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Praising Timothy, he says, yet honoring them, because he sent to them his fellow-worker and minister of the Gospel; as if he had said: Having taken him away from his labors we have sent to you the minister of God, and our fellow-worker in the Gospel of Christ. Then also the reason: To establish you and to comfort you concerning your faith, that no one should be moved by these afflictions. What then does he say here? Since the temptations of the teachers disturb the disciples, and at that time he fell into many temptations, as he himself says, that Satan hindered us; to recover them he has spoken thus. What he says is this: Once and again I wanted to come, and I was not able; which was a matter of great force. And it was likely that this disturbed them. For the disciples are not as much disturbed by their own temptations as by those of their teachers; just as a soldier is not as much disturbed by his own temptations as when he sees his general struck down. To establish you, he says. Therefore he sent him, that they might not be disturbed, but not as though they were lacking anything of faith, nor as needing to learn anything. And to comfort you concerning your faith, that no one should be moved by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we are appointed to this. For even when we were with you, we told you before that we were to suffer tribulation, even as it came to pass, and you know. You must not be disturbed, he says; for indeed nothing strange, nothing unexpected is happening; which was sufficient to rouse them. Do you see that for this reason Christ also foretold things to His disciples? for hear Him saying: From now on I have told you before it comes to pass, that, when it does come to pass, you may believe. For it is a great, truly a great comfort to others, to hear from their teachers what is happening. For just as one who is sick, if he hears from his physician that this and that is happening, is not greatly disturbed; but if it turns out unexpectedly, as if he too were at a loss, and the disease had become greater than his skill, he is distressed and disturbed; so also here. Paul, foreseeing these things, told them beforehand, That we are to suffer tribulation; Even as, he says, it came to pass and you know. He does not say only that this came to pass, but that he also foretold many other things, and they came to pass. To this we are appointed. So that not only concerning past things must we not be disturbed and troubled—for this is to be moved—but neither concerning future things, if any such thing should happen. For to this we are appointed. 