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But the kingdom of heaven is not such; but after receiving it, there is peace, life, joy, gladness. But, as I was saying, there is no life without hardship. But if in the affairs of this life even the most blessed man, the one in a kingdom, is full of so many calamities, what do you think of private citizens? And how many other evils, it is not even possible to say. How many myths have often been fabricated from these things; almost all the tragedies on the stage are woven from the stories of kings, and the myths. For most of the things in myths are fabricated from things that have happened; for so it has pleasure; for example, the Thyestean banquets, and how that entire house was destroyed through calamities. 6. But these things we know from what has been composed by those outside; but if you wish, we will also speak from the Scriptures. Saul was the first to be king, but you know how he too perished, having been tried by countless evils. After him David, Solomon, Abijah, Hezekiah, Josiah likewise. For it is not possible to go through the present life without affliction, it is not possible without toils, it is not possible to be outside despondency. But let us not be despondent over such things as kings are, but over such things for which we even have great gain. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of. For these things one must grieve, for these things one must feel pain, for these things one must be vexed; thus Paul grieved for those who were sinning, thus he wept. For out of much affliction, he says, and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears. For since he had no cause to mourn for his own sins, he did this for those of others; or rather, he considered those things his own, in the matter of mourning. Others were made to stumble, and he was indignant; others were weak, and he was weak. Such grief is good, this is better than all worldly joy. The one who mourns in this way I prefer to all men; or rather, the Lord Himself blesses those who mourn in this way, the compassionate. I do not so much admire him for his dangers; or rather, I admire him no less than his dangers, by which he died daily; but this captivates me more. For it came from a God-loving and affectionate soul, from love, which Christ Himself sought, from brotherly and fatherly sympathy, or rather, from something greater than both of these. So one must be disposed, so one must weep; such tears are full of much gladness; such mourning is a foundation of joy. And do not say to me, what is the gain from lamenting for those for whom I do this? Even if we do not benefit those who are lamented, we will certainly benefit ourselves. For he who feels such pain for others' sins, will do this much more for his own; he who weeps so for the sins of others will not pass over his own trespasses without tears; or rather, he will not sin readily at all. But the terrible thing is that, though commanded to lament thus for those who sin, we do not show any repentance even for our own sins, but we are disposed to stumble without feeling, and we care for all things and consider all things more than our own sins. For this reason we rejoice with an unprofitable joy, that of the world, which is quickly extinguished, which brings forth countless sorrows. Let us therefore be sorrowful with a sorrow that is the mother of joy, and not be pleased with a joy that brings forth sorrow; let us shed tears that sow much pleasure, and not laugh a laughter that brings forth for us a gnashing of teeth; let us be afflicted with an affliction from which relief springs, and not seek luxury, from which much affliction and pain are born; let us toil a little on earth, that we may live in luxury perpetually in the heavens; in this mortal life let us afflict ourselves, that in the infinite life we may obtain relief; let us not be dissolute in this short life, that we may not groan in the infinite one. Do you not see 62.297 how many even here are afflicted for the sake of worldly things

