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he has grieved me, and wronged me much. Do you wish to take revenge on him? Do not repay; leave him unpunished. Is it only up to this point? By no means. But always pursue what is good, both toward one another and toward all. This is the greater philosophy, not only not to repay evils with evils, but with good things; for this is truly a defense that brings harm to him, and a benefit to you; or rather, a great benefit to him as well, if he is willing. And so that you may not think that this is said only concerning the faithful, for this reason he said: Both toward one another, and toward all. Rejoice always. This is concerning the trials that cause affliction. Hear, all you who have fallen into poverty, all you who are in grievous circumstances; for from these things joy is born. For when we have such a soul, so as not to take revenge on anyone, but to do good to all, from where, tell me, will the sting of grief be able to enter? For he who rejoices in suffering evil in such a way as to repay with good deeds the one who did evil, from where will he be able to be distressed hereafter? And how is this possible, he says? If we are willing, it is possible. Then he also showed the way: Pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God. To always give thanks, this is the mark of a philosopher's soul. Have you suffered some evil? But if you are willing, it is not an evil; give thanks to God, and the evil has been changed into good; say you also as Job: Blessed be the name of the Lord forever. For what, tell me, have you suffered of such a kind? Has sickness befallen you? But this is nothing strange; for our body is mortal and subject to suffering. But have you encountered poverty of money? But these things are both acquired and lost, and remain here. But plots and slanders from enemies? But it is not we who are wronged in these things, but those who have done them; For the soul, he says, that sins, it shall die. And the one who sinned is not the one who suffered evil, but the one who did evil. Therefore, one must not take revenge on the one who is dying, but pray for him, so that he may be delivered from death. Do you not see the bee, that when it stings, it dies along with its stinger? Through that creature God teaches us not to grieve our neighbors; for we ourselves 62.458 are the first to receive death. For in striking them, perhaps we have grieved them for a little while; but we ourselves will no longer live, just as that creature will not. And yet Scripture praises it, saying: How she is a worker; whose labor kings and commoners use for their health; but nothing avails her against dying, but she must certainly perish. If, then, its other excellence does not save it when it does evil, much more will it not save us. 3. For it is a mark of the most savage of wild beasts to begin an injustice when no one is wronging you; or rather, not even of wild beasts. For if you let them graze in the wilderness, and do not press them and drive them to necessity, they will never do harm, nor approach, nor bite, but will go their own way; but you, being a rational man, honored with so great a rule and honor and glory, do you not even imitate the wild beasts toward those of your own kind, but wrong and devour your brother? And from where will you be able to make a defense? Do you not hear Paul saying: Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded? But you yourselves wrong and defraud, and that your brothers. Do you see that to suffer evil is in doing evil, but to fare well is in suffering evil? For tell me: if someone were to revile the rulers, if someone were to insult those in power, whom does he wrong? Himself, or them? It is clear that it is himself. Then he who insults a ruler, does he not insult him, but himself, and he who insults a man, does he not insult Christ through him? By no means, he says. What are you saying? He who stones the emperor's images, whom does he stone? Not himself? Then if he who stones the image of an earthly emperor stones himself, does not he who insults the image of Christ (for man is the image of God) wrong himself? For how long will we love money?

