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all other things look down, and are inclined towards the earth. But this one is directed toward heaven, so that he may observe the things there, and philosophize among them, and imagine them, and have a sharp eye of the soul. For this reason indeed a certain wise man also said, The eyes of the wise man are in his head; that is, he is free from all things below, and journeys in heaven, and imagines lofty things. Do not give your foot into shaking, nor will he who guards you slumber. Do you see how much diligence the word demands from us? For since they have mentioned help, and call upon the influence from above, he exhorts and advises, all but saying this: If you wish to enjoy this, contribute what is from yourself. But what is it that he advises? Listen: Do not give your foot into shaking; that is, do not be overturned, do not stumble, and then you will have God extending a hand, not abandoning, not letting go. So the beginnings are with us, and of this we are masters. And since we are masters, whenever we wish to obtain something, we too must contribute our part; for so God also wishes, though it be small and worthless, yet we must contribute, not being idle, nor sleeping and snoring, nor lying back, but being active, and zealous for salvation. For this reason he also hired workers around the eleventh hour. And yet what great thing were they going to do around the eleventh hour? But it was so that he might have their labor as an occasion, a pretext for the crowns. Therefore he says: Do not give your foot into shaking, and he who guards you will not slumber. If you provide what is yours, what is his will follow. From this, something of this sort is also shown, that even if we contribute our part, nevertheless we still need the impulse from him, so that we may be in safety, so that we may remain steadfast. 2. But who is it that gives his foot to shaking? The one who steps on slippery things that have no firm foundation, such as the love of money, such as the desire for worldly things. For this reason they are continually overturned and fall down, and hang over themselves the danger of the last things. 55.346 For those things are never unshaken, nor are they ever unmoving, but they are always changing, and shifting, and are more agitated than the waves, and pass by more quickly than river currents, and are weaker than any sand and flow away. Behold, he who guards Israel will not slumber, nor will he sleep. If you are so disposed, he says, He will not slumber, nor will he sleep, that is, he will not abandon you, he will not give you up, he will not leave you naked and desolate. Wishing to hint at this, and not simply, he has set down, He that keeps Israel. And