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a man for the release from wickedness, finally He prepares him, so that even against his will he brings on the summit of evils, and He completely wipes him out, and no longer grants any fixed time for repentance, which is what happened in the case of Pharaoh. For since with the first, and second, and third, and fourth, and the plagues after those, he enjoyed much long-suffering from God, it was of no use to him, so he was finally wiped out and utterly vanished with his city. This is what the Jews have also suffered. Therefore Christ also, being about to destroy them and to bring upon them an irremediable desolation, spoke thus: How often I wanted to gather your children, and you were not willing. Behold, your house is left to you desolate. I fear therefore lest we also suffer the same things, because we are corrected neither by the evils of others, nor by our own. I do not say these things only to you who are now present, but also to those who have broken away from daily diligence, and have forgotten the former tribulations; to whom I have never ceased speaking emphatically, and saying, that even if the temptations have passed, let the memory of the temptations remain in our souls, so that, continually remembering the benefit, we may perpetually give thanks to the God who granted it. 3. These things I said then, and now I say to you, and through you to them: let us imitate the saints, who were neither swallowed up by tribulations, nor became more lax by ease, which many of us men now suffer, just as light boats, swamped by every kind of wave, are sunk. For often poverty, coming upon us, has sunk us and made us go under, and wealth, having been added, has again puffed us up and cast us into extreme carelessness. Therefore I beseech you, leaving all things aside, let us each regulate our own souls for salvation; for if this 49.303 is well-disposed, whatever terrible things may befall, whether famine, or disease, or slander, or plunder of possessions, or whatever else, it will be bearable and light, because of the Lord's commandment and the hope in Him; just as on the other hand, if the soul is not right with God, even if wealth flows in, even if children are present, even if there is enjoyment of countless riches, such a person will draw upon himself many despondencies and cares. Let us not therefore seek wealth, nor flee poverty, but above all let each of us take care of his own soul, and make it fit both for the stewardship of the present life, and for the journey from here to there. For in a little while, the testing of each one of us will take place, when we all stand before the fearful judgment seat of Christ, clothed in our own deeds, and seeing with our eyes, on the one hand the tears of orphans, on the other hand the shameful licentiousness with which we defiled our own souls, and the groans of widows, and the blows to the needy, the robberies of the poor; and not only these things, and things like them, but also if we have committed any wickedness in our minds; because He is the judge of thoughts, and discerner of intentions; and again: Testing hearts and minds, and, Rendering to each according to his work. But this discourse of mine is not only for those being tried in the world, but also for those who have fixed their huts in the mountains for the sake of the monastic life, because such men ought to guard not only their bodies from the pollution of fornication, but also the soul from all satanic covetousness. For the apostle Paul is not speaking to women only, but also to men and to the entire Church, that, he says, the soul that is a virgin must be holy both in body and in spirit; and again, Present your bodies a pure virgin; and how pure? Not having spot or wrinkle. Since even those virgins who the

