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having a conscience both toward God and men. For this is perfect virtue, when we give no handles to men, and are zealous to be without offense before God. Of which I cried out, he says, in the council. And he shows their violence by saying, "I cried out," as if he were saying: They cannot say that, "Under the pretext of alms-giving you did these things"; for I did not do this with a crowd or with tumult; besides, even when an examination was made concerning this, nothing more was found. Did you see his gentleness, when dangers were present? Did you see his fair-speaking tongue, and how he seeks only one thing, to clear himself, not to involve them in accusations, unless he were compelled to it somewhere, while making his defense? Just as Christ also said: "I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father; but you dishonor Me." Let us also imitate him, since he himself was an imitator of Christ. 60.348 If he said nothing harsh to those who had gone as far as murder and slaughter, what pardon would we be worthy of, when we become like wild beasts in reviling and insults, calling our enemies defiled and utterly defiled? And what defense will we have for having enemies at all? Do you not hear that he who honors, honors himself? But we insult ourselves. You complain that you were insulted; why then do you fall into the same accusation? Why do you surround yourself with a blow? Remain impassive, remain unwounded; lest, wishing to strike another, you envelop yourself in the evil. For is the other disturbance of the soul, which is stirred when nothing stirs it, not enough for us; such as, misplaced desires, sorrows and discouragements and all such things; but we also pile up others. And how is it possible to bear being insulted, he says? But how is it not possible, tell me? Is a wound produced in us from the words? Bruises on our bodies? What harm, then, is done to us? So, if we wish, we are able to bear it. Let us set a law for ourselves not to be pained, and we will bear it; let us say to ourselves: "It is not of enmity, it is of weakness"; for it is truly of weakness; since, that it is not of enmity nor of malice, he too wished to restrain it, even though he had been wronged in countless ways. If we understand this alone, that it is of weakness, we will bear it, and we will forgive him, and we will try not to fall into it ourselves. Since I ask all who are present: if you were willing, would you be able to philosophize in such a way as to bear those who insult you? I for one think so. Therefore he insulted you unwillingly and not intentionally, but compelled by his passion; hold back. Do you not see those who are possessed by demons? Just as that one endures this not so much from enmity as from weakness; so we too are moved not by the nature of the