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we remove. I say: those who have transgressions in perception and reality do not know their reasons; for if they knew that they are harmful, that they lead down to destruction, they would not commit them. But it is possible to have the reason of a transgression; for instance, let the transgression committed against the law of God be the killing of a person in any way whatsoever. But when some judicial authority, serving the right law, kills one worthy of death, as Agag was killed by Samuel, Elijah had the reason of a transgression, not a transgression, and Samuel too. Thus the Savior says, in the person of a man; for he himself is the one who has despaired, who says these things: "far from my salvation are the words of my transgressions". Not "are far from my salvation"; for I have not known sin, nor have I committed it. But I have it in reason, I know what sin is. Therefore, let the reasons of transgressions also be far from my salvation. Let my salvation not take on some admixture so as to be obscured. For sometimes a person is saved also because of some good existing in him; if it is bad, his salvation is diminished. Indeed, many have often inquired: if someone does many evil things, but does a few good things, do those destroy them? To say that they destroy them, means the removal of hope from persons. I have often said on this point that the punishment is diminished. Come now, let more people do wrong; but of these let some not do wrong, but show mercy. His punishment is diminished and these things have not been done by him in vain. When someone sins beforehand, he has works "going before to judgment". They run ahead of him, they lead him by the hand to the judgment. But for others, the sins follow after. When someone, in doing good things, also commits a few sins, these follow after. "Likewise," he says, "also the good works". As I said concerning sins, I will also speak concerning good works. Nevertheless, no one who has done good remains without benefit. From it he has his punishment diminished. But he who "neither knew sin nor committed it" also has the reasons of transgressions far from his own salvation, he has a pure salvation, neither sin nor transgression is mixed with it, but not even this itself, the reason of transgression. 