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it will be withered. This is the same as the former, said of every plant. Therefore, it would say that, whether it be small or great, what is in life is under providence, being withered if this did not watch over it. Thus, then, will be all the last things of those who forget the Lord. He says something glorious from a concept not lacking in fluency, that just as plants not watered by water are withered, so human affairs that come to be outside of providence have no substance. But if he also speaks of last things having a concept concerning the age to come, consider it together; for not incontrovertibly will those who forget the Lord encounter such last things in a perceptible sense, because it was said concerning some who live in prosperity: "but in the rest of Hades they fell asleep." But the hope of the impious will perish. In reality, the hope of the impious is not about things that have substance. For hope is nothing else in its genus than the expectation of good things. And the one who fears also expects, but not good things; for fear is the expectation of evil things, 220 but hope is of good things. Since, therefore, the impious do not expect things that have substance, their hope perishes; for they use pleasures as if they were permanent, and in this they have a vain hope. You have this in Proverbs, much different in wording, but consonant with what is now being said: "A righteous man having died left regret;" for if the righteous man dies, he finds what was expected and did not regret having toiled for them. Here, then, it has been said: "the hope of the impious perishes," but in Isaiah: "hope for the pious." But those "who have hoped in this life only" and "who say: let us eat and drink," have a vain and empty hope, extending it toward things that are seen; and very naturally Paul says: "But hope that is seen is not hope; for what a man sees, why does he also hope for it?" But his house will be uninhabited. With respect to the perceptible, this is not in every case true. But it is clear that he who turns the words of Jesus into works builds a permanent house; and this is virtue, and he who holds fast to it will never have this house uninhabited; for the righteous man must remain in his own virtue; for "his righteousness remains for ever and ever." But since wickedness is without substance, for this reason 221 the worthless man is homeless, being always disorderly and having nothing stable, because wickedness itself is also an accidental attribute; but if someone were to say this also concerning the good, stating that men also acquire virtue through diligence, yet the good itself has substance. "Uninhabited," therefore, "will be the house of the