to have no other Lazarus to look to, to be able to philosophize nothing about the resurrection, along with the aforesaid evils, to also receive a bad reputation among the many because of those misfortunes, not for two or three days, but throughout his whole life, to see himself in these circumstances, and the rich man in the opposite ones. What excuse, then, shall we have, if when he bore all his terrible sufferings together with such courage, we will not bear even half of them? For you cannot, you cannot 48.982 show, nor tell of another who has suffered so many and such evils. For this is why Christ set him forth in our midst, so that wherever we might fall into terrible things, seeing in him the excess of tribulations, we might receive sufficient encouragement and consolation from his philosophy and patience; for he is set forth as a common teacher of the world for those suffering any terrible thing, offering himself for all to see, and surpassing them all by the excess of his own evils. For all these things, then, having given thanks to the philanthropic God, let us reap the benefit from the narrative, carrying him about continually, both in councils, and at home, and in the marketplace, and everywhere, and learning with precision all the wealth from this parable, so that we may both run past the present terrible things without grief, and obtain the good things to come; of which may we all be deemed worthy, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, honor, worship, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

A second discourse on Lazarus, and that the souls of those

who die a violent death do not become demons, and concerning judgment and almsgiving. 1. I marveled at your love, when I previously delivered

the discourse, because you both approved the patience of the poor man, and turned away from the cruelty and inhumanity of the rich man; and these are no small proofs of goodness. For even if we do not pursue virtue, but praise virtue, we will certainly be able to attain it; even if we do not flee vice, but censure vice, we will certainly be able to escape it. Since, therefore, you received those words with much good-will, come, let us also render to you what remains. You saw him then at the gate of the rich man, see him today in the bosom of Abraham; you saw him

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ὑποδέχεσθαι. Καίτοι οἱ μὲν λῃσταὶ πολλάκις ἐξέφυγον ἀνθρώπων χεῖρας· ἀλλ' ὅμως καὶ τοῦτο εἰδότες, καὶ ἑαυτοῖς καὶ ἐχθροῖς ἀπευξάμεθα ἂν τὸν ἐκείνων βίον, καὶ τὴν εὐπορίαν τὴν ἐπάρατον. Ἐπὶ δὲ τοῦ Θεοῦ οὐκ ἔστι τοῦτο εἰπεῖν· οὐδεὶς γὰρ αὐτοῦ διαφεύξεται τὴν ψῆφον, ἀλλὰ πάντες πάντως οἱ ἐν πλεονεξίαις καὶ ἁρπαγαῖς ζῶντες τὴν παρ' αὐτοῦ δίκην ἐπισπάσονται τὴν ἀθάνατον ἐκείνην καὶ τέλος οὐκ ἔχουσαν, καθάπερ οὖν καὶ ὁ πλούσιος ἐκεῖνος. Ἅπερ οὖν ἅπαντα παρ' ἑαυτοῖς συλλέγοντες, ἀγαπητοὶ, μὴ τοὺς ἐν πλούτῳ, ἀλλὰ τοὺς ἐν ἀρετῇ ζῶντας μακαρίζωμεν· μὴ τοὺς ἐν πενίᾳ, ἀλλὰ τοὺς ἐν κακίᾳ ταλανίζωμεν· μὴ τὰ παρόντα βλέπωμεν, ἀλλὰ τὰ μέλλοντα σκοπῶμεν· μὴ τὴν ἔξωθεν περιβολὴν, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἑκάστου συνειδὸς ἐξετάζωμεν, καὶ τὴν ἐκ τῶν κατορθωμάτων 48.981 ἀρετὴν καὶ χαρὰν διώκοντες, ζηλώσωμεν τὸν Λάζαρον καὶ πλούσιοι καὶ πένητες. Οὐ γὰρ ἕνα καὶ δύο καὶ τρεῖς μόνον οὗτος, ἀλλὰ πλείστους ἄθλους ἀρετῆς ὑπέμενε, τὴν πενίαν λέγω, τὴν ἀῤῥωστίαν, τὴν ἐρημίαν τῶν προστησομένων, τὸ ἐν οἰκίᾳ δυναμένῃ τὰ τοιαῦτα σβέσαι κακὰ ἅπαντα ὑπομεῖναι ἐκεῖνα, καὶ μηδενὸς εἰς παραμυθίας λόγον ἀξιοῦσθαι, τὸ τρυφῆς τοσαύτης ἀπολαύοντα τὸν ὑπερορῶντα ὁρᾷν, καὶ οὐ τρυφῆς ἀπολαύοντα μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν πονηρίᾳ ζῶντα, καὶ μηδὲν πάσχοντα δεινόν· τὸ καὶ μὴ πρὸς Λάζαρον ἕτερον ἔχειν ἰδεῖν, τὸ μηδὲν περὶ ἀναστάσεως δύνασθαι φιλοσοφεῖν, τὸ μετὰ τῶν εἰρημένων κακῶν καὶ πονηρὰν παρὰ τοῖς πολλοῖς ἀπὸ τῶν συμφορῶν ἐκείνων λαμβάνειν ὑπόληψιν, τὸ μὴ μέχρι δύο καὶ τριῶν ἡμερῶν, ἀλλὰ διὰ παντὸς τοῦ βίου, καὶ ἑαυτὸν ἐν τούτοις, καὶ τὸν πλούσιον ἐν τοῖς ἐναντίοις ὁρᾷν. Τίνα οὖν ἕξομεν ἀπολογίαν, εἰ τούτου πάντα ὁμοῦ τὰ δεινὰ μετὰ τοσαύτης φέροντος ἀνδρείας, ἡμεῖς μηδὲ τὰ ἡμίση τούτων οἴσομεν; Οὐ γὰρ ἔχεις, οὐκ ἔχεις 48.982 δεῖξαι, οὐδὲ εἰπεῖν ἄλλον τινὰ τοσαῦτα καὶ τοιαῦτα πεπονθότα κακά. ∆ιὰ γὰρ τοῦτο αὐτὸν καὶ εἰς μέσον προὔθηκεν ὁ Χριστὸς, ἵνα ὅπουπερ ἂν ἐμπέσωμεν τῶν δεινῶν, ὁρῶντες παρὰ τούτῳ τὴν ὑπερβολὴν οὖσαν τῶν θλίψεων, ἱκανὴν ἐκ τῆς ἐκείνου φιλοσοφίας καὶ ὑπομονῆς ἀναλάβωμεν παράκλησιν καὶ παραμυθίαν· κοινὸς γὰρ τῆς οἰκουμένης διδάσκαλος πρόκειται τοῖς ὁτιοῦν πάσχουσι δεινὸν, πρὸς αὐτὸν παρέχων πᾶσιν ὁρᾷν, καὶ πάντας αὐτοὺς νικῶν τῇ τῶν οἰκείων κακῶν ὑπερβολῇ. Ὑπὲρ δὴ τούτων ἁπάντων εὐχαριστήσαντες τῷ φιλανθρώπῳ Θεῷ, καρπωσώμεθα τὴν ἐκ τοῦ διηγήματος ὠφέλειαν, συνεχῶς αὐτὸν καὶ ἐν συνεδρίοις, καὶ ἐν οἰκίᾳ, καὶ ἐν ἀγορᾷ, καὶ πανταχοῦ περιφέροντες, καὶ μετὰ ἀκριβείας ἅπαντα τὸν ἐκ τῆς παραβολῆς ταύτης καταμανθάνοντες πλοῦτον, ἵνα καὶ τὰ παρόντα ἀλύπως παραδράμωμεν δεινὰ, καὶ τῶν μελλόντων ἐπιτύχωμεν ἀγαθῶν· ὧν γένοιτο πάντας ἡμᾶς ἀξιωθῆναι, χάριτι καὶ φιλανθρωπίᾳ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, μεθ' οὗ τῷ Πατρὶ, ἅμα τῷ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι, δόξα, τιμὴ, προσκύνησις, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ, καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.

