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we will bear all things easily. For the tree, when it sends its root deep down, not even a violent storm will be able to shake it; but if it lies superficially, and above the surface, even if a small gust of wind falls upon it, it has torn it up by the roots. So it is with us, if we have nailed our flesh to the fear of God, nothing will be able to shake us; but if we simply set it forth, even a small gust has made it disappear 62.655 and destroyed it. Therefore I exhort you, to bear all things with much readiness, and to imitate the prophet who says, My soul has cleaved to you. See what he says, My soul has cleaved. He did not simply say, It has drawn near, but, It has cleaved. And again, My soul has thirsted for you. He did not simply say, It has longed, in order that he might show the vehemence of his desire through these words. And again, Nail my flesh with 62.656 your fear. For He wishes us always to cleave to Him thus and to be bound, so as never to depart from Him. If we hold so to God, if we have nailed our thoughts to Him, if we thirst for the desire of Him, both all things we wish will be ours, and we will obtain the good things to come, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit be glory, power, honor, now and always, and to the ages of ages. Amen.

HOMILY 10. Make haste to come to me quickly. For Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has gone to Thessalonica, Crescens to Galatia. Titus to Dalmatia; Luke alone is with me. Take Mark and bring him with you; for he is useful to me for ministry. But Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. The cloak that I left at Troas with Carpus, when you come

bring, and the books, especially the parchments. 1. It is worth inquiring how he calls Timothy to himself, if indeed he had been entrusted with a Church, and a whole nation. The matter was not one of desperation; for he himself was ready to come to him; for hear him saying, But if I tarry long, that you may know how you ought to behave in the house of God. But for what reason? He was held by great necessity, and was no longer master of his departure; he was living in a prison, and was confined by Nero, and was about to die at any moment. So that this might not happen before he saw his disciple, for this reason he calls him, desiring to see him before his death, and perhaps to entrust many things to him; wherefore he says, Make haste to come to me before winter. For Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world. And he does not say, That I may see you before I depart from this life, which was grieving him most; but, Because I am alone, he says, I have no one to help me. For Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has gone to Thessalonica. That is, having become fond of ease, of what is without danger and safe, he chose rather to live luxuriously at home, than to suffer hardship with me, and to share with me the present dangers. He slandered this man only, not wishing to slander him, but to strengthen us, so that we might not become soft in dangers nor in toils; for this is, having loved the present world; and at the same time wishing to draw his disciple to him. Crescens, he says, to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. He no longer slanders these men; for Titus was one of the very admirable ones, so that he entrusted to him the affairs of the island, an island not small, but also very large, I mean Crete. Luke alone is with me. For he

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πάντα οἴσομεν εὐκόλως. Καὶ γὰρ τὸ δένδρον, ὅταν μὲν κατὰ βάθους παραπέμψῃ τὴν ῥίζαν, οὐδὲ σφοδρὰ καταιγὶς αὐτὸ διασαλεῦσαι δυνήσεται· ἂν δὲ ἐξ ἐπιπολῆς ᾖ κείμενον, καὶ ὑπὲρ τῆς ἐπιφανείας, κἂν μικρὰ προσπέσῃ ἀνέμου ῥοπὴ, πρόῤῥιζον αὐτὸ ἀνέσπασεν. Οὕτω καὶ ἐφ' ἡμῶν, ἐὰν καθηλώσωμεν τὰς σάρκας ἡμῶν τῷ φόβῳ τοῦ Θεοῦ, οὐδὲν παρασαλεῦσαι δυνήσεται· ἐὰν δὲ ἁπλῶς προτιθῶμεν, καὶ μικρὰ ῥοπὴ ἠφάνισε 62.655 καὶ ἀπώλεσε. ∆ιὸ παρακαλῶ, μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς προθυμίας ἅπαντα φέρειν, καὶ μιμεῖσθαι τὸν προφήτην τὸν λέγοντα, Ἐκολλήθη ἡ ψυχή μου ὀπίσω σου. Ὅρα τί φησιν, Ἐκολλήθη ἡ ψυχή μου. Οὐχ ἁπλῶς εἶπεν, Ἤγγισεν, ἀλλ', Ἐκολλήθη. Καὶ πάλιν, Ἐδίψησέ σε ἡ ψυχή μου. Οὐχ ἁπλῶς εἶπεν, Ἐπεπόθησεν, ἵνα τὸ σφοδρὸν τοῦ πόθου διὰ τούτων ἐμφήνῃ τῶν λέξεων. Καὶ πάλιν, Καθήλωσον ἐκ τοῦ 62.656 φόβου σου τὰς σάρκας μου. Βούλεται γὰρ ἡμᾶς ἀεὶ προσκολλᾶσθαι αὐτῷ οὕτω καὶ συνδεδέσθαι, ὡς μηδέποτε αὐτοῦ ἀφίστασθαι. Ἂν οὕτως ἐχώμεθα τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἂν προσηλώσωμεν αὐτῷ τὰς ἡμετέρας διανοίας, ἂν διψῶμεν αὐτοῦ τὸν πόθον καὶ πάντα ἡμῖν ἔσται ἅπερ βουλόμεθα, καὶ τῶν μελλόντων ἀγαθῶν ἐπιτευξόμεθα, ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν, ᾧ μετὰ Πατρὸς καὶ ἁγίου Πνεύματος δόξα, κράτος, τιμὴ, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ, καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.

