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him with yourself. Be persuaded by a good counselor, Christ who loved you, who for our sake became poor, so that by His poverty we might become rich. 95.1465 When you are about to give to a poor person for the Lord's sake, this is both a gift and a loan; a gift, because there is no hope of enjoying it again; but a loan because of the great generosity of the one who repays on his behalf, who having received little through the poor person, will repay much on his behalf; For he who has mercy on the poor, lends to God, he says. The one who gives money, asks for mercy from you through the hands of the poor, and even if he receives his own things, he repays the grace to you intact as your own. The rich man is not yet enviable for his wealth; nor the powerful man for the weight of his office. For these are instruments of the other virtues for those who use them well, not possessing blessedness in and of themselves. The one, therefore, who uses them badly is pitiable, like one who with the sword he received for defense against enemies, willingly wounds himself with it. But if he handles his present situation well and according to right reason, and is a steward of the things given by God, such a one is justly praised and loved for his brotherly love and the communal nature of his character. Become, O man, like a fruitful olive tree in the house of God, never being stripped of hope, but always having about yourself the flourishing salvation that is through faith, so you will both imitate the ever-green leaf, and you will emulate its great fruitfulness, providing abundant alms at every opportunity. I do not think that the sacred word has weighed generosity and magnificence by the quantity of the given material, which is external, but rather by the intentions and choices of those offering it. God is served by nothing of all things so much as by mercy, because nothing else is more akin to God than this, whose mercy and truth go before, and to whom mercy must be offered before judgment. For by nothing else is loving-kindness returned as for loving-kindness by the one who justly measures mercy in balance and weight. Give some thanksgiving to God, because you have become one of those who are able to do good, and not of those who need to receive good, because you do not look to the hands of others, but others look to yours. Be rich not only in substance, but also in piety; not only in gold, but also in virtue. Become more honored than your neighbor, by appearing more benevolent. Become God to the unfortunate, by imitating the mercy of God. For in nothing does man possess God's likeness so much as in doing good. Do you think that beneficence is not a necessity for you, but a choice? I myself very much wished and supposed so, but the left hand and the goats frighten me, and the things for which they are reproached by the one