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For when you neither give any spiritual exhortation yourselves, nor allow others who wish to do so, you are doing nothing other than this. And let no one tell me that many who have neglected their own47.354 children more than Eli suffered nothing like Eli did; for indeed many have often suffered even things more grievous than these, and because of this very sin. For from where come untimely deaths? from where grievous and constant illnesses, both for us and for the children themselves? from where losses, from where misfortunes, from where insults, from where countless evils? is it not from neglecting our children when they are wicked? And that this is not a conjecture, the sufferings of the old man are sufficient to confirm; but I will also tell you a saying about these things from a certain wise man among us; for speaking about children he says something like this: Do not rejoice over ungodly sons; if the fear of God is not with them, do not trust in their life. For you will groan with untimely mourning, and you will suddenly know their end. Many, therefore, as I said, have suffered many such things; but if some have also escaped, yet they will not escape in the end, but to the harm of their own head; for when they depart from here, they will pay a more bitter penalty. For why, he says, are not all punished here? Because God has appointed a day on which He will judge the world; but this day has not yet come. And besides, if this were to happen, our whole race would have been consumed and snatched away beforehand. But so that neither this might happen, nor many become more careless by the delay of the judgment, God, taking some who are liable for sins and punishing them here, teaches the rest through them the measure of the punishments laid up for them, so that they may understand that even if they do not pay the penalty here, they will certainly pay a more grievous one when they depart from here. For let us not be insensible because He does not now send a prophet nor foretell the punishment, as in the case of Eli; for it is not the time of prophets, or rather He does send them even now. And from where is this clear to us? They have, He says, Moses and the prophets. For the things said to them have been said no less to us, and He speaks not only to Eli, but also to all who sin in the same way as he, through him and his sufferings. For God is not a respecter of persons, nor does He who thus overthrew with his whole household one who sinned less, leave unpunished those who have transgressed more grievously.

4. For it cannot be said that He takes little account of the matter; for He shows great concern for the upbringing of children. For He sowed such great desire in nature for this reason, that He might place those who begot them into a kind of inescapable necessity of providing for their offspring; and He afterwards introduced laws, speaking to us about their care. And in establishing feasts, He commands them to teach their children the reason. For speaking about the Passover He added: And you shall tell your son in that day, saying, ‘This is because of what God did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ And He does the same thing also in the law; for having spoken about the firstborn He adds again: And if your son asks you after this, saying, ‘What is this?’ you shall say to him, ‘By a strong hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.’ And when Pharaoh was hardened against letting us go, He killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of men to the firstborn of cattle. For this reason I sacrifice to the Lord every male that opens the womb; 47.355 commanding through all things to lead them to the knowledge of God. And He also gives many commands to the children themselves concerning those who begot them, honoring those who are well-disposed, but punishing the ungrateful, and by this again making them more desirable to those who begot them. For whenever someone makes us masters of something, the honor imposes on us the greatest necessity of providing for it; for even if there is nothing else. this at least is sufficient to make us feel respect, that all that is his lies in our hands, and we would not endure to betray it quickly

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Ὅταν γὰρ μήτε αὐτοὶ παραινῆτέ τι πνευματικὸν, μή τε ἑτέρους βουλομένους τοῦτο ποιεῖν ἀφίητε, οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἢ τοῦτο ἐργάζεσθε. Καὶ μή μοι λεγέτω τις ὅτι πολλοὶ μειζόνως τοῦ Ἠλεὶ τῶν οἰ47.354 κείων ἀμελήσαντες παίδων οὐδὲν ἔπαθον οἷον ὁ Ἠλεί· ἔπαθον μὲν γὰρ καὶ πολλοὶ πολλάκις καὶ χαλεπώτερα τούτων, καὶ διὰ ταύτην τὴν ἁμαρτίαν. Πόθεν γὰρ ἄωροι θάνατοι; πόθεν νόσοι χαλεπαὶ καὶ συνεχεῖς, καὶ ἡμῖν καὶ τοῖς παισὶν αὐτοῖς; πόθεν ζημίαι, πόθεν περιστάσεις, πόθεν ἐπήρειαι, πόθεν τὰ μυρία κακά; οὐκ ἐκ τοῦ μοχθηροὺς ὄντας τοὺς παῖδας περιορᾷν; Καὶ ὅτι οὐ στοχασμὸς τοῦτό ἐστιν, ἱκανὰ μὲν καὶ τὰ τοῦ πρεσβύτου πιστώσασθαι πάθη· ἐγὼ δὲ ὑμῖν καὶ λόγον ὑπὲρ τούτων ἐρῶ σοφοῦ τινος ἀνδρὸς τῶν παρ' ἡμῖν· περὶ γὰρ παίδων οὗτος διαλεγόμενος οὕτω πώς φησι· Μὴ εὐφραίνου ἐπὶ υἱοῖς ἀσεβέσιν· εἰ μὴ ἔστι φόβος μετ' αὐτῶν Θεοῦ, μὴ ἐμπιστεύσῃς τῇ ζωῇ αὐτῶν. Στενάξεις γὰρ πένθει ἀώρῳ, καὶ ἐξάπινα αὐτῶν συντέλειαν γνώσῃ. Πολλοὶ μὲν οὖν, ὅπερ ἔφην, πολλὰ τοιαῦτα πεπόνθασιν· εἰ δέ τινες καὶ διέφυγον, ἀλλ' οὐκ εἰς τέλος ἐκφεύξονται, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ κακῷ τῆς ἑαυτῶν κεφαλῆς· πικροτέραν γὰρ ἀπελθόντες ἐκεῖ δώσουσι δίκην. Τίνος γὰρ ἕνεκεν, φησὶν, οὐκ ἐνταῦθα πάντες κολάζονται; Ὅτι ὥρισεν ἡμέραν ὁ Θεὸς, ἐν ᾗ μέλλει κρίνειν τὴν οἰκουμένην· αὕτη δὲ οὔπω πάρεστιν ἡ ἡμέρα. Καὶ ἄλλως δὲ τοῦτο εἰ ἐγίνετο, προανάλωτο ἂν καὶ προανήρπαστο ἡμῶν ἅπαν τὸ γένος. Ἀλλ' ἵνα μήτε τοῦτο συμβῇ, μήτε ῥᾳθυμότεροι πολλοὶ γίγνωνται τῇ μελλήσει τῆς κρίσεως, λαμβάνων τινὰς ὑπευθύνους ἁμαρτήμασιν ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ κολάζων ἐνταῦθα, διδάσκει τοὺς λοιποὺς δι' ἐκείνων, τὰ μέτρα τῶν κειμένων αὐτοῖς τιμωριῶν, ἵνα ἐπιστῶνται ὅτι κἂν ἐνταῦθα μὴ δῶσι δίκην, ἀπελθόντες ἐκεῖ δώσουσι πάντως χαλεπωτέραν. Μὴ γὰρ, ἐπειδὴ προφήτην οὐ πέμπει νῦν οὐδὲ προαγορεύει τὴν τιμωρίαν, καθάπερ ἐπὶ τοῦ Ἠλεὶ, διὰ ταῦτα ἀναισθητῶμεν· οὐ γάρ ἐστι προφητῶν καιρὸς, μᾶλλον δὲ πέμπει καὶ νῦν. Πόθεν δὲ ἡμῖν τοῦτο δῆλον; Ἔχουσι, φησὶ, Μωσέα καὶ τοὺς προφήτας. Τὰ γὰρ πρὸς ἐκείνους εἰρημένα οὐχ ἧττον καὶ πρὸς ἡμᾶς εἴρηται, καὶ οὐχὶ τῷ Ἠλεὶ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς τὰ αὐτὰ ἁμαρτάνουσιν ἐκείνῳ δι' ἐκείνου καὶ τῶν ἐκείνου διαλέγεται παθῶν. Οὐδὲ γάρ ἐστι προσωπολήπτης ὁ Θεὸς, οὐδὲ ὁ τὸν ἐλάττονα ἁμαρτόντα οὕτω πανέστιον ἀνατρέψας, τοὺς χαλεπώτερα πεπλημμεληκότας ἀτιμωρήτους ἀφίησι.

