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raving? Away with the thought! but when He has shown what is His own, then He will do those things also. For this He signified by saying, Till He send forth judgment unto victory; and in His name shall the Gentiles hope; just as Paul also says, Being ready to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled. And what is, When He shall send forth judgment unto victory? When He has fulfilled all things on His part, He says, then He will also bring vengeance, and a perfect vengeance. Then they will suffer terrible things, when the trophy stands glorious, and His judgments have conquered, and not even a shameless pretext for contradiction is left to them. For He knows to call righteousness judgment. But the things of the economy will not stop at this, in the punishment of the unbelievers alone; but He will also draw the whole world to Himself. Therefore He added, And in His name shall the Gentiles hope. Then, that you may learn that this also is according to the Father's will, in the preface the prophet also vouched for this with the things before, saying, My beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased. For it is evident that the beloved was doing these things also according to the will of Him who loved Him. Then they brought to Him one possessed with a demon, blind and dumb: and He healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spoke and saw. 3. O wickedness of the demon! He had blocked up both entrances by which he was to believe, both sight and hearing; but yet Christ opened both. And the crowds were amazed, saying, Is not this the son of David? 57.442 But the Pharisees said, This man does not cast out demons, except by Beelzebub the prince of the demons. And yet what a great thing did they utter? But yet they did not bear even this; so, as I said before, they are always stung by the good deeds of their neighbors, and nothing grieves them so much as the salvation of men. And yet He both withdrew, and gave respite to their passion; but again the evil was kindled, since again a good deed was done; and they were more indignant than the demon. For that one both departed from the body, and withdrew, and fled, uttering nothing; but these now tried to destroy Him, now to slander Him. For since that did not succeed, they wanted to damage His reputation. Such is envy, than which no evil could be worse. For the adulterer at least reaps some pleasure, and in a short time completes his sin; but the envious man punishes and chastises himself before the one who is envied, and never ceases from sin, but is continually in the act of it. For just as a pig delights in mire, and demons in our harm; so also this man rejoices in the misfortunes of his neighbor; and if anything unpleasant happens, then he rests and breathes again, considering others' misfortunes his own good cheer, and the good things of others his own evils; and he does not consider what would be pleasant for himself, but what is grievous to his neighbor. Is it not right, then, to stone and beat these men to death, as rabid dogs, as avenging demons, as the very Furies? For just as beetles are nourished by dung, so also are these men by the misfortunes of others, being certain common enemies and foes of nature. And while others pity even an irrational animal being slaughtered; do you, seeing a man receiving a benefit, become savage and tremble and turn pale? And what could be worse than this madness? For this very reason, fornicators and tax collectors were able to enter the kingdom; but the envious, being inside, went out. For the sons of the kingdom, it says, will be cast out. And those, having been freed from the wickedness at hand, obtained what they never expected; but these lost even the good things they had; and very reasonably so. For this makes a man a devil; this fashions him into a savage demon. Thus the first murder happened; thus nature was ignored; thus the earth was polluted; thus after this, opening its mouth, it received alive and destroyed Dathan and Korah and Abiram, and all that people. But to accuse envy, one might say, is easy; but one must also consider how they will be freed from the disease. How then shall we be freed from this wickedness? If we consider, that just as to the

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μαινομένους; Ἄπαγε· ἀλλ' ὅταν τὰ αὐτοῦ ἐπιδείξηται, τότε καὶ ἐκεῖνα ἐργάσεται. Τοῦτο γὰρ ἐδήλωσεν εἰπών· Ἕως ἂν ἐκβάλῃ εἰς νῖκος τὴν κρίσιν· καὶ τῷ ὀνόματι αὐτοῦ ἔθνη ἐλπιοῦσι· καθάπερ καὶ ὁ Παῦλός φησιν· Ἕτοιμοι ὄντες ἐκδικῆσαι πᾶσαν παρακοὴν, ὅταν πληρωθῇ ὑμῶν ἡ ὑπακοή. Τί δέ ἐστιν, Ὅταν ἐκβάλῃ εἰς νῖκος τὴν κρίσιν; Ὅταν τὰ παρ' ἑαυτοῦ πάντα πληρώσῃ, φησὶ, τότε καὶ τὴν ἐκδίκησιν ἐπάξει, καὶ ἐκδίκησιν τελείαν. Τότε τὰ δεινὰ πείσονται, ὅταν λαμπρὸν στῇ τὸ τρόπαιον, καὶ νικήσῃ τὰ παρ' αὐτοῦ δικαιώματα, καὶ μηδὲ ἀναίσχυντον αὐτοῖς καταλίπῃ ἀντιλογίας πρόφασιν. Οἶδε γὰρ κρίσιν τὴν δικαιοσύνην λέγειν. Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐν τούτῳ στήσεται τὰ τῆς οἰκονομίας, ἐν τῷ κολασθῆναι τοὺς ἀπιστήσαντας μόνον· ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν οἰκουμένην ἐπισπάσεται. ∆ιὸ καὶ ἐπήγαγε· Καὶ τῷ ὀνόματι αὐτοῦ ἔθνη ἐλπιοῦσιν. Εἶτα ἵνα μάθῃς, ὅτι καὶ τοῦτο κατὰ γνώμην ἐστὶ τοῦ Πατρὸς, ἐν τῷ προοιμίῳ ὁ προφήτης καὶ τοῦτο μετὰ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν ἐνεγγυήσατο, εἰπών· Ὁ ἀγαπητός μου, εἰς ὂν εὐδόκησεν ἡ ψυχή μου. Ὁ γὰρ ἀγαπητὸς εὔδηλον ὅτι κατὰ γνώμην τοῦ φιλουμένου καὶ ταῦτα ἐποίει. Τότε προσήνεγκαν αὐτῷ δαιμονιζόμενον, τυφλὸν καὶ κωφὸν καὶ ἐθεράπευσεν αὐτὸν, ὥστε τὸν τυφλὸν καὶ κωφὸν καὶ λαλεῖν καὶ βλέπειν. γʹ. Ὦ πονηρία δαίμονος! Ἑκατέραν