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he showed you, flashing from all the walls, and all the other splendor, then led you from there into a poor man's hut, and after a short time promised to bring you back to that palace, and to give you a perpetual dwelling there; would you not be distressed, and impatient, even for those few days? Consider this then also in the case of the heavens, and of the earth, and groan with Paul. not because of death, but because of the present life. And grant me to become like Paul, he says, and I will never fear death. And what prevents you from becoming like Paul, O man? Was he not poor? Was he not a tent-maker? Was he not a common man? For if he had been rich and well-born, perhaps the poor, when called to the same zeal, would have had their own poverty to plead as an excuse; but as it is, you can say none of these things; for the man was a craftsman, and was nourished from his daily labors; and you, on the one hand, have inherited piety from your fathers from the beginning, and from your earliest years were nurtured in the sacred writings; but he had also been a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and an insolent man, and had ravaged the Church, but nevertheless he changed so suddenly, as to surpass all in the vehemence of his zeal, and he cries out, saying: Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. He imitated the Master, but you do not imitate your fellow servant, you who were raised in piety from the beginning, him who later came to the faith by a change? Do you not know that those who are in sins, even if they live, are dead; but those who live in righteousness, even if they die, are alive? And this saying is not mine; it is the declaration of Christ speaking to Martha: Everyone who believes in me, even if he dies, will live. For are our beliefs a myth? If you are a Christian, believe in Christ; if you believe in Christ, show me your faith through your works. And how will you show your faith through your works? If you despise death. For in this too we differ from the unbelievers. For they rightly fear death, for they have no hope of resurrection; but you, who are journeying on a better road, and are able to philosophize about the hope that is there, what excuse could you have, being confident about the resurrection, yet fearing death just like those who do not believe in the resurrection? But I do not fear death, he says, nor dying, but dying badly, having my head cut off. Then did John die badly? for he was beheaded; then did Stephen die 49.72 badly? for he was stoned; and all the martyrs, according to you, died miserably; since some ended their lives in fire, some by the sword; and some in the sea, some from a cliff, and some falling to the teeth of wild beasts, thus they died. This is not dying badly, O man, to end one's life by a violent death, but to die in sins. Listen, then, to the prophet philosophizing about these very things and saying: The death of sinners is evil; he did not say: A violent death is evil; but what? The death of sinners is evil. Rightly; for after the departure from here there is unbearable punishment, immortal torments, the venomous worm, the unquenchable fire, the outer darkness, the unbreakable chains, the gnashing of teeth, the affliction, the anguish, and the eternal judgment.

3. When, therefore, such evils await sinners, what benefit would it be to them, even if they end their life at home, or on their own bed? just as, then, for the righteous there would be no harm from laying aside the present life by sword and iron and fire, when they are about to depart to the immortal goods. Truly, the death of sinners is evil. Such was the death of that rich man who looked down upon Lazarus, who, having ended his life at home and on his bed and with his necessaries present in a natural death, went away there and was tormented, not being able to find even a little comfort there from the prosperity in the present life. But not so Lazarus; but on the very ground with dogs present and licking his sores, he endured a violent death—for what could be more painful than starvation?

