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to hasten to the Father, and to long for the things to come; which comes from a good conscience, and from a soul delivered from earthly affairs. 5. For this indeed Paul also desired every day; for this reason he also said, that We ourselves also, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, groan, waiting for adoption, the redemption of our body. For he who has this love can neither be puffed up by the good things of this life, nor be humbled by its sorrows; but as one dwelling in the very heavens, he is delivered from both inequalities. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. Do you see the excellent sequence? For He commanded us to desire the things to come, and to hasten towards that departure; but until this happens, those who are tarrying here for the time being are to be eager to display the same way of life as those above. For we must desire the heavens, he says, and the things in the heavens; nevertheless, even before heaven, he commanded us to make the earth a heaven, and while dwelling on it, as if living there, to do and say all things so as to beseech the Master for these things also. For nothing prevents us from attaining 57.280 the exactness of the powers above on account of our dwelling on earth; but it is possible, even while tarrying here, to do all things as if one were already above. What he says, then, is this: Just as there all things are done without hindrance, and the angels do not obey some things and disobey others, but yield and are persuaded in all things; for they are mighty in strength, he says, doing his word; so also count us men worthy not to do your will by halves, but to fulfill all things as you wish. Do you see how he also taught us to be moderate, showing that virtue is not of our own eagerness alone, but also of grace from above? And again he commanded each of us who pray to undertake the care of the whole world. For he did not say, 'Thy will be done in me,' or 'in us;' but, 'Everywhere on the earth,' so that error may be destroyed, and truth may be planted, and all wickedness may be cast out, and virtue may return, and so that heaven may henceforth differ in no way from the earth. For if this should happen, he says, the things below will not differ from the things above, even if they are distinct in nature, with the earth showing us other angels. Give us this day our daily bread. What is, 'Our daily bread'? That which is for the day. For since he had said thus, 'Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth;' but he was speaking to men clothed in flesh, and subject to the necessity of nature, and unable to have the same impassibility as the angels; he commands that the commandments be done by us in like manner, just as they also fulfill them; but he then also condescends to