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not even a small part of the Master's, and this though He has no need of what is ours, as masters have of what is their slaves', but these very things again proceed to our own benefit. For in that case, the service of the servant benefits the master; but in this case, the service of the slave benefits the Master not at all, but again helps the servant himself. For of my goods, He says, you have no need. For tell me, what profit is it to God if I am righteous? Or what harm, if I am unrighteous? Is not that nature undefiled? Is it not unharmed? Is it not above all passion? Servants have nothing of their own, but all things belong to their master, even if they are ten thousand times rich; but we have many things of our own, and we enjoy no common honor from the King of all. What master gave his own son for a servant? No one; but all would rather choose to give their servants for their children. But here it is the opposite; He did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, for His enemies, for those who hated Him. Servants, even if they are commanded some hard things, do not thus show displeasure, and especially if they are well-disposed; but we complain about countless things. The master promises nothing of such a kind to his servants as God promises to us; but what? Freedom in this world, which is often harder than slavery. For often famine has set in, and this freedom has become more bitter than slavery; and this is the greatest gift. But from God there is nothing temporary, nothing corruptible, but what? Do you want to learn? Listen. I no longer call you servants, He says; you are my friends. Let us be ashamed, beloved, let us be afraid; even as servants serve us, let us serve the Master; or rather, do we show our service even to the smallest degree? They through necessity live philosophically, having only coverings and food; but we, with countless things, some in possession, others in hope, act insolently with our luxury towards our benefactor. If from nowhere else, let us at least receive the rules of philosophy from them. For Scripture knows how to send men not only to servants, but also to irrational creatures; as when it bids them to imitate the bee, and the ants. But I advise you to imitate even the servants 62.590; whatever they do out of fear of us, let us do at least as much out of fear of God; for we do not find you doing so. They, for fear of us, are insulted countless times, and stand silent more than any philosopher; they are insulted both justly and unjustly, and do not talk back, but