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I do not compare the servant to the Master. Perish the thought! The notion of a madman; but that God, demonstrating his own power through his own servants, enriched none of the disciples with his own gifts as he did Peter, but also set him before all, exalting him with gifts from above; and just as he became the first disciple in the order of time, so also was he shown to be greater than the brethren in the experience of things by the power of the Spirit. 8.8.5 He was called first and quickly obeyed; found by the shores in the turbulent place of the world, he who was always buffeted by the waves of the human squall, has an unceasing echo resounding about the strands. First among Christians, he scorned worldly things and, despising all that was before his feet, he transferred himself to the intelligible and super-cosmic realms. 8.9.1 And perhaps someone will say, of those who call that thrice-blessed one poor and obscure: For what did he put aside? And what did he acquire? All that he had, O man; and to each one, what he possesses is great; and that is wealth which a poor man has. He who has put aside chariots and he who has scorned the donkey appear equal before God. For what the four-horse chariot is to the rich man, this the cheap pack-ass is to the poor man. 8.9.2 A philosopher, similarly, is both he who has left the silver table adorned with stories and he who has left the cheap wooden one; similarly, he who left the populous village and he who left the small garden, he who left the gold-embroidered garment and he who left the worn-out tunic. For God does not judge the generous and philanthropic man by the quantity and quality of what is given, but he accepts the intention of the giver. 8.9.3 Therefore, the gospel also proclaims that widow as well-disposed, she who gave the obol, since she held back nothing of what she had. And he who offered a cup of cold water receives the kingdom as a reward for so easy a reception; for with what he had, he tended to the need of the thirsty one, even if fragrant wine was not available to him because of poverty. 8.9.4 But I say these things by way of concession, since it is not entirely the case that if someone is a fisherman, he is also poor. Do you not know that a fisherman is a hunter of pearls? And pearls are the flower of proud and high-necked wealth, with which kings are adorned, in which wealth-loving and worldly women exult. A fisherman dyes the famous purple robe dedicated to royalty; fishermen dye the golden-fleeced wool, hunting the yellow pen-shell. 