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commanding and adjuring for the keeping of what has been said. But is it pleasant to speak 63.848 evil? Indeed, it is pleasant not to speak evil. For he who speaks evil is henceforth in agony, he is suspicious and afraid, he repents and bites his own tongue, fearing and trembling lest the word, being carried to others, should bring on great danger; but he who keeps it to himself in much security will live with much pleasure. For it is not possible for a man who meddles in the lives of others ever to take care of his own life. For since all his energy is spent on meddling in the affairs of others, his own affairs must lie simply and neglected. And he who bitterly scrutinizes the affairs of others will never enjoy any pardon for his own sins. For God will cast His vote not only from the nature of our sins, but also from our judgment of others. To Him be the glory and the power, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

HOMILY 38. Concerning not being ashamed to confess the precious cross, and

how through it Christ saved us, and how we ought to glory in it, and concerning virtue, and how it yearns for our salvation, and concerning almsgiving.

This is, my brothers, the sign which the Lord promised to all,

saying: An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet; meaning the cross and the death and the burial and the resurrection. And again, declaring the power of the cross in another way, He said: When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He; that is, When you have crucified me, He says, and think you have overcome me, then especially you will know my strength. And Christ spoke well. For after Christ was crucified, the Jewish customs ceased, the preaching flourished, the word was spread to the ends of the world, and land and sea, and the inhabited and uninhabited world continually proclaim His power; therefore let no one be ashamed of the revered symbols of our salvation, and the sum of good things, through which we live and through which we exist; but as a crown, so let us carry about the cross of Christ. For indeed all things concerning us are accomplished through it; whether it is necessary to be reborn, the cross is present; whether to be nourished by that mystical food, whether to be ordained, whether to do anything else, everywhere the symbol of victory is present with us. For this reason, both in houses, and on walls, and on doors, and on the forehead, and on the mind, we inscribe it with much diligence. For this is the sign of our salvation and of the common freedom, and of the meekness of our Lord; For as a sheep he was led to the slaughter. Therefore, when you make the sign of the cross, consider the whole matter of the cross, and extinguish anger, and all the other passions; when you make the sign, fill your forehead with much boldness, make your soul free. For you surely know what are the things that provide us with freedom. This is why Paul, leading us to this, to the freedom I say which is fitting for us, so led us up, by reminding us of the cross and the blood of the Lord; For you were bought with a price, he says; do not become slaves of men. Consider, he says, the price paid for you, and you will be a slave to no man; by price he means the blood through the cross. For it is not necessary to simply inscribe it with the finger, but first with intention with much faith, and so impress it upon the face. None of the unclean demons will be able to stand near you, seeing the knife on which he received the wound; seeing the sword on which he received the mortal blow. For if we, seeing the places where the condemned are cut,

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παραγγέλλων καὶ ὁρκῶν ὑπὲρ τῆς τῶν εἰρημένων φυλακῆς. Ἀλλ' ἡδὺ τὸ κακη 63.848 γορεῖν; Ἡδὺ μὲν οὖν τὸ μὴ λέγειν κακῶς. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ λέγων κακῶς ἐναγώνιος λοιπόν ἐστι, ὑποπτεύει καὶ δέδοικε, μετανοεῖ καὶ κατεσθίει τὴν ἑαυτοῦ γλῶτταν, δεδοικὼς καὶ τρέμων, μήποτε εἰς ἑτέρους ἐξενεχθὲν τὸ ῥῆμα, μέγαν ἐπαγάγῃ τὸν κίνδυνον· ὁ δὲ παρ' ἑαυτῷ κατέχων ἐν ἀσφαλείᾳ πολλῇ, μετὰ πολλῆς βιώσεται τῆς ἡδονῆς. Οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ἄνθρωπον τοὺς ἀλλοτρίους πολυπραγμονοῦντα βίους, τῆς οἰκείας ἐπιμεληθῆναί ποτε ζωῆς. Τῆς γὰρ σπουδῆς αὐτῷ πάσης εἰς τὴν τῶν ἑτέρων πολυπραγμοσύνην ἀναλισκομένης, ἀνάγκη τὰ αὐτοῦ ἁπλῶς κεῖσθαι καὶ ἠμελημένως. Ὁ δὲ καὶ πικρῶς τὰ ἀλλότρια ἐξετάζων πράγματα, ἐν τοῖς καθ' ἑαυτὸν πλημμελήμασιν οὐδεμιᾶς ἀπολαύσεται συγγνώμης ποτέ. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἀπὸ τῆς φύσεως τῶν πεπλημμελημένων ἡμῖν μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς κρίσεως τῆς περὶ ἑτέρων οἴσει τὴν ψῆφον ὁ Θεός. Αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ, καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.

ΛΟΓΟΣ ΛΗʹ. Περὶ τοῦ μὴ ἐπαισχύνεσθαι ὁμολογεῖν τὸν τίμιον σταυρὸν, καὶ

ὡς δι' αὐτοῦ ἔσωσεν ἡμᾶς ὁ Χριστὸς, καὶ ὡς δεῖ ἐν αὐτῷ καυχᾶσθαι, καὶ περὶ ἀρετῆς, καὶ ὅπως ἐφίεται τῆς σωτηρίας τῆς ἡμετέρας, καὶ περὶ ἐλεημοσύνης.

