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hail, and famine, and death, all these things were created for the punishment of sinners. Death, and strife, and sword, and scourge, were created for the lawless. Woe to you, impious men, who have forsaken the law of the Lord. The mourning for the dead is seven days; but for a fool and an ungodly man, all the days of his life. Like a two-edged sword, every sin The most high is not pleased with the offerings of the ungodly. Flee from sin as from the face of a snake. For if you approach, it will seize you; its teeth are the teeth of a lion, destroying souls. Many will say to me in that day: Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name did many mighty works? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you who work iniquity. Everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin; and the slave does not remain in the house. Wretched man that I am, I did not remember that God sees the mind, and watches over the voice of the soul. The enemy, working together towards sin, says to me: God is merciful, and will bear with me. And not being struck immediately, I did not cease, but rather despised forgiveness. and I exhausted the long-suffering of God. Just as the tares are gathered and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all things that cause sin, and those who do iniquity, and they will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the king will say also to those on his left hand. Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. The evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil things. For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. There is no good tree that bears bad fruit, nor a bad tree that bears good fruit. For the tree is known by its fruit. For they do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they harvest grapes from a bramble bush. The wages of sin, death. Desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin; and sin when it is finished, brings forth death. 95.1160 He who commits sin is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. Some men's sins are evident, going before to judgment; but for some they also follow after. The heaviest punishment for those who are wise is separation from God. Impiety is properly called sin against God. It is impossible to turn from the just path, without the souls being sick with forgetfulness of God. Let no one of those who have erroneous conceptions about God think that their praises in psalmody are acceptable. Ignorance of God is the death of the soul. To whom woe? to whom tribulations? to whom perplexity and darkness? to whom eternal condemnation? Is it not to the transgressors? Is it not to those who have denied the faith? And what is the proof of the denial? Is it not that they have set aside their own confessions? Just as confession of faith in God produces the blessing of piety, so also denial subjects one to the condemnation of godlessness. An angel of the Lord will encamp around everyone who has believed in the Lord. An angel attends, unless we drive him away by our wicked deeds. For as smoke drives away bees, and a foul smell drives out doves, so also tearful and foul-smelling sin drives away the angel guardian of our life. He who has labored in this age will live forever. But he who lives in luxury and all dissipation, because of his delicate diet, clothed in purple and fine linen, and feasting sumptuously every day, and fleeing the toils for virtue, has neither labored in this age, nor will he live in the one to come, but he will see life from afar, being tormented in the flame of the furnace. As the shadow follows the body, so sins follow souls, clearly imaging their deeds. The condemnation has not yet hindered the abundance of the earth. For the latter is older than the sin, for which we were condemned to eat bread in the sweat of our face. Except the rose without

