30

and being watchful, so each day wipe clean your spiritual weapons, so that the enemy, seeing the flash of the weapons, may keep far away and not even think to stand near. For when he sees not only the weapons flashing but also you fortified on every side and the treasure of your mind secured like some house with precision, he will go away covering his face, knowing that he will gain nothing even if he should try to attack ten thousand times. For even if he is shameless and reckless and more bitter than any wild beast, still, seeing your spiritual full armor and the strength given to you from the Spirit, perceiving more accurately his own weakness, he withdraws with great shame, utterly condemning himself and knowing that he attempts the impossible. 5.28 Let us all be sober, therefore, I beseech you, both those who long ago were deemed worthy of this gift so as to be able to return to their former comeliness and to cleanse away the filth that has come upon them, and those who have recently enjoyed the royal generosity, show great vigilance and security so as to remain in perpetual purity and to receive no wrinkle or spot from the devil's contrivance, but as if he were present and standing near and hurling the arrows of wickedness, so let us fence ourselves in on every side and with much zeal set ourselves against him, taking great forethought for our own salvation, so that we may be able to escape his devices and, remaining unwounded ourselves, draw down the alliance from above. By the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, might, honor; now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

6.t HOMILY 4. A reproof by the same to those who have forsaken the

assembly and gone away to the horse races and the theaters, and how much care it is fitting to take of negligent brethren; and concerning

the newly-baptized.

6.1 Again horse races and satanic theaters, and our gathering becomes smaller. For this reason, I too, fearing the negligence that comes from relaxation and license, anticipated and exhorted and beseeched your love neither to pour out the wealth gathered from the fast, nor to contract the defilement from the satanic theaters, and, as it seems, we have gained no profit from the exhortation. For behold, some of those who have heard our teaching have been led astray today, and abandoning this spiritual instruction have run there, casting all things at once from their minds: the memory of the holy forty days, the saving festival of the day of resurrection, the awesome and ineffable communion of the divine mysteries, the continuity of our teaching. 6.2 With what zeal, then, tell me, shall I henceforth take up my customary teaching, seeing that they gain nothing more from what is said by us, but that the more our teaching is intensified, the more their negligence, so to speak, is increased, which both works greater pain for us and procures greater condemnation for them. Or rather, it is not only pain, but also our despondency becomes greater; for just as a farmer, when he sees after much toil and labor the earth providing nothing worthy of his labors but imitating a barren rock, he then becomes more reluctant towards its cultivation, seeing himself toiling randomly and in vain. In the very same way a teacher also, when he sees after much care and continuous teaching the disciples remaining in the same negligence,

30

καὶ ἐγρηγορότες, οὕτω καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν ἀποσμήχετε τὰ ὅπλα ὑμῶν τὰ πνευματικά, ἵνα βλέπων ὁ πολέμιος τῶν ὅπλων τὴν ἀστραπὴν πόρρω γένηται καὶ μηδὲ πλησίον ἑστάναι νομίσῃ. Ὅταν γὰρ ἴδῃ μὴ μόνον ἀστράπτοντα τὰ ὅπλα ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑμᾶς πανταχόθεν πεφραγμένους καὶ τὸν τῆς διανοίας ὑμῶν θησαυρὸν καθάπερ οἶκόν τινα μετὰ ἀκριβείας ἠσφαλισμένον, ἐγκαλυψάμενος ἄπεισιν, εἰδὼς ὡς οὐδὲν αὐτῷ πλέον ἔσται κἂν μυριάκις ἐπιθέσθαι ἐπιχειρήσῃ. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ ἀναίσχυντός ἐστι καὶ ἰταμὸς καὶ θηρίου παντὸς πικρότερος, ἀλλ' ὁρῶν ὑμῶν τὴν παντευχίαν τὴν πνευματικὴν καὶ τὴν ἰσχὺν τὴν παρὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος ὑμῖν δεδομένην, ἀκριβέστερον τὴν οἰκείαν ἀσθένειαν καταμανθάνων μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς αἰσχύνης ἀφίσταται, σφόδρα καταγνοὺς ἑαυτοῦ καὶ γινώσκων ὡς ἀνηνύτοις ἐπιχειρεῖ. 5.28 Νήφωμεν τοίνυν ἅπαντες, παρακαλῶ, καὶ οἱ πάλαι τῆς δωρεᾶς ταύτης ἀξιωθέντες ὥστε δυνηθῆναι εἰς τὴν προτέραν εὐμορφίαν ἐπανελθεῖν καὶ τὸν ἐπιγενόμενον ἀποκαθήρασθαι ῥύπον, καὶ οἱ πρόσφατον τῆς φιλοτιμίας ἀπολαύσαντες τῆς βασιλικῆς, πολλὴν τὴν ἀγρυπνίαν καὶ τὴν ἀσφάλειαν ἐπιδείξασθε ὥστε ἐν διηνεκεῖ καθαρότητι διαμένειν καὶ μηδεμίαν ῥυτίδα ἢ σπίλον δέξασθαι ἐκ τῆς τοῦ διαβόλου μηχανῆς, ἀλλ' ὡσανεὶ παρόντος τούτου καὶ πλησίον ἑστῶτος καὶ τὰ τῆς πονηρίας ἐξακοντίζοντος βέλη, οὕτω πανταχόθεν ἑαυτοὺς περιφράττωμεν καὶ μετὰ πολλῆς αὐτῷ τῆς σπουδῆς ἀντιταττώμεθα, πολλὴν τῆς οἰκείας σωτηρίας ποιούμενοι τὴν πρόνοιαν, ἵνα καὶ τὰς ἐκείνου μηχανὰς διαφυγεῖν δυνηθῶμεν καὶ αὐτοὶ ἄτρωτοι διαμείναντες τὴν ἄνωθεν συμμαχίαν ἐπισπασώμεθα. Χάριτι καὶ φιλανθρωπίᾳ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ μεθ' οὗ τῷ Πατρὶ ἅμα τῷ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι δόξα, κράτος, τιμή· νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.

