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But the others I have not yet known, nor have I been known by them; therefore they call me harsh, they name me unsympathetic, the children of the unjust call me unjust. Those then who insult me and revile me, who reproach me, how will they submit to you or how will they accept you as a teacher, tell me? And how indeed will the wolves consider you a shepherd, or how will they follow your voice, being wild beasts? Depart, flee and get out from the midst of such men; and if you would save yourself, you will destroy yourself. What profit to you is the world which was saved through you? I do not wish you to shepherd any of those who are unwilling. See that I too guarded this in the world: (320) for of those who are willing, I am both shepherd and master, but of the others I am creator and God by nature, but I am certainly not king, not leader at all 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 transient and corruptible to eternal glory, they are enraged and rave against their teachers and contrive all sorts of plots against them and choose to die rather than to depart from darkness and the deeds of darkness, and follow me. These, tell me, how will you shepherd, how will you lead them, how will you guide them, tell me, as they desert to the fire, attaching themselves to the enemy and with him eagerly doing the opposite of my commandments? 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 desires, 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, finding a small pretext, but enemies with difficulty can become friends even if they receive benefits,

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τούς δ᾿ ἄλλους οὔπω ἔγνωκα οὐδ᾿ ὑπ᾿ αὐτῶν ἐγνώσθην˙ διό σκληρόν με λέγουσιν, ἀσυμπαθῆ καλοῦσιν, ἄδικον ὀνομάζουσι τά τοῦ ἀδίκου τέκνα. Οἱ οὖν ἐμέ ὑβρίζοντες ἐμέ τε λοιδοροῦντες, ἐμέ κατονειδίζοντες, σοί πῶς ὑποταγῶσιν ἤ πῶς σε καταδέξονται διδάσκαλον, εἰπέ μοι; Οἱ λύκοι δέ ποιμένα σε πῶς ἄρα λογιοῦνται 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,