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is dragged to court each day by some lawless and wicked person; another, having been slandered, died unjustly; another was drowned, he says, another 63.712 was cast down a cliff; and God permitted these things to happen. Why? So that they might not be quickly lifted up to arrogance by the greatness of their miracles and achievements, God allows them to be mistreated; and so that others might not have a suspicion about them greater than human nature, and think them to be gods, and not men; and so that the power of God might be made manifest through those who are weakened, through those who are bound, prevailing and overcoming and increasing the proclamation; and so that their own endurance might be made more manifest, not serving God for a wage, but also demonstrating such gratitude as to show their own good will toward Him even after such evils; and so that all who fall into terrible circumstances may have sufficient encouragement and comfort, looking to them, and remembering the evils that befell them; and so that, when we exhort you to their virtue, and say to each of you, “Imitate Paul, emulate Peter,” you might not shrink from the imitation, thinking that because of the excess of their achievements they partook of a different nature; and so that, when it is necessary to call blessed and to call wretched, we may learn whom we must consider blessed, and whom miserable and wretched. But if you wish to learn that it is not doing evil that makes one more powerful, but bearing it when suffering evil, behold for me how many things Jacob was wronged by Laban. Who then became stronger, the one who took him into his hands, and did not dare to touch him, but was afraid and trembling; or this man who, without arms and armies, became more fearsome to him than ten thousand kings? Was it not this one? For just as one who treads on fire burns himself, and one who strikes a diamond harms himself, and one who kicks against the goads makes himself bleed; so the one who has practiced doing wrong, wrongs himself, and becomes weaker than any mud. The blessed David also once fell from his fatherland, and was in danger for his freedom and his very life, and with the army having changed allegiance to that licentious youth, that tyrant and patricide, he wandered in the desert, and was not dismayed, nor did he despair toward God, nor did he say: “What is this? Has he allowed the child to rise up against the one who begat him? And yet even if he had just cause for complaint, it ought not to have happened so; but now, having been wronged in no small or great way by us, he goes about desiring to stain his right hand with his father’s blood; and God endures seeing these things?” But he said none of these things. And what is greater and more wonderful, is