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lamenting, he said: Why have you broken down its hedge, so that all who pass by the way pluck its fruit? The boar from the wood has ravaged it, and a solitary wild beast has fed upon it. There, then, he speaks concerning the Mede and the Babylonian; but here it is not possible to say this, but the boar and solitary beast is the devil, and all his power. And he has called him a solitary beast, wishing to represent his wild and unclean nature. For when Scripture wishes to declare his rapacious nature, it says: Like a roaring lion, he prowls around, seeking whom he may devour; but when it wishes to declare his venomous and deadly and destructive nature, it calls him a serpent and a scorpion; for ‘Tread,’ it says, ‘upon serpents and scorpions, and upon all the power of the enemy’; and when it wishes to declare his strong and venomous nature together, it calls him a dragon, as when it says: This dragon, which you formed to play with him. And everywhere it calls him a dragon and a crooked serpent and an asp. For the beast is complex and varied, and has much strength; he moves all things, he disturbs all things, he turns all things upside down. But do not be afraid, but do not be terrified; only be watchful, and he will be as a sparrow; for ‘Tread,’ it says, ‘upon serpents and scorpions.’ He has made him a thing to be trampled by our feet, if we are willing. 5. See, then, how great the ridicule, how great the misery, to see him whom we received power to tread upon, standing over our own heads. And how does this happen? Through us; if we are willing, he is great; if we are willing, he becomes small. If we pay attention to ourselves, and are with our king, he shrinks and will be in no better state than a small child in the battle against us; when we turn away from him, he boasts great things, he roars, he gnashes his teeth, having found us destitute of the great alliance; for he does not approach, unless God permits. For if he did not dare to fall upon herds of swine, without God's permission, much more so with the souls of men. And God permits, either to chastise, or to exact punishment, or to make men more approved, as in the case of Job. Do you see him not approaching, nor daring to come near, but fearing and trembling? And what am I saying about Job? For when leaping upon Judas, he did not dare, until Christ had separated him from the sacred company, to take him completely, and to enter into him. At that time, then, he attacked from without, but he did not dare to enter within; but when he saw him separated from the sacred flock, he