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he says, instead of: Would that it had been pleasing before the calamity and that I received what was due for what I did according to the principle of equality. For that he speaks about things before the sickness and poverty is clear from what he says: let my infants be humbled; for his children were already dead. 31, 1112 For the uncontrollable anger of wrath is to defile another man's wife; 261 for it is a fire burning on all parts, and it will not pass over, but has destroyed from the roots. For adultery enrages God and brings inescapable punishment on the one who has done it. For wherever he turns, he is without excuse. For this is the fire that burns on all parts, burning up the one who has done it root and all. 31, 1315 But if I have also despised the cause of my manservant or maidservant when they contended with me, what then shall I do, if the Lord should make an examination of me? And if he should make a visitation, what answer shall I make? Were they not formed as I was in the womb? Indeed, we were formed in the same belly. He speaks of another wonderful equality and justice of his. For to my servants also, he says, I gave freedom to plead their case with me, if they suspected they were suffering any injustice from me. And I was led to the principle of justice by nature, reasoning within myself that all men, whether slaves or masters, have one origin of birth and we all have one master in heaven, with whom there is neither slave nor free, but who, being impartial, demands from each one equality toward the other. Therefore he calls *etasin* examination, and he considers *episkopen* the divine reproofs; springing from this equality he longed to be judged by God, trusting in God's just judgment. 262 31, 1618 And the helpless, if ever they were in need, were not disappointed. And I did not cause the eye of the widow {μου} to fail. And if I also ate my morsel alone and did not share it with the orphan, because from youth I nourished as a father and from my mother's womb I guided. Singing hymns about God we say: the father of orphans and judge of widows, and to the orphan you were a helper. In this way, therefore, keeping the image intact, he imitated the archetype. And "I did not cause to fail" instead of: I did not allow to waste away from poverty. And to distribute food to the needy is truly wonderful. And "from the womb I guided," so that he might say: taking in very young infants who had been orphaned, I raised them until they came of age and taught them trades, guiding them by the hand to such a point that they were not greatly in need of my help. 31, 19 And if I have also overlooked a naked man perishing and did not clothe him, but the helpless have not blessed me, and their shoulders have not been warmed by the fleece of my