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66

not upon us, because some wither the uprisings through self-control, and others shake off the assaults through endurance.

For being assailed from two sides, by both glory and dishonor, they remained unshaken, being unmoved toward both, neither being wounded by insults because of their voluntary humility, nor accepting glory, because of their overwhelming appropriation of poverty, whence no anger, no envy, no strife, no hypocrisy, no deceit, no ironic and furtive affection that, with a feigned appearance, secretly draws one toward something else through deception—the most destructive of all passions—no desire for things that seem to be splendid in life, nor anything else from the evil multitude of passions, no threats brandished by enemies, nor any manner of death, mastered them. Therefore they were also justly judged blessed both by God and men, because they established themselves as manifest icons of the ineffable and conspicuous glory that is to be revealed, according to the grace of the great gift of God, so that rejoicing as with familiar principles of the virtues, or rather, with God, for whose sake they endured, dying daily, they might be united, in whom the principles of all good things, as in an ever-flowing spring, both pre-exist according to one, simple, and unified comprehension of all things, and to whom they draw all those who use well and according to nature the powers given for this purpose.

Q (70). FROM THE 42ND ORATION OF THE THEOLOGIAN CONCERNING WHAT HE MENTIONED OF THE BLESSED

JOB... (14∆_274> From the 42nd oration of the Theologian concerning what he mentioned of the blessed Job, on the text,:

"But the things that followed are small, and were dispensed for the sake of small ones. " Comparing, I think, the physical things given after the contests of the temptations with the proclamation made by God to Job, he called them small, as in no way able to be compared with the eternal things. And he says "dispensed for the sake of small ones," clearly meaning those who are small in gnostic understanding who are easily scandalized by the discourses concerning providence and judgment, and are shaken concerning piety 1208 itself. Concerning whom I think the Lord said in the Gospels, "Whoever scandalizes one of these little ones;" who, when they see a righteous man suffering, or being poor, or otherwise mistreated (and indeed the weaker ones almost condemn the impunity of it all, how much more so in the sudden change of Job, who was confessedly considered righteous by all?) they would have suffered this, if his conspicuous and glorious state had not physically returned to him twofold as it was in the beginning. Concerning these, therefore, it was said by the teacher, "dispensed for the sake of small ones."

QA (71). FROM THE SAME ORATION, ON THE TEXT, "HE CLEANSES THE TEMPLE OF THE

THOSE WHO MAKE MERCHANDISE OF GOD..". From the same oration, on the text, "He cleanses the temple of those who make merchandise of God and

who make merchandise of Christ, except that he works this not with a plaited scourge, but with persuasive speech". Neither, as some have supposed, does this celebrated teacher in these words show our Lord and God to be more astringent than the blessed father Athanasius, may it not be, nor indeed does he gratify Saint Athanasius by saying that one cleanses the temple of those who make merchandise of God with a scourge, and the other with speech. (14∆_276> So that from these things it is necessary, according to those who say so, for one of two things to be supposed, either that our Lord and God was ignorant of the gentler method of healing, or that Saint Athanasius did not know the ways of spiritual care

66

οὐκ ἐφ᾿ ἡμῶν, τῷ τοῖς μέν δι᾿ ἐγκρατείας ἀπομαραίνειν τάς ἐπαναστάσεις, τῶν δέ δι᾿ ὑπομονῆς τάς προσβολάς ἀποσείεσθαι.

∆ιχόθεν γάρ βαλλόμενοι, ὑπό τε δόξης καί ἀτιμίας, διέμενον ἄσειστοι, πρός ἄμφω ἀκινήτως ἔχοντες, μήτε ὕβρεσι τιτρωσκόμενοι διά τήν ἑκουσίαν ὕφεσιν, μήτε δόξαν προσιέμενοι, δι᾿ ὑπερβάλλουσαν πτωχείας οἰκείωσιν, ὅθεν οὐ θυμός, οὐ φθόνος, οὐκ ἔρις, οὐχ ὑπόκρισις, οὐ δόλος, οὐκ εἰρωνευτική τις καί ἐπίκλοπος τῷ φαινομένῳ πλάσματι δι᾿ ἀπάτης ὑποσύρουσα πρός ἄλλο στοργή, τό πάντων παθῶν ὀλεθριώτατον, οὐκ ἐπιθυμία τῶν κατά τόν βίον δοκούντων εἶναι λαμπρῶν, οὔτε τι ἕτερον τῆς πονηρᾶς τῶν παθῶν πληθύος, οὐκ ἀπειλαί παρ᾿ ἐχθρῶν ἐπανατεινόμεναι, οὐδέ τις θανάτου τρόπος αὐτῶν ἐκυρίευσε. ∆ιό καί μακάριοι δικαίως παρά τε Θεῷ καί ἀνθρώποις ἐκρίθησαν, ὅτι τῆς φανησομένης ἀῤῥήτου καί περιφανοῦς δόξης κατά τήν χάριν τοῦ μεγάλου δώρου Θεοῦ ἐμφανεῖς εἰκόνας ἑαυτούς κατέστησαν, ἵνα χαίροντες ὡς γνωρίμοις τοῖς λόγοις τῶν ἀρετῶν, μᾶλλον δέ Θεῷ, ὑπέρ οὗ καί καθ᾿ ἑκάστην ἡμέραν ἀποθνήσκοντες διεκαρτέρησαν, ἑνωθῶσιν, ἐν ᾧ πάντων οἱ λόγοι τῶν ἀγαθῶν, ὥσπερ πηγῇ ἀειβλύστῳ, προϋφεστήκασί τε κατά μίαν, ἁπλῆν καί ἑνιαίαν τῶν πάντων περιοχήν, καί πρός ὅν ἕλκουσι πάντας τούς καλῶς καί κατά φύσιν ταῖς ἐπί τούτῳ δοθείσαις χρωμένους δυνάμεσι.

