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not if you say, but if you do. Can you not heal a withered hand? But you can make your own hand, which is becoming withered by inhumanity, be stretched out through philanthropy. For, he says, "Let not your hand be stretched out to receive, but drawn back when it comes to giving." Do you see that not withering, but inhumanity also draws back the hand? Stretch it out, therefore, through philanthropy and almsgiving. Can you not cast out a demon? But cast out sin, and you will receive a greater reward. Do you see how everywhere a virtuous life and right actions have greater praise than miracles, and a more abundant reward? And if you wish, we will show this from another place also. The seventy disciples, he says, came to him, and were rejoicing, and said: "Lord, in your name even the demons are subject to us." And he says to them, "Do not rejoice that the demons are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." Do you see that a virtuous life is admired everywhere?

2. Come then, let us consider what has been said from the beginning. By 51.86 this all will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. Behold, the sign of being disciples has been shown to be from a virtuous life, not from miracles. "Peter, do you love me more than these? Tend my sheep." Behold, another sign, and this again from a virtuous life. A third sign again: "Do not rejoice that the demons are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." And this is again an achievement of a virtuous life. Do you wish to learn a fourth proof of this? "Let your light," he says, "so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." Behold, here too works appear. And when he says again, "Whoever has left house, or brothers, or sisters for my sake, will receive a hundredfold, and will inherit eternal life," he praises the virtuous life, and the exact life. You have seen the disciples are known by their love for one another, and the one who loves Christ more than the apostles is shown by tending the brothers, and those who ought to rejoice are commanded to be glad, not because they cast out demons, but because they are enrolled in heaven, and those who glorify God are shown by the splendor of their works, and those who attain life and receive a hundredfold, attain this gift by their contempt for all present things. Imitate all these, and you will be able to be a disciple, and to be numbered among the friends of God, and to glorify God, and to enjoy eternal life; and not performing signs will be no hindrance to you in obtaining all good things, if you have an exact way of life. For he himself, Peter, received this name not from wonders and signs, but from zeal and genuine affection. For he was not so called because he raised the dead, nor because he healed the lame; but because he showed genuine faith with his confession, he inherited this name, "You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church." Why? Not because he performed miracles, but because he said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Do you see that his being called Peter itself had its origin not from miracles, but from fiery zeal. But since I have mentioned Peter, the memory of another Peter has come to me, our common father and teacher, who, having succeeded to his virtue, also inherited his see. For this too is one advantage of our city, that it received the chief of the apostles as its teacher in the beginning. For it was necessary that the city which before all the world had taken upon itself the name of Christians should receive the first of the apostles as its pastor. But having received him as teacher, we did not keep him to the end, but we yielded him to the queenly city, Rome; or rather, we have had him to the end; for though we do not possess the body of Peter, we possess the faith of Peter as Peter; and the faith

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εἴπῃς, ἀλλ' ἐὰν ποιήσῃς. Οὐ δύνασαι ξηρὰν διορθῶσαι χεῖρα; Ἀλλὰ δύνασαι τὴν σεαυτοῦ χεῖρα ξηρὰν γινομένην ὑπὸ ἀπανθρωπίας ποιῆσαι ἐκταθῆναι διὰ φιλανθρωπίας. Μὴ ἔστω γὰρ, φησὶν, ἡ χείρ σου ἐκτεταμένη εἰς τὸ λαβεῖν, ἐν δὲ τῷ διδόναι συνεσταλμένη. Ὁρᾷς ὅτι οὐχ ἡ ξηρότης, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀπανθρωπία συστέλλει τὴν χεῖρα; Ἔκτεινον οὖν αὐτὴν διὰ φιλανθρωπίας καὶ ἐλεημοσύνης. Οὐ δύνασαι ἐκβαλεῖν δαίμονα; Ἀλλ' ἔκβαλε ἁμαρτίαν, καὶ μείζονα λήψῃ μισθόν. Εἶδες πῶς πανταχοῦ ἡ πολιτεία καὶ τὰ κατορθώματα μείζονα ἔπαινον ἔχει τῶν θαυμάτων, καὶ πλείονα τὴν ἀμοιβήν; Εἰ δὲ βούλει, καὶ ἑτέρωθεν τοῦτο δείξομεν. Προσῆλθον αὐτῷ, φησὶν, οἱ ἑβδομήκοντα μαθηταὶ, καὶ ἔχαιρον, καὶ ἔλεγον· Κύριε, ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί σου καὶ τὰ δαιμόνια ἡμῖν ὑπακούουσι. Καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· Μὴ χαίρετε, ὅτι τὰ δαιμόνια ὑμῖν ὑπακούει, ἀλλὰ χαίρετε, ὅτι τὰ ὀνόματα ὑμῶν γέγραπται ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς. Ὁρᾷς πανταχοῦ τὴν πολιτείαν θαυμαζομένην;