leaped upon him more fiercely than any wolf, and did not depart until he had destroyed him with a double death. These things have been written for our admonition. For what gain is there in knowing that one of the twelve betrayed him? what benefit? what advantage? A great one. For when we learn from where that man came to this destructive counsel, we ourselves will guard against it, lest we suffer the same things. From where, then, did he come to this? From avarice; he was a thief; from this he was so intoxicated with the passion, that he betrayed the Master of the world for thirty pieces of silver. What is worse than this madness? He for whom nothing is a worthy exchange, nor equal, for whom the nations were counted as nothing, this one he betrayed for thirty pieces of silver. For the tyranny of avarice is grievous, terrible for driving a soul out of its senses. One is not so driven mad by drunkenness as by avarice; not so by madness and insanity as by avarice. For why, tell me, do you betray him? He called you when you were obscure and unknown, and made you one of the twelve, he shared his teaching with you, he promised you countless good things, he made you to work miracles, you shared in his table, his travels, his discourse, his company, everything, just as the others did. Were these things not enough to restrain you? For what reason, then, did you betray him? What accusation did you have, O defiled one? What good did you not receive? He knew your thought, yet he did not cease contributing his part; many times he said, ‘One of you will betray me’; many times he pricked you, and

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ὀδυρόμενος ἔλεγεν· Ἵνα τί καθεῖλες τὸν φραγμὸν αὐτῆς, καὶ τρυγῶσιν αὐτὴν πάντες οἱ παραπορευόμενοι τὴν ὁδόν; Ἐλυμήνατο αὐτὴν ὗς ἐκ δρυμοῦ, καὶ μονιὸς ἄγριος κατενεμήσατο αὐτήν. Ἐκεῖ μὲν οὖν περὶ τοῦ Μήδου καὶ τοῦ Βαβυλωνίου φησίν· ἐνταῦθα δὲ περὶ τούτου οὐκ ἔστιν εἰπεῖν, ἀλλὰ ὗς καὶ μονιὸς ὁ διάβολός ἐστι, καὶ πᾶσα αὐτοῦ ἡ δύναμις. Μονιὸν δὲ αὐτὸν εἴρηκε, τὸ ἄγριον καὶ ἀκάθαρτον αὐτοῦ παραστῆσαι βουλόμενος. Ὅταν μὲν γὰρ αὐτοῦ τὸ ἁρπακτικὸν ἡ Γραφὴ βούληται δηλῶσαι, φησίν· Ὡς λέων ὠρυόμενος περιέρχεται, ζητῶν τίνα καταπίῃ· ὅταν δὲ τὸ ἰοβόλον καὶ θανάσιμον καὶ ὀλέθριον, ὄφιν αὐτὸν καλεῖ καὶ σκορπιόν· Πατεῖτε γὰρ, φησὶν, ἐπάνω ὄφεων καὶ σκορπίων, καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν δύναμιν τοῦ ἀντικειμένου· ὅταν δὲ τὸ ἰσχυρὸν ὁμοῦ καὶ ἰοβόλον, δράκοντα αὐτὸν καλεῖ, ὡς ὅταν λέγῃ· ∆ράκων οὗτος, ὃν ἔπλασας ἐμπαίζειν αὐτῷ. Καὶ δράκοντα καὶ ὄφιν σκολιὸν καὶ ἀσπίδα αὐτὸν καλεῖ πανταχοῦ. Πολύπλοκον γὰρ τὸ θηρίον καὶ ποικίλον, καὶ πολλὴν