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trembling and afraid? Then if someone should bind you to a treasure, ordering you to sit there constantly and to keep watch over what belongs to others, you are grieved, you are annoyed; but you, having bound yourself with the harshest bonds, now that you have been delivered from slavery, are you grieved? Truly sorrows and joys are a matter of preconception. For as though holding what belongs to others, so we guard them. Now my speech is to the women. A certain woman often had a garment woven of gold, and she shakes it out, wraps it in linen, guards it with security, trembles for it, and does not enjoy it; for either she died or was widowed; or, even if none of these things happen, she fears lest by continuous use she wear it out and deprive herself of it. Even if another does not deprive her, she deprives herself by her thriftiness. But does she hand it over to another? But not even this is clear; and if she should hand it over, that one too will again use it in the same way. And if one should search the things in houses, he will find the most precious of garments and the other pre-eminent things held in greater honor, as if they were living masters, being served; for she does not use them continuously, but fears and trembles, warding off moths and the other things accustomed to consuming them, and placing the most valuable things in myrrh and perfumes, not even permitting all to be deemed worthy 63.146 of that sight, but often she herself with her husband carefully arranges these things. 3. Not without reason, tell me, did Paul call covetousness idolatry? For as much honor as they show for idols, so much do these show for their garments, for their gold. How long shall we stir up the mire? How long shall we be nailed to the clay and the brick-making? For just as they labored for the king of the Egyptians, so also we labor for the devil, and we are scourged with far harsher scourgings. And do not condemn the saying as an exaggeration; for by as much as soul is better than body, by so much are we scourged each day by the care of our wounds, fearing, being anxious, trembling. But if we are willing to groan, if we are willing to look up to God, He sends us not Moses, nor Aaron, but His own Word and compunction. This one therefore, coming and taking hold of our souls, will free us from the bitter slavery, will lead us out of Egypt, out of the unprofitable and vainly toiling zeal, out of the slavery that has no profit. For they at least went out having taken gold, the wages of their building; but we take nothing; and would that it were nothing; but now we too take not gold, but the evils of Egypt, sins and punishments and vengeances. Let us learn therefore to be profited, let us learn to be wronged; this is the mark of a Christian; let us despise golden garments, let us despise riches, so that