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joy; if you have beauty and prime, old age coming upon it withered it and took away the joy; if you enjoy a lavish table, when evening arrives, the joy of the feasting is also dissolved; for each of the things of this life is subject to influence, and is not strong enough to provide us with lasting pleasure; but piety and virtue of the soul are altogether the opposite. If you perform an act of mercy, no one is able to take away the good deed, not armies, not kings, not ten thousand slanderers, not conspirators attacking from all sides, can take away the possession stored up in heaven; but the joy remains perpetual. For he has scattered, it says, he has given to the poor, his righteousness endures forever; and very rightly so. For it is laid up in the storehouses of heaven, where no thief digs through, no robber takes, no moth consumes. If you offer continuous and earnest prayers, no one will be able to plunder their fruit; for this fruit is rooted in the heavens, freed from all malicious influence, and remaining unconquerable. If, having suffered evil, you do good, if, having heard evil spoken of you, you bear it wisely, if, having been reviled, you bless, these good deeds remain perpetually, and no one takes away the joy from them; but as often as you are reminded of them, you rejoice and are glad, and you reap great pleasure. So also, if we succeed in avoiding oaths, and persuade our tongue to abstain from this destructive habit, the good deed will be in a short time, but the gladness of the good deed will be perpetual and unceasing. Therefore, you must be teachers and guides of others as well, and take your friends who are near, and the servants who are your fellow-slaves, and the young who are your peers, and instruct and lead them. Now if someone promised you one gold piece for each person you corrected, would you not make every effort, and spend your days attending to it, persuading, exhorting? But now, not one gold piece, nor ten, nor twenty, nor a hundred, nor a thousand, nor the whole earth does God promise you as a reward for these labors; but 49.171 He gives you that which is greater than the whole world, the kingdom of heaven, and not only this, but also another thing besides. What is that then? He who brings out the precious from the worthless will be as my mouth, He says; what could be equal to this in terms of honor and security? What defense or excuse do we have after so great a promise, if we neglect the salvation of our neighbors? If you see a blind man falling into a pit, you extend a hand, and you think it unworthy to overlook one who is perishing; but when you see all the brethren every day being cast down into the wicked habit of oaths, you do not dare to utter even a word? But you spoke once, and he did not listen; therefore speak twice, and three times, and as many times as it takes, until you persuade him. Every day God speaks to us, and we do not listen, and He does not cease speaking; you too imitate this care 49.172 for your neighbor. For this reason we are with one another, and we inhabit cities, and we are gathered in churches, that we may bear one another's burdens, that we may correct one another's sins. And just as people inhabiting one workshop trade in different ways, but put everything into the common stock; so let us also do. Whatever good each one is able to contribute to his neighbor, let him not hesitate, nor shrink back, but let there be a kind of spiritual business and exchange, so that having deposited everything into the common fund, and having acquired great wealth, and having made the treasure great, we may all together obtain the kingdom of heaven, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom be glory to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