lambs. From the shoulders he signified the whole body; for from them the whole garment hangs. And the shoulders seem somehow to be more sensitive to the cold; for this reason he mentioned them. 31, 2122 If I have lifted up my hand against an orphan, trusting that much help surrounds me, then let my shoulder fall from my collarbone, and let my arm be crushed from my elbow. Which we also said above, it is necessary to remember, that not doing good he ranks with doing wrong, and one must not only abstain from evil, but also practice virtue. For not only did he say: I did not wrong 263 the orphans, but also that: I took on their care in the manner of a father. And by collarbone he means the joint of the shoulder to the neck. 31, 23 For the fear of the Lord constrained me, and from his majesty I shall not endure. And I did these things, being constrained by divine fear, understanding that, if God should take hold of me for either having done wrong or not having done good, I would have an unbearable punishment. 31, 2425 If I have made gold my strength, and if I have put my trust in a precious stone, and if I rejoiced when my wealth became great, and if I have set my hand on innumerable things. Slandering the one who trusts not in divine help, but in his own abundance, the psalmist said: who did not make God his helper, but hoped in the abundance of his wealth. On the contrary, therefore, the righteous man has his hope in God. And see, how the righteous man does not rejoice in wealth; for though sometimes these are given to the saints as accompaniments, wealth and glory,

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λέγει, ἀντὶ τοῦ· εἴθε ἤρεσε πρὸ τῆς συμφορᾶς καὶ πρὸς ἃ ἔπραξα ἀπείληφα κατὰ τὸν ἰσότητος λόγον. ὅτι γὰρ περὶ τῶν πρὸ τῆς νόσου καὶ πενίας λέγει, δῆλον ἐξ ὧν φησιν· τὰ δὲ νήπιά μου ταπεινωθείη· καὶ γὰρ ἦσαν ἤδη τεθνηκότες οἱ παῖδες αὐτῷ. 31, 1112 θυμὸς γὰρ ὀργῆς ἀκατάσχετος τὸ μιᾶναι ἀνδρὸς γυναῖκα· 261 πῦρ γάρ ἐστι καιόμενον ἐπὶ πάντων τῶν μερῶν, οὐδ' ἂν ἐπέλθῃ, ἐκ ῥιζῶν ἀπώλεσεν. ἡ γὰρ μοιχεία τὸν θεὸν παροργίζει καὶ ἄφυκτον ἐπάγει τιμωρίαν τῷ δεδρακότι. ὅπου γὰρ ἐὰν στραφῇ, ἀναπολόγητός ἐστιν. τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι τὸ πῦρ τὸ καιόμενον ἐπὶ πάντων τῶν μερῶν, πρόρριζον καταφλέγον τὸν δεδρακότα. 31, 1315 εἰ δὲ καὶ ἐφαύλισα ῥῆμα θεράποντός μου ἢ θεραπαίνης κρινομένων αὐτῶν πρὸς μέ, τί γὰρ ποιήσω, ἐὰν ἔτασίν μου ποιήσῃ ὁ κύριος; ἐὰν δὲ καὶ ἐπισκοπήν, τίνα ἀπόκρισιν ποιήσομαι; πότερον οὐχ, ὡς ἐγὼ ἐγενόμην ἐν γαστρί, καὶ ἐκεῖνοι γεγόνασιν; γεγόναμεν δὲ ἐν τῇ αὐτῇ κοιλίᾳ. ἑτέραν ἰσότητα καὶ δικαιοσύνην ἑαυτοῦ θαυμασίαν λέγει. καὶ γὰρ καὶ τοῖς οἰκέταις μου, φησίν, παρρησίαν παρεῖχον δικάζεσθαι πρὸς μέ, εἴ τι ὑπώπτευον μὴ δίκαιον πάσχειν ὑπ' ἐμοῦ. ἐνηγόμην δὲ εἰς τὸν τοῦ δικαίου λόγον ὑπὸ τῆς φύσεως κατ' ἐμαυτὸν ἐκλογιζόμενος, ὡς πάντες ἄνθρωποι, εἴτε δοῦλοι εἴ τε δεσπόται, μίαν ἔχομεν γενέσεως ἀρχὴν καὶ ἕνα πάντες δεσπότην ἐν οὐρανοῖς, παρ' ᾧ οὐκ ἔστι δοῦλος οὐδὲ ἐλεύθερος, ἀλλ' ὃς ἀπροσωπόληπτος ὢν ἕκαστον ἀπαιτεῖ τὴν πρὸς τὸν ἕτερον ἰσότητα. ἔτασιν οὖν φησιν τὴν ἐξέτασιν, ἐπισκοπὴν δὲ θείαν ἡγεῖται τοὺς ἐλεγμούς· ἐκ ταύτης τῆς ἰσότητος ὁρμώμενος ἐπὶ θεοῦ κρίνεσθαι ἐπόθει τῇ τοῦ θεοῦ πεποιθὼς δικαιοκρισίᾳ. 