ΟΜΙΛΙΑ Ιʹ. Σπούδασον ἐλθεῖν πρός με ταχέως. ∆ημᾶς γάρ με ἐγκατέλιπεν, ἀγαπήσας τὸν νῦν αἰῶνα, καὶ ἐπορεύθη εἰς Θεσσαλονίκην, Κρήσκης εἰς Γαλατίαν. Τίτος εἰς ∆αλματίαν· Λουκᾶς ἐστι μόνος μετ' ἐμοῦ. Μάρκον ἀναλαβὼν, ἄγε μετὰ σεαυτοῦ· ἔστι γάρ μοι εὔχρηστος εἰς διακονίαν. Τυχικὸν δὲ ἀπέστειλα εἰς Ἔφεσον. Τὸν φελόνην, ὃν ἀπέλιπον ἐν Τρωάδι παρὰ Κάρπῳ, ἐρχόμενος

φέρε, καὶ τὰ βιβλία, μάλιστα τὰς μεμβράνας. αʹ. Ἄξιον ζητῆσαι πῶς καλεῖ τὸν Τιμόθεον πρὸς ἑαυτὸν, εἴ γε Ἐκκλησίαν πεπιστευμένος ἦν, καὶ ἔθνος ὁλόκληρον. Οὐκ ἀπονοίας ἦν τὸ πρᾶγμα· αὐτὸς γὰρ ἕτοιμος ἦν ἐλθεῖν πρὸς αὐτόν· ἄκουε γὰρ αὐτοῦ λέγοντος, Ἐὰν δὲ βραδύνω, ἵνα εἰδῇς πῶς δεῖ ἐν οἴκῳ Θεοῦ ἀναστρέφεσθαι. Ἀλλὰ τίνος ἕνεκεν; Ἀνάγκῃ κατείληπτο πολλῇ, καὶ κύριος ἀποδημίας οὐκέτι ἦν· δεσμωτήριον ᾤκει, καὶ συνεκέκλειστο ὑπὸ Νέρωνος, καὶ ὅσον οὔπω ἔμελλε τελευτᾷν. Ἵνα οὖν μὴ τοῦτο γένηται πρὸ τοῦ τὸν μαθητὴν ἰδεῖν, διὰ τοῦτο αὐτὸν καλεῖ, θεάσασθαι ποθῶν πρὸ τῆς τελευτῆς, καὶ ἴσως πολλὰ παραθέσθαι· διό φησι, Σπούδασον πρὸ χειμῶνος ἐλθεῖν πρός με. ∆ημᾶς γάρ με ἐγκατέλιπεν, ἀγαπήσας τὸν νῦν αἰῶνα. Καὶ οὐ λέγει, Ἵνα σε ἴδω πρὶν ἀπελθεῖν ἐκ τοῦ βίου, ὃ μάλιστα ἐλύπει· ἀλλ', Ἐπειδὴ μόνος εἰμὶ, φησὶν, οὐδένα ἔχω τὸν συναντιλαμβανόμενόν μου. ∆ημᾶς με γὰρ ἐγκατέλιπεν, ἀγαπήσας τὸν νῦν αἰῶνα, καὶ ἐπορεύθη εἰς Θεσσαλονίκην. Τουτέστι, τῆς ἀνέσεως ἐρασθεὶς, τοῦ ἀκινδύνου καὶ τοῦ ἀσφαλοῦς, μᾶλλον εἵλετο οἴκοι τρυφᾷν, ἢ μετ' ἐμοῦ ταλαιπωρεῖσθαι, καὶ συνδιαφέρειν μοι τοὺς παρόντας κινδύνους. Τοῦτον διέβαλε μόνον, οὐκ αὐτὸν διαβαλεῖν βουλόμενος, ἀλλ' ἡμᾶς στηρίξαι, ὥστε μὴ μαλακίζεσθαι ἐν τοῖς κινδύνοις μηδὲ ἐν τοῖς πόνοις· τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι, Τὸν παρόντα ἀγαπήσας αἰῶνα· ἅμα δὲ καὶ τὸν μαθητὴν ἐπισπάσασθαι βουλόμενος. Κρήσκης, φησὶν, εἰς Γαλατίαν, Τίτος εἰς ∆αλματίαν. Τούτους οὐκέτι διαβάλλει· καὶ γὰρ ὁ Τίτος τῶν σφόδρα θαυμαστῶν ἦν, ὥστε αὐτῷ τὰ κατὰ τὴν νῆσον ἐνεχείρισε, νῆσον οὐ μικρὰν, ἀλλὰ καὶ σφόδρα μεγάλην, τὴν Κρήτην λέγω. Λουκᾶς ἐστι μόνος μετ' ἐμοῦ. Αὐτὸς γὰρ