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are performed with boldness, but the punishments have much that is hidden concerning God. And these things are to be understood in the text; they do not indicate any perceptible eyelid or anything else of that sort, wherefore these things also must be understood in a manner befitting God. Christ is he at whose judgment seat all must be made manifest, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether it be good or bad. And having said that an examination of the just and the impious is made by the Lord, he adds that he who loves wickedness, which is injustice, hates his own soul, making it punishable through sinning; the opposite of which he does who works justly, loving his own soul and his neighbor as himself, he who leads him to virtue. "The Lord tests the just and the impious" does not conflict with "the impious shall not rise in judgment." For the one signifies the completely godless, while the other signifies those who through sinning despise God. For many scriptures show this, especially the one saying in Genesis, "Shall the righteous be as the wicked?" He will rain snares upon sinners, that is, punishments that ensnare and place within nets those who are hunted, unless perhaps it means their being handed over by him to the lusts of their hearts; this he also shows by "passions of dishonor" and "a reprobate mind." And see if for this reason it is said, "He will rain down" and not "He will rain snares"; for snares are rained down upon those already ensnared by themselves. This is also shown from, "But those who turn aside to crooked ways, the Lord will lead away with the workers of iniquity." You will apply to both interpretations what is thus written in Proverbs: "To the crooked God will send crooked ways." For according to the first interpretation, the crooked ways would be the punishments sent out to those who have become crooked through wickedness, but according to the other, they are the handing-overs to which those who sin willingly are handed over, which are indicated by the passions of dishonor and those enumerated. Fire and brimstone and a stormy wind shall be the portion of their cup. The painful retributions are often indicated in scripture by the name of the cup, as in Isaiah, "Awake, awake, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk the cup of staggering, the dregs of the cup of wrath," and what follows; but also in Jeremiah the same is presented from the voice that has it thus: "The Lord the Almighty, the God of Israel, said, Take the cup of unmixed wine from my hand and you shall make all the nations to whom I send you drink it." Perhaps then, in agreement with these, also in the preceding verses, "The portion of their cup" that was apportioned to them indicates punishment, especially