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being dissolved, so that in the length of what is said I might find those who have succeeded; and if I see anyone swearing, I will make him known to all who have succeeded, so that by rebuking, convicting, correcting, we may quickly deliver him from the wicked habit. For it is better to be reproached and corrected here, than on that day, in the presence of the whole world, to be shamed and punished, with our sins being revealed before the eyes of all. But may it not be that anyone from this good assembly be seen suffering these things there, but, having corrected all our sins through the prayers of the holy fathers, and having shown forth much fruit of virtue, may we depart from here with great boldness, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom to the Father be glory, together with the Holy Spirit, unto ages of ages. Amen.

49.91 That the passion of grief is useful only for the destruction of sins; and on the text, "In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth;" and that the order of creation is a subject of the greatest consolation; in which also concerning, "Adam, where are you?"; and concerning not swearing. Homily 7.

1. Yesterday I spoke many things and about many things to your charity,

but if from the many things it is not possible for you to retain all, I ask you to remember that one thing especially above all, that God implanted grief in us for no other reason than for sin alone, and this he showed by the very experience of things. For when we are pained and despondent over the loss of money, and sickness, and death, and the other terrible things that befall us, not only do we not reap any comfort from our grief, but we also intensify the terrible things; but if we are pained and grieved over our sins, we reduce the bulk of the sin, and we make the great one small, and often we even wipe it out completely. Remember this to me continually, that you should be pained only over sin, and over nothing else; and with these things, that also again, that sin, having brought death and grief into our life, is again destroyed by both of these. which we indeed demonstrated more clearly before. Let us then fear nothing so much as sinning and transgressing; let us not fear punishment, and we will escape punishment; just as the three children did not fear the furnace, and they escaped the furnace; such ought the servants of God to be. For if those who were raised in the Old Testament, when death had not yet been put to death, nor had the brazen gates been broken, nor had the iron bars been shattered, so bravely at 49.92 dared to face death, what defense shall we have, or what excuse, having enjoyed so much grace, and not even reaching the same measures of virtue as they, now, when death is only a name devoid of reality? For death is nothing else but a sleep, and a journey, and a removal, and a rest, and a calm harbor, and a deliverance from turmoil, and a freedom from the cares of life. But let us here end the discourse of consolation; for we have for the fifth day been exhorting your charity. and for the rest we seem to be bothersome. For to those who pay attention, what has been said is sufficient, but for the faint-hearted, even if we add more to what has been said, it will be of no avail. But it is time for us now to turn our teaching to the exposition of the Scriptures. For just as, if we had said nothing concerning this calamity, someone would have accused us of cruelty and inhumanity; so if we were to speak about it continually, someone would accuse us of faintheartedness

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διαλυθέντος, ἵνα ἐν τῷ μήκει τῶν λεγομένων εὕρω τοὺς κατωρθωκότας· κἂν ἴδω τινὰ ὀμνύοντα, ἅπασιν αὐτὸν τοῖς κατωρθωκόσι ποιήσω φανερὸν, ἵνα ἐπιτιμῶντες, ἐλέγχοντες, διορθοῦντες, ταχέως αὐτὸν τῆς πονηρᾶς ἀπαλλάξωμεν συνηθείας. Καὶ γὰρ βέλτιον ἐνταῦθα ὀνειδισθέντα διορθώσασθαι, ἢ κατὰ τὴν ἡμέραν ἐκείνην κοινῇ τῆς οἰκουμένης ἁπάσης παρούσης ἀσχημονεῖν καὶ κολάζεσθαι, τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων ἡμῖν ὑπὸ τοῖς ἁπάντων ἐκκαλυπτομένων ὀφθαλμοῖς. Ἀλλὰ μὴ γένοιτο τοῦ καλοῦ τούτου συλλόγου φανῆναί τινα ἐκεῖ ταῦτα πάσχοντα, ἀλλ' εὐχαῖς τῶν ἁγίων πατέρων ἅπαντα τὰ ἁμαρτήματα διορθωσάμενοι, καὶ τὸν τῆς ἀρετῆς καρπὸν πολὺν ἐπιδειξάμενοι, μετὰ πολλῆς ἐντεῦθεν ἀπέλθοιμεν παῤῥησίας, χάριτι καὶ φιλανθρωπίᾳ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, δι' οὗ καὶ μεθ' οὗ τῷ Πατρὶ ἡ δόξα, ἅμα τῷ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι, εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.

49.91 Ὅτι τὸ τῆς λύπης πάθος εἰς ἁμαρτίας ἀναίρεσιν μόνον χρήσιμον· καὶ εἰς τὸ, Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἐποίησεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν· καὶ ὅτι μεγίστης παρακλήσεως ὑπόθεσις ἡ τῆς δημιουργίας κατασκευή· ἐν ᾧ καὶ περὶ τοῦ, Ἀδὰμ, ποῦ εἶ; καὶ περὶ τοῦ μὴ ὀμνύειν. Ὁμιλία ζʹ.

