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this long harangue was needed; but now, since this is not possible, remember my words in my stead, and when sitting at table, think that I am coming in and standing by, and that these words, which I now speak to you here, are resounding in your ears. And wherever you may be speaking of me, remember this commandment above all, and give me this return for my love for you. If I see you succeeding, I have received everything, I have accepted a sufficient return for my labors. So that you may make us more eager, and you yourselves may become more hopeful, and you may prepare greater facility for accomplishing the rest of the commandments, deposit this law in your souls with great diligence, and then you will know the benefit of the exhorta 49.81 tion. For a golden garment is beautiful even when it is seen, but it will appear much more so to us when it is put on our body; so also the commandments of God are beautiful even when praised, but they appear much more beautiful when accomplished. For now, in a brief moment of time, you praise what is said, but if you succeed, throughout the whole day, and for all time, you will praise both us and yourselves; and this is not the 49.82 great thing, that we will praise one another, but that God will also accept us, and not only accept, but also reward us with those great and ineffable gifts, of which may we all be deemed worthy, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom be glory to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

49.81 That the fear of rulers is useful, and an account of the things

that happened on the road to those reporting the news of the sedition to the emperor, and that he who suffers anything unjustly and gives thanks to the

God who permits it, is equal to him who suffers the same things for God's sake; and the examples again from the three youths and the Babylonian furnace,

and concerning abstinence from oaths. Homily 6. 1. We have spent many days exhorting your love; not

for this reason will we desist from this subject, but as long as the wound of despondency remains, we will also apply the medicine of comfort. For if in the case of bodily wounds the physicians' assistants do not cease applying remedies until they see the affliction has ceased, much more must we do this for the soul. For despondency is a wound of the soul, and one must continually bathe it with gentle words. For the nature of warm waters is not so accustomed to relaxing a swelling of the flesh, as the power of consoling words is suited to calm an affliction of the soul; here there is no need of a sponge, as in the case of physicians, but instead of a sponge we will use the tongue; here there is no need of fire, that we may warm waters, but instead of fire we will use the grace of the Spirit. Come then, let us do this very thing today also. For if we do not comfort you, from where else will you receive comfort? Judges frighten; therefore let priests comfort. Rulers threaten; therefore let the Church console. For so it happens also with little children; teachers frighten and strike the children, and send them in tears to their mothers; and the mothers, receiving them, hold and embrace them in their bosoms, and after wiping away their tears, kiss them tenderly, and recover their grieving soul, persuading them by what they say, that the fear of their teachers is useful to them. Since, therefore, the rulers have frightened you also, and made you anxious, the Church, the common mother of us all, having opened her bosom, and received you with outstretched hands, each

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μακρᾶς ταύτης ἐδέησε μακρηγορίας· νῦν δ' ἐπειδὴ τοῦτο οὐκ ἔνι, ἀντ' ἐμοῦ τῶν ἐμῶν μέμνησθε ῥημάτων, καὶ ἐπὶ τραπέζης καθήμενοι ἐπεισιέναι με νομίζετε καὶ παρεστάναι, καὶ ταῦτα ἐνηχεῖν ἅπερ ὑμῖν ἐνταῦθα λέγω νῦν. Καὶ ὅπουπερ ἂν περὶ ἐμοῦ λόγος ὑμῖν γίνηται, ἀντὶ πάντων ταύτης μέμνησθε τῆς ἐντολῆς, καὶ ταύτην μοι τῆς περὶ ὑμᾶς ἀγάπης ἀπόδοτε τὴν ἀμοιβήν. Ἐὰν ἴδω κατορθώσαντας ὑμᾶς, τὸ πᾶν ἀπείληφα, ἱκανὴν τῶν πόνων ἀπεδεξάμην τὴν ἀντίδοσιν. Ἵνα οὖν καὶ ἡμᾶς προθυμοτέρους ποιήσητε, καὶ ὑμεῖς εὐέλπιδες γίνησθε, καὶ πλείονα ταῖς λοιπαῖς ἐντολαῖς πρὸς τὸ κατορθοῦσθαι παρασκευάσητε τὴν εὐκολίαν, μετὰ πολλῆς τοῦτον τὸν νόμον τῆς σπουδῆς ἐν ταῖς ὑμετέραις ἐναπόθεσθε ψυχαῖς, καὶ τότε εἴσεσθε τῆς παραι 49.81 νέσεως τὴν ὠφέλειαν. Ἐπεὶ καὶ ἱμάτιον χρυσοῦν καλὸν μὲν ἔστι καὶ ὁρώμενον, πολλῷ δὲ πλέον ἡμῖν φανεῖται περικείμενον ἡμῶν τῷ σώματι· οὕτω καὶ αἱ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐντολαὶ καλαὶ μὲν εἰσὶ καὶ ἐπαινούμεναι, πολλῷ δὲ καλλίους φαίνονται κατορθούμεναι. Νῦν μὲν γὰρ ἐν βραχείᾳ καιροῦ ῥοπῇ τὰ λεγόμενα ἐπαινεῖτε, ἐὰν δὲ κατορθώσητε, διὰ πάσης τῆς ἡμέρας, καὶ διὰ παντὸς τοῦ χρόνου, καὶ ἡμᾶς καὶ ὑμᾶς αὐτοὺς ἐπαινέσεσθε· καὶ οὐ τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ 49.82 μέγα, ὅτι ἀλλήλους ἐπαινεσόμεθα, ἀλλ' ὅτι καὶ ὁ Θεὸς ἡμᾶς ἀποδέξεται, καὶ οὐκ ἀποδέξεται μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀμείψεται ταῖς μεγάλαις ἐκείναις καὶ ἀποῤῥήτοις δωρεαῖς, ὧν γένοιτο πάντας ἡμᾶς ἀξιωθῆναι, χάριτι καὶ φιλανθρωπίᾳ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, δι' οὗ καὶ μεθ' οὗ τῷ Πατρὶ ἡ δόξα, ἅμα τῷ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ, καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.