insults, so much as by ourselves; since how do we bear the same insults from madmen? Again, if those who insult us are friends or even superiors, we also bear it in this way; how then is it not absurd, when it comes from these three, friends and madmen and superiors, to bear it, but not to bear it from equals or even inferiors? I have often said: the matter is a certain inclination and seizure; let us endure for a little while, and we will have accomplished everything. The greater the insults he hurls, the weaker he is. Do you know when one ought to be pained? When after we have insulted, that person keeps silent; for then he is strong, but we are weak. But if the opposite happens, one should even rejoice; you have been crowned, you have been proclaimed victor; not having been brought down into a contest, nor having borne the burden of sun and ray and dust, nor having grappled and given holds, but by merely willing it, and while sitting or standing, you have received the great crown; and not simply great, but much greater than those; for it is not the same to throw an opposing enemy, and to overcome the darts of anger. You have conquered without even giving a hold, you have cast down the passion within you, you have slain the beast that was stirred up, and you have muzzled raging anger, like some excellent shepherd; the battle was about to be a civil one, the war a domestic one. For just as those who sit down before a wall and besiege it from the outside, involve it in civil wars, and then they prevail; so also the one who insults, if he does not awaken the passion within us, will not be able to prevail; if we do not set ourselves on fire, he has no strength at all. 60.349 Let it be from

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συνείδησιν ἔχων πρός τε τὸν Θεὸν καὶ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους. Ἡ τελεία γὰρ αὕτη ἀρετὴ, ὅταν μηδὲ ἀνθρώποις διδῶμεν λαβὰς, καὶ παρὰ Θεῷ σπουδάζωμεν εἶναι ἀπρόσκοποι. Ἧς ἐκέκραξα, φησὶν, ἐν τῷ συνεδρίῳ. Καὶ τὴν βίαν αὐτῶν δηλοῖ ἐκ τοῦ εἰπεῖν, Ἐκέκραξα, ὡσανεὶ ἔλεγεν· Οὐκ ἔχουσιν εἰπεῖν, ὅτι Προσχήματι ἐλεημοσύνης ταῦτα ἐποίεις· οὐ γὰρ μετὰ ὄχλου οὐδὲ μετὰ θορύβου τοῦτο ἐποίουν· ἄλλως τε, καὶ ἐξετάσεως γενομένης περὶ τούτου, οὐδὲν πλέον εὑρίσκετο. Εἶδες ἐπιείκειαν, κινδύνων ὄντων; εἶδες εὔφημον γλῶτταν, καὶ πῶς ἓν ζητεῖ μόνον ἀπολύσασθαι τὰ ἑαυτοῦ, οὐχὶ κἀκείνους ἐγκλήμασι περιβαλεῖν, πλὴν εἴ που ἀναγκάζοιτο, ἀπολογούμενος; ὥσπερ καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς ἔλεγεν· Ἐγὼ δαιμόνιον οὐκ ἔχω, ἀλλὰ τιμῶ τὸν Πατέρα μου· ὑμεῖς δὲ ἀτιμάζετέ με. Τοῦτον μιμώμεθα καὶ ἡμεῖς, ἐπειδὴ καὶ αὐτὸς Χριστοῦ μιμητὴς 60.348 ἦν. Εἰ τοῖς μέχρι φόνου καὶ σφαγῆς χωρήσασιν οὐδὲν εἶπεν ἐκεῖνος ἐπαχθὲς, τίνος ἂν εἴημεν ἡμεῖς συγγνώμης ἄξιοι, ἐν λοιδορίᾳ καὶ ὕβρεσιν ἐκθηριούμενοι, μιαροὺς καὶ παμμιάρους ἀποκαλοῦντες τοὺς ἐχθροὺς τοὺς ἡμετέρους; τίνα