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you; leading you up 57.272 to the very highest peak of philosophy. For just as to be slapped is greater than being gentle, and to give one’s cloak also along with one’s tunic is greater than being merciful, and to bear being wronged is greater than being just, and to follow when slapped and compelled to go a mile is greater than being a peacemaker; so also to bless when persecuted is greater than being persecuted. Do you see how little by little he leads them up to the very arches of heaven? Of what then should we be worthy, who are commanded to have zeal for God, and perhaps are not even becoming equal to the tax collectors? For if to love those who love us is the mark of tax collectors and sinners and gentiles; when we do not even do this (for we do not do it, being envious of our brothers who are well-regarded), what penalty shall we not undergo, we who are commanded to surpass the scribes, and yet stand lower than the gentiles? How then shall we see the kingdom, tell me? how shall we set foot on those sacred portals, when we do not even become better than the tax collectors? For he hinted at this by saying: Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And this is especially to be admired in his teaching, that everywhere he sets the prizes of the contests with great abundance; such as seeing God, and inheriting the kingdom of heaven, and becoming sons of God, and like God, and being shown mercy, and being comforted, and the great reward; and if he ever had to mention painful things, he does this in a subdued manner; for he has placed the name of Gehenna only once in so many words; and in certain other instances, having used the word in a subdued manner, and rather to cause shame than to threaten, he corrects the hearer, saying: Do not even the tax collectors do the same? and, If the salt has lost its taste; and, He will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. And there are times when he even sets the sins in place of the punishment, giving the hearer to understand the burden of the punishment, as when he says: He has committed adultery with her in his heart; and, He who divorces her makes her commit adultery; and, What is more than these is of the evil one. For to those who have understanding, the magnitude of the sin is sufficient for correction instead of the name of the punishment. Wherefore here too he brings the gentiles and the tax collectors into the middle, putting the disciple to shame by the character of the person. Which Paul also did, saying: Do not grieve as the rest who have no hope; and, Just as the Gentiles who do not know God. And showing that he demands nothing excessive, but a little more than is customary, he says: Do not even the gentiles do the same? But nevertheless he does not stop his discourse here, but brings it to a close with the prizes and the good