entreat, though often having done no wrong. They, receiving nothing more than what is necessary, and often even less, are content; and sleeping on a pallet, and being filled with bread alone, and having all their other sustenance meager, they do not complain, nor are they displeased out of fear of us; being entrusted with money, they give it all back (for do not speak to me of the wicked servants, but of those who are not excessively bad); if we threaten them, they immediately shrink back. Are not these things of philosophy? For do not say that it happens by necessity, because upon you also lies the necessity of Gehenna, and not even so are you sober-minded, nor do you give as much honor to God as you receive from your servants; each of the servants has his appointed dwelling, and does not encroach upon his neighbor's, nor is he corrupted by the desire for more. And one may see these things being observed among servants out of fear of their masters; and rarely would you see a servant seizing the things of another servant, or doing him harm. But among free men the opposite of these things happens; we bite one another, we devour one another, we do not fear the Master, we seize the things of our fellow servants, we steal, we strike, while He is watching; but a servant would not do this, but if he strikes, it is when the master is not watching, or if he insults, it is when he is not hearing; but we, while God is both seeing and

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τοῦ ∆εσπότου οὐδὲ μικρὸν μέρος, καὶ ταῦτα οὐ δεομένου τῶν ἡμετέρων, καθάπερ οἱ δεσπόται τῶν δούλων, ἀλλὰ καὶ τούτων αὐτῶν πάλιν εἰς ἡμέτερον προχωρούντων κέρδος. Ἐκεῖ μὲν γὰρ ἡ διακονία τοῦ οἰκέτου τὸν δεσπότην ὠφελεῖ· ἐνταῦθα δὲ ἡ διακονία τοῦ δούλου τὸν μὲν ∆εσπότην οὐδὲν, πάλιν δὲ αὐτὸν τὸν οἰκέτην ὀνίνησι. Τῶν ἀγαθῶν γάρ μου, φησὶν, οὐ χρείαν ἔχεις. Εἰπὲ γάρ μοι, τί τῷ Θεῷ κέρδος, ἐὰν ἐγὼ δίκαιος ὦ; ποία δὲ βλάβη, ἐὰν ἄδικος; οὐχὶ ἀκήρατος ἡ φύσις ἐκείνη; οὐχὶ ἀβλαβής; οὐχὶ παντὸς ἀνωτέρα πάθους; Οἱ οἰκέται οὐδὲν ἴδιον ἔχουσιν, ἀλλὰ πάντα δεσποτικὰ, κἂν μυριάκις πλουτῶσιν· ἡμεῖς δὲ πολλὰ ἴδια ἔχομεν, οὐχ ἁπλῶς τοσαύτης τιμῆς ἀπολαύομεν παρὰ τοῦ τῶν ὅλων βασιλέως. Ποῖος δεσπότης ὑπὲρ οἰκέτου τὸν υἱὸν ἔδωκε τὸν ἑαυτοῦ; Οὐδείς· ἀλλὰ πάντες ἂν ἕλοιντο μᾶλλον τοὺς οἰκέτας ὑπὲρ τῶν παίδων δοῦναι. Ἐνταῦθα δὲ τοὐναντίον· τοῦ ἰδίου Υἱοῦ οὐκ ἐφείσατο, ἀλλ' ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν πάντων παρέδωκεν αὐτὸν, ὑπὲρ τῶν ἐχθρῶν, τῶν μισούντων αὐτόν. Οἱ οἰκέται, κἂν βαρέα τινὰ ἐπιτάττωνται, οὐδὲ οὕτω δυσχεραίνουσι, καὶ μάλιστα ἂν ὦσιν εὐγνώμονες· ἡμεῖς δὲ ἀποδυσπετοῦμεν