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who love him vehemently to the desert. And so, if they had been silent, as I said, their excuse would have been taken away, but now much more so after these long arguments, and such great exhortation, both that from the facts, and the clearer one from the divine Scriptures. And if it were possible for those staying at home not to be utterly corrupted, but at least to obtain the last rank of salvation, even so we would not have escaped punishment, hindering those who are eager to walk in a more precise life, and holding back in more worldly things those who are eager to fly to heaven; but when not even this is possible, but it is entirely necessary to perish, and the danger is for the ultimate things, what pardon will we have, what excuse, not only for our own sins, but also for the sins committed by our children after this, drawing upon ourselves the heavier responsibility? For I do not think they will be punished as much for what they may do wrong after this, having been dragged down into this turbulence, as you who have imposed this necessity upon them. For if it is better for one who scandalizes one person to be sunk into the sea with a millstone, what retribution and punishment will suffice for those who show this cruelty and harshness toward their children? Therefore I urge you to let go of your contentiousness, and become fathers of philosophical children. For it is not possible to say that which I hear many using as a pretext. And what is this 47.386? Knowing, he says, that they were unable to reach the end, we hindered them for this reason. For even if you knew this clearly, and the matter were not a conjecture—for many even of those who were expected to fall have stood firm—yet even if you knew it very well, you ought not even so to have held him back. For neither, if we were to take some who are about to fall and trip them up, is this sufficient for our defense, but this very thing is most especially what condemns us. For why did you not allow the fall to be from his own carelessness, but instead preemptively snatched the sin and brought the whole thing upon your own head? Rather, you ought not even to have allowed it; for why did you not do everything to prevent your son from falling? So, since you knew especially that he would fall, for this reason you would be especially worthy of punishment. For one who foresees this ought not to cast him down, but to stretch out a hand, and to show greater zeal for him who is about to fall to stand nobly, whether he was going to stand or not. For all our duties must be fulfilled, even if others are not going to profit from us. For what sake, and why? So that the accounting with God may no longer be against us, but against them. Which he himself also said when accusing the one who