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gave away his possessions, and fasted continually, and was free from greed; but that other one spent all his time in robberies and violence. Both went up to the temple to pray. Then that one stood and said: I thank you, Lord, that I am not like the rest of men, robbers, greedy, nor like this tax collector. But the tax collector, standing far off, did not insult him back, did not revile him in return, did not say those words of the many: ‘Do you dare to mention my life, to take hold of the things I have done? Am I not better than you? Should I speak of your transgressions, and make it so you never set foot in the precincts of this temple?’ He said none of these cold words, which, berating one another, we say every day; but groaning bitterly and beating his breast, he said only this, 'Be merciful to me, a sinner,' and went down justified. Did you see the swiftness? He accepted the reproach, and washed away the reproach; he acknowledged his sins, and put away his sins; and the accusation of sin became the destruction of sin, and the enemy unwillingly became a benefactor. For how much would the tax collector have had to labor, fasting, sleeping on the ground, keeping vigil, giving his possessions to the needy, sitting in sackcloth and ashes for a long time, to be able to put away those sins? And now, having done none of these things, through a simple word he put away all his wickedness; and the reproaches and revilings of the one who thought to insult him brought him a crown of righteousness, without sweat, and toils, and long time. Do you see that even if someone speaks truths about us, even such things as we are conscious of ourselves, if we do not insult the one speaking, but groan bitterly and entreat God for our sins, we will be able to put away all our transgressions? For so was this man justified; for since he did not insult that man back, but groaned for his own sins, this man went down justified, rather than that one. 5. Do you see how much profit there is in the insult of enemies, if we bear it philosophically? When therefore they benefit us both by lying and by speaking the truth, for what reason do we grieve? for what reason are we vexed? If you do not harm yourself, O man, neither friend, nor enemy, nor the devil himself will be able to harm you. For when those who insult us, those who confiscate our property, those who plot even against our very life, benefit us, and some weave for us a crown of martyrdom, as we have shown, while others drag away our sins and make us righteous, just as happened in the case of the tax collector, for what reason are we enraged against them? Let us not say, therefore: 'So-and-so provoked me,' and 'so-and-so led me to say shameful words'; we are everywhere the cause of these things. For if we are willing to be philosophical, not even a demon will be able to move us to anger; and this is clear from many other things, and also from the very story before us concerning David, which it is fitting to bring forward today, first reminding your charity where we left off the discourse previously. Where then did we leave it 54.702 off? At the defense of David. Therefore it is necessary today to speak the words of Saul, and to see what this one replied to that one's justification. For not only from the words which David uttered, but also from what Saul says, we will know the virtue of David; for if this one appears to utter something meek and gentle, we shall attribute the cause of this to that one who changed the man, who instructed and disciplined his soul. What then does Saul say? Having heard David say, "Behold, the corner of your cloak is in my hand," and all the other things he said in his defense, "Is this your voice, my son David?" Oh how great a change has suddenly come about! For he who not even from the simple