impious;" for truth manifestly dissolves deceit. But his tent will become a spider's web. The spider displays a varied pattern, constructed from a natural web, which is very easily dissolved when someone touches it. The works of the worthless, therefore, and the construction of their way of life are like a spider's web that has no substance. And in Isaiah, therefore, it is said concerning the worthless who have conceived lawlessness and speak injustice: "they weave a spider's web, because they conceive trouble and bring forth lawlessness;" and he also describes their action, saying: "they have broken asps' eggs, and he who is about to eat of their eggs, having crushed a wind-egg, found also in it a basilisk; their web will not be for a garment, but they weave a spider's web." And see that, in addition to their lack of substance, it also signifies their deceitfulness through the asps. If, however, someone should be a dove according to what is said: 222 "Who are these? They fly like clouds and like doves with their young," he would have eggs, which, when divided on account of their noble birth, provide life-giving offspring; but the things of the worthless, deceiving the good, generate destructive serpents, which are trodden under foot by the holy one, according to the psalm speaking about the perfect man: "you shall step upon the asp and the basilisk, and you shall trample the lion and the dragon." But such men are not weavers of garments that cover the shame of sin, but of a useless and easily dissolved spider's web, which is also shown from the words: "shall not

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ξηρανθήσεται. ταὐτὸ τῷ προτέρῳ τοῦτο ἐπὶ πάσης βοτάνης λεγόμενον. λέγοι οὖν, ὅτι, κἂν μικρὸν κἂν μέγα ᾖ, το`̣ ἐν τῷ βίῳ ὑπὸ πρόνοιάν ἐστιν, ξηραινόμενον, εἰ μὴ αὕτη ἐφοπτεύοι. οὕτως τοίνυν ἔσται πάντα τὰ ἔσχατα τῶν ἐπιλανθανομένων τοῦ κυρίου. λέγει τι ἔνδοξον ἀπὸ ἐννοίας οὐκ ἀπολειπομένης ἐντρεχείας, ὅτι ὥσπερ τὰ φυτὰ μὴ ἀρδευόμενα ὑπὸ ὕδατος ξηραίνεται, οὕτω τὰ ἀνθρώπινα πράγματα ἔξω προνοίας γιγνόμενα ὑπόστασιν οὐκ ἔχει. εἰ δὲ καὶ οὗτος ἔσχατα λέγει ἔννοιαν ἔχων περὶ τοῦ μέλλοντος αἰῶνος, συνεπίσκεψαι· οὐ γὰρ ἀναντιρήτως οἱ ἐπιλανθανόμενοι τοῦ κυρίου τ»οι»ούτοις κατὰ τὸ αἰσθητὸν ἐσχάτοις περιτεύξονται τῷ περί τινων εὐετηρίᾳ διαγόντων εἰρῆσθαι· "ἐν δὲ ἀναπαύσει ᾅδου ἐκοιμήθησαν." ἐλπὶς δὲ ἀσεβῶν ἀπολεῖται. τῷ ὄντι ἡ τῶν ἀσεβῶν ἐλπὶς οὐ περὶ ὑφεστηκότα γίνεται. ἡ γὰρ ἐλπὶς οὐδὲν ουδεν ἕτερόν ἐστιν κατὰ γένος ἢ προσδοκία ἀγαθῶν. καὶ ὁ φοβούμενος δὲ προσδοκᾷ, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἀγαθά· κακῶν γὰρ προσδοκία ἐστὶν ὁ φόβος, 220 ἀγαθῶν δὲ ἡ ἐλπίς. ἐπεὶ οὖν οὐχ ὑφεστηκότα πράγματα οἱ ἀσεβεῖς προσδοκῶσιν, ἀπόλλυται αὐτῶν ἡ ἐλπίς· ὡς γὰρ μένουσιν τοῖς ἡδέσιν χρῶνται, καὶ ἐν τούτῳ ματαίαν ἔχουσιν ἐλπίδα. ἔχεις τοῦτο ἐν Παροιμίαις τῆι μὲν λέξει πολὺ διαφέρον, συνᾷδον δὲ τῷ νῦν λεγομένῳ· "ἀποθανὼν δίκαιος ἔλιπεν μετάμελον·" ἂν γὰρ ἀποθάνῃ ὁ δίκαιος, εὑρίσκει τὰ προσδοκώμενα καὶ οὐ μετεμελήθη πονήσας ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν. ἐνταῦθα μὲν οὖν εἴρηται· "ἐλπὶς ἀσεβῶν ἀπόλλυται", ἐν δὲ τῷ Ἠσαίᾳ· "ἐλπὶς τῶι εὐσεβεῖ." οἱ δὲ "ἐν τῇ ζωῇ ταύτῃ ἠλπικότες μόνον" καὶ "λέγοντες· φάγωμεν καὶ πίωμεν", ματαίαν καὶ κενὴν ἔχουσιν ἐλπίδα πρὸς τὰ βλεπόμενα ταύτην τείνοντε»ς»· φυσικώτατα δὲ ὁ Παῦλός φησιν· "ἐλπὶς δὲ βλεπομένη οὐκ ἔστιν ἐλπίς· ὃ γὰρ βλέπει τις, «τί» καὶ ἐλπίζει;" ἀοίκητος δὲ αὐτοῦ ἔσται ὁ οἶκος. πρὸς τὸ αἰσθητὸν τοῦτο οὐ πάντως ἐστὶν ἀληθές. δῆλον δέ ἐστιν, ὅτι ὁ τοὺς Ἰησοῦ λόγους εἰς ἔργα μεταβαλὼν μένουσαν οἰκίαν οἰκοδομεῖ· αὕτη δέ ἐστιν ἡ ἀρετή, ἧς ὁ ἀντεχόμενος οὐδέποτε ἕξει τὴν οἰκίαν ταύτην ἀοίκητον· δεῖ γὰρ τὸν δίκαιον μένειν ἐν τῇ αὑτοῦ ἀρετῇ· "ἡ δικαιοσύνη" γὰρ "αὐτοῦ μένει εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος." ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἀνυπόστατός ἐστιν ἡ κακία, διὰ τοῦτο 221 ἄοικός ἐστιν̣ ὁ φαῦλος ἄντακτος ὑπ̣άρχων̣ ἀεὶ καὶ οὐδὲν ἔχων ἑδ̣ραῖον διὰ τὸ καὶ τὴν κακίαν αὐ τὴν εἶναι παρακολούθημα· εἰ δέ τις καὶ περὶ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ τοῦτο λέγοι φάσκων, ὅτι καὶ τὴν ἀρετὴν ἄνθρωποι ἐκ σπουδῆς κτῶνται, ἀλλ' υ῾̣φέστηκεν αὐτὸ τὸ ἀγαθόν. "ἀοίκητος" ο̣ὖν "ἔσται̣ τοῦ ἀσεβοῦς ὁ οἶκος·" φανερῶς γὰρ ἡ ἀλήθεια διαλύει τὴν ἀπάτην. ἀράχνη δὲ αὐτοῦ ἀποβήσεται ἡ σκηνή. ἡ «α᾿̣»ράχνη ποικιλίαν ἐπιδείκνυται ἐξ ὑφάσματος φυσικοῦ κατεσκευασμένη_6_ν_,_ _ἥ6τις ῥᾷστα διαλύεται ἐπιψαύσαντός τινος. τὰ τῶν φαύλων οὖν ἔργα καὶ ἡ κατασκευὴ τῆς πολιτείας ἀράχνῃ ἔοικεν οὐχ ὑφισταμένῃ. καὶ ἐν Ἠσαίᾳ οὖν λέγεται περὶ τῶν φαύλων κυησάντων ἀνομίαν καὶ λαλούντων ἀδικίαν· "ἱστὸν ἀράχνης ὑφαίνουσιν, ὅτι κύουσιν πόνον καὶ τίκτουσιν ἀνομίαν·" διηγεῖται δὲ αὐτῶν καὶ τὴν πρᾶξιν φάσκων· "ᾠὰ ἀσπίδων ἔρηξαν καὶ ὁ μέλλων τῶν ᾠῶν αὐτῶν φαγεῖν συντρίψας οὔριον εὗρεν καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ βασιλίσκον· ὁ ἱστὸς αὐτῶν οὐκ ἔσται εἰς ἱμάτιον, ἱστὸν δὲ ἀράχνης ὑφαίνουσιν." καὶ ὅρα, ὅτι πρὸς τῷ ἀνυποστάτῳ αὐτῶν καὶ τὸ δολερὸν διὰ τῶν ἀσπίδων σημαίνει. εἰ μέντοι τις εἴη περιστερὰ κατὰ τὸ λεγόμενον· 222 "τίνες οἵδε; ὡς νεφέλαι πέτανται καὶ ὡς περιστεραὶ σὺν νεοσσοῖς", ἔχοι ἂν ᾠά, ἅπερ διαιρεθέντα εὐγεν̣ε̣ι´̣α̣ς̣ ἕνεκεν παρέχει γόνον ζω̣τικόν· τὰ δὲ τῶν φαύλων ἀπατῶντα ἀγαθοὺς ὄφεις ἀναιρετικοὺς γεννᾷ, οἵτινες ὑπὸ τοῦ ἁγίου καταπατοῦνται κατὰ τὸν ψαλμὸν λέγοντα περὶ τοῦ τελείου· "ἐπ' ἀσπίδα καὶ βασιλίσκον βήσεις καὶ καταπατήσεις λέοντα καὶ δράκοντα." οἱ δὲ τοιοῦτοι οὐχ ἱματίων εἰσὶν ὑφάνται τῶν καλυπτόντων τὴν ἀσχημοσύνην τῆς ἁμαρτίας, ἀλλὰ ἀράχνης ἀνωφελοῦς καὶ εὐδιαλύτου, ὅπερ δηλοῦται καὶ ἐκ τοῦ· "οὐ μὴ