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with those who weep, but they no longer rejoice with those who rejoice, but weep when others rejoice; which is envy and jealousy. It is, therefore, no small achievement to rejoice when a brother rejoices, but it is even greater than the other; perhaps it is greater not only than weeping with those who weep, but also than standing by them in dangers. For many have shared dangers with those in danger, but were stung when they were well-esteemed; so great is the tyranny of envy. And yet the one is a matter of toils and sweat, but this of choice and disposition only; but nevertheless many, having endured the more difficult thing, have not accomplished this easier one, but they pine away and perish, whenever they see others well-esteemed, 60.448 whenever they see the whole Church being benefited, either by word or in some other way; than which what could be worse? For such a person is no longer fighting against his brother, but also against the will of God. Considering this, therefore, cease from this disease, and if you do not want to for your neighbor, at least deliver yourself from countless evils. Why do you introduce war to your thoughts? Why do you fill your soul with turmoil? Why do you create a storm? Why do you turn things upside down? How will you, being so disposed, be able to ask for forgiveness of sins? For if He Himself does not forgive the sins of those who do not forgive what is done against them, what forgiveness will He give to those who attempt to wrong those who have wronged them in nothing? For this is proof of extreme wickedness; such people war against the Church with the devil; and perhaps even much worse; for it is possible to be on guard against him, but these, putting on the mask of friendship, secretly light the pyre, throwing themselves first into the furnace, and suffering from a disease not only incapable of being pitied, but also possessing much ridicule. For why are you pale, tell me, and trembling and standing in terror? What dreadful thing has happened? That your brother is brilliant and renowned and well-esteemed? Therefore you ought to be crowned and rejoice and glorify God, because your own member is brilliant and renowned; but you are grieved, because God is glorified. Do you see where the war tends? "But not that God," he says, "but that my brother is glorified." But through him the glory ascends to God; therefore also the war from you. "But this does not grieve me," he says, "but I wanted God to be glorified through me." Therefore rejoice when your brother is well-esteemed, and God is glorified again also through you, and all will say: "Blessed is the God who has such servants, free from all envy, rejoicing together in one another's good things." And why do I say your brother? For even if he were an adversary and an enemy, but God was being glorified through him, you should