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He spared you, and knowing you were such, did not cast you out of the company; still He bore with you, still as a genuine disciple and one of the twelve, thus He honored you, thus He loved you. At the last, O the defilement! and taking a towel He washed with those undefiled hands your defiled feet, and not even this restrained you. You stole the things of the poor; and lest you should proceed to a greater evil, He bore even this; but nothing persuaded you. For if you were a wild beast, if you were a stone, ought you not to have been changed by the benefits toward you, by the miracles, by the teachings? But even when so brutalized He called you, and through His wonderful works He tried to win you over, you who were more senseless than stones. But you 62.226 were not made better by any of these things. You marvel perhaps at such great folly of the traitor. Therefore, fear his wound; from avarice he became such, from the love of money. Cut out the passion; for it brings forth such diseases; it makes men impious, and prepares them to be ignorant of God, even if we are benefited ten thousand times. Cut it out, I beseech you; it is not one of the ordinary things, it knows how to bring forth ten thousand deadly deaths. We have seen his passion; let us fear lest we ourselves fall into the same things. For this reason it has been written, that we might not suffer the same things; for this reason all the evangelists have narrated this, that they might make us sober. Flee from it afar; this is not only avarice, to love much, but to love money at all. Avarice is a terrible thing, to ask for more than one's need. For was it talents of gold that then persuaded the traitor? It was thirty pieces of silver; for thirty pieces of silver he betrayed the Master. Do you remember, when I said before this, that covetousness is shown not in taking much, but much more in taking little? Behold how great an evil this man wrought for a little gold; or rather not for gold, but for silver. It is not possible, it is not possible for a man who loves money ever to see the face of Christ; this is one of the impossible things. It is the root of evils. If a man having one evil falls from that glory, where will he who carries the root stand? It is not possible for one who is a slave to money to be a genuine slave of Christ. Christ Himself declared that the thing is impossible: You cannot, He says, serve God and mammon; and, No one can serve two masters. For they command opposite things. Christ says, Spare the poor; mammon says, Strip them even of what they have; Christ says, Empty out what you have; mammon says, Take also what they have. 2. Have you seen the opposition, have you seen the war? Do you wish that we show how one cannot easily obey both, but must despise one? or is there no need of argument? How? Do we not see this in practice, Christ being despised, but mammon being honored? Do you see how burdensome even the words are? how much more the deeds? But in practice they do not seem equally burdensome, because we are possessed by the passion. For now, even if the soul be a little pure from the passion, as long as it stands here, it is able to judge rightly; but having gone from here, and being seized by the fever, and having entered into the pleasure of the thing, it does not have a pure criterion, it does not have an impartial tribunal. Christ says, If any man does not renounce all his possessions, he is not my disciple; mammon says, Take the bread from the hungry man; Christ says, Clothe the naked; this one says, Strip the naked; Christ says, You shall not overlook your own kindred of your own seed; mammon says, You shall not pity your own kindred of your own seed, but even if you see your mother, even your father, despise them. And why do I say father and mother? even your own soul, destroy this too; 62.227 yet he is obeyed. Alas! because in commanding raw and cruel and bestial things he is obeyed more than the one who commands the

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ἐφείσατό σου, καὶ εἰδώς σε τοιοῦτον, οὐκ ἐξέβαλέ σε τοῦ χοροῦ· ἔτι διεβάσταζεν, ἔτι ὡς γνήσιον καὶ ἕνα τῶν δώδεκα, οὕτως ἐτίμα, οὕτως ἐφίλει. Τὸ τελευταῖον, ὢ τῆς μιαρίας! καὶ λέντιον λαβὼν ἔνιψε ταῖς ἀχράντοις ἐκείναις χερσὶ τοὺς μιαρούς σου πόδας, καὶ οὐδὲ τοῦτό σε κατέσχεν. Ἔκλεπτες τὰ τῶν πενήτων· καὶ ἵνα μὴ προέλθῃς εἰς μεῖζον κακὸν, καὶ τοῦτο ἔφερεν· ἀλλ' οὐδέν σε ἔπεισεν. Εἰ γὰρ θηρίον ἦς, εἰ γὰρ λίθος, οὐ ταῖς εὐεργεσίαις ταῖς εἰς σὲ, οὐ τοῖς θαύμασιν, οὐ ταῖς διδασκαλίαις ἔδει μεταβληθῆναι; Ἀλλὰ καὶ οὕτως ἐκτεθηριωμένον ἐκάλει, καὶ διὰ τῶν θαυμασίων ἔργων ἐπήγετό σε τὸν λίθων ἀναισθητότερον. Σὺ δὲ οὐ 62.226 δενὶ τούτων γέγονας βελτίων. Θαυμάζετε ἴσως τὴν τοσαύτην ἄνοιαν τοῦ προδότου. Οὐκοῦν φοβήθητε τὸ ἐκείνου τραῦμα· ἀπὸ φιλαργυρίας τοιοῦτος ἐγένετο, ἀπὸ τοῦ τῶν χρημάτων ἔρωτος. Ἔκκοψον τὸ πάθος· τοιαῦτα γὰρ τίκτει νοσήματα· ἀσεβεῖς ποιεῖ, καὶ τὸν Θεὸν ἀγνοεῖν παρασκευάζει, κἂν μυριάκις εὐεργετηθῶμεν. Ἔκκοψον, παρακαλῶ· οὐκ ἔστι τῶν τυχόντων, θανάτους οἶδε τίκτειν ὀλεθρίους μυρίους. Εἴδομεν τὸ ἐκείνου πάθος· φοβηθῶμεν μὴ τοῖς αὐτοῖς αὐτοὶ περιπέσωμεν. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο γέγραπται, ἵνα μὴ τὰ αὐτὰ πάθωμεν καὶ ἡμεῖς· διὰ τοῦτο πάντες οἱ εὐαγγελισταὶ τοῦτο διηγήσαντο, ἵνα ἡμᾶς σωφρονίσωσι. Πόῤῥωθεν φεῦγε· οὐκ ἔστι τοῦτο μόνον φιλαργυρία, τὸ πολλῶν ἐρᾷν, ἀλλὰ τὸ ὅλως χρημάτων ἐρᾷν. Φιλαργυρία δεινὴ, τὸ πλέον τῆς χρείας αἰτεῖν. Μὴ γὰρ τάλαντα χρυσοῦ ἦν τότε τὰ πείσαντα τὸν προδότην; Τριάκοντα ἦσαν ἀργύρια· τριάκοντα ἀργυρίων προέδωκε τὸν ∆εσπότην. Ἆρα μέμνησθε, ὅτε ἔλεγον πρὸ τούτου, ὅτι οὐκ ἐν τῷ λαμβάνειν πολλὰ ἡ πλεονεξία δείκνυται, ἀλλὰ πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἐν τῷ ὀλίγα; Ἰδοὺ ὅσον κακὸν οὗτος εἰργάσατο δι' ὀλίγον χρυσίον· μᾶλλον δὲ οὐ διὰ χρυσίον, ἀλλὰ δι' ἀργύρια. Οὐκ ἔστιν, οὐκ ἔστιν ἄνδρα φιλάργυρον ἰδεῖν ποτε τοῦ Χριστοῦ τὸ πρόσωπον· ἓν τῶν ἀδυνάτων τοῦτο. Ῥίζα ἐστὶ τῶν κακῶν. Εἰ δὲ ἕν τις ἔχων κακὸν, ἐκπίπτει τῆς δόξης ἐκείνης, ὁ τὴν ῥίζαν ἐπιφερόμενος ποῦ στήσεται; Οὐκ ἔστι τὸν χρημάτων ὄντα δοῦλον, δοῦλον εἶναι Χριστοῦ γνήσιον. Αὐτὸς ὁ Χριστὸς ἀπεφήνατο, ὅτι τὸ πρᾶγμα ἀδύνατον· Οὐ δύνασθε, φησὶ, Θεῷ δουλεύειν καὶ μαμωνᾷ· καὶ, Οὐδεὶς δύναται δυσὶ κυρίοις δουλεύειν. Ἐναντία γὰρ ἐπιτάττουσιν. Ὁ Χριστὸς λέγει, Φείδου τῶν πενομένων· ὁ μαμωνᾶς λέγει, Ἀπόδυσον καὶ αὐτὰ ἃ ἔχουσιν· ὁ Χριστὸς λέγει, Κένωσον ἅπερ ἔχεις· ὁ μαμωνᾶς λέγει, Λάβε καὶ ἅπερ ἔχουσιν. ʹ. Εἶδες ἐναντίωσιν, εἶδες πόλεμον; Βούλεσθε δείξωμεν πῶς οὐ δύναταί τις ἀμφοτέρων ῥᾳδίως ὑπακούειν, ἀλλ' ἑνὸς δεῖ καταφρονῆσαι; ἢ οὐ δεῖ λόγου; Πῶς; Ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις οὐχ ὁρῶμεν τοῦτο, τὸν Χριστὸν μὲν καταφρονούμενον, τὸν δὲ μαμωνᾶν τιμώμενον; Ὁρᾶτε πῶς καὶ τὰ ῥήματα φορτικά; πόσῳ μᾶλλον τὰ πράγματα; Ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τῶν πραγμάτων οὐ φαίνεται φορτικὰ ὁμοίως, ἐπειδὴ τῷ πάθει κατεχόμεθα. Νῦν μὲν γὰρ κἂν ὀλίγον ᾖ καθαρεύουσα τοῦ πάθους ἡ ψυχὴ, ἕως ἂν ἐνταῦθα ἑστήκῃ, δύναται κρίνειν ὀρθῶς· ἐκεῖ δὲ ἀπελθοῦσα, καὶ κατασχεθεῖσα τῷ πυρετῷ, καὶ ἐν τῇ ἡδονῇ τοῦ πράγματος γενομένη, οὐκ ἔχει καθαρὸν τὸ κριτήριον, οὐκ ἔχει τὸ δικαστήριον ἀδέκαστον· ὁ Χριστός φησιν, Ἐὰν μή τις ἀποτάξηται πᾶσιν αὑτοῦ τοῖς ὑπάρχουσιν, οὐκ ἔστι μου μαθητής· ὁ μαμωνᾶς φησι, Λάβε ἀπὸ τοῦ πεινῶντος τὸν ἄρτον· ὁ Χριστὸς λέγει, Περίβαλε τὸν γυμνόν· οὗτος λέγει, Τὸν γυμνὸν ἀπόδυσον· ὁ Χριστὸς λέγει, Τοῦ σπέρματός σου τοὺς οἰκείους οὐχ ὑπερόψει· ὁ μαμωνᾶς λέγει, Οὐκ ἐλεήσεις τοὺς οἰκείους τοῦ σπέρματός σου, ἀλλὰ κἂν μητέρα ἴδῃς, κἂν πατέρα, καταφρόνει. Καὶ τί λέγω πατέρα καὶ μητέρα; καὶ τὴν σαυτοῦ ψυχὴν, καὶ ταύτην ἀπόλλυε· 62.227 ἀλλ' ὅμως ἀκούεται. Οἴμοι! ὅτι ὠμὰ καὶ ἀπηνῆ καὶ θηριώδη προστάττων ἀκούεται μᾶλλον τοῦ τὰ