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Evagr. Gifts extinguish resentment; and let Jacob persuade you, who with gifts subverted Esau as he came out to meet him with three hundred men. But we, being poor, let us fulfill the need with a table.

Of Martin the hermit. He who holds a grudge against demons, does not hold a grudge against men; but he who is angry with his brother, is at peace with demons.

(15Ε_462> Croesus. Croesus is said to have forgiven his anger toward his son’s murderer, when he handed himself over for punishment; and Cyrus the Great became a friend to Croesus himself after his victory.

Of Moschion. In those things in which you wish to strike others, expect the greater harm in these.

Of Epicurus. If an enemy makes a request, do not turn away his petition; however, secure yourself. For he is no different from a dog.

Of Theopompus. Endeavor to make your enmities short-lived, but your friendships long-lasting.

Aeschines. Aeschines the orator, after the Athenians had condemned him, when Demosthenes sent him ten thousand Attic drachmas and exhorted him to bear his circumstances nobly, said, "And how can I not be grieved, being cast out of such a fatherland, in which those who have been wronged even benefit those who wrong them?"

DISCOURSE 67. Concerning the unevenness of life. (15Ε_464> John 16. Truly, truly, I say to you, 1005 that you will weep and

you will mourn, but the world will rejoice; but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come; but when she has delivered the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.

1 Tim. 6. Charge those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on the living God.

Solomon 2. A smoke is the breath in our nostrils; and our life will pass away like the traces of a cloud. For our life is the passing of a shadow.

Solomon 5. What has our pride profited us? What has wealth with its boasting contributed to us? All those things have passed away like a shadow, and like a rumor that runs by; as a ship that passes through the surging water, of which when it has gone by, there is no trace to be found, nor a path of its course in the waves, as of a bird flying through the air, no evidence of its passage is found.

Sirach 11. Many tyrants have sat upon the ground; but one who was not thought of has worn a diadem.

Of Basil. Just as, then, it is impossible for the sea to remain the same for long; for what you now see smooth and calm, a little later you will see roughened by the force of winds; and again, what was growing wild and boiling with the surge, a deep calm has smoothed over, so also the affairs of life easily take turns in either direction.

Of the Theologian. By nature, indeed, nothing of human affairs (15Ε_466> is firm nor smooth nor self-sufficient; but a certain cycle runs through our affairs, bringing different changes at different times, often within a single day, and sometimes even an hour; and one can rather trust inconstant breezes, and the tracks of a sea-faring ship, and the deceitful dreams of the night, whose grace is for a little while, and whatever shapes children make in the sand while playing, than in the prosperity of men.

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Εὐαγρ. Μνησικακίαν σβέννυσι δῶρα· καί πειθέτω σε Ἰακώβ τόν Ἡσαῦ δόμασιν ὑπελθών μετά τριακοσίων εἰς ἀπάντησιν ἐξελθόντα. Ἀλλ᾿ ἡμεῖς πένητες ὄντες τραπέζῃ τήν χρείαν πληρώσωμεν.

Μαρτίνου ἀναχωρητοῦ. Ὁ δαίμοσι μνησικακῶν, ἀνθρώποις οὐ μνησικακεῖ· εἰρηνεύει δέ μετά δαιμόνων, ὁ τῷ ἀδελφῷ μηνιῶν.

(15Ε_462> Κροῖσος. Κροῖσος τῷ παιδοφόνῳ τήν ὀργήν ἀφεῖναι λέγεται, ἑαυτόν παραδόντι εἰς τιμωρίαν· καί Κύρος ὁ μέγας αὐτῷ τῷ Κροίσῳ φίλος γενέσθαι μετά νίκην.

Μοσχίωνος. Ἐν οἷς πλήττειν ἄλλους ἐθέλεις, ἐν τούτοις βλάβην ἔλπιζε τήν μείζονα.

Ἐπικούρου. Ἐχθροῦ δεηθέντος μή ἀποστραφῇς τήν ἀξίωσιν· πλήν ἀσφαλίζου σεαυτόν. Οὐδέν γάρ κυνός διαφέρει.

Θεοπόμπου.Σπούδαζε τάς μέν ἔχθρας, ὀλιγοχρονίους ποιεῖσθαι· τάς δέ ἀγάπας, πολυχρονίους.