3 My God, I will cry to you by day, and you will not hear, and by night, and it is not for foolishness to me. The condition of human life is varied. It has some beneficial things, and it also has some sorrowful things. And in these very human affairs there are pleasant things, and these are called "day", and sorrowful things, which are named "night". Therefore he says this: both in pleasant and bright circumstances I cry to you, and you hear, and in the night I do this, and it does not become foolishness to me; for with your approval and the sorrowful things no longer being obscure, it has become manifest to me. He hears us crying by day; and by night, that is 27 being in a sorrowful condition, we have him helping and by the event we have gained knowledge that he helps; for this is the meaning of: "and by night, and it is not for foolishness to me". And if to others it was the case that this man, if he was "the man from God," was being abandoned, to him this was not for foolishness; for he had come to this willingly: "I will go myself to the mountain of myrrh"; for myrrh is his body. He has gone to the mountain, because on behalf of all those who were anointed with myrrh he accepted death. But that this is so, let us also learn from another psalm, that sorrowful things are ignorance and night: "By day," he says, "the Lord will command his mercy, and by night he will declare it". When we see people being shown mercy manifestly and readily, God has commanded his mercy by day. And "by night" he "will declare it": for if you know that God also hands over to punishment, in order to declare his own mercy—for he does not hand people over to punishments cruelly—in this night, in this sorrowful condition, the mercy of God will be declared. And he commands mercy by day, when his compassion is manifest,

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ἀφαιροῦμεν. λέγω· οἱ αἰσθήσει καὶ ὑπάρξει παραπτώματα ἔχοντες οὐκ ἴσασιν αὐτῶν τοὺς λόγους· εἰ γὰρ ᾔδεσαν ὅτι βλαπτικά ἐστιν, ὅτι εἰς ὄλεθρον καταστρέφει, οὐκ ἐνήργουν αὐτά. ἔστιν δὲ λόγον ἔχειν παραπτώματος· οἷον ἔστω παράπτωμα παρὰ τὸν νόμον τοῦ θεοῦ πραττόμενον τὸ ὅπως ποτὲ φονεύειν ἄνθρωπον. ὅταν δὲ δικαςτική τις ἐξουσία καὶ ὑπηρετῶν τῷ ὀρθῷ νόμῳ τὸν ἄξιον θανάτου ἀποκτέννῃ, ὡς ὁ Ἀγὰγ ἐφονεύθη ὑπὸ τοῦ Σαμουήλ, λόγον παραπτώματος εἶχεν ὁ Ἠλίας, οὐ παράπτωμα, καὶ Σαμουήλ. λέγει γοῦν ὁ σωτὴρ κατὰ τὸν ἄνθρωπον· αὐτὸς γάρ ἐστιν ὁ ἀφελπισθεὶς ὁ λέγων ταῦτα· "μακρὰν ἀπὸ τῆς σωτηρίας μου οἱ λόγοι τῶν παραπτωμάτων μου". οὐ "μακρὰν ἀπὸ τῆς σωτηρίας μου εἰσίν"· οὐκ ἔγνων γὰρ ἁμαρτίαν, οὐκ ἐποίησα αὐτήν. ἔχω δὲ αὐτὴν λόγῳ, οἶδα τί ἐστιν ἁμαρτία. καὶ οἱ λόγοι οὖν παραπτωμάτων μακρὰν ἔστωσαν ἀπὸ τῆς σωτηρίας μου. ἡ σωτηρία μου μὴ παράμειγμά τι λαβέτω ὥστε ἀμαυρωθῆναι. ἐνίοτε γὰρ σῴζεταί τις καὶ διά τι ἐνυπάρχον αὐτῷ καλόν· εἰ κακόν, ἐλαττοῦται αὐτοῦ ἡ σωτηρία. πολλοὶ γοῦν πολλάκις ἐζήτησαν ὅτι· ἐὰν ποιήσῃ τις πολλὰ κακά, ποιήσῃ δὲ ὀλίγα ἀγαθά, ἀπόλλυσιν ἐκεῖνα; τὸ εἰπεῖν ὅτι ἀπόλλυσιν, ἀφαίρεσιν ἐλπίδος τῶν προσώπων σημαίνει. εἶπον πολλάκις