37

in holiness with sobriety; that is, if they preserve them in love and purity after childbearing. For these things they will have no small reward, but a very great one, because they have raised up athletes for Christ. By holiness he means an upright life, and by sobriety, modesty. Faithful is the saying. It is said in reference to this, not to "If anyone aspires to the office of bishop." For since this was a matter of doubt, for this reason he says, "Faithful is the saying," that fathers will be able to benefit from the virtue of their children, and mothers too, when they have brought them up well. What then, if she herself is wicked and full of countless evils? Will she be benefited by her child-rearing? Is it not more likely she would raise them to be like herself? He says these things about the virtuous woman, not about any ordinary one, that she will receive a great reward and recompense for this also. Hear this, fathers and mothers, that your child-rearing will not be without its reward. Therefore, he also says further on, "well attested for her good deeds, if she has brought up children"; he places this along with the others. For it is no small thing to dedicate to God these children given by God. For if they have a good foundation and good groundwork from the beginning, they will have a great reward; just as, if they neglect them, punishment. For indeed Eli perished because of his own children; for he ought to have admonished them. And yet he did admonish them, but not as he should have; but by not wishing to grieve them, he destroyed both them and himself along with them. Hear this, you fathers; train up your children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord with great care. Youth is wild, needing many supervisors, teachers, tutors, attendants, nurses; for it is a desirable thing that after all this it should be restrained. Like an untamed horse, like an unbroken beast, such is youth. If, therefore, from the beginning and from their earliest age we set good boundaries for it, we will not need much labor afterwards, but habit will then be their law. Let us not allow them to do any of the pleasant and harmful things, nor indulge them as children; let us especially keep them in sobriety; for this more than anything ruins youth. For this we need many struggles, much attention. Let us quickly bring wives to them, so that their bodies may receive the bride pure and untouched; these loves are more ardent. He who is chaste before marriage will be much more so after marriage; but he who has learned to fornicate before marriage will do this also after marriage. For to a fornicator, it says, every bread is sweet. For this reason