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if we depart just as we arrived, having corrected none of our faults, what benefit will our arrival here have been for us? For indeed most things are not done for their own sake, but for what results from them. For example: The sower does not sow just to sow, but that he may also reap, so that if this did not happen, the sowing would also bring loss, the seeds having rotted uselessly and in vain. The merchant does not sail just to sail, but that through his journey he might increase his substance, so that if this did not happen, even the ultimate loss will occur, and the merchant's journey will be harmful. Let us consider this in our own case as well; for we too come to church, not for this reason alone, that we may spend time here, but that we may depart having gained some great and spiritual profit. If, therefore, we depart empty and having received nothing, our earnestness becomes a condemnation. So that this may not happen and be an ultimate loss, when you depart from here, friends with one another, fathers with their children, masters with their servants, practice and exercise yourselves so that you may accomplish what has been commanded, so that 49.80 when you return again, and hear us counseling you about the same things, you may not be put to shame by your conscience taking hold of you, but may rejoice and be glad seeing that the greater part of the exhortation has been accomplished by you. Let us not practice these philosophies only here; for this fleeting exhortation is not sufficient to remove everything, but also in the house let a husband hear these things from his wife, and a wife from her husband, and let there be a kind of contest of all striving to be first in the fulfillment of this law, and let the one who is first and has succeeded reproach the one left behind, that he may rouse him the more with his taunts; let the one who is behind and has not yet succeeded look to the one who is first, and let him strive eagerly to catch up to him quickly. If we resolve on these things, if we are anxious for these things, our other affairs will also quickly be set right for us. You be anxious for the things of God, and He Himself will provide for yours. And do not say to me: But what if someone imposes on us a necessity of oaths? but what if he does not believe? For first of all, where a law is transgressed, one must not make mention of necessity. For there is one unavoidable necessity, not to offend God. But nevertheless I say this, for the time being cut off superfluous oaths, those that are without purpose and without necessity, those in the house, those among friends, those among servants; if you do away with these, you will no longer have any need of me in those others; for the mouth itself, having practiced fearing and fleeing from frequent