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so that one would be afraid of him; such was his gaze. This shepherd would receive the sheep from the young shepherd, those that were wasteful and living luxuriously, but not frisking, and he would cast them into a certain place that was steep and full of thorns and thistles, so that the sheep were not able to extricate themselves from the thorns and thistles, but were entangled in the thorns and thistles. Entangled there, then, they fed on the thorns and thistles and were in great distress, being flayed by him; and he drove them about hither and thither and gave them no rest at all, and those sheep had no peace at all. Seeing them, therefore, so scourged and distressed, I was grieved for them, because they were so tormented and had no respite at all. I say to the shepherd who was talking with me: Sir, I said, who is this shepherd who is so unmerciful and bitter and has absolutely no compassion for these sheep? This, he said, is the angel of punishment; he is one of the righteous angels, but is set over punishment. He therefore takes those who have strayed from God and walked in the lusts of this age and punishes them, as each one is worthy, with terrible and various punishments. I wished, I said, sir, to know these various punishments, what kind they are. Hear, he said, the various torments and punishments. They are torments of this life; for some are punished with losses, others with deprivations, others with various sicknesses, others with all manner of instability, others by being insulted by unworthy men and suffering in many other ways. For many who are unstable in their counsels attempt many things, and nothing at all succeeds for them. And they say that they do not prosper in their deeds, and it does not come into their heart that they have done evil works, but they blame the Lord. When, therefore, they are afflicted with every affliction, then they are delivered to me for good discipline and are strengthened in the faith of the Lord, and for the remaining days of their life they serve the Lord with a pure heart; when they repent, then the evil works which they did come into their heart, and then they glorify God, saying that He is a just judge and that each one has suffered all things justly according to his deeds; and for the rest of their days they will serve the Lord with a pure heart and prosper in all their deeds, receiving from the Lord all that they ask; and then they glorify the Lord, because they were delivered to me, and they no longer suffer any evil. I say to him: Sir, make this clear to me also. What, he says, do you seek? Whether, I said, sir, those who live luxuriously and are deceived are tormented for the same length of time that they live luxuriously and are deceived? He says to me: They are tormented for the same length of time. For a very short time, I said, sir, are they tormented; for it was necessary for those who live so luxuriously and forget God to be tormented sevenfold. He says to me: You are foolish and do not understand the power of torment. For if I understood, I said, sir, I would not have asked you to make it clear to me. Hear, he said, the power of both. The time of luxury and deceit is one hour; but the hour of torment has the power of thirty days. If, therefore, one lives luxuriously and is deceived for one day, and is tormented for one day, the day of torment is equivalent to a whole year. For as many days, then, as one lives luxuriously, for so many years is he tormented. You see, then, he said, that the time of luxury and deceit is very short, but the time of punishment and torment is long.

