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and much anguish, and a choking of cares. Have you seen a man practicing righteousness, content with his own things, and having the great spaciousness of relaxation, caring for nothing, being anxious about nothing here? Set him there, and raise him up; and you will make him much more beautiful and more splendid, not feasting on the flowers of the earth, but on those of virtue, moderation, gentleness, and all the others. For nothing so troubles the eye as an evil conscience. My eye, he says, was troubled from anger; nothing so darkens it. Release him from this abuse, and you will make him bright and strong, always nourished by good hopes. May it be that we all prepare both this and the other energies of the soul to be such as Christ wills; so that becoming worthy of the Head set over us, we may depart where He wills. For He says: I will that, where I am, there they may be also with me, that they may behold my glory; of which may we all be granted to partake, in Christ Jesus our Lord, with whom to the Father and the Holy Spirit be glory, dominion, honor, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

HOMILY XVIII. Saying above, that sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and for

sin you did not desire, nor were well pleased, which are offered according to the law; then he said: Behold I come to do, O God, your will. He takes away the first, that he may establish the second. By which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands daily ministering, and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but this one, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down at the right hand of God, from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. 1. In the preceding parts, he showed that the sacrifices were unprofitable for perfect cleansing, and that they were a type, and much lacking. Since, then, 63.134 this objection met him, if they are types, how is it that when the truth came, they did not cease nor give way, but are still performed? He works out this very point here, showing that they are no longer performed; not even as a type, for God does not accept them. And this he shows not again from the New [Testament], but from the prophets, bringing forward the strongest testimony from of old, that it is ending and ceasing, and they do all things in vain, always resisting the Holy Spirit. And he shows superabundantly not that they have ceased now, but even at the very presence of Christ, or rather, even before His presence, and how Christ did not abolish them at the last, but they were abolished before, and then He came; they ceased before, and then He Himself appeared. For so that they may not say, even without this 63.135 sacrifice we were able to please God, He waited for them to be refuted even through those [sacrifices], and then He Himself appeared. For sacrifice, He says, and offering you did not desire. He abolished all things through this; and having spoken generally, he also speaks specifically; Burnt offerings and for sin you were not well pleased. And an offering was everything besides the sacrifice. Then I said: Behold I come. Concerning whom was this said? Concerning no other than Christ. Here he blames the offerers in no way, showing that it is not on account of their wickedness that He does not receive them, as he says elsewhere; but because the matter had henceforth been convicted, and shown to have no strength, nor any fitting season. What then has this to do with the sacrifices being offered many times? It is not only from the "many times", he says, that it is clear that they are weak and that they accomplished nothing, but also from God not accepting them, as being profitless and unhelpful. Indicating this very thing, he also says elsewhere that, If you had desired sacrifice, I would have given it. Therefore, through this also he indicates that He does not desire it. Therefore, the sacrifices are not the will of

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καὶ στενοχωρία πολλὴ, καὶ φροντίδων πνιγμός. Εἶδες δικαιοσύνην ἀσκοῦντα ἄνθρωπον, ἀρκούμενον τοῖς αὑτοῦ, καὶ πολλὴν ἔχοντα τὴν εὐρυχωρίαν τῆς ἀνέσεως, οὐδὲν μεριμνῶντα, οὐδὲν φροντίζοντα τῶν ἐνταῦθα; στῆσον αὐτὸν ἐκεῖ, καὶ μετεώρισον· καὶ πολλῷ καλλίονα αὐτὸν ἐργάσῃ καὶ λαμπρότερον, οὐ τοῖς τῆς γῆς ἄνθεσιν εὐωχῶν, ἀλλὰ τοῖς τῆς ἀρετῆς, σωφροσύνῃ, ἐπιεικείᾳ, καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἅπασιν. Οὐδὲν γὰρ οὕτω ταράττει ὀφθαλμὸν, ὡς συνειδὸς πονηρόν· Ἐταράχθη, φησὶν, ἀπὸ θυμοῦ ὁ ὀφθαλμός μου· οὐδὲν οὕτω σκοτοῖ. Ταύτης αὐτὸν ἀπάλλαξον τῆς ἐπηρείας, καὶ φαιδρὸν ἐργάσῃ καὶ ἰσχυρὸν, ἀεὶ τρεφόμενον ἐλπίσιν ἀγαθαῖς. Γένοιτο δὲ πάντας ἡμᾶς, καὶ τοῦτον καὶ τὰς ἄλλας τῆς ψυχῆς ἐνεργείας κατασκευάσαι τοιαύτας, οἵας ὁ Χριστὸς βούλεται· ἵνα τῆς ἐπικειμένης ἡμῖν κεφαλῆς ἄξιοι γενόμενοι, ἀπέλθωμεν ἔνθα θέλει. Φησὶ γάρ· Θέλω ἵν', ὅπου ἐγώ εἰμι, κἀκεῖνοι ὦσι μετ' ἐμοῦ, ἵνα τὴν δόξαν τὴν ἐμὴν ὁρῶσιν· ἧς γένοιτο ἀπολαῦσαι πάντας ἡμᾶς, ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν, μεθ' οὗ τῷ Πατρὶ καὶ τῷ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι δόξα, κράτος, τιμὴ, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ, καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.