we may not despise our own salvation; let us despise riches, and not despise the soul; for this is the one that is punished, this is the one that is tormented; those things remain here, but this departs to that place. For what reason, for what, tell me, do you cut yourself to pieces, and do not feel it? These things I say to the covetous. But it is good also to say to those who are defrauded, bear covetousness nobly; they destroy themselves, not you. They deprive you of riches, but they strip themselves of the good will of God and of His help; and he who is stripped of that, even if he should put on all the wealth of the world, is poorer than all; just as also he who is poorest of all, if he has this, is wealthier than all; for, The Lord, it says, is my shepherd, and I shall not want. Tell me, if you had some great and wonderful man, who loved you very much and cared for you, and then you knew that he would live forever, and you would not die before him, and he would provide you with all his own things with freedom, so that you might enjoy them as your own; would you have wished to acquire anything? would you not, if you were stripped of all things, have considered yourself to be richer on account of this? Why then do you mourn? Because you do not have riches? But consider that you have been deprived of the occasion for sins. But because you were deprived of substance? But you have acquired the good will of God. And how have I acquired it, he says? He said, Why do you not rather suffer wrong? he said that

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τρέμων καὶ δεδοικώς; Εἶτα ἂν μέν σέ τις προσδήσῃ θησαυρῷ, κελεύων διαπαντὸς ἐκεῖ καθῆσθαι, καὶ ἀγρυπνεῖν ὑπὲρ ἀλλοτρίων, ἀλγεῖς, δυσχεραίνεις· σὺ δὲ σαυτὸν προσδήσας δεσμοῖς χαλεπωτάτοις, ἐπειδὴ ἀπηλλάγης τῆς δουλείας, ἀλγεῖς; Ὄντως προλήψεώς εἰσιν αἱ λῦπαι καὶ αἱ εὐφροσύναι. καθάπερ γὰρ ἀλλότρια ἔχοντες, οὕτως αὐτὰ τηροῦμεν. Νῦν πρὸς τὰς γυναῖκάς μοι ὁ λόγος. Εἶχέ τις γυνὴ πολλάκις ἀπὸ χρυσίου ὑφασμένον ἱμάτιον, καὶ τοῦτο τινάσσει, περιβάλλει λίνοις, τηρεῖ μετὰ ἀσφαλείας, τρέμει ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ, καὶ οὐκ ἀπολαύει αὐτοῦ· ἢ γὰρ ἐτελεύτησεν ἢ ἐχήρευσεν· ἢ, κἂν μηδὲν τούτων συμβῇ, δέδοικε μὴ τῇ συνεχεῖ χρήσει δαπανήσασα αὐτὸ, ἀποστερήσειεν ἑαυτήν· κἂν ἄλλος οὐκ ἀποστερήσῃ, ἀποστερεῖ ἑαυτὴν τῇ φειδωλίᾳ. Ἀλλὰ παραχωρεῖ ἑτέρᾳ; ἀλλ' οὐδὲ τοῦτο δῆλον· εἰ δὲ καὶ παραχωρήσειε, καὶ ἐκείνη πάλιν ὁμοίως αὐτῷ χρήσεται. Καὶ εἴ τις ἐρευνήσει τὰ ἐν ταῖς οἰκίαις, εὑρήσει τὰ μάλιστα τίμια τῶν ἱματίων καὶ τὰ ἄλλα τὰ ὑπερέχοντα ἐν πλείονι τιμῇ, ὥσπερ ἐμψύχους δεσπότας, θεραπευόμενα· οὐ γὰρ χρῆται αὐτοῖς συνεχῶς, ἀλλὰ δέδοικε καὶ τρέμει, σῆτας καὶ τὰ ἄλλα τὰ βιβρώσκειν εἰωθότα ἀποσοβοῦσα, καὶ τὰ πλείονα ἐν μύῤῥοις καὶ ἀρώμασι τιθεῖσα, οὐδὲ πᾶσιν ἐπιτρέπουσα 63.146 τῆς ὄψεως καταξιωθῆναι ἐκείνης, ἀλλ' αὐτὴ πολλάκις μετὰ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ταῦτα