Αἰσχίνης. Αἰσχίνης ὁ ῥήτωρ, μετά τό Ἀθηναίους αὐτοῦ καταψηφίσασθαι, ∆ημοσθένους αὐτῷ μυρίας Ἀττικάς πέμψαντος, καί γενναίως τήν περίστασιν φέρειν παρακαλοῦντος, καί πῶς, ἔφη, δύναμαι μή λυπεῖσθαι τοιαύτης ἐκβαλλόμενος πατρίδος, ἐν ᾗ οἱ ἀδικηθέντες καί προσωφελοῦσι τούς ἀδικοῦντας;

ΛΟΓΟΣ ΞΖ´. Περί βίου ἀνωμαλίας. (15Ε_464> Ἰωάν. ιστ´. Ἀμήν, ἀμήν λέγω ὑμῖν, 1005 ὅτι κλαύσετε καί

θρηνήσετε ὑμεῖς, ὁ δέ κόσμος χαρήσεται· ἀλλ᾿ ἡ λύπη ὑμῶν εἰς χαράν γενήσεται. Ἡ γυνή ὅταν τίκτῃ, λύπην ἔχει, ὅτι ἦλθεν ἡ ὥρα αὐτῆς· ὅταν δέ γεννήσῃ τό παιδίον, οὐκ ἔτι μνημονεύει τῆς θλίψεως διά τήν χαράν, ὅτι ἐγεννήθη ἄνθρωπος εἰς τόν κόσμον.

Α´. Τιμ. στ´. τοῖς πλουσίοις ἐν τῷ νῦν αἰῶνι παράγγελε μή ὑψηλοφρονεῖν, μηδέ ἠλπικέναι ἐπί πλούτου ἀδηλότητι, ἀλλ᾿ ἐν τῷ Θεῷ τῷ ζῷντι.

Σολομ. β´. Καπνός ἡ πνοή ἐν ῥίσιν ἡμῶν· καί παρελεύεται ὁ βίος ἡμῶν ὡς ἴχνη νεφέλης. Σκιᾶς γάρ πάροδος ὁ βίος ἡμῶν.

Σολομ. ε´. Τί ὠφέλησεν ἡμᾶς ἡ ὑπερηφανία ἡμῶν; Τί ὁ πλοῦτος μετά ἀλαζονείας συμβέβληται ἡμῖν; Παρῆλθε πάντα ἐκεῖνα ὡς σκιά, καί ὡς ἀγγελία διατρέχουσα· ὡς ναῦς διερχομένη κυμαινόμενον ὕδωρ, ἧς διαβάσης οὐκ ἔστιν ἴχνος εὑρεῖν, οὐδέ ἀτραπόν πορείας αὐτῆς ἐν κύμασιν, ὡς ὀρνέου διαπαντός ἀέρα οὐδέν εὑρίσκεται τεκμήριον πορείας.

Σιράχ ια´. Πολλοί τύραννοι ἐκάθισαν ἐπί ἐδάφους· ὁ δέ ἀνυπονόητος ἐφόρεσε διάδημα·

Βασιλείου. Ὥσπερ οὖν θάλασσαν ἀμήχανον ἐπί πολύ τήν αὐτήν διαρκέσαι· ήν γάρ νῦν λείαν καί σταθηράν, μικρόν ὕστερον ὄψει βίαις ἀνέμων τραχυνομένην· καί πάλιν τήν ἀγριαίνουσαν καί βρασσομένην τῷ κλύδωνι, βαβεῖα γαλήνη κατεστόρεσεν, οὕτω καί τά τοῦ βίου πράγματα ῥᾳδίως λαμβάνει περιστροφάς ἐφ᾿ ἑκάτερα.

Θεολόγου. Φύσει μέν οὐδέν τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων (15Ε_466> βέβαιον οὐδέ ὁμαλόν οὐδέ αὔταρκες· ἀλλά κύκλος τις τῶν ἡμετέρων περιτρέχει πραγμάτων, ἄλλοτε ἄλλας ἐπί μιᾶς ἡμέρας πολλάκις, ἔστι δέ ὅτε καί ὥρας, φέρων μεταβολάς· καί αὔραις μᾶλλόν ἐστι πιστεύειν οὐχ ἱσταμέναις, καί νηός ποντοπορούσης ἴχνεσιν, καί νυκτός ἀπατηλοῖς ὀνείρασιν, ὧν πρός ὀλίγον ἡ χάρις, καί ὅσα κατά ψάμμον παῖδες τυποῦσι παίζοντες, ἤ ἀνθρώπων εὐημερίαις.