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abstaining from evil out of [fear of] punishment, if indeed one must call this an abstention from evil. "Perfect," it says, "love casts out fear, because fear has to do with punishment." The one who has knowledge of good and evil and has desired the good and cleaved to it, abstains from evil out of love for the good, 152 he withdraws from evil not out of fear of punishment, he turns away from evil. If, then, some argument persuades him that there is no punishment, he does the evil he chooses. God, therefore, often does not inflict punishment immediately, out of kindness and goodness. But he hides the multitude of the riches of his kindness for the sake of those who fear, for the sake of the little ones, for the sake of those who abstain from evil out of fear of punishment. "How great," therefore, "is the multitude of your kindness, O Lord." He hid it; for knowledge of it would have caused them to be worn down into evil deeds. As if someone, to the point of astounding his son, should utter words of indignation and hide the kindness according to which he does this, as if intending to punish; for if the son had known that the threat was only a pretense, he would have despised his kindness and would have been destroyed and become liable to wrath. In reality, his kindness is great, its multitude is great. For the Apostle also says to some: "Or do you despise the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance"? But he who does not know this thinks that he is not displeased with evil deeds and for this reason does not pursue them. And Peter, the foremost of the apostles, writing the epistle, has also said such a word: "The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance." Behold the kindness. It was not necessary for it to be known to the many; for they would have despised it even more. You have therefore hidden for those who fear you the multitude of your kindness. "You have wrought it for those who hope in you, in the sight of the sons of men." Those who hope are those who eagerly await the divine rewards and the promises which God has undertaken to bestow upon those who live well. "You have wrought" this, therefore, "for those who hope in you." You wrought this, the hiding of the multitude of your kindness, so that not even those who hope in you should see this, that for the sake of some you do not bring on wrath. He says, therefore, "in the sight of men." The multitude of your kindness is not hidden forever, but only as long as they are men about whom it is said: "But you die like men." And: "for while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not men?" In the sight, therefore, of these sons of men you wrought this hiding according to the multitude of your kindness; for to them also it reveals this. The God of all is often called a man, not because he has become a man or is a man, but because condescending to men he thus manages their affairs and thus becomes their judge as a compassionate man. "He bore with your ways, as a man bears with the ways of his son." He bore your ways, nourishing you and managing you. In harmony with this is: "If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?" And: "his eyelids test the sons of men." With his eyelids alone he sees what is done. Just as, therefore, the one who sent the son, who was well-pleased with his coming, managing men as a man, offers benefits, so also he is the "Son of man;" he is the son of the man who is so led. And another point: in a way, the particulars are the offspring of the universal. But the universal man was made "in the image and likeness" of God; for this was not said entirely about Adam alone, but the nature of man in general, the species, was made "in the image and likeness" of God. The one, therefore, who keeps the original, that which is as it were universal, he is the son of the man. Since, therefore, the soul of Jesus kept that which is according to the image—for he did not know sin, nor did he commit it—, for this reason son of man

