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he said that those who had come from virtue would not be able to help the Jews at all, because they themselves had been given over to much indifference. Since, therefore, we are punished and saved by our own works, let us be eager, I beseech you, with 49.144 all other things to fulfill this commandment also, so that departing from here with a good hope, we may obtain the promised good things, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom be glory to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, now and forever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

49.143 When all the people had been released from their anxiety and

had taken courage, some again disturbed the city, inventing terrible rumors, and they were convicted. Therefore, the homily was spoken for this reason, and for the exhortation concerning oaths; for which reason also the story concerning Jonathan and Saul and Jephthah was brought forward, and it was shown how many from one oath

perjuries arise. Homily 14.

1. Not in a chance way did the devil disturb our city yesterday, but also God not in a chance way comforted us again, so that each of us might fittingly say that prophetic word: According to the multitude of my sorrows in my heart, your comforts have gladdened my soul. And not only by comforting, but also by permitting us to be disturbed, did God show us his care. For what I have never ceased saying, this I will also say today, that not the removal of troubles, but also the permission of them comes from the good will of God. For when He sees us inclining toward indifference, and leaping away from intimacy with him, and making no account of spiritual things, He forsakes us for a little while, so that being chastened in this way we might return to Him more earnestly. And why do you marvel if He does this in the case of us who are indifferent, when even Paul said this was the cause of temptations for himself and for his disciples? For writing to the Corinthians the second epistle he says something like this: For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of the affliction that came to us in Asia, that we were burdened exceedingly beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; but we ourselves had the sentence of death within ourselves; and what he says is something like this: so great, he says, were the dangers that hung over us, that we despaired of life, and no longer hoped that there would be any good change, but expected death in any case; for this is the meaning of, We ourselves had the sentence of death within ourselves. But nevertheless after so great a despair God ended the storm, and drove away the cloud, and snatched us from the very gates of death, Then, showing that even permitting us to be brought down to such an extent was of great care, he relates the profit that comes from temptations. And this was to look to Him continually, and not to be high-minded nor to be puffed up. For this reason, after saying, We ourselves had the sentence of death within ourselves, he added the cause. And what is this cause? That we should not trust in ourselves, he says, but in God who raises the dead. For the nature of temptations is accustomed to awaken us when we are drowsy and falling down, and to arouse us and make us more reverent. When therefore you see, beloved, a temptation now extinguished, and now raised up again, do not fall down nor despair, but have good 49.144 hopes, reasoning this to yourself, that God does not deliver us into the hands of our enemies because He hates or turns away from us, but because He wishes to make us more earnest and more intimate with Him. Let us not therefore despair nor give up hope for the better

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τον ἀρετῆς ἥκοντας οὐκ ἔφη δύνασθαί τι τοὺς Ἰουδαίους ὠφελήσειν, διὰ τὸ πολλῇ ῥᾳθυμίᾳ αὐτοὺς ἐκείνους ἐκδοθῆναι. Ἐπεὶ οὖν ἀπὸ τῶν οἰκείων ἔργων κολαζόμεθα καὶ σωζόμεθα, σπουδάσωμεν, παρακαλῶ, μετὰ 49.144 τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων καὶ ταύτην ἐκπληρῶσαι τὴν ἐντολὴν, ἵνα μετὰ χρηστῆς ἐλπίδος ἐντεῦθεν ἀπελθόντες, τύχωμεν τῶν ἐπηγγελμένων ἀγαθῶν, χάριτι καὶ φιλανθρωπίᾳ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, δι' οὗ καὶ μεθ' οὗ τῷ Πατρὶ ἡ δόξα ἅμα τῷ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.

49.143 Τοῦ δήμου παντὸς ἀφεθέντος τῆς ἀγωνίας καὶ

θαρσήσαντος, τινὲς πάλιν τὴν πόλιν ἐτάραξαν φοβερὰς πλάττοντες φήμας, καὶ ἠλέγχθησαν· εἰς τοῦτό τε οὖν ἡ ὁμιλία εἴρηται, καὶ εἰς τὴν περὶ τῶν ὅρκων παραίνεσιν· διὸ καὶ ἡ κατὰ τὸν Ἰωνάθαν καὶ τὸν Σαοὺλ ἱστορία καὶ τὸν Ἰεφθάε παρήχθη, καὶ ἐδείχθη πόσαι ἐξ ἑνὸς ὅρκου

γίνονται ἐπιορκίαι. Ὁμιλία ιδʹ.

