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nor did he grieve Cain, but because he honored God, for this reason he was slain. But God permitted it; was it loving him or hating him? It is evident that it was loving him, and wishing to make his crown more glorious from this most unjust slaughter. Do you see that one should not fear to die unjustly, but to die in sins? Abel died unjustly; Cain lived groaning and trembling. Who then, tell me, was more blessed? He who ceased with righteousness, or he who lived in sins? He who died unjustly, or he who was justly punished? And what is more terrible than murder, tell me? But it was once able to bring forth righteousness for the one who did it; and hear how. The Midianites once, wishing to make God an enemy to the Jews, and expecting in this way to overcome them, if they might deprive them of the Master’s favor, adorned young women, and set them before the camp, and enticed them, and led them into fornication. Seeing this, Phinehas, taking up a sword and finding two fornicating, ran them both through in the very act of their sin, not hating those who were slain, but sparing the rest. And what was done was murder, but the right action resulting from it became the salvation of all who were perishing; he killed two and saved countless myriads. And just as physicians, cutting out the rotten parts of the members, save the whole body, so he also did, and it was counted to him for righteousness. Let us not then weep for those who simply die, but for those who die in their sins; these are worthy of lamentations, these of mourning and tears. For what hope is there, tell me, to depart with sins, where it is not possible to put off sins? For while they were here, perhaps there was much expectation that they would repent, that they would become better; but if they depart to Hades, where it is not possible to gain anything from repentance, (For in Hades, he says, who will confess to you?) how then are they not worthy of lamentations? Let us weep then for those who depart thus, I do not forbid it; let us weep, but not unseemly, not tearing our hair, not baring our arms, not scratching our faces, but rather quietly letting fall a small tear in our soul; this benefits us. For he who mourns for that one thus, will be all the more zealous himself never to fall into the same things. Again, when you see a corpse being carried through the marketplace, orphan children following, a widow beating herself in grief, servants wailing, friends downcast, consider the nothing 63.810 ness of present things, and that they differ in no way from a shadow and dreams. Consider for me the houses of the great and famous, now brought down to the ground; think how powerful they were, and now not