8.9.5 Therefore, one must not pay attention to the tools of their trade as cheap and contemptible, to the net, I say, and to the hooks; for prosperity is not discerned from the cheapness of the tools among each person, but from the work that is accomplished; since, indeed, by that reasoning, you would find nothing poorer than farming in the first place, if its wealth were judged by the two-pronged hoe and the spade. And utterly poor also are those who dig for gold, the king of wealth. For one axe helps them; a wooden plank, that which separates the gold from the earth. 8.9.6 Let the Gentiles and Hebrews be silent, therefore, who reproach Peter with poverty and who try to diminish the great one on account of his being a fisherman; and leaving off such elegant sophistries, let them tell me when I ask: What fisherman or of all men has yoked the sea? Who has set his foot upon a still lake, as he did upon waves tossed by the winds? 8.9.7 For although our good God performed many wonders through his own servants both in the ancient polity of Israel and in later times, in which the philanthropic economy of our Savior appeared to the world, none of the saints from the beginning to the end appears to have accomplished such a deed through his own faith and the grace from above. 8.10.1 Wonderful was Moses, having crossed the sea without ships; but he traversed dry land, as is the way for men, with the water having been held back on either side. Great also was Joshua, his successor, because he crossed the Jordan above its banks

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οὐ τὸν δοῦλον τῷ ∆εσπότῃ συγκρίνω. Ἄπαγε! Μαινομένου τὸ νόημα· ἀλλ' ὅτι διὰ τῶν ἑαυτοῦ θεραπόντων ὁ Θεὸς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ δύναμιν ἐνδεικνύμενος οὐδένα τῶν μαθητῶν ὡς Πέτρον ταῖς ἰδίαις δωρεαῖς κατεπλούτησεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ πάντων αὐτὸν προὔθηκεν ὑψώσας ταῖς ἄνωθεν δωρεαῖς· καὶ ὥσπερ πρῶτος μαθητὴς κατὰ τὴν τάξιν τῶν χρόνων ἐγένετο, οὕτω καὶ μείζων τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἐπὶ τῆς πείρας τῶν πραγμάτων ἐδείχθη τῇ δυνάμει τοῦ Πνεύματος. 8.8.5 Πρῶτος ἐκλήθη καὶ ταχέως ὑπήκουσε· πρὸς τοῖς αἰγια λοῖς εὑρεθεὶς ἐν τῷ ταραχώδει τοῦ κόσμου χωρίῳ ὁ τοῖς κύμασιν ἀεὶ τῆς ἀνθρωπικῆς ζάλης περιψοφούμενος, ἀδιάλειπτον ἔχει τὴν βοῶσαν περὶ τὰς ἠϊόνας ἠχήν. Πρῶτος ἐν χριστιανοῖς τῶν κοσμικῶν ὑλῶν κατε φρόνησε καὶ τῶν ἐν ποσὶ πάντων ὑπεριδὼν πρὸς τὰ νοητὰ καὶ ὑπερ κόσμια μετετάξατο. 8.9.1 Καὶ τυχὸν ἐρεῖ τις τῶν πένητα καὶ ἀφανῆ τὸν τρισμακάριον ἐκεῖνον ἀποκαλούντων· Τί γὰρ ἀπέθετο; Τί δὲ ἀπεκτήσατο; Πάντα ὅσα εἶχεν, ὦ ἄνθρωπε· ἑκάστῳ δὲ ὃ κέκτηται μέγα· κἀκεῖνο πλοῦτος, ὃ ἔχει ἀκτήμων. Ὅμοιος παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ φαίνεται καὶ ὁ τὰ ἅρματα ἀποθέμενος καὶ ὁ καταφρονήσας τοῦ ὄνου. Ὅπερ γάρ ἐστι τῷ πλουσίῳ τὸ τέθριππον, τοῦτο τῷ πένητι ὁ εὐτελὴς κανθήλιος. 