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you have in security whatever you may have. For such is the nature of virtue, it not only benefits us for the future, but it also gives rewards from here already. Therefore let us not be proud of wealth, nor of anything else. For if he who is proud of spiritual things is gone and has perished, how much more so he who is proud of carnal things. Let us consider our nature, let us reflect on our sins, let us learn who we are, and this is a sufficient basis for all humility. Do not tell me, that 'I have revenues laid up for so and so many years, ten thousand talents of gold, profits accruing every day.' Whatever you may say, you will say it all rashly and in vain; for often in a single hour, and in a brief turn of fortune, just like easily scattered dust when a wind falls upon it from above, so all these things are blown out of the house. And our life is full of examples of these things, and the Scriptures are full of their teachings; he who is rich today is poor tomorrow. Wherefore I have often laughed when reading wills that say: 'Let so-and-so have the ownership of the fields, or of the house, but another the use of it;' for we all have the use, but no one has the ownership. For even if wealth remains with us our whole life long, undergoing no change, both willingly and unwillingly at our end we shall yield it to others, having enjoyed only its use, but departing to that life naked and destitute of its ownership. Whence it is clear that they alone have ownership who have despised its use and scorned its enjoyment. For he who has cast away his possessions and given them to the poor, has both used his possessions for a good purpose and departed possessing their ownership, not falling away from that possession even in death itself, but receiving all things back at that time, and much more than those things, when he most needs their protection on the day of 49.43 judgment, and when we are all required to give an account for our deeds. So if anyone should wish to have both their possession and their use and their ownership, let him be rid of all his possessions; since he who does not do this will certainly be separated from them at his end, and often even before his end he will lose them with dangers and countless evils. And not only is this the terrible thing, that the change happens suddenly, but that the rich man also comes unpracticed for the endurance of poverty; but the poor man is not so; for he has not trusted in gold and silver, inanimate materials, but in God who provides all things richly; so that the rich man stands on more uncertain ground than the poor man. receiving frequent and successive changes. And what is it, 'Who provides us with all things richly for our enjoyment'? God gives all things with abundance, the things far more necessary than money, such as the air, water, fire, the sun, all such things. It cannot be said that the rich man enjoys more of the sun's ray, and the poor man less; it cannot be said that the rich man breathes a more abundant air than the poor man; but all things are set forth equal and common. For what reason then has God made the greater and more necessary things that sustain our life common, but the lesser and more trivial things are not common, I mean money? For what reason then? So that our life may be held together, and we may have arenas for virtue. For if these necessary things were not common, perhaps the rich, using their accustomed greed, would have suffocated the poor; for if they do this in the case of money, much more would they have done it in the case of those things. Again, if money were also common, and set before all alike, the pretext for almsgiving and the occasion for kindness would have been taken away.

7. So that we may live without fear, the causes of our life have been made common to us; again, that we might have an occasion for crowns and good repute, money was not made common, so that by hating greed, and pursuing righteousness, and giving our possessions to those in need, we might receive some consolation for our own affairs through this method.

