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Rather, this is His more than ours, and for this reason He fashioned this instrument, and does not wish it to remain useless and idle, but wants to always have it in His hands. Why then do you not prepare it ready for the hand of the artist, but you loosen the strings, and make them softer through luxury, and render the whole lyre useless to him, when you should be tightening and strengthening the members, and making them astringent with spiritual salt? For if He sees it so well-tuned, Christ will make music even through our soul. And when this happens, you will also see angels and archangels and the Cherubim leaping for joy. Let us therefore become worthy of those blameless hands; let us entreat Him to strike our heart also; or rather, He does not even need entreaty; only make it worthy of that touch, and He himself will run to you first. For if He runs for the sake of what is to come (for He wove the encomium for Paul when he had not yet become such), when He sees it perfected, what will He not do? But if Christ makes music, the Spirit will certainly fly to us, and we will be better than heaven, not having the sun and moon marked on our body, but the Lord of sun and moon and angels dwelling and walking among us. And I say these things, not that we may raise the dead, nor that we may cleanse lepers, but that we may show the sign which is greater than all these, love. For wherever this good thing is, immediately the Son is present with the Father, and the grace of the Spirit comes upon them. For where two or three, He says, are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them. which is a mark of great affection and of those who love exceedingly, to have the beloved on either side. And who is so wretched, one might say, as not to want to have Christ in the midst? We who are at odds with one another. And perhaps someone will laugh at me and say, What are you saying? You see all of us within the same walls, under the same precinct of the church, standing in harmony within the same fold, with no one fighting, crying out together under the same shepherd, listening together to what is said, sending up our prayers in common, and you speak of fighting and discord? I do speak of fighting, and I am not mad nor out of my mind. For I see what I see, and I know that we are under the same precinct and shepherd. And for this reason I especially lament, that while so many things bring us together, we are at odds. And what discord, he says, have you seen here? Here, none; but when we are dismissed, so-and-so accuses so-and-so, another insults openly, another is envious, is greedy and seizes. and another does violence, another loves wickedly, another hatches a thousand plots. And if it were possible to