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we were not permitted by 29.265 the time. But now we have come as grateful debtors, paying back to you the debts of what was left undone. What remains is brief to hear, so that it might seem thus, and perhaps it escaped the notice of many of you, so that it might not be thought that anything of the psalm had been omitted; however, having learned that this brief phrase has great power for the affairs of life, we did not think it right to neglect the benefit of examining it. The Prophet, sketching in his discourse the perfect man who is to enter upon the unshaken life, counted among his virtuous deeds not giving his money out at usury. In many places of Scripture this sin is denounced. For Ezekiel places taking usury and increase among the greatest of evils, and the law explicitly forbids it: You shall not charge interest to your brother and your neighbor. And again it says: Deceit upon deceit, and usury upon usury. And what does the psalm say about a city thriving in a multitude of evils? Usury and deceit have not departed from its streets. And now the Prophet has included this very thing as characteristic of human perfection, saying: He has not given his money at usury. For it is indeed the height of inhumanity for one who is in need of the necessities to seek a loan for the comfort of his life, and for the other not to be satisfied with the principal, but to devise revenues for himself from the misfortunes of the poor man and to gather wealth. Therefore, the Lord clearly commanded us, saying: And from him that would borrow of you, turn not away; but the lover of money, seeing a man bowed down by necessity, supplicating before his knees, what humble thing does he not do? what does he not say? does not pity him acting beneath his dignity, does not consider nature, does not yield to his entreaties, but stands unbending and unmerciful, not giving in to his prayers, not moved by his tears, persisting in his refusal, swearing and calling curses upon himself that he is completely without money, and that he himself is looking around to see if he might find someone to lend, and confirming his lie through oaths, acquiring perjury as an evil by-product of his inhumanity. But when the one seeking the loan mentions interest, and names collateral, then lowering his brow he smiled, and recalled some paternal friendship, and called him an acquaintance and a friend and, "We shall see," he says, "if we have any silver laid aside somewhere. There is a deposit 29.268 from a friend who entrusted it to us for business. But he has set a heavy interest on it; but we will