even a memory of them is left. For many tyrants have sat upon the ground, and the unexpected one has worn a diadem. But are these things not enough? Consider also before death, when you are sleeping, what you are worth; will not even a small beast be able to destroy you? For to many, a small creature falling from the roof has often either put out an eye, or become the cause of some other danger. Consider these things; and do not admire the flower of the human face, nor the outstretched neck, nor the cloak and the horse and the attendants; but where all these things end, consider. But if you admire visible things, I too will tell you of things in the Scriptures that are much more glorious than these. But just as we do not admire those things because of their appearance, seeing their substance, that the whole is clay, so too with these; for these too are clay, or rather, even before they are dissolved and become dust. Show me this proud one, feverish, at the point of death, and then I will converse with you and ask; Where now are those who strutted in the marketplace with great arrogance and many attendants? Those who were clothed in silk, and smelled of myrrh, and fed parasites, and were constantly devoted to the theater? where is the luxury of those banquets, the multitude of musicians, the fawning of flatterers, the great laughter, the relaxation of the soul, the

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οὐδὲ λυπήσας τὸν Κάϊν, ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ τὸν Θεὸν ἐτίμησε, διὰ τοῦτο ἐσφάγη. Ὁ δὲ Θεὸς συνεχώρησεν· ἆρα φιλῶν αὐτὸν ἢ μισῶν; εὔδηλον ὅτι φιλῶν, καὶ λαμπρότερον αὐτῷ τὸν στέφανον ποιῆσαι βουλόμενος ἀπὸ ἀδικωτάτης ταύτης σφαγῆς. Ὁρᾷς ὅτι οὐ τὸ ἀδίκως ἀποθανεῖν χρὴ δεδοικέναι, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἐν ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις ἀποθανεῖν; Ὁ Ἄβελ ἀπέθανεν ἀδίκως· ὁ Κάϊν ἔζη στένων καὶ τρέμων. Τίς οὖν, εἰπέ μοι, μακαριώτερος ἦν; ὁ μετὰ δικαιοσύνης παυσάμενος, ἢ ὁ ἐν ἁμαρτίαις ζῶν; ὁ ἀδίκως ἀποθανὼν, ἢ ὁ δικαίως κολαζόμενος; Τί δὲ φόνου χαλεπώτερον, εἰπέ μοι; ἀλλ' ἐδυνήθη ποτὲ δικαιοσύνην τεκεῖν τῷ τοῦτον ποιήσαντι· καὶ ὅπως ἄκουε. Οἱ Μαδιηναῖοί ποτε βουλόμενοι τὸν Θεὸν ἐκπολεμῶσαι τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις, καὶ ταύτῃ προσδοκῶντες αὐτῶν περιέσεσθαι, εἰ τῆς εὐνοίας αὐτοὺς ἀποστερήσειαν τοῦ ∆εσπότου, κόρας καλλωπίσαντες, καὶ τῷ στρατοπέδῳ προστήσαντες, ἐδελέασαν αὐτοὺς, καὶ εἰς τὴν πορνείαν ἤγαγον. Τοῦτο ἰδὼν ὁ Φινεὲς, μεταχειρισάμενος ξίφος καὶ πορνεύοντας δύο καταλαβὼν, ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ ἀμφοτέρους ἐξεκέντησεν, οὐ τοὺς ἀναιρεθέντας μισῶν, ἀλλὰ τῶν λοιπῶν φειδόμενος. Καὶ τὸ μὲν γενόμενον φόνος ἦν, τὸ δὲ κατορθούμενον ἐξ ἐκείνου σωτηρία τῶν