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for this reason we are not able to save even the body. For the one who neglects the more important, and displays all his zeal for the lesser, destroys and ruins both; but the one who keeps order and cares for the more important, even if he neglects the second, through the salvation of the first, has saved this also. This is what Christ also, showing to us, said. "Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." Do we then persuade you that one must never despair of the passions of the soul as incurable, or that one must stir up other thoughts again? For even if you despair of yourself ten thousand times, we will never despair of you, nor will we ourselves suffer what we blame in others; and yet it is not the same for someone to despair of himself, and for another to despair of him. For he who has this despair from another might quickly be forgiven; but he who has it about himself, no longer. Why so? Because he is not master of the other's zeal and repentance, but of his own he alone has the authority. But nevertheless we will not despair of you even so, even if you suffer this ten thousand times, for perhaps, perhaps there will be some return to virtue and a restoration to your former life. But hear what follows. The Ninevites, having heard the prophet insisting and clearly threatening that: "Yet three days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown," did not despair even so, but although not confident that they would persuade God, but rather having reason to suspect the contrary from the oracle; for what was said was not spoken with any qualification, but was a clear sentence, and so they showed their repentance, saying: "Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?" Then he adds: "And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not." If then barbarous and irrational men were able to perceive so much, much more must we do this, who have been taught the divine doctrines and have seen a great multitude of such examples both in words and in deeds; "For my thoughts," he says, "are not as your thoughts, neither are my ways as your ways; but as the heavens are distant from the earth, so are my thoughts distant from your thoughts, and my ways from your ways." If we, when servants have offended us by chance, if they promise to become better, both receive them and bring them again to their former honor, and often even give them a greater share of boldness, will not He much more? For if He made us for this reason, that He might punish, you would rightly despair and dispute about your own salvation; but if for no other reason than for goodness alone He created us, that we might enjoy eternal goods and rewards, and does and contrives everything for this from the first day to the present, what is it that makes us doubt? We have exceedingly angered Him, and as no other man has. Therefore, for this reason especially one must desist from present things and repent of what has been done and show a great change. For the things once dared by us could not provoke Him so much as the not even wishing to change hereafter. For to sin is perhaps human, but to persist in the same things, this is no longer human, but wholly satanic. See, at least, how through the prophet God blames this more than that; "For I said," He says, "after she had committed all these fornications, 'Return to me,' and she did not return." And elsewhere again, wishing to show the great inclination which He has towards our salvation, when after many transgressions they promised to walk in the right way, having heard, He says, He said: "Who will grant that their heart might be so in them, that they would fear me, and keep my commandments

