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will not thirst; but to the woman not so, but in a plainer manner, He who drinks of this water, shall not thirst. For it was a promise of spiritual things, and not of things seen. For this reason, having raised her mind by promises, He still dwelt on sensible words, because she was not yet able to comprehend the precision of spiritual things. For if He had said, If you believe in Me, you shall not thirst, she would not have understood what was said, not knowing who was speaking, nor about what thirst He was speaking. For what reason then did He not do this also in the case of the Jews? Because they had seen many signs; but she had seen no sign, but heard the words first. For this reason He then reveals His own power through prophecy, and does not immediately bring on the rebuke; but what does He say? Go, call your husband, and come here. And she says, I have no husband. Jesus says to her, You have said well, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband. This you have said in truth. The woman says to Him, Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Ah, how great is the woman’s wisdom! how gently she receives the rebuke! For how could she not, he says? Why, tell me; did He not rebuke the Jews many times, and with things greater than this? For it is not the same thing to bring forth the secret things of the mind, and to make manifest a deed done in secret. For the one belongs to God alone, and no one else knows it, except the one who has it in his mind; but the other, all those who share in it know. But yet, when they were rebuked, they did not bear it gently; but when He said, Why do you seek to kill me? not only do they not marvel as the woman did, but they also revile and insult Him. And yet they had the proof from other signs as well, while she had only heard this; but yet not only did they not marvel, but they also insulted Him, saying, You have a demon, who seeks to kill you? But she not only does not insult, but also marvels and is astonished, and suspects Him to be a prophet; and yet this rebuke would have touched the woman more keenly than that one did them. For this was her sin alone, while that was common. And we are not so stung by common failings, as by our own. And they thought they were achieving something great, if they should do away with Christ; but the woman's sin was acknowledged by all to be wicked; but yet the woman was not annoyed, but was astonished and marveled 59.186. And in the case of Nathanael also Christ did this same thing. For He did not introduce the prophecy beforehand, nor did He say, I saw you under the fig tree; but when he said, From where do you know me, then He added this. For He wished to take the beginnings both of His predictions and of His miracles from those