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of those so disposed. For that fear was of weakness, hear Paul, both praying for this and rejoicing, as when he says: "To depart, and to be with Christ, is far better;" and again: "I rejoice and rejoice with you all; and you also rejoice and rejoice with me;" but grieving at the opposite: "For not only so," he says, "but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body;" and again: "For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened." 3. Do you see how good a thing philosophy is? What seems to others to be worthy of tears, to this man is worthy of prayer; and what to others is worthy of gladness and pleasure, to this man is worthy of groans. Or is it not worthy of groans to be in a foreign land, and to be settled far from our own fatherland? Or is it not worthy of gladness to run quickly to the fair haven, and to receive the city above, where pain, and sorrow, and groaning have fled away? "And what is that to me," he says, "a sinner?" Do you see that it is not death that causes the grief, but an evil conscience? Cease therefore from being a sinner, and death will be desirable to you. "My eyes from tears." He said this with good reason; for there is no sorrow there, nor despondency, nor lamentation. "And my feet from slipping." This is greater than the former. How? Because we are not only freed from grief, but also from being tripped up and plotted against. For he who has departed with good works stands upon the rock; he has taken hold of the harbor; all hindrances are now removed; there is no turmoil anywhere, nor confusion; but he who has thus 55.319 departed hence abides in continual acceptance. "I will please the Lord in the land of the living." Another, "Before the Lord." Another, "I will walk about." This Paul also shows, saying: "And we shall be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord." And well did he say, "In the land of the living." For that is truly life, freed from death, having unmixed good things. "When He shall have put down," it says, "all rule, and all authority and power, the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." And when these are destroyed, none of the grievous things remains, no care, no toil; so that all is joy, all is peace, all is love, all is cheerfulness, and all is gladness, all is true and sincere and firmly fixed; for there is none of such slippings there, no anger, no grief, no love of money, no desire for bodies, no poverty, no wealth, no dishonor, nor anything else of the sort. Let us therefore desire this life, and do all things for this purpose. For it is for this reason that we are commanded to say in the prayer, "Thy kingdom come," so that we may always look to that day. For he who is possessed by that love, and is nourished by the hopes of those good things, is overwhelmed by none of the present terrible things, is dragged down by none of the grievous things here; but just as those who journey towards a royal city are not detained by any of the things along the way, neither by meadows, nor by paradises, nor by ravines, nor by deserts, but disregarding both, they look to one thing only, the fatherland that will receive them; so also he who each day fashions that city for himself, and nourishes his longing for it, will consider none of the terrible things to be terrible, nor any of the bright and glorious things to be bright and glorious. What am I saying, he will not consider? But he will not even see these things, acquiring other eyes; such as Paul commanded, saying: "While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal." Did you see how he has represented the way with another word? Let us therefore hold fast to those things, that we may attain them, and enjoy the pure life; which may it be granted to us all to attain, by the grace and

