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he arose; in the Red Sea the Egyptians were drowned, but the Israelites came up; and the same event buries the one, and begets the other. 3. Do not be surprised, if birth and destruction happen in baptism; since, tell me, is not loosening the opposite of joining together? It is clear to everyone. Fire does this; for it dissolves and destroys wax, but it fuses metallic earth and produces gold. So also here, the power of fire, having destroyed the waxen statue, revealed a golden one in its place; for we were truly made of clay before the washing, but golden after it. From where is this clear? Hear him saying: The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. I for my part spoke of the difference as being that between clay and gold, but I have found a greater difference, that between the heavenly and the earthly; for the difference between clay and gold is not so great as that between the earthly and the heavenly. We were of wax, and of clay; for the flame of desire melted us much more than fire does wax; and any chance temptation shattered us much more than a stone does clay vessels. And, if you wish, let us sketch our former life, if it was not all earth and water, having its fickleness and dust and instability and flux. And, if you wish, let us examine not the former things, but the present, if we shall not find all 62.347 things to be dust and water. For what do you want to speak of? Rulerships and powers? For nothing seems to be more enviable than this in the present life. But one would sooner find dust standing in the air, than these things, especially now. For to what are they not subject? To those who love them, to eunuchs, to those who do everything for the sake of money, to the passion of the people, to the rages of the more powerful. He who yesterday was high on the tribunal, who had heralds shouting with a loud voice, and many running before him and clearing the way in the marketplace, today is cheap and humble and desolate and stripped of all those things, like dust blown about, like a stream that has passed by. And just as dust is raised from our feet, so too are offices of rule born from those who are occupied with money, and hold the rank of feet in all of life; and just as dust, when it is raised up, occupies a large part of the air, but is itself small, so too is authority; and just as dust blinds the eyes, so also the pride of authority cripples the eyes of the understanding. But what? Do you wish that we examine that much-prayed-for thing, wealth? Come, let us examine it part by part. It has luxury, it has honors, it has power. First then, if you wish, let us examine luxury; is it not dust? rather it passes by even more quickly than this; for the pleasure of luxury lasts as far as the tongue; but when the stomach is filled, not even as far as the tongue. But honors themselves are a pleasant thing, he says. And what is more unpleasant than that honor, when it comes about through the need of money? When it is not from choice, nor from any eagerness, you do not reap the honor, but your wealth does. So that this very thing makes the rich man most dishonored of all. For tell me, if everyone honored you for having a certain friend, but confessed that you yourself were worthy of nothing, but that they were compelled to honor you on account of him, how could they have dishonored you otherwise? So wealth is a cause of dishonor to us, being more honored than its possessors, and a proof of weakness, rather than of power. How then is it not absurd that we are not considered worthy of earth and ash (for this is what gold is), but that we are honored on account of it? Reasonably so; but not he who despises wealth, in this way; for it is better not to be honored than to be honored in this way. For tell me, if someone said to you, "I consider you worthy of no honor, but on account of your servants I honor you," what could be worse than this dishonor? And if it is shameful to be honored on account of servants who share the same soul and nature with us, how much more so on account of these things, which are cheaper,

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ἀνέστη· ἐν τῇ Ἐρυθρᾷ θαλάσσῃ κατεποντίσθησαν Αἰγύπτιοι, ἀνῆλθον δὲ Ἰσραηλῖται· καὶ τὸ αὐτὸ πρᾶγμα τὸν μὲν θάπτει, τὸν δὲ γεννᾷ. γʹ. Μὴ θαυμάσῃς, εἰ γένεσις καὶ φθορὰ γίνεται ἐν τῷ βαπτίσματι· ἐπεὶ, εἰπέ μοι, τὸ λύειν τῷ συγκολλᾷν οὐκ ἐναντίον; Παντί που δῆλον. Τοῦτο τὸ πῦρ ποιεῖ· κηρὸν μὲν γὰρ διαλύει καὶ ἀπόλλυσι, γῆν δὲ μεταλλικὴν συγκολλᾷ καὶ χρυσὸν ἐργάζεται. Οὕτω δὴ καὶ ἐνταῦθα, τὸν κήρινον ἀνδριάντα ἀφανίσασα ἡ τοῦ πυρὸς δύναμις, ἔδειξε χρυσοῦν ἀντ' ἐκείνου· πήλινοι γὰρ ὄντως ἦμεν πρὸ τοῦ λουτροῦ, χρυσοῖ δὲ μετὰ τοῦτο. Πόθεν δῆλον; Ἄκουσον αὐτοῦ λέγοντος· Ὁ πρῶτος ἄνθρωπος ἐκ γῆς χοϊκὸς, ὁ δεύτερος ἄνθρωπος οὐράνιος ἐξ οὐρανοῦ. Ἐγὼ μὲν ὅσον πηλίνου πρὸς χρυσὸν τὸ μέσον εἶπον, εὗρον δὲ μείζονα διαφορὰν οὐρανίου καὶ γηΐνου· οὐ τοσοῦτον δὲ πηλίνου καὶ χρυσοῦ τὸ μέσον, ὅσον τῶν γηίνων καὶ τῶν οὐρανίων. Κήρινοι ἦμεν, καὶ πήλινοι· καὶ γὰρ ἡ τῆς ἐπιθυμίας ἡμᾶς ἔτηξε φλὸξ πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἢ τὸν κηρὸν τὸ πῦρ· καὶ ὁ τυχὼν ἡμᾶς συνέκλα πειρασμὸς πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἢ τοὺς πηλίνους ὁ λίθος. Καὶ, εἰ βούλεσθε, ὑπογράψωμεν τὸν πρότερον βίον, εἰ μὴ πάντα ἦν γῆ καὶ ὕδωρ, καὶ τὸ εὐρίπιστον ἔχοντα καὶ τὸν κονιορτὸν καὶ τὸ ἄστατον καὶ διαῤῥέον. Καὶ, εἰ βούλεσθε, μὴ τὰ πρότερα, ἀλλὰ τὰ παρόντα ἐξετάσωμεν, εἰ μὴ κονιορτὸν καὶ ὕδωρ εὑρήσομεν πάντα 62.347 τὰ ὄντα. Τί γὰρ βούλει εἰπεῖν; τὰς ἀρχὰς καὶ τὰς δυναστείας; τούτου γὰρ οὐδὲν δοκεῖ ζηλωτότερον εἶναι ἐν τῷ παρόντι βίῳ. Ἀλλὰ τὸν κονιορτὸν εὕροι τις ἂν μᾶλλον ἐπὶ τοῦ ἀέρος ἱστάμενον, ἢ ταῦτα, μάλιστα νῦν. Τίνι γὰρ οὐχ ὑπόκεινται; Τοῖς ἐρῶσιν αὐτῶν, τοῖς εὐνούχοις, τοῖς τῶν χρημάτων ἕνεκεν ἅπαντα πράττουσι, θυμῷ δήμου, ὀργαῖς τῶν δυνατωτέρων. Ὁ χθὲς ἐπὶ τοῦ βήματος ὑψηλὸς, ὁ κήρυκας ἔχων λαμπρᾷ τῇ φωνῇ βοῶντας, καὶ πολλοὺς τοὺς προτρέχοντας καὶ σοβοῦντας κατὰ τὴν ἀγορὰν, σήμερον εὐτελὴς καὶ ταπεινὸς καὶ πάντων ἐκείνων ἔρημος καὶ γυμνὸς, καθάπερ κονιορτὸς ἀναῤῥιπισθεὶς, καθάπερ ῥεῦμα παρελθόν. Καθάπερ δὲ ἡ κόνις ἀπὸ τῶν ποδῶν ἐγείρεται τῶν ἡμετέρων· οὕτω δὴ καὶ αἱ ἀρχαὶ ἀπὸ τούτων τίκτονται τῶν περὶ τὰ χρήματα στρεφομένων, καὶ ποδῶν τάξιν ἐχόντων ἐν παντὶ τῷ βίῳ· καὶ καθάπερ ἡ κόνις, ὅταν μὲν αἴρηται, πολὺ μέρος κατέχει τοῦ ἀέρος, αὐτὴ δέ ἐστιν ὀλίγη, οὕτω καὶ ἡ ἀρχή· καὶ καθάπερ ἡ κόνις τυφλοῖ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς, οὕτω καὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς ὁ τῦφος πηροῖ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τῆς διανοίας. Ἀλλὰ τί; βούλει τὸ πολύευκτον πρᾶγμα ἐξετάσωμεν, τὸν πλοῦτον; Φέρε καταμέρος αὐτὸν ἐξετάσωμεν. Ἔχει τρυφὴν, ἔχει τιμὰς, ἔχει τὸ δύνασθαι. Πρῶτον οὖν, εἰ βούλει, τὴν τρυφὴν ἐξετάσωμεν, οὐχὶ κονιορτός ἐστι; μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ τούτου ταχύτερον παρατρέχει· μέχρι γὰρ τῆς γλώττης ἡ ἡδονὴ τῆς τρυφῆς· ὅταν δὲ ἐμπλησθῇ ἡ γαστὴρ, οὐδὲ μέχρι τῆς γλώττης. Ἀλλ' αὐταὶ αἱ τιμαὶ πρᾶγμα ἡδὺ, φησί. Καὶ τί τῆς τιμῆς ἐκείνης ἀηδέστερον, ὅταν διὰ χρείαν γίνεται χρημάτων; Ὅταν μὴ ἐκ προαιρέσεως, μηδὲ ἀπὸ προθυμίας τινὸς, οὐ σὺ καρποῦσαι τὴν τιμὴν, ἀλλ' ὁ πλοῦτος. Ὥστε μάλιστα πάντων ἄτιμον ποιεῖ τὸν πλουτοῦντα τοῦτο αὐτό. Εἰπὲ γάρ μοι, εἴ σε φίλον ἔχοντα πάντες ἐτίμων, ὡμολόγουν δὲ σὲ μὲν οὐδενὸς ἄξιον εἶναι, ἀναγκάζεσθαι δὲ δι' ἐκεῖνον τιμᾷν, ἦν ὅπως ἄν σε ἑτέρως ἠτίμασαν; Ὥστε ἀτιμίας αἴτιος ὁ πλοῦτος ἡμῖν, αὐτῶν τῶν κεκτημένων τιμιώτερος ὢν, καὶ ἀσθενείας, ἢ δυναστείας τεκμήριον. Πῶς οὖν οὐκ ἄτοπον γῆς καὶ σποδοῦ (τοῦτο γὰρ ὁ χρυσὸς) μὴ νομίζεσθαι ἡμᾶς ἀξίους εἶναι, ἀλλ' ἡμᾶς δι' ἐκεῖνον τιμᾶσθαι; Εἰκότως· ἀλλ' οὐχ ὁ τοῦ πλούτου καταφρονῶν, οὕτω· κρεῖττον γὰρ μὴ τιμᾶσθαι ἢ οὕτω τιμᾶσθαι. Εἰπὲ γάρ μοι, εἴ τις εἶπέ σοι, ὅτι Σὲ οὐδεμιᾶς ἡγοῦμαι ἄξιον τιμῆς, διὰ δὲ τοὺς οἰκέτας σου τιμῶ σε, ἆρα τί ταύτης τῆς ἀτιμίας γένοιτο ἂν χεῖρον; Εἰ δὲ τὸ δι' οἰκέτας τιμᾶσθαι αἰσχρὸν τοὺς τῆς αὐτῆς ψυχῆς ἡμῖν κοινωνοῦντας καὶ φύσεως, πολλῷ μᾶλλον, διὰ τούτων, ἅπερ ἐστὶν εὐτελέστερα,