6.t ΛΟΓΟΣ ʹ Τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἐπιτίμησις πρὸς τοὺς καταλιπόντας τὴν

σύναξιν καὶ εἰς τὰς ἱπποδρομίας καὶ τὰ θέατρα ἀπελθόντας καὶ ὅσην προσήκει τῶν ῥᾳθυμούντων ἀδελφῶν ποιεῖσθαι τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν· καὶ εἰς

τοὺς νεοφωτίστους.

6.1 Πάλιν ἱπποδρομίαι καὶ θέατρα σατανικά, καὶ ὁ σύλλογος ἡμῖν ἐλάττων γίνεται. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο κἀγὼ δεδοικὼς τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς ἀνέσεως καὶ ἀδείας ῥᾳθυμίαν προλαβὼν παρῄνεσα καὶ παρεκάλεσα τὴν ὑμετέραν ἀγάπην μήτε τὸν συλλεγέντα πλοῦτον ἀπὸ τῆς νηστείας ἐκχεῖν μήτε τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν σατανικῶν θεάτρων λύμην προστρίψασθαι, καὶ ὡς ἔοικεν οὐδὲν ἡμῖν κέρδος ἀπὸ τῆς παραινέσεως γέγονεν. Ἰδοὺ γάρ τινες τῶν ἀκηκοότων τῆς παρ' ἡμῶν διδασκαλίας παρασυρέντες σήμερον καὶ τὴν ἀκρόασιν ταύτην τὴν πνευματικὴν καταλιπόντες ἐκεῖ δεδραμήκασι, πάντα ὑφ' ἓν ἀπὸ τῆς διανοίας τῆς ἑαυτῶν ῥίψαντες, τῆς ἁγίας τεσσαρακοστῆς τὴν μνήμην, τῆς ἀναστασίμου ἡμέρας τὴν σωτήριον ἑορτήν, τῶν θείων μυστηρίων τὴν φρικτὴν καὶ ἀπόρρητον κοινωνίαν, τῆς ἡμετέρας διδασκαλίας τὴν συνέχειαν. 6.2 Ποίᾳ τοίνυν, εἰπέ μοι, λοιπὸν προθυμίᾳ τῆς συνηθοῦς ἅψομαι διδασκαλίας, ὁρῶν οὐδὲν πλέον κερδαίνοντας ἐκ τῶν παρ' ἡμῶν λεγομένων ἀλλ' ὅσῳ τὰ τῆς διδασκαλίας ἡμῖν ἐπιτείνεται τοσαύτῳ καὶ τὴν ῥᾳθυμίαν ὡς εἰπεῖν αὐξουμένην, ὅπερ καὶ ἡμῖν πλείονα τὴν ὀδύνην ἐργάζεται καὶ ἐκείνοις μείζονα προξενεῖ τὴν κατάκρισιν. Μᾶλλον δὲ οὐκ ὀδύνη μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ μείζων ἡμῖν ἡ ἀθυμία γίνεται· καθάπερ γὰρ γηπόνος ἐπειδὰν ἴδῃ μετὰ τοὺς πολλοὺς πόνους καὶ τοὺς μόχθους μηδὲν ἄξιον τῶν πόνων τὴν γῆν παρέχουσαν ἀλλὰ πέτραν ἄγονον μιμουμένην, ὀκνηρότερος λοιπὸν καθίσταται πρὸς τὴν ταύτης ἐργασίαν, ὁρῶν εἰκῇ καὶ μάτην ἑαυτὸν πονούμενον. Τὸν αὐτὸν δὴ τρόπον καὶ διδάσκαλος, ἐπειδὰν θεάσηται μετὰ τὴν πολλὴν ἐπιμέλειαν καὶ τὴν συνεχῆ διδασκαλίαν τοὺς μαθητευομένους ἐπὶ τῆς αὐτῆς ῥᾳθυμίας μένοντας,