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χαράν· κάλλος ἐὰν ἔχῃς καὶ ὥραν, γῆρας ἐπελθὸν ἐμάρανε καὶ ἀφείλετο τὴν χαράν· τραπέζης ἐὰν ἀπολαύσῃς πολυτελοῦς, ἑσπέρας καταλαβούσης, κατελύθη καὶ ἡ τῆς εὐωχίας χαρά· ἕκαστον γὰρ τῶν βιωτικῶν πραγμάτων εὐεπηρέαστόν ἐστι, καὶ μόνιμον ἡμῖν οὐκ ἰσχύει παρασχεῖν τὴν ἡδονήν· ἡ δὲ εὐσέβεια καὶ ἡ κατὰ ψυχὴν ἀρετὴ τοὐναντίον ἅπαν. Ἐλεημοσύνην ἐὰν ποιήσῃς, οὐδεὶς ἀφελεῖν δύναται τὸ κατόρθωμα, κἂν στρατόπεδα, κἂν βασιλεῖς, κἂν μυρίοι συκοφάνται, κἂν ἐπίβουλοι πάντοθεν ἐπιθῶνται, τὸ εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν ἀποτεθὲν κτῆμα ἀφελέσθαι οὐ δύνανται· ἀλλὰ μένει διηνεκὴς ἡ χαρά. Ἐσκόρπισε γὰρ, φησὶν, ἔδωκε τοῖς πένησιν, ἡ δικαιοσύνη αὐτοῦ μένει εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα· καὶ μάλα εἰκότως. Ἐν γὰρ τοῖς τῶν οὐρανῶν ἀπόκειται ταμιείοις, ὅπου οὐ κλέπτης διορύττει, οὐ λῃστὴς λαμβάνει, οὐ σὴς κατεσθίει. Εὐχὰς ἐὰν εὔξῃ συνεχεῖς καὶ ἐκτενεῖς, τὸν καρπὸν τὸν ἀπὸ τούτων οὐδεὶς συλῆσα. δυνήσεται· καὶ γὰρ οὗτος ὁ καρπὸς ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς ἐῤῥίζωται, πάσης ἐπηρείας ἀπηλλαγμένος, καὶ μένων ἀχείρωτος. Ἐὰν κακῶς παθὼν εὐεργετήσῃς, ἐὰν κακῶς ἀκούσας φιλοσοφήσῃς, ἐὰν λοιδορηθεὶς εὐλογήσῃς, ταῦτα τὰ κατορθώματα μένει διηνεκῶς, καὶ τὴν ἐκ τούτων χαρὰν οὐδεὶς λαμβάνει· ἀλλ' ὁσάκις ἂν αὐτῶν ὑπομνησθῇς, χαίρεις καὶ εὐφραίνῃ, καὶ πολλὴν καρποῦσαι τὴν ἡδονήν. Οὕτω δὴ καὶ τὸ φεύγειν ὅρκον ἐὰν κατορθώσωμεν, καὶ πείσωμεν τὴν γλῶτταν τὴν ἡμετέραν ἀπέχεσθαι τῆς ὀλεθρίου συνηθείας ταύτης, τὸ μὲν κατόρθωμα ἔσται ἐν βραχεῖ καιρῷ, ἡ δὲ εὐφροσύνη τοῦ κατορθώματος διηνεκῶς καὶ ἀδιαλείπτως. Λοιπὸν ὑμᾶς καὶ ἑτέρων διδασκάλους εἶναι χρὴ καὶ καθηγητὰς, καὶ φίλους τοὺς πλησίον, καὶ τοὺς οἰκέτας δὲ τοὺς συνδούλους, καὶ νέους τοὺς ὁμήλικας λαμβάνειν καὶ παιδεύειν καὶ ἐνάγειν. Ἆρα εἴ τίς σοι χρύσινον ἕνα καθ' ἕκαστον διορθούμενον ἄνθρωπον ἐπηγγείλατο, οὐ πᾶσαν ἂν ἐποιήσω σπουδὴν, καὶ διημέρευες προσεδρεύων, πείθων, παρακαλῶν; Νῦν δὲ οὐχ ἕνα χρύσινον, οὐδὲ δέκα, οὐδὲ εἴκοσι, καὶ ἑκατὸν, καὶ χιλίους, οὐδὲ γῆν ὁλόκληρον ὑπισχνεῖταί σοι τῶν πόνων τούτων ἀμοιβὴν ὁ Θεός· ἀλλ' 49.171 ὃ τοῦ κόσμου παντὸς μεῖζόν ἐστι, τοῦτό σοι δίδωσι, τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν, καὶ οὐ τοῦτο μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἕτερον πρὸς τούτῳ. Ποῖον δὴ τοῦτο; Ὁ ἐξάγων τίμιον ἐξ ἀναξίου, ὡς στόμα μου ἔσται, φησί· τί τούτου γένοιτ' ἂν ἴσον εἰς τιμῆς λόγον καὶ ἀσφαλείας; Ποία δὲ ἡμῖν ἀπολογία καὶ συγγνώμη μετὰ τὴν τοσαύτην ὑπόσχεσιν τῆς τῶν πλησίον ἀμελοῦσι σωτηρίας; Σὺ δ' ἂν μὲν εἰς βάραθρον ἴδῃς καταπίπτοντα τυφλὸν, χεῖρα ὀρέγεις, καὶ νομίζεις ἀνάξιον εἶναι τὸ περιιδεῖν ἀπολλύμενον· ὁρῶν δὲ καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν κατακρημνιζομένους πάντας τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς εἰς τὴν πονηρὰν τῶν ὅρκων συνήθειαν, οὐδὲ ῥῆμα προέσθαι τολμᾷς; Ἀλλ' εἶπας ἅπαξ, καὶ οὐκ ἤκουσεν· οὐκοῦν εἰπὲ καὶ δὶς, καὶ τρὶς, καὶ τοσαυτάκις, ἕως ἂν πείσῃς. Καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῖν διαλέγεται, καὶ οὐκ ἀκούομεν, καὶ οὐκ ἀφίσταται διαλεγόμενος· ταύτην καὶ σὺ μίμησαι τὴν κηδεμονίαν 49.172 περὶ τὸν πλησίον. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο μετ' ἀλλήλων ἐσμὲν, καὶ πόλεις οἰκοῦμεν, καὶ ἐν ἐκκλησίαις συναγόμεθα, ἵνα τὰ ἀλλήλων βάρη βαστάζωμεν, ἵνα τὰ ἀλλήλων ἁμαρτήματα διορθώμεθα. Καὶ καθάπερ ἐργαστήριον ἓν οἰκοῦντες ἄνθρωποι διαφόρως μὲν ἐμπορεύονται, πάντα δὲ εἰς τὸ κοινὸν ἀποτίθενται· οὕτω δὴ καὶ ἡμεῖς ποιῶμεν. Ἅπερ ἂν ἕκαστος ἀγαθὰ δύναται εἰσφέρειν τῷ πλησίον, μὴ ὀκνείτω, μηδὲ ἀναδυέσθω, ἀλλὰ γινέσθω πραγματεία τις καὶ ἀντίδοσις τοιαύτη πνευματικὴ, ἵνα εἰς τὸ κοινὸν ἅπαντα καταθέμενοι, καὶ πολὺν κτησάμενοι πλοῦτον, καὶ μέγαν ποιήσαντες τὸν θησαυρὸν, κοινῇ πάντες τύχωμεν τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν, χάριτι καὶ φιλανθρωπίᾳ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, δι' οὗ καὶ μεθ' οὗ τῷ Πατρὶ ἡ δόξα, ἅμα τῷ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.