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τοι τοῦτο οὐδὲ τὸ σῶμα διασῶσαι δυνάμεθα. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ τοῦ προηγουμένου παραμελῶν, καὶ περὶ τὸ ἔλαττον ἅπασαν τὴν σπουδὴν ἐπιδεικνύμενος, ἀμφότερα καταλύει καὶ ἀπόλλυσιν· ὁ δὲ τάξιν φυλάττων καὶ τὸ κυριώτερον θερα πεύων, κἂν ἀμελήσῃ τοῦ δευτέρου, διὰ τῆς τοῦ προτέρου σωτηρίας, καὶ τοῦτο διέσωσεν. Ὅπερ καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς ἡμῖν παραδηλῶν ἔλεγεν. «Μὴ φοβηθῆτε ἀπὸ τῶν ἀποκτεινόντων τὸ σῶμα, τὴν δὲ ψυχὴν μὴ δυναμένων ἀποκτεῖναι· φοβηθῆτε δὲ μᾶλλον τὸν δυνάμενον καὶ ψυχὴν καὶ σῶμα ἀπολέσαι εἰς γέενναν.» Ἆρά σε πείθομεν ὅτι οὐδέποτε τῶν τῆς ψυχῆς ὡς ἀνιάτων ἀπογινώσκειν δεῖ παθῶν ἢ λογισμοὺς καὶ ἑτέρους πάλιν ἀνακινῆσαι χρή; Κἂν γὰρ μυριάκις ἀπογνῷς σεαυτοῦ, ἡμεῖς οὐκ ἀπογνωσόμεθά σού ποτε, οὐδὲ ὅπερ ἑτέροις ἐγκαλοῦμεν αὐτοὶ πεισόμεθα· καίτοι γε οὐκ ἔστιν ἴσον αὐτόν τινα ἀπελπίζειν ἑαυτόν, καὶ ἕτερον αὐτόν. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ ὑφ' ἑτέρου ταύτην ἔχων τὴν ἀπόνοιαν, κἂν συγγνωσθείη ταχέως· ὁ δὲ αὐτὸς περὶ ἑαυτοῦ οὐκέτι. Τί δήποτε; Ὅτι αὐτὸς μὲν οὐκ ἔστι κύριος τῆς ἐκείνου σπουδῆς καὶ μετανοίας, τῆς δὲ ἑαυτοῦ τὴν ἐξουσίαν ἔχει μόνος αὐτός. Ἀλλ' ὅμως οὐδὲ οὕτως ἀπογνωσόμεθά σου, κἂν μυριάκις τοῦτο πάθῃς, ἴσως γὰρ ἴσως ἔσται τις ἐπάνοδος πρὸς τὴν ἀρετὴν καὶ ἀποκατάστασις πρὸς τὸν πρότερον βίον. Ἄκουε δὲ καὶ τῶν ἑξῆς. Οἱ Νινευΐται τοῦ προφήτου διατεινομένου καὶ σαφῶς ἀπειλοῦντος ἀκούσαντες ὅτι· «Ἔτι τρεῖς ἡμέραι καὶ Νινευὴ καταστραφήσεται», οὐδὲ οὕτως ἀνέπεσαν, ἀλλὰ καίτοι μὴ θαρροῦντες ὅτι πείσουσιν τὸν θεόν, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ τοὐναντίον ὑποπτεύειν ἔχοντες ἀπὸ τοῦ χρησμοῦ· οὐ γὰρ μετὰ διορισμοῦ τινος εἴρητο τὸ λεχθέν, ἀλλ' ἀπόφασις ἦν καθαρά, καὶ οὕτω τὴν μετάνοιαν ἐπεδείκνυντο λέγοντες· «Τίς οἶδεν εἰ μετανοήσει καὶ παρακληθήσεται ὁ θεὸς καὶ ἀποστρέψει ἀπὸ ὀργῆς θυμοῦ αὐτοῦ, καὶ οὐ μὴ ἀπολώμεθα.» Εἶτα ἐπάγει· «Καὶ εἶδεν ὁ θεὸς τὰ ἔργα αὐτῶν, ὅτι ἀπέστρεψαν ἀπὸ τῶν ὁδῶν αὐτῶν τῶν πονηρῶν καὶ μετενόησεν ὁ θεὸς ἐπὶ τῇ κακίᾳ ᾗ ἐλάλησεν τοῦ ποιῆσαι αὐτοῖς, καὶ οὐκ ἐποίησεν.» Εἰ δὲ ἄνθρωποι βάρβαροι καὶ ἀλόγιστοι τοσοῦτον ἠδυνήθησαν συνιδεῖν, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἡμᾶς τοῦτο ποιεῖν χρή, τοὺς τὰ θεῖα δόγματα παιδευθέντας καὶ τῶν τοιούτων παραδειγμάτων καὶ ἐν ῥήμασιν καὶ ἐν πράξεσιν πολὺ τὸ πλῆθος ἑορακότας· «Οὐ γάρ εἰσιν, φησίν, αἱ βουλαί μου ὥσπερ αἱ βουλαὶ ὑμῶν, οὐδὲ αἱ ὁδοί μου ὥσπερ αἱ ὁδοὶ ὑμῶν· ἀλλ' ὅσον ἀπέχει ὁ οὐρανὸς ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς, τοσοῦτον ἀπέχει τὰ διανοήματά μου ἀπὸ τῶν διανοιῶν ὑμῶν, καὶ αἱ βουλαί μου ἀπὸ τῶν βουλῶν ὑμῶν.» Εἰ δὲ ἡμεῖς τοὺς ἀπὸ τύχης προσκεκρουκότας τῶν οἰκετῶν, ἂν ἐπαγγέλλωνται γενέσθαι βελτίους, καὶ προσιέμεθα καὶ πάλιν ἐπὶ τῆς προτέρας ἄγομεν τιμῆς, πολλάκις δὲ καὶ πλείονος αὐτοῖς τῆς παρρησίας μεταδίδομεν, οὐ πολλῷ μᾶλλον αὐτός; Εἰ μὲν γὰρ διὰ τοῦτο ἐποίησεν ἡμᾶς ἵνα κολάσῃ, καλῶς ἂν ἀπεγνώκεις καὶ ἠμφισβήτεις ὑπὲρ τῆς σωτηρίας τῆς ἑαυτοῦ· εἰ δὲ δι' οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἢ δι' ἀγαθότητα μόνην ἐδημιούργησεν ἡμᾶς, ἵνα τῶν αἰωνίων ἀπολαύσωμεν ἀγαθῶν καὶ ἄθλων καὶ πάντα ὑπὲρ τούτου ποιεῖ καὶ πραγματεύεται ἐκ πρώτης ἡμέρας εἰς τὸ παρόν, τί ποτέ ἐστι τὸ ποιοῦν ἐνδοιάζειν ἡμᾶς; Σφόδρα αὐτὸν παρωργίσαμεν καὶ ὡς οὐδεὶς ἀνθρώπων ἕτερος. Οὐκοῦν διὰ τοῦτο μάλιστα ἀποστῆναι τῶν παρόντων δεῖ καὶ μεταγνῶναι ἐπὶ τοῖς προγεγενημένοις καὶ πολλὴν ἐπιδείξασθαι τὴν μεταβολήν. Οὐδὲ γὰρ οὕτως αὐτὸν τὰ ἅπαξ τολμηθέντα ὑφ' ἡμῶν παροξῦναι δύναιτ' ἄν, ὡς τὸ μηδὲ θελῆσαι καὶ μεταβαλέσθαι λοιπόν. Τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἁμαρτεῖν ἴσως ἀνθρώπινον, τὸ δὲ ἐπιμεῖναι ἐπὶ τοῖς αὐτοῖς, τοῦτο οὐκ ἀνθρώπινον λοιπόν, ἀλλ' ὅλον σατανικόν. Ὅρα γοῦν καὶ διὰ τοῦ προφήτου πῶς τοῦτο μᾶλλον ἐκείνου μέμφεται ὁ θεός· «Καὶ εἶπον γάρ, φησίν, μετὰ τὸ πορνεῦσαι αὐτὴν ταῦτα πάντα· πρός με ἀνάστρεψον, καὶ οὐκ ἀνέστρεψεν.» Καὶ ἑτέρωθι πάλιν τὴν πολλὴν ῥοπὴν ἣν ἔχει πρὸς τὴν σωτηρίαν τὴν ἡμετέραν ἐπιδεῖξαι βουλόμενος, ἐπειδὴ μετὰ τὰς πολλὰς παρανομίας ἐπηγγείλαντο τὴν ὀρθὴν βαδίζειν ὁδόν, ἀκούσας, φησίν, εἶπεν· «Τίς δώσει εἶναι οὕτω τὴν καρδίαν αὐτῶν ἐν αὐτοῖς, ὥστε φοβεῖσθαί με καὶ φυλάττειν τὰς ἐντολάς