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he spoke of the death of Uzziah: ["In the year, he says, that king Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up."] But again, it is possible to see the philanthropy of God here. The unclean one died and God was reconciled to men. Why, when there were no good deeds, did this happen, but rather by his dying? Because He is philanthropic and is not exacting in such matters; he sought only one thing, that the unclean one might depart. Knowing these things, therefore, let us cast out arrogance, let us embrace humility, let us send up the customary glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

5.t On the remaining matters concerning Uzziah

5.1 Come, then, today let us bring to a conclusion the narratives concerning Uzziah and finally put the roof on the discourse, lest we too be mocked, like that man in the Gospels who tried to build a tower but was not able, lest one of those present say of us: "This man began to build and was not able to finish." And so that what is said may be clearer to you, let us take up a few of the things previously said, so that our discourse does not enter the spiritual theater headless, but having recovered its proper appearance, may become recognizable to the audience. For the same things will be a reminder to those who have heard, and instruction to those who have not. Previously, then, we have said how Uzziah was pious, and how he became wicked and from where and to what extent he slid into arrogance; but today it is necessary to say how he entered into the temple, how he attempted to burn incense, how the priest prevented him, how he did not yield, how he drew down the wrath of God, how he ended his life in leprosy, and for what reason the prophet, passing over the days of his life, made mention of his death, saying thus: "In the year that king Uzziah died." For this is the reason for which we set in motion the entire history from the beginning; but pay close attention. "And it came to pass, it says, when king Uzziah was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction, and he dealt corruptly against the Lord his God." What was the manner of the injustice? "He entered, it says, into the temple of the Lord, to burn incense upon the altar of incense." Oh, the audacity, oh, the shamelessness. He dared to enter the very sanctuary of the holy place, he leapt into the holy of holies, which was a place inaccessible to all except the high priest alone, this he attempted to profane. Such is a soul, once it has despaired of its own salvation; it nowhere stops its madness, but giving the reins of its salvation to irrational desires it is carried everywhere and, like an unruly horse, having cast the bit from its mouth and thrown the rider backwards from its back, it is carried more fiercely than any wind and is unbearable to those it meets, while all flee from it, and no one dares to restrain it, so also a soul, having cast out the fear of God which bridles it and having thrown off all reasoning which guides it, runs over the places of wickedness, until being carried into the gulfs of destruction it casts down its own salvation from a precipice. Therefore it is necessary to continually check it and, as with a kind of bridle, with the reasoning of piety to restrain its irrational impulse; which Uzziah did not do, but transgressed against the very highest authority of all. For the priesthood is a more venerable and greater authority than the kingship itself. For do not speak to me of the purple robe, nor the diadem, nor the golden garments. All those things are a shadow and more worthless than the flowers of spring. "For all the glory of man, it says, is as the flower of grass," even if you mean the royal glory itself. Do not then to me

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τελευτὴν εἶπε τοῦ Ὀζίου· ["Ἐγένετο, φησί, τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ, οὗ ἀπέθανεν Ὀζίας ὁ βασιλεύς, εἶδον τὸν Κύριον καθήμενον ἐπὶ θρόνου ὑψηλοῦ καὶ ἐπῃρμένου."] Ἀλλὰ πάλιν τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν φιλανθρωπίαν ἐνταῦθα ἰδεῖν ἔστιν. Ἀπέθανεν ὁ ἀκάθαρτος καὶ κατηλλάγη Θεὸς τοῖς ἀνθρώποις. ∆ιὰ τί, μὴ ὄντων κατορθωμάτων, ἐγένετο, ἀλλὰ τῷ ἀποθανεῖν αὐτόν; Ὅτι φιλάνθρωπός ἐστι καὶ οὐκ ἀκριβολογεῖται ἐν τοῖς τοιούτοις· ἓν ἐζήτει μόνον, ἵνα ὁ ἀκάθαρτος ἐξέλθῃ. Ταῦτα τοίνυν εἰδότες, ἀπόνοιαν διώξωμεν, ταπεινοφροσύνην ἀσπασώμεθα, τὴν εἰωθυῖαν δόξαν ἀναπέμψωμεν τῷ Πατρὶ καὶ τῷ Υἱῷ καὶ τῷ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.

