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A philanthropic and compassionate physician, understands the brother's weakness, the inflammation of the passion, the swelling; he sees the sick one becoming entirely death's. Will anyone fall in love with such a person, that I may again be reminded of those senseless words? I think not even one of the utterly mad men will think such a thing against the sick woman or the sick man in their illness unto death, let alone pious and God-fearing physicians. But having said farewell to the words of the truly (236) mad, let us hold to the thread of the narrative. When, therefore, the spiritual and scientific physician sees the brother in the state we described, he does not immediately cry out nor does he procrastinate nor does he say: "The things you seek are evil and deadly, and I will not give you these remedies," so that upon hearing this he might not take to flight and go away to another inexperienced in such passions and die at that very hour; but he receives, holds, comforts, shows all love together with simplicity, in order to convince him that even with the medicines he asked for, he will effect the cure with them and fulfill his desire.

For there are some who are gravely ill in soul and bear their sicknesses grievously, and they seek things that increase the illness; and the passion of each of these perhaps requires a diet and abstinence from pleasures, but they rather seek to luxuriate in corrupting foods and to be filled with them to satiety. For this reason, as I said before, the experienced physician does not immediately refuse the things sought by the sick person, but promises to fulfill all of his request; the sick one, as if for good things, hastens toward his desires; the physician conceals the remedies; and the one waits and joyfully anticipates, but the other, being wise, shows things that appear similar to what is sought, but the concealed thing is different in taste, but extraordinary in the power of its effect. For the sick person only touches the medicines, and by the touch, against all hope, receives the cure; and immediately the swelling of the passion is stopped, and the wound completely vanishes, and of those things with which he first burned with desire, he does not even endure to remember them thereafter. And it is possible to see and behold a wonder happening that is higher than any word; for without any other remedy, by the mere touch and sight of the medical drugs he makes the sick healthy, (237) their wounds and their swelling are suppressed and the flame of their thirst is quenched, and those who hunger for corrupting and harmful foods from then on desire the beneficial ones more, and these men recount to many the wonders of the physician and the marvelous method of his science.

Let the healthy hear and understand the things spoken by us enigmatically, if indeed they have also received the grace of divinely-inspired knowledge. For the sick do not know these things, or rather, they do not even understand that they are sick. And who then will ever persuade by word those who are in such a state that they are possessed by weakness and illness? For they think this is health: to do the will of the flesh and to perform all things of desire and appetite; and just as no one will ever make those who are out of their minds and delirious consider themselves insane, so also no one will ever persuade those who are wallowing in passions and held fast by them and not perceiving their possession to be in evil things, or make them change for the better. For being blind and not believing that anyone else sees, so they live, deprived even of sight, and are persuaded that it is not even possible for them to see again; for if they were persuaded, perhaps they would also have sought to see again, and having seen again, they would have seen accurately and recognized those who are crucified to the world. But not wanting to be freed from the passions, they willingly stop their ears and are not willing to pay attention to the Apostle saying thus: "the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me," and

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φιλάνθρωπος καί συμπαθής ἰατρός, κατανοεῖ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ τήν ἀσθένειαν, τοῦ πάθους τήν φλεγμονήν, τόν ὄγκον, ὁρᾷ τόν νοσοῦντα ὅλον τοῦ θανάτου γινόμενον. Τοῦ τοιούτου δέ ἆρά τις ἐρασθήσεται, ἵνα πάλιν τῶν ἀναισθήτων λόγων ἐκείνων ἀναμνησθῶ; Οἶμαι, οὐδέ τῶν λίαν τις μαινομένων ἀνδρῶν τοιοῦτόν τι κατά τῆς ἀσθενούσης ἤ τοῦ ἀσθενοῦντος τήν πρός θάνατον ἀρρωστίαν ἐνθυμηθήσεται, μή ὅτι γε εὐσεβῶν καί φοβουμένων τόν Θεόν ἰατρῶν. Ἀλλά τῶν ὄντως (236) μαινομένων τούς λόγους χαίρειν εἰπόντες, ἐχώμεθα τοῦ λόγου τῆς διηγήσεως. Ὅταν οὖν ἴδῃ ὁ πνευματικός καί ἐπιστήμων ἰατρός ἐν οἷς εἴπομεν ὄντα τόν ἀδελφόν, οὐκ εὐθέως βοᾷ οὐδέ διαναβάλλεται οὐδέ λέγει· "Κακά καί θανατηφόρα εἰσίν ἅ ζητεῖς καί οὐ δίδωμί σοι ταῦτα τά βοηθήματα", ἵνα μή ἀκούσας φυγῇ χρήσηται καί πρός ἕτερον τῶν τοιούτων παθῶν ἄπειρον ἀπέλθῃ καί τῇ αὐτῇ ὥρᾳ τεθνήξεται· ἀλλά προσδέχεται, κατέχει, παρακαλεῖ, πᾶσαν δεικνύει ἀγάπην ὁμοῦ καί ἁπλότητα, ἵνα πληροφορήσῃ αὐτόν ὅτι καί δι᾿ ὧν φαρμάκων ᾐτήσατο, δι᾿ αὐτῶν καί τήν ἰατρείαν ποιήσηται καί τήν ἐπιθυμίαν αὐτοῦ ἐκπληρώσῃ.

