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For Paul received Onesimus, who had become a runaway and a thief and had stolen some of his master's money, and he changed him and so led him by the hand to the sacred initiation; then, as he was about to return him to his master, he wrote this to him: Therefore, having much boldness in Christ to command you what is fitting, for love’s sake I rather appeal, being such a one as Paul, an old man, and now also a prisoner in Christ Jesus. Do you see that he added three things: the bonds for Christ's sake, the dignity from his age, the reverence from his name? For since he who was appealing was one person, he strove to make the one who was beseeching for Onesimus—the old man—threefold. Do you see that the very names are venerable and God-pleasing to the faithful? For if the name of a beloved child, when mentioned, often persuaded an unwilling father to grant the favor because of the affection for the name, it was much more likely that this would happen in the case of the saints. But that they were also fearsome to sinners, just as the names of teachers are to lazy children, hear how he hinted at this very thing when writing to the Galatians. For since they had declined into a Jewish weakness, and were in danger concerning the faith itself, wishing to raise them up and persuade them to introduce nothing Jewish into the teaching of the Gospel, he wrote thus: Behold, I Paul say to you, that if you are circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. You said, I; why add the name? For was not I sufficient to indicate the one writing? But it is so that you may learn that even the insertion of the name itself is sufficient to lay hold of the hearers; for this reason he adds the name, bringing them to the remembrance of their teacher. And we too experience this same thing; for when we are reminded of the saints, even if we are in indolence, we are roused; even if in contempt, we are afraid. At least, when I hear of Paul the apostle, I think of the one in tribulations, the one in distresses, the one in stripes, the one in prisons, the one who spent a night and a day in the deep, the one caught up to the third heaven, the one who heard unspeakable words in paradise, the chosen vessel, the bridegroom's friend for Christ, the one who prayed to be anathema from Christ for the sake of his brethren. And just like a golden chain, the string of his achievements, along with the memory of his name, enters into those who pay close attention; and no small gain comes to us from this. 4. It was possible to say even more than this about the name; but so that we may also take up the second word, having stopped the contemplation of the name here, we shall now proceed to that one. For just as the name Paul has provided us with great abundance, so too the word Called, if we should wish to understand it with the fitting diligence, would fill us with equal or even greater contemplation. And just as someone, having taken one stone from an ornament or a royal diadem, and having sold that pearl, could buy splendid houses and costly fields, and herds of servants, and other things much more numerous than these; so too indeed in the case of the divine words, if you wish to unfold the meaning of a single saying, it will provide you with much material for spiritual abundance, not bringing houses, nor slaves, nor acres of land, but instilling principles of piety and philosophy into the souls of those who pay attention. Consider therefore this very word, Called, to how great a history of spiritual matters it leads us by the hand. But it is necessary first to learn what this Called is; and second to examine why he wrote thus only when writing to the Corinthians and Romans, and to no one else. For he does not do this simply, or at random. For if we do not make the salutations of our letters simply, but when writing to inferiors, we write, So-and-so to so-and-so, but when to equals, and a master in the

