Eusebius of Caesarea, Fragments on Luke

souls; for many are the paths of those who have departed this life; to whom the Savior preached after the laying aside of the body; but He philanthropically brings compulsion to those who are no longer of their own free will. Such then is the supper, which has been prepared here for the guests; and such are some of those who are called, some disobedient, and for this reason remaining without a taste; but others obedient, and for this reason received beforehand. But you, from here, pass on in your thought, etc. ut col. 572 . Blessed, therefore, are those who now hunger and thirst for righteousness, for then they shall be satisfied, being filled with the royal supper and partaking of the bread of life, and of the joy of the new cup. The Savior, performing the symbols of these things before his passion, said, "I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom"; a table full of good things, of which those to whom he made the covenant will partake, because they remained with him in his trials, that they may eat and drink at his table, being nourished with the heavenly bread that nourishes holy souls, and partaking of the wine of the new fruit of the true vine, which God and Father of all, cultivating it himself, will provide its new fruit to those who are then worthy. But if your brother sins against you. Here he wishes those who are making progress to be forgiv- 24.581 ing to those who stumble, healing a terrible disease often growing in them, cutting off severity against those who stumble. For we are accustomed to be so arrogant as to accept neither the exhortations of those who have sinned, nor the supplications of those interceding for them; nor, indeed, to consider how many things we ourselves, being men who stumble, need forgiveness for from the great judge. Therefore, Matthew rightly used the parable in which debtors are introduced, one owing ten thousand talents, which were also forgiven him when he fell down; the other a hundred denarii, for which he was being choked by the one who had been forgiven those many talents. Through which he teaches that it is not possible to attain the kingdom otherwise, even if one should accomplish many things, without imitating the good God in being unmindful of wrongs; since the kingdom, receiving the worthy by judgment, does not receive those who are not forgiving and do not imitate the good judge of all in this respect. For no one could say that another has transgressed so much against him, as he himself is a debtor for having acted against the will of God all the time of his life; for sometimes we stumble through words, and sometimes through shameful and wicked desires and deeds. Nevertheless, though stumbling in so many ways, we do not despair of our hopes in God, because of God's philanthropy and freedom from malice, his mercifulness and forgiveness. Therefore, it follows that we too should measure with the same measure to those who sin against us; nor, like Peter, be precise in philanthropy and forgive those who have sinned against us up to the number of seven; but according to the compassionate and merciful Savior, up to seventy times seven; not by meticulously investigating so many sins, and as it were making a record of them each day, but from this being taught the unlimited. For when Peter asked for how many sins against us one must forgive, and set the number up to seven times, the Savior introduced up to seventy times seven, according to which we also must forgive, knowing and being persuaded that there will be a time when an account will be settled with us by the judge and king of all, when we all stand before his judgment seat, when with the measure we use, it will be measured back to us. For the great king, from this point, has already remitted the entire debt to all of us debtors of many talents, according to what is fitting for his philanthropy, having given remission of sins and blotted out the certificate of debt against us; but we, for small stumbles, choke our fellow servants,

