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I will be ashamed in nothing, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life, or by

death. 1. The great and philosophical soul nothing of the grievous things in the present life is able to sting, not enmities, not accusations, not slanders, not dangers, not plots. For just as if it has taken refuge on some great mountain peak, it is unassailable by all who ascend from below, from the earth. Such was the soul of Paul, having taken possession of the place of spiritual philosophy, of the true philosophy, a place higher than any mountain peak. For the things of the outsiders are only words and children’s toys. But the subject is not now about these things, but for now we speak the words of Paul. That blessed man, even having the emperor warring against him, in addition to this he had other enemies variously grieving him, and with bitter slander; and what does he say? Not only do I not grieve at these things nor am I cast down, but 62.198 I both rejoice and will rejoice; not for a time, he says, but always will I rejoice over these things. For I know that this will turn out for me to the salvation which is to come. For how will it not turn out, when both my enmity benefits the proclamation and the zeal against me? Through your prayer, he says, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope. See the humility of this blessed man; he was contending in the contests, he had achieved countless good things, he lay at last by the very crown; for he was Paul; for what more could one say? and he writes to the Philippians, that Through your prayer I can be saved, he who from countless achievements had possessed salvation. And the supply, he says, of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. What is, Supply? If through your prayers, he says, I be deemed worthy of the grace. For this is what Supply means, if it be supplied, if more spirit be given to me; To salvation, that is, the deliverance, and I will escape the present danger, as the first danger. For about this he says; At my first defense no one came to my support; may it not be counted against them; but the Lord stood by me, and strengthened 62.199 me. So indeed, he now already prophesies this, Through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, saying, according to my earnest expectation and hope. For so, he says, I hope. For so that we again might not entrust the whole matter to their prayers, while we contribute nothing ourselves, see how he sets down his own part, his hope, the cause of all good things, just as the prophet says; Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, just as we have hoped in You; just as he says elsewhere also, Look to ancient generations, and see; who hoped in the Lord, and was ashamed? and again this blessed one says, But hope does not make ashamed. According to my earnest expectation, he says, and hope, that in nothing I will be ashamed. This is the hope of Paul, to hope that, Nowhere will I be ashamed. Do you see how great a thing it is to hope in God? Whatever may happen, he says, I will not be ashamed; that is, these men will not prevail. But in all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body. They expected through this trap, forsooth, to take Paul, and that the proclamation would be extinguished, as if their own deceit were prevailing. This therefore he says, that This will not be, I will not die now; But as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body. How? Many times I fell into dangers, in which all gave us up for lost, or rather we ourselves also; For in ourselves we had the sentence of death; but the Lord delivered us from all. So now also he will be magnified in my body. And so that no one might think and say, If you die, will he not be magnified? Yes, he says, I know;

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ἐν οὐδενὶ αἰσχυνθήσομαι, ἀλλ' ἐν πάσῃ παῤῥησίᾳ, ὡς πάντοτε, καὶ νῦν μεγαλυνθήσεται Χριστὸς ἐν τῷ σώματί μου, εἴτε διὰ ζωῆς, εἴτε διὰ