4. Let us hear, we who have ears to hear; to this is the Christian appointed. The phrase, To this we are appointed, he says concerning all the faithful. To this we are appointed; and we, as if appointed to ease, think it strange. Or rather, for what reason do we think it strange? For neither has a time of tribulation, nor a temptation taken hold of us, except what is human. It is timely also to say to you, You have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. Or rather, it is not timely to say this to you, but what? You have not yet despised riches. For to those who had lost all their possessions these things were reasonably said; 62.411 but to those who have their own possessions, this: Who has had his goods seized for Christ's sake? who has been struck? who has been insulted? even to words, I say. From where is your boasting? From where can you have confidence? Christ suffered so many things for us when we were enemies; what can we show that we have suffered for His sake? Of what we have suffered, nothing; but of the good things we receive from Him, ten thousand. From where will our confidence be on that day? Do you not know that even a soldier, when he shows ten thousand wounds and scars, then will be able to be glorious before the king? but if he has no achievement to show, even if he has done nothing wrong, he will be ranked among the last? But it is not a time of war, he says. For if it were, tell me, who would have fought? who would have leaped forth? who would have broken through the phalanx? Perhaps no one; for when I see that you do not despise riches for Christ's sake,

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Τιμόθεον ἐπαίρων, φησὶν, ἀλλ' αὐτοὺς τιμῶν, ὅτι τὸν συνεργὸν, καὶ διάκονον τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου αὐτοῖς ἔπεμψεν· ὡς ἂν εἰ ἔλεγεν· Ἀποσπάσαντες ἀπὸ τῶν ἔργων ἐπέμψαμεν πρὸς ὑμᾶς τὸν διάκονον τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ συνεργὸν ἡμῶν ἐν τῷ Εὐαγγελίῳ τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Εἶτα καὶ ἡ αἰτία· Εἰς τὸ στηρίξαι ὑμᾶς καὶ παρακαλέσαι ὑπὲρ τῆς πίστεως ὑμῶν, τῷ μηδένα σαίνεσθαι ἐν ταῖς θλίψεσι ταύταις. Τί δὴ ἐνταῦθά φησιν; Ἐπειδὴ τῶν διδασκάλων οἱ πειρασμοὶ θορυβοῦσι τοὺς μαθητὰς, τότε δὲ πολλοῖς περιέπεσε πειρασμοῖς, ὡς καὶ αὐτός φησιν, ὅτι Ἐνέκοψεν ἡμᾶς ὁ Σατανᾶς· ἀνακτώμενος αὐτοὺς οὕτως εἴρηκεν. Ὃ δὲ λέγει, τοῦτό ἐστι· Καὶ ἅπαξ καὶ δεύτερον ἤθελον ἐλθεῖν, καὶ οὐκ ἴσχυσα· ὃ πολλῆς βίας ἦν. Εἰκὸς δὲ τοῦτο θορυβῆσαι αὐτούς. Οὐ γὰρ οὕτως ἐπὶ τοῖς οἰκείοις πειρασμοῖς, ὡς ἐπὶ τοῖς τῶν διδασκάλων θορυβοῦνται οἱ μαθηταί· ὥσπερ οὐδὲ οὕτως ἐπὶ τῶν οἰκείων θορυβεῖται πειρασμῶν στρατιώτης, ὡς ὅταν τὸν στρατηγὸν ἴδῃ βεβλημένον. Εἰς τὸ στηρίξαι ὑμᾶς, φησίν. Ἄρα διὰ τὸ μὴ θορυβηθῆναι ἔπεμψεν, ἀλλ' οὐχ ὡς ἐλλείποντάς τι τῆς πίστεως, οὐδ' ὡς ὀφείλοντάς τι μαθεῖν. Καὶ παρακαλέσαι ὑπὲρ τῆς πίστεως