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giving thanks, she said: There is no one holy like the Lord, and no one righteous like our God, and there is no one holy besides you. For his judgment is incomprehensible, she says, his verdict pure and beyond reckoning. Do you see the thought of a grateful soul? For she did not say to herself: What great thing has happened to me? what more than others? What my rival long ago received, and with great abundance, this I have received after a long time, with toil, and tears, and supplication, and prayer, and much pain. But since she was well convinced of God's providence, she does not call the Master to account for what happens, which many people do, judging God every day. And if they see one person rich and another poor, they raise countless arguments against his providence. What are you doing, O man? Paul did not permit you to judge your fellow servant, 54.673 saying thus: Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes; and you drag the Master into a court of law, and demand an account of his deeds, and you do not shudder, nor are you afraid? And what pardon will you obtain, or what defense, tell me, when you receive so many proofs of his providence every day and hour, yet from the seeming inequality regarding wealth and poverty, you vote against the good order in all things, and this unjustly? For if you were willing to examine these things with a proper mind and a disciplined intellect, even if there were nothing else to establish God's providence, wealth and poverty would most clearly demonstrate it. For if you take away poverty, you take away the entire structure of life, and you have destroyed our existence; and there will be neither sailor, nor pilot, no farmer, no builder, no weaver, no shoemaker, no carpenter, no bronzesmith, no tanner, no baker, nor any other of these craftsmen; and without these, all things will be gone for us. For now, like some excellent teacher, the necessity of poverty sits over each of these and drives them to their tasks, even against their will; but if all were to be rich, all would live in idleness; and thus all things would be lost and destroyed. But apart from what has been said, it is easy to silence them again in another way, from the very things they complain about. For what reason, tell me, do you accuse God's providence? Because one has more money, and another less? What then? If in the most necessary things, and much greater, which sustain our life, we show there is an equal share for all people, will you vote for God's providence? Of absolute necessity. For if the fact that not all equally enjoy one thing, I mean money, constitutes proof that there is no providence, if all are shown to enjoy equally, not one thing, nor one so trivial, but many and much greater things, it is clear that from this you will be compelled, even unwillingly, to vote for God's providence. Come, then, let us proceed in our discourse to the things that sustain our life, and let us examine them with precision, and see if the rich man has an advantage over the poor man in these things. For instance, the rich man has Thasian wine, and many other such doctored drinks, prepared with much spice; but the springs of water are available in common to all, both to rich and poor. Perhaps you laughed hearing of this equality. Therefore learn how much more precious than any wine is the nature of water, and more necessary and more useful; and then you will condemn yourself, and you will know the true wealth of the poor. For if wine were taken away, no great harm would come to anyone, except to the weak alone; but if one should quench the springs of water and take away the element, he has overturned our entire life, and made all the arts disappear; and we will not be able to last for even two days, but immediately we will all die a pitiful and most harsh death. 4. So that in the most necessary things that sustain our life, the poor man is at no disadvantage, but, if one must say something astonishing, he even has an advantage over the rich man. For it is possible to see many rich people because of the sickness of the body on account of luxury

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εὐχαριστοῦσα ἔλεγεν· Οὐκ ἔστιν ἅγιος, ὡς ὁ Κύριος, καὶ οὐκ ἔστι δίκαιος, ὡς ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἅγιος πλὴν σοῦ. Ἄληπτος γὰρ ἡ κρίσις αὐτοῦ, φησὶ, καθαρὰ καὶ ἀπαραλόγιστος ἡ ψῆφος. Εἶδες ψυχῆς εὐγνώμονος ἔννοιαν; Οὐ γὰρ εἶπε πρὸς ἑαυτήν· Τί γάρ μοι μέγα γέγονε; τί δὲ πλέον τῶν ἄλλων; Ὅπερ ἡ ἀντίζηλος πάλαι ἔλαβε καὶ μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς δαψιλείας, τοῦτο μετὰ πολὺν χρόνον ἐγὼ, μετὰ καμάτου, καὶ δακρύων, καὶ ἱκετηρίας, καὶ δεήσεως, καὶ πόνου πολλοῦ. Ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ καλῶς ἐπέπειστο περὶ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ προνοίας, οὐκ ἀπαιτεῖ τὸν ∆εσπότην εὐθύνας τῶν γινομένων, ὃ πολλοὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ποιοῦσι, καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν τῷ Θεῷ δικάζοντες. Κἂν ἴδωσι τὸν μὲν πλουτοῦντα, τὸν δὲ πενόμενον, μυρίους κατὰ τῆς προνοίας αὐτοῦ κινοῦσι λόγους. Τί ποιεῖς, ἄνθρωπε; Τῷ συνδούλῳ δικάζειν σε οὐκ ἀφῆκε Παῦλος 54.673 οὕτω λέγων· Ὥστε μὴ πρὸ καιροῦ τι κρίνετε, ἕως ἂν ἔλθῃ ὁ Κύριος· καὶ τὸν ∆εσπότην εἰς δικαστήριον ἕλκεις, καὶ λόγον ἀπαιτεῖς τῶν πεπραγμένων, καὶ οὐ φρίττεις, οὐδὲ δέδοικας; Καὶ ποίας τεύξῃ συγγνώμης, ποίας δὲ ἀπολογίας, εἰπέ μοι, τοσαύτας μὲν τῆς προνοίας αὐτοῦ καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν καὶ ὥραν ἀποδείξεις λαμβάνων, ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς κατὰ τὸν πλοῦτον καὶ τὴν πενίαν δοκούσης