in my bones, and I am exhausted on all sides and cannot bear it.” I fear lest such a thing is what is reserved for us, becoming a fire, as happened in the heart of Jeremiah. But we have not suffered it. If we had suffered this, and the two fires were set before us, this fire and the external fire which we see upon those being burned by the rulers of the nations, we would have chosen that fire rather than this one. For that one burns the surface, but this one burns the heart, and beginning from the heart it passes through to all the bones, and passing through to the bones it comes upon the whole person being burned, and it comes in such a way that the one being burned cannot bear it. Who over this fire is able to say: “and I cannot bear it”? I know that even robbers were able to endure this fire, the pain from this fire. Different is the pain from the fire, which Jeremiah described, saying: “And it became in my heart like a burning fire, flaming in my bones, and I am exhausted on all sides and cannot bear it.” That fire the Savior kindles, who said: “I came to cast fire upon the earth.” And since the Savior kindles that fire, for this reason for those beginning to hear him, he begins with the fire and first casts fire upon their heart; which Simon and Cleopas confess, saying concerning his words, “Was not our heart burning on the road, as he opened to us the scriptures?” Here the heart of both Simon and Cleopas is burned with fire. Hear them saying: “Was not our heart burning?” 20.9 Who now is worthy to receive that fire in the heart, so that he may not receive it there? I want to describe who it is that has this fire in his heart. Describe for me two who have sinned the same kind of sin, the defiled, the unclean fornication, and of these two fornicators, one of them not being grieved nor pained nor stung, but experiencing what is said in Proverbs about the prostitute woman, “whoever acts, having washed herself says she has done nothing amiss.” Look for me at the other one after the fall not being able to contain himself, but being punished in his conscience, tormented in his heart, not able to eat and drink, not fasting by choice but by the pain of repentance. Describe for me such a one “all the day long going about sad and worn out, roaring from the groaning of his heart, seeing his sin before him” always reproving him in front. And see such a one being punished not for one day nor for one night, but for a long time. Which of the two do you prefer? Which do you say has hope with God? Is it that one who fornicated and did not care, but “being past feeling has given himself over to licentiousness,” or this one who after the one sin mourns, laments? This one † is of hopes. The more he is burned by the fire of