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will be. Who would not spend his entire life in lamentations and gloom, if he should perceive himself and know his own condition, what he had and what he lost, and in what state his nature was in the beginning and in what state it is at present? Then death was not, sickness was absent, "mine" and "yours," these evil words, were banished from the life of the first ones. For just as the sun is common and the air is common and, before all things, the grace and blessing of God is common, so also was the participation in every good freely set before us in equal measure, and the disease of greed was not known, and hatred against those who have more for being diminished was not (for there was no "having more" at all), and ten thousand other things besides these, which one could not even represent in word, a great multitude of things surpassing those mentioned in magnificence, I mean, equality of honor with the angels, boldness before God, the contemplation of super-cosmic goods, that we too were beautified by the ineffable beauty of the blessed nature, showing in ourselves the divine image gleaming with the 5.387 beauty of the soul. But the things in place of those, such as the evil swarm of passions, the wicked wasps' nest of sorrows, what should one mention first of the evils of life? All are of equal rank with one another, all are preeminent in their evil excellences, all become the occasion for equal lamentations. For what aspect of misery will one lament more? From what cause will one more bemoan our nature: the short-lived nature of life, its toil, its beginning from tears and ending in tears, pitiable infancy, the irrationality in old age, the instability of youth, the great toil of those settled in age, the burden of marriage, the desolation of celibacy, the oppressiveness of having many children, the rootlessness of childlessness, the envy of wealth, the pain of poverty? And I am silent about the manifold varieties of diseases, the outrages, the mutilations, the decays, the impairments of the senses, the derangements from demons, all that nature contains within itself, the passions which each man potentially has in his nature. And the madness of loves and the foul-smelling mire into which such a rage plunges, I pass over; and I do not speak of the unpleasantness joined with nourishment through its excretion, lest I seem in every way to pillory life in my discourse, proving our nature to be some 5.388 dung-producer. Leaving aside all these and similar things, I say that this above all is worthy of tears for those who have perception: for all to know that when this shadow-like life has passed, a certain fearful expectation of judgment awaits us and a zeal of fire about to consume the