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being also superfluous. «So is there not a wise man among you who will be able to judge between his brother? But brother goes to law with brother. And that before unbelievers?» «Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because you go to law one with another. Why do you not rather take wrong? Why do you not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded? Nay, you do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren. Know you not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God?» 95.616 The charge is twofold, that one goes to law, and that before unbelievers. «Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor covetous, nor thieves.» Here he alludes to some who say what many also say now, that God, being philanthropic and good, does not punish sins. Wherefore he says, Be not deceived. For it is of the utmost error and deceit to hope for good things and receive the opposite. «Neither drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but you were washed, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.» And these are among the worst of sins, drunkenness and reviling. For Christ also delivered over to Gehenna the one who called his brother a fool; and the people of the Jews, when they were drunk, turned aside to idolatry. Consider, he says, the greatness of his philanthropy. For he not only delivered from sins, but also sanctified, and justified. But he said these things, wishing to make them feel great shame. «All things are lawful for me, but not all things are expedient.» Here he alludes to the gluttonous. For since he is about to move on to the man who committed fornication, and fornication comes from luxury and gluttony, for this reason he severely chastises the passion. It is as if he were to say. It is lawful to eat, he says, but not with prodigality. «All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.» By this he shows that to do things that are in one's power is not only not expedient, but it is not even power, but slavery; for example, you are master of eating; therefore, remain master, and see to it that you do not become a slave of this passion. For he who uses it as is fitting is his own master. But he who goes to excess is no longer master, but becomes its slave, since gluttony tyrannizes in him. See how he showed that the one who thinks he has power is under power. For this is his custom, always to turn objections around to the opposite. Consider: each of them was saying, It is lawful for me to live in luxury. But he himself says: You do not do this as having power over it, but as being yourself subject to this power. For you do not have power over your belly, as long as you are prodigal; but it has power over you. And this can also be said of money and of other things. «Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats.» Here