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to be extended? Not to one another only, but everywhere. For this is truly love according to God, to embrace all; but if you love this one, and not that one anymore, the friendship is according to man. But ours is not such. Just as we also towards you; 62.420 to the end He may establish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God and our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints. He shows that love brings gain to them, not to those who are loved. I wish, he says, that this love may abound, that no blemish may occur. He did not say, to establish you, but, Your hearts; For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts. For it is possible for one who does nothing to be wicked, for example, to have envy, unbelief, deceit, to rejoice at evils, to be unfriendly, to hold perverse doctrines; all these things are of the heart; and to be pure from these things is holiness. For in the proper sense, holiness is called self-control pre-eminently, since fornication and adultery are also impurity; but in a general sense, all sin is impurity, and all virtue is purity; For Blessed, he says, are the pure in heart. He calls those pure who are pure in every way. 4. For I know that other things no less defile the soul. For that wickedness defiles the soul, hear the prophet saying: Wash your heart from wickedness, O Jerusalem; and again, Wash yourselves, be clean, put away the evil of your doings from your souls. He did not say, fornications; so that not only fornication, but also other things defile the soul. To establish your hearts, he says, unblameable in holiness before God and our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints. Christ then will be the judge at that time; and not before Him, but also before the Father we stand to be judged. Or he says this, that we must become unblameable before God; which I always say, in the sight of God (for this is sincere virtue), not in the sight of men. So then love makes us unblameable; for it truly makes us unblameable. And when I was once relating this to someone, and saying that love makes us unblameable, and that friendship toward our neighbor does not allow any inroad of fault to occur, and as I was going through and expounding all the other points in my discourse, one of my acquaintances interjected and said: What then of fornication? Is it not then possible both to love and to fornicate? And this happens from friendship. Now greed, and adultery, and envy, and plots, and all such things, love of neighbor will be able to check; but how fornication? he says. I then said that love can check this also. For if someone should love a woman who is a prostitute, he will try to lead her away from other men, and not himself add to the sin. So that to commit fornication with the prostitute is the act of one who hates her very much; but of one who truly loves her, it is to lead her away from that abominable practice. And there is not, there is not any sin, which the power of love does not consume, like a fire. For it is easier for a worthless stick to resist a great fire, than for the nature of sin to resist the power of love. Let us then plant this in our own souls, that we may stand with all the saints; for indeed they all were well-pleasing 62.421 from love of neighbor. From whence was Abel slain, and did not slay? Surely from greatly loving his brother; he could not even endure to receive such a thought. From whence did Cain receive the destruction of envy? For I would no longer call him Abel's brother, because the foundations of love were not securely laid in him. From whence were Noah's sons approved? Was it not because they greatly loved their father, and could not bear to see his nakedness? And the other, from whence was he cursed? Was it not from not loving? And Abraham, from whence was he approved? Was it not from the

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ἐκτείνεσθαι; οὐκ εἰς ἀλλήλους μόνον, ἀλλὰ πανταχοῦ. Τοῦτο γὰρ ὄντως ἀγάπης τῆς κατὰ Θεὸν, τὸ πάντας περιπλέκεσθαι· ἂν δὲ τὸν δεῖνα μὲν ἀγαπᾷς, τὸν δεῖνα δὲ μηκέτι, κατὰ ἄνθρωπον ἡ φιλία. Ἀλλ' οὐχ ἡ ἡμετέρα τοιαύτη. Καθάπερ καὶ ἡμεῖς εἰς ὑμᾶς· 62.420 εἰς τὸ στηρίξαι ὑμῶν τὰς καρδίας ἀμέμπτους ἐν ἁγιωσύνῃ ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Πατρὸς ἡμῶν, ἐν τῇ παρουσίᾳ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ μετὰ πάντων τῶν ἁγίων αὐτοῦ. Τὴν ἀγάπην δείκνυσιν αὐτοῖς κέρδος φέρουσαν, οὐ τοῖς φιλουμένοις. Βούλομαι, φησὶ, πλεονάσαι τὴν ἀγάπην ταύτην, ἵνα μηδεὶς μῶμος γένηται. Οὐκ εἶπεν, ὑμᾶς στηρίξαι, ἀλλὰ, Τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν· Ἐκ γὰρ τῆς καρδίας ἐξέρχονται διαλογισμοὶ πονηροί. Ἔνεστι γὰρ μηδὲν πράττοντα, πονηρὸν εἶναι, οἷον βασκανίαν ἔχειν, ἀπιστίαν, δόλον, τὸ χαίρειν ἐπὶ τοῖς κακοῖς, τὸ μὴ εἶναι φιλικὸν, τὸ δόγματα ἔχειν διεστραμμένα· ταῦτα πάντα τῆς καρδίας ἐστί· τὸ δὲ τούτων καθαρεύειν, ἐστὶν ἁγιωσύνη. Κυρίως μὲν γὰρ ἁγιωσύνη λέγεται ἡ σωφροσύνη κατ' ἐξοχὴν ἐπειδὴ καὶ ἀκαθαρσία ἡ πορνεία καὶ ἡ μοιχεία· καθολικῶς δὲ πᾶσα ἁμαρτία ἀκαθαρσία, καὶ πᾶσα ἀρετὴ καθαρότης· Μακάριοι γὰρ, φησὶν, οἱ καθαροὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ. Καθαροὺς τοὺς πάντῃ καθαρούς φησιν. δʹ. Οἶδα γὰρ καὶ τὰ ἄλλα οὐχ ἧττον τὴν ψυχὴν ῥυποῦν. Ὅτι γὰρ πονηρία μολύνει τὴν ψυχὴν, ἄκουε τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος· Ἀπόπλυνε ἀπὸ κακίας τὴν καρδίαν σου, Ἱερουσαλήμ· καὶ πάλιν, Λούσασθε, καθαροὶ γένεσθε, ἀφέλετε τὰς πονηρίας ἀπὸ τῶν ψυχῶν ὑμῶν. Οὐκ εἶπε, τὰς πορνείας· ὥστε οὐ πορνεία μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ ἄλλα μολύνει τὴν ψυχήν. Στηρίξαι ὑμῶν, φησὶ, τὰς καρδίας ἀμέμπτους ἐν ἁγιωσύνῃ ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Πατρὸς ἡμῶν, ἐν τῇ παρουσίᾳ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ μετὰ πάντων τῶν ἁγίων αὐτοῦ. Κριτὴς ἄρα τότε ἔσται ὁ Χριστός· οὐκ ἔμπροσθεν δὲ αὐτοῦ, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦ Πατρὸς παρεστήκαμεν κρινόμενοι. Ἢ τοῦτό φησιν, ὅτι ἀμέμπτους ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ Θεοῦ δεῖ γενέσθαι· ὅπερ ἀεὶ λέγω, τὸ ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ (αὕτη γὰρ ἡ ἀρετὴ εἰλικρινής), οὐκ ἐνώπιον ἀνθρώπων. Ἄρα ἡ ἀγάπη ἀμέμπτους ποιεῖ· καὶ γὰρ ὄντως ἀμέμπτους ποιεῖ. Καὶ ἐμοῦ ποτὲ τοῦτο διηγουμένου πρός τινα, καὶ λέγοντος, ὅτι ἡ ἀγάπη ἀμέμπτους ποιεῖ, καὶ οὐκ ἀφίησιν ἡ πρὸς τὸν πλησίον φιλία παρείσδυσίν τινα γενέσθαι τῆς πλημμελίας, καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πάντα διεξιόντος καὶ ἐπεξερχομένου τῷ λόγῳ, τῶν ἐμοί τις γνωρίμων ὑποβαλὼν ἑαυτὸν, φησί· Τί οὖν ἡ πορνεία; οὐκ ἔνεστιν οὖν καὶ φιλεῖν καὶ πορνεύειν; καὶ ἀπὸ φιλίας μὲν τοῦτο γίνεται. Πλεονεξία μὲν οὖν καὶ μοιχεία καὶ φθόνος καὶ ἐπιβουλαὶ καὶ ὅσα τοιαῦτα ἀπὸ ἀγάπης τῆς τῶν πλησίον ἀνακόψαι δυνήσεται· ἡ δὲ πορνεία πῶς; φησίν. Ἐγὼ τοίνυν εἶπον, ὅτι ἡ ἀγάπη καὶ τοῦτο δύναται ἀνακόψαι. Εἰ γὰρ φιλοίη τις τὴν πορνευομένην γυναῖκα, καὶ τῶν ἄλλων αὐτὴν ἀνδρῶν ἀπαγαγεῖν πειράσεται, οὐχὶ δὲ καὶ αὐτὸς προστιθέναι τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ. Ὥστε σφόδρα μισοῦντός ἐστι τὴν πορνευομένην τὸ πορνεύειν εἰς αὐτήν· φιλοῦντος δὲ ὄντως τὸ ἀπαγαγεῖν αὐτὴν τῆς μυσαρᾶς ἐκείνης πράξεως. Καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν, οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδὲν ἁμάρτημα, ὃ μὴ, καθάπερ πῦρ, ἀναλίσκει τῆς ἀγάπης ἡ δύναμις. Εὐκολώτερον γὰρ φρύγανον εὐτελὲς ἀντιστῆναι πυρᾷ πολλῇ, ἢ τῆς ἁμαρτίας τὴν φύσιν τῇ τῆς ἀγάπης δυνάμει. Ταύτην οὖν φυτεύσωμεν ἐν ταῖς ἑαυτῶν ψυχαῖς, ἵνα μετὰ τῶν ἁγίων πάντων στῶμεν· καὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖνοι πάντες εὐη 62.421 ρέστησαν ἀπὸ τῆς εἰς πλησίον ἀγάπης. Πόθεν ἀνῃρέθη, καὶ οὐκ ἀνεῖλεν ὁ Ἄβελ; Πάντως τῷ σφόδρα φιλεῖν τὸν ἀδελφόν· οὐδὲ δέξασθαι τοιοῦτον ἠνείχετο λογισμόν. Πόθεν ἐδέξατο τὸν τῆς βασκανίας ὄλεθρον ὁ Κάϊν; οὐ γὰρ ἂν λοιπὸν εἴποιμι αὐτὸν τοῦ Ἄβελ ἐγὼ ἀδελφὸν, ὅτι οὐκ ἀσφαλῶς ἠρήρειστο παρ' αὐτῷ τὰ τῆς ἀγάπης θεμέλια. Πόθεν εὐδοκίμησαν οἱ τοῦ Νῶε παῖδες; οὐκ ἐπειδὴ σφόδρα ἐφίλουν τὸν πατέρα, οὐδὲ τὴν γύμνωσιν ἠνέσχοντο ἰδεῖν. Ὁ ἕτερος δὲ πόθεν κατηράθη; οὐκ ἀπὸ τοῦ μὴ φιλεῖν; Ὁ δὲ Ἀβραὰμ πόθεν ηὐδοκίμησεν; οὐκ ἀπὸ τῆς