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For just as a loving father makes his own sons companions at his table, but when he sees them being negligent about their studies and distracted by certain useless matters, he pushes them away from his own table and commands his servants not to give them food, chastising them not to be contemptuous and negligent, so also our good Master and God deals with His servants as sons, according to His loving-kindness and grace. For He gives Himself to them, "the bread coming down from heaven and giving life to the world"; and from Him and with Him they are nourished to satiety unceasingly and are transformed for eternal life by participation, being sanctified in both soul and body. But when they neglect the commandments and by their (185) free will wish to be disposed slothfully or contemptuously and occupy themselves with some of the world's affairs, turning aside to useless things and what is not fitting for piety, then the Nourisher of all deprives them of Himself. But indeed, coming to a perception of the good of which they were deprived, turning back again and seeking Him as usual and not finding Him, they beat their breasts, weep, and lament for themselves, and they bring upon themselves every hardship and long for every affliction and every trial and dishonor, so that their philanthropic Father might see their afflictions and their voluntary suffering and, having mercy on them, might turn and give Himself to them again; which also happens. And to their former intimacy and glory and to the very delight of the good things "which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man" they are restored with greater confidence, revering their own Father more than before and trembling as before a master, so that they may not through inattentiveness fall again into the same evils and be cast away from the all-good Father.

And these things those who repent with labor do and practice, and they attain the aforementioned good things. But as for those who will shrink from the labors and the afflictions and hardships of repentance, and will give themselves over to sloth and comforts, as unworthy and illegitimate sons, or rather, to speak, as despisers, and who have preferred the pleasures of the body above eternal good things and above their very God, are no longer deemed worthy of this delight nor of the garment of God's glory, but also justly deprive themselves of the riches of the goodness of God and are likened to masterless dogs. For just as masterless dogs roam in the broad streets and alleys of the city, that they might seize some bone (186) or a piece of old skin that has been thrown away, or even lick up dung or the blood of slaughtered animals, and if even carrion be found by them, they eat insatiably and they are not separated from the carcass before, but they even drive out the other dogs by fighting, until they have laid bare not only the entrails but also the very bones of their sinews, so also these men run about like beggars at the doors of the rich and the poor, that they might pocket some gold or silver or bronze being given, since they have fallen away from the true and imperishable riches. and when they achieve their goal, then for a little while, as if satiated and needing nothing, so are they disposed. but when the famine of insatiability unexpectedly seizes them, they give themselves over again to their former begging, pitiable in present things, even if they should possess all the wealth of the world, more pitiable in future things, because they have willingly thrust away eternal life.

For God revealed to them the riches of His grace, so that they would be without excuse; and He deemed them worthy to taste the heavenly gift and has made them partakers of the Holy Spirit, just as the divine Paul cried out. "But they did not glorify Him as God," or love Him, or reverence His infinite goodness, "or give thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thoughts

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Ὥσπερ γάρ ὁ φιλόστοργος πατήρ συνεστίους μέν ποιεῖται τούς ἑαυτοῦ υἱούς, ἐπάν δέ περί τά μαθήματα αὐτῶν ἀμελῶς ἴδῃ διατεθέντας αὐτούς καί μετεωριζομένους ἔν τισιν ἀνωφελέσι πράγμασιν, ἐξωθεῖ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ τραπέζης καί τοῖς αὐτοῦ δούλοις παρακελεύεται μή δοῦναι αὐτοῖς τροφήν, παιδεύων αὐτούς μή καταφρονητάς εἶναι καί ἀμελεῖς, οὕτω καί ὁ καλός ∆εσπότης ἡμῶν καί Θεός ἐν τοῖς δούλοις αὐτοῦ καί κατά φιλανθρωπίαν καί χάριν υἱοῖς διατίθεται· ἐπιδίδωσι γάρ ἑαυτόν αὐτοῖς, "ὁ ἄρτος ὁ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταβαίνων καί ζωήν διδούς τῷ κόσμῳ"· καί ἐκ αὐτοῦ καί σύν αὐτῷ εἰς κόρον τρέφονται ἀενάως καί πρός ζωήν ἀΐδιον μεθαρμόζονται τῇ μεθέξει, καί ψυχήν καί σῶμα καθαγιαζόμενοι. Ὅτε δέ τῶν ἐντολῶν ἀμελήσουσι καί ῥᾳθύμως ἤ καταφρονητικῶς διατεθῆναι τῷ (185) αὐτεξουσίῳ θελήσουσι καί πρός τι τῶν τοῦ κόσμου πραγμάτων ἀσχοληθῶσιν, ἀποκλίναντες εἰς ἀνωφελῆ καί τά μή προσήκοντα τῇ θεοσεβείᾳ, τότε ἀποστερεῖ αὐτούς ἑαυτόν ὁ τροφεύς τοῦ παντός. Ἀλλά γάρ εἰς συναίσθησιν ἐλθόντες τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ οὗ ἐστερήθησαν, ἐπιστρέψαντες αὖθις καί συνήθως τοῦτον ζητήσαντες καί μή εὑρόντες, κόπτονται, κλαίουσι καί ἑαυτούς ἀποδύρονται, πᾶσάν τε κακοπάθειαν ἑαυτοῖς ἐπιφέρουσι καί πᾶσαν θλῖψιν καί πάντα πειρασμόν καί ἀτιμίαν ἐπιποθοῦσιν, ὅπως ἴδοι ὁ φιλάνθρωπος τούτων πατήρ τάς θλίψεις αὐτῶν καί τήν ἐθελούσιον κάκωσιν καί ἐλεήσας αὐτούς ἐπιστρέψῃ καί αὖθις αὐτοῖς ἑαυτόν ἐπιδῷ· ὅ καί γίνεται. Καί εἰς τήν προτέραν οἰκειότητα καί δόξαν καί εἰς αὐτήν τῶν ἀγαθῶν τήν τρυφήν "ἅ ὀφθαλμός οὐκ εἶδε καί οὖς οὐκ ἤκουσε καί ἐπί καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἀνέβη" μετά πλείονος τῆς παρρησίας ἀποκαθίστανται, εὐλαβούμενοι πλέον ἤ πρότερον τόν ἑαυτῶν πατέρα καί τρέμοντες ὡς δεσπότην, ὅπως μή τοῖς αὐτοῖς ἐξ ἀπροσεξίας καί αὖθις περιπαρῶσι κακοῖς καί τοῦ παναγάθου ἀπορριφῶσι πατρός.

