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having received talents, worked with them" and doubled them. Having borrowed, he has paid back. The one with two likewise. The one who received one and hid it in the ground neither worked with it nor paid back interest, he hid it in the ground. When you see a man who has the power to do good or to show philanthropy and does not do it, what he received he has hidden in the ground, he has hidden it in his material preference. And when it is demanded of him, when it is then the time of "reckoning" with those who received the spiritual money, he says: "See, you have what is yours." And he blamed God, wishing to ascribe his own laziness to another; "I knew you," he says, "I knew, that you are a hard man, taking what you did not put down, reaping what you did not sow; and being afraid I hid your money in the ground" and I gave it to no one. From what he has said, he received his refutation and condemnation; "You wicked servant, did you know that I take what I did not put down," if I take well what is not my own, I did not exact my own from those who received it, if "I reap where I did not sow"? I would certainly have received my own, if you had given it to the bank, so that it might be multiplied. Therefore he was deprived of this too. And so the sinner, often borrowing, if he does not give back what he ought to give back, will one day be deprived of those benefactions. He will no longer receive from the just one who pities and provides even more. 22 For those who bless him shall inherit the land. Those who bless the just one. It must be taken according to both renderings: either the just man or God. He blesses God who does those things which He requires of him, so as to say: "I will bless the Lord at all times." And the just man is also blessed; for "the blessing of the Lord is upon the head of the just." And: "this one shall receive a blessing from the Lord." "Land," that land, concerning which it is said: "and he will exalt you to inherit the land." 22 But those who curse him shall be utterly destroyed. Therefore, he who speaks impiously about him curses the just one, concerning whom or to whom he says: "Woe to them, for they have fled from me; they are wretched, for they have acted impiously against me with evil things; I redeemed them, but they spoke lies against me." "I," he says, "redeemed them," I led them to the bath of regeneration, having granted a complete remission of sins, wiping away their iniquities. But they speak lies against me by not doing those things for which they were called. And they received