because the fullness of this cup is "Fire and brimstone and a stormy wind," of which the kinds of punishments recorded in Genesis that came upon Sodom and Gomorrah from the Lord are symbols; besides this fire and brimstone, there is also a stormy wind in the drinking of the cup. The fire indicates the threat through burning, and the brimstone the occasion that stirs up the fire even more. Besides these, the "Spirit of the storm" indicates a whirlwind of some temptation. That the storm indicates temptation can be clearly learned from what is written in Isaiah, "As a storm passing through the desert would come near, a fearful vision and a harsh one was reported to me." Let us flee impiety, then, so that this cup may be far from us, and let us live in piety, so that we may drink the intoxicating cup which is most excellent, about which perhaps that also was said: "The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup." For the Lord is just and has loved righteousness; his face has seen uprightness. And for this reason he has his eyes on the poor man, caring for his salvation, but he also sends snares upon sinners. For it is not by chance, if it comes from the providence and judgment of God; but the Lord is just in essence and not by participation in righteousness. Yet even if he is so by nature, still he loves the righteous acts among the many just, accepting the purpose of each. It is also possible to say in another way that he loves righteous acts; since of every judgment there is a certain

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παρρησίᾳ ἐπιτελῶνται, αἱ δὲ κολάσεις πολὺ τὸ κεκρυμμένον εχωσι περὶ θεοῦ. καὶ ταῦτα λέξει διανοούμενα· οὐδὲν αἰσθητὸν βλέφαρον η ετερόν τι τοιοῦτον ἐμφαίνουσιν, οθεν καὶ ταῦτα θεοπρεπῶς νοητέον. ̔Ο Χριστός ἐστιν ου τῷ βήματι φανερωθῆναι πάντας δεῖ, ινα κομίσηται εκαστος τὰ διὰ τοῦ σώματος πρὸς α επραξεν ειτε ἀγαθὸν ειτε κακόν. εἰπὼν δὲ ὑπὸ κυρίου ἐξέτασιν γινομένην τοῦ δικαίου καὶ τοῦ ἀσεβοὺς ἐπιφέρει ὡς μισεῖ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχὴν ὁ τὴν κακίαν ουσαν ἀδικίαν ἀγαπῶν ποιῶν αὐτὴν κολαστέαν διὰ τοῦ ἁμαρτάνειν· ῳ ἐναντίον ποιεῖ ὁ δικαίως ἐνεργῶν, ἀγαπῶν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ πλησίον ὡς ἑαυτὸν ὁ εἰς ἀρετὴν αὐτὸν αγων. οὐ μάχεται τὸ Κύριος ἐξετάζει τὸν δίκαιον καὶ τὸν ἀσεβῆ τῷ μὴ ἀνίστασθαι ἀσεβεῖς ἐν κρίσει. τὸ μὲν γὰρ τοὺς πάντῃ ἀθέους σημαίνει, τὸ δὲ τοὺς διὰ ἁμαρτάνειν καταφρονοῦντας θεοῦ. πλέονες γὰρ γραφαὶ δηλοῦσι τοῦτο, μάλιστα ἡ λέγουσα Εσται ὁ δίκαιος ὡς ὁ ἀσεβὴς ἐν Γενέσει. ̓Επιβρέξει ἐπὶ ἁμαρτωλοὺς παγίδας, τουτέστι κολάσεις παγιδευούσας καὶ ἐντὸς ἀρκύων ποιούσας τοὺς ἀγρευομένους, εἰ μὴ αρα τὸ παραδίδοσθαι αὐτοὺς ὑπ' αὐτοῦ ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις τῶν καρδιῶν αὐτῶν· τοῦτο δηλοῖ καὶ πάθεσιν ἀτιμίας καὶ ἀδοκίμῳ νῷ. καὶ ορα εἰ μὴ διὰ τοῦτο ̓Επιβρέξει ἀλλ' οὐ βρέξει παγίδας ειρηται· ηδη γὰρ παγιδευθεῖσιν ὑφ' ἑαυτῶν ἐπιβρέχονται παγίδας. τοῦτο δηλοῦται καὶ ἐκ τοῦ Τοὺς δὲ ἐκκλίνοντας εἰς τὰς στραγγαλιὰς ἀπάξει κύριος μετὰ τῶν ἐργαζομένων τὴν ἀνομίαν. ἐφαρμόσεις πρὸς ἑκατέρας τὰς ἀποδόσεις τὸ ουτω γεγραμμένον ἐν Παροιμίαις· Πρὸς τοὺς σκολιοὺς σκολιὰς ὁδοὺς ἀποστελεῖ ὁ θεός. πρὸς μὲν γὰρ τὴν προτέραν ἀπόδοσιν κολάσεις ειεν αἱ σκολιαὶ ὁδοὶ τοῖς διὰ κακίαν σκολιοῖς γεγενημένοις ἐκπεμπόμεναι, πρὸς δὲ τὴν ἑτέραν αἱ παραδόσεις εἰσὶν αις παραδίδονται οἱ ἑκουσίως ἁμαρτάνοντες, αι δηλοῦνται διὰ τῶν παθῶν τῆς ἀτιμίας καὶ τῶν κατηριθμημένων. Πῦρ καὶ θεῖον καὶ πνεῦμα καταιγίδος ἡ μερὶς τοῦ ποτηρίου αὐτῶν. αἱ ἐπίπονοι ἀνταποδόσεις δηλοῦνται πολλάκις ἐν τῇ γραφῇ ὀνόματι τοῦ ποτηρίου ὡς ἐν ̔Ησαίᾳ ̓Εξεγείρου, ἐξεγείρου, ̔Ιερουσαλὴμ ἡ πιοῦσα τὸ ποτήριον τῆςπτώσεως, τὸ κόνδυ τοῦ θυμοῦ, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς· ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν ̔Ιερεμίᾳ παρίσταται τὸ αὐτὸ ἐκ τῆς ἐχούσης ουτω φωνῆς· Ειπεν κύριος ὁ παντοκράτωρ ὁ θεὸς τοῦ ̓Ισραὴλ Λάβε τὸ ποτήριον τοῦ οινου τοῦ ἀκράτου ἐκ χειρός μου καὶ ποτιεῖς αὐτὸ πάντα τὰ εθνη πρὸς ους ἐγὼ ἀποστελῶ σε. μήποτ' ουν συμφώνως τούτοις καὶ ἐν τοῖς προκειμένοις κόλασιν δηλοῖ ̔Η μερὶς τοῦ ποτηρίου τοῦ μερισθέντος αὐτοῖς, μάλιστα οτι τὸ πλήρωμα τοῦ ποτηρίου τούτου Πῦρ καὶ θεῖον καὶ πνεῦμα καταιγίδος ἐστὶν ου σύμβολα τὰ ἐν Γενέσει ἀναγεγραμμένα ειδη κολάσεων ἐλθόντα ἐπὶ Σοδόμα καὶ Γόμορρα παρὰ κυρίου· πρὸς τούτῳ τῷ πυρὶ καὶ τῷ θείῳ καὶ Πνεῦμα καταιγίδος ἐστὶν ἐν τῷ ποτισμῷ τοῦ ποτηρίου. δηλοῖ τὸ πῦρ τὴν διὰ καύσεως ἀπειλήν, τὸ δὲ θεῖον τὴν διεγείρουσαν ετι μᾶλλον τὸ πῦρ ἀφορμήν. πρὸς τούτοις τὸ Πνεῦμα τῆς καταιγίδος πειρασμοῦ τινος συστροφὴν δηλοῖ. οτι δὲ πειρασμὸν ἡ καταιγὶς δηλοῖ, σαφῶς εστι μαθεῖν ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐν ̔Ησαίᾳ γεγραμμένου ̔Ως καταιγὶς δι' ἐρήμου διέλθοι ἐρχομένη ἐγγύς, φοβερὸν τὸ οραμα καὶ σκληρὸν ἀνηγγέλη μοι. φύγωμεν τοίνυν τὴν ἀσέβειαν, ινα τοῦτο τὸ ποτήριον μακρὰν γένηται ἀφ' ἡμῶν, καὶ ἐν εὐσεβείᾳ ζήσωμεν, ινα πίωμεν τὸ μεθύσκον ὡς κράτιστον περὶ ου τάχα κἀκεῖνο λέλεκται· Κύριος ἡ μερὶς τῆς κληρονομίας μου καὶ τοῦ ποτηρίου μου. Οτι δίκαιος κύριος καὶ δικαιοσύνας ἠγάπησεν, εὐθύτητας ειδεν τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ. καὶ τούτου χάριν ἐπὶ τὸν πένητα τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς εχει φροντίζων αὐτοῦ τῆς σωτηρίας, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς ἁμαρτωλοὺς παγίδας ἐπιπέμπει. οὐ γὰρ ὡς ετυχεν, εἰ γίνεται τῶν τῆς προνοίας καὶ θεοῦ κρίσεως· δίκαιος δὲ κύριος κατ' οὐσίαν ἀλλ' οὐ μετοχῇ δικαιοσύνης ἐστίν. πλὴν εἰ καὶ ουτως εχει φύσεως, ἀλλ' ουν ἀγαπᾷ τὰς ἐν τοῖς πολλοῖς δικαίοις δικαιοσύνας, τὴν ἑκάστου πρόθεσιν ἀποδεχόμενος. Εστιν καὶ αλλως εἰπεῖν ἀγαπᾶν αὐτὸν δικαιοσύνας· ἐπεὶ ἑκάστου κρίματος εστιν τις