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For this very reason he also received great rewards for his hospitality. But you, if you wished, would receive even greater ones than those. For God will not only give you the fruit, a child, but also heaven and the good things there and deliverance from Gehenna and forgiveness of sins; for great, and exceedingly great, is the 60.667 fruit of hospitality. Thus also Jethro, and that being a barbarian, received as a son-in-law the one who commanded the sea with such authority; for his daughters ensnared this goodly prize for him. Considering these things, therefore, and reckoning the courage and the wisdom of those women, trample upon the present vanity, the adornment of garments, the extravagance of gold, the anointing with perfumes; and giving up breaking down and being effeminate and walking with a measured step, introduce all this care into the soul, and kindle the desire for heaven in your mind. For if this love takes hold of you, you will see the mire and the mud, and you will laugh at what is now admired; for it is not possible for a woman adorned with spiritual achievements to seek after this 60.668 laughter. Casting away, therefore, all these things, which market-women, and dancing girls and flute girls have with great ambition, put on philosophy, hospitality, protection of the saints, compunction, continual prayers. These things are better than golden garments, these are more honorable than stones and necklaces, these make one well-esteemed among men, and bring you a great reward from God. This is the ornament of the Church, that is of the theaters; this is worthy of the heavens, that of horses and mules; that is put even on dead bodies, this shines only in a good soul, in which Christ dwells. Let us therefore acquire this adornment, that we too may be respected everywhere, and may be well-pleasing to Christ unto the ages of ages. Amen.

HOMILY 31. Greet Epaenetus my beloved, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto

Christ. 1. I think that many even of those who seem to be very earnest run past this part of the epistle, as being superfluous and containing nothing great; and I suppose they experience this very thing also in the genealogy which lies in the Gospel; for since it is a catalog of names, they think they gain nothing great from it. And while the children of goldsmiths work carefully even on the small filings, these men run past such great masses of gold. That they may not suffer this, then, what has been said is sufficient to lead them away from this laziness. For that there is no small profit even from this, we have shown also from what was said before, having roused your soul through these salutations; but let us try today to mine this same passage again. For it is possible even from bare names to find a great treasure. If, for example, you learn why Abraham was so called, why Sarah, why Israel, why Samuel, you will find histories of many things from this as well. And from times and from places you will be able to gather this same thing. For the earnest man becomes rich even from this, but the indolent man does not profit even from what is very manifest. For the name of Adam teaches us no small philosophy, and that of his child, and of his wife, and most of the others. For names are reminders of many things; and they show God's beneficence and women's thanksgiving; for when they conceived from the gift of God, they themselves named the children. But why are we now philosophizing about names,

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διά τοι τοῦτο καὶ μεγάλους τῆς φιλοξενίας ἐλάμβανε τοὺς μισθούς. Σὺ δὲ, εἰ βουληθείης, καὶ μείζους ἐκείνων λήψῃ. Οὐ γὰρ παιδίον μόνον δώσει σοι ὁ Θεὸς τὸν καρπὸν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὰ ἐκεῖ ἀγαθὰ καὶ γεέννης ἀπαλλαγὴν καὶ ἁμαρτημάτων συγχώρησιν· καὶ γὰρ μέγας, καὶ σφόδρα μέγας ὁ τῆς φιλοξενίας 60.667 καρπός. Οὕτω καὶ ὁ Ἰοθὸρ, καὶ ταῦτα βάρβαρος ὢν, κηδεστὴν ἔλαβε τὸν τῇ θαλάττῃ μετὰ τοσαύτης ἐπιτάξαντα τῆς ἐξουσίας· καὶ γὰρ αἱ θυγατέρες αὐτῷ τὸ καλὸν τοῦτο θήραμα ἐσαγήνευσαν. Ταῦτ' οὖν ἐννοοῦσα, καὶ τὴν ἀνδρείαν τῶν γυναικῶν ἐκείνων λογιζομένη καὶ τὴν φιλοσοφίαν, καταπάτησον τὸν παρόντα τῦφον, τὸν τῶν ἱματίων καλλωπισμὸν, τὴν τῶν χρυσίων πολυτέλειαν, τῶν μύρων τὴν ἀλοιφήν· καὶ τὸ κατακλᾶσθαι καὶ θρύπτεσθαι καὶ ῥυθμῷ βαδίζειν ἀφιεῖσα, πᾶσαν ταύτην τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν εἰς τὴν ψυχὴν εἰσάγαγε, καὶ τὸν τῶν οὐρανῶν πόθον ἄναψον ἐπὶ τῆς διανοίας. Ἂν γὰρ οὗτός σε ὁ ἔρως ἕλῃ, ὄψει τὸν βόρβορον καὶ τὸν πηλὸν, καὶ καταγελάσῃ τῶν νῦν θαυμαζομένων· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἔστι γυναῖκα πνευματικοῖς κοσμουμένην κατορθώμασιν, ἐπιζητῆσαι τὸν γέλωτα 60.668 τοῦτον. Ῥίψασα τοίνυν ταῦτα πάντα, ἃ καὶ ἀγοραίων γυναῖκες, ἃ καὶ ὀρχηστρίδες καὶ αὐλητρίδες μετὰ πολλῆς ἔχουσι τῆς φιλοτιμίας, περίθου φιλοσοφίαν, φιλοξενίαν, προστασίαν τῶν ἁγίων, κατάνυξιν, εὐχὰς συνεχεῖς. Ταῦτα χρυσῶν ἱματίων βελτίω, ταῦτα λίθων σεμνότερα καὶ περιδεῤῥαίων, ταῦτα καὶ παρ' ἀνθρώποις εὐδόκιμον ποιεῖ, καὶ παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ μέγαν φέρει σοι τὸν μισθόν. Οὗτος τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ὁ κόσμος, ἐκεῖνος τῶν θεάτρων· οὗτος τῶν οὐρανῶν ἄξιος, ἐκεῖνος ἵππων καὶ ἡμιόνων· ἐκεῖνος καὶ νεκροῖς σώμασι περιτίθεται, οὗτος ἐν ψυχῇ μόνον ἀγαθῇ λάμπει, ἐν ᾖ Χριστὸς κατοικεῖ. Τοῦτον τοίνυν κτησώμεθα τὸν κόσμον, ἵνα αἰδώμεθα πανταχοῦ καὶ ἡμεῖς, καὶ εὐαρεστήσωμεν τῷ Χριστῷ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.

