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having contended, and having completely stripped off the passions, and having put on the body free from corruption and passions, then we shall receive perfect knowledge; receiving then no harm, since indeed we are delivered from passions, and are outside of the contests. Therefore let us not presume upon things unattainable, but let us be content with what we have received, and as far as we are able, let us hymn our good Master, and with what we have, let us praise our benefactor. Do we see men who are workers of virtue living in glory and honor and care? Let us worship the lawgiver and judge of virtue, who rightly and justly proclaims it. Do we behold others, choosing the same life, but not enjoying the same things from men? Let us not be vexed, O beloved, but let us believe that they are contending well for the prize of endurance, and through this are being proclaimed for the expected life, as we have discussed in the preceding discourse; and let us not hurl blasphemous words against Providence. For it is absurd, and full of much 83.744 silliness, or rather, of utter madness, that those very men, while sailing through triple waves, and being struck by tempests, and journeying through life with much hardship, should hymn the pilot; but that those sitting out of range of the arrows, as the saying goes, and having become spectators rather than contestants, should strike the judge of the contest with blasphemous words, since they cannot with deeds. That the pupils of piety, not only when borne by fair winds, but also while wrestling with surge and storm, hymn the God of all, one may hear from the blessed David crying out, a man who spent his entire life in wars, and wrestled with countless calamities; "What shall I render to the Lord for all that he has rendered to me?" And one may also hear the divine Daniel, and those holy youths, in the very assault of those terrible things, praising God, and bringing to remembrance the sins of which they were not the perpetrators, and confessing to pay penalties for the things in which they erred, but not saying that they themselves were worthy of crowns, nor being vexed at the scales of justice. The great patriarch Abraham, being pressed by famine, he who had received those promises from God, bore nobly the assault of the famine. Twice deprived of his wife, and seeing her among barbarous men, he continued to give thanks to the one who called him, and awaiting the fulfillment of the promises, he gladly sailed over the waves. And what account could reach this man's magnanimity? And who could worthily admire his supreme philosophy? Therefore leaving to the studious the reading of the history, and to learn accurately his and from him, courage, and endurance, and temperance, and justice, and industry and love of God, and in short the height of virtue, I will proceed in my discourse to those of the New Testament. See then Peter and John, the towers of piety, the pillars of truth, who support the building of the Church, being scourged by the Jews, but rejoicing and exulting, "That they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name of Christ." For the one who wrote these things, having said that they were beaten with rods, did not say that they bore the scourges with endurance and nobility, but that they went out rejoicing, and being glad. But there is a great difference between rejoicing and bearing. For one often bears the assault of afflictions, but in pain and distress; but he who rejoices proclaims the gladness of his soul. Thus also cried out the blessed Paul, the greatest trumpet of the proclamation; "I am well pleased in weaknesses, in insults, in 83.745 necessities, in persecutions and distresses for Christ's sake." And he did not say, "I bear," or "I endure," but "I am well pleased," which signifies a great intensification of pleasure. And elsewhere

