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even if he does not say so. For our judgment of what is good, even if we should descend into the very pit of wickedness, remains incorruptible, unwavering. Or for what reason do you think our Lord Christ says these things, If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also? Is it not because by however much one becomes longsuffering, by so much more he has benefited both himself and that man with the greatest benefit? For this reason He commanded to turn the other also, that he may satisfy the desire of the angry one. For who is so much a beast as not to be shamed then? Dogs are said to do this; for even if they bark and attack someone, but he throws himself on his back and does nothing, he has extinguished all their anger. If, then, they are shamed by one who is ready to suffer ill from them, much more so the race of men, which is more rational. But it is right not to overlook the point which was brought to mind a little before, and was drawn in for testimony 62.116, not to overlook it. What then is this? We were saying concerning the Jews and their rulers, that they were accused as seeking retaliation, although the law permitted them this: An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth; but not that they might pluck out one another's eyes, but that, through fear of suffering, having checked their license for doing, they might neither do any evil to others, nor suffer it themselves from others. For this reason he said, An eye for an eye, that he might bind that man’s hands, not that he might lead yours out against him; not that you might ward off injury from your own eyes only, but that you might also keep his intact. But what I was asking, for what reason, when vengeance was permitted, were those who made use of it accused? what ever is this? He here speaks of bearing malice. For He allows the one who has suffered to act immediately, as I said, restraining the other; but He no longer permits bearing a grudge; for the matter is no longer one of anger, nor of boiling wrath, but of premeditated wickedness. But God pardons those who are perhaps carried away by the insult, and have rushed to vengeance; wherefore He says, An eye for an eye; and again, The ways of those who bear malice lead to death. But if, where it was permitted to maim an eye for an eye, so great a punishment is laid upon those who bear malice, how much more upon those who are commanded even to offer themselves to suffer ill? Let us not then bear malice, but let us extinguish our anger, that we may be deemed worthy of the loving-kindness of God. For with what measure you measure, He says, it will be measured back to you, and with what judgment you judge, you will be judged. Let us therefore be loving-kind to our fellow-servants, compassionate, that we may both escape the snares in the present life, and on the coming day may obtain pardon from Him, by grace and loving-kindness, and what follows.

HOMILY XVII. And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ hath forgiven you. Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. a. Things past have more force than things to come, and seem to be more wonderful and more credible. Wherefore also Paul makes his exhortation from things which have already been done; for those things have greater force on account of Christ. For to say, Forgive, and it shall be forgiven you, and if ye forgive not, it shall not be forgiven you, when said to philosophical men and those who believe in the things to come, has great power; but Paul shames them not only by these things, but also by things which have already been done. For in that way it is possible to escape punishment, but in this to partake of some good. You imitate Christ, he says. This alone is sufficient for an exhortation to virtue, to imitate God; this is greater than that other, that He makes His sun to rise on the evil 62.116 and on the good, and