διατιθεῖσα ἐπιμελῶς. γʹ. Οὐκ εἰκότως, εἰπέ μοι, εἰδωλολατρείαν τὴν πλεονεξίαν ἐκάλεσεν ὁ Παῦλος; Ὅσην γὰρ ἐκεῖνοι τιμὴν περὶ τὰ εἴδωλα ἐπιδείκνυνται, τοσαύτην καὶ οὗτοι περὶ τὰ ἱμάτια, περὶ τὰ χρυσία. Μέχρι τίνος βόρβορον ἀνακινοῦμεν; μέχρι τίνος τῷ πηλῷ καὶ τῇ πλινθείᾳ προσηλώμεθα; Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐκεῖνοι τῷ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων βασιλεῖ ἔκαμνον, οὕτω καὶ ἡμεῖς τῷ διαβόλῳ κάμνομεν, καὶ μαστιζόμεθα πολὺ χαλεπωτέρας μάστιγας. Καὶ μή τινα ὑπερβολὴν καταγνῷς τοῦ λόγου· ὅσῳ γὰρ κρείττων σώματος ψυχὴ, τοσούτῳ φροντὶς μωλώπων μαστιζόμεθα καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν, δεδοίκαμεν φροντίζοντες, τρέμοντες. Ἀλλ' ἐὰν θελήσωμεν στενάξαι, ἐὰν θελήσωμεν ἀναβλέψαι πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν, πέμπει ἡμῖν οὐ Μωϋσέα, οὐδὲ Ἀαρὼν, ἀλλὰ τὸν αὑτοῦ λόγον καὶ τὴν κατάνυξιν. Οὗτος τοίνυν ἐλθὼν, καὶ κατασχὼν ἡμῶν τὰς ψυχὰς, ἐλευθερώσει τῆς δουλείας τῆς πικρᾶς ἡμᾶς, ἐξάξει ἡμᾶς ἐξ Αἰγύπτου, τῆς ἀνονήτου καὶ ματαιοπόνου σπουδῆς, τῆς δουλείας τῆς οὐδὲν κέρδος ἐχούσης. Ἐκεῖνοι μὲν οὖν κἂν χρυσία λαβόντες ἐξῆλθον, τὸν μισθὸν τῆς οἰκοδομῆς· ἡμεῖς δὲ οὐδέν· καὶ εἴθε μηδέν· νῦν δὲ καὶ ἡμεῖς λαμβάνομεν οὐ χρυσία, ἀλλὰ τὰ Αἰγύπτου κακὰ, ἁμαρτήματα καὶ κολάσεις καὶ τιμωρίας. Μάθωμεν τοίνυν ὠφελεῖσθαι, μάθωμεν ἐπηρεάζεσθαι· τοῦτό ἐστι Χριστιανοῦ· καταφρονήσωμεν τῶν χρυσῶν ἱματίων, καταφρονήσωμεν τῶν χρημάτων, ἵνα μὴ καταφρονήσωμεν τῆς σωτηρίας τῆς ἡμετέρας· καταφρονήσωμεν χρημάτων, καὶ μὴ καταφρονήσωμεν τῆς ψυχῆς· αὕτη γάρ ἐστιν ἡ κολαζομένη, αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ τιμωρουμένη· ἐκεῖνα ἐνταῦθα μένει, αὕτη δὲ ἄπεισιν ἐκεῖ. Τίνος ἕνεκεν, τίνος, εἰπέ μοι, κατακόπτεις σαυτὸν, καὶ οὐκ αἰσθάνῃ; Ταῦτα πρὸς τοὺς πλεονέκτας λέγω. Καλὸν δὲ καὶ πρὸς τοὺς πλεονεκτουμένους εἰπεῖν, φέρετε γενναίως τὰς πλεονεξίας· ἑαυτοὺς ἀναιροῦσιν ἐκεῖνοι, οὐχ ὑμᾶς. Ὑμᾶς μὲν ἀποστεροῦσι χρημάτων, ἑαυτοὺς δὲ γυμνοῦσι τῆς εὐνοίας τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ τῆς βοηθείας· ὁ δὲ ἐκείνης γυμνωθεὶς, κἂν ἅπαντα περιβάληται τῆς οἰκουμένης τὸν πλοῦτον, πάντων ἐστὶ πενέστερος· ὡσπεροῦν καὶ ὁ πάντων πενέστερος, ἂν ταύτην ἔχῃ, πάντων ἐστὶν εὐπορώτερος· Κύριος γὰρ, φησὶ, ποιμαίνει με, καὶ οὐδέν με ὑστερήσει. Εἰπὲ δή μοι, εἴ τινα εἶχες ἄνδρα μέγαν καὶ θαυμαστὸν, πάνυ σε φιλοῦντα καὶ κηδόμενον, εἶτα ἔγνως ὅτι διαπαντὸς ζήσεται, καὶ οὐ προτελευτήσεις αὐτοῦ, καὶ πάντα σοι παρέξει μετὰ ἀδείας τὰ αὑτοῦ, ὥστε σε ὡς τῶν σῶν ἀπολαύειν· ἆρα ἂν ἠθέλησας κτήσασθαί τι; ἆρα ἂν, εἰ πάντων ἐγυμνώθης, οὐχί σε πλουσιωτέραν ἐνόμιζες εἶναι διὰ τοῦτο; Τί δήποτε οὖν πενθεῖς; ὅτι χρήματα οὐκ ἔχεις; ἀλλ' ἐννόει ὅτι ἀφῃρέθης τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων τὴν ὑπόθεσιν. Ἀλλ' ὅτι οὐσίας ἀπεστερήθης; ἀλλ' ἐκτήσω τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν εὔνοιαν. Καὶ πῶς ἐκτησάμην, φησίν; Εἶπε, ∆ιὰ τί μὴ μᾶλλον ἀδικεῖσθε; εἶπεν ὅτι