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Satan under your feet shortly. Has it made nature any different? 2. Do you see that the difference in natures does nothing, but that of choice does? On account of their choice, therefore, they are much worse than all. But I am not rising up against an angel, he says; for great is the distance between me and him. And yet you ought not to rise up against a human, any more than against an angel. For the angel is distinct from you by nature, which is neither a credit to him, nor a fault; but a human is distinct from a human no longer by nature, but by choice; and there is an angel even among humans. So that if you do not rise up against angels, much more should you not against humans who have become angels in this nature. For if a human becomes as virtuous as an angel, this one is 62.77 much greater than you, than that one is. Why is that? Because what that one had by nature, this one has accomplished by choice; and because the angel is removed from you both by place and by dwelling in heaven; but this one lives among you, and gives you an inclination for zeal. And yet this one is more removed than that one. For our citizenship, he says, is in heaven. That this one is more removed, listen where his head is seated: On the royal throne, he says; as far as the throne is from us, so is this one. But I see him enjoying honor, he says, and I am brought to jealousy. For this is what has turned everything upside down, and has filled not only the world, but also the Church with countless disturbances. And just as savage winds falling from the opposite direction upon a calm harbor make it more perilous than any reef or any strait, so too the love of glory, having entered, has overturned and confounded everything. You have often been present at the burning of great houses; you have seen how the smoke rises up to heaven, and with no one approaching to extinguish the evil, but each person looking out for himself, the fire consumes everything with great quietness; and often the whole city has stood around, and there are spectators of the evils, not allies nor helpers; and one can see all those standing around doing nothing, but each of them extending his hand, and pointing out to the newcomer to the place, either a flame leaping continually through a window, or beams being cast down, or an entire wall being torn from its foundations and rushing to the ground. And there are many of the daring and reckless who have ventured to get close to the burning buildings themselves, not to lend a hand and extinguish the evil, but so that the spectacle might be more pleasant, since from up close they are able to observe everything, which