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you demand satisfaction of yourself, being confused, being troubled, being filled with much grief. For they should have been doing these things, if at last they ever wished to recognize their own evils. They would be right to mourn now, to lament, to sink down, to be veiled, to be buried, not even to see this sun, but having shut themselves up somewhere in darkness to bewail both their own evils and those with which they have encompassed so many Churches; but you should exult and rejoice that the chief of virtues has been achieved by you. For you know, you know clearly, that nothing is equal to patience, but this most of all is the queen of virtues, the foundation of right actions, the harbor without waves, peace in wars, calm in the storm, security in plots, which makes the one who has achieved it stronger than adamant, which neither moving weapons, nor armies drawn up in battle array, nor siege engines brought against it, nor bows, nor spears being thrown, nor the very army of demons, nor the dark phalanxes of opposing powers, nor the devil himself drawn up with all his army and his contrivances will be able to harm. Why then are you afraid? For what reason do you grieve, you who have practiced despising life itself, if the occasion calls? But do you desire to see a release from the evils that possess you? This too will be, and it will be soon, with God's permission. Rejoice therefore and be glad, and delight in your achievements, and never despair that we will see you again and will remind you of these words.

14.t EPISTLE 14

14.1 Both are of the ineffable philanthropy of God, both allowing so many temptations to be brought upon you and in such succession so that your crowns become more glorious, and making their removal very swift so that you may not be worn out again by the persistence of the evils brought upon you. Thus also God steered the life of those noble men, I mean the apostles and the prophets, now allowing the waves to be stirred up, now rebuking the sea of evils and from a harsh storm working a bright calm. Cease therefore from weeping and being worn out by grief, and do not consider only the terrible things brought upon you, the successive and continuous ones, but also their very swift freedom and the ineffable reward and recompense born for you from them. For whatever a spider's web is, and a shadow, and smoke, and if anything is more worthless than these, this is what all the terrible things brought upon you are in comparison to the prizes which are to be given to you from them. For what is it to be cast out of a city and to change places from places and to be driven from all sides and to be dispossessed and to be dragged into courts and to be torn apart by soldiers and to endure now the opposite from those who have been benefited in countless ways and to be insulted by slaves and by free men, when the prize for these things is heaven and those incorruptible good things which cannot even be explained by word and have no end, but provide the immortal enjoyment from them? Therefore, ceasing to reckon the plots, the insults, the losses of money, the continuous migrations, the living in a foreign land, and trampling these things down as more worthless than any mud, consider the treasures born for you from these things in the heavens and the imperishable merchandise and the inviolable wealth. But has your body been badly affected by these labors and hardships, and have the plots of your enemies aggravated the effects of sickness? Again you speak to me of the substance of another great and ineffable commerce. For you know, you know clearly how great a thing it is for the sickness of the body

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δίκην σαυτὴν ἀπαιτεῖς, συγχεομένη, ταραττομένη, πολλῆς πληρουμένη λύπης. Ταῦτα γὰρ ἐκείνους ἔδει ποιεῖν, εἴ γε ὀψὲ γοῦν ποτε τὰ οἰκεῖα ἠβουλήθησαν ἐπιγνῶναι κακά. Ἐκεῖνοι πενθεῖν δίκαιοι ἂν εἶεν νῦν, θρηνεῖν, καταδύεσθαι, ἐγκαλύπτεσθαι, κατορωρῦχθαι, μηδὲ τὸν ἥλιον τοῦτον ὁρᾶν, ἀλλ' ἐν σκότῳ που κατακλείσαντες ἑαυτοὺς τά τε οἰκεῖα θρηνεῖν κακὰ καὶ οἷς τοσαύτας Ἐκκλησίας περιέβαλον· σὲ δὲ ἀγάλλεσθαι καὶ χαίρειν χρὴ ὅτι τὸ κεφάλαιόν σοι τῶν ἀρετῶν κατώρθωται. Οἶσθα γάρ, οἶσθα σαφῶς, ὅτι ὑπομονῆς ἴσον οὐδέν, ἀλλ' αὕτη μάλιστά ἐστιν ἡ βασιλὶς τῶν ἀρετῶν, ὁ θεμέλιος τῶν κατορθωμάτων, λιμὴν ὁ ἀκύμαντος, ἡ ἐν πολέμοις εἰρήνη, ἡ ἐν κλύδωνι γαλήνη, ἡ ἐν ἐπιβουλαῖς ἀσφάλεια, ἡ τὸν κατωρθωκότα αὐτὴν ἀδάμαντος στερρότερον ποιοῦσα, ἣν οὐχ ὅπλα κινούμενα, οὐ στρατόπεδα παραταττόμενα, οὐ μηχανήματα προσαγόμενα, οὐ τόξα, οὐ δόρατα ἀφιέμενα, οὐκ αὐτὸ τῶν δαιμόνων τὸ στρατόπεδον, οὐχ αἱ ζοφεραὶ φάλαγγες τῶν ἀντικειμένων δυνάμεων, οὐκ αὐτὸς ὁ διάβολος μετὰ πάσης αὐτοῦ παραταττόμενος τῆς στρατιᾶς καὶ τῆς μηχανῆς παραβλάψαι δυνήσεται. Τί τοίνυν δέδοικας; Τίνος ἕνεκεν ἀλγεῖς καὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ ζῇν μελετήσασα καταφρονεῖν, ἢν καιρὸς καλῇ; Ἀλλὰ λύσιν ἐπιθυ μεῖς ἰδεῖν τῶν κατεχόντων κακῶν; Ἔσται καὶ τοῦτο καὶ ταχέως ἔσται τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπιτρέποντος. Χαῖρε τοίνυν καὶ εὐφραίνου, καὶ ἐντρύφα σου τοῖς κατορθώμασι, καὶ μηδέποτε ἀπογνῷς ὅτι σε ὀψόμεθα πάλιν καὶ τῶν ῥημάτων σε ἀναμνήσομεν τούτων.