θανάτου. αʹ. Τὴν μεγάλην καὶ φιλόσοφον ψυχὴν οὐδὲν τῶν ἐν τῷ παρόντι βίῳ λυπηρῶν δύναται δακεῖν, οὐκ ἔχθραι, οὐ κατηγορίαι, οὐ διαβολαὶ, οὐ κίνδυνοι, οὐκ ἐπιβουλαί. Ὥσπερ γὰρ εἰς μεγάλην τινὰ ἀκρώρειαν καταφυγοῦσα, ἄληπτος πᾶσίν ἐστι τοῖς κάτωθεν ἀνιοῦσιν ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς. Τοιαύτη ἦν ἡ τοῦ Παύλου ψυχὴ, πάσης ἀκρωρείας ὑψηλότερον τόπον τὸν τῆς φιλοσοφίας καταλαβοῦσα τῆς πνευματικῆς, τῆς ὄντως φιλοσοφίας. Τὰ γὰρ τῶν ἔξωθεν, ῥήματα μόνον ἐστὶ καὶ παίδων ἀθύρματα. Ἀλλ' οὐ περὶ τούτων λόγος νῦν, τὰ δὲ Παύλου φθεγγόμεθα τέως. Ὁ μακάριος ἐκεῖνος καὶ τὸν βασιλέα ἔχων πολεμοῦντα αὐτῷ, πρὸς τούτῳ εἶχε καὶ ἑτέρους ἐχθροὺς διαφόρως αὐτὸν λυποῦντας, καὶ μετὰ πικρᾶς διαβολῆς· καὶ τί φησιν; Οὐ μόνον οὐκ ἀλγῶ τούτοις οὐδὲ καταπίπτω, ἀλλὰ 62.198 καὶ χαίρω καὶ χαρήσομαι· οὐ πρὸς καιρὸν, φησὶν, ἀλλ' ἀεὶ ὑπὲρ τούτων χαρήσομαι. Οἶδα γὰρ ὅτι τοῦτό μοι ἀποβήσεται εἰς σωτηρίαν τὴν μέλλουσαν. Πῶς γὰρ οὐκ ἀποβήσεται, ὅταν καὶ ἡ ἔχθρα μου τὸ κήρυγμα ὠφελῇ καὶ ὁ πρὸς ἐμὲ ζῆλος; ∆ιὰ τῆς ὑμῶν δεήσεως, φησὶ, καὶ ἐπιχορηγίας τοῦ Πνεύματος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ κατὰ τὴν ἀποκαραδοκίαν καὶ ἐλπίδα μου. Ὅρα τὴν ταπεινοφροσύνην τοῦ μακαρίου τούτου· ἐν τοῖς ἄθλοις ἦν ἀγωνιζόμενος, μυρία κατωρθώκει, πρὸς αὐτῷ τῷ στεφάνῳ λοιπὸν ἔκειτο· Παῦλος γὰρ ἦν· τί γὰρ ἄν τις εἴποι πλέον; καὶ Φιλιππησίοις γράφει, ὅτι ∆ιὰ τῆς ὑμῶν δεήσεως δύναμαι σωθῆναι, ὁ ἀπὸ μυρίων κατορθωμάτων κεκτημένος τὴν σωτηρίαν. Καὶ ἐπιχορηγίας, φησὶ, τοῦ Πνεύματος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. Τί ἐστιν, Ἐπιχορηγίας; Ἂν διὰ τῶν ὑμετέρων εὐχῶν, φησὶ, καταξιωθῶ τῆς χάριτος. Τὸ γὰρ, Ἐπιχορηγίας, τοῦτό ἐστιν, ἂν ἐπιχορηγηθῇ, ἂν πλέον ἐπιδοθῇ μοι πνεῦμα· Εἰς σωτηρίαν, τουτέστι, τὴν ἀπαλλαγὴν, καὶ τὸν παρόντα διαφεύξομαι, ὡς τὸν πρῶτον κίνδυνον. Περὶ τούτου γάρ φησιν· Ἐν τῇ πρώτῃ μου ἀπολογίᾳ οὐδείς μοι συμπαρεγένετο· μὴ αὐτοῖς λογισθείη· ἀλλ' ὁ Κύριός μοι παρέστη, καὶ ἐνεδυ 62.199 νάμωσέ με. Τοῦτο γοῦν καὶ νῦν ἤδη προφητεύει, ∆ιὰ τῆς ὑμῶν δεήσεως, καὶ ἐπιχορηγίας τοῦ Πνεύματος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, λέγων, κατὰ τὴν ἀποκαραδοκίαν καὶ ἐλπίδα μου. Οὕτω γὰρ, φησὶν, ἐλπίζω. Ἵνα γὰρ πάλιν ἡμεῖς μὴ τὸ ὅλον ταῖς ἐκείνων ἐπιτρέπωμεν εὐχαῖς, αὐτοὶ μηδὲν εἰσφέροντες, ὅρα πῶς τίθησι τὸ αὑτοῦ, τὴν ἐλπίδα, τὴν πάντων αἰτίαν τῶν ἀγαθῶν, καθάπερ ὁ προφήτης φησί· Γένοιτο, Κύριε, τὸ ἔλεός σου ἐφ' ἡμᾶς, καθάπερ ἠλπίσαμεν ἐπὶ σοί· καθάπερ καὶ ἑτέρωθί φησιν, Ἐμβλέψατε εἰς ἀρχαίας γενεὰς, καὶ ἴδετε· τίς ἤλπισεν ἐπὶ Κύριον, καὶ κατῃσχύνθη; καὶ πάλιν ὁ μακάριος οὗτός φησιν, Ἡ δὲ ἐλπὶς οὐ καταισχύνει. Κατὰ τὴν ἀποκαραδοκίαν, φησὶ, καὶ ἐλπίδα μου, ὅτι ἐν οὐδενὶ αἰσχυνθήσομαι. Αὕτη ἡ τοῦ Παύλου ἐλπὶς, τὸ ἐλπίζειν, ὅτι Οὐδαμοῦ αἰσχυνθήσομαι. Ὁρᾷς ὅσον ἐστὶν ἐλπίζειν ἐπὶ τὸν Θεόν; Κἂν ὁτιοῦν γένηται, φησὶν, οὐκ αἰσχυνθήσομαι· τουτέστιν, οὐ περιέσονται οὗτοι. Ἀλλ' ἐν πάσῃ παῤῥησίᾳ, καθὼς πάντοτε, καὶ νῦν μεγαλυνθήσεται Χριστὸς ἐν τῷ σώματί μου. Προσεδόκων ἐκεῖνοι διὰ τῆς παγίδος ταύτης δῆθεν ἑλεῖν μὲν τὸν Παῦλον, σβέννυσθαι δὲ τὸ κήρυγμα, ὡς τοῦ δόλου τοῦ αὐτῶν ἰσχύοντος. Τοῦτο οὖν φησιν, ὅτι Οὐκ ἔσται τοῦτο, οὐ νῦν ἀποθανοῦμαι· Ἀλλ' ὡς πάντοτε, καὶ νῦν μεγαλυνθήσεται Χριστὸς ἐν τῷ σώματί μου. Πῶς; Πολλάκις εἰς κινδύνους ἐνέπεσον, ἐν οἷς πάντες ἡμᾶς ἀπηγόρευσαν, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ ἡμεῖς ἑαυτούς· Ἐν ἑαυτοῖς γὰρ τὸ ἀπόκριμα τοῦ θανάτου ἐσχήκαμεν· ἀλλ' ἐκ πάντων ἡμᾶς ἐῤῥύσατο ὁ Κύριος. Οὕτω καὶ νῦν μεγαλυνθήσεται ἐν τῷ σώματί μου. Ἵνα δὲ μή τις νομίσῃ καὶ εἴπῃ, Ἂν σὺ ἀποθάνῃς, οὐ μεγαλυνθήσεται; Ναὶ, φησὶν, οἶδα·