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he says, then finds the house empty and swept, takes again seven other spirits more wicked than itself and enters into the soul, and its last state becomes worse than the first. Let us therefore also be afraid, lest having been delivered from the former things, we should draw upon ourselves things worse than the former through subsequent laziness. I know that you are pure from this absurdity; but restrain the disorderly, punish, correct, that we may always rejoice, as Paul commanded, so that both for our own good deeds and for our care of others we may reap a great reward both here and in the life to come, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom to the Father together with the Holy Spirit be glory, honor and worship, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

49.187 On the Sunday of the Assembly, to those from the country; and concerning

not swearing. Homily 19. 1. You have feasted on the holy martyrs in these days just past;

you have been filled with the spiritual festival; you have leaped the good leaps; you have seen sides laid open, and flanks cut to pieces, blood flowing from every part, countless kinds of tortures; you have seen human nature displaying things beyond nature, and crowns woven from blood; you have danced a good dance, with this good general leading you all around the city; but weakness compelled us to remain at home even against our will. Yet even if we did not partake of the festival, we partook of the pleasure; even if we did not enjoy the celebration, yet we shared in the gladness with you. For such is the power of love; it makes those who do not enjoy rejoice equally with those who do enjoy, persuading them to consider the good things of their neighbors 49.188.40 as common. For this reason, sitting at home I rejoiced with you, and though my illness was not yet completely gone, I rose and ran to you, so as to see your beloved faces and to partake of the present festival. For I consider this present day to be a very great festival, because of the presence of our brothers, who have beautified our city today and have adorned the church. A people different from us in language, but in faith agreeing with us, a people living in tranquility, having a sober and reverent life. For among these men there are no theaters of lawlessness, nor horse races, nor prostitutes, nor the rest of the city's turmoil; but every form of licentiousness has been driven out, and great sobriety flourishes everywhere. And the reason is, their life is laborious, and they have the working of the land as a school 49.189 of virtue and sobriety, and they pursue a craft which God introduced into our life before all others. For even before sin, Adam, when he enjoyed great confidence, was commanded to pursue a kind of agriculture, not laborious nor full of hardship, but providing him with much philosophy. For He placed him, it says, to work and keep the paradise. You might see each of these, now yoking plowing oxen and pulling a plow and cutting a deep furrow, now ascending the sacred bema and plowing the souls of their flock, now with a sickle cutting out the thorns of the earth, now with the word cleansing the sins of souls. For they are not ashamed of work, as are those who inhabit our city, but they are ashamed of idleness, having learned that it has taught every evil, and from the beginning became a teacher of wickedness to those who love it. These are especially they who philosophize the best philosophy for us, displaying virtue not from their outward appearance, but from their mind

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φησὶν, εἶτα εὕρῃ τὸν οἶκον σχολάζοντα καὶ σεσαρωμένον, ἑπτὰ ἕτερα πνεύματα πονηρότερα ἑαυτοῦ πάλιν λαβὸν ἐπεισέρχεται τῇ ψυχῇ, καὶ γίνεται τὰ ἔσχατα αὐτοῦ χείρονα τῶν πρώτων. Φοβηθῶμεν οὖν καὶ ἡμεῖς, μὴ τῶν προτέρων ἀπαλλαγέντες, μείζονα τῶν προτέρων ἐπισπασώμεθα διὰ τῆς μετὰ ταῦτα ῥᾳθυμίας. Οἶδα, ὅτι ὑμεῖς ταύτης καθαροί ἐστε τῆς ἀτοπίας· ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς ἀκοσμοῦντας κατέχετε, κολάζετε, σωφρονίζετε, ἵνα πάντοτε χαίρωμεν, καθὼς ὁ Παῦλος προσέταξεν, ὅπως καὶ τῶν οἰκείων κατορθωμάτων καὶ τῆς ἑτέρων προνοίας πολλὴν καὶ ἐνταῦθα, καὶ κατὰ τὴν μέλλουσαν ζωὴν καρπωσώμεθα τὴν ἀμοιβὴν, χάριτι καὶ φιλανθρωπίᾳ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, δι' οὗ καὶ μεθ' οὗ τῷ Πατρὶ ἅμα τῷ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι δόξα, τιμὴ καὶ προσκύνησις, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ, καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.

49.187 Τῇ Κυριακῇ τῆς ἐπισωζομένης πρὸς τοὺς ἀπὸ τῆς χώρας· καὶ περὶ

τοῦ μὴ ὀμνύειν. Ὁμιλία ιθʹ. αʹ. Κατετρυφήσατε τῶν ἁγίων μαρτύρων ἐν ταῖς ἔμπροσθεν ταύταις ἡμέραις·