certainly abate something, and give it at a lower interest." Putting on such a pretense, and with such words fawning upon and luring the wretched man, having bound him fast with contracts, and in addition to his crushing poverty also having taken away the man's freedom, he was gone. For he who has made himself liable for interest, the payment of which he cannot sustain, has accepted a voluntary servitude for life. Tell me, are you seeking money and resources from one who has none? And if he were able to make you richer, why would he be seeking at your doors? Having come for an alliance, he found an enemy. Seeking for antidotes, he encountered poisons. When you should have been comforting the man's poverty, you multiply his want, seeking to reap a harvest from the barren land. Just as if some physician, visiting the sick, instead of restoring them to health, were to take away even the little remnant of their strength; so also you make the misfortunes of the wretched an occasion for revenue. And just as farmers pray for rain for the multiplication of their seeds, so you seek for the want and need of men, that your money may become productive for you. Do you not know that you are making a greater addition to your sins than the increase to your wealth that you devise from interest? And he who seeks the loan, caught in the midst of helplessness, when he looks at his poverty, despairs of repayment, but when

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ὑπὸ 29.265 τῆς ὥρας οὐκ ἐπετράπημεν. Νῦν δὲ ἥκομεν εὐγνώ μονες ὀφειλέται τὰ χρέα τῶν ἐλλειφθέντων ὑμῖν ἀπο τιννύντες. Ἔστι δὲ τὸ λειπόμενον βραχὺ μὲν τὸ ἀκοῦ σαι, ὥστε οὑτωσὶ δόξαι, καὶ ἴσως τοὺς πολλοὺς ὑμῶν καὶ παρέλαθεν, ὡς μηδὲ παραλελεῖφθαί τι τοῦ ψαλ μοῦ νομισθῆναι· μεγάλην μέντοι πρὸς τὰ τοῦ βίου πράγματα δύναμιν ἔχειν τὴν βραχεῖαν ταύτην λέξιν καταμαθόντες, οὐκ ᾠήθημεν δεῖν παρεῖναι τὸ ἐκ τῆς ἐξετάσεως χρήσιμον. Ὑπογράφων τῷ λόγῳ τὸν τέ λειον ὁ Προφήτης, τὸν τῆς ἀσαλεύτου ζωῆς ἐπιβήσε σθαι μέλλοντα, ἐν τοῖς ἀνδραγαθήμασιν ἀπηρίθμησε τὸ ἀργύριον αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τόκῳ μὴ δοῦναι. Πολλαχοῦ τῆς Γραφῆς διαβέβληται ἡ ἁμαρτία αὕτη. Ὅ τε γὰρ Ἰεζεκιὴλ ἐν τοῖς μεγίστοις τῶν κακῶν τίθεται τόκον λαβεῖν καὶ πλεονασμὸν, καὶ ὁ νόμος διαῤῥήδην ἀπαγορεύει· Οὐκ ἐκτοκιεῖς τῷ ἀδελφῷ σου καὶ τῷ πλησίον σου. Καὶ πάλιν φησί· ∆όλος ἐπὶ δόλῳ, καὶ τόκος ἐπὶ τόκῳ. Καὶ περὶ πόλεως δὲ τῆς ἐν πλήθει κακῶν εὐθηνουμένης ὁ ψαλμὸς τί φησιν; Οὐκ ἐξέλιπεν ἐκ τῶν πλατειῶν αὐτῆς τόκος καὶ δόλος. Καὶ νῦν χαρακτηριστικὸν τῆς κατὰ τὸν ἄνθρωπον τε λειώσεως τὸ αὐτὸ τοῦτο παρείληφεν ὁ Προφήτης, λέ γων· Τὸ ἀργύριον αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔδωκεν ἐπὶ τόκῳ. Τῷ ὄντι γὰρ ἀπανθρωπίας ὑπερβολὴν ἔχει τὸν μὲν τῶν ἀναγκαίων ἐνδεῶς ἔχοντα ζητεῖν δάνεισμα εἰς παραμυθίαν τοῦ βίου, τὸν δὲ μὴ ἀρκεῖσθαι τῷ κεφα λαίῳ, ἀλλ' ἐπινοεῖν ἐκ τῶν συμφορῶν τοῦ πένητος προσόδους ἑαυτῷ καὶ εὐπορίας συνάγειν. Ὁ μὲν οὖν Κύριος ἐναργῶς ἡμῖν διετάξατο, λέγων· Καὶ τὸν θέλοντα ἀπὸ σοῦ δανείσασθαι μὴ ἀποστραφῇς· ὁ δὲ φιλάργυρος, ὁρῶν ὑπὸ τῆς ἀνάγκης ἄνδρα κατα καμπτόμενον πρὸ τῶν γονάτων ἱκετεύοντα, τί οὐ ποιοῦντα ταπεινόν; τί οὐ φθεγγόμενον; οὐκ ἐλεεῖ παρ' ἀξίαν πράττοντα, οὐ λογίζεται τὴν φύσιν, οὐκ ἐνδίδωσι ταῖς ἱκεσίαις, ἀλλ' ἄκαμπτος καὶ ἀμεί λικτος ἕστηκεν, οὐ ταῖς δεήσεσιν εἴκων, οὐ δάκρυ σιν ἐπικλώμενος, ἐπιμένων τῇ ἀρνήσει, ἐξομνύμε νος καὶ ἐπαρώμενος ἑαυτῷ, ἦ μὴν ἀπορεῖν παντε λῶς χρημάτων, καὶ περισκοπεῖν καὶ αὐτὸς εἴ τινα εὕροι τῶν δανειζόντων, καὶ πιστούμενος τὸ ψεῦδος διὰ τῶν ὅρκων, κακὸν παρεμπόρευμα τῆς ἀπανθρωπίας τὴν ἐπιορκίαν προσκτώμενος. Ἐπειδὰν δὲ ὁ ζητῶν τὸ δάνειον τόκων μνησθῇ, καὶ ὑποθήκας ὀνομάσῃ, τότε καταβαλὼν τὴν ὀφρὺν προσεμειδίασε, καί που καὶ πατρῴας φιλίας ἀνεμνήσθη, καὶ συνήθη εἶπε καὶ φίλον καὶ, Ὀψόμεθα, φησὶν, εἴπου τί ἐστιν ἡμῖν ἀποκείμενον ἀργύριον. Ἔστι δὲ παρακαταθήκη 29.268 φίλου ἀνδρὸς ἐπ' ἐργασίᾳ παραθεμένου ἡμῖν. Ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνος μὲν βαρεῖς ἐπ' αὐτῷ τοὺς τόκους ὥρισεν· ἡμεῖς δὲ πάντως ἐπανήσομέν τι, καὶ ἐπ' ἐλάττοσι τοῖς τόκοις δώσομεν. Τοιαῦτα κατασχηματιζόμενος, καὶ τοιούτοις λόγοις ὑποσαίνων καὶ δελεάζων τὸν ἄθλιον, γραμματείοις αὐτὸν προσκαταδήσας, καὶ πρὸς τῇ καταπονούσῃ πενίᾳ ἔτι καὶ τὴν ἐλευθερίαν τοῦ ἀνδρὸς προσαφελόμενος, ᾤχετο. Ὁ γὰρ τόκοις ἑαυτὸν ὑπεύθυνον καταστήσας, ὧν τὴν ἔκτισιν οὐχ ὑφίσταται, δουλείαν αὐθαίρετον κατεδέξατο διὰ βίου. Χρήματα, εἰπέ μοι, καὶ πόρους ἐπιζητεῖς, παρὰ τοῦ ἀπόρου; Καὶ εἰ πλουσιώτερόν σε ἀποφαίνειν ἠδύνατο, τί ἐζήτει παρὰ τὰς θύρας τὰς σάς; Ἐπὶ συμμαχίαν ἐλθὼν, πολέμιον εὗρεν. Ἀλεξιφάρμακα περιζητῶν, δηλητηρίοις ἐνέτυχε. ∆έον παραμυθεῖσθαι τοῦ ἀνδρὸς τὴν πτωχείαν, σὺ δὲ πολυπλασιάζεις τὴν ἔνδειαν, ἐκ καρποῦσθαι ζητῶν τὴν ἔρημον. Ὥσπερ ἂν εἴ τις ἰατρὸς πρὸς κάμνοντας εἰσιὼν, ἀντὶ τοῦ ὑγίειαν αὐ τοῖς ἐπαναγαγεῖν, ὁ δὲ καὶ τὸ μικρὸν λείψανον τῆς δυνάμεως προσαφέλοιτο· οὕτω καὶ σὺ τὰς συμφορὰς τῶν ἀθλίων ἀφορμὴν πόρων ποιῇ. Καὶ ὥσπερ οἱ γεωργοὶ ὄμβρους εὔχονται εἰς πολυπλασιασμὸν τῶν σπερμάτων, οὕτω καὶ σὺ ἐνδείας καὶ ἀπορίας ἀν θρώπων ἐπιζητεῖς, ἵνα σοι ἐνεργὰ τὰ χρήματα γένη ται. Ἀγνοεῖς πλείονα προσθήκην ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις ποιούμενος, ἢ τῷ πλούτῳ τὴν αὔξησιν ἀπὸ τῶν τό κων ἐπινοῶν; Καὶ ὁ μὲν ζητῶν τὸ δάνεισμα, μέ σος ἀμηχανίας ἀπειλημμένος, ὅταν μὲν πρὸς τὴν πε νίαν ἀπίδῃ, ἀπογινώσκει τὴν ἔκτισιν, ὅταν δὲ