Εἰσί γάρ τινες οἱ χαλεπῶς νοσοῦντες κατά ψυχήν καί χαλεπά τά νοσήματα φέροντες καί τά ἐπαύξοντα τήν νόσον ἐπιζητοῦντες· καί τό μέν πάθος ἑκάστου τούτων ἴσως, ἵνα δέηται διαίτης καί τῆς τῶν ἡδέων ἀποχῆς, αὐτοί δέ μᾶλλον τρυφᾶν ζητοῦσι τά φθοροποιά βρώματα καί εἰς κόρον ἐμφορεῖσθαι αὐτῶν. ∆ιά δή τοῦτο, ὡς ἔφθην εἰπών, ὁ ἔμπειρος ἰατρός οὐκ εὐθέως ἐπί τοῖς ζητουμένοις παρά τοῦ νοσοῦντος ἀνανεύει, ἀλλ᾿ ὑπισχνεῖται πάντα τά τῆς αἰτήσεως ἐκπληρῶσαι αὐτοῦ· ὁ νοσῶν, ὡς ἐπί καλοῖς, σπεύδει τοῖς καταθυμίοις αὐτοῦ, ὁ ἰατρός ὑποκρύπτει τά βοηθήματα· καί ὁ μέν ἐκδέχεται καί περιχαρῶς ἀναμένει, ὁ δέ, σοφός ὤν, τόν μέν φαινόμενον τῶν ζητουμένων δεικνύει παρόμοια, τό δέ κρυπτόμενον, ἄλλα μέν τῇ γεύσει, τῇ δέ δυνάμει τῆς ἐνεργείας παράδοξα. Μόνον γάρ τῶν φαρμάκων ὁ ἀσθενῶν ἅπτεται, καί τῇ ἁφῇ παρά πᾶσαν ἐλπίδα τήν ἰατρείαν λαμβάνει· καί καταπαύεται μέν εὐθύς τοῦ πάθους ὁ ὄγκος, τό δέ τραῦμα παντελῶς ἀφανίζεται, καί ὧν τῇ ἐπιθυμίᾳ πρῶτον ἐφλέγετο, τούτων οὐδέ μνημονεύειν ἀνέχεται τοῦ λοιποῦ. Καί ἔστιν ἰδεῖν καί θεάσασθαι λόγου παντός ὑψηλότερον θαῦμα γινόμενον· χωρίς γάρ ἄλλου τινός βοηθήματος, μόνῃ τῆ προσψαύσει καί θεωρίᾳ τῶν ἰατρικῶν φαρμάκων ὑγιαίνειν ποιεῖ τούς νοσοῦντας, (237) τά τραύματα καί τόν ὄγκον αὐτῶν καταστέλλεσθαι καί τήν φλόγαν τούτων τῆς δίψης παύεσθαι, καί τούς πεινῶντας τά φθοροποιά καί ἐπιβλαβῆ βρώματα τῶν ὠφελίμων μᾶλλον ἐπιθυμεῖν ἔκτοτε, καί πολλοῖς διηγεῖσθαι τούτους τά τοῦ ἰατροῦ θαύματα καί τήν θαυμασίαν μέθοδον τῆς ἐπιστήμης αὐτοῦ.

Ἀκουέτωσαν οἱ ὑγιαίνοντες καί τά αἰνιγματωδῶς ἡμῖν εἰρημένα νοείτωσαν, εἴ τε καί τῆς ἐνθέου γνώσεως τήν χάριν ἐδέξαντο. Ταῦτα γάρ οἱ νοσοῦντες οὐκ ἴσασι, μᾶλλον δέ οὐδέ ὅτι ἀσθενοῦσιν ἐπίστανται. Τούς δέ οὕτως ἔχοντας τίς ἄρα λόγῳ πείσει ποτέ ὅτι ἀσθενείᾳ καί νόσῳ κατέχονται; Ὑγείαν γάρ τούτην οἴονται, τό ποιεῖν τῆς σαρκός τά θελήματα καί πάντα πράσσειν τά τῆς ἐπιθυμίας καί τῆς ἐφέσεως· καί ὥσπερ οὐδείς τούς ἔξω φρενῶν ὄντας καί παρακόπους ἔκφρονας εἶναι ποιήσει λογίσασθαί ποτε ἑαυτούς, οὕτως οὐδέ τούς ἐν πάθεσι κυλινδουμένους καί ὑπ᾿ αὐτῶν κεκρατημένους καί μή αἰσθανομένους τῆς κατασχέσεως τούτων ἐν κακοῖς εἶναι πείσει ποτέ τις ἤ μεταβαλέσθαι ποιήσει ἐπί τό βέλτιον. Τυφλοί γάρ ὄντες καί μηδέ ἄλλον τινά πιστεύοντες βλέπειν, οὕτως διάγουσιν ἐστερημένοι καί τοῦ ὁρᾶν, καί ὅτι οὐδέ ἀναβλέψαι αὐτούς δυνατόν εἶναι πείθονται· εἰ γάρ ἐπείθοντο, τάχα ἄν καί ἐζήτησαν ἀναβλέψαι, καί ἀναβλέψαντες εἶδον ἀκριβῶς καί ἐγνώρισαν τούς ἐσταυρωμένους τῷ κόσμῳ. Ἀλλά μή θέλοντες τῶν παθῶν ἀπαλλαγῆναι βύουσιν ἑκουσίως τά ὦτα καί τῷ Ἀποστόλῳ προσέχειν οὐ βούλονται οὕτω λέγοντι· "Ἐμοί κόσμος ἐσταύρωται κἀγώ τῷ κόσμῳ. Ζῶ δέ οὐκέτι ἐγώ, ζῇ δέ ἐν ἐμοί Χριστός", καί