εἴσοδον ἐνέφραξε, δι' ἧς ἔμελλε πιστεύειν ἐκεῖνος, καὶ ὄψιν καὶ ἀκοήν· ἀλλ' ὅμως ἑκατέρας ὁ Χριστὸς ἀνέῳξε. Καὶ ἐξίσταντο οἱ ὄχλοι λέγοντες· Μήτι οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ υἱὸς ∆αυΐδ; 57.442 Οἱ δὲ Φαρισαῖοι εἶπον· Οὗτος οὐκ ἐκβάλλει τὰ δαιμόνια, εἰ μὴ ἐν τῷ Βεελζεβοὺλ ἄρχοντι τῶν δαιμονίων. Καίτοι τί μέγα ἐφθέγξαντο; Ἀλλ' ὅμως οὐδὲ τοῦτο ἤνεγκαν· οὕτως, ὅπερ ἔφθην εἰπὼν, ἀεὶ ταῖς τῶν πλησίον δάκνονται εὐεργεσίαις, καὶ οὐδὲν αὐτοὺς οὕτω λυπεῖ ὡς ἡ τῶν ἀνθρώπων σωτηρία. Καίτοι καὶ ἀνεχώρησε, καὶ λωφῆσαι ἔδωκε τῷ πάθει· ἀλλὰ πάλιν ἀνήπτετο τὸ κακὸν, ἐπειδὴ πάλιν εὐεργεσία ἐγένετο· καὶ μᾶλλον τοῦ δαίμονος ἠγανάκτουν. Ἐκεῖνος μὲν γὰρ καὶ ἐξίστατο τοῦ σώματος, καὶ ἀνεχώρει, καὶ ἐδραπέτευε, μηδὲν φθεγγόμενος· οὗτοι δὲ νῦν μὲν ἀνελεῖν ἐπεχείρουν, νῦν δὲ διαβάλλειν. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἐκεῖνο οὐ προεχώρει, τὴν δόξαν ἤθελον βλάψαι. Τοιοῦτον ἡ βασκανία, ἧς οὐκ ἂν γένοιτο κακία χείρων. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ μοιχὸς κἂν ἡδονὴν καρποῦταί τινα, καὶ ἐν βραχεῖ χρόνῳ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἀπαρτίζει τὴν ἑαυτοῦ· ὁ δὲ βάσκανος πρὸ τοῦ φθονουμένου ἑαυτὸν κολάζει καὶ τιμωρεῖται, καὶ οὐδέποτε παύεται τῆς ἁμαρτίας, ἀλλ' ἐν τῷ πράττειν αὐτήν ἐστι διηνεκῶς. Καθάπερ γὰρ χοῖρος βορβόρῳ, καὶ δαίμονες βλάβῃ τῇ ἡμετέρᾳ· οὕτω καὶ οὗτος τοῖς τοῦ πλησίον χαίρει κακοῖς· κἂν γένηταί τι ἀηδὲς, τότε ἀναπαύεται καὶ ἀναπνεῖ, τὰς ἀλλοτρίας συμφορὰς οἰκείας εὐθυμίας ἡγούμενος, καὶ οἰκεῖα κακὰ τὰ τῶν ἄλλων ἀγαθά· καὶ οὐ σκοπεῖ τί ἂν αὐτῷ γένοιτο ἡδὺ, ἀλλὰ τί τῷ πλησίον λυπηρόν. Τούτους οὖν οὐ καταλεύειν καὶ ἀποτυμπανίζειν ἄξιον, ὡς κύνας λυττῶντας, ὡς δαίμονας ἀλάστορας, ὡς αὐτὰς τὰς ἐρινῦς; Καθάπερ γὰρ οἱ κάνθαροι τρέφονται τῇ κόπρῳ, οὕτω καὶ οὗτοι ταῖς ἑτέρων δυσημερίαις, κοινοί τινες ἐχθροὶ καὶ πολέμιοι τῆς φύσεως ὄντες. Καὶ οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι ἄλογον σφαττόμενον ἐλεοῦσι· σὺ δὲ ἄνθρωπον ὁρῶν εὐεργετούμενον, ἐκθηριοῦσαι καὶ τρέμεις καὶ ὠχριᾷς; Καὶ τί ταύτης τῆς μανίας χεῖρον γένοιτ' ἄν; ∆ιά τοι τοῦτο πόρνοι μὲν καὶ τελῶναι εἰς βασιλείαν ἠδυνήθησαν εἰσελθεῖν· οἱ δὲ βάσκανοι ἔνδον ὄντες, ἐξῆλθον. Οἱ γὰρ υἱοὶ τῆς βασιλείας, φησὶν, ἔξω βληθήσονται. Κἀκεῖνοι μὲν τῆς ἐν χερσὶν ἀπαλλαγέντες πονηρίας, ὧν οὐδέποτε προσεδόκησαν ἐπέτυχον· οὗτοι δὲ καὶ ἃ εἶχον ἀγαθὰ ἀπώλεσαν· καὶ μάλα εἰκότως. Τοῦτο γὰρ διάβολον ἐξ ἀνθρώπου ποιεῖ· τοῦτο δαίμονα ἄγριον ἀπεργάζεται. Οὕτως ὁ πρῶτος φόνος ἐγένετο· οὕτως ἡ φύσις ἠγνοήθη· οὕτως ἡ γῆ ἐμολύνθη· οὕτω μετὰ ταῦτα τὸ στόμα ἀνοίξασα ζῶντας ὑπεδέξατο καὶ ἀπώλεσε τοὺς περὶ ∆αθὰν καὶ Κορὲ καὶ Ἀβειρὼν, καὶ τὸν δῆμον ἐκεῖνον ἅπαντα. Ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν κατηγορεῖν βασκανίας εἴποι τις ἂν ῥᾴδιον εἶναι· δεῖ δὲ σκοπεῖν καὶ ὅπως ἀπαλλαγήσονται τοῦ νοσήματος. Πῶς οὖν ἀπαλλαγησόμεθα τῆς πονηρίας ταύτης; Ἂν ἐννοήσωμεν, ὅτι ὥσπερ τῷ