34

the thoughts that produce for you the consolation for your despondency. And so that you may learn from another source how great a thing it is to do something noble with sufferings, and how far short of this it is to do the same thing without labor, that Nebuchadnezzar the Babylonian, living with scepters and diadems, once accomplished an evangelical work. For after the furnace and that wondrous deed, he undertook the proclamation to the world, not only by tongue, but also by letters, and wrote everywhere on earth thus: "Nebuchadnezzar the king, to all the peoples, tribes, and tongues, who dwell in all the earth, may peace be multiplied to you. The signs and wonders that God Most High has done with me, it has seemed good to me to declare to you how great and mighty they are. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation." And he made a decree that every people, tribe, and tongue, that shall speak a word against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be destroyed, and their houses shall be plundered. And he adds: "Because there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way." Did you see the threat in the letters? Did you see the fear? Did you see the teaching? Did you see the lofty proclamation and the letters extended throughout the whole world? What then, tell me, will he receive the same reward as the apostles, because he so proclaimed the power of God, because he made such great effort to announce the word everywhere? Not even the smallest part, but with all exaggeration, far inferior. And yet he did the same work as they. But since there is no labor joined with it here, nor sufferings, for this reason the rewards are diminished. For he did this with authority and freedom; but they, being hindered, persecuted, beaten, scourged, enduring hardship, thrown down from cliffs, drowned, wasting away with hunger, dying daily, tormented in their souls, being weak with each one who was weak, burning with each one who was scandalized; and the recompenses for these toils and this despondency were especially greater. "For each," he says, "will receive his own reward according to his own labor." For I will not cease to repeat this continually. For this very reason the benevolent God, when Paul often besought him to deliver him from sufferings and despondency and pain and dangers, did not consent. "For this," he says, "I besought the Lord three times," and I did not obtain my request. For what, tell me, was he to receive the greatest rewards, if he had preached without trouble, living in luxury and good cheer? Because he opened his mouth and moved his tongue while sitting at home? But this is easy even for the ordinary man and for one who is exceedingly dissolute and living a soft and dissipated life. But now, for the wounds, the deaths, the journeys by land and sea, for the despondency itself, the tears, the pains; "For for three years," he says, "I did not cease night and day admonishing each one of you with tears," with great boldness he will receive the rewards and the crowns. 10.10 Therefore, considering these things and reflecting how great is the gain of a painful and toilsome life, rejoice and be glad that you have traveled from your earliest years a profitable path full of countless crowns, and through continuous and frequent sufferings. For the infirmity of your body, both varied and of every kind and more grievous than a thousand deaths, has not ceased to besiege you continually; and blizzards of railings and insults and slanders have never ceased to be directed against you; and frequent and continuous despondencies and fountains of tears have troubled you for all time. And each of these things, even by itself, was sufficient for great benefit to those who have endured. For Lazarus from his illness alone shared in the same lot as the patriarch and to the

34

τοὺς λογισμοὺς τοὺς τὴν παραμυθίαν τῆς ἀθυμίας σοι τίκτοντας. Ἵνα δὲ καὶ ἑτέρωθεν μάθῃς ὅσον ἐστὶ τὸ μετὰ παθημάτων τι ποιεῖν γενναῖον καὶ ὅσον ἀποδεῖ τούτου τὸ ἀπονητὶ τὸ αὐτὸ ποιεῖν, ὁ Ναβουχοδονόσορ ἐκεῖνος ὁ Βαβυλώνιος ἐν σκήπτροις καὶ διαδήμασι ζῶν εὐαγγελικόν ποτε κατώρθωσε ἔργον. Μετὰ γὰρ τὴν κάμινον καὶ παραδοξοποιΐαν ἐκείνην τὸ κήρυγμα ἀνεδέξατο τῆς οἰκουμένης, οὐ διὰ γλώσσης μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ διὰ τῶν γραμμάτων καὶ πανταχοῦ τῆς γῆς ἔγραψεν οὕτως· «Ναβουχοδονόσορ βασιλεὺς πᾶσι τοῖς λαοῖς, φυλαῖς, καὶ γλώσσαις, τοῖς οἰκοῦσιν ἐν πάσῃ τῇ γῇ, εἰρήνη ὑμῖν πληθυνθείη. Τὰ σημεῖα καὶ τὰ τέρατα ἃ ἐποίησε μετ' ἐμοῦ ὁ Θεὸς ὁ ὕψιστος ἤρεσεν ἐναντίον ἐμοῦ ἀναγγεῖλαι ὑμῖν ὡς μεγάλα καὶ ἰσχυρά· ἡ βασιλεία αὐτοῦ βασιλεία αἰώνιος καὶ ἡ ἐξουσία αὐτοῦ εἰς γενεὰς καὶ γενεάς.» Καὶ δόγμα ἔθηκεν ὅπως πᾶς λαός, φυλή, γλῶσσα, ἣ ἐὰν εἴπῃ ῥῆμα κατὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ Σιδράχ, Μισὰχ καὶ Ἀβδεναγώ, εἰς ἀπώλειαν ἔσονται καὶ οἱ οἶκοι αὐτῶν εἰς διαρπαγήν. Καὶ προστίθησι· «Καθότι οὐκ ἔστι θεὸς ἕτερος ὃς δυνήσεται ῥύσασθαι οὕτως.» Εἶδες ἀπειλὴν ἐν τοῖς γράμμασιν; εἶδες φόβον; εἶδες διδασκαλίαν; εἶδες κήρυγμα ὑψηλὸν καὶ πανταχοῦ τῆς οἰκουμένης ἐκτεταμένα γράμματα; Τί οὖν, εἰπέ μοι, τὸν αὐτὸν τοῖς ἀποστόλοις μισθὸν λήψεται, ἐπειδὴ οὕτως ἀνεκήρυξε τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν δύναμιν, ἐπειδὴ τοσαύτην σπουδὴν ἐποιήσατο πανταχοῦ καταγγεῖλαι τὸν λόγον; Οὐδὲ τὸ πολλοστὸν μὲν οὖν μέρος, ἀλλὰ μεθ' ὑπερβολῆς ἁπάσης καταδεέστερον. Καίτοι γε τὸ αὐτὸ ἔργον ἐκείνοις ἐποίησεν. Ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ πόνος οὐκ ἔστιν ἐνταῦθα συνεζευγμένος οὐδὲ παθήματα, διὰ τοῦτο ὑποτέμνεται τὰ τῆς ἀντιδόσεως. Οὗτος μὲν γὰρ μετ' ἐξουσίας καὶ ἀδείας τοῦτο ἔπραττεν· ἐκεῖνοι δὲ κωλυόμενοι, ἐλαυνόμενοι, κοπτόμενοι, μαστιζόμενοι, ταλαιπωρούμενοι, κατακρημνιζόμενοι, καταποντιζόμενοι, λιμῷ τηκόμενοι, καθ' ἑκάστην ἀποθνήσκοντες τὴν ἡμέραν, τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτῶν βασανιζόμενοι, καθ' ἕκαστον τῶν ἀσθενούντων ἀσθενοῦντες, καθ' ἕκαστον τῶν σκανδαλιζομένων πυρούμενοι· καὶ τῶν πόνων τούτων καὶ τῆς ἀθυμίας μάλιστα ἦσαν πλείους αἱ ἀμοιβαί. «Ἕκαστος γὰρ τὸν ἴδιον μισθὸν λήψεται, φησί, κατὰ τὸν ἴδιον κόπον.» Οὐ γὰρ παύσομαι αὐτὸ συνεχῶς ἐπιλέγων. ∆ιὰ δὴ τοῦτο ὁ φιλάνθρωπος Θεός, τοῦ Παύλου πολλάκις παρακαλέσαντος τῶν παθημάτων αὐτὸν καὶ τῆς ἀθυμίας καὶ τῆς ὀδύνης καὶ τῶν κινδύνων ἀπαλλάξαι, οὐκ ἐπένευσεν. «Ὑπὲρ γὰρ τούτου τρὶς τὸν Κύριον παρεκάλεσα», φησί, καὶ οὐκ ἐπέτυχον τῆς αἰτήσεως. Τίνος γὰρ ἔμελλε, εἰπέ μοι, λήψεσθαι τὰς μεγίστας ἀμοιβάς, εἴ γε ἀπραγμόνως ἐκήρυξε τρυφῶν καὶ ἐν εὐθυμίᾳ διάγων; Ὅτι στόμα διῇρε καὶ γλῶσσαν ἐκίνησεν οἴκοι καθήμενος; Ἀλλὰ τοῦτο καὶ τῷ τυχόντι ῥᾴδιον καὶ τῷ σφόδρα ἀναπεπτωκότι καὶ τὸν ὑγρὸν καὶ διαλελυμένον ζῶντι βίον. Νῦν μέντοι τῶν τραυμάτων, τῶν θανάτων, τῶν δρόμων τῶν κατὰ γῆν καὶ θάλασσαν, τῆς ἀθυμίας αὐτῆς, τῶν δακρύων, τῶν ὀδυνῶν· «Τριετίαν γάρ, φησίν, οὐκ ἐπαυσάμην νύκτα καὶ ἡμέραν μετὰ δακρύων νουθετῶν ἕνα ἕκαστον ὑμῶν», μετὰ πολλῆς παρρησίας λήψεται τὰς ἀντιδόσεις καὶ τοὺς στεφάνους. 10.10 Ταῦτα οὖν ἐννοοῦσα καὶ λογιζομένη ὅσον ὀδυνηροῦ καὶ ἐπιμόχθου βίου τὸ κέρδος, χαῖρε καὶ εὐφραίνου τὴν ἐπικερδῆ καὶ μυρίων γέμουσαν στεφάνων ἐκ πρώτης ἡλικίας ὁδεύσασα ὁδὸν καὶ διὰ συνεχῶν καὶ πυκνῶν παθημάτων. Καὶ γὰρ ἡ τοῦ σώματος ἀρρωστία, καὶ ποικίλη καὶ παντοδαπὴ καὶ μυρίων θανάτων χαλεπωτέρα, οὐκ ἐπαύσατό σε συνεχῶς πολιορκοῦσα· καὶ λοιδοριῶν δὲ καὶ ὕβρεων νιφάδες καὶ συκοφαντίαι οὐδέποτε διέλιπον κατὰ σοῦ φερόμεναι· ἀθυμίαι δέ σοι πυκναὶ καὶ συνεχεῖς καὶ πηγαὶ δακρύων διὰ παντὸς ἠνώχλησαν τοῦ χρόνου. Τούτων δὲ ἕκαστον καὶ καθ' ἑαυτὸ ἤρκεσε τοῖς ὑπομεμενηκόσιν εἰς ὠφέλειαν πολλήν. Ὅ τε γὰρ Λάζαρος ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρρωστίας μόνης καὶ τῆς αὐτῆς ἐκοινώνησε τῷ πατριάρχῃ λήξεως καὶ τῷ