crowns are placed upon their heads, a symbol of victory, that having become unconquered, they thus approach the marriage bed, because they were not overcome by pleasure. But if, being caught by pleasure, he gives himself over to prostitutes, for what reason then does he also have a crown on his head, having been defeated? Let us exhort them with these things, admonish them with these, frighten them, threaten them, doing now this, now that. We have a great deposit in our children. Let us therefore take care of them, and do all things, lest the evil one take them away from us. But now everything is done by us in the opposite way. For we do everything to make our field good, and to entrust it to a faithful man, 62.547 and we seek out a donkey-driver, and a mule-keeper, and a steward, and a most well-disposed accountant; but as for that which is more precious to us than all, how we may entrust our son to someone who can preserve his sobriety, we do not consider; and yet this is the most precious possession of all, and those other things exist for its sake. So we take thought for their possessions, but no longer for them themselves. Do you see the absurdity? Train the child's soul, and those other things will follow. For if his soul is not good, his money is of no benefit to him; but if it is set right, there is no harm from poverty. Do you wish to leave him rich? Teach him to be good; for so he will be able to hold on to his possessions, and if

37

ἁγιασμῷ μετὰ σωφροσύνης· τουτέστιν, ἐὰν αὐτοὺς ἐν ἀγάπῃ μετὰ τὸ τεκεῖν καὶ ἁγνείᾳ διατηρήσωσιν. Ἐν τούτοις οὐ μικρὸν ἕξουσι τὸν ὑπὲρ τούτων μισθὸν, ἀλλὰ καὶ σφόδρα μέγαν, ὅτι ἀθλητὰς ἔθρεψαν τῷ Χριστῷ. Ἁγιασμὸν δὲ τὸν ὀρθὸν λέγει βίον, σωφροσύνην δὲ τὴν κοσμιότητα. Πιστὸς ὁ λόγος. Πρὸς τοῦτο εἴρηται, οὐ πρὸς τὸ, Εἴ τις ἐπισκοπῆς ὀρέγεται. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ τοῦτο ἀμφιβαλλόμενον ἦν, διὰ τοῦτο λέγει, Πιστὸς ὁ λόγος, ὅτι δυνήσονται πατέρες ἀπολαύειν τῆς τῶν παίδων ἀρετῆς, καὶ μητέρες, ὅταν αὐτοὺς ἐκθρέψωσι καλῶς. Τί οὖν, ἂν αὐτὴ μὲν ᾖ μοχθηρὰ καὶ μυρίων κακῶν γέμουσα; ἆρα ἀπὸ τῆς παιδοτροφίας ὠφεληθήσεται; οὐκ εἰκὸς δὲ μᾶλλον τοιούτους αὐτοὺς τρέφειν ὁμοίους αὐτῇ; Περὶ τῆς ἐναρέτου ταῦτά φησιν, οὐ τῆς τυχούσης, ὅτι πολὺν καὶ τούτου λήψεται μισθὸν καὶ ἀμοιβήν. Ἀκούσατε ταῦτα, πατέρες καὶ μητέρες, ὡς οὐκ ἄμισθος ὑμῖν ἔσται ἡ παιδοτροφία. Τοῦτο οὖν καὶ προϊών φησιν, Ἐν ἔργοις καλοῖς μαρτυρουμένη, εἰ ἐτεκνοτρόφησε· μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων καὶ αὐτὸ τίθησιν. Οὐ γάρ ἐστι τοῦτο μικρὸν τὸ τὰ δοθέντα παιδία παρὰ Θεοῦ, ταῦτα τῷ Θεῷ ἀνατιθέναι. Ἂν γὰρ τὴν κρηπῖδα καὶ τοὺς θεμελίους καλοὺς ἔχοιεν τῆς καταβολῆς, μέγαν ἕξουσι τὸν μισθόν· ὥσπερ οὖν