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at all endures, but leaving house and wife and children, he shows all diligence in his own flock, keeping watch over it and undertaking long journeys, having no bed, carrying no mattress, but enduring the heat of the day in the open and staying awake through the night, enduring the frost, ever wrestling with winds and cold and weather, and he does not desist from guarding and caring for them. But it is possible for you, while present at home and on the road and on your bed and mattress and at the table itself, to shepherd my sheep; how? By teaching them to have an untroubled and sincere and unwavering faith in me, to love me with all their soul, with all their mind, just as I also have loved them. For I laid down my life for them and died. Set before them, instead of irrational pasture, the life-giving food of my commandments; teach them that by the working and fulfillment of these, the partaking of them occurs; admonish and exhort them to be filled thus at every hour, so that they may always be satisfied and filled with my good things. And what sort of things my good things are, and through what actions they are acquired, you will suggest to them by saying these things. Sell your possessions and give alms; make for yourselves purses that do not grow old, an unfailing treasure in the heavens. Love your enemies; pray for those who persecute you. Do good to those who hate you. Let none of you repay evil for evil to anyone. Forgive, and it will be forgiven. For if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your heavenly Father forgive your trespasses. Become poor in possessions, (341) that you may become rich in spirit; despise the glory below, that you may enjoy the glory in heaven.

Since, therefore, two things are set before us, I mean life and death, and two worlds, the one visible and dissoluble and the one invisible and eternal and indissoluble, the present and the future, and there being two who are active in them, set in opposition to one another, I mean God and his adversary the devil, and the one being zealous to save and calling us to eternal life and kingdom, but the other desiring our destruction and death and roaring every day and seeking whom he may devour through the enjoyment of these temporal things and render liable to eternal punishment, we must flee the wicked enemy and foe and take refuge with the saving Master and call upon his aid, so that we may not be overcome by the ruler of darkness and fall under his snares, serving him and sin. And that the devil is the ruler of the world and of eternal darkness, hear Christ himself saying: "Behold, the ruler of this world is coming, and he will find nothing in me." But he is called ruler not as one with authority or a master of the world — away with the blasphemy! — he who does not even have authority over swine, but as one who enslaves and holds power over those who are nailed to it through the desire for the money and things in it. And he is called ruler of darkness, as one who himself from the beginning fell from the light through pride and will eternally be an heir of darkness. But our God and Master, being the creator and maker of all things, naturally and authoritatively (342) rules all things heavenly and earthly and under the earth, being an unwaning and unapproachable light, Lord of all things both present and to come. Therefore, those who obey him and keep his commandments inviolate and partake of temporal things with moderate enjoyment and thankfully receive these with self-control, are led up from these visible things themselves to the incorruptible and eternal things, as having submitted to the king and God of all, and the

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ὅλως ἀνέχεται, ἀλλά καί οἰκίαν καί γυναῖκα καί τέκνα καταλιπών, ὅλην ἐν τῇ ἑαυτόῦ ποίμνῃ τήν σπουδήν ἐπιδείκνυται, ἀγρυπνῶν ἐπ᾿ αὐτῇ καί μακράς ἀποδημίας στελλόμενος, μή κλίνην ἔχων, μή στρωμνήν ἐπιφερόμενος, ἀλλ᾿ ὑποφέρων αἴθριος τόν καύσωνα τῆς ἡμέρας καί τόν παγετόν τῆς νυκτός ὑπομένων διανυκτερεύει, ἀνέμοις καί κρυμῷ καί ἀέρι προσπαλαίων ἀεί, καί τῆς παραφυλακῆς καί ἐπιμελείας αὐτῶν οὐκ ἀφίσταται. Σοί δέ ἔξεστι καί ἐν οἰκίᾳ καί ἐν ὁδῷ καί ἐπί κλίνης καί στρωμνῆς καί ἐπί τραπέζης αὐτῆς παρακειμένῳ ποιμαίνειν τά πρόβατά μου· πῶς; ∆ιδάσκων αὐτά τήν εἰς ἐμέ πίστιν ἀθόλωτον ἔχειν καί εἰλικρινῆ καί ἀδίστακτον, ἀγαπᾶν με ἐξ ὅλης αὐτῶν τῆς ψυχῆς, ἐξ ὅλης τῆς διανοίας, ὡς αὐτούς οὕτως κἀγώ ἠγάπησα. Ὑπέρ αὐτῶν γάρ ἔθηκα τήν ψυχήν μου καί ἀπέθανον. Πρόθες αὐτοῖς ἀντί νομῆς ἀλόγου τήν τῶν ἐμῶν ἐντολῶν ζωοποιόν τροφήν· δίδαξον αὐτούς διά τῆς ἐργασίας τούτων καί ἐκπληρώσεως τήν ἐξ αὐτῶν μετάληψιν γίνεσθαι· νουθέτησον καί παρακάλεσον αὐτούς οὕτως καθ᾿ ὥραν ἐμπίπλασθαι, ἵνα ἐξ αὐτῶν ἀεί κεκορεσμένοι ὦσι καί ἐμπεπλησμένοι τῶν ἐμῶν ἀγαθῶν. Ὁποῖα δέ τά ἐμά ἀγαθά καί διά ποίων τῶν πράξεων κτῶνται, ὑποθήσεις αὐτοῖς λέγων ταῦτα. Πωλήσατε τά ὑπάρχοντα ὑμῶν καί δότε ἐλεημοσύνην· ποιήσατε ὑμῖν βαλάντια μή παλαιούμενα, θησαυρόν ἀνέκλειπτον ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς. Ἀγαπᾶτε τούς ἐχθρούς ὑμῶν· εὔχεσθε ὑπέρ τῶν ἐπηρεαζόντων ὑμᾶς. Καλῶς ποιεῖτε τοῖς μισοῦσιν ὑμᾶς. Μηδείς ὑμῶν κακόν ἀντί κακοῦ ἀποδῷ τινι. Ἄφετε καί ἀφεθήσεται. Ἐάν γάρ μή ἀφῆτε τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τά παραπτώματα αὐτῶν, οὐδέ ὁ Πατήρ ὑμῶν ὁ οὐράνιος ἀφήσει ὑμῖν τά παραπτώματα ὑμῶν. Πτωχεύσατε τοῖς χρήμασιν, (341) ἵνα πλουτήσετε πνεύματι· καταφρονήσατε τῆς κάτω δόξης, ἵνα τῆς ἐν οὐρανοῖς ἀπολαύσητε.

