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he mingles with the sick and says: "To the Jews I became as a Jew, to those without law as one without law," but his disciples and those more weakly disposed he leads away, advising and teaching thus: "Evil company corrupts good habits." And again: "Come out from their midst and be separate, says the Lord." For the physician, if he comes to the one who is ill, often benefits both him and himself; but the weaker one harms both himself and the sick person by mingling with the ill; for he will not be able to benefit that person at all, and he himself will draw much harm from the sickness. And what those who look at people with eye disease suffer, drawing to themselves something of that sickness, this also those who mingle with these blasphemers endure, if they are weaker, drawing a great part of the impiety to themselves. Therefore, so that we may not harm ourselves in the greatest matters, let us flee their company, only praying and entreating the philanthropic God, who wishes all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth, to deliver them from error and the snare of the devil, and to lead them back to the light of knowledge, God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, with the life-giving and all-holy Spirit, to whom be glory and power, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. 3 Of the same, concerning the incomprehensible and that not even the condescension of God is bearable to the Seraphim, Homily 3. The industrious farmers, when they see a fruitless and wild tree ruining their labors and, with the roughness of its root and the weight of its shade, destroying the cultivated plants, they cut it down with great haste. And often a wind also, coming from somewhere, assists them in the cutting, and falling upon the foliage of the tree and shaking it with much violence, it both breaks it and casts it to the ground, and lightens for them the greater part of their labor. Since, therefore, we too are cutting down a wild and uncultivated tree, the heresy of the Anomoeans, let us beseech God to send us the grace of the Spirit, so that, falling upon it more violently than any wind, it may uproot the heresy, lightening for us the greater part of the labor. For indeed, fallow land that has not enjoyed the hands of farmers has often spewed forth from its own bosom wicked weeds and a multitude of thorns and wild trees; so also the desolate soul of the Anomoeans, not having enjoyed the care of the Scriptures, has spewed forth this wild and uncultivated heresy from itself and of its own accord. For Paul did not plant this tree, Apollos did not water it, God did not make it grow, but untimely meddling of reasonings planted it, the pride of folly watered it, and the love of glory made it grow. And we need the flame of the Spirit, so that we may not only uproot, but also burn up this wicked root. Let us then call upon him, the one blasphemed by them but praised by us as God, and let us entreat, that he both rouse our tongue to a greater course and open our mind to a clearer understanding of what is said. For all our labor is for him and for his glory, or rather for our salvation. For no one will be able to harm God by dishonoring him, nor to make him more glorious by praising him; but he always remains in his own glory, neither increased by praises nor diminished by blasphemies; but of men, those who glorify him worthily, or rather, while it is possible for no one to do so worthily, but to the best of their ability, they reap the benefit from the doxology; while those who blaspheme and scorn destroy their own salvation. "For he who has thrown a stone on high, has thrown it on his own head," someone has said concerning the blasphemers. For just as one hurling a stone on high will not be able to cut through the body of heaven, nor to reach that height, but the blow to his own

