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you have written, of him who judges the living and the dead. Your own writings will be your accusation. 10.234 Then he says: Where will you leave your glory? You who are vainglorious and cling to human honor and have desired to be founders of heresies, so that you may gain a name, and for this reason have spoken unrighteousness on high, where then on the day of judgment will you leave your glory? Such men (he says) will fall beneath the slain. Now you are a leader of the deceived and are admired by them, bearing the name of teacher and guide, being glorified by them and called blessed; but then you will be more dishonored than these very ones, who have been slain by you. For the acceptance of false opinion is the murder of a soul. Therefore you will be fallen beneath these, and the weight of those slain by you will lie upon you. Since each of us through life as it were writes our own documents, sealing in our memory the impressions of our deeds, perhaps the Word also counts such men wretched, as writing wickedness. For the heart of the righteous is inscribed not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; but the heart of the unrighteous not with the Spirit of the living God, but with ink akin to darkness and an enemy to the light. So each either writes on his own behalf, doing good things, or deposits evil documents made against himself. There is therefore a document against us, handwritten by our own hands, when we do worse things; and there is a document for us, when we do better things. And already some also, making mischief with the writings in contracts and forging the characters of letters in acquisitions of fields and wills and mortgages, and in various transactions, as many as have their substance through the proof of writings, writing; and such men write wickedness, perverting just judgment for the poor and plundering the possessions of the needy of the people, so that the widow is for them to devour, and the orphan for gain. Such things as accrue to the victors in the spoils of war, of whom the Word reminds, that What will they do in the day of visitation? The day of judgment and of the retribution according to the merit of each one's transgressions, he called the day of visitation, with which he threatens them, that Your affliction will come from afar. Let us understand what he says, From afar, thus. Our salvation is not from afar, but is near us; for God (he says) am I who draws near; and I will be nearer to them than the tunic to their skin; and again. This commandment (he says) which I command you today, is not too heavy, nor is it far from you. It is not in heaven above, saying: Who will ascend into heaven and get it for us? Nor is it beyond the sea, saying: Who will cross for us to the other side of the sea and get it for us, and hearing it we will do it? The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart. And our Lord also: The kingdom of God (he says) is within you. The better things, therefore, and through which is salvation, are near us and within; but the contrary things come from afar from us, being outside of us. For sin is not inherent in our constitution, but has come upon it later. For this reason also the affliction, which is brought on for transgressions, is threatened by the Prophet to come from afar. 10.235 Woe to the Assyrians. The rod of my anger and wrath is in their hands. I will send my wrath against a lawless nation, and I will command my people to take spoils and plunder and to trample the cities and turn them to dust. But he did not so intend, nor did he so reason in his soul, but his mind will alter, and to destroy not a few nations. And if they should say to him: "You alone are ruler," he will say, "Did I not take the country above Babylon and Calneh, where the tower was built; and I took Arabia and Damascus and Samaria. In the same way

