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for one is a sickness of necessity, the other of a corrupt will. Why, O Lord, have you stood afar off, why do you overlook in times of opportunity, in times of affliction? The Prophet says these things, from the person of the afflicted, exhorting and praying, not accusing; may it not be so. Since also many of the afflicted, due to their pain, ask for the judgment to come before the proper time; just as those who are being cut, when the incision is not yet complete, beg the physician to take away his hand; asking for a harmful favor, but suffering this because they cannot bear the pain. And often they cry out to the physicians, You have tortured me, you have destroyed me, you have killed me; but these are not the words of the mind, but of pain. Thus indeed many of the fainthearted also say in their afflictions, not bearing the labors. And Sophonias also handles such an argument. But these things were in the Old Testament, when the contests were commensurate; but these things are far from the philosophy in the New. When the ungodly acts proudly, the poor is set on fire; they are caught in the counsels which they devise. Another, Let them be caught. Because the sinner is praised in the desires of his soul, and the one who does wrong is blessed. The sinner has provoked the Lord. The Prophet, having put on the guise of a suppliant and interceding for the wronged, also speaks of the sufferings that occurred, which are of human weakness; because before the punishment and the vengeance the one who is wronged suffers pain, not bearing the prosperity of the wicked. And this is no small punishment. Then he asks that they be punished, and that their plots be turned against them; and he speaks of an unbearable form of wickedness. What is this? That the sinner is praised in the desires of his soul. For things for which he should be veiled, for which, he says, he should be ashamed, for these he is admired, he is praised. How then could there be a cure for this, when wickedness is praised? For this also happens now. So-and-so is admired as a ruler; so-and-so as one who repels enemies; so-and-so as prudent, because he has gathered all things; and when he destroys himself, they say: He has found himself; and others say other things; and they have no discourse about spiritual matters. Nowhere is the quiet man quickly praised, nor the lover of poverty; but the money-maker, the huckster, the flatterer, the one who endures slavish services for no useful purpose. The Prophet laments these things, that wickedness has so prevailed, as even to be adorned, and to speak boldly, and what is most grievous, that he is not ashamed, nor does he only praise himself for what is happening, but he also has others who praise him. What could be