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ἀρρωστοῦσιν ἀναμίγνυται καὶ λέγει· «Ἐγενόμην τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις ὡς Ἰουδαῖος, τοῖςἀνόμοις ὡς ἄνομος», τοὺς δὲ μαθητὰς καὶ ἀσθενέστερον διακειμένους ἀπάγει παραινῶν οὕτω καὶ διδάσκων· «Φθείρουσιν ἤθη χρηστὰ ὁμιλίαι κακαί.» Καὶ πάλιν· «Ἐξέλθετε ἐκ μέσου αὐτῶν καὶ ἀφορίσθητε, λέγει Κύριος.» Ὁ μὲν γὰρ ἰατρός, ἐὰν ἔλθῃ πρὸς τὸν κάμνοντα, κἀκεῖνον καὶ ἑαυτὸν πολλάκις ὠφέλησεν· ὁ δὲ ἀσθενέστερος καὶ ἑαυτὸν καὶ τὸν ἀρρωστοῦντα παρέβλαψε, τοῖς νοσοῦσιν ἀναμιγνύμενος· ἐκεῖνόν τε γὰρ οὐδὲν ὠφελῆσαι δυνήσεται, καὶ αὐτὸς ἐπισπάσεται πολλὴν ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρρωστίας τὴν βλάβην. Καὶ ὅπερ οἱ πρὸς τοὺς ὀφθαλμιῶντας ὁρῶντες πάσχουσιν, ἐφελκόμενοί τι τῆς ἀρρωστίας ἐκείνης, τοῦτο καὶ οἱ τοῖς βλασφήμοις συναναμιγνύμενοι τούτοις ὑπομένουσιν, ἂν ὦσιν ἀσθενέστεροι, πολὺ τῆς ἀσεβείας πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς ἐπισπώμενοι μέρος. Ἵν' οὖν μὴ τὰ μέγιστα ἑαυτοὺς παραβλάψωμεν, φεύγωμεν αὐτῶν τὰς συνουσίας, εὐχόμενοι μόνον καὶ παρακαλοῦντες τὸν φιλάνθρωπον Θεόν, τὸν θέλοντα πάντας ἀνθρώπους σωθῆναι καὶ εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν τῆς ἀληθείας ἐλθεῖν, ἀπαλλάξαι μὲν αὐτοὺς τῆς πλάνης καὶ τῆς τοῦ διαβόλου παγίδος, ἐπαναγαγεῖν δὲ ἐπὶ τὸ τῆς γνώσεως φῶς, τὸν Θεὸν καὶ πατέρα τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, σὺν τῷ ζωοποιῷ καὶ παναγίῳ Πνεύματι, ᾧ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος, νῦν καὶ ἀεί, καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν. 3 Τοῦ αὐτοῦ περὶ ἀκαταλήπτου καὶ ὅτι οὐδὲ ἡ συγκατάβασις τοῦ Θεοῦ φορητὴ τοῖς Σεραφὶμ λόγος γʹ. Οἱ φιλόπονοι τῶν γεωργῶν, ἐπειδὰν ἴδωσι δένδρον ἄκαρπον καὶ ἀνήμερον τοῖς αὐτῶν λυμαινόμενον πόνοις καὶ τῇ τῆς ῥίζης τραχύτητι καὶ τῇ βαρύτητι τῆς σκιᾶς διαφθεῖρον τὰ ἥμερα τῶν φυτῶν, μετὰ πολλῆς ἐκτέμνουσιν αὐτὸ τῆς σπουδῆς. Πολλάκις δὲ αὐτοῖς καὶ ἄνεμός ποθεν ἐξελθών, συνεφάπτεται τῆς τομῆς, καὶ τῇ κόμῃ τοῦ δένδρου προσπεσὼν καὶ μετὰ πολλῆς τινάξας τῆς σφοδρότητος, συνέκλασέ τε αὐτὸ καὶ εἰς τὴν γῆν ἔρριψε, καὶ τοῦ πόνου τὸ πλέον αὐτοῖς ἐπεκούφισεν. Ἐπεὶ οὖν καὶ ἡμεῖς δένδρον ἐκτέμνομεν ἄγριον καὶ ἀνήμερον, τῶν Ἀνομοίων τὴν αἵρεσιν, παρακαλέσωμεν τὸν Θεὸν πέμψαι τοῦ Πνεύματος ἡμῖν τὴν χάριν, ἵνα ἀνέμου σφοδρότερον παντὸς προσβαλοῦσα πρόρριζον ἀνασπάσῃ τὴν αἵρεσιν, τὸ πλέον ἡμῖν ἐπικουφίζουσα τοῦ πόνου. Ἤδη γάρ που καὶ γῆ χερσωθεῖσα καὶ γεωργικῶν οὐκ ἀπολαύσασα χειρῶν, πονηρὰς βοτάνας καὶ ἀκανθῶν πλῆθος καὶ δένδρα ἄγρια ἐξέβρασεν ἐκ τῶν οἰκείων κόλπων πολλάκις· οὕτω καὶ ἡ τῶν Ἀνομοίων ἐρημωθεῖσα ψυχὴ καὶ τῆς ἀπὸ τῶν Γραφῶν ἐπιμελείας οὐκ ἀπολαύσασα, οἴκοθεν καὶ ἀπ' αὐτῆς τὴν ἀγρίαν ταύτην καὶ ἀνήμερον ἐξέβρασεν αἵρεσιν. Τοῦτο γὰρ τὸ δένδρον οὐ Παῦλος ἐφύτευσεν, οὐκ Ἀπολλὼς ἐπότισεν, οὐχ ὁ Θεὸς ηὔξανεν, ἀλλ' ἐφύτευσε μὲν λογισμῶν ἄκαιρος περιεργία, ἐπότισε δὲ ἀπονοίας τῦφος, ηὔξησε δὲ φιλοδοξίας ἔρως. Καὶ δεῖ τῆς τοῦ Πνεύματος ἡμῖν φλογός, ἵνα μὴ μόνον ἀνασπάσωμεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ κατακαύσωμεν τὴν πονηρὰν ταύτην ῥίζαν, καλέσωμεν τοίνυν αὐτόν, τὸν ὑπ' ἐκείνων μὲν βλασφημούμενον, ὑφ' ἡμῶν δὲ εὐφημούμενον Θεόν, καὶ παρακαλέσωμεν, ὥστε καὶ τὴν γλῶτταν ἡμῶν πρὸς πλείονα διεγεῖραι δρόμον καὶ τὴν διάνοιαν ἡμῖν πρὸς σαφεστέραν διανοῖξαι τῶν λεγομένων σύνεσιν. Ὑπὲρ γὰρ αὐτοῦ καὶ τῆς αὐτοῦ δόξης ἅπας ἡμῖν ὁ πόνος, μᾶλλον δὲ ὑπὲρ τῆς σωτηρίας τῆς ἡμετέρας. Τὸν μὲν γὰρ Θεὸν οὐδεὶς οὔτε ἀτιμάζων παραβλάψαι δυνήσεται, οὔτε εὐφημῶν λαμπρότερον ἀποφῆναι· ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τῆς οἰκείας ἀεὶ μένει δόξης, οὔτε εὐφημίαις αὐξανόμενος, οὔτε ἐλαττούμενος βλασφημίαις· τῶν δὲ ἀνθρώπων οἱ μὲν δοξάζοντες αὐτὸν κατ' ἀξίαν, μᾶλλον δὲ κατ' ἀξίαν μὲν οὐδενὶ δυνατόν, εἰς δὲ δύναμιν τὴν ἑαυτῶν, τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς δοξολογίας ὠφέλειαν καρποῦνται· οἱ δὲ βλασφημοῦντες καὶ ἐξευτελίζοντες τὴν οἰκείαν λυμαίνονται σωτηρίαν. «Ὁ γὰρ βαλὼν λίθον ἐς ὕψος, εἰς τὴν κεφαλὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἔβαλε», περὶ τῶν βλασφημούντων τις εἴρηκε. Καθάπερ γὰρ ὁ λίθον πρὸς ὕψος ἀκοντίζων, τοῦ οὐρανοῦ μὲν τὸ σῶμα διατεμεῖν οὐ δυνήσεται, οὔτε πρὸς τὸ ὕψος φθάσαι ἐκεῖνο, τὴν δὲ πληγὴν τῇ οἰκείᾳ