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For one might see this happening not only among the Jews, but also among those who have believed. For Judas was a son of the kingdom, and he heard with the disciples, "You shall sit on twelve thrones," but he became a son of Gehenna; while the Ethiopian, being a barbarian, and one of those from the east and west, will enjoy the crowns with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. This also happens among us now. For many, he says, who are first will be last, and the last first. And he says this, so that neither those may be indolent, as being unable to return, nor these may be confident, as though they stand. This John also proclaimed from the beginning, saying: "God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham." For since this was about to happen, it is proclaimed from afar, so that no one should be disturbed by the strangeness of the matter. But he speaks of it as possible, for he was the first; but Christ speaks of it as certain to happen, providing the proof from works. 57.340 5. Therefore, let us who stand not be confident, but let us say to ourselves: "He who thinks he stands, let him take heed lest he fall;" nor let us who lie down despair, but let us say to ourselves: "Does not he who falls rise again?" For many, having ascended to the very summit of heaven, and having shown all endurance, and having occupied the deserts, and not even having seen a woman in a dream, growing a little indolent, have been tripped up, and have come to the very abyss of wickedness. Others again from there ascended to heaven, and from the stage and the orchestra transferred to the angelic way of life; and they showed such virtue as to drive out demons, and to work many other such signs. And the Scriptures are full of these, and life is full of examples for us. And fornicators and the effeminate shut the mouths of the Manichaeans, who say that evil is unchangeable, being initiated into the devil's rites, and paralyzing the hands of those who wish to be zealous, and subverting all of life. For those who persuade men of these things not only cause harm with respect to the future, but here also they turn everything upside down, as far as it is in their power. For when will anyone living in wickedness take care for virtue, when he considers the return to it impossible, and the change to the better? For if now, when there are laws, and punishments threatened, and glory calling forth the many, and Gehenna expected, and a kingdom promised, and evil things reproached, and good things praised, some men scarcely choose the toils for virtue; if you should take away all these things, what is to prevent all things from being lost and destroyed? 