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But what of Him who is great in mercy and slow to punish? For since He saw them humbled, He did not for the time being annul the sentence that had been passed—doing this for our correction and so that no one might be exalted against the Creator of all—but, foreknowing as God both the fall and its repentance, He certainly predestined, before making all things, both the season and the time and how and when He would recall him from exile, by decrees ineffable and unsearchable to every breath. For if these things were to be revealed to some and they wished to write them, neither time nor paper nor ink would suffice, nor would the whole world contain the books themselves. As, therefore, moved with compassion, (98) He predestined and foretold, so indeed He also did. And those whom He cast out of paradise because of their shamelessness and unrepentant heart and will, when they had fittingly repented and been worthily humbled and had wept and lamented, He Himself, the only-begotten Son and Word of His pre-eternal Father, coming down as you all know, not only became man like them, but also deigned to die as they did, choosing a violent and shameful death, and descending into Hades, from there He raised them up. Would He, therefore, who suffered so much for them, as you hear daily, in order to recall them from that long exile, not have had compassion on them if they had repented in paradise? And how could He not, being by nature the lover of mankind, who for this reason made him, that he might enjoy His good things in paradise and glorify his benefactor? Yes, truly, brothers, this, I think, would have happened. But so that you may learn the rest and believe the word even more, hear what follows!

If they had repented while inside paradise, they would have received that paradise itself and nothing more. But since they were cast out because of their unrepentant state, and after these things they repented and wept, they were afflicted with things which, as I said, they would not have suffered if they had repented in paradise—the Lord God, wishing to honor and glorify them for these pains and sweats and labors and for their good repentance, and not only this but also to make them forget all those terrible things, what does He do? And consider for me the greatness of His love for mankind! Descending into Hades and raising them up, He did not restore them again to paradise, (99) from which they had fallen, but He led them up to the very heaven of heavens; and the Lord having sat at the right hand of God His pre-eternal Father, what do you say He did for him, who was His servant by nature, but who had been named His father by grace? Have you seen to what a height the Lord raised him because of his repentance and humility and his laments and his tears?

O the power of repentance and tears! O the ineffable love for mankind and unsearchable ocean of mercy, brothers! For not only him, but also all his seed, that is, us his sons, who imitate his confession, his repentance, his lamentation, his tears and the other things we mentioned before, He has so honored and glorified as He did him, and those who do so until now and who will do so from now on, whether they be lay people or monastics; "Amen," said the true God, "I will never forsake them, but I will make them as my brothers and friends, fathers and mothers and kinsmen and my co-heirs, and I have glorified and will glorify them both in heaven above and on earth below, and of their life and gladness and glory there will never be an end."

What then, tell me, brother, did the painless and carefree life in paradise profit the first-formed, when they grew negligent and in their unbelief toward God were contemptuous and transgressed His commandment? (100) For if they had believed Him, Eve would not have considered the serpent more trustworthy, nor would Adam have considered Eve more trustworthy than Him, but they would have been careful not to eat of the plant; but having eaten and the

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Ἀλλά τί ὁ πολύς ἐν ἐλέει καί βραδύς ἐν κολάσει; Ἐπειδή γάρ εἶδε ταπεινωθέντας αὐτούς, τήν μέν ἐξενεχθεῖσαν ψῆφον οὐ λύει τέως - πρός σωφρονισμόν ἡμῶν τοῦτο ποιήσας καί ἴνα μηδείς κατά τοῦ πάντων Ποιητοῦ κατεπαίρηται , προειδώς δέ ὡς Θεός καί τήν ἔκπτωσιν τούτου τήν μετάνοιαν, προώρισε πάντως πρό τοῦ ποιῆσαι τά πάντα καί τόν καιρόν καί τόν χρόνον καί ὅπως καί πότε ἀπό τῆς ἐξορίας τοῦτον ἀνακαλέσεται ἀπορρήτοις κρίμασι καί ἀνεξιχνίαστοις πάσῃ πνοῇ. Εἰ γάρ καί ἀποκαλυφθῶσί τισι καί γράψαι ταῦτα θελήσουσιν, οὐ χρόνος οὐ χάρτης οὐ μέλαν ἀρκέσειεν, οὐ κόσμος ὅλος αὐτά τά βιβλία χωρήσειεν. Ὡς οὖν σπλαχνισθείς (98) προώρισε καί προεῖπεν, οὕτω δή καί ἐποίησε. Καί οὕς ἐκ τοῦ παραδείσου διά τήν ἀναίδειαν καί ἀμεταμέλητον καρδίαν καί γνώμην ἐξέβαλε, πρεπόντως μετανοήσαντας καί ἀξίως ταπεινωθέντας καί κλαύσαντας καί θρηνήσαντας, αὐτός ἐκεῖνος, ὁ μόνος ἐκ μόνου Μονογενής Υἱός καί Λόγος, τοῦ προανάρχου Πατρός αὐτοῦ κατελθών ὡς ἵστε πάντες , οὐ μόνον ὁμοίως ἐκείνοις ἄνθρωπος γέγονεν, ἀλλά καί ἀποθανεῖν, ὡς αὐτοί, κατεδέξατο, βιαστόν ἑλόμενος καί ἐπονείδιστον θάνατον, καί κατελθών εἰς τόν ᾅδην, κἀκεῖθεν αὐτούς ἀνέστησεν. Ὁ οὖν τοσαῦτα, ὅσα καθ᾿ ἑκάστην ἀκούεις, παθών δι᾿αὐτούς, ἵνα αὐτούς ἀπό τῆς μακρᾶς ἐκείνης ἐξορίας ἀνακαλέσηται, εἰ μετενόησαν ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ, οὐκ ἄν αὐτούς συνεπάθησε; Καί πῶς οὐχί ὁ φύσει φιλάνθρωπος καί διά τοῦτο ποιήσας αὐτόν, ἵνα τῶν ἀγαθῶν αὐτοῦ τῶν ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ ἀπολαύῃ καί δοξάζῃ τόν εὐεργέτην αὐτοῦ; Ναί ὄντως, ἀδελφοί, τοῦτο ἄν, ὡς οἶμαι, ἐγένετο. Ἵνα δέ μάθῃς καί τά λοιπά καί ἐπί πλεῖον τῷ λόγῳ πιστεύσῃς, ἄκουσον τῶν ἑξῆς!