often escapes those further away. And if the house happens to be splendid and great, it seems to them a pitiful sight and worthy of many tears. And it is truly a pitiful sight to see, the capitals of columns becoming dust, and many columns themselves shattered, some by the work of the fire, others often by the pushing of the hands of those who built them, so that they might not become more fuel for the fire. And one can see statues, which with great adornment, while the roof was on, had stood, uncovered, the roof having been removed, and standing in the open air with great deformity. And what? The wealth laid up inside, who could describe it, the golden garments, and the silver vessels? For where only the master entered with his spouse, where the storeroom of many garments and perfumes was, the containers of precious stones, once a single pyre has been made, both bath-attendants and dung-collectors and runaways and everyone else are now inside, and everything inside is water and fire and mud and dust, and half-burnt wood. Why have I drawn out this image further? Not simply wishing to describe the burning of a house; for what do I care about that? But wishing to present to your eyes, as far as possible, the evils of the Church. For just as a real burning, or some thunderbolt borne from above, so was brought down upon him

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Σατανᾶν ὑπὸ τοὺς πόδας ὑμῶν ἐν τάχει. Μή τι τὸ τῆς φύσεως παρηλλαγμένον ἐποίησεν; βʹ. Ὁρᾷς ὅτι οὐδὲν ποιεῖ τὸ τῶν φύσεων μέσον, ἀλλὰ τὸ τῆς προαιρέσεως; ∆ιὰ τὴν προαίρεσιν τοίνυν πολὺ χείρους ἁπάντων εἰσίν. Ἀλλ' ἀγγέλου οὐ κατεξανίσταμαι, φησί· πολὺ γὰρ τὸ μέσον ἐμοῦ κἀκείνου. Καὶ μὴν ἀνθρώπου κατεξανίστασθαι οὐκ ὀφείλεις, οὐ μᾶλλον ἢ ἀγγέλου. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ ἄγγελος τῇ φύσει σοῦ διέστηκεν, ὅπερ οὔτε ἐγκώμιον ἐκείνου, οὔτε κακία γένοιτο· ἄνθρωπος δὲ ἀνθρώπου οὐκέτι φύσει, ἀλλὰ προαιρέσει διέστηκε· καὶ ἔστι καὶ ἐν ἀνθρώποις ἄγγελος. Ὥστε εἰ κατ' ἀγγέλων μὴ κατεξανίστασαι, πολλῷ μᾶλλον κατὰ ἀνθρώπων τῶν ἐν τῇ φύσει ταύτῃ γενομένων ἀγγέλων. Εἰ γὰρ γένοιτο ἐν ἀνθρώποις ἐνάρετος οὕτως ὡς ἄγγελος, πολύ σου 62.77 μᾶλλον οὗτος μείζων, ἢ ἐκεῖνός ἐστι. Τί δήποτε; Ὅτι ὅπερ ἀπὸ φύσεως ἔσχεν ἐκεῖνος, τοῦτο κατώρθωσεν ἀπὸ προαιρέσεως αὐτός· καὶ ὅτι ἀπῴκισταί σου ὁ ἄγγελος καὶ τῷ τόπῳ καὶ τὸν οὐρανὸν οἰκεῖ· οὗτος δὲ ἀναστρέφεται μετὰ σοῦ, καὶ δίδωσί σοι τοῦ ζήλου ῥοπήν. Καὶ μὴν καὶ οὗτος ἀπῴκισται μᾶλλον ἢ ἐκεῖνος. Ἡμῶν γὰρ, φησὶ, τὸ πολίτευμα ἐν οὐρανοῖς. Ὅτι δὲ μᾶλλον οὗτος ἀπῴκισται, ἄκουσον, ποῦ αὐτοῦ κάθηται ἡ κεφαλή· Εἰς τὸν θρόνον, φησὶ, τὸν βασιλικόν· ὅσῳ δὲ πόῤῥω ἡμῶν ὁ θρόνος, τοσούτῳ καὶ οὗτος. Ἀλλ' ὁρῶ τιμῆς ἀπολαύοντα, φησὶ, καὶ εἰς ζηλοτυπίαν