ἔχει τὴν ἰσχύν· πάντα κινεῖ, πάντα θορυβεῖ, πάντα ἄνω καὶ κάτω στρέφει. Ἀλλὰ μὴ φοβηθῆτε, ἀλλὰ μὴ δείσητε· γρηγορεῖτε μόνον, καὶ ὡς στρουθίον ἔσται· Πατεῖτε γὰρ, φησὶν, ἐπάνω ὄφεων καὶ σκορπίων Καταπάτημα αὐτὸν τῶν ἡμετέρων ἐποίησε ποδῶν, ἂν βουλώμεθα. εʹ. Ὅρα τοίνυν πόσος γέλως, πόση ἀθλιότης, ὃν ἐλάβομεν πατεῖν, τοῦτον ὁρᾷν ὑπὲρ κεφαλῆς ἑστῶτα τῆς ἡμετέρας. Πῶς δὲ τοῦτο γίνεται; Παρ' ἡμῶν· ἂν ἡμεῖς βουλώμεθα, μέγας ἐστίν· ἂν ἡμεῖς βουλώμεθα, γίνεται μικρός. Ἐὰν προσέχωμεν ἑαυτοῖς, καὶ μετὰ τοῦ βασιλέως ὦμεν τοῦ ἡμετέρου, συστέλλεται καὶ παιδίου μικροῦ οὐδὲν ἄμεινον διακείσεται ἐν τῇ πρὸς ἡμᾶς μάχῃ· ὅταν ἀποστῶμεν αὐτοῦ, μεγάλα φυσᾷ, βρυχᾶται, τρίζει τοὺς ὀδόντας, ἅτε ἐρήμους ἡμᾶς τῆς μεγάλης συμμαχίας λαβών· οὐ γὰρ πρόσεισιν, ἐὰν μὴ συγχωρήσῃ ὁ Θεός. Εἰ γὰρ χοίρων ἀγέλαις οὐ κατετόλμησεν ἐπεμβῆναι, μὴ τοῦ Θεοῦ συγχωρήσαντος, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ψυχαῖς ἀνθρώπων. Συγχωρεῖ δὲ Θεὸς, ἢ παιδεύων, ἢ δίκην ἀπαιτῶν, ἢ δοκιμωτέρους ποιῶν, ὡς τὸν Ἰώβ. Ὁρᾷς αὐτὸν μὴ προσερχόμενον, μηδὲ τολμῶντα γενέσθαι ἐγγὺς, ἀλλὰ δεδοικότα καὶ τρέμοντα; Καὶ τί λέγω περὶ τοῦ Ἰώβ; τῷ γὰρ Ἰούδᾳ ἐφαλλόμενος, οὐκ ἐτόλμησεν, ἕως αὐτὸν τοῦ ἱεροῦ χοροῦ ἀπέσχισεν ὁ Χριστὸς, λαβεῖν ὁλόκληρον, καὶ εἰσελθεῖν εἰς αὐτόν. Τότε μὲν οὖν ἔξωθεν προσέβαλλεν, ἔνδον δὲ εἰσελθεῖν οὐκ ἐτόλμα· ἐπειδὴ δὲ εἶδεν ἀποσχισθέντα τῆς ἱερᾶς ἀγέλης, παντὸς λύκου σφοδρότερον ἐφήλατο, καὶ οὐ πρότερον ἀπέστη, ἕως αὐτὸν ἀνεῖλε θάνατον διπλοῦν. Ταῦτα πρὸς νουθεσίαν ἡμῶν γέγραπται. Ἐπεὶ ποῖον κέρδος τὸ γνῶναι, ὅτι εἷς τῶν δώδεκα προέδωκε; ποία ὄνησις; ποία ὠφέλεια; Μεγάλη. Ὅταν γὰρ μάθωμεν πόθεν ἐκεῖνος ἐπὶ τὴν ὀλέθριον ἦλθε βουλὴν ταύτην, φυλαξόμεθα ἀπὸ ταύτης καὶ αὐτοὶ μὴ τὰ αὐτὰ παθεῖν. Πόθεν οὖν ἦλθεν ἐπὶ τοῦτο; Ἀπὸ φιλαργυρίας· κλέπτης ἦν· ἀπὸ ταύτης οὕτως ἐμέθυε τῷ πάθει, ὅτι τὸν τῆς οἰκουμένης ∆εσπότην τριάκοντα ἀργυρίων προέδωκε. Τί τῆς μανίας ταύτης χεῖρον; Οὗ οὐδὲν ἀντάξιον οὐδὲ ἴσον, ᾧ τὰ ἔθνη εἰς οὐδὲν ἐλογίσθη, τοῦτον τριάκοντα ἀργυρίων προέδωκε. Χαλεπὴ γὰρ τῆς φιλαργυρίας ἡ τυραννὶς, δεινὴ ψυχὴν ἐκστῆσαι. Οὐχ οὕτω τις ὑπὸ τῆς μέθης παραπλὴξ γίνεται, ὡς ὑπὸ φιλαργυρίας· οὐχ οὕτως ὑπὸ μανίας καὶ παραπληξίας, ὡς ὑπὸ φιλαργυρίας. ∆ιὰ τί γὰρ, εἰπέ μοι, προδίδως; Ἄσημον ὄντα σε καὶ ἀγνῶτα ἐκάλεσε, καὶ ἕνα τῶν δώδεκα ἐποίησε, διδασκαλίας σοι μετέδωκεν, ὑπέσχετο μυρία ἀγαθὰ, θαύματά σε ἐργάζεσθαι πεποίηκε, τραπέζης, ὁδῶν, ὁμιλίας, συνουσίας, πάντων ἐκοινώνησας, ὧν καὶ οἱ λοιποί. Ταῦτα οὐκ ἦν ἱκανὰ κατασχεῖν; τίνος οὖν ἕνεκεν προέδωκας; τί ἔχων ἐγκαλεῖν, ὦ μιαρέ; τί δὲ οὐκ εὖ παθών; Ἤδει σου τὴν διάνοιαν, οὐκ ἐπαύσατο τὰ παρ' ἑαυτοῦ εἰσφέρων· πολλάκις εἶπεν, ὅτι Εἷς ἐξ ὑμῶν παραδώσει με· πολλάκις ἔστιξε, καὶ