that while he was wandering and fallen from everything, a certain wicked and defiled man, Shimei, attacked him, calling him a murderer and impious and countless evil things; and not even so was he enraged, but when the general asked to be permitted to cross over and cut off his head, not only did he not permit it, but he was also displeased, saying: “What have I to do with you, son of Zeruiah? Let him curse, so that the Lord may see my humiliation, and will repay me with good things in return for his curse.” Do you see how the righteous man knows that to bear insults nobly becomes an occasion for greater approval? For so it is; whenever, having been reviled and having suffered countless terrible things, we bear those who reproach us nobly, we draw to ourselves a much greater goodwill from God. Moses also wished to help someone being wronged, and he was in danger of the 63.713 ultimate consequences, and was cast out of his fatherland; and God permitted it, so that you may learn the endurance of the saints. For if, foreseeing that we would suffer nothing terrible, we undertook spiritual matters, we would seem to be doing nothing great. This is what the three young men also said: “There is a God in heaven who is able to deliver us from your hands; and if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, and we do not worship the golden image that you have set up.” And you, therefore, when you are about to do something according to God,

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παρανόμου τινὸς καὶ πονηροῦ καθ' ἑκάστην εἰς δικαστήριον ἕλκεται· ἕτερος συκοφαντηθεὶς ἀδίκως ἀπέθανεν· ἄλλος κατεποντίσθη, φησὶν, ἕτερος 63.712 κατεκρημνίσθη· καὶ ὁ Θεὸς γενέσθαι ταῦτα συνεχώρησε. ∆ιὰ τί; ∆ιὰ τὸ μὴ ταχέως αἴρεσθαι εἰς ἀπόνοιαν τῷ μεγέθει τῶν θαυμάτων καὶ τῶν κατορθωμάτων, ἀφίησιν αὐτοὺς ὁ Θεὸς κακοῦσθαι· καὶ ἵνα μὴ μείζονα τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως περὶ αὐτῶν ὑπόνοιαν ἔχωσιν ἕτεροι, καὶ θεοὺς, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἀνθρώπους αὐτοὺς εἶναι νομίσωσι· καὶ ἵνα ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ φανῇ δύναμις διὰ τῶν ἐξασθενούντων, διὰ τῶν δεσμουμένων κρατοῦσα καὶ περιγινομένη καὶ τὸ κήρυγμα αὔξουσα· καὶ ἵνα αὐτῶν ἐκείνων ἡ ὑπομονὴ φανερωτέρα γένηται, οὐκ ἐπὶ μισθῷ τῷ Θεῷ δουλευόντων, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοσαύτην ἐπιδεικνυμένων εὐγνωμοσύνην, ὡς καὶ μετὰ τοσαῦτα κακὰ τὴν οἰκείαν περὶ αὐτὸν ἐπιδείκνυσθαι εὔνοιαν· καὶ ἵνα πάντες οἱ περιπίπτοντες τοῖς δεινοῖς, ἱκανὴν ἔχωσι παράκλησιν καὶ παραμυθίαν, εἰς ἐκείνους ἀφορῶντες, καὶ τῶν συμβεβηκότων αὐτοῖς μεμνημένοι κακῶν· καὶ ἵνα μὴ, ὅταν παρακαλῶμεν ὑμᾶς πρὸς τὴν ἐκείνων ἀρετὴν, καὶ πρὸς ἕκαστον ὑμῶν λέγωμεν, Μίμησαι Παῦλον, ζήλωσον Πέτρον, νομίζοντες διὰ τὴν τῶν κατορθωμάτων ὑπερβολὴν ἑτέρας αὐτοὺς μετεσχηκέναι φύσεως, ἀποκνήσητε πρὸς