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but not fearing. For little children fear masks, but they do not fear fire; but if, being carried, they happen to be near a lamp having a flame, they carelessly put their hand on the lamp and the flame; and they shudder at the contemptible mask, but they do not fear the truly fearful fire. Thus we too fear death, which is a contemptible mask, but we do not fear sin, which is truly fearful, and like fire consumes the conscience. And these things usually happen to us not from the nature of things, but from folly; for if we would consider what death is, we will never fear it. What then is death? It is like taking off a garment; for just as a garment, the body is wrapped around the soul, and this we lay aside for a short time through death, and we will receive it back again more glorious. What is death? A temporary journey, a sleep longer than usual; so if you fear death, fear sleep also; if you grieve for those who die, grieve also for those who eat and for those who drink; for just as this is natural, so is that also. Let not the things of nature grieve 49.74 you, but rather let the things of an evil will grieve you, and do not mourn the one who is dying, but mourn the one living in sins.

4. Shall I tell you also another reason why we fear death? We do not live with exactness, we do not have a good conscience; for if this were so, nothing would have frightened us, not death, not famine, not the loss of money, nor anything else of that sort. For none of these things will be able to harm the one living in virtue, nor take away the inner pleasure; for nothing will be able to cast into despondency the one who is nourished by good hopes. For what could someone do of such a sort, through which he might cause a noble man to grieve? Will he take away his money? But he has wealth in the heavens. But will he cast him out of his country? But he sends him to the city above. But will he put him in bonds? But he has a liberated conscience, and does not feel the external chain. But will he destroy the body? But it will rise again; and just as one who shadow boxes and beats the air will be able to strike no one, so also the one who wars against the just man only shadow boxes, and destroys his own power, but will be able to inflict no blow upon him. Give me, therefore, confidence concerning the kingdom of heaven, and if you wish, slay me today, and I will be grateful to you for the slaughter, because you quickly send me to those good things. "For this," he says, "is what we especially lament, that being hindered by the multitude of our sins, we will not attain that kingdom." Therefore, ceasing