εἰς τοῦτο ὅτι ἐλαττοῦται ἡ κόλασις. φέρε εἰπεῖν, ἀδικείτωσαν πλείονες· ἐκ τούτων δέ τινες μὴ ἀδικείτωσαν, ἀλλὰ ἐλεάτωσαν. ἐλαττοῦται αὐτοῦ ἡ τιμωρία καὶ οὐκ ἀργῶς πέπρακται αὐτῷ ταῦτα. ὅταν τις προηγουμένως ἁμαρτήσῃ, ἔχει τὰ ἔργα "προάγοντα εἰς κρίσιν". προτρέχουσιν αὐτοῦ, χειραγωγοῦσιν αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τὴν κρίσιν. ἄλλοις δὲ ἐπακολουθοῦσιν τὰ ἁμαρτήματα. ὅταν τις πράττων καλὰ ποιῇ καὶ ὀλίγα ἁμαρτήματα, ἐπακολουθεῖ ταῦτα. "ὡσαύτως", φησίν, "καὶ τὰ καλὰ ἔργα". ὡς εἶπον περὶ τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων, καὶ περὶ τῶν καλῶν ἔργων ἐρῶ. ὅμως οὐδεὶς πράξας καλὸν ἀνω φελὴς μένει. ἐξ αὐτοῦ μειουμένην ἔχει τὴν κόλασιν. ὁ δὲ "ἁμαρτίαν μὴ γνοὺς μηδὲ ποιήσας αὐτὴν" καὶ τοὺς λόγους τῶν παραπτωμάτων πόρρω ἔχει ἀπὸ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ σωτηρίας, καθαρὰν ἔχει τὴν σωτηρίαν, οὐδὲ ἁμάρτημα ἢ παράπτωμα παραμέμεικται αὐτῇ, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ αὐτὸ τοῦτο, λόγος παραπτώματος. 3 ὁ θεός μου, κεκράξομαι ἡμέρας πρός σε, καὶ οὐκ εἰσακούσῃ, καὶ νυκτός, καὶ οὐκ εἰς ἄνοιαν ἐμοί. ἡ κατάστασις τοῦ βίου τῶν ἀνθρώπων διάφορός ἐστιν. ἔχει καὶ ἐπωφελῆ τινα, ἔχει δὲ καὶ σκυθρωπά. καὶ ἐν αὐτοῖς τούτοις τοῖς ἀνθρωπίνοις εἰσὶν ἡδέα, καὶ καλεῖται ταῦτα "ἡμέρα", καὶ σκυθρωπά, ἃ ὀνομάζεται "νύξ". τοῦτο οὖν λέγει· καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἡδέσιν καὶ λαμπροῖς πρός σε κράζω, καὶ εἰσακούεις, καὶ ἐν νυκτὶ τοῦτο ποιῶ, καὶ οὐκ εἰς ἄνοιαν ἐμοὶ γίνεται· ἐπινεύσαντος γάρ σου καὶ τῶν σκυθρωπῶν μηκέτι ἀσαφῶν ὄντων, γέγονέν μοι φανερόν. εἰσακούει ἡμέρας ἡμῶν βοώντων· καὶ νυκτὸς δέ, τουτέστιν 27 ἐν τῇ σκυθρωπῇ καταστάσει ὄντες, ἔχομεν αὐτὸν βοηθοῦντα καὶ τῷ πράγματι ἐλάβομεν γνῶσιν ὅτι βοηθεῖ· τοῦτο γάρ ἐστιν τό· "καὶ νυκτός, καὶ οὐκ εἰς ἄνοιαν ἐμοί". κἂν ἄλλοις ἦν ὅτι οὗτος, εἰ ἦν "ὁ ἄνθρωπος παρὰ θεοῦ" οὗτος, ἐνκατελείπετο, αὐτῷ οὐκ εἰς ἄνοιαν ἦν τοῦτο· ἑκουσίως γὰρ εἰς τοῦτο ἐλήλυθεν· "πορεύσομαι ἐμαυτῷ πρὸς τὸ ὄρος τῆς σζμύρνης"· σζμύρνη γὰρ αὐτοῦ τὸ σῶμα. πρὸς τὸ ὄρος πεπόρευται, ὅτι ὑπὲρ πάντων τῶν σζμυρνισθέντων ἀνεδέξατο τὸν θάνατον. ὅτι δὲ τοῦθ' οὕτως ἔχει, καὶ ἐξ ἄλλου ψαλμοῦ μάθωμεν, ὅτι τὰ σκυθρωπὰ ἄγνοιά ἐστιν καὶ νύξ· "ἡμέρας", φησίν, "ἐντελεῖται κύριος τὸ ἔλεος αὐτοῦ, καὶ νυκτὸς δηλώσει". ὅτε φανερῶς καὶ προχείρως ἐλεουμένους ἀνθρώπους ὁρῶμεν, ἡμέρας ἐνετείλατο ὁ θεὸς τὸ ἔλεος αὐτοῦ. "καὶ νυκτὸς" δὲ "δηλώσει"· ἐὰν γὰρ εἰδῇς ὅτι καὶ κολάσει παραδίδωσιν θεός, ἵνα δηλώσῃ τὸ ἔλεος ἑαυτοῦ -οὐδὲ γὰρ ὠμῶς παραδίδωσιν κολάσεσιν τοὺς ἀνθρώπους-, ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ νυκτί, τῇ σκυθρωπῇ καταστάσει, δηλωθήσεται τὸ ἔλεος τοῦ θεοῦ. καὶ ἡμέρας δὲ ἐντέλλεται τὸν ἔλεον, ὅταν φανερὰ ᾖν ἡ ἐλεημοσύνη αὐτοῦ,