Τοῦτό ἐστιν, ἀδελφοί μου, τὸ σημεῖον, ὅπερ ὁ ∆εσπότης πᾶσιν ὑπέσχετο

δώσειν, λέγων· Γενεὰ πονηρὰ καὶ μοιχαλὶς σημεῖον ἐπιζητεῖ, καὶ σημεῖον οὐ δοθήσεται αὐτῇ, εἰ μὴ τὸ σημεῖον Ἰωνᾶ τοῦ προφήτου· τὸν σταυρὸν λέγων καὶ τὸν θάνατον καὶ τὴν ταφὴν καὶ τὴν ἀνάστασιν. Καὶ πάλιν ἑτέρως δηλῶν τοῦ σταυροῦ τὴν ἰσχὺν, ἔλεγεν· Ὅταν ὑψώσητε τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, τότε γνώσεσθε ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι· τουτέστιν, Ὅταν σταυρώσητέ με, φησὶ, καὶ νομίσητε περιγενέσθαι μου, τότε μάλιστα εἴσεσθέ μου τὴν ἰσχύν. Καὶ καλῶς εἶπεν ὁ Χριστός. Μετὰ γὰρ τὸ σταυρωθῆναι Χριστὸν, τὰ Ἰουδαϊκὰ ἔθη ἐπαύσαντο, τὸ κήρυγμα ἤνθησε, πρὸς τὰ πέρατα τῆς οἰκουμένης ἐξετάθη ὁ λόγος, καὶ γῆ καὶ θάλαττα, καὶ οἱκουμένη καὶ ἀοίκητος τὴν δύναμιν αὐτοῦ διαπαντὸς ἀνακηρύττουσι· μηδεὶς τοίνυν αἰσχυνέσθω τὰ σεμνὰ τῆς σωτηρίας ἡμῶν σύμβολα, καὶ τὸ κεφάλαιον τῶν ἀγαθῶν, δι' ὃ καὶ ζῶμεν καὶ δι' ὃ ἐσμέν· ἀλλ' ὡς στέφανον, οὕτω περιφέρωμεν τὸν σταυρὸν τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Καὶ γὰρ πάντα δι' αὐτοῦ τελεῖται τὰ καθ' ἡμᾶς· κἂν ἀναγεννηθῆναι δέῃ, σταυρὸς παραγίνεται· κἂν τραφῆναι τὴν μυστικὴν ἐκείνην τροφὴν, κἂν χειροτονηθῆναι, κἂν ὁτιοῦν ἕτερον ποιῆσαι, πανταχοῦ τὸ τῆς νίκης ἡμῖν παρίσταται σύμβολον. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἐν οἰκίαις, καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν τοίχων, καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν θυρῶν, καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ μετώπου, καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς διανοίας μετὰ πολλῆς ἐπιγράφομεν αὐτὸν τῆς σπουδῆς. Τῆς γὰρ ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν σωτηρίας καὶ τῆς ἐλευθερίας τῆς κοινῆς, καὶ τῆς ἐπιεικείας ἡμῶν τοῦ ∆εσπότου τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ σημεῖον· Ὡς πρόβατον γὰρ ἐπὶ σφαγὴν ἤχθη. Ὅταν τοίνυν σφραγίζῃ, ἐννόει πᾶσαν τοῦ σταυροῦ τὴν ὑπόθεσιν, καὶ σβέσον τὸν θυμὸν, καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ πάντα πάθη· ὅταν σφραγίζῃ, πολλῆς ἔμπλησον τὸ μέτωπον παῤῥησίας, ἐλευθέραν τὴν ψυχὴν ποίησον. Ἴστε δὲ πάντως ποῖά ἐστι τὰ ἐλευθερίαν ἡμῖν παρέχοντα. ∆ιὸ καὶ Παῦλος εἰς τοῦτο ἐνάγων ἡμᾶς, εἰς τὴν ἐλευθερίαν λέγω τὴν προσήκουσαν ἡμῖν, οὕτως ἀνήγαγε, τοῦ σταυροῦ καὶ τοῦ αἵματος ἀναμνήσας τοῦ ∆εσποτικοῦ· Τιμῆς γὰρ, φησὶν, ἠγοράσθητε· μὴ γίνεσθε δοῦλοι ἀνθρώπων. Ἐννόησον, φησὶ, τὴν ὑπὲρ σοῦ καταβληθεῖσαν τιμὴν, καὶ οὐδενὸς ἀνθρώπων ἔσῃ δοῦλος· τιμὴν τὸ αἷμα λέγων τὸ διὰ σταυροῦ. Οὐ γὰρ ἁπλῶς τῷ δακτύλῳ ἐγχαράττειν αὐτὸν δεῖ, ἀλλὰ πρότερον τῇ προαιρέσει μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς πίστεως, καὶ οὕτως ἐντυποῦν αὐτὸν τῇ ὄψει. Οὐδεὶς ἐγγύς σου στῆναι δυνήσεται τῶν ἀκαθάρτων δαιμόνων, ὁρῶν τὴν μάχαιραν, ἐν ᾗ τὴν πληγὴν ἔλαβεν· ὁρῶν τὸ ξίφος, ἐν ᾧ τὴν καιρίαν ἐδέξατο. Εἰ γὰρ ἡμεῖς τόπους ὁρῶντες, ἐν οἷς τέμνονται οἱ κατάδικοι,