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to know clearly, that the swinish among men are easy targets for the workings of demons. And while being men, those who suffer these things can also often overcome them; but if they become wholly swine, they are not only possessed by demons, but are also cast down from a cliff. And in another way, so that no one might think what happened was a mere show, but might believe clearly that the demons had come out, this is made manifest from the death of the swine. Consider also His gentleness with His power. For when the inhabitants of that country, having received such benefits, drove him away, He did not resist, but withdrew, and left behind those who had shown themselves unworthy of His teaching, having given as teachers those who had been freed from the demons and the swineherds, so that they might learn from them all that had happened; and having withdrawn Himself, He left them with their fear still flourishing. For the magnitude of the loss spread the report of what had happened, and the event reached their minds. And from many quarters voices were brought forth, proclaiming the strangeness of the miracle, from those who were healed, from those who were drowned, from the owners of the swine, from the men who herded them. One might see these things happening even now, and many possessed by demons in the tombs, whom nothing restrains from their madness, not iron, not chain, not a multitude of men, not exhortation, not admonition, not fear, not threat, nor anything else of that kind. For when someone is licentious, inflamed towards all bodies, he is no different from the demoniac; but he goes about naked like him, though clothed in garments, yet stripped of the true covering, and bared of the glory that befits him, not cutting himself with stones, but with sins more grievous than many stones. Who then will be able to bind such a one? who can stop him from behaving indecently and being driven by passion, and never coming to himself, but always frequenting the tombs? For such are the dwellings of harlots, full of much stench, full of much decay. And what of the lover of money? Is he not such a one? For who will ever have the strength to bind him? Are not daily fears and threats, and exhortations and counsels? But he breaks through all these bonds; and if someone comes to deliver him, he adjures him not to be delivered, considering it the greatest torment not to be in torment; than which what could be more wretched? For that demon, even if he despised men, yet yielded to the command of Christ, and quickly departed from the body; but this man does not even yield to the command. For behold, every day he hears Him saying, "You cannot serve God and mammon," and threatening Gehenna, and the incurable punishments, and is not persuaded; not that he is stron 57.356 ger than Christ, but that Christ does not correct us against our will. For this reason such men live as in deserts, even if they are in the midst of cities. For who having sense would choose to associate with such men? I for one would rather accept to live with ten thousand demoniacs, than with one who is sick with this disease. And that I am not mistaken in saying these things, is clear from what each of them suffers. For these men consider as an enemy one who has done no wrong, and wish to take as a slave one who is free, and they surround him with countless evils; but the demoniacs do no such thing, but turn the disease upon themselves. And these men overthrow many houses, and cause the name of God to be blasphemed, and are a ruin to the city and to the whole world; but those who are troubled by demons are more worthy of pity and tears. And the latter do most things in a state of insensibility; but the former are deranged with full use of reason, raging in the midst of cities, and being mad with a new kind of madness. For what such thing do all demoniacs do, as Judas dared to do, displaying the utmost transgression? And all who imitate him, like fierce beasts that have escaped from a cage, throw the cities into confusion, with no one to restrain them.

