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an apology, but a necessity, either to depart having succeeded, or not having succeeded to be punished, and to undergo the ultimate penalty. Therefore, having considered all these things, and having departed from here with great concern, you exhort one another to keep what has been said in so many days with all vigilance in your mind, so that even while we are silent, by instructing, edifying, and exhorting one another, you may show great progress, and having fulfilled all the remaining laws, you may enjoy the eternal crowns, which may we all be worthy to obtain, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom to the Father be the glory, together with the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.

49.103 Praise of those who have succeeded in not swearing; and that one ought not

to hesitate to listen to the divine oracles in church after a meal; and why after a long time the Holy Scriptures were given; and on the text, The heavens declare the glory of God; and a natural philosophy of the world, and towards the end, concerning not swearing. Homily 9.

1. Both formerly to you, and now to you I speak; would that I were always with you,

or rather, I am always with you, if not in the presence of my body, yet in the power of love; for there is no other life for me than you and the care for your salvation. For just as the farmer cares for nothing else but the seeds and the crops, and the pilot for the waves and the harbors; so also the speaker cares for his hearers and their progress, just as I do now. Therefore I carry you all in my mind, not only here, but also at home. For though the people are many, and the measure of my heart is small, yet love is broad, and You are not constrained in us; but I will not say what follows; for neither are we constrained by you. How is this clear? I learned from many who reported that, We have done what was commanded, having set laws for one another, and having defined penalties for those who swear, and having brought punishments upon those who transgress the law, a punishment fitting for you, which is proof of the greatest love. For I am not ashamed to be meddlesome in these things, since this meddlesomeness is not of curiosity, but of concern. For if it is no reproach for a physician to inquire about the sick, neither is it a fault for us to investigate constantly concerning your salvation; for thus having learned what has been accomplished by you, and what is lacking, with the appropriate knowledge we will apply the remaining remedies. We have learned these things, then, by being meddlesome, and we have given thanks to God, that we have not sown on rocks, nor cast the seeds among thorns, nor did we need much time and long delay to reap the crops. For these reasons I have you continually in my heart, for these reasons I do not feel the labor of teaching, being lightened by the profit of your hearing. For this reward is sufficient to restore us and to give us wings and make us soar, and to persuade us to endure every labor for your sake. Since, therefore, you have shown great gratitude, come now, let us also pay the remaining debt, which we promised before; and yet I do not see present all those who were here when I made the promise. What then is the reason? what has driven them from our table? He who has partaken of a physical table, as it seems, thought it unworthy to come to the hearing of divine oracles after physical food; but they do not think this rightly; for neither, if this were improper, would Christ have spent long and many discourses after that mystical supper; nor, if this were unseemly, having often fed the crowd in the wilderness, would he have shared words with them after the meal. For if one must say something wonderful, then indeed the hearing of the divine oracles is most useful. For when you have persuaded yourself,

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ἀπολογίαν, ἀλλ' ἀνάγκη, ἢ κατορθώσαντας ἀπελθεῖν, ἢ μὴ κατορθώσαντας κολάζεσθαι, καὶ τὴν ἐσχάτην ὑπομένειν δίκην. Ταῦτα οὖν ἐννοήσαντες ἅπαντα, καὶ μετὰ πολλῆς ἐντεῦθεν ἀναχωρήσαντες τῆς φροντίδος, ἀλλήλους παρακελεύεσθε τὰ ἐν τοσαύταις ἡμέραις εἰρημένα μετὰ πάσης τηρῆσαι τῆς φυλακῆς ἐπὶ τῆς διανοίας τῆς ὑμετέρας, ἵνα καὶ ἡμῶν σιγώντων ἀλλήλους παιδεύοντες, οἰκοδομοῦντες, παρακαλοῦντες, πολλὴν ἐπιδείξησθε τὴν ἐπίδοσιν, καὶ τοὺς λοιποὺς ἅπαντας ἐκπληρώσαντες νόμους, ἀπολαύσητε τῶν αἰωνίων στεφάνων, ὧν γένοιτο πάντας ἡμᾶς ἐπιτυχεῖν, 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.

49.103 Ἔπαινος τῶν κατωρθωκότων τὸ μὴ ὀμνύειν· καὶ ὅτι οὐκ ὀφείλει τις

διακρίνεσθαι μετὰ ἑστίασιν ἀκροᾶσθαι θείων λογίων ἐν ἐκκλησίᾳ· καὶ διὰ τί μετὰ χρόνον πολὺν ἐδόθησαν αἱ ἅγιαι Γραφαί· καὶ εἰς τὸ, Οἱ οὐρανοὶ διηγοῦνται δόξαν Θεοῦ· καὶ φυσιολογία κόσμου, καὶ πρὸς τῷ τέλει, περὶ τοῦ μὴ ὀμνύειν. Ὁμιλία θʹ.

