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to have, as speaking boldly, to say: "silver and 139 gold I do not have," he says; "do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you," clearly as has been said before. The worthless man, therefore, borrowing does not repay. For hearing many words that lead to instruction, he puts nothing into practice. But also the saying: "you will lend to many nations," spoken as a command; "but you will not borrow," having no historical basis—for how was it possible to cross through enemy nations for the purpose of lending at interest? But it has also been said of the Israelites borrowing: "you shall not charge interest to your brother," and: if you take a pledge, "you shall return it before the setting of the sun," which shows that they were in need— has the meaning that the one who has divine wealth ought to instruct everyone who approaches, without himself coming into the condition of one in need. For that the righteous suffered hunger and endured many afflictions in war is clear to one who has read the royal histories, with the sons of the prophets and Lazarus starving, and David finding himself in many predicaments, clearly having spiritual food according to what has been said: "open your 140 eyes and be filled with bread," and being found outside the temptation of the mind, not being permitted to endure the death of the soul or the bonds of sin, being outside the threat according to which it is introduced, "not a famine of bread nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the word of the Lord," as the righteous drink from the water which Jesus provides, which also "in them becomes a spring of water welling up to eternal life." "He will hide you from the scourge of the tongue, and you will not fear evils when they come." Concerning the one admonished by the Lord and who has, as it were, repented, he says these things again, following his own principle, although what he says is not even necessary. For many righteous men were often reviled, among whom is Joseph the chaste, testified against for licentiousness by the Egyptian woman, and Susanna, who endured the scourges of slander from "the lawless elders." If, then, he thinks that "to be hidden from the scourge of the tongue" is not to be slandered or reviled, the saying is not true, though it has truth in this way, that slander or reviling, called the scourge of the tongue, cannot overcome the one who lives according to God, since 141 virtue hides him and prevents him from being shown to be guilty of what is said. This same man is not even terrified by the expectation of evils, saying according to the blessed Paul: "Who shall separate us from the love of God? Tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or sword?" For he is more than a conqueror of these things by the abundance of virtue. No less also will such a man be hidden from the sophistries of a false wisdom, since God "frustrates the counsel of the crafty" from those who use it. And to: "and you will not fear evils when they come," is equivalent in meaning the prophetic saying which goes thus: "your affliction will come from afar," which might be understood thus: the good is from within us. For it has been said: "the kingdom of heaven is within you." For we have an aptitude for virtue, which he has called "kingdom." But what is harmful and injurious comes from without, as does the shame of sin. For man, having been made "in the image" of God, has within himself the seeds of the good. But having turned aside, he encounters evil, not having received occasions for this from God. "You will laugh at the unjust and lawless, 142 and you will not fear wild beasts. For wild beasts will be at peace with you." It is clear that he says these things about the righteous man who has come from admonishment, since he laughs at the unjust and lawless, showing that: having escaped their plots, you will mock them for having planned many things against you. But this would not be done by a righteous man; for the virtuous man is not a mocker, but is sympathetic, saying rather as Paul: "I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart," which he said concerning the negligent righteous. unless one might take this laughing in this way, that the matter is laughable

