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The things being compared and added are thus: if one is bad, the other is not good; if it is a good thing "to depart and be with Christ," to withdraw from the world, to be outside the flesh, 226 being in the flesh, even if it were inferior according to you, is a good thing. He wishes the inferior thing to perish, so that he may become master of the greater. And by "perishing" I mean its hindrance, its cessation. Just now John wanted to remain thus, as he was on the day of his birth. Since; does he say no? -Therefore, desiring something better, he knows that this is not better nor good. He does not pray for such a state to pass him by. And to pass away is to perish, to no longer exist. He is troubled by the name of perishing and by the disturbance. But one must not be troubled. Paul, therefore, was not troubled by such things; "for we know," he says, "in part and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away." But "to be done away" provides a worse emphasis than "to perish." Thus we have often said that "the partial" is done away not entirely, but its being "partial," and we took such an image concerning the pledge. Since; how do we give, as a righteous man or as a sinner? -So you do not wish to learn this alone; for many things are connected with it. If you remembered what you heard, you would not always be troubled about these things. I said that: let there be a king ruling the world, concerning whom all are fully convinced that he is righteous and that whatever he does, he does as a righteous man. "Bless the Lord, O my soul." If I keep it so, acting for the things for which it was appointed by the creator, it is only-begotten. But if at another time it acts otherwise and I serve certain things, it is not the only-begotten of the one who has it, but sometimes it is his, and at other times it goes outside of him. And that I may take it from the Gospel: the younger son who went away from his father's house had gone outside of himself; his soul was no longer his own. Indeed, when he repented, it says: "But when he came to himself." He then became his own; his soul then became his own. This is similar to "3know thyself". He who knows himself is within himself. 18 I will confess you in a great church, in a weighty people I will praise you. Then it is called a great and numerous church, when it is filled from each of the great ones; for if it is from small and common men, it is not called a great and numerous church. The apostle "speaks wisdom among the perfect." These, coming together and "being perfected in the same mind and in the same judgment," are a numerous and great church. And just as I call a church wise, when the individuals who make it up are wise, and I call a city stable and knowledgeable, when the individual citizens are stable and knowledgeable, so I call a church numerous and great when those who make it up have greatness, but greatness of soul, of mind, not of body. Again, "weighty people" he calls the honored; for they are accustomed to call honored and most precious things "3weighty"3. Scripture also testifies to this; for when the queen of Sheba came to Solomon, it says that it was "with a weighty force." And by "weighty force" it means the very possession which she had brought. She had brought many precious stones, many spices, gold, silver, and other things that constitute wealth. And that force of wealth was called "3weighty"3 instead of "3honored,"3 "3very precious"3. Therefore he says that, when each of those who make up the people, as I said of the church, was most precious, was honored—for "glory and honor and peace to everyone who works what is good"—, if the one who works what is good has glory and honor, the people are honored. Indeed, it has been said of it, as it was "a royal priesthood, a holy nation." The "holy nation" is made up of individual holy ones, the "royal priesthood" is composed of many servants of God. "In a weighty people," therefore, "I will praise you." He also prepares himself, so that he too can

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τὰ συνκρινόμενα καὶ προστιθέμενα οὕτως ἔχει· ἐὰν θάτερον φαῦλον ᾖ, τὸ λοιπὸν οὐ σπουδαῖόν ἐστιν· εἰ σπουδαῖόν ἐστιν τὸ "σὺν Χριστῷ εἶναι ἀναλύσαντα", τὸ ἀποστῆναι τοῦ κόσμου, τὸ ἔξω τῆς σαρκὸς εἶναι, 226 τὸ εἶναι ἐν τῇ σαρκί, κἂν ὡς κατὰ σὲ ὑποδεέστερον ᾖν, ἀγαθόν. βούλεται τὸ ὑποδεέστερον ἀπολέσθαι, ἵνα τοῦ μείζονος ἐνκρατὴς γένηται. τὴν δὲ ἀπώλειαν οὕτω λέγω τὸν κώλυμον, τὴν παῦλαν αὐτοῦ. ἄρτι ὁ Ἰωάννης ἤθελεν μεῖναι οὕτως, οἷος ἦν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῆς ἀποτέξεως. ἐπερ · λέγει οὔ; -οὔκουν κρείττονος ὀρεγόμενος οἶδεν τοῦτο μὴ κρεῖττον εἶναι μηδὲ καλόν. οὐκ εὔχεται παρελθεῖν αὐτῷ τὴν τοιαύτην κατάστασιν. τὸ δὲ παρελθεῖν τὸ ἀπολέσθαι ἐστίν, τὸ μηκέτι ὑφεστάναι. ταράττεται τῷ ὀνόματι τῆς ἀπωλείας καὶ τῆς ταραχῆς. οὐ δεῖ δὲ ταράττεσθαι. ὁ Παῦλος οὖν οὐκ ἐταράχθη ἐπὶ τοῖς τοιούτοις· "ἐκ μέρους", φησίν, "γιγνώσκομεν καὶ ἐκ μέρους προφητεύομεν· ἐὰν ἔλθῃ τὸ τέλειον, τὸ ἐκ μέρους καταργηθήσεται". τὸ καταργηθῆναι δὲ τοῦ ἀπολέσθαι ἔνφασιν χείρονα παρέχει. οὕτως ἡ μεῖς πολλάκις εἰρήκαμεν καταργεῖσθαι τὸ ἐκ μέρους οὐ καθάπαξ, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἐκ μέρους εἶναι, καὶ ἐλάβομεν τοιαύτην εἰκόνα τὸ περὶ τοῦ ἀρραβῶνος. ἐπερ · πῶς δίδομεν, ὡς δίκαιος ἢ ὡς ἁμαρτωλός; -οὐ τοῦτο οὖν μόνον θέλεις μαθεῖν· συνήρτηται γὰρ αὐτῷ πολλά. εἰ ἐμνημόνευες ὧν ἤκουσας, οὐκ ἀεὶ περὶ ταῦτα ἐταράττου. εἶπον ὅτι· ἔστω βασιλεὺς ἄρχων τῆς οἰκουμένης, περὶ οὗ πάντες πεπληροφόρηνται ὅτι δίκαιός ἐστιν καὶ ὃ ἐὰν ποιῇ ὡς δίκαιος ποιεῖ. "εὐλόγει, ἡ ψυχή μου, τὸν κύριον". ἐὰν τηρήσω αὐτὴν οὕτως ἐνεργοῦσαν εἰς ἃ ἐτέθη ὑπὸ τοῦ δημιουργοῦ, μονογενής ἐστιν. ἐὰν δὲ ἄλλοτε ἄλλως ἐνεργῇ καὶ δουλεύω τισίν, οὔκ ἐστιν μονογενὴς αὕτη τοῦ ἔχοντος, ἀλλ' ὁτὲ μὲν αὐτοῦ ἐστιν, ὁτὲ δὲ ἔξω αὐτοῦ γινομένη. καὶ ἵνα ἐπὶ εὐαγγελικοῦ λάβω· ὁ ἀποδημήσας τῆς πατρῴας οἰκίας νεώτερος ἔξω ἑαυτοῦ ἐγεγόνει· ἡ ψυχὴ αὐτοῦ οὐκέτι αὐτοῦ ἦν. ἀμέλει γοῦν ὅτε μετενόησεν, λέγει· "εἰς ἑαυτὸν δὲ ἐλθών". ἑαυτοῦ λοιπὸν γέγονεν· ἡ ψυχὴ αὐτοῦ λοιπὸν αὐτοῦ γέγονεν. ὅμοιόν ἐστιν τοῦτο τῷ "3γνῶθι σεαυτόν". ὁ γιγνώσκων ἑαυτὸν εἰς ἑαυτόν ἐστιν. 18 ἐξομολογήσομαί σοι ἐν ἐκκλησίᾳ πολλῇ, ἐν λαῷ βαρεῖ αἰνέσω σε. τότε μεγάλη καὶ πολλὴ ἐκκλησία λέγεται, ὅταν ἐκ̣ τω῀̣ν καθέκαστα μεγάλων συνπληρωθῇ· οὐ γὰρ ἐὰν ἐκ μικρῶν ἀνθρώπων καὶ χυδαίων, μεγάλη καὶ πολλη`̣ ἐκκλησία αὕτη λέγεται. "λαλεῖ σοφίαν ἐν τοῖς τελείοις" ὁ ἀπόστολος. οὗτοι εἰς ταὐτὸν γινόμενοι καὶ "τῷ αὐτῷ νοὶ καὶ τῇ αὐτῇ γνώμῃ καταρτιζόμενοι" πολλὴ καὶ μεγάλη ἐκκλησία εἰσίν. καὶ ὥσπερ λέγω σοφὴν ἐκκλησίαν, ὅταν οἱ καθέκαστα συνπληροῦντες αὐτὴν σοφοὶ ὦσιν, καὶ λέγω πόλιν εὐσταθῆ καὶ ἐπιστήμονα, ὅταν οἱ καθέκαστα πολῖται εὐσταθεῖς καὶ ἐπιστήμονες ὦσιν, οὕτω πολλὴν καὶ μεγάλην ἐκκλησίαν λέγω τῶν συνπληρούντων αὐτὴν ἐχόντων μέγεθος, μέγεθος δὲ τὸ ψυχῆς, τὸ νοῦ, οὐ τὸ σώματος. πάλιν "λαὸν βαρὺν" λέγει τὸν ἐπίτιμον· εἰώθασιν γὰρ τὰ ἐπίτιμα καὶ τὰ τιμαλφέστατα λέγειν "3βαρεῖα"3. τοῦτο καὶ ἡ γραφὴ μαρτυρεῖ· ὁπηνίκα γὰρ ἡ βασιλὶς τῆς Σαβὰ ἦλθεν πρὸς τὸν Σολομῶνα, λέγει ὅτι "ἐν δυνάμει βαρείᾳ". καὶ λέγει τὴν "βαρεῖαν δύναμιν" τὴν κτῆσιν αὐτήν, ἣν κομίσασα ἦν̣. ἐνηνόχει λίθους τιμίους πολλούς, ἡδύσματα πολλά, χρυσόν, ἄργυρον καὶ ἄλλα συνπληρωτικὰ πλούτ̣ου. καὶ ἐλέχθη ἐκείνη ἡ δύναμις τοῦ πλούτου "3βαρεῖα"3 ἀντὶ τοῦ "3τιμία"3, "3πολύτιμος"3. λέγει οὖν ὅτι, ὅταν ἕκαστος τῶν συνπληρούντων τὸν λαόν, ὡς ἐπὶ τῆς ἐκκλησίας εἶπον, τιμαλφέστατος ᾖν, τίμιος ᾖν-"δόξα" γὰρ "καὶ τιμὴ καὶ εἰρήνη παντὶ τῷ κατεργαζομένῳ τὸ ἀγαθόν"-, εἰ τὸ κατεργαζο´̣με̣ν̣ον τὸ ἀγαθὸν δόξαν ἔχει καὶ τιμήν, ἐπίτιμός ἐστιν λαός. ἀμέλει γοῦν περὶ αὐτοῦ εἴρηται, ὡς ἦν "βασίλειον ἱεράτε̣υ̣μα, ἔθνος ἅγιον". τὸ "ἔθνος ἅγιον" ἐκ τῶν καθέκαστα ἁγί ων συνπληροῦται, τὸ "βασίλειον ἱεράτευμα" ἐκ πολλῶν θεραπευτῶν θεοῦ σύνκειται. "ἐν λαῷ" οὖν "βαρεῖ αἰνέσω σε". παρασκευάζει καὶ αὐτόν, ὥστε καὶ αὐτὸν δύνασθαι