2. Therefore, being aware of the diabolical malice, and that these men and those who attempt to legislate the doctrines of fate are contrary to the lawgivers outside, and to the oracles of God, and to the reasonings of nature, and to the common opinion of all men, both barbarians, and Scythians, and Thracians, and simply all, let us be sober, beloved, and having bid farewell to all of them, let us travel by the narrow way, both confident and fearful; fearful, on account of the precipices on either side; confident, on account of Jesus who goes before us. Let us travel being sober and watchful. For even if one dozes off a little, he is quickly brought down. For we are not more exact than David, who, having been a little negligent, was hurled down to the very abyss of sin. But he rose up quickly. Therefore, do not see only that he sinned, but that he also washed away the sin. For this is why he wrote down that history, not that you should see him fallen, but that you should marvel at him risen; so that you may learn, when you fall, how you ought to rise. For just as physicians, selecting the most difficult of diseases, write them in their books, and teach the method of such a cure, so that being trained in the greater, they may easily overcome the lesser; so also God has brought the greatest of sins into the midst, so that those who stumble in small matters may through them find an easy correction for these things. For if those had a cure, much more so the lesser. Let us see

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γὰρ ἐπὶ Ἰουδαίων μόνον τοῦτο συμβὰν ἴδοι τις ἂν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν πιστευσάντων. Καὶ γὰρ ὁ Ἰούδας υἱὸς βασιλείας ἦν, καὶ ἤκουσε μετὰ τῶν μαθητῶν, Ἐπὶ δώδεκα θρόνους καθιεῖσθε ἀλλὰ γέγονεν υἱὸς γεέννης· ὁ δὲ Αἰθίοψ, βάρβαρος ἄνθρωπος ὢν, καὶ τῶν ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν καὶ δυσμῶν, μετὰ Ἀβραὰμ καὶ Ἰσαὰκ καὶ Ἰακὼβ ἀπολαύσεται τῶν στεφάνων. Τοῦτο καὶ ἐφ' ἡμῶν γίνεται νῦν. Πολλοὶ γὰρ ἔσονται, φησὶ, πρῶτοι ἔσχατοι, καὶ ἔσχατοι πρῶτοι. Τοῦτο δὲ λέγει, ἵνα μήτε ἐκεῖνοι ῥᾳθυμῶσιν, ὡς οὐ δυνάμενοι ἐπανελθεῖν, μήτε οὗτοι θαῤῥῶσιν, ὡς ἑστῶτες. Τοῦτο καὶ ὁ Ἰωάννης ἄνωθεν προαναφωνῶν ἔλεγε· ∆ύναται ὁ Θεὸς ἐκ τῶν λίθων τούτων ἐγεῖραι τέκνα τῷ Ἀβραάμ. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ τοῦτο ἔμελλε γίνεσθαι, προανακηρύττεται πόῤῥωθεν, ὥστε μηδένα τῷ ξένῳ τοῦ πράγματος θορυβηθῆναι. Ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνος μὲν ὡς ἐνδεχόμενον αὐτὸ λέγει· πρῶτος γὰρ ἦν· ὁ δὲ Χριστὸς ὡς πάντως ἐσόμενον, τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν ἔργων ἀπόδειξιν παρέχων. 