31

more lawless, that of empty and vain glory. And each of these, even by itself, is sufficient to overturn everything; but when, having come together at the same time, they fall upon the soul of the young man, which is tender, just as certain torrents joined together, they corrupt all good things, gathering together so many thorns, so much sand, so much refuse, as to render that soul fruitless and barren of all those good things. And even secular writings would bear witness to us concerning these things; for of these passions, one of them—not joined together, but even by itself—one called the acropolis, and another the head of evils. But if when separated it is an acropolis and a head, when it takes on what is much more grievous and more powerful, I mean vainglory, and being borne along with that, it falls upon and takes root and pre-occupies the soul of the young man, who then will be able to uproot this disease, and especially when the fathers also not only do not seek to shake it, but do and say everything so that these wicked plants may become fixed? Who then is so foolish as not to despair of the salvation of a child educated in such things? For it is a great thing for a soul experiencing the opposite 47.358 to escape wickedness; but when everywhere money is the prize, and accursed men are set forth for emulation, what hope of salvation is there? For it is necessary for those who love money to be also envious and malicious and false-swearers and perjurers and insolent and abusive and thieves and shameless and rash and ungrateful and everything evil. And a trustworthy witness of these things is the blessed Paul, who called the love of money the root of the evils in life; and before him, Christ himself revealed this very thing, declaring that it is not possible for one who serves that passion to serve God. When, therefore, from the beginning the young man is led to this slavery, when will he be able to become free, when to rise up from the surging wave, when all are pushing him, all are sinking him, and placing him under great necessity of being submerged? For if, with no one troubling him, if with many stretching out a hand, he should be able to rise up and look up and wash off the brine of wickedness, is it not a great thing? For if, being charmed for a long time by divine odes, he should have the strength to drive out the diseases that have fallen upon him, must one not praise him and crown him ten thousand times? For habit is a terrible thing, a terrible thing to master and seize a soul, and especially when this one has pleasure cooperating with it, while that to which we are hastening and eagerly seek to move has many toils for us. For this reason also God, taking the children of the Hebrews, since