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of a foul purpose and an insensitive mind, that having forsaken the ineffable and incorruptible things of sight, I consider and ponder earthly things! Will a king not die? Will glory not pass away? Will wealth not be scattered like dust by the wind? Will not bodies decay in tombs and others will rule over the possessions on earth, and after them others, and from them still others? And whose, tell me, O soul, has the wealth become, and who in the world had the strength to gain some small thing, so that both living and dead he might take it with him? Certainly you will by no means manage to show me anyone, except the merciful, those who have acquired nothing, but give everything into the hands of the poor. For they securely possess what was given, from the moment they gave it into the hands of the Lord; but all the others are as poor and worse than all the poor, those who have stored-up wealth; for naked like corpses they are thrown into tombs, wretched in present things and strangers to future things. What then, my soul, seeing good in them, do you delight? And which of these do you judge worthy to be desired? Certainly you have nothing to say, certainly you do not answer. Woe to those who have treasured-up wealth, woe to those who wish to receive glory from men, woe to those who attach themselves to the rich (350) and do not desire only the glory of God and His wealth and to be with Him, because the world is vain, and all things in the world will be vanities, all things are vanity. Therefore they will also pass away, but God alone will be eternal and incorruptible, remaining forever, and with Him will be those who now seek Him, those who have loved only Him instead of all things. Woe then to those who now love the world, because they will be condemned in it for ages. Woe, soul, to those who desire the glory of men, because they are deprived of the glory of God. Woe, soul, to those who have gathered wealth, because there they will long to receive a drop. Woe, soul, to those who have hope in man, because he himself will die and with him his hopes,

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προθέσεώς τε ῥυπαρᾶς καί ἀναισθήτου γνώμης, ὅτι λιπών τά ἄρρητα καί ἄφθαρτα τοῦ βλέπειν τά ἐπί γῆς λογίζομαι καί ταῦτα ἐνθυμοῦμαι! Οὐ τελευτήσει βασιλεύς; Οὐχί παρέλθει δόξα; Οὐ πλοῦτος σκορπισθήσεται ὥσπερ χνοῦς ὑπ᾿ ἀνέμου; Οὐχί διαφθαρήσεται τά σώματα ἐν τάφοις καί ἄλλοι κυριεύσουσι τῶν ἐν τῇ γῇ χρημάτων καί μετ᾿ ἐκείνους ἕτεροι καί ἀπ᾿ἐκείνων ἄλλοι; Καί τίνος, λέγε μοι, ψυχή, ὀ πλοῦτος ἐγεγόνει, τίς δέ ἐν κόσμῳ ἴσχυσε μικρόν κερδῆσαι πρᾶγμα, ἵν᾿ ὥσπερ ζῶν τε καί θανῶν μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ τοῦτο λάβῃ; Πάντως οὐδένα οὐδαμῶς δεῖξαί μοι εὐπορήσεις, εἰ μή τούς ἐλεήμονας, τούς μηδέν κτησαμένους, ἀλλά τά πάντα ἐν χερσί τῶν πενήτων διδόντας. Ἐκεῖνοι γάρ καί ἔχουσιν ἀσφαλῶς τά δοθέντα, ἀφ᾿ οὗπερ καί δεδωκάσιν εἰς χεῖρας τοῦ ∆εσπότου˙ οἱ δ᾿ ἄλλοι πάντες ὡς πτωχοί καί πτωχῶν πάντων χείρους ὑπάρχουσιν, οἱ ἔχοντες ἀποκείμενον πλοῦτον˙ γυμνοί γάρ ὥσπερ πτώματα ῥίπτονται ἐν τοῖς τάφοις καί τῶν παρόντων ἄθλιοι καί τῶν μελλόντων ξένοι. Τί οὖν, ψυχή μου, ἐν αὐτοῖς καλόν ὁρῶσα τέρπῃ; Ποῖον δέ τούτων ἄξιον κρίνεις ἐπιθυμεῖσθαι; Πάντως οὐκ ἔχεις τί εἰπεῖν, πάντως οὐκ ἀποκρίνῃ. Οὐαί τοῖς πλοῦτον ἔχουσιν ἐκτεθησαυρισμένον, οὐαί τοῖς δόξαν θέλουσι λαμβάνειν ἐξ ἀνθρώπων, οὐαί τοῖς παρενείρουσιν ἑαυτούς τοῖς πλουσίοις (350) καί μή τήν δόξαν τοῦ Θεοῦ καί τόν ἐκείνου πλοῦτον καί τό συνεῖναι μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ μόνον ἐπιθυμοῦσιν, ὅτι ὁ κόσμος μάταιος, τά δ᾿ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ πάντα ματαιοτήτων ἔσονται, τά πάντα ματαιότης. ∆ιό καί παρελεύσονται, Θεός δέ ἔσται μόνος αἰώνιος καί ἄφθαρτος εἰς ἀεί διαμένων, καί σύν αὐτῷ δέ ἔσονται οἱ νῦν αὐτόν ζητοῦντες, οἱ μόνον ἀγαπήσαντες ἐκεῖνον ἀντί πάντων. Οὐαί δέ τότε τοῖς νυνί τόν κόσμον ἀγαπῶσιν, ὅτι κατακριθήσονται ἐν αὐτῷ εἰς αἰῶνας. Οὐαί, ψυχή, τοῖς θέλουσι τήν δόξαν τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ὅτι τῆς δόξης τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀποστεροῦνται. Οὐαί, ψυχή, τοῖς ἔχουσι τόν πλοῦτον συνηγμένον, ὅτι ἐπιθυμήσουσιν ἐκεῖ τυχεῖν ῥανίδος. Οὐαί, ψυχή, τοῖς ἔχουσιν ἐπ᾿ ἄνθρωπον ἐλπίδα, ὅτι αὐτός τεθνήξεται καί σύν αὐτῷ ἐλπίδες,