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from all defilement of flesh and spirit.” Let us stir up one another to an incitement of love and good works.

Let us not envy one another, nor being envied become savage; but rather let us have compassion for one another, and through humility let us heal one another. Let us not speak against one another, nor mock one another, "for we are members of one another.” Let us cast off from ourselves negligence and sloth; and let us stand manfully, striving against the spirits of wickedness; and "we have an advocate, Jesus Christ the righteous, with the Father; and he is the propitiation for our sins”; and let us pray to him with a pure heart, from our whole soul, and he forgives us our sins. For "the Lord is near (14__434> to all who call upon him in truth.” Therefore he says: “Offer to God a sacrifice of praise, and pay your vows to the Most High. And call upon me in the day of your trouble; and I will deliver you, and you will glorify me.”

And Isaiah again: “Loose every bond of wickedness, undo the knots of violent dealings, send the broken away in forgiveness and tear apart every unjust document. Break your bread for the hungry, and bring the poor and homeless into your house. If you see one naked, clothe him; and you will not overlook the members of your own seed. Then your light shall break forth like the morning, and your healing shall spring up speedily. And your righteousness shall go before you; and the glory of the Lord shall surround you.” And what follows this? “Then you will call, and God will hear you; while you are still speaking, he will say, ‘Behold, here I am.’” Then your light will rise in the darkness, and your darkness will be as noonday. And God will be with you always; and your soul will be filled according to its desire.” You see that in loosing every bond of wickedness from our heart, and undoing every knot of violent dealings of resentfulness, and hastening to do good to our neighbor with our whole soul, we are illuminated by the light of knowledge, and freed from the passions of dishonor, and filled with all virtue, and are illumined by the glory of God, (14__436> and we are freed from all ignorance; and praying the things of Christ we are heard, and we will have God with us always, and we are filled with desire according to God.

42. Let us therefore love one another, [so that] we may also be loved by God. Let us be patient with one another, and he is patient with our sins. Let us not return “evil for evil,” and we will not receive according to our sins. For we find the forgiveness of our trespasses in the forgiveness of the brothers. And the mercy of God is hidden in mercy toward our neighbor. For this reason the Lord said: “forgive, and you will be forgiven. And if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you your trespasses.” And again: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” And: “With the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” Behold, the Lord has granted us a way of salvation, and has given us eternal “authority” “to become children of God”; and our salvation is henceforth in our will.

43. Let us therefore give ourselves to the Lord completely, that we may receive him completely in return. Let us become gods through him; for for this reason he became man, being by nature God and Lord. Let us obey him and he will tirelessly defend us against our enemies; “If my people had listened to me,” he says, “if Israel had walked in my ways; I would have humbled their enemies in nothing, and upon those who afflict them I would have laid my (14__438> hand.” Let us place all our hope on him alone. And let us cast all our care upon him alone, and he will deliver us from all affliction, and he will sustain us all our life. Let us love every man from the soul; but on no man let us place our hope; for

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ἀπὸ παντὸς μολυσμοῦ σαρκὸς καὶ πνεύματος». ∆ιεγείρωμεν ἀλλήλους εἰς παροξυσμὸν ἀγάπης καὶ καλῶν ἔργων.

Μὴ φθονήσωμεν ἀλλήλοις, μηδὲ φθονούμενοι ἀγριωθῶμεν· συμπαθήσωμεν δὲ μᾶλλον ἀλλήλοις, καὶ διὰ ταπεινοφροσύνης ἀλλήλους ἰασώμεθα. Μὴ καταλαλῶμεν ἀλλήλων, μηδὲ σκώψωμεν ἀλλήλους, "ὅτι ἐσμὲν ἀλλήλων μέλη». Ἀποβάλλωμεν ἀφ᾽ ἡμῶν τὴν ἀμέλειαν καὶ τὴν ῥᾳθυμίαν· καὶ στῶμεν ἀνδρείως κατὰ τῶν πνευμάτων τῆς πονηρίας ἀγωνιζόμενοι· καὶ "ἔχομεν παράκλητον Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν δίκαιον πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα· καὶ αὐτὸς ἱλασμός ἐστι περὶ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν»· καὶ δεηθῶμεν αὐτοῦ ἐν καθαρᾷ καρδίᾳ, ἐξ ὅλης ψυχῆς ἡμῶν, καὶ ἀφίησιν ἡμῖν τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν. Ὅτι "ἐγγὺς Κύριος (14__434> πᾶσι τοῖς ἐπικαλουμένοις αὐτὸν ἐν ἀληθείᾳ». ∆ιὸ λέγει· "Θῦσον τῷ Θεῷ θυσίαν αἰνήσεως, καὶ ἀπόδος τῷ Ὑψίστῳ τὰς εὐχάς σου. Καὶ ἐπικάλεσαί με ἐν ἡμέρᾳ θλίψεώς σου· καὶ ἐξελοῦμαί σε, καὶ δοξάσεις με».