57.340 εʹ. Μὴ τοίνυν θαῤῥῶμεν οἱ ἑστῶτες, ἀλλὰ λέγωμεν ἑαυτοῖς· Ὁ δοκῶν ἑστάναι, βλεπέτω μὴ πέσῃ· μηδὲ ἀπογινώσκωμεν οἱ κείμενοι, ἀλλὰ λέγωμεν ἑαυτοῖς· Μὴ ὁ πίπτων οὐκ ἀνίσταται; Καὶ γὰρ πολλοὶ εἰς αὐτὴν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ τὴν κορυφὴν ἀνελθόντες, καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν καρτερίαν ἐπιδειξάμενοι, καὶ τὰς ἐρήμους κατειληφότες, καὶ οὐδὲ γυναῖκα ὄναρ ἰδόντες, ῥᾳθυμήσαντες μικρὸν ὑπεσκελίσθησαν, καὶ πρὸς αὐτὸ ἦλθον τῆς κακίας τὸ βάραθρον. Ἕτεροι δὲ πάλιν ἐκεῖθεν πρὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν ἀνέβησαν, καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς σκηνῆς καὶ τῆς ὀρχήστρας πρὸς τὴν ἀγγελικὴν μετετάξαντο πολιτείαν· καὶ τοσαύτην ἐπεδείξαντο τὴν ἀρετὴν, ὡς δαίμονας ἀπελάσαι, καὶ πολλὰ ἄλλα σημεῖα τοιαῦτα ἐργάσασθαι. Καὶ τούτων μὲν πλήρεις εἰσὶν αἱ Γραφαὶ, πλήρης δὲ ὁ βίος τῶν παραδειγμάτων ἡμῖν. Καὶ πόρνοι καὶ μαλακοὶ τὰ Μανιχαίων ἐμφράττουσι στόματα, οἳ τὴν κακίαν ἀκίνητον εἶναί φασι, τῷ διαβόλῳ τελούμενοι, καὶ τὰς τῶν σπουδάζειν βουλομένων χεῖρας ἐκλύοντες, καὶ τὴν ζωὴν ἅπασαν ἀνατρέποντες. Οἱ γὰρ ταῦτα πείθοντες, οὐ πρὸς τὰ μέλλοντα παραβλάπτουσι μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐνταῦθα πάντα ἄνω καὶ κάτω ποιοῦσι, τό γε αὐτῶν μέρος. Πότε γὰρ ἐπιμελήσεταί τις ἀρετῆς τῶν ἐν κακίᾳ ζώντων, ὅταν ἀδύνατον τὴν πρὸς ἐκείνην ἐπάνοδον εἶναι νομίζῃ, καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ τὸ βέλτιον μεταβολήν; Εἰ γὰρ νῦν, καὶ νόμων ὄντων, καὶ κολάσεων ἠπειλημένων, καὶ δόξης τοὺς πολλοὺς ἐκκαλουμένης, καὶ γεέννης προσδοκωμένης, καὶ βασιλείας ἐπηγγελμένης, καὶ τῶν κακῶν ὀνειδιζομένων, καὶ τῶν καλῶν ἐγκωμιαζομένων, μόλις αἱροῦνταί τινες τοὺς ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἱδρῶτας· ἂν ταῦτα πάντα ἀνέλῃς, τί τὸ κωλύον πάντα ἀπολέσθαι καὶ διαφθαρῆναι; ʹ. Συνειδότες τοίνυν τὴν κακουργίαν τὴν διαβολικὴν, καὶ ὅτι καὶ τοῖς ἔξω νομοθέταις, καὶ τοῖς τοῦ Θεοῦ χρησμοῖς, καὶ τοῖς τῆς φύσεως λογισμοῖς, καὶ τῇ κοινῇ πάντων ἀνθρώπων δόξῃ, καὶ βαρβάροις, καὶ Σκύθαις, καὶ Θρᾳξὶ, καὶ πᾶσιν ἁπλῶς ἀπεναντίας οὗτοι καὶ οἱ τὰ τῆς εἱμαρμένης δόγματα νομοθετεῖν ἐπιχειροῦντες, νήφωμεν, ἀγαπητοὶ, καὶ πᾶσιν ἐκείνοις ἐῤῥῶσθαι εἰπόντες, ὁδεύωμεν διὰ τῆς στενῆς ὁδοῦ, καὶ θαῤῥοῦντες, καὶ δεδοικότες· δεδοικότες μὲν, διὰ τοὺς ἑκατέρωθεν κρημνούς· θαῤῥοῦντες δὲ, διὰ τὸν προηγούμενον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν. Ὁδεύωμεν νήφοντες καὶ ἐγρηγορότες. Κἂν γὰρ μικρόν τις ἀπονυστάξῃ, κατηνέχθη ταχέως. Οὐ γάρ ἐσμεν ἀκριβέστεροι τοῦ ∆αυῒδ, ὃς μικρὸν ὀλιγωρήσας πρὸς αὐτὸ κατεκρημνίσθη τῆς ἁμαρτίας τὸ βάραθρον. Ἀλλ' ἀνέστη ταχέως. Μὴ τοίνυν ὅτι ἥμαρτεν ἴδῃς μόνον, ἀλλ' ὅτι καὶ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἀπενίψατο. ∆ιὰ γὰρ τοῦτο τὴν ἱστορίαν ἐκείνην ἀνέγραψεν, οὐχ ἵνα πεσόντα θεάσῃ, ἀλλ' ἵνα ἀναστάντα θαυμάσῃς· ἵνα μάθῃς, ἐπειδὰν πέσῃς, πῶς ἀνίστασθαι χρή. Καθάπερ γὰρ οἱ ἰατροὶ τῶν νοσημάτων τὰ χαλεπώτατα ἐκλεγόμενοι ταῖς βίβλοις ἐγγράφουσι, καὶ τῆς τοιαύτης διορθώσεως τὴν μέθοδον διδάσκουσιν, ἵνα ἐν τοῖς μείζοσι γυμνασάμενοι, ῥᾳδίως τῶν ἐλαττόνων περιγένωνται· οὕτω δὴ καὶ ὁ Θεὸς τὰ μέγιστα τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων εἰς μέσον ἤγαγεν, ἵνα καὶ οἱ τὰ μικρὰ πταίοντες δι' ἐκείνων ῥᾳδίαν τὴν τούτων διόρθωσιν εὕρωσιν. Εἰ γὰρ ἐκεῖνα ἔσχεν ἴασιν, πολλῷ μᾶλλον τὰ ἐλάττονα. Ἴδωμεν