ʹ. Φέρε οὖν, ἀναλογισώμεθα τὰ εἰρημένα ἄνωθεν· Ἐν 51.86 τούτῳ γνώσονται πάντες, ὅτι ἐμοὶ μαθηταί ἐστε, ἐὰν ἀγαπᾶτε ἀλλήλους. Ἰδοὺ ἀπὸ πολιτείας, οὐκ ἀπὸ θαυμάτων τὸ γνώρισμα τοῦ μαθητὰς εἶναι ἀποδέδεικται. Πέτρε, φιλεῖς με πλέον τούτων; ποίμαινε τὰ πρόβατά μου. Ἰδοὺ καὶ ἕτερον γνώρισμα, καὶ αὐτὸ πάλιν ἀπὸ πολιτείας. Τρίτον πάλιν γνώρισμα· Μὴ χαίρετε, ὅτι τὰ δαιμόνια ὑμῖν ὑπακούει, ἀλλὰ χαίρετε, ὅτι τὰ ὀνόματα ὑμῶν γέγραπται ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς. Καὶ τοῦτο πολιτείας πάλιν κατόρθωμα. Βούλει καὶ τετάρτην ἀπόδειξιν τούτου μαθεῖν; Λαμψάτω, φησὶ, τὸ φῶς ὑμῶν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ἵνα ἴδωσι τὰ καλὰ ὑμῶν ἔργα, καὶ δοξάσωσι τὸν Πατέρα ὑμῶν τὸν ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς. Ἰδοὺ καὶ ἐνταῦθα ἔργα φαίνεται. Καὶ ὅταν λέγῃ πάλιν· Ὅστις ἀφῆκεν οἰκίαν, ἢ ἀδελφοὺς, ἢ ἀδελφὰς ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ, ἑκατονταπλασίονα λήψεται, καὶ ζωὴν αἰώνιον κληρονομήσει, τὴν πολιτείαν ἐπαινεῖ, καὶ τὸν διηκριβωμένον βίον. Εἶδες τοὺς μαθητὰς ἀπὸ τοῦ φιλεῖν ἀλλήλους γνωριζομένους, τὸν δὲ ὑπὲρ τοὺς ἀποστόλους φιλοῦντα τὸν Χριστὸν ἀπὸ τοῦ ποιμαίνειν τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς φαινόμενον, τοὺς δὲ ὀφείλοντας χαίρειν, οὐκ ἀπὸ τοῦ δαίμονας ἐκβάλλειν, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐγγεγράφθαι ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ κελευομένους εὐφραίνεσθαι, καὶ τοὺς μὲν τὸν Θεὸν δοξάζοντας ἀπὸ τῆς τῶν ἔργων λαμπρότητος δεικνυμένους, τοὺς δὲ ζωῆς ἐπιτυχόντας καὶ ἑκατονταπλασίονα λαμβάνοντας, ἀπὸ τῆς τῶν παρόντων ἁπάντων ὑπεροψίας ἐπιτυχόντας ταύτης τῆς δωρεᾶς. Τούτους μίμησαι πάντας, καὶ δυνήσῃ καὶ μαθητὴς εἶναι, καὶ ἐν τοῖς φίλοις τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀριθμεῖσθαι, καὶ δοξάζειν τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ τῆς αἰωνίου ζωῆς ἀπολαῦσαι· καὶ οὐδὲν ἔσται σοι κώλυμα πρὸς τὸ τυχεῖν τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἁπάντων, τὸ μὴ ποιεῖν σημεῖα, ἐὰν πολιτείαν ἔχῃς διηκριβωμένην. Καὶ γὰρ αὐτὸς τοῦτο τὸ ὄνομα, Πέτρος, οὐκ ἀπὸ θαυμάτων καὶ σημείων ἔλαβεν, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ ζήλου καὶ φίλτρου γνησίου. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐπειδὴ νεκροὺς ἀνέστησεν, οὐδὲ ἐπειδὴ χωλὸν ἀνώρθωσεν, οὕτως ἐκλήθη· ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ πίστιν μετὰ τῆς ὁμολογίας ἐπεδείξατο γνησίαν, τὸ ὄνομα τοῦτο ἐκληρονόμησε, Σὺ εἶ Πέτρος, καὶ ἐπὶ ταύτῃ τῇ πέτρᾳ οἰκοδομήσω μου τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν. ∆ιὰ τί; Οὐχ ὅτι θαύματα ἐποίησεν, ἀλλ' ὅτι εἶπε· Σὺ εἶ ὁ Χριστὸς ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ ζῶντος. Ὁρᾷς ὅτι καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ Πέτρον κληθῆναι, οὐκ ἀπὸ θαυμάτων, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ ζήλου πεπυρωμένου ἔλαβε τὴν ἀρχήν. Ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ Πέτρου ἐμνήσθην, εἰσῆλθέ μοι καὶ ἑτέρου Πέτρου μνήμη, τοῦ κοινοῦ πατρὸς, καὶ διδασκάλου, ὃς τὴν ἐκείνου διαδεξάμενος ἀρετὴν, καὶ τὴν καθέδραν ἐκληρονόμησε τὴν ἐκείνου. Ἓν γὰρ καὶ τοῦτο πλεονέκτημα τῆς ἡμετέρας πόλεως, τὸ τῶν ἀποστόλων τὸν κορυφαῖον λαβεῖν ἐν ἀρχῇ διδάσκαλον. Ἔδει γὰρ τὴν πρὸ τῆς οἰκουμένης ἁπάσης τὸ τῶν Χριστιανῶν ἀναδησαμένην ὄνομα, τὸν τῶν ἀποστόλων πρῶτον ποιμένα λαβεῖν. Ἀλλὰ λαβόντες αὐτὸν διδάσκαλον, οὐκ εἰς τέλος κατέσχομεν, ἀλλὰ παρεχωρήσαμεν τῇ βασιλίδι Ῥώμῃ· μᾶλλον δὲ εἰς τὸ τέλος αὐτὸν ἐσχήκαμεν· τὸ μὲν γὰρ σῶμα Πέτρου οὐ κατέχομεν, τὴν δὲ πίστιν Πέτρου κατέχομεν ὡς Πέτρον· τὴν δὲ πίστιν