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admonishing you. And how is it not absurd, he says? What do you say? If your man should stand up for you to another man, you do everything, you acknowledge every favor; but this man stands for you before God, and you do not acknowledge the favor? And how does he stand for me, he says? Because he prays for you, because he ministers the spiritual gift through baptism, he visits, exhorts and admonishes, in the middle of the night, if you call, he comes, he is subject to nothing else but your mouth, and he bears the blasphemies from you. What necessity did he have? Did he do well, or badly? You have a wife, and live in luxury, and choose a commercial life; but the priest has devoted himself to this; he has no other life, but revolves around the Church. "To esteem them," he says, "very highly in love for their work’s sake; be at peace among them." Do you see how he knows of faint-heartedness arising? Not simply, he says, love them, but, "very highly," as children love fathers. For through them you were born the eternal birth, through them you obtained the kingdom, through their hands all things are done, through them the heavenly gates are opened for you. Let no one be seditious, let no one be contentious. He who loves Christ, whatever the priest may be, will love him, because through him he obtained the awesome mysteries. Tell me, if wishing to see the palace shining brightly with much gold, and dazzling with the splendor of its stones, you found the one who had the keys, and he, when asked, immediately opened and escorted you inside, would you not prefer him to all? Would you not love him as much as your own eyes? Would you not kiss him? This man has opened heaven for you, and you do not love and cherish him? If you had a wife, would you not desire the matchmaker most of all? So, if you love Christ, if you love the kingdom of heaven, recognize through whom you have received it. For this reason he says. "For their work’s sake; be at peace among them." "Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men." 2. Here he speaks to the rulers. "Warn," he says, "the unruly"; that is, do not rebuke from authority, nor from arrogance, but with gentleness, with meekness. "Comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men." For he who is rebuked harshly, despairing of himself, becomes bolder in his contempt; for this reason one must make the medicine sweet with admonition. But who are the unruly? Certainly those who act contrary to what seems good to God. For this order of the Church is more suitable than a military order. So the reviler