223

it would have had so much power, if he had not said this. But see everywhere the demons more sensible than the Jews, and not daring to contradict, nor to accuse the apostles, nor Christ. There they say, We know who you are; and, Why have you come here before the time to torment us? and again, I know who you are, the Son of God; but here, These men are servants of the Most High God; and again, Jesus I know, and Paul I am acquainted with. For they greatly feared and trembled before those holy men. Perhaps one of you, hearing this, desires to have this authority, so that demons cannot look him in the face, and blesses those holy men for this reason, because they had such great power. But let him hear Christ saying: Do not rejoice that the demons are subject to you; because He knew that all men rejoice most in this out of vainglory. For if you seek what is pleasing to God and the common good, there is another greater way. It is not so great a thing to deliver from a demon, as to rescue from sin. A demon does not prevent one from attaining the kingdom of heaven, but even cooperates, unwillingly indeed, but it cooperates, making the one possessed more sober-minded; but sin casts out. 60.293 4. But perhaps someone will say: May it not be my lot to receive such a correction. Nor do I wish it, but another, to do all things from the desire for Christ. But if, which may it not happen, it should come to pass, to entreat also for this. If, then, the one does not cast out, but the other does, to be rid of the latter is a greater benefit. Therefore let us strive to rid our neighbors of this, and before our neighbors, ourselves. Let us see, lest we have a demon; let us examine ourselves carefully. Sin is worse than a demon; for the latter makes one humble. Or do you not see those possessed by demons, when they recover from their illness, how downcast they are, how sullen? How their faces are full of shame? How they do not even dare to look up? See the absurdity; they are ashamed for what they suffer, but we are not ashamed for what we do; they, being wronged, feel shame, but we, who do wrong, do not feel shame; and yet their state is not worthy of shame, but of mercy and philanthropy and forgiveness, and of great wonder and countless praises, when wrestling with such a demon, they bear all things with thanksgiving; but our deeds are truly worthy of laughter, of shame, of accusation, of chastisement, of punishment, of the worst evils and of Gehenna, but not worthy of any forgiveness. Do you see that sin is worse than a demon? And they, from the evils they suffer, gain a double profit; one, that they are made more sober and more philosophical, and a second, that having paid the penalty here for their own sins, they may depart pure to the Master. For we have often discussed this, and have shown