what he says is this: If it is his continual work, from of old and from your forefathers to establish you in safety, he will not give up his own work, and he will not abandon what he is accustomed to do, unless you give your foot to shaking. And not only will he not abandon you, but he will also stand by you with much security. Therefore he also added, saying: The Lord will keep you; the Lord is your shelter upon your right hand. Another, By your right hand. He will be your helper, he says, an ally, an assistant. Do you see how here also he wants you to be active? And from the metaphor of those standing in battle-array, he will stand by your right hand, so that it may be unconquerable, active, strong, powerful, so that it may set up a trophy, so that it may carry off the victory, since this especially is the hand by which we accomplish all things. But he will not only be a helper for you, nor an ally, but also a shelter. Again I say; through our own affairs he describes the assistance of God, representing His complete protection and closest alliance through the right hand and the shelter. The sun shall not burn you by day, nor the moon by night. And this happened when they returned from Egypt, and were spending time in the wilderness. But here he speaks of the great security. And it is likely that when they returned then they also enjoyed some such wonder-working in some other way. Therefore from his abundance the

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ἄλλα πάντα κάτω βλέπει, καὶ πρὸς γῆν νένευκεν. Οὗτος δὲ πρὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν τέταται, ἵνα τὰ ἐκεῖ περισκοπῇ, καὶ ἐν ἐκείνοις φιλοσοφῇ, καὶ ἐκεῖνα φαντάζηται, καὶ ὀξυδερκὲς ἔχῃ τὸ ὄμμα τῆς ψυχῆς. ∆ιὰ δὴ τοῦτο καί τις σοφὸς ἔλεγε, Τοῦ σοφοῦ οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ ἐν τῇ κεφαλῇ αὐτοῦ· τουτέστι, τῶν κάτω πάντων ἀπήλλακται, καὶ οὐρανοπολεῖ, καὶ μετέωρα φαντάζεται. Μὴ δῴης εἰς σάλον τὸν πόδα σου, μηδὲ νυστάξει ὁ φυλάσσων σε. Ὁρᾷς πόσην ἀπαιτεῖ παρ' ἡμῶν σπουδὴν ὁ λόγος; Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ βοηθείας ἐμνήσθησαν, καὶ τὴν ἄνωθεν ῥοπὴν καλοῦσι, παραινεῖ καὶ συμβουλεύει, μονονουχὶ τοῦτο λέγων· Εἰ βούλει ταύτης ἀπολαῦσαι, τὰ παρὰ σαυτοῦ εἰσένεγκε. Τί δέ ἐστιν ὃ παραινεῖ; Ἄκουε· Μὴ δῴης εἰς σάλον τὸν πόδα σου· τουτέστι, μὴ περιτραπῇς, μὴ σκανδαλισθῇς, καὶ τότε ἕξεις τὸν Θεὸν χεῖρα ὀρέγοντα, οὐκ ἐγκαταλιμπάνοντα, οὐκ ἀφιέντα. Ὥστε παρ' ἡμῖν αἱ ἀρχαὶ, καὶ τούτου ἡμεῖς κύριοι. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ κύριοι, ὅταν βουλώμεθά τινος ἐπιτυγχάνειν, δεῖ καὶ ἡμᾶς τὰ παρ' ἑαυτῶν εἰσφέρειν οὕτω γὰρ καὶ ὁ Θεὸς βούλεται, μικρὰ μὲν ὄντα καὶ εὐτελῆ, δεῖ δὲ ὅμως εἰσφέρειν, οὐκ ἀργοῦντας, οὐδὲ ὑπνοῦντας καὶ ῥέγχοντας, οὐδὲ ἀναπεπτωκότας, ἀλλ' ἐνεργοῦντας, καὶ σπουδάζοντας διασώσειν. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ περὶ τὴν ἑνδεκάτην ὥραν ἐμισθώσατο. Καίτοι τί τοσοῦτον ἔμελλον ποιεῖν περὶ ἑνδεκάτην ὥραν; Ἀλλ' ἵνα ἀφορμὴν ἔχῃ τὴν ἐργασίαν, ἵνα πρόφασιν τῶν στεφάνων. ∆ιό φησι· Μὴ δῴης εἰς σάλον τὸν πόδα σου, καὶ οὐ νυστάξει ὁ φυλάσσων σε. Ἐὰν τὰ παρὰ σοῦ παράσχῃς, καὶ τὰ ἐκείνου ἕψεται. Ἐκ τούτου καὶ τοιοῦτό τι δείκνυται, ὅτι καὶ τὰ παρ' ἡμῶν ἂν εἰσφέρωμεν, ὅμως καὶ οὕτω τῆς παρ' αὐτοῦ δεόμεθα ῥοπῆς, ἵν' ἐν ἀσφαλείᾳ ὦμεν, ἵνα ἀπερίτρεπτοι μένωμεν. βʹ. Τίς δὲ δίδωσιν εἰς σάλον τὸν πόδα; Ὁ πράγμασιν ἐπιβαίνων ὀλισθηροῖς καὶ οὐκ ἔχουσιν ἰσχυρὰν βάσιν, οἷός ἐστιν ὁ τῶν χρημάτων ἔρως, οἷος ὁ τῶν βιωτικῶν πόθος. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο συνεχῶς περιτρέπονται καὶ καταπίπτουσι, καὶ τὸν περὶ τῶν ἐσχάτων ἐπι 55.346 κρεμῶσιν ἑαυτοῖς κίνδυνον. Οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ἐκεῖνά ποτε ἀσάλευτα, οὐδέ ποτέ ἐστιν ἀκίνητα, ἀλλ' ἀεὶ μεταβάλλεται, καὶ μεθίσταται, καὶ τῶν κυμάτων μᾶλλον ταράττεται, καὶ τῶν ποταμίων ῥευμάτων ταχύτερον διαβαίνει, καὶ ψάμμου πάσης ἐστὶν ἀσθενέστερα καὶ διαῤῥεῖ. Ἰδοὺ οὐ νυστάξει, οὐδὲ ὑπνώσει ὁ φυλάσσων τὸν Ἰσραήλ. Ἂν οὕτω διακείμενος ᾖς, φησὶν, Οὐ νυστάξει, οὐδὲ ὑπνώσει, τουτέστιν, οὐκ ἐγκαταλείψει, οὐ προήσεται, οὐκ ἀφήσει γυμνὸν καὶ ἔρημον. Τοῦτο αἰνίξασθαι θέλων, ἀλλ' οὐχ ἁπλῶς, τέθεικεν, Ὁ φυλάσσων τὸν Ἰσραήλ. Ὃ δὲ λέγει,τοῦτό ἐστιν· Εἰ τοῦτο ἔργον αὐτοῦ διηνεκὲς, τὸ ἄνωθεν καὶ ἐκ προγόνων τῶν σῶν ἐν ἀσφαλείᾳ σε καθιστᾷν, οὐ προήσεται τὸ ἔργον τὸ αὑτοῦ, καὶ ὃ σύνηθες αὐτῷ πράττειν οὐκ ἐγκαταλείψει, ἐὰν μὴ σὺ δώῃς εἰς σάλον τὸν πόδα σου. Καὶ οὐ μόνον οὐκ ἐγκαταλείψει, ἀλλὰ καὶ προστήσεται μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς ἀσφαλείας. ∆ιὸ καὶ ἐπήγαγε λέγων· Κύριος φυλάξει σε· Κύριος σκέπη σου ἐπὶ χεῖρα δεξιάν σου. Ἕτερος, Παρὰ τὴν χεῖρα τὴν δεξιάν σου. Παραστάτης, φησὶν, ἔσται σου, σύμμαχος, βοηθός. Ὁρᾷς πῶς καὶ ἐνταῦθα βούλεταί σε ἐνεργὸν εἶναι; Ἀπὸ μεταφορᾶς δὲ τῶν ἐν παρατάξει ἑστώτων, παρὰ τὴν χεῖρά σου στήσεται τὴν δεξιὰν, ὥστε ἀχείρωτον εἶναι, ὥστε ἐνεργὸν, ὥστε ἰσχυρὸν, ὥστε δυνάστην, ὥστε τρόπαιον ἱστᾷν, ὥστε τὴν νίκην αἴρεσθαι, ἐπειδὴ μάλιστα αὕτη ἐστὶ, δι' ἧς ἅπαντα ἐνεργοῦμεν. Οὐκ ἔσται δέ σοι παραστάτης μόνον, οὐδὲ σύμμαχος, ἀλλὰ καὶ σκέπη. Πάλιν λέγω· διὰ τῶν παρ' ἡμῖν πραγμάτων τοῦ Θεοῦ τὰς βοηθείας χαρακτηρίζει, τὴν ὁλόκληρον αὐτοῦ φυλακὴν καὶ τὴν ἐγγυτάτην συμμαχίαν διὰ τῆς δεξιᾶς καὶ τῆς σκέπης παρίστησιν. Ἡμέρας ὁ ἥλιος οὐ συγκαύσει σε, οὐδὲ ἡ σελήνη τὴν νύκτα. Καὶ τοῦτο γέγονεν ἡνίκα ἐξ Αἰγύπτου ἐπανῄεσαν, καὶ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ διέτριβον. Ἐνταῦθα δὲ τὴν πολλὴν ἄδειαν λέγει. Εἰκὸς δὲ καὶ τότε ἐπανιόντας τοιαύτης τινὸς ἀπολαῦσαι παραδοξοποιίας ἑτέρῳ τινὶ τρόπῳ. Ἐκ περιουσίας τοίνυν αὐτοῦ τὴν