remission of sins; for I did not redeem them for this purpose, that they should sin, but that they should be outside of sin. If, therefore, after the ransom and salvation, one does wicked things, he speaks against, speaking in a way he says: "It has not benefited me," he speaks lies against him. 23 By the Lord the steps of a man are directed, and he will delight in his way. Man by choice passes from worse things to better things, from temporal things to eternal things. And it is his 252 to will what is good, since "it is not of him that runs, nor of him that wills, but of God who shows mercy" to complete the way blamelessly. "By the Lord the steps of a man are directed." The steps are not given; for it is ours to will to pass from evil things to good things. For example, in his general epistle, John writes: "We know that we have passed from death to life." "We have passed," not "we were led." Force does not place us in this, with God directing the steps, putting an end to the right steps so made. And you have many such things in scripture: "I ran the way of your commandments, when you enlarged my heart." When God enlarges the heart, having given breadth to the understanding, one completes the way of the commandments. Not that because he ran, his heart was enlarged, but because God enlarged it, casting out all distress from evil thoughts and tribulations, for this reason he ran the way of God. Again if it is said in Jeremiah, not as a contradiction

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λαβὼν τάλαντα εἰργάσατο ἐν αὐτοῖς" καὶ ἐδιπλασίασεν αὐτά. δανεισάμενος ἀποδέδωκεν. ὁ τὰ δύο ὡσαύτως. ὁ τὸ ἓν λαβὼν καὶ εἰς τὴν γῆν αὐτὸ κατακρύψας οὐδὲ εἰργάσατο ἐν αὐτῷ οὐδὲ ἀπέδωκεν τόκους, αὐτὸ εἰς τὴν γῆν κατέκρυψεν. ὅταν ἴδῃς ἄνθρωπον δύναμιν ἔχοντα τοῦ εὐεργετῆσαι ἢ φιλανθρωπεύσασθαι καὶ μὴ ποιοῦντα, ὃ ἔλαβεν εἰς τὴν γῆν κατέκρυψεν, εἰς τὴν ὑλικὴν αὐτοῦ προαίρεσιν αὐτὸ κατέκρυψεν. καὶ ἀπαιτηθεὶς αὐτό, ὅτε λοιπὸν καιρὸς τοῦ "σύναγε" πρὸς τοὺς εἰληφότας τὰ λογικὰ ἀργύρια, λέγει ὅτι· "ἴδε ἔχεις τὸ σόν". καὶ ᾐτιάσατό γε τὸν θεόν, τὴν ἑαυτοῦ βραδύτητα ἄλλῳ θέλων ἐπιγράψαι· "ᾔδειν σε", λέγει, "ᾐ´̣δ̣ειν̣, ὅτι ἄνθρωπος αὐστηρὸς εἶ αἴρων ὃ οὐκ ἔθηκας, θερίζων ὃ οὐκ ἔσπειρας· καὶ φοβηθεὶς ἔκρυψά σου τὸ ἀργύριον εἰς τὴν γῆν" καὶ οὐδενὶ αὐτ̣ὸ ἔδωκα. ἐξ ὧν εἴρηκεν, τὸν ἔλεγχον καὶ τὴν κατάκρισιν ἔσχεν· "ἄνθρωπε δοῦλε πονηρέ, ἦ ᾔδεις ὅτι αἴρω ὃ οὐκ ἔθηκα", εἰ τὰ μὴ ἐμαυτοῦ καλα`̣ αἴρω, τὸ ἐμὸν ὑπερέπραξα οὐ τοὺς εἰληφότας, εἰ "θερίζω ὅπου οὐκ ἔσπειρα"; πάντως ἐλάμβανον τὸ ἐμόν, εἰ ἦς αὐτὸ δεδωκὼς ἐπὶ τραπέζης, ἵνα πολυπλασιασθῇ. ἐστερήθη γοῦν καὶ τούτου. καὶ ὁ ἁμαρτωλὸς οὖν πολλάκις δανειζόμενος ἐὰν μὴ ἀποδιδῷ ὃ ὀφείλει ἀποδίδειν, ἀφαιρεθήσεταί ποτε ἐκείνων τῶν εὐεργ̣εσιῶν. οὐκέτι αὐτὸς λήμψεται τοῦ δικαίου ἔτι μᾶλλον οἰκτίρο̣ντος καὶ παρέχοντος. 