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a forward motion. And again, labors cooperate with the rational part for the good ordering of the passions; for the necessity of want arouses one to diligence, and the scarcity of necessities brings on labors, and the hardship of labors, withering the passions, does not allow them to be inflamed, consuming their material. Why then are you ungrateful when you see poverty joined to the righteous, and slander the instrument of virtue, doing something like one who would praise thrones, and pedestals, and couches, and doors, and the beauties of buildings, but would mock the tools of the builder and carpenter, and blame the adze, and the drill, and the other things, through which each of those things is made? And that it is easier to achieve virtue through poverty rather than wealth, the disciples of impiety testify, and those among the Greeks who loved wisdom also testify, and who used only the law of nature as their teacher. For they all achieved moral virtue through poverty, and this though they had not heard the divine oracles, which openly proclaim: "If anyone does not renounce all that he has, he cannot be my disciple." But nevertheless, nature was sufficient for their instruction. For the divine word does not bring new teachings, but reminds of the laws of nature, and what writings of nature time corrupted through the idleness of men, these the Poet of nature records anew through his own heralds. If then Socrates, and Diogenes, and Anaxarchus and those like them, desiring the possession of moral virtue, rejected the possession of wealth, and took poverty as a co-worker for that good possession, and this while being blind concerning the truth of doctrines, and not awaiting the kingdom of heaven, and not knowing precisely what is truly good, why, O my friend, do you accuse poverty, through which the path of virtue is easy, and the rough and steep road becomes accessible and easy for those who travel it? 83.652 And we say these things, not accusing wealth, nor healing evil with evil; for if wealth is evil, the blasphemy proceeds against the one who gave it; but we say that wealth and poverty, like certain materials or instruments, are set before men by the Maker, and through these, men, like certain craftsmen, either fashion the image of virtue, or stamp out the statue of vice. But through wealth one could with difficulty carve out a few parts of virtue into beauty, but through poverty it is possible to create both many things and all things. Let us not, therefore, mock poverty, the mother of virtue, nor indeed let us slander wealth, but let us accuse those who have not used it as is necessary. For iron, too, was given to men, a helper for building, and farming, and seafaring, and an assistant for the other arts of life. But those who rage against one another, do not allow it to serve only for necessary needs, but also contrive the slaughter of one another through it. We do not, however, accuse iron on account of this, but we denounce the wickedness of those who use it badly. Thus the use of wine was given to men for cheerfulness, but not for madness of heart; but those who honor immoderation, and are devoted to drunkenness, make the begetter of cheerfulness the father of madness. But we, judging with a just vote, call those who use the divine gift badly drunkards, and sots, and wicked, but we admire wine as a God-given gift. Thus, therefore, let us judge wealth and those who use it, and the one, let us remove from accusation, but the others, if they become just stewards of it, let us crown them with great praises; but if, having changed their station, they appear as slaves of wealth, doing everything it commands, and pursuing every wicked service, let us bring an indictment of wickedness against them, because

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ἐπὶ τὸ πρόσω φοράν. Συνεργοῦσι δὲ πάλιν τῷ λογικῷ πρὸς τὴν τῶν παθῶν εὐταξίαν οἱ πόνοι· ἡ γὰρ τῆς ἐνδείας ἀνάγκη πρὸς φιλοπονίαν ἐγείρει, καὶ τῶν μὲν ἀναγ καίων ἡ σπάνις προσφέρει τοὺς πόνους, ἡ δὲ τῶν πό νων ταλαιπωρία, τὰ πάθη μαραίνουσα, φλεγμαίνειν οὐκ ἐᾷ, δαπανῶσα τὰς ὕλας. Τί τοίνυν ἀχαριστεῖς τοῖς δικαίοις τὴν πενίαν συνεζευγμένην ὁρῶν, καὶ τὸ τῆς ἀρετῆς ὄργανον διαβάλλεις, ὅμοιον ποιῶν, ὥσπερ ἂν εἴ τις θρόνους μὲν ἐπαινοίη, καὶ βάθρα, καὶ κλίνας, καὶ θύρας, καὶ οἰκοδομημάτων κάλλη, τὰ δὲ τοῦ οἰκοδόμου καὶ τέκτονος ὄργανα σκώπτοι, καὶ μέμφοιτο τῷ σκεπάρνῳ, καὶ τῷ τερέτρῳ, καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις, δι' ὧν ἐκείνων ἕκαστον γίνεται; Ὅτι δὲ ῥᾷον διὰ πενίας μᾶλλον, ἢ πλούτου, τὴν ἀρετὴν κατ ορθῶσαι, μαρτυροῦσι μὲν τῆς ἀσεβείας οἱ τρό φιμοι, μαρτυροῦσι δὲ καὶ οἱ παρ' Ἕλλησι σοφίας ἐρασθέντες, καὶ τῷ τῆς φύσεως νόμῳ μόνῳ διδασκάλῳ χρησάμενοι. ∆ιὰ πενίας γὰρ ἅπαντες τὴν ἠθικὴν κατώρθωσαν ἀρετὴν, καὶ ταῦτα τῶν θείων οὐκ ἐπακούσαντες λογίων, τῶν ἄντικρυς βοώντων· «Ἐὰν μή τις ἀποτάξηται πᾶσι τοῖς ὑπάρχουσιν αὐτῷ, οὐ δύναταί μου εἶναι μαθητής.» Ἀλλ' ὅμως ἤρκεσεν αὐτοῖς εἰς διδασκαλίαν ἡ φύσις. Καὶ γὰρ ὁ θεῖος λόγος οὐ καινὰ προσφέρει παιδεύματα, ἀλλὰ τῶν τῆς φύσεως νόμων ἀναμιμνήσκει, καὶ ἃ διέφθει ρεν ὁ χρόνος διὰ τὴν τῶν ἀνθρώπων ῥᾳστώνην τῆς φύσεως γράμματα, ταῦτα ὁ τῆς φύσεως Ποιητὴς διὰ τῶν οἰκείων ἀναγράφει κηρύκων. Εἰ τοίνυν καὶ Σωκράτης, καὶ ∆ιογένης, καὶ Ἀνάξαρχος καὶ οἱ τούτοις παραπλήσιοι, τῆς ἠθικῆς ἀρετῆς τὴν κτῆσιν ποθήσαντες, τοῦ πλούτου τὴν κτῆσιν ἀπώσαντο, καὶ πενίαν τῆς ἀγαθῆς κτήσεως ἔλαβον συνεργὸν, καὶ ταῦτα τυφλώττοντες περὶ τὴν τῶν δογμάτων ἀλή θειαν, καὶ βασιλείαν οὐρανῶν οὐ προσμένοντες, καὶ τὸ ὃν ἀγαθὸν ἀκριβῶς οὐκ εἰδότες, τί τῆς πενίας, ὦ φιλότης, κατηγορεῖς, δι' ἣν εὔπορος τῆς ἀρετῆς ὁ δρόμος, καὶ ἡ τραχεῖα καὶ προσάντης ὁδὸς εὐπετὴς καὶ ῥᾳδία τοῖς ἀνύουσι γίνεται; 83.652 Καὶ ταῦτά φαμεν, οὐ τοῦ πλούτου κατηγοροῦντες, οὔτε κακῷ τὸ κακὸν ἰώμενοι· εἰ γὰρ πονηρὸς ὁ πλοῦ τος, ἡ βλασφημία κατὰ τοῦ δεδωκότος χωρεῖ· ἀλλὰ πλοῦτον μὲν καὶ πενίαν, οἷον ὕλας τινὰς, ἢ ὄργανα, τοῖς ἀνθρώποις παρὰ τοῦ Πεποιηκότος προκεῖσθαί φαμεν, διὰ δὲ τούτων τοὺς ἀνθρώπους, οἷόν τινας δημιουργοὺς, ἢ τὸ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἄγαλμα διαπλάττειν, ἢ τὸν τῆς κακίας ἐκτυποῦν ἀνδριάντα. Ἀλλὰ διὰ μὲν πλούτου μόλις ἂν ὀλίγα τις ἀρετῆς εἰς κάλλος διαγλύψειε μόρια, διὰ δὲ πενίας καὶ πολλοῖς καὶ πάντα δημιουργεῖν ἐστι δυνατόν. Μὴ τοίνυν σκώ πτωμεν τὴν πενίαν τῆς ἀρετῆς τὴν μητέρα, μήτε μὴν τὸν πλοῦτον διαβάλλωμεν, ἀλλὰ τῶν οὐκ εἰς δέον τούτῳ κεχρημένων κατηγορήσωμεν. Ἐπεὶ καὶ ὁ σίδηρος ἐδόθη μὲν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, οἰκοδομίας, καὶ γηπονίας, καὶ ναυτιλίας συνεργὸς, καὶ τῶν ἄλ λων τεχνῶν τῶν κατὰ τὸν βίον ἐπίκουρος. Οἱ δὲ κατ' ἀλλήλων λυττῶντες, οὐκ ἐῶσι τοῦτον μόνον ταῖς ἀναγκαίαις χρείαις ὑπηρετεῖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ἀλλήλων σφαγὴν δι' αὐτοῦ μηχανῶνται. Οὐ μὴν διὰ τοῦτο τοῦ σιδήρου κατηγοροῦμεν, ἀλλὰ τῶν κακῶς κεχρημένων τὴν πονηρίαν διαβάλλομεν. Οὕτως ἡ τοῦ οἴνου χρῆσις ἐδόθη μὲν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις εἰς εὐφροσύνην, ἀλλὰ οὐ παραφροσύνην καρδίας· οἱ δὲ τὴν ἀμετρίαν τιμῶντες, καὶ οἰνοφλυγίᾳ προστετηκό τες, τὸν εὐφροσύνης γεννήτορα, παραφροσύνης ποιοῦσι πατέρα. Ἀλλ' ἡμεῖς τῇ δικαίᾳ ψήφῳ δικά ζοντες, τοὺς μὲν κακῶς τῷ θείῳ δώρῳ χρωμέ νους, οἰνόφλυγας, καὶ μεθύσους, καὶ πονηροὺς ἀποκαλοῦμεν, τὸν δὲ οἶνον ὡς θεόσδοτον δῶρον θαυ μάζομεν. Οὕτω τοιγαροῦν τῷ πλούτῳ καὶ τοῖς χρω μένοις δικάζωμεν, καὶ τὸν μὲν, τῆς κατηγορίας ἐξέλωμεν, τοὺς δὲ, εἰ μὲν οἰκονόμοι τούτου δίκαιοι γένοιντο, ταῖς μεγάλαις στεφανώσωμεν εὐφημίαις· εἰ δὲ τὴν τάξιν ἀμείψαντες, δοῦλοι τοῦ πλούτου φανεῖεν, πᾶν τὸ κελευόμενον δρῶντες, καὶ πᾶσαν πονηρὰν διακονίαν μετιόντες, τὴν πονηρίας γραφὴν κατ' αὐτῶν εἰσενέγκωμεν, ὅτι