ἀπολλυμένων ἁπάντων ἐγίνετο· ἀπέκτεινε δύο καὶ ἔσωσε μυριάδας ἀπείρους. Καὶ καθάπερ ἰατροὶ τὰ σεσηπότα τῶν μελῶν ἐκτέμνοντες, ὁλόκληρον σώζουσι τὸ σῶμα· οὕτω κἀκεῖνος ἐποίησεν, καὶ ἐλογίσθη αὐτῷ εἰς δικαιοσύνην. Μὴ τοίνυν τοὺς ἀποθνήσκοντας ἁπλῶς κλαίωμεν, ἀλλὰ τοὺς ἐν ἁμαρτίαις ἀποθνήσκοντας· οὗτοι θρήνων ἄξιοι, οὗτοι κοπετῶν καὶ δακρύων. Ποία γὰρ ἐλπὶς, εἰπέ μοι, μετὰ ἁμαρτημάτων ἀπελθεῖν, ἔνθα οὐκ ἔστιν ἁμαρτήματα ἀποδύσασθαι; Ἕως μὲν γὰρ ἦσαν ἐνταῦθα, ἴσως ἦν προσδοκία πολλὴ, ὅτι μεταμελοῦνται, ὅτι βελτίους ἔσονται· ἂν δὲ ἀπέλθωσιν εἰς τὸν ᾅδην, ἔνθα οὐκ ἔστιν ἀπὸ μετανοίας κερδᾶναί τι, (Ἐν τῷ γὰρ ᾅδῃ, φησὶ, τίς ἐξομολογήσεταί σοι;) πῶς οὖν οὐ θρήνων ἄξιοι; Κλαίωμεν οὖν τοὺς οὕτως ἀπερχομένους, οὐ κωλύω· κλαίωμεν, ἀλλὰ μὴ ἀσχημόνως, μὴ τρίχας τίλλοντες, μὴ βραχίονας γυμνοῦντες, μὴ ὄψιν σπαράττοντες, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον κατὰ ψυχὴν ἠρέμα δάκρυον ἀφέντες μικρόν· τοῦτο δὲ ἡμᾶς ὠφελεῖ. Ὁ γὰρ ἐκεῖνον πενθῶν οὕτω, πολλῷ μᾶλλον αὐτὸς σπουδάσει μηδέποτε τοῖς αὐτοῖς περιπεσεῖν. Πάλιν δὲ ὅταν ἴδῃς νεκρὸν ἐπ' ἀγορᾶς φερόμενον, παῖδας ὀρφανοὺς ἀκολουθοῦντας, χήραν γυναῖκα κατακοπτομένην, οἰκέτας ὀδυρομένους, φίλους κατηφιῶντας, λόγισαι τὸ οὐδα 63.810 μινὸν τῶν παρόντων πραγμάτων, καὶ ὅτι σκιᾶς καὶ ὀνειράτων οὐδὲν διενήνοχε. Σκόπει μοι τὰς τῶν μεγάλων καὶ περιφανῶν οἰκίας, καὶ νῦν εἰς ἔδαφος κατενεχθείσας· ἐννόησον πόσα ἴσχυσαν, καὶ νῦν οὐδὲ μνήμη αὐτῶν ὑπολέλειπται. Πολλοὶ γὰρ τύραννοι ἐκάθισαν ἐπ' ἐδάφους, ὁ δὲ ἀνυπονόητος ἐφόρεσε διάδημα. Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἀρκεῖ ταῦτα; ἐννόησον καὶ πρὸ θανάτου ὅταν καθεύδῃς, τίνος ἄξιος εἶ· οὐχὶ καὶ τὸ μικρόν σε θηρίον ἀνελεῖν δυνήσεται; Πολλοῖς γὰρ πολλάκις ἀπὸ τοῦ ὀρόφου κατενεχθὲν μικρὸν ζωΰφιον, ἢ τὸν ὀφθαλμὸν ἐξεῖλεν, ἢ ἑτέρου τινὸς κινδύνου παραίτιον γέγονε. Ταῦτα ἐννόει· καὶ μὴ τὸ τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ὄψεως ἄνθος θαύμαζε, μηδὲ τὸν ἀνατεταμένον αὐχένα, μηδὲ τὴν χλανίδα καὶ τὸν ἵππον καὶ τοὺς ἀκολούθους· ἀλλὰ ποῦ τελευτᾷ ταῦτα πάντα, λογίζου. Ἐὰν δὲ τὰ φαινόμενα θαυμάζῃς, καὶ ἐγώ σοι τὰ ἐν ταῖς Γραφαῖς ἐρῶ τὰ πολλῷ τούτων λαμπρότερα. Ἀλλ' ὥσπερ ἐκεῖνα διὰ τὴν ὄψιν οὐ θαυμάζομεν, τὴν οὐσίαν αὐτῶν ὁρῶντες, ὅτι πηλός ἐστι τὸ πᾶν, οὕτω δὴ μηδὲ ταῦτα· καὶ γὰρ καὶ ταῦτα πηλὸς, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ πρὶν διαλυθῆναι καὶ γενέσθαι κόνιν. ∆εῖξόν μοι τοῦτον τὸν ἀνατεταμένον, πυρέττοντα, ψυχοῤῥαγοῦντα, καὶ τότε σοι διαλέξομαι καὶ ἐρήσομαι· Ποῦ νῦν εἰσιν οἱ μετὰ πολλοῦ μὲν τοῦ τύφου, πολλῶν δὲ τῶν ἀκολουθούντων σοβοῦντες ἐπὶ τῆς ἀγορᾶς; οἱ τὰ σηρικὰ ἐνδεδυμένοι, καὶ μύρων πνέοντες, καὶ παρασίτους τρέφοντες, καὶ τῇ σκηνῇ προσηλωμένοι διαπαντός; ποῦ ἡ τῶν δείπνων ἐκείνων πολυτέλεια, τὸ τῶν μουσικῶν πλῆθος, ἡ τῶν κολάκων θεραπεία, ὁ γέλως ὁ πολὺς, ἡ τῆς ψυχῆς ἄνεσις, ἡ