47

having departed thence he enjoyed eternal good things, delighting in the bosom of Abraham. What then did it harm him to die a violent death? And what did it profit the rich man not to die a violent death? But it is not a violent death, he says, but an unjust death that we fear, and to be punished just like the convicted, when we have dared to do none of the things of which we are suspected. What do you say, tell me? You fear to die unjustly? But would you wish to die justly? And who is so wretched and miserable, that when it is possible to die unjustly, would choose to die justly instead? For if one must fear death, one must fear the death that comes upon us justly, since he who dies unjustly, by this very fact, has fellowship with all the saints. For the majority of those who have been well-pleasing to God and have shone brightly, endured an unjust death, and Abel was the first; for he had not sinned against his brother, nor grieved Cain in any way, but because he honored God, for this reason he was slain; and God allowed it, did He love him or hate him? It is evident that He loved him, and wished to make his crown more brilliant from that most unjust slaughter. Do you see that one must not fear to die violently, nor to die unjustly, but to die in sin? Abel died unjustly, Cain lived groaning and trembling; who then, tell me, was more blessed, the one who rested with righteousness, or the one who lived in sins? The one who died unjustly, or the one who was justly punished? Would you have me tell your charity why we fear death? The love of the kingdom has not wounded us, nor has the desire for things to come inflamed us, for then we would have despised all present things, just like the blessed Paul. And besides these things, again, we do not fear Gehenna, for this reason we fear death; we do not know the intolerableness of the punishment there, for this reason we fear death instead of sin; for if that fear possessed our soul, this one would not have been able to enter. 49.73 And this I will try to make clear, not from some distant place, but from home and from the very things that have happened to us in these days. For when the letters came from the emperor commanding this tax, which seemed unbearable, to be paid, all were in an uproar, all were contentious, were displeased, were indignant, meeting one another they said: Our life is unlivable, the city is overturned, no one will be able to bear the magnitude of this tax; and all were distressed as if they were in danger of their very last things. After this, when the audacious deeds happened, and certain defiled and all-defiled men, trampling the laws, tore down the statues, and hung over all the danger of the ultimate penalty, and now we