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ἔδειξε, πάντοθεν ἀπὸ τῶν τοίχων ἀστράπτοντα, καὶ τὴν ἄλλην εὐπρέπειαν ἅπασαν, εἶτά σε ἐκεῖθεν εἰς καλύβην πένητος εἰσήγαγε, καὶ μετὰ χρόνον βραχὺν ὑπέσχετο εἰς τὰ βασίλεια ἐπανάξειν ἐκεῖνα, καὶ διηνεκῆ δώσειν ἐκεῖ μονήν· ἆρα οὐκ ἔμελλες ἀλύειν, καὶ δυσανασχετεῖν, καὶ πρὸς αὐτὰς τὰς ὀλίγας ἡμέρας; Τοῦτο δὴ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν οὐρανῶν λογίζου, καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, καὶ στένε μετὰ Παύλου. μὴ διὰ τὸν θάνατον, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὴν παροῦσαν ζωήν. Καὶ δός μοι κατὰ Παῦλον γενέσθαι, φησὶ, καὶ οὐδέποτε φοβηθήσομαι θάνατον. Καὶ τί τὸ κωλύον κατὰ Παῦλον γενέσθαι σε, ἄνθρωπε; οὐχὶ πένης ἦν ἐκεῖνος; οὐχὶ σκηνοποιός; οὐκ ἰδιώτης; Εἰ μὲν γὰρ πλούσιος ἦν καὶ εὐγενὴς, εἶχον ἴσως οἱ πένητες πρὸς τὸν αὐτὸν καλούμενοι ζῆλον, τὴν ἑαυτῶν προβάλλεσθαι πενίαν· νυνὶ δὲ οὐδὲν τούτων ἔχεις εἰπεῖν· καὶ γὰρ χειροτέχνης ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἦν, καὶ ἐκ τῶν καθημερινῶν ἀπετρέφετο πόνων· καὶ σὺ μὲν ἐξ ἀρχῆς τὴν εὐσέβειαν διεδέξω παρὰ πατέρων, καὶ ἐκ πρώτης ἡλικίας τοῖς ἱεροῖς γράμμασιν ἐνετράφης· ἐκεῖνος δὲ καὶ βλάσφημος γέγονε, καὶ διώκτης, καὶ ὑβριστὴς, καὶ τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν ἐπόρθησεν, ἀλλ' ὅμως οὕτως ἀθρόον μετεβάλετο, ὡς ἅπαντας ὑπερβαλέσθαι τῇ τῆς προθυμίας σφοδρότητι, καὶ βοᾷ λέγων· Μιμηταί μου γίνεσθε, καθὼς κἀγὼ Χριστοῦ. Ἐκεῖνος τὸν ∆εσπότην ἐμιμήσατο, σὺ δὲ τὸν σύνδουλον οὐ μιμῇ, ὁ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐν εὐσεβείᾳ τραφεὶς τὸν ὕστερον ἐκ μεταβολῆς προσελθόντα τῇ πίστει; Οὐκ οἶσθα, ὅτι οἱ ἐν ἁμαρτίαις ὄντες, κἂν ζῶσιν, ἀπέθανον· οἱ δὲ ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ ζῶντες, κἂν ἀποθάνωσι, ζῶσι; Καὶ οὐκ ἐμὸς οὗτος ὁ λόγος· ἀπόφασίς ἐστι τοῦ Χριστοῦ πρὸς τὴν Μάρθαν λέγοντος· Πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμὲ, κἂν ἀποθάνῃ, ζήσεται. Μὴ γὰρ μῦθός ἐστι τὰ ἡμέτερα; Εἰ Χριστιανὸς εἶ, πίστευε τῷ Χριστῷ· εἰ πιστεύεις τῷ Χριστῷ, διὰ τῶν ἔργων ἐπίδειξόν μοι τὴν πίστιν. Πῶς δὲ ἐπιδείξῃ διὰ τῶν ἔργων τὴν πίστιν; Ἐὰν καταφρονῇς θανάτου. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ ταύτῃ διεστήκαμεν τῶν ἀπίστων. Ἐκεῖνοι μὲν γὰρ καλῶς φοβοῦνται τὸν θάνατον, ἀναστάσεως γὰρ ἐλπίδα οὐκ ἔχουσι· σὺ δὲ ὁ πρὸς βελτίονα ὁδεύων ὁδὸν, καὶ περὶ τῆς ἐλπίδος τῆς ἐκεῖ φιλοσοφεῖν ἔχων, ποίαν ἂν ἔχοις συγγνώμην, περὶ ἀναστάσεως μὲν θαῤῥῶν, ὁμοίως δὲ τοῖς ἀπιστοῦσι τῇ ἀναστάσει τὸν θάνατον δεδοικώς; Ἀλλ' οὐ τὸν θάνατον δέδοικα, φησὶν, οὐδὲ τὸ ἀποθανεῖν, ἀλλὰ τὸ κακῶς ἀποθανεῖν, τὸ ἀποτμηθῆναι τὴν κεφαλήν. Οὐκοῦν ὁ Ἰωάννης κακῶς ἀπέθανεν; ἀπετμήθη γάρ· οὐκοῦν ὁ Στέφανος κακῶς ἀπ 49.72 έθανε; κατελεύσθη γάρ· καὶ μάρτυρες οἱ δὲ πάντες ἀθλίως τὸ καθ' ὑμᾶς ἐτελεύτησαν· ἐπειδὴ οἱ μὲν ἐν πυρὶ, οἱ δὲ σιδήρῳ τὸν βίον κατέλυσαν· καὶ οἱ μὲν εἰς πέλαγος, οἱ δὲ εἰς κρημνὸν, οἱ δὲ εἰς ὀδόντας ἐμπεσόντες θηρίων, οὕτως ἀπέθανον. Οὐ τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ κακῶς ἀποθανεῖν, ἄνθρωπε, τὸ βιαίῳ τελευτῆσαι θανάτῳ, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἐν ἁμαρτίαις ἀποθανεῖν. Ἄκουσον γοῦν τοῦ προφήτου περὶ αὐτῶν τούτων φιλοσοφοῦντος καὶ λέγοντος· Θάνατος ἁμαρτωλῶν πονηρός· οὐκ εἶπε· Θάνατος βίαιος πονηρός· ἀλλὰ τί; Θάνατος ἁμαρτωλῶν πονηρός. ∆ικαίως· μετὰ γὰρ τὴν ἐντεῦθεν ἀποδημίαν κόλασις ἀφόρητος, τιμωρίαι ἀθάνατοι, ὁ σκώληξ ὁ ἰοβόλος, τὸ πῦρ τὸ ἄσβεστον, τὸ σκότος τὸ ἐξώτερον, τὰ δεσμὰ τὰ ἄλυτα, ὁ τῶν ὀδόντων βρυγμὸς, ἡ θλῖψις, ἡ στενοχωρία, καὶ ἡ αἰώνιος δίκη.

γʹ. Ὅταν οὖν τοιαῦτα τοὺς ἁμαρτωλοὺς ἀναμένῃ κακὰ, τί γένοιτ' ἂν αὐτοῖς ὄφελος, κἂν οἴκοι, κἂν ἐπὶ τῆς ἑαυτῶν κλίνης καταλύσωσι τὴν ζωήν; ὥσπερ οὖν τοῖς δικαίοις οὐδὲν ἂν γένοιτο βλάβος ἐκ τοῦ ξίφει καὶ σιδήρῳ καὶ πυρὶ τὴν παροῦσαν ἀποθέσθαι ζωὴν, ὅταν πρὸς τὰ ἀθάνατα μέλλωσιν ἀποδημεῖν ἀγαθά. Ἀληθῶς Θάνατος ἁμαρτωλῶν πονηρός. Τοιοῦτος ἦν ὁ τοῦ πλουσίου θάνατος ἐκείνου τοῦ τὸν Λάζαρον ὑπεριδόντος, ὃς οἴκοι καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς κλίνης καὶ τῶν ἐπιτηδείων παρόντων οἰκείᾳ τελευτῇ καταλύσας τὸν βίον, ἀπελθὼν ἐκεῖ ἀπετηγανίζετο, οὐδὲ μικρὰν παραμυθίαν ἐκ τῆς κατὰ τὸν παρόντα βίον εὐημερίας εὑρεῖν δυνηθεὶς ἐκεῖ. Ἀλλ' οὐχ ὁ Λάζαρος οὕτως· ἀλλ' ἐπ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἐδάφους τῶν κυνῶν παρόντων καὶ λειχομένων τὰ τραύματα, βίαιον θάνατον ὑποστὰς, τί γὰρ λιμοῦ γένοιτ' ἂν ὀδυνηρότερον;