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For those women in many places have despised some who were in love with them; but you have put yourself forward for all, both for runaways and for robbers and for cutpurses. For from these and such as these are composed the theaters that praise you; and those whom, being by themselves, you consider to be worthy of nothing, these when gathered together you prefer to your own salvation, and you show yourself to be more dishonorable than all of them. 5. For how is he not more dishonorable who is in need of praise from them, and who does not think it sufficient for himself, unless he receive glory from others? Do you not consider, tell me, along with what has been said, that being conspicuous and manifest to all, if you should sin, you have countless accusers; but being unknown, you will remain even in safety? Yes, he says; but also when I do right, I have countless admirers. For this is the terrible thing, that the disease of vainglory harms you not only when you sin, but also when you do right, at that time tripping up countless people, and now emptying you of all your reward. It is a terrible thing, then, and full of all dishonor, to love glory even in political affairs; but when you suffer this same thing also in spiritual matters, what excuse is left for you then, not willing to offer to God even as much honor as you yourself have from your servants? for indeed the slave looks to the eyes of the master, and the hired worker to the lord of the work who is going to pay the wages, and the disciple to the teacher; but you do all the contrary, leaving God who hired you and the Master, you look to your fellow-servants, and this though you know that God remembers your good deeds even for the time to come, but man only for the present; and having the theater seated in heaven 60.571, you gather spectators on earth. And the athlete, where he competes, there he wishes to be well-reputed; but you, while competing above, are eager to be crowned below. And what could be worse than this folly? But let us look, if you please, at the crowns also; for one is composed of desperation, another of envy towards another, another of irony and flattery, another from money, and another from a servile disposition. And just as playing children place a crown of grass on one another, and often laugh behind the back of the one crowned, who does not know it; so indeed also now those who praise you have often mocked you among themselves, placing the grass on us; and would that it were only grass; but now the crown is full of much harm, and destroys all our good deeds. Considering, therefore, its worthlessness, flee the loss. For how many do you wish your praisers to be? A hundred, or twice that many, and three times and four times? or rather, if you wish, set them at ten times that many and twenty times, and let them be two thousand and four thousand; and if you wish, even ten thousand applauding; but these are no different from cawing jackdaws; or rather, if you consider the theater of the angels, these will seem more worthless than worms, and their praise weaker than a spider's web, and than smoke and dreams. Hear, at least, how Paul, who had accurately considered these things, not only does not seek them, but even prays to be rid of them, saying: But God forbid that I should boast, save in the cross of Christ. Therefore, you too emulate this boasting, that you may not provoke the Master. For you insult God by doing this, not only yourself. For neither if you, being a painter, had a certain disciple, and he then, neglecting to show the works of his art to you, set the painting outside for mere passers-by, would you have borne it meekly. But if this is an insult in the case of fellow-servants, much more so in the case of the Master. But if you wish to learn from another quarter to despise the matter, become lofty in your mind, laugh at the things that are seen, increase your love of true glory, be filled with spiritual understanding, say to your soul, as Paul said: Do you not know that we shall judge angels? and having raised it up from there, rebuke it then and say: You who shall judge angels, do you wish to be judged by scum, and to be praised with dancers and mimes and beast-fighters and charioteers? For these are the praises they pursue.