αʹ. Πολλὰ μὲν καὶ περὶ πολλῶν χθὲς πρὸς τὴν ὑμετέραν διελέχθην ἀγάπην,

ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν πολλῶν εἰ μὴ πάντα κατέχειν ὑμῖν δυνατὸν, ἐκεῖνο μάλιστα πάντων ὑμᾶς διαμνημονεῦσαι δέομαι, ὅτι τὴν λύπην ἡμῖν ὁ Θεὸς δι' οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἐνέθηκεν, ἀλλ' ἢ δι' ἁμαρτίαν μόνην, καὶ τοῦτο ἐδήλωσε δι' αὐτῆς τῶν πραγμάτων τῆς πείρας. Ἐπὶ μὲν γὰρ ζημίᾳ χρημάτων, καὶ ἀῤῥωστίᾳ, καὶ θανάτῳ, καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις τοῖς συμπίπτουσιν ἡμῖν δεινοῖς ἀλγοῦντες καὶ ἀθυμοῦντες, οὐ μόνον οὐδεμίαν ἀπὸ τῆς λύπης καρπούμεθα παραμυθίαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπιτείνομεν τὰ δεινά· ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων ἂν ἀλγήσωμεν καὶ λυπηθῶμεν, ὑποτεμνόμεθα τῆς ἁμαρτίας τὸν ὄγκον, καὶ μικρὰν τὴν μεγάλην ποιοῦμεν, πολλάκις δὲ καὶ τέλεον αὐτὴν ἐξαλείφομεν ἅπασαν. Τοῦτο δή μοι μέμνησθε διηνεκῶς, ἵνα ἐφ' ἁμαρτίᾳ μόνον ἀλγῆτε, ἐφ' ἑτέρῳ δὲ μηδενί· καὶ μετὰ τούτων κἀκεῖνο πάλιν, ὅτι θάνατον καὶ λύπην ἡ ἁμαρτία εἰς τὸν βίον ἡμῶν εἰσενεγκοῦσα, ὑπ' ἀμφοτέρων τούτων ἀναιρεῖται πάλιν. ὅπερ οὖν καὶ αὐτὸ σαφέστερον πρώην ἀπεδείξαμεν. Μηδὲν οὖν οὕτω φοβώμεθα ὡς τὸ ἁμαρτάνειν καὶ πλημμελεῖν· μὴ φοβώμεθα κόλασιν, καὶ διαφευξόμεθα κόλασιν· καθάπερ οὖν καὶ οἱ τρεῖς παῖδες οὐκ ἐφοβήθησαν τὴν κάμινον, καὶ διέφυγον τὴν κάμινον· τοιούτους εἶναι χρὴ τοὺς τοῦ Θεοῦ δούλους. Εἰ γὰρ οἱ ἐν τῇ Παλαιᾷ τραφέντες, ὅτε οὔπω ἐνενέκρωτο θάνατος, οὔτε αἱ χαλκαῖ πύλαι συνεκλάσθησαν, οὔτε οἱ μοχλοὶ οἱ σιδηροῖ συνετρίβησαν, οὕτω γενναίως κατ 49.92 ετόλμησαν τῆς τελευτῆς, τίνα ἕξομεν ἀπολογίαν ἡμεῖς, ἢ ποίαν συγγνώμην, τοσαύτης ἀπολαύσαντες τῆς χάριτος, καὶ μηδὲ πρὸς τὰ αὐτὰ φθάνοντες ἐκείνοις μέτρα τῆς ἀρετῆς νῦν, ὅτε ὄνομα μόνον ἐστὶν ὁ θάνατος πράγματος ἔρημον; Οὐδὲν γὰρ ἕτερόν ἐστιν ὁ θάνατος, ἀλλ' ἢ ὕπνος, καὶ ἀποδημία, καὶ μετάστασις, καὶ ἀνάπαυσις, καὶ λιμὴν εὔδιος, καὶ ταραχῆς ἀπαλλαγὴ, καὶ βιωτικῶν ἐλευθερία φροντίδων. Ἀλλὰ τῆς μὲν παρακλήσεως ἐνταῦθα καταλύσωμεν τὸν λόγον· καὶ γὰρ πέμπτην ἡμέραν ἔχομεν παρακαλοῦντες ὑμῶν τὴν ἀγάπην. καὶ λοιπὸν καὶ ἐνοχλεῖν δοκοῦμεν. Τοῖς μὲν γὰρ προσέχουσιν ἀρκεῖ καὶ τὰ εἰρημένα, τοῖς δὲ μικροψύχοις, κἂν πλείονα τῶν εἰρημένων προσθῶμεν, οὐδὲν ἔσται πλέον. Ὥρα δὲ λοιπὸν ἡμῖν ἐπὶ τὴν τῶν Γραφῶν ἐξήγησιν τρέψαι τὴν διδασκαλίαν. Ὥσπερ γὰρ, εἰ μηδὲν περὶ τῆς συμφορᾶς ταύτης διελέχθημεν, ὠμότητα ἄν τις ἡμῶν κατέγνω καὶ ἀπανθρωπίαν· οὕτως ἂν διαπαντὸς περὶ αὐτῆς διαλεγώμεθα, μικροψυχίαν ἄν τις ἡμῶν καταγνοίη