262 31, 1618 ἀδύνατοι δὲ χρείαν, εἴ ποτε εἶχον, οὐκ ἀπέτυχον. χήρας δὲ τὸν ὀφθαλμὸν {μου} οὐκ ἐξέτηξα. εἰ δὲ καὶ τὸν ψωμόν μου ἔφαγον μόνος καὶ οὐχὶ ὀρφανῷ μετέδωκα ἐξ αὐτοῦ, ὅτι ἐκ νεότητος ἐξέτρεφον ὡς πατὴρ καὶ ἐκ γαστρὸς μητρὸς ὡδήγησα. περὶ θεοῦ ὑμνοῦντες λέγομεν· τοῦ πατρὸς τῶν ὀρφανῶν καὶ κριτοῦ τῶν χηρῶν καὶ ὀρφανῷ σὺ ἦσθα βοηθός. οἷα τοίνυν τὴν εἰκόνα σῴζων ἀκέραιον ἀπεμιμεῖτο τὸ ἀρχέτυπον. τὸ δὲ οὐκ ἐξέτηξα ἀντὶ τοῦ· οὐκ εἴασα ἀπὸ πενίας ἐκτήκεσθαι. τὸ δὲ ἐπιμερίζειν τὴν τροφὴν τοῖς δεομένοις ὄντως θαυμάσιον. τὸ δὲ ἐκ γαστρὸς ὡδήγησα, ἵνα εἴπῃ ὅτι· κομιδῆ νήπια τὰ ἀπορφανισθέντα παραλαμβάνων μέχρις ἡλικίας ἐξέτρεφον καὶ τέχνας ἐπαίδευον, μέχρι τοσούτου χειραγωγών, ἕως ὅτε τῆς ἐμῆς ἐπικουρίας μὴ σφόδρα δέοιντο. 31, 19 εἰ δὲ καὶ ὑπερεῖδον γυμνὸν ἀπολλύμενον καὶ οὐκ ἠμφίασα, ἀδύνατοι δὲ εἰ μὴ ηὐλόγησάν με, ἀπὸ δὲ κουρᾶς ἀμνῶν μου ἐθερμάνθησαν οἱ ὦμοι αὐτῶν. ἀπὸ τῶν ὤμων τὸ πᾶν ἐσήμανε σῶμα· ἐξ αὐτῶν γὰρ τὸ ὅλον ἱμάτιον ἐξήρτηται. ἐοίκασι δέ πως καὶ εὐπαθέστεροι πρὸς τὰ κρύα τυγχάνειν οἱ ὦμοι· διὰ τοῦτο αὐτῶν ἐμνημόνευσεν. 31, 2122 εἰ ἐπῆρα ὀρφανῷ χεῖρα πεποιθώς, ὅτι πολλὴ βοήθειά μοι περίεστιν, ἀποσταίη ἄρα ὁ ὦμός μου ἀπὸ τῆς κλειδός μου, ὁ δὲ βραχίων μου ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀγκῶνός μου συντριβείη. ὅπερ καὶ ἀνωτέρω ἐλέγομεν, μνημονεύειν χρεών, ὅτι τὸ μὴ εὐεργετεῖν μετὰ τοῦ ἀδικεῖν τάττει, καὶ δεῖ μὴ μόνον κακίας ἀπέχεσθαι, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀρετῆς ἐπιμελεῖσθαι. οὐ γὰρ μόνον εἶπεν ὅτι· οὐκ ἠδίκουν 263 τοὺς ὀρφανούς, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὅτι· δίκην πατρὸς τὴν αὐτῶν κηδεμονίαν ἐλάμβανον. κλεῖδα δέ φησιν τὸν σύνδεσμον τοῦ ὤμου πρὸς τὸν τράχηλον. 31, 23 φόβος γὰρ κυρίου συνέσχε με, καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ λήμματος αὐτοῦ οὐχ ὑποίσω. ταῦτα δὲ ἔπραττον τῷ θείῳ συνεχόμενος φόβῳ ἐννοῶν ὡς, εἰ ἐπιλάβοιτό μου ὁ θεὸς ἢ ἀδικήσαντος ἢ μὴ εὐεργετήσαντος, ἀνύποιστον ἕξω τὴν τιμωρίαν. 31, 2425 εἰ ἔταξα χρυσίον ἰσχύν μου, εἰ δὲ καὶ λίθῳ πολυτελεῖ ἐπεποίθησα, εἰ δὲ καὶ ηὐφράνθην πολλοῦ πλούτου γενομένου μοι, εἰ καὶ ἐπ' ἀναριθμήτοις ἐθέμην χεῖρά μου. διαβάλλων τὸν μὴ εἰς τὴν θείαν βοήθειαν, ἀλλ' εἰς τὴν ἰδίαν πεποιθότα περιουσίαν ὁ ψαλμῳδὸς ἔφη· ὃς οὐκ ἔθετο τὸν θεὸν βοηθὸν αὐτοῦ, ἀλλ' ἐπήλπισεν ἐπὶ τὸ πλῆθος τοῦ πλούτου αὐτοῦ. ἐξ ἐναντίας οὖν ὁ δίκαιος εἰς θεὸν τὴν ἐλπίδα κέκτηται. καὶ ὅρα, ὡς ὁ δίκαιος οὐκ εὐφραίνεται ἐπὶ πλούτῳ· εἰ γὰρ καὶ ἐσθότε ὡς παρακολουθήματα ταῦτα τοῖς ἁγίοις δέδοται, πλοῦτος καὶ δόξα,