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of comfort; for it is a precious thing even after so many things not to blush. Since the matter 62.574 has such a nature, that the one who has been well treated is ashamed, by the excess of the care one must take away the things of shame, and show both by words and by deeds that the one doing good is not doing good, but is himself being well treated and is benefited more than he benefits. In this way what is done from choice is increased. For just as the one who thinks he is suffering a loss has lost everything, and the one who thinks he is doing good has lost everything; so the one who thinks he is being well treated has received more; For God loves a cheerful giver. So you owe thanks rather to the poor man for receiving. For if there were no poor, you would not have cut away the multitude of your sins; they are physicians of your wounds; they provide their own hands to you as medicines. A physician extending his hands and applying medicine does not so provide the cure, as a poor man extending his hand and receiving what is from you, is a wiping away of your evils. You gave the silver, and your sins went out with it. Such also are the priests; The sins, he says, of my people they will eat. So you receive more than you give, you are benefited more than you benefit; you lend to God, not to men; you increase your wealth, you do not diminish it; but you diminish it if you do not make it less, if you do not give. If she has shown hospitality, he says, if she has washed the feet of the saints. Of which of these? Of those who are afflicted, not simply saints; for it is possible to be saints and enjoy much care from all. Do not pursue those who are in abundance, but those in affliction, the unknown, those not recognized by many. Whoever has done it for one, he says, of the least of these, has done it for me. 3. Do not give to the leaders of the Church to distribute; you yourself minister, so that you may have the reward not only for spending, but also for serving; give with your own hands; you yourself sow the furrow. It is not possible to fix a plow here, nor to yoke an ox, nor to wait for a season, nor to break up the ground, nor to wrestle with frost; this seed is freed from all this toilsome care. For you sow into heaven, where there is no frost, nor winter, nor anything else; you sow into souls, where no one takes what is cast, but it is held fast, and with much exactness, and with much diligence. You yourself sow. Why do you deprive yourself of the reward? Great is the reward to be able also to manage the affairs of others. The reward is not only for giving, but also for managing well what is given. Why do you not receive the reward? For that there is a reward for