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of three thousand, of all, simply. And see how for the time being he is saved not by grace, but by human wisdom; that you may learn the virtue of the man, shining even without signs. But the disciples took him by night, and let him down through the wall, lowering him in a basket. Naturally; so that the matter might be without suspicion. What then? having escaped such a danger, does he stop? By no means, but he goes where he might provoke them even more. For that he had truly believed, was still incredible to the many. For this reason this happens after a number of days. What can this be? It is likely that he did not wish to leave there for the time being, with many perhaps advising against it; but when he learned of it, then he permitted his disciples; for he had disciples immediately. Hinting at this he said: The ethnarch of Aretas the king was guarding the city of the Damascenes, wanting to seize me. And see the evangelist saying nothing out of ambition, nor showing Paul as illustrious, but only that they stirred up the king. So they sent him out alone, and no one with him. And this was also advantageous, so that he might appear to the apostles in Jerusalem; or rather, they sent him out, so that from this point on he might provide for his own safety; but he, doing the opposite, immediately leapt among those who were raging. This is to be on fire, this is to be especially fervent. And consider how he follows, from the very first day keeping the command which the apostles heard, that, "If anyone does not take up his cross and follow me." Therefore, his coming later than the others made him all the more eager. And that saying was fulfilled in deed, "To whom much is forgiven, he will love more." So, the later he came, the more he loved. For this reason, denouncing his former life, and often branding himself, he considered nothing sufficient to cover up his former deeds. "Confounding," it says, that is, teaching with reasonableness. And see, they do not say to him, "You are the one who persecuted; why have you changed?" For they were ashamed; but they said it to themselves. For he would have said with much more justice, "This above all ought to teach you," since he also makes this defense to Agrippa. Let us imitate him, I pa 60.162 beseech you, and let us be arrayed against all dangers. And how, he says, does that man flee? The act was not one of cowardice, but he was preserving himself for the preaching. If he were a coward, he would not have come to Jerusalem, he would not have immediately undertaken the teaching; he would have let up on his vehemence. But he was not a coward, but also prudent. He was taught by the suffering of Stephen. Therefore he considered it no great thing to die for the preaching, unless he could do this with much gain, a man not even wishing to see Christ, whom he hastened to see above all things, since the things of the economy for men were not yet complete for him. Such should be the soul of the Christian. 