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of a name becoming renowned from its accompanying virtue and the order that follows from the spiritual blessing; for a good name is more desirable than wealth *** and "a good report makes the bones fat". But he is not content with blessing, but adds, saying: "And you shall be blessed", becoming worthy of blessing because of the greatness and the progress toward perfect virtue, and he blesses those who bless, not with mere utterance, but with the choice and selection of those whom he himself chooses. Likewise, those who are disposed contrary to him will fall under a curse. And this is apparent to the one who reads the histories, in which it is shown that as many as received him gladly were blessed, but as many as did not treat him as was fitting have come under a curse, like Abimelech. And these things can also be said concerning unseen powers, with holy angels blessing the zealous man and being blessed, but the devil and demons cursing him and falling under a curse. Moreover, another achievement will be the blessing in him of all the tribes of the earth, being delivered from being tribes of the earth through imitation of him in holiness, no longer setting their minds on earthly things. And the zealous man is set forth for this purpose, for all the tribes of the earth to be blessed in him through imitation, even if not all should come forward, separating themselves from this by their own choice. xii, 4-5. And Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. And Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and every soul that they had acquired in Haran, and they went out to go to the land of Canaan, and they came to the land of Canaan." 212 This is a great testimony to the patriarch, that he went thus as God had told him, and Lot is to be approved for following Abram. The oracle also testifies to the time when he departed and how they brought out from Haran all that they had acquired and every soul they had acquired and thus came to the land of Canaan. And this in and of itself would be most praiseworthy, that without waiting, not bent by the familiarity of kinship, nor of friends, nor of the other things that were enticements not to depart from his fatherland, he disregarded them all, becoming obedient to the divine command. An addition, as we have said before, is that he went thus as God had told him. For it often happens that one does what is commanded, but does not accomplish it in the way that the one who commanded intended. Here it happened thus as God