fear for our very life, having provoked the emperor; no longer does the loss of money bite us, but I hear them saying other things instead of all those: Let the emperor take our property, we will gladly part with our fields and our substance, if only someone will promise to preserve for us our bare body. Just as, therefore, before the fear of death came upon us, the loss of money bit us, but when these lawless deeds were dared, the fear of death entered in and pushed away the pain of the loss; so if the fear of Gehenna possessed our souls, the fear of death would not have taken hold; but just as in the case of our bodies, when two pains seize us, the stronger one is accustomed to conceal the weaker one; so also would it have happened now; if the dread of the future punishment remained in the soul, it would have concealed all human fear. So that if anyone is eager to be always mindful of Gehenna, he will laugh at every kind of death; and this will not only deliver him from the present agony, but will also rescue him from that flame. For he who always fears Gehenna will never fall into the fire of Gehenna, being disciplined by this continual fear. Allow me to say to you seasonably now: Brethren, be not children in understanding, but in malice be infants. For indeed we fear a childish fear, fearing death, sin

47

ἀπελθὼν ἐκεῖ τῶν αἰωνίων ἀπήλαυσεν ἀγαθῶν, ἐντρυφῶν τοῖς κόλποις τοῦ Ἀβραάμ. Τί τοίνυν παρέβλαψεν αὐτὸν τὸ βιαίως ἀποθανεῖν; τί δὲ τὸν πλούσιον ὤνησε τὸ μὴ βιαίως ἀποθανεῖν; Ἀλλ' οὐ τὸ βιαίως, φησὶν, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἀδίκως ἀποθανεῖν δεδοίκαμεν, καὶ τὸ μηδὲν τετολμηκότες, ὧν ὑποπτευόμεθα, τοῖς ἑαλωκόσι κολασθῆναι παραπλησίως. Τί λέγεις, εἰπέ μοι; τὸ ἀδίκως ἀποθανεῖν δέδοικας; ἀλλὰ δικαίως ἐβούλου; Καὶ τίς οὕτως ἄθλιος καὶ ταλαίπωρος, ὡς παρὸν ἀδίκως ἀποθανεῖν, δικαίως ἑλέσθαι μᾶλλον; Εἰ γὰρ θάνατον δεδοικέναι χρὴ, τὸν δικαίως ἡμῖν ἐπιόντα δεδοικέναι χρὴ, ὡς ὅ γε ἀδίκως ἀποθανὼν κατ' αὐτὸ τοῦτο κοινωνεῖ τοῖς ἁγίοις ἅπασιν. Οἱ γὰρ πλείους τῶν εὐδοκιμηκότων παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ καὶ λαμψάντων, ἄδικον ὑπέστησαν τελευτὴν, καὶ πρῶτος ὁ Ἄβελ· οὐ γὰρ δὴ πλημμελήσας εἰς τὸν ἀδελφὸν, οὐδὲ λυπήσας τι τὸν Κάϊν, ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ τὸν Θεὸν ἐτίμησε, διὰ τοῦτο ἐσφάγη· ὁ δὲ Θεὸς συνεχώρησεν, ἆρα φιλῶν αὐτὸν ἢ μισῶν; εὔδηλον ὅτι φιλῶν, καὶ λαμπρότερον αὐτῷ τὸν στέφανον ποιῆσαι βουλόμενος ἀπὸ τῆς ἀδικωτάτης σφαγῆς. Ὁρᾷς ὅτι οὐ τὸ βιαίως ἀποθανεῖν, οὔτε τὸ ἀδίκως ἀποθανεῖν δεδοικέναι χρὴ, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἐν ἁμαρτίαις ἀποθανεῖν; Ὁ Ἄβελ ἀπέθανεν ἀδίκως, ὁ Κάϊν ἔζη στένων καὶ τρέμων· τίς οὖν, εἰπέ μοι, μακαριώτερος ἦν, ὁ μετὰ δικαιοσύνης ἀναπαυσάμενος, ἢ ὁ ἐν ἁμαρτίαις