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goes down—If therefore "he will keep," it means two things, either it is said to watch closely or to guard. For if the Savior says in the Gospel, "Holy Father, keep them," he says "guard them." "When I was with them, I kept them," instead of "I was guarding them." And those who say, "you will preserve us from this generation," say "you will guard." But, as I said, "to keep" means "to watch closely." For it is said: "he will watch for your head, and you for his heel." The holy one watches the head of the serpent, so that by destroying the chief part of his evil, he may have him entirely put to death. But the serpent cannot watch the head of the man, but the heel, he watches his last powers that are near the earth. But a mortal wound or harm does not come upon the heel. For it is said also in other places: "the iniquity of my heel will surround me; then I was afraid in the evil day." If iniquity had watched my head, it would have touched my head as his, about whom it is written: "his trouble will return upon his own head." And again: "I have given their ways upon their heads," instead of: "upon their mind." And well it is to say "the righteous one," not simply "righteous," but the perfect righteous one, the irreproachable one; for it is often said also of those who are advancing, with the name that is predicated of the perfect, for example: "the wise do not turn aside from the mouth of the lord." None of the wise is outside the word of the Lord, doing all things with reason. But it is said: "rebuke a wise man, and he will love you." Behold a wise man. 251 21 The sinner borrows and will not pay back, but the righteous one shows mercy and gives. -------------------- ------- ----------------------------- Not only does he pay back what he borrowed, but he also becomes a benefactor of others. By showing mercy, he gains. But "he who has mercy on the poor lends to God." The righteous one, borrowing from God and having gathered a multitude of spiritual works and monies, also benefits another; for the evil harm those with them, but the righteous benefit them. And that the evil one is harmful is manifest. For it is said in proverbs, that the wise one benefits and improves: "rebuke a wise man, and he will love you." Being rebuked, he receives the rebukes well, so as to love the one who rebuked him. And having loved the one who rebuked him, he no longer does the things for which the rebuke occurred. Just as he who does evil "is a brother to him who destroys himself." The evil one therefore harms himself before all others. "The righteous one" therefore "shows mercy and gives" and is gracious and, simply put, shares in good things with his neighbor. Those who say, "if