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

Since two states are set before us, I mean life and death, and two worlds, the one visible and dissoluble and the other invisible and eternal and indestructible, the present and the future, and there being two who work in them, standing in opposition to one another, I mean God and the devil who is opposed to Him, and the one striving to save and calling us to eternal life and kingdom, while the other desires our destruction and death, and roars every day seeking whom he may devour through the enjoyment of these temporary things and render him liable to eternal punishment, we must flee the wicked enemy and foe and take refuge with the saving Master and call upon help from Him, so that we may not be overcome by the ruler of darkness and fall into 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 who has power over or is master of the world—away with the blasphemy!—he who does not even have authority over swine, but as one who enslaves and rules over those who are nailed to it through the desire for the money and things in it. And he is called the ruler of darkness, as one who himself from the beginning fell from the light through pride and will be eternally an heir of darkness. But our God and Master, as the founder and creator of all things, by nature and by authority (342) rules over all things in heaven and on earth and under the earth, being the unsetting 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 temporary things with measured enjoyment and receive them thankfully with self-control, are led up from these very visible things 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 do things contrary to His commandments are found ranked with the adversary, becoming outright enemies of God, just as the Savior Himself says: “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.”

Therefore let no one, beloved, be added to the ruler of darkness and the ruler of this world; 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 beseech you, no, children and fathers and brothers. It is a fearful thing to become enemies of God, even just to hear it. But how it is possible for someone to wage war against Christ and to strive for his own destruction, I shall now say. If someone justly or unjustly insults you or reviles you or slanders you, and you do not bear the dishonor meekly, or being grieved and stung in your heart you do not endure it and restrain the movements of your soul, but either you insult back the one who insulted you or you revile him or do some other contrary thing to him, or again, you do none of these things to him, but 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᾿