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Ἀλλ' οὐχ ἡ βασιλεία τοιαύτη τῶν οὐρανῶν· ἀλλὰ μετὰ τὸ λαβεῖν αὐτὴν, εἰρήνη, ζωὴ, χαρὰ, εὐφροσύνη. Ἀλλ', ὅπερ ἔλεγον, οὐκ ἔνι βίος ἀταλαιπώρητος. Εἰ δὲ ἐν τοῖς βιωτικοῖς καὶ ὁ μάλιστα μακαριώτερος, ὁ ἐν βασιλείᾳ, τοσούτων γέμει συμφορῶν, τί οἴει ἐν τοῖς ἰδιωτικοῖς· Καὶ πόσα ἕτερα κακὰ, οὐδὲ εἰπεῖν ἔστι. Πόσοι πολλάκις καὶ μῦθοι ἀπὸ τούτων ἐπλάσθησαν, πᾶσαι σχεδὸν αἱ ἐπὶ τῆς σκηνῆς τραγῳδίαι ἀπὸ τῶν βασιλέων ὑφαίνονται, καὶ οἱ μῦθοι. Τὰ γὰρ πλείονα τῶν ἐν τοῖς μύθοις ἀπὸ τῶν γενομένων πέπλασται· οὕτω γὰρ ἔχει καὶ ἡδονήν· οἷον, τὰ Θυέστεια δεῖπνα, καὶ ὡς πᾶσα ἐκείνη ἡ οἰκία διὰ συμφορῶν κατέστρεψεν. ςʹ. Ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν ἀπὸ τῶν παρὰ τῶν ἔξωθεν συντεθέντων ἴσμεν· εἰ δὲ βούλεσθε, καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν Γραφῶν ἐροῦμεν. Ὁ Σαοὺλ πρῶτος ἐβασίλευσεν, ἀλλ' ἴστε πῶς καὶ οὗτος ἀπώλετο μυρίων πειραθεὶς κακῶν. Μετ' ἐκεῖνον ὁ ∆αυῒδ, ὁ Σολομὼν, ὁ Ἀβιὰ, ὁ Ἐζεκίας, ὁ Ἰωσίας ὁμοίως. Οὐ γὰρ ἔστι θλίψεως χωρὶς, οὐκ ἔστι πόνων χωρὶς, οὐκ ἔστιν ἀθυμίας ἐκτὸς τὸν παρόντα βίον διελθεῖν. Ἀλλ' ἡμεῖς ἀθυμῶμεν μὴ ὑπὲρ τῶν τοιούτων, ὑπὲρ ὧν οἱ βασιλεῖς, ἀλλ' ὑπὲρ τοιούτων, ὑπὲρ ὧν καὶ κέρδος ἔχομεν μέγα· Ἡ γὰρ κατὰ Θεὸν λύπη μετάνοιαν εἰς σωτηρίαν ἀμεταμέλητον κατεργάζεται. Ὑπὲρ τούτων χρὴ λυπεῖσθαι, ὑπὲρ τούτων ἀλγεῖν, ὑπὲρ τούτων δάκνεσθαι· οὕτως ἐλυπεῖτο Παῦλος ὑπὲρ τῶν ἁμαρτανόντων, οὕτως ἐδάκρυεν· Ἐκ γὰρ πολλῆς θλίψεως, φησὶ, καὶ συνοχῆς καρδίας ἔγραψα ὑμῖν διὰ πολλῶν δακρύων. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ὑπὲρ οἰκείων οὐκ εἶχε πενθεῖν, ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀλλοτρίων τοῦτο ἐποίει· μᾶλλον δὲ κἀκεῖνα οἰκεῖα ἡγεῖτο κατὰ τὸν τοῦ πένθους λόγον. Ἕτεροι ἐσκανδαλίζοντο, καὶ αὐτὸς ἐπυροῦτο· ἕτεροι ἠσθένουν, καὶ αὐτὸς ἠσθένει. Ἀγαθὸν ἡ τοιαύτη λύπη, πάσης κρείττων αὕτη χαρᾶς κοσμικῆς. Τὸν οὕτω πενθοῦντα ἐγὼ πάντων τῶν ἀνθρώπων προκρίνω· μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ αὐτὸς τοὺς οὕτω πενθοῦντας μακαρίζει ὁ Κύριος, τοὺς συμπαθεῖς. Οὐχ οὕτως αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τοῖς κινδύνοις θαυμάζω· μᾶλλον δὲ οὐχ ἧττον αὐτὸν τῶν κινδύνων θαυμάζω, ὑφ' ὧν καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν ἀπέθνησκεν· ἀλλὰ τοῦτό με μᾶλλον αἱρεῖ. Ἀπὸ γὰρ ψυχῆς φιλοθέου καὶ φιλοστόργου ἐγίνετο, ἀπὸ ἀγάπης, ἣν αὐτὸς ὁ Χριστὸς ἐζήτει, ἀπὸ συμπαθείας ἀδελφικῆς καὶ πατρικῆς, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ τούτων ἀμφοτέρων μείζονος. Οὕτω διακεῖσθαι χρὴ, οὕτω δακρύειν· τὰ τοιαῦτα δάκρυα πολλῆς ἐστιν εὐφροσύνης μεστά· τὸ τοιοῦτον πένθος ὑπόθεσις χαρᾶς ἐστι. Καὶ μή μοι εἴπῃς, τί πλέον ἐκ τοῦ θρηνεῖν, ὑπὲρ ὧν τοῦτο ποιῶ; Κἂν μηδὲν ὀνήσωμεν τοὺς θρηνουμένους, ἀλλὰ πάντως ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς ὠφελήσομεν. Ὁ γὰρ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀλλοτρίων οὕτως ἀλγῶν, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ὑπὲρ τῶν ἰδίων τοῦτο ποιήσεται· ὁ ἐπὶ τοῖς ἑτέρων οὕτω δακρύων, οὐκ ἀδακρυτὶ τὰ οἰκεῖα παρελεύσεται πλημμελήματα· μᾶλλον δὲ οὐδὲ ἁμαρτήσει ταχέως. Τὸ δὲ δεινὸν, ὅτι κελευσθέντες οὕτως ἐπὶ τοῖς ἁμαρτάνουσι θρηνεῖν, οὐδὲ ἐπὶ τοῖς οἰκείοις τινὰ ἐπιδεικνύμεθα μετάνοιαν, ἀλλ' ἀναλγήτως πταίοντες διακείμεθα, καὶ πάντων μᾶλλον φροντίζομεν, καὶ πάντα λογιζόμεθα μᾶλλον ἢ τὰ οἰκεῖα ἁμαρτήματα. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο χαίρομεν χαρὰν τὴν ἀνόνητον, τὴν τοῦ κόσμου, τὴν εὐθέως σβεννυμένην, τὴν μυρίας τίκτουσαν λύπας. Λυπηθῶμεν τοίνυν λύπην χαρᾶς μητέρα, καὶ μὴ ἡσθῶμεν χαρὰν λύπην τίκτουσαν· ἀφῶμεν δάκρυα σπείροντα πολλὴν ἡδονὴν, καὶ μὴ γελῶμεν γέλωτα βρυγμὸν ἡμῖν ὀδόντων τίκτοντα· θλιβῶμεν θλῖψιν, ἀφ' ἧς ἄνεσις βλαστάνει, καὶ μὴ ζητῶμεν τρυφὴν, ἀφ' ἧς πολλὴ θλῖψις καὶ ὀδύνη τίκτεται· ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς μικρὸν πονήσωμεν, ἵνα τρυφήσωμεν διηνεκῶς ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς· ἐν τῷ ἐπικήρῳ βίῳ θλίψωμεν ἑαυτοὺς, ἵνα ἐν τῷ ἀπείρῳ τύχωμεν ἀνέσεως· μὴ διαχυθῶμεν ἐν τῷ βραχεῖ τούτῳ, ἵνα μὴ στενάξωμεν ἐν τῷ ἀπείρῳ. Οὐχ ὁρᾶτε 62.297 πόσοι καὶ ἐνταῦθα θλίβονται βιωτικῶν ἕνεκεν