that it is likely that those who are punished here, if they bear it with a good mind, put away many of their sins. But from sins, the evils are twofold: one, that we offend, and another, that we become worse. Pay attention to what I am saying. We are not only harmed by sin in this, that we sin, but also in another way, that the soul receives a habit, as it were in the case of the body; for it will be clearer said by way of an example. For just as one who has had a fever is not only harmed in that he is sick, but also because after the illness he becomes weaker from then on, even if he returns to health from a long illness; so indeed also in the case of sin, even if we are healthy, we still need much strength. For consider someone who has committed an outrage and has not been punished; it is worthy to weep not only for this reason, that he does not pay the penalty for the outrage, but also to mourn for another reason. What is that? That the soul has henceforth become more shameless. For of each of the sins, both when the sin has been committed and has ceased, some poison of ours is deposited in the soul. Do you not hear some saying, when they recover from an illness, I no longer dare to drink water? And yet he has recovered; but the illness harmed him in this way too. And those, though suffering ill, give thanks; but we, though doing well, blaspheme God, and despair; for you would find more

223

τοσοῦτον ἴσχυσεν, εἰ μὴ τοῦτο εἶπεν. Ὅρα δὲ πανταχοῦ τοὺς δαίμονας εὐγνωμονεστέρους τῶν Ἰουδαίων, καὶ οὐ τολμῶντας ἀντειπεῖν, οὐδὲ κατηγορῆσαι τῶν ἀποστόλων, οὐδὲ τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Ἐκεῖ λέγουσιν, Οἴδαμέν σε τίς εἶ· καὶ, Τί ἦλθες ὧδε πρὸ καιροῦ βασανίσαι ἡμᾶς; καὶ πάλιν, Οἶδά σε τίς εἶ, ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ· ἐνταῦθα δὲ, Οὗτοι οἱ ἄνθρωποι δοῦλοι τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ ὑψίστου εἰσί· καὶ πάλιν, Τὸν μὲν Ἰησοῦν γινώσκω, καὶ τὸν Παῦλον ἐπίσταμαι. Πάνυ γὰρ ἐδεδοίκεσαν καὶ ἔτρεμον τοὺς ἁγίους ἐκείνους. Τάχα τις ὑμῶν ἀκούων, ποθεῖ ἐπὶ ταύτης γενέσθαι τῆς ἐξουσίας, ὥστε μὴ δύνασθαι δαίμονας ἀντιβλέπειν αὐτῷ, καὶ μακαρίζει τοὺς ἁγίους ἐκείνους διὰ τοῦτο, ὅτι τοσαύτην εἶχον ἰσχύν. Ἀλλ' ἀκουέτω τοῦ Χριστοῦ λέγοντος· Μὴ χαίρετε, ὅτι τὰ δαιμόνια ὑμῖν ὑποτάσσεται· ἐπειδὴ ᾔδει πάντας ἀνθρώπους μάλιστα τούτῳ χαίροντας διὰ κενοδοξίαν. Εἰ γὰρ τὸ τῷ Θεῷ δοκοῦν ζητεῖς καὶ τὸ κοινῇ συμφέρον, ἑτέρα μείζων ἐστὶν ὁδός. Οὐκ ἔστιν οὕτω μέγα δαίμονος ἀπαλλάξαι, ὡς ἁμαρτίας ἐξελέσθαι. ∆αίμων οὐ κωλύει βασιλείας οὐρανῶν ἐπιτυχεῖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ συμπράττει, ἄκων μὲν, συμπράττει δὲ, σωφρονέστερον τὸν ἔχοντα ποιῶν· ἁμαρτία δὲ ἐκβάλλει. 