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never to be in such fear, is no wonder. But for us who are more persuaded of the things there than of the things here to live so miserably and wretchedly, and to suffer nothing terrible from the memory of them, but to have fallen into the utmost insensibility, this is full of much irrationality. For when we who believe do the things of unbelievers, or rather are in a more wretched state than they—for there are many, even among them, who have shone with virtue in their life—what consolation will there be for us, what pardon then? And though many merchants have fallen into shipwreck, they have not given up, but have embarked on the same path again, and this though the loss happened to them not through their own indolence, but through the compulsion of the winds; but we who have confidence about the end and know precisely that unless we wish it, neither shipwreck nor any casual loss will befall us, shall we not take hold of these things again and trade as before, but lie idle with our hands beside us? And would that it were only beside us, and not against ourselves, which is a sign of splendid madness. For if one of the boxers, leaving his antagonist, should turn his hands against his own head and strike his own face, tell me, would we not count him among the madmen? The devil tripped us up and threw us down; therefore we must rise up again, not be dragged down again and cast ourselves down, adding our own blows to those from him. For indeed the blessed David also fell such a fall as you have now; and not only such a one, but another in succession, I mean that of murder. What then? Did he remain lying down? And did he not rise up and array himself again against the enemy? So then he wrestled him down so as to be able, even after his death, to stand as a protector for his own descendants. At any rate, to Solomon who had dared that great transgression and had become worthy of a myriad deaths, on account of David God says He would leave the kingdom whole, speaking thus: “I will surely tear the kingdom from your hand, and will give it to your servant. Nevertheless in your days I will not do it.” Why? “For David your father’s sake: I will take it out of the hand of your son.” And to Hezekiah, who was about to be in the utmost danger, although he was righteous, again on account of that blessed one He promises to help, saying: “For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for my servant David’s sake.” So great is the power of repentance. But if he had planned these things, which you are now planning, and had said to himself that it is henceforth impossible to propitiate God; “For He honored me with great honor and numbered me among the prophets and entrusted me with the rule of my countrymen and snatched me from a myriad dangers, how then shall I be able, after so many benefits, having offended and slipped into the most shameful things, to render Him propitious again?” If he had thought these things, not only would he not have done the things that came after, but he would also have ruined the things that came before.