49.81 Ὅτι χρήσιμος ὁ τῶν ἀρχόντων φόβος, καὶ διήγησις τῶν

κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν συμβάντων τοῖς τὴν ἀγγελίαν τῆς στάσεως τῷ βασιλεῖ ἀναφέρουσι, καὶ ὅτι ὁ ἀδίκως τι πάσχων καὶ εὐχαριστῶν τῷ

συγχωροῦντι Θεῷ, ἴσος ἐστὶ τοῦ διὰ τὸν Θεὸν τὰ αὐτὰ πάσχοντος· καὶ τὰ παραδείγματα πάλιν ἐκ τῶν τριῶν παίδων καὶ τῆς Βαβυλωνίας καμίνου,

καὶ περὶ τῆς τῶν ὅρκων ἀποχῆς. Ὁμιλία ςʹ. αʹ. Πολλὰς μὲν ἀνηλώσαμεν ἡμέρας παρακαλοῦντες ὑμῶν τὴν ἀγάπην· οὐ

μὴν διὰ τοῦτο ἀποστησόμεθα τῆς ὑποθέσεως ταύτης, ἀλλ' ἕως ἂν μένῃ τὸ ἕλκος τῆς ἀθυμίας, καὶ τὸ φάρμακον τῆς παραμυθίας ἐπιθήσομεν. Εἰ γὰρ ἐπὶ τῶν τοῦ σώματος τραυμάτων οὐ παύονται ἐπαντλοῦντες ἰατρῶν παῖδες, ἕως ἂν ἴδωσι λῆξαν τὸ πάθος, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἐπὶ τῆς ψυχῆς τοῦτο ποιεῖν χρή. Καὶ γὰρ ἕλκος ψυχῆς ἡ ἀθυμία, καὶ δεῖ συνεχῶς αὐτὴν ἐπαντλεῖν προσηνέσι ῥήμασιν. Οὐδὲ γὰρ οὕτως οἴδημα σαρκὸς χαλᾷν εἴωθε θερμῶν ὑδάτων φύσις, ὡς ψυχῆς πάθος καταστέλλειν πέφυκε παρακλητικῶν λόγων δύναμις· οὐ χρεία σπογγιᾶς ἐνταῦθα, καθάπερ ἐπὶ τῶν ἰατρῶν, ἀλλ' ἀντὶ σπόγγου τὴν γλῶτταν μεταχειρισόμεθα· οὐ χρεία πυρὸς ἐνταῦθα, ἵνα θερμαίνωμεν ὕδατα, ἀλλ' ἀντὶ πυρὸς τῇ τοῦ Πνεύματος χρησόμεθα χάριτι. Φέρε οὖν καὶ τήμερον τὸ αὐτὸ τοῦτο πράξωμεν. Εἰ γὰρ μὴ ἡμεῖς ὑμᾶς παρακαλέσωμεν, πόθεν ἑτέρωθεν παράκλησιν δέξεσθε; ∆ικασταὶ φοβοῦσιν· οὐκοῦν ἱερεῖς παρακαλείτωσαν· ἄρχοντες ἀπειλοῦσιν· οὐκοῦν ἡ Ἐκκλησία παραμυθείσθω. Καὶ γὰρ ἐπὶ τῶν παιδίων τῶν μικρῶν οὕτω γίνεται· διδάσκαλοι τὰ παιδία φοβοῦσι καὶ τύπτουσι, καὶ δεδακρυμένα πρὸς τὰς μητέρας παραπέμπουσιν· αἱ δὲ μητέρες ὑποδεξάμεναι τοῖς κόλποις τοῖς ἑαυτῶν κατέχουσι καὶ περισφίγγουσι, καὶ τὰ δάκρυα καταψήσασαι καταφιλοῦσι, καὶ τὴν ὀδυνωμένην αὐτῶν ἀνακτῶνται ψυχὴν, πείθουσαι δι' ὧν λέγουσιν, ὅτι χρήσιμος ὁ τῶν διδασκάλων αὐτοῖς φόβος. Ἐπεὶ οὖν καὶ ὑμᾶς ἐφόβησαν ἄρχοντες, καὶ ἐναγωνίους ἐποίησαν, ἡ Ἐκκλησία, ἡ κοινὴ πάντων ἡμῶν μήτηρ, τοὺς κόλπους ἁπλώσασα, καὶ ὑπτίαις ὑποδεξαμένη χερσὶ, καθ' ἑκάστην