5.τ Εἰς τὰ ὑπόλοιπα τοῦ Ὀζίου

5.1 Φέρε δὴ τήμερον τοῖς κατὰ τὸν Ὀζίαν διηγήμασιν ἀποδῶμεν τὸ τέλος καὶ τὴν ὀροφὴν λοιπὸν ἐπιθῶμεν τῷ λόγῳ, μήποτε καὶ ἡμεῖς καταγελασθῶμεν, καθάπερ ἐκεῖνος, ὁ τὸν πύργον ἐν τοῖς εὐαγγελίοις ἐπιχειρήσας μὲν οἰκοδομῆσαι, μὴ δυνηθεὶς δέ, μήποτέ τις τῶν παρόντων καὶ περὶ ἡμῶν εἴπῃ· "Οὗτος ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἤρξατο μὲν οἰκοδομῆσαι, οὐκ ἴσχυσε δέ." Ὥστε δὲ σαφέστερα ὑμῖν γενέσθαι τὰ λεγόμενα, μικρὰ τῶν πρότερον εἰρημένων ἀναλαβῶμεν, ἵνα μὴ χωρὶς κεφαλῆς ἡμῖν ὁ λόγος εἰς τὸ θέατρον εἰσέλθῃ τὸ πνευματικόν, ἀλλὰ τὴν οἰκείαν ὄψιν ἀπολαβὼν γνώριμος γένηται τοῖς θεαταῖς. Ἔσται γὰρ τὰ αὐτὰ τοῖς μὲν ἀκηκοόσιν ὑπόμνησις, τοῖς δὲ μὴ διδασκαλία. Πρώην μὲν οὖν εἰρήκαμεν πῶς ἦν εὐσεβὴς ὁ Ὀζίας, πῶς δὲ γέγονε φαῦλος καὶ πόθεν καὶ μέχρι ποῦ τῆς ἀπονοίας ὤλισθεν· σήμερον δὲ ἀναγκαῖον εἰπεῖν πῶς εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὸ ἱερόν, πῶς ἐπεχείρησεν θυμιᾶσαι, πῶς ἐκώλυσεν ὁ ἱερεύς, πῶς οὐκ εἶξεν ἐκεῖνος, πῶς ἐπεσπάσατο τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν ὀργήν, πῶς ἐν τῇ λέπρᾳ τὸν βίον κατέλυσεν καὶ τίνος ἕνεκεν ὁ προφήτης τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς ζωῆς αὐτοῦ παρεὶς τῆς τελευτῆς ἐμνημόνευσεν, οὑτωσὶ λέγων· "Τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ, οὗ ἀπέθανεν Ὀζίας ὁ βασιλεύς." Τοῦτο γάρ ἐστιν, δι' ὃ πᾶσαν ἐξ ἀρχῆς τὴν ἱστορίαν ἐκινήσαμεν· ἀλλὰ προσέχετε ἀκριβῶς. "Καὶ ἐγένετο, φησίν, ἡνίκα ἴσχυσεν ὁ Ὀζίας ὁ βασιλεύς, ὑψώθη ἡ καρδία αὐτοῦ ἕως τοῦ διαφθεῖραι, καὶ ἠδίκησεν ἐν Κυρίῳ Θεῷ αὐτοῦ." Τίς ὁ τρόπος τῆς ἀδικίας; "Εἰσῆλθε, φησίν, εἰς τὸν ναὸν Κυρίου, θυμιᾶσαι ἐπὶ τὸ θυσιαστήριον τοῦ θυμιάματος." Ὢ τῆς τόλμης, ὢ τῆς ἀναισχυντίας. Αὐτῶν τῶν ἱερῶν ἀδύτων κατετόλμησεν, εἰς τὰ ἅγια τῶν ἁγίων εἰσεπήδησεν, ὃ πᾶσιν ἄβατον ἦν χωρίον, πλὴν τοῦ ἀρχιερέως μόνου, τοῦτο βεβηλῶσαι ἐπεχείρησεν. Τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν ψυχή, καθάπαξ τῆς οἰκείας ἀπογνοῦσα σωτηρίας· οὐδαμοῦ τῆς μανίας ἵσταται, ἀλλὰ τὰς ἡνίας τῆς σωτηρίας αὐτῆς ἐνδιδοῦσα ταῖς ἀλόγοις ἐπιθυμίαις πανταχοῦ φέρεται καί, καθάπερ ἵππος δυσήνιος, τὸν χαλινὸν ἀπὸ τοῦ στόματος ἐκβαλὼν καὶ τὸν ἀναβάτην ῥίψας ἀπὸ τῶν νώτων ὕπτιον, παντὸς ἀνέμου σφοδρότερον φέρεται καὶ τοῖς ἀπαντῶσίν ἐστιν ἀφόρητος, ὑποφευγόντων μὲν ἁπάντων, κατασχεῖν δὲ τολμῶντος οὐδενός, οὕτω καὶ ψυχή, τὸν χαλινοῦντα αὐτὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ φόβον ἐκβαλοῦσα καὶ τὸν ἡνιοχοῦντα ῥίψασα λογισμὸν ἅπαντα, τὰ τῆς κακίας ἐπιτρέχει χωρία, ἕως ἂν εἰς τὰ τῆς ἀπωλείας βάραθρα φέρουσα κατακρημνίσῃ τὴν ἑαυτῆς σωτηρίαν. ∆ιὸ χρὴ συνεχῶς αὐτὴν ἀνακρούεσθαι καί, καθάπερ τινὶ χαλινῷ, τῷ τῆς εὐσεβείας λογισμῷ τὴν ἄλογον αὐτῆς ἀναχαιτίζειν ὁρμήν· ὅπερ ὁ Ὀζίας οὐκ ἐποίησεν, ἀλλ' εἰς αὐτὴν τὴν ἀνωτάτω πάντων ἀρχὴν παρηνόμησεν. Ἱερωσύνη γὰρ καὶ αὐτῆς τῆς βασιλείας σεμνοτέρα καὶ μείζων ἐστὶν ἀρχή. Μὴ γάρ μοι τὴν ἁλουργίδα εἴπῃς, μηδὲ τὸ διάδημα, μηδὲ τὰ ἱμάτια τὰ χρυσᾶ. Σκιὰ πάντα ἐκεῖνα καὶ τῶν ἐαρινῶν ἀνθῶν εὐτελέστερα. "Πᾶσα γὰρ δόξα ἀνθρώπου, φησίν, ὡς ἄνθος χόρτου", κἂν αὐτὴν λέγῃς τὴν βασιλικήν. Μὴ δὴ ταῦτά μοι