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incorrigible. Whatever you might say, he is not worse than Saul, who, having been saved by David once and twice, and many times, after he himself had plotted countless things, and then having been treated well in return for these things, remained, preserving his own wickedness. For what can you say? That he cut off land, and did injustice in the fields, and transgressed the boundaries of houses, and seized slaves, and committed outrage, and was greedy, and brought you to poverty? But he has not yet taken away your life, which is what this man was eager to do; and if he was also eager to take away your life, perhaps he dared this only once, not twice and three times, and many times like this man; and if he did so once and twice and three times and many times, still he had not been treated so well, nor had he come into his hands once and a second time and been saved; and if this were also the case, even so David is again superior. For it is not the same thing to practice such philosophy while under the Old Covenant, and now after grace to bestow such gifts. David had not heard the parable of the ten thousand talents and the one hundred denarii; David had not heard the prayer that says, Forgive men their debts, as also your heavenly Father; he had not seen Christ crucified, nor the precious blood poured out, nor had he heard the countless discourses on philosophy; he did not enjoy so great a sacrifice, nor did he partake of the Lord’s blood, but being brought up in more imperfect laws which demand nothing of this kind, he reached the very summit of the philosophy that is in grace. And you, often being angry over past events, bear a grudge; but this man, fearing also for the future, and knowing precisely that the city 54.699 would be uninhabitable for him, and life unlivable if he saved his enemy, did not desist from his concern for him, but did everything, nourishing the foe against himself. Who could speak of a greater forbearance than this? But so that you may learn from things that happen now, that it is possible, if we are willing, to reconcile every man who is hostile toward us, what is more savage than a lion? And yet men tame it, and art does violence to nature, and the most savage and kingly of all beasts becomes more gentle than any sheep, and walks through the marketplace frightening no one. What defense, therefore, shall we have, what excuse, when we tame wild beasts, but say that we cannot ever soothe men, nor make them be well-disposed toward us? And yet for the beast, tameness is contrary to nature; but for man, savagery is contrary to nature. When, therefore, we overcome nature, what defense shall we have, saying that we cannot correct