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ἀσφαλείας ἔχεις ἅπερ ἂν ἔχῃς. Τοιαύτη γὰρ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἡ φύσις, οὐ πρὸς τὰ μέλλοντα ἡμᾶς ὠφελεῖ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐντεῦθεν ἤδη δίδωσι τὰς ἀμοιβάς. Μὴ τοίνυν μέγα φρονῶμεν ἐπὶ τῷ πλούτῳ, ἀλλὰ μηδὲ ἐφ' ἑτέρῳ μηδενί. Εἰ γὰρ ἐπὶ τοῖς πνευματικοῖς ὁ μέγα φρονῶν οἴχεται καὶ ἀπόλωλε, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἐπὶ τοῖς σαρκικοῖς. Ἐννοήσωμεν ἡμῶν τὴν φύσιν, ἀναλογισώμεθα ἡμῶν τὰ ἁμαρτήματα, μάθωμεν τίνες ἐσμὲν, καὶ ἀρκεῖ τοῦτο εἰς πάσης ταπεινοφροσύνης ἡμῖν ὑπόθεσιν. Μή μοι λέγε, ὅτι Τόσων καὶ τόσων ἐτῶν προσόδους ἀποκειμένας ἔχω, χρυσίου τάλαντα μυρία, κέρδη καθ' ἑκάστην προσγινόμενα τὴν ἡμέραν. Ὅσα ἂν εἴπῃς, πάντα εἰκῆ καὶ μάτην ἐρεῖς· πολλάκις ἐν ὥρᾳ μιᾷ, καὶ βραχείᾳ καιροῦ ῥοπῇ, καθάπερ ἀνέμου προσπεσόντος ἄνωθεν κόνις εὐρίπιστος, οὕτω ταῦτα πάντα ἐκφυσᾶται τῆς οἰκίας. Καὶ τούτων πλήρης μὲν ὁ βίος ἡμῖν τῶν παραδειγμάτων, πλήρεις δὲ αἱ Γραφαὶ τῶν διδαγμάτων· ὁ σήμερον πλούσιος, αὔριον πένης. ∆ιὸ καὶ πολλάκις ἐγέλασα διαθήκας ἀναγινώσκων λεγούσας· Ὁ δεῖνα μὲν ἐχέτω τὴν δεσποτείαν τῶν ἀγρῶν, ἢ τῆς οἰκίας, τὴν δὲ χρῆσιν ἄλλος· πάντες γὰρ τὴν χρῆσιν ἔχομεν, τὴν δεσποτείαν δὲ οὐδείς. Κἂν γὰρ παρὰ πᾶσαν ἡμῖν τὴν ζωὴν παραμένῃ μηδεμίαν μεταβολὴν ὁ πλοῦτος δεχόμενος, καὶ ἑκόντες καὶ ἄκοντες ἐν τῇ τελευτῇ παραχωρήσομεν ἑτέροις, τὴν χρῆσιν αὐτοῦ καρπωσάμενοι μόνον, τῆς δεσποτείας δὲ γυμνοὶ καὶ ἔρημοι πρὸς ἐκείνην ἀποδημοῦντες τὴν ζωήν. Ὅθεν δῆλον, ὅτι ἐκεῖνοι μόνοι τὴν δεσποτείαν ἔχουσιν, οἱ καὶ τῆς χρήσεως αὐτοῦ καταφρονήσαντες, καὶ τῆς ἀπολαύσεως καταγελάσαντες. Ὁ γὰρ τὰ ὄντα ῥίψας, καὶ τοῖς πένησιν αὐτὰ διδοὺς, ἐχρήσατό τε εἰς δέον τοῖς οὖσι, καὶ τὴν δεσποτείαν αὐτῶν ἔχων ἀπῆλθεν, οὐδὲ ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ θανάτῳ τῆς κτήσεως ἐκπίπτων ἐκείνης, ἀλλ' ἐν ἐκείνῳ πάντα ἀπολαμβάνων τῷ καιρῷ, καὶ πολλῷ πλείονα ἐκείνων, ὅταν αὐτῶν μάλιστα δέηται τῆς προστασίας ἐν τῇ τῆς 49.43 κρίσεως