commanded, both the cause of what was done being divine and the result being in accord with the purpose of the one who commanded. Not so do those who give alms act in order to be seen by men, for they perform the deed, but they err in the manner of its performance. But the blessed Paul was not so, but saying "Be imitators of me" he did not simply command this, but next added "as I am of Christ", not in appearance but in truth. Again, the Savior, saying, "Learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart", leads his hearers to understand so as to learn both the manner and the working and the causes of gentleness and lowliness of mind. And the patriarch brings his possessions with him not as one enslaved to them—he who was not enslaved even to his only-begotten son—but taking them for his needs. And these things, said for the sake of the history, are sufficient for edification, to which must be added that to bring out from Haran 213 the souls which they had acquired signifies that he brought with him those of his household whom he had acquired for his own way of life; for no one, according to the saying, is slow in the house of a wise man. And the allegorical interpretation also has great benefit for the one who is able to smooth out all things. Haran, then, is interpreted as "holes", which is a symbol

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ὀνόματοσκαὶ διαβοήτου γινομένου ἐκ τῆς συ̣νούσης ἀρετῆς καὶ τοῦ κόσμου τοῦ ἑπομένου ἐκ τῆς εὐλογίας τῆς πνευματικῆς· αἱρετώτερον γὰρ ὄνομακαλὸν ἢ πλοῦτος *** καὶ "6φήμη ἀγαθὴ πιαίνει ὀστᾶ"6. Οὐκ ἀρκεῖται δὲ τῷ εὐλογῆσαι, ἀλλ' ἔτι ἐπάγει λέγων· "6Καὶ ἔσῃ εὐλογητός"6, ἄξιος εὐλογίας γινόμενος̣ διὰ τὸ μέγεθος καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ τελείαν ἀρετὴν προκοπήν, εὐλογεῖ δὲ καὶ τοὺς εὐλογοῦντας, οὐ ψιλῇ προφορᾷ, ἀλλὰ τῇ αἱρέσει καὶ ἐκλογῇ ὧν αὐτὸς ἐκλέγεται. Ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ κατάρᾳ ὑποπεσοῦνται οἱ ἐναντίως αὐτῷ διακείμενοι. Καὶ φαί- νεται τοῦτο τῷ ἀναγνόντι τὰς ἱστορίας, ἐν αἷς δηλοῦται ὡς ὅσοι μὲν αὐτὸν ἀσμένως ὑπεδέξαντο εὐλογήθησαν, ὅσοι δὲ οὐ δεόντως αὐτῷ ἐχρήσαντο ὑπὸ κατάραν γεγόνασιν ὡς ὁ Ἀβιμέλεχ. ∆ύνανται δὲ καὶ περὶ ἀοράτων δυνάμεων ταῦτα λέγεσθαι, ἁγίων μὲν ἀγγέλων εὐλογούντων τὸν σπουδαῖον καὶ εὐλογουμένων, διαβόλου δὲ καὶ δαιμόνων καταρωμένων αὐτὸν καὶ ὑπὸ κατάραν πιπτόντων. Ἔτι δὲ ἕτερον ὑπάρξει κατόρθωμα τὸ ἐνευλογηθῆναι ἐν αὐτῷ πάσας τὰς φυλὰς τῆς γῆς, ἀπαλλαττομένας τοῦ γῆς εἶναι φυλὰς διὰ τὴν πρὸς αὐτὸν μίμησιν κατὰ ἁγιότητα, μηκέτι τὰ ἐπίγεια αὐτῶν φρονουσῶν. Ἔκκειται δὲ εἰς τοῦτο ὁ σπουδαῖος