worse than this madness? The sinner has provoked the Lord. Another says, Because the transgressor, having praised according to the desire of his soul, and the covetous man having bless 55.136 ed, has provoked the Lord. When his anger is exalted, he does not seek. Another, Because he has hymned upon the longing of his soul, and the covetous man, having blessed, has reviled the Lord. An ungodly man, according to the uplifting of his anger, will not seek. But the Seventy, The sinner has provoked the Lord; according to the greatness of his wrath he will not seek. Do you see where the things of wickedness have come to? What am I saying, he says, that he grieves the poor? He provokes God Himself. And according to the greatness of his wrath he will not seek, he says, God. But another shows this concerning the ungodly man, saying, Of his uplifting, that is, of his despair, of his arrogance. Do you see the intensity of madness, and the corruption? He is an enemy and a foe to his kinsmen, alienated from virtue, a lover and praiser of wickedness. And another said well, God is not in all his thoughts; showing that he does not seek God, that he is filled with darkness, that he does not have the fear of Him before his eyes. But just as a discharge darkens the pupil, so wickedness darkens the mind, and carries it down cliffs. God is not before him. Another, Through all his thoughts. His ways are defiled at all times, the things are taken away

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μὲν γὰρ ἀνάγκης νόσημα, τὸ δὲ διεφθαρμένης προαιρέσεως. Ἵνα τί, Κύριε, ἀφέστηκας μακρόθεν, ὑπερορᾷς ἐν εὐκαιρίαις, ἐν θλίψεσι; Ταῦτά φησιν ὁ Προφήτης, ἐκ προσώπου τῶν θλιβομένων παρακαλῶν καὶ δεόμενος, οὐκ ἐγκαλῶν· μὴ γένοιτο. Ἐπεὶ καὶ πολλοὶ τῶν θλιβομένων ὑπὸ τῆς ὀδύνης πρὸ τοῦ προσήκοντος καιροῦ ἀξιοῦσι γενέσθαι τὴν κρίσιν· καθάπερ οἱ τεμνόμενοι, μηδέπω τελείας γενομένης τῆς τομῆς, παρακαλοῦσι τὸν ἰατρὸν ἀποστῆσαι τὴν χεῖρα· ἐπιβλαβῆ μὲν χάριν αἰτοῦντες, τῷ δὲ μὴ φέρειν τὰς ὀδύνας τοῦτο πάσχοντες. Καὶ πολλάκις πρὸς τοὺς ἰατροὺς βοῶσιν, Ἐβασάνισάς με, ἀπώλεσάς με, ἀνεῖλές με· ἀλλ' οὐκ ἔστι ταῦτα τῆς διανοίας ῥήματα, ἀλλὰ τῆς ὀδύνης. Οὕτω δὴ πολλοὶ καὶ τῶν μικροψύχων ἐν ταῖς θλίψεσι λέγουσι, τοὺς πόνους οὐ φέροντες. Καὶ ὁ Σοφονίας δὲ τοιοῦτόν τινα μεταχειρίζει λόγον. Ἀλλὰ ταῦτα ἐν τῇ Παλαιᾷ, ὅτε σύμμετρα ἦν τὰ σκάμματα· τῆς δὲ ἐν τῇ Καινῇ πόῤῥω ταῦτα φιλοσοφίας. Ἐν τῷ ὑπερηφανεύεσθαι τὸν ἀσεβῆ, ἐμπυρίζεται ὁ πτωχός· συλλαμβάνονται ἐν διαβουλίοις, οἷς διαλογίζονται. Ἄλλος, Συλληφθήτωσαν. Ὅτι ἐπαινεῖται ὁ ἁμαρτωλὸς ἐν ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ, καὶ ὁ ἀδικῶν εὐλογεῖται. Παρώξυνε τὸν Κύριον ὁ ἁμαρτωλός. Ἱκέτου σχῆμα περιθεὶς ἑαυτῷ ὁ Προφήτης, καὶ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀδικουμένων παρακαλῶν, λέγει καὶ τὰ πάθη τὰ συμβάντα, ἅπερ ἀσθενείας ἐστὶν ἀνθρωπίνης· ὅτι πρὸ τῆς κολάσεως καὶ τῆς τιμωρίας ὀδυνᾶται ὁ ἀδικούμενος, οὐ φέρων τὴν εὐημερίαν τοῦ πονηροῦ. Οὐ μικρὰ δὲ καὶ τοῦτο τιμωρία. Εἶτα ἀξιοῖ δοῦναι αὐτοὺς δίκην, καὶ αὐτοῖς περιτραπῆναι τὰς ἐπιβουλὰς αὐτῶν· καὶ λέγει κακίας εἶδος ἀφόρητον. Ποῖον δὴ τοῦτο; Ὅτι ἐπαινεῖται ὁ ἁμαρτωλὸς ἐν ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ. Ἐφ' οἷς ἐγκαλύπτεσθαι ἔδει, ἐφ' οἷς, φησὶν, αἰσχύνεσθαι, ὑπὲρ τούτων θαυμάζεται, ἐπαινεῖται. Πῶς δ' ἂν γένοιτο τούτου ἴασις λοιπὸν, ὅταν ἐπαινῆται ἡ κακία; Καὶ γὰρ καὶ νῦν τοῦτο γίνεται. Ὁ δεῖνα θαυμάζεται ὡς δυνάστης· ὁ δεῖνα ὡς ἐχθροὺς ἀμυνόμενος· ὁ δεῖνα ὡς φρόνιμος, ἐπειδὴ τὰ πάντων συνήγαγε· καὶ ὅτε ἀπολέσῃ ἑαυτὸν, λέγουσιν· Εὗρεν ἑαυτόν· καὶ ἕτεροι ἄλλα φασί· καὶ οὐδεὶς περὶ πνευματικῶν λόγος αὐτοῖς. Οὐδαμοῦ ἀπράγμων ἐπαινεῖται ταχέως, οὐδὲ ὁ πενίας ἐραστής· ἀλλ' ὁ χρηματιστὴς, ὁ κάπηλος, ὁ κόλαξ, ὁ δουλοπρεπεῖς ὑπομένων διακονίας ὑπὲρ οὐδενὸς χρησίμου. Ταῦτα θρηνεῖ ὁ Προφήτης, ὅτι οὕτως ἐκράτησεν ἡ κακία, ὡς καὶ ἐγκαλλωπίζεσθαι, καὶ παῤῥησιάζεσθαι, καὶ τὸ δὴ χαλεπώτερον, ὅτι οὐκ αἰσχύνεται, οὐδὲ μόνον αὐτὸς ἑαυτὸν ἐπαινεῖ ἐπὶ τοῖς γινομένοις, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἑτέρους ἔχει τοὺς ἐπαινέτας. Τί ταύτης γένοιτ' ἂν χεῖρον τῆς μανίας; Παρώξυνε τὸν Κύριον ὁ ἁμαρτωλός. Ἄλλος δέ φησιν, Ὅτι αἰνέσας ὁ παράνομος κατὰ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ, καὶ πλεονέκτης εὐλογή 55.136 σας, παρώξυνε τὸν Κύριον. Ὅταν ὑψωθῇ ὁ θυμὸς αὐτοῦ, οὐκ ἐκζητεῖ. Ἄλλος, Ὅτι ὕμνησεν ἐπὶ πόθῳ ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ, καὶ πλεονέκτης εὐλογήσας, διέσυρε Κύριον. Ἀσεβὴς κατὰ μετεωρισμὸν θυμοῦ αὐτοῦ οὐ μὴ ἐκζητήσῃ. Οἱ δὲ Ἑβδομήκοντα, Παρώξυνε τὸν Κύριον ὁ ἁμαρτωλός· κατὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῆς ὀργῆς αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἐκζητήσει. Εἶδες ποῦ προῆλθε τὰ τῆς κακίας; Τί λέγω, φησὶν, ὅτι τοὺς πτωχοὺς λυπεῖ; Αὐτὸν τὸν Θεὸν παροξύνει. Καὶ κατὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῆς ὀργῆς αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἐκζητήσει, λέγει, τὸν Θεόν. Ἄλλος δὲ περὶ τοῦ ἀσεβοῦς τοῦτο δείκνυσιν ὂν, λέγων, Τοῦ μετεωρισμοῦ αὐτοῦ, τουτέστι, τῆς ἀπονοίας, τῆς ἀλαζονείας. Εἶδες μανίας ἐπίτασιν, καὶ διαφθοράν; Πρὸς τοὺς ὁμοφύλους ἐστὶν ἐχθρὸς καὶ πολέμιος, τῆς ἀρετῆς ἠλλοτριωμένος, τῆς κακίας ἐραστὴς καὶ ἐπαινέτης. Καὶ καλῶς ἕτερος εἶπεν Οὐκ ἔστι Θεὸς πάσαις ἐννοίαις αὐτοῦ· δηλῶν, ὅτι οὐκ ἐκζητεῖ τὸν Θεὸν, ὅτι σκότους ἐμπέπλησται, ὅτι οὐκ ἔχει τὸν φόβον ἐκείνου πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν. Ἀλλ' ὥσπερ ἡ λήμη σκοτοῖ τὴν κόρην, οὕτως ἡ πονηρία τὴν διάνοιαν, καὶ κατὰ κρημνῶν φέρει. Οὐκ ἔστι Θεὸς ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ. Ἄλλος, ∆ι' ὅλων τῶν ἐνθυμημάτων αὐτοῦ. Βεβηλοῦνται αἱ ὁδοὶ αὐτοῦ ἐν παντὶ καιρῷ, ἀνταναιρεῖται τὰ