have made him a friend for this reason; but you make a friend an enemy, because God is glorified through his good repute. And if someone should heal your ailing body, even if he is an enemy, you would henceforth consider him among your first friends; but the one who adorns the body of Christ, that is, the Church, and who is a friend, do you consider an enemy? And how else could you have shown your war against Christ? For this reason, even if someone performs signs, or displays virginity, or fasting, or sleeping on the ground, and through this virtue reaches the angels, he will be more accursed than all, having this fault, and more lawless than an adulterer and fornicator and robber and grave-robber. 2. And so that no one may condemn the statement as an exaggeration, I would gladly ask you this: If someone, taking fire and a mattock, were to tear down and set fire to this house and dig up this very altar, would not each of those present have stoned him with stones as accursed and lawless? What then, if someone brings a flame more consuming than this fire, I mean envy, not tearing down buildings of stone, nor digging up a golden altar, but overthrowing and ruining what is much more precious than both walls and altar, the building up of the teachers, of what forgiveness would he be worthy? For let no one say to me that having often attempted it, he did not succeed; for deeds are judged by the intention; since Saul also 60.449 killed David, even if he did not succeed. Do you not consider, tell me, that for the sheep

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κλαιόντων, οὐκέτι δὲ καὶ μετὰ χαιρόντων χαίρουσιν, ἀλλὰ δακρύουσιν ἑτέρων χαιρόντων· ὅπερ ἐστὶ βασκανία καὶ φθόνος. Οὐ τοίνυν μικρὸν κατόρθωμα, τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ χαίροντος χαίρειν, ἀλλὰ καὶ θατέρου μεῖζον· τάχα δὲ οὐ τοῦ κλαίειν μόνον μετὰ κλαιόντων, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦ παραστῆναι ἐν κινδύνοις μεῖζον. Πολλοὶ γοῦν κινδυνεύουσι μὲν συνεκινδύνευσαν, εὐδοκιμούντων δὲ ἐδήχθησαν· τοσαύτη ἡ τῆς βασκανίας τυραννίς. Καίτοι τὸ μὲν πόνων ἐστὶ καὶ ἱδρώτων, τοῦτο δὲ προαιρέσεως καὶ γνώμης μόνον· ἀλλ' ὅμως τὸ χαλεπώτερον ὑπομείναντες πολλοὶ, τὸ εὐκολώτερον τούτου οὐκ ἤνυσαν, ἀλλὰ τήκονται καὶ ἀπόλλυνται, ὅταν ἑτέρους εὐδοκιμοῦντας ἴδωσιν, 60.448 ὅταν Ἐκκλησίαν ὠφελουμένην ὁλόκληρον, ἢ λόγῳ ἢ καὶ ἑτέρῳ τινὶ τρόπῳ· οὗ τί χεῖρον γένοιτ' ἄν; Οὐδὲ γὰρ τῷ ἀδελφῷ λοιπὸν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῷ θελήματι τοῦ Θεοῦ ὁ τοιοῦτος μάχεται. Τοῦτο οὖν ἐννοήσας, παῦσαι τῆς νόσου, καὶ εἰ μὴ τὸν πλησίον βούλει, σαυτὸν γοῦν ἀπάλλαξον τῶν μυρίων κακῶν. Τί πόλεμον ἐπεισάγεις σου τοῖς λογισμοῖς; τί θορύβου τὴν ψυχὴν πληροῖς; τί χειμῶνα ἐργάζῃ; τί τὰ ἄνω κάτω ποιεῖς; πῶς δυνήσῃ διακείμενος οὕτως, ἁμαρτιῶν ἄφεσιν αἰτῆσαι; Εἰ γὰρ τοῖς τὰ εἰς αὐτοὺς μὴ συγχωροῦσιν οὐδὲ αὐτὸς ἀφίησι τὰ ἁμαρτήματα, τοῖς τοὺς οὐδὲν ἠδικηκότας ἀδικεῖν ἐπιχειροῦσι