4. From the very beginning and from the starting line itself the character of Paul was shown; or rather, even before this. For in what he did not according to knowledge, he was acting moved by human reasoning. For if after so much time he did not wish to depart, much more so at the beginning of his venture, having just set out from the harbors. But Christ does not snatch him out of the danger, but leaves him; since He wishes many things to be done also by human intelligence. And otherwise He leaves him, that we may learn that they too were men, and that grace was not at work in everything everywhere; since if this were not so, they would have been thought to be simply blocks of wood. For this reason they themselves also managed many things through practical affairs. Let us do this also, and so let us long for the salvation of the brethren. This is no less than martyrdom, to refuse nothing to suffer for the salvation of the many. Nothing so gladdens God. I will say again what I have often said; and I will say it, because I strongly wish it; since Christ also did the same, exhorting about forgiveness and saying: "When you pray, forgive if you have anything against anyone." Again, discoursing with Peter, "I do not say to you," He says, "that you should forgive up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven;" and through his works he forgave the offenses against him. Thus also we,

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τρισχιλίων, πάντων ἁπλῶς. Καὶ ὅρα αὐτὸν τέως οὐ χάριτι σωζόμενον, ἀλλ' ἀνθρωπίνῃ σοφίᾳ· ἵνα μάθῃς τοῦ ἀνδρὸς τὴν ἀρετὴν καὶ χωρὶς σημείων λάμποντος. Λαβόντες δὲ αὐτὸν οἱ μαθηταὶ νυκτὸς, καθῆκαν διὰ τοῦ τείχους, χαλάσαντες ἐν σπυρίδι. Εἰκότως· ἵνα ἀνύποπτον ᾖ τὸ πρᾶγμα. Τί οὖν; τοιοῦτον κίνδυνον διαφυγὼν, ἆρα ἵσταται; Οὐδαμῶς, ἀλλ' ἀπέρχεται ἔνθα μειζόνως ἂν αὐτοὺς ἐξάψοι. Ὅτι γὰρ ἀκριβῶς ἐπίστευσεν, ἄπιστον ἦν ἔτι τοῖς πολλοῖς. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο μεθ' ἡμέρας ἱκανὰς τοῦτο γίνεται. Τί ποτε τοῦτό ἐστιν; Εἰκὸς αὐτὸν μὴ βούλεσθαι τέως ἐξελθεῖν ἐκεῖθεν, πολλῶν ἴσως παραινούντων· ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἔμαθε, τότε ἐπέτρεψε τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ· καὶ γὰρ μαθητὰς εἶχεν εὐθέως. Τοῦτο αἰνιττόμενος ἔλεγεν· Ὁ ἐθνάρχης Ἀρέτα τοῦ βασιλέως ἐφρούρει τὴν ∆αμασκηνῶν πόλιν, πιάσαι με θέλων. Καὶ ὅρα τὸν εὐαγγελιστὴν οὐδὲν φιλοτίμως λέγοντα, οὐδὲ λαμπρὸν δεικνύντα τὸν Παῦλον, ἀλλὰ μόνον ὅτι ἐπήγειραν τὸν βασιλέα. Μόνον οὖν αὐτὸν ἐξέπεμψαν, καὶ οὐδένα μετ' αὐτοῦ. Καὶ τοῦτο δὲ συμφερόντως, ὥστε αὐτὸν φανῆναι τοῖς ἀποστόλοις ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις· μᾶλλον δὲ αὐτοὶ μὲν ἐξέπεμψαν, ὡς ἐκ τούτου λοιπὸν ἑαυτῷ τὴν σωτηρίαν πορίσασθαι· αὐτὸς δὲ τοὐναντίον πραττόμενος, εἰς τοὺς μαινομένους εὐθὺς ἐπεπήδησε. Τοῦτό ἐστι πεπυρῶσθαι, τοῦτο μάλιστα ζεῖν. Καὶ σκόπει, πῶς ἀκολουθεῖ, ἐκ πρώτης ἡμέρας τηρῶν τὸ παράγγελμα, ὅπερ ἤκουσαν οἱ ἀπόστολοι, τὸ, Ἐὰν μή τις ἄρῃ τὸν σταυρὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀκολουθήσῃ μοι. Τὸ τοίνυν ὕστερον αὐτὸν τῶν ἄλλων ἐλθεῖν, μᾶλλον αὐτὸν προθυμότερον ἐποίει. Καὶ ἔργῳ ἐπληροῦτο ἐκεῖνο τὸ, Ὧ ἀφίεται πολὺ, μᾶλλον ἀγαπήσει. Ὥστε ὅσῳ ἔσχατον ἦλθε, τοσούτῳ μᾶλλον ἠγάπησεν. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ τὸν πρότερον βίον ἑαυτοῦ στηλιτεύων, καὶ πολλάκις ἑαυτὸν στίζων, οὐδὲν ἡγεῖτο ἱκανὸν εἶναι πρὸς τὸ τὰ πρότερα ἀποκρύψαι. Συμβιβάζων, φησὶ, τουτέστι, μετ' ἐπιεικείας διδάσκων. Καὶ ὅρα, οὐ λέγουσιν αὐτῷ, ὅτι Σὺ εἶ ὁ πορθῶν· τί μεταβέβλησαι; ᾐσχύνοντο γάρ· ἀλλὰ πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς ἔλεγον. Εἶπε γὰρ ἂν πολλῷ δικαιότερον, ὅτι Τοῦτο μάλιστα ὑμᾶς διδάξαι ὀφείλει, ἐπεὶ καὶ πρὸς Ἀγρίππαν οὕτως ἀπολογεῖται. Τοῦτον μιμώμεθα, πα 60.162 ρακαλῶ, καὶ ἡμεῖς, καὶ πρὸς πάντας ὦμεν κινδύνους παρατεταγμένοι. Καὶ πῶς, φησὶν, ἐκεῖνος φεύγει; Οὐκ ἦν δειλίας τὸ πρᾶγμα, ἀλλ' ἐφύλαττεν ἑαυτὸν τῷ κηρύγματι. Εἰ δειλὸς ἦν, οὐκ ἂν εἰς τὰ Ἱεροσόλυμα ἦλθεν, οὐκ ἂν εὐθέως ἀνεδέξατο τὴν διδασκαλίαν· καθυφῆκεν ἂν τῆς σφοδρότητος. Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἦν δειλὸς, ἀλλὰ καὶ οἰκονομικός. Ἐπαιδεύθη τῷ πάθει τοῦ Στεφάνου. ∆ιὸ οὐδὲν μέγα ἡγεῖτο τὸ ἀποθανεῖν ὑπὲρ τοῦ κηρύγματος, εἰ μὴ μετὰ πολλοῦ τοῦ κέρδους τοῦτο ἐργάσαιτο, ἄνθρωπος οὐδὲ τὸν Χριστὸν ἰδεῖν θέλων, ὃν μάλιστα πάντων ἔσπευδεν ἰδεῖν, ἐπειδὴ οὐδέπω ἀπήρτιστο αὐτῷ τὰ τῆς εἰς τοὺς ἀνθρώπους οἰκονομίας. Τοιαύτην εἶναι χρὴ τὴν ψυχὴν τοῦ Χριστιανοῦ. δʹ. Ἀπὸ προοιμίων καὶ ἀπὸ βαλβῖδος αὐτῆς ἐδείκνυτο ὁ χαρακτὴρ Παύλου· μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ πρὸ τούτου. Ἐν οἷς γὰρ οὐ κατὰ γνῶσιν ἐποίει, ἀνθρωπίνῳ κινούμενος λογισμῷ διεπράττετο. Εἰ γὰρ μετὰ τοσοῦτον χρόνον οὐκ ἤθελεν ἀναλῦσαι· πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἐν ἀρχῇ τῆς ἐμπορίας, ἄρτι τῶν λιμένων ἐξελθών. Οὐκ ἐξαρπάζει δὲ αὐτὸν ὁ Χριστὸς τοῦ κινδύνου, ἀλλ' ἀφίησιν· ἐπειδὴ βούλεται καὶ ἀνθρωπίνῃ συνέσει πολλὰ γίνεσθαι. Ἄλλως δὲ ἀφίησιν, ἵνα μάθωμεν, ὅτι καὶ αὐτοὶ ἄνθρωποι ἦσαν, καὶ ὅτι οὐ πανταχοῦ τὸ πᾶν ἡ χάρις ἐνήργει· ἐπεὶ εἰ μὴ τοῦτο ἦν, ξύλα ἁπλῶς ἐνομίσθησαν ἄν. ∆ιά τοι τοῦτο πολλὰ καὶ αὐτοὶ ᾠκονόμουν διὰ τῶν πραγμάτων. Τοῦτο καὶ ἡμεῖς ποιῶμεν, καὶ οὕτω τῆς τῶν ἀδελφῶν ὀρεγώμεθα σωτηρίας. Τοῦτο μαρτυρίου οὐκ ἔλαττον, μηδὲν παραιτήσασθαι παθεῖν διὰ τὴν τῶν πολλῶν σωτηρίαν. Οὐδὲν οὕτως εὐφραίνει τὸν Θεόν. Πάλιν ἐρῶ, ὃ πολλάκις εἶπον· ἐρῶ δὲ, ἐπειδὴ σφόδρα αὐτὸ βούλομαι· ἐπεὶ καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς τὸ αὐτὸ ἐποίει, περὶ ἀφέσεως παραινῶν καὶ λέγων· Ὅταν προσεύχησθε ὑμεῖς, ἀφίετε εἴ τι κατά τινος ἔχετε. Πάλιν τῷ Πέτρῳ διαλεγόμενος, Οὐ λέγω σοι, φησὶν, ὅτι Ἄφες ἕως ἑπτάκις, ἀλλ' ἕως ἑβδομηκοντάκις ἑπτά· καὶ διὰ τῶν ἔργων ἀφῆκε τὰ εἰς αὐτὸν πλημμελήματα. Οὕτω δὴ καὶ ἡμεῖς,