δὲ ἀπολογίαν ἕξομεν ἐχθροὺς ὅλως ἔχοντες; Οὐκ ἀκούεις, ὅτι ὁ τιμῶν, ἑαυτὸν τιμᾷ; Ἡμεῖς δὲ ἑαυτοὺς ὑβρίζομεν. Ἐγκαλεῖς, ὅτι ὑβρίσθης· τί οὖν περιπίπτεις τῷ ἐγκλήματι; τί σαυτὸν πληγῇ περιβάλλεις; Μεῖνον ἀπαθὴς, μεῖνον ἄτρωτος· μὴ, βουλόμενος ἕτερον πλῆξαι, σαυτὸν περιβάλῃς τῷ κακῷ. Οὐ γὰρ ἀρκεῖ ἡμῖν ὁ ἕτερος θόρυβος τῆς ψυχῆς ὁ μηδενὸς κινοῦντος κινούμενος· οἷον, αἱ ἐπιθυμίαι αἱ ἄτοποι, αἱ λῦπαι καὶ αἱ ἀθυμίαι καὶ ὅσα τοιαῦτα· ἀλλὰ καὶ ἑτέρας ἐπισωρεύομεν. Καὶ πῶς δυνατὸν ὑβριζόμενον φέρειν, φησί; Πῶς δὲ οὐ δυνατὸν, εἰπέ μοι; τραῦμα ἡμῖν τίκτεται ἀπὸ τῶν ῥημάτων; μώλωπες περὶ τὰ σώματα; ποία τοίνυν γίνεται ἡμῖν βλάβη; Ὥστε, ἂν βουλώμεθα, δυνάμεθα ἐνεγκεῖν. Θῶμεν ἑαυτοῖς νόμον μὴ ἀλγεῖν, καὶ οἴσομεν· εἴπωμεν πρὸς ἡμᾶς αὐτούς· Οὐκ ἔστιν ἔχθρας, ἀσθενείας ἐστίν· ἀσθενείας καὶ γὰρ ὄντως ἐστίν· ἐπεὶ ὅτι ἔχθρας οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδὲ κακοηθείας, ἐβούλετο κἀκεῖνος κατασχεῖν, εἰ καὶ μυρία ἠδικημένος ἦν. Ἂν τοῦτο ἐννοήσωμεν μόνον, ὅτι ἀσθενείας ἐστὶν, οἴσομεν, καὶ συγγνωσόμεθα μὲν ἐκείνῳ, πειρασόμεθα δὲ μὴ περιπεσεῖν καὶ αὐτοί. Ἐπεὶ ἐρωτῶ πάντας τοὺς παρόντας· ἆρα, ἂν ἐθελήσητε, οὕτω φιλοσοφεῖν δύνασθε, ὥστε φέρειν τοὺς ὑβρίζοντας; Ἔγωγε οἶμαι. Οὐκοῦν ἄκων σε ὕβρισε καὶ οὐ βουλόμενος, ἀλλὰ ἀναγκαζόμενος ὑπὸ τοῦ πάθους· ἐπίσχες. Οὐχ ὁρᾷς τοὺς δαιμονῶντας; Ὥσπερ ἐκεῖνος οὐκ ἀπὸ ἔχθρας τοσοῦτον, ὅσον ἀπὸ ἀσθενείας, τοῦτο ὑπομένει· οὕτω καὶ ἡμεῖς οὐκ ἀπὸ τῆς φύσεως τῶν ὕβρεων κινούμεθα, ὅσον ἀφ' ἡμῶν αὐτῶν· ἐπεὶ πῶς τῶν μαινομένων τὰ αὐτὰ ὑβριζόντων φέρομεν; Πάλιν εἰ φίλοι εἶεν οἱ ὑβρίζοντες ἢ καὶ μείζους, καὶ οὕτω φέρομεν· πῶς οὖν οὐκ ἄτοπον, τριῶν μὲν τούτων ὄντων, καὶ φίλων καὶ μαινομένων καὶ μειζόνων, φέρειν, ὁμοτίμων δὲ ἢ καὶ ἡττόνων μὴ φέρειν; Πολλάκις εἶπον· ῥοπή τίς ἐστι καὶ συναρπαγὴ τὸ πρᾶγμα· καρτερήσωμεν μικρὸν, καὶ τὸ πᾶν ἠνύσαμεν. Ὅσῳ ἂν ὑβρίζῃ μείζονα, τοσούτῳ μᾶλλόν ἐστιν ἀσθενής. Οἶδας πότε ἀλγεῖν χρή; Ὅταν ὑβρισάντων ἡμῶν ἐκεῖνος σιγήσῃ· τότε γὰρ αὐτὸς μὲν ἰσχυρὸς, ἡμεῖς δὲ ἀσθενεῖς· ἂν δὲ τοὐναντίον γένηται, καὶ χαίρειν δεῖ· ἐστεφανώθης, ἀνεκηρύχθης· οὐκ εἰς ἀγῶνα καταχθεὶς, οὐδὲ ἡλίου καὶ ἀκτῖνος καὶ κόνεως ἐπάχθειαν ἐνεγκὼν, οὐδὲ συμπλακεὶς, καὶ λαβὰς δοὺς, ἀλλὰ θελήσας μόνον, καὶ καθήμενος ἢ ἑστὼς, ἔλαβες μέγαν τὸν στέφανον· καὶ οὐχ ἁπλῶς μέγαν, ἀλλὰ πολλῷ μείζονα ἐκείνων· οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ἴσον ἐχθρὸν βαλεῖν ἀντίπαλον, καὶ τῶν τῆς ὀργῆς περιγενέσθαι βελῶν. Ἐνίκησας οὐδὲ λαβὴν δοὺς, κατέβαλες τὸ πάθος τὸ ἐν σοὶ, ἀπέσφαξας τὸ θηρίον κεκινημένον, καὶ λυττῶντα τὸν θυμὸν ἐπεστόμισας, καθάπερ τις ἄριστος νομεύς· ἐμφύλιος ἔμελλεν ἡ μάχη εἶναι, οἰκεῖος ὁ πόλεμος. Καθάπερ γὰρ οἱ τείχει προσκαθήμενοι καὶ πολιορκοῦντες ἔξωθεν, ἐμφυλίοις περιβάλλουσι πολέμοις, καὶ τότε περιγίνονται· οὕτω δὴ καὶ ὁ ἐνυβρίζων, ἂν μὴ τὸ ἐν ἡμῖν ἐγείρῃ πάθος, οὐ δυνήσεται περιγενέσθαι· ἐὰν μὴ ἡμεῖς ἑαυτοὺς ἐμπρήσωμεν, ἐκεῖνος οὐδεμίαν ἰσχὺν ἔχει. 60.349 Ἔστω παρ'