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ἄνθρωπος εἰς τὴν τῆς κακίας ἀπαλλαγὴν, λοιπὸν τοῦτον παρασκευάζει, ὥστε καὶ μὴ βουλόμενον αὐτὸν τὸν κολοφῶνα τῶν κακῶν ἐπαγαγεῖν, καὶ ἐκτρίψαι αὐτὸν τέλεον, καὶ μηκέτι δοῦναι μετανοίας τινὰ προθεσμίαν, ὃ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ Φαραὼ συνέβη. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ προτέρᾳ, καὶ δευτέρᾳ, καὶ τρίτῃ, καὶ τετάρτῃ, καὶ ταῖς μετ' ἐκείνας πληγαῖς, πολλῆς ἀπήλαυσε μακροθυμίας παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ, οὐδὲν ἐγένετο αὐτῷ τι χρήσιμον, ἐξετρίβη λοιπὸν καὶ ἠφανίσθη μετὰ τῆς πόλεως ἄρδην. Τοῦτο καὶ Ἰουδαῖοι πεπόνθασι. ∆ιὸ καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς μέλλων αὐτοὺς ἀφανίζειν καὶ ἐρημίαν ἐπάγειν αὐτοῖς ἀδιόρθωτον, οὕτως ἔλεγε· Ποσάκις ἠθέλησα ἐπισυναγαγεῖν τὰ τέκνα σου, καὶ οὐκ ἠθελήσατε, Ἰδοὺ ἀφίεται ὁ οἶκος ὑμῶν ἔρημος. ∆έδοικα οὖν μὴ καὶ ἡμεῖς τὰ αὐτὰ πάθωμεν, ὅτι οὔτε τοῖς ἀλλοτρίοις, οὔτε τοῖς ἡμετέροις σωφρονιζώμεθα κακοῖς. Οὐ πρὸς ὑμᾶς δὲ μόνον λέγω ταῦτα τοὺς νῦν παρόντας, ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὸς τοὺς ἀποῤῥαγέντας τῆς καθημερινῆς σπουδῆς, καὶ τῶν προτέρων θλίψεων ἐπιλελησμένους· πρὸς οὓς οὐ διέλιπον ἀεὶ διαῤῥηγνύμενος, καὶ λέγων, ὅτι εἰ καὶ παρῆλθον οἱ πειρασμοὶ, μενέτω ἐν ταῖς ψυχαῖς ἡμῶν τῶν πειρασμῶν ἡ μνήμη, ἵνα καὶ τῆς εὐεργεσίας συνεχῶς μνημονεύοντες, διηνεκῶς εὐχαριστῶμεν τῷ ταύτην παρασχόντι Θεῷ. γʹ. Ταῦτα καὶ τότε ἔλεγον, καὶ νῦν λέγω ὑμῖν, καὶ δι' ὑμῶν ἐκείνοις· μιμησώμεθα τοὺς ἁγίους, οἵτινες οὔτε ὑπὸ τῶν θλίψεων κατεπόθησαν, οὔτε ὑπὸ τῆς ἀνέσεως χαυνότεροι γεγόνασιν, ὅπερ πολλοὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων νῦν πάσχομεν, καθάπερ τὰ κοῦφα τῶν πλοίων ὑπὸ πάσης περιστάσεως κυμάτων περιαντλούμενα βαπτίζεται. Καὶ γὰρ πενία πολλάκις ἡμῖν ἐπελθοῦσα ἐβάπτισε καὶ ὑποβρυχίους ἡμᾶς ἐποίησε, καὶ πλοῦτος προσγενόμενος, πάλιν ἐφύσησεν ἡμᾶς, καὶ εἰς ἐσχάτην ὀλιγωρίαν ἐνέβαλε. ∆ιὸ παρακαλῶ, παραλιπόντες ἅπαντα, τὰς ἑαυτῶν ψυχὰς ῥυθμίσωμεν πρὸς σωτηρίαν ἕκαστος ἡμῶν· ταύτης γὰρ 49.303 καλῶς διακειμένης, ὅπερ ἂν ἐμπέσῃ τῶν δεινῶν, κἂν λιμὸς, κἂν νόσος, κἂν συκοφαντία, κἂν χρημάτων διαρπαγὴ, κἂν ὅ τι ἄλλο οὖν, φορητὸν ἔσται καὶ κοῦφον, διὰ τὴν τοῦ ∆εσπότου ἐντολὴν καὶ τὴν εἰς αὐτὸν ἐλπίδα· ὥσπερ πάλιν τῆς ψυχῆς πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν οὐκ ἐχούσης καλῶς, κἂν πλοῦτος ἐπιῤῥέῃ, κἂν παῖδες παρῶσι, κἂν μυρίων ἀπόλαυσις ᾖ χρημάτων, ἀθυμίας πολλὰς ἐπισπάσεται ὁ τοιοῦτος καὶ φροντίδας. Μὴ τοίνυν πλοῦτον ζητῶμεν, μὴ πενίαν φεύγωμεν, ἀλλὰ πρὸ πάντων τῆς ἑαυτῶν ἐπιμελώμεθα ψυχῆς ἕκαστος, καὶ ποιῶμεν ἐπιτηδείαν αὐτὴν πρός τε τὴν τοῦ παρόντος βίου οἰκονομίαν, καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἐντεῦθεν ἐκεῖσε ἀποδημίαν. Ἔτι γὰρ μικρὸν, καὶ ἡ δοκιμασία ἑκάστου ἡμῶν γενήσεται, ἡνίκα πάντες παραστῶμεν τῷ φοβερῷ βήματι τοῦ Χριστοῦ, περιβεβλημένοι τὰς ἑαυτῶν πράξεις, καὶ τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς ἡμῶν ὁρῶντες, τοῦτο μὲν τὰ δάκρυα τῶν ὀρφανῶν, τοῦτο δὲ τὰς αἰσχρὰς ἀσελγείας, ἐν αἷς ἐμιάναμεν τὰς ἑαυτῶν ψυχὰς, τοῦτο δὲ τοὺς στεναγμοὺς τῶν χηρῶν, τοῦτο δὲ τοὺς κονδυλισμοὺς τῶν πενήτων, τὰς ἁρπαγὰς τῶν πτωχῶν· οὐ μόνον δὲ ταῦτα, καὶ τὰ τούτοις ὅμοια, ἀλλ' εἴ τι καὶ ἐν διανοίᾳ ἄτοπον διεπράξαμεν· ὅτι αὐτός ἐστιν Ἐνθυμήσεων δικαστὴς, καὶ ἐννοιῶν κριτής· καὶ πάλιν· Ἐτάζων καρδίας καὶ νεφροὺς, καὶ, Ἀποδιδοὺς ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὸ ἔργον αὐτοῦ. Οὗτος δέ μοι ὁ λόγος οὐ πρὸς τοὺς ἐν τῷ βίῳ ἐξεταζομένους μόνον ἐστὶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὸς τοὺς ἐν τοῖς ὄρεσι τὰς ἑαυτῶν καλύβας πηξαμένους τοῦ μοναδικοῦ ἕνεκεν βίου, ὅτι οὐ μόνον τὰ σώματα αὐτῶν οἱ τοιοῦτοι φυλάττειν ὀφείλουσιν ἀπὸ μολυσμοῦ πορνείας, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν ἀπὸ πάσης σατανικῆς πλεονεξίας. Οὐ γὰρ γυναιξὶ μόνον διαλέγεται ὁ ἀπόστολος Παῦλος, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀνδράσι καὶ ὁλοκλήρῳ τῇ Ἐκκλησίᾳ, ὅτι, φησὶ, τὴν παρθενευομένην ψυχὴν εἶναι δεῖ ἁγίαν καὶ σώματι καὶ πνεύματι· καὶ πάλιν, Παραστήσατε τὰ σώματα ὑμῶν παρθένον ἁγνήν· ἁγνὴν δὲ πῶς; Μὴ ἔχουσαν σπίλον ἢ ῥυτίδα. Ἐπεὶ κἀκεῖναι αἱ παρθένοι αἱ τὰς