ΟΜΙΛΙΑ ΙΗʹ. Ἀνώτερον λέγων, ὅτι θυσίαν καὶ προσφορὰν καὶ ὁλοκαυτώματα καὶ περὶ

ἁμαρτίας οὐκ ἠθέλησας, οὐδὲ εὐδόκησας, αἵτινες κατὰ νόμον προσφέρονται· τότε εἴρηκεν· Ἰδοὺ ἥκω τοῦ ποιῆ σαι, ὁ Θεὸς, τὸ θέλημά σου. Ἀναιρεῖ τὸ πρῶ τον, ἵνα τὸ δεύτερον στήσῃ. Ἐν ᾧ θελήματι ἡγιασμένοι ἐσμὲν διὰ τῆς προσφορᾶς τοῦ σώ ματος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐφάπαξ. Καὶ πᾶς μὲν ἱερεὺς ἕστηκε καθ' ἡμέραν λειτουργῶν, καὶ τὰς αὐτὰς πολλάκις προσφέρων θυσίας, αἵτινες οὐ δέποτε δύνανται περιελεῖν ἁμαρτίας· οὗτος δὲ μίαν ὑπὲρ ἁμαρτιῶν προσενέγκας θυσίαν, εἰς τὸ διηνεκὲς ἐκάθισεν ἐν δεξιᾷ τοῦ Θεοῦ, τὸ λοιπὸν ἐκδεχόμενος, ἕως τεθῶσιν οἱ ἐχθροὶ αὐτοῦ ὑπο πόδιον τῶν ποδῶν αὐτοῦ. αʹ. Ἐν μὲν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν ἔδειξεν ἀνωφελεῖς τὰς θυσίας οὔσας πρὸς τὴν τελείαν καθαρότητα, καὶ τύπον οὔσας, καὶ πολὺ λειπομένας. Ἐπεὶ οὖν ἀντέπιπτεν 63.134 αὐτῷ τοῦτο, εἰ τύποι εἰσὶ, πῶς τῆς ἀληθείας ἐλθούσης, οὐκ ἐπαύσαντο οὐδὲ ὑπεχώρησαν, ἀλλ' ἐπιτελοῦνται; Αὐτὸ δὲ τοῦτο ἐνταῦθα ἐργάζεται, δεικνὺς ὅτι οὐκέτι τελοῦνται· οὐδὲ ὡς τύπος, οὐ γὰρ αὐτὰς προσίεται ὁ Θεός. Καὶ τοῦτο οὐκ ἀπὸ τῆς Καινῆς πάλιν, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ τῶν προφητῶν δείκνυσιν, ἄνωθεν τὴν ἰσχυροτάτην παράγων μαρτυρίαν, ὅτι λήγει καὶ παύεται, καὶ εἰκῆ πάντα πράττουσιν, ἀεὶ τῷ Πνεύματι τῷ ἁγίῳ ἀντιπίπτοντες. Καὶ δείκνυσιν ἐκ περιουσίας οὐ νῦν αὐτὰς πεπαυμένας, ἀλλὰ καὶ παρ' αὐτὴν τοῦ Χριστοῦ τὴν παρουσίαν, μᾶλλον δὲ, καὶ πρὸ τῆς αὐτοῦ παρουσίας, καὶ πῶς οὐ τελευταῖον ἔλυσεν αὐτὰς ὁ Χριστὸς, ἀλλὰ πρότερον ἐλύθησαν, καὶ τότε ἦλθε· πρότερον ἐπαύθησαν, καὶ τότε αὐτὸς παρεγένετο. Ἵνα γὰρ μὴ λέγωσι, καὶ χωρὶς ταύτης 63.135 τῆς θυσίας ἠδυνάμεθα εὐαρεστῆσαι τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ δι' ἐκείνων ἀνέμεινεν αὐτὰς ἐλεγχθῆναι, καὶ τότε αὐτὸς παρεγένετο· Θυσίαν γὰρ, φησὶ, καὶ προσφορὰν οὐκ ἠθέλησας. Πάντα ἀνεῖλε διὰ τούτου· καὶ γενικῶς εἰπὼν, λέγει καὶ ἰδικῶς· Ὁλοκαυτώματα καὶ περὶ ἁμαρτίας οὐκ εὐδόκησας. Προσφορὰ δὲ πᾶν τὸ ἐκτὸς τῆς θυσίας ἦν. Τότε εἶπον· Ἰδοὺ ἥκω. Περὶ τίνος τοῦτο εἴρηται; Περὶ οὐδενὸς ἑτέρου, ἀλλ' ἢ περὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Ἐνταῦθα οὐδὲν αἰτιᾶται τοὺς προσφέροντας, δεικνὺς ὅτι οὐ διὰ τὰς πονηρίας αὐτῶν οὐ δέχεται, καθάπερ ἑτέρωθί φησιν· ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸ λοιπὸν ἐληλέγχθαι τὸ πρᾶγμα, καὶ πεφανερῶσθαι οὐδεμίαν ἔχον ἰσχὺν, οὐδὲ καιρόν τινα προσήκοντα. Τί οὖν τοῦτο πρὸς τὸ πολλάκις προσφέρεσθαι τὰς θυσίας; Οὐκ ἀπὸ τοῦ πολλάκις μόνον δῆλον, φησὶν, ὅτι ἀσθενεῖς εἰσι καὶ ὅτι οὐδὲν ἤνυσαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ μὴ προσίεσθαι αὐτὰς τὸν Θεὸν, ὡς ἀνονήτους καὶ ἀνωφελεῖς. Τοῦτο αὐτὸ δηλῶν καὶ ἀλλαχοῦ φησιν, ὅτι, Εἰ ἠθέλησας θυσίαν ἔδωκα ἄν. Ἄρα καὶ διὰ τούτου δηλοῖ ὅτι οὐ θέλει. Ἄρα οὖν οὐχ αἱ θυσίαι τὸ θέλημα τοῦ