ὑμῶν, τῷ μηδένα σαίνεσθαι ἐν ταῖς θλίψεσι ταύταις· αὐτοὶ γὰρ οἴδατε ὅτι εἰς τοῦτο κείμεθα. Καὶ γὰρ ὅτε πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἦμεν, προελέγομεν ὑμῖν, ὅτι μέλλομεν θλίβεσθαι, καθὼς καὶ ἐγένετο, καὶ οἴδατε. Οὐ δεῖ θορυβεῖσθαι, φησί· καὶ γὰρ οὐδὲν ξένον, οὐδὲν παρ' ἐλπίδα συμβαίνει· ὅπερ ἱκανὸν ἦν αὐτοὺς διαναστῆσαι. Ὁρᾷς ὅτι διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς προέλεγε τοῖς μαθηταῖς; ἄκουσον γὰρ αὐτοῦ λέγοντος· Ἀπάρτι εἶπον ὑμῖν πρὸ τοῦ γενέσθαι, ἵν', ὅταν γένηται, πιστεύσητε. Μέγα γὰρ, ὄντως μέγα εἰς παραμυθίαν τῶν ἄλλων, τὸ παρὰ τῶν διδασκάλων ἀκοῦσαι τὰ γινόμενα. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ὁ κάμνων παρὰ τοῦ ἰατροῦ, ἐὰν ἀκούσῃ ὅτι τόδε γίνεται καὶ τόδε, οὐ σφόδρα θορυβεῖται· ἐὰν δὲ ἀπροσδοκήτως ἐκβῇ, ὡς κἀκείνου ἀπορηθέντος, καὶ τοῦ νοσήματος μείζονος τῆς τέχνης γενομένου, ἀλύει καὶ θορυβεῖται· οὕτω καὶ ἐνταῦθα. Ἅπερ προειδὼς, ὁ Παῦλος, προεῖπεν αὐτοῖς Ὅτι μέλλομεν θλίβεσθαι· Καθὼς, φησὶ, καὶ ἐγένετο καὶ οἴδατε. Οὐχ ὅτι ἐγένετο τοῦτο λέγει μόνον, ἀλλ' ὅτι πολλὰ καὶ ἄλλα προεῖπε, καὶ ἐξέβη. Εἰς τοῦτο κείμεθα. Ὥστε οὐχ ὑπὲρ τῶν παρελθόντων μόνον οὐ δεῖ θορυβεῖσθαι καὶ ταράττεσθαι· τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι σαίνεσθαι· ἀλλ' οὐδ' ὑπὲρ τῶν μελλόντων, εἴ τι συμβαίη τοιοῦτον. Εἰς τοῦτο γὰρ κείμεθα. δʹ. Ἀκούσωμεν οἷς ἐστιν ὦτα ἀκούειν· εἰς τοῦτο κεῖται ὁ Χριστιανός. Τὸ, Εἰς τοῦτο κείμεθα, περὶ πάντων λέγει τῶν πιστῶν. Εἰς τοῦτο κείμεθα· καὶ ἡμεῖς ὡσανεὶ εἰς ἄνεσιν κείμενοι, ξενοπαθοῦμεν. Μᾶλλον δὲ τίνος ἕνεκεν ξενοπαθοῦμεν; οὐδὲ γὰρ θλίψεως καιρὸς, οὐδὲ πειρασμὸς κατέλαβεν, εἰ μὴ ἀνθρώπινος. Εὔκαιρον καὶ πρὸς ὑμᾶς εἰπεῖν, Οὔπω μέχρις αἵματος ἀντικατέστητε πρὸς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἀνταγωνιζόμενοι. Μᾶλλον δὲ οὐ τοῦτο εὔκαιρον εἰπεῖν πρὸς ὑμᾶς, ἀλλὰ ποῖον; Οὔπω χρημάτων κατεφρονήσατε. Ἐκείνοις μὲν γὰρ τοῖς τὰ αὐτῶν ἀπολωλεκόσιν ἅπαντα εἰκότως ταῦτα ἐλέγετο· 62.411 τοῖς δὲ τὰ αὐτῶν ἔχουσι, τοῦτο· Τίς ἡρπάγη χρήματα διὰ Χριστόν; τίς ἐῤῥαπίσθη; τίς ὑβρίσθη; μέχρι ῥημάτων, λέγω. Πόθεν ἡ καύχησις; πόθεν δύνασαι παῤῥησίαν ἔχειν; Τοσαῦτα ἔπαθε δι' ἡμεῖς ἐχθροὺς ὄντας ὁ Χριστός· τί δυνάμεθα ἐπιδεῖξαι ἡμεῖς ὧν δι' αὐτὸν πεπόνθαμεν; Ὧν μὲν πεπόνθαμεν, οὐδέν· ὧν δὲ πάσχομεν παρ' αὐτοῦ καλῶν, μυρία. Πόθεν ἡμῖν ἡ παῤῥησία ἔσται κατ' ἐκείνην τὴν ἡμέραν; Οὐκ ἴστε, ὅτι καὶ ὁ στρατιώτης, ὅταν μυρία τραύματα καὶ ὠτειλὰς ἐπιδεικνύηται, τότε δυνήσεται λαμπρὸς εἶναι παρὰ τῷ βασιλεῖ; ἂν δὲ μηδὲν ἔχῃ δεῖξαι κατόρθωμα, κἂν μηδὲν ᾖ προσκεκρουκὼς, ἐν τοῖς ἐσχάτοις τετάξεται; Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἔστι πολέμου καιρὸς, φησίν. Εἰ γὰρ ἦν, εἰπέ μοι, τίς ἂν ἠγωνίσατο; τίς ἂν ἐπεπήδησε; τίς ἂν τὴν φάλαγγα διέξωσε; Τάχα οὐδείς· ὅταν γὰρ ἴδω ὅτι χρημάτων οὐ καταφρονεῖς ἕνεκεν τοῦ Χριστοῦ,