τὴν μίμησιν· καὶ ἵνα, ὅταν δέῃ μακαρίζειν καὶ ταλανίζειν, μάθωμεν, τίνας μὲν χρὴ μακαρίους ἡγεῖσθαι, τίνας δὲ ἀθλίους καὶ ταλαιπώρους. Εἰ δὲ βούλει μαθεῖν, ὅτι οὐ τὸ ποιεῖν κακῶς τοῦτο ποιεῖ δυνατωτέρους, ἀλλὰ τὸ κακῶς πάσχοντας φέρειν, θέα μοι τὸν Ἰακὼβ πόσα παρὰ τοῦ Λάβαν ἠδίκηται. Τίς οὖν ἰσχυρότερος γέγονεν, ὁ λαβὼν αὐτὸν εἰς χεῖρας, καὶ μὴ τολμῶν ἅψασθαι, ἀλλὰ δεδοικὼς καὶ τρέμων· ἢ οὗτος ὁ χωρὶς ὅπλων καὶ στρατοπέδων, μυρίων αὐτῷ βασιλέων γενόμενος φοβερώτερος; οὐχ οὗτος; Καθάπερ γὰρ ὁ πῦρ πατῶν ἑαυτὸν κατακαίει, καὶ ὁ ἀδάμαντα παίων ἑαυτῷ ἐπηρεάζει, καὶ ὁ πρὸς κέντρα λακτίζων ἑαυτὸν αἱμάττει· οὕτως ὁ ἀδικεῖν μεμελετηκὼς ἑαυτὸν ἀδικεῖ, καὶ πηλοῦ παντὸς ἀσθενέστερος γίνεται. Ἐξέπεσέ ποτε καὶ ὁ μακάριος ∆αυῒδ τῆς πατρίδος, καὶ περὶ τῆς ἐλευθερίας καὶ τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτῆς ἐκινδύνευε, καὶ τοῦ στρατοπέδου πρὸς τὸν ἀκόλαστον νεανίσκον τὸν τύραννον ἐκεῖνον καὶ πατραλοίαν μεταταξαμένου, ἐπλανᾶτο κατὰ τὴν ἔρημον, καὶ οὐκ ἐδυσχέρανεν, οὐδὲ ἀπεδυσπέτησε πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν, οὐδὲ εἶπεν· Τί ποτε τοῦτό ἐστι; συνεχώρησε τῷ παιδὶ κατεξαναστῆναι τοῦ γεγεννηκότος; καίτοι καὶ εἰ δίκαια ἐγκαλεῖν εἶχεν, οὐδὲ οὕτως τοῦτο γενέσθαι ἔδει· νυνὶ δὲ οὐ μικρὸν, οὐ μέγα ἠδικημένος παρ' ἡμῶν, περιέρχεται τὴν δεξιὰν ἐπιθυμῶν αἵματι μολῦναι πατρικῷ· καὶ ὁ Θεὸς ταῦτα ἀνέχεται ὁρῶν; Ἀλλ' οὐδὲν τούτων εἶπεν. Καὶ τὸ δὴ μεῖζον καὶ θαυμαστὸν, ὅτι πλανωμένῳ καὶ πάντων ἐκπεπτωκότι Σεμεεί τις ἄνθρωπος πονηρὸς καὶ μιαρὸς ἐπέθετο, μιαιφόνον ἀποκαλῶν καὶ ἀσεβῆ καὶ τὰ μυρία κακά· καὶ οὐδὲ οὕτως ἠγρίανεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦ στρατηγοῦ ἀξιοῦντος ἐπιτραπῆναι διαβῆναι καὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν ἀποτεμεῖν ἐκείνου, οὐ μόνον οὐκ ἐπέτρεψεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐδυσχέρανε λέγων· Τί ἐμοὶ καὶ σοὶ, υἱὲ Σαρουΐα; ἄφετε αὐτὸν καταρᾶσθαι, ὅπως ἴδῃ τὴν ταπείνωσίν μου Κύριος, καὶ ἀνταποδώσει μοι ἀγαθὰ ἀντὶ τῆς κατάρας αὐτοῦ. Ὁρᾷς πῶς οἶδεν ὁ δίκαιος, ὅτι τὸ φέρειν γενναίως τὰς λοιδορίας ἀφορμὴ πλείονος εὐδοκιμήσεως γίνεται; Καὶ γὰρ οὕτως ἔχει· ἐπειδὰν λοιδορηθέντες καὶ μυρία παθόντες δεινὰ, τοὺς ὀνειδίζοντας φέρωμεν γενναίως, μείζονα παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν εὔνοιαν κατὰ πολὺ ἐπισπώμεθα. Ἠθέλησε καὶ ὁ Μωϋσῆς ἀδικουμένῳ βοηθῆσαί τινι, καὶ περὶ τῶν 63.713 ἐσχάτων ἐκινδύνευσε, καὶ τῆς πατρίδος ἐξέπεσε· καὶ ὁ Θεὸς συνεχώρησεν, ἵνα σὺ μάθῃς τῶν ἁγίων τὴν ὑπομονήν. Εἰ γὰρ προειδότες, ὡς οὐδὲν πεισόμεθα δεινὸν, οὕτως ἡπτόμεθα τῶν πνευματικῶν πραγμάτων, οὐδὲν μέγα ἂν ἐδόξαμεν ποιεῖν. Τοῦτο καὶ οἱ τρεῖς παῖδες ἔλεγον· Ἔστι Θεὸς ἐν οὐρανῷ δυνατὸς ἐξελέσθαι ἡμᾶς ἐκ τῶν χειρῶν σου· καὶ ἐὰν μὴ, γνωστὸν ἔστω σοι, βασιλεῦ, ὅτι τοῖς θεοῖς σου οὐ λατρεύομεν, καὶ τῇ εἰκόνι τῇ χρυσῇ ᾖ ἔστησας οὐ προσκυνοῦμεν. Καὶ σὺ τοίνυν, ὅταν μέλλῃς τι ἐργάζεσθαι τῶν κατὰ Θεὸν,