Ο (70). ΕΚ ΤΟΥ ΜΒ' ΛΟΓΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΘΕΟΛΟΓΟΥ ΠΕΡΙ ΩΝ ΕΜΝΗΣΘΗ ΤΟΥ ΜΑΚΑΡΙΟΥ

ΙΩΒ... (14∆_274> Ἐκ τοῦ μβ´ λόγου τοῦ Θεολόγου περί ὧν ἐμνήσθη τοῦ μακαρίου Ἰώβ, εἰς τό,·

"Τά δέ ἑξῆς μικρά, καί μικρῶν ἕνεκεν οἰκονομηθέντα. " Τῇ γενομένῃ παρά τοῦ Θεοῦ τῷ Ἰώβ ἀναῤῥήσει, ὡς οἶμαι, συγκρίνων τά μετά

τούς ἀγῶνας τῶν πειρασμῶν δοθέντα σωματικά μικρά προσηγόρευσεν, ὡς κατ᾿ οὐδένα τρόπον ταῖς αἰωνίοις δυνάμενα παραβάλλεσθαι. Μικρῶν δέ ἕνεκεν οἰκονομηθέντα φησί, τῶν περί διάνοιαν γνωστικήν δηλονότι μικρῶν τῶν εὐχερῶς ἐν τοῖς περί προνοίας καί κρίσεως λόγοις σκανδαλιζομένων, καί περί αὐτήν τήν 1208 εὐσέβειαν σαλευομένων. Περί ὧν οἶμαι τόν Κύριον ἐν τοῖς Εὐαγγελίοις φάναι, Ὁ σκανδαλίζων ἕνα τῶν μικρῶν τούτων· οἵ ὅταν ἴδωσι δίκαιον ἀσθενοῦντα, ἤ πτωχεύοντα, ἤ ἄλλως κακουχούμενον (καί σχεδόν οἵγε ἀσθενέστεροι ἄδειαν τοῦ παντός κατακρίνουσι, πόσῳ μᾶλλον ἐν τῇ ἀθρόᾳ μεταβολῇ τοῦ Ἰώβ, ὡμολογημένως δίκαιον πᾶσιν ὑπειλημμένου;) εἶχον τοῦτο παθεῖν, εἰ μή πρός τό ἀρχαῖον αὐτῷ σωματικῶς κατά τό διπλάσιον ἐπανῆλθε τό περιφανές καί ἐπίδοξον. Περί τούτων οὖν εἴρηται τῷ διδασκάλῳ, Μικρῶν ἕνεκεν οἰκονομηθέντα.

ΟΑ (71). ΕΚ ΤΟΥ ΑΥΤΟΥ ΛΟΓΟΥ, ΕΙΣ ΤΟ, «ΚΑΘΑΙΡΕΙ ΜΕΝ ΤΟ ΙΕΡΟΝ ΤΩΝ

ΘΕΟΚΑΠΗΛΩΝ..». Ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ λόγου, εἰς τό, «Καθαίρει μέν τό ἱερόν τῶν θεοκαπήλων καί

χριστεμπόρων, πλήν ὅσον οὐ φραγελλίῳ πλεκτῷ, λόγῳ δέ πιθανῷ τοῦτο ἐργάζεται». Οὔτε στυπτικώτερον ἐν τούτοις, ὥς τινες ὑπειλήφασι, τοῦ μακαρίου πατρός

Ἀθανασίου τόν Κύριον ἡμῶν καί Θεόν ἀποδείκνυσιν ὁ ἀοίδιμος οὖτος διδάσκαλος, μή γένοιτο, οὔτε μήν καταχαρίζεται τῷ ἁγίῳ Ἀθανασίῳ τῷ τόν μέν φραγελλίῳ, τόν δέ λόγῳ χρησάμενον, καθαίρειν τό ἱερόν τῶν θεοκαπήλων εἰπεῖν. (14∆_276> Ὡς ἀνάγκην ἐκ τούτων εἶναι, κατά τούς λέγοντας, δυοῖν θάτερον ὑποληφθῆναι, ἤ τόν Κύριον ἡμῶν καί Θεόν τήν προσηνεστέραν ἠγνοηκέναι μέθοδον τῆς ἰατρείας, ἤ τόν ἅγιον Ἀθανάσιον μή γινώσκοντα τῆς πνευματικῆς ἐπιμελείας τούς τρόπους