ἀνωμαλίας εἶναι καταψηφιζόμενος τῆς ἐν ἅπασιν εὐταξίας, καὶ ταῦτα ἀδίκως; Εἰ γὰρ μετὰ τῆς προσηκούσης γνώμης, καὶ πεπονημένης διανοίας καὶ ταῦτα ἐξετάζειν ἤθελες, εἰ καὶ μηδὲν ἕτερον ἦν τὸ συνιστῶν τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ πρόνοιαν, ὁ πλοῦτος καὶ ἡ πενία ταύτην ἂν μάλιστα σαφῶς ἀπέδειξεν. Ἂν γὰρ ἀνέλῃς τὴν πενίαν, τοῦ βίου τὴν σύστασιν ἀνεῖλες ἅπασαν, καὶ διέφθειρας ἡμῶν τὴν ζωήν· καὶ οὔτε ναύτης, οὔτε κυβερνήτης, οὐ γεωργὸς, οὐκ οἰκοδόμος, οὐχ ὑφάντης, οὐχ ὑποδηματοῤῥάφος, οὐ τέκτων, οὐ χαλκοτύπος, οὐ σκυτοτόμος, οὐ σιτοποιὸς, οὐκ ἄλλος τις τῶν δημιουργῶν ἔσται τούτων· τούτων δὲ οὐκ ὄντων, πάντα ἡμῖν οἰχήσεται. Νῦν μὲν γὰρ, καθάπερ διδάσκαλός τις ἀρίστη, ἑκάστῳ τούτων ἐπικαθημένη ἡ τῆς πενίας ἀνάγκη, πρὸς τὰ ἔργα καὶ ἄκοντας συνωθεῖ· εἰ δὲ ἅπαντες ἔμελλον πλουτεῖν, ἅπαντες ἔμελλον ἐν ἀργίᾳ ζῇν· καὶ οὕτω πάντα ἂν ἀπώλετο καὶ διεφθάρη. Χωρὶς δὲ τῶν εἰρημένων καὶ ἑτέρως αὐτοὺς ἀπ' αὐτῶν, ὧν ἐγκαλοῦσι, πάλιν ἐπιστομίσαι ῥᾴδιον. Τίνος γὰρ ἕνεκεν, εἰπέ μοι, κατηγορεῖς τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ προνοίας; ἐπειδὴ ὁ μὲν πλείω, ὁ δὲ ἐλάττω κέκτηται χρήματα; Τί οὖν; ἂν ἐν τοῖς ἀναγκαιοτάτοις, καὶ πολλῷ μείζοσι, καὶ συνέχουσιν ἡμῶν τὴν ζωὴν, δείξωμεν ἰσομοιρίαν οὖσαν πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις, ψηφιῇ τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ προνοίᾳ; Ἀνάγκη πᾶσα. Εἰ γὰρ τὸ μὴ πάντας ἐπίσης ἀπολαύειν ἑνὸς πράγματος, χρημάτων λέγω, ἀπόδειξιν ποιῇ τοῦ μηδεμίαν εἶναι πρόνοιαν, ἂν φανῶσιν ἐξίσης ἅπαντες ἀπολαύοντες, οὐχ ἑνὸς πράγματος, οὐδὲ οὕτως εὐτελοῦς, ἀλλὰ πλειόνων καὶ πολὺ μειζόνων, εὔδηλον ὅτι καὶ ἄκων ἐκεῖθεν συναναγκασθήσῃ ψηφίσασθαι τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ προνοίᾳ. ∆εῦρο οὖν ἐπὶ τὰ συνέχοντα τὴν ζωὴν ἡμῶν ἴωμεν τῷ λόγῳ, καὶ διερευνησώμεθα αὐτὰ μετὰ ἀκριβείας, καὶ ἴδωμεν εἰ πλεονεκτεῖ τὸν πένητα ὁ πλούσιος ἐν ἐκείνοις. Οἷον, ὁ πλούσιος ἔχει Θάσιον, καὶ ἕτερα πολλὰ τοιαῦτα πόματα πεφαρμακευμένα, καὶ μετὰ πολλῆς κατεσκευασμένα τῆς καρυκείας· ἀλλ' αἱ τῶν ὑδάτων πηγαὶ κοινῇ πᾶσι πρόκεινται, καὶ πλουσίοις, καὶ πένησι. Τάχα ἐγέλασας ἀκούων τὴν ἰσότητα ταύτην. Οὐκοῦν μάθε, πόσῳ τιμιώτερον οἴνου παντὸς, ὕδατος φύσις, καὶ ἀναγκαιότερον καὶ χρησιμώτερον· καὶ τότε σαυτοῦ καταγνώσῃ, καὶ τὸν ἀληθῆ τῶν πενήτων εἴσῃ πλοῦτον. Οἴνου μὲν γὰρ ἀναιρεθέντος, οὐ πολλή τις ἂν γένοιτο βλάβη τινὶ, πλὴν τοῖς ἀσθενέσι μόνοις· ἂν δέ τις σβέσῃ τὰς τοῦ ὕδατος πηγὰς καὶ τὸ στοιχεῖον ἀνέλῃ, τὸν βίον ἡμῶν ἀνέτρεψεν ἅπαντα, καὶ πάσας τὰς τέχνας ἠφάνισε· καὶ οὔτε δύο δυνησόμεθα μόνον διαρκέσαι ἡμέρας, ἀλλ' εὐθέως ἀποθανούμεθα πάντες θάνατον ἐλεεινόν τινα καὶ χαλεπώτατον. δʹ. Ὥστε ἐν τοῖς ἀναγκαιοτάτοις καὶ συνέχουσιν ἡμῶν τὴν ζωὴν ὁ πένης οὐδὲν πλεονεκτεῖται, ἀλλ', εἰ δεῖ τι καὶ θαυμαστὸν εἰπεῖν, καὶ πλεονεκτεῖ τοῦ πλουτοῦντος. Πλουσίους μὲν γὰρ πολλοὺς ἔστιν ἰδεῖν ὑπὸ τῆς τοῦ σώματος ἀῤῥωστίας τῆς διὰ τὴν τρυφὴν