to lament death, lament your sins, that you may destroy them. For indeed grief came to be for this reason, not that we should suffer over the loss of money, not that we should suffer over death, nor over any other such thing, but that we might use it for the destruction of sins. And that this is true, I will make it clear to you from an example. Medical drugs exist only for those affections which they are able to remove, not for those which are not benefited by them. For instance; for I wish to make the argument even clearer; the drug that is able to help only diseased eyes, but no other ailment, one might rightly say exists only for the disease of the eyes, not for the stomach, not for the hands, nor for any other member. Let us transfer, therefore, the argument to grief, and we will find that it helps none of the other things that happen to us, but corrects sin alone; it is clear that it exists only for the destruction of this. Let us go through, therefore, each of the terrible things that befall us, and let us bring on despondency, and let us see what profit comes from it. Someone lost money? He grieved, he did not correct the loss. Someone lost a son? He suffered, he did not raise the dead, nor did he help the one who had departed. Someone was scourged, slapped, insulted? He grieved, he did not take back the insult. Someone fell into sickness, and disease

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δὲ μὴ δεδοικότες. Καὶ γὰρ τὰ παιδία τὰ μικρὰ προσωπεῖα μὲν δέδοικε, πῦρ δ' οὐ δέδοικεν· ἀλλ' ἐὰν βασταζόμενα τύχῃ παρὰ λυχνίαν λύχνον ἔχουσαν, ἀπερισκέπτως τὴν χεῖρα ἐπαφίησι τῇ λυχνίᾳ καὶ τῇ φλογί· καὶ τὸ μὲν εὐκαταφρόνητον φρίττει προσωπεῖον, τὸ δ' ἀληθῶς φοβερὸν οὐ δέδοικε πῦρ· οὕτω δὴ καὶ ἡμεῖς θάνατον μὲν δεδοίκαμεν, ὅπερ ἐστὶν εὐκαταφρόνητον προσωπεῖον, ἁμαρτίαν δ' οὐ δεδοίκαμεν, ὅπερ ἐστὶν ἀληθῶς φοβερὸν, καὶ πυρὸς δίκην κατεσθίει τὸ συνειδός. Καὶ ταῦτα οὐκ ἀπὸ τῆς τῶν πραγμάτων φύσεως, ἀλλ' ἐξ ἀνοίας ἡμῖν συμβαίνειν εἴωθεν· ὡς ἐὰν λογιζώμεθα, τί ποτ' ἔστι θάνατος, οὐδέποτ' αὐτὸν δείσομεν. Τί ποτ' οὖν ἐστι θάνατος; Ὅπερ ἐστὶν ἱμάτιον ἀποδύσασθαι· καθάπερ γὰρ ἱμάτιον, τὸ σῶμα τῇ ψυχῇ περίκειται, καὶ τοῦτο πρὸς βραχὺ διὰ τῆς τελευτῆς ἀποθέμενοι λαμπρότερον ἀποληψόμεθα πάλιν. Τί ποτέ ἐστι θάνατος; Ἀποδημία πρόσκαιρος, ὕπνος μακρότερος τοῦ συνήθους· ὥστε εἰ δέδοικας θάνατον, φοβοῦ καὶ ὕπνον· εἰ διὰ τοὺς τελευτῶντας ἀλγεῖς, ἄλγησον καὶ διὰ τοὺς ἐσθίοντας καὶ διὰ τοὺς πίνοντας· ὥσπερ γὰρ τοῦτο φυσικὸν, οὕτω κἀκεῖνο. Μὴ λυπείτω 49.74 σε τὰ τῆς φύσεως, λυπείτω σε μᾶλλον τὰ τῆς πονηρᾶς προαιρέσεως, μηδὲ τὸν τελευτῶντα πενθήσῃς, ἀλλὰ πένθησον τὸν ἐν ἁμαρτίαις ζῶντα.