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χάλαζα, καὶ λιμὸς, καὶ θάνατος, πάντα ταῦτα εἰς κόλασιν ἁμαρτωλῶν ἐκτίσθη. Θάνατος, καὶ ἔρις, καὶ ῥομφαία, καὶ μάστιξ, ἐπὶ τοὺς ἀνόμους ἐκτίσθησαν. Οὐαὶ ὑμῖν, ἄνδρες ἀσεβεῖς, οἵτινες ἐγκατελίπετε νόμον Κυρίου. Πένθος νεκροῦ ἑπτὰ ἡμέραι· μωροῦ δὲ καὶ ἀσεβοῦς, πᾶσαι αἱ ἡμέραι τῆς ζωῆς αὐτοῦ. Ὡς ῥομφαία δίστομος, πᾶσα ἁμαρτία Οὐκ εὐδοκεῖ ὁ ὕψιστος ἐν προσφοραῖς ἀσεβῶν. Ὡς ἀπὸ προσώπου ὄφεως φεῦγε ἀπὸ ἁμαρτίας. Ἐὰν γὰρ προσέλθῃς, ἕξεταί σε· ὀδόντες λέοντος οἱ ὀδόντες αὐτῆς, ἀναιροῦντες ψυχάς. Πολλοὶ ἐροῦσί μοι ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ· Κύριε, Κύριε, οὐ τῷ σῷ ὀνόματι προεφητεύσαμεν, καὶ τῷ σῷ ὀνόματι δυνάμεις πολλὰς ἐποιήσαμεν. Καὶ τότε ὁμολογήσω αὐτοῖς, ὅτι Οὐδέποτε ἔγνων ὑμᾶς. Ἀναχωρεῖτε ἀπ' ἐμοῦ οἱ ἐργαζόμενοι τὴν ἀνομίαν. Πᾶς ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν, δοῦλός ἐστι τῆς ἁμαρτίας· ὁ δὲ δοῦλος οὐ μένει ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ. Τάλας ἐγὼ, οὐδὲ ἐμνήσθην, ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς νοῦν ὁρᾷ, καὶ ψυχῆς ἐπιτηρεῖ φωνήν. Συνεργῶν ὁ ἐχθρὸς πρὸς ἁμαρτίαν, πρὸς ἐμαυτὸν λέγει· Ἐλεήμων ἐστὶν ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ ἀνέξεταί μου. Καὶ μὴ πληγεὶς παραχρῆμα, οὐκ ἐπαυσάμην, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον κατεφρόνησα συγγνώμης. καὶ ἐδαπάνησα Θεοῦ μακροθυμίαν. Ὥσπερ συλλέγεται τὰ ζιζάνια, καὶ πυρὶ κατακαίεται, οὕτως ἔσται ἐν τῇ συντελείᾳ τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου. Ἀποστελεῖ ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τοὺς ἀγγέλους αὐτοῦ, καὶ συλλέξουσιν ἐκ τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ πάντα τὰ σκάνδαλα, καὶ τοὺς ποιοῦντας τὴν ἀνομίαν, καὶ ἐμβαλοῦσιν αὐτοὺς εἰς τὴν κάμινον τοῦ πυρός. Ἐκεῖ ἔσται ὁ κλαυθμὸς, καὶ ὁ βρυγμὸς τῶν ὀδόντων. Τότε ἐρεῖ ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ τοῖς ἐξ εὐωνύμων. Πορεύεσθε ἀπ' ἐμοῦ, οἱ κατηραμένοι, εἰς τὸ πῦρ τὸ αἰώνιον, τὸ ἡτοιμασμένον τῷ διαβόλῳ, καὶ τοῖς ἀγγέλοις αὐτοῦ. Ὁ πονηρὸς ἄνθρωπος ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ θησαυροῦ τῆς καρδίας προφέρει τὰ πονηρά. Ἐκ γὰρ τοῦ περισσεύματος τῆς καρδίας τὸ στόμα λαλεῖ. Οὐκ ἔστι δένδρον καλὸν, ποιοῦν καρπὸν σαπρὸν, οὐδὲ δένδρον σαπρὸν, ποιοῦν καρπὸν καλόν. Ἐκ γὰρ τοῦ καρποῦ τὸ δένδρον γινώσκεται. Οὐ γὰρ ἐξ ἀκανθῶν συλλέξουσι σῦκα, οὐδὲ ἐκ βάτου τρυγῶσι σταφυλήν. Τὰ ὀψώνια τῆς ἁμαρτίας, θάνατος. Ἡ ἐπιθυμία συλλαβοῦσα τίκτει ἁμαρτίαν· ἡ δὲ ἁμαρτία ἀποτελεσθεῖσα, ἀποκύει θάνατον. 95.1160 Ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν, ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου ἐστὶν, ὅτι ἀπ' ἀρχῆς ὁ διάβολος ἁμαρτάνει. Τινῶν αἱ ἁμαρτίαι πρόδηλοί εἰσιν, προάγουσαι εἰς κρίσιν· τινῶν δὲ καὶ ἐπακολουθοῦσι. Βαρυτάτη κόλασις τοῖς εὖ φρονοῦσιν, ὁ ἀπὸ Θεοῦ χωρισμός. Ἀσέβεια κυρίως λέγεται ἡ εἰς Θεὸν ἁμαρτία. Ἀμήχανον ἐκτραπῆναι τῆς δικαίας ὁδοῦ, μὴ λήθην Θεοῦ ταῖς ψυχαῖς νοσήσαντας. Μηδεὶς οἰέσθω τῶν ἐσφαλμένας περὶ Θεοῦ ἐχόντων ὑπολήψεις, ὅτι δεκταὶ αὐτῶν εἰσὶν αἱ ἐν ψαλμῳδίαις αἰνέσεις. Θεοῦ ἄγνοια θάνατός ἐστι ψυχῆς. Τίνι οὐαί; τίνι θλίψεις; τίνι ἀπορία καὶ σκότος; τίνι αἰωνία κατάκρισις; οὐ τοῖς παραβάταις; οὐ τοῖς τὴν πίστιν ἀρνησαμένοις; Τίς δὲ τῆς ἀρνήσεως ἔλεγχος; οὐχ ὅτι τὰς οἰκείας ὁμολογίας ἠθέτησαν; Ὥσπερ ὁμολογία τῆς εἰς Θεὸν πίστεως, τὸν τῆς εὐσεβείας μακαρισμὸν προξενεῖ, οὕτω καὶ ἡ ἄρνησις τῇ κατακρίσει τῆς ἀθεότητος ὑποβάλλει. Παρεμβαλεῖ ἄγγελος Κυρίου παντὶ πεπιστευκότι εἰς τὸν Κύριον. Ἄγγελος παρεδρεύει, ἐὰν μήποτε αὐτὸν ἡμεῖς ἐκ τῶν πονηρῶν ἔργων ἀποδιώξωμεν. Ὡς γὰρ τὰς μελίσσας καπνὸς φυγαδεύει, καὶ τὰς περιστερὰς ἐξελαύνει δυσωδία, οὕτω καὶ τὸν φύλακα τῆς ζωῆς ἡμῶν ἄγγελον ἡ πολύδακρυς καὶ δυσώδης ἀφίστησιν ἁμαρτία. Ὁ κοπιάσας ἐν τῷ αἰῶνι τούτῳ, ζήσεται εἰς τέλος. Ὁ δὲ ἐν τρυφῇ καὶ ἐκλύσει πάσῃ διάγων, διὰ τὸ ἁβροδίαιτον πορφύραν καὶ βύσσον ἐνδεδυμένος, καὶ εὐφραινόμενος καθ' ἡμέραν λαμπρῶς, καὶ φεύγων τοὺς ὑπὲρ ἀρετῆς καμάτους, οὔτε ἐκοπίασεν ἐν τῷ αἰῶνι τούτῳ, οὔτε ζήσεται ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι, ἀλλὰ μακρὰν ὄψεται τὴν ζωὴν, βασανιζόμενος ἐν τῇ φλογὶ τῆς καμίνου. Ὥσπερ ἡ σκιὰ τῷ σώματι, οὕτω ταῖς ψυχαῖς αἱ ἁμαρτίαι παρέπονται, ἐναργεῖς τὰς πράξεις ἐξεικονίζουσαι. Οὔπω ἡ καταδίκη ἐνεπόδιζε τῇ εὐθηνίᾳ τῆς γῆς. Πρεσβυτέρα γὰρ αὕτη τῆς ἁμαρτίας, δι' ἣν κατεκρίθημεν ἐν ἱδρῶτι τοῦ προσώπου ἡμῶν ἐσθίειν τὸν ἄρτον. Πλὴν τὸ ῥόδον ἄνευ