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Τὸν γοῦν Ὀνήσιμον δραπέτην καὶ κλέπτην γενόμενον, καὶ τῶν δεσποτικῶν ὑφελόμενόν τι χρημάτων, ὑποδεξάμενος ὁ Παῦλος καὶ μεταβαλὼν, καὶ οὕτω πρὸς τὴν ἱερὰν χειραγωγήσας μυσταγωγίαν· εἶτα μέλλων ἀποδιδόναι τῷ δεσπότῃ πάλιν, τοῦτο πρὸς αὐτὸν ἔγραφε· ∆ιὸ πολλὴν ἐν Χριστῷ παῤῥησίαν ἔχων ἐπιτάσσειν σοι τὸ ἀνῆκον διὰ τὴν ἀγάπην, μᾶλλον παρακαλῶ, τοιοῦτος ὢν ὡς Παῦλος πρεσβύτης, νυνὶ δὲ καὶ δέσμιος ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ. Ὁρᾷς ὅτι τρία ἐπέθηκε, τὰ δεσμὰ τὰ διὰ τὸν Χριστὸν, τὴν πολιτείαν τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς ἡλικίας, τὴν αἰδῶ τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς προσηγορίας; Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ εἷς ἦν ὁ παρακαλῶν, τριπλοῦν ἐφιλονείκησε ποιῆσαι τὸν ὑπὲρ Ὀνησίμου δεόμενον, τὸν πρεσβύτην. Ὁρᾷς ὅτι καὶ αὐτὰ τὰ ὀνόματα αἰδέσιμα τοῖς πιστοῖς ἐστι καὶ φιλόθεα; Εἰ γὰρ παιδίου φιλουμένου προσηγορία ὀνομασθεῖσα πολλάκις καὶ μὴ βουλόμενον τὸν πατέρα ἔπεισε δοῦναι τὴν χάριν διὰ τὸ πρὸς τὸ ὄνομα φίλτρον, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἐπὶ τῶν ἁγίων συμβαίνειν τοῦτο εἰκὸς ἦν. Ὅτι δὲ καὶ τοῖς ἁμαρτάνουσι φοβερὰ ἦν, καθάπερ παιδίοις ῥᾳθυμοῦσι τὰ τῶν διδασκάλων ὀνόματα, ἄκουσον πῶς Γαλάταις ἐπιστέλλων αὐτὸ τοῦτο ᾐνίξατο. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ εἰς ἀσθένειαν ἀπέκλιναν Ἰουδαϊκὴν, καὶ περὶ τὴν πίστιν αὐτὴν ἐκινδύνευον, βουλόμενος αὐτοὺς ἀναστῆσαι καὶ πεῖσαι μηδὲν Ἰουδαϊκὸν ἐπεισάγειν τῇ τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου διδασκαλίᾳ, οὕτως ἔγραφεν· Ἰδὲ ἐγὼ Παῦλος λέγω ὑμῖν, ὅτι ἐὰν περιτέμνησθε, Χριστὸς ὑμᾶς οὐδὲν ὠφελήσει. Εἶπες, Ἐγώ· τίνος ἕνεκεν προστιθεὶς τὸ ὄνομα; τὸ γὰρ, Ἐγὼ, οὐκ ἦν ἱκανὸν δηλῶσαι τὸν γράφοντα; Ἀλλ' ἵνα μάθῃς ὅτι καὶ αὐτὴ ἡ τοῦ ὀνόματος παρενθήκη ἱκανὴ τῶν ἀκουόντων καθάψασθαι, διὰ τοῦτο προστίθησι τὴν προσηγορίαν, εἰς ὑπόμνησιν αὐτοὺς ἄγων τοῦ διδασκάλου. Καὶ ἡμεῖς δὲ τὸ αὐτὸ τοῦτο πάσχομεν· ὅταν γὰρ ἀναμνησθῶμεν τῶν ἁγίων, κἂν ἐν ῥᾳθυμίᾳ ὦμεν, διανιστάμεθα, κἂν ἐν καταφρονήσει, φοβούμεθα. Παῦλον γοῦν τὸν ἀπόστολον ὅταν ἀκούσω ἐγὼ, ἐννοῶ τὸν ἐν θλίψεσι, τὸν ἐν στενοχωρίαις, τὸν ἐν πληγαῖς, τὸν ἐν φυλακαῖς, τὸν ἐν τῷ βυθῷ νυχθήμερον γενόμενον, τὸν εἰς τρίτον ἁρπαγέντα οὐρανὸν, τὸν ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ τὰ ἄῤῥητα ῥήματα ἀκούσαντα, τὸ σκεῦος τῆς ἐκλογῆς, τὸν νυμφαγωγὸν τοῦ Χριστοῦ, τὸν εὐξάμενον ἀνάθεμα εἶναι ἀπὸ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀδελφῶν. Καὶ καθάπερ σειρά τις χρυσῆ, τῶν κατορθωμάτων ὁ ὁρμαθὸς μετὰ τῆς τοῦ ὀνόματος μνήμης τοῖς μετὰ ἀκριβείας προσέχουσιν ἐπεισέρχεται· καὶ οὐ μικρὸν ἡμῖν ἀπὸ τούτου γίνεται κέρδος. δʹ. Ἐνῆν καὶ πλείονα τούτων εἰς τὴν προσηγορίαν εἰπεῖν· ἀλλ' ἵνα καὶ τῆς δευτέρας ἁψώμεθα λέξεως, ἐνταῦθα τὴν περὶ τοῦ ὀνόματος στήσας θεωρίαν, ἐπ' ἐκείνην βαδιοῦμεν λοιπόν. Ὥσπερ γὰρ τὸ Παῦλος ὄνομα πολλὴν παρέσχεν ἡμῖν εὐπορίαν, οὕτω καὶ τὸ Κλητὸς, εἰ βουληθείημεν αὐτὸ καταμαθεῖν μετὰ τῆς προσηκούσης σπουδῆς, τῆς ἴσης ἢ καὶ πλείονος ἐμπλήσειε θεωρίας ἡμᾶς. Καὶ καθάπερ ἀπὸ κόσμου, ἢ διαδήματος βασιλικοῦ λίθον ἕνα τις ἐξελὼν, καὶ οἰκίας λαμπρὰς καὶ πολυτελεῖς ἀγροὺς, καὶ οἰκετῶν ἀγέλας, καὶ ἕτερα πολλῷ πλείονα τούτων πρίασθαι δύναιτ' ἂν, τὸν μαργαρίτην ἀποδόμενος ἐκεῖνον· οὕτω δὴ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν θείων ῥημάτων, ἂν μιᾶς ῥήσεως ἔννοιαν ἀναπτύξαι θελήσῃς, πολλήν σοι παρέξει πνευματικῆς εὐπορίας ὑπόθεσιν, οὐκ οἰκίας, οὐδὲ ἀνδράποδα, οὐδὲ πλέθρα γῆς κομίζουσα, ἀλλὰ θεοσεβείας καὶ φιλοσοφίας ἀφορμὰς ἐνιεῖσα ταῖς τῶν προσεχόντων ψυχαῖς. Σκόπει οὖν αὐτὸ τοῦτο τὸ Κλητὸς, εἰς ὅσην ἡμᾶς χειραγωγεῖ πραγμάτων ἱστορίαν πνευματικῶν. ∆εῖ δὲ πρότερον μαθεῖν, τί ποτέ ἐστιν αὐτὸ τὸ Κλητός· καὶ δεύτερον ἐξετάσαι, τίνος ἕνεκεν Κορινθίοις ἐπιστέλλων μόνον καὶ Ῥωμαίοις οὕτως ἔγραψεν, ἄλλῳ δὲ οὐδενί. Οὐ γὰρ ἁπλῶς, οὐδὲ εἰκῆ τοῦτο ποιεῖ. Εἰ γὰρ ἡμεῖς τῶν ἐπιστολῶν τὰς προῤῥήσεις οὐχ ἁπλῶς ποιούμεθα, ἀλλ' ὑποδεεστέροις μὲν ἐπιστέλλοντες, Ὁ δεῖνα τῷ δεῖνι, γράφομεν, ὅταν δὲ ὁμοτίμοις, καὶ δεσπότην ἐν τῇ