δʹ. Βούλει εἴπω καὶ ἑτέραν αἰτίαν, δι' ἢν τὸν θάνατον δεδοίκαμεν; Οὐ ζῶμεν μετ' ἀκριβείας, οὐκ ἔχομεν συνειδὸς ἀγαθόν· ὡς εἰ τοῦτο ἦν, οὐδὲν ἡμᾶς ἂν ἐφόβησεν, οὐ θάνατος, οὐ λιμὸς, οὐ ζημία χρημάτων, οὐκ ἄλλο τι τῶν τοιούτων οὐδέν. Τὸν γὰρ ἐν ἀρετῇ ζῶντα οὐδὲν τούτων παραβλάψαι δυνήσεται, οὐδ' ἀφελέσθαι τὴν ἔνδον ἡδονήν· τὸν γὰρ χρησταῖς συντρεφόμενον ἐλπίσιν οὐδὲν εἰς ἀθυμίαν ἐμβαλεῖν δυνήσεται. Τί γὰρ ἐργάσαιτό τις τοιοῦτο, δι' οὗ τὸν γενναῖον ἄνδρα παρασκευάσει λυπεῖσθαι; Χρήματ' ἀφαιρήσεται; ἀλλ' ἔχει πλοῦτον τὸν ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς. Ἀλλὰ τῆς πατρίδος ἐκβαλεῖ; ἀλλ' εἰς τὴν ἄνω πόλιν στελεῖ. Ἀλλὰ δεσμὰ περιθήσει; ἀλλ' ἔχει τὸ συνειδὸς λελυμένον, καὶ τῆς ἔξωθεν ἁλύσεως οὐκ αἰσθάνεται. Ἀλλ' ἀναιρήσει τὸ σῶμα; ἀλλ' ἀναστήσεται πάλιν· καὶ καθάπερ ὁ σκιᾷ πυκτεύων καὶ τὸν ἀέρα δέρων οὐδένα πλῆξαι δυνήσεται, οὕτως ὁ τῷ δικαίῳ πολεμῶν σκιαμαχεῖ μόνον, καὶ τὴν αὑτοῦ καταλύει δύναμιν, εἰς ἐκεῖνον δὲ οὐδεμίαν πληγὴν ἐναπερεῖσαι δυνήσεται. ∆ός μοι τοίνυν θαῤῥῆσαι περὶ τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν, καὶ εἰ βούλει, σήμερόν με κατάσφαξον, καὶ χάριν εἴσομαί σοι τῆς σφαγῆς, ὅτι με ταχέως εἰς ἐκεῖνα πέμπεις τὰ ἀγαθά. Τοῦτο γάρ ἐστιν ὃ μάλιστα καὶ ἡμεῖς θρηνοῦμεν, φησὶν, ὅτι τῷ πλήθει τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν κωλυόμενοι, τῆς ἐκεῖ βασιλείας οὐκ ἐπιτευξόμεθα. Οὐκοῦν ἀφεὶς τὸ θρηνεῖν τὸν θάνατον, θρήνει τὰς ἁμαρτίας σου, ἵνα αὐτὰς καταλύσῃς. Καὶ γὰρ διὰ τοῦτο ἡ λύπη γεγένηται, οὐχ ἵνα ἐπὶ ζημίᾳ χρημάτων, οὐχ ἵνα ἐπὶ θανάτῳ, οὐδ' ἵνα ἐπ' ἄλλῳ τινὶ τῶν τοιούτων ἀλγῶμεν, ἀλλ' ἵνα εἰς τὴν τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων ἀναίρεσιν αὐτῇ καταχρώμεθα. Καὶ ὅτι τοῦτό ἐστιν ἀληθὲς, ἐκ παραδείγματος ὑμῖν αὐτὸ ποιήσω φανερόν. Τὰ φάρμακα τὰ ἰατρικὰ δι' ἐκεῖνα γεγένηται τὰ πάθη μόνον ἅπερ ἀνελεῖν δύναται, οὐ δι' ἐκεῖνα τὰ μηδὲν ὠφελούμενα παρ' αὐτῶν. Οἷόν τι λέγω· ἔτι γὰρ σαφέστερον ποιῆσαι βούλομαι τὸν λόγον· τὸ φάρμακον τὸ δυνάμενον ὀφθαλμοὺς νοσοῦντας ὠφελεῖν μόνον, ἕτερον δὲ πάθος μηδὲν, διὰ τὴν τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν νόσον δικαίως ἄν τις εἴποι γεγενῆσθαι μόνον, οὐ διὰ στόμαχον, οὐ διὰ χεῖρας, οὐδὲ δι' ἕτερόν τι μέλος. Μεταγάγωμεν τοίνυν τὸν λόγον ἐπὶ τὴν λύπην, καὶ εὑρήσομεν, ὅτι τῶν ἄλλων μὲν οὐδὲν τῶν συμβαινόντων ἡμῖν ὠφελεῖ, ἁμαρτίαν δὲ διορθοῦται μόνην, εὔδηλον ὅτι διὰ τὴν ταύτης ἀναίρεσιν γεγένηται μόνον. Ἐπέλθωμεν τοίνυν ἕκαστον τῶν συμπιπτόντων ἡμῖν δεινῶν, καὶ ἐπαγάγωμεν τὴν ἀθυμίαν, καὶ ἴδωμεν τί κέρδος ἀπὸ ταύτης γίνεται. Ἐζημιώθη τις χρήματα; ἐλυπήθη, οὐ διώρθωσε τὴν ζημίαν. Ἀπέβαλέ τις υἱόν; ἤλγησεν, οὐκ ἀνέστησε τὸν νεκρὸν, οὐδὲ τὸν ἀπελθόντα ὠφέλησεν. Ἐμαστιγώθη τις, ἐῤῥαπίσθη, ὑβρίσθη; ἐλυπήθη, τὴν ὕβριν οὐκ ἀνεκαλέσατο. Ἀῤῥωστίᾳ τις περιέπεσε, καὶ νόσῳ