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κἂν μὴ λέγῃ. Ἡ γὰρ τοῦ καλοῦ κρίσις ἡμῖν, κἂν εἰς αὐτὸ τῆς κακίας τὸ βάραθρον ἔλθωμεν, ἀδέκαστος καθέστηκεν, οὐ παρακλινομένη. Ἢ διὰ τί τὸν Κύριον ἡμῶν οἴει τὸν Χριστὸν ταῦτα λέγειν, Ἐάν τίς σε ῥαπίσῃ εἰς τὴν δεξιὰν σιαγόνα, στρέψον αὐτῷ καὶ τὴν ἄλλην; οὐκ ἐπειδὴ ὅσῳ ἐάν τις μακρόθυμος γένηται, τοσούτῳ μᾶλλον καὶ ἑαυτὸν κἀκεῖνον ὠφέλησεν ὠφέλειαν τὴν μεγίστην; ∆ιὰ τοῦτο στρέφειν καὶ τὴν ἄλλην προσέταξεν, ἵνα ἐμπλήσῃ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν τοῦ θυμουμένου. Τίς γὰρ οὕτω θηρίον ἐστὶν, ὡς μὴ ἐντραπῆναι λοιπόν; Οἱ κύνες λέγονται τοῦτο ποιεῖν· κἂν γὰρ ὑλακτήσωσι, καὶ ἐπέλθωσί τινι, ὁ δὲ ὕπτιον ῥίψας ἑαυτὸν μηδὲν ἐργάσηται, τὸν θυμὸν ἅπαντα ἔσβεσεν. Εἰ τοίνυν ἐκεῖνοι τὸν παθεῖν παρ' αὐτοῖς κακῶς ἕτοιμον δυσωποῦνται, πολλῷ μᾶλλον τὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων γένος λογικώτερον. Ἀλλὰ γὰρ ἄξιον τὸ μικρὸν ἔμπροσθεν εἰς μνήμην ἐλθὸν, καὶ εἰς μαρτυρίαν 62.116 ἑλκυσθὲν, μὴ παριδεῖν. Τί δὴ τοῦτό ἐστιν; Ἐλέγομεν περὶ τῶν Ἰουδαίων καὶ τῶν ἀρχόντων τῶν παρ' αὐτοῖς, ὅτι ἐνεκαλοῦντο ὡς διώκοντες ἀνταπόδομα, καίτοι τοῦτο ὁ νόμος αὐτοῖς ἐπέτρεπεν· Ὀφθαλμὸν ἀντὶ ὀφθαλμοῦ, καὶ ὀδόντα ἀντὶ ὀδόντος ἀλλ' οὐχ ἵνα τοὺς ἀλλήλων ἐξορύττωσιν ὀφθαλμοὺς, ἀλλ' ἵνα φόβῳ τοῦ παθεῖν τὴν τοῦ ποιεῖν ἄδειαν ἐπισχόντες, μήτε ἐργάζωνταί τι κακὸν ἑτέρους, μήτε πάσχωσιν αὐτοὶ παρ' ἑτέρων. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο εἶπεν· Ὀφθαλμὸν ἀντὶ ὀφθαλμοῦ, ἵνα τὰς ἐκείνου δήσῃ χεῖρας, οὐχ ἵνα τὰς σὰς ἀντεξαγάγῃ, οὐχ ἵνα τῶν σῶν ὀφθαλμῶν ἀπείρξῃ τὴν βλάβην μόνον, ἀλλ' ἵνα καὶ τοὺς ἐκείνου διατηρήσῃ σώους. Ἀλλ' ὅπερ ἐζήτουν, τίνος ἕνεκεν συγκεχωρημένης ἀμύνης ἐνεκαλοῦντο οἱ τῷ πράγματι κεχρημένοι; τί ποτε τοῦτό ἐστι; Τὸ μνησίκακον ἐνταῦθά φησιν. Εὐθέως μὲν γὰρ τὸν παθόντα δρᾶσαι συγχωρεῖ, ὅπερ ἔφην, κατέχων ἐκεῖνον· μνησικακεῖν δὲ οὐκέτι ἀφίησιν· οὐκέτι γὰρ τὸ πρᾶγμά ἐστι τοῦ θυμοῦ, οὐδὲ τῆς ζεούσης ὀργῆς, ἀλλὰ πονηρίας μεμελετημένης. Συγγινώσκει δὲ ὁ Θεὸς τοῖς ἀπὸ τῆς ἐπηρείας ἴσως συναρπασθεῖσι, καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν ἄμυναν ὡρμηκόσι· διὸ λέγει, Ὀφθαλμὸν ἀντὶ ὀφθαλμοῦ· καὶ πάλιν, Ὁδοὶ μνησικάκων εἰς θάνατον. Εἰ δὲ ἔνθα ὀφθαλμὸν ἀντὶ ὀφθαλμοῦ πηροῦν ἐξῆν, τοσαύτη κεῖται τιμωρία τοῖς μνησικάκοις, πόσῳ μᾶλλον τοῖς καὶ παρέχειν ἑαυτοὺς πρὸς τὸ παθεῖν κακῶς κελευσθεῖσι; Μὴ τοίνυν ὦμεν μνησίκακοι, ἀλλὰ σβέσωμεν τὴν ὀργὴν, ἵνα τῆς παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ φιλανθρωπίας ἀξιωθῶμεν. Ὧ γὰρ μέτρῳ μετρεῖτε, φησὶν, ἀντιμετρηθήσεται ὑμῖν, καὶ ἐν ᾧ κρίματι κρίνετε, κριθήσεσθε. Τινώμεθα οὖν περὶ τοὺς ὁμοδούλους φιλάνθρωποι, συμπαθεῖς, ὅπως ἂν καὶ τὰς ἐν τῷ παρόντι βίῳ διαφύγωμεν παγίδας, καὶ κατὰ τὴν μέλλουσαν ἡμέραν τῆς παρ' αὐτοῦ τύχωμεν συγγνώμης, χάριτι καὶ φιλανθρωπίᾳ, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς.

ΟΜΙΛΙΑ ΙΖʹ. Γίνεσθε δὲ εἰς ἀλλήλους χρηστοὶ, εὔσπλαγχνοι, χαριζόμενοι ἑαυτοῖς, καθὼς

καὶ ὁ Θεὸς ἐν Χριστῷ ἐχαρίσατο ὑμῖν. Γίνεσθε οὖν μιμη ταὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὡς τέκνα ἀγαπητὰ, καὶ περιπα τεῖτε ἐν ἀγάπῃ, καθὼς καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς ἠγάπησεν ἡμᾶς, καὶ παρέδωκεν ἑαυτὸν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν προσ φορὰν καὶ θυσίαν τῷ Θεῷ εἰς ὀσμὴν εὐωδίας. αʹ. Τὰ παρελθόντα τῶν μελλόντων πλείονα ἔχει τὴν ἰσχὺν, καὶ δοκεῖ θαυμαστότερα εἶναι καὶ πιστότερα. ∆ιὸ καὶ ὁ Παῦλος ἀπὸ τῶν ὑπηργμένων ἤδη ποιεῖται τὴν παράκλησιν· ἐκεῖνα μὲν γὰρ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἕνεκεν μείζονα ἔχει τὴν ἰσχύν. Τὸ γὰρ εἰπεῖν, Ἄφες, καὶ ἀφεθήσεταί σοι, κἂν μὴ ἀφῆτε, οὐ μὴ ἀφεθήσεται ὑμῖν, πρὸς μὲν φιλοσόφους ἄνδρας λεγόμενον καὶ τοῖς μέλλουσι πιστεύοντας, μέγα δύναται· ὁ δὲ Παῦλος οὐκ ἀπὸ τούτων ἐντρέπει μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν ὑπηργμένων. Ἐκείνῳ μὲν γὰρ ἔστι κόλασιν φυγεῖν, τούτῳ δὲ ἀγαθοῦ τινος μετασχεῖν. Τὸν Χριστὸν, φησὶ, μιμῇ. Ἀρκεῖ τοῦτο μόνον εἰς παράκλησιν ἀρετῆς, τὸ τὸν Θεὸν μιμεῖσθαι· τοῦτο μεῖζον ἐκείνου, ὅτι Ἀνατέλλει τὸν ἥλιον ἐπὶ πονηροὺς 62.116 καὶ ἀγαθοὺς, καὶ