εἰς τὸ ἐνευλογηθῆναι ἐν αὐτῷ διὰ μιμήσεως πάσας τὰς φυλὰς τῆς γῆς, κἂν μὴ πᾶσαι προ- σέλθωσιν τῇ προαιρέσει ἑαυτὰς ἀπὸ τούτου χωρίζουσαι. χιι, 4-5. Καὶ ἐπορεύθη Ἀβράμ, καθάπερ ἐλάλησεν αὐτῷ ὁ Κύριος, καὶ ᾤχετο μετ' αὐτοῦ Λώτ. Ἀβρὰμ δὲ ἦν πέντε καὶ ἑβδομήκοντα ἐτῶν, ὅτε ἐξῆλθεν ἐκ Χαρράν. Καὶ ἔλαβεν Ἀβρὰμ τὴν Σάραν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸν Λὼτ υἱὸν τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ καὶ πάντα τὰ ὑπάρχοντα αὐτῶν, ὅσα ἐκτήσαντο, καὶ πᾶσαν ψυχήν, ἣν ἐκτήσαντο ἐκ Χαρράν, καὶ ἐξῆλθαν πορευθῆναι εἰς γῆν Χαναὰν καὶ ἦλθαν εἰς γῆν Χαναάν."6 212 Μεγάλη μαρτυρία τῷ πατριάρχῃ αὕτη, ὅτι οὑ´̣τω πεπόρευται καθάπερ ἐλάλησεν αὐτῷ ὁ Θεός, ἀποδοχῆς δὲ καὶ Λὼτ συνακολουθήσας τῷ Ἀβράμ. Μαρτύρεται δὲ τὸ λόγιον καὶ τὸν χρόνον καθ' ὃν ἐξελήλυθεν καὶ ὡς ἅπαντα ὅσα ἐκτήσαντο ἐξήγαγον ἐκ Χαρρὰν καὶ πᾶσαν ψυχὴν ἣν ἐκτήσαντο καὶ οὕτως ἦλθον εἰς γῆν Χαναάν. Καὶ τοῦτο μὲν ἂν εἴη ἔχ[ο]ν [κα]ὶ καθ' αὑτὸ μεγίστην ἀποδοχήν, ὅτι οὐκ ἀναμείνας, οὐ καμφθεὶς οἰκειότητι συγγενείας, οὐ φίλων, οὐ τῶν ἄλλων, ὅσα ἀγωγὰ εἰς τὸ μὴ ἀποστῆναι τῆς πατρίδος ὑπῆρχεν, ὑπερεῖδεν ἅπαντα τῷ θείῳ κατα- πειθὴς γινόμενος προστάγματι. Προσθήκη, ὡς προλα- βόντες εἰρήκαμεν, τὸ καὶ οὕτως πορευθῆναι καθὼς ἐλάλησεν αὐτῷ ὁ Θεός. Συμβαίνει γὰρ πολλάκις ποιῆσαι μὲν τὸ προσταττόμενον, μὴ οὕτω δὲ αὐτὸ ἀνῦσαι ὡς ὁ προστάξας ὑπέθετο. Ἐνταῦθα οὕτως γέγονεν ὡς ὁ Θεὸς ἐκέλευσεν, καὶ τῆς αἰτίας τοῦ πραττομένου θείως γινομένης καὶ τοῦ ἀποτελέσματος κατὰ τὸν σκοπὸν τοῦ κελεύσαντος. Οὐχ οὕτως οἱ ἐλεημοσύνην ποιοῦντες πρὸς τὸ θεαθῆναι ὑπ' ἀνθρώπων ἐνεργοῦσιν, τὴν μὲν πρᾶξιν ἐπιτελοῦντες, τῷ δὲ τρόπῳ τοῦ ἐνεργουμένου διασφαλλόμενοι. Ὁ μακά- ριος δὲ Παῦλος οὐχ οὕτως, ἀλλὰ λέγων "6Μιμηταί μου γίνεσθε"6 οὐχ ἁπλῶς τοῦτο προσέταττεν, ἀλλ' ἑξῆς ἐπέ- φερεν "6καθὼς κἀγὼ τοῦ Χριστοῦ"6, οὐ τῷ δοκεῖν ἀλλ' ἀλη- θείᾳ. Πάλιν δ' ὁ Σωτὴρ λέγων "6Μάθετε ἀπ' ἐμοῦ ὅτι πραΰς εἰμι καὶ ταπεινὸς τῇ καρδίᾳ"6 ἐνάγει τοὺς ἀκούοντας κατανοεῖν εἰς τὸ μαθεῖν καὶ τὸν τρόπον καὶ τὴν ἐνέργειαν καὶ τὰς αἰτίας τῆς πραότητος καὶ ταπεινοφροσύνης. Ἐπάγεται δὲ ὁ πατριάρχης καὶ τὴν κτῆσιν οὐχ ὡς δεδουλωμένος αὐτῇ ὅ γε μὴ τῷ μονογενεῖ υἱῷ ἑαυτοῦ δουλωθείς, ἀλλ' ἑλὼν αὐτὰ πρὸς τὰς χρείας. Καὶ ταῦτα μὲν τῆς ἱστορίας ἕνεκα λεχθέντα ἱκανὰ πρὸς ὠφελίαν, οἷς προσλημπτέον καὶ τὸ ἐξαγαγεῖν ἐκ Χαρρὰν 213 καὶ τὰς ψυχὰς ἃς ἐκτήσαντο δηλοῦν ὅτι τῆς οἰκετείας οὓς πρὸς τ[ὸ]ν ἑαυτοῦ τρόπον ἐκτήσατο συνεπηγάγετο· οὐδεὶς γάρ, κατ[ὰ] τὸ εἰρημένον, βραδὺς ἐν οἰκίᾳ σοφοῦ. Ἔχει δὲ καὶ ὁ τῆς ἀναγωγῆς λόγος πολλὴν τὴν ὠφελίαν τῷ ἅπαντα ἐξομαλῖσαι δυναμένῳ. Χαρρὰν μὲν οὖν ἑρμη- νεύεται "3τρῶγλαι"3, ὅπερ σύμβολόν