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God led him by the hand from the ship into the city, but the sailors handed him over to the sea, the sea to the whale, the whale to God, God to the Ninevites, and through a long circuit He brought the fugitive back, in order to teach everyone that it is impossible to flee the hands of God, that wherever one may go, dragging his sin along with him, he will endure countless terrible things, even if no man is present, creation itself will oppose him from every side with great vehemence. Let us not, therefore, entrust our salvation to flight, but to a change of character. For is it because you remain in the city that God is provoked, so that you should flee? It is because you have sinned that He is indignant. Therefore, put away the sin, and from where the cause of the wound came, from there stop up the spring of evil; for even the sons of physicians command that opposites be cured by opposites. Was a fever born of gluttony? They treat the disease with fasting. Did someone fall ill from despondency? They say that cheerfulness is a fitting medicine for this. So also must we act in the case of the soul’s diseases. Did sloth stir up wrath? Let us repel it with zeal, and show a great change. We have a very great helper and ally in fasting, and with fasting, the present anxiety and the fear of danger. Let us therefore apply ourselves to the soul now at this opportune time; for indeed we will be able to easily persuade it to do whatever we wish. For he who is fearful and trembling and separated from all luxury, and living with fear, can easily practice philosophy, and with great eagerness receive the seeds of virtue.

7. Let us persuade it, therefore, to make the first change for the better by fleeing from oaths; for although yesterday and the day before I spoke to you about this subject 49.79, yet I will not desist today, nor on the following day, nor the day after that, from giving the same counsel. And why do I say tomorrow, and the day after that? Until I see you succeeding, I will not refrain. For if those who transgress the law are not ashamed, much more is it not fitting for us who command not to transgress, to be ashamed at the continuity of our exhortation. For to constantly remind about the same things is not the fault of the one speaking, but of the hearers who are in need of continual teaching about simple and easily accomplished matters. For what is easier than not to swear? The achievement is a matter of habit only, there is no bodily labor, there is no expenditure of money. Do you wish to learn how it is possible to overcome the disease? how it is possible to be freed from the wicked habit? I will teach you a certain way, which if you follow, you will certainly overcome it. Whenever you see either yourself or someone else or one of your servants or children or your wife caught in this evil, and, though constantly reminded, not corrected, order them to go to sleep without having had dinner, and impose this sentence on both yourself and them, a sentence bringing not loss, but gain. For such are spiritual things; it brings both gain, and the quickest correction. For the tongue, being continually tormented, and with no one reminding it, receives sufficient exhortation, being strained by thirst, being choked by hunger; and even if we are more insensitive than all, being reminded throughout the entire day by the magnitude of this torment, we will not need other counsel and exhortation. You have praised what was said, but nevertheless show the praise also in your deeds. Since what is the profit of this gathering here? If a child should go to school every day, and then learn nothing more, will it be a sufficient defense for us that he goes there every day? will we not indeed make this very thing our greatest accusation, that though going there every day, he does it in vain? Let us consider this indeed also in our own case, and say to ourselves: Coming to church for so long, enjoying a most awesome assembly which has great profit, if again such people

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ἐκ τοῦ πλοίου εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἐχειραγώγησεν ὁ Θεὸς, ἀλλὰ παρέδωκαν οἱ ναῦται τῇ θαλάττῃ, ἡ θάλαττα τῷ κήτει, τὸ κῆτος τῷ Θεῷ, ὁ Θεὸς τοῖς Νινευΐταις, καὶ διὰ μακρᾶς τῆς περιόδου τὸν φυγάδα ἐπανήγαγεν, ἵνα πάντας παιδεύσῃ, ὅτι Θεοῦ χεῖρας φυγεῖν ἀμήχανον, ὅτι ὅπουπερ ἄν τις ἀφίκηται, τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἐπισυρόμενος, μυρία ὑποστήσεται τὰ δεινὰ, κἂν τῶν ἀνθρώπων μηδεὶς παρῇ, αὐτὴ πανταχόθεν ἡ κτίσις ἀντιστήσεται μετὰ πολλῆς αὐτῷ τῆς σφοδρότητος. Μὴ τοίνυν τῇ φυγῇ τὴν σωτηρίαν ἡμῶν ἐγχειρίσωμεν, ἀλλὰ τῇ τοῦ τρόπου μεταβολῇ. Μὴ γὰρ, ἐπειδὴ μένεις ἐν τῇ πόλει, διὰ τοῦτο παροξύνεται ὁ Θεὸς, ἵνα φύγῃς; Ἐπειδὴ ἥμαρτες, διὰ τοῦτο ἀγανακτεῖ. Οὐκοῦν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἀπόθου, καὶ ὅθεν ἡ αἰτία τῷ τραύματι, ἐκεῖθεν ἀνάστειλον τοῦ κακοῦ τὴν πηγήν· τὰ γὰρ ἐναντία τοῖς ἐναντίοις θεραπεύειν καὶ ἰατρῶν παῖδες κελεύουσιν. Ἐξ ἀδηφαγίας οὖν ἐτέχθη πυρετός; ἀσιτίᾳ μεθοδεύουσι τὸ νόσημα. Ἐξ ἀθυμίας ἠῤῥώστησέ τις; εὐθυμίαν τούτῳ φάρμακον ἐπιτήδειον εἶναί φασιν. Οὕτω καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν τῆς ψυχῆς νοσημάτων ποιεῖν χρή. Ῥᾳθυμία τὴν ὀργὴν ἤγειρε; σπουδῇ ταύτην ἀποκρουσώμεθα, καὶ πολλὴν ἐπιδειξώμεθα τὴν μεταβολήν. Ἔχομεν βοηθὸν μεγίστην καὶ σύμμαχον τὴν νηστείαν, καὶ μετὰ τῆς νηστείας τὴν ἐπικειμένην ἀγωνίαν καὶ τὸν τοῦ κινδύνου φόβον. Ἐπιθώμεθα τοίνυν τῇ ψυχῇ νῦν εἰς καιρόν· καὶ γὰρ εὐκόλως αὐτὴν δυνησόμεθα πεῖσαι πάντα ὅσα ἂν θέλωμεν. Ὁ γὰρ περιδεὴς καὶ τρέμων καὶ τρυφῆς ἁπάσης ἀπηλλαγμένος, καὶ φόβῳ συζῶν, εὐκόλως δύναται φιλοσοφεῖν, καὶ μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς προθυμίας τὰ τῆς ἀρετῆς ὑποδέχεσθαι σπέρματα.

