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Not the nature of temptations, but the negligence of those who are tempted is wont to bring about falls. So if you wish to live in luxury and enjoy relaxation and pleasure, do not seek pleasure nor relaxation, but seek a soul full of endurance and able to show fortitude; for if you do not have this, not only will temptation overcome you, but relaxation will destroy you and cast you down even more. For that it is not the assault of terrible things, but the negligence of our mind that overturns our salvation, listen to what Christ says: Every one who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock, and the rain came down, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock; and again: Whoever hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand, and the rain came down, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was its fall. Do you see that it was not the assaults of temptations, but the foolishness of the builders that caused the fall? For there was rain there, and rain here; and floods there, and floods here; and assaults of winds there, and the same thing here; and that one buil 49.62 t, and this one built; and the same building, and the same temptations; but not the same end, because not the same foundation. For not the nature of the temptations, but the foolishness of the one who built caused the fall; since the house built on the rock should also have fallen, but as it is it suffered nothing of the sort. But do not think these things were said about a house; for the discourse is about a soul, which either demonstrates by works the hearing of the divine words, or rejects it. Thus Job built his soul; the rain came down, for fire fell from heaven and consumed all the flocks; the floods came, the frequent and continuous and successive messengers of calamities, one telling of the loss of the goat herds, another of the camels, another of the children; the winds blew, the bitter words of his wife; For say, she says, some word against the Lord, and die; and the house did not fall, the soul was not tripped up, the just man did not blaspheme, but even gave thanks, saying thus: The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away; as it seemed good to the Lord, so also it has come to pass. Do you see that not the nature of the temptations, but the carelessness of the negligent is accustomed to cause the fall? since affliction makes the strong even stronger. Who says these things? He who was nurtured in affliction, the blessed Paul, saying thus: Affliction produces endurance, and endurance, character, and