Εἰ μετενεόησαν ἔνδον ὄντες τοῦ παραδείσου, αὐτόν ἐκεῖνον ἀπελάμβανον τόν παράδεισον καί πλέον οὐδέν. Ἐπεί δέ ἐξεβλήθησαν διά τό ἀμετανόητον αὐτῶν, μετά δέ ταῦτα μετανοήσαντες ἔκλαυσαν, ἐθλίβησαν ἅπερ, ὡς εἶπον, οὐ μή ἔπαθον, εἰ ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ μετανόησαν , ὑπέρ τῶν πόνων τούτων καί ἱδρώτων καί κόπων καί τῆς καλῆς μετανοίας αὐτῶν θέλων ὁ ∆εσπότης Θεός τιμῆσαι καί δοξάσαι αὐτούς, οὐ μόνον δέ ἀλλά καί ποιῆσαι αὐτούς ἅπαντα ἐκεῖνα τά δεινά ἐπιλαθέσθαι, τί ποιεῖ; Καί σκόπει μοι τῆς φιλανθρωπίας τό μέγεθος! Κατελθών εἰς τόν ᾅδην καί ἀναστήσας αὐτούς, οὐχί εἰς τόν παράδεισον, (99) ὅθεν ἐξέπεσον, ἀποκατέστησε πάλιν αὐτούς, ἀλλ᾿ εἰς ἐκεῖνον αὐτόν ἀνήγαγε τόν οὐρανόν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ· καί καθίσας ὁ ∆εσπότης ἐκ δεξιῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ καί προανάρχου Πατρός αὐτοῦ, τί λέγεις ποιῆσαι αὐτόν, τόν δοῦλον μέν αὐτοῦ κατά φύσιν, πατέρα δέ αὐτοῦ χρηματίσαντα κατά χάριν; Εἶδες εἰς οἷον ὕψος αὐτόν διά τήν μετάνοιαν αὐτοῦ καί ταπείνωσιν καί τούς θρήνους αὐτοῦ καί τά δάρκυα ὁ ∆εσπότης ἀνήγαγεν;

Ὤ μετανοίας ἰσχύς καί δακρύων! Ὤ φιλανθρωπίας ἀφάτου καί ἀνεξιχνιάστου ἐλέους πέλαγος, ἀδελφοί! Ὅτι οὐ μόνον ἐκεῖνον, ἀλλά καί ἅπαν τό σπέρμα αὐτοῦ, ἡμᾶς δηλονότι τούς υἱούς αὐτοῦ, τούς μιμουμένους ἐκείνου τήν ἐξομολόγησιν, τήν μετάνοιαν, τόν θρῆνον, τά δάκρυα καί τἆλλα ἅπερ προείπομεν, οὕτως ὡς ἐκεῖνον καί ἐτίμησε καί ἐδόξασε, καί τούς οὕτω ποιοῦντας ἕως τοῦ νῦν καί ἀπό τοῦ νῦν ποιήσοντας, εἴτε κοσμικοί εἶεν εἴτε μονάζοντες· "Ἀμήν, εἶπεν ὁ ἀληθής Θεός, οὐκ ἐγκαταλείψω αὐτούς ποτε, ἀλλ᾿ ὡς ἀδελφούς μου καί φίλους, πατέρας τε καί μητέρας καί συγγενεῖς καί συγκληρονόμους μου ἀναδείξω αὐτούς, καί ἐδόξασα καί δοξάσω καί ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ ἄνω καί ἐπί τῆς γῆς κάτω, καί τῆς ζωῆς αὐτῶν καί εὐφροσύνης καί δόξης οὐκ ἔσται τέλος ποτέ".

Τί οὖν, εἰπέ μοι, τούς πρωτοπλάστους ὠφέλησεν ἡ ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ ἄπονος διαγωγή καί ἀμέριμνος, ἀδελφέ, ῥαθυμήσαντας καί τῇ πρός Θεόν ἀπιστίᾳ καταφρονήσαντας καί τήν ἐντολήν παραβάντας αὐτοῦ; (100) Εἰ γάρ ἐπίστευσαν αὐτῷ, οὐκ ἄν τόν ὄφιν ἡ Εὔα πιστότερον, τήν δέ Εὔαν ὁ Ἀδάμ πιστοτέραν ἐκείνου ἡγήσατο, ἀλλά φυλάξαι εἶχον τοῦ μή φαγεῖν τοῦ φυτοῦ· φαγόντες δέ καί ή