ἐνεφορήθητε τῆς πνευματικῆς ἑορτῆς· ἐσκιρτήσατε τὰ καλὰ σκιρτήματα· εἴδετε πλευρὰς ἠνεῳγμένας, καὶ λαγόνας κατατμηθείσας, αἷμα καταῤῥέον πάντοθεν, μυρία βασανιστηρίων εἴδη· εἴδετε φύσιν ἀνθρωπίνην τὰ ὑπὲρ φύσιν ἐπιδεικνυμένην, καὶ στεφάνους ἐξ αἵματος πλεκομένους· ἐχορεύσατε χορείαν καλὴν, πανταχοῦ τῆς πόλεως τοῦ καλοῦ τούτου περιάγοντος ὑμᾶς στρατηγοῦ· ἀλλ' ἡμᾶς ἡ ἀσθένεια καὶ ἄκοντας οἴκοι μένειν κατηνάγκαζε. Πλὴν εἰ καὶ μὴ μετέσχομεν τῆς ἑορτῆς, μετέσχομεν τῆς ἡδονῆς· εἰ καὶ μὴ τῆς πανηγύρεως ἀπηλαύσαμεν, ἀλλ' ἐκοινωνήσαμεν τῆς εὐφροσύνης ὑμῖν. Τοιαύτη γὰρ ἡ τῆς ἀγάπης δύναμις· τοὺς οὐκ ἀπολαύοντας τῶν ἀπολαυόντων ἐξ ἴσης ποιεῖ χαίρειν, κοινὰ τὰ τῶν πλησίον 49.188.40 ἀγαθὰ πείθουσα νομίζειν. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ οἴκοι καθήμενος ἔχαιρον μεθ' ὑμῶν, καὶ τῆς ἀῤῥωστίας μοι μηδέπω λυθείσης ἁπάσης, ἀνέστην καὶ ἔδραμον πρὸς ὑμᾶς, ὥστε τὰ ποθεινὰ πρόσωπα ὑμῶν ἰδεῖν καὶ τῆς παρούσης ἑορτῆς μετασχεῖν. Ἑορτὴν γὰρ μεγίστην εἶναι νομίζω τὴν παροῦσαν ἡμέραν, διὰ τὴν τῶν ἀδελφῶν παρουσίαν τῶν ἡμετέρων, οἳ τὴν πόλιν ἡμῖν ἐκαλλώπισαν τήμερον καὶ τὴν ἐκκλησίαν ἐκόσμησαν. Λαὸς κατὰ μὲν τὴν γλῶτταν ἡμῖν ἐνηλλαγμένος, κατὰ δὲ τὴν πίστιν ἡμῖν συμφωνῶν, λαὸς ἀπραγμοσύνῃ συζῶν, βίον σώφρονα καὶ σεμνὸν ἔχων. Παρὰ γὰρ τοῖς ἀνδράσι τούτοις οὐκ ἔστι θέατρα παρανομίας, οὐδὲ ἵππων ἅμιλλαι, οὐδὲ πόρναι γυναῖκες, οὐδὲ ἡ λοιπὴ τῆς πόλεως ταραχή· ἀλλ' ἅπαν μὲν ἀσελγείας εἶδος ἐξελήλαται, πολλὴ δὲ πανταχοῦ ἀνθεῖ ἡ σωφροσύνη. Τὸ δὲ αἴτιον, ἐπίπονος αὐτοῖς ἐστιν ὁ βίος, καὶ διδασκαλεῖον 49.189 τῆς ἀρετῆς καὶ τῆς σωφροσύνης ἔχουσι τὴν τῆς γῆς ἐργασίαν, καὶ τέχνην μετιόντες ἢν πρὸ τῶν ἄλλων ἁπασῶν ὁ Θεὸς εἰς τὸν βίον εἰσήγαγε τὸν ἡμέτερον. Καὶ γὰρ πρὸ τῆς ἁμαρτίας ὁ Ἀδὰμ, ἡνίκα πολλῆς ἀπήλαυε παῤῥησίας, γεωργίαν τινὰ ἐπετάγη μετιέναι, οὐκ ἐπίπονον μὲν οὐδὲ ταλαιπωρίαν ἔχουσαν, πολλὴν δὲ αὐτῷ παρέχουσαν τὴν φιλοσοφίαν. Ἔθηκε γὰρ αὐτὸν, φησὶν, ἐργάζεσθαι καὶ φυλάσσειν τὸν παράδεισον. Τούτων ἕκαστον ἴδοις ἂν, νῦν μὲν ζευγνύντα βόας ἀροτῆρας καὶ ἄροτρον ἕλκοντα καὶ βαθεῖαν αὔλακα κατατέμνοντα, νῦν δὲ ἐπὶ τὸ ἱερὸν ἀναβαίνοντα βῆμα καὶ τὰς ψυχὰς ἀροτριῶντα τῶν ὑπηκόων, νῦν μὲν δρεπάνῃ τὰς ἀκάνθας ἐκτέμνοντα τῆς γῆς, νῦν δὲ λόγῳ τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἐκκαθαίροντα τῶν ψυχῶν. Οὐ γὰρ ἐπαισχύνονται τὴν ἐργασίαν, καθάπερ οἱ τὴν πόλιν ἡμῖν οἰκοῦντες, ἀλλ' ἐπαισχύνονται τὴν ἀργίαν, μαθόντες ὅτι πᾶσαν ἐκείνη τὴν κακίαν ἐδίδαξε, καὶ διδάσκαλος πονηρίας ἐγένετο ἐξ ἀρχῆς τοῖς ἀγαπῶσιν αὐτήν. Οὗτοι μάλιστά εἰσιν οἱ τὴν ἀρίστην ἡμῖν φιλοσοφοῦντες φιλοσοφίαν, οὐκ ἀπὸ τοῦ σχήματος, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ τῆς γνώμης τὴν ἀρετὴν ἐνδεικνύμενοι