180

or how will they follow your voice, being wild beasts? Come out, flee and depart from the midst of such men, and if you would save yourself, but you will destroy yourself, what benefit to you is the world saved through you? I do not wish you to shepherd any of those who are unwilling. See that I too kept this in the world: (320) for of those who are willing I am both shepherd and master, but of the others I am indeed creator and God by nature, but I am not at all king or leader of those who have not taken up the cross and followed me; for they are children, slaves, and vessels of the adversary. Look and weep for them, if possible, every hour. For though called from darkness to the eveningless light, from death to life, to the heavens from Hades, from the temporary and corruptible to eternal glory, they are angered and rage against their teachers and devise all sorts of plots against them and they prefer to die rather than to depart from darkness and the deeds of darkness, and to follow me. These men, tell me, how will you shepherd, how will you lead them, how will you guide them, tell me, who are deserting to the fire, attaching themselves to the enemy and with him eagerly doing the opposite of my commands? How will you shepherd them as sheep, how will you lead them in, tell me, to the pastures of my commandments, and lead them out to the water of my will, and to the intelligible mountains of mystical contemplations, of my ineffable glory, through which those who see it despise the glory below and are forgetful of all sensible things and consider all these things as a shadow and as smoke? Tell me, how will you acquire the adversary as your advocate, how will you persuade the hostile enemy to be your friend? For friends more easily become enemies, having found a small pretext, but enemies can with difficulty become friends even if they are well-treated, even if they share in high and great gifts; (321) they have the venom approved in their heart, which, seizing the opportunity, they vomit out all at once and do not shudder to kill their own benefactors mercilessly, pitilessly, O ultimate madness! These are imitators of Cain, these are worse than Lamech, these are of the same character as Saul, imitators of the Hebrews and zealous followers of Judas, heirs of the halter. If you seek to lead these men, see where you will end up. For they will not be converted to where you might wish, but they will compel you to walk in their way and to fall into destruction before them and to descend lower to the bottom of Hades, since you will certainly have them following you as well.

180

ἤ πῶς ἀκολουθήσουσι φωνῇ σου θῆρες ὄντες; Ἔξελθε, φύγε καί γενοῦ ἐκ μέσου τῶν τοιούτων, καί σεαυτόν εἰ σώσειας, σεαυτόν δ᾿ ἀπολέσεις, τί σοι τοῦ κόσμου ὄφελος τοῦ διά σοῦ σωθέντος; Οὐ βούλομαι ποιμαίνειν σε τινά τῶν μή θελόντων. Ὅρα, ὅτι ἐφύλαξα τοῦτο κἀγώ ἐν κόσμῳ˙ (320) τῶν βουλομένων γάρ ἐγώ καί ποιμήν καί δεσπότης, τῶν δ᾿ ἄλλων κτίστης μέν εἰμι καί Θεός κατά φύσιν, οὐ μήν δέ πέλω βασιλεύς, οὐκ ἀρχηγός εἰς ἅπαν τῶν μή ἀράντων τόν σταυρόν κἀμοί ἀκολουθούντων˙ τοῦ ἐναντίου γάρ εἰσι τέκνα, δοῦλοι καί σκεύη. Βλέπε καί θρήνει δι᾿ αὐτούς, εἰ δυνατόν, καθ᾿ ὥραν. Ἐκ σκότους γάρ καλούμενοι πρός ἀνέσπερον φέγγος, ἐκ τοῦ θανάτου πρός ζωήν, εἰς οὐρανούς ἐξ ᾅδου, ἐκ τῶν προσκαίρων καί φθαρτῶν πρός αἰώνιον δόξαν, ὀργίζονται καί μαίνονται κατά τῶν διδασκάλων καί κατ᾿ αὐτῶν συρράπτουσιν ἐπιβουλάς παντοίας καί προαιροῦνται τοῦ θανεῖν ἤ σκότους ἀποστῆναι καί τῶν τοῦ σκότους πράξεων, κἀμοί ἀκολουθῆσαι. Τούτους, εἰπέ, πῶς ποιμανεῖς, πῶς τούτων προηγήσῃ, πῶς ὁδηγήσεις, λέγε μοι, πρός πῦρ αὐτομολοῦντας, προστιθεμένους τῷ ἐχθρῷ καί σύν αὐτῷ προθύμως τά ἐναντία τῶν ἐμῶν προσταγμάτων ποιοῦντας; Πῶς ποιμανεῖς ὡς πρόβατα, πὼς εἰσάξεις, εἰπέ μοι, τῶν ἐντολῶν μου πρός νομάς, πρός ὕδωρ θελημάτων ἐμῶν ἐξάξεις δέ αὐτούς, πρός νοητά τε ὄρη θεωριῶν τῶν μυστικῶν, δόξης μου τῆς ἀρρήτου, δι᾿ ἧς οἱ ταύτην βλέποντες καταφρονοῦσι δόξης τῆς κάτω καί τῶν αἰσθητῶν πάντων ἀμνημονοῦσι καί ὡς σκιάν καί ὡς καπνόν ταῦτα πάντα ἡγοῦνται; Εἰπέ, πῶς τόν ἀντίδικον συνήγορόν σου κτήσῃ, πῶς τόν πολέμιον ἐχθρόν φίλον σου πείσεις εἶναι; Εὐκόλως γάρ οἱ φίλοι μέν ἐχθροί γίνονται μᾶλλον μικράν εὑρόντες πρόφασιν, οἱ ἐχθροί δέ δυσκόλως γενέσθαι φίλοι δύνανται κἄν εὐεργετηθῶσι, κἄν δωρεῶν μετάσχωσιν ὑψηλῶν καί μεγάλων˙ (321) ἐγκεκριμμένον ἔχουσι τόν ἰόν ἐν καρδίᾳ, ὅνπερ καιροῦ δραξάμενοι ἐξεμοῦσιν ἀθρόως καί εὐεργέτας τούς αὐτῶν ἀνηλεῶς, ἀπλάγχνως ἀποκτεῖναι οὐ φρίττουσιν, ὤ μανίας ἐσχάτης! Οὗτοι τοῦ Κάϊν μιμηταί, οὗτοι τοῦ Λάμεχ χείρους, οὗτοι Σαούλ, ὁμότροποι, μιμηταί τῶν Ἑβραίων καί τοῦ Ἰούδα ζηλωταί, ἀγχόνης κληρονόμοι. Τούτων ἡγεῖσθαι εἰ ζητεῖς, βλέπε ποῦ καταντήσεις. Οὐ γάρ ἐπιστραφήσονται, ἔνθα ἄν σύ θελήσῃς, ἀλλ᾿ ἐν ὁδῷ σε τῇ αὐτῶν ἀναγκάσουσι βαίνειν καί πρῶτον εἰς ἀπώλειαν ἐμπεσεῖν πρό ἐκείνων καί κατωτέρω κατελθεῖν εἰς πυθμένα τοῦ ᾅδου ὡς ἐπακολουθοῦντάς σοι ἔχων πάντως κἀκείνους.