60.293 δʹ. Ἀλλ' ἴσως ἐρεῖ τις· Μὴ γένοιτό μοι τοιούτου τυχεῖν σωφρονισμοῦ. Οὐδὲ ἐγὼ βούλομαι, ἀλλ' ἑτέρου, ἀπὸ τοῦ πόθου τοῦ Χριστοῦ πάντα ποιεῖν. Εἰ δὲ, ὃ μὴ γένοιτο, συμβαίη καὶ ὑπὲρ τούτου παρακαλεῖν. Εἰ τοίνυν οὗτος μὲν οὐκ ἐκβάλλει, ἐκείνη δὲ ἐκβάλλει, τὸ ἐκείνης ἀπαλλάξαι μείζονος εὐεργεσίας. Οὐκοῦν ταύτης σπουδάζωμεν ἀπαλλάττειν τοὺς πλησίον καὶ πρὸ τῶν πλησίον ἡμᾶς αὐτούς. Ἴδωμεν, μὴ δαίμονα ἔχωμεν· ἐξετάσωμεν ἑαυτοὺς ἀκριβῶς. ∆αίμονος χαλεπώτερον ἁμαρτία· ἐκεῖνος μὲν γὰρ ταπεινοὺς ποιεῖ. Ἢ οὐχ ὁρᾶτε τοὺς δαιμονῶντας, ὅταν ἀνενέγκωσιν ἀπὸ τῆς νόσου, πῶς εἰσι κατηφεῖς, πῶς σκυθρωποί; πῶς αἰσχύνης τὰ πρόσωπα αὐτῶν γέμει; πῶς οὐδὲ ἀντιβλέψαι τολμῶσιν; Ὅρα τὴν ἀτοπίαν· ἐκεῖνοι μὲν ὑπὲρ ὧν πάσχουσιν αἰσχύνονται, ἡμεῖς δὲ ὑπὲρ ὧν πράττομεν οὐκ αἰσχυνόμεθα· ἐκεῖνοι ἀδικούμενοι αἰδοῦνται, ἡμεῖς ἀδικοῦντες οὐκ αἰδούμεθα· καίτοι τὰ ἐκείνων οὐκ αἰσχύνης ἄξια, ἀλλ' ἐλέου καὶ φιλανθρωπίας καὶ συγγνώμης, καὶ πολλοῦ τοῦ θαύματος καὶ μυρίων τῶν ἐπαίνων, ὅταν καὶ τοιούτῳ προσπαλαίοντες δαίμονι, πάντα εὐχαρίστως φέρωσι· τὰ δὲ ἡμέτερα γέλωτος ὄντως, αἰσχύνης, κατηγορίας, κολάσεως, τιμωρίας, τῶν ἐσχάτων κακῶν καὶ γεέννης, ἀλλ' οὐδεμιᾶς ἄξια συγγνώμης. Ὁρᾷς, ὅτι χαλεπώτερον δαίμονος ἁμαρτία; Καὶ ἐκεῖνοι μὲν ἐξ ὧν πάσχουσι κακῶς, κερδαίνουσι κέρδος διπλοῦν· ἓν μὲν τὸ σωφρονίζεσθαι καὶ φιλοσοφώτεροι εἶναι, δεύτερον δὲ τὸ τὴν κόλασιν ἐνταῦθα τῶν οἰκείων ἁμαρτημάτων δόντες, καθαροὶ πρὸς τὸν ∆εσπότην ἀπελθεῖν. Καὶ γὰρ ὑπὲρ τούτου διελέχθημεν πολλάκις, καὶ ἐδείξαμεν, ὅτι τοὺς ἐνταῦθα κολαζομένους, ἂν εὐγνωμόνως φέρωσι, πολλὰ τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων ἀποτίθεσθαι εἰκός. Ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων διπλᾶ τὰ δεινὰ, ἓν μὲν ὅτι προσκρούομεν, ἕτερον δὲ ὅτι χείρους γινόμεθα. Προσέχετε ᾧ λέγω. Οὐ τοῦτο μόνον ἀδικούμεθα ἀπὸ τῆς ἁμαρτίας, ὅτι ἁμαρτάνομεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἕτερον, ὅτι ἕξιν δέχεται ἡ ψυχὴ, οἷον ὡς ἐπὶ σώματος· σαφέστερον γὰρ ἔσται ἐπὶ ὑποδείγματος λεγόμενον. Καθάπερ γὰρ ὁ πυρέξας οὐ τοῦτο μόνον ἠδίκηται, ὅτι νοσεῖ, ἀλλ' ὅτι μετὰ τὴν νόσον ἀσθενέστερος γίνεται λοιπὸν, κἂν εἰς ὑγείαν ἐπανέλθοι ἀπὸ νόσου μακρᾶς· οὕτω δὴ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς ἁμαρτίας, κἂν ὑγιαίνωμεν, ἔτι πολλῆς δεόμεθα τῆς ἰσχύος. Ἴδε γάρ μοι ὑβρίσαντά τινα, καὶ μὴ τιμωρηθέντα· οὐ διὰ τοῦτο μόνον δακρύειν, ὅτι οὐ τῆς ὕβρεως δίκην δίδωσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ δι' ἕτερον πενθεῖν ἄξιον. Ποῖον δὴ τοῦτο; Ὅτι ἀναισχυντοτέρα γέγονε λοιπὸν ἡ ψυχή. Ἑκάστου γὰρ τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων, καὶ τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἐργασθείσης καὶ παυσαμένης, ἐναποτίθεταί τις ἡμῶν ἰὸς τῇ ψυχῇ. Οὐκ ἀκούεις λεγόντων τινῶν, ὅταν ἐκ νόσου ὑγιάνωσιν, ὅτι Οὐκ ἔτι τολμῶ ὕδωρ πιεῖν; καίτοι γε ὑγίανεν· ἀλλ' ἡ νόσος καὶ τοῦτο ἠδίκησε. Κἀκεῖνοι μὲν κακῶς πάσχοντες, εὐχαριστοῦσιν· ἡμεῖς δὲ εὖ πράττοντες, βλασφημοῦμεν τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ ἀποδυσπετοῦμεν· πλείονας γὰρ εὕροις ἂν