a choice? But if you are still contentious, I would say this, that even if he suffers from incurable diseases, the greater your labor, the greater also is your reward for persevering and healing the one who is incurably sick. Let us then consider one thing only, not how we may suffer no evil from our enemies, but how we ourselves may do them no evil; and we will suffer nothing terrible, even if we suffer countless terrible things; just as David, being pursued, being exiled, being plotted against even to his very life, suffered nothing terrible. but was more glorious than him and more venerable and more beloved by all, not only by men, but also by God Himself. For in what was that holy man wronged then, having suffered so many things from Saul? Is he not sung of to this very day, and is glorious on earth, and more glorious in heaven? Do not unspeakable goods await him, and the kingdom of heaven? But what did that wretched and miserable man gain by plotting so many things? Did he not both fall from his kingdom, and suffer a pitiful death with his son, and is accused by all, and what is indeed more grievous, does he not now await the immortal punishments? In short, what is it that you, accusing your enemy, do not want to be reconciled over? Did he take away your money? But if you bear the plunder nobly, you will receive as great a reward as if you had placed it in the hands of the poor. For indeed

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ἀδιόρθωτον. Οἷον ἂν εἴπῃς, οὐκ ἔστι τοῦ Σαοὺλ χείρων, ὃς καὶ ἅπαξ καὶ δὶς, καὶ πολλάκις διασωθεὶς ὑπὸ τοῦ ∆αυῒδ, αὐτὸς μυρία ἐπιβουλεύσας, εἶτα ἀντὶ τούτων εὐεργετηθεὶς, ἔμενε τὴν ἑαυτοῦ πονηρίαν διατηρῶν. Τί γὰρ ἔχεις εἰπεῖν, Ὅτι γῆν ἀπετέμετο, καὶ ἐν ἀγροῖς ἠδίκησε, καὶ οἰκίας ὅρια ὑπερέβη, καὶ ἀνδράποδα ἥρπασε, καὶ ὕβρισε, καὶ ἐπλεονέκτησε, καὶ εἰς πενίαν ἤγαγεν; Ἀλλ' οὔπω τὴν ψυχὴν ἀφείλετο, ὅπερ οὗτος ἐσπούδαζεν· εἰ δὲ καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν ἐσπούδασεν ἀφελέσθαι, ἀλλ' ἅπαξ τοῦτ' ἐτόλμησεν ἴσως, οὐχὶ δὶς καὶ τρὶς, καὶ πολλάκις καθάπερ οὗτος· εἰ δὲ καὶ ἅπαξ καὶ δὶς καὶ τρὶς καὶ πολλάκις, ἀλλ' οὐ τοσαῦτα εὐεργετηθεὶς, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐλθὼν εἰς τὰς χεῖρας καὶ ἅπαξ καὶ δεύτερον, καὶ διασωθείς· εἰ δὲ καὶ τοῦτο, καὶ οὕτω πλεονεκτεῖ πάλιν ὁ ∆αυΐδ. Οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ἴσον ἐπὶ τῆς Παλαιᾶς ὄντα τοιαῦτα φιλοσοφεῖν, καὶ νῦν μετὰ τὴν χάριν τοιαύτας χαρίζεσθαι δωρεάς. Οὐκ ἦν ὁ ∆αυῒδ ἀκούσας τὴν παραβολὴν τῶν μυρίων ταλάντων καὶ τῶν ἑκατὸν δηναρίων· οὐκ ἦν ὁ ∆αυῒδ ἀκούσας τῆς εὐχῆς τῆς λεγούσης, Ἄφετε τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τὰ ὀφλήματα αὐτῶν, καθὼς καὶ ὁ Πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὁ οὐράνιος· οὐκ ἦν ἰδὼν