the weakness of our nature. For I demand, he says, such exactness of life, but not impassibility; for the tyranny of nature does not permit it; for it needs necessary food. But consider, I pray you, how even in bodily things there is much that is spiritual. For he did not command us to make our prayer for riches, nor for luxury, nor for costly clothing, nor for anything else of that kind, but only for bread, and for daily bread, so that we might not be anxious for the morrow. For this reason He added, 'our daily bread,' that is, for the day. And not being content even with this word, he added another after it, saying, 'Give us this day;' so that we should not wear ourselves out further with care for the coming day. For of a day which you do not know if you will see its duration, for what reason do you endure the anxiety? This he also enjoined at greater length as he went on, saying, 'Be not anxious for the morrow.' And He wishes us to be on all sides well-girded and winged, yielding to nature only as much as the necessity of our need requires of us. Then, since it happens that we sin even after the washing of regeneration, showing here also His great love for mankind, He commands us to approach the man-loving God concerning the forgiveness of our sins, and to say thus: Forgive us our debts, as we also

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ἐπείγεσθαι πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα, καὶ τῶν μελλόντων ἐφίεσθαι· ὅπερ ἀπὸ συνειδότος ἀγαθοῦ γίνεται, καὶ ψυχῆς ἀπηλλαγμένης τῶν ἐν τῇ γῇ πραγμάτων. εʹ. Τοῦτο γοῦν καὶ ὁ Παῦλος καθ' ἑκάστην ἐπεθύμει τὴν ἡμέραν· διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἔλεγεν, ὅτι Καὶ αὐτοὶ τὴν ἀπαρχὴν τοῦ Πνεύματος ἔχοντες στενάζομεν, υἱοθεσίαν ἀπεκδεχόμενοι, τὴν ἀπολύτρωσιν τοῦ σώματος ἡμῶν. Ὁ γὰρ τοῦτον ἔχων τὸν ἔρωτα, οὔτε ὑπὸ τῶν χρηστῶν τοῦ βίου τούτου φυσηθῆναι δύναται, οὔτε ὑπὸ τῶν λυπηρῶν ταπεινωθῆναι· ἀλλ' ὡς ἐν αὐτοῖς διατρίβων τοῖς οὐρανοῖς, ἑκατέρας ἀπήλλακται τῆς ἀνωμαλίας. Γενηθήτω τὸ θέλημά σου ὡς ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. Εἶδες ἀκολουθίαν ἀρίστην; Ἐπιθυμεῖν μὲν γὰρ ἐκέλευσε τῶν μελλόντων, καὶ πρὸς ἐκείνην ἐπείγεσθαι τὴν ἀποδημίαν· ἕως δ' ἂν τοῦτο μὴ γίνηται, καὶ ἐνταῦθα διατρίβοντας τέως σπουδάζειν τὴν αὐτὴν τοῖς ἄνω πολιτείαν ἐπιδείκνυσθαι. Ἐπιθυμεῖν μὲν γὰρ δεῖ τῶν οὐρανῶν, φησὶ, καὶ τῶν ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς· πλὴν καὶ πρὸ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ τὴν γῆν οὐρανὸν ἐκέλευσε ποιῆσαι, καὶ ἐν αὐτῇ διατρίβοντας ὡς ἐκεῖ πολιτευομένους, οὕτω πάντα ποιεῖν καὶ λέγειν, ὡς καὶ ὑπὲρ τούτων παρακαλεῖν τὸν ∆εσπότην. Οὐδὲν γὰρ τὸ κωλύον φθάσαι 57.280 τὴν τῶν ἄνω δυνάμεων ἀκρίβειαν διὰ τὸ τὴν γῆν οἰκεῖν· ἀλλ' ἔνι καὶ ἐνταῦθα διατρίβοντα, ὡς ἄνω γενόμενον ἤδη πάντα ποιεῖν. Ὃ λέγει τοίνυν, τοῦτό ἐστιν· Ὥσπερ ἐκεῖ πάντα ἀκωλύτως γίνεται, καὶ οὐ τὰ μὲν ὑπακούουσιν οἱ ἄγγελοι, τὰ δὲ παρακούουσιν, ἀλλὰ πάντα εἴκουσι καὶ πείθονται· ∆υνατοὶ γὰρ, φησὶν, ἰσχύϊ, ποιοῦντες τὸν λόγον αὐτοῦ· οὕτω καὶ ἡμᾶς καταξίωσον τοὺς ἀνθρώπους μὴ ἐξ ἡμισείας τὸ θέλημά σου ποιεῖν, ἀλλὰ πάντα καθάπερ θέλεις πληροῦν. Εἶδες πῶς καὶ μετριάζειν ἐδίδαξε, δηλώσας ὅτι οὐ τῆς ἡμετέρας σπουδῆς ἡ ἀρετὴ μόνον. ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς ἄνωθεν χάριτος; Καὶ πάλιν τὴν ὑπὲρ τῆς οἰκουμένης πρόνοιαν ἕκαστον ἡμῶν τῶν προσευχομένων ἀναδέχεσθαι ἐπέταξεν. Οὐδὲ γὰρ εἶπε, Γενηθήτω τὸ θέλημά σου ἐν ἐμοὶ, ἢ ἐν ἡμῖν· ἀλλὰ, Πανταχοῦ τῆς γῆς, ὥστε λυθῆναι τὴν πλάνην, καὶ φυτευθῆναι τὴν ἀλήθειαν, καὶ ἐκβληθῆναι κακίαν ἅπασαν, καὶ ἐπανελθεῖν ἀρετὴν, καὶ μηδὲν ταύτῃ διαφέρειν λοιπὸν τὸν οὐρανὸν τῆς γῆς. Εἰ γὰρ τοῦτο γένοιτο, φησὶν, οὐδὲν διοίσει τὰ κάτω τῶν ἄνω, εἰ καὶ τῇ φύσει διέστηκεν, ἀγγέλους ἑτέρους τῆς γῆς ἡμῖν ἐπιδεικνυμένης. Τὸν ἄρτον ἡμῶν τὸν ἐπιούσιον δὸς ἡμῖν σήμερον. Τί ἐστι, Τὸν ἄρτον τὸν ἐπιούσιον; Τὸν ἐφήμερον. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ εἶπεν οὕτω· Γενηθήτω τὸ θέλημά σου ὡς ἐν οὐρανῷ, καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς· ἀνθρώποις δὲ διελέγετο σάρκα περικειμένοις, καὶ ἀνάγκῃ φύσεως ὑποκειμένοις, καὶ οὐ δυναμένοις τὴν αὐτὴν ἔχειν ἀπάθειαν τοῖς ἀγγέλοις· τὰ μὲν ἐπιτάγματα ὁμοίως κελεύει γίνεσθαι καὶ παρ' ἡμῶν, καθάπερ αὐτὰ κἀκεῖνοι πληροῦσι· συγκαταβαίνει δὲ καὶ τῇ τῆς φύσεως ἀσθενείᾳ λοιπόν. Ἀκρίβειαν μὲν γὰρ, φησὶ, πολιτείας ἀπαιτῶ τοσαύτην, οὐ μὴν ἀπάθειαν· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐπιτρέπει τῆς φύσεως ἡ τυραννίς· δεῖται γὰρ τροφῆς τῆς ἀναγκαίας. Σὺ δέ μοι σκόπει πῶς καὶ ἐν τοῖς σωματικοῖς πολὺ τὸ πνευματικόν. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ὑπὲρ χρημάτων, οὐδὲ ὑπὲρ τρυφῆς, οὐδὲ ὑπὲρ πολυτελείας ἱματίων, οὐδὲ ὑπὲρ ἄλλου οὐδενὸς τῶν τοιούτων, ἀλλ' ὑπὲρ ἄρτου μόνον ἐκέλευσε τὴν εὐχὴν ποιεῖσθαι, καὶ ὑπὲρ ἄρτου τοῦ ἐφημέρου, ὥστε μὴ ὑπὲρ τῆς αὔριον μεριμνᾷν. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο προσέθηκε, Τὸν ἄρτον τὸν ἐπιούσιον, τουτέστι, τὸν ἐφήμερον. Καὶ οὐδὲ τούτῳ ἠρκέσθη τῷ ῥήματι, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἕτερον μετὰ τοῦτο προσέθηκεν, εἰπὼν, ∆ὸς ἡμῖν σήμερον· ὥστε μὴ περαιτέρω συντρίβειν ἑαυτοὺς τῇ φροντίδι τῆς ἐπιούσης ἡμέρας. Ἧς γὰρ οὐκ οἶδας εἰ τὸ διάστημα ὄψει, τίνος ἕνεκεν ὑπομένεις τὴν μέριμναν; Τοῦτο καὶ προϊὼν διὰ πλειόνων ἐπέταξε, λέγων· Μὴ μεριμνήσητε εἰς τὴν αὔριον. Καὶ βούλεται πάντοθεν ἡμᾶς εὐζώνους εἶναι καὶ ἐπτερωμένους, τοσοῦτον εἴκοντας τῇ φύσει, ὅσον ἡ τῆς χρείας ἀνάγκη παρ' ἡμῶν ἀπαιτεῖ. Εἶτα ἐπειδὴ συμβαίνει καὶ μετὰ τὸ λουτρὸν τῆς παλιγγενεσίας ἁμαρτάνειν, πολλὴν καὶ ἐνταῦθα τὴν φιλανθρωπίαν αὐτοῦ ἐπιδεικνύμενος, κελεύει περὶ τῆς τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων ἀφέσεως προσιέναι τῷ φιλανθρώπῳ Θεῷ, καὶ λέγειν οὕτως· Ἄφες ἡμῖν τὰ ὀφειλήματα ἡμῶν, ὡς καὶ ἡμεῖς