ἡμέρᾳ, καὶ ὅταν τῶν πεπραγμένων τὰς εὐθύνας ἀπαιτώμεθα πάντες. Ὥστε εἴ τις ἐθέλοι καὶ τὴν κτῆσιν αὐτῶν καὶ τὴν χρῆσιν ἔχειν καὶ τὴν δεσποτείαν, ἀπαλλαττέσθω τῶν ὄντων ἁπάντων· ὡς ὅ γε μὴ τοῦτο ποιῶν, τῇ τελευτῇ μὲν αὐτῶν ἀποστήσεται πάντως, πολλάκις δὲ καὶ πρὸ τῆς τελευτῆς μετὰ κινδύνων καὶ μυρίων αὐτὰ ἀποβαλεῖται κακῶν. Καὶ οὐ τοῦτο μόνον ἐστὶ τὸ δεινὸν, ὅτι μεταβολὴ γίνεται ἀθρόως, ἀλλ' ὅτι καὶ ἀμελέτητος πρὸς τὴν τῆς πενίας ὑπομονὴν ὁ πλούσιος ἔρχεται· ἀλλ' οὐχ ὁ πένης τοιοῦτος· οὐ γὰρ χρυσίῳ καὶ ἀργυρίῳ τεθάῤῥηκεν ἀψύχοις ὕλαις, ἀλλὰ τῷ Θεῷ τῷ παρέχοντι πάντα πλουσίως· ὥστε ὁ πλούσιος ἐν ἀδήλῳ μᾶλλον ἕστηκεν ἢ ὁ πένης. πυκνὰς καὶ ἐπαλλήλους δεχόμενος τὰς μεταβολάς. Τί δέ ἐστι, Τῷ παρέχοντι ἡμῖν τὰ πάντα πλουσίως εἰς ἀπόλαυσιν; Πάντα μετὰ δαψιλείας δίδωσιν ὁ Θεὸς, τὰ πολλῷ τῶν χρημάτων ἀναγκαιότερα, οἷον τὸν ἀέρα, τὸ ὕδωρ, τὸ πῦρ, τὸν ἥλιον, ἅπαντα τὰ τοιαῦτα. Οὐκ ἔστιν εἰπεῖν ὅτι πλείονος ἀπολαύει τῆς ἀκτῖνος ὁ πλούσιος, ἐλάττονος δὲ ὁ πένης· οὐκ ἔστιν εἰπεῖν, ὅτι δαψιλέστερον ἀέρα ἀναπνέει τοῦ πένητος ὁ πλουτῶν· ἀλλὰ πάντα ἴσα καὶ κοινὰ πρόκειται. Τίνος οὖν ἕνεκεν τὰ μὲν μείζονα καὶ ἀναγκαιότερα καὶ τὴν ζωὴν ἡμῶν συνέχοντα κοινὰ πεποίηκεν ὁ Θεὸς, τὰ δὲ ἐλάττονα καὶ εὐτελέστερα οὐκ ἔστι κοινὰ, τὰ χρήματα λέγω; τίνος οὖν ἕνεκεν; Ἵνα συγκροτῆται ἡμῶν ἡ ζωὴ, καὶ ἀρετῆς ἔχωμεν σκάμματα. Εἰ μὲν γὰρ μὴ ἦν τὰ ἀναγκαῖα ταῦτα κοινὰ, ἴσως ἂν οἱ πλουτοῦντες, τῇ εἰωθυίᾳ κεχρημένοι πλεονεξίᾳ, τοὺς πενομένους ἀπέπνιξαν ἄν· εἰ γὰρ ἐπὶ τῶν χρημάτων τοῦτο ποιοῦσι, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἐπ' ἐκείνων τοῦτο ἂν ἐποίησαν· πάλιν εἰ καὶ τὰ χρήματα ἦν κοινὰ, καὶ πᾶσιν ὁμοίως προύκειτο, ἐλεημοσύνης ἀνῄρητο πρόφασις, καὶ φιλοφροσύνης ἀφορμή.

ζʹ. Ἵνα οὖν ἀδεῶς ζῶμεν, κοινὰ γέγονεν ἡμῖν τὰ τῆς ζωῆς αἴτια· πάλιν, ἵνα ἔχωμεν στεφάνων καὶ εὐδοκιμήσεων ἀφορμὴν, οὐ κοινὰ γέγονε τὰ χρήματα, ἵνα πλεονεξίαν μισοῦντες, καὶ δικαιοσύνην διώκοντες, καὶ τὰ ὄντα τοῖς δεομένοις προϊέμενοι, παραμυθίαν τινὰ διὰ τῆς μεθόδου ταύτης τῶν οἰκείων λαμβάνωμεν