τὸν Χριστὸν σταυρωθέντα, οὐχ αἷμα τὸ τίμιον ἐκχυθὲν, οὐδὲ τοὺς μυρίους περὶ φιλοσοφίας ἀκούσας λόγους· οὐκ ἀπέλαυσε θυσίας τοσαύτης, οὐδ' αἵματος μετέσχε ∆εσποτικοῦ, ἀλλ' ἀτελεστέροις ἐντρεφόμενος νόμοις καὶ οὐδὲν ἀπαιτοῦσι τοιοῦτον, πρὸς αὐτὴν τὴν κορυφὴν τῆς ἐν τῇ χάριτι ἔφθασε φιλοσοφίας. Καὶ σὺ μὲν πολλάκις ὑπὲρ τῶν παρελθόντων ὀργιζόμενος μνησικακεῖς· οὗτος δὲ καὶ ὑπὲρ τῶν μελλόντων δεδοικὼς, καὶ εἰδὼς ἀκριβῶς, ὅτι ἀοίκητος 54.699 αὐτῷ ἔσται ἡ πόλις, καὶ ἀβίωτος ὁ βίος σώσαντι τὸν ἐχθρὸν, οὐκ ἀφίστατο τῆς ἐκείνου κηδεμονίας, ἀλλὰ πάντ' ἔπραττε, καθ' ἑαυτοῦ τὸν πολέμιον τρέφων. Τίς ἂν σχοίη ταύτης μείζονα ἀνεξικακίαν εἰπεῖν; Ἵνα δὲ καὶ ἐκ τῶν νῦν γινομένων μάθῃς, ὅτι δυνατὸν, ἂν ἐθέλωμεν, πάντα ἄνθρωπον πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἀπεχθῶς ἔχοντα καταλλάξαι, τί λέοντος ἀγριώτερον; Ἀλλ' ὅμως τοῦτον ἡμεροῦσιν ἄνθρωποι, καὶ ἡ τέχνη τὴν φύσιν βιάζεται, καὶ γίνεται προβάτου παντὸς ἐπιεικέστερος ὁ πάντων θηρίων ἀγριώτερος καὶ βασιλικώτερος, καὶ διὰ τῆς ἀγορᾶς βαδίζει μηδένα δεδιττόμενος. Τίν' οὖν ἕξομεν ἀπολογίαν, τίνα συγγνώμην, θηρία μὲν ἡμεροῦντες, ἀνθρώπους δὲ λέγοντες μὴ δύνασθαι καταπραΰνειν ποτὲ, μηδὲ ποιεῖν πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἔχειν ἡδέως; Καίτοι γε τῷ θηρίῳ μὲν παρὰ φύσιν τὸ ἥμερον· τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ δὲ παρὰ φύσιν τὸ ἄγριον. Ὅταν οὖν τῆς φύσεως περιγινώμεθα, τίν' ἕξομεν ἀπολογίαν, προαίρεσιν λέγοντες μὴ δύνασθαι διορθοῦν; Εἰ δ' ἔτι φιλονεικεῖς, ἐκεῖν' ἂν εἴποιμι, ὅτι κἂν ἀνίατα νοσῇ, ὅσος σοι μείζων ὁ πόνος, τοσοῦτός σοι καὶ ὁ μισθὸς παραμένοντι, καὶ θεραπεύοντι τὸν νοσοῦντα ἀνίατα. Ἓν τοίνυν σκοπῶμεν μόνον, οὐχ ὅπως μηδὲν πάθωμεν παρὰ τῶν ἐχθρῶν κακὸν, ἀλλ' ὅπως μηδὲν αὐτοὺς ἡμεῖς ἐργασώμεθα κακόν· καὶ οὐδὲν πεισόμεθα δεινὸν, κἂν μυρία πάσχωμεν δεινά· ὡσπεροῦν οὐδ' ὁ ∆αυῒδ ἐλαυνόμενος, φυγαδευόμενος, μέχρι τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτῆς ἐπιβουλευόμενος, ἔπαθέ τι δεινόν. ἀλλ' ἐκείνου λαμπρότερος ἦν καὶ σεμνότερος καὶ ποθεινότερος ἅπασιν, οὐκ ἀνθρώποις δὲ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτῷ τῷ Θεῷ. Τί γὰρ ἠδικήθη ὁ ἅγιος ἐκεῖνος τότε τοσαῦτα παθὼν παρὰ τοῦ Σαούλ; Οὐχὶ μέχρι τῆς σήμερον ἡμέρας ᾄδεται, καὶ λαμπρὸς μὲν ἐν γῇ, λαμπρότερος δὲ ἐν οὐρανῷ; οὐχὶ τὰ ἀπόῤῥητα αὐτὸν ἀγαθὰ μένει, καὶ ἡ τῶν οὐρανῶν βασιλεία; Τί δ' ὠφέλησεν ὁ ταλαίπωρος ἐκεῖνος καὶ ἄθλιος τοσαῦτα ἐπιβουλεύσας; Οὐχὶ καὶ τῆς βασιλείας ἐξέπεσε, καὶ ἐλεεινὸν ὑπέστη τὸν θάνατον μετὰ τοῦ παιδὸς, καὶ παρὰ πάντων κατηγορεῖται, καὶ τὸ δὴ χαλεπώτερον, τὰς ἀθανάτους νῦν ἐκδέχεται τιμωρίας; Ὅλως δὲ τί ποτέ ἐστιν, ὅπερ ἐγκαλῶν τῷ ἐχθρῷ οὐ βούλει καταλλαγῆναι; Χρήματά σε ἀφείλετο; Ἀλλ' ἂν ἐνέγκῃς γενναίως τὴν ἁρπαγὴν, τοσοῦτον λήψῃ μισθὸν, ὅσον ἂν εἰ ταῖς τῶν πενήτων αὐτὰ χερσὶν ἐναπέθηκας. Καὶ γὰρ