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ἐλύπησε, καὶ πολλά με ἠδίκησε. Βούλει αὐτὸν ἀμύνασθαι; μὴ ἀνταποδῷς· ἔασον ἀτιμώρητον. Ἆρα μέχρι τούτου; Οὐδαμῶς. Ἀλλὰ πάντοτε τὸ ἀγαθὸν διώκετε, καὶ εἰς ἀλλήλους, καὶ εἰς πάντας. Αὕτη μείζων ἡ φιλοσοφία, μὴ μόνον κακοῖς μὴ ἀμύνεσθαι τὰ κακὰ, ἀλλὰ ἀγαθοῖς· αὕτη γάρ ἐστιν ὄντως ἄμυνα κἀκείνῳ βλάβην ἔχουσα, καὶ ὠφέλειάν σοι· μᾶλλον δὲ κἀκείνῳ πολλὴν τὴν ὠφέλειαν, ἐὰν θέλῃ. Καὶ ἵνα μὴ νομίσῃς ὅτι περὶ τῶν πιστῶν μόνων τοῦτο εἴρηται, διὰ τοῦτο εἶπε· Καὶ εἰς ἀλλήλους, καὶ εἰς πάντας. Πάντοτε χαίρετε. Τοῦτο περὶ τῶν πειρασμῶν τῶν θλῖψιν ἐμποιούντων. Ἀκούετε, ὅσοι πενίᾳ περιπεπτώκατε, ὅσοι λυπηροῖς πράγμασιν· ἀπὸ τούτων γὰρ χαρὰ τίκτεται. Ὅταν γὰρ τοιαύτην ἔχωμεν ψυχὴν, ὥστε μηδένα ἀμύνεσθαι, ἀλλὰ πάντας εὐεργετεῖν, πόθεν, εἰπέ μοι, τὸ τῆς λύπης κέντρον παρεισελθεῖν δυνήσεται; Ὁ γὰρ οὕτω χαίρων τῷ παθεῖν κακῶς, ὡς καὶ εὐεργεσίαις ἀμύνεσθαι τὸν πεποιηκότα κακῶς, πόθεν δυνήσεται ἀνιαθῆναι λοιπόν; Καὶ πῶς οἷόν τε τοῦτο, φησίν; Ἂν ἐθέλωμεν, δυνατόν. Εἶτα καὶ τὴν ὁδὸν ἔδειξεν· Ἀδιαλείπτως προσεύχεσθε, ἐν παντὶ εὐχαριστεῖτε· τοῦτο γὰρ θέλημα Θεοῦ. Τὸ ἀεὶ εὐχαριστεῖν, τοῦτο φιλοσόφου ψυχῆς. Ἔπαθές τι κακόν; Ἀλλ' ἐὰν θέλῃς, οὐκ ἔστι κακόν· εὐχαρίστησον τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ μετεβλήθη τὸ κακὸν εἰς ἀγαθόν· εἰπὲ καὶ σὺ ὡς Ἰώβ· Εἴη τὸ ὄνομα Κυρίου εὐλογημένον εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας. Τί γὰρ, εἰπέ μοι, τοιοῦτον πέπονθας; νόσος ἐπέπεσεν; ἀλλ' οὐδὲν ξένον· θνητὸν γὰρ ἡμῖν τὸ σῶμα καὶ παθητόν. Ἀλλὰ πενία συνήντησε χρημάτων; ἀλλὰ καὶ ταῦτα κτητὰ καὶ ἀπόκτητα, καὶ ἐνταῦθα μένοντα. Ἀλλ' ἐπιβουλαὶ καὶ συκοφαντίαι παρ' ἐχθρῶν; ἀλλ' οὐχ ἡμεῖς ἠδικήμεθα ἐν τούτοις, ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνοι οἱ πεποιηκότες· Ψυχὴ γὰρ, φησὶν, ἡ ἁμαρτάνουσα, αὐτὴ καὶ ἀποθανεῖται. Ἥμαρτε δὲ οὐχ ὁ παθὼν κακῶς, ἀλλ' ὁ ποιήσας κακῶς. Οὐ τοίνυν τὸν ἀποθανόντα ἀμύνεσθαι χρὴ, ἀλλ' εὔχεσθαι ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ, ὥστε αὐτὸν ἐξελέσθαι τοῦ θανάτου. Οὐχ ὁρᾶτε τὴν μέλισσαν, ὅτι πλήττουσα ἐπαποθνήσκει τῷ κέντρῳ; ∆ι' ἐκείνου τοῦ ζώου παιδεύει ἡμᾶς ὁ Θεὸς μὴ λυπεῖν τοὺς πλησίον· αὐτοὶ 62.458 γὰρ τὸν θάνατον δεχόμεθα πρότεροι. Ἐκείνους μὲν γὰρ πλήττοντες ἴσως πρὸς μικρὸν ἐλυπήσαμεν· αὐτοὶ δὲ οὐκέτι ζησόμεθα, καθάπερ οὐδὲ ἐκεῖνο τὸ ζῶον. Καίτοι γε ἐπαινεῖ αὐτὸ ἡ Γραφὴ λέγουσα· Ὡς ἐργάτις ἐστίν· ἧς τὴν ἐργασίαν βασιλεῖς καὶ ἰδιῶται πρὸς ὑγίειαν προσφέρονται· ἀλλ' οὐδὲν αὐτῆς προΐσταται εἰς τὸ μὴ ἀποθανεῖν, ἀλλὰ δεῖ πάντως ἀπολέσθαι. Εἰ δὲ ἐκείνην οὐκ ἐξαιρεῖται ἡ λοιπὴ πλεονεξία ποιοῦσαν κακῶς, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἡμᾶς. γʹ. Θηρίων γὰρ ὄντως χαλεπωτάτων, τὸ, μηδενός σε ἀδικοῦντος, ἄρχειν ἀδικίας· μᾶλλον δὲ οὐδὲ θηρίων. Ἐκεῖνα γὰρ ἂν ἀφῇς ἐπὶ τῆς ἐρήμου νέμεσθαι, καὶ μὴ στενοχωρήσας εἰς ἀνάγκην καταστήσῃς, οὐδέποτε λυμανεῖται, οὔτε προσελεύσεται, οὔτε δήξεται, ἀλλ' ἀπελεύσεται τὴν οἰκείαν ὁδόν· σὺ δὲ ἄνθρωπος ὢν λογικὸς, τετιμημένος ἀρχῇ τοσαύτῃ καὶ τιμῇ καὶ δόξῃ, οὐδὲ τὰ θηρία μιμῇ περὶ τοὺς ὁμοφύλους, ἀλλὰ τὸν ἀδελφὸν ἀδικεῖς καὶ κατεσθίεις; Καὶ πόθεν ἀπολογήσασθαι δυνήσῃ; οὐκ ἀκούεις Παύλου λέγοντος· ∆ιὰ τί οὐχὶ μᾶλλον ἀδικεῖσθε; διὰ τί οὐχὶ μᾶλλον ἀποστερεῖσθε; ἀλλ' αὐτοὶ ἀδικεῖτε καὶ ἀποστερεῖτε, καὶ ταῦτα ἀδελφούς. Ὁρᾷς, ὅτι τὸ κακῶς παθεῖν ἐν τῷ κακῶς ποιῆσαί ἐστι, τὸ δὲ εὖ παθεῖν ἐν τῷ κακῶς παθεῖν; Εἰπὲ γάρ μοι· εἴ τις λοιδοροῖτο τοῖς ἄρχουσιν, εἴ τις ὑβρίζοι τοὺς κρατοῦντας, τίνα ἀδικεῖ; ἑαυτὸν, ἢ ἐκείνους; ∆ῆλον ὅτι ἑαυτόν. Εἶτα ἄρχοντα μὲν ὁ ὑβρίζων, οὐκ ἐκεῖνον ὑβρίζει, ἀλλ' ἑαυτὸν, ὁ δὲ ἄνθρωπον ὑβρίζων, δι' ἐκείνου τὸν Χριστὸν οὐχ ὑβρίζει· Οὐδαμῶς, φησί. Τί λέγεις; ὁ δὲ τὰς βασιλέως εἰκόνας λιθάζων, τίνα λιθάζει; οὐχ ἑαυτόν; Εἶτα εἰ ὁ εἰκόνα μὲν βασιλέως ἐπιγείου λιθάζων, ἑαυτὸν καταλεύει, τοῦ δὲ Χριστοῦ τὴν εἰκόνα ὁ ὑβρίζων (ἄνθρωπος γὰρ εἰκὼν Θεοῦ), οὐχ ἑαυτὸν ἀδικεῖ; Μέχρι πότε χρημάτων ἐρῶμεν;