hopes, saying: Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father. And he scatters the name of the heavens far and wide everywhere, stirring up their minds by the place. For up to that point they were somehow more weakly and crudely disposed. Considering all that has been said, therefore, let us show great love even towards our enemies, and let us cast out that ridiculous custom which many of the more irrational people endure, waiting for those they meet to greet them first, not striving for that which has much blessedness, but pursuing that which is ridiculous. 57.273 For what reason, then, will you not greet him first? Because he is waiting for this, he says. Therefore, for this very reason you ought to be the first to jump at it, so that you may receive the crown. No, he says; because he has made a point of this. And what could be worse than this irrationality? For since he has made a point of this, he says, to become an occasion of reward for me, I do not wish to take hold of this opportunity. If, then, he greets you first, you gain nothing more even by greeting him back; but if you are the first to jump at the greeting, you will have dealt with his pride, and you will have harvested some bountiful fruit from his folly. How then is it not the utmost folly, when we are about to reap so much from mere words, to betray the gain, and, while condemning him, to fall into the same things? For if you accuse him for this reason, that he waits for another to greet him first, for what reason do you emulate what you reproach,

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ὑμᾶς· ἐπ' αὐτὴν 57.272 ἄνω τὴν ἀκροτάτην τῆς φιλοσοφίας ἀνάγων κορυφήν. Ὥσπερ γὰρ τοῦ πρᾶον εἶναι μεῖζον τὸ ῥαπίζεσθαι, καὶ τοῦ ἐλεήμονα εἶναι τὸ καὶ τὸ ἱμάτιον προΐεσθαι μετὰ τοῦ χιτωνίσκου, καὶ τοῦ δίκαιον εἶναι τὸ καὶ ἀδικούμενον φέρειν, καὶ τοῦ εἰρηνοποιὸν εἶναι τὸ καὶ ῥαπιζόμενον καὶ ἀγγαρευόμενον ἕπεσθαι· οὕτω καὶ τοῦ διώκεσθαι τὸ διωκόμενον εὐλογεῖν. Ὁρᾷς πῶς κατὰ μικρὸν εἰς αὐτὰς ἀνάγει τοῦ οὐρανοῦ τὰς ἁψῖδας; Τίνος οὖν ἂν εἴημεν ἄξιοι, οἱ πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν κελευόμενοι τὸν ζῆλον ἔχειν, καὶ τάχα μηδὲ τῶν τελωνῶν γινόμενοι ἴσοι; Εἰ γὰρ τὸ φιλεῖν τοὺς φιλοῦντας, τελωνῶν καὶ ἁμαρτωλῶν καὶ ἐθνικῶν· ὅταν μηδὲ τοῦτο ποιῶμεν (οὐ γὰρ ποιοῦμεν αὐτὸ βασκαίνοντες εὐδοκιμοῦσι τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς), ποίαν οὐχ ὑποστησόμεθα δίκην, ὑπερβαίνειν τοὺς γραμματεῖς κελευόμενοι, καὶ τῶν ἐθνικῶν ἑστῶτες κατώτεροι; Πῶς οὖν ὀψόμεθα βασιλείαν, εἰπέ μοι; πῶς ἐπιβησόμεθα τῶν ἱερῶν προθύρων ἐκείνων, οὐδὲ τῶν τελωνῶν ἀμείνους γινόμενοι; Τοῦτο γὰρ ᾐνίξατο εἰπών· Οὐχὶ καὶ οἱ τελῶναι τὸ αὐτὸ ποιοῦσιν, Ὃ καὶ μάλιστα θαυμάσαι αὐτοῦ τῆς διδασκαλίας ἔστιν, ὅτι πανταχοῦ τὰ ἔπαθλα τῶν ἀγώνων τιθεὶς μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς περιουσίας· οἷον καὶ τὸ τὸν Θεὸν ὁρᾷν, καὶ βασιλείαν οὐρανῶν κληρονομεῖν, καὶ τὸ υἱοὺς Θεοῦ γενέσθαι, καὶ τὸ ὁμοίους Θεοῦ, καὶ τὸ ἐλεεῖσθαι, καὶ τὸ παρακαλεῖσθαι, καὶ τὸν μισθὸν τὸν πολύν· εἴ που καὶ λυπηρῶν μνησθῆναι ἔδει, ὑφειμένως τοῦτο ποιεῖ· τὸ μὲν γὰρ τῆς γεέννης ὄνομα ἅπαξ ἐν τοσούτοις τέθεικε λόγοις· καὶ ἑτέροις δέ τισιν ὑπεσταλμένως, καὶ ἐντρεπτικώτερον μᾶλλον ἢ ἀπειλητικώτερον κεχρημένος τῷ λόγῳ, διορθοῦται τὸν ἀκροατὴν λέγων· Οὐχὶ καὶ οἱ τελῶναι τὸ αὐτὸ ποιοῦσι; καὶ, Ἐὰν τὸ ἅλας μωρανθῇ· καὶ, Ἐλάχιστος κληθήσεται ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τῶν οὐρανῶν. Ἔστι δὲ ὅπου καὶ τὰ ἁμαρτήματα ἀντὶ κολάσεως τίθησι, τὸ φορτικὸν τῆς κολάσεως τῷ ἀκροατῇ διδοὺς συνιδεῖν, ὡς ὅταν λέγῃ· Ἐμοίχευσεν αὐτὴν ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ· καὶ, Ὁ ἀπολύων ποιεῖ αὐτὴν μοιχευθῆναι· καὶ, Τὸ περισσὸν τούτων ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ ἐστι. Τοῖς γὰρ νοῦν ἔχουσιν ἀντὶ τοῦ τῆς κολάσεως ὀνόματος ἀρκεῖ καὶ τὸ τῆς ἁμαρτίας μέγεθος εἰς σωφρονισμόν. ∆ιὸ δὴ καὶ ἐνταῦθα τοὺς ἐθνικοὺς καὶ τοὺς τελώνας εἰς μέσον ἄγει, τῇ ποιότητι τοῦ προσώπου τὸν μαθητὴν ἐντρέπων. Ὃ καὶ ὁ Παῦλος ἐποίει λέγων· Μὴ λυπεῖσθε ὡς καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ οἱ μὴ ἔχοντες ἐλπίδα· καὶ, Καθάπερ τὰ ἔθνη τὰ μὴ εἰδότα τὸν Θεόν. Καὶ δεικνὺς ὅτι οὐδὲν ὑπέρογκον ἀπαιτεῖ, ἀλλὰ μικρῷ πλέον τοῦ εἰωθότος, φησίν· Οὐχὶ καὶ οἱ ἐθνικοὶ τὸ αὐτὸ ποιοῦσιν; Ἀλλ' ὅμως οὐχ ἵστησιν ἐνταῦθα τὸν λόγον, ἀλλ' εἰς τὰ ἔπαθλα αὐτὸν καταλύει καὶ τὰς χρηστὰς ἐλπίδας, λέγων· Γίνεσθε οὖν τέλειοι, ὡς ὁ Πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὁ οὐράνιος. Καὶ πολὺ τὸ τῶν οὐρανῶν ὄνομα διασπείρει πανταχοῦ, καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ τόπου τὰ φρονήματα αὐτῶν διεγείρων. Τέως γὰρ ἀσθενέστερον καὶ παχύτερόν πως ἦσαν διακείμενοι. Ἅπαντα οὖν ἐννοοῦντες τὰ εἰρημένα, πολλὴν καὶ πρὸς τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ἐπιδειξώμεθα τὴν ἀγάπην, καὶ τὸ καταγέλαστον ἐκεῖνο ἔθος ἐκβάλωμεν, ὅπερ πολλοὶ τῶν ἀλογωτέρων ὑπομένουσιν, ἀναμένοντες τοὺς ἀπαντῶντας πρώτους προσειπεῖν, ὃ μὲν ἔχει πολὺν μακαρισμὸν μὴ ζηλοῦντες, ὃ δέ ἐστι καταγέλαστον, 57.273 τοῦτο διώκοντες. Τίνος οὖν ἕνεκεν οὐ προσερεῖς αὐτὸν πρότερος; Ἐπειδὴ τοῦτο ἀναμένει, φησίν. Οὐκοῦν δι' αὐτὸ τοῦτο μάλιστα ἐπιπηδᾷν ἔδει, ἵνα σὺ λάβῃς τὸν στέφανον. Οὒ, φησίν· ἐπειδὴ τοῦτο ἐσπούδακε. Καὶ τί ταύτης τῆς ἀλογίας χεῖρον γένοιτ' ἄν; Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ τοῦτο ἐσπούδακε, φησὶ, μισθοῦ μοι γενέσθαι πρόξενος, οὐ βούλομαι ἐπιλαβέσθαι τῆς ὑποθέσεως ταύτης. Ἂν μὲν οὖν ἐκεῖνός σε προσείπῃ πρότερος, οὐδέν σοι γίνεται πλέον καὶ προσειπόντι· ἐὰν δὲ σὺ πρότερος ἐπιπηδήσῃς τῇ προσρήσει, ἐπραγματεύσω τὸν τῦφον ἐκείνου, καὶ δαψιλῆ τινα ἐκ τῆς ἀπονοίας αὐτοῦ τὸν καρπὸν ἐτρύγησας. Πῶς οὖν οὐκ ἐσχάτης ἀνοίας, τοσαῦτα μέλλοντας καρποῦσθαι ἀπὸ ψιλῶν ῥημάτων, προδιδόναι τὸ κέρδος, καὶ καταγινώσκοντος αὐτοῦ, τοῖς αὐτοῖς περιπίπτειν; Εἰ γὰρ διὰ τοῦτο αὐτὸν αἰτιᾷ, ὅτι πρότερος ἀναμένει τὴν παρ' ἑτέρου πρόσρησιν, τίνος ἕνεκεν ζηλοῖς ὅπερ ἐγκαλεῖς,