αʹ. Οὐχ ὡς ἔτυχε τὴν πόλιν ἡμῖν ὁ διάβολος χθὲς ἐθορύβησεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁ Θεὸς ἡμᾶς οὐχ ὡς ἔτυχε παρεκάλεσε πάλιν, ὥστε καὶ ἡμῶν ἕκαστον εὐκαίρως εἰπεῖν ἐκεῖνο τὸ προφητικόν· Κατὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ὀδυνῶν μου ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ μου αἱ παρακλήσεις σου εὔφραναν τὴν ψυχήν μου. Οὐ τῷ παρακαλέσαι δὲ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῷ συγχωρῆσαι θορυβηθῆναι, τὴν κηδεμονίαν ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῖν ἐπεδείξατο τὴν ἑαυτοῦ. Ὅπερ γὰρ λέγων οὐδέποτε ἐπαυσάμην, τοῦτο καὶ τήμερον ἐρῶ, ὅτι οὐχ ἡ ἀπαλλαγὴ τῶν δεινῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡ συγχώρησις τούτων ἀπὸ τῆς εὐνοίας γίνεται τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ὅταν γὰρ ἴδῃ πρὸς ῥᾳθυμίαν ἡμᾶς ἐκκλίνοντας, καὶ τῆς πρὸς αὐτὸν οἰκειώσεως ἀποπηδῶντας, καὶ τῶν πνευματικῶν οὐδένα ποιουμένους λόγον, ἐγκαταλιμπάνει μικρὸν, ἵνα ταύτῃ σωφρονισθέντες σπουδαιότερον πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐπανέλθωμεν. Καὶ τί θαυμάζεις, εἰ ἐφ' ἡμῶν τῶν ῥᾳθύμων τοῦτο ποιεῖ, ὅπου γε καὶ Παῦλος καὶ ἐπ' αὐτοῦ καὶ τῶν αὐτοῦ μαθητῶν ταύτην ἔλεγεν αἰτίαν εἶναι τῶν πειρασμῶν; Κορινθίοις γὰρ ἐπιστέλλων τὴν δευτέραν ἐπιστολὴν οὕτω πώς φησιν· Οὐ θέλω δὲ ὑμᾶς ἀγνοεῖν, ἀδελφοὶ, περὶ τῆς θλίψεως τῆς γενομένης ἡμῖν ἐν τῇ Ἀσίᾳ, ὅτι καθ' ὑπερβολὴν ἐβαρήθημεν ὑπὲρ δύναμιν, ὥστε ἐξαπορηθῆναι ἡμᾶς καὶ τοῦ ζῇν· ἀλλ' αὐτοὶ ἐν ἑαυτοῖς τὸ ἀπόκριμα τοῦ θανάτου ἐσχήκαμεν· ὃ δὲ λέγει τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν· οὕτω μεγάλοι, φησὶν, ἡμῖν ἐπῃωρήθησαν κίνδυνοι, ὡς ἀπαγορεῦσαι τοῦ ζῇν, καὶ μηκέτι λοιπὸν ἐλπίσαι χρηστήν τινα ἔσεσθαι μεταβολὴν, ἀλλ' ἢ θάνατον ἀναμένειν πάντως· τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι τὸ, Αὐτοὶ ἐν ἑαυτοῖς τὸ ἀπόκριμα τοῦ θανάτου ἐσχήκαμεν· ἀλλ' ὅμως μετὰ τὴν τοσαύτην ἀπόγνωσιν ἔλυσεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν χειμῶνα, καὶ τὸ νέφος παρήνεγκε, καὶ ἐξ αὐτῶν τοῦ θανάτου τῶν πυλῶν ἡμᾶς ἥρπασεν, Εἶτα δεικνὺς ὅτι καὶ τὸ συγχωρῆσαι μέχρι τοσούτου κατενεχθῆναι, κηδεμονίας ἦν πολλῆς, τὸ γινόμενον ἀπὸ τῶν πειρασμῶν διηγεῖται κέρδος· τοῦτο δὲ ἦν τὸ συνεχῶς πρὸς αὐτὸν βλέπειν, ἀλλὰ μὴ μέγα φρονεῖν μηδὲ ἐπαίρεσθαι. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο εἰπὼν ὅτι, Αὐτοὶ ἐν ἑαυτοῖς τὸ ἀπόκριμα τοῦ θανάτου ἐσχήκαμεν, καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν ἐπήγαγε. Τίς δέ ἐστιν ἡ αἰτία αὕτη; Ἵνα μὴ πεποιθότες ὦμεν ἐφ' ἑαυτοῖς, φησὶν, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τῷ Θεῷ τῷ ζωοποιοῦντι τοὺς νεκρούς. Νυστάζοντας γὰρ ἡμᾶς καὶ καταπίπτοντας ἀφυπνίζειν εἴωθε τῶν πειρασμῶν ἡ φύσις, καὶ διεγείρειν καὶ εὐλαβεστέρους ποιεῖν. Ὅταν οὖν ἴδῃς, ἀγαπητὲ, πειρασμὸν νῦν μὲν σβεσθέντα, νῦν δὲ ἐγερθέντα πάλιν, μὴ καταπέσῃς μηδὲ ἀπαγορεύσῃς, ἀλλὰ χρηστὰς ἔχε 49.144 τὰς ἐλπίδας, ἐκεῖνο πρὸς ἑαυτὸν λογιζόμενος, ὅτι οὐχὶ μισῶν οὐδὲ ἀποστρεφόμενος ἡμᾶς ὁ Θεὸς παραδίδωσι ταῖς χερσὶ τῶν ἐχθρῶν, ἀλλὰ σπουδαιοτέρους καὶ οἰκειοτέρους αὐτῷ κατασκευάσαι βουλόμενος Μὴ τοίνυν ἀπαγορεύσωμεν μηδὲ τὴν ἐπὶ τὸ βέλτιον ἀπογνῶμεν