ψυχαί· πολλαὶ γὰρ ὁδοὶ τῶν ἐξελθόντων τὸν βίον τοῦτον· αἷς ἐκήρυξε μετὰ τὴν ἀπόθεσιν τοῦ σώματος ὁ Σωτήρ· φιλανθρώπως δ' ἀνάγκην προσάγει τοῖς οὐκέτι αὐτεξουσίοις. Τοιοῦτον μὲν δὴ τὸ δεῖπνον, ὅπερ ἐνταῦθα τοῖς δαιτυμόσιν ἡτοίμασται· καὶ τοιοῦτοί τινες οἱ καλούμενοι, οἱ μὲν ἀπειθεῖς, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἀπομένοντες ἄγευστοι· οἱ δὲ εὐπειθεῖς, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο προλαμβανόμενοι. Σὺ δέ μοι ἐντεῦθεν μετάβα τῇ διανοίᾳ, etc. ̣ut col. 572 ̣. Μακάριοι γοῦν οἱ νῦν πεινῶντες καὶ διψῶντες τὴν δικαιοσύνην, ὅτι τότε χορτασθήσονται, τοῦ δείπνου τοῦ βασιλικοῦ ἐμφορούμενοι καὶ μεταλαμβάνοντες τοῦ ἄρτου τῆς ζωῆς, καὶ τῆς εὐφροσύνης τοῦ καινοῦ ποτηρίου. Ὧν τὰ σύμβολα ἐπιτελῶν πρὸ τοῦ πάθους ὁ Σωτὴρ, Οὐ μὴ πίω, ἔφη, ἀπ' ἄρτι ἐκ τούτου τοῦ γεννήματος τῆς ἀμπέλου ἕως τῆς ἡμέρας ἐκείνης, ὅταν αὐτὸ πίνω μεθ' ὑμῶν καινὸν ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τοῦ Πατρὸς ἐμοῦ· πλήρης ἀγαθῶν τράπεζα, ἧς μεταλήψονται οἷς τὴν διαθήκην διέθετο, διὰ τὸ μεμενηκέναι μετ' αὐτοῦ ἐν τοῖς πειρασμοῖς, ἵν' ἐσθίωσι καὶ πίνωσιν ἐπὶ τῆς τραπέζης αὐτοῦ, ἄρτῳ μὲν οὐρανίῳ ψυχῶν ἁγίων θρεπτικῷ τραφησόμενοι, οἴνου δὲ τοῦ καινοῦ γεννήματος τῆς ἀληθινῆς ἀμπέλου μεταληψόμενοι, ἣν αὐτὸς ὁ τῶν ὅλων Θεὸς καὶ Πατὴρ γεωργῶν τὸ καινὸν ἐξ αὐτῆς γέννημα τοῖς τότε ἀξίοις παρέξει. Ἐὰν δὲ ἁμάρτῃ εἰς σὲ ὁ ἀδελφός σου. Ἐνταῦθα τοὺς ἐν προκοπῇ γενομένους συγχωρη 24.581 τικοὺς εἶναι τοῖς πταίουσι βούλεται, θεραπεύων δεινὴν νόσον ἐν αὐτοῖς πολλάκις ἐμφυομένην, ἐκκόπτων τὴν κατὰ τῶν πταιόντων ἀποτομήν. Κατεπαίρεσθαι γοῦν εἰώθαμεν, ὡς μήτε παρακλήσεις τῶν ἡμαρτηκότων, μήτε τῶν ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν πρεσβευόντων ἱκετηρίας παραδέχεσθαι· μηδὲ μὴν ὑπολογίζεσθαι ὅσα δὴ καὶ αὐτοὶ οἱ ἄνθρωποι πταίοντες συγγνώμης τῆς παρὰ τοῦ μεγάλου κριτοῦ δεόμεθα. Εἰκότως οὖν παρὰ τῷ Ματθαίῳ καὶ τῇ παραβολῇ κέχρηται, ἐν ᾗ ὀφειλέται εἰσάγονται, ὁ μὲν μυρία τάλαντα ὀφείλων, ἃ καὶ ἀφείθη αὐτῷ προσπεσόντι· ὁ δὲ ἑκατὸν δηνάρια, ἐφ' οἷς ἀπεπνίγετο παρὰ τοῦ ἀφεθέντος τὰ πολλὰ ἐκεῖνα τάλαντα. ∆ι' ἧς διδάσκει, ὅτι μὴ ἄλλως τυχεῖν δυνατόν ἐστι τῆς βασιλείας, κἂν πολλά τις κατορθώσῃ, μὴ τὸν ἀγαθὸν Θεὸν μιμησάμενος κατὰ τὸ ἀμνησίκακον· ἐπειδήπερ ἡ βασιλεία, κρίσει τοὺς ἀξίους παραδεχομένη, τοὺς μὴ συγχωρητικοὺς καὶ τὸν ἀγαθὸν τῶν ὅλων κριτὴν κατὰ τοῦτο μιμουμένους οὐ παραδέχεται. Οὐ γὰρ ἂν ἔχει τις εἰπεῖν τοσαῦτά τινα πεπλημμεληκέναι εἰς ἑαυτὸν, ὅσα περ αὐτὸς τὸν πάντα χρόνον τῆς αὐτοῦ ζωῆς παρὰ τὸ βούλημα τοῦ Θεοῦ πράξας ὀφειλέτης ἐστί· ποτὲ μὲν γὰρ διὰ τοῦ λόγου πταίομεν, ποτὲ δὲ δι' αἰσχρῶν καὶ πονηρῶν ἐπιθυμημάτων τε καὶ πράξεων. Πλὴν ὅμως τοσαῦτα πταίοντες, οὐκ ἀπογινώσκομεν τὰς παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ ἐλπίδας, διὰ τὸ φιλάνθρωπον καὶ ἀνεξίκακον ἐλεημονικόν τε καὶ συγχωρητικὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ. Οὐκοῦν ἕπεται τῷ αὐτῷ μέτρῳ, καὶ ἡμᾶς μετρεῖν τοῖς εἰς ἡμᾶς ἁμαρτάνουσι· μηδὲ κατὰ τὸν Πέτρον ἀκριβολογεῖσθαι τῇ φιλανθρωπίᾳ, καὶ μέχρις ἑβδόμου ἀριθμοῦ τοῖς εἰς ἡμᾶς ἡμαρτηκόσι συγχωρεῖν· κατὰ δὲ τὸν συμπαθῆ καὶ ἐλεήμονα Σωτῆρα μέχρι τοῦ ἑβδομηκοντάκις ἑπτά· οὐ πάντως τὰ τοσαῦτα περιεργαζομένους ἁμαρτήματα, καὶ ὥσπερ ἀναγραφὴν αὐτῶν ποιουμένους καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν, ἐκ δὲ τούτου τὸ ἀπεριόριστον διδασκομένους. Πυθομένου γὰρ τοῦ Πέτρου ἐπὶ πόσοις τοῖς εἰς ἡμᾶς ἁμαρτανομένοις συγχωρεῖν δέοι, καὶ ἀριθμὸν ὁρίσαντος τὸν ἕως ἑπτάκις, ὁ Σωτὴρ τὸν ἕως ἑβδομηκοντάκις ἐπτὰ εἰσήγαγε, καθ' ὃν δεῖ καὶ ἡμᾶς ἀφιέναι, εἰδότας καὶ πεπεισμένους, ὡς ἔσται καιρὸς καθ' ὃν συναρθήσεται πρὸς ἡμᾶς λόγος ὑπὸ τοῦ πάντων κριτοῦ τε καὶ βασιλέως, ἐπειδὰν οἱ πάντες παραστῶμεν τῷ βήματι αὐτοῦ, ὅτε ᾧ μέτρῳ μετροῦμεν, ἀντιμετρηθήσεται ἡμῖν. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ μέγας βασιλεὺς ἐντεῦθεν ἤδη πᾶσιν ἡμῖν τοῖς χρεωφειλέταις πολλῶν ταλάντων κατὰ τὸ πρέπον αὐτοῦ τῇ φιλανθρωπίᾳ τὸ πᾶν ἀνῆκε χρέος, δοὺς ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτημάτων καὶ ἐξαλείψας τὸ καθ' ἡμῶν χειρόγραφον· ἡμεῖς δ' ἐπὶ βραχέσι πταίσμασι τοὺς συνδούλους ἀποπνίγομεν,