8.9.2 Φιλόσοφος δέ ἐστιν ὁμοίως καὶ ὁ τὴν ἀργυρᾶν καταλιπὼν τράπεζαν τήν τε ἱστορίαις κεκοσμημένην καὶ ὁ τὴν ξυλίνην τὴν εὔωνον· ὁμοίως ὁ τὴν κώμην τὴν πολυάνθρωπον καὶ ὁ τὸ μικρὸν κηπίον, ὁ τὴν ἐσθῆτα τὴν χρυσόπαστον καὶ ὁ τὸν πεπαλαιωμένον χιτῶνα. Οὐ γὰρ ἐν τῷ πλήθει καὶ τῇ ποιότητι τῶν διδομένων ὁ Θεὸς τὸν μεταδοτικὸν καὶ φιλάνθρωπον κρίνει, ἀλλὰ τὴν προαίρεσιν ἀποδέχεται τοῦ διδόντος. 8.9.3 ∆ιὸ καὶ τὴν χήραν ἐκείνην ὡς εὐγνώμονα κηρύσσει τὸ εὐαγγέλιον, τὴν τὸν ὀβολὸν ἐπιδοῦσαν, ἐπειδὴ μηδὲν παρακατέσχεν ὧν εἶχεν. Καὶ ὁ τὸ ποτήριον δὲ ὀρέξας τοῦ ψυχροῦ ὕδατος λαμβάνει μισθὸν τῆς οὕτως εὐκόλου δεξιώσεως τὴν βασιλείαν· ᾧ γὰρ εἶχεν ἐθεράπευσε τοῦ διψῶντος τὴν χρείαν, εἰ καὶ μὴ παρῆν αὐτῷ οἶνος ἀνθοσμίας διὰ πενίαν. 8.9.4 Ταῦτα δὲ λέγω κατὰ συγχώρησιν, ἐπεὶ οὐ πάντως, εἴ τις ἁλιεύς, οὗτος καὶ πένης. Οὐκ οἶδας ὡς ἁλιεὺς μαργαριτῶν ἐστι θηρευτής; Μαργαρῖται δὲ ἄνθος εἰσὶ τοῦ γαύρου καὶ ὑψαύχενος πλούτου, οἷς βασιλεῖς κοσμοῦνται, οἷς γυναῖκες φιλόπλουτοι καὶ φιλόκοσμοι ἐπαγάλλονται. Ἁλιεὺς βάπτει τὴν ἁλουργίδα τὴν πολυθρύλητον καὶ ἀφιερωμένην τῇ βασιλείᾳ· ἁλιεῖς βάπτουσι τὰ ὑπόχρυσα τῶν ἐρίων τὴν ξανθὴν πίνναν θηρεύοντες. 8.9.5 Οὐ τοίνυν δεῖ προσέχειν τοῖς ὀργάνοις τῆς τέχνης αὐτῶν ὡς εὐώνοις καὶ εὐκαταφρονήτοις, τῷ δικτύῳ, φημί, καὶ τοῖς ἀγκίστροις· οὐ γὰρ ἐκ εὐτελείας τῶν ὀργάνων παρ' ἑκάστοις, ἀλλ' ἐκ τῆς τελουμένης ἐργασίας αἱ εὐπορίαι καταμανθάνονται· ἐπεὶ τοί γε κατ' ἐκεῖνον τὸν λόγον οὐδὲν πενέστερον εὕρῃς πρώτης τῆς γεωργίας, εἰ ἀπὸ τῆς δικέλλης καὶ τῆς σκαπάνης ὁ πλοῦτος αὐτῆς δοκιμάζοιτο. Ἄποροι δὲ παντελῶς καὶ οἱ τὸν χρυσὸν ὀρύττοντες, τὸν βασιλέα τοῦ πλούτου. Μία γὰρ αὐτοῖς ἀξίνη συνεργεῖ· ξύλινος πίναξ, ὁ τῆς γῆς τὸν χρυσὸν ἀποκρίνων. 8.9.6 Σιγά τωσαν τοίνυν ἐθνικοὶ καὶ Ἑβραῖοι, οἱ Πέτρῳ πενίαν ὀνειδίζοντες καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἁλιέως σμικρύνειν τὸν μέγαν πειρώμενοι· καὶ καταλιπόντες τὰ τοιαῦτα κομψεύεσθαι λεγέτωσάν μοι πυνθανομένῳ· Τίς ἁλιέων ἢ τῶν πάντων ἀνθρώπων ἐπέζευσε θαλάτταν; Τίς ἔστησε πόδα κατὰ λίμνης ἑστώσης, ὡς ἐκεῖνος κατὰ κυμάτων τοῖς ἀνέμοις τινασσομένων; 8.9.7 Τοῦ γὰρ Θεοῦ ἡμῶν τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ πολλὰ θαύματα διὰ τῶν ἰδίων δούλων τελέσαντος ἐπί τε τῆς πολιτείας τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ τὸ ἀρχαῖον κἀν τοῖς ὕστερον χρόνοις, ἐν οἷς ἡ φιλάνθρωπος οἰκονομία τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἐπεφάνη τῷ κόσμῳ, οὐδεὶς τῶν ἐξ ἀρχῆς εἰς τέλος ἁγίων τοιαύτην διὰ πίστεως ἰδίας καὶ τῆς ἄνωθεν χάριτος πρᾶξιν ἐπιτελέσας φαίνεται. 8.10.1 Θαυμαστὸς ὁ Μωϋσῆς πέλαγος ἄνευ πλοίων περαιωθείς· ἀλλὰ γῆν ἐπέζευσεν, ἣν νόμος ἀνθρώποις, ἔνθεν καὶ ἔνθεν τοῦ ὕδατος ἀνασταλέντος πρὸς ἑαυτό. Μέγας καὶ Ἰησοῦς ὁ τούτου διάδοχος, ὅτι τὸν Ἰορδάνην ἐπεραιώθη ὑπὲρ τὰς ὄχθας