a brother or sister are naked and lacking daily food," that: "go in peace, be filled," but do not give them the necessities, have benefited them in nothing, since he does not "show mercy and give." But it is possible to understand it this way also: the sinner, borrowing from God the common thoughts and the commandments given to him, "will not pay back" either what he has or what he received, neither the profit nor the interest. "But the righteous" God still more "shows mercy and gives." That one, receiving, does not pay back, but He Himself still more "shows mercy and gives." And I say: then mercy and beneficence appear, if the one receiving is ungrateful. "He is kind to the ungrateful and evil," he gives. Those who receive are ungrateful—for by not paying back what they ought to pay back, they are found to be ungrateful and evil—, but God is still kind even to these. Whence the righteous one still more shows mercy and provides. The imitator of God, therefore, "who has mercy on the poor and lends to God," even if the one borrowing does not provide what he ought to provide, is still merciful, still provides. And take for me the parable from the Gospel concerning the talents: he gave his spiritual possessions "to each according to his own ability," not to each according to nature, but according to the ability which each prepared for himself out of his own choice. "and to one he gave five, and to another two, and to another one." "He who had the five

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βαίνει κάτω-ἐὰν τὸ "τηρήσει" οὖν, δύο σημαίνει, ἤτοι τὸ παρατηρήσειν εἴρηται ἢ τὸ φυλάξαι. ἐὰν γοῦν λέγῃ ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ ὁ σωτήρ· "πάτερ ἅγιε, τήρησον αὐτούς", "φύλαξον αὐτοὺς" λέγει. "ὅτε ἤμην μετ' αὐτῶν, ἐγὼ ἐτήρουν αὐτούς", ἀν τὶ τοῦ "ἐφύλαττον". καὶ οἱ λέγοντες· "διατηρήσεις ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ τῆς γενεᾶς ταύτης", "διαφυλάξεις" λέγουσιν. σημαίνει δέ, ὡς εἶπον, τὸ "τηρῆσαι" τὸ "παρατηρήσασθαι". λέγεται γοῦν· "αὐτός σου κεφαλὴν τηρήσει, καὶ σὺ αὐτοῦ πτέρναν". τὴν κεφαλὴν τοῦ ὄφεως̣ ἐπιτηρεῖ ὁ ἅγιος, ἵνα τὸ κεφάλαιον τῆς κακίας αὐτοῦ ἀνελὼν ὅλον αὐτὸν σχῇ νενεκρωμένον. ὁ δὲ ὄφις οὐ δύναται τοῦ ἀνδρ̣ὸς τὴν κεφαλὴν τηρεῖν, ἀλλὰ τὴν πτέρναν, τὰς ἐσχατίας αὐτοῦ δυνάμεις τὰς τῇ γῇ πλησιαζούσας τηρεῖ. οὐ γίνεται δὲ καίριος τρῶσις οὐδὲ βλάβη ἐπὶ τὴν πτέρναν. εἴρηται γοῦν καὶ ἐν ἄλλοις· "ἡ ἀνομία τῆς πτέρνης μου κυκλώσει με· τότε ἐφοβούμην ἐν τῇ πονηρᾷ ἡμέρᾳ". εἰ τὴν κεφαλήν μου ἐτήρει η ἡ ἀνομία, ἥπτετο τῆς κεφαλῆς μου ὡς ἐκείνου, περὶ οὗ γέγραπται· "ἐπιστρέψει ὁ πόνος αὐτοῦ εἰς κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ". καὶ πάλιν· "τὰς ὁδοὺς αὐτῶν ἔδωκα εἰς κεφαλὰς αὐτῶν", ἀντὶ τοῦ· "εἰς τὸν νοῦν αὐτῶν". εὖ δὲ καὶ τὸ φάναι "τὸν δίκαιον", οὐ "δίκαιον" ἁπλῶς, ἀλλὰ τὸν τέλειον δίκαιον, τὸν ἀνέλε̣γκτον̣· λέγεται γὰρ πολλάκις καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν προκοπτόντων τῷ ὀνόματι τῷ κατὰ τῶν τελείων κατηγορουμένῳ, οἷον· "σοφοὶ οὐκ ἐκκλίνουσιν ἐκ στόματος κυρίου". οὐδεὶς τῶν σοφῶν ἔξω γίνεται τοῦ λόγου τοῦ κυρίου πάντα σὺν λόγῳ ἐνεργῶν. λέγεται δέ· "ἔλεγχε σοφὸν καὶ ἀγαπήσει σε". ἰδοὺ σοφός. 