Καί ταῦτα μέν οἱ ἐμπόνως μετανοοῦντες ποιοῦσιν ἅμα καί πράττουσι τῶν εἰρημένων ἐπιτυγχάνουσιν ἀγαθῶν. Ὅσοι δέ πρός τούς πόνους καί πρός τάς θλίψεις καί στενοχωρίας τῆς μετανοίας ἀπαγορεύσουσι, πρός ῥᾳθυμίαν δέ καί ἀνέσεις ἑαυτούς ἐπιδώσουσιν, ὡς ἀνάξιοι καί νόθοι υἱοί, μᾶλλον δέ εἰπεῖν ὡς καταφρονηταί, καί τάς τοῦ σώματος ἡδονάς ὑπέρ τά αἰώνια ἀγαθά καί ὑπέρ αὐτόν τόν Θεόν αὐτῶν προτιμήσαντες, οὐκέτι τῆς τρυφῆς ταύτης οὔτε μήν τοῦ ἐνδύματος τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ δόξης καταξιοῦνται, ἀλλά καί τοῦ πλούτου τῆς χρηστότητος τοῦ Θεοῦ ἑαυτούς ἐνδίκως ἀποστεροῦσι καί κυσίν ὁμοιοῦνται ἀδεσπότοις. Καθάπερ γάρ οἱ ἀδέσποτοι κύνες ἐν ταῖς πλατείαις καί ῥύμαις τῆς πόλεως περιΐασιν, ἵν᾿ ὀστοῦν που (186) ἤ δέρματος παλαιοῦ μέρος ἀπορριφέν λάβωσιν, ἤ καί κόπρον ἤ αἷμα λείξουσι σφαγέντων κτηνῶν, εἰ δέ καί θνησιμαῖον αὐτοῖς εὑρεθῇ, ἀκορέστως ἐσθίουσι και οὐ χωρίζονται τοῦ πτώματος πρότερον, ἀλλά καί τούς ἄλλους κύνας μαχόμενοι ἐκδιώκουσιν, ἕως ἄν οὐ τῶν ἐγκάτων μόνον ἀλλά καί αὐτά τά ὀστᾶ γυμνά τῶν νεύρων ἀποδείξωσιν, οὕτω καί οὗτοι ἐν ταῖς τῶν πλουσίων καί πενήτων θύραις ἀγυρτικῶς περιτρέχουσιν, ἵνα χρυσόν που ἤ ἄργυρον ἤ χαλκόν διδόμενον ἐγκολπώσωνται, ἐπεί τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ καί ἀρρεύστου πλούτου ἐξέπεσον· καί ὅταν τύχωσι τοῦ σκοποῦ, τότε πρός ὀλίγον, ὡς κεκορεσμένοι καί μηδενός χρῄζοντες, οὕτω διάκεινται· ἐπάν δέ ὁ λιμός τῆς ἀπληστίας ἐξ ἀνελπιστίας αὐτούς καταλάβῃ, τῇ προτέρᾳ καί αὖθις ἀγυρτίᾳ ἑαυτούς ἐκδιδόασιν, ἐλεεινοί τῶν παρόντων, κἄν τοῦ κόσμου τόν πλοῦτον ἅπαντα κτήσωνται, ἐλεεινότεροι τῶν μελλόντων, ὅτι τήν αἰώνιοιν ζωήν ἐκουσίως ἀπώσαντο.

Ἐφανέρωσε γάρ αὐτοῖς ὁ Θεός τόν τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ πλοῦτον, εἰς τό εἶναι αὐτούς ἀναπολογήτους· καί τῆς ἐπουρανίου δωρεᾶς γεύσασθαι αὐτούς κατηξίωσε καί Πνεύματος Ἁγίου μετόχους πεποίηκε, καθά καί ὁ θεῖος Παῦλος ἀνέκραγεν· "Οἱ δέ οὐχ ὡς Θεόν ἐδόξασαν", ἤ ἠγάπησαν, ἤ τό ἄπειρον τῆς αὐτοῦ ᾐδέσθησαν ἀγαθότητος, "ἤ αὐτῷ εὐχαρίστησαν, ἀλλ᾿ ἐματαιώθησαν ἐν τοῖς διαλογισμοῖς αὐτῶν