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For not only are wounds in the body naturally wont to cause death when neglected, but also those of the soul. And yet we have come to such a point of foolishness, as to care for those intensely, but to neglect these; and yet while in the case of bodies many incurable things often happen, and we despair of nothing, but continually hearing physicians say that it is not possible to remove this affliction with medicines, we nevertheless persist, entreating them to devise at least some small comfort; but in the case of souls, where there is no incurable disease, for it is not under the necessity of nature, here we so neglect and despair as if the afflictions were another’s; and where the nature of the diseases is accustomed to cast us into despair, we take care of them as though having many hopes of health; but where there is nothing which one must despair of, we stand aloof and neglect them as though they were despaired of; so much more longing do we have for the body than for the soul. On account of

17

μηδέποτε ἐν τοιούτῳ γίνεσθαι φόβῳ, θαυμαστὸν οὐδέν. Τὸ δὲ ἡμᾶς τοὺς τῶν ἐνθάδε μᾶλλον τὰ ἐκεῖ πεπεισμένους οὕτως ἀθλίως διάγειν καὶ ταλαιπώρως, καὶ μηδὲν ὑπὸ τῆς μνήμης πάσχειν δεινόν, ἀλλ' εἰς ἐσχάτην ἀναισθησίαν καταπεσεῖν, τοῦτο πολλῆς ἀλογίας γέμον ἐστίν. Ὅταν γὰρ οἱ πιστεύοντες τὰ τῶν ἀπίστων διαπραττώμεθα, μᾶλλον δὲ κἀκείνων ἀθλιώτερον διακεώμεθα, εἰσὶ γὰρ πολλοί, καὶ ἐν αὐτοῖς, οἳ κατὰ τὴν τοῦ βίου διέλαμψαν ἀρετήν, τίς ἡμῖν ἔσται παράκλησις, ποία συγγνώμη λοιπόν; Καὶ ναυαγίῳ μὲν περιπεσόντες πολλοὶ τῶν ἐμπόρων, οὐκ ἀνέπεσαν, ἀλλὰ πάλιν ἐπέβησαν τῆς αὐτῆς ὁδοῦ, καὶ ταῦτα οὐ παρὰ τὴν οἰκείαν ῥᾳθυμίαν, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τὴν τῶν πνευμάτων ἀνάγκην τῆς ζημίας γεγενημένης αὐτοῖς· ἡμεῖς δὲ οἱ περὶ τοῦ τέλους θαρρεῖν ἔχοντες καὶ ἀκριβῶς εἰδότες ὅτι μὴ βουλομένων ἡμῶν, οὔτε ναυάγιον, οὔτε ἡ περὶ τὸ τυχὸν ἡμῖν ζημία συμβήσεται, οὐχ ἁψόμεθα πάλιν αὐτῶν καὶ ἐμπορευσόμεθα καθάπερ καὶ πρότερον, ἀλλὰ κεισόμεθα ἀργοῦντες καὶ τὰς χεῖρας παρ' ἑαυτοῖς ἔχοντες; Καὶ εἴθε παρ' ἑαυτοῖς μόνον, καὶ μὴ καθ' ἑαυτῶν, ὅπερ λαμπρᾶς μανίας ἐστίν. Καὶ γάρ, εἴ τις τῶν πυκτευόντων τὸν ἀνταγωνιστὴν ἀφεὶς κατὰ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ κεφαλῆς τρέποι τὰς χεῖρας καὶ τὴν οἰκείαν ὄψιν συγκόπτοι, ἆρα, εἰπέ μοι, οὐ μετὰ τῶν μαινομένων αὐτὸν κατατάξομεν; Ὑπεσκέλισεν ἡμᾶς ὁ διάβολος καὶ κατέβαλεν οὐκοῦν ἐξαναστῆναι δεῖ, οὐχ ὑποσύρεσθαι πάλιν καὶ κατακρημνίζειν ἑαυτούς, καὶ ταῖς παρ' ἐκείνου πληγαῖς προστιθέναι τὰς παρ' ἑαυτῶν. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ ὁ μακάριος ∆αυῒδ ἔπεσεν πτῶμα τοιοῦτον οἷόν περ καὶ σὺ νῦν· καὶ οὐ τοιοῦτον μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἕτερον ἐφεξῆς, τὸ τοῦ φόνου λέγω. Τί οὖν; ἔμεινε κείμενος; καὶ οὐ διανέστη καὶ πάλιν παρετάξατο πρὸς τὸν ἐχθρόν; Οὕτω μὲν οὖν αὐτὸν κατεπάλαισεν ὡς δυνηθῆναι καὶ τελευτήσας προστῆναι τῶν ἐκγόνων τῶν αὑτοῦ. Τῷ γοῦν Σολομῶντι τὴν μεγάλην ἐκείνην παρανομίαν τετολμηκότι καὶ μυρίων ἀξίῳ γενομένῳ θανάτων, διὰ τὸν ∆αυῒδ ὁ θεός φησιν ἀφεῖναι τὴν βασιλείαν ὁλόκληρον, οὑτωσὶ λέγων· «∆ιαρρήσσων διαρρήξω τὴν βασιλείαν ἐκ χειρός σου, καὶ δώσω αὐτὴν τῷ δούλῳ σου. Πλὴν ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις σου οὐ ποιήσω ταῦτα.» ∆ιὰ τί; «∆ιὰ ∆αυῒδ τὸν πατέρα σου· ἐκ χειρὸς τοῦ υἱοῦ σου λήψομαι αὐτήν.» Καὶ τῷ Ἐζεκίᾳ δὲ μέλλοντι κινδυνεύειν ὑπὲρ τῶν ἐσχάτων, καίτοι γε ὄντι δικαίῳ, πάλιν διὰ τὸν μακάριον ἐκεῖνον ἐπαγγέλλεται βοηθεῖν, λέγων· «Ὑπερασπιῶ γάρ, φησίν, ὑπὲρ τῆς πόλεως ταύτης τοῦ σῶσαι αὐτήν, δι' ἐμὲ καὶ διὰ ∆αυῒδ τὸν δοῦλόν μου.» Τοσαύτη τῆς μετανοίας ἡ ἰσχύς. Εἰ δὲ ἐκεῖνος ταῦτα ἐβουλεύσατο, ἅπερ καὶ σὺ νῦν, καὶ ἐν ἑαυτῷ εἶπεν ὅτι λοιπὸν ἀδύνατον ἐξιλεώσασθαι τὸν θεόν· «Ἐτίμησεν γάρ με τιμὴν μεγάλην καὶ εἰς προφήτας ἐνέταξεν καὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν τῶν ὁμοφύλων ἐνεχείρισεν καὶ μυρίων κινδύνων ἐξήρπασεν, πῶς οὖν δυνήσομαι μετὰ τοσαύτας εὐεργεσίας προσκεκρουκὼς καὶ εἰς τὰ τῶν αἰσχίστων, ὀλισθήσας, ἵλεω καταστῆσαι πάλιν αὐτόν;» Εἰ ταῦτα ἐνενόησεν, οὐ μόνον τὰ μετὰ ταῦτα οὐκ ἂν ἔπραξεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ πρότερα ἐπέτριψεν ἄν.

16 Οὐδὲ γὰρ τὰ ἐν τοῖς σώμασιν τραύματα μόνα θάνατον ἐργάζεσθαι πέφυκεν ἀμελούμενα, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ τῆς ψυχῆς. Καὶ ὅμως εἰς τοσοῦτον ἀνοίας ἠλάσαμεν ἡμεῖς, ὡς ἐκείνων μὲν ἐπιμελεῖσθαι σφοδρῶς, τούτων δὲ ὑπερορᾶν· καίτοι γε ἐπὶ μὲν τῶν σωμάτων ἀνίατα πολλὰ πολλάκις συμβαίνειν εἰκός, καὶ οὐδὲν ἀπαγορεύομεν, ἀλλὰ συνεχῶς τῶν ἰατρῶν λεγόντων ἀκούοντες, ὅτι τοῦτο τὸ πάθος ἀφανίσαι φαρμάκοις οὐκ ἔνι, ὅμως ἐπικείμεθα παρακαλοῦντες παραμυθίαν γοῦν τινα ἐπινοῆσαι μικράν· ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν ψυχῶν ἔνθα οὐδέν ἐστιν ἀνίατον νόσημα, οὐ γὰρ ὑπὸ τὴν τῆς φύσεως ἀνάγκην ἐστίν, ἐνταῦθα ὡς ἀλλοτρίων ὄντων παθῶν οὕτως ἀμελοῦμεν καὶ ἀπογινώσκομεν· καὶ ἔνθα μὲν ἡ τῶν νοσημάτων φύσις εἰς ἀπόγνωσιν ἡμᾶς ἐμβάλλειν εἴωθεν, καθάπερ τῶν πολλὰς ἐλπίδας ἐχόντων ὑγιείας ἐπιμελούμεθα· ἔνθα δὲ οὐδὲν ὅπερ ἀπαγορεῦσαι χρή, ὥσπερ τῶν ἀπεγνωσμένων ἀφιστάμεθα καὶ παραμελοῦμεν· τοσοῦτον πλείονα τοῦ σώματος ἢ τῆς ψυχῆς τὸν πόθον ἔχομεν. ∆ιά