oaths, not even if someone should compel it ten thousand times, will it consent to fall back into that habit. But just as now, with much labor and countless troubles, frightening, threatening, exhorting, counseling, we have scarcely been able to transfer it to another habit; so indeed then also, even if someone should impose ten thousand necessities, he will not be able to persuade it to shake this law; but just as one would never choose, not even with necessity pressing, to taste some poison, so neither to utter an oath. And this, being accomplished by you, will be an encouragement and an incentive, to take hold of the remaining parts of virtue as well. For he who has accomplished nothing at all, is lazy and quickly gives up; but he who is conscious within himself that he has fulfilled at least one commandment, having become hopeful from this, will go again with greater zeal to the remaining ones, then having added another, he will quickly come to another, and he will not stop, until he comes to the very head. For if in the case of money, the more one acquires, the more one desires, one might see this happening much more in the case of spiritual accomplishments. For this reason I hasten and am eager for the matter to have a beginning, and to lay a foundation of virtue in your souls, and we beg and beseech you to be mindful of these words not only at the present hour, but also in the house, and in the marketplace, and wherever you may be. If only it were possible for me to be with you, and not for me of the

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ἀπέλθωμεν, οἷοι παρεγενόμεθα, μηδὲν τῶν ἡμετέρων κατορθώσαντες ἐλαττωμάτων, τί τὸ ὄφελος ἔσται ἡμῖν τῆς ἐνταῦθα ἀφίξεως; Καὶ γὰρ τὰ πολλὰ τῶν πραγμάτων οὐ δι' αὐτὰ γίνεται, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὰ συμβαίνοντα ἐξ αὐτῶν. Οἷόν τι λέγω· Ὁ σπείρων οὐ διὰ τοῦτο σπείρει, ἵνα σπείρῃ μόνον, ἀλλ' ἵνα καὶ θερίζῃ, ὡς εἰ μὴ τοῦτο γένοιτο, καὶ ζημίαν ὁ σπόρος οἴσει, τῶν σπερμάτων κατασαπέντων εἰκῆ καὶ μάτην. Ὁ ἔμπορος οὐ διὰ τοῦτο πλεῖ, ἵνα πλῇ μόνον, ἀλλ' ἵνα διὰ τῆς ἀποδημίας πλείω ποιήσῃ τὴν οὐσίαν, ὡς εἰ μὴ τοῦτο προσγένοιτο, καὶ ζημία συμβήσεται ἐσχάτη, καὶ ἐπιβλαβὴς ἡ τῶν ἐμπόρων ἀποδημία. Τοῦτο δὴ καὶ ἐφ' ἡμῶν αὐτῶν λογιζώμεθα· καὶ γὰρ ἡμεῖς εἰς ἐκκλησίαν ἀπαντῶμεν, οὐ δι' αὐτὸ τοῦτο μόνον ἵνα ἐνταῦθα διατρίβωμεν, ἀλλ' ἵνα τι κερδάναντες μέγα καὶ πνευματικὸν κέρδος ἀπέλθωμεν. Ἂν τοίνυν κενοὶ καὶ μηδὲν λαβόντες ἀπίωμεν, καὶ κατάκρισις ἡ σπουδὴ γίνεται. Ὅπως ἂν τοῦτο μὴ γένηται καὶ ζημία ἐσχάτη, ἀπιόντες ἐντεῦθεν, μετ' ἀλλήλων οἱ φίλοι, μετὰ τῶν τέκνων οἱ πατέρες, μετὰ τῶν οἰκετῶν οἱ δεσπόται, μελετᾶτε καὶ γυμνάζεσθε ὅπως τὸ ἐπιταχθὲν ἀνύσητε, ἵνα 49.80 ἐπειδὴ ἐπανέλθητε πάλιν, καὶ περὶ τῶν αὐτῶν ἀκούσητε συμβουλευόντων ἡμῶν, μὴ καταισχύνησθε τοῦ συνειδότος ὑμῶν ἐπιλαμβανομένου, ἀλλὰ χαίρητε καὶ εὐφραίνησθε συνορῶντες τὸ πλέον τῆς παραινέσεως ὑμῖν κατορθωθέν. Ταῦτα μὴ μόνον ἐνταῦθα φιλοσοφῶμεν· οὐ γὰρ ἀρκεῖ τὸ πᾶν ἡ πρόσκαιρος αὕτη παραίνεσις ἐξελεῖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς οἰκίας ἀνὴρ παρὰ γυναικὸς ταῦτα ἀκουέτω, καὶ γυνὴ παρ' ἀνδρὸς, καὶ ἅμιλλά τις γινέσθω σπουδαζόντων ἁπάντων προλαβεῖν εἰς τὴν τοῦ νόμου τούτου συμπλήρωσιν, καὶ ὁ προλαβὼν καὶ κατορθώσας ὀνειδιζέτω τῷ λειπομένῳ, ἵνα αὐτὸν τοῖς σκώμμασι διεγείρῃ πλέον· ὁ ὑστερήσας καὶ μηδέπω κατωρθωκὼς βλεπέτω τὸν προλαβόντα, καὶ φιλονεικείτω φθάσαι πρὸς ἐκεῖνον ταχέως. Ἐὰν ταῦτα βουλευώμεθα, ἐὰν ταῦτα μεριμνῶμεν, ταχέως ἂν ἡμῖν καὶ τὰ ἄλλα κατευοδωθήσεται πράγματα. Σὺ μερίμνησον τὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ αὐτὸς προνοήσεται τῶν σῶν. Καὶ μή μοι λέγε· Τί δὲ, ἐὰν ἀνάγκην ὅρκων τις ἡμῖν ἐπιθῇ; τί δὲ, ἐὰν μὴ πιστεύῃ; Μάλιστα μὲν γὰρ, ὅπου παραβαίνεται νόμος, ἀνάγκης μεμνῆσθαι οὐ χρή. Μία γάρ ἐστιν ἀνάγκη ἀπαραίτητος, τὸ μὴ προσκροῦσαι Θεῷ. Πλὴν ἀλλὰ ἐκεῖνο λέγω, τέως τοὺς περιττοὺς περίκοψον ὅρκους, τοὺς ἁπλῶς καὶ χωρὶς ἀνάγκης, τοὺς ἐπὶ τῆς οἰκίας, τοὺς ἐπὶ τῶν φίλων, τοὺς ἐπὶ τῶν οἰκετῶν· ἂν τούτους ἀνέλῃς, ἐν ἐκείνοις οὐδὲν ἐμοῦ δεήσῃ λοιπόν· αὐτὸ γὰρ τὸ στόμα μελετῆσαν δεδοικέναι καὶ φεύγειν τὰς πολυορκίας, οὐδ' ἂν μυριάκις τις ἀναγκάσῃ, καταδέξεται λοιπὸν εἰς ἐκείνην ἐμπεσεῖν τὴν συνήθειαν. Ἀλλ' ὥσπερ νῦν μετὰ πολλοῦ τοῦ πόνου καὶ μυρίας τῆς ἐνοχλήσεως φοβοῦντες, ἀπειλοῦντες, παραινοῦντες, συμβουλεύοντες, μόλις ἰσχύσαμεν εἰς ἑτέραν αὐτὸ μεταθεῖναι συνήθειαν· οὕτω δὴ καὶ τότε, κἂν μυρίαν ἀνάγκην ἐπιθῇ τις, οὐ δυνήσεται πεῖσαι τοῦτον παρασαλεῦσαι τὸν νόμον· ἀλλ' ὥσπερ δηλητηρίου τινὸς οὐκ ἂν ἕλοιτό ποτε οὐδὲ ἀνάγκης ἐπικειμένης ἀπογεύσασθαί τις, οὕτως οὐδὲ ὅρκον προέσθαι. Τοῦτο δὲ ὑμῖν κατορθωθὲν παράκλησις ἔσται καὶ προτροπὴ, πρὸς τὸ καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν τῆς ἀρετῆς ἐφάψασθαι μερῶν. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ μηδὲν κατωρθωκὼς ὅλως, ῥᾳθυμεῖ καὶ ἀναπίπτει ταχέως· ὁ δὲ συνειδὼς ἑαυτῷ ὅτι μίαν γοῦν τινα ἐντολὴν ἐπλήρωσεν, εὔελπις ἀπὸ ταύτης γενόμενος, μετὰ πλείονος σπουδῆς ἐπὶ τὰς λοιπὰς βαδιεῖται πάλιν, εἶτα ἑτέραν προσλαβὼν, ἐφ' ἑτέραν ἥξει ταχέως, καὶ οὐ πρότερον ἀποστήσεται, ἕως ἂν ἐπ' αὐτὴν ἔλθῃ τὴν κεφαλήν. Εἰ γὰρ ἐπὶ τῶν χρημάτων, ὅσῳπερ ἄν τις πλείονα περιβάληται, τοσούτῳ πλειόνων ἐφίεται, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἐπὶ τῶν κατορθωμάτων τῶν πνευματικῶν τοῦτο συμβαῖνον ἴδοι τις ἄν. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο σπεύδω καὶ ἐπείγομαι ἀρχὴν τὸ πρᾶγμα λαβεῖν, καὶ προοίμιον τῆς ἀρετῆς καταβαλεῖν ἐν ταῖς ὑμετέραις ψυχαῖς, καὶ δεόμεθα καὶ ἀντιβολοῦμεν τούτων τῶν ῥημάτων μὴ κατὰ τὴν παροῦσαν ὥραν μεμνῆσθαι μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς οἰκίας, καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς ἀγορᾶς, καὶ ὅπουπερ ἂν διατρίβητε Εἴθε μοι δυνατὸν ἦν ὑμῖν συγγενέσθαι, καὶ οὐκ ἄν μοι τῆς