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ἐγράψατε, τοῦ κρίνοντος ζῶντας καὶ νεκρούς. Κατηγορία ὑμῶν ἔσται τὰ ὑμέτερα γράμματα. 10.234 Εἶτά φησι· Ποῦ καταλείψετε τὴν δόξαν ὑμῶν; Οἱ φανητιῶντες καὶ τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης τιμῆς ἀντεχόμενοι καὶ αἱρεσιαρχεῖν ἐπιθυμήσαντες, ἵνα ὀνόματος τύχητε, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο λαλήσαντες ἀδικίαν εἰς τὸ ὕψος, ποῦ τότε ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῆς κρίσεως καταλείψετε τὴν δόξαν ὑμῶν; Ὑποκάτω δὲ (φησὶν) οἱ τοιοῦτοι τῶν ἀνῃρημένων πεσοῦνται. Νῦν προσ τάτης εἶ τῶν ἐξηπατημένων καὶ θαυμάζῃ παρ' αὐτῶν, ὄνομα διδασκάλου καὶ καθηγητοῦ περιφέρων, σεμνυνόμενος παρ' αὐτῶν καὶ μακαριζόμενος· τότε δὲ τούτων αὐτῶν ἀτι μότερος ἔσῃ, τῶν ὑπὸ σοῦ πεφονευμένων. Φόνος γάρ ἐστι ψυχῆς, ψευδοδοξίας παραδοχή. Ὑποκάτω οὖν τούτων ἔσῃ πεπτωκὼς, καὶ τὸ τῶν ἀνῃρημένων ὑπὸ σοῦ βάρος ἐπικεί σεταί σοι. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἕκαστος ἡμῶν διὰ τοῦ βίου οἱονεὶ χειρόγραφα ἡμῶν γράφομεν, τῷ μνημονικῷ ἡμῶν τοὺς τύπους τῶν πραγ μάτων ἐναποσφραγιζόμενοι, τάχα καὶ τοὺς τοιούτους ταλα νίζει ὁ λόγος, ὡς γράφοντας πονηρίαν. Ἡ μὲν γὰρ καρδία τῶν δικαίων καταγέγραπται οὐ μέλανι, ἀλλὰ Πνεύματι Θεοῦ ζῶντος· ἡ δὲ τῶν ἀδίκων καρδία οὐ Πνεύματι Θεοῦ ζῶντος, ἀλλὰ μέλανι τῷ συγγενεῖ τοῦ σκότους καὶ ἐχθρῷ τοῦ φωτός. Ὥστε ἕκαστος ἢ ὑπὲρ ἑαυτοῦ συγγράφει, τὰ ἀγαθὰ πράσσων, ἢ καθ' ἑαυτοῦ ποιῶν χειρόγραφα κατατίθεται πονηρά. Ἔστιν οὖν τι χειρόγραφον καθ' ἡμῶν, χειρογραφούμενον ὑπὸ τῶν ἡμετέρων χειρῶν, ὅταν πράξωμεν τὰ χείρονα· καὶ ἔστι τι ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν χειρόγραφον, ὅταν πράσσωμεν τὰ βελτίονα. Ἤδη δέ τινες καὶ τὰ ἐν συμβολαίοις γράμματα ῥᾳδιουρ γοῦντες καὶ παραποιοῦντες χαρακτῆρας γραμμάτων ἐν κτή σεσιν ἀγρῶν καὶ διαθήκαις καὶ ὑποθήκαις, καὶ συναλλάγμασι ποικίλοις, ὅσα διὰ τῆς τῶν γραμμάτων ἀποδείξεως τὴν σύσ τασιν ἔχει, γράφοντες· καὶ οἱ τοιοῦτοι πονηρίαν γράφουσι, διαστρέφοντες τὸ δίκαιον κρίμα ἐπὶ τῶν πτωχῶν καὶ διαρπά ζοντες τὰ τῶν πενήτων τοῦ λαοῦ, ὥστε εἶναι αὐτοῖς χήραν εἰς κατάβρωμα, καὶ ὀρφανὸν εἰς κέρδος. Οἷα τὰ ἐν ταῖς τῶν πολέμων προνομαῖς τοῖς κρατοῦσι προσγίνεται, οὓς ὑπομιμνήσκει ὁ λόγος, ὅτι Τί ποιήσουσιν ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῆς ἐπισκοπῆς; Τὴν τῆς κρίσεως ἡμέραν καὶ τῆς κατ' ἀξίαν τῶν ἑκάστῳ πεπλημμελημένων ἀνταποδόσεως, ἐπισκοπῆς εἶπεν ἡμέ ραν, ἣν τούτοις ἀπειλεῖ, ὅτι Ἡ θλίψις ὑμῶν πόῤῥωθεν ἥξει. Νοήσωμεν δὲ τί λέγει, Πόῤῥωθεν, οὕτως. Ἡ σωτηρία ἡμῶν οὐ πόῤῥωθεν, ἀλλ' ἐγγὺς ἡμῶν ἐστι· Θεὸς γὰρ (φησὶν) Ἐγγίζων ἐγώ εἰμι· καὶ Ἐγγιῶ αὐτοῖς μᾶλλον ἢ ὁ χιτὼν τοῦ χρωτὸς αὐτῶν· καὶ πάλιν. Ἡ ἐντολὴ αὕτη (φησὶν) ἣν ἐν τέλλομαί σοι σήμερον, οὐχ ὑπέρογκός ἐστιν, οὐδὲ μακράν ἐστιν ἀπὸ σοῦ. Οὐκ ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ ἄνω ἐστὶ, λέγων· Τίς ἀναβήσεται εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ λήψεται αὐτὴν ἡμῖν; Οὐδὲ πέραν τῆς θαλάσσης, λέγων· Τίς διαπεράσει ἡμῖν εἰς τὸ πέραν τῆς θαλάσσης καὶ λάβῃ αὐτὴν ἡμῖν, καὶ ἀκούσαντες αὐτὴν ποιήσομεν; Ἐγγύς σού ἐστι τὸ ῥῆμα, ἐν τῷ στόματί σου καὶ ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου. Καὶ ὁ Κύριος δὲ ἡμῶν· Ἡ βασι λεία τοῦ Θεοῦ (φησὶν) ἐντὸς ὑμῶν ἐστι. Τὰ μὲν οὖν κρείτ τονα καὶ δι' ὧν ἡ σωτηρία, ἐγγὺς ἡμῶν ἐστι καὶ ἐντός· τὰ δὲ ἐναντία, ἡμῶν πόῤῥωθεν ἔρχεται, ἐκτὸς ἡμῶν τυγχά νοντα. Οὐ γὰρ τῇ κατασκευῇ ἡμῶν ἐνυπάρχει ἡ ἁμαρτία, ἀλλ' ὕστερον ἐπιγεγένηται. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἡ θλίψις, ἡ ἐπὶ τοῖς πλημμελήμασιν ἐπαγομένη, πόῤῥωθεν ἥξειν ἀπειλεῖται παρὰ τοῦ Προφήτου. 10.235 Οὐαὶ Ἀσσυρίοις. Ἡ ῥάβδος τοῦ θυμοῦ μου καὶ ὀργή ἐστιν ἐν ταῖς χερσὶν αὐτῶν. Τὴν ὀργήν μου εἰς ἔθνος ἄνομον ἀποστελῶ καὶ τῷ ἐμῷ λαῷ συντάξω ποιῆσαι σκῦλα καὶ προνομὴν καὶ καταπατεῖν τὰς πόλεις καὶ θεῖναι αὐτὰς εἰς κονιορτόν. Αὐτὸς δὲ οὐχ οὕτως ἐνεθυμήθη καὶ τῇ ψυχῇ οὐχ οὕτω λελόγισται, ἀλλ' ἀπαλλάξει ὁ νοῦς αὐτοῦ καὶ τοῦ ἐξολοθρεῦσαι ἔθνη οὐκ ὀλίγα. Καὶ ἐὰν εἴπωσιν αὐτῷ· «Σὺ μόνος εἶ ἄρχων» ἐρεῖ «Οὐκ ἔλαβον τὴν χώραν τὴν ἐπάνω Βα βυλῶνος καὶ τὴν Χαλάνην, οὗ ὁ πύργος ᾠκοδομήθη· καὶ ἔλαβον τὴν Ἀραβίαν καὶ ∆αμασκὸν καὶ Σαμάρειαν. Ὃν τρόπον