ζʹ. Πείσωμεν τοίνυν αὐτὴν ἀπὸ τῆς τῶν ὅρκων φυγῆς πρώτην τὴν ἐπὶ τὸ βέλτιον ποιήσασθαι μεταβολήν· εἰ γὰρ καὶ χθὲς καὶ πρὸ ἐκείνης περὶ ταύτης ὑμῖν διελέχθην 49.79 τῆς ὑποθέσεως, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ σήμερον ἀποστήσομαι, οὐδὲ τὴν ἐπιοῦσαν, οὐδὲ τὴν μετ' ἐκείνην τὰ αὐτὰ συμβουλεύων. Καὶ τί λέγω τὴν αὔριον, καὶ τὴν μετ' ἐκείνην; Ἕως ἂν ὑμᾶς ἴδω κατορθοῦντας, οὐκ ἀφέξομαι. Εἰ γὰρ οἱ παραβαίνοντες τὸν νόμον οὐκ αἰσχύνονται, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἡμᾶς τοὺς κελεύοντας μὴ παραβαίνειν, οὐκ ἄξιον αἰσχύνεσθαι τῇ συνεχείᾳ τῆς παραινέσεως. Τὸ γὰρ συνεχῶς περὶ τῶν αὐτῶν ὑπομιμνήσκειν, οὐ τοῦ λέγοντος, ἀλλὰ τῶν ἀκουόντων ἐστὶν ἔγκλημα διηνεκοῦς δεομένων διδασκαλίας ὑπὲρ ψιλῶν καὶ εὐκατορθώτων πραγμάτων. Τί γὰρ εὐκολώτερον τοῦ μὴ ὀμνύναι; Συνηθείας ἐστὶ τὸ κατόρθωμα μόνον, οὐκ ἔστι πόνος σώματος, οὐκ ἔστι δαπάνη χρημάτων. Βούλει μαθεῖν πῶς δυνατὸν περιγενέσθαι τοῦ νοσήματος; πῶς δυνατὸν ἀπαλλαγῆναι τῆς πονηρᾶς συνηθείας; Ἐγώ σε διδάξω τρόπον τινὰ, ὃν ἂν ποιήσῃς, περιέσῃ πάντως. Ὅταν ἴδῃς ἢ σαυτὸν ἢ ἕτερόν τινα ἢ τῶν οἰκετῶν ἢ τῶν παίδων ἢ τὴν γυναῖκα ἁλόντας τῷ κακῷ τούτῳ, καὶ συνεχῶς ὑπομνησθέντας καὶ οὐ διορθωθέντας, κέλευσον μὴ δειπνήσαντας καθευδῆσαι, καὶ ταύτην καὶ σαυτῷ κἀκείνοις τὴν καταδίκην ἐπίθες, καταδίκην οὐχὶ ζημίαν, ἀλλὰ κέρδος φέρουσαν. Τοιαῦτα γὰρ τὰ πνευματικά· καὶ κέρδος φέρει, καὶ ταχίστην τὴν διόρθωσιν. Ἡ γὰρ γλῶσσα βασανιζομένη διηνεκῶς, καὶ μηδενὸς ὑπομιμνήσκοντος ἱκανὴν λαμβάνει παράκλησιν, ὑπὸ τοῦ δίψους κατατεινομένη, ὑπὸ τῆς πείνης ἀγχομένη· κἂν ἁπάντων ὦμεν ἀναισθητότεροι, διὰ πάσης ἡμέρας τῷ μεγέθει τῆς βασάνου ταύτης ὑπομιμνησκόμενοι, οὐ δεησόμεθα συμβουλῆς ἑτέρας καὶ παραινέσεως. Ἐπῃνέσατε τὸ εἰρημένον, ἀλλ' ὅμως καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἔργων δείξατε τὸν ἔπαινον. Ἐπεὶ τί τὸ κέρδος τῆς ἐνταῦθα συλλογῆς; Εἰ καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν τὸ παιδίον εἰς διδασκαλεῖον βαδίζοι, εἶτα μηδὲν μανθάνοι πλέον, ἆρα ἀρκέσει εἰς ἀπολογίαν ἡμῖν τὸ καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν ἐκεῖ βαδίζειν αὐτό; οὐκ αὐτὸ μὲν οὖν τοῦτο μέγιστον ποιησόμεθα ἔγκλημα, ὅτι καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν ἐκεῖ βαδίζον, μάτην τοῦτο ποιεῖ; Τοῦτο δὴ καὶ ἐφ' ἡμῶν αὐτῶν λογιζώμεθα, καὶ πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς λέγωμεν· Χρόνον τοσοῦτον εἰς ἐκκλησίαν ἀπαντῶντες, συνάξεως ἀπολαύοντες φρικωδεστάτης καὶ πολὺ τὸ κέρδος ἐχούσης, ἂν τοιοῦτοι πάλιν