it was necessary for them to put away the old habit of evils, I mean that in Egypt, took them alone into the desert, and separating them as far as possible from their corruptors, as in a kind of monastery, that of the desert, He molded their souls, setting in motion every path of healing, both harsher and gentler, and leaving out absolutely nothing of what was necessary to be prepared for their therapy. And not even so did they escape wickedness, but in the midst of the manna they were seeking onions and garlic and all the evils in Egypt. So great an evil is habit. Then the Jews, though enjoying such great care from God, and having a leader so excellent and noble, and being instructed by fear and threat and beneficence and punishment and in every way, and seeing so many wonders, did not become better; but you, with your son being young in the midst of Egypt, or rather turning about in the midst of the battle-line of the devil, hearing no one advising anything useful, seeing everyone leading him to the opposite, and most of all those who begot and raised him, do you think he will be able to slip through the snares of the devil? From where? From what you advise? But you exhort him to the opposite, not even allowing him to remember philosophy in a dream, but turning this present life and its affairs upside down and inside out, you prepare him to be more greatly tossed by the waves. But from home, and from himself? Especially since a

31

παρανομώτερον, τὸν τῆς δόξης τῆς κενῆς καὶ ματαίας. Τούτων δὲ ἕκαστος καὶ καθ' ἑαυτὸν μὲν πάντα ἀνατρέψαι ἱκανός· ὅταν δὲ καὶ ὁμοῦ συνελθόντες εἰς τὴν τοῦ νέου ψυχὴν ἁπαλὴν οὖσαν ἐμπέσωσι, καθάπερ τινὲς χείμαῤῥοι συναφθέντες, ἅπαντα διαφθείρουσι τὰ καλὰ, τοσαύτας ἀκάνθας, τοσαύτην ἄμμον, τοσοῦτον ἐπισυνάγοντες τὸν φορυτὸν, ὡς ἄκαρπόν τε καὶ ἄγονον τῶν ἀγαθῶν πάντων ἐκείνων ἐργάσασθαι τὴν ψυχήν. Καὶ μαρτυρήσειαν ἂν ἡμῖν ὑπὲρ τούτων καὶ οἱ τῶν ἔξωθεν λόγοι· τούτων γὰρ τῶν παθῶν θάτερον, οὐχὶ συνημμένον, ἀλλὰ καὶ καθ' ἑαυτὸ, ὁ μὲν ἀκρόπολιν, ὁ δὲ κεφαλὴν προσεῖπε τῶν κακῶν. Εἰ δὲ κεχωρισμένον ἀκρόπολίς ἐστι καὶ κεφαλὴ, ὅταν τὸ χαλεπώτερον πολλῷ προσλάβῃ καὶ δυνατώτερον, τὴν δοξομανίαν λέγω, καὶ μετ' ἐκείνου φερόμενον ἐμπέσῃ καὶ ῥιζωθῇ καὶ προκαταλάβῃ τὴν τοῦ νέου ψυχὴν, τίς λοιπὸν ταύτην ἀναμοχλεῦσαι τὴν νόσον δυνήσεται, καὶ μάλιστα ὅταν καὶ οἱ πατέρες μὴ μόνον ὅπως διασαλευθείη, ἀλλ' ὅπως καὶ πάγια γένηται τὰ πονηρὰ ταῦτα φυτὰ, καὶ ποιῶσι πάντα καὶ λέγωσι; Τίς οὖν οὕτως ἀνόητος, ὡς μὴ ἀπογνῶναι τῆς σωτηρίας τοῦ τὰ τοιαῦτα παιδευομένου παιδός; Ἀγαπητὸν γὰρ τῶν ἐναντίων 47.358 ἀπολαύουσαν ψυχὴν διαφυγεῖν πονηρίαν· ὅταν δὲ πανταχοῦ χρήματα τὰ ἔπαθλα ᾖ, καὶ ἄνδρες ἐναγεῖς εἰς ζῆλον προκείμενοι, ποία σωτηρίας ἐλπίς; Τοὺς γὰρ χρημάτων ἐρῶντας καὶ βασκάνους καὶ κακοήθεις καὶ πολυόρκους καὶ ἐπιόρκους καὶ θρασεῖς καὶ λοιδόρους καὶ κλέπτας καὶ ἀναισχύντους καὶ ἰταμοὺς καὶ ἀγνώμονας καὶ πάντα ἀνάγκη εἶναι τὰ κακά. Καὶ μάρτυς τούτων ἀξιόπιστος ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος, ῥίζαν τῶν ἐν τῷ βίῳ κακῶν τὴν φιλαργυρίαν εἰπών· καὶ πρὸ τούτου δὲ ὁ Χριστὸς αὐτὸ τοῦτο ἐδήλωσεν, ἀποφαινόμενος μὴ εἶναι δυνατὸν τῷ Θεῷ δουλεύειν τὸν ἐκείνῳ τῷ πάθει δουλεύοντα. Ὅταν οὖν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ὁ νέος ἐπὶ ταύτην ἄγηται τὴν δουλείαν, πότε δυνήσεται γενέσθαι ἐλεύθερος, πότε ἀνασχεῖν τοῦ κλυδωνίου, πάντων ὠθούντων, πάντων καταδυόντων, καὶ εἰς πολλὴν τοῦ καταβαπτίζεσθαι καθιστώντων ἀνάγκην αὐτόν; Εἰ γὰρ μηδενὸς ἐνοχλοῦντος, εἰ πολλῶν ὀρεγόντων χεῖρα ἀναστῆναι δυνηθείη καὶ διαβλέψαι καὶ τὴν ἅλμην ἀπονίψασθαι τῆς κακίας, οὐκ ἀγαπητόν; εἰ γὰρ πολλῷ τῷ χρόνῳ ταῖς θείαις ᾠδαῖς ἐπᾳδόμενος ἰσχύσειε τὰ προσπεσόντα ἀπελάσαι νοσήματα, οὐκ ἐπαινεῖν αὐτὸν δεῖ καὶ στεφανοῦν μυριάκις; ∆εινὸν γὰρ συνήθεια, δεινὸν κρατῆσαι καὶ ἑλεῖν ψυχὴν, καὶ μάλιστα ὅταν αὕτη μὲν ἡδονὴν ἔχῃ συμπράττουσαν, ἐκείνη δὲ πρὸς ἣν ἐπειγόμεθα καὶ μεθορμίσασθαι σπεύδομεν, πολλοὺς παρέχῃ τοὺς πόνους ἡμῖν. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ ὁ Θεὸς τῶν Ἑβραίων τοὺς παῖδας, ἐπειδὴ ἔδει τὴν παλαιὰν τῶν κακῶν ἀποθέσθαι συνήθειαν, τὴν ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ λέγω, λαβὼν καταμόνας αὐτοὺς ἐπὶ τῆς ἐρημίας, καὶ τῶν διαφθειρόντων ἀποστήσας ὡς ποῤῥωτάτω, καθάπερ ἐπὶ μοναστηρίου τινὸς, τῆς ἐρημίας, διέπλαττεν αὐτῶν τὰς ψυχὰς, πᾶσαν ὁδὸν ἰατρείας κινῶν. καὶ τραχυτέραν καὶ προσηνεστέραν, καὶ οὐδὲν ὅλως παραλιμπάνων τῶν ὀφειλόντων εἰς τὴν θεραπείαν κατασκευασθῆναι τὴν ἐκείνων. Καὶ οὐδὲ οὕτως διέφυγον τὴν κακίαν, ἀλλὰ μεταξὺ τοῦ μάννα κρόμμυα καὶ σκόροδα καὶ τὰ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ πάντα ἐζήτουν κακά. Τοσοῦτόν ἐστι συνήθεια κακόν. Εἶτα Ἰουδαῖοι μὲν τοσαύτης ἀπολαύοντες ἐπιμελείας τῆς παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ δημαγωγὸν ἔχοντες οὕτως ἄριστον καὶ γενναῖον, καὶ φόβῳ καὶ ἀπειλῇ καὶ εὐεργεσίᾳ καὶ κολάσει καὶ παντὶ τρόπῳ παιδαγωγούμενοι, καὶ τοσαῦτα ὁρῶντες θαύματα, οὐκ ἐγένοντο βελτίους· σὺ δὲ τὸν υἱὸν τὸν σὸν νέον ὄντα ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ μέσῃ, μᾶλλον δὲ ἐν μέσῃ τῇ παρατάξει τοῦ διαβόλου στρεφόμενον, οὐδενός τι χρήσιμον συμβουλεύοντος ἀκούοντα, πάντας ἐπὶ τἀναντία αὐτὸν ἄγοντας ὁρῶντα, καὶ πάντων μᾶλλον τοὺς γεννησαμένους καὶ θρεψαμένους, οἴει δυνήσεσθαι διαδῦναι τὰς τοῦ διαβόλου παγίδας; Πόθεν; ἀφ' ὧν σὺ παραινεῖς; Ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τἀναντία παρακαλεῖς, φιλοσοφίας μὲν οὔτε ὄναρ μεμνῆσθαι συγχωρῶν, ἄνω δὲ καὶ κάτω τὸν παρόντα βίον καὶ τὰ τούτου στρέφων, μειζόνως κλυδωνίζεσθαι παρασκευάζεις. Ἀλλ' οἴκοθεν, καὶ παρ' ἑαυτοῦ; Μάλιστα μὲν οὐχ ἱκανὸς ἑαυτῷ ὁ