ἄγομαι. Τοῦτο γάρ ἐστιν ὃ πάντα ἄνω καὶ κάτω πεποίηκε, καὶ οὐ τὴν οἰκουμένην μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν μυρίων ἐνέπλησε θορύβων. Καὶ καθάπερ εἰς λιμένα γαληνὸν πνεύματα ἄγρια ἐξ ἐναντίας ἐμπεσόντα, πάσης σπιλάδος καὶ παντὸς πορθμοῦ ἐπισφαλέστερον αὐτὸν καθίστησιν· οὕτω δὴ καὶ ὁ τῆς δόξης ἔρως ἐπεισελθὼν, πάντα ἀνέτρεψε καὶ συνέχεε. Παραγεγόνατε πολλάκις ἐμπρησμῷ οἰκιῶν μεγάλων· εἴδετε πῶς ἄνεισιν εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν ὁ καπνὸς, καὶ μηδενὸς προσιόντος σβέσαι τὸ κακὸν, ἀλλὰ τὸ καθ' ἑαυτὸν ἑκάστου σκοπουμένου, μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς ἡσυχίας τὸ πῦρ ἅπαντα ἐπινέμεται· καὶ περιέστηκε μὲν πολλάκις κύκλῳ πᾶσα ἡ πόλις, περιεστήκασι δὲ θεαταὶ κακῶν, οὐ σύμμαχοι οὐδὲ βοηθοί· καὶ ἔστιν ἰδεῖν οὐδὲν ποιοῦντας ἅπαντας τοὺς περιεστῶτας, ἀλλ' ἕκαστον αὐτῶν τὴν χεῖρα ἐκτείνοντα, καὶ τῷ προσφάτως ἐλθόντι πρὸς τὸν τόπον ἐπιδεικνύντα, ἢ διὰ θυρίδος λαμπάδα ἐξαλλομένην συνεχῶς, ἢ δοκοὺς καταῤῥιπτομένας, ἢ περίβολον ὁλόκληρον τῶν ἐρεισμάτων ἀποσπασθέντα καὶ πρὸς τὴν γῆν ἐπειγόμενον. Εἰσὶ δὲ πολλοὶ τῶν τολμηρῶν καὶ ῥιψοκινδύνων, οἳ καὶ πλησίον αὐτῶν γενέσθαι τῶν καιομένων οἰκοδομημάτων κατετόλμησαν, οὐχ ὥστε χεῖρα ὀρέξαι αὐτοῖς καὶ σβέσαι τὸ κακὸν, ἀλλ' ὥστε ἡδυτέραν γενέσθαι τὴν θέαν, ἐκ τοῦ σύνεγγυς πάντα δυναμένων αὐτῶν περισκοπεῖν, ἃ τοὺς ἔξωθεν πολλάκις ἔλαθεν. Εἰ δὲ καὶ λαμπρὰ καὶ μεγάλη τύχοι οὖσα ἡ οἰκία, ἐλεεινὸν θέαμα καὶ πολλῶν αὐτοῖς δακρύων ἄξιον εἶναι δοκεῖ. Καὶ ἔστιν ἀληθῶς ἰδεῖν θέαμα ἐλεεινὸν, κιόνων κεφαλὰς κόνιν γινομένας, πολλοὺς δὲ καὶ αὐτοὺς διακεκλασμένους, τοὺς μὲν τοῦ πυρὸς κατεργαζομένου, τοὺς δὲ πολλάκις τῶν οἰκοδομησάντων αὐτοὺς χειρῶν ὠθουσῶν, ὥστε μὴ πλείονα τροφὴν γενέσθαι τῷ πυρί. Ἔστι δὲ ἰδεῖν ἀγάλματα, ἃ μετὰ πολλοῦ τοῦ κόσμου, τῆς ὀροφῆς ἐπικειμένης, εἰστήκει, ἀνακαλυφθέντα, τῆς στέγης ἀφαιρεθείσης, καὶ ἐν αἰθρίῳ μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς ἀμορφίας ἑστηκότα. Τί δέ; τὸν πλοῦτον τὸν ἔνδον ἐναποκείμενον τίς διηγήσαιτο, τὰ ἱμάτια τὰ χρυσᾶ, καὶ τὰ σκεύη τὰ ἀργυρᾶ; Καὶ γὰρ ἔνθα μόνος ὁ δεσπότης εἰσῄει μετὰ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ συζύγου, ἔνθα τῶν πολλῶν ἱματίων καὶ ἀρωμάτων τὸ ταμεῖον ἦν, τῶν λίθων τῶν πολυτελῶν τὰ δοχεῖα, μιᾶς πυρᾶς γενομένης, καὶ βαλανευταὶ καὶ κοπρῶναι καὶ δραπέται καὶ πάντες λοιπὸν ἔνδον, καὶ πάντα τὰ ἔνδον ὕδωρ καὶ πῦρ καὶ πηλὸς καὶ κόνις, καὶ ξύλα ἡμίκαυστα. Τί δὲ τὴν εἰκόνα ταύτην ἐπιπλέον ἐξέτεινα; Οὐχ ἁπλῶς οἰκίας ἐμπρησμὸν ὑπογράψαι βουλόμενος· τί γάρ μοι τούτου μέλει; ἀλλὰ παραστῆσαι βουλόμενος τοῖς ὑμετέροις ὀφθαλμοῖς, ὡς οἷόν τε, τὰ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας κακά. Καθάπερ γὰρ ἐμπρησμὸς ὄντως, ἢ σκηπτός τις ἄνωθεν φερόμενος, οὕτως εἰς αὐτὸν κατηνέχθη