μυρία. Τοῖς οἰκέταις οὐδὲν ἐπαγγέλλεται τοιοῦτον ὁ δεσπότης, οἷον ἡμῖν ὁ Θεός· ἀλλὰ τί; ἐλευθερίαν τὴν ἐνταῦθα, τὴν πολλάκις τῆς δουλείας χαλεπωτέραν. Πολλάκις γὰρ κατέλαβε λιμὸς, καὶ πικροτέρα δουλείας αὕτη ἡ ἐλευθερία γέγονε· καὶ τὸ δῶρον τοῦτο τὸ μέγιστον. Παρὰ δὲ τῷ Θεῷ οὐδὲν ἐπίκαιρον, οὐδὲν φθαρτὸν, ἀλλὰ τί; Βούλει μαθεῖν; ἄκουε. Οὐκ ἔτι λέγω ὑμᾶς δούλους, φησίν· ὑμεῖς φίλοι μού ἐστε. Αἰσχυνθῶμεν, ἀγαπητοὶ, φοβηθῶμεν· κἂν ὡς οἰκέται ἡμῖν δουλεύουσι, δουλεύσωμεν ἡμεῖς τῷ ∆εσπότῃ· μᾶλλον δὲ πρὸς τὸ πολλοστὸν μέρος τὴν δουλείαν ἡμεῖς ἐπιδεικνύμεθα; Ἐκεῖνοι διὰ τὴν ἀνάγκην φιλοσοφοῦσι, σκεπάσματα μόνον ἔχουσι καὶ τροφάς· ἡμεῖς δὲ μυρία, τὰ μὲν ἔχοντες, τὰ δὲ ἐλπίζοντες, ὑβρίζομεν τῇ τρυφῇ εἰς τὸν εὐεργέτην. Εἰ μηδαμόθεν ἄλλοθεν, κἂν παρ' ἐκείνων δεχώμεθα τῆς φιλοσοφίας τοὺς κανόνας. Οἶδε γὰρ ἡ Γραφὴ οὐχὶ πρὸς οἰκέτας, ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὸς ἄλογα πέμπειν τοὺς ἀνθρώπους· οἷον ὅταν τὴν μέλισσαν, ὅταν τοὺς μύρμηκας κελεύῃ μιμεῖσθαι. Ἐγὼ δὲ κἂν τοὺς οἰκέτας 62.590 μιμήσασθαι παραινῶ· ὅσα ἐκεῖνοι διὰ τὸν φόβον τὸν ἡμέτερον πράττουσι, κἂν τοσαῦτα διὰ τὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ φόβον ἡμεῖς πράττωμεν· οὐ γὰρ εὑρίσκομεν πράττοντας ὑμᾶς. Ἐκεῖνοι διὰ τὸν ἡμέτερον φόβον ὑβρίζονται μυριάκις, καὶ παντὸς φιλοσόφου μᾶλλον ἑστήκασι σιγῶντες· ὑβρίζονται καὶ δικαίως καὶ ἀδίκως, καὶ οὐκ ἀντιλέγουσιν, ἀλλὰ παρακαλοῦσιν, ἀδικοῦντες οὐδὲν πολλάκις. Οὐδὲν ἐκεῖνοι πλέον τῆς χρείας λαμβάνοντες, πολλάκις δὲ καὶ ἔλαττον στέργουσι· καὶ ἐπὶ στιβάδος καθεύδοντες, καὶ ἄρτου μόνον πληρούμενοι, καὶ τὴν ἄλλην πᾶσαν δίαιταν ἔχοντες εὐτελῆ, οὐκ ἐγκαλοῦσιν, οὐδὲ δυσχεραίνουσιν ἐκεῖνοι διὰ τὸν παρ' ἡμῶν φόβον· ἐμπιστευόμενοι χρήματα, πάντα ἀποδιδόασι (μὴ γάρ μοι τοὺς μοχθηροὺς εἴπῃς τῶν οἰκετῶν, ἀλλὰ τοὺς μὴ λίαν κακούς)· ἂν ἀπειλήσωμεν, εὐθέως συστέλλονται. Ἆρα οὐ φιλοσοφίας ταῦτα; Μὴ γὰρ ὅτι ἀνάγκῃ γίνεται εἴπῃς, ὅτι καὶ ἐπὶ σοὶ ἀνάγκη τῆς γεέννης ἐπίκειται, καὶ οὐδὲ οὕτω σωφρονεῖς, οὐδὲ τοσαύτην παρέχεις τιμὴν τῷ Θεῷ, ὅσης ἀπολαύεις παρὰ τῶν οἰκετῶν· ἔχει ἕκαστος τῶν οἰκετῶν οἴκημα τὸ νενομοθετημένον, καὶ οὐκ ἐπεμβαίνει τῷ τοῦ πλησίον, οὐδὲ λυμαίνεται τῇ ἐπιθυμίᾳ τοῦ πλείονος. Καὶ ταῦτα ἴδοι τις ἂν ἐν οἰκέταις διὰ τὸν τῶν δεσποτῶν φόβον φυλαττόμενα· καὶ σπανίως ἂν ἴδοις οἰκέτην τὰ τοῦ οἰκέτου ἁρπάζοντα, ἢ λυμαινόμενον. Παρὰ δὲ ἀνθρώποις ἐλευθέροις τὰ ἐναντία τούτων γίνεται· ἀλλήλους δάκνομεν, κατεσθίομεν, οὐ δεδοίκαμεν τὸν ∆εσπότην, τὰ τῶν συνδούλων ἁρπάζομεν, κλέπτομεν, τύπτομεν, ὁρῶντος αὐτοῦ· τοῦτο δὲ οὐκ ἂν ποιήσειεν οἰκέτης, ἀλλὰ κἂν τύπτῃ, μὴ ὁρῶντος τοῦ δεσπότου, κἂν ὑβρίζῃ, μὴ ἀκούοντος· ἡμεῖς δὲ τοῦ Θεοῦ πάντα καὶ ὁρῶντος καὶ