ζῶν; ὁ ἀδίκως ἀποθανὼν, ἢ ὁ δικαίως κολαζόμενος; Βούλεσθε εἴπω πρὸς τὴν ὑμετέραν ἀγάπην, πόθεν δεδοίκαμεν θάνατον; Οὐκ ἔτρωσεν ἡμᾶς βασιλείας ἔρως, οὐδὲ ἀνῆψεν ἡμᾶς ὁ τῶν μελλόντων πόθος, ἐπεὶ πάντων ἂν ὑπερείδομεν τῶν παρόντων, καθάπερ ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος. Καὶ πρὸς τούτοις πάλιν οὐ φοβούμεθα γέενναν, διὰ τοῦτο φοβούμεθα θάνατον· οὐκ ἴσμεν τῆς ἐκεῖ κολάσεως τὸ ἀφόρητον, διὰ τοῦτο τελευτὴν ἀντὶ ἁμαρτίας δεδοίκαμεν· ὡς εἰ ἐκεῖνος κατεῖχε τὴν ψυχὴν ἡμῶν ὁ φόβος, οὐδὲ ἐπεισελθεῖν οὗτος 49.73 ἠδύνατο. Καὶ τοῦτο οὐ πόῤῥωθέν ποθεν, ἀλλ' οἴκοθεν καὶ ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν συμβεβηκότων ἡμῖν ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ταύταις πειράσομαι ποιῆσαι φανερόν. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἦλθε παρὰ βασιλέως τὰ γράμματα τὴν εἰσφορὰν ταύτην τὴν ἀφόρητον εἶναι δοκοῦσαν κελεύοντα καταθεῖναι, πάντες ἐστασίαζον, πάντες ἐφιλονείκουν, ἐδυσχέραινον, ἠγανάκτουν, πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἀπαντῶντες ἔλεγον· Ἀβίωτος ἡμῖν ὁ βίος, ἀνετράπη ἡ πόλις, οὐδεὶς ὑποστῆναι δυνήσεται τῆς εἰσφορᾶς ταύτης τὸ μέγεθος· καὶ ἤσχαλλον πάντες ὡς περὶ τῶν ἐσχάτων αὐτῶν κινδυνεύοντες. Μετὰ ταῦτα, ἐπειδὴ συνέβη τὰ τολμηθέντα, καί τινες μιαροὶ καὶ παμμίαροι τοὺς νόμους καταπατήσαντες, τοὺς ἀνδριάντας καθεῖλον, καὶ τὸν περὶ τῶν ἐσχάτων πᾶσιν ἐπεκρέμασαν κίνδυνον, καὶ νῦν περὶ τῆς ζωῆς αὐτῆς δεδοίκαμεν παροξύναντες τὸν βασιλέα· οὐκ ἔτι λοιπὸν ἡμᾶς ἡ τῶν χρημάτων δάκνει ζημία, ἀλλ' ἕτερα ἀντ' ἐκείνων πάντων ἀκούω λεγόντων· Λαβέτω τὴν οὐσίαν ὁ βασιλεὺς, ἀποστησόμεθα καὶ τῶν ἀγρῶν καὶ τῶν οὐσιῶν ἀγαπητῶς, μόνον ἂν τὸ σῶμα γυμνόν τις ἡμῖν ὑπόσχηται διασώζειν. Ὥσπερ οὖν πρὶν ἢ τὸν τοῦ θανάτου φόβον ἡμῖν ἐπιστῆναι, ἔδακνεν ἡμᾶς ἡ ζημία τῶν χρημάτων, ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἐτολμήθη τὰ παράνομα ταῦτα τολμήματα, ὁ τοῦ θανάτου φόβος ἐπεισελθὼν τὴν ὀδύνην τῆς ζημίας ἀπώθησεν· οὕτως εἰ ὁ τῆς γεέννης φόβος κατεῖχεν ἡμῶν τὰς ψυχὰς, οὐκ ἂν ὁ τοῦ θανάτου φόβος κατέσχεν· ἀλλ' ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τῶν σωμάτων, ὅταν δύο ἡμᾶς κατάσχωσιν ὀδύναι, ἡ δυνατωτέρα τὴν καταδεεστέραν ἀποκρύπτειν εἴωθεν· οὕτω καὶ νῦν ἐγένετο ἄν· εἰ τὸ τῆς μελλούσης κολάσεως δέος ἔμενεν ἐπὶ τῆς ψυχῆς, πάντα ἀνθρώπινον ἀπέκρυψε φόβον. Ὥστε εἴ τις σπουδάζει διὰ παντὸς μεμνῆσθαι γεέννης, πάσης καταγελάσεται τελευτῆς· καὶ τοῦτο οὐ τῆς παρούσης αὐτὸν ἀπαλλάξει μόνον ἀγωνίας, ἀλλὰ κἀκείνης ἐξαιρήσεται τῆς φλογός. Ὁ γὰρ διὰ παντὸς γέενναν δεδοικὼς, οὐδέποτ' εἰς τὸ τῆς γεέννης ἐμπεσεῖται πῦρ, τῷ διηνεκεῖ τούτῳ σωφρονιζόμενος φόβῳ. ∆ότε μοι πρὸς ὑμᾶς εὐκαίρως εἰπεῖν νῦν· Ἀδελφοὶ, μὴ παιδία γίνεσθε ταῖς φρεσὶν, ἀλλὰ τῇ κακίᾳ νηπιάζετε. Καὶ γὰρ παιδικὸν φοβούμεθα φόβον θάνατον δεδοικότες, ἁμαρτίαν