who came to Him, so that they might become more accustomed to what was happening, and that He might escape the suspicion of vainglory. This indeed He does here also. For to rebuke her beforehand, that You have no husband, seemed burdensome and superfluous; but taking the occasion from her, to set all these things right, was both very consistent, and made the hearer gentler. And what is the connection, he says, in saying, Go, call your husband? The discourse was about a gift and a grace surpassing human nature. The woman was insistent, seeking to receive, and He says, Call your husband; as if showing that he too must partake of these things. But she, hastening to receive, and hiding the shamefulness of the matter, and thinking she was speaking with a man, says, I have no husband. Having heard this, Christ then seasonably brings on the rebuke, speaking both things with precision. For He both enumerated all the former ones, and exposed the one now hidden. What then did the woman do? She was not annoyed, nor did she go away and flee, nor did she consider the matter an insult; but rather she marvels at Him and persists the more; For I perceive, she says, that you are a prophet. And observe her understanding; Not even here did she rush headlong, but she still considers and marvels. For the expression, I perceive, is this, You appear to me to be a prophet. Then, when she suspected this, she asks Him nothing about worldly matters, nor

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οὐ μὴ διψήσει· τῇ δὲ γυναικὶ οὐχ οὕτως, ἀλλὰ παχύτερον, Ὁ πίνων ἐκ τοῦ ὕδατος τούτου, οὐ μὴ διψήσει. Ἐπαγγελία γὰρ ἦν πνευματικῶν, καὶ οὐχ ὁρωμένων πραγμάτων. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ἐπάρας αὐτῆς τὸν νοῦν ταῖς ὑποσχέσεσιν, ἔτι τοῖς αἰσθητοῖς ἐνδιατρίβει ῥήμασι, διὰ τὸ μηδέπω δύνασθαι χωρῆσαι τῶν πνευματικῶν τὴν ἀκρίβειαν. Εἰ γὰρ εἶπεν, ὅτι Ἐὰν πιστεύσῃς εἰς ἐμὲ, οὐ μὴ διψήσεις, οὐκ ἂν ἐνόησε τὸ εἰρημένον, οὐκ εἰδυῖα τίς ποτέ ἐστιν ὁ διαλεγόμενος, οὐδὲ περὶ ποίου δίψους ἔλεγεν. Τίνος οὖν ἕνεκεν οὐχὶ καὶ ἐπὶ Ἰουδαίων τοῦτο ἐποίησεν; Ὅτι ἐκεῖνοι μὲν πολλὰ σημεῖα ἑωρακότες ἦσαν· αὕτη δὲ σημεῖον μὲν εἶδεν οὐδὲν, τῶν δὲ ῥημάτων ἤκουσε πρῶτον. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο λοιπὸν διὰ προφητείας ἀποκαλύπτει τὴν δύναμιν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ, καὶ οὐκ εὐθέως ἐπάγει τὸν ἔλεγχον· ἀλλὰ τί φησιν; Ὕπαγε, φώνησόν σου τὸν ἄνδρα, καὶ ἐλθὲ ὧδε. Ἡ δέ φησιν· Οὐκ ἔχω ἄνδρα. Λέγει αὐτῇ ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Καλῶς εἶπες, ὅτι Ἄνδρα οὐκ ἔχω· πέντε γὰρ ἄνδρας ἔσχες, καὶ νῦν ὃν ἔχεις, οὐκ ἔστι σου ἀνήρ. Τοῦτο ἀληθὲς εἴρηκας. Λέγει αὐτῷ ἡ γυνὴ, Κύριε, θεωρῶ ὅτι προφήτης εἶ σύ. Βαβαὶ, πόση τῆς γυναικὸς ἡ φιλοσοφία! πῶς πράως τὸν ἔλεγχον δέχεται! Πῶς γὰρ οὐκ ἔμελλε, φησί; ∆ιατί, εἰπέ μοι· οὐχὶ καὶ Ἰουδαίους ἤλεγξε