Εἰς τὸν Λάζαρον λόγος δεύτερος, καὶ ὅτι αἱ ψυχαὶ τῶν

βιοθανάτων οὐ γίνονται δαίμονες, καὶ περὶ κρίσεως καὶ ἐλεημοσύνης. αʹ. Ἐθαύμασα τὴν ἀγάπην ὑμῶν, ὅτε τὸν περὶ τοῦ Λαζάρου πρώην ἐκίνησα

λόγον, ὅτι καὶ τὴν ὑπομονὴν τοῦ πένητος ἀπεδέξασθε, καὶ τὴν ὠμότητα καὶ ἀπανθρωπίαν τοῦ πλουτοῦντος ἀπεστράφητε· οὐ μικρὰ δὲ ταῦτα καλοκαγαθίας δείγματα. Κἂν γὰρ μὴ μετίωμεν ἀρετὴν, ἐπαινῶμεν δὲ ἀρετὴν, δυνησόμεθα πάντως αὐτὴν μετελθεῖν· κἂν μὴ φεύγωμεν κακίαν, ἀλλὰ ψέγωμεν κακίαν, δυνησόμεθα πάντως αὐτὴν ἐκφυγεῖν. Ἐπεὶ οὖν μετὰ πολλῆς εὐνοίας ἐκείνους ὑπεδέξασθε τοὺς λόγους, φέρε, καὶ τὰ λειπόμενα ὑμῖν ἀποδώσωμεν. Εἴδετε αὐτὸν ἐν τῷ πυλῶνι τοῦ πλουσίου τότε, βλέπετε αὐτὸν σήμερον ἐν τοῖς κόλποις τοῦ Ἀβραάμ· εἴδετε αὐτὸν