ἀμελοῦντες, τὴν κόλασιν. Ἐπεὶ καὶ ὁ Ἠλεὶ διὰ τοὺς παῖδας ἀπώλετο τοὺς ἑαυτοῦ· ἐχρῆν γὰρ αὐτοὺς νουθετεῖν. Καὶ μὴν ἐνουθέτει· ἀλλ' οὐχ ὡς ἔδει, ἀλλὰ μὴ βουληθεὶς αὐτοὺς λυπῆσαι, καὶ αὐτοὺς καὶ ἑαυτὸν προσαπώλεσεν. Ἀκούσατε ταῦτα, οἱ πατέρες· παιδεύετε ὑμῶν τὰ τέκνα ἐν παιδείᾳ καὶ νουθεσίᾳ Κυρίου μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς ἐπιστροφῆς. Ἄγριον ἡ νεότης, πολλῶν δεομένη τῶν ἐπιστατούντων, διδασκάλων, παιδαγωγῶν, ἀκολούθων, τροφέων· ἀγαπητὸν γὰρ μετὰ τοσαῦτα κατασχεθῆναι αὐτήν. Καθάπερ τις ἵππος ἀδάμαστος, καθάπερ τι θηρίον ἀτίθασσον, τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν ἡ νεότης. Ἂν τοίνυν ἄνωθεν καὶ ἐκ πρώτης ἡλικίας ὅρους αὐτῇ πήξωμεν καλοὺς, οὐ δεησόμεθα πολλῶν μετὰ ταῦτα πόνων, ἀλλ' ἡ συνήθεια νόμος αὐτοῖς ἔσται λοιπόν. Μηδὲν ἐῶμεν αὐτοὺς τῶν ἡδέων καὶ βλαβερῶν ποιεῖν, μηδὲ ὡς παισὶ χαριζώμεθα· ἐν σωφροσύνῃ μάλιστα διατηρῶμεν αὐτούς· τοῦτο γὰρ πάντων πλέον τὴν νεότητα λυμαίνεται. Πρὸς τοῦτο πολλῶν ἡμῖν δεῖ τῶν ἀγώνων, πολλῆς τῆς προσοχῆς. Ταχέως αὐτοῖς γυναῖκας ἄγωμεν, ὥστε καθαρὰ αὐτῶν καὶ ἀνέπαφα τὰ σώματα δέχεσθαι τὴν νύμφην· οὗτοι οἱ ἔρωτες θερμότεροι. Ὁ πρὸ τοῦ γάμου σωφρονῶν, πολλῷ μᾶλλον μετὰ τὸν γάμον· ὁ δὲ μαθὼν πορνεύειν πρὸ τοῦ γάμου, καὶ μετὰ τὸν γάμον τοῦτο ποιήσει. Ἀνδρὶ γὰρ, φησὶ, πόρνῳ πᾶς ἄρτος ἡδύς. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο στέφανοι ταῖς κεφαλαῖς ἐπιτίθενται, σύμβολον τῆς νίκης, ὅτι ἀήττητοι γενόμενοι, οὕτω προσέρχονται τῇ εὐνῇ, ὅτι μὴ κατηγωνίσθησαν ὑπὸ τῆς ἡδονῆς. Εἰ δὲ ἁλοὺς ὑπὸ τῆς ἡδονῆς πόρναις ἑαυτὸν ἐκδῷ, τίνος ἕνεκεν λοιπὸν καὶ στέφανον ἔχει ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς, ἡττημένος; Ταῦτα αὐτοῖς παραινῶμεν, τούτοις νουθετῶμεν, φοβῶμεν, ἀπειλῶμεν, νῦν μὲν τοῦτο, νῦν δὲ ἐκεῖνο ποιοῦντες. Μεγάλην παρακαταθήκην ἔχομεν τὰ παιδία. Φροντίζωμεν τοίνυν αὐτῶν, καὶ πάντα ποιῶμεν, μὴ ὁ πονηρὸς ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς ἀφέληται. Νῦν δὲ πάντα ἀπεναντίας γίνεται παρ' ἡμῶν. Ὅπως μὲν γὰρ ἔσται τὸ χωρίον καλὸν, πάντα πράττομεν, καὶ ὅπως ἀνδρὶ πιστῷ τοῦτο ἐγχειρίσωμεν, 62.547 καὶ ὀνηλάτην, καὶ ὀρεοκόμον, καὶ ἐπίτροπον, καὶ λογοθέτην εὐνούστατον ἐπιζητοῦμεν· ὃ δὲ πάντων ἡμῖν ἐστι τιμιώτερον, ὅπως τὸν υἱὸν ἐπιτρέψωμέν τινι τῷ δυναμένῳ αὐτοῦ τὴν σωφροσύνην διατηρῆσαι, οὐ σκοποῦμεν· καίτοι τοῦτο πάντων ἐστὶ τὸ κτῆμα τιμιώτερον, καὶ ἐκεῖνα διὰ τοῦτο γίνεται. Τῶν μὲν οὖν κτημάτων αὐτοῖς φροντίζομεν, αὐτῶν δὲ οὐκέτι. Ὁρᾷς τὴν ἀλογίαν; Ἄσκησον τοῦ παιδὸς τὴν ψυχὴν, κἀκεῖνα παρέσται λοιπόν· ταύτης μὲν γὰρ οὐκ οὔσης ἀγαθῆς, οὐδὲν ὄφελος αὐτῷ τῶν χρημάτων· ταύτης δὲ κατωρθωμένης, οὐδὲν βλάβος ἀπὸ τῆς πενίας. Βούλει καταλιπεῖν αὐτὸν πλούσιον; δίδαξον αὐτὸν εἶναι χρηστόν· οὕτω γὰρ καὶ τὰ κτήματα συγκροτῆσαι δυνήσεται, καὶ ἐὰν