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For this reason another says, The righteous man is his own accuser in his first speech. So the point is not this, to accuse oneself, but to be the first to accuse oneself, and not to wait for the reproofs from others. For Peter, after that harsh denial, since he quickly remembered his sin, and when no one was accusing him he confessed the transgression, and wept bitterly, thus he washed away that denial, so as to become the first of the apostles, and to be entrusted with the whole world. But as I was saying—for we must return to the matter at hand—the argument has sufficiently demonstrated to us from this that we must not neglect our brothers when they fall, nor despise them, but secure them before the sin, and show much care for them also after the sin. This is what physicians also do; for they tell healthy people what can preserve their health for them, and ward off every disease; but when they have neglected their instructions and fallen into sickness, they do not overlook them, but show much foresight especially then, in order to free them from their diseases. So also Paul did; for the one who had committed fornication after that sin, after that grievous transgression, which is not found even among the Gentiles, he did not overlook, but even when he was unruly, and unwilling to receive the cure, and was kicking and leaping away, he brought him back to the therapy, and so brought him back, as to unite him to the body of the Church again. And he did not say to himself: What is the point? What is the use? He has fornicated, he has committed the sin, he does not even wish to desist from licentiousness, but he is puffed up, and is arrogant, and is making the wound incurable; let us therefore leave him, and abandon him. He said none of these things; but rather, for this very reason, he used much foresight then, because he saw him having slipped into unspeakable evil, and he did not desist from frightening, threatening, punishing, and by himself and through many others doing and managing everything, until he brought him to a recognition of his sin, to a perception of his transgression, and completely freed him from every stain. This 48.932 do you also; imitate that Samaritan, the one in the Gospel who showed such foresight concerning that wounded man. For there a Levite passed by, and a Pharisee passed by, and neither of them bent down to the man lying there, but mercilessly and cruelly leaving him, they went away. But a certain Samaritan, in no way related to him, did not pass by, but stopping, he had compassion, and poured on oil and wine; he placed him on his donkey, brought him to an inn, and gave some money, and promised more for the cure of one who was in no way related to him. And he did not