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εἰδέναι σαφῶς, ὡς οἱ χοιρώδεις τῶν ἀνθρώπων εὐεπιχείρητοι ταῖς τῶν δαιμόνων ἐνεργείαις εἰσί. Καὶ ἄνθρωποι μὲν ὄντες οἱ ταῦτα πάσχοντες, δύνανται καὶ περιγενέσθαι πολλάκις· ἂν δὲ χοῖροι τὸ ὅλον γένωνται, οὐ δαιμονίζονται μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ κατακρημνίζονται. Καὶ ἄλλως δὲ, ἵνα μή τις σκηνὴν εἶναι νομίσῃ τὰ γενόμενα, ἀλλὰ πιστεύσῃ σαφῶς ὅτι ἐξῆλθον οἱ δαίμονες, ἀπὸ τοῦ θανάτου τῶν χοίρων τοῦτο γίνεται κατάδηλον. Σκόπει δὲ αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸ πρᾶον μετὰ τῆς δυνάμεως. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ τοιαῦτα εὐεργετηθέντες ἀπήλαυνον αὐτὸν οἱ τὴν χώραν οἰκοῦντες ἐκείνην, οὐκ ἀντέτεινεν, ἀλλ' ἀνεχώρησε, καὶ τοὺς ἀναξίους ἀποφήναντας ἑαυτοὺς τῆς αὐτοῦ διδασκαλίας κατέλιπε, τοὺς ἐλευθερωθέντας τῶν δαιμόνων δοὺς διδασκάλους καὶ τοὺς συβώτας, ὥστε παρ' ἐκείνων μαθεῖν πάντα τὰ γεγενημένα· καὶ αὐτὸς ἀναχωρήσας τὸν φόβον ἀφίησιν αὐτοῖς ἐνακμάζοντα. Καὶ γὰρ τῆς ζημίας τὸ μέγεθος διεδίδου τοῦ γεγενημένου τὴν φήμην, καὶ καθικνεῖτο τῆς διανοίας αὐτῶν τὸ συμβάν. Καὶ πολλαχόθεν ἐφέροντο φωναὶ, ἀνακηρύττουσαι τοῦ θαύματος τὸ παράδοξον, ἀπὸ τῶν θεραπευθέντων, ἀπὸ τῶν καταποντισθέντων, ἀπὸ τῶν δεσποτῶν τῶν χοίρων, ἀπὸ τῶν ποιμαινόντων αὐτοὺς ἀνθρώπων. Ταῦτα καὶ νῦν γινόμενα ἴδοι τις ἂν, καὶ πολλοὺς ἐν τοῖς μνημείοις δαιμονιζομένους, οὓς οὐδὲν κατέχει τῆς μανίας, οὐ σίδηρος, οὐχ ἅλυσις, οὐκ ἀνθρώπων πλῆθος, οὐ παραίνεσις, οὐ νουθεσία, οὐ φόβος, οὐκ ἀπειλὴ, οὐκ ἄλλο τῶν τοιούτων οὐδέν. Καὶ γὰρ ὅταν τις ἀκόλαστος ᾖ πρὸς πάντα σώματα ἐπτοημένος, οὐδὲν διενήνοχε τοῦ δαιμονῶντος· ἀλλὰ γυμνὸς ὡς ἐκεῖνος περιέρχεται, ἱμάτια μὲν ἐνδεδυμένος, τῆς δὲ ἀληθοῦς περιβολῆς ἐστερημένος, καὶ τῆς αὐτῷ προσηκούσης δόξης γεγυμνωμένος, οὐ λίθοις ἑαυτὸν κόπτων, ἀλλὰ ἁμαρτήμασι πολλῶν λίθων χαλεπωτέροις. Τίς οὖν τὸν τοιοῦτον δῆσαι δυνήσεται; τίς παῦσαι ἀσχημονοῦντα καὶ οἰστρούμενον, καὶ οὐδέποτε ἐν ἑαυτῷ γινόμενον, ἀλλ' ἀεὶ παρὰ τὰ μνήματα φοιτῶντα; Τοιαῦτα γὰρ τῶν πορνῶν τὰ καταγώγια, πολλῆς τῆς δυσωδίας γέμοντα, πολλῆς τῆς σηπεδόνος. Τί δὲ ὁ φιλάργυρος; οὐχὶ τοιοῦτος; τίς γὰρ αὐτὸν ἰσχύσει δῆσαί ποτε; οὐχὶ φόβοι καὶ ἀπειλαὶ καθημεριναὶ, καὶ παραινέσεις καὶ συμβουλαί; Ἀλλὰ πάντα ταῦτα διακόπτει τὰ δεσμά· κἂν ἔλθῃ τις αὐτὸν ἀπαλλάξαι, ὁρκίζει ὥστε μὴ ἀπαλλαγῆναι, βάσανον ἡγούμενος εἶναι μεγίστην τὸ μὴ εἶναι ἐν τῇ βασάνῳ· οὗ τί γένοιτ' ἂν ἀθλιώτερον; Ἐκεῖνος μὲν γὰρ ὁ δαίμων, εἰ καὶ ἀνθρώπων κατεφρόνησεν, ἀλλὰ τῷ προστάγματι εἶξε τοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ ταχέως ἀπεπήδησε τοῦ σώματος· οὗτος δὲ οὐδὲ τῷ προστάγματι εἴκει. Ἰδοὺ γοῦν καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν ἀκούει αὐτοῦ λέγοντος, Οὐ δύνασθε Θεῷ δουλεύειν καὶ μαμωνᾷ, καὶ γέενναν ἀπειλοῦντος, καὶ τὰς ἀνηκέστους κολάσεις, καὶ οὐ πείθεται· οὐχ ὅτι ἰσχυρο 57.356 τερός ἐστι τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἀλλ' ὅτι ἄκοντας ἡμᾶς ὁ Χριστὸς οὐ σωφρονίζει. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ὡς ἐν ἐρήμοις οἱ τοιοῦτοι διατρίβουσι, κἂν ἐν μέσαις πόλεσιν ὦσι. Τίς γὰρ ἂν ἕλοιτο νοῦν ἔχων τοιούτοις συγγίνεσθαι ἀνθρώποις; Μᾶλλον ἂν ἔγωγε κατεδεξάμην μετὰ μυρίων δαιμονώντων οἰκεῖν, ἢ μετὰ ἑνὸς ταύτην νοσοῦντος τὴν νόσον. Καὶ ὅτι οὐ σφάλλομαι ταῦτα λέγων, δῆλον ἐξ ὧν ἑκάτεροι πάσχουσιν. Οὗτοι μὲν γὰρ τὸν οὐδὲν ἠδικηκότα ἐχθρὸν ἡγοῦνται, καὶ βούλονται καὶ δοῦλον λαβεῖν ἐλεύθερον ὄντα, καὶ μυρίοις περιβάλλουσι κακοῖς· οἱ δὲ δαιμονῶντες οὐδὲν τοιοῦτον ἐργάζονται, ἀλλ' ἐν ἑαυτοῖς τὴν νόσον στρέφουσι. Καὶ οὗτοι μὲν πολλὰς οἰκίας ἀνατρέπουσι, καὶ τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Θεοῦ βλασφημεῖσθαι παρασκευάζουσι, καὶ λύμη πόλεως καὶ τῆς οἰκουμένης ἁπάσης εἰσίν· οἱ δὲ ὑπὸ δαιμόνων ἐνοχλούμενοι, ἐλεεῖσθαι μᾶλλόν εἰσιν ἄξιοι καὶ δακρύεσθαι. Καὶ οἱ μὲν ἐν ἀναισθησίᾳ τὰ πλείονα πράττουσιν· οἱ δὲ μετὰ λογισμοῦ παραπαίουσιν, ἐν μέσαις πόλεσι βακχευόμενοι, καὶ καινήν τινα μαινόμενοι μανίαν. Τί γὰρ τοιοῦτον ἐργάζονται οἱ δαιμονῶντες ἅπαντες, οἷον Ἰούδας ἐτόλμησε, τὴν ἐσχάτην παρανομίαν ἐπιδειξάμενος; Καὶ πάντες δὲ οἱ ἐκεῖνον ζηλοῦντες, καθάπερ θηρία χαλεπὰ ἀπὸ γαλεάγρας φυγόντα, τὰς πόλεις θορυβοῦσιν, οὐδενὸς κατέχοντος.