character, hope. And just as the force of the winds, falling upon and buffeting strong trees from all sides, does not uproot them, but by these assaults makes them more firm and stronger; so also the onsets of temptations and of afflictions do not trip up a holy soul living with reverence, but train it for greater endurance, just as they made the blessed Job more illustrious and more venerable. Now, then, a man is angry with us, a man of like passions and like soul, and we are afraid; but then an evil and savage demon was angry with him, and was not simply angry, but set in motion every device, and brought to bear every artifice, and not even so did he overcome the courage of the just man. And this one, being a man, is now angry, now is reconciled, and yet we are dead with fear; but then it was the devil who waged war, who is never reconciled with human nature, but has taken up a truceless war and an undeclared battle against our race; but nevertheless the just man laughed at his arrows. What defense, then, could we have, or what excuse, not bearing such a human temptation, we who philosophize so much in grace, when he, before grace and the Old Testament, so that unbearable war

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πειρασμῶν φύσις, ἀλλ' ἡ τῶν πειραζομένων ῥᾳθυμία τὰ πτώματα ἐργάζεσθαι πέφυκεν. Ὥστε εἰ βούλει τρυφᾷν καὶ ἀνέσεως ἀπολαύειν καὶ ἡδονῆς, μὴ ζήτει ἡδονὴν μήτε ἄνεσιν, ἀλλὰ ζήτει ψυχὴν ὑπομονῆς γέμουσαν καὶ καρτερίαν ἐπιδείξασθαι δυναμένην· ὡς ἐὰν μὴ τοῦτο ἔχῃς, οὐχὶ πειρασμός σε ἐλέγξει μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἄνεσίς σε ἀπολεῖ καὶ καταβαλεῖ μειζόνως. Ὅτι γὰρ οὐχ ἡ τῶν δεινῶν προσβολὴ, ἀλλ' ἦ τῆς ἡμετέρας διανοίας ῥᾳθυμία ἀνατρέπει τὴν σωτηρίαν ἡμῶν, ἄκουσον τί φησιν ὁ Χριστός· Πᾶς ὅστις ἀκούει μου τοὺς λόγους τούτους, καὶ ποιεῖ αὐτοὺς, ὁμοιωθήσεται ἀνδρὶ φρονίμῳ, ὅστις ᾠκοδόμησε τὴν οἰκίαν αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν, καὶ κατέβη ἡ βροχὴ, καὶ ἦλθον οἱ ποταμοὶ, καὶ ἔπνευσαν οἱ ἄνεμοι, καὶ προσέῤῥηξαν τῇ οἰκίᾳ ἐκείνῃ, καὶ οὐκ ἔπεσε· τεθεμελίωτο γὰρ ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν· καὶ πάλιν· Ὅστις ἀκούει μου τοὺς λόγους τούτους, καὶ οὐ ποιεῖ αὐτοὺς, ὁμοιωθήσεται ἀνδρὶ μωρῷ, ὅστις ᾠκοδόμησεν αὑτοῦ τὴν οἰκίαν ἐπὶ τὴν ψάμμον, καὶ κατέβη ἡ βροχὴ, καὶ ἦλθον οἱ ποταμοὶ, καὶ ἔπνευσαν οἱ ἄνεμοι, καὶ προσέῤῥηξαν τῇ οἰκίᾳ ἐκείνῃ, καὶ κατέπεσε, καὶ ἦν ἡ πτῶσις αὐτῆς μεγάλη. Ὁρᾷς ὅτι οὐχ αἱ τῶν πειρασμῶν προσβολαὶ, ἀλλ' ἡ τῶν οἰκοδομούντων ἄνοια τὴν πτῶσιν ἐποίησεν; Καὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖ βροχὴ, καὶ ἐνταῦθα βροχή· κἀκεῖ ποταμοὶ, καὶ ἐνταῦθα ποταμοί· κἀκεῖ πνευμάτων προσβολαὶ, καὶ ἐνταῦθα τὸ αὐτὸ τοῦτο· κἀκεῖνος ᾠκο 49.62 δόμησε, καὶ οὗτος ᾠκοδόμησε· καὶ ἡ αὐτὴ οἰκοδομὴ, καὶ οἱ αὐτοὶ πειρασμοί· ἀλλ' οὐ τὸ αὐτὸ τέλος, ἐπειδὴ οὐχ ὁ αὐτὸς θεμέλιος. Οὐ γὰρ τῶν πειρασμῶν ἡ φύσις, ἀλλὰ τοῦ οἰκοδομήσαντος ἡ ἄνοια τὴν πτῶσιν ἐποίησεν· ἐπεὶ ἔδει καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ τῆς πέτρας οἰκοδομηθεῖσαν καταπεσεῖν οἰκίαν, νῦν δὲ οὐδὲν τοιοῦτον ἔπαθεν. Ἀλλὰ μὴ περὶ οἰκίας εἰρῆσθαι ταῦτα νομίζετε· περὶ γὰρ ψυχῆς ἐστιν ὁ λόγος, τὴν τῶν θείων λόγων ἀκρόασιν διὰ τῶν ἔργων ἐπιδεικνυμένης ἢ διακρουομένης. Οὕτως ᾠκοδόμησεν ἑαυτοῦ τὴν ψυχὴν ὁ Ἰώβ· κατέβη ἡ βροχὴ, πῦρ γὰρ ἔπεσεν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, καὶ κατέφαγε πάντα τὰ ποίμνια· ἦλθον οἱ ποταμοὶ, οἱ πυκνοὶ καὶ συνεχεῖς καὶ ἐπάλληλοι τῶν συμφορῶν ἄγγελοι, ὁ μὲν τῶν αἰπολίων, ὁ δὲ τῶν καμήλων, ὁ δὲ τῶν παίδων λέγων τὴν ἀπώλειαν· ἔπνευσαν οἱ ἄνεμοι, τὰ πικρὰ τῆς γυναικὸς ῥήματα· Εἰπὸν γάρ τι, φησὶ, ῥῆμα πρὸς Κύριον, καὶ τελεύτα· καὶ οὐκ ἔπεσεν ἡ οἰκία, οὐχ ὑπεσκελίσθη ἡ ψυχὴ, οὐκ ἐβλασφήμησεν ὁ δίκαιος, ἀλλὰ καὶ ηὐχαρίστησεν οὕτως εἰπών· Ὁ Κύριος ἔδωκεν, ὁ Κύριος ἀφείλετο, ὡς τῷ Κυρίῳ ἔδοξεν, οὕτω καὶ ἐγένετο. Ὁρᾷς ὅτι οὐχὶ τῶν πειρασμῶν ἡ φύσις, ἀλλ' ἡ τῶν ῥᾳθυμούντων ὀλιγωρία τὴν πτῶσιν ποιεῖν εἴωθεν; ὡς τόν γε ἰσχυρὸν καὶ ἰσχυρότερον ἡ θλῖψις ἐργάζεται. Τίς ταῦτά φησιν; Ὁ ἐν τῇ θλίψει τραφεὶς, ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος, οὕτω λέγων· Ἡ θλῖψις ὑπομονὴν κατεργάζεται, ἡ δὲ ὑπομονὴ δοκιμὴν, ἡ δὲ δοκιμὴ ἐλπίδα. Καὶ καθάπερ τὰ ἰσχυρὰ τῶν δένδρων ἡ τῶν ἀνέμων ῥύμη προσπίπτουσα καὶ πάντοθεν ῥιπίζουσα οὐκ ἀνασπᾷ, ἀλλὰ στεῤῥότερα καὶ ἰσχυρότερα ταῖς προσβολαῖς ταύταις κατασκευάζει· οὕτω καὶ ψυχὴν ἁγίαν, καὶ εὐλαβείᾳ συζῶσαν, αἱ τῶν πειρασμῶν ἐπαγωγαὶ καὶ τῶν θλίψεων οὐχ ὑποσκελίζουσιν, ἀλλὰ πρὸς πλείονα ὑπομονὴν ἀλείφουσι, καθάπερ καὶ τὸν μακάριον Ἰὼβ λαμπρότερον ἐποίησαν καὶ σεμνότερον. Νῦν μὲν οὖν ἅνθρωπος ἡμῖν ὀργίζεται, ἄνθρωπος ὁμοιοπαθὴς καὶ ὁμόψυχος, καὶ δεδοίκαμεν· τότε δὲ ἐκείνῳ δαίμων πονηρὸς καὶ ἄγριος ἦν ὁ ὀργιζόμενος, καὶ οὐχ ἁπλῶς ὠργίζετο, ἀλλὰ πάντα ἐκίνει τὰ μηχανήματα, καὶ πᾶσαν προσῆγεν μαγγανείαν, καὶ οὐδὲ οὕτως ἤλεγξε τοῦ δικαίου τὴν ἀνδρείαν. Καὶ οὗτος μὲν ἄνθρωπος ὢν, νῦν μὲν ὀργίζεται, νῦν δὲ καταλλάττεται, καὶ ὅμως ἀποτεθνήκαμεν τῷ δέει· τότε δὲ διάβολος ἦν ὁ πολεμῶν ὁ μηδέποτε καταλλαττόμενος τῇ τῶν ἀνθρώπων φύσει, ἀλλὰ πόλεμον ἄσπονδον καὶ μάχην ἀκήρυκτον πρὸς τὸ γένος ἡμῶν ἀράμενος· ἀλλ' ὅμως κατεγέλασεν αὐτοῦ τῶν βελῶν ὁ δίκαιος. Τίνα οὖν ἂν ἔχοιμεν ἀπολογίαν, ἢ ποίαν συγγνώμην, οὕτως ἀνθρώπινον πειρασμὸν οὐ φέροντες οἱ τοσαῦτα φιλοσοφοῦντες ἐν τῇ χάριτι, τοῦ πρὸ τῆς χάριτος καὶ τῆς Παλαιᾶς ∆ιαθήκης οὕτω τὸν ἀφόρητον πόλεμον ἐκεῖνον