235

he will see them to be light and very easy. Therefore Christ said: My yoke is easy, and my burden is light. And so that you may learn that these things are this way, and that the laziness of the many makes even easy things difficult, while zeal makes even difficult things very easy; when the Jews were enjoying the manna, they were discontented and prayed for death; but Paul, wrestling with hunger, rejoiced and leaped for joy. And they indeed said: Our soul is dried up with this manna. You have brought us out to 55.292 kill us, because there were no graves in Egypt. But Paul said: I rejoice in my sufferings, and I fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ. In what sufferings? In hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in all the others. In his commandments he will delight greatly. But how could this be? If we both fear and love God with exactness; if we consider the nature of virtue itself. For even before the other prizes, it has its rewards in itself. For when you do not commit adultery, nor murder, consider how much pleasure you enjoy, not being condemned by your conscience, not being ashamed before your household, looking upon all with pure eyes. But the adulterer is not such, but trembles and fears everyone, and is suspicious even of the shadows, 2. Again, the greedy and the envious man will suffer the same things. But he who is freed from these things, the opposite. His seed shall be mighty upon the earth. Scripture often knows to speak of seed not as that which is born according to the succession of nature, but that which is according to the fellowship of virtue. Therefore Paul also, interpreting the saying, To you I will give this land and to your seed, said: For not all who are from Israel, are Israel; nor because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children; but, In Isaac shall your seed be called. And again, In your seed shall all the nations be blessed. For that it is not spoken concerning the Jews, the facts declare; for being themselves full of a curse, how could they be the cause of blessings to others? but it speaks concerning the Church, which according to the fellowship of faith is called his seed. Such, then, are the virtuous, and the children of those who fear God. His seed shall be mighty upon the earth. Why did he say, Upon the earth? To show that it is even before the departure from hence, and before the experience of the good things there. For as I have already said, virtue possesses its reward in itself even before the prizes. For that such a one had a mighty seed, and that he who is clothed with virtue is mightier than all, the apostles taught, the prophets showed. Likewise also the Lord, showing this, says: Whoever hears my words, and does them, will be like a wise man, who built his house upon the rock; and the rain came down, and the rivers came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it did not fall; for it was founded upon the rock. How many uprisings of peoples, how many rages of tyrants, how many swords, how many spears, how many arrows, how many furnaces, how many teeth of beasts, how many cliffs, how many seas, how many plots, how many slanders, how many schemes were raised against the apostles! but nevertheless nothing tripped them up, but they became higher than all these things, flying above the reeds of those who plotted against them, and transferring the plotters into their own rank. For nothing is mightier than virtue; it is more solid than rock, and stronger than adamant; just as, therefore, nothing is more worthless than wickedness, nor weaker, even if someone is clothed in ten thousand 55.293 possessions, even if he has great external power. If on earth there is such strength, consider how much power such people will enjoy in the heavens. The generation of the upright will be blessed. Have you seen it shining brightly, and having countless heralds and praisers and admirers?

235

κοῦφα καὶ ῥᾷστα αὐτὰ ὄψεται ὄντα. ∆ιὸ ὁ Χριστὸς ἔλεγεν· Ὁ ζυγός μου χρηστὸς, καὶ τὸ φορτίον μου ἐλαφρόν ἐστι. Καὶ ἵνα μάθῃς, ὅτι ταῦτα τοῦτον ἔχει τὸν τρόπον, καὶ ἡ ῥᾳθυμία τῶν πολλῶν καὶ τὰ εὔκολα δύσκολα ἀποφαίνει, ἡ δὲ σπουδὴ καὶ τὰ δύσκολα ῥᾷστα· ὅτε τοῦ μάννα ἀπήλαυον οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι, καὶ ἐδυσχέραινον καὶ θάνατον ηὔχοντο· λιμῷ δὲ παλαίων ὁ Παῦλος ἔχαιρε, καὶ ἐσκίρτα. Κἀκεῖνοι μὲν ἔλεγον· Ἡ ψυχὴ ἡμῶν κατάκενος ἐπὶ τῷ μάννα. Ἐξήγαγες ἡμᾶς ἀπο 55.292 κτεῖναι παρὰ τὸ μὴ εἶναι μνήματα ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ. Ὁ δὲ Παῦλος ἔλεγε· Χαίρω ἐν τοῖς παθήμασί μου, καὶ ἀνταναπληρῶ τὰ ὑστερήματα τῶν θλίψεων τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἐν τῇ σαρκί μου. Ποίοις παθήμασι; Τῷ λιμῷ, τῇ δίψῃ, τῇ γυμνότητι, καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἅπασιν. Ἐν ταῖς ἐντολαῖς αὐτοῦ θελήσει σφόδρα. Πῶς δ' ἂν τοῦτο γένοιτο; Ἂν μετὰ ἀκριβείας καὶ φοβώμεθα καὶ ἀγαπῶμεν τὸν Θεόν· ἂν ἐννοῶμεν αὐτῆς τῆς ἀρετῆς τὴν φύσιν. Καὶ γὰρ πρὸ τῶν ἄλλων ἐπάθλων ἐν ἑαυτῇ τὰς ἀμοιβὰς ἔχει. Ὅταν γὰρ μὴ μοιχεύῃς, μηδὲ φονεύῃς, ἐννόησον ὅσης ἀπολαύσῃ τῆς ἡδονῆς, μὴ καταγινωσκόμενος ὑπὸ τοῦ συνειδότος, μὴ τοὺς οἰκείους αἰσχυνόμενος, καθαροῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς πρὸς ἅπαντας βλέπων. Ἀλλ' οὐχ ὁ μοιχὸς τοιοῦτος, ἀλλὰ πάντας τρέμει καὶ δέδοικε, καὶ αὐτὰς τὰς σκιὰς ὑφορᾶται, βʹ. Πάλιν ὁ πλεονέκτης καὶ βάσκανος τὰ αὐτὰ πείσεται. Ὁ δὲ τούτων ἀπηλλαγμένος τὰ ἐναντία. ∆υνατὸν ἐν τῇ γῇ ἔσται τὸ σπέρμα αὐτοῦ. Σπέρμα οἶδε πολλάκις ἡ Γραφὴ λέγειν οὐ τὸ κατὰ φύσεως ἀκολουθίαν τικτόμενον, ἀλλὰ τὸ κατὰ κοινωνίαν ἀρετῆς. ∆ιὸ καὶ Παῦλος ἑρμηνεύων τὸ, Σοὶ δώσω τὴν γῆν ταύτην καὶ τῷ σπέρματί σου, ἔλεγεν· Οὐ γὰρ πάντες οἱ ἐξ Ἰσραὴλ, οὗτοι Ἰσραήλ· οὐδ' ὅτι σπέρμα Ἀβραὰμ, πάντες τέκνα· ἀλλ' ἐν Ἰσαὰκ κληθήσεταί σοι σπέρμα. Καὶ πάλιν, Ἐν τῷ σπέρματί σου εὐλογηθήσονται πάντα τὰ ἔθνη. Ὅτι γὰρ οὐ περὶ Ἰουδαίων εἴρηται, τὰ πράγματα δηλοῖ· οἱ γὰρ αὐτοὶ κατάρας γέμοντες, πῶς ἂν ἄλλοις εὐλογίας γένοιντο αἴτιοι; ἀλλὰ περὶ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας φησὶ, τῆς κατὰ τὴν κοινωνίαν τῆς πίστεως σπέρμα χρηματιζούσης αὐτῷ. Τοιοῦτοι τοίνυν οἱ ἐνάρετοι, καὶ τὸν Θεὸν φοβουμένων παῖδες ∆υνατὸν ἐν τῇ γῇ τὸ σπέρμα αὐτοῦ. ∆ιὰ τί εἶπεν, Ἐν τῇ γῇ; Ἵνα δείξῃ, ὅτι καὶ πρὸ τῆς ἐντεῦθεν ἀποδημίας, καὶ πρὸ τῆς πείρας τῶν ἀγαθῶν τῶν ἐκεῖ. Ὅπερ γὰρ ἔφθην εἰπὼν, ἐν ἑαυτῇ τὴν ἀμοιβὴν ἡ ἀρετὴ κέκτηται καὶ πρὸ τῶν ἐπάθλων. Ὅτι γὰρ ὁ τοιοῦτος σπέρμα δυνατὸν ἔσχε, καὶ ὁ ἀρετὴν περιβεβλημένος πάντων ἐστὶ δυνατώτερος, ἐδίδαξαν οἱ ἀπόστολοι, ἔδειξαν οἱ προφῆται. Ὁμοίως καὶ ὁ Κύριος περὶ τούτων ἐμφαίνων, φησίν· Ὅστις ἀκούει μου τοὺς λόγους, καὶ ποιεῖ αὐτοὺς, ὁμοιωθήσεται ἀνδρὶ φρονίμῳ, ὅστις ᾠκοδόμησε τὴν οἰκίαν αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν· καὶ κατέβη ἡ βροχὴ, καὶ ἦλθον οἱ ποταμοὶ, καὶ ἔπνευσαν οἱ ἄνεμοι, καὶ προσέπεσον τῇ οἰκίᾳ ἐκείνῃ, καὶ οὐκ ἔπεσε· τεθεμελίωτο γὰρ ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν. Πόσαι δήμων ἐπαναστάσεις, πόσοι τυράννων θυμοὶ, πόσα ξίφη, πόσα δόρατα, πόσα βέλη, πόσαι κάμινοι, πόσοι θηρίων ὀδόντες, πόσοι κρημνοὶ, πόσα πελάγη, πόσαι ἐπιβουλαὶ, πόσαι συκοφαντίαι, πόσα μηχανήματα κατὰ τῶν ἀποστόλων ᾔρετο! ἀλλ' ὅμως οὐδὲν αὐτοὺς ὑπεσκέλισεν, ἀλλὰ πάντων ὑψηλότεροι τούτων ἐγένοντο, ὑπὲρ τοὺς καλάμους τῶν ἐπιβουλευόντων πετόμενοι, καὶ τοὺς ἐπιβουλεύοντας εἰς τὴν ἑαυτῶν μετατιθέντες τάξιν. Οὐδὲν γὰρ ἀρετῆς δυνατώτερον· αὕτη καὶ πέτρας στεῤῥοτέρα, καὶ ἀδάμαντος ἰσχυροτέρα· ὥσπερ οὖν κακίας οὐδὲν εὐτελέστερον, οὐδὲ ἀσθενέστερον, κἂν μυρία τις ᾖ περιβεβλημένος χρή 55.293 ματα, κἂν πολλὴν ἔξωθεν ἔχων δυναστείαν. Εἰ δὲ ἐν τῇ γῇ τοσαύτη ἡ ἰσχὺς, ἐννόησον, ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς πόσης ἀπολαύσονται τῆς δυνάμεως οἱ τοιοῦτοι. Γενεὰ εὐθέων εὐλογηθήσεται. Εἶδες αὐτὴν διαλάμπουσαν, καὶ μυρίους κήρυκας καὶ ἐπαινέτας ἔχουσαν καὶ θαυμαστάς;