uncover our souls, then you would see all these things clearly, and you would know that I am not mad. 8. Do you not see in army camps, that when there is peace, laying aside their arms, they cross over into the enemy's camp unarmed and undefended? But when they are fenced with arms, and there are guards and outposts and sleepless nights, and a continual fire burns, such a state is no longer 60.465 peace, but war. This can also be seen among us; for we are on guard against each other and we are afraid, and each speaks to his neighbor in his ear, and if we see another coming near, we fall silent and remove everything from the midst; which is not the behavior of those who are confident, but of those who are very much on their guard. But we do these things, he says, not in order to do wrong, but in order not to be wronged. For this reason I mourn, that living among brothers, we need guarding so as not to be wronged, and we burn so many fires, and we set guards and outposts. And the cause is, much falsehood, much deceit, the great destruction of love, and a truceless war. For this very reason, one might find many who trust Greeks more than Christians; and yet of how much shame are these things worthy? of how many tears, of how many lamentations? And what am I to do, he says? So-and-so is perverse and wicked. And where is your philosophy? And where are the apostolic laws that command to bear one another's burdens? For if you do not know how to deal with a brother, when will you be able to deal with a stranger

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μᾶλλον τοῦτο ἡμῶν αὐτὸς, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τὸ ὄργανον κατεσκεύασε τοῦτο, καὶ οὐ θέλει μένειν ἄχρηστον αὐτὸ καὶ ἀργὸν, ἀλλ' ἀεὶ μετὰ χεῖρας ἔχειν αὐτὸ βούλεται. Τί τοίνυν οὐ παρασκευάζεις ἕτοιμον αὐτὸ τῇ τοῦ τεχνίτου χειρὶ, ἀλλὰ χαλᾷς τὰς νευρὰς, καὶ μαλακωτέρας ποιεῖς τῇ τρυφῇ, καὶ ἄχρηστον ὅλην κατασκευάζεις αὐτῷ τὴν κιθάραν, δέον ἐπισφίγγειν καὶ νευροῦν τὰ μέλη, καὶ ἐπιστύφειν τῷ ἅλατι τῷ πνευματικῷ; Ἂν γὰρ οὕτως ἡρμοσμένην αὐτὴν ἴδῃ, ἠχήσει καὶ διὰ τῆς ἡμετέρας ψυχῆς ὁ Χριστός. Τοιούτου δὲ γενομένου, καὶ ἀγγέλους ὄψει σκιρτῶντας καὶ ἀρχαγγέλους καὶ τὰ Χερουβίμ. Γενώμεθα τοίνυν ἄξιοι τῶν χειρῶν τῶν ἀμώμων· παρακαλέσωμεν αὐτὸν καὶ εἰς τὴν ἡμετέραν κροῦσαι καρδίαν· μᾶλλον δὲ οὐδὲ παρακλήσεως δεῖται· μόνον ἀξίαν αὐτὴν κατασκεύασον τῆς ἁφῆς ἐκείνης, καὶ αὐτὸς ἐπιδραμεῖταί σοι πρότερος. Εἰ γὰρ ὑπὲρ τῶν μελλόντων ἐπιτρέχει (οὔπω γὰρ τῷ Παύλῳ τοιούτῳ γεγενημένῳ τὸ ἐγκώμιον ὕφανεν), ὅταν ἀπηρτισμένον ἴδῃ, τί οὐκ ἐργάσεται; Ἂν δὲ Χριστὸς ἠχήσῃ, καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα ἐπιπτήσεται πάντως, καὶ ἐσόμεθα τοῦ οὐρανοῦ βελτίους, οὐχ ἥλιον ἔχοντες ἐνεστιγμένον τῷ σώματι καὶ σελήνην, ἀλλὰ τὸν ἡλίου καὶ σελήνης καὶ ἀγγέλων ∆εσπότην ἐνοικοῦντα καὶ ἐμπεριπατοῦντα ἡμῖν. Ταῦτα δὲ λέγω, οὐχ ἵνα νεκροὺς ἀναστήσωμεν, οὐδὲ λεπροὺς ἵνα καθάρωμεν, ἀλλ' ἵνα τὸ πάντων τούτων σημεῖον μεῖζον ἐπιδειξώμεθα, τὴν ἀγάπην. Ὅπου γὰρ ἂν ᾖ τοῦτο τὸ καλὸν, εὐθέως καὶ ὁ Υἱὸς ἐφίσταται μετὰ τοῦ Πατρὸς, καὶ ἡ τοῦ Πνεύματος ἐπιφοιτᾷ χάρις. Οὗ γὰρ ἐὰν ὦσι, φησὶ, δύο ἢ τρεῖς συνηγμένοι εἰς τὸ ἐμὸν ὄνομα, ἐκεῖ εἰμι ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῶν. Ὃ πολλῆς διαθέσεώς ἐστι καὶ τῶν σφόδρα φιλούντων, τοὺς φιλουμένους ἑκατέρωθεν ἔχειν. Καὶ τίς οὕτως ἄθλιος, φησὶν, ὡς μὴ βούλεσθαι τὸν Χριστὸν ἔχειν μέσον; Ἡμεῖς οἱ πρὸς ἀλλήλους στασιάζοντες. Καὶ τάχα μου καταγελάσεταί τις καὶ ἐρεῖ, Τί λέγεις; ὁρᾷς πάντας ἡμᾶς ὑπὸ τοῖς αὐτοῖς τείχεσιν ὄντας, ὑπὸ τὸν αὐτὸν τῆς ἐκκλησίας σηκὸν, ὑπὸ τὴν αὐτὴν μάνδραν μεθ' ὁμονοίας ἑστῶτας, οὐδένα μαχόμενον, ὑπὸ τῷ αὐτῷ ποιμένι κοινῇ βοῶντας, κοινῇ τῶν λεγομένων ἀκροωμένους, κοινῇ τὰς εὐχὰς ἀναπέμποντας, καὶ μάχης μέμνησαι καὶ στάσεως; Μάχης μέμνημαι, καὶ οὐ μαίνομαι οὐδὲ ἐξέστηκα. Ὁρῶ μὲν γὰρ ἃ ὁρῶ, καὶ οἶδα ὅτι ὑπὸ τὸν σηκὸν τὸν αὐτόν ἐσμεν καὶ τὸν ποιμένα. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο δὲ μάλιστα θρηνῶ, ὅτι τοσούτων ἡμᾶς συναγόντων πραγμάτων, στασιάζομεν. Καὶ ποίαν στάσιν, φησὶν, εἶδες ἐνταῦθα; Ἐνταῦθα μὲν οὐδεμίαν· ἐπειδὰν δὲ διαλυθῶμεν, ὁ δεῖνα τὸν δεῖνα κατηγορεῖ, ἕτερος ὑβρίζει φανερῶς, ἄλλος βασκαίνει, πλεονεκτεῖ καὶ ἁρπάζει. καὶ βιάζεται ἕτερος, ἄλλος ἐρᾷ κακῶς, ἄλλος μυρίους ῥάπτει δόλους. Καὶ εἰ τὰς ψυχὰς ἡμῶν ἐκκαλύψαι ἐνῆν, τότε ἂν εἴδετε ταῦτα πάντα ἀκριβῶς, καὶ ἔγνωτε ὅτι οὐ μαίνομαι. ηʹ. Οὐχ ὁρᾶτε ἐν τοῖς στρατοπέδοις, ὅτι εἰρήνης μὲν οὔσης, τὰ ὅπλα ἀποθέμενοι, γυμνοὶ καὶ ἄφρακτοι εἰς τὸ τῶν πολεμίων στρατόπεδον διαβαίνουσιν; Ὅταν δὲ φράττωνται ὅπλοις, καὶ φυλακαὶ καὶ προφυλακαὶ καὶ ἄγρυπνοι νύκτες, καὶ πυρὰ καίεται διηνεκὴς, οὐκέτι 60.465 εἰρήνη τὸ τοιοῦτον, ἀλλὰ πόλεμος. Τοῦτο καὶ ἐφ' ἡμῶν ἔστιν ἰδεῖν· καὶ γὰρ ἀλλήλους φυλαττόμεθα καὶ δεδοίκαμεν καὶ πρὸς τὸ οὖς ἕκαστος τῷ πλησίον διαλεγόμεθα, κἂν παραγενόμενον ἕτερον ἴδωμεν, σιγῶμεν καὶ ἐκ τοῦ μέσου συστέλλομεν ἅπαντα· ὅπερ οὐκ ἔστι θαῤῥούντων, ἀλλὰ σφόδρα φυλαττομένων. Ἀλλὰ ταῦτα ποιοῦμεν, φησὶν, οὐχ ὥστε ἀδικῆσαι, ἀλλ' ὥστε μὴ ἀδικηθῆναι. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο πενθῶ, ὅτι μεταξὺ ζῶντες ἀδελφῶν, φυλακῆς δεόμεθα πρὸς τὸ μὴ ἀδικηθῆναι, καὶ πυρὰ καίομεν τοσαῦτα, καὶ φυλακὰς καὶ προφυλακὰς τίθεμεν. Τὸ δὲ αἴτιον, πολὺ τὸ ψεῦδος, πολὺς ὁ δόλος, πολλὴ τῆς ἀγάπης ἡ ἀναίρεσις, καὶ πόλεμος ἄσπονδος. ∆ιά τοι τοῦτο πολλοὺς εὕροι τις ἂν Ἕλλησι θαῤῥοῦντας μᾶλλον ἢ Χριστιανοῖς· καίτοι πόσης ἂν εἴη αἰσχύνης ἄξια ταῦτα; πόσων δακρύων, πόσων οἰμωγῶν; Καὶ τί πάθω, φησί; δυστροπός ἐστιν ὁ δεῖνα καὶ μοχθηρός. Καὶ ποῦ τὰ τῆς φιλοσοφίας τῆς σῆς; ποῦ δὲ οἱ νόμοι οἱ ἀποστολικοὶ οἱ κελεύοντες ἀλλήλων τὰ βάρη βαστάζειν; Εἰ γὰρ ἀδελφῷ χρήσασθαι οὐκ οἶδας, πότε δυνήσῃ χρήσασθαι ἀλλοτρίῳ