by 'belly' he means not the stomach, but gluttony, as when he says: Whose God is their 95.617 belly, not speaking of the bodily member, but of gluttony. And that he is not speaking against the body, hear how he says: Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord. What he says is something like this: Meats have a friendship with gluttony, and it with them, and it cannot lead us to Christ, but draws us to them. For it is a grievous and beastly passion, and it makes one a slave, and prepares one to be its servant. «But God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body.» He does not mean the stomach, but immoderate desire, nor food, but luxury. For it was not created for this, that you should be prodigal and commit fornication, just as the belly was not, that you should be gluttonous, but that it should follow Christ as its head, and the Lord should be set over the body. Let us be ashamed, let us tremble that, having been deemed worthy to become members of him who is seated above, we disgrace ourselves with so many evils. «And God has both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his power.» Having sufficiently accused the gluttonous, he also leads them away from this wickedness by the hope of future things. But consider how, in the case of the

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οὖσαν καὶ περιττήν. «Οὕτως οὐκ ἔνι ἐν ὑμῖν οὐδεὶς σοφὸς, ὃς δυνήσεται διακρῖναι ἀναμέσον τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ; Ἀλλὰ ἀδελφὸς μετὰ ἀδελφοῦ κρίνεται. Καὶ ταῦτα ἐπὶ ἀπίστων;» «Ἤδη μὲν οὖν ὅλως ἥττημα ἐν ὑμῖν ἐστιν, ὅτι κρῖμα ἔχετε μεθ' ἑαυτῶν. ∆ιὰ τί οὐχὶ μᾶλλον ἀδικεῖσθε; ∆ιὰ τί οὐχὶ μᾶλλον ἀποστερεῖσθε; Ἀλλ' ὑμεῖς ἀδικεῖτε καὶ ἀποστερεῖτε, καὶ ταῦτα ἀδελφούς. Ἢ οὐκ οἴδατε ὅτι ἄδικοι βασιλείαν Θεοῦ οὐ κληρονομήσουσιν;» 95.616 ∆ιπλοῦν τὸ ἔγκλημα, ὅτι καὶ κρίνεται, καὶ ἐπὶ ἀπίστων. «Μὴ πλανᾶσθε· οὔτε πόρνοι, οὔτε εἰδωλολάτραι, οὔτε μοιχοὶ, οὔτε μαλακοὶ, οὔτε ἀρσενοκοῖται, οὔτε πλεονέκται, οὔτε κλέπται.» Ἐνταῦθα αἰνίττεταί τινας λέγοντας ἅπερ καὶ νῦν λέγουσιν οἱ πολλοὶ, ὅτι φιλάνθρωπος ὢν ὁ Θεὸς καὶ ἀγαθὸς, οὐκ ἀπεξέρχεται τοῖς πλημμελήμασι. ∆ιὸ φησὶ, Μὴ πλανᾶσθε. Πλάνης γὰρ ἐσχάτης καὶ ἀπάτης, ἐλπίσαντας χρηστὰ τῶν ἐναντίων τυχεῖν. «Οὔτε μέθυσοι, οὐ λοίδοροι, οὐχ ἅρπαγες βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ οὐ κληρονομήσουσι. Καὶ ταῦτά τινες ἦτε, ἀλλὰ ἀπελούσασθε, ἀλλὰ ἐδικαιώθητε ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ καὶ ἐν τῷ Πνεύματι τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡμῶν.» Καὶ ταῦτα τῶν ἐσχάτων ἁμαρτημάτων ἐστὶν, τὸ τῆς μέθης καὶ τὸ τῆς λοιδορίας. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς τὸν καλέσαντα τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ μωρὸν τῇ γεέννῃ παραδέδωκεν· καὶ ὁ τῶν Ἰουδαίων λαὸς μεθυσθεὶς εἰς εἰδωλολατρείαν ἐξέκλινεν. Ἐννοήσατε, φησὶν, τῆς φιλανθρωπίας τὸ μέγεθος. Οὐ γὰρ τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων ἀπήλλαξεν μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡγίασεν, καὶ ἐδικαίωσεν. Ταῦτα δὲ εἶπεν, σφόδρα ἐντρέψαι βουλόμενος. «Πάντα μοι ἔξεστιν, ἀλλ' οὐ πάντα συμφέρει.» Τοὺς λαιμάργους ἐνταῦθα αἰνίττεται. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ μέλλει ἐπὶ τὸν πεπορνευκότα φέρεσθαι, ἡ δὲ πορνεία ἀπὸ τρυφῆς καὶ λαιμαργίας, τούτου χάριν σφοδρῶς κολάζει τὸ πάθος. Ὅμοιον δὲ ὡς εἰ λέγοι. Ἔξεστι φαγεῖν φησὶν, ἀλλὰ μὴ μετὰ ἀσωτίας. «Πάντα μοι ἔξεστι, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐγὼ ἐξουσιασθήσομαι ὑπό τινος.» ∆ιὰ τούτου δείκνυσιν, ὅτι τὰ ἐν ἐξουσίᾳ ποιεῖν, οὐ μόνον οὐ συμφέρει, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ ἐξουσία ἐστὶν, ἀλλὰ δουλεία· οἷον κύριος εἶ τοῦ φαγεῖν· οὐκοῦν μένε κύριος ὢν, καὶ σκόπει μὴ γένῃ δοῦλος τούτου τοῦ πάθους. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ εἰς δέον αὐτῷ κεχρημένος, αὐτὸς αὐτοῦ κύριός ἐστιν. Ὁ δὲ εἰς ἀμετρίαν ἐξιὼν, οὐκέτι ἐστὶ κύριος, ἀλλὰ δοῦλος αὐτοῦ γίνεται, τῆς ἀδδηφαγίας ἐν αὐτῷ τυραννούσης. Ἴδε πῶς τὸν νομίζοντα ἐξουσίαν ἔχειν, ἔδειξεν ὑπ' ἐξουσίαν ὄντα. Τοῦτο γὰρ ἔθος αὐτῷ ἀεὶ εἰς τὸ ἐναντίον περιτρέπειν ἀντιθέσεις. Σκόπει δέ· ἐκείνων ἕκαστος ἔλεγεν, ἔξεστί μοι τρυφᾷν. Αὐτὸς δὲ φησίν· Οὐχ οὕτως αὐτὸ ποιεῖς ὡς ἐξουσίαν ἔχων αὐτοῦ, ἀλλ' ὡς αὐτὸς ὑποκείμενος τῇ ἐξουσίᾳ ταύτῃ. Οὐ γὰρ ἔχεις ἐξουσίαν τῆς γαστρὸς, ἕως ἂν ἄσωτος εἶ· ἀλλὰ αὕτη σου τὴν ἐξουσίαν ἔχει. Τοῦτο δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ χρημάτων καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἔστιν εἰπεῖν. «Τὰ βρώματα τῇ κοιλίᾳ, καὶ ἡ κοιλία τοῖς βρώμασι.» Κοιλίαν ἐνταῦθα, οὐ τὴν γαστέρα, ἀλλὰ τὴν γαστριμαργίαν φησὶν, ὡς ὅταν λέγῃ· Ὧν ὁ Θεὸς ἡ 95.617 κοιλία, οὐ περὶ μέλους λέγων, ἀλλὰ περὶ τῆς ἀδδηφαγίας. Καὶ ὅτι οὐ σῶμα διαβάλλει, ἄκουε πῶς φησιν· Τὸ δὲ σῶμα, οὐ τῇ πορνείᾳ, ἀλλὰ τῷ Κυρίῳ. Ὃ δὲ λέγει τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν· τὰ βρώματα πρὸς τὴν γαστριμαργίαν ἔχει φιλίαν, καὶ αὕτη πρὸς αὐτὰ, καὶ οὐ δύναται ἡμᾶς πρὸς τὸν Χριστὸν ἄγειν, ἀλλὰ πρὸς αὐτὰ ἕλκει. Πάθος γὰρ χαλεπὸν καὶ θηριῶδές ἐστιν, καὶ δουλεύειν ποιεῖ, καὶ ταύτῃ διακονεῖσθαι παρασκευάζει. «Ὁ δὲ Θεὸς καὶ ταύτην καὶ ταῦτα καταργήσει. Τὸ δὲ σῶμα οὐ τῇ πορνείᾳ, ἀλλὰ τῷ Κυρίῳ· καὶ ὁ Κύριος τῷ σώματι.» Οὐ τὴν γαστέρα λέγει, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἄμετρον ἐπιθυμίαν, οὐδὲ τὴν τροφὴν, ἀλλὰ τὴν τρυφήν. Οὐ γὰρ διὰ τοῦτο κατεσκευάσθη, ἵνα ἄσωτος ᾖς καὶ πορνεύῃς, ὥσπερ οὐδὲ κοιλία, ἵνα γαστριμαργῇς, ἀλλ' ἵνα τῷ Χριστῷ ἕπηται ὡς κεφαλῇ, καὶ ὁ Κύριος τῷ σώματι ἐπικέηται. Αἰδεσθῶμεν, φρίξωμεν ὅτι, τοῦ ἄνω καθημένου ἀξιωθέντες γενέσθαι μέλη, τοσούτοις κακοῖς καταισχύνομεν ἑαυτούς. «Ὁ δὲ Θεὸς καὶ τὸν Κύριον ἤγειρεν, καὶ ἡμᾶς ἐγερεῖ διὰ τῆς δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ.» Κατηγορήσας ἱκανῶς τῶν γαστριμάργων, καὶ τῇ τῶν μελλόντων ἐλπίδι τῆς κακίας ταύτης ἀπάγει. Σκόπει δὲ πῶς ἐπὶ μὲν τοῦ