had done nothing with the talent. For you ought, he says, to have deposited my money with the bankers; and I, when I came, would have demanded it back with interest. Let us therefore obey the one who exhorts these things, so that we may also escape the punishment. For we are surely not able to deceive God along with men, he who searches the hearts and brings everything into the open, and everywhere makes us responsible for the salvation of our children. For if he who did not deposit the money paid such a penalty, what will he suffer who also hinders those who wish to deposit it? For not even if the children, having rolled down into the affairs of this life from our counsel, should nobly bear the assault and take to the mountains again, will the same punishment be laid upon those who wished to hinder them. For just as he who leads another to philosophy, whether he persuades him or not, has his reward complete—for he has done all his part; so also he who has wished to corrupt, whether he succeeds or not, will undergo the same penalty; for he too has fulfilled all his part. So that even if you have no power to trip up and overthrow the noble thoughts of your children, you will pay as great a penalty for the attempt alone as those who did overthrow them from there. Considering all these things, then, and abandoning all pretexts, let us strive to become fathers of noble children, to become builders of Christ-bearing temples, overseers of heavenly athletes, anointing, setting upright,

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σφόδρα ἐρῶντας αὐτοῦ πρὸς τὴν ἐρημίαν ἐλάσαι. Καὶ σιγώντων μὲν οὖν, ὅπερ ἔφην, τὰ τῆς ἀπολογίας ἀνῄρητο, νυνὶ δὲ πολλῷ πλέον μετὰ τοὺς μακροὺς λόγους τούτους, καὶ τὴν τοσαύτην παραίνεσιν, τήν τε ἀπὸ τῶν πραγμάτων, τήν τε σαφεστέραν τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν θείων Γραφῶν. Καὶ εἰ μὲν ἦν οἴκοι μένοντας μὴ διαφθαρῆναι τέλεον, ἀλλὰ τὴν γοῦν ἐσχάτην τάξιν τῆς σωτηρίας λαχεῖν, μάλιστα μὲν οὐδὲ οὕτως ἂν τὴν κόλασιν διεφύγομεν, τοὺς ἐπὶ βίον ἀκριβέστερον βαδίζειν ἐπειγομένους κωλύοντες, καὶ ἐν τοῖς βιωτικωτέροις κατέχοντες πρὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν πτῆναι ἐπειγομένους· ὅταν δὲ μηδὲ τοῦτο ἐξῇ, ἀλλ' ἀνάγκη πάντως ἀπολέσθαι, καὶ περὶ τῶν ἐσχάτων ὁ κίνδυνος ᾖ, τίνα συγγνώμην ἕξομεν, τίνα δὲ ἀπολογίαν, οὐ μόνον τῶν οἰκείων ἁμαρτημάτων, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν μετὰ ταῦτα τοῖς παισὶν ἁμαρτανομένων τὰς εὐθύνας ἐφ' ἑαυτοὺς ἕλκοντες χαλεπωτέρας; Οὐ γὰρ οὕτως ἐκείνους οἶμαι τιμωρηθήσεσθαι ὑπὲρ ὧν ἂν πταίσωσι μετὰ ταῦτα, εἰς τὸ κλυδώνιον τοῦτο κατασπασθέντες, ὡς ὑμᾶς τοὺς τὴν ἀνάγκην αὐτοῖς περιστήσαντας ταύτην. Εἰ γὰρ τῷ ἕνα σκανδαλίζοντι συμφέρει μετὰ μύλης καταποντισθῆναι εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν, τοῖς τὴν ὠμότητα ταύτην καὶ ἀπήνειαν εἰς τοὺς παῖδας ἐνδεικνυμένοις ποία τιμωρία ἀρκέσει καὶ κόλασις; ∆ιὸ παρακαλῶ καθυφεῖναι τῆς φιλονεικίας, καὶ γενέσθαι φιλοσόφων παίδων πατέρας. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐκεῖνο ἔστιν εἰπεῖν, ὅπερ ἀκούω πολλοὺς σκηπτομένους. Τί δὲ τοῦτό 47.386 ἐστιν; Ἀδυνατοῦντας, φησὶν, εἰδότες πρὸς τὸ τέλος ἐλθεῖν, ἐκωλύσαμεν διὰ τοῦτο. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ προῄδεις τοῦτο σαφῶς, καὶ μὴ στοχασμὸς τὸ πρᾶγμα ἦν· πολλοὶ γὰρ καὶ τῶν πεσεῖσθαι προσδοκηθέντων ἔστησαν· πλὴν ἀλλ' εἰ καὶ σφόδρα προῄδεις, οὐδὲ οὕτως αὐτὸν καθέλκειν ἐχρῆν. Οὐδὲ γὰρ, εἴ τινας πίπτειν μέλλοντας λαβόντες ὑποσκελίσαιμεν, ἀρκεῖ τοῦτο πρὸς ἀπολογίαν ἡμῖν, ἀλλ' αὐτὸ δὴ τοῦτο καὶ μάλιστά ἐστι τὸ καταδικάζον ἡμᾶς. ∆ιὰ τί γὰρ μὴ συνεχώρησας τῆς ἐκείνου ῥᾳθυμίας γενέσθαι τὸ πτῶμα, ἀλλὰ προλαβὼν ἥρπασας τὴν ἁμαρτίαν καὶ τὸ πᾶν ἤγαγες ἐπὶ τὴν σὴν κεφαλήν; Μᾶλλον δὲ οὐδὲ συγχωρῆσαι ἐχρῆν· διὰ τί γὰρ μὴ πάντα ἔπραξας ὑπὲρ τοῦ μὴ πεσεῖν τὸν υἱόν; Ὥστε, ἐπειδὴ μάλιστα ᾔδεις ὅτι πεσεῖται, διὰ τοῦτο μάλιστα τιμωρίας ἂν ᾖς ἄξιος. Τὸν γὰρ τοῦτο προειδότα οὐχὶ καταβάλλειν, ἀλλὰ χεῖρα ὀρέγειν χρὴ, καὶ μείζονα ἐνδείκνυσθαι τὴν σπουδὴν ὑπὲρ τοῦ τὸν μέλλοντα πίπτειν στῆναι γενναίως, εἴτ' ἔμελλε στήσεσθαι, εἴτε μή. Τὰ γὰρ ἡμῶν ἅπαντα πληροῦσθαι δεῖ, κἂν ἕτεροι μηδὲν μέλλωσι καρποῦσθαι παρ' ἡμῶν. Τίνος ἕνεκεν, καὶ διὰ τί; Ἵνα μηκέτι πρὸς ἡμᾶς, ἀλλὰ πρὸς ἐκείνους ὁ λόγος ᾖ τῷ Θεῷ. Ὅπερ καὶ αὐτὸς ἔλεγεν ἐγκαλῶν τῷ μηδὲν εἰς τὸ τάλαντον ἐργασαμένῳ. Ἔδει γάρ σε, φησὶ, καταβαλεῖν τὸ ἀργύριόν μου τοῖς τραπεζίταις· κἀγὼ ἐλθὼν μετὰ τόκου ἂν ἀπῄτησα αὐτό. Πειθώμεθα τοίνυν τῷ ταῦτα παραινοῦντι, ἵνα καὶ τὴν τιμωρίαν ἐκφύγωμεν. Οὐ γὰρ δὴ καὶ τὸν Θεὸν μετὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων παραλογίσασθαι δυνάμεθα, τὸν ἐρευνῶντα τὰς καρδίας καὶ πάντα εἰς μέσον ἄγοντα, καὶ πανταχοῦ τῆς τῶν παίδων ὑπευθύνους ποιοῦντα σωτηρίας ἡμᾶς. Εἰ γὰρ ὁ μὴ καταβαλὼν τὸ ἀργύριον τοσαύτην ἔδωκε δίκην, ὁ καὶ τοὺς καταβαλεῖν βουλομένους κωλύων τί πείσεται; Οὐδὲ γὰρ κατακυλισθέντων τῶν παίδων εἰς τὰ τοῦ βίου πράγματα ἐκ τῆς ἡμετέρας συμβουλίας, ἀλλὰ καὶ γενναίως ἐνεγκάντων τὴν προσβολὴν, καὶ τὰ ὄρη καταλαβόντων πάλιν, ἡ αὐτὴ κείσεται κόλασις τοῖς διακωλῦσαι βουληθεῖσιν αὐτούς. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ὁ πρὸς φιλοσοφίαν ἄγων, ἄν τε πείσῃ, ἄν τε μὴ πείσῃ, ἀπηρτισμένον ἔχει τὸν μισθὸν τὸ γὰρ αὐτοῦ πᾶν ἐποίησεν· οὕτω καὶ ὁ διαφθεῖραι βουληθεὶς, ἄν τε ἕλῃ, ἄν τε μὴ ἕλῃ, τὴν αὐτὴν ὑποστήσεται δίκην· τὸ γὰρ αὐτοῦ πᾶν καὶ οὗτος ἐπλήρωσεν. Ὥστε κἂν μηδὲν ἰσχύσητε πρὸς τὸ ὑποσκελίσαι καὶ καθελεῖν τὰ γενναῖα τῶν παίδων φρονήματα, τῆς γοῦν ἐπιχειρήσεως μόνης τοσαύτην δώσετε δίκην, ὅσην οἱ καθελόντες ἐκεῖθεν αὐτούς. Ταῦτ' οὖν ἐννοήσαντες ἅπαντα, καὶ τὰς σκήψεις ἀφέντες πάσας, σπουδάσωμεν γενναίων παίδων γενέσθαι πατέρες, χριστοφόρων οἰκοδόμοι γενέσθαι ναῶν, ἀθλητῶν ἐπουρανίων ἐπιμεληταὶ, ἀλείφοντες, ὀρθοῦντες,