ΟΜΙΛΙΑ ΛΑʹ. Ἀσπάσασθε Ἐπαίνετον τὸν ἀγαπητόν μου, ὅς ἐστιν ἀπαρχὴ τῆς Ἀχαΐας εἰς

Χριστόν. αʹ. Πολλοὺς καὶ τῶν σφόδρα δοκούντων εἶναι σπουδαίων τοῦτο τῆς ἐπιστολῆς τὸ μέρος παρατρέχειν ἡγοῦμαι, ὡς περιττὸν καὶ οὐδὲν μέγα ἔχον· καὶ τοῦτο αὐτὸ καὶ ἐν τῇ γενεαλογίᾳ τῇ ἐν τῷ Εὐαγγελίῳ κειμένῃ πάσχειν αὐτοὺς νομίζω· ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ὀνομάτων ἐστὶ κατάλογος, οὐδὲν μέγα οἴονται ἐντεῦθεν κερδαίνειν. Καὶ οἱ μὲν τῶν χρυσοχόων παῖδες καὶ τὰ μικρὰ ψήγματα περιεργάζονται, οὗτοι δὲ καὶ μάζας χρυσίου τοσαύτας παρατρέχουσιν. Ἵν' οὖν μὴ τοῦτο πάσχωσιν, ἱκανὰ μὲν καὶ τὰ εἰρημένα ταύτης ἀπαγαγεῖν τῆς ῥᾳθυμίας αὐτούς. Ὅτι γὰρ οὐ μικρὸν καὶ ἐντεῦθεν κέρδος, ἐδείξαμεν καὶ ἐκ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν εἰρημένων, τὴν ψυχὴν ὑμῶν ἀναστήσαντες διὰ τῶν προσρήσεων τούτων· πειρασώμεθα δὲ καὶ σήμερον τὸ αὐτὸ πάλιν τοῦτο μεταλλεῦσαι τὸ χωρίον. Ἔστι γὰρ καὶ ἀπὸ ὀνομάτων ψιλῶν μέγαν εὑρεῖν θησαυρόν. Ἐὰν γοῦν μάθῃς διὰ τί Ἀβραὰμ ἐκλήθη, διὰ τί Σάῤῥα, διὰ τί Ἰσραὴλ, διὰ τί Σαμουὴλ, πολλῶν πραγμάτων καὶ ἐντεῦθεν ἱστορίας εὑρήσεις. Καὶ ἀπὸ καιρῶν δὲ καὶ ἀπὸ τόπων τὸ αὐτὸ τοῦτο δυνήσῃ συναγαγεῖν. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ σπουδαῖος καὶ ἐντεῦθεν πλουτεῖ, ὁ δὲ ἀναπεπτωκὼς οὐδὲ ἀπὸ τῶν σφόδρα καταδήλων κερδαίνει. Καὶ γὰρ τοῦ Ἀδὰμ τὸ ὄνομα οὐ μικρὸν ἡμᾶς παιδεύει φιλοσοφίας, καὶ τὸ τοῦ παιδὸς ἐκείνου, καὶ τῆς γυναικὸς αὐτῆς, καὶ τῶν ἄλλων τὰ πλείω. Πολλῶν γάρ ἐστι πραγμάτων ὑπομνήματα τὰ ὀνόματα· καὶ Θεοῦ εὐεργεσίαν καὶ γυναικῶν δείκνυσιν εὐχαριστίαν· συλλαμβάνουσαι γὰρ ἀπὸ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ δωρεᾶς, τὰ παιδία ὠνόμαζον αὗται. Ἀλλὰ τί νῦν περὶ ὀνομάτων φιλοσοφοῦμεν,