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an unfailing treasure in the heavens. Love your enemies; pray for those who abuse you. Do good to those who hate you. Let none of you repay evil for evil to anyone. Forgive and you will be forgiven. For if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your heavenly Father forgive you your trespasses. Be poor in money, (341) that you may be rich in spirit; despise the glory below, that you may enjoy that in the heavens.

Since two states are set before us, I mean life and death, and two worlds, the visible and perishable and the invisible and eternal and indestructible, the present and the future, and there being two agents at work upon them, set against one another, I mean God and his adversary the devil, the one striving to save and calling us to eternal life and kingdom, the other desiring our destruction and death, and roaring daily and seeking whom he may devour through the enjoyment of these temporal things and make liable to eternal punishment, we must flee the evil enemy and foe and take refuge with the saving Master and call upon His help, 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.” He is called ruler not as one with authority or master of the world—far be the blasphemy, for he does not even have authority over swine—but as one who enslaves and dominates those attached to it through desire for the money and things in it. And he is called ruler of darkness, as one who from the beginning fell from the light through pride and will be an heir of darkness eternally. But our God and Master, as the creator and maker of all things, naturally and authoritatively (342) rules all things in heaven and on earth and under the earth, being an unwaning and unapproachable light, Lord of all things present and to come. Therefore, those who obey him and keep his commandments inviolate, and who partake of temporal things with moderate enjoyment and thankfully with self-control, are already from these visible things led up to the incorruptible and eternal things, as having submitted to the King and God of all and having kept his commands. But as many as practice things contrary to his commandments are found ranked with the adversary, becoming outright enemies of God, as the Savior himself says: “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.”

Let no one, therefore, beloved, be added to the ruler of darkness and world-ruler; let no one be ranked with him; let no one wage war against our Savior and God with the devil and his angels; let no one act against his own soul, nor strive to inherit the eternal fire; no, I beg you, no, children and fathers and brothers. It is a fearful thing to become enemies of God, even just to hear it. How it is possible for someone to wage war against Christ and to strive for his own destruction, I will now say. If someone insults you justly or unjustly, or reviles or slanders you, and you do not bear the dishonor meekly, or being grieved and stung in your heart you do not endure and restrain the movements of your soul, but either insult back the one who insulted you or revile him or do some other hostile thing to him, or again, though you do none of these things to him, you go away with wrath against

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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 προστάγματα τετηρηκότες αὐτοῦ. Ὅσοι δέ τά ἐναντία τῶν τούτου ἐντολῶν διαπράξονται, μετά τοῦ ἀντικειμένου εὑρίσκονται ταττόμενοι, Θεοῦ γινόμενοι πολέμιοι ἄντικρυς, καθώς αὐτός φησιν ὁ Σωτήρ· «Ὁ μή ὤν μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ κατ᾿ ἐμοῦ ἐστι καί ὁ μή συνάγων μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ σκορπίζει».

Μηδείς τοιγαροῦν, ἀγαπητοί, τῷ ἄρχοντι τοῦ σκότους καί κοσμοκράτορι προστεθῇ· μηδείς μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ ταχθῇ· μηδείς κατά τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν καί Θεοῦ τῷ διαβόλῳ σύν τοῖς ἀγγέλοις αὐτοῦ στρατευθῇ· μηδείς κατά τῆς ἑαυτοῦ ψυχῆς γένηται, μηδέ ὅπως τό αἰώνιον κληρονομήσῃ πῦρ ἀγωνίσηται· μή, παρακαλῶ, μή, τέκνα καί πατέρες καί ἀδελφοί. Φοβερόν ἐστι γενέσθαι ἡμᾶς πολεμίους Θεοῦ καί μόνον ἀκουόμενον. Πῶς δέ ἔστι στρατεύσασθαι κατά τοῦ Χριστοῦ καί ὑπέρ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ ἀπωλείας τινά ἀγωνίσασθαι ἔνθεν ἐρῶ. Ἐάν δικαίως ἤ ἀδίκως ὑβρίσῃ σέ τις ἤ λοιδορήσῃ ἤ ἐνδιαβάλῃ, καί μή πρᾴως φέρῃς τήν ἀτιμίαν, ἤ λυπηθείς καί δηχθείς τήν καρδίαν μή ὑπενέγκῃς καί χαλινώσῃς σου τῆς ψυχῆς τάς κινήσεις, ἀλλ᾿ ἤ ἀνθυβρίσῃς τόν σέ ὑβρίσαντα ἤ λοιδορήσῃς ἤ ἕτερόν τι εἰς αὐτόν ἐναντίον διαπράξῃς, ἤ πάλιν τούτων μέν οὐδέν εἰς αὐτόν ἀπεργάσῃ, ἀπέλθῃς δέ μῆνιν κατ᾿