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ἀγωνισάμενοι, καὶ τὰ πάθη παντελῶς ἀποδυσά μενοι, καὶ φθορᾶς καὶ παθῶν ἐλεύθερον ἐνδυσάμενοι τὸ σῶμα, τηνικαῦτα τελείαν τὴν γνῶσιν ὑποδεξώμε θα· οὐδεμίαν λοιπὸν, ἅτε δὴ παθῶν ἀπηλλαγμένοι, καὶ τῶν ἀγώνων ἔξω γινόμενοι, δεχόμενοι τὴν βλά βην. Μὴ τοίνυν τῶν ἀνεφίκτων κατατολμήσωμεν, ἀλλ' οἷς εἰλήφαμεν στέρξωμεν, καὶ ὡς χωροῦμεν, τὸν ἀγαθὸν ἡμῶν ∆εσπότην ὑμνήσωμεν, καὶ οἷς ἔχομεν, τὸν εὐεργέτην αἰνέσωμεν. Ὁρῶμεν ἄνδρας ἀρετῆς ἐργάτας ἐν εὐκλείᾳ ζῶντας καὶ τιμῇ καὶ θε ραπείᾳ; Προσκυνήσωμεν τὸν τῆς ἀρετῆς νομοθέτην, καὶ ἀγωνοθέτην, ὀρθῶς αὐτὴν καὶ δικαίως ἀνακηρύτ τοντα. Θεωροῦμεν ἄλλους, τὸν αὐτὸν μὲν βίον προ αιρουμένους, οὐ τῶν αὐτῶν δὲ παρὰ ἀνθρώποις ἀπο λαύοντας; Μὴ δυσχεράνωμεν, ὦ φιλότης, ἀλλὰ πι στεύσωμεν αὐτοὺς μὲν καλῶς ἀγωνίζεσθαι τῆς καρ τερίας τὸν ἆθλον, ἀνακηρύττεσθαι δὲ διὰ τούτου εἰς τὸν προσδοκώμενον βίον, ὡς ἐν τῷ πρὸ τοῦδε διεξ εληλύθαμεν λόγῳ· καὶ μὴ βλασφήμους κατὰ τῆς Προ νοίας ἀκοντίσωμεν λόγους. Ἄτοπον γὰρ, καὶ πολλῆς 83.744 γέμον ἀβελτηρίας, μᾶλλον δὲ μανίας ἐσχάτης, αὐτοὺς μὲν ἐκείνους διὰ τρικυμιῶν πλέοντας, καὶ ὑπὸ καταιγίδων βαλλομένους, καὶ μετὰ πολλῆς δυσ κληρίας τὸν βίον ὁδεύοντας, τὸν κυβερνήτην ὑμ νεῖν· τοὺς δὲ ἔξω βελῶν, τὸ δὲ λεγόμενον, καθημέ νους, καὶ θεατὰς μᾶλλον ἢ ἀγωνιστὰς γενομένους, τὸν ἀγωνοθέτην λόγοις βάλλειν βλασφήμοις, ἐπειδὴ τοῖς ἔργοις οὐ δύνανται. Ὅτι δὲ τῆς εὐσεβείας οἱ τρόφιμοι, οὐκ ἐξ οὐρίων μόνον φερόμενοι, ἀλλὰ καὶ κλύδωνι καὶ χειμῶνι παλαίοντες, τὸν τῶν ὅλων ὑμνοῦσι Θεὸν, ἔστιν ἀκοῦσαι τοῦ μακαρίου βοῶν τος ∆αβὶδ, ἀνδρὸς ἐν πολέμοις τὸν βίον ἅπαν τα καταναλώσαντος, καὶ μυρίαις ὅσαις προσπα λαίσαντος συμφοραῖς· «Τί ἀνταποδώσω τῷ Κυρίῳ περὶ πάντων, ὧν ἀνταπέδωκέ μοι;» Ἔστι δὲ ἀκοῦ σαι καὶ τοῦ θεσπεσίου ∆ανιὴλ, καὶ τῶν ἁγίων ἐκείνων μειρακίων, ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ τῶν δεινῶν ἐκεί νων προσβολῇ τὸν Θεὸν ἀνυμνούντων, καὶ τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων, ὧν οὐκ ἦσαν ἐργάται, τὴν μνή μην εἰς μέσον φερόντων, καὶ δίκας τίνειν ὑπὲρ ὧν ἐπλημμέλησαν ὁμολογούντων, ἀλλὰ οὐ στεφάνων σφᾶς αὐτοὺς ἀξίους εἶναι λεγόντων, οὐδὲ δυσχεραι νόντων τὰ τῆς δίκης ζυγά. Λιμῷ πιεζόμενος ὁ μέ γας Ἀβραὰμ ὁ πατριάρχης, ὁ τὰς ὑποσχέσεις ἐκεί νας θεόθεν δεξάμενος, ἔφερε γενναίως τὴν τοῦ λιμοῦ προσβολήν. ∆ὶς τῆς ὁμόζυγος στερηθεὶς, καὶ παρὰ βαρβάροις ἀνθρώποις ταύτην ὁρῶν, χάριν τῷ καλέ σαντι ὁμολογῶν διετέλεσε, καὶ τῶν ὑποσχέσεων ἀνα μένων τὸ τέλος, ἀσμένως ὑπερέπλεε τῶν κυμάτων. Καὶ τίς ἂν ἐφίκοιτο λόγος τῆς τούτου μεγαλοψυχίας; Τίς δὲ αὐτοῦ τὴν ἄκραν φιλοσοφίαν πρὸς ἀξίαν θαυ μάσειε; Τοῖς φιλομαθέσι τοίνυν καταλιπὼν τὴν τῆς ἱστορίας ἀνάγνωσιν, καὶ καταμαθεῖν ἀκριβῶς τὴν τούτου καὶ τὴν ἐκ τούτου ἀνδρίαν, καὶ καρτερίαν, καὶ σωφροσύνην, καὶ δικαιοσύνην, φιλοπονίαν τε καὶ φιλοθεΐαν, καὶ ἁπαξαπλῶς τὸ ὕψος τῆς ἀρε τῆς, ἐπὶ τοὺς τῆς Νέας ∆ιαθήκης βαδιοῦμαι τῷ λόγῳ. Βλέπε τοίνυν τὸν Πέτρον καὶ Ἰωάννην, τοὺς πύρ γους τῆς εὐσεβείας, τοὺς στύλους τῆς ἀληθείας, τοὺς τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τὴν οἰκοδομὴν ὑπερείδοντας, ὑπὸ μὲν Ἰουδαίων μαστιγουμένους, χαίροντας δὲ καὶ γεγηθότας, «Ὅτι κατηξιώθησαν ὑπὲρ τοῦ ὀνόματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἀτιμασθῆναι.» Ὁ γὰρ ταῦτα συγγε γραφὼς, εἰρηκὼς ὅτι ῥάβδοις ᾐκίσθησαν, οὐκ ἔφη καρτερῶς αὐτοὺς φέρειν καὶ γενναίως τὰς μάστιγας, ἀλλὰ χαίροντας ἐξεληλυθέναι, καὶ γαννυμένους. ∆ιαφορὰν δὲ πολλὴν ἔχει τὸ χαίρειν πρὸς τὸ φέρειν. Φέρει μὲν γάρ τις πολλάκις τὴν τῶν ἀνιαρῶν προσ βολὴν, ἀλλ' ὀδυνώμενος καὶ ἀνιώμενος· ὁ δὲ χαίρων κηρύττει τὴν τῆς ψυχῆς θυμηδίαν. Οὕτω καὶ ὁ μα κάριος Παῦλος ἐβόα, ἡ μεγίστη τοῦ κηρύγματος σάλπιγξ· «Εὐδοκῶ ἐν ἀσθενείαις, ἐν ὕβρεσιν, ἐν 83.745 ἀνάγκαις, ἐν διωγμοῖς καὶ στενοχωρίαις ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ.» Καὶ οὐκ εἶπε, Φέρω, ἢ Καρτερῶ, ἀλλ' «Εὐδοκῶ,» ὅπερ πολλὴν σημαίνει τῆς ἡδονῆς τὴν ἐπίτασιν. Καὶ ἑτέρωθι