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ὥστε φοβηθῆναι αὐτόν· τοιοῦτον εἶχε τὸ βλέμμα. οὗτος ὁ ποιμὴν παρε λάμβανε τὰ πρόβατα ἀπὸ τοῦ ποιμένος τοῦ νεανίσκου, ἐκεῖνα τὰ σπαταλῶντα καὶ τρυφῶντα, μὴ σκιρτῶντα δέ, καὶ ἐνέβαλλεν αὐτὰ εἴς τινα τόπον κρημνώδη καὶ ἀκανθώδη καὶ τριβολώδη, ὥστε ἀπὸ τῶν ἀκανθῶν καὶ τριβόλων μὴ δύνασθαι ἐκπλέξαι τὰ πρόβατα, ἀλλὰ ἐμπλέκεσθαι αὐτὰ εἰς τὰς ἀκάνθας καὶ τριβόλους. αὐτοῦ οὖν ἐμπεπλεγμένα ἐβόσκοντο τὰς ἀκάνθας καὶ τρι βόλους καὶ λίαν ἐταλαιπώρουν δερόμενα ὑπ' αὐτοῦ· καὶ ὧδε καὶ ἐκεῖ περιήλαυνεν αὐτὰ καὶ ὅλως ἀνάπαυσιν αὐτοῖς οὐκ ἐδίδει, καὶ ὅλως οὐκ εὐσταθοῦσαν τὰ πρόβατα ἐκεῖνα. Βλέπων οὖν αὐτὰ οὕτω μαστιγούμενα καὶ ταλαιπωροῦντα ἐλυπούμην ἐπ' αὐτοῖς, ὅτι οὕτως ἐβασανίζοντο καὶ ἀνοχὴν ὅλως οὐκ εἶχον. λέγω τῷ ποι μένι τῷ μετ' ἐμοῦ λαλοῦντι· Κύριε, φημί, τίς ἐστιν οὗτος ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ οὕτως ἄσπλαγχνος καὶ πικρὸς καὶ ὅλως μηδὲν σπλαγχνιζόμενος ἐπὶ τὰ πρόβατα ταῦτα; Oὗτος, φησίν, ἐστὶν ὁ ἄγγελος τῆς τιμωρίας· ἐκ δὲ τῶν ἀγγέλων τῶν δικαίων ἐστίν, κείμενος δὲ ἐπὶ τῆς τιμωρίας. παραλαμβάνει οὖν τοὺς ἀποπλανωμένους ἀπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ πορευθέντας ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις τοῦ αἰῶ νος τούτου καὶ τιμωρεῖ αὐτούς, καθώς τις ἄξιός ἐστιν, δειναῖς τιμωρίαις καὶ ποικίλαις. Ἤθελον, φημί, κύριε, γνῶναι τὰς ποικίλας τιμωρίας ταύτας, ποταπαί εἰσιν. Ἄκουε, φησίν, τὰς ποικίλας βασάνους καὶ τιμωρίας. βιωτικαί εἰσι βάσανοι· τιμωροῦνται γὰρ οἱ μὲν ζημίαις, οἱ δὲ ὑστερήσεσιν, οἱ δὲ ἀσθενείαις ποικίλαις, οἱ δὲ πάσῃ ἀκαταστασίᾳ, οἱ δὲ ὑβριζόμενοι ὑπὸ ἀναξίων καὶ ἑτέραις πολλαῖς πράξεσιν πάσχοντες. πολλοὶ γὰρ ἀκαταστατοῦντες ταῖς βουλαῖς αὐτῶν ἐπιβάλλονται πολλά, καὶ οὐδὲν αὐτοῖς ὅλως προχωρεῖ. καὶ λέγουσιν ἑαυτοὺς μὴ εὐοδοῦσθαι ἐν ταῖς πράξεσιν αὐτῶν, καὶ οὐκ ἀναβαίνει ἐπὶ τὴν καρδίαν αὐτῶν ὅτι ἔπραξαν πονηρὰ ἔργα, ἀλλὰ αἰτιῶνται τὸν κύριον. ὅταν οὖν θλιβῶσι πάσῃ θλίψει, τότε ἐμοὶ παρα δίδονται εἰς ἀγαθὴν παιδείαν καὶ ἰσχυροποιοῦνται ἐν τῇ πίστει τοῦ κυρίου καὶ τὰς λοιπὰς ἡμέρας τῆς ζωῆς αὐτῶν δουλεύουσιν τῷ κυρίῳ ἐν καθαρᾷ καρδίᾳ· ὅταν οὖν μετανοήσωσιν, τότε ἀναβαίνει ἐπὶ τὴν καρδίαν αὐτῶν τὰ ἔργα τὰ πονηρὰ ἃ ἔπραξαν, καὶ τότε δοξάζουσι τὸν θεόν, ὅτι δίκαιος κρι τής ἐστι καὶ δικαίως ἔπαθεν πάντα ἕκαστος κατὰ τὰς πράξεις αὐτοῦ· τὰ δὲ λοιπὰ δουλεύσουσιν τῷ κυρίῳ ἐν καθαρᾷ καρδίᾳ αὐτῶν καὶ εὐοδοῦνται ἐν πάσῃ πράξει αὐτῶν, λαμβάνοντες πάντα παρὰ τοῦ κυρίου ὅσα αἰτοῦνται· καὶ τότε δοξάζουσιν τὸν κύριον, ὅτι ἐμοὶ παρεδόθησαν, καὶ οὐκέτι οὐδὲν πάσχουσι τῶν πονηρῶν. Λέγω αὐτῷ· Κύριε, ἔτι μοι τοῦτο δήλωσον. Τί, φησίν, ἐπιζητεῖς; Eἰ ἄρα, φημί, κύριε, τὸν αὐτὸν χρόνον βασανίζονται οἱ τρυφῶντες καὶ ἀπατώμενοι ὅσον τρυφῶσι καὶ ἀπατῶνται; λέγει μοι· Τὸν αὐτὸν χρόνον βασανίζονται. Ἐλάχιστον, φημί, κύριε, βασανίζονται· ἔδει γὰρ τοὺς οὕτως τρυφῶντας καὶ ἐπιλανθανομένους τοῦ θεοῦ ἑπταπλασίως βασανίζεσθαι. λέγει μοι· Ἄφρων εἶ καὶ οὐ νοεῖς τῆς βασάνου τὴν δύναμιν. Eἰ γὰρ ἐνόουν, φημί, κύριε, οὐκ ἄν σε ἐπηρώτων ἵνα μοι δηλώσῃς. Ἄκουε, φησίν, ἀμφοτέρων τὴν δύνα μιν. τῆς τρυφῆς καὶ ἀπάτης ὁ χρόνος ὥρα ἐστὶν μία· τῆς δὲ βασάνου ἡ ὥρα τριάκοντα ἡμερῶν δύναμιν ἔχει. ἐὰν οὖν μίαν ἡμέραν τις τρυφήσῃ καὶ ἀπατηθῇ, μίαν δὲ ἡμέραν βασανισθῇ, ὅλον ἐνιαυτὸν ἰσχύει ἡ ἡμέρα τῆς βασά νου. ὅσας οὖν ἡμέρας τρυφήσῃ τις, τοσούτους ἐνιαυτοὺς βασανίζεται. βλέ πεις οὖν, φησίν, ὅτι τῆς τρυφῆς καὶ ἀπάτης ὁ χρόνος ἐλάχιστός ἐστιν, τῆς δὲ τιμωρίας καὶ βασάνου πολύς.