πολλάκις, καὶ τούτου μείζονα; Οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ἴσον τὰ ἐν διανοίᾳ ἀπόῤῥητα εἰς μέσον ἀγαγεῖν, καὶ πρᾶγμα γινόμενον λάθρᾳ κατάδηλον ποιεῖν. Τὸ μὲν γὰρ Θεοῦ μόνον ἐστὶ, καὶ οὐδεὶς ἕτερος οἶδεν, εἰ μὴ ὁ ἐν διανοίᾳ ἔχων· τὰ δὲ, οἱ κοινωνοῦντες ἐπίστανται ἅπαντες. Ἀλλ' ὅμως ἐλεγχθέντες οὐ φέρουσι πράως· ἀλλ' εἰπόντος, Τί με ζητεῖτε ἀποκτεῖναι; οὐ μόνον οὐ θαυμάζουσιν ὡς ἡ γυνὴ, ἀλλὰ καὶ λοιδοροῦσι καὶ ὑβρίζουσι. Καίτοι γε ἐκεῖνοι μὲν καὶ ἀπὸ ἄλλων σημείων εἶχον τὴν ἀπόδειξιν, αὕτη δὲ τοῦτο μόνον ἦν ἀκηκουῖα· ἀλλ' ὅμως οὐ μόνον οὐκ ἐθαύμασαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὕβρισαν λέγοντες, ∆αιμόνιον ἔχεις, τίς σε ζητεῖ ἀποκτεῖναι; Αὕτη δὲ οὐ μόνον οὐχ ὑβρίζει, ἀλλὰ καὶ θαυμάζει καὶ ἐκπλήττεται, καὶ προφήτην εἶναι ὑπονοεῖ· καίτοι μειζόνως ἂν ὁ ἔλεγχος οὗτος τῆς γυναικὸς ἥψατο, ἢ ἐκείνων ἐκεῖνος. Τοῦτο μὲν γὰρ ταύτης μόνης ἁμάρτημα ἦν, ἐκεῖνο δὲ κοινόν. Οὐχ οὕτω δὲ ἐπὶ τοῖς κοινοῖς, ὡς ἐπὶ τοῖς ἰδίοις δακνόμεθα. Κἀκεῖνοι μὲν μέγα ᾤοντό τι κατορθοῦν, ἂν τὸν Χριστὸν ἀνέλωσι· τὸ δὲ τῆς γυναικὸς ὡμολόγητο παρὰ πᾶσι πονηρὸν εἶναι· ἀλλ' ὅμως οὐκ ἐδυσχέρανεν ἡ γυνὴ, ἀλλ' ἐξεπλάγη καὶ ἐθαύμα 59.186 ζεν. Καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ Ναθαναὴλ δὲ τὸ αὐτὸ τοῦτο ἐποίησεν ὁ Χριστός. Οὐ γὰρ προηγουμένως τὴν προφητείαν εἰσήγαγεν, οὐδὲ εἶπεν, Εἶδόν σε ὑπὸ τὴν συκῆν· ἀλλ' ὅτε ἐκεῖνος εἶπε, Πόθεν με γινώσκεις, τότε τοῦτο ἐπήγαγεν. Ἐβούλετο γὰρ καὶ τῶν προῤῥήσεων καὶ τῶν θαυμάτων τὰς ἀρχὰς παρ' αὐτῶν λαμβάνειν τῶν προσιόντων αὐτῷ, ὥστε καὶ οἰκειοῦσθαι τοῖς γινομένοις μᾶλλον αὐτοὺς, καὶ τὴν τοῦ κενοδοξεῖν διαφυγεῖν ὑπόνοιαν. Τοῦτο δὴ καὶ ἐνταῦθα ποιεῖ. Τὸ μὲν γὰρ προηγουμένως ἐλέγξαι, ὅτι Ἄνδρα οὐκ ἔχεις, ἐδόκει φορτικὸν εἶναι καὶ περιττόν· τὸ δὲ παρ' αὐτῆς λαβόντα τὴν αἰτίαν, πάντα ταῦτα διορθοῦν, καὶ σφόδρα ἀκόλουθον ἦν, καὶ τὴν ἀκούουσαν πραοτέραν εἰργάζετο. Καὶ ποία ἀκολουθία, φησὶ, τὸ εἰπεῖν, Ὕπαγε, φώνησον τὸν ἄνδρα σου; Περὶ δωρεᾶς ἦν ὁ λόγος καὶ χάριτος ὑπερβαινούσης τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην φύσιν. Ἐπέκειτο ἡ γυνὴ ζητοῦσα λαβεῖν, καὶ λέγει· Φώνησόν σου τὸν ἄνδρα· ὡσανεὶ ἐνδεικνύμενος ὅτι κἀκεῖνον δεῖ κοινωνῆσαι τούτων. Ἡ δὲ σπεύδουσα λαβεῖν, καὶ κρύπτουσα τὸ αἰσχρὸν τοῦ πράγματος, καὶ οἰομένη πρὸς ἄνθρωπον διαλέγεσθαι, φησὶν, Οὐκ ἔχω ἄνδρα. Ταῦτα ἀκούσας ὁ Χριστὸς, εὐκαίρως λοιπὸν ἐπάγει τὸν ἔλεγχον, ἀμφότερα μετὰ ἀκριβείας λέγων. Τούς τε γὰρ προτέρους ἠρίθμησεν ἅπαντας, καὶ τὸν νῦν κρυπτόμενον ἤλεγξε. Τί οὖν ἡ γυνή; Οὐκ ἐδυσχέρανεν, οὐδὲ ἀφεῖσα ἔφυγεν, οὐδὲ ὕβριν τὸ πρᾶγμα ἐνόμισεν εἶναι· ἀλλὰ θαυμάζει μᾶλλον αὐτὸν καὶ προσκαρτερεῖ πλέον· Θεωρῶ γὰρ, φησὶν, ὅτι προφήτης εἶ σύ. Καὶ σκόπει αὐτῆς τὴν σύνεσιν· Οὐδὲ ἐνταῦθα εὐθέως ἐπέδραμεν, ἀλλ' ἔτι περισκοπεῖται καὶ θαυμάζει. Τὸ γὰρ, Θεωρῶ, τοῦτό ἐστι, Φαίνῃ μοι προφήτης εἶναι. Εἶτα ἐπειδὴ τοῦτο ὑπώπτευσεν, οὐδὲν βιωτικὸν αὐτὸν ἐρωτᾷ, οὐ