22 ὅτι οἱ εὐλογοῦντες αὐτὸν κληρονομήσουσιν γῆν. οἱ εὐλογοῦντες τὸν δίκαιον. κατὰ ἀμφοτέρας τὰς ἀποδόσεις λημπ̣τ̣έον̣· ἤτοι τὸν δίκαιον ἄνθρωπον ἢ τὸν θεόν. εὐλογεῖ τὸν θεὸν ὁ ἐκεῖνα ποιῶν ἃ ἀπαιτεῖ αὐτόν, ὥστ' εἰπεῖν· "εὐλογήσω τὸν κύριον ἐν παντὶ καιρῷ". καὶ ὁ δίκαιος δὲ ἄνθρωπος εὐλογεῖται· "εὐλογία" γὰρ "κυρίου ἐπὶ κεφαλὴν δικαίου". καί· "οὗτος λήμψεται εὐλογίαν παρὰ κυρίου". "γῆν" ἐκείνην, περὶ ἧς εἴρηται· "καὶ ὑψώσει σε τοῦ κατακληρονομῆσαι τὴν γῆν". 22 οἱ δὲ καταρώμενοι αὐτὸν ἐξολεθρευθήσονται. καταρᾶται οὖν τὸν δίκαιον ὁ ἀσεβῆ περὶ αὐτοῦ λέγων, περὶ ὧν ἢ πρὸς οὓς λέγει· "οὐαὶ αὐτοῖς, ὅτι ἀπεπήδησαν ἀπ' ἐμοῦ· δείλαιοί εἰσιν, ὅτι ἠσέβησαν εἰς ἐμὲ κακά· ἐλυτρωσάμην αὐτούς, αὐτοὶ δὲ κατελάλουν κατ' ἐμοῦ ψεύδη". "ἐγώ", φησίν, "ἐλυτρωσάμην αὐτούς", ἤγαγον αὐτοὺς εἰς τὸ τῆς παλινγενεσίας λουτρὸν ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν παντελῆ δωρησάμενος, ἀπαλείψας αὐτῶν τὰς ἀνομίας. αὐτοὶ δὲ καταλαλοῦσιν κατ' ἐμοῦ ψεύδη μὴ πράττοντες ἐκεῖνα τὰ ἐφ' οἷς ἐκλήθησαν. καὶ ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν ἔσχον· οὐ γὰρ διὰ τοῦτο ἐλυτρωσάμην αὐτούς, ἵνα ἁμαρτάνωσιν, ἀλλ' ἵν' ἔξω ἁμαρτίας γένωνται. ἐὰν οὖν μετὰ τὰ λύτρα καὶ σῶστρα ἄτοπ̣α ποιῇ τις, καταλαλεῖ τοῦ λαλῆσαι τρόπον τινὰ λέγει· "οὐδέν με ὠφέλησεν", ψεύδη κατ' αὐτοῦ λέγει. 23 παρὰ κυρίου τὰ διαβήματα ἀνθρώπου κατευθύνεται, καὶ τὴν ὁδὸν αὐτοῦ θελήσει. ὁ ἄνθρωπος προαιρετικῶς διαβαίνει ἀπὸ τῶν χειρόνων ἐπὶ τὰ κρείττονα, ἀπὸ τῶν προσκαίρων ἐπὶ τὰ αἰώνια. καὶ αὐτοῦ 252 ἐστιν τὸ θελῆσαι τὸ καλόν, ἐπεὶ "οὐ τοῦ τρέχοντος οὐδὲ τοῦ θέλοντος, ἀλλὰ τοῦ ἐλεῶντος θεοῦ" ἐστιν τὸ ἀνύσαι ἀμέμπτως τὴν ὁδόν. "παρὰ κυρίου τὰ διαβήματα ἀνθρώπου κατευθύνεται". οὐ δίδοται τὰ διαβήματα̣· ἡμῶν γάρ ἐστιν θελῆσαι διαβῆναι ἀπὸ τῶν φαύλων ἐπὶ τὰ καλά. αὐτίκα γοῦν ἐν τῇ κατ' αὐτὸν καθόλου ἐπιστολῇ ὁ Ἰωάννης γράφει· "ἡμεῖς οἴδαμεν ὅτι μεταβεβήκαμεν ἐκ τοῦ θανάτου εἰς τὴν ζωήν". "διαβεβήκαμεν", οὐκ "ἤχθημεν". οὐ βία ἡμᾶς εἰς τοῦτο τι´̣θησιν̣ θεοῦ κατευθύναντος τὰ διαβήματα, τέλος ἐπιτιθέντος τοῖς οὕτω γινομένοις ὀρθοῖς δ̣ι̣αβήμασιν. ἔχεις δὲ π̣ολλὰ ἐν τῇ γραφῇ τοιαῦτα· "ὁδὸν ἐντολῶν σου ἔδραμον, ὅταν ἐπλάτυνας τὴν καρδίαν μου". θεοῦ πλατύνοντος τὴν καρδίαν, εὖρος τῇ νοήσει δεδωκότος, ἀνύει τις τὴν τῶν ἐντολῶν ὁδόν. οὐχ ὅτι ἔδραμεν, ἐπλατύνθη αὐτοῦ ἡ καρ̣δία, ἀλλ' ὅτι ἐπλάτυνεν αὐτὴν ὁ θεὸς πᾶσαν στενοχωρίαν τὴν ἐκ φαύλων λογισμῶν καὶ θλίψεων ἐκβάλλων, διὰ τοῦτο ἔδ̣ραμεν τὴν ὁδὸν τοῦ θεοῦ. πάλιν δὲ ἐὰν λέγηται ἐν τῷ Ἰηρεμίᾳ, μὴ ὡς ἐναντίωμα