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Ἐκεῖναι μὲν γὰρ πολλαχοῦ κατεφρόνησάν τινων ἐρασθέντων αὐτῶν· σὺ δὲ ἅπασι σαυτὸν προὔθηκας, καὶ δραπέταις καὶ λῃσταῖς καὶ βαλαντιοτόμοις. Ἀπὸ γὰρ τούτων καὶ τῶν τοιούτων τὰ ἐπαινοῦντα ὑμᾶς συνέστηκε θέατρα· καὶ οὓς καθ' ἑαυτοὺς ὄντας οὐδενὸς ἀξίους εἶναι νομίζεις, τούτους συλλεγέντας τῆς σεαυτοῦ προτιμᾷς σωτηρίας, καὶ πάντων ἐκείνων ἀτιμότερον σαυτὸν ἀποφαίνεις. εʹ. Πῶς γὰρ οὐκ ἀτιμότερος ὁ τῆς παρ' ἐκείνων δεόμενος εὐφημίας, καὶ μὴ νομίζων ἀρκεῖν σεαυτῷ, εἰ μὴ τὴν παρ' ἑτέρων δόξαν λάβοις; Οὐκ ἐννοεῖς, εἰπέ μοι, μετὰ τῶν εἰρημένων, ὅτι περίβλεπτος μὲν ὢν καὶ πᾶσι κατάδηλος, ἂν ἁμάρτῃς, μυρίους ἔχεις κατηγόρους· ἄγνωστος δὲ, κἂν ἐν ἀσφαλείᾳ μενεῖς; Ναὶ, φησίν· ἀλλὰ καὶ κατορθῶν μυρίους ἔχω τοὺς θαυμαστάς. Τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι τὸ δεινὸν, ὅτι οὐ μόνον ἁμαρτάνοντά σε, ἀλλὰ καὶ κατορθοῦντα βλάπτει τῆς κενοδοξίας ἡ νόσος, τότε μὲν μυρίους ὑποσκελίζουσα, νῦν πάντα σου κενοῦσα τὸν μισθόν. ∆εινὸν μὲν οὖν, καὶ πάσης ἀτιμίας ἀνάμεστον, τὸ καὶ ἐν πολιτικοῖς πράγμασι δόξης ἐρᾷν· ὅταν δὲ καὶ ἐν τοῖς πνευματικοῖς τὸ αὐτὸ τοῦτο πάσχῃς, τίς λείπεταί σοι συγγνώμη λοιπὸν, μηδὲ τοσαύτην βουλομένῳ παρασχεῖν τῷ Θεῷ τιμὴν, ὅσην αὐτὸς παρὰ τῶν οἰκετῶν ἔχεις; καὶ γὰρ ὁ δοῦλος πρὸς τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ὁρᾷ τοῦ δεσπότου, καὶ ὁ μισθωτὸς πρὸς τὸν τοῦ ἔργου κύριον τὸν μέλλοντα ἀποδιδόναι μισθοὺς, καὶ ὁ μαθητὴς πρὸς τὸν διδάσκαλον· σὺ δὲ τοὐναντίον ἅπαν, τὸν μισθωσάμενόν σε Θεὸν ἀφεὶς καὶ τὸν ∆εσπότην, πρὸς τοὺς ὁμοδούλους βλέπεις, καὶ ταῦτα εἰδὼς, ὅτι ὁ μὲν Θεὸς μέμνηται καὶ εἰς τὰ μετὰ ταῦτα τῶν σῶν κατορθωμάτων, ἄνθρωπος δὲ εἰς τὸ παρόν· καὶ ἐν οὐρανῷ 60.571 τὸ θέατρον ἔχων καθήμενον, τοὺς ἐπὶ γῆς θεατὰς συνάγεις. Καὶ ὁ μὲν ἀθλητὴς ἔνθα ἀγωνίζεται, ἐκεῖ βούλεται εὐδοκιμεῖν· σὺ δὲ ἀγωνιζόμενος ἄνω, κάτω στεφανοῦσθαι σπουδάζεις. Καὶ τί ταύτης χεῖρον γένοιτ' ἂν τῆς ἀνοίας; Ἴδωμεν δὲ, εἰ δοκεῖ, καὶ τοὺς στεφάνους· ὁ μὲν γὰρ ἐξ ἀπονοίας σύγκειται, ὁ δὲ ἐκ τῆς πρὸς ἕτερον βασκανίας, ὁ δὲ ἐξ εἰρωνείας καὶ κολακείας, ὁ δὲ ἀπὸ χρημάτων, ὁ δὲ ἀπὸ δουλοπρεποῦς διανοίας. Καὶ καθάπερ τὰ παιδία τὰ παίζοντα χόρτου στέφανον ἐπιτιθέασιν ἀλλήλοις, καὶ τοῦ στεφανωθέντος οὐκ εἰδότος καταγελῶσιν ὄπισθεν πολλάκις· οὕτω δὴ καὶ νῦν οἱ ἐγκωμιάζοντές σε, καθ' ἑαυτοὺς πολλάκις ἐχλεύασαν, τὸν χόρτον ἡμῖν ἐπιτιθέντες· καὶ εἴθε χόρτον μόνον· νυνὶ δὲ καὶ πολλῆς γέμει βλάβης ὁ στέφανος, καὶ πάντα ἡμῶν ἀπόλλυσι τὰ κατορθώματα. Ἐννοήσας τοίνυν αὐτοῦ τὸ εὐτελὲς, φεῦγε τὴν ζημίαν. Πόσους γὰρ εἶναι βούλει σου τοὺς ἐπαινέτας; ἑκατὸν, ἢ δὶς τοσούτους καὶ τρὶς καὶ τετράκις; μᾶλλον δὲ, εἰ βούλει, τίθει δεκάκις τοσούτους καὶ εἰκοσάκις, καὶ ἔστωσαν δισχίλιοι καὶ τετρακισχίλιοι· εἰ δὲ βούλει, καὶ μυρίοι οἱ κροτοῦντες· ἀλλ' οὐδὲν οὗτοι κολοιῶν κραζόντων διαφέρουσι· μᾶλλον δὲ, ἂν ἐννοήσῃς τὸ τῶν ἀγγέλων θέατρον, καὶ σκωλήκων οὗτοι φανοῦνται εὐτελέστεροι, καὶ ἀράχνης ἀσθενεστέρα αὐτῶν ἡ εὐφημία, καὶ καπνῶν καὶ ὀνειράτων. Ἄκουσον γοῦν πῶς ὁ Παῦλος ὁ ταῦτα διεσκεμμένος ἀκριβῶς, οὐ μόνον αὐτὰ οὐκ ἐπιζητεῖ, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀπεύχεται, λέγων· Ἐμοὶ δὲ μὴ γένοιτο καυχᾶσθαι, εἰ μὴ ἐν τῷ σταυρῷ τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Ταύτην τοίνυν καὶ σὺ ζήλωσον τὴν καύχησιν, ἵνα μὴ παροξύνῃς τὸν ∆εσπότην. Καὶ γὰρ εἰς τὸν Θεὸν ὑβρίζεις, τοῦτο ποιῶν, οὐχὶ σεαυτὸν μόνον. Οὐδὲ γὰρ εἰ ζωγράφος ὢν μαθητήν τινα εἶχες, εἶτα ἐκεῖνος ἀφεὶς ἐπιδείξασθαί σοι τὰ τῆς τέχνης, τὸν πίνακα ἔξω προτιθεὶς τοῖς παρατηροῦσιν ἁπλῶς, πράως ἂν ἤνεγκας. Εἰ δὲ ἐπὶ τῶν ὁμοδούλων τοῦτο ὕβρις, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἐπὶ τοῦ ∆εσπότου. Εἰ δὲ ἑτέρωθεν βούλει μαθεῖν τοῦ πράγματος καταφρονεῖν, ὑψηλὸς γενοῦ τῇ διανοίᾳ, καταγέλασον τῶν ὁρωμένων, αὔξησον τῆς ἀληθοῦς δόξης τὸν ἔρωτα, ἐμπλήσθητι φρονήματος πνευματικοῦ, εἰπὲ πρὸς τὴν ψυχὴν, ὡς Παῦλος εἶπεν· Οὐκ οἶδας, ὅτι ἀγγέλους κρινοῦμεν; καὶ ἀναστήσας αὐτὴν ἐντεῦθεν, ἐπιτίμησον λοιπὸν καὶ εἰπέ· Ἡ ἀγγέλους κρινοῦσα, ὑπὸ καθαρμάτων κρίνεσθαι βούλει, καὶ μετὰ τῶν ὀρχηστῶν ἐπαινεῖσθαι καὶ μίμων καὶ θηριομάχων καὶ ἡνιόχων; ταύτας γὰρ οὗτοι τὰς εὐφημίας διώκουσιν.