Καὶ ὁ Ἡσαΐας δὲ πάλιν· "Λύε πάντα σύνδεσμον ἀδικίας, διάλυε στραγγαλιὰς βιαίων συναλλαγμάτων, ἀπόστελλε τεθραυσμένους ἐν ἀφέσει καὶ πᾶσαν συγγραφὴν ἄδικον διάσπα. ∆ιάθρυπτε πεινῶντι τὸν ἄρτον σου, καὶ πτωχοὺς ἀστέγους εἰσάγαγε εἰς τὸν οἶκόν σου. Ἐὰν ἴδῃς γυμνόν, περίβαλε· καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν οἰκείων τοῦ σπέρματός σου οὐ παρόψει. Τότε ῥαγήσεται πρώϊμον τὸ φῶς σου, καὶ τὰ ἰάματά σου ταχὺ ἀνατελεῖ. Καὶ προπορεύσεται ἔμπροσθέν σου ἡ δικαιοσύνη σου· καὶ δόξα Κυρίου περιστελεῖ σε». Καὶ τί τὸ ἐπὶ τούτοις; "Τότε βοήσῃ, καὶ ὁ Θεὸς εἰσακούσεταί σου· ἔτι λαλοῦντός σου, ἐρεῖ· "Ἰδοὺ πάρειμι». Τότε ἀνατελεῖ ἐν τῷ σκότει τὸ φῶς σου, καὶ τὸ σκότος σου ὡς μεσημβρία. Καὶ ἔσται Θεὸς μετὰ σοῦ διαπαντός· καὶ ἐμπλησθήσῃ καθὰ ἐπιθυμεῖ ἡ ψυχή σου». Ὁρᾷς ὅτι ἐν τῷ λύειν πάντα σύνδεσμον ἀδικίας ἐκ τῆς καρδίας ἡμῶν, καὶ διαλύειν πᾶσαν στραγγαλιὰν βιαίων συναλλαγμάτων μνησικακίας, καὶ σπεύδειν εὐεργετεῖν τὸν πλησίον ἐξ ὅλης ψυχῆς, τῷ φωτὶ τῆς γνώσεως περιλαμπόμεθα, καὶ τῶν παθῶν τῆς ἀτιμίας ἐλευθερούμεθα, καὶ πάσης ἀρετῆς πληρούμεθα, καὶ ὑπὸ τῆς δόξης τοῦ Θεοῦ καταλαμπόμεθα, (14__436> καὶ πάσης ἀγνοίας ἐλευθερούμεθα· καὶ προσευχόμενοι τὰ Χριστοῦ εἰσακουόμεθα, καὶ τὸν Θεὸν μεθ᾽ ἡμῶν ἕξομεν διαπαντός, καὶ τῆς κατὰ Θεὸν ἐπιθυμίας πληρούμεθα.

42 (μβ'). Ἀγαπήσωμεν οὖν ἀλλήλους, [ἵνα] καὶ ἀγαπώμεθα ὑπὸ Θεοῦ. Μακροθυμήσωμεν ἐπ᾽ ἀλλήλοις, καὶ μακροθυμεῖ ἐπὶ ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις ἡμῶν. Μὴ ἀποδῶμεν "κακὸν ἀντὶ κακοῦ», καὶ οὐκ ἀπολαμβάνομεν κατὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν. Τὴν γὰρ συγχώρησιν τῶν παραπτωμάτων ἡμῶν ἐν τῇ συγχωρήσει τῶν ἀδελφῶν εὑρίσκομεν. Καὶ τὸ ἔλεος τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν τῇ ἐλεημοσύνῃ τοῦ πλησίον ἐγκέκρυπται. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ὁ Κύριος ἔλεγεν· "ἄφετε, καὶ ἀφεθήσεται ὑμῖν. Καὶ ἐὰν ἀφῆτε τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τὰ παραπτώματα αὐτῶν, καὶ ὁ Πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὁ οὐράνιος ἀφήσει ὑμῖν τὰ παραπτώματα ὑμῶν». Καὶ πάλιν· "Μακάριοι οἱ ἐλεήμονες, ὅτι αὐτοὶ ἐλεηθήσονται». Καί· "Ὧι μέτρῳ μετρεῖτε, ἀντιμετρήσεται ὑμῖν». Ἰδοὺ ἐχαρίσατο ἡμῖν ὁ Κύριος τρόπον σωτηρίας, καὶ ἔδωκεν ἡμῖν "ἐξουσίαν" αἰώνιον "τοῦ γενέσθαι τέκνα Θεοῦ»· καὶ ἐν τῷ θελήματι ἡμῶν ἐστι λοιπὸν ἡ σωτηρία ἡμῶν.

43 (μγ'). ∆ῶμεν οὖν ἑαυτοὺς τῷ Κυρίῳ ἐξ ὁλοκλήρου, ἵνα ὁλόκληρον αὐτὸν ἀντιλάβωμεν. Γενώμεθα θεοὶ δι᾽ αὐτόν· διὰ γὰρ τοῦτο ἄνθρωπος γέγονε, φύσει ὢν Θεὸς καὶ ∆εσπότης. Ὑπακούσωμεν αὐτῷ καὶ αὐτὸς ἀκαμάτως ἀμύνεται τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ἡμῶν· "Εἰ ὁ λαός μου ἤκουσέ μου», φησίν, "Ἰσραὴλ ταῖς ὁδοῖς μου εἰ ἐπορεύθη· ἐν τῷ μηδενὶ ἂν τοὺς ἐχθροὺς αὐτῶν ἐταπείνωσα, καὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς θλίβοντας αὐτοὺς ἐπέβαλον ἂν τὴν (14__438> χεῖρά μου». Πᾶσαν τὴν ἐλπίδα ἡμῶν ἐπ᾽ αὐτὸν μόνον θήσωμεν. Καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν μέριμναν ἡμῶν ἐπ᾽ αὐτὸν μόνον ῥίψωμεν, καὶ ἐκ πάσης θλίψεως αὐτὸς ἡμᾶς ῥύσεται, καὶ πάντα τὸν βίον αὐτὸς ἡμᾶς διατρέψει. Πάντα μὲν ἄνθρωπον ἐκ ψυχῆς ἀγαπήσωμεν· ἐπὶ μηδενὶ δὲ ἀνθρώπων τὴν ἐλπίδα θήσωμεν· ὅτι