∆ύο τοίνυν πραγμάτων ἡμῖν προκειμένων, ζωῆς φημί καί θανάτου, καί δύο κόσμων, τοῦ ὁρωμένου καί λυομένου καί τοῦ ἀοράτου καί αἰωνίου καί ἀκαταλύτου, τοῦ ἐνεστῶτος καί τοῦ μέλλοντος, καί δύο τῶν ἐνεργούντων ἐπ᾿ αὐτοῖς ὄντων, ἀντικαθισταμένων ἀπ᾿ ἐναντίας ἀλλήλοις, Θεοῦ λέγω καί τοῦ ἀντικειμένου αὐτῷ διαβόλου, καί τοῦ μέν σῴζειν σπουδάζοντος καί πρός ζωήν καί βασιλείαν αἰώνιον ἡμᾶς προσκαλουμένου, τοῦ δέ τῆς ἀπωλείας ἡμῶν καί τοῦ θανάτου ἐπιθυμοῦντος καί ὠρυομένου καθ᾿ ἑκάστην καί τίνα καταπίῃ διά τῆς τῶν προσκαίρων τούτων ἀπολαύσεως ζητοῦντος καί τῆς αἰωνίου κολάσεως ὑπεύθυνον ἀπεργάσεται, φεύγειν ἡμᾶς δεῖ τόν πονηρόν ἐχθρόν καί πολέμιον καί πρός τό σῴζοντα καταφεύγειν ∆εσπότην καί τήν παρ᾿ ἐκείνου ἐπικαλεῖσθαι βοήθειαν, ἵνα μή ὑπό τοῦ ἄρχοντος τοῦ σκότους κατακυριευθῶμεν καί γενώμεθα ὑπό τάς παγίδας αὐτοῦ, δουλεύοντες αὐτῷ καί τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ. Καί ὅτι μέν ἄρχων τοῦ κόσμου καί τοῦ αἰωνίου σκότους ὁ διάβολός ἐστιν, ἄκουσον αὐτοῦ τοῦ Χριστοῦ λέγοντος· «Ἰδού ὁ ἄρχων τοῦ κόσμου ἔρχεται καί ἐν ἐμοί εὑρήσει οὐδέν». Ἄρχων δέ οὐχ ὡς ἐξουσιαστής ἤ δεσπότης τοῦ κόσμου λέγεται ἄπαγε τῆς βλασφημίας, ὅς οὐδέ κατά χοίρων ἔχει τήν ἀξουσίαν , ἀλλ᾿ ὡς τούς ἐν αὐτῷ προσηλωμένους διά τῆς ἐπιθυμίας τῶν ἐν αὐτῷ χρημάτων καί πραγμάτων καταδουλούμενος καί κατεξουσιάζων αὐτῶν. Ἄρχων δέ τοῦ σκότους λέγεται, ὡς ἀρχῆθεν μέν αὐτός ἐκπεσών τοῦ φωτός διά τῆς ἐπάρσεως καί κληρονόμος αἰωνίως τοῦ σκότους ἐσόμενος. Ὁ δέ Θεός καί δεσπότης ἡμῶν, ὡς κτίστης καί δημιουργός ὤν τῶν ἁπάντων, φυσικῶς καί ἐξουσιαστικῶς (342) ἄρχει πάντων τῶν ἐπουρανίων καί ἐπιγείων καί καταχθονίων, φῶς ὤν ἀνέσπερον καί ἀπρόσιτον, Κύριος πάντων καί τῶν ἐνεστώτων καί μελλόντων. Οἱ οὖν αὐτῷ πειθόμενοι καί τάς ἐντολάς αὐτοῦ ἀπαρατρώτους φυλάσσοντες καί τῶν προσκαίρων ἐν ἀπολαύσει συμμέτρῳ γινόμενοι καί εὐχαρίστως μετ᾿ ἐγκρατείας τούτων μεταλαμβάνοντες, ἀπ᾿ αὐτῶν ἤδη τούτων τῶν ὁρωμένων πρός τά ἄφθαρτα καί εἰώνια ἀνάγονται, ὡς τῷ βασιλεῖ καί Θεῷ τῶν ἁπάντων ὑποταγέντες καί τά