ποίαν ἄφεσιν δώσει; Ἐσχάτης γὰρ τοῦτο πονηρίας ἀπόδειξις· οἱ τοιοῦτοι μετὰ τοῦ διαβόλου πολεμοῦσι τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν· τάχα δὲ καὶ πολλῷ χεῖρον· τὸν μὲν γὰρ καὶ φυλάττεσθαι δυνατὸν, οὗτοι δὲ προσωπεῖον φιλίας ὑποδύντες, λάθρᾳ τὴν πυρὰν ἀνάπτουσιν, ἑαυτοὺς προτέρους εἰς τὴν κάμινον ἐμβάλλοντες, καὶ νοσοῦντες νόσον οὐ μόνον ἐλεηθῆναι μὴ δυναμένην, ἀλλὰ καὶ πολὺν τὸν γέλωτα ἔχουσαν. Τί γὰρ ὠχριᾷς, εἰπέ μοι, καὶ τρέμεις καὶ περιδεὴς ἕστηκας; τί γέγονε δεινόν; ὅτι λαμπρὸς ὁ ἀδελφὸς καὶ περιφανὴς καὶ εὐδόκιμος; Οὐκοῦν στεφανοῦσθαί σε δεῖ καὶ χαίρειν καὶ τὸν Θεὸν δοξάζειν, ὅτι τὸ μέλος τὸ σὸν λαμπρὸν καὶ περιφανές· ἀλλὰ ἀλγεῖς, ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς δοξάζεται. Ὁρᾷς ποῦ τείνει ὁ πόλεμος; Ἀλλ' οὐχ ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς, φησὶν, ἀλλ' ὅτι ὁ ἀδελφὸς δοξάζεται. Ἀλλὰ διὰ τούτου πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ἀναβαίνει ἡ δόξα· οὐκοῦν καὶ ὁ παρὰ σοῦ πόλεμος. Ἀλλ' οὐ τοῦτό με λυπεῖ, φησὶν, ἀλλὰ δι' ἐμοῦ τὸν Θεὸν ἐβουλόμην δοξάζεσθαι. Οὐκοῦν χαῖρε εὐδοκιμοῦντος τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ, καὶ δοξάζεται καὶ διὰ σοῦ πάλιν ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ πάντες ἐροῦσιν· Εὐλογητὸς ὁ Θεὸς ὁ τοιούτους ἔχων οἰκέτας, φθόνου παντὸς ἀπηλλαγμένους, τοῖς ἀλλήλων συνηδομένους καλοῖς. Καὶ τί λέγω τὸν ἀδελφόν; Εἰ γὰρ καὶ πολέμιος ἦν καὶ ἐχθρὸς, ὁ δὲ Θεὸς δι' αὐτοῦ ἐδοξάζετο, φίλον ἔδει ποιήσασθαι διὰ τοῦτο· σὺ δὲ τὸν φίλον ἐχθρὸν ποιεῖς, ἐπειδὴ ὁ Θεὸς δοξάζεται διὰ τῆς εὐδοκιμήσεως ἐκείνου. Κἂν μὲν τὸ σῶμά τις θεραπεύσῃ τὸ σὸν κακῶς ἔχον, κἂν ἐχθρὸς ᾖ, τῶν πρώτων αὐτὸν ἡγήσῃ φίλων εἶναι λοιπόν· τὸν δὲ τοῦ Χριστοῦ τὸ σῶμα καλλωπίζοντα, τουτέστι τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν, καὶ φίλον ὄντα, ἐχθρὸν ἡγῇ; Καὶ πῶς ἂν ἑτέρως τὸν πρὸς τὸν Χριστὸν ἐπεδείξω πόλεμον; ∆ιὰ τοῦτο κἂν σημεῖά τις ποιῇ, κἂν παρθενίαν, κἂν νηστείαν, κἂν χαμευνίαν ἐπιδείξηται, καὶ πρὸς τοὺς ἀγγέλους διὰ ταύτης τῆς ἀρετῆς φθάσῃ, πάντων ἔσται ἐναγέστερος, τοῦτο ἔχων τὸ ἐλάττωμα, καὶ μοιχοῦ καὶ πόρνου καὶ λῃστοῦ καὶ τυμβωρύχου παρανομώτερος. ʹ. Καὶ ἵνα μή τις ὑπερβολὴν καταγνῷ τοῦ λόγου, ἐκεῖνο ἂν ἡδέως ἐροίμην ὑμᾶς· Εἰ πῦρ καὶ δίκελλάν τις λαβὼν, τοῦτον καθῄρει καὶ ἐνεπίμπρα τὸν οἶκον καὶ τουτὶ κατέσκαπτε τὸ θυσιαστήριον, οὐκ ἂν λίθοις ἕκαστος αὐτὸν ἔβαλλε τῶν παρόντων ὡς ἐναγῆ καὶ παράνομον; Τί οὖν, ἂν τοῦ πυρὸς τούτου δαπανητικωτέραν τις φέρῃ φλόγα, τὴν βασκανίαν λέγω, οὐχὶ λίθων οἰκοδομὰς καθαιροῦσαν, οὐδὲ χρυσοῦν θυσιαστήριον κατασκάπτουσαν, ἀλλὰ τὸ πολὺ καὶ τῶν τοίχων καὶ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου τιμιώτερον, τῶν διδασκάλων τὴν οἰκοδομὴν ἀνατρέπουσαν καὶ λυμαινομένην, ποίας ἂν εἴη συγγνώμης ἄξιος; Μὴ γάρ μοι λεγέτω τις, ὅτι πολλάκις ἐπιχειρήσας οὐκ ἴσχυσεν· ἀπὸ γὰρ τῆς γνώμης τὰ πράγματα κρίνεται· ἐπεὶ καὶ ὁ Σαοὺλ 60.449 ἀπέκτεινε τὸν ∆αυῒδ, εἰ καὶ μὴ ἐπέτυχεν. Οὐκ ἐννοεῖς, εἰπέ μοι, ὅτι τοῖς προβάτοις