this also, listen: They appointed, he says, the apostles, Stephen and his companions, to the ministry of the widows. You become the steward of your own things; philanthropy itself, the fear of God, appoints you. This is freed from vainglory, this also gives rest to souls, this also sanctifies hands, this also humbles pride, this also teaches philosophy, this makes one work more readily, this causes you to receive blessings; your head goes away receiving all the blessings from the widows. Be more ready in prayers, seek out also holy men, those who are truly holy, those who sit in deserts, those who are not able to beg, those who cleave to God; travel a long road, give through yourself; for it is possible to benefit much through yourself, if you give. Do you see a tent, and a lodging? Do you see a desert? Do you see solitude? Often having gone to give money, you have given your whole soul, and were held captive, and have become a fellow prisoner of that man, you have become a fellow stranger to the world. It is a great thing even to see the poor. It is good, he says, to go into a house 62.575 of mourning, than into a house of laughter. From the latter the soul becomes inflamed. For if you are able to live luxuriously in like manner, you have received an incentive to extravagance; but if you are not able, you have received grief. But in the house of mourning there is nothing of the sort, but even if you are not able to live luxuriously, you have not been grieved, and if you are able, you are humbled. Truly the monasteries are a house of mourning, where there is sackcloth and ash,

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παρακλήσεως· ἀγαπητὸν γὰρ καὶ μετὰ τοσαῦτα τὸ μὴ ἐρυθριᾷν. Ἐπειδὴ τὸ πρᾶγμα 62.574 φύσιν ἔχει τοιαύτην, ὥστε τὸν εὖ παθόντα αἰσχύνεσθαι, τῇ ὑπερβολῇ τῆς θεραπείας τὰ τῆς αἰσχύνης χρὴ περιαιρεῖν, καὶ δεικνύναι καὶ ῥήμασι καὶ πράγμασιν, ὅτι οὐκ εὖ ποιεῖ ὁ εὖ ποιῶν, ἀλλ' εὖ πάσχει αὐτὸς καὶ εὐεργετεῖται μᾶλλον ἢ εὐεργετεῖ. Οὕτω πλεονάζεται τὸ γινόμενον ἀπὸ τῆς προαιρέσεως. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ὁ ἡγούμενος ζημιοῦσθαι, πάντα ἀπώλεσεν, καὶ ὁ ἡγούμενος εὖ ποιεῖν πάντα ἀπώλεσεν· οὕτως ὁ ἡγούμενος εὖ πάσχειν, πλέον ἔλαβεν· Ἱλαρὸν γὰρ δότην ἀγαπᾷ ὁ Θεός. Ὥστε χάριν ὀφείλεις μᾶλλον τῷ πένητι τοῦ λαβεῖν. Εἰ μὴ γὰρ πένητες ἦσαν, οὐκ ἂν τὸ πολὺ τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων ὑπετέμου· ἰατροὶ τῶν τραυμάτων εἰσὶ τῶν σῶν· φάρμακά σοι παρέχουσι τὰς ἑαυτῶν χεῖρας. Οὐχ οὕτως ἰατρὸς χεῖρας ἐκτείνων, καὶ φάρμακον ἐπιτιθεὶς τὴν ἰατρείαν παρέχει, ὡς πένης χεῖρα ἐκτείνων καὶ τὰ παρὰ σοῦ λαμβάνων, ἐκμαγεῖον τῶν σῶν ἐστι κακῶν. Ἔδωκας τὸ ἀργύριον, συνεξῆλθε καὶ τὰ ἁμαρτήματα. Τοιοῦτοι καὶ οἱ ἱερεῖς· Ἁμαρτίας, φησὶ, λαοῦ μου φάγονται. Ὥστε μείζονα λαμβάνεις, ἢ δίδως, εὐεργετῇ μᾶλλον, ἢ εὐεργετεῖς· Θεῷ δανείζεις, οὐκ ἀνθρώποις· αὔξεις τὸν πλοῦτον, οὐ μειοῖς· μειοῖς δὲ, ἐὰν μὴ ἐλαττώσῃς, ἐὰν μὴ δῷς. Εἰ ἐξενοδόχησε, φησὶν, εἰ ἁγίων πόδας ἔνιψε. Ποίων δὴ τούτων; Τῶν θλιβομένων, οὐχ ἁπλῶς ἁγίων· ἔνεστι γὰρ ἁγίους εἶναι, καὶ πολλῆς ἀπολαύειν θεραπείας παρὰ πάντων. Μὴ τούτους δίωκε τοὺς ἐν ἀφθονίᾳ ὄντας, ἀλλὰ τοὺς ἐν θλίψει, τοὺς ἀγνῶτας, τοὺς οὐ παρὰ πολλῶν γνωριζομένους. Ὃς ἐποίησεν ἑνὶ, φησὶ, τούτων τῶν ἐλαχίστων, ἐμοὶ ἐποίησε. γʹ. Μὴ δῷς τοῖς προεστῶσι τῆς Ἐκκλησίας διανεῖμαι· σὺ διακόνησον αὐτὴ, ἵνα μὴ τοῦ ἀναλίσκειν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦ ὑπηρετῆσαι ἔχῃς τὸν μισθόν· οἰκείαις χερσὶ δός· σὺ σπεῖρον τὴν αὔλακα. Οὐκ ἔνι ἄροτρον ἐνταῦθα πήξασθαι, οὐδὲ βοῦν ζεῦξαι, οὐδὲ καιρὸν ἀναμεῖναι, οὐδὲ γῆν ἀνατεμεῖν, οὐδὲ κρυμῷ παλαῖσαι· πάσης ταύτης τῆς περιεργασίας ἀπήλλακται οὗτος ὁ σπόρος. Εἰς γὰρ τὸν οὐρανὸν σπείρεις, ἔνθα οὐ κρυμὸς, οὐδὲ χειμὼν, οὐκ ἄλλο οὐδέν· εἰς ψυχὰς σπείρεις, ἔνθα οὐδεὶς τὸ βαλλόμενον αἴρει, ἀλλὰ κατέχεται σφοδρῶς, καὶ μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς ἀκριβείας, καὶ μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς σπουδῆς. Σὺ σπεῖρον. ∆ιὰ τί σαυτὸν ἀποστερεῖς τοῦ μισθοῦ; Μέγας μισθὸς τὸ δύνασθαι καὶ τὰ τῶν ἄλλων οἰκονομεῖν. Οὐ τοῦ δοῦναι μόνον μισθός ἐστιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦ καλῶς οἰκονομῆσαι τὰ διδόμενα. ∆ιὰ τί μὴ σὺ λαμβάνεις τὸν μισθόν; ὅτι γὰρ καὶ τούτου ἐστὶ μισθὸς, ἄκουσον· Κατέστησαν, φησὶν, οἱ ἀπόστολοι τοὺς περὶ Στέφανον εἰς τὴν τῶν χηρῶν διακονίαν. Γενοῦ σὺ οἰκονόμος τῶν σαυτοῦ· αὐτή σε χειροτονεῖ ἡ φιλανθρωπία, ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ φόβος. Τοῦτο καὶ κενοδοξίας ἀπήλλακται, τοῦτο καὶ ψυχὰς ἀναπαύει, τοῦτο καὶ χεῖρας ἁγιάζει, τοῦτο καὶ φρόνημα κατασπᾷ, τοῦτο καὶ φιλοσοφίαν διδάσκει, τοῦτο προθυμότερον ἐργάζεται, τοῦτό σε τὰς εὐλογίας ποιεῖ λαβεῖν· ἄπεισιν ἡ κεφαλή σου δεχομένη πάσας τὰς παρὰ τῶν χηρῶν εὐλογίας. Προθυμότερος γενοῦ ἐν ταῖς εὐχαῖς, περιεργάζου καὶ ἁγίους ἄνδρας, τοὺς ὄντως ἁγίους, τοὺς ἐν ταῖς ἐρημίαις καθημένους, τοὺς οὐ δυναμένους ἐπαιτεῖν, τοὺς προσανέχοντας τῷ Θεῷ βάδιζε μακρὰν ὁδὸν, δίδου διὰ σαυτοῦ· πολλὰ γὰρ ἔστι δι' ἑαυτοῦ ὠφελῆσαι, ἐὰν δῷς. Ὁρᾷς σκηνὴν, καὶ καταγώγιον; ὁρᾷς ἐρημίαν; ὁρᾷς μόνωσιν; Πολλάκις ἀπελθὼν δοῦναι χρήματα, ἔδωκας τὴν ψυχὴν ὁλόκληρον, καὶ κατεσχέθης, καὶ γέγονας συναιχμάλωτος ἐκείνου, συνεξενίτευσας τῷ κόσμῳ. Μέγα πρᾶγμα καὶ πένητας ὁρᾷν. Ἀγαθὸν, φησὶν, εἰσελθεῖν εἰς οἰ 62.575 κίαν πένθους, ἢ εἰς οἰκίαν γέλωτος. Ἐντεῦθεν ἡ ψυχὴ φλεγμαίνει. Ἂν μὲν γὰρ ἔχῃς ὁμοίως τρυφᾷν, προτροπὴν ἔλαβες εἰς σπατάλην· ἂν δὲ μὴ ἔχῃς, λύπην ἐδέξω. Εἰς δὲ τὴν οἰκίαν τοῦ πένθους οὐδὲν τοιοῦτον, ἀλλὰ κἂν μὴ ἔχῃς τρυφᾷν, οὐκ ἤλγησας, κἂν ἔχῃς, καταστέλλῃ. Ὄντως οἰκία πένθους τὰ μοναστήρια, ἔνθα σάκκος καὶ σποδὸς,