109

in esteeming nothing more honorable than to show mercy. But also nothing so draws the subject to goodwill, as the grace of a good deed given to those in need; for service rendered through fear is feigned flattery, deceiving those who heed it with a fabricated name of honor; and that which is unwillingly subjected revolts when it seizes an opportunity; but that which is held by the bonds of goodwill has a firm obedience toward the one who rules. Therefore, be accessible to those in need, and open your ears to the poor, that you may find the hearing of God opened to you; for as we are to our fellow servants, so we will find the master to be toward us, and as we hear, we shall be heard, as we see, we shall be seen by the divine and all-seeing gaze. Let us therefore offer mercy in anticipation of mercy, that we may receive like for like. But also hear another commandment, twin to the first: Forgive, and you will be forgiven; and, If you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your heavenly Father forgive you your trespasses. Therefore, do not bear a grudge against those who stumble; but, asking forgiveness for your sins, also forgive those who transgress against you, because forgiveness is given in return for forgiveness, and by our reconciliation with our fellow servants comes release from the master's wrath. And again, our lack of sympathy toward those who stumble makes our own stumblings unforgivable for us; just as you hear what the debtor of ten thousand talents suffered, by his lack of pity for his fellow 558 servant renewing for himself the collection of so great a debt. Therefore, one must pay close attention, lest we also suffer similar things; but let us forgive every debt, and cast out all anger from our heart, that our many debts may also be forgiven us. Upon all and before all, guard the good deposit, the pious word of faith, which you learned and were taught; and let no tare of heresy spring up among you; but preserve the divine seed pure and unadulterated, that you may show abundant fruit to the master, when he comes demanding an account of each one's life and repaying according to what we have done, when the righteous shall shine like the sun, but darkness and everlasting shame shall cover the sinners. And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the Word of his grace, who is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. And having said these things, kneeling down, as it is written, he prayed again with tears. and turning, he kissed Barachias whom he had appointed king, and all those in authority. Then indeed there occurred a matter truly worthy of tears. For all, standing around him, as if they lived by being with him and were about to have their very souls taken away by the separation, what did they not say to arouse pity? What excess of lamentations did they omit? They kissed him, they embraced him; the emotion made them frantic. Woe to us, they cried, for this harsh misfortune; they called him master, 560 father, savior, benefactor; Through you, he says, we have known God; we have been delivered from error; we have found rest from all evils. What will be left for us after your departure? What evils will not overtake us? Saying such things, they beat their breasts, and bewailed the misfortune that had seized them. But he, with words of comfort, silenced their many wailings, and promised to be with them in spirit, since it was no longer possible for this to be in the body, having said such things, in the sight of all he departed from the palace. And immediately all followed. They forsook their return; they fled the city, as if it were no longer possible to be seen by their own eyes. But when they were outside the city, at last with difficulty, by the sharpness of his exhorting word and by bringing a somewhat sterner rebuke, from him