14.t ΕΠΙΣΤΟΛΗ Ι∆ʹ

14.1 Ἀμφότερα τῆς ἀφάτου τοῦ Θεοῦ φιλανθρωπίας, καὶ τὸ συγχωρεῖν τοσούτους ἐπάγεσθαί σοι πειρασμοὺς καὶ ἐπαλλήλους οὕτως ὥστε λαμπροτέρους σοι γίνεσθαι τοὺς στεφάνους, καὶ τὸ ταχίστην αὐτῶν ποιεῖσθαι τὴν ἀπαλλαγὴν ὥστε σε μὴ κατατείνεσθαι πάλιν τῇ παραμονῇ τῶν ἐπαγομένων κακῶν. Οὕτω καὶ τῶν γενναίων ἀνδρῶν ἐκείνων τῶν ἀποστόλων λέγω καὶ τῶν προφητῶν τὸν βίον ἐκυβέρνησεν ὁ Θεός, νῦν μὲν ἀφιεὶς τὰ κύματα διεγείρεσθαι, νῦν δὲ ἐπιτιμῶν τῷ τῶν κακῶν πελάγει καὶ ἀπὸ χαλεποῦ τοῦ χειμῶνος λευκὴν ἐργαζόμενος τὴν γαλήνην. Παῦσαι τοίνυν δακρύουσα καὶ κατατεινομένη τῇ λύπῃ, μηδὲ τὰ ἐπαγόμενά σοι δεινὰ σκόπει μόνον τὰ ἐπάλληλα καὶ συνεχῆ, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ταχίστην αὐτῶν ἐλευθερίαν καὶ τὴν ἄφατον ἐντεῦθεν τικτομένην σοι ἀμοιβὴν καὶ ἀντίδοσιν. Ὅπερ γάρ ἐστιν ἀράχνη καὶ σκιὰ καὶ καπνὸς καὶ εἴ τι τούτων εὐτελέστερον, τοῦτό ἐστι τὰ ἐπενεχθέντα σοι πάντα δεινὰ πρὸς τὰ μέλλοντα δίδοσθαί σοι ἐντεῦθεν βραβεῖα. Τί γάρ ἐστι πόλεως ἐκπεσεῖν καὶ τόπους ἐκ τόπων ἀμείβειν καὶ πάντοθεν ἐλαύνεσθαι καὶ δημεύεσθαι καὶ εἰς δικαστήρια περιέλκεσθαι καὶ ὑπὸ στρατιωτῶν σπαράττεσθαι καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν μυρία εὐεργετηθέντων τὰ ἐναντία νῦν ὑπομένειν καὶ παρ' οἰκετῶν καὶ παρ' ἐλευθέρων ἐπηρεάζεσθαι, ὅταν τὸ τούτων ἔπαθλον ὁ οὐρανὸς ᾖ καὶ τὰ ἀκήρατα ἀγαθὰ ἐκεῖνα τὰ μηδὲ λόγῳ ἑρμηνευθῆναι δυνάμενα καὶ πέρας οὐκ ἔχοντα, ἀλλ' ἀθάνατον παρέχοντα τὴν ἐξ αὐτῶν ἀπόλαυσιν; Ἀφεῖσα τοίνυν τὰς ἐπιβουλάς, τὰς ἐπηρείας, τὰς τῶν χρημάτων ζημίας, τὰς μεταναστάσεις τὰς συνεχεῖς, τὴν ἐν ἀλλοτρίᾳ διαγωγὴν λογίζεσθαι καὶ πηλοῦ παντὸς εὐτελέστερον ταῦτα καταπατοῦσα, ἐννόει τοὺς ἐκ τούτων σοι τεχθέντας ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς θησαυροὺς καὶ τὴν ἀνάλωτον πραγματείαν καὶ τὸν ἄσυλον πλοῦτον. Ἀλλὰ τὸ σῶμά σοι κακῶς ἐκ τῶν πόνων τούτων καὶ ταλαιπωριῶν διετέθη καὶ τὰ τῆς ἀρρωστίας ἐπέτριψαν αἱ τῶν ἐχθρῶν ἐπιβουλαί; Πάλιν ἑτέρας μοι λέγεις ἐμπορίας ὑπόθεσιν μεγάλης καὶ ἀφάτου. Οἶσθα γάρ, οἶσθα σαφῶς ἡλίκον ἐστὶ σώματος ἀρρωστίαν