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κολάσεως ἀπεχομένους κακίας, εἴ γε δεῖ ταύτην ἀποχὴν κακίας εἰπεῖν. "ἡ τελεία", φησίν, "ἀγάπη ἔξω βάλλει τὸν φόβον ὅτι ὁ φόβος κόλασιν ἔχει". ὁ σχὼν ἐπιστήμην ἀγαθοῦ καὶ κακοῦ καὶ ποθήσας τὸ ἀγαθὸν καὶ αὐτῷ προσκλιθεὶς ἀπέχεται τοῦ κακοῦ ἔρωτι τῷ πρὸς τὸ ἀγαθόν, 152 ἀφίσταται τοῦ κακοῦ οὐ φόβῳ κολάσεως, ἐκκλίνει ἀπὸ τοῦ κακοῦ. ἐὰν γοῦν λόγος τις πείσῃ αὐτόν, ὅτι οὐκ ἔνι κόλασις, πράττει ὃ αἱρεῖται κακόν. ὁ θεὸς οὖν πολλάκις οὐκ ἐπάγει τὴν τιμωρίαν παραυτὰ χρηστότητι καὶ ἀγαθότητι. κρύπτει δὲ τὸ πλῆθος τοῦ πλούτου τῆς χρηστότητος αὐτοῦ διὰ τοὺς φοβουμένους, διὰ τοὺς μικρούς, διὰ τοὺς φόβῳ κολάσεως ἀπεχομένους τοῦ κακου῀̣. "ὡς πολὺ" οὖν "τὸ πλῆθος τῆς χρηστότητός σου, κύριε". ἔκρυψεν αὐτήν· ἡ γνῶσις γὰρ αὐτῆς ἐποίει αὐτοὺς ἐπιτριβῆναι εἰς τὰ κακά. ὡς ἐάν τις μέχρι τοῦ θαμβῆσαι υἱὸν ἀγανακτήσεως λόγους προφέρῃ καὶ κρύπτῃ τὴν χρηστότη τα καθ' ἣν ποιεῖ τοῦτο ὡς μέλλων τιμωρήσασθαι· εἰ γὰρ γνοὺς ἦν ὁ υἱός, ὅτι μέχρι σχήματός ἐστιν ἡ ἀπειλή, κατεφρόνει τῆς χρηστότητος αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀπώλλυτο καὶ ἐγίνετο ὑπεύθυνος ὀργῇ. τῷ ὄντι πολλὴ χρηστότης ἐστὶν αὐτοῦ, πολὺ πλῆθός ἐστιν. λέγει γοῦν καὶ ὁ ἀπόστολ̣ος πρός τινας· "ἢ τοῦ πλούτου τῆς χρηστότητος καὶ τῆς ἀνοχῆς καὶ μακροθυμίας αὐτοῦ καταφρονεῖς, ἀγνοῶν ὅτι τὸ χρηστὸν τοῦ θεοῦ εἰς μετάνοιάν σε ἄγει"; ὁ δὲ μὴ τοῦτο ἐπιστάμενος οἴεται ὅτι οὐκ ἀπαρέσκεται τ̣οῖς κακοῖς καὶ διὰ τοῦτο οὐκ ἐπεξέρχεται. καὶ Πέτρος δὲ ὁ τῶν ἀποστόλων κορυφαιώτατος γράφων τὴν ἐπιστολὴν καὶ τοιαύτην λέξιν εἴρηκεν· "οὐ βραδύνει κύριος τῆς ἐπαγγελίας ἧς τινες βραδύτητα ἡγοῦνται, ἀλλὰ μακροθυμεῖ οὐ βουλόμενός τινας ἀπολέσαι ἀλλὰ πάντας εἰς μετάνοιαν χωρῆσαι". ἰδοὺ ἡ χρηστότητος̣. οὐκ ἔδει τοῖς πολλοῖς αὐτὴν γνωρίμην εἶναι· κατεφρόνησαν γὰρ ἔτι μᾶλλον αὐτῆς. ἔκρυψας οὖν τοῖς φοβουμένοις σε τὸ πλῆθος τῆς χρηστότητός σου. "ἐξειργάσω τοῖς ἐλπίζουσιν ἐπὶ σὲ ἐναντίον τῶν υἱῶν τῶν ἀνθρώπων". οἱ ἐλπίζοντες οἱ καραδοκοῦντές εἰσιν τὰς θείας ἀμοιβὰς καὶ τὰς ἐπαγγελίας ἃς θεὸς ὑπέσχετο τοι῀̣ς εὖ βιοῦσιν ὀρέξαι. "ἐξειργάσω" οὖν τοῦτο "τοῖς ἐλπίζουσιν ἐπὶ σέ". ἐξειργάσω τοῦτο τὸ κρύψαι τὸ πλῆθος τῆς χρηστότητός σου, ἵνα μηδὲ οἱ ἐλπίζοντες ἐπὶ σὲ τοῦτο ἴδωσιν ὅτι διά τινας οὐκ ἐπιφέρεις τὴν ὀργήν. λέγει οὖν ὅτι "ἐναντίον τῶν ἀνθρώπων". οὐκ εἰς ἀεὶ κρύπτεται τὸ πλῆθος τῆς χρηστότητός σου, ἀλλ' ὅσον ἄνθρωποί εἰσιν ἐκεῖνοι περὶ ὧν λέγεται· "ὑμεῖς δὲ δὴ ὡς ἄνθρωποι ἀποθνῄςκετε". καί· "ὅπου γὰρ ἔρις καὶ ζῆλος ἐν ὑμῖν, οὐχὶ ἄνθρωποί ἐστε"; ἐναντίον οὖν τούτων τῶν υἱῶν τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐξειργάσω τοῦτο τὸ κρύψαι κατὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῆς χρηστότητός σου· καὶ αὐτοῖς γὰρ ἀνοίγει τοῦτο. ὁ θεὸς τῶν ὅλων λέγεται πολλάκις ἄνθρωπος, οὐχ ὅτι ἄνθρωπος γέγονεν ἢ ἄνθρωπός ἐστιν, ἀλλ' ὅτι συνκαταβαίνων τοῖς ἀνθρώποις οὕτω διοικεῖ τὰ κατ' αὐτοὺς καὶ κριτὴς αὐτῶν οὕτω γίνεται ὡς συνπαθὴς ἄνθρωπος. "ἐτροποφόρησέν σε ὡς εἴ τις τροποφορήσει ἄνθρωπος τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ". τοὺς τρόπους σου ἐφο´̣ρ̣ησεν τρέφων σε καὶ διοικῶν. συνᾴδει τούτῳ τό· "ἐὰν ἀνομίας παρατηρήσῃ, κύριε, κύριε, τίς ὑποστήσεται"; καί· "τὰ βλέφαρα αὐτοῦ ἐξετάζει τοὺς υἱοὺς τῶν ἀνθρώπων". βλεφάροις μόνοις ὁρᾷ τὰ πραττόμενα. ὥσπερ οὖν ὁ ἀποστείλας τὸν υἱόν, ὁ εὐδοκήσας τῇ ἐπιδημίᾳ αὐτοῦ, ἀνθρώπους διοικῶν ὡς ἄνθρωπος προσφέρει τὰς ὠφελίας, οὕτω καὶ οὗτος "υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου" ἐστίν· τοῦ οὕτω ἀγομένου ἀνθρώπου υἱός ἐστιν. καὶ ἄλλο δέ· τρόπον τινὰ τὰ καθέκαστα γεννήματά εἰσιν τοῦ καθόλου. ὁ καθόλου δὲ ἄνθρωπος "κατ' εἰκόνα καὶ ὁμοίωσιν" θεοῦ γέγονεν· οὐδὲ γὰρ πάντως περὶ τοῦ Ἀδὰμ τοῦτο μόνου εἴρηται, ἀλλὰ ἡ φύσις ἡ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἡ καθόλου, τὸ εἶδος "κατ' εἰκόνα καὶ ὁμοίωσιν" θεοῦ γέγονεν. ὁ φυ λάττων οὖν τὸ πρωτότυπον, τὸ ὡσανεὶ καθόλου, ἐκεῖνος υἱός ἐστιν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου. ἐπεὶ τοίνυν ἡ Ἰησοῦ ψυχὴ ἐφύλαξεν τὸ κατ' εἰκόνα-ἁμαρτίαν γὰρ οὐκ ἔγνω οὐδὲ ἐποίησεν αὐτήν-, κατὰ τοῦτο υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου