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God, reproaching him and mocking his foolishness, said: Behold, Adam has become like one of us. And in the case of the blessed Job, if the devil, having received some small permission, tore up his house by the roots, mangled his body, wrought such a tragedy, destroyed his substance, buried his children, pierced his flesh, set his wife against him, prepared his friends, 63.678 his enemies, his servants to say such things; if he were not held by countless bonds, how would he not have destroyed all? For this beast is wicked and insatiable; and if he were not continually bridled, he would have overturned and thrown everything into confusion. For this reason the Master, as one who loves mankind, does not give him place against all; to whom is due glory and power, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

DISCOURSE 17. Concerning Envy. Nothing is so accustomed to divide and tear us from one another as envy and

malice, this grievous disease deprived of all forgiveness, and much more grievous than the root of all evils, avarice. For the avaricious man is pleased when he himself receives something; but the malicious man is pleased when another does not receive something, considering the misfortune of others his own benefit. What could be more mad than this? For neglecting his own evils, he wastes away at the good things of others, making heaven inaccessible to himself, and before heaven, making the present life unlivable. For a moth and a worm sitting upon wood and wool are not so accustomed to eat them away, as the fever of malice consumes the very bones of the malicious and destroys the prudence of the soul. One would not be wrong to call the malicious worse than wild beasts and demons. For the former, either needing food or having been previously provoked by us, then arm themselves against us; but these, even when they have often been treated well, act as those who wrong their benefactors. And demons, while they have an implacable enmity towards us, do not plot against their own kind; but these men do not respect the fellowship of nature, nor do they spare their own salvation, but before those they envy, they punish their own souls, filling them with all disturbance and despondency, rashly and in vain. Such is malice, than which no evil could be worse. For the adulterer both reaps a certain pleasure and in a short time completes his sin; but the malicious man, before the one he envies, punishes and torments himself, and will never cease from his sin, but is perpetual in its practice. For just as a pig rejoices in mud, and a demon in our harm, so too does this man rejoice in the evils of his neighbor; and if anything unpleasant happens, then he is at rest and breathes again, considering the misfortunes of others his own good cheer, and the good things of others his own evils. And just as beetles are fed on dung, so too are these men by the misfortunes of others, being certain common enemies and foes of nature. And while other men pity an irrational animal being slaughtered, these men, seeing a person being well-treated, become like wild beasts and tremble and turn pale. And what could be worse than this madness? Why do you turn pale, tell me, and tremble, and stand in fear? What terrible thing has happened? That your brother is brilliant and distinguished and well-reputed? Should you not then be crowned and rejoice and glorify God, because you see your own member brilliant and distinguished? But are you grieved that God is glorified? See where the war is tending. It is not this that 63.678 grieves me, he says, but I wished for God to be glorified through me. Therefore rejoice at your brother's good repute, and again God is glorified through you. For even if he were hostile and an enemy, but God was glorified through him, you should have made him a friend for this reason; but you make a friend an enemy, because God is glorified through his good repute. And how else could you show war against Christ? For this reason, even if one performs signs, or virginity, or fasting, or sleeping on the ground

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Θεὸς ὀνειδίζων αὐτῷ, καὶ τὴν ἄνοιαν αὐτοῦ κωμῳδῶν, ἔλεγεν· Ἰδοὺ Ἀδὰμ γέγονεν ὡς εἷς ἐξ ἡμῶν. Καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ μακαρίου δὲ Ἰὼβ, εἰ μικράν τινα λαβὼν ἐπιτροπὴν ὁ διάβολος, πρόῤῥιζον αὐτοῦ τὸν οἶκον ἀνέσπασε, τὸ σῶμα διεμασήσατο, τοσαύτην τραγῳδίαν εἰργάσατο, τὴν οὐσίαν διέφθειρε, τοὺς παῖδας κατέχωσε, τὴν σάρκα διέτρησε, τὴν γυναῖκα ἐπέστησε, τοὺς φίλους, 63.678 τοὺς ἐχθροὺς, τοὺς οἰκέτας τοιαῦτα εἰπεῖν παρεσκεύασεν· εἰ μὴ μυρίοις κατείχετο δεσμοῖς, πῶς οὐκ ἂν πάντας ἐλυμήνατο; Πονηρὸν γὰρ τὸ θηρίον τοῦτο καὶ ἀκόρεστον· καὶ εἰ μὴ συνεχῶς ἐχαλινοῦτο, πάντα ἂν ἀνέτρεψε καὶ συνέχεε. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο χώραν αὐτῷ κατὰ πάντων ὁ ∆εσπότης οὐ δίδωσιν, ὡς φιλάνθρωπος· ᾧ πρέπει δόξα καὶ κράτος, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ, καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.

ΛΟΓΟΣ ΙΖʹ. Περὶ φθόνου. Οὐδὲν οὕτω μερίζειν καὶ διασπᾷν ἡμᾶς ἀπ' ἀλλήλων εἴωθεν, ὡς φθόνος καὶ

βασκανία, τὸ χαλεπὸν τοῦτο νόσημα καὶ πάσης ἀπεστερημένον συγγνώμης, καὶ τῆς τῶν κακῶν ῥίζης, τῆς φιλαργυρίας, κατὰ πολὺ χαλεπώτερον. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ φιλάργυρος τότε ἥδεται, ὅταν αὐτὸς λάβῃ· ὁ δὲ βάσκανος τότε ἥδεται, ὅταν ἕτερος μὴ λάβῃ, εὐεργεσίαν οἰκείαν νομίζων τὴν ἑτέρων κακοπραγίαν· οὗ τί γένοιτ' ἂν μανικώτερον; Τῶν γὰρ οἰκείων κακῶν ἀμελῶν, ἐπὶ τοῖς ἀλλοτρίοις τήκεται καλοῖς, ἄβατον ἑαυτῷ κατασκευάζων τὸν οὐρανὸν, καὶ πρὸ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ δὲ καὶ τὸν παρόντα βίον ἀβίωτον. Οὐδὲ γὰρ οὕτω ξύλον καὶ ἔριον σὴς ἐγκαθήμενος καὶ σκώληξ διατρώγειν εἴωθεν, ὡς ὁ τῆς βασκανίας πυρετὸς αὐτὰ κατεσθίει τὰ ὀστᾶ τῶν βασκαινόντων, καὶ τῆς ψυχῆς τὴν σωφροσύνην λυμαίνεται. Οὐκ ἄν τις ἁμάρτοι, καὶ θηρίων καὶ δαιμόνων χείρους τοὺς βασκαίνοντας προσειπών. Τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἢ τροφῆς δεόμενα, ἢ πρότερον ὑφ' ἡμῶν παροξυνθέντα, τότε καθ' ἡμῶν καθοπλίζεται· οὗτοι δὲ καὶ εὐεργετηθέντες πολλάκις τὰ τῶν ἀδικούντων τοὺς εὐεργέτας διέθηκαν. Καὶ οἱ μὲν δαίμονες πρὸς μὲν ἡμᾶς ἄσπονδον ἔχουσιν ἔχθραν, τοῖς δὲ ὁμογενέσιν οὐκ ἐπιβουλεύουσιν· οὗτοι δὲ οὐδὲ τὴν κοινωνίαν αἰδοῦνται τῆς φύσεως, οὐδὲ τῆς οἰκείας φείδονται σωτηρίας, ἀλλὰ πρὸ τῶν φθονουμένων τὰς ἑαυτῶν ψυχὰς κολάζουσι, θορύβου παντὸς καὶ ἀθυμίας πληροῦντες αὐτὰς εἰκῆ καὶ μάτην. Τοιοῦτον ἡ βασκανία, ἧς οὐκ ἂν γένοιτο κακία χείρων. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ μοιχὸς καὶ ἡδονὴν καρποῦταί τινα, καὶ ἐν βραχεῖ χρόνῳ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἀπαρτίζει τὴν ἑαυτοῦ· ὁ δὲ βάσκανος πρὸ τοῦ φθονουμένου ἑαυτὸν κολάζει καὶ τιμωρεῖται, καὶ οὐδέποτε παύσεται τῆς ἁμαρτίας, ἀλλ' ἐν τῷ πράττειν αὐτήν ἐστι διηνεκής. Καθάπερ γὰρ χοῖρος βορβόρῳ, καὶ δαίμων βλάβῃ χαίρει τῇ ἡμετέρᾳ, οὕτω καὶ οὗτος τοῖς τοῦ πλησίον χαίρει κακοῖς· κἂν γένηταί τι ἀηδὲς, τότε ἀναπαύεται καὶ ἀναπνεῖ, τὰς ἀλλοτρίας συμφορὰς οἰκείας εὐθυμίας ἡγούμενος, καὶ οἰκεῖα κακὰ τὰ τῶν ἄλλων ἀγαθά. Καὶ καθάπερ οἱ κάνθαροι τρέφονται κόπρῳ, οὕτω καὶ οὗτοι ταῖς ἑτέραις δυσημερίαις, κοινοί τινες ἐχθροὶ καὶ πολέμιοι τῆς φύσεως ὄντες. Καὶ οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι ἄλογον σφαττόμενον ἐλεοῦσιν· οὗτοι δὲ ἄνθρωπον ὁρῶντες εὐεργετούμενον, ἐκθηριοῦνται καὶ τρέμουσι καὶ ὠχριῶσι. Καὶ τί ταύτης τῆς μανίας χεῖρον γένοιτ' ἄν; Τί ὠχριᾷς, εἰπέ μοι, καὶ τρέμεις, καὶ περιδεὴς ἕστηκας; τί γέγονε δεινόν; ὅτι λαμπρὸς ὁ ἀδελφὸς καὶ περιφανὴς καὶ εὐδόκιμος; Οὐκοῦν στεφανοῦσθαί σε ἔδει καὶ χαίρειν καὶ τὸν Θεὸν δοξάζειν, ὅτι τὸ μέλος τὸ σὸν ὁρᾷς λαμπρὸν καὶ περιφανές. Ἀλλὰ ἀλγεῖς ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς δοξάζεται; Ὅρα ποῦ ὁ πόλεμος τείνει. Οὐχὶ τοῦτό με 63.678 λυπεῖ, φησὶν, ἀλλὰ δι' ἐμοῦ τὸν Θεὸν ἐβουλόμην δοξάζεσθαι. Οὐκοῦν χαῖρε εὐδοκιμοῦντος τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ, καὶ δοξάζεται διὰ σοῦ πάλιν ὁ Θεός. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ πολέμοις ἦν καὶ ἐχθρὸς, ὁ δὲ Θεὸς δι' αὐτοῦ ἐδοξάζετο, φίλον ἔδει ποιήσασθαι διὰ τοῦτο· σὺ δὲ τὸν φίλον ἐχθρὸν ποιεῖς, ἐπειδὴ ὁ Θεὸς δοξάζεται δι' αὐτῆς εὐδοκιμήσεως ἐκείνου. Καὶ πῶς ἂν ἑτέρως τὸν πρὸς Χριστὸν ἐπεδείξω πόλεμον; ∆ιὰ τοῦτο, κἂν σημεῖά τις ποιῇ, κἂν παρθενίαν, κἂν νηστείαν, κἂν χαμευνίαν