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ἔχειν ὡς παρρησιαζομένους εἰπεῖν· "ἀργύριον καὶ 139 χρυσίον οὐχ ὑπάρχει μοι", φησίν· "τὸν θέλοντα ἀπὸ σοῦ δανίσασθαι μὴ ἀποστραφῇς", δηλονότι ὡς προείρηται. ὁ φαῦλος οὖν δανιζόμενος οὐκ ἀποτιννύει. πολλοὺς γὰρ λόγους εἰς παίδευσιν ἄγοντας ἀκούων οὐδὲν εἰς ἔργον προφέρει. ἀλλὰ καὶ τό· "δανιεῖς ἔθνεσι πολλοῖς", λεγόμενον ἐν προστάξει· "σὺ δὲ οὐ δανιῇ", οὐκ ἔχον ἱστορίαν-πῶς γὰρ οἷόν τε ἦν διαβῆναι ἔθνη πολέμια ἐπὶ τῷ τοκίζειν; ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν Ἰσδραηλιτῶν δανιζομένων εἴρητ̣αι· "τῷ ἀδελφῷ σου οὐκ ἐκτοκιεῖς", καί· ἐὰν ἐνεχυράσῃς, "πρὸ δυθμῶν ἡλίου ἀποδώσεις αὐτό", ὅπερ δείκνυσιν αὐτοὺς ἐν χρείᾳ ὄντας- ἔχει διάνοιαν, ὡς τὸν θεῖον ἔχοντα πλοῦτον παιδεύειν δεῖ πάντα τὸν προσιόντα αὐτὸν μὴ εἰς τὴν τοῦ χρῄζοντος ἐρχόμενον κατάστασιν. ὅτι γὰρ ἐλίμωξαν δίκαιοι καὶ ἐν πολέμωι πολλὰς ὑπέμειναν θλίψεις δῆλον τῷ ἀναγνόντι τὰς βασιλικὰς ἱστορίας, τῶν μὲν υἱῶν τῶν προφητῶν λιμωττόντων καὶ Λαζάρου, ∆αυὶδ δὲ ἐν πολλαῖς περιστάσεσι γενομένου, δηλονότι τροφὴν ψυχικὴν ἔχοντες κατὰ τὸ εἰρημένον· "διάνοιξον τοὺς 140 ὀφθαλμούς σου καὶ ἐμπλήσθητι ἄρτων", καὶ ἐκτὸς πειρασμοῦ τοῦ κατὰ διάνοιαν εὑρισκόμενοι, οὐκ ἐώμενοι θάνατον ψυχῆς ὑπομένειν ἢ δεσμὰ ἁμαρτίας ἐκτὸς τῆς ἀπειλῆς γιγνόμενοι, καθ' ἣν ἐπάγεται "οὐ λιμὸς ἄρτου οὐδὲ δίψα ὕδατος, ἀλλὰ τοῦ ἀκοῦσαι λόγον κυρίου" πινόντων ἐκ τοῦ ὕδατος οὗ Ἰησοῦς παρέχει τῶν δικαίων, ὃ καὶ "ἐν αὐτοῖς γίνεται πηγὴ ὕδατος ἁλλομένου εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον". "ἀπὸ μάστιγος γλώσσης σε κρύψει καὶ οὐ μὴ φοβηθῇς ἀπὸ κακῶν ἐρχομένων." περὶ τοῦ νουθετουμένου ἀπὸ κυρίου καὶ ὡσανεὶ μετανοήσαντος ταῦτα πάλιν λέγει ἑ πόμενος τῇ οἰκείᾳ ἀρχῇ οὐκ ὄντος οὐδὲ τούτου ἀναγκαίου οὗ λέγει. πολλοὶ γὰρ πολλάκις ἐλοιδορήθησαν δίκαιοι, ὧν ἐστιν ὁ Ἰωσὴφ ὑπὸ τῆς Αἰγυπτίας ὁ σώφρων εἰς ἀκολασίαν καταμαρτυρούμενος καὶ Σωσαννά, ἥτις ὑπέμεινεν μάστιγας τὰς ἀπὸ "τῶν ἀνόμων πρεσβυτέρων" κακηγορίας. εἰ γοῦν τὸ μὴ διαβληθῆναι ἢ λοιδορηθῆναι οἴεται τὸ "ἀπὸ μάστιγος γλώττης κρύπτεσθαι", οὐκ ἀληθὴς ὁ λόγος οὕτως ἔχων ἀληθότητα, ὅτι τὸν κατὰ θεὸν ζῶντα οὐ δύναται ἑλεῖν κακηγορία ἢ λοιδορία μάστιξ γλώττης ὀνομαζομένη, τῆς 141 ἀρετῆς αὐτὸν ἀπὸ τοῦ ἔνοχον τοῖς λεγομένοις ἀποδειδηχθῆναι καὶ κρυπτούσης. ὁ δ' αὐτὸς οὗτος οὐδὲ κακῶν προσδοκίαν δεδίττεται κατὰ τὸν μακάριον Παῦλον λέγων· "τίς ἡμᾶς χωρίσει ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ θεοῦ; θλῖψις ἢ στενοχωρία ἢ διωγμὸς ἢ λιμὸς ἢ γυμνότης ἢ μάχαιρα;" ὑπερνικᾷ γὰρ ταῦτα τῇ τῆς ἀρετῆς περιουσίᾳ. οὐδὲν δ' ἧττον καὶ ἀπὸ σοφισμά των τῆς ἐπεψευσμένης σοφίας ὁ τοιοῦτος κρυβήσεται, τοῦ θεοῦ "τὴν βουλὴν τῶν πολυπλόκων ἐξιστῶντος" ἀπὸ τῶν χρωμένων αὐτῇ. τῷ δέ· "καὶ οὐ φοβηθήσῃ ἀπὸ κακῶν ἐρχομένων" ἴσον δυνατὸν τὸ προφητικὸν οὕτως ἔχον· "ἡ θλῖψις ὑμῶν πόρρωθεν ἥξει" καὶ ὅπερ οὕτω νοηθείη· τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἐξ ἡμῶν ἐστιν. εἴρηται γάρ· "ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν ἐντὸς ὑμῶν ἐστιν". ἔχομεν γὰρ ἐπιτηδειότητα πρὸς ἀρετήν, ἥντινα "βασιλείαν" κέκληκεν. τὸ δ' ἐπιζήμιον καὶ κακωτικὸν ἔξωθεν ἐπέρχεται καὶ τὸ τῆς ἁμαρτίας αἶσχος. ὁ γὰρ ἄνθρωπος "κατ' εἰκόνα" θεοῦ γενόμενος ἔχει ἐν αὑτῷ τὰ σπέρματα τοῦ καλοῦ. παρατραπεὶς δὲ τῷ κακῶι περιτυγχάνει οὐ λαβὼν ἀφορμὰς παρὰ θεοῦ εἰς τοῦτο. "ἀδίκων καὶ ἀνόμων καταγελάσει, 142 ἀπὸ δὴ θηρίων ἀγρίων οὐ μὴ φοβηθῇς. θῆρες γὰρ ἄγριοι εἰρηνεύσουσίν σοι." σαφές ἐστιν, ὅτι περὶ τοῦ ἐκ τῆς νουθετησίας γεγενημένου δικαίου ταῦτα λέγει, ἐκ τοῦ ἀδίκου καὶ ἀνόμων αὐτὸν καταγελᾶν, δηλῶν ὅτι· διαφυγὼν τὰς παρ' αὐτῶν ἐπιβουλὰς διαχλευάσεις αὐτοὺς πολλὰ κατὰ σοῦ βεβουλευμένους. τοῦτο δὲ πρὸς δικαίου οὐκ ἂν γένοιτο· οὐ γὰρ χλευαστικὸς ὁ σπουδαῖος, ἀλλὰ συμπαθὴς λέγων μᾶλλον ὡς ὁ Παῦλος· "λύμπη μοί ἐστιν μεγάλη καὶ ἀδιάλειπτος ὀδύνη τῆι καρδίᾳ μου", ἃ περὶ δικαίους ἀμελεῖς ἔφασκεν. εἰ μὴ τὸ αὐτὸ καταγελᾶν οὕτω τις ἐκλάβοι, ὅτι τοῦ πράγματος γέλωτος