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shouting a divine command, having yielded up the countless dead, and at once it will raise up the myriads of human bodies, as from a certain sleep of death, leading them to examination; and God renders to each just and worthy rewards according to what he did through the body, whether good or evil, giving a great and fearful and final conclusion to all beings. But may it be that all of us may have unceasingly before our eyes both the saving fear of Gehenna and the precious desire for the kingdom of the heavens [and it is possible to speak of the same thing properly in both cases, God becoming and being called all things to all; according as each has a quality of vice or virtue]; the fear, on the one hand, creating in us a complete abstinence (392) and inactivity from evils; and the desire, on the other hand, abundantly and cheerfully exhorting us to the practice of good things.

May these things to you from me, the small and poor, O blessed one, be of the love towards

you as tokens, for the sake of guarding and security of the good things that are yours; of which I suppose there is need, even for one exceedingly adorned in all things with virtues as you are. For I am not able to repay you justly in any other way for your many kindnesses to me, than by being disposed in this manner. And with me, all the honorable Fathers who because of you sojourn in this land greet you genuinely and with one accord, unceasingly night and day beseeching God with tears, to restore to us in health our George, who is truly sweet both seen and named; so that with him we may journey through the present life unharmed, and enjoy the future grace of the philanthropic God and giver of good things; through the intercessions for us, and the propitiation of God for us, of our all-holy, glorious Lady, the Theotokos and ever-virgin Mary, with all the saints. Amen.

SCHOLIA. a. Fr. See concerning human rule. b. Fr. What one ought to seek and to will; and what to concede to God. c. That to rule and to be ruled, and to be rich and to be poor, is neither of nature, nor of

will, but of the Providence that guides all things. d. Definition of what is in our power, that is, of free will. e. Definition of what is not in our power, that is, of things not under free will. f. He calls the extremes generation and corruption, and what is between generation and corruption is

that which has been generated; in which corruption often anticipates generation; entering in together with generation around that which is coming into being, and destroying its constitution before it comes to be.

g. Those who have the soul nailed to its relation to the senses are not saved, he says, even if they are inactive with respect to the passions that delight the senses, unless they completely separate the soul from its relation to the senses; just as not even blessed Lot, if he had not gone out of Sodom, even though he did not do the things of the Sodomites, would not have escaped the descent of the fire.

B. By the same to John the Cubicularius, concerning love. That you are holding fast to the holy love towards God according to grace and towards neighbor,

God-guarded ones, and (393) caring for it in fitting ways, and having already learned this for myself being present, and being absent no less, if not even more than being present, to experience

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θεῖον βοῶσα πρόσταγμα, τάς ἀπείρους ὑφέν, καί ἀθρόως τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων σωμάτων μυριάδας, ὡς ἐξ ὕπνου τινός ἀναστήσει τοῦ θανάτου, πρός ἐξέτασιν ἄγουσα· ὁ δέ Θεός δικαίας ἑκάστῳ πρός ἅ διά τοῦ σώματος ἔπραξεν, εἴτε καλόν, εἴτε φαῦλον, καταξίαν τάς ἀμοιβάς ἀποδίδωσιν, μέγαν καί φοβερόν καί ἔσχατον πᾶσι τοῖς οὖσι διδούς συγκλεισμόν. Ἀλλά γένοιτο πάντας ἡμᾶς, τόν τε σωτήριον τῆς γεέννης φόβον, καί τόν τίμιον πόθον τῆς τῶν οὐρανῶν βασιλείας [ταυτόν δέ κυρίως ἐπ᾿ ἀμφοτέρων εἰπεῖν ἔστι, Θεοῦ πᾶσι πάντα γινομένου τε καί λεγομένου· καθώς ἕκαστος ἔχει κακίας ἤ ἀρετῆς ποιότητος] πρό ὀφθαλμῶν ἀδιαστάτως ἔχειν· τόν μέν φόβον, παντελῆ τῶν κακῶν ἡμῖν ἀποχήν (392) καί ἀργίαν ποιοῦντα· τόν δέ πόθον, κατά περιουσίαν καί εἰς τάς τῶν ἀγαθῶν πράξεις ἱλαρῶς προτρεπόμενον.

Ταῦτα σοι παρ᾿ ἐμοῦ τοῦ μικροῦ καί πένητος, εὐλογημένε, τῆς ἀγάπης ἔστω τῆς πρός

σέ γνωρίσματα, φυλακῆς ἕνεκεν καί ἀσφαλείας τῶν προσόντων σοι καλῶν· ἧς χρῄζειν ὑπολαμβάνω, καί τό λίαν κατά σέ ταῖς ἀρεταῖς διά πάντων κοσμούμενον. Οὐ γάρ ἄλλως ἔχω σε δικαίως ἀμείψασθαι δυνηθῆναι, τῶν εἰς ἐμέ πολλῶν σου καλῶν, ἤ κατά τοῦτον τόν τρόπον διατιθέμενος. Σύν ἐμοί δέ γνησίως πάντες ὁμοθυμαδόν οἱ ταύτην διά σέ παροικοῦντες τήν χώραν τίμιοι Πατέρες ἀσπάζονται, νυκτός καί ἡμέρας ἀπαύστως μετά δακρύων τόν Θεόν ἱκετεύοντες, ἀποκαταστῆσαι μεθ᾿ ὑγείας ἡμῖν τόν ἡμῶν Γεώργιον, τόν ὄντως γλυκύν καί ὁρώμενον καί ὀνομαζόμενον· ἵνα σύν αὐτῷ τήν τε παροῦσαν ἀβλαβῶς διοδεύσωμεν ζωήν, καί μελλούσης χάριτος τοῦ φιλανθρώπου Θεοῦ καί δοτῆρος τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἀπολαύσωμεν· πρεσβευούσης ὑπέρ ἡμῶν, καί τόν Θεόν ἡμῖν ἱλεουμένης τῆς παναγίας ἐνδόξου ∆εσποίνης ἡμῶν Θεοτόκου καί ἀειπαρθένου Μαρίας, σύν πᾶσι τοῖς ἁγίοις. Ἀμήν.

ΣΧΟΛΙΑ. α´. Fr. Ὄρα περί ἀρχῆς ἀνθρωπίνης. β´. Fr. Τίνα χρή ζητεῖν καί θέλειν· καί τίνα παραχωρεῖν τῷ Θεῷ. γ´. Ὅτι τό ἀρχεῖν καί ἄρχεσθαι, καί πλουτεῖν καί πένεσθαι, οὔτε φύσεώς ἐστιν, οὔτε

γνώμης, ἀλλά τῆς ἀγούσης τά πάντα Προνοίας. δ´. Ὅρος τοῦ ἐφ᾿ ἡμῖν, ἤγουν τοῦ αὐτεξουσίου. ε´. Ὅρος τοῦ οὐκ ἐφ᾿ ἡμῖν, εἴτουν τῶν μή ὑπό τό αὐτεξούσιον. στ΄. Τά ἄκρα λέγει τήν γένεσιν καί τήν φθοράν, μέσον δέ γενέσεως καί φθορᾶς ἐστι

τό γενητόν· ἐφ᾿ οὗ πολλάκις ἡ φθορά προλαμβάνει τήν γένεσιν· ἄμα τῇ γενέσει περί τό γινόμενον συνεισειοῦσα, καί τήν αὐτοῦ πρίν γενέσθαι δαφθείρουσα σύστασιν.

ζ´. Οἱ τήν ψυχήν τῇ σχέσει τῶν αἰσθήσεων ἔχοντες προσηλουμένην, οὐ σώζονται, φησί, κἄν ἀργῶσιν ἀπό τῶν τερπόντων τάς αἰσθήσεις παθῶν, εἰ μή τελείως τῆς πρός τάς αἰσθήσεις σχέσεως τήν ψυχήν ἀποστήσωσιν· ὡς οὐδέ ὁ μακάριος Λώτ, εἰ μή ἐξῆλθε Σοδόμων, κἄν οὐκ ἐποίει τά Σοδομιτῶν, οὐκ ἄν διέφυγε τοῦ πυρός τήν κατάβασιν.

Β´. Τοῦ αὐτοῦ πρός Ἰωάννην κουβικουλάριον, περί ἀγάπης. Τῆς πρός τόν Θεόν κατά χάριν καί τόν πλησίον ἁγίας ἀγάπης ἀντεχομένους ὑμᾶς,

θεοφύλακτοι, καί (393) τοῖς καθήκουσι τρόποις ἐπιμελουμένους, καί ἤδη μέν μαθών παρ᾿ ἐμαυτοῦ παρών, καί ἀπών δέ οὐχ ἦττον, εἰ μή καί μᾶλλον τοῦ παρεῖναι, τό πάσχειν