is unruly, and the drunkard is unruly, and the covetous, and all who sin; for they do not walk in ordered ranks in the 62.457 phalanx, but disorderly; for which reason they are also overturned. But there is also another kind of evil, not such as this, but still an evil. What is this? Faintheartedness; for this too destroys in the same way as indolence. He who does not bear insult, is fainthearted; he who does not bear temptation, is fainthearted; this is he who was sown on the rock. There is also another kind, that of weakness. "Support," he says, "the weak," speaking of those weak in faith; for there is also weakness concerning it. But see how he does not allow them to be spat upon. And elsewhere writing he said, "Receive him that is weak in the faith." For even in our own bodies we do not allow the weak part to perish. "Be patient," he says, "toward all men." What then? Even toward the unruly? Yes, very much so; for no medicine is equal to this, especially for a teacher, nothing is so suitable for those under authority; it can surely make one feel shame, surely make one feel respect, even the most savage and shameless of all. "See that none render evil for evil unto any man." If one should not render evil for evil, much more should one not render evil for good, much more when no evil has preceded, to render evil. But so-and-so, he says, is wicked, and

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νουθετοῦντας ὑμᾶς. Καὶ πῶς οὐκ ἄτοπον, φησί; Τί λέγεις; σὺ μὲν, ἂν μὲν ἄνθρωπός σου προστῇ πρὸς ἄνθρωπον, πάντα πράττεις, πᾶσαν ὁμολογεῖς χάριν· οὗτος δὲ πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν προΐσταταί σου, καὶ οὐχ ὁμολογεῖς χάριν; Καὶ πῶς προΐσταται, φησίν; Ὅτι εὔχεται ὑπὲρ σοῦ, ὅτι τῇ πνευματικῇ δωρεᾷ τῇ διὰ τοῦ βαπτίσματος ὑπηρετεῖται, ἐπισκέπτεται, παραινεῖ καὶ νουθετεῖ, μέσαις νυξὶν, ἂν καλέσῃς, ἥκει, οὐδὲν ἄλλο ἢ μόνον ὑπόκειταί σου τῷ στόματι, καὶ τὰς βλασφημίας φέρει τὰς παρὰ σοῦ. Ποίαν εἶχεν ἀνάγκην; καλῶς ἐποίησεν, ἢ κακῶς; Σὺ μὲν καὶ γυναῖκα ἔχεις, καὶ τρυφᾷς, καὶ βίον αἱρῇ ἐμπορικόν· ὁ δὲ ἱερεὺς πρὸς τοῦτο ἑαυτὸν ἀπησχόλησεν· οὐδεὶς αὐτῷ βίος ἕτερος, ἀλλὰ περὶ τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν στρέφεται. Ἡγεῖσθαι αὐτοὺς, φησὶν, ὑπὲρ ἐκπερισσοῦ ἐν ἀγάπῃ διὰ τὸ ἔργον αὐτῶν· εἰρηνεύετε ἐν αὐτοῖς. Ὁρᾷς πῶς οἶδε μικροψυχίας γινομένας; Μὴ ἁπλῶς, φησὶν, ἀγαπᾶτε, ἀλλ', ὑπὲρ ἐκπερισσοῦ, ὡσανεὶ παῖδες πατέρας. ∆ιὰ γὰρ αὐτῶν ἐτέχθητε τὴν γέννησιν τὴν αἰώνιον, δι' αὐτῶν τῆς βασιλείας ἐπετύχετε, διὰ τῶν χειρῶν αὐτῶν πάντα γίνεται, δι' αὐτῶν ὑμῖν πύλαι οὐράνιαι ἀνοίγονται. Μηδεὶς στασιαζέτω, μηδεὶς φιλονεικείτω. Ὁ τὸν Χριστὸν ἀγαπῶν, οἷος ἂν ᾖ ὁ ἱερεὺς, ἀγαπήσει αὐτὸν, ὅτι δι' αὐτοῦ τῶν φρικτῶν μυστηρίων ἐπέτυχεν. Εἰπέ μοι, εἰ βουληθεὶς ἰδεῖν τὰ βασίλεια πολλῷ καταλάμποντα τῷ χρυσῷ, καὶ περιαστράπτοντα τῇ τῶν λίθων αἴγλῃ, εὕροις τὸν τὰς κλεῖς ἔχοντα, ὁ δὲ παρακληθεὶς, εὐθέως ἤνοιξε, καὶ παρέπεμψέ σε ἔνδον, οὐχὶ πάντων ἂν αὐτὸν προετίθεις; οὐχὶ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν ἴσον ἠγάπησας; οὐχὶ ἐφίλεις; Τὸν οὐρανόν σοι ἀνέῳξεν οὗτος, καὶ οὐ φιλεῖς καὶ περιέπεις; Εἰ γυναῖκα ἔχοις, οὐχὶ τὸν προξενήσαντα ποθεῖς πάντων μάλιστα; Οὕτως, εἰ φιλεῖς τὸν Χριστὸν, εἰ φιλεῖς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν, ἐπίγνωθι διὰ τίνων ἔσχες αὐτήν. ∆ιὰ τοῦτό φησι. ∆ιὰ τὸ ἔργον αὐτῶν· εἰρηνεύετε ἐν αὐτοῖς. Παρακαλοῦμεν δὲ ὑμᾶς, ἀδελφοὶ, νουθετεῖτε τοὺς ἀτάκτους, παραμυθεῖτε τοὺς ὀλιγοψύχους, ἀντέχεσθε τῶν ἀσθενῶν, μακροθυμεῖτε πρὸς πάντας. βʹ. Ἐνταῦθα πρὸς τοὺς ἄρχοντας διαλέγεται. Νουθετεῖτε, φησὶ, τοὺς ἀτάκτους· τουτέστι, μὴ ἀπὸ ἐξουσίας, μηδὲ ἀπὸ αὐθαδείας ἐπιπλήσσετε, ἀλλὰ μετὰ ἐπιεικείας, μετὰ ἡμερότητος. Παραμυθεῖσθε τοὺς ὀλιγοψύχους, ἀντέχεσθε τῶν ἀσθενῶν, μακροθυμεῖτε πρὸς πάντας. Ὁ γὰρ αὐστηρῶς ἐπιπληττόμενος, ἀπεγνωκὼς ἑαυτοῦ, θρασύτερος γίνεται καταφρονῶν· διὰ τοῦτο τῇ νουθεσίᾳ χρὴ ἡδὺ κατασκευάζειν τὸ φάρμακον. Τίνες δέ εἰσιν οἱ ἄτακτοι; Πάντως οἱ παρὰ τὸ τῷ Θεῷ δοκοῦν πράττοντες. Τάξεως γάρ ἐστι τῆς στρατιωτικῆς ἁρμοδιωτέρα αὕτη ἡ τάξις τῆς Ἐκκλησίας. Ὥστε καὶ ὁ λοίδορος ἄτακτος, καὶ ὁ μέθυσος ἄτακτος καὶ ὁ πλεονέκτης καὶ πάντες οἱ ἁμαρτάνοντες· οὐ γὰρ τεταγμένα βαδίζουσιν ἐν τῇ 62.457 φάλαγγι, ἀλλὰ παράφορα· διὸ καὶ περιτρέπονται. Ἀλλ' ἔστι καὶ ἕτερον εἶδος τῶν κακῶν, οὐ τοιοῦτον μὲν, κακία δὲ καὶ αὐτό. Ποῖον τοῦτο; Ἡ μικροψυχία· καὶ γὰρ καὶ αὕτη ὁμοίως τῇ ῥᾳθυμίᾳ ἀπόλλυσιν. Ὁ μὴ φέρων ὕβριν, ὀλιγόψυχος· ὁ μὴ φέρων πειρασμὸν, ὀλιγόψυχος· οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ ἐπὶ τῆς πέτρας σπαρείς. Ἔστι καὶ ἄλλο εἶδος, τὸ τῆς ἀσθενείας. Ἀντέχεσθε, φησὶ, τῶν ἀσθενῶν, ἀσθενῶν λέγων τῶν περὶ πίστιν· γίνεται γὰρ ἀσθένεια καὶ περὶ αὐτήν. Ἀλλ' ὅρα πῶς οὐκ ἀφίησιν αὐτοὺς διαπτύεσθαι. Καὶ ἀλλαχοῦ δὲ γράφων ἔλεγε, Τοὺς ἀσθενοῦντας τῇ πίστει προσλαμβάνεσθε. Καὶ γὰρ ἐν τοῖς σώμασι τοῖς ἡμετέροις τὸ ἀσθενοῦν μέρος οὐκ ἐῶμεν ἀπολέσθαι. Μακροθυμεῖτε, φησὶ, πρὸς πάντας. Τί οὖν; καὶ πρὸς τοὺς ἀτάκτους; Καὶ σφόδρα· οὐδὲν γὰρ τούτου φαρμάκου ἴσον διδασκάλῳ μάλιστα, οὐδὲν οὕτω τοῖς ἀρχομένοις ἐπιτήδειον· πάντως ἐντρέψαι δύναται, πάντως δυσωπῆσαι, καὶ τὸν πάντων ἀγριώτερον καὶ ἀναισχυντότερον. Ὁρᾶτε μή τις κακὸν ἀντὶ κακοῦ τινι ἀποδῷ. Εἰ κακὸν ἀντὶ κακοῦ οὐ χρὴ ἀποδιδόναι, πολλῷ μᾶλλον κακὸν ἀντὶ ἀγαθοῦ, πολλῷ μᾶλλον μὴ προϋπάρξαντος κακοῦ, ἀποδοῦναι κακόν. Ἀλλ' ὁ δεῖνα, φησὶ, πονηρός ἐστι, καὶ