109

ἐν τῷ μηδὲν ἡγεῖσθαι τοῦ ἐλεεῖν προτιμότερον. ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ ὑπήκοον οὐδὲν οὕτως εἰς εὔνοιαν ἐφέλκεται, ὡς εὐποιΐας χάρις διδομένη τοῖς χρῄζουσιν· ἡ γὰρ διὰ φόβον γινομένη θεραπεία κατεσχηματισμένη ἐστὶ θωπεία, πεπλασμένῳ τιμῆς ὀνόματι φενακίζουσα τοὺς αὐτῇ προσέχοντας· καὶ τὸ ἀκουσίως ὑποτεταγμένον στασιάζει καιροῦ λαβόμενον· τὸ δὲ τοῖς δεσμοῖς τῆς εὐνοίας κρατούμενον βεβαίαν ἔχει πρὸς τὸ κρατοῦν τὴν εὐπείθειαν. διὸ εὐπρόσιτος ἔσο τοῖς δεομένοις, καὶ ἄνοιγε τὰ ὦτα τοῖς πενομένοις, ἵνα εὕρῃς τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀκοὴν ἀνεῳγμένην· οἷοι γὰρ τοῖς ἡμετέροις γινόμεθα συνδούλοις, τοιοῦτον περὶ ἡμᾶς εὑρήσομεν τὸν δεσπότην, καὶ ὡς ἀκούομεν ἀκουσθησόμεθα, ὡς ὁρῶμεν ὁραθησόμεθα ὑπὸ τοῦ θείου καὶ παντεφόρου βλέμματος. προεισενέγκωμεν οὖν τοῦ ἐλέου τὸν ἔλεον, ἵνα τῷ ὁμοίῳ τὸ ὅμοιον ἀντιλάβωμεν. Ἀλλὰ καὶ ἑτέραν ἄκουε ἐντολὴν σύζυγον τῆς προτέρας· Ἄφετε, καὶ ἀφεθήσεται ὑμῖν· καί, Ἐὰν οὐκ ἀφῆτε τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τὰ παραπτώματα αὐτῶν, οὐδὲ ὑμῖν ἀφήσει ὁ Πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὁ οὐράνιος τὰ παραπτώματα ὑμῶν. διὸ μὴ μνησικακήσῃς τοῖς πταίουσιν· ἀλλά, συγγνώμην αἰτούμενος ἁμαρτημάτων, συγγίνωσκε καὶ αὐτὸς τοῖς εἰς σὲ πλημμελοῦσιν, ὅτι ἀφέσει ἀντιδίδοται ἄφεσις, καὶ τῇ πρὸς τοὺς ὁμοδούλους ἡμῶν καταλλαγῇ τῆς δεσποτικῆς ὀργῆς γίνεται ἀπαλλαγή. καὶ αὖθις τὸ ἀσυμπαθὲς ἡμῶν πρὸς τοὺς πταίοντας ἀσύγγνωστα ποιεῖ ἡμῖν τὰ ἡμέτερα πταίσματα· καθάπερ ἀκούεις τί ὁ τῶν μυρίων πέπονθεν ὀφειλέτης ταλάντων, τῇ πρὸς τὸν σύν 558 δουλον ἀσπλαγχνίᾳ ἑαυτῷ τὴν εἴσπραξιν ἀνανεώσας τοῦ τοσούτου χρέους. διὸ προσεκτέον ἀκριβῶς, μὴ καὶ ἡμεῖς τὰ ὅμοια πάθοιμεν· ἀλλ' ἀφήσωμεν πᾶσαν ὀφειλήν, καὶ πᾶσαν μῆνιν ἐκ καρδίας ἐκβάλλωμεν, ἵνα καὶ ἡμῖν ἀφεθῇ τὰ πολλὰ ἡμῶν ὀφλήματα. ἐπὶ πᾶσι δὲ καὶ πρὸ πάντων τὴν καλὴν φύλαττε παρακαταθήκην, τὸν εὐσεβῆ τῆς πίστεως λόγον, ὃν ἔμαθες καὶ ἐδιδάχθης· καὶ πᾶν ζιζάνιον αἱρέσεως μὴ ἐκφυέσθω ἐν ὑμῖν· ἀλλὰ καθαρὸν καὶ ἄδολον τὸν θεῖον διατήρησον σπόρον, ἵνα πολύχουν τὸν καρπὸν ὑποδείξῃς τῷ δεσπότῃ, ἡνίκα ἔλθῃ λόγον ἀπαιτῶν ἑκάστῳ τῶν βεβιωμένων καὶ ἀποδιδοὺς καθὰ ἐπράξαμεν, ὅταν οἱ μὲν δίκαιοι λάμψωσιν ὡς ὁ ἥλιος, τοὺς ἁμαρτωλοὺς δὲ τὸ σκότος καλύψῃ καὶ αἰσχύνη αἰώνιος. καὶ τὰ νῦν, ἀδελφοί, παρατίθεμαι ὑμᾶς τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ τῷ Λόγῳ τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ, τῷ δυναμένῳ ὑμᾶς ἐποικοδομῆσαι καὶ δοῦναι ὑμῖν κληρονομίαν ἐν τοῖς ἡγιασμένοις πᾶσι. Καὶ ταῦτα εἰπών, θεὶς τὰ γόνατα αὐτοῦ, καθὼς γέγραπται, μετὰ δακρύων αὖθις προσηύξατο. καὶ ἐπιστραφεὶς κατεφίλησε τὸν Βαραχίαν ὃν βασιλέα προεχειρίσατο, καὶ πάντας τοὺς ἐν τέλει. τότε δὴ γίνεται πρᾶγμα δακρύων ὡς ἀληθῶς ἄξιον. περιστάντες γὰρ αὐτὸν ἅπαντες, ὥσπερ τῷ ἐκείνῳ συνεῖναι ζῶντες καὶ τῇ διαιρέσει μέλλοντες συναφαιρεῖσθαι καὶ τὰς ψυχάς, τί μὴ πρὸς οἶκτον ἔλεγον; ποίαν θρήνων ὑπερβολὴν ἀπελίμπανον; κατεφίλουν αὐτόν, περιέβαλλον· παραφρονεῖν αὐτοὺς ἐποίει τὸ πάθος. Οὐαὶ ἡμῖν, ἐβόων, τῆς χαλεπῆς ταύτης δυστυχίας· δεσ 560 πότην αὐτὸν ἀνεκαλοῦντο, πατέρα, σωτῆρα, εὐεργέτην· ∆ιά σου, φησί, τὸν Θεὸν ἔγνωμεν· τῆς πλάνης λελυτρώμεθα· τῶν κακῶν πάντων ἀνάπαυσιν εὕρομεν. τί λοιπὸν ἔσται ἡμῖν μετὰ τὸν σὸν χωρισμόν; ποῖα οὐ καταλήψεται κακά; τοιαῦτα λέγοντες, τὰ στήθη ἔπαιον, καὶ τὴν κατασχοῦσαν αὐτοὺς ἀνωλοφύροντο συμφοράν. ὁ δὲ λόγοις αὐτοὺς παρακλήσεως τῶν πολλῶν κατασιγήσας οἰμωγῶν, καὶ συνεῖναι τῷ πνεύματι ἐπαγγειλάμενος, ὡς τῷ γε σώματι ἀδύνατον ἤδη τοῦτο γενέσθαι, τοιαῦτα εἰπών, πάντων ὁρώντων ἐξέρχεται τοῦ παλατίου. καὶ εὐθὺς πάντες συνείποντο. τὴν ὑποστροφὴν ἀπηγόρευον· τὴν πόλιν, ὡς μηκέτι δυνατὸν ὄμμασιν ὀφθῆναι τοῖς ἑαυτῶν, ἀπεδίδρασκον. ὡς δὲ τῆς πόλεως ἔξω γεγόνασι, μόλις ποτέ, τῇ τομῇ τοῦ λόγου παραινοῦντος αὐτοῦ καὶ δριμυτέραν που τὴν ἐπιτίμησιν ἐπιφέροντος, ἀπ' αὐτοῦ