grief, the more he is pitied, and the time of punishment is as much for him, as is the time of punishment given to that one who fornicated and was grieved. And since the time of punishment here is profitable for this one, for this reason he took care to punish the one who had fornicated, and when he had punished him with grief and saw that the grief was sufficient, he says: “lest such a one be swallowed up by excessive grief, confirm your love toward him.” Let each of us examine his own conscience, and see what sin he has committed; for he must be punished. Let him pray to God for this fire in Jeremiah to come upon him, then that which came upon Simon and Cleopas, so that he may not be kept for the other fire; for if he did not receive the fire here but both sinned and did not care, he will be kept for that fire. “And it became in my heart like a burning fire, flaming in my bones, and I am exhausted on all sides and cannot bear it, because I heard the slander of many who gathered together all around.” The blameless, the blessed Jeremiah (I speak with the exception of this small sin and if he has done anything else trivial) was slandered by many. But the slander by the many was for him praise from God. For those slandering were saying: “Come together, and

ὀστέοις μου, καὶ παρεῖμαι πάντοθεν καὶ οὐ δύναμαι φέρειν». ἐγὼ φοβοῦμαι μὴ τοιοῦτόν ἐστι τὸ ἀποκείμενον ἡμῖν, πῦρ γινόμενον, ὡς ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ γέγονεν Ἱερεμίου. οὐ πεπόνθαμεν δὲ αὐτό. εἰ ἐπεπόνθειμεν τοῦτο, καὶ προέκειτο τὰ δύο πυρά, τοῦτο τὸ πῦρ καὶ τὸ ἔξωθεν πῦρ ὃ βλέπομεν ἐπὶ τῶν καιομένων ὑπὸ τῶν ἡγουμένων τῶν ἐθνῶν, εἱλόμεθα ἂν ἐκεῖνο μᾶλλον τὸ πῦρ ἢ τοῦτο. ἐκεῖνο μὲν γὰρ καίει τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν, τοῦτο δὲ καίει τὴν καρδίαν, καὶ ἀρξάμενον ἀπὸ τῆς καρδίας διϊκνεῖται ἐπὶ πάντα τὰ ὀστᾶ, καὶ διϊκνούμενον ἐπὶ τὰ ὀστᾶ ἔρχεται ἐπὶ ὅλον τὸν καιόμενον, καὶ οὕτως ἔρχεται ὡς μὴ δύνασθαι τὸν καιόμενον φέρειν. τίς ἐπὶ τούτῳ τῷ πυρὶ δύναται λέγειν· «καὶ οὐ δύναμαι φέρειν»; οἶδα καὶ λῃστὰς τοῦτο τὸ πῦρ δυνηθέντας ὑπομεῖναι, τὸν πόνον <τὸν> ἀπὸ τούτου τοῦ πυρός. ἄλλος ἐστὶν ὁ πόνος ὁ ἀπὸ τοῦ πυρός, ὃν διέγραψεν Ἱερεμίας λέγων· «καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ μου ὡς πῦρ καιόμενον, φλεγόμενον ἐν τοῖς ὀστέοις μου, καὶ παρεῖμαι πάντοθεν καὶ οὐ δύναμαι φέρειν». ἐκεῖνο τὸ πῦρ ἐκκαίει ὁ σωτὴρ ὁ εἰπών· «πῦρ ἦλθον βαλεῖν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν». καὶ ἐπεὶ ἐκεῖνο τὸ πῦρ ἐκκαίει ὁ σωτήρ, διὰ τοῦτο τοῖς ἀρχομένοις ἀκούειν αὐτοῦ ἄρχεται ἀπὸ τοῦ πυρὸς καὶ πρῶτον πῦρ βάλλει αὐτῶν ἐπὶ τὴν καρδίαν· ὅπερ ὁμολογοῦσι Σίμων καὶ Κλεόπας λέγοντες ἐπὶ τοῖς λόγοις αὐ<τοῦ> τὸ «οὐχὶ ἡ καρδία ἡμῶν καιομένη ἦν ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ, ὡς