αʹ. Καὶ πρώην πρὸς ὑμᾶς, καὶ νῦν πρὸς ὑμᾶς λέγω· εἴθε δὲ καὶ ἀεὶ μεθ' ὑμῶν,

μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ ἀεὶ μεθ' ὑμῶν, εἰ καὶ μὴ σώματος παρουσίᾳ, ἀλλ' ἀγάπης δυνάμει· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἕτερός μοι βίος τίς ἐστιν, ἀλλ' ἢ ὑμεῖς καὶ τῆς ὑμετέρας σωτηρίας ἡ φροντίς. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ὁ γεωργὸς οὐδὲν ἕτερον μεριμνᾷ, ἀλλ' ἢ τὰ σπέρματα καὶ τὰ λήϊα, καὶ ὁ κυβερνήτης τὰ κύματα καὶ τοὺς λιμένας· οὕτω καὶ ὁ λέγων τοὺς ἀκούοντας καὶ τὴν ἐκείνων προκοπὴν, καθάπερ καὶ ἐγὼ νῦν. ∆ιὸ καὶ πάντας ὑμᾶς ἐπὶ τῆς διανοίας περιφέρω τῆς ἐμαυτοῦ, οὐκ ἐνταῦθα μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ οἴκοι. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ πολὺς ὁ δῆμος, καὶ βραχὺ τῆς ἐμῆς καρδίας τὸ μέτρον, ἀλλ' εὐρεῖα ἡ ἀγάπη, καὶ Οὐ στενοχωρεῖσθε ἐν ἡμῖν· τὸ δὲ ἑξῆς οὐκ ἔτι λοιπὸν ἐρῶ· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἡμεῖς στενοχωρούμεθα παρ' ὑμῖν. Πόθεν τοῦτο δῆλον; Ἔγνων πολλῶν ἀπαγγειλάντων, ὅτι Τὸ ἐπιταχθὲν ἐποιήσαμεν, νόμους ἀλλήλοις θέντες, καὶ καταδίκας ὁρίσαντες τοῖς ὀμνύουσι, καὶ τιμωρίας ἐπαγαγόντες τοῖς τὸν νόμον παραβαίνουσι, τιμωρίαν τὴν ὑμῖν πρέπουσαν, ὅπερ μεγίστης ἀγάπης τεκμήριον. Οὐδὲ γὰρ αἰσχύνομαι πολυπραγμονῶν ταῦτα, ἐπειδὴ μὴ περιεργίας ἐστὶν, ἀλλὰ κηδεμονίας αὕτη ἡ φιλοπραγμοσύνη. Εἰ γὰρ οὐκ ἔστιν ὄνειδος τῷ ἰατρῷ πυνθάνεσθαι περὶ τοῦ κάμνοντος, οὐδὲ ἡμῖν ἔγκλημα περὶ τῆς ὑμετέρας ἐξετάζειν σωτηρίας ἀεί· οὕτω γὰρ μαθόντες τί μὲν ὑμῖν ἀπήρτισται, τί δὲ ἐλλέλειπται, μετὰ τῆς προσηκούσης ἐπιστήμης τὰ λοιπὰ ἐπιθήσομεν φάρμακα. Ἔγνωμεν τοίνυν ταῦτα περιεργασάμενοι, καὶ ηὐχαριστήσαμεν τῷ Θεῷ, ὅτι οὐκ εἰς πέτρας ἐσπείραμεν, οὐδὲ εἰς ἀκάνθας κατεβάλομεν τὰ σπέρματα, οὐδὲ πολλοῦ χρόνου καὶ πολλῆς ἐδεήθημεν ἀναβολῆς, ὥστε θερίσαι τὰ λήϊα. ∆ιὰ ταῦτα ὑμᾶς ἐπὶ τῆς καρδίας ἔχω συνεχῶς τῆς ἐμαυτοῦ, διὰ ταῦτα οὐκ αἰσθάνομαι τοῦ πόνου τῆς διδασκαλίας, τῷ τῆς ἀκροάσεως κουφιζόμενος κέρδει. Ἱκανὸς γὰρ ἡμᾶς οὗτος ὁ μισθὸς ἀνακτήσασθαι καὶ πτερῶσαι καὶ μεταρσίους ποιῆσαι, καὶ πεῖσαι πάντα ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν ὑπομένειν πόνον. Ἐπεὶ οὖν πολλὴν τὴν εὐγνωμοσύνην ὑμεῖς ἐπεδείξασθε, φέρε δὴ καὶ ἡμεῖς τὸ χρέος καταβάλωμεν τὸ λοιπὸν, ὅπερ ὑπεσχόμεθα πρώην· καίτοι γε οὐχ ὁρῶ παρόντας ἅπαντας τοὺς ἡνίκα ἐποιούμην τὴν ὑπόσχεσιν παραγενομένους ἐνταῦθα. Τί ποτε ἄρα τὸ αἴτιον; τί τῆς ἡμετέρας τραπέζης αὐτοὺς ἀπεσόβησεν; Ὁ τραπέζης, ὡς ἔοικε, μετασχὼν αἰσθητῆς, ἐνόμισεν ἀνάξιον εἶναι μετὰ τροφὴν αἰσθητὴν ἐπὶ θείων λογίων ἀκρόασιν ἐλθεῖν· ἀλλ' οὐ δικαίως τοῦτο νομίζουσιν· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἂν, εἰ τοῦτο ἦν ἄτοπον, τοὺς μακροὺς καὶ πολλοὺς ἀνήλωσεν ὁ Χριστὸς λόγους μετὰ τὸ δεῖπνον ἐκεῖνο τὸ μυστικόν· οὐκ ἂν, εἰ τοῦτο ἀπρεπὲς ἦν, ἑστιάσας πολλάκις τὸ πλῆθος ἐπὶ τῆς ἐρήμου, καὶ λόγων αὐτοῖς μετέδωκεν ἂν μετὰ τὴν τράπεζαν. Εἰ γὰρ χρή τι καὶ θαυμαστὸν εἰπεῖν, τότε μὲν οὖν χρησιμωτάτη ἡ τῶν θείων λογίων ἀκρόασις. Ὅταν γὰρ ᾖς σαυτὸν πεπεικὼς,