say to himself, What do I care about this? I am a Samaritan, I have nothing in common with him; we are far from the city, and he cannot walk. And what if he does not last for the length of the journey, I will be carrying a corpse, I will be caught for murder, I will be responsible for the homicide? For many often, passing by and seeing men who have been beaten and are convulsing, for this reason run past, not hesitating to pick them up, nor sparing money, but fearing that they themselves might be dragged into court, as responsible for the murder. But that gentle and philanthropic man feared none of these things, but disregarding all this, he placed him on the donkey, and brought him to an inn; he suspected none of these things, not danger, not the expense of money, nor anything else. But if the Samaritan was so philanthropic and gentle towards an unknown man, what excuse could we have, who neglect our own brothers in greater evils? For these who have now fasted have fallen among robbers, the Jews, or rather, ones more grievous than all robbers, and who work greater evils on those who fall among them. For they did not tear off their garments, nor did they inflict blows on the body, as those did then, but the

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∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἄλλος τίς φησι, ∆ίκαιος ἑαυτοῦ κατήγορος ἐν πρωτολογίᾳ. Ὥστε οὐ τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ ζητούμενον, τὸ κατηγορεῖν ἑαυτοῦ, ἀλλὰ τὸ πρῶτον ἑαυτοῦ κατηγορεῖν, καὶ τὸ μὴ ἀναμένειν τοὺς παρ' ἑτέρων ἐλέγχους. Ὁ γοῦν Πέτρος μετὰ τὴν ἄρνησιν ἐκείνην τὴν χαλεπὴν, ἐπειδὴ ταχέως ἑαυτὸν ἀνέμνησε τῆς ἁμαρτίας, καὶ μηδενὸς κατηγοροῦντος ἔλεγε τὴν πλημμέλειαν, καὶ ἔκλαυσε πικρῶς, οὕτως ἀπενίψατο τὴν ἄρνησιν ἐκείνην, ὡς καὶ πρῶτος γενέσθαι τῶν ἀποστόλων, καὶ τὴν οἰκουμένην ἐγχειρισθῆναι ἅπασαν. Ἀλλ' ὅπερ ἔλεγον δεῖ γὰρ ἐπὶ τὸ προκείμενον ἐπανελθεῖν ἱκανῶς ἡμῖν ἐντεῦθεν ἀπέδειξεν ὁ λόγος, ὅτι πιπτόντων οὐ χρὴ τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἀμελεῖν, οὐδὲ καταφρονεῖν, ἀλλ' ἀσφαλίζεσθαι μὲν αὐτοὺς πρὸ τῆς ἁμαρτίας, πολλὴν δὲ καὶ μετὰ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν περὶ αὐτοὺς ἐπιδείκνυσθαι ἐπιμέλειαν. Οὕτω καὶ ἰατροὶ ποιοῦσι· λέγουσι μὲν γὰρ καὶ ὑγιαίνουσι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἃ δύναται διατηρῆσαι τὴν ὑγίειαν αὐτοῖς, καὶ πᾶσαν ἀποκρούσασθαι νόσον· ἀμελήσαντας δὲ τῶν ἐπιταγμάτων, καὶ ἀῤῥωστίᾳ περιπεσόντας οὐ παρορῶσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ πολλὴν μάλιστα τότε ἐπιδείκνυνται πρόνοιαν, ὅπως αὐτοὺς ἀπαλλάξωσι τῶν νοσημάτων. Οὕτω καὶ ὁ Παῦλος ἐποίησε· τὸν γοῦν πεπορνευκότα μετὰ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἐκείνην, μετὰ τὴν παρανομίαν τὴν χαλεπὴν, τὴν οὐδὲ ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν εὑρισκομένην, οὐ παρεῖδεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀφηνιῶντα, καὶ μὴ βουλόμενον δέξασθαι τὴν ἰατρείαν, καὶ σκιρτῶντα καὶ ἀποπηδῶντα, ἐπανήγαγεν ἐπὶ τὴν θεραπείαν, καὶ οὕτως ἐπανήγαγεν, ὥστε ἑνῶσαι τῷ σώματι τῆς Ἐκκλησίας πάλιν. Καὶ οὐκ εἶπε πρὸς ἑαυτόν· Τί δὲ τὸ πλέον; τί δὲ τὸ ὄφελος; ἐπόρνευσε, τὴν ἁμαρτίαν εἰργάσατο, οὐδὲ ἀποστῆναι βούλεται τῆς ἀσελγείας, ἀλλὰ καὶ πεφυσίωται, καὶ μέγα φρονεῖ, καὶ ἀνίατον τὸ ἕλκος ἐργάζεται· ἀφῶμεν τοίνυν αὐτὸν, καὶ ἐγκαταλείψωμεν. Οὐδὲν τούτων εἶπεν· ἀλλὰ δι' αὐτὸ μὲν οὖν τοῦτο μάλιστα πολλῇ τότε ἐχρήσατο τῇ προνοίᾳ, ἐπειδὴ πρὸς ἄφατον αὐτὸν εἶδε κακίαν ἐξολισθήσαντα, καὶ οὐκ ἀπέστη φοβῶν, ἀπειλῶν, κολάζων, καὶ δι' ἑαυτοῦ καὶ δι' ἑτέρων πολλῶν πάντα ποιῶν καὶ πραγματευόμενος, ἕως ἂν αὐτὸν εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν ἤνεγκε τῆς ἁμαρτίας, εἰς αἴσθησιν τῆς παρανομίας, καὶ τέλεον αὐτὸν ἀπήλλαξε τῆς κηλῖδος ἁπάσης. Τοῦτο 48.932 δὴ καὶ σὺ ποίησον· μίμησαι τὸν Σαμαρείτην ἐκεῖνον, τὸν ἐν τῷ Εὐαγγελίῳ τοσαύτην περὶ τὸν τραυματίαν ἐκεῖνον ἐπιδειξάμενον πρόνοιαν. Καὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖ παρῆλθε Λευΐτης, παρῆλθε καὶ Φαρισαῖος, καὶ οὐδέτερος ἐπεκάμφθη πρὸς τὸν κείμενον, ἀλλ' ἀνηλεῶς καὶ ὠμῶς ἀφέντες αὐτὸν, ἀπῆλθον. Σαμαρείτης δέ τις, οὐδὲν αὐτῷ προσήκων οὐδαμόθεν, οὐ παρέδραμεν, ἀλλ' ἐπιστὰς κατηλέησε, καὶ ἐπέσταξεν ἔλαιον καὶ οἶνον· ἐπέθηκεν ἐπὶ τὸν ὄνον, ἤγαγεν εἰς πανδοχεῖον, καὶ ἀργύριον τὸ μὲν ἔδωκε, τὸ δὲ ὑπέσχετο ὑπὲρ τῆς τοῦ μηδὲν αὐτῷ προσήκοντος θεραπείας. Καὶ οὐκ εἶπε πρὸς ἑαυτὸν, Τί δέ μοι μέλει περὶ τούτου; Σαμαρείτης εἰμὶ, οὐδὲν κοινὸν ἔχω πρὸς αὐτόν· πόῤῥω τῆς πόλεώς ἐσμεν, οὐδὲ βαδίσαι δύναται. Τί δὲ, ἐὰν μὴ πρὸς τὸ μῆκος ἀρκέσῃ τῆς ὁδοιπορίας, μέλλω νεκρὸν ἐπιφέρεσθαι, μέλλω σφαγῆς ἁλίσκεσθαι, μέλλω τοῦ φόνου ὑπεύθυνος εἶναι; Καὶ γὰρ πολλοὶ πολλάκις παριόντες καὶ ὁρῶντες ἀνθρώπους πεπληγότας καὶ σπαίροντας, διὰ τοῦτο παρατρέχουσιν, οὐκ ὀκνοῦντες ἀνελέσθαι, οὐδὲ χρημάτων φειδόμενοι, ἀλλὰ δεδοικότες, μὴ καὶ αὐτοὶ εἰς δικαστήριον ἑλκυσθῶσιν, ὡς τῆς σφαγῆς ὑπεύθυνοι. Ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνος οὐδὲν τούτων ἔδεισεν ὁ ἥμερος καὶ φιλάνθρωπος, ἀλλὰ ταῦτα πάντα ὑπεριδὼν ἐπέθηκεν ἐπὶ τὸν ὄνον, καὶ εἰς πανδοχεῖον ἤγαγεν· οὐδὲν τούτων ὑπείδετο, οὐ κίνδυνον, οὐ χρημάτων δαπάνην, οὐκ ἄλλο οὐδέν. Εἰ δὲ ὁ Σαμαρείτης οὕτω φιλάνθρωπος καὶ ἥμερος γέγονε περὶ ἄνθρωπον ἄγνωστον, τίνα ἂν ἔχοιμεν συγγνώμην ἡμεῖς, τῶν ἀδελφῶν τῶν οἰκείων ἀμελοῦντες ἐπὶ μείζοσι κακοῖς; Καὶ γὰρ καὶ οὗτοι οἱ νῦν νηστεύσαντες λῃσταῖς περιέπεσον τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις, μᾶλλον δὲ λῃστῶν ἁπάντων χαλεπωτέροις, καὶ μείζονα τοὺς εἰς αὐτοὺς ἐμπίπτοντας ἐργαζομένοις κακά. Οὐ γὰρ τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτῶν περιέῤῥηξαν, οὐδὲ τῷ σώματι πληγὰς ἐπήγαγον, καθάπερ ἐκεῖνοι τότε, ἀλλὰ τὴν