who placed them, not 95.1468 because they have plundered, nor because they have robbed, or have committed adultery, or have done any other of the forbidden things. having been condemned to this rank, but because they have not served Christ through those in need. -No one has repented of having offered something to God. He is great in repayment. -Let your good deed be from your need, not from your surplus; in which fruitfulness God rejoices more, than in the multitude of the contribution, and the greatness of the gift. -God demands from us loving-kindness toward one another, even if we are being punished by him. -The most beautiful and most philanthropic thing is that God measures the gift not by the worth of what is given, but by the ability and disposition of the one who bears fruit. -Do not wait to become benevolent, but become so now; nor because it lacks worth, should you leave it out entirely, but contribute what you can, and be zealous for the rest. -There is nothing of the things offered to God, however small, or however much lacking in worth, which he does not altogether welcome and accept, although he knows how to weigh mercy with just judgment. It is a good thing to snatch from moths and from envy, to have Christ as a debtor rather than to have all things, He who grants a kingdom for a fragment. You shelter Christ, and you feed him, by feeding the poor. If you owe God no punishment, do not yourself be sympathetic to those who owe. But if you know you owe, also lend gentleness. For pity is also weighed by God with pity. Why must one treasure up for robbers and thieves, and the changes of seasons,

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αὐτὸν μετὰ σεαυτοῦ. Πείσθητι καλῷ συμβούλῳ, τῷ ἀγαπήσαντί σε Χριστῷ, τῷ δι' ἡμᾶς πτωχεύσαντι, ἵνα τὴν ἐκείνου πτωχείαν πλουτήσωμεν. 95.1465 Ὅταν πτωχῷ παρέχειν μέλλῃς διὰ τὸν Κύριον, τοῦτο καὶ δῶρόν ἐστι, καὶ δάνεισμα· δῶρον μὲν, διὰ τὴν ἀνελπιστίαν τῆς ἀπολαύσεως· δάνεισμα δὲ διὰ τὴν μεγαλοδωρεὰν τοῦ ἀποτιννύντος ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ, ὃς μικρὰ λαβὼν διὰ τοῦ πένητος, μεγάλα ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ ἀποδώσει· Ὁ γὰρ ἐλεῶν πτωχὸν, Θεῷ δανείζει, φησίν. Ὁ χρήματα διδοὺς, ἐλεημοσύνην αἰτεῖ παρὰ σοῦ διὰ τῆς χειρὸς τῶν πενήτων, κἂν λάβῃ τὰ ἑαυτοῦ, ἀκεραίαν σοι τὴν χάριν ὡς οἰκείαν ἀποπληροῖ. Ὁ πλούσιος οὔπω ζηλωτός ἐστι διὰ τὸν πλοῦτον· οὐχ ὁ δυνάστης διὰ τὸν ὄγκον τοῦ ἀξιώματος. Ὄργανα γάρ ἐστι ταῦτα τῆς λοιπῆς ἀρετῆς τοῖς καλῶς κεχρημένοις, οὐκ αὐτὰ ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἔχοντα τὸ μακάριον. Ὁ μὲν οὖν κακῶς αὐτοῖς κεχρημένος ἐλεεινὸς, ὡς ὁ τῷ ξίφει ὃ ἔλαβεν πρὸς τὴν τῶν πολεμίων ἄμυναν, τούτῳ ἑκουσίως ἑαυτὸν κατατιτρώσκων. Εἰ δὲ καλῶς, καὶ κατὰ τὸν ὀρθὸν λόγον, τὸν παρόντα μεταχειρίζεται, καὶ οἰκονόμος ἐστὶ τῶν παρὰ Θεοῦ δοθέντων, ἐπαινεῖσθαι καὶ ἀγαπᾶσθαι ὁ τοιοῦτος δίκαιός ἐστι διὰ τὸ φιλάδελφον καὶ κοινωνικὸν τοῦ τρόπου. Γενοῦ, ἄνθρωπε, ὡσεὶ ἐλαία κατάκαρπος ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ τοῦ Θεοῦ, μηδέποτε γυμνούμενος τῆς ἐλπίδος, ἀλλ' ἀεὶ θάλλουσαν ἔχων περὶ σεαυτὸν τὴν διὰ πίστεως σωτηρίαν, οὕτω καὶ τὸ ἀειθαλλὲς τοῦ φύλλου μιμήσῃ, καὶ τὸ πολύκαρπον δὲ αὐτοῦ ζηλώσεις, ἄφθονον τὴν ἐλεημοσύνην παντὶ καιρῷ παρεχόμενος. Οὐκ οἶμαι, τῷ πόσῳ τῆς διδομένης ὕλης οὔσης ἔξωθεν, ταῖς δὲ προσφερούσαις γνώμαις μᾶλλον καὶ προαιρέσεσι τὴν φιλοτιμίαν καὶ τὴν μεγαλοπρέπειαν ὁ ἱερὸς λόγος ἐσταθμίσατο. Οὐδενὶ τῶν πάντων οὕτως ὡς ἐλέῳ Θεὸς θεραπεύεται, ὅτι μηδὲ οἰκειότερον ἄλλο τούτου Θεῷ, οὗ ἔλεος καὶ ἀλήθεια προπορεύονται, καὶ ᾧ προσοιστέον τὸν ἔλεον πρὸ τῆς κρίσεως. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἄλλῳ τινὶ ὡς φιλανθρωπίᾳ τὸ φιλάνθρωπον ἀντιδίδοται παρὰ τοῦ δικαίως ἀντιμετροῦντος ἐν ζυγῷ καὶ σταθμῷ τὸν ἔλεον. ∆ός τι Θεῷ χαριστήριον, ὅτι τῶν εὐποιεῖν δυναμένων ἐγένου, ἀλλ' οὐ τῶν εὐπαθεῖν δεομένων, ὅτι μὴ βλέπεις εἰς ἀλλοτρίας χεῖρας, ἀλλ' εἰς τὰς σὰς ἕτεροι. Πλούτησον μὴ περιουσίαν μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ εὐσέβειαν· μὴ μόνον τὸ χρυσίον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ἀρετήν. Γενοῦ τοῦ πλησίον τιμιώτερος, ἐν τῷ φανῆναι χρηστότερος. Γενοῦ τῷ ἀτυχοῦντι Θεὸς, τὸν ἔλεον Θεοῦ μιμούμενος. Οὐδὲν γὰρ οὕτως ὡς τὸ εὐποιεῖν ἄνθρωπος ἔχει Θεοῦ. Οἴει μὴ ἀνάγκην εἶναί σοι τῆς εὐεργεσίας, ἀλλὰ προαίρεσιν; Σφόδρα καὶ αὐτὸς ἐβουλόμην, καὶ ὑπελάμβανον ἀλλὰ φοβεῖ με ἡ ἀριστερὰ χεὶρ καὶ οἱ ἔριφοι, καὶ ἃ παρὰ τοῦ στήσαντος ὀνειδίζονται, οὐχ 95.1468 ὅτι διηρπάκασιν, οὐδ' ὅτι σεσυλήκασιν, ἢ μεμοιχεύκασιν, ἢ ἄλλο τι τῶν ἀπηγορευμένων πεποιήκασιν. ταύτην τὴν τάξιν καταψηφισθέντες, ἀλλ' ὅτι μὴ Χριστὸν διὰ τῶν δεομένων τεθεραπεύκασιν. -Οὐδεὶς μετέγνω τῶν Θεῷ τι προσενεγκάντων. Πολύς ἐστιν εἰς ἀνταπόδοσιν. -Ἔστω τὸ ἀγαθὸν ὑμῶν ἐκ τῆς χρείας, μὴ τοῦ περισσεύματος· ᾗ μᾶλλον καρποφορίᾳ Θεὸς εὐφραίνεται, ἢ πλήθει τῆς εἰσφορᾶς, καὶ μεγέθει τῆς ἐπιδόσεως. -Φιλανθρωπίαν ἡμᾶς τὴν εἰς ἀλλήλους ἀπαιτεῖ ὁ Θεὸς, κἂν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ κολαζώμεθα. -Τὸ κάλλιστον καὶ φιλανθρωπότατον, ὅτι μὴ τῇ ἀξίᾳ τοῦ διδομένου, τῇ δὲ δυνάμει καὶ τῇ διαθέσει τοῦ καρποφοροῦντος μετρεῖ Θεὸς τὴν ἐπίδοσιν. -Μὴ ἀναμείνῃς γενέσθαι χρηστὸς, ἀλλ' ἤδη γενοῦ· μηδὲ ὅτι τῆς ἀξίας λείπει, τὸ πᾶν ἐλλείπῃς, ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν εἰσένεγκε, τὸ δὲ προθυμήθητι. -Οὐδὲν οὕτως τῶν εἰσφερομένων Θεῷ, κἂν ἐλάχιστον, ἢ κἂν πολὺ τῆς ἀξίας λειπόμενον, ὃ μὴ προσίεται πάντως καὶ ἀποδέχεται, εἰ καὶ σταθμίζειν οἶδεν τῇ δικαίᾳ κρίσει τὸν ἔλεον. Καλόν τι σητῶν ἁρπάσαι, καὶ τοῦ φθόνου, Χριστὸν χρεώστην μᾶλλον, ἢ τὰ πάντα ἔχειν, Ὃς βασιλείαν κλάσματος χαρίζεται. Χριστὸν σκέπεις, τρέφεις τε, τὸν πτωχὸν τρέφων. Εἰ μηδὲν ὄφλεις τῷ Θεῷ τιμωρίας, Μηδ' αὐτὸς ἴσθι τοῖς ὄφλουσι συμπαθής. Εἰ δ' οἶδας ὄφλων, καὶ πρόχρησον τὸ πρᾶον. Οἴκτῳ γὰρ οἶκτος καὶ Θεῷ σταθμίζεται. Τί δεῖ θησαυρίζειν λῃσταῖς καὶ κλέπταις, καὶ καιρῶν μεταβολαῖς,