δʹ. Καὶ γὰρ οὐδὲ τοῦτο ἔστιν εἰπεῖν, ὅτι οὐ πολὺς αὐτῷ τοῦ πράγματος ὁ λόγος· πολλὴν γὰρ ὑπὲρ τῆς τῶν παίδων ἀνατροφῆς ποιεῖται σπουδήν. Ἐπιθυμίαν τε γὰρ τοσαύτην τῇ φύσει διὰ τοῦτο ἐνέσπειρεν, ἵνα ὥσπερ εἰς ἀνάγκην τινὰ ἄφυκτον τῆς περὶ τὰ τεχθέντα προνοίας καταστήσῃ τοὺς φυτευσαμένους αὐτά· νόμους τε εἰσήνεγκεν ὕστερον ὑπὲρ τῆς τούτων ἐπιμελείας διαλεγόμενος ἡμῖν. Καὶ ἑορτὰς δὲ τιθεὶς, κελεύει τὰ παιδία αὐτῶν διδάσκειν τὴν ὑπόθεσιν. Περὶ γὰρ τοῦ Πάσχα διαλεχθεὶς ἐπήγαγε· Καὶ ἀπαγγελεῖς τῷ υἱῷ σου ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ λέγων· ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ἐποίησεν ὁ Θεός μοι, ὡς ἐξεπορευόμην ἐξ Αἰγύπτου. Καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ νόμου δὲ τὸ αὐτὸ τοῦτο ποιεῖ· περὶ γὰρ τῶν πρωτοτόκων εἰπὼν προστίθησι πάλιν· Ἐὰν δὲ ἐρωτήσῃ σε ὁ υἱός σου μετὰ ταῦτα λέγων· Τί τοῦτο; ἐρεῖς πρὸς αὐτὸν, ὅτι Ἐν χειρὶ κραταιᾷ ἐξήγαγεν ἡμᾶς Κύριος ἐξ Αἰγύπτου ἐξ οἴκου δουλείας. Ἡνίκα δὲ ἐσκλήρυνε Φαραὼ ἐξαποστεῖλαι ἡμᾶς, ἀπέκτεινε πᾶν πρωτότοκον ἐν γῇ Αἰγύπτου ἀπὸ πρωτοτόκων ἀνθρώπων ἕως πρωτοτόκων κτηνῶν. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ἐγὼ θύω Κυρίῳ πᾶν διανοῖγον μήτραν ἀρσενικόν· 47.355 διὰ πάντων εἰς θεογνωσίαν κελεύων ἅγειν αὐτούς. Καὶ αὐτοῖς δὲ τοῖς παιδίοις πολλὰ περὶ τῶν γεγεννηκότων αὐτοὺς διατάττεται, τοὺς μὲν εὐνοϊκῶς διακειμένους τιμῶν, κολάζων δὲ τοὺς ἀγνώμονας, καὶ ταύτῃ πάλιν αὐτοὺς ποθεινοτέρους τοῖς φυτευσαμένοις ποιῶν. Ὅταν γάρ τινος ποιήσῃ τις ἡμᾶς κυρίους, μεγίστην ἡμῖν ἀνάγκην τῆς ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ προνοίας ἐπιτίθησι τὴν τιμήν· καὶ γὰρ εἰ μηδὲν ἕτερον. τοῦτο γοῦν ἡμᾶς δυσωπῆσαι ἱκανὸν, τὸ πάντα τὰ ἐκείνου ἐν ταῖς ἡμετέραις κεῖσθαι χερσὶ, καὶ οὐκ ἂν ἀνασχοίμεθα προδοῦναι ταχέως