251 21 δανείζεται ὁ ἁμαρτωλὸς καὶ οὐκ ἀποτείσει, ὁ δὲ δίκαιος οἰκτίρει καὶ διδοῖ. -------------------- ------- ----------------------------- οὐ μόνον ἀποδίδωσιν ἃ ἐδανείσατο, ἀλλὰ καὶ εὐεργέτης ἄλλων γίνε̣ται. ἐλεῶν κερδαίνει. "ὁ" δὲ "ἐλεῶν πτωχὸν θεῷ δανείζει". ὁ δανειζόμενος παρὰ θεοῦ δίκαιος καὶ πλῆθος συναγαγὼν ἔργων καὶ ἀργυρίων λογ̣ικῶν, καὶ ἄλλον εὐεργετεῖ· οἱ γὰρ κακοὶ βλάπτουσιν τοὺς συνόντας, οἱ δὲ δίκαιοι ὠφελοῦσιν. καὶ ὅτι ὁ κακὸς βλαπτικός ἐστιν, φανερόν. εἴρηται γοῦν ἐν παροιμίαις, ὅτι ὁ σοφὸς ὠφελεῖ καὶ βελτιοῖ· "ἔ λεγχε σοφὸν καὶ ἀγαπήσει σε". ἐλεγχόμενος καλῶς δέχεται τ̣οὺς ἐλέγχους ὡς ἀγαπῆσαι τὸν ἐλέγξαντα. ἀγαπήσας δὲ τὸν ἐλέγξαντα οὐκέτι ἐργάζεται τὰ ἐφ' οἷς ὁ ἔλεγχος γέγονεν. ὥσπερ "ἀδελφός ἐστιν τοῦ λυμαινομένου ἑαυτὸν" ὁ πράττων τὸ κακόν. ἑαυτὸν οὖν πρὸ πάντων βλάπτει ὁ κακός. "ὁ δίκαιος" οὖν "οἰκτίρει καὶ δίδει" καὶ χαριστικός ἐστιν καὶ ἁπαξαπλῶς κοινωνεῖ ἐν καλοῖς τῷ πλησίον. οἱ λέγοντες ὅτι, "ἐὰν ἀδελφὸς ἢ ἀδελφὴ γυμνοὶ ὑπάρχωσιν καὶ λειπόμενοι τῆς ἐφημέρου τροφῆς", ὅτι· "ὑπάγετε ἐν εἰρήνῃ, χορτάζεσθε", μὴ διδοῖ δὲ αὐτοῖς τὰ ἐπιτήδεια, οὐδὲν ὠφέλησεν αὐτούς, ἐπεὶ ου᾿̣κ "οἰκτίρει καὶ δίδωσιν". δυνα̣τὸν δὲ καὶ οὕτως ἐκλαβεῖν· ὁ μὲν ἁμαρτωλὸς θεόθεν δανειζόμενος τὰς διδομένας αὐτῷ ἐννοίας κοινὰς̣ καὶ τὰς ἐντολὰς "οὐκ ἀποτείσει" ου᾿̣δὲ ὃ ἔχει οὐδὲ ὃ ἔλαβεν, οὐδὲ τὸ κέρδος οὐδὲ τὸν τόκον. "ὁ δὲ δίκαιος" θεὸς ἔτι μᾶλλον "οἰκτίρει καὶ διδοῖ". ἐκεῖνος δεχόμενος οὐκ ἀποδίδωσιν, ἀλλὰ αὐτὸς ἔτι μᾶλλον "οἰκτίρει καὶ δίδωσιν". καὶ λέγω· τότε ὁ οἰκτιρμὸς φαίνεται καὶ ἡ εὐεργεσία, ἐὰν ὁ λαμβάνων ἀχάριστος ᾖ. "χρηστός ἐστιν ἐπὶ τοὺς ἀχαρίςτους καὶ πονηρούς", δίδωσιν. ἀχαριστοῦσιν οἱ λαμβάνοντες-τῷ γὰρ μὴ ἀποδιδόναι ἃ δεῖ ἀποδιδόναι, ἀχάριστοι εὑρίσκονται καὶ πονηροί-, ἀλλ' ὁ θεὸς ἔτι χρηστός ἐστιν καὶ ἐπὶ τούτους. ὅθεν ὁ δίκαιος ἔτι μᾶλλον ο̣ἰκτίρει καὶ παρέχει. ὁ μιμητὴς τοίνυν τοῦ θεοῦ, "ὁ ἐλεῶν πτωχὸν καὶ τῷ θεῷ δανείζων", κἂν ὁ δανειζόμενος μὴ παρέχῃ ἃ ὀφείλει παρέχειν, ἔτι οἰκτίρμων ἐστίν, ἔτι παρέχει. καὶ λάβε μοι τὴν παραβολὴν τοῦ εὐαγγελίου τὴν περὶ τῶν ταλάντων· "ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὴν ἰδίαν δύναμιν" δέδωκεν τὰ λογικὰ αὐτοῦ ὑπάρχοντα, οὐχ ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὴν φύσιν, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὴν δύναμιν, ἣν ἐκ προαιρέσεως ἑαυτῷ κατεσκεύασεν. "καὶ τῷ μὲν δέδωκεν πέντε, τῷ δὲ δύο, τῷ δὲ ἕν". "ὁ τὰ πέντε