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ὄντα προήκατο, καὶ νηστεύων διετέλει, καὶ πλεονεξίας ἦν καθαρός· ἐκεῖνος δ' ἐν ἁρπαγαῖς καὶ βίαις τὸν ἅπαντα χρόνον ἀνήλωσεν. Ἀνῆλθον ἀμφότεροι προσεύξασθαι εἰς τὸ ἱερόν. Εἶτα ἐκεῖνος στὰς ἔλεγεν· Εὐχαριστῶ σοι, Κύριε, ὅτι οὐκ εἰμὶ ὡς οἱ λοιποὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ἅρπαγες, πλεονέκται, οὐδ' ὡς οὗτος ὁ τελώνης. Ὁ δὲ τελώνης πόῤῥωθεν ἑστὼς, οὐκ ἀνθύβρισεν, οὐκ ἀντελοιδόρησεν, οὐκ εἶπε ταῦτα τὰ τῶν πολλῶν ῥήματα· Σὺ δὲ τολμᾷς τοῦ ἐμοῦ μεμνῆσθαι βίου, ἐπιλαβέσθαι δὲ τῶν ἐμοὶ πεπραγμένων; Οὐ γάρ εἰμί σου βελτίων; Εἴπω τά σοι πεπλημμελημένα, καὶ ποιήσω μηδέποτέ σε τῶν ἱερῶν τούτων ἐπιβῆναι προθύρων. Οὐδὲν τούτων εἶπε τῶν ψυχρῶν ῥημάτων, ἃ καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν ἀλλήλους πλύνοντες λέγομεν· ἀλλὰ πικρῶς στενάξας καὶ πατάξας τὸ στῆθος, τοσοῦτον εἶπε μόνον, Ἱλάσθητί μοι τῷ ἁμαρτωλῷ, καὶ κατῆλθε δεδικαιωμένος. Εἶδες τάχος; Κατεδέξατο ὄνειδος, καὶ ἀπενίψατο ὄνειδος· ἐπέγνω τὰ ἁμαρτήματα, καὶ ἀπέθετο τὰ ἁμαρτήματα· καὶ ἡ κατηγορία τῆς ἁμαρτίας γέγονεν ἀναίρεσις τῆς ἁμαρτίας, καὶ ὁ ἐχθρὸς ἄκων εὐεργέτης καθίστατο. Πόσα γὰρ ἔδει καμεῖν τὸν τελώνην νηστεύοντα, χαμευνοῦντα, ἀγρυπνοῦντα, τὰ ὄντα τοῖς δεομένοις παρέχοντα, ἐν σποδῷ καὶ σάκκῳ καθήμενον ἐν πολλῷ τῷ χρόνῳ, ὥστε δυνηθῆναι τὰ ἁμαρτήματα ἀποθέσθαι ἐκεῖνα; Καὶ νῦν οὐδὲν τούτων ποιήσας, διὰ ψιλοῦ ῥήματος πᾶσαν ἀπέθετο τὴν κακίαν· καὶ τὰ ὀνείδη καὶ αἱ λοιδορίαι τοῦ δόξαντος αὐτὸν ὑβρίζειν στέφανον αὐτῷ δικαιοσύνης ἐκόμισαν, χωρὶς ἱδρώτων, καὶ πόνων, καὶ χρόνου μακροῦ. Ὁρᾷς ὅτι κἂν ἀληθῆ τις λέγῃ περὶ ἡμῶν, κἂν τοιαῦτα ἅπερ ἡμεῖς ἑαυτοῖς σύνισμεν, ἡμεῖς δὲ τὸν λέγοντα μὴ ὑβρίσωμεν, ἀλλὰ στενάξωμεν πικρὸν, καὶ τὸν Θεὸν ὑπὲρ τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων παρακαλέσωμεν, πάντα δυνησόμεθα ἀποθέσθαι τὰ πλημμελήματα; Οὕτω γοῦν καὶ οὗτος ἐδικαιώθη· ἐπειδὴ γὰρ οὐκ ἀνθύβρισεν ἐκεῖνον, ἀλλ' ἐστέναξεν ὑπὲρ τῶν οἰκείων ἁμαρτημάτων, κατῆλθε δεδικαιωμένος μᾶλλον οὗτος, ἢ ἐκεῖνος. εʹ. Ὁρᾷς ὅσον ἔχει κέρδος ἡ τῶν ἐχθρῶν ὕβρις, ἐὰν φιλοσόφως αὐτὴν φέρωμεν; Ὅταν γοῦν καὶ ψευδόμενοι καὶ ἀληθεύοντες ἡμᾶς ὠφελῶσι, τίνος ἕνεκεν ἀλγοῦμεν; τίνος ἕνεκεν δακνόμεθα; Ἂν μὴ σὺ σαυτὸν παραβλάψῃς, ἄνθρωπε, οὔτε φίλος, οὔτ' ἐχθρὸς, οὔτ' αὐτός σε ὁ διάβολος παραβλάψαι δυνήσεται. Ὅταν γὰρ οἱ ὑβρίζοντες, οἱ δημεύοντες, οἱ μέχρι τῆς ζωῆς αὐτῆς ἐπιβουλεύοντες ὠφελῶσιν ἡμᾶς, καὶ οἱ μὲν μαρτυρίου στέφανον ἡμῖν πλέκωσι, καθάπερ ἀπεδείξαμεν, οἱ δὲ τὰ ἁμαρτήματα ἡμῶν ὑποσύρωσι, καὶ δικαίους ἡμᾶς ἐργάζωνται, ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τοῦ τελώνου γέγονε, τίνος ἕνεκεν ἐκθηριούμεθα πρὸς αὐτούς; Μὴ τοίνυν λέγωμεν· Ὁ δεῖνά με παρώξυνε, καὶ ὁ δεῖνά με προήγαγεν εἰπεῖν ῥήματα αἰσχρά· ἡμεῖς αἴτιοι πανταχοῦ τούτων. Ἂν γὰρ θέλωμεν φιλοσοφεῖν, οὐδὲ δαίμων ἡμᾶς δυνήσεται κινῆσαι πρὸς ὀργήν· καὶ τοῦτο δῆλον καὶ ἐξ ἄλλων μὲν πολλῶν, καὶ ἀπ' αὐτῆς δὲ τῆς προκειμένης ἡμῖν ἱστορίας τῆς περὶ τοῦ ∆αυῒδ, ἣν ἄξιον καὶ σήμερον παραγαγεῖν εἰς μέσον, πρότερον ἀναμνήσαντες ὑμῶν τὴν ἀγάπην, ποῦ τὸν λόγον κατελύσαμεν πρώην. Ποῦ τοίνυν αὐτὸν κατελύ54.702 σαμεν; Εἰς τὴν ἀπολογίαν τὴν τοῦ ∆αυΐδ. Οὐκοῦν ἀνάγκη σήμερον τὰ τοῦ Σαοὺλ ῥήματα εἰπεῖν, καὶ ἰδεῖν τί πρὸς τὴν δικαιολογίαν ἐκείνου ἀπεκρίνατο οὗτος. Οὐ γὰρ δὴ μόνον ἀφ' ὧν ὁ ∆αυῒδ ἐφθέγξατο ῥημάτων, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀφ' ὧν ὁ Σαοὺλ λέγει, τὴν ἀρετὴν εἰσόμεθα τοῦ ∆αυΐδ· ἂν γὰρ φανῇ τι πρᾶον καὶ ἥμερον οὗτος φθεγγόμενος, τὴν αἰτίαν τούτων ἐκείνῳ λογιούμεθα τῷ μεταβαλόντι τὸν ἄνθρωπον, τῷ παιδεύσαντι καὶ ῥυθμίσαντι τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ. Τί οὖν φησιν ὁ Σαούλ; Ἀκούσας τοῦ ∆αυῒδ εἰπόντος, Ἰδοὺ τὸ πτερύγιον τῆς διπλοΐδος ἐν τῇ χειρί μου, καὶ τἄλλα πάνθ' ἃ μετὰ τούτων ἀπελογήσατο, Ἡ φωνή σου αὕτη, τέκνον ∆αυΐδ; Ὢ πόση γέγονεν ἀθρόον ἡ μεταβολή! Ὁ γὰρ μηδ' ἀπὸ ψιλοῦ τοῦ