adversaries. Will not the one, therefore, who considers these and similar things always live with lamentation? Therefore, now would be the time to take these things into consideration. For from having a gloomy attitude toward the present life, committing no sin in it will likely be added. And when this has been accomplished, the promised grace of joy will be laid up for us through hope. And hope does not put to shame, as the apostle says. But what follows is a kind of repetition of what was said before. For having spoken of the opportune time for weeping and for laughing, he added: A time to mourn and a time to dance, which is nothing other than an intensification of each of the things mentioned. For passionate and heartfelt lamentation is called "mourning" by the Scripture. And likewise "dancing" signifies the intensification of joy, as we have learned such a thing in the Gospel, in which it says: We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn. Thus 5.389 the history says that mourning occurred for the Israelites at the death of Moses, and that David danced, leading the ark, when he brought it back from the foreigners, not appearing in his usual manner. For it says that he uttered some harmonious melody played on the musical instrument, and that he moved along to the rhythm with his foot and with the rhythmic motion of his body he made public his inward disposition. Since, therefore, man is twofold, I mean, of soul

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γενήσεται. τίς δὲ οὐκ ἂν ἐν θρήνοις καὶ σκυθρωπότητι πάντα τὸν βίον ἑαυτοῦ δαπανήσειεν, εἴπερ αἴσθησιν λάβοι αὐτὸς ἑαυτοῦ καὶ γνοίη τὰ καθ' ἑαυτόν, ἅ τε εἶχεν ἅ τε ἀπώλεσεν καὶ ἐν οἷς ἦν τὸ κατ' ἀρχὰς ἡ φύσις καὶ ἐν τίσιν ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος ἐστίν; τότε θάνατος οὐκ ἦν, νόσος ἀπῆν, τὸ ἐμὸν καὶ τὸ σόν, τὰ πονηρὰ ταῦτα ῥήματα, τῆς ζωῆς τῶν πρώτων ἐξώριστο. ὡς γὰρ κοινὸς ὁ ἥλιος καὶ ὁ ἀὴρ κοινὸς καὶ πρὸ πάντων τοῦ θεοῦ ἡ χάρις καὶ ἡ εὐλογία κοινή, οὕτως ἐν ἴσῳ καὶ ἡ παντὸς ἀγαθοῦ μετουσία κατ' ἐξουσίαν προέκειτο, καὶ ἡ νόσος τῆς πλεονεξίας οὐκ ἐγνωρίζετο, καὶ τὸ πρὸς τὸ ἐλαττοῦσθαι μῖσος κατὰ τῶν ὑπερεχόντων οὐκ ἦν (οὐδὲ γὰρ ὅλως τὸ ὑπερέχον ἦν) καὶ μυρία ἐπὶ τούτοις ἄλλα, ἃ οὐδ' ἂν παραστῆ σαί τις δυνηθείη τῷ λόγῳ παμπληθὲς τῶν εἰρημένων κατὰ τὸ μεγαλεῖον προέχοντα, λέγω δὴ τὴν πρὸς ἀγγέλους ὁμοτιμίαν, τὴν ἐπὶ θεοῦ παρρησίαν, τὴν τῶν ὑπερκοσμίων ἀγαθῶν θεωρίαν, τὸ τῷ ἀφράστῳ κάλλει τῆς μακαρίας φύσεως καὶ ἡμᾶς ὡραΐζεσθαι, δεικνύντας ἐν ἑαυτοῖς τὴν θείαν εἰκόνα τῇ 5.387 ὥρᾳ τῆς ψυχῆς ἐπιστίλβουσαν. τὰ δὲ ἀντ' ἐκείνων, οἷα ὁ πονηρὸς τῶν παθημάτων ἑσμός, ἡ κακὴ τῶν λυπηρῶν σφηκιά, τί ἄν τις πρῶτον εἴποι τῶν τοῦ βίου κακῶν; πάντα ὁμοτίμως ἔχει πρὸς ἄλληλα, πάντα προτερεύει ταῖς τῶν κακῶν ἐξοχαῖς, πάντα τῶν ἴσων θρήνων ἀφορμὴ γίνεται. τί μᾶλλον γάρ τις θρηνήσει τῆς ἀθλιότητος; πόθεν πλέον τὴν φύσιν ἀπολο φυρεῖται, τὸ ὠκύμορον τῆς ζωῆς, τὸ ἐπίπονον, τὸ ἀπὸ δακρύων ἄρχεσθαι καὶ καταλήγειν εἰς δάκρυον, τὴν ἐλεεινὴν νηπιότητα, τὴν ἐν τῷ γήρᾳ παράνοιαν, τὸ ἀστατοῦν τῆς νεότητος, τὸ πολύμοχθον τῶν τῇ ἡλικίᾳ καθεστηκότων, τοῦ γάμου τὸ φορτικόν, τῆς ἀγαμίας τὸ ἔρημον, τῆς πολυπαιδίας τὸ ἐπαχθές, τῆς ἀπαιδίας τὸ ἄρριζον, τοῦ πλούτου τὸ ἐπίφθονον, τῆς πενίας τὸ ἐπώδυνον; καὶ σιωπῶ τὰς πολυτρό πους τῶν νοσημάτων διαφοράς, τὰς λώβας, τοὺς ἀκρωτη ριασμούς, τὰς σήψεις, τὰς τῶν αἰσθητηρίων πηρώσεις, τὰς ἐκ δαιμόνων παραφοράς, πάντα ὅσα ἡ φύσις ἐν ἑαυτῇ περιέχει, ἃ τῇ δυνάμει ἕκαστος τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐστὶν ἔχων ἐν τῇ φύσει τὰ πάθη. τὴν δὲ τῶν ἐρώτων μανίαν καὶ τὸν δυσώδη βόρβορον, εἰς ὃν καταστρέφεται ἡ τοιαύτη λύσσα, παρίημι· καὶ τὴν συνεζευγμένην τῇ τροφῇ διὰ τῆς ἀποποιή σεως ἀηδίαν οὐ λέγω, ὡς ἂν μὴ δόξαιμι διὰ πάντων στηλι τεύειν τῷ λόγῳ τὸν βίον, κοπροποιόν τινα τὴν φύσιν ἡμῶν 5.388 ἀποδεικνύων. ταῦτα ἀφεὶς πάντα καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα ἐκεῖνο μάλιστά φημι δακρύων ἄξιον εἶναι τοῖς αἰσθανομένοις τὸ εἰδέναι πάντας, ὅτι τῆς σκιοειδοῦς ταύτης παραδραμούσης ζωῆς μένει ἡμᾶς Φοβερά τις ἐκδοχὴ κρίσεως καὶ πυρὸς ζῆλος ἐσθίειν μέλλοντος τοὺς ὑπεναντίους. ὁ οὖν ταῦτα καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα λογιζόμενος ἆρ' οὐκ ἀεὶ τῷ θρήνῳ συζήσεται; οὐκοῦν καιρὸς ἂν εἴη νῦν ταῦτα τῷ λογισμῷ λαμβάνειν. ἐκ γὰρ τοῦ σκυθρωπῶς πρὸς τὴν παροῦσαν ἔχειν ζωὴν τὸ μηδὲν πλημμελεῖν ἐν ταύτῃ κατὰ τὸ εἰκὸς προσγενήσεται. τούτου δὲ κατορθωθέντος ἡ ἐπαγγελθεῖσα τῆς εὐφροσύνης χάρις δι' ἐλπίδος ἡμῖν ἀποκείσεται. ἡ δὲ ἐλπὶς οὐ καταισχύνει, καθώς φησιν ὁ ἀπόστολος. Τὸ δὲ ἐπαγόμενον οἷον ἐπανάληψις τοῦ προειρημένου ἐστίν. εἰπὼν γὰρ τοῦ δακρύου καὶ τοῦ γέλωτος τὴν εὐκαιρίαν ἐπήγαγε· Καιρὸς τοῦ κόψασθαι καὶ καιρὸς τοῦ ὀρχήσασθαι, ὅπερ οὐδὲν ἄλλο ἢ ἐπίτασις ἑκατέρου τῶν μνημονευθέντων ἐστίν. ὁ γὰρ ἐμπαθής τε καὶ ἐνδιάθετος θρῆνος κοπετὸς ὑπὸ τῆς γραφῆς ὀνομάζεται. ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ ἡ ὄρχησις σημαίνει τὴν τῆς εὐφροσύνης ἐπίτασιν, καθὼς ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ τὸ τοιοῦτον ἐμάθομεν, ἐν οἷς φησιν· Ηὐλήσαμεν ὑμῖν καὶ οὐκ ὠρχήσασθε, ἐθρηνήσαμεν καὶ οὐκ ἐκόψασθε. οὕτω φησὶν 5.389 ἡ ἱστορία κοπετὸν μὲν ἐπὶ τῇ μεταστάσει τοῦ Μωυσέως τοῖς Ἰσραηλίταις γενέσθαι, ὀρχήσασθαι δὲ τὸν ∆αβὶδ τῆς κιβωτοῦ προπομπεύοντα, ὅτε αὐτὴν ἐκ τῶν ἀλλοφύλων ἀνεκομίσατο, μὴ ἐν τῷ συνήθει δεικνύμενον σχήματι. ὑποφθέγγεσθαι γὰρ αὐτόν τί φησι τῶν ἐναρμονίων μελῶν ἐν τῷ μουσικῷ ὀργάνῳ ἀνακρουόμενον, συγκινεῖσθαι δὲ πρὸς τὸν ῥυθμὸν τῷ ποδὶ καὶ τῇ ἐνρύθμῳ κινήσει τοῦ σώματος τὴν ἔνδον δημοσιεύειν διά θεσιν. ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν διπλοῦς μὲν ὁ ἄνθρωπος, ἐκ ψυχῆς λέγω