διήνοιγεν ἡμῖν τὰς γραφάς»; ἐνθάδε ἡ καρδία καίεται πυρὶ καὶ Σίμωνος καὶ Κλεόπα. ἄκουε λεγόντων· «οὐχὶ ἡ καρδία ἡμῶν καιομένη ἦν»; 20.9 Τίς ἄξιος ἤδη λαβεῖν ἐκεῖνο τὸ πῦρ ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ, ἵνα μὴ ἐκεῖ αὐτὸ λάβῃ; θέλω διαγράψαι τίς ἐστιν ὁ ἔχων τοῦτο τὸ πῦρ ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ. διάγραψόν μοι δύο ἡμαρτηκότας τὴν αὐτὴν τῷ γένει ἁμαρτίαν, τὴν μιαράν, τὴν ἀκάθαρτον πορνείαν, καὶ ἐν τούτοις τοῖς δύο τοῖς πεπορνευκόσι τὸν μὲν ἕτερον μὴ λυπούμενον μηδὲ ὀδυνώμενον μηδὲ δακνόμενον, ἀλλὰ τὸ εἰρημένον ἐν Παροιμίαις περὶ τῆς πόρνης γυναικὸς πάσχοντα, «ἥτις ἐὰν πράξῃ, ἀπονιψαμένη οὐδέν φησι πεπραχέναι ἄτοπον». ἴδε μοι τὸν ἕτερον μετὰ τὸ πτῶμα μὴ δυνάμενον στέγειν, ἀλλὰ κολαζόμενον τὴν συνείδησιν, βασανιζόμενον τὴν καρδίαν, φαγεῖν καὶ πιεῖν οὐ δυνάμενον, οὐ κρίσει νηστεύοντα ἀλλὰ ἀλγηδόνι τῆς μετανοίας. διάγραψόν μοι τὸν τοιοῦτον «ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν σκυθρωπάζοντα καὶ καταπονούμενον καὶ πορευόμενον, ὠρυόμενον ἀπὸ στεναγμοῦ τῆς καρδίας αὐτοῦ, βλέποντα αὐτοῦ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἐνώ- πιον αὐτοῦ» διὰ παντὸς ἔμπροσθεν ἐλέγχουσαν. καὶ ἴδε τὸν τοιοῦτον οὐκ ἐπὶ μίαν ἡμέραν οὐδὲ ἐπὶ μίαν νύκτα, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ χρόνον πολὺν κολαζόμενον. τίνα τῶν δύο προκρίνεις; τίνα λέγεις ἐλπίδας ἔχειν παρὰ θεῷ; ἆρ' ἐκεῖνον τὸν πορνεύσαντα καὶ μὴ φροντί σαντα, ἀλλ' «ἀπαλγοῦντα ὡς καὶ παραδόντα αὑτὸν τῇ ἀσελγείᾳ», ἢ τοῦτον τὸν μετὰ τὴν μίαν ἁμαρτίαν πενθοῦντα, θρηνοῦντα; οὗτος † ἐλπίδων ἐστίν. ὅσον πλείω καίεται ὑπὸ τοῦ τῆς λύπης πυρός, τοσοῦτον μᾶλλον ἐλεεῖται, καὶ ἔστιν αὐτῷ χρόνος αὐτάρκης τῆς κολάσεως <τοσ>οῦτος, ὅσος ἐκείνῳ δίδοται χρόνος κολάσεως τῷ πορνεύσαντι καὶ λυπηθέντι. καὶ ἐπεὶ χρόνος ἐστὶ τούτῳ τῆς ἐνταῦθα κολάσεως λυσιτελής, διὰ τοῦτο ἐπραγματεύσατο κολάσαι τὸν πεπορνευκότα, καὶ ἡνίκα ἐκόλασεν αὐτὸν λύπῃ καὶ εἶδε τὴν λύπην αὐτάρκη, φησί· «μήποτε τῇ περισσοτέρᾳ λύπῃ καταποθῇ ὁ τοιοῦτος, κυρώσατε εἰς αὐτὸν ἀγάπην». ἕκαστος ἡμῶν ἐξετασάτω τὴν συνείδησιν ἑαυτοῦ, καὶ ἰδέτω τί ἥμαρτεν· ὅτι δεῖ αὐτὸν κολασθῆναι. εὐχέσθω τῷ θεῷ τοῦτο τὸ πῦρ τὸ ἐν τῷ Ἱερεμίᾳ ἥκειν ἐπ' αὐτόν, εἶτα τὸ ἐπὶ Σίμωνα καὶ Κλεόπαν ἐληλυθός, ἵνα μὴ τηρηθῇ τῷ ἄλλῳ πυρί· εἰ γὰρ μὴ ἔλαβεν ἐνθάδε τὸ πῦρ ἀλλὰ καὶ ἥμαρτε καὶ οὐ πεφρόντικε, τηρηθήσεται ἐκείνῳ τῷ πυρί. «Καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ μου ὡς πῦρ καιόμενον, φλεγόμενον ἐν τοῖς ὀστέοις μου, καὶ παρεῖμαι πάντοθεν καὶ οὐ δύναμαι φέρειν, ὅτι ἤκουσα ψόγον πολλῶν συναθροιζομένων κυκλόθεν». ὁ ἄμεμπτος, ὁ μακάριος Ἱερεμίας (καθ' ὑπεξαίρεσιν λέγω τούτου τοῦ μικροῦ ἁμαρτή- ματος καὶ εἴ τι ἄλλο βραχὺ πεποίηκεν) ἐψέγετο ὑπὸ πολλῶν. ἀλλ' ὁ ὑπὸ τῶν πολλῶν ψόγος αὐτῷ ἐγκώμιον παρὰ θεῷ ἦν. ἔλεγον γὰρ οἱ ψέγοντες· «ἐπισύστητε, καὶ