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τῶν οὕτω διακειμένων. Ὅτι γὰρ τῆς ἀσθενείας ἦν ὁ φόβος, ἄκουσον Παύλου, καὶ εὐχομένου τοῦτο, καὶ χαίροντος, ὡς ὅταν λέγῃ· Τὸ ἀναλῦσαι, καὶ σὺν Χριστῷ εἶναι, πολλῷ μᾶλλον κρεῖττον· καὶ πάλιν· Χαίρω καὶ συγχαίρω πᾶσιν ὑμῖν· τὸ δ' αὐτὸ καὶ ὑμεῖς χαίρετε καὶ συγχαίρετέ μοι· ἐπὶ δὲ τοῖς ἐναντίοις ἀλγοῦντος· Οὐ μόνον γὰρ, φησὶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐν ἑαυτοῖς στενάζομεν, υἱοθεσίαν ἀπεκδεχόμενοι, τὴν ἀπολύτρωσιν τοῦ σώματος ἡμῶν· καὶ πάλιν· Οἱ ὄντες ἐν τῷ σκήνει τούτῳ, στενάζομεν βαρούμενοι. γʹ. Εἶδες πόσον ἐστὶ φιλοσοφία καλόν; Ἃ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἄξια δακρύων εἶναι δοκεῖ, ταῦτα τούτῳ εὐχῆς· καὶ ἃ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἄξια εὐφροσύνης καὶ ἡδονῆς, ταῦτα τούτῳ στεναγμῶν. Ἢ οὐκ ἄξια στεναγμῶν τὸ ἐπ' ἀλλοτρίας εἶναι, καὶ πόῤῥωθεν τῆς ἡμετέρας ἀπῳκίσθαι πατρίδος; Ἢ οὐκ ἄξιον εὐφροσύνης τὸ ταχέως καταδραμεῖν ἐπὶ τὸν εὔδιον λιμένα, καὶ ἀπολαβεῖν τὴν ἄνω πόλιν, ἔνθα ἀπέδρα ὀδύνη, καὶ λύπη, καὶ στεναγμός; Καὶ τί πρὸς ἐμὲ, φησὶ, τὸν ἁμαρτωλόν; Ὁρᾷς ὅτι οὐχ ὁ θάνατός ἐστιν ὁ ποιῶν τὴν λύπην, ἀλλὰ τὸ πονηρὸν συνειδός; Παῦσαι οὖν τοῦ εἶναι ἁμαρτωλὸς, καὶ ἔσται σοι ποθεινὸς ὁ θάνατος. Τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς μου ἀπὸ δακρύων. Εἰκότως οὕτως εἶπεν· οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ἐκεῖ λύπη, οὐδὲ ἀθυμία, οὐδὲ θρῆνος. Καὶ τοὺς πόδας μου ἀπὸ ὀλισθήματος. Τοῦτο τοῦ προτέρου μεῖζον. Πῶς; Ὅτι οὐ μόνον λύπης ἐσμὲν ἀπηλλαγμένοι, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦ ὑποσκελίζεσθαι καὶ ἐπιβουλεύεσθαι. Ἐπὶ τῆς πέτρας ἕστηκε γὰρ ὁ ἀπελθὼν μετὰ κατορθωμάτων· τοῦ λιμένος ἐπείληπται· πάντα ἀνῄρηται τὰ κωλύματα λοιπόν· οὐδαμοῦ θόρυβος, οὐδὲ ταραχή· ἀλλ' ἐν εὐδοκιμήσει διηνεκεῖ μένει ὁ οὕτως 55.319 ἐντεῦθεν ἀναχωρήσας. Εὐαρεστήσω ἐνώπιον Κυρίου ἐν χώρᾳ ζώντων. Ἕτερος, Ἔμπροσθεν Κυρίου. Ἄλλος, Ἐμπεριπατήσω. Τοῦτο καὶ ὁ Παῦλος δείκνυσι λέγων· Καὶ ἡμεῖς ἁρπαγησόμεθα ἐν νεφέλαις εἰς ἀπάντησιν τοῦ Κυρίου εἰς ἀέρα, καὶ οὕτω πάντοτε σὺν Κυρίῳ ἐσόμεθα. Καὶ καλῶς εἶπεν, Ἐν χώρᾳ ζώντων. Ἐκείνη γὰρ ὄντως ζωὴ, ἀπηλλαγμένη θανάτου, ἀμιγῆ τὰ ἀγαθὰ ἔχουσα. Ὅταν καταργήσῃ, φησὶ, πᾶσαν ἀρχὴν, καὶ πᾶσαν ἐξουσίαν καὶ δύναμιν, ἔσχατος ἐχθρὸς καταργεῖται ὁ θάνατος. Τούτων δὲ καταργηθέντων, οὐδὲν τῶν λυπηρῶν μένει, οὐ φροντὶς, οὐ πόνος· ὥστε πάντα χαρὰ, πάντα εἰρήνη, πάντα ἀγάπη, πάντα εὐθυμία, καὶ πάντα εὐφροσύνη, πάντα ἀληθῆ καὶ εἰλικρινῆ καὶ πεπηγότα· οὐδὲν γάρ ἐστιν ἐκεῖ τῶν τοιούτων ὀλισθημάτων, οὐ θυμὸς, οὐ λύπη, οὐ χρημάτων ἔρως, οὐ σωμάτων πόθος, οὐ πενία, οὐ πλοῦτος, οὐκ ἀτιμία, οὐκ ἄλλο τῶν τοιούτων οὐδέν. Ταύτης τοίνυν καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐπιθυμῶμεν τῆς ζωῆς, καὶ πάντα πρὸς τοῦτο πράττωμεν. ∆ιὰ γὰρ τοῦτο καὶ ἐν τῇ εὐχῇ κελευόμεθα λέγειν, Ἐλθέτω ἡ βασιλεία σου, ἵνα ἀεὶ πρὸς ἐκείνην βλέπωμεν τὴν ἡμέραν. Ὁ γὰρ ἐκείνῳ τῷ ἔρωτι κατεχόμενος, καὶ ταῖς ἐλπίσι τῶν ἀγαθῶν τρεφόμενος ἐκείνων, οὐδενὶ τῶν παρόντων βαπτίζεται δεινῶν, ὑπ' οὐδενὸς τῶν ἐνταῦθα καθέλκεται λυπηρῶν· ἀλλ' ὥσπερ οἱ πρὸς πόλιν βασιλικὴν ὁδεύοντες οὐδενὶ τῶν παρὰ τὴν ὁδὸν κατέχονται, οὔτε λειμῶσιν, οὔτε παραδείσοις, οὔτε φάραγξιν, οὔτε ἐρημίαις, ἀλλ' ἑκατέρων ἀλογοῦντες πρὸς ἓν μόνον ὁρῶσι τὴν ἐκδεξομένην αὐτοὺς πατρίδα· οὕτω καὶ ὁ καθ' ἑκάστην τὴν ἡμέραν ἐκείνην ἀναπλάττων ἑαυτῷ τὴν πόλιν, καὶ τὸν πόθον αὐτῆς τρέφων, οὐδὲν τῶν δεινῶν ἡγήσεται δεινὸν, οὐδὲ τῶν φαιδρῶν καὶ περιφανῶν φαιδρὸν καὶ περιφανές. Τί λέγω, οὐχ ἡγήσεται; Ἀλλ' οὐδὲ ὄψεται ταῦτα, ἑτέρους κτώμενος ὀφθαλμούς· τοιούτους, οἵους ὁ Παῦλος ἐκέλευε, λέγων· Μὴ σκοπούντων ἡμῶν τὰ βλεπόμενα, ἀλλὰ τὰ μὴ βλεπόμενα· τὰ γὰρ βλεπόμενα, πρόσκαιρα· τὰ δὲ μὴ βλεπόμενα, αἰώνια. Εἶδες τὴν ὁδὸν πῶς ἑτέρᾳ λέξει παρέστησεν; Ἐκείνων τοίνυν ἀντεχώμεθα, ἵνα